Chapter 2

The hours that followed were tense. Daphne checked in on Harry every fifteen minutes it seemed to make sure nothing had changed. Over the hours his temperature got back to normal levels, and his face regained its color. The dilation of his eyes had gone down significantly as well, which was the most convincing sign to the young healer that the Savior of the Wizarding World would come out of this okay.

It was nearing 9am when relief arrived in the form of Healer Bulstrode, "Well I hear I missed all the excitement."

Daphne nodded her head as she began washing her hands, and cleaning herself up to end of the longest shift she could remember, "It certainly woke me up when Healer Smethwyck and the aurors came storming through the Lobby."

"It's a good thing you are so good with your potions. I don't think I would've ever tried something so desperate." The older healer said carefully.

Daphne shrugged her shoulders, "Mr. Potter would be dead right now had we taken any other option. To me it wasn't much of a risk, but our only chance, and I have to admit I was unsure he would wake up when the Wiggenweld potion was administered."

The woman nodded, "Well I am sorry I left you in that position in what I thought would be a quiet night. Smethwyck was giving me an ear full about hiring more Healers, but the existing pool of applicants is basically non-existent, and we can't stretch our staff anymore than we already have. Hogwarts will be letting out soon, and I think I will be putting a request for all the new healers to come to our department."

Daphne merely nodded her head as she dried her hands and turned to face her supervisor, "That would help a lot. Is there anything else ma'am? Before I go?"

Gretchen checked her watch and shook her head, "No darling that's it. Thank you again for covering last night."

The young healer gave her supervisor a last nod, and a small smile as she made her way to the elevator dead exhausted. She hit the button and waited for the elevator, but before it could arrive she heard a femine voice come from behind her, "Excuse me. Healer Greengrass?"

Daphne turned trying to not be annoyed because she was ready to go home and sleep, but Hermione Granger was standing there with three other men looking at her carefully. Daphne tried to be kind and said, "Yes Ms. Granger? Is there something I can help you with?"

The woman smiled, "No we just wanted to say Thank you. You saved Harry's life last night."

Ron who was standing directly behind her said, "I'm sorry about what I said last night too. I didn't mean to offend you when I asked for a more experienced healer. I was-"

"Worried about your friend. Don't worry I didn't take offense. It wasn't the cruelest thing someone said to me when their family was rolled in on a stretcher." Daphne said patiently.

Ron looked appreciative of her sentiment, and didn't deny that Harry was every way that counted his family. Neville Longbottom spoke next, "Please if there is anything the auror department or any of us can do for you don't hesitate to ask."

Hermione nodded, "Will you be back tonight? I know when Harry wakes he is going to want to thank the person who saved his life."

For some reason Daphne seemed nervous about the idea of formally meeting the savior of the Wizarding World, but shook it off saying, "I am actually off tonight, but if for some reason he isn't awake by tomorrow I will take care of him when I come back the next day."

"If he gets out would it be okay if he came to visit you on your shift? I just know how Harry is, and…"

Whatever Hermione was going to say she stopped herself and Daphne was interested in what she was going to say, but Neville finished, "We won't take up any more of your time Healer Greengrass. Thank you again for saving our friend. I hope you are in office if I ever find myself in Harry's position."

Daphne gave an awkward smile of recognition, and hit the elevator button for recall, and didn't let go of the breath she was holding until she entered the elevator and left the floor. Releasing the breath was a sigh of relief, but she wasn't sure why these people all made her so nervous. After all these people were her former classmates, but something about each of them made her feel like a schoolgirl being scolded by Professor Mcgonagall. All of them were wildly successful in the five years that followed Hogwarts, and each of them had been on the front page of Daily Prophet multiple times. It was just so weird to see these celebrities in the Wizarding World be so grateful to her, and for them to offer their services to her for just doing her job seemed unreal. She knew Malfoy back in school was full of it when he spoke ill will of the Gryffindors, but from the little interaction she had with each of them they all seemed like genuinely good people, which was becoming harder and harder to find these days.

