Cursed

Xenophilius Lovegood accompanied his daughter to St. Mungo’s the next day, curious to see what had her so happy and excited.  They joined Jack and Ianto for lunch, and as Ianto spoke, the older wizard marveled at his daughter’s friend’s survival.  He surprised Jack, because even though he stared at Ianto with a startling intensity, it was not because he was searching for Neville.  Rather, he seemed to be memorizing Ianto, taking in each feature and committing it to memory.  Jack decided he was willing to overlook the man’s… quirks, just for that.

Luna and Jack helped Ianto relay the full story, and from there they all worked on the outline of what the Quibbler article would include.  It took several hours, and Ianto nodded off for a while, but Xenophilius took notes and circled back to get his approval on what was discussed and decided while he slept.  By the time their dinner trays arrived, the older wizard had a clear idea of the article to be written, and they had all agreed on the outline.

***

Ianto was taking a bit longer than expected to recover from the fever.  He continued to sleep a great deal over the next few days.  Jack spent the time alternating between Torchwood paperwork, a well-worn paperback edition of one of his favorite books, and watching his beloved sleep.  Those who knew him best would have been surprised that this suited him.  But he’d not had a break in a very long time, and he’d never admit it, but he still didn’t feel fully recovered from Abaddon and the Year.  So it was a bit of a boon that Jack felt the benefits of the mandated downtime, as well.

The severity of Ianto’s reaction to the dragon’s blood potion had not been a surprise, precisely, but Bill and Susan realized they had been overly ambitious in expecting Ianto to recover in the original timeframe they had discussed.  Before the ordeal, they had hoped to be able to release Ianto from hospital sometime over the weekend; that expectation was to be disappointed as Ianto continued to sleep.

It was late Saturday afternoon when a soft knock was followed by Susan, who led Luna and Xenophilius into the room.  “Visitors!” she announced brightly, then blinked.  “Oh.”

“Hello, Susan,” Jack smiled up at her from his book.  He’d been sat up in the bed, leaned against the headboard, reading.  He looked down at Ianto and then back up at her.  “Ianto’s doing one of his better impressions of a blanket,” he gave his lover a fond look that had Susan smiling.

At first, she had not realized what she was seeing; but Jack was correct, Ianto was draped over him like a lap rug, with his arms wrapped around Jack’s middle and his head lying on the older man’s chest, looking for the world like he was listening to his heart.

(He was.)

It was a sweet sight, and she was almost sad when Jack ran his hand through Ianto’s hair as he set aside his book.  “Wake up, Love,” he whispered, curling down to kiss the top of his lover’s head.

It took a few moments, but Ianto managed to waken enough to head to the ensuite to avail himself of the facilities and wash his face.  He was much more alert when he came out, turning to let Jack help him into his dressing gown.  As he turned back, Jack took a good look at his sleepy countenance and was so charmed that all he could do was lean in and kiss Ianto with a tenderness that had the others in the room feeling as though they were intruding upon an incredibly intimate moment.

Ianto’s right hand had come up to cup Jack’s cheek as Jack’s left hand landed on Ianto’s hip.  His right hand gently grasped Ianto’s left elbow, to support him.  He felt Ianto’s left hand clasping his forearm in an effort to steady himself.  They made a lovely picture, and as their lips slowly parted and they looked at one another, the sweet smile that passed between them had the others happily joining in.

In the next moment, the spell was broken.  With a mild jolt, Ianto either remembered or realized they were not alone in the room.  He stepped back unsteadily, and Jack greeted their visitors effusively, giving Ianto the chance to collect himself.

They were both surprised to see that in just two days Xenophilius had produced a proof draft of his article that was ready for them to read and critique.  He was pretty sure it was close to the final draft, but there were things Ianto might want to add or remove, and he wanted to give the younger man that level of choice in what was, after all, his own story.

Ianto sat down, and Jack made sure he was comfortable before Xenophilius brought out a stack of parchment.  Normally he would write on one long scroll, but he felt writing on several separate sheets and leaving plenty of room in the margins would make it easier to edit, if necessary.

Once Ianto was settled and Jack had stopped fussing about with socks and blankets and pillows to be sure the younger man was comfortable, Xenophilius handed him the stack of papers.  Jack handed him a pencil, but Ianto declined, saying he wanted to give it a full read-through before thinking about possible edits.  Jack was pleased when Ianto handed him the first page after perusing it.

It was a brilliant piece, skillfully riding that fine line between over-disclosure and providing sufficient information to shut down further enquiry.  Ianto was quite pleased with the result, though there were points he wanted to revisit and think through, once he finished the first read.

They had decided it would be best to exclude the name Ianto Jones and the fact that he was Welsh, so all references were to Neville Longbottom.  The article began by describing how the Carrows had ambushed Neville in his own flat.  It explained how he had fought back, but it had been in vain.  The torture was alluded to, but not described.  The changes to his appearance and the unicorn blood had to be disclosed, along with vague references to the numerous other curses, including the one that had left him spellbound.

