harry potter book of crimes

"Hermione, it's lunch time. I just went down to get some mashed potatoes and sausages, here you go"

In fact, the food stored in St. Mungo's is quite sufficient so far. But after all, the magic spell cannot produce real food, so it will inevitably eat less and less. Coupled with the arrival of the support team of the International Federation of Wizards, the food every day

Consumption has naturally increased a lot.

Therefore, in order to avoid premature food shortages, the hospital decided to implement planned rationing as soon as possible.

Ron took out a bag of lunch boxes that he had just picked up, handed it to Hermione, and said casually:

"... Starting from this meal, as a standard meal for the sick and injured, the members of the federation's support team are rationed three-quarters of the amount, while the refugees like us and the medical staff in the hospital are rationed

Half."

"There are only half of the medical staff?" Ginny couldn't help but frowned when she heard this, "They work so hard to treat patients, how could it be...who decided this?"

But Ron just shrugged and said:

"It's the rules set by the dean, and I heard that he himself is only half of them."

"Oh, this"

When Ginny showed an expression that she couldn't let go of, Ron continued:

"In short, that's it... Moreover, except for the patients, everyone has to pick up their own meals. But when I went there, I found that they had already prepared our portions in advance."

"...Ron."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hermione, who had already opened the lunch box, called him.

After Ron heard this, he immediately turned his head to take a look.

"What's wrong?"

"Is this one-half the amount?"

"It's unlikely no matter how you look at it, right?" Fred leaned to the side and looked at most of the box of mashed potatoes and two grilled sausages inside.

"It looks like a full meal anyway." George added.

After the two said this, everyone present could not help but look at each other.

There is no doubt that this is definitely because Maka, Harry and Neville are all fighting outside... No, it should be mainly because they have a very close relationship with Maka that they get such "preferential treatment".

"Ron, take half back," Ginny couldn't help but shook her head, "If Maka and the others are here, it's okay to give them a full meal...or even more, but we definitely don't deserve such special treatment.

.”

"Ah, um!" Ron nodded after hearing this, "Okay, I'll go right away."

As he spoke, he was about to put down his pocket and take out half of it, but at this moment, Hermione, who had been silent since just now, suddenly said again:

"No, I think we have to accept this favor."

"Hermione?"

Ginny was obviously very confused. But she also knew that Hermione would never make any selfish decisions, so she still planned to listen to the other party's explanation first.

As expected, Hermione quickly continued:

"I know you may be confused, but we really have to accept them... because only in this way can Mr. Bernthal, the dean of St. Mungo's, feel more at ease."

"You mean..." Ron pondered, "to tie Maka up?"

"Well... I don't think I can say that completely," Hermione said. "I have learned about Dean Bernthal. Generally speaking, he should still be a respectable therapist. However, he is now

The Dean of St. Mungo's, he is responsible for all the asylum seekers and staff here."

"Remember? Haierbo has been to St. Mungo's more than once. Mr. Bernser must have seen Haierbo's terrifying strength. So he must also understand that if Haierbo comes again next time

And without Maka, the federation’s support team alone will not be able to withstand it.”

At this point, Hermione paused briefly, and then continued:

"I think Mr. Bernser actually hopes to give Maca a favor directly, but Maca obviously doesn't need any benefits. Therefore, he would settle for the next best thing and choose us."

Hearing this, Ginny finally nodded slightly in understanding.

"So..." she thought for a while and said, "If we also refuse, he will not feel at ease?"

Bernthal was originally just a very good therapist. He became the director of St. Mungo's Hospital of Witchcraft and Wizardry solely because of his high popularity.

If things were going well on weekdays, managing the hospital every day would be hard work, but he would still be barely competent. But now, one disaster after another has turned St. Mungo's into a temporary refuge, and his burden is getting bigger and bigger.

To be honest, these disasters have made him feel a little exhausted.

Therefore, Bernser is careful in everything he does now. Not only does he often do it himself, he resumes his duties as a therapist and personally checks and treats the injured, but he also arranges all matters of St. Mungo's as carefully as possible.

Including the new rules for food distribution, he had researched them in advance to prepare for a rainy day.

Obviously, he was afraid that due to some of his own negligence, everyone in St. Mungo would be in danger. He really couldn't afford such a major sin!

