A special thanks to my dear friend Q ( .xo), who is always taking time out to read my stories and leaving awesome reviews! This chapter is dedicated to you! Without a little help from my friends, I wouldn't have been making these stories in the first place! Thank you so much Q!
For a few days, Jade had been working at St. Mungos, realizing that she had three solid days of silence. Cormac had not come back since the dinner from the Burrow and she had never experienced the sense of peace and quiet since she had gotten back.
"Slow day, isn't it?" her supervisor asked, writing a note in her chart.
"Just two people with dragon burns. Minor, not too bad. Can I just attend in one of the surgeries?" Jade asked.
The doors opened and a familiar little boy was rushed in on a stretcher.
"Three year old boy, he's suffered a massive head injury from a six foot fall in a children's play park." They explained. Draco ran into the emergency ward, carrying Scorpius's bloody jacket, his own beige shirt bloodied.
"Sir, I need you to-" Jade's supervisor started to say.
"Jade, please help Scorpius. He fell off of a-"
"I understand Draco. I completely understand and we're going to do the best that we can but we need you to give us some space." Jade said.
"Jade's he's only three." Draco's voice broke, tears immediately coming to his eyes. Jade felt a lump in her throat, seeing him this helpless and heartbroken.
"Just give us some time. Take a seat. I know how you must feel but we're trying our best okay?" Jade asked, placing a hand on his cheek.
"Please promise nothing will happen to him." Draco said, taking her hand. Jade nodded.
"I promise. I promise." Jade said. Draco nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Jade put her arm around him, giving him a tight squeeze. "I'll come out to give you any information, all right?" Jade asked, seeing him nod. Jade ran off, into a private room, going to aid the Healers with Scorpius. Draco immediately turned to Astoria, pointing a finger at her.
"Don't you dare take my child away from me." Draco warned.
"Draco, please it was an accident." Astoria cried. Draco held Scorpius's jacket tightly.
"Don't go anywhere near him." Draco said.
"Do you know the father and child?" her supervisor asked, looking at her.
"Uh, yes." Jade said.
"You can't be a part of the case. You can watch and give updates to the parent but you are not allowed to treat this child." Her supervisor said.
"But why not?" Jade asked.
"If you have any type of relationship with the patient, you are not allowed to treat them. Rules are rules and it's for the best." One of the Healers said.
"I understand Jade. I know you're frustrated but we're doing all we can now." Her supervisor said.
Jade stood there, watching them insert a tube down his throat, his tiny neck surrounded in a brace.
"I don't think I see any damage. Just a little bleeding but no damage. No swelling either." The Healer said, forecasting an image of Scorpius's brain.
"Nothing? Nothing at all?" Jade asked, looking closely.
"You tell me, Healer Longbottom." The Healer said, stepping back. Jade covered all her grounds, asking questions and pointing out any concerns or confusion.
"He'll be fine, Healer. I think you should tell his father that he'll be able to take him home tomorrow. We'll keep him overnight for any observation just in case." He said.
Jade handed Draco a cup of tea and sat down next to him. Scorpius was sleeping peacefully and the hospital's chatter and busy day slowed down. All of the patients at the pediatric unit were sleeping soundly.
"You should get some sleep. I don't want you to stay here all night if Scorpius is fine." Draco said.
"Are you kidding me? My best friend's son is in the hospital and I'm supposed to be sleeping soundly?" Jade asked.
Draco didn't smile. He looked tired and worn out. He looked down at his shirt and Jade could see that he was getting upset all over again.
"I think you should change out of that shirt and stop giving yourself a hard time." Jade said.
"I'm supposed to be protecting him. I'm not supposed to be taking him to the hospital and be a danger to him." Draco said.
"Being a parent isn't easy…especially a single parent like yourself. I think you're an exceptional father to your child. Molly Weasley and all of her children had to be sent to the hospital for something or another. Do you see this scar here?" Jade asked, showing him a thin scar on her scalp next to her ear. "I fell off a fence and they had to send me to a muggle hospital to perform a surgery. It wasn't my mother's fault. She told me not to climb the fence and I didn't listen. Children will have accidents and it doesn't make you any less of a father." Jade said.
"Astoria was talking to him from the bottom. Scorpius wanted some water and I turned my head for a few seconds and I just heard her screaming at Scorpius and I see him fall. He must have slipped through the bars to get to her." Draco said.
"Scorpius can see her too?" Jade asked, seeing Draco nod.
"Draco, it's not my fault-" Astoria started to say but Draco glared at her.
"I told you to stay away from him. If he didn't see you, he wouldn't have tried to get to you." Draco said.
"I told him not to go through the bars." Astoria said.
"Malfoy I think you're being hard on her." Fred said.
"Draco I think you're being hard on Astoria." Jade said.
"She almost killed my child." Draco said.
"It was a mistake and it's her child too. She wasn't trying to intentionally kill him." Jade said.
