Chapter Ten: Recovery

1 April 2018 – 2 April 2018

Albus was in hospital for over a month, as was Scorpius. None of the healers could understand what had attacked them. They'd never heard of creatures like the ones they described.

Both the boys also had to give countless interviews to people from the Ministry of Magic in regards to what the creatures looked like and how they acted. The Ministry sent in teams of wizards into the Forbidden Forest but none could find anything. One wizard came back to St. Mungo's and started screaming at them for wasting the Ministry's time with their jokes. The healers weren't impressed at all with him and told him that shouting wouldn't help them or the other patients get better. They then, as calmly as possible, pointed out the venom that nobody had seen before in Scorpius' system. With a lot of grumbling, the wizard finally left, though he still doubted the creatures existed.

Albus' wounds healed quicker than Scorpius' as he hadn't been bitten and therefore had no venom in his system, though he did have a lot of bacteria from the creature's claws. When he was finally only left with the scars, the healers used spells to get rid of them. Albus was thankful for this, as he didn't fancy living the rest of his life looking mauled.

Scorpius wasn't as lucky as Albus. Albus had began to feel better as soon as he woke up, but Scorpius drifted from bad to good to worse multiple times a week. They tried all sorts of muggle antibiotics but they didn't work. When one of his kidney's shut down, the healers were disgusted when Pye announced he was going to do a kidney transplant. They didn't believe it would work but for some reason Draco gave his consent, much to Lucius' disgust who was appalled that they were using muggle techniques on his grandson. The transplant went well and along with purifying Scorpius' blood, the venom was finally removed from his system.

James didn't come to see Albus no matter how many times he wrote and asked. He didn't even bother replying to his letters. This only made Albus' recovery time longer as him worrying about his brother didn't help him get better. Finally one day, much to Albus' surprise, James appeared at the foot of his bed looking awkward. He was looking pale and gaunt which only furthered Albus' worry.

'Hey,' James greeted as he sat in the seat beside Albus' bed.

Albus stared at him, examining his tired face.

'How are you feeling?' James asked when Albus didn't reply.

'How are you feeling?' Albus returned.

James swallowed before answering in a fake voice, 'Amazing, as always.'

Albus glared at his brother. 'James, what's going on? Tell me.'

James was about to brush it off when he saw Albus' persistent face and sighed before mumbling, 'Fine.'

Albus waited for James to speak.

'You know the way before Christmas I was acting strange?' James asked, not really knowing where to begin.

Albus frowned. He thought James had been acting strange for basically the whole year. But he remembered that it had started before Christmas so he nodded his head.

'Well Teddy discovered that I'd been getting slipped a hypnotizing potion and I'd been hypnotized to do… things.'

'What kind of things?' Albus asked, not liking the sound of where this was going.

'To kidnap students and take them to a cave in the Forbidden Forest,' James said, not looking at his brother.

'How do you know that?' Albus asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

James looked up and Albus saw the guilt in his eyes.

'I pretended to take the potion and I received a letter one night saying to kidnap a girl called Abigail in my year and bring her to the cave,' James said. 'And I did.'

'What happened in the cave?' Albus asked as he tried not to judge his brother.

'There was some weird machines and the old lady who hypnotized me told me they were used to clone things. And there were weird creatures in these cages and they looked partly human but completely savage.'

James struggled to control his breathing as he thought back to the horrible night. He looked at Albus.

'I think they were the same things that attacked you and Scorpius.'

Albus nodded. He'd been thinking that as well.

'But what are they?' Albus asked in confusion.

'Haven't you realised? They're clones. Or at least they were meant to be. They obviously all went horribly wrong. There's a huge dumpsite for the ones that died during the cloning process. I assume she just lets the others go loose when she's done with them,' James said. 'That's why she needed the students; to use their DNA and body parts for cloning and experiments.'

Albus felt sick as he said, 'So that girl, Abigail, she's dead?'

