Chapter 12
The king himself rang the bell of the town house and stood with Draco for at least three full minutes before anyone came to the door. Draco fidgeted while they waited, shifting his weight from foot to foot and even going so far as to tilt as far as he dared to the right, in order to peer through a window. King Harry pinched the bridge of his nose but otherwise did not react to Draco’s antics.
There were thuds inside the house before the door swung open, revealing a Weasley that Draco had in fact met. The thin and spindly one, who was intentionally oblivious whenever his family started mischief. Also, he looked like shit. All sweaty and pallid, randomly wearing a full pressed suit, complete with waistcoat, although he must have dressed in haste and the buttons weren’t properly aligned. His hair was still rumpled as if from sleep. “Your majesty,” Percy bowed formally in greeting to the king.
King Harry pinched the bridge of his nose again before dropping his hands to reveal a forced smile. “Percy, always a pleasure,” there was a twitch in his cheek and Draco knew instantly he was lying. Draco had been right, Percy was the odd man out in the Weasley clan. “Your mother sends her regards. She received your letter just as I was leaving the Burrow, and I offered right away to find you help.” King Harry gestured to Draco, his smile more of a grimace as he did so. “Draco here was a wonderful help to Andromeda and he’s offered to come stay with you and Audrey for a time.” Then the king pulled out another vial of the dragon pox tonic. “And medicine, of course.”
Percy’s face had stayed pinched in rapt attention, his body held stiff and formal, he did not sway even with Draco’s introduction. That was, until the king revealed the medicine. Percy sagged when the vial was pulled out, tension released that Draco hadn’t noticed Percy had been holding. Percy half reached for the tonic, but only for an instant. Then Percy pulled himself together into his tightly wound self with his own pained smile. Both hands were back down at his side. “This is wonderful news, your majesty. You came not a moment too soon.”
“Err,” said King Harry, holding himself stiff in response to Percy’s excessive formality. “Right then. Draco will…” the king eyed Draco warily. His eyes flickered up and down Draco’s body, once again judging whether or not Draco was fit to the task. “Take care of them,” the king said to Draco, hard and commanding. With the command hanging between them he held out the vial of medicine for Draco to claim. Draco huffed and tried to grab it, only to find the king was holding firm, waiting until Draco looked back at him to meet the king’s cold stare. Draco supposed he meant it to be threatening.
“Of course,” Draco gritted out, yanking on the potion hard to pry it from the king’s grip. He turned back to Percy with a jagged smile of his own. “Let’s hop to, not a moment to waste.” Percy was nodding, nearly bowing to Draco as if he, too, was a person of authority. Percy tried to pause to say a formal farewell to the king, but Draco was over the threshold and corralling his host away from the door. “The king is far too busy saving other lives to spare more time with us” Draco snarked as he passed by the king. He shut the door in the king’s face once inside.
Percy remained formal, following the routine of trying to take Draco’s coat and offer him tea. Draco could see Percy’s nervous twitches even as Percy refused to rush the process.
“Never mind that, you look a fright. Why don’t you show me to your kitchen?” Draco interceded.
Percy acquiesced, walking Draco through a lovely, if modest, town house. Ever curious, Draco peaked in each doorway, to see a closet, then a study, then a large drawing room where two small heads peaked out over a large settee.
Draco stopped in his tracks. “Hello there,” he said gently. Both heads ducked down, as if caught out. “No need to hide, why don’t you come out and say hello.”
“Oh!” Percy huffed, instantly back at Draco’s side. A blush had crept into his cheeks, adding color to his sickly complexion. “Please don’t mind the girls. They weren’t expecting guests, and, only, well,” he blushed further.
Draco obviously was missing something but he had no clue what it could be. Still, while the king didn't like Percy, he had been willing to threaten Draco over his family’s well being. Draco reached deep and harnessed the same charm he relied upon in the darkest days of illness at Andromeda’s, to keep spirits high and endear him to the children. “I can’t imagine they’re any bother at all, why don’t you introduce us before we whip up some tea for the family?”
Percy cleared his throat and nodded. “Girls, come join us!” Both girls muffled giggles, then ran out from behind the furniture and out to the doorway. They weren’t so little, somewhere between seven and ten. Both wearing warm bed clothes with hair poorly, if enthusiastically, braided, made colorful with ribbons and bows. Both had the sheen of sweat and the youngest one coughed when they reached the doorway. Their bed clothes didn’t cover their legs, revealing a rash on the older girl’s calf.
“Molly, Lucy, this is,” Percy paused, considering the correct words before settling on, “Mr. Draco Malfoy. The king himself brought Mr. Malfoy this very morning with medicine for us.”
