Author's notes: Here's our checkup chapter. A bit more of a conclusive description of Henley and the basis of how he's doing health wise. Hope it's an okay chapter.
Chapter 3: Checkup
Divus Crewel was humming an old song to himself as he continued to look through the infirmary's cabinets. He was making sure that he had all of the more common potions stocked before the school year officially began.
He was a savant in the potions field, which is one of the reasons he had been chosen as the professor of the Potionology course at Night Raven College. The other reason he had been chosen was due to his extended expertise.
Not only was he a master of potions, but during his studies, he had also dived into the medical field which relied so heavily on potions. All to better understand the affects his creations would have on others.
It had been an accident, really, that he had obtained his medical mastery alongside his potions one. But as the past decade had passed in his teaching, he was pretty confident he could handle whatever his friend/ boss threw his way. Until, this particular year, he brought him a small child not long after orientation.
Crowley didn't interrupt the two humans who were observing each other and taking the other in. Henley needed to make his own conclusions about the man, while Divus needed to make some first sight observations.
Divus observed the boy, picking out the obvious things while the child made his own observations. The boy was barely 4' 10, which was already below average for a teenager of 15 or 16, which he assumed was the boy's age. His hair, with the hood of his robes down was revealed to be about waist long. It was silver, with a pale pink tint to it. His visible eye was blush pink, though a lock of Henley's hair covered his right eye.
His skin was a bright pink from mild burns, which had Divus wondering what in the underworld had happened at orientation. His eyes narrowed. The boy was favoring his side, which was also concerning. Off the top of his head, other than his burns and side, the boy despite being under height for his age looked mostly healthy. He's need to do a full checkup though, to confirm any of the less conclusive observations he made.
Henley studied the man curiously. He was a tall, fair skinned man of about six feet. His hair was short and parted at the side. The longer section of his hair was white, while the shorter half was black. The man's eyes, which were observing him just as he was doing, were grey. Henley noticed that the man also wore silver studs in his ears.
He wore a tuxedo consisting of a black dress shirt, red tie, a black and white vest. He wore black dress pants and shoes, and a black belt with a silver buckle, studs, and some spikes. In contrast and matching his tie, were his red gloves.
Entering the infirmary, Henley had noticed the black and white fur coat hanging on the coat stand, and knew it had to belong to this man. On the counter where the man had been before they entered was a pointer with a red collar and jewel charm attached to the end of it.
All in all, the man seemed much more serious and responsible than the head mage, and Henley ultimately was the first to break the silence between him and the man before him.
"Hello, I'm Henley Veil. I'll be in your care." Henely said with a bow to the man. Divus gave the boy a gentle smile.
"Hello Henley. I'm Divus Crewel, Night Raven's Nurse." He introduced himself. "What can I do for you this evening?" He asked the two, indicating for Henley to sit on the cot.
"Henley here needs a full checkup." Crowley said, before he explained the situation to the nurse.
"I see." Divus said. Amnesia was a definite, and it was tricky to work around. "Very well. First, I need you to take off the over robe Henley." He told the boy as he grabbed some potions from the cabinets. It would be a little too difficult to do a proper check up with the cumbersome cloth. Henely nodded and slipped the fabric off, placing it on the bed next to him.
Divus nodded in approval as he brought over the potions he had gathered along with a few sheets of paper. The first potion was a dark pink color, which Divus had used a dropper to put five drops on the first sheet of paper. The potion on the paper and in the bottle gave a soft glow.
"Alright, first thing first. Henley, this potion will reveal if you're allergic to anything." he explained to the boy who was watching the process with great interest. The boy took the small vial, barely eight ounces, if he had to guess.
"While that potion does its work, I'll do a physical exam. As I do so, will you tell us everything you can recall? Age, birthday... anything you can recall." Divus encouraged.
Henley nodded. "I'm 15. My birthday is August 31. Um... That's the months you use here, right?" He asked.
