32-First Aid

Selena's accident seemed to affect all the members of the club. Each invited Luna to visit and forget her worries for a short while. She declined the offers. She felt that she needed to stay close to her mother. Dudley also spent a large part of each day at her side.

As soon as Selena was well enough to have guests, each member of the club came to wish her quick recuperation and full health. Dylan had a feeling that some did much more than just wishing. Due to his involvement, he visited each day. He noticed that the day after Harry (along with Hermione, of course) visited, Selena seemed to feel much better. When this happened again, a few days later, Dylan decided to have a talk with the couple.

It was after the first club meeting of the new year. Dylan asked the two to stay a bit later. Once the others left, he asked, "Have you used any magic to help Selena's recuperation?"

This direct question seemed to surprise the children. They lowered their eyes and then looked at each other. A moment later Harry replied. "We didn't want to interfere with her treatment, but we checked some medicine books. You know that Hermione's parents are dentists, so they learned some general medicine too. We learned how the human body is built, especially the area affected by the accident. We then tried to sense it. We checked some of our neighbours and found what healthy people feel like and what some problems feel like."

Hermione took over. "Some of my parents' clients are old or sick, and I could sense their problems. I then tried to find a way to help. I could use a bit of magic to strengthen a weak muscle or thicken a weak blood vessel. I could even make some deposits in the arteries vanish. When we first visited, we found that the hole in her heart was not fully healed. It was still leaking small amounts of blood, but that could turn fatal if not treated. Harry sealed that hole and I made sure it would stay that way. We also found that she barely had any lungs left. It would take the potions several months to grow those lungs back, and she had problems breathing. We then checked some more books to learn about the lungs. The next time we visited, we pushed our magic to help her lungs grow quicker. I hope it worked."

Dylan smiled. "I visited this morning. It worked. The healers say that there's probably something different in this batch of the potion they're giving her since she's recuperating much faster than expected. Did you tell her or Luna?"

"We only told Luna a few days after our first visit, when we were sure it worked. We didn't want her to put too much hope in that," Harry said.

Dylan smiled. "I believe you may already tell her of the second visit too." He then thought about something different. "I know that Luna's parents didn't want her to be a single child, but failed to bring her a sibling. Selena intended to have the Goblins check her, but I don't know if she tried and if they could help. Do you think you can check that too? There's no hurry since Selena needs to fully recuperate before even thinking of another pregnancy."

Harry blushed a bit. Dylan thought that he probably knew already how pregnancies were started, and it was something that young boys never felt comfortable about. Hermione gave it some consideration. "I don't think that my parents have books good enough about this subject. Can you find such books, the kind that teaches doctors how to treat fertility problems?"

Most children would not understand such books, Dylan was sure. He doubted he could understand much, but these children seemed not to have any problem with it. "I'll see what I can find," he told them.

He then thought that teaching the children some magical healing, especially first aid, could prove beneficial. It was also something safe. He didn't want to teach them the more problematic spells and potions, those used for offence or defence. They were too young. He wanted to keep them naïve for a bit longer.

\/\/\/

Dylan opened the next meeting with, "You've all heard about the accident that Luna's mother suffered. While that kind of accident is uncommon, there are many accidents we can encounter on daily basis. Can you give me some example? Both magical and mundane, please."

"One can slip on a banana peel!"

"or just on a wet floor!"

"Accidents with cars!"

"Breaking arms or legs while playing,"

"Misfired spells,"

"Exploding cauldrons!"

Dylan lifted his hand to stop them. "Yes, all these and many more can happen to people. As you've probably heard, helping the accident victims as soon as possible can save their lives. Untreated injuries may fester, may bleed too much, may let other problems get in – and that's just a minor example. This is why I want to teach you First Aid. It means methods and procedures to help immediately after something happens in order to minimize pain, suffering and death. Unlike most other children, and many adults, you have very good control of your magic and can use it where wands would not be allowed. I intend to show you both magical and non-magical methods. In many cases they are equivalent. In other cases, they may complement each other and there are cases where only one of these methods exists."

With Selena's accident fresh in their minds, all the children were listening attentively.

"Let's start with something simple. A bruise, when one falls and scrapes one's knee, or a small cut, like ones made by certain leaves or even a page of paper…"

It went better than he could expect. The children were quick to point out where magic could help and where it would be too noticeable or not help at all. He then let them bandage each other, with a pen mark denoting an injury. It turned into a fun game for the children, but they also learned quite a bit.

Dylan complemented that lesson by letting the children brew a potion to help heal small cuts and bruises. The children left the club with each carrying a small vial of that potion.

\/\/\/

The children loved these lessons, especially since they related to problems that they were encountering in real life. Unlike some potions that were only rarely useful, one that helped heal cuts and bruises found almost daily use.

Bella was glad to tell the others at their next meeting, "On my way home from school, an older boy who rode bicycles passed near me. He was riding very fast, not paying attention to the road and not wearing any knee or head protection. There was a bump in the road that he didn't notice and he also tried to make a turn there. The wheels slipped and he fell down and had his knee bruised. His head was also hit from the fall, but not too badly. He didn't feel dizzy, after he rested a bit, and saw everything just fine, but his knee was bleeding and hurting. I offered to give him some first aid. He didn't think I could but had nobody else to help him. I cleaned his bruise with some water and put a bit of our potion on it before covering it with a sticky bandage. I then used some magic to speed the healing. Nobody could notice, with the bruise bandaged. I didn't do anything about the pain of the fall, though. He should learn to drive more carefully."

