"I wish to make a replica of Healer Cochlain's wand," requested James, "Albus, Lily, and I are all indebted to Healer Cochlain. Her 100% successful performance of a very quick but also exceedingly difficult surgical procedure saved Lily's and my magic and Albus is the first magical core donor to ever come out of this surgery alive. I want to make a replica of Healer Cochlain's wand and present it to her as a gift. I am going to inform Albus and Lily of my intentions before our sibling time session tonight. I am also going to be writing Healer Cochlain a letter of appreciation on behalf of all three of us. I will suggest that Albus and Lily make their owns gifts to present to Healer Cochlain as well. Healer Cochlain's wand is-
"Walnut and dragon heartstring, fifteen inches, stiff and forever straight," burst out Olivander instantly.
"You truly do remember every wand you've ever sold, Mr. Olivander!" replied James admiringly.
"Every single wand," answered Olivander dramatically.
"So, what do you think of my idea of making a replica of Healer Cochlain's wand?" James asked Olivander.
"Healer Cochlain's wand will be much more difficult to make a replica of than Miss Potter's wand was," said Olivander warningly, "But it's a fitting tribute and I think you can pull it off even though I expect you to have to work at this wand quite a bit to get it make."
"I will work as hard as I have to and try as many times as needed to get this done. Healer Cochlain more than deserves that." proclaimed James fiercely.
Olivander opened the bottle of Temperament Potion and extracted a dragon heartstring. He then opened the bottle of Strengthening Potion and took out a block of walnut wood.
Olivander handed the dragon heartstring and walnut wood block to James and cried, "Go for it Mr. Potter!"
James set the dragon heartstring aside and set the walnut block down in front of him.
James pointed his wand at the walnut block and cried, "Detachio!"
A piece of walnut detached itself from the block, but it was only ten inches long.
"That's okay," said Olivander encouragingly, "I did warn you that this wand would be harder to make but I have total faith in you that you will be able to do it."
"Thank you, Mr. Olivander," said James determinedly, "The struggle will only make the end result more satisfying."
James pointed his wand at the walnut wood block a second time and cried, "Detachio!"
This time, the piece of walnut that came off was twelve and a half inches.
"You're getting better, Mr. Potter," said Olivander supportively. "Keep at it and you'll get it."
"Third time's the charm," said James hopefully.
James pointed his wand at the walnut wood block a third time and cried, "Detachio!"
To Olivander's utter amazement, a piece of walnut of EXACTLY fifteen inches detached itself from the block.
"WOW! exclaimed Olivander in disbelief, "Walnut is THE most difficult wood to perform Splitting Charms on in terms of length precision and you just nailed it."
James pointed his wand at the walnut block a second time and again cried, "Detachio!"
Remarkably, once again a piece of walnut of EXACTLY fifteen inches detached itself from the block.
"OMG!" squeaked Olivander, "I'm in the presence of an all-time great wizard!"
"Yes, you are!" replied James boastfully, "It took a few tries but when I got it, I GOT IT!"
James now carefully placed the dragon heartstring on the desk in front of him and gently laid the first piece of wand walnut on top of it on the side nearest him.
James pointed his wand at the walnut piece and cried, "Attachio!"
The walnut moved a bit but did not attach itself.
"That's alright, I expect you to have to work at this particular Attachment Charm to get it right." said Olivander.
A similar result of the walnut moving but not attaching itself to the dragon heartstring occurred on James's second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth attempts.
"Well," said James wryly before his seventh attempt, "Seven is the most powerfully magical number. This time I'll nail it!"
James pointed his wand at the walnut piece the seventh time and cried, "Attachio!"
Olivander was delighted to see that the fifteen inch piece of walnut attached itself onto the dragon heartstring with as picture perfect a fit as could have been hoped for.
"YES!" squealed Olivander, "I knew you'd get there in the end even if it took a while."
"Of course, I'm a superb Wandmaker," bragged James.
James now placed the first part of the wand in the cauldron and picked up the stopwatch and set it to five minutes. He used his left hand to start the stopwatch while simultaneously turning the heat on the cauldron to high with his right hand.
