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Tweak says, "Gimme da kees!"

dh_penelope (dh_penelope) wrote in darkesthour_rpg,
@ 2008-03-10 20:55:00

Entry tags:

charlie weasley, complete, lavender brown, march 2008, oliver wood, penelope clearwater

RP: Healing Hands
Date: March 10, 2008 - late evening
Characters: Penelope Clearwater, Lavender Brown, Charlie Weasley, Oliver Wood
Location: St. Mungo’s, London
Private/Public?: Private
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Penelope wakes up
Complete?: Complete

Caught between the realm of life and death, Penelope lingered - balanced on that fragile thread dissecting the two worlds since that fateful connection with the owl. One would think that it was a peaceful slumber filled with dreams, but in actuality it was a world of grey which Penelope was confined to - alone on a patch of ground with mist swirling around her, obscuring anything in the distance.

Strangely enough, she wasn't afraid. There was nothing to give her that heart-pounding, palm-sweating fear. Every so often, Penelope could hear distant, familiar voices - Charlie - weary and raspy, filled with emotion; Oliver - low and confident, always a hint of a smile; Her mum - lyrical and soothing; and her father - soft and comforting. There were other voices that spoke to her - female and male. Ones that she didn't recognize, but she knew they were friendly. They didn't mean her harm.

Her time on the little patch of ground, standing and looking around seemed forever. Sometimes Penelope would tire of standing, and so she would sit with her arms around her knees, staring off into the mists and wondering just where she was. She had even tried to venture out into the mist but all that would happen is that she would return to the same spot, her hope dashed each time. Where was she and why can't she leave? Was she dead?

Penelope remembered falling down on the cool tile of her clinic's floors, clutching her stomach as her life source pulsed warmly over her clenched fingers. She remembered seeing a familiar glint of red hair and a kind voice, then filled with frantic worry. It hadn't been Charlie - that she was sure of. Penelope had reached down and through the pale silver that was the dress she was wearing she examined her abdomen. It was solid - no gash or flowing blood. No pain.

That was odd.

She felt no pain. Actually, she didn't feel much of anything. It was as if her brain had numbed her senses. The air had no smell, her mouth harbored no taste, her fingertips barely touched. Perhaps that was why everything was so grey - even her eyes couldn't register colour.

A long time had passed and Penelope was bored and tired and decided to lay down, though she couldn't sleep. She closed her eyes, but the weariness remained and sleep evaded her. As she opened her eyes and stared off into the mist, Penelope sighed.

"Where am I?" she whispered softly into the air, the sound echoing off into the mist.

Then, as if finally this world was going to offer and answer, Penelope heard water lapping at a shore. She frowned and raised her head which had been resting on an outstretched arm.

What water? There was no water - only ground. She was sure of it, having gone off in every direction into the mist.

But, water nonetheless was what she heard. The mist in the few feet in front of her shifted, and with the scraping, gritty sound of something hitting the shoreline, Penelope saw the nose of a rowboat come into view. The mist parted, allowing the wood of the boad to gleam wetly brown - the first sign of colour in a long while. Penelope gasped and scrambled to her feet - then nearly fell back down. For a familiar figure in the boat came through the mist - a man whom she hadn't seen in over two years. Not since the day he died.

"Hullo, Nell," Martin said kindly, his shoes thudding softly on the earth.

Penelope gaped, her mouth moving and her fingers trembling as her husband walked towards her. He was whole and unmarred, wearing the same clothing as he did the day the dragon had killed him. Penelope swore if he got closer, he would probably still smell like the clove and sandalwood that he did when he was alive.

"Martin?" she breathed, her voice high and disbelieving.

"Yes. I'm glad that you still recognize me after all this time," Martin told his wife, a small smile playing on his lips. "You look well, sweetheart. As beautiful as I remember."

"I..." Penelope shook her head as if to refocus - her eyes playing tricks on her. Then a thought occurred to her and she sighed with sadness. "Am I dead?"

Martin smiled slightly and moved his head back and forth in the negative. "No, love. You aren't dead. Not yet, anyway. I've come to take you home."

She looked at Martin quizzically, her head cocked to the side and her long curly hair falling slightly over her shoulders. "Home? What do you mean? What is this place, Martin?" Penelope stepped forward and her husband took her hand, still smiling.

