I returned to the private bedroom I was in earlier with my wand, prepared for whatever the emergency might be- I was expecting anything from blue hands to black veins, convulsions, vomiting blood-
The young woman was sitting up in bed. Drinking tea.
I blinked at the sight. "...Madame, are you alright?"
She looked at me with beautiful brown eyes. "Surprisingly, I am. Thanks to you."
I was deeply confused. "I-I was told you were having an emergency."
"Oh," she rolled her eyes. "I only said that so he would come." She looked behind me, where Draco stood, looking unamused but not surprised that his wife would do something like that.
"Where is the child, Astoria?" He asked. My mind glomped onto the name- Astoria. I had definitely heard it before.
"I'm far too weak to hold him," she replied, as if that should be obvious. "Paisley is with him in the nursery."
Draco pressed a frustrated hand to his forehead. "You cannot declare an emergency just to make me come to you."
"Excuse me, but I did almost just die giving birth to your child."
I began to feel very awkward. I inched towards the door. "As there is no one here in grave danger, I will excuse myself-"
"Wait," The woman, Astoria, commanded from her bed.
I stopped in my tracks and huffed in contempt. My god, why won't these people just let me go?
"I'm afraid I cannot let you leave just yet, Erica." There she went again, speaking like she knew me. But I still had no idea who she was.
Astoria sighed. "First, I should inform you that I am aware of your history with my husband." My eyes widened. "How could I not be? It was all anyone could talk about during my 4th year."
Her 4th year... then that means, she was at Hogwarts when Draco and I dated.
The connection was made instantly. I was looking at a grown-up Astoria Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass's younger sister, who had thick brown eyebrows and a sickly physique. She came to the hospital wing at Hogwarts on occasion for unexplained fainting spells.
I looked back at Draco, who wouldn't meet my eyes. I wanted to scream. I didn't even know that they knew each other.
Astoria took note of my shocked expression. "Oh, don't look so upset. It's uncomfortable for me, too, you know. But when you're a woman in hiding with a blood curse who just went into labor, your options for Healers are few and far between. Draco and I knew of your Dark Magic healing talents from the papers. I wrote to you for help, even though he told me not to." She shot Draco a sharp look, "And neither of us were even sure if you would come. But thank Merlin you did." She raised the teacup to her lips. "Otherwise I'd be dead."
Astoria said the last bit so casually, like she had been preparing herself for death for a long time. But despite her confident demeanor, the teacup in her hand shook against the saucer.
"Anyway, seeing as I'm unexpectedly alive now, I intend to remain that way." She looked at me with a gleam in her eye. "And it seems like you're the only Healer around here who actually knows their arse from a head wound. So, I will be requiring your medical talents for the foreseeable future."
I opened my mouth to object, but Draco beat me to it.
"Astoria, she has already declined."
Astoria's eyebrow twitched. "Well, did you offer her money?"
"Yes."
"Then offer her more," she growled.
I could feel a headache forming as I watched Draco and his young wife argue over what to do with me while I was standing right there; so I decided to speak for myself. "I'm sorry, Astoria, but I strongly advise you to locate another Healer. It would be inappropriate for me to provide you services."
"Why would it be inappropriate?" Astoria demanded sharply, making my insides curl. "Do you mean to tell me that after all these years you still have feelings for Draco?"
"No, of course not," I replied immediately, furious with embarrassment. "That was eight years ago. I'm married now."
"Then what is the issue?"
"I have patients in America. I'm needed there."
Astoria didn't back down. "Well, it certainly is lucky that Draco created a portkey for you, so you can arrive here instantly."
"I-I'm sorry, but I still don't think-"
"What could possibly be the issue, Erica?"
"The issue," I blurted, removing my professional persona for just a moment to gesture accusingly at the man behind me, "Is that I hate him."
I immediately regretted saying anything, as now I was left appearing entirely unprofessional. The room was awkward and quiet in wake of my outburst. Draco didn't say anything or react in the slightest.
