Trying to get things started but as usual I always have a problem with keeping things short lol
That night, Harry had downed almost 3 glasses of firewhiskey and was tossing and turning all night. The case was… horrific, to say the least. And that was only what was included in the file. There were a lot of finer details obviously missing that had Harry's brain working in overtime. The more he tried to tune out the case and go to sleep, the more questions, ideas and half-formed thoughts sprang to mind.
Rolling out of bed a mere 5 hours later, Harry conceded that there was only one thing to do. Once he floo-ed into work at the Ministry, he had walked straight into Kingsley's office. The man in question looked up from setting some of his work papers on the table before Harry spoke.
"Set up a meeting with the Wakandans. I need more information and to discuss the case further." He held up a hand to stop Kingsley's response, "it's not a yes, just a maybe."
"Understood, I'll notify you when it's done."
With that, Harry turned and returned to his office. There, still scattered on his desk, were the papers in the file he had poured over yesterday. He pushed them to one side and pulled out a book he usually used when treating patients. Summoning a muggle pen from somewhere, he started with drawing out a timeline of what he knew about the patient's life thus far.
Starting with the three photographs, which were labelled as follows. "1944 – Captain America and the Howling Commandos", "1991 – Winter Soldier on assignment", and "2016 – Barnes in cryo-sleep".
It was towards the end of his lunch with Hermione – she'd picked out a new muggle café serving fusion food – when she pulled out a silver coin and slid it across the table. He picked it up and inspected the engraving of a panther and some kind of hieroglyphic-type writing along the edges.
"It's a two-way portkey between your office and the Wakandan lab," Hermione explained. "The trigger words are Bast for Wakanda, and Sekhmet for your office. Kingsley said they are ready for you whenever you are."
Harry turned the coin between his fingers, "I suppose anything else will be hashed out between me and them there."
"That's right," she nodded. "Since we made it clear that you have not yet made an official decision to take the case, they thought it would be better to settle the details only if you do."
"Makes sense. I've put together as much as I can for now, so I'll head there once we get back."
With a heavy thud, Harry barely landed on his feet upon arrival. As usual, he hated portkeys, but at least his stomach was only a little queasy after the dizzying journey.
"Mr Potter, welcome to Wakanda," intoned a voice not far from him. Looking up, Harry took in the sight of a young woman standing casually behind a table filled with wires and metal machinery. "My name is Shuri, I am the leader of the Wakandan Design Group, and you are in our flagship laboratory."
"Nice to meet you," Harry took her offered hand to shake. "Harry Potter, but I can see you already knew that." The girl giggled in amusement, but Harry was relieved to see no further comment on his name.
"The area we cleared for your portkey access has been charmed to automatically let myself and my brother know whenever you arrive. I've also already sent word to our lead mind healer to meet us. Please follow me," Shuri gestured him over to an area with some tables and chairs.
"Your brother?" Harry inquired.
"Yes, that would be T'Challa," Shuri nodded.
Harry's brows went up, so she's the princess? "Oh," he said, at a loss of what the proper response to that should be. "Um…"
Shuri waved a hand casually, "don't worry about it, Mr Potter. We are not that formal here in Wakanda. Feel free to speak to us freely."
"Ah, alright," Harry acquiesced easily. "Just Harry is fine." Shuri beamed and Harry couldn't help smiling back in response.
Soon after, both King T'Challa and a woman arrived. They introduced themselves to Harry, who learnt that the woman was called Jidea; their lead mind healer.
"It was me who suggested bringing in your expertise to this case," said Jidea. "I read your paper and thought you may be the most suitable to handle it, Healer Potter."
Harry warmed at the title, it wasn't often people actually referred to him as a Healer, despite being fully qualified and certified. Most people tended to treat his name as a title of its own. "I'm honoured by your confidence in me. From the file you provided, it seems a very complex case. I've treated some tricky cases similar to this, and of course you know of my own past, however I have to admit I'm not sure if I really have enough experience for Barnes' treatment."
"That you can admit as much shows that you take it seriously enough," T'Challa remarked. "From what Jidea and our other magical leaders have told me, I have faith that you will handle this case to the best of your ability. I understand Sergeant Barnes' case is singularly unique, even Jidea has expressed uncertainties about her ability to handle it. At this point, the best we can do is all we can hope for."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. He turned to the royal siblings, "I don't follow the… muggle hero news much, so I'm not really familiar with the patient's history beyond what was in the file. If possible, I would want to talk to the patient and walk through the treatment process first. Do you think this would be possible?"
Shuri glanced at her brother for a moment before responding, "Barnes is cryo-sleep right now. We are primarily worried that his programming could revert at any moment, particularly given he was recently 'reset'." Her brother continued to explain the recent events with Helmut Zemo to Harry.
Following this, Healer Jidea delved into her analysis of Barnes' case. The complexities involved with removing the brainwashing, the numerous mental strain and memory wipes he had been subjected to, coupled with unknown experimentation and injection of an incomplete super soldier serum. She also offered her own insight on Barnes' fractured personality, fragile emotions and sense of self.
Harry drank in all the information like a sponge, paying close attention to all the details. He had pulled out his notebook and added some key notes to the ones he had already made. After a pause, he said, "so it seems the primary concerns of waking him now appear to be three things."
"First, the unpredictability of his mental state upon waking. But that's a given no matter when he awakes, and there's not much else to do but be prepared for anything." Shuri nodded at this, followed by the other two.
"Second, his willingness or openness to the treatment via mind healing. I suppose this is where my research comes in handy, as I will need to talk him through the process and assuage any concerns he has. This will need to be an ongoing effort throughout treatment, should he agree to it." Jidea agreed, and added that she and her team of mind healers will always be on standby to lend a hand where necessary.
"Third, the possibility of him losing control." T'Challa and Shuri's faces turned grave at this. "Given the nature of his… brainwashing, he is essentially a live weapon that could go off any time." None of the Wakandans commented as Harry paused, before sighing. Running a hand through his hair, "another thing best discussed with Mr Barnes. If necessary, I should be able to subdue him. There shouldn't be any worries about my combat ability."
Jidea, T'Challa and even Shuri cracked wry smiles at his last comment. "I wouldn't be surprised if he requests proof of just that himself, though," Shuri remarked.
"Truthfully, I believe our Dora Milaje more than capable of restraining him," T'Challa added.
Nodding, "well, the more hands on deck the better, in this case," agreed Harry.
There was silence for a moment, before Shuri clapped her hands and stood up. "Well, no time like the present. Let's wake him up!"
Harry blinked, now?
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