The Inquisitor's Son

Part Fifty-Three: St. Mungo's Children's Ward

Lily sprung to her feet and raced to the kitchen. She heard her mother saying, "Get the medical kit and some tea towels."

Ginny peeled back Scorpius' jacket and shirt. She moved his hand aside. Harry grabbed two cushions and positioned them at Scorpius' back. "James get Healer Thomas," ordered Harry.

James nodded and went to the fireplace. Albus helped moved Scorpius' legs so he was laying straight. By then, Lily came back with the kit and the tea towels. She handed the towel to her mother. "Why is he bleeding?" asked Albus worriedly.

Ginny pressed the tea towel against Scorpius' side. He groaned and twisted in agony. "Shh," murmured Ginny.

James announced, "Healer Thomas has to get his kit together. What in the world is that?" He was referring to the scar that had now reopened.

"Scorpius needed a blood transfusion the last time," said Albus worriedly.

"I'm sure that Dean will bring some potions," said Ginny.

"Just in case, he is AB negative," Albus informed them.

"How do you know that even we don't know our blood types? And why would he get a blood transfusion?" asked James.

Lily replied, more out of frustration than anything, "James, obviously he was hurt and it was the Muggles who helped him." She looked at Albus. "Right?"

"Thank goodness one of my siblings is smart," said Albus.

Harry cut in, "Stop bickering." His children fell silent.

Lily was kneeling on the floor next to her mother with her hands balled up. Dean Thomas came through the fireplace. He surveyed the scene very quickly.

"It happened so suddenly," said Harry.

Dean nodded and strode over to his patient. Ginny got out of the way. "This is serious," said Dean. "I can stop the bleeding. He hasn't lost too much blood, but he'll be light headed." He pressed the magical bandages against Scorpius' wound and it adhered to it.

Harry raked his hands through his hair, making it even messier. He said, "I'll have to get his grandmother."

Dean set to more work. The Potter children watched as they saw him talk out a syringe out of his kit. He tipped a vial of potion that had a special seal in it. He stabbed the seal with the needle and filled the syringe with the potion.

"What are you going to do with that?" demanded Albus in a horrified voice. He and his siblings had never been subjected to needles. Their parents wouldn't even let Lily get her ears pierced. "You're not about to stick that in him, are you?"

"He's unconscious. I have no choice and I need a fast delivery," Dean informed him before taking out a cotton ball with alcohol to swab Scorpius' arm. "This isn't the first time he's been stuck with needles I'm afraid." He jabbed the needle into Scorpius arm and administered the potion.

The Potters winced at the same time. Harry waved his hand, "It's not a big deal. Dean and I grew up getting shots."

"Shots and blood transfusions," sighed James. "It's a wonder how the Muggles manage to keep themselves alive."

Scorpius started to stir with a groan. He muttered, "What happened?" His eyes focused when he saw Dean. "Healer Thomas? What are you doing here?"

"You passed out. Your scar isn't a scar right now. It's a wound again."

Scorpius looked down and saw the blood. He tipped his head back. He drew a sharp breath. "This can't keep happening. Why does this keep happening?"

"It's a curse," said Harry. "I've got some of the best Aurors on it. I have to call your grandmother."

Scorpius thought about it for a second. He nodded. "She's going to worry."

"Because she loves you," Ginny quietly reminded him.

Scorpius could see a lot of blood as Dean managed to stop the bleeding all together. "I want to you come to St. Mungo's so I can clear you. You may have to stay overnight," he said. He saw the grimace on Scorpius' face. "Sorry, Healer's orders."

"Just what I wanted for Christmas, a trip to the hospital. My first Christmas was there, too," said Scorpius wistfully.

"You'll be there anyway," said Dean, attempting to ease the tension more.

Scorpius groaned again. "Scorpius!" exclaimed his grandmother. "Harry just told me what happened."

"Sorry to interrupt your knitting circle with Aunt Andi and Mrs. Weasley," said Scorpius with a weak smile. He also added, "Sorry about your couch, Mrs. Potter."

"It's all right. With two boys, it's not the first time that the couch has seen blood," said Ginny. She didn't say that it wasn't as bad as this time.

"It hurts as badly as the first time," said Scorpius as Dean helped pull him up. He opened another syringe and filled it. Scorpius barely flinched when the needle was jabbed into his upper arm. He felt the pain easy immediately.

"First time?" asked James. The blood was seeping throught the bandage. "What the Bloody Hell happen to you, Malfoy?"

"James," cut Harry off in a tone that reminded everyone that he was easily the most powerful person in the room.

Scorpius could see James shrink. "Mr. Potter, are you coming with us?" he asked. He didn't know why, but Harry's presence was almost reassuring.

"If you'd like," said Harry, a bit taken back. He could see some relief in Scorpius' face. With that they left the hospital to have Scorpius looked over, but was shortly released and ordered to get a lot of rest before the event on Christmas.

