VII

Hollow

May2022

I sense Potter crouch down beside me but I turn my face away, I know it is not his fault and that I that I am as much to blame – if not more – than he is but I can't help but wish it was James in his place. My mother strokes my hair and I can hear see my father's feet a meter or so away.

"Come, Iris, we must leave," his voice is quiet but firm. Reluctantly, my mother follows him out and I am left alone with Albus Potter: my husband (the wizard has disapparated). Neither of us speaks: I remain crumpled on the floor and he takes a seat behind me on the step, taking my mother's place as he runs his hand through my hair. I have no idea how we are supposed to get back… no sooner is the thought in my mind than the ring on my finger begins to glow again, I know without looking that the corresponding ring on Potter's finger is doing the same.

I let myself fall to the ground again – the shock of the look on James' face still washing through my body – and look up to see Hogwarts Castle appear out of the mist, the warm spell has left and there is now a chill in the air. A cloaked figure makes his way towards us and I look up into the face of Zabini. He takes one look at me and unclasps his cloak, throwing it around me – it does little to warm me. No one says anything as both he and Potter pick me up of the ground, supporting me with an arm around my waist. They struggle up to the castle and through the Entrance Hall; in the back of my mind I wonder why there are no students about.

Madame Pomfrey fusses over me when they bring me into the hospital wing, I hear Zabini inform her of my condition but I no longer care. She strips me down to my underwear and summons a nightshift, she then lays me down on a bed and pulls the covers up, casting spells on the sheets to warm them. Potions are forced down my throat and I hear Zabini take his leave.

It feels like hours but it could just be minutes, Potter remains seated on a stool next to my bed even after Madame Pomfrey leaves, informing him I will be alright. I am not convinced, there is a hollowness inside me that feels like it will never be filled again. The door slams open and someone runs in.

"Viv, I'm so sorry… it's all my fault, I guessed when I saw the ring but you had already gone, I couldn't find you Viv… then Roxie said Albus had left at round about the same time… I am so sorry…" Scorpius gasps for breath when he reaches my bed, he looks flustered and upset. "Oh… Viv." I roll onto my side, turning away from him. I do not want to talk. "What the hell!" Scorpius shouts, I can feel his attention has shifted to Potter. "What were you thinking? A forced marriage… that is really sick Potter! How could you do that to her?" A part of me wants to turn back around and correct Scorpius, tell him it was as much my fault as Potter's but I just can't muster the strength.

"I thought she knew… She did know." Potter's voice is quiet, betraying no emotion.

"Knew? You honestly think she wanted to marry you?" Oh Scorpius, you are so stubborn, just listen to Potter, he was there.

"She did not refuse…"

"Refuse! Have you met her father? He probably cursed her!" Scorpius was screaming now.

"Cursed her? What do you mean…?"

"The Imperious Curse of course, you mindless half-breed!" I do not think I have ever heard Scorpius so angry. Potter does not say anything. "She had better be okay or I will personally see to it you never walk again Potter," Scorpius has at last reduced his voice to a whisper, albeit a vicious one. I hear the door slam again as he storms out. Potter remains stubbornly by my bedside.

"You knew…" he whispers when Scorpius leaves and I manage to nod.

Hours turn to days… Madame Pomfrey forces potions and food down me and I do not have the will to resist. Several people come to visit me: Vi informs me of every single rumour in the school (bar the ones involving me of course); Scorpius comes in everyday at least twice, desperately apologising until Madame Pomfrey told him to stop as it was probably not helping me recover (she remains adamant that I will recover even though nothing has changed and it has been four days already); Zabini occasionally inquires after me; my mother managed to visit once but I pretended to be asleep; Potter sits at my side every moment he can spare, sometimes writing essays, sometimes reading, sometimes just sitting, silently.

In the hours of solitude I have when Potter is in lessons, I stare at the ceiling thinking of absolutely nothing. It is into one of these moments that a red haired girl flies into the Hospital Wing and marches over to me. I recognise her face but I cannot put a name to it.

"Look here, No- Pot- Vivian!" she struggles to put a name to me. It is true, I am no longer a Nott, I am a Potter. Vivian Iris Potter. The girl rudely interrupts my thoughts. "Scorp is worried sick about you, so is Al and James (although he won't admit it) and I think it is really rather selfish of you to stay up here pretending to be ill when there is nothing wrong with you… you are clearly just feeling extremely sorry for yourself and I don't think you have a right to make them suffer any longer!" She shouts at me. I turn to her in horror as she drags the sheets from my bed. "Get up," she orders; her dark red hair has exploded around her face making her look terrifying.

"How dare you-" I stutter, it is the first time I have spoken since I made my vows to Albus Potter.

"How dare I? Oh, missy, you have no idea what I dare…" she looks at me threateningly, her eyes glistening. She looks like she is on fire. "Now, I said: get up." Reluctantly, I swing my legs of the edge of my bed. "All the way…"

"Do not tell me what to do Weasley!" Weasley… that's her name: Roxanne Weasley. "I hope you are aware you are talking to a pregnant woman here!" I shout in her face.

