Riddle of the Chapter:
A man walks up to you and says, "Everything I say to you is a lie." Is he telling you the truth or is he telling you a lie?
Answer in your review!! People with the correct answers get a pat on the back for their good work!! J The correct answer will be posted in chapter 10!!
A Family for the Dragon
Chapter 9: The Cure Part 1
The next day, Hermione didn't see Severus at all. Instead, Draco stayed with her and Remus as they took a day off to celebrate. Severus on the other hand spent the day in a sense sulking or mourning, hiding away from any and all human contact. Therefore, the day passed for some in happiness, and others dealt with deep sorrow. The next couple of days passed in the same fashion with Remus and Hermione taking care of Draco and attending to other business while Severus hid himself from the world. One morning not too long after the discovery of the potion, Hermione found a note on her desk when she woke up.
Hermione and Remus,
I will see you in my potions lab at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Do not bring Draco.
S. S.
After reading the letter and discussing it with Remus, they decided to find Katrina and ask her.
"Remus, are you sure that he is okay with this?" asked Hermione nervously.
"Hermione, that letter was as close to he is going to get to telling you that he is okay with it," replied the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.
"Okay, is this it?" asked Hermione to the portrait of a motherly looking woman.
"I think so," said Remus.
"Excuse me, flowerbox," said Hermione saying the password that would alert the professor if she were inside that she had guests outside to the picture. A minute later, Katrina stepped out smiling when she saw them.
"Hello," said Katrina cheerfully.
"Hello, how are you?" asked Remus and Hermione.
"Fine, fine. Why don't you come in? But I must warn you, it is looking very awful at the moment" said Katrina leading them into her rooms. Her rooms were okay, but very standard looking and not extremely homey. After apologizing and a couple minutes of happy conversation, Hermione decided to ask Katrina.
"Katrina, over the summer Remus, Severus, and I were working on a potion to reduce the effect of lycanthropy," said Hermione noting how Katrina flinched at the mention of Severus.
"We have been doing a lot of research and have successfully made the potion. This would not totally cure the curse, but instead, it subsides the wolf into staying inside all the time. But the potion alone wouldn't work, it needs an incantation" said Remus.
"What can I do to help? I am not best in incantations and charms, but I would be happy to try my best," said Katrina.
"As much as we would love to have you help us, we are covered pretty well in that area. What we need help with is with taking care of Draco," said Remus gesturing to the young child who had been sleeping the whole time.
"Oh! I can do that easily! Don't worry; I can keep him as long as possible," said Katrina smiling down at the little boy.
"Thank you, it will be just for a week or two. Then by that time, Draco will probably be old enough to stay near us without constant attention. I mean, look how big he has grown in the last week or so. He is already five according to Madame Pomfrey. It is supposed to go slower then this, but all the books say it depends on the person" said Hermione. At that time, Draco decided to grace the Living World with his presence. Yawning and looking around, the tiny boy smiled at Katrina, Remus, and Hermione.
"Draco, I want you to meet Katrina Louver. She will be looking after you tomorrow when Remus, Daddy, and I are working. Is that okay?" asked Hermione gently.
"Umm...k." replied Draco.
"Good," said Remus smiling.
"Where's daddy?" asked Draco.
"He is working, my little dragon." said Hermione.
"Why don't you go back to sleep?" suggested Remus as Draco continued yawning.
"K"
Soon after, Hermione and Remus left Katrina to put Draco down.
"That little boy must have you wrapped around your finger for you to let him call you "Daddy." How much longer will you hold out, love? How much longer until I can finally be in the place I belong, your arms? When will you forgive me for a mistake twenty years ago? I never stopped loving you, now the Fates have given me a chance to prove it" whispered Katrina to herself.
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"Bring! Bring! Bring! Time to wake up! Have much to do today!" screamed Hermione's alarm clock at 6:30 in the morning. Groaning lightly, she turned off the annoying contraption and got up. After a nice fifteen-minute bath, Hermione attempted to wake Draco up.
