I was already regretting my career choice. Not because I had suddenly developed a crippling fear of blood or dealing with injuries, but because St. Mungo's was so much larger than I had anticipated it would be. And, with my lack of coordination, it was only a matter of time until I lost my way. Getting lost in the hospital was a sure-fire way to get myself fired.

"Miss Embers?" At the sound of my name, I turned to look at the woman approaching me. She smiled warmly at me, extending a hand for me to shake. "Welcome to the team."

"Thank you," I said with a smile, looking over the older woman.

"I've organised a tour of sorts for you – I know just how stressful it can be for newcomers to try and find their way around the hospital." She smiled at the blatant relief on my face. "And whilst I would have liked to show you around, I have urgent business to deal with. healer Malfoy will be with you in just a moment."

"Healer Malfoy?" I repeated, certain that I'd heard her incorrectly.

To my utter horror she nodded her head, "Healer Malfoy – if you went to Hogwarts together then you probably know each other?"

"We do," I assured her quietly, feeling my heart drop into my stomach. The prospect of meeting Malfoy, of all people, again made me feel a little sick. "He was two years above me in school."

"Well, he was more than glad to offer his help and he is one of our most capable healers so feel free to approach him for advice at any given moment." She waved at someone from over my shoulder. "There he is now."

My muscles wanted to lock into place, but I forced myself to let out a deep, steadying breath. Compelling the tension out of my body, I turned to look at the man approaching us. He made his way towards us with a smile and I tried to ignore the way each step he took closer to us made me want to curl up inside. Merlin, I was a grown woman! I wasn't the same girl that I had been when we were in school and I certainly wasn't going to let him push me around anymore.

"Healer Pince," he greeted the older woman once he had stopped beside us. As he turned his eyes back onto me, I waited for some form of recognition, perhaps even a slight sneer at the corner of his lips. Or a haughtily arched eyebrow. He did nothing of the sort. Instead he gave me the same polite smile he had directed to healer Pince. "It's been a while Embers."

"It certainly has Malfoy," I managed to say quietly once I'd found my voice again.

"Well, I'm glad to see you again." And because I couldn't return the words, I chose to say nothing.

Healer Pince filled the silence, "Make sure that you show her around properly Malfoy. I'm leaving her in your hands."

"Yes ma'am."

Healer Pince parted ways with us quickly, stating that she needed to see a patient. Once we were alone, I wrapped my arms around my middle, waiting for Malfoy to drop the façade he'd kept in place for healer Pince.

He cleared his throat, "There's really no need to be so apprehensive Embers, the hospital's easy to navigate around once you've spent a couple of days in here. And besides, there's signs everywhere."

My eyes rose to his in disbelief. Where was the taunt? This Malfoy, the one who seemed – for lack of a better word – pleasant wasn't one that I knew how to behave or speak around. I settled for being hesitant. "Right."

"Now come along, and I'll show you around." He gestured with his hand for me to start walking and I did as instruct, keeping an eye on him as I walked.

"How long have you been working here?" I asked in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

"For two years," he explained, "After I'd returned to Hogwarts for my eighth year and got the grades I needed, I applied to become a healer straight away."

"Oh."

"What about you?" He glanced down at me as we turned into a ward. As we walked, healers would smile in greeting at him or briefly stop him for a chat and I found myself struggling to reel from the apparent personality transplant that he had received. "Why didn't you apply here last year? After you graduated?"

"I needed to take some time out from the wizarding world," I clarified quietly, not knowing why I felt the need to explain anything to him. He certainly didn't deserve my explanation. "There was still so much trouble and I just needed time away."

My words unintentionally struck him and I found myself turning my eyes away from him so I couldn't see the way he reacted to them. Clearing his throat a little, he asked, "What happened to your glasses?"

My eyes shot up to his and really, I should have expected it – I had known that the taunt would have appeared sooner rather than later. And yet it still stung. When we had been at school, my glasses – which were unnecessarily thick and completely unattractive – had been his favourite thing to tease me with.

