Chapter 243 Visiting Ron
Evan looked up and found himself in a crowded waiting room.
Rows of witches and wizards sat on precarious wooden chairs, some looking perfectly normal and reading outdated copies of the Witch Weekly magazine, others displaying horrible disfigurements like elephant trunks or extra hands emerging from their chests.
The room was somewhat less quiet than the street outside, as many of the patients emitted very peculiar noises.
A witch with a sweaty face in the center of the first row, vigorously fanning herself with a copy of the Daily Prophet, kept emitting a high-pitched scream while steam poured out of her mouth, and a dirty-looking wizard in the corner sounded like a bell every time he moved, and with each sound, his head vibrated terribly, so he had to hold onto his ears to keep it still.
Evan, Harry, and Hermione looked around with curiosity, incredulous.
In addition to the regular patients with illnesses, nearly all types of patients with curses and dark magic were in the hospital.
Witches and wizards in lime green robes walked up and down the rows, asking questions. The emblem embroidered on their chests was a crossed wand and bone.
"Look at those people, are they doctors?" Harry asked in a low voice.
"That's the term in the Muggle hospital, here they are called Healers," Hermione replied, "The requirements to become a Healer include, as far as I understand, achieving at least 'Exceeds Expectations' in the OWLs in the subjects of Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Oh, Potions class! Then I guess it's no use. Snape won't let me pass!" said Harry, "But you definitely won't have a problem, Hermione!"
"But I don't want to be a Healer; it's a job of great responsibility." Hermione looked at Evan, who was not far away, and whispered, "I'd rather be the editor-in-chief of a newspaper than be a Healer..."
"Oh, I forgot!" Seeing Hermione's expression, Harry smiled. "You're going to run a newspaper with Evan."
Seeing Harry's expression, Hermione blushed and nodded shyly, which was undoubtedly a confirmation.
While Harry and Hermione chatted, Evan followed Lupin to a row in front of a chubby blonde witch sitting at a desk labeled "information". The wall behind her was covered with notices and posters saying things like "A CLEAN CAULDRON PREVENTS POTIONS FROM BECOMING POISONS" and "ANTIDOTES ARE ANTI-KNOWING UNLESS APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED HEALER".
Next to the counter, there was also a large portrait of a witch with long silver curls, labeled DILYS DERWENT, HEALER OF ST. MUNGO 1722–1741, HEADMISTRESS OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY 1741–1768.
As the most famous headmistress, she had a great reputation in history and her portraits were in many important places.
Derwent was a very amiable person. When she met them in the school hallway, she always greeted the students and provided guidance to the newcomers.
Dilys was observing the people in front of the counter as if she were counting them.
When Evan caught her gaze, she winked at him slightly. "Hello, Evan Mason. So nice to see you out of school!"
Derwent greeted him, came out of her portrait sideways, and disappeared.
Meanwhile, at the front of the line, a young wizard was performing a strange improvised dance and trying, amidst screams of pain, to explain his situation to the witch behind the desk.
"It's these... ow... shoes my brother gave me... they're devouring... ow... my feet... look at them, there must be some kind of... OW!... spell on them and I can't... AAAAAH!... take them off..." He hopped from one foot to the other as if dancing on hot coals.
"The shoes don't prevent you from reading, do they?" said the irritated blonde witch, pointing to a large sign to the left of her desk. "Go to Magical Damages on the fourth floor. Next!"
The wizard limped and danced sideways to get out of the way, while Evan hurried a few steps forward.
His attention shifted to the sign the witch had just pointed to, reading the following text: ACCIDENTS WITH ARTIFACTS, Ground Floor (cauldron explosions, wand recoil, broom falls, etc.); INJURIES CAUSED BY CREATURES, First Floor (bites, stings, burns, embedded thorns, etc.); MAGICAL CREATURES, Second Floor (contagious diseases, for example dragon pox, disappearance, scrofungulus); INTOXICATION BY POTIONS AND PLANTS, Third Floor (eruptions, regurgitations, uncontrollable laughter, etc.); SPELL DAMAGE, Fourth Floor (spells that don't lift, curses, and wrongly applied charms, etc.); VISITORS' REST AREA AND HOSPITAL SHOP, Fifth Floor.
"If you don't know where to go, if you are unable to speak normally, or if you don't remember why you're here, our Welcome Witch will be happy to assist you."
"Ron was under the Imperius Curse, we must go to the fourth floor!"
While Evan read the sign, Lupin approached the counter and asked softly, "Hello, we are here to see Ron Weasley. In which room is he located, please?"
"Ron Weasley?" said the witch, sliding her finger down a long list in front of her. "Oh, yes, he was delivered from Hogwarts a week before Christmas. Fourth floor, second door on the right!"
"Thank you!"
Everyone followed Lupin through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond, which was adorned with portraits of famous Healers and illuminated by glass bubbles filled with floating candles on the ceiling, resembling gigantic soap bubbles.
More witches and wizards in lime-green robes were coming and going through the doors they passed; a foul-smelling yellow gas wafted down the hallway as they passed one door, and occasionally they heard distant wails.
They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the "Spell Damage" corridor on the fourth floor.
Before they even looked for it, they heard the voices of the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley was losing patience and blaming Fred and George for a distasteful prank they had just pulled.
"Ron is recovering, and you two just can't behave..."
Mrs. Weasley suddenly stopped, surprised to see Evan and the others entering the room.
The next moment, she hurried over and embraced Evan, Harry, and Hermione, with tearful eyes, thanking them for helping Ron at school.
Evan looked up, embarrassed, and saw Fred and George winking at him, with cheerful smiles on their faces.
Behind them, Percy, book in hand, followed with a serious expression.
Ginny, seated in a chair by the bed, nodded in greeting, her face flushed as she looked at Harry.
Beside her, Ron, lying on the bed, sat up eagerly and looked at the three of them, showing both joy and embarrassment.
The Weasleys were just the same as ever.
"Although you mentioned it before, I didn't expect you to return today, especially right after Christmas!" said grateful Mrs. Weasley, "Arthur just left. With the Pettigrew incident, the department has been in chaos lately."
After hugging Evan, Harry, and Hermione, she stood up to greet Sirius and Lupin.
Apparently, she and Sirius were acquainted and very familiar with each other.
After a brief introduction, Harry hurriedly asked Ron about his recovery.
"There are basically no issues. The healer just confirmed that I'll be able to leave the hospital after a few days of observation," Ron tapped his chest and indicated that he was healthy.
Since they entered the room, he noticed the small owl that had been hooting in its cage. Ron looked at Sirius with puzzlement.
"This is a gift for you. After all, it's my fault that you lost that rat..." explained Sirius.
"This owl is for me, I can't believe it. This is the best gift I've ever received!" Ron took the cage, looked at the owl inside with joy, and then raised his gaze. He said with embarrassment, "You didn't have to do this. I was... so confused at that moment, I doubted you, to help Scabbers..."
"It wasn't your fault, Ron," Harry said hastily, "You managed to break free from the Imperius Curse at the last moment."
Sirius and Lupin also hastened to echo the persuasion and said they had forgiven Ron for what he had done.
"Who would have thought that Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus, he hid too well!" Fred said.
"Yes, I still can't believe Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew!" George said. "Incredible, he really lived in our house for over ten years."
Upon hearing their words, Mrs. Weasley and Percy showed expressions of horror on their faces. It was quite dreadful just to think about it.
If Peter Pettigrew had had other plans, the consequences would have been unimaginable.