APOV

"Dammit!" I cursed loudly, trying desperately to hold down the older man as he screamed in pain. Blood was pouring from his shoulder where a spell had severed his arm clean off. They had called in all authorized ministry staff who had even the most basic medical training. Without my wand it was all I could do to run around fetching potions and bandages.

"Get the incoming volunteers organized and the elves down to the ORs!"

"Where is that blasted Morphine!"

I shifted fearfully to glance at my cousin amidst the roaring chaos. Louis's hair was tied hastily behind his head with a medical bandana capped over it. He had just unstoppered a vial of cleansing serum with his mouth to pour as much of the liquid as he could into an open wound on the patient next to mine. The scream the witch produced in response was unnatural. I had to physically turn away to keep from retching at the sight of her insides.

"Stay focused everyone! More coming in!" Someone had shouted amidst the din.

I scanned the room for a moment in disbelief. Sparks and magical discharge were crackling dangerously around the frenzied staff as they tried desperately to save the wounded and the dying. I had never witnessed anything like this before.

So much magic was being performed at once that the Exerion-12 effect was in overdrive. The haze was so intense that it was interfering with the doctors spell work, preventing them from performing subtle surgical techniques.

"Blast! Fetch me a ten blade and a syringe full of morphine!

It was madness. Only our most skilled healers could work around Ex-12 haze and not mess up their delicate tasks. Which was why only those most in danger of dying were being attended to by St Mungos master healers. The problem with that protocol, I decided looking around me, was in this case that the room seemed more a horror house than a hospital. A horror house where mangled body parts and oceans of blood decorated its beds, walls and floors. Everyone was in critical condition, so how could they decide on which patients to risk their magic?

Its at times like these that we wizards often feel the most helpless, having to perform tasks completely by hand like the muggles.

My patient's sudden spasms snapped me back to my work. It was all I could do to keep my attention away from the television screens as more news of the bombings flooded in with every moment that passed.

"Sir! The doctor is trying his best but you have to stay still."

For a moment I glanced upwards towards the screens.

"Reports are coming in from China and Japan that terrorists have since set off bombs in Beijing and Shanghai following the wake of this afternoons . The lists of the dead are rising catastrophically. We have yet to reestablish communications with the Minister for Magic."

How could they have confiscated my wand! I'd have been able to help my family if they'd have let me fight! My attention had lapsed, causing me to curse angrily when my slip had allowed more blood to squirt from the man's arm.

"Hold him steady boy! Where is your fucking head at!"

"Yes doctor. I'm sorry. Ford, come help me with his arm! I can't get a strong enough grip."

Just then, a commotion began at the other end of the room.

"It's just a flesh wound! Damn it I have to get back to the battle! My forces won't respond to commands without a Malfoy present!"

Draco? I could not have mistaken the voice, nor the commanding tone. My head shifted between the crowd of doctors, healers, nurses and elves, straining to catch a glimpse of the impossible.

"Mr. Malfoy!" I spat staring in shock as the blond prince struggled against his rescuers. Behind the gurney and the men wheeling it, I spied my uncle Bill, barely conscious and supported only by the strength of my god brother Teddy. Blood was dripping down his face and into his left eye where a gash had opened the skin on his forehead.

"Some help here!" Teddy shouted frantically as he collapsed under the weight of a sagging Bill.

This isn't happening.

This isn't happening.

"Papa!" Louis shrieked, trying to make his way over towards them. It took a doctor and two nurses to keep Draco from tearing himself free of his gurney's restraints. Why was this happening? How had it come to this?

I was barely able to breathe with so much chaos around me. Time and the world itself seemed for a moment to have slowed to a standstill. An eternity passed as I stood helplessly in the wake of such violence and Hate. Blood everywhere. Hate... humming its vengeful tune.

It took only one quick command from a healer to jolt me from my stupor.

"You! Marquess Potter! Keep your cousin out of my way!" a doctor barked curtly as he and a medical elf ran towards the collapsed war hero. It was all I could do to hold Louis in a strong hug, fighting to keep him in place and away from his dad.

"Louis, Louis! You have to stop! You'll only get in the way. They'll save him, just let them work."

My courageous cousin was now struggling so fiercely for a release that I thought he might injure me. He was terrified.

Give me an enemy to fight any day over the horror of watching the dead and the dying slip from this world. Paint me a face to villainy and point me in its direction. Not this. Anything but this. Louis's sisters caught my gaze then in a wild blur of motion.

Victoire and Dominique hadn't so much as batted an eye at their fathers collapse. They had been through more of these crises than anyone from our generation and were assisting some of St. Mungos more skilled healers with the critical cases. Their aunt Gabrielle Delacour was the chief medical officer at St. Mungos and was issuing orders left and right with a cool and level head. I was shocked to watch her magically stitch up a wound without her wand while simultaneously reviewing her next patients vitals on a chart thrust in front of her by her nieces.