'No,' muttered James. 'She was there the last time I visited.'

'How many times have you gone back?' Albus asked, looking angry.

James looked guilty. 'A couple of times, but I haven't brought any other students! And Abigail's fine. That old lady is treating her like she's a princess because her DNA might be the perfect one to clone or something.'

'Why didn't you tell anyone?'

James sighed in annoyance. 'Like they'd believe me. They barely believed you and Scorpius, and the only reason they did was because Scorpius had venom in his system. And it's not like I haven't tried. A wolf meets me to bring me into the forest every time that hag summons me. But whenever I try to bring along a teacher, the wolf doesn't turn up.'

Albus chewed on his lip. 'But surely the teachers must have noticed that the students are going missing?'

'That's the thing,' James said frowning. 'They're not. I asked Slughorn what he thought of Abigail not being in class and he looked at me blankly before asking who Abigail was. Apparently she's not on the class list, and nobody even remembers her. I know she wasn't that popular, but nobody can be that unpopular.'

'Somebody must be casting spells to make the students disappear from people's memories,' Albus guessed as James nodded.

'It's not that old woman. I doubt she's powerful enough. It has to be someone in the castle,' James said thoughtfully.

'You should go to McGonagall with this,' Albus said seriously.

James face fell. 'I did after you and Scorpius got attacked.'

Albus guessed McGonagall wasn't impressed with James for not having spoken sooner. He could only guess what she'd said to James and it wasn't good going by the look on his face. He decided to drop the subject of McGonagall seeing as James already had enough to feel guilty about.

'Who is the woman then? Why's she so interested in cloning?'

James shrugged, sitting back. He was feeling a lot better now that he'd come clean to both his brother and McGonagall.

'I can't ask her anything, she still thinks I'm hypnotized,' James said regretfully.

Albus sighed. 'Well do you know how she got rid of all the creatures? There must have been hundreds, and you said there was an area full of dead ones.'

James shook his head. 'No idea, though I assume the spy in Hogwarts must've used a spell or something. Or maybe she's other people working for her.'

Albus lay back, thinking about the strange old woman. Why did she want the ability to clone so badly? He looked over at his brother and saw him glancing at the clock on his locker.

'Somewhere to be?'

James nodded, looking nervous. 'I asked to meet mum and dad for lunch. McGonagall let me come visit you for the day, so I decided I might as well tell mum and dad about why I've been acting so weird as well. I better get going, I don't want to be late.'

Albus nodded and as his brother was leaving he told him, 'Good luck.'

Albus lay back again and tried to gather the strength to get up and go talk to Scorpius about the whole thing when Violet suddenly appeared in front of him. She smiled shyly at him but he didn't smile back. Something seemed off about her.

'I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to reply to your letters,' she said, thinking that was the reason for him not smiling back. 'I've just been so busy. I really am sorry that I didn't get to visit you sooner as well. But McGonagall banned visits. I had to beg her at least one hundred times for her to finally let me come.'

'Why did she ban visits?' Albus asked in confusion.

Violet looked at him in surprise. 'Because so many people wanted to visit you. Plus the hospital is basically letting no visitors in at all because you're here. You have to go through loads of security and answers questions just to be allowed in.'

'Why?'

Violet laughed as she sat on the side of his bed. 'You're a Potter. Do you know the amount of photographers that are waiting outside the hospital right now? And the amount of articles written about you is phenomenal.'

Albus sighed. Why hadn't his parents told him? Maybe they didn't want him to get a big head. He doubted that would happen though. It was more annoying than flattering.

'Hello, Scorpius,' Violet suddenly said without looking away from Albus.

Albus looked behind her and saw Scorpius standing at the end of the bed, gripping it. He was still weak. He made his way over to the chair and sat down before saying, 'Hello.'

Scorpius stared at Violet with suspicious eyes. Albus sighed, not him too.

'You two are friends now?' Violet asked in a voice that was meant to sound casual.

