Chapter One- Assistance

"I require your assistance Miss Granger."

She looked up and stared. What could Lucius Malfoy need from her? He was sharply dressed but in her memories he always had been. His hair was longer than hers and loose. Brilliantly blonde and unfortunately it looked softer than hers. She took of her reading glasses and looked at him coolly.

"And what can I do for you?"

He narrowed his eyes, "I do recall our histories but I know Gryffindor's will almost always help someone in need. Now, my son, Draco. He's been acting strange, saying things that are odd and don't make sense. It's become worrisome. He's also always tripping over things whereas before he was very graceful. I am worried. I was told you are the best mediwitch currently working. What can I do to for you to look at him?"

She was intrigued. "Does he slur his words?"

"Yes. Often."

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. Probably a whore house."

She blinked. Whore house? "Well bring him in when you see him. I'll look him over. Are you sure he's just not drunk all the time?"

He glared, "I can tell the difference Miss Granger."

"We'll see." She said shortly much to his fury.

"This isn't some laughing matter. He's my only son."

Hermione sighed, "I will do my very best to care for him and find out what is wrong. Does that satisfy your worries?"

He crossed his large arms, "Slightly. We'll be here eight am sharp. Good day." He turned away abruptly and stalked down the hall. Hermione sighed again. Her life had just taken a sharp turn. She had for the most part put the war behind her but seeing him had brought back horrible memories. Ones she could do without. He had done nothing wrong just now but still…

Her mind was in overdrive thinking about the symptoms he had described. It was curious. She went home to her flat where she lived alone. Hermione tossed her keys onto the kitchen counter and decided against making food. She wasn't hungry. So instead she took a long shower and climbed into bed. It was only seven thirty but she had gone to bed at this hour many times. It was the problem with having no life. Harry…well they had drifted after drunkenly fucking. He had been horrified when he woke up the next morning. Hermione had been tired. Tired of things always going wrong. He still checked in and always responded to her owls but the distance was there as well as the line. He never laid a hand on her and their usual hugs had stopped completely. She didn't think she was that repulsive but it must be true. Her memory of that night wasn't degraded. She had rocked his world and he knew it. Maybe that was why he hardly ever asked to see her. Hermione was not in any way interested in being with Harry but it would have been nice to come home and have someone to tell her day too. Yes that would have been very nice.

The next morning at six she took another shower and got to St. Mungos by seven ten. She spent the little time she had going through a few books on the symptoms Lucius Malfoy had described. It could be a number of things. She was worried it was his brain though. It most likely was that those problems were always tricky. Wizarding medicine could work miracles but it would depend. There were still many things not cured.

"Miss Granger."

She looked up and saw Lucius Malfoy with his son standing in the doorway. Draco looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. Hermione stood and walked them down the hall without a word to a room to check him over.

"Please remove your shirt, Mr. Malfoy." She said and saw Draco glanced at her incredulously. His father coughed and Draco removed his shirt without a word. She motioned for him to sit on the table. She listened to his heart first but it was strong and she heard no problems. Then she check his eyes. Hermione paused. One of them was lazy. That was concerning.

"Has your eye always been this way?" She didn't recall it being like that in school and merlin knew how often she caught them glaring her way.

"Like what?" He asked sharply.

"Lazy. It's not responding to the light. How is your vision? Do you struggle to see at all?"

"I can see just fine thank you." He snapped. Hermione glanced over her his father who looked deeply troubled.

"I see him squinting most of the time. Especially while reading. Draco you better not lie again."

"I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me!" He insisted and Hermione took his pulse. It was running really fast.

"Draco. How do you feel right now?"

"I told you-

He slipped from the table and started to seize to his father's horror. Hermione ignored his cry and focused on Draco. He was no longer seizing it having only last three seconds but he wasn't awake. Hermione levitated him onto the table and did a full body scan. Oh no. Cancer. Lots and lots of cancer. It was in his stomach and liver. There was a massive tumor in his brain. He should be dead right now.

"I need some help in here!" Hermione called and three nurses came rushing in. She relayed the information to them quickly and when they were gone she turned to his father.

"I am very sorry. I will do everything I can."

She turned to go but he caught her arm, her skin burned where he touched.

"He is my only son. You have to help him."

"I know. I will do everything in my power. Now were going to open him up and sort out the tumor in his brain first. Had he been exposed to anything that you know of? Where does he work?"

Mr. Malfoy frowned, "He's been working in the mines these past six months. Where they found the new elixirs stones. He was fascinated with the whole thing."

"Thank you that could be very helpful. You need to call family."

"I am all he has."

"I'll help him to the best of my ability and find you as soon as we've finished. You can wait out there. Alright?"

