Stock take

[ESHAE JOSANO]

Rifling through the medicine cabinets, Eshae found herself muttering under her breath the name its contents. The annual winter stock take was done to ensure that during the colder months when students were more likely to injure themselves the reserves for potions and salves was at its highest. There was no point having hundreds of burn salves when there were no pepper up potions, or Skele-grow for the more serious accidents. Scouring the back of the shelves for more than a tiny bottle of Wiggenweld potion she gave a disgruntled huff and muttered something akin to "Beg the Potions Professor."

Only that morning there had been numerous students visiting her with symptoms of the frost causing their fingers and toes to hurt. They were so easily distressed with things like this it was impossible to judge how the rest of the winter would go.

[Deleted]

Lionel made his way up from Hogsmeade to the castle. He had a small amount of business with the medi-witch at the school. He carried with him some medicines that the school required that he had brought from St Mungos. Although much that the school had was acquired from within the school, there were some healing balms that were quite tricky to come across. Due to his request to come to Hogsmeade for a weekend to take some time off, the head healer had sought fit to send him on an errand to pay for his freedom. Now, that, he deemed, was hardly fair. He sighed, her breath steaming in the cold air. He could have thought of better places to escape work from – particularly somewhere where the weather had a better disposition – South Africa perhaps. Lionel did not mind too much of the cold. He just despised working in such conditions. People came down with the most ludicrous excuses for illness. He just had no patience for weak people. Having sent an owl ahead, the guards at the gates of Hogwarts let him through easily. He walked briskly up through the courtyard, through the entrance and up a number of floors to the hospital wing. Lionel’s lip curled a little in disgust. He found it shameful to give up a powerful career as a healer to give aid to children. He deemed that job to be for those who had passed their time of glory. After all, students only had so much wrong with them – besides raging hormones and hexing each other. The amusements factor of that, however, would be fairly high. Hearing the muttering of the school nurse as he made his way to her storeroom, he smiled. It was not a particularly warm smile. “Luckily you have to beg the potions master no more. I have brought some essential supplies for you from St Mungos and a message that if you decide to quit your job here, they would welcome you home,” Tavernier’s French accent had long since disappeared. He had, in fact, gone to Hogwarts as well. He had landed up in Ravenclaw because of his ruthless intelligence. He believed that perhaps Slytherin would have been a better match. Although, intelligence was far more important than a thirst for greatness. Sly stupidity was hardly a dangerous weapon. Lionel carefully scoured the woman’s body, his eyes cold.

[ESHAE JOSANO]

"oh!" Eshae squeaked in shock as she whipped her head around to the voice who had come into her stock room. However, when she saw who it was who had entered the room she gave a slightly warmer smile."Lionel, what a shock to see your pretty face all the way up here. What's wrong? Grierson decide you spent too much time in your office again?" She let out a small laugh and stepped down from her little step to greet her old colleague. They were not from the same ward by any means, with Lionel working on the much more severe, dark magic inflicted cases. She stuck very sternly to the children's wards.

Walking over to him she opened her arms a little in a welcoming gesture. "It's good to see an old face again, you would not believe how little i get to talk to people now that i'm here." Her smile was warm but there was a very distinct chill in the room. They had never been the closest of colleagues, never crossing paths often but she felt it was something at the very least. "And you know well enough this was my dream from the beginning. I was honoured when Madam Pomfrey named me her replacement. Just because I'm not taking cases like that that poor warlock who splinched himself with a toilet bowl ... doesn't mean my job isn't keeping me interested"

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“I took a holiday. It seems that since I was in the area, he decided that it would be best to deliver these supplies to Hogwarts myself… with the winter season upon us, your little students may need some extra medical help,” the smile that was plastered on his face did not speak of warmth. While Lionel could be incredibly charming, he chose not to be in such situations. He could gain very little from this encounter so he just did not bother. However, it would not do to be rude. Lionel disliked rudeness. Even a person of lesser being deserved some courteousness. The world had seemed to forgotten that. Lionel watched her carefully as she stepped forward, welcoming him. Eshae was certainly a comfort. She was warm to most people, even cold people like him. Children, perhaps, were where she was meant to be. Lionel liked the darker side of healing – dealing with dark curses and injuries from them. Oh that was certainly challenging. However, there were people in his ward that would never recover and that was a pity. He hated not being able to solve the puzzle. Lionel accepted her words as a no to returning to St Mungos. She certainly did have the temperament for what was required here. Lionel would have hexed the little shits by now. “Fair enough; I shall inform Grierson that you are quite content here but to keep sending Christmas cards,” he said lightly, a small smile growing on his face. He had severely doubted that Eshae would have returned anyway. “Would you like a drink before I leave?” he asked.

