Chapter 4
Narcissa stared into Hermione's eyes, searching for any signs of dishonesty in her statement. After several moments, she appeared content with what she saw and smiled coyly in response. Hermione's face burned against her scrutinizing gaze, but she didn't back down from Narcissa's glower.
"Okay, Healer Granger. What do you expect of me?" Narcissa folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against her wheelchair. She cocked one eyebrow up expectantly in Hermione's direction and inwardly smiled as she watched the young witch's demeanor morph into one of confidence then to confusing astonishment.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock and disbelief at the matriarch's nonchalance in accepting this new journey into her health care. She felt her mouth go dry and her palms began to sweat. Her anxiety peaking it's nasty head enabling her breathing to become slightly labored but she willed her negative thoughts back. "There will be plenty of time to overanalyze this later tonight. For now you just got to get through this," she convinced herself as she summoned a glass of water to quench her thirst. She still could not believe Narcissa Malfoy would allow a muggleborn to treat and diagnose her with muggle technology and medicine. Hermione let out a breathy laugh as a smile escaped her lips and she looked up towards Mrs. Malfoy confidently.
"First I would like to ask you some questions about your family history and delve a little further into how your symptoms present and when they become exacerbated. I would also require a physical examination." Hermione noticed Narcissa tug her house robe a little tighter and looked away with blushing cheeks.
Not skipping a beat, Hermione continued to explain, "This will allow me to feel areas of your body and assess for any anatomical anomalies."
Lucius suddenly rose from his chair in a dignified fluster. He straightened out his robes and turned towards his wife. "Narcissa, I believe I am no longer needed in regards of these matters. And if that is the case then I will, unfortunately, take my leave at once. I am needed back at the Ministry and I will return when matters are under control. Draco, Astoria please allow your mother some privacy."
"Of course, Father, " Draco replied and he got up and made his way towards his mother. She offered him her cheek and he kissed it tenderly followed by a breathy whisper in her ear. Narcissa smirked and replied, "I might as well be reaching for the moon." She looked up into her only child's eyes and gingerly stroked his cheek.
Draco smiled, sad and strained, "You are so old-fashioned. Have you not heard? We are building rockets to reach the moon."
Hermione looked away at this touching exchange, feeling as though she were intruding on something personal. It was awkward to see Draco and Narcissa in this caring light. It was a feat she didn't think any Malfoy capable of experiencing or showcasing publicly.
Draco smiled warmly at his mother. "We'll be in your room. Please call once you need me."
Narcissa responded with an air kiss and Draco turned towards the door. Astoria hugged Narcissa in a tight embrace; her belly making it awkward to position oneself comfortably. She then released her mother-in-law, swiped a tear away from her cheek, and made her way back to her husband's side. Lucius was the last to bid adieu to his wife. He reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles tenderly and sweetly as he stared into her eyes. "I won't be long," he assured her and then gracefully turned on his heel to exit the room.
Hermione allowed Narcissa a moment as she watched her family retreat. Even after the door closed she continued to stare in that direction.
"I will be remaining, Mrs. Malfoy, only to oversee the next topic at hand," Healer Hope walked forward and magically summoned a desk with a blue folder sitting in front of Narcissa. She brought her chair towards the table and sat as she waited for Narcissa to initiate the continuation of the consult.
"Healer Granger, there is something that I must confess." Narcissa then turned towards Hermione, her eyes pleading as a defeated woman presented herself by placing her elbows against the table with her hands clasped. A sign of prayer or pleading, Hermione wasn't sure. Narcissa then looked down into her hands, appearing unsure as to how to begin her admission.
"I know that my situation appears hopeless, at least it looks like that way in my point of view. For years I have lived with this ailment and I don't see an end to my suffering coming in the near future." Narcissa then looked up at Hermione, her chin held high and eyes blazing with confidence as she straightened up her posture. "I need you to know that I am a proud woman, and I will go down fighting for my life. But if it is required for your muggle technology to keep me alive, and that appears to be the only barrier between life and death," Narcissa's voice broke as she struggled to get her words out. She took a few breaths to compose herself and returned with that elitist persona. "Then I will welcome death."
