Nina Boot

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[ Private ]

I don't understand why people that I know keep dying. People I care about. I mean, I always knew it was possible that Oakden could die, as he was a Hit-wizard, but I just don't understand. Only one member of the DMLE died, and it was him. The one that I really know.

We went to school together. We had classes together for seven years. We sat in the common room together. And he's dead. Gone forever. I don't feel old enough to die. I mean, not that I plan to die, but I could and   I just don't understand. I don't understand how they can kill so many people. And that other lady -- I didn't even know her but I keep thinking about her, and how she must have been a vigilante, and she got herself killed trying to do what's right, but if she wanted to fight Death Eaters, why didn't she join the DMLE?

I always thought that Oakden was a little bit deluded, always talking about why can't everyone just get along and peace and happiness and rainbows, but right now I feel like him, because I don't understand how there can be so much hatred and violence in the world, and nothing seems to stop it. Every time the Ministry takes a step forward, it's like two back. And I'm still worried about Dad, because apparently, I'm cursed.

[ Timmy and Wendy ]

I'm not coming home tonight. Too much to do.

[ April ]

Tell me if there's anything I can do for you.

[ Timmy ]

Do you have any hangover potion? I may have overindulged last night. But it was St Patrick's Day and it's not very often that a holiday comes around that's just an excuse to get drunk and I don't have to work until this afternoon.

I don't really want to go, though. Because the Minister came the other day and he pinched one of my co-workers inappropriately. And I'm afraid of the Minister, I'm afraid of the Death Eaters, and I really am worried that St Mungo's is a target for one reason or another, because so many of my co-workers have died, and one got attacked, and I just can't handle it any more.

Sorry. I know I'm unloading on you.

I know now why St Mungo's always schedules me to work the day after major holidays like St Patrick's Day. It's so that I know I have to work, don't go out, and don't make bad life choices. My head feels like it's going to be split in two, and I woke up without my shirt on, and my bra had been charmed green. I also have a bruise on my side because I think that someone pinched me really hard. I don't know who it was. But I'm not sure I like St Patrick's Day any more.

You know what I'm tired of? I'm tired of people who don't know anything about what it's like to be a Muggleborn trying to make decisions for Muggleborns.

You know what I'm also tired of? The tinge of superiority that comes with all of this talk about "integrating Muggleborns sooner." The reason people give is to help 'integrate children' and make them 'a part of the culture' sooner. But why should we want Muggleborns to immediately become a part of magical culture?

You know what else I'm tired of? Talking about blood. Or, more specifically, the stupid, arbitrary distinctions people insist on making. You keep Muggles out long enough and suddenly you go from half to pure just like that? Stupidest thing in the world. Why do we divide ourselves like this? We're all witches and wizards. We're all human beings.

[ Non-Slytherins with at least one Muggle parent ]

Hello.

If you don't know me, my name is Nina. And I have a sort of dilemma.

I've had a really rough week. One of my co-workers was murdered, and then there was a Dementor attack, and I've been working really hard and I'm just sad and worn down by everything that's going on. I'm going to dinner tomorrow evening with my parents, and really, I'd just like to unload everything on them and tell them everything about what's been going on in my life.

Unfortunately, my dad is a Muggle. And my brother and I agreed that he can't know about the war. He's already an edgy sort of person and I just think that if he knew that there really was a secret conspiracy that would love to see him dead, he just couldn't take it. My brother and I have discussed this before.

But I really just want to come clean. I'm sick of keeping secrets and I'm sick of acting like everything's fine when it's not.

I guess that it'd just make me feel better if other people with Muggle parents talked about how they handle the situation. Maybe I'll feel better if I know that Timmy and I aren't the only ones not telling people things.

Oh, and do please keep this inside this ward. We're trying to keep quieter about our less-than-wizard heritage.

It's been such a long week. I don't even know how I've made it through. I don't think I would have if it weren't for my living co-workers. Thanks, Lettie. I couldn't have done this without you. I think that, now that my shift for the day is over and I don't work until evening tomorrow, I am just going to crack open this bottle of wine that I got for Christmas and take a bubble bath. I even have some homemade bath bubbles.


