She felt a heaviness unfamiliar and undefinable. That was the first thing she was conscious of.
The fact that it was her head that carried this heaviness was the second thing she observed. After doing her best to use her sluggish brain to take inventory of the rest of her body, she found herself to be otherwise intact, if a bit cold under what appeared to be soft yet thin bedding.
She gave an experimental flexing of her toes and fingers, which was when she realized both the third and fourth things since regaining a hazy consciousness. First, that there were other people in the room as the murmurings she'd not yet registered became apparent as they heightened. And secondly, that someone was holding her hand.
The heaviness of her head made it difficult to focus on anything, and the task of opening her eyes seemed impossible. She managed to flex her hand again, a soft one tightening around her own. And she was finally able to make out a word.
"Erin?"
Yes, she thought. That's me, isn't it? It wasn't that she'd forgotten. More like she hadn't had time to think about it yet. And even though she recognized the voice calling her name, she couldn't quite figure out who it was.
"Erin, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand again."
Well, that was easy enough. It was her head giving her the issues after all. But the moment she complied, the dull ache and the heaviness encompassing her skull made way for a sharp pain, as if something sharp had shot straight between her eyes.
With a gasp and a moan of agony, Erin's body nearly curled in on itself, distantly making her aware of the fact that she seemed to be wearing a simple smock, which meant she was probably in the hospital.
If that was the case, why hadn't they taken away this god-awful pain?
"Deep breaths, Erin. Deep breaths," the familiar voice said in a soothing tone, continuing to hold her hand and grip it in a way that helped ground her. "It'll pass, just breathe."
Realizing she was in fact holding her breath, Erin struggled to let it out, feeling some of the pressure in her head lessen as she inhaled deeply a moment later.
"Okay," said the soothing voice as her breathing grew more controlled. And the combined facts of a feminine voice, a Healer's instinct, and the fact that they were likely in St. Mungo's and that this person knew her allowed Erin to piece together who was hovering over her.
"Can you open your eyes?" Violet Finnigan asked, one hand moving to the pulse in Erin's wrist while she used the other to check the one in her neck. "You're probably going to be pretty foggy for a bit so don't force yourself to talk if it's too difficult, but I'd like to check your eyes, okay? Think you can get them open?"
Erin wanted to be annoyed with how slowly Violet was speaking, as if she was incapable of comprehending perfect English. Then again, she was barely able to process the Healer's words, so she should probably be grateful for it. What had she asked her to do again?
"Come on, Erin," Violet coaxed as Erin continued her steady breathing. "Think you can look at me?"
It took far more effort than she felt she'd ever used before, but slowly, Erin's heavy eyes cracked open, only to flutter shut again a moment later due to the bright light. With Violet's encouragement, she managed to try again, this time squinting up at the Healer as she stood over her, her brow furrowed as she looked into Erin's eyes. Violet searched them for a moment, before apologetically warning Erin about the bright light that was about to be shined in her eyes. The sharp pain hit her head once again as the wand light shone, and Violet had to keep Erin's eyes open as she resisted curling in on herself, but she still let out a gasp of pain as her muscles clenched in protest.
"Okay, you're okay," Violet said soothingly, letting Erin close her eyes again as the pain abated. "You got hit with a couple of nasty spells so you're probably going to be in some pain for a while, but we're doing what we can to hurry things along. It looks like you took two to the head at the same time."
Erin groaned, her pain thankfully lessened enough that she found the strength to try opening her eyes again. It took a moment and a lot of determination on her part, but she saw Violet smiling at her when her eyes finally adjusted to the light.
"You've only been out for a few hours, so that's a good sign," she said, holding up her finger and requesting Erin follow it with her eyes. "Your brain was showing some very sluggish activity when they brought you in, but all your other vitals look good and your brain activity's been improving by the minute. So all good signs."
Erin mustered the strength to give a slight nod, wanting to communicate that she understood. But her head barely moved against the pillow, and she was still finding it difficult to retain things. She couldn't even remember how she got there in the first place.
