Disclaimer - The original Harry Potter characters and the world of Harry Potter are not of my own invention and I do not claim ownership of them. KC

Scorpius Malfoy and I were never friends at Hogwarts, but we weren't exactly enemies. I guess you could say we were indifferent towards each other, mere acquaintances. And for good reason too. Scorpius Malfoy was Albus' best friend, still is actually, and so as the sibling rulebook in the Potter house goes, 'a sibling's friend is not your friend so stay the hell away or receive a carrot for a nose' (James' words obviously). But with our friends being regular topics at the dinner table and having them to stay at the Potter house often, the three of us actually learnt quite a lot about each others friends and they became part of our lives.

But even still, you can imagine my surprise when out of nowhere and five years since I'd last seen him, Scorpius Malfoy appears right in front of me. And unconscious of all things!

"Healer Potter!" the nurse pushing his stretcher calls when she sees me hurrying towards them. "This one has just been apparated in from Egypt. A curse breaker from Gringotts. Looks like he has been hexed something awful!"

I immediately start to monitor his condition as the nurse continues to push the stretcher down the corridor. Once we find an available room we push him inside and the nurse runs out again to find more help.

I write down the preliminary records of his condition (as I was taught during my healer training) and wait for the Senior Healer to arrive to assess him more thoroughly. And so suddenly I find myself staring at him. He has aged considerably from the 21 year old I last saw him as. He is not much taller and his hair is still the same bright blond. But his face looks weathered and his body is built rather than the lanky teen I remember him as. I have a sudden urge to touch his cheek but I stop myself. I don't even know where that urge came from…

Suddenly Scorpius' eyes fly wide open, startling me with the unexpected change from his comatose state. His striking silver eyes meet mine almost instantly and the intenseness in them scares me.

"Scorpius" he croaks, shuddering. "My name is Scorpius!"

I contain the frown I want to form on my face; showing concern to a patient is not reassuring for them. But it was such a strange thing for him to say…

"Are you an angel?" he whispers.

This question really catches me off guard and I blink at him, no words in response forming in my mind.

"Is this heaven? Am I dead?" he whispers again, his breathing rapid. "Please I don't want to die, I can't, not yet…"

His sentence fades away slowly, then all at once and it takes me a second to regain my composure. But Scorpius has left again, gone back into unconsciousness, and just before the Senior Healer arrives.

He runs into the room with two new nurses who immediately begin to move Scorpius from the stretcher to the bed. The Senior Healer meanwhile reads the records I wrote down moments before and I simply stand there and watch the scene, feeling quite dazed.

"Was there any change in his condition since you brought him in here?" the Healer asks as he begins to wave his wand over Scorpius' body.

My mind clicks into action again at his question. "Yes, actually. He opened his eyes suddenly and said his name. Then he asked if he was dead." I pause before continuing. "He said he didn't want to die."

"And what is his name then?" The healer asks impatiently, frustrated at my lack of detail.

"Scorpius," I reply, staring down at his body again. "Scorpius Malfoy."

"How long have you worked today, Healer Potter?" he asks without looking at me; he has obviously picked up on the fact that I was out of sorts.

"Uh, 15 hours I think, Sir" I answer, bringing my attention back to him.

"Well that's long enough for today's shift, Healer. You are relieved."

"But Sir –"

"Report back here in ten hours. This patient is going to need full time care. That's if he makes it through the night –"

"Is it that serious?" I ask, frightened as to what he was going to say.

"It is unknown what hexes and curses Gringotts' Curse Breakers face" the Healer tells me seriously. "It is that uncertainty which makes it one of the most dangerous professions in the wizarding world. So until we can run some more tests, we need to assume that this man's life is at serious risk."

Hello readers! Thank-you for reading this first chapter of my story! Please 'Follow' so I can keep you all updated when I publish new chapters. Hopefully that will be very soon. Please feel free to review as well as I would love to receive your comments!

KC