Here we go. Things are picking up for our two doctors. And this chapter is much longer! 13 pages without the author's notes and disclaimer. You all should be proud of me. I really worked hard on this chapter, and I hope you like it! Thank you everyone for the support and being so patient with me. I love you all!

Warning(s): FEM!Harry
Massive Alternate Universe
Possible OOC Characters
Marvel Cinematic Universe-centered
Characters from other series (House M.D.)
UnBeta-ed

Disclaimer: Medical procedure, descriptions and terminologies may not be 100% accurate. I'm an aspiring doctor and I make it so that I do as much research as I can before putting any Medical related things in this piece.

I don't own Harry Potter nor Doctor Strange, all rights belongs to their respective owners. I make no profit in writing this piece, only to sate my imagination and hopefully improve my writing skill.

Stranger and Stranger Chapter 5

His arm felt like his arm was ready to fall off from all the shaking that it was subjected to since he arrived at the party. One would think that Stephen Stranger, world renowned Neurosurgeon was used to this things, shaking known figures' hands, all smile and charm. Sure he loved the attention, he thrives in it to be honest, but the idea of entertaining these people didn't sound all that appealing to him.

The venue was nice, big enough to house numerous doctors from around the states and from other countries. The decoration was of course, extravagant, the food were alright definitely worth coming back to and the overall feel of the place was he guess was welcoming at best.

Stephen looked around, once again hoping that could catch sight of the ever elusive Dr. Lianthe Evans. Which he kind of expected her to be. She was never known to mingle with large crowd such as these. But you can't blame a curious doctor for trying right?

"Dr. Strange? Dr. Eric Foreman, Neurologist from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital."

Stephen quickly plastered his usual smile as he shook the hand of a dark-skinned doctor who was looking at him with… awe? Stephen inwardly snorted. Of course.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Foreman." he paused. "Am I safe to assume that you and Dr. Evans are co-doctors then?" Stephen inwardly winced, he sounded awfully forward with that. Well whatever.

He watched as Dr. Foreman suddenly looked at him with a hint of wariness. "She's around Lianthe I mean. She's not overly fond of crowds ever since…"

Stephen ended up ignoring Foreman when his eyes caught sight of the person he has been looking for. A small triumphant smile graced his face as he locked in on the Lianthe. He quickly turned back to Foreman, patting the fellow doctor on the back before he slipped past the rest of the crowd. He swiped two flute of champagne from the passing waiter before he continued.

Lianthe Evans was breathtaking, Stephen thought as he slowly sauntered towards her. Her long curly hair cascaded down gracefully down to the middle of her back, her lithe figure wrapped in elegant bottle green dress, lashes long-curled, and those eyes.

He briefly forgot the apprehension he had for the female doctor, his curiosity winning. He noticed how she flinched when he entered a three feet distance from her but she remained unmoved.

Stephen smiled. He stood next to her without saying anything. He hadn't realized that the two of them were standing near the venue walls, far from the rest of the participants, away from the unnecessary attention.

"I guess all that talk that Dr. Lianthe Evans doesn't like attention was true afterall." Stephen started, his eyes glanced at Lianthe briefly before offering the flute of champagne to her.

"Stephen Strange, Metro General Hospital. Nice to finally meet you."

…

Lianthe was uncomfortable, period. She had spent the first hour upon her arrival dodging other doctors and just keeping herself out from anyone's attention. Merlin, she hates going to this kind of things. Her aversion to attention had not changed since she was eleven and would certainly not change for the night. The board was lucky that she even bothered to make an appearance tonight.

Lianthe sighed as she palmed the soft material of her dress. It was bottle green maxi dress that reaches down to her ankles. Coupled with a pair of diamond drop necklace and her only pair of Christian Loutoutin black pumps. She did like her dress for the night of course, it's rare of her to actually see herself this dressed up for anything.

"Note myself, thank Cuddy for the picking this up."

She stayed near the walls of the venue, just observing the hustle and bustle of numerous doctors making small talks and getting acquainted with each other. A small smile appeared on her lips as he spotted Foreman making round to different cliques, obviously having a great time. Her smile faltered when she caught sight of the a group of what she assumed to be doctors coming her way. They smiled graciously at her, patronizing in a way that she immediately grew to dislike them.

"Dr. Evans. So glad to see you tonight. We were worried that you won't be able to make it." Lianthe smiled as he grabbed the offered handshake. "It would be shame to miss this."