Fiddling with my fingers, I lowered my eyes to the ground as I quietly muttered, "The power of contact lenses."

He frowned a little, "I preferred the glasses."

"I'm sure you did," I muttered bitterly, knowing that he would hear the words, "They certainly were easier to make fun of me with."

He grimaced a little at my words, looking down at me as he came to a stop. I stopped beside him. "You don't still –"

"Healer Malfoy," Healer Pince called out as she approached us once again, "I've finished my rounds and can now take trainee Healer Embers off your hands. Get back to your patients."

"Yes ma'am." He was still looking at me, "I hope I've managed to be of some help to you, Embers."

"You were, healer Malfoy." I still didn't raise my eyes to his, not even when I heard his footsteps draw further away. Instead, my eyes drifted to the spot where he had been stood, even as healer Pince started to speak to me.

My first official day at work was spent shadowing a few of the already qualified healers as they made their rounds through the hospital. Although I hated to admit it, Malfoy's words had actually been true – after having been around the hospital a few times, it's size seemed far less formidable than it had at first. The long day had already come to an end and I wanted nothing more than to head home and curl up in my bed for a good night's sleep – especially because I needed to wake up so early tomorrow.

I clocked out for the day and just as I went to leave the room, I stopped in my step at the sight of the man who was standing in the doorway. Malfoy seemed surprised to see me but said nothing as he walked into the room, clocking out for the day as well. Seeing that he was busy, I took the chance to leave before he could make some sort of remark. But I had been too slow.

"So," he started as he removed his healer's white jacket and dropped into step beside me. "How was your first day at work?"

"It was good," I said quietly, praying the man would take the hint and walk away from me. But he didn't – of course he didn't. "I learnt a lot from the other healers."

"I'm glad." He smiled down at me and I turned my eyes away from him, "I remember what my trainee period was like but there's no need to worry, everyone here is really accommodating and helpful."

"That's good."

Why wasn't he realising that this conversation wasn't going anywhere? Merlin. I was torn between walking away from him and forcing myself to remain where I was. On one hand, if I walked away then there was always a chance that he'd abandon this pleasant personality he'd taken on and revert to being the old Malfoy. And I didn't want that.

"Listen Embers," he said suddenly, reaching out to hold my arm as he stopped walking. I surprised myself by not flinching and stopped beside him. "I feel like we've gotten off on the wrong foot and seeing as it looks like we'll be working together for the foreseeable future, it makes sense to put everything behind us." He held out a hand for me to shake and I eyed it suspiciously, "Deal?"

Looking between Malfoy's face and his hand I couldn't help the suspicion I felt toward the man. But, I reasoned, he was older now – he wasn't the school boy he'd been when we went to school together. And, if the words of the other healers were to be believed, then he was a damned good healer and that sort of person wouldn't be a bully. Besides, when he'd returned to Hogwarts for his eighth year, he hadn't been horrid to me like he had been during the previous years. He even helped rebuild Hogwarts, a small voice reminded me, and he publicly switched sides.

Even as I tried to reason with myself, I bit down on my bottom lip uncertainly. My eyes flickered up towards Malfoy's and I found him watching me patiently, waiting for me to make up my mind.

I cleared my throat and reached out to take the outstretched hand. "Deal."

"Thank Merlin," he said with a slight grin, dropping my hand, "It would've been hard to work together otherwise." I made no comment and started to walk once again. Malfoy followed me. "You know, if we were still in school, then a younger version of me would have grown so annoyed because you took such a long time to make your decision."

"I –"

"But then again," he continued smoothly, "The younger version of me did have the biggest crush on you."

He continued walking, looking ahead as if he hadn't delivered the most unbelievable bombshell. When he realised that I had stopped walking beside him, he glanced back at me curiously.

"You're joking," I spluttered, "You didn't have a crush on me. Merlin Malfoy, you used to torment me."

