Last Chapter: Narcissa smiled. "No party guest, I promise. Just you, me, the children, and your wife."
"You mean Hermione." Draco said with a small smile.
"Yes, of course." Narcissa said quickly, rolling her eyes at her son. "We'll have a nice sit down dinner. Just the six of us."
Draco exhaled a deep breath and looked at his mother. He could tell she was telling the truth. "Very well. We'll be here around six." Draco gave his mother one more kiss before starting to walk away. He paused as he left the shadow of the tree and turned back to his mother for a moment. "No parties." He said sternly, gaining a laugh from his mom, before walking into the house, out the front door, and to the apparation points where he returned back to work.
Hermione followed he healer into a small room, leading her kids behind her. Inside the room was a desk, lined with everything from tongue depressors to cotton balls, a window that allowed you to see the busy London streets below, and three chairs lining the wall opposite the desk. The healer smiled at Hermione and assured her that their healer would be with them momentarily, then shut the door and left Hermione alone with her kids. She led Rosie and Ellie to the chairs and told them to sit down, then took a seat next to Rosie, holding Charlotte in her lap. Rosie turned to Hermione and looked at her nervously. "Am I going to be okay, Mummy?"
Hermione smiled as much of a reassuring smile as she could muster before she answered. "Of course you are sweetie. We're just going to wait and see what the Healer says, okay?"
Rosie nodded her head, but still didn't look convinced. The next second, there was a knock on the door and a short, chubby man in lime-green robes walked into the room, a smile on his face. He shut the door behind him and then approached Hermione with his hand extended. "Hello Mrs. Malfoy, my name is Healer Carter."
Hermione held her hand out and politely shook Healer Carter's hand. "How are you doing today Healer Carter?" She asked politely.
"I am doing splendid, thank you for asking." He said with a wide smile, then his gaze finally fell on Rose. "And this must be Rose." He said, holding his hand out like he did to Hermione. Hermione nodded at her daughter, telling her silently that it was okay, so Rosie wrapped her small hand around his. "How are you feeling today Rose?"
"Fine." Rose said shyly.
"Good." Healer Carter said, now taking a seat at the chair that sat under the desk, and turning it so it was facing Rose and Hermione. "Now, you're here today for a magic assessment today, correct Mrs. Malfoy?" He asked Hermione.
"You can call me Hermione, and yes… that is why we are here." Hermione said forcing a smile.
"Okay, great. What were going to do is run a couple of test to see if we can figure out what is taking Rosie's magic so long to surface. First we're going to take a blood sample. This will allow us to trace DNA better, and then we'll really be able to get a good look at Rosie's magic. The other test are physical test, test that are designed to reach in and attempt to pull the magic out or allow us to get a view of what is taking so long." Rosie looked terrified when Healer Carter talked about reaching inside of her, and Healer Carter just let out a little laugh. "Don't worry Rose, we won't actually be 'reaching inside you'. Just some fun little activities and questions."
"You're not going to hurt me, are you?" Rose asked.
"No, of course not." Healer Carter said with a smile.
"You promise?"
"I promise." Healer Carter said with a laugh.
"Alright." Rosie said quietly.
Healer Carter nodded and then turned so he was facing his desk. He opened up one of the drawers and pulled out a needle, then turned back to Rose. Rose cringed when spotting it, and instantly wrapped herself around Hermione's arm. Healer Carter smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you. I promised, remember?" Rosie still looked unsure, so Healer Carter quickly pulled his wand from his robes and held out his hand. "Can I see your arm?"
"What are you going to do?"
"Well I have to take some blood from your arm so we can see what's wrong with your magic and sticking the needle into your arm gives you a little pinch, so I'm going to use my wand and make it so you can't feel that pinch. Is that alright?" Rosie studied Healer Carter for a few seconds before looking up at Hermione. Hermione smiled at her and nodded her head, so Rosie obliged. She held her arm out and Healer Carter gently grabbed her hand. "Would you like to say the spell with me?"
Rosie suddenly looked rather excited, and nodded her head. "Yes."
"Okay, great." Healer Carter said, placing the tip of his wand in the middle of her arm. "Now, on the count of three you're going to say: Torpeo. Can you say that?"
"Torpeo." Rose said, proving that she could in fact, say it.
"Great now, one… two…three… torpeo."
"Torpeo." Rose said with Healer Carter as he tapped her arm. What looked like a blue cloud came out of the tip of Healer Carters wand and wrapped itself around Rose's arm, then suddenly disappeared. Healer Carter then reached onto his desk and pulled out the needle. He looked at Rose to make sure she was okay around the needle before gripping her arm again.
