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Cursed Child spoilers afoot - you have been warned!

call my name and save me from the dark...
...before I come undone
save me from the nothing I've become

~ Bring me to Life by Evanescence

Albus Potter woke with a jolt, the scream still echoing in his ears. Panting heavily, he untangled his limbs from the duvet and sat up. His t-shirt clung to his chest uncomfortably but he barely registered it. He needed to get the scream out of his head where it was still ringing loud and clear, much like James' shouty metal music he often blasted out in his room at home.

Bringing the duvet over his face, he wiped away the layer of sweat that had formed on his skin, willing the noise to subside.

It was only a dream, Albus. Scorpius is fine.

His breathing beginning to return to normal, he decided he should probably change his t-shirt. There'd be no harm in checking on Scorpius afterward. Just to set his brain straight.

Albus grabbed his wand off the nightstand, lit it with a quick mutter of Lumos, rummaged in his trunk for a spare teeand padded over to the bathroom. Stripping off the sweat-soaked t-shirt, he threw it over the towel rack before turning on the cold tap in one of the two sinks and splashing the cool liquid against his face and neck.

He turned off the tap and stood for a few seconds examining his reflection. No doubt the nights ahead would be much the same and he would steadily begin to look worse. Though he should probably go see Madam Pomfrey about a potion to stop the ringing in his ears as the damn scream was still there…

He frowned. Come to think of it, it was no longer echoing in his ears. It was quieter, almost like-

Quickly throwing the dry t-shirt over himself, he emerged from the bathroom and stopped, frozen. A chill ran down his spine and his heart all but stopped. It was real, broadcast across the silence and blackness of the dormitory. Louder.

Scorpius.

Guilt flooding him at having not realised sooner, Albus all but threw himself across the remaining space between himself and his best friend's bed. He may have had a nightmare himself but if Scorpius was still trapped, someone needed to help him and Albus was not just going to let his friend suffer if he could help it. Launching himself through the hangings of the four-poster, his heart broke at the sight that met his eyes.

The pale, grey-eyed, blond-haired boy Albus knew to be soft and warm was tense and fragile. Limbs thrashing around, tears drenching his face, the never-ending gut-wrenching screams. His usually pristine hair was drenched with sweat and either stuck to his damp skin or stuck up where it had been mussed from the constant movement. The bedsheets were all but forgotten, kicked down to his knees and hanging off the opposite side of the mattress, and his pajamas clung to his figure.

Thinking quickly, Albus cast a Muffliato charm in the hopes their dormmates would remain undisturbed but giving Scorpius some privacy in case any of them did awaken. He then knelt on the mattress by Scorpius' hip and made a dive for his best friend's arms in an attempt to stop them flailing. Succeeding and nodding to himself, wincing as he got kneed in the side, he grasped said arms firmly against the blonde's chest with one hand, the other gently shaking his shoulder.

Scorpius shot bolt upright so fast he actually headbutted Albus in the chin, causing him to violently impale his bottom lip with his teeth. Yelping but not wanting to further scare Scorpius, Albus hastily shoved his lit wand between his teeth and placed his hands either side of his best friend's face to get him to focus. He could taste blood in his mouth and feel a warm streak down his chin but his wellbeing didn't matter at that moment. Gently stroking Scorpius' cheeks with his thumbs, wiping away some stray tears, he looked directly into the grey eyes that belonged to his favourite person, and almost laughed when he saw the light of recognition flood them.

"Albus?" The voice was barely there, raw from the reaction to whatever had terrorized him.

Albus spat out his wand which fell between Scorpius' legs and nodded. "I'm here." And before he could say anything more, he was being engulfed and squeezed in a hug that conveyed so much without Scorpius saying a word. He was crying though, well and truly sobbing his heart out into Albus' shoulder and Albus couldn't help but let his own tears fall.

They both needed this. To be open about their suffering from aftereffects of what they'd been through. To be each other's light in the darkness. It would take time but they would maybe, eventually, get over this pain.

He instinctively squeezed his friend closer against him. Albus' night terror has been repeated flashes of this sweet, wonderful boy screaming in pain under the Cruciatus Curse. Having to watch helplessly, blocked by an invisible barrier, as Scorpius writhed and cowered in on himself on the damp grass of the Quidditch pitch. The Augurey deliberately hurting him to make Albus cooperate with the plan to resurrect Lord Voldemort. But it just kept on going. Even when there was a bright flash of green light and Craig Bowker's body hit the grass. No matter how much Albus screamed that he would do whatever she asked, his best friend's torture didn't stop.

Albus almost didn't want to know what Scorpius had relived.

They both sat there for a good long while before Scorpius eventually pulled away, sniffing and rubbing his hands over his face. Albus just wanted to hug him again. Anything to wipe the haunted look from his eyes, to shield him from enduring the torment.

It was their first night back in the Slytherin dormitory since Godric's Hollow. After two days in the hospital wing under dreamless sleep draughts, the two of them refusing to be separated to go home with their families, they'd been allowed back to the House common room and their own beds.

"Sorry for waking you," he croaked. "But thank you for being here."

Albus placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't apologise, Scorpius. I will always be here for you."

"Except when you weren't."

Albus deflated. He had a very good idea what Scorpius had seen.

Then the lit wand between them was in his face, a clammy hand gently maneuvering his chin. "Albus, you're bleeding!"

