nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

There is a large orange tabby cat exploring around the Nexus. He seems to be looking for someone in particular. Now, that in itself is not unusual.

However, this particular tabby cat is wearing a make-shift holster around his belly and there seems to be a Starfleet phaser encased in the holster. Only the top of the phaser is visible to the eye... but it looks covered with soot.

The cat is also being followed by a glowing blue light very closely.

After a few moments of being frustrated of not seeing anyone's face, from where he is on the ground... the orange tabby cat jumps his way up a few different Nexus fixtures, until he is higher up. He stares around the Nexus and makes a soft meowing sound. Almost questioning.

Anyone care to try to answer his question.

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"Oh..." Well, so long as she's not the only muggle. "And... it's okay that I'm not from your world? I can keep that part a secret." She's done it before, pretending to be clueless rather than from another planet.

She looks down at Crookshanks, to see what he thinks about this plan. "It's up to you to keep me from getting lost," she says seriously. "I don't know anything about this place."

"There are a couple of the professors who know about the Nexus. We acted together to keep the portal safe from discovery. And you don't have to hide your identity from them. The students yes... for now."

Hermione picks up a few supplies, preparing herself for the upcoming battle.

Crookshanks meows politely. Of course he will make sure she doesn't get lost.

She nods, deciding to keep from mentioning it, just to be safe. She's only there to drop off the potions and help out as otherwise needed, anyway.

Watching Hermione prepare herself for facing the Death Eaters outside fills her with newfound worry. But Hermione is a talented and resourceful witch, and fretting over her won't help any. "Good luck out there. I can always contact the Nexus on your behalf, if there's something else you need."

"Oh, and, um... when you're done, there's a swamp witch in the Nexus who wants to meet you. She's the one who gave us the basilisk scale."

She gathers up the potions, then looks down at Crookshanks. "I'm ready when you are."

"Thank you for finding everything. And I will certainly ensure my debt is paid." Hermione pauses. Then decided to give Adia a hug. "I will contact you as soon as the battle is done, so you know that I am safe."

Crookshanks nods. He heads towards the stairs, to lead Adia up to the main floor, and through a hallway down to the infirmary. The infirmary is a busy place right now.

The hug surprises her, but she returns it warmly. "Please do." The less time she has to worry about how Hermione is doing, the better.

Quickly, but carefully so as not to drop the potions, she follows Crookshanks to the infirmary. Good thing they don't have to traverse any of those moving staircases or she'd be thrown for a loop. The business of the infirmary doesn't intimidate her as much as she thought it would. She's provided medical assistance before, both in the Nexus and in her Fleet.

She looks for someone who is potentially in charge -- someone her age or older. "Excuse me... um, Hermione asked me to bring these healing potions to the infirmary. Where should I put them?"

It is Madam Poppy Pomfrey who Adia approaches.

"Excellent." She takes one from the bunch that Adia is carrying. "These look perfect."

"Could you put one at the end of each bed? Please." There are a dozen beds in the infirmary. Each one currently holds a patient.

She's taken aback a bit by the old-fashioned dress of the woman in front of her, but then again, almost every other adult in the room is wearing wizard robes. She hopes she doesn't stick out too much in her street clothes.

Nodding at the request, she travels down the line of beds, placing a potion bottle at the end of each one. She tries not to stare at any of the patients, but she does sneak curious looks as she goes about her task.

Most of the students who lay in the infirmary appear to be around Hermione's age. It could be safely assumed only older, trained wizards have been battling today.

Adia is approached by a dignified wizard, with a lightning scar on his forehead. "You must be one of Hermione's new friends."

It's something of a relief that none of the students are children. She's seen enough of that elsewhere. She still feels sorry that they're caught up in a battle that should have ended with the death of the evil wizard Hermione told her about.

She's putting down the last of bottles when she turns at the sound of Harry's voice. She has never heard of the Boy who Lived, either through reading another world's fiction or knowing much about his world's history, so he gets a polite smile, but one that lacks recognition. "Yes, we're friends." She offers him a hand. "My name's Adia Costas. I helped Hermione get a few items she needed for a shielding spell, and then she sent me up here. I don't know any magic, but is there anything else I can do to help? I've done a lot of medical volunteering."

"Harry Potter." It is a strange thing for him to have to introduce himself. And he studies Adia carefully for a moment. He has met other Nexus friends of Hermione's... and is assuming that must be the case for Adia.

