A/N: Wow. That cliffhanger really got you guys reviewing. I'll remember that…. Jokes! But in all seriousness thanks for all the lovely reviews. They really make my day. I get a real kick out of reading them, especially knowing what I've already written for the next chapter and comparing it to your predictions and requests. It's a lot of fun
To everyone who's given me ideas for the Triwizard tournament – THANK YOU! I hope to get back to you all shortly. You're all incredibly creative and thoughtful and have come up with some wonderful things that I never could have dreamt up.
This chapter asks you to suspend your belief when it comes to portkeys. Let's just all pretend they could work this way, ok? :)
Now, onward and upward
Chapter 7 – Goose Bumps
All there is, is darkness.
He can't breathe. His lungs are on fire.
He's floating.
Or flying.
No.
No he's not in the air.
He's in the water.
He's drowning.
Oh fuck he's drowning.
Scorpius kicks his legs furiously to try and get himself towards the water's edge, but he's surrounded by black and he doesn't know if he's kicking towards the surface or closer to the bottom. He panics. How can he get out of here? Where is his wand? Why doesn't he have a wand? Why is he in water? Where's the chimaera? What happened? How did he get here? Where is here? Merlin Almighty is this it? Has Rose died and his veela's decided to finish him off just like poor old Galorian? Is this how he dies? Drowning?! After fucking detention?!
Wait.
IS HE IN THE CHIMAERA'S STOMACH?! FUCK. FUCK FUCK. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.
The instinct to open his mouth and try to suck in air is overwhelming - he opens his mouth, it fills with water making everything a lot fucking worse. His chest feels like it's being crushed. The pain is intense. There's water filling his lungs and going up his nose and in his ears and he can't see anything but darkness and there's nothing but water and the pain is everywhere.
Something wraps around his waist. He clings to it, a literal life line, and feels himself being pulled back into something else. Maybe it's the Giant Squid? No, no it's another body. Human. Probably. Someone else is submerged in this literal abyss with him. Sweet Merlin let them please know what they're doing. The body starts propelling them both upwards abnormally fast - they mustn't just be swimming, they must be using magic. Thank the heavens for that.
He's freezing and burning at the same time. The world's going black again, but this time it's a gradual fading, not a sudden loss of perception. The pain is agonising. He digs his fingernails into the arm around his waist. Please get them out of here.
He starts losing feeling in his arms. In his legs. All he can feel is the tightening pain in every one of his muscles. Everything is stinging and achy at once. And there's just a sad sense that this was never supposed to be how it ended.
Everything is black again.
He was supposed to have more time. They were supposed to have more time.
He wanted to tell her once, just once, that he thought she was beautiful.
Then darkness took over.
Scorpius came to so violently that his whole body convulsed. He heard a retching sound, a heaving so loud and wet and crushing that it hurt him to listen to it. It took him several moments to realise it's him making the sickening sound. He's gulping in lungful after lungful of air, desperate to assure himself that he's here, he's back, no more black, no more darkness, no more nothingness.
But there's pain. There's so much pain.
He still doesn't know where he is. His eyes aren't focusing. His ears can't hear anything except the pumping of his blood through his body and the sound of his ragged breathing and a high pitched ringing - a screeching - he can't locate. Is it in his own head? Is it coming from the forest? Why can he hear his blood pumping? He's scrambling on his back. He doesn't know where he is.
Rose.
Where's Rose?
He needs to protect Rose. He needs to stop the Chimaera. Where is Rose?!
He must say it out loud, because the first thing he hears that isn't his own body struggling to fulfil it's basic functions is Rose's voice, reassuring but stressed.
"I'm here!" She's saying and he faintly registers a tapping on his chest that isn't his own, "S-s-scorpius I'm here. It's ok! Just b-b-breathe. I'm here!"
His eyes begin to focus and the world starts filling in around him. It's still dark, but there's a lantern sitting on the ground next to him that's giving the surroundings more light. He realise he recognises this place - he's on the stone floor of the boat house. He doesn't know how he got here but right now he doesn't care because he's not being attacked by a Chimaera and he's not drowning - the boat house is a vast improvement. It's cold. It's so fucking cold. He's shaking and drenched and holy hell he just blacked out twice. His vision stops swimming and his heart skips an unsteady beat when he realises Rose is sitting over him, just as drenched as he is, eyes wide and face filled with worry. Her hands are on his chest and he can't tell if it's his uneven breathing that's making them shake or if its because it's so cold. Her hair that's usually a cacophony of curls and frizz is slick against her head, drenched beyond recognition, and this isn't right, Rose's hair doesn't look right. He touches it gently to make sure his mind isn't playing tricks on him.
