Migraine

There were celebrations in the streets. The war that both magical and non-magical communities were calling the Great War was over and Albus was exhausted. He did not fight on the front lines but that isn't to say he did nothing. He did help organize an intelligence ring and acted as a tactician for the ministry wizards. It was hard giving orders to friends and former students. In many cases sending them to die in a conflict none of them started. The world was celebrating the defeat of the Central Powers, yes, but Albus Dumbledore was mourning the loss of so many talented young people.

Albus decided the best way to honor the dead was to attend to the living and so he did what he could for those remaining. Though the war had ended there were still hundreds of witches and wizards that were still wounded in understaffed field hospitals dotted across Europe. So, he volunteered.

Medical magic was not his specialty but as with all things based in magical theory Albus excelled among his peers. Today he was stationed in Austria, where there had been a devastating dragon attack cause by a local skirmish. Dragon handlers quickly subdued the beast; however, a Hungarian Ridgeback is a fearsome foe, and many tamers were badly burned.

Albus had treated four of them that day all local wizards when he recognized the fifth. Newt Scamander. The man was not carried in on a stretcher like his last patient had been, however that did not mean he didn't look like he needed one. Blood had caked on the boy's face from a finger length laceration on his forehead, his clothes were black and barely more than threads.

Leaning heavily on a pair of battered crutches he dragged a badly burned left leg that he'd clearly tried to tend to himself in the field. The young man was so focused on the ground, watching where he was going as he made his way to sit down gingerly on an empty cot, that he did not see Albus in the busy tent at first.

Then again, the tent was positively packed with Medi witches and wizards, but as Albus rounded the bed the boy locked eyes with him.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Newt said in a dumb founded tone.

"Newt." Albus answered warmly recalling the soft spot he had for the gentle boy in his school days.

"I am here to treat your platoon; I should have known you'd enlist as a dragon tamer." He finishes with a smile handing the man a damp towel to clean his hands and face with before he started his proper treatment.

"Yes, it was the only position that seemed right for me." He said in a strained raspy voice.

Smoke inhalation. Albus nodded all the men had suffered a degree of smoke inhalation and without another thought summoned the 'Speak Easy Draft' that they were using to combat the problem. Deftly he caught the vial and unstopped it. Handing it over to the slightly cleaner looking man on the bed.

"Thank you." Newt rasped before drinking the brown liquid.

"Better?" Albus asked taking the empty bottle back.

"Definitely." Newt replied, giving Dumbledore a grin.

"Now may you please pull of your shirt? And I will give you something to heal the minor cuts and abrasions before we tackle your leg." Dumbledore said grabbing the large jar labeled 'Cut Removing Paste' off the side table.

Newt complied pulling the shirt remnants over his head. The boy was a mess of scars, most soldiers were albus reminded himself, but Newt was different. His were obviously old dragon burns and fang marks but luckily it was just that, old wounds. Leaning forward Albus pulled out his wand and did a scan over the man to confirm what his eyes had told him. Newts' arms, torso, right leg, and spine where fine. He had a moderate concussion which concerned Albus as he knew that the boy suffered horrid migraines while at school, but the laceration was an easy fix. A quick spell cleaned the wound and a heavy application of paste had it reduced to a pale line of scar tissue in no time.

His leg on the other hand was a different matter.

It was burned, and Dumbledore could see where the fibers of clothing had melted into the burn. The size of the burn was also worrying. It stretched around outside and front of his leg and from the man's left hip to his ankle. The diagnostic scan had also reported that his knee had been broken but semi healed, and the ligaments inside were badly damaged, but not completely shredded.

Albus assumed this along with the strait stick that was lashed to his leg was part of the field dressing the boy did himself. Quick healing magic could complicate the matter but what was done was done and he just had to take it a step at a time. He could keep the leg at least.

Though he certainly would limp the rest of his life.

"Okay Newt, your leg will be a difficult matter, but you should be able to keep it." Newt visibly relaxed and let himself slump into the pillows.

"That's a relief. I was worried that after I couldn't put any weight on it after the third healing spell, I would not get to keep it." Newt said slinging an arm over his eyes.