This invoked a different discussion, one concerned with ethics. What was right and what was wrong when treating someone, how could one know what level of pain is justified and when to use pain killers? Dylan just listened. The children had high morals and didn't want to cause any pain, but they were also aware of people not learning without some incentive. It was a pleasure listening to them. Dylan was reminded of the time he was still at the church's seminar, learning to become a vicar. They used to have such debates there, but these children seemed to have better arguments and deeper understanding. In a way, it didn't make sense. These children were not supposed to be different than any similar group of children that age. True, Harry and Hermione seemed to be an exception, but the others were normal, regular children. Was the standard perception about children wrong or were they all changed by the club? He didn't know.

\/\/\/

Time passed quickly. Winter turned into spring, followed by summer. His twins started crawling and a blink of an eye later, or so it seemed, were already walking and running (and falling) all over the place. There were days he wished he had an additional pair of eyes. Well, more hands would also be helpful.

Leading to the summer vacation, Dylan found an official test for ambulance personnel before they are allowed to give first aid. He used it to test the children. They all passed brilliantly. By then, they were all carrying small first-aid kits in their school bags. Some even had more than one chance to use them.

\/\/\/

It took a while for Selena to be released from the hospital, and a few more weeks of home rest with medicinal potions before she was considered healthy enough to stop most of the medications.

Harry and Hermione made a habit of visiting Luna at home once a week, meeting her mother too. Just listening to the children, Dylan found that Harry was also visiting Hermione once a week, talking to her parents too. It didn't seem strange until he learned that both mothers were now expecting.

"What have you done with the medicine books you asked for?" he asked the two.

"Oh, we studied them, of course," Hermione said.

"And? Did you reach any conclusions?"

She smiled with evident mischief. "What do you think?"

He smiled back. "I think you did something, or your mother and Luna's would not be pregnant now."

She nodded happily. "Each had a small obstruction, maybe even since birth, and each was different. We just removed those obstructions and…"

She seemed to hesitate. Dylan urged her, "And…?"

She blushed. "I also made them slightly hornier. Their husbands too."

Dylan didn't think he should ask for more clarifications. It was clear that these two, at least, knew quite well about the way children came to the world. He only wondered about the way they used to make the adults hornier. He hadn't taught them any potion to that end. This didn't mean that they couldn't find one on their own. Yet he doubted that. With their powers and the way they used them, he was quite sure that they used a kind of charm, something similar to compulsion, although he hadn't taught them that either.

While thinking of having more children was not currently on his mind, he knew he would want some more in a few years. He also knew whom to contact for help if that won't go as expected.

\/\/\/

Angie rejoined the club at the end of June. The children had some plans for the summer, but Dylan didn't think he could take part in them. With two toddlers at home, both he and Lora needed to be as attentive as possible to prevent mishaps. No breakable object was left within reach of the children, nor anything hot. All cupboards had locks and the staircase had adult gates at both ends. It was still a full-time job to keep these two safe.

The toddlers were also starting to show their magic. It wasn't a surprise for Dylan, who'd seen his nieces at that age. That didn't mean that it was easy. He had to use parental bind on their magic just to keep them safe. He managed to avoid a disaster when one of them summoned his wand. Luckily, Lora was nearby and grabbed it on time. Their three wands went into a locked metal box in a locked cupboard in a locked room. Dylan wasn't sure that would stop the twins if they put their minds to it.

And then he had another problem to tackle. Luna came one day to talk. "My friend Ginny has somehow learned about our club. She knows I'm not at home two afternoons each week. She also noticed that I seem to learn much more than her. I told her my parents were Ravenclaws, but she didn't think that explained it. I told her I was going to a muggle school, and she pointed that I learned a lot of magic. She then heard that Angie, who befriended her twin brothers, also used to go to a club twice a week. She's quite smart, you know. She got the right conclusions and I don't know what to tell her. I can't tell the truth, you know, due to the Fidelius, but I can't really lie either."

Dylan had considered Ginny a few times but had to reject her due to her parents' loyalties. The girl seemed smart and ambitious, certainly good for the club, but her family was too big an obstacle to overcome.

He then remembered another piece of information. Molly Weasley was extremely prejudiced against anything Slytherin. Could he use that fact to his benefit? An idea formed in his mind and he smiled at Luna.

"You may tell her that you meet some children about your age, most of muggle origins, and that the head of the club is a Slytherin graduate. You know I am. It may sadden Ginny, and I'm sorry for that, but her mother would never let her join anything that has the slightest connection to Slytherin, as far as I know."

Luna smiled at his idea. "Of course! She always says that all Slytherins are evil. It may distance Ginny from me too, but… well, I have other friends now."

She thought a bit more and added, "Ginny also has a crush on 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', so it's unwise to let her meet Harry Potter, especially now that we know how powerful he is. Well, Hermione wouldn't let her even come close. Thank you for your advice!"