"I'm here," she said again, her voice shaking. Her whole body was shaking, her breath coming out in staccato bursts.
"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked, hand moving from her not-right hair to her face in a gesture so foreign and soft that it would take him by surprise if he wasn't also dealing with the fact that he has no goddam idea what the hell happened between the forest and the lake and here but whatever it was, his body didn't like it.
"Am I ok?" Rose sounded incredulous and terrified and every instinct in his body told him to hold her close, "Scorpius you…you weren't b-b-breathing."
Right.
So he literally just died.
What was the protocol for when you die and then come back to life? Should there be some kind of ceremony? Should he be battling with his very real mortality? Fuck it, he'll deal with all that later. Right now there was only one thing he was concerned with - the woman currently sitting over him looking equal parts terrified and relieved.
"Are you ok?" Scorpius repeated to Rose, looking into her eyes as if to assure himself that she's here and she's breathing. He needed to hear her say it, say that she's ok. His senses weren't functioning properly yet so he couldn't judge it for himself. So he needed to hear her tell him that she's ok, maybe then he can finally stop panicking. Her blue lips bent in a shape that almost looked a bit like a smile.
Oh, look at that, he appears to be cupping her face. When was that a thing that he did?
"Y-y-y-yes," she forced the words out around her shivers, "I'm o-o-ok."
"You're freezing," he states the obvious as he tries to sit up but her protests stop him.
"No, you need t-t-to lie down," Rose said, hands pressing against his chest. He could see her shaking. It crossed his mind that he should be freezing too, he was a minute ago. But he's not anymore. He doesn't know why he isn't. Maybe it's the adrenaline? Whatever, there are more serious things to deal with right now. Namely, making sure Rose doesn't turn into a human icicle.
"We need to dry you off," Scorpius heard himself say, lifting one of his arms (which felt like it was made of goddam stone) to his wand pocket only to remember that it's empty. Fuck, where is his wand? If that bloody Chimaera ate it he's going to be fucking pissed, "Where's you wand, Rose? You need to dry off."
"My wand?" She seemed confused for a moment which struck him as odd. He'd literally just died and come back to life and he's more coherent than she is.
Something wrong. Something wrong with mate. Hurt. Fading.
He wasn't sure where the voice came from but he didn't question it.
"You're hurt," he scanned over her critically, looking for signs of injury in the limited light being given off by the lantern, "Rose, where are you hurt?"
"I j-j-just had to get o-o-ou-out of there," her eyes were unfocused and her hands on his chest were losing their insistence, falling limp against him as she swayed back and forth on her knees. He sat up, an action Rose mirrored by swaying backwards.
"Rose!" His voice was panicked, his hands gripping the top of her arms and lowering her back gently to stop her from collapsing. Scorpius sat over her now as he lies her down on the stone floor. He started patting her cloak pockets in a desperate search from her wand, his panicked voice echoing in the empty building around them, "Come on Weasley, where's you wand?"
Rose was fading fast, her hand lifting slowly to the back of her head.
"My head," she muttered, eyes falling closed, "My head h-h-hurts…"
Scorpius had a sudden flash of the Chimaera throwing a branch at her, of her falling backwards and not getting up. The roots. She must have hit her head when she fell. Fucking hell he needed his wand. He needed to try summoning it and just hope to hell that a Chimaera didn't come with it.
"Accio wand!" He yelled, holding his hand high. There was a distant whistling - he didn't drop it in the lake apparently. A moment later, Scorpius' wand came flying out of the forest and hurtled towards him at impossible speeds. He caught it easily, pointed it at Rose and quickly cast a drying spell; he did one on himself for good measure also. Rose's shivers stopped almost immediately, her lips returning to their usual pink colour, but her face was still too pale to be healthy.
Still wrong. Still hurt. Fading. Need to save her.
The voice caused something to rise in Scorpius' throat as he noticed that Rose still had her eyes closed, hand pressed against the back of her head and eyebrows drawn together in concern. He called her name again and she groaned in response but didn't open her eyes.
