A/N: I got lots of varied responses and messages for the last post! I promise, Lily is not going to just brush the incident under the rug. There will be punishment and consequences eventually, though it might take time to get there. In the meantime. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's almost exclusively focused on Lily and Scor. Not a lot of "action" just a lot of emotional processing, etc.

Chapter Twelve: Healing

The next morning, Scorpius was in the common room early, wanting to catch Lily before breakfast. He stood to the right of the doorway leading to the girls' corridor and waited as groups of girls filed out, heading for breakfast. They were all in varied states of morning lethargy or chattiness, and no one seemed to notice him lurking there.

He waited for thirty minutes before he finally spotted Julianne and Kenny walking out together. Lily was not with them.

"Hey," he said, quickly catching their attention. They stepped to the side where he was waiting.

"Morning," Kenny greeted him. "What's up?"

"Umm, where's Lily? I was hoping to chat with her for a minute," he said.

"She's still in bed," Kenny said. "She said she wasn't hungry."

"Oh," he said, trying to keep his tone calm.

"She seemed really tired," Julianne said. "I don't know how late she was up last night." Unlike Kenny's casual air, Julianne seemed worried about her best friend.

"Okay," he said, still forcing himself to sound calm.

"Is there something you'd like me to tell her for you?" Julianne asked, her eyes searching Malfoy's expression.

"No it's okay, I'll catch her at practice," he said. He nodded to the girls who seemed content with his answer before they left the common room. He hung around for a few more minutes until everyone seemed to have left for breakfast; the common room was now empty and he had seen Cassie and Nicolette leave a few minutes earlier.

He only hesitated for a moment before heading down the girls' corridor towards Lily's room. He knew he'd be in trouble if anyone caught him, but he hardly cared about that. He knocked briefly on the door before opening it.

The room was dark, with only one corner light on. He knew instantly which bed was hers because it was the only one with the canopy still down. He moved quickly to her bed and parted the canopy. She was turned away from him, and she seemed to be sleeping the way her body rose and fell steadily with her breaths. He momentarily doubted himself for coming there. He felt he shouldn't disturb her if she really did want to be alone, but he couldn't help feeling concerned.

"Lily," he said softly.

Her steady breaths stopped and her body seemed to tense. "Scorpius?" She rolled towards him and frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw your mates going on to breakfast without you," he said. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh, that's thoughtful of you, but you didn't need to…" she said. He could tell she was quickly trying to formulate an excuse or a logical explanation. In the past couple years he had learned that she was good at making up stories to cover her true feelings. "I'm…"

"You're fine, yeah, I got that," he said. He sat down on the bed suddenly. "Lily, I know we're not great mates or anything, but I think you also know that I think you're a pretty amazing girl. But sometimes…" he shook his head. "Sometimes you drive me absolutely mad. You do not need to be so bloody brave right now."

"It's not about being brave," she said. Her voice was quiet and he had to lean closer to hear her. "I'm trying not to fall apart, Scorpius."

"Then let me help you," he said. "I doubt you told Julianne about what happened."

She shook her head.

"And I don't expect you to tell your brothers or any of those cousins of yours," he said.

She shook her head even more firmly.

"Well you can't do this on your own. Sometimes you need someone else to help you be strong," he said. "Let me be that person for you right now."

Despite herself, she fell apart again. The tears came without warning and she collapsed forward against his chest. Scorpius put his arms around her, holding her gently as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Scorpius," she said, sniffling.

"You have nothing to apologize for," he said. He tightened his hold slightly, rubbing his hands across the back of her bathrobe in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

"I feel like such an idiot," she said. She tried to take a breath from her crying. "They really scared me…"

"Of course they did," he said. "They are evil and they hurt you. If you weren't scared or upset, I'd be worried. You're not an idiot."

"Why did they want to hurt me?" She asked rhetorically. "I don't even know who they were! Why did they want to do that to me?"

"Because they are the worst kind of people, which is why I want to see them punished," he said. "Why won't you tell someone?"

She sat up, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her robe. "They did this to me because I'm in Slytherin…or because I'm a Potter in Slytherin. I had just started feeling happy and like I really fit in here. They're trying to take that away from me, and I won't let them," she said, shaking her head firmly. "I do belong here, and I'm not going to let a couple of bastards ruin that for me."

He was quiet, sensing that she wasn't done.

"If I tell Professor Willoughby, or Headmistress McGonagall, or even my brothers…they'll tell my parents and they'll think I'm not safe here. They'll make a big deal out of it. I don't want special treatment," she said. "I don't want anymore attention being brought to me not belonging in Slytherin."

"You do belong in Slytherin," he said. "You are exactly where you belong."

"Apparently there are still some people who disagree," she said.

"You cannot honestly be putting any value on what those wankers said last night when they were…doing that…well…when they were attacking you," he said.

