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The hospital wing was quiet for once. The beds were either empty, or the patients were sound asleep, tucked neatly into their cots. Katie found she didn’t like the Hospital Wing when it was empty. Not with the Carrow’s wandering the halls. It usually meant people weren’t getting the treatment that they needed. Madam Pomfrey was sorting through one of the supply cupboards, a tight expression on her face as she inventoried what they had on hand.
Katie didn’t need to see the clipboard Madam Pomfrey carried to know their situation was grim. Things had been pretty much the same for the last two or three years. Supplies were hard to come by or allocated for pureblood usage first. It was something that made Katie’s stomach boil.
“What’s that face for?” Madam Pomfrey's voice startled Katie enough that she dropped the deck of cards in her hand.
“ Nothing. Just lost in thought.” The healer of Hogwarts looked at her; it was as if Madam Pomfrey was looking right through her before she sighed and nodded her head.
“Understandable, all things considered.” The grim expression was back on the matron’s face as she briskly closed the cupboard before she sank into a chair next to Katie. “Supplies are the lowest they’ve ever been.” The two women shared a look but didn’t dare speak their fears out loud.
The walls had ears, after all.
“Hopefully, the next shipment is plentiful. Lord be willing.” On all that was sacred, Madam Pomfrey hated that phrase. It was one of the new requirements when the Dark Lord took over. Neither woman was brave enough to test it, not when they were Hogwarts' last line of defense against the Carrow twins.
Yet it was said with such sarcasm that Katie did her best not to laugh. The last thing she needed was one of the Inquisitor Squad to learn about this conversation. Their power had grown exponentially since Dolores Umbridge had been restored at Hogwarts per the Dark Lord’s request. While the Headmaster position remained with Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall had been forced out of her Deputy Head position. Thankfully, the Dark Lord had seen reason and allowed her to maintain her position as Head of Gryffindor house. Even their luminous Dark Lord was mindful of messing with certain traditions.
As far as Katie could see, it hadn’t boded well for staff or students. While most staff members did their best to help students fly under the radar, the Carrows had a habit of finding the right student to torment and the right curse to torment them with.
When the deck slipped from Katie’s hands, she instinctually waved her hand, catching it midair, even as they watched a lone card float to the ground. Madam Pomfrey bent down and picked up the card before she raised an eyebrow.
“How fortuitous.” She handed the card back to Katie with the first genuine smile Katie had seen in a long time.
Flipping the card over, Katie found The Lover’s staring back at her. Of all that cards to fall from the deck, it would have to be The Lovers card.
“A crossroads, choices, commitment, falling in love and partnerships,” Katie repeated the upright meaning as if she was reading from her Divination textbook.
“Ah, yes, but also disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values, and self-love.” Katie’s head snapped up at Madam Pomfrey’s declaration.
“I didn’t realize you had taken Divination.” At Katie’s words, Madam Pomfrey laughed.
“I haven’t. Officially, anyway. I took it up as a hobby once I was stationed here. There weren’t many injuries until Potter’s year started. It gave me something to do during my downtime.”
“I took it up until OWLs and then dropped it. Didn’t seem to be important if I wanted to become a healer, ya know?” Madam Pomfrey smiled, an indulgent thing, as their tea appeared before them. She poured out the tea in silence as Katie lost herself in thought.
“It’s got the crossroads part right.” Katie had waited so long to speak that it took Madam Pomfrey a moment to gather what she was talking about. “If there ever was a crossroads, this is it.” The matron gave her a motherly smile before she sighed and set down her tea cup.
“You’re talking about your trip, aren’t you?” When Katie nodded, Madam Pmpfrey pushed on. “Think of it this way. It takes a great deal of courage to do what you’re supposed to. Even if that means just staying alive. It takes an even stronger deal of courage to do what is right. The trip is important, right? It could help put an end to the madness surrounding you?”
Katie glanced around nervously before she nodded hesitantly. It was dangerous to talk about this within these walls.
“Then I say go for it. I’ll sign off on you heading elsewhere to get more specialized training. I suspect they’ll put a tracker on you, but as long as you’re in the general vicinity of where the training takes place….” Madam Pomfrey allowed her sentence to trail off as Katie breathed a sigh of relief.
That meant she had a cover story. One that even the Dark Lord’s lackeys couldn’t see through.
“Is there anything specific you’d like me to bring back for you?” Katie had never been to Honduras before, she didn’t know the landscape or political climate, but if The Collective needed her there, that’s where she would go.
“Oh, I’m sure some coffee or tea wouldn’t be remiss. I hear they’re known for their coffee. Anything they’ll allow you to bring back for the Hospital Wing wouldn’t be remiss either.” Katie smiled; the conversation was going just like they needed it to.
“Surely they wouldn’t stop me from bringing back supplies for the Hospital Wing? I understand I’m going for specialized training, but why not kill two birds with one stone?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Katie caught sight of a Slytherin student slinking away. Off to tell someone what they had overheard.
Yes, everything had gone exactly to plan.