ways_infirmary | (no subject)

Draco coughed weakly a few times. He stared blankly up at the ceiling for the moment. His leg hurt terribly, also there were bruises forming where he fell.
That wasn't what hurt the most though. Just like in his vision, the person he was starting to consider a friend, a close friend at that which both were firsts for him was destroyed. And it was all his fault. His doing.

He closed his eyes from the pain to his leg and to his long ignored and buried heart.

Nita, meanwhile, is not worrying about soul-searching. She's a little more worried about Draco's leg, which looks like it's broken in several places, and the tone of his breathing.

"Where does it hurt?"

Draco opens his eyes, and rasps out. "Shin, around the knee, possibly higher. Whole leg hurts."

"Okay. Can you turn over so I can get at it? Here, let me help--"

She moves to support him so that he doesn't need to put too much weight on the injured leg.

Draco almost screams as he's turned over. No faking or overemphasizing the hurt this time. He was in serious pain. He was shaky and greyish pale from the effort as Nita helps him shift over, the left leg still lying askew at the wrong angle. Human legs just normally didn't bend that way. And there was likely splintering of bones inside.

She winces. "Sorry."

Shifting position, she lays her hands gently on his leg, examining it.

"This is going to hurt -- I need to align it before I can heal it. I can knock you out, if you don't want to feel it."

Part of him wanted to be knocked out. So he can't feel the pain.
But then again. No, I failed, and this is punishment for it.

"Go ahead and set it." He replied, still wincing and cringing some.

Great.

She gets up and finds a splint on the shelves, then returns to Draco and lays it alongside his leg.

"Try and relax."

And as gently as she can -- which she suspects is nowhere near gently enough -- she begins to realign the broken bones.

Relax? Not likely. Easy for her to say.

Draco bit his bottom lip to keep from screaming as fresh pain flooded up his leg. His breathing had sped up to quick bursts of air, nostrils flaring slightly from his thin, pointed nose. His hands had tightened into fists at his side, bone-white knuckles showing.

"Okay. Just a little more."

The leg aligned, she places her hands on the worst breaks and starts murmuring in the Speech. The spell-casting silence she's used to falls down around her, and it's just her and the words.

Eventually, the worlds comes back, and she sits back, breathing hard.

"How's it feel?"

Draco had bit so hard, that there was now a bit of blood on his bottom lip where the teeth broke the skin. He ignored that over the problem with his leg. He tried to move it a little. Still twinging a little.

"No longer feels like somebody set a flame charm to my leg, so that's reassuring." He went to get up, and grimaced a little as he tried to put weight on it. Well, much more managable at any rate.

"Cheers to that." He quietly added.

"Sit down," she orders, gesturing towards the examining table in the middle of the room. She heads for the sink and grabs a couple of paper cups, which she fills with water.

Handing one to Draco -- "Here. You look like you need it."

Draco started to protest, but sat down anyway.

He took the cup of water, "Thanks, could go some firewhiskey about now though."

No, he couldn't. Slightly dehydrated, poor diet, stress, and current physical and mental state? Nope, not one for liquor for a while.

He did take a sip of the water though, and then gulped the rest down quickly.

Dry -- "I think alcohol would be a bad idea."

She sips her own water, watching him. After a moment, she says quietly, "Okay, Draco Malfoy. What was all that about, back in the bar?"

Draco darkly replied, "I don't want to talk about it now. Other than the obvious part. Everything got fucked up." He was scowling some now.

"I noticed."

She frowns. "I know you don't want to, but if I'm any judge, you're gonna have some very powerful people wanting to have a long serious talk with you in a little while." After a moment's consideration, she adds, "If you're lucky, it'll just be a long serious talk."

"And if I'm not so lucky, I'll end up dead, or wishing I was. I know." Draco commented.

"Anyway, you heard some of it. Dark lord types don't like it when their tools change their mind. Not usually the sort of thing you can walk away from once you vowed. I just got fed up with it all."

He added with an annoyed expression, though his grey eyes seemed more pleading, "But I didn't want you or Danny getting dragged into this. I thought I could take care of it myself."

Her gaze focuses. "No, they usually don't. So now you've sworn yourself to the Light. What happens if you get fed up with that, too?

"And the last time I thought that, I ended up nearly going crazy because I was mind-linked to a former servant of the Dark. It's not the best philosophy."

Draco shook his head. "No, not going to. Figured the only way they take me seriously if I offered myself up completely. Have every right to take my life now if they wanted to. That, and I think this was how I'm supposed to be going now." If those visions were any indication.

He glanced back at her, "Oh, that what she meant about you being close to it, eh? And maybe not, but I thought I was on my own already."

"Hmm. As long as you know what you're getting into."

She glances down at her cup and says shortly, "Yes." Then, more gently, "Not many people are entirely on their own. Not even the Lone Power."

Draco nodded. He had a good idea now. Even though it was a desperate measure. And he certainly didn't understand the fine print, or much of it really.

He then asked, somewhat curious, "What do you mean by that?"

"There'll always be someone willing to help you."

She shrugs. "Maybe it's just because they want you to owe them, but still."

Draco nodded, "Now, that I can understand. Having to owe someone part." Common practice in the circles he used to live in. A lot of manipulating.

"In this case, I think it was more that we both like you and want to help you," she says, producing a slight smile. "Not to mention I'm not too happy with her."

Draco blinked in surprise, "You do?" It was an odd concept for him. Usually he was only liked for his name, or his money. But that also meant Danny liked him as a friend.
And how did you repay him, Draco?
He already had put the cup down, now he hugged his arms to himself. He wasn't going to cry here, not in front of himself. But it was taking some effort to bury those emotions inside himself again.

"Hey."

It's a look Nita knows pretty well. She's worn some variation of it herself. She sits down next to him, and tentatively puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah."

Draco flinched just a hair from the contact. Only one who gave him any lavish attention, and physical contact was his mother. Pansy did as well, but he could see she was just interested in him for his position and name.

He drew in a long shudder. "Just most don't. Either they hate me, fear me, or really fear my father." And Draco wasn't exactly the most likable sort either with his pompous, bigoted, and braggart attitude.

Nita stays silent, listening. Trying to give advice will just fall flat, at this point.

"It's always been the same. Either people will be kissing my arse, or wanting to kick it. Bastards, the whole lot of them." Draco swore softly.

"Sometimes I w.." He then remembered the ring he still had with him, and then corrected himself, "Sometimes I hate being a Malfoy."

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "Family history is hard to deal with."

"You don't know half of it. Father's very particular. My mum's slightly more understanding, but she trusts his judgement mostly."

Draco then shook his head. It was personal and private matters.

"I should go. Thanks for the help with my leg, and the water." He slowly went to get up again.

She stands, and offers him a hand. "Be careful on that leg -- it'll be weak for a while."

There was a brief harsh laugh of irony at the term, 'weak.' He heard it so often in reference to him.

Draco then replied, "I'll ask the bar for something to help with that. A cane probably." A crutch would hamper him too much.