Chapter 18:
Two weeks had passed since Anwen had awoken, and in that time, Sirius had barely left her side. While sweet and caring, the constant attention was making Anwen barmy. She had finally coaxed him to visit with the children, as they needed his attention as much, if not more, than she. Remus came into the Black's bedroom and shut the door before he sat down on the bed beside her.
"Thank you for your help," she said softly. "I know he means well and is just worried but –"
"-It's rather overwhelming," he said, finishing her sentence. "I know Poppy was here this morning, what did she have to say?"
"Not a whole lot. My mind is fine, most of my body is fine, there is just this one, nagging issue with the nerves that control my legs. The spell is like a constant low-level Cruciatus Curse, and since I was under so long, there is this last hiccup in my brain connecting to my lower extremities. She's still hopeful that I will recover fully, but with only having a few international contacts to discuss this with, we're at a loss. Eva and I have exhausted the books we have here."
"You could always speak with Albus."
"I could, but James and Sirius blame him for the wards being weaker near the Order meeting site, and that's where Malfoy entered, so I'm holding off on speaking with him. I don't want to invite him into our lives and our home. He's been so judgemental with me since he found out about Violet and all."
"I know this might sound a bit odd to you, but what about visiting a Muggle doctor, Anwen? They might know something we don't." Remus and Eva only moved within the Muggle world when they weren't home. They simply found it safer, especially since they had both been labelled as 'dangerous' by the Ministry of Magic.
"I've actually already thought of that," Anwen said. "One of the Muggle books I had you buy for me was a text on what they call neurology. It's the branch of medicine that deals specifically with nerves and their diseases. I think they'd be able to help."
"Brilliant," Remus replied. "I'd be happy to go with you, or Lils or Eva. You know we'd help in any way. Sirius might not be the best; he tends to point and make strange remarks no matter how often we take him into the Muggle world."
"He's a smart man, brilliant Hit Wizard, and like a six-year-old in public. It was fine when we were six, and Mum took us to buy play clothes and toys, but honestly, at twenty-one, he should know better." Anwen then sighed. "I need to get up and use the loo. I don't want to be carried or have one of those annoying spells done to empty my bladder, I want to walk to the loo on my own."
"I am willing to let you do that, but will you at least use the walker we bought?" Remus offered the compromise. Anwen screwed up her face in the direction of the metal contraption, turned and rolled her eyes at her confidant and then nodded sarcastically. While Anwen was in the loo, she splashed some water on her face and brushed her hair and then her teeth. It was remarkable how just a few small actions could return one to feeling human.
"You look better," Remus said, happy to see a smile on her face.
"I brushed my teeth, no mouth cleansing spell. I know it keeps the mouth clean and cavity free, but there is something about being able to use a toothbrush that is infinitely more cleansing," she explained, and Remus nodded. He watched carefully as she walked back to the bed and assisted in lifting her left leg up onto the mattress and Anwen was able to lift the right. When she was comfortable, he spoke.
"Your left leg seems worse than your right," he noticed.
"It is," she confirmed. "I have most of the feeling back in the right." While her toes on the right foot were sometimes numb, she could feel everything else, and she relied heavily on the one healthy side. "Hand me that blue textbook behind you, please."
"Sure," Remus agreed and tilted his chair backwards and grabbed the text she was asking for. There were dozens of painters Spellotape pieces stuck along the edges marking different things Anwen had highlighted. When the blue book was in her hands, she opened it to one that was near the beginning.
"See here, where the spine branches off to go down the legs," she said showing Remus the full body diagram of the central nervous system, "I think my problem is either just above or near the hip joint. Eva and I did a thorough nerve exam – as good as we could without sending a small electrical pulse down my leg, which we agreed would not be beneficial."
"I should think not," Remus agreed.
"I feel everything fine up to my left hip, then it all goes wonky, and I have no control. I think that the issue might be either this branch of nerves that goes along the outside of my leg, or the one that passes between my femur and the pelvic bone for the interior of my leg. Or it could be both, but that's when we think it's the primary bundle that goes across the buttocks."
"Other than an electrical charge, how can you figure it out?" Remus asked.
"We don't know. A Muggle doc can do different imaging studies than we do. Perhaps there is something there, but if I don't take Sirius, he will get his pants in a twist," Anwen said with a sigh. "I all but had to beg him to visit our children just now for a break."
"I'll go with you, so will Eva. We can make him understand that having Eva with you ensures you both hear what is said and can understand it all. I'll tell him I'm going to help carry you and protect Eva. He might grumble but Prongs, Frank and I can convince him he's needed here to protect Lily, the elves and the kids."
"Thank you," Anwen said with much gratitude. "Now comes the question, who told Malfoy how to break through the first two layers of protection spells on that side of the property?"
"That sounds like something we need to discuss as a family," Remus said. "Because the reality is that someone in the Order betrayed our secret; willingly or not."
"I know to take everything Malfoy says with a grain of salt, but he said it was offered not taken. So, who is capable of betrayal?" Anwen asked sadly.
A
"I can't believe you think someone in the Order gave us up," James yelled at his sister. "They believe in the light."
"So does Dumbledore, but I don't see you believing everything he says anymore," Anwen retorted. "Dad wasn't sure about our illustrious leader either. If he knew what was said about me, Dad would have pulled our family out of the Order anyway."
"James, she's right. We have too many people who are counting on us not to question some folks outright," Lily said softly. "You know there are those on the light side who think what we're doing for the ones who don't want to fight is too much."
"I know, but to think that a person we call a friend has…" James trailed off, sounding and feeling defeated.
"I think we need to have the Order meet somewhere else," Eva said firmly. "We can't compromise our safety, much less the children's safety. There is that prophecy."
"Divination is bullshite," Sirius interjected. "I don't see how you can look at any one of the kids and think they're going to defeat Tom. They're babies."
"If this prophecy was told to Albus, how does Tom even know about it?" Alice asked. Nearly everyone agreed with her. Only Remus was quiet.
"It doesn't matter how or why Tom believes it or that we don't. He is going to act on it. What if Malfoy's attack on Anwen was a test?" The room went dead quiet.
"We are in the safest place we can be," James said. "The wards here have never fallen."
"That might be true, James, but we need to tighten up who comes and goes. We must tell Albus we can't hold meetings here anymore," Remus agreed with his girlfriend. "We have the elves do our shopping for us, or we use the Floo to other properties outside the UK and shop there. Stop using this as the launching place for when we put people into hiding."
"With mum having left the UK, we can use the Longbottom house as a launching pad," Frank said. "We can open the connection only when we are travelling over to send people out of the country and close it when we're back. Also, Alice has made the decision to stop working."
"What?" Lily said. "You love your work, and Neville is no problem to have while you're gone."
"I know that, but," she paused. "If something happened to both Frank and I, Neville would be alone. I know my mum and dad could raise him, or any of you, but I just can't take that risk."
"I understand," Anwen said quietly. "While being a healer has always been my dream, being a mum to my two is infinitely more important. I'll need help doing it, but that's why we have elves, I guess." Everyone could see Anwen's discouragement in her body.
"We raise them together," Lily said to bolster her sister-in-law. "Alice, you and your mum are welcome to be as involved as you want. There are more than enough mums, dads, aunties, uncles and honorary or real grandparents on this compound to make sure these kids are loved."
"You and I can do some baking, Alice. Cut down on trips to the shops and markets for the elves," Anwen said quietly. "When the war is over, we can all go back to work, too."
"When the war is over," James said, lifting his glass of Firewhisky. The others raised their glasses, be they like James' or coffee, tea or water.
"When the war is over," the group replied. Though no one said it, they all wondered when, or if it would be.