"Yes. I'm quite certain at least that we use the same dating system. 12 months, seven days in a week." Divus answered, concerned by the worrying lack of self-knowledge.
"This place is familiar to me, but I'm not sure why. I do remember a forest and the black carriage. And I... I think that's just about it. I wasn't surprised that magic exists, though why that would even be a possibility I'm not sure."
"I see. I am sorry for the predicament you're in, Henley. It must be frightening." Divus told the boy who nodded. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask them."
"Um, so you're the nurse. But are you also a teacher?" Henley asked.
"I am. I'm the Potionology Professor." Divus answered. Henley's eye widened.
"Potions? What can you tell me about those?" he asked curiously. Divus smiled and he and Henley discussed potions and potionology while he finished his exam. At one point, Henley took a potion that would let them know if he had any illnesses or medical concerns.
It was an hour later, that Divus had finished his exam of the boy, having used a potion to heal the boy's burns. "Alright, let's see here." Divus looked through the papers on the counter. "Good news, Henley, it looks like you're not allergic to anything." He smiled at the boy who was relieved. "Hm... You are below average height for a child of your age. You are anemic, which would explain the lightheadedness and shortness of breath that you had earlier. And you do lack certain vitamins."
He looked further down the list. "I'm not sure how, but your side is injured. No fractures or breaks, but you will be sore for a while... You have a few scars that are worrying." he frowned. Worrying wasn't the best word for it. Not strong enough, if Divus was being honest.
While there was a crescent shaped burn on the boy's inner right wrist, Henley did recall that it came from a cooking accident when he was younger. The scar was nearly ten years old. Which was a concern all its own if he was cooking at such a young age. Despite that, it was the least concerning of the scars.
There was a very faded one that went from the boy's left shoulder to his right hip. It was extremely faded. If it wasn't for the boy being only 15, Divus would put that the scar at even older. Though Henley did say that he was pretty sure it was a birth mark. Which again, had a worrying implication.
And then there was the one that went from his hairline to his right temple. Divus assumed this scar, not even a half a year old, was the reason the boy wore his bangs over his right eye which was also the same light blush pink of his left.
"Then we have your amnesia. There isn't much we can do about that, I'm afraid. Even with magic, one should never attempt to mess with one's mind and memories. However, I will look into my medical tomes and with some of my contacts from the field. With any luck, we can get some exercises for you to work through." Divus told the boy who nodded.
"As for what we can do... You'll need to take some potions that will help your vitamin deficiency. In addition, more iron, so plenty of red meats, sea food, and certain types of fruits and vegetables with your meals. I'll inform our school cooks, so they know to have plenty of options available to you. I'll also give you a list of them, so you know what you should eat to help with that." Divus added. Henley nodded his understanding.
"On to the more physical aspects of your recovery... I'll give you a potion to help with the pain from your side, as well as some of that bruise salve we already put on your bruising. Give it a couple of days, and they'll be gone. I'll also give you some salve for the scar above your eye, if you'd like. It seems to have happened within the past couple months, so it's still healing. No mental damage other than your amnesia, though there is a strong chance that you'll experience some headaches, some will probably be worse than others. I'll also give you a pain potion to carry around for that." he added.
"Thank you, sir." Henley said.
"You don't need to thank me, but you're welcome, all the same." Divus smiled before pursuing the sheets once more. "We don't know if you have your Twisted Wonderland vaccines... I'll need a week to get the required potion made to find out if you have them or not." he mused.
"Why so long? And can I not just take them?" Henley asked curiously.
"Twisted Wonderland's vaccines are a once in a lifetime requirement." Divus began to explain. "Usually given about a week after the child is born. Taking these vaccines more than once can lead to grave illness on the part of the one who takes them. The longer the amount of time between the vaccines are taken, the worse it can be."
"How does that work?"
"If a double dose of these vaccines is done together or close together, the body- with all of its remarkable ability- can fuse it in a way that it seems like a single dose. The farther between the two doses, the more likely the body will consider a second dose as just that, a second, separate dose, and a threat to the system its already apart of." Divus explained.
