(1938-08-05) Revisiting Old Wounds
Details for Revisiting Old Wounds
Summary: After helping him with some DIY in his shop Phil ventures to St Mungo's with Laurence to visit a relative. It ends up differently than perhaps either of them expected.
Date: 05 August 1938
Location: St Mungo's
Related:
Characters
LaurencePhil

Laurence is polite…and smalltalky on the journey to the hospital, making sure they stop to pick up the ice cream and he carefully selects vanilla as the flavor for both his and the ice cream (put in a cup) that will be shared with his 'relative' at the hospital. He doesn't talk much about who they are going to visit but when they arrive at the hospital he hesitates near the entrance, two cups of ice cream and taking a deep breath and then another.

Phil is good at small talk, she was raised on it so if she finds it odd that they have lapsed into it having not really done so before she says nothing. Her ice cream choice is a bit more exotic, being lemon flavoured. But she does make sure they stop for a flower, the single daisy. She looks up at him with concern and reaches out to rub a hand over his arm. "It will be alright," she says softly. "I promise I won't leave you. We do not have to stay long if it is too painful. But I think you will feel better for having gone in. Come on, I am right here, right beside you."

What appears to Muggles as an old abandoned store, to the Wizarding Eye it is actually St. Mungo's Hospital. In the middle of the room, behind a busy and paperwork filled desk sits the receptionist. Next to her is a little sign, painted on a cheerful little yellow board, that says, "Questions? Can't Talk? Can't remember why you're here? Never fear, the Welcome Witch is here." Behind her is a large sign that lists the various departments of the hospital with little arrows pointing people in the correct directions. The rest of the room is filled with comfortable looking waiting room chairs and little tables with magazines and newspapers both Muggle and Wizardly.

Laurence exhales shakily when the hand touches his arm and he takes another deep breath before nodding. He glances towards the front desk and moves forward to sign in to visit whoever they are going to visit 'Aspasia MacCurry' and then he makes his way down the appropriate corridor to head towards the Psych ward. It takes time though when they near the door, which is shut and he pauses again, taking another deep breath. "I have not been here…for over 10 years." He finally admits.

Something about his reluctance, his general body language made her suspect this wasn't just a casual trip to the hospital. Phil adds her name to the book and then walks quietly beside Laurence through the hospital. She is familiar with it and some here with her it seems because she gets a few nods of recognition or waves though one witch pays a bit more attention than the others nobody comes up to speak to them. When they reach the psych ward her brows draw together with concern but she pushes that aside and smiles up at Laurence. "Then today is a good day to start." She leans up an presses a light kiss against his mouth, whispering, "For luck," before she thinks to look around and see if anyone saw.

Laurence lowers his eyes and he smiles softly at the kiss, closing his eyes and nodding as he gathers his wits and then gently opens the door.

Inside the room stands a woman who probably could pass for still being in her 30s, smooth skin…long brown hair that's past her waist and light and whispy and she wears a hospital gown she's belted with a pink sash, flowers placed all around the world and shoved into corners and pillow cases and at the moment she's twirling and swaying and humming to herself. She pauses when the doors open however and smiles, her eyes…the same unnatural ice blue as Laurence's. "I told the naughty pixies who keep giving me things to sleep I wasn't to be disturbed during my ball!" She tsks and then claps her hands. "You might as well come in, I'm waiting for my princess prince."

Whatever her fertile imagination might have concocted on the journey over this undoubtedly wasn't it and yet Phil doesn't let that phase her. There is something to be said for having been raised as she was, she knows how to behave whatever the situation. "Thank you," she says and drops a curtsy then walks further into the room. "I brought you a flower," she says as she holds out the single blossom. "Daisies are friendly flowers." It might not have been the best thing for her to speak first, but not everything about Phil is carefully constructed or planned, especially not when it comes to people. "I could plait it into your hair for you if you like?"

There is a soft greeting from Laurence in Greek to 'Aspasia' and she returns it with a twirl. She eyes Phil and approaches the young woman close, leaning in and narrowing her eyes, sniffing and quickly taking the flower from Phil, turning her back and wandering off.

