no glue, no bag of tricks • {ruari}

Lately, he had begun to feel like he was constantly busy, which he did not mind… much. Work, though seemingly overwhelming at times, never felt like a chore.  Hal enjoyed his job, as he knew he would the minute he applied to Dilys. But it was demanding. By fixing and saving other people’s lives, he sometimes felt like he was missing out on his own.  Hal hadn’t seen Ruari in what felt like ages. He missed her. He wanted to be with her – even if it meant just sitting on her couch and running his fingers through her hair.
   
So, uncharacteristically, he had taken the day off. Hal decided that it was time to be selfish, if just this once, for he wanted some time for himself. He had been fearful that it wouldn’t be allowed at first, but luck seemed to be on his side. Today was an unusually slow one, it appeared. There was not much going on. The hospital was not bustling with new patients, and the old ones did not require ceaseless attention.

The minute he received the okay, Hal informed Ruari that he would be stopping by. And there he went. As desired, once she brewed him a cup of coffee as she always insisted on doing, they simply relaxed. It was perfect. It was easy.

Time passed, and he eventually asked her if she wanted to get some fresh air. He wanted to go to the park, and she seemed just as eager. As they exited her flat, he inhaled deeply. A cool breeze was blowing, playing with the collar of his shirt. Wisps of clouds floated above in the dull blue sky. It wasn’t an extraordinary day, but he was pleased to see that it wasn’t too dreary. They could still take a walk, like he wanted to. A content smile crossed his lips at the thought.

“Ready?” he asked her, offering his arm.

Soon, they were there. Around them, children laughed and chased after each other. Hal smiled at the sight, reminded of the Trickett household. Eons ago, those scurrying children had been Arick, Tate, and Freya. And even before that, him, Valda, and Ingrid – though he liked to think that he and his older sisters were a little more composed.

All could not be too peaceful for long, however.  As a scream pierced the air, Hal’s attention was stolen.

l“What was that?” he asked, unconsciously dropping Ruari’s hand to move towards the sound.

Hal's appearance had been a much needed distraction.

Before his arrival, Ruari had been knee-deep in chiffon. Summer was a time for fancy balls and pretty, light dresses and in a rush, the chiffon had wrapped around her legs and she'd fallen to the floor with a scream. Luckily, the material had broken her fall and the only thing that was bruised was her ego. She ran back upstairs, ignoring the little spots of blood on her fingertips where she'd stabbed herself with a needle and straight into her boyfriend's arms.

It was such a lovely surprise! Wasn't he meant to be working? Ruari entertained the idea that he was so besotted with her, that he couldn't spend an entire day away from her…but she doubted that was true. He must have just gotten all of his work done early. His job was so much busier and stressier than hers so she was touched that he'd go out of his way to see her. The obligatory coffee had been served and she was enjoying just sitting on her sofa, her long legs curled beneath her but a walk sounded super.

"Yes!" The tall blonde exclaimed, leaping to her feet. Hal could put his empty cup wherever the Hell he wanted, she didn't really care much. At the mirror, her pale hands tied her hair back into a sleek and unusually tidy ponytail, the long chiffon blush coloured fabric of her skirt swaying merrily. The sleeves to her sweater were rolled up to the elbow as she was finally ready to let go of the winter. Ruari packed light and never took a bag. She simply picked up her keys, that was all she'd be needing right now.

Hal's gentlemanly gesture made her laugh. "Totally," she said as she slipped her arm into the crook of his proffered one. This was nice. Ruari wasn't one for extravagant dates. Restaurants were nice but she'd prefer that they stayed home and cooked together. Walks were great. It was such a beautiful day. The weather was on the turn, the sun trying to break through. She liked walks. She often did it. In fact, one of her favourite walks was the one down the old street to St. Mungo's where she frequently bottled it and never went inside before they started to date. It was a weird force of habit or something.

A park!

Grinning, she squeezed his arm affectionately. Ruari loved parks. She loved children. She didn't really have much of a choice. In a family as large and as raucous as hers, everyone needed to baby-sit. Tilting her head, a faint waft of her delicate floral perfume caught on the breeze as  her mind wandered; did she want kids? Totally. Maybe. One day. She wasn't in a rush and she and Hal had agreed to take things slowly. Their fledgling relationship needed to be protected. This was nice.  The gentle children's laughter made her think towards the future. Would Hal ever want kids with her? It was too early to even consider thinking about that but deep down, she knew there was no one else she'd want to have them with.

A horrible sound shattered her little reverie. "What?" She gasped, feeling bereft in the loss of his touch as she reached out to take his hand again in vain. Panicking, she looked over her shoulder, hitching up her dress so she could follow him. Ruari instantly regretted wearing her cute new black patent sling backs on the grass and tarmac. She'd roll her ankle if she wasn't careful and she very rarely was.