Daphne would usually apparate home, but due to her fatigue she decided it was not worth the risk, and walked a little further down to the floo Network. With a flash of green flames she felt herself being whisked across the country, and into the living room of her 1 bedroom flat in Falmouth.

Her apartment would have been small by most people's comparisons, especially in comparison to other people in her social class. Standing at just over 600 square feet her flat consisted of a small kitchen that was currently filled with dirty dishes that she swore she would clean after a nights rest, and a small living room that was nearly Spartan in its decoration. A small wizarding wireless sat in the corner, and a blanket was sprawled out on the couch where she was so tired the other night she came home and never even made it to bed. She crossed the small space into her bedroom which only contained two pieces of furniture. A small double size mattress, and a wardrobe that had a single framed picture on it. The wizarding photo contained the smiling faces of Daphne's mother, father, and sister. It was taken in the summer before her fifth year when they had traveled to her dream destination of Rome. In the background of the picture was the Trevi Fountain, and the final happy memory she had with her family laid before her.

Sighing as she always did when she looked at the picture she threw herself into the bed, and took a final look at the picture before closing her eyes and allowing sleep to overtake her.

When she awoke it was to the sound of a quiet voice calling her name. When her eyes shot open and her wand flew to her hand on fight or flight instinct she jumped out of bed, and took cover behind the wall that was in between the living room and her bedroom. She noticed that outside her window it was dark indicating she had slept successfully through the day, and knew it wasn't a good sign that someone had come in at this hour. If only she knew a good messenger charm she would call back in the favor from the aurors sooner than any one of them probably expected, but after another moment of heightened anxiety she realized she recognized the voice. Swearing quietly to herself she stepped around the corner into the living room to see the face of her mother in the fireplace. Trying to hide her embarrassment over the fact she thought her home had been broken into she spoke groggily, "Mum. What are you doing?"

The beautiful face of Ophelia Greengrass looked back at her with a small smile on her face. Her features smooth, and elegant, quaintly befitting the station of a Lady of an Ancient and Noble House, "I just wanted to check on you dear. I read the paper this morning that Harry Potter was rushed to Saint Mungo's last night, and I was wondering if you had heard anything about it. The ladies at our tea gathering tonight were all very curious."

Daphne rolled her eyes. Her mum had been having tea with the Ladies of families that were from the ancient and noble families since she was a baby, and gossip was their favorite thing to do, "You disrupted my sleep on my only night off to wonder if I heard anything about Harry Potter's injuries?"

Ignoring her daughter's obvious irritation the woman asked, "Well have you?"

"I haven't heard anything. As you know last night was one of my few scheduled nights off." Daphne said inwardly smirking about the half truth she told.

Her mother took a look of suspicion at her words, "Hmmm...I may have to ask Tracey, do you know if she was working last night?"

"She was scheduled." Daphne said shortly.

"Very well. Anything new my dear? When are you going to come visit next?" The mother asked clearly done with the conversation.

"It sounds like my supervisor is trying to get some more staff, so once I am not jam packed with overtime I will be around more." Daphne promised half heartedly.

Not looking the slightest phased by her answer her mother asked, "Don't forget about your sister. Check up on her when you have sometime."

"We are having dinner tomorrow before my shift at the ward. Anything else mother?" Daphne said with a tint of agitation.

The woman pursed her lips, but made no other sign of discontent, "Very well dear. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

With that she closed her fireplace connection off, and wondered briefly if she might keep it closed when she is sleeping. Her apartment was protected by pretty average wards that she had put up herself, and if someone were to discover her pretty specific floo address they could waltz right in. Her thoughts trailed off to maybe calling in a favor with Hermione Granger and her friends to get a better ward setup, but let the line of thought drop as soon as it started.

Taking a deep breath she wandered over to the kitchen and began flicking her wand to perform some basic household cleaning charms like washing the dishes, and preparing the stove for tea, and possibly something simple for dinner like eggs.

