Chapitre 15: Dreaded news
Draco Malfoy had no idea what had just happened. He had received an owl from Potter that said that his son and his new daughter-in-law might be kidnapped or worse. There had been very few details. Draco had replied saying he would return today to help in any way he could.
Then, the moment he had landed an unknown character had grabbed him by the shoulder and Apparated him away. Now he was left in the entrance hall of St. Mungo's, with no explanation. He didn't know whether that was good or bad. Finally, he saw Harry Potter walking towards him.
"What is happening here Potter?" he said, trying not to sound too hostile. "First you tell me that my son may be in danger, and now I am suddenly whisked away with no warning? What are you up to now?"
Harry stopped, looking a bit confused. "Didn't Mason tell you? I am sorry about that, but there was a Death Eater there waiting for your arrival. I only found out about that a few hours ago, or I would have tried to warn you. Hopefully this means we will get him though."
That brought Draco up short. Death Eaters had been waiting for him? "I don't understand. Wasn't it you that asked me to return last night? What has happened to my son?"
"I did send for you, yes. But since yesterday, a lot has changed. Thanks to Rose, all the Death Eaters are captured again, with the exception of the one who had already gone to capture you."
"Rose? Is she okay? And what about my son?"
"I'm fine, Draco," Rose said from behind him. Draco quickly turned around and grasped her hand. It was remarkable how quickly she had found a place in his heart. He had rarely hugged anyone since his wife died, but it felt natural to give one to Rose now.
"What has happened, Rose? Where is Scorpius?" Rose let go of him and looked down. She seemed close to tears! He had never seen her cry, not since that first day when Scorpius had been arrested. Draco looked up at Potter again. He too looked sad. Draco felt his heart start racing.
"Scorpius is upstairs." he said, but his tone of voice did not make that seem like a good thing. "We don't know his exact condition; we were about to go up and check."
"Condition? Is he injured? Please, tell me, what has happened to my son?"
Harry retold Rose's story as he led the way up to the ward where Scorpius was. Rose also chimed in with some supplementing facts. Draco held on to her. This was worse than he had thought. He had feared that his son would be killed, but this? This had the potential to be even worse, in a way.
"Will he be alright?" he asked with an almost trembling voice.
"We don't know," Rose said. "He was only just waking up when I left. The Healer wanted to assess him without my presence."
They walked back into the ward. The Healer saw them and motioned for them to wait in a room opposite from where Scorpius was. Draco wanted to rush into the room to see his son, but he contained his anxiety. He held on to Rose's hand for support. They both found comfort in the other's presence.
The Healer came into the room a few minutes later. He closed the door behind him, blocking the view to Scorpius' room. It seemed to send a clear sign. You cannot go in there.
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, glad you could join us. Your son has only just fully regained consciousness. Physically, there is nothing wrong with him. But it is too soon to know what damage has been done to his mind."
Draco felt Rose tense up. Why was the Healer only addressing him? He kept quiet, indicating to her to take the lead.
"What about his mind? How affected is he still? Will he be okay?" she asked.
The Healer turned to her again. "It is too soon to tell. He is calm and seems to realise that there is something wrong. That is a good sign. We haven't pushed him further yet, as I said he has only just woken up."
"When can I go in and see him?" Rose asked, though she thought she knew what the answer would be.
"I would strongly advice against that at the moment." he said. "As I explained when you came in with him, Mrs Malfoy, his primal instinct, what made him resist the mind control was his need to protect you. I fear that the sight of you, even just the sound of your voice would trigger an emotional response that could make him spiral further down. I would like for him to not see anyone he is familiar with until tomorrow at the earliest and then not you Mrs. Malfoy, or anyone else that was a part of this."
Rose was quiet for a few moments. She had known that that would probably be the answer, but it didn't make it any easier to hear.
"I understand," she said eventually. "But can't you say anything? What are the odds? Do you have any hope that he will recover?"
