Healing Draco Malfoy

Chapter 4

Published: 9/22/2020

"Bye, bye, Uncle' Arry," his "nephew" said, as he went through the floo to Grimmauld Place. Still looking as grim as ever. Kreacher had chosen to live at Hogwarts as the king house elf with the rest of the elves that Hermione's bill had freed. 

It was just him there and Harry knew he wasn't taking care of himself right. The place was trashed. The kitchen was filthy, and dirty clothes and trash was everywhere. He just couldn't get up the will to fix it. He poured himself a strong cup of firewhiskey and went to bed. He slept for a few hours and woke up before five. He cleaned up and Apparated to the hospital, as he wanted to start on his paperwork. Peaked in Draco's room and was relieved to find him awake.

"Morning. I figured I'd get some of my paperwork done. You believe that this is just two weeks' worth?"

Draco gave his pile a glance and went back to the corner. He was in the same position as the night before, arms crossed like a muggle vampire and shaking. Or was it shivering?

"It's a bit cold in here. Mornings are colder, the heating charms are a bit slow to start up."

Harry raised the room temperature and conjured a fluffy blanket to cover Draco's chest and bare arms. He tucked the blanket around him. Draco gave a content sigh.

"There you go," Harry said and then spotted the remote for the pillow charms. He grabbed it and pulled the blanket back to put it in Malfoy's hand.

Draco stared at him until he sat down and then did adjust his pillows. He wasn't going to use his arms anytime soon, Harry realized, but he would have to deal with that later. He wanted Draco to get comfortable. He started talking about his cases.

"So, that switched radius and ulna case? Afterward, he said that it felt weird. Really? Weird. Having bones out of place is normal, I guess. I had one case where instead of coming here... they went to a muggle hospital. You ever heard of pins? They used that to get the bones back in place. The wizard was like... I couldn't leave! I didn't think they were that bad! I really had to explain to him that muggles had no magic what-so-ever. Purebloods."

Draco snorted. Harry made brief eye contact with him.

"So, I could regale you with more of my exploits in healing, but would you want to hear about last night?"

Draco gave him a why-are-you-asking-me look in response... or possibly you're-fucking-crazy look.

"So... after I got an arse-chewing from Hermione for being late, Rose, Ron and Hermione's daughter, dumps her plate over Hugo, because she hates mashed peas. I'm trying to keep from laughing, Ron's helping Hermione settle down Rose and Hugo... that little guy, just grabs some peas out of his hair and eats it. Hermione flips out saying, "No... Hugo... only eat what's on the plate!" Then he starts crying when she Vanishes the food. She drops him in my lap and says, "Take care of him, will you, Harry."

"Hugo just loves me. I think because of my glasses. He takes them immediately and tries to eat them. He calls me Uncle 'Arry. Rose is a little too formal. Reminds me of Percy. I half expect her to call me Mr. Potter, sometimes. She is going to be a handful when she grows up. Pure Hermione with Ron's stubbornness, but Hugo's still a mystery, so far. He's such a cute little bit. Merlin, I do love them so much. Makes me wish I could have kids."

Draco tilted his head, interested, but still stubbornly determined not to talk.

Harry sighed. "Well, I guess you aren't about to run off to the Prophet, are you? But... I'm... well... Ginny and I broke up. I wasn't interested in doing... things... with her or any girl. Not really for girls anymore and quite frankly... any guy. I've been alone for too long. I can't talk to people, especially strangers. Most wizards run when they learn who I am."

Harry didn't want to look at Draco's expression, afraid that he would find him... repulsive, but after a few minutes of silence, he felt Draco's stare on him. Harry reminded himself that he was a Gryffindor and looked up. Draco was looking at him neutrally.

"I suppose it'll be... weirder now. But I will be completely professional, alright? I'm just healing you."

Draco stared at him.

"I can have Natalie or Joel stay in here, if you'd prefer some... supervision."

Draco shook his head.

"I do take my job seriously. I would never... do anything... inappropriate."

Draco nodded.

Harry felt anxious enough to ask. "You don't mind?"

He shook his head.

Harry sighed. "Thank you. Besides Hermione and Weasleys... no one else knows." 

Draco gave him a strange look, but a knock came. "Alright, Mr. Malfoy, time for your morning potions." Natalie came in with the cart. Draco's eyes went right to the corner. "Oh, Auror Potter... what are you doing here so early?"

"I'm getting caught up in my paperwork. I got yelled at yesterday."

"Oh... you know, Harry, you do have an office," she said and glanced at Draco.

"I don't usually have permanent residents either. I'm sure it's very boring for Draco to staying here alone."

"I think you're afraid of your office."

"Ha... I'm not afraid of nothing," he joked.

"It's that, or you just want to hide from everyone."

"You caught me."

She laughed and brought the cart around to Draco's other side, but he looked back toward Harry.

