A thank you to those who reviewed and enjoyed! I'm glad you liked it. It warmed the cockles of my heart :)
Speedier posts for more reviews I guess, despite it being pre-written, heavy editting needs to be done, but guess what? Reviews motivate me. Especially when I avoid my schoolbag stealthily.
Reviews = birthday cake that doesn't seem to disappear.
~RavenclawStudent.
"W-what are you doing here?" He spluttered, looking at her in awe. She gazed at Daphne expectantly, who explained.
"Draco, I just told you. She's Theo's psychiatrist." She told him gently.
Draco rounded on her, his grey eyes narrowed. "You're kidding me right? Please tell me you're joking." Daphne casted her eyes down, slowly shaking her head as a response, eliciting a groan from Draco, he could already feel the onslaught of headaches attack him. "Daphne what did you do?" He muttered against his tongue. Hermione looked at the two awkwardly, unsure of what to do. "I'm afraid there's been a mistake." Draco said strongly, pointedly looking at Hermione.
"No," Daphne argued. "There's been no mistake." She swivelled in her seat to pleadingly look at Draco, whose temple was imperiously twitching. "Give her a chance Draco. She can help. He needs it." She looked away, gazing at the grandfather clock with a troubled expression. Draco glowered at her.
"Mr Malfoy," she began professionally, deeming this the best moment to speak. "I can understand your hostility towards my treatment. From the research I've already pieced together what has already happened and I know our history hasn't exactly been the best –" Draco snorted audibly, but Hermione ignored him, "but I am not here for you or me or our past grievances, I'm here for your son. I will leave at your volition."
He regarded her squarely, sizing her professionalism up swiftly. Eying Daphne's imploring gaze, he sighed resigned. "Fine." He said shortly.
A grim smile passed Hermione's face and she nodded, opening her notebook. "Can you explain to me what happened? Don't hesitate in giving details."
Draco sighed, wishing he didn't have to recant the memory again for what felt like the thousandth time. "About a month and a half ago, as you already may know, Pansy died." As he said it, a numbed pain shot through him. It sounded so odd. It felt like it was yesterday he walked in to the disastrous scene. "But it was in the way she died which made Theo… as he is. It was the December holidays, and Theo, as per usual, returned home for the holidays. There was a murder case Shacklebolt needed me to look at on Christmas, so I left the two. You must understand, I left in complete trust of my wards; the protective charms around this house are strong, incredibly strong. I used the spells even Voldemort himself hasn't heard of, I'm sure. I assumed they were completely impenetrable. Only those close to the family could breeze through the wards, the rest had to state their full name and reason for the visit before permitted entry. And even then, Pansy was trained in combat and defence, so I left. I believed I had not a thing to worry about.
"I went, I did what was necessary. I came home." He said stoically. He knew he had turned paler visibly and was unusually stiff, even for the likes of him. Despite his repressed emotions, it was still difficult for him to recall upon the grave error he had made that day. "I came home to find her lying on her back swimming in her blood. Theo was on top of her, crying and screaming. On the wall was written traitor amongst other things.
"Most of his memories are completely frozen so using Leglimency on him is useless, unless he chooses to give them up, which in this state he won't." He informed her, his eyes fixed directly on his hands. "To this day, the only information I know from the murders is from the autopsy and the physical evidence."
Hermione nodded, scribbling onto the notebook. "Has Theo spoken to either of you since the death?" They both shook their heads, and she wrote something down in her book. "Has he outwardly shown any emotion?"
"He's been quiet since the day after she died."
"And you are looking for help now?" Hermione inquired, but Draco could hear the disbelieving and disapproving tone beneath it. He sneered.
"Yes."
She nodded. "How was he during the day of the murder and the day after?"
