Healing Draco Malfoy

Chapter 30

Published: October 7, 2021

It was Joel's idea and Draco had seemed optimistic, but Harry was nervous about someone new entering their group. His leg bounced nervously, as he waited in his office for the appointed time. It was just over a week since Joel passed his exams, and he already had eight patients assigned to him, nine if Harry included himself (he didn't). Harry was proud of him. Draco had had no problem signing the transfer parchment form, and Elsa transferred to his service, as well.

Unfortunately, Joel couldn't declare Draco mentally sound, yet, as he wasn't a licensed mind healer. However, Joel effectively banned Higgs from gaining access to Draco, as he was his patient. Of course, their sessions were more training for Joel than counseling for Draco. They were preparing Joel for licensing, and Harry could tell that Draco enjoyed doing... something proactive. Joel, however, was sneaking in counseling too. It was where the idea came from, and he had convinced Draco to go through with it.

Head Healer Convaba had brought it up, too, that Draco needed a support structure. When Draco did get strong enough to walk on his own, he couldn't be home by himself for a long time, nor stay in the hospital forever. Though Harry had months of vacation time saved, it would surely be discussed if he left to assist Draco. No... Draco needed help, mentally and physically, and contracted house elf service wasn't good enough.

Knock, knock.

Harry swallowed hard and willed his tremors away. He should have taken his Calming Draught beforehand. "Come in," he said, remaining in his seat at his desk.

The door opened and Harry recognized the man, though it had been nearly eight years since he had last seen him. His head was high, and his pureblood affluence just oozed out of him. The newcomer's dark eyes analyzed him, critically, but then he nodded respectfully.

"Potter, you look... umm... good. Is that... other healer coming? The one that wrote me?" It was hard to read his voice, if he was an enemy or a friend. They were enemies the last time Harry had seen him.

"Joel is finishing his ten o'clock appointment," Harry said, quietly and looked at the fire. His anxiety was rising, as he was alone with a Slytherin he didn't know well and, to his knowledge, hated mudbloods. At least, he hadn't been an outright supporter of Voldemort.

His guest was staring at him, but Harry didn't look back. Where the fuck was Joel?

"Are you alright, Potter?"

Harry just nodded as the trembling started. The walls were closing in.

"Are you sure?" The Slytherin seemed almost concerned.

Harry was saved from answering, when Joel knocked once and entered. "Sorry, took longer than I thought."

"I only just got here, no worries," he said, turning toward him and holding out his hand. Joel took it. "I'm Blaise Zabini."

"Joel," he said, shaking it and nodded toward him. "And you know Harry, of course."

"Harry? First names... it is?"

"Draco doesn't mind," Harry whispered.

"We must all do as Draco commands," Blaise said, with a little laugh. He didn't sound condescending, but Harry still couldn't look at him directly. Draco had earned his trust. Zabini hadn't.

Joel stepped forward to redirect attention to him. "Yes, we do. You and Draco were close?"

"As close as anyone could get to Draco. You're never going to find someone who has more walls than him."

Harry nodded in agreement.

"Well... the purpose of our meeting today is to talk about his condition and if you want to help him."

"I came, didn't I? I had no idea what happened to him. Didn't even know he was released when you wrote. I would have come sooner if I'd known. Draco was the head of our class. I mean, of us Slytherins, and I would have followed him anywhere. But why did you ask me to come? Why didn't he? You're not going to surprise him with me or anything, are you?"

Joel held up his hands. "Draco knows. He asked me to write you."

Harry turned to see the confusion on Zabini's face, before he looked back to the fire. Draco had said they could talk about what happened. His time to talk was coming, closer. In fact, he needed to get used to talking to people.

"We just wanted to discuss... the situation beforehand. You have read the news the last few months, correct?" Joel asked.

Blaise nodded and then tightened up, instantly alert. "Yeah...."

"Draco was in Azkaban... for six years."

Shock and horror lined his face. "Holy fucking Salazar! Is he... okay?"

Joel nodded, somberly. "He's healing well, but he's still in need of constant physical therapy, which is why he's in Harry's ward."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Blaise, not to sound... blunt... but we need to ask that you keep this... between us."

