Draco woke up screaming. It was like his leg was on fire, every nerve was burning. He just caught a glimpse of a mass of brown curls before everything went black.
When he woke up again, he was in considerably less pain. He gingerly opened his eyes, and recognised his bedroom in the Manor. His green satin sheets were soaked in sweat, and he felt strange. Drowsy, like he’d been asleep for a long time. He was wearing grey joggers and a black t-shirt, and his hair felt like it hadn’t been washed in far too long. Looking around the room, he noticed several empty potions bottles on the dresser, and a chair that he was sure he hadn’t kept in here before. He rubbed his eyes, and sat up against the headboard.
On the bedside table were two potions, a pile of letters, and a glass of water. The potions were labelled pepper-up and pain potion, so he downed both, trusting that as he was in his own house, he wasn’t about to be poisoned. Immediately feeling better, he sipped the water and opened the first letter on the pile.
Malfoy,
I’m not sure how much you will remember, but please know that you are safe, as is Scorpius.
He looked up. His son. How had he forgotten his son? He tried to get out of bed, but his legs weren’t cooperating. Skimming the letter to see who it was from, he read the word ‘Granger’, and relaxed slightly. He couldn’t remember why at that exact moment, but he knew he trusted the witch, and if she said Scorp was ok, then he was ok. He continued to read.
You have been in an induced coma for seven months. There was a quidditch accident, you fell. You were in Mungo’s for a period, before they sent you home to recover. Two weeks ago, you woke up screaming, and I sedated you. I’m sorry you woke up in pain, that was my fault. I hadn’t given you your pain potion that day, but in my defence, the healers hadn’t expected you to wake up yet. And people say I’m an overachiever.
We all have been taking care of Scorpius whilst you’ve been asleep. I know how particular you are, so I have documented everything you’ve missed and everyone he’s seen in that time. I am assuming you will wake up properly in the next few days (as I am writing this) and so I have left all of this in your room for you to read so you don’t panic. At no point have you been alone in your house, and there will currently be someone with you. I can’t say who, as I am not a seer and you know how much I hate Divination. On the balance of good old dependable probability, however, it is most likely me. I sort of took charge of your care once you were home. I hope that’s ok. Theo offered, but we wanted you to actually survive, so we all agreed it was best I did it.
Have a look through Scorp’s various misadventures. He’s missed you terribly, but I believe we’ve done an alright job of keeping him happy in your absence. If you need anything, call for Mifty. I wouldn’t usually encourage such things, but needs must. Don’t try to walk, your leg isn’t 100% yet. I mean it, Malfoy, don’t be a stubborn arse about it. I’ve worked too hard nursing you back to health for you to mess it all up the second you wake up. I’ve got your wand, too, just in case you decide to be an utter fool.
If you haven’t already, take the potions. I brewed them myself, and then they were checked by Mifty who still doesn’t trust me, even after all this time.
I’m glad you’re ok, Draco. - Granger x
Though she had a fairly violent way of showing it, it was nice to hear that Granger cared about him. That she’d looked after him, and his son, for all this time just because she felt she needed to. It made his heart feel funny, and he pushed that away quickly, picking up the stack of parchment instead. He immediately recognised the almost illegible scrawl of his best friend.
Dearest Moron,
You promptly dropped off your broom like a first year a few days before Halloween, and were in Mungo’s for six weeks before we dragged your useless, attention seeking arse home. Find inside meticulously organised notes on Scorp’s life. Granger put this together, if you hadn’t already gathered, so be prepared for a ridiculous amount of detail. I mean honestly, who has this kind of time on their hands? She’s the busiest witch I’ve ever met in my life. Does the woman even sleep? Who the fuck knows. Anyway, she didn’t get the schedule together until after you were home in mid December, so that is where our story begins.
Happy reading. Glad you didn’t die, mate. - Theo
He chuckled, and flipped over the page, things becoming clearer as the fog lifted from his brain as he woke up properly.
Accident - 28th October
St Mungo’s - 28th October to 10th December (Scorp stayed with Narcissa and Hermione during this time, Theo took up residency by your bedside in hospital and doesn’t want you to know that he did that)
Monday 18th December
Hermione stayed the night, and then did Scorp’s lessons with him. Pansy and Blaise took him to the muggle park to see them putting up the Christmas lights. Pansy stayed the night.
Tuesday 19th December
Pansy ignored Scorp’s lessons and let him colour instead. Narcissa and Scorp decorated for Christmas. Narcissa stayed the night.
