Chapter Text
“Okay, you got this…” He murmured, splashing some cold water on his face. He gripped the sides of the sink so hard, his knuckles were turning white. He lifted his gaze to look in the mirror once more, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “Hello, my name is Healer Draco Malfoy, I am a trainee healer and I will be taking care of you today. Okay, that is perfect, could you tell me how you fell? Did you hurt your head, any other pains? Rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being practically painless! I understand. I am going to check your vitals and do a basic spell to assess if you hurt your head in the fall.” He gestured in the air with an invisible wand, going over the familiar diagnostic spells, murmuring the pronunciations under his breath while he went through the motions. “Okay ... .okay, okay, okay…This is you’ve been waiting for Draco, don’t get cold feet now.” He said to himself, running his hands through his hair one more time. He checked himself in the mirror one last time, making sure his robes were impeccable and left the tiny bathroom.
Draco made his way to the apparition point to St. Mungo’s actively fighting the nausea that was burning his throat with bile. He suffered through Hogwarts, got his NEWTs, got into one of the country’s most competitive healer program and he finished his exams with more or less satisfactory scores. He finished his rotation in Radiology 2 weeks ago, squinting at magical projections, trying to make out what the attending healer was pointing at on the hundreds of magical threads that visualized the human body. Before that, he was in Pediatrics, dealing with children vomiting on him, coughing on him and he was pretty sure his ears were permanently damaged from all the screaming.
His last rotation was Emergency Healing and he was not looking forward to it. The EH is well known for being a rapid filter for underqualified students. If they hadn’t bitten the bullet until arriving there, they were sure to not make it out of there with ‘Healer’ in front of their names. Draco would have loved to go into any other field as his last rotation, but alas, he had to accept his fate and suck it up.
St. Mungo was a huge hospital, well known for its excellent Cardiology scores and Dermatology departments. It was also famous for its understaffed EH, where no wizard was satisfied and every witch had to wait at least 3 hours before being seen. The place being an overstimulating disaster was an understatement. Draco was sick just thinking about it. He had a lot riding on this rotation, but Merlin has decided to make the road to his degree the hardest it could possibly be. He let out a shaky exhale as he walked up to the heavy double door leading to the Emergency Healer Department.
He was greeted by a cacophony of coughs, cries and complaints, all slamming into him as he entered the waiting room. He scurried to the healer corridors, trying to keep his eyes off of all the sick and injured wizards. He quickly put his leather bag into the locker with which his magical signature matched. He pulled the Magiscope around his neck and put his Quick Quotes Quill in his pocket with a small roll of parchment.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before exiting the door and slamming into the traffic of Emergency Healing. He maneuvered around floating bodies and nurses, quickly making his way to the centre to find the attending healer. He spotted Healer Weasley easily, with his tall frame and bright ginger hair. He was talking animatedly to one of the nurses, who nodded gravely at his instructions and took off quickly towards one of the rooms.
“Good morning Healer Weasley, my name is Draco Malfoy and I am starting my rotation here today.” He walked up to the other man, gathering all his confidence as he introduced himself, flashing a cordial smile and extending his hand for a handshake.
“Oh! Yes! Malfoy…,” the older healer trailed off, trying hard to suppress his chuckle. “I’m sorry it’s terribly unprofessional of me, you just look so much like…,” he trailed off again, unable to suppress his laugh this time, turning multiple heads in their direction. Draco shuffled awkwardly as the attending healer laughed at him, while he silently cursed the hospital, the school and his father. “Merlin, this is hilarious. Welcome Healer Malfoy to the EH, I am Healer Ronald Weasley-Granger, but call me simply Healer Ro. Are you by any chance related to Lucius Malfoy?”
Draco’s ears were burning red from the humiliation. His entire body was locked up, his muscles pulled taut and his jaw clenched. He willed himself to relax, planting a calm smile on his face, feigning confidence.
“I’m guessing the heritage is quite hard to deny.” He jokes lightheartedly, gesturing at himself. Weasley tsked, waving at him dismissively.