This much had already been leaked and mis-reported, so there was no point in denying it and every reason to set the record straight.  The article also tangentially referred to the underhand practice engaged in by the Daily Prophet and the corrupt Ministry official that had made the Quibbler’s article necessary much sooner than Neville’s Healers would have preferred.  It was an elegant and scathing indictment that was meant to shame the guilty and outrage those who didn’t even realize that their own hunger for such an outlandish tale was part of the problem.

Neville’s new face was not described in any detail; nor would any new pictures be included with the article.  However, the one concession Xenophilius had convinced Ianto to make was to reference the fact that the wizarding world had seen his new face as that of the man heading up the resistance during the Lost Year.

At first, Ianto had been adamantly opposed to the disclosure, but the others had talked him round.  Xenophilius had made the point that it would be the best evidence that Ianto was still Neville; after all, no one would be surprised that it was Neville who headed the resistance.  There would be plenty of naysayers who would claim his reappearance was some sort of elaborate hoax, but this would be a grain of truth that would make that more difficult.

Another argument for the disclosure was that Jack was known in the wizarding world.  It was one thing to assume the Ministry could be fooled, but Torchwood?  It was a well-known entity among a population to whom aliens were no secret, and Torchwood Three and its leader were held in some regard.  If the famous Captain Jack Harkness believed it was Neville, that would go a long way towards shutting down the naysayers, as well.

For Jack, it was a huge relief that there was a segment of the population from whom Torchwood did not have to remain secret.  It was refreshing.  For the wizarding world, seeing what Jack had gone through during the Year had helped solidify his reputation, but even before then, Jack was one of the few known muggles who was actually trusted.  Some had put this down to his charm, but really it was his willingness to call anyone from Cornelius Fudge to Yvonne Hartman anything from “a complete idiot” to “a disaster waiting to happen” that had gained people’s trust and respect.

Ianto hadn’t felt entirely comfortable with capitalizing on something so horrific, but as he read the article, he realized that Xenophilius had managed to remind people of his role in the resistance without recounting any particular horrors.  It eased his mind.

The entire article did, if he were honest.  It was informative without being provocative, and managed to convey some fairly sensational information without being salacious.  It was an honest account that somehow conveyed the pain of what had happened without sinking into the trite angst of a scandal rag. 

He was relieved that the discovery of what had happened was glossed over as “assistance was sought and provided at the critical moment when the curses’ ultimate objective was about to be met”.  He didn’t particularly relish the idea of his suicidal tendencies being common knowledge, so the vagaries suited him.  He also appreciated that the Carrows being found as a result of the “relentless curse-breaking” was also more a footnote to than a highlight of the story.  Other articles could cover their doom, but they had taken enough from Ianto without being allowed to hijack his story, as well.

In the end, Ianto had few edits to suggest.  He did ask that those who had been so instrumental in his healing be acknowledged and publicly acclaimed.  After some thought, he added a bit at the end, expressing his deep gratitude to Ron, Hermione, Harry, Bill, Susan, Professors McGonagall and Slughorn, Madame Pomfrey, Charlie, and the Welsh Green dragon who had provided the required dram of blood.  He surprised the others when he went on to name Freesia and a dozen other Healers who had helped – many of whom were a nameless, faceless series of people who had done everything from change his sheets to bring his meals.  Naturally he had remembered them all.  He asked that Susan be consulted to ensure no one was missed, but he had left no one out. 

Xenophilius suggested that he speak to them all to get their permission to be named, as naming them would invite harassment from the likes of Rita Skeeter.  He pointed out that they could be acknowledged in title even if not in name, and he would ensure that Ianto’s gratitude was conveyed to each and that they would know he had named them himself for his thanks.

In the end, all of them proudly allowed their names to be printed, and Rita and those of her ilk were repulsed with, “St. Mungo’s has a strict policy against speaking about its patients.”  A united front stood between Neville Longbottom (as was) and prying journalists.  None who had witnessed any portion of his suffering was willing to add to it by speaking out, no matter the reward offered. 

Amusingly enough, amongst themselves, the Healers made a game of it, when asked about whether or when Neville had been discharged from care.  They would take the bribes and then give a date – and then give a different date when the journalist came back to double-check.  The Daily Prophet’s reporters and any freelancers looking for a scoop were sorely disappointed, particularly when a special edition of the Quibbler hit the streets on Monday, July 2^nd.  It would go down in history as only the second edition in the publication’s history to require a reprint.

Ianto was finally deemed ready to be discharged the day after the article was released.  In a stroke of genius, Xenophilius had published a minor mistruth – for which the second edition included an apology and retraction – that Ianto had been released from hospital the week before.  So by that lovely Tuesday morning, the journalists and well-wishers and lookie-loos had all moved on.

Due to protective spells and enchantments, there were only certain areas in the hospital where apparition was possible, so they had to make their way to one of the public areas in order to leave.  Harry and Ginny had offered to take them to Diagon Alley, as the one thing everyone had agreed upon was that the first order of business was to get Ianto a new wand.  Luna would meet them, there.

After a lengthy leave-taking and many thanks to Susan and all of the Healers who had aided his recovery, Ianto and Jack met Harry and Ginny in one of the smaller waiting areas, and they apparated away.

***