It was another two hours before James and Albus finally arrived. Scorpius finally headed down the hall to the break room for a quick shower - as much to avoid the hostility in the room as anything else - and had just slumped onto a bench to avoid going back inside to the pointed exclusion he was getting from Rose's parents and the painful attempts by Mr. and Mrs. Potter to draw him into the conversation.
Then a familiar, dark-haired man poked his head out of the room, and Scorpius had to stop himself from collapsing in relief.
"Hey," he said as James joined him on the bench. "What took -"
His question died on his lips. James looked terrible. He didn't look like he'd been in need of serious healing, but his left eye was black and there was a large scrape across his opposing cheek. His left forearm was wrapped in a clean white bandage, and he seemed to be favoring his left leg - Scorpius guessed that he'd probably broken his ankle and was still recovering from the healing. It might have been a sprain, but James always seemed to be breaking bones.
Scorpius changed his approach. "What happened to you?"
James made a face. "I was there, too. Didn't get hurt like Rosie, but it was still a complete mess. None of us got out without at least some scrapes. We've all been getting interrogated by the head of Magical Creatures for hours. That's our boss's wife - not sure if you knew that - and I think maybe she's got some thing going on with Lavender, too - oh, Lavender got attacked by a lethifold last night, not sure if you knew that, either - because she was clearly on the brink of losing it so her second had to take the lead after awhile, and… yeah. Nightmare." He glanced down at his arm. "Ministry healer took care of my ankle and my arm, though, and they did update me on Rose after awhile, not that 'still critical' helped much."
Scorpius stared at him. He'd followed just enough of that to be absolutely floored. "Bloody hell."
"You're telling me. Anything new on Rose they don't know yet?" Scorpius shook his head, and James sighed. "Damn. So, what the hell did you say to my aunt and uncle to make them want to kill you? We've been here for about ten minutes and my uncle's already called you a manipulative parasite and a conniving little snake."
Scorpius winced. "I - er - is it important?"
"Since Al and I are going to try to talk them around, yes. What did you say?"
Scorpius rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor. It was very, very shiny. He wondered whether it was spelled to resist scuff marks. Probably.
"Well, when her father told me to keep a civil tongue in my head, I told him that Rose doesn't like it when we keep our tongues to ourselves."
He glanced at James when he didn't respond. The other man's eyebrows had shot up. "Great job," he said. "Really terrific."
"And I definitely called him an idiot, told him he didn't have any power here when he threatened to get me tossed out, and basically dared him to hit me. I think he was actually going to before my boss stepped in. Or try to, anyway. Then my boss basically promoted me on the spot and told him I was right."
"Wow. Nice hole you've dug yourself into."
Scorpius shifted uncomfortably. "I'm also pretty sure I told them that Rose adored me and that I was perfectly happy to have her strip me naked and get on top of me whenever she wanted. And that it happens a lot."
Scorpius had seen very few things that could genuinely shock James Potter. This was clearly one of them; the man's jaw actually dropped. After a moment, he collected himself enough to smack Scorpius on the back of the head. It was not a particularly gentle smack, but either it wasn't hard enough to trigger the spells or they were triggered by anger, and James was clearly not really angry at him.
"You idiot." Scorpius rubbed the back of his head and shot James a dirty look. "Oh, stop it, I didn't smack you that hard. I didn't want to trigger the stupid spells. What the hell possessed you to go off on them like that? No wonder my uncle's fists clench every time someone says your name."
Scorpius rubbed his face with his hands. "Well, it's been a stressful week, and after she was brought in I got the health proxy thing dropped in my lap - which she neglected to tell me about, by the way. Typical Rose. I'd be pissed off if she wasn't in mortal danger. As it is, I'll be so relieved when she wakes up that I don't think I'll care, but damn it, Rose."
"She didn't tell you?"
"Nope."
"Fuck." James let his head fall back against the wall. "You're right, though. That is typical Rose. I wouldn't tell her parents about it, though, if I were you - they might find some legal loophole."
"Wasn't planning on it." He sighed. "And once they realized what was going on, they started patronizing me and telling me that I didn't really know her and must have bullied her into it, and I just wanted them to shut up. Because…" He glanced over at the door. "God. They're not the only people who love her."