Daphne's sleep schedule was pretty poor having been working the graveyard shift at St. Mungos for the past few years, and even on her days off she couldn't find the energy to do much during the day, and so at night she was always awake. It was during this time she usually did something soothing like read, or work on a potion that had her particular interest for the time. Her workstation / tiny dining room outside of her kitchen was always in stasis when she wasn't around and two or three potions could usually be seen on it when she was. She would usually sell the potions to local apothecarys, or even a wolfsbane to the occasional buyer at cost of ingredients. This was something that would fill her time, and most of the time make her a few extra galleons.

Daphne was the heir to House Greengrass though, and she knew if she wanted to she could be like her mother and lounge around, and gossip with the rest of the ladies of her station, but she was so certain she could do so much more with her talents. She thought one day she may develop new potions with all her research or, maybe cure Dragon Pox, or some other serious magical malady. Her father always told her with the intelligence she held she could change the world, but he would be happy with anything that made her happy. Daphne didn't want her dad to just be happy with her choices though, she wanted to make him proud.

She felt the usual familiar pang in her chest when thoughts of her father came to her mind. She carefully pushed those feelings down however, and ate her dinner while quickly transitioning into her potions that she was going to work on for the remainder of the evening.

The night passed quickly as she lost herself in her work. She knew she had to get some shut eye soon if she was going to wake in time to have dinner with her sister. Instead of going to her bed however she went over to her wireless and turned it on while laying out on the couch closing her eyes to the soothing voice of Celestina Warbeck.

Meeting her sister at dinner always made for an interesting evening. Astoria insisted everytime they go out they try a new place out in the Muggle world, and tonight they were meeting at a Cafe on the River in southwestern London. She could tell the place was likely very expensive, and she probably ought to have worn a dress, but having to go to work directly after made her wear clothes that were a little more modest in style, and she applied minimal makeup to her face, and put her hair in a more neatly brushed ponytail than usual. She hadn't slept very well, but knew she would hurt her sisters feelings by not showing up or canceling their monthly dinner. Normally she wouldn't eat at such a fancy place even on the most special of occasions, but her sister always insisted on treating her, and promised the Malfoy Money would pay for it.

The Greengrass family was not poor by any means, but knowing Draco Malfoy's money was buying her such a nice dinner always made the girl want to giggle in a soft little triumph. Daphne arrived before her sister for once, and she found out her sister had made reservations on the beautiful evening, and they were seated on the patio overlooking the river. When she was seated she realized that it would've been quite the romantic date spot, and wondered how her Sister had come across it.

The lights on the patio were a nice continuity of the upscale atmosphere, and was thankful when her sister finally showed up shortly after her arrival. Astoria was dressed in a cute dark green dress that looked eerily similar to something she had worn in the Slug Club back in Hogwarts, "Hey Daphne, sorry I am late. Draco wanted to walk me to the restaurant from the apparition point so it took me a little longer."

"Well at least he is looking out for your safety. I guess I will forgive him for making you late this once." Daphne said with a smile as she embraced her sister.

"So what's new? How is Tracey?" Astoria asked with her usual level of bubbly personality.

Always happier around her sister, the girl picked up her glass of wine which she ordered when she sat down saying, "Oh she is good. Bored to tears with me most nights, but we make the most of it while working together."

Astoria nodded, "You continue to impress me with your work ethic. Mum said you worked nearly seventy hours this week."

How did her mom know that? She supposed she could have talked to Tracey, and her best friend who had grown up like an extra daughter to the woman may have told her everything, "Is that all mother said?"

Astoria didn't even bat an eyelash at her change of tone. The girl was a Slytherin after all, and used her disarmingly nice personality against others all the time, "She mentioned a few other things, and that you're hoping to get some new healers in your ward."

Daphne sipped at her wine again on guard now that her sister was aware of her clientele from the other night. The waiter came by and they placed their order while Astoria stared at her sister patiently. Finally Daphne gave in, "What do you want to know?"

"How bad was it?" She asked simply.

"He was all but dead."

"But you saved him."

"I did."

"Daphne!"

"What?" She asked alerted by her sister's excitement.

She rolled her eyes, "Daphne you saved the life of the most eligible bachelor in England, and a Lord of an Ancient and Noble house. This is huge."

