Chapter 88: Invitation to St. Mungo's

Victor then parted from the crowd of students, making his way to Corey and Claire.

"Good to see you, Claire, and Corey," Victor greeted.

Corey's eyes widened. "You know my name?"

"You are the Head Boy, so it wouldn't be that weird for him to know who you are," Claire said.

"And it's important for me to know who's who at this school," Victor added. "Gotta be careful about associating with the right people."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult about me," Corey said.

"No need to worry, Corey," Victor said. "I came here, didn't I?"

"Anyway, I wanted to thank you for helping me and Chiara in Peeves' Room," Claire said.

"Oh, that was nothing," Victor claimed.

"But saving someone isn't 'nothing,'" Corey argued. "It's a brave and heroic act!"

"Well, I did have…other reasons for being in Peeves' Room," Victor admitted.

"Like what?" asked Claire.

"Peeves is a friend of mine," Victor said. "I've known him since my first year at Hogwarts."

"Seems odd that Peeves would have friends," Corey remarked.

"Not really," Claire said. "He's friends with Duncan Ashe, the boy ghost that haunts the Prefect bathroom. So it's not that strange for Victor to be friends with him, although I'm not sure why Victor didn't say anything sooner."

"I knew Peeves before I became a vampire, because I didn't have a lot of friends back then," Victor added. "But now that I'm a vampire, everyone wants to be my friend."

"We could be your friends, Victor," Claire said, though she realized how that sounded and corrected herself. "And by that, I mean true friends, not just fans of yours."

Victor briefly looked back at the beaming crowd of students behind him before looking from Corey to Claire.

"I believe true friendship is earned and not taken for granted," Victor said. "But we'll see. You two seem to like adventure and getting into trouble."

"Oh, we're definitely adventurous!" Corey said excitedly. "But I don't get into too much trouble, because I am Head Boy after all."

"And while I am the Head Girl, that hasn't stopped me from getting into trouble before," Claire confessed. "Not that I enjoy it."

"Good to know," replied Victor.

Then Chiara ran into the Great Hall and went to Claire.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to see us in his office, right away," Chiara said between breaths.

Without questioning Chiara further, Claire followed her to the winding staircase beneath the griffin statue and up to the office where Dumbledore stood at his desk.

"You wanted to see us, Professor?" Claire said.

"Indeed, Miss Krystal," Dumbledore said. "I heard you and Miss Lobosca made valiant efforts in combating the recent Doxy infestation. You did a job well done."

"Thank you!" Claire smiled.

"We did what anyone would have done," Chiara said.

"Ah, but you two rose to the occasion in a spectacular way," Dumbledore said. "This has garnered the attention of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, who would like to extend an invitation to the both of you for an upcoming field trip."

"That sounds fantastic!" Chiara beamed. "I was hoping to work there as a Healer once I graduate from Hogwarts."

"Just remember to not let your grades slip as a result of this field trip," Dumbledore said, before looking down at Claire. "And much like your trips to the Ministry of Magic, Miss Krystal, I expect you to be on your best behavior for the sake of our school's reputation."

"Well, now I'm worried I'll botch things up," Chiara said nervously.

"You'll do fine, Chiara," Claire assured.

"Krystal is right," Dumbledore added. "Your innate skills in healing and experience working for Madam Pomfrey will certainly catch St. Mungo's interest in hiring you."

Chiara smiled at Dumbledore's words, which gave her a great deal of enthusiasm during that day's boring History of Magic lesson on the founding of St. Mungo's. Although Claire did find some of the information from Professor Binns' lecture surprisingly interesting, such as the fact that St. Mungo's was founded in the 1600s, making it older than the Ministry of Magic, and it was disguised as a small department store in London.

The following morning, Claire made her way to the station in Hogsmeade where she took the train to London. From there, she followed a series of directions to St. Mungo's. Despite the small size of the department store it was hidden inside, the actual interior was much larger with floating candles and intricately carved floors. Near a fireplace stood a bunch of familiar faces, including Chiara, Penny, Jae, and Talbott. Unlike the Ministry of Magic assignment, everyone was wearing casual clothes instead of formal ones.

"Did you see the dittany on the walls, Claire?" Penny said, pointing to the carvings on the archway above them. "Dittany is used in a lot of potions!"

"That's neat, I guess," Jae said.

"While I understand why Penny is here for the field trip, I'm not sure why you're here," Chiara said, giving Jae a confused look.

"Dumbledore thinks this will keep me out of trouble," Jae said, avoiding Chiara's gaze as his cheeks turned pink.

"I think trouble follows you no matter where you go, Jae," Claire joked.

Talbott sighed remorsefully. "This place reminds me of my mother. She was a Healer here."

"Why the long face, Talbott?" Jae asked.

"Oh, don't pester him," Penny insisted. "Though I could see myself becoming a Healer."

"St. Mungo's does brew a lot of its own potions for healing," Chiara said. "You would definitely be good at that, Penny."

Just then, a tall woman in a green dress with a white apron approached the group.

"How wonderful to see you, my little lambs!" the woman said. "Welcome to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I'm Miriam Strout and I'll be your supervisor during your trip here. The healing arts are more complex than you think, but they're quite vital to the Wizarding World. But I'll be there to help you along with your school project to learning about the fundamentals of healing and what it takes to become a Healer for those of you who are interested in making a career out of it."

"I look forward to learning everything I can from you, Madam Strout!" Chiara said.

"And I'm looking forward to not being in detention for once," Jae added.

"So you must be Mr. Kim," Miriam realized. "Professor Dumbledore told me all about you. Maybe a little hard work will help you appreciate the beauty of this establishment."

To be continued…