Willow Song

XX. Growing as a healer

Life settled into a routine of housekeeping, studying, and practice, broken up with Order meetings and visits from the Weasleys. Molly came over at least weekly, as did Fred and George, armed with their latest developments in practical jokes.

Just before Christmas, Serena finally persuaded Remus to let her practice her mind-healing techniques on him. She set up a spare bedroom with relaxing herbs and had Remus lie on the bed. She asked him to let his mind drift back freely until it met an obstacle. She closed her eyes and focused on him. He stopped where she thought he would, on his lycanthropy: not trusting himself--not with students, not with a wife and family. It blocked everything in his life, yet strangely the pain was in no way caused by the prejudice against him because of his lycanthropy. No, Remus was fighting himself far worse than any ministry decree or traditional bigotry. She looked into who Remus was: his kindness, his understanding, his compassion, his intelligence, his patience, his self-discipline. Those were easy things to bridge to his lycanthropy. She looked into his future and saw his honors, saw the superstitions that would melt before his goodness and bravery. She began weaving the bridge of thin golden threads from his being a werewolf to his qualities and the goodness and growth from this trial. Some golden threads had to be placed and connected several times because Remus's mind seemed to reject them. Humility was tangled with disbelief and low self-esteem. She kept stubbornly attaching the threads of golden light until her bridge was built. As had happened with Neville and Luna, when she finished the bridge she was filled with love for the person she helped--Remus. She couldn't look so deeply into who a person was without loving that person with an almost maternal feeling.

Serena sat there quietly, waiting for Remus to open his eyes. "Thank you," he said, looking at her, "that was beautiful. I've never heard a song like that before. It almost felt like it was growing inside of me and reaching out all around me at the same time. It was amazing. And I feel different, lighter somehow. Thanks." He smiled warmly, then gave her a fatherly kiss on the forehead. "I hope Charlie knows how lucky he is."

"I just know that I'm lucky to have you as a friend, Remus. I'd go crazy here if it weren't for you."

Serena kept writing to Charlie, the Samuelsons, Minerva, Neville, and Ginny--each of her letters getting shorter and sloppier as her eyes grew worse. She didn't think anyone had noticed the change, but when she received three Quick Quotes Quills as early Christmas presents, she knew they had noticed it. She thanked Minerva, Ginny and Ron, and Neville and Luna for the quills by letter, apologized for opening them before Christmas, and told them she hoped they'd all have a happy Christmas at Hogwarts.

On Christmas day, several members of the Order were at Headquarters: Moody, Tonks, Lupin, Shacklebolt, and Mundungus. The Weasleys arrived later in the afternoon. Charlie wasn't with them. Arthur answered the alarmed look in Serena's face by telling her there was trouble in Romania with some death eaters trying to steal a Norwegian Ridgeback, and Charlie would be there late that night or at least for Boxing Day. Serena did her best to hide her disappointment and worry.

Molly, Serena, and Tonks were in the kitchen helping Winky clean up (much to Winky's protests), when Molly gently asked Serena, "Dear, how are your eyes? How much can you see any more?"

"The shadows have swallowed everything more than five feet away, and I've lost most details, even close up."

"How can I help you?"

"I've got Winky for that. Just keep being my friend, Mum, okay? You too, Tonks?"

"Of course," replied Tonks a bit too cheerfully, grabbing a tray and loading it with pumpkin pies and cups of hot spiced cider.

"You'd better let me carry it, dear," said Molly, taking the tray.

In the living room they each enjoyed their dessert. Serena and Lupin tried to convince Moody to become Serena's next practice patient, but he would have nothing of it. Serena was just explaining how she could help Moody resolve his trust issues, when she noticed the Weasleys had become very quiet on the other side of the room. "Charlie?" Serena called. She turned around to see him, but didn't. She could feel him in the room. The Weasleys were uncharacteristically silent. "Charlie?" she asked again.

"He's right here, dear." Mrs. Weasley took Serena's hand and led her across the room, where a battered and weary Charlie suddenly came into view. As Serena hugged him, she felt him wince.

"What's the matter? You're hurt."

"I'll be okay. They didn't want to let me come, but I had to see you."

Serena instantly switched from her helpless ingénue role to authoritative healer in the perceptions of the Weasley clan. "Take your shirt off."

