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Here is Chapter 2 of Hope for a Better World—Lost Without.
Adeline stood in the kitchen sipping coffee and starting out the window into their backyard. It was a beautiful spring day; the sun hung low in the sky, the grass was green, and the trees were blooming. Everything was seemingly perfect. However, for every light there is darkness, for every joy--sorrow and for every perfection—a flaw. Her life had once been joyful; full of family and love but now it was nothing more than a web of lies and false fronts. A bird happily flew by her with a worm in its mouth going home to its family….She lost everyone she cared about and the only thing that kept her going was her small family—her precious godson and her husband. It was for Teddy that she acted happy and gleeful. It was for Harry that she said everything was going to be okay even in the worst of times. And now was a pretty bad time.
She absent mildly took another sip of coffee before suddenly finding it sour and stale. Looking into the brown liquid, she noticed a piece of her blue mug floating at the surface. It seemed that not even her favorite cup could escape the universe's desire to destroy everything she loved.
Sighing deeply, she watched her coffee drain down the sink. Today was going to be another long day and it hadn't even started. It was barely seven o'clock and she was already late for her shift.
Addie quickly scribbled a note to Harry and slapped it on the kitchen door before closing it behind her.
Harry,
At work. Left at 6:58am. Be back at 6:30pm. Weasleys coming over at 7. Start dinner, everything's in the fridge. Give Teddy a bath.
Love always,
Ad
She felt bad for leaving Harry after his nightmare but it had happened before and he knew how to handle it. Nightmares and unexpected memories became a part of their daily routine. It was a part of their lives and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
The wind tossed her hair around as she stood in the closed doorway, facing the open village of Gordic's Hallow. Squinting in the sunlight, she could just make out the steeple of the church glistening in the distance. They lived a bit away from the rest of the town but it didn't bother her. It was close enough that they weren't excluded but far enough that they were given privacy which was something they both desperately needed. When it came time for them to settle down, both she and Harry were drawn to the village. It was quiet and relaxing after a hard day's work.
Taking once last breath of clean free air, she shut her eyes and apparated to an alley amidst a busy Muggle street in the center city. The alley was dark, cold, and grimy; just as it was every morning. The air here was stale, polluted, and heavy with grim. She stepped out onto the street and was instantly pushed by Muggles eager to get to work. The wind inside the street was cooler than it had been at her home. Hugging her arms around her and pulling her shirt closer, she trudged through the crowd to an abandoned red-brick warehouse.
After a few minutes of walking, the building came into view. The bricks were old, darkening, and failing in the corners, faded yellow letters printed on the side of the building read, "Purge and Dowse, Ltd." Above the boarded door, a rickety sign read "Closed for Refurbishment." There was a single wide-paned window, dusty and dark with cobweb and in that window, a decrepit dummy lounged in the far corner seemingly lifeless to the Muggle World.
She approached the shop, nodded to the dummy, and removed her identification card.
"Healer Adeline Potter, Emergency Ward, St. Mungos. Reporting for the 7am shift." She spoke quietly to the dummy who granted her entrance. Without a second's hesitation, she walked through the broken window and came out in small waiting area. As always, there were several rickety chairs filled with patients suffering from different aliments. Healers rushed in and out of the room, their bright robes nothing more than a blur as they shuffled through their waiting patients. She quickly glanced at her future patients before moving towards the welcoming desk. The usual grumpy Welcoming Witch, Melanie, was off on a long needed vacation and in her place sat a young preppy brunette. White block letters clearly spelled out HOLLY across the lime green robes of the St. Mungo's Staff.
"Excuse me." Addie rapped her knuckles along the desk catching Holly's attention. The girl brightened up immediately upon seeing Addie.
"Healer Potter! How are you today? It's beautiful today isn't it?" Of course the replacement would know her.
"Yes, wonderful." Addie passed Holly her ID card and clocked in. 7:04.