"I'm really…tired," she murmured, eyes fluttering and breath still uneven despite being dry, "There was so much…"
"Rose," he moved his hand towards the back of her head; her eyes blinked open but she still looked puzzled, "Let me have a look at your head, Weasley."
"You fought the chi…Chimaera," she lifted one of her hands and ran it across his cheekbone. A shiver ran down his spine and he let out something that could have been a moan if he wasn't so terrified, "How did you fight it?"
"I don't know, Rose," Scorpius said dismissively as he touched the back of her head softly, "I guess I just scared it off."
"You scared it with…with the…" Rose's hand fell from his face and she winced when he touched a spot at the base of her skull.
He had absolutely no time to dwell on what the end of that sentence might have been because he was too focused on what he felt when he touched the base of Rose's skull. Wet. Despite the drying spell, something was wet. He pulled his hand away and saw red.
Blood.
Rose was bleeding.
From her head.
(A screeching in his mind. A terror in his bones. No words, just fear. Must save her)
He needed to get to Pomfrey right fucking now.
"Can you stand?" He asked, linking his arm around her and moving steadily to his feet. Her legs fumbled beneath her but she eventually stood, swaying and leaning on him heavily. That was a good sign; being able to get vertical was a good sign he reassured himself. "Ok, we're going to start walking, ok Rose? One foot in front of the other - let's go."
They made their way - stumbling and unsteady - out of the boat house and up the stairs towards the main entry. Merlin almighty why were there so many stairs? Thousands of years worth of magic and no one had figured out a short-cut? He considered summoning his broom, but Rose was barely managing to stay on her feet, he didn't like his chances of getting her to stay airborne. Walking would have to do.
They were about half way up when Rose's feet slowed to a shuffle, her head rolling to rest against his cheek.
"I'm really…really tired," she breathed, feet dragging and tripping over the cracks in the old stone steps.
"Come on, Weasley," he tightened his grip and hoisted her up to get a better support, "We're more than half way."
"My head hurts," she complained again in a whisper, "I need…to sleep."
"No sleeping!" He said tightly, unsuccessfully trying to speed up their steps, "Not until we get you looked at by Pomfrey."
Rose let out a weak groan in response and lost control of her feet, slipping from his grasp and almost collapsing onto the ground. He managed to catch her, holding her close until she got her feet under her again. Scorpius looked up at the several staircases they still had to conquer before even making it to the entrance. He let out a frustrated growl under his breath, inconceivably angry at the world for putting him in this position. He couldn't wait for someone else to stumble upon them to help and he couldn't leave her here alone; Rose was in a bad way and needed help right now. He couldn't drag her the whole way.
But he could carry her.
"Hold on to me Weasley," he muttered as he threw her arm around his shoulders, bending to scoop her legs up in his other arm, cradling her against him, "We survived a Chimaera - I'm not going to let you die from a fucking root."
She rested her head in the crook between his neck and his shoulder, her free hand planted against his chest lightly, her breath coming out faintly against his skin. He kept her firmly pressed against him as he started running up the stairs two at a time. Scorpius absently thought that if things weren't quite so serious this would be rather romantic.
"Don't…wanna…die…" she breathed into his ear.
He choked on something in his throat, clutching her closer still to his body. Had she always been this tiny? She was always so imposing in his mind - facing off against him, face set in a hard line, always ready for a fight. But now, going limp in his arms and barely conscious, she seemed so very small. So very vulnerable. He didn't like it at all.
"You're not going to. I won't let you," he said it with such conviction he even managed to convince himself for a moment.
Scorpius continued running towards the castle, the weight of her evaporating in his arms the more he ran. He kept his eyes firmly focused on the next step in front of him, the steady pounding of his feet hitting the stone becoming a stabling beat in his mind. Rose wasn't making any sound but he could still feel her breath against his neck. He focused on that too - reassured himself that she was still alive. He just had to get her to Pomfrey and everything would be fine.
From somewhere above him, a young male voice rang out into the night.
"They're here! Headmaster! They're ok!"
Scorpius looked up and saw Leon Warthoff running towards him at alarming speeds, Neville Longbottom (dressed in his extremely fashionable striped pyjamas with maroon and yellow striped dressing gown - so much for an unbiased headmaster. He was still Gryffindor to the soul) in tow behind him, the other three detention-dwellers bringing up the rear. Scorpius could say, without a doubt, that he had never been happier to see students in his life.