Laurence is quiet as he just watches the woman quietly before closing the door behind them and he clears his throat. "Aspasia…" He calls out softly. "We've brought your tea." Its almost rehearsed as he finds the small table in the room, dragging it to the center of the room and setting the cups of ice cream down. The woman just sighs softly, swaying and making her way to the table as she plucks a petal off her daisy, hugging it to her chest and…she proceeds to eat the flower. "Have you seen my Princess Prince…they said she's dead but I know better." She giggles hard and eats another petal. Laurence looks to Phil. "She um…today is a good day."

"I've never eaten a daisy. I'll have to try it sometime. I used to eat buttercups as a child," says Phil mater of factly. She sets her ice cream down at the able, seemingly following Laurence's guidance. "I'm Philomena," she says to Aspasia by way of introduction. "I do not know if I have seen your Princess Prince. What does your Princess Prince look like?" She glances over at Laurence and nods, seeming to understand. Phil reaches over and squeezes his hand gently. "Sister?" she asks quietly, not wanting to upset the other woman.

"Oh no, buttercups will make you gassy…you must of had terrible toots as a child." Aspasia responds with wide eyes before settling at the table and without a spoon dips a finger in her ice cream, licking it clean happily as she sets her flower aside. If she hears Philomena's name, she doesn't show it.

Laurence moves to carefully stop Aspasia's eating by hand and its a bit of a struggle that includes a couple of times he gets slapped and once nipped at but she accepts the spoon and pouts before using it and forgetting why she was upset. In between bites she giggles. "You must eat, or you'll be nothing but skin and bones and the wind will blow through you…it whistles through me you know!" A soft humming. "My Princess Prince could fly, did you know that? She must've been a bird…one day I will climb to the sky and jump and she'll catch me and then I'll put brown sugar in her porridge."

Laurence just returns the squeeze of the hand, listening to the woman with teary eyes before smiling and picking up his own spoon. "No…not my sister."
Phil laughs a little. "I probably did. My older sister used to feed me the flowers." She eats her ice cream quietly not saying anything as Laurence has to remind Aspasia to use the spoon or of the way he is treated either, she just stores it away for later. "Brown sugar in porridge is nice, all crunchy on top and melted when you stir it in." She looks between the pair of them, trying to gauge their relationship.

"Roots go deep, leaves they flutter. Time grows long, a day and then another. Acorns come and then they drop…grow my child…" The song is soft and the woman's voice is beautiful, perhaps she received training once but she sways as she sings and eats her ice cream, looking between the two with glazed over eyes and a distant expression. "Hmm, yes…crunchy. I always burned the porridge but she'd eat it anyways if I put the sugar there." She looks back to Laurence and sings the verse again. "Acorns come…and they drop…grow my child…" And she looks expectant.

Laurence finishes a spoon of ice cream and lowers his eyes for a moment before shaking his head with a soft laugh. "Aspasia…" She throws her spoon across the table at him and huffs as she stands up. "/Grow/ my child…" And he exhales and rubs his temple before finishing the verse for her. "…and neeever stop…" Its almost a whisper and Aspasia just smiles and climbs up on the table, peering around her.

Phil is quick to pull her nearly empty tub of ice cream out of the way before it gets trodden upon. She sets it near her feet and quietly applauds what can only be seen as a performance, though clearly it was not for her benefit nor she suspects Laurence's either. "You have a beautiful voice, not like mine. I sing rather poorly." She moves a bit further back, not wanting to be in the way. "Would you like it if we brought you some porridge next time, with brown sugar, Aspasia?" Phil looks over at Laurence and leans towards him to brush her hand against his knee, trying to comfort and just remind him he is not alone.

