Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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In an attempt to shield Scorpius against false hope in case her tremendous efforts failed, Harriet declined to offer her daughter an exact explanation of why she requested Rabbie to return home.
The morning after Harriet's letter reached Hogwarts, she found her husband's ancestor sitting at the breakfast table once she walked into the kitchen.
A week's time had barely passed.
Healer Margot had stayed with the family.
Harriet had noticed a rapid decline in her own energy level over those few days.
While Harriet stood in the kitchen doorway, Ingrid gazed at her and spoke wisely, "You are exhausted, wife of my son's son."
"That goes along with this, I suppose." Harriet shrugged as she placed a hand over her belly.
"You should lie down and let your body rest." Ingrid determined as Disencan bustled into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Harriet brushed aside her visitor's concern as she smiled, "I'll be fine……Thanks for coming so quickly. Sorry I couldn't say in my letter exactly what I need…...I'm certain you'll be right for the job though."
"Has the son of my son fallen ill?" Ingrid asked as she narrowed her eyes.
"No." Harriet shook her head, "Sev is fine……so is Little Sev, but there's a woman, a friend of our family, who is very sick…..fighting for her life."
Ingrid kept her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth and prepared to remind Harriet she was not a healer by trade until her great great daughter-in-law nodded, "I need a way to access ancient magic. I know you can do it, that's your specialty."
"I have not existed in this wretched world for so long to freely dole out my talents." Ingrid sniffed, "Who is this woman?...This…..friend?"
Harriet forced herself to admit a truth she did not care to verbalize, "The woman who is sick may very well be the mother of our family's next generation. That would make her one of us, isn't that reason enough to help?"
Ingrid kept her eyes narrowed at Harriet.
Once Severus woke a few moments later, he reluctantly chatted with his ancestor as he sat next to his wife.
Silently, he laid a supportive hand on the small of Harriet's back while she ate her breakfast.
Once Healer Margot joined the scene, all was thrown into chaos as she greeted Ingrid as if she were some sort of celebrity, thrilled to meet an ancient witch capable of powerful magic she had merely heard about.
Harriet couldn't help but smile at the scowl of irritation on Ingrid's face as she fielded Healer Margot's eager barrage of questions.
Harriet didn't necessarily want her husband's ancestor to be uncomfortable, but Healer Margot's incredible enthusiasm remained entertaining to witness.
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With a great deal of hesitation, Ingrid finally agreed to visit Malfoy Manor and assist Healer Margot in her endeavor to cure the ailing Mrs. Malfoy.
It humbled Harriet to watch the two women converse with one another as they carefully examined Astoria while they spoke their thoughts out loud about what would be the best course of action.
"It's hopeless, isn't it?" Astoria frowned as she gazed up at her friend who sat by her bedside, "Don't worry, you can tell me the truth. I've grown accustomed to hearing the same thing…….'There's nothing we can do'."
"No!" Harriet said quickly as she took Astoria's hand, "It's not hopeless at all! If anyone in the world can do this, it's this pair. Ingrid, the strong," She nodded at her husband's ancestor, "Has saved me, my husband, and our children several times before. She knows quite a bit that I'm not certain anyone else does….and Healer Margot," Harriet nodded at the modern day healer, "Well, I'm certain you've heard stories, eh? She's…..unconventional…….but she's one of the best in our world."
Astoria flashed Harriet a smile of sad longing as she asked, "Do you really believe I may have a chance?"
"I don't believe." Harriet shrugged before a warm grin of gentle reassurance passed over her face, "I know."
"Ladies!" Healer Margot called as she clapped her hands.
Ingrid stood beside her with a scowl as Harriet and Astoria glanced over.
"We've officially formed a battle plan!" Healer Margot announced with a pleased smirk, "Mrs. Malfoy, this may take quite a while. A day, a week, who knows? It is our hope that by using the technique we've devised with our combined knowledge and skills, this disease will be eradicated and you'll go on to live a long, healthy life."
Harriet tightened her grip on Astoria's hand as she listened to her friend ask, "...Will it be painful?"
Ingrid and Healer Margot exchanged nervous glances.
"What must be done, must be done." Ingrid coldly determined, "You can either choose to try and live or accept the grave's embrace."
"-What I think my associate is trying to say is," Healer Margot quickly began, much more accustomed to exhibiting good bedside manners, "While it may be a bit uncomfortable, if we're successful, it'll all be worth it in the end!...Ultimately though, Mrs. Malfoy, it's up to you. Would you prefer to try the treatment or not?"
