13

13: Mediwizard-in-the-Making (July 3, 2003 to July 5, 2003)

His first lesson with Poppy was more of a history and background session than he'd expected. It was all right though since he didn't really feel the energy to do much else despite the double dose of Pepper Up Potion he'd taken this morning. He was extremely grateful that Poppy's general enthusiasm about the subject matter made it intensely interesting for him. It was the direct opposite of Professor Binns' history class.

"If you are serious about studying medimagic," Poppy began sternly, "I expect a full commitment. I don't normally accept pupils after the 3rd year because it takes diligence and hard work to pass the MEDs (Medical Examination Disasters). But you come to me highly recommended by the Headmaster and your Head of House."

Poppy smiled at him reassuringly. "It doesn't hurt either that you've shone a remarkable aptitude in potions. That is a subject that many potential mediwizards fail to pass and thus are barred from apprenticing to a mediwizard until they are sufficiently skilled. It delays them quite a bit. It is because you already have a strong background in potions that I am willing to be your MED mentor. I will warn you that none of my students have ever failed to pass the MEDs."

Harry returned her smile with a grin of his own. He was up for the challenge. Vaguely he remembered that in his world, Hermione had considered being a mediwitch and had told him that the only examinations as challenging as the MEDs were the subject masters test like Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration. Though the way he saw it, nothing could be as bad as a Snape out to get him or Voldemort trying to kill him.

"Are you willing to study hard at everything I throw at you?" Poppy continued, her inquiry quite grave. "I expect complete focus. It's going to be difficult as it is to push five years of material into two years. Luckily, you already have a good grasp on potion making. No, all I have to do is drill medimagical theory and spells into you." She paused and stared at him hard. "Are you sure about this?"

He nodded. He was. "Yes."

"Well then," she remarked, "I need to give you some general information as I suspect you don't have enough strength left to attempt the healing spells. And as your resident mediwitch, I know you can use a break. But I do expect you to pay attention to me and not fall asleep. Understand, Mr. Biggerstaff?"

He nodded again that he did. By the end, Poppy had transitioned to calling him Bast and she'd cheerfully told him to call her Poppy. Her warning to him not to fall asleep was ludicrous. What she was telling him was far too interesting for him to even think of dozing off, even if it was a history lecture. It was simply too fascinating, considering he'd never thought he'd know what he wanted to be. He'd thought about being an Auror, but really he didn't think he'd make a very good one.

"Not all powerful wizards," Poppy began, "can be mediwizards, however when there is a powerful wizard that is one- the results are extraordinary. I'm sure you're wondering why, the answer is simple. You have to have a particular mindset to be a mediwizard, which most powerful wizards don't tend to have. You have to be an empathic, able to feel where the pain is coming from to be able to heal it. As a result, many potential mediwizards that never pass the MEDs make excellent therapists.

"It is rare to see a great empathic that is equally good at potions. Most are one or the other, though it is a requirement to be sufficient at potions. A mediwizard needs to be able to make simple healing potions, yet also needs to be empathetic to the patient. The empathetic quality is the reason that many fail to pass the potions part of the MEDs. Potions is a science, requiring an analytical mindset many empathic wizards lack. It's not particularly hard, advanced potion students like yourself will find it easy. The very few mediwizards that were good at potions made sweeping changes in medimagic with their potions since they understood medimagic and potion making in a way Potions Masters can't.

"As I've said, that is one of the reasons I've taken you on. I think you could be one of those few. From all that I've heard, you are also a strong wizard but I won't know until we test you if you have the gift of empathy that is crucial for mediwizards. What makes us different from muggle doctors is that we relate intimately with the patient and some very powerful mediwizards can use their own magical essence to revive another on the brink of death."

Poppy smiled proudly. "I have done it once myself, but only in the direst of situations. I saved Albus' life when You Know Who defeated him." Once she mentioned that however, her voice dropped off in trepidation as if she had said too much. Harry wanted to ask her about it, but she abruptly changed topics, "Mediwizards are broken up into 10 levels, level 10 being the highest.