“You look way better than he did at this age, plus you are a healer, so that’s already miles better in my book.” Draco just nodded, trying to suppress the retort that anything was better than being in prison for life. “Anyways, enough small talk for now, we have a full waiting room with witches and wizards who are all waiting to get care. Let me introduce you to the others.” Weasley offered and Draco quickly nodded along, silently grateful that the awkward conversation ended.
“This is Neville, our charge nurse. He’s the boss here. What he says is ultimate and we follow it word for word.” The man he was led to was insanely tall, around 2 meters, towering over even Healer Ron, even though he was also about half a foot taller than Draco. Despite his large build he gave Draco a dazzling smile, making his eyes crinkle. They shook hands and he was immediately ushered away.
In the next minutes he was introduced to Healer Finnigan and Healer Thomas, two other older healers on the floor. Both of them joked with him a bit, which he tried to go along with awkwardly, but they quickly realized that he didn’t get their humor, so they simply patted his back and went back to examining the witch with a dislocated shoulder.
“Don’t worry, those two are basically bonded to each other. It’s like they speak a completely different language.” Healer Ron reassured him and steered him towards the beds in the back. “These are our other Healers in Training, Ms. Parkinson, third year resident and Ms. Lovegood, our prodigy fourth year. They are smart, capable and quick to think. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to reach out to them as well if you see I’m occupied.” The two women barely glanced up at him before resuming the decoding of what seemed to be an extremely complex curse on a little boy’s leg. Draco waved to them awkwardly once more and then he was ushered into the lounge to talk to the remaining nurses.
“Alright, I think that’s all for now, I hope you are good with names.” Healer Ron joked, nudging him by the shoulder. Draco chuckled nervously, not daring to admit he has probably forgotten half the people he was introduced to. “Go to Dr. Finnegan, I believe he just levitated in a patient.” He was out of sight before Draco could say anything.
He walked back to the hall, quickly scanning the place to find Healer Finnegan levitating in a seizing patient. He quickened his steps, following them into the trauma room. He holds the patient down my his shoulders while the healer assessed the man.
“Alright Draco, what are we thinking?” He asked suddenly, catching Draco completely off guard.
“Ah, um…some kind of allergic reaction maybe, the larynx is all swollen and I don’t think there’s anything obstructing the airways.”
“You don’t think, or is there truly nothing?” Finnegan asked firmly. “Cast spell for respiratory obstruction, plasma histamine levels and check magical signature for medical record and allergies!” Draco nodded along, quickly, trying to remember all the steps he needed to do.
“I- I can’t do it if he’s seizing so much…” He stammered awkwardly, both arms still flexing to try to keep the patient from hurting himself.
“You’re a wizard for Merlin’s sake! Two cushioning charms and you’re set!” Draco feels like a fool as he wordlessly casted the spells and began the examination, silently cursing himself. He’s usually more on top of his game than this.
The histamine levels came back sky high while the neck area is shining brightly yellow indicating that the airway is clear. Draco summoned the medical log, quickly skimming over the informations. Robert Peterson, 34 years old, severe allergy to pumpkin. With a fancy flourish of his wand he made an allergy evaluation on the tongue and hands, finding traces of allergens on the skin.
“Great job Healer Malfoy, what do we give this patient?” Healer Finnegan simply observed his work, seeming calmer than before.
“We give him one vial of Invigoration Essence to treat the inflammation and a steroid injection.”
“Very good. Summon them please.” The older healer ordered him and Draco is droning out the order without a second thought. The vial flies straight into his outstretched palm, but the tiny injection bottle slips out of his fingers, crashing on impact and bursting into a hundred pieces on the floor. “Shit!” Healer Finnegan yells out, jumping out of the way. “We summon one at a time Malfoy! Did you not learn anything in school?” He yelled and Draco wanted to cry. Instead, he murmured a quick apology, summoned another bottle and began treatment.
