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“Don’t move, or you’ll do some real damage to that ankle.” The crowd attending the game was so loud Draco Malfoy’s advice was almost drowned out.
“Just fix it fast!” Ginny hissed, wincing in pain as Draco held her foot down. She looked up at the sky, trying to follow the action of her team from her spot on the ground behind the bench. “I’ve got to get back up there.”
Gritting his teeth, Draco replied, “What you have got to do is to lie still so I can do my job.”
Ginny snorted with amusement. “I bet that’s what you say to all the pretty girls. Oh OW!” He had touched her ankle in a way that hurt tremendously. Instinctively, she wrenched her leg out of his grasp. The pain brought tears to her eyes. “What the Hell did you do that for, Malfoy?”
He fixed her with a firm look, but didn’t answer.
She pulled away from him further. She announced loudly, “I want another medi-wizard. I don’t trust this one.”
Draco looked at her coldly before standing. “Fine. But it will cost you time.” He left to get another healer.
*
The outbreak of colds amongst the Harpies, had very nearly required the cancellation of their upcoming match against Puddlemere United. Luckily, the team medi-wizards managed brew a specific type of Pepper-Up to combat it. The entire team, from the coaching staff to the players to the equipment handlers, assembled in the locker room so the medi-wizards could administer the potion.
Draco had a tray of goblets and walked about, handing them out to everyone. Soon, almost all of them had steam flowing from their ears. When he got to Ginny, he held a goblet out to her but she wouldn’t take it. “Do you want to feel ill?” he asked her.
She eyed him. Then she sniffled and dragged the cuff of her jumper under her nose. “Too late for that.”
“Sorry about that. But, here, take this. It will help.”
She eyed him. Then she shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ll wait for someone else’s potion.”
“I helped brew all the helpings of the potion here, Weasley.”
She coughed into the crook of her arm and shook her head. “It’s just a cold. I can handle it.”
Draco looked shocked. “Be reasonable, Weasley. I know what’s best here. I’m a trained—”
“You don’t know what’s best for me!” she spat at him. She coughed again and then moved away with a, “Tell the coach I’ll be back when I’m over this.”
*
“That’s the third one she’s returned.” Draco raised his head from the physical therapy book. “Hmm?” A barn owl landed on its perch in the cage, with the note from the healers still wrapped around its leg. He went over to it, suspecting but not certain until he saw Ginny’s name on the note. “Of course.”The chief medi-wizard, Alan, looked concerned. “Ginervra has been out sick for two weeks now.”
Draco shrugged and went back to his book. “Well, if she won’t respond to our help, it’s out of our hands, isn’t it?”
“Guess so.” Alan offered their owl some fresh water. “But the coach has been asking me about her and I don’t have anything to tell her. If she’s not careful, she’s going to lose her spot on the team.”
Draco nodded. He tried to continue reading about conjuring splints in ways that wouldn’t aggravate injuries, but he found that he couldn’t concentrate one bit.
After a few minutes, he sighed and rose from his seat. He grabbed his cloak. “I’m going out for lunch. I’ll be back within the hour.”
“Bring me back some sesame chicken, will you?” Alan asked, waving towards the door. “I have a craving.”
*
Draco was not prepared for the look of surprise on Ginny’s face when she opened the door to her flat and saw him there. She narrowed her eyes at him and raised her wand threateningly.
He stepped back and held both of his hands up in a gesture of innocence. His wand was still in the pocket of his medi-wizard uniform. “You won’t reply to our notes. I had to come by and make sure you weren’t dead.”
“As you can see, I’m not,” was her reply. But her voice was hoarse. It was Draco’s turn to look surprised.
“Merlin’s Beard, Weasley. You sound dreadful.”
She made a face at him. “I’m ill.”
“You sure are. But it’s nothing I can’t fix.” And, with that, he pushed past her and invited himself into her home.
“Malfoy! Stop or I’ll hex you!” she yelled in protest, but her voice was so strained that it made her start coughing. She sunk onto her sofa, which was covered in blankets, and coughed and coughed. Forceful, moist, unproductive coughs.
Draco walked over and put his hand on her back, rubbing gently. She tried to shake him off, but she was too weak and he was too insistent. He sat down on the arm of the sofa, his ear turned to her. When the coughing passed, he shook his head. “That cold went right to your chest, didn’t it? How long have you been coughing like that?”
She shrugged.
“More than a week?”
She shrugged again. And then she nodded.
He sighed. “All right. I can whip something up to help with that. You’ll be all right by dinner time.”
“I don’t want—”
“I don’t care what you want, Weasley. This is my job—you are my job—and, believe it or not, I do in fact know what’s best for you. So you either suffer and risk losing your voice permanently, and losing your place on the team, or you let me make a simple healing potion and get some rest.” Draco smiled slyly. “But I’m not giving you a choice in the matter. So point me in the direction of your kitchen.”
Reluctantly, Ginny pointed and Draco got started.
The potion was easy enough. She even had all the essential ingredients. He had to improvise on only one occasion, but the fresh honey was such a good substitute for a binding agent that he was wondering why it wasn’t a standard for these types of things.
“Drink up,” he said, handing her a goblet. “Before it goes cold.”
She hesitated, glaring at him. But he glared right back at her and, finally, she drank it. The thick liquid tickled her throat and made her cough. But the cough was productive this time. Draco had a handkerchief ready for her, and she took it without looking at him or thanking him.
When she finished coughing, Draco took the empty goblet back from her. “How are you feeling now?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Better, I guess.” He voice was still a little rough, but it was nearly back to normal.
“Good,” he said, nodding approvingly. “Now, I will advise you to get some rest presently. You should be as good as new when you wake up. But I don’t want you pushing yourself in practices immediately. Your body needs to ease back into the training and there’s no magical potion I can give you for that.”
Ginny coughed again and nodded. “Why are you doing this, Malfoy?”
“Because it’s my job to look after the team. And because Potter would literally kill me if he found out you hurt yourself permanently when I could have helped.”
Ginny turned her head, looking away.
Draco sat up a little straighter. “Oh-ho. You two broke up.”
She nodded and rubbed her fist at her face. “What do you care?” she snapped, her voice wavering.
He stood up, smiling. “Because it means now I finally have a shot with you, that’s why.”
She looked at him, tears in her bright brown eyes. “And you think that you know what’s best for me, do you?”
He shrugged. “Just when it comes to your health. The rest is up to you, Ginny. You hold all the cards.”
Slowly, still looking at him, she smiled. Then she yawned powerfully.
“Get some sleep. You know where to find me.” He started to go. “Unless… you want me, with my medical expertise, to watch over you while you sleep?”
She laughed and lay down on the couch. “I think it’s too soon for that. But how about dinner?”
He grinned. “You can pick me up at seven.”