"So, you remember anything?" Violet asked, taking a chart from another Healer in the room and making a few notes on it. "I think the Aurors are going to talk to you once you're up for it, but it would be good to start flexing your memory as soon as possible."
Aurors? Was she in trouble? Had anyone else been involved? What the bloody hell had happened?
Slightly terrified, Erin stared at Violet, horrified as tears welled in her eyes. Violet handed the chart back to the other Healer and sat on the edge of Erin's bed, holding her hand and looking at her with a calm and concerned sympathy that was surprisingly comforting to Erin.
"I know this is scary," she said, speaking so softly that the other occupants of the room probably couldn't hear her. "But the only thing I want you to worry about is making sure you take care of yourself, okay? They'll figure out what happened and who's responsible, but as your self-appointed Healer, I forbid you from concerning yourself with that. Especially while your head is in such a state. It needs to rest."
Erin let out a sigh of relief, thankful that she wasn't in any trouble, but also terrified by the thought that something had happened to her and she couldn't remember one bit of it. It made her feel like a small child, lost and in need of someone to guide and take care of her.
"Mmm…" she managed to force out, finding that her brain was having difficulty communicating with itself. Violet squeezed her hand encouragingly and she tried again. "Mmm...Mmmum?"
Violet smiled at her. "Your family is outside. So are a lot of other people. Do you want to see them?"
Right now, all she really wanted was her mum, but didn't see that going down well with her father and siblings. She gripped Violet's hand in confirmation, and the Healer made to stand, but Erin refused to loosen her grip, causing Violet to give her a reassuring smile, maintain her place beside her, and request one of the other Healers see to retrieving her family.
"We didn't want to let them in until we knew what type of state your brain was in," Violet explained. "It would've been more difficult to assess you if they'd been hovering."
Erin closed her eyes and swallowed, her mouth dry and anxious to communicate fully with her brain. Her mind was working a bit more properly than it had been when she first woke up and she had so many questions. But she didn't think she had the strength yet to ask, let alone hear the answers.
Violet continued to check her over, asking her to move in certain ways and if there was any pain other than her head. Her neck was stiff and she could barely move her head, but Violet said that made sense when she noticed her discomfort. They'd just come to the conclusion that they could prop her bed up a bit when the Healer sent to retrieve her family returned, her parents and siblings in tow.
It was a testament to how out of it she still was that she wondered for a moment where her Great-Gran was, but it didn't take long to remember. It was this and the relief at seeing her mother that had Erin nearing tears once again.
"Oh, sweetheart," Hannah said as she approached her daughter's bed. She sat gently next to Erin, who automatically lifted her arms, inviting her mother to embrace her, which she did gently. "Thank God you're awake," she continued as she pulled back. "How are you feeling?"
Erin swallowed, still struggling to get any words out. It appeared the one needed to get her mother here had been enough to exhaust her energy.
"She's going to be a bit sluggish for a while," said Violet, addressing the concerned looks she was receiving from Hannah and Neville. "But she's already showing improvement."
"What exactly happened?" her father asked, who now stood beside Erin's head. She reached up and took his hand in hers.
Violet turned her attention to one of the other Healers in the room, and Erin was surprised to recognize Dean Thomas, who she knew held a senior level at the hospital. Did that mean her case was severe? Or was he just here because he was good friends with her father?
"We ran diagnostics as soon as she got her," Healer Thomas began, speaking professionally, but not unkindly. "It was a bit hard to interpret the readings we got at first, because it looks like she got hit with two curses at once. One appears to be a nasty enchanted sleep curse that I've never seen before. We did some digging and found cases of something similar being used back in the 1600's, and it looks like it didn't completely do its job. Either the caster didn't perform it that powerfully, or the combination of the spells lessened the effect of it. I've seen things like that happen before. She was pretty lucky, honestly. There wouldn't have been anything magical or medical we could've done to wake her up if the curse had been full blown. It would've just been a matter of time, if she'd woken up at all."
He paused and glanced apologetically down at Erin before looking at her parents again. "The other was a memory charm," he said, causing the room to collectively hold their breath. "Thankfully, it looks like both spells were cast a little recklessly, so even if they tried to wipe her whole memory, it doesn't appear to have been successful. It's possible that the spells collided before they hit her and she got some sort of aftershock from it. So a close call all around really."
