8 Healing

By the time school resumed, Vernon was spending most of his nights elsewhere. Harry didn't mind at all. Dudley asked a few times about his father and then accepted the new situation with a shrug.

By the middle of October, Vernon stopped spending his nights at home. He would come for an evening, take some fresh clothes and leave about an hour later. Harry didn't miss his company. Dudley didn't seem to mind it either.

Without Vernon, he could practice his magic not only when visiting Mrs. Figg but also in his room, secured by a locking charm, or in the backyard, when Dudley wasn't home. He found that most of the first-year spells were quite easy for him either with a stick or without one. He even managed to do most of the transfiguration exercises, although he needed to check a book about small animals to find what the various animals mentioned for transfiguration looked like.

Just for fun, he tried various sticks as wands. Nothing but natural wood seemed to work, Plastic produced no effect. Metal could sometimes be used but not for most purposes. Any kind of wood worked much better, but he found some small differences. Some kinds of wood (Harry didn't know the names of most kinds of trees, so it was just wood for him,) responded better to certain spells than others, but he didn't think the differences were very significant. He could still use whichever stick he found nearby and achieve good results, about the same as doing it with no stick at all, although the stick helped direct his magic to a spot much better than a finger, probably because sticks were longer.

–..–

By the end of November, Aunt Petunia got her divorce. "It went so quickly," she explained, "because what I found about Vernon's behaviour could make him lose even more had he dragged it to court."

Harry just nodded, not quite sure what it meant.

"I also decided to revert to my maiden name – Evans, so now I'm no longer a Dursley but Petunia Evans."

"And Dudley?"

"He can choose, but I doubt he cares one way or the other, which probably means he's actually a Dursley. An Evans always cares."

Harry smiled at that. It was nice seeing his aunt so relaxed. He didn't know what the future might bring, but he doubted she would stay that way for long.

–..–

Time passed. When summer arrived, Petunia already had a second-hand car, smaller and easier to drive than Vernon's company car, and she used it for all her errands. She also started working part-time as a receptionist in a small company nearby.

Harry also noticed that she was paying more attention to her clothing, her hairdo and her makeup than before. He didn't know what that meant, but he presumed that she wanted to make the best impression at work.

After a while (it was about two months, but Harry was still somewhat oblivious to times) she started looking happier. Harry felt glad for her, although he still didn't know what caused it.

Then, shortly after Halloween, Petunia came home with a tall handsome man who looked about her age. "Dudley, Harry, this is Mr. Albert Boonton, my boyfriend. He's going to spend the weekends with us in the near future. Albert, these are my son Dudley and my nephew Harry. I've already told you about them."

Albert smiled. "Hello, boys. I hope to get to know you better in the coming weeks. You may also join me in training whenever I'll stay overnight. Training helps strengthen the body and also helps the mind stay sharp."

Dudley grimaced. Harry showed interest. "How do you train? Do you walk or run? That may be a problem on rainy or snowy days."

Albert smiled. "I mainly exercise with some small weights or even without any. An old leg injury prevents me from walking or running for exercise, although I can usually walk just fine."

Harry frowned. "Shouldn't it be healed by now?"

Albert smiled. "While most childhood injuries can be usually healed completely, it's more difficult for adults. Some injuries never fully heal."

"Can you show me?" Harry asked.

Albert grimaced and looked at Petunia questioningly. She nodded slightly. He moved to the nearest chair, sat down and lifted the hem of his trousers, exposing his left leg up to the knee. "I was injured at the knee, where there are many small bones that keep it functioning smoothly. One of those bones was too fractured to heal. They could put some artificial bone instead, but I prefer to keep my own bones, even if a bit damaged, than use artificial ones. It may only be some kind of prejudice, but that's how I feel."

Harry looked at the knee and could clearly see the slight deformation. He wasn't sure if he could do anything, but he thought he should read a bit about the knee structure and then instruct his magic to try and repair Albert's knee. Well, assuming he'd still seem that nice by then.

Albert really looked nice and acted nicely to both children. Harry even tried to join some of Albert's exercises but found even the easiest ones too difficult for him. Albert also warned him, "Don't do anything that feels like it's too much for your current abilities. Some exercise is good at any age, but it should be appropriate for your age and your abilities. A weight lifter can easily lift a weight heavier than twice his own weight, but untrained people can break their backs if they try, getting severely injured. You can still do most of the exercises I do, but without any additional weight on your arms or on your legs. Your body is not yet strong enough for them."

Dudley never tried. Since Albert used to exercise early, Dudley was usually still asleep.

–..–

After spending quite some time studying the bones and muscles in and around the knee, Harry thought that he already knew that area well enough to try to help Albert. During that weekend, when he sat near Albert, watching a musical television program, he subtly moved his hand over Albert's knee while urging his magic to heal it. He already knew which bone should change its form and which ligaments should be attached to it and their exact positions. He put all this knowledge into his magic, urging it to work at a slow pace and cause no unnecessary pain. He wasn't sure if this would really help any.