"Mrs. Malfoy, I do not place judgement on people's choices when it comes their plan of care. I am an advocate for all my patients, muggle or wizard. Whatever you decide I will respect your wishes." Hermione explained reassuringly.
Narcissa's shoulders slumped slightly as she exhaled in relief. She then opened the folder in front of her and began to thumb through the pages.
"I do need to clarify one detail," Hermione added as she scooted her chair closer to Narcissa.
"You feel this way right now, however," Hermione paused and contemplated her choice of wording. "If your mind was to become altered or you deemed incapable of making rational decisions in regards to changes you may make from your original plans of care, who would you want to be the person in charge of your health care decisions?"
Hermione allowed Narcissa to contemplate on her thoughts. She knew that these type of decisions require a bit of time to process and typically muggle families do expect to make this decision when a loved one is in the hospital. However, wizarding society is new territory for Hermione and she felt as though she was walking on thin ice. She didn't know what to expect from the Malfoy matriarch and she didn't want to risk her running for the hills when they were just barely scratching the surface.
Finally Narcissa spoke. "Draco. He will be in charge of my care. I have already discussed a similar situation with him and he has agreed to take on such a heavy burden if need be."
Hermione nodded in understanding and continued presenting paperwork until Narcissa interjected with an unusual statement. "And Lucius should never know this."
Hermione stopped, her eyebrows furrowed as she comprehended Narcissa's unexpected statement. "So you don't want your husband to have any say in what to do with your life if worse comes to worse?"
Narcissa looked down into her hands, her fingers fidgeting and twirling her wedding ring round and around her thin finger. She looked up suddenly, eyes closed and breathing deeply. Her face appeared strained as the crow's feet became pronounced with every squint. She appeared to fight back tears as the corners of her eyes brimmed with moisture.
"Lucius has a biased opinion. He loves me unconditionally and will not allow me to die so easily. Draco and I have already discussed such matters. He will be in charge of my care if I am unable to communicate my needs via sound mind," Narcissa clipped with a decisiveness that signaled the end of this discussion. Hermione took this as her cue to finalize the paperwork required for her advance directives.
After signing and initialing what was needed, Hermione pulled out one last form. "Okay, now that that's settled, all that's required is for you and Draco to sign this form with a witness. In this case we can have Healer Hope be your witness. We can ring Draco right now to meet us here or we can always finish this tomorrow. The decision is yours, Mrs. Malfoy."
"I feel we should complete this now so as not to have any loose ends," Narcissa murmured. And in that statement she allowed her veiled confident persona reveal a beaten and tired woman. Her shoulders hunched forward as she placed her head through her hands; her fingers rummaging through her hair and pulling lightly so as to distract her from breaking down into a fit of sobs. Recognizing Narcissa's subtle cry for comfort, Hermione allowed her bedside manner training to kick in. She reached for Narcissa's shoulder and placed her hand warmly against her shoulder blade.
"I am here for you, Mrs. Malfoy. You are my priority. And if at any point in time you feel that something is not meeting your expectations, then you have every right to stop any and all treatments. You even have the privilege of firing me if you feel that I do not prove myself to you. I will take no offense if that were to be the case, but just so you know." Hermione leaned in closer and whispered, only to add emphasis to her proclamation. "I am very stubborn, anal, brilliant, and competent in what I do. I have the drive and desire to provide you the best treatment options that modern technology has available as well as state of the art potions/charms that will allow you to sustain a symptom free life. My…our end goal is to allow you a long, happy, healthy life with your family."
"Thank you, Healer Granger." Narcissa offered a short pursed grin. She cleared her throat signaling that the moment was over and then raised her wand towards her St. Mungo's patient admittance bracelet. It began to glow green and Hermione heard a man's voice reverberate through.
