A/N: Here's the promised update, lovelies. Hope you like it, do drop a review when you're done! This doesn't hurt as much as the previous chapter, I promise

Nurtured

The doors to the hospital wing were thrown open for the second time that night as Healer Hannah Abbott entered with her husband Professor Neville in tow. The pair's laughing, teasing tone died at the sight of a wild-eyed Scorpius.

Healer Abbott rushed to him, a look of concern creeping up her face. "Scorpius, what brings you here? Are you alright?"

Scorpius mutely led her to the last bed where a motionless Rose Weasley lay and Hannah let out a tiny shriek of shock. The bed was stained with blood, and the girl's complexion resembled the white sheets way more than it should have.

"What has happened to her?" The horror was too evident in her eyes and voice, scaring Scorpius all over again.

"She will be alright, won't she? Tell me she'll be okay!" His one was unintentionally rough, and Neville headed over to see what the matter was. He clearly did a better job at concealing his worry and fright than his wife did.

"Scorpius, calm down. Just tell Healer Abbott what happened, and she'll be able to revive Rose in no time."

The words sounded weak and empty to Scorpius' sinking spirit.

"She…I found her…she'd fainted, and lost a lot of blood…" He was reluctant to tell them how exactly she'd done so, and Neville sensed it. The two looked up to exchange a glance before Healer Abbott turned to Scorpius once more.

"Has she been eating at all?" Her emaciated form was too much of a giveaway.

Scorpius shook his head.

"I haven't seen her eat in quite some time now, Healer, and she – she seems so changed, so…" He trailed off, lost, hurt and confused.

Hannah nodded as she moved about briskly, grabbing two bottles and mixing their contents in a little mug before settling the still unconscious Rose into a sitting position and ever so slowly feeding her the potion.

She didn't wake up the entire night.

Rose was a prisoner of her body that night, unable to wake up despite being lucid. She felt like she was on fire; her throat was parched and her lungs burnt with every small breath she inhaled.

Scorpius wondered if his frantic worry was resulting in delusions as he caught the occasional flutter in Rose's eyes and waited eagerly for a more tangible response that he never got.

Rose didn't want to be alive. In that moment it was all she could do to remain breathing; she'd tried holding her breath infinitely till her lungs slipped into a permanent slumber, but her heart wouldn't cease to beat.

Scorpius shed pale tears that slowly rolled off his pale face as he cursed himself repeatedly, vowing to never leave the girl's side ever again.

Rose drew in a ragged breath as the rays of the rising sun fell upon her eyelids, causing her to cringe. Scorpius was by her side within seconds.

"Rose!" It was all there in his voice, the love and exhaustion and fear and dedication and terror he felt just then. He caressed her drained cheek in his palm and attempted a weak smile as she squinted against the watery rays of the sun.

"Hey, how are you?" He would have given anything to hear her voice just then.

She struggled to open her eyes and then made an incomprehensible motion with her hand.

"What?"

Slightly frustrated, Rose folded four fingers into her palm and, with the thumb sticking up, swiped her palm up towards her mouth.

Scorpius still didn't grasp it. His eyebrows crinkled with confusion as she repeated the motion with her good hand while the expression on her face grew murderous by the second.

"Water!" she finally rasped.

"Oh!" Scorpius smacked himself on the forehead before reaching out to the shelf adjacent to him and grabbing a bottle of water. He then helped her sit up, putting his arms around her frail frame as though afraid of breaking her and slowly, gently, helped her drink the water.

Once she signalled for him to stop, Scorpius kept the bottle away and sat next to her on the bed, really looking at her properly for the first time in days.

She looked beyond terrible.

Every bone in her body jutted out, straining against her paper thin, paper white skin. She stared at him silently and he squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to prevent the tears from flowing.

"Scor," she whispered, but he silenced her with an urgent, desperate kiss as his mind tried to constantly erase the trauma of the previous day. She could hardly respond and he pulled apart, sensing her weakness and slight reluctance.

"Why, Rose?" he asked her, his voice hardly above a whisper.

She shook her head, mute.

Unable to explain.

Unwilling to explain.

What could she tell Scorpius Malfoy, a boy literally born with a silver spoon in his mouth, of the suffering that accompanied poverty? She may have a home, but one that was nearly falling apart. She may have books, none of which were originally her own. She hadn't smelt the warm, crisp smell of new pages in a new book because she hadn't been able to afford one for years.

Her heart exploded every time she watched her mother re-darn her stockings and sweaters, firmly refusing to buy another one with a sweet smile.

"Ron, I'm warm enough, sweetheart! Do buy a jumper each for Rosie and Hugo, won't you?"

Rose's eyes had stung with tears as she'd overheard the conversation between her parents, and the memory hurt her even more now.

Scorpius watched silently as Rose fought an internal war, hating the fact that all he could do was to sit by her side.

He looked out the window as the sun had gotten even brighter and with a start, realised that Healer Abbott would be there anytime soon.

"Rose," he began speaking urgently as she looked up at him with a start.

"Listen to me carefully. There's nothing on this earth that you can't share with me, and you have just no idea how very, very sorry I am for not being there, the past few days." He took her pale palm in his hands and rubbed it softly, placing warm kisses as he spoke.

"Not…your…fault," Rose croaked weakly. She would never, ever blame or punish him for his affluence. He was more than willing to share and had not once treated her like a charity case.

"Shh," he placed a finger upon her freezing lips. "Don't talk till you get better, okay?"

She nodded softly, a smile now beginning to creep up her face.

Scorpius wasn't done, however.

"And why haven't you been eating?" his voice rose alarmingly and a nerve jumped violently in his jaw. "You look like you haven't tasted a morsel for over a week, Rosie!" He was dangerously close to the truth.

Healer Abbott rushed in just then and Scorpius jumped back guiltily, a little sad at the loss of privacy.

"Good morning, Healer Abbott."

She smiled in return and her face paled at the sight of Rose. Scorpius didn't understand this sudden change in expression; the girl had been talking to him only moments ago, for Merlin's sake!

Rose's eyebrows wrinkled with confusion as Hannah busted around her, feeling her pulse, touching her forehead and tapping her back with something sharp. It made her cry out in pain.

"Hey, what was that for?" Scorpius temporarily forgot that he was talking to a Healer.

She ignored his comment for a moment and looked at Rose sternly, who cowered under her gaze.

"You are in a great deal of trouble, young lady. I'm sending an owl to your parents right now – your stomach has shrunk so much, you can hardly ingest food anymore. Don't ask me questions right now," she warned, turning around to a now sulky Scorpius.

"You have both been granted exemptions from lessons for the whole day; not like there was much choice in Rose's case," she added grumpily. Worry always made Healer Abbott grumpy, and the woman nurtured a bit of a soft spot for little Rosie Weasley.

"Healer?" Rose ventured softly?

"Yes?"

"Can you please owl Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny instead?"

Her eyes were pleading, and Hannah had no choice but to comply. She wondered why the girl did not want to see her parents, though.

"Rosie…is everything okay between you and your parents?" Her voice was soothing but every wrinkle in her kindly face screamed of concern.

Rose nodded weakly. "I just…they can't see me like this…" She burst into soft sobs, and Scorpius glared at Healer Abbott accusingly.

"Sorry, sorry," she offered hastily. "Harry and Ginny – I mean, Mr and Mrs Potter it is."

And the pair nodded their thanks as Hannah scuttled towards the owlery, grateful for some more time alone.

"So," Scorpius began once Healer Abbott was safely out of earshot.

"What exactly is the... reason, behind all of this?"

So, I hope I didn't disappoint. Do let me know what you think!