Zabini glared. "You think I'd ever betray Draco?"

"There's a Slytherin here, who knows Draco and has been giving him a hard time," Joel stated.

"Who?" he breathed dangerously.

"Higgs," Harry whispered, and refused to look at Blaise's eyes.

"Terence Higgs? You need him... handled?" Zabini growled and Harry tightened at the promise of pain in the Slytherin's voice.

Joel seemed to sense the threat, too, and said, "I think we got him under control for now. Draco has given us permission to talk about his condition... and I want to make sure that you won't... hurt him, intentionally or not. Would you mind humoring me?"

"Very well. I promise I will not tell anyone about him and will not... intentionally hurt him. Do you want a blood contract or an Unbreakable Vow, too?"

Joel shook his head. "Draco was sure that you were... trustworthy. But let's sit down and talk."

Harry nodded that Joel had handled that well. Harry might have sicced the Slytherin after Higgs. They sat down in chairs in front of Harry's desk. He was behind it and still didn't want to engage in the conversation. He could feel Joel's eyes on him, but he turned to Blaise.

"Draco is doing well with what he went through, but he needs more... interaction. He needs a friend. His parents are gone and he has no family left. But when he leaves the hospital, he's going to need some support," Joel explained.

"So, he needs a home?"

"He's got a home, but I don't think going there alone would be good for him, mentally or physically. We could request the services of a house elf, but he needs that the human connection."

"I see. What's happened to him?"

Joel seemed hesitant on where to start, so Harry took a deep breath and said, "They tortured him every day he was in Azkaban, Blaise. They tried to break him, but they didn't get his mind. What they did do, is break every bone in his body so much and so often... that it's a miracle he's alive."

Zabini was watching him closely, but didn't interrupt. Harry just kept his eyes on the desk between them.

"They kept him chained down and all his muscles atrophied. He can't walk, write, or do anything strenuous. I'm healing him as best as I can, but it's going to take a bit longer. We're looking at a month of muscle rehabilitation here, and he'll be up and moving, just not confidently. When he's released, he'll need... motivation to keep walking and not use magic to get around. That is why a house elf isn't the best fit. People tend to cheat, rather than do the work."

Harry finally met Zabini's eyes and saw that they were full of pain and concern. Blaise took a deep breath and said, "And mentally... how is he?"

Joel leaned forward to handle that side. "Very well, considering. He's scared... of going back, though. He used Occlumency to stay sane at Azkaban, and he'll go inside his head if it gets too stressful. It was hard to get him to talk when he first arrived at the hospital, but he's awake, talking and joking. If you push him too much, he tightens up. When he's scared, he tends to break eye contact and look to the corner of the room. His hands usually go tight into his chest. It's a defensive mechanism.

"I doubt that you have to worry about triggering him unless you start yelling or threatening him, but I wouldn't ask him about what happened and who hurt him unless he brings it up. But if you poke at something he doesn't like, you'll see his physical reaction immediately. It's a good thing, because you don't have to guess whether he's okay or not."

Blaise nodded, but zeroed in on Harry. "Why? Why are you, of all people, helping him, Potter? You were at each other's throats in school."

Harry grimaced. "We've changed... grown up. But to answer your question, he was sent to my ward, because I'm the best healer of physical injuries... things a wand just can't get. No one can heal like I can, and Draco needed me. I'm not going to hold on to what happened in the past over helping him."

"I forgot you're a Gryffindor, bleeding-heart do-gooder," Blaise said, with a smirk.

Harry tensed up, though he appeared to be joking around.

"Potter?"

Joel leaned forward, redirecting Blaise back to him, again. "Blaise, Harry and Draco are good friends, now. I'm sure that Draco never would have talked, again, if it weren't for that friendship."

Blaise was looking at him, and Harry bristled under his scrutiny. People staring didn't usually bug him, but when it was someone who knew him from before it happened, he couldn't handle it. Unless that person was a complete blockhead, they would see how different he was. Like there was a sign over him declaring him broken and scared. Blaise could definitely see it, and Harry was waiting for him to ask.

