By his own hand

Chapter eleven

Hermione had an idea and with Neville they went to speak with the matron, ‘Madam Pomfrey.’

‘Are you two injured?’

‘No ma’am, Hermione was curious about something that you would know.’

‘Come and sit down,’ Poppy stared at the two children, ‘You’ve lost weight Miss Granger.’

‘I’m sorry, since Harry,’ Hermione felt the tears come again, ‘I just haven’t wanted to eat. I keep thinking that I should have seen how much he was suffering. I was giving up, I thought I should die for allowing Harry to go through that.’

‘No, no one is to blame apart from the people who caused his suffering, which wasn’t you, it wasn’t any of you. Naturally friends will fight and argue, but it was more than that which was making Harry depressed. It’s time now to look after yourself and hope we can prevent this from happening again.’

‘That’s what I’m curious about. In the muggle world we have doctors and councilors to help people who are depressed or suffering in some way. I saw a child psychiatrist when I was six. My parent’s thought something was wrong with me when I kept saying I was making things move by themselves. I spoke with him for almost a year. It didn’t help me since it was my magic and I couldn’t explain. But these people do a lot of good. This is not just about Harry either. Because of what happened to Ginny in her first year, she suffered from nightmares and until recently, she kept to herself. Fred and George said that was not the way Ginny normally was. The possession affected Ginny and Harry was abused which is the reason he…’ Hermione took a calming breath, ‘I was wondering if the magical world had healers that helped people who needed it?’

‘No, most people will never speak with anyone outside of their family. But after this tragedy maybe it is time our world did more to help those that need it. I will speak with a few of my friends at St Mungo’s, see what they have to say. It is a good idea Miss Granger and if we had those types of healers then maybe Harry would still be with us.’

‘So they help with people that have been hurt?’ Neville asked.

‘With all sorts of problems. Some are suicidal, some are depressed, some have problems like drugs or alcohol. There are many different reasons why someone will speak with a psychiatrist or councilor.’

‘Leave it with me. But if you happen to notice any other child having problems, let me know. Hopefully I can help even if I am not trained to speak with anyone about their problems. I am only a healer, let’s hope I have enough experience to make a difference.’

‘Thanks Madam Pomfrey.’

Sirius was watching Evan as he stood near the water. It had been three weeks since he woke up. Evan had no idea who he truly was but he seemed to accept the story Sirius had told him. Ever since Evan had been able to get around himself, he spent a lot of time near the water. Sirius offered to go into the water with Evan, he declined. It made Sirius curious as to why Evan never stepped into the water.

Evan turned his head when he heard someone approaching, ‘I’m not sure why I don’t go in, but staring at the water makes me nervous. I’m trying to figure out why.’

‘There was nothing in your mother’s letters about water, or if you even knew how to swim. You don’t have to Evan but if you ever want to, you know I will be right beside you.’

‘Maybe one day I will. It’s why I come down here every day, it’s so I can see if my feelings changed. Not having any memory makes it difficult because I could have a problem with water or I had some accident in the water. I wish I could remember.’

‘I know you’re frustrated Evan, but it’s like what the healer said. You can’t force your memory and for all we know you will never remember. Let’s just start fresh with everything. I thought I could take you to the mainland tomorrow so you can buy yourself some clothes that you pick out and not your father.’

‘Can I get a wand?’

‘We can do that. I’ve only been waiting until you were ready then I can begin to teach you.’

‘Do you know why I never went to school?’

‘No, your mother never said. As she wrote in her letter, she decided to teach you herself because of the war. Maybe that’s all it was, she didn’t want you out of her sight with dark wizards around.’

‘Yeah, maybe. I don’t mind but it would be nice to have others to talk to.’

‘What about this,’ Sirius sat in the sand and gestured for Evan to sit, ‘Remus and I will teach you magic but why don’t you think about some type of club that you could join.’

‘You mean like dancing or something?’

‘Maybe, it depends on what you like. We can go every few days and see what’s about. Now I learnt how to play a piano when I was young but I was taught by my mother. Most families like mine used to learn how to play a musical instrument. I ended up hating it after a while but now that I’m not forced to practice it might be nice to pick it up again. I might buy a piano and see if I like it or if I feel the way I used to feel. If you did find something that interest you then you would meet others with the same interest.’

‘Okay, sounds like a plan. I might like playing, or I might not then I could find something different.’

‘We’ll keep trying until you do. You might like to do something physical, like a sport.’

‘So my mother never mentioned a sport?’

‘No, but she did say you were a good flyer,’ Sirius smiled when Evan looked confused, ‘We use brooms to fly and the magical world has a sport called quidditch where you fly on a broom to play. There are seven members on each team, a keeper who protects the three goals. Three chasers who have to use a ball called a quaffle and they throw it through one of the goals to score points. There are two beaters who hit a ball called a bludger at the opposing team members to stop them scoring, or to stop the seeker, who is the final member of the team. A seeker has to find the golden snitch, a very small and very fast little ball. The game of quidditch does not end until the snitch is caught. If I remember correctly, the longest game went for nearly four days. They had to keep bringing in reserves so everyone could get some sleep. Every four years teams from every country around the world will put together their best teams from all the teams. They will play until two teams play for the final where they win the quidditch world cup, and a lot of money. I’ve only seen a few games and I never went to a quidditch world cup. When they are announced, the tickets sell quickly. Now because we’re magical and the muggles aren’t allowed to see anything magical, it takes a lot of preparation to put on the world cup. A different country will host it every four years. There was one played only a few months ago. But if you ever want to see what it’s like, local teams play against each every couple of weeks. I could get us tickets if you want.’

‘Well, since it is our sport I suppose I should see what it’s like. Do you have one of these brooms?’

‘I have a few here. One I bought for you in the hope we could fly together, there’s a spare in case Remus wants to fly. He is not big on flying, but he can fly, he just prefers to read.’

‘I noticed. What about you, what do you like to do?’

‘I’m still trying to work that out pup. When the war was on many of us joined the aurors or hit wizards so we could help fight the dark wizards. I’m not the most responsible person or that serious either, so I never planned to remain as an auror. I just never figured out what I wanted to do. I had money so I decided to just take my time, then time just seemed to slip away. Right now all I want to do is get to know my son and help him learn about the magical world you were born into.’

‘Thanks dad. But what types of careers can someone like us have?’

‘Well, there’s the aurors who go after the worst dark wizards. The hit wizards who are more like muggle police but they can deal with dark and dangerous wizards as well, if they need to. We have a ministry of magic with our own minister. The ministry has many different departments from magical games and sports to the misuse of muggle artifacts office. The magical law enforcement department and the department of mysteries. No one really knows what the unspeakables do just that they work in the department of mysteries. You also have the department of experimental charms and potions. You have the department of magical transport, which is split into three sections. First is the floo network, that’s travel by magical fire using a fireplace. You have port key’s which is a charmed item that will take a small or large group of people somewhere all at once, they also work for travel overseas. Then you have apparition, which you’ve seen me and Remus do. Once you learn you have to do a test then get a license if you pass. If you don’t do it right you can splinch yourself which means you could leave a piece of your body behind. It’s not very nice. There are wand makers, broom makers, curse breakers, healers, medi-witches and warders. Then you have the things like the muggles have, like lawyers and someone that works in real estate. Shop owners, accountants, so many son. You’ll see some tomorrow.’

Evan had no idea about most of what his dad was talking about, but he knew he had time and he also knew his dad would discuss all that as part of his lessons.