Trust Scorpius to focus on that as a distraction. Blinking furiously at the sudden brightness, Albus swiped his hands towards the offending light. "It's fine, Scorpius, honestly!"

"Tergeo."

He felt the effect of the spell immediately, the hot, wet blood that had been dribbling down his chin and neck vanishing, replaced by the cool air of the dormitory. The dungeons weren't exactly the warmest place within the castle.

Albus moved to sit cross-legged on the bed as Scorpius moved to retrieve his lost and forgotten duvet. But instead of placing them over himself like he was ready to go back to sleep, he caught one corner and gingerly brought it up to Albus' face, very carefully dabbing at his lip. Albus felt his heart swell.

"Did I do that?" Scorpius asked sheepishly.

He grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Umm, yeah. But don't panic!" he reassured as silver-grey eyes grew as wide as Fanged Frisbees. "You caught me in the face just as you woke up."

Scorpius was silent for a moment, before frowning and moving his hand that wasn't holding Albus' wand up to the apparent sore spot where they'd collided. "Oh. So that's why my head hurts."

Albus couldn't help bursting out into laughter. Scorpius took one look at him and dissolved into quiet giggles. This was certainly a good start. If they could still laugh and joke after nightmares, they were heading in the right direction.

A comfortable silence fell between them. Scorpius was still holding Albus' wand and was absentmindedly running his fingers over the intricate carvings up the wood.

"You didn't wake me by the way. I was already awake. Nightmares, too."

"You can tell me."

"You. The Cruciatus."

"Oh."

"You?"

"The Other me."

"You know that's not you, Scorpius. There's not a mean or scary bone in your body."

Albus watched as Scorpius placed his wand back between them again before raking his hands through his hair, elbows on his knees.

"I know, but I can't get it out of my head. What I could have been like. I was worshipped, feared. Students refusing to obey pureblood ideology were sent to the dungeons. You could hear the screams from the Astronomy Tower. I was congratulated by everyone who saw me, but for reasons tha-that sicken me." Then he looked up and his eyes were brimming with tears again.

"There was no you, Albus." He sniffed and wiped his pajama sleeve over his eyes. "The first time we came back and you were in Gryffindor, yeah I was alone those few weeks, but I still knew you were around, you know? But there…I had no one.

"Karl and Yann were even worse, having free reign to punish any student they saw fit. Craig was doing my homework. Death Eaters were blowing up innocent Muggles for kicks. It was a miracle I had the audacity to approach Severus Snape. I mean, it worked but…could you imagine if it didn't? I was walking on eggshells the entire time in that world, terrified out of my mind that if I put one foot wrong that I would meet a similar fate to those in the dungeons."

Albus inched closer, desperate to offer comfort in any way he could. Scorpius was suffering much more than he was. He clasped his friend's hands. "You were so brave. You defied the worst of the worst our fathers knew and you succeeded. How wizzo is that?"

"Because I needed you, Albus. That was the only thing that kept me going. I had to fix things and bring you back, else there was- there was no point in living." Albus' heart broke as Scorpius' voice cracked and he dissolved into sobs. He reached up a hand to cup his cheek and let it stroke upwards and through Scorpius' hair.

"I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere."

Albus then moved so he was sat to his best friend's right before hugging him fiercely. He could feel Scorpius' hands fisting in his t-shirt on his back, trying to hug him back equally as tight. Fighting against his own tears for his friend, he muttered soothing words in an effort to help him calm down while simultaneously showing him he was safe in that small moment. He also noticed that the duvet was no longer stained with Albus' blood from where Scorpius had tenderly wiped his mouth, the blond no doubt having also spelled it clean at the same time as his face.

Smiling to himself, Albus also realised that Scorpius hadn't changed his sweat-soaked pajamas. He pulled back from the hug, reached for his still-lit wand and backed out of the emerald green hangings. He heard Scorpius cry out for him and Albus ducked back in so to be heard out of the range of the Muffliato spell, to let him know he would be back very shortly. He then hurried over to Scorpius' trunk and straight for where he kept his night clothes. Scorpius was impeccably organised and his trunk was sectioned into compartments for different occasions – casual, school, etc. Picking up a spare pajama top he raced back to the bed and climbed back on, holding out his find.

Scorpius took one look at the item Albus was offering and flashed him a grateful smile. As he proceeded to change, Albus busied himself on righting the duvet so it could be pulled back over them both. If Scorpius wanted him to stay. Albus himself knew he needed the comfort but he wasn't going to impose on his best friend's personal space if he wasn't wanted.

"Would you like me to stay here, Scorpius? For the rest of the night?"

Shuffling so he was lying down with his head on the pillow, he nodded. "Please."

Albus moved so he too was lying down as Scorpius brought the duvet over them both. They laid on their sides facing each other. Extinguishing the wandlight, Albus shoved it under the pillow before reaching out for his best friend's hand.

"C'mere," he said, pulling the hand he was holding until Scorpius willingly flopped into his arms. Breathing deeply at the comfort, feeling himself relax as the adrenaline wore off, Albus rested his cheek against Scorpius' head, the scent of his shampoo filling his airways. He smiled as he felt his friend sag against him, the tension and anxiety fleeing his body as they breathed together.

This was all they needed. Each other.

They were going to be okay.