There wasn't really anything to say to that, so James didn't bother. He just squeezed Scorpius's shoulder in sympathy.
He saw a quick flash of red; Albus had stuck his head outside. "Oh, I thought I heard your voice." He crossed the hallway and settled himself on the arm of the bench. "How are you?" he asked.
Scorpius shrugged.
"Well, why do my aunt and uncle look like they want to kill you?"
Scorpius shrugged again, but James managed a strangled laugh. "Oh, we've got our work cut out for us. Albus, your best friend is an idiot."
"Yes. I know. What did he do now?"
After James had repeated the story - Scorpius was just as happy to have someone else take over that particular task - Albus groaned. "Scorpius, you're an idiot."
"Yeah. I know."
Someone cleared their throat, and he looked up quickly. Lyssa was standing there; she had apparently finished giving Rose the latest round of those stupid potions.
Albus squeezed his shoulder one more time. Then, Scorpius got up and followed her down the hall. "What?" he asked as soon as she'd closed the door to her office behind them. "Is there news?"
"Of a sort. It's nothing definitive, but so far, she's responding well to the potions. You know how volatile those damn things are, but right now, it's looking like she should make it. I'm not sure I'd tell her parents that, though - I'm only telling you because I trust you to actually understand what it means."
He let out a deep breath. "I do, but any good news is - you know." He hesitated before pressing her further, but in the end, the uncertainty got the best of him. He had to ask, even if he knew there probably wouldn't be an answer and that asking would make his feelings and priorities painfully clear. Hopefully, she wouldn't judge him too much. "Do you know whether the potions are going to have any - any effects?"
The woman sighed. "I'm sorry," she said. She looked it, too. "I don't. We probably won't know unless she actually tries to get pregnant."
He'd figured that, but he'd had to ask. "Yeah. I thought so. Thanks."
"Of course." She perched on the edge of her desk. "I'm going off-duty," she told him. "I'm sorry, you know how this week has been - I need some rest. Elise just got here a few hours ago, so she's fresh - she'll check in on Ms. Weasley until morning. I'm on call if something happens."
"Okay. Thanks."
The older woman scrutinized him. "How are you? You gave her parents quite an earful yesterday."
Scorpius felt his face get hot. "Yeah. I was just - well, worried they'd get the proxy taken away, and I wanted to distract them."
"Well, you did that - her father looked like he wanted to wring your neck. Does he usually look like that?"
"No. He usually likes me, actually."
She winced. "Well, good luck. Anything I can do before I leave?"
"Ah - yeah, actually. I know visiting hours are almost over, but do I have to leave?"
"No."
"I'm scheduled to work tomorrow. Do I have to -"
She cut him off. "No. Don't be insane. It's busy around here, but we'll manage. We can just grab one of the other residents for grunt work. Stay with your girlfriend. Use the showers or beds in the break room if you need them."
"Thanks," he said again. He felt like he was saying that a lot lately.
"We take care of our own here. You know that."
He did know that, in theory, but he hadn't really understood how far the other Healers on the floor took that until that day. It was a small ray of comfort in this mess.
A very small ray of comfort, but comfort nonetheless.
After parting ways with Lyssa, Scorpius headed back down the hall. She was right about not sharing the information she'd just given him with Rose's family - it was good news, but it was very tentative good news, and people who weren't Healers didn't generally understand just how up in the air everything still was. They generally switched off after the "good news" part and didn't really listen to the rest of it.
Even though the rest of it was very important.
Still, the arrival of Albus and James had lifted his spirits a little, at least as far as sharing a room with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley was concerned, so he was feeling a little more optimistic about re-entering the room. As he was about to turn into it, however, he heard his name and hesitated.
"Uncle Ron," Albus was saying, "I know that Scorpius - er - didn't handle himself well, but can't you both just try to move past it? It's been a stressful day."
"No," Rose's father said flatly. "He insulted Rose, and he tried to distract us when we demanded to see the form she supposedly signed." Scorpius winced - he'd thought they might figure that part out eventually, but he hadn't even considered that potential interpretation. "He probably did trick her into it, and he doesn't want us to know. I should have known better than to trust Draco Malfoy's son with my daughter, but he always seemed so nice."