But Blaise turned back to Joel. "So, can I see him today?"

"Yes, like I said, as long as he's looking at you and talking to you, he's doing fine. I'll be with you, too. We just didn't want you to be surprised."

Blaise nodded and stood up, ready, but looked at Harry. "Are you coming, too?"

He took a deep breath. "No, I have to prepare for the trial."

"Trial?"

"I'll fill you in outside. Let's go," Joel said and went to the door. "I'll send Nat with some tea, Harry."

He nodded. Joel was taking care of him, too. They left and he only had to wait a minute for the tea. Natalie stayed a bit to make sure that he was okay, probably at Joel's request.

"Thanks," Harry murmured.

"No problem. Is that guy okay?"

"Yeah... I think so. It's just that... he can tell... I'm...."

Natalie came around and knelt by his chair. "What, Harry?"

"Nothing. Thanks for the tea. I need to prepare some reports for Hermione."

Nat looked like she wanted to say something but nodded. "Okay, Harry. Just call me if you need something, okay?"

"Thanks," he said, and she left.

He did indeed have exhibits to make and submit to the court review panel. All of Draco's healer records were already pulled by the defense. Harry just needed to put a human spin on it and in an explainable format. It was on him to prove Draco's case and what happened, and he wasn't going to mess it up.

***

Draco took a deep breath as Joel opened his door. "Draco? Are you ready?"

"Yeah," he said, after patting down his hair, again.

Joel came in and Blaise followed behind him. He looked good: smooth skin, short hair and fine robes. If there was a Slytherin he could count on to have his back, it was Zabini. Not a cold-hearted bitch like Pansy, or sycophants like Greg and Vince, he was smart, able and above all, loyal.

"Blaise, I'm glad you came," Draco said, meeting his eyes.

Blaise was stone-faced and controlled, as emotionless as any true Slytherin can be, but Draco could see the pain in his eyes. Not necessarily pity, but rage and anger. "Hey, Dray. I'm sorry, I didn't know... that you were out of... that this happened. I swear I would have come sooner."

"I know, but don't mention it. I told you to stay out of it and you did."

"You probably saved my life telling me to do that."

Draco nodded. Pansy, Greg and Vince had been in too deep with the Carrows, but he managed to save Blaise and Theo from the same fate as him. But he wasn't interested in talking about the past. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Well, I'm working at Hogwarts. Been the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor for three years, now. And I might have been hooking up with another professor... on the down-low," Blaise said with a smirk.

"Well, I hope there's a better selection of guys there. Because last I checked, most of them were crusty."

"No crust, I assure you."

"I would hope not. How's Theo?"

"He's doing okay. He married Astoria... Daphne's sister. He's got a good job. Pansy whored herself out to Flint, bastard," Blaise grunted.

"She always would do anything to get ahead."

"Her parents were on the brink of bankruptcy," Blaise muttered. "Last I heard, Greg was breaking bones as a debt collector for some shady guy in Knockturn, following in his daddy's footsteps."

Draco tightened up and his eyes drifted to the corner. He remembered Goyle's father coming into his cell for some entertainment with "Lucius's snotty brat". He pushed the memories down, though it wasn't easy. He registered movement out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't want to engage, yet.

"Draco? Draco, look at me," Joel's voice called, coming around next to him.

The kid was as pure as one could be. Draco knew that. He had seen every aspect of his mind, even the darker bits that Joel tried not to think about. No, Joel just let him in and see everything without a second thought. Draco even trusted Joel enough to let him come into his head, too, but Draco didn't let his guards completely down. He just needed to make sure the kid could reach him, as Harry wasn't the best person to put that burden on.

"Draco?" Joel said, taking his hand.

He slowly pulled his eyes from the safe corner, and they went to Joel and Blaise. He had tucked his memories back securely behind the wall. He took a deep breath and said, "So, Harry said McGonagall was the headmistress?"

Blaise didn't miss a beat and accepted the abrupt change in conversation. "Yeah, she's not too bad. Less cryptic than Dumbledore, but Slughorn's retiring, again, so she's been asking if I'm willing to take up the responsibility of being Head of Slytherin."