"Most competent mediwizards at St. Mungo's are at least level 3. The medisurgeons that helped me with you were level 6, I suspect, or higher. The greater the level, the more powerful the wizard." Poppy turned her gaze to him to make sure that she wasn't boring him. "The mediwizards that are level 1 and 2 usually are most capable at potions, but lack enough empathy to perform on the field. They tend to supply St. Mungo's with most healing potions, but the more specialized ones are contracted to be done by Potions Masters.

"Even though this isn't a class," Poppy commented, shifting subjects again, "you will have homework practicing healing spells and the such. I won't have to assign potions for you to make because I already know that you make nearly all of the potions that I have stored." Harry's eyes widened with surprise that she knew and she just smiled indulgently. "Your labeling is much more readable than Severus' scrawl is. Other than that, I've seen no difference. He's taught you very well."

Harry blushed lightly at being complimented. "Thanks. I'm glad I can help him out."

"I'm sure he is too," Poppy remarked dryly. "He's always complaining to me about making the healing potions when he knows it takes me more effort than it does for him." She smiled almost impishly. "Besides, I abhor potion making, I only barely passed the MED potion section by the skin of my teeth. My empathetic abilities are quite another story."

"Really?"

Poppy nodded." Don't tell him that though. It'll only make his head increase. It's already big enough since he became the youngest Potions Master ever."

Harry chuckled, realizing rapidly that Poppy had a great sense of humor that he'd never known of. But then again maybe she was a lot like Severus, only opening up to people in her field. Or maybe it was simply because he wasn't Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. He was no longer the take a risk Gryffindor anymore that neither Severus nor Poppy liked, his Slytherin side had emerged from underneath the golden boy outer shell. It simply wasn't going to hide away any longer.

Poppy had to cough loudly to regain his attention. "You'll need to meet me twice during the school week and on Sundays. Got it, Bast?"

"Got it, Poppy."

~

After two weeks of juggling being a Potion Assistant and studying Dark Arts and Medimagic that barely left him time to breathe, Harry dropped the rest of his extracurricular classes. He took the required Charms, Herbology, History, Potions, and Transfiguration and that was it. Harry felt dreadful for the way he was treating his two best friends, but he simply didn't have time to hangout with them as much as he had. It wasn't like he could tell them about his other activities now could he? No, that had to remain a secret.

It was during one his mysterious disappearing acts after dinner that prompted Draco and Hermione to sequester themselves in one of the private study rooms in the Library to discuss Sebastian's situation. As it was, Draco and Hermione were dreadfully concerned about Sebastian. He didn't look exhausted yet, but they were betting that it wouldn't be long before tired lines marred his beautiful face.

"Do you know what's up with him?" Hermione asked sharply when they'd closed the door to the study room. "He's been acting awfully unlike himself. He's been sneaking off to do Merlin knows what! Doesn't he know how worried we are for him?"

Draco sighed and slumped down on one of the chairs. "Beats me," he muttered. "You'd think he'd tell me more than you, but no- I'm in the dark as much as you are. I wish I knew what he was getting into, but he won't tell me anything. Do you know that he doesn't come back to the room until almost midnight? I'd like to know the bloody hell what he's up to!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down across from him. "All I know," she remarked, "is that it's taking a lot of his time up because he dropped all his optional classes yesterday." Draco looked surprised that she knew that before he did, so she explained why she knew, "I overheard Professor Flitwick talking with Professor McGonagall about Sebastian's suddenly dropping Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. Whatever he's doing must be important and it must be sanctioned by his Head of House and the Headmaster. You are required to take those extra classes, you can't just take the requirements."

"Maybe, he's gotten a special class arrangement with Professor Snape. After all, he's quite good at Potions and you know that Snape likes him," Draco pointed out. "But still, it doesn't make sense. Bast is gone every evening and to top that off he's disappeared every Saturday and Sunday morning. Have you noticed we don't see him until noon at the earliest?"

