A/n: Hello again readers! Here's another update, and I hope you enjoy. Keep those reviews up because I really appriciate them and any insight you have can help me guide this story down the right path. I don't want it to stray! Thanks again to my beta's JDeppIsMyLovely and Tessa Cresswell!

The Little Girl

She was late. When this Adam fellow arrived, Draco duly noted the absence of his co-worker. When asked where the girl was, Adam had shrugged, explaining that he had absolutely no idea, but that their boss might just kill her. The blond had only rolled his eyes at that. Served her right; she should be able to come to work on time after all. The girl had been punctual most of the time in school, when she wasn't getting herself into trouble with those two buffoons.

"She will be here soon though, I am sure," Adam Lincoln said, nodding towards Draco. The blond just rolled his eyes at the prick's proper attitude, turning back again to drink more from his glass. He had actually bothered to pour himself a drink today instead of drinking straight from the bottle. He found it quite irritating.

"Of course she will be," he muttered.

"In the meantime Mr. Malfoy," Adam continued, pulling on his collar nervously. The blond looked back, raising an eyebrow as the man looked around with concern. "There is something I have needed to speak to you about."

"And you choose to do this when Granger is not around? Interesting." The git sounded bored.

Adam sighed, knowing he would notice this detail. It wasn't that Hermione was bad, but he knew she was taking this case very close to heart, and didn't want to bring up anything terrible in the witch's presence. "I was told that it might be better to speak of it without her here, but do not tell her I said that." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a roll of parchment, and now he knew he had the blonde's full attention.

"What is that?"

The Healer took a breath. "This is a document my advisor, Franklin Williams, gave to me. It's a list of precautious you are supposed to be taking, as well as several suggestions that he thinks you should consider concerning your son."

Draco stood up quickly, snatching the parchment from the man's hands. "No oaf from St. Mungo's is going to advise me on anything concerning my son," he bit out, wandering around the space as he undid the letter. He was in no mood to read the opinions of people who did nothing more than sit behind a desk and advise others about what they thought should be the next step in situations that they have never personally dealt with.

He was about to unfold the letter when his Floo roared to life a second time and none other than the Hermione Granger jumped out, looking stressed and tired. He cringed at the hideous attire she was wearing, as well as the smudge of dirt on her cheek.

"Glad to see you can actually make it to your job at all Granger," he snapped, drawing her attention as she dusted herself off. Adam had been prepared to say something to her before the blond aristocrat beat him to it.

She pointedly ignored him, scurrying across the room to stand beside Adam as she retied the back of the muggle shirt she wore. "I'm sorry," she breathed, attempting to not drop the rugged, worn handbag as she finished trying to make herself presentable. Up close both men could note that the small mark that appeared to be a smudge was truly a faint, oddly shaped bruise. "I had to take care of something, and it ran late so I had to-"

"Hermione," Adam cut in, rubbing his temples, "Save it. Whatever your reason for being late is, I honestly don't care. But don't allow it to happen again."

The blond inclined pale eyebrows at this, having expected the pair to be close friends before him. But the sudden hostility Adam Lincoln was showing towards the brunette seemed to demolish that possibility. Were they friends, she may have looked hurt by his coldness, but the former Gryffindor extraordinaire only sighed and fixed her hair back into a messy up do.

"Are you ready then?" her partner continued, crossing toned arms. He looked on edge, and as the blond reached for his bottle again he pondered why. This was not a Ministry job, they did not have to check in and out at certain points, so why he was so horribly concerned with her lack of proper timing was beyond Draco. He watched his former classmate roll large almond eyes as she walked closer to Lincoln. With a nod, the man turned back to address the property owner.

"It seems that we have finally collected ourselves. We will just go on our way to see your son. Do look at those notes Mr. Williams wrote to you Mr. Malfoy, for you might find some of them rather useful." The dynamic change in Adam's composure was obvious, and as he turned to head in the direction of Scorpius's room it was not lost to Hermione how his pleasant composure quickly dropped back to the look of annoyance and disappointment he had directed at her the moment she arrived. It was going to be a long day at work.

As the duo turned to head down the darkened halls of his Manor, Draco refocused his attention. The letter was now open, but he did not feel inclined to take the contents out. He knew it would put him in a sour mood, and at this early into the daylight hours that was not something he wanted to experience. Grabbing the throat of the bottle, he took a long swig of its contents. If he must read this, he would do so under whatever influence he chose.

Content with the burning sensation that was eating at his throat, he took the letter out to examine.

