Chapter 4:

"One must not forget that recovery is brought about not by the physician, but by the sick man himself. He heals himself, by his own power, exactly as he walks by means of his own power, or eats, or thinks, breathes and sleeps."

-Georg Groddeck

The weekend with George passed quickly and with plenty of laughter. It ended with careful goodbyes and reminders not to divulge her location to anyone. After George left, Hermione threw herself into her work, caring for her clients with renewed vigor. The week slipped away quickly, as time often does when one is trying to avoid their future, and Friday crept up on her all too soon.

Her movements felt robotic and staged as she walked to the waiting room to collect Theodore and Helen. Steeling herself for the inevitable shock waves of panic, she opened the door to see only Theo leaning on a pair of crutches. He looked up when he heard the door open and their eyes met. A strange expression flashed in his eyes, it almost looked like relief, but she pushed that thought from her mind and assumed it was just her imagination playing tricks on her.

"Hi." She said, as he made his way towards her, clearly still not comfortable on the crutches. He nodded at her in response and they walked back together in silence.

"So where's Helen?" She asked after the silence had become unbearable.

"She didn't want to come." Theo said, his mask of blank emotion firmly in place. Hermione got the message and moved on to some leg exercises. When they had gone through the basic routine that would be the base of his therapy, Hermione offered to help Theo get a better grasp on the crutches.

"I think they're a little too short for you anyways, if we lengthen them and add some padding, plus teach you a better way to handle them it may be more comfortable for you."

He agreed and placed the crutches on the table. As he pushed them across towards her, his sleeve caught on the corner and rode up, exposing his arm. The angry black tattoo that plagued many of Hermione's nightmares suddenly flashed before her. She froze, and tried to look away, but all she could do was stare in shock and horror. Theo swiftly covered his arm and jerked it away from her gaze, but not before she also noticed the angry red scratches that crossed the marked skin. Shaking, she couldn't find the words to speak, and Theo refused to meet her gaze. Another deafening silence overtook them, but this time it was Theo who broke it.

"It frightens me, too." He said, his low voice barely above a whisper, "I tried to get it removed. Apparently that doesn't work. Helen hates it. I have to keep it covered all the time."

Hermione recovered slowly, but did not reply. Instead, she stood up and walked over to a cabinet in her office and returned with a salve and a bandage.

"May I?" She asked softly, and Theo reluctantly held out his arm to her. Gently, she rolled up the sleeve and looked at the bright lacerations that surrounded the dark ink. Taking a deep breath, she gently began to rub the salve into the wounds.

"It's actually a potion. I keep it around for myself but it'll heal this." She explained, as she wrapped the bandage carefully around the offended area. Theo watched her silently as she finished.

"Did you do this to yourself?" She continued, looking up to meet his gaze. He shook his head before replying.

"I can't blame her. It's a constant reminder of the monster I was."

"Muggles try never to blame children soldiers for committing someone else's crimes. I think it's a lesson that the Wizarding World should adopt." Theo simply stared at her.

"Why are you doing this for me?" He asked. "I thought for sure that by Friday you would have packed your bags and left."

Hermione wasn't sure how to answer him because, the truth was, that idea had crossed her mind. She had been so careful to choose locations that she thought no witch or wizard would ever go and she still wasn't comfortable with the idea that she was sharing that space with him. But she was Hermione Granger and Hermione Granger was many things and a coward was not one of them. So she had decided to stand her ground, but she couldn't tell him all of that. He was already very badly broken and she didn't have the desire to add any more pain to another person's life. No matter who the person was.

"This is my job, I can't just walk away from it." She replied, finally. "And since you are my client, it is also my job to pay attention to your wellbeing. I have a feeling you won't like what I have to say, but I'm going to have to say it. I believe it may be in your best interest to break things off with Helen and move out. These injuries are starting to show a pattern of domestic abuse, regardless of intent. It's very easy to forgive our loved ones when they hurt us, but we have to be careful to separate forgiveness from making excuses."

Theo pulled away from Hermione as she spoke. Standing, he did not look at her as he spoke.

"I think I've had enough for today. I'll see you next week, Ms. Granger."