Scorpius could feel the burn of humiliation after returning home and shutting himself in his room for what seemed like hours. This left his grandmother very worried. Dealing with Malfoy males for three generations now was starting to wear Narcissa down. She loved her men though, even if they were difficult to live with at times. She did believe though that her son and grandson were improvements over her husband.

Lucius had concealed the truth about their son from her. It irritated Narcissa to know how little she seemed to know her own child. She was no delicate flower, despite her name. It made sense though that Draco had brought Lucius' wrath more often as he found out that Draco had not only defied him, but had moved against him.

Narcissa was a little proud that he had used her family's name when he did his work. There was no one left to carry the name forward in the traditional sense. Their family had precious few members. She enjoyed the renewed closeness she had with her sister.

"Teddy will be coming right after work," said Andromeda, who had stayed for dinner. Molly Weasley went home to tend to her husband and some of her family coming to dinner.

Narcissa had the bloody shirt in her hands. "He makes me worry so," she said, "keeping secrets from me just like his dad. How infuriating. Like I am some kind of invalid."

"You sound more angry than worried, Cissy," pointed out her sister.

"Who could blame me? These Malfoys have been driving me mad for decades now."

"I think you should be madder at Lucius for leaving you to deal with this on your own. Of course, we have done well without our men. I do miss my Ted. Sometimes a boy needs a man to talk to."

"Teddy is just a boy himself, Andi. I know he's grown, but he still is."

"I understand, but don't tell him that. It will deflate his ego," said Andromed. "You know how delicate their egos are."

"Professor Longbottom is a good man as is Harry Potter. Neville was Draco's choice to protect Scorpius."

"Harry practically raised Teddy. I couldn't have done it without his help."

Narcissa looked out the window. The snow was silently falling as she thought about Christmas. It crushed her heart to think of that day. Some days two years felt like two days. Her life had changed so much. It was empty at times, lonely, but at times very full and busy. The center of her world had changed very little from before. It was her grandson who ruled her heart.

She remembered how she had argued with Draco over his plans. He told her that they were going to Cornwall for the holiday and Scorpius' birthday. Lucius had to intervene, which was rare. Draco tried to appease her by promising they would immediately visit on New Year's Eve. He kept his promise to his son, but was unable to keep the one to her.

Scorpius was held up in his room. His friends were too kind to mention that there was still a handwritten not on the cork board that his dad had left him regarding the state of his room even though he had left it neat since then. Nor did they mention the unopened gifts on his bookshelf that his mother had wrapped. He had no idea at this point what they could be. These were threads, traces of his parents left behind. Scorpius didn't want to forget these things. He felt a bit of pain from the renewed wound.

He did what he always did when he couldn't sleep. He had to keep busy. Scorpius pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. He began writing the speech that he had to do at the hospital. It took several pieces of parchment before he was satisfied. A knock came at the door. He said, "I'm coming." He didn't have to look at the clock to know that it was dinner time.

Teddy was at the door when Scorpius opened it. Scorpius was wearing a button shirt for ovvious reason. He moved only with the slightest appearance of pain. "Dinner's ready," said his cousin awkwardly.

The conversation was dull until they reached they started discussing Christmas. "I was thinking we should go to your grandparents' house," said Narcissa thoughtfully.

"You mean Greengrass Glen?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes," said his grandmother. "You haven't been there since earlier this year and it's been so long since that house has seen a Christmas. It will be good for us to get away from here for a week."

Scorpius nodded and that was that. Christmas was very near and there was lots of preparation going on around Scorpius, but he was distracted by his own problems. He didn't know that there was someone else who was going to be there. Someone who desperately wanted him dead.

On Christmas morning, Scorpius woke up very early. Actually, he only had three or four hours worth of sleep after a fretful vigil. Narcissa didn't even ask him if he had any sleep the following morning because she couldn't get any sleep either. She had let the birthday party distracted her for days, but there were no distractions in the quiet hours of the morning of her son's death. When she came downstairs to prepare breakfast, she found Scorpius sitting at the dining room table with the parchment in front of him.

She didn't know that mere hours before he was trying on the new shoes that he was to wear with the new dress robes for the occasion, but he found them too uncomfortable and it would take too long to break them in. He was trying to memorize the speech so that he wouldn't need it in front of him when he got in front of everyone. His dad was very good at speeches on the fly. Scorpius was so absorbed that he hadn't heard his grandmother come in.

Narcissa said, "Good morning, Scorpius."

"Happy Christmas, Grandmother."

"I was thinking that we'll have some gingerbread pancakes," said Narcissa as she went to the open kitchen area. "I found your mother's recipe." She had read it. It was handwritten in her daughter-in-law's handwriting, which was elegant and loopy, not sharp and angular like her son's. In the notes, it said, "Add chocolate chips to Draco's." Narcissa gave a bitter sweet smile at those words that were lovingly penned. Unlike Scorpius, Draco loved chocolate. He had loved all kinds of sweets.