Charlie slowly removed his shirt, revealing a long ugly burn across his back. He explained, "A certain dragon named Norbert almost turned me into a barbequed appetizer while I tried to save his life."

"I've never felt good about you working with dragons," Molly admonished. "This just proves how right my instincts were."

"Remus," ordered Serena, "would you please mix up a bowl of murtlap essence and cut it with twenty-five percent tea tree oil? And get me some gauze strips too?

"Tonks, would you tell Winky to get one of the spare bedrooms upstairs ready with lavender and rosemary candles?"

"Now wait a minute," Charlie protested, "I'll be fine. I just need a little rest and to see my family and my witch. The burn will heal on its own."

Remus hurried back in with the supplies Serena had requested. "Stop fighting her, Charlie. She knows what she is doing. Let her help you."

Serena spread the mixture over the burn, unconsciously humming as she did. Then she lightly smoothed the gauze strips over the top.

Bill and Arthur helped Charlie upstairs, settling him on his stomach on the bed before leaving the room.

Serena instructed Charlie to relax and then began weaving bridges of light in his mind. A golden bridge from his mental hurts (of which there were few significant ones) and a bright spring green glowing one from the open burn on his back. As she wove the bridge, she caught a glimpse of his future, his children. She didn't show him, but couldn't help treasuring up what she saw. An hour later she was done and looked at Charlie with so much love she felt like she'd burst.

He slowly opened his eyes. "That was incredible. I've never heard anything like it." He got up and grabbed his shirt. "I'll meet you downstairs."

Serena opened the door and nearly tripped over the assembled Weasley clan sitting in the hallway. Fred started, "Sorry, it's just that Remus told us we had to hear the Green Song. It was brilliant. How's Charlie?"

"He'll be down in a minute."

George grabbed Serena's arm and started down the stairs. "I know my way around this house without help, George."

"I know, Shorty, I'm just proud of what you're doing." Serena legilimized the rest of the sentence from him, "and it really scared me to see how far across the room you had to come before you saw Charlie."

"You know, George, if you and Fred ever want to pull a great practical joke on me, just move the furniture around." Serena laughed, but the Weasleys didn't join her.

They settled back downstairs to wait for Charlie, and Bill sat by her on the couch. "Sometimes Serena, it's too easy to think of you as just Charlie's little girlfriend, or a sweet witch who needs our protection. Listening to your Green Song, I realized how incredibly talented you are. I just want you to know that I respect you." He squeezed her hand.

Charlie came downstairs. He pulled off the gauze and showed his parents the new pink skin underneath. "She did it! And I'm starving." Winky rushed in carrying a tray of food for Charlie and the festive atmosphere resumed.

Later that night, Charlie and Serena snuggled up in front of the fireplace together after all but Lupin had left.

"Where did you learn the Green Song?"

"I don't know. It just comes out of me when I heal. I'm not even aware that I'm singing."

"Your voice is high and clear and pure--like water and nature and growing things, but still human and beautiful. I never imagined anything like it. Thank you for sharing it with me. Do you think our children will be able to sing it?"

"Maybe. I don't know if it's just the blind Verte-Chantes who sing Green Song or not. Most of my ancestors are healers though. It'll probably be a grandchild if one of ours is completely like me. Do you mind mixing my blind gene with the Weasley gene?"

"No. It's a terrible price to pay, but it's worth it. I learned that tonight. I'd be proud if any of our progeny were like you."

Serena kissed him, then put her head on his chest. She fell asleep with Charlie playing with her hair. Soon he slept too. Sometime in the night Remus draped a blanket over both of them and put out the lights.

The next morning, well before dawn, Serena and Charlie awakened stiff, but happy. Charlie opened his eyes to find Serena up on her elbows next to him, carefully scrutinizing his face. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Memorizing you."

"Really, I can't be much to look at right now. I'm starving, how about you?"

"Winky isn't even up yet. What is it, four AM?"

"Probably. Is there any pie left?"

They went to the kitchen and found the leftover pie. Serena looked at Charlie wolfing down the pie and was suddenly hit with an impish impulse--she took a finger full of whipping cream and traced it down his nose. Charlie looked surprised, then daring, as he shot a fork full of pumpkin pie at Serena, hitting her on the cheek. Within moments wands were out and pie and cream were flying amid screams of outraged laughter. Charlie slipped on some pie on the floor and tripped Serena, pulling her down with him and smearing pie across the seat of his pants. Charlie was just smashing a piece of pie onto Serena's head when Remus walked into the kitchen to find out what the commotion was. He found both them and the kitchen covered with pie and whipped cream. "We, uh, were hungry," Charlie started to explain, then all three of them burst out laughing. Charlie gave Serena a pumpkin kiss, and then playfully bit a blob of pumpkin off her neck before helping her to her feet.