She didn't say anything. She was already feeling embarrassed and upset with herself for how much she had divulged to Scorpius and how much emotion she had let him see. She pulled away from him, suddenly very aware that he was sitting in her bed, holding her while she was wearing a bathrobe.

"Scorpius, you really shouldn't be here," she said. "I'm okay. I can handle this on my own."

He didn't move.

"I'm serious," she said. "This is my problem, not yours. I appreciate how helpful you've been, but it's over, okay? Now I just need to deal and move on." She slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

He followed her.

"Deal and move on?" He repeated. "You keep saying that. Do you seriously think it'll be that easy?"

The bathroom light was bright, especially in comparison to the darkness of her canopied bed. Lily rubbed her eyes as she moved towards the mirrored sink to wash her face, hoping to eliminate all traces of tears. She was done crying. It hurt when she touched her face though, and one glance in the mirror made her pause.

Scorpius was right behind her and took in her reflection at the same time. "Bloody hell!" He said. He moved around so he was facing her and stared into her face.

"I'm fine," she said, trying to move away from his view.

"No, you're not," he said, "not even a little bit."

Her right cheekbone was dark with bruising, her upper lip was punctured and swollen, and blood had dried on her lower lip and chin.

"I will be," she said. "Eventually."

He didn't understand why she was being so stubborn about it all. Her strength was admirable in most circumstances, but at this particular moment he found it unnecessary, irritating, and downright ridiculous.

She had been staring at herself hard in the mirror for a few moments. He waited for her to speak or to cry again, but she did neither. She turned on the sink and washed her face with cold water. He watched her pained expression when the water hit her face, but she didn't cry out or stop. He handed her a hand towel from the counter and she dried her face.

"We need to get to practice," she said.

"Lily," he said. "If you need to take the morning off…"

"No," she said. "Payne was serious about practicing today."

"I can make an excuse to Payne," he said. "He was completely pissed when he decided we had to have a practice this morning anyhow."

"That doesn't change the fact that we have one," she said.

"Yeah, well you're better than the rest of the team combined. You literally won the game yesterday. You can skip one practice," he said.

"No," she said again. "No special treatment, remember?"

If she were Geoff or Leo, Scorpius would have slugged her. She was being absolutely impossible. Since he did not feel it would be appropriate to smack her, he instead rolled his eyes and tried to reason with her.

"Can you fly?" He asked.

"Of course I can," she said quickly, her pale eyes momentarily taking on the fierce flicker he was so used to when she was defending herself. She hesitated briefly though and her eyes paled again. "It's just…"

"What?" He asked.

"I don't want people to see me this way," she said. "I look…" she sighed. "I don't want questions."

"So what's your plan?" He asked.

"Do you know the healing charm?" She asked.

"Yeah, I've learned it," he said.

"Do you think you could…" she hesitated again. "Would you help me please?"

He knew it wasn't an easy thing for her to ask him for help, and he was pleased to be able to give her assistance in any small way he could.

She took his momentary silence as a negative though and shook her head. "Never mind, I'll just go like this…" she said.

"I'll do it," he said.

"You will?" She asked.

"Of course," he said. "Though I haven't tried it before apart from class practice. I've been told it can hurt."

"I can take it," she said.

He smirked. "I'm sure you can," he said. He pulled his wand from his pants' back pocket and prepared to cast the charm.

Lily stepped back against the counter, bracing herself with her hands against the black marble. "Go ahead," she said. She closed her eyes, for some reason thinking it might help.

Scorpius silently hoped he wouldn't mess up. "Episkey," he said, carefully waving his wand slowly in front of her face. He noticed her wincing, but kept it up, muttering the spell three times before he felt that the healing affect was complete.

"All done?" She asked, opening her eyes.

"Yep," he said.

She looked in the mirror and smiled, touching her cheekbone where the bruise had vanished. "Thank you," she said. "You did a great job."

"I just wish I could erase the whole night," he said.

Lily looked at him. He couldn't read her expression, but very suddenly she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Would you please stop being so nice to me?" She asked, whispering against his ear. "It makes it very hard to not be your friend."

He smiled and returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her body securely.

She pulled away just as suddenly, sucking in a quick breath.

"What now?" He asked.

"Nothing," she said. "It's nothing. I need to get dressed for practice. I'll see you there."

"Lily Potter, after everything I've done for you, would you please stop trying to hide things from me!"

"Sorry, Scorpius," she said. "It's just more private."

He waited.

"Seriously, it's private," she said.

He still waited.

She rolled her eyes. "I have a few other bruises," she said, "but I'm not showing you so shove off."

He almost smiled at her ability to be fierce right now when she was still so clearly in pain and her face was streaked with tears.

