ashox
patreon
Power Plays Chapter 37
🕑 Added 2024-06-08 15:59:01 +0000 UTCThe morning came far too soon for Harry’s liking. He’d enjoyed spending the night entwined with Daphne, but the whooshing sound of the fireplace and Draco’s calls for help woke them both up.
Daphne was the first one to leap out of bed, snatching a robe out of her wardrobe and donning it quickly as she rushed over to the fireplace.
“Draco, what’s wrong?” Daphne asked as she dropped to her knees and put her face near the verdant flames.
“It’s Astoria!” Draco exclaimed. “One minute she was fine and then—” He let out a groan of anger and frustration. “I’m taking her to St Mungo’s.”
“We’ll be right on our way,” Daphne promised him as the floo connection snapped shut.
Harry was already up on his feet with his wand in hand. He magically cleaned himself and Daphne of their sweat and fluids from the multiple lovemaking sessions they’d had throughout the night—it wasn’t anywhere near as good as a proper shower or bath, but it’d have to do—and summoned some clothes for both of them.
“I’ll get mum,” Daphne said as she snapped her bra into place, already rushing out the door to the bedroom. “Meet me downstairs.”
Harry rushed to get dressed, fearing the worst. Astoria had always been sickly due to the blood malediction afflicting her family line, and she had regular visits to St Mungo’s to help keep the curse in check, but he’d never heard of her getting rushed to St Mungo’s like this before. Draco had sounded positively terrified when he’d called.
He grabbed Daphne’s wand too, which she’d forgotten on her bedside table in the rush, and her outer robes and hurried down through the manor.
He reached the entry hall seconds before Daphne and Anastasia came scurrying around the corners. Harry had never seen Anastasia move so quickly, but she was dashing forward while leaning against Daphne for support. Harry switched places with Daphne so that she could finish getting dressed, and then he conjured a replica of Anastasia’s usual cane for her to use.
“St Mungo’s!” Daphne shouted as she threw down a handful of floo powder into the fireplace. She stepped into the flames without even waiting for Harry or Anastasia.
“St Mungo’s!” Harry called out, throwing more floo powder in. He helped Anastasia into the flames at the same time as him, allowing both of them to be whisked away smoothly.
They stepped out in a waiting room that was filled with Daphne’s shouts and demands. It was otherwise quite peaceful, and the staff were alarmed at Daphne barking orders at them.
“Where is Astoria Greengrass!” She snapped at another healer who entered into the waiting room to see what all of the fuss was about.
The woman looked flustered at Daphne’s shout. “I, err—”
Daphne scowled at him and rounded on the attendant behind the counter. “Astoria Greengrass,” she repeated. “She’s probably in the Janus Thickey Ward, but I need to know where.”
“If she’s here, the information hasn't been updated in our systems,” the attendant replied as she hurriedly flipped through a large, magical book that tracked the records of all incoming and outgoing patients.
Daphne huffed and glanced back over her shoulder at Harry and Anastasia. “I’m heading up to the ward right now to find her. Meet me there when you can.”
“You can’t just go up to the ward—” one of the healers tried to protest, but Daphne was already rushing out of the room towards the lift.
Harry offered the bewildered-looking staff an apologetic smile. “It truly is important that we go see her sister.”
At once, several pairs of eyes found his face and then flickered up towards his near-imperceptible scar on his forehead. Sometimes, his fame was quite useful.
“Of course, Mr Potter,” the healer Daphne had snapped at said. She turned to her colleagues. “I’ll take them up to the Janus Thickey Ward and help them find the patient they’re looking for.”
Anastasia moved as quickly as she could with her cane as she and Harry followed the healer towards the lift.
The trip up was nerve wracking. Although Anastasia seemed relatively calm on the outside, Harry could see the worry and fear in her eyes. She had the same curse after all. She understood just how painful and deadly it could be. Neither of them knew what state Astoria was in at the moment, but Draco wasn’t the type to call them about Astoria if it wasn’t incredibly serious.
The second the lift doors opened onto the fourth floor, the three of them hurried out of the elevator and through the doors that led into the Janus Thickey Ward. Although the doors were normally locked to keep the patients inside and not wandering around the hospital, Daphne had clearly unlocked it herself in her rush to find Astoria.
The ward looked very much the same as every other time Harry had been here, barring the frazzled-looking healer who was shooting nervous glances down a nearby corridor.
