Chapter 26: Aversions

Draco Malfoy, licensed Healer and personal family physician to the Potter family, ran his wand down the center of Jamie's torso, reading the numbers that appeared in lights above Jamie's face as he did so. Somewhat calmer, Jamie tried to reach for the lights as they appeared, then flickered out with a quick sweep of Draco's wand. Jamie's fussiness with the disappearance of the lights made Draco grin a little, and he flicked his wand again to produce moving stars above his young patient's face.

"There you are, Jamie," Draco soothed. "Have a bit of fun while I speak to your father."

"Will he be fine, Draco?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Yes." Draco checked one more reading, then looked Harry in the eye. "But you're very lucky that Evan is a Potions Master who could readily identify the potion she tried to use. We don't normally check for aversion potions-they're not only rare, they're banned."

"So how did Molly get her hands on one?"

"Home-brewed, I believe." Draco clenched his jaw. "Is Mrs. Weasley a proficient brewer?"

Evan cleared his throat. "I believe she'd have to be. She's attended to her own family's needs for years, after all."

Draco nodded. That made sense. "There's no counter, but the levels in his system are extremely low. If I had to guess, I'd say this aversion therapy only started in the last week or so. Long enough to register, but not long enough to do any real damage. He doesn't seem to mind you at all, so I'd say she was going for a long-term effect."

"Weeks, Evan." Harry had to clench his fists. "She didn't even know about us yet and she was already planning to make my son hate me."

"This is extremely illegal, Harry," Draco said quietly. "The only counter is lots of love, which I know he'll have with you. I'll be willing to testify if you press charges."

Harry raised his clenched fists to his eyes and stepped away from the examining table, to which Jamie had been stuck with a light sticking charm. Evan stepped forward to unstick his step-son and pick him up, dispelling Draco's starry mobile. "What charges could she be facing, Healer Malfoy?" Evan asked, mindful of the fact that his godson did not know of his true identity.

"Please, call me Draco. As the Potter-Black family healer, we're likely to have a long relationship, aren't we, Mr. Prince?" Draco held a hand out. Evan took it. "Very well, then, Draco; I'm Evan."

"That settled," Harry ground out, still fighting his magic and his temper, "please, can you answer his question, Draco?"

"Father would be better able to answer it, Harry, but I can tell you that aversion potions are banned because they're recognized as a form of Imperius; that is, a forcing of someone's mind to a specific way of thinking. Nearly unforgivable, and therefore likely to stretch to prison time." Draco took a deep breath, and continued. "Because Jamie is the Potter Heir, it's possible Molly could face charges relating to magical line-theft, but that would be tough to stick, as technically, his position wouldn't have changed. Only the relationship with his father would be affected."

"How dare she?" Harry's head came up, and, revealed, his eyes nearly glowed an eerie Avada Kedavra green.

"Harry, as your healer, I'm going to recommend you expel some of that magical energy before you explode," Draco said calmly. "Would you like to use the dueling chambers?"

Harry practically crackled. "I don't think a live opponent to be a good idea."

"Good thing we have dummies, then. Come on."

xxx

Evan held Jamie behind an enforced shield as Harry mowed down multiple enchanted opponents in a massive display of power and energy.

"Wow," he whispered, snuggling the now-sleeping baby. It was long past Jamie's bedtime.

"I know, right?" Draco commented quietly. "All these years I've known him, I've known he has power, capital P. His magical core is off the scale. I honestly don't know how he ratchets it all down." Draco nodded toward Jamie. "This little one, too. Immensely powerful. I'd expect accidental magic any time."

Evan looked down at Jamie's sweet face. "That will be an adventure, I'm sure," he whispered softly.

"You look content, Evan," Draco commented. "It's good to see."

Evan raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

Draco waved the look away. "Never mind. Just, I'm not stupid. And I know your magical signature pretty well. No worries. You look good. And I'm not about to say anything." A quick sheen of tears in silver eyes was viciously blinked back. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Dragon," Evan murmured quietly. "Thank you for keeping this quiet."

"Healer confidentiality," Draco replied. "I'm locked up tight in magical oaths to the Potter-Black family. No way I could say anything even if I wanted to. One of the reasons Harry first contacted me when I got licensed. That, and he trusted me. Weirdly."

Evan snorted. "Not so weird. War does strange things to people."

"That it does."

"So, Healer Malfoy, eh?"

Draco nodded. "It was one of the professions open to me when the community service requirement was applied to me. I took the mark, but I proved it was under duress, so I was offered a choice of community service. I picked healing. I work mostly free clinic attached to St. Mungo's, but I also serve as the personal physician to the Malfoy, Potter and Black families. I enjoy what I do."

"Good for you," Evan praised, as he watched Harry decimate another legion of ten dummies. His anger didn't appear to be waning in the least.

"The other channel he may need to employ for his magic will be sexual, Evan," Draco commented. "As his bonded, you should know that as a method that works."

"I do, though I hadn't thought of it in this context." Evan looked at his bonded consideringly. "I'll let him get the worst of it out here, if possible." He watched Harry strike the last dummy down, hard, then take a deep, heaving breath. "There. That's taken the edge off a bit."

"He does look calmer," Draco agreed. He cast a silencing bubble over Jamie, then called, "All right, there, Potter?"

"Better," Harry gasped out.

"Good. Your bonded will help you channel the rest. Meanwhile, Father's in the study if you want his advice as to whether you should call the aurors."

Harry nodded, still catching his breath, as he followed them out.

xxx

Molly Weasley jailed for use of banned potion

Molly Ginevra Weasley, 53, Monday was arrested and jailed for the use of an Aversion Potion on an infant.

Aversion Potions are banned as a form of liquid imperius. According to the arrest warrants, Weasley used the potion to attempt to create an aversion in an infant toward that infant's parent, for reasons as yet unknown.

The child's name is being withheld from the public for privacy reasons.

Weasley is in Ministry holding while arrangements are being made for a psychological evaluation.

"It's possible that Mrs. Weasley is not quite herself," a spokesperson for the Ministry told the Prophet. "Before trial and judgment are determined, we'd like to know to what extent that might be true."

A hearing on the matter will be held Wednesday.