Wednesday 20th December
Narcissa did Scorp’s lessons with him. Theo and Hermione took Scorp for a walk in the woods in the snow. Hermione stayed the night.
Thursday 21st December
Hermione did Scorp’s lessons with him, and caught him up on what Pansy didn’t do on Tuesday. Blaise made Christmas cookies with Scorp. Blaise stayed the night.
Friday 22nd December
Blaise did Scorp’s lessons with him. Everyone came round and Hermione introduced them to muggle movies. Theo stayed the night (and ate all of the cookies, which makes me wonder if that was why he offered to stop in the first place)
Saturday 23rd December
Narcissa took Scorp Christmas shopping. He insisted on getting everyone a present, including you. It’s still wrapped in your wardrobe. Hermione stayed the night. (Note- Scorp has now decided the present is for your birthday instead.)
Sunday 24th December
Hermione and Scorp made snowmen in the garden, and had a snowball fight. Hermione lost. Scorp sat with you for the rest of the day. Hermione and Narcissa stayed the night.
Monday 25th December
Everyone came round for Christmas. We all wished you could have been there. Everyone stayed the night.
And so it went on. There were pages and pages in Granger’s neat handwriting of everything his son had done in the last seven months. He realised he was crying, and wiped away his tears. It was maybe a little neurotic, but it was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for him. Every single one of his friends had stepped up for his son without question, and had ensured that he was happy and still had fun, even with his father incapacitated. He had no idea how he was meant to repay them for such kindness. He’d pour over every date at some point, but he skipped a few months to see how they’d gotten on as time went on. It was easy to be enthusiastic around Christmas, especially with a child like Scorpius.
Monday 11th March
Pansy did Scorp’s lessons with him, having finally accepted this to be important. Throwing aside the colouring he was given, Scorp watched with rapt attention as Hermione brewed your potions. Like father, like son. Blaise stayed the night.
Tuesday 12th March
Blaise did Scorp’s lessons with him. Narcissa took Scorp for a walk around the Manor grounds, and they hand fed the peacocks. Mifty isn’t pleased at this job being taken from her, but Scorp enjoyed it too much to say no. Narcissa stayed the night.
Wednesday 13th March
Narcissa did Scorp’s lessons with him. Theo, without a discernible reason, and without telling anyone about it, dropped Scorp off with Harry Potter. Harry then looked after Scorp for six hours, until Hermione was informed as to his whereabouts and picked him up. Theo spent the night in Mungo’s due to a hex causing ‘minor disfigurement’. Hermione stayed the night. (Harry has written you a letter about their day together.)
He burst out laughing. At the time, he probably would have been livid, but reading about it now, he could just picture Theo incurring Granger’s wrath. She seemed to have taken on his protective streak whilst he’d been asleep, and he appreciated it more than anything. He shook his head incredulously as he picked up the letter from Potter.
Malfoy,
About ten minutes ago, Theo Nott barged in through my floo, passed me your son, said, and I quote, “Here, hold that for me.”, and then apparated away. Mione’s mentioned your condition to me, as I asked why she was constantly in your house at all hours, so I’m going to assume that there has been some sort of emergency and they need someone, anyone, to watch the kid. He's safe here, I promise. Whatever’s happened between us doesn’t affect your son. Plus Mione seems to like you these days, and I’ll always trust her judgement. He’s playing with Ted on the floor with his trains as I write this. That’s Teddy Lupin, Andromeda’s grandson, he lives with me. Your…cousin? I have neither the time nor the desire to consult the Black family tapestry right now so we’ll go with that. Maybe I’ll show Scorpius that later, he’s probably on there, right?
Hello again. It’s been three hours, and I am still in possession of your boy. Kreacher, the elf that came with Grimmauld, is beside himself that there’s a proper member of ‘the noble and most ancient house of Black’ here for him to look after. Even Walburga has shut up for once. Her portrait is here, permanently attached to the wall, and she screams bloody murder all of the time, but as soon as she knew Scorpius was here, she’s a different woman. Do you think I could borrow him more often? It’s nice to be able to hear myself think. I showed Scorpius the tapestry. He pointed at you and then your mother and did some very thorough clapping. I showed him that he was on there too, as well as Astoria, but he just looked confused. I guess he’s too young to understand. If you want this tapestry, by the way, you’re welcome to it. Or perhaps you could come round one evening and we’ll burn the thing in the garden. Your choice.