He nodded mutely and left quickly without another word. Hermione looked after him for a split second before rushing to the end of the hall and preparing herself to open up someone she knew. That had never happened. In the past they were all strangers. She wasn't sure why it mattered to her. But she trusted her wand work and herself.

The operation took five hours. Every time she thought she had gotten the whole thing more showed up. It was as if it was multiplying as fast as she was removing it. That made her think it might just be a magical sickness. When at last no more showed up she closed him and let the nurses get him to a room. She cleaned up before going to find his father. It could be very disturbing to see the blood of your loved ones on a healer. She had learned that the hard way.

"Is he alive?" He asked right away.

"Yes. He is. The tumor kept re-growing. That is why it took me so long. You can see him."

She led him down the hall to Draco's room. She heard him exhale as if he hadn't believed her when she said he was alive.

"Tomorrow we'll check again for anymore regrowth. Now we are going to begin healing the cancer in the other parts of his body. This process is painful. It likely he will wake and be in a lot of pain. You can stay but it can be very upsetting."

"I'm staying." He said firmly. She nodded and turned to her team.

"Ready girls?" She said and got three nods. Wands were pulled and there wasn't an incantation or charm. It was a feeling that you pulled up. Not everyone could do it. But these girls were her girls. She had faith in them.

She flinched just a little when Draco woke with a sharp scream. Her girls didn't falter and neither did she. Distantly she heard his father gasp.

"Father?" Draco rasped out with tears streaming down his face.

"I'm here Draco. They are trying to help you. It will be alright."

She was surprised by the gentle tone. Never would she have thought him capable of such a tone. But like he had told her before this was his only son.

Ten minutes later and a lot of screaming later the first round of healing was done. When Hermione scanned him again the cancer had shrunk but not nearly as much as she had hoped.

"This will take many treatments. Draco, you must stay here for as long as we need. We want to make you better."

"Even you Granger?" He mumbled softly. He was barely lucid.

"Even me Draco. Go to sleep." And he did. She turned to his father who was so pale she wondered if he would faint. She touched his arm and discretely took his pulse. It was racing.

"Do you need to lie down Mr. Malfoy?" She asked hurriedly. He shook his head.

"I need my son to be cancer free. That's what I need."

"I know. I am very sorry. We'll do everything we can."

"Yes. You will." He said coolly. She sighed and retracted her arm. He gripped her hand, "And it's Lucius to you."

She was surprised but didn't refuse to call him by name.

"Well Lucius it very nearly midnight. You should go home and return in the morning. We will check on him constantly. I can stay and do it myself if that makes you more comfortable."

He stared at her for a long time. "Thank you. I'll be here first thing."

"Good. I'll be here to greet and update you." She told him hoping to clear a little bit of the worry of his face. She wasn't successful. He stood and brushed against her as he left the room without a word.

Hermione got about five hours of sleep on and off during the night. The tumor regrew shortly after Lucius left. She had him opened up for another hour cleaning out what had returned. But she knew it was useless until she found a way to stop it from re-growing. Hermione decided to keep Draco sedated there was less pain that way. During the night they had done two more rounds of healing which he woke for and screamed because of. There was nothing she could give him to ease that type of pain. He swore like a sailor both times but things like that didn't bother her or her girls. Those girls swore like sailors too. Hermione hadn't missed that Anna had held Draco's hand through the healing despite it being not allowed. Without Lucius here to give Draco any comfort she allowed it. There had been a huge fiasco with a healer here about inappropriate touching so it was made clear that unless treating you do not touch the patients. That whole two months with lawyers and victims coming forward had been so stressful. It was over thank merlin.

She was checking Draco's eyes when Lucius came in and stood beside his son.

"How is he?"

"The tumor grew back shortly after you left. I'm afraid it will keep doing so until I find out what's causing it. I believe I am going to take a trip down to those mines and scan a few things. If there is something there causing it even more people could be sick." She thought it was a ridiculous thing to be digging in the ground for elixir stones. Yes they were very valuable, indestructible and women adored to wear them on their fingers and neck but still. Was it worth it if it was making people sick?

"I will accompany you."

"You will?" Hermione said trying to not smile. He didn't miss her smirk but ignored it.

"I will. Yes. When do you want to go?"

It was only eight; would the mines even be open?

"I had planned on going within the hour. I need to stop home for new clothes and a shower. I will be back and then we can go. Anna is caring for Draco in my absence. She is the blonde."

Lucius nodded and cast his eyes on his son's sleeping face. Hermione gave them one last glance before apparating home.

After she showered she returned to Draco's room and found Lucius still sitting there with an unreadable look on his face as he looked at his son. He looked up at her and stood.

"You're ready now?"

