Draco was at home when he received word that the antidote was ready, and Floo'd to St. Mungo's immediately. When he arrived, Theo was even paler than he had been the last time he'd visited. Given that the potion was untested, the staff warned him that it may not work or that it could have unforeseen side effects. He was a bit nervous, but ultimately, he knew anything Hermione recommended would be flawless — just like her. At his urging, Theo signed the Experimental Medicinal Potion Use waiver as Draco sat by his side.
In order to drink the potion, Theo had to be assisted by Healers. He was weak, the poison continuing to eat at him despite everything the Healers had done to slow it. Thank goodness Hermione had offered to help. Draco had no idea how long it would have taken the staff at St. Mungo's to find the correct antidote, but it was clear that Theo wouldn't have been able to hang on much longer.
A few minutes passed, and the Healers gathered grew restless, murmuring amongst themselves, as Theo lapsed back into sleep. Trying to ignore their concern, he waited, watching Theo's chest rise and fall shallowly. After a quarter of an hour, Theo's colouring was much improved, and he felt the tightness in his chest ease. He didn't appear healthy by any means, but he no longer looked like he had one foot in the grave. A Healer stepped forward to check the magical display at the foot of the bed and Draco sat up straighter, hoping for an update.
"He's stable." The Healer breathed a sigh of relief. "Now that the poison's progression is halted, he should finally start responding to other treatments. A few Blood Replenishing and Pepper-Up Potions and he should be right as rain in a few days." He cut his eyes to Draco. "Er — that is to say physically, at least… He'll need sustained Mind Healer support for quite some time."
"Of course," Draco replied, infinitely relieved that Theo would recover.
The next evening, Draco was sorting his post (he had just finished torching yet another anonymous letter promising bodily harm if he didn't stop "corrupting the youth with his blood traitor rhetoric"), when he spotted a letter from St. Mungo's. The letter informed him that Theo was well enough to be discharged, on the condition that he live with someone who could monitor his mental health. Alternatively, St. Mungo's could keep Theo committed until a Mind Healer cleared him.
Leaving for St. Mungo's as soon as he could, he assured the staff that Theo could stay with him until he had fully recovered; in fact, he had quickly transfigured his office furniture to turn the space into a temporary bedroom before he'd left. Theo had been more than happy to take him up on the offer. After taking the antidote, Theo had looked much healthier, and Draco's last visit was spent listening to Theo complain about the thread count of the hospital sheets. It was probably be in the best interest of the sanity of all involved (Healers especially) that Theo spend no more time in the hospital than necessary.
When Draco Apparated the two of them to his apartment, Theo looked around in confusion. "I thought we were going to your house."
"We are," he agreed.
"Draco," Theo said, looking at him like there must be some mistake. "This isn't the Manor."
"No, it isn't," he replied matter-of-factly, pushing the front door open and entering ahead of Theo. "I found the Manor to be somewhat… oppressive. As you might imagine, my mother isn't particularly thrilled by the change in my living arrangements, so keep quiet about it if you see her, alright?"
"Damn Drake, I never thought you'd be the one to break tradition like that," he said, in a tone that was part admiration and part mockery.
Draco stiffened. "I'll try not to be offended by that statement."
"Ah, c'mon mate, you know I didn't mean anything by it. I'm proud of you — honestly. You've turned into a decent bloke, in spite of everything."
He huffed his disbelief, but didn't want to argue with Theo.
"Well, let's get you to bed. You look like you can barely stand," Draco said, as he led Theo further into the apartment.
"As long as you promise to bring me a decent cuppa. The tea service at the hospital was rubbish. They outright refused to put the milk in first. They would only ever bring me a cup of hot water with the tea bag already in it like a savage… claimed they didn't have any teapots! Outrageous!" Theo whinged, staggering a bit as he crossed the living room.
"Deal," Draco agreed, glad to see that Theo seemed to be in good spirits. He hoped it wasn't just a cover for whatever he was really feeling. After their close call, he recognised that Theo's devil-may-care attitude in school had been a type of armour — one that had been so effective, Draco hadn't realised it was there at all.
While Theo got settled, he prepared tea and biscuits in the kitchen. He wished he could let Theo rest, but they needed to get started right away. While he'd recovered by leaps and bounds since he'd drank the antidote Hermione developed, the purple bruises under his eyes persisted, and he was still rail thin. Most of Theo's clothes were too big now; Draco had transfigured a few of them in the hospital when Theo wasn't paying attention. Regardless, Draco knew that there wasn't much that could be done for his friend's physical condition until he helped him manage the demons that chased him.
Draco joined his temporary roommate in the newly converted bedroom, with the tea as requested — it had been tempting to bring Theo a mug with a tea bag in it, but he thought perhaps now wasn't the time. Instead, he cut straight to the point. "Usually I'd do a series of sessions with you to understand the full scope of your needs, and to develop a treatment plan. But in light of everything you told me while you were recovering, I think we should start with Occlumency right away. Do you know the basics?"
Theo nodded. "My father couldn't very well have me spilling his secrets at the first mental attack, now could he?" he said tiredly.
"I assumed as much," Draco said, squeezing Nott's shoulder. "I promise our training won't be anything like what they did to us as children." If Theo's training had been anything like his own, he knew it had been brutal and painful. Though, as he considered, Theo's may have been worse. At least Lucius cared about not leaving marks where others could see them — Theo's father was less concerned about trivial matters like public perception.
"This isn't about preparing to guard yourself against an external attack; it's about protecting yourself from unplanned memory resurgences or flashbacks. We're not going to shut them away forever, though. We are only going to put walls around the worst of them so that your mind has time to heal. Later, we are going to explore them one at a time so that the walls aren't needed in the future. Alright?"
Theo looked at his hands for a bit. "I don't know that it'll do any good. I was never very good at this stuff, and I don't think I'll ever be able to face it. You probably have loads of other people who deserve your help, people who aren't such fuck ups."
"Stop it, Theo." Draco's voice was cold, harsh, and intense. "I'm choosing you. You are worth it — do you understand me? None of us deserved what happened to us, and we've all done terrible things, but that is in the past."
He shrunk in on himself under Draco's glare. Draco continued, firm but gentle, grasping Theo's shoulder in what he hoped was a gesture of comfort. "All of us deserve a second chance and someone who believes in us. I'm not ready to give up on you, Theo. Please?"
Theo still seemed unsure and was unwilling to meet his gaze. Draco suspected he had averted his gaze to hide silent tears; he could feel him shaking slightly under his hand. It was hard to see his friend in such a state, but he was glad that Theo wasn't completely shutting him out or refusing to engage in the conversation. He felt it was important for him to agree to work on this as an active participant — he had to want to get better.
Draco decided to try a different tactic, since Theo wasn't responding to motivations based on self-interest. "I've never had many friends, Theo… I can't afford to lose another one." His voice thickened as he thought of Crabbe. "Will you try for me?"
There was a long silence as Theo prepared his tea on the bedside table, still not meeting Draco's eyes. The faint sounds of Theo sniffing and his spoon clinking occasionally against the china filled the silence.
"Well, it seems downright inhospitable of me not to, doesn't it?" Theo smiled weakly over the rim of his cup, eyes red-rimmed.
He laughed wistfully and smiled back. "It really would be."
Drinking his tea in silence, he watched as Theo sipped his own cup. It was good to see that his friend had taken a healthy serving of biscuits, too. They were going to have a long night ahead of them, and Theo needed to recover his strength.