The Dragon, The Sorcerer and The Witch Out of Time

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Page count: 9

It was three weeks after her birthday bringing it up to a total of five weeks since she'd arrived in Camelot, and Hermione found herself sitting on a chair outside the medical hut with Kenelm perched in her lap and a handful of parchment paper held in her hand. As she did her best to teach the young child to read, every so often she would look up at the three older boys, seeing them laughing and play fighting with the wooden swords Arthur had left behind earlier in the day.

Now that she'd seen to the majority of the citizens of the lower city and she only saw to a couple of patients a day, Hermione found herself with more free time and she had been using that to make a start on teaching Harrow about his magic and to teach Farley and Kenelm how to read. Farley had already had someone teach him the basics before his parents had died and therefore he was picking things up quite quickly, Kenelm, on the other hand, was much younger and finding it a little more difficult but bless his little heart, Hermione knew he was trying his best.

Her original plan had been to gather a group of adults and teach them to read so they could teach the children in the city, but Gwen had offered to take over and she'd been able to convince some of her neighbours to be the ones to teach others how to read and write. Hermione couldn't complain, it not only gave them a purpose, but it allowed her more time to spend on other things whilst the children were still being taught, there was no loser in the situation.

And now that it had quieted down, Hermione was able to spend more time teaching Charles about the lesser-known illnesses and showing him how to make the cures, remedies and tonics. He was an incredibly fast learner and he had more than earned her trust and his wage of five gold coins a week with the effort he'd been putting in. In a few weeks, Hermione had every intention of stepping down and putting Charles in charge of running the medical hut. She would give him free rein whilst being sure to be close should he ever need her advice or help and once he'd settled in and had learned how to run the practice, she would name him a fully qualified physician and pass over the mantle of lower city physician to him for good. And the best part, Charles had no idea what she had planned and she couldn't wait to see the look on his face when they reached that point.

As Hermione lifted her gaze to quickly glance at the three boys and make sure they were fine, she caught sight of Gwen approaching.

"Okay, I think that is enough for now. You're doing really well and we'll have you reading in no time," Hermione said to the child on her lap.

"Can I play with the others?" Kenelm asked with a wide grin due to her praise.

"Of course, little one, but be careful and remember what Prince Arthur said about the swords. They may not be sharp, but they can still hurt you."

Hermione lifted him off her lap and to the ground and he darted over to the patch of grass where his brothers were playing, though it seemed Charles was taking it more seriously than the others. Hermione set the parchment down and stood from her chair, smoothing down her dress and she quickly glanced around her, seeing no sign of Akela. He'd disappeared several hours ago, likely to have gone hunting and she'd sent Michel and Emerick off for a little break not too long ago, the only reason they'd agreed to leave being no threats had been made against Hermione and everyone that resided in the lower city seemed to love and respect her after everything she'd done for them. She wasn't alone as she had the four boys with her and she knew they wouldn't have gone too far either and they'd be within hearing distance so she could call for them if she needed them.

"Gwen," Hermione greeted with a smile as the other woman came to a stop before her, her eyes darting to the four boys and a laugh leaving her before she turned back to Hermione. "Did you leave something behind?" Hermione asked.