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CinziaTwut
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gimarkley2013

For their reviews.

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CHAPTER 12.

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Hermione was so torn. Never had she felt the need to be and not to be in the same place so desperately.

Draco was finally going to wake up and she would have met him after 3 long years had she not been a coward and decided to avoid him.

A familiar sense of excitement was starting to grip her as the hands of the clock neared his waking time.

The last time she had met Draco, she had wanted to manually hold the hands of the clock and stop time. She knew he had to leave. But she wasn't ready to let her best friend go.

And now that he was here, she felt a similar need to stop time. She was content with the idea of him being in front of her, unconscious.

But she knew she was being ridiculous and extremely selfish. She couldn't keep him hostage just because she wanted to.

She also wanted him to be awake and healthy. She was sure that he was going to be livid once he found out what happened to him.

Either he was going to blast the coach's head off for charming the bludger or was going to relentlessly blame himself for being so presumptuous about winning. He tended to be extremely hard on himself when it came to things he cared about.

And to top it off, when he would finally come to know that Hermione was right here there was no telling what his unpredictable mind would be up to.

She didn't want to shock him with surprise and happiness. She knew his mind would suddenly get diverted by her presence and he would leave everything to corner her and bombard her with questions.

And he couldn't afford that right now. Every moment of his waking time was important.

"Healer Weasley?" Katherine came in with a parchment.

"Yes Katherine? And you know I've asked you to call me Hermione. You don't start working here officially till next week. Even then you can call me by my name." Hermione said.

"Umm yes Healer, I mean Hermione. It's just strange you know calling you by your name." Katherine said.

"It won't be if you make a habit of it." Hermione smiled.

"I'll try. But look what Delinda sent with me. It's the permission letter. And the ministry wants a written copy of Mr. Malfoy's case papers once the cure works and he has been discharged."

Hermione nodded.

"Good. Now you know you're going to be filling in for me. You know the drill. Just make sure not to mention my name." Hermione said.

"Yup Healer.. Hermione. I know, don't worry. It'll be fine." Katherine assured her.
"I'll be at the game. And I'll meet you later at my cabin once you're back." Hermione said.

"Okay. I'll be fine. So will Mr. Malfoy." Katherine said touching Hermione's arm in a friendly manner.

"Good. Go ahead. We don't want our patient to wake up all alone now." Hermione said.

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Katherine had been sitting in Draco's room for about 10 minutes, writing his case report when he woke up.

"Umhmmm." Draco mumbled, rubbing his eyes and trying to get up, cracking his back noisily as he did so.

Katherine hurriedly put away her files and got up from her chair.

She filled a goblet with water and handed it to a confused Draco.

"Drink it. You'll feel better. But take small sips." Katherine instructed.

He narrowed his eyes to slits to prevent excess light from entering his eyes, shielding them with his palm he took the goblet with his other hand and took a tentative sip.

Katherine waved her wand to close the curtains in his room and immediately it was darker.

"Thank you...miss..." Draco's parched and sleepy voice said.

"Katherine. I'm your Healer. Don't worry about it Mr. Malfoy. How are you feeling?"

"Stiff."

"That's a given. But other than that anything else? Any aches or pains?" Katherine asked.

"No. Where am I?"

"You are at Jades Arden hospital. It's a sister hospital of the one you were originally brought to."

"Oh yeah. I remember." He said, sitting up better and emptying his goblet of water."Then why was I shifted?"

"This is a bigger institution. The staff there were unable to diagnose your... er... condition. So you were shifted here."

"So I was unconscious again? I don't remember coming here." Draco asked.

Katherine nodded. "You were awake for 8 hours before you lost consciousness again."

And she went about explaining everything about his condition and updating him about the latest developments.

Draco let out a slow whistle and ran his hands through his now shaggy blond hair.

"I didn't win? I missed the snitch?" He asked incredously.

