Harry Potter and the Rise of the Slytherin Prince

Healing Hands

"So why it is that Mr. Malfoy requires an anti-shock potion and why is it that you are the one asking for it?" Professor Snape asked the moment Hermione stepped out of the mirror. He was grabbing jars off his shelves and setting them on the desk a strange expression on his weary face. He gestured to a cutting board with a crimson red flower and a knife on it. "Start chopping the fire lily as fine as you're able."

Hermione told him the entire story that she know as she chopped the beautiful flower. Professor Snape started throwing various ingredients into a cauldron while carefully listening to her explanation. They worked very well together in the cold dungeon with the need for urgency overcoming their normal dislike for each other.

"So you have no idea why they were in the Forbidden Forest to begin with? Or why they came to you rather than a teacher?" Professor Snape added the fire lily carefully avoiding the jet of red steam that shot up from the bubbling brew. He had a grim look of satisfaction on his face as he added the final few ingredients and began to stir slowly. Hermione shook her head no to his questions and waited patiently for the last ten minutes of stirring to be complete before the potion was done. With a gesture the Gryffindor grabbed the flask and they carefully poured the steaming liquid into it. "Alright, we're ready."

Hermione followed the Professor back through the mirror to find Harry alone with Draco who was obviously in a great deal of pain. Harry was rambling non-stop in a calming slow voice and Draco clung to the contact with unfocused eyes. They didn't look up until Professor Snape stood at the bedside and distracted them. Instantly Draco's face pinched with pain as his concentration broke and his breathing started to quicken.

"Draco, I'm going to give you a potion and then you can sleep. I need you to stay awake to drink the entire flask do you understand?" The professor set a gentle hand on the side of the teenagers face in a surprisingly caring gesture. "You have been worse than this, Draco. You made it then and you will be fine now."

Draco nodded and closed his eyes before turning to Harry. "Please keep talking."

Everyone turned with a surprised look as Harry continued his rambling, never taking his hand off the cloths on the side of the young man's head. Draco nodded again and turned back to Professor Snape. The professor applied the flask to his lips and poured in about a quarter of the bottle stopping to allow Draco to gasp for more air before replacing it. They did this several times before Draco started to slump as unconsciousness tried to envelope him. Harry called softly to him bringing him back with a start. He wheezed to the professor knowing he would not be able to stay conscious at the rate they were proceeding and took as deep a breath as he could. "One shot."

The professor nodded and tipped the bottle and held it there as Draco held his breath and drank. By the time the bottle was emptied Draco slumped and finally relaxed into gasping slumber. They were all quiet for several moments before Hermione saw Harry's shaking hands. She placed her hand over his and allowed him to let go of the cloth. He stepped back shaking with adrenaline and cold, covered in blood. Madam Pomfrey placed a wrapped piece of chocolate in his pocket and pushed him towards the washroom seeing his exhaustion. "Go wash up, Potter and check on your friend in the bathroom. Then go sit by the fire in the common room and eat this."

"Miss Granger, I understand you are interested in the healing arts? Would you like to stay and assist me?" The nurse turned to the female Gryffindor as she picked up her wand from the table. Hermione nodded excitedly at the prospect of learning something new. Professor Snape disappeared to retrieve more fire lily to make salve for Draco's hands before the nurse continued. "First thing is to clean the wound on his head."

Hermione squirted the gash as the nurse showed her allowing the water and blood to flow into a basin to remove the dirt and grit from the rock that were left there. Madam Pomfrey carefully started removing the patients sopping clothes, leaving his boxers, to better examine him. She let out a gasp as she removed his shirt and Hermione looked to see dozens of thin white scars covering his flat abdomen and chest. She heard the nurse muttering under her breath. "That rotten lout of a man, I knew it. I wish someone would put him in Azkaban where he belongs."

She continued to mutter under her breath as she looked at Hermione's work and nodded when it was enough. She said a quick spell and the needle and clear thread on the table jumped up and began to sew the wound together. The stitches were so fine that when it was finished only a thin red line and the blood caked in the blond hair was any indication that there was an injury at all. Hermione then levitated the Slytherin at Madam Pomfrey's request revealing more of the thin scars criss-crossing the back. The nurse sighed before repeating the spell to see the bones of the ribs in the back. She reached in with one hand and straightened the bones that had snapped on three of the ribs before removing the spell and mending them. Instantly Draco's breathing became easier as removal of the misaligned ribs took the pressure off his lungs. They set him on the bed again and Madam Pomfrey continued her systematic repairing in the collar bone along with other old breaks in the arms and legs that had not been mended properly. The nurse muttered darkly although too quietly for Hermione to hear but she could still sense anger from the older woman.

With that finished she handed Hermione a salve to place over the multitudes of bruises on the shoulder, ribs, neck and back. The nurse filled two basins with several ingredients and placed Draco's swollen hands into them, leaving them to soak and thaw. They applied a different salve to the stitches before Madam Pomfrey set several blankets over him and stepped back. "That's all we can do for now. Come back after breakfast tomorrow for a bit if you're free. By the way, anything you see in here must stay confidential, he had that right. That includes your friends."

She gave Hermione a pointed look and the younger woman knew exactly that she was referring to the healed scars that covered Draco's torso. She promised not to say a word before washing up and heading back to the common room sanctuary. Harry and Ron were already there cleaned up and changed sitting by the fire. They both looked up as she entered exhaustion clear in her shoulders. Fred and George had raided the kitchen and brought sandwiches as they had missed supper and sat nearby clearly waiting to see why they had all come back covered in blood. No one really ate much as they sat silently, Harry with a comforting arm around his female friend as they stared into the fire alone in their thoughts.