Jammie Dodgers and Dolphins
Being a Healer was not Draco Malfoy's first choice of profession. He disliked people and preferred to be in the company of few, very similar to Dea. However he soon realised after the expansion of St Mungos most of the souls he had to collect ended up taking him there. Theres only so many excuses you can come up with to wonder around a hospital without becoming creepy. So eventually he made the decision to become a Healer. It had been six years since his training and he was now the head trauma surgeon. Turns out being in a war as a teenager trains you well to deal with tragedies. After the war his life changed dramatically, his father died in Azkaban and when he arrived home that day he found Death sitting on his bed with a bottle of champagne and a big banner saying, "Congratulations on your new job!". It took a lot of persuading for Draco to believe Dea. But after he put on the ring, the black suit and collected his first soul he never questioned her again. Draco and Dea formed a close friendship over the years, she always said how he reminded her off his great, great grandfather Abraxas. Apparently her first and favourite of the Malfoy's, she didn't appreciate Lucius as much. Or in Dea's words, "he was an arrogant, spineless gnome and I'm glad he's finally gone."
They met monthly on the 13th. Mainly so Dea could groan about immortality and paperwork. And so Draco could moan about the board of directors who are trying to fire him for his lack of people skills. Ironically if he didn't have such skill in saving peoples lives he would have been kicked out of the hospital in his first week. Draco sat in his office and looked at the calendar frowning, sipping his coffee. It was the 13th already and he'd only taken three souls this month. That was not good. When there were little souls to collect it was fates way of telling you there's a big one coming. A messy one. A heartbreaking one. A small child, or a new mother, a car crash, an explosion. If he collected a soul daily it calmed him, it meant that everything was in balance. People dying in their sleep, people dying on the surgery table, people being hit by a car. These were all mundane ways to die that happened daily, but if the mundane deaths weren't happening, well that just meant he was in for a shit day.
Draco exited his office and strolled into the trauma centre, dropping his coffee in the bin and shrugging on his black jacket on the way. He received a few nods from fellow doctors. Never a friendly smile or a chat, he was a Malfoy after all.
"HEY YOUR ROYAL PALENESS!" Draco sighed and turned around, spotting Pansy running down the hall in her bright pink scrubs. If someone had told him at Hogwarts that Pansy Parkinson would be a midwife he would have laughed in their face and told them to go see Pomphfrey. But watching her in action you can't deny that Pansy can get those babies out faster then any other. Probably the fact that the mothers are just terrified of not pushing when their told too. Pansy screeched to a halt in front of Draco sticking her finger up and prodding him in his chest, "YOU!" she screeched. Draco rolled his eyes and removed Pansy's finger from his chest with a disdainful sneer. "I am right here Pansy no need to shout, your mother would turn in her grave to hear you be so un lady like." Pansy snorted and punched him in his side, "i am shouting because I just went to my locker and guess whats missing... all my Jammie dodgers... you wouldn't know anything about that would you Draco? Hm?" Draco opened his mouth to reply but then heard the tinkling of the trauma bell. It rang through the hallways, echoing down as he heard the soft thud of running footsteps and doctors flying down the hallway. Draco grinned, "Sorry Pants gotta run!" He turned and ran down the hallway towards the heart of the trauma unit, laughing as Pansy shouted after him. "YOU KNOW I HATE THAT NICKNAME, AND YOU OWE ME A PACK OF JAMMY DODGERS YOU BASTARD!"