The room was silent as Dean's words sunk in. Erin was a bit surprised that he'd been that transparent about how narrow a miss she'd had. As relieved as she was that things hadn't been worse, it was terrifying to hear just how close she'd come to being far worse off.
"So…" her father began, pausing to clear his throat. "So, is there any type of lasting damage, or…?"
"There shouldn't be," said Dean. "It's possible she lost some of her memory, but whether it was localized or a smattering of memories, only time will tell. We won't be able to make any restorative attempts until we know what, if anything, is missing." He looked down at Erin. "You've been improving by the minute," he told her, "so just rest and let your body do what it needs to do, all right? I doubt you'll be here longer than a few days."
Erin gave him a smile, grateful that he'd chosen to speak to her as well as her parents.
"She's had some pretty severe head pain," said Violet, "but she's already on some pain potion and it comes in waves. We don't want to push her too much, but her brain needs to exercise as well as rest so we can't just let her sleep it off."
"Give her time," Dean said to the room at large, "but it's okay to keep her engaged while she's awake. Her motor functions seem to be fine, but speech and memory might take a little time."
"What parts of her memory?" asked Alice, who was standing by the end of the bed and had her hand on Erin's blanket covered foot. "She seems to know us, but will she have trouble retaining things or just trouble remembering things from before?"
"Could be a bit of both," said Dean with an uncertain shrug. "We won't really know until she can fully communicate with us."
It was silent as this news registered. Erin wished she could tell them not to worry. She knew exactly who they all were and she hadn't forgotten anything.
We'll, except what had happened to land her here in the first place.
Her eyes focused in on her brother, who came around from behind their mother to place his hand on her leg. He gave her a soft smile, though she could still see the fear in his eyes. Everyone was still watching her uncertainly, their minds probably running over the possible reality they were facing. It seemed obvious to her that she knew them, based on her reaction to their presence and the way she was drinking them in with love and care.
"She can't really move her head so questions probably aren't best, but you can try talking to her," Violet prompted. "See how she responds."
They all nodded but glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. It was Ethan who finally spoke up, squeezing her leg and saying, "Hey, Ernie."
Her reaction was immediate. It had been ages since her brother had called her that, mostly due to the fact that she'd finally retaliated and he hadn't been a fan of her tactic. The scowl she sent her brother had her whole family grinning, Ethan even letting out a light chuckle.
"I haven't been able to get away with that in ages," said Ethan, relief obvious in his voice.
"As soon as she gets her voice back, be prepared to face some consequences," Alice warned, still smiling down at her sister.
"Anything more recent you can think of?" asked Dean. "We don't know if she even remembers what happened."
Her family shared uncertain glances, apparently at a loss for what they could do to probe her memory. Erin was beginning to feel frustrated and disappointed when her brother turned around and addressed someone behind him. Someone Erin couldn't see.
"Maybe you could help with this part?" he asked hopefully. Erin waited, anxious and curious as she heard the sound of footsteps growing closer. And her brother moved around Alice to stand at the end of the bed, making room for a young man with messy black hair and green eyes to approach.
Albus.
His eyes were a bit red and he looked haggard, his hair a bit more mussed than usual. There was something else about him that seemed different that she couldn't quite put her finger on. All she really knew was that she was incredibly happy to see him and wanted nothing more than to hold him, kiss him, and tell him how much she loved him.
Wait, what? Since when had she started admitting such feelings? Even to herself?
"Hey," said Al, placing his hands on the bed but not touching her. His eyes searched hers desperately, and Erin felt her initial feelings at seeing him strengthen. Without really thinking, she released her father's hand and reached for Al, something embarrassingly close to a whimper escaping her lips. It was worth it to see Al let out an enormous sigh of relief and move towards her, gripping her hand in his and raising it to his lips. Her eyes widened as he kissed her hand, but he was preoccupied with moving into the space her mother had made for him to really notice.
