A/N. Most of this chapter is on Draco and his past.
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Chapter 19 - The Healer's Notes
Hermione closed Draco's file and reduced it to its one page purged version. She put it back in her briefcase not noticing the crease that formed on her forehead, her expression summing up her thoughts on what she just read. She was baffled to say the least.
The first entry into the Michigan hospital document was about a concussed and severely beaten up teenager who was barely breathing when Draco was brought in by his hysterical mother.
Blunt force head trauma, occipital bone fracture, intracranial scans negative for bleeds or clots.
Posterior rib fracture, collapsed left lung.
Hematoma, upper abdominal quadrants with rebound tenderness suggestive of internal exsanguination.
Multiple lacerations.
Unresponsive.
Immediate critical care measures were undertaken and he regained consciousness the week after. Ministry authorities came to ask him about how he acquired his injuries.
Patient claims he fell off a cliff.
Draco's explanation was judged as highly improbable by the Healer at that time. Hermione agreed. It would have had to be a very steep, heavily wooded or extremely rocky cliff with a mind of its own to have caused the significant strategically located injuries he had.
Two days later, Draco left the hospital against Healer advice.
Five similar hospital visits happened in a span of six weeks, each time with injuries less severe than the previous. Despite his non-admission, the Healer in charge was of the opinion that the young wizard was likely participating in Muggle fisticuffs.
What followed were mostly Healer notes from one-on-one sessions with Draco. While he was seen initially for non-magical physical injuries, he was referred to a Healer counsellor, a witch shrink, on his mother's request who had expressed concern that Draco was not adjusting well to his new environment, was not using magic as often as he used to and she feared he was a danger to himself. Being of age under magical laws, his attendance to the sessions was not mandatory; his words were he did it to get his mother off his back.
At eighteen he was described as severely withdrawn, apathetic, anti-social and met criteria for severe depression. He was never observed to be violent and never expressed any emotion other than lack of interest. He was not open to any intervention. In fact, the first nine sessions were very quiet.
The only thing he would admit to was having nightmares that precluded sleep. When asked what the dreams were about he said he could not remember.
I've prescribed hospital grade Dreamless Draught for Mr. Malfoy to address his exhaustion from sleep deprivation. The content of his dreams are definitely important. Maybe getting rest will help him open up.
But that really didn't. In fact, the Healer noticed that the more rested he was the more edgy and belligerent he became. After several fruitless sessions, the Healer was willing to try another approach. With his mother's help, she was able to convince Draco to attend peer counselling. The Healer notes summarized the change.
It is like night and day. He smiled for the first time during the session as I asked him about how he found peer counselling. His reply was that he found it 'enlightening'. He was distracted for most of the session and the smile never left his face. It was apparent that it wasn't peer counselling itself that impressed him. Will need to investigate further.
The session after, the Healer was armed with more information.
I asked him about one of the volunteer peer counsellors. He hesitated but I pressed on. He seemed like he wanted to tell someone, anyone. He finally confided that he was dating 'Mia'. As Mr. Malfoy spoke of her I was reminded of how wonderful this feeling was once one found it. He was obviously love-struck. He said he was afraid of it, of what it was doing to him, of what it could do to him. He asked for advice. I told him he'd know what to do.
The breakthrough was momentous as Draco opened himself up for more scrutiny. Things with Mia were going better than he imagined. The Healer had a cautionary response to Draco's news that he had signed up with her to attend a Muggle Law Program.
Much progress. Mr. Malfoy surprised me today. He admitted to not taking the Dreamless Draught since he ran out a week ago and dreamt again for the first time in a long while. I asked him if it was the same one that haunted him before. He nodded and had this knowing look, the one which one usually had after self-discovery. He declined my offer to refill his prescription saying the same dreams, while nightmarish before were now quite reassuring to have. Curious, I asked what it was about. As proof of just how far we've gone, he replied that our time was up.
From subsequent notes, Draco had brushed off questions about his dreams telling the Healer that it was quite unimportant now that they weren't happening as often and weren't really nightmares anymore.