"I'm not asking to see," he said, "but if anything else needs to be healed before practice…"

"I'll manage," she said. "As long as no one can see it, then I'll be fine."

"Okay," he said, finally giving in. "I'll wait for you in the common room."

"Why?" She said. "I appreciate you being here for me, but if you're not quick, you'll miss the rest of breakfast. I'll just see you at practice, alright?"

"Yeah, alright," he said.

Once she was sure he had left, Lily removed her bathrobe to inspect her body fully in the mirror. It was about as she expected; bruising covered her arms and legs and her lower back had a welt the size of her fist, which she assumed happened when she had tumbled down the steps. She wasn't particularly excited to fly for a couple hours for practice in the state she was in, but she was determined to show up and prove that she was okay. She quickly dressed in her tight black practice pants and green practice shirt, then braided her long hair away from her face.

Scorpius had done a good job healing her face. She couldn't see any traces of bruising or cuts. She felt like she needed to thank him better than she had, but she didn't know what to do or say to properly express how grateful she was. It wasn't the first time since being back at school that Lily resented her choice to respect her family's wishes about not being friends with a Malfoy, and she knew it wouldn't be the last.

With a sigh, she laced up her black flying boots and headed out to the common room. She wasn't surprised to find it empty since it was breakfast hour. She crossed to the door swiftly and with determination, trying to focus only on practice ahead of her and not think about the events of the previous night. As she opened the door and stepped out into the stone corridor, however, her body stopped. In her mind, she could see herself at the end of the long corridor, them on top of her. Her heart raced and a sudden sharp ache in her chest made it hard to breathe. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to calm herself down and erase the image from her memories, but her whole body was trembling again now and she had to lean against the wall to keep herself upright. After a moment of painful and uneven breaths, she started second guessing her decision to attend practice. She was just about to return to her room when she heard Scorpius calling out to her.

"Hey! Lily!" He was calling from a few yards away down the corridor. "Lily, you okay?"

She was faintly aware of the sound of his feet hurrying across the stone floor toward her, but her heartbeat was echoing in her ears and making it hard to hear anything else.

"Lily, are you alright?" He asked again, now right beside her.

She tried to slow her breathing to answer, but instead shook her head and sank to the ground, her back pressed up against the wall. Her breathing was now coming in short little gasps, and she was afraid she might cry again.

Scorpius knelt in front of her. "Okay, I think we should get you back to bed." He put one hand out to help her up, and she then noticed he was holding a mug in his other hand. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her back to her feet. He put his arm around her back and she leaned against him, still trying to slow her breathing and stabilize her trembling legs. "Come on. This was a mistake. Let's go back inside…" he said.

"No," she said. She didn't sound entirely calm yet, but she was trying hard to get herself back under control. "We're going to practice."

"Lily," he said.

She stared at him hard.

"Okay, let's go to practice then," he said, understanding her firm stare immediately. "If you're sure…"

"I'm sure," she said.

"Here," he said, holding out the mug he had been holding. "I brought you some tea."

She took the mug in both hands. It was still hot. She was impressed he had managed to run up to breakfast and back down to her while she was dressing for practice. She knew it meant he likely hadn't eaten.

"I didn't know how you take it," he said.

She noticed it was very white. "It's good," she said, even though she usually wouldn't put any cream in her tea. "Thank you." Her breath had finally slowed to almost normal and her heart was no longer pounding in her ears. She realized he still had his arm around her, and she felt the need to move away.

He dropped his arm from her.

"You were supposed to meet me at practice," she said.

He nodded.

"And yet here you are," she said. "With tea."

"I wanted to walk you to practice," he said.

"Thank you," she said. "It's wasn't necessary, but thank you."

"I think it might have been a little necessary," he said.

She tried to smile, but didn't answer. They started walking together up the stairs, Lily carefully holding the tea in both hands. She noticed how close Scorpius' body was to hers, almost as though he was trying to physically support her with his presence, though he didn't touch her again.

The team had already gathered by time Scorpius and Lily arrived at the pitch. They were sitting in the stands, spread out across multiple benches. Kenny was sprawled out flat on her stomach across one bench, Kale had his large body stretched across two benches, Leo and Geoff were sitting together, both finishing a muffin, while Payne stood leaning against the half wall that encircled the stands, dividing them from the pitch. His face was pulled into a scowl of discomfort and his head rested on the palm of his hand.

"Morning," Scorpius greeted the group as he and Lily approached.

"Not so loud," Payne muttered.

Scorpius chuckled. "Hungover?" He asked, unnecessarily as Payne moaned and dropped his head down onto his arms, still leaning against the wall.

"Shove off, Malfoy," he grumbled.

