The Infirmary

Everything you recognise is J.K. Rowling's.

Thanks to PyjamaPants for her hard work on my punctuation and her thoughtful discussion of the number of pupils at Hogwarts – I have elected to go with a larger number than Steve suggests in his Lexicon essay How Many Students Are There At Hogwarts?

Hermione went up to her guest-room to divest herself of her outdoor clothes, then collected her notes and made her way to the Headmistress's office. As she reached the gargoyle, it stepped aside and the wall behind split and disgorged a rather pale-faced boy of fifteen or so who was wearing Ravenclaw-badged robes. He looked startled at nearly running into her but nodded politely before hastening away. Hermione stepped onto the bottom step and was borne upwards to the Headmistress's door.

'Good morning, Minerva. Did you have that lad on the carpet?'

'Och, no. Mr Holdworth rarely presents a disciplinary problem. I had to tell him that his sister is in St Mungo's with dragon pox.'

'It's still going round, then?'

'Indeed. It seems to come in waves every few years. This strain seems to be particularly serious, especially with older children and adults who missed it when they were younger.'

'I didn't realise that it varied,' Hermione said.

'It's like the common cold; there seems to be a slightly different set of symptoms every time. And it's a lot less easy to treat than a cold. I'll need to let Poppy know just in case we get it here: Hogwarts has been relatively lucky in the past, but I suspect that we are more vulnerable nowadays.'

'I wonder if there's been any arithmantical analysis of the outbreaks?' Hermione mused. 'I don't know if there are any wizarding epidemiologists.'

'I have no idea, but I would expect such research to be based at St Mungo's or in your own department.' Professor McGonagall cocked an eyebrow at Hermione.

Hermione smiled. She was not allowed to discuss what actually went on in the Department of Mysteries or even to mention where she worked, but it did not require much insight for someone to realise that she was an Unspeakable from precisely those omissions. She said carefully, 'I am not aware of any current research in that area, and we are a small department. That doesn't mean it hasn't been attempted in the past. I'll ask around; it would fit in very well with my own interests.'

'I intend to speak with St Mungo's later today,' Professor McGonagall said. 'It may be necessary to trace young Miss Holdworth's contacts, and Mr Holdworth was home at the weekend a fortnight ago for a family wedding. I've sent him to Madam Pomfrey who will put him up in the old isolation ward, but if he's infected it's probably already too late.'

'How many students will be at risk?' Hermione asked. 'I can imagine what a full-scale outbreak would be like at somewhere like Hogwarts.'

'Not many, fortunately. Most wizarding children get it when they are small, and Muggle-borns don't seem to be susceptible. The biggest risk is to half-bloods who grew up outside the wizarding community: they aren't exposed until they come to Hogwarts.'

Hermione felt slightly relieved. As there had not been an outbreak during her schooldays, most of her information on dragon pox came from Hogwarts, A History, which mentioned several occasions when the disease had swept through the school, causing many deaths. However, Muggle-borns had not formed a large proportion of the school population until the middle of the twentieth century, and the book had not mentioned their immunity. 'Presumably Madam Pomfrey has records of who has already had the disease?'

'She's just looking out the records for me now. In fact, I wonder if perhaps you could postpone your work with the Elf Register for a couple of hours and go over to the infirmary? I know that there are several patients under Poppy's care at the moment who are taking up a great deal of her time and I'm sure she would be grateful for some help.'

'Of course I'll help,' Hermione said quickly. 'It's the least I can do.'

'In that case, I'll call Poppy and then you can go through the Floo here. No reason to hike through the corridors.' Professor McGonagall tapped her wand on the unicorn boss over the centre of her fireplace and a puff of powder was released into the flames so that the fire flared emerald green. She held a short conversation with Madam Pomfrey before stepping back and beckoning Hermione forward. 'Tap again and then step through,' she said.

Hermione tapped the boss and stepped in as the flames turned green again, saying firmly 'Hogwarts Infirmary'. She landed with a jolt in the narrow, upright fireplace in Madam Pomfrey's office, and as she stepped forward the matron immediately swished her wand. Hermione felt the ash and soot being sucked off her, even the small amount that had gone in her nose and eyes.

'Is that a medical decontamination spell?' she asked. 'It's brilliant. I normally have gritty eyes for hours after travelling by Floo.'

'It was a domestic spell, originally. In fact, Professor Flitwick adapted it from one used by house-elves; I believe that it was considered de rigueur to have an elf waiting by the fireplace to cast it on guests as they arrived for parties and so-on. Unfortunately, it is very directional so one cannot use it on oneself.'

'I'd love to learn it when you have time. It should be among a host's duties, and it would prevent people traipsing soot all over my flat. I didn't know that wizards could use house-elf spells.'

'Professor Flitwick has created several spells based on ones used by the elves here. I think they originate more spells than most people realise.'

