Chapter Eight.
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Hermione's move to the unit went as planned, and it was decided that she could stay there for one week and then they would re-evaluate. She was lucky, in the sense that Julia was her consultant therapist and they were already familiar with each other. One of the conditions for her release was that she needed to have an appointment with Julia every day, which Hermione had questioned, silently of course, wondering how it would work if she couldn't speak. They worked around it, but it was not easy going.
Thankfully, they didn't have to worry too long as two day's after Hermione had moved onto the unit, she had greeted Blaise and Draco with a croaky 'hello'.
"Your voice!" Blaise exclaimed, pulling her into a hug while Draco chuckled behind him.
"Never thought I'd be so happy to hear your voice, Hermione." He murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head in greeting.
They were not anywhere near back to how they used to be, and Hermione found herself wishing that perhaps they would never reach the same point. The same level of intimacy and love, certainly, but a deeper connection based on truths and honesty, rather than lies and deception. He was easy to love, but she knew that he had a long way to go before he forgot the girl he had thought her to be. They were indeed starting from scratch, and she couldn't find any reason to mind. She smiled and chuckled at him.
"Charming." She croaked and he laughed.
"Always, Hermione, you know this." He replied, shaking his head as Blaise rolled his eyes.
"What happened? Did they find a way to treat you?" Blaise asked as he settled in the chair next to her bed as Draco took the one opposite. She shook her head.
"They always said it could come back on it's own." she told them, "But I might be quiet for a while."
"Silver lining." Draco muttered and Hermione laughed, throwing a pillow at him, which he caught deftly and chucked back.
"How are you getting on with the therapy?" Draco asked interestedly. She nodded, grinning.
"On track to go home on Monday, but she wants him," She jabbed a finger towards Blaise, "To keep my Aunty Dee under lock and key and monitor me taking it." she said, rolling her eyes.
"Understandable." Nodded Blaise. "Of course I will, I'll talk to her today."
"Aunty Dee?" Draco frowned and Hermione cackled at him.
"Anti-Depressant potion," Blaise provided, "Aunty Dee is our nickname for it."
"Oh." Draco chuckled. "What time is your appointment today?" he asked, glancing at the clock.
"In an hour, why?" Hermione queried and Draco shrugged.
Draco didn't give her an answer and the three fell into comfortable silence for a while as Hermione watched the other patients and healers pass by her room. It was strange, to be here around so many people suffering such complex issues, but it was comfortable and Hermione knew that being here would help her in the long run
Harry, unfortunately, had not been able to visit Hermione as he had work during the weekdays, so she spent all of her time with Blaise and often Draco too. It was strange, to Hermione, that Draco was so silent with her, almost awkward, and she wanted to discuss the topic, but she didn't want to ask any more of him than he had already given. Being here, even though he was clearly still uncomfortable and hurt was more than she could ever have expected from him.
She glanced over at him and felt her stomach twist uncomfortably, wondering what was going to happen with them. She loved him, she was sure of that, but over the last few weeks that love had... Shifted. While she was still painfully attracted to him, she couldn't deny that her feelings towards him had become more... She couldn't explain it, but they were definitely different. Would he ever want a romantic relationship with her? Would she, for that matter?
"I was thinking about going to see my Mum while we're here." Draco mumbled suddenly and Hermione gasped.
"What's your Mum doing here?" Blaise asked, frowning.
"Crap." Draco groaned. "I forgot you didn't know."
"How have you never told Blaise that your Mother is in the Mental Health Unit?!" Hermione squawked. "Seriously?!"
"Not now, Hermione," Blaise told her before turning to his friend and eyeing him carefully, "Draco, what are you talking about?"
Draco sighed and Hermione could read the shame all over his face. He had always been embarrassed about the state of his mothers mind and no matter how many times she, or rather Eloise, had told him that he should be open about the situation, he had always been so secretive about the fact that she was here. What she wasn't aware of, though, was that Blaise didn't even know. Had she been the only person he had told? She shuffled across the bed and sat on the edge in front of Draco, urging him to look at her.
"He'll understand." She whispered and he sighed before nodding reluctantly.
Hermione moved back to rest against her pillows and let the two friends talk. Draco was hesistant, but eventually opened up when he found no judgement in Blaise's eyes and Blaise didn't speak until after he had finished the sorry tale about his Mother's descent into madness. He was silent for a few seconds, clearly letting the news sink in before he nodded.
"I kind of knew that something wasn't right, you know?" Blaise asked and smiled at Draco's raised brow. "You never spoke of her and she was never there when I came over to the manor. Never expected this, though."
"How long has it been since you visited her Draco?" Hermione asked gently and he shrugged.
"Not sure. Over a year? She was really bad the last time I was here." He mumbled, fiddling with the sleeve of his jacket nervously.
"How bad is it?" Blaise frowned.
"Last time I was here, she didn't know who I was." Draco admitted and Blaise gasped, "There had been times before that when she had called me Lucius, but she had never not recognised me at all. The healers said that it could be temorary, but I couldn't bring myself to visit again after that."
"Do you want me to come with you today?" Blaise asked and Draco eyes widened slightly as he watched his italian friend.
"If you want to... I mean... I don't mind if you would rath-"
"I'll come with you, mate. I wish you'd told me sooner." Blaise said sternly and Draco nodded.
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The two men were already back in her room by the time she came back from her appointment with Julia and Hermione was pleased to see that Draco appeared happy and relaxed. She caught Blaise's eye contact and gestured towards Draco with a raised eyebrow and Blaise nodded subtly with a smile on his face. Taking it as a good sign, Hermione hopped onto her bed and hugged a pillow on her lap before turning to Draco.
"So how did it go?" She asked and her heart soared when Draco grinned at her.
"She thought I was 13." Draco chuckled. "The healers said that her mind has gotten stuck at that point in her life, before the Dark Lord came back, you know? But she knew who I was and it was actually really nice."
"That's good, I guess." Hermione smiled, "Did she say anything?"
"She asked for Lucius a few times," Draco informed, "There's a healer here with really straight blonde hair that is her favourite because she thinks that she's my father, but other than that it was normal. At least it was normal when I was thirteen."
"You should have seen her," Blaise chuckled, "Smoothing his hair and mothering him to within an inch of his life."
Hermione laughed, imagining this grown man infront of her being treated like his thirteen year old self by a mother who had proven how much she loved him on numerous occasions. She could just see the six foot man being coddled and fussed over with a scowl on his face, trying to save his reputation. She supposed he was lucky that Narcissa wouldn't be going out in public with him any time soon, or any illusions of the snarky and cold person he pretended to be would be lost from the minds of everybody. Draco shrugged.
"It was nice, weirdly, to be mothered. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed her." He said with a warm, small smile on his face.
"That's good!" Hermione said, "Are you going to come see her more often?" Draco nodded.
"I've arranged to come once a week."
Hermione, in a strange way, felt incredibly proud of him. It seemed that it wasn't only her who was beginning to heal from her issues.