Thankfully the potions worked and Robert stopped seizing a couple seconds after the vials have been administered. As the man stabilized, Healer Finnegan pushed Draco aside gently, setting up a heart rate monitoring spell and casting some other routine spells. Draco slinked back to the corner of the room.
The adrenaline from the treatment was still pumping through him hard, making his ears whistle and his vision blur around the edges. His hands were slightly trembling, so he willed himself to clench his fists a couple of times. Breathe in, breathe out. He stabilized a patient…Holy shit he stabilized a patient!
“Alright Healer Malfoy, I’ll account for the broken vial and finish this one up. Take ten and get that foot checked out by Healer Parkinson.” Finnegan dismissed him quickly, already checking the shards on the floor. Draco turned around, feeling like his feet were made of lead as he tried to walk forward. “Oh and Healer Malfoy,” Draco whipped his head around so fast he got dizzy. “All in all, you did great. I know this place is very different from your other experiences. It’ll take some time, so no hard feelings.” He flashed Draco a quick smile before turning back to his work.
Despite Healer Finnegan’s words, Draco still felt like a failure. He could list all the things he did wrong now that the procedure was over. Summoning multiple vials at once? Seriously? Such an embarrassing rookie mistake. He carefully made his way to the other side of the room, finding Healer Parkinson finishing up a bandage on an old lady’s ankle.
“Alright, that should be all Mrs. Crumney, make sure to ice it and let it rest for the next two weeks.” She instructed matter of factly, before turning towards Draco. “Can I help you?” Draco couldn’t decide if her tone was condescending or not, so he just went with it.
“Uh, yeah, Hi! I’m Draco, the new resident here? We met this morning.”
“Yeah I know who you are.” Parkinson waves at him dismissively.
“Healer Finnegan told me to come here to get my feet checked out by you? It’s nothing serious but one of the vials broke, so he wanted to make sure no shards were in my feet.” Parkinson cocked an eyebrow at him, tilting her head to the side and looking over him from head to toe.
“Come on, sit down.” Draco practically collapsed into the chair. “Lift up your left leg!” Draco obeyed her, wincing as he grabbed his ankle firmly. “Only a couple of small scratches, I don’t see any shards in your sole. Other leg!” She instructed, dropping Draco’s leg in the process. “Well, the bad news is, you’ll still need to work, but the good news is that we don’t have to wrangle vial shards out of your feet.”
“Thank you Healer Parkinson!” He said carefully, still unsure where he was standing with the woman. She could only be about one or two years older than him and she looked amazing. If not for her standoffish behavior he would have tried to become her friend.
“Pansy is fine, Merlin. Unlike others here, I’m not 40 something, so please, call me Pansy.” She said, rubbing her eyebrows in frustration.
“Right. Thank you Pansy!” He said carefully.
“Alright, this is enough slacking off, come on, me and Luna are about to check a woman who had abdominal pain for the past two days, we could use another set of hands.” Draco simply nodded, slowly extracting himself from the chair and following Pansy.
It was noon by the time he finally sat down again in the cafeteria. The morning was insanely busy. After teaming up with the two other residents, they mostly treated smaller cases, which Draco was grateful for, since he wasn’t sure he could handle another life or death situation. He still sometimes messed things up, especially in communicating with the patients. He couldn’t help it when a grimace or biting word escaped his customer service smile.
He slowly unwrapped the dry cafeteria sandwich he picked up, examining it as carefully as he would a patient, unconvinced he wants to put the abomination in his mouth. His rumbling stomach decided for him then, making him let out a sigh and bite into the crumbling crust.
He barely took three bites of his lunch when a loud siren pierces through the EH. Nurse Longbottom bursted into the room seconds later.
“Malfoy, with me!” He ordered and Draco scrambled out of his seat, following the tall charge nurse.
“What’s happening?” He asked, cringing at his panicked voice.
