A/n: First of all, I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR AGES! Real life has been killing me and my beta [the beautiful, gorgeous nymphxdora] had exams, so I took so long! I really am sorry, and hopefully you forgive me with with this extra long chapter!

Chapter 22

Coming Together

She stumbled when her feet met firm ground and only barely managed to steady Astoria before the latter went crashing to the floor. Rose led the older woman to the plush sofa in Albus's office-lab and helped her onto it. She watched the other's laboured breathing for a moment before heading around the sofa to the panels in the wall, pushing and pressing against them in order to open them.

It took her a good ten minutes to find what she wanted, but when she did, she exclaimed triumphantly and ran over to Astoria. The older woman's breathing had evened out considerably, but she was still extremely pale and was shivering uncontrollably. Rose cast a Warming spell around her as she tipped her head back and tilted the small vial in her hand, emptying the turquoise liquid into Astoria's mouth.

The result was instantaneous. Astoria's cheeks flushed as colour returned to her skin, her chest rose and fell as her breathing grew deeper, and her eyelids fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Where..." she breathed, her eyes slowly looking around her as her fingers twitched.

"Albus's office, I Apparated us here. How do you feel?"

Astoria turned ever so slightly to look at Rose and her brows crinkled in confusion for a moment before smoothing out. "Ah, yes," she said breathlessly, slowly easing herself forward.

Rose moved to help her, but she held up a hand and shakily stood to her feet, clutching at air for support. Rose pressed her lips together and stretched her arm out so Astoria could hold onto it if she wanted to. For a second the other woman eyed Rose's extended hand disdainfully and then snapping her head forward, raised her chin, clasped her hands in front of her, pushed her shoulder back, and began to stride regally toward the back wall.

Rose rolled her eyes and followed, wondering what the still wobbling woman was going to do. Astoria pressed her palm against the back wall and Rose gasped as a glowing, rectangular outline the size of a door appeared in the wall. Astoria pressed again and the space within the rectangular outline disappeared to reveal another room. Rose leaned forwards on the balls of her feet to see through to the shimmering room. She belatedly realised that the room wasn't what was shimmering, but rather the barrier that separated the one they were in and the one they were looking into.

"Come," Astoria instructed, as she stepped through the enchanted space and disappeared. She stepped up to Astoria's side and watched as an extraordinarily short – for a wizard – man hobbled up to them, looking flustered and worn out.

"Lady Astoria!" he squeaked, to which Astoria shot him a disapproving glance before her gaze settled on the far corner of the room where a privacy screen had been installed.

"How is he?" she asked softly as they made their way across the room.

"You may return to whatever it was you had been doing, Mister Binks," Astoria cut in, making Mister Binks clamp his mouth shut mid-sentence, go red in the face and nod vigorously, before stepping back and bowing so low, his nose almost touched the floor. Astoria gingerly slid back the curtains and Rose's breath caught at the sight of her cousin.

Albus was lying in a hospital bed, his complexion rivaling the sheets he was tucked into – so much so, that his blood vessels stood out in stark contrast against his translucent skin, like winding wires of different colours embedded in his arms and neck. His face wasn't any better; his cheeks were hollow, there were dark circles around his eyes, his usually thick, wild hair was thinning and sticking flat to his face, his lips were cracked and blue…

Several wires from his wrists and chest led to a weird, beeping, metal box that had a black display on the front. There were two horizontal lines that ran in a particular pattern across the display.

The first one was reasonably stable, with steadily blinking numbers that fluctuated back and forth every few minutes, next to it. The one below one didn't seem to have any particular pattern and was simply a very jagged line, but the numbers displayed next to it were fluctuating constantly.

"What is that?" Rose asked, motioning to the box.

"A modified cardiac monitor," Astoria replied blandly, sitting down in the uncomfortable looking chair beside the bed and clasping Albus's bony hand in her own.

"What does it do?" Rose asked, when Astoria didn't seem inclined to continue. The older woman shot her an irritated look.

"It does as it's names," she said dryly. "It records the heart rate and rhythm and shows whether the patient's heart condition is stable or erratic and whether his life is in any danger."