"What's happened?" She asked the Healer, keeping close, her hands going to her throat as panic set in. Shit. What if the scream had come from a child that was hurt? Her mind whirred. "Hal?" Ruari asked gently, always two steps behind. Seeking reassurance and comfort, she slid a warm palm down the centre of his back and rested it on his hip. Ruari was consoled through touch which was pretty much why she was usually stuck to him like glue.

Ruari was right behind him, and he was grateful to have her there.  He hoped the sight they were approaching was not too gruesome, however. Screams like that were often a result of ghastly injuries, which he’d learned the hard way during his time at St. Mungo’s. He kept directly in front of her, so that whatever it was, he’d be able to see it first. Perhaps if it was bad, he could keep her from looking.

As he moved closer, he could make out the figure of a woman kneeling in front of another person. She appeared to be completely panicked, but he could tell from her attire that she wasn’t a muggle who had happened to wander in the wizarding part of town. So, then, what was the problem? Practically right beside her now, Hal bent down to her level, unfortunately losing the feel of Ruari’s hand on his back, and noticed the blood on the young lady’s hands. Raising an eyebrow, he began to examining the man, who he assumed had come to meet her, and understanding crossed his features. “Splinched,” he stated, simply. Some skin – a lot of it – had been removed from the man’s side.

Without speaking, he grabbed the woman’s crimson coated hands to see if anything was wrong with her, too. He noticed nothing, and before he could question her, she began to mumble. Upon listening closely, he could hear her repeating that she was okay, and asking for his help. Tears had begun to glisten in her eyes. Solemn yet sympathetic, Hal nodded, and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly in an attempt to calm her. It would be difficult to figure out a solution with her sobbing beside him, but he knew he couldn’t send her away.

Hal removed his cloak hastily, and cast it over the man’s wound. He was groaning loudly, and Hal’s mind began working at a mile a minute, trying to figure out a way to ease the pain. Shit. He really had not prepared for this. Keeping his cloak over the wound, Hal turned to look for his companion. Instantly, his gaze landed on long blonde hair, still not too far behind him. “Ruari.” His voice was soft, and his tone slightly apologetic. He’d taken the day off to spend time with her, yet had still ended up working. It was just his luck, really. “I don’t have any Dittany,” he confessed.

“Come here,” Hal beckoned, refocusing on the man before him. He was beginning to lose a lot of blood. Silently, the former Slytherin swore beneath his breath again, and once Ru was near, he took her hand and placed it on the cloak. “Do me a favour,” he requested. “Hold this down until I get back. I’d ask his friend to do it, but she seems a little out of it. If you could say something to her to calm her, that’d be wonderful. You’re much better at that than I am.” Allowing her to take over, Hal got up, not really giving her much choice in the matter. “If blood starts to dry, use the Tergeo spell. I promise I won’t be long.”

With that, he was gone with a loud crack.

Ruari was using Hal like a human shield. Gently, she pressed her face into the centre of his back and clenched her eyes shut, her fingers digging into his hip. He wasn't close enough, despite being right there. Very slowly, her big grey eyes blinked over the curve of his shoulder and he'd left her. The park had soon emptied of children, presumably carted off by worried parents. She swallowed, eyes wide, her body frozen in fear. This wasn't happening. The scene before her played out in slow motion and Hal was busy.

Splinched? That was what her boyfriend had said. Ruari's heels dug into the Earth as she stood paralyzed, her eyes flicking back and forth as her head began to spin. "Okay," she whispered, swaying a little on the spot. Hal moved and Ruari saw a lot of blood and a lot of muscle. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she thought she might be sick. The worst thing she'd had to endure so far was her own blood but this, this was so much worse and it had gone from a trickle to a full on gush.

Her mind began to catch up as though this was given a kickstart suddenly. The weeping woman was covered in blood. She didn't have any tissue. Shit. Why didn't she bring a bag? She had tissues in her bag! This was some horrible slow motion disaster movie. Around the man, blood was seeping into the grass, it's green colour now a horrible red. The delicate blades were now squashed and matted. Goodness, a few kids were gonna need therapy after this.

Her name made her jump.

Dittany? "Neither do I," she admitted, sounding desperate as she felt like hope was lost. Was this man…dying? Oh God. She'd never seen a dead body before. Well, except for that of her childhood bunny, Bubbles. Her pale fingers went to her neck, nervously pulling on the thin silver chain as she swayed. Dittany. Where any of these plants dittany? She looked around. Nope. Just stinging nettles.

