Chapter 5
The consultation had been planned and moved numerous times over the past week. Hermione was beginning to think she would never be free. With all the patients that had come in from the attack she had been put on patient duty, something she hadn’t been used to. The effort of everything was beginning to weigh on her muscles. Her back burned with the pain of constantly leaning over or bending down.
It wasn’t until Friday afternoon that Theo cornered her in his office to speak about the consultation again.
“I moved it to this afternoon. You can go home after it too, you look like you need the rest”
Hermione would have laughed if she had the energy. Theo looked like hell himself. Everyone had been on call for the past week. Nobody had gotten more than a couple hours of sleep. She knew though that she wouldn’t use her afternoon to rest. She could already visualise the list of tasks she could complete.
“Okay, if you say so”
Theo looked at her with a look of mock horror. He radiated sarcasm so Hermione braced herself.
“Oh my god you’re dying. The world is going to implode. Hermione Granger just agreed to rest”
They both smiled and giggled at the comment. Theo likely knew she wasn’t truly going to rest but it was nice of him to play along. Laughing hadn’t been a common thing over the week. Hermione hadn’t managed to see Harry or Ginny since the day of the attack. Her worry for them both only grew by the day, maybe she could use her afternoon to check in with them. Thinking of them reminded her of the need to brew more wolfsbane. She hadn’t managed it over the past week. She began to feel the guilt of not having checked in on Harry, the adjustment can’t be easy.
“I’m not dying. I just really am not used to so much physical labour. I need to work out more”
The prospect wasn’t one Hermione liked. She had always hated exercise. Reading was so much more appealing and with her limited time she hardly wanted to do things she didn’t actually enjoy. Her time during the war left her in horrible physical shape, only having recently gained back all her muscle and weight she lost. That alone was enough physical labour.
“Oh, I have been meaning to mention it. Your fathers lawyer came by earlier in the week to ask me about going to the trial. He wants me to show support for your father”
Theo looked very annoyed, clearly this wasn’t a topic he wanted to discuss.
“That dick has been going around to everyone and asking. I already told him to knock it off before he asks the wrong person and gets hexed”
It made sense that he had been asking more people. Surely he couldn’t be confident that any of them would come. Quantity over quality was more than likely his game. It made sense seeing as anyone who truly supported him wouldn’t give a positive impression to the public.
“Well, I would only go if you wanted me to. Plus, you don’t even go yourself”
Theo looked bothered, like there was something he wanted to say but was debating it. His eyes moved away to look over her shoulder. Hermione had learnt his tells over their time together, his lack of eye contact meant that he clearly was holding something back. He had never been good at lying to her, always so obvious.
“What's wrong, you look like your brain is going to implode”
Hermione sipped her tea before looking back to Theo who had now begun staring off at the bookshelf to Hermione's right. His eyes moved over the books too fast to actually be reading anything.
“Actually, I am going to the next trial date. I've been asked to testify. Against him”
Oh. That meant that Theo was going to take a very public stand against his father. Something that he wanted to avoid. He had denied any kind of offer to testify in any trials following the war, just as many of their fellow class had. Nobody wanted to relive the war if they could avoid it. As a whole the people that testified were fellow death eaters or those who switched sides after the war. Nobody testified unless there was something to gain. Skeeter will have a field day with the news of Theo testifying after her recent fascination with him. The idea of her outrageous claims in her recent smear campaign being openly destroyed satisfied Hermione.
“I know I always said I wouldn’t, but I think it is what my mother would have wanted. She would want justice for those hurt. Especially me”
Theo had been through so much at the hands of his father. The abuse was one thing but being forced into becoming a deatheater was a whole different level of abuse. Hermione couldn’t believe it when Theo had opened up to her about his childhood. She hadn’t been told everything but what she knew was enough to paint quite the picture. In turn she had opened up about her missing memories, something she also avoided discussing. Testifying against his father meant he was going to have to revisit a lot of that trauma and in a public setting at that. His father's trial was open to the public and filled with reporters.