"Alright, Mr. Malfoy... here's your first one."

Draco tucked his head downward and wouldn't drink it.

"He's been like this for a couple days, now. I've had to feed him via wand."

"Really? Why don't you leave the potions? I'll handle it."

"Fine with me. If he doesn't get them, it's on you," she said and left the room. Draco turned back to him as soon as she left. He didn't exactly look at him in the eyes.

Harry lifted the potions and examined them. "The Restorative Draught will heal your muscles, it has a nice green color and herbal scent," Harry said and popped the cork. He smelled it and nodded in approval. Then he held it out for Draco to smell.

He looked surprised but smelled it.

"You were better at Potions then I, right? It looks brewed, correctly, I think." Harry then did the same to the other potions: describing what they are, what they are for and what they are supposed to look and smell like. Then he let Draco see them. Trust was crucial to their relationship, and Draco probably just didn't feel safe because he didn't know what he was taking and why he was taking it. He also couldn't, or wouldn't, ask questions.

"So, that's why I prescribed these to you. Potions can be temperamental to magic, you know... better to be taken orally. Nutrient Potions are a bit of a wash... they've been transported into stomachs for years with no undue effect. The Restorative Draught... can turn more acidic. Not sure if you have studied those effects specifically, but it's definitively a stressed subject here."

Draco met his eyes, and Harry could almost see how grateful he was just for the information.

"I'm sorry, I didn't go over this sooner. I was more focused on your pain relief, then explaining your treatment plan."

Draco raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Harry explained how he would repair his limbs first, then his chest, back and hips. All were severely damaged and, if he wasn't paralyzed at that particular moment, he'd be in agony. The healers in the trauma ward repaired his veins and arteries, but the muscle damage was significant. It would take about a month just to heal his bones and another to finish the muscle damage. Harry explained that he would have to stay another to learn to walk, again, unless he had someone to care for him.

Draco stared at him as he talked. He was listening.

"But you will make a full recovery, Draco. It will take several months to get your muscles up to full strength, but you could be playing quidditch with the best of them by next year. Pain free."

Draco blinked and Harry could see his eyes get a little misty. He knew that Draco had been in constant pain for years, from new and old wounds. The fact that he was in the hospital for over a week without any pain potions, not screaming, was a testament to how much agony Draco could endure. Draco turned and looked at the wall. The emotions were overpowering.

"I'm going to take care of you, Draco. I'm so sorry that you went through this for so long," he said and wanted to touch Draco's arm, but he still had them clenched to his chest like a safety blanket. It was still too soon. He put his hand on the bed next to Draco, instead.

Harry waited a bit longer and said, "That being said... I said that I could fix your jaw and teeth today, but the pain potion would clash with the Odont-gro. Do you want to do that today?"

Draco gave him a cautious look and nodded.

"Okay, will you take your other potions, then?"

He nodded, and Harry brought a vial to his mouth and he opened it. Harry carefully poured it, allowing Draco to swallow it in small increments. It took several minutes, but Draco drank them all.

"Alright... I'll save you tasting the Odont-gro. It was made magic-stable for that reason, but that will be after we are done. It won't be pleasant, but it will be over when I come in for our last session. I'm also going to have to touch your face and head. Is that okay?"

Draco glanced at him and nodded.

"I'll be keeping my eyes closed. I don't expect the pain to increase, but it'll feel a little sharp when I sever the nerve endings before I Vanish the broken teeth."

Malfoy didn't respond, and Harry moved to the top of his head, again. He closed his eyes and blindly found his jaw. He fixed the more painful breaks and then removed the nerve endings and Vanished all his broken teeth. Almost everything was gone. Holy fuck... Harry realized that Draco had mostly broken his own teeth clenching down in agony. He almost cried, just feeling the remnants of Draco's pain.

It took an hour, but he finished with the "extractions". Hermione's parents would be horrified at what he had done. He then spent another hour fixing his jaw, cheek and nose. He was deep into the bones when a loud knock came. He nearly poked Draco in the eye.

"What?" he growled.

"Sorry, sir... I just... your morning appointments? They're almost an hour behind," Joel said, quietly.

"Oh... sorry. I was distracted. Joel, can you tell Natalie he needs a goblet of Odont-gro. Magic administration. You got it?"

"Yes, sir!" he said and ran away.

"Sorry, I got to run. I tend to lose track of time. You feeling okay?" he asked, and Draco was swishing his mouth awkwardly.

"Don't worry. It'll be back to normal in a few hours or I'll hamstring Joel. I'll be back at lunch."

Draco's eyes went to the corner and Harry bumped into Natalie coming in. "He can't take the pain one until night, okay?"

She nodded and Harry went through his morning appointments relatively quickly, grabbed lunch from the cafeteria and took it back to Draco's room. He sat down just as Natalie finished giving Draco his nutrient potions.

"Are they starting to break through? It has a built-in pain relief, so it should numb that area."

