February 2006
Ch12: Accident
It was a very cold February weekend. The sky was ominously dark and the air was almost too cold to breath. Most students preferred staying indoors, close to the fires in the studies and the common rooms, yet Lillian and Dianna found this an opportunity to train their powers. They went to the lake's shore, established a warm area there and started trying to control their magic using wands.
"I've found a spell used to slice bread. It should be safe enough to try it here. Don't you think so?" asked Dianna.
Lillian hesitated. "I'm not sure. With our powers, everything might be unsafe. I think I'd rather erect a shield around us, just in case."
"Oh, I don't think you should bother. This weather is shield enough, I'm sure."
"Well, I hope you are right. It's really quite tedious to erect such a shield here..."
Dianna conjured two loafs of bread using her damping wand and put them on a nearby rock. "Shall we try?"
They took two steps back. Dianna took her real wand and said the spell, pointing her wand at the bread. It exploded in a rain of perfectly even slices.
Lillian tried as well, getting similar results. "We still put too much power into the spell. I think we should first try it on some wood and once we manage to only scratch it, then we can try it with loafs of bread again," she said.
They collected some fallen branches and put them on the rock. At first they couldn't even keep the branches from exploding. It took them half an hour of training to control their magic enough to just cut through the thickest branches without exploding them. "We are still putting too much power, and yet I try to hold everything back. I wonder if we can even do it..."
"Oh, don't give up! We are improving. You are just too impatient. I'm sure we can manage to control this spell, at least, before lunch."
"Well, I'll certainly try. It's your turn now..."
Dianna tried again. She removed the cut branches and put a large piece of wood – probably an old trunk – on the rock. She then stepped back three paces, pointed her wand and said the spell.
"Hey! Say cheese!" – Andrew's voice was heard from behind one of the trees. He was pointing his camera towards the girls, ready to take a photo. Dianna turned towards him, her spell half-finished. It struck him on the chest, cutting four deep gushes. Andrew fell on the snow, bleeding profusely.
"Oh, God! I killed him!" cried Dianna, while Lillian rushed to her fallen friend, trying to help.
"He's still alive. Take madam Pomfrei here immediately. GO!"
Dianna didn't wait. She apparated directly into the hospital wing, startling the healer. "Andrew is severely injured. Please come with me!" she told her.
"Where is he?"
"At the lake."
"Oh, dear! It's quite a long walk there."
"I'll take you! Grab my hand!"
They were back at the lake in no time. They saw Lillian crouching over the boy and moving her hands lightly over his chest, mumbling "Don't die, please!" Both his clothes and the ground around him were covered with blood.
The healer took over. She waved her wand over Andrew with a diagnostic spell. She then removed his robes and checked his chest. She saw four long scars, but no bleeding. She turned wonderingly towards Lillian. "What have you done?"
The girl seemed extremely frightened. "I've only tried to help him. Have I done anything wrong?"
"No, dear. I believe you saved his life. Let's take him to the hospital wing now. He still lost a lot of blood and needs to recuperate. You two – come with me!"
The healer moved the un-responding Andrew to a stretcher she had conjured, floated it in the air and walked towards the castle with the two frightened girls in tow.
It took them ten minutes to reach the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrei set Andrew on a bed and put privacy curtains around it while she took care of her patient. The girls stood where they stopped, not daring to move or to say anything. The healer came out a while later. She noticed the girls.
"Come with me to the office and tell me what happened. It looks like you also need a cup of tea each and maybe some cheer-up potion as well."
They followed her in silence and sat on the offered chairs, while the healer made them a calming tea. Once ready, she gave them a cup each and took another cup for herself before smiling at them tenderly.
"He will be fine, I'm sure," she said calmingly. "Now, will you tell me what has happened?"
Dianna seemed to be still too shocked to talk. Lillian looked at her and started telling: "We were just practicing the bread slicing spell. We both put too much power in our spells and need to practice controlling our powers better. We though it was safe practicing there at such a weather. We didn't think Andrew would follow us to take some pictures. He startled Dianna while she was using the spell. She turned and the spell hit Andrew."
"Which spell was it?"
Lillian told her.