"You're 4 minutes late for the 7am shift." Holly brightly reminded her. "These are your patients for today." She slammed a pile of at least 15 clipboards on the counter. "Your first patient is Mr. James Capper."
Addie groaned and pulled the boards into her arms while Holly called for Mr. Capper from the waiting room. An old man stood up, steam pouring out his ears. His face was beat-red and sweet pooled on his brow. A dripping handkerchief was clutched in his hand. Her stomach rolled looking at the sweat pool on the floor beneath him.
As he stumbled to the counter, Holly gently pushed him in Addie's direction. "This is Healer Potter and she's going to heal you today."
"Potter?" the man's voice was squeaky as he pulled his collar away from his throat.
"Yes, Potter is my name." Addie shuffled through the stack of clipboards looking for "Capper, James" with no such luck.
"Holly, where is—.." A clipboard reading, "Capper, James" was suddenly thrust under her nose. Annoyance rising up quickly, Addie snatched the clipboard from Holly's smiling face.
"Any chance you're related to—.." the squeaky voice made the man even more unbearable.
"Follow me." Addie said in obvious fake kindness before the man could finish the question.
It was going to be a long day……
14 patients and one nightmare later, the day was finally coming to an end. The sky was darkening and Addie was eager to get home. Despite her exhaustion, the Weasley's were coming over for dinner and she was excited to see her friends. Just one patient left and she was free. From down the hall, she heard Holly's chipper voice call for Mrs. Codwell.
Addie hated having to go into the waiting room to get her patients. The majority of people recognized her too easily which quickly annoyed both her and her fellow staff. After her first week of being a healer, she requested that her patients be set up in the emergency beds before she reached them. And if no one was screaming, she was able to take her time getting to Mrs. Codwell. While chewing her gum and dodging the running healers, Addie finally came to her area. She generally treated all her patients in the same area, almost as though it were her office.
She glanced down at her last clipboard of the day. Her patient was not Mrs. Codwell but rather her son.
Addie stood just outside the curtain surrounding the bed, reviewing the notes and personal information taken by Holly. He was a young boy of 5, Nathan Codwell, suffering from muscle and stomach ache with a fever. She flipped the clipboard papers down with a snap of her wrist. Addie was about to push aside the curtain when someone spoke up. She didn't like prying on her patients but they often revealed the true cause of their problems when they thought that no one was listening. Leaning in, she heard the young boy's voice, shaky and loaded with tears.
"Mommy, I'm scared." He sniffled. She couldn't see the family but she imagined the mother leaning over and stroking his hair.
"It's okay, baby. Your healer is excellent and she's going to fix you up." The mother's voice was confident and soothing.
"But…but.."
"Sweetie, do you know who your healer is?"
"Healer Potter." His voice cracked a bit.
"That's right but do you know who she is?" It wasn't a question of knowing Addie's identity rather than her accomplishments and it was one she heard too often for her liking.
There was no answer from the boy's side so the mother continued. "Your healer, Healer Potter, she saved everyone from the bad men. If she can save the world, she can save you"
Addie dimly felt her nerves being eaten away by her annoyance. The boy obviously didn't understand because the mother elaborated.
"You remember when Daddy told you those bedtime stories of the four friends who saved us all?"
From behind the fabric barrier, Addie heard a small intake of breath and imaged the boy's eyes widening.
"Healer Potter is Harry Potter?" If Addie hadn't been so annoyed, she would have laughed.
"No, sweetheart, Healer Potter is Harry Potter's wife. Adeline Black. You remember all she did right? You always love hearing stories about her." There was a rustling of sheets as the boy shifted. Not wanting to listen to anymore hero-worship, Addie took it as her cue to walk in.
She pushed aside the curtain and strolled in, pretending to still be interested in the boy's information attached to her clipboard.
"Good morning Mr. Codwell." She said as she looked up and plastered a smile to her face for the boy's sake. The boy in question was staring at her with a mixture of shock and awe. He had short cropped blonde hair and big brown eyes, a simple and innocent face.
