The First Task

[Jessica Barrett]

Jessica Barrett had survived the Triwizard Tournament during her fourth year at Hogwarts, this shouldn’t have been that difficult. While supporting most of her weight between two bars, her task was that she should walk from one end to the other. Her legs in braces which gave her joins a bit of cushion as they bent, she part walked, part dragged herself one step closer, and then another. Pain shot up her legs as she did so, but she wanted to keep going. Her hands gripped the bars for dear life, she gave a small whimper. She was half way to the other side but everything hurt. She bowed her head in defeat, breathing heavily and then looked up longingly at the other side.

((ooc: Does anyone want to join Jessica? Anyone and everyone, the more the merrier!))

[Alex Binns]

((ooc: I think you mentioned in her profile that her dad had been head of the Spell Damage bit of Mungo's? Hope what I said about him sort of mentoring Alex and then suggesting him as his replacement when he retired is cool with what you'd said you were thinking.))

Strictly speaking, Jessica Barrett shouldn't have appeared on Alex Binns' patient list. As Head Healer of the Spell Damage department he usually didn't take specific cases like hers but there was one key element that distinguished Jessica from every other patient in Mungo's - he knew her family well, very well in fact. It had been Jessica's father, Silas, who'd mentored Alex from a fresh-faced trainee Healer to the position he now held, the kindly man had even suggested Alex's name when the Mungo's board had been looking for someone to replace him when he announced his retirement! For this, Alex Binns owed Silas Barrett everything. That combined with the fact that he remembered Jessica as a young girl coming to visit her father at work meant Alex Binns had a lot of affection for the girl and a hell of a lot of determination that he'd be the one to help see her through her recovery in any way he possibly could.

So that was why he now stood, momentarily forgetting all the other bulky files and charts on various patients he had tucked under his arm, silently observing the girl as she had her regular physical therapy session. He saw her look of defeat and that was when he couldn't stand it any longer and he stepped forward into the room and smiled grimly, "Please, don't run before you can walk," he advised quietly. "You know you're making excellent progress as it is. You're getting there, you're well on the road to recovery. I promise you," he assured her seriously, the kindness in his eyes shining through despite how he tried to remain professional and detached. There was no question of remaining detached with this case, not when it was Jessica.

[Jessica Barrett]

Jessica, her arms hooked over the bars like crutches as she rested for a moment smiled, if only partially as Alex Binns’ comment, “There is no worry of that,” she replied looking up at him. “Running is out of the question,” she laughed good-naturedly.

As he encouraged her she rather blatantly ignored his words and pushed herself up again, straightening once more. She wasn’t ignoring him per say she was taking his advice. She took another step, gripping the bar, her hands clinging on as if for dear life. “You know,” she said as she gripped the opposite bar with her other hand and took another step, “Did anyone ever tell you never to make promises to patients,” she looked over at him, “…because you know they might not come true.” Her father had always told Jessica of the dangers of getting too emotionally attached or engrossed with ones patients, making promises was something you just didn’t do, even if you thought they had a 99% chance of recovery, there was that fickle little 1% of doubt.

((ooc: Loved it! And that sounds good.))

[Alex Binns]

He nodded grimly, realising his choice of words was probably horribly inappropriate, but then made the effort to crack a smile as Jessica approached the whole thing with her usual good natured outlook. "It might be out of the question now, you just give it another couple of weeks. Trust me, I'm a Healer," Alex noted with a joking manner.

Watching from the sidelines, so to speak, as she took more steps, her hands gripping onto the bar fiercely as she continued to converse with him, Alex remained silent. He then walked over to the other end of the bars, the area which she was aiming to reach, and let the files he'd carried drop onto the floor beside where he stood. Alex nodded finally at her question, "Yes, someone did," he agreed before smiling warmly at her, "I do believe it was your father. On my very first day as a trainee Healer, too. Somewhat of a rude awakening for me since I always thought willing your patients to get better and telling them they would do so was surely a good thing to do! But there's no doubt at all when it comes to you and your situation, you will make a full recovery and that is just a simple fact that I can easily convey to you without needing to make promises I can't keep. You will get better and I will see you recover and walk again without issue... or else I might as well quit because I'm not half the Healer I reckon I am," he said surely.