When asked to come closer, her body obeyed despite her mind telling her to run away. "Hal," she whispered, her voice cracking as her eyes flicked to the woman who seemed to be completely in shock. She needed a cup of tea. Or a slap. As Hal placed her hand on the cloak, she instinctively tried to recoil. She could feel the warm blood seeping through the material, she could feel the dampness on her palm. He held her hand there and she was forced to kneel, clenching her eyes shut tightly in an effort to block out the man's pained noises. She felt ill. Dutifully, she applied pressure, peeling back the cloak a little to see the extent of the injuries and instantly wished she hadn't.

"Oh Merlin's underpants," she whispered, eyes wide. The man's friend hadn't heard her. Friend? Or girlfriend? Ruari turned to look at the shaking woman. What if he died? Like…expired? Actually? She couldn't imagine the pain and hurt she'd be feeling. "Get back?" The blonde exclaimed, her head shooting upwards to shoot Hal an incredulous look. "You can't leave me here!" The Irish girl yelled as the man let out another groan. "Oh I am so sorry," she whispered, her anger at Hal dissipating almost instantly. "Am I pressing too hard?"

Word of comfort? She needed words of comfort! Hal was already up and off the floor, leaving Ruari to look like a completely lost toddler. "I don't --" she began, trailing off. "I just --" she began again. "I can't --" She wasn't at all qualified! The noise meant he'd done and at the moment, she was the only hope that man had. Poor bugger. "Okay," she told herself, one hand on the man as she turned to the woman. "Everything's going to be fine," she said placidly, though her voice was strained. "It's an easy fix," she replied brightly as though losing four pints of blood was the equivalent of putting a plaster on a paper cut.

"Hal's just gone to get some things," Ruari said casually as though the Healer was just nipping out for a pint of milk. The woman seemed placated somewhat, her tears had stopped. "No no," she told her firmly, holding a blood covered hand out towards the woman. "Stay there. Just breathe. That's it. In and out. That's better," she said gently, using the same voice that she used when one of the children was crying. Now that the man's friend seemed okay, quiet but not in any danger, Ruari peeled back the cloak.

"No, no, no, no, no," the blonde said like mantra, wincing, closing her eyes to press a finger against the man's skin to see that the blood was becoming tacky and she let out a squeal, heaving a shudder. "Oh that's so gross," she whispered, visibly paling. "Tergeo!" she said, waving her wand and allowing it to clean away the dried blood, the remaining skin looking clean but still bleeding. "It looks like strawberry jelly," she said aloud, dipping her head to examine the exposed muscle. The man protested by heaving another painful moan. "I am so sorry," she gushed again, repeating the spell, trying to leave the area clean for Hal when he returned. If he returned. It had been less than thirty seconds but it already felt like an eternity.

It was unlike him to panic, but this situation was different from most. Hal was usually meticulous, prepared for these sorts of things. Yet he had slipped up royally today. All he’d had on his mind was blonde hair, grey eyes, and the scent of lavender. There was no room for medical potions and what-ifs, and he hadn’t wanted there to be. As he rummaged through his cabinets, a thunderous swear was egressed from his lips by his own frustration. He should have known better. He should have at least pocketed a tiny bottle of dittany before leaving to see Ruari, if even only as a precaution in case she got hurt, which was admittedly likely. He hadn’t been thinking. He swore again.

Hal moved from his cabinets to his desk hurriedly. He needed to find this potion, and he needed to do it quickly. There was no telling how much blood had already been lost, and how much the man was currently losing. And with that, another obvious thought crossed his mind, only adding to his annoyance with himself; he should’ve cast – or at least have Ruari cast – the Vulnera Sanentur incantation before he’d departed. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Had his common sense taken a vacation when he’d decided to request the day off?

While sifting through one of the drawers, he discovered what he was looking for, and with a relieved sigh immediately placed it in his pocket. His mind then wandered to Ruari, who must have been doubly as apprehensive since he had left her alone, and though he knew it was impossible for her to receive, he sent her a mental message, informing her that she would soon be freed. Double checking to ensure he had everything he could possibly need and use, Hal exhaled deeply before leaving his flat with another crack.

Ruari looked absolutely frazzled, with worry etched into her pretty features. From what Hal could see, though, she had done a good job holding down the fort; the woman beside her seemed a little more serene, and the scene was not quite as sanguinary as he had left it. Stooping behind the Irish woman, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. On his face, Hal wore a smile of gratitude. He wanted to say more, to properly thank her as he knew she had been frightened, but there was no time. He swapped places with her and instantly began to work, deft fingers moving swiftly.