Lianthe chuckled when one of the doctors told her that she didn't have to say that to make their egos feel better, they were aware of how she hated crowds and that they were thankful for agreeing to come and become a speaker.

Lianthe eyed the said doctor intently, she suddenly couldn't quiet shake the uneasy feeling the white haired doctor… Dr. Whitehall is giving her. Something about the man was just…off. And from her experience, she had learned to never doubt her gut instincts. She can't really act purely on gut instinct alone so she just remained on guard.

The doctors continued to make small talks with each other for a while before bidding Lianthe goodbye.

"I hope that this won't be the last time that we'll be able to talk Dr. Evans." Dr. Whitehall smiled, his bespectacled eyes bored into her own, making her squirm inwardly.

"Of course not Dr. Whitehall. I'm sure we'll run into each other during the duration of the conference." Oh God, she hoped not.

The creepy doctor merely smiled at her before he took her hand and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. "Of course Dr. We will have plenty of opportunities to… talk." And with that the rest of the doctor left leaving Lianthe alone, much to her relief.

"Merlin, that was weird." She whispered to herself as she watched the retreating form of the doctors.

Then she felt it. She could feel another person approaching, she unconsciously flinched, her body automatically responding to what she felt like a violation to her personal space. Lianthe sighed, she calmed herself and just relaxed. She spied the person—a man approaching. He looked rather familiar to her but couldn't recall where.

It was an awkward two minutes as the two of them just stood there side by side without saying anything to each other. Lianthe was ready to bolt, probably to the nearest balcony or whatever. Until…

"I guess all that talk that Dr. Lianthe Evans doesn't like attention was true afterall."

Stephen Strange… Dr. Stephen Strange. Now that's a surprise. Lianthe's eyes twitched slightly at the mention of Metro General.

She smiled at the neurosurgeon and introduced herself. "Lianthe Evans, PPTH. Nice to meet you as well Dr. Strange." Lianthe studied the man, she had read about Stephen Strange briefly on one of the Medical Magazines that Cuddy subscribed into. Countless award, CNN interviews, best neurosurgeon in the States… blah, blah, blah, that usual kind of stuff.

She accepted the champagne that Stephen was obviously planning on drinking for himself and tipped it on her lips. She watched as the Stephen raised an eyebrow at her before he and she laughed.

…

"You had a GSW patient lodged inside his cranium for a week and he still managed to walk into the hospital?" Lianthe asked, her eyes lit with curiosity as the Stephen regaled her with stories from MGH.

"Yes, it was crazy. You know how thing can be when you're in New York. Things just doesn't seem to cool down." Stephen shrugged. "How about you? Tell me something about PPTH."

Lianthe chuckled, she hadn't expected her to have a good time talking to Stephen. Granted that she had reserved her judgment towards the man, she had long learned not to judge someone based on their actions in front of a crowd. Stephen actually reminded her of a certain platinum haired man, most likely brewing potion in Hogwart's dungeons.

"Well I'm pretty sure that things are calmer at PPTH. Aside from the high-profiled patients that seek out Dr. House every now and then, everything is much quieter." Lianthe smiled, she twirled the remaining champagne on her fifth flute. "Though if you're working under Gregory House… that's a completely different story."

Stephen hummed. His eyes still trailed at Lianthe. She could feel her face heating from those intense blue eyes. Lianthe snorted.

"I heard that you also served the US Military as a Combat Doctor. How did that happened?" This time, Lianthe frowned. How did Stephen found out? Her stint with the US Army is not a common knowledge and she had made sure that it remained that way even after she retired from active duty two years ago. She narrowed her eyes at Stephen.

"How did you find out about that? That's not a common knowledge especially from civilians." Lianthe asked, her voice slightly wary. She had slightly moved away from the other doctor, making Stephen frown as well.

"I have a colleague, a good friend of mine, she told me, Christine Palmer and probably your number one fan alongside the rest of MGH Board. She told me that she was your classmate at John Hopkin's. And MGH have some connection with the Military." Stephen drawled, it answered Lianthe's question but that doesn't mean she had to like it though.

She wracked her mind looking for the name Christine Palmer she hit gold and smiled. "I remember now, Christine. Yeah, I think we shared some classes back then."

Stephen smiled, now seeing why people are literally dropping on their knees just to please Dr. Lianthe Evans. She's an interesting person, very interesting that the scholar in him was itching to study. There was something about her that he couldn't help but be gravitated towards her. He can't deny that insane amount of charm either. At first look, she had this petite and mysterious persona going on but deep inside, she's a whole new person.

"You're an interesting person Lianthe, can I call you that?"

