Chapter Eight

"Well, Potter, we're going to St. Mungo's because one of the men involved in the dragon incident the other day is being treated there for major burns, among other things. Does that answer your question?"

"I never asked a question."

"I could see in your eyes that you wanted to, though. That's the key to being an Auror; always be a few steps ahead."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"You really should be taking notes. Anyway, let me do all the talking. Just stand there and continue to be surly. It might intimidate the man." Leo and Potter stood outside the St. Mungo's visitor's entrance, Leo hesitating slightly before making his way inside with Potter following. So far, Potter being his trainee had been anticlimactic. Potter was quiet and observant whenever Leopold went out on a case, and never really favored Leo with a sarcastic comment or joke unless they were alone. Leopold was slightly irritated by this, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it except grin and bear it.

Potter slipped into his quiet dignity mode the moment they walked into the threshold of the hospital.

Leopold was instantly reminded of how much he hated hospitals.

There were several wizards missing various limbs, all of whom had said limbs held in jars or cups so they could be reattached. There was a witch and her small child, the child emitting squeaky hiccoughs which released bubbles that turned into flowers upon popping. And there was a witch with, what looked like, half a broomstick sticking out of an area Leopold was positive broomsticks didn't belong. And that was just in the entryway. Leo couldn't imagine what he was going to find once he entered the hospital proper. The unmistakable smell of sickness and potion began to slowly choke Leo.

"Let's finish this quickly and get the hell out of here," he muttered, holding the door open for Potter. Potter smirked as he passed.

"Afraid of hospitals, are we?"

"Hardly. I would just much rather spend my time among the healthy," Leo replied, resisting the urge to push Harry into a man sporting many contagious looking sores all over his arms and legs. He may have been uncomfortable in hospitals, but he was not averse to putting people in them. They headed to the lift to take them to the first floor: Creature Induced Injuries.

"Wait here, Potter. I'll see if we're in the right place of if he's been moved," Leopold said as they stepped out of the lift. He headed over to a dark haired witch who had her back to him. "Excuse me—Cho! My dear, I didn't realize you were working today!"

"Leo! Oh, Leo, it's so good to see a friendly face. It's been a long day already," Cho said amicably, giving Leo a peck on the cheek. He couldn't help but notice that she did, in fact, look as though she had had a long day and it was only noon. "What brings you here? You didn't get injured on the job, did you?"

"No no, nothing like that. I've just come to talk to one of your patients."

"Well, all right," Cho smiled broadly. "Who's that with you?" Leopold was suddenly and violently reminded of Cho and Harry's previous, albeit brief, tryst. He instantly wished he left Potter in the waiting room next to the man with the sores.

"No one of consequence. Now about that patient—"

"Is that Harry Potter?" Cho exclaimed, walking forward. Leopold rolled his eyes.

"Oh him. I thought you meant the man with the rather large chunk of flesh taken out of his abdomen," Leo replied, however Cho didn't hear him for she was already face to face with Potter, hugging him as though he were an old friend. Potter looked slightly surprised by this greeting, yet hugged her briefly all the same. "Don't mind me, I'll just go do Auror related things." Leopold looked around the ward, picked the most burned person out of the bunch and walked over to him.

"Are you Francis Withers?" Leopold barked at the man. He was covered head to toe in bandages, reminding Leopold of some sort of ancient dragon angering mummy.

"Ah, well yes. You're an Auror, then?"

"Yes. Now I'm going to ask you questions and, Merlin help you, if I suspect that you have lied to me, you will need more than bandages."

Leopold conducted the inquiry while watching Cho and Harry out of the corner of his eye. Something deep inside him wanted to lunge at the black haired git and make him wish he didn't know Cho's name.

"Violence is not the answer," Leopold muttered aloud.

"I realize that now, but the man shouldn't have wandered onto my property like that," Mr. Withers answered. Leopold snapped his attention back to the man. It was lucky for Leo that he had a working quick quotes quill and the bandaged man had no problem talking to someone who wasn't paying attention. Or he couldn't see through the bandages well enough to notice that Leopold wasn't watching him.

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Er, yes?"

"Of course I did. Well, that's all for now. Someone will be in contact with you regarding your trial date. Keep away from dragons until then." Leopold stood up without waiting for the man to reply and headed over to Cho and Harry, who were now laughing at something that was obviously too funny to have been said in a hospital.

"Leo, why didn't you tell me you were partners with Harry? What happened to Roger?"

"Nothing happened to Roger, I'm still partners with him. Harry is my trainee. He's supposed to follow me around and do trainee things." Harry frowned at this, but Cho laughed.

"Oh I know the feeling. I was just recently taken off of trainee healer status. When you become a full auror, Harry, we'll celebrate."

"How's Michael, Cho?" Leopold interrupted Harry before he could reply. Harry frowned again and Leo smiled evilly. He hoped Harry had a vivid picture of Michael Corner with both Cho and Ginny Weasley.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't seen him since the last time we all got together, you know. What was that, a week ago?"

