Jolene Strange and the War of the Worlds

Jolene Strange and the War of the Worlds

Disclaimer:
See chapter 1.

Rating:
M

Genre:
Drama|Action/Adventure|Angst|Hurt/Comfort|Family|Romance

Pairings:
IronStrange|Harlene|Romione

Lyrics Used:
Avril Lavigne – “Head Above Water”
Ashley Tisdale - "Under Pressure"

Head Above Water

I’ve gotta keep the calm before the storm | I don’t want less I don’t want more | Must bar the windows and the doors | To keep me safe to keep me warm | Yeah my life is what I’m fighting for | Can’t part the sea can’t reach the shore | And my voice becomes the driving force | I won’t let this pull me overboard

God, keep my head above water | Don’t let me drown it gets harder | I’ll meet you there at the altar | As I fall down to my knees | Don’t let me drown, drown, drown| Don’t let me don’t let me don’t let me drown

          Stephen had to admit.  As far as first thestral rides go, this was a pretty good one.  Granted, it would have, obviously, been better without the threat of a war looming over them.  But he couldn’t deny that he was enjoying the flight, so far.  Looking down at the cityscape below them, Stephen had to admit that it was a beautiful sight.  And the thestral they rode had a certain noble air about it.  As they flew, Stephen’s mind began to wander to thoughts of his daughter.  Ever since he took on Kaecilius, Stephen had always hoped that Jolene would have found a more peaceful life for herself.  He had always hoped that Jolene would never have to live the life of a hero.  Yet, here, she was. … Following in both his and his husband’s footsteps.  But, then again … What did he really expect of the daughter of Iron Man and the Sorcerer Supreme?  He supposed he really should have seen this coming.

          Jolene, on the other hand, was considering the situation she’d found herself in.  Part of her was glad to have her father by her side as she and her friends took on Voldemort.  She loved her family dearly and had definitely not been looking forward to the thought of being separated from them for an indefinite period of time without the guarantee of ever seeing them, again.  The young witch knew that there would always be a small part of her that would always want her dads there with her.  But she had also wanted to keep her family safe.  She knew the risks that she was taking but her dads couldn’t possibly know the full extent of what Voldemort and his goons were capable of.  Hell, she wasn’t even entirely certain that she knew the full extent of what Voldemort and his death eaters were capable of.  But she did know how much the muggle world depended on Iron Man and her father and the other Avengers.  She couldn’t risk leaving the muggle world without two of their greatest heroes.  Not to mention – if anything were to ever happen to either of her fathers – Jolene would never forgive herself.

          However, both of their inner monologues were soon cut short when Jolene caught sight of a Death Eater out of the corner of her eye.  She saw the death eater with just enough time to dodge a curse thrown their way.  “Shit.” She cursed, quietly.  “HANG ON!” She warned her father, drawing the wand from its sheath on her calf.  Throwing her own curse back at the offending witch or wizard.  “Damn.” She muttered, under her breath, when she saw that her curse missed.

          “What’s going on?” Stephen called out, over the sound of the wind rushing around them.

          “Death Eaters!” Jolene cried out, firing off more defensive spells as more Death Eaters emerged from the clouds around them.  Stephen let out a pained yelp as a spell lacerated his bicep through his robes.  “You okay?” Jolene asked, hearing her father’s yelp.

          “Fine.” Stephen ground out, throwing off his own magical defenses, surrounding them with a sparking mandala shield.  “It’s just superficial.” He lied, watching the blood stain his sleeve.

          Jolene didn’t believe her father, but, she didn’t really have time to question him, at the moment.  Down below, she spotted Mad Eye Moody in his sidecar.  From her vantage point, the older wizard appeared to be holding his own, well enough.  So, she directed her focus to the Death Eaters surrounding them.  She would have been lying if she said she hadn’t enjoyed the dumbfounded looks on their faces as they tried to figure out her father’s shield.  However, she could see their spells and curses weakening her father’s defenses.  Jolene noted a wand trained on herself and her father and urged the thestral into a steep dive as her father clung tighter to her waist.  Righting the thestral again as they cleared the curse thrown their way, she aimed her own wand at their would-be killer.  She hated the triumphant feeling that chilled her to her very core as she watched the menacing green glow fly out of her wand and hit her target, square in the chest.  Watching the Death Eater fall out of the sky, she fired several more curses off in various directions as she systematically eliminated the remaining Death Eaters.

