Scorpius sat in that same hunched position that Rose had left him.
The thought of meeting June was the only thing keeping him alive at this moment.
He had survived Azkaban too just for her.
There was a knock at his door, and the same man who brought his food entered. This time however he didn't have a plate. He brought keys which hopefully opened the chains cuffing him.
"You will have a visitor. We are moving you to a room upstairs. Don't try anything funny." The man said and he took in the information.
He was finally leaving the Godforsaken place, and he got to see his wife.
Rose Weasely surely was an angel in disguise.
The chains were unlocked not from his hands but the seat he was on. He was dragged by them to the door, where four other aurors joined him, protecting him from all sides. If he had wanted to escape he would have tried a long time ago, the bloody fools.
Besides he couldn't walk without support, his limbs had been inactive for that long.
He climbed the stairs and the light blinded him.
He was seeing sunlight after six whole months! He blinked in relief, taking it in before it was too late.
Once his eyes adjusted he looked around.
He had learned to become much more observant if not anything.
It was a small room they had shoved him into. It was completely bare except for a small table with two chairs on either side. The walls and everything else really were white, a shocking change from the dark musty dungeon he had been held in.
Luckily there was no dementor here, nor were there those vile guards.
He was all alone.
The door on one corner was shut, and Scorpius didn't even try opening it, knowing it would be locked. He heard noises outside, and he sat up straighter, waiting in bated breath to see her, his angel, his life.
The door opened slightly as an auror stepped in.
"Your wife's here." He grunted, and Scorpius gave him a weak smile.
"There will be a huge team of aurors surrounding the room, and you are being watched, so don't try anything stupid." He said, and Scorpius nodded impatiently.
He threw him one last distrusting look, and went out, only to let her come in.
Scorpius could have died then and have been the most contented man on earth.
She was much more radiant and beautiful than he remembered; of course memories did her no justice. Her golden hair glowed in all its glory, forming almost a halo around her face.
He took her in, like a dying man would gulp at water in a desert.
He needed her like the air he breathed, and now that she was in the same room as him everything seemed alright. He knew he was grinning like a loon, especially for a man who was almost convicted of murder.
After the initial euphoria passed he realised something was off.
She seemed… nervous?
She still stood by the door hesitating, and it was only then that the thought crossed his mind.
Was she scared of him?
After all he had been acting like a recluse the past couple of days.
He took a step towards her, smiling softly, but she shrank back, clutching at the wall and Scorpius felt all hope leave him.
She had been his one shred of sanity; if she didn't trust him either then he was completely lost. He sank, his knees giving out as the weight of her rejection crushed him.
He turned away from her, unable to look at her and show weakness, while it seemed his own mind was mocking him, making his body clutch at the table below him for support.
Oh the irony.
In his distress he hadn't noticed her move, so he flinched when he felt an arm on his shoulder, soft and tentative.
The tenderness of the gesture rattled him, as he had become used to the harsh ways of the guards.
The hand on his shoulder stilled him, bringing his heart rate back to normal.
Finally, after what seemed like eternity, he lifted his head and turned around to meet her eyes.
He expected to see fear, anguish and even pain and anger, but the love in her eyes floored him.
Her pale blue eyes were filled with unshed tears as she observed him, not looking away from his searing glance. In all their years together they had learned to understand each other extremely well, words weren't necessary. But now, for the first time, he was uncertain, conflicted. She too was confused it seemed, and he realized that her heart was saying one thing while her brain begged to differ.
He turned fully to face her, and her hand never left his shoulder.
"Hi." He croaked awkwardly.
"Hi…" she said, her voice shaking, but she still hadn't succumbed to the sobs that he knew were coming.
He let out a bark of laughter, still not able to believe it.
After six months of sheer hell, here he was exchanging pleasantries with his wife!
She was surprised at the very least at his outburst, but she smiled too, blinking her tears away.
He held out his hand experimentally, to see if she shied away.
To his surprise he found it shaking on its own accord, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He looked for signs of hesitancy as he raised it further, but he found none, and he reached out to touch her cheek. It was soft as silk, just like he recollected, and he shut his eyes for a moment, now having proof that the moment was indeed real.
She leaned into his touch encouraging him so he threw caution to the wind and hugged her body to his own. She responded with equal vigour, and he felt her entwine one of her hands in his hair as she stroked his back soothingly with the other. He inhaled, taking in her fragrance, her very essence and sighed in contentment, never wanting to let go.
The stood there for ages, basking in each other's presence, both not wanting to pull away from the familiar warmth.
It was June who pulled back first, running a hand over his face, tracing his features lightly.
"What have they done to you?" she breathed, not wanting to let him hear but slipping up. He just laughed drily and she knew a part of him was lost, probably forever.
"Sit." He told her pointing to the chair.
But she shook her head.
"I've been sitting for far too long June, please sit; you shouldn't be standing especially in your condition." He told her, always the gentleman.
Wait something wasn't right.
