31

31: Medical Examination Disasters (October 16, 2003 to October 24, 2003)

"Where is Bast?" Hermione queried with a worried expression on her face when she saw her now boyfriend of one month coming over to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast with no sign of the dark headed Slytherin. She knew that Sebastian was stressed out, he had ever right to be. There were so many expectations being heaped onto his shoulders. He was one of the youngest ever wizard to attempt the MEDs. Most didn't attempt until after studying medimagic more extensively at the Wizards University.

"He's sleeping," Draco answered, dropping his head down to kiss her gently on the forehead. Hermione grinned, pleasantly surprised that Draco was willing to be so affectionate in public. She didn't think he was the type, then again he was continuously surprising her ever since he'd formally asked her out. "He was up 'til 5 this morning cramming the terminology last minute. I told him to give up, but he wouldn't.

"He determined to pass it the first time, even though most don't pass. Especially considering how young he is to take it, it would be astonishing if he did pass," Draco remarked thoughtfully. "I had to finally drag him to bed at 5 and dose with a mild sleeping potion that will let him sleep for exactly 4 hours. It should be enough for him. He has a long day."

"I think he can do it," Hermione stated with quiet confidence. "I think we've all underestimated what he is capable of doing. I personally didn't expect him to win the Triwizard, but he proved me wrong."

"Who could have expected him to win the Triwizard?" Draco scoffed. "My cousin was marked to win, but she didn't." He shuddered and Hermione squeezed his hand. "I can only hazard a guess what my aunt's reaction was to Sahar's failure to win. All that bitch cares about is victory. It's not that Sahar didn't do an outstanding job, she was sensational but Bast- Bast was unbelievable."

"Which is why," Hermione reasoned aloud, "I think he will do something extraordinary today."

"It's a 16 hour test," Draco pointed out pessimistically. "Most potential mediwizards take the test the first time to test the waters. They don't expect to do well enough to pass, it's just to get them experienced with the strenuousness of it. With the lack of sleep that Bast has gotten the past two weeks, I think he's about ready to collapse."

"But he knows the material," Hermione replied, being the devil's advocate. "I know, I've quizzed him about the information. He's regurgitated it to me perfectly. He knows it, and as long as he doesn't freeze up during the paper examination he'll nail that portion. And you know that Madame Pomfrey has the world of confidence behind him. She's said that he's the best pupil she's ever taught, and she's taught a level 7 mediwitch!"

"I still would rather prepare him for the worst than the best and have him disappointed," Draco murmured. "I don't want him to have any more pressure than he already has on his shoulders. Do you know that everyone in Slytherin House has been saying that they expect him to pass the examination with a high pass? I'd be thrilled if he low passed. I don't care, as long as he gets through this. It's not like it matters how he passes as long as he passes."

"A high pass does make a critical impression on the Wizards University," Hermione stated logically. "Not that it really matters since he won't need to study there, he'd go straight to St. Mungo's as an apprentice healer."

Draco nodded. "What time is it?"

"8:30," she answered, looking down at her muggle bought watch. "You have enough time to eat and then go back to the dorm to wake Bast up." She smiled at him and started putting his favorite foods on his plate. "You need to eat, Dray, I know you've been staying up just as late as Bast."

"Bast!" Draco shouted urgently. "You need to wake up!" When yelling at Sebastian failed, Draco reached over to violently shake his best friend away but jumped back when the half grown basilisk hissed warningly at him. He backed away while he pleaded with her, "We need to get him up, Signy. He has to go to the test. It starts at 9:30 promptly!"

For a moment he wasn't sure if she understood him or not, considering that he wasn't speaking in parseltongue, but when she gave a slight nod in her head he sighed in relief. It was a miracle what Signy could get Sebastian to do; it was rather uncanny. He watched with curiosity as Signy slid up Sebastian's chest and lightly flicked her tongue over his lips while hissing, {Wake up Sssebassstian. You need to wake up. You have a tessst. Sssebassstian! Get up!}

When her hissing failed to rouse him, she raised her tail up and slapped him sharply on the cheek. Harry flailed his arms up in the arm wildly and blinked around with unfocused eyes until his hands grasped the glasses that Signy held out for him with her tail. "What? What time is it? I didn't oversleep did I? I thought you said that it was only suppose to last 4 hours Draco! Oh my god, I overslept, didn't I? Is it too late? Oh Merlin!"

