The Silver Envelope

A Trip to the Healer's Office

Healer Robert Selwyn's office was located on the very top floor of a nondescript building in a quiet neighborhood of London. Draco supposed that elves would have to apparate straight into some part of the office to avoid detection from muggles, but he and Hermione planned to take the lift.
Before they'd departed, Hermione had popped out, claiming she had an errand to run. She'd left before he could stop her to ask where she was going. A short while later, she had come home carrying a silvery bundle and wearing a satisfied smile.
"I asked Harry to borrow his invisibility cloak," she'd explained.
Draco had been fascinated.
"I've always wanted to try on Potter's invisibility cloak," he'd said, running the silvery fabric through his fingers.
Hermione had smiled at that.
They had tried it on before leaving, to make sure it would fit over them both. Draco had to duck down a bit to make sure their feet were covered, but it would work. He was impressed with the cloak, if he was entirely honest. He'd never seen one so good. He wondered where Potter had gotten it from.
The dark lobby was easily broken into, with only a silent Alohomora letting them straight in. Under the cloak together, they had to shuffle slowly. The top floor, however, was warded with more complex enchantments. Hermione spent several minutes untangling them, picking apart the subtle notes of magic in the doors of the lift until they finally opened.
"Not too bad," she whispered as they exited. "Just a Ruthian cypher embedded into a basic Halabraxan-Lockheed enchantment. Quite simply undone with a decoding charm and a few counter-reasoning movements."
Draco looked at her, pulling a face.
"You're wasted on the Ministry, Granger," he said.
Hermione only looked away, turning a bit pink.
They shuffled into the office, past a plaque with Healer Robert Selwyn's name. The lights were off, and the place looked to be completely empty. Hermione performed a charm to scramble any surveillance devices before pulling off the cloak
Beyond the reception area was a small room which was set up for patients, a large laboratory, and a tiny break room. The room for patients seemed rather straightforward, so they both went to look through the laboratory instead.
Hermione again had to perform her lock analysis, but soon enough, they were both inside and examining the cluttered contents on top of the long workbenches that took up every possible inch of space. Hermione set the invisibility cloak down on a stool near the door as she walked in. Draco sneered at the unkempt state of the lab. Unwashed beakers were piled in the sink, spills of mystery substances had soaked into wrinkled, illegible notes, and--worst of all- unlabeled experiments were still sitting out, giving off a faint, noxious odor. Draco glanced at the ventilation area in the
corner, which was dusty enough to immediately tell him it was unused.
"If I kept my lab like this, I would probably die in a horrific accident," Draco said, disgusted.
"Look at the state of the sink! I bet he reuses his vials without washing them. Filthy
Hermione tossed him a curious look.
All too late, Draco realized he had said something he wasn't meant to.
"Er, forget you heard that, alright?" he said, clearing his throat uncomfortably.
Amused, Hermione turned back around.
"We're looking for blood," she reminded them both. "How much blood did you say the Master's Bond would require?"
"I would say at least seven or eight milliliters, or about your average vial," he said. "If he were at all civilized, they would be kept separate and labeled in a refrigerated area. However, I get the feeling that 'Healer' Selwyn would rather just chuck them anywhere," he mumbled.
Hermione furrowed her brows.
"Selwyn. I feel like I've heard that name before," she said.
*The Selwyns are a pretty well-known pureblood line," Draco reported. *Theodore Selwyn was a
Death Eater. I believe you encountered him at the Lovegood residence once."
Hermione's brows shot up.
"Do you think Robert is related to Theodore Selwyn?" she asked.
"Almost certainly, though I don't recall ever meeting him myself. But it doesn't mean much.
Pureblood family trees can get complicated," he said.
"I swear I've heard it somewhere else before," Hermione said, furrowing her brows as she thought.
Draco began opening cupboards, looking through haphazardly stored supplies. Truly, it was a miracle this building was even standing. Draco felt the urge to cap some of the chemicals Selwyn had left open, but he couldn't leave clues that they had been here. How someone as untidy and disorganized as this had ever finished training to become a healer, Draco would never understand.
"What is this stuff?" Hermione said. "There's so much of it."
She was standing in a corner where a large vat of some type of shiny, yellowish goo had been left completely uncovered. The look on her face told Draco that it must be partly responsible for the horrible, synthetic odor of the room.
"I have no idea, but I wouldn't touch it if I were you," he said with a grimace.
Hermione looked affronted as she said, "Don't worry. I think I can resist."
She opened the lower cupboards there, looking through with the light from her wand. Draco was amazed that even in this vile, creepy place, he still found it impossible to look away from Hermione's backside as she bent over.
"Draco, come and look at this," she said, startling him.
"Did you find blood?" he asked.
"No, it's something else," she said.
Her wand was lighting up a box full of small glass jars. Many of them were empty, but a few were still full of some type of white powder. Draco took an empty bottle, used his wand to make a copy of the label on it, and stored the label in his pocket.
"I don't know what it is, but we can look it up later," he said.
Hermione looked tense. She stared at the bottles with an odd expression.
"What is it?" he asked.
"What if that's the powdered poison that Harry found in my tea?" Hermione said quietly. "What if this Selwyn person is the one who tried to paralyze me?"
Draco took Hermione's hand, pulling her away from the cupboard.
"If he is, then I'll deal with him," Draco said matter-of-factly. "But for right now, we still need to find the blood."
Hermione nodded, shaking herself back into their mission.