We touched on Mr. Malfoy's childhood today. It made him very tense but he admitted he wanted to talk about it too. He said he couldn't tell Mia, at least not yet, and Mia told him he didn't have to unless he wanted to. I have yet to meet this young woman if not just to satisfy my curiosity if she is as extraordinary as Mr. Malfoy speaks of her.
He lived a very sheltered life. His family was well off, Pure blood of the 'purest' kind, with no tolerance for much else to an extreme that earned his father a death sentence from Ministry authorities. The older Mr. Malfoy died in prison a few months ago.
He described his childhood as like growing up in a bubble and being taught to be protective of it. He knew only of his world, his bubble, and that all else around him was a threat to burst that. He spoke of what he referred to as numerous 'vile' acts as a student at Hogwarts, a school for young wizards and witches, acts he now was remorseful about, some he wished he never did. He expressed a seemingly sincere wish to go back one day and ask forgiveness from his former peers though he knew some of them would never accept his apology.
I asked about the bubble. He said it finally disintegrated one fateful night he spent on a tower with a wise, dying old man. What he and his mother experienced up until his father's execution also made him see things in a different light. Reluctantly, he admitted that as much as he was sad for his mother, he was somewhat relieved his father was dead. He refused to expound.
Hermione noticed how the Draco's Healer knew exactly when to push and when to back off. While Draco chose to keep some aspects of his life to himself, the Healer saw the bigger picture.
Mr. Malfoy came in troubled today. He introduced Mia to his mother and his cousins for the first time. As he expected, they did not approve of her but it bothered him how they never even gave her a chance. He had quite colourful language that I cannot repeat here; very upset to say the least. He questioned how they could judge her without even knowing her.
I enquired how Mia felt about it. He said he could tell, without Mia admitting to it, that she was hurt and bothered. He declared that he would not let her go through something like that again.
The Healer's entries stopped a few sessions thereafter as Draco withdrew himself from treatment citing the reality of Law School and actually studying for it was going to be taking up a lot of his time.
Mr. Malfoy discharged himself from care today. I expressed my reservations to him that while we both agreed that he had gone so far in the past year, there were definitely some lingering issues about his family and his past that would be beneficial for him to discuss and dissect, particularly about his father. I somewhat disagree with his perception that he no longer needs the sessions to do that but am encouraged by his recognition that his gains continue to be a work in progress. I wished him all the best and quite awkwardly, he thanked me, as if it was the first time he expressed appreciation in his life.
The notes spanned over almost two years and there was silence until a single entry about a year ago. Draco requested and was approved for a prescription of hospital strength Dreamless Draught.
Quite a few obvious questions popped up in Hermione's mind as she was reading the notes.
The Healer's description of Draco at the first session was quite different from how she remembered him last. The Draco she knew would be a cocky confrontational whiner, cheat in a fight, definitely use magic as leverage, and never allow to be emotionally chopped up. Draco definitely did not fall off a cliff six times. He almost died. What and who caused all those injuries? And why would he lie about that?
What were the nightmares about? It was interesting to her how what he considered nightmares at one time became reassuring dreams. Were the ones before he met Mia the same as the ones she assumed he again began to have a year ago? He mentioned Mia passed away around that time. Did he need the potion then? She knew first hand how overwhelming grief could result into sleepless nights.
As she suspected Mia was quite instrumental in the change she had noticed and from how he talked about her last night it sounded like he was seeing her up until the time of her death. Who was she really? And if she were so extraordinary why would Narcissa Malfoy disapprove of her son's relationship with her? Hermione wondered if Mia was Muggle born.
There was mention of cousins. She read somewhere that they stayed with family for a while when they first came to the States. What kind were they? Malfoys or Weasleys or somewhere in the middle? What was his relationship with them like?
Why did he come back? He was cryptic about it last night. Was it to start his apology spree as he indicated to the Healer years ago?
And the one thing that she thought the Healer never really touched on was whether or not Narcissa's other worry about her son was addressed.
Looking back on the times she had been with him, she had never seen him with a wand. It wasn't really odd considering his work was mostly Muggle related and maybe she was just reading too much into it. Maybe the reason why the Healer never discussed it was because it was never a concern, at least not to Draco.