As Harriet glanced down into Asotria's eyes, her breath hitched at the vast array of emotions held in her gaze.
Hope, anxiety, fear………..
Harriet generously gave her friend a sincere promise, "If you want to pursue it, Astoria, I will be here beside you the entire time."
"Oh!" Astoria gasped, "I couldn't possibly ask you to do that!" She exclaimed as her eyes drifted to Harriet's swollen belly, "There's no need, Draco can support me."
"A man will not bear witness to what is to come." Ingrid said ominously.
Nervousness passed over Astoria's expression before Harriet nodded and spoke, "My husband can look after our son for a few days if that's what's needed. We have our house elf too, they'll be alright. It's no trouble at all."
"But what about you?!" Astoria laughed.
"I've been through worse." Harriet chuckled.
Harriet spent the next hour making arrangements to stay.
Unwilling to be parted from his mate, Severus promptly arrived at Malfoy Manor with his son and Disencan at his side.
Draco was kind enough to show the remaining Snapes to a separate suite in the house that boasted a living area and three bedrooms.
Although Severus knew he wouldn't be allowed in Astoria's room during her healing process, under no circumstances would he stay that far apart from his expectant mate for hours or days.
As he lay alone in his guest room's lavish bed that first night, his dark eyes popped open as he heard the door crack open to reveal his son blinking at him in the darkness, "...Dad?"
"Yes………?" Severus answered in his low whisper.
He could hear the frown in little Sev's voice as the young boy spoke, "Will we be home soon? I don't like it here, it's too dark. Everything's dark, even the furniture."
"We'll return home as soon as your mother has finished helping Mrs. Malfoy." Severus drawled, "Turn the lamp on, if you must. The darkness will fade then."
Little Sev frowned as he closed the door and went back to his room.
Severus sighed as he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.
While he himself harbored no fear of the dark, he genuinely missed his beloved mate.
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Harriet had seen her share of tragedy, brutality, war, and murder.
The traumas of her own troubled past would have been enough to land anyone in years of consolative therapy.
She wasn't certain to what degree her pregnancy played a role, but as Astoria's complex healing process began, Harriet found herself burdened with an entirely new nightmare to face.
Healer Margot and Ingrid worked together to cure Mrs. Malfoy.
Astoria needed to have her blood drained, purified and replaced……healthy and clean.
Although the procedure sounded simple, its execution was anything but.
Tubes capable of conducting magical currents were placed in Astoria's skin near her major arteries.
Every five minutes she was fed a Blood-Replenishing Potion to encourage her bone marrow to overproduce, which Healer Margot estimated would allow them to scrub away the bloodborne curse from the inside out.
Neither Astoria nor Harriet had understood exactly what to expect during the procedure.
The pain it caused shocked both women.
Healer Margot wisely cast a Silencing Charm on Astoria's bedchamber, which mercifully shielded the rest of Malfoy Manor's inhabitants from her wild screams.
Harriet could hardly bear the heartwrenching noises.
Regardless, she loyally held her friend's hand, even as Astoria's nails dug open cuts into her skin.
Breaks were taken only to use the restroom or quickly ingest the meals that the Malfoy house elves placed outside the door.
Days passed.
Astoria's three attendants slept in fifteen minute shifts as they rotated to relentlessly continue their work.
By the end of the fifth day, Astoria lay clutching Harriet's arm, too weak to scream anymore as gurgled gasps left her throat.
Harriet laid her head in the crook of Astoria's neck while she whispered soothing words to her friend and fought desperately not to give in to her body's own selfish demand for rest.
At last, after what seemed like an eternity of torment, the grueling task finished.
Harriet noticed Astoria's gasps quieted as the procedure ended and with it, her pain.
"It's done!" Healer Margot shouted as Ingrid kept one hand on Astoria's left thigh while she began to remove the tubes.
"It's done!" Healer Margot cried again in sheer ecstacy.
Astoria swallowed thickly while Harriet lifted her head to turn and look.
She intended to ask about the procedure's success.
She intended to hear good news and congratulate Astoria on their hard-won victory.
Harriet had great intentions, but her body and the lives growing inside it had had enough.
Before she could open her mouth, the emotional and physical stress of the past few days overwhelmed her.
Ingrid lurched forward as soon as she saw Harriet's eyes roll back in her head.
Astoria managed to shout as she weakly reached to grab her falling friend.
Healer Margot valiantly lunged to catch Harriet, but Ingrid scooped her descendant's wife into her long arms in time to avoid a terrible collision with the floor.
Harriet realized nothing as the world around her faded to black while she was forced into a deep, deathlike sleep.