Chapter 28
Hermione nervously played with her dress while she waited for Draco to come pick her up. She was having dinner with Molly and Arthur and she couldn't help but feel worried that something could go wrong. She had been so relieved when the Weasleys wanted to continue to be a part of her life even after she and Ron broke up. But was it the best idea for her to bring Draco by? The Malfoys and the Weasleys had never gotten along. Sure, Draco wasn't the same as his father, but he had his own run ins with the family over the years and for the most part it hadn't been pleasant.
Draco and Scorpius arrived shortly before six, wanting to make sure they would make it to the Burrow in time. Draco had said the day before that he didn't want to start off on a wrong foot by arriving late and making a bad impression and she was grateful for him for doing so.
Draco kissed her gently to greet her and when she pulled away she could see a bottle of elf wine in his hand. He was wearing a dark black robe which complimented him and his style. Scorpius on the other hand was wearing a tiny set to dress robes and Hermione couldn't help but smile at how cute the young boy looked. Scorpius immediately insisted that Hermione pick him up as he laid eyes upon her. They were apparating over to the Burrow, so Draco told her that she could hold onto his son while Draco took her hand for side by side apparation. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but not by far the most uncomfortable situation by far; that would easily be one of the many times she, Harry, and Ron had apparated while on the run from the Death Eaters.
Hermione walked up to the door and knocked. Her stomach was somersaulting as Draco took her hand and kissed it.
"It'll be okay, Hermione," he told her trying to calm her. "I know how important they are to you; I won't do anything to compromise the relationship you have with them, I promise. The dinner will go well, so just relax, alright?"
She gave him a smile as she felt herself unwind slowly, "Thank you, Draco. It really does mean a lot to me that you're doing this for me."
They barely had to wait a few seconds longer as the door opened and Arthur greeted them, "Hermione, Draco," he said warmly. He looked down to see the young boy in her arms, "And this must be Scorpius."
Scorpius smiled at him and raised his hand to wave, "Hi!" the boy said, excited to meet someone new.
Arthur chuckled as he gestured for them all to come it, "Molly is just finishing placing everything on the table. No one else is in tonight, so we have an empty nest."
"I brought a drink for the dinner," Draco said as he handed him the wine. "I hope you don't mind."
Arthur graciously accepted it, "Thank you. I hope you don't mind if I call you Draco. I can always call you Mr. Malfoy if you prefer," he said, sounding slightly unsure as they entered the dining room.
Draco shook his head, "Draco is fine."
Molly smiled upon seeing them, "Hermione, dear, it's been far too long since you've come by. Have you been eating properly? I swear you're thinner than the last time I've seen you."
"It's good to see you as well, Molly," Hermione said with a grin.
"And who is this wonderful boy?" Molly asked as she addressed Scorpius. She bent down to be at the same level as him and gave him a large smile.
"Scorpy," he said with a bright smile, earning a laugh from everyone.
"Please, sit," Molly said as she insisted everyone took their seats. Once they did that, Molly began to serve them food.
"So Draco, what is it that you do?" Arthur said, engaging him in conversation.
"I'm a Healer at St. Mungo's," Draco said, cutting into the meat that he had on his plate. He took a tiny bite, and when he swallowed he answered again, "I'm specialised so that I can heal people who have rare diseases which other Healers are not as qualified for."
"He's brilliant at his job," Hermione said giving her boyfriend a smile. "He's spent so much time working on the child I was telling you about earlier, Jamie."
"The one with the blood disease?" Molly asked for clarification.
"That's him. He has a rare disease which with modern medicine and magic we've managed to slow down, but it's slowly killing him. Hermione and I have been working on a potion to cure him based on an entry we found from a few hundred years ago. It's a work in progress, but we're getting closer every day to being able to cure him," Draco said as he wiped away some sauce from his son's face.
"The poor boy," Molly gasped. "It must be a horrible ordeal for his parents."
Hermione looked at Draco before continuing, "He's an orphan. We're not quite sure what happened to his parents, but we think they might have died in the war."
She cleared her throat before talking again, "That's actually one of the things I wanted to tell you both. I adopted Jamie a few weeks back. He's a wonderful boy; so smart and always reading and learning. I got to know him and I loved him immediately."
