“ ‘ Grippe seizes the wizarding world!’

Grippe, which came into light few months back, now grips the entire wizarding world. It started when few wizards were diagnosed with pneumonia of an unknown cause in the Diagon Alley. Subsequently, the disease is spreading to the other parts of the country. Many witches and wizards have lost their lives and several others are teetering on the edge of it. On the light of these events, the Ministry announces complete lockdown after 30th of June. It is requested to not to ignore the symptoms and owl the nearest health care center.”, stated Hermione as she read the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.

“ All over the news , isn’t it?”, Harry asked while munching on his toast.

“ Tell me about it”, groaned Ron looking very much frustrated from the events. And who would blame him? It isn’t exactly pleasant to see people suffering , is it?

“ I know. Everything seems so desolate”, sighed Hermione, “ The things must be really out of hands for the Ministry to shut down everything. It transmits rapidly through social gatherings. I really do not know how will the school conduct the examinations though-“.

“Attention students! I have a very important announcement to make.”, Dumbledore’s voice loomed over the Great Hall.

“ Here comes the man with answers”, muttered Ron. All heads turned towards the Headmaster.

“ You all are well acquainted about the pandemic gripping our world. As this disease spreads through large social gatherings, the Board of Governors have decided against the conducting of examinations this year.

“Oh no!”, said Hermione muttering under her breath. Seriously, how can someone be so obsessed with exams! Harry did ask Hermione once about this obsession of hers. Well, he never really understood the point she tried to make.

“Now about the dispersal ”, said Dumbledore breaking Harry’s reverie.

“ The school ends tomorrow. All students will not be traveling by the Hogwarts Express this year. You have been divided into smaller groups. These groups will be assigned a particular mean of transport accordingly. The portkeys are being made and the floo networks are being activated as we speak. The students will have to travel by the assigned transport. Details of the same has been shared with your respective Head of Houses. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry has decided upon to extend our help in these tough times. Our school will now provide health care facilities to the ailing ones. Patients suffering from Grippe will be treated in the Great Hall while the Hospital Wing will remain functional for other medical services.” announced Dumbledore.

Ignoring the incessant whispering, he continued, ”Due to the shortage of medical staff, we are obliged to recruit sixth and seventh year students as volunteers. Those who interested can meet Madam Pomfrey who would give you further details. All I want to tell each of you is to help the society in the best possible ways. In such testing times we must all step forward forgetting our differences and contribute in the best possible ways. Remember students, no contribution is trifle and together we can overcome all our hardships. Never forget, ‘Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.’

---

Harry hauled his trunk on his bed to pack his belongings. He opened his trunk to put his scattered clothes and books but couldn’t put his mind into it. His mind wandered back to the Headmaster’s speech. Those words 'Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable’ still echoed in his ears. He never really understood how Dumbledore made things look so simple when in reality they were complicated.

Could people really set their differences aside to work for a common cause? People around are so full of themselves that they would not look past their selfish interests. Merlin, he knew people who could keep the grudges with a dead man! It seems that all they care about is themselves.

‘Do not paint everyone with the same brush. You of all people must know this.’ a tiny voice whispered in his head. Harry immediately felt guilty. He had been shown extreme kindness by the Weasleys and Hermoine who were strangers to him. They always stood by him; supported him through thick and thin. What would have happened if he never met the Weasleys at the platform? What if he never befriended Ron and Hermione? How he would have sustained in Hogwarts? Would he have even managed to shoulder the prophecy without his friends' support?

No. He would not have. His friends made his life easier. He was extremely lucky to have his friends to back him up. Mere thought of them brought smile on his face. His heart swelled with love and appreciation for his friends.

But not all people are that lucky. There are people who were all alone; they have no one to care for them. Or there are people, who due to this pandemic, are suffering without their families. There are so much of misery around. There are so many people who are succumbing to this disease and many who are still suffering from it. There are many families which are being torn apart. Many parents have lost their children and many children have became orphaned…. And he could do nothing about it. Or could he ..?

He cannot vanquish the virus. Nor can he prevent the people from being infected. All he could do is what he was capable of: Offering kindness

“ Mate? Alright there? Still not packed?”, Ron asked as he entered the dormitory. “Hurry up! We have been assigned the express. It leaves in an couple of hours- Mate?”.

No use of thinking whether people would step up or not. What good would it do anyways… He cannot control their actions. But he could offer kindness, the one which was offered to an eleven year old boy, and attempt to heal the world.

Ron still stared at him; clearly waiting for a response. Harry smiled and answered ,”I am where I am ought to be.”

“ You need to work on your wand – movement to get this diagnostic charm correct, Mr. Potter”, Madam Pomfrey said as she demonstrated the correct wand-movement.

”Yes, Madam Pomfrey”, Harry replied as he copied her movement. He might have got it right as she nodded and said , “ Run the diagnostic charm and note down each of the findings on separate parchments. Then, hand over those to Healer Bott. You will be given the required potions to feed the patients. And yes, do not forget to write the name of the patients on the parchments for God’s sake. I had enough of these childish blunders! Am I understood?”

Harry nodded fervently and replied, “Yes, madam.”

”Good. Hurry up now, do not waste time.”