"Sure," said Scorpius as he got up. "I'll have them with chocolate chips. I always wondered what the fuss was all about."

Narcissa smiled and they had breakfast. They talked about the plans for the day. It was going to be a very busy morning and Scorpius looked forward to resting at Greengrass Glen. He wasn't sure about standing in front of so many people and talking to them.

The Aurors had to coordinate everything, so Harry and Ron were on duty that day. Neville and his family were also at the hospital to pay a visit with Neville's parents and to support Scorpius in his speech. After separate celebrations at their houses and with their families, Harry and Ron were off.

Scorpius changed his into his dress robes at the hospital and didn't bother with his shoes. He wore his trainers. Scorpius took a quick glance at the mirror before heading out. He heard Dean Thomas' voice. "Ladies and gentleman, we are here today to break ground for a new wing dedicated to Diana and Anastasia Goyle, two little girls who were innocent children. Their older cousin, Scorpius Malfoy, is here to say a few words and to do what we have been waiting for."

Scorpius took a deep breath. He wondered how his mother, even his aunt, had done this, walking in front of a crowd alone and performing. The women in his family were fearless. He could see that in the girls that Healer Thomas just mentioned. He stepped out onto the podium with ringing applause. The parchment he had written earlier was set in front of him. He took another deep breath and held onto the edges of the podium. A flash bulb went off, then some more. It sort of helped because it blinded his eyes to the audience. The applause died down and it was quiet.

Scorpius discovered the downside to the flash bulbs building him: he couldn't read the cards. "Hello, everyone. Um…" He paused. His eyes were starting to clear a bit. "T-thank you for taking your holiday to be here today," he started again. His voice sounded a bit cracked. "As someone of you might know, I was here at this hospital fifteen years to the day today. So, if anyone really deserved the day off today, it's me."

There was some laughter from the audience. "But since we're here anyway, I guess I won't try to bore you. My cousins were only six and four years old. Di loved the color purple and unicorns. Annie liked pink and puffkins. And they loved me. It was the first time in my life I ever had two girls fighting over me," Scorpius said with a sad smile. He pressed his lips together.

"I would like to think that some good can come out of something so bad. May this place be a place of healing, even if it can't heal everything." Scorpius looked out at the audience. He saw his grandfather at the very back. Their eyes locked for an instant. He studied the rest of the audience. A lot of the guests, who were not the press, had attended at least one of the funerals Scorpius had been to in the last two years.

He felt his scar tugging at him, burning him. It was the worst pain. He kept his hands glued to the podium, gripping it tightly. "And if you are here today, I am letting you know that I am not going anywhere," he vowed. That was not in the original speech. He didn't know how he knew, but he was positive the murderer of his family was sitting in the audience. With those cryptic words, he could feel the scar searing. The killer was angered by his words and Scorpius could feel it.

The trance of the moment was broken by someone clapping, but it was a cue for everyone else to clap. It was that clapping that also made the pain even worse. The killer was clapping with the rest of them. He stood up and the others stood up nearly at the same time as he studied Scorpius Malfoy. Someone else was watching him.

Lucius didn't join the standing ovation. He allowed himself one moment of pride before he stood up and went to follow the woman who had watched from even further away than he did. The blood was boiling in Lucius' veins. His son was never a killer. Lucius on the other hand had no such moral conflict. He had no problem slipping pass the Auror. Lucius really questioned Potter's abilities as Head Auror. Of course, they were concentrated on Scorpius at the moment.

Lucius took another way around, having been on the Board of Directors for the hospital, he knew the layout of the building perfectly. He stalked after her as she was unaware of him. He caught up to her at an enclosed space. Ironically, it was close to the last place his son ever visited in the hospital, the morgue.

"Mr. Malfoy," she whispered, when she realized it wasn't the person she had been expecting. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your family?"

"I don't have a family because of you," snarled Lucius. He raised his hand. She didn't even flinch. The spell that came was horrible. "Crucio!"

She screamed.

"No one will be able to hear you," said Lucius with a sinister, cold smile. "You were too good about getting away."

"Kill me!" she screamed. "DO IT!" Her face was gaunt like a skill and her cheeks were streaked with tears.

"Do not worry, child," said Lucius. "I will, but not before you've had a chance to experience a tenth of how I feel."

She was backed against a wall. Her body twitched. She didn't have a wand. It had been taken from her. He, not the one causing her present pain and torture, took her wand to add to his collection. His collection would only be complete once he had Scorpius Malfoy's. She was now on the floor.