“Excuse me,” the healer with Harry and Anastasia called out to the other healer. “We’re looking for Astoria Greengrass.”
“You too?” The healer replied. “She’s down in one of the private rooms around the bend. I’m sure you’ll see which one.”
“We can take it from here,” Harry told the healer who’d taken them upstairs. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” the healer replied dutifully with a nod. “If there’s anything else—”
Harry and Anastasia were already moving before the woman could finish her sentence. They passed by the dazed and confused patients lying in the dozens of beds in the ward, all of whom were here dealing with permanent or long-term spell damage. Some stared at Harry and Anastasia curiously, but others practically acted like they weren’t even there. It hurt to think that if things were truly bad, Astoria could potentially end up a permanent member of this ward.
The room was easy to find, due to the fact that Daphne was practically interrogating a pair of medi-wizards nearby an open doorway.
“—then try to remember,” Daphne demanded sharply. “If you’re going to be the one looking after her, then you’d better be damned sure that your understanding of blood curses is better than a bloody first year’s.”
The medi-wizard bristled. “If you refuse to speak to us respectfully, then you’ll be asked to leave.”
Daphne narrowed her eyes at the man before looking over at the other. “Go fetch Healer Strout. For all her whimsy, at least she’s competent enough to develop a plan to keep my sister stable in case another episode happens.”
“Daphne,” Harry said softly as he came up behind her. He put his hand comfortingly on her arm, and he detected the slightest tremble there.
“Well?” Daphne said to the medi-wizard. “Are you going or not?”
Both medi-wizards glanced at each other before choosing to retreat from this conversation, presumably going to find Healer Strout. The second they rounded the corner, Daphne sagged in exhaustion.
“You’d think that medi-wizards working in the Janus Thickey Ward wouldn’t be thick in the head,” Daphne scoffed bitterly. “Idiots.”
“At least they’re finding someone who knows more about the Blood Malediction.”
“I don’t know why they didn’t just bring Astoria to her in the first place,” Daphne shook her head. She gestured to the open doorway. “She’s in there with Draco.”
“Are you alright?” Harry asked her gently.
“I’m fine,” she lied. They both knew it, but this was just how Daphne got in situations like this. “You two should go on in and see her. I’m going to wait out here for Healer Strout. I need to make sure that they have a competent plan for Astoria going forward.”
“Alright,” Harry said as he kissed the top of her head. “Just come get us if you need anything.”
Daphne nodded, but Harry knew that she wouldn’t come to them until she’d seen her task through. So, he guided Anastasia past Daphne towards the open doorway.
The room was warm, but the atmosphere was anything but. Most of the room was taken up with cabinets, tables, and a bed. A lone window brought some light into the room, but the early morning light seemed grim as it illuminated just how pale the room’s occupants were.
Astoria was completely unconscious in the hospital bed. A series of potions lay on the table next to it, and Harry easily recognised the Dreamless Sleeping Potion vial that was half empty. She’d been sedated, hopefully in the effort to deal with whatever issues were plaguing her.
Sitting at her bedside, Draco was cradling Astoria’s limp hand in both of his. He looked lost and far worse than he had even back in their sixth year. His visage was unnaturally pale, and his eyes looked dead. The only acknowledgement he gave Harry and Anastasia were his eyes flickering over to them for the briefest moment before they returned to Astoria’s sleeping face.
Anastasia came up on Astoria’s other side and ran her hand gently across Astoria’s cheek.
“She’s pregnant,” Draco’s ragged, hoarse voice said.
Harry and Anastasia’s heads both snapped towards him in shock.
“It was an accident,” he continued with pain laced through his voice. “We took all of the proper precautions, and we were even getting tests done to see if she could handle getting pregnant one day, but magic isn’t foolproof. And now she’s like this.”
Anastasia grimaced and slowly walked around to Draco’s side. “It isn’t your fault,” she said comfortingly. “And things might work out in the end. They did for me.”
“Her heart stopped for seventy-three seconds because the curse reacted badly to her magic and the magic forming in her belly,” Draco said. “Did your heart ever stop while you were pregnant with Daphne and Astoria?”
Anastasia’s silence was answer enough.
“She nearly died,” Draco whispered. “She came so damned close to dying.”
“But she’s still alive,” Anastasia reminded him. “And the baby too.”