Harry rushed to the cabinet to grab the parchments. He headed to the table near the cabinet to get hold of a self -inking quill. He sprinted across the Hospital Wing to get to the first bed. As soon as he reached the bed, he pulled out his wand to swirl and flick it over the patient. A screen appeared displaying general information and symptoms experienced by the patient. Harry copied it down dutifully on the parchment and tallied it with the screen just to be sure. And then, he moved to the next bed.

It took almost an hour to complete the diagnosis. Harry arranged the parchments in the correct order and handed them over to Healer Bott. The healer’s freckled face was etched with a smile as he spoke in his husky voice, ”Good work there lad. This time these are perfectly documented. Wait here while I bring the potions.” Harry could not help but grin over his little achievement. He managed to get the diagnostic charm right and did no mistake in documenting the symptoms. He vividly remembered how a seventh year Rawenclaw mucked up the reports on his first day. A man down with fever had received stomach draught and a girl having stomach ache got fever reducing potion. It had caused quite a stir in the Hospital Wing. The patients were terrified and started fleeing. They created quite a ruckus. The furniture were upturned, vials were shattered and medical instruments were broken. The healers tried to calm the patients down but no vail; they were inconsolable. The guards had to intervene to control the situation. Thank Merlin, there was no lasting damage. Madam Pomfrey was really furious.

The administration had become more strict after this. They had then ordered volunteers to go under training to get acquainted with the basic procedures and first aid. Harry was not allowed to enter the Hospital Wing for a week until he was thorough with the basic procedures. He was elated that he was doing the work well.

His inner musings were interrupted by the heavy footsteps of the Healer. He handed him a tray of numbered potion vials and instructed, “These are the potions needed. Give them according to the doses written.” with which he handed Harry a piece of paper. “Finish this and then you have next task waiting for you.” Harry nodded and walked away to dose the patients with their respective potions.

---

Two weeks later:-

Harry stretched as he completed his shift. These couple of weeks had been nothing but hectic. He had been on his toes lately. Though there were fifty students volunteering; he had to work round the clock. He was so tired that he could not even lift a finger. All he could think was of lying on his bed and sleep.’Do not forget that you have to use the sanitizing spell as well’, a voice whispered in his head and he groaned in frustration. All of this was so tiring.

”Mr. Potter”, called out Madam Pomfrey as he was contemplating the pros and cons of forgoing the sanitizing spell. Harry turned around to face her and asked, “Yes?”

“I wanted to inform you that you will not report to the Hospital Wing from tomorrow.”

”What! Why? Did I make some mistake? How is that possible? I made sure there were none.", Harry wondered the matron could read minds. The healers did warn them against the violation of the protocols but he did not know that just a thought of it would result into expulsion. Though all this was tiring, he liked looking after the patients. He really did not want to be removed so soon. "I am so sorry. I won't let you people down. Trust me, you would not regret it. Just give me one more chance-“

” Stop babbling, Mr. Potter. You made no mistake. I was merely stating that you have been transferred to the Grippe ward. Honestly! Kids these days.”

“Oh, sorry.”, said Harry sheepishly.

“Now, I want you to collect a protective gear from the Healer and report to the Great Hall on sharp eight ‘o clock. Is that understood?”

“ Yes, madam.”

" And one more thing. Do not go forget the santizing spell."

Harry now believed that the matron could read minds.

---

' I look like an alien’, thought Harry when he looked into the mirror after wearing the protective gear which covered him all over. It was highly uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. He was already sweating like a horse in it, he wondered what might when he would wear it for an entire day.' Maybe I'll evaporate'. The only thing Harry was glad about was that it covered his face completely. Therefore nobody could see the scar and act barmy about it. He could finally work in peace without being bothered about the awkward stares.

As soon as he entered the Great Hall,a sense of urgency engulfed his senses. He was greeted by the sight of frantic healers overseeing the patients. The tables had been removed to be replaced with the beds. The beds were arranged in rows through out the hall. Each bed had a small table beside it. The curtains were erected around each bed for the privacy of the patient. There were volunteers rushing to and fro. The patients were soundly asleep or painfully awake. He could hear the shouting of the instructions as well as the hushing of the reassurances. Though the Great Hall was busy as ever, it did not have the same charm. A voice called out for him. He turned around to face a man with a clipboard. He enquired, ”Your code?”

“Three one zero seven.”

“ You have been allotted bed number seven. You need to look after the patients. You need to make sure they take the potions and have food on time. Check their vitals regularly. Use minimal magic on them; only the diagnostic charm. Grippe escalates with the use of strong magic. For detailed instructions, contact the healer incharge. Understood?”

“ Fine, thanks.”

As he made his way towards the allotted bed, a chaos around the eighth one caught his attention. He wondered what was it all about. The hubbub around the bed was increasing;so was Harry’s curiosity. Finally his curiosity got better of him as he found himself walking towards the commotion. As he came nearer, he was greeted by the heated argument between a healer and a fellow volunteer.

“ No! I can’t do this.”

“You have to do this.”

” I did not sign up for this.”

“ Actually you did. You did volunteer for helping the healers in the treating the patients.”

“I did. But I will not touch a slimy, disgusting-“

“ Enough! You said it once but I will not tolerate this insolence any longer. As a medical staff, you ought to treat all your patients equally. This is a breach of conduct and I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!“

' Whom are they arguing about?’, thought Harry. He walked towards the bed and drew back the curtains. He was greeted by the sight of pale and unmoving Severus Snape.