XIII.
Over the course of the sessions in their last week, Harry was hard pressed to recognize the man that stepped through the door as that long-time enemy and, more recently, patient. In two weeks—or perhaps two years—Draco had changed considerably. He was just snobby enough to be recognizable, but that was it.
"Harry," Draco nodded in greeting, settling in his seat. "Has the day finally arrived?"
"It is." Harry was quiet for a moment, just looking Draco over. "Our last session before your discharge."
Draco wrinkled his nose. "Don't call it that."
Harry shrugged. "We've come a long way."
"I can't believe it's time!"
Harry's stomach twisted. Why did Draco's eagerness to be released make him feel so empty? He shouldn't care, really. "Are you looking forward to the outside world?"
Draco looked confused for a moment, blinking. "What?" It dawned on him and his nose wrinkled. "No! I'm simply ready to see what you've been writing about me in these last three weeks."
Harry couldn't help his surprise, eyes flying open.
"That's true." He took a deep breath, gathering all of his papers in front of him although he didn't need any support. He knew Draco's case like the back of his hand. "I have some conclusions to share with you."
"Go ahead." Draco settled back in his seat, expression steely as though he expected the worst.
"Problem areas that I've identified are: family, health, and individual traumas."
Draco let out a breath.
"Luckily, we've managed to talk about family and health, and now that your sleep has been normalized, we'll slowly take you off the calming draught. I'm going to suggest you wean yourself from it over the course of a month. I'll give you the measurements necessary to do it at that rate."
Draco nodded as Harry passed him some paper. Harry squirmed as Draco looked down at the writing, Harry's best.
"I would strongly suggest that you confront your family life. Since visiting the Manor is impossible, I suggest you visit your family—even if it's in Azkaban. If you go, it should not be unaccompanied. Is there anybody—"
"Are you offering?"
"If you think my presence will help." Harry smiled.
Worry clouded Draco's features as he continued to think about it.
"What about the traumas?"
"I can tell that you deal with no small amount of anxiety." Harry alternated between casting his eyes to his papers and raising them to meet with Draco's. "That can endanger the health of your nervous system, your magical functioning, but it's not impossible to work through. You are sensitive to your surroundings—that's obvious. To balance it, we've regulated your sleep and worked to release the build-up of magic inside of you. That's physical and magical, but we have to confront it mentally and consciously. Awareness is the first step."
Harry paused for a moment.
"The biggest problem I see is fire."
Draco's face grew suddenly pale and he dug his nails into his knees. "What?" he asked, voice escaping him.
Harry cleared his throat, looking down to his notes as though it wasn't important and wishing he could stop the flashes of sympathy that threatened his calm facade.
"Fire."
"I-I don't—I don't see why…"
"We haven't covered it in our sessions, I know. I apologize for that, but I thought it secondary to the more basic things we could fix. I think you have developed a phobia. Have you heard that phrase before?"
Draco looked at him balefully. "I'm not an idiot."
"Right. Well, I would describe it as something like a boggart."
"Except there's no charm for it."
"Precisely. You have to be the one to to that. Manually, if you will, instead of by magic."
"How?"
"Recognition is a good first step, and understanding how the situation is caused. You have triggers that bring about feelings of isolation, fear, and sometimes attacks that can manifest in fits, though the experience is vastly different for different people. Other manifestations that can be noted physically include changes to heart rate, blood pressure, and sometimes physical discomfort."
Harry thought for a moment. "After reaching a conclusion regarding cause, I'd start getting comfortable by thinking about a situation that makes you… mildly frightened. Once that doesn't seem so bad, you increase the intensity a little. It won't happen overnight, but you can train your body out of your panic just as you once learned to be frightened."
Draco looked pale. "I can't do that alone."
"That's why I suggest you come in for some more sessions so that we can dedicate time to this."
"Just this? How did you even realize—fire?"
Harry smiled kindly, trying to defuse the defensiveness Draco was presenting. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, I promise. I worked it out. Something else you can do is to come up with a mantra. Repetition can really help, just like we saw when we were casting the levitation charm, remember?"
Harry listed more suggestions, pit in his stomach growing as time wore on and Draco didn't mention scheduling in any more sessions. He'd really hoped. There just hadn't been time for everything. Everything that he remembered about Draco's phobia was carefully described just in case. Harry hoped Draco would remember his instructions.
They finished their final session and sat, for a moment, in perfect silence.
"What now?" Draco asked.
Harry's heart pounded. "What do you mean?"
"When can I come back in?"
Harry shot to his feet and all but ran to retrieve his scheduling book. "Right… I work the night shift, but I can come in just before or stay after—"
"9pm, Monday?"
Harry felt intense relief. "You'll be my first patient if I just move my 9:30 appointment."
"Is that a problem?" Draco looked regretful.
"I'll tell you if it is. Don't worry, Draco. How do four sessions sound, just to begin? We can track your potion reduction, as well."
Would it be too long, too short? Harry worried at his bottom lip with his teeth, waiting.
"Fine." Success! "Thank you."
Harry just shrugged. He held out a hand to Draco, who looked at it for a full five seconds before rising and walking over to him. Their hands clasped together tightly, and then Harry felt his centre of gravity shift when Draco tugged him forward. The embrace was short but, to Harry, it was proof of something unnameable but very important.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Harry promised. "You'll be out by one."