Untold emotions swirled in Anastasia’s blue eyes. This was her daughter, the one who’d inherited the curse that’d plagued her family for generations, and her first potential grandchild laying in that hospital bed. The thought of them coming close to dying seemed enough to sap what little strength she had left, so she chose to focus on the optimistic point of view instead.
“Yes, they’re alive, but what if this happens again?” Draco’s voice ended in a choked sound, and he buried his face in his hands. He didn’t cry, but Harry had no doubts that his tears would arrive sooner or later.
“Then we’ll face it together as a family when it does,” Anastasia said. “St Mungo’s has been treating our family for this curse for generations. If anyone knows how best to keep us healthy and hale, it’s them. If another episode happens, the healers will jump in and keep her alive.”
Draco snorted sardonically. “You clearly haven’t met the quality of healers they have here.”
The war had done plenty of damage to the workforce of magical Britain. The staff at St Mungo’s were no exception to that. Plenty of men and women were targeted by the Death Eaters, and while the staffing levels had mostly recovered from the war, much of the staff were made up of novices or minimally-experienced workers. Still, things weren’t quite as dire as Draco was making them out to be.
“They’ve kept me alive long enough,” Anastasia pointed out. “Trust me: we’ll get through this.”
Draco didn’t have a reply to that, not that there was much he could say anyway. The man looked utterly gutted.
Harry took a step closer to him and put his hand on his shoulder. He didn’t know if Draco would take it as the comforting gesture he intended it as, but at least he didn’t just slap Harry’s hand away as he’d been expecting.
“If nothing else, Daphne’s on a warpath to make sure that Astoria gets the highest quality of care possible,” he said lightly, hoping to lift Draco’s spirits.
It worked well enough to elicit a snort. “I heard. She arrived just as that bumbling fool was trying to get me to explain the nature of her blood curse to him. Daphne pointed out that they had records on this sort of thing and that he should be familiar enough with blood curses to use diagnostic spells to get all the information he needed. The medi-wizard didn’t take kindly to that and insisted that blood curses weren’t things that they covered in their training, which Daphne rightly pointed out was preposterous. They stepped out into the corridor to keep arguing.”
“She’s getting a better healer down here to check in on her,” Harry assured him.
“I hope that they can find a way to deal with this,” Draco murmured as he squeezed Astoria’s hand gently.
Harry got chairs for him and Anastasia to sit down in. For several minutes, none of them spoke. They all just sat and stared at Astoria’s unconscious form, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest.
Eventually, Daphne returned, only without this Healer Strout. Instead, another familiar face came into view behind her.
“Andromeda,” Harry said in surprise as he got to his feet. “What are you doing here?”
Tonks’ mum still looked incredibly much like Bellatrix, only with a far kinder face. It was only due to that fact that Harry had been able to spend any time around her after what had happened to Susan. She’d recently returned to work at St Mungo’s as a medi-witch after her husband had died during the war, but he hadn’t realised that she’d taken up a role in the Janus Thickey Ward.
“Hello, Harry,” she smiled at him. “I’m taking over the care of Astoria for now. Healer Strout is quite busy with several other patients, and I’m the next most qualified for dealing with blood curses. Besides, I have a feeling that we’ll need a strong-willed person to handle Astoria’s care,” she added with a pointed look towards Daphne.
Daphne didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by the look. “Can you run your diagnostics on her now? I’m not sure that the medi-wizard did a capable job.”
“He most certainly did not,” Andromeda agreed. “But that’s not his fault. Training has been spotty since the war. St Mungo’s is more focused on getting its staffing levels back to an acceptable margin, so training on rarer cases like this sometimes slip through the cracks. Give me a moment here and I’ll get started.”
Andromeda’s wand weaved back and forth in the air as everyone waited. She was cool, calm, and methodical as she jotted down notes on a piece of parchment on Astoria’s bedside table. Harry was staring at Andromeda’s face, trying to gauge her facial expressions to see if everything was alright, but her professional mask refused to let anything through.
The actual writing of her notes took longer than the casting of the spells, and when Andromeda finished, she turned around to address the group.