Draco's hand closed over Sebastian's mouth and he reassured immediately, "You have 30 minutes before the test starts, Bast. You have plenty of time to prepare, but," he declared firmly, "I do not want you to dare look at your notes. Relax. Breathe." His hand closed over Sebastian's arm to prevent his best friend from stealing a look at his parchments. "Look, you didn't oversleep and the potion was only meant to last 4 hours. It was hard to wake you up because you were exhausted. I'm going to drop my hand, all right? But take it easy."

Harry nodded and Draco dropped his hand. "Thank you, Draco," Harry responded gratefully. "I don't know what I'd do without you. I guess I really did need the sleep." Draco gave him a look that said he definitely needed it, there was no uncertainties about that. "Thanks again."

"Don't only thank me," Draco remarked, gesturing to Signy who had curled up into a ball on Sebastian's lap. "She's the one that got you up when I failed to have any affect on you. She's the one you should really be thanking for, for slapping you into awake mode."

{Thank you, Sssigny.}

{You are welcome,} Signy responded primly. {Now I want breakfassst.}

{I can't get it for you today.}

{I know,} she replied understandingly. {You have a tessst. Draco may bring it to me. I want a pint of warmed blood. That'sss all.}

Harry blinked, astonished that she was being easy for once. Usually Signy was difficult or not nearly so difficult, but she was never easy. Never, until now. He was infinitely grateful to her for being considerate. Then again, when he really thought about it, she usually was. {You know thisss tessst lassstsss all day and I won't ssssee you until later tonight?}

{I know. I sssuppossse I can wait for my next meal until then.}

{Do you want a more sssubssstantial breakfassst then?} he queried with concern.

She shook her head. {No. I can't ever eat heavily thisss early. Now, you mussst go or you will be late and you need to eat!}

{Yes, Sssigny,} Harry responded with a soft chuckle. He bent his head down and kissed the top of her head. If she were a bird, he'd swear she'd preen and gloat. She loved the affection that he showed her. It wasn't surprising really; she adored any attention he lavished on her. When he was sure she was comfortable on his bed, he turned to Draco and told her exactly what she wanted.

"That's no problem," Draco remarked. "And I brought your breakfast with me. It's on the dresser. While you eat it, I'll get the stuff that you'll need to bring. Hermione gave me a list before I came here."

Harry nodded and got up out of his bed and started wolfing down the food. He was glad they'd finally started dating. It'd taken them nearly two years to get to this point, and they really should have broken the ice much sooner. Not that the wait hadn't made it better, it had. The way Draco had asked her had been incredibly sweet. It surpassed the normal Malfoy excessiveness, and that was a feat.

The extravagance was well worth it to see the pure joy on Hermione's face. She deserved to be happy, Harry thought, and so did Draco. He still couldn't believe that Draco had gone to the trouble of spreading rose petals across Hermione's private room as Head Girl and left a single rose with a note attached that said, Will you be mine? How in the world was Draco going to surpass that when he asked her to marry him?

Harry didn't doubt it would happen. It was going to happen; it was only a matter of time. They were perfect for each other in a way he hadn't thought possible. He'd always thought Hermione had been meant for Ron, but he was being proven wrong in a drastic way. He didn't mind, as long as Hermione was happy. "What time is it, Draco?"

"You still have 20 minutes, relax Bast," Draco retorted but his tone was warm. He understood why he was so anxious. There was so many expectations that everyone had for him. What if he didn't live up to it? If anything, Draco understood this better than anyone. Especially since as the Malfoy heir, he had to deal with the familial obligations heaped onto his shoulders all the time. "You are supposed to get there at 9:30, but the exam doesn't really begin until 10:00."

"But I should be on time," Harry protested.

"And you will be," Draco reassured. "Just leave everything to me."