"Both those lines?" Rose asked, curiosity clear in her voice. As a person of science, magical or Muggle, her curiosity took the better of her even in serious situation.

Astoria seemed used to it by then, because she replied, "The second series shows the stability of his magic."

"But," Rose frowned, "it doesn't seem very stable."

"Because it isn't," Astoria said simply, focusing on Albus's face, her eyes softening. "His magic has been erratic ever since he lost consciousness. We've been able to keep it suppressed using different potions, drugs, spells and these modified Muggle contraptions, but it would be extremely dangerous if it continues to remain erratic and doesn't settle down soon."

"Is it life threatening?" Rose asked softly, knowing the answer already.

"Yes," Astoria replied just as softly, her hold on Albus's hand tightening.

"How did this happen?" Rose asked, as her heart thudded in her chest when the cardiac monitor's beeping suddenly increased for a moment before settling to its normal pace. "I know it had something to do with him performing experiments and tests on himself, but if what you showed me was correct, then he shouldn't have performed as many, right? I mean, your late husband passed away quite a time ago."

Astoria didn't answer immediately. Instead, she stared at Albus with a brooding expression that – Rose thought – was full of guilt.

"He did," she finally agreed, confusing Rose slightly because of the delay in her response. "I'm sure you also saw that I performed a Temporary Memory charm on Albus, didn't you?"

"I did, but it couldn't have been all that temporary, could it?"

"No," Astoria admitted, shaking her slightly. "But since it was only temporary, Albus was able to fight it without the knowledge of its existence."

"He fought it?" Rose asked incredulously, coming to finally stand beside her cousin and gently stroke his hair. It wasn't uncommon for magical folk to unknowingly resist the effects of a temporary memory charm as its effects were much weaker than a traditional memory charm – especially considering that it was mainly a modification of the original. But it was very rare to see a witch or a wizard fight against it to an extent that they almost undo the spell on their minds – which was definitely what Astoria had meant, Rose was sure.

"Yes," the woman replied sadly, as she blinked away tears and swallowed thickly. "I had to perform the spell quite a few times on him over the years, but for some reason, it never seemed to hold as well it should have. And somewhere along the way, his mind must have subconsciously replaced the blocked memory with a pseudo memory. So instead of believing that my late husband was beyond anyone's help even though he was not dead – as I had wanted him to believe – he thought Draco was still alive and that he was still capable of saving him."

Rose's heart fell to her stomach and her throat constricted. If what Astoria had just said was true, then she knew exactly why Albus had still continued to perform tests and experiments on himself. "He completely stopped resisting the spell, and instead, his mind created a false memory as a shield so he would stop fighting the spell. It was created in order to prevent Albus from self-destructing by attacking his own mind, but—"

"But by doing so, it brought on the exact same result that it was trying to avoid," Astoria finished, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I tried recasting the spell on the false memory, but it wouldn't work—"

"Because the memory was never Albus's own, to begin with. It was never there in the first place, so a memory charm whose main function is to erase or replace original memories, wouldn't work on an artificial one. Especially since it was temporary."

Astoria let out a sob and bowed her head, nodding slowly. "I didn't want to cast a full Memory charm, because I didn't want it to backfire and cause him to lose all of the ones he had."

"You did what you thought was best," Rose said gently, offering the older woman a smile. From what she had witnessed, Astoria seemed to genuinely care for Albus like he was her own son.

That thought suddenly sparked another, and Rose asked, "Does Scorpius know?"

Astoria seemed to freeze at the sound of her son's name and she straightened herself like she had back on the sofa a few moments ago. "My son has nothing to do with—"

"You replaced his memories too, didn't you?" Rose asked quietly, her own disbelief much too overwhelming for her.

When Astoria's eyes flickered with insecurity, Rose felt the ringing in her ears grow louder. "How could you?" she demanded, having to restrain her impulse to reach for her wand.

"Scorpius was furious," Astoria replied flatly, her voice thick with tears, "when he found out what I had done. He didn't want Albus to go about his life working for a goal that no longer existed. When he demanded that I retract the spell, I refused. I couldn't risk having Albus relapse to that manic phase where he was near suicidal. And if he knew I let my husband die and cast a Memory charm on him in order to make him forget…" Astoria shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"So you cast a Memory charm on Scorpius?" Rose asked, dumbfounded.