"No I didn't." he denied with a shake of his head. He had no reason to look so confused. "I tried to get your attention, yes, but I never tormented you."

"Yes, you did." I let out a deep breath, forcing myself to get the words off my chest. "You frankly, were a bully Malfoy and you loved to go out of your way to torment me."

"Embers, you've got it all wrong."

"Have I? Really? Why do you think I got rid of my glasses? You used to make fun of me for wearing them so I ditched them as soon as I could. Just so I could blend into the background a little more and stop being so much of a target."

He was outright frowning now as he dropped back to where I was stood. "Haven't you heard that saying that boys pick on the girls they like?"

"I have," I crossed my arms, levelling him a look. "And if you think for one second that I believe it has any validity then you're completely wrong."

"Why do you think I was trying to get your attention?" He threw back. "How else was I supposed to get your attention?"

"Let's say you were doing what you say you were, then does that mean you had a crush on Granger? Or Weasley or even Potter?" He grimaced and I let out a small sigh, "Look, I don't believe you but I'm willing to look past all of that because we're grown-ups now and I don't want to carry around a grudge for so long. So just forget it."

"But I can't," he insisted, "You've been going around all this time thinking that I was bullying you and you want me to let it go?"

"Yes, I do – listen to me, you're crush or whatever it was has gone now and so has the bullying part of your personality. They're in the past now so let's not dwell on it."

He scowled at me but I ignored it. Leaving him behind, I continued to walk in the direction of the exit. Malfoy followed after me like I knew he would.

"I really did like your glasses," he said after a moment, muttering the words petulantly. "I didn't know you got rid of them because of me."

"That's only part of the reason." I glanced briefly in his direction, "I hated them too."

Malfoy and I had been in school together for six years and I should have known that he it wasn't in his personality to let things go. But I hadn't thought along those lines. I had just settled down for lunch when he approached me again, and cleared his throat to get my attention. The other trainee healers that I had been sat with, looked over him curiously and nudged me when it became obvious that it was his intention to get my attention.

"Can I help you?" I asked quietly, looking over him.

Slowly, one by one the other trainee healers started to leave the table and despite my protests, they headed off, claiming they had other things they needed to do. When I was left alone with him, I bit my lip apprehensively, looking back at him. When I had been with the other trainee healers, I didn't feel quite so nervous about being alone with him. Yesterday I had told Malfoy that I wanted to forget about the relationship we'd had in school, but doing so would take more than just the words.

"I wanted to talk to you," he explained, gesturing to the table to silently ask if he could take a seat.

"Feel free," I muttered, picking at my sandwich and watching him as he made himself comfortable. Merlin, never had I thought that I'd end up sitting at the same table for lunch as Draco bloody Malfoy. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I did some thinking," he said quietly, picking at his food in a similar manner to the way I was picking at mine.

"You did some thinking," I prompted when he became quiet again.

"Right, I did some thinking about what you were saying yesterday." He cleared his throat, "And well, I realised that my behaviour had clearly come across differently to the way I had intended for it to come across. I'd never thought that you'd see it as bullying – then again, I was kind of emotionally stunted as a kid."

"And how exactly did you intend for it to come across?" I raised an eyebrow, "Like you had a crush on me, right?"

He shook his head, "That's not it either."

"Oh right," I said before I could stop myself, "Because the Malfoy heir couldn't make it seem like he had a crush on anyone that wasn't a pureblood?"

He cleared his throat, as he said quietly, "I hate to admit it but that's the truth. You don't know the way I grew up and I haven't had even a sip of alcohol so I'm nowhere near inebriated enough to tell you about it."

"Why are you even bringing this up?" I asked, dropping the subject like he had hinted. "I told you that I wanted to forget about it, didn't I? We were just children and now we're adults so let's just drop it."