Also, if you're considering a career change, or have a younger relative who is just now coming up out of Hogwarts and have or could accomplish Exceeds Expectations NEWTs in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms, I highly recommend looking into becoming Medi-staff at St Mungo's. We're understaffed these days, even more so now that Dinah is dea and even though Healers are supposed to be the prestigious job, we do work that's just as important and save people's lives every day. We also work closely with the DMLE, so as a Medi-witch or -wizard, you get to help victims of crime as well as accidents and illness on a regular basis. I initially wanted to be a Healer when I was in Hogwarts, but honestly, I'm so glad that I became a Medi-witch instead. The work is intense and rewarding, and it gives me a chance to get out of the hospital and be a part of the world. I would highly recommend it.

There are Dementors on the loose and I can't do a patronus!

[ St Mungo's ]

It was Dinah. That they found by the Ministry.

I've got the preliminary examination done and bagged and tagged everything and I think they DMLE will be sending her to the coroners at St Mungo's soon. I'm not sure how long I'll be here.

I don't know what the fuck happened. I said good-bye to her as her shift ended just a few hours ago.

[ Private ]

I still can't believe that people actually think that Mycroft might be a Death Eater. And what I hate most is how it's made me doubt everything that I thought I knew about him. I mean, it's not like I knew him that well, but he was one of the Healers that I always really admired, and he was always so nice and helpful and really seemed to care about his patients. I can't believe that he would be a Death Eater. He'd have been one of the last people I suspected. But it's so scary to think that some of them must be people we don't suspect, and what if he's just a really, really good actor? I don't want to think that way, and I don't really believe that he is, but I'm really scared to find out that I was wrong for believing in his innocence. And it's making me doubt everything and everyone I know, because all the people I thought were decent, what if it's just an act?

[ Timmy ]

Can I ask you something, and, no matter what, will you answer honestly and promise not to be offended?

Oh good lord.


Timmy, Dad's at it AGAIN. I had promised Mum that I'd come by for breakfast this morning because she wanted to see me on Boxing Day but I had to work, so I couldn't see her. Again. Anyway, I went by for breakfast and Dad had this whole really long speech about how Christmas was really a pagan holiday and the Christians STOLE IT and it was a part of an enormous conspiracy to rid the world of all evidence of magic. Honestly, the man is a trained historian. You think that he would know better. But I really think that all of the alien-UFO-communist talk is going to his head, because something is really addled up there. And I'm getting really kind of tired of having to nod my head and say, "Yes, yes, of course, Dad, that makes total sense," even when it makes absolutely no sense at all.


Oh and to everyone that I'm friends with, I'm sorry that you haven't gotten any Christmas gifts yet. I'm working on them, I PROMISE. But you know I like to make homemade things and they take a while and Christmas has been so busy I got kind of behind. You will be getting gifts before the New Year, I swear.

I got a Christmas gift already. From Wednesday. And it was AMAZING. NEW MARKERS. AND A LEASH FOR KILLER.


Wednesday you are the BEST. SERIOUSLY. This has cheered me so!

[ Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, and Ravenclaws 73-76, plus April, the lone Slytherin, and Robbie, the only old person Nina likes ]

I'm having an absolutely awful day. I imagine it'll be in the papers soon, or someone will bring it up on the journals, but I got called in on a girl who got attacked today.

They cut off her fingers. Cut off her fingers. What is wrong with these people? Seriously, what is wrong with them?

I don't know if I can keep doing this job on days like today.

[ DMLE ]

I know that the DMLE is already aware of the situation in Hogsmeade this afternoon and as far as I know you're already on the scene and took the initial call. Healers have confirmed that Mary MacDonald has both Cruciatus and Bone-Twisting damage, which indicates there is a need for Auror involvement, as suspected. MacDonald will be unable to talk to anyone for some time, but her two companions, a Margaret Wilton and a Lily Evans, have been examined and seem to have suffered no permanent ill effects and are ready to talk. Both seem to be suffering from some sort of memory loss. St Mungo's will be further investigating its cause.

Apparently, Miss MacDonald works in your office, so I thought that you might appreciate a note, as well as the official say-so that Evans and Wilton are ready to speak to Aurors.

[ Obliviators + Timmy ]

Is there some kind of Obliviator policy on Muggle family members who know too much? Because my brother and I are sort of concerned about our father. He's known about the wizarding world for about two decades, but he doesn't really know about the conflict currently going on and we think he might have found out about it based on some things that he said.