"Is everything settled," questioned the silvery inquisitive voice
"Not quite, my dear," Narcissa purred. "You are needed back at the consult room. And please tell Astoria not to fret. I can only imagine how her worried little mind is at the moment. Let her know you will return within minutes and I am doing fine. We are left with dotting the i's and crossing t's now."
"Of course, Mother. I will be there shortly," Draco replied.
Within moments Draco was knocking lightly against the door before entering. He quickly scanned the room to locate his mother and his eyes warmed and settled once he located her. Healer Hope summoned a chair beside Narcissa's other side and Draco sat down beside his mother. He immediately reached out for her hand in both of his and she offered her his cheek for him to kiss once more. Hermione found the gesture oddly heartbreaking.
"Draco, honey, I will require you to make decisions for me if I am incapable of doing so. I already mentioned to Healer Granger my terms in regards to allowing your father dictate my care and she has agreed with what we have already spoken of. All that is required now is signing the paperwork."
Draco scowled as he read the forms Narcissa handed him. "Should we have someone look into this? I mean, what if there is something that they're not telling us?" Draco shamelessly side eyed both Healers in the room.
Hermione clicked her tongue at the top of her palette signaling her annoyance and leaned back against her chair with her arms crossed. Healer Hope admonished her with a stern gaze and Hermione quickly sat up and placed her hands in her lap; a look of indifference plastered across her face as she stared at her former childhood tormentor.
"My dear, there is no need to worry. Everything has been settled. All that is required is you sign the documents." Still looking hesitantly, Narcissa pouted at her son and a small smirk merged rebelliously from Draco's lips.
"You are aggravating, Mother," he exclaimed as he reached for the quill laid across him. "Where do I sign?"
After everything was settled and more questions answered, Hermione found herself alone in her consult room. The lights appeared exponentially brighter and she felt her chest rise and fall faster and faster as she realized her situation.
"This is it. It's finally happening," she thought as she ran both her hands through her hair. She clenched her eyes shut and willed her breaths to slow. She had been waiting for what seemed like forever to have an opportunity like this.
"But with the Malfoy family," she thought begrudgingly. She removed her hands from her hair and began to glide her finger tips along her scar. She allowed herself to reminisce on the tortuous moments she experienced at Malfoy Manor. Her body instinctively shuddered away those negative thoughts, but then she began to dwell on the nasty comments Draco himself would spew her way when they were children.
"Am I capable of handling this family? Or will they swallow me whole and leave me broken?"
Her breathing became hitched and she allowed a couple of tears to fall from her eyes. She sensed her anxiety on the verge of overwhelming her and so she thought of what Dawson instructed her to do the last time. A pang of hurt speared through her chest at the thought of Dawson. She hadn't spoken to him at all these past five months. Her eyes brimmed even more tears when she thought about the confession he made to her. She cared for Dawson tremendously but she couldn't but be cautious with her love life. After Ron she couldn't afford to allow herself to get into a relationship, let alone fall in love with someone. Especially now that her career and dreams were finally taking flight. Once she was able to calm herself she stood to locate her jacket. It was a cold, dreary, rainy night outside of St. Mungo's and Hermione planned to walk through it in order to clear her mind. She then turned off the lights in the consult room and locked the door behind her.
She enjoyed her walks home when her mind was frazzled at the end of her workdays. She was able to over analyze the day's outcomes and pour over alternate endings to see if she could learn from any mistakes she may have made. Eventually the rain stopped and she found herself seconds away from entering through the wrought iron gate of her apartment building. She rummaged through her purse in search for the keys in her bag not noticing the man that was approaching her cautiously, slowly. Still consumed with her search, she shook her purse and then her jacket as she tried to locate her keys with her auditory senses. She finally heard the familiar jingle in her coat pocket and retrieved them. She placed her key into the keyhole and suddenly felt the hair against the back of her neck rise on end with the sensation of a firm grip grasping her right shoulder.
"Her-OOOOF!"
In the blink of an eye, Hermione reached into her hidden coat pocket and retrieved her wand. She took aim towards the intruder's abdomen and fired off a spell before he could sense what was coming.