"She's bleeding!" he roared, barely recognising his own voice. He somehow managed to be more stressed now then when he was facing down the bloody Chimaera, "She needs to get to Pomfrey!"
Scorpius looked at where Neville was plodding down the stairs. He was still too far away. There wasn't enough time for this.
Leon, bless the kid's heart, met him on the stairs and started jogging beside him the best he could. Scorpius could ignore the aching in his bones, the pain still lingering in his extremities from that little bit of his life than was technically his death that he already decided he was not going to think about - he could ignore all of that if it meant getting Rose to safety.
"It's ok, Professor," Leon said between pants, his words directed at Rose, "Professor Malfoy is gunna get you back safely."
Yes. Yes he was.
Scorpius made a mental note to never give Leon detention again. He might even be downright kind to him from now on.
Scorpius saw Longbottom's patronus shoot off into the hospital in whispery strands, hopeful that it would wake Madam Pomfrey. Neville stopped running, the other three children crowding around him as Scorpius approached, still taking the steps two at a time. Keely had her head buried in Alastair's chest and was apparently weeping (right, like her night was bad), Alastair was patting her shoulder and seemed totally ill-equipped to deal with a weeping girl, and Daisy Brookworth may actually be taking goddam notes. Was it wrong to hate a child?
"Children - back to your dormitories!" Neville ordered, at a point which Scorpius thought far too late. None of them budged. Typical. Longbottom reached towards Rose as they drew closer, "Let's have a look at her."
"No time!" Scorpius huffed, barrelling past him in the direction of the main entrance.
"Malfoy!" Neville called as he hurried after him, noticeably out of breath, "You can't carry her the whole way to the Hospital Wing!"
"WATCH ME!" He barked over his shoulder, his legs carrying him faithfully without fault. He heard Neville let out what may have been a curse under his breath before addressing the students once more, catching Leon by the shoulder as he raced to follow Scorpius.
"All of you - dormitories. Now."
"Will she be alright?" Leon asked with genuine worry, panting heavily.
"What's wrong with the Professor?" Keely wailed before throwing herself into her beloved's armpit once more.
"Is she gunna die?!" Daisy queried with far less concern than the question required.
"Beds. Now."
Whether or not the students followed Longbottom's orders, Scorpius didn't know; he was far too busy focusing on the ever-nearing school entry, Rose moaning and muttering in his ear incoherently.
"What was that Rose?" He asked, trying to engage her in conversation to keep her conscious even though his lungs felt a bit like they were on fire (although comparative to drowning, it really wasn't that bad.)
"Are the children…" she paused, her lips resting against his collar bone for a moment before she whispered, "Are they safe?"
"Yes Rose," he answered, thankful to finally hit the top of the stairs and be heading towards the entryway, "The students are fine."
Her lips bent into that shape that may have been a smile, but may have just been her taking another breath. "Good."
Marching into the main entrance, Scorpius became faintly away of Neville Longbottom racing to catch up to him. The older man let out another curse, appearing at his side.
"Dumbledore's beard, did it get you?!" Neville exclaimed, looking at Scorpius' back in horror. He didn't know how to tell his boss that he honestly didn't remember.
"Um, I don't think so," he replied, eyes focused squarely ahead. Just a few more corridors then they'd be at the Hospital Wing. Just a little further. His answer did not appease his boss.
"Scorpius, slow down a moment," Longbottom reached out a hand towards his back, careful not to touch it, wand still in his hand, "I don't think you're alright."
Well, too bad; his body would just have to wait.
"Rose is barely conscious," he puffed out, legs beginning to feel like jelly as he raced down the corridors, "I can wait."
"But your back-"
"My back is fine!" He snapped, eyes still focused ahead. Neville's voice was stern and full of concern when he replied.
"Then what on earth happened to your robes?"
Scorpius turned his head to the side and caught a glimpse of them in one of the large windows as they passed. What he saw horrified him a little.
His robes were absolutely shredded. It was a damn miracle they were hanging on at all. The front appeared untouched, but now that he was paying more attention to it, they were sitting very strangely, and had shifted from their usual position. Probably because the back was completely in tatters, hanging in streams down his back, edges fraying and torn.
What the hell had happened to him when he blacked out?
