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0829 Meeting
🕑 Added 2025-09-05 13:26:52 +0000 UTC"Our daughter really needs proper rest and recovery time right now. Could you perhaps come back another time to give your lecture?"
Upon hearing these words floating through the partially open doorway, Bryan and Remus, who had been standing quietly in the corridor just outside the ward, immediately stopped dead in their tracks.
Remus opened his mouth in complete bewilderment and confusion, his eyes widening as he wondered if he had somehow misheard or misunderstood what had just been said. Perhaps, he thought with growing uncertainty, the elderly lady who had just spoken had actually called out the name "Ryan" rather than Bryan.
Remus turned his questioning gaze toward the 'genuine' Bryan who stood beside him in the corridor, his disguised face showing absolutely no particular surprise or shock at hearing his name spoken by a complete stranger.
His expression remained as calm and unruffled as always, displaying that remarkable composure that seemed to be his natural state regardless of the circumstances he found himself in.
Only his usually clear and sharp eyes had grown deeper and more pensive, their depths now holding emotions that were completely unreadable and mysterious.
"I'm not giving any kind of lecture to Amelia, my dear," came the restrained response from within the room.
This second voice belonged to a man who also seemed old in age tinged with a trace of gentle exasperation that hinted this was a continuation of an ongoing discussion.
The elderly man's voice continued with increasing conviction and concern,
"I may not fully understand what exactly an Auror position represents in your magical world, or what specific dangers and responsibilities it entails, but what I do know is that your personal abilities and skills must be properly matched to your chosen work and professional duties, Amelia.
If you're sustaining serious injuries right from the very start of this new job, immediately upon beginning your career, then it clearly shows that your current abilities simply aren't sufficient or adequately developed yet to handle this type of dangerous work safely."
He paused, and when he continued, his voice carried firm conviction. "Perhaps you need to consider settling down and pursuing something safer for a while longer and this advice applies equally to both us as your parents and to these miraculous wizards who seem to attract such dangerous situations wherever they go."
The worry and protective instincts were unmistakable in every word he spoke, revealing the deep love and concern that drove his seemingly harsh assessment of his daughter's chosen career path.
"Are those voices coming from Amelia's parents?" Remus whispered quietly, having finally caught on to the context of what they were overhearing.
He raised his eyebrows in a mixture of surprise and concern as he processed this unexpected development. "Do we need to come back at another time when they're not here?"
Bryan remained completely silent for several moments, his intense gaze shifting down to study the hospital floor with what appeared to be indifferent scrutiny.
The bright lighting of the corridor casted subtle shadows across his facial features, making his expression even more difficult to read than usual. After a moment of internal pondering and consideration, he slowly shook his head.
"Actually, I think we should meet Amelia's parents, Remus. After all, she was injured and hospitalized because she was accompanying us, wasn't she?"
This assessment was somewhat unfair and not entirely accurate, since Amelia had been following orders from the Department of Magical Security to monitor their activities, rather than the two of them actively and deliberately involving a recently graduated young witch in the dangerous events that seemed to follow them.
Nevertheless, Remus nodded in agreement.
Regarding Amelia personally, Remus found his feelings toward her to be rather complex and somewhat conflicted. He couldn't honestly say he particularly admired her professional skills or her somewhat naive approach to complex situations, after all, she was a MACUSA official.
However, at the very least, he didn't actively dislike this young girl who, despite being still somewhat naive and innocent about the harsher realities of the magical world, showed clear principles and a refreshing sense of earnestness that was rare in government officials.
Perhaps out of respect, Bryan voluntarily allowed his magical disguise to dissolve, revealing his true appearance. Observing his decision, Remus also consciously removed his own disguise magic.
Knock, knock, knock—
The sudden knocking on the partially closed door immediately made the quiet voices inside the hospital ward fall into complete silence.
The elderly couple inside the room, who remained mostly unfamiliar with the customs and social protocols of the magical world didn't immediately decide whether they should invite the knocker in. Instead, they turned their questioning and somewhat uncertain gazes toward their daughter.
