February 7th, 1891 - Hogsmeade Hospital
Gideon Ollivander

Tabitha had expertly avoided Mr. Ollivander's room for a week after her presumptions had landed her in hot water. She hated to feel like she crossed a line and she clearly had. He would be much better off in someone else's hands, but she had already begun his treatment, she couldn't trade out now. Fortunately with the first part of his cure, she had been able to delegate the drops to other healers in the ward, interns looking to get practice. However a week later and the potion she was brewing was ready and she had to be the one to administer the first dose.

She had closely monitored his progress, was thrilled to see improvement in his vision, but that meant she would have to be the one to visit him today and she wasn't sure what she was more embarrassed about; her original slip up for the fact that she had been obviously been avoiding his room for seven full days.

Unfortunately she could avoid no longer, and so with her potion and his eye drops in hand, she made her way into his room. "I see you're making some progress, Mr. Ollivander." She said by way of greeting, smiling because it was true, according to his chart and because she was the the one who had designed the course in which to treat him. "I'm so pleased to hear it's working. Do you mind if I take a look?" Unlike the first time, she would keep her hands resolutely to herself.

---

  

---

absolute beauty by MJ

With the course of treatment Miss Chevalier had prescribed, the film that had settled over his eyes seemed to be growing thinner by the day. He hadn't gained his vision back yet, but he could discern the difference between light and dark in the room, and in the past few days he'd been able to make out the edges of things from vague shadows, though there was still no definition. It wouldn't let him get back to work with his hands, that much was certain, but it was enough that he felt comfortable getting up and walking around the room throughout the day. His shins had been collecting bruises here and there, but that was a price he was more than willing to pay to no longer feel stuck in the hospital bed.

He hadn't been expecting to see Miss Chevalier again, at least not after two full days passed without a visit from her. That was unfortunate, but entirely his fault, he thought. It had been too much to ask her to read his letters for him, and it had put her in an uncomfortable position — he didn't blame her for wanting to avoid stepping into that position once again. He was surprised, then, to hear her voice that morning.

"Oh, Miss Chevalier," he said, obviously surprised. He was standing at the window (to feel the sun on his face, not because his eyesight had improved enough to see anything beyond the glass), but turned towards the door when he heard her enter.

"Of course," he said with a nod, but then hesitated. Should he walk back to the bed? He'd always been seated when she looked at his eyes previously, so that seemed fitting, but he was afraid if she'd already started moving towards him he might run into her if he didn't see her shadow in time. On the other hand, he wasn't sure if she would even be able to get a good look at his eyes if he remained standing where he was — he didn't even know how tall she was.

"Uhm — just a moment," he said, casting a hand out in front of him and trying to find his way back to the bed. At least if she was walking towards him he'd knock into her with his hand instead of just bowling her over, he hoped.

  

The tone of surprise in his voice had her cheeks flushing. She should have been the one overseeing all of his treatment personally, but hadn't after her slip-up. Certainly he had noticed that it had been an intern or one of her colleagues filling the duty. It was cowardly of her certainly, but nobody had ever accused her of being a Gryffindor.

Ever fiber of her being wanted to walk over and guide him back to the bed, but humility had her rooted to the spot; that was of course until he got too close for to avoid a run in. Gently she reached out a hand to stop him, catching his outstretched one awkwardly. "Careful," Tabi said quietly. "The bed's just beside you, if you don't mind taking a seat so I can take a look." She offered by way of escape. He had more than half a foot on her easily, there was no way she'd be able to examine his eyes if he were standing.

"The potion I've been working on is ready. It should speed up the healing process in addition to the drops." It was fundamentally similar, but one had to be careful when potions were intended for ingestion. Still, the drops had been readily available already, she'd had to break down their brewing process and tamper with it to make something else.

---

  

---

absolute beauty by MJ

The moment he felt her hand against his, his fingers closed over it. It was was a reflex, not a conscious thought — it would have been difficult not to grab on to something unexpected in his path, since he was still operating without one of his senses. All the same, it brought a flush of color to his cheeks. He let go quickly and focused instead on locating the bed, since she'd said it was close at hand, and sat down.

"That's — that's good news," he said, trying to ignore the awkwardness he felt both at the situation in general and at having just grabbed hold of her hand. It really was more her fault than his, since she had the advantage of sight and could have moved it clear of him, but he felt embarrassed by it all the same. Suppose she'd only stopped his hand because he'd been close to touching something else? He might have been at just the right height to brush against her chest. How mortifying for this poor woman.

"How does it taste?" he asked, attempting a joke, though it felt a little thin.

  

"Unfortunately taste comes last in importance, I'm afraid." Tabi chuckled quietly as he took a seat. "I hear there have been improvements though, what can you see?" She had read his chart of course, but wanted to hear what it was exactly he was experiencing. It might help her to continue to tweak his treatment.