“Code crimson. Something went south with an Auror mission. We’re expecting two critically injured witches and 3 others with smaller but also worrisome injuries. Be on the lookout for spell damages, these curses they get are sometimes very complex and unconventional, don’t be too surprised if you haven’t see them in your textbooks. You’re getting one of the 3 with the lighter injuries.”
“Alone?” Draco asked while they are weaving through the crowd at top speed, trying to get to the free beds.
“Yes. Alone. We need all hands on deck and we leave the most critical for the attending.” Longbottom must have noticed that he was turning white as a sheet, because he patted his shoulder in reassurance. “I’ve seen your arithmancy and charms scores. I trust you.” He said, looking deeply into Draco’s eyes.
Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, gaining a bit of confidence from Nurse Longbottom’s small speech.
“Alright everyone! They are apparating in the next half a minute! Everyone on standby!” Longbottom yelled, pointing Draco to one of the empty beds at the far side of the room.
He took some deep breaths, casting a light cleaning charm on his hands, rubbing the cold digits together. He wasn’t bored for long, because suddenly a huge man was dropped into the bed, materializing out of thin air.
He landed on the bed with a loud thud before groaning loudly, clutching his side and scrunching his face up in pain.
“Hello Sir, my name is Healer Malfoy and I’ll be taking care of you today.” Draco began his introduction, but what he wasn’t expecting was the auror man to pull his wand out and point it right at his face, his eyes glinting with hatred as he suddenly casted a wordless spell. Draco barely had the presence of mind to duck out of the way.
The spell hit the ceiling, leaving behind a scorched red spot. Draco quickly pulled his own wand out, summoning restraints around the man’s wrists and ankles, securing it to the side of the bed.
“That was very rude, Sir! I am going to take your wand now and then assess your wounds.” He said quickly, prying the wand out of the man’s iron grip after a but of struggle. The man on the bed obviously disapproved what he did, yelling at him to stop and to get his hands off of him. “It’s okay Sir, your wand will be returned to you shortly.”
He quickly set up a heart monitoring spell and performed a cutting spell on the man’s robes where the blood was staining his uniform. There was a big gash on the man’s side, with serious bruising and deformed ribcage around the lungs. Draco did a general curse detection spell and when it came back positive for the man’s left thighs he quickly checked the wound there as well. There was a a black inky, almost gunshot-like wound on the man’s thigh. Draco quickly catalogued all the injuries and set up a mental priority list for himself.
The man was still yelling at him and trashing in his seat. “Please, Sir I’m just trying to do my job!” He tried for the third time. The man was relentless, yelling about not wanting to he touched. Something snapped in Draco then, making him rip a strip of fabric from the man’s uniform and stuffing it into his mouth. He grabbed the sides of the bed, leaning up close to the man. “I’m done playing nice. You have about 2 seconds to calm down and let me treat you, or your broken ribs will pierce your lung and it’ll be way longer than it would be if you’d cooperate!” He hissed into the man’s face.
After realizing his method worked and the man relaxing slightly, he also felt a lot of tension leave his body. He let his shoulders sag and began the treatment. “Alright Sir, I’m going to check the location of the break on your ribs and then use a spell to stabilize them in place. Then I’ll disinfect and treat your gash. Finally, I’ll deal with the curse damage. If my eyes aren’t playing tricks with me, it’s a simple pain curse.”
Draco wordlessly summoned a vial of Calming Draught and some Numbing Agent. He gently removed the cloth from the man’s mouth and poured it down his throat. The man stayed silent, his piercing green eyes dancing over Draco’s face.
“Okay, I’m not going to tape your mouth anymore, but please he quiet!” He pleaded with the man before focusing on stabilizing him. He slowly pressed at the side of the man with both his hands, feeling along the long bones. He carefully mapped out the breaks and then levitated the bones from the inside, closing his eyes in concentration. A loud crunch indicated that he did a good job. He quickly summoned a blood coagulant salve, massaging it around the long gash on the man’s side. The bleeding slowly subsided, so Draco began the suturing spell, carefully pinching the skin as he went to ensure a smooth scar.