"You scared the hell out of me," he said, leaning over her a moment later and placing a much more tender kiss than she could've ever anticipated on her forehead. She barely had time to brace herself before he followed this up with the briefest of kisses on her lips.
Holy shit. Had he really just done that? In front of her father? Her whole family?
She felt her face grow hot, most likely bright red now as he sat on the bed next to her, Erin's free hand that wasn't holding his reflexively going to her lips.
Why had that felt so familiar when he'd never done it before?
Al was now looking at her in concern. That apparently hadn't been the reaction he'd expected.
Before any other questions could be asked, someone else entered the room.
"She's awake?" Erin heard the familiar sound of her best friend's voice before she saw her. Ethan and Alice moved to the other side of the bed to make room for Rose and Scorpius at the end of it.
"Yes, but she suffered some trauma to her brain," Violet explained, continuing at the terrified looks on the newcomers faces. "She'll be fine, eventually. Just a little sluggish right now and she's not really talking yet which is fine. Things are still trying to communicate properly again."
She went on to explain things in more detail, repeating what she'd already told everyone else. But Erin wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were focused on the way a bruised Scorpius was holding Rose's hand in his own.
Umm… what?
"She knows us," she heard her father say. "But we don't know if there's anything she can't remember. Like what happened at the Manor."
Manor? Which manor?
"W-w...wha…"
Every eye snapped to her, and to keep herself from being overwhelmed by all their expectant expressions, Erin focused on Al, who was still holding her hand and sitting right next to her. He was looking at her more tenderly than he ever had before.
With a deep breath, she focused all her energy into getting out a simple word.
"What…?"
Al grinned and kissed her hand once again as she looked at him in question. "Merlin, it's bloody brilliant to hear your voice, love."
Love?
"You were working late at the Manor," said Scorpius. "I went to check on you since you were late to the Burrow, and I only barely saw you lying unconscious on the floor before I was out cold myself. They only hit me, though."
What? Working at the Manor? Malfoy Manor?
Things were making less and less sense.
"W-w-why?"
"Dad's working on figuring that bit out," said Al. "He already talked to-"
"No," Erin cut him off, grateful that she was finally starting to get words out without stumbling over them. "Why…th-there?"
Albus looked at her in confusion. "You work there, love. Remember?"
There was that word again. And while it made Erin uncontrollably giddy to hear him call her that, it also terrified her.
Because it was obvious he'd done it before. But she had absolutely no memory of it.
With a great deal of effort and the realization that she probably would be too tired to communicate much more after asking, she looked at Al and managed to get out a final one-worded question.
"L-love?"
It nearly broke Scorpius' heart to see the confusion and uncertainty on Erin's face. And he felt it actually crack a bit to see his best friend come to such a painful conclusion.
Erin remembered who they all were, but she'd forgotten how much she and Al meant to each other.
"Erin?" said Rose, finally breaking the nearly minute long silence that filled the room. "What's the last thing you remember?"
They all watched her as she struggled, looking at them all imploringly. She either didn't know what the last thing was she remembered, or talking was something she no longer had the strength to do.
"Erin," said Dean, using a soft and soothing voice as he spoke to his patient. "Try blinking once for 'yes' and twice for 'no'. Think you can do that?"
It took a second, but she gave Dean one firm blink.
"Right," he said, turning to the group surrounding her bed. "Probably best to take it slow. Maybe just one of you ask for now?"
They all nodded, and Scorpius was a bit surprised to see everyone turn to Rose. Even Al, who he assumed would've been eager to do this himself. But then he noticed how pale his best friend looked and realized just how shaken he was.
"Okay," Rose began uncertainly, taking a moment to think before asking, "You know who we all are, right?"
This resulted in an instant blink and a collective sigh of relief from the room.
"Do you know who Violet's boyfriend is?"
A quick smirk, a glance at Violet, and a single, firm blink. They all collectively breathed a sigh of relief once again.
"Good," said Rose. "So…you know about your gran?"
A hesitation, and then a slower, single blink.
"How about the book we read this year for Muggle studies."
A furrowed brow, and then two blinks.
