A Visit to the Hospital Wing

The Hogwarts Hospital Wing was located in a very secluded corridor on the second floor of the east wing. Roy asked the Fat Friar for directions, made his way to the second floor, found the Hospital Wing door open, and walked straight in.

The Hospital Wing was lined with long rows of beds covered in crisp white linen sheets, with movable screens separating the different beds.

The moment he entered, Roy smelled the disinfectant scent unique to hospitals, mixed with the faint aroma of potions. He was all too familiar with that smell.

School had only started yesterday. It would not be until the middle of the term that the number of patients in the Hospital Wing would multiply, but there was already a fourth-year student lying in bed after accidentally being hit by a spell in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Hogwarts' Matron, Madam Poppy Pomfrey, was an outstanding healer with a firm manner. She had served as Hogwarts' Matron since 1970, resolving countless problems, both great and small, for its staff and students.

At that moment, the stern-faced Madam Pomfrey was urging the young wizard in the bed to drink a large cup of green potion.

The potion was thick and slimy, and merely looking at it was nauseating. Though the young wizard in the bed was deeply unwilling, he still shut his eyes and swallowed it.

After drinking the potion, the young wizard exhaled a cloud of black vapor from his mouth. Then he closed his eyes weakly and collapsed onto the bed.

Roy recognized it as a special cleansing potion, used specifically to treat lingering aftereffects from attacks by unknown spells.

"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey. That's a cleansing potion, right? Could you give me some? I've offended someone recently, and I might get hit with a curse."

Roy took the initiative to greet Madam Pomfrey. She turned her head and saw Roy standing in the Hospital Wing corridor.

Like Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey was always serious. Faced with Roy's cheeky grin, she sternly asked him what he was doing there.

"Are you here to visit him? Or are you injured somewhere?"

Roy glanced at the student lying in bed. He seemed to be a fourth-year Slytherin whom Roy did not know.

"No, I don't know him, and I'm not injured. I just wanted to have a look around the Hospital Wing. I rather want to become a healer someday."

"Is that so?" Madam Pomfrey studied the smiling Roy with a scrutinizing gaze.

"A first-year?"

"That's right."

"A Hufflepuff?"

"Yes."

Madam Pomfrey's expression softened slightly. She herself had graduated from Hufflepuff, but she still spoke to Roy very sternly.

"So you are a Hufflepuff student. Fewer and fewer young wizards are willing to become healers these days, but I must tell you that becoming a healer is not easy. To become one, you need at least an E in Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and other subjects in your N.E.W.T.s."

That was certainly no easy task. It meant earning Os in all the major subjects in fifth year, then taking every core subject in sixth year.

That meant that if you wanted to become a healer, you would hardly get a single weekend off during your final three years at Hogwarts. It seemed studying medicine was exhausting no matter where you were.

Roy patted his chest and confidently bragged to Madam Pomfrey about all the books on potions and countering Dark Magic he had read. Throughout the entire summer, every time he went to Flourish and Blotts, he stood inside reading for a whole day. He had not bought many books, but he had certainly read quite a lot.

"Is that so? Then let me ask you a question. How should a dragon bite be treated?"

The question was very broad, because different dragon species required different treatments.

"That depends on what kind of dragon inflicted the bite, but generally speaking, they fall into three categories: mildly venomous, moderately venomous, and highly venomous. For mildly venomous dragons, such as the Chinese Fireball, a low dose of antidote combined with a revitalizing potion will do. However, low-level venom usually comes with other issues. For example, Chinese Fireball bites generally burn the wound with intense heat, so the dragonfire burns must be treated as well."

Roy spoke at length to Madam Pomfrey, fluent and highly confident. He not only explained what the books said, but also included his own understanding.

"Moderately venomous dragons are actually easier to deal with. You only need to take antidote regularly and rest. As for the highly venomous Peruvian Vipertooth, all I can say is that if you're bitten, you probably won't live until someone comes to save you. Just think about it—merely coming into contact with a Vipertooth can give you Dragonpox."

Upon hearing Roy's perfect answer, a faint smile actually appeared on Madam Pomfrey's face. She proceeded to ask him several more difficult questions, and Roy answered them all well. It was not until she asked an extremely complicated clinical question that he finally had no answer.

Even so, Madam Pomfrey was deeply impressed by Roy.

"It isn't easy for someone so young to read so many books and remember them all. I truly suspect you ought to have gone to Ravenclaw. Since that is the case, you may come to the Hospital Wing to observe in the future if you wish. But let me make this clear first: you must never cause trouble, and you must not disturb the patients' rest."

Of course Roy knew that. After all, he had been a doctor for so many years.

Madam Pomfrey turned around and brought Roy a book he had never seen before.

"This is a newly written book on treating curses by the director of Lyon Magical Hospital in France. It has not yet been published. You may take it and read it first. It contains many treatment methods that cannot be found in Britain. On the middle row of the third bookshelf in Section H of the library, there are many books on treating common illnesses. You can read them when you have time."

Roy accepted the book, thinking that Hogwarts' staff were all gold mines. They could casually pull out such rare private collections.

After thanking Madam Pomfrey profusely, Roy also helped himself to several bottles of potions before leaving with the book, his haul plentiful.

After leaving the Hospital Wing, Roy rummaged through the belt pouch he wore with him. It was already filled with quite a few things.

There were the seeds and plant cuttings he had gathered from the greenhouse, the dittany plant Professor Sprout had given him, and several basic potions he had received from Madam Pomfrey.

Roy took stock of everything and considered his next target.

"There must be the most stuff around the Potions classroom. What a pity Hogwarts doesn't offer Alchemy—I'm missing out on so many good things to pick up."

But when he thought of Snape, who had looked extremely difficult to provoke while sitting at the staff table yesterday, along with Tonks describing at breakfast just how harsh Snape was, Roy decided it was best not to provoke Snape for now.

There was still some time before lunch. Since that was the case, why not take a stroll through Hogwarts' true treasury of knowledge?

"In that case, the next stop is the library."