He then gently rotated the man’s thigh to get a better view of the wound. It looked relatively localized, with barely any webbing. He was more concerned about the depth of the curse, fearing that it hit some major nerves. He carefully tapped the tip of his want on the black inky skin, murmuring the counter curse under his breath. He had to cast for a good minute before the curse finally caught on the tip of his wand. He let out a relieved breath he didn’t even know he was holding and slowly extracted the curse, making sure no strings were left behind.
“Alright Sir, I believe we’ve dealt with the worst of it. Now I’m just going to bandage you up.” Draco smiled at the man pleasantly, before his smile froze on his face. “Fuck! Merlin, I didn’t look at your magical signature!” He murmured, mostly to himself. He casted the spell, pulling up the man’s informations.
He read the name of the man first…Harry James Potter. There was no fucking way he just treated THE Harry James Potter, Senior Head Auror and the man who put his father in prison. He slowly looked back at the man, finally really looking at him.
The man was truly huge, tall and built, but had some softness around his belly. He was very hairy, with dark hair covering his thighs, stomach, chest and even sporting a nicely trimmed beard. He had a couple of grey hairs around his temple and in his beard and wrinkles around his eyes. The man’s piercing green eyes were still looking at him with anger and suspicion. Now that Draco was looking at him more carefully he could see the iconic scar of the head auror, slightly hidden behind his dark curls.
Oh Merlin. He just tied the head auror up, stiffed his mouth full with filthy clothes scraps and took his wand away. He was so fucked. Before he could spiral further, Healer Ron showed up from the other room.
“How are we doing over here?” He asked pleasantly, his eyes scanning the room carefully.
“The patient is stabilized. He had two broken ribs which are now back in place. I’ve also extracted a simple curse from his thigh. With about six weeks of rest he should be completely recovered.” Draco droned the treatment almost on auto pilot. Healer Ron just nodded at him, before walking up to Mr. Potter and to Draco’s surprise he pulled the man into a careful hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” He said slowly, pulling back to check on the man, when he paused. “Could I ask, Healer Malfoy why the patient is tied up with vines?”
“I was quite uncooperative.” Came the gruff answer from the man, making Draco freeze. “You’re one big asshole, sending this kid in here.”
“The resemblance is uncanny isn’t it?” The two of them looked over at Draco with amusement glinting in their eyes and Draco wanted to die.
“It’s like being back in fucking school.” Potter groaned, flexing his arm and breaking the bind on his wrist with ease. Draco tried to avert his eyes fast, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks. No way the man had been able to escape the binds this whole time.
“Judging by your state I’m guessing you didn’t go easy on the kid.” Healer Ron joked, making Draco clench his jaw.
“You’d have been surprised too, coming back from a fight, just to see the carbon copy of Lucius waving his wand at you.” Potter defended himself and something in Draco snapped.
“Well, excuse me for trying to treat you properly, maybe next time open your eyes and think for a second before sending curses at a healer in training.” He crossed his arms around himself, his eyes burning with hatred. Healer Ron turned to Potter so quickly, Draco could practically hear his neck crack.
“YOU CASTED AT MY STUDENT?” He yelled at Potter, making everyone in the ward flinch. At least the man had it in him to look embarrassed.
“I- I was just- I didn’t mean to.” He stammered, embarrassment coloring his cheeks. “Healer Malfoy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I was half delirious from the pain.” He tried to explain himself. Draco pursed his lips, standing firmly.
“Are we done here?” He asked, turning towards Healer Ron. The man was still stunned, barely registering what he was asking.
“Oh! Yes, I’ll look over Potter’s injuries just in case, but everything seems in order.”
“Perfect. Then I’m leaving. Have a nice day Mr Potter.” He said, looking into the older man’s eyes once more before walking away quickly.
He made his way to the break room, locking the door behind him before tears started streaming down his face. All the stress and all the things he did wrong were all coming back to him. He felt terrible.