"I can't." He shook his head vehemently, "Forgetting something isn't equivalent to forgiving it. I clearly caused you a lot of pain and well, I don't want you to keep thinking of those sorts of feelings around me."

"This isn't necessary." Looking away from him, I pushed my food away around the plate.

"Except it is necessary." He sighed and I raised my eyes to his, "I know that it's not going to be easy for me to get you to forgive me but I want to try, at least?"

"Merlin, Malfoy," I muttered, shaking my head, "I think I preferred you being emotionally stunted over you being so driven like this."

"It'll endear you to me soon," he announced confidently, smiling at me. Rolling my eyes at him, I frowned when he grew more serious again. Merlin, why did his emotions keep changing so often, "But I'm being honest here – I'll get you to forgive me soon."

"And if I told you that I've already forgiven you?"

My question threw him but he narrowed his eyes, "Have you?"

I didn't answer him; I hadn't forgiven him yet. But I was beginning to. Clearing my throat, I lowered my eyes to the table as I changed the topic, "Healer Pince approached me earlier and she's assigned us our mentors for the next few months."

He smiled knowingly, leaning back in his seat, "So she told you that you're stuck with me for the next few months?"

"Why do you seem so pleased about that?"

"Didn't you hear that I volunteered to take you under my wing?"

Malfoy as a mentor was odd. I was still trying to get my head around the massive change to his behaviour and then seeing him as a healer sent me reeling even further. Seeing him taking charge was weird because for as long as I had known Malfoy he had never seemed to be responsible. I had never pegged him as the sort of person to take charge in an emergency situation and now he was. It was really very confusing.

But, after trailing after him for a few months of acting as his shadow, I was beginning to get used it. Of course there were moments where he reminded me of the way he'd been at school; like when the trademark Malfoy smirk appeared on his face but then again, he wouldn't have been Malfoy if his change had been a complete 180 change.

"So, where are we headed today?" I asked as he approached me, looking over a patient file.

"You'll find out soon," he said dismissively with a sight frown marring his features. I said nothing in return. I had quickly learned that when he was like this – so completely focused on the patient –speaking to him unnecessarily was a sure-fire way to bring out the old grumpy Malfoy. When he had completed his assessment of the chart, he looked turned to look at me, "We need to head up to the fifth floor first."

"But the café and gift shop's on that floor?" I trailed after him in confusion.

"I know."

When we arrived at the fifth floor, Malfoy headed into the gift shop and returned minutes later. I frowned when he returned empty handed but made no comment on it. As Malfoy led me through the hospital, towards the next patient that he needed to oversee, he gave me a brief outline of the patient.

"We're headed to the children's ward," he explained, turning the corner, "Our patient's a young boy brought in because of a quidditch accident."

"Merlin," I muttered shaking my head, "The number of kids that get brought into the hospital because of quidditch accidents is ridiculous. This is why children shouldn't play quidditch."

"Now that's a bit unfair don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow, "I turned out fine and I was even in the children's quidditch team."

"Well I used to play children's quidditch and now have a scar on my ribcage because of the fall I suffered."

"Really?" His smirk was back again and I rolled my eyes. I could almost guess what was going to come next, "Maybe you should let me see it? I can give you a healer's opinion."

"It's an old scar, you pervert," I muttered, hitting his arm as we arrived at the children's ward. "Whatever damage was supposed to happen has already happened."

His smirk was a little bigger as he walked through the ward, trying to find the right patient. Once he had located the little boy, Malfoy gestured for me to follow him. As I drew closer to the bed I glanced at the child's guardian and frowned. What was Potter doing here?

"Ok Mr Lupin," Draco greeted, starting the routine I'd seen him do with all the children who'd arrived at the hospital. And, just like every other child this one smiled widely, giggling slightly. "What seems to be the problem, young man?"

"Go on Teddy," Potter stepped forward, humouring the younger boy. "Tell Healer Malfoy what's wrong."