Lianthe smiled. "Only if I can call you Stephen."

Stephen laughed. "I'll let you call me whatever you want." Stephen's blue eyes met Lianthe's emerald ones. The two locked into a stare down both lost in each other's gazes.

"It's getting late. I think we should retire." Lianthe cleared her throat, breaking away from the Stephen's gaze, her face flushed. What was that all about?

Stephen did the same and shook his head. "Yes. You're right…"

"Well… I… uh, tonight's been great. I should…" Lianthe mumbled.

"Right. Well I'll walk you back to your hotel room then?" Stephen offered.

"I… You don't have to. I can manage by myself."

"But I insist."

Lianthe sighed. She knew not to fight and she didn't have the energy to have another round of banter with Stephen.

"Alright."

"Great. Let's go."

…

"Well. This is me. Thanks for keeping me company tonight Stephen. I appreciate it a lot." Lianthe smiled at the other doctor as the two of them stood outside Lianthe's suite.

Stephen, on the other hand suddenly looked smug? He looked around the corridors and smirked at something. He turned to Lianthe flashing her with that dazzling smile of his. "No problem."

"I'll see you again later? I have the first morning session tomorrow. Maybe we can have lunch together?" the neurologist offered.

Lianthe raised an elegant brow at the man, her lips tugging for another smile. "A little too forward are you Doctor Strange… But I don't think I can do lunch." She bit her lip when she saw the slightest drop on the doctor's shoulder.

"How about dinner? Would that be alright?" She could feel her face burning once again when Stephen smiled.

"Dinner then, I'll pick you."

"Alright. Good night Stephen."

"Good night Lianthe." Then suddenly Stephen swooped down and pressed his lips on her cheek before quickly backing away. It happened so fast that the female doctor wasn't able to react in time. She just stood there wide eye at Stephen, her face in a full blown blush.

Stephen just kissed her… on the cheek! What the hell?

Lianthe just stood there speechless as Stephen wink at her and entered the room right next to hers.

WHAT THE HECK?

She shook her head and jumped back to her room. Her back pressed on the door as she let out a sigh. She touched the place where Stephen had kissed her and felt her face heat up once again.

"What the hell was that? Merlin! We just met!" Lianthe asked herself as she slowly stripped her clothing away, leaving her with only her underwear.

She tapped her face with her palm and tried to recompose herself. 'Alright Lia, get a grip! It's just a kiss, it's not even a kiss kiss. So why are you being all flustered like this?'

Lianthe sighed as she collapsed on her king sized slightly dazed. Really, this wasn't the first time that anyone showed her any interest. Even when she was younger she had her fair share of suitors and she had boyfriends in the past. But why now? She hadn't even felt like this when she first started dating Chase.

She shook her head once again and pulled her laptop, she needed to distract herself, so she just resigned herself on rereading her material for tomorrow. Maybe check her email or something.

She looked around her room and sighed, she was just about to get up and get herself something to drink probably tea when she noticed it.

A manila envelope. Lianthe frowned as she swiped it from the table top. She examined the thing with a slight confusion. This thing wasn't in her table top when she first arrived.

She quickly opened the envelope and took the single folder inside. There was no indication or whatsoever of who sent it and it just made Lianthe's paranoia sky rocket.

She opened it with trepidation and scanned the files. Her frown deepened as she read more into the file. It was unexpected, she hadn't seen anything like this before. Why would anyone send her a detailed medical record of man with an amputated arm? Possible nerve rewiring and muscle and bone restoration…

Lianthe let out a harsh breath, whomever sent this to her, they were aware of her research about nerve restoration and to severely damage bones and ligaments. But the question is, how did they found out?

Frustration overcame whatever else Lianthe was feeling earlier that night as she threw the folder back on the table top. She stopped when a folder letter dropped from the folder.

She took the letter and opened it.

We're sure you will find the records of our recent research interesting. We hope that you'll join us with this research in the future, our organization could need someone with your talent.

You'll be hearing from us again soon, Dr. Lianthe Evans. And we will be hoping for your positive reply.

A.G.P.

Lianthe groaned, just what the heck is happening?

…

She couldn't get the file out of her mind, not even when she was delivering her speech. Not when she was being hounded by fellow orthopedist or by the organization committee.

Something about that file was off, but at the same time it was interesting, very interesting. The rational part of her was telling her to let it go and forget about, while the Gryffindor in her is telling her to check out and see what it was all about. Sometimes, Lianthe hated herself never had once her rational mind had agreed with her more impulsive self. And this time it's no different.

