The Contract

Samayel has done his best -- any mistakes remaining are all mine -- and thank you Sam for taking on this adventure with me -- Peace, Love, and Hugs -- RD



Chapter Nineteen – At the Burrow



Ron accompanied Draco to St. Mungo’s. It was a test of his nerve to agree to support this man after the years of abuse he had suffered. It took a few moments to get them in past the security and into what could be called an Emergency Area. Draco could not sit and the potion was starting to wear off a bit. “Weasley, is there anything you could do to speed this up a bit?” The grimace in his voice was all Ron needed to raise the roof a bit.



Walking to the reception desk, he leaned with his hands on the desk. The woman there followed the freckled fingers, up the long muscled arms, to the angular face of someone not very happy. The blue eyes radiating power as he waited to be acknowledged. “Errr… Hello, Sir, how can I help you?”



“Do you see that blonde man over there?” She leaned out just a bit and looked at Draco. Returning to her seat, she nodded yes. “He has been injured. His name is Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy Estate. The fact that he has not been seen to in the past few moments has me wondering why you do not recognize him for who he is and taken the proper measures to insure that you have your job tomorrow.” His words were edged with threat as her eyes grew wide.



“Yes, Sir. I’ll get him into a room right away. Please let him know that I took care of him?” A nod and a siren sounded as Draco was escorted slowly into a room for a lie down on his front. As the Pain Potion wore off completely, the return of the sharp stabbing sensations returned with a vengeance.



Ron heard a soft sob come from the bed as the orderlies left the room. Walking over, he placed a reassuring hand on Draco’s elbow. “They are getting the Healers. Just a few more minutes now. Stay strong Malfoy.” The blonde head nodded then burrowed deeper into the pillow.



Ten, perhaps fifteen minutes later, the room was filled with Healers, administrators, nurses, and orderlies. They gathered round and had a short quiet conversation before actually looking at Draco. And that was all they did: look at the man. No one made a move to help him, or touch him, and certainly not heal him.



Ron had moved across the room when everyone entered to give them proper room to work, but so far, no one had done anything.



They waited. What were they waiting for? What could they be discussing rather than healing. Ron closed his eyes and counted to fifteen. When he opened them, the Healers were still only gathered around, discussing Draco as though he were some piece of meat rather than a human, his frayed nerves snapped. “Who the Bloody Hell do you people think you are?”



He breathed heavily. “This man is bonded to Harry Potter – you all do remember him? Now, you will stop seeing him as a Malfoy and start seeing him as a patient or I will have something to say about it. And if for some reason you manage to get me out of the way, my MOTHER will not be so easily swayed.”



Turning, a Healer stepped up to the redhead. “And what, exactly, do you wish us to do to him?”



“Heal him you imbecile!”



“Oh, it's that simple is it? We must assess the injuries, run scans, and determine the best treatment…”



“Or perhaps,” a scathing voice came from behind Ron, “you could ignore my son and make him suffer as much as possible before returning him to me.” The voice belonged to none other than Lucius Malfoy. Ron knew when he turned he would see that blonde bitch standing next to him.



But, before Ron could turn he heard the sound of impact as bodies hit the floor. Making the turn quicker, he saw Tonks and Shackelbolt standing just inside the door with wands drawn and the senior Malfoys lying on the floor. Neither was breathing hard, but their faces had a hard look about them, almost giving off an aura of anger. “We’ll take them from here, Healer.”



Then the room burst into activity. Healers running scans, technicians rushing to the potions storeroom, sounds of machines tweeting constant sounds. It was all happening so fast, that Ron could not keep up.



******



A hand touched his arm and gently pulled him into the hall. “Ron, we must give them room to work.” It was Severus Snape. “As soon as you left, I Flooed Lucius and notified him that Draco was at St. Mungo’s for treatment. I then Apparated here to tell the lead Healer of the plan to which he agreed, and we had just implemented when you started on your tirade. I am impressed you played it so well.”



“Did you just compliment me?” Ron was astounded and slid down the wall to recover.



“I did, at that, Mr. Weasley. I realize that you do not like or trust me. I also know that you have changed since school has let out this past year. Tell me, what happened to you?”





Knowing that Snape didn’t really care about his summer and this was a polite way of keeping his attention off what was happening, he told of the way he was worried about Harry more than Draco, but knew that Draco was hurting and needed a friend. And with any luck, if he stayed in good with Draco that when they returned to school, Draco would not keep him and Hermione from visiting and spending time with Harry, which he would have every right to do. “I’ve spent some time thinking about that. But now to see Draco hurt that way… it makes me worry even more about Harry. Do we have any idea where he is?”



“I left moments after you did. Lupin is going to do the research with Miss Granger. He is better at that than I.”