'Teddy' pulled on Potter's arm, gesturing for him to talk on his behalf and I smiled as the little boy's cheeks puffed out. Merlin, he was adorable.

"He fell off his broom Malfoy," Potter explained, "He's skimmed his knee but it looks like he's broken his arm."

Malfoy checked Teddy over before nodding, "It does look like he's broken his arm. It'll have to be Skele-gro I'm afraid and we both know that rubbish tastes like a goat's bollock –"

"Healer Malfoy," I chastised, even as Potter chuckled at his words, "Would you watch your words please? There's a child present."

"He's not even listening to me," he explained with a roll of his eyes. "Now, you can dish out the right dosage, can't you?"

"If I couldn't do that after training for so long, then there'd be something to say about your methods of teaching," I muttered under my breath, knowing that both adults could hear me speak.

As I got to work with pouring out the medicine, I watched the two former enemies talk between themselves. Merlin, it seemed like pigs were now able to fly; they were actually getting on with each other.

"Here sweetheart," I said holding the spoon of Skele-gro out for Teddy to drink. He made a face after having caught a whiff of the potion. "I know it smells rubbish but if you don't drink it then how are you going to get any better?"

"She's right Teddy," Malfoy said, waving his wand and a cast wound itself around the young boy's arm. Once the cast was tied, he rubbed a hand through the boy's hair. "If you don't drink it then you won't get any better and you won't get your present."

The boy perked up instantly, sitting up and taking the potion from the spoon. He regretted the action immediately, scrunching his face up as he swallowed the medicine. Once he had swallowed it all down, he looked at Draco expectantly. With an indulgent sigh, Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wolf plushy. Teddy took it with both arms, hugging it to his chest.

Ruffling his hair one more time, Draco rose to his feet and turned to face Harry, "You can take him and leave Potter, make sure he's careful." Just as he turned to leave, Draco paused in his step and looked back at Potter, "Make sure you bring him around the Manor, mum wants to see him."

"Will do Malfoy."

Without any other words, Draco walked away from them and before I could voice my confusion, he was already explaining. "Teddy's family. He's the son of my late cousin."

"And here I was, thinking that you were just that sweet to all the kids that come in," I teased. He really was that sweet to all the children that came into the hospital.

"So, after having seen Teddy that brings us to the end of your training period," he declared with a smile, "Why don't we go out for a drink or something? To celebrate?"

"We've got work tomorrow," I reminded him.

"Then let's go out this weekend?"

I eyed him cautiously, "Tell me if I'm wrong, but are you asking me on a date?"

His struggled not to laugh, "Salazar, it's about time you noticed. What do you think I've been doing for the last few weeks?"

"Oh," I cleared my throat, "Maybe –"

"Don't say it," he interrupted, "Even from your tone of voice I can tell it's going to be a rejection and I'd rather not hear that so let's pretend you didn't realise I was asking you out?"

"If you're sure," I muttered uncertainly.

The months of training I'd had really hadn't prepared me for this. My eyes widened as a man was wheeled into the hospital, coming in from one of the ambulances. There was a large amount of bloody seeping out of his chest and that was the smallest of his injuries. My healer instincts kicked in and I ran to the gurney. Before I could even try to do anything my mind went blank.

"What the hell are you doing?" snapped one of the other healers, seeing the way I was rooted to place. No matter how hard I tried to force myself to move, to do something to save this poor man I couldn't think of anything to do.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing, Bennett?" Draco. I ignored the way the overwhelming feeling of relief that his voice filled me with. "You're the more experienced one – you've been working here longer than I have. Don't pick on the rookie, tell her what to do."

"Malfoy –"

"Enough," he declared firmly, "I'm taking over." He approached the bed, "Embers, get started on CPR – now."

