Sorry if I didn't reply to your review, I'll do better next time :-)
I do love them still, I promise!
Ardchoile, thank you again for the beta x
xxx
Harry stood back a little as he watched Draco hovering protectively around his Mother. He would have liked to be sitting on the bed, holding his Mother's hand Harry thought, but that would mean getting in the way of Healer Kirke. So Draco kept a respectful distance, but his eyes and all his focus was centred on the pale blonde woman lying on the large bed in the Master Suite of Malfoy Manor.
Healer Kirke was examining her with sure and precise movements. Hermione had told them that she was a half-blood witch, trained both as a Muggle physician and as a Healer, making her the perfect candidate for this job. So far, she had used a mixture of Muggle and Wizard means of examination. She had taken blood samples but also cast many diagnostic spells.
Harry looked back from the Healer and concentrated on Draco instead. He looked so very pale, so anxious… Harry wanted to touch him, comfort him somehow, but he didn't know how welcome the gesture would be right now. So he opted to stay close enough for Draco to initiate a comforting touch if he needed it, but never initiated one himself.
The silence in the room was beginning to make Harry feel uncomfortable. Only Draco, Mrs Malfoy, Healer Kirke and Harry himself were in the room. Even the elves had been banished from the room, because their wails, sobs and wringing hands at the sight of their Mistress in distress, were not exactly helping. The only sound now though, were the rustling of Healer Kirke's robes as she moved around the bed and an occasional soft spoken spell. Not wanting to disturb her concentration, even Harry's breathing seemed to become offensively loud.
'Mr Malfoy… I'm afraid the news isn't good'.
Harry looked up as Healer Kirke began speaking. Her tone was that of Muggle doctors and Healers alike, calm, kind and slightly distant.
'Just tell me', Draco said.
Someone who didn't know him as well as Harry did, might have thought his tone cold, slightly indifferent even. But Harry read the subtle signs, the line of worry round a tight mouth, the hint of desperation buried deep in those iron steel eyes. Healer Kirke, who must have seen many different ways of dealing with bad news, recognized it too. Her eyes shone with compassion, but she offered no consoling words. Instead she gave Draco what he most needed, information, as much as she could give.
'It seems Mrs Malfoy has indeed been under the influence of an old style Muggle anti-depressant, as Mrs Granger told you. I have reason to believe the so called Healers that prescribed the drugs to be lacking knowledge and proper training to administer any kind of drugs or potions, let alone a drug as complicated as this. There is a reason Muggle doctors rarely prescribe it any more. It can react strongly with common foods such as tomato, yoghurt, chocolate and many other things. If they believed Mrs Malfoy needed this medication, which I sincerely doubt, they should have kept her on a very strict diet. My preliminary findings show me that they haven't. I've found traces of certain foods that should have been avoided at all costs in her stomach and digestive system and I've also found some troublesome things in her blood. You see, besides food, there are also other Muggle drugs that should be avoided while taking Nardil, like alcohol, cold medicine and migraine medication, all of which I've found traces off. I do not believe this to be a coincidence'.
'Why not?' Draco asked sharply.
Healer Kirke gave a small, ambiguous smile and continued: 'I believe the "Healers" to be incompetent, yes, but foods and drugs to avoid are stated plainly on the sheet of patient instructions that are always enclosed with any Muggle drugs. Also, why would they choose Nardil, when there are many alternatives on the market that have not nearly such a long list of risks and side effects? No, I believe this was a deliberate choice, a course taken to cause damage, not to help'.
Her eyes had gone hard and cold on that statement, making it clear what she thought of any medical professional who would take such a course of action. Draco inclined his head, thanking her for the unspoken statement. He swallowed and took a little time before asking the next question.
'So… about these side effects… What exactly are they? And will any of those… effects be permanent?' Draco asked. He didn't look away, piercing the Healer with his eyes, searching for the truth no matter how harsh it might be. Harry felt his heart swell with pride as he saw Draco be strong under such difficult circumstances.