Despite his best efforts to not think about it for fear of realising he, himself, was close to death, Scorpius focused his attention on his partially exposed back and felt…nothing. Just the brush of his fragmented clothing, but no tell-tale sign of injury like stinging or burning or cold wet blood. The only slight discomfort he felt was probably because he was running down the goddam hallways carrying another human, little as she was. He decided to take the very logical, very healthy, very grown-up approach to the situation and just ignore it. There were more pressing matters at hand. He distracted himself further by talking to Rose.
"You don't happen to have a portkey to the Hospital Wing hidden around here anywhere do you Rose?" Scorpius muttered as he jogged through the corridors, somehow still faster than Neville despite his additional burden, "Because that would be fucking brilliant right now."
"Only had one…" she murmured into his neck, her lips brushing against his skin and strike him down that was mighty distracting, "Already…used it…"
Already used it? Ah, the lake. The lake he himself had been dropped into earlier in the week; he'd bet that's how they'd gotten out of the forest, one of her sneaky little portkeys. He never thought he'd be happy to have Rose randomly drop him into a lake. She'd probably been planning to plant it on him if he'd been a shit during detention.
Which meant she'd decided not to use it when he told her to leave. Instead, at some point in the confrontation he couldn't remember, Rose had not only chosen to get herself out of the forest, but to take Scorpius with her. And when it dropped them in the lake, when the world faded to black around him, Rose was the one who'd pulled him out.
Holy fuck.
Rose Weasley very likely saved his life. Twice.
Oh Merlin's right testicle he didn't know whether to vomit or cry. He owed his life to Rose Weasley. The woman that was, almost certainly, his soulmate. The person he had been unabashedly awful to for most of their combined existences. And she'd chosen to not just save herself - she'd risked her own wellbeing to make sure he was safe. Not because she was his soulmate, not because she had some weird bird thing in her head making her do thing; Rose just saved him because it was the right thing to do.
Screw vomiting or crying, he was probably going to do both right here in the hallway.
Thankfully, he was distracted by having a very public and grotesque breakdown when Rose mumbled into his neck, "Had to use it to get away from…away from the fire…"
"The fire?" He questioned, taking a right turn very quickly and almost tumbling over, "What fire?"
"Your fire," she whispered, her brows pulled together in confusion, eyes still closed, "It was…was everywhere. Couldn't see the Chimaera…or the…the other thing."
His stomach dropped, his heart stopped beating. He kept his voice low to avoid being overheard by Neville (who was torn between wanting to help Scorpius and knowing very well that it was probably best to just let him to it himself) following a few paces behind.
"What other thing, Rose?" Scorpius asked in a whisper.
"Don't know," she sounded scared. He held her closer, "There was this sound…and…and you were there…"
From somewhere near the base of his skull came a whisper:
We were there. We saved her. Had to save mate.
As Rose recounted the events, no matter how crazy they sounded, something in him knew them to be true. There was that voice in his head that didn't only agree, but was proud of what she was saying. He couldn't remember, but he'd been there; and somewhere in his mind, the memories were buried, waiting to be uncovered. The thought of being out of control, even if it was to protect Rose, terrified him.
"I had to help you," Rose's voice grew a touch panicked, he murmured soothing words as she spoke, "But all I could think of was flames, and…and fire, and…and wings…"
Wings? His robes. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
"I…I had a portkey…to the lake…"
Just like he suspected.
"…and then we were falling and I couldn't see you under the water and I thought you were gone," the hand on his chest clutched at the front of his robes as her voice became erratic and her breathing sped up. This wasn't good; Rose couldn't start panicking now. They were almost at the Hospital Wing, she could go into shock once they got there but absolutely not a moment beforehand, "…you saved me and I thought…I thought I drowned you and-"
"Rose, it's ok. I'm ok. You…" his voice broke as the enormity of the statement dawned on him again as they reached the doors to the Hospital Wing, "You saved me."
Her hand was still clenching his shirt, "But you…the fire…"
Neville raced in to the darkened room to find Pomfrey who apparently was not yet awake. Scorpius stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily, legs shaking, arms numb, and heart so full of hope and fear it felt it might burst. He looked down at Rose in his arms and let out his own stuttered breath.
"I'm fine Rose," he tells her honestly, feeling his eyes heat, "You got us out. We're ok."