"I can't give you those answers, Nell. It isn't your time."

"Time for what?!" Penelope was becoming more agitated as Martin took her hand, which she couldn't tell was warm or cold. It was just...there.

"For me to take you home, love. They're waiting for you. Charlie...your parents. They're all waiting," Martin told her as calm and patient as if he was speaking to a confused child.

She didn't know why, but obediently Penelope let her husband lead her into the wooden row boat and when the boat pushed off shore she looked down as the mist consumed them - and she saw that her dress was blue and her skin was flesh coloured instead of grey.

"Why is it you?" Penelope whispered, looking up at Martin who was sitting across from her in the boat - not rowing since the vessel seemed to be moving across the water on its own. She felt that she should be cold, out on the water with only a thin dress on. But she felt no wind on her bare arms. "Why are you here?"

"It's always the one who loves you who comes to bring you home," Martin told her quietly, looking at Penelope with the love that he spoke of.

Penelope looked down at her hands and if she could, she felt like crying.

"Then why did you leave me before?" she whispered brokenly, looking up from her hands and meeting Martin's quiet, calm eyes.

"I am sorry, Nell," Martin told his wife with sadness, his voice carrying across the water and through the mist. "I wanted to stay."

Penelope swallowed and nodded, then closed her eyes. For whatever reason, she knew he spoke the truth. Hearing it now made it easier to accept.

"I'm sorry too, Martin. I do love you - in my own way," she whispered back, her eyes pleading for him to believe her.

"I know you do, Nell. I know you do. But it's time to say goodbye now, luv," Martin told her, the mist coming in and making it harder for Penelope to see him, though he was only a foot or so away.

"What's happening?" Penelope asked frantically, looking around. The boat swayed back and forth in the water as she shifted.

"Time to say goodbye, luv," Martin repeated and smiled, the mist beginning to envelope him. "I love you."

"Martin - wait! Where...what's happening?!"

"Goodbye."

***********

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, eyelashes quivering against pale cheeks. They felt gritty and gummy, as if she had a hangover. Her tongue darted out to moisten parched lips but could not since her mouth was dry.

Penelope moved her head towards a light, and a kind face looked down at her. A face that said "Hello."

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dh_lavender
2008-03-11 04:38 am UTC (link)

Finally! Finally the Ministry had given her information that was useful. Finally Lavender could do something to help Penelope Clearwater. She felt lighter, being no longer useless, as she strode purposefully toward Miss Clearwater’s room. Waiting for her there, were several nurses, an animal healing expert, a ministry official with the owl, and, of course, her patient, lying unconscious on her bed. Not for much longer, Penelope, Lavender vowed.

She warned the official and all unnecessary personnel to stay back, they were dealing with a piece of Miss Clearwater’s magic here, the only piece that could heal her, the only piece that could save her life, and no one had better get in the way of that. The hitwizards were still on Lavender’s list of she-didn’t-know-what-but-it-sure-wasn’t-good, even if they finally gave in and gave her what she needed. After casting a charm to block all outside magic, and seal the room, Lavender paused, taking a deep breath. This was not a procedure she was particularly familiar with, seeing as how she had never heard of a case like this. That was okay. Difficult and rare was her specialty. The animal specialist would do his part, and then she could do hers.

The owl was lightly sedated, and the specialist was doing his job, keeping the animal calm, and hopefully alive when all was said and done. It all took longer than Lavender expected –was harder than she expected, but when magic and woman were reunited, she felt it. Now this was right. That odd missing feeling when she had cast all of her diagnostic spells was gone. Most importantly, though, when she stitched the older witch up this time, it started to heal. Lavender felt her magic take hold, and breathed a sigh of relief. Lifting the spell that kept Miss Clearwater in the coma and releasing the wards on the room, Lavender smiled slightly, thanking the others, bidding the official farewell, and ordering one final transfusion for her patient.

