"They'll be dead long before Christmas if I don't find a cure. Allison's condition is degenerating quite quickly. I can't imagine her lasting more than a few weeks," he said, and while he might not like patients, he didn't really want them dead. "I'll be busy."
Stephen snorted. "No, he'll let me out. I'm curing the Minister's grandson and the Head Auror's son. It would be a bad political move to let them die." He leaned in and nipped Azriel's lip. "I'm already unbearably smug."
He tilted his head, looking at Azriel with a puzzled expression. "Oy, did you just insult me? I've never not understood something in school. I'm just that good," he joked.