Close Enough

NOTE: here you are my little minion friends.. enjoy.. i am quite proud of this chapter.. so please... tell me you like it. loves you all!

Ch 60 Always Remember

Madam Pomfrey had moved each of Harry’s attackers onto their own bed and screened them off from the rest of the ward. Shortly after her doing so the sounds of sobbing filled the infirmary as each of the boys woke up. The mediwitch would move inside their curtains and quickly administer a calming potion and a sleep aid before moving onto the next. In no time each boy had woken, and been put back into a healing sleep; having memories thrown back at you is not an easy thing to go through.


When Dumbledore arrived he found Severus still holding Granger to her seat with a forceful grip. His usually twinkling eyes scanned around the room finding Harry and Cloe in Animagi form in the corner, four beds with curtains drawn around them, and a furious looking Draco Malfoy pacing the spot at the foot of what would appear to be Harry’s bed.
“Severus, my boy, what is going on here?” Dumbledore asked, as he continued to look around the room.
“There has been an attack on a student.” Severus said, not removing his grip from Granger’s shoulder.
“On whom?” the headmaster asked.
“Potter.” Severus answered, barely above a whisper.
“And what happened?” Dumbledore asked, looking anxious.

Over the course of the next hour the story was told, each party present filling in what details they knew, the story ending in a second questioning of Granger still under the potions influence. Halfway through the tale the headmaster went slightly weak in the knees and had to be helped to a nearby chair by Cord before he fell.
“Miss Granger forced them to attack Harry? Is that why he is in his animal form?” Dumbledore asked, looking at the pair in the corner.
“Yes, he is unable to have human contact at this time.” Severus said. “Headmaster. Shall we get this under way? The girl is putting strain on my powers, and I am sure Draco is tired of waiting.”

“You are…” the headmaster began but was cut off.
“Yes, how else do you think I would get her here without a fight? After what she has done? And undoubtedly, she knows what will happen now. Do you think she would be sitting here otherwise?”
“No, I suppose not.” Dumbledore said. “I shall go use Poppy’s fire, Auror’s shall be here momentarily to remove her to the ministry.” He stood and looked at Draco. “You have a punishment in mind I trust?”

“Yes, I do.” Draco grinned wickedly. “How long until I may administer it?”
“There must be the proper paper work first, Draco. Once the Minister has signed off on it, you shall be able to do as you wish.”
“Thank you sir.”

The headmaster was correct, Auror’s were there within minutes to haul Granger away. Once she was out of the room Severus took a seat and heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead gently.
“Father, are you alright?” Cord asked, moving in front of her father.

“Yes, Cordalina I am fine. Just strained myself a little.” Severus said, now rubbing his closed eyes.
“Why did you keep it on her so long then? She would not have been able to leave with all of us here.” She said perching herself in the edge of the bed near her father.
“Cordalina, she can hold five people under the Imperius. I do not assume to doubt the power she holds. Once the ministry banded her arm and bound her powers, I felt safe that she would not be able to flee.”

“But you should not have used it that long. It is designed to allow Vampires to subdue prey or keep people away while they feed, not long term control of action. You could have seriously hurt yourself!”
“I see you have been doing your homework.” Severus said, with a small smile at his daughter.
“I have. Of course I have. I needed to know all about what I am. What if someone were to try to give me a potion that I can not take with my new body chemistry!” Cord exclaimed with a smile.

******************************


A black panther and leopard were still curled around each other in the corner with an audience of spectators. Draco, Severus, Madam Pomfrey, Cord, and Dumbledore all stood observing the sleeping cats for a long moment not speaking.
“He will recover, Poppy?” Dumbledore asked, not looking away from the pair.
“Yes, headmaster. They all will. In time.” The mediwitch pursed her lips for a moment before continuing. “However this will more than likely set back the bonding process as far as Harry and Draco are concerned.”

“What do you mean?” Draco asked quickly, looking away from his mate for the first time in a while. “Why? He needs it! And so do I.”
“Yes, he does. However…” she paused, with a heavy sigh. “With what we have learned about what happened… how it happened… I dare say that even casual friendly touching might be spotty for a while.” When Draco continued to seem confused she looked to Severus to help her explain.

“Draco. She set this up to hurt him, if not kill him. She made it so that even if he survived that he would suffer.” A moment’s pause and a short glance at Cord, “She orchestrated this so that a lover’s touch would be a very painful memory, even kind words of comfort would cause violent unpleasant memories to come to him.”
“But…” Draco, not for the first time, began to feel more angry and panicked about what had happened to his mate.
“He will need time. That’s all.” Cord said, stepping up and placing a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “Trust me. With a little time, and some patience, he will be fine. Especially if his mate is there for him through it.”