Dittany was being poured, incantations cast, wands waved, bandages wrapped… The entire process came naturally to him as a result of constant practice. Despite the fear that had prickled earlier upon realising that he was ill-prepared for the event, Hal was now completely at ease and in his element. Splinching was a common thing, something he saw and treated regularly. It wasn’t long before the man was patched up with his head propped on his companion’s lap. The woman appeared to be ten times more relieved now and was exceedingly grateful, shoving thank you’s at Hal that he turned away with a modest smile. Once he’d given instructions and checked again that everything looked fine, Hal departed from them and returned his attention to Ruari.

“Sorry about that,” he apologised, concern evident in his face. “Are you okay?” He grabbed her hands for examination, then used his wand to remove any blood that had touched them. As he kept them in his light grasp for a little longer, his eyes found hers and a small smile touched his lips. “I know you were nervous but you did well,” he complimented. “I was proud.”

Uh oh.

Hal had gone and she was completely alone in a lovely park with a shell shocked woman and a half-dead man. Her mind was spinning. She had no idea what she was doing. Ruari was equipped with a few simple spells as she was really rather clumsy but there was nothing she was able to do that would make a difference to this poor soul. In that moment, she never wanted to apparate ever again. What if that happened to her?

"Okay," Ruari whispered to herself as she pressed down on the wound again, focusing on her breathing. He was moaning which was bad but also not. He was still conscious, still breathing. Behind her, she was dimly aware of the woman's muffled sobs. Swallowing, her knees had become numb, she'd been leaning down for so long. Dressed just in a jumper and a skirt, there was no way she'd be able to stem the bleeding with fabric. Episkey wouldn't work. That was for broken noses and minor grazes. This was a full on waterfall.

Time ticked by so slowly, it seemed to be going backwards. Ruari was looking forward to a lovely afternoon with her beloved, maybe they could have fed the ducks but instead, she was here, trying to save a life. She hadn't heard Hal return so when he did, she flinched, her rain cloud grey eyes wide with fright. He tried to move her but she was reluctant to go, terrified that if she relieved the pressure, the man might expire but she conceded.

For the first time since he'd left her, she was able to breathe. She stepped away and, almost like an autopilot, looked over to the woman. She was fine. No blood, no bruises. Just shock. Nothing that a cuddle and a stiff drink couldn't fix. Thinking she was fine, she soon realised she was not. Swiftly,  her knees buckled and then gave way, causing her to drop to the ground and into a seated position. Her mind was fuzzy, eyes unfocused as she watched her boyfriend work away.

Ruari had never seen Hal work. But she knew him. He was smart and strategic and she watched with interest. It felt odd. She felt detached, like this entire thing was happening to someone else like in a Muggle movie. It was horribly inappropriate but she saw the sun dappling through the leaves and hitting his jaw line. She chewed on her lower lip as she sat. He moved with precision and she was dimly aware of various spells being cast that she'd never heard nor seen before.

Maybe it was delayed shock but her eyes trailed from Hal's face down to his shoulders, entranced by the way his shirt was pulled taught over his defined muscles and she swallowed. There was just something so inherently attractive about a man who was in control. It was terribly unseemly but she wondered if he wouldn't mind forgetting this ever happened and running back to her apartment for sexy times.

He was apologising and she blinked, snapping out of it. "Oh," she said gently, looking over at the couple who seemed okay. A little worse for wear but okay. "Should I get them some tea?" She asked weakly. Her grandmother treated everything and everyone with a good strong cup of tea, loaded with sugar for the shock of the entire scenario.

"I dunno," she told Hal, her eyes seeming a little glassy. She held her shaking hands out towards him. The shock of red contrasted wildly with her pale, pale skin. The man's blood covered them completely; her palms, the backs, her nails and up her forearms. Her pretty blush coloured skirt and been stained, too. The spots were now drying and tacky to the touch. She didn't mind too much. She allowed the Healer to clean her up but the smell still remained. Like copper. It turned her stomach and she forced herself to swallow and offer a weak smile.

His touch was comforting. She took a breath and nodded, her eyes straying. The man was out of it completely but the woman was laughing and stroking his hair. If they weren't dating now, they bloody well should be. "Nervous?" She repeated with wide eyes. "I was shaking like a shitting dog," she exclaimed, looking down at her hands which had admittedly eased up now that he was holding on to them.

Hal said he was proud and her heart swelled. That was all she ever wanted. Honestly. "I'm proud of you!" Ruari gushed, sliding her fingers into his. "You were so good," she enthused, shaking her head, messy blonde hair slipping out of her previously neat ponytail. "And so calm. You were amazing," she told him earnestly before leaning in and planting her mouth on his quickly. She was a mess of adrenaline and she needed to let him know that she was amazingly appreciative of what he'd just done. Kissing him again, she leaned back, just half an inch, their faces still close together. "Please tell me this wasn't the date you had planned?" She whispered, cracking a grin, suddenly feeling a mixture of tiredness and having the ability to take on the entire damned world.