Chapter Two: The Healer, the Head, and the Heart
At three in the morning, the foyer to the Romanian International Dragon Reserve was usually dim. The owner, Herb Wilde, was always considerate to leave the porch lamp and a light from the office on for the workers he knew would return in the dead of night. Normally this meant there was only just enough illumination to last until a wand could be fished out of a pocket and a Lumos spells could safely be cast without running into any furniture or walls along the way.
However, much to Charlie's surprise the foyer was bursting with magical brilliance as the trio of late night travellers entered. Sun-like radiance shone down from the fixture on the ceiling, bounced off of the sunny yellow walls, reflected from the polished hardwood floors, and revealed the sleeping woman curled up in a nearby armchair.
Simeon sighed heavily, putting his pile of robes down at the doorway in a furry heap as he made his way towards the silently resting brunette. Kneeling beside the chair he delicately brushed her long wavy hair behind her ear, giving him room to lay a kiss upon her cheek. The sensation of his lips made her stir, and within seconds her eyes began to open as though the curse had been lifted from Sleeping Beauty.
"Simeon," she yawned sleepily, her hazel orbs still blinking as they adjusted to being awake once again. "You're back."
"As alvays," he said, stroking her cheek as their noses touched lightly.
"Thank Merlin," she breathed, her heavy eyelids closing again. "And Abby and Charlie, they're back too?"
"We're right here, Bella," Abby replied from her place at the door with Charlie, neither of them wanting to intrude on the moment their roommates were sharing in.
"Good," she moaned, letting her head slump into the comfort of the armchair as her hands wrapped her pink bathrobe tighter around her body. "I always worry about you all, whether or not you'll come back safely."
No more words came from Bella as she drifted back into dreams as quickly as she had come out of them. With due care Simeon scooped her up into his arms, her small curled body pressed firmly against his chest as he cradled her like a child who had unsuccessfully tried to sneak a peek at Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
"I told her not to vait up," Simeon explained with a tedious sigh that rustled the curled tresses of the woman in his arms. "It only vorries her more."
"Take her to bed, Simeon," said Abby in her Healer orders voice, gentle yet commanding. "Get a good night's rest."
The tall dragon keeper didn't need further instruction to know what to do; he had done it countless times before. With a nod he bid his two travelling companions good night and departed down a hallway, his dark clothing blending in with the shadows so that all Charlie and Abby could see was the fluttering hem of Bella's pink robe that seemed to float away on thin air.
"And as for you, Mr Weasley," Abby continued in her authoritative tone, taking Charlie by the arm and entwining her supple fingers into his, "I think it would be best for you, considering your busy evening, to take the necessary measures for a peaceful night's sleep."
She turned into him as she spoke, her free hand coming up to brush Charlie's stray ginger bangs aside from his tired brown eyes. With the softest of touches, she traced a line from his forehead, past his ear and down his cheek ending at the tip of his smoothly shaven chin. From there, his spare hand met hers and brought them around to envelop his body in her warm arms.
"Then that's what I'll do," he agreed in a whispering voice as the light of the foyer dropped down into a faint glow, giving Charlie the perfect ambience to lay his lips against the ones he had come to love.
The contents of a small pewter cauldron were gently steaming by the time Charlie emerged from the infirmary storage closet dressed for bed. Swirls of white vapour rose from the heated depths of the pot, wafting about in the surrounding atmosphere to make the air seem heavier than it was. Like tendrils of Devil's Snare the haze was quick to seek him out, ensnare his attention, and draw him in closer to the cauldron. He leaned his stocky frame against the countertop beside the brewing potion as it cast its brilliant glow upon its master who sat across from the intended drinker.
Abby hadn't yet bothered to change out of her clothing from the tavern, the shimmering silvery sequined dress she'd worn as "Svetlana" hanging loose on her regular figure and unveiling more shoulder than Charlie was used to viewing. She had tied up her long locks of light brown hair and abandoned the heels that matched her fashionable dress on the floor beside her, but those were the only amendments she'd made to her ensemble. Unlike Simeon who couldn't wait to be out of his layers of fur robes and back to black, a different skin didn't seem to trouble her at all.
"All the news from home must be difficult to hear," the Healer reasoned, lifting her grass-green eyes from their focus on the cauldron to her patient sitting across the mist made by the steaming Sleeping Draught.
Charlie shrugged. "Yes and no."
"Care to elaborate?" she asked, picking up a large wooden spoon to stir the bubbling brew.
"All the things happening: the Brockdale Bridge collapse, the giant tearing up most of West Country, the Dementor attacks, the disappearances, the deaths..." Charlie listed off the recent headlines from The Daily Prophet, respectfully pausing at the last one as his mind jumped to the image of his mother's old school friend Emmeline Vance, "it's all awful, but at least we're hearing about them now. It's not all in the dark anymore."
The young lady across the cauldron nodded solemnly as her skilled hands continued to stir the potion. "Do you take comfort in that? Knowing that everyone knows You-Know-Who is back?"
"As much as one can," the redhead replied, giving the Healer a thin smile.
She nodded again, diverting her emerald gaze towards her handiwork. Lifting the spoon from the pewter pot the liquid emitted a gentle lilac hue. With a tap of the spoon against the rim of the cauldron, Abby hopped down from the counter and made haste across the hardwood floor to get a clean goblet from the nearest storage cupboard. The sequins on her dress continued to catch the little light that came from the small blue blaze beneath her workstation, throwing the illumination onto her face and successfully making the patient unconsciously smile as he gazed upon the unsuspecting Healer like he did every night he was in her care.
