Harry had decided to give James a few days off, sensing that he was still shaken from their journey into the man's mindscape. They took the time to acquaint themselves with the latest rotation of Dora and healers that had come; which included both Thante and Oran among their ranks. At Harry's nudging, James had joined in on helping out with some minor chores including carrying wheat for the goats and bringing back whatever haul the hunting party had caught.
On the third day, James had silently turned to Harry at the end of their daily stretching routine. "I think I'm… ready to start." He didn't need to elaborate on what. Harry simply nodded and they walked together into James' hut.
"I'm not sure what you may be expecting, but my first course of action would be to address the scattered memories from your… 'wipes'. They are the easiest to tackle and also a common malady that mind healers deal with." James nodded, and took one of the seats inside, cradling a cup of water in his hand.
"Perhaps I should've have explained earlier, but the two potions you've been taking with breakfast should have helped with this," Harry sat down, plucking out another pair of said potions from his mysterious drawstring pouch. "A Memory Potion and Baruffio's Brain Elixer," he shook the vials minutely.
"The former enhances memory – as per its name – and boosts cognition. The latter assist with brain power and is notoriously hard to brew; you'll have Malfoy to thank for that. He's one of the few potions masters adequately qualified to brew it, and the only one I personally know."
Then, a smile, "I have some confidence based on the scans we did earlier on and this treatment, that your memories will have slowly and surely been restored. The only thing I am doing is pulling those scattered fragments together." He nodded at James, who clenched his jaw and nodded back. "Would you like to come into your mindscape as I work or…?"
A pause. "I…" James swallowed drily, before bowing his head. "I'd rather not, today." He resisted a flinch when fingers brushed against his clenched hand, gaze following the line of skin back up into Harry's calming gaze.
"That is fine. You won't need to do anything, just close your eyes for a moment."
Breathing deeply, James nodded at Harry again before his eyes slipped closed. He heard Harry mutter legilimens softly before it went quiet.
Reappearing in James' mindscape, Harry made quick work of his task. He waved his wand in practiced and familiar movements, clearing up the space in the apartment and righting things from where they were scattered. He was pleased to see his suspicions confirmed, as the evidence of missing and burnt items were already noticeably lesser than his first visit.
It wasn't long before he had tied up as much as he could, taking note of some areas where things were still missing or damaged, which should continue to heal over time. He also glanced over at the metal door on the side, still shut to him. Striding over, his hand hovered over the knob, before lowering as Harry shook his head.
"Next time," he murmured to himself. He spun on his heel as he focused on the last task he had in mind, gaze immediately going to the conspicuous metal hooks that still embedded themselves uglily around the room.
"James," called Harry softly. The other man blinked his eyes open, almost confused. "I'm finished, for today."
Brow furrowing, James spoke wouldn't thinking, "that's it?" He swore barely ten seconds could have passed since Harry had asked him to close his eyes. He only felt his bewilderment grow when the other man simply chuckled in amusement.
"Yes. Time works differently in the mind," Harry explained, "I have cleared up your memories, and as suspected, your brain has already begun to repair and regain some of it. I would like you to practice doing some meditation before bed – 5 minutes would suffice – just trying to recall as much as you can. It will help if you try and work your way from your youth up until now. Perhaps tonight, try to think about memories of your childhood."
"How… how am I supposed to remember what I don't know?" James asked.
Quirking his lips, Harry leaned back against his chair. "Think about broad things first. For example, school, or playing with your friends. Something will probably come up the deeper you dig. You could also try thinking of family or holidays, perhaps what you ate, what you did, those sort of things."
James nodded, but his expression belied his doubt. "What about… the other… stuff?"
"Mind healing sessions do not take long, as you have just experienced, but there is a limit to how much we can do in one session," Harry sat up straighter, "mostly as a precaution not to overload the mind." He waited until James nodded his understanding before continuing, "your mind should be able to handle the remaining restoration of your memories. My focus for the following sessions will be on removing the… brainwashing and programming," he spoke the words as if they tasted vile on his tongue.
"How will that… work?" James asked, hesitant but mostly curious.
"I will have to slowly extract the keywords you saw with each session. The ten keywords you are familiar actually seem the easiest to begin with, but I will need to be careful it does not affect the rest of your healing. Furthermore…" he leaned forward and hovered a hand over James, silently inquiring.
James relaxed his fist and clasped the other's hand, grateful to have something to ground him as his heart rate picked up. Harry held his gaze calmly as he spoke, "I will be frank. It will probably be… distressing for you. It is likely that you will… relieve some of your experiences as I work through this process."
If Harry was a normal man, he would've winced as James' grip on him tightened, but luckily wizards were hardier than muggles so he simply squeezed back reassuringly. "While you may not be specifically present during the sessions, you have complete control in stopping a session at any point you feel necessary. I want you to know that, and I'm telling you to do that."
Looking at the seriousness in Harry's expression, James nodded before finding his voice. "I will. I trust you."
A smile bloomed on Harry's face at the admission, and the two men gripped each other's hands firmly as they drew strength and confidence from the conviction in their eyes.
Hello. I've returned from the void to present you this... half-assery lmao.
I don't want to dwell too much on the healing aspects since I already spent so much time on it imo so yeah I've decided to just explain the overall process but expect a lot of time-jumping around until it's over. Instead I kinda wanna explore the rest of the MCU timeline a little.