Laurence just looks a bit lost as he watches Aspasia stomp her feet on the table and she huffs again, sinking to her knees. "I shall have to wait here…" She offers softly. "I wait here and…" She trails off and frowns as she looks between Phil and Laurence. "…who are you two again? Is it time for supper?" Laurence exhales softly and then finishes his ice cream, carefully reaching for Aspasia's abandoned ice cream and he drags it close to his own cup, stacking them up. "No…Manoula…please, Mana…supper's over." She blinks and oh's softly before crawling off the table and drifting towards the wall she was staring at earlier, humming and swaying.

Phil reaches over and takes the cups fom him. "Go say goodbye," she says softly and adds her own cup to the other two before getting to her feet. "I will wait." She looks around and finds the thrown spoon then places it with the other two. "Thank you for letting me come to your ball, Aspasia," she calls over and then turns her head towards Laurence and breathes out a soft sigh.

It takes him a moment but Laurence just gets to his feet, heading towards Aspasia where she sways and he gently touches her shoulder as she turns and stares at him blankly. Then they wrap their arms around each other and he spends time swaying with her, whispering in Greek and then releases her after she frowns and then looks him over before she narrows her eyes and slaps him, screeching in Greek and turning back to the wall. A pause and she turns to pick a flower off the flower and moving to tuck it into his belt as he holds his cheek. "Mana…" She smiles knowingly and sways and goes back to staring at the wall.

Laurence quickly walks towards Philomena and rubs a hand over his face before offering a hand to Phil as he heads for the door.

Phil presses her lips firmly together and has to look away, not wanting to intrude upon their solemn moment. She busies herself making sure that nothing is being left behind that might later upset Aspasia. It is with silence that she takes Laurence's hand but she does not let him lead her out, rather she leads him, waiting for him to close the door quietly behind them while she looks first right and then left to get her bearings. Once she has them she pulls him along behind her through a few corridors until she comes to an office door. Phil presses her ear to it for a moment, somewhat obscuring the nameplate before she pushes it open and drags him inside with her. The ice cream tubs and disposable spoons are dropped into the bin. "Go ahead," she says softly, "let it out. Nobody will come in." The office must belong to her sister because if he were to look around he would see some photographs of Phil and her family present.

Laurence is quiet, letting Phil lead him a bit and he follows along, rubbing a hand over his face and when the door is shut he looks around the office and carefully removes his hat, taking a deep breath and then another deep breath before glances at the images of Phil and Family and he covers his face with his hands as he flushes a shade of red and then removes his hat to throw it across the room with some violence as he swears vehemently. "FU-" and it goes from there, lots of expletives but he doesn't shout…its a quiet sort of anger.

A multitude of thoughts run through Phil's head each of them scattering emotions across her face but this isn't about her, this is about Laurence so she stays silent letting him release all the pent up anger and frustration and pain however he chooses to do so. That the air has turned Scots blue doesn't upset her but after a moment or to she steps closer, invading his personal space and snakes her arms around his waist, trying to press herself into him. "I promise that so long as I live you will never have to do that alone, Laurence. I promise," she says quietly but firmly.

Its hard really to keep up a practiced accent when you're yelling profanities at a wall, trying to keep from hitting anything. Laurence pulls away at first, clenching his fists and holding them close to his sides as he exhales softly, taking a deep breath and then another deep breath. He does move back towards Phil, if allowed, slipping an arm around her and nodding slowly. "Its…its usually not something…it not be som-its not usually something I do with others. I haven't seen her in so long…" He laughs shakily. "I swear the woman doesn't age…"

Phil doesn't take it personally when he pulls away and as such is welcoming when he comes back to her. She hugs him tightly, probably a bit too tightly and then eases it a bit. "Thank you for trusting me." She looks around and nods towards a framed photograph of an elderly couple with a group of much younger children. "That, that's my Pop and Nanny. Or it was. Pop died a few years ago. He had an illness that took away time. He couldn't remember me at all in the end, I'm the youngest. I think it was harder for my sister because she couldn't fix him. Somethings are…" she uses one of the words he had been using moments ago. Phil shrugs her shoulders. "And that is all they will be." She tilts her head back and looks up at him. "Tell me about her, please."