Draco skidded into the main trauma room as an ambulance crew floated someone in on a gurney. One of the crew sat over the top of the body still administering CPR. He jogged towards them and made eye contact with the man administering CPR, "Jane doe, late 20s, stabbed in muggle London eight minutes ago." The man paused for a second to take a deep breath, "Two stab wounds in the chest, one in the stomach, three in the hands and two in the arms. Looks like she put up a fight to defend herself. We lost her once in the ambulance, have been doing CPR since. She seems to be holding on. We tried CPR charm but it wasn't working quick enough." Draco nodded as he followed them into trauma room one, digesting all the information. His brain kicked into overdrive as he started spouting off orders. "Someone get chief of general to meet me in surgery room 12, we need plastics to see what we can do about these stab wounds." He turned rapidly and spotted one of the interns, "YOU take over CPR now!" The intern shuffled forward and jumped onto the gurney and started pushing the jane doe's chest up and down. That's when he realised his palm was burning. He sighed and calmed himself before looking down. If this name was the Jane Doe he had in front of him she wasn't going to make it to the operating table. He looked at his palm and in the red script he saw the words "Hermione Granger". The world span. For the first time in his professional life he panicked. "No ,no, no, it can't be." He muttered under his breath. He pushed forward to the head of jane doe and brushed back her hair. Draco felt his breath knocked out of him and his eyes blacked out for a split second. It was her. Hermione Granger. Lying in front of him covered in blood and pale from pain. His brain flashed back to Malfoy Manor. To the last time she was on the floor in front of him bleeding. To aunt Bella cackling over her. He didn't do anything. He didn't help her.
Draco stumbled back to the edge of the room, looking from his palm to her face. Her face to his palm. He couldn't do it. He couldn't take her. Not yet. It wasn't fair. He lurched forward and started firing off orders. "I WANT HER IN THAT SURGERY ROOM NOW, FUCKING RUN WITH HER DO IT! GET SOME MORE POTIONS GET EVERYTHING WE COULD NEED WE ARE NOT LETTING HER DIE ON US!" The nameless intern looked up in shock at the ordinarily calm and controlled Head of Trauma. "Do you know her?" he asked, confused as too why Draco was showing so much emotion. Draco clenched his fists and glared down at the boy. "That is Hermione fucking Granger, war heroine and best friend of the golden boy! So stop asking inane questions and get her to that fucking surgery room." Draco ground out between clenched teeth. Everyone immediately jumped into action. As Hermione was sped out of the trauma unit Draco turned to address the still and silent unit. Every doctor and patient were stood staring at the doors one part of the golden trio had disappeared through. Exasperated Draco turned and flung the doors open to follow, as he left he called to the shocked unit. "AND SOMEONE CALL FUCKING POTTER."
It had been a long unforgiving surgery. Nine hours and he had nearly lost her six times. One time her soul even started to appear in front of him, which he quickly chose to ignore. But he did it, she was alive. He sat in the small hospital room by the side of the bed, the only sound the beeping of the heart monitor. She looked different, older. But he supposed she would, it had been easily six years since they last saw each other at the battle of Hogwarts. If he closed his eyes he could be there now, screaming Potter's name and running towards him with Potter's wand. Hermione was standing behind Potter with the rest of the order. The look of surprise on her face when he ran to help her side would have been comical if it wasn't such a dire moment. He chuckled coming back to the present and looking at the Hermione laying in front of him. She was tanned now, her body adorned with freckles and her wild mane cut shoulder length, now soft curls. She was almost pretty. Not beautiful in the sense Pansy was, all cheekbones and striking eyes. But Draco had to admit she was pleasant to look at. He shook his head and put his face in his hands, now he knew he was really tired. Having thoughts like that about a girl you've seen tortured should not be allowed.
