Chapter 10: The Unexpected
Both Lavinia and Harry slept through the morning. Lavinia awoke as the late afternoon sun began creeping into the tent, having not slept well. Her back ached where her mother had pushed her into the tree and, because of that, it had taken her a while to fall asleep and she often woke up if she rolled over with pain shooting down her spine. Suspecting that one of her vertebrae was out of place, she emerged from the tent just as her mother walked by carrying an armful of packages, apparently just returning from town. Annika gave her daughter a meaningful glance before continuing into the main Healer's tent.
Not in the mood to work, Lavinia decided to take a walk alongside the river. Her mind was still reeling with the thoughts of what had happened earlier in the day as she began walking far upstream. She watched the water as she went, listening to the sounds it made as it swept by the big boulders that were embedded into its banks. She looked up at the Pennine Chain mountain range that stood far off into the distance on her other side, beyond the forests. Coming to a halt next to an exceptionally large boulder, she sighed and sat down on the edge of it. Leaning over and cupping her hands together, she placed them into the river's depths then withdrew them and took a drink. She loved the taste of the water from the river and wished longingly that she could go for a swim, but knew the current was too strong.
She sat there for a while longer as the sun slowly began sinking behind the mountains and a cool breeze began to blow. Standing up, she began walking back to the camp before night fell. Nearing the tents, still lost in her thoughts, she stepped too close to the bank and the soft earth beneath her feet gave way under her and she fell into the swift waters. She shrieked with shock as she was plunged into the icy cold water. The current quickly got a hold of her and dragged her below the surface, filling both her nose and mouth with water. She hated getting water up her nose, but, at the moment, this was the least of her fears. Coughing, she struggled to remain above the water, but was soon pulled under again.
She fought her way back up to the surface, but the cold water was making her back sear with pain. It was taking everything she had to keep her head above the water, and she knew she wouldn't easily be able to catch hold of one of the boulders. A few times, she tried to, but the strength of the river was too much for her and the boulders' surface was too wet; she slipped off before she could get a good grip. Terrified that she might drown, she yelled as loud as she could whenever she was above the water long enough to take a breath.
Harry was in his tent, looking for his wand, wondering where he lad misplaced it to when he heard Lavinia's cries for help. Dashing out, he looked around. Seeing her being helplessly pulled downstream, he took off at a run, trying to catch up to her; she was already several yards ahead of him.
"Harry," she spluttered as water poured into her mouth. "Help me!"
The desperation in her voice seemed to give him an extra burst of speed and he had soon passed her, looking for a safe place to pull her out. He finally spotted a dry rock that protruded out over the middle of the river and scrambled to get on it before the current swept Lavinia past it. Getting a good grip on the side of the rock, he leaned over as far as he could with his right hand and caught Lavinia's as she flung it out above her head. Her nails dug into his wrist as he tugged against the strength of the river to pull her out, but he hardly noticed. He was more concerned about getting Lavinia to safety than for his own comfort.
By now, Annika and Andrea had caught up with Harry, having heard Lavinia's cries as well, and were conjuring ropes with which to pull them both to safety. Andrea tied the end of the rope into a large loop, which she flung over Harry's head and around his chest. He quickly released his grip from the boulder and pulled his free arm through the loop as Annika and Andrea began pulling the other end. No longer needing to hold the rock for support, he swung his now free hand over the side and took Lavinia's other hand.
Finally, with tremendous effort, Annika and Andrea were able to pull Harry onto the grass and he, in turn, pulled Lavinia behind him.
Trembling with freight and shaking with cold, Lavinia collapsed onto the grass beside Harry, coughing. She was out of the water now, but the wind that blew made her feel even colder. It had taken every ounce of strength she had just to keep herself above the water's surface and then to hold onto Harry. Annika quickly conjured a heavy blanket and draped it over Lavinia before directing her wand to her daughter's robes. Instantly, a jet of hot steam began pouring from her wand tip and seemed to dry the robes in seconds.
Harry gently pulled Lavinia to her feet and began leading her back to the tent, Annika and Andrea next to them.
"Are you all right, Lavinia?" Harry asked as they walked. "You scared me for a minute there."
Still shivering, she answered, "Yeah, I'm okay." But just as she said this, a sharp pain shot down her spine and she winced. "I must have hit my back into one of the rocks." She glanced sideways at her mother, but she made no indication that she might know how she had really injured her back.
"We can take care of that once we've gotten you warmed up," Andrea said.
Harry began to lead her into the woman's tent, but Annika suggested she be taken to the main tent instead. Once there and out of the wind, Harry was asked to leave for a moment so they could get Lavinia changed into dry clothes. Once outside, he had an idea and walked quickly to his tent to collect the chess set. When he'd returned, Andrea poked her head out the entrance to tell him it was all right for him to come back inside. This was the first time he'd been inside this tent since he was in here with Hermione, and it kind of made him feel uneasy. But seeing Lavinia lying on the bed next to where Hermione had been, and watching as Annika performed the spell to realign her spine and the look of intense pain on Lavinia's face, Harry quickly got over his uneasiness and walked over to her.
Even with her spine back the way it should be, the pain remained, though it was reduced to a dull, constant ache. Lavinia gingerly turned over onto her back and looked up at Harry as Andrea walked over and gave her two potions, one a Pepperup Potion to help counteract the chill, and the other to help ease the pain..
"I hate for you to see me like this," she said, steam billowing from her ears because of the Pepperup Potion.
"Like what? Hurt? It's not your fault you fell in the river." Harry pulled up a chair, just as she had done the night before and sat down next to her.