"Week and a half, I believe."

"Time just flies by. When's the next family get together, my love?" Cho grinned sweetly, melting Leo's anger. Cho seemed to have that same mysterious ability that Potter had to make Leo smile even when he didn't want to. Harry was watching them moodily making Leopold's smirk even wider. He took Cho's hand and kissed it gently.

"I'll talk to the others and let you know." Cho giggled, pulling her hand out of Leo's grasp.

"That'd be fantastic. Now go before you get me sacked," she said, shooing them out of the ward but not before giving Leopold another kiss on the cheek. Harry looked at her hopefully, yet all she gave him was a small pat on the back. "It was nice to see you, Harry. Good luck with your training."

"Thanks. It was nice seeing you, too," Harry mumbled grumpily. Cho smiled again and hurried back into the ward. Harry stared off at her for a second before he realized that Leopold had continued walking and was already on the lift pressing the button for the ground level. Harry had to do an awkward skip jump to catch it before it took off.

"What was that about?" He asked, angrily massaging the two fingers he'd stuck between the grates to stop them from closing.

"What was what about?" Leopold responded innocently, turning his attention to a leaflet spellotaped to the wall. If he could believe what he read, there was quite a handsome couch for sale.

"That! All that rubbish you did with Cho."

"What rubbish? Cho is my friend, Potter. You know what a friend is, do you not? Surely amongst the throngs of admires at your every beck and call you have one or two people you can call a friend," Leopold replied, keeping the bitterness out of his voice.

"You have more mood swings than a pregnant woman," Potter said, glancing away with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Have you ever seen or spoken with a pregnant woman before, Potter?"

Potter's stoic silence and almost violent hand-to-pocket shoving gave Leopold the answer he was looking for. With a triumphant grin on his face, Leopold strode out of the lift and straight into a crowd of women.

"What the—?"

"It's Harry Potter!" One of the women shouted when Potter had a foot out of the lift. Potter seemed to freeze at the mention of his name and the sheer volume of women crammed into that one area. And before he could do anything about it, Leopold was unceremoniously shoved aside by the surging throng of excited witches. He was intensely confused for a moment before he realized that the crowd was literally ripping Harry's clothes off. Harry was trying to remain clothed while feebly shooting spells in all directions.

"Stupefy!" Leo shouted, pointing his wand at the nearest witch. As she fell, a few turned, distracted by the unexpected attack. That left Leo ready and willing to use another spell. "Protego!" The invisible force field comically stopped the women in their tracks. A few of them shouted angrily, wondering where the protection had come from.

"Ladies, ladies. While I'm sure the delicious allure of Mr. Potter is probably overwhelming, I must ask you to behave yourselves. This is a hospital. The people here have enough problems as it is."

"Who are you then?" A vicious, brown haired witch inquired.

"I am a ministry certified au—"

"He's my boyfriend," Harry called out suddenly from behind the shield. All heads turned in Potter's direction, including Leopold's. Harry stood there defiantly, pulling on the ripped sleeve of his pullover. A shocked gasp rippled through the crowd as the women looked from Harry to Leo. Leo prayed for a dragon to burst through the doors and swallow him whole in a torrent of flame. The closest he got was a fiery haired witch whipping out her wand threateningly, smoke practically pouring from her nostrils.

"That's not true. Witch Weekly said he just broke up with that Weasley girl of the Harpies." Leopold, still at a complete loss for words, couldn't think of anything to say in reply. He was staring at Potter in blatant open-mouthed shock.

"Well that makes sense, then, doesn't it? Why else would she break it off with him?" Another witch demanded. All the witches began talking at once. Leo took this opportunity to shepherd them out of St. Mungo's. When he returned to the waiting room, everyone was gazing at him. Or at Potter. Or at him and his apparently new boyfriend Potter.

"You—why—you are a menace to society," Leopold muttered as they walked out of the hospital. Potter actually had a smile on his face and shoved his hands in his pockets with much less force than he had previously. "Why did you say that?"

"Why not? It, and we, was supposed to come out eventually, so why not then? There was a crowd; it'll probably be in the afternoon edition of the Prophet. At this rate we won't even have to fake a marriage."

"But—you—I—you are a menace to society!" Harry smiled wider. He seemed to be taking an unnatural amount of enjoyment from this situation. Leopold couldn't fathom why this would be.

"Thank you for saving me back there, by the way. I was caught off guard, you know."

"Understandably so. You were put under my care for a reason, Potter, don't seem so surprised that I have the ability to perform magic. They don't let just anyone become aurors, though if they're considering you, they must be loosening their standards."

"Yeah. The saving the world thing is only for the most dismal of wizards."

"There you go again throwing the world saving in my face," Leopold responded. The pair laughed shakily; this newfound truce had a tenuous hold on them and neither one seemed keen on breaking it at that moment. "Come on. Let's get something to eat. We'll call it our second date. I'll even let you pay."

"You're such a gentleman."