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Private Message to Antonin Dolohov
Mar. 12th, 2013 10:51 pmAntonin,
Thank you for what you said. I appreciate your kind words about my situation and your offers of assistance.
I'm afraid I must decline your offer to put me on retainer as your private healer. I will not step foot in that castle again until Madam Umbridge has gone and my place been restored, so while I would certainly agree to see you should you find yourself in urgent need of my care, I cannot provide the steady, on-going care you require to see that you continue on your upward course. I do regret that.
In any case, I mean to do a bit of travelling, I think, to clear my mind and take advantage of the unexpected holiday. I will do, that is, if I am able to settle the matter of my status at St Mungo's and the matter of my pension. I have spent the past two days at it with little progress. Mine has been a dual appointment, so Madam Umbridge was not able unilaterally to terminate my employment. I am now an institutional healing practitioner sans institution. Sans salary, as well, save for the rudimentary stipend St M's provides. They could assign me elsewhere, including within St M's, but I think it highly unlikely.
I have requested leave, in any case, if only so Luxovius Kerr cannot expect that I will accept fire calls at all hours to answer questions and provide care summaries about this patient and that whose fat files full of treatment notes he will not wish to bother reading. (You asked about his reputation: it is that he is interested in his own rather narrow research specialty and nothing else. He is not accustomed to seeing patients; rather, he studies research subjects, some of them at first hand. He is not said to be a particularly collegial presence in his department.)
In any case, I've been advised that whatever St Mungo's decide to do with me, I must apply within a fortnight of my severance from the school for my pension or forfeit that entirely (whether I'm to be formally retired or not), so off I've gone to the Ministry where I've sat for a day and a half with three dozen other petitioners waiting for my number to be called. On Monday afternoon, two persons were summoned into the inner sanctum whilst the rest of us waited; today, only one person was summoned all day. In fact it was two, but the second had just succumbed to an urgent need to step out for several moments and was called in absentia. When he returned and learned he'd been summoned, he went to the clerk only to be told he'd missed his window of opportunity and had lost his position in the queue. Mind you, they didn't call anyone else in his place. I overheard two of my fellows speculating that it is a ploy to keep people from claiming their pensions. I've yet to discover whether any of my companions have spent a full fortnight waiting in that reception, but I have begun to suspect that one's summons may be carefully scheduled for the day following the expiration of eligibility.
I'm sure this is more than you wish to know, Antonin, but I suppose I want to give you fair warning that I might, after all, need the help you offered in the event I have difficulty securing my pension.
In any case, thank you for your kindness in my time of distress. It meant a great deal to read your words of support and your expressions of shared purpose.
Thank you for what you said. I appreciate your kind words about my situation and your offers of assistance.
I'm afraid I must decline your offer to put me on retainer as your private healer. I will not step foot in that castle again until Madam Umbridge has gone and my place been restored, so while I would certainly agree to see you should you find yourself in urgent need of my care, I cannot provide the steady, on-going care you require to see that you continue on your upward course. I do regret that.
In any case, I mean to do a bit of travelling, I think, to clear my mind and take advantage of the unexpected holiday. I will do, that is, if I am able to settle the matter of my status at St Mungo's and the matter of my pension. I have spent the past two days at it with little progress. Mine has been a dual appointment, so Madam Umbridge was not able unilaterally to terminate my employment. I am now an institutional healing practitioner sans institution. Sans salary, as well, save for the rudimentary stipend St M's provides. They could assign me elsewhere, including within St M's, but I think it highly unlikely.
I have requested leave, in any case, if only so Luxovius Kerr cannot expect that I will accept fire calls at all hours to answer questions and provide care summaries about this patient and that whose fat files full of treatment notes he will not wish to bother reading. (You asked about his reputation: it is that he is interested in his own rather narrow research specialty and nothing else. He is not accustomed to seeing patients; rather, he studies research subjects, some of them at first hand. He is not said to be a particularly collegial presence in his department.)
In any case, I've been advised that whatever St Mungo's decide to do with me, I must apply within a fortnight of my severance from the school for my pension or forfeit that entirely (whether I'm to be formally retired or not), so off I've gone to the Ministry where I've sat for a day and a half with three dozen other petitioners waiting for my number to be called. On Monday afternoon, two persons were summoned into the inner sanctum whilst the rest of us waited; today, only one person was summoned all day. In fact it was two, but the second had just succumbed to an urgent need to step out for several moments and was called in absentia. When he returned and learned he'd been summoned, he went to the clerk only to be told he'd missed his window of opportunity and had lost his position in the queue. Mind you, they didn't call anyone else in his place. I overheard two of my fellows speculating that it is a ploy to keep people from claiming their pensions. I've yet to discover whether any of my companions have spent a full fortnight waiting in that reception, but I have begun to suspect that one's summons may be carefully scheduled for the day following the expiration of eligibility.
I'm sure this is more than you wish to know, Antonin, but I suppose I want to give you fair warning that I might, after all, need the help you offered in the event I have difficulty securing my pension.
In any case, thank you for your kindness in my time of distress. It meant a great deal to read your words of support and your expressions of shared purpose.