An Interview With... Mark Dashwood

[The Daily Prophet]

Healers are well known for their legendary sex appeal. Perhaps it’s the aura of capability they emit, perhaps it’s the knowledge they are well-educated and well-paid, perhaps it’s because you know they can deal with any possible situation whilst barely batting an eyelid, or perhaps it’s because the profession seems to attract an inordinately high number of good-looking men. Either way, we’re tempted to swoon when Mark Dashwood enters our office precisely on time for his interview.

Tall, dark, handsome and Chief of Staff at St. Mungo’s, is there anything about this man that isn’t attractive? We certainly can’t think of anything! Standing at 6ft 3, with dark eyes and hair, this man is definitely the sort of guy you thought you’d fall in love with at the giddy age of thirteen. It’s immediately clear that he’s also extremely busy, as the first words out of his mouth, minus the usual pleasantries, are an apologetic, ‘I’m awfully sorry, but I have a consultation in forty minutes – is that going to be a problem?’ With manners like that, it’s impossible to even imply that it would be, so we get cracking straight away, whilst he’s being styled for a lightning-speed photographic shoot.

This is a typical opening gambit from Mark, I later discern, as, first and foremost he is a Healer, and almost everything else in his life comes second to this. He shrugs simply when I ask him why he considered the medical profession in the first place: he wanted to save lives. He does not elaborate on this, but his sincerity is obvious, as is his devotion to his career. So obvious, in fact, that for once in my journalistic career, I see no point in attempting to follow on with that train of questioning.
I ask instead for him to describe exactly what being a Healer entails. His reply is succinct, but emotive: ‘My job entails a lot of patience, endurance, and a strong will. Not everything will go your way; you have to accept that right off the back. Sometimes you'll have a day where everything has gone right; some days will be the opposite. You just have to know that you can do it, and that someone's life is literally in your hands. You have to be strong for them, and most importantly, you have to trust yourself.’ It is clear what his favourite part of his job is – ‘I love to know that someone is better, and well, and with their family because of something I did for them’ – and, equally, his least favourite part, although he is prosaically stoic about the matter: ‘Loosing any life is hard, but it's a fact you have to live with.’

Although his job evidently means a great deal to Mark, his personal life is even more intrinsic to his character. He has been with his wife, Kate, since their school days, and they met when he was in sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she in her second. He describes the meeting thus, ‘Kate and I met in school. She's four years younger than me, but I was the Prefect who guided her back to her dorm during her second year, my sixth. She was just a lost little girl, and ever since then, we've been together.’ Our photographer almost swoons, I don’t blame her - the refreshing lack of drama in such an idyllic-sounding relationship is refreshing in our career of interviewing those with overly crisis-prone home lives.

He describes his family as both his biggest inspiration and his hugest weakness. He laughs as I ask who his biggest inspiration is, ‘My father has always been an amazing man, as well my mother an amazing woman. Maybe I should say my little sister so that she doesn't come in here demanding a retraction because I didn't mention her!’ The fondness evident for his parents and sibling his evident in his voice and mannerisms, and the tenderness is maintained as he continues, ‘I love my son’s tenacity, too. So I'm going to have to go with my family. It's not a person, but they're the best things in my life.’ He freely admits that, as with so many fathers, his daughter in particular is his Achilles’ heel, ‘I let my daughter get away with just about everything as long as she smiles at me and calls me Dad; even if I know what she's doing isn't exactly the ideal thing.’ He reaches into his pocket for his wallet, and shows me a picture of his family, whom he evidently dotes over, and I silently agree that, yes, they are indeed a beautiful family.

It is as he is putting away his wallet that he catches sight of his watch and notices the time. He pulls a sorrowful face and explains that he really must be going. With that, he apologises profusely once more , entreats us to contact him if necessary, and strides off. As he heads out the door, leaving a trail of mayhem in his wake, I can’t help but conclude that maybe, just maybe, the reason why Healers in general have a reputation of Adonis-like attributes is that, well, quite simply, because of Mark Dashwood’s confidence, charm and aura of a down-to-earth, all-round good bloke. It is, I internally note with surprise, entirely possible that he has made an entire profession sound alluringly appealing to anyone who has ever come into contact with him.