"I should have been paying closer attention to what I was doing. It was careless of me." Harry shook his head and Lavinia laughed.
"What's so funny?" he asked, grinning.
"Oh, nothing really. Just some silly little quirk of mine. I've been a Healer for so long, it seems like whenever something happens to me, like I get sick or I cut myself or something, I can always heal it myself. I've always been independent and I've never really needed someone to help me before, to make me feel better. I'd always wondered what it'd feel like to have someone care for me like I do for my patients. And after what happened last night, you'd have been the last person I'd expect to be looking after me."
Harry smiled still more broadly. "It's my pleasure," he said. He then pulled out the chess set, "Care for a few games?"
Lavinia gasped when she saw his arm. His right wrist was bright red and bleeding in different areas, it looked almost like he had stuck it in a rose bush. "Harry, you're arm. Did I do that?" she asked, appalled.
Harry looked down at his hands. The sight of his scratched wrist came as somewhat of a shock to him. "Oh, I guess I was so worried about you that I forgot about that. It's all right, though. Don't fret about it." He smiled encouragingly at her when she still looked concerned.
It only took Andrea a minute to clean it up and heal it, then Harry and Lavinia were able to play a game of chess as they ate their dinner. Afterward, Annika suggested that Harry return to his tent so that Lavinia could get some rest.
"We can play again tomorrow," he said as he packed up the pieces. "Goodnight, feel better." He said good night to Annika and Andrea as well before leaving the tent.
Lavinia fell asleep almost as soon as he left, Annika having given her a combination of a pain reliever and a weaker form of a sleeping potion.
Harry, however, didn't feel even slightly tired though he too ached from the effort of the rescue. He merely lay in bed, staring up at the top of the tent. Somehow, he couldn't seem to get his mind off Lavinia, but he soon fell asleep listening to the soft chirping of the crickets outside.
For the next few weeks, Lavinia always made time during her busy day to get in at least one game of chess with Harry, even with the preparations that needed to be made to get ready for the upcoming winter months. It was usually either during breakfast or dinner, and sometimes even both, that they enjoyed this time together.
Sometimes they would simply eat and concentrate on the game, other times they would abandon it and just sit and talk. Harry still wished to take Lavinia flying and had been working on his magic - after she returned his wand - while she worked.
During breakfast one chilly September morning, they ate their bacon and eggs in the men's tent - Tobias had already been awake for a few hours and was out in the forest, chopping some wood, so they again had the tent to themselves. They both outwardly seemed absorbed in their game, but Lavinia couldn't quite focus, her mind just seemed to be elsewhere, and she noticed that Harry seemed preoccupied as well.
When they finally decided to abandon their game, they sat for a moment, finishing off their bacon, both still lost in their thoughts. When Harry spoke, Lavinia wasn't expecting it and she jumped slightly.
"Lately, I've been trying to perform some of the more basic spells, like those I learned in school, and I seem to be able to do them fine now. Have you got a broom around anywhere, so I could try and see if I can fly on it?"
Swallowing what was in her mouth, Lavinia said, "I think there may be one out in the back storage tent. I'm not sure how good it is, though, but you're welcome to use it."
"Thanks. Hey, and if I find I can fly it okay, would you like to go for a ride later tonight? We could pack up a picnic and fly up to the lake farther upstream. Andrea tells me it's a beautiful place for a picnic."
Lavinia thought about this for a moment, fidgeting with the material of her robes. Harry had noticed that she sometimes did this when aggravated or nervous. She twisted the cloth between her fingers, obviously fighting with herself over something. Harry thought she might be anxious about flying, since she'd never really done it before. Hoping he read her uncertainty accurately, he said, "Lavinia, if I find I can't fly just yet, we can do it another time. I would never knowingly endanger you; I'd only do this if I knew I could safely maneuver the broom."
She smiled up at him, "I know that." She sighed, but seemed to come to a decision, "Yeah, I guess it would be all right."
Lavinia gathered up their dirty dishes when they had finished and walked out of the tent. She placed them next to the main tent entrance in a tub of hot, soapy water along with the others to be cleaned. She flicked her wand at them and walked back to Harry as the scrub brush began scraping food residue off one of the plates.
She began making up Harry's bed, but he gently took the pillow out of her hands saying, "I can do that, it's my bed after all. I should be the one to straighten it up." He placed it back on the bed and smoothed out his blanket, walking around her to tuck the ends of the sheets under the mattress.
Lavinia just stood there watching him as he fluffed the pillow and folded the blankets back. She was used to doing things for other people and enjoyed it, so for someone to step in and offer to do it themselves came as an unexpected, but nonetheless pleasant shock.
Straightening up, Harry's eyes briefly met hers and for one fleeting moment, Harry felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her. So close had they become in the last two months that Harry could hardly stop himself as he stepped around the bed toward her. But at the last second, he seemed to snap back to his senses and quickly brushed the end of the bed, as if smoothing a last wrinkle, even though there wasn't one there.
Lavinia had seen the look in his eyes and guessed what his intent may have been, but she quickly hid her disappointment before saying, "I have a lot of work to do today. You go ahead and grab the broomstick from the storage tent, I'm sure no one would mind and I will see you around dinner."
"All right." Harry watched as she left the tent to go about her daily duties with a feeling of anticipation for what may happen later in the day if he finds he can still fly, but also with guilt for what he had almost just done. Hermione died only two months ago, he reminded himself. And this is not the way to honor her memory, by seeking affection from another so soon.
Heaving a sigh of frustration for his contradictory feelings, he grabbed his jacket and left the tent to have a go on a broomstick.
(end of chapter 10)