"If you wouldn't mind me taking a look?" She had almost reached out to turn his face toward her, but thought better of it just before doing it. Tabi was still moving quite carefully in the grand scheme of things, still hesitant to even come close to the line she had crossed last week.

---

  

---

absolute beauty by MJ

"It's like shadows," he explained. "Outlines of things, and shapes, but no color or distinction. And it's only with things that are close. Arm's reach, or a little farther," he continued. Hence walking with his arms out, the way that he'd done a moment ago. It wasn't quite enough sight to reliably warn him of obstructions if he was moving at a normal pace, and even when he was picking his way carefully across the room he still could have wished for a bit more range on the vision.

He turned his face towards the sound of her voice and the vague silhouette of her at her second question. "Yes, of course," he replied. He thought to leave it at that, but after a moment he couldn't help but add something that had been bothering him on and off since their first conversation. "Are my eyes still... you said they weren't the right color," he said, with a frown. "It sounds a little... unsettling. Do they still look that way?"

  

"That's good, it means light is filtering in." Progress in the right direction at the very least. The drops were working, though Tabi couldn't tell if they would do it alone, which was why she had the potion. As he looked at her, she held her lit wand aloft. "Any change?" She moved it side to side wondering if he could see any change in his field of vision.

"They do look less cloudy, a little more blue." She assured him quickly, as he sounded concerned about it. "It's what lead me to believe that whatever came into contact with your eyes created a film over them. The drops are supposed to be helping remove that, but it has to be a slow process. I would hate to damage your eyes trying to fix them." Tabitha was pretty sure that his eyes, underneath whatever it was he'd gotten in them, were fine, that whatever was covering them could be taken care of, if they moved slowly.

Stepping back Tabi moved to get the potion she'd brewed. "I'd like to add the potion to your treatment, I've been brewing it based on the potential ingredients your assistant sent over." Hopefully it would expedite the process of the drops. "It should help move the process along."

---

  

---

absolute beauty by MJ

If she sounded optimistic about it, Gideon thought he ought to feel the same. It would have been ideal to have made more progress by now, but if he was still going to have his eyesight back eventually he couldn't complain too much about the time things were taking. He agreed that cutting corners and doing any lasting damage wasn't worth the risk — this past week had taught him how utterly dependent he was on his eyes, so he was not of a mind to do anything else to jeopardize them.

"That sounds perfect," he agreed, with a smile that was a little more genuine than what he'd been able to muster up earlier in their conversation. He still felt that there was something in the air between them that hadn't been there during her previous visits, however. A sense of awkwardness, and he suspected it was all his fault.

"Miss," he said after a moment. He might be making it all the worse, but he felt that since he'd created this situation he ought to at least try to rectify it. "I appreciate how professional you've been throughout this process. I know I put you in a difficult position, asking you to read my letters for me," he explained. "I don't think you've crossed any lines at all. Just so we're clear," he concluded with a slight flush to his cheeks. It was a little awkward to talk about this so plainly, but even more so when he couldn't see the way she was reacting.

  

Relieved to hear both his own enthusiasm on the subject and the fact that her hunch seemed to be right, Tabitha froze in her tracks, the smile slipping from her face at his last statement. It was fortunate he still couldn't see her expression, pained and awkward for a quick moment before she tried to recover the mask a healer needed to wear to do their job well.

Though she heard the sincerity in his voice, Tabitha grimaced a little; it didn't absolve her of any of the guilt she felt over the whole thing. She'd gotten too comfortable and she was unlikely to make the mistake again. "I appreciate your honesty, Mr. Ollivander." She said after a moment, tone soft, because she did appreciate his transparency on the matter, but she still felt a little foolish. Not to mention if he had thought her transgression worth mentioning to her supervisor, Tabi would have to relive the situation all over again and hope that Mr. Fisk would keep the repercussions light.

"If you would drink all of this please." She uncorked the potion and poured a measure into a dosing cup. Gently she reached for his hand once more, pushing the cup into his grasp, but holding on until she was sure he had it.

---

  

---

absolute beauty by MJ

It didn't sound as though she was feeling any more at ease, but he knew better than to say anything else on the subject. That would only make it worse. They just needed to put this behind them and try to move on, and hopefully if she had any lingering doubts about it his last words would have put those to rest.

Gideon bit his lower lip as her hand pressed up against his. He hated being so helpless, without his vision. It was never a good feeling but it was even worse now, because he thought that she was probably terribly embarrassed by this entire exchange and he kept forcing these little moments on her without his even doing anything at all. Her hand holding his was too intimate, and before it might have been fine — just a professional gesture from a healer — but now that he'd moved the boundaries by asking her to read his letters, it felt like more than that.

"... Thank you," he said, taking the potion to his lips to drink.