“I have all the time in the world for him Cord. But…”
“Time does not mean forever Draco. He needs to start over as far as touching is concerned. His Creature will need you more than ever, but his human side is going to have difficulties dealing with that at the moment. Your bond allowed you to find him, it is strong. Just give him time.”
“How do you know? How do you know he will only need time?” Draco asked heatedly.
“Because I’ve been in your shoes.” Cord said slowly, before walking over and sitting next to her mate and beginning to stroke her fur gently around the ears.

**************
In only two hours Draco received an owl telling him that the next morning, Hermione Granger would be sentenced to whatever punishment he wished to devise for her attack on Harry Potter, his mate. He took the opportunity to share this with all those still in the infirmary, keeping vigil over his Harry; who still lay curled in the corner in panther form, however now without Cloe around him.
“We must get back.” Cord said, smiling sadly.
“You will firecall and let us know how it goes tomorrow?” Cloe asked.
“What did you decide on anyway?” Cord asked, not giving Draco a moment’s pause between questions.
“Yes I shall firecall, or have Sev do it.” He grinned and skillfully avoided he second question with giving each of them a brief hug and commenting that they were late.

************

“Mr. Malfoy. Under ministry law as Mr. Potter’s dominant Creature mate you have the right to assign a punishment of your own design. You have decided upon the punishment that should befall the attacker of your mate?” asked an older, stern looking ministry official.
“I have.” Draco answered in a cool voice, allowing his eyes to wander toward Granger for the first time since they brought her into the room.
“And what say you?” he asked, quill poised over the paper in front of him.
“Sempre ricordare.” Draco said plainly, being sure to make eye contact with his mate’s attacker as he did.

“Acceptable. Do you wish to cast it yourself before the prisoner is removed to her cell, or do you prefer for an official to take the responsibility?” the official asked as he scratched across the parchment with his quill.
“Oh no. I think I shall cast it myself. It is my responsibility as his mate to make sure she is punished properly. I shall take the responsibility.” He responded, a now truly evil smirk spread across his face as he stood and straightened his robes. “May I be permissed to use your office to perform the curse in private?” Receiving a nod from the official, Draco moved toward the exit.

Draco arrived in the office around the corner from the court room a few minutes before two auror’s dragged in a furiously struggling Granger. Draco nodded the auror’s to leave once they had deposited their charge in a chair in front of where Draco stood.
“I can handle her from here.” Draco said, flashing them a dazzling smile. Once they had left, Draco muttered a quick binding spell. “Now Granger, did you recognize the spell I mentioned was going to be your punishment? I’m sure you being the know-it-all that you are, you will have no problem recognizing it.”

“Always remember.” The captive muttered as she struggled against her bonds.
“Correct. And you then know what it does, don’t you?” he asked with a sneer.
“It… It…” She stuttered as though she couldn’t quite remember, or couldn’t quite bring herself to say it, either way Draco didn’t care; he answered for her.
“It will make sure you always remember what you have done. Not only that, but I have tweaked it slightly. Do you want to know what I added?” not waiting for her to answer he continued. “I added a little charm that will allow you to experience everything you put Harry though every time you think about what you did to him.”
“But that coupled with the…” comprehension rolled across her face and she began to shake her head furiously, fighting the invisible binds on the arms of her chair, “NO NO NO…..”

“Oh yes Granger. It will never stop, you will remember what you have done every second of everyday, and that thought will cause your body to experience it. Genius don’t you think?” Raising his wand and pointing it at the furiously fighting girl in front of him, “You should never take something from a Malfoy, they don’t like it.” With a wicked gleam in his eye he clearly spoke, “Sentire sempre di ricordare.” And watched the tears begin to slide down her cheeks before countering the binding charm keeping her in the chair.

After opening the door and motioning for the Aurors to take her away Draco couldn’t help but feel proud of himself; no one takes from a Malfoy and gets away with it. Moving stealthily though the hallways and back up to the atrium he headed toward one of the gilded fireplaces so he could return to his mate. As he stepped into the green flames and muttered, ‘Hogwarts, Potions Quarters’ he smiled to himself knowing that putting Harry’s attacker away would, no doubt, help speed the pace of Harry’s recovery as it got underway.