"If you're so keen on defending her, why are you here?" Draco asked.
"Someone has to defend her. I'm not going to have you blame her when she's completely helpless. She's watching her son in a hospital bed with tubes down his throat and arms but she can't even touch him. How is that fair? Sometimes you have to think outside of yourself Malfoy. This is her child too." Jade said.
Astoria wept silently, wiping her face as Fred gently held her.
"I love you, Ass. I always will. I can't even imagine what you're feeling but this is not your fault. If I were in your place you would tell me not to let anyone blame me for something that you could have prevented." Jade said, looking at the space ahead of her. She looked back at Draco and placed her hand on his. "Be thankful that Scorpius came out of this without any serious injuries. Stop blaming yourself and others and focus on him." Jade said.
"I love you." Astoria sobbed, falling down at Jade's feet.
"She says she loves you." Draco said. He reached out to Jade and placed her hand palm facing up. Astoria placed her hand over Jade, not being able to touch her. "What do you feel?" Draco asked Jade who had tears in her eyes.
"Nothing." Jade said, looking at her hand. Her heart broke, not being able to see or feel Astoria but she knew something was there.
"I love you too. I'm sorry I haven't been as amazing of a friend as you have been to me." Jade said.
"She wants to know why you're still marrying McLaggen." Draco interrupted.
"Oh Merlin." Jade said as they all burst into laughter.
A few days later, there was a knock on Draco's door. He had been playing with Scorpius on the floor who looked up with his head still bandaged.
"Someone's at the door, daddy!" Scorpius said.
"Who could it be, Score?" Fred asked, showing him handmade fireworks.
"Stop showing him that kind of stuff. He's going to hop on a stove and set his little blonde arse on fire." Astoria said.
Draco opened the door to see Ginny.
"Weasley? Well, this is unexpected." Draco said, seeing her smile nervously.
"Yeah, I know. Jade told me that Scorpius was in the hospital and what happened so I wanted to see him and give him ice cream." Ginny said.
"Sure." Draco said, allowing her in. Ginny walked in to see Scorpius look up.
"Hello Geeeeeennyy." Scorpius said.
"Hello Scorpius, how are you?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to him.
"Troll." Scorpius said.
"What?" Ginny asked, making Fred and Astoria chuckle and snort.
"Pound your chest, Score and make monkey sounds." Astoria said.
Scorpius sighed and pounded his chest with his fists and made grunted sounds. Ginny turned bright red and looked at Draco who was laughing at the doorway.
"Long story. You wouldn't believe me if you asked." Draco said.
"So you train your son to be an arse? You're doing an amazing job, Malfoy." Ginny said. Her eye caught a picture on the coffee table of Jade and Draco standing next to each other and smiling with their arms around each other. She wore oversized boots and he wore a pair of makeshift plastic wrap footwear. "This must be from the jungle where you were nice enough to give her your shoes. Can't imagine you being selfless." Ginny said.
"I'm glad you came to my home to insult me." Draco said, sitting on the sofa.
The next picture was a few stills of Draco washing her muddy feet off with a bottle of water. The picture looked perfect as Jade bent her neck delicately to watch Malfoy, obviously shaken from what happened a few moments ago. Another one was of Draco putting one of his shoes on her feet and arguing with her that she needed to wear the shoes. There were a few other pictures that Ginny had seen that she put away.
"Hermione just had a baby this morning. Baby girl. Her name is Rose." Ginny said, seeing Draco nod.
"I should get her a card." He said. Ginny nodded.
"Jade is there right now and I thought I should drop by because it's the perfect time." Ginny said.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked.
"You need to stop seeing Jade." Ginny said.
"Excuse me?" Draco asked.
"It is invasive, I know but I need to look out for my best friend. She's confused, Malfoy. She thinks it's a good idea to marry Cormac in one minute and then goes off to another country and comes back, in love with you another day." Ginny said.
"In love with me?" Draco asked.
"Yes." Ginny said.
"When? How? I mean, she didn't tell me." Draco said.
"Oh…well, Harry told me that's what she said to him before the dinner party. She said that she might be in love with you." Ginny said.
"What?" Fred asked, looking at Draco.
"You can see it on her face. She's not exactly mysterious. It threw me off that night because she acted so strangely earlier but what I'm saying is that she's innocent and I need to protect her. She thinks she can have feelings for you which is wrong because you were married to our best friend and she cannot have you." Ginny said, taking his watch from her pocket and handed it to him. "I think you two are still grieving and it's inappropriate for you two to find something in each other." Ginny said.
"I think it's inappropriate for you to come to my home and tell me what to do with my life. Why can't you let Jade make her own choices?" Draco asked.
"She's not exactly cancelling her plans on marrying McLaggen. What do you have to say for that?" Ginny asked.
That stalled Draco. He didn't really focus so much on McLaggen because he had been so consumed with Jade.