Scorpius sat on one of the vacant benches and Lily sat next to him. She couldn't completely explain why being here at practice with the rest of the team made her heart start to thud in that quick and painful way again. She was afraid they would somehow know what had happened, even though Scorpius had fixed her face, she still feared them realizing something was wrong and asking questions. She knew she couldn't handle questions right now. She wasn't even sure she could handle talking at all. She was starting to wish she had listened to Scorpius and skipped practice.

"Payne had a bit too much fun last night," Geoff said, laughing as he shoved the rest of his muffin into his mouth. "How about the rest of you? Good nights?" His eyes narrowed at Scorpius. "You came back to the room particularly late last night," he said. "What were you up to?"

Lily's body felt warm all over but she felt the trembling return. The tea cup quivered in her hands.

"Nothing in particular," Scorpius answered Geoff calmly. "Just getting some homework finished." He inched slightly closer to Lily and pressed his leg firmly against hers. The pressure against her leg felt safe and reassuring. She worked on slowing her breathing. "Are we going to get on with this meeting or what?"

Payne turned to look at them all for the first time; a scowl still etched on his handsome face.

"Do you have to shout?" Payne asked.

Scorpius laughed. "Hey, you're the one who called this meeting!"

"I'm regretting that greatly," he said. "We do, however, need to discuss strategy…"

"We have weeks until our next game," Kenny said.

"Yes, and I promised our house that we will take the cup again this year," he said. "I intend to keep that promise."

"We all want that," Leo said. "But none of us want to be here right now."

The others laughed and concurred with his statement.

"We need to discuss our plays," Payne persisted. "If it weren't for Potter here, we likely wouldn't have won the game yesterday!" He moved away from the wall and took a couple steps towards Lily.

Lily tensed as he came closer, his tall frame leaning over her slightly. She wasn't afraid of Payne in the least, but she couldn't convince her body to stop trembling as he placed his hand on her shoulder. It was a simple enough gesture, and one she was used to, but in that moment feeling his heavy hand on her made the back of her neck begin to sweat and her hands shook so badly she had to set her cup down on her lap to try and steady it.

Scorpius seemed to instantly notice the effect Payne's presence was having on her, and he stood swiftly to attempt to change the situation.

"Okay then let's get out on the field, what are we doing sitting around here?" He said, casually smacking Payne in the chest to get his attention and move him away from Lily.

Payne pretended to be wounded and doubled over at the waist, clutching his chest, but fortunately releasing his hold on Lily. She took a deep breath and inched further down the bench away from Payne. He motioned for everyone to follow and they took to the pitch where brooms were already set out and waiting.

"Potter, do a couple rounds with the snitch then run some goals with Malfoy," Payne said.

Lily didn't respond, she had set down her tea mug and was trying to control her shaking before mounting her broom. Payne seemed unaffected by her silence though and had moved on to discuss plays with the chasers.

"You alright?" Scorpius asked stepping up beside her, one hand gripping his broom.

Lily looked at him and forced herself to nod, hoping her eyes didn't betray the fear and panic she was truly feeling. His expression was tense, and she could tell she hadn't fooled him. Without a word, she put one leg over her broom and flew off, needing to be alone. Scorpius watched her fly off, higher than normal, but didn't try and follow.

Lily only half-heartedly looked for the snitch during practice. She spent her time high above the pitch, grasping her broom more tightly than necessary to feel stable, and taking long, slow breaths of the crisp morning air. Without warning, her thoughts drifted back to the previous night and she let herself replay the entire incident over in her mind, from start to finish. She could remember every moment of it. Every word said, every touch on her skin, every ragged breath she took. She squeezed her eyes shut wanting to make it go away, but that only seemed to make the memories more potent. Tears leaked from her eyes and she let them fall unchecked down her cheeks.

She didn't know how long practice had been going. Her mind seemed unable to process something as simple as time at that moment. She did know she hadn't thought to look for the snitch at all. Glancing down, she saw Payne and the chasers running plays, while Leo and Geoff took turns targeting each other with the bludger, laughing when one of them got a successful hit against the other. It was such a normal day, a normal practice, but she didn't feel normal. She felt disconnected from them like she wasn't really there, but observing from a different place or a different body.

This is what they wanted, she realized. They wanted to keep me from feeling normal or happy…She started shivering again and soon her body was trembling so ferociously she struggled to keep a hold of her broom.

She was trying to take deep steadying breaths when Scorpius flew up beside her.

"Come on," he said.

"What?" She asked, looking towards him, but not directly at him.

"I'm getting you out of here," he said. "You shouldn't be here right now. I knew it was a mistake to let you come to practice."

Lily didn't argue. He put one hand on her broom and flew her slowly down to the ground. Lily didn't resist. She didn't speak.

"Stay here," he said once they had landed and he had seen her safely off her broom.

