Chapter 5: I Hate Healers! Part 2

First I want to apologize to my readers who expected to see a chapter, but saw a copy of Chapter 4 instead. Word decided to act up and I lost this chapter and accidentally reloaded chapter 4. Hopefully, this will upload properly and I can breathe a sigh of relief! I am using some of my own life to base Bronwyn on. I have Spastic Cerebral Palsy so most of what you will be seeing will be coming from therapy and other things I went through at her age. Like her, I do not walk, but use a wheelchair. I wish I had a floating one! I want to thank MishaySahila for her wonderful idea of a floating chair and allowing me to use it. If you haven't read her story "Rescued." Please do so it is wonderful! Now on with the story!

As Severus carried Bronwyn upstairs followed by Healer Morris, he could feel her tension. As they entered her bedroom, he sat her on the bed and Healer Morris sat next to her.

"Remember Bronwyn I said this wouldn't her and it won't. Now let's get you out of that pretty dress and shoes and see what we can do."

Severus helped her to undress and laid her flat on the bed. Gavin took his wand and waved it intricately over her entire body. As he did this he was humming a Welsh lullaby. Bronwyn smiled and relaxed. A piece of parchment appeared at the end of his wand but he took it off and put it in his pocket. He then began to manipulate her arms and legs carefully moving them to their fullest range before causing spasms. Next he caused a balloon to appear with the Welsh flag on it.

"Now", he said cheerfully. "We're going to play a game. I will toss the balloon at you and you will hit it back to me. Then I will toss it to you and you will hit your Uncle Severus."

Bronwyn laughed pleased with this game. Gavin tossed the balloon at her and she hit it back at him with her left hand. Then when Gavin hit it at her, she smiled and hit it as hard as she could at Severus. It hit him and he said, "Think you are clever do you? Hitting me like that! Here it comes!" He hid it back to her and they played this game for five minutes more.

Gavin asked Bronwyn if she would like the balloon and she nodded, smiling. He made it float over her bed and said, "When you want it, all you have to do is tell it to come to you and it will. But you must use your voice or it won't come."

Gavin placed Bronwyn on the floor on her stomach. He stood 10 feet in front of her and said, "Bronwyn crawl to me."

Bronwyn crossed her arms in front of her and pulled her body across the floor. Gavin said, "Creeping is not crawling. Can you get on your hands and knees?"

Bronwyn pushed with their arms and put her head on the floor until she was on her knees. Then she tried to crawl but fell. Gavin nodded and said, "You did very well. Now I have one more test. Lay flat on your stomach." He walked behind her and dropped a stack of books on the floor. She jumped and cried causing Severus to shoot a glare that would make most of his students run for cover. He picked her up, soothing her and getting her to relax.

Gavin sat on the bed next to them and said, "I'm sorry I did that dear, but it was necessary and now I will be more able to help you."

Severus called Tillie and asked her to get Bronwyn ready for bed.

"When I am done talking to Healer Morris I will come back and get you so you can say good night to everyone." Tillie picked her up and both men left the room.

As they walked downstairs, Severus said, "We can talk in my study." Gavin nodded and followed him.

Severus walked to the bottle of Glenlivet he kept for serious conversations and this looked to be very serious. They both sat down and Severus waited for his friend to speak.

Gavin sighed and said, "Bronwyn has what is known as Spastic Cerebral Palsy. It is the most common type and there are certain things that can be done with surgery. The crossing of her legs can be repaired by cutting and reattaching the tendon on the inside of the groin muscle then she will be able to sit more comfortably. I asked her to creep and crawl because that is an indication of what sort of motor skills she has. Crawling seems to be impossible for her. Creeping when she pulls herself along the ground is usually exhibited in infants at about 2 to 3 months of age. Crawling is a more developed skill which her body has not mastered. When I tested Her startle reflex, it showed that her nervous system is not completely developed . She will probably have that reflex for her entire life,but it will lesson with time. If you approach her from behind make sure she hears you so she will not violently startle. It can be painful. When she got to her knees her back legs were spread like a frog's. This is because the ball and socket of the hip joint are not fitting together properly. If I do the surgery to correct the scissoring in her legs the ball and socket will fit together. She seems to be left-handed and I would not try to change that. It means the right side of her brain is more dominant. Encourage her to use her hands as much as possible and if you want to teach her to use a quill later on you must cut nibs for a left-handed person. As for the surgery, I can schedule it for a week from Monday. It won't take long and she should heal fairly quickly. As for the scans I did, walking does not seem to be a viable option. Her speech is delayed because she does have some trouble with it and if she has encouragement, it will improve. She loves you and wants to please you, and since your speech is clear, precise and correct it will help a great deal. I can bring over tomorrow a chair invented by your Charms Master Fillius Flitwick. It floats 2 to 3 feet off the ground and she can control it both verbally and nonverbally. I will give you a master password that will override her if you think she is doing something dangerous. It will give her more independence. I know you will be taking her to Hogwarts in the fall and I want you to be prepared for teasing and name-calling from some of your students especially the Purebloods."

