A Ray of Hope

It had been several weeks since the attack on Percy Harper's family in their Irish estate. Rian and Eileen had been buried in a quiet ceremony which had left no eye dry by the end of it. Just seeing that tiny coffin had been heartbreaking enough, never mind the service that had preceded the final burial. Percy had been doing as well as could be expected -- that is to say, he'd been doing terribly. Day in and day out he refused to leave his daughter's side, except to use the bathroom. He took his meals beside her bed, and slept on an armchair next to her for a whole week before Laeticia insisted that if he was going to continue, he would get a proper bed.

And so it had continued, with little change or progress in Innis' condition. After a certain length of time, she began to sleep rather than just stare into emptiness, and during her waking hours, blinked and sighed as the healer they'd hired fed her though an I.V. drip. That was the only reaction they could get from her -- that little sigh as the needle slipped in. Percy had tried to get her to communicate by blinking, to no avail -- she either could not or would not, and remained stubbornly and eerily silent.

One day, Percy had been reading to her from The Tales of Beedle the Bard when finally he got a response. Just one tiny motion -- when he started reading, she'd turned slightly towards him, indicating her interest in the old fairytales. Percy had been absolutely delighted, calling his mother and sister over to come see. Innis didn't smile, but they all agreed that she had seemed improved -- like she would have smiled, if she could. He began to have hope that Innis wasn't responding because she couldn't, not because she didn't want to. Perhaps she was fighting a silence battle inside that no one could see -- he began to read to her more, trying to coax her back out of her shell little by little.

Every day began to see small improvements. She slept less, and listened more, gaining animation behind her eyes. Finally the day came when she seemed to respond to her father's tireless attention -- or night, as the case actually was. Percy had tucked Innis in, and, when he told her loved her, she blinked twice, quickly, and looked him directly in the eyes. That was it. He froze, hovering over her bed in hope and amazement.

"Honey? Can you hear me?" She blinked twice again. His breath caught in his throat. "Does that mean yes?" Two more blinks. Percy sat at the edge of her bed, looking down into her wide blue eyes.

"Alright, so two blinks for yes, one for no?" Again, two blinks. He nodded, trying to think of what to ask her first.

"Are you in pain?" Slower this time, but again -- two blinks. "Then I'll get you something stronger right away -- Magda!" he called, and a tiny house-elf wearing a purple polka-dotted towel appeared in the room.

"Alert the family that Innis is awake. And sent the Healer out for more pain potions, immediately. The strongest stuff they can give children. Please, hurry!"

"Yes, Mister Harper!" the elf squeaked, disappearing again. Percy turned back to Innis, whose eyes were slowly closing again.

"Are you tired?" Two sleepy blinks were his answer. Percy leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Then sleep, my love. You have all the time in the world, just get better. We need you here." Her eyes drifted shut again, and Percy got off of the bed, going to a desk and pulling out parchment and a quill. After dashing off what was no longer than a note, he called for Magda again, and the letter was sent off to wherever his crazy little sister was in Malaysia at the moment. He hoped it would make up for the panicked floo call she'd gotten from him during the attack, and smiled to himself at the thought of it brightening her day. She'd been so worried about leaving, so hopefully this would alleviate some of her fears. Being distracted on a job like hers was dangerous for one's health.