Dumbledore was shocked. This was what it looked like after three spells? He didn't even think it was a fully formed one.

"What happened" Albus asked shocked.

"Got stepped on." Newt said shrugging.

Albus stared, well then that made sense at least. He summoned the Skelegrow bottle and quietly handed it to Newt who took it without hesitation and downed it. He pulled a face as small popping noises came from his leg as the bone set itself. Dumbledore mutely took the bottle back.

The bones would take a few minutes to mend and that had to be done before he addressed the ligaments. There were no easy ways to fix ligaments with magic. To add to the difficulty dragon burns were resistant to magic. So, he could only cast on the inside of the man's knee and even then, the magical damage may be deeper than what he suspected. He'd try to at least cast the spell to reattach the torn ligament and let whatever further healing it needed happen with time. The burns would also have to heal with time, but he could clean the leg and treat it while the Skelegrow worked.

Leaving Newt laying there with his face covered. Dumbledore walked to the supplies cabinets and pulled out clean linen bandages, gauze, a leather strap, and three different salves and pastes specially made for dragon burns, a bowl, and clean rags.

"Newt." He said softly.

The man did not pull his arm away but hummed to show he was listening, Albus assumed the young man's head was hurting on top of everything else and he wished he could do something, but they were low on pain potions and there was no guarantee that the supply nurse would give him some.

"I am going to clean your leg. Would you like a strap?" The straps were leather strips that were given to patients to bite to protect their teeth.

Newt paled at the mention of having his leg tended to, no doubt the young man's adrenaline was leaving him to feel the full effects of the pain. Sweat welled on his forehead and he nodded when he was offered the strap. He held out his other hand for it. Dumbledore handed it to him and watch the lad put it between his teeth. Reaffirming Newt was ready Albus filled the bowl with warm water with his wand before he cut off the makeshift splint and began the pain staking process of cleaning the burn.

Newt tried to stay still and quiet but even the toughest man wouldn't be able to accomplish that. Small gasps escaped him, and his leg twitched several times especially around his swollen knee and hip. Albus had to stop and give the man time to breath. It was hard to miss the sweat and tears rolling down the mans face with every minute and the sight made Albus's heart clench even more when a low keening started at the back of the man's throat after he rinsed a particularly deep section on the man's hip.

Albus tried to keep up a mantra of calming affirmations and dialogue until the wound was clean. He leaned over and clapped a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"It's alright Newt. We are done with the hard part." Dumbledore said applying the mix of the three pastes on the boy's leg.

The cool ointment relaxed the boy some and the strap that was clenched in his teeth fell to his chest. The mark of his teeth was stamped deep into the leather. With all three ointments applied evenly across the man's leg. Dumbledore stood and rounded the cot and knelt to have a clear shot at the unburned skin on the inside of his left leg. The spell to repair ligaments was complicated, and it took time to start taking effect on the patient. The spell caster had to direct and list the damaged ligaments and bind them together one at a time.

"I am going to repair the ligaments in your knee. You may want to use the strap again this is an uncomfortable process." Dumbledore finished, summoning the small piece of parchment that had the scan results written on it.

Newt dutifully did as he was told clamping his teeth down on the leather and humming that he was ready. Dumbledore cast the spell repairing the ligaments one by one. Some mended fully others barely mended at all but luckily, they came together. Newt sat still, arm still draped over his head and didn't fidget when Albus directed the ligaments to move. Finally, the last piece of the spell was finished, and Albus sat back on his heals and wiped the sweat off his face.

Newt would have to keep his weight off his leg for a few weeks put it was repaired. With a wave of his wand Albus lifted and wrapped the man's leg in white gauze and bandages. Dumbledore looked at Newts face the young man was pale as a sheet and still had the strap locked in between his teeth.

"All finished." Albus said reaching over and running a hand through Newt's red hair. The boy nodded but still didn't let the strap out of his teeth.

Albus knew that he needed to see to other patients there were still four left untended, but his heart broke a little at seeing this young Hufflepuff like this, and he knew that he had a long road of recovery ahead of him with a wound as large and extensive as this. Mobility would be a huge issue for the man for the next few months at least.