He had gotten a fair share of discrimination and scrutiny for his family name and for his father’s crimes. He shouldn’t have been so affected by it by now, but coming to the EH and being met with judgement and belittlement from his superiors somehow made him feel hopeless.
He snapped at the head auror Harry Potter for Merlin’s sake! The way he talked to the man back there was beyond disrespectful and he should put his two hands together if he even makes it through this day without getting fired for good. The man was basically the symbol of the whole Wizarding World. If he as much as pointed at Draco and said, ‘Out!’ He probably wouldn’t have time to react before he was out of the program.
He slid down to the ground, letting the overwhelmed tears fall from his eyes. It was only 1 pm and he already wanted to be back home in his shitty apartment. He cried for a good minute before pulling himself together, casting a quick refreshing charm on himself to erase the tear tracks from his cheeks. His eyes were still dry and probably looked quite red, but he needed to get back out there before it was too obvious he was away.
He spent the next few hours dealing with fall injuries, infections and various illnesses. He tried to forget about the auror incident, fighting himself to pay attention solely on his patients.
“Can I touch your hair?” Came a careful question from a small voice behind him. Draco turned around in surprise, finding a pretty little witch staring up at him with twinkling eyes. She had two pigtails, secured with rainbow color changing hair ties in her hair.
Draco crouched down to her level, forcing an easy smile on his face.
“Hi, where are your parents?” He asked kindly, looking around to check.
“Mommy is having a surgery right now!” She said carefully, seemingly just realizing that she was in the middle of the hall, with loud beeping and yelling coming from all directions. Draco could see her face crumpling in seconds, tears welling up in her eyes. He quickly scooped up the little girl, balancing her on his hips and making his way to the break room. He sat the girl down to one of the tables.
“Okay. Could you tell me your name?” He asked.
“I’m Adeline!” She said between two small sniffles.
“Nice to meet you Adeline, I’m Healer Malfoy, but you can call me Draco if you want. Do you have any other family member here?”
“No…Mommy told me to wait in the waiting room but it’s so noisy in there!” She complained, her voice cracking. “Please don’t send me out there!” She pleaded, cuddling up into Draco’s chest.
Draco had no idea how this little girl got through security and made her way through the EH without anyone noticing, but he simply petted her pretty brown hair and hugged her back.
“It’s okay. How about you wait here until your mom is finished with her surgery? It’s quieter here and I can bring you a cup of milk if you’d like?” He offered, carefully carding through the little girl’s hair. She turned her puffy face up at Draco, her snot smearing across Draco’s uniform.
“Will you stay with me?” She asked, lips wobbling. Draco sighed in defeat.
“I’ll stay as long as I can.” He assured her, before sitting her down and pouring her a cup of the cooled milk they had in the storage.
“Can I make your hair?” She asked carefully and Draco couldn’t say no to her, even if he tried. They spent the next twenty minutes talking about Adeline’s daycare, her friends, her favorite pony and everything in between, while the little girl stuck various clips and ribbons into Draco’s hair. Although his hair only reached until his shoulders, the little girl had infinite creativity.
They were interrupted by Healer Ron, who apparently was looking for Draco. When he found the two of them, he couldn’t help but smile at the pair.
“Healer Malfoy, here you are! I’ve been looking for you. Who’s this princess here with you?” He asked, getting on one knee before Adeline, making her giggle.
“She’s Adeline, her mother is in surgery right now and she snuck in from the waiting room, saying it was too loud out there.” Draco explained, trying to suppress his nerves.
“Alright. I’ll ask our social worker, Penny, to come look after her while she waits here. Malfoy, please come with me, I need you out there.” Draco waved goodbye to Adeline before following the other man out of the room.
“I’m sorry Healer Ron, I just didn’t know what to do…” He trailed off, biting his lips nervously.