"Only because he insisted that I do so."

Rose stared. "He—what?"

"He insisted—no, demanded—that I replace his memory of what I had done with one that would let him live in peaceful ignorance—"

"Wait, wait," Rose interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose and holding up her hand. "From what I've learnt, your late husband passed away some four years ago, yes?"

Astoria nodded.

"Then, you replaced Albus's memories at the same time, yes?"

She nodded again.

"But, Scorpius wasn't even here four years ago! He was in Peru!"

"He came back, of course," Astoria said with a frown, as though she couldn't comprehend what exactly was confusing Rose. "I sent him a letter informing him of his father's passing, and he immediately took a Portkey back home. That was when he found out and demanded that I replace any memory of the event."

Rose shook her head slowly. "So he doesn't even know that he came back?"

Astoria inclined her head, fixing Rose with a curious look. "Of course not."

Rose sighed and squatted down, leaning her forehead against the cool metal of the bed's railing. Too much had happened in barely an hour, and her head was pounding from the amount of information her brain was forced to receive and sift through in such a short time. She clenched her eyes shut and willed her headache to the back of her mind – a talent she'd come to possess with the amount of times she was faced by constant migraines on a daily basis.

"So… those scars on Scorpius's back…" Rose said in a strangled voice, slowly pulling herself to her feet and collapsing in the chair Astoria had Conjured for her.

The older woman continued to watch Albus's chest rise and fall as though she hadn't heard Rose. Just as the latter began to repeat her question, Astoria answered solemnly, "That was from much before. When my late husband was still alive."

"So that memory about him abusing the two of you…"

"That was there as well?" Astoria questioned with a sigh and a shake of her head. "But of course it would be. It was directly related to Draco, so of course it would have been there," she continued as though she was only thinking out loud and not actually answering Rose's question.

When Rose continued to watch her expectantly, Astoria gave in and gave her a proper reply, "Draco was very ill. Even after all these years, we are yet to discover the latent cause for his illness. But nevertheless, it greatly affected his state of mind and he would behave violently in his confusion. He believed that Scorpius and I were the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, and when he attacked us, we never resisted, because we believed in passive aggression being the only way to placate him.

"We believed that if we didn't put up a fight, Draco would come to realise that we weren't those who he feared us to be. And it did work, except after many hours of suffering brought upon us. It was worse still, when Draco realised. He would fall back with a horrified expression on his face and then begin to wail pitifully, trying to hurt himself for all the pain he caused us.

"He tried to take his own life several times, when Scorpius was still in school and I was away from him for brief intervals. I had taken away his wand, of course, that was the first thing I did. So he tried any other method, and when I returned, I would only just be in time to barely save his life. Then once he recovered enough, it would begin all over again.

"He was much quieter when Scorpius wasn't home. When his illness had progressed enough, to only allow him to recognise me when he was not delirious. So when our—my son would return… Draco would be so frightened. He could only see his greatest, darkest fears instead of Scorpius, and it tore the boy from the inside out. Scorpius tried everything possible to get his father to believe it was him, his son, instead of the beings Draco feared – to such an extent that he took Draco's abuse on an almost daily basis.

"But that only made everything worse. Draco wouldn't hurt me as much as he hurt Scorpius because he was able to recognise me to some extent even in his delusional state, because I was constantly by his side. But Scorpius, who only came home during the holidays, frightened him enough to send him to the edge of insanity. And when he momentarily regained his mind…"

Astoria trailed off, shaking her head and sobbing quietly into her hands. Rose swallowed thickly. She couldn't even begin to try and fathom what this family had been through. How selflessly devoted the mother and son were to the father, and how his own actions pained the father enough to try and take away his own life…

It was beyond sad. She didn't pity them, because that would be more than disrespectful, but it hurt her that there was nothing she could do. Once she could talk without choking, she asked, "Scorpius doesn't remember any of it, does he?"

