Healer Miriam Strout

Healer Miriam Strout was a witch who worked at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries during the Second Wizarding War. She was the Healer-in-Charge of the Janus Thickey Ward for permanent Spell Damage, where her patients included Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom, Gilderoy Lockhart, and Broderick Bode. She is notable for her role in caring for these long-term residents and for her unfortunate oversight that led to the death of Broderick Bode.

Healer Strout's activities are documented exclusively during the winter of 1995 in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. On Christmas Day, 1995, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley encountered Healer Strout while visiting their father, Arthur Weasley, at St Mungo's. The group accidentally stumbled upon the locked Janus Thickey Ward, where Strout greeted them. Believing they were there to visit Gilderoy Lockhart, she allowed them entry. Inside, she was overseeing her patients, including a woman named Agnes who was conversing with the ceiling and the Longbottoms. She spoke to the visitors about Frank and Alice's condition, explaining that they were tortured into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse by Death Eaters. Her bedside manner was well-intentioned but somewhat insensitive, as she suggested to Neville Longbottom's grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, that it might be better if he stopped visiting, implying his parents did not recognize him. Augusta Longbottom sharply corrected her, asserting that her son and daughter-in-law were entitled to see their only child. Healer Strout was also the primary caregiver for Broderick Bode, an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries who had been bewitched into attempting to steal a prophecy. While Bode was recovering his speech, a potted Devil's Snare was delivered to him disguised as a gift. Healer Strout, failing to recognize the dangerous plant, allowed it on her ward. Shortly after Christmas, the Devil's Snare strangled and killed Bode. This incident represented a serious breach of security at St Mungo's under her watch.

Miriam Strout is described as a “kindly-looking” Healer with “fluffy” hair. Her personality appears to be gentle and caring, fitting for her profession. However, she could also be professionally complacent and somewhat lacking in perception. She made assumptions about the Longbottoms' awareness that their own family disputed, and her failure to identify a clearly dangerous plant led directly to the death of a patient. This suggests a lapse in judgment or diligence in her duties.

• Healing Magic: As a qualified Healer at the primary wizarding hospital in Britain, Strout was undoubtedly highly skilled in various forms of healing magic. Her specialization was in treating permanent Spell Damage, a particularly difficult and often irreversible branch of magical medicine.
• Medical Care: She was responsible for the long-term care of patients with severe psychological and magical trauma. This would have involved administering potions, performing diagnostic charms, and providing palliative care.
• Oversight: Despite her qualifications, her professional oversight proved to be flawed, as evidenced by her inability to prevent the murder of Broderick Bode on her ward.

No specific possessions are mentioned in the novels. She would have carried a wand and worn the standard lime-green uniform of a St Mungo's Healer.

• Patients: Healer Strout was the primary caregiver for the permanent residents of the Janus Thickey Ward, including Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Gilderoy Lockhart, and Broderick Bode. She treated them with a kindly, if sometimes patronizing, manner.
• Augusta Longbottom: Strout had a brief and somewhat tense relationship with Augusta. Augusta clearly held a different, more hopeful view of her son and daughter-in-law's condition than the Healer did, and she was quick to contradict Strout's professional opinion regarding Neville's visits.
• Visitors: She was initially welcoming to Harry Potter and his friends, assuming they were visiting the famous Gilderoy Lockhart and willingly sharing information about her patients.

• Miriam: A Hebrew name of ancient origin, being the original form of “Mary.” Its meaning is debated, with possibilities including “rebellion,” “wished-for child,” and “bitter.” The latter could be a subtle reference to the bitterness of the fates of the patients on her ward.
• Strout: An English surname derived from the Middle English strout, meaning “strife” or “contention.” It was also used as a nickname for a proud or defiant person, which does not seem to fit her described personality.

Healer Miriam Strout does not appear in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The entire scene at St Mungo's involving the Longbottoms is omitted from the film. Instead, Neville Longbottom reveals the story of his parents to Harry Potter in the Room of Requirement. The death of Broderick Bode is also cut from the film storyline (film).