For the first time in years, a family dinner was feasible. In the only empty room in Hugo's infirmary, a few small tables were conjured as well as chairs. Ron sat with Hugo and Rose, while Harry sat with Albus and James. Abigail had sheepishly ventured towards the dinner halfway through and sat with James, her hand resting on his lap the entire time. It was impossible not to see what had started between the pair. Across from them, Lily and Scorpius shared a table, and though Scorpius had battled with his own problems between the Potter and Malfoy families, he was completely at ease. When Kate had awoken that night, she had wandered into the room after asking several of Hugo's nurses where to find Albus.
"Albus," Kate's soft voice called, and he quickly turned his gaze to the doorway. Kate was clutching one of the small toys she had found and Hugo had cleaned and repaired with a few simple spells.
"Kate, what are you doing up?" Albus asked gently as he pushed his seat back and stood up to go towards the girl.
"I couldn't sleep," she replied sheepishly as her eyes landed first on Ron, then on Harry. They were the only two Kate hadn't recognized.
"Who's this?" Harry asked, his tone matching Albus'. It seemed the Potter men had only one way of approaching small children and it was hereditary.
Instead of answering, Albus looked down at Kate and stepped to the side so she could more clearly see Harry. She had found Albus' hand while she held Harry's gaze, as though she were debating whether or not to answer the question. "I'm Kate," she eventually said, then began to blush and tried to hide behind Albus.
James and Scorpius had laughed as Albus pulled her out from behind her and gave her his seat. Standing behind her, Albus pulled her hair back into the pony tail that must've fallen out in her sleep. Kate was only awake for perhaps twenty more minutes, and by then, Albus had picked her up to carry her to a free bed in the infirmary. When he returned, he was met by Harry's odd stare.
"What?" Albus asked as he faced his father.
"Who's that?"
Albus cleared his throat as he stared at his father and took in a deep breath. "Bridget's baby sister," he answered nonchalantly, hoping the conversation wouldn't be as in depth as he knew it would be.
"Bridget," Harry repeated the name as he nodded, as though he knew who Albus was referring to. When Albus said nothing, Harry turned his gaze to his other children. James expertly avoided the stare and paid more attention to Abigail than he had been before. It was Lily who rolled her eyes as she looked at their father.
"Albus' girlfriend from seven years ago," she said simply and Albus drew in a breath. "She uh… didn't make it."
"I'm sorry, Albus," Harry said gently as he turned to look at his son. Albus shook his head, not wanting to talk about Bridget. Harry had picked up on the vibe easily, and turned to James. "Well, how did you two, meet then?"
"I was imprisoned with Scorpius," Abigail answered as she turned to Harry. "And um… they found us."
"I found you," Lily corrected.
"You threatened to leave me there."
"But I didn't."
"Because Scorpius told you not to."
"Oh, whatever," Lily rolled her eyes, as did Scorpius and James.
"Anyway," James said, hoping to pull Abigail's attention away from his sister. "She's the Minister's daughter."
"Really?" Harry asked with one raised eyebrow. "That's certainly not what I was expecting for you, James. Maybe Albus, but never you."
"She doesn't act like a Minister's daughter, though," James replied with a shrug.
"What does that even mean?" Abigail asked as she stared at James, who only shrugged and laughed. She rolled her eyes but said nothing.
Before anybody could say anything, the sound of rushed footsteps down the tiled floor echoed through the room. Hugo drew in a deep breath and slowly let the air pass his lips. He knew what the sound of rushed footsteps meant. Sure enough, mere moments later, the door opened and two women stepped just inside the doorframe.
"There was an explosion," the first said quickly, her eyes falling on Hugo. She was stained with fresh blood down her side and one sleeve of her coat. The other woman, who often helped Rose and Edward with planning was looking at James.
"We think it's Division," she said simply and James quickly rose to his feet.
"Do you think Adler would have come himself?" Lily asked, her question directed to nobody in particular. Scorpius' arm remained around her shoulder as he turned to peer down at her. He didn't really have an answer, so he turned away to face James, then Albus.
"Stay here, please," James requested, directing the comment first to his father and uncle. As he turned towards the door, he looked to Abigail as well. "Or at least try," he added as he looked into her eyes before he left the room quickly. Albus and Rose followed quickly behind. Scorpius and Lily followed last, ignoring Harry's pleas for at least one to stay behind.
As the five exited the infirmary, they were met with Draco and Astoria, both of whom appeared very concerned. Evan was trailing behind them, but young Daphne was nowhere in sight. "Division is attacking from the south side," Evan said quickly, sounding out of breath as he looked between James and Rose.
"Get together a group," James said, his words rushed, as he looked to Rose. The two had quickly moved away in the direction of the new Headquarters, leaving Albus behind with Scorpius and Lily.
"Scorpius, don't go," Astoria said as she reached for Scorpius.
"I have to go," Scorpius told her as he looked into her blue eyes.
"No you don't," Draco replied strongly, sounding more forceful than he had probably meant for. "Just let them go."
"What? Just let them die?" Scorpius asked, and Lily started to pull on his arm. Scorpius was standing between Albus and Lily, and his parents. He was literally between his adoptive family and is long lost parents. It certainly wasn't helpful that Harry and Ron had emerged from the infirmary behind Draco and Astoria.
"They'll be fine," Draco replied, hoping to soothe Scorpius' worries.
"Then I will be too. You two just sit around here with the cousins you failed to mention that I had, and I'll be back in a bit," Scorpius said sharply.
"Scorpius," Lily said his name softly. She noticed the tone in his voice and the anger in his face.