“Astoria and the baby are both fine,” Andromeda announced, much to the relief of everyone. “There doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage from the traumatic episode, but I fear that it’s possible that another one will occur before she gives birth. Essentially, Astoria’s magic is still connected to the magic of the fetus inside of her. The blood curse is especially active right now. It attacks Astoria’s magic, and therefore the fetus’. However, Astoria’s magic is trying to protect the fetus’ developing magic, which caused this fight between her body and the curse. It wasn’t anything conscious that she did to make this happen; it’s just how witches’ bodies respond to anything magical attacking their babies while they’re still in the womb.”
“Is there nothing that we can do to stop it from happening again?” Daphne asked, a tinge of desperation in her tone.
Andromeda grimaced. “Unfortunately not. In some cases, terminating the pregnancy might be a viable option, but doing so for Astoria while her blood curse is flaring up could cause even more trouble for her. Since we can’t stop these episodes from happening, all we can do is mitigate the effects when they do happen. I can guarantee you that if she receives care fast enough when another episode happens, she won’t be at risk of her heart stopping again.”
It wasn’t the answer that any of them were hoping for, but Harry supposed that it was better than hearing that Astoria was likely to die the next time an attack happened.
“To that end,” Andromeda continued. “I want to keep Astoria here for another week or two at least. We’ll need to run some more tests on her to see how she holds up during that time, and if there’s anything that concerns me, she might have to stay in St Mungo’s until she gives birth. Right now though, all she needs is rest. We’ll keep her sedated until tomorrow morning to let her body recuperate from the ordeal she went through. You should all probably head home, and you can come back tomorrow morning when we wake her up. We’ll make sure to keep a close eye on her until then.”
Draco and Daphne both looked ready to refuse. Neither of them wanted to leave Astoria alone, even if there was nothing they could do but sit and watch over her.
“Thank you, Healer Tonks,” Anastasia spoke up.
“Yeah, thanks for letting us know Astoria will be okay,” Harry chimed in.
Andromeda offered him a sympathetic smile. “I do truly believe that she’ll make it through this and deliver her baby when it’s time.”
Anastasia stood up then and directed for Draco and Daphne to do the same. Daphne reluctantly got to her feet, but Draco stayed seated, still holding Astoria’s hand in his.
Anastasia bent down and whispered something into Draco’s ear. It took a moment, but he eventually nodded his head and placed Astoria’s hand by her side before getting to his feet.
The walk back to the lobby of St Mungo’s was made in silence. The comforting news was bittersweet at best, and everyone knew that this was going to be a long series of months until Astoria gave birth. Still, Harry was optimistic that Andromeda would take care of Astoria and make sure that she was as healthy and safe as possible.
“I’ll take mum home,” Daphne told Harry when they reached the fireplaces. “Would you mind taking Draco back to Malfoy Manor? I don’t want him to be alone right now. I’ll be over once I get mum settled in.”
“Of course,” Harry replied. He hugged her, giving her a tender kiss on the cheek goodbye.
Daphne and Anastasia disappeared into the flames, and Harry walked back over to Draco’s side.
Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire. “Malfoy Manor!”
He had to gently push Draco into the flames with him to get him to move. The world rushed around them as they zipped through the floo network to Malfoy Manor.
Draco looked hollow as he stepped out into Malfoy Manor. Harry couldn’t blame him for looking so distraught. Being told that there was nothing Draco could do for Astoria while she was suffering so dearly left him feeling completely helpless, and the revelation that it was due to her becoming unexpectedly pregnant must leave him feeling incredibly guilty.
Narcissa, Delphini, Tonks, and Teddy were all there to greet them. Narcissa’s face looked grim as she wrestled with her own emotions over the troubling situation, but she hurried to her son’s side to comfort him all the same. She could resolve her own grief over the situation later; for now, she needed to be there for her son.
Tonks, Teddy, and Delphini came over to Harry. The kids looked a little confused, but they could at least pick up on the gravity of the situation. Tonks grimaced as she placed a hand on Harry’s arm.
“How is she doing?” She murmured softly.
Harry glanced over his shoulder to see that Narcissa had led Draco a few feet away where they could murmur in private.
“Let’s talk about this somewhere else,” he told Tonks, wanting to give Draco a bit of privacy.
They left the entry hall and moved over towards one of the parlours that they usually spent time in whenever they visited. Teddy and Delphini had been playing Gobstones in the corner and quietly went back to their game with only a little prodding from Tonks. She then took Harry over to the sofa and sat down with him.