"My oaths as a healer doesn't allow me to collect life debts." Daphne said instantly.

Her eyes rolled again, "I doubt Potter will see it that way. Even Draco who can't stand the man says he is as noble as they come."

"What did Draco say about me saving his old rival's life?" Daphne asked curiously.

Astoria shrugged sipping at her wine, "Only showed passing interest. I think he was more interested in the entourage Potter brought in with him."

It was Daphne's turn to roll her eyes. Tracey really did need to keep her mouth shut about the people who came through the doors into their ward. Thinking about the promise she made to Susan she sighed as she filled her sister in, "Potter has assembled an Elite team of aurors he trusts with his life to lead the charge against what is left of the Death Eaters. It doesn't help that we don't know who is leading them anymore. He can't trust anyone with the stakes as high as they are. They may not be as big of a threat without Voldemort, but they still are a threat, and they are still out there."

Daphne didn't realize the conversation made her blood boil, but the look on Astoria's face showed that she had let her anger leak into her words. The girl studied her face carefully, "This really bothers you doesn't it?"

Sighing, the girl shook her head, "I would be lying if I said it didn't. All sides lost good people, and when Potter won the final battle I thought that would be the end of it. That night though when he came into my sick ward and put his life in my hands it just made me angry. I don't know these people very well, but I know they sacrificed everything to get the peace this country is enjoying right now, and I just don't think it's fair that they are still the ones that have to cleanup all this shit up.. "

Astoria's eyes showed comprehension beyond the words they exchanged. Her sister did not swear often, but when she did it was when she really worked up, so wisely the girl decided not to press any further, "Well he was lucky to have you in his corner. Don't sell your short Daph you saved the Wizarding World Savior, and it wasn't luck. From the way Tracey tells it, even the head healer at St. Mungos was about to call the wrong time of Death."

The compliment eased her a little, "Do you know if Draco knows anything about the resurgence over the past year?"

Astoria frowned at the question, "You know he isn't welcome in those circles anymore. He is as hated as Potter now. Everyone saw him toss Harry a wand after he popped out of the half giants arms."

Daphne shivered at the memory. She knew it was the turning point in the battle. Voldemort had marched up the steps, and it was over. They had lost, but Harry had somehow convinced the man that he was dead. Rumor was Voldemort hit him with a second killing curse, and he survived, but Harry had refused for years to speak on the final moments of the battle to the public. He said you had to be there to know, and it was his way of throwing up the bird to the world who stood by and nearly watched it burn, "You're right I am sorry I asked."

Astoria looked strangely at her sister, but decided to change the subject. Daphne had dared to ask about the Draco and the philanthropy project they had been working on that was supposed to help bring back some of the destroyed businesses in Diagon Alley.

As the evening wore down Astoria paid the check, and the two walked out together and towards the apparition point. Astoria had her arm through her sisters, and she said, "You know five years is tomorrow."

Daphne nearly stumbled at her words, and if her sister caught the imbalance she didn't comment immediately, but the young healer said, "So it is."

"Are you going to go visit him?" She asked carefully.

"I'm working." Daphne answered mechanically.

"I know Daph, but he was still-"

Finally stopping Daphne spoke sharply, "I know who he was. I have to go to work Astoria. I can't be late to my shift."

Realizing she had probably overstepped her bounds with her sister that evening she quickly embraced her, and didn't allow her to squirm out of it, "Take care of yourself, and if you need me please call."

Relenting to her only a little, Daphne whispered, "I will."

With that the sisters departed and went separate ways for the evening. Once Daphne hit the apparition point she was gone hoping for a quiet night to end what was turning out to be an extremely long week.

(A/N) Some small mysteries presented in this chapter that will arc into large plot points in this story! Welcome to Chapter 2 of The Survivors, and I want to say thank you to all who reviewed or left with words with me about the first chapter. It was because I received such an outpouring of support I decided to go ahead and push out another update so soon, and work through the weekend on getting more content ready for all of you. Thank you all so much!

Cheers

-Orion