Chapter 655: How About Letting Fawkes Guard the Basilisk?
When Kyle and the others returned to the office, Harry was pacing restlessly, his anxiety evident. His impatience to see Sirius, who was still unconscious, was palpable. This time, Dumbledore gave his consent.
Sykes led them out of the office and around a corner into a brighter corridor. Kyle noted that the room numbers on the ward doors all began with a five, marking their location as the fifth floor—St. Mungo's Spell Damage Ward. He had assumed Sirius would be treated here as well, but Sykes continued past the floor and led them down the stairs.
Along the way, nearly everyone they encountered—both patients and Healers—stopped to greet Sykes, indicating the deep respect the staff and patients had for her.
"Where are we going now?" Kyle asked, unable to suppress his curiosity. "Shouldn't someone suffering from the Cruciatus Curse be treated on the fifth floor?"
"That's true," Sykes replied. "But Black wasn't under the Cruciatus Curse for very long. It's more important to treat the wounds from the Runespoor bite first. The venom from their teeth is particularly toxic."
As she spoke, Sykes glanced at Kyle, her thoughts briefly returning to the Basilisk. Compared to the venom of such a legendary creature, the Runespoor's poison seemed almost trivial.
Soon, they reached the second floor, the ward Kyle was most familiar with. At the corner of the stairs stood a simple stand, and Kyle paused when he saw it.
"Yes, this is the stand you used to pierce the werewolf with," Sykes said with a knowing smile. "After the Transfiguration Spell wore off, we returned it to its original place."
Even Harry, preoccupied as he was with thoughts of Sirius, stopped and stared at the stand.
He had, of course, heard about Kyle's feat—his defeat of a transformed werewolf at St. Mungo's had earned him the Order of Merlin. But hearing the story and seeing the location were entirely different. Harry studied the stand closely.
It was... surprisingly ordinary. Just a simple shelf holding a few flowerpots.