“Astoria’s not looking great,” Harry said quietly so that the kids couldn’t overhear. “It turns out that she’s a couple months pregnant, and with her health already in a poor state, her body isn’t coping well.”
Tonks’ eyes widened. “Is the baby okay?”
“It’s fine for now,” Harry grimaced. “The healers haven’t noticed anything wrong, but the pregnancy is still in its early stages. There’s always a chance that something could go wrong, even without the blood curse or the strain on Astoria’s body. They’re keeping her at St Mungo’s for now, maybe until she gives birth.”
Tonks shuddered. Her own trauma around Remus’ death was easier for her to handle now, but she still had lingering issues over it. Anything to do with the death of a child or spouse was difficult for her.
“This is fucking horrible,” Tonks said.
“Your mum’s the one looking after her,” Harry informed her.
“Good,” Tonks said, still looking a little shaken up. “She knows what she’s doing at least.”
A bubble of laughter rang out from Delphini, who watched as Teddy got hit by a bunch of that disgusting liquid inside of the gobstones. He made a horrible face that quickly shifted into one of amusement too as he let out a little laugh and tossed his next gobstone onto the field of play.
“They’ve been at it all morning since I came over,” Tonks told Harry. “Narcissa gave me a floo call, said she might need someone to watch Delphini for a bit.”
“The house-elves might be stuck looking after them for a bit these next few weeks,” Harry said. “Draco’s probably going to spend every moment he can with Astoria, and Narcissa will want to visit too.”
Tonks nodded. “She’ll be fine if it’s just for a little bit. Narcissa might bring her to St Mungo’s if Astoria’s doing okay.”
Suddenly, Delphini burst into another fit of laughter.
“Harry!” Teddy cried out as he got sprayed in the face again. “I need help!”
“Go,” Tonks told him. “I’m going to go check up on Draco and Narcissa.”
Harry smiled as he got to his feet and headed over to his godson. He conjured a handkerchief and wiped away the yellow-coloured liquid from his face.
Teddy patted the ground next to him. “Sit here and play for me.”
“You just don’t want to get squirted again, don’t you?” Harry asked, amusement in his voice.
“No,” Teddy lied.
Regardless, Harry sat down next to him and stared down Delphini with a faux-menacing glare. She laughed loudly again, and Harry was suddenly struck by how similar the cadence was to how Bellatrix laughed.
His eyes closed for just a fraction of a second, and he could still hear her cackling laughter clear as day.
When his eyes opened, he knew from the scared look on Delphini’s face that his expression must have shifted into something more serious. He tried to crack a small smile, but it came out crooked as Bellatrix’s laughter continued to ring in his ears.
“Is it my turn?” Harry asked her nicely.
Delphini just nodded, suddenly wary.
Harry purposefully made a bad shot with the gobstones, giving Delphini a perfect chance to squirt him in the face with her next one.
Delphini hesitated. She brushed her dark curls away from her face and toyed with the gobstone between her fingers.
“What’s wrong?” Teddy asked.
Delphini bit her lip and shook her head. “Nothing,” she said as she tossed the gobstone.
It was a perfect shot, and Delphini and Teddy were rewarded with the sight of Harry getting a bunch of gross yellow liquid splattered all across his face.
Teddy burst out into a fit of laughter, and, finally, Delphini joined in too. She giggled as Harry wiped the liquid off of his face.
“She got you good!” Teddy exclaimed.
“She did,” Harry smiled.
Delphini glanced down at the board. “Astoria normally plays this with me. Is she coming home soon?”
“Eventually,” Harry told her. “Right now, she’s at St Mungo’s.”
“That’s where nan works,” Teddy announced proudly.
“She’s the one helping Astoria feel better,” Harry said. “And once she is, I’m sure that she’ll be so happy to play Gobstones with you again, Delphini.”
“I hope so,” Delphini said in a quiet voice. “She’s nice. And pretty.”
“You can count on it,” Harry assured her.
“I don’t want her to go away too,” Delphini muttered.
Harry was too scared to ask who ‘her’ was in reference too.
“Up for another round?” Harry asked both of them quickly, trying to distract his mind and provide the kids with a distraction from all that was going on.
If nothing else, he could make sure that the kids were taken care of while everyone else helped console Draco. He’d console Daphne the best he could when she arrived too. That was all he could do for now.
Comments
jp9901
I love the family moments between the remaining Black family! Better than the older generation (Walburga)