Scorpius felt the first actual wave of fear hit him. Sure, it was possible that she'd simply forgotten what they'd read, but they'd spent a whole term on it. It wasn't likely.
"Does Professor Bancroft teach Muggle Studies?"
One blink.
Scorpius turned to look at Malcolm, who'd joined the family in the room along with Molly, but was hanging back. At Rose's question, he took a step forward and paused before moving around the bed to stand with Alice who was beckoning him to her. Molly moved to join Ethan as well.
The confusion on Erin's face at the two new people was obvious.
"Do you know who this is?" asked Alice, indicating Malcolm. Erin blinked twice as her breathing grew heavier.
"Do you remember graduating Hogwarts?" asked Rose.
Two blinks.
"Do you remember being in seventh year at all?"
Scorpius felt his heart plummet to his feet, watching as Erin, once again, blinked twice.
And now there were silent tears rolling down her cheeks.
They all stood in stunned silence. Neville and Hannah were looking helplessly at Dean, and sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. In that moment, it was difficult to imagine how anything would ever be the same again.
"This is good news, everyone," said Dean, which didn't sit too well with Al.
"How the fuck is that good news?" he asked, jerking his head up to glare at the healer, his voice cracking and strained as he barely held himself together.
"Because it looks like it was a stretch of memory," Dean explained calmly, "which is much easier to treat than something more scattered. If she'd remembered everything but forgotten one person or one place or random memories over the course of her life, that would be harder to remedy. A chronological stretch of memory is easier to restore."
"So she could still remember?" asked Ethan, who was watching his now fully crying younger sisters while Molly held his hand. Al was now crawling into the bed beside Erin, ignoring Violet's half-hearted protests.
"Yes, she could," said Dean. "We'd have to sedate her, which I'm not comfortable doing quite yet. It would be better if she was a little stronger mentally before we went in and did more fiddling around in there."
Neville began asking questions about timeline and procedure, but Scorpius was paying more attention to the way Al was now cradling a slightly gobsmacked yet still tearful Erin in his arms, pulling her to him so her head rested on his chest and he buried his face in her golden waves. It was a good thing they'd at least been close friends their whole lives. If this had happened to Alice, it would've been unbearable to watch Malcolm unable to do anything to comfort a woman who didn't know him, even though he loved her. This was difficult to watch as it was.
"I think it's time we give her some rest," Dean said after giving the Longbottoms all the information they needed about their daughter's care. "If she wakes up tomorrow doing as well as I think she will, I'd be comfortable authorizing the restoration tests and maybe even the procedure."
Erin was now crying into Al's chest, but she extracted a hand that was curled up between them to reach out and squeeze the hands of each of her family members as they left the room a few reluctant moments later, her parents both dropping kisses on it as well. Scorpius felt Rose squeeze his hand. He knew they should leave too, but something in him made him not want to leave his friend. Either of them, but especially Al. Erin would be in the care of the Healers, but they were likely to kick Al out way sooner than he'd be okay with leaving.
"Al, I'm sorry…" Violet began, obviously pained to have to ask him to leave. With a heavy and shaky sigh, Al closed his eyes, placed a long kiss on Erin's forehead, and began to pull away. But Erin's hands held tight to his shirt, her tears turning into sobs as he made to move away. And then she was groaning in pain a moment later, her eyes tightly shut as she almost writhed in agony.
"What's happening?" Al asked, panic in his voice as he resumed his previous position, holding Erin as Violet instructed her to breathe through it.
"She's still healing," Violet explained as Erin's body began to relax with her deep breathing. "Bright lights, loud noises...intense emotion. All likely to cause discomfort right now. Rest is all that can help at this point."
Al nodded, still a bit unsettled as Erin curled herself closer to him. "I'm staying."
Violet looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. "Al…"
"You want her to rest and she will," he argued, "but me leaving didn't appear to do a whole lot of good."
He had a point there. Not only had his proposed departure caused Erin emotional distress, but she was now lying peacefully in Al's arms, her eyes closed and her breathing even as she began to drift off.
