Healing Draco Malfoy

Chapter 54

"Yes," Draco said, cautiously. "Joel said that you wanted to meet me?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," she said, and Draco grimaced at his name.

"Draco is fine," he grunted and looked at Joel, still wondering why this mind healer wanted to meet him. "Please have a seat."

"Thank you," the woman said, and she and Joel sat down across from him. "I understand that you trained... Joel in Legilimency and Occlumency?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask where you learned it from? I understand that you've been... away since the war."

"In Azkaban," he drawled, glaring at her.

"I didn't want to... trigger you. I'm afraid I did read the papers."

"I'm not easily triggered. Why do you want to know where I learned it?"

"Well... Joel here is very advanced in Legilimency. More than I have ever seen in a new mind healer... or in senior healers. You've not been to any formal school that I know of."

"I went to the school of life, madam healer. My teachers were my abusive father and my psychotic aunt. Voldemort was the one who tested my abilities," he growled.

The healer raised her eyebrows and nodded. "I see. I'll admit, I read your story in the paper... and, again, after Joel admitted it was you. It was all true, wasn't it?"

"I didn't read every article about me, but probably yes."

"Joel said that you... went into a dissociative state for nearly the whole time."

"If that's what you want to call it."

"What do you call it?"

"My head."

She nodded. "And you went somewhere else, mentally?"

Draco sighed. "What do you want, healer?"

"To be frank, I would like to cast Legilimency on you."

His jaw popped open, amazed, and so did Joel's. "Why?"

"To see your abilities. I won't harm you. We can... meet, so to speak. Understand each other from one Legilimens to another."

Draco looked at Joel, who had spent the last month or so rooting around in his skull, and he gave a nod. "Why?" he repeated.

"You'll have to find out, Draco," she said, cryptically. "But I'm not looking to fight."

Draco rolled his eyes. This healer didn't concern him. "Can you handle this?"

She nodded.

"Have at it, then," he said dryly. He was used to this by now.

"Legilimens," she said, and blurry images rushed through the link.

It wasn't like when Joel or Harry entered his mind. Draco had no interest in giving this person anything. He had no idea who she was. He wasn't going to open up, but he didn't attack her either. His walls were up, just like when Voldemort or Aunt Bella tried to rip his memories out. He was in defense mode, not attacking like he had that first mind healer who tried to get in. He felt a bit sorry about that, but he had been too deep in his head to know what he was doing.

This mind healer... Carla... was not attacking him, though she probed his defenses. Her feelings of being impressed leaked through the link. She tried to gain access to no avail, and suddenly, like she was latching onto his hand, she pulled him forward and into her mind. Draco had no way to block her memories, in this unique turn. Joel and Harry were not skilled enough to try this, and Aunt Bella and Voldemort would have never allowed it.