It was odd to take the time for formal greetings, but clearly this was important to Percy so Draco played along. He bowed as politely as he would for any lady to each of the young girls. “Ms. Weasley, and Ms. Weasley, lovely to meet you.”
Both girls giggled as they curtseyed. “Did you bring medicine for mother?” the older one asked.
Draco’s eyes flickered up to the room they’d been in, where there was no sign of their mother. “Exactly so. Why don’t you return to your games and I’ll start on the medicine right away?”
The girls smiled so large Draco found it unsettling. “We’re not playing games, silly. We’re doing our reading.”
“Of course, how studious. Please, continue, we’ll be back in a jiff,” Draco said. He watched the girls run back into the room before nudging their father to continue on.
Once in the kitchen Percy started rambling. “My apologies, we would never show you the discourtesy of such an informal greeting had we expected, well, what I meant to say is please don’t take our informality as a sign of disrespect, I mean, they are both the most lovely girls and you should not consider their poor presentation this morning as anything...” he went on like that for a minute while Draco made short work of navigating the kitchen.
Draco filled a large and small kettle and put both on a hob to heat, then pulled out four of the dullest floral mugs he’d ever seen in his life. The small kettle warmed fast, and Draco pulled it off to make up a cup of warm water and honey, with exactly one nozzle’s worth of tonic added in. He put the cup into Percy’s hands, cutting him off mid sentence.
“Your daughters are lovely. Drink this before you pass out.”
Percy gulped. “The others should be served first.”
With effort, Draco did not roll his eyes. He dug deep and forced himself to offer sincere comfort. “A commendable sentiment, but you must see they’re relying heavily on you now. Your family needs you healthy so you can continue to do all you can for them. Now drink up.”
Percy was blushing again as he followed Draco’s orders.
Draco took the time to find a tray and riffle through the cupboards until he located a tin of biscuits. Once done, the larger kettle was ready and he made up two more mugs of hot water and honey. He paused then. The girls weren’t as little as the toddlers at home, nor as big as an adult. He had no instructions for this. One glance at Percy’s wide-eyed admiration made clear that Draco couldn’t well talk it through with him. Draco decided on caution, and added only two drops to each mug and quickly stirred the medicine in. Draco carried the tray out himself back to the drawing room.
Stepping into the room properly for the first time, Draco could see that there were several sofas, all with extra blankets and pillows folded neatly on them. He also saw casual clothes folded neatly and stored on a nearby table, as if borrowed from the room where they were meant to be kept.
Both girls were propped up on the settee with thick books that Draco would categorize as of a dubious nature. They had the look of historic texts or scientific study, serious subjects that he would just as soon throw out the window as present to an ill child. The girls were so much better behaved than Draco had ever been at their age. They had their noses buried happily as if it was no bother at all. When Draco walked in they carefully marked their reading progress and set the books aside on tables just for that purpose. They both sat properly at the edge of their seats trying to maintain demure expressions while their curious smiles peeked through. Draco could imagine how Percy kept them dressed up properly for guests and carefully taught them etiquette.
“Ladies,” Draco greeted, once again offering a short, respectful bow. He laid their tea tray down with a flourish. “Your father is so proud of your studies, he insisted you both get a treat with your tea.” Percy sputtered, almost going so far as to correct Draco’s statement that the biscuits were his idea. Draco stepped away from the girls and clamped a hand over Percy’s mouth where they couldn’t see. “We’ll be back in a tick. Be sure you both drink your tea fully before we return.” Then he shoved Percy back out of the room.
“Why did you do that?” Percy questioned.
Draco half shrugged. “They clearly love you. It will make the medicine less scary this way.” Percy’s frown only deepened.
Back in the kitchen, Draco breathed deep and steeled himself for what truly had Percy so afraid. “Where’s your wife, Percy?” he asked, trying to sound gentle.
Percy made a sad choked noise, before immediately covering his mouth with his hands to prevent himself from making it again.
Unexpectedly, Draco ached with pity. This sad man was so far out of his depth, but trying so hard despite it. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but is she very ill or has she passed?”
He made the noise again, only louder. “She’s not dead!” he choked out after.
Draco released air he didn’t know he was holding. “Good,” he sighed, and tried to shake out his tension. “Very good.” Draco turned to the final mug to prepare one last dose of medicine. Then he hesitated and returned to the cupboards, shifting through different cups and glassware until far in the back he found a cup once used for their children. It had a spout, making it easier to drink without spilling. Draco filled that with a small portion of water, then added the serving of medication without honey. He suspected Ms. Weasley would not care about the bitter flavor. “Alright, let’s go.”