Ron nodded. The silence fell between them as they waited. The Aurors returned within the hour. “They are locked up, but Mrs. Malfoy isn’t Mrs. Malfoy. Near as we can tell she is Bellatrix LaStrange. Glamour or Polyjuice must have been used to imitate her sister. Veritserum will tell us more tomorrow, but for tonight, they are locked up. Kingsley and Tonks will stay with them.”



“Bellatrix?” Snape asked with awe. “I wonder when that happened.” He tried to remember when Narcissa was normal, and came to the conclusion that sometime just after the Ministry incident, Narcissa became different somehow, “It had to be over the summer between your fifth and sixth year.



“I don’t know, sir, but whenever it was, Lucius was livid when he found out. They will be playing one off the other for a few hours, I am sure. And nothing can get them out of this. Bellatrix will be charged with accessory, regardless of who she looked like.”



“Do I know you, sir?” Ron asked. “Steven Maples, we may have met. Old friend of Lupin’s.” Looking at Ron, he continued, “Know your parents pretty well too. Member of the Order and all.” Snape cocked his head a bit and stared at him.



Almost like a dream, he realized that he was jealous when Mr. Maples stated that he was a friend with Remus. Getting that emotion under control was not easy, but his years as a spy helped tremendously in that aspect.



“I think that Tonks will try to find out where the real Mrs. Malfoy is. My guess is that she is dead. But I don’t know if that is true. We’ll know more tomorrow.”



The door opened to reveal a tired group of blue-robe

clad people. One approached Ron, who stood quickly. “Mr. Weasley, I apologize for earlier. We had to make it look as though when Mr. Malfoy arrived, we would do as he had asked.”



Pausing then realizing that she wasn’t being clear, she continued. “He Floo called the Hospital Administrator and asked that he not allow anyone to do anything until he arrived. The Administrator agreed to it just as Severus apparated into his office. Explaining quickly, the plan was put into play and no one let you know. I apologize again for the misunderstanding.”



She rubbed the bridge of her nose before continuing. “Draco Malfoy will be fine. He is sedated but whole again. There were multiple injuries, the broken ribs at the back of the torso had actually punctured a lung, just a tiny tear, but there it was. There were also some older injuries that were not healed correctly. Auror Maples, if you will come with me, I can get you a complete list.”



“Madame, can we see…” Severus asked her as she started to walk off.



“Yes, but don’t upset him. Let him rest. He is fine now, and can be released tomorrow morning unless something else happens to him.” Turning again, she and Auror Maples walked down the hall to her office.



Entering the room, the men stared at Draco. Healed and clean, he slept with a constant tweeting of the monitor near his head. “Ron, would you like to return home and rest? I will stay with him throughout the rest of the night.”



“No sir, I will stay with him. I told him I would accompany him to the Ministry of Magic tomorrow.” And with a nod, and two conjured chairs later, the men sat quietly before falling into a light sleep.



******



Hermione and Remus made more tea and asked that the Weasleys go on to bed. There was research to be done and the less interruptions, the better.



Remus Apparated to Grimmauld Place to retrieve any books he could find on bonding. He did not hear the moan from the bedroom as Harry Potter lay in his own blood and waste waiting for Dobby’s return.



*********



Late the next morning, Draco, Ron, and Severus returned to the Burrow. Remus and Hermione still sat with their heads bent over books piled around them, some marked with paper, others open to a specific page. Ron looked at Draco for a moment. “Come on, you can sleep in Percy’s old room.”



Walking past the two, he and Draco went upstairs, showing the loo on the way. “Ron, listen… thank you for going with me. I swear I will do whatever is necessary for Harry’s safety. I didn’t agree to what my father told me about him. But I swear, if they can find anything, I’ll do it. I will do anything to help Harry.”



“You are tired and babbling. When you are stone cold sober, had a few good hours of rest, eaten, and a shower, we will talk again. Then you can apologize and I’ll believe it. For now, sleep.”



Closing the door, he knew the blonde was almost as tired as he was. Walking back down the stairs, he went to the kitchen. “Hermione, have you been at this all night?”



Sleepily, she raised her head and saw him, “Ron? When did you get here?” Remus raised his head and looked at Hermione for a moment before turning to look at a disheveled Severus.



“Come to bed, ‘Mione. Lets sleep for a bit and you can discuss everything.” Holding out his hand from the stairway, she rose and took it. Following him to his room.



They entered and closed the curtains to block out the sun. Ron crawled on his bed, and snuggled under the covers fully dressed. Looking across the room, he raised the cover and she joined him. Exhausted, they fell into a deep comforting sleep.



*********



It took a few moments for either Severus or Remus to speak. “Would you come home with me to Grimmauld Place and have a lie in?”



Severus nodded. They wrapped in one another’s arms and left the Burrow to reappear in Remus’ rooms. Sleep came easily for them that morning. Only soft words of reassurance were spoken, light kisses exchanges before falling into a heavy sleep.







~~~~~~TBC~~~~~~~~