Lily stood perfectly still while he flew up to Payne's level. She didn't know what he said to Payne or what Payne might have said in response. She didn't even look up to watch the interaction. A moment later though Scorpius had returned to her side and dismounted from his broom. He set his broom next to hers, briefly commenting that the team would put them away, and beckoned for her to follow him away from the field.

"Do you want to go back to bed?" He asked.

"I don't know," she said. She thought of the possibilities of running into Julianne and having to talk to her.

"Do you want to go get something to eat? You didn't have any breakfast," he said. "Lunch should be put out soon, or we could go down to the kitchens."

Lily considered the possibility of running into one of her siblings or cousins at lunch and shook her head.

Scorpius hesitated. They had been walking slowly towards the castle, but she suddenly stopped.

"I don't want to see anybody," she said quietly. "I don't want to talk to anybody."

"Right," he said. His eyes shifted towards the castle. "Me included?"

Lily surprised herself by shaking her head. "No, you're okay."

He seemed about to smile, but instead just nodded. "Okay then, I know exactly what we're going to do." He turned the other direction, away from both the castle and the pitch, and Lily followed him across the grounds without a word.

After a moment she realized they were headed towards Hagrid's hut. She wanted to object; she was certainly not in the mood to have a talk with Hagrid. He'd want to talk about how she was doing and her happiness, and she didn't know if she could lie to him.

"Don't worry," Scorpius said, seemingly able to read her thoughts. "We're not going to see Hagrid."

When they reached the small hut, he led her around behind it towards the edge of the Dark Forest. Just inside the tree line a small fenced pen had been set up. It was darker inside the line of the forest, even just the few feet they moved in, the trees grew so dense they blocked any trace of the mid-day sun. She had to strain her eyes to see what was inside of the pen, but when she realized, she gasped.

"It's him!" She said, almost breathlessly.

Scorpius grinned. "I thought you might like to come and say hey. And it's a 'her' actually," he said. He unlocked the gate in the pen and motioned for Lily to enter.

In the far corner, resting on a bed of hay and wool blankets, was the unicorn foal she had found injured in the dark forest during initiation week. She had thought of the creature often over the past couple months, but had assumed he had been returned to the wild.

"Hagrid's been taking care of her, and since she's gotten stronger he started letting us visit with her during our Care of Magical Creatures classes," Scorpius said. "Just for the past couple weeks since being back from holiday."

Lily moved towards the unicorn slowly, not wanting to scare her, but when she approached, the foal lifted her golden head and looking into her big brown eyes, Lily felt instinctively that the unicorn remembered her. She sat down in the hay beside the unicorn and stroked her soft nose gently.

"Hi girl," Lily said. "Do you remember me?" She let out a slow breath and lowered her head towards the unicorn's face, breathing in the sweet honeysuckle scent emanating from her coat. "You know what it's like to be trapped, don't you? You know how it feels to be helpless."

Scorpius stayed just inside the opening of the pen, giving Lily her space and a moment of peace with the unicorn. He observed her silently, noting the way her trembling had subsisted and how her breathing had regulated as she stroked the unicorn. When the unicorn nuzzled its nose against Lily's ear, he saw that she even smiled slightly. He knew bringing her here was the right choice.

"You can join us if you want," she said after a few minutes, glancing up towards Scorpius.

"Yeah?" He asked, taking a couple steps forward.

"Come sit," she said. Then she seemed to reconsider. "Or I mean, if you have somewhere else to be, you don't have to stay here with me. I'm okay alone."

He came and sat beside her. "There's nowhere else I need to be," he said. "I want to be here."

Lily didn't respond. She didn't know how to express her increasing gratitude towards him. In the past twelve hours he had proved to be the best sort of person and friend and she didn't feel that she deserved any of his kindness after how terribly she had been treating him the past couple years. After the events of the night before and the way he had been there for her every moment since, she knew that she would never again be able to deny his friendship; she didn't want to.

"Scorpius…" She said quietly after they had sat silently for almost ten minutes letting the unicorn eat grass and sprigs mint from their hands.

"You don't have to say anything, Lily," he said.

"I feel that I do though," she said. "I just don't know what to say…" She let out a breath and shifted her position slightly so she was facing him a bit more. "I need to say thank you, again, though it's hardly enough…"

"You don't need to thank me," he said. "I just want to be able to help you."

"You are," she said. "You have. More than I can ever explain."

He shifted his position and his knee bumped her back. She instantly let out a short yelp of pain.

"What did I do?" He asked, his voice panicked. "Are you okay?"

She sucked in a slow shaky breath and tried to reassure him, but her eyes stung with tears.

"Lily, show me what's wrong," he said.

Lily turned her back to him and lifted the edge of her shirt to show him the welt on her lower back. She knew he saw it when he gasped and then cursed.

"I'll be okay," she said.

"Lily that is not okay." He said.

"I fell down the stairs…" she said. "They…" she trembled even letting herself think of them again. "They pushed me and I fell."