"Petrificus totalus," she whispered as the unknown person froze and fell over within milliseconds of her utterance of the spell. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and she looked around for any bystanders, thanking Merlin that no one appeared to be in sight. She glanced at her assailant and instantly felt regret as she looked into Dawson's shocked and terrified expression. His mouth was immobile yet he still tried to grunt and spew gibberish in his body-binded state.
"Dawson! You scared the shit out of me!" Hermione yelled as she clenched her chest, still eyeing up and down the street. Once she triple checked her surroundings, she uttered the counter curse and helped Dawson up.
"What the hell are you doing here? And why the hell are you sneaking up on people in the dark?" Hermione inconspicuously placed her wand back in her secret jacket pocket and turned back towards the gate allowing entry for herself and Dawson. He clumsily straightened up and rubbed his bottom tenderly. Whatever it was that Hermione did to him he fell hard. "Literally and figuratively," he thought as he laughed a short, self-conscious laugh.
"Well, I was going for the element of surprise. Now that's one more thing to add to my list of Hermione tidbits. One, do not sneak up on Hermione. Two, announce your presence at all times." He joked as he mimed writing into a notepad into the palm of his hand.
Hermione smirked and shoved him away playfully. "Dawson, I'm being serious. What are you doing here? And how did you find out where I lived?"
Dawson immediately dropped his jokester persona and revealed a shy and timid man. "I got your address through, Mia." He whispered with squinted his eyes as he braced himself for another attack from this formidable woman.
"She gave you my address," Hermione questioned with suspicious eyes. She knew when he was lying and was always prepared to call him out on his bullshit.
"Technically, no." He looked down at the concrete floor as he became suddenly interested in what his feet were doing. "I found a letter she wrote you on her counter top and copied down your address."
Hermione stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Mia knew that she wasn't ready to face Dawson and that's why she hadn't wrote to him all these months. Hermione allowed her thoughts to wander towards unflattering vulgar adjectives describing the carelessness of her friend.
Sensing her tension, Dawson continued explaining himself. "Hermione, I hadn't heard from you in a long time. I know you're avoiding me and I understand that. But understand that you are my friend first and foremost. You are one of my best friends. I don't want to sacrifice that part of us just because..."He trailed off into a whisper and stepped closer towards her body. He reached out for her hand and she surrendered it without hesitation but continued to avoid his gaze.
"Please Hermione, say something," he pleaded as his other hand reached for her chin to avert her gaze from the ground to his pleading, expectant face.
Finally she looked up into his aquamarine eyes and allowed herself to relax. She couldn't argue with his reasoning; in America he was her only friend for the first three years at Johns Hopkins and he was always loyal in regards to their ambiguous relationship.
"You are one of my best friends, too, Dawson. I'm sorry I have been so distant. I didn't know what to say or expect that night after we confessed our secrets to one another. I really didn't think you would want anything to do with me. Especially since you are aware of a part of my life that no one else knows of in America. And that kiss…" She whispered that last statement and grabbed his hand from her chin and squeezed it tightly.
"Yeah, that's another reason why I wanted to talk with you in person. What did you mean that you are a w-," Hermione quickly muttered a silencing charm, pulled Dawson through the wrought iron fence and into her apartment building. She was located on the first floor and conveniently placed at the end of the hall near the fire exit sign. She muttered another word that Dawson understood as, "Alohamora," and made her way into her apartment. She quickly muttered a counter curse and Dawson was able to find his voice again.
"What was that? How do you do that?" Dawson asked quickly and alarmingly. He stared at Hermione in amazement and wonder as he began to process his thoughts on the talents that this woman has yet to reveal.
"You can't call me a witch out there in public. At least not in muggle London." Hermione explained as she ceremoniously placed her items where they typically belong: purse on the entry table, jacket on the coat rack, and shoes against the wall.