"Draco, Draco, honey," said Hermione softly. Draco opened one eye sleepily, only to shut it the second later. Hermione tried to wake him up fully, but soon left off knowing that this was awake as he would get. Picking up the adorable five-year-old, she carried him into the bathroom for a quick bath. By the time she got Draco changed and ready for breakfast, it was already 7:15. Hermione picked Draco up and walked to the kitchens.
"Can Clara help Madame with anything?" asked a female house elf. Hermione looked around and saw Dobby standing in one corner of the kitchen doing something. She gave him a smile and a wave, before turning back to Clara.
"If it isn't too much, I would like a small breakfast for me and Draco." asked Hermione politely. Dobby ran over to Hermione and grabbed her legs in a gigantic house elf hug.
"Miss Hermione is here! Miss Hermione who is smarter then everybody and great friend of Mr. Harry Potter and saved Mr. Harry Potter many, many times with her smartness," said Dobby bouncing up and down with excitement. "Does Miss Hermione want something?"
"No, no! I already asked Clara to get me some breakfast for me and Draco here." said Hermione gesturing to the sleeping child that she was holding.
"Oh! Miss Hermione should be sitting down, please Miss Hermione." said Dobby waving his hand to make a table appear.
"Thank you, Dobby" said Hermione as she settled Draco in her lap.
"Does Miss Hermione want a seat for the little Master..." asked Dobby.
"This is Draco Malfoy, Dobby. He had an accident and was turned into a baby again" said Hermione.
"Oh. So it is truly little Master. Would Miss Hermione like Dobby to help Miss Hermione with little Master?" said Dobby.
"No, I am fine." said Hermione starting to eat the food that appeared on the table. There was so much to eat including but not totally eggs, pancakes, hash browns, French toast, porridge, oatmeal, cereal, and so on. Hermione put some oatmeal in a little bowl and broke up some pancake into another little bowl to feed Draco.
"Miss Hermione wants Dobby to feed little Master for Miss Hermione?" asked Dobby eagerly.
"That would be wonderful, Dobby. Thank you" said Hermione handing the child over to Dobby. After eating a lovely breakfast, Hermione decided to set off and find Katrina. As she stood up, Katrina walked into the kitchens.
"Prof. Louver, I mean, Katrina," called Hermione.
"Hello, Hermione. Are you done with breakfast?" asked Katrina.
"Oh yes, I have to go get ready to work on our project. Would you mind looking after Draco today for a while?" asked Hermione.
"Of course, I would look after Draco today," said Katrina smiling at the child who was now sleeping in Hermione's arms.
"Oh thank you. He just finished breakfast so he should wake up in like an hour or two. He is usually easily amused, if you want you can transfigured some toys for him to play with. If he is causing you any trouble, just come down to the dungeons to Severus's classrooms or private labs and find one of us. Nevertheless, I don't think he will cause you any trouble. For lunch he can eat anything, so don't hesitate," said Hermione shaking Draco a little bit to wake him up.
"Honey? Draco?" said Hermione waking Draco up a little.
"Hmm?" asked Draco.
"You are going to stay with Katrina today because Daddy, Mus, and I have to work. Remember Katrina? You won't cause her any trouble will you, my little dragon?" asked Hermione.
"No, sleepy" said Draco closing his eyes and falling to sleep.
"Here you go" said Hermione holding Draco for Katrina to pick up. Draco whined a little when Hermione let him go, but once he found out that Katrina was a nice pillow, he fell back to deep sleep. After kissing Draco on his forehead, Hermione set off to find Remus and Severus.
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Carrying Draco back to her rooms, Katrina realized that Hermione never said Severus's name in front of her. As if the girl knew what had happened between them. Brushing off that thought, she realized that Hermione probably found some old Hogwarts yearbooks and had asked Remus what had happened. Especially after Sev had fainted right in front of her eyes. Katrina walked into her bedroom to put Draco down. Trying to get him to unlatch his little hands from her, she realized that it was probably impossible to put Draco down. Climbing into the bed herself, she settled Draco on her lap and soon joined the child in Dreamland.