"She's marrying another man and it is not you. Are you okay with her making a commitment to a different person and breaking those commitments to have an affair with you? I am looking out for my friend from making a huge mistake. I've been trying to convince her to dump McLaggen but she won't listen to me so I might as well do something about the other affair." Ginny said, going to leave.
For the next few weeks, Jade was trying to get in contact with Draco. She kept sending him owls and even went to his apartment to see if he was there. She felt confused, knowing that Draco would have told her something if he had been away for a few weeks.
She told this to Ginny who had been walking with her side by side after lunch in Hogsmeade. Jade pulled her hat over her head and shivered to see how cold it was.
"I wish we could have just sat in the restaurant for another half an hour. It's too cold here." Ginny said, letting out a small burp.
"We ate too much. And-" Jade stopped, seeing Draco hold the door open for a woman into a pub.
"Jade?" Ginny asked.
Jade left Ginny and ran into the pub to see Draco taking off his cloak and settling into a table. Jade had recognized Sheila sitting in front of him, wearing a green turtleneck, her hair grown out longer.
"Hello." Jade said, approaching them. They both looked up, surprised to see Jade.
"Whoa! Jade! What are you doing here?" Sheila asked, getting up and hugging Jade.
"I live here. Well around but…it's really strange seeing you! What are you doing here?" Jade asked.
"I actually invited her down here two weeks ago. She wanted to see Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and I've been showing her around." Draco said, receiving glares from Astoria and Fred. He noted the bitter and sunken look on Jade's face who looked at Sheila and looked back at him.
"It's really nice here. I wonder why my Mum and Dad relocated to Sweden. I would have loved Hogwarts and would have met Draco sooner." Sheila said.
Jade laughed and looked at Draco.
"Are you serious?" Jade asked.
Sheila frowned and Jade stared at Draco, hoping for an answer.
"Sweetheart, would you mind getting us some drinks? I just need to have a few words with Jade." Draco said, handing Sheila a Galleon.
"Sure." Sheila said, taking the Galleon and walking away.
"What?" Draco asked Jade.
"What?" Jade asked.
"What do you want? Why are you interrupting us and insulting my date?" Draco asked.
"Your date?" Jade mocked with a smile. Draco didn't smile.
"Are you challenged, Longbottom? Can you please quickly tell me why you're here so you can leave just as quickly?" Draco asked.
"Why are you being like this? I've been trying to look for you for weeks now and I haven't heard anything-"
"Why should I keep you updated about my life? Why should I have to tell you where I am every second of the day?" Draco asked.
"It's not every second of the day…I just wanted to know if you were okay." Jade said slowly, wondering what was wrong with him all of a sudden. She could feel his incredible hostility out of nowhere, making her feel very unstable and cautious.
"I'm doing just fine." He said.
"Did I do something to upset you?" Jade asked, feeling the corners of her eyes prick with tears. Her throat started to feel pain as she held back her emotions, trying to understand what was going on.
"You haven't done anything. I just want to be able to move on with my life. Try to find a purpose in someone else's life." Draco said, getting up. Jade couldn't understand for the life of her.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say. What did I do? Did I forget something? Do something? Say something?" Jade asked.
"What you did is nothing. Will you please leave me alone?" he asked.
"I am so confused." Jade said, seeing him smile.
"That's your problem. You're confused and I shouldn't have to deal with that." Draco said.
He walked up to Sheila and apologized for the interruption. Jade stood there, watching him brush her hair back and kiss her. It made her want to throw up her food as she walked out of the pub, not being able to hold back her tears. She was crying openly in the streets of Hogsmeade as people passed by her, looking at her. Ginny followed her quietly as Astoria and Fred ran after Jade, complaining about Draco.
"Jade, just come here. Let's apparate back home." Ginny said, taking Jade's hand.
They apparated back to Ginny's home where Jade pulled off her cloak and buried her hands in her face, crying loudly. Ginny shook her head and lifted her wand, uttering an incantation. Fred and Astoria appeared in front of Jade, watching her with their arms crossed. Ginny wanted to cry, seeing them who hadn't noticed that they could be seen.
"Malfoy's a prick." Fred said, shaking his head. He almost lost his balance, seeing Jade instantly look up, her eyes red from crying. She was looking straight into his eyes and screamed. Fred screamed back, clutching his chest.
"HEART ATTACK! HEART ATTACK!" He yelled.
Jade looked at Astoria and screamed even louder. Astoria clapped her hands against her ears and squinted her eyes shut.
"YAAAAAY!" Ginny squealed, jumping up and down. Jade got up, seeing them standing in front of her, bewildered.
"Can you see us?!" Fred asked.
"I CAN SEE YOU! I CAN SEE YOU BOTH!" Jade screamed, running towards them to hug them. She swung and fell and the last thing she saw was a large white flash followed by pitch black blindness.