“I can come to the trial. For support. You shouldn’t go and do that alone”
Theo sighed before looking at Hermione with a sad smile. She could see the exhaustion all over his face, both mental and physical. It wasn’t often Theo layed out all his feelings so obviously. Hermione attributed it to the relationship they had built over the years that he felt comfortable enough with her to not hold back.
“I would appreciate it a lot, if you have time with everything going on that is”
Hermione would make time even if she didn’t have any. She was a lot of things and worked like crazy but if her family needed her then she would be there. She stood to move towards Theo. Her hand was on his head before she knew it, smoothing down his hair. They made eye contact and smiled.
“I’ll be there, I promise”
Theo nodded in acknowledgement.
“Your consultation is in five minutes. I set the floo connection to take you there without you saying anything. It is the only connection it has for now”
She had completely forgotten about the circumstances of the case. What about all her new patient work? Everyone is overworked as it is. If she is gone then it could only get worse. She turned to Theo before stepping into the floo.
“Theo, what about my patients? I can’t just dump even more work on everyone”
He looked just as lost as her. He clearly didn’t think the patient would budge on the idea which didn’t settle her nerves at all.
“You’ll just have to debate it then I suppose, you’re good at that”
Theo gave her his signature smirk before turning back towards his desk. She took that as her dismissal and stepped into the floo. The pull she felt made her stomach lurch. She hadn’t expected to be so nervous over this. It was just a patient after all, she had dealt with many in the past. Even people she knew personally. It was nothing new.
When her feet finally landed, and she stepped out of the floo, she was met with a large ballroom. It was embellished with golden everything, the room seemed to shine. A large painting drew her attention more than anything else. It was a sunset over a cabin. The cabin was surrounded by a lake, a lone pier leading into the depths. It brought about a sense of calm that Hermione hadn’t felt in quite some time. It felt almost nostalgic in its warmth. Hermione hadn’t even registered her approach to the painting before her hand had reached out to touch the smooth surface. Her hand almost made contact before the sound of steps snapped her out of her daze.
She immediately took a few steps back from the painting, looking to the perceived source of the sound. Just as she had turned to face the door, it opened.
Hermione hadn’t expected the man who entered. In fact, it was the last person she would have thought needed her help. Malfoy had entered and closed the door. By the time he had made his way towards Hermione she had gathered herself, removing the look of shock from her face. In the silence that followed she began compiling a mental checklist of all her recent interactions with Malfoy.
She hadn’t seen any signs of anything that had been in his file. Nothing at all that would even begin to suggest he was in need of any kind of medical assistance or physical therapy. She thought back to all the times he had shown his hands. Someone with the kind of curse damage in his file would at least have visible tremors in their hands, maybe even their whole body. He had no issue drinking out of his glass during the party, his hand hadn’t been shaking at all. It also hadn’t shaken when he held out the handkerchief nor the floo powder. At least she didn’t think it had, she could have been too intoxicated to be paying detailed attention.
“How are you hiding your symptoms?”
The question came out before she could resist. Only after saying it did Hermione realise how rude it was of her. She hadn’t even greeted him or said anything that would fit into social acceptance.
“What makes you think I hide anything?”
The question was stupid. Both of them knew it. He was clearly deflecting. The more she considered who exactly she was dealing with it became crystal clear why nobody else could get through to him. He was as stubborn as ever, probably still just as much a pompous git as he always was. Hermione just let out a long breath. Taking in his current state didn’t serve to give her any clues. He was just as she always remembered him. A clean cut darkly dressed pureblood. His air of superiority was perfectly intact regardless of the situation.
“Right. Well, shall we sit so we can discuss conditions?”
Hermione thought she seen his mouth quirk into the shadow of a smirk before he turned and began walking. He clearly had a habit of walking and expecting people to follow. It was laughable how fitting it was to him. Hermione looked at the painting, the feeling of calm falling over her again.
“Are you coming or are we going to do this standing?”
Her calm bubble was broken so suddenly that it startled her. The light jump she felt was hopefully unnoticeable. She looked to Malfoy who was standing beside the open door, his hand waiting on the handle. He didn’t seem to have noticed her start and so she made her way through the door. She paused once in the hall to wait for Malfoys guidance. He exited and began walking down the hall, not sparing her a glance. Hermione used the time to look at her surroundings. The place seemed a little small for a manor. It wasn’t small by any means but when she thought of Nott Manor it seemed to dwarf Malfoys residence. The more they walked the more she realised how little ancestral decoration there was. Nott Manor had family portraits everywhere, but Malfoys residence didn’t have anything other than scenic pieces.
“This isn’t Malfoy Manor”
Hermione may as well try and make small talk. They would have to speak to each other more if they were to work together.
“It is my own residence. My mother lives in the manor”
It didn’t add up in her mind that Malfoy would not want to live in the home he was always so proud of. There were many times at Hogwarts that she overheard him gloating about the many rooms and even his own quidditch pitch.
“Why don’t you live with her?”
Malfoy didn’t answer. Instead, he opened a door, standing to the side for Hermione to enter. She had many comments she wished to make on the well-trained pureblood manners he so easily used. It was clearly second nature to be a gentleman. Hermione couldn’t help but consider whether he would have treated her this way before Voldemort lost the war. She was a Muggleborn after all, he was raised to believe he was above her.
She hadn’t realised she was staring until Malfoy let out a rather loud sigh. Hermione rushed inside, ignoring how she almost brushed against him in the process.
He followed, sitting in one of the large chairs surrounding a small round table. It was clearly somewhere that he took informal meetings based on the set up. Hermione sat in the chair opposite him before looking around the room. It was good that she was seated because she likely would have melted from excitement at the amount of books she now saw surrounding them. Bookshelves seemed to go on forever, the room had to have been charmed to accommodate them all. Hermione looked around in stunned silence, completely forgetting her current company.
“Wow”
She couldn’t help the sentiment slipping out, she had never seen so many books outside of a library. Knowing Malfoy, they were all likely highly expensive. From her place she could see rows labelled with potions manuals, some even first editions.
“I moved the Malfoy library here; my mother didn’t feel a need for it”
His speaking reminded Hermione of why she was currently sitting in Malfoys home, making quite a fool of herself. She couldn’t make it more obvious that she was amazed at his wealth. She grimaced internally at the demeaning comments she was sure were running through his mind. The only thing holding them back is the fact he supposedly needed her help.
“I need to discuss the conditions of our agreement. The hospital is overrun with patients, and I can’t just leave all my work to people who are already running themselves until exhaustion”
The mere thought of it made her skin crawl. Asking for help was never something Hermione had liked. Being inconvenient to others even less. The idea of dropping all of her work onto anyone else right now made her mind scream how irresponsible that was.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you exhausted?”
Hermione hadn’t expected Malfoy to ever inquire about her condition. The confusion showed on her face. She could tell by the look Malfoy had given her. He looked slightly offended, likely because she had shown her prejudice. The idea of someone like Malfoy caring about someone like her didn’t make sense.
“Everyone is, we’re understaffed”
He didn’t falter in his staring. It quickly became uncomfortable, Hermione feeling the urge to explain herself.
“I am going home after this; Theo gave me the rest of the day off”
He finally looked away at that, his attention moving to something over her shoulder. It was unusual. Malfoy didn’t seem the type to get distracted. From what she remembered there was nothing of note behind her either.
“You can work with other patients if you need to but not to the point of exhaustion”
The caring undertone to his words left Hermione at a loss. There hadn’t been any basis to his treatment. Even his tone was softer than she had ever heard it, no trace of superiority or malic.
“Of course, you need to be in working order to treat me properly”
Hermione snapped out of the circle her mind had been running in. Of course, he was worried about her state of mind, she was his healer. He needed her to be well rested so she could work with him effectively. The more she thought about it the crazier she found her previous thoughts. Malfoy would never actually care for her health unless it benefitted him. His eyes were still focused over her shoulder.
“Okay, that can work”
Instead of speaking again Hermoine reached into her bag, her whole arm disappearing inside before pulling out the file Theo had given her. She opened it to find the details of Malfoys case, still without a name.
