Chapter 35: Acquiesce
The first thing Albus was aware of was that he was alive. The second thing he was aware of was how despite being under a mountain of blankets he was freezing.
He tried to sit up. Pain shot through every part of his body. He tested out his legs. They seemed alright, sore but intact. With his right hand he felt his chest and face and only found small scratches and bruises that hadn't yet healed.
He saved his other arm for last, fearing the worst. The skin was swollen and pink but it was whole. Scar tissue crisscrossed from shoulder to wrist but even as he watched the lines were fading millimeter by millimeter. Relief washed over him and he promptly passed out again.
When he came around the second time he was aware of the nightmares. The first time he'd thought it was just a feeling of aftershock but now he knew it was worse than that. He'd dreamed of what happened but of worse things too.
There was a noise at the other end of the room which he realized was the hospital wing. A nurse came striding forward. She wasn't the usual nurse and when she got closer Albus could read the St. Mungo's badge on her white hospital coat.
"I'm glad you're awake," she said.
"Me too," Albus said weakly. He coughed and she handed him a glass of water which he gulped down. "Why are you here? Shouldn't I have gone to St. Mungo's?"
"The others went there. It was decided that it was too dangerous to transport you that far," she said. "Both of you."
Albus felt a horrible jolt of fear. "How is he? Is he okay?"
"He's fine, Mr Potter. Please, try to calm down."
She took his drinking glass and filled it not with water but with a silvery liquid from a bottle on his bedside table.
"Drink," she said. "You'll feel better after you sleep."
She walked off, checking beds behind screens. Albus downed whatever the drink was and put the glass on the table. Exhaustion washed over him and before he lost consciousness he read the label on the bottle.
May cause chills, headaches and severe nightmares.
~O-O~
When Albus woke up again the screen shielding him from the bed next to him had been removed and he could see Scorpius- asleep but very much alive. He tried to get up but a hand pressed lightly on his chest.
"Easy," a voice said.
Albus looked the other way and found his dad sitting on a hard backed plastic chair that couldn't have been comfortable. He looked battered and weary but his eyes were warm and Albus instantly felt safe.
"Did you get him?" Albus asked quietly which was apparently the wrong thing to say because Harry Potter began to cry.
"That doesn't matter right now, Albus," he said. "What matters is that you're okay."
In Albus's head he translated that to you need to value your own life.
"But yes," Harry went on. "We got him."
Albus had dreamed of this moment for so long. This man and what he'd done had ruined two years of his life and now it was finally over. So many emotions were running through Albus and he couldn't figure out which one to focus on so he cried. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, tears pouring down his cheeks.
After several long minutes he finally took a shuddering breath and said, "What happened. I... I don't remember much."
"That's understandable," Harry said gently. "You've been asleep for nearly two days. It could take time for it all to come back."
So Harry told him all that he knew.
If the aurors hadn't heard about it until the Death Eaters had started many more people would have died. But Scorpius Malfoy had sent Harry a patronus before it had even begun which had effectively saved them.
"Scorpius didn't have time to send it with a message. I received it and knew something was wrong. We traced it back to Hogsmeade."
When Harry had arrived the building was wrecked and the village was a war zone. It was chaos. Using thermal scanning spells the aurors were able to determine who was left inside which Harry knew included his son. Several aurors had wanted to curse the whole building to make sure no one got away but Harry refused. There were innocents inside as well as Albus. Instead they used targeting chloroform gas to neutralize the site. When Harry had found his son he was buried underneath two feet of rubble, clinging to Scorpius, both covered in blood and left for dead.
As his father told the story, Albus had never hated himself more than he did then. Harry Potter, the great hero of the world, was broken because of him.
The first time he'd seen his father like this was when Harry had carried him out of the basement he'd been held in all those months ago. The second time was when Albus had woken up in the hospital after he'd tried to kill himself.
Albus started to laugh. Harry leaned back, shocked.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Albus chuckled. "I shouldn't be laughing. It's just... it's always me, isn't it? There's one in every family. I'm the black Hippogriff."
In spite of himself, Harry's mouth quirked up in a small smile. Then something buzzed in his pocket and he pulled out a small red thing that flashed and blinked. Harry stared at it for awhile before standing up.
"I am needed," he said. "And you need to sleep. I'll be back later if I can with your mother. No visitors are supposed to be in here right now so we'll keep this between us."
He made to leave but Albus called out for him.