'Really?' Hermione was intrigued. Another area of possible house-elf research, and perhaps one that her department might fund. 'Still, that's not what I'm here for this morning, and I know you're very busy. What can I do?'

'The student records are here,' Madam Pomfrey said, indicating several long wooden boxes that were lined up on a side table. 'I'm afraid I know of no magical method of searching them for the information we need, so you'll just have to look at each card individually. I suggest that you pull all the cards of students who are potentially susceptible and then separate them by house and birth. The one spell I can perform on them is to re-sort them into the boxes when we have finished, so don't hesitate to make as many stacks as seem useful. There's one box for each year. Well, I'll leave you to get on with it, if I may. I have a couple of students who are regrowing bones after an attempt to sledge down one of the staircases on trays, and they are rather uncomfortable at the moment.'

'Why the stairs, when there's all that snow outside?'

'Unfortunately, I asked the Headmistress to ban the younger students from sledging because it is so cold – most of them haven't learnt any warming charms yet. Energy spells require a lot of control. I should have realised that they would be inspired to circumvent the wording of the ban.'

Hermione laughed. 'Gryffindors?'

'Actually, an unholy alliance of Gryffindors and Slytherins. Anyway, I must get on. I'll be back soon.'

Hermione pulled up a chair and extracted the first card, for a Megan Ackroyd. Almost all the information she needed was in the header and the records of diseases suffered before entry to Hogwarts were just below, so she was able to reject Miss Ackroyd immediately as having had dragon pox when she was a toddler. The next, Jack Anderson, was a Muggle-born; the next four, purebloods who had already had the disease. Her next card belonged to a half-blood who had not had dragon pox, so she started a 'Ravenclaw susceptibles' pile and reached for another card.

After about half an hour, Hermione had eleven susceptibles from the first year box. She looked up as Madam Pomfrey came into the office and said 'It'll be lunchtime in a few minutes. Would you like to go to the Great Hall or have some sandwiches here? I'll be staying in the infirmary while my two miscreants are still so miserable.'

'I'll eat here and carry on. I know Professor McGonagall wants to Floo St Mungo's this afternoon and I daresay she'd like to have the numbers by then. I have eleven from the first year, and I'm about to start the second box.'

'I'll ask the elves for sandwiches for us two, then, as well as for Mr Holdworth. I don't think the Skele-Gro patients should eat anything until the stuff's out of their systems; it tends to make people queasy. I'll update the Headmistress while I'm on the Floo – at least fifty susceptible pupils, from what you've found so far.'

'What about staff?' Hermione asked.

'Heavens, I'll need to check the teaching and ancillary staff straight after lunch. Most are purebloods and half-bloods. I really have no idea if Professors Hagrid and Flitwick will be vulnerable to dragon pox at all. Professor Chambers and Professor Gowers are both Muggle-borns and thank goodness Firenze and Professor Binns can't catch it. I know Argus Filch must have had it – that's why his skin has that greenish tinge. That only happens to people who catch it after puberty.' She gave a distracted sigh and stepped over to the fireplace to Floo the kitchen.

By early afternoon, Hermione and Madam Pomfrey had established that they had fifty-six susceptible pupils, with most being in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and fewest in Slytherin, and probably only two members of staff, Professor Sinistra and Madam Pince. A quick Floo-call to St Mungo's elicited the opinion that half-giants could probably not catch dragon pox. Professor Flitwick, however, had had the disease as a child. 'But,' Madam Pomfrey said, 'that doesn't really help us be sure about Hagrid, because he had a non-human parent, whereas Filius's goblin ancestry is quite a way back.'

'Hogwarts might not get dragon pox at all,' Hermione pointed out.

'We have to assume the possibility, though. I really think we need a proper meeting with St Mungo's to take their advice on whether we should segregate the vulnerable pupils and whether we should risk Hogsmeade visits and the Saint Valentine's Day Ball. I'll just step through and suggest it to Minerva.'

'I'll bring the pupils' cards,' said Hermione, hastily collecting her possessions and following Madam Pomfrey through the Floo.

Madam Pomfrey gave the headmistress a succinct description of the scope of the school's potential dragon pox problem and repeated her suggestion that they organise a face-to-face meeting with St Mungo's. The headmistress, however, had anticipated them and told them that she and Madam Pomfrey were expected at St Mungo's at four.

'I would be very grateful if you could accompany us, Miss Granger,' said Madam Pomfrey.

'I hope that won't be an imposition, Hermione,' said Professor McGonagall with an apologetic smile. 'I'm sure that an extra mind will be helpful while we are agreeing the necessary arrangements, and Augustus Pye can be a little hard to follow when he is excited.'

'Of course I'll come,' Hermione replied. She wanted to meet Healer Pye.