Where was Sebastian? In less than a minute he would be officially late for his MEDs. He certainly didn't need to be here at exactly 9:00, but Severus was worried about his best Potions student. Progressively over the past two weeks, Sebastian had been eating less and sleeping less, which overall contributed to his haggard appearance. He'd be glad when this was over. Not that Sebastian had much to look forward to, Severus thought wryly, since he'd be preparing like madness for his Potions mastery.

But at least he wouldn't be the only student preparing for a subject mastery. Severus knew for a fact several students were, some having much better chances than others. However, he knew that only Sebastian was actually going to take the mastery examination. The rest were just preparing for the further courses they'd take at a University. Severus personally knew that both Hermione and Draco were going to be in and out of Hogwarts with their Professors mentors.

He knew that both of them were trying to get into the Wizards University, only the most prominent European upper level magical theory school. And even then, the program that Hermione and Draco wanted to get into was even more exclusive as it turned out a nearly 100% strike rate for mastery passes. If a wizard wanted to pass a subject mastery, the Wizards University was the place to go.

Sebastian didn't need it though. Severus had all the confidence in the world that Sebastian would be able to pass the mastery without too much difficulty, especially since he had the entire summer to get the young man ready for it. Besides, it was a matter of pride for him that Sebastian did well. The youngest ever Potions Master teaching the youngest Potions Master in the last decade.

"I'm here," Harry gasped as he barged into the room. "I'm here, I'm not late. My watch says I'm precisely on time." He pointed wildly to his watch, where it did indeed show that. "I'm sorry for cutting it close, but-"

"Relax, Sebastian," Severus responded dismissively. "Poppy isn't even here."

Harry sighed with relief and collapsed into a chair that was nearby. "I'm so tired," he groaned. "I'm exhausted."

"That's because you've been overworking yourself," Severus replied pointedly. "And you haven't been getting any sleep."

Harry had to agree. But it hadn't seemed like a bad idea at the time. "But I know the material now," he responded. "I really know it."

"You knew it before," Severus muttered, running his hand through his raven black locks. "I'm here to give you the rules, the schedule, and any other information you require. I will also administer the written examination before Poppy gets here to give you the practical examination." He reached onto the desk for the stack of parchment that composed the written portion and the rules which he needed to read. "You have until noon to complete it, exactly 120 minutes starting at 10:00.

"Then after that, you will get a 30 minute break for lunch and you will be given 30 minutes to be transferred over to St. Mungo's for the practical portion of the exam. I have no idea about the specifics of what it will contain, but it will be several tests that will test all your knowledge of medimagic. That portion of the MEDs is precisely ten hours long," Severus continued reading from the parchment in his hand. "Do you have any questions about anything before the written portion is scheduled to begin?"

"What if I fail?"

Severus scowled darkly, he hadn't meant a question like that! "You won't fail, Sebastian," he answered firmly. "Because if you do, Poppy will be very upset at you. Not to mention, I'll be very upset with you." From the confused look on Sebastian's face, he obviously didn't know why. For a brilliant young man, Sebastian was surprisingly clueless at times. "If you don't pass the MEDs, Poppy will no doubt have you on a short leash to retake the examination at summer's end. That would interfere with you taking the Potions mastery."

It was all about Potions for Severus, wasn't it? Harry had to grin secretively inside. "I understand," he replied solemnly. "I have no further questions."

Severus glanced up at the clock on the wall. It read 9:45. "We still have to sit here for 15 minutes until it's 10:00. We can't officially begin until then, and I cannot hand you the test until 9:55."

So they sat there in companionable silence until it was 9:55, with Severus staring anywhere but at Sebastian. It gave Harry the perfect opportunity to be able to gaze at Severus without drawing any suspicious looks. He couldn't do that anywhere else, considering he didn't want anyone to know. Draco knew, but Draco was also his best friend. Even Hermione didn't know, and in some ways he was closer to her than Draco.