"How are you feeling today?" Walking closer, she let the clipboard hang from the end of the bed while she moved to check the boy's pulse. He watched her with every step but didn't answer.
"Hm?" She easily counted the beats before looking to the mother for an answer. The mother was an attractive woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Even sitting down, it was painfully obvious that she was taller than Addie. The woman was staring too but Addie ignored it and turned her head slightly to the side
"Nathan, tell the healer how you feel." The little boy nodded and told Addie all about his pain. He'd thrown up once or twice and was always tired but it was getting worse.
Addie took mental notes. "And when did this start?"
"Um…" the boy stammered trying to come up with a date. The mother quickly took over.
"About two days ago." Addie leaned over the boy and pressed her hand to his forehead. He tensed at her touch but quickly relaxed.
"Have you had any throat pains or a headache?" Nathan nodded and pulled at the sheets as Addie pulled her hand away, returning to the clipboard.
"Do you know if it's a severe problem? Is it treatable?" Had she not been in present company, she surely would have rolled her eyes. Mothers were so overbearing. A small pang hit Addie's heart when she remembered that her observation was not based on personal experience.
She took a calming breath and suppressed her feelings to be dealt with later.
"Mrs. Codwell, your son is suffering from nothing more than the common flu. Give him some Motrin and put him to bed. It should pass in a few days to a week. If it lasts longer than 2 weeks, come back." She recorded her recommendations, scrawled her signature across the bottom of the page and roughly tore it from the clipboard. She passed the note to the mother and smiled at the boy,
"Have a nice day."
She was just about to turn to leave when she felt a small hand slip into her own. The boy was holding onto her. Addie hung her head. This had happened before. Her patients, especially the young ones, always had questions for her about her past. What really happened? Did you really do everything they say? What was it like? Now was no different. The boy looked to her with his big brown eyes and he had her attention despite her annoyance and fatigue.
"Healer Potter?"
"Yes, Nathan?"
"Did you really do everything Daddy told me?"
"I don't know what your parents have told you but they seem to be honest people so I'm sure it's true." She knew that if she stayed for another minute, he would make her recount her adventures. Before she could move away, he gently removed his hand and looked at his lap. It was only her sudden surprise that kept her from leaving.
"Thank you." It was said so quietly that she almost missed it.
"For what?"
"For saving me and Mommy and Daddy." It was difficult to keep the shock off her face. This was new. No one had ever thanked her for doing what she did. It was always a simple good job or the hero-worship but never a thank you. She smiled a bit and placed a hand on his head. "It was my pleasure. I'd do it all again."
Puzzlement clouded his features. "What's wrong, sweetie?" the mother questioned.
"You would do it all again?" He asked Addie. It always amazed her how insightful children were. They deserved more credit than they were given though his questions made her reconsider her words. Would she really do it all over again? The war had cost her everything and yet, those were the best years of her life. The war shaped her and while it hurt her to say it, without the war in her life, she was…well…. bored. It was her job to save people on a daily basis but she missed the excitement and the adrenaline of doing so, the constant planning and secret meetings, the smuggling and battles. It was the only way of life she knew. Through the war, she became closer to Harry and her friends. The war gave her the strength and wisdom to deal with the messes of her life; it taught her to always be on her feet and always be alert. However, with the war over, there was no longer any reason to be on constant alert. The Death Eaters were almost powerless. There were attacks and rebellions but nothing in comparison to before. But now that she and Harry were trying to make a normal life, a life they always wanted, they both knew it was too late. It was too late for them to settle down. They couldn't handle the same routine from day to day when they had just spent the year before in constant motion. They were awkwardly going through the steps of life, knowing that they would never fit it. Without the war in their lives, they were lost…
She smiled at the boy. "In a heartbeat."
With that, she walked out, more eager than ever to go home to savior of the world.
Hey guys,
I know this is short and isn't anything except background. I don't know what to make of this chapter. I don't think I like it but I don't know how to fix it. So I hope at least someone liked it. Thanks for reading.
-VicKami