"He barely spoke, only croaked a few words when he needed to. He couldn't even look at me – at anyone for that matter. He allowed me to clean him and put him to bed. It was late by then, and I passed out in his room. His screams in the middle of the night woke me. But when I shook him awake, he said nothing… did anything, it was after that he stopped talking to me." He felt his mind harden against the emotions drilling through it. "I had assumed it was his teenage way of coping, acting all tough and passive, but I was so wrong. It's not normal. He didn't even cry at the funeral." He felt the truth of it hit him like a brick wall again, and was momentarily stunned by it. He felt oddly hypocritical, calling his son's apathetic behaviour not normal, as he himself hadn't shed a tear for his mother at her funeral, but Theo was very much unlike him, it was that which made Draco love him even more. Now, he couldn't say that.
"Will he not be joining us today?" She asked Draco. He shook his head.
"Can you see him?" Draco said bitterly, Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"What's the situation with Hogwarts? Has he been given time off?"
This time, Daphne nodded. "Professor McGonagall has allowed him temporary leave."
"Okay. Now, seeing as this is the first appointment and Theo is now my patient, I would like the both of you to sign these documents," she pulled them out of her bag and handed them over to Draco. "This is only to ensure both Theo's and my privacy, nothing big, only the consequences." She smiled as Draco began reading them, signing each parchment off and handing it to Daphne to do the same. When they were done, Daphne neatly returned them to Hermione, who put it in her bag. "I expect Theo to do the same, but as he is in the predicament that he is in, I have no reason to believe he will defy this. I would like to however, cast a small spell on him. It won't have any side effects; I've used it many times in this career to be sure of that. It just reassures me that my privacy will remain just that, private. He is legally under your care so I am obligated to ask."
Draco nodded. "If anything happens to him…" He began warningly.
"I guarantee you your son will be completely fine." She quickly told him. He hummed in response.
"Is that all?" She asked.
Hermione shook her head. "I would like to speak to Theodore."
Draco gazed at her confusedly. "Already?" He asked.
"Yes," she confirmed. "Usually these first appointments would give me the opportunity to create some level of trust with the patient. As Theodore is absent from this session, I cannot do so without his presence, but still, it wouldn't be right for me to not say hello." Daphne smiled at Hermione, who reciprocated the action. Draco nodded curtly, vaguely regarding the situation as an oddity.
"This way," he said, walking up the stairs.
"Maybe it would be better if you informed him?" Hermione said as they reached his room, Draco nodded again, feeling a crick form in his neck.
Tiredly, he knocked on Theo's door. "Theo? I'm coming in, okay?" He was met with the achingly familiar silence, but he maintained his rampant emotions and quietly walked in, Hermione following in pursuit. "Theo, I have someone here to meet you. Her – her name is Hermione Granger." He didn't know what else to say, feeling some shame that his own son would not recognise him in front of others. Indeed Theo said nothing, staring ahead with the blank expression on his face, his mind far from his body. Hermione was watching them closely, and when Draco beckoned her forward, she walked in, her heels treading over the carpet.
"I can take it from here," she said softly, Draco nodded, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him.
"Theodore?" She said. "Is it okay if I call you Theo? Your father calls you that." She noted. He made no motion so she sat next to him on the bed. "Your room is very beautiful Theo, I can already see that you love Astronomy, it's a hard subject, from what I can remember in my time at Hogwarts, but Draco tells me you're a bright boy, so I can imagine it to be quite easy for you." She continued, closely surveying his face. No difference to how he acted with Draco, so Hermione continued speaking. "Draco failed to mention why I'm here Theo. See, Draco's very worried about you, he tells me you don't talk to him, and he's completely wrecked by it. He told me you don't eat, and you're barely the active boy you used to be." She hesitated, wondering if she should tell him. "Daphne owled me, told me she was in need of my assistance. She said my profession would be useful here," she paused, evaluating him carefully. "I'm a magical trauma specialist, designated to work specifically with children who have experienced harsh traumas." He flinched almost imperceptibly, but Hermione caught sight of it and made a mental note. "Draco told me you witnessed your mother's murder –"
"That's enough."
Hermione looked up and saw Draco glaring at her angrily, his fists clenched and Daphne poorly attempting to restrain him. Hermione cleared her throat, returning her sight to Theo. "Theo, I'll see you soon okay? I have to leave now." She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the two adults behind her.