Katherine laughed good naturedly. "I just tell you that you've been hit by a charmed bludger and you're in a vicious cycle of sleep and wake and the only way you can escape it is by completing the game, and all you can comprehend is that you didn't win the game?"

Draco shrugged.

"I get it. Men and their quidditch and need to win." Katherine said knowingly.

"So I'm going to be up for only 8 hours now unless the game is completed?"

"Actually 7 and three-quarters of an hour. We need to get a move on. But I need to make sure you're physically okay to take on the stress of the game."

"Pfft. Stress? Quidditch is a stress buster for me."

"I understand. But I'm going to check your vitals now and you have to walk about for 15 minutes to loosen your muscles. I'll check your vitals again after that and we'll feed you some liquid glucose to keep up your strength."

"Okay. But can I have another glass of water please before I begin?"

"Sure. Door to the bathroom is to your left."

Draco looked left and saw a door but what caught his attention more were the red carnations in a sleek vase at the mantel.

"I had visitors?" He asked, gesturing towards the flowers.

"Umm." Katherine tried to think fast. Surely Hermione wouldn't want him to know that she was responsible for the flowers. "No. I mean yes, you had visitors, your coach and fellow team mates came by but the flowers are courtesy of the hospital."

"How nice. And this unusual choice of bedding too?"

Katherine nodded. "Don't want our patients to feel like they are in a hospital. White tends to do that."

"How right you are kind Healer of mine. Please thank whoever is responsible for the flowers. Co-incidentally, they are my favourite."

Of course they are, Katherine thought. "Sure I will."

Draco headed towards the bathroom and shut the door.

Katherine heaved a sigh of relief and sank into her chair heavily. Who knew acting to be Draco's Healer and hiding Hermione's presence would be so pressurizing?

In less than 5 minutes, Draco returned visibly fresher and hair slightly wet and slicked back.

Now that he was moving with more ease and had rolled up the sleeves of his hospital robes, Katherine could appreciate his toned forearms.

His blue, thick veins stood out in contrast to his slightly pale skin.

He must have been very pale before, Katherine thought. He had a distinct tan that came from visiting tropical places, but she could make out that underneath all that he was extremely fair.

His movements were swift and agile now that he was awake and his eyes shone a deep grey.

Katherine realized that Draco Malfoy was an extremely good looking man and she suddenly wondered what exactly was his relationship with her senior.

"Okay. Let's hurry. We need to be at the pitch in half an hour."

Draco completed all the tests and had his energy drink and was ready to leave soon.

Katherine signed out and she apparated with him to the field.

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The coach saw Draco first and he lunged onto him, "Malfoy! So good to see you awake. You better catch the snitch this time, mate. Can't have you falling asleep again."

Draco laughed as he was greeted by his team mates with pats on the back.

"Okay, warm up everybody. And I'll whistle when the game is to start. Off you'll go." The coach yelled.

Katherine handed Draco a flask of glucose water with electrolytes again, and he took a few sips before heading.

"Good luck Mr. Malfoy." Katherine called out.

Draco offered her a dazzling smile and ran to catch up.

Katherine looked around trying to find herself a good place to sit from where she would have a decent view, she spotted many stands in the viewing area but all were unoccupied.

She climbed up a few benches and found a place to sit.

She wondered where Hermione was. She had said she would be at the game.

But obviously she would be well hidden.

She hoped that the game would get over in 6 hours. Most games did, but there was no saying how long a game would last.

She knew that the record for the longest game played was 4 days and 13 hours. But that was a complete rarity.

Mostly games finished in a record 2-3 hours. She hoped this was one of those games.

She saw the players on the field, filing out and running rounds. She hoped that Draco would remember to keep sipping his drink in between.

After a few minutes of warm up, the players took off on their brooms and the coach released the balls.

The game was similar to the one they had seen in Draco's memory and Katherine found herself looking for the handsome player who had befriended her at the hospital.

