The Healer- A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 37

Draco drew his wand and banished the ash, clearing the air with a klaero spell. "They're Blaise's." His voice lowered with guilt. "...But I smoked a few."

"Draco," I pressed a frustrated hand to the side of my face. "Are you really so stressed that you're willingly ingesting toxins into your body?"

"You're talking to someone with Dark Magic in their skin," Draco replied sourly. "Muggle toxins are merely a way to pass the time."

I firmly replied, "Well it's a nasty habit and I'd rather you not start. I mean this as your girlfriend and as your Matron."

Draco guiltily placed a hand on the back of his neck. "...I probably should tell you, then, that today was not the first time I've had a cigarette."

"Oh." I glanced down at the floor with a dry mouth. "I didn't realize it was a habit of yours."

Draco's hands stuffed themselves in the pockets of his slacks. "It started as something Blaise gave me to take the edge off of OWLs last year. Now it's a crutch I lean on when I'm stressed. That's all."

I was about to object, say that that couldn't possibly be true, but then realized just how little I knew of Draco before we returned to Hogwarts together. All the times before that we were "broken up" or arguing with one another, I rarely saw him, and when I did he always looked a little sicklier than before. It was a definite possibility that he had been doing this all along without my knowledge.

"I want you to stop," I said firmly. "Even wizards can get sick from smoking. Lung tissue restoring potions are nasty and I've heard they taste like liver and loam." Draco listened to me with a stone face.

"I have something for you, actually..." I reached into my bag and produced the Ring of Ataraxy, which I had worn most of last night, until the effects wore off after about four hours. Draco's eyes flashed in surprise when I pressed it into his palm.

"It's a Ring of Ataraxy," I said as he eyed it carefully, turning it over in his fingers which were already decorated with silver rings. "Wearing it will help you feel... calmer."

"....I know. I had one of these as a child," Draco said, brows furrowed in deep thought, his eyes darting between me and the ring. "But my father confiscated it. He thought I was becoming too dependent."

"Well, it's yours now. I'm officially prescribing it to you as your Matron." Draco looked extremely surprised by the gift, and he gazed at it as if it was solid gold. "But you should know, it's a re-gift. Greta had it ordered for my birthday. But you need it more than I do, so-"

"Was it your birthday?" Draco said, alarmed. "When?"

"It- it was in December, right after Christmas. But please don't worry about it, I really don't give two Galleons about my birthday-"

"...You should have told me." Draco sounded betrayed.

"There were more important things going on," I said to him reassuringly, remembering that as soon as we returned from holiday I had broken the news to Draco about my Squib father, so there was no opportunity for chit-chat about anything else. "Please, don't worry about it."

Draco glanced at me, checking to see if I was really sure. He flattened his lips into a line, still thinking. I got the impression from his silence that he wasn't going to let it go easily, and I would likely be hearing about it again- but for now, he removed one of his own rings from his hand that was inlaid with obsidian and slid the simple Ring of Ataraxy on in its place.

He exhaled, his head rolling upon his shoulders as they flexed then relaxed. I could tell right away that the Ring was working.

"It'll only last four hours," I muttered. "And the more you wear it, the less potent it becomes."