Hermione just took Scorpius home. I fear this may be the end of Nott, she was not happy. Oddly enough, I quite enjoyed looking after your son. He is absolutely nothing like you, so perhaps that’s why. I figured we’re both a bit thin on the ground for family, so if you wanted to meet Teddy properly, or Andromeda even, then I’m sure they’d be pleased to see you. Scorpius really enjoyed playing with his cousin(?) today, he was as mesmerised as everyone usually is by the kid’s changing hair colour (he’s a metamorphmagus like his mother, I don’t know if you know that).
If you need me to watch Scorpius again, you know where to find me. I hope you get better soon, Malfoy. I think it comes as a surprise to both of us that I actually mean that.
I hope you know how much you owe Hermione.
All the best - Harry Potter
Well, who knew Potter had such a sense of humour? He knew he’d need to thank the man at some point. Gods, that would hurt him more than his leg did. He looked back at Granger’s parchment, pondering how best to swallow his pride.
Thursday 14th March
Hermione picked up Theo from Mungo’s, and they did Scorp’s lessons with him. Scorp said he had a nice time with Harry and Teddy, so Hermione has forgiven Theo. Theo refuses to reveal his reasons for the surprise visit, but he seems to have developed a strong interest in Harry. I’m a little concerned that he only did it to give him a reason to start seeing Harry more regularly. If this is the case, I will be hexing him again. Hermione stayed the night.
Friday 15th March
Hermione did Scorp’s lessons with him. Pansy took Scorp to the park. Whilst they are out, she sees Theo and Harry on what appears to be a date. Blaise stayed the night, as Pansy wanted to see Hermione hexing Theo again.
Theo and Potter? Annoyingly, it made a certain amount of sense. It was an odd feeling, wondering if they were still together or not, after having learnt about them so late on. He assumed he’d missed Scorp’s birthday, so skipped forward to find that, seeing that it was only a few weeks ago.
Monday 13th May
Theo did Scorp’s lessons with him. Narcissa took Scorp to see Astoria. Narcissa stayed the night.
Tuesday 14th May
Hermione cancelled lessons for the rest of the week. Hermione took Scorp to the muggle museum to see the dinosaurs. Pansy stayed the night.
Wednesday 15th May
Pansy and Blaise made pancakes with Scorp for breakfast. Blaise played with Scorp for the rest of the day. Teddy’s gotten him hooked on trains. Theo stayed the night.
Thursday 16th May
Theo and Harry took Scorp and Teddy to the park. Narcissa and Hermione stayed the night, after staying up late decorating.
Friday 17th May
Blaise made pasta the muggle way with Scorp for his birthday tea. Harry brought Teddy round. Narcissa wrote to Andromeda, asking if you could all meet once you wake up. Scorp got a broom, and the boys went flying in the garden.
There’s a second note in different handwriting, Theo’s it looked like.
Granger became completely unhinged at the prospect of Scorp flying, and refused to let us take him any higher than three feet. She stood watch the entire time, fucking wand drawn, and didn’t relax until she’d personally locked the bloody broom in the shed. Even with Potter here, she didn’t trust us. Good luck getting your son back when you wake up, mate. The witch makes a hell of a cake, though. Seriously, you missed out.
Potter was right. He really did owe Granger. For looking after him, for how fiercely protective of his son she’d been, all of it. Fuck. He skipped a few days, and spotted the entry he was looking for.
Monday 20th May
You woke up screaming, Hermione sedated you. Scorp didn’t leave your side for the rest of the day. Hermione stayed the night.
Granger had said that was two weeks ago, making today June 3rd. Two days before his birthday. He flipped to the last week, to see what had happened since they’d found out he would be waking soon. He was surprised to see Blaise’s handwriting instead of Granger’s.
Monday 27th May
Blaise took over the note taking as Granger started brewing every healing potion under the sun and was about to have a breakdown. Scorp spent the day with Theo, Potter, and Teddy. Granger stayed the night.
Tuesday 28th May
Pansy took Granger to the spa to try and relax her a bit. Scorp had a boys day that definitely didn’t involve Potter breaking the broom out of the shed by dismantling Granger’s wards. Cissa went to see Andromeda and Teddy. Granger stayed the night.
Wednesday 29th May
Cissa took Scorp to see Astoria. Theo lured Granger from the potions lab by finally letting her into the Nott Library. She wasn’t seen again for four hours. Granger stayed the night.
Thursday 30th May
Pansy and Scorp organised your wardrobe. Granger went through the bin later and put some of it back. Granger stayed the night.
Friday 31st May
Blaise and Scorp made the world’s best apple pie. Blaise forced Granger to go home. Blaise stayed the night.