And for a few very brief (blindingly wonderful) moments, Rose Weasley opened her eyes and smiled up at him, eyes sparkling and clear for a moment. She unclenched his shirt, lifting her hand to caress his face softly to convince herself he was really there before placing her hand over his heart, it's erratic beating mimicking her's. Her eyes slid to her hand on his chest, then back to his face and he knew - he just knew - that she felt it too.
We match.
With her hand on his chest, her eyes looking into his, something in him that had been alert and heightened all evening finally quietened. Everything was peaceful now. Everything was ok.
We made it. She'll be alright. We've saved her.
Rose looked puzzled as her gaze shifted from his eyes to slightly higher.
"Scorpius, your hair…"
Aaaaaand calmness gone.
"What's wrong with my hair?!" He asked with more fear than he would ever own up to. Oh Merlin had his hair been burnt off? Was he bald?!.
"It's…" she reached a hand towards it, fascinated, "It's glowing."
Fuck.
Pomfrey had Rose covered in charms and drinking potions within two minutes of their arrival. The older Mediwitch had wanted Scorpius to stay and to be thoroughly checked over, but he informed her he would have to be literally missing at least three limbs to allow that to happen. Pomfrey had tried appealing to Longbottom for support but the older man hadn't been anymore successful in his attempts to persuade him to seek treatment. Scorpius had insisted instead that he was going to sit by Rose's bedside all night until she recovered consciousness properly. The sly look Madam Pomfrey gave him in response did not bode well with him as she told him he was more than welcome to stay.
"But the rules are, Mr. Malfoy, that if you're in my med-bay, you're my patient," she raised an eyebrow and started summoning bandages and salves, "Which means you get your own bed and a proper examination."
No way in hell. Not when his hair was apparently shiny. Now that the room was properly illuminated it wasn't as obvious with neither Pomfrey or Longbottom making a comment on it. That said, they also had an unconscious Weasley to deal with, so there was every chance that they were just ignoring him and focusing on the more important issues at hand. But there was still the fact that Rose had been babbling about wings and fire.
Not. Fucking. Good.
He didn't want to ingest anything that might lead to another blackout which would, he was hypothesising, result in his veela coming forward. As much as he wanted to stay as close to Rose as physically possible and the thought of leaving her alone here made him feel physically sick, he couldn't be here under intense scrutiny and surveillance. He needed to get back to his room, take a Calming Draught or eight, maybe scream into a pillow for a few hours; anything to try to figure out what, precisely, had happened tonight.
Not to mention he needed to mend his robes, may their pristine silk lining rest in peace.
Scorpius excused himself from the Hospital Wing, attempting to make a quick escape rather than face another round of questioning from Neville or Pomfrey. With every step away from Rose he took, he felt his agitation rising. He kept seeing her blue lips trembling, her eyes unfocused and fatigued, the way her body was so tiny when bundled up in his arms.
The feeling of her breath against his skin, how it stuttered and faded and Scorpius was left to wonder if she'd ever wake up.
There's a haze coming over his vision as the thoughts of her race through his mind, the distress he was so capable of burying in the moment of need now coming to the forefront. Rose Weasley saved his life tonight and almost lost hers as a direct result.
Merlin he thinks he's going to vomit.
He braced himself on the wall, hanging his head low, and began to dry heave rather violently. Thankfully, nothing came out. It'd be pretty hard to convince Longbottom and Pomfrey he didn't need medical attention if he went and vomited in the hallway right outside the hospital bay.
"Scorpius!"
Speak of the devil.
"We need to discuss what happened," Neville Longbottom walked into the corridor, and Scorpius quickly flicked his wand at the sconce on the wall, illuminated the corridor with candle light. Vomiting plus shiny hair was sure to get him admitted.
"Can it wait?" Scorpius' tone was hard and biting and he felt himself scowling at the man, remembering that without his punishment neither he nor Rose would have been out there tonight, "I've got some other things to deal with. Hear there's a troll in the kitchens - might go fight that off barehanded."
Longbottom moved towards him, hand outstretched and face full of concern.
"Malfoy I'm think you nee-"
Scorpius cut him off, his fear of losing Rose now morphing into radiating, burning anger.
"For the record, Neville," his words were cutting and echoed throughout the empty hallway, "Knowing there's a Chimaera roaming free in the forest would have been information I'd like to be told before doing detention duty!"