"Do you know First Aid?" Harry asks.

It does seem a safe assumption to make that Adia is from the Nexus. She's dressed like a muggle, but doesn't seem alarmed or overwhelmed by the magic around her. And there's no reaction to his name, aside from her smile.

"I know first aid," she confirms. "And triage." At the very least, she's another set of hands.

"Oh good. We are limited in the amount of magical healing spells we want to use at this time. So if you could take a look around, and assess who needs the most care first, that would be greatly appreciated." Harry replies.

Crookshanks meows. How can he help?

That's a surprise. But maybe magic has its limits here. She'll have to ask Hermione about it some other time.

"No problem," she says. She looks down when Crookshanks meows and smiles fondly. She hopes Harry has a job for him, too, but if not, he could keep Adia company while she navigates the infirmary.

It would have been more appropriate for Harry to mention that all the wizards who have healing magic training are also the ones with Defense Against the Dark Arts Training, thus they will be on the battle field.

"You watch everything here Crookshanks. You know the emergency procedures in case anything happens." Harry gently gives Crookshanks a friendly pet, before heading out of the infirmary and back to where he is most needed.

So long as she can help in some way, that's all that matters to her.

She spares a moment to watch Harry leave in the infirmary. He must be a good friend of Hermione's, to be so familiar with Crookshanks. She gives the tabby another look, reluctant to part ways. He's the only one that she knows here. Still, she has a job to do, and so does he. With a determined nod, she goes back to checking on the patients and determining what sort of medical treatment they need.

Crookshanks is not going anywhere. He can watch over the infirmary, and stay close to Adia at the same time.

And the time caring for those injured take a few hours. But with Adia's knowledge, everyone gets the care that they need.

It is close to nightfall when Harry and Hermione return to the infirmary. They both look like they were through a long, worn-out battle, but are finally able to rest.

It's not too different from working triage on the Fleet; Adia treats each patient with professionalism and care, deferring to Madame Pomfrey if it's an injury that is too complicated or magical for her to handle. Still, she appreciates the fact that Crookshanks is never to far from her. It reminds her a little of Bucky, who likes to keep an eye on her when she's in the Nexus.

Keeping herself busy in the infirmary, it's almost a surprise when Hermione and Harry return. Has it really been a few hours? It feels like she only just ran into Crookshanks in the Nexus. "How did it go?" she asks, relieved to see them both but anxious about the outcome. "Is the battle over?"

"Yes. It is over." Hermione finds a place to sit down and rest a little. Crookshanks heads for her lap, settling in.

"We captured most of them."

"They won't be trying that again..." added Harry.

"Thank goodness." She lets out a soft sigh of relief. "And you too are all right?" She smiles shyly. "I've been on a bit of a roll here." It turns out that ordinary first aid is still useful at a school for wizards.

"Once things are a bit calmer here, I should probably be on my way. But I was glad that I could help."

"We are both all right. It was not as bad as the Battle of Hogwarts, but still a challenge that we had to overcome." Hermione noted.

"We are so glad you were here to take care of the other students. It let us concentrate on the battle," Harry added.

Away from the fighting, she can only imagine what it was like outside the school walls. She's glad that it all worked out, though. Hopefully that's an end to the fighting for Hermione and her friends.

"Thanks." She gives Harry a bashful smile. She's become more confident over the last few months with her medical skills, but still doesn't quite know what to do with the gratitude that sometimes follows.

She finds her messenger bag where she left it and hoists the strap over her shoulder. "It was nice to meet you, Harry. I'll see you in the Nexus, Hermione." Maybe some day she'll get to visit Hogwarts again when things have quieted down, both here and on her world.

"And you, too," she says to Crookshanks, knowing that the cat can understand her. "Hopefully with nobody in trouble."

"Thanks for everything Adia." Hermione gives her a hug. Adia has done so much for them today. She will have to make sure she gets a gift later.

"Crookshanks, can you show Adia the way back to the Nexus?" Crookshanks jumps to the floor, ready to help out his friend.

Adia hugs her back warmly. "Anytime, Hermione. You can count on me."

Hermione asking Crookshanks to escort her back to the Nexus saves her the trouble of asking whether to use her PINpoint or not. She's grateful for the assistance, not wanting to get lost on the way. She waves goodbye to her friend and Harry, then follows Crookshanks out the door.

[thank you for the great scene]

((You too! <3))

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