Edited 3/2/2022
Chapter Six, Healing and Horcruxes
Dumbledore sat behind his desk in his office early Friday morning before breakfast started. He was waiting on all members of staff for the meeting he had called. He regretted it being so early but he had several announcements to make today, and he needed to inform his staff about Josie. A knock a few minutes later pulled Dumbledore from his thoughts.
"Come in." He called, as the door opened revealing: Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick, Horace Slughorn, Aurora Sinistra, Rolanda Hooch, Rubeus Hagrid, Septima Vector, Cuthbert Binns, Silvanus Kettleburn, Irma Prince, Poppy Pomfrey, Bathsheda Babbling and Argus Filch. "Thank you for all coming, I apologise for the early start but it is crucial." Dumbledore apologised as all of his staff took a seat.
"First; I'd like to give the students a bit of a treat with all that is going on outside these walls, take their minds off it. One particular student deserves it the most but I'll get to that in a moment." Dumbledore started.
"What were you thinking, Albus?" Pomona Sprout enquired curiously.
"I was thinking of holding a Masquerade Ball for Halloween and getting that new band, what is it called... ah, yes, The Weird Sisters to come and play for us, if they agree of course. I want to announce this at breakfast today to give the students time to find outfits and partners, and for us to organise everything. Hence the early start." Dumbledore finished as he gauged everyone's reaction and had Charmed a quill to take down all of their suggestions and ideas for decorating the Great Hall for the Ball etc.
"Okay," Dumbledore said, looking over the rather long list. "Any more suggestions?" He asked looking at his staff, when they all shook their heads he continued. "For the second reason we are here is about Miss Josephine Potter."
"What about Josie?" Hagrid asked, concerned.
"Myself and Poppy have permission from her to tell you this but it is not to leave this room, it will endanger her life otherwise." Dumbledore said sternly.
"I will cast a Charm to make sure of it, Albus." Filius said as he took out his wand and muttered a spell causing golden light to sink into all of them. "It's done. No one will be able to discuss what you say outside of this room to anyone. Not even to each other, only if Miss Potter broaches the subject."
"Thank you Filius. I shall not go into too much detail but, Josie is a Seer. The first one in the Potter Line since Ignotus Peverell." Dumbledore said, shocking all but Poppy.
"Due to this ability young Josie saw some rather disturbing things pertaining to her future as well as her brother's and friends' futures. Now this has caused her to become ill because of it and she has agreed to speak to Poppy every week on Friday after afternoon classes. Poppy." Dumbledore gestured for Poppy to explain.
"We all know before she attended Hogwarts she was admitted into St Mungos due to a rare viral infection of Dragon Pox. Thankfully Fleamont had found a necklace in his Vault that will help filter, if you will, the visions and help her control them. But the damage is already done. The stress of what she saw caused her immune to weaken further than it already was and she is now suffering from the flu.
If she doesn't have these talks then I fear she could end up with a more stronger version of the infection. You all need to be made aware due to the duty of care towards the children in our care, especially you Minerva as her Head of House, but we need to keep a close eye to begin with and watch for any signs." Poppy finished as Hagrid blew his nose feeling guilty that he didn't notice anything and feeling sorry for his young friend.
"When does she start the sessions with you, Poppy?" Rolanda asked.
"Today at three thirty. The signs you need to watch for are; excessive tiredness, her skin going pale but with a greyish tint, her lips going blue, continuous nosebleeds and fainting."
"I think then until the flu has passed and the danger has passed, a slightly less workload is in order." Minerva said.
"Do you know what she saw?" Silvanus asked. They all knew that she was the particular student Albus had mentioned.
"This has something to do with Mr Pettigrew doesn't it? It's why he was moved out of her brother's dorm." Minerva realised, her eyes widening.
"Yes." Dumbledore sighed. "Josie saw her brother die by Voldemort's hand and Mr Pettigrew was the cause, he gave away James's location. Josie was beside herself when she sent me an owl in the summer. It was all I could do to reassure her that he would be removed from James's dorm and replaced with Mr Longbottom."
"That turncoat!" Hagrid shouted enraged.
"Calm yourself, Hagrid." Dumbledore said firmly. "I think we should also monitor our students more closely and make sure none have the mark or are being forced to have it." Dumbledore said, getting an agreement from all staff. With that the meeting finished and an owl started pecking at his window as the teachers left to finish setting up their areas before breakfast. Once everyone had left Dumbledore let the owl in and took the letter. He gave the owl a treat before he opened the letter revealing it to be another one from Josie. It was a rather short letter but it was straight to the point. It said;
There's a you-know-what in the castle. It's in the R.O.R on the seventh floor in front of the painting of Barnabas the Barmy. It's Ravenclaw's Diadem. Pace three times thinking of what you want and a door will appear.