Fortunately for her, the rest of the day was light and she managed to get her mind to rest even for a little bit. She didn't want to deal with anything aside from the mysterious file that was sent to her.

Foreman was cooped in the seminar hall, and Cuddy was busy with the board meeting back at PPTH so she won't be expecting any call from her for the rest of the day.

She studied the mystery subject's file once again, a military sergeant, early 30's, suffered from TA* after a mission gone wrong.

Lianthe bit her lip. Whatever organization if performing this research is hell bent on restoring whatever nerve signals that they can get. 'Possible advance prosthesis then?' Lianthe thought to herself. She had read about the technological advances when it comes to artificial prosthesis previously. The US Military pushed through with this even when she was still an active officer. Stark Industries though was majority a weapon's manufacturer had been a huge asset after Tony Stark had closed off the weapon's division. A small smile graced the doctor's lips as the thought of the eccentric billionaire.

"It's like they are thinking of re-growing the arm altogether." Lianthe mumbled, before she snorted. Regrowing limbs would be a walk in the park if you have the necessary potions and spells. But then it was fortunate that the mundane world is not aware of this fact.

Lianthe clicked her tongue; it was the time to think about the magical world or anything that relates to it. There is a reason why the Statute of Secrecy was created and she's not a magical anymore.

She spent the rest of the day stressing about the records, taking notes and comparing it with her own research. It was better that she did some of it herself because let's face it. She's not going to encounter something like this in the near future.

A knock on the door snapped Lianthe away from her study, her eyes widened when she looked out of the window. It was dark already.

Shit. Stephen. Dinner.

"Ah shite!" she groaned as she pushed the records away from her and padded to the door. And as expected Stephen was there, a lazy smirk on his face.

"You ready?" he asked.

Lianthe grimaced and looked up to Stephen sheepishly. She backed away from the door and gestured for the man to enter. "I actually forgot about Dinner… I am so sorry."

She glided towards the kitchen island and poured Stephen some sparkling water. "Something came up and I got distracted."

Stephen on the other hand just smiled, he noticed the messy study table and the different notes and anatomy illustration scattered around so it wasn't hard for him to understand. "It's alright. I'll wait for you to get ready then?"

Lianthe let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "I'll be back in a jiff. Make yourself at home okay? Sorry for the mess." She called out before she locked herself in her bedroom.

She opted a casual attire. A little bit of makeup just for the gist of it because who was she kidding? This is a date. And Lianthe didn't know what to think about it.

Stephen ended up bringing her to the same café that she visited upon arriving at D.C. She looked around the place and saw how different it was during the day. The overall feel of the place was just right.

"This place is nice." Lianthe said as Stephen guided her to a table near the wall to ceiling windows overlooking the street.

"This is the first place that came into my mind. I remember how much you enjoyed the treacle tarts here."

"How did you?"

"You were being noisy with that phone call of yours."

"Oh! Oh, you were here too?"

"Yep, I was just sitting right behind you."

…

It wasn't really hard to like Stephen, Lianthe realized as the two of them chatted, getting to know each other and just having a good time. Sure the man can be arrogant and cocky at times, but he has the skills to back it up so it's cool even for Lianthe. And it didn't hurt that Stephen is handsome, like really handsome. He has this gentleman look going on and that smile, circe that smile! Lianthe shook her head with a smile. Merlin, she only just broken up with Chase! Was she this desperate in jumping into another relationship once again? Nah, that's not it. Stephen Strange is an interesting fellow. He had so many things to say, experiences in their line of work that Lianthe could only dream of. But she can't deny it, she was attracted. Like really attracted to him, besides from the slight paranoia she had felt during their initial meeting, she was awfully comfortable with the New Yorker.

"So do you have a boyfriend?"

This snapped Lianthe from her inner musing and raised an eybrow at the other. "Why are you asking? Interested?" she teased.

"Maybe…"

Woah. Lianthe swallowed back a cough at Stephen's answer. "Really?" she huffed, her face burning up once again. "Currently? None. The last one ended badly." Lianthe shrugged, she didn't mind it anymore. It was better that way, no use on depressing over a lying and cheating bastard anyway.

"Well your ex-boyfriend was a fool. If I were him I wouldn't dare let you go."

Lianthe blinked, before she leveled Stephen a stare. A coy smile gracing her lips. "Why Doctor, are you flirting with me?"

Stephen chuckled, he leaned on the table and closer to Lianthe, his blue eyes challenging. "Maybe."

