Chapter Three

You know the drill people, no character is mine but my OC's (she says 'people' as if there was anybody reading)

*.*.*.*

Neville didn't sleep more than an hour for a month, he and Luna stayed at the Hospital, in a couch in the Waiting Room. Luna would usually try to stay up next to Panda, talking to her, even if Panda never talked back, she just stared blankly. It was like she wasn't even in there. Maybe she wasn't.

Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione would visit daily, although one of them would always stay home, teaching and taking care of the kids. Neville and Luna appreciated this. Especially because Neville still couldn't bring himself to talk to Draco on his own and Luna wasn't good at concentration, her mind kept wandering many places, as if she knew her daughter wasn't there and her mind went in an extensive search for her.

Luna once a found Neville kneeling beside Pandora's bed, looking at her empty eyes and clutching her hand, and she knelt beside him, watching carefully, waiting for him to speak

"When I was a kid," said Neville after a while "life was merciless on me, it gave me nothing but took everything away from me, I mean… you got a glance at it, my grandmother, although a damn good lady, never seemed to think I was enough, kids at school were no better, and my parents…" he sighed and shook his head, holding up tears "But then you came in my life, you understood and you was there even before I was swept by a wave of fame, you made me smile and feel worthy for the first time, and I got to keep you in my life! And then... then we had a child! And she's" his voice broke, but he kept going, talking more to himself than to Harry "She's so damn beautiful Luna! Never before did I thought I'd ever get to be a part of something as beautiful! And now?! Now she's been taken away from me! Like everything was before! As if life had taunt me, letting me hold such a precious, fragile thing before smashing her right in front of me! And I keep thinking, Luna, that it will take you too, and I wouldn't be able to take it!"

Luna held her shrieking Husband in her arms, remaining calm, "Do you remember," She said, in dreamy but sad voice "The first time we heard her sing, even before she could speak? I never told you this, but she reminded me of my mother, she used to sing all the time, and her voice was just like Panda's, soft and warm life a bonfire, but distant, too, like the see or the stars. And it was prefect, because I realized I'd never stop hearing that voice again." That's when Neville notice tears were falling down his wife's eyes "And I still believe I will, I really trust she will get better, you know?"

But that made him cry harder, because he didn't believe so, or rather, he didn't want to believe so, because he knew for experience, he knew since his childhood that if he had a shred of hope life would tear it away.

Weeks went by, slowly, very slowly they passed, but Pandora's mind was still lost somewhere, Neville had lost his patience on Draco more than a few times, screaming at him because he was supposed to fix her, but no change seemed to appear on his daughter, or on her hollow glance. And then, one day, when Neville and Luna were sitting next to their daughter, and Ginny was already there, as they were trading school stories distractedly while they ate toast, Draco came in, they looked up and stood slowly.

"I… well, Pandora doesn't seem to be responding to the procedures" he admitted, Neville scoffed, Draco looked nervously at Ginny for help, but she only rose her eyebrows. "And we have this very new, very experimental method, I think it could work on her, besides it's our only option besides some really old fashioned shock spells"

"How does it work?" asked Luna, back from her soul-searching

"It basically consists of Legilimency, trying to alter her memories—No, not alter the memories, alter her feelings towards the memory, try to help her calm down at least a bit with each session, not exactly erase the pain but smooth her feelings down, enough as to talk the feelings out of her. But she might take it negatively, she could panic, and reliving those moments will probably do her no good which is why I need your permission"

Neville looked at Luna, who nodded, he then turned to Draco, "We are up for it, something has to work" he answered

But Legilimency proved to be really difficult for all of them, every three days Pandora was taken by trainee-healers on a wheelchair up to Draco's office, which he shared with other Healers interested in the magical mind, Pandora had awaken interest in them, as they had never seen a magical-traumatic experience in such a young kid.

The sessions were horrible, Neville only made it through one, Luna through two, Panda would sit in a chair, still looking at the Great Nothing in front of her, and the other Healers would take notes, Draco would cast the spell and then Pandora's eyes would brighten up with fear, and she would start screaming, screams of absolute horror and pain. After a while it was just too much for her parents, after a while the waited outside, after a while they held their friend's hands, after a while they waited for her screaming to stop.

And after many weeks, many sessions, it did. It turned from plain screaming to actual word screaming (which, to be honest, was worse) in two weeks, it was longer from word-screaming to mumbling and panic, and bit longer from that to just crying, which was when Luna and Neville started entering again, it was still hard to watch, but now Draco was talking to Panda after the Ligilimency, although she talked softly and sobbed, slowly she began to recognize her parents, and slowly she began to understand the world around her again. She was finally good enough to maintain a conversation without sobbing, but they didn't let her go until she started joking with Draco and her parents.

"Bring her here every week" said Draco, the day they were finally signing her off, "She'll be okay," he smiled, Neville smiled back finally

"Thank you, Draco, really" he said as she took Panda's hand to leave,

"Bye Healer Draco!" cheered Pandora taking her mother's hand and smiling.