A new story (why do I keep doing this). Pretty different to my usual stuff. Don't expect much action/drama, honestly even in hindsight I think this fic might be pretty boring lmao but idk. Basically just focusing on Bucky's recovery (and potentially erasing the stuff he goes through in FATWS show lol)
"You've got a summons from the Minister, Harry," called out a colleague of his, whose head just barely popped into view from his office door.
Nodding, Harry cleared up the paperwork he was working on and got up. Making his way to the row of Floo entries, Harry grabbed a handful of Floo powder and called out, "Ministry of Magic."
He appeared in a swirl of flames, dusting at his robes absentmindedly as he quickly swept towards the Minister's office. The path was one he'd taken many times before, and he got there relatively quickly.
"You called, Kingsley?" Harry was surprised to see Hermione also present in the room.
"Ah Harry," responded the Minister cheerfully. "We have had a request come in." He nodded towards Hermione, who stepped forward to elaborate.
She stepped forward, holding out a folder. "You've heard of Wakanda, right, Harry?"
"Sort of…" Harry plucked it from her fingers and flipped it open, glancing down at a photo and a… military record? "The independent nation that has special exemption from the International Statute of Secrecy, right? They managed to integrate both their muggle and magical communities successfully?"
"Yes," nodded Kingsley. "Since we began rebuilding and recovering from Voldemort's final downfall, it has been an upward battle to reconnect with other nations. However, Wakanda was one of the first nations who reached out to us to re-establish friendly relations. The nation as a whole tends to keep away from foreign involvement – either in or out – however its magical counterpart does still depend on some form of international connections."
Harry nodded along to the information, "okay, and where do I fit in here?" It couldn't be anything to do with Voldemort, given that battle had been over for more than five years now. Even the magical population of Britain were finally starting to get it into their heads that their dear 'Harry Potter' wasn't going to pursue a career or life of action and dramatic pursuits.
"That's where the file I gave you comes in," Hermione spoke up. "The new Wakandan king, T'Challa, has personally requested the aid of a mind healer. The muggle fugitive known as the 'Winter Soldier' is currently in his country, apparently willingly, and is presumed under some sort of muggle brainwashing or conditioning."
Harry glanced back at the file in front of him, only barely skimming some of the more basic information about the man; named James Buchanan Barnes. He pulled out three photos that had been included in the file, with dates written on the back of each; 1944, 1991 and 2016.
"While their advanced technology has made some headway into treating mental ailments, King T'Challa has ceded that our mind healers are still much more experienced and suited to complex and highly sensitive cases such as this.
"Wakanda should have mind healers of their own," Harry brought up. "Why ask us?"
"Truthfully, he has extended the request to all major wizarding communities," Kingsley cleared his throat. However only we were privy to who the patient was. The reason is that one of their own mind healers recommended you." Harry raised a brow at that. Being the Boy-Who-Lived or Man-Who-Conquered or whatever the hell other names they've come up with now doesn't exactly translate to Great-At-Legilimency.
"They read your proposal and research into mind healing for squibs and muggles as apposed to normal witches and wizards," clarified Hermione. "Given the purpose of your work, their mind healer reasoned that not only does this case fit perfectly into the patient profile you are focusing on, but your own obvious, personal insights and opinions would be better suited in handling a delicate case such as this."
Harry frowned, he didn't necessarily like that it made this Winter Soldier man sound like he would be a perfect guinea pig for his research. "I… suppose I understand where that is coming from. So, the man is a muggle?"
"Yes, his file is extensive, but more than enough to enlighten you on why a gentle hand will be required. I think you should at least give it a read and think it over before you make any decisions."
Kingsley nodded, agreeing, "this is still just a request, Harry. You're under no obligation to accept, nor has King T'Challa placed any such expectations on you. He simply reached out to offer the possibility and understood that you may at least provide some valuable insight into the case, given your expertise."
Thumbing the pictures contemplatively, Harry hummed. "Alright, I'll consider it. Let me go through the file first, though I suspect if it's as complicated a case as you say, then I may need to either meet with their lead mind healer there or the patient himself first before I can make a decision."
"Reasonable," agreed Kingsley. "I will let them know. Come speak to me when you're ready."
With that and a simple farewell – and a good-natured eyeroll at Hermione's reminder of their weekly lunch catch-up tomorrow – Harry closed the folder and made his way back to his office. Seems like this was going to need a drink and a comfy chair.
T'Challa had just left, after updating Shuri on their request for a mind healer to deal with Barnes' case. She sighed and turned back to her current worktable, the skeletal beginnings of a prosthetic arm already forming in front of her.
Internally though, she was practically vibrating at the news. She was trying not to get her expectations up, but… Harry Potter! Even in Wakanda they knew of the man. Of course, they had followed the conflicts that have occurred over the years there, however what really intrigued her was that Potter had not followed the usual, expected, path of a warrior like him and became an Auror or some other crime-fighting role. Heck, she wouldn't have even been surprised if he had appeared among the Avengers ranks one day.
But no, instead, Harry Potter had seemingly put the fighting and action behind him and went into training to become a healer. Much to the surprise and disbelief of many. Not only that, but he later specialized in mind healing, which according to rumours he had been particularly poor at himself as a teen.
When Shuri, her brother, and their own top healers had gone over Barnes' case initially after his return to cryo-sleep in their lab, both siblings had been surprised to hear the famous name brought up. One of their mind healers had read an interesting research proposal into the approach of mind healing arts on squibs and muggles and the additional complexities that needed to be considered.
Essentially, the assumption was that mind healers tended to work purely with other magical folk, and therefore could work with minimal interaction and explanation as all magical folk understood how complex and delicate of an art it was. To simply be able to specialize as a mind healer meant rigorous training, success and accreditation. Therefore it was a given that you could trust any certified mind healer to do their job even without knowing the finer details.
However, this paper introduced an added layer of difficulty to the job. Since squibs, and even more so muggles, do not interact with magic daily and see it as a normal part of life, it is an important factor to take into consideration that there is careful handling and communication throughout treatment as they may not react well to essentially having their person invaded by someone's magic. Even if it was to treat them.
Potter had even cited multiple muggle research papers in his own. Particularly those in the psychology and mental health fields. It certainly made sense to Shuri, as a non-magical herself. Though in Wakanda, they had grown up with knowledge and understanding of magic, truthfully speaking it was still hard to wrap her head around the notion of someone being able to just go in and… poke around in her mind. Even if she had some form of mental ailment, she wasn't sure she herself would trust someone to do that. And she personally knew mind healers that worked for them.
Her eyes drifted to the chamber propped up securely in her private area of the large lab, in some relative space of privacy. She was trying not to put Potter on a mental pedestal, however from what she had heard – and read herself of his research – she truly thought that he may actually be the best suited for this case.
It left a bitter taste on her tongue to admit that even now she was not completely confident that she could rid Barnes' of his programming under HYDRA on her own. Sure, she was at least 78% sure she could, however the brain was a finnicky and ever-changing field of study; of which she admittedly did not have much experience with. Magical mind healers, on the other hand, had proven experience and techniques perfected over centuries.
If they wanted any chance to give Barnes' as close a return to normalcy and sense of self as possible, it was to bring in a mind healer to work with them. Of course, Shuri was well poised to have perfected an even better prosthetic arm for him soon, however he would have no need for it anytime in the near future at least. His mind will need to come first.
Reviews are appreciated, as always.
