Molly Weasley's Practical Guide to Magical Childcare

From London by Raven-

Dear Mum,

Now that I'm home, and have had time to properly read your book, I can give a more thorough opinion. Overall, I'd have to say my favourite part was the bit on healing charms. I paid careful attention to the charms you've used with us over the years. Those charms come more naturally to me than most others. The Healing Charms in particular have proved dead useful in my line of work. I'm often alone and scraped up. Your Healing Charms have made my job so much more comfortable on many occasions.

Some of my fondest memories are of times you comforted us as you healed our scrapes and cuts. I knew you loved me from the care you took with me. I remember being so excited the day that Charlie was finally old enough for a junior broom. We spent all our afternoons together in the paddock surrounded by trees, trying out Quidditch moves on those brooms. We'd get so aggravated because they couldn't do the same manoeuvres that we saw the professional players do. We'd push those brooms to their capacity and usually come in for tea all sweaty, scratched and bleeding.

You'd tend to Charlie first because he was younger. Then you'd take me on your lap, wrap a loving arm around me, wave your wand over my wounds and they were healed. Anything deeper than a small gash would require a Healing Potion. You'd hug me tighter while I drank it. Now that I know better, the tight hug was probably so I wouldn't squirm and spill the draught.

My favourite bit of healing is something you've probably never suspected you had. All my time as a child, you'd kiss my bumps and bruises 'all better.' I suppose it's a natural parenting response, trying to make love take the pain away because there was nothing else to do to make a child feel better. And, of course, to a child his mother can fix anything. So why shouldn't she be able to make an injury less painful with just a kiss?

I first noticed this ability of yours one day when we were playing a particularly rough game of Quidditch in the paddock. That was the summer the twins discovered their talent as beaters. They got Ron (They could get Ron to do anything. This was also the summer they nearly got him to make that Unbreakable Vow, remember? I've never seen Dad so angry.) and Ginny to chuck green apples into play so the twins could practise defending. Bleh, what a mess. It was really disgusting to fly headlong into a cloud of apple mash and aphids. Makes me nauseous to think about it even now

You let us play through tea-time, so we didn't come in for supper until it became too dark to see. Your reaction as we crowded through the kitchen door was priceless. I don't think there's a charm in the world that could have done anything to piece together that pitcher you dropped. The lot of us were scratched, bruised and bleeding. I caught a look in the kitchen mirror when you gasped. Percy, Charlie and I each sported a beautiful shiner in addition to the bruising and bloody scratches on our arms. We had leaves and bits of twig in our hair. The twins were coated with chunks of pulverised apple and dead bugs and had, in fact, brought a cloud of aphids in with them. Their sticky hair jutted out at odd angles. Little Ron and Ginny had apple mash in their hair and long, dirty scrapes up their legs and forearms. We'd none of us realised we were injured until you reacted to the sight of us. At that moment, the little ones began to cry, and I suddenly felt the stings of my hurts. You gathered Ron and Ginny into your arms, planted kisses near their scratches and reassured them. Messy as we were, you hugged each of us in turn, kissed our black eyes and sent us off to bathe. When I got to the bath, I was quite surprised to see that the swelling around my eye had gone down. It still looked colourful, but I could open it fully. I hadn't heard you cast a healing charm and couldn't imagine how it had begun healing so quickly.

I noticed it again during Christmas Holiday my sixth year. I'd fallen down the Burrow stairs trying to carry up Percy's school trunk and banged my head something fierce. You sat next me on the bottom step and kissed my forehead. After a moment, the throbbing suddenly subsided. That was quite odd, but I decided maybe you'd cast a silent Healing Charm, and I'd just not noticed your wand move.

I finally understood what happened when I read an ancient text from the tomb where I broke curses during my last trip to Egypt. The scroll revealed a branch of magic whose source of power is grounded in love. It mentioned that the most common charm in this branch is the Mother's Kiss of Comfort. The Kiss speeds healing and provides a certain amount of anaesthetic. It's a very ancient magic inherent in the very being of almost all witches whether they invoke it or not. Occasionally wizards have the capacity as well. Of course, like any spell, it can be amplified with concentration, practise and circumstance.

It's amazing that this Healing Charm, while lost from common knowledge has survived in our lore and become so popular. It's tradition, something you do because you have warm memories of a parent doing it for you. It's something I'll do for my children because of you. So there you go, Mum. Power you knew not. I always thought you were amazing.

It'll be lovely to see you this weekend. I'm looking forward to having you get to know Fleur. She's a great girl, Mum. I hope you and Dad like her. She's very nervous about meeting you. See you Saturday.

With love,

Bill