          Stephen couldn’t deny the sense of pride he felt, watching his daughter fending off their attackers.  Once she had eliminated all but two assailants – one directly in front of them and one off to the side – he summoned one of his mystical whips and lassoed one of the assailants around the middle as he sent them colliding into the other assailant.  Once he had lined up the shot, he sent an extra jolt of power through the whip – stunning their opponents – as his daughter fired off a final kill shot.

          With their opponents cleared, Jolene heaved a sigh of relief as she and her father caught their breath.  Reaching around behind her, she accepted her father’s high five.  “You were awesome!” She praised.

          “You were pretty impressive, yourself.” Stephen beamed, at her, proudly.

          Jolene was about to thank her father for the praise until another sight caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.  “Damn.” She breathed, urging the thestral toward Mad Eye Moody.  “Mad Eye’s in trouble!” She explained, urgently, as she watched the wizard’s sidecar bobbing and weaving, erratically.  She, then, noticed that the wizard was unconscious.  Snapping into action, she placed her thumb and middle finger in the corners of her lips as she let out a loud whistle and pointing toward the unconscious wizard.  Stephen was startled to feel the Cloak of Levitation leave his shoulders it seemed to follow an unspoken command and hurtled toward the sidecar.  Turning toward his daughter, Stephen watched in awe as his daughter stared, intently, at the wizard and muttered spells and incantations under her breath – her focus eerily intent.  Turning his gaze back to the sidecar, Stephen’s eyes widened in fascination as the sidecar pulled away from the wizard who levitated in midair as the cloak wrapped around him, tightly, before carrying him to rest, horizontally.  “Keep him safe until we get to the Burrow.” She instructed the cloak.  When did the cloak start taking orders from her?  Stephen briefly wondered.

I can’t see in the storm weather | I can’t seem to keep it all together | And I, I can’t swim the ocean like this forever | And I can’t breathe | God, keep my head above water | I lose my breath at the bottom | Come rescue me, I’ll be waiting | I’m too young to fall asleep

          “Jolene!” Harry cried in relief as Jolene walked through the door, though, he couldn’t deny that the young witch looked tired and weary as he threw his arms around her slender frame and her chestnut brown waves concealed his face as he buried it in the crook of her neck for a moment before finally releasing her as he added “I was so worried!”

          “Yeah.” Jolene replied, allowing herself a moment to enjoy the embrace of the young wizard that had stolen her heart long ago.  She wasn’t sure exactly when it happened or if it had even happened in one moment or slowly, over time.  But she knew there was denying it.  The strength of her feelings for the young wizard went far deeper than simple friendship.  Not that she would ever admit such a concept out loud.  “With good reason.” She added, her chest still heaving from the battle that had ensued en route to the Burrow.  “We were right.” She added cryptically as her father and the cloak brought Moody in the door.

          “Bloody hell.” Harry breathed as he watched the cloak lay Moody out across the couch while Jolene’s father set to work, examining him.

          “What happened?” Molly Weasley asked, worriedly, torn between checking on Moody and the young witch that had just entered her home.

          “I’m fine, Mrs. Weasley.”  Jolene replied, warmly as the Weasley matriarch tried to check her over.  “We encountered some Death Eaters on our way over here – just as I predicted – and my dad and Moody got hit.”  She added, pulling her bag out and rummaging through.  “Moody getting the worst of it, obviously.” She added, setting up a steel table and spreading out a myriad of muggle surgical instruments on it and muttering sterilization spells over the instruments.

          “What are you doing?” Stephen asked, curiously, as he turned his attention away from the wounded wizard to his daughter.

          “You’re the surgeon.” Jolene replied, cheekily as she setup the last of the makeshift OR.  Stephen was impressed.  She had it all; needles, syringes, scalpels, sutures, clamps, hemostats, retractors, rib spreaders, forceps, forceps with teeth, sterile saline, basins, and even drugs and IVs and an IV pole.  “You tell me.” She added, smiling proudly.

          “Jolene, you know that’s behind me.” Stephen told his daughter, in an urgent, hushed tone.  “You know I haven’t been able to–”

          “-perform surgery since your accident.” Jolene finished her father’s sentence for him.  “I know.” She added.  “But I also know that there happens to be a potion that they use at St. Mungo’s to treat – and more importantly – cure nerve damage like yours.”  She added, in the same urgent, hushed tone.  “And, I found the recipe and mastered the art of making that very same potion for myself.”