Saturday 1st June
Pansy, Blaise, Theo, and Scorp looked through some old photos Cissa found. Scorp disapproved of your hair in first year, and said that Potter and Granger seem like better friends than Vince and Greg. How times change, eh? There’s an excellent one of you ogling Granger at the Yule Ball whilst Pansy looks royally pissed off. I think you should frame it. Pansy stayed over.
Sunday 2nd June
Blaise, Granger and Scorp planned your birthday cake. It’s going to be quite the affair. I wasn’t previously aware you were such a big fan of these muggle dinosaur things, but Scorp assures me you are, so who am I to argue? I couldn’t get her to go home, so Granger stayed over.
So it was Granger that was here. Old reliable probability, indeed.
“Mifty?” He called, and the elf popped into the room, her face a picture of excitement.
“Master Draco! Master Draco is awake! Oh, Mifty is so pleased. It has been so long without Master Draco. Too long.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of everything, Mifty. I’m really grateful.”
The elf sighed. “It was not just Mifty, Master Draco, as much as Mifty is not wanting to admit it. Miss Hermione is being here all of the time, insisting Mifty does not do everything alone.”
Draco chuckled. “You don’t like her?”
“Mifty is knowing of Miss Hermione’s plans to free house elves. Mifty does not want to leave Master Draco, even if Miss Hermione keeps giving Mifty knitted things.” She grimaced slightly, and Draco smiled.
“Nobody is making you leave, Mifty. She just wants to make sure you’re happy and get breaks from working so hard.”
“But Mifty is already taking breaks! Like Master Draco told Mifty to! Miss Hermione would not listen to Mifty.”
“I’ll let her know to stop bothering you about it, ok? Is she here now? And Scorpius?”
“Young Master Scorpius and Miss Hermione are making a mess of Master Draco’s kitchen, making biscuits for Master Draco’s birthday.”
“Could you let them know I’ve woken up? If you’re not already busy?”
“Mifty will go straight away! Master Scorpius is impatient for Master Draco to be waking for a very long time.” The elf popped away, and he ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t really sure why, they’d both seen him asleep in whatever state he’d been in for seven months, but he was nothing if not a bit vain.
He grinned as he heard his son stampeding up the stairs. The door flew open, and there was his boy, covered in flour and wearing a green apron, beaming like a kid on Christmas.
“Daddy! I knew you’d be awake soon, I told you Mione! I told you!” He turned to Granger, who was hovering in the hall, wringing her hands. “Can we go in?” He asked her, and she took his hand.
“You need to be careful, Scorp, ok? He’s still getting better.” She lifted him onto the bed, and Draco wrapped an arm around his son. “I’ll, er, just-” She cut herself off and practically sprinted from the bedroom, leaving a very bemused Draco staring at the place she’d just been standing.
“Are you ok, Daddy?” Scorp asked, and he looked at his son.
“Of course I am, Scorp. I’ve been reading about everything you’ve gotten up to whilst I was asleep. Did you have fun with everyone?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “They’re the best! Mione is my best friend, which made Theo a bit sad, but I didn’t want to lie. It’s ok though, because he has Harry and Teddy to cheer him up. Now you’re awake, does that mean I can meet Grandma’s sister? Grandma wanted to take me already, but Mione wouldn’t let her. She said it was your choice, and because we couldn’t ask you if it was ok, we couldn’t go.”
“If you want to go, Scorp, then we can. It was nice of Mione to wait until I was awake though.”
“She’s the nicest! She makes all of your medicine, and she’s really really good at it. Is that why you woke up? Because she fixed you?”
“Yeah, I think it probably is. Hey, you were in the middle of biscuit making, why don’t you go and carry on, get Mifty to help you. I’ll work out a way to get downstairs, if you could send Mione up here again? I need to talk to her about something.”
“Ok, Daddy! I’m glad you’re awake again. I missed you lots.” He crushed him in probably the best hug Draco had ever been given, and disappeared out of the door without another word. He shook his head, glad that his son hadn’t changed much. He’d always had the biggest heart, and most caring nature, and it made Draco so proud of him.
“Hi.” Granger said, sticking her head round the door. “Are you ok?”
“I am. Are you ok? You ran off.”
“Oh, I figured you’d want to catch up with Scorp. Did you read the notes?”
“I did. This-” He waved the stack of parchment. “-is the work of a woman that is entirely ridiculous, and I am eternally grateful to her. Seriously, Granger, you didn’t have to do this for me.”