"What the hell was that Granger?" He hissed. Hermione's back straightened.
"Let's discuss this downstairs," Daphne said, being the first to walk down the stairs, Hermione following.
"Malfoy, I must ask you to never disrupt our conversations like that." Hermione said tightly, her fingers clenched around the notebook.
"'Disrupt your conversations'?" He repeated angrily. "You mentioned his mother! That conversation was going nowhere!"
"And you know that how?" Hermione questioned. "I was establishing some level of trust with Theodore before you interrupted."
"By mentioning Pansy?" He whispered furiously. "How is that establishing trust?"
"I was trying to get him to communicate with me!" Hermione burst out. Taking a deep breath, she returned to her original practiced state. "Theodore is still in shock over what happened. He's in that state because her death has not truly registered in his brain, and by you not mentioning it hasn't been useful or useless. I needed to know my words were being heard. Now it will be harder to work with him because of this, and it will be harder to talk to him and get him to communicate." Hermione calmed down despite the story her eyes were speaking, taking another deep breath and gazing steadily at Draco. "I think that is enough for today, I will owl you the details of the next appointment and where my office is. Miss Greengrass?" Without a bid goodbye to Draco, she and Daphne walked towards the door, and in the night, after Daphne reprimanded him for his actions, did he truly admit he messed up.
Draco sighed as he leaned against the banister opposite his son's room. With a mug of steaming hot coffee and some toast lying faithfully by his side, he rubbed his head slowly as an owl pecked impatiently at the hall window. He hurried over to the window and let the owl in, quickly catching the letter before the owl left the house.
Ripping the envelope open, he groaned as he read what it said:
Dear Mr Malfoy,
I have scheduled an appointment for Theodore Malfoy on Wednesday the 25th of January at 2:15pm to continue our treatment. Please arrive promptly at the disclosed premise on the given day.
Yours sincerely,
Hermione Granger
He hadn't expected such a quick reply; after all, she had only visited earlier on in the week. He sighed, knowing the following week would be a difficult one. not only had Hermione's appointment fallen on Pansy's first full month as being dead, but there would also be the issue of managing to take Theo to the appointment and keeping his emotions well and truly intact as to not further disrupt her treatment. He didn't understand the extent of the damage he had inevitably inflicted, and it was obvious Hermione was somewhat similar, but he knew she understood some things that managed to escape Draco's usually analytical eyes. She wouldn't share though, she would probably spend her time analysing and researching if he knew her.
That posed as the truth though. He didn't know her, not anymore. From her outwardly appearance, Hermione Granger had changed significantly. He didn't remember teenage Granger walking in heels. Incredibly short – and unnoticeable to the untrained eye – heels they may be but heels nonetheless. He also couldn't recall the last time he had heard her speak so amiably, the professionalism she had swept out in the courtroom of his trial was still avidly presented to him, but other quirks such as her obsessive note-taking to everything he said had unnerved him. He didn't remember her being like that; he remembered the crazy notes she used to be associated with and her nasty habit of scolding her bodyguards – he really shouldn't call Potter that anymore – for copying them. No… it wasn't only that, other unrecognisable things were present in the new enigma that was Hermione Granger, and Draco found himself berating his mind for wasting such precious time on her.
"She works fast, I'll have to say." A velvety voice noted. Draco's thoughts dissipated and he wheeled around, his eyes constricting at the sight of the dark-haired woman standing next to the stairs.
"She does," Draco conceded, still narrowly watching her.
"Draco..." She trailed off, but Draco stopped her with his raised hand.
"I don't want to hear it Daphne, I really don't." He said tiredly, sounding much older than he was. This fatigue of his was not playing well, and his constant watch over Theo like a hawk was taking a significant strain on him. He knew his colleagues and Daphne noticed his deteriorating state, on the days he bothered to show his face. They knew the death of his wife would not be easy, but the way Draco was acting was completely saturnine.
