October 28, 1894 — Harry's Laboratory
Mabel Brighton Philomena Sprout

Some days, Harry had to accept that the thing that was most likely to keep him alive for a long time wasn't how smart he was, or how good he was at his craft, but the fact that he was good at maintaining friendships with people more responsible than he was. "Some days" included today, and at the moment Mabel arrived, Harry was writing a note to himself to remember to do something nice for her. Because at some point "thank you" sounded a little hollow when the next week she had to come back for something else. And this was the third week in a row.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Harry said by way of greeting when he opened the door to let Mabel into his lab. There was a decidedly lopsided nature to his gait as he led the way back to his sitting area. "Really, it barely hurts."

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set by Bee! <3

A note from Harry was…not good. Mabel had managed not to panic when she received the message from her friend that he needed help - not a rare occurrence in their friendship, really - but she made haste to his lab as soon as she’d seen his messy scrawl on the piece of parchment. Nearly out of breath, she raised her hand to knock rapidly on the door while she gathered her bearings. She was wondering briefly if she would have to knock the door down with a spell when the door was opened and Henry Berkwood stood there in one piece. At least as far as she knew. Mabel almost cast a diagnostic spell on him before even saying ‘hello’, but his greeting caused her to pause in raising her wand.

She hurried after him now, eyes surveying his person as he walked back to his sitting area. “And what does it look like, Harry?” She shot back, barely concealing her exasperated tone. Already her wand was whirling through the air to make a few cups of tea for them while she waited for him to answer.

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Harry couldn't quite help the pained grunt as he settled himself down into a chair. The problem was probably a bit easier to see when he was sitting down, at least. His right leg was suspiciously shorter than the left, which was, to put it mildly, not normal. He patted the offending leg, saying, "There was something off about those shrivelfigs I used, and I really ought to know better," he said. At least, he was pretty sure it was the shrivelfigs that had been the problem.

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set by Bee! <3

With the teapots and cups clanking around them, Mabel was able to restore her focus on her patient who had situated himself in a chair. At least he’d been able to sit himself down - the last time she remembered doing this, he’d been antsy as a grasshopper. Casting another series of diagnostic spells, the air filled with glowing orbs and a whirring sound as they did their work whilst Mabel fished through her kit. “Shrivelfigs?” She echoed, stopping her riffling to glance up at him. “Did you use the same supplier as last time?” An exasperated sigh. “Harry I told you, just because his lumbago is acting up doesn’t mean you need to frequent his business, especially if the ingredients are sub par.”

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"No!" Harry said, a little defensively. Though, then he stopped to think about it and, a little more meekly, "Or at least, I don't think so. There... might have been some leftover that got mixed in with the new supply." Harry's organizational system was almost non-existent. Which was to say--he knew where everything was, but that didn't make it neat, or even vaguely transparent to anyone else.

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set by Bee! <3

She’d found the tonics that she’d been looking for and placed them on the table as she listened to Harry’s explanation. It earned him another exasperated look from her as she learned that he hadn’t thrown out the last batch of shrivelfigs when he’d gotten a new one. “Might have been?” She repeated again, leaning forward to look at the diagnostic charts whirring above him. “Harry you should get rid of those immediately.” Yesterday would have been preferable, but today was just as good as any time, she supposed.

“Now, I know what these charts are telling me is wrong with you, but how about you tell me what happened in your own words?” Mabel instructed, turning to scoot her chair closer and settling in to listen. The teacups preparing themselves floated over to the table.

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Harry gestured awkwardly at his leg, grimacing. At least it was an expression more of embarrassment than of pain. "I think the 'shrivel' part of the name might have been too literal. This one's not supposed to be shorter than the other." He held up his hands to demonstrate. "Happened pretty suddenly after I tried the potion. One moment I'm standing like so, and the next--" Harry pitched his hands to the side to simulate the very sudden loss of balance.

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set by Bee! <3

Though the charts told her exactly the same, Mabel blinked as she assessed her friend’s legs. And they certainly were two completely different lengths. She sighed. “Well, you’re spot on with your assumptions there,” She remarked, crossing her arms as she took a look at the many charts hovering in the air above him. “To put it plainly, all of the bones one of your legs have been shortened significantly.” And quite proportionally too, it looked like. Mabel was surprised to discover his feet had remained quite the same size, which explained the fact that his shoes were still on properly.

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"Yeah?" Harry looked down at his leg, and there was a too long pause before he remembered he shouldn't look quite so pleased with this news. Well, he wasn't pleased, not exactly. But it was data that he hadn't had before, and he was already itching to write this down in his notes. He cleared his throat. "I mean to say, can you fix it?"

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set by Bee! <3

Dear Merlin he looked as if he’d achieved world peace at her diagnosis, which likely meant something went right along the way and he’d just had a mishap somewhere near the ending. Mabel could feel the grey hairs growing on her scalp at this point. With an impatient wave of her wand she banished the diagnostic charts and took another seat to riffle through her belongings. “Harry, one of these days there’ll be some condition you’ve brought upon yourself that I can’t fix and then we’ll all be in trouble.” She remarked, chagrin coating her voice as she pulled out a vial with a nasty looking substance in it.

“It’s not going to be pleasant but yes I can fix it. And!” She added, pointing a finger at him to make sure he paid attention. “You must rest for the next twelve hours. Do you hear me Henry Berkwood?”

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"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, perfectly contrite. If he lived to old age--or, hell, if he lived to thirty--it would probably be entirely thanks to Mabel, and he was fully aware of this. Even considering the fact that Harry was a generally generous person, but whatever Mabel wanted, she could have. Probably forever. Because he owed her that much by this point.

He settled back, bracing himself. "Do what you have to do," he said.

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set by Bee! <3

She couldn’t help but giggle at his having called her ‘ma’am’. The title seemed so much more suited to a strict headmistress or the ward matron rather than Mabel who, at her tallest, maybe reached just below Harry’s earlobe; although she did tend to adopt a rather strict tone when dealing with patients like her dear friend who were not the best at adhering to strict medical orders, so perhaps the moniker wasn’t all that misused.

“Open up,” She commanded, standing up and unstoppering the vial and withdrawing the glass dropper. “Three drops of these, and mind you it’ll burn going down.”

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Harry dutifully opened his mouth--and managed to stop himself from making a face until he'd swallowed all three drops. Considering the sorts of things he had to drink both as a potioneer and just as a wizard in general, it was a wonder he still had working taste buds--and a digestive system in general--at all. "How long does it take?" he asked.

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set by Bee! <3

“Why do you ask?” Mabel immediately responded, the corner of her mouth tugging up in a grin; she knew that’d be his next question. “So you can go right back to sampling your own concoctions? No, absolutely not Harry.” She was not going to go home only to have to turn right back around because he’d accidentally vanished his rib cage and was melting into a puddle.

She re-stoppered the vial and waved her wand to summon her kit.

“It’ll take as long as it takes, and in the mean time, you’re to relegate yourself to administrative duties only. I mean it.” She finished with storing away her potions and took an authoritative stance as she fixed him with a hard stare.

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"I was only asking," Harry said, a little more petulantly than he'd meant to. He hunched his shoulders, feeling more like a scolded child than the grown man he allegedly was. It was ridiculous, even if it was probably deserving.

"I promise the next time I see you will be purely social," Harry said, trying to regain at least some modicum of dignity. "Gentleman's honor."

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set by Bee! <3