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For their reviews!

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CHAPTER 13.

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"But why?" Draco whined.

"Because..." Katherine started.

"Really you're starting a sentence with because?" Draco asked, trying to change the subject remembering the time when Hermione would constantly correct him about it.

"You asked why. It warrants a because." Katherine said sighing in resignation.

And he's supposed to be at least 6 years older than you. Katherine thought, wondering how chronological age could be very deceiving.

"Very colloquial. No matter." Draco said being the bigger person.

"Will you please come with me now?" Katherine tried again.

"Are you asking me out? I thought there are rules against Healer-patient relations." Draco said, arching his eyebrows and smirking.

I think he was better unconscious. Katherine thought, summoning all her patience. Maybe Healer Weasley knew how annoying he would be when he's awake and that's why she stuck you with him. No. Doubtful. But it would be tempting.

"I am asking you to return with me to the hospital. In which alternate universe is that considered a date?" Katherine replied.

"I'm fine. We finished the game didn't we? So I'm back to normal. Why do I need to go back now? Look Healer Katherine, I really have important work to tend to. And all this sleeping was such a waste of time." Draco said.

"I understand Mr. Malfoy. But I was authorized only to bring you here, supervise the game and take you back to the hospital. Your treatment is still left. There are still 2 hours left and we need to keep you under observation for any complications. Plus there's the paperwork and discharge." Katherine said.
Draco looked bored.

"Look I know you want to get on with your life, but this is necessary. If you come with me now then we can discharge you by tonight and you can also make it back to your country with your team mates in time." Katherine said.

"Fine. Has anyone told you that you're annoyingly patient and persuasive?" Draco asked.

"Few people have." Katherine replied smugly. "But not when they've met me for the first time."

Draco chuckled. "Hmmm. Where are my manners? I should have at least waited for my second meeting with you. But actually you remind me of someone. She's equally annoying when she wants to be. Maybe the familiarity has caused me to be obnoxious."

"Honest too." Katherine said rolling her eyes.

"One of my many qualities and virtues." Draco said. "Ok you can leave my arm now. I'm not apparating away anywhere without you."

Katherine flustered and left his arm. But then she caught it again. "I'm only holding it because I need to apparate you side along." She huffed.

Draco's laughter was cut short by the characteristic churning that accompanied apparition.

Before he could blink, they were in the lobby of the hospital.

"Some warning would have been nice." Draco said.

"I could say the same." Katherine mumbled, thinking that some warning from Hermione about Draco's stubbornness would have been nice.

They signed the entry sheet at the reception and Katherine told Delinda that she would register the whole case file soon after checking Draco again.

They reached Draco's room and Katherine motioned him to take his position on the bed.

"Since you've been on potions and liquids for the past week, we can't allow you to take solids so soon. So we'll gradually ease into the transition, okay?"

Draco nodded.

"The hospital pantry will send some juice and soup up shortly. Please finish it. I need you to lie down on this bed now while I connect you to the various monitors to evaluate you in the wakeful state. This won't take long." Katherine explained.

"Wow. I didn't know I was so serious." Draco whistled.

"You aren't now. And frankly you weren't then either. All your bodily functions were perfect. It only seemed that you were sleeping an awful lot, waking for 8 hours and sleeping again. And we just couldn't figure out the reason. Thus the use of every possible machine possible." Katherine explained.

"And that's why you used the legilimency thing?" Draco asked.

Katherine nodded.

Draco didn't know whether he should be angered at the invasion of his mind without his permission or be thankful that such things existed and were used on him.

They probably would never have figured out the obscure reason otherwise.

"Mr. Malfoy I know you weren't awake for us to take formal permission, but given the circumstances, we deemed it necessary to conduct the test. We took consent from the coach and your teams' medical head, not to mention the ministry was briefed and it authorised us for the use of legilimency." Katherine said.

"I know. I mean I'm not suing or anything. It's just that I've always walled my thoughts against occlumency. So it's a bit strange. I hope that professional conduct was upheld and nothing other than the match was probed?" Draco asked.

"I assure you. In fact I think you can watch the copy of the memory we took. We put in exact timings of the match. So thus only whatever happened to you within that time frame was visible for us to see. Anything before or after cannot be viewed."

Draco was relieved. "Can I watch the memory? I'm curious as to how I made such a stupid mistake."

Katherine nodded. "You're clear as of now. Everything good. Only one hour to go to pass the test. You can watch the match. I'll set up the screen."

So Draco propped himself on the pillows and got ready to watch his memory.

Katherine fed him a potion and reminded him to complete the liquid meal when it came.

Draco nodded. "Oh and Healer Katherine? May I please summon my owl? I need to write an urgent letter."

"Sure. Go ahead." Katherine answered.

She then excused herself and said that she would return within the hour.

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"Phew!" Katherine said as she entered Hermione's cabin.

"Hard work, internship." Hermione joked.

"Oh trust me. I'd do night shifts every other day and I'd still not be as tired as I am now." Katherine said.

"I take it that you met Draco Malfoy in his element then." Hermione laughed.

