I never slept in the guest bed that was provided for me, no matter how tired I was. And tired was an understatement. I was used to working myself to the bone at the hospital, but having to take the portkey to France every night after working a full shift just to study Astoria's medical history meant I spent a lot of late nights reading in the guest room trying to stay awake.

Because I was spending more time at the Chateau, I became gradually acquainted with the House Elves. Draco and Astoria had three: Paisley, Gingham, and Argyle. Gingham was the one with the strange accent, and acted as a butler around the house doing things like serving tea and changing linens. Argyle was the smallest and worked in the kitchen, so I went to them if I got hungry late in the night. Paisley was in charge of the child rearing while Astoria was recovering, so I didn't see much of her, or the baby, whatever his name was.

As promised, Draco did not intrude when I was in the guest room. Our paths only crossed when I visited Astoria's room at dawn. He would stand quietly by the door while I checked Astoria's vitals. I still despised him, but I discovered it wasn't difficult to put on a veil of politeness during the brief interactions we did have. So being at the Chateau was not totally horrible. Actually, there were instances where I considered giving in to my tiredness and sleeping on the guest bed instead of taking the portkey back to America.

When I was at my home in New York, which was for no more than 6 consecutive hours at a time these days, Len and I always ended up fighting. The only thing that calmed him down was assuring him the job in France was only temporary. I had no intention of attending to Astoria longer than was absolutely necessary; so the harder I worked, the sooner I would be able to pass Astoria's case to another Healer in my department. My mediwitch trainee, Cora, definitely needed the money the Malfoys could provide. But for the time being, it was my responsibility to find the way to bring her out of her coma.

After nearly two weeks of diligent reading, planning, and research, I was finally ready to present my plan to Draco. I met him in his study at 7 in the morning France time; 1 AM New York time. I was running on fumes, so my feet were dragging on the carpet, so tired I felt like a worn down eraser. Draco, however, looked worse. I wondered to myself if he was even sleeping at all.

"From what I gathered of Astoria's extensive records and family tree-" I paused, realizing that a house elf was offering me tea, "oh, no thank you, Gingham- Astoria's blood curse came from an ancestor of hers. There are many different types of blood curses- like a Maledictus, for example, which makes the cursebearer involuntarily morph into an animal. The Greengrass blood curse works like a recessive gene. In Astoria's case, it was purely by chance that it happened to present in her genetic makeup. The blood curse works by attacking the cursebearer's vascular system. This means her blood supply, as well as all of her organs, are weak and susceptible to disease."

My tone grew more serious when I moved onto the next topic. "I consulted with other Dark Magic specialists in New York, and they all said it was ill advised for someone with a blood curse to have children." I swallowed nervously, unsure how to proceed with this information. "There's a… there's a note in Astoria's records from one of her previous Healers recommending that she get a hysterectomy. There was strong evidence to suggest that her uterus was the epicenter of the blood curse. Having it removed wouldn't cure her, but it could lengthen her life expectancy."

Draco listened to me talk with hard, calculating eyes, like this was all new information to him.

I paused. "Did she not tell you about this?" I asked gently.

Bitterly, Draco replied, "I was not even aware of the blood curse until Astoria was already far along in the pregnancy. She became extremely weak, and would not leave bed, so I called in one of the best Healers in France. The Healer told us there was no possible treatment for her illness, and that she would likely die in childbirth."

Draco motioned for Gingham to give him a cigarette. As he raised it to his lips, I scowled. He put the cigarette down and sighed in frustration.

"I know what you must be thinking," he said, "That I wanted an heir so badly that Astoria was afraid to tell me she was not supposed to bear children. But I wasn't the one who wanted a child. She was."

I flattened my lips. I don't know why, but I believed him.

"I can only give my professional opinion," I said.

"Which is?"

"That she has her uterus removed right away."

Draco pressed his thumb and forefinger across the lower portion of his face, deep in thought. "She'll never agree to that," he finally said.

"She is in a comatose state, and unable to give consent," I reminded him. "You, as her spouse, can make this decision."

Draco stalled at this, saying nothing, just glaring down at his desk. I felt bad for springing this on him so suddenly. But how was I supposed to know that Draco was unaware of his wife's full medical history? Astoria should have informed him of this a long time ago.

A knot formed in my stomach as I watched Draco contemplate the decision. He looked deeply troubled.

I was unable to watch him like that for any longer. "There is another option," I said with an exhale.

I placed a file on Draco's desk. "I've designed a hybrid regimen of potions and countercurse biopsies in place of the surgical option. This file details everything from potion ingredients to dosages."

Draco picked up the file and began analyzing the pages with careful eyes.

I shifted worriedly in my seat. "You'll see that the materials needed are rather pricey. That's because Dark Magic healing is unfortunately in high demand-"

"Money is no problem," Draco replied, reading the ingredient list carefully.

I nodded. It wasn't surprising to me that Draco was willing to spare no expense for Astoria. He had been paying me for less than a month and I was already making a sizeable sum comparable to my hospital salary.

"Once I obtain the potion ingredients, the brewing period won't be long before I can produce the first dose. I'll also need plasma patches and spectrum shunts, if you're willing to cover the cost of those."

Draco leafed through the list. "You've become like a medical encyclopedia."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I muttered.

"I meant it as such."

I could feel my face begin to get hot. Draco didn't notice. "I'll get the ingredients for you right away," he said, lightly licking his thumb to turn to the next page.

I nodded. "Very well." In my personal opinion, I would have urged him to reconsider the hysterectomy. After all, if that was the epicenter of Astoria's blood curse, that would be the next best thing to a cure. Draco likely cared for Astoria too much to take one of her organs away from her without consulting her first.

If that is the case, Draco may not be as heartless as I thought. He might actually be a…. A caring husband.

I rose from the seat to leave for the day, but stopped when Draco set down the file and said, "This is fine work. Thank you."

I was taken aback by his gratitude and compliments, even if they were delivered a bit coldly. "Just doing my job."

I began to walk away, but Draco had one more thing to ask me.

"What became of your plan to remove my Dark Mark?"

I froze. An odd sound escaped my lips, a sort of hybrid between "huh?" and "mm?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten. The day you left Hogwarts, you told me you would figure out how to remove it."

I awkwardly shifted in my Healer robes. "I'm sorry, but I was unable to complete my research due to lack of subjects." In other words, there were no Death Eaters in America to treat.

"I see," he said without emotion.

I looked at Draco's left sleeve, visualizing the mark hidden beneath it. "Do you still have it, then?" I asked.

Draco also looked down at his left sleeve and nodded stiffly. "Seeing it when I get dressed is the worst part of my day," he muttered.

Hearing the emotion in Draco's voice was odd. Even though he brought this upon himself, I felt strangely sorry for him.

"I-I could-"

"Focus on Astoria," he commanded. "I don't want your attention diverted, thinking about my Mark."

I swallowed my words. I wasn't even sure what I was going to say- "I could try to remove it?" I hardly had the time to take on another project; definitely not one as big as the Dark Mark. If it wasn't causing him any pain, it was not of immediate concern. Draco wanted me to devote my attention to Astoria, because he loved her and wanted her to live. So that's what I was going to do.