Astoria shook her head slowly. It finally made sense to Rose why Scorpius's memories had been so grey and dreary. They were memories that his mind – and the Memory charm – had shunned because they somehow reminded the blond of what his father had done and everything that happened after.

"What—what memory did you use to replace it with?"

Astoria reached forward to gently stroke Albus's forehead before answering. "I didn't completely replace it, as I did with Albus. I simply erased it and let him replace it on his own, like Albus had."

"And what was that which he replaced it with?"

Astoria moved her shoulder slightly in what Rose assumed was a shrug. "That, I don't know. But whatever it was, it kept him from contacting me since returning to his Expedition and not coming home once he—"

She broke off abruptly when her voice began wavering too much for her to continue. Rose nodded slowly and reached her hand out across Albus's chest. Astoria only hesitated briefly before clasping it gently, making Rose almost jump from the iciness of it.

They sat like that for a long time, holding onto each other and Albus, and watching his slow, even breaths. Finally, Rose shifted and squeezed Astoria's hand in hers in order to draw the older woman from her thoughts.

"Will you—will you undo the temporary memory charm on Scorpius's mind?"

Astoria's eyes widened at the question and her grip grew so tight that it was painful. She began to shake hear head, but Rose leaned forward with a pleading look. "Please. Besides, how am I going to explain what happened today without him having his memories? And I'm sure he'll be glad to know the truth about what happened. He's been suffering all on his own for so long, I think it's only fair that you let him truly come home."

She smiled as Astoria's eyes glimmered with the hope of being able to hold her son again, and the latter nodded enthusiastically. "Yes," she said breathlessly. "Yes, I think it only fair to give him back what is rightfully his."

Rose's smile widened as Astoria squeezed her hand gratefully, her eyes shining with the same emotion. "Thank you," the older woman breathed, "for being by his side when no one else was."

Rose's breath stilled as Astoria's words echoed inside her head. It all made sense. Scorpius's actions all those years ago all made sense. He had desperately wanted to be accepted by someone who didn't want him for whatever ludicrous version of him they saw in their heads. He always found a way to gain her attention even if he was going about it the wrong way. She remembered the memories of his that contained her and her heart thudded.

Maybe Astoria was wrong… Maybe the memories had little to do with being related to Draco and more to do with them being memories of things that hurt Scorpius or that he regretted or caused him to feel strong negative emotions. She let out a shaky breath as tears prickled her eyes, Scorpius's words to her from the other day replaying in her mind once again.

"Because the one who was doing the chasing has always been me, and the one who was being chased has always been you."

The moment Scorpius Apparated into Albus's office, Rose hooked an arm around his elbow and steered him to the sofa. Scorpius followed almost without conflict – almost, because the moment he laid eyes on Astoria, who had just entered the room through the enchanted door, he froze on the spot, his eyes going wide and his breath stilling.

Astoria reacted in pretty much the same way, but then she caught herself and elegantly made her way towards them, stopping a good few feet away. Scorpius continued to stare at his mother for so long that Rose was beginning to lose her patience.

"Scorpius, sit down," she instructed, urging him towards the sofa. When he remained unmoving, staring at his mother, Rose shoved him and he landed unceremoniously on it.

"What—what's going on?" he asked brokenly, his voice trembling with so much force that his words almost blended together incomprehensively.

"We'll tell you in a moment," Rose assured him, coming to stand in front of him so he was forced to tear his eyes away from his mother and fix them on her. She extended her hand and he immediately took it, making her shiver at its coldness. It reminded her of several minutes ago, when she had been holding onto Astoria's hand.

Scorpius opened his mouth, making to say something, but Rose had done what she had meant to do – distract him for long enough so Astoria could remove the Temporary Memory charm placed on his mind.

"Revertere Oblivium."

Rose watched as the light in Scorpius's eyes dimmed out and he slumped backwards, his head lolling back and his hand slipping from hers. She inhaled shakily, her hand still extended, and Astoria came up to clasp it in hers.

"I'm scared," she whispered, sounding terrified, and Rose squeezed her hand.

"You only did as you were asked to. He would never hold it against you."