          Stephen just stared at his daughter in wonder.  Could there really be a cure for his damaged hands?  He had long ago given up the idea that it would ever be possible.  But now … Could he really afford to let himself hope?  But he had always trusted his daughter.  Why should he stop now?  Clearly, Jolene was thoroughly prepared and obviously seemed sure of herself.  “You mean…”  He still couldn’t bring himself to voice it out loud – almost as if it would make the possibility suddenly disappear.

          “Do you trust me?” Jolene asked, holding her father’s tremulous gaze with her own steady one.  She knew the answer, but she needed him to say it.

          “Yes.” Stephen found his mouth forming the response before he’d even had a moment to think about it.  It was a deeply seeded, deeply felt, instinctual response.  Down at his core, he knew he would never truly doubt his daughter.

          “Then, give me your hands.” Jolene ordered – her voice warm yet still firm.  “We don’t have a lotta time and I know you know better than anyone else in this room that Moody’s fading fast.”

          Stephen did as he was ordered and held his hands out for his daughter.  He mentally cursed the trembling for which he knew was not to be blamed upon his nerve damage.  Silently, he watched as his daughter steadied herself before pulling a vial out of her bag which held an impossibly never-ending supply.  I really should ask her about that. He briefly thought to himself as he watched her attach a syringe to a needle before dipping the needle into the vial.  It seemed to take forever as he watched her pull up on the plunger as the syringe slowly filled with a sapphire blue liquid which seemed to glow though Stephen couldn’t be sure if he was actually seeing the glow or if it was just something his imagination had conjured up.  Drawing a steadying breath, Stephen fought to clear his mind of the millions of questions racing through his mind as he tried to calm the raging storm of anxiety and hope that surged through his entire body.  There would be time for questions and answers, later.

          Jolene braced herself.  She had long wanted to present this potion to her father.  But she had hoped that she would have the opportunity to test it a little more in depth before presenting it to her father.  If the potion failed, she wasn’t sure she would be able to face her father’s disappointment.  He had longed for the day that his hands would be steady without the constant use of magic; the day when he could operate, once again.  Now, not only did her father’s own hopes and dreams ride on this, but Moody’s life was hanging in the balance as well.  While she had never wanted this kind of weight on her shoulders, Jolene welcomed it even as she would an old friend.  Sending up a silent prayer to whatever deity might be listening, Jolene carefully inserted the eye of the needle into the vein on the back of Stephen’s hand.  Stephen flinched momentarily at the pain of the needle piercing his flesh, but otherwise, remained steady as his daughter slowly pressed the plunger of the syringe as the potion was steadily released into his bloodstream.  After a moment, Jolene kept her gaze trained on the needle in her father’s hand as she quietly barked out a simple order.  “Harry.  Cotton ball.”  The simple two-word command was vague to the rest of their captive audience but the young wizard to whom the command had been directed snapped out of his awestruck trance as he handed her the requested item.  Pressing the cotton ball over the place where the needle had entered her father’s hand, Jolene carefully extracted the needle.  Time had seemed to have frozen for the people around them as Jolene gently applied a steady pressure to the cotton.  Everyone around them watched on pins and needles the sorcerer’s trembling hand.  After a moment, the trembling in the treated hand slowed and then … was completely gone.  It was just … gone.

          Stephen hadn’t even known he’d closed his eyes when they suddenly snapped open when he felt the constant pain that had become an unfortunate and unwanted part of his life ever since his accident completely vanish.  As he stared, in shock at the hand to which his daughter still pressed the cotton ball, he didn’t dare let himself believe it when he held it out in the air with absolutely no tremors, whatsoever.  In what had felt like the blink of an eye, Jolene had released her grip on his hand, and he held it up in front of his face – inspecting it, closely.  Oh … My … God.  He thought in awestruck silence.  It was even steadier than his hands had been prior to his accident.  I must be dreaming.  He thought to himself.

          Meanwhile, his daughter’s face broke out in a proud, ear-to-ear, grin.  “It worked.” She breathed, dumbfounded that her potion had worked.

