A New Routine -- ESTHER

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

october 24, 2028

Ophelia never thought she was one for the countryside. She and her brother had grown up in Surrey, with many trips to London even after both had started attending Hogwarts. For over ten years, Fee had called the city her home. She loved the bustle of morning rush hour, the late nights running around trying to find an open club, stumbling home at six in the morning with a sausage roll from Greggs (thank Merlin for Greggs). But her time at Lufkin had changed her. As she studied more and more, she realized that, while she had learned a lot from Saint Mungos, the way they had used her Empathy gift had always made her slightly uncomfortable, though she had never admitted it out loud. She had also gotten to work alongside the Healers at the school, and found she felt much more comfortable and at home with them. So the day after she graduated, she secured a trainee spot at the hospital wing and handed in her notice both at Saint Mungos and Madam Malkins. She was all in, and she was immensely grateful she was still young enough to make such a change.

She beamed brightly as she entered the Medical Ward to see the Head Healer Esther finishing up with a student. “Good morning, I heard they had cinnamon buns in the old Hufflepuff Common Room this morning so I grabbed you one,” she said, polishing off the last of her cinnamon roll before handing Esther one wrapped in a napkin. “Let me just wash up and I’m ready for whatever you need me for!” Ophelia went to the restroom and washed her hands thoroughly before returning to Esther and her daily assignments.

Esther Garnet

[Esther Garnet]

Today had been an exceptionally busy day in the Medical Ward. Admissions were through the roof and they were understaffed. Mostly minor injuries, several cases of contagious common cold, and an incident on the Quidditch pitch that had resulted in a pile-up of students in a domino effect flying accident had contributed to the increased amount of patients currently in care. These past few months, Esther’s typical day was focused mostly on paperwork. With an influx of trainees to supervise and assess against the curriculum, and her promotion to Head Healer creating more managerial tasks, these days doing actual patient consultation was becoming more rare.

She was sat with a young witch in a quarantined section of the ward discussing her cold symptoms. Internally, she was frustrated with the quality of some of her current trainees who were super green despite Esther’s attempts at building their confidence. It shouldn't be so hard to treat a cold! There was one particular standout who she had come to rely on, however, and the blonde was relieved to see her walking in the door.

“Thank Merlin you’re here.” she told Ophelia with a deadpan expression. She took the cinnamon bun from the witch with a smile of gratitude that momentarily replaced her air of fluster. Not that she would admit she had favourites, but the Hufflepuffs were definitely good on the gift front, and Ophelia was a breath of fresh air right now. She let the woman go to wash up and then when she returned, Esther turned her attention away from the patient back to her and handed her a vile. “Before you start, you should take this,” she advised her. The contents were a preventative measure from catching anything from the students.

Ophelia stated that she was ready and willing to get started and Esther stood up and ushered her to the front desk, picking up a piece of parchment with a recipe on it and handing it to her. “Now, have you ever made Pepperup Potion before?”


Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia nodded understandingly as Esther handed her the vial. She downed the contents and set the vial down, where it vanished to be sanitized properly. “Oh yes, though it did take me longer than most students in Potions to get it just right. I’m proud to say that the last ten times the Pepperup Potion I made were perfect.” She took the parchment from Esther. “Last time I checked the ingredients cupboard we were quite well stocked on what we needed, but judging from the look on your face we may need to put in another order for ingredients before the end of the day.”

With that, Ophelia opened a door leading to the small, but cozy, Potions station for the Healers. More than one of them could be in the room at once; indeed four cauldrons stood ready for use. But it was only her in here for now, so there was more space to spread out. Ophelia preferred this; she may have finally gotten the knack of potions, but she still used ALL her workspace (and sometimes a bit of another) to ensure perfection. She got to work, pulling down the ingredients needed and double checking the recipe at each step. Finally, the Pepperup Potion batch was simmering, so Ophelia came back out to let Esther know. “Just needs to simmer for five minutes, then it’ll be ready for distribution,” she informed her. “What’s next?” she asked after a moment.

Esther Garnet