He cursed again.

"I'll be fine," she said, lowering her shirt again.

"Lily you need to talk to someone. At the very least you need to go and see Madam Rougal," he said. "I can't heal this. You could have serious internal injuries."

Lily shook her head.

"We don't have to tell her what happened," he said. "Though I still think you should. But if you want, we can just say you tripped and fell down the stairs, okay?"

Lily started to protest again, but she couldn't deny that her body was aching and it hurt inside when she breathed too deep or moved too fast. Finally she sighed and nodded.

"Yeah?" He said, his voice brightening. "Let's go."

"Now?" She asked.

"I think it's best," he said.

She looked longingly towards the unicorn.

"We'll come back and visit her later tonight," he said. "I promise. We'll bring her some sugar from dinner."

Lily nodded. "Does she have a name?"

"Hagrid calls her Little Flower," he said. "After you."

"He's called me that since I was born," she said. "Well, a lot of people do actually." Then she frowned. "I sometimes find it annoying, but it suits her."

Scorpius smiled. "It does," he said. "Not you though. You are certainly not a delicate little flower."

She almost smiled.

"Let's go," he said.

They walked together from the pen, closing it securely, and up to the castle, heading towards the hospital room.

"I really don't think this is necessary," Lily said as they neared the doors.

"And I really don't think you're being rational," he said.

She scowled at him.

He opened the door for her and motioned her inside. "Madam Rougal?" He called out. She was inside her office at the back of the room, but came out when she heard them enter. There was no one else in the room, for which Lily was grateful.

"Miss Potter, Mr. Malfoy, how can I help you two?" She asked, coming towards them. "Not another Quidditch injury I hope."

"No ma'am, not this time," Scorpius said. "Lily tripped last night and fell down the steps leading down to the dungeons," he said. "She got pretty banged up."

Madam Rougal turned her gentle brown eyes on Lily. "Miss Potter?"

Lily only managed a nod. She was afraid of Madam Rougal figuring out the lie.

"Miss Potter, are you alright?" Madam Rougal asked.

She nodded again.

"I'm afraid she's not a huge fan of hospitals," Scorpius said, trying to cover for Lily's silence. "I had to beg her to come and see you!"

Madam Rougal nodded. "I see," she said. "Miss Potter can you explain where you are hurt?"

Lily glanced at Scorpius who frowned at her and nodded. She sighed and lifted her shirt to show Madam Rougal the dark welt low on her back.

"Oh my," Madam Rougal said. "That doesn't look pleasant. You should have come to me right away." She lifted Lily's shirt a bit more, exposing more of her back and stomach. "There are other bruises here…" she pointed to Lily's ribs. Also from the…fall?"

Lily didn't like Madam Rougal's tone. It was too curious. She glanced at Scorpius, but he was staring at the bruises that had been exposed on her stomach and the anger in his eyes startled her. She hadn't meant for him to see how injured the rest of her body was.

"Yes, from the fall," Lily said, confirming Madam Rougal's inquiry.

"I see," she said. She hesitated and glanced from Scorpius to Lily. "Are there others?" Lily shrugged and Madam Rougal pursed her lips. "I'm going to get you a gown to change into. We'll use that bed there."

She turned and went to the back wall which was lined with cupboards and shelves full of supplies. Lily moved to the bed that had been indicated. Scorpius followed her and spoke in a low voice.

"I think you should tell her about the healing I did to your face," he said.

"What? Why?" She asked. "It's fine, you fixed that."

"But what if I didn't do it right? What if there's something she needs to do?" He said. "It was the first time for me, remember? I'm not a healer."

"My face is fine," she said. "I can't tell her about that without explaining more. A trip down the steps wouldn't have injured my face."

Scorpius frowned as though he was thinking very hard.

"I do not want to discuss that," she said. "You said I wouldn't have to say anything if I came."

"I really think you should…"

"No," she said firmly. "I don't want to talk about any of it."

"Fine," he said, a little more harshly than he had meant to.

She stared at him and felt that she needed to say something else to make him understand, but didn't know what to say. Before she had a chance to think of something, Madam Rougal had returned carrying a white hospital gown for Lily to change into.

"Mr. Malfoy, thank you for bringing Miss Potter, but I can take it from here," she said.

Scorpius hesitated. He hadn't planned to leave. "I was thinking I could stay," he said.

"I'm sure Miss Potter would appreciate her privacy," Madam Rougal said.

Scorpius looked to Lily, hoping she would tell him to stay, but she nodded, confirming Madam Rougal's suggestion.

"Okay…" he said. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Scorpius," Lily said. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"I'll come back in an hour and see how things are going," he said.

"You don't have to…" she said.

"I want to," he said.