"Wait! Please, just... tell me. What happened to him. Is he dead?"
Harry shook his head. "No, he's not dead. He tried to apparate out of the village but our wards stopped him. He used dark magic to break through but got himself splinched. We caught half of him in the pub and the other half in a forest near Norfolk."
His mouth formed a funny smile and then Harry Potter was gone in a flash of his cloak.
Albus leaned back against his pillows feeling weightless and exhausted but knowing at the same time he would not be able to sleep. He looked over at the bed next to him. Scorpius was still unconscious. He had a bright red line on his forehead that was healing quickly and his wrist had been set and wrapped in a bind. In both arms he had a needle going into his veins. Blue liquid pumped into one side while something silver was removed with the other tube. Albus wondered why he wasn't hooked up like that too.
As he watched him Scorpius's eyes suddenly flew open and he lurched up in bed, hands flying up to clutch his head.
"Scor?!" Albus yelled.
But Scorpius couldn't hear him. He gritted his teeth as his face screwed up in pain. Albus remembered the bottle.
May cause nightmares.
Albus threw off his blankets and jumped onto Scorpius's bed, ignoring the pain that flared everywhere. He put his hands over Scorpius's and tried to tear them away from his face but Scorpius wouldn't let him.
"Scorpius! Please, it's me. It's Albus. It's not real. I'm here."
Scorpius choked out a sob and Albus was sure he was dying. He looked around the room for help but it was empty. He tried to talk to Scorpius again but Scorpius had apparently decided that he needed to leave. He tried to get up, arm flying out and knocking over the water jug. Albus threw his leg over Scorpius's so he had one on each side, holding him down. He took his hands again.
"Scor, please! It's okay, you're okay! I'm here, love. It's just a nightmare, calm down!"
But it seemed like Scorpius couldn't calm down. He tried to shove Albus off again but Albus held fast. Finally Albus did the only thing he could think of.
He forced Scorpius's chin up and kissed him.
Scorpius stopped moving. His hands lost their strength. Albus held onto them and lowered them gently to the bed, lips never leaving his. When he pulled back, Scorpius was staring at him with wide, wet eyes.
"You're okay," Albus whispered. "You're okay, we're alive."
Scorpius just blinked at him.
"Better now?"
"This is real?" Scorpius rasped.
"Yes. Are you okay?"
Very slowly, Scorpius nodded.
Albus careful climbed off of him and sat down at the edge of his bed. Their eyes never left each other. They both jumped when the doors at the end of the hall burst open and the nurse came back in.
"Good, you're awake," she said to Scorpius. "How do you feel?"
He looked from Albus to her and then back to Albus. He nodded.
She waved her wand at him and did some kind of medical scan. She did the same for Albus and decided that he should get the double intravenous too. She hooked him up, letting him stay on Scorpius's bed. Ten minutes later and she had gone, leaving Albus and Scorpius alone once more on the same bed, both attached to wires with heads full of every emotion under the sun. Not knowing what to say Albus picked up the stack of cards from the table between their beds.
"Get well cards," he said, reading the first one from a bunch of Lily's friends.
Half were addressed to Scorpius. Scorpius took them when Albus offered but didn't read them. He stared at the first one for a long time.
"I'm sorry," Albus said quietly, "if that was too much. We said we wouldn't hurt each other anymore. So I'm sorry for the... kiss."
Without missing a beat Scorpius said, "You can do it again if you want to."
Albus stared. Scorpius stared back.
Albus laid the cards behind him on the bed and moved closer. Scorpius stayed still, waiting. Albus placed one hand on Scorpius's cheek and the other around his shoulder. He leaned in, head tilted to the side. Their lips touched but not for long. Albus pulled back as if waiting for Scorpius to run. Instead Scorpius licked his lips and curled his hands around Albus's shirt, pulling him back in. Albus didn't know what exactly he was doing but he didn't care. Scorpius kissed him hard, not sure if this was going to be their true first and last time. This was Albus, his Albus, kissing him and whatever happened after would happen.
For now he would take anything.
Albus moved forward, straddling Scorpius like he'd done before, trying to get a better angle. Their wires got tangled and they broke apart before one of them got strangled. Scorpius smiled sheepishly while Albus laughed somewhat awkwardly.
When the wires were untangled it was Albus that kissed Scorpius again, a lot less gently this time. Scorpius shifted down so he was lying rather than sitting up. Albus moved with him, body hovering just over him incase he was still hurt. Albus's newly repaired arm screamed in protest but he ignored it- Scorpius was worth it.