“We should discuss your condition so I can see a baseline to begin treatment”
She crossed her legs, feet pulled up onto the chair. Her shoes fell off in her movement, the heels she often had to wear for work made a light click as they hit the ground. Malfoy glanced at her feet before looking at her face. Heat blossomed over her cheeks when she realised how informal she was being. It was too late to go back on it now though, it would be more awkward to change her seating. Instead, she opened the file over her lap and leaned over it in mock examination. Her hair fell over her face, hopefully shielding her scarlet complexion.
Eventually when she was sure her complexion was more normal, she sat back, staring at Malfoy. She moved her eyes to his hands that were both perfectly still. His hand rested under his chin, his arm leaning on the chair, the other placed on the opposite side. It made no sense how he was able to remain so still when he was supposedly so unwell. He had also seemed resistant to sharing his methods.
“How are you hiding your symptoms? I have to know so I can actually treat them”
He dropped his hand down, still not looking at her. It had become rather uncomfortable both to have him staring but also to have him ignoring her. The lack of eye contact made her feel as though she was speaking with herself.
“I take a potion four times a day. They alleviate the visual symptoms”
She had never heard of such a potion. The only way to treat the symptoms of the cruciatus curse was to have physical therapy. The mixture of physical therapy and pain potions allowed for the symptoms to slowly fade. In cases with severe damage the shaking never went away completely, only becoming a minor tremor. Such a simple cure didn’t exist.
“I will need a list of everything in the potion and the instructions for brewing it”
He nodded to acknowledge her request, not surrendering any further information.
“Four times a day is a lot, have you always taken it so often? Most potions only require one or two doses each day. Even in the most severe cases”
His eyes darted to her before resettling back over her shoulder.
“In the beginning it was only once. I have a tolerance to it now, it wears off too fast”
He had to have been taking it regularly for a very long time to build such a tolerance. That also meant the potion itself wasn’t designed for long term use.
“When did you start taking the potion?”
His silence showed his reluctance to answer. After waiting almost a full minute for a response and getting nothing Hermione moved forward with their discussion. She would have to figure out when he first started taking it later.
“I will need to see your symptoms at some point. I can’t treat something I have never seen”
In a move very unlike Malfoy, he moved in discomfort. Hermione had anticipated his reluctance to show any kind of weakness. He was just as proud as he was as a child, that wouldn’t allow him to be so vulnerable.
“I will notify you when I next have a chance to let the potion leave my system. It takes days for it to completely leave my system”
Potions with that kind of potency usually had very diverse negative effects. The list of long-term issues that accompany continued use of such things was already sending Hermione into stress. The fact he takes such a potion four times each day must be destroying him. If it took days to leave his system, then it didn’t make sense to take it four times anyway. Unless his symptoms became noticeable even with the potion still in his system. Theo had clearly underestimated the workload of taking Malfoy in as a patient.
“Okay. Until then there isn’t much we can discuss.”
He nodded but made no move to end their meeting. It was almost as if he didn’t want it to end. He remained seated in silence.
“I should be going; I have potions to work on”
“I thought you had the rest of today off”
Hermione had never truly spent her time off doing anything but working. She had always used what time she didn’t spend at work to research and test new brewing methods. Not working made her feel uncomfortable. It left too much time to think and given the week she had, that wasn’t what she needed.
“We need an increased stock of wolfsbane for the next full moon, I won’t have time to brew it given our agreement if I don’t use my time today”
Draco looked irritated. Of course he was, she was using her time on something other than his treatment. He didn’t speak again, just filled her teacup with a flick of his wand before she could resist. She reached for the cup after a pause. It was a blend she hadn’t tried before. It smelled like lavender with a subtle honey tone. It was possibly the best tea she had ever tasted, not that she would admit that to Malfoy.
They continued to sit in silence. After a few minutes it became less uncomfortable, and Hermione relaxed. Her eyes drifted over the books lining the shelves again. Her fingers itched with the desire to run her hands down them and read each and every one. Malfoy seemed to notice her interest.
“You can read them”
She moved her eyes back to Malfoy to find his eyes trained on her. She hadn’t felt his staring. Looking back to the books she debated the pros and cons of taking the offer. Eventually she resigned herself to giving into her desire. The sheer amount of knowledge that could be at her fingertips pushed her towards the shelves without another word. This time though, she could feel his gaze following her every move.