She perched on the end of the bed, carefully avoiding his legs. “I did. I don’t know why, I just…I just needed to know that Scorp was alright. He would have been with the others, I know that, but I had to make sure for myself.”
“Do the others know? About us?”
She smiled shyly. “They don’t. I didn’t know if you wanted me to tell anyone.”
“We went on two dates before I fell off that broom. That was enough for you to decide you needed to upend your entire life to make sure my son was properly cared for. It’s more than enough for me to want to tell people about you. If you’re still interested, that is. I don’t want to assume you waited around for me.”
“Assume I waited? Malfoy, I’ve spent seven months losing my bloody mind about you. You’ve read the notes, you know they had to force me to go home. I would have stayed every night otherwise.”
“I don’t really know where to start. I mean, you’ve done just so so much. How am I supposed to repay you for that? How am I supposed to repay any of you?” He looked at her incredulously as she smiled.
“Ah, that’s the thing. You don’t have to. We’re your friends, you don’t owe us a thing. We’ve all loved spending so much time with Scorpius.”
He shook his head again, before a thought popped into his head. “Oh, you have to tell me about Theo and Potter. Is that really a thing?”
“Mm. It’s deeply upsetting. Truly, you’ve never seen two people so disgustingly in love. They’re barely apart anymore, it’s like they’ve merged into one hideous mass of PDA.” She gestured with her hands and he grimaced.
“Should I go back to sleep then?”
She smiled. “Probably for the best. It’ll save your eyes.”
“I do need my eyes. How else would I get to look at you?”
“Merlin, that was horrendous. Yeah, I’m done. I’m going. All the best, Malfoy.” She stood up, and he grabbed her wrist and yanked her down onto the bed next to him. She curled into him as Scorpius had, and he rested his head on top of hers.
“Thank you, Hermione. For all of it. I don’t deserve you.”
“Probably not. But you have me, so you’re just going to have to deal with it.” She replied. They stayed like that for a moment before he spoke again.
“Have you got a way for me to leave this room? Surely your brilliant brain has something planned.”
“I might have thought about it once or twice. It’s a muggle invention, though.” She looked up at him warily. He huffed and rolled his eyes.
“Muggles made you, and I like you well enough. I’m sure it’s fine.”
“You can’t complain about it, alright? Your leg is still growing, you absolutely cannot stand on it, however frustrated you get.” She said firmly, and he laughed.
“You have quite an aggressive bedside manner, you know that?”
“You love it, really.”
“And if I did? What would you say?” He looked at her and she smiled.
“I’d say you’ve just woken up from a coma and your brain is clearly addled.”
“We’ll revisit that at a later date then.”
“I’ll hold you to it.” She replied, lifting his arm off her and moving to his wardrobe, grabbing two long poles with handles sticking out of them. “These are your crutches.” She explained.
“Granger, I hate to disappoint you, but that isn’t really a solely muggle invention. I’ve seen them before.” He smirked, and she rolled her eyes. She ducked out into the hall and returned pushing a chair that seemed to have wheels instead of legs. He frowned and she grinned.
“This is a wheelchair, and it definitely is a muggle invention. You sit, I push. Or you can push yourself once you get the hang of it.” She said, before she faltered slightly. “It’s…not going to be an easy road for you. You really did a thorough job of shattering your leg.”
He shrugged. “It’ll get better eventually. I’ll just have to hope you’re willing to stick around to help a while longer.”
“Just try and get rid of me.” She grinned, and he returned the expression.
A few days later, he sat at the head of the dining room table, the chair replaced with his wheelchair, Scorp to his left, Hermione to his right, as his friends all sang him ‘happy birthday’. Theo was obnoxiously loud, as he always was, but Draco was rarely annoyed by much anymore. Not after he’d realised how close he’d come to never experiencing any of it again. Blaise passed Scorp a piece of cake that was ridiculously large, and Pansy laughed as Draco and Hermione pulled similar disapproving expressions. Potter was with Teddy, Andromeda, and Narcissa towards the other end of the table, and as Draco sat back and just allowed the chatter to wash over him, he realised that this was not a room of his friends. It was a room of family.
He reached for Hermione’s hand and squeezed gently as she smiled at him. Even if he hated his wheelchair a bit and his leg kept him up at night, he was oddly grateful for the whole ordeal, because it had opened his eyes to just how lucky a bastard he was. He intended to let every single person in that room know just how much they meant to him - loudly, openly, and often. Well, apart from Potter, maybe. He’d broken his leg, not had a personality transplant.