"I also suspected that is why you wanted to send me instead of going yourself. I don't blame you." Katherine joked. "The trials and tribulations of being a lowly intern."

Hermione chuckled at the soon to be interns assumption. It couldn't have been more off the mark.

"At least you got to play Healer for half a day." Hermione said.

"Oh don't ask. Every time he called me 'Healer Katherine' it was so strange. I kept wanting to correct him and tell him that I still have 2 years before I earn that title."

"True. But he'll know soon." Hermione said quietly but with some hesitation.

"You're going to meet him?"

"I have to, no? I have no choice. I'm not talking about hospital rules only." Hermione said.

Katherine had no idea what she meant by that but she knew there was an old connection between the two which probably had been tested. Since Draco didn't know that Hermione worked here, Katherine was willing to bet that it was due to Hermione that he had no idea.

"Well, he's settled now. Watching his memory. He'll have lunch soon and I have to go check him before the hour is up. Everything is fine by the way." Katherine summarised.

Hermione nodded.

"You saw the match didn't you?" Katherine asked.

"Yeah. I did."

"I tried looking for you."

"I hid well." Hermione said, emoting more from that statement than it actually seemed.

Katherine stayed silent, not sure how to respond to that. It wasn't that she wasn't curious. She really was. She was itching to know details.

But this was Healer Weasley. Even though she had been told to call her Hermione, she was still her senior, her mentor in the end.

She couldn't sit and gossip with her as though they were a couple of 18 year olds.

But if Hermione ever needed someone, Katherine knew that the Healer was often lonely, she would be there.

"Katherine? Thank you." Hermione whispered.

Katherine didn't want to insult her own and Hermione's intelligence by asking 'for what?' So she stayed silent and gave her an encouraging smile.

"I don't have friends here. I don't socialise. But when I see you, it's like talking to myself when I was younger."

"Hmm. I was told today by someone that I reminded them of somebody." Katherine said cheekily.

Hermione laughed. "Very smart. But it's true. I'm not surprised Draco said that."

"But I must say one thing. You're handling your questions and curiosity quite well. I would've probably hexed someone and used veritaserum in their tea till they answered all my questions." Hermione said.
Katherine laughed out loud. "Hmmm. Now that you've admitted to it, I don't see any harm in telling you that I came close to that. But something about using veritaserum on your senior wouldn't look good on my resume."

Both women laughed in the company they shared with each other.

Just then, a large stately owl pecked at Hermione's window and she turned to see Paris.

Hermione was startled and surprised but she opened the window nevertheless and took the letter.

Normally if she had known that Draco was in Australia, she would have taken her sweet own time to reply and send off the owl, because if the reply reached Draco so soon he would be suspicious that Hermione was close by.

But she anyways planned on visiting him. He would know soon enough. Didn't matter if he mulled over as to why the letter reached him almost instantaneously.

But she was so engrossed in the letter that she forgot the waiting owl and Katherine in her office and ripped it open and started reading immediately.

It gave an account of all the happenings in the past few days and also he taunted her asking her if she was worried that he hadn't contacted her in so long. He wrote that when he woke up, he had ignorantly expected worried notes sent by her. But who was he kidding? Why would she write back? She probably didn't care.

Hermione didn't know whether to feel hurt at the harsh words or feel slightly happy that he was finally lashing out.

His constant denial at her totally indifferent behaviour had worried her and comforted her at the same time.

But there was something in this letter's taunt that displayed that he hadn't given up yet. He was not above using guilt as a mechanism to get her to write back.

Maybe it was time. She could easily pull a few strings and somehow change patients, thereby losing his responsibility.

Draco would go back and never know that she had seen him and treated him.

But if she didn't show herself today, then the day she actually would, there would be a huge hole in their friendship that even his detached absence of expectations and unconditional faith would not be able to fill.

And she had lost enough in life to know that she didn't need to grieve another loss.

The letter only solidified her earlier decisions and crossed out the feelings of running away from him.

Clutching the letter tightly, she hastily donned her Healer robes and said, "I must go see my patient. I'll see you later Katherine."

Before the stunned junior could even register anything, Hermione had left, leaving her alone in the room with an impatient looking owl.

She didn't even bother knocking before she entered his room.

"I didn't reply because unconscious people can't read. And I was worried but not too much because I was healing you. I knew you would get better. And don't you dare ever say again that I don't care, Draco Malfoy. So help me because I may not show it but you know it." Hermione yelled, clutching at her letter tightly in her raised arm.

Draco meanwhile stayed motionless as if he had been petrified.

After a few seconds he said breathily, "that has got to be the most unexpected form of reply I have ever received to a letter sent by owl. Beats the empty letters."

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He got her to meet him in his own way without even realising it!

And thank you all again for your reviews and sentiments!

I'm aware you'll were eagerly awaiting their face to face and here it is!

How do you thing Draco will react to his Healer now?

What will Hermione do now that Draco knows where she is?

He will surely be difficult to get rid of.

But does she really want to get rid of him?

I hope you'll like this chapter!

Thanks for reading!

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