'I'm afraid it is too soon to tell if Mrs Malfoy will fully recover. As I said, she's obviously been given Nardil for quite a while, I would say months at least. She will have to be taken off the medication gradually, as a sudden stop would cause severe withdrawal symptoms to occur. This comatose-like state is almost certainly the effect of a combination of Muggle drugs that should never have been combined in the first place. I won't be able to assess any permanent damage until she's fully conscious'.
Draco staggered and paled even further and before Harry could think about it, he stepped forward and put an arm around the blonde's shoulder. He had no time to regret his decision though, because Draco leaned into him gratefully, as if he'd been waiting for the support. Harry silently scolded himself for being so cautious and denying Draco the support he so obviously craved.
'What kind of permanent damage are you concerned about?' Draco asked in a quiet voice.
'I'm uncomfortable speculating about that at this stage'. Healer Kirke hesitated a moment before continuing: 'But I don't wish you to worry yourself needlessly. I see no evidence of her having suffered seizures or a stroke, which are important risks for patients using Nardil. Her heart is beating strongly and all vital organs seem to be functioning normally. It will be about a week before your Mother will be conscious enough to participate in any of the tests I would need to perform. That will also give me enough time to process the Muggle tests I've taken samples for'.
'Is there anything we can do for her?' Draco asked, looking at Mrs Malfoy's motionless body with a helplessness that made Harry squeeze him and stroke his back in soothing motions. Draco took the time to look at him and smile gratefully.
'She will need to be monitored closely. I have set up the necessary spells and will come and check on her daily. I would advise you to have a full-time nurse attending Mrs Malfoy however. Would you be able to arrange that?' she asked.
'I'm sure we will be,' Draco assured her. 'Thank you for your help. We'll see you around the same time tomorrow?'
Healer Kirke nodded.
'Yes,' she said. 'And if you need me before that, Mrs Granger has my emergency floo address so you can contact me at any time'.
She gave Draco a few more instructions and checked Mrs Malfoy's vital signs and magical core one more time before leaving.
Draco immediately stepped forward and sat down on the bed. He used his right hand to comb through his Mother's long, blonde locks while he used the other to pull Harry with him. Harry stumbled forward awkwardly, but then regained his balance and sat down next to Draco. He slid an arm around Draco's waist and pressed a kiss in the back of his neck. Draco didn't look at Harry, but he did relax a little and let himself lean against Harry.
xxx
It took three house elves, a determined Hermione, a rude Blaise and a lot of talking on Harry's part to persuade Draco to leave his Mother's bedside and come down for dinner. Harry and Draco had been sat at Mrs Malfoy's side all day, taking lunch there as well. They had taken the opportunity to talk quietly and Harry had loved every minute of it. But he agreed with Hermione and Blaise, Draco should have a good meal and then some rest.
What clinched it was the arrival of Nurse Jenkins. Apparently, the disappearance of Mrs Malfoy had been noticed and she had been blamed. Hermione, never one to hesitate when a good opportunity came up, quickly contacted her after Skeeter gave them the news and contracted her for taking care of Mrs Malfoy.
'Do they have any idea what happened?' Harry asked, slightly tensed.
The nurse shook her head.
'No. That was some clever spell work young lady. I could tell they had no idea how she got out. Not liking to admit that, they chose to believe I must have not been keeping an eye on the patients, allowing them to wander off unnoticed. So they fired me'. Nurse Jenkins snorted.
Hermione, still blushing from the compliment, immediately looked guilty.
'I'm so sorry. That wasn't meant to happen'.
'Nonsense my dear,' Nurse Jenkins waved her concern away. 'I wasn't doing any good where I was anyway. And I'm happy to be able to look after Mrs Malfoy still at least'.
She looked a bit worried though, no doubt contemplating the fate of the patients she'd had to leave behind.