[ESHAE JOSANO]

Eshae laughed, it was light but it was genuine. "Oh Lionel I don't think that man knows the meaning of the word 'holiday'. I'm sorry that he's dragged you into this but I'm not sorry for seeing you again. A familiar face is always welcome with me!" She really did miss her colleagues in St Mungos; there was always much more to do, so much more to see. But she would not trade it for anything in this world. She loved working with children, they were her passion. And she had no doubt that she would do this job as long as the madam before her."That is correct." She asserted, nodding her head gently; the hair around her face bouncing around her cheeks. "And a Christmas card sounds wonderful, however I could have done without the singing dwarf last year..."

She walked toward her old colleage and placed her hand lightly on his arm. He was not a person known for physical signs of affection but Eshae couldn't resist. "I have missed you dear, you always did brighten up my day with that big bad gruff frown you keep on that face of yours."

"I do say a drink sounds positively obligatory Lionel. How long has it been since we truly spoke? I think it was before that massive owl attack in Hull. What was that, 3 years ago? That is positively outrageous!" She winked at him before motioning for him to follow her. "However I am not permitted to leave the grounds at a moments notice. We can use my office, there is an incredibly comfortable couch and I'm sure I have a stash of alcohol somewhere."

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Lionel's eyes glittered coldly as he regarded the woman in front of him.  Eshae was kind but he would not judge her to be naive. Oh no. The woman in front of him was unlikely to fall prey easily to the evils of the world. He could admire her for that strength, albeit covered in warmth. Eshae was a creature of love. She smiled politely in response to the statement about his boss and her former one. Yes, that man did not understand boundaries. He, however, was sure that the half blood would soon learn his place in this world. So until then, Lionel did not mind being his little pet. If anything, Lionel knew how not to be rude. He smiled politely again at her mention of the singing dwarf. Oh, how twee was that man who was his boss. It seemed a little unprofessional. However, Lionel was everything professional. He could not understand close relationships with work colleagues.  He grimaced slightly as she wrapped herself around his arm. He did not respond to her when she expressed that she missed him. He could not return the sentiment. It seemed rather shallow. How could anyone miss someone they barely knew? That was certainly puzzling for him.  "Your day was easy to brighten up then," he replied stiffly. "Yes, it has been a long time indeed," he said nonchalantly, following her. He watched her curiously, waiting to see what drinks she produced. Well, it was certainly good to have allies in Hogwarts, even if he had to spend time acting polite. Oh, perhaps he could even charm her. It would be useful to have this link to Hogwarts. Many student details resided in this place. "I am quite happy to stay here. The weather outside is positively awful," he remarked.

[ESHAE JOSANO]

Eshaes grin - if possible - widened at Lionels agreeing to come with her to her rooms for a drink. It was no secret that the man was handsome and he had been something akin to a celebrity in St Mungos. His aptitude for Medicinal Magic was almost legendary. It used to make her weak at the knees when she began working in the hospital. Of course she had somewhat grown out of her little crush for the French Bon Bon. Somewhat. "Of course, It must be positively Baltic out there. Here." She said, taking her wand from inside her robes and flicking it towards her open fireplace, a great perk of being a staff member, floo chat was incredibly popular but she mainly used it for its original purpose. Heat. "You can sit anywhere you please sweetie, just please don't put your feet up on the coffee table." She grinned at the last part, indicating to what was her coffee table, now strewn with medical journals and books on child development ... as well as a few romance novellas for her own entertainment.

She walked over to her cabinet beside the door they had walked through, and closed the door with her hip as she reached into the cupboard and pulled out two bottles. "Now, it's not Ogdens but I do have a vintage firewhisky. 1942? Never had the chance to open this ... I think it may have been a gift from my leaving party" She grinned sadly. "Would that do, or would you like me to see what else I have?"