"Perhaps it's the healer making their regular rounds and checking on patients," Amelia said uncertainly as she knew this explanation didn't quite fit the timing since the healer had already completed their morning rounds earlier today.
"Or maybe it's colleagues from the Department of Magical Security who want to understand the situation better?"
"Then let them in, Amelia," Mr. Depp said as he stood up from his position beside his daughter's hospital bed.
He took a moment to smooth out the wrinkles that had formed in his gray wool overcoat during his long bedside watch, carefully adjusted the coat's lapels to present a more dignified appearance, cleared his throat and spoke solemnly.
The somewhat plump Mrs. Depp shifted uncomfortably in her chair, looking rather constrained and out of place in these unfamiliar surroundings.
After all, both she and her husband were in what seemed to be a miraculous world that they only half understood, where the people they encountered and the things they witnessed made them feel deeply uneasy and constantly uncertain about appropriate behavior and responses.
Although the world visible through the large hospital window was currently stormy and gloomy, with dark clouds and driving rain creating an almost apocalyptic atmosphere, the interior of the ward remained bright and welcoming.
Like the corridor outside, this hospital room was equipped with its own small kitchen area and comfortable seating arrangements that showed it was designed for long stays and family visits.
Remarkably, there were no conventional electric lights visible anywhere in the room, yet the white walls seemed to possess some kind of subtle magical enchantment that could automatically adjust and emit a soft, milky white glow.
This magical lighting provided perfect lighting to brighten the entire room without being harsh or uncomfortable on the eyes.
An elderly couple were beside Amelia's hospital bed. They both appeared to be at least in their sixties.
Despite his old age, the elderly gentleman still maintained an impressively upright posture. Combined with his well-fitted, impeccably proper attire and his meticulously groomed, mostly gray chestnut-colored short hair, he continued to exude the unmistakable air and dignity of a traditional English gentleman who had never abandoned his standards of personal presentation.
Amelia's mother wasn't particularly tall in stature and reached only to her husband's shoulder when they stood together but she was clearly well-maintained. Her cheeks showed remarkably few wrinkles for someone of her apparent age, and the gentle curve of her eyes seemed to hint at her nature as a kindly, compassionate woman.
Both parents focused their cautious, assessing gazes toward Bryan and Remus as the two men entered the ward. Their expressions showed polite restraint and they waited expectantly for their daughter to provide proper introductions for these two visitors.
"Oh, my goodness, Bryan, Remus, it's actually you?" Amelia exclaimed with surprise when she recognized the two familiar figures entering her hospital room. Her voice carried a mixture of genuine shock and confused pleasure as she processed their unexpected presence.
She truly hadn't anticipated that these two would come visit her during her recovery, because no matter how one analyzed the situation logically, she was someone whom Mr. Graves had sent to monitor and surveil their activities.
By all reasonable expectations, they should have been pleased that she was injured and temporarily hospitalized.
Amelia, quickly recovering from her initial surprise and remembering her manners, automatically began to prepare herself to get out of the hospital bed to properly greet her visitors.
Although one of her arms remained wrapped in bandages and her complexion appeared somewhat pale from the effects of inadvertently inhaling the Nundu's toxic gas during their encounter, Amelia knew from the healers' assessments that she wasn't seriously injured and would make a full recovery given proper rest.
However, Bryan immediately gestured for her to remain where she was.
"Remus and I don't want our visit to disturb your rest and recovery, Amelia," Bryan said sincerely, the earlier strangeness that had been in his demeanor outside the ward having completely disappeared. His gaze swept over the elderly couple at the foot of the hospital bed, smiled at them politely.
"How are you feeling overall, Amelia? Are you experiencing any lingering effects from your encounter?" Remus also asked with concern, his smile warm and genuine.
"The healers here have been absolutely wonderful, and they believe there's nothing seriously wrong with my condition," Amelia replied with gratitude evident in her voice. She remained on the hospital bed, and nodded appreciatively at both Bryan and Remus for their thoughtful concern.
