Title: legatum de maladie
Genre: Romance/Drama/Angst
Pairing: HP/DM
Rating: M
Summary: AU. There was never a boy who lived, only a boy who died.
Draco Malfoy is ill. Harry Potter is a Healer. Lucius Malfoy is desperate. Slash.
i Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. It's all the property of J.K Rowling, and this story is being written for entertainment purposes only. Not a dime is being made. /i
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11
"What complete and utter rubbish." Kate closed the book with a dull thud and tossed it onto the table beside Draco's bed. The thud of the book's fall echoed throughout the near empty infirmary, and the girl had the grace to blush at the disruption she'd created.
Rhoswen picked the book up and flipped back to the story. "Your brother must have given it to us for a reason, Potter."
"But it doesn't explain anything. The end of the story cuts off. How is that supposed to be useful!" Kate huffed. "My brother, it might interest you to know, does not know everything."
It was on the tip of the Slytherin girl's tongue to tell the Ravenclaw that she didn't know everything either when the student's were interrupted by a new voice in the doorway. "Perhaps it's what the story itself teaches that Harry wants you to learn?"
"Remus! What are you doing here?" She leapt out of her seat and into her parent's friend's arms.
"Harry asked that I come." The werewolf said softly, removing himself from Kate's embrace. "He thought my presence might be needed in the coming days."
"Does Professor Dumbledore know you're here, sir?" Oleander Parkinson spoke up from beside the bed of a very sick Draco Malfoy.
"I assure you he does. I thought I might come and see how you're handling the situation?" Remus chose to sit in the empty chair on the other side of Draco.
Olli shrugged. "We still don't know anything. We know it's bad, but no one," and he looked pointedly at the white haired girl beside him, "will tell us what's going on."
Remus' sighed tiredly but managed to force a smile. "I agree that there are far too many secrets at present for my comfort, but I've been assured that all will be revealed in due time. Have you all been excused from classes?"
Olli shook his head. "I'm not leaving until I know what's wrong with Draco. My family has very important ties with the Malfoy family. My sister is supposed to marry Draco, and she can't very well do that if he's dead." The tall boy choked. "Not that I'm not worried about him or anything. He's my best mate, but I promised my family that I'd keep them updated."
Remus nodded. "It's not my place to tell any of you what to do, but I think you might be of more use if you go to your lessons."
"But we're helping!" Kate cried, ripping the once dropped text out of Rhoswen's hands. "Harry came charging in here last night with his book. He told us to read the marked passages and that he'd be back soon. We can't leave until Harry comes back."
"Where is Madam Pomfrey?" Remus looked around but there was no sign of the mediwitch.
Rhoswen looked at the strange man and sighed. "Madam is at St. Mungo's receiving treatment for a nasty throat infection."
Lupin's eyes widened. "When did that happen? Yesterday?"
"Last night." The pale girl didn't offer any other information.
"Could one of you let me know what all happened here last night? I was told to come here and make sure everyone stayed calm while Harry took off with Sirius. I've arrived to find three children sitting in the infirmary with a fourth who doesn't look to be very healthy, and no staff around to keep things together."
Olli sighed. "I came here last night to see if Draco was okay. He's always in the infirmary so I figured it was just a regular thing, but since I always come and visit him, I thought I'd better go and check. He gets lonely in here all by himself. I ran into Rainwater here in the Slytherin commons, and she said she'd come with me. When we got here, Madam Pomfrey had her head in the grate talking to someone at St. Mungo's and Draco was sitting up in bed babbling about feeling funny. He said it was dark and asked to turn the lights on, but they were already on. He started to freak out, so Rhoswen grabbed Madam Pomfrey from her call and she gave him a sedative. Draco started to cry as he fell asleep, but his words were all slurred so I don't know what he said. Then Madam Pomfrey started coughing really badly and told us to stay and watch him until Professor Potter came. She said she was really sick and she had to go to the hospital for treatment. Then she flooed herself away."
"She wasn't really sick though. I bet it was a curse." Rhoswen muttered under her breath, but of course, everyone heard her.
"Why do you think it was a curse Miss. Rainwater?"
Rhoswen shook her head. "Let's just say that Lucius Malfoy isn't a very nice person."
"Anyhow," Olli began with a sneer, annoyed at having been interrupted by the younger girl. "Then Kate here shows up and wants to know what's going on, but since none of us has a clue," he glowered at Rhoswen again, "we just had to sit out and wait for Professor Potter to show up. He came running in around nine last night, checked to make sure Draco "was still breathing," his words not mine, and threw that book at us. He said to read it and understand and that he'd be back as soon as possible. He also said that Professor Dumbledore had been informed about everything, but we haven't seen the Headmaster at all."
Remus arched an eyebrow at that. "Interesting." He murmured softly to himself a moment. "So no one has said anything about what ails Mr. Malfoy here?"
