"When did you first notice that something was wrong with your son?" the Healer asked Narcissa.

"Just this morning, when I went to wake him up for breakfast," Narcissa answered, somehow managing to keep her voice calm and steady.

"So, he was just fine last night?"

"Yes."

"So, there has been no recent changes in his appetite or anything like that?" the Healer pressed. "What about his sleeping habits? Has he been sleeping more lately than is usual for him?"

"There has been no changes in either his appetite or his sleeping habits," Narcissa answered. "Until this morning, he was a perfectly healthy little boy."

Narcissa looked over the Healer's shoulder, where there was a group of wizards and witches gathered around Draco's hospital bed.

Her eyes tried to find Draco, but the Healers were blocking her view.

"We're going to do some tests," the Healer said. "You should sit down for a little while."

"My husband," Narcissa spoke. "My husband needs to be informed about this."

"We will send him an owl with a letter," the Healer replied.

"Thank you."

Narcissa then used her wand to pull a chair as close to Draco's bedside as she could get without getting in any of the Healer's way.

Narcissa slowly sat down. She still couldn't catch a glimpse of her young son.

She couldn't even see if he was still conscious.

Lucius was in a meeting with Fudge when an owl suddenly began pecking on Fudge's closed office window.

"I wonder who that's from," Fudge remarked.

Lucius lazily pointed his wand at the window, which caused it to open.

The owl flew into the room.

To the surprise of both men, the owl went straight to Lucius, completely ignoring Fudge.

"A letter for you?" Fudge said, a questioning look on his face.

Lucius looked down at the letter and began to read its contents.

Fudge noticed that Lucius's face became more and more worried with each second that passed.

"I have to go," Lucius suddenly announced. "My son is at St. Mungo's. He's not doing well."

"Of course," Fudge replied. "We can continue this later. Go check on your son. I hope it's nothing too serious."

Lucius bolted out of the room, completely forgetting who he was and how he was supposed to present himself in public. According to the letter, Draco was seriously sick. It wasn't just something minor.

Draco needed him. Narcissa needed him.

In his haste to get to the nearest spot where he could Apparate, Lucius bumped several people out of his way, almost knocking a few of them down to the floor. His mind didn't have time to register any of their faces.

"So, have you figured out yet what's wrong with Draco?" Lucius asked the Healer impatiently, struggling to keep the panic out of his voice.

"Not yet," the Healer, "but there are still several more tests that we can do."

Lucius looked over at Narcissa. Her eyes were reflecting both her annoyance and her desperation. They had heard too many times, "We don't know what's going on." The Healers had never been able to tell them why Ara had been a stillborn. The Healers had never been able to tell them why Narcissa had suffered all those miscarriages after Ara.

And now the Healers couldn't tell them what was wrong with Draco.

"Well, don't just stand there," Lucius snapped at the Healer. "Go do those tests."

The Healer nodded his head before he went to rejoin his colleagues.

Lucius used his wand to pull over a chair. He placed it next to Narcissa's.

Lucius took Narcissa's hand as he sat down.

Neither said anything as they watched the group of Healers wave their wands over Draco's body, which was still hidden from their view.

"This doesn't make any sense," Lucius finally spoke. "Draco looked to be just fine last night when we were putting him to bed. How could he have gotten this sick this fast?"

"The Healers don't know that either," Narcissa replied tonelessly.

"What am I not surprised to hear that?" Lucius mumbled.

"It's probably nothing serious," Narcissa spoke. "There's no way anything can get this serious this quickly, especially with no prior warnings or signs. Draco is probably going to be just fine. I bet we'll be taking him back home before its lunchtime."

It was clear, however, that Narcissa was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Lucius.

It had passed lunchtime by several hours when the Healers finally told them that they still couldn't figure out what was wrong with Draco.

Unbelievable, both Lucius and Narcissa thought angrily. Haven't they already lost enough because the Healers couldn't figure out what was going on?

"There are potions we can use to perform more extensive tests," the Healer who had spoken to them earlier said.

"Just find out what's wrong with our son," Lucius hissed.

The Healer nodded his head. He then gestured for the others to follow him out of the room.

As soon as they were alone, Lucius and Narcissa used their wands to pull their chairs even closer to Draco's bedside.

Draco was still soaked in sweat, but at least he was no longer moaning in pain. The Healers had apparently given him something to help him sleep.

Narcissa reached out and gently took Draco's sweaty hand. "What's going on with you, sweetie?" she asked. "None of this is making any sense to me. I know you were just fine last night, and if you weren't, I know you would have said something. You don't know how to keep a secret."

Narcissa smiled slightly at her last statement, but it did not take long for her smile to fade away.

Silence then filled the room.

"Did you even get a chance to eat breakfast?" Lucius suddenly asked. He didn't want Narcissa to also become sick.

Narcissa shook her head.

"I'll go get Dobby to get us something to eat," Lucius said, "so that we can stay here with Draco."

"Thank you," Narcissa said.

Lucius placed a gentle hand on her shoulder before leaving the room.

"Dobby," Lucius called out as soon as he had walked into the hallway.

There was a crack, which was quickly followed by Dobby's appearance.

"Yes, Master."

"Narcissa and I are going to be here for a while," Lucius said. "Go get us something to eat, quickly. Narcissa hasn't eaten anything since last night."

"Yes, Master." There was another crack, and Dobby disappeared.

Lucius then walked back into Draco's hospital room. He sat down beside Narcissa and once again took her hand.

"Dobby will be back shortly," Lucius said.

Narcissa just nodded her head.

Silence once again filled the room.