She saw him as a blur and wasn't sure whether he had noticed her or not.

Either way, she shifted focus to look out for Draco. She had to be vigilant, in case he needed medical attention.

He was circling the field most of the time, except once when the other seeker had sighted the snitch and zoomed in its pursuit and Malfoy had blindly followed.

Turned out that he lost sight of the snitch and both seekers resumed their positions, keeping a lookout.

The chasers were doing a good job of protecting the players from the bludger, especially after the untoward accident, they were being doubly cautious.

There were a few cheers whenever any team scored, by now Draco's team was behind by 2 goals but in the end it would all depend on who would catch the snitch.

Katherine didn't really care who caught the snitch as long as someone did this time. She only wanted the game to be done but she doubted that Draco would take to losing the game nicely.

He was anyways not happy about his previous blunder. He could be seen scouring for the gold almost viciously.

It was just less than 2 hours since the game had started and the snitch had only been sighted once.

The teams continued to pile on the goals but the seekers were still looking for the clincher.

Suddenly, Katherine noticed the elusive snitch and instantly her eyes darted to Draco's form. Sure enough he and the other seeker had noticed it and both made a mad dash in its direction.

Katherine had stood up now, all her files and Draco's medical bag strewn aside.

Never had she held her breath so desperately for a game. Not even when she was in school and her own house was playing.

She was bending far and trying to catch all movements possible.

Without tearing her gaze away from the game, she fiddled in her purse for a set of omnioculars and quickly she put them in front of her eyes.

Her view improved greatly, she straightened her back but continued to stand in anticipation while watching the seekers chase the snitch.

Draco and the other guy were neck to neck, both with outstretched hands. But Katherine noticed that the other seeker was concentrating on pushing forward with all his might. He was stiff backed and almost prone, parallel to the length of his broom.

She remembered that this position allowed maximum speed in one direction. But at the cost of agility. It was a valuable speed booster but it was very difficult to change course suddenly if one was in this position.

Draco on the other hand, was slightly upright, slowing him just a little and causing him to be a mere few inches behind.

But in the end, Draco's perception won because the temperamental snitch decided to swerve 90 degrees towards the right and then another 90 degrees again resulting in a total 180 which caught Draco unguarded but he was ready and he swiftly shifted his broom to fly behind the truant snitch.

Even though Draco lost precious seconds turning about, it was less than what the other seeker forfeited. His stiff position caused him the loss of those deciding moments which resulted in Draco being in lead in pursuit of the snitch.

The other seeker sensing a losing battle resumed his earlier position to gain some distance but even that didn't help.

He was probably only a foot behind Draco when the latter leapt up from his broom dangerously and tried palming the snitch.

He felt the cool flutter of it against his palm but learning his lesson from earlier he concentrated on the feel of it and grasped it tighter till he could almost feel it painfully.

Clutching it with his life, he yelled in victory and descended on his broom keeping a lookout for the bludger.

By the time he touched ground, his team mates were already there and thumping his back.

He proudly handed the snitch back to the coach who had happily pointed out that the bludger was resting peacefully in its place, completely de-animated.

Draco looked up at the stands to see Katherine standing and he was sure she was smiling. He waved at her and she waved back.

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On one of the bleachers exactly behind him, in an obscure stand that was shut off for repairs, stood Hermione who had witnessed the whole game.

She had no doubt that he would get the snitch.

He sometimes tended to be complacent towards some things which would lead to incidents like his presumptions in catching the snitch.

But once he focused and made up his mind, nothing could stop him from pursuing what he wanted.

He needed only one thing for that, complete and utter conviction in his beliefs.

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So Draco has officially completed the game.

He's cured!

And he still thinks that Katherine is his Healer.

What will happen when he finds out the truth?

How will he react?

Or will Hermione find some other loophole to avoid him altogether?

What do you'll think? Should they meet in the next chapter or not yet?

Let me know!

Hope you enjoyed the match!

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