'Don't worry Nurse Jenkins,' Harry said. 'We'll find some way to help all of the patients. In fact, I'm sure you could be a great help , knowing everything about the ward and all'.
'Good,' she replied. 'Now go along all of you! Go and have some dinner and leave me to take care of Mrs Malfoy'.
She shooed them out of the room and even Draco obediently left with only two looks back.
'She'll be alright,' Harry assured Draco, taking his hand and squeezing it for a moment. He quickly let go as he saw Blaise look at them oddly. Draco noticed and looked a little annoyed at Harry.
'Why do keep doing that?' he hissed. 'Why do you care if my friends or yours know about us?'
Harry's first instinct was to ask what exactly that "us" meant. What was there to tell? That they were together? That they were in love? Were lovers? Or something more even?
Draco, annoyed at not getting an answer quick enough, turned away from Harry and stomped down the stairs.
xxx
The house elves had cooked up a seven course feast in celebration of their Mistress's return. Of course Mrs Malfoy wasn't ready to appreciate such a gesture, but they made do with the enjoyment of the relatively large group of people gathered around the dinner table.
Blaise and Pansy were there and Luc, Draco and Harry of course. Hermione and Ron had managed to get George to babysit, leaving them both free to join them for dinner. Together, they ate their way through seven courses of the most delicious of foods. Harry particularly enjoyed the smoked salmon, but not as much as the choice of sweets they had as dessert.
Draco was a bit sullen at the start of the meal, but he warmed up a bit by the time course three arrived. At the end of the meal, he even let Harry feed him some of the dark chocolate mousse from his plate.
Again Harry caught Blaise looking at them, but this time he stubbornly ignored him, scooping up another spoonful of the delicious mousse for Draco to lick off the spoon. Soon, all other guests were forgotten as Harry watched that pink tongue curling languidly around the spoon. He suspected that his own mouth was hanging open, but didn't really care. He cared much more about the teasing look in silvery eyes, the soft fall of blond hair on a pale cheek, the slight curve of a smile around pink lips…
'Ahem,' Blaise cleared his throat.
Harry tried not to cringe as he slowly came back to himself and looked around the table to the people gathered there. There was Blaise, mocking him with a raised eyebrow. Luc, Pansy and Hermione only looked amused and Ron completely oblivious.
Harry looked next to him to see Draco smugly digging into more of the chocolate mousse. Trying to act casual, he swatted Draco's hand away and started scraping up the last of the mousse himself. Draco's grin widened even further and he was positively shining so pleased with himself did he look. Even Ron noticed, looking back and forth between the two of them with a puzzled expression.
'You know, it's so funny being here like this with you all,' Pansy pondered suddenly. 'I mean, we didn't exactly get on while we were at Hogwarts, did we… You and Harry especially, remember Draco dear? And now you look to be such good friends, isn't that funny?'
She looked at Draco with a devilish smile, a smile that made him sit up straight and hiss her name under his breath.
'What?' she asked, making large, innocent eyes at her friend. 'Did I say something wrong? I mean, I'm sure you've told Potter all about how you had a big major crush on him back then, didn't you? Remember how he mooned about Potter Blaise? It was disgusting really'.
'I did not moon over Harry or anyone else for that matter!' Draco exploded.
Blaise nodded, putting on his most serious expression. Of course that didn't really work out well with his dark eyes twinkling with mischief the whole time.
'O yes,' he said, 'I remember it well. All the "I hate Potter although he does have a nice arse" type of comments…'
'Not true,' Draco muttered, although he did go from pale to pink, to bright red in under sixty seconds Harry noticed gleefully.
Draco looked at him pleadingly to intervene, but Harry was having much too great a time.
'Oh come on Draco. We shared a dorm for years, remember?' Blaise said with a wicked smile. 'What can I say, you never were any good at the silencing charms were you'.
Draco's mouth fell open in horror as laughter erupted all around him.
xxx
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