A/N: Y'all have been absolutely lovely in your reviews. Keep them coming! I love hearing from you: your ideas for the direction of the story, your suggestions on what you'd like to see done differently, and of course just hearing that you're enjoying what you're reading! Thank you thank you thank you! It gives me so much motivation to keep on writing, which is why I keep updating so quickly. Keep letting me know what you think, and I'll keep the updates coming out quickly. I know it's sad right now (I wrote this chapter and the last chapter with tears in my eyes), but I'm so glad that people have been moved by it because that was my intention. But don't worry, it will get better, I promise. Just keep reading!

Chapter rated T for language and themes.

Chapter 24: Memory

Again, I woke up in a strange place. Light was hitting my face, making me squint as I tried to open my eyes. When I looked around, I thought I was in my father's hospital room because I was surrounded by my family, but my father's bed wasn't there.

Fear gripped me.

"Where's—oh my god—"

"Rose, shh." Green eyes appeared in front of me and I looked into them before throwing my arms around Albus and pulling him down until he was on the bed next to me. Al let out a small chuckle.

"Hey—"

"Al… Is he…?"

His eyes widened. "No," he said quickly. "No, no, shh."

"Al…?"

"Dad got us this room next to Uncle Ron's so we wouldn't all have to be in there all the time or lingering out in the hall."

"Is that allowed?"

Albus arched an eyebrow with a wry smile. "He's Harry Potter."

I smiled. "I'm happy you're here."

He smiled back. "Me, too, Cheeks."

"What's with the renewal of my old nickname?" I asked him with a smirk. It was amazing that my mood already felt ten times better just from being around my best friend.

He shrugged. "I missed it." Then he frowned. "Hey, can I ask you something strange?"

I nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"Is Malfoy here?" he said, lowering his voice.

I grabbed his arm as my eyes widened. "You've been seeing him, too?"

"I thought it was just my imagination—"

"Me too!"

"It can't be though," he said, shaking his head. "I saw him in the Great Hall right before James came. He's at Hogwarts."

"Maybe he has a twin."

Al groaned. "A gay twin?"

I laughed, and it felt so good that I wanted to do it again, so I did. And then I didn't stop. I laughed so hard that I could hardly breathe. I clenched my eyes tight and held onto my sides as I rolled onto the small bed we were sitting on and laughed until it hurt. Finally, I took a few deep breaths and stopped, opening my eyes to see a concerned Albus looking down at me.

"You've lost it," he said.

"I'm allowed," I said with a small smile. He just looked at me sadly, and then my stomach growled so loud that both of us heard it.

"When's the last time you've eaten?"

"What time is it?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"A bit before 4."

"I'll go grab some food."

"I'll come with."

"No," I said. "You stay here." As much as I wanted him to come, I knew he was needed here. "Your dad…" I said, looking around the room for him. "He needs you."

Al sighed. "He's in bad shape," he said quietly.

"So's my mum."

"I don't know what they're going to do when…" Albus caught himself, and looked at me. "If… if he…"

"When," I said, correcting him. It was about time we all came to grips with the inevitable. "When he dies."

"Rose…"

I stood up. "I'm gonna go get something to eat," I said quickly, not wanting to talk about it. "Can I bring you back anything?"

"Everything you can carry," he said. "James came to get us right before lunch. I'm ravenous."

I smiled and he stood up, embracing me before I could leave. I really was so happy he was here.

I wandered to the cafeteria alone, thinking the hospital looked eerily beautiful as an orange glow settled over it as the sun began to set. The oranges and yellows and soft reds bounced against the stark white of St. Mungo's. It was almost cruel that this place of doom made my heart clench at the beauty of it.

When I got to the cafeteria, I walked up to the counter, and looked at what the hospital had to serve. There were no attendants there to give me anything, and all the food was blocked by glass. I glanced down at a plate of mini-sandwiches and my mouth watered. As soon as I thought I would tell the attendant I wanted them, a plate of them appeared on top of the glass casing. I smiled and took the plate before walking over to a large receptacle that held the drinks. I knew how this one worked, and I tapped my wand on the image of the drink I wanted and it floated in the air in front of me before I took it and walked over to an empty table.