He spit out the last word, and Scorpius felt a sinking feeling in his stomach that redeeming himself in Rose's father's eyes, at least, was going to be a very steep uphill climb. He never lost his temper, and he'd chosen a very poor time to do it.
"He didn't trick her," Scorpius heard James say. "He really didn't."
There was a drawn out pause, and then Rose's father asked, "Since when are you Scorpius Malfoy's greatest defender, James?"
"I'm not. Albus - and Rose -" he added pointedly, "are. But he's my mate, too."
"He tricked my daughter into putting her life in his hands." Mr. Weasley's voice was dripping with resentment and barely-contained rage. "He's probably not even making the decisions she'd want, self-serving prick."
Scorpius felt his blood run cold. He'd been doing nothing but what Rose wanted, and it was eating him up inside. For her father to assume that he was doing the opposite was so unfair that for the first time since Rose's parents had arrived, his sympathy for them - for her father, anyway - evaporated.
He turned into the room. "Yeah," he drawled from the doorway. "That's it. I'm just making bad decisions for the fun of it, because I have absolutely nothing invested in my girlfriend's recovery."
Mr. Weasley's fists were clenched again. Mrs. Weasley, at least, seemed to be ignoring him entirely; her attention was split between her daughter lying prone on the bed and Albus's father, who was sitting next to her and speaking very quietly. Neither of them so much as looked over at him, which he thought was probably a good sign.
He was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe. Rose might be responding well, but that wasn't worth much, as these things went, and seeing her motionless - Rose was never motionless - made him want to sit in a corner and cry.
"You don't have her best interests at heart the way we do," her father snapped.
Scorpius turned his attention back to Mr. Weasley, whose face was now only a few shades lighter than his hair. "Sure I do. Like I said before, sir - I'm a good boy. When it comes to Rose, I do what I'm told."
Albus put a hand over his face, and James let out a loud sigh. They'd clearly caught the double entendre, and from the look on Mr. Weasley's face, he had, too.
On the bright side, Rose's mother and Mr. Potter were still ignoring the conversation.
Mrs. Potter, on the other hand, was not. As Mr. Weasley opened his mouth, his sister said, "That is enough." They all looked at her. She'd gotten to her feet, and she was clenching her handbag very tightly. "You will all keep civil tongues in your mouth, or I will sew them shut." Mr. Weasley opened his mouth, but she talked over him. "No, Ron. Scorpius is not making bad decisions for the hell of it, and you know that. He's given you plenty of reason to be angry at him, so use those reasons."
Scorpius felt his face go red as she turned on him. "Er -"
"I know that this is difficult for you, but it's difficult for everyone. Get a hold of yourself and remember how to keep your mouth shut. These comments are not necessary."
He wanted to argue, but he still liked Mrs. Potter, and the look in her eyes was a little intimidating. Albus and James looked sufficiently intimidated, and she wasn't even yelling at them.
"Yes, ma'am," he said instead.
Mr. Weasley started to say something, but when she turned that gaze to him, he stopped.
Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Potter still hadn't looked over at them, which made Scorpius wonder what the hell they could possibly be talking about.
The next twenty minutes was spent in relative silence, but when the Potters and Weasleys got to their feet to leave - visiting hours were almost over - Scorpius kicked Albus gently. His best friend glanced at him before following his family out the door, and Scorpius slumped back, hoping he'd gotten the message.
He had; long years of friendship had paid off. Five minutes later, Albus reappeared in the doorway and reentered the room.
"So," he said. "What's up?"
Scorpius took a deep breath. He needed to tell someone who wasn't his father about the stupid potions, though he had no idea how Albus would respond to the revelation. "I have to tell you something."
A/N: Yay, new chapter! (And on time, too!)
Thanks to scribbleeexx, Guest, and twilightlover212 for their reviews on the last chapter, as well as to everyone else who's been reading and favoriting. :)
I'm sorry - I know you're all dying to know whether Rose will be all right, but there was a kernal of good news in this chapter, at least, right? You'll learn about what Harry and Hermione were talking about eventually - some in the next couple chapters, and some much later (though both scenes are written) - but I'm curious about your theories, so if you have any, please tell me about them!
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you're continuing to enjoy the story.
Branwen
