Arthur Weasley - a Father or a Mindhealer
Theodore Nott had not wanted to see the mindhealer. Not willingly. Arthur Weasley did not really care what it was that Theodore wanted, and he said as much when he sat him down at his kitchen table.
When they had returned from St. Mungos, Arthur could tell how broken and devestated Theodore felt. He had seen Bill like this when he was first scarred — afraid he would never get to have a normal life, a normal family.
And then Fleur Delacour came along —
And that was the thing that Arthur didn’t think Theodore Nott was understanding. Theo would be able to have a family, if he had the patience to figure out what his condition is.
And while Arthur absolutely believed that there was a bloodcurse on Evelyn Nott and her son, Arthur was of the opinion that young Theodore was making everything worse for himself.
Arthur had heard of this term while watching old tapes of Muggle therapy sessions — whilst it was a violation of the Muggle patient’s privacy, it provided invaluable knowledge to the wizard. Not that he was ever going to share the information he learned. It had helped him to better understand the Muggle condition.
Theodore struggled from something known as anxiety — of this, Arthur was sure. While Arthur Weasley was no mindhealer, he did understand what he saw in his children as mental stressors brought on by the war.
Bill struggled from a sort of traumatic stress. When the full moon came around, it wasn’t just the moon that was wreaking havoc on Bill’s mental state. It was worry — he did not want to hurt his wife and child.
Charlie was sort of a rogue, in terms of the sort of stress that he struggled from involving the war. Arthur could tell that there was guilt that rested under his most jovial son’s skin. Perhaps it was from not being there when Fred died. Perhaps he felt guilty for coming away from the war less scathed than the rest of the Weasleys. Arthur wasn’t entirely sure.
Percy struggled from a different sort of stress, particularly when he was around the rest of the Weasley clan. He felt as if he did not fit in and as such, he distanced himself. He expected less of his family so that, in turn, he did not feel as disappointed when his family inevitably did not understand him.
George felt a similar guilt to Charlie, but tenfold. Arthur could tell that he would rather be with Fred than be here alone. Arthur understood the feeling, though, he couldn’t say he didn’t feel shame when he did not feel the same way. Arthur had a life here and a legacy to uphold. He would do better than the generation before him.
His youngest son, Ronald, was another issue entirely. The fame had gotten to his head and he threw his weight around a little too much for Arthur’s comfort. He felt entitled to things that were not entirely rightfully his.
And finally, his daughter — well, Arthur couldn’t even begin to comprehend the things that happened in his darling girl’s mind.
To an extent, Harry, Hermione, and now this young, wayward Theodore, were like children to him, too — and so he studied.
Harry seemed well-adjusted to the ghosts of his past. He was a happy father who doted on his wife and children — shame that it couldn’t be Ginny, though.
Hermione felt misunderstood, Arthur thought, perhaps that was why she ran away with her child? At least, that was Arthur’s first thought. He wasn’t sure what he really thought the situation was, not anymore. The Hermione of ten years ago was an open book. This young woman was sharp, confusing. He didn’t know what to truly make of her.
Theodore was a lot easier for Arthur to read and to understand. Arthur himself had once been in Theodore’s shoes — all he wanted was to be able to provide a name and a title to his loving, doting wife. Molly Prewett had not a care in the world for any of that nonsense, and she let Arthur know it from the beginning.
Despite being Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Weasleys had remained as poor as church mice until the Weasley children had started to provide their own incomes — and the Minister for Magic’s salary was nothing to turn your nose up at.
All of his thoughts on his various and wayward children aside — the mindhealer would pop round for tea and biscuits in the morning, and Theodore would begin to work through his issues, whether he liked it or not.