"Up Draco," Lucius said, entering his oldest son's room several hours later.
Draco groaned loudly, his head pounding, and pulled his pillow over his head as his father threw open the curtains, allowing sunlight to flood the room.
Lucius turned and stared at his son for a moment before holding out his hand and summoning his cane. "Now, Draco," he tried again. The young man didn't move. Growling, Lucius gave him a light swat with his cane.
Draco shot up and turned to his father, trying to glare at him, but the pain in his head was too great and he held his head, groaning again.
"Get dressed," he told his son. "You're going to see a Healer."
"No," Draco protested. "I already told Sev that I wasn't going."
"If you want access to your vault on your eighteenth birthday, you will do as you are told."
"You fight dirty, Father."
"Get dressed," Lucius said again. "I expect you downstairs in half an hour or I'll come upstairs and take you to the Healer as you are."
The young blond stood and stumbled toward the bathroom that connected his room to Harry's. "Alright…I'm moving."
An hour later they were being shown into the office of Healer Lydia Davies. "Have a seat," she told them, gesturing to the two chairs opposite her desk.
Draco slumped down in his seat, looking nothing like the young, pureblood aristocrat that he was. He could feel his father's glare, but at the moment he didn't care. His head felt like it was going to explode and he didn't want to be here.
Healer Davies flipped through some parchment on her desk. "I've read the information and viewed the memories that Professor Snape sent, but I'd like to run my own tests," she told them, standing and walking around the desk. She pulled her wand and cast a series of diagnostic spells on Draco, a quill making notes on a piece of parchment on her desk. Once finished, she moved to sit down again, scanning the parchment.
"What's wrong with my son," Lucius asked.
"He's got Degenerative Magical Immune Syndrome."
Draco leaned his head against his hand, his elbow propped up on the armrest of his chair as he tried to ignore the words being spoken around him.
"What do we do to cure this…syndrome?"
"I'm afraid that there is no cure for it. All we can do is treat the symptoms. However, if your son is careful he can live a fairly normal life," she replied. "Cases like Draco's are my specialty."
"Is it fatal?" Lucius asked.
Alright, so that made Draco pay attention, though he gave no outward sign that he was.
"It can be," she told him. "If he completely exhausts his magic."
Lucius nodded. "So how do we treat the symptoms?"
"With potions, which Professor Snape can provide. Draco will need proper rest and a healthy diet."
"Is that all?" Draco asked, sitting up.
She turned to look at the younger man, who entered the conversation for the first time. "You will also need to learn not to overdo it, physically or magically."
"How do I so that?"
Healer Davies reached into her desk drawer and pulled out twelve Knuts, setting them on the desk in front of Draco. "Think of these Knuts as the things you want to get done every day. What will you do with your day?"
"That's easy…classes, homework, Quidditch practices…"
"Slow down," she told him. "First, you have to get out of bed." She took away one of the Knuts and continued, taking away another for each task that she listed. "Then you have to get dressed. After that, you have to walk to the Great Hall for breakfast. Then take away one for each class that you have. And two more for walking between classes and another for the trip to lunch and one for dinner. Then there is homework…and a trip to the library."
"But I don't have any left…"
"Some days you may not have a full twelve: if you skip a meal, if you don't get a full night of sleep, or if you come down with a cold. A change in the weather will sometimes affect how many you have.
"Some days you may have more than twelve. On those days it is most important that you don't try to use up all your Knuts. I live with this myself, Draco, and I've learned that it's best to try to live with a Knut if reserve…because you never know what will happen."
Draco started at the coins on the desk for a few minutes before nodding. "Thank you, Healer."
"You're welcome, Draco. And please feel free to owl me if you ever have any questions. Here's a list of potions that Professor Snape will need to keep on hand for you."
The two men thanked her again and made their way out of the office.
--
Severus sat in the potions lab at Potter House, staring at the Memory Restorative that he had brewed for Camille. He had brewed it to perfection, so why was he so hesitant to give it to her? More than anything he wanted his wife to have her memories back, but it had been several years since he had taken her memories of him. Several years that they couldn't get back. Would she still be so forgiving once she had her memories?
Sighing, he stood. He couldn't put it off any longer, because she knew that the potion was finished. She had gone with him to take two vials to Granger at the Burrow this morning. Vial in hand, he made his way upstairs to the suite of rooms that he and his little family were occupying.
Camille and Katie were on the sofa, Katie's head on Camille's lap as she took a nap.
Severus dropped a kiss on Camille's brow and then knelt in front of her. "Here," he said, handing her the vial. "It's…" Why was he having so much trouble speaking? He had never had a problem with that before. "That's the Memory Restorative. You don't have to take it if you don't want to."
She reached out and caressed his cheek. "I want to Sev."
He nodded. "I'll put Katie in her bed," he said, gently lifting his daughter into his arms and walking into the bedroom she had been sharing with her mother. Was it too much to hope that starting tonight Camille would be sleeping with him?
Camille stared at the vial for a moment, running her finger over the smooth glass. After a brief hesitation, she uncorked the vial and drank the liquid, before setting the vial aside. Closing her eyes, she waited for the memories to return.
Suddenly the memories began to wash over her: the day they met, their first date…and the many dates following, the night he proposed, their wedding and the night that followed, telling him that he was going to be a father, the birth of their daughter, watching as he cared so tenderly for their daughter, and finally, their last night together.
At some point during the parade of memories, tears had started spilling down her cheeks and she did nothing to stop them. They were bittersweet tears: sad because of all the time they had lost, yet happy as she remembered just how much she loved him.
She opened her eyes when a gentle touch began to wipe away her tears. Severus was kneeling in front of her again, a bit of hope shining in his dark eyes. "Oh Sev," she whispered. "I love you so much…" When he hesitated, she leaned forward and kissed him.
AN: The analogy that the Healer used with the Knuts is based off of "The Spoon Theory" by Christine Miserandino. It's the best explanation that I've ever seen for trying to explain to a healthy person what it's like living with a chronic illness. Thanks Christine!