"I didn't know, Scorpius," Astoria said softly. It was clear Scorpius comment had wounded her, even if it had been directed at Draco. Lily couldn't help but feel as though it was easier for Scorpius to be angry with Draco than with his mother, simply because Draco was in fact his father therefore a man.
"What do you mean you didn't know? Your own sister didn't tell you she was pregnant?" Scorpius replied, his voice starting to rise.
"Scorpius, come on," Albus urged, but Scorpius waved him away. He did, however, grasp Lily's hand at his side.
"Not once, but twice," Scorpius continued, but his gaze had shifted from Astoria to Draco.
"They didn't know, Scorpius," Harry finally spoke up as he walked towards the broken Malfoy family. "She ran away before Evan was born. Before your parents went missing."
"How do you know that?" Scorpius asked without looking towards Harry. Instead, he kept his gaze on Draco.
"Your mother's parents had her declared missing," Harry answered as he continued towards Scorpius. Albus had started to walk away, but Lily remained at Scorpius' side.
"Then how do you know about him?" Scorpius demanded as he motioned to Evan. He had finally turned to look at Harry. It was the first time Scorpius appeared angry at Harry, and though it was childish, Draco was glad of it. At least he wasn't alone in Scorpius' anger.
Harry took in a deep breath as he held Scorpius' gaze, unsure of how to answer the question. "Your aunt came to take you when you were about six or seven."
A tense silence fell around the group as Harry endured Scorpius' stare. "What?" Scorpius finally asked. He had started to grip Lily's hand without realizing it.
"You had been with us for almost five years. You and Albus were inseparable. James had started warming up to you finally. And even Lily cared for you, and it was the weekend after you pushed her out of the tree, which is probably the quickest she's ever forgiven anyone for anything."
"So what? You just lied to me and said I had no family? Parents who left me, and nobody else who wanted me?" Scorpius replied, ignoring Harry's attempt to lighten the mood.
"She wanted you, Scorpius."
"Then why?" Scorpius' voice had fallen deeper than it usually was.
"I… Ginny told her to leave and to never come back. We weren't going to let you go, Scorpius. We wanted you."
"Scorpius, let's uh… let's go help Hugo," Lily suggested when Scorpius never responded to Harry. Moments before, a large group of people had flown overhead, and Lily was sure it had been Albus to tell James and Edward to leave without her and Scorpius.
"And what? You just figured that I never deserved to know?" Scorpius asked. He didn't sound as mad as he had been moments before, but a new kind of devastation had overwhelmed him.
"We never really had a chance to tell you," Harry admitted as he held Scorpius' gaze. It was clear how devastated Harry had become in just a few moments as he watched the hurt take shape over the man he considered his son.
"No chance? What not even in passing? 'Hey, by the way…' That's all it takes!"
Silence followed as Lily pulled on Scorpius' arm, urging him to leave his parents for at least a few minutes. "Scorpius, we don't have time to deal with this right now," she told him as she stepped between him and his three parents. Scorpius directed his eyes down towards Lily, knowing she was just putting off the inevitable. Scorpius needed to have that conversation with his biological parents as well as with Harry, but not in the middle of an attack. Lily, though not acting in Scorpius' best short terms intentions, was acting in the best intentions of everybody's lives. With a deep breath, Scorpius followed Lily away from his competing parents and led him towards Rose's central command, in hopes she had somewhere to send them.
Rather than join the battle group from behind, Rose sent Scorpius to await the messenger from James, signaling whether or not more people were needed. Lily stayed behind with Rose, and for once it seemed the pair of cousins had made peace. Of course, since Lily's boyfriend was currently battling his own inner demons and Rose's only love was still in one of Hugo's bed, neither woman wanted to argue least of all with each other.
Eventually the chilling quiet that followed the beginning of a battle set in, and Lily found was not adept at handling the silence that seemed to stop all life around her. Rose, who'd sat through more silence than Lily could even imagine, was accustomed to the silence around them. As she watched Lily beginning to fidget she wondered if the silence was more unnerving, or if it was the fact that it no longer unnerved her.
A few minutes later, Harry ventured into the room, Draco and Astoria trickling behind him. Lily looked up for a moment before she turned away from the three and refocused on Rose. Rose eyed her for a moment before she peered up at her uncle.
"Where did Scorpius go?" Harry asked finally.
"To wait for James or Albus," Lily answered as she turned back to him. She looked at Draco and Astoria for a moment before she turned to her father again. "You should've told him," she accused when it was clear Harry wasn't going to respond.
"Lily, I-" Harry started but stopped himself, knowing he was fighting a battle he could never win. Though Lily understood why the secret was kept from Scorpius, and Harry could see that across his daughter's face, she was forced to agree with Scorpius.
"When will Scorpius be back?" Draco asked and Lily turned to him.
"When James or Albus sends word," Lily answered as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"So we just… wait?" Astoria asked and Lily wanted to roll her eyes and look away, but held her ground steady.
"Yeah, that's how wars work," Lily answered, softening her gaze when Rose touched her shoulder. "We wait for them to come back. There's nothing we can do from here."
"How do you just wait? Not knowing what's happening?"
"Well, I don't just wait. I never wait. The only reason I'm here is because you three can never seem to be the same room with Scorpius without trying to out-parent each other. I'm always on front lines, so waiting for me is not any easier than it is for you."
"I never wanted you to be fighting, Lily," Harry commented but Lily groaned as she turned away from the three.
"That's not your decision. Nor is it even plausible or a realistic of an expectation," she said as she started pacing the length of the room, her back to Harry and Scorpius' parents. "Though if it makes you feel better, I've spent roughly half of the time playing seductress to Christopher Adler because the man has a brain the size of a pixie," Lily exclaimed as she turned back to them. "And since you weren't actually around, I didn't really have any other options."