Two weeks later, at Christmas, Albert seemed in an exceptionally good mood. "I've lately noticed some changes in my knee. I visited the doctor and found out that my knee seems to have healed by itself. I no longer suffer the pains that prevented me from walking briskly or running. Isn't that a nice gift for Christmas?"

Harry felt double glad. He was glad for Albert finally healing and also glad that his magic helped achieve that. He would tell nobody, of course.

–..–

Albert stayed for the holidays, not moving back to wherever he normally lived. He also stayed after the holidays. Harry thought this had some meaning.

"Are you and Albert married now?" he asked his aunt.

She smiled. "No, not married. We just decided to live together as if we were married."

"Why don't you marry, then?" he insisted.

Petunia turned serious. "People only need to get married so that their children will be recognised by the law. Since I can't have more children, there's really no need to get married."

Harry frowned. "Why can't you have more children? You had Dudley, didn't you?"

She sighed. "It was a very difficult birth. He was in the wrong position and it was unsure if he'll even live, until he came out. Still, something was damaged in the process. Vernon and I tried to bring another child but failed. The doctors said that Dudley's birth damaged me, making me unable to conceive again."

"Couldn't they heal you?" he wondered.

She shook her head and smiled sadly. "The doctors don't use magic, you should know. I'm not even sure anybody could heal that with magic, either. Please, don't bother your head with that. You're still a child. You should enjoy your childhood."

Harry smiled, but he was already making a plan.

Unlike the time when he was looking for information about the knees, looking for information about child conception and birth was somewhat unpleasant.

"Aren't you a bit young to get interested in such subjects?" the librarian asked him.

"I heard some women talking about problems at birth that then prevent them from getting pregnant. I thought I'd like to understand that. Maybe I can help such women when I grow up," he explained.

"So, do you think you're going to be a doctor?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm too young to decide, but I know I like helping people any way they need it."

The librarian had to smile at that. She then showed him where to find the more advanced books about human anatomy as well as some about how children come to the world, from intercourse to birth.

Harry blushed more than once when reading these books. It didn't mean that he skimmed over the embarrassing parts. Harry even suspected that what he needed to solve was in some of those parts. Reading about births and all the possible problems in labour was also embarrassing, but mainly frightening. How could people even be born with so many potential hazards along the way, he wondered.

This time, it took Harry almost three months to understand it all and devise a plan. He was less confident about it than the previous time. He only hoped that his magic would do what was needed even if he wasn't that sure about it.

That weekend, he tried to cuddle with his aunt, putting his head on her lap. While that had been unheard of while she was with Vernon, it soon became a favourite pastime for both Harry and her. Staying so close to her abdomen, Harry directed his magic to smooth the way for the sperm cells trying to reach her ovule and to also repair any damage in the womb and the birth canal. He could only hope that his magic was able to find its targets, since he could only base his instructions on the drawings in the books and wasn't sure he fully understood them.

Well, he did understand one thing. Adults liked to have intercourse and that could lead to pregnancies, unless there were problems or some specific precautions were taken. He doubted his aunt was taking any precautions after being informed that she was no longer able to get pregnant. If his magic succeeded, then she might achieve pregnancy, quite surprisingly. He hoped it would make her happier.

Harry didn't know how long it would take for his magic to do the healing, if successful, and then, how long it could take before she'd get pregnant. With his focus on healing, he didn't pay much attention to the parts dealing with the menstrual cycle nor to the mechanics of impregnation. He only knew it could take several months of trials even for young healthy couples. He didn't even know if his aunt was still considered young.

Indeed, nothing seemed to change for some time. By the end of May, he thought that Petunia seemed in a strange mood at times, but he wasn't sure. It was already mid-June when Petunia told Albert and the boys, "I visited my doctor today and she confirmed my pregnancy. We're going to have a baby in about eight months!"

Dudley didn't seem to even understand what it meant, but Harry felt happy for his aunt and his (soon to be, probably) new uncle. He was glad that his magic healed whatever needed healing. Maybe he should think about making helping people in some way as his future career?

The next time he met Mrs. Figg, he asked her, "Can wizards also heal, not only the goblins?"

She smiled at him. "Of course, dear. A healer is a very respected person in the magical society, and there's also the St. Mungos hospital, where cases that need more than one healer or more difficult treatment are brought. It also has a maternity ward, like most muggle hospitals. I believe you were born there."

"How can I learn to become a healer?" he asked.

Her smile widened. "You first need to finish your basic studies. Muggle doctors first finish elementary and high school before starting to learn medicine at college. Magical healers need to finish Hogwarts first before they can be accepted to healer training, done mostly at St. Mungos. You'll find some more during your studies at Hogwarts, I believe."

He smiled at her. "Thank you. I'm not yet sure, but I think I may like becoming a healer. It's still too early to decide, but I may have a bit of a talent for that, I think."

She just smiled some more and patted his unruly hair.