Healing

A Conversation with the Weaselbee

While Slughorn had called a register and when he reached Harry's name had just paused, said 'ah, yes' and then carried on, Professor Sprout didn't even call his name at the beginning of class. Draco wondered if he'd dropped Herbology but he didn't have a chance to consider the issue in much further detail. Today they were going to be harvesting the fruit from Mandrakes so they could collect and dry the seeds; a dangerous, if not potentially lethal, exercise if the Mandrake felt the fruit being removed and then screamed.

It was a two-man job and once more Draco partnered with Neville. If he could help Neville in potions then Neville could help him with herbology. The small class listened intently as Professor Sprout gave them their instructions.

Just before they put on their earmuffs, Neville leant across and said, 'get out your silver knife!'

The class had to start by giving a head massage to the tops of the mandrake's craniums which were showing through the soil. Neville carefully showed him how to do the small circular movements with his fingertips just under the stems of the leaves. It felt awful as Draco gently rubbed the rough surface but soon he felt the gentle vibrations of the mandrake humming contentedly. He nodded to Neville who picked up the silver knife and carefully sliced the stem of a fruit from the plant. The Mandrake didn't even notice and both men smiled. They repeated the process until they had harvested five fruits from the first plant and had moved onto their second. Just as Neville cut the third fruit from this plant they heard, even through their earmuffs, a terrible scream behind them. Both stopped and turned around. Hannah Abbot was collapsed on the floor and the three returning Ravenclaws: Megan Jones, Terry Boot, and Amanda Brocklehurst, who were the closest in proximity to the screaming were ashen as they clasped their earmuffs to their heads. Neville rushed forward and immediately started to massage the Mandrake's head, calming it and stopping it. Professor Sprout was shooing away the students from around Hannah, but Draco, like Neville had rushed forward: she to be taken up to the hospital wing immediately and he cast a feather-weight charm over her, scooped her up, and hurried out of the greenhouse with her in his arms, still wearing his pink fluffy earmuffs and with Professor Sprout wheezily hobbling behind.

By lunchtime, exaggerated rumours were circulating around the school that Neville's quick-thinking had rescued the entire year-eight Herbology class from sudden-death by a rampaging Mandrake and that Draco had saved Hannah's life by snatching her unconscious body from its hysterical vice-like grip as it tried to scream the earmuffs from her head. Draco and Neville stayed in the infirmary that lunchtime, Neville holding Hannah's hand and Draco helping Madame Pomfrey where she would allow. Eventually, when Hannah stirred, they were shoo-ed away with reassurances that she would be fine and that they needed to go to their next classes. In fact, they both had a free period so Draco went back to the greenhouses to collect his bag and Neville went off to the library. Draco didn't mention Neville's white face and soft worried mutterings to the unconscious Hannah, or the look she gave him when she first opened her eyes and saw him by her side. He wondered, as he idly watched a lone figure flying above the Quidditch pitch, when those feelings had blossomed.

That evening, Draco sat with Neville, Blaise, Pansy in the year-eight common room. Ron was also sitting nearby, but he was busy staring into the fireplace, deeply rivetted in watching the flames flicker and fall. Blaise was gently plucking at a quiet tune on his guitar, he said it was a piece by Carulli called 'Alla Polacca' and he was practicing for an exam in November. Draco had missed his playing; Blaise had stopped once it was clear Voldemort was returning: too many close associations with muggles. Though Draco could tell he'd been practising in private, he'd come on dramatically in the three years considering he claimed not to have picked up the instrument in all that time.

The conversation fell to the future and about what they'd really like to do with their lives when they left Hogwarts. Draco supposed this was an impact of the war, it had never really been a concern for them before.