All I need to get by

Chapter Three: Diagnosis Potter

Potter,

Draco doesn't know what's wrong with Hermione – and only the Unspeakables do know what actually happened to her, so don't think you can help. Just lay off him alright? He seemed rather upset last time I saw him, but Snape has man aged to create a potion to mend her voice box, so if she'll speak to him he might have a better clue.

Zabini

The short note arrived in a crabbed handwriting at number eight Bawntree Close carried by what appeared to be a bubu bubu Eurasion Eagle Owl and a pygmy owl cross. It entertained Ginny Potter, who thought it was very adorable and fed it strips of crispy bacon that were meant to be her husband's breakfast while said husband scanned the note and cursed loudly. Ginny rolled her eyes and gave the small owl with the regal air and grey feathers some scrambled eggs as well. It looked very smug when Harry realised his breakfast was being fed to it.

'They do say animals begin to act like their owners…' he muttured rather angrily.

'Which explains why your pet snake is always trying to slither down my blouse,' Ginny said snappishly back, in staunch defence of the bird.

Harry went slightly pink, the glow spreading along his cheekbones rapidly. He read the letter again, suddenly becoming very interested in the way Blaise shaped his Ts like small rodent prints while his wife cleared the table, humming under her breath as the owl fluttered off to find it's owner.

'Malfoy doesn't know what's wrong with Hermione.'

'Which means we're still not allowed to visit?'

'Yes. Apparantly she's got her voice back though so we could send her some Quick Quotes Quills – reliable ones – and parchment and she could dictate to them.'

'Floo Ron and tell him.'

'Maybe Lavender'll feed me,' said Harry grumpily, leaning down by the fireplace.

'For the final time,' Draco leaned in closer to the fireplace in the lounge area where he worked, 'You cannot come and see her Weasley.'

'Oh come on!' snapped Ron angrily, 'What's the harm?'

Draco Malfoy made no reply to the rapidly turning purple head in his fire place, only picked up a bucket of sand which sat by the fireplace and tipped it onto the emerald flames. There was a phump from the fire, the sound of Ron's mild blasphemy and then silence in the office. Potter had stopped sending howlers since Patient 433 (as Zabini referred to her) had begun a dictated diary of each day and constant reassurances, but Weasley carried on with the daily floo calls much to the Healer's annoyance.

The Healer had almost reached the end of his teather. Two weeks had passed since the Unspeakables had carried their best agent up to him; two weeks of futile research and heinous anger between Healer and patient. He sank his head very slowly onto his splayed hands and read the notes again through pale fingers. There was complete silence in the room while Malfoy persued the volume of neat scribbles.

'Urm, Healer Draco?'

Draco looked up quickly to see one of his nurses standing in the doorway; a shy, tanned man of around twenty-two, recently graduated from the Unseen Stonehenge University with a Magical Degree (MD) in Nursing, but rather uncertain around Malfoy. He was ringing his hands together like a pair of ferrets twisting in a fight, his brow knitted together in perpetual confusion.

'Auror Zabini has arrived, sir, with professor S-Snape.'

'Severus?' asked Draco in confusion, 'Where are they?'

'They're with agent 433, sir.'

'WHAT?' he bellowed, 'GET THEM OUT OF THERE!'

'Yessir! Yessir!'

As the young nurse scrambeled from the room, Draco fumed. His hand closed around a small china ornament; a chinese dragon his mother had brought him some years ago, and it hit the wall with a loud smacking sounds and bounced several times. He left it at the base of the wall and abandoned his research in favour of the closest room which happened to hold his friend, godfather and patient.

The patient in question was sitting in bed talking rather animatedly about what an utter prig he was, and how, once she regained feeling in her hands, she would like to throttle him and feed him his own male appendages. Zabini was sitting on the end of the bed, sniggering, and Severus Snape was flicking over her charts with a frown on his face, listening with half an ear and an amused smirk tugging his lips. The nurse, Barab, was lingering by the doorway taking deep breaths and giving terrified glances in the direction of his previous potions professor.

'Godfather, Zabini, what a pleasure to see you again,' Draco forced out through gritted teeth, and the flow of how Granger would cut off his balls stopped.

'Good morning Draco,' greeted the slightly-insufferable Blaise, 'Sleep well last night?'

'Zabini, watch your tongue,' rebuked Snape, 'Hello Draco.'

'What are you doing here?' Draco spoke very quietly, a dangerously aggressive tone prevading his voice.

'Hermione!' came an overjoyed voice from the doorway.

'Ron!' shrieked the girl in the bed, and then screamed when the youngest male Weasley bounded forward and seized her in a hug.