I'm sure that most Muggles within the Statute of Secrecy can handle this kind of knowledge but our father is sort of paranoid crazy high-strung and he already sort of believes in a lot of crackpot conspiracy theories. If we knew that he could potentially be targeted by wizards with Dark Magic, the consequences could be very dire.

TIMMY.

Actually, or anyone.

I DESPERATELY NEED ASSISTANCE.

KILLER HAS GONE MISSING.

He was just here not that long ago. Or, at least, I think it wasn't that long ago. I woke up really late this morning because I worked really late last night and when I got up I got Killer out to play, but then I thought that maybe I actually was supposed to be working an afternoon shift today and started freaking out so I ran off to Disapparate to St Mungo's I forgot that I had left him out and now he's GONE. I looked in all of his usual hiding places but I couldn't find him. I actually cleaned stuff up when I was looking for him. I even threw out some of those macaroni boxes I had been saving for that art project because I wanted to get rid of some stuff so that I could find him better.

I tried summoning him and EVERYTHING.

Timmy if your damned owl ATE MY MOUSE I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL YOU.


And I still haven't found my markers.

Finally, someone who has the bollocks to say that Minister Flint should grow a pair of bollocks of his own and actually say what he thinks. Some of us over here are starting to worry about whether or not we have just got ourselves a purist Minister. Personally, I'm sure as hell going to that sit-in. If I can find those markers I bought last month I might even make a sign. Who else is coming?

[ Timmy ]

You're coming with me, by the way.

I am so sick of the colour green. Everyone is bloody green! Everywhere we go, we see green people. How do you Slytherins live?

To be honest, between Timmy having dragon pox and working at St Mungo's, I'm surprised that I haven't gotten sick. I guess that my constitution is just stronger than his, which would be fitting because Timmy doesn't have a very strong constitution at all.

Speaking of Timmy.

Timmy! I went to Mum and Dad's last night for supper and Mum is convinced that the reason that you're ill is that your karmic auras are unbalanced, or some nonsense like that. She has her purple crystals all ready and she said that she and one of her friends will be doing a 'reading' on you and will 'help the karmic chi flow.' I highly recommend that you go and get your aura sorted out, because for starters, I'm pretty sure that it's probably pasty and grey, and because I want to come with you and see this happen.

My aura, however, appears to be in excellent shape and I don't need any cosmic balancing done. Mum even says that it's indigo! While I know that auras are a bunch of rubbish, I'm glad that my mother picked a pretty colour of rubbish for me.

I want to know whose brilliant plan it was to have a Hag Week. Right before Halloween, too. I think that Halloween normally makes people go nutty, but they're worse than ever. Being a Mediwitch, you learn about all of the crazy things that people do around this spooky time of year. Most of them are pretty inane. But some of them are really crazy/stupid.

Take today, for instance. It started out pretty slow, but then we got this emergency call to a house in Dorset. This bloke was utterly convinced that he had a curse put on him because he was turning green and feeling "like he was going to die." I think that you can see where this was heading. We get there, and the bloke's sneezing and sparks are flying out of his nose and we don't even have to take his temperature to tell he's got dragon pox. And he thought he had a curse put on him. He's in Magical Bugs now.

Now, on the topic of hags. This afternoon, we get another call with a woman who's hysterical and saying that her six year old son has been bitten by a hag. That's a pretty serious claim, and considering that it's Hag Week... Well, I actually believed her. She said the boy had been playing in the back yard and started screaming and when she got out there, he was bitten and the hag was gone. I went out there, saw the boy. He's bitten all right, but it doesn't look like a hag bite. I did the preliminary spells to clean and bandage it, etc, and my co-worker took him back to St Mungo's and I went out in the yard to look for a trace of hag.

No hag, but there's no fence between their yard and their neighbours. Of course, the neighbour has a rottweiler.

You know what's really depressing? When life has got you down and you need a drink to drown your sorrows, but apparently pubs are such danger traps any more you're just stuck at home, drinking alone. It kind of has the tendency to make you feel like a loser, particularly when your brother who lives right across the hall won't join you.

[ Female journal users ]

Supposing that you went on a date with a bloke and he seemed fairly decent if not I'm-going-to-date-him-forever-and-marry-him but it was fair entertaining, and then he says some offensive things about Muggleborns, what do you suppose that a halfblooded girl should do?