August 1st, 1894 — Bartonburg, Hogsmeade

It'd taken almost week to summon up the courage to stop by Mabel's house with her forgotten spare (or so he assumed) field kit. He had rifled through it once to verify its contents and noticed it wasn't nearly as full as he knew her kits to be. Then, when she hadn't reached out to either the Ivy Leaf or him to inquire about it, he figured she simply didn't know it was missing. Perhaps he ought to have come by sooner, but after the squid incident and all the bad blood between them he didn't know whether a visit would be accepted.

And, lately, Dory was nothing if not a coward.

He hadn't chased after Winnie when she left. He hadn't fought harder to squash the depression he knew losing his limb had caused. He took the promotion solely because he was afraid of what a career change at this point in his life (even a move to a different squad or department) would look like. Time and time again Dory had proved to himself that he was a coward.

Well, no longer.

It was early evening when he rang the bell. Then, when her housekeeper opened the door with the explanation that Miss Brighton hadn't been well in a week, Dory had pushed past her and headed right towards Mabel's room. "Maple?" Dory greeted lightly as he dropped the kit to the ground besides the bed and took a seat on the edge of her bed. Then, to the housekeeper that irately poked her head in behind him, he asked in a hushed tone, "has the doctor been in? Does her family know?"

---

Philomena Sprout / Mabel Brighton

  

---

beautiful set by lady

Tilda had said she wouldn’t die. At least Mabel had that going for her. When the case she had been sent on turned out to involve a rogue beast that Tilda had also been tracking, Mabel knew she was in good hands. She trusted her friend and her capabilities more than anything but what Mabel should have been more cautious of were her own abilities to not get bitten.

It had been her own fault, and she had no choice but to own up to it, especially when Tilda told her that the bite wouldn’t prove to be fatal, just…incredibly painful and difficult to get through. Tonics and potions would help but as of now, Mabel had used up all the potions she’d had in her storage. When that happened, she figured she would send for more potions to her friends or to the hospital at the end of the day; however time had warped and somehow two, then three days had passed and she still hadn’t been able to send out the owl much less raise her head off the pillow. Her muscles were sore, there was a piercing pain behind her eyes and she couldn’t open her eyes without feeling nauseous.

It was times like these that she missed her family, because she knew that her brother would be here in a heartbeat. But scars still ran deep and every time Mabel thought about sending for one of them, she was wrought with the feeling she would just be burdening them, and the letters had gone unsent. With her head swimming and the letters discarded on her desk, she hadn’t realized someone had entered the room until she felt the bed sink down under the weight of a second person. Her eyes fluttered open and —

Nooo, anyone but him. She even groaned, ducking her head in her covers despite the fact they were covered in her dried sweat. “Dory, go away.” She managed to croak out hoarsely.

---

  

---

loveliness by mj <3

"Not a chance." Dory told her in his same quiet but now firm tone. He didn't know what, if anything, the housekeeper was doing to help her and, judging solely by the fact that none of her family was currently present, he didn't feel safe leaving her. Not like this. Not without someone other than this (apparently inept housekeeper) watching over her.

He silently summoned a bowl of water and washcloth. The woman behind him was muttering about the potions Mabel was taking for her bite and how it was just running its course. But, given that all he saw was unstoppered vials and no stash elsewhere, Dory somehow doubted that. Dipping the washcloth in the water, Dory sighed before lightly brushing it across her forehead.

---

  

---

beautiful set by lady