Severus wasn't beautiful, not in the classical sense. Definitely not, but that didn't stop him from being striking in his own special way. Severus was special; it was a pity he'd never realized it before. Was this Severus different from the one he knew back home, or was it just that he had changed? He wasn't sure if there was an easy answer. And he'd probably find out soon, his friends back home had to have found a way for him to go back.

He'd miss it here though. But he needed to go back. He needed to, and he didn't care how dangerous it was. It was dangerous staying here, he had to let Dumbledore see that. If he didn't become a Death Eater, he knew that Voldemort would have no choice but to kill him. His life was at stake. But he was going to miss it here. God, he was going to miss Severus and what could have been.

It was easier this way, right? Leaving before getting involved, right? He didn't know. He doubted he could have a relationship with the Severus back home. And he would always wonder what could have been. The question was, did he approach Dumbledore about going back home at the beginning of the summer or at the end? He sighed. The summer with Severus was going to an intense experience; the sexual tension between them was only going to worsen.

"It's time," Severus declared, distracting Harry from his musings and sending panic waves rushing into his mind. He should have been thinking about medimagic theory! Not about Severus! Damn it! "Once I pass the exam to you, there can be no more talking in the room until you've handed it back to me. The instructions are on the top parchment."

Severus placed the many parchments on Sebastian's desk and went over to the desk at the front of the room to sit down. It was going to be a long two hours. He only hoped Sebastian did well. The panicked look didn't bode well. Not at all.

He filled parchment after parchment until he was certain that he'd written more than he'd ever written for any assignment in his life, even for Severus' 7th year Potions study project. If it had been required to be one parchment long, it would have had a diameter for a foot, it was that much writing. By the time he was done, Harry's hands were sore and aching. Even being allowed to use a spell that would allow him to write with his left hand hadn't done him much good when he'd written enough to make both hurt.

But he was finally done. He stacked the parchment together and brought it over to Severus who waved his wand which bounded the parchment together in book-like format. "Thank Merlin that's over," Harry declared with relief. "My hands feel like they're about to collapse."

"So how was it?"

"Terrible."

Severus raised an eyebrow. He didn't believe for one instant that Sebastian had done 'terrible.' He knew that Sebastian knew the material. "It's only 11:45. If you had done terrible," he remarked logically, "you wouldn't have been done early."

"It wasn't that bad," Harry admitted. "There were some random things I didn't know, but I should be fine. As you can tell," he rubbed his hands together, "on the long essay portion, I filled the parchment. None of it was irrelevant, I just hope I got it all. There's just so many ways to approach how to heal someone, and I didn't want to limit the options. I-"

Severus' hand closed over Sebastian's mouth. "Let's go get you some food, and you can tell me about it while you eat. I wouldn't want you to pass out on the next portion of the test, and that's the long portion of the exam."

"But it's practical application, and I'm always better at that."

"You're good at Potions theory."

Harry blushed lightly. "I have a good Professor."

He had never been more grateful for Poppy's instruction than he was when he flooed over to St. Mungo's and found that all the mediwizards were busy in surgery when a terribly injured witch arrived at the same time that he had. Poppy had decided right then that it would be the perfect test for his abilities even though he protested greatly. He didn't have enough skill to do something like this! He expected a series of small test, not something like this that would encompass everything that he'd learn!

He wasn't even certified yet! But Poppy reassured him since she'd be in the room with him, and she would make sure that nothing went wrong. And that she had all the confidence that his intuition would lead him well, like it always did. Besides, she'd be there if anything went wrong to guide him and even interfere if need be. As she pointed out, there was no one available immediately and no matter what way he wanted to look at it- it was a two mediwizard job.

She would stand in as his assistant instead of being the actual active mediwitch. If it wasn't so instinctive for him, if he hadn't had as much preparation as he had had- he would have been shaking. As it was, he didn't know how he wasn't trembling. Harry took a deep breath and did what Poppy advised him to do. He let instinct and intuition take over. His body knew what to do, and his mind would only over think things.

Harry stood over the badly injured young woman and unthinkingly let his mind reach out to touch hers. He had never felt freer as he delved into her being, it was like he was free floating. Falling into her, he'd never had an easier time of trying to sift out where the pain was coming from. It came naturally. Thank Merlin, he thought as he found the source rapidly, but cringed when he really took time to take it in.

