Hey Guys! I've been playing around with this idea for a while now and finally wrote something. Let me know what you think!
Please Review!
Since ending her engagement with Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger had done several things to move past her anger.
She had gotten a haircut along with, thoroughly cleaned her flat; gone out with her girlfriends for a weekend holiday; found some random bloke to take home one night and even shredded every last bit of clothing Ron had left behind.
Nothing had helped.
He had cheated on her on with Lavender Brown…in their bed.
Hermione still didn't spare much thought or care about whether or not Lavender had been able to remove the large purple horn from the middle of her forehead.
It had been a month since that day and she hadn't seen Ron since. She didn't mind that. But when she received a message saying that Luna was in labor, Hermione rushed to St. Mungo's and was greeted with the sight of her ex-fiancé holding hands with the woman he had cheated on her with. He was standing around with all of their friends, waiting for news on Luna.
Hermione wanted so badly to turn around and leave but Harry had spotted her and called her over.
She regretted to find Lavender had found a way to remove the horn but felt a sense of pride at the large purple circle on Lavender's forehead. A circle she knew would take at least another month to fully disappear.
She sat next to Ginny, and they spoke quietly.
An hour later, the large group was still in the waiting room, impatiently waiting for news.
Hermione noticed a little girl, about five years old being wheeled into the waiting area by a boy who had to be her brother, if resemblance meant anything. He was only a few years older than her and had to be about ten years old.
The two siblings waited in the corner.
Hermione noticed that the little girl didn't look well as she read a children's book. When she dropped it, Hermione jumped up to pick it up, only to be a moment too late. Draco Malfoy had beaten to her punch, picking up the book and crouching down to hand it back to the little girl.
"Here you are." He said with a kind smile.
The ten-year-old boy's eyes went as wide as Quidditch goal posts when he realized who had just picked up his sister's book.
"You…you're Draco Malfoy!" He said, excitement radiating off of him.
Draco chuckled and nodded, "I am."
The boy looked around the room as if searching for something.
Hermione smiled, "Are you looking for a piece of parchment and a quill?" She asked, knowingly.
The boy nodded excitedly.
She pulled some from her purse and handed them to the boy who then turned to Draco, "May I have your autograph, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Of course." Draco nodded. "Would you like Blaise Zabini's, Ginny Weasley's and Harry Potter's as well?" He asked with a grin before calling both blokes and Ginny over to them.
Hermione watched as both kid's eyes lit up with excitement at the sight of the famous Quidditch players.
A nurse walked over, smiling, "It's good to see her smiling." The nurse said quietly to Hermione.
Hermione nodded and looked at the nurse, "She seems awfully ill. Is she all right?"
The nurse sighed and shook her head, "No. She was hit by a horrible stray curse during an argument between some wizards in Diagon Alley."
"What can be done?"
"Well, there is a cure." The nurse sighed, "But the treatment would cost the hospital so much that the administrators won't approve it."
Hermione looked at the nurse in shock, "What is going to be done then? She's clearly very sick. Is she…is it…terminal?"
The nurse sighed and nodded, "Sadly, it is. She has only a few months. No more than four. She won't live to see her sixth birthday."
Overhearing the entire conversation, Draco stood up while Blaise, Ginny, and Harry continued to talk to the children.
"I'll pay for the treatment." Draco said bluntly.
The nurse was surprised but could easily see that he was serious and nodded. "I'll let the Healers know immediately." She said and walked off.
Hermione looked at him, stunned by his generosity and smiled, "Draco that was…"
"Barmy!" He said angrily, "How could they just let her…" He began before calming himself and nodding. "I just...I needed to help."
Hermione nodded.
When the nurse came back a few minutes later, she was joined by a Healer and an Administrator.
The Healer eagerly thanked Draco and wheeled the young girl back to a treatment room, leaving her brother in the waiting room.
The Administrator looked at Draco with a much more somber and confused expression. "Mr. Malfoy." He said, "Are you certain that you want to do this? This child is just an Orphaned Potential."
Draco furrowed her brow, confused by the term, "What does that mean?"
Hermione however stepped forward and got directly in the face of the Administrator, "Don't you ever use that term in my presence again." She growled dangerously before walking over to sit next to the young boy.
