Chapter Two

- August, 2013

After that horror of a meeting, Hermione apparated back to her small house in an unplottable part of the country side to pack her necessities and to make arrangements for her living quarters.

When she felt solid ground, she opened her tightly shut eyes and took in the front door. It was very silly of her to still be afraid of apparating. After ten years of experience, and her reputation to boot, one would think that she was highly capable of apparating efficiently. She still felt a tinge of nervousness every time she did it though. She did not enjoy knowing that there was something other than ground beneath her small feet.

Pocketing her wand and taking out her keys from her ordinary black purse, she unlocked the door and turned the knob. The smell of simmering stew wafted over to her the instant she stepped through the door. A memory of a time when she was ten, the year before she ever knew she had wonderful magic running through her veins, bombarded her thoughts. She saw herself coming through the door of her childhood home and announcing to her mum and dad that she was home. She remembered the wonderful smell of her father's stew that permeated the air throughout the whole house on cold winter days.

She smiled and looked at the floor. If only I could be that kid again.

Hermione took a deep breath and closed the door that she had been holding onto in her moment of remembrance. She sat down on her brown squishy couch and tiredly pulled off her plain black shoes. She couldn't wait to eat some stew and lie down. Sadly, certain circumstances wouldn't permit her to do so. With a sigh, she walked to the back of her small but cozy home and entered her room. Her walls were covered with pictures, moving and not, of family and friends. The image of Harry, Ron, and Ginny waving caught her eye. It had been the summer of sixth year when that wizarding photo had been taken. She had had a wonderful time there laughing and playing with her friends and eating Mrs. Weasley's superb cooking. Life had been blissful then as well. Hermione turned her head toward the right where her twin bed lay. On her bed was one of the many Gryffindor house burgundy and gold blankets. During the last night boarding at Hogwarts, she had filched the covering because she had felt an impulse to be bad just that once. The blanket was really soft and kept her warm too.

Treading along the plush white carpet Hermione thought I'm really going to miss this place.

She reached her mirrored closet, opened the sliding door and pulled out a large duffel bag, which she promptly flung onto her bed. Hermione hated packing. It was such a tedious task.

_________________________

Early evening had arrived, and the dark trees outside swayed with the wind. The top of the skyline was the only part that had the blue characteristic of day. Hermione had finished packing her belongings and had arranged for Ginny to come by her house once a month to check on things while she was gone. To say that Hermione was exhausted was an understatement. She had not eaten anything since breakfast, and the loud grumbling sound her stomach was emitting proved it.

She stalked her way to the kitchen happily. She would finally get to eat something, and the things she had had to do were finished. She had just ladled a generous amount of stew into a ceramic bowl and was about to shove a huge spoonful of the tempting concoction in her mouth when her phone rang. Hermione stopped her spoon midway to her mouth.

Rrrr. Just when I finally get some time to relax, some buffoon decides to call.

Hermione angrily dropped her spoon in her bowl ungracefully, leaving a big puddle of soup to linger on the antique wood table. She set her hands on the edge of the table and pushed hard getting up. Stomping all the way to the irritating phone and clenching her fists, she cursed whoever was on the line.

Hermione yanked the phone off its holder on the wall and harshly barked out, "What the hell do you want from me? I've had a really frustrating day today so I will not deal with games. Well? Spit it out already!"

There was a moment of silence coming from the other end.

"Granger. You don't have to yell. I can hear you perfectly fine without the yelling. I know you've had a hard day, and I'm really sorry to disturb you. However, I have some information that might come in handy when you arrive at St. Mungos."

Hermione took a deep breath and tried to calm down when she heard Malfoy's voice on the other end. He really hadn't done anything to her so there was no excuse for her to displace her anger.

"Sorry Malfoy. It's just that today was tough," Hermione replied in a lower tone.

"I understand. Don't worry about it. Anyway, the reason for this call is to tell you that I have your quarters in order. Your room number is Z536. Check in at the desk and someone will show you in. I'll be visiting tomorrow at about ten in the morning to start routine check-up. I'll see you tomorrow Granger."

"Same to you, and thanks Malfoy."