"That spell is so weak that it's hardly useful for anything but the softest breads. Are you sure it wasn't some other spell?"
Dianna finally came to her senses. "It was only that spell. We tried to use it, thinking it was safe enough, yet it almost killed our friend! What should we do?" Tears were threatening to overflow her eyes.
"Please calm down, Miss De-Poitier. He's no longer in danger. Yet I can't understand what happened. Can you show me?"
Dianna took the wand and absent mindedly conjured another loaf, setting it on the stone floor. She then pointed her wand and said the spell, causing the office to be covered with sliced bread. She failed to hear the "Wow!" escape from the healer's mouth.
"You see – whatever we try it's still too powerful!" cried Dianna. "How can we ever do things right when everything we do just explodes?"
"What do you mean by 'we'?"
"I have the same problem," admitted Lillian.
"I see... Well, being powerful can really be a mixed blessing, yet this same power is what saved your friend's life, isn't it?"
She looked at Lillian and tried to reassure her with a friendly smile. "Can you tell me what you did to save him?"
Lillian thought for a moment. She wasn't quite sure what she really did, but she tried her best. "I knew that his bleeding was too serious and it might kill him in no time, but I couldn't just stop the blood from flowing – it would have been just as bad, so I tried healing the cuts. I put my hands over them and wished them to heal. I hope I did right..."
"You did exceptionally well. I believe that even the scars will disappear within a few days. You should really opt to become a healer, you know. I wouldn't like to think such a talent would be wasted."
"Mom is a healer. She is now learning to become a medical doctor as well."
"Yes, I remember she was the best student I've ever known, although I didn't have a chance to know your grandmother. They say she was just as brilliant."
Dianna finished her tea. "May I see Andrew now? I just can't believe I've injured him so badly. I'd like to see for myself that he is safe now."
Madam Pomfrei smiled kindly. "He's asleep now and will keep sleeping until tomorrow."
"I won't wake him. I only want to watch over him."
The matron waved her hand as if sending the girl to her friend. Dianna shot out of the office and set herself at Andrew's bed, looking him over, checking his breath and taking his hand in hers before sitting on the chair at his side.
"Well, Miss Potter, there's something else I would like to know. Your friend appeared in my office without ever walking in and she then took me to the lake the same way. Were you using a portkey?"
"No. I don't know how to make a portkey. She just apparated."
"Apparated? Here , at Hogwarts? How can that be?"
Lillian smiled reluctantly. "It's a secret. Please don't tell anybody. You may talk with the headmistress, though. She already knows." She paused, quite nervous, and then continued. "I can apparate within Hogwarts and even into or out of Hogwarts, and so can Dianna. I taught her."
"You taught her?" The matron looked alarmed, but then she had another idea. "Can you teach me as well? It may come handy when I'm needed in a hurry."
Lillian looked at her regretfully. "I can't tech you. Your aura is not the same kind. It would be of no use."
"My aura? What are you talking about?"
"I'll show you." Lillian stood up and stepped in front of the mirror near the door, motioning for the healer to stand at her side. "Now, will you cast 'Revelio aura personale' on both of us, please?"
The healer did as asked and gasped at what she saw in the mirror. She saw herself with a bright green aura, including some red, yellow and blue stripes. "The green shows you are a talented healer, while the rest shows you are courageous, loyal and female – although one doesn't need your aura to know that.
"Your aura is very different," noticed the healer.
"Well, Dianna has a similar aura and so have my young sister and my aunt."
"How do you know so much about auras?"
Lillian shrugged. "I can see them without the aid of that spell, so I just learn from experience."
Madam Pomfrei had to sit down. She expected Harry Potter's child to be somewhat special, but this was much more than she could ever expect. She knew she would have to talk with the headmistress, but she first had to understand it herself.
"May I go now? I'd like to tell au... the headmistress about what happened and it's almost lunch time already."
"Yes, you may go. Please tell the headmistress I'd like to talk with her."
"I'll tell her," promised Lillian.
She went to her friends first. Andrew was sleeping peacefully, his face still extremely pale, and Dianna was holding his hand.
"Let's have lunch," suggested Lilly.
"No. I'm staying with him until he is fully recovered."