To Mr. Draco L. Malfoy~

It is with deepest regards that I send this letter. The Healer's here at St. Mungo's have been examining and speculating the case concerning your young offspring, Scorpius Malfoy, and after many hours of research I believe it is time I break the news to you. So far, all of my Healers have been unable to come to a conclusion about just what brought harm to your son. There have been many speculations, some more widespread than others, but none of which anyone can agree on. Until we truly know what this is, we can only go through a series of different treatments to help your son during this time. I have listed below a number of things for you to consider, all of which could be in your son's best interest.

In regard to the teeth and talons, we have come to the executive decision that you can bring Scorpius in for Solar Treatment, something that we often use on people bitten by Werewolves. This treatment is only used when a transformation is not complete, and although we know it is not a werewolf attack that is now plaguing your son, this is the best solution we have to help him remove the offending additions to his body. Whatever has brought harm to him is uncommon, and this is the closest match we can come to.

In regard to the anger tendencies and the number of harmful attacks that have been administered to the Healer's, we ask you again to consider the use of supplements like morphine to reduce the likeliness that harm will be done to those who are coming to help your son. We understand that this is not the ideal position for a parent to be in, but less and less Healers wish to come and examine the patient due to the way their colleges return. Mr. Lincoln and Miss Granger are exceptions, for both of them requested this patient to try and further their medical knowledge and careers- although I am also aware that Miss Granger requested this placement as well because she pitied your son, so in the future do have empathy for her, for the brightest witch in Britain did not have to choose to help with this at all.

I would also like to suggest something to you Mr. Malfoy. Your son was attacked in the forest outside your home, a place many know so little about. I understand that you do not often venture there yourself, but the amount of land there is massive, and something that could provide a lot of answers to those trying to find solutions to what has happened could reside in there. I ask your permission to alert some of the finest Aurors to search through the space for any hostile creatures that may lurk in the dark. If something is found, it could shed quite a bit of light on this entire ordeal. Until we can locate whatever has caused this unusual phenomenon we cannot fully help Scorpius. We want to do everything in our power to help; we just need the ability to. Please understand that I do not suggest this option to invade your privacy, but instead to help you out in the long run. We only seek to heal him.

Please owl me with your thoughts on this. The sooner I can get Aurors into the forest behind your Manor the better.

Deepest Regards-

Frank M. Williams

He clutched the letter, resisting the urge to tear it apart. He did not like the tone this man used, as though he thought that Draco himself did not have his son's best interests in mind. The nerve! He would not be paying that damn hospital large quantities of money a day to send in experts to examine his son for changes at home. It was a costly ordeal that he gladly paid for, and the man had no reason to bitch. He was receiving additional sums of money for two bloody Healer's- a figure that was not too large to be acceptable. He was not stealing away every worker in that facility, so the man had no reason to complain.

He reread the letter. So Williams wanted to send people in to inspect the woods behind this historic place? As if! He knew those woods better than any outsider could- granted his knowledge was extremely limited- but he would not have Ministry workers picking around in his private property. Why would he ever have allowed this to begin with?

Draco grit his teeth. Denying the man the ability to send people over would mean that he was offering himself up for the task. It was obvious that something needed to be done, that they needed to discover just what had done this, and the answers obviously lay somewhere in there. But the problem was that he had no desire to enter that place again. He could see the horrors of that place in his own home, laid out on the bed that once housed an innocent child. That child was now fighting off the monster within that wanted to take over, and he could not be more proud of his son for remaining so strong throughout this. Now if only he could tell him that.

Sitting, he placed his head in his hands. He would respond of course to this irritable man and tell him exactly what he planned to do, clearly stating that under no circumstances was he going to allow Williams to contact Aurors and send them in. This was his property, he would handle it himself. As for the Solar Treatment, he would have to think on that. It was an unusual type of treatment, and it meant that they were taking chances. But chances with his son's well-being was something he had to think about. Only as a last resort would he submit Scorpius to that pain.

Rubbing his temples, he reached for his drink again. He needed his little boy back, and he was going to have to make some tough decisions to get that to be a reality.

But how hard would they be in the long run? He took a big swig of his drink; that was not something he wanted to focus on just yet. Not until he had to.

"It's not getting any better, despite the medication and potions he is on," Hermione noted, wandering around the bed for a second time. Adam was brooding on the opposite side, glaring at her as she spoke. "If we up them too much though he will be a zombie when he awakens."

She jolted something down in her notebook, glancing up at him as she wrote. "What?"

"Why are you so late today Hermione?" he asked, leaning forwards a bit. The body of the angry boy twisted between them, but neither Healer was close enough to be harmed.

She narrowed her eyes. "That really has nothing to do with you." They had talked about this before at St. Mungo's when she would arrive late to shifts she had with him. She knew Adam was very prompt about timing and did not tolerate people who could not be there when expected, but his rudeness was bothersome. So he was angry; he didn't have to bite at her.