          “You sound surprised.” Harry shrugged, smiling with the pride that he felt for the young witch that had unknowingly stolen his heart.  Though, he’d never voiced his attraction to Jolene aloud, he’d been captivated by her beauty since the moment he first laid eyes on her on the Hogwarts Express as they all traveled to Hogwarts for their first year.  Her long, flowing, chestnut locks framed her angular face, perfectly.  And, her rich chocolate eyes accented her diamond-cutting cheekbones almost angelically.  As they’d grown over the years, Harry came to appreciate her elongated and sophisticated form accented with subtle glimpses of the muscles that had developed just beneath the skin.  Her smooth porcelain skin seemed to glow in the right lighting and when it did, it took his breath away.  And, her physical beauty was surpassed only by her intelligence and wit.  She was sharp as a whip – even giving Hermione Granger a run for her academic money.  He hadn’t doubted her potion-making skills for even a second.

          Grinning sheepishly, she quietly thanked her friend for the words of praise as she readied another dose of the potion for her father’s other hand.  Once the potion was readied, Stephen held out his other hand – this time, with much more eagerness than he had done, the first time.  This time, he was emboldened with the knowledge that the first dose had already worked.  Once again, he grimaced for a moment as the needle pierced his skin.  But he closed his eyes as smiled as the potion was released into his bloodstream.  Once both of his hands had steadied, he grinned like the damn Cheshire Cat as he spoke.  “Let’s do this.”

So, pull me up from down below | ‘Cause I’m underneath the undertow | Come dry me off and hold me close | I need you now, I need you most

          “That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!” Jolene declared, clapping her hands before waving her hands, excitedly with a small celebratory hop, as she transfigured her and her father’s clothes into scrubs before conjuring a surgical gown.  Moving to stand behind her father, she helped him into the surgical gown.

          “We all set?” Stephen asked pulling a surgical mask over his face while Jolene pulled on her own mask before snapping on her own surgical gloves.

          “Almost.” Jolene winked, setting an iPod into its docking station.  As she tapped the screen, Stephen smiled as music began to play.

Woke up feeling really down, down, down.  In my head I felt a pound, pound, pound.  Gotta turn this thing around, round, round.

          Stephen cocked a brow at Jolene as the music filled the room.  “Oh, don’t think I don’t know what went down in that OR of yours all those times you operated, in the past.”  Jolene smirked, as she cast a quick levitating spell over Moody so that her father could operate on him.  “And, you know damn well how appropriate this song is right now.” She added, with a cocky wink.

          “All right, then.” Stephen smiled, under his mask.  “Let’s get to work.” He added as his daughter moved to stand by his side.  “Scalpel.” He barked, slipping right back into his surgical rhythm.

          “Scalpel.” Jolene confirmed, pressing the handle of the requested instrument into her father’s waiting palm.

I gotta get through this.  I can’t afford to be stuck in this, yeah.

The song continued to play as the witches and wizards all watched the operation in fascination.

Trying not to let it show, show, show.  But, inside, I’m feelin’ low, low, low.

Once he’d made the incision, Stephen couldn’t stop the grimace at the sight of all the internal damage caused by whatever curse or curses Moody’d been hit with.  “Damn.” He muttered.  “Lap sponge.”  He ordered, hurriedly.

          “Sponge.” Jolene confirmed, passing her father the requested item. 

I can’t let it stop me, no, no, no.

The song played on as the surgeon continued to operate.  “God, what a mess!” Stephen muttered, as more witches and wizards slowly filed in.  “Rib spreader.” He snapped, waiting for instrument, impatiently.

“Rib spreader.” Jolene confirmed, passing her father the instrument he’d ordered.  The rest of their audience visibly flinched at the sound of Moody’s ribs being forced apart to allow the surgeon entrance to his thoracic cavity.

I gotta get through this, I can’t afford to be stuck in this.

          “What–” Kingsley Shacklebolt began to ask only to be silenced by death-glares from Stephen and Jolene while the other spectators all chimed in with a chorus of shushes.

All this weight is hard to take

          “What’s going on in here?” Nymphadora Tonks whispered to Molly Weasley as she slipped into the Burrow and came to stand by the Weasley matriarch.

          “Mad Eye was wounded during the transfer.” Molly explained in hushed tones as she continued to watch the surgery in awestruck fascination.  “Jolene used a potion on her father to steady his hands so that he could perform the necessary surgery to help him.”

But I won’t break

          “Hemostat.” Stephen barked, holding out an open palm, expectantly.