The older couple immediately offered their congratulations, "I'm so happy for you," Molly said with a smile.
"You'd be a wonderful mother," Arthur said graciously.
"Thanks," Hermione said softly. "I just hope that we can find a cure for him before his illness progresses. I don't want to lose him."
"You won't," Draco said as he squeezed her hand. "We're getting closer every day. A couple more trials and experiments and we'll find the right combination of ingredients."
"If you ever need us for anything, then don't hesitate in letting us know," Molly said as she gave her a gentle smile.
Hermione smiled gratefully, "I might take you up on that offer. My parents have already come down to meet Jamie and spend some time with him, but how would the two of you like to come by as well? I know he would love to meet more people."
"Just let us know when is a good time and we'll come by," Arthur promised. "I look forward to meeting this young gentleman."
"So Hermione, have you gotten a dress yet for the Anniversary Ball?" Molly asked, changing the topic slightly.
With everything that had been happening in her life lately, it had been easy to lose track of the day and she had almost forgotten to get one. It had been Ginny who reminded her that they had to go shopping and had dragged her out from spending a comfortable evening at home to go store from store. After a few hours of shopping she had finally found a dress that would be suitable. There was less than a week until the ball, and honestly, it was one of the last things on her mind at the moment. She was just glad that Draco was coming with her; she couldn't imagine having to go to it alone.
"I did," Hermione said with a smile. "I think Ginny was just really excited about losing all her pregnancy fat from chasing James all around the house, but she insisted that we go get dresses together like usual."
"I hope we'll be seeing you there as well, Draco," Arthur said, passing him the mashed potatoes.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"Hermione, I think you should know that Ron said he would be there," Molly said, waiting to see her reaction.
She swallowed, "I figured. He wouldn't miss the event given the amount of publicity it gets," she said normally. "I'll have to face him again sooner or later, and hopefully if it's in a public place he won't make a scene. I hope that given the amount of time he's had since the last time we saw each other will help him come to terms with the fact that the two of us are over and that Draco and I are happy together."
She could see Draco trying very, very, hard not to insult their son right then.
"We don't understand why he did what he did," Arthur said with the shake of his head.
"I'd like to say that the war and his new found fame is what makes him do the things he does, but even that doesn't justify his actions. I really wished you could become part of our family, officially, but I've never seen you so happy with anyone as you've been with Draco," Molly said giving them both a smile.
"It means a lot to us that you approve," Draco said. "Hermione thinks highly of you, which makes what you think important to us both."
"You're a good man," Arthur said with a smile. They talked through dessert about different things, from the state of the world to Arthur wanting to discuss a few muggle appliances.
After they finished dessert, Hermione noticed that Scorpius was beginning to drift off to sleep.
"I think we should be going," Draco said as he stood up with a smile. "Thank you so much for everything. Dinner was wonderful."
Hermione hugged Molly, "It means a lot to me that you were so welcoming, all things considered. Thank you so much for always being here for me during everything."
"Of course we would be here for you, Hermione," Molly said with a smile. "We're family."
Hermione watched as Draco picked up his son. As they walked out of the Burrow Draco turned to her.
"Do you want to come by for a bit? We can look into the potion and then you can stay in the spare room after," Draco said as he placed an arm around her waist.
She smiled. "Sounds great."
They apparated back to his house. She waited for a bit as Draco went to put Scorpius to sleep. He came down a few seconds sooner. The two of them began to make their way to the room they were using at his to test potions. The entire way she was there, she was quiet, and Draco noticed. He turned to her and asked what was wrong.
She sighed before answering, "I just really want to be able to cure him already. Draco, I love your son so much and seeing how happy he is just makes me wish that Jamie could come home with me. I have a spare room in my flat and every day I just look at it and want to be able to decorate it for him. I want to be able to make it his room and let him stay there. I know that when I adopted him I said I will always love him unconditionally, regardless of his illness, and that will always be true. He's just a boy, and he doesn't deserve all the pain he's going through. I want to bring him home."
Draco wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tightly. "I know what you mean, Hermione. Jamie is such a wonderful child. I've seen him grow up through all the years he's been at the hospital, and he's a great boy. He's never been at all resentful towards the life he's been given. He's never once complained about how unfair it is that he has this horrible disease, and he takes everything. Hermione, he's an amazing kid, and it amazes me every day just how compassionate, intelligent, and sweet he is. I'm not allowed to care about him, professionally speaking, but I do, so much. And I'll be damned if I let him die because of his disease. We will cure him, I promise you."