"It does when you arrive late in front of a client," he snapped in return. "Your history is already awful with Draco Malfoy, and being late will do nothing to strengthen that bond. If you cannot be prompt-"

"Being on time is not the entire job," she retorted, straightening her shirt again. The clothing she had hastily thrown on was not the best to work in, and she often spotted Adam giving her looks between their arguments whenever she undid her Healer robes to straighten herself out. "I am a high ranking Healer, and that is why I was allowed to come onto this case. You act as though I have done something horrible to your reputation by being a few scarce minutes late. Will you drop it already? No one is perfect all the time."

During her talk he had walked around the bed, coming to stand at her side. She flinched lightly as his hand came to lie over the small bruise she had picked up on her way to work that morning. "Perhaps it's because you showed up looking ruffled and worn, or maybe it's because you're bruised? This isn't the first time you've shown up to work like this Granger; you've done it before, at St. Mungos. Do you have an explanation as to why you show up like this sometimes?"

She shoved his hand away. "Like I have said, it's none of your concern. We are only work partners, and what I do with my personal life doesn't bother you." She moved away from him, going back to their reason for being here.

"I'm only wondering what problems you encounter outside of this place."

Hermione didn't respond, just kept watching Scorpius. They needed to make some progress soon or these private everyday visits would be pulled. And besides, she was not about to tell Lincoln about her personal life. There were reasons she evaded his questions.

After studying a few minutes, the same idea was echoing in her mind again; vampires. She had been reading at home, trying to decide what to do about her thoughts. Adam had made a good point the last time she had brought it up that she needed something to back up her idea, but reading would only get her so far. She needed something new- something ancient that could possibly help her get more evidence on those elusive creatures. But how?

But of course… where am I right now? This is Malfoy Manor- a tomb of ancient literature is just down the hall! If there is something anywhere to back up my theory, then it would be there! Straightening quickly, she shut her notebook, causing Adam to pay her some attention once more.

"What are you doing?"

"I've had an idea," she said quickly, shoving her things into her worn handbag. "I'll just be off to talk to Malfoy, it shouldn't take long-"

"Hermione, don't bother that man again. Don't you think his thoughts are twisted enough? He doesn't need any more problems raining down on him. Leave the man be. Whatever questions you have for him can wait until another day. I gave him the letter from Mr. Williams, and I doubt he is in any mood to chat."

The brunette was shaking her head long before he finished speaking. "I won't be discussing hardly anything with him really, I only have a question."

"A question that can wait-"

"This one can't," she cried, hurrying from the room. If Adam was going to argue with her, it was the type of discussion that would last for hours. She didn't have the time to argue with him all night long, and quickly made her run for the door. He didn't pursue her, and she made it out the door easily enough. Behind her she could hear his exasperated sigh, but didn't dwell on it. He was a skeptic about her idea anyways.

What she found in the living room was quite the oddity. There stood Malfoy, a bottle in his hand, his arms crossed, speaking to a very young child who had her fists balled up like she planned to attack the six-foot giant. Her first reaction was to wonder where in Merlin's name the girl had come from.

"I want to see Scorpius," she cried, stamping a foot. Guessing off no more than her size and actions, Hermione assumed the girl was no more than four or five. Considering she was asking for Malfoy's son indicated that she was also probably his friend. The girl took a step back into the shadows so she would not be noticed and turned her head, attempting to give the pair some privacy.

"I've already seen you Granger," the blond drawled, catching her off guard. She peered over at the pair again to see that the blond had taken a seat on his sofa once more, the angry little child still trying to glare him down. Throwing away the idea of giving them privacy, she began walking towards the two, finding them a very peculiar spectacle to watch. So peculiar in fact, that she began pondering whose child this was. She certainly bore no resemblance to Malfoy.

"Now Lizzy," the man continued, leaning forward towards the child, He set his bottle down, giving the girl a meaningful look. "Do your parents know you are here?"

"Uncle Draco," she complained, rolling her deep brown eyes. In the light Hermione could see that her hair was a perfectly sleek black bob, which bore the resemblance of a former classmate. "Of course they don't! They were being big meanies telling me I couldn't come see Scorpius, and now you are being a big meanie too!"

Draco graced his face with a smile, but Hermione saw right through the mask. It was plastic, put on only to make the child believe that things were alright. "Scorpius isn't quite well right now Lizzy," he said, brushing hairs from the side of the child's still chubby face, "And I don't think he will be able to play with you for a while. He's really sick you see, and he needs rest."

The little girl seemed horrified at this revelation. "Well what are you doing in here," she asked, throwing her hands up. Instantly, one locked onto his much larger wrist, and he began her feeble attempt to pull him in the general direction of Scorpius's room again. "We should go and be with him! Are you giving him sweets? He loves sweets. And why are you sitting on the couch Uncle? You should be buying him something- or reading a story to him!"

