House woke up in the morning a bit stiff from sleeping on the couch. He sat up and looked across the living room at Draco, who was sleeping in a chair with his feet on an ottoman. Just thinking about the way the crowd had gone after them made him angry all over again. People forgot that when you fought a war against your own people, you had to embrace your enemies as brothers again once the war was over. If you didn't, the rift would never heal. It looked like the wizards hadn't learned that. Especially the 'light' wizards. It made him madder than hell to see them use the same sort of tactics they despised the Death Eaters for using. He put the kettle on the hob to boil and went to make use of the shower while the other two were sleeping.
When he came out of the bathroom, dressed for the day, Narcissa was in the kitchen pouring out tea for her and Draco and quickly she poured him a cup as well.
"Thanks," he muttered quietly, adding a touch of sugar before taking a couple of deep swallows.
"I want to thank you for your hospitality, Doctor House," Narcissa said after taking a moment to read his mood and realizing that he wasn't angry, just out of practice with having company.
"You're welcome to stay here until you get things sorted out or the Ministry lets you back into your home. Although I wouldn't hold your breath for that to happen quickly," House added, drawing a snort of derision from Draco who agreed with that thought.
"We have no wish to impose on you," Narcissa replied. "It's clear you hadn't planned for an eventuality of company with the size of this flat."
"True, but I'll be staying up at the school come the end of next month and you two would have the place to yourselves," House said with a shrug that declared he really didn't care to have them out any time soon.
"You're going to teach at Hogwarts?" Draco asked, whipping his eyes up to look at him appraisingly. "Muggle studies?" he ventured with a smirk.
"Spot on," House answered with a grin. "That and introduction to medicine, getting those with an interest in becoming healers taught about anatomy and how the body works."
"Draco will be returning to the school to repeat his final year of studies," Narcissa interjected. "Part of the agreement with the Ministry but I think it's wise for him. Last year wasn't really about education, after all."
"Yeah if I survive to take my NEWTS," Draco groused. "No one will want us around, you saw what people think of us at the hospital. School will be just as bad, and most of the professors won't bother to stop it."
"Hey!" House snapped, slapping his palm against the table emphatically. "You hold your head up, go back to that school and remind them all that you still belong to this world as much as they do, and don't let them forget it. If they can't accept you back, then they aren't worth your time and effort."
Draco stared at House for a long moment then nodded, straightening up and pulling some of his old pride around himself. Narcissa was exceedingly pleased; she'd been trying to tell the same to Draco but met with no success. Maybe he just needed to hear it from another male, one who had no trouble assuming and wielding authority.
"Maybe I'll sign up for your class," Draco said. "Both of them."
"Be prepared to work if you do," House warned with a smile. "I don't cut any favors."
"You sound American; have you been in England long?" Narcissa asked.
"No. Three weeks in England, two in wizarding England. I used up my muggle life and decided to see if I could make it in the wizarding world. I'd been told, by Snape, that I was more than a squib but not fully magical, since I'd never received a letter from a magical school. But I've managed to learn spells fairly quickly and use a wand, so maybe I'm closer than he thought. After all, we were 13 at the time he told me that."
"Perhaps Draco and I can help you learn what you need to work and live amongst us in exchange for invading your home," Narcissa offered with a hopeful smile.
House cocked his head to the side and thought for a moment then smiled widely back. "Sounds like a great deal to me."
After both Narcissa and Draco took their turns in the bathroom, the three of them sat down to a bread, fruit and cheese platter with more tea and made some plans as House laid out everything he needed to absorb a basic understanding of by September 1st. Draco would teach him spells and potions, Narcissa would teach history and culture. House was on his own to absorb magical medicine information.
Once these plans had been made, House decided to take Draco with him to get more groceries and a plan so they could all share the flat a bit better. The people in Hogsmeade weren't pleased at all to see Draco but the aura that House could put out, honed by years of driving people away in the hospital, kept them holding their tongues and finding somewhere else to be suddenly.
"So, here's my idea and it's not a great one but given the size of the flat, it will have to do," House said after glaring away a group of busybodies. "I think we get a set of bunk beds and separate them from the other bed with ceiling to floor drapes. Your mother can take the bed, we'll sleep on the bunks. I call lower," he said, eyeballing Draco and lifting the cane to reinforce why.
"Not a problem," Draco responded. "I think that will work. We'll need someplace to put clothes and toiletries. I'll have to speak with the aurors to get enough personal possessions to survive and my school trunk. We need to at least be able to access my school vault for supplies and such."
"Well, then we'd best get busy. I want to have this taken care of before the potions are ready to give to Severus."
Draco and House were gone most of the day, getting food, furniture and bedding, stopping at the Ministry to deal with the aurors. House proved invaluable to Draco there, turning his sharp tongued logic loose on them and soon enough both men were escorted to Malfoy manor by a pair of aurors to gather up the personal items Draco and Narcissa would need. Draco fetched a second trunk for his mother's items and packed them carefully then did the same for his, putting it all in his school trunk. House noticed that the trunks held far more than they should but held his questions, merely handed some objects to Draco when asked to and keeping his eyes on the aurors. Both trunks were shrunken and put into Draco's pockets and they were escorted back to the Ministry before being allowed to leave again.
Narcissa was seated at the table looking through the numerous books that House had bought or borrowed and making a plan to get the most pertinent information to him first and foremost when an owl tapped on the windows. She went over and let him in, taking the packages and offering a treat as it drank water from the bowl that House's owl used. She resized the packages and chuckled, setting into putting away all of the food that they had bought.
