Healing Draco Malfoy

Chapter 2

Published 9/15/2020

Harry had been treating Malfoy for three days now, and he hadn't said another word. He refused to make direct eye contact or eat. His nutrient potions were fed to him with a wand. No force-feeding needed, thank Merlin. Malfoy did acquiesce to taking pain potions, thankfully. But other than that, he was practically non-responsive. Harry spent nearly every moment he had in Malfoy's room. Either doing his paperwork or actually healing his left arm. It was coming along. The damage in his wrist was extensive.

Harry was read everything St. Mungo's had on him, but it wasn't much. Draco had been in the hospital for five days. Harry was surprised to find that he was the only one that Malfoy had spoken to in the hospital. He hadn't said anything about what happened. No one knew where all the damage came from. All they had was the report that he jumped off the roof at Malfoy Manor and was found by his parole officer. That was the answer to a lot of things. Malfoy had a parole officer, meaning he was imprisoned for at least a little while. Harry had spoken at his trial and his mum's. Narcissa hadn't used any Unforgivables, so she was just given probation. He didn't know where she was or what happened to her.

Harry thought that Draco had been given a sentence of three to seven years for his crimes. Most of his charges were for when he was underage. But he helped the Death Eaters kill Dumbledore and Crucioed Rowle several times and a few others at the behest of Voldemort when he was of age. Harry had to fight hard to keep him from getting life or even the Kiss. He was marked and there was plenty of evidence against him. Harry hadn't thought much of Malfoy after he was taken to Azkaban. There wasn't much he could have done. A few years for using Imperius and torturing people didn't seem like that much.

But Harry could only wonder if it was way too much. He could read the bones. Even if Malfoy only served the minimum, there was bone and spell damage during that time. It was more than just dementors and other prisoners tormenting him. He must have been tortured by the guards, too. Not only that, but they chained him for a long time. For months, if not years. If Harry read the scans right... it was more than just pain. It was systematic torture.

He wanted to get answers, now, but he was Malfoy's healer. He was bound to withhold what he knew and, technically, if Malfoy didn't make the complaint himself, it would be hard to prove what happened in court. Patience, Harry told himself. He would wait. He would earn Malfoy-no- Draco's trust. He would, however, document every single injury that he found, painstakingly. He had nearly ten pages written out, and he was only on his left hand and wrist.

He, Harry, would hunt them down the moment Draco gave him leave to. The cruelty and abuse that they did to him was beyond anything he had ever seen. Voldemort didn't stoop that low. He did send a very formalized letter to Ernie, Ron, Hermione and Kingsley about Parole Officer McGrath's conduct, his orders regarding potions and medical decisions, and his subsequent banning from the hospital.

While confused about the formal letter, all four responded, stating that he was going to be removed from his position, and his decisions and cases would be reviewed for criminal negligence. Harry figured they would eventually learn that Malfoy was the reason, but he didn't immediately volunteer that information. He would be grilled on it soon, but Draco was his patient, and he would respect that line of privacy.

He rubbed his eyes exhaustedly. Sleep was challenging for him. Hermione said he had PTSD and tried, at least once a week, to get him to go to a Mind Healer. He refused every time. He knew it wasn't just that. Besides, he never wanted another person in his head. He drank a cup of tea and followed it with an espresso shot for good measure.

He always visited Mal-Draco first. He was resolved to call him Draco unless he got upset with it. "Good morning, Draco," he announced as he entered.

Malfoy tensed up but stayed staring at the wall, silent, but that was usual ever since that first day.

"Ready for our morning healing session?" Harry asked.

Draco didn't respond unless you count trembling. Harry closed his eyes and double-checked his wrist. Everything seemed to be moving well. He then checked the elbow and upper arm and, after about an hour, he made it to the shoulder. He opened his eyes and Draco looked away. Harry knew that he was relieving a lot of his pain, but he didn't make fun of him for peeking.

"Draco, I'm going to have to adjust your shoulder. It's out of position. It will hurt a lot, but it will feel better afterward. I'm sorry about the pain. Okay?" he said, softly.

He didn't answer. Harry slowly popped it back in, and Draco's eyes teared up and he whimpered a little.

"That was the hard part. It will feel better soon," Harry said and healed the smaller fractures and tears. He guided the arm and shoulder through several rotations and stretches until the arm had full utility, despite muscle weakness. "Alright. Left arm down. I'll move on to your right one after lunch, okay?"

Nothing.

"Okay, then. See you later, Draco."

He turned and left, but felt Draco's eyes following him. He considered it progress. His next appointments were all outpatient ones, for things that were frankly minor, in comparison: a trick knee, severe arthritis and a shattered knee cap. All were done and dealt with by lunch, which Harry brought with him to Draco's room, with his paperwork.

"Sorry, working lunch and I thought that you'd want some company."

Draco didn't look at him or make a sound. Harry finished writing down Draco's injuries to his left arm, and then he closed the paperwork.

"Alright. Let's see how the right one does?" Harry said, coming around to Draco's right side. It was a lot harder for Draco's eyes to avoid him. He didn't want to turn toward the door, but he didn't want to make eye contact. Harry paused and considered his level of comfort.

"Draco? I'm going to move your bed to the other side of the room, okay?"

Draco looked at him for a second, and Harry physically rolled the bed to the other side of the room. Draco turned his head away toward his left and to the corner of the room. He relaxed a little, relieved.