Laurence listens and returns the hug, kissing the top of Phil's head and smiling softly before wiping tears away before inhaling and exhaling so he doesn't sniffle. "I wouldn't have probably made it past the door, I've tried a few times…its difficult." He explains before shaking his head quickly, eyebrows raising as he looks at the pictures, smiling softly. "Aspasia…she was 17 when she married, 18 when she gave birth to a daughter…and then 8 years afterwards she was put here, in the hospital due to ahh…damage done from experimentation with potions and herbs and the like. They found her on the roof, perhaps preparing to jump so they had no choice." He shrugs his shoulders. "She has been here…for quite some time."

Phil smiles softly at him, "I'm good at difficult things. If its easy it isn't my style." She keeps a hold of him, maintaining that tangible and life affirming link as she listens. "The poor child to loose a mother who must have loved her very much. That is definitely fu-tragic." She blinks, trying to clear her vision as her mind fills with thoughts of the lonely child and her lost mother and in the end presses her face against his neck which muffles her voice slightly. "Is her daughter the one she was missing? The princess who was a prince and liked flying?"

Laurence rubs Phil's back gently, closing his eyes. "It was…challenging for her I'd think. Her mother was always…lost but she could at least see her, follow her, learn some things about nature. Also not to eat certain mushrooms…just by watching her mother eat certain mushrooms." A soft snort. "Yes, she doesn't remember her all the time but she knows she's missing something…she used to think she was at a play, waiting to go back home but she figured out overtime she wasn't going back home, so she just started waiting…for her princess prince bird and all that rot."

"Can we find her daughter for her?" She turns her head and lays it against his shoulder. "How do you know her? You have the same eyes. I could see that right away. I see them in my dreams." Phil watches the images of her family shift and change behind the glass in their frames. "I will help, use whatever means are at my disposal to do anything you need me to do, Laurence."

"No…we can't find her daughter for her, Philomena." Laurence murmurs softly before kissing the top of Phil's head, tucking some hair behind her ear and smiling sadly. "She would not know her, even if she saw her…the daughter's a memory. One she doesn't quite understand anymore." And then at the question about how they know each other he shrugs and chuckles lowly. "As I said, we're related."

Phil sniffles and wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand as she nods against his shoulder. "Sorry," she murmurs. "I left my handkerchief Belisma. Darn bird." She laughs softly and draws in a breath then lifts her head and meets his gaze. "Do you know the name of her daughter? Maybe we can see if someone has a photo of her to leave with Aspasia." Her brows pull together. "Or perhaps that would not be a good idea. Photographs of people he did not recognise upset my grandfather." Phil sighs heavily and reaches up to capture his face between her hands. "Shall we go flying? I already look a mess I'm sure. Let's get out of here, go somewhere completely random and drink champagne and eat strawberries and feel alive."

Laurence tilts his head to the side and laughs, tugging a handkerchief from his vest's breast pocket and dabbing at Phil's cheeks with a small smile. "She steals things, its true…" Then the question makes him shake his head. "No…she has a photo album, but she doesn't let people see it. Its her secret spell book according to her…I am sure she has a picture of her…she will be okay." Then he has to focus on Phil, eyebrows raising. "Very well, just I'll bring a bottle of Scotch for myself and we'll make a holiday of it." He drawls softly.

Phil raises her arms and drags her hands through her hair, messing it up. "It is - if we don't leave this office I am going to kiss you and I don't know that my kissing you is something you need right now. You probably need the exact opposite and I thought of," she shrugs her shoulders as she says, "flying."

Laurence actually manages to grin at that, reaching to brush a finger-tip along the woman's jawline before leaning in to brush his lips against hers in a tender kiss then he pulls back. "Flying!" He moves to retrieve his hat. "Then food." A wink. "C'mon now, before the pictures start whispering about us."

Phil groans because she hadn't even considered that. "Yes," she manages to get out. "Yes, let's go." She smooths down her dress and turns around to open the door, peering out into the corridor to make sure her sister isn't nearby. When she sees the coast is clear she motions for him to follow her.

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