James kept his eyes keenly on the cauldron and when the five minutes were up used the tongs to lift the half-finished wand out of the cauldron.
James now slowly placed the half done wand on the desk in front of him with the unfinished side towards him and gently laid the second piece of wand walnut on top of it on the side nearest him.
Once again, it took James seven attempts to attach the walnut to the dragon heartstring.
Once again, the walnut attached to the dragon heartstring with the best fit possible on James's seventh attempt.
"Wow, unreal!" said Olivander breathlessly, "I'd never have expected you to do this well on this wand this quickly."
James now placed the wand in the cauldron again and picked up the stopwatch and set it to five minutes. He used his left hand to start the stopwatch while simultaneously turning the heat on the cauldron to high with his right hand.
James kept his eyes keenly on the cauldron and when the five minutes were up used the tongs to lift the wand out of the cauldron.
James now laid the wand down in front of him on the desk and aimed his own wand at it.
"LUMOS MAXIMA!" yelled James, holding the spell for exactly twenty seconds. Next nanosecond that distinct clicking sound confirmed a successfully made wand.
"BRAVO, Mr. Potter!" exclaimed Olivander, "I'm really proud of you. As expected, this wand was more of a challenge for you and you kept at it and ultimately succeeded."
"The struggle made the triumph that much sweeter, especially considering my motive for making this particular wand." said James proudly, "The grind felt like a gift to witch who saved Lily's and my magic while keeping Albus alive in the process."
"Mr. Potter," said Olivander respectfully, "I admire what you're doing in making these unusable wands into special gifts. I can't wait to see what you do next week. Like last week, I'll give you Wednesday night to write to Healer Cochlain."
"Thanks, that's perfect," said James with his eyes watering.
Olivander laid the newly made wand in Cooling Potion and they called it a night.
As James left the History of Magic classroom, Albus and Lily were waiting for him.
"So," asked Lily eagerly, "Whose wand did you make a replica of tonight?"
"Healer Cochlain's," said James fiercely, "We Potter siblings are indebted to her. She saved both of our magic and kept Albus alive in the process. Mr. Olivander is giving me Wednesday night to write to her and then next time I see her I'll present her the replica I made of her wand as a gift. "
"You know what, Lily? "said Albus thoughtfully, "I think we should both make gifts of our own to present to Healer Cochlain. All three of us are indeed indebted to her."
"You're absolutely right, Albus," agreed Lily, "How about we make these Wednesday night while James is writing to Healer Cochlain."
"That's perfect," agreed Albus.
"Hey, big bro, big sis," requested James, "May I have permission to write on behalf of you two when I write to Healer Cochlain so that it becomes a letter from all three of us?"
"That would be fitting," smiled Lily, "But let us read it before we take it to Healer Cochlain."
That night, James, Albus, and Lily used their sibling time to have a water balloon fight. James was the clear winner and enjoyed constant good natured laughs at Albus and Lily, who enjoyed the water balloon fights all the same.
As he had promised, Olivander gave James Wednesday night to write to Healer Cochlain.
James pulled out a piece of paper and pen from his schoolbag and wrote.
Dear Healer
Cochlain:
"We, that is to say, James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter, and Lily Luna Potter, want to tell you how much we appreciate everything you did for us when we were in your care at Hogwarts when we were dealing with the Magical Core Depletion Virus issue. We are all beyond indebted to you for what you did for us in saving our magic and keeping the donor alive into the bargain. There are no words to express how truly grateful we are for the outstanding surgical work you did on us. Being a Healer is a tough profession to begin with and Magical Core Replacement surgery is quite a tough operation to perform. All three of us have found that we have stronger but still controllable magic since you operated on us and that speaks volumes to the superb job you did in performing a difficult medical procedure. We would also like to thank you for your friendly attitude. Your warmth makes life so much easier for your patients. Being treated by a Healer who genuinely loves people is a major plus. Healer Cochlain, we Potter siblings will always remember what you did for us both in terms of performance and kindness. Should anybody ever need a Healer recommendation from us we will recommend you. It is never fun to be sick, ill, or injured. But the quality of care one receives in such situations is paramount and you gave us the best possible care anybody could ever hope for. We wish you continued success in your healing career.