"Not a word." Olli huffed, his eyes darting to his sick friend who looked freakishly small in the infirmary bed.
"The story is about the Prince of Shadows and his legacy of lost souls, isn't it?" Remus inquired, looking at the two girls who were squabbling silently over who had the right to hold the book.
"I guess so sir." Rhoswen answered. "It's not very clear. It reads like a fairy tale about a sick Prince who receives aid from nature, but I've never heard this story before, plus the ending is missing."
Remus nodded. "It's a story about a young Prince whose father strikes a bargain with a mage to protect his kingdom from war, but then betrays the mage when a better offer comes along, correct?" The three students nodded. "The mage then seeks revenge through a curse that will enslave the souls of the king's bloodline?" Three more nods. Remus smiled softly. "Harry is a student of medicinal magical research."
"So? There is a point to this dialogue of yours right? We've already read the story." Olli sneered. He took Draco's hand in his and winced at its frigid temperature.
"Yes, there is, and if you'd not interrupt me, I'll get to it." Remus snapped in return. He loved dealing with youngsters, but sometimes they grated on even his nerves. "Harry is a healer. Granted, he's still in training, and much of the work he does is purely theoretical, but he is still essentially a healer. The story of the Prince of Shadows has always been one of Harry's favorites, though not many people know this." He looked pointedly at Kate Potter, who was looking just as confused as her classmates. "Harry studies Dark Magic. Specifically how dark curses intended to do harm and how their effects might be used to do good. He used his knowledge of potions, and how some poisons are best counteracted with separate poisons to launch his study into curses and how they might be applied to healing." Remus pointed at the book. "The story of the Prince of Shadows centers about a young man with a severe malady. He was set to die because his soul was not his own. You say that the story in that book is incomplete?"
"Yes Remus." Kate looked edgy. She was starting to figure out where the older man might be going with his speech.
"In the end, the young Prince's soul is spared, but not without a price. He serves the blind goddess for a thousand years, acting as her eyes. When he is released from his service to her, he discovers that even though he has a soul, he cannot be admitted to heaven. So he becomes the Prince of Shadows instead. He wanders in the darkness and eventually helps those that have followed in his bloodline by releasing their souls from the crossroads between heaven and hell. When each new child in his bloodline is born, he is there in the shadows the open the cage that the mage conjured when he died. It's a complicated story, and each version has a completely different ending, but the moral is always the same."
"What's the moral then?" Olli asked, his curiosity piqued.
"The words of the goddess Selia: not all darkness is evil in intent. For centuries, this story has sat on the dustiest shelves in libraries and in some countries has been banned altogether because it is said to promote the use of dark magic. Harry discovered it in his seventh year and became enthralled with its message. He used the idea to start his career, and has been met with barrier after barrier each step of the way."
"So basically, Harry wanted us to learn to see shades of grey instead of judging everything as black and white?" Kate inquired, looking at the book with wide eyes.
"That has been Harry's sole purpose since he was eleven years old and sorted into Slytherin, Kate." Remus reminded gently.
Kate blushed. "That's why he asked you to come here then right? That's why mom and dad are blissfully ignorant at home."
Remus winced. "You're too smart for your own good young lady."
"So basically, Professor Potter may be able to help Draco, but his means for doing so may be less than, ah, savory?" Rhoswen asked, her own eyes wide with a youthful brand of awe.
"I'd put money on it if Sirius is now involved." Remus replied, his face grave. "I just wish I knew what was going on. You've dropped more than a few hints that you know something Miss. Rainwater. Would you care to indulge?"
Rhoswen shook her head vehemently. "I swear I know nothing. I won't say anything else."
"I guess we'll just have to wait for Harry then."
xxxx
Harry hated traveling by Knight Bus, but in this instance he really didn't have a choice. He was on his way to the Ministry to arrange an International Portkey. Sirius Black was in Tanzania and Harry needed him. The young wizard reached into his robes and withdrew his copy of the contract he'd signed with Lucius Malfoy. Poppy Pomfrey has also signed her own version of the contract, but she had signed after learning that Draco Malfoy was a resurrected being.
She was also currently at St. Mungo's undergoing treatment for one of the worst cases of throat inflammation on record, and Harry was positive that Lucius Malfoy had hexed her somehow. At any rate, he needed to review the contract to see what he could get away with spilling and what he needed to keep quiet about. He also needed to speak to Malfoy about a few things, but he'd save that for later. He was tired of being played like a puppet.
Lucius Malfoy was going to pay for what he'd done to his son, but only after Harry figured out how to fix the young boy.
And fix him he would, if it was the last thing he ever did.
Harry hunkered down. He had a little bit of time before they reached the Ministry, and he had some serious reading to do.
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