Summary: Narcissa sustains a nasty accident and ends up at St. Mungo's where she becomes unexpectedly acquainted with her great-nephew.

Rated: K+

Genre: Family, Drama

Warning Tag: Elder Falling Accident; Hospital Setting; Medical Exams

Competition/Challenge Block:
Written For: Monthly Challenges for All (Year 3); Hogwarts (Term 14); Houses Competition (Year 7)

Houses: Slytherin; Muggle Studies, (Theme) Drama - Standard ([Character] Narcissa Malfoy; [Color] Mauve)

Hogwarts: Ravenclaw; A.9 - Childcare #4: Write a fic with the hurt/comfort genre without anyone dying.

MC4A: Short Jog (Y); Medic MC; Rian-Russo Inversion; Future Era (Y); Hufflepuff MC; Slytherin MCx2; Magical MCx2(Y); Old Shoes (Y); Fix-It Felix (Y); ToS (Nightingale; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice); BAON (Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel); FPC (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Fence (Machismo; Peddling Pots; Rediscovery); Star (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi); Demo 2 (Creature Feature); Hunt (Medicine)

Word Count: 1,933

Beta: Aurora, CupCakeyyy, VanillaAshes, Hope

Author's Note: 'Mediwix/wixen' are neutral words to refer to witch and wizard. I use them in this story because I wanted to cut down the more wordy portions of the story. I also only capitalize 'healer' where it is used as the title and not as a general sense because it is really just a replacement for the word 'doctor' which only is capitalized when used as a title and not as a general reference. Teddy uses the neo 'Xe' pronoun set.

Dedicated: HecateA! Happy Birthday!

Where There Was Never A Bridge

Narcissa had descended the curved stairways that led to the ground floor of her home a thousand times before without any difficulty. It was almost second nature at this point, something that didn't require her attention to do or observe. She barely noticed when the runner carpet was changed. Today she saw it was a lovely mauve color with dusty pink roses and hunter green leaves lining the silver-trim border.

Somehow, this otherwise tasteful rug hadn't been laid down properly, leaving a fold in the center of a step near the bottom, right in Narcissa's path. Her misstep on the offending area was enough to catch the tip of her heel and caused her to trip and lose her balance. She found herself falling hard on her side down the remaining few stairs, unable to catch herself in time on the banister. The loud crack of her hip was deafening in her dazed state as she now laid partially on the floor and the stairs.

Despite the pain that seared through her body, her icy-blue eyes fixated on the mauve carpet lying in front of her. She decided that she hated everything about it. Draco immediately came rushing to her side from the sitting room, surveying her and what could've happened.

"Oh, Merlin," he exclaimed, gently lifting her by the shoulders enough to hold her somewhat upright. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing. I'm—" She flinched and gasped from the shock of pain when he shifted her, seeing black and mauve dots dance across her vision. She heard Draco swear under his breath before he stilled. "My hip… I think… I think it's broken."

"Binx!" he yelled, summoning a young elf to his side immediately. "St. Mungos, now."

The jarring trip to the hospital was quickly forgotten once she got there. The pain of being gently lifted onto a gurney was enough to have her be on the verge of passing out. She was far from a young woman anymore, being seventy years old wasn't exactly ancient for a witch, but it didn't mean she wasn't prone to injuries that came with age, either.

She was carted into a room where the mediwixen shuffled around her to make her comfortable, administered a yellow-colored pain potion, and asked questions as to what happened. Draco stood in the corner out of the way, but kept his eyes fixated on his mother the entire time.

By the time they were finished with the interrogation and left, Narcissa was already feeling better from the wonderful pain potion they had given her.

"Was it that gaudy rug on the stairs?" Draco quipped, scowling as he took a seat beside her and gathered one of her hands in his. "Because I will gladly get rid of it, if so."

Slightly giddy from the potion, Narcissa couldn't help but giggle a little at the comment. Her son took very good care of her, especially since Lucuis' untimely death and the loss of his own wife. All that was left of the small family were herself, her son, and her grandson. This incident would more than likely put Draco's protectiveness in overdrive.

"I would not object to it, sweetheart."

Before anything else could be said, a tall, lean healer stepped into her room holding a clipboard and donning the long, seafoam-green robes. His hair was a dusty shade of mauve purple, which had Narcissa almost flinch in disgust due to the reminder of the rug that caused her to be here in the first place.

"Mrs. Malfoy?" he asked, looking up from the clipboard to address her. "I am Healer Teddy Lupin, and I will be overseeing your treatment and recovery."

He offered his hand to her, which she accepted. His warm brown eyes met hers and he offered her a light smile. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her eyes flicked over his nametag, seeing an additional pin below it that read 'Pronouns: xe/xyr'.

"It says here you fell down some stairs. How many, do you think?"

"I'd say the last five or so," Narcissa said, trying to recall. "The blasted rug wasn't laid down properly and I caught my heel on a fold."

Her speech slurred some at the end, prompting Healer Lupin to approach her beside and pull a small light from xyr pocket. "Could you follow the light with just your eyes, please?"

She did as instructed, or so she thought, and xe moved closer to her face and flashed the light over her eyes a couple of times again before examining the side of her head where she had said she'd landed. The mauve-colored hair kept distracting her from xyr instructions.

"Do you remember hitting your head?" xe asked, taking a note on xyr clipboard.

