Snape had returned as early as yesterday evening, and he was currently brewing potions in the inner room of the office.
Regarding Celine, Snape didn't say much. He just asked Maka to ask the therapist at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Maladies.
Although Snape's tone was still as impatient as ever, Maka was still keenly aware that there seemed to be something hidden in it.
Perhaps Celine's mother's condition is not as simple as imagined.
He thought about it for a while and decided to go to St. Mungo's first to see the situation.
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Maladies is located in the center of London, on a busy commercial street. On both sides of the wide street, the shops are mostly packed with Christmas customers.
As for why the hospital was built here, it is said that the land in Diagon Alley is really not enough, but due to hygiene considerations, the hospital cannot be built underground.
In the end, the superiors chose this place where Muggles were everywhere. To be honest, Maka couldn't figure out what they were thinking.
Maka walked on the sidewalk, glancing at the shops on the roadside from time to time, until he saw an old-fashioned red brick department store, and then he stopped.
There aren't any Muggles here - they won't go here because of magic. Because of this, it is in sharp contrast to the busy electronics store next door.
This old department store is called "Taotao Co., Ltd."
It looked dilapidated and deserted, with only a few cracked dummies in the window, wearing wigs crookedly, in different poses, and wearing clothes from at least ten years ago.
A large "Closed for Renovation" sign hangs on the dusty door.
Maka walked to a display window, where there was only a particularly ugly female dummy with false eyelashes that almost fell off, wearing a green nylon skirt.
"I'm Celine's friend. Her mother is sick, and I'm here to visit her." Maka lightly knocked on the glass and said calmly.
The ugly dummy nodded slightly and waved its connected fingers.
Maka then stepped forward and disappeared into the glass in the blink of an eye.
After a moment of coolness like water, the surrounding scene suddenly turned into a crowded waiting room.
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Injuries has always been busy. Rows of wizards and witches sit on rickety wooden chairs, and all kinds of strange disease characteristics are displayed here one by one.
Some have various deformities that look awkward, even scary; some are yelling and screaming and can't stop talking; some are crawling on the floor, and his friends are trying to pin him down to avoid hitting him. other people.
Maka also saw a patient learning to do rabbit hopping, but his sweaty face clearly meant that he was not doing this voluntarily.
Of course, some of them still look normal. They are all sitting quietly on wooden chairs waiting for their numbers to be queued!
Among the patients, there were some wizards and wizards in green robes walking around among the waiting people. They asked about the patients' conditions and then made notes on their writing boards.
Emblazoned on their chests was a emblem, a wand and a cross of bones.
Maka looked at the signs on each window and then stood in a long line.
A fat blond witch sat behind the table by the window, with a "Consultation Office" nameplate hanging on it.
The wall behind her was covered with various notices and slogans. For example, "Clean the crucible to prevent potions from turning into poisons", "Antidotes must not be used indiscriminately and must be approved by a qualified therapist" and so on.
Next to that, there is a large portrait of a witch with long silver curls hanging down. The following is annotated: Delis de Winter, Healer of St. Mungo's (1722-1741) Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (1741-1741) 1768).
Delis was looking at each patient carefully. When she saw Maka looking at her, she smiled and nodded.
Maka had seen her on the wall of Principal Dumbledore's office. When he saw this, he returned the greeting, and then saw Delis turn around and disappear from the portrait - it seemed that she had gone somewhere else.
The fat witch handled matters very efficiently, and soon it was Maka's turn.
"Please check, Celine's mother - I don't know her name, but I am Celine's friend." Maka explained.
"I think you'd better ask clearly before you come back..." the fat witch said casually, "You can't find it this way. You have to know the patient's name."
Maka thought for a while and then said: "Severus Snape came yesterday, I think you should know."
The fat witch suddenly nodded in understanding: "Oh, that's it - the fifth floor, fifth floor, go to the end on the left!"
"Thank you!" Maka said, turned around and walked inside.
There is a door at the very end of the first floor. After passing it, there is a narrow corridor with portraits of famous healers in history on both sides.
Crystal bubbles containing candles floated from the ceiling, looking like giant soap bubbles. There were wizards in green robes coming in and out of each door, and occasionally there would be a faint wailing sound coming from a room.