"There you go," Harry whispered, and Draco gave him a glance, before looking at the wall. "Wouldn't want you to get a crick in your neck from looking right for so long, would I?"

Harry sat down, closed his eyes, again, and worked his fingers, one-by-one. There was a lot more damage to his right hand. He went past his hour and then another. The injuries were that bad.

"Healer Potter?" he barely heard. "Sir!"

He jerked his eyes open and looked behind him. "Yes?"

"It's umm... past time for your next appointment," the new floor warden said, hesitantly. He was afraid of him, still. Harry had at least asked for his name, though.

"Thank you, Joel. I'll be out shortly."

"Oh... umm... yes, Auror... I mean Healer Potter. I'm sorry that I interrupted you!" he ran out.

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. Draco looked at him, before looking at the wall, again.

"He's fresh out of Hogwarts. A first-year during the battle. I haven't decided if he's worried that I'll hex him or is just that starstruck. It's situations like these that I'm glad I didn't stay in the Auror program. They'll either be scared shitless of me or want to prove they're better by trying to kill me," he grunted and shivered at that gib reminder.

Draco glanced at him, with a confused expression.

"Yeah, yeah. You're probably laughing it up. Poor Harry Potter, too scared to be an Auror and deal with fanatics. No... I like it right here. No insane melomaniacs after me. No evil plots afoot. No blonde-haired wizards hassling me. Oh, wait...."

Draco managed to crack a smile, before straightening back out, like he realized that he shouldn't do that.

"I saw that, Draco. I'll be back. I want to finish your hand, today."

Draco watched him leave, again. Harry had to smile. Progress was progress, but he had to deal with his other appointments. It was past dinnertime by the time he came back. Joel was still trying to feed Malfoy, who wouldn't budge. Harry wasn't going to push Draco on that, yet, but every patient should have eaten by now. So, the only explanation was that they forgot him or Joel had been trying to get him to eat for nearly an hour.

"Come on. You have to eat," the warden said, with a spoon of potatoes in front of Malfoy's lips.

"Do you know the spell, Joel?" Harry growled. Draco immediately looked at him for help.

"Auror... Healer Potter... I... umm... yes... but... Healer Bones said that... he needs to eat," he said. Joel must have been in the trauma ward when Draco came in.

"I'm sure I made notes in the log stating that nutrient potions were fine right now. We don't force-feed patients."

"No! Of course, not... I just...."

"Was hassling a trauma patient under an Immobilization Charm? Read the chart instructions or get off my ward, understand?"

"Yes, sir! I'm sorry... I'll just...."

"Leave?"

"Yes, healer," he mumbled and took off.

Harry sighed and sat down next to Draco. "Sorry, got held up. You ever see a curse that switched the bones in someone's lower arm around? Weird. Get this... they never fixed it!" Harry exclaimed, and Draco glanced at him, confused, again, before looking away.

"Yep. They let it grow in place for years. So, what was a Spell Damage case is now mine. I had to remove the remodeling and torn tissue, first, and then I just Vanished the bones. Just like second year, huh?"

Draco smirked slightly, again. Harry was really starting to love that smirk.

"But yeah. Then Skele-gro... more than a swallow, too. He's in for a night. Serves the idiot, right. I'll fix the damage tomorrow."

He got right to it, taking Draco's frozen hand and working out each fracture. He counted them. Never thought he'd see a hand with over 200 half-healed breaks. It was beyond cruel. Whoever did it, did their best to make sure that Draco could never use it again. Luckily, Harry just happened to figure out how to heal such injuries. He was literally the only one. Draco would have been crippled for the rest of his life, if Harry's clinic didn't exist. It was that reason alone that Harry never regretted walking out of the Auror department.

"Well... I think that's sorted. Just like the left hand, Draco. I'm gonna take the charm, and you can practice flexing your fingers?"

Draco did just that, staring at his hand almost in wonder and, after looking at Harry, some tears started to well.

"You're welcome, Draco."

Draco's grey eyes stared back at him for almost a minute before returning to the safe corner. Harry had the nearly irresistible urge to touch him... to comfort him, but they weren't they, yet. Harry wasn't a teenager, anymore. He was twenty-five, now, and had learned patience.

"Well... we still got dinner to worry about. You're smart, Draco. You know that refusing to eat isn't going to get you anywhere, right?"

Draco didn't react.

"Is it just the indignity of being spoon-fed? I can understand that, and we will fix that issue soon."

Nothing.

Harry thought about it and then said, "Draco, I'm going to touch your jaw and face, okay?"

Draco's head turned toward him, surprised, but didn't resist as Harry's fingers pressed into his jaw. Harry was dismayed by what he found. Cracked teeth, exposed nerves and barely healed fractures.

"Well, that explains that. I won't be able to fix it right away. I'll have to Vanish the teeth and use Odont-gro. It doesn't mix well with the pain potions you're on. I'll finish your arms, and then we'll move on your neck and head, okay? I want to give you some freedom as soon as I can. I know the Immoblious Charm is restricting. I don't want you going stir crazy."

Draco just gave him a dead look and looked away.

Harry realized he stepped in that one. Draco had been restrained for a long time. He was used to it, but Harry didn't bring up that he knew what Draco had been through. Instead, he magicked the nutrient potion into his stomach and stood up.

"Do you want me to switch the bed back to the other side?"

No answer, but he was fine looking the other way, so Harry decided to leave him there.

"Well, goodnight, Draco. I will see you tomorrow."

Draco watched him leave, again.