There was a bang at the other end of the room and Albus shot backwards in alarm until they were on opposite ends of the bed. He looked towards the door but a dividing screen shielded it. Many voices called their names and Albus jumped back to his bed just as the Potter, Weasley, Harrison's came into view.
There was a lot of shouting and crying, mostly from Rose who was an absolute mess. Cale sat beside Scorpius and hugged him, trying not to dislodge the wires. Scorpius hugged him back but looked over his shoulder at Albus who was already looking back at him. Unspoken words flowed between them. Scorpius didn't know if they would have been said if they hadn't been interrupted.
Cale leaned back and noticed the look on Scorpius's face. He looked over at Albus and in a second he knew. Cale always knew. Scorpius waited for the questions and the swearing but it never came.
"Thank god you're not dead."
Cale smiled weakly, tears tracking his cheeks. Scorpius had never seen him cry. They hugged again. This time Scorpius just held his best friend and didn't look over at the other bed.
~O-O~
The nurse came back twenty minutes later and kicked everyone out because visitors were still not allowed and she had no idea how they even got into the locked ward (Rose blushed hard at that).
When they were alone Scorpius knew they should talk about it. A bigger part of him hoped that Albus would just kiss him again and they'd save that conversation for another time.
"What were you dreaming about?" Albus said suddenly, breaking the silence of the room. "Before, I mean. The nightmare."
"You dying mostly," Scorpius said truthfully, his voice rough from disuse.
"Oh." Albus chewed harshly on his lip, his eyes stinging uncomfortably. And then-
"I'm not good for you, Scorpius. I never would be."
"You're not bad for me either."
"You would be better with Brennan."
"Maybe."
"It would be easier with Brennan."
"Definitely."
The way he said it, so sure, completely confused Albus.
"And you don't care?" he asked.
Scorpius had known his answer to that one for months.
"Not one bit."
The room became quiet again. Scorpius knew Albus was crying but he didn't go to him. He lay shivering in his bed wondering why he was so cold until Albus's small, shaky voice said, "It's the potion. Causes chills."
And then Albus stood up and dragged his blankets over to Scorpius's bed. He threw them overtop of Scorpius's own blankets and then crawled under them, lying beside a very surprised Slytherin.
"Your feet are cold," Scorpius murmured, just for something to say. Albus rested his head on Scorpius's shoulder.
"So are yours," he said.
Scorpius wound his arm around Albus's back to get comfortable and hoped this wouldn't be the last time he got to hold him like this.
~O-O~
When Scorpius woke up the next morning Albus was gone. For one moment he felt like everything was over. Albus had left him and everything that happened yesterday would be forgotten.
But then he noticed the folded up note where Albus had slept. His name was printed on the front in Albus's messy scrawl. He unfolded it.
Scorpius, it read,
I didn't want you to think I ran out in the morning and left you. Harry came by and asked me if I was alright enough to give a statement to the ministry. I didn't want to but it would help send the men to Azkaban faster so I said yes. I'll be back tonight.
Below that he stuck the label from the medicine bottle onto the parchment. He'd added some side effects.
Snoring
Cuddling
Sleep talking that involves excessive talk of "Pygmy Puffs"?
Undeniable attractiveness
Scorpius laughed. It felt so good to do that after what had happened.
~O-O~
Albus left courtroom 1 in a daze. There was a water fountain on the opposite wall and he drank form it like it was an oasis in the desert.
Harry ran out of the courtroom and found him a few minutes later.
"Sorry!" he panted, resting his hand on Albus's shoulder. "The minister held me up. How are you feeling?"
Albus shrugged. Harry pulled him into a hug.
"I am so proud of you Albus. For everything you've done. You've been through so much and you've been so strong, stronger than I could have ever been."
Albus snorted. "Dad, you know you're Harry Potter, right?"
Harry pulled back and grabbed Albus by the shoulders. "I'm WHAT! I'm Harry Potter?!"
"Damn it, Dad! Shut up, people are staring!"
But Harry didn't care because when has he ever.
"Common," Harry said, leading him off down the hall. "James and your mother are waiting."
Ginny was sitting on the bench outside Harry's office when they reached the 2nd level. James was pacing nearby. Neither of them had been allowed in the trial. When Ginny saw him she burst into tears and would have collapsed to the ground if Albus hadn't caught her.
