Jane Yu felt as though she had been asleep for an eternity.
In her groggy state, the faint scent of potions tickled her nose—
Her mouth was pried open, and bottle after bottle of potions was poured down her throat...
"This is truly peculiar. I've never seen a patient who could eat themselves into a coma."
She heard whispers near her bedside—one voice young, the other mature.
"I think we can't keep giving her digestive potions, Hippocrates," the young voice said, "Clearly, potions aren't working. Maybe we should try some Muggle methods. You know, I've been researching complementary medicine. We could try washing out her stomach."
Jane suddenly felt that waking up might be her best option.
"What nonsense are you spouting, Augustus?" The older, more mature voice sounded, filled with unmistakable shock. "You can't just recklessly use those Muggle methods. Last time, you stitched up Mr. Weasley with a needle, and that was horrifying enough! Taking out the stomach, emptying it, and then putting it back? That's sheer madness!"
Jane couldn't help but shudder.
No! She thought, stomach washing definitely didn't mean taking the stomach out!
"That's not it." The young healer named Augustus corrected, "I've observed them. They insert a tube through the mouth into the stomach and pour some unknown liquid through the tube—but I think taking the stomach out might also be convenient—"
"Inserting a tube?" The healer named Hippocrates was horrified. "Don't be insane! You'll ruin St. Mungo's reputation—"
At this point, Jane felt cold sweat forming on her forehead and back.
"Alright," Augustus sighed. "Actually, I've studied the principles of the Gut-Wrenching Spell invented by Urquhart Rackharrow. Since that spell works, I think I could try inventing a Stomach-Wrenching Spell to make it less Muggle-like—"
"Augustus Pye! I don't want to be suspended with pay!"
Hippocrates loudly stopped his trainee healer from pursuing his medical experiments further.
Relieved that her stomach wouldn't be taken out and put back, Jane let out a sigh.
But in the next second, she realized she had relaxed too soon!
"Oh, Hippocrates, don't be too hard on the young man," Mr. Weasley's familiar voice chimed in. "His stitching method was quite interesting... though I guess the stitches were dissolved by the venom in my wound. Still, I think it's good to strive for progress."
Jane felt a tinge of confusion.
Why was Mr. Weasley hospitalized at St. Mungo's?
And who exactly had brought her here?
But before she could think further, Augustus continued speaking, and what he said next was utterly chilling:
"I think we should give my method a try. The Christmas holidays are almost over, and this child still hasn't woken up. Conventional methods clearly aren't suitable."
"Sigh, I've never encountered such a perplexing case," Hippocrates sighed. "I suppose as long as we're not taking the stomach out, it shouldn't be a big problem... If nothing else works, we could give it a shot. What kind of tube do you think would be appropriate, Augustus?"
Jane grew anxious and, with a sudden effort—
She finally opened her eyes and let out a shout:
"No, I'm awake!"
...
Almost the moment she woke up, the two healers eagerly surrounded her.
"Hello, I'm Hippocrates Smethwyck, your primary healer."
"I'm Augustus Pye, a trainee healer in the Creature-Induced Injuries Ward at St. Mungo's." The young healer pulled out a notebook and pen, scribbling away while casting her an expectant look. "How are you feeling, Miss Yu?"
Jane blinked slowly. She felt that the sensation of fullness had disappeared—
"I think I'm fine now. Thank you for your treatment."
She couldn't be sure, but she thought she caught a glimpse of disappointment in Augustus's eyes. Her intuition told her he might be a Ravenclaw...
Because Augustus seemed to be sighing repeatedly, lamenting his missed opportunity to practice stomach-washing techniques on her.
Her gaze wandered around the hospital room and quickly landed on another bed, where Mr. Weasley lay pale-faced.
"What a thrilling Christmas!" Mr. Weasley forced a lighthearted smile and made a dark joke. "You almost ate yourself to death, and I almost got bitten to death... Though we've both faced darkness, we have a bright future ahead."
Jane felt thoroughly chilled.
"How did you get injured?" she asked.
"Ah—got bitten by a snake while on duty—" Mr. Weasley said with a somewhat cryptic smile. "I didn't expect to see you here at St. Mungo's. Those two elderly folks told the healers you ate a bouncing umbrella mushroom and nearly burst your stomach while losing your mind, so they brought you to the Creature-Induced Injuries Ward—"
Burst stomach? Losing her mind?
She felt that what she ate in Azkaban... shouldn't have been a mushroom?
Something seemed off.
Wait... so in her dream... during her transformation... she found the Lemay couple?
"And where are they now...?" she asked uncertainly. "Did they seem alright? Was there a third person with them?"
"They were in a hurry when they left... They seemed fine, though the old wizard's bones weren't installed quite right," Augustus chimed in. "In fact, I suggested they try the latest Skele-Gro, especially for the old wizard. His pinky finger kept falling down, and his arms and collarbone were installed backwards. But for wizards of their age, such installation errors aren't a big deal; their magic is strong enough to sustain their bodies. I wanted to use my newly researched Bone-Wrenching Spell to take him apart and reassemble him, but his wife refused—"
Hippocrates quickly covered Augustus's mouth, preventing him from saying anything more outrageous.
"The two elderly folks left in a hurry," the exasperated primary healer dragged the "muffled" Augustus out of the room. "We need to do our rounds. Perhaps Mr. Weasley can answer your questions."
Jane turned her puzzled gaze to Mr. Weasley and asked:
"And Dumbledore, is he alright?"
But she noticed that Mr. Weasley's expression turned even more cryptic:
"He's doing fine—though handling Grindelwald and the Dark Lord on his own isn't an easy task. I imagine he's been quite busy."
He handed her a thick stack of newspapers, motioning for her to read the reports:
"Perhaps these past few days' papers can answer your questions."
Jane took the stack of newspapers, only to be stunned by the headlines alone!
"Dementor Uprising: The Return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"
"Azkaban Destroyed: Dual Assault by the Dark Lord and Grindelwald"
"A House of Cards! Fudge's Leadership Crumbles in the Ministry of Magic"
"Mass Resignation! Ministry Officials Call for Early Elections"
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