Oliver made his way through the waiting room and up to the reception counter.
“Hello Sir, How may I help you?” the girl behind the counter asked cheerfully her eyes roaming over Oliver’s body.
Oliver fought the urge to roll his own eyes at her blatant staring. Instead he put on his most charming smile.
“You could tell me where I could find Dr. Audrey Wood.”
“Are you a patient?”
“No, I’m her cousin.”
“Really? Well why don’t you just have a seat over there and I’ll just page her for you.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Oliver went to sit in one of the hard plastic chairs and waited as the reception nurse paged his cousin. He’d come to try to convince her to leave the country with his parents for their safety. Her Mother had been killed during the first Wizarding war for helping hide him and a few other wizard children. His Uncle, her father had made his brother promise to keep Aubrey safe just before he died last year.
A few minutes later the doors leading to the rest of the Hospital opened and Aubrey came out. Oliver stood and waved. As soon as she saw Oliver she ran over to him and flung herself at him, hugging him tightly.
“Ollie!” she exclaimed as he returned the embrace, lifting her from the ground.
“How’s my favorite cousin?” Oliver asked after he put her down.
“I’m your only cousin.”
“So, you’re still my favorite.”
“I know why you’re here. Uncle Duncan called me and tried to get me to leave last week. I knew it would only be a matter of time before you came to try to convince me as well.” She said as she led him to the cafeteria.
“Rey, you know it’s only going to get more and more dangerous to leave. If you wait too long you may not be able to get out.”
“I don’t want to get out. I’m needed here.”
“Aubrey, don’t be so stubborn. There are plenty of other doctors here. I’m sure they can make do without you.”
“My job here is important. I’m the leading pulmonary surgeon in this hospital. Why just yesterday a young man was brought in here and If I wasn’t here to operate on him he may have died.”
Oliver sat back and sighed in frustration. He knew convincing her to leave was going to be difficult. He pulled a coin out of his pocket and began turning it around in his hand, a habit he’d picked up to relieve stress.
“Listen Rey, I know your work here is important, and I’m glad you were able to save that guy but you’re not going to be able to save anyone else if you’re dead.”
“Oliver I…….” Audrey trailed off as her eye caught the coin moving through Oliver’s fingers.
“What?”
“Where did you get that coin?” she asked, grabbing his hand and taking it from him.
“Oh it’s just a galleon ,” he began, looking around to make sure no one was listening,” a wizard coin.”
“Oh my God.’ She whispered before getting up and heading for the door.
Oliver just sat there, staring at her and trying to figure out just what was going on. Before she reached the door, however, she turned and waved him over.
“Well come on!” she hissed.
He got up and followed her. She hurried down several corridors and he ran to catch up.
“Aubrey, what’s going on?”
“That man I was telling you about, the one who almost died.”
“Yeah?”
“He collapsed in front of a grocery store. He’d been very badly beaten. He didn’t have any identification on him. The only things in his pockets were a miniature trunk and a bunch of coins just like that one. “
“So you think he might be a wizard?”
“Yes. Do you know what happened to him? Who may have done this?”
“No, not for sure.’
“What do you mean?”
“Well, x-rays show a multitude of badly healed broken bones. Multiple spiral fractures in both of his arms.”
“Spiral fractures?”
“Fractures caused by twisting the arm until it breaks.”
“So you think he was being abused.”
“Yes. I’m afraid so.”
She stopped in front of a door but before she opened it she turned and looked him in the eye.
“I have to warn you, his injuries are quite severe.”
“Alright.”
She nodded and opened the door. He stepped inside and when he saw the man lying in the bed he gasped. But it wasn’t the many monitors he was hooked up to or the tube in his throat, helping him breathe. It wasn’t the many cuts and bruises that littered the man’s body. No, as shocking and terrible as those things were, it was the hair that made Oliver gasp aloud. In all his life he’d only seen hair that shade of red in one family. And only one member of that family had the same curls that this bruised and beaten man had.
“Percy.”