"Yes, I am and I am appalled at your behaviour! Very soon you are going to become a mother and as such, you need to start acting like one! And that does not mean mopping around all day feeling sorry for yourself! You have to face life, Vivian; you cannot run from your problems however big they are!"

"You do not know anything about me or my problems! So don't you tell me what to do!"

"I think you'll find I know an awful lot about your problems, they are all Scorpius talks about these days! And quite frankly, I am sick of them. Do us all a favour and get over yourself! You cannot run from your life Vivian!" she screams before storming out of the Hospital Wing as Madame Pomfrey rushes in, inquiring what all the noise was about.

I am furious, how dare that little bitch come in here and start telling me how to live my life! Ignoring Pomfrey, I march out of the Hospital Wing and – going by the less used passageways as I am still dressed in only a nightshift – make my way to the Slytherin common room. Luckily, when I enter there is no one around, they must all still be in lessons. Jumping the stairs to my dormitory I shove open the door, I hastily pull on my school robes and tidy up my hair, my face is almost unrecognisable – I have huge black rings under my eyes and my skin is pulled taunt across the bone. A few moments later finds me tickling a painting of a pear. The kitchen is much busier than the last time I was here and I worry that I am intruding.

"Mistress Potter, what a pleasure it is to see you again," a little elf comes hopping over to me. "How can I help you?"

"Is there any chance I can have a peanut-butter and chocolate sandwich?" I ask. Mistress Potter. How strange that sounds.

"Of course, Dippy will just get it for you Mistress," smiles the elf, apparently happy to be of service. She returns within minutes with a huge sandwich, which I consequently eat in a matter of seconds – this food is so much better than whatever Pomfrey was feeding me.

"Thank you Dippy," I smile before exiting the kitchen, the elf blushes and mutters something about it being an honour – house elves really are bizarre creatures but at least they understand the concept of honour which is tragically fading from today's society. As I step out into the corridor I get caught up in a tide of students – mainly Hufflepuffs as I am right by their common room entrance. Following the crowd, I get swept up the stairs into the Entrance Hall, it must be dinner time. I take my place at the Slytherin table (still hungry despite having just eaten in the kitchen) and ignore the looks and whispers that ripple away from me.

"Viv!" Scorpius calls when he sees me. "Are you alright? I'm so-" he stops when I put up my hand.

"I do not want to hear you apologise again Mr Malfoy," I grin at him and he visibly relaxes. He comes and sits down next to me, we don't talk much but it is nice to have him there all the same. Vi also joins us, completely avoiding my random return to normality, and fills me in on the gossip she heard earlier.

I can feel the eyes of several Gryffindors on me throughout the meal and am somewhat relieved when it is over and we make our way back down to the common room. I curl up on a sofa with Vi and Scorpius sits on the floor in front of us.

"I did know." Scorpius looks momentarily confused but then I see understanding flood into his eyes.

"You knew? But- Why did you do it?"

"Family honour – I don't expect you to understand – but I knew; it wasn't Potter's fault." I explain before deciding to retire to my dormitory – my energy levels are definitely not what they use to be. Scorpius and Violet say nothing.

The next day passes without a mishap, I make it through my lesson without any trouble (probably because I don't have a lesson with Gryffindor on Thursdays). Again, at lunch and dinner, I can feel their eyes on me but I try to ignore them as best I can. Potter has not spoken to me at all since I came out if the Hospital Wing, I haven't seen James and that Weasley girl is staying out of my way.

Friday finds me anxiously waiting outside the Potions classroom, praying Zabini will let me sit on a different table. Of course, Zabini chooses this day to be late. Scorpius is standing with me but is very distracted and Vi is too busy trying to force Bulstrode to tell her what is going on with him and Juliana Stone to pay attention to us. The Weasley cousins arrive first, Rose is looking extremely grumpy, her hair is all over the place and she looks like she has not slept in a while, Roxanne on the other hand looks stunning. I suppose I never really looked at her before – I never had a reason to – she is a slightly intimidating figure with her endless legs and powerful gaze – she must be almost as tall as Scorpius and that is saying something because Scorpius is huge. She catches my eye and gives me half a smile. I smile back and turn away, how weird, only two days ago she had been shouting at me in the Hospital Wing and now she was smiling at me… what has happened to the world?

Then he comes: Albus Potter. I turn away to Scorpius, who is so distracted I have to jab him in the ribs to get his attention. He looks down at me, startled, then understanding dawns in his eyes and he engages me in conversation – partly to distract me and partly to ensure Potter doesn't try to talk to me. Luckily, Zabini comes around the corner (I swear, I have never been so glad to see him) and lets us into the classroom. Scorpius steers me over to a table at the back of the room and Zabini does not comment.

The lesson is unusually quiet, Zabini just talks at us about our upcoming OWLs and we scribble down notes when we see fit (which for me is not often). Potter does not look my way at all in contrast to his cousin Rose, who spends the majority of the lesson glaring at me (I really have to find out why she hates me so much) and Roxanne, who glances our way every now and then with a look in her eye I cannot read, in fact, I'm not even sure if she is looking at me.

"Viv…there is actually something I want to talk to you about," Scorpius whispers across the table. "It is about Roxanne Weasley."