As the others left the room, she allowed herself to sink into the chair beside Penelope’s bed. The whole process had been exhausting, and she didn’t think that she could perform any more complicated spells for a little while. Her hands were shaking. But that didn’t matter at all when Penelope’s eyes fluttered open. “Hello.” Lavender smiled, broadly. It worked! Miracle of miracles. “Welcome back. No, no, don’t try to move. Here,” she placed a cup of water near Penelope, directing the straw to her parched lips, “drink this. I’m Lavender Brown. I’m your healer. Do you remember what happened?” She paused, giving Penelope time to process, to ask questions if she had them.

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dh_penelope
2008-03-11 02:43 pm UTC (link)

The water which was presented to Penelope was cold and wet and she sipped gratefully, moistening the inside of her mouth and lubricating her dry throat. She had tried to sit up but found that she couldn't quite do it - her strength had evaded her.

"I feel so weak," Penelope rasped, looking over to her Healer. Lavender. That was the woman's voice she had heard in the mist - one of the voices she hadn't recognized.

Penelope shook her head slowly at the Healer's question, her eyes squinting while she tried to think. "It's all...fuzzy. I remember..." She sighed, raising her arm to her face and rubbing her eyes.

"I remember healing an owl and...I felt this enormous pain in my abdomen," Penelope told the Healer with wonder, her hand going to the place on her body she spoke of. Penelope cried out in pain as her fingers touched the newly healed area.

"It's real," she whispered through her pain.

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dh_lavender
2008-03-14 01:02 am UTC (link)

Lavender smiled slightly when Penelope drank the water. Excellent. “Well, that’s to be expected. You’ve been out for quite a while.” She scanned the older witch carefully as she spoke, and tried to warn her against prodding at her wound, but it was too late. “Careful, careful. That’ll be tender for a while yet. Try not to move too much yet, we don’t want that wound opening again.”

Pulling out her wand, Lavender cast a few simple spells, making sure that everything was working correctly. Penelope seemed to be healing normally now. That was nearly strange after so long, and Lavender was relieved to see it. “Can you tell me your full name?” She was checking rudimentary responses, making sure that there weren’t any strange interactions with all of the potions and spells that Penelope had endured. After asking a few other simple questions, Lavender smiled again, “Good, good.”

She took a moment after she had checked the other healer’s responses to gather her thoughts. How to go about telling Penelope what had happened? She had stalled as long as possible. Lavender spoke slowly, softly, kindly, so Penelope could interject with questions if and when she had them. “Yes, it’s real. You performed a bit of extremely unpredictable magic. I’m afraid that it backfired, and a bit of you was transferred to the owl, while its wound was transferred to you. We had a lot of trouble diagnosing exactly what had happened to you. We couldn’t keep your wound closed, so we kept you sedated. We had to induce a coma. You’ve been out for nearly a month.”

Now that information would be hard to digest, Lavender was sure. She watched Penelope take everything in, process the information, and was prepared to answer any questions she might have.

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dh_penelope
2008-03-17 01:14 am UTC (link)

"No - I suppose I wouldn't," Penelope agreed as the pain in her abdomen - mostly from the newly healed area being so tender - began to abate. She lay still, her head cushioned by a hospital pillow which wasn't as nice and soft as the ones in her own bed at home.

Home...the Clinic! My pets!

Panic rose in Penelope and she looked at Lavender frantically. "My animals - do you know if they've been taken care of? I need to speak to...Charlie Weasley. My parents." All sorts of memories began to float back to Penelope and she remembered just why she did the magic on the owl in the first place.

"Did the Ministry find that little girl?" Penelope wasn't sure if Lavender would know what she was talking about, but hopefully the Ministry would have shed some light due to what had happened to her.

"That was why I did the magic that I had done. The owl...it was bonded to a girl who was in trouble."

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dh_lavender
2008-03-17 05:03 pm UTC (link)