"No problem."

Both hung up there. It would feel awkward for both parties to say "good-bye".

Hermione sighed for the fifth time that day. She was not looking forward to being cooped up in a stuffy hospital room everyday day. Sure she would be able to secure loads of reading hours under her belt, but she would miss working.

She trudged back to her dining room table and looked at the mess she had created forlornly. Her chair had toppled over backwards in her fit of rage, and she discovered that she had overlooked the soup that was ruining her beautiful table.

No!

Hermione quickly grabbed a paper napkin and started to try and salvage what nicely stained part of the table she had left. When she finished discarding the last napkin she had used, she looked at her table. There was a big yellow spot and multitudes of small spots lining the surface where soup had once been. Her table was ruined! Tears slowly blurred her vision as she recounted what had occurred that day. The test results, the packing, hunger, shock, anger, and her table... that was the last straw. It was such a miniscule thing that triggered her breakdown. She felt her nose growing hot as tears began to run down her cheeks. There was a pain present in her heart. It wasn't physical hurt, but it made her cross her arms over her chest as if she was protecting herself from some unknown danger. This pain made her tense the muscles in the shoulders and neck and made her curl up on her squishy brown couch. It made her let out a choked sob before making her cry harder.

What have I done to deserve this? I think I've tried to be a good person, so where did I go wrong? I watch over my charges. I'm polite... what did I do? Maybe I should have donated to more charities, or maybe I should have been a little more patient with that older lady that other day, or maybe... maybe I shouldn't have neglected my chores yesterday."

Of course, these musings were nonsensical thoughts conjured up by a confused and hurt mind. The pain in her chest was still there and it was affecting her thinking. It was tugging at her heart. There was more to this pain than the knowledge of her imminent death. Past events she had buried away were still there at the back of her mind. She had decided not to deal with them, so they had stayed with her as a heavy burden. All she wanted to do on that unfortunate day at that particular time was to let sleep wash away her feelings, and that's just what she did.

Morning had come, and her forgotten stew had gone cold.

_________________________

Ugh... the stupid phone is ringing... again!

Hermione awoke to the sound of her clear green phone alerting her that someone wished to speak to her at this early hour. Sunlight filtered through the blinds that had been left open and forgotten. She could hear birds chirping cheerily which was quiet the opposite of what she had felt the night before. Hermione found that her left arm and leg had fallen asleep and that her body was stiff from lying in her curled up position. She groggily and painfully got up, stretched, wiped away some accidental drool, and then tiredly walked to the phone to answer it.

"Hello?" she answered quietly.

"Granger? Why are you still at home. Our staff was expecting you yesterday, but you didn't show. What happened?"

Hermione paused for a second before answering, "I was really tired yesterday, and I accidentally fell asleep on the couch. I had not intended to raise alarm. Tell you what. I'll be there as soon as possible. It's just that I have some things to clean up and take care of."

He sighed. "If you're sure Granger. I'll… I'll have to see you later on in the day though. I have other patients scheduled for their routine checkup."

"That's fine by me Malfoy. Till then."

"Till then."

_________________________

Hermione had wiped up her mess, set her other affairs in order, grabbed her bag and purse, and was out the door before you could say "Quidditch".

She chose to take the scenic route as opposed to apparating right from her welcome mat clad doorstep. She believed that she had time to spare. After all, when you know you're going to die, you think differently when making the tiniest of decisions.

She took deep breaths of the clear cool countryside air. This morning the clouds had gathered in cotton ball like masses, and the sky in between was a calm blue. The day promised to be a good one, but one never knows.

Hermione was headed to the rather large incline of grass covered earth that barred her sight from her children. The rise was quite steep, but there were uneven patches of long green grass that could be used as footholds.

By the time she reached the zenith of the knoll, she was breathing heavily, and her legs ached. The short sojourn was all worth it though because the sight of her charges sleeping and basking in the sun filled her heart with happiness and warmth. She started to tear up when a thought occurred to her that she might not see them ever again.