"Uh, I'm not sure," she admitted.

"Alright. If you don't mind, I am going to run some tests and perform a short physical exam to determine the extent of your injuries so we can get you back to dancing in no time," Healer Lupin said, offering a reassuring smile.

"Thank you."

The scratching of Healer Lupin's pen as xe wrote down information were soon heard as xe cast a couple diagnostic spells and did a quick physical exam on her. "Well, Mrs. Malfoy, you certainly did a number on yourself. Looks like you've broken your hip and badly sprained your ankle. I am also concerned about the mild concussion you've sustained, so I am going to recommend you stay overnight for monitoring."

Narcissa looked slightly surprised at this, but agreed to the admission for the overnight stay.

The potion that she had to take to repair the broken hip tasted absolutely awful, but was soon chased down with another dose of the painkiller potion to manage the pain. Her ankle was put in a simple brace, wrapped in an ice compression, and elevated to help with the swelling. Draco had brought her a book and more comfortable blankets and pillows for her before leaving for the night. Narcissa was told to take it easy and notify a mediwix if she experienced any further symptoms from the concussion. It scared her a little to try and sleep after they went over them, so she spent the entire night reading.

Morning finally came, and Narcissa found herself pretty exhausted from staying awake through the night, and the events that led her there to begin with, but she put on a pleasant smile when Healer Lupin entered the room, sporting that awful mauve hair yet again.

"Good morning, Healer Lupin," she said.

"You are up early. Rough night?"

"I was just a little worried about the concussion symptoms." Narcissa took the time to really observe her healer now, trying to recall why xe seemed so familiar to her. "I barely felt the potion doing its work repairing my hip, so that was a plus."

"Good. Your hip should be fully mended, but I'm going to ask you to take extra precautions for the next week while things are still healing. These sorts of things work best with time and patience," Healer Lupin explained while silently casting a couple spells to check on her. "Could you follow the light with your eyes again?"

She performed the request and xe seemed happier with the result. "Seems like it was only a minor bump, but if you start to feel dizzy or forgetful, I want you to come see me immediately. And I want you to keep that ankle elevated for the next few days, as well. Sprains can get nasty if not properly taken care of."

"Of course. You have been quite attentive, thank you." Narcissa offered her hand in thanks and xe kindly accepted it.

"You have been a wonderful patient, Mrs. Malfoy. I will get your paperwork in for your discharge." And with that, xe left the room.

Draco came in shortly after to gather her things and escort her out.

"That young man was so kind," Narcissa pointed out, handing her son her finished book. "I swear xe seems familiar, though."

"He's Tonks' kid," Draco said, tone flat. "You don't remember?"

Of course she didn't, it wasn't as if she kept tabs on her sister since she became a blood traitor. And the horrifying times being present for Voldemort and his Death Eaters meetings were carefully stowed away in the depths of her memory to remember his mocking of them being related.

"Seems I've forgotten." She mulled over what she considered to say for a moment before accepting Draco's hand to get out of bed. "Do you think xe would come for dinner?"

"Doubtful, Mother."

The mediwix brought a wheelchair in for her to sit in and be pushed to the front desk where she could be discharged. Healer Lupin just so happened to be there as well speaking with the mediwix behind the desk. She couldn't miss that gaudy mauve hair of xyr and silently wondered why xe chose that color.

"Healer Lupin? If I may have a moment of your time?" Narcissa asked, and xe turned to her immediately.

"Sure, Mrs. Malfoy."

Xe was kind enough to push her a few meters away to speak. "I appreciate your generous care of me and my silly accident. Is there any way I could repay you?"

Healer Lupin looked nervous now, xyr gaze darted to the side and xe fidgeted by placing a pen in xyr pocket. "Just heal up well, that's all I need for you to do."

"You're my sister's grandson, aren't you?" she pressed, offering a gentle yet knowing smile. "If I may, I'd love to invite both of you to supper to properly thank you for your generous hospitality."

The look on xyr face shifted from kind to completely impassive at the offer, xyr smile was gone and the look in xyr eyes was almost threatening if she had to describe it. She felt her body tense slightly from the reaction.

"Pardon me for being blunt, but I swore an oath as a Healer because I believe that all people are worthy of equal care and treatment regardless of their background or association. It is my job to show kindness and proper interaction with my patients. This attitude, however, does not always apply outside of work." He paused a moment to nod at a fellow healer passing them. "I know what your family did to mine and I hope you can understand why I am declining before I say more."

Narcissa swallowed hard at the statement, looking shocked and feeling like she was slapped. Xe spoke so diplomatically, articulately, and straightforward just like her sister Andromeda used to do. Yet, she gathered herself enough to offer a slow nod and weak smile, not daring to push it any further. "Of course, I understand. I wish you both well. And thank you again."

"Heal up quickly, Mrs. Malfoy," Healer Lupin said in a much more pleasant tone before excusing xemself.

Draco took the liberty to push her to the Floo while she remained quiet, processing what had just happened.

"I told you he would say no."

"And so you did," Narcissa said, pursing her lips slightly as she got up from the wheelchair and carefully stepped into the flames.

Later that day, she looked at the shiny wood of the stairs that had been covered by carpet just yesterday morning. The rug—along with a few throw pillows and bedsheets that shared the same purplish tint—were properly disposed of. One thing was for certain: she had a newfound hatred for the color mauve.