Harry Potter and the Ties that Bind

Chapter 30

Saint Mungos hospital had several patients already inside when he and Sirius entered. There was a young child sitting on the chair, kicking his legs back and forth as he belched out green bubbles. An older gentleman sat several meters away from the kid, several lumpy, undulating protrusions growing from his body at random.

Harry walked up to the front, Sirius trailing behind him. He stopped in front of the register. "Hello. I'm Harry Potter, and I'm here for my appointment with Ms. Emily Smith."

The woman behind the register, a plump woman with large lips, jerked at his name. She looked up and her eyes widened. "M-Mr. Potter. Emily has been expecting you. If you'll fill out this application form, I will let her know that you are here."

Harry took the application form offered, thanked the woman, and filled out his form using the quill that the woman had provided. After handing it back, the woman stood up and left. Harry assumed she was going to let Emily know that he was there.

"Saint Mungos... it's been a long time since I've been here," Sirius said as he and Harry sat down.

"You're probably going to be coming here a lot more now," Harry said. "While my potions have done a good job healing your body, there might still be some problems they didn't fix. You'll need to be checked up at least monthly."

Sirius grimaced. "I'm not a big fan of getting check ups."

Harry felt his lips twitch. "I think you might change your mind once you meet Ms. Smith."

As if his words were a magic spell, Ms. Smith walked into the room. She looked just as he remembered. Her long, black hair swayed behind her. She wore a mediwitch overcoat, which swished as she walked. A youthful face with brown eyes, lush lips, and a pink blush on her cheeks reminded Harry that this woman was still only in her twenties.

Sirius looked like he'd been struck by Cupid's arrow. His eyes were wide, and there was a large blush staining his cheeks. Before Ms. Smith could even open her mouth, he was before her, smiling in what Harry guessed was supposed to be a suave look.

"I had no idea the doctors at Saint Mungos seconded as angels. Do you think you could heal me? I'm suffering from heartache, and only you can fix it for me."

Ms. Smith took one glance at him, and then walked around him as if he wasn't even there. Sirius's jaw dropped as Ms. Smith stopped in front of Harry and began speaking. "Mr. Potter, it's a pleasure to see you again. I read about what happened recently. You have my condolences for your loss."

Harry knew that Ms. Smith was being courteous, but he didn't want to talk about the past, not now, not here. "Thank you. A lot has happened, but I'm fine now. More importantly, I think something is wrong with my magic."

"So I've heard. Come on back and we'll give you a check up." Ms. Smith turned and began walking away. Harry looked at Sirius, who remained frozen in place, and then followed Ms. Smith.

Footsteps behind him alerted Harry that Sirius was following. Ms. Smith lead them into a medical room and bade Harry to sit down on the hospital bed. As he did, Sirius walked over to a wall and leaned against it, crossing his arms. Ms. Smith took out her wand and began performing basic diagnostic spells.

"So, what seems to be the problem?"

"My magic has been fluctuating wildly. Some of my spells have been overpowered, out of control."

"Overpowered in what way?"

"Such as when my glacius spell froze an entire barrel and the ground around it when I was only trying to put out a fire, or when my levitation spell sent an object flying toward the ceiling instead of hovering above the ground. I once used an augmenti, and instead of shooting a small stream of water, it sent a jetstream that nearly broke the trunk of a tree."