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[alt_poppy]

I have very good news to report -- very good news, indeed: this morning, young Mr Boot arrived for his usual Friday hours in the hospital wing, spot on time, just as though he had not been missing for three weeks.

He was pale and even more quiet than usual, but he appears to be physically well and seems for the most part to have been adequately fed. I insisted upon giving him an immediate wandpoint examination, and he submitted to it willingly enough. His muscle tone is rather weaker than usual, and his reflexes diminished, which makes me think he has been so closely confined he could not move about. He cannot hide that he's feeling stiff and sore. Not that he complained, mind you. Indeed not. His anaemia is back, too; I suspect he was not allowed any meat during his captivity. I made him take a dose of VitaMite, which he drank down resignedly (he does hate the taste so). But otherwise, he has the full use of his limbs, and no additional scars of any kind that I can see.

I'm afraid, however, that while he is, for the most part, physically well, he is not sound. Not at all. He became quietly distressed when the door to the room was closed; upon noticing this, I immediately opened it, which seemed to ease his mind somewhat, but he never, during all the time he was here, turned his back towards it. His skittishness about being approached from behind is even more marked, and I could not, for anything I tried, make him look me in the eye or entice him to tell me what has been done to him. To all such questions, he merely answered: 'The mudblood was where Master wanted.'

I pressed him, but really I couldn't bear to interrogate him. What he wanted was to work, and so we did.

I must say, it was a great help to have him again. I've been rushing from pillar to post these past weeks what with the continued crush of students in need of my care and the absence of both my young helpers. (The cost of this situation came clear in a most unfortunate way yesterday afternoon when I dosed a peaky Ravenclaw with Pepper Up only to find it had been tampered with. Minerva: it would seem that I do, indeed, have mischievous 'mice' in my cupboards and will need to consult with you on how best to set a trap for them.)

You can see, then, why I was, on all accounts, most pleased to have Mr Boot back with me this morning -- I was so very relieved that he is in one piece (if not entirely whole), and I was also selfishly pleased to have someone who could share the folding and cleaning and scrubbing and setting straight that must be done of a morning.

Now if only I could have Miss Granger restored to me, we might put things back to rights here, get some necessary brewing done, and subject the stores to the thorough examination they obviously require.

Is there any chance of that, do you suppose? Surely she needs to be kept usefully occupied while Mr Marvolo is in lessons. I can promise without stretching the truth that there is work enough here to keep her and three others busy all day every day.



Well. Whatever the elves served for lunch must have agreed with more tummies than usual: I rarely have enough quiet moments all at once to allow for writing! (Though saying so will probably jinx the entire afternoon.)
 

Comments

[alt_molly]

My goodness, that is excellent news about Terry Boot. And yes, what a relief. The twins will certainly be delighted.

(Hermione, have you had an opportunity to speak to him? Was he a bit more forthcoming with you?)

As for the 'mice' in your stores . . . any other signs of depredation? I assume this your first discovery of this sort of thing since your last inventory, and when was that? Anything else missing? What were they after?

[alt_poppy]

I'm afraid the twins will be distressed when they see the lad: he is so markedly withdrawn, a mere shell of himself, really. I hope your boys will not allow their anger to get the better of them this time.

Ah, the mice. There was trouble in January, you know, and I was hoping it was simply a wobble in my daily inventory charms -- and it seemed that everything had reconciled perfectly this past month. Alas, the culprit struck my liquid stocks this time, taking a bit here and there and topping up the contents! I shall have to check each and every vial, flask and bottle for tampering now, so I'm not entirely sure whether there is a pattern to the pilfering or whether they've simply taken whatever came most easily to hand. They were clever, though, with the Pepper Up: whatever they used to make up the volume did not alter the smell of the stuff and scarcely affected its appearance. It wasn't until the poor lad I was treating became quite suddenly and dramatically sick that I realised anything was amiss.


We shall catch them, though, never you fear.

[alt_molly]

Has Terry been around since your last inventory? Because if not, that is one unexpectedly bright spot about Carrow making him disappear for the better part of a month: apparently he cannot be blamed. What other suspects could there be? Do you have a sign in/sign out sheet for students, or any kind of ward upon the supply cabinets, especially at night?