Lianthe leaned back, humming. She tipped the wine to her lips without breaking eye contact with Stephen. "That's a bit vague don't you think Doctor?"

She knew that it was the alcohol that's talking. Both of them had plenty of glasses already. She's acting like a horny teenager! And worst of all she's enjoying herself.

"I'm pretty sure you're smart enough figure it out Doctor."

Her emerald eyes stared at Stephen's azure ones, before she burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh Merlin, this is so embarrassing! I'm acting like a hormonal teenager. What would Teddy think?" she said between laughs.

Stephen only looked at her with amusement. "Teddy?"

"My adopted son. He's been on my arse about dating and stuff."

It was now Stephen's turn to raise an eyebrow, a smirk on his face. "Well I think Teddy is a clever boy, I think we'll get along quite well."

Lianthe pouted, before she threw a tissue paper at Stephen, which the doctor caught without any effort. "Oh hush you!"

"What? I'm just stating my opinion."

"Shut up Stephen. You're doing a shitty job at being subtle."

"Who said I was being subtle?"

Lianthe stopped. "Well you have to try harder. I'm not that easy."

"Really… We'll see."

Oh dear…

…

"Damn it Stephen, be gentle!" Lianthe hissed as she tripped once again over nothing as Stephen guided her back to her hotel room. Their not-date ended quite nicely. She had fun, Stephen had fun… well maybe too much fun. She was drunk. Stephen was drunk maybe. And it was only because the latter was much bigger and held her tightly against his body that she's not swimming on the floor right now.

"Come on, we're almost there."

Lianthe huffed as she leaned her forehead against the man's shoulder. She sniffed his clothes, smelling the citrusy scent of Stephen's perfume. 'Clive?' Gods, he smells so good. She giggled, she grabbed Stephen's arm and pouted.

"I don't want to go home yet, Cuddy is going to find out." She slurred.

Stephen ignored her through the rest of their trek and gently straightened her up once they were in front of her hotel room. Lianthe blinked, shaking her head trying to get at least more lucid despite being stoned drunk.

"Alright. Off you go little miss." Stephen smirked, his hand still on her shoulder, steadying her on her feet.

Lianthe looked up to Stephen, her emerald eyes almost glowing. She pursed her lips as she stared at the neurologist. She could feel her heart racing as she took everything about Stephen.

The only downside of being drunk is that whatever actions that you have done while still under the influence is debatable. If you're drunk enough, you just don't care. And that's just what Lianthe just did. And she didn't care.

She pulled Stephen closer and crashed her lips against his. It was a moment of weakness that she would regret once she's sober. But the heck? What's life without taking a little risk?

Her heart hammered more against her breast when she felt Stephen returned the kiss. She felt his strong arms wrapping itself around her waist, lifting her up before he pushed the door open taking Lianthe inside.

Lianthe growled as she pushed Stephen against the wall. Stephen broke away from the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. "You know you're going to regret this tomorrow right?" he breathed.

Lianthe huffed, her face flushed. "I don't care. Sober Lianthe can deal with the aftermath, she's a big girl." Liathe breathed, grinning before she kissed Stephen again.

"You sure?" he asked.

Lianthe pulled away from Stephen, something flashed on her eyes before she answered. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Stephen took in a sharp breathe before he dived down and capture Lianthe's lips with his own.

…

FIN.

*Traumatic Amputation - loss of a body part, usually a finger, toe, arm, or leg, that occurs as the result of an accident or injury. (medlineplus)

YAY! Look at that! I suck at writing romantic settings but I tried my best. Hope it's okay. And damn drunk!Lianthe is mad. Please don't think that Lianthe is sex fiend or something. It was all because of the alcohol and her secret desire to actually have someone to be with. She never really slept with Chase, because their relationship never really reach that point. With Stephen, the interest was there and besides she's still a Gryffindor she is impulsive especially at a brief moment of weakness.

Please tell me what you think about this chapter. I'm not that satisfied with this to be honest. ( When was I satisfied with any of my work anyway?) I tried increasing the length of the chapter since someone requested it. I hope I did alright.

MCU Elements are starting to come into play, the clues are there and it's not really subtle. Things are going to pick up pretty soon. I am excited.

Anyway, next chapter Lianthe is going to deal with the aftermath and reevaluating herself. Meanwhile we take a peak inside the head of our favorite neurosurgeon and what's really running inside that brilliant mind of his and what drove him in doing the things he did.

STAY TUNED EVERYONE!

Until the next chapter!

Stolideux