My attention snapped again back to the boy in my arms and the horrific scene he could not escape. Louis was in tears. He watched helplessly as doctors began to shock Bills heart in an attempt to get it started again. The boys hands found themselves firmly in my own as I whispered a silent prayer. A line of something from the black book of Death. Something half remembered in a dream beneath a forest. The sight of the faeric script on the ancient pages flashed through my very soul as I spoke the magic. "Please spare my uncle this his final fate. Resurgite vitae... Flaedther lim volti." The words seemed to drift from my mouth like wind echoing through a field. Please let him come back to us. It was all I could think to do.

To my horror, nearly a moment later the entire emergency room erupted into a crackling explosion of electrical energy that fried some of the equipment and shattered the enormous arched windows as well as the glass cupboard doors. A storm of chaos like a hurricane.

"EX-12 wave! Take cover!"

As I braced us against the assault, I couldn't help but wonder... Had I caused it?

"He's back! We've got him!

I blinked in shock, watching the steady heart beat begin on the monitor. When uncle Bills pulse came back Louis finally managed to calm himself, agreeing reluctantly not to interfere again.

"Quickly now, he's a priority alpha political officer. Get him to an OR insulated against Ex-12. Move!"

My cousin hugged me tightly, whispering a quick thanks in my ear before he ran off to help some new patients. An indistinct blur nearly knocked me to the ground as it zipped past me with a bundle of medical supplies in its arms. I hadn't been able to tell whether it were man, woman or beast.

Shapes... haze... noises... fear...

Again a familiar voice barked from behind me.

"Draco! You have to lie still! You could lose your arm if you're not careful!" To my surprise the Witch responsible for treating Mr Malfoy had been none other than Poppy Pomfrey.

"No! They're mercenaries! Without our Dragoons Harry will be outnumbered! He's already been injured. They'll be slaughtered and all the prisoners still inside Azkaban will escape!" I pushed Madame Pomfrey aside momentarily and snapped my fingers in front of mr. Malfoy's face, shining a pen light from left to right in front of his eyes. He seemed shocked by my presence here, but at least it had had the intended effect.

"Albus?"

"You aren't going anywhere right now Mr. Malfoy, so lie still and shut up." I ordered curtly. I handed the printout of his EKG to madam Pomfrey, waiting for her instructions. She was examining his left arm now.

"He's not in any critical danger... But he's not fit enough to go back into battle. You'll have to deal with him yourself Albus. Don't let him go back out-"

She didn't have time to finish her statement before I started to scream in pain. My heart had literally exploded in my chest. Intense fear consumed me... emanating from the other end of my soul bond.

"Scorpius!" I shouted, tipping over a tray as I fought to steady myself against the nauseous dizziness. The world was spinning violently about me. Out of all control. I listened absently as the metal instruments clattered on the floor. Echoes... I have to...

In a few seconds i'd pulled out my phone and typed a quick message. I had all but ignored the confused adults. I didn't have much time...

'You're right... I don't want to hear from you but this is an emergency... Your dad is at Mungos. He's injured. Where are you? Are you somewhere safe?! I felt something absolutely horrible just now.'

There was an odd shriek on the TV as the correspondent stared in horror at the new cameras that orbited the scene around the prison.

"My nephew! What is my nephew doing there!" she yelled, examining the footage.

They'd managed somehow to coax another crazy camera man on sight to command the drones. "It appears as though Scorpius Malfoy has arrived with his personal detachment of Dragoons and has at least provided a chain of command over the mercenaries. The absence of Draco Malfoy had temporarily turned the tides when the hired wands refused to continue their operation without their employer. As heir to the Malfoy estate my nephew has filled that role. He has signed over leadership of his forces and the minister for magic is now issuing battle orders from the wardens office. We have the enemy on the run! If my nephew's courage doesn't get himself killed out there then I will certainly murder him for his blatant stupidity when he gets back!"

I felt sick all of a sudden, wanting to vomit when i'd caught sight of the blond idiot standing next to dad amidst the wreckage and explosions. He was holding himself awkwardly as though he'd been hurt. I turned to puke into a nearby metal dish, unable to contain my horror. My heart was racing out of control as the sight of the carnage swelled in my mind.

Fire... and Blood... everywhere.

Faces swirling in the Hate fueled haze.

Death... Hate... death... hate... so much... I couldn't control it anymore.

I merely tumbled backwards, falling slowly as though through thick pudding.

I could still make out the voice of the correspondent in the background as Mr. Malfoy and Madame Pomfrey shouted for help.

"Albus!"

"What's wrong?"

"Somebody help him! He's Harry Potter's son for Merlin's sake!"

The voice continued... an elegy of sorrow and despair. It was the last thing I heard before the pain and fear caused me to black out.

"Friends, loved ones, peers and citizens... As a devout pacifist I have often set my Pureblood status aside in the 'great debate'... Out of a hope and longing for peace. Today i'm ashamed to admit, is a sad day for all those who like me supported Harry Potters vision of a unified world... I'm sorry... i need a moment to collect myself... the press Secretary will soon be ready to brief us... we go live to Molly Weasley to discuss the ministry's response... she is joined by Arthur and Percy Weasley, members of the executive cabinet."

Scorpius...


Sorry it took so long for an update but my birthday was this week.

You guys are lucky that much of the following content has already been written because I kind of feel like taking a break from the story. Sigh... although some of you might murder me if I tried.