'OUT!' bellowed the Healer standing in the midst of the turmoil, 'OUT! ALL OF YOU!'

Hermione collapsed backwards onto the pillows, the bed edges bending upwards to cacoon her in a safe little nest. Her breathing was ragged and violent, great gasping breathes and tiny ones coupled together to stop her screaming again. Her upper torso felt as if she was surrounded by sandpaper rubbing against her skin harshly. She was not even aware of the hasty leaving of the four men standing in her room, nor of Draco threatening to have Weasley and Zabini arrested for breaking and entering, or of his muttered wishes to have Snape remain in his office until he could discuss her with his godfather.

She was only aware of the cool light touches of someone's fingers as they spread healing over her, how she didn't know, but she was grateful and her skin melted inwards to his touch as the pain receeded. Two fingers were pressed to her temples as if soothing a headache and she fell into a sleep as comfortable as any she had had before Operation Stonehenge.

'Help me Severus,' was all Draco could say as he collapsed into a leather armchair opposite his godfather, who was perched on the edge of his desk with an enormous stack of papers on his knees and three small vials.

'You gave her your healing magic.'

'Yes,' moaned the young man, 'I don't even know why!'

'Because you are a good healer, Draco, and she is in a lot of pain.'

'It's the only thing that seems to soothe her, godfather, nothing else I do works. She won't even speak to me!'

'You are harsh towards her,' observed Severus, shifting the paper, 'Like you were harsh towards her in your last year at Hogwarts. She has changed for the better, matured into an excellent lady, but somehow when you're around her your own maturity slips into nothing.'

Draco made no reply, thinking about what his mentor and closest friend had said. It was true, she had grown up. She made no move to hinder his work, or call him names when he was around. When she had been brought in she had not objected to the choice of Healer. But that was not what confused him. He found her beautiful. When she smiled – not often at him admittedly – her entire face lit up with an enthusiasm he had never seen anywhere else. She gave off an entire aura of relaxation; a kind of drowsy calmness which made him peaceful.

'I have something for you,' Severus's voice snapped him out of the thoughts, 'Something Zabini picked up when he was last here.'

Draco reached out for the offered paper, and his face went pale. It was on official Unspeakable paper, with a crossed knife and wand heading the top of the paper. A messy scrawl that was all too familiar to Draco covered it, and it was signed by the Head Unspeakable. Written on the parchment was a blow by blow account of Operation Stonehenge, and agent 433's part in it – including the spells used that night.

'How did Zabini get this?' hollored Draco, waving the parchment around furiously.

'I believe he picked it up from the floor during the delivery of the first potion,' Snape scowled, 'That boy is insufferable sometimes.'

'Severus, you have to speak to her! She won't even exchange pleasentries with me!'

'Try apologising to her,' suggested his godfather, 'It worked for me. Meanwhile I have a third year class to teach.'

'Fine! Abandon me!'

'You sound like a two year old,' snapped Snape as the emerald flames whisked him away to Hogwarts.

Draco slammed his fist down on the table in a fit of rage.

Little Blabbing Area:

Icewater:- Thankyou! I hope you do enjoy it, your review was lovely. And thankyou for adding it to your favourite stories list!

Sneezy Mouse:- Weeeeeeeeh! Okay, that was so cool! Thanks for the review – I'm glad you think it's unique! All I need to get by is actually a line from a poem, so as a direct quote it shouldn't have capitals in it, but I'll change it anyhoo.

Midnight solitaire:- That's a pretty cool name you have. I'll see what I can do, seeing as how you asked so nicely. By-the-by monks can't marry – they have to take vows of celibacy, and abstain from sexual lust etc, and 'the joys of a woman'. Bit boring eh?

MadAboutHarry:- I think Zabini's just Zabini. He's not a goody-goody like Harry, but he's not evil, or even bad. Mildly Naughty? Curious? I think Ginny's sending her a teddy because she's possibly hoping that Hermione gets together with anyone really. Alternatively, her hormones may be imbalanced and thus her practicality impeded…

Special Delivery Chapter!

In this chapter Harry gets his breakfast eaten by Blaise Zabini's owl, and floos Ron Weasley telling them that H's voice has returned (which obviously we already knew). Ron gets a bucket of sand dumped on his head by an irate Draco who has no idea what spells were used, and thus no idea what is wrong with H. Snape and Zabini come visiting and H tells them what she would kill to do, sorry maim, with D. D is a leetle bit upset when Ron arrives despite having his head extinguished, and orders them out. He gives a bit of his healing magic to H and she goes to la la land. Snape and D have discussion, and D admits, in text only, that he finds H a leetle bit attractive. Snape calls D a two year old and demands an apology for H (who isn't speaking to D).