Order Only: Facinorous Stint

[alt_bill]

I promised Dora that I'd try to glean what I could concerning Poppy's nemesis, Healer Stint. I took my source (formerly of St Mungo's, now working for the Ministry) out for drinks after work, and this is what she was able to pass along to me off the cuff:

Facinorous Stint is a former Ravenclaw noteworthy for his blatantly carnivorous attitude toward relationships: he is notorious at St Mungo's for sizing people up according to how useful they might be to him and then treating them accordingly. My source says that the people around him or just below him 'tend to have footprints on their face because of the way he keeps stepping on them.' He has had three assistants quit in the last year. He's thick as thieves with one of his former roommates from Ravenclaw, and the other three despise him and refuse to have any contact with him.

He did author two papers, one on potion cross-contamination and one on potion interactions which indicate that he could have knowledge regarding poisons.

Also: his ex-wife is missing, as of about five or six years ago. Which is ominous. His career took off noticeably after that.

I know this isn't helpful for the immediate issue, but I should have more from her in a day or two, including a list of the committees he's serving on. My source remarked that he was involved with an unusually high number: he's cutting quite a swath through the bureaucracy.

I hope that there is no further alarm with regard to Poppy before then.

Comments

[alt_poppy]

Oh, for goodness sake. Bill. I'm appalled to think that you've dropped other necessary things for this.

Truly, I'm feeling much better today, and I really don't wish to be a bother.

[alt_sirius]

Thanks, Bill. At least it's something.

As for the ex-wife, I don't doubt she wanted as much distance between herself and this bloke as she could possibly get. He's the sort comes off as charming at first but there's an undercurrent like he's figuring out how best to dispose of your body when he's done with you.

Yeah, I don't know if he really poisoned Poppy but I'd sure believe it if he had done.

[alt_pomona]

That does rather match with what we've heard from Aurora, too. (She wouldn't talk much about that incident at the St. Mungo's gala between Rabastan and Stint last December, but I gather it was both most unpleasant and entirely in character.)

He did, I should note, try and put his head in the door of the pub last night. Tried to insist they make space for him at the bar, tried to insist that Pryderi rouse Poppy so he could "have a word". At that point, the local men made it quite clear that sort of thing wasn't done round here, and set him back out in the chill inside of three minutes. Clearly not the sort of setting he's used to dealing with.

Aurora was quite right that they're clannish here, but whatever she said by way of explanation's been a help to us, at least.

[alt_pomona]

I also must admit that we may have painted ourselves into a corner, rather.

When we arrived yesterday, I mentioned to Aurora that Ellie (that being the handy material for our Sirius and his potion for a possibly extended period of time) was my great-niece. She made no comment yesterday, beyond the pleasantries, and of course she had a number of other things on her mind.

But middle of the night, I woke up and realised just how flimsy that is. The problem with Aurora, really, is how much time she's been at Hogwarts. Not just her own studies, but she was only gone six years before coming back to teach, and as a required course, she sees every student until after OWLs.

I've no idea if she'll start thinking on it later, but I, well. I needed to admit the problem, and see if you all have any suggestions. I do think she'd ask me or perhaps Poppy before telling anyone else, but I also know of her weekend plans with that nest of snakes.