Jennifer Potter and the marauders (Book 3) The New World

Talking

Even though she was safe in her own home, Jenny still woke up each night, plagued with nightmares about her past. Some were old memories, from when Lucius had tortured her all those years ago. But some were newer memories.
Wormtail and Voldemort were regular visitors in her nightmares, along with the corpses of all the marauders. She often had to watch Sirius and Remus dieing, over and over again.
One night, after Jenny had woken up, she made her to the window, and stared out into the back garden. It was dark, but she could just about see the night-time creatures returning to their homes. Charlie said nothing as he climbed out of bed, and made his way over to her.
Charlie rested his hands on Jenny's shoulders, and kissed her head gently. Jenny said nothing, but continued to look out at the garden, as the sun began to rise.

"I know that you won't talk to me Jenny. But maybe you should talk to someone. I think it would help you to put the past behind you" said Charlie.
Jenny turned round to face him and nodded slowly.
"O.K" she muttered.
Charlie kissed her lips tenderly.
"Thank you" replied Charlie.
"Are you coming back to bed?" He asked.
"In a minute. You go on. I'll join you in a bit" answered Jenny.
Charlie nodded and made his way back to the bed, as Jenny turned back around, to face the world outside. She sighed, knowing that Charlie was right.
She had hoped that her nightmares would stop eventually, but they showed no signs of stopping any time soon. Jenny knew that something had to be done, as she wasn't sure how much more so could take. And she wanted to be back to normal when she went to teach at Hogwarts.

A few weeks later, on a very hot day in July, Jenny sat in a muggle therapists office, waving newspaper in front of her face, to keep cool. She had exchanged some Gallions into muggle money, and found a well respected muggle therapist. Jenny was sceptical that talking about her feelings to a stranger would help, but she wanted to make Charlie happy.
The doctors name was Ellen Finch, a middle aged woman with dirty blonde hair. Her office was decorated in diploma's and other awards that she had won. Along with several photos of her and her family.

"Sorry about that. I just had some business to deal with" said Ellen, entering the room holding a mug of coffee.
"It's fine"replied Jenny politely, unsure of how to react around her new shrink.
Ellen took a sip of coffee, before sitting down at her desk, opposite Jenny.
"So, how can I help you Miss...?" Asked Ellen.
"Smith. Jenny Smith" lied Jenny. She has chosen the surname Smith, hoping it sounded bland and muggle-like.
"Miss Smith..."
"Jenny, please"
"Jenny. What brought you here? Why did you decide that you needed therapy?".

"Well. I recently got engaged, and my fiancè suggested it. Because I have some... issues" explained Jenny awkwardly.
"I see. Well what kind of issues do you think you have?" questioned Ellen.
"I have trouble sleeping at the moment. I wake up every night screaming... I have very bad nightmares"
"How long have you been having these nightmares?"
"Quite a while. But they have gotten worse in the last couple of months"
"And what are these nightmares about?".

Jenny looked down and rubbed her Potter ring nervousily, unsure of how to answer, without giving too much away. Ellen noticed her hesitation, so modified her question.
"What kind of nightmares do you have? Are they about loved ones? The future? The past?" Asked Ellen.
"They're about the past" replied Jenny.
"So they're bad memories"
"Kind of. They are based on my memories, but my nightmares are always worse than the original memory"
"I see. How far into the past do your nightmares go? Are they childhood memories?"
Jenny shook her head. "The first memory occured about 18 years ago. But most of my nightmares are about events that happened earlier this year".
"Are your nightmares based on very traumatic events?"
Jenny nodded.
"Are you able to talk to me about them?"
"I'd rather not"

"Well we can come back to that. But for now, why don't you talk to me about your family life. Are you close to your parents?" Ellen asked.
Jenny's brow began to sweat nervously. Talking about her family, was worse than talking about her nightmares.
"Um. No. My parents died when I was 16" replied Jenny quickly. Unable to look Ellen in the eye.
"Oh. I'm sorry"
"It's fine".
Jenny's legs had begun to shake, as she tried to keep her emotions in check.
"Do you have any siblings?" Ellen inquired.
"Not any more. My older brother died when I was 18" replied Jenny quietly.

"Well lets move away from family. What about friends? Do you have any close friends?"
Jenny's mind began to fog, as her thoughts turned to the marauders. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
"I had two close friends. But they are both gone now" Jenny answered.
"But you have a fiancè, so you aren't alone"
"Yes. I have Charlie"
"Have you been together long?"
"Not really. We'd only been dating officially, for a few months when he proposed"
"Wow. That's fast. Are you excited about getting married?"
"I am. But my thoughts always turn back to those I have lost. And I find it hard to be happy"
"I understand. Grief can make it difficult to move on and be happy. But you need to come to terms with their deaths, and learn that death is a normal part of life, that cannot be avoided".

Jenny went from sad to angry very quickly. Remus, James, and Sirius should not have died the way they did. Their deaths could and should have been avoided.
"My friends didn't just die of natural causes. They were murdered. They had so much life left to live, but they were killed right before my eyes. My brother was only 21 when he died. Him and his wife were murdered in their own home. So don't you go telling me that death is normal and can't be avoided. They shouldn't have died" shouted Jenny angrily, as she got off her chair to face Ellen.
The therapist sipped her coffee calmly, not flinching at Jenny's raised voice.
After an agonising silence, Ellen put her drink down and lent back in her chair.
"Were your parents murdered as well?" She questioned.
"No they died of drag... of an illness. They were quite old when they had me and my brother. It's not their deaths that I'm mad at" replied Jenny.
"You're very unlucky. Knowing so many people who have been murdered"
"It has nothing to do with luck"
"Are you saying they were killed for a reason?".

Jenny paused before replying.
"Everything I say is confidential right? You don't tell anyone what I've said" said Jenny quietly.
"Mostly" replied Ellen.
"Why mostly?"
"If a child tells me they are being abused, I have to report it. The same thing with murder. If you tell me you killed someone, I have to tell the police. But apart from that, what you say in this room, isn't repeated to anyone"
"Good"
"What do you want to tell me?"
"Everything".