This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 12 July 2020 for the Draco's Den Half-Blood Prince competition.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended.
Title: Healing Hugs
Rated: Teen & Up
Pairing: Gregory Goyle/Millicent Bulstrode
Summary: It's early days still for Millie and Greg, but an injury on the Quidditch pitch and a dose of Skele-Gro may be all it takes to help their relationship grow.
Prompt: Skele-Gro
Millicent was studying by the fire in the Slytherin common room when the portrait hole burst open. Furrowing her brow, Millie glanced up in time to see Hestia Carrow running right for her.
"Millie!" the girl shouted as she ran right for her friend. "You're never going to believe it."
Millie put aside her parchment and book to see what her friend was going on about now. "Hestia? What's happened? Are you okay? Is Flora?"
Hestia stopped and leaned over, her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. "Yes," she gasped out between breaths. "I'm fine and so is my sister. It's Greg. He's fallen off of his broom."
Eyes going wide, Millie jumped up from the chair, her Transfiguration essay forgotten for the time being. "What happened?" she questioned her friend.
"He was practising with the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team when Crabbe accidentally hit the bludger at him instead of the chasers!" Hestia explained excitedly. She grabbed for Millie's hand and dragged her toward the portrait. "They've taken him to the Infirmary, but it looks bad, Millie. Real bad."
"Oh no," Millie whispered as she allowed herself to be pulled out of the common room and then along the corridor.
It wasn't very well known, but Millie and Greg were dating. They got together before the start of term, but Draco's schemes kept him busy, and they didn't get to spend all that much time together.
"It was awful," Hestia continued to explain, finally dropping hold on her friend's hand. "Flora asked me to come and sit with her while she watched the practice, and my heart nearly exploded when I saw the bludger hit Greg in the back." She grimaced and gave Millie a look of empathy.
Hestia, one of Millie's few friends, wasn't too keen on Crabbe as he was dating her sister Flora instead of her. The twins had fought over Crabbe's affection the year before, but Flora had eventually won. The couple, apparently, had spent most of the summer flaunting their relationship at the Carrow's mansion.
"I knew I should have gone today," Millie said with regret. "I was so behind on my classwork."
"I'm sure he's not mad," Hestia said, giving her friend a smile of encouragement. "I'll be honest, though, I thought he was dead when he hit the ground. It was lucky Madam Hooch was there."
They'd arrived at the Infirmary, and Millie was scared beyond belief. "What am I walking into here? Is he conscious?"
Hestia shook her head. "I came to get you as soon as Madam Hooch brought him inside, so I don't know."
Sighing, Millie gave her friend a quick hug. "Thank you for bringing me. I'm going to go inside and see if I can sit with him."
"Good luck," Hestia told Millie as they broke apart from the embrace. "I'm going to go and find my sister and tell her exactly what I think about her git of a boyfriend. See you later."
Millie watched until Hestia was out of sight before heading inside the Infirmary. Immediately, she spotted Greg on a bed near the back of the room. His head was wrapped in gauze, and his leg was up in a sling. Tears sprang to her eyes as she hurried to get to his side.
"Greg?" she whispered, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "Are you awake?"
Groaning, Greg opened his eyes and then smiled at seeing Millie sitting there. "Millie?" he questioned, almost as if he thought it was a dream.
"I heard about your fall," Millie told her boyfriend, reaching for his hand. "Hestia came and got me as quick as she could. How are you feeling?"
Still smiling, Greg squeezed Millie's hand. "I'll be alright," he explained, shrugging one shoulder. "I landed mostly on my leg… Which broke on impact."
"Then what happened to your head?" Millie asked, frowning.
"The bludger wouldn't stop coming for me when I hit the ground." With his free hand, Greg reached up and gently rubbed his sore skull. "Crabbe was pretty mad."
Millie was about to ask why, when Greg tensed up and let out a startled yelp. It was so surprising that Millie let out a cry of surprise too. "What's happened now?!" she exclaimed, looking over Greg's body for what could be wrong.
"It's the Skele-Gro Madam Pomfrey gave me to heal my leg," he bit out through clenched teeth. "It's started to work."
Unsure what to do, Millie looked back and forth between Greg's leg and his face showing exactly how much pain he was experiencing. She knew that Skele-Gro was effective, but she hadn't realized how painful it could be. An idea floated into her head through her panic, and she clenched her hands into a fist a few times before offering it to Greg.
"Look, I know that we're sort of keeping our relationship quiet, but would it be okay if I crawled next to you on the bed?" she asked tentatively, biting her lip as she waited for an answer.
"What?" Greg said as the pain receded for a moment. "I don't want to keep our relationship a secret, Millie. I really like you."
"Really?" Millie said, her brown eyes wide and a smile glowing on her face.
"Yeah," Greg said, wincing only a little as pain shot through his leg. "Now, get up here with me. I think a little bit of cuddling might help me feel better."
Millie wasted no time before crawling into the Infirmary bed and wrapping her arms tightly around Greg. He hummed happily, even though he was clearly in pain. Millie was happy too, and she held Greg all through the night, enjoying their whispered conversations and stolen kisses.
When Madame Pomfrey returned in the morning, she couldn't help but smile at the sleeping couple. Turning around and returning to her office, she decided she could wait to see if the Skele-Gro had done its job.