His order managed to clear the haze in my mind and I snapped to it. Clutching my hands over the unconscious man's heart, I ignored everything else as I maintained the steady rhythm. I tuned out the way Bennett was talking to Draco for taking over, I even ignored Draco as he called out orders to the on call mediwizards. Merlin, if we lost this man because my response hadn't been quick enough –

"Embers," Draco said quietly, coming up behind me as he began to cast spells and charms on the man, "Are you alright?"

"Later," I dismissed his concern, hating the way that I could hear my voice shake slightly. My eyes stared down at my hands as I continued to pump the chest of the patient.

"He's beginning to flatline," the words pierced my self-inflicted mental isolation.

No –

My eyes filled with tears but I sniffed them back, continuing with the task I'd been assigned. Glancing between the patient and the machine that had been set up beside the bed, I kept a close eye on his heartrate.

"Embers," Draco tried to soothe.

"Later," I said through gritted teeth, beginning to feel the strain in my arms. "Whatever you have to say Draco you can say it later. After we've saved this man."

"Maybe it's time you stopped," Bennett suggested quietly, "You're only slowing the rate at which his heart rate's crashing. You're delaying the inevitable."

"What kind of healer are you!" I would have glared at him had I not been so focused on what I was doing.

"One that's more senior than you," he said firmly, "And I'm going to order you to stop what you're doing Embers."

I didn't listen to him. Drowning out the warnings he continued to give me, I swallowed down the tears as I thought of the injustice of it all. He wasn't even doing anything! Draco was casting continuous spells trying to heal as much of the man as possible, I was trying to get his heartbeat picking up again, but he wasn't even doing a thing!

"Embers," he called out sharply, "I'll have your coat for this."

"Try it Bennett," Draco warned, the end of his wand sparking as he continued to cast spells, "Try it and I'll file a case against you. I'll have you standing in front of the medical committee before you've finished signing your complaint."

Bennett wisely didn't say another word and Draco returned to my side. He asked quietly, "Can you keep going? Do you want me to take over?" I shook my head adamantly; I was going to make up for the blunder I'd made when the man had first arrived. "Just hang on a moment longer, the head healer's on his way to take him into surgery."

"What if we're wrong?" my question was quiet, doubt creeping into my voice even as I continued to steadily pump at his chest. "What if Bennett's right and I've made the wrong call and dragged you into trouble along with me."

"You haven't," he assured me so firmly that for a moment I forgot the burning ache in my upper arms. "This is what we do – we bring patients back from the brink of death. We don't give up on them like he wanted."

The head healer brushed into the room and promptly brushed me aside, clambering onto the bed and taking over what I had been doing. The mediwizards pushed the bed out of the room, preparing to take the man into surgery. I didn't move, even after the patient had long left. All I could do was stare at the spot where the bed had been previously standing.

Draco walked towards me, taking my bloodstained hands in his. He waited patiently for them to stop shaking and when they did, he cast a quiet scourgify on them. I expected him to release them when they were clean, but he didn't.

"Do you think he'll make it?" I asked quietly, looking up into his eyes.

"It's out of our hands now," was all he said in response and I sighed, eyes closing. All I wanted to do was sag to the floor and wait until the patient came out of surgery but I couldn't. There were other patients that I needed to see to.

"You did the right thing," he reminded me after a moment.

"If only I hadn't frozen up like that –"

"Don't beat yourself up over that – it's normal for newly qualified healers to panic when you've never been in that situation before." My eyes lowered from his, unable to handle the weight of his stare. Instead I chose to look at my hands which were still held between both of his. "What's not normal is for someone as experienced as bloody Bennett to be standing around and doing nothing."

"You don't think he's going to actually file a report against me, do you?" Taking my bottom lip between my teeth, I risked a glance up at him. His eyes lowered to my lips and I promptly let my bottom lip go.

"He can try it and I'll have his head."

The next day when I returned to work, I had wanted to ask whether the emergency patient from yesterday had made it through the surgery. But I was too scared to find out the answer to the question so I went on with my work, without bothering to find out. Approaching my next patient, I picked up the patient chart and looked it over, preparing to speak to the patient who had just woken up from her sleep.