"Are you ready?" He asked. Rose nodded confidently and Healer Carter quickly stuck the needle in her arm. Rose didn't feel a thing and everybody in the room watched as Rose's blood filled the tube. Once Healer Carter had the right amount of blood, he pulled the needle out and stuck some gauze over the tiny hole. He asked Rose to hold the gauze on and then turned to his desk and grabbed a bright pink bandage, then turned and stuck it on Rose's arm after removing the gauze.
Charlotte spotted the pink straight away, and stirred in Hermione's arm, trying to get a better look. Healer Carter noticed and let out a little laugh. He then reached inside of the desk once more and pulled out another pink bandage. "Would you like one to, little one?" He asked.
Charlotte nodded and then held her arm out just like Rose did for Healer Carter to put the bandage on, which is happily did. "What do you say Charlie?" Hermione asked.
"Thank you." Charlotte said, not taking her eyes of the bright pink bandage.
"You're very welcome." Healer Carter said before standing up. "Now, unfortunately, the test have to be done in one of our other rooms, and we ask that only the Healer, along with his or her assistant, and the patient go in the room together. This helps to unsure there is less pressure on the child and also allows us to concentrate more without any interruptions or questions. Is this alright with you, Mrs. Malfoy?"
"That's fine." Hermione said nervously, then turned to Rose. "You're going to go with Healer Carter, okay?"
"Are you coming, Mummy?" Rose asked.
"Mummy's not allowed, but don't worry. Healer Carter is going to take good care of you, okay? I want you to listen to him and do everything that him and his assistant ask of you. And answer all of his questions honestly and truthfully, alright?" Rosie nodded. "This is going to make everything better." She then kissed Rosie on the top of the head and Healer Carter held out his hand, which Rosie took, and led her out of the room. "This is going to make everything better." Hermione said in a whisper, trying hard to convince herself that what she said to her daughter actually was the truth.
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Draco entered his office and took a seat down at his desk, continuing what he was doing before he decided to pay his mother a visit. As he was skimming through his notes of the people who had to be escorted out of the Falmouth Falcons game about a week ago, there was a knock on his door. Draco didn't look up as he told the person to enter. "Come in!"
The door opened and then Draco heard it shut tightly before the person spoke. "Oh, so is this what resides in this room? A Malfoy?"
Draco looked up and smiled when he saw one of his best friends standing before him. "Might I remind you, Weasley, that two of your best friends are Malfoy's."
"I know." Ron said, sounding mad. "I remind myself of that fact every day." Ron took a seat at one of the two chairs that faced the front of Draco's desk. Draco looked up at him and shook his head, a small smile plastered on his face. Ron hadn't changed a bit. Well, not really.
"So what are you doing at the Ministry?" Draco asked, continuing his work as he talked to Ron.
"Came to collect my paper work for being suspended from the Chudley Cannons." Ron said quietly, yet still sounding rather pissed about it.
"Oh yeah," Draco said, finally looking up at Ron. "I forgot you were suspended. You used Felix Felicis and then somebody turned you in for it, right?"
"No!" Ron said through his teeth, glaring at Draco. "I've already told you along with all the press. I was set up." Draco shook his head at Ron, rolling his eyes, and then turned back to his work. "Why does nobody believe me?" Ron asked himself under his breath.
"They used Veritaserum on you Ron. You admitted to taking it five hours before the scheduled match. I was there for that match, you played brilliantly. Why would they believe you defending yourself against Veritaserum, a truth serum."
Ron looked at Draco, not knowing what to say. "Well… they should! And you could have helped me, you know. You are the Head of Magical Games and Sports. I thought you supported the Chudley Cannons?"
"I do." Draco said seriously. "But I also support the facts, and the facts said that you drank Felix Felicis."
"Traitor." Ron said under his breath, but Draco ignored him and kept going with his work.
"I'm surprised you're not out and about, winning over your next girlfriend, Mr. Quidditch bachelor of the year."
Ron laughed slightly and studied his hands. "I'm afraid I might be losing that title very shortly."
"Why's that?" Draco asked, now looking up at his friend with concern.
"Well, not that you care or believe me, but my ex-girlfriend was the one who set me up." Draco rolled his eyes, sorry he asked, and turned back to his work. He could hear Ron stirring in his chair and guessed the he was now on the edge. "Hear me out, Malfoy." Ron said seriously. Draco looked up with a small smile on his face, not believing how serious Ron was getting. "So one week before I was accused of drinking the Felix Felicis, I found my ex cheating on me. I broke up with her and she was outraged because of it. Next thing I know, I'm being suspended for something I didn't even do."
"What's your point?" Draco asked, rather confused.
"Do you know who the substitute keeper is the Chudley Cannons?" Ron asked, leaning closer towards Draco's desk.