[alt_molly]

Oh, dear . . . Hermione. Not that I think of blaming her, of course, but I'm sure other busy and malicious minds might be only too happy to do so, given the opportunity. Is this going to make trouble for her?

[alt_poppy]

It's absolutely not our Miss Granger, but you are quite right to fear what conclusions others might reach. For this reason, above all, I want to catch these thieves before there's need of any official enquiry.

I think I know just the thing for it, too, if I can get Minerva's endorsement. The question is how long it might be before the culprits strike again. They seem not to have been foolhardy about it, so I imagine they will pick their moment carefully.

[alt_poppy]

Mr Boot, at least, cannot be a suspect as his absence makes it impossible that he could have been involved. And before you go worrying about this yourself, I think it highly unlikely that your twins will be suspected: I haven't seen anything of either of them during young Boot's absence, though they were quite regular visitors here before that.

Of course, I keep records of all of the pupils who come for treatment and there is a sign-in form for those who pay visits here, although we have had such a busy several months that it's possible some have slipped past the register without signing it. Still, it gives us a place to start.

The cupboards, as you say, are charmed tight at night, so it's likely the theft has happened in broad daylight and has gone unnoticed amidst the chaos. It's not practical to have every dose security charmed: imagine having to lock and unlock, hex and unhex things that are needed umpteen times a day at a moment's notice. Of course, there are certain medicinals that I keep in much more secure storage, but the common draughts and ingredients must be kept close to hand -- and it's those items that have been disappearing.

[alt_arthur]

I must confess, that is a load off our minds about Fred and George. They hardly need any more trouble at the moment.

[alt_alice]

good to hear, Poppy.

[alt_poppy]

Oh, it was such a relief to see the lad. You can imagine!

But, Alice, to see him so broken... it would break your heart. If you had saved only one child from this fate, it would be worth all the danger and personal sacrifice you've invested -- and you've done so much more than that already. Just, please know how valuable it is, all that you're doing there.

So very important.

[alt_alice]

Oh, Poppy...

I can't help but feel responsible for Terry. And Hermione, and Dennis, and all those other little ones we weren't able to get to in time. It breaks my heart every time I get news of them, or they write anything in these journals. I can hardly bear it sometimes.

If I could wrap my arms around that little boy and never let go, I would, and I'm just so angry that he's there instead of here, where he should be. I should have been there for him. I should have been there for all of them, but I wasn't.

...I'm so sorry. I've had a long day, and I've been so worried about Terry and Hermione as of late.

[alt_molly]

They're not entirely alone, though.

I know that you feel badly them, about Dennis in particular. But remember that we were able to save his brother, and maybe he will meet Colin someday. And at least Hermione and Terry can turn to each other. Neville and the twins, and even my Ron are looking out for them. And, well, Poppy and Minerva may be . . . astringent, but they care for and protect them.

Still, I know what you mean. It's all a piece of the madness of the world we live in, I think, Alice: you sent your own babes to Augusta so that you could save and raise other children. I'm helping to raise Luna, and knitting socks for children at Sanctuary and the camps, and sending clothes with cheering charms to Terry, while my own boys are at Hogwarts where Minerva and Poppy are looking after them!

You do what I do: you hold a child and pretend it's your own, and just trust, somehow, that the love you're pouring in will be felt by your own.

[alt_alice]

I've had a cuppa, and a bit of a cry, and I feel much better now.

You're right, of course. I'd rather they all were at Hogwarts with our Minerva and Poppy to keep a sharp eye on them. And your boys, and my Neville, and Remus too.

There are some little ones down the hall that are always up for being held a little. I think I'll stop in before bed.

[alt_arthur]

As for the young Boot boy, I've seen this sort of thing in the camps quite often, you know, broken spirits, I mean. He may recover. He is quite young, and the young can be very resilient. You and Hermione can help him, if you remain his friends and do not push him too much, especially since we have no idea what he has been through, those missing weeks. Take things slowly, and eventually he may remember that there are people in the world that he can trust again.