"Fine," Violet relented. "But as soon as she's asleep…"
Al nodded, though he seemed reluctant to do so. Dean had left with the Longbottoms, and Violet stopped next to Rose before leaving the room herself.
"Can I trust you two to make sure he doesn't sleep here all night?" she asked softly. Scorpius nodded along with Rose. Violet gave them a grateful smile and then left the room, leaving the four best friends on their own.
There was nothing Scorpius felt like doing besides standing there and silently waiting. Waiting for Erin to fall asleep, for Al to pull himself away from her, and then for himself and Rose to handle a most-likely very distraught Albus Potter. He'd held himself together up till now, but Scorpius knew his best friend well enough to be aware of the potential emotional fall out to follow.
And even though he'd be there for his best friend without question, Scorpius had other concerns that he felt anxious to address. And they were concerns that he knew he needed to discuss with Albus.
"Al," Rose said in a soft voice after five solid minutes of silence. With a sigh of resignation, Al slowly pulled himself away from a soundly sleeping Erin. He stood and watched her for a moment before turning and walking silently towards the door. Scorpius and Rose followed, having to quicken their pace to keep up with Al as he sped up when he reached the hall, nearly breaking into a run.
"Al," Scorpius called out, struggling to keep up with his best friend. He abruptly turned a few feet ahead of them and disappeared into a bathroom. Scorpius paused when he reached the door, giving Rose an apologetic look before following after Al.
The sound of someone retching in one of the stalls immediately met Scorpius' ears, and he grimaced at the disgruntled looking wizard washing his hands. He mouthed an apology to the man, who was quick to leave as soon as possible, especially as Al continued to be sick a few stalls away. Thankfully, the rest of the room was empty, and Scorpius waited patiently until he saw Al sink fully onto the floor and sit with his back against the side of the stall before he approached.
Scorpius could hear Al breathing heavily as he paused at the door, thankful he'd remembered to grab his wand from beside his hospital bed before he'd gone with Rose to see Erin. He conjured a cup and moved to the sink to fill it with water before going back and knocking on the stall door, which moved forward at his touch. It wouldn't open all the way with Al blocking it, but Scorpius managed to squeeze through the door and slide down the wall so he was sitting across from his best friend.
Al had his knees up, his arms resting on them and his head hanging as he continued to breathe heavily. Scorpius leaned forward, nudging Al's hand with the cup of water until he glanced up and took it. He avoided Scorpius' eye but took a drink and sloshed the water around his mouth before spitting it into the toilet. He then chugged the rest of it, letting the cup drop to the floor when it was empty. With his eyes closed, he leaned his head back against the wall, a metallic thunk ringing through the otherwise empty room. Scorpius could feel the exhaustion and misery pouring off of him. There were dark bags under his eyes and Scorpius watched in shock as a tear escaped down his cheek. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen his best friend cry.
"Fuck," Al grumbled, scrunching up his face and rubbing his eyes in frustration. A sob wracked his body, but Scorpius was grateful that Al took a deep breath and was able to keep himself from breaking down any further. He wouldn't judge Al if he completely fell apart, but Scorpius didn't feel quite equipped to handle that. A crying Rose, sure. But a crying Albus?
"It's so fucking unfair," Al ground out, his voice rough and shaky as he continued to press his fingers into his eyes. He took a couple more deep breaths before dropping his hand and staring blankly up at the ceiling. "Just… so unfair."
"I know, mate," said Scorpius, truly feeling that way himself. "But you heard Healer Thomas. They're optimistic and - "
"And everything will be fine, will it?" Al asked a bit aggressively. "They don't know that for sure."
Scorpius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, hoping that it will be is about the only way I see any of us getting through the next couple days."
Al let out a deep breath, his eyes blinking rapidly as he continued to stare at the ceiling. "It's just…It's one of those things, you know? Those things that you feel could've easily been avoided if people had just…"
An unsettled feeling lodged itself in Scorpius' gut, and the conversation they'd had in his hospital room came to the forefront of his mind once again. He'd noted how on edge Al was as Harry asked questions, and he couldn't help coming to the conclusion that his best friend knew something he didn't.