          “Hemostat.” Jolene confirmed, curtly, pressing the requested instrument into her father’s waiting palm.

          Meanwhile, Hermione and Fleur had touched down at the same time as Ron and his partner.  “C’mon, Ron!” Hermione urged.  “It’s most fascinating thing!  Doctor Strange is operating on Mad Eye!” She added, excitedly dragging the wizard into his home.

I’ve been under pressure.  Feeling tight.

          “Clamp.” Stephen ordered, curtly, not taking his eyes off his patient.

          “Clamp.” Jolene confirmed, pressing the handle of the requested instrument into his palm.

          “I found the bleeder.” Stephen muttered, clamping off the bleeding artery.  “Now, for the real fun.” He mused.  “He’s got an aortic aneurysm.”

          “What’s that?” Hermione wondered aloud, before, clapping her hands over her mouth, clearly embarrassed at having broken the tense silence.  Jolene just smiled, knowingly, under her mask.  She knew Hermione’s curiosity would eventually get the better of her.  Honestly, she was surprised her friend had held out as long as she had.

          “It’s an abnormal bulge in the walls of the major blood vessel carrying blood out of the heart and into the rest of the body.” Stephen couldn’t resist the wide, proud, smile the burst out underneath his mask as his daughter answered the young witch’s question while he continued his operation.  “The aneurysm causes the walls of the blood vessel to weaken and – in some cases – can rupture.” Jolene continued, pausing as her father ordered another instrument.

          “Sutures.” The surgeon interjected, curtly.

          “Sutures.” Jolene confirmed, handing her father the suture thread he requested, before continuing to answer her friend’s question.  “If the aneurysm had ruptured, we’d be burying Moody, right now, rather than operating on him.” She added.  “Either way, Moody’s outta the game.” She added, grimly.  “Even if my dad pulls this operation off and saves his life–”

          Stephen cut his daughter’s speech short with a snort of derision.  “If?” He scoffed.

          “Arrogant, narcissistic blowhard.” Jolene muttered.  Stephen didn’t need to see under his daughter’s mask to know there was no malice or ill-will behind the sentiment as her voice gave away her jest.  “As I was saying…” Jolene added, clearly directing the comment at her father who just smirked, mischievously, beneath his mask.  “The recovery’s gonna be rough.  He’s gonna need a lot of bed rest.” She added, finishing her previous thought.  “So, he’s outta commission, either way.”

But I’m done with stressors.  I’ve gotta live my life.  I gotta live my life, yeah.

          “That just about has it.” Stephen smiled, proudly, clearly impressed by his own work.  “I’ve got the aneurysm by the tail.” He elaborated.  “Just checking for any other bleeders.” He muttered.

I’ve been feeling pressure.  Crushin’ on my bones.  I guess it’s now or never.  I got to let them go.

          By the time Stephen was ready to close, the rest of the Order of the Phoenix had crowded themselves into the living room.  All except one.  “Where’s George?” Fred Weasley quietly whispered to his father, as he noted his twin brother’s absence.

          “I dunno.”  Arthur Weasley admitted, reluctantly.  “I’m beginning to worry about him.” He added, searching for his missing son, among the crowd.

I’ve been feeling pressure.  Weighing on my mind.  I guess it’s now or never.  I’ve got to live my life.

          Jolene noted the hushed, worried whispers floating around the room.  She couldn’t make out the words, but she knew they were all looking for something – or someone.  However, before she could question it, her father snapped her out of her reverie. 

You won’t ever see my cry, cry, cry.  Though it’s hard, I’m gonna fight, fight, fight.  Take my worries, tell ‘em bye, bye, bye.

          “Jolene.” Stephen repeated his daughter’s name a little more forcefully with a concerned look in his eye when she had failed to respond to a previous attempt to gain her attention.

          “What?” Jolene snapped, suddenly, before she realized what had happened.  Shaking her head clear, she added, sheepishly “Sorry.”

          “I said, we’re ready to close.” Stephen repeated, still eying his daughter worriedly.  “You okay?”

          “Yeah, sorry.” Jolene replied, shaking off the question.

          “All right.” Stephen didn’t fully believe his daughter’s answer, but there would be time to question her, later.  Right now, they needed to close their patient.  “Three-oh silk.” He ordered.

          “Three-oh silk.” Jolene confirmed, passing her father the requested thread.  Scanning the room, once again, she finally figured out the reason for all the hushed whispers.  There were two people conspicuously absent from their rather captive audience.  Shit.  She thought to herself.  “Where are George and Lupin?” She asked.