(Sorry for the interruption, but I would like to warn readers about Katrina and her nature. Just to clear up any confusion, Katrina is the Arthimancy professor. Remus is the DADA professor.)
When Katrina woke up, she knew right off that something was wrong. That's when she realized Draco was gone.
"DRACO! Draco!" screamed Katrina running out into her living room. Pulling out her wand, Katrina murmured a tracking spell. Following the bright neon green track, she ran into her kitchen. There sat Draco on the floor playing with pots and pans.
"Oh Draco" said Katrina picking up the confused child and hugged him close.
"Umm...k. Are you going to play with me?" asked Draco hugging back Katrina.
"Of course. What do you want to play?" asked Katrina smiling happily.
"Umm...I know! Brooms" said Draco following Katrina back into her living room.
"Okay! Here you go" said Katrina transfiguring a vase into a broom that wouldn't really fly, but float two feet over the ground. Draco laughed and ran over to the broom. Joyfully climbing onto it, he slowly flew through the room. Katrina sat down on a couch and watched him carefully. After playing happily for an hour, Draco got tired.
"Draco, how about you stop? Maybe take a nap," said Katrina kindly.
"No! No nap! Please, I wanna play for another ten minutes" begged Draco.
"How about another five minutes?" said Katrina.
"Okay" said Draco. However, while he was talking his concentration had slipped, and suddenly he came toppling off the broom and towards the floor. Luckily, Katrina had been standing right next to him and caught him before he hit the floor. Instantly Draco started crying for he had been very scared. Sitting down on the floor, Katrina tried to comfort Draco.
"Its okay, nothing happened. I will always be there to catch you okay?" soothed the Arthimancy Professor.
"Scared," whispered Draco burying himself into the warmth of Katrina's robes. Katrina continued soothing the child until he stopped crying.
"Are you my mommy?" asked Draco suddenly sitting comfortably in Katrina's lap.
"No, child, I am not your mommy," said Katrina softly.
"Yes you are! Mommies, Miones, Mus', and Daddies always come when I want them. You saved me so you must be my mommy. Can I call you Mommy?" asked Draco shyly.
"Child, if you wish to call me, Mommy, go right ahead," Said Katrina.
"Okay, Mommy," said Draco sleepily. Katrina smiled and transfigured a little blanket for Draco. Tucking the blanket around Draco, she realized that it was lunchtime.
"Dobby?" called Katrina for the house elf.
"Yes, Madam?"
"Can you get me a small lunch of pasta?" said Katrina.
"Would Madam like corn with her pasta?" asked Dobby.
"Of course," said Katrina. Dobby disappeared and soon food appeared.
"Draco? Would you like some pasta or corn?" asked Katrina to the half-asleep child.
"Okay," said Draco opening his mouth. Katrina slowly feed the child a healthy meal of pasta and corn. Then she rocked the child to sleep singing her favorite lullaby,
"Rock a bye Baby on the tree top...."
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"Hermione, now we can start," said Severus as Hermione walked into the Potions Lab.
"Am I late?" asked Hermione innocently looking around for a watch.
"No, my dear. You are on time," said Remus smiling gently down at Hermione. Hermione smiled back and then turned her gaze to Severus.
"I had to drop Draco off with Katrina. I do apologize if I am late" said Hermione staring intently at Severus. She saw him flinch at Katrina's name while his eyes filled with love, longing, and self-hatred.
"We are just getting started. We should research incantations and how they react with potions and ingredients, what types of incantations are good for our potion, and how to go about making an incantation," said Severus briskly.
"I will start researching what types of incantations are good for our potion," volunteered Remus.
"Fine then I will research how incantations react with potions and ingredients," said Severus turning to look at Hermione.
"That leaves the research about making an incantation to me! Shall we go to the library?" said Hermione cheerfully.