She blinked back oncoming tears as she started the descent toward her precious pets. Hermione walked up to the invisible barrier and touched her hand to it. Automatically, a small door appeared in front of her to walk through. Right after she entered the holding area, the door disappeared. She put her bag and purse down near the place where the door had been and walked briskly to her favorite pet.

Vora was a wise old girl, and she was very sweet. She could be very forceful as well for she was the matriarch. It had taken a while for her to warm up to Hermione, but when she did, the two got along handsomely.

Hermione put her hand on the rough and dusty maroon skin of Vora's face. Vora lazily opened her left eye and viewed Hermione's smiling face. She then proceeded to stretch like a cat, which caused some shaking of the earth. After that, she lay back down, picked Hermione up gently, and put her against her left side, as was the custom for the two friends. She wrapped her tail against her side, securing Hermione in. Vora was about to fall back asleep when Hermione's voice rang out.

"I'm sorry old girl. I can't stay for long. I wish I could, and I wish I didn't have to leave at all, but I do. Wishing won't get me anywhere."

Hermione laid her head against Vora's side and patted it three times. Vora's cat like violet eyes looked sad as she uncurled herself to let Hermione go. Hermione walked away from her side and went directly in front of Vora's face.

"I'll try to come back and visit as much as I can, okay? I might not be able to but I will try."

Hermione gave Vora one last big hug on the nose, and let her go. Vora had gotten used to this strange human custom and knew what it signaled. If it was possible, Vora looked even sadder after that gesture. She blew out some hot air and squirmed a bit.

Vora watched the little human girl walk away with a sinking heart until she could see her no longer.

_________________________

- September, 2013

I hate this stupid sickness.

Hermione was now located in room Z536. She was reclining on her warm bed in one of the hospital's uniform gowns. One could see that it was late afternoon through the open blinds of Hermione's window. There was a slight breeze whistling through the different colored leaves of the maple trees outside. She had a glowing fire burning in her very own fireplace. It was constantly chilly in the ward now that autumn was there. Hermione practically had a fire roaring all day every day. She had been reading a thick ancient book about the many uses of wolfsbane, but now she was staring at the book in her lap with her eyes unfocused.

It's ruined my life. I can no longer do the job I love anymore. I don't have any freedom. I have to depend on all of my friends to get things for me and take care of my duties. I'm a defenseless nuisance.

Hermione had been going through this stage for a while. She had been very depressed after a few weeks into her stay at St. Mungos. When any of her friends would visit, she'd put on a happy face and try to be pleasant for them. A few hours after they left the euphoria of the visit would wear off and she'd be sad all over again.

Hermione looked to the clock, which read nine fifty-nine. Malfoy would be here soon.

He arrived exactly when the clock struck ten. He was always eerily punctual.

"How are you today Granger?"

It was a required question. She could never tell if it was out of concern or duty.

"I'm fine. My legs are a little stiff, but I think it's because I've been sitting here all morning. And… I have started to cough."

Malfoy was scribbling down some things on a clipboard while she was talking. Today he wore beige slacks, a white collared shirt, and a tie under his white robe. He also had the ever-present black hair tie that held his hair back. Dr. Malfoy, she found out quickly, was a 'no nonsense' kind of wizard. He expected all those under his command to do their jobs efficiently and correctly. If the task wasn't done to his standard, the unfortunate person was let go of. He did show mercy once in a while where mercy was mandatory.

"Alright then. I'm going to perform a body scan. Lie flat please."

Hermione did so with little difficulty, and Malfoy did the scan. Her legs and chest area gave off a little red glow, but Malfoy figured it was the discomfort Hermione had reported.

"Okay. The scan shows that your legs and chest area are not in normal condition. I'll check your breathing first. Can you sit up straight?"

Hermione nodded. Malfoy put down his clipboard as she did as she was told. Hermione folded her hands in her lap and waited for him to make his observations. Hermione felt his slightly cool hand against her very warm bare back and blushed. He had done this a million times, and still she could not help but feel embarrassed.

He did a spell and said, "I want you to inhale deeply and slowly."

Hermione followed orders and suppressed the urge to cough.

Then she heard him say, "Good. Once more."