Severus scowled. "Since she will be living in my quarters, none of my Slytherins will give her any trouble, unless they wish to be serving detention until the new millennium."

Gavin smiled at his friend. "I know your reputation Severus. I've heard it from some of your past students. How you can make a Dragon run for cover!"

He continued, it might be good if you could find some Muggleborn's to help you since they may know about Cerebral Palsy."

Severus thought of a certain Know – It – All who would be more than willing to help. As for Potter and Weasley, that remained to be seen. He had learned that Potter was more like Lily than James and had an open and forgiving heart. Since entrusted by Dumbledore to look after boy, he had learned a great deal about him including his home life. So he began to put less pressure on him in class and his Potions grades had improved markedly. He would wait and see.

"Schedule the surgery for next Monday and we will be there. Are there any potions I can you use to help her relax?"

"Yes," said Gavin. I have a formula for an Extra Strength relaxation potion that should help. I will give you the recipe. You will have no trouble brewing it."

Both men finish their drinks and Severus said, I'm going upstairs to get Bronwyn so she can say good night. Why don't you go into the sitting room and fill-in Albus and Minerva?"

As Severus walked back into Bronwyn's room he heard laughing and saw Tillie tickling her. He smiled walked over to the bed saying, "Why not go downstairs and say good night to everyone?" Bronwyn smiled and nodded with a glint in her eyes that told Severus she was planning something.

They walked downstairs and she said, Can I give a surprise?"

Severus nodded having a pretty good idea what the surprise was. As they walked into the sitting room, he said, "Bronwyn and I would like you to join us in the music room."

As they walked into the music and sat down, Bronwyn snuggled into Severus's robes and looked at the piano and then at Gavin she smiled as the piano began to play "Men of Harloch". Gavin applauded saying, "Bravo!"

She looked at Minerva and the piano began to play Scotland the Brave." Minerva smiled and kissed her.

She looked at Dumbledore, frowned for a moment and then smiled as the piano began to play "The Flight of the Bumblebee."

Dumbledore smiled and applauded saying, "That was wonderful child, but what made you pick that?"

Bronwyn looked at him and said slowly, "Because – your – name – means Bumblebee."

Then she snuggled into Severus' robes and piano began playing "The Aeolian Harp."

Dumbledore smiled at Severus saying, "She is a very clever little girl and since I know you will be bringing her to Hogwarts in the fall, I will instruct the house elves to add a room and separate bathroom to your quarters. If you can come in two weeks you can supervise the construction."

"Thank you Albus. I really appreciate this." He stood holding a sleepy Bronwyn in his arms. "And now, if you'll excuse me I have to get a very sleepy musician to bed. Wormwood will show you out."

He carried Bronwyn to her room, handed her Shimmer, and tucked her in, leaving a night light on and casting a monitoring charm over her in case she needed him in the middle of the night. He kissed her softly on the head, saying "Good Night Sweetheart. Pleasant dreams."

As he left, he heard her say, "Good Night Uncle Severus."

He went to his own room and read for a while and then went to bed.

I know there were a lot of medical terms in this chapter but it will help things along. This song, "Men of Harloch", is a song about a battle between Welsh and English. You want to know what the Welsh flag looks like, look in Wikipedia.

In the next chapter, Severus takes Bronwyn to Diagon Alley and she causes a bit of mischief!