The Internal Devices

Chapter 31

Madam Pomfrey pinched her lips and looked between the two teenagers. Hermione still appeared dazed, and Draco was fairly confused himself.

"Madam, care to enlighten us?"

"Certainly Mr. Malfoy. About a month ago, I decided to clean up your laboratory. I wanted to make sure nothing dangerous was left out and that equipment was not still running. I shouldn't have even bothered, as the two of you are meticulous in your safety practices. While I was in there, however, I reviewed the scattered data. I planned to organize the papers and store them for future use. When I read through your findings and theories, I came across an article that seemed familiar. I finally recognized it as the very journal that caused Miss Granger to approach me last term for further research."

She paused to make sure they were following her, and Draco motioned for her to continue. "Well, it's quite simple from there. I sent an owl to Dr. Lyles, the very author of this research article, and sent him copies of your findings. He was fascinated, and wrote back in a matter of days, asking if the two of you were available to join his PhD program."

It took a moment for Draco to realize she was serious. He blinked a few times, hoping it would help him absorb all of the information. A professor, studying magical and muggle medicine, was requesting their presence in some sort of academic program. He wasn't familiar with the term "PhD", but it sounded important. Hermione still remained silent beside him, but her eyes were narrowed in thought. Draco turned back to Madam Pomfrey.

"So...this professor...wants us to come research with him? To what end?"

Madam laughed at that. "To finish the project of course. To perfect the avensegium allegiata spell and apply it to various diseases. To cure the incurable. To undo decades of evil."

Oh, of course. To undo decades of evil. The voice inside his head was filled with bitter sarcasm, but he managed to contain it. Truth be told, he didn't really care anymore. This research had always been about Theo for him, not some Gryffindor world-health mission. He was so incredibly tired. Even simple things seemed exhausting. There was no way in hell he was committing to some do-gooders project. At this point, it was clear he wasn't very good at changing the world, anyway. So far in his life, he had been on the wrong side of a war and had been incapable of saving what mattered most. He was relatively certain that disqualified him from this proposal. Next to him, Hermione crossed her arms and bit her lip in thought. Draco rolled his eyes and turned back to the healer. "Where is it?"

"Oh!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "Yes, well his primary location is in a subsection of Harvard Medical School, located at the Boston campus."

Boston? As in...well he honestly didn't know which American state it resided in. New York? That one seemed popular. He would go with New York. Merlin, that was far from London. To commit to research at Harvard would mean leaving everything he'd ever known. Not that he had much left, but the idea was moderately alarming.

Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat as if waiting for an answer. Draco looked back at Hermione, who still hadn't spoken. "Sorry, Madam, but we're going to need time to consider."

The matron nodded briskly. "Perfectly sensible. Please get back to me within forty-eight hours. I need to send Dr. Lyles a response." Draco nodded mutely and pulled at Hermione's arm, dragging her out of the infirmary.

Neither spoke. Their footsteps echoed in the empty hallways, and although they didn't communicate, they seemed to have an understanding of their destination. Silently, they passed the Great Hall, tables bare and pushed to the sides of the room for storage. Then the library, doors tightly locked and windows dark. The chatty portraits were unusually vacant with no students to keep an eye on. This was a side of Hogwarts he had never seen, and he couldn't say he particularly enjoyed the view.