Hermione watched the perfectly placed mask on the blond's face collapse. This little girl- this friend of Malfoy's son- wanted to go and do all the things that were not allowed. She had seen so many parents long to comfort their children and be by their sides throughout her work, and in this case that was not possible. The scenario Scorpius Malfoy currently found himself in was hardly appropriate for sweets or story time, and the little girl had just opened up a fresh wound with those words. Malfoy's son was in pain, and he was nearly helpless to do anything to ease the ache in his chest.

She could almost pity him in that moment as his defenses slowly collapsed all because of a young child. Deciding it was time to intervene, she stepped forward and knelt beside the pair, slowly pulling the girl's hand away from Malfoy's. "Are you a friend of Scorpius'?" she asked kindly, although she could already guess that answer.

The young child gave her an odd look, as though analyzing whether or not she should answer. "I am his bestest friend, thank you."

"I can tell," Hermione continued, giving her a soft smile. "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"I'm a Healer," she said, sitting flat on her bottom as she continued to speak to the anxious girl. "My name's Hermione-"

The girl's face immediately twisted. "Granger? You're a Mudblood!"

There went the brunette's urge to comfort. The small child's retaliation to simply her name was like a slap in the face. Here she was trying to be nice, and even a four year old was already tainted by the disgusting Pureblood racism. She scoffed, ready to stand up; Malfoy could handle this rude girl all on his own. But as she made to stand up a powerful grip forced her back down. Glancing over at the blond at her side, she was stunned he had the courage to touch someone like her without the fear of germs.

"Don't be rude Lizzy," he scolded, and she had to do a double take. Since when did he stand up for her, ever? "This is Healer Granger; she is going to help Scorpius get better. You will be nice to her."

The child's eyes widened. "But Uncle Draco! Mommy said-"

"Your mother doesn't dictate what I say goes on in my house," he said, giving the child a hard look. It wasn't cold, and from her position Hermione could tell her was repressing emotions, but it was enough to get the message clearly through. "You won't be mean to Healer Granger."

Slowly, the stubborn girl nodded- just once. She looked put off by her uncle's statement, and Hermione was left to wonder what these so-called parents of Lizzy's were saying behind Hermione's own back.

"Can we go see Scorpius now?" she pouted, crossing her arms.

"Not today," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "Your parents are going to have a fit that you're missing, and he needs more rest."

"But he needs stories and sweets-"

The blond reached over, pressing a finger to the girl's lips. "I will give him all of those things just as soon as I can, I promise." The girl didn't look convinced by his words anymore, but nodded reluctantly in defeat. "Now should we floo your parents?"

The child shook her head quickly. "No! They didn't want me to come here."

"With good reason," he sighed. Running a hand through his hair, he glanced awkwardly at Hermione. Her eyebrows shot up, wondering what the look on his face implied. "Lizzy," he said at length, leaning towards the child again, "Why don't you go off to the dining room and get some food to pass the time since we can't see Scorpius tonight?"

The girl crossed her arms and pouted, but nonetheless turned and started off in what Hermione decided had to be the direction of the dining hall. When she was gone, Malfoy's composure quickly deteriorated. "Thank you for playing along Granger. I don't know how to begin explaining what has happened to such a small child."

"I wouldn't expect you to. I would likely have to hex you if you told that little girl the truth. It would just give her nightmares. And by the way Malfoy, who is she?"

He sighed, rubbing his chin slowly. "She's my mate Blaise's daughter. He married Pansy Parkinson you know. Lizzy- Elizabeth- is my son's best friend. It doesn't surprise me that she knew something was wrong, only that she was able to sneak over here." He shook his head. "I can't leave while you and your easily-angered co-worker are here, so I'll just Floo Blaise to come get her." He started over to the fireplace, calling back over his shoulder, "Oh, and Granger? If you could, please keep this between us. Your partner is a bit odd."

She didn't exactly know what to think about Malfoy wanting her to keep a secret for him, but she wasn't about to argue. Clearing her throat, she decided to use this moment to her advantage. "Of course Malfoy- but on one condition."

He glanced over his shoulder at this, eyes narrowed, the bottle still in his hand. "What is that Granger?"

"I need to use your library. I feel that I might be able to discover some answers in there if I can find the right tomes."

"And what exactly are those tomes?" he inquired, giving her his full attention once more. He crossed his arms over his chest as he faced her, waiting for a reply. She knew he was going to demand the details to this.

She pursed her lips. "When I figure out if I am right about this or not Malfoy, I'll let you know." His face screwed up a bit at that, perplexed.

What exactly are you thinking about Granger?