"I'm really sorry, Al," he said, truly meaning it but also feeling like he couldn't say anything else yet. Al shook his head and finally looked him in the eye.
"It's not your fault," Al assured him, but there was an undeniable implication to his words. He knew it wasn't Scorpius' fault, but he did place the blame somewhere else.
"You heard your dad," said Scorpius, still feeling a bit uneasy and doing his best to deny the conclusion he'd started to form after talking to Rose's dad. "They're already on top of trying to figure out who did this."
Al gave a derisive snort, his eyes going back to the ceiling again as he slowly shook his head. "Right," he said, the word soft and mumbled and showing how unconvinced he was. It was this response combined with all the other unavoidable evidence that had Scorpius unable to not ask his next question.
"Who were they talking about?" he asked, the words coming out a bit rushed with his nerves. "Our dads."
He waited a few anxious moments as Al let out a deep breath before looking at him. There was regret in his eyes as he hesitated, and a pit formed in Scorpius' stomach, knowing what Al was going to say without him having to open his mouth.
"It's Theo, right?" Scorpius asked, knowing he didn't sound as calm as he wanted to. "They were talking about Theo."
It wasn't even really a question at this point. Especially with the way Al was looking at him.
"I'm sorry, mate," he muttered, but Scorpius was already standing and making his way out of the stall. He didn't need to see the pitying look on his best friend's face. He couldn't comfort him anymore either. All he could do was feel a growing sense of betrayal as he stormed out of the bathroom, nearly running into Rose as she stood waiting for them in the hallway.
"Is he okay?" Rose asked. But the worry for her cousin faded as she took in the stoney expression of her boyfriend. "Wait, what happened?"
"You didn't know, did you?" he asked, needing not everyone to have lied to him. "About Theo?"
Rose looked alarmed at his question. "What? What about Theo?"
"That they suspect he's somehow involved in this," he couldn't help saying fiercely. "Al and his dad and your dad. They all think he had something to do with this."
Rose's eyes were wide as she watched him in shock, trying to come up with a response. "Scorp…" she eventually choked out, reaching up to rest a hand gently against his cheek. It succeeded in getting him to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. "I'm so sorry."
Scorpius experienced a beautiful moment of calm, grateful that he wasn't alone in this
"I can't imagine how you feel," she continued, her arms going around his waist and holding him close. Scorpius held her back, resting his cheek on the top of her head. They stood there silently for a few moments before Rose said, "I never imagined he'd do something like this."
It was as if everything had suddenly turned cold, Rose's words and their meaning ringing in his head. Slowly, he pulled back, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking down at her sympathetic face.
"You think he's involved, don't you?" he asked, hardly daring to believe it. Rose seemed to realize her mistake as dread overtook her face.
"No, Scorp," she said with a bit of panic in her voice. "I don't… I mean-"
"Forget it," he said a bit harshly, pulling away from her and unable to feel anything but anger as she looked at him apologetically. "I should've known you'd believe them."
"Scorpius, please," Rose begged, grabbing his arm as he attempted to walk away. He relented, but shook off her arm and refused to look at her as she stood in front of him. "I know you trust him, and I want to too, but I can't…I can't lie and-"
"You can have my back, Rose," he snapped, looking down at her in frustration. "I thought you told me that's who you wanted to be for me."
I do Scorpius!" she pleaded. "But I'm not going to lie to you and hope that Theo doesn't let you down when we all known he's done it plenty of times before!"
He could tell she regretted them the moment the words were out of her mouth, but it didn't matter. It was a reminder that he didn't need, and she knew that.
"Didn't expect you to let me down too."
Ignoring the guilt he felt threatening to creep in when Rose's face fell, Scorpius brushed past her, walking away and refusing to turn back, even as she called his name.
A/N: Don't hate me for this! Instead, be grateful that I can't sleep so I'm not waiting till tomorrow to post. I'm seriously dying to know what you think of this chapter and what you expect to happen next. You know what to do! I've received some very kind words about my stories lately and I can't tell you how much it means to me each and every time!