May 21st, 1894 — Hogsmeade Hospital

The burns going up his arm were entirely his own fault. It was embarrassing, to have to go to Hogsmeade Hospital. (Expensive, too.) He thought that someone in the house may have been able to help him — Clementine was actually good at Charms — but he was worried that it would get worse, and then things would cost more, and then he would still end up at Hogsmeade Hospital, only later in the day. So he slunk out of the garden without telling his family. The sense of embarrassment did not abate in the waiting room, nor did it leave him when he was waiting to be joined by a mediwitch.

He smiled at the mediwitch, his best approximation of casual despite the sense of shame. "Cauldron burns," he said simply.

Sage Whitby Daffodil Grimstone

  

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set by MJ

It wasn't often that Sage was tasked with triaging the emergency rooms, but today they were short-staffed and she had to no qualms about helping out. It was the same work, just in a different setting. People came to her instead of her going to them. Thus far she had seen a young gent who had fallen from a horse; a woman who was clearly pregnant and in need of the services of a midwife, not a mediwitch; and a child with a marble stuck up his nose. Only one thing, a poisoning, by her estimation, had to be sent on to the proper ward.

"Ah, Mr. Greengrass, I suppose I should not expect anything else from someone in your line of work." If she remembered correctly anyway. They had been just a year apart in school, but she had only completed OWLs and so she obviously did not know him well. Still, she thought he often did some contract work for the hospital every now and again. "Was it from the fire or from a liquid?" That would determine how she treated the burns.

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She knew his name, but Noble didn't know who she was. That was embarrassing, and Noble was determined to pretend that he wasn't confused. So he smiled at her. "Liquid,'' Noble answered. ''Otherwise I would have fixed it at home.'' But who was she? They had to be close in age for her to remember him, and he absolutely could not place her — Noble knew he was self centered but this was really something else.

  

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set by MJ

Hmm, she wondered how he would have been able to handle that but not this. Sage wasn't going to question him. The fix wasn't so bad, his hands weren't completely covered and he must have gotten the burns cooled down quickly, but some spots worried her. She continued to set out her supplies and moved back to the sink to get a bath of cool water.

"Last question before I get started, potion or hot water?" The latter would be an easier fix, the prior would take some extra finagling to make sure she did exacerbate any of his burns.

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"Oh, potion," Noble said lightly. Thank Merlin he had not been brewing anything illegal. "It was a —" it wasn't illegal, but it was embarrassing to say to a pretty woman, and so his voice became quieter "— laxative potion. Not for me." He added the last part swiftly, as if to try to dispel his embarrassment — but this was an embarrassing situation, and he was not sure he had managed to make himself feel any better about having to say the phrase laxative potion.

  

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set by MJ

Sage managed to keep a straight face at his admissions, only just, by pressing her lips together and turning away to get one last thing from her tray. "Nothing acidic then, that's good." Those sorts of potions were always harder to deal with, were worse for the skin. "It looks pretty clean, and perhaps just a hare over a first degree." Worse than a sunburn, but it wasn't bubbling or peeling, but red and raw.

"I'm just going to rise it and apply a salve. It'll need to be wrapped and everything reapplied daily for about a week, but I doubt there will be any lasting issues." Sage had dealt with plenty of burns before, had thankfully been spared most of the dragon attacks last September, holding down the fort back here in Hogsmeade that day, but she had experience.

"This is just some cool water with a little witch hazel mixed in, should take away most of the sting." It was in her nature to explain what she was doing, as she reached for his arm and held it over the basin she had to catch the liquid. "Let me know if anything doesn't feel right though." She requested before she started to pour the water over the worst of his burns.

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Her prescription seemed to hold reason to Noble. Not for the first time — certainly not for the first time since he had found Mrs. Cartwright in the ocean with a broken neck — he wished that he knew more about healing. But it was too late to change now; he'd determined to be an independent potioneer, and now he was one, and he could not afford to go back to the start of a different career. Even if he sometimes fantasized about it.

Thinking about his disappointment in himself had been a helpful way of bracing for the water-and-witch-hazel mixture she poured onto his arm, but Noble could not help but exhale an almost-moan at the relief it brought his skin.

  

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set by MJ

Mr. Greengrass seemed alright with her method of treatment, and she could tell it was helping. "I'm sorry, my hands are cold." It always seemed to be that way, but she turned his arm over gently in them regardless, making sure to flush the burns thoroughly. She wanted to make sure any of the lingering heat was cooled down. If not, it could continue to cause damage later. Once she thought everything had been thoroughly coated, she reached for a towel to gently pat it dry.

"Better?" Fortunately it wasn't too bad, any worse and she probably would have had to hand him off to a proper healer. She moved the basin away and left him with the towel for a moment so she could collect the next steps. "You should probably repeat that once or twice over the next week, especially as things start to heal." Sage pulled a salve and bandages from the cabinets and slid back into her seat. "This will help expedite the process, but please be on the lookout for signs of infection." She held out a hand for his arm again so she could apply the salve.

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Noble gently toweled his arms dryer, and then held his arms out to Miss Whitby in offering. "Much better," he said, with a grateful smile. He was embarrassed about the entire situation, but at least Miss Whitby was very competent, and hopefully the burns wouldn't scar.

Belatedly, he added, "And I don't mind that your hands are cold — I'm always warm."

  

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set by MJ

"Especially right now," she chuckled, hoping he wouldn't mind. She wouldn't have teased if it was worse. Gently she pulled the salve from the jar with her fingers, and took his hand in her other one. "I can send you home with the rest of this, unless you have something better already." He very well might.

Sage applied the salve to the worst of the burns in a thicker layer and then used the towel to clean up her hands before reaching for the bandage. "It shouldn't take more than a week, and I doubt it'll scar." Might be a little tight or itchy. "Just keep it clean and dry, keep an eye out for any signs of infection. Come straight back if it's hot to the touch or starts to bubble." She advised because she had to, but she assumed Mr. Greengrass was accustomed to things like this.

Tying off the edge of the bandage and tucking it beneath the end, she smiled softly. "That should do it."

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"I have something at home, but I wouldn't mind taking this," he said — if he was lucky, he could figure out how to brew it himself, and start offering it to some of the fireworks-happy Quidditch players he sometimes had as clients. He listened patiently to Miss Whitby's instructions, and smiled when she was done.

"Thank you," he said, "I hope that next time I see you, it's under better circumstances."

  

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set by MJ

"Absolutely," Sage set the lid back onto the salve and pulled out a fresh set of bandages for the next time he needed to change the dressing. "Ah, you say that, but every time someone does, it's never true." She teased lightly. "Please don't hesitate to reach out with any concerns or if something changes." People always seemed so hesitant to follow up if something wound up going wrong and Sage could never figure out why.

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