"I have some hope that he may recover, but it will be a slow process. The form of Confunding he was submitted to is a rare occurrence that can only be accomplished by a powerful Dark wizard. If it had been completed, it would have erased his personality completely and replaced it with a replica that would sound and look the same but altered in the areas the Dark wizard in question wanted it altered. Luckily, his process was not completed but we won't know just how much of his brain may be altered until later. I am not an expert in this area, but I will confer with Healers from other countries that have had more recent experiences in these sorts of cases. I am surprised at the level of sophistication in this case, not what I would have expected from a group of people being out of touch from the world for years…" the Healer stopped there. He probably realised that he had rambled on for too long. Rose had become pale and seemed to be close to fainting. Draco sat down next to her.
"It seems we are keeping you away from your work, sir." he said when Rose didn't reply. "I just want to be clear; money will not be an issue. Whatever cost you may need covered, or if you want to send my son abroad to be seen by these experts, or get these experts here, do it. Whatever you may need from us, name it."
"I assure you Mr. Malfoy, the issue is not money, but rather the lack of knowledge. It may be necessary, as you suggest, to send him abroad, but we are not there yet. Please trust me when I say that we are doing all we can. I would suggest that you all go home and get some rest and come back tomorrow. But please, go out the other entrance, where he will not be able to see you by accident."
Rose managed to hold it together until they were out of the ward. Then she collapsed into tears. Harry held on to her, letting her cry into his lap. Draco sat on her other side. He tried to stay collected for her sake, but he couldn't hide his worry. He held on to Rose's other hand.
"What are we going to do?" Rose said eventually.
"I suggest you do exactly what the Healer suggested" Harry replied. "Go home and try to get some rest. Take a bath and get some sleep. Hopefully, he will have some more answers for us tomorrow."
"I can't go home," Rose said. "I don't want to be alone there without Scorpius!"
"Come home with me" Draco found himself suggesting. "That way, we can keep each other company. I don't really want to be alone either."
The idea that someone else might need her seemed to make Rose feel better. That was how she was, always wanting to help others before herself. Harry gave Draco a short nod in thanks. As they rose to go however, Harry pulled Draco to the side for a bit.
"Please be careful with Rose," he said. "She has been through a terrible ordeal and has been asked to go through them again to explain it to us and the Healer. So, please, don't ask her to go through it again tonight?" Draco nodded.
"I also wanted to remind you that you may still be a target. We are still chasing the last Death Eater. If I may make a suggestion, can you stay somewhere other than your house tonight?"
Draco hadn't thought about that. He had been so focused on his son; he had not thought of his own safety. He did not want to take Rose back to his house if there was any danger.
"That may be a good idea. I suppose we shouldn't go to her place either, for the same reasons. I have a small cabin in the countryside but there is of course a chance they will know about that too."
"Yes, you shouldn't be anywhere that is connected to you or Scorpius. I have hopes that we will catch the last Death Eater soon, but I can't guarantee your safety if you return home."
"But where can we stay? A random inn will not be much safer and certainly not comforting or relaxing."
"Why can't we just stay with my family?" Rose asked from behind them. "We would be safe there, surely?"
"Of course. We can check with your mother and hear if she will be okay with that solution." Harry said.
"I have no problems with that. In fact, I was on my way to suggest just that." Hermione said as she came walking towards them. As usual, she had perfect timing. "We have two available rooms; Rose still has her own room, and we have a guest room that you can use Draco. Unless you object?"
Draco was taken aback by this offer. He wasn't sure what he thought of it, but what other option was there?
"That is a kind offer, Minister, thank you. It sounds a lot more comfortable than a random inn somewhere."
"Excellent. The latest news about the last Death Eater is not good, so both Harry and I will probably be busy the rest of the day and the night too. But Rose knows the way around the house. I'll alert Ron so he knows you will be there. He may insist on joining in the search as well, so please, make yourself at home."
Ron Weasley was one of the people that showed the most open resentment towards him still. It was not without cause, which was why Draco tried to avoid him whenever possible. Now he would be staying at his house. He hoped nothing bad would come from it, he didn't want to be the cause of more family drama in the Weasley family.
"Thank you, Mum," Rose said as she hugged her. "We will leave now then." She grabbed Draco's hand and started leading him towards the exit. It felt perfectly normal for Draco to follow her lead.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone