"A door opens in front of you, your eyes rest on a round faced woman with a kind smile
'Welcome to my home' she says, her voice quiet and very kind 'I am the mother, my husband is at work and our son is a Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry' you smile
'Can you imagine that? my son at Hogwarts! He's even in Gryffindor! They say that he's in the class of Harry Potter, imagine that... Harry defeated Voldemort' you gasp 'sixteen years ago next month, I can't believe it's been sixteen years already' you weren't alive then, were you... so you smile yet again
'Oh those were terrible times! My husband once worked against that monster you know, he threatened us once and we had to go to the hospital. But everything's fine now. Everything's just fine!' you've sat down in her pristine kitchen by now
'Oh I would offer you tea, my dear, but I'm afraid my tea kettle has run off again... Yes, I'm afraid it has just run off, sprouted legs, you know' you look slightly confused, but say nothing 'It happens, my husband tells me, happened to him when he was at his uncle's house once - it ran all the way down the docks!' you laugh politely
'Oh my dear husband' she sighs 'I hardly get to see him any more, he's so busy at work! I see witches and wizards in his office all the time' you look puzzled and wonder how she could see his office but never him 'our window is bewitched, you see - I am able to keep an eye on my dear husband all day long, but we never get to speak - it's a terrible thing, it is!'
There's a knock at the door - you see a young boy and an older woman through the window. You ask if she's going to get it, but she doesn't seem to hear you
'every once in a while, he'll come home and we'll speak - but we hardly understand each other any more - isn't it terrible when that happens? All the witches say it happens to every marriage, but I guess it's just worse when it happens to your own' the knocking continues - you wonder when she'll notice.
'I just hope our son doesn't find out, I'm afraid it would torture him to think about it.' a worried tone to her voice 'he loves his parents dearly, he does - I wish he could see us more' vaguely you wonder if it's him at the door 'that old witch of a woman - well I guess she is a witch but that doesn't make it much better! - it seems like she's with our son more than we are, imagine that!' you're just a bit confused now 'sometimes I just don't want to see her' she puts emphasis on those last words, her composure faltering slightly
The boy and the old woman have broken into the house, they're standing in the middle of the pristine kitchen, but your guide doesn't notice
'oh, you'd like to see a picture of my boy, would you?' you never asked any question of the sort, but nod in agreement anyway 'I'll go fetch it for you'
You hear calm voices from the rest of the house, all complimenting your guide, but you find yourself incapable of moving - your composure too, is starting to waiver.
the mouths and lips of the woman and the boy are moving, they're saying words, but it all comes out in jibberish - you know someone who speaks jibberish - are they trying to talk to you? the woman wipes a tear from her eye and grabs the boy's shoulder - they're leaving - they can't leave! they need to see the picture! or was it you that wanted the picture - no matter, they mustn't leave! you try to stop them, but you still can't move - still can't move - oh, she's back!
'here's the picture, isn't my son handsome?' a boy, no older than sixteen looks at you from the frame, he looks exactly like his mother, exactly like his mother
'you must show them!' the first words out of your mouth - she looks surprised, but goes to stop them anyway - they had almost reached the door!
and yes, finally, the picture has been delivered - you are actually happy... you find yourself humming a happy tune as you return to your bed, everything is ok now, everything is ok now, everything is ok now"
* * *
"Alice, Alice dear, did you enjoy your visit?" the young Mediwizard asks.
"everything is ok now, everything is ok now"
"Your son seemed very happy to see you, you know, Alice" she continues, she has grown accustomed to Alice's ramblings.
"just don't want to see her, just don't want to see her"
"Frank's mother? Why don't you want to see her, Alice? She's always taken very good care of Neville for you."
"it would torture him, it would torture him"
"Hush Alice, everything is alright with Neville, he won't be tortured, I promise. The days of You-Know-Who are over now, Alice. Bellatrix Lestrange is locked deep within Azkaban." The mediwizard didn't have the heart to tell Alice that she believed what Dumbledore had been saying about the return of the Dark Lord.
"Harry Potter makes everything fine, everything fine, everything fine"
"Yes, Harry Potter has made everything fine - very good, Alice, very good. Well, I'm afraid I must be going now, Alice - Merry Christmas!"
"everything is fine now, everything is fine"