Sincerely with love-
James, Albus, and Lily.
When James showed this letter to Albus and Lily that night, they both thought it just about perfect.
Lily now pulled out her wand and cried "Accio quilt!"
A hand sewn yellow and orange quilt came zooming into Lily's hands.
"James, Albus, this is my gift to Healer Cochlain," explained Lily with her eyes watering, "I sewed it by hand because it meant more to me to make this gift by hand than it would have to have made this gift by magic. The work of doing it by hand felt to me like a tribute to Healer Cochlain in and of itself."
"That's such a beautiful tribute Lily," said James emotionally, "I totally get what you mean about the work itself feeling like a gift."
"As do I," piped up Albus.
Albus pulled out his wand and cried, "Accio Portrait."
"I painted this portrait by hand," said Albus meaningfully as the picture raced into his hands.
This portrait depicted James, Albus, and Lily standing in a row with their arms around each other and Healer Cochlain standing behind them.
"This portrait is meant to represent what Healer Cochlain did for us in showing that Healer Cochlain is the one who made our futures possible so to speak." explained Albus meaningfully.
"Wow, what a fitting gift, Albus," croaked Lily, "I think Healer Cochlain will be very touched."
They again used their sibling time for water balloon fights and again James dominated and gave Albus and Lily good natured ribbing and razing about it.
Next day in History of Magic class Lily asked Ainsley when Healer Cochlain would next be at Hogwarts and it turned out that she was once again filling in on Saturday that week.
So, Saturday morning after breakfast, James, Albus, and Lily went to visit Healer Cochlain in the hospital wing.
"Healer Cochlain, "said Lily kindly, "We have come to present you with some gifts as a token of appreciation for what you did for us last week."
"Really?" said Healer Cochlain weakly.
"Really," said Lily warmly.
Lily dug her right hand into her hot pink schoolbag and pulled out the quilt.
"Healer Cochlain, I made this quilt for you. I know the Cochlains love bright colors and with winter approaching this seemed like a timely gift." said Lily sincerely.
"Wow, it is beautiful," acknowledged Healer Cochlain in a quiet voice, "Thank you Miss Potter. It always feels nice to know when my patients appreciate my work."
Albus now opened his scarlet schoolbag and retrieved the portrait he had made of the Potter siblings standing with Healer Cochlain.
As Albus handed the portrait to Healer Cochlain, she felt tears form in her eyes and her insides warm up.
"This portrait is meant to represent the fact that our futures are possible because of you, Healer Cochlain," said Albus gently.
"Oh, it is an exceptionally beautiful painting on all levels, Mr. Potter. Thank you very much. There is no way to articulate how much this acknowledgment means to me." squealed Healer Cochlain weakly.
James now opened his scarlet schoolbag and ejected the replica of Healer Cochlain's wand.
"Healer Cochlain, during my last Wandmaking session I made a replica of your wand as a tribute to you. I present it to you now. "explained James.
"Wow, Mr. Potter," said Healer Cochlain, who was aware of James's Wandmaking lessons, "It says a lot that you would choose me as one of the people to gift a replica wand to. And merlin's beard! It is perfect! So perfect that I will have to be careful not to confuse it with my real wand!"
James now dug his right hand into his right pocket and pulled out the letter. He then handed Healer Cochlain their letter.
By the time she had finished reading the letter, Healer Cochlain was sobbing.
"P-Potters," cried Healer Cochlain emotionally, "I've never felt more appreciated or loved by patients than I do now. It means so much that you three truly understand what I did for you and have genuine gratitude towards me for it. From now on, please just call me Amy. Our relationship is clearly beyond that of a typical Healer-patient relationship."
"Thanks, Amy," chorused James, Albus, and Lily in low voices.
It was fitting. The bond between patients and Healer could not have been clearer and all four of them felt it on their very insides, into the depths of their hearts.
Some bonds were genuinely special and this was now one of them.