She first nodded and then shook her head, as though she wanted to believe what Rose had said but couldn't. The two women watched with bated breath as Scorpius's expression turned slack and his breathing turned shallow. After a moment, his head jerked to the side and his finger twitched.

"It has begun," Astoria said softly, and the two took a step backward as Scorpius began to thrash and groan.

"Should we bind him?" Rose asked nervously, as he slipped from the sofa in his writhing and flailing and lay twitching on the cold marble floor.

"No, we mustn't hinder the reversal of the spell in any way, physical or otherwise. We must let the spell erode away from around his memories and allow his mind to recognise and accept the forgotten memories as his own."

"How much time will the whole process take?" Rose asked, to which Astoria shook her head slightly.

"The spell has been in place for a long time. It will take an approximate of the same amount for him to regain his memories. But even I can't tell how he'll react once he regains them."

They stepped further back as Scorpius's groans increased in intensity. She knew barely a minute or two had gone by, but she couldn't watch him like that. It pained her. She shifted slightly and Astoria's grip on her hand tightened to the extent of being painful.

"You must not intervene," she said sternly and Rose nodded.

"I won't."

They stood watching Scorpius flounder around on the floor for what seemed like hours, but was exactly forty minutes. After the half hour mark had passed, the blond's struggling reduced to mild twitching and jerking. Rose realised with a jolt that tears were streaming out of his eyes, mostly because he hadn't blinked much since the reversal charm had been placed on him. It scared her to see the eerily empty look in those otherwise dancing silver orbs, and she shivered as his head snapped towards them, making it seem like he was staring at them with that haunted expression.

By the end of forty minutes, colour was returning to his cheeks and his breathing was steadily growing heavier and more ragged. He finally blinked rapidly and sat up slowly, leaning against the sofa and just staring ahead of him as he sifted through his new—or old, rather—memories. He finally looked towards them, but his eyes paused on Rose for only a moment before fixing fully on Astoria. He eased himself up and onto the sofa and slumped backwards, his eyes never leaving his mother. He finally smiled crookedly and raised an arm in a welcoming way—to which Astoria gasped softly and all but ran into her son's half-embrace, completely forgetting her usual regality as she all but draped herself across him and sobbed into his chest.

Rose looked away as Scorpius pulled Astoria close and began softly murmuring to her as he stroked her hair and back. The redhead quietly made her way to the back of the room and with a final glance over her shoulder to confirm that nothing could go wrong if she made herself scarce, she pressed her palm against the wall, wondering if the enchanted door would open.

She almost thought it wouldn't, when the rectangular glow appeared and the space of wall disappeared—to reveal a haggard looking Mister Binks. He started violently and almost toppled backwards, causing her to jump as well. She raised a finger to her lips, motioned over her shoulder, and stepped through to the other room. The little man didn't seem very happy at all that he had been disregarded, but he didn't make a fuss about it. He simply shot Rose a glare and wobbled toward Albus's private stall of sorts.

She stepped in behind him and watched as he watched the beeping cardiac monitor for a time, before jotting down something on the clipboard in his hands. He then checked Albus's pulse and then began muttering profusely.

"Is something the matter?" Rose finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. The tiny man jumped and spluttered, turning to her with an expression that said he clearly hadn't known she was there. She kept her face neutral and caught herself before she rolled her eyes.

"His magical pulse rate isn't falling back to normal at all," Mister Binks finally groused when Rose didn't back down. "Even though we're able to stabilise it and keep it from going berserk, it will become dangerous if it doesn't drop."

"What about all those machines and whatnot you've got him attached to?" she asked, coming around to stand on Albus's other side.

"These modified equipment only serve the afore mentioned purpose. They do not – in any way, whatsoever – help reduce his magical pulse rate."

"Is there some way of getting it to drop without having to wait for it to naturally do so?"

When the man didn't answer immediately, Rose turned to look at him curiously, only to see the bewildered expression on his face. Had she said something wrong?

He blustered again and hobbled out of the privacy curtains, motioning for her to follow. He walked up to one of the many long, metal tables that had been arranged in the center of the large room and stepped on the small stool placed beside it so he could see over it. He gestured to the paddle-like objects lying atop the table, in a tray.