It was a head injury. He knew that it wasn't any different from any other type of injury, just infinitely more fragile. Harder to work with, only the best mediwizards were capable of this. He glanced over at Poppy with panicked eyes. He couldn't do this; she had to step in. There was no way, no way! "You can do it, Bast," she told him assuredly. "I believe in you, and remember I'm right here with you."

He wasn't ready, but she believed he was. There was no one else he respected more in their chosen field, with the exception of Severus, than Poppy. Cupping the young woman's head gently, he starting chanting the healing spell. He felt the magic pour from him, but he had to be careful in how to direct it. Too much would cause damage. It had to be aimed precisely and exactly. There were no in betweens with this.

Carefully, he pointed the magic he'd summoned to stop the internal bleeding that was causing her head to swell to a dangerous level. Then he diverted some of the magic to slowly rebuild the walls of the ruptured blood vessel. When he was done, he had to cautiously reattach the broken link together. The really tricky part about the procedure was that if there was too much magic it'd cause even more damage, and if there wasn't enough the blood vessel would remain as it was- unfixed.

Several times, he had to catch the flow of magic that was threatening to leak out. It was hard controlling it, but when he felt confident that his magic was under control he began the nerve-wracking procedure to heal the young woman. Every detail needed precision, and he delivered to the best of his ability. His mind and magic were concentrating on so many things at one time that he didn't know he didn't collapse from the internal pressure.

When he finished linking the last broken blood vessel, he collapsed onto his knees next to the young woman's bed. He was exhausted, but relieved that nothing can gone wrong. But an infernal anger arose in him. Why were there not enough mediwizards to handle this situation? Why did he, an untrained student of medimagic forced to do this? What would have happened to her if he hadn't been there? His insides turned cold at the thought.

"You did a wonderful job," Poppy commented sincerely, " and in record time too. It only took you 6 hours to complete the intensive surgery." She held her hand out to him. "Are you all right?"

Was he all right? Shouldn't she be checking over the young woman? "Of course, I'm all right!" he exploded. "But what about her? How could you just sit there and let me do all the work? What if I had killed her? I couldn't live with that!"

Poppy placed both hands on Sebastian's shoulders and got down on her knees so that they were on even grounds. "Sebastian, it was not really a person. This was only a test, and you passed. You more than passed, and in a few moments the Council of Mediwizardry will come in and tell you officially how well you passed. They were watching overhead." She gestured to the white ceiling. "And the young woman, she's not really a young woman at all. She's a cat that they happened to find that was grievously injured by a muggle car."

His raging emotions were soothed. But he didn't know if he should be more upset that he was tricked or relieved that nothing bad would have ever happened if things had gone wrong. "Thank Merlin."

"All MEDs are conducted like this, with animals abused by muggles being transfigured into humans and given to potential mediwizards," Poppy explained. "That's why it's the best test. It tests your ability to adapt to the unexpected. You never know what to expect. And you did a good thing, Bast, without you this poor cat would have been dead. You saved her."

"What will happen to her now?" he queried.

Poppy smiled. "She'll be placed with a wizarding family of course. Unless," she remarked suggestively, "you have an idea where she might find a home."

The Hermione that he knew back home had loved cats, and this Hermione didn't have a familiar. This cat would be perfect for her. "I know just the witch," he told her, "for her."

"That's good," Poppy murmured, standing up and giving her hand to Sebastian to help him up. She noted that he had given his all to the MEDs, something not many mediwizards could do. There was no doubt in her mind that he was going to be a great mediwizard, the only question was what would the Council say? She and they didn't always see eye to eye.

Some things Sebastian had done had been questionable, but overall he had shown sound judgment and superb adaptability.

Just as he straightened up, Poppy heard the door opening behind her. She stiffened her back as she turned to face the Council, composed of the representatives from the International Council. The expressions on all their faces were grim. Next to her, due to her superior empathy abilities she felt Sebastian tense up as much as she had. All they could do was to wait and see. Wait and see.