Focussed on the task she made her way back to the cauldron, placed a plain stainless steel goblet on top of the counter and retrieved a thick leather bound book and self-inking quill from a nearby drawer. Opening the book up to the page marked with a red ribbon, the fingers of her left hand ran over the writing on the parchment as though they were doing the reading rather than her eyes. The quill brushed the side of her cheek absently, her thoughts focussed on the entries in front of her and the one she would have to make next.
"I'll give you the same dosage I did last time," she decided aloud to Charlie, scribing the thought down as she said it in her unusually neat Healer penmanship. "It is looking good though; these sleeping potions are coming fewer and farther between. You're doing generally well...with the exception of these sorts of nights spent working."
As her eyes rose to meet the red-haired patient across the cauldron she was met with a silent and unmoving gaze. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder to see what he was focussed on, but didn't see anything worthy of notice.
"What are you looking at?" Abby gave him a quizzical look as she went back to writing her Healer's notes.
"Someone amazing," he answered in a breathy whisper, "who has stood by through thick and thin."
A rosy hue immediately coloured her cheeks, though it wasn't clear to Charlie if it was from the heat of the rising vapours or a sweet blush for the compliment she was being paid. Her green eyes kept themselves away from him, a seemingly conscious effort to keep the reason for her flushed appearance a secret.
"Anyone would have done the same for you," she spoke in a hushed tone as though trying not to disturb the sleepy tendrils of steam rising from the cauldron.
"I disagree," he replied right away, forcing himself to stand up straight as he spoke. "Only you would spend endure the troubles of a complete moron like me."
She focussed her green glance on her logbook, dropping the quill to side as she surveyed her most recent entry. Her long arms braced her to the countertop as she spoke in a near inaudible voice. "You're not a moron, Charlie."
"I am," he disagreed again with a quick chortle. "I was an idiot..."
"No, you weren't!"
His hands only just caught him from falling backwards, his fingers gripping the countertop just before he could topple. As he propped himself back into a standing position he saw Abby leaning heavily on her hands, her head lowered to her chest like a turtle hiding in the confines of a hard shell.
"You were sick, Charlie," she murmured, her knuckles becoming as white as mountain snow. "...and I should have seen it sooner."
For a moment the dragon keeper thought she might begin to cry and crumble into a weepy mess. That was what happened whenever his fretful mother worried about his father only to find him safe at the backdoor several hours late from a long day at work. In the emotionally charged moment no one in the world would hold it against her if she let a tear roll down her cheek. But then he remembered it was Abby, who instead took a deep breath and faced him with her kind dry eyes.
"I should have seen it."
He made his way to her, immediately holding her shoulder and gently spinning her around so he could see her eyes. "There is no way you're taking fault here, Abby. I knew I wasn't sleeping and that I needed help but didn't seek it. That is my cross to bear and I won't have you trying to bear it for me. If anything, I feel bad I didn't share it with the one person I should have trusted."
By the light of the small azure fire there was little more he could say, so a single action said what was left for him. He took a step forward and gently laid his lips against his beloved's forehead as his hands caressed her warm slender frame in his. There he held her and for that moment there wasn't a war raging across the continent nor was there a year of disturbed sleeping patterns to occupy his thoughts. All the things that plagued him fled from his mind. In that small space of time, all that existed was the woman he loved wrapped in his arms. For the moment, everything was beyond magical.
"It's very late," Abby sighed heavily, pressing her hands lightly against his chest and gradually removing herself from Charlie's comforting embrace. "We should go to bed."
"Don't you at least have to buy me a dinner before you can say that?" Charlie smirked wickedly at the Healer as he walked backwards to the nearest infirmary bed, turning down the crisp sheets for himself.
From the corner of his ear he heard the tiniest titter escape from Abby's throat. Before he could catch her eye, she had already turned away to the cauldron and begun to measure out his dosage of Sleeping Draught. Carefully she doled out the lilac liquid into the stainless steel goblet, adding only a little at a time so as to be certain of its potency and precise to her notes. Once she was sure the cup contained exactly what it was supposed to, she trotted to the side of the bed and handed the goblet over to the waiting patient.
"How about just a drink?" she smiled as Charlie seated himself on the small mattress.
He gasped mockingly as he pulled the covers up over his body. "Who do you think I am? I am not some cheap whore who goes to bed for a single drink. What would my mother think?"
This time he saw her laugh, the shine of teeth hastily covered by her hand to muffle the joyous sound as though it were sinful to show a shred of happiness. Once composed she seated herself gently on the side of the bed and gave Charlie a tight-lipped smile in exchange for the accidental giggle.
"I love to see you smile," admitted Abby, brushing the stray strands of hair that had escaped her messy bun away from her eyes, giving them a full view of her boyfriend. "It's wonderful to see it again."
"Likewise," he replied, giving her another grin which made hers grow wider.
The Sleeping Draught continued to steam in the goblet, the tendrils of vapour swirling in a hypnotic dance around the stainless steel. A light dash of lavender scent tickled at his nostrils, hinting at the promise of the dreamless deep sleep he sought. Raising the cup to the potion maker, he gave her a silent toast with the nod of his head and took a long swig that emptied the drinking vessel in a single go.
The purple liquid slid down his throat with the comforting texture of heated milk, hitting his stomach with delightful warmth that began to spread instantly into his extremities. Lowering into bed, his eyelids became weighed down before he even hit the pillow beneath his head. With the flick of Abby's wand, the blue flame beneath the cauldron went out and enveloped the room in darkness just as he drifted into a peaceful slumber.
A/N: Currently writing Chapter Twelve, but suffering from some terrible self-doubt somewhere in the midst of the previous chapters…I am my own worst critic in many aspects of my life and writing for fun is no escape from that.
Not much to say or point out about this chapter. No detail to explain.
Cheers.