He climbed the stairs and followed what the fat witch said, all the way to the far left end of the corridor on the fifth floor. There, there was a single ward with a "Danger" sign. Hanging above it is a board with various information including the patient's name, condition log, primary therapist, and more.
Maka reached out and knocked on the door. After a while, she heard a weak "Please come in" from inside. The voice was indeed Celine's, but it sounded like she was sick, with a weak tone.
Maka unscrewed the door handle and pushed the door open. But as soon as he took the first step into the ward, he felt something was wrong.
That is a kind of breath that makes the soul feel depressed!
Maka, who has pondered a lot of soul magic and even experienced it personally, is very sensitive to this feeling of direct contact with the soul.
The ward was not spacious, with only a narrow window high up on the wall opposite the door. Light is mainly provided by a crystal bubble clustered in the center of the ceiling.
On the wall of the ward, there is a portrait of a certain wizard, who looks very sunny. When Maka walked in, he waved to Maka.
But under this portrait, there is a nameplate nailed, which reads: Michael Sullenberger (1585-1651), craniotomy expert.
Maka walked quickly to the hospital bed, ignoring Celine who was nodding towards him with a sad face, and stared at Celine's mother on the hospital bed and observed her carefully.
On the surface, Celine's mother was just a little thin, but she did not show the condition that a patient should have.
Her complexion was normal, even a little rosy, and she looked very healthy. Her eyes were closed tightly, and she just lay motionless on the hospital bed, breathing slowly, as if she was asleep.
"I saw the diagnosis at the door just now. Is that really what the chief therapist said?" Maka said hesitantly, "'I was frightened by the dementors, which led to self-isolation from external perception.' Is that true? Also? Didn't you say anything else?"
Celine looked at her mother sadly and said "hmm" softly.
"What about before that?" Maka continued to ask, "I remember you said that she was not in good health before—"
"That's right, but no cause of the disease was found before. It was just that my mother was too old, and it was normal for her to be weak and forgetful sometimes," Celine said. "It's just that this time, she met the cameraman behind the house. Ghost monster—"
Celine's mother, or "adopted mother", was the previous female boss of "Snow Witch". It was she who took in the young Celine, but she was already over fifty years old at that time.
On the surface, it seemed normal, but Maka didn't think so.
Perhaps Snape also noticed something strange, but according to his temperament, he would not pay even a little attention to such nosy matters.
"Celine, I think..." Maka hesitated for a moment, but then became decisive again, "I think this may be a misdiagnosis... If you trust me, I can make a special one for your mother. examine."
Celine was stunned for a moment, and her dim eyes lit up again.
"To be honest, I don't really believe it! My mother's body has always been very healthy, but when we went to the United States a few years ago, she suddenly started to become weak..." Celine stood up and hugged Ma. The stuck arm said with a cry, "You can handle a basilisk! That must be very powerful... Please help my mother check it out, please!"
Maka nodded calmly and said: "It's not convenient here... You go through the discharge procedures first, and then take your mother back to the 'Snow Witch'. I have to make some preparations... Do you need my help here?"
"No, I can do it on my own... Please!"
Seeing Maka's incredible calmness, Celine's mood gradually calmed down.
"Okay, but I still have to explain it in advance - the examination I want to do is quite special, it is related to the soul, do you understand?"
Celine looked at him in surprise, and after a while nodded again.
"The therapists at St. Mungo's can't do anything. Mr. Snape also said that special medicines are just a try-" Celine pursed her lips and said, "I'm afraid my mother's kindness to me will never be fully paid off in this lifetime... Whether it’s white magic or black magic, as long as there is hope, I must try it!”
…
Originally, Maka didn't intend to take care of everything like a good old man. But the symptoms of Celine's mother now gave him a familiar feeling.
This may be a breakthrough that can help him solve his emotional isolation problem! No matter what, he couldn't let go of any possibility.
Maka hurried back to Hogwarts and packed up many useful things.
At this moment, he missed Luna and Willy a little. It was not easy to find an assistant who could keep secrets for him!
Unfortunately, not to mention that the Christmas vacation is not over yet, Wei Li has already taken a break from school, and I don’t know when she will come back!
After packing up everything, he rushed to Hogsmeade without stopping.