"And this is," Rose prompted, when Mister Binks continued to beam and didn't offer her an explanation.

"A Muggle instrument they call a defibrillator," he answered proudly, as though he was the one to have invented it.

"And what do these… defibrillators… do?" she asked, trying to bite back a laugh. She knew what they did, but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The man looked at her sideways as though gauging whether she was truly stupid or simply poking fun at him. Rose eased her expression into one of innocence, earning a scoff from the small man.

"This is a device that is used to restore the heart to normal sinus rhythm through electrical energy when the heart is incapable of doing so on its own. It effectively resuscitates the human heart even after it has shut down, essentially bringing the person back from the dead."

Rose stared at the metal paddles that had a smooth, flat base and easy-to-grip handles protruding from the back. Her eyes followed the twisted wire that connected the defibrillator to a small machine that had a display similar to the cardiac monitor, but was much smaller in size and much more portable. Muggle inventions were always so fascinating. Especially considering how they had no magic, the contraptions Muggles invented came very close to being magical.

"And you intend on using this to restart his heart?"

Mister Binks nodded enthusiastically and Rose hummed, picking up one of the paddles and examining it, deep in thought. She finally looked up at the little man with a big smile that he easily reciprocated.

"You intend on stopping Albus's heart briefly and then restarting it using this… defibrillator, and hope that the shock would be enough to force his then weakened magical pulse rate back to normal."

Mister Binks all but bounced on the spot, looking like a child. "Yes, yes, that is, in fact, exactly what I plan on doing!"

Rose nodded thoughtfully. "It's definitely dangerous and risky, but most definitely worth a try. Have you spoken to Astoria about this?"

"Spoken to me about what, exactly?"

Rose started so violently, she almost dropped the object in her hand and Mister Binks fell off his stool with an almighty squeak. Astoria raised an unimpressed eyebrow at their antics. Rose flushed and the little man did the same, both wilting under Astoria's stern gaze. Rose was about to explain, but Mister Binks beat her to it, albeit while stuttering and stammering so much that he was barely comprehendible.

Once he finished, Astoria had a thoughtful frown on her face. Even Scorpius—who had been standing quietly behind his mother—looked intrigued. "It's worth a try," he mused and Astoria finally nodded.

"Yes. If Miss Weasley herself has agreed that this risk is worth taking, then who am I to refuse."

Mister Binks and Rose shared a glance before packing up the defibrillator and taking it inside to Albus.

"Who will be the one going through the defibrillation process? Mister Binks?" Astoria asked, as she checked another monitor on the other side of the bed, whose wires were connected to Albus's chest, wrists and ankles.

"Yes, Lady Astoria, if you deem me trustworthy enough to do so."

"Only you possess the in-depth knowledge required for carrying out such a risky procedure, and the idea was your own, was it not?"

The little man flushed with pride and bowed deeply, making the three others smile.

"Is this monitor here relaying electrical information from his heart?" Scorpius asked incredulously, bending over his mother's shoulders to stare at the other machine.

"Yes, in fact," Astoria replied, nodding with satisfaction at the digits displayed. "It's called an Electrocardiogram—or ECG, for short."

"How fascinating," came Scorpius's reply, as he examined the various wires and whatnot without touching them. "Muggle technology never fails to impress me at every turn."

Astoria and Rose shared identical knowing looks and hid their smiles as Scorpius began badgering Mister Binks with questions about the in depth workings and intricacies of the contraption.

"Scorpius, darling, this isn't exactly the time for idle talk," Astoria admonished lightly, although a small smile graced her elegant features.

Scorpius bowed slightly and stood back in order to allow Mister Binks to go about setting up the equipment. Once he was done, he Summoned his stool so he had a greater advantage in height, pushed away Albus's white robes, and held the paddles just over Albus's heart, the paddle in his left hand higher up than the one in his right, so they were aligned diagonally right over where Albus's heart was.

"Please erect shields around yourselves and the equipment," Mister Binks instructed, nodding to Astoria to take control of the monitor attached to the paddles. "On my word, Lady Astoria."