"Yes. I am not familiar with where they are so I can't apparate. Do you know?"

"I do. I have been there. I'll apparate us." He said simply. Hermione walked him back to her office where an apparation point was. You couldn't apparate anywhere in the hospital because of things like people stealing babies or sneaking in after visiting hours.

He held out his hand which she took trying not to think about the fact that she was touching him. The appeared outside the entrance where people seemed to be just arriving for work. When she showed him her credentials the shift leader let them pass without any questions.

"What should we look for?" He asked. Hermione turned to him, "Do you know the charm to detect radiation?"

"I don't."

She quickly demonstrated and he got it the first try. If done correcting smoke will come from your wand and if it comes in contact with radiation it was turn red. The mine was massive so they split up and began casting.

It didn't take her more than five minutes to find radiation. Why the fuck hadn't they scanned for it! When she paced back quickly she found Lucius with a thunderous look on his face.

"I assume you found what I found. Hurry. We shouldn't be exposed for any longer. I'm scanning you when we get back because you've been here before. How many times?"

"Five. For no more than ten minutes. What are you doing?"

"Closing the entrance." She said as if he should know.

"You can't just close it."

"I fucking can." She said shortly and sealed it. He raised an eyebrow. She ignored him and turned to the shift leader.

"No one will enter the mine. No one. Including you. There is massive amounts of radiation coming from this mine. Send every worker you have to St. Mungos immediately. Do as I say!"

The shift leader, Brian, looked appalled by her shout and hastily made an announcement. The works groaned but some looked worried. Good maybe that would make them listen, she thought.

Lucius apparated them back to the hospital and they went straight to Draco's room. Anna was there doing a full body scan. Her face was not promising.

"There more growing in his muscles."

"Let me have a look. What about what we've been healing?"

"They've shrunk considerably but the new cancer is growing quickly. I scanned an hour ago and it was half this size."

Oh no. "We should try the new treatment." Anna said and Hermione shot her a look.

"We are not. That is last resort. He…excuse us." Hermione said and pulled Anna from the room.

"Don't discuss medical procedures in front of family until I've said its okay. You know better."

She looked away ashamed, "I know Hermione. I'm sorry but you know his chances. We don't know what's causing-

"I do. He's been exposed to massive amounts of radiation. Oh that's reminds me."

Hermione stepped back into the room and raised her wand. She didn't analyze her relief when it came back clean. His scan was clean. He was a perfectly healthy forty eight year old man.

"I take it I am fine."

"Perfectly healthy. We're going to try some potions. There aren't many for radiation but they are promising and new. We'll try them as soon as you've said yes."

"What are the risks?"

"The most common symptom is irreversible brain damage as well as paralysis."

He paled. "What are his chances without the potions?"

"Not very good. More cancer grows as we try and fight what's already there. There haven't been many cases of either of those things. Maybe five." She bit her lip as he debated it.

"Do the potions. When will you know if they helped?"

"Within an hour." She answered promptly and left to let her girls no the course of action.

She was walking into her office and paused seeing Harry sitting there.

"Harry? What are you doing here?"

He turned and smiled uneasily. "Someone saw you today with Lucius Malfoy at the mines. I came to see if you were alright."

"I am. I can't discuss with you while I was there but I am fine." Then something occurred to her.

"Have you spent any time there?"

He frowned, "Yeah. I was curious. I wondered exactly what they were so I joined a shift for a little while."

"How long?" She asked quickly.

"I work there on the weekends. For about five months now. Why do you look like that?"

Hermione pulled out her wand and scanned him. No. There was cancer in his stomach. How could this have happened? Who was in charge of the mines?

"Harry who is your boss? All the way to the top. Hurry!"

"Kingsley. He's the one who discovered them. All the mines belong to him."

"What do you mean all?"

"There are three other mines close by the first one. Hermione what's wrong?"

"I have a patient who works there. He had cancer all over his body. You have cancer in your stomach. I am so sorry Harry."

Harry went ashen, "I've been feeling so bad lately. I was going to have you take a look at me after work but when I heard about Malfoy I … am I going to be okay? How bad?"

Hermione pulled him down to another room and told him to take off his shirt. He hesitated.

"Nothing I haven't seen before Harry. Do it." He flushed red.

Hermione bent to listen to his heart, "You know I don't bite. You don't have to avoid touching me at all costs."

"Hermione…"

"What Harry?" She said tiredly.

"About what happened last month. I am very sorry. I don't know…"

"Does it seem like I'm mad at you?"

"Well no, but…"

Hermione sighed and looked him in the eyes. "The way I see it and I will continue to see it is that we were both lonely and wanted a good time. We got what we wanted. I have no desire to date you and I'm not in love with you. You're my best friend. After Ron…anyway. I don't want things to be weird, they don't have to be."