June had been 2 months pregnant when he had been dragged off by the official.
That would make her around eight months now.
And yet here she was her body as flat as ever.
The realization dawned and he turned to look at her with a look of absolute horror on his face. "The baby. What happened to the baby?" he asked his voice hollow again dreading her answer.
There was a moment's confusion on her face as her brows furrowed, but it was gone to be replaced by an expression he had never seen.
"I lost the baby Scorpius." She said her voice full of emotion.
"But everything was fine! How?" he asked, still unable to comprehend. He had credited the fact that June hadn't visited to the baby. His mind was now whirling with so many questions. He looked at his wife, at a complete loss of words.
"I'm sorry Scor, I miscarried." She explained further, tears coming back to haunt her eyes.
He wasn't sure whether to be angry, sad or comfort her.
The loss of the child hadn't affected her that much, he could tell. Otherwise she would have been sobbing uncontrollably by now.
Or maybe she had changed that much in his absence?
He brushed it aside, and went to kneel by her chair so that they were almost eyes level. He took her hands in his and revelled in their comfort.
"Are you ok? I mean health wise?" he asked and she nodded, biting her lip.
"How long do we have?" he asked her.
"Not long. They want to question you." She told him reluctantly.
"Listen Scor, you need to tell them everything. Every small detail, important or not." She said, urgency seeping into her voice.
"What's there to tell." He said again humourless.
"What actually happened." She phrased it like an answer but he could hear the question behind it clearly.
"I don't know." He told her honestly and she let out a sigh of frustration.
"What does that mean Scor? I mean they have your memories, how can you not know?" she asked him.
"They might be my memories, but I don't recall them June." He told her, needing her to believe him.
"I swear, I didn't kill that woman." He said again in desperation.
"I believe you Scorpius, of course I do. But you need to prove to the others, the rest of the world." She told him. They were the only 3 words he needed to hear. He collapsed against her, his head resting on her lap, face buried into her thigh. He came apart completely, helpless and vulnerable at the same time.
His sobs acted like a trigger for her own, and they both shook, trying to find some sort of comfort, peace in the other's embrace. She doubled over, covering his upper torso with her own, and held onto him.
He regained control as fast as he had lost it, and he sat up to cradle her, muttering soothing words as he rocked her slowly, tears flowing down his face.
She gave a shuddering breath as she found her own and she sank lower into the chair. The chains binding his hands were getting in the way, and he didn't want to hurt her. She giggled and he looked at her questioningly.
"Here I am, trying to give you moral support, and yet you end up consoling me." She said and he smiled at her. They were quiet for a while, taking each other in.
"I'm sorry." He muttered and she shook her head at the apology and whispered "Come back to me."
"I love you." He told her softly.
"I love you too." Her voice was strained, but he couldn't tell why.
Instead of wasting time with useless thinking, he moved forward and captured her lips with his own. She gasped in surprise at first, pulling away quickly. But as he began to voice his apology, she silenced him with her lips again.
He wanted to convey everything though that kiss, all his pent up emotions, and she seemed to be doing the same. She broke away, gasping for air as he trailed kisses all over her face.
He had missed this, missed her too much.
He couldn't go far though; they were being watched after all.
So he pulled away, breathing heavily.
She was smiling tentatively at him, biting her lip in concentration.
It was foreign to him, on her face. In fact it reminded him of Rose. She often had done that, every time she was deep in thought. He had been thinking of her more often than not lately he realised, feeling rather guilty. "Rose Weasely came to see me." He told her, watching her closely for a reaction.
She jumped at the name, as usual he thought to himself, but composed herself fast.
"Uh- yeah. She's one of your Lawyers. She met with me too." She said slowly. He took in the information and swallowed.
"So you are not angry? I only spoke to her because she promised she would send you. And she kept her word after all. I'm really sorry June-bug." He said again thoroughly searching her face again.
He had been quite scared to reveal the information to her, expecting her to get all fired up as usual at the mention of the name itself.
But other than a small jerk she had said nothing.
Her face seemed to flash with a number of emotions at his words, so fast that he couldn't catch all of them. Anger, fear, panic (?), disappointment, sorrow… Maybe she really had changed drastically.
"Are you ok June?" he voiced his concern.
"I uh… of course why wouldn't I be?" she asked her voice an octave higher than normal.
"Look Scorpius, forget about the past, she has. Just help her in any way so we can put this behind us." She said in the same voice.
They heard a knock on the door signalling that their time was up, and she kissed him again hurriedly.
Before he even had time to respond, she had pecked him once on the forehead and was out of the door.
Just as the door swung shut he saw a flash of red, but he disregarded it, his head a blur after the recent events.
He sat down on the chair, his mind whirling with thoughts trying to process the new information. He rested his head in his palms, closing his eyes for a few moments of peace before they came to badger him. He had got what he wanted, and now he had to speak.
I know, I know... It's been ages! I'm so sorry! Hope the longer update made up for it?
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Until next time :)