"I will go see if Albus has any books that we could use. His personal library is quite interesting and through. He might have a book or two that isn't in the library" said Remus and he walked off. Severus and Hermione started walking down to the library discussing about possible books and ideas for their project.
(For any one who couldn't tell, this part jumped back into the recent past. It happened while the last part took place. The next part shall jump into the recent past/present.)
"Look at the time!" exclaimed Hermione glancing up at the watch as she finished reading a huge old book. It was well past lunchtime and they were still knee-deep in research.
"Oh dear, I have to go. I promised Minerva that I would help her out," said Remus cleaning up.
"I will come with you. I should relieve poor Katrina off Draco anyway. She has thankfully taken care of him since morning. Severus, are you going to come back to our rooms or stay here?" asked Hermione picking up her books and notes.
"I shall come back to the rooms after I finish this book," replied Severus still deep in his book.
"Okay, shall we?" asked Remus. And so they walked parting ways after a bit, Hermione heading off to Katrina's rooms while Remus headed up to his rooms then to Minerva's office.
"Katrina? Katrina?" called Hermione standing in front of the portrait that guarded Katrina's rooms.
"Yes? Oh Hello Hermione!" said Katrina cheerfully as she hurried Hermione in.
"Would you like some tea perhaps?" asked Katrina when they settled themselves in front of the fireplace.
"Yes, that would be wonderful. We have been working the whole daylong researching. We didn't even take a break for lunch," said Hermione thankfully.
"Oh then you must eat something!" said Katrina summoning a house elf to bring Hermione lunch. As she ate, Katrina and Hermione chatted happily both enjoying each other's company after being in the company of men all day long.
"I must say that I have had a really nice time talking with you, Katrina. Severus, Remus, Harry, and Ron are really good friends, but you can't really tell boys everything you know?" said Hermione after an hour's worth of talking had passed.
"I know. I haven't had a good talk with any of my girlfriends since over a year or so. My work always seems to put me in middle of men and old men at that," said Katrina smiling at the young girl. Even though they hadn't known each other for long, they knew that they could trust each other with any of their deepest secrets.
"I really must be getting back. Where is Draco by the way? I would have thought that he would greet me when I came at least" said Hermione.
"Oh well, you see....he is sleeping. I conjured up a small broom for him to fly around with and he tired himself out. Oh Hermione, do you know what he called me?" said Katrina staring off into space.
"What?"
"When he was flying, he tumbled off, but I caught him. After that, he seemed to think that I was his mother. According to him, since I came when he was scared, I was his mother. As he fell asleep, he called me Mommy!"
"Oh," said Hermione a little shocked, but not too much.
"I hope you don't mind," said Katrina hurriedly.
"Oh no! Not at all! I was just wondering something," said Hermione as she changed the topic. "Can you show me him?"
"Sure, this way," said Katrina leading Hermione into Katrina's room. Hermione picked Draco up only for him to snuggle deeply into her shoulder.
"Hermione, what were you wondering?" asked Katrina as she walked Hermione to the door.
"Oh nothing really. Just what would happen when Draco started insisting that his "Mommy" and "Daddy" live together with him," said Hermione walking out into the castle waving good bye to a shell shocked Katrina.
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That's all folks! I can't believe I finished this chapter so fast, barely took me three days. What do ya think about these latest developments? Do ya hate Katrina, love Katrina, think she is good for Severus, or bad for him? I really want to know what ya thought about Hermione's little "wonderings." Did ya think it was funny or stupid? Please review and tell me everything that was going through your mind when you read this chapter! Oh Hi Draco!
"Hi Madame Moony. Whatsup?"
Nothing much really. Just telling the readers about the chapters and so on. What did you think?
"Me? I thought it was an okay chapter! Especially the part about me and Katrina."
Cool. What do you think the next chapter will be about?
"How about that "Magic" show you were talking about? And of course more me!"
Good point. The next chapter should include the "Magic" show and some more developments! By the way, did I mention the picnic?
READ AND REVIEW!!! (I know that you want to!!)
♥ Madame Moony