"I'm sorry," Neville sounded very apologetic, so much so that he didn't pull Scorpius up on his very inappropriate tone, "It was supposed to be in containment."
"WELL IT FUCKING WASN'T!"
Neville put his hands up in a sign of surrender, "I know, and I can't tell you how sorry I am about that-"
"Sorry? Sorry?!" That was precisely the wrong thing to say to him right now. He pushed away from the wall and turned to face the man head-on, "Rose is lying in there unconscious and you're sorry?! SHE COULD HAVE DIED!"
"I know!" Neville cried and it was only now that Scorpius saw the older man was close to tears. A silence rang out through the long dark corridor before he murmured again, "I know she could have."
Longbottom's voice was defeated as he slumped against the wall, his head in his hands. Great, now Scorpius felt like a bad guy. Just peachy.
"I never would have forgiven myself if-" Neville's words broke off in a shudder before he cleared his throat. He looked up at Scorpius, the same horrors he sometimes saw haunting his father's features shining back at him, "She's like family to me."
Scorpius felt his metaphorical armour dissipate and the tension leave his shoulders. This wasn't the fight he wanted. He wanted to yell at Rose, tell her she was stupid for not getting out of the forest when he'd told her too. He wanted to yell at whoever thought up the grand idea of having a Chimaera in the Triwizard Tournament (he'd be willing to bet a small fortune it was Durmstrang). He wanted to screamed at whoever it was in his family that went and got themselves cursed by a veela to have this weird bird thing flying around in his brain all week. He could possibly even go a few extra rounds with the Chimaera, maybe even fist-fight a dragon. But fighting Neville Longbottom, war survivor who'd been intimately acquainted with death and bereavement far longer than anyone ever should, was not the adversary he wanted.
"I know," Scorpius said finally, running a hand through his hair in a nervous tic, then immediately stopped in case it drew attention to his little condition. He picked at what was left of his sleeve, more than a little ashamed of his actions, "And I know you didn't mean any of this to happen, it's just…"
She could have died.
He could have died.
The students could have died.
Tonight there could have been multiple fatalities, and if there was one thing Scorpius didn't need to be burdened with on top of everything else, it was Survivor's Guilt. What if he hadn't been able to carry her up to the Hospital Wing? What if he hadn't gone looking for what was making his skin crawl in the forest? What if he'd sent the students off to scout the area? So many things could have gone very, very wrong tonight. Tonight he got a lot closer to holding a dead Rose Weasley in his arms than he ever wanted to. He mentally made the resolution that nothing like this would ever happen again.
We'll protect her. Keep her safe. No harm shall come to her. Not while we're around.
"It's been a long night," Scorpius eventually said, his voice tired and his body weak, "I've got an early class tomorrow and-"
"For Merlin's sake, Scorpius, I don't expect you to teach tomorrow!" Neville said incredulously, "You fought a Chimaera tonight and saved several people's lives. Take the day off!"
Scorpius smiled a little at that. But only a very little.
"I appreciate the offer, sir," the thought of sitting in his room doing nothing but reliving the experiences of this evening did not hold much appeal, "I'll think about it."
Neville assessed him silently, very clearly unhappy that Scorpius was refusing to stay in the Hospital Wing or at least let Pomfrey look at him. He went to speak several times, but continued to falter, so Scorpius turned and started making a shaky trek back to his nice little room in the dungeons where there wasn't any Chimaeras or dying women.
"Scorpius!" Neville called, forcing him to turn around (more than a little cautiously), "Thank you. For saving…well, for saving everyone. Yourself included."
He was not going to cry in front of his boss. He was not going to cry in front of his boss.
"Anytime, Headmaster."
"Don't make a habit of it though," Neville smiled faintly, eyes still shiny, "My heart's not what it used to be."
What a coincidence, Scorpius didn't think his was either.
He gave the older man a smile, "Don't worry - I don't intend to."
There you go folks - no cliffhanger this time :)
So this chapter has less 'fun' than the last ones, but don't worry, we'll pick back up with the humor very shortly. I have a feeling y'all are going to enjoy the next chapter quite a bit. Fun fact: It was supposed to be the second part of this chapter but then, in true Grae fashion, it started getting bigger than Ben Hur, so to avoid having one random 12,000 word chapter I decided to split it. But more on that when the next instalment gets here :)
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My love to you all, I hope you're having a lovely week.