"You two had better get cleaned up. I'll scourgify the kitchen before Winky sees the mess you've made." Serena headed to the upstairs bath while Charlie took the lower one.

Afterwards the three met in the kitchen and began making Belgian waffles. It was still an hour before dawn. Winky appeared in the kitchen. "What is you doing in here? Cooking is Winky's job!"

Serena smiled. "It's Boxing Day, Winky. We're making you breakfast today."

"You is a very great mistress, but you is not supposed to be serving Winky. It is not right for mistress to serve house elf. It makes Winky be a bad elf."

"Winky, you're the best elf ever. Please let me do this for you this morning. It makes me happy."

"Winky will do as Mistress Serena asks, but Winky is not liking it."

Serena made Winky sit at the table and eat waffles with berries for breakfast. Then she served Remus and Charlie, who fortunately always had room for more.

"Mistress be needing her breakfast too!" Winky protested, seeing Serena not eat herself.

"I'm not hungry yet. I'll eat later." She winked at Charlie.

Charlie and Serena sat down to a game of wizard's chess after breakfast, but both were making stupid moves. Remus stopped Serena from sacrificing her queen for a pawn and told them both to finish the game after they had taken a nap. "How much sleep did you two get last night? About three hours on the couch before you had your pie war?" He grinned. "Come to think of it, I need a nap too."

All three of them went upstairs to lie down for a nap before the Weasleys came over at noon. This time Fred and George were the only brothers who came; Percy insisted he was needed at the Ministry, and Bill was called to Gringotts. Remus went over to visit Tonks' parents with her, so it was just the six of them.

Charlie was asked for the full details of his rescue of Norbert. As far as Charlie could tell, the Death Eaters needed parts of Norbert for some dark potions and were attempting to stun him. Norbert resisted and Charlie ran in to help. The Death Eaters disapparated, but Norbert had gone so wild in the process that Charlie was burned. They had placed an extra guard around Norbert and the other Norwegian Ridgebacks, so Charlie would need to return tonight to take his turn.

"Why Norbert?" Serena asked. "Are there potions that specify Norwegian Ridgeback dragons, as opposed to any other kind?"

"Actually, there are two" said Arthur, "and both are very dark magic. One makes a fiery battle weapon from the liver of the dragon for destroying enemies, and the other uses the powdered Ridgeback scales to render the wearer's clothing impervious to hexes. If they're after a Ridgeback, it's for the war. We'll have to tell Dumbledore."

"I already have," replied Charlie.

Fred decided to change the subject, and, pulling out a large bouquet of daisies, handed them to Serena. Serena cautiously sniffed at them, and the daisies sneezed a fine dust of pollen all over her. She laughed while Molly scolded the twins.

"They're our newest product;" explained George, "flowers that are allergic to people. What do you think?"

"Impressive. Just the thing to give a blind date," laughed Serena.

Molly grabbed a damp washcloth and tried to wipe the pollen off of Serena's face while Serena joked with Fred and George. Arthur caught Charlie's attention and pulled him aside.

"Did you think it was wise for you to stay the night here, son? She's still very young and you haven't married her yet. I'm disappointed. I expect my sons to be gentlemen."

"Don't worry, Dad. We have slept together, twice now. We really did sleep--that's all. It's awfully hard sometimes not to just take her the way I want to, but I'm still behaving like a gentleman."

"She has her work to do, Son. And I'm certain she was raised to wait until marriage."

"I respect her beliefs. And I'm being careful; I promise." Charlie gave Arthur a reassuring smile.

They had a fun afternoon followed by a light supper. After supper it was time for Charlie to return to Romania. Arthur, Molly, and the twins made their farewells, then discreetly wandered into the kitchen while Serena and Charlie kissed each other goodbye.

"My transfer will be this summer. Then I'll work close to you. You won't be able to get rid of me after that. I love you, witch." Then he disapparated with a loud pop.

Remus returned from his evening with Tonks and her parents, so the Weasleys made their goodbyes.