He shook his head slightly to clear it and thought about the most pressing matter at hand. Which was ironically his hand. Hermione Grangers name was still engraved there. However instead of the normal deep scar red, it had turned black. Like a lovers tattoo permanently engraved in skin. He had never done this before, never disobeyed the ring and from the diaries his ancestors kept neither had they. What would happen to him now, how would Dea react? She would probably swear and call him a fool for letting emotions effect his job. As a Grim Reaper it was one of the first things he learnt. Never become attached to a soul because they will always move on. It was now 7pm, he had four hours before he had to meet Dea. His stressful thoughts were abruptly put to a halt as the door to the room flung open. There standing in the doorway was Wonder boy and Weasel, a heavily pregnant Weaselette too. Must be Potters spawn. Draco sighed deeply and stood up to leave the room, the group crowding the doorway stepped back in shock when they saw him. Staring, mouths open like goldfish. He cleared his throat as he stopped in front of them. "The surgery was long and we did loose her a couple of times, but she seems to be stable now. Were hoping she will recover well and have minimal scarring." He said without emotion. The Weaselette gasped, eyes watering as she clung to Potter and her brother glared at Draco. As if he was the one who caused her harm instead of saving her life. Draco rolled his eyes and ignored them both, looking straight to Potter. Potter nodded and asked, "It was you who operated on her? Saved her life?". Draco didn't really feel like striking up a conversation so just tightly nodded at the speckled man. Then Potter did something that shocked him. That Draco really wasn't expecting, Potter put out his hand. As if he wanted Draco to shake it... his hand hung in the air for an awkward moment before Draco finally realised what was happening. Draco shook Potters hand tight and then proceeded to exit the room. His jacket swishing in a way that would have made his god father proud.
Draco collapsed in his office chair, cradling his coffee in his hands as if it was some kind of miracle cure. Three hours before he had to face Dea. What if saving Hermione's life broke the contract? what if Dea took his life for his insolence? I mean sure they were close but the woman was Death. Draco winced as a sharp pain hit his palm. He sighed and looked down, Hermione's name was still there in the black ink but further down his palm a new name appeared. In fresh red he saw "Sally Brown". At least it was no one he knew. He clenched his hand, thought of the name and closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again he was standing in another part of the hospital. Just outside the doors to the children's ward. "Fuck." He muttered. This really was a shit day. Draco entered the ward and slowly made his way down the corridor, looking at the names written on all the doors. He spotted the name on the third door down. Sally Brown. Written in bubble writing with a sun sticker on one side and an animated dolphin drawing pinned to the other. Through the little window in the door he could see a young girl in the bed. Frail and all skin and bones, the top of her head wrapped in a pretty blue fabric. He let his eyes wonder to the potion vials to the side of the bed and read the labels. Cancer. They were all treatments for cancer. "Dammit" He swore under his breath. All the wonders of magic and they still hadn't found a way to beat it. He looked at the little girl again and let his eyes drift to the figures leaning over the side of the bed, grasping their little girls hands. The parents were crying and praying.
Children were always hard, always so unfair. But sick children, fuck it was the hardest part of the job. Suddenly the parents crying grew to sobbing as he saw the mother fling her body over her daughters. Draco took a deep, shaking breath and turned to his left where a small shimmering form stood, looking around. She appeared before him, curly blonde hair, large green eyes and pink chubby cheeks. What she would have looked like in life if she wasn't sick. The little girl noticed Draco and looked up at him seeing the doctors badge on his jacket, "Why am I outside my room?" the girl frowned. Draco paused thinking of the politest way to say 'sorry kid your dead.' He shook his head, he really needed to work on being less of an arsehole. He dragged himself out of his inner monologue as Sally moved in front of him and looked through the doors window into her room. Seeing her parents crying over her body. Draco put his hand on her shoulder and the girl looked up at him, her eyes watering, "I'm dead aren't I?" Sally asked, her voice small and scratchy. Draco crouched down to her level, smiling kindly at her, "Youre a smart one Sally." He whispered too her. The little girl shuddered with a cry and launched herself into his arms. "I knew it. I knew it was going to happen. Dr Luna told me, she told me that when I die someone would be there for me and take me on my next adventure." Sally cried into his shoulder. Draco inwardly groaned, Dr Luna Lovegood, the bain of his life. She worked the cancer ward and still managed to make everyone smile and give of a glow of 'I'm magic and especially serene and I help everyone' . She always gave him this knowing stare, as if she knew what he was and it creeped Draco out to no end. Draco forced a smile onto his face, "Yes Sally Dr Luna's right, I am here to take you on your next adventure." The little girl unravelled her arms from around his neck, no longer crying just sniffing and stepped back from him giving him an inquisitive look. "Do I have to go right now?" she asked a pleading tone in her voice. Draco huffed out a breath, "Well..." But he was cut off quickly as the little girl crossed her arms angrily, "But I never got to see the dolphins, mummy promised she'd take me and she never did!" she whined. Draco looked up at her door again examining the drawing of the dolphin jumping in and out of the sea. He looked down at his watch, two hours until he had too meet Dea. Sally stood strongly in front him, her arms still crossed and glaring at him. Oh well, he thought. The girl just died if she wants dolphins, she's getting fucking dolphins. Draco reached out his hand for her to take, "Come on then, lets go see the dolphins." Sally let out an over joyed squeal as she grabbed hold and Draco closed his eyes and thought of Florida.