"Hmm... So, I'm afraid we have to accept this 'goodwill', even if it just makes Dean Bernthal feel more at ease."

Hermione also nodded and said:

"To be honest, if it hadn't been for... if Luna hadn't made me understand that sometimes it's important to accept gifts from others honestly, I might not have thought of this today."

As she spoke, she picked up her fork, scooped out some mashed potatoes, and stuffed it into her mouth. When she tasted it carefully, she felt that the faint salty taste spread gently on her tongue. Somehow, it felt a little heavier.

.

"But..." Hermione paused and suddenly added, "I didn't expect that it is not easy to accept gifts silently like this!"

Although she has thought through the rationale very thoroughly, this is after all a special treatment equivalent to that of an injured patient.

While other evacuees and even medical staff who are busy all day can only eat half of their meals, I can enjoy twice as much food while doing nothing... This is undoubtedly a burden.

"Eat!" Hermione looked at Luna on the bed. "After we are full, we will help the therapists at St. Mungo's take care of the patients just like last time... I think this should help

Mr. Bernthal feels more at ease."

"OK!"

"That's it!"

As Fred and George spoke, they also took the lunch boxes from Ron's pocket and ate quickly with their wives.

Unexpectedly, before everyone finished eating, there was a knock on the door of the ward.

"Here we go...I'll open the door."

Ron motioned for everyone to continue, and he ran to open the door with the lunch box, and found that the person standing outside the door happened to be the Dean Bernthal they just talked about.

Oh, thinking about it this way, maybe it’s not a big surprise that he would choose to come here for a visit.

"Dean? Please, please come in."

"Are you all having a meal? Sorry, I may have disturbed you a little by coming here at this time!"

Bernser, who has some gray hair on his temples, is wearing the same green uniform robe as other therapists. The hem and sleeves are stained with some permanent stains left by special chemicals. But except for those spots that cannot be cleaned, his

The outer robe still looked very clean.

When he walked in from the outside, he had a kind smile on his face and seemed to be in good spirits. However, the fatigue hidden in his eyes was so heavy that he could no longer hide it.

Needless to say, he must have taken a refreshing potion, and he may not have slept at all in the past two days.

"No, why bother?" Seeing how polite he was when he opened his mouth, Percy, who was dining by the window, immediately said, "Mr. Bernthal, if you have anything to say, just say it... In fact, we are planning to eat

After I’m full, I’ll go outside to help!”

"Oh, how can this be done... No, no need to trouble everyone!" Bernser immediately waved his hands, "The manpower in the hospital is actually enough. After all, so far, the injuries that have come to seek refuge are mainly traumatic injuries. After treatment,

It’s not complicated. Everyone has worked hard in the past two days, and most of the injured have recovered!”

While talking, he pretended to casually look at the lunch boxes in everyone's hands one after another. When he saw that everyone was eating full lunches, the smiles on his face became obviously more serious than at the beginning.

"By the way, I heard that someone was injured outside before, and Mr. McClain personally brought the person up... It was Miss Lovegood, right?" Bernthal said at this moment, "Of course, there is Mike.

According to Mr. Lane, the patient’s treatment will definitely be fine, so I’m just here to visit her this time!”

Bernthal's words were actually more of an excuse, because he mainly came to see if Hermione and others had accepted the "favor" arranged by him personally.

But when they heard what he said, everyone's mood suddenly became a little low, especially Hermione. Compared to other friends who only knew that Luna was seriously injured and not awake, her mood was naturally heavier because she knew more.

.

And when everyone couldn't help but stop moving one by one, Bernser turned his eyes to the hospital bed, his expression gradually changed from relaxed to confused, and then from confused to stunned.

Soon, I saw that his mouth was half open, he hesitated for a moment and then said with a slight frown:

"Miss Lovegood this is"

Bernser was really shocked, because he gradually discovered that although Luna on the hospital bed seemed unharmed, it was obvious that she had stopped breathing.

But even so, she was still lying on the hospital bed, and no one touched her.

Is he dead? Or not dead... For a moment, Bernser, a senior therapist, was a little unsure. After all, he knew about Maka's superb healing skills.

"Don't worry," Hermione suddenly whispered at this moment, "Luna just can't wake up for the time being... This is what Maka said."