House and Draco returned home in time for afternoon tea, just as the furniture delivery arrived. This was brought by two young wizards who'd been paid to assemble it and put up the room divider. There were also two more wardrobes, placed randomly amidst the bookshelves and a metal three drawer cabinet to go in the bathroom so each could put their things into a drawer.
Narcissa was overjoyed to hear of their success in getting their personal possessions from the manor and that House had argued them into opening Draco's school vault. There was plenty in there for him to use for school and to provide for both of them to help out with expenses and other small needs Narcissa might have.
Two days later found all three back at St Mungo's. The potions were ready to administer to Severus. Narcissa and Draco stood against the wall in the room as Collingsworth spelled them into Severus and waited with House and the other Healer. About five minutes in, Severus started to show increased vital signs and at twenty minutes his eyes fluttered open. Both of the Healers were amazed as neither had expected the potions adjustments to make any difference at all. Both started diagnostics spells as House stepped into Snape's range of vision and waved his hand in front of his face to get his attention. He nodded with satisfaction when, slowly but surely, Snape focused on the hand waving and correctly interpreted that someone wanted his attention, looking up to the face the hand belonged to.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," House said with a tight smile. "You won't be able to speak yet so don't try and strain yourself. There was a lot of soft tissue damage. Blink once for yes and twice for no. Understand?"
Snape frowned at the man but gave him a deliberate single blink.
"Good. You've been lying in a coma since being attacked by the Dark Lord's familiar near the end of the Battle of Hogwarts. That's six, almost seven weeks now. I made some changes to the potions regimen that the healers had you on, trying to counteract the venom, and that brought you out of the coma. But in order for the wound to heal, we need a ritualist to remove the cursed portion. You've got visitors by the way," he said, gesturing for Narcissa and Draco to come near. Severus began to cry when he saw them, that Draco still lived and was free.
"Try to stay as calm as you can, Severus," Narcissa urged as she took his hand, Draco taking the other. "We are both all right. The Dark Lord was utterly defeated this time."
Severus closed his eyes with a look of overwhelming relief but also despair on his face. House was watching him closely, listening to the two healers whispered reports of the diagnostic spells they'd cast. Seeing despair in Severus's eyes, he knew that Severus had not planned on living. Stepping up to his bedside, he asked him as much. Narcissa and Draco both gasped but nodded in understanding when Severus blinked that yes, he had hoped to die.
"Well, one thing I think we've all learned in this world is you can't always get what you want," House stated grimly. "You survived and I'm going to make certain of it. They survived. I survived. Now we all have to learn how to live again."
"Now we can all help each other learn how to live again," Narcissa added fervently, putting a hand on House's arm to make it clear that the four of them would work together.
"Definitely," House nodded. "I'm going to go contact Weasley. See when we can set up this ritual to be done so that wound can finally start to heal."
Severus scowled and reached for House's arm, missing him, but House noticed and returned to the bedside. "What? You know someone we can use besides Bill Weasley?"
Severus relaxed and blinked twice. Draco chuckled darkly, putting the pieces together. "Don't worry. Ron Weasley wouldn't know a ritual from a hole in the ground," he reassured him.
Still Severus very weakly reached for House, unable to control his muscles, but House stepped closer and took his hand. "I won't let anything happen to you. I don't think you remember me, do you?" he asked. Snape frowned and blinked no.
"I'm Greg House, the marine brat that ran around town with you and Evans when we were all 13 in Spinner's End. You told me I was more than a squib but maybe just not enough magic to get a school letter. I needed a new start and came back here. Never thought I'd need my muggle career to save the life of the person who told me so long ago of a place I could go to try to belong and start over. Fate, huh? She is a bitch of mistress. So demanding. Get some rest for now. Let me go contact Weasley. I promise a longer explanation when you're strong enough to ask all your own questions."
Severus huffed slightly and dropped his hand, turning his head into Narcissa's hand as she lightly brushed his hair off his face. He closed his eyes and let himself just be comforted by their presence. The war was over and Draco had survived. For now, that was enough.
House spoke with Bill Weasley at length, explaining everything he'd researched and the conclusions he'd made, how Snape had awoken from the changes made in the potions and what ritual he wanted to have performed. Bill listened intently and nodded as House finished.
"I think you're right about the ritual and although I am qualified as a ritualist this level is a bit beyond me," Bill admitted. "It will have to be done on the New Moon, four days from now. I'll ask around to see if I can get someone with better qualifications to come as well, but I'll do it either way."
"Narcissa mentioned that the goblins could do it, but would probably charge an exorbitant price for it," House remarked. "I don't have any money to offer and their accounts are all frozen save for what Draco will need for school this year."
Bill looked at bit uncertain and frankly surprised to hear him refer to the Malfoys by their given names. "I didn't realize you knew the Malfoys," he said. "Yes, the goblins would charge a great deal for a ritual like this, I'm afraid. I don't think there are any debts that could be called in to lower the price at all either."
"Snape is willing for you to do it," House told him. "Just not Ron."
Bill guffawed at that one. "I'm not at all surprised but he needn't worry. Ron is completely unqualified for the job. I'll meet you at his room, six hours before moon rise on the first day of the New Moon. We'll make the preparations and perform the ritual at moon rise. Ask Lady Malfoy and Draco if they are willing to help as well. Extra warding and power would certainly be a help, as well as friendly intentions."
"Will do. See you then." House said, ending the call.