They appeared on the beach just as the sun was going down. Hues of oranges and pinks painted across the sky and the sea calmly swishing in towards them. Out in the distance a group of dolphins jumped in and out of the water playing. Draco looked down at the little girl still clutching his hand, she was crying again. However she let the tears roll silently down her cheeks as her eyes grew wide taking in everything around her. The dusky pink light somehow made her look younger, more innocent, more heart breaking. Draco gripped her hand tighter.
"Don't be scared Sally, you'll be moving onto a brand new life. A longer one, hopefully a happier one." Draco said comfortingly as he looked out at the ocean.
"Im not crying 'cus I'm scared." Sally replied in a soft, serene voice. "Im crying 'cus nothing hurts anymore." Draco felt his chest constrict and his heart thud loudly in his chest. So unfair, it was all so fucking unfair. He turned and crouched in front of Sally again, wiping her tears from her cheeks, "Well I bet where your going now, nothing will ever hurt ever again". He stage whispered to her, Sally giggled and whispered loudly back, "i hope so too strange man." A bright light shined over them and Sally and Draco both looked to their right. Draco saw the blinding white doorway and smiled tightly taking Sally's hand one last time, "Its time for the next adventure kid." Sally grinned looking into the doorway. Everyone always saw something different. Some people saw their favourite place, some people saw an old lover, some people saw family. All Draco ever saw was the white light. He asked Sally the same question he asked everyone, "What do you see?". Sally gleamed up at him, "It's my Nana! She's waving at me! I think I should go now..." Draco nodded and watched the little girl run towards the doorway, she stopped just before she passed the threshold and turned and waved to Draco. Draco smiled and watched as she stepped through , the doorway vanishing taking the little girl with it.
Draco sat alone on the beach, the sun had now set and he watched the waves slowly reach in for him before running away under the moonlight. He sighed and stuffed a hand into his jacket pocket pulling out a pack of Jammie dodgers. He shoved one in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully over the obscenely shit day he had just had. The calming sound of the ocean and soft breeze was broken by the sudden boom of Blue Oyster Cult from his trouser pocket.
"All of times have come,
here but now there gone,
seasons don't fear the reaper,
nor do the wind, the sun or the rain."
Draco groaned loudly and dug the phone out of his pocket quickly answering it.
"I suppose you thought changing my ring tone would be hilarious." Draco moaned down the phone.
"I thought it was very tasteful actually. Get to the office Draco your late for our meeting and I hear you've had an eventful day." Dea dead panned in reply. She hung up straight away not giving Draco a chance to even reply. Draco swung himself up to his feet and pressed the number 1 speed dial on his phone. It went straight to voicemail. "Heyyy Pants, so if I'm not in work tomorrow I'm probably dead. Don't ask, long story, did a couple of things I shouldn't have. Anyway IF I do die could you drop by mine and feed snuffles. Thanks!". He hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket. Closing his eyes and clenching his hand he thought of Death.