Hermione nodded. "I've noted that, and that he doesn't tell us what he's doing half the time anymore. If he was just assisting Professor Snape, he would tell us. It's not like we don't know that Bast's is his favorite student. No, it's got to be something else."

"Yeah," Draco murmured lowly, but then got a mad glint in his silvery eyes. "I guess we don't have any other choice."

"Choice?" she asked with her perplexity showing.

Draco wanted to chuckle that the brilliant Hermione wasn't getting at what the 'don't have any other choice' was. Sometimes true geniuses simply didn't go about things in the usual fashion. Oh well, her skirting around the long way was a great big plus compared to Crabbe and Goyle. "Why," he drawled smoothly, "we have no other choice but to confront Bast of course. What other choice did you think we had?"

~

{2 months later}

Harry had no other choice but to tell Hermione and Draco about what he was up to. It wasn't like he could continue to hide it. After only three weeks of hiding it, he had broken down and told them that he was taking special classes with Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape. They took the news rather well, and were even helping him in keeping his mysterious disappearances from being too overly suspicious. It especially helped since his appearances to Quidditch practice were random at best.

But that still didn't mean that the hectic schedule was any less exhausting. The only thing that reassured Harry was that Poppy said that it would get better, that eventually he wouldn't need to concentrate so much on focusing on how to heal. His empathy would just open up without command and that it would instinctively reach for a person's pain to heal it. Until then, he had to concentrate hard, very hard to reach the source of the pain.

"Do you need a Pepper Up Potion?" Poppy asked with concern etched onto her matronly features when she saw Sebastian's pale face pop up in front of her. "You look very tired, did Severus have you stay up too late last night helping him with his potions?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it wasn't that. Had to finish all my homework that I let pile up." He smiled at her tiredly. "But I think I've gotten the healing spell that I had problems with last time down." He sat down on her desk with an ease that spoke of familiarity of having studied with her for two months. "Are we starting off with another theory lesson or getting into the practical stuff?"

Poppy smiled at him ruefully and ran her head through his always tousled dark hair that had grown quite a bit since the first time she'd seen him in his first dreadful accident. "Practical stuff this time, Bast." As she knew he would, he grinned when she said they were going to be doing spells. She shook her head, it was amazing how innocent and mature this young man could be. "So why don't you show me the healing spell?"

Harry flushed a slight red and muttered softly, "Do you have a knife?"

Poppy's eyes narrowed at that. "I told you, Bast!" she exclaimed, her eyes shooting fiercely at him with even more worry. "I told you, you were only suppose to practice the healing spell with chanting. You weren't suppose to actually cut yourself and try to heal yourself! Do you know how difficult that is?" She scowled at him and pulled him by the arm to a hospital bed where she pushed him to lay down on. "No wonder you're so pale! How many times did it take before you succeeded? How much blood did you lose?"

"Not too much," he admitted sheepishly while she glared at him. "I tried to do the healing spell by just chanting, but I couldn't do it like you did it. And you did say it was easier to attempt healing spells when there was something to heal, that it made the focus easier. So I just slashed my wrists a bit and well... healed them. It did take a while to get right though, but I didn't lose that much blood."

She sighed, relief filtering pass her initial mixture of apprehensive anger. "I suppose a small cut wouldn't be hard to heal, if you have enough of the gift." And Sebastian certainly did, she thought with pride in her student. He empathized at an astounding rate, something very rare since it took time for a person to really understand the intricacies of pain and be able to counteract that with medimagic. That combined with his potions ability, she was certain he was going to ace his MEDs. His only weakness was his medimagic theory or what was better known as the complete history, which was necessary but sometimes rather dull. She did try to make it interesting.

"But still," she said with heavy emphasis, "it is difficult for a mediwizard to heal themselves. It's the reason when there's war, so many of us die on the field. Did you even pay attention to my lesson last week about self healing theory?"

