When Stars Align

Chapter 5

As Draco stepped into the clinic, he felt assured by the professional and friendly employee that was working there.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy. Welcome to St. Thomas. We have booked your appointment with Healer Jonas, who is a specialist in muggle medicine. Right this way, please."

As Draco followed the friendly receptionist down the hallway, he felt his stomach churn. There were a multitude of emotions at play, but at the forefront were excitement and anxiety.

"Mr. Malfoy, welcome. I'm Healer Jonas." Healer Jonas, greeted him with a kind smile.

"Healer Jonas, thank you for seeing me at such short notice." Draco said cordially.

"May I ask what brought you to St. Thomas? Are you in need of both muggle and wizard treatment? Or is it just muggle medicine that you are in need of?"

"I..." Draco paused to compose himself.

"I am actually here to ask if I can discuss an alternative way of conceiving. It is my understanding that recent advances in muggle technology have enabled multiple non-traditional ways to conceive a child. It is also my understanding that St. Thomas actively incorporates all of the newest muggle technology and further advances it through magic."

Healer Jonas, surprised by what she heard but still remaining professional,

"Yes, that is correct, Mr. Malfoy. We do offer solutions that could help wizards and witches that would prefer some non-traditional ways of conceiving children. I will be more than happy to discuss the options with you."

"Thank you. But I have already done my research and was particularly interested in the very latest method."

There was a pregnant silence.

Healer Jonas, recovering from her momentary shock, "Mr. Malfoy. Am I correct in understanding that you want to make and grow a baby through our lab?"

"Yes."

After a moment, Healer Jones explained: "I see that you have read one of our latest articles, but I want to express that although we did have a breakthrough, all of it was theoretical. We do believe that it will work, but there have been no real-life cases to prove it."

Of course, Draco was already aware of this. Although he would have preferred to have confirmed cases, he also knew that the clinic had gone through rigorous procedures to ensure that it would be a safe and successful endeavor. The lack of real-life cases were in large, attributed to the fact that most could rely on traditional ways of conceiving and/or tried and tested methods of other non-traditional ways. However, Draco not fitting into either of those categories, had to take bolder action.

"Mr. Malfoy, before we delve into the specifics, I want to confirm that you have a woman's eggs to go into the procedure with."

"Unfortunately, no. I do not have a spouse or a significant other. I know that St. Thomas stores eggs. I was hoping we could discuss the potential of finding eggs through the clinic as well."

Healer Jonas looked contrite. "Sorry, Mr. Malfoy. While we do have programs that help witches freeze and store their eggs, we do not have any donations."

Draco was perplexed. He had not anticipated this problem. He had assumed that there would naturally be some samples of eggs to choose from. "Surely, there must be someone that would be willing to donate their eggs? I would be more than happy to provide generous compensation. I am not picky either. As long as the witch is healthy, I am content."

"Once again, I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy. We do not have any donations in our clinic. Without procuring them, we cannot help you with your procedure. I can suggest you visit a muggle fertility bank to get access to some. We can certainly help you move forward after that."

Draco started to feel a bit desperate. "How long would that take?"

"Well, I would say it takes at least three months to retrieve eggs from the muggle bank and to work out the logistics of getting them from the muggle world. I would say another month or so to try and successfully proceed with growing the embryo through our artificial womb."

Draco panicked inside. Four months was not enough time.