Chapter 71: Road to Recovery, Lesson, Closure (2/2)
”But whatever it is, don't ignore it. Think about the incident and get some closure, whatever, to put this behind. I didn't get closure for a long time, and I don't want you to go through the same. So, just make sure that you have no lingering regrets about it,” Alan tapped the table in between them, and Quinn felt the taps on his shoulders. ”Believe me, it will do you good. Clear things when they are fresh. Don't put out things for later and work while the wound is still ripe.”
Quinn nodded and got up when he saw Alan get up.
”Come, let's go out for a walk. The mood is too heavy for my liking,” said Alan. His usual smile was back on his face.
”You should have seen it coming when you brought it up,” replied Quinn.
Quinn didn't comment on the sudden change in Alan's mood. He was used to it, and he didn't understand how the mind of a person with Alan's level of occlumency worked.
The student and teacher, young and old, walked outside the room towards the garden.
”So, tell me more about this A.I.D thing of yours. What happened to laying low, not wanting to garner attention and all that jazz you talked about before you started school?”
”Oh, that. That plan went down the drain in a single year. But let's talk about you. What have you been doing for the past three years?”
”Hmm... Well, I met this beautiful lady whom I have been spending time with.”
”Really? You dawg!”
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”Thank you, Polly, I will be fine from here,” Quinn looked at the house-elf and thanked her. ”I will call you when I am done.”
”Will little master be alright? Polly worried that you get all hurt,” asked the house-elf with worry in her big eyes. She knew what was wrong with Quinn and that he had taken a potion that weakened his magic.
”Don't worry, Polly. I will be fine. I will go in there, and when I come out, I will call for you,” Quinn pointed at the building in front of him and smiled in comfort.
”... Okay, call Polly if in trouble,” asserted the motherly house-elf before popping away back to the manor.
Quinn looked at the building; it was a red-bricked, condemned departmental store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. The departmental store was the magical gateway to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with wigs askew, standing at random and modeling fashions at least ten years out of date. Large signs on all the dusty doors read:
「CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT」
The hospital was placed here because no one could find a better place to house it. Everywhere in Diagon Alley was too small, so people came up with ideas to build it underground like the Ministry of Magic, but it was decided that underground was too unhealthy. Eventually, a muggle building was purchased so that patients could come and go and fit in with the crowds.
Quinn walked towards a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy whose false eyelashes were hanging off and modeled a green nylon pinafore dress. He leaned close to the glass, looking up at the very ugly dummy and said,
”I am here to see Gilderoy Lockhart.”
The dummy gave a tiny nod and beckoned its jointed finger. Quinn took that as the signal and stepped into the building. Just like the barrier at King's Cross Station to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, he didn't crash into the building and arrived in a different place.
He was in what seemed to be a crowded reception area where rows of men and women sat upon rickety wooden chairs; some looking perfectly normal and perusing out-of-date copies of Witch Weekly. Others sported gruesome disfigurements such as elephant trunks or extra hands sticking out of their chests.
The room was scarcely less quiet than the street outside, for many of the patients were making very peculiar noises... people in lime-green robes were walking up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes on clipboards. Quinn noticed the emblem embroidered on their chests: a wand and bone, crossed.
Quinn ignored all the hustle and bustle of the area and just made his way into the hospital. He found the floor guide on a wall and found the place he was looking for.
「
SPELL DAMAGE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Fourth Floor
(Unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.)
」
He found the stairs and made his way to the fourth floor. It took some asking around, but he was able to find the right place. He stared at the double doors that marked the start of a corridor signposted:
「SPELL DAMAGE」.
He entered the corridor and looked around to find the ward, ”Janus Thickey ward, Janus Thickey, Janus, ah, found it.”
It was the ward for permanent spell damage. The door was locked. Quinn took a deep breath, and with a shaking hand, channeled all the bits and pieces of magic that he could muster and unlocked the locked door.
Gilderoy Lockhart sat in his bed. He had a quill in his hand and parchment in front of him. The man was scribbling on it with his tongue sticking out.
He knocked on the door, and Lockhart looked up.
”Yes,” asked the man in hospital clothing.
Quinn walked towards the bed and sat on the armchair beside it.
”Good afternoon. My name is Quinn West.”
Lockhart smiled and introduced himself, ”A wonderful afternoon to you as well. My name is Gilderoy L-Lockhart. Do you want an autograph?”
Quinn smiled and nodded, ”I would love to have an autograph.”
”Alright, wait a minute. I am going to write up a good one. I am getting better at this.”
”Sure, I will wait.”
Quinn watched as the man drew on the parchment with his quill. He didn't feel much guilt about erasing Lockhart's memories. The man would have continued to steal credit from people if he got out of Hogwarts unharmed.
Then the time would come when Lockhart wouldn't be satisfied with his current level of fame, and it was inevitable with his personality that he would end up doing things much worse than what he did before.
So, in Quinn's mind, what happened was better for all because from what he remembered, Gilderoy was able to continue his work as an author, after a fashion, getting someone to help him write the book:
「Who Am I?」.
Quinn felt Lockhart got what he deserved. The only thing that irked Quinn was that he was the one to deliver that fate.
”Here you go, one autograph,” said Lockhart, handing Quinn the parchment. ”From me to Quinn West.”
Quinn took the parchment and saw one decent-looking piece of calligraphy. He could see the flashes of Lockhart in there.
His hand went to the satchel he was carrying and took out a box and set it on the bed-top table in front of Lockhart.
”What is this?” asked Lockhart, excitement flashing in his eyes.
”A gift, Mr. Lockhart,” replied Quinn, as he got up from his chair. ”Please open it. It is all yours.”
The man ripped open the box and took out a figurine.
”Oh! Isn't this me! How handsome am I.”
Lockhart was so engrossed in the stuff in the box that he didn't notice that Quinn had left him long ago.
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Quinn West - MC - A journey to regain magic.
Alan D. Baddeley - Mind-arts - Has made his share of mistakes.
Gilderoy Lockhart - Hospital patient - Recovering.
FictionOnlyReader - I lied, kind of - It will take two more chapters.
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