"Newt, where do you hurt the worst?" Dumbledore asked thinking maybe just maybe he could get some of the limited pain relief potion for him.

Reaching up the pale shaky man removed the strap from his mouth and licked his dry lips.

"Head and knee." He said in a strained tired voice.

Albus was sure that the adrenaline was long gone, and everything was hitting the boy hard at this point. If not for the concussion he would give the boy a vial of Dreamless Sleep but that would be too dangerous.

"Let me see what I can do." Albus said before standing and walking briskly to the head supply nurse.

She was a frazzled, stern looking woman of 20 or so, Poppy was what he saw on her name tag.

"Hello Poppy." Dumbledore said giving the nurse a small smile.

"May I have a pain-relieving potion for Newt Scamander?"

Poppy nodded slightly and asked.

"What is the extent of his injuries?" She said in an efficient and professional tone writing down the request in a large ledger on her makeshift desk.

"He had his leg stepped on and burned by the Hungarian Ridgeback. His knee was broken, and the burn covers 45% of his leg. He also received a moderate concussion and says that his head hurts as much as his knee." Dumbledore finished.

Poppy sighed and nodded.

"Sounds like he needs it." She finished, handing Albus a vial of pain relief potion and a bottle of strong headache draft.

"Give him the headache draft first then thirty minutes later you can give him the other pain relief potion. This way there is less of a chance of him throwing up the pain reliver if you do it like that." She finished giving him a small smile.

"Thank you, Poppy." He said, turning to return to the boy.

Newt was as he had left him aside from an older nurse was there propping his leg up with pillows and setting a container of water next to his cot. The movement of Newts leg caused a fresh sheen of sweat to break out across his face and his breathing was fast and sharp.

"Here. Take this it will help your head. I also have something for your leg but that will have to wait a few minutes." Albus said sliding the bottle of headache draft into Newt's hand.

Newt gave a hum of affirmation and slugged the bottle down not even grimacing at the gross taste.

"I will be back. I have two others to attend to then I will come and give you the rest of your potions."

Newt just nodded. And Dumbledore left to attend to the other men.

The others Dumbledore treated were not bad. They only had small burns and minor cuts, but the last patients were always the least injured and it was not long before he ended up back at Newt's bedside. The boy lay in restless sleep. His arm had slid from his eyes and Albus could see them darting back and forth under his lids.

"Newt." Albus said slowly trying not to startle the young man.

But his care was not rewarded. Newt jerked awake and tensed his leg.

"AGH!" The young man said hands hovering over the rapped limb.

Carefully Albus put his hands on the boy's shoulders and laid him back down.

"Easy, easy. Its okay." Albus said trying to help the boy gather his wits again.

"I have the rest of your potions. Is your head feeling better?"

Newt nodded an affirmative before saying a tentative.

"Thank you."

Albus hummed and leaned in handing the potion to the boy.

"I have been thinking, and I have talked to your commander." Dumbledore said catching Newt's attention.

"You are no longer fit for active duty. It will take months for your leg to heal properly. I have offered to bring you back to England with me. Also, until you find lodgings of your own you are more then welcome to stay in my flat in London, that is unless you would rather live with Theseus." Dumbledore continued, knowing the likelihood of Newt wishing to stay with family was extremely slight.

Newt sighed. A war of emotions crossed his face as he came to his decision.

"If you don't mind Professor, I would appreciate a travel companion. However, I would not want to impose on your offer of rooms." He trailed off looking at his toes and not at Dumbledore.

"Would you like me to contact your brother to have a room made ready with him?" Dumbledore ask making it clear that he strongly wished Newt to pick one of those two options.

Newt shrunk into his blankets.

"No sir. Thank you for allowing me to board with you." Newt said quietly.

Albus gave newt a large smile relieved that the boy would not be alone while in recovery.

"Absolutely!" Clapping Newt on the shoulder and adding.

"The hospital is being moved closer to Germany tomorrow so we will leave after I finish this shift and help pack supplies. The other injured tamers will board a train in a few hours, but you don't have to worry about that. Stay here and get some rest I will be back soon."

With that Albus stood and walked away happy that he was able to help at least one of his students.