Some of her questions could only be answered by Draco himself. She paused and contemplated about the rest. The way she saw it she had a few options. She could just ask him, though evidently had to be careful and creative about how so he wouldn't find out about her reading the medical file. She could admit to seeing the file, not quite good for her colleague over in Michigan. Or, she could just carry on and look for answers to her questions even further without telling him.
The latter wasn't really a great way to start a relationship and she was even starting to wonder why she succumbed to the pressure of opening the file in the first place. It seemed that while her experience with Roy Hunt provided the spark to her compulsion to read his medical file for self protection against possible deceit, there was nothing in it to suggest that she should doubt him. In fact, those first two years of sessions with the therapist made how Draco was today make more sense. And while she had valid questions, the normal thing to do in any budding friendship was to ask.
Hermione assessed the temptation to be covert in her quest for answers. In her heart she did forgive him for what he was in Hogwarts. With age and the pain that sometimes went with it, Draco's transgressions of long ago, at least against her, were relatively benign. With forgiveness came delicate trust and a second chance. She hated not knowing for sure but she had no reason to doubt Draco's sincerity at the moment. Playing fair was the decent thing to do.
On the other hand she had already read the file; she could not just stop and ignore the questions now. Not having answers to her questions was driving her mad and the sugar loaded muffin and smoothie breakfast she just had was making her all queasy.
Hermione picked up her phone and rang Ginny. No doubt she would still be in bed.
It rang a few times.
Come on, pick up…
And a few more…
"Hello," groggy answer, hoarse, masculine.
After double checking caller id, she replied, "Well, it's either you spent the rest of the night drunk and singing karaoke off the top of your lungs again or you took the wrong hormone pill and lots of it."
"Are you looking for Ginny?" the man chuckled as he asked, she couldn't decide if he was someone familiar.
"Which I now realize isn't you. Yes, I am," she was curious and concerned at the same time, "And who are you, why are you answering her phone, and if you hurt her…"
"Hey," it was Ginny, thankfully interrupting her midstream and thankfully preventing her from saying some potentially libellous remarks.
"Who was that man?"
"What man?"
"The man beside you who answered your phone."
"Oh, this man. A good question which requires…a more… thought out…answer..." there was definitely something more going on on her side of the phone than hers.
"Is this a bad time?" Just say yes.
She heard a cat meow in the background. She hoped it was a real one and it was walking away.
"No, go ahead."
"It's about Draco."
"I think there should be a rule that we can't talk about him before my morning coffee," at least she now had Ginny's undivided attention.
Tell her about the file, about him getting beaten up, about the dreams, about Narcissa and about Mia…
"I'm going to ask him to come to Mexico with me."
Some very colourful language came out of Ginny's mouth.
"I guess it was too much to hope to hear you say something reassuring," she interrupted her.
"You have the wrong number if 'reassuring' is what you want."
Ginny has connections in Michigan. She can find out who this Mia is, the family they stayed with in Detroit and maybe, even who beat him up.
Her friend continued, "Well, only Toronto can save your soul now."
"Very funny," Hermione replied though she knew Ginny was quite serious. She thought about it but couldn't tell Ginny right now. It was only fair to give Draco a chance. She would ask Draco her numerous questions first and if she sensed anything amiss, she definitely would enlist Ginny to help her dig up for collaborating or contradicting information. "We'll talk when I get back from Toronto."
"Give Harry a kiss for me," she could imagine Ginny impishly smiling at the remark.
Hermione chose to ignore it. Ginny was the one person who knew how she felt about Harry but she could not tell her everything that happened between them. A few months after Ron died when their collective grief was more manageable, they had a long talk about Harry and about Toronto. While Ginny was as incensed at Harry as she was the time she found out, Ginny was more forgiving than she was when it came to him. She had been vocal against Hermione's choice to put off talking with him and even suggested that Ron probably wouldn't mind if they ended up together. Again, she did not know the whole story and couldn't possibly understand that it just couldn't be.
The matter out of the way for now, Hermione donned her St. Mungo's Healer's robe briefly thinking how that conversation with Ginny was like deja vu. She made a mental note to press Ginny for more details about it at a later time.