She had been tortured and tormented for years now. She was waiting for her body to finally break. It had betrayed her like so many other things. It refused to let her die, prolonging her agony. She saw a family silhouette approaching. "No, don't kill him!" she shrieked.

Lucius Malfoy turned and threw a spell, but it was deftly blocked.

"You," gasped Lucius. "You bloody murderer!" His fury was beyond words. "You won't be turned to the Aurors. I'll kill you first!"

The other man laughed as the woman sobbed. He flicked his wand at her, hauling her to her feet. He aimed his wand at Lucius, "Consider this a Christmas present, Pansy. Stupefy."

Lucius dropped like a stone.

Scorpius was somewhat relieved after the speech. He didn't mention that he saw his grandfather in the audience and that he had disappeared like a snake in the grass. He was distracted by someone else. Ally Longbottom was with her parents and was one of the most enthusiastic clappers in the audience. She adored Scorpius like she would an older brother and practically bounced up to him as he was escorted off the stage and to a more private area. "Score! Happy Christmas!" squealed Ally.

"Happy Christmas, Ally," said Scorpius. He took her hand and he also mingled with her parents. Harry and Ron were in the background, but they weren't up to anything. He couldn't even see them. The security was very tight, but they were coordinated in such a way that they were unobtrusive.

"I want you to meet my gramps and gran," said Ally as she tugged on Scorpius' wrist.

Scorpius looked to Neville. He smiled a bit and nodded. Narcissa finally noticed something about Scorpius' attire. "Scorpius, are you wearing trainers?" she asked sharply.

Scorpius didn't even flinch. "Yes," he said.

"What happen to the new shoes? How could you wear trainers with brand new dress robes?"

"No one noticed. It's not a big deal, Grandmother."

"Scorpius," hissed Narcissa irritably.

"It's my birthday. I should be able to wear what footwear I want," said Scorpius smoothly with irritating calm that his father had a tendency to use with her.

Andromeda was laughing. "Cissy, pick your battles. We're lucky we were able to get him to wear something other than jeans and a shirt," she said. "And it is his birthday."

"It's your birthday?" asked Ally. "You must get loads of presents today."

"Not really," replied Scorpius. "When you're born on Christmas, people tend to forget. I don't mind. I'd rather forget. Take me to your grandparents. I'd like to meet them."

Ally knew exactly the way to the ward where grandparents were. Neville and Hannah hung in the back as Scorpius and Ally were talking about how their Christmas mornings had gone. Scorpius didn't talk about getting any presents. He did, but he left them unopened under the tree. Ally was excited about her new dollhouse and pony collection.

By the time, they were in the ward, the Aurors had gone on alert. Neville received a signal on a portable pocket watch communicator and he acted normal. Only his wife noticed that he had tensed a bit.

Ally introduced Scorpius to her grandparents, Frank and Alice Longbottom. It was the first time Andromeda and Narcissa had ever come face to face with the victims of their sister's. It was awful for them to see. Scorpius came up to them. "Hello," he said gently as Ally talked animatedly.

"This is Scorpius," said Ally. "Gran likes to give out gum wrappers. She might give one to you. If she does, then that means she likes you."

Neville could see the Black sisters hanging back. They looked a bit at a lost. "It's all right," he said to them.

"I don't know what to say," whispered Andromeda. "I knew that she was vile, but this is worse than I could imagine."

Narcissa said, "I am sorry. It was like you grew up without parents. I am so very sorry."

"Today is about your grandson and your family," said Neville kindly. "Thank you though."

Harry came in at that moment. Scorpius looked up. "Something has happened. Mrs. Malfoy, I need to speak with you privately," he said in a hushed voice.

Narcissa followed him outside. They only stepped out into the corridor. "What is the matter, Harry?" she asked.

"Lucius Malfoy was found near the morgue. He was attacked," replied Harry. "He's been taken into the casualty ward. He was knocked out, but there appears to have been a skirmish."

Narcissa paled as her eyes widened. "He was here? What was he doing here?" she asked.

"Probably for the same reason we're here. The speech was a very public thing," answered Harry. "We're trying to check the wards right now and determine exactly what happened, but it appears that there has been no breach into the inner security protocols."

"I need to see him," said Narcissa. "He might be willing to talk. He always makes sure that there are lawyers around. I need him to tell me a few things."

"I'd like to hear them, too, Grandmother," said Scorpius from the doorway of the ward.

Neither Harry nor Narcissa were surprised to see Scorpius standing there. Narcissa wanted to tell her grandson no, but she couldn't. His eyes were wide like when he was younger, about Ally's age. She managed a tight nod that was so slight to show her reluctance. "Come this way," said Harry.


Author's Note: I know I am using the same excuse all the time. Real life does bite and so does my job, which got intensely boiler room like in the past two months. Also, my DSL modem died, which is the reason for any delays in uploading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Him and all of the original characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Please use this story with my permission.