Reception at the Clinic, and a Bit of Gossip / In the Permanent Injury Ward

However, as they excitedly prepared to head to the night market and passed through a street in central London, the three of them stopped in front of a dilapidated department store without prior arrangement.

Here, they also discovered traces of the Banishing Charm.

Purge and Dowse Ltd..

This is an old-fashioned red brick department store, which looks dilapidated and deserted. In the shop windows facing the street, there are only a few broken mannequins dressed in clothes that are at least ten years old.

A sign reading "Closed for Renovation" still hangs on the dusty gate.

"It was never even open for business..."

A passing traveler saw Harry and his two companions stop there and muttered something under his breath.

Harry overheard the passersby's comments and suddenly realized where he was.

"Isn't this... St Mungo's's?"

That's right, this deserted and dilapidated department store, so out of place with the bustling commercial streets around it, is the famous St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries!

Madam Pomfrey had talked to Harry about this place before. Apparently, the original headmaster, Mungo Bonham, initially wanted to build the hospital in Diagon Alley, but there wasn't enough land there. And if the hospital were built underground like the Ministry of Magic, the healers felt that would be very unhygienic. In the end, they chose the interior of a department store.

Anyway, there are only three thousand wizards in the Britain Wizarding World. Even if they all get sick, this place is big enough to accommodate them.

"Would you like to go inside and take a look?" Hermione suddenly asked Harry with a smile.

"Uh..." Harry hesitated for a moment. He had to admit that Hermione was really getting to know him better and better.

He had only lingered a little longer at the entrance to St Mungo's's, but Hermione had already guessed what he was thinking.

Indeed, he had always wanted to find an opportunity to visit St Mungo's's and personally check on Bertha Jorkins' situation.

However, so much has happened since the start of the school year, and Harry is hesitant to leave the school, which has delayed his plans.

But what troubled him was that he had promised to spend the day shopping with Hermione and Luna Lovegood...

"It's okay, we've already seen all the places we wanted to visit," Hermione said with a smile, pulling Harry's hand. "Besides, it's just a quick look, it won't take up too much time. We can go to the night market later."

"Let's go together." This time, Luna Lovegood simply nodded, no longer being as 'mischievous' as before.

"Alright then... I think we should go in from here."

Harry led the two girls to a particularly ugly female mannequin, which was wearing a green nylon dress and even its false eyelashes were about to fall off.

"Hello, we're here to visit Bertha Jorkins."

Madam Pomfrey had previously told Harry how to get into the hospital, and sure enough, after hearing Harry's purpose, the dummy waved to them.

Harry also keenly sensed that the glass display case in front of him had disappeared, replaced by a hidden passageway.

"Let's go."

He grabbed both women's hands at the same time, took a step forward, and felt as if he had passed through a layer of cold water, yet emerged from the other side feeling completely dry.

The shop windows and mannequins I had seen before were all gone, and in front of me was a crowded clinic, with rows of male and female wizards sitting on swaying wooden chairs. Some of them looked relatively normal, while others had terrible deformities.

For example, those who grew elephant trunks and those who had an extra hand on their chests were all patients injured due to a curse accident.

The environment inside the clinic was no quieter than the street outside, as many patients were making all sorts of strange noises, some even groaning in pain.

Meanwhile, a group of male and female wizards dressed in green robes walked among the waiting patients, seemingly inquiring about their conditions and recording them on writing tablets in their hands. These people all wore a cross emblem made of wands and bones embroidered on their chests, which was the mark of a healer.

"Are they just going to leave the patients here waiting?" Hermione asked, puzzled. "Some of them look really badly injured."

"Most of those sent here are wizards. Protected by magic, they can barely hold on," Harry explained softly, then pointed to the healers registering patients. "And those healers should already be assessing the injuries; they'll probably be sending the patients to the appropriate wards soon."

Just as Harry was explaining, a series of wails suddenly rang out.

"These are... the shoes my brother gave me! Ah! They're biting my feet! Look here... there must be some kind of curse on them... I... I can't take them off!"

It was an unfortunate wizard who was jumping up and down on his feet, as if he were dancing on a red-hot iron plate.

"Those shoes aren't getting in your way while you're reading, are they?" A blonde witch sitting at the information desk impatiently pointed to the sign next to her. "Go to the fifth floor, the Spell Damage Department, next!"

The wizard limped to the side, while Harry and his friends noticed the sign the witch was pointing to.

St. Mungo's Hospital has a very detailed classification of illnesses, such as accidents involving objects, biological injuries, drug poisoning, and plant poisoning, all of which are located on different floors.