"I know what I did was wrong –"
"'Wrong'? 'Wrong'?" He laughed mirthlessly. "No Daphne, kissing your sister's boyfriend is wrong, cheating in an exam is wrong. Getting a person who hated you for nearly ten years to psychoanalyse your friend's son is unexplainable." He hissed, anger clear in his voice.
Daphne came closer, her eyes riddled with guilt. "I just thought that if I told you –"
"If you told me then what? That I would stop my own son from getting treatment?" He stopped when he saw Daphne look down. "You... You thought I wouldn't let him get treated?" He whispered in awe.
"I was afraid of what you'd sacrifice Draco, Theo's in a critical condition, and he needs treatment from the best and the quietest. Granger's the best psychiatrist you'll find in the magical world, and she's also very private. She was perfect for you and I was afraid you would pass it off over the past." She pleaded, her eyes shining with manifested blame and shame.
Through clenched teeth, he replied. "The past is quite important, given our one."
Daphne looked sad. "Not when it affects decisions made about your son." She said gently.
"Decisions made about my son." Draco repeated. Daphne looked down. "My son."
"I care," she said, sounding broken.
"There's a line," he said softly. "You crossed it."
Walking into his son's room, he refused to say another word.
"Theo, I got you some toast; peanut butter and jam... Your favourite." Draco mustered a smile, setting the plate in front of him. His son looked on, uncaring and blank. "Please eat, you're getting incredibly thin." He didn't notice the letter in his hand until he almost left the room. Turning around, he informed his comatose son. "We have an appointment with Miss Granger on Wednesday, you have to be present, it is to help you." Draco said somewhat kindly, feeling the energy drain from him agonisingly slowly. He noticed Theo's shift in posture and perked up.
"We have to go to this appointment, it's necessary." He said simply. With that, he slouched out, letting Theo mull over his words, distinct hopes to grab another comforting mug of hot beverage and a decent biscuit, he rounded on the stairs, looking up and making an annoyed expression.
He groaned, rubbing his face. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided we need to sort out our issues." She said matter-of-factly. Draco almost bashed his head against the pole.
"And how exactly did you enter my house?" He asked.
"Daphne let me in when she was going out. She looked really upset." She added.
Draco raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Awkward silence engulfed them, and they both stood there, fidgeting and looking around.
Finally, Draco huffed. "What do you want Granger? I've got an unresponsive kid who I must attend to."
"I know you do," she nodded. "Has he communicated with you?"
Draco shook his head. "He moved when I notified him of our appointment yesterday, but even then..."
"Even the barest minimums count," Hermione said. She sighed deeply. "We need to resolve our... past issues; I will not have Theo be affected in his treatment by either of us." Before he could snidely comment, she continued. "This goes for the both of us Malfoy, we have to be good at this, he cannot know of it. We need to be able to act appropriately around each other whilst his treatment is going on. If you wish so, you can continue acting however you like, but for the sake of Theodore..." She faltered.
He did not say anything, simply nodding. Truthfully, he knew she was right. He would not allow anything to affect Theo's treatment, and if it meant sucking up to a ghost of the past, then by all means, but he could not risk losing his son.
She smiled, looking deeply grateful. She stood upright and was ready to excuse herself before Draco's sharp voice spoke her name. She turned, startled.
"Will he come back?" He asked, surprising himself with the strength in his voice. Hermione's face fell, unsure and nervous.
"I don't know Malfoy, but I can assure you that I'll try my best to bring him back to you."
"Have you dealt with case like this before?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Not as complicated as this. I've had children who witnessed family traumas, but not their mothers being murdered so brutally, and the significance to it. It's an interesting case, and I will try my best for him, he seems like an exceptionally bright boy."
"He is – he was..." He trailed off. "As much as it sickens me to admit this Granger, you're my last straw. He's not... responding to me – and I'm his father. I can't imagine how you'll be able to..." He shuddered, unwilling to have such thoughts like that. "Fix him Granger."
Hermione cleared her throat, a determined look fixed on her soft features. "I will. I promise."