Rose and Scorpius instantly raised shields in front of themselves—Scorpius's Protego shielding Mister Binks, himself and Astoria, while Rose's shielded herself, the cardiac monitor and the other contraptions connected to Albus.

"Miss Weasley, if you would inject the serum into Healer Albus's arm," Mister Binks instructed and Rose nodded, pressing the needle into her cousin's radial artery and pushing down the plunger so that the clear liquid passed into Albus's blood.

"As his heart begins to fail, his magic will detect that his body is being forced to shut down and begin attacking what it thinks is the cause for it, so brace yourselves."

Even as the small man spoke, the cardiac monitor began beeping as the numbers turned red and began to drop rapidly. The air around Albus began to shimmer and warp and the closer his heart came to stopping, the more powerful his magic seemed to become. As soon as the line that showed his heart rate ran flat, the air around Albus began shifting and contorting to form long ropes of pure energy that twisted and whipped against everything in its vicinity.

Mister Binks was shouting over the howling magic and Astoria pressed a button on the small machine, followed by the man pressing the paddles against Albus's chest. The Potter jolted and arched, his torso rising from the bed and falling back with a flop. All eyes turned to the cardiac monitor, but the line was still running flat.

"Again!"

Astoria increased the voltage, Mister Binks brought the paddles down, and Albus's torso lurched.

But the line ran flat.

"Again! Increase electrical output!"

Again the same.

Again the line an flat.

Astoria increased the voltage.

Albus jolted.

The line ran flat.

Again Astoria increased the voltage.

Again Albus jolted.

Again the line ran flat.

"We're losing him!" Rose screamed, as Albus's rampant magic slammed against her shield, throwing her to the ground and slashing half the wires that connected her cousin to the machines that were keeping him alive. "Shite!"

She rolled to the side, her arm stretched out and gripping her wand tight enough to snap it. She focused her magic into the spell and increased the strength of the shield, expanding it slightly to cover more ground. Mister Binks was bringing down the paddles again.

"If we go any higher, it will risk permanent damage to his heart!" Astoria was shouting, but Mister Binks insisted she increase the output voltage, which she did, and he brought down the paddles again.

Come on, Al! Come on!

There was the sound of whiplashes and Astoria, Scorpius and Mister Binks were thrown off their feet, ripping down the curtains as they went hurtling backward. Rose's heart was pounding in her chest and her blood was pounding in her ears, so furiously that she almost missed the sudden lack of beeping. She spun around and stared wide-eyed at the cardiac monitor—which was now displaying normal sinus rhythm. She cried out in relief and clung to Albus, kissing the back of his hand and stroking his hair.

The other three staggered back and Astoria was at Albus's other side, sniffling and laughing at the same time, as she mimicked Rose and kissed the man's hand, placing it against her cheek. Scorpius came to stand beside Rose and she immediately leaned into him, barely remembering that his memories had returned and she didn't know how he saw her now. But his arm circled her waist and held her against him and that was all the answer she would need, if the question ever arose in her mind.

They stood watching Albus's furiously red and swollen chest rise and fall as Mister Binks ran around cleaning up the mess.

"He shall awake in a few hours," Astoria said and stood back, letting her hand linger before nodding to Rose and Scorpius and making her way to the enchanted door, calling to Mister Binks to follow her. Rose turned back to her cousin and sniffed, laughing shakily as she squeezed his hand.

"Thank goodness," she whispered and Scorpius tightened his arms around her waist and laid his forehead on her shoulder.

"Thank you," he said in a muffled whisper and she almost missed it because of how quiet his voice was. She laughed lightly and reaching up, threaded her fingers through his hair, stroking it gently.

"Always."

A/n: This chapter was originally split into two but I decided to combine it so as to not drag on the story. In case you're wondering, Lithium is almost at it's end, and I hope to be able to end it nicely in three more chapters, but let's see.

Thank you for all your love and for being so so patient and I truly am sorry that I kept you waiting for so long! A special thanks to NightmarePrince and Frogster for demanding that I update quickly because that forced me to get my shit together and post this.

Lots and lots of love~

Arty.