"All the more reason for you to heal me," Astoria declared. "I won't have to worry about you seducing my husband behind my back."
I was extremely offended by that assumption. I crossed my arms. "I do not wish to work for the man who emotionally manipulated me when I was a teenager."
I expected Draco to say something, but he remained silent.
"You are the best Dark Magic Healing expert," Astoria said to me. "And you're refusing me services for no good reason. If you do not treat me, I will die, and then my son will be without a mother."
I was taken aback by her blatant guilt-tripping. Astoria was even more of a snake than Draco. And unfortunately, what she said was working on me.
Quietly, I replied, "Fine. I will treat you. But only until a suitable Healer is able to take my place."
Astoria seemed pleased by that. "Draco will begin the search right away."
"No. I will find my own replacement." It would be faster and easier if I took on that task. "Until then, I will check in with you every day at midnight- or six in the morning, in France. Hopefully you will see me less and less as your condition improves."
"What if I need you in an emergency?" Astoria asked.
I came over to her bedside. "Your hand, please."
Astoria gave me her right hand, which showed symptoms of her blood curse- bony knuckles, paper-thin skin, and tremors that would butcher any spell she attempted to cast.
I pressed the tip of my wand to my pinky finger, and then to hers. A silent hissing sound ensued, followed by a quiet chime.
"I'm linking us with a pager spell that's used frequently in hospitals. It alerts Healers when our patients want to summon us. I have a finger for each of my clients. When my pinky finger burns, I'll know that I'm needed here."
"Clever," Astoria noted. The frail young woman sighed, and slouched down into her bed. "I'm feeling rather exhausted now. Childbirth, and all that."
I provided Astoria with a few Sleeping Draughts and Pain Killing Potions. She murmured her thanks, and then ordered a House Elf to close all the drapes. I took that as my signal to leave. I marched down to the same foyer I had arrived in a few hours earlier. Unfortunately, Draco followed me.
I wanted to get the hell out of this damned Chateau. "Where is the portkey?" I demanded, whipping around to glare at him.
Draco stood on the steps and nodded to a table by the front door. I peered down at the simple ring on the table, and realized that it was in fact the Ring of Ataraxy, a gift I had given to Draco many years ago.
My hands curled into fists. I wasn't sure what this meant- why he kept it, or why he decided to use it as a portkey. Regardless, it felt like a slap in the face.
"This is cruel, you know," I said to him through gritted teeth. "You're once again proving that you have total disregard for my feelings. Just like it was at Hogwarts." I glared at his expressionless face. "What even have you become? It's like you're a statue."
Draco's face remained eerily placid. "I can control my emotions, unlike you."
"My disgust is too real to hide."
"As is my indifference for you."
His words were like a slap in the face. Long ago, Draco had been entirely devoted to me, and I to him. He begged me to stay more times than I could count. It seemed all he needed was a prettier, younger girl to fill the void I had left- and now I was as interesting to him as old pumpkin juice.
"You're a snake," I hissed. "You manipulated me when I was 15 years old and didn't know any better. You took my innocence and ruined an entire year of my life. I pity your wife. Not for her illness, but for the fact that she has to be married to you."
Draco waited for me to finish my tirade with his arms folded neatly behind his back. "I don't suppose you've been obliviated?" Draco asked in a way that was close to sarcasm but not quite, "You seem to have forgotten that you offered me your help on your own volition."
My mind reeled with all the curses I wanted to throw at him. It took a great bit of effort to remain composed.
Barely veiling my hostility, I replied, "Your wife's life is in my hands, so if I were you, I would try to keep me happy."
"And how, praytell, might I accomplish that?"
"By staying the fuck away from me."
With that, I slapped my hand upon the portkey, and was instantly transported back to my quiet, dark New York office.
It was 3 in the morning, and the snow had stopped falling. The portkey had followed me and was now resting inconspicuously on the corner of my desk, serving as a two-way ticket to my worst nightmare.
I collapsed into my desk chair and cried.