I ate tentatively at first, afraid that my stomach might reject the sandwiches that smelled so good. After a few bites, my stomach churned but it held the food down, and I continued to eat.

I ate quickly and slurped the soda I'd gotten through a straw, thinking that Albus would have been disgusted with me if he could see me. I smiled, thinking he was always so grossed out when I ate like this.

I thought about my mum, holding my dad in his bed and telling him all the things she so desperately wanted him to hear. I thought about Scorpius and how I just wanted to see him. My limbs felt shaky as I imagined him sitting at this table across from me, like we were a normal couple. And he would hold my hand, stroking his thumb over my knuckles telling me everything would be okay one day. God, I needed him.

"Rose?"

I choked on the sandwich I was eating, and the guy in front of me reached around and patted my back. I coughed and drank my soda as he sat down in front of me.

"Hadley?" I coughed. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I heard what happened."

"McGonagall let you come?"

He shook his head and his face reddened a bit.

I gaped. "You snuck out of Hogwarts?"

He shrugged and didn't say anything. I was completely over Hadley. I hadn't wanted him romantically in over a year—even less now that I had Malfoy to occupy my thoughts—but I couldn't help but think how incredibly sweet it was for him to risk his arse to come here just to check to make sure I was okay. I smiled at him, and he smiled back, and emotion welled up inside me. It was so nice to see a familiar face that wasn't my family—to know that someone out there in the world knew that Ron Weasley was dying—that someone else out there cared.

I could feel tears stinging my eyes, and I looked down to try and wipe them away. I just wanted my father back. I didn't want him to die.

"Hey, hey," Hadley said, scooting his chair around the table and putting his arm around my shoulders. I buried my face into his neck and cried.

"Hadley," I whimpered before clutching at his shirt and crying harder. Why was everything in my life so fucked? Why did Scorpius hate me? Why wasn't he here holding me instead of Hadley? Why was my father dying? Why was my mother going to be left alone without her soul mate? Why was the world so unfair?

Hadley whispered soothing words into my ear as he ran his hand through my hair that I'd pulled back into a long ponytail. It felt good to be held, as much as I wished it were by someone else.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," he whispered, and for some reason I knew he was apologizing for more than just my father. For some reason I could tell he was trying to make up for so much more than that.

I took a deep breath as the tears subsided but sobs still racked my body, making me heave and choke occasionally. I was just about to tell Hadley that it was okay—that everything would be okay—when I looked up and saw my uncle walking toward me, his green eyes glassy and unfocused.

"Rose," he said when he got to me, not even registering that I was being held by my ex-boyfriend. "Come on."

I sat up straight, looking into his eyes, trying to see what he was telling me. He was gone. My father was gone.

"Dad?" I said. "He's—"

"Not yet," Harry said with a pained look on his face. The rest was implied: but soon.

I stood up, the force of my uncle's words making me slightly lightheaded. I swayed where I stood and he reached out and grabbed me, pulling me to him.

"Thank you for coming, Hadley," I said, tugging on Harry's sleeve to make him stop moving me. "It means a lot."

"You know I'd do anything for you, Rose," Hadley said. I smiled. "See you when you get back," he said. I nodded and then let my uncle guide me away.

"What is it?" I said as soon as we were walking.

He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair—his other wrapped around me. "My guys came," he said quietly, his voice hoarse.

"And?" I felt the sandwiches I'd eaten churning in my stomach, knowing what he was going to say before he said it. He just shook his head. "So that's it?" I said, my voice shaking. He nodded. I grabbed his shirt with both my hands and stopped. He looked down at me with more pain than I'd ever seen in anyone's eyes. "I don't… I don't want him to die."

He smiled through his tears. "Neither do I, Cheeks." He sighed and when he spoke again, I heard and felt the emotion in his hoarse voice. "I did everything I could, but they said…" He swallowed. "They said there was nothing to do… The curse was a strong one, and it's eating him from the inside out. We don't… I yelled, Rose," he said after seeing the look on my face. "I yelled and fought and begged them to do something, but… Cheeks, there isn't much time."

