Healing
Harry awoke sleepily. There was a lightness to him, a lack of tension in his body, and he was sure he was drugged. As he shifted in his soft bed, he found himself able to move just fine. His eyes cracked open to reveal soft grey sheets and a dark grey wall in front of him.
The room was small, with just his bed, a wall of cabinets, and a long side table. He yawned, frowning as his stomach grumbled fiercely. He inspected his body.
There was a lack of bandages around him and some light scarring around his worse areas. Nothing too bad. He stretched, his bones cracking, and he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
The door to the room opened. A stout goblin entered with a large box in his hands. He waddled to the side table and rested the box on it.
“I am Nurse Filgrock. You have been asleep for a week. In this box are your potions. I will instruct you on how to take them while another nurse gets you food.” Nurse Filgrock said, his voice short and nonsensical.
“Er, thank you." Harry shifted, cracking more bones.
Nurse Filgrock placed the box on one of the side tables and waddled off. Harry lay back on the bed and thought.
What had all happened to him? Was all his damage fixed? Or was it just his outside problems that had been fixed? He bit his lip. So many questions.
He curled up in bed and watched as the clock on the wall ticked. And ticked. And ticked. After a while, the door opened again.
Narcissa walked in with another nurse who held a tray of food. Harry rubbed his hands together as it was set before him. He wolfed down his potatoes and stew as they spoke to him.
“Mr Potter, you will need further care. We fixed most of the damage, but there is still more that requires long-term care. You are still significantly healthier than you were when you came in.” The nurse shuffled around.
She pulled out a box from one of the cabinets and handed it to Narcissa. “You will be taking two potions in the morning and two potions at night for at least a year. We will owl you every month with your potions. You will have another appointment with us at six months and a year out to see if the treatment plan needs to change.”
“Okay.” Harry swallowed his food. He even felt like he was able to eat more than before.
“You are free to leave once you get dressed.” She walked out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her.
Narcissa shuffled around in her bag and pulled out a bundle of clothes. “I will be outside the door. Take your time.”
While he did not hate it there, he wanted to be back in his own bed.
He changed quickly. Narcissa had handed him a black cloak, a maroon button-up, and black slacks. He was a little embarrassed that his undergarments and socks matched his shirt, but he pushed away those feelings.
It was then that he realised that he was not wearing his glasses, but he could see perfectly fine.
Narcissa and he departed from the hospital and landed at Malfoy Manor within minutes. She handled him very gently, like he was a delicate flower that she could easily break.
“Harry?” She asked once they were in the foyer.
“Yes?”
“I am again sorry for how I handled your first lessons here. I knew you had some problems, but I never guessed what issues were hiding under your skin.” She landed her gaze on him. Harry looked away.
“It’s nothing. It happens.” He waved her off.
Narcissa let him leave, and Harry ran to his bedroom. He was finally feeling well enough to fly, and he would make up for lost time.
__________
Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco approached Slytherin Manor with all their tensions raised. They had been called by the Dark Lord himself, as a family.
It could be their last day alive.
Narcissa and Lucius squeezed Draco’s hand in reassurance. They glided into the Manor, the door unlocking by a house-elf. Together, they stood in front of the Dark Lord’s office.
The door flung open.
“Enter.” Voldemort’s voice was loud and clear.
They swallowed hard and entered the office. Voldemort waved a hand, and three chairs appeared in front of his desk. They waited for the signal to sit and sat patiently for instruction.
“Harry Potter has been released from Gringotts’ care.” Voldemort started staring down all of them. His gaze landed on Narcissa. “Tell me what all was fixed.”
Narcissa concealed a shake and reached into her pocket, withdrawing a scroll. “All of this. Do you want a summary?”
“Yes.” Voldemort barked, taking the parchment and unrolling it.
“He has several bones taken out and regrown, organs repaired from their damage, decayed muscle tissue removed from his blood, his growth plates repaired, some of his malnutrition damage repaired, anaemia fixed, his burns healed, and minor scar removal. Amongst other minor repairs.”
Narcissa still felt awful for forcing someone with his condition to perform so much. He was on the doorstep of death, and she wanted him dancing.
“Miscellaneous Dark Magical Arefact.” Voldemort said as his eyes reached the end of the parchment.
