Mike's Journal

( He had just dispatched with an inebriated Brummie with an elephant trunk )

Sunday night's shift had been normal to the point of boring until suddenly, in one minute everything changed. Suddenly the corridors of St Mungo's were full of people, some crying and wailing, some walking purposefully towards their destination and others bleeding profusely, waiting patiently (or not as the case may be) to be seen by a Healer. Michael wasn't quite sure what had happened all he knew was that he needed to do something. And so, he threw himself into his work, helping out wherever he could, never feeling as though it was enough.

Michael wasn't sure how long he had been working, how many patients he had seen and he still wasn't entirely sure of what had happened but finally there was a break in patients and Michael took the opportunity to take a breather. Standing in a half-empty corridor, he dropped his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He brought a hand up to rub his head, trying to rid himself of his headache, and accidentally managed to smear blood across his face, although if asked, he couldn't have said who the blood belonged to.

Michael didn’t hadn’t thought that his day could get any stranger. First of all one of his best mates, Terry Boot, had somehow discovered (or invented, which knowing Terry was entirely plausible) that Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had broken into Gringotts and flown away on a dragon. Of course, announcing this, as he had, at top volume in the middle of the Great Hall during dinner was probably not the smartest idea that Terry had ever had, as Michael was sure that the resulting ‘punishment’ had been anything but pleasant, but it had bolstered everyone’s moods and maybe, just maybe, that was enough.
And then, not five minutes previously, who had appeared from the tunnel with Neville? Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger! It was all very odd and Michael was still trying to get his head around the fact that it was actually happening. Everything they had been building towards for the past nine months - it was here and it was happening that night. He had sent a message to Sadie, using his DA Galleon (which had been a Godsend that year) letting her know exactly what was happening and, as the rest of the DA started to arrive Michael found himself sat staring at the portrait hole waiting for his friend.

To say that Michael wasn't in the best mood was probably an understatement. Puddlemere United, or as Michael thought of them his team, had just lost their latest game and against the Arrows of all teams. And, to add insult to injury, the Tornados had somehow managed to beat the Magpies meaning that not only had Michael's team lost but he had also lost a bet with Cho. As much as Michael hated not winning and could definitely not be described as a gracious loser he never backed out of a bet, no matter how demeaning or demoralising the end result may be (and he was friends with Terry and Anthony so the answer was very).

And so it was a frustrated sigh that Michael apparated to Hogsmeade and the Three Broomsticks, their pre-arranged meeting place. Cho wasn't there yet but Michael pushed his way through the crowds to snag a spot by the bar to wait for his friend and ex-girlfriend.

As one of the newest qualified Healers, Michael frequently got stuck with the dreaded night-shift, a fact he was fast becoming accustomed to. He found that he didn't mind it quite so much anymore, either, not now that he was used to it. It was usually a good time to catch up on reading or anything else you needed to do as nothing much tended to happen during the night. Of course, he still had to make the obligatory rounds to check on all of his patients and occasionally there would be some sort of emergency that he would have to deal with but generally, night-shifts were a quiet time.

This night was no different. Bed time had come and gone and the majority of Michael's patients were fast asleep in their beds, leaving him with nothing to do. So, he did what he always did on nights like this and returned to the Staff Lounge where there was plenty to keep him occupied. Michael was pleasantly surprised to find the lounge empty but taking advantage of this fact, he dropped himself into the coveted squishy armchair in the centre of the room, switching the wireless on with a flick of his wand. He quickly discovered that there was a Quod-Pod match being broadcast and with a smile, he sent the wireless back to the table it had previously been sitting on and leaned back to enjoy the match.

( Michael Corner. )