“It’s okay. Usually we just ask for Penny or someone else to watch over kids who have no other relatives here. You’re a Healer. You need to be out here as much as possible.” He instructed. “Now, Potter would like to speak with you, so please talk to him first. When you’re done, find Healer Thomas and you’ll assist him for the rest of your shift.” He said, patting Draco in the back.
Draco couldn’t argue with the man, accepting his defeat and making his way to the bed where he treated Mr. Potter. The man looked significantly better already, perched on his bed with bandages spanning across his wide shoulders, looking over some papers with thin reading glasses. Draco knocked on the side of the door as he walked in, notifying the man of his presence.
Mr. Potter glanced up from his papers, immediately putting them away when he saw Draco.
“Healer Malfoy, please come inside and close the door behind you.” He asked and Draco quickly obeyed. He walked up to Potter’s side, sitting down in the uncomfortable metal chair next to the bed.
“Healer Ron told me you wanted to speak with me?” He asked, playing with his fingers in his lap.
“Yes. I-“ Potter started but Draco interrupted quickly.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to talk to you that way, it was beyond disrespectful and I’m deeply sorry. I will reflect on my actions and never do it again just please don’t fire me!” He pleaded, feeling like a pathetic dog, whining to its owner. Potter looked at him with surprise written all over his face.
“No, Malfoy, I’m the one who’s sorry. I judged you based on my experience with your father and I casted a spell at you. As a head auror this kind of behavior is unacceptable. I’ve talked to Ron, if you want, you can report the harassment, I’ll go to court.” The man apologized, but Draco couldn’t help but snort at his words.
“You can’t seriously think I’m going to report Hear Auror Harry Potter to the authorities?” He laughed lightly. Potter rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, his features drawn in regret.
“I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry. I’m just so ashamed of my actions.” He said sincerely, making something unfurl in Draco’s chest.
“I forgive you.” He said simply, glancing down at his fingers as he spoke. “If you don’t make them fire me.” He chuckled weakly, not daring to look up.
“I was uncooperative. Ron told me the treatment I’ve gotten was textbook perfect. Thank you, Kid.”
“I’m 25.” He stated simply, giving Potter a disapproving frown.
“I am about 20 years your senior. You’re a kid in my eyes, which makes my actions even worse. I should have been the adult in the situation. Would you accept some pizza for the department as an apology? I know how hectic lunch can be here.” He offered and Draco was automatically about to decline when his stomach growled loudly in the empty room. He blushed deeply, threading his arms around his middle in embarrassment. “Give my card to Ron, he’ll know how to use it.” He said, giving Draco a black metal card.
Draco stood up from the chair, turning around to walk away.
“Oh! Healer Malfoy, are you aware you have about ten ribbons and clips in your hair?” Potter asked, making Draco freeze in his steps. Fuck. He forgot to take out Adeline’s creations before he came here. He reached back, feeling the complicated tangles in his hair from all the clips. He started tugging at them, letting out an embarrassed laugh as the accessories snagged his hair. He wanted to vanish them, but he couldn’t, not wanting to destroy the little girl’s clips. “Come here, Healer Malfoy, let me help!” He heard from behind him and his body answered, as if pulled by an invisible string.
Potter pulled the chair in a way that it was facing away from the bed, gesturing to Draco to sit in it. He plopped down in the chair, awkwardly fiddling with his fingers as the older man got to work. Draco felt his stomach clench as the warm big hand carded through his hair, carefully popping off hair clip after hair clip. Occasionally the calloused dry palm swiped along his neck, gently prying off the colorful hair ties. Draco tried not to be affected by the other man’s actions, but the touch felt so foreign and so good, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh and lean into the touch a little.
All too soon Potter was done, a small mountain of accessories laying in his lap as he carded through the silky blond strands one last time.
“We’re done.” Came the voice from behind Draco, sounding slightly raspy to Draco’s ears. He stood quickly, smoothing down the back of his hair before turning back and murmuring a quick thank you, avoiding the other man’s eyes. He bolted out of the room, horrified at the arousal stirring in his belly.