"Muggle? What the hell is that?" Dawson asked as he took in her new living quarters. He began to remove his coat and placed it on Hermione's cream colored leather couch as he followed her into the kitchen. "Nice digs. London must be paying you good."
Ignoring his observances Hermione proceeded to answer his question. "Muggles are considered nonmagic folk. You, for example, are a muggle. The Queen is a muggle. Mia is a muggle. Except in America they are considered No-Maj; my British roots will not allow me to distinguish them with that label so from here on out we shall consider you a muggle." Hermione stated matter-of-factly as she rummaged through her cabinets for a tea kettle and mugs.
"So I'm a muggle? Is there any other label you go by other than a witch?" Dawson treaded cautiously. He didn't know what to expect with this type of content and he was making sure to keep Hermione neutral since this seemed like a sensitive subject.
She stopped what she was doing and instinctively reached up her arm to find the scar. Her mind kept repeating the word over and over in her mind, but her mouth didn't allow her to utter the word. "I am a witch. But if you want to be specific I am a muggle-born witch. It just means I was born to two non-magical parents."
Dawson sensed her apprehension to describe her culture and went in to comfort her, but she brushed him off and continued with placing the kettle under the sink to fill it with water. Hermione felt she needed to do something, to keep moving, in order to go through with further revealing who she really is. She placed the kettle onto the stove and began to rummage around more cabinets for tea bags. Sensing her reluctance to further explain Dawson continued to prod.
"Now by witch do you mean dancing naked under the full moon and worshipping stones and nature? Because if that's the case then sign me up, convert me, whatever" Dawson smiled but it was strained and forced. He wanted to make light of the situation but he honestly didn't know how to.
"No," Hermione replied annoyed. She paused and debated on what to say next. She knew that what she was about to say would sound crazy and maybe this would make Dawson run for the hills. But this would be the defining moment as to what Hermione can expect in furthering her platonic…romantic…relations with Dawson.
"There is no naked dancing. However I respect nature and do believe that certain…stones are powerful," her lips curled into a knowing smile as she reminisced on her first year at Hogwarts. She then pulled out her wand and held it in front of him, offering a closer glimpse into her world. "This is my wand. I use it to cast spells. That's how I was able to overtake you outside. That's how I was able to get you to shut up about me being a witch before we made it inside. That's how I was able to open my door and allow you to speak once we were safe indoors." She then gripped the end of her wand eliciting gold sparks flying from the tip as the wand relished its owners touch.
Dawson's eyes widened in disbelief. At that moment an earsplitting high pitch whistle broke the wonderment and awe that Dawson was feeling. Hermione flicked her wand and muttered an incantation that allowed her tea kettle to float and pour steaming hot water into two tea cups. She then spelled the kettle to go back onto the stove
Hermione motioned with her head to have Dawson follow her into the living room as the teacups floated behind them. He sat across from her and watched her as she blew against the steam rising from her tea cup as it landed into her hands. She two lumps of sugar floated above her cup and fell into her cup as a hands-free spoon stirred the perimeter of the cup. Dawson remained stupefied with what he just witnessed and stared curiously at the woman before him.
"Drink it before it gets cold," Hermione stated as the sugar cubes and spoon prepared his tea to his liking. He blew away steam at the top of his cup and took a small noisy sip. They then sat in silence for several minutes until Dawson felt the need to speak about some that has been on his mind. He wanted to show Hermione that this thing wasn't something that was going to deter him from continuing their relationship, whether it be romantic or friendly. Instead he went for a neutral statement.
"Can I see you do something else with magic?" His sheepish smile curled at the corner of his pink lip as his bright inquisitive eyes shined with sincerity and wonder.
Hermione giggled as she considered his statement and pulled out her wand once more. With a flick of her wrist and the utterance of a few unintelligible words, Hermione was able to conjure a blue light followed by flock of birds. Dawson's eyes appeared to bulge out of his head and a long winded, "WOW!" escaped his lips while Hermione stared, smiling at her friend's reaction.
*Thank you for reading! Constructive criticism is always welcome. -A*