"Okay," was all I could manage.

"Bill and Fleur are with him now," he said quietly. "You'll be able to see him soon to…"

I nodded.

We walked in silence the rest of the way. I felt numb and confused—it all felt so surreal, like I wasn't really here. I wasn't really at St. Mungo's. My uncle wasn't walking next to me with his arm around me. I wasn't really walking toward my father to say the last words I would ever speak to him.

"I'm going to go find your mum," Harry said as we got closer to the room. "Will you be okay for a bit?" I just nodded. I would have to be okay. He gave my shoulder a squeeze before he turned away.

When I walked toward the room, I was about to turn the final corner when I heard my aunt and uncle talking.

"Where are mum, dad, and Charlie?" George asked.

Ginny sighed. "I don't know."

"Mum… she'll never forgive herself if she doesn't get here before he…" he trailed off, unable to finish.

"I know."

"I don't know if I can do this again," George said quietly.

"George…"

"It doesn't get easier, you know," he said. "Missing Freddie."

I almost gasped. It was so rare that they talked about my late Uncle Fred's death. They would tell stories about him like he was just a long lost relative who didn't come around anymore. I had only heard my father talk about the fact that he was dead once, even though I knew that every day on his birthday, he went with my uncles George, Percy, Bill, and Charlie, and my Aunt Ginny to see his memorial.

"I just don't know… I can't lose Ron, too… No one… no one can replace Fred, but—you know—on the days when it was the hardest… Ron was there."

"What are we going to do without him?" Ginny asked. "Who's going to tell stupid jokes and then laugh at them?"

George laughed and they fell silent for a moment. "How's it going, you know, with Fleur here?"

I heard my aunt chuckle. "It's been, what, 25 years since they married, and I still don't think I'll ever get used to her. She's just… I know he can't help it, but I hate when Harry looks at her."

"The man's only human, Gin. It's impossible, physically impossible, for him not to look at her."

Ginny huffed. "I don't care. And she's always simpering and fawning all over Bill."

George laughed. "You know, I think Fleur was destined to be in our family. What?" George said after Ginny had apparently given him a look. I couldn't see, but I could imagine the two of them there, all fiery red hair freckled skin, George with a smirk on his face and Ginny in a perpetual state of eye rolling. "Remember the tournament? The Yule Ball?" George said laughing. "And Ron… I can't believe he asked her."

"To say that he 'asked her' is giving Ron way too much credit," Ginny said, laughing too. "He yelled in her face and then ran away, puking."

George roared with laughter. "Man, I just wish Dumbledore would have let me and Fred put our names in the goblet."

"You two were idiots for even trying."

George made a noise of protest. "What would have been the harm? It wouldn't have picked us over Harry and Cedric anyway."

Ginny sighed. "You never let things go," she said good naturedly. Several moments of silence passed before George spoke up.

"What is it about our family? We must be cursed."

"We're a big family. By the laws of probabilities…"

"Don't talk to me about muggle things."

Aunt Ginny laughed.

"I'm gonna miss him," she said suddenly.

"Yeah. We—"

"Where's Rose?"

When I heard my mother's voice, I quickly rounded the corner. I looked up and saw my brother standing there stiffly with tear-stained cheeks. He must have just finished with my father. My heart started pounding and my hands started sweating. I thought I was going to throw up but I swallowed hard and my mother nodded gently, saying that it was my turn to say my final words to my father.

I walked into the room slowly, feeling the dread hanging in the air. My father still looked the same as he had when I had first seen him. He hadn't moved, he hadn't changed. He was just lying there—his face still and pale, his features unmoving. My legs and arms felt like lead as I walked up to his bed and sat down next to it, pulling his hand in between mine.

I didn't know if he could hear me. I didn't know if he could sense my presence, but I was determined not to cry. If he could hear, I didn't want his last memory of my voice to be me sounding like a blubbering fool.

"Daddy…" I started, taking a deep breath. "Hi." I paused. Now that I was here, I wasn't sure what I should say. There was nothing I