Draco nodded. He was still leaning back, with his arms pressed to his chest. Harry checked his temp. He seemed warm, so he lowered the Warming Charms.

"Still got your remote? Yeah, I see it. Alright... want to hear about my healer training days while I eat? Yeah, of course, you do."

Harry saw Draco smirk and he launched into his greatest escapades: dodging fangirl interns, crazy dementia patients, children with face paint supplies and becoming a member of Lockhart's fan club.

"Of course, when I showed up to rounds, the face paint was still on, and the witch supervisor was so torn to yell at me or let me keep it on. She openly propositioned me every time I saw her, back then. She let me wander around the whole Spell Damage floor, and all the patients were so confused. One asked me if I was qualified to be a healer if I couldn't even heal myself. I told her that the face paint helped me see wrackspurts in her head. I got written up for that. The first of many."

Draco had smiled many times throughout his 온라인카지노게임, and his grey eyes often looked at him, drifting to the corner less and less. Harry wanted to spend all his time here. The more he spent here, the better Draco responded. Harry wondered by the end of his treatments if they could be talking. He finished up healing his face and the smaller muscles. Harry didn't ask but pressed his fingertips into his temples.

Draco gasped out in relief as Harry fixed the microfractures around his head that were most likely causing him headaches. Harry went deeper than he never had before and gently healed the bruising on the inside of his skull, too. He had always been wary of going into the brain too much, so he stopped himself from going further. Eventually, his magic was at its limit, and he slowly let go of Draco.

Harry was shaking from that effort. His magic had limits, and two hours of healing without stopping was stretching it.

"Okay, everything feeling okay?" he asked, coming to the side and looked at Draco, who looked up into his eyes for almost a minute, until he looked away.

Joel knocked and opened the door. "Healer Potter?"

"Yes, I'm coming," he said, and Joel left. "I'll be back before your dinner to fix the rest. I only have a few minor healing appointments."

Harry sorted the appointments in a quick, succinct fashion. He also swung by Mental Health to see where they stood. Head Mind Healer Higgs was appalled that he would even suggest his healers try to help the Death Eater after what happened to their last healer. When Harry said that they had a duty to help him, the boar replied that it ended when Malfoy attacked his healer. Harry pointed out that if they just talked to him and not used Legilimency, they would be completely safe. The prick told him that he had no idea what he was talking about and that was the proper way to do it.

Harry told him he was a stuffed-up windbag, who probably wanks to the sound of his voice. He had to casually deflect the curse sent at him, and anticipated another complaint to the head. But he stopped outside of Draco's room and watched him for a few minutes to calm down. His head was turned toward the wall, again. Harry wasn't sure why he did it, but social awkwardness was not it. It was like he needed to avoid people's eyes.

"Harry?"

He turned to Natalie. "Yes?"

"Are you alright? I've never seen you so... discombobulated. Missing appointments, yelling at other healers... are you alright?" she asked, and he shrugged. "It's him, isn't it? Harry... what happened to him... doesn't have anything to do with you. You spoke at his trial, you got his sentence reduced."

"I don't blame myself," he said, though thought that he should have checked on him at least.

"Then why are you working yourself up over him? He's just another patient."

He's not, Harry thought. "I'm taking his injuries seriously, because he didn't deserve what happened."

"Harry, you've been working fourteen-to-sixteen-hour days since he got here. You've been wearing yourself to exhaustion healing him. I've never seen you talk to anyone as much as him."

"He's in pain, Natalie."

She stared at him. "People... staff are talking. I understand that you are healing him. But... he's marked, Harry. Most healers want nothing to do with people like him, and you're giving him priority."

He had to remind himself that she didn't know Draco's full list of injuries and what he had gone through. They all assumed that everything had to do with being a jumper... and a Death Eater. "He has massive trauma all over his body, Natalie."

"You were in there this morning just talking to him, and now you're fixing his teeth, aren't you? That's a voluntary procedure...one he should pay for."

"Natalie, if there is something that you think he needs to be billed for, I will pay for it."

"Harry! Don't you see that there is a problem here? He's not your friend."

"I know him, Natalie."

"I know him to Harry. He's Draco Malfoy... the worst bully at Hogwarts, a marked Death Eater and convicted criminal."

"He saved my life, Natalie."

"I-what?" she said, staring at him.

"During the war? He didn't sell me out to his parents, to the Death Eaters. He looked at me right in the eyes and denied it was me. I don't care if it takes months, I will heal him because it's the right thing to do."

He left her in the hall and walked into Draco's room. He moved the bed to the other side of the room, again. Didn't need his neck getting sore. He finished healing his jaw, sitting next to him. Draco stared at him the whole time, though Harry's eyes were closed. When he was done healing and straightening, he held up the mirror for Draco to see them. He looked and smiled at him with his new teeth. It was definitely worth it.