Chapter 10 hospital
Harry left the Gryffindor tower assuming that Draco was following. As he neared the hospital he slowed down to allow the Slytherin the catch up. Draco removed the cloak and offered it to Harry, who shook his head.
"No, you keep it for now. You will need it if you want to see Seamus again."
"I don't think that that is such a good idea." Draco replied "If my father were to find out…"
"Oh, you're so worried about your father finding out that his son has been a bad boy. If you really cared about Seamus you would fight for him." Harry lectured, not in the mood to listen to self-pity.
"It's because I care about him that I don't think it's such a good idea. You think you know what my father is like but you don't. You know nothing." Draco argued "You think you know how dangerous my father is, you think you know what he is capable of, but you haven't the vaguest idea. I'm not worried about what would happen to me, I don't care what my father does to me. My only concern is Seamus. You have no idea what my father would do to him if he found out."
"But Seamus is willing to risk this. He is willing to fight for this, so why aren't you? You saw the effect seeing you had on him this evening. I haven't seen Seamus that happy for a long time."
"I don't want to give up." Draco tried to explain "I love Seamus and I could never do anything to hurt him." Draco turned and walked away. Harry watched him as he disappeared behind the door to the hospital.
"It's rather late Master Malfoy. I assume you have a good reason for being here?" Madame Pomfrey demanded.
"Well yes." Draco said slowly. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain his condition. If he told her the truth it would only make his situation worse.
"Well, what is it?" the school nurse demanded impatiently.
"Umm," Draco quickly thought of a lie "You see we had Quidditch practice tonight, and it got kind of rough, and…"
"Alright." Madame Pomfrey interrupted "Show me."
Relieved he wasn't going to have to explain, Draco removed his robes. Madame Pomfrey was barely able to hide her shock. She inspected Draco's body, her concern only increasing with each new injury discovered. She had been a nurse for years, and someone with less experience would be able to tell that the injuries on his body varied in age, and that there was no way they could have all occurred that night.
"Draco," she pried kindly "how did this happen?"
"I told you." he lied "Quidditch practice."
Madame Pomfrey had spent years cleaning up Quidditch injuries and saw right through Draco's story. There were a few injuries that were the right size and shape that it was possible they could have been sustained playing the brutal sport, but most of them were definitely gained some other way. She didn't push the point, because she knew Draco would never tell her the truth, and next time he might not come back. Instead, she gave Draco a draught of painkiller and set about treating his wounds.
"You should have come to me as soon as this happened." she scolded "You have three broken ribs. Healing bones is no problem. You shouldn't have put up with the pain."
Draco nodded. The strong painkiller had a sedative effect and the Slytherin was feeling passive and drowsy.
"You will need to take it easy for the next few days to allow the bruising to go down, and I suggest you have an early night." Madame Pomfrey ordered.
As he redressed himself, Draco promised he would go straight to bed. He was feeling sleepy anyway, and he didn't think he could stay awake much longer even if he wanted to. Madame Pomfrey watched as he left in the direction of the Slytherin dormitories. As soon as he'd disappeared from sight, Madame Pomfrey closed the door to the hospital and headed off towards the teacher's lounge.
Snape and Dumbledore were sitting alone in the teacher's lounge when they were startled by the sudden appearance of Madame Pomfrey.
"Professors I need to talk to you." she announced upon her entrance.
"What is it Poppy?" Dumbledore asked.
"It's young Draco Malfoy." she began as a sense of dread built in the two men "He has just come to see me and I am very concerned. He looks as though someone has been beating him. And from the state of him it has been happening for awhile."
"What did he tell you had happened?" Snape demanded. He had suspected that something like this had been happening, but he had no way to prove it. Madame Pomfrey explained that Draco had told her his injuries had been sustained playing Quidditch. She described the boy's injuries and told the two men that after years of working at the school she found it impossible to believe his story.
"So he didn't tell you who was responsible?" Snape pushed. Madame Pomfrey shook her head.
"No he clamed up. But it is obvious someone has been abusing him. I didn't ask too many questions, because I knew that if I did, the next time this happened he would not come to me. And I refuse to do anything that could result in students wandering the school with serious injuries." Madame Pomfrey's first priority was the health of the students. She was dedicated to her job and hated the thought of the children suffering.
"We don't doubt what you are saying," Dumbledore assured her "but we need to know who is responsible before we can act. If we respond without this knowledge we may only make matters worse. For all we know his father couldbe involved."
"I want something done about this. As school nurse I am responsible for the children's health. I will not stand by while one of the students is forced to endure this king of torture." Madame Pomfrey could sense that she was being brushed off, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"I will have a word with the teachers and tell them to keep a closer eye on Master Malfoy." Dumbledore promised "And I am sure that Severus will make his presence felt amongst the students of his house." Snape nodded his agreement.
Madame Pomfrey wasn't pleased about the situation, but what else could she do? As the headmaster had said, they did not know who was responsible, and she did not want to make matters worse. If Lucius was involved as they had suggested, then any interference, no matter how well intentioned, could only be disastrous.
When Harry returned to the common room, Seamus ambushed him and dragged him aside. The blond boy demanded to know whether his boyfriend had done as he was told. Harry nodded his head to assure Seamus that Draco had been to see the school nurse, and the other boy calmed a little.
"I'm worried about him." Seamus confided "His housemates get away with doing that to him. He just puts up with it because he believes that he deserves it. He will probably lie to Madame Pomfrey so no one will know what has been going on. Then the whole vicious cycle will continue. Do you think we should tell Dumbledore?"
"You can tell Dumbledore if you want." Harry offered "But that will cause a whole new set of problems. Didn't you say that Dumbledore had told you to stay away from Draco? Besides, Madame Pomfrey is not stupid. She has been at Hogwarts for long enough to be able to tell the difference between Quidditch injuries and the signs of an attack. I'll go with you to tell Dumbledore if you want, but my guess is that he would already know."
Seamus nodded. He would leave the situation alone for now. He decided that he would talk to Draco the next day and see how he was. If the situation didn't improve over the next few days, then he would go to Dumbledore.