Setting the letter aside, Dumbledore quickly wrote a note, thanking Josie and asking her to come after her session with Madam Pomfrey, and sent it off with a House-Elf. As there was two hours still until breakfast he spent the remainder of his time getting the ball rolling, as it were, for the Ball, starting with sending an owl to The Weird Sisters to make sure they could come and if not he had enough time to formulate a back up plan.
***
Once the last student had taken their seat Professor McGonagall tapped a fork against her glass gently, gathering everyone's attention.
"Your attention please." She called, stopping all conversations while everyone looked at them confused. They didn't normally make announcements on the second day of classes, it was normally done during the Welcoming Feast not their third day back.
"Before we all enjoy a scrumptious breakfast to start our day, I have an announcement I wish to make." Professor Dumbledore said as he stood from his seat. "This year for Halloween we will be holding a Masquerade Ball, with hopefully, The Weird Sisters in attendance." He said as twitters started spreading around the Hall as the students became excited.
"This will be a formal Masquerade Ball so please dress for the occasion. As such it will be for all students, and Hogsmeade visits will be brought forward to the end of September so you can get your outfits. First to Second years please speak to your Heads of House. Thank you." Dumbledore said, as he retook his seat, smiling happily at all the excited students. But in particular, one Josie Potter, who sat in between Remus and Sirius, and was talking excitedly to Pandora Greengrass of Ravenclaw, who sat at the Gryffindor table opposite her and next to James. Yes, a Ball is just what they needed with all that was going on in the Wizarding World as a whole and he was glad he could provide that for them.
***
The day seemed to pass rather quickly for Josie and her friends. Josie and Pandora had just finished with Care of Magical Creatures, and we're walking back up to the castle with Marlene - who was becoming more friendly and less frenemy with Josie since James's argument with Lily- all three girls were talking excitedly about the upcoming Ball, when they bumped into Remus, Sirius and James.
"What are you doing here?" Josie asked, after she had hugged the three of them and kissed her brother's and Sirius cheeks.
"We're taking my little sister up to the Hospital Wing." James replied.
Marlene looked at the group curiously but didn't say anything. As she knew she wasn't friends with them as of yet and therefore wasn't trusted with their personal life, not that she would push. Instead she just bid the group goodbye with 'see you laters' and headed into the Great Hall to meet up with Alice as she needed help with Herbology.
"You don't have to all walk me up there." Josie protested but she was touched that her friends wanted to do that for her.
"We want to, sweetheart." Sirius said as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear that had come out of her french braid.
"We're a pack, Starfall. And a pack sticks together." Remus insisted.
"Besides you're my little sister and I love you. You're my other half, my better half, and I want to be there." James said firmly.
"Plus, Haku will be staying with you. You know he's good with cuddles." Pandora added as the sweet little Niffler climbed into her arms and snuggled with her making her giggle.
"Thank you." Josie said with tears in her eyes. "I have a meeting with Dumbledore after this, and will probably have dinner there so -"
"Doesn't matter he's staying with you." Pandora insisted. "You let me into your Common Room so I can get him when you come back and in the meantime hangout with these three and cuddle with Merlin. Now, come on otherwise your going to be late." She said as she led the way with James. The two of them striking up conversation easily while Remus walked behind with Sirius who had his fingers intertwined with Josie's free hand.
"Everything is going to be okay Josie. You won't have to suffer the loss of our future children by my deranged cousin, or at all if I can help it. Nor will lose me, Remus or James or Pandora. I have a feeling now he isn't obsessed with Lily, his future may change." Sirius said as he kissed her temple lovingly.
"I'm sorry I've not been myself Siri, Remi." Josie apologised to her love and to her best male friend, Pandora was her best female friend, and James was more than just her twin brother and best friend he was her other half, and everyone knew that. They knew if James lost Josie he'd be besides himself, he already is, and the same goes for Josie. Seeing her brother like that had killed something inside her and she never wanted to see that again.
"Hey!" Sirius said sternly pulling them both to a stop as he gently grasped her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. Silver-grey eyes staring intently but lovingly into hazel eyes. "Never apologise for that, Josie. Never. It is understandable for you to be upset and stressed out over what you saw. You saw horrific things, love. Things that we can never imagine. We know the pain you must've felt was excruciating, it was for us to hear what you went through. But I want you to know that we're here if you ever need to talk, so please talk to us Josie. We couldn't bear it if you got sick again." Sirius said firmly but softly as he kissed her forehead.
"Thank you Siri." Josie said, hugging Sirius tightly and kissed his cheek but being mindful of the Niffler in her arms.
The rest of the walk was filled with jokes, laughter, talks of pranks they were all planning to do, plans for Pandora to become an Animagus, and plans to finally finish the map.
"Good luck Josie. Do you want me to meet you here, or all of us, or one of us?" James asked worriedly.
"I'll be fine Jamie." Josie laughed as she kissed his cheek. As she pulled away James pulled her back and hugged her tightly, whispering something into her ear. Josie's eyes darted to Pandora who was talking happily to Remus and Sirius before she looked back at her big brother.