Narcissa swallowed. She forgot about that.
“What I tell you right now will get you all slaughtered if anyone else hears about this.” Voldemort stared at all of them, pausing.
“With the blood tests, I have discovered that Harry Potter contains a piece of my soul. He is my horcrux. As long as he lives, I survive.”
Their stomachs dropped.
“As such, you will do whatever is in your power to keep him alive. I do not care what detriment it causes you. After he reaches his majority and his magical core is at full development, I will keep him in this Manor and see if I can keep him under sedation. If I cannot, he will stay here indefinitely.” Voldemort looked at Narcissa in particular as he spoke.
He would keep him imprisoned forever.
The idea sent chills through them. He would be lucky to be sedated for the rest of his life. If he could die, that is.
“Draco.” He addressed him directly. “I expect you to extend this guard while he is at school.”
“Understood, my lord.” Draco bowed his head.
“Leave.” Voldemort flicked his hand, and the door opened behind them.
They exited with haste, rushing to leave. An awful twist sat in their stomachs as they apparated back to their manor. Draco’s heart was almost beating out of his chest, and he wanted to throw up.
“Draco,” Narcissa lightly drew Draco in for a hug. “Do you need any potions?”
“Yes, mother.” Draco nodded, clenching the fabric of her robes.
__________
Harry glared at the paper in front of him. Narcissa gave him some merciful time off, but that didn’t mean he would never return to his studies. If anything, they were harder on him now, consistently breathing down his neck about everything.
Professor Aries was even worse to him than anyone else. His eyes would be ablaze when he talked with Harry, and he constantly talked down to him as if he were the stupidest person he'd ever met.
His other classes were going similarly poorly, and his dancing instructors were getting to the end of their patience. They just expected perfection from him after the third try!
There was also the nerve-grinding problem of the looks. Narcissa, Lucius, and Draco all looked at him with this pitiful glance whenever they thought he wasn’t looking. It infuriated him. He was not some meek little boy who needed his hands held! He had faced Voldemort before!
Draco, however, was the worst offender.
“Stop looking at me like that.” Harry snapped one day as they walked off from dance class.
“Like what?” Draco rolled his eyes.
“Like you pity me. I don’t want it. Stop.” Harry growled at him.
Draco sighed. “Your mind is playing tricks on you, Potter.”
Harry grinded his teeth.
“No, it’s not.”
Draco didn’t respond and instead dragged him to dinner. Dinner was a quiet affair, with more glances sent his way. He almost exploded at them, but he decided to swallow his rage for once. School was only a bit off, and he could handle it.
__________
Buttoning his shirt, Draco prepared himself for another dance lesson. Potter and he would be trying the entire routine today, and he was anything but excited for it. Potter was still terrible and had only started to be passable lately.
“Draco, be nice.” His mother caught his glare.
“I will try, Mother.” Draco bowed his head.
Maybe she was right. Potter didn’t have much time left to be free, so Draco should try to help him have a better life. Draco wasn’t sure what would really happen to him - he personally thought that Potter would die before he was sedated - but someone with that little time should have it be as easy as possible.
“Now!” Anson clapped his hands. Diana was still setting down the foot steps on the ground. “We will try the routine through once more.”
Potter looked similarly begrudged.
“Draco, put your hands on Harry’s waist; one holds his hand.” Diana coaxed him through the steps.
He firmly planted a hand on Harry’s waist and held his hand. It felt different than the other times. Potter’s hand was so warm, and he shifted towards him as they stood. It made Draco’s stomach flip again.
Potter looked up at him, his pupils dilated and his emerald green eyes shining brightly in the candlelight. Draco sucked in a deep breath, knowing that the image would never leave his mind for the rest of his life.
The soft notes of music floated through the air. Draco took the first step, with Potter stumbling after him. He basically dragged and pushed Potter around for half of the song.
“Just let me lead!” Draco spat under his breath.
Potter reluctantly relaxed in his arms. Their dancing got leagues better, with Draco holding him tighter around the waist as they walked. Potter was still being stubborn, and he didn’t always move, but he was fighting with Draco less and less.
Diana clapped her hands as the song ended. “That was amazing, boys. Let’s do it again!”
