Inevitable

5 | She's Smart Enough to Figure it Out--Are You?

The next morning, Dottie walked into Draco's office and found him looking surprisingly haggard, as if he hadn't slept at all. His desk was scattered with several enormous, dusty old books. The potions lab adjoining his office was a bit of a mess as well.

"Morning, Healer Malfoy! Did—did you sleep here?"

He glanced up distractedly from the page he was studying intently. "Sleep? Hmm, no— I've been researching all night. I need to figure out what's going on with Potter. I'm worried that this stab wound is more serious than I initially realized." He ran a hand through his tousled hair. "Any word on that knife?"

"Yes. Healer Thomas sent it to the ministry to be examined. The Aurors said they still need to finish testing the knife for dark spells and curses, but they'll send it over this afternoon."

Draco nodded, "Alright, then. Listen, Hewitt... I hate to bring this up, but the blushing and flirting in Potter's room yesterday? I'm afraid it was a bit... Well. Unprofessional."

Dottie blushed crimson. "I'm sorry, Healer Malfoy. He's just so attractive. And nice. But it won't happen again, I promise."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, definitely. I learned something last night. Potter is...well, as the Muggles say, he bats for your team."

Draco quirked an eyebrow. "I have absolutely no idea what that means."

"He's gay."

Draco's eyes widened. "He's not."

"He is! He has a boyfriend, he kissed him right in front of me..."

A thousand fantasies raced through Draco's mind. He'd been in love with Harry Potter for as long as he'd known him, but he'd never thought— Never even let himself hope that Harry might be... No. This was too much to process. Draco groaned and put his head down on his desk. Dottie was still talking.

"He might be bisexual, actually. I know he's dated women before. He's definitely with a man right now, though. But I don't think Harry likes him very much. I think he's going to break up with him, he practically told me... are you okay?"

"I'm— Yes, I just need a nap. I'm exhausted. Tell Potter I don't have any conclusive results yet. Wake me as soon as that knife arrives so I can start testing it, okay?"

"Okay," Dottie opened the door, turning to watch as Draco transfigured his desk into a small bed and promptly curled up on it, "See you."

"Well, that was a surprising response," Dottie muttered to herself as she walked down the hall.

She had watched the emotions that flickered across Draco's face when she told him Harry had a boyfriend, and they were very interesting, to say the least.

•••••

Draco awoke to a gentle knock on the door several hours later. "Healer Malfoy? That knife's just arrived."

He rubbed his eyes and stood up. "Come in, Hewitt."

She opened the door and walked inside, carrying a package.

"Dark spell and curse free, according to the Aurors. But it still could have been dipped in something. A potion? Or a poison?"

Draco took the package from her and set it on his re-transfigured desk. "Yes. Either of those could have caused the issues with healing Potter's wound. If it's a poison, though, you'd think we would have seen the effects by now, unless it was extremely slow-acting."

"Effects, meaning...?"

"Foaming at the mouth, twitching, hallucinating, entering a comatose state, and..." Draco paled, "death."