"However, my assigned healer still thinks I should remain in the hospital under observation for several more days, because apparently the toxic gas effects from a Nundu can affect different people in different ways depending on their individual magical constitution and resistance. Although the amount I inadvertently inhaled wasn't anywhere near enough to be fatal or cause permanent damage—"
Amelia paused in her explanation and looked toward her parents, fully understanding and recognizing the expression of slight bewilderment and confusion they were showing which honestly made her feel somewhat embarrassed at having not properly explained to them.
But she knew she should at least properly introduce Bryan and Remus to her parents first.
"These two gentlemen are wizards who have come to America from London, Mom and Dad, this is Remus Lupin, and that gentleman over there... well, he actually has the same first name as you, Dad."
She gestured toward each man as she spoke, ensuring her parents could connect names with faces.
"My current assignment involves... well, Bryan and Remus are quite famous and well-respected figures in the international wizarding world. MACUSA believes they deserve proper protection and security during their visit to our country, so the Department assigned me to this important task."
The lie came out with considerable difficulty and obvious shame coloring her words, causing her cheeks to flush slightly with embarrassment at the deception she felt forced to maintain.
Because if she told her parents the complete and honest story that she was actually assigned to monitor and surveil these two men rather than protect them, it would inevitably make Bryan and Remus feel awkward and uncomfortable about the situation.
Even worse, her parents would undoubtedly be confused and bewildered as to why the subjects of government surveillance would choose to come visit their surveillant in the hospital.
Mr. Depp exchanged a glance with his wife, and in her eyes, he saw the same emotion that he was experiencing. So, they really hadn't misheard what they thought they had earlier—this gray-haired young man truly did share his name.
"This truly is quite a remarkable coincidence indeed, Mr. Depp," Bryan said smiling as he extended his hand in a gesture of formal introduction to Brian Depp.
The older gentleman hesitated for just a moment, perhaps processing the strangeness of meeting someone with his own name, before reaching out to accept the offered handshake with dignified courtesy.
"You're absolutely right, this is indeed a remarkable and unusual coincidence," Brian Depp agreed as he observed the gray-haired young man standing in front of him with growing curiosity and something that might have been recognition.
For reasons he couldn't quite explain or understand, he found himself experiencing a strange sense of familiarity when looking at this young visitor. There was something about Bryan's face that seemed oddly familiar, though he couldn't figure out why this should be the case.
Mrs. Depp was sharing the same inexplicable feelings as her husband. She didn't know why she felt such an unexpected sense of connection to this young man who coincidentally shared her husband's first name. Like her husband, she too found Bryan's face somewhat familiar.
"I believe I should offer you both a sincere apology," Bryan said to the elderly couple in front of him.
"It was because of some of my inadequate decisions during last night's crisis that your daughter was harmed and subsequently hospitalized."
'Inadequate decisions?'
Mr. and Mrs. Depp looked toward their daughter with questioning eyes, seeking clarification about these words.
The explanation they had originally received from Amelia's colleague who had come to notify them of her injury was relatively straightforward: the important person Amelia was assigned to protect had been attacked by some kind of magical creature while in the city, and their daughter had been injured while helping to repel this creature.
But now it seemed... there were some hidden circumstances.
"You absolutely shouldn't apologize for anything, Mr. Watson!" Amelia interjected with rising emotion, her voice carrying passionate conviction as she defended her visitors from any sense of guilt or responsibility.
However, with her parents present and watching her every reaction, she quickly suppressed her natural impulse to speak more freely and continued with careful earnestness.
"If you hadn't been there to successfully hold off that dangerous Nundu and prevent it from reaching populated areas, it's truly difficult to imagine what kind of catastrophic damage it might have caused throughout New York City!
It was my own fault—my skills and experience weren't adequate for such a dangerous situation, and I ended up causing you additional trouble and—"
'Mr... Mr. Watson?'
The moment Amelia's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Depp, heard this surname spoken out, they both reacted as if they had been struck by an actual bolt of lightning.
The two became completely petrified, their bodies freezing in place and their minds falling into a stupefied daze, as if they had been hit by a powerful Stunning Spell.
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