Albus Potter was having a bad day.
He'd failed a test in Charms, forgotten his essay in Potions, and been hit in the leg with a bludger at Quidditch practice. If things kept up at this rate, he'd be dead by morning.
He was on his way to his dorm, prepared to study into the wee hours of the night. Grumbling to himself, he turned a corner and smashed his body against someone much taller than he was.
On the ground, Albus looked up to see the face of none other than his archenemy. He snarled. Leave it to Malfoy to make his bad day worse.
Scorpius flinched in pain when he collided with Potter. The impact dug the glass from the vial even deeper in his skin. He would take it all out, but he knew if he removed the glass, more blood would flow.
He looked down at Albus and tried not to laugh. The man's hair was everywhere, even worse than it normally was.
And then he noticed the blood.
It covered Potter's left leg, and seemed to be coming from a massive cut on his thigh. His eyes widened when he saw traces of the Veritaserum on Potter's trouser leg.
This would not go over well…
"Potter! Watch where you're- Oh, shit."
"What do you mean, 'oh, shit'?"
He gestured towards Albus's pants. "You're bleeding."
"So? Quidditch just ended; got hit by a bludger. What's it to you?"
Malfoy shook his head. "There's Veritaserum on your leg. Surely you know why this could be bad."
Slow realization crossed over Potter's face and he tried to use the sleeve of his robes to wipe away some of the blood.
Malfoy smacked his hand away. "You idiot! Don't you know the blood doesn't have to be in your body for the potion to mix with it?"
Potter thought for a second and shook his head. He slowly pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the hand that Malfoy extended.
"Well, then I guess we better head for the hospital wing."
Malfoy snorted. "That's where I was going in the first place, you insufferable prat."
Ducking just in time to avoid Potter's fist swinging for his head, Scorpius chuckled and set off once again for the hospital wing.
Ignoring Potter's mumbling was not as easy as he'd hoped it would be. Apparently the potion was blending with the boy's blood more quickly than it was Scopius's, probably because the shorter boy's cut was deeper.
Because of this, Albus was uncontrollably spouting out information. He was talking nonstop, and all of it was true. He tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible, but Malfoy caught a few snippets.
"Set Lily's hair on fire…threw out James's clothes…"
They arrived at the hospital wing and went up to the mediwitch.
"Madame Pomfrey, we have a serious problem. You see, a third-year broke a vial of Veritaserum, and somehow cut my leg with the glass," Scorpius said, and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm afraid the potion is mixing with my blood, and I don't know how to stop it. Potter here managed to run into me in the corridor, and get some of the potion in his cut from Quidditch practice."
The mediwitch nodded and directed them to a bed. She went to her potions cabinet and began pulling out small vials. She poured a yellow one onto a cloth, and walked over to the boys.
"This will stop the blood from flowing out of your wounds, just for a few minutes. Now, this will sting quite a bit."
She applied to cloth the Scorpius's leg, and he let out a yelp. Instantly the blood running down his thigh froze. Poppy turned to put the cloth on Potter's leg, and he barely even flinched. He was still talking under his breath, and Malfoy heard, "I have a massive crush on-" and then Potter slapped his hands over his mouth.