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“You Know Who’s back again.” Padma announced as she walked into Hermione’s office, startling the bushy-haired woman from her paperwork.
She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “I hope you don’t mean that arse Thomas Riddle, even as an outpatient he is beyond my help.” Her voice was dry.
“No, thank Merlin.” Padma’s smile was sly. “I was talking about a certain messy-haired, rather charming green-eyed bloke with the most adorable son. He just arrived; apparently Jamie had a bike accident.”
At Hermione’s alarmed glance, Padma quickly clarified. “I looked him over, he’s fine. Luckily minor scratches. But he insists on seeing you.” She winked, making Hermione wonder exactly which “he” her friend referred to.
“I have some lab reports to go through,” she tried to protest. “Head Healer Reddy has been after me to finish them -”
Padma held up a hand, stopping her. “Last time I checked, your job also included interacting with patients. Not locking yourself up in your office reading and signing off on paperwork.” She gave her best friend a scrutinizing look. “If you’re worrying about being professional in front of your crush -”
“I do not fancy Mr. Potter!” Hermione yelped, making Padma grin inwardly. She blew out a breath, then realized what she said. “I mean, I do like him, but not...I can’t like him like that.” Her voice was softer now.
Padma’s eyes softened. “Hermione, you know it’s been years since you separated from Viktor. You are allowed to move on. The fact that he had the nerve to cheat on you while you were still married!”
She shrugged, idly leafing through a report. “I know Padma, it’s...I’m happy where I am. I don’t need to be with a bloke, married or otherwise.”
Padma scoffed. “Yet why is it that every time Harry – excuse me, Mr. Potter – and his son visit you for a checkup or injury or whatever, you suddenly become a scared rabbit? From what I can tell, he’s using these visits as an excuse to see you more than anything. Yes, Jamie gets lots of scrapes and requires attention. Yes, Mr. Potter’s a single dad and wants the best healthcare for his only child. Yes, you have known them since Jamie was a newborn, so you don’t want – or can’t afford to – get too attached.”
Hermione gave up on reading and closed the report. “It’s not that simple.” She rubbed her eyes. “Things must stay professional between me and Mr. Potter. I’m Jamie’s Healer, and it should stay that way while he’s my patient. Anything more...plus he’s probably already dating someone.”
Padma held back a sigh at her best friend’s incredible stubbornness. “When you go see Jamie, try not to give his father too many heart eyes then.”
Before Hermione could retort, her friend sashayed away.
***
Taking a deep breath, Hermione knocked on the third examination room door.
“Who’s there?” Jamie sang out, causing a smile to form on Hermione’s lips. “We’re waiting for Miss Mi!” At age seven, he still couldn’t pronounce Hermione’s name. She didn’t mind the nickname; it had grown on her.
She opened the door with a flourish. “And here I am!”
Jamie clapped his hands with delight. “Ahhh, Miss Mi!” He was on the examination table, legs swinging back and forth. His father was right beside him, his eyes full of warmth as he met Hermione’s gaze. “Daddy, look! Miss Mi is here! She was coming, I told you. I’m her favorite patient!” Hermione couldn’t help but marvel at how much Jamie took after Mr. Potter; he had the same wild black hair and bottle green eyes, with a mischievous smile all his own. He also wore glasses, though his style differed from his dad’s.
“That you are, mate,” Harry – Mr. Potter , Hermione sternly reminded herself – replied. He nodded his head at her. “The other Healer – Ms. Patil – already saw Jamie and said he was fine. I do respect her expertise, but Jamie didn’t want to leave until Miss Mi showed up.” He gave her a cheeky grin, which did not make Hermione’s heart beat faster.
“Dad wanted to see you too!” Jamie chirped, ignoring his dad’s choked reaction. He held out his left arm, which had a small bandage. “Miss Paddy fixed my arm, you can check. I didn’t break it!”
Hermione carefully clasped his arm and examined it. “She did a great job,” she noted with a soft smile. “How are you feeling, Jamie?” She kept all her focus on him; it was somewhat difficult when Mr. Potter distracted her just by his presence. “And what happened? Miss Paddy said you had an accident.”
“He was riding his bike in the park near our house,” Mr. Potter explained, his brow furrowed rather cutely. “Some friends of Jamie’s were there too, they all decided to race each other. I don’t know if he lost control or they decided to go faster than him. Jamie got off the trail and landed near some bushes.” He crossed his arms and gave his son a stern look. “We agreed on no speeding; it’s honestly dumb luck he didn’t have serious injuries.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy.” Jamie looked contrite. “It looked so fun when everyone went fast!”
“Safety first, Jamie.” Hermione let go of his arm and patted him on the shoulder. “Your dad’s right, it could have been worse.” She softened her voice. “We’re not angry at you, please don’t think that. We don’t want you to get hurt, and your friends were wrong to speed up like that.” With some trepidation, she wondered if her comments were out of bounds. There was a major difference in being Jamie’s Healer versus his parent. While she loved having Jamie as a patient, she wasn’t his mother or any such replacement in his life.
She risked a glance at Mr. Potter. Much to her shock, he didn’t appear angry or offended that Hermione was acting as a parent. A bolt of pleasure went through her at the barely veiled awe and something else in his eyes.
The boy nodded, his face still sorrowful. “Yes, Miss Mi. I’ll be more careful.”
“Promise?” Hermione held out her pinky finger. “I like seeing your face around here, but not too much. If you know what I mean.” She gave him a gentle smile.
Jamie nodded again, this time more vigorously. He wrapped his pinky around hers. “Pinky promise.” He turned to his dad, an expectant grin appearing on his face. “I won’t hurt myself again, and my dad wants to ask you out.”
This time Hermione choked on air. She vaguely heard Mr. Potter’s “Jamie Sirius Potter!” and the boy’s squeal of laughter.
Mr. Potter – alright, fine, Harry – looked at her, eyes wide with panic. “Please don’t think I put my son up to this, you must get so many blokes asking you for dates...”
“Dad, Miss Paddy told us she’s single.” Jamie clearly had no qualms mentioning what had happened in his meeting with Hermione’s fellow Healer. “I’m only seven, but even I know what that means.” His tone was very matter of fact. “And I want you to be happy! You’re always happy when we see Miss Mi.”
Hermione bit back a chuckle. “Okay, I normally don’t do this, but since you are my favorite patient...” Her eyes met Harry’s. “You can tell your dad my answer is yes.”
Her heart nearly collapsed at Harry’s brilliant smile.