It was a beautiful spring day, a sunny one, too. A fantastic opportunity to take Ozzie to the park, or just get him out of the house. Let the boy know that he was not doomed to live at Grimmauld Place forever.
But Lee could not do such a thing.
Because she had been sitting in the same uncomfortable leather chair for 37 minutes.
The conversation was mind numbingly boring. Lee knew that the Healer was just trying to do his job.
But he was just so damn nosy.
"And how long have you been having these nightmares?"
"Uh, since we moved," she replied.
Being honest was rather difficult when you had to keep and entire secret organization under wraps.
"But you hadn't experienced anything like this before the incident?"
Before she almost died? Before she saw her father get murdered?
"No."
"Could you explain what a typical nightmare consists of, for you?"
Lee nodded.
"Yeah, er, it usually starts out pretty normal. Sometimes it just happens all over again. That night. Sometimes I see the Death Eaters. Sometimes," Lee broke off for a second. "Sometimes I see people I know."
"Like who?"
"My parents, my boyfriend, old friends from school, former professors," she listed. "Its been so many people."
"And you said that to cope with these nightmares you have been self medicating."
Lee didn't mean to laugh. She really didn't.
"Yeah, if you consider getting half drunk most nights as medication."
"So you are aware that your drinking habits have a negative effect on your life?"
"Yeah," she shrugged.
"And have you made any moves on your own to prevent this occurence?"
Lee glanced at him, but quickly looked away once again. The questions were harder to answer when she actually saw his reactions.
"Cold turkey just isn't my cup of tea."
"There are other methods of dealing with addiction," he responded.
"I'm not an addict," Lee bit back.
She wasn't. She wasn't like that. She could stop, if she wanted. She could.
"I'm not saying you are," he amended. "You have been through a very traumatic experience, and are suffering the aftermath. Addiction is very common for people in your situation."
That almost made Lee feel a little bit better.
"So, these other methods, do they work?"
"Yes, quite well," he confirmed. "The fact that you are here today is a great sign."
"I almost didn't come at all," Lee admitted.
There was a moment, as she was standing in the Ministry's line for the floo, that Lee had second thoughts. She was tired, she wanted to go home. And what if she went to this session for nothing. What if he couldn't help her? What if it wasn't as bad as she thought? Was she just making it all up in her head?
But then the shining light of Percy's annoyed and disappointed glare came to mind. She could almost hear his lecture in her head.
She didn't want to let him down.
So when she stepped into the floo, she said the name of the office.
"But you still came, did you not?" He reasoned. "You have already taken a very important step, Miss Aspen."
Lee didn't respond. She supposed it was a big deal. It didn't really feel like it though.
As the session wound to an end, Lee did feel like she was moving in the right direction at least. Even if it was only a centimeter, and at a snail's pace.
The healer had explained to her what PTSD was, and after hearing about it, things made a lot more sense. He told her his plan for treatment. He also gave her some resources to help with her drinking problem, though he claimed they would work on that too.
Lee felt bad for not remembering his name by the end of the appointment.
As she left, she made sure to look at the name by the door.
Dr. Evan Prescott
A name so blatantly muggle. It was nice to see.
_______
Lee flooed to Grimmauld place, longing for a comfortable couch to sink into. She really missed their flat at times. Being stuck in a dingy house was driving her mad.
There were noises coming from the kitchen. Lee followed them.
She found the endearing sight of Percy trying to feed Ozzie. The infant had just began the journey to solid food, something Lee was grateful for. Formula was not her favorite to deal with.
While Percy was trying, he was not very successful. Somehow there was sweet potato in his hair.
"Thats a good look," she teased. "Should try it out at work."
"Perhaps I will start a trend," he smiled. Percy made another attempt at giving Ozzie a bite.
"Are you sure he likes sweet potato?"
It had been a hot debate in the last week. The most interesting things that happened at Grimmauld Place seemed to revolve around the baby.
Molly swore that he loved sweet potato. That Ozz had eaten it with delight.
Something that had not happened with either Lee or Percy. Neither of them could recreate this occurance, both convinced that he didn't like it.
"I don't even know anymore," he sighed, placing the tiny spoon into the bowl.
"Still no witnesses?"
Lee opened a cabinet, pulling out a box of barley cereal. She poured a bit on the tray of the highchair. Ozz immediately giggled, popping the cereal into his mouth.
"Sirius says he saw it once," Percy informed, "but I need a more reputable source."
"Don't tell your mother that," Lee smirked.
"Shut up," Percy stuck his tongue out childishly. "Let me have my jokes."
"Maybe you should make them funny," she teased.
Percy mocked offense.
"I think I am quite funny, thank you," he straightened his collar, which would have looked haughty, but really was just ridiculous. He still has sweet potato in his hair.
"Sure you are, Perce. Sure you are."
a/n: sorry if the title of this chapter was a lil misleading. i just like all time low and doing a ref to therapy was too good to pass up.
also, disclaimer, i have never suffered from ptsd and don't have an in depth knowledge. i have tried to be as accurate as possible, but research can only get me so far. also, i'm too poor for therapy, so idk what its actually like :/.
i hope you all are staying warm, especially any texans out there. my heart goes out to you.