Uh oh. Lavender knew that she had left something out. Panic wasn’t good for anybody, especially not the recently comatose Miss Clearwater. “Shh, calm down, everything’s fine. Charlie’s been taking care of your animals.” At least he had been when she talked to him at the bar… she supposed it didn’t really matter who was taking care of them now, so long as they were taken care of. “Your parents are back, and should have been notified both before and after the procedure. They might even be here already, I’ll go check for them in a minute, and bring them back if you’re up for visitors.”
Oh goodness. Now Lavender understood why Penelope tried such an unpredictable tactic with that untrained owl. She was trying to help a little girl. A little girl was bonded with a regular, untrained owl? She must be extraordinary, or in a lot of trouble. Maybe both. Lavender shook her head sadly. The Ministry hadn’t really told her much of anything. But that hitwizard…he said…what had he said? Oh! He called the project a “success”. That was it. He called it a success when her patient had been unconscious in a hospital bed, bleeding, and Lavender had been furious. “I’m not sure. The Ministry hasn’t been very forthcoming, but I think so. They’re sure to give you more information than they bothered to give me.” She sighed, loudly. Something had to be done about certain Ministry policies. They were just too dangerous to uphold.
Forcing a smile, and her eyes to refocus on Penelope, she made sure that the water was within easy reach, and said, “Alright, let me know if there is anything at all that you need, okay? I’ll go check for your parents, and I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit. You are going to get sick of me, because I am going to be keeping a very close eye on you for the next few days. Do you have any other questions?”

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dh_penelope
2008-03-17 01:10 am UTC (link)

All that Penelope could do was lie in the narrow hospital bed, drifting in and out of sleep. Her parents had come by just after she had gained consciousness, but the Healers insisted that they not stay long for they needed to do many tests still.

"We'll be back later, sweetheart," Penelope's mother had assured her daughter before giving Penelope a soft kiss on the forehead. Matthew, Penelope's father, had looked on and gave her a big smile of encouragement before the two left.

It was evening and Penelope had woken in time to take a small meal for her dinner. She had just wrinkled her nose at the small dish of applesauce when a familiar face entered through the door - his smile tentative.

"Oliver," Penelope breathed happily, shifting then wincing.

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dh_oliver
2008-03-17 01:14 am UTC (link)

Oliver had decided to stop by and visit Penelope before evening practice. The two-a-day practices worked so well for the January game that Wood had decided not to revert to the old one-a-day schedule.

He walked through the halls of St. Mungos, wearing simple a sleeveless shirt and windbreaker pants. He peeked his head around Penelope's door frame and saw she was awake.

"Oi, this is an interesting sight!" He walked over and gave her a small peck on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

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dh_penelope
2008-03-17 01:20 am UTC (link)

"Like a Centaur put its foot through my stomach," Penelope told her friend with a wry smile. She had managed to ease up a bit higher on her pillows, and she pushed away the remnants of her dinner meal - the applesauce decidedly looking unappetizing.

"I'm glad you're here. Charlie's been stuck in Wales but I got a message from him that he'll get here as soon as he can."

Penelope closed her eyes and sighed, feeling Oliver's hand near hers. She took it gratefully, squeezing it weakly - Oliver's Quidditch roughened fingers against her own softer ones.

"Keeping away from those bludgers I hope," Penelope tried to joke.

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dh_oliver
2008-03-17 01:37 am UTC (link)

"That doesn't sound too bad," he teased. "Perhaps my suspicion was correct - you were just taking a long nap, avoiding work, and all that. You should've just gone on holiday."

He ran his other hand through Penelope's hair. "Yes, the beaters have been doing well in keeping the bludgers away. A few hits here and there. But nothing serious. We have the Tornadoes on Friday. Then next week there are no games at all - I've no idea what I'll do with myself, maybe I'll go on vacation." He stuck his tongue out at her, knowing full well he and his team would spend the week practicing.

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dh_penelope
2008-03-17 01:45 am UTC (link)

"Ha ha. Not exactly the kind of path I wanted to take to avoid work," Penelope rasped, then coughed and cleared her throat. She reached for her cup and took a sip of cool water.

"Much like when you were here not too long ago. Not precisely the sort of holiday one expects. At least you got attractive medi-witches to look at. Can't say the same for myself," Penelope joked lightly.

Leaning into Oliver's soothing hand in her hair she smiled gently. "Good - keep it that way. I'd hate to drag you out of the clubhouse again," she teased, then nodded when he suggested he might go on vacation.

"I don't blame you. I'll probably be discharged next week so the Healers say. I'm not looking too forward to the mess which I'm sure is awaiting back at home for me," she sighed. "Mum's trying to convince me to stay with her and Dad while I recover but she'll fuss over me to the point of madness. I'll probably have to see about getting a medi-witch after I finish recovering."

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