She leaned into him and kissed him, "I love you so much. Thank you for everything. Thank you for loving me, for caring for me, and for always being here for me."
He grabbed her hair and pulled her in deeper, "I love you so much, Hermione. Now shall we get to work on looking into things?"
She pulled away reluctantly and walked over to the lab bench. Draco joined her on the chair beside her and began to look into the research. Hermione wanted to go over a few more books. Chances are that there had to be something else about the Sanguine Fevert.
They kept at it for a few more hours and in that time Draco tried about three different cures. Each one had a different result, but unfortunately for them, none of it worked. Each one had a different flaw; one made the blood far too thin; thinner than it already was. The other made the blood turn yellow, something they definitely didn't want. And the last one made the red blood cells bounce off of each other like bumper cars.
Hermione in the meantime had read about four more rare books that she had acquired from an old collector, who was more than happy to lend a hand to Hermione Granger, the brains behind the man who brought down Voldemort. She wasn't really sure what to think about the entire title and all, but hey, if it got her the resources she needed, then she didn't really care.
She read about so many horrible diseases. Knowing all the ways that someone could die was extremely depressing. She glanced over at Draco and saw him buried deeply in his work. How could he bare to see all these people day after, dying of diseases that might not ever be able to be cured? He was so amazing at his job and saving so many lives. Hermione wondered if it ever got to be too much for him. She reached over and squeezed his hand gently. He looked at her in confusion and she just gave him a smile.
She turned the page and a letter fell out. She reached to pick it up, and as she opened it up and saw something that caught her eye.
August 12, 1997
The Blood Fever
I have been recording this disease for a while now. The trait first popped up in my great-grand uncle. I heard my parents talking about it a while back, and I began to look into it. At first I thought that it was just a weird case of dark magic; it was what all the healers believed it to be. But then it happened to my dad as well. I began to look into it and I found out about the Aranea Suco. I talked to a few experts in the spider. I learned about how it transmitted the disease and how it spread. One thing I have learnt is the way to be able to discriminate whether the disease was passed on through hereditary genes, or through being bit by the spider directly.
If it is hereditary then the blood disease is triggered through trauma of some sort, as my father was an Auror who came very close to losing his life and my grand uncle very nearly was murdered in a hostage situation gone wrong. But the spider bite is enough for the disease to be caught.
I tried looking into the potion a little, but nothing helped. I'm so afraid my unborn little boy will get it too. The war is picking up, and fast. I'm afraid that if I get involved in anything traumatic then it will take me too. I can only pray that the gene will be born recessively in him and that his mother, Liana, passed him the good gene and it will be enough to save him. I haven't told my wife yet; she's four months pregnant and has no idea of the horrors our son could face. My poor Jamison. For the sake of his future, I need to keep looking into this potion. But if you find and are reading this letter, then I failed. And the disease is still uncured.
Signed,
Mathew Ashworth.
Hermione turned to Draco, "I found something," she said shakily, "I think this letter was written by Jamie's birth parents. The dates line up perfectly. Jamison Ashworth; that's his real name. he might not know his parents, but at least when he asks, we can tell him their names. That way, if he ever wants to look into them, he can."
Draco looked over the letter, "Well, now we know how he got the disease. It fits knowing that he was found in April, just before the war, and was only four months old. Hermione, this is great. Now we know how he got it. If we can treat it in him, we can forever remove it from his blood stream, thus preventing his future children to ever have a chance of getting it. We might be able to remove it entire from existence and if it ever pops back up again, then we already have the cure for it."
She smiled at him, "It's strange to think about, isn't it? But I really hope we find this cure, Draco. It seems that a lot of people in his family have struggled painfully with it, and a lot of the times it went untreated. We should show him the letter. It would at least let him know that he was loved by his parents. Now that we know their names, we might even be able to find out what happened to them."
Draco squeezed her gently, "And that we will. But for now let's get back to this potion. We're getting close, I know we are. Give it a bit more time, and we'll find it."
They worked together until the early hours of the morning, when they finally decided to go to bed. Everything else could wait until the morning.