Of all these, Harry was most interested in the third floor— the Magical Bugs and Diseases. The therapists in this department seemed to be able to treat Dragon Pox, and Harry had always been very curious about their treatment methods.

At the very bottom of the sign, people also read a note: If you don't know which department to go to, can't speak properly, or don't remember why you came, our receptionist is willing to help.

"They said they could help, but that witch's attitude was so awful..." Hermione shrugged slightly, clearly finding the other woman's attitude very uncomfortable. "Dad and Mom would never talk to a patient like that."

"I think it's already very good. This is probably the only thing I think is better than the world of ordinary people in Britain."

Unlike Hermione's criticism, Harry actually thought the place was quite nice.

"Hermione, our family runs a private clinic. If it were a regular public hospital, it might not be as good as St Mungo's's."

Chapter 670 Clinic Reception, a Bit of Gossip

Having worked in the medical field, Harry certainly has a lot to say about healthcare, especially public healthcare.

To be fair, when it comes to healing and saving lives, the grass isn't necessarily China on the other side.

If it were the era in which he lived in his previous life, with more public healthcare, the medical technology was actually quite similar.

The most distinctive feature of public healthcare systems abroad is that... it's not that medical care is free with insurance, but rather that you have to make an appointment and then wait.

If you seek medical treatment in the Britain or other similar Western countries and choose a public hospital, you'll basically have to rely on your body to heal minor ailments and your luck to recover from serious illnesses.

In short, only those with a strong constitution can barely wait to see their appointed doctor.

If we can't wait, then we can't wait...

Therefore, compared to other places, St Mungo's's at least allows patients to wait for their appointments, and there are dedicated therapists who inquire about their conditions beforehand, which is quite a good treatment.

However, seeing Hermione and Luna Lovegood constantly frowning, Harry couldn't bear to let the wizard continue screaming like that, so he stopped the unfortunate fellow who was about to use his big foot to jump all the way to the fifth floor, and cast an Engorgement Charm on the culprit shoe.

A flash of light appeared, and the biting shoe suddenly expanded to more than five times its original size.

But just as it was about to bite the wizard's foot again, Harry, quick-witted and agile, unleashed a Waddiwasi Spell, sending it flying like a cannonball into the trash can at the end of the corridor.

"Huh? What's wrong with you...?"

"Don't move!"

The injured wizard was startled, but Harry's low shout stunned him into stillness.

Harry immediately cleaned his wound, applied medicine, cast a healing spell, and then conjured a bandage to easily bandage him up.

The whole process took less than a minute; the wizard didn't even have time to react before he found his feet wrapped up like a rice dumpling.

"What... what did you just do to me?" he asked, seemingly frightened and somewhat trembling.

"You lot, hurry up and check on him!" At this moment, the blonde witch in charge of reception also noticed the abnormality and hurriedly called the healer in the examination room to check the male witch's injuries.

At the same time, she glared angrily at Harry: "Where did you little wizards come from? Why are you causing trouble here? Don't you know that patients here must be diagnosed by professional therapists? If you treat them haphazardly, it can easily lead to danger!!"

"Sorry, but he really yelled too loudly just now." Harry nodded apologetically and explained politely, "And in my opinion, he was simply bitten by the shoe with the biting curse on it. He'll be fine once the shoe is off."

"That's right, the patient has been cured, and the medicine he used was very advanced!" one of the therapists who was examining the patient exclaimed.

"Who... who exactly are you?" The blonde witch's tone softened slightly. She had just been too anxious, and now that Harry had actually cured the patient, she naturally stopped targeting him.

"Harry, isn't this Harry? I never expected you to be here!" Just then, a painting on the corridor wall suddenly spoke.

The person in the painting is a witch with long, flowing silver curls, and Harry happens to know her.

"Hi, Headmistress Derwent, it's a pleasure to see you outside of school," Harry greeted the portrait with a smile.

The other party was Dilys de Dilys Derwent, a famous healer in the 18th century and also a headmaster of Hogwarts. She had even given Harry some pointers when Harry was brewing Veritaserum.

"You're the same way, you attract attention wherever you go." Headmistress Derwent winked at Harry, then turned to the blonde witch. "Don't worry, Harry may not have obtained the corresponding qualification certificate, but he passed the Potions O.W.L. Exam in his third year. And Poppy also said that Harry is an excellent healer, especially good at dealing with all kinds of acute physical injuries."

"Poppy Pomfrey from Hogwarts? So..." The blonde witch looked Harry over carefully, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "You're Harry Granger?!"

The moment that name was uttered, not only the blonde witch, but everyone in the emergency room was stunned.