Confused by the phrase, and her reaction, Draco furrowed his brow, "Erm…what exactly does that mean?" He asked, looking at the nurse and the Administrator.
Nervously, the nurse glanced at the still silently fuming Hermione and quietly replied, "It erm….it means that the young girl is an orphan and is still too young for us to know if she has powers or will be a…a Squib."
Orphaned Potentials… Draco understood Hermione's hatred for the term and hated it just as much.
The man was basically saying that if she turned out to be a Squib, the treatment would have been wasted on her.
He nodded and met the man's eyes, "Give that little girl the very best treatment. I'll pay whatever the cost. Do you understand me?"
"Sir. There are far too many of these Orphaned Poten…" the man stopped himself before sighing and saying, "It's impossible to help them."
Narrowing his eyes at the man, Draco said, "Isn't that you bloody job?"
The man faltered, swallowing before replying weakly in a quiet voice, "We do what we can, sir."
"Well, it's not enough, clearly." Draco said. "So do better."
The man was shocked by Draco's bluntness and cleared his throat, "I'll erm…I'll send my assistant up to collect your payment soon."
Draco clenched his jaw and nodded but didn't speak.
Within the next hour, Draco paid the bill for the little girl's treatment. He had learned her name was Charlotte and her brother's name was Henry. When he got back up to the waiting room, the group was just heading back to see Luna and Theo's new baby son, Flynn Draco Nott.
Draco felt honored and held his godson closely for a while until he heard that Charlotte was out of the treatment room.
Hermione watched as Draco kissed Flynn on the forehead and handed him back to Theo while quietly saying something that made Theo look emotional as he nodded in response. Hermione smiled to herself and left with Draco when he went to check on Charlotte.
They found her room and entered, seeing Henry sitting by her bed with his head resting on his arms.
Even though he was only ten, Henry looked as if he had been through much more than any ten-year-old should have.
Draco walked over to the tired boy and crouched down next to him. Henry turned his head and his tired eyes lit up, "Mr. Malfoy!" He whispered excitedly.
Draco smiled, "Hi, Henry. You can call me Draco. Why don't you get a bit of sleep on that cot over there? I'll stay with Charlotte so that she's not alone." He suggested, hoping the boy would get some rest.
Henry nodded as tears spilled from his eyes, "Thank you, Mr.…I mean…Draco. Thank you so much for paying for the treatment. They said that she's going to be okay now. I was…I was so scared of losing her."
Draco nodded, "She's okay now, Henry. Now, go on and get some sleep, okay."
Henry nodded as he groggily slouched over to the cot in the corner of the room.
Hermione watched as Draco shook his head, "How can there be an entire ward here full of orphaned children in need of treatments that no one will pay for?"
"Wait what? There's an entire ward?" She asked.
He nodded, "Yes. When I was paying for Charlotte's treatment, I was going to pay for any of the other orphaned children who might need help as well, but then the lady told me the price. Not even I can afford that much."
Hermione shook her head, "I want to help. I don't have the money to do anything, but I have plenty of time. So, what can I do?" she asked.
Draco sighed, shaking his head as he looked down at Charlotte, sleeping in the bed. He wanted to help. He needed to.
Something came to him, and he turned to Hermione, "You know, when my parents needed more money for their foundations, they would have an event of some sort to raise the money. A fundraiser of sorts but elegant."
Hermione nodded, "That's a thought, but you have to have some sort of gifts to entertainment to raise the money. "
Draco smirked, nodding.
Confused, Hermione quietly spoke up, "What?"
"What is something that we've got plenty of, Granger?" He asked.
Even more confused, Hermione shook her head, "I'm not sure. What?" She asked.
He grinned, "Quidditch players. Famous Quidditch players."
Her eyes widened in realization, "That's bloody brilliant, Draco!" She whispered excitedly but quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping children.
Their group of friends contained five famous Quidditch players and they all knew several more.
Nodding, Draco grinned, "I could easily send a few letters and put together a couple teams of mixed players."
"A Charity Quidditch Match." She smiled. "And all the proceeds will go to the orphaned children in the children's ward here at St. Mungo's. That's brilliant!" She said, "But Draco…" She added, "I want to help."
He smiled and nodded, "Deal."