Upstairs was a smaller space with three tight rooms all together. The doors to the little girls’ rooms were open, revealing the tidiest childrens rooms he’d ever seen, still brimming with cheer. All the books and toys were precisely lined up in their places, arranged by size or color. It would be oppressive, but somehow it wasn’t. The organization created rainbows everywhere. Draco didn’t understand it, but still he smiled.
One door was closed. Percy stood in front of it, visibly shaking. “You mustn’t,” he whispered, then gulped. The face he turned to Draco was strained. “She wouldn’t want you to see her like this,” he tried to explain.
Draco said, “We’ll just go in for a moment. I can show you how to make sure she drinks it all, then I won’t have to stay.”
Percy nodded, accepting that. Only then did he open the door.
The room wasn’t trying to be dark, only there were no lights on and the clouds outside stopped the sunlight. Draco twitched to turn on a lamp, but took Percy’s words seriously. His wife, - Audrey, Ms. Weasley, Draco really should ask what Percy would find proper for him to refer to her as - would not like to be seen like this. Draco didn’t want to make anything harder than it already was. Together the two men walked to the bed. There was a chair already beside it where Draco chose to sit. Percy stood next to him instead of sitting anywhere.
There was already a bowl of water next to the bed, so Darco picked up a nearby cloth and wet it. He reached over to the woman sleeping in front of him and removed the previous cloth. He held his hand where the cloth had been. It was hot with fever. Draco kept his movements smooth and calm as he placed the cool cloth on her forehead. He picked up the spouted cup and carefully slid the edge of the spout into Audrey’s mouth, even more carefully tilting it so the barest amount of water poured out.
“You want to go slowly,” Draco explained in a whisper. “She’ll swallow it naturally, as long as you go slow.”
Percy nodded. His eyes were sharp as he watched every motion Draco made, memorizing it so he could repeat the process. When the drink was consumed, both men quietly walked back out to the hallway.
Past the threshold, Draco finally felt like he could breathe. He sucked in air and lifted both hands behind his head as he let it all back out. He didn’t know how to say it. He couldn’t say it.
“She’s terribly ill,” Percy said it for him.
Draco heaved a sigh again as he turned back to the other man. “Yes,” he agreed.
Percy nodded, almost imperceptible. “It came on suddenly, I didn’t know what to do.”
“You’ve done everything you could,” Draco tried to reassure.
Pain etched across Percy’s face. His fingers raked through and further disheveled his hair. “No, I know there’s more. I’ve read the fliers. I should have sat with her and kept the clothes cool, or taken her downstairs to give her cool baths. I hardly make sure she gets any water. She could have dehydrated and died before I was any the wiser.”
He was spiraling, clearly. He kept doing that, going in circles of self recrimination and doubt, bundled up someone in a twisted reason that did not take into account human limitation.
“Percy, those are suggestions, you have to adapt them to your situation,” Draco tried to sooth.
Percy was nodding. “I should have adapted better. I could have kept the girls in their rooms, and brought Audrey downstairs so I could properly tend to her.”
Draco shook his head, more because he wasn’t getting through to Percy than to contradict what he’d been saying. “Wouldn’t the girls have been scared, being stuck upstairs on their own? Clearly, you’ve been taking good care of them. You’ve been doing the best you can.”
Percy’s shaking was getting worse. “How good of care can it be if their mother dies?” he asked bleakly.
Draco ran his own hands through his hair in frustration. “You didn’t cause this disease,” he tried to reason.
Then Percy looked up with such terror. He stumbled over the words. “I was the only one who left the house. It must have come from me.”
“Oh, bugger,” Draco cursed. There would be no getting through to him. “Well, we’ll work on figuring your issues out later. For now, I think it’s best you stay with your wife. Clearly you’ve read the literature, do your best and shout for me if you have another panic.” Draco all but shoved Percy back into his bedroom before burying his face in his hands and holding back a rage scream. He could do with a good shout to release the pent up anxiety coursing through him.
Instead he went downstairs, harnessing everything in him to once again smile for the children. He checked each of their tea mugs and praised their thoroughness in consuming both the tea and the treats.
He tried to talk both girls into letting him read them a fairy tale he uncovered on a shelf. Instead Lucy, the younger of the children, sat him down beside her and showed him what was absolutely a scientific text. The zoology book dedicated each page to a different mammal. The girls laughed at Draco’s skepticism. Seeing that it made them so happy, Draco gave in and helped Lucy memorize all the animal facts.