Scorpius shrugged. 'Maybe it was the venom, but somehow Albus doesn't seem that annoying anymore. You, on the other hand, are still as annoying as ever.'

Violet smirked slightly. 'And how's your head? Is your memory still gone?'

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her before turning his expression to one of cheerfulness.

'You'll be happy to know my memory is starting to return.'

Violet's face dropped but she tried to cover it up by turning back to Albus and saying, 'You haven't missed much while you've been away. I took extra notes in case you want them for the end of year exams though.'

'Thanks,' Albus said, smiling at her gratefully, causing Scorpius to roll his eyes.

'Do you know what attacked you in the forest?' Violet asked, looking concerned.

Albus shrugged. 'Some kind of half human creature. Not even the healers here or the Ministry of Magic know what it was.'

Violet looked disgusted. 'Half human?'

'Do you want to see one of their bite marks?' Scorpius asked, grinning. 'There's one that's really badly infected. If you press it pus comes out. Want to see?'

Violet looked like she wanted to throw up as she stood up and said coolly, 'No, thank you.'

'You should've showed James, he'd have loved it,' Albus said grinning.

This caught Violet's attention. 'James was here? I thought he wasn't visiting you?'

Albus wondered why she was so interested in his brother but answered anyway, 'Yeah, he was here just before you came.'

'What did he want?'

'To check on his brother I'd imagine,' Scorpius said in a sarcastic voice. 'Didn't you hear? Albus was attacked by a horrible creature and nearly died!'

Violet glared at Scorpius. She clenched her fists before looking away and forcing a smile on her face.

'I think it's time I head back to Hogwarts. McGonagall said I had to be as quick as possible,' Violet said.

They said goodbye, with a sarcastic one thrown in by Scorpius, before she left.

'Let me guess,' Albus said before Scorpius said anything. 'She's awful, evil, the daughter of Satan, and I shouldn't be friends with her.'

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. 'I couldn't care less who you're friends with. I just don't trust her and I refuse to be nice to her. Be friends with her if you wish, doesn't bother me.'

Albus smirked. Of course Scorpius would be the only one who didn't care that he was friends with Violet. Albus frowned as he thought of Violet. She was definitely acting strange.

The next morning the two of them were released from the hospital and were allowed back to Hogwarts. Although they weren't fully better, they weren't ill enough to be in St. Mungo's. Once they arrived back at Hogwarts (after an escort from the Ministry) they were taken to the hospital wing where Pye instructed Madam Pomfrey on how to care for Scorpius' wounds. She looked mildly interested but Albus had a feeling she'd prefer to treat Scorpius with spells and potions, not muggle ways. However she didn't say anything and simply listened intently.

They were kept in the hospital wing until dinner, which they were allowed out for. Scorpius and Albus walked awkwardly in as people whispered and stared upon seeing them. Before Albus could feel too awkward however, Rose flew herself at him and was hugging him tightly.

'I'm so sorry Albus,' she kept repeating as she hugged him.

Albus felt confused for a while before he laughed and said, 'Are you talking about the Hufflepuff thing? I forgave you a long time ago for that. I guess I overreacted slightly…'

Albus blushed, thinking of how childish he'd acted.

Rose still looked worried as she said, 'I wanted to come visit you but they wouldn't let me, and then I didn't know if you even wanted to see me.'

'It's fine,' Albus tried to reassure her.

Rose was about to reply when she noticed that Scorpius was standing beside Albus still. She looked at him in confusion. It suddenly dawned on Albus that it was odd that they had walked in together. Scorpius seemed to realise this at the same time.

'Try not to faint again,' Scorpius said as he walked off. 'I won't always be there.'

'What was that about?' Rose asked as Scorpius walked off and joined the Slytherin table.

Albus laughed at Scorpius' feeble excuse.

'I fainted in the corridor and he helped me here,' lied Albus.

Rose raised her eyebrows as they walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down. 'That was kind of him.'