"It's okay, mom," he murmured, holding her up. "I'm okay."
Ginny cried, her whole person shaking. Albus didn't know what to do. He stared over her shoulder at James who was watching him with a small relieved smile. He was also crying.
When Ginny finally let him go Albus crossed the distance to his brother and crushed him in a hug. They'd never been the closest of brothers, especially since James left Hogwarts, but right now it was as if they were kids again.
"Thank god," James kept saying. "You're the strongest person I know. Thank god."
Albus pulled back. James wiped his face.
"How's Malfoy," he asked genuinely.
"Scorpius is okay." Albus felt his heart speed up just thinking of Scorpius waking up alone back at Hogwarts.
"That boy is in love with you," James said. "He was willing to die for you."
"I know," Albus said.
"And you? How do you feel about him?"
"It's mutual."
"So... you're together now?"
Albus looked away, his shoulders sagging. James chuckled.
"God, you're an idiot. You take on six Death Eaters and you can't even freaking tell-!"
Luckily for Albus, Harry and Ginny chose that moment to join them. Albus punched James in the shoulder, effectively shutting him up. James didn't look like he would drop it though.
"So, Albus, how are you feeling then?" Harry asked, arm around his wife who was still a right mess.
"I'm feeling... alright," Albus said. It seemed like everything was finally sinking in.
"I've talked to the Headmaster," Harry went on. "If you like you can come home for as long as you need until you feel ready to go back. They'll even defer your exams."
Albus shook his head. "No, I'm okay. It's done now. It's over for good. I think I just need things to go back to normal."
"Yes," said James, grinning madly. "Albus has some unfinished business to attend to back at school. In fact I think he has to go back right now."
Albus hit him and James put him in a mostly gentle headlock. Ginny yelled at James, horrified, but Albus felt grateful. The worst part of everything that had happened these past two years was the tiptoeing everyone did around him. Albus was the sleeping monster that no one wanted to wake. All Albus wanted was some normalcy in his very not normal life.
Harry brought them all to his office where, after a quick floo conversation with the headmaster, set up the fires to send Albus back to school.
Ginny started crying again. James put his arm around her but it didn't offer much comfort.
"It's okay, mom," Albus said, kissing her on the cheek. "School's over in a few weeks anyway. I'll be home soon."
"Not soon enough."
Albus hugged his dad who told him once again how proud he was. Albus stepped into the fireplace, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Tell him, you loser!" James yelled, ruining the moment. Albus got out of there before James could say anything else.
He slid ungracefully out of the fireplace in the Headmaster's office, knocking over a vase filled with withering flowers.
"Er, sorry, Professor," Albus said, righting the vase.
"No matter," the Headmaster said. "They were dead anyway."
Albus laughed awkwardly and ran out of the room before he could embarrass himself further.
Instead of heading up the stairs to Gryffindor tower, he went down. His plan was to wait outside the Slytherin common room all night if he had to until someone came out because James was right- he had to talk to Scorpius. Tonight.
He ran down the stairs taking them two at a time but skidded to a halt on the main stairs because Scorpius was already waiting for him.
He was leaning against the west wall, almost completely hidden in the shadows. He was staring at the ground and his hands were stuffed deep in his pockets. He looked lost.
As if he had sensed Albus his head snapped up and their eyes met. He shoved himself off the wall and walked to the bottom of the staircase as Albus moved down to meet him.
"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked softly, hands twitching out to touch Albus but thinking better of it and stopping.
Albus shrugged and then nodded which wasn't really an answer but he didn't know quite what to say.
"How does it feel?" Scorpius said. "They released the verdict on the wireless."
"I don't know. It felt really good at first. Now I just feel kind of numb. This has haunted me for two years and now it's... over."
Scorpius asked the question that Albus had tried very hard not to think about.
"And Al?"
"I don't know. I don't know what will happen with him."
Scorpius reached forward and hooked one of his fingers with Albus's. It was a simple gesture but Scorpius tried to convey everything he felt for the boy through it.
Albus adjusted so that they were now holding hands. With his other hand he cupped Scorpius's cheek and leaned in, kissing him.
As they kissed in the deserted staircase Albus remembered what James had said and knew that one of these days he would have to talk about it with Scorpius. But for right now he didn't care about that. For right now all he wanted to do was show Scorpius just how much he meant to him.
.
Author's Note: This story will have 39 chapters. Almost doooone