She made her way to the Spell Damage ward where Argus Filch had been admitted after being found unconscious inside an empty Gringott's vault. There was a sentry just outside Filch's room and Filch's primary Healer, Delilah Dogooder, a young woman who was a few years her junior, had just finished doing morning rounds with a few interns.
Hermione walked into the room and was excited to see that Filch was awake. Well, kind of awake.
"Do you have a moment?" Hermione asked.
"I'm so glad to see you," Delilah remarked, "I sought your consult but was told you were away on vacation."
Some vacation.
"I am but I thought I'd drop in and see how Mr. Filch was doing," she told the truth, "He was the caretaker at Hogwarts while I was there. I heard he came in unconscious but I can see you've made some progress."
The younger Healer blushed, "I wish my team could take credit for his state of wakefulness. Not knowing why he was unconscious we've held off most major interventions until labs came in. That is, unless it was the enema he mistakenly got instead of Mr. Gander over there that did the trick."
A group of Healer assistants, old timers who she knew attended Hogwarts long ago, sniggered behind the counter just outside the room. Poor Filch.
"If he was unconscious because of toxins, the accidental enema may have indeed helped with cleansing," it was plausible. "Differentials?"
"No obvious trauma, scans all negative, brain function tested normal. We've tried simple counter spells to revive him. His tox screens just came in and they are all negative. There's no poison to detect to give him antidote for. We're considering a few Dark Magic spells and I was hoping you could help us with it," Delilah rattled off standard protocol. She was often brought in on ambiguous cases like this because of her knowledge of Dark Magic from her research and their Voldemort encounters.
Hermione had walked over closer to Filch, took out her wand and began examining him herself. Filch was in bed, in a semi-reclined position, unmoving, with a fixed stare that seemed aimed out the window. He had not really aged much.
"Has he moved or talked at all?" she asked, running her wand over him as she tried to detect any splattering traces of magic on the surface of his body that could suggest he was hit by a curse.
"No. Not since he was found this way when the assistants came in to check on him this morning just before shift change."
Not a spell trace, unless it was minute. On next pass she focused on poisons. As her wand was over his torso, she paused and scanned back, slower this time. There was a hint of something foreign in his blood, familiar yet not. She scanned through and could only detect it in areas with the most concentration of blood, his heart and spleen. It was definitely not a known poison and would be easy to miss in the lab because nobody was looking for it.
"He has something in him that shouldn't be there," she said to Delilah, who promptly re-examined the area.
"Very subtle but you're quite right," Delilah concurred, open to Hermione's finding, "I feel it faintly, but what is it?"
"I don't know either," she admitted, "Was he on any potion or Muggle medication?"
"Nothing on Muggle or St. Mungo record," Delilah answered. "Though there was an empty phial found close to his body."
"Any trace of what was in it?"
"Lab found it clean, said it was brand new, unused," came her reply, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"It's not that you have a choice," Hermione countered, the furrow back on her forehead. Filch would get 'the Works', the Healer's code for extensive but really unpleasant blind poking and probing. It was anecdotally described as the equivalent to a thousand enemas. "But don't exclude anything out yet. I'll think about the Dark spells and get back to you on it. This trace of something could very well be nothing. It could be something he ate. Call me with what you find."
Delilah thanked her as Hermione scribbled her number on Filch's St. Mungo file. Despite her years of experience in healing, Filch's case was the reason why she could never say that she had seen everything.
The interns had gathered around Delilah and were trying their hand at detecting what they just discovered in Filch. He was a great learning opportunity. The old Filch would have probably resented that.
Hermione turned around to leave, thinking she might make it to Toronto earlier.
"Sir, please let go," she heard one of the interns was pleading.
"Mr. Filch," Delilah said, her voice somewhat strained, "It's okay. They're just examining you."
Filch moving on his own was definite progress. She faced the now building commotion behind her just in time to witness a strong swirling gust of wind fill the room and blow away most unsecured objects from their proper place.
Argus Filch had a wide smile on his face. In his hand was a wand he had wrestled from one of the interns. It was a wand with a glowing tip.
Curious.