She breathed in again, but this time she couldn't stop herself from convulsively coughing. After she was done, Malfoy took his hand off her back.

"It seems you're developing a cold," he said as he picked up his clipboard.

"No kidding," she replied sarcastically.

He gave her a pointed look.

"I'll forgive you for that one because I know you aren't well."

"Whatever."

Malfoy chose to ignore that comment and continued to run his quill along his parchment. He then said another spell that Hermione immediately felt the effects of. She could breathe much easier now.

"Thank you Malfoy," she said quietly as if defeated.

He made a 'mm' sound in reply.

"I need a blood sample."

"Fine."

Magic was a wonderful thing. To get a small amount of blood, all one needed was a painless spell.

"Would you like to talk to me about anything before I leave?"

Hermione was puzzled. That came out of nowhere.

He sounded genuinely concerned, like a friend almost. He had never done this before.

"Er… no, not really. Why do you ask?"

Malfoy paused before saying, "Various personnel have reported seeing you in a very depressed state. I was wondering if you'd like to talk to me about it, or maybe you might like talk to someone else. I had to go through a bit of counseling training, and I might as well put it to use."

Oh. So he isn't concerned. He's a pretty good actor because he sure fooled me.

"There's nothing wrong, " she replied stiffly. "I'm perfectly fine."

Malfoy regarded her with a thoughtful gaze before answering, "If you're sure. Just so you know you can talk to me or any of the nurses here."

"I'll remember that."

Dr. Malfoy left to go check on his other patients, leaving Hermione to contemplate the many aspects of Draco Malfoy. She'd been doing that lately too. She figured that she must be insanely bored.

That was odd. I could have sworn I saw real concern in him. Guess I was wrong. He's never done that before, so why should he start now?

_________________________

"So… what were you working as before you came here Granger."

Malfoy and Hermione were having a conference because Malfoy had said that he needed some information. He had finished his rounds and was just finishing up some extra work. He did not hold procrastination in high regard.

"Well… I'm a dragon caretaker and expert."

Malfoy was sure surprised by that one.

"Really?" He put down his quill and laid it on the clipboard that was on his lap.

"I always thought you'd go into the Transfiguration field or healing. If you don't mind me asking, what do you normally do on a regular business day?"

His interest in her occupation registered itself in her memory.

"Well I do practice healing, but it's not for humans. I check on their health every week, take care of their habitat, and observe them. Others in my department help with the feeding and cleaning. I'm actually experimenting with dragon saliva."

"Have you found anything?"

"Yes actually. It has some healing properties for external lesions big and small. There might be other uses that I haven't discovered as well."

"That's fascinating! Why isn't it on the market yet?"

"I just started experimenting, but we're expecting it to be released next year when the product has finished ministry testing."

"Ah. I see."

The rest of their conversation had gone on well after that unusually friendly chat. He asked her more questions about work, daily routine, and asked various other questions regarding childhood and likes and dislikes. He apparently wanted Hermione to be as comfortable as possible. He also asked her some questions about potions. Malfoy had been polite and had been a real gentleman over these past couple of months, but it still felt weird because in the past, all he ever did was make her miserable.

"Thanks for answering my questions. Your answers might be able to help my research team find your cure."

"Anything to help."

Malfoy stood up from his cushioned chair next to Hermione's left. In doing so, he made the small crystal vase on one of the waist high tables wobble and fall over, spilling water down the side and onto the floor. Malfoy put a hand to the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. A hardly noticeable tinge of red could be seen on his face.

"Sorry about that."

He muttered a reversal spell, and the vase picked itself up and gathered its lost water and pink daisies.

"It's not a problem at all, seeing as how we're magic folk, " Hermione said in forgiveness.

"Right. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hermione smiled and did a little wave. Surprisingly, Malfoy grinned back.

AN: Does anyone know when Draco and Hermione's birthdays are?

Thank you to I'm-Mike, mary, mother, name, pineappleeskimo, and lavender baby for reviewing. Your reviews made me extremely happy.

Mother pointed out that there is a different version of the "ring around the rosie" song. You're right. I am American. The correct wording should be "atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down." Thanks for that correction.