"But he doesn't need you now. He is recovering nicely and even his aura is almost fully restored."
"I know, but I feel I must stay with him. I can't forget that I almost killed him. He is my friend – I should care for him. I should not harm him."
Lillian seemed to understand. "Fine, stay with him. Do you want me to bring you anything? Maybe you want to read something until he wakes?"
"No. I'll just watch Andrew."
Lilly smiled at her friends and left the hospital wing, going straight to the headmistress quarters.
"Lilly! I didn't expect you until dinner. What made you come now? Why are your cloths stained?"
Minerva was quite upset to see Lillian in such a mess.
"I've been practicing spells with Dianna near the lake. Andrew startled us and got hit with a cutting spell we were practicing. He's recovering now in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrei would like to talk to you, probably about this, after lunch."
Lillian saw the anxiety in the headmistress expression.
"Why have you practiced here? We have already agreed that you should practice elsewhere, didn't we?"
"Yes, Aunt Minnie. It was a mistake, a terrible mistake. We just thought that the weather would keep everybody indoors, making it safe to practice near the lake. We didn't think Andrew would follow us and try to take some pictures."
"Well, I still don't understand how he got hurt…"
"We were practicing using the bread slicing spell. It is normally very weak and we thought it would be safe enough. We started practicing – it was still grossly overpowered. Then Adrew appeared, startling Dianna just as she was casting the spell. She turned towards him and the spell hit him on his chest."
"Oh, my!" Minerva knew how powerful Lilian and her friend were and could imagine how dangerous such an overpowered spell could be.
"I've sent Dianna immediately to bring Madam Pomfrei and tried to heal Andrew as much as I could until they came."
"How is he now? I dread telling his parents of this."
"He's healing well and Madam Pomfrei said that even the scars will probably fade in a short while. He will sleep until tomorrow, though."
It took Minerva some time to get over her shock and send the girl away. She skipped lunch and went directly to the hospital wing, finding Dianna there.
"Why are you here, Miss De-Poitiers?" she asked her, raising her brow.
"I just feel I can't leave him alone, not after I almost killed him by mistake."
"He doesn't really need you now. I suppose you know that."
"I know, but I need to be near him, to see him breath, to know he is no longer in danger. I won't be able to do anything else until I see him well again."
The headmistress just nodded her head and went to the matron's office.
"Poppy, I believe you wanted to talk," she said.
"Well, Minerva, what did Miss Potter tell you?"
McGonagall repeated Lily's story.
"Did she tell you how she healed the boy?"
"No. She only said she tried to heal him." It took her another moment to fully understand. "Do you mean she healed him all by herself?"
"She sure did. When I reached there I found no more bleeding; only four long scars which were healing quickly. By the time we reached the hospital wing they were almost fully healed. From the look of it I believe there will be no scar visible before he even wakes up. He only needed some blood replenishing potion and some rest to heal completely."
"How did she do it?" pondered Minerva.
"She put her hands over the gushes and she 'willed him to heal' as she said. She must be a tremendously powerful healer."
"She is just tremendously powerful in everything she does. It's scary, and yet Miss De-Poitiers is just as powerful. I dread the thought of what may happen if they both put their minds to something."
"Are you thinking about…" the matron's face turned worried.
"Oh, they won't go dark, I'm sure, but just consider the pranks they may play…"
"Oh, no…"
"Oh, yes! Don't forget she is a Marauder's granddaughter, and she is very close to George Weasley. Need I say more?"
The matron looked pale.
"How is the boy doing?" the headmistress asked her.
"Let's check him now."
They both approached the sleeping Andrew, not failing to notice his hand held firmly in Dianna's. Madam Pomfrei waved her wand above the sleeping Andrew and watched as different misty forms appeared above him.
"Will he be OK?" a worried Dianna asked her.
"More than OK. It looks like his magical core has been enhanced, and maybe some other aspects as well. It's still too early to tell."
"I've noticed his aura changing, but I wasn't sure if it was a good sign. Are you sure?"
"It is a very good sign," the matron assured her.
Back in the office, the older women looked at each other wonderingly. "Is it Lillian or Dianna who is making his core stronger?" they wondered.
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