"It felt... Amazing!"
Harmony couldn't avoid to laugh as she feed Severus his dinner. He had remained very enthusiastic the whole day after the candle thing. He hadn't tried any more magic yet, but at Harmony's eyes he looked just like a kid that had tried magic for the first time. She recalled Frank, her younger brother. He too had been overly enthusiastic for days after experiencing magic for the first time. She had been 4 and she still remembered his joy. Severus was looking pretty much like Frank had. Almost glowing. It felt amazing to see him so happy.
"What did you do,when you touched my chest?"- He asked for the first time since that morning.
"Nothing."
"Oh, no. Don't try to fool me. You did something, when you touched me earlier."
She looked at him, trying to remain serious but failing miserably. Severus wished he could at the very least grab her hand.
"Ok, I admit. I tried one small nothing that my mother taught me once. She once told me that when a wizard or a witch loose their magic sometimes they need a small help to... Find it again. Like a small push. That's all I did to you. When I touched your chest I put just a tiny sparkle of my own magic inside you Severus. It was all you needed to re-ignite your power."
He become deeply thoughtful, which Harmony used to her gain as she finally managed to end feeding him. She cleaned his lips and face before leaving to wash the dishes and eat.
When she returned he was meditative still. It didn't bother her particularly, as she wished to take advantage of his good humour and the calmness in the room to work a little with his body.
Slowly, Harmony started massaging first of everything his hands. His fingers were long, almost spidery due to lack of nourishment. Lightly callous on some points. She warmed his hands in hers and forced is fingers to move properly. Later his whole hand. Harmony took her time with the massage, knowing he needed to be fully worked everyday if possible so the muscles would start (hopefully) functioning again. She was so absorbed with her task that she didn't notice his piercing gaze on her.
Severus had been able to feel his body since some weeks after the attack. Yet, for some reason he hated, he couldn't move by himself. No healer had ever tried to do what Harmony was doing before. He understood her point of view, being a half-blood. Physiotherapy. What an amazing idea.
He decided to let her work. It felt good, her touch on his cold skin. Not so cold this last days. He had been properly dressed, properly covered at all times. Severus felt that some of his dignity was being returned by that young woman.
She conjured a small yellow ball in her hands and made his hand open and close around it.
"Would you try by yourself, Severus?"- He listened to her inside him.
"I... Yes. Can you help?"
"Sure. Just try to focus on what I'm making your hand do. At some point I will let go and with some lucky you will be able to continue. It don't has to be tonight, ok? Don't be hard with yourself. Small steps, ok?"
Severus made an effort to physically nod, which made Harmony smile whole heartedly.
"Well done. Now follow what I'm doing."
Harmony kept opening and closing his hand for what seemed like an eternity. Severus almost didn't notice as she started applying less pressure each time. Until she let go.
At first, there wasn't any movement from him. Then, she noticed one of his fingers trembling softly, them another one. It seemed like ages before they actually moved less than half a centimetre.
"That's it, you do more?"
"I don't think so. Did they move?"
"They did. Very slightly, but they did."
"This is a day for miracles, that's sure."
"I will continue massaging with your arms and the rest now. Follow as much as you can. First you body is too weak. Second, we have to teach it again how to move. Just like a small baby must learn how to walk and sit, your body needs it too now. It will not be a easy or fast thing, but I do hope to see you move by yourself before Christmas."
"How long do we have?"
" About 3 months."- She stated.
As October was ending, a routine had settled in the house. Harmony and Severus worked pretty hard everyday. In the morning and at night was time for therapy. In the afternoon, they worked on the library trying to make some sense of the books stored and organizing them. Severus was in control of his magic again, even if it was better when he didn't overworked himself. It was still very taxing on his body to do more complicated spells and charms.
Harmony was happy to see that her guest felt less depressed each day. The improvements were slowly on his condition but enough to make both happy.
She purposely hided the oldest volumes of the library from Severus. She hadn't told him yet who she really was. And he hadn't asked either. That made her feel less guilty for not telling him the truth.
It was in a windy afternoon, just before 5 PM that an owl arrived and knocked at one of her kitchen windows. Rufus was the first to draw attention to it, followed by both humans. They were just having tea as usual after some hours of work upstairs. Harmony left her tea cup on the small coffee table and raised from the couch to meet the owl.
It was a brown one that Severus almost immediately recognized.
"Must be from Minerva."- He told her with apparent disinterest while glaring at his tea cup.
"I believe you're right. Let's see..." Harmony took the parchment and gave the bird a small treat. She didn't had owls at her service but like any wizard house there was always a treat at hand when needed. She returned to the couch before start reading the message.
"She asks for your health first of all. Them she shows interest in a visit. Alone. I will let you read for yourself of course. But for me it seems very reasonable. After all, she trusted me with your full care since middle September."
The letter floated in the until it was in front of Severus eyes. He read it in silence two times before speaking his mind about.
"Let her come."