"Yes," Harry answered, "but from what you told me, I thought it only had to do with more life threatening injuries. Simply because you can hardly use your magical essence to heal yourself when you're on the verge of dying or even a healing spell since that takes magical energy out of you."

"That is true," Poppy responded. "But it is still very difficult for a mediwizard to do. It's much easier to allow another mediwizard heal you." She opened a drawer and retrieved some Pepper Up Potion which she handed to him. "Take this and I'll help you focus enough to do the healing spell without hurting yourself after I check to make sure you're all right so lie down and relax."

Harry had no choice but to comply. He rested and relaxed his body after he'd drunk the potion, letting his mind skim to other subject matters. When he felt the light touch of Poppy's full body reveal charm that showed if there was anything wrong with him, he tried not to react negatively to the invasion. He felt immensely relieved when he felt her stop probing into him. He guessed it was because he was more aware of what she was doing that it bothered him now.

She was pleasantly surprised that he had done no damage to himself that she needed to correct. Actually, he done a very good job at healing himself at any rate even if it was a minor cut. He had a better grasp on the practical matters of medimagic than she'd expected him to get initially. Even if he didn't think he was making good progress, she knew that he was. Not many of her previous highly selected students had ever been gifted enough to perform a healing spell that soon. It was remarkable really.

Taking his hand, she flipped it over and delicately traced the faint red line that marred the otherwise silky skin. She still felt the vague pull of his magical energy slowly erasing the potential scar, if she hadn't she would have healed it herself. No, none of his foolish antics were going to leave marks on this beautiful boy that she had grown quite fond of. "You healed yourself quite well," she complimented mildly. "There's going to be no scars, though I hope you don't try injuring yourself anymore to try out healing spells!"

"Yes, Poppy!" he exclaimed, glad that she didn't have that worried look on her face anymore. "So will you teach me how to do the spell now without having to have a focus?"

She rolled her eyes and ruffled his messy hair. "You still have to focus, but you will be not have to use a self-inflicted injury to focus on anymore." Poppy tilted her head to examine him in a rather motherly fashion, straightening up when she finished her thorough inspection. "Are you sure you feel all right?"

"Yes," he answered, "I'm fine." As if to confirm this, he got up out of the bed and walked around the room impatiently more than ready to being the practical lesson. "You gave me a double strength Pepper Up, Poppy, I'm about to bounce off the walls."

Giving him a look that said she didn't believe him, she nevertheless gave in to his pleading eyes. She couldn't deny him when he was trying to earnestly to learn. Besides, what harm would it do? If it wore him out, she'd simply make him take a Sleeping Potion to get him rested up. "All right," she responded with more reluctance than she felt. She didn't want him to think he did it easily now could she? "You already know that you need to say medicor sano forcefully, which is the case in any spell. It's very important to wave your wand gently, it's suppose to heal not to harm."

He nodded and took his wand out from his pocket. Waving it lightly in the air, he said firmly, "Medicor sano!" Unlike the time when he'd healed the cuts on his wrists, he didn't feel that threadlike connection that said the spell had been cast. He was about to try it again, but Poppy stopped him with her hand.

"Swish your wand with a light flick using only your wrist," she instructed him, taking his hand and demonstrated for him. "You need the strength of your mind behind the spell. You also need to reach out to the person, to touch their mind and to reach for their pain. It doesn't hurt to keep chanting it under your breath like this either: medicor sano medicor sano medicor sano. Okay?"

He smiled. "Yes, Poppy." And he did exactly what she told him to do. This time he felt a slight feeling that something was happening even if there was no wound to heal. It pleased him and he kept at it, continuing to chant until he felt himself grow lightheaded. He vaguely remembered hearing Poppy tell him to stop, but he didn't. He didn't and that was the last thing he could recall when the darkness came to snatch him.

Poppy sighed and levitated Sebastian to one of the beds. He'd overdone it again. Not that she expected any less of him, but really the young man did need to take her advice one of these days! She smiled fondly and brushed his hair back, away from his eyes. "Sleep well, Bast."