"You even had to think about it?"

"It puts constraints on my after-hours activities," Blaise laughed.

Draco smiled. Blaise talked about his students and classes, and as he didn't mention his lover's name, Draco inferred that he didn't want him to know. Slytherins have rules of propriety. He talked about how his mother had moved to Italy with her eighth husband and grimly wondered when this one would die. Draco had nothing really to say, just asked Blaise more questions, which he answered.

"Astoria's recovering from a bad curse, and Theo's panicking, saying that he has no idea what to do. She'll calm him down, though. She's so sweet for him."

"Theo deserves someone like her, after what he grew up with."

"So do you, Draco," Blaise said, quietly and Draco frowned, but nodded. "Draco, I... heard about your mum."

Draco, again, nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks," Draco whispered and then locked eyes with Blaise, who appeared to be waiting for him. His Slytherin brother nodded. He was there for orders. Draco then turned to Joel, who hadn't interceded since he snapped out of his spiral. "Joel... would you mind leaving us alone?"

Joel looked warily at Blaise, but still said, "Of course, just call if you need me." The kid saw him as a mentor, like Harry was. He wasn't likely to refuse him anything.

"I will," Draco said, and Joel left, closing the door.

Blaise threw up a ward and growled, "You need to get out of here?"

He loved Blaise's directness and smiled. "Not yet. I really can't walk. I can barely lift my legs up."

Blaise wasn't deterred, though. "Who do you need me to... take care of? Higgs?"

Draco raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Potter mentioned he was becoming a nuisance. Do you want me to solve it," Blaise growled lowly. He was pissed.

Draco smiled on the inside. There was nothing like having a pissed-off best friend, who knew how to fuck with people. "Perhaps. Look into it, will you?"

"What else, Draco? I will take care of it," Blaise vowed, ready to break bones for him.

He missed him so much, but he really did need something. "I need you to look into my finances and determine my standings."

"Easy. Theo actually works at Gringotts and can pull the records for you."

"Good. That's good. They brought me back to my house, so I'm assuming it's still mine."

"I'll find out. Your parents' assets and yours," Blaise vowed.

"Thank you, but also I need a solicitor. A good one, cause I have a feeling that I'm going to need one."

"You got it, Dray. I owe you. You kept Theo and me out of the war, and I won't forget that."

"Don't mention it. I was just glad you both were spared."

"What about... do you want me to arrange anything...?" Blaise hesitantly started. "...for the ones who... did this?"

"No. They got what they deserved."

"Not really, but is there anything else you want me to do?" Blaise said, ready to destroy the world in his name.

Draco smirked and shook his head. "No, but thank you, Blaise. It means a lot."

"What are best friends for?"

Draco met his eyes with tears in them and nodded in appreciation.

Blaise took a deep breath, looked back at the door and then asked, "So, what the fuck is wrong with Potter?"

Draco grimaced. "It's not my 온라인카지노게임 to tell."

Blaise, the smart-asshole that he was, snorted. "That bad, huh? I heard he dropped from the Aurors and disappeared into obscurity five years ago and, after seeing him, I can guess why."

He let out a deep breath. Blaise saw everything.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, but he couldn't even meet my eyes... so... it's not hard to guess."

Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Were you acting like everyone is beneath you, again?"

"I don't act," Blaise scoffed.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Harry doesn't handle confrontation well, so take it easy when you're with him, please."

Blaise watched him closely and stated absently, "Your mind healer... said that you and Potter were friends."

"I owe him everything, Blaise," Draco said, sharply.

Blaise snickered. "Yes, that must be it. No problem, Dray, I'll tone down my magnificence."

He snorted. "If you can...."

"Yeah... but who needs to be eviscerated, then? For him?"

"He's in Azkaban, too," Draco whispered, somewhat confirming Blaise's suspicions.

"Pity. I did learn quite a few vicious curses in my mastery studies."

Draco smiled. "Just don't bring it up, Blaise, please."

"Who do you take me for? A Gryffindor? Tact is bred into us."

"It sure is. Thanks, Blaise."