"Oh. Why a week? Is it not a premade potion?"
Divus smiled. "Correct. It isn't. Instead, it has to be made live, as a person's DNA is needed for part of the brewing process. If the DNA was needed for the final part of the brewing, it could be premade. Instead, the DNA is needed for a middle part of the brewing. Thus, it has to be made live, and it will take about a week to get all of the ingredients to brew it and get the results." Divus finished his explanation.
"Wow! Potions are amazing." he said. Divus smiled at that. He was looking forward to seeing the boy in his potionology class.
"Having said that, I suggest you avoid being out too late. The temperature can drop suddenly, and we won't know for a week or so whether your body could handle such a drastic change. The last thing you need is to fall sick with a cold your body will struggle to fight." Divus warned. Henley nodded in understanding.
"With that out of the way, I expect you here every weekend for a checkup." Divus said. Seeing the boy nodding in understanding, Divus turned on the head mage. "What are you planning to do with Henley from here?" he asked the man. Clearly suspicious of whatever the man would say. Crowley was starting to regret the image he cultivated as irresponsible and eccentric.
"I can't in good conscience put young Henley into one of the dorms. The mirror didn't choose one for a reason. And I'm not too certain how any dorm student would react to his lack of magic." Crowley mused. "For the same reason of not putting any unsavory attention on Henley, I can't place him in the teacher's dorms..." Crowley thought for a bit.
"Are you going to keep Henley from attending classes?" Divus asked with narrowed eyes.
Crowley nodded. "For a couple days while I look through our files and see who it is that enrolled him into our school. And when. This will also give him a couple days to get used to his situation as well as he can." Crowley explained with a sigh.
Divus nodded in understanding. One of the worst things to do would be to throw Henley into a new situation involving classes and such while he was still coming to terms with his amnesia and getting used to a maybe new place.
"I've got it! There's an old dorm on campus. It's been abandoned for a few decades, and it's a bit more isolated due to not being connected to the school like the other dorms. But it should work as a place to stay." Crowley said pleased.
"That place is a standing safety hazard." Divus scowled.
"It'll be fine. I'll fix the worst of the damage." Crowley said, rolling his eyes at the nurse who scoffed at his reaction, getting a little chuckle from the boy. It was amusing, the way the two interacted. They had clearly known each other for a while.
"I wouldn't be averse to working on a bit of a rundown building." Henley assured the two men. Crowley smiled gleefully, while Divus just huffed out a breath.
"Oh, very well. Fine. Take him there. But you better ensure that it'll protect him from the elements and that he won't be doing too much to fix it." Divus told the man, pointing at him warningly. "As for you, don't push yourself too hard." he told the boy who nodded.
In truth, Henley really liked Divus. He trusted both him and Crowley, though he wasn't sure why he was so certain about that. But he did, and it was a big help for his anxiety and concern about his situation.
"Alright. I need to go finish my lesson plans. You need food and sleep." Divus told the boy.
"Yes sir." Henley said.
"As for you, Crowley." Divus sent the head mage a look. "You can be extremely irresponsible. I suggest you turn that down a notch in regard to Henley's situation." he told the man warningly. Crowley nodded.
"Understood. Let's be off Henley. It's getting late, after all." Crowley said, quickly ushering the boy from the infirmary before Divus could change his mind.
Divus watched the two of them leave the infirmary with a fond smile. Somehow, in the hour or so that Henley had been in the infirmary, Divus had come to be unbearably fond of the boy. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but it had.
Which meant he needed to talk with Mozus Trein about Crowley most likely becoming the guardian of an amnesiac child. The man was going to need help, no matter how much of his irresponsibility was overexaggerated. Because a lot of it wasn't.
Author's Notes: And there is our checkup chapter. Nothing too big and Henley's mostly fine, kind of. Until the next chapter.