          Briefly looking up from the stitches he’d been placing to close the incision from his operation, Stephen took in the worried glances all around them.  Shaking his head, he returned his focus to the task at hand.  However, his attention was soon drawn back to the crowd as the aforementioned wizards stumbled through the door, rather loudly.

I gotta get through this.  I’m not gonna be oppressed by this.  All this weight is hard to take.  But I won’t break.

          “We need some help, over here!” Remus Lupin called out, stumbling into the Burrow while struggling to support George’s weight as the younger wizard leaned into him, heavily.  “George has been hurt.” He added.  “Badly.”

I’ve been under pressure.  Feeling tight. But, I’m done with stressors.  I’ve gotta live my life.  I’ve gotta live my life, yeah.

          “Put him over there.” Stephen barked, jerking his head toward the chair off to the side of the living room.  “I’m just about done, over here.” He added, turning his focus to his daughter.  “Go check him out.  Let me know what we’re dealing with.”

I won’t let it shake me.  No, no, no.

          “You got it.” Jolene replied, her voice laden with an unmissable urgency, as she stepped away from Moody, before discarding her bloodied gloves into an empty basin.  Summoning a fresh pair of gloves, she hurried over to where the Weasley twin was sat in a recliner that had been reclined all the way back to allow the wounded wizard to rest.

          “I would have gotten hurt a lot sooner if I’d known it meant up close and personal attention from you, love.” George Weasley spoke, flirting with the young witch, playfully.  However, his quiet and tired voice gave away the weakness that he felt throughout his entire body.  Stephen, however, glared at the young wizard in warning as he heard the boy flirting with his daughter.

          “Yeah.” Jolene chuckled, lightly.  “You’re gonna be fine.” She muttered, under her breath as she knelt by George’s side.  However, her amusement was short-lived as she took in the sight of the amount of blood that George was losing – and fast.  Fuck.  She thought to herself, struggling to keep her concerns to herself so as to avoid worrying her young patient.  “Uh, dad … We got a problem, here!” She called out to her father as she gently tilted and positioned George’s head so that she could examine the injury.

I won’t let it take control

          “How bad?” Stephen called out in response as he continued to work on finishing his operation.

I’ve been under pressure. Feeling tight.  But I’m done with stressors.  I’ve gotta live my life.  I’ve gotta live my life, yeah.

          “Bad!” Jolene called out – cursing herself as she realized herself by the sound of all the worried gasps and whispers around her.  Way to go, Strange.  She scolded herself.  Well … We’re already down the rabbit hole, anyway.  She figured, as she finished her thought.  “Left ear's been completely severed.” She called out.

I’ve been feeling pressure.  Crushin’ on my bones.  Guess it’s now or never.  I got to let them go.

          Well, shit.  Stephen thought to himself.  He knew that the young wizard needed surgery almost as urgently as the one before him.  That is a problem.  He mentally hummed, as he quickened his pace with his closing stitches.  “Be right there.” He added, trying to re-instill a sense of calm among the panicked audience.

I’ve been feeling pressure.  Weighing on my mind.

          After he’d finished with Moody, Stephen changed his gloves as he rushed over to where Jolene was attempting to soothe and comfort George while Fred knelt to his other side.  “How ya feelin’, Georgie?” Fred asked, softly, not even caring to hide the concern that he felt for his twin brother.

          “Saint-like.” George hummed, weakly, earning confused stares from Jolene, Fred and Stephen.

          “How’s that?” Fred asked, trying to keep his voice light.

          “I’m holy.” George elaborated, pointing to his missing ear with a shaking finger.  “Get it?” He added, his voice fading as his body weakened from the blood loss.

          “Seriously?” Stephen hummed in disbelief.  “Kid’s on the verge of bleeding out and he’s cracking jokes?” He added.  “He must be delirious!”

          “No, he’s just George.”  Jolene smiled, fondly, stroking the wizard’s hair from his face as she moved to allow her father room to examine the wound for himself.

          Shaking his head in slight amusement, he couldn’t deny the way the young man before him reminded him of Tony.  “I don’t suppose you were able to recover the severed ear.” He evaluated, not taking his eyes off of his examination.

          “Sorry, no.” Remus added, hanging his head in shame as he’d failed to protect his charge.