She nodded and he left, allowing her to begin undressing to change into the hospital gown. Madam Rougal busied herself mixing ointments and prepping bandages while Lily changed, but she gasped when she noticed bruises covering a large portion of Lily's stomach, back, and arms. She tried to correct her unprofessional reaction, and held up her hand before Lily put on the gown.

"Miss Potter, there are quite a few bruises and marks on you," she said. "You must have had quite the tumble."

Lily nodded, again not trusting herself to speak.

"Do you want to tell me exactly how it happened?" She asked.

"I just tripped," Lily said. "I wasn't paying attention." It wasn't a hard story for her to sell. She did trip often, everyone in her family knew it. The way Madam Rougal stared at her though, made it hard for Lily to make eye contact and continue the lie.

"Mmhmm," Madam Rougal said through tight lips. "If I had Mr. Malfoy return would he confirm your story?"

Lily frowned. "Yes," she said.

"I see," she said. "Very well, but before you put on the gown, I need you to lie down and let me inspect you."

Lily laid down on the bed and waited, hoping Madam Rougal wouldn't ask anymore questions. The inspection was quick, but thorough, and Madam Rougal was silent throughout. When she finished, she told Lily to stay put and wait for treatment.

Madam Rougal applied cream to various spots on Lily's back, arms, and stomach, still without saying a word. She finished the cream, helped Lily put on the gown then instructed her to get comfortable on the hospital bed.

"Miss Potter, I've told you before that I am well aware of when people are not being entirely truthful with me," she said. "I have seen many tumbles down the steps in my years of work, and I must say that the injuries on your body are not consistent with only falling."

Lily was silent.

"Two of your ribs have been fractured," Madam Rougal said softly.

Lily's eyes widened at the news, but she realized she wasn't surprised. It would explain the pain when breathing or moving.

"I'll need to set them, and you'll need to take a break from Quidditch while it heals," Madam Rougal said.

"How long of a break?" Lily asked.

"We'll have to wait and see, but at least two weeks," she said.

"Two weeks?" Lily echoed.

"Miss Potter, a broken rib is not a small thing," she said.

"I flew this morning though, and I was okay…"

Madam Rougal frowned. "You were this injured and you got on your broom? Why didn't you come straight to see me after this happened?"

"I didn't think it was necessary," Lily said.

The healer didn't respond, but her expression showed her disapproval of Lily's response. "Please lay still on your side. I'm going to begin the spell for your ribs," Madam Rougal said, helping to position Lily on the bed.

Lily let out a deep breath and waited as Madam Rougal waved her wand over her left side, muttering a healing spell beneath her breath. There was some sharp pain in her ribcage as the healing began, but it only lasted a few minutes.

"There," Madam Rougal said. "Finished. Your ribs are reset, but the healing will take time. While they are vulnerable like this, they can easily be re-fractured if not taken care of properly."

"I understand," Lily said. "Am I able to leave though or do I need to stay here for a while?"

Madam Rougal frowned. "I'm going to give you a potion to drink that will help ease the discomfort of some of your injuries. I'd like you to remain here for at least thirty minutes after that. Sometimes there are side effects from the potion, and I want to be certain you are alright before dismissing you."

Lily nodded.

Madam Rougal gave her the potion and Lily drank it without flinching, even though it was thick and bitter and hard to swallow. She returned the empty vial to Madam Rougal.

"Miss Potter, I'm going to ask you again to please be honest with me and tell me exactly how you came by all these injuries," she said.

Lily twirled a piece of her long hair around a finger. "I already told you," she said. "I fell."

Madam Rougal sighed, clearly disappointed in Lily's answer.

"If someone has hurt you, you should discuss it with someone. If not me, then perhaps your head of house?" Madam Rougal suggested.

"I'm fine," Lily said firmly.

"Did Mr. Malfoy do this to you?" Madam Rougal asked after a moment.

Lily's eyes widened. "What? No! Not at all. Scorpius would never…"

"But somebody did," Madam Rougal said.

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it again and fell silent.

"Alright, you clearly have your reasons for not being honest with me, though I would urge you to reconsider," Madam Rougal said. "I will not press you again though. Please do, however, promise me that you will let your body heal, take care of yourself, and please, if you ever find yourself injured again in any way, come to me straight away."

Lily nodded her agreement.

"Fine. Rest here for a half hour, and then you are free to leave," Madam Rougal said, turning to leave Lily alone to rest on the bed.

Thirty minutes later, Lily was eager to leave the hospital wing and when Scorpius arrived to see her, she was already dressed and working on tying her boots.

"She's releasing you?" He asked.

"Yep," Lily said. "I'm all better."

"I don't know about that, but I'm glad you're well enough to leave," he said. "Feel up for some dinner?"

Lily finished tying her boots and stood. She shook her head. "You go ahead, I'm not really in the mood to be around a bunch of people."

