The Emerald Manor

Chapter 41

Mathilda's face dropped; her brow arched trying to understand what Cora had said.

"Would you like us to contact the Auror office? They could send someone down to speak to you. Your brother..." she paused.

"The person who attacked you was quite relentless. Your boyfriend, Draco. He has numerous fresh curse burns on his hands. He got those while dueling it looks like. While he was trying to protect you."

Cora sobbed. "Still no word on Draco?"

"No sweetie. He's still with the healers. Do you want me to call the Aurors?"

Cora shook her head, looking back at Mathilda.

"There is no need. I am an Auror."

She felt embarrassed saying it. She was an Auror. She failed herself and failed Draco. She let herself be lured into an ambush and put Draco in harm's way and now he'll likely die. She was unable to subdue even one of them before Draco arrived.

She brought her fingers up to her bottom lip, picking the skin there. She killed Dolohov. She used the killing curse. She meant it. She wanted him dead. She wanted to save Draco. She was a murderer.

Draco was tortured by Voldemort and even he wasn't a murderer.

Mathilda moved Cora's fingers from her lips to prevent her from picking them bloody. "Sweetie you should rest."

Cora shook her head. "No. I'm not tired. I need to be with Draco. I can't leave him."

"You can't see him until the healers are done working on him. I can give you a sleeping draught. I promise I will come get you the moment there is word on his condition, and you can see him."

Her body was heavy, she gave the witch a small nod of acceptance.

Mathilda brought in the sleeping potion, removing the stopper. Cora drank it and leaned back on the bed, falling into dreamless sleep.

The potion must have been starting to wear off; Cora could hear voices in and out of her head while she laid in bed.

"......poor thing. She must have been in shock. .........no, her brother. That's what she said......"

Cora drifted back into sleep, only to hear more voices.

"She asked me not to.........no. Yes......she's an Auror......."

She tried to force herself awake but fell out again. Cora felt more lucid now, hears people mumbling outside her room.

"That Draco boy saved her life. The number of injures he had from curses. He must have fought and shielded against at least 100-200 curses. I didn't know that was possible. Yes, he's stable for now. But we just don't know. Are you going to tell her Mathilda."

Cora screamed in her head. She heard the word stable; Draco hadn't died. But that didn't sound all positive based on the healer's tone of voice. Cora lay very still as she heard two sets of footsteps come into the room.

She rolled in the bed and sat up to see Mathilda in front her. There was also a second healer in lime robes that she hadn't seen before.

"Did you sleep well sweetie?" Mathilda's voice was soft.

Cora nodded.

"I'm glad. It looks like that welt is all healed. That cut will take a few more days, it grazed your cheek bone. Nothing I can do about the scar unfortunately. Cora, this gentleman is Healer Johnson. He was the lead healer for Draco."

Healer Johnson looked exhausted. Dark circles were thick under his eyes, his eyes bloodshot. His face was rugged with stubble that was maybe 2-3 days old. Salt and pepper hair dotted the stubble on his face.

"Miss Cora. I'm glad to see that you are feeling better and were able to rest. I would like to give you an update on Draco if you're ready?"

Cora's blank stare burned into Healer Johnson. She gave him a faint nod.

"We worked on his injuries for the last 12 hours. He sustained extensive damage. We were able to deduce that the curse that hit him the chest was expulso. The damage caused by the explosion from the curse were troublesome. The most problematic was that 6 of his ribs were fractured and one of those punctured his lung."

Mathilda was holding Cora's arm, applying deep pressure to it while she rubbed it.

"We worked on repairing all the rib fractures. But some of the damage to his lungs was irreversible. We were able to fix his lung, but he was deprived of oxygen for a long time. We are unsure of his brain function. There were also over 100 curse burns on his hands and wrists. We were able to treat those, and his hand and wrist function should return to 100%. Curse burns if left untreated can scar and limit motion and make wand use painful."

Cora was nodding, trying to fathom everything she had just been told. "What does that all mean?" She said without looking up at Healer Johnson.

"He's stable. But he's in a coma. We don't know if he'll ever wake up. The oxygen deprivation may have been too severe to recover. All we can do now is wait."

"Can I see him?" Her voice was flat, lacking emotion.

"Of course, sweetie. I'll take you to him right now."

Mathilda and Cora walked through the halls. Cora didn't realize how long they had been walking until Mathilda stopped. "He's in here. I'll give you some private time with him."

Cora floated into the room like a ghost. She heard the door click closed behind her. She stood still, staring at the center of the room. Draco was lying in bed, looking so peaceful. Like he may be sleeping.

She took small nervous steps moving closer to Draco's bed. A chair has been placed next to his bedside. Cora assumed Mathilda put it here. She sat down, placing a hand on his chest over his heart.

She could feel his heart beating. It was strong and equal. Her hands caressed his face, it was warm. Her eyes drifted down to his hands. They were red and patchy, presumably from the curse burns the healer mentioned. But those should heal. She wrapped a hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. She leaned over the bed resting her head on his chest so she could feel the beat of his heart. She ran her free hand through his hair.

Days passed, Cora barely left Draco's bedside. Mathilda popped in the room often under the guise of checking on Draco. But Cora knew she was checking on her. Cora wouldn't eat, barely drinking. Mathilda had asked multiple times if she could call somebody. But Cora had told her there was no one to call. The only person she would ever call was in the bed, unconscious.

Another week passed, no sign of recovery from Draco. Mathilda came in for another one of her check ins.

She gave Cora a pitiful look. "Sweetie. Please eat something. It's been almost two weeks and I don't think I've seen you eat much of anything."

"I'm not hungry Mathilda. Thank you though."

Mathilda sighed and put fresh linens on the cot she had brought in for Cora. She brought it after the 3rd night of watching Cora sleep hunched over on Draco's chest.

"I need to call someone. There must be someone. A co-worker at the Auror office maybe?" Mathilda's voice was strained with worry. Mathilda had been acting like a mother to Cora these last two weeks.

Cora looked up resigned from Draco's bed.

"Jessie Jones. Auror. Ministry of Magic."