          Rising from where she knelt by George, Jolene stepped over to where the werewolf stood.  “Hey.” She spoke, gently, commanding Lupin’s gaze.  “It was sheer chaos out there.” She assured him.  “My dad and I barely made it outta there.” She added.  “I had to use essence of Dittany when we landed on a laceration my dad incurred during the attack.”  She added, gently, hoping to offer the elder wizard any measure of comfort she possibly could, in that moment.

          “Jo, I’m gonna need your help, again.” Stephen called out to his daughter.  “Since we don’t have the ear, I can’t reattach it, so, we’ll just have to stitch the wound closed, the best we can, and dress it.” He assessed, as Jolene set to work, bringing over the necessary items.

I guess it’s now or never.  I’ve got to live my life.

          Compared to Moody, it was a simple procedure.  One which Stephen completed in no time by comparison.  Jolene applied a topical anesthetic potion.  Once her father had finally closed the wound, Jolene set to work dressing the wound by covering it with gauze which she also wrapped around his forehead and the back of his head.  Looking up from her young patient, Jolene saw Mrs. Weasley's worried gaze as she quietly rushed over to his side.  "He really will be fine." Jolene assured the Weasley matriarch, warmly, with a supportive hand on the shoulder of the older witch.  "He's tough ... Like his mom." She and Molly shared a warm smile before Molly turned her attention to her son as Jolene turned hers to her father.

         "You still got it." Jolene smirked as she and her father discarded their surgical garb and Jolene cast a sterilization spell over the used surgical instruments before putting everything away and storing it back in her bag.

         "Yeah." Stephen smiled.  "Yeah, all thanks to you." He added, his grateful smile faltering ever so slightly as he took in his daughter's guilty countenance.  "Hey ... What's goin' on in that beautiful mind a yours?" He questioned, gently, lightly gripping his daughter's chin between his thumb and middle finger as he gently urged his daughter to meet his gaze.

         "Nothing." Jolene lied, trying to brush it off.  "Just glad that Mad Eye and George are gonna be okay."

         Stephen knew better than to believe his daughter when she used that tone.  "No..." Stephen drawled, skeptically, with a calculating gaze that told Jolene that he was analyzing her and trying to figure out what she wasn't saying. "That's ... not it."

         Releasing a heavy sigh, she figured she'd just get it overwith.  "It's just..." She began, desperately searching for the right words.  "You have no idea long I've been dying to tell you about that potion." She began, shamefully, looking away.  Jolene knew she wouldn't be able to look her father in the eyes as she answered his question.  "And ... after seeing how well it worked ... And knowing-" The young witch ran her hands through her hair - gripping and tugging in frustration - as she fought back ... either a gasp or a sob.  Honestly, she really didn't know which it would have been.  "Knowing ... how long you waited and prayed and hoped to one day have your steady hands back..." The guilt was overwhelming Jolene as she started to pace anxiously in front the Sorcerer.  "And, now that I know I had the answer ... I could have helped you-"

         Finally Stephen had put the pieces of his daughter's guilt puzzle together.  Taking mercy on his young daughter, he moved to step into her path before lightly gripping her biceps to command her focus onto him.  "Hey." He spoke gently.  "It's okay."  Stephen hated the glassy look in her rich brown eyes.  Tony's eyes.  He briefly allowed himself a moment to allow the memory of Tony to wash over him.  "I understand." He offered.

         "I just wanted to be sure." It was a small, vulnerable, whisper.  Nothing like the strong, confident young woman he'd known his daughter to grow into.

         "I know." Stephen assured her, gently.  As a physician he could understand her reluctance to present him with a treatment that she had no way to guarantee him that it would work.  And, he knew that his daughter knew all about all of his tried and failed experimental procedures in the days, weeks and months that had followed his accident.  He understood her fear of disappointing him all over again if her potion hadn't worked.  "I know."  He repeated, quietly, like a mantra, before pulling his daughter into his chest.  The rest of the surrounding group had all sensed the duo's need for privacy and had all discreetly ducked out to allow them their moment.  As she clung to her father, Jolene knew that he would never hold her reluctance against her.  Just as they both knew that words were not needed in that moment.  What was needed was the unconditional love and support that they shared.  And, in that moment, Jolene had to admit ... Having her dad by her side through this journey ... Might just not be as bad of a thing as she had previously thought.