The chart was pulled out of my hands before I could say anything. I went to protest, looking at the person who had stolen the chart from me. Draco's eyes flickered over the chart before he handed it off to the healer that he'd brought to accompany him.

"What are you doing?" I protested, reaching around him to take the chart back.

"I need you to come with me," he said without bothering to explain any further.

"Draco –"

He took my hand before I could take the chart. Ignoring my protests, Draco glanced over at the other man, "You can handle this right?"

"Of course I can, Malfoy." The other healer waved him away, "Now get going – you being so whipped is beginning to give me hives."

"Thanks Higgs."

With that, Draco was off, taking me along with him. I followed him without so much as a protest because I knew better than to try and reason with the stubborn man.

"Look Draco," I protested, snatching my hand back with him, "I'll follow you wherever you're intending to take me, but there's no need for you to physically drag me around with you."

"Sorry." He had the sense to look slightly apologetic as he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "There's just something that I want to show you."

"I had figured that out," I muttered under my breath. "And what exactly do you want to show me?"

"Just wait a little longer," he responded at my impatience.

He continued to lead the way, walking through the hospital and leading me towards the room where patients were taken to recover from surgery. My mind figured out where Draco was taking me and why he was taking me there, before my body had managed to catch up. As we walked into the ward, my footsteps slowed gradually when I reached the bed on the far end of the ward, staring down at the man sleeping peacefully in the bed.

"Merlin," I whispered, the tension easing out of my body.

"You made the right call," Draco said from beside me, wrapping an arm around my side when I sagged against him.

"I have no idea what I'd have done if we'd lost him."

"Well, we didn't." He stared down at me, "How does it feel to have saved your first patient?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted, glancing up at him. Realising how close we were still standing, I hurried away from him and pretended not to see the way he hesitated to drop his hand from around me. "The relief still hasn't left me. Give me a couple of hours to catch up and I'll get back to you."

"A few hours, huh?" One side of his lips curved up into a very familiar smirk, "Aren't you ashamed to call yourself a Ravenclaw if it takes you that long?"

"Aren't you ashamed to call yourself a Slytherin?" I threw back with a raised eyebrow, "Aren't Slytherin's supposed to be sly and cunning? Because, if healer Higg's words are to be believed then you, Mr Malfoy, are wrapped around my little finger."

"Why are you so sure that I'm not being sly?" He tilted his head, "Have I or have I not gotten so much closer to you without you even knowing it? Do you think that'd happen if I bumbled around like a Gryffindor or Salazar forbid, followed after you like a besotted Hufflepuff?"

"Whatever you say." Struggling not to smile, I glanced away from Draco to find that the patient was slowly waking up.

"How are you, sir?" I asked, brushing past Draco to walk closer to the bed, "Is there any pain, or –"

As I went through the regulation list of questions, I ignored the pride radiating off of the man behind me. Giving the patient another dose of painkillers, I stepped away from the bed and went to leave the ward, knowing that Draco would trail after me.

"You're really a healer," he marvelled, "You seemed like one yesterday, but today – it's like you're in your element."

"Well that's only because I had such a good mentor," I said quietly, watching him from the corner of my eye as he walked beside me. "Where are you headed off to now?"

"I'm off to the serious bites ward." Sliding his hands into his pockets, he looked down at me with a mischievous grin, "Why? Are you wondering if you can convince me to sneak off for a bit? Because, in case you were wondering, you could."

"I'll store that information for later use." I returned his grin, smiling even wider when I saw that way my words threw him. Swallowing down the slight nerves I felt, I continued my pretence of being at ease as I prepared to part ways with him. "Oh, and Draco, why don't we go out for a drink or something? To celebrate?"

"Yes – um, sure." He muttered with furrowed eyebrows, a small hesitant smile appearing on his lips.

I hurried away from him with a beaming smile, one that I made sure he didn't see.