Scorpius nodded. "How about I grab us a couple sandwiches and we go eat with Little Flower," he said.

They had left the hospital now and were walking towards the main hall. Lily was caught off guard by his offer and paused momentarily. "Scorpius, you don't have to keep doing this," she said.

"Doing what?" He asked.

"Taking care of me," she said. "I'm okay…" she noted his skeptical expression. "Fine, I'm not okay, not at all, but I will be eventually, and I'm capable of taking care of myself."

She turned to start walking again, but he stopped her suddenly. "Look, Lily, I'm only going to say this once, and I want you to really hear me. I am your friend, whether you want me to be or not, and right now, you need a friend. I know you're bloody capable, but I want to be with you right now. I don't think you really should be by yourself, and so your choice is to either come and eat with me in the dining hall, or I'll come and eat with you wherever you plan to go. Got it?"

Lily didn't trust herself to respond without her emotions getting the better of her again, so instead she just nodded slightly and gave him a smile. "Sandwiches sound great. I'll wait for you out back," she said.

She waited outside only a few minutes while Scorpius ran into the dining hall and returned with two chicken sandwiches wrapped in a linen napkin. They walked back down to Little Flower's pen together and sat near the unicorn while they ate, taking turns feeding her sugar cubes Scorpius had shoved in his pocket. They didn't speak for a while. Both seemed content with one another's silent company, but finally Scorpius broke the silence with a long deep breath.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

"Okay, go for it," she said.

"You're not going to like it," he said. "In fact, you're going to be very upset with me."

"Just say it," she said. "Whatever it is. I won't be angry."

He smirked. "You will," he said, "but I don't regret it."

She waited impatiently.

"I told Willoughby, he said.

"Told him what?" She asked.

"About what happened last night," he said. "I told him about the guys and what they did."

Lily's mouth gaped open and she felt anger simmering up inside her. "You had no right! I thought I could trust you. I thought you understood that I didn't want anyone to know…"

"Hold on a minute," he said, putting his hands in the air to attempt to calm her down. "I didn't say anything about you, honest. I told him that I had witnessed these three guys attacking a student, but I couldn't tell him who it was."

Lily's rage still boiled. "He'll know it's me," she said.

"He won't," he said. "I swear, I didn't say a thing to give you away. I didn't even tell him it was a Slytherin. I told him that I ran the guys off and the girl left to take care of herself."

"He'll know," Lily repeated. "He always seems to know everything. I can't lie to him about anything."

"There's no way he'll know unless you tell him yourself," Scorpius said.

Lily tried to calm herself down. She knew Scorpius hadn't been trying to betray her, though she still wasn't happy with him for saying anything. "Why did you tell him at all?"

"Because they need to be found and punished," he said. "They need to be expelled. They need to have their wands snapped. They need to…"

"Scorpius stop," she said. "There's no way to know who they were…you have to just let it go."

"Yeah, I can't." He said. "While you were in the hospital, I spent almost an hour just watching students, trying to match someone to their height and build, trying to see if anyone looked at me differently because I maybe had cursed them. It's all I can think about. Those guys are monsters, and I won't let them get away with what they did to you." He shook his head. "Is there anything you can think of that makes them stand out? Eye color? Scars on their faces? Crooked teeth?"

Lily squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "I don't want to do this," she said.

"Come on, Lily, just think! If there's something you can remember…"

"No!" She said suddenly, so sharply it made Little Flower lift her head in concern.

Scorpius stared at her.

"I don't want to think about them. I don't want to focus on their faces. I don't want to try and remember. I can't stop thinking about them. I can't get their faces out of my head. Every time I close my eyes I see them, I hear them, I feel them, I can still smell their breath…" Her voice broke and she knew tears were inevitable again.

"I'm sorry," Scorpius said, instantly feeling apologetic for forcing her to this emotional breaking point.

"I know they're monsters," she said, unable to stop herself now. "What they tried to do to me was worse than if they had used cruciatus. I'll never forget what their hands felt like on my skin. I'll never forget how they held me down or the things they said. My ribs and bruises will heal over time, but I'll never be able to forget. Just please don't ask me to talk about it…"

"I'm sorry, Lily. I won't say another word about it. I promise. I won't," he said. Then with some hesitancy. "What do you mean your ribs will heal?"

She sighed. "Madam Rougal has set them to heal, but I had two broken ribs."

"Bloody hell," Scorpius said, his voice taking on that fierce angry tone again. "Those bastards…" He held up his hands again and shook his head. "I'm done. I won't say another word."

Scorpius handed Lily another sugar cube and she passed it on to Little Flower.

"Thank you, Scorpius," she said. "For everything."

A/N: let me know what you think! Also, next update is going to be for Valentine's, so look for that. I have some fun stuff planned for it! Please review :) XOXO