Again, they danced. Draco’s entire body felt hot, and his mouth was dry as he took the final step. Potter stayed by his side as it ended, waiting for further instructions. Draco held him close, the heat of his body warming him even more.
“I think we can move on to another song next week!” Anson smiled at them. “We’ll get through the steps first and then continue when you two are back for winter break.”
Draco breathed in relief. He thought his mind would go numb if he had to repeat the dance for another break. Those weird feelings would return again if he danced for longer. A restlessness filled his bones.
“Uh, you can let go of me.” Potter muttered, shuffling in his grasp.
“Oh, yeah.” Draco let him go.
His arms felt cold and empty without him in them.
“And I believe it is dinner time for you two. We’ll wrap up a bit early today.” Diana smiled at them.
Draco reluctantly left the ballroom and followed Potter on his way to the dining room. Potter strutted down the hall like he owned the manor, flinging the doors open with a flourish. Draco shook his head.
There was mild chatter at the dinner table. Wizengamont, tutors, grades, the next school year… Draco was amazed at Potter’s ability to speak while also saying nothing. It reminded Draco of when he talked to his friends when he was trying to avoid their invasive questions.
“Ah, Harry.” Mother regarded him.
She reached into her robes and withdrew a muggle letter. Draco sneered at the sight of it.
“It was addressed by Hermione Granger; I would prefer you to send out your owl when receiving and leaving letters. I will not allow just any owl into the wards. If any of your close friends have a specific owl they own, I will key them into the wards.” Mother’s voice was stern yet understanding.
“Okay.” Potter nodded. “I’ll ask if Hermione could get an owl to communicate with us.”
“That would be preferable.” Father spoke up. Potter’s eyes narrowed.
“I will be dismissed.” Potter announced.
He stalked off, letter in hand.
Mother and Father sighed.
“At least he knows he is supposed to be dismissed.” Father drawled.
“He just doesn’t care if he’s disrespectful.” Draco followed.
“I do not think he will ever care.” Mother sighed, rubbing her temples. “But I cannot bring myself to force him.”
“He will not be here for long,” Father shook his head. “Can we really bring ourselves to force him to do anything more than we already have?”
“Dragon,” Mother regarded him, “will you take him flying tomorrow? Have some friendly competition?”
Draco nodded. “I will.”
__________
Harry ripped open Hermione’s letter the moment he entered his room. He flopped on his bed and smiled lightly at it. Hermione’s writing brought him some comfort.
‘Dear Harry,
How are you holding up? We were forbidden from contacting you for at least a week after you were taken by the Malfoys. Are they as terrible as they always are? The rest of us have been thinking about you. We hope you aren’t too bad.
Have you recovered from your injuries? I will be honest: you looked terrible when we last saw you. We thought you would die. ~ But you didn’t, and that’s good!
I haven’t had the time to write more, and we’re not supposed to be owling you, but I couldn’t help myself.
Love,
Hermione Granger’
Harry stared down at the note. Why was no one supposed to owl him? Was it something he did or was it Wizengamont meddling with him again? Harry ground his teeth. No one should have the gall to stand between him and his friends.
He started to pen a response.
‘Dear Hermione,
Hey! I’m holding up okay, they are torturing me with tutors and other stuff. Dancing. They’ve been pretty fine with me, but I still hate them. I have to be around Draco more and we’re at elast being civil.
Otherwise my healing as been fine. We had to change some stuff up but I think I’ll be all healed by the time that the schoolyear starts. Hopefully. It is embarrassing to have Narcissa change out my bandages but I don’t know how to do them myself.
Also, is it possible for you to get an owl? Narcissa needs to key a certain owl into the wards so we can’t just send any owl any time. Sorry about that! Or you can just keep Hedwig until you choose to write again.
Make sure to tell the others I am missing them. And you, of course.
Love,
Harry’
Harry rolled up the parchment and marched up to the owlery. He hadn’t had much time to spend with Hedwig, but he knew she was dying to go carry a letter out. Stretch her wings and fly.
Hedwig accepted his letter gratefully, stopping on her flight over to him to snap at one of the Malfoy’s eagles, who just looked unamused by her. He sent her off, watching enviously as she was able to leave, but he had to stay.