Harry was red the whole time she spoke, "You were my first."

Her jaw dropped. "I was? You're twenty six!"

"I know. I've come close but they're all after my money or my fame and I just…couldn't do it. I know how lame that is."

She smiled, "I actually think it's good that you have standards. I'm happy to be your first then. I know I rocked your world."

He flushed harder, "Merlin, Hermione."

"Alright, I'll stop. Now, lay back."

She used her wand to scan deeper into his stomach. The cancer was only in the lining not to mean only, but it was a great deal better than Draco's body.

"I'm going to assign Amber to start your healing rounds. They hurt like a bitch but I feel like they will help you. Do not go back to that damn mine."

"No problem there." He said quickly. Hermione sighed and left. Harry better be alright. Now she just needed to locate Amber.

"There you are. Harry needs rounds of healing. He worked in the mine too."

"Oh Hermione I am so sorry. I'll go right now."

"Thank you Amber. Do your best. I know you always do but still."

Amber tossed her black hair way from her face and smiled, "Damn right I do. I'll update you soon."

"Okay. Thanks again."

Hermione went to her office and wrote a letter to send to Kingsley. He was in a lot of trouble.

"Hermione. There are a lot of men and woman out here asking for you." Hermione looked up at Ethan, her assistant and frowned.

"For me?"

"Yes, they are very upset." He sounded bewildered. Hermione stood and followed him out to the lobby.

"Hermione Granger?" A woman said hostilely. Hermione crossed her arms defensively. "Yes?"

The woman brought her fist back to swing but Hermione had survived a war. She caught the woman's fist before it could touch her face and threw her away. The woman looked astounded.

"Use your words, Ma'am." She said as politely as she could with the rage pulsing through her.

"You shut down the mine. How am I supposed to work and feed my kids?"

Hermione looked at the group of maybe twenty. "Is that why you're all here?"

They said yes, "Alright listen up. I have had two patients now come in with advanced cancer from the radiation coming from that damn mine. I closed it to stop any more exposure. I suggest every single one of you get scanned immediately. If you know anyone who has spent time there get them here and get scanned. I mean it."

Silence. Then the woman who tried to hit her said, "Where do we go?"

"Amy will help you. She's right there. Tell her to scan you all for cancers. Oh and ma'am, try and hit me again I'll hit back."

She looked frightened and scurried away. Good. Bitch. Hermione turned around and found Lucius watching her closely. She made her way towards him, "Is Anna taking care of Draco?"

"Yes. She's very nice. I would prefer for you to still check on him though. Someone else has cancer?"

"Yes. I can't say who but yes. I suspect there will be many more. I sent an owl to Kingsley who is in charge of the mines. Why didn't they scan? That should be common sense!"

"I agree and I will be pursuing the matter."

She surveyed him, "Good. I'm sure they will listen to you."

"If my son dies they will do more than listen." He sounded very threatening.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Let's go see Draco."

He didn't say anything to her as they walked back to Draco's room.

"The potions have been administered. I'll come back and check in an hour alright Hermione?" Anna said and she looked dead on her feet.

"No, go home eat and shower. I'll do it. That's an order." She added when it looked like she would object.

"Fine. I'll be back in the morning."

"Good." Hermione said and let her pass. Lucius took his seat and Hermione took a look at Draco's eyes.

"I'm going to wake him and judge him mental state. He could be in a lot of pain, I'm sure he is with all the rounds of healing. Just be prepared."

He nodded mutely and Hermione woke Draco. He moved an inch and gasped.

"Fuck that's hurts." His words were slurred. That could be from the sleeping but she didn't think so.

"What's your name?"

"Draco Malfoy."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

Hermione stiffened. He was twenty five.

"Very good Draco. You're going to sleep now. So there won't be any pain."

"Thank you." He whispered but it was barely understandable. Hermione found she couldn't look up at Lucius.

"Miss Granger. Tell me what that means." His tone was even but when she did look up he was stricken.

"It could be brain damage."

She did another scan. It had grown back. "It's grown back again. I'll be back in a minute."

"Well aren't you going to take it out?" He demanded. Hermione touched his arm, "It's dangerous to keep opening him up that way. I need to check some facts. I'll come back in just a few minutes."

He leaned in closer so close she could smell his aftershave. His eyes peered into hers and she was stunned. They were beautiful. They were locked in each other's gazes until he took her hand from his arm and squeezed it.

"Hurry back Miss Granger." He said with an even tone. Hermione nodded curtly and rushed from the room. What the fuck had that been? All she knew was no one had made her feel that way with a simple look and that meant nothing good. Nothing good at all.

A/N: New story let me know what you think!