"Of course I do. Cormac McLaggen."
"And do you know who my ex-girlfriend cheated on me with?" Draco just stared at Ron, not answering. Mentally he wondered how in the world he would know information about Ron and his girlfriends. "McLaggen!" Ron said, falling back in the chair with his arms flying into the air. "Don't you see!? She wanted to get revenge on me for breaking up for her, so she decided to get me suspended by using the imperious on me and forcing me to drink the Felix Felicis. And to top it all off, not only did she get her revenge, but she also got her new boyfriend a couple weeks of fame by being allowed to play as the keeper for one of the best professional Quidditch teams."
Draco just stared at Ron, not believing he actually sat down and figured all of that out. Draco also couldn't help but think that Ron had been holding that in for a while, and wanted nothing more than to tell somebody who would listen to him. "You don't believe me, do you?" Ron asked, his arms falling down and looking at Draco with sad eyes.
"Does it really matter now?" Draco asked seriously. "You're not suspended anymore, so who cares? You're back on the team and before long you'll have even more girls fawning over you like you did before, so stop whining." Draco finished turning back to his work.
Ron, who figured he was right for the most part, turned his attention to his finger nails. After a couple minutes of silence, Ron spoke. "So, how are the kids?"
"Good." Draco said shortly. He wasn't' planning on telling Ron about Rosie. His mother already knew and that was already too many.
"And what about Hermione? I feel like I haven't talked to her in ages."
"That's because you haven't." Draco said, not taking his eyes off his work. "She's always saying how much she misses you."
"Yeah, I've been busy lately, with being suspended and everything. Speaking of being busy, thats what it's looks like you're doing. Maybe I'll just leave you to your work?"
"Thanks Ron." Draco said, looking up at Ron stood up from his chair. "Owl us sometime, alright?"
"You got it." Ron said, nodding at Draco before walking out of the room.
Draco turned back to his work and shook his head. "Quidditch Bachelor of the Year." Draco laughed to himself.
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There was a knock on the door and then it suddenly opened. Rose walked inside and quickly occupied her seat she left several minutes ago, then followed closely by Healer Carter. Hermione couldn't help but notice that he didn't look like his cheery self. "Is everything okay?" Hermione asked suddenly, not able to stop the question from coming from her mouth.
Healer Carter took a seat at his desk and then turned and looked at Hermione. "We ran all of the physical test, Mrs. Malfoy, but while doing so, neither myself or my assistant could detect any magic present within Rose." Healer Carter said, going straight to the point. Hermione covered her mouth with shock. "This, however, doesn't necessarily mean that she has no magic. Sometimes, it takes longer for some children to develop magic and we can't even see it until we look at the blood sample. So, until I can really tell you what is wrong with Rose, we'll have to wait a couple of days for the results to get back to us."
"Has this ever happened to anybody before? Has anybody else ever had no results on the physical test but yet they still developed magic?" Hermione asked nervously.
"Not very often, but yes, it has happened before."
"So, there's still hope?"
"There is always hope, Mrs. Malfoy." Healer Carter said seriously. "If worse comes to worse and Rose doesn't have any magic, there are plenty of muggle schools that would be more than happy to take Rose and educate her into their world." Hermione nodded her head, looking down at Rose who was staring at the floor. Healer Carter suddenly reached behind him inside of another drawer on his desk and pulled out three long pieces of candy. He held one out to Rose. "You were great today Rose." He said with a smile. Rose looked up and smiled at her Healer, taking the candy wand from his hand and thanking him. Healer Carter then handed the other two to Charlotte and Ellie, telling them that they were very patient and well behaved as well, then stood up from his chair.
Hermione followed suit, her children standing up from their seats directly after her. Hermione extended her free hand and shook Healer Carters. "Thank you for everything." She said, forcing a smile.
"You are very welcome." Healer Carter said, shaking Hermione's hand with a tight grip, almost telling her that everything was going to be okay. He then opened the door for Hermione and her kids and escorted them back out to the waiting room. "We'll owl you when the results come in."
"Thank you." Hermione said one last time.
"And, Mrs. Malfoy? I think it would be best if you came without your children, especially Rose, when we tell you the results from her test, just in case."
"I will. Thank you again." Hermione shook his hand one more time before walking out of St. Mungo's and back into the muggle London streets. She led her kids towards Diagon Alley where their minds would be set on getting new books, ice cream, and visiting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Hermione's mind, however, was set on something else. And that something just happened to be her oldest daughter.
:( poor rose!
i hope you guys liked this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it.
thanks to xheex, dracomalfoyswifey, pink-strawberries, Team Dramione, mjmusiclover, and LornaxDanielle for reviewing last chapter!
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