"It's me, we're here to visit Bertha Jorkins."

Taking advantage of the other party's surprise, Harry quickly explained his purpose.

If I wait until they realize what's happening, they'll probably start bombarding me with questions, which will waste so much time.

"You mean Bertha Jorkins?" The blonde witch paused, then quickly began checking the medical records in her hand. "Found her! She was admitted in August, but has now been transferred to room 49 on the fifth floor, which is Jenas Sitch's room..."

"Why there?" Harry was taken aback. "Aren't all the people living there suffering from permanent spell damage?"

"She wasn't originally there..." The blonde witch looked around and whispered to Harry, "I heard that when the Ministry of Magic first sent her here, they instructed us to heal her, but after discovering she had been hit by a powerful Memory Charm and had almost completely lost her memory, they sent us a letter to handle the situation ourselves. And since around the beginning of October, no one has come to see her..."

"I understand, thank you."

Harry understood immediately. After thanking the somewhat gossipy receptionist, he led the two women up to the fifth floor.

Does it really need to be stated more bluntly? The Ministry of Magic simply saw that Bertha Jorkins was no longer of any use, and they couldn't get any useful information out of her, so they proactively gave up on her.

The only information Bertha Jorkins could reveal to Voldemort was about the Triwizard Tournament, and that she might know who the Death Eater rescued Voldemort was.

However, in early October, a large-scale prison break occurred in Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic knew very well which Death Eater had returned to Voldemort's side. In their view, the original one was no longer important, and of course, no one would come to visit Bertha Jorkins anymore.

It must be said that the Ministry of Magic these days has clearly written its interests on its face... and incidentally, it has also carved "blinded by reason" next to "profit".

Whether it's the Ministry of Magic Dumbledore, their only concern might be Voldemort, but for Harry... the Death Eater who have been openly and covertly fighting against him are the most dangerous enemies right now!

"Hello, I'd like to visit Broderick Bode Bode." No sooner had Harry left than an elderly wizard in a black robe entered the examination room.

"Also going to room 49?" The blonde witch raised an eyebrow. "But I think you're wasting your time. He's still cluelessly treating himself like a teapot. Next... wait, what are you holding?"

The blonde witch was about to release the person when she suddenly caught sight of a potted plant in the old wizard's arms.

"A pot of Christmas cactus is a gift I gave to old Bode," the old wizard explained in a low, hoarse voice.

"You'd better have your head therapist, Ms. Melanie Straw, examine you."

"I will." The old wizard nodded and slowly climbed the stairs.

The blonde witch's casual remark just now actually bothered him quite a bit.

Besides him, did anyone else visit ward 49 today?

Chapter 671 In the Permanent Damage Ward

The fifth floor of St. Mungo's Hospital is the Spell Damage Department, which mainly treats curses, evil spells, and spells that cannot be removed, as well as spells that have been used incorrectly.

Harry was going to room number 49—Jenus Sitch's Ward—which was a closed ward for patients whose brains had suffered permanent damage from a curse.

For example, Harry knows that his former Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Gilderoy Lockhart, was apparently sent directly here after being released from Azkaban.

Once admitted here, one can only undergo monotonous intensive treatment day after day, and whether or not one can recover is entirely up to fate.

However, Hermione was slightly puzzled by the name of the ward.

"Jenus Sitch... why name it after this guy?"

Hermione, who is familiar with "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to Find Them," will naturally be familiar with the name Jenas Sitch.

He once appeared in the introduction of Ground Bat. In 1973, this Britain wizard pretended to be eaten by Ground Bat and even left a fake suicide note on his bedside table. His 'death' once made his wife and children very sad.

But when the truth came out, people discovered that he was actually hiding in a tavern only five miles from his home, and was having a secret rendezvous with the female owner there.

Therefore, Hermione really couldn't understand why this hospital room would be named after this scumbag who faked his death and abandoned his wife and children.

"I think St Mungo's probably meant to say... all men who cheat on their wives deserve to suffer a fate worse than death?"

Luna Lovegood casually shared her thoughts, her large eyes fixed on Harry, making his heart pound.

"No... just explain, why are you staring at me like that?" Harry cautiously protested. "I haven't lied to you..."

"Never lied?" Luna Lovegood raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying.

"Us?" Hermione's expression immediately turned from cloudy to gloomy.

"Uh..." Harry, completely speechless, felt as if one of his feet was already dangling over the tightrope.

He's filled with regret now. Why did he have to engage in that kind of conversation?

Sigh... If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have been so impulsive at the end of the school year, smashing the Time-Turner in front of everyone.