บท 37: Return to Hogwarts
Poppy stepped out of the floo and into her infirmary only to see the smiling face of Billy Holston. She smiled and said "You stayed here the whole time didn't you?"
"Of course Poppy, I couldn't trust your ward to just anybody. Besides, it gave me an excuse to get out of the hospital for a few days. Did everything go okay?"
"Yes, thank you. It was pretty bad at first but I managed to take care of it. Is there anything you need to make me aware of?"
He smiled "Well, evidently you are more popular than ever. I don't know how many times the door opened and a student popped their head in to see if you were here and when they saw me, they left. I'm starting to feel like they don't trust me. Also, Minerva came to check on me several times a day for no reason and Albus came by not long after you left and demanded I tell him where you went and how to get in contact with you. Is there something going on that I should know about?"
"Thank you Billy but I think I've got it under control. I do want to thank you for your help and I promise you that you'll be the first person I call if I need anything. The situation is…delicate and the patient needed certain assurances."
Billy eyed her for a minute before saying "I trust you enough to know better than to ask anymore. If there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to call."
Poppy looked down for a second. "There is something. I need some high powered musculus potions and salve. I could also use some strong skele-gro."
It took a minute before the realization set in. He had been in the castle long enough to get a fairly good idea of the extensive damage Harry had suffered during the second task. He nodded his head. "I'll send it immediately with your normal supplies. If you need any help with the subject, you can count on me. Just so you know there's a rumor going around that you left to take care of Harry Potter."
She looked at hi for a second before replying "Thank you Billy, now would you do me the honor of escorting me to breakfast so I can start the tongues wagging again?"
"Gladly." He offered his elbow which she took as they made their way to the Great Hall. Since breakfast had already started, they didn't pass any students in the hallways and as soon as they opened the door and stepped in, the whole place went silent.
Poppy chuckled at the response and then said "Nice to know I was missed. Now Billy let's go sit so you can tell me what the little miscreants have been up to in my absence?"
As they sat at the head table, Albus turned to her and said "I hope everything worked out to your satisfaction Poppy. We were quite concerned when you ran off they way you did."
"Yes Albus, things are better now which enabled me to come back and resume my duties."
"May I ask what the emergency was?"
"Oh I'm sorry Albus, I didn't realize family issues were a normal topic of conversation but if you must know, my sister's grandson got into something he shouldn't have and it resulted in a bad infection along with a high fever. It was critical for a little while but I think things are well in hand now."
Albus looked at her for a minute before saying "My apologies Poppy, it was not my intent to discuss family matters in public. I'm happy things worked out but with the tournament here, I wish you would have informed me before you left."
"I'll remember that next time I have a family member in critical condition. I don't think I neglected my duties since Billy came and covered for me. Surely you don't mean to suggest that he's not qualified?"
"Of course not, I just like to know where my people are in case I need them."
Minerva was watching the whole conversation but kept her tongue. She had been thinking about these past few years and was quite disappointed in herself. Her actions had probably sealed the fate of her relationship with Harry and she could only hope that he would forgive her one day. No, she realized that she had dug her own grave with Harry and just hoped it wouldn't turn out to be literally.
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