Albus shrugged. 'He's not that bad.'

He looked up and saw Rose staring at him in shock.

'Are you sure you didn't get venom in your system as well?'

Albus rolled his eyes and said, 'Let's not fight.'

Rose was about to reply when James sat down beside her. Albus was glad to see he was grinning. It wasn't his normal one, but it wasn't forced which made Albus smile.

'Who's up for some adventuring?' James asked.

'Going to try and find the cave without the wolf?' Albus guessed as he began eating.

James sighed dramatically. 'You ruined it.'

Albus rolled his eyes. 'It was hardly a master plan.'

'Hello?' Rose asked, waving her hands. 'What are you guys talking about?'

'You didn't tell her?' Albus asked, laughing.

James shrugged. 'She doesn't like rule breaking. Could you imagine what she'd do if I told her? She'd have a heart attack.'

'I'm still here. Stop talking about me like I'm not,' Rose said in irritation.

'Sorry, Rosie,' James said, not sounding sorry, as he tucked into his meal.

Rose couldn't stay mad at him. She, like Albus, was too happy to see James acting a least a bit like his normal self.

'Well are you going to tell me?' Rose asked after a few minutes.

James sighed dramatically again. 'Well, if I must.'

James and Albus spent the rest of dinner telling Rose the whole story, with many interruptions from her. At the end of the tale, almost the whole Gryffindor table was empty, and Rose was staring at them with her mouth open.

'And you want to go back to the cave?' Rose asked in disbelief. 'Are you insane?'

'I've been there before,' James said, shrugging.

Rose glared at him. 'Yeah, by yourself and when she ordered you to come.'

James shrugged again. 'We need to find it. And I need to rescue Abigail.'

Albus finally understood why he wanted to go back. It wasn't just about proving it existed.

'When'll we go?' Albus asked, causing Rose to turn to him in shock.

'You can't be serious?' she asked, though they both ignored her.

'Tomorrow night, maybe,' James said. 'If you're up for it.'

'I'm fine,' Albus said. 'Scorpius is the one who's still injured.'

'Good,' muttered Rose.

'It's settled then,' James said, getting up, still ignoring Rose.

'I'm coming,' Rose suddenly said, causing Albus and James both to pause as they turned to leave the hall.

'You?' James asked in disbelief.

'I have to break the rules some time,' Rose said, trying to sound brave.

James stared at her before grinning. 'Told you I'd get you to break the rules sometime during your time here.'

As they bickered playfully, Albus spotted Scorpius heading out of the Great Hall.

'I just have to check in with Madam Pomfrey before I go to bed,' Albus said as he walked quickly towards where Scorpius had gone. It was true, but that wasn't the reason he was leaving now. He had to talk to Scorpius.

'I'll meet you back in the common room,' James called after him.

Albus nodded but didn't reply. He walked out of the hall but didn't see Scorpius anywhere. Sighing, he decided he might as well go to the hospital wing now. However as he turned the corner he bumped into Scorpius.

'Hey,' Albus greeted but Scorpius didn't say anything.

Albus stared at him, wondering why he was acting so weird. Scorpius stared back before curling up his lip and growling at Albus. Albus didn't have time to respond as he raced off, making animalistic noises as he went.

Albus stared after him, deciding it was best not to follow. He turned back and continued on his way to the hospital wing, wondering what was wrong with Scorpius. As he made his way into the hospital wing he spotted Scorpius lying on the bed, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to come and change his bandages.

'How did you get here before me?' Albus asked in confusion.

Scorpius looked back at him with a blank face. 'What do you mean? I left the Great Hall in the middle of dinner because I wasn't feeling well.'

'You mean you were here about ten minutes ago?' Albus asked, already having a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

'Yeah,' Scorpius answered slowly.

Albus' throat had become dry and he swallowed, beginning to feel slightly dizzy. If Scorpius had been here, who had that been?