"Get to know her first, Jamie, but go for it." Josie whispered back, kissing his cheek once more. Once her friends finally let her go she headed into the Hospital Wing with a smile on her face, one down one to go.
She knew Remus was starting to like Marlene now that she had started to change her attitude, that had been one thing that had stopped him from liking her: was how she had treated them, but in particular herself, Remus was very protective of his friends.
'Maybe they could go to the Ball together.' She thought happily.
"Ahh, Miss Potter. Come in, come in." Madam Pomfrey said with a kind reassuring smile upon her face. "What would you like to drink, Tea? Hot chocolate? Coffee?" She asked as they entered her office.
"Tea, please. Could I add some honey, if you have some please." Josie asked.
"Of course." Madam Pomfrey said, then she noticed the Niffler. "Miss Potter, the Niffler-"
"Can he stay please Madam Pomfrey I don't know if I'll be able to say it a second time without him." Josie begged with wide eyes.
"Okay, just this once." Madam Pomfrey said as she placed the tea in front of Josie and one on her side of the table, tapped her quill to start writing on a piece of parchment and took her seat. "Now, Josie, let's start with something easy and ease into what happened this summer. How long have you been having these visions? What we say will not leave this room, the quill and parchment are so I'm able to help you better." She assured Josie.
"Okay," Josie said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hugging Haku close to her. "They started when I was about three or four. It wasn't anything too bad then. It was just about James doing something, I can't remember what, and ended up breaking his arm. I screamed and started crying. Jamie and I were really close when we were little. Inseparable, really." Josie replied as she opened her eyes and took a sip of her drink.
"You said 'was'. Are you not close still? It seemed like you were yesterday." Madam Pomfrey asked.
"We're working back towards it." Josie replied sadly. "When we arrived at Hogwarts we were still inseparable, but Jamie let his fear, overprotectiveness and obsession of Lily Evans come between us. He apologised in the summer and we've been working towards it ever since. He realised our first night back that Lily isn't who he thought she was."
"Why is that?" Madam Pomfrey asked keeping her voice soft and neutral so Josie would remain calm.
"He'd asked her to, or tried to, ask her to keep an eye on me. But she didn't listen to what he was saying, and assumed he was asking her out and just screamed at him in the middle of the Common Room, humiliating him. Instead he asked Marlene and Alice." Josie explained.
"Really? That is shocking behaviour especially from her and as a Prefect. I will have to report that to Professor McGonagall. When did the visions start to become worse and impact you, Josie?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"Around Third Year I think." Josie replied thinking back to what she could remember. The session continued for an hour. Madam Pomfrey asked Josie questions on her illness, how it had affected her, which she had revealed that she'd been scared about not being able to attend with James. She asked her other questions in regards to her relationship with James, her parents and her friends, establishing some trust before they worked towards the visions. When all too soon the clock struck 4:30 signalling the end of their session.
"Thank you Josie, and it's okay to cry, never forget that. Bottling up your emotions only makes things worse in the end." Madam Pomfrey said, as she handed the young witch a tissue to dry her tears. "I'm going to prescribe you with some mild Sleeping Potions, just enough to last you the weekend so you can catch up on all the sleep you missed. I want you to take one vial per night, right before you go to sleep." She said, as she summoned a little box containing the three potions.
"Thank you Madam Pomfrey." Josie said gratefully, as she slipped the box into her bag.
"I want you to get lots of rest this weekend and I'll see you next week and hopefully not before." Madam Pomfrey said, making Josie laugh a little. "You've done well Josie, eat this and go rest." She said as she handed her a Chocolate Frog.
"Thank you have a good weekend." Josie bid as she left the Hospital Wing and headed straight for the Common Room. Halfway through her session Professor Dumbledore has sent a quick note apologising for the interruption but also saying she didn't need to come to his office as he had found and dealt with the Horcrux by placing it into a contained bubble, supplied surprisingly enough by the R.O.R, and destroyed it with Fiendfyre. It was one down and five to go. She was thankful she didn't have to go as she just wanted to relax as she felt so drained.
"Thank you Haku." Josie said, kissing his forehead and handing him another Galleon as they reached the Fat Lady, she may not have wanted to do the session but she had to say she did feel slightly better.
Catching the Frog, she gave the Fat Lady the password and bit into the Frog as she entered the Common Room. She was more than ready to relax with her brother and friends, she'd work on her homework tomorrow.
"Thank you Dora." Josie said, as she handed Haku back to her, who sat in one armchair and Remus the other, and slumped down in between James and Sirius on the sofa, and snuggled into the pair of them. She was thankful none of them asked her right now, as they all knew her well enough that she didn't want to talk right now but that she would later. For now she just let the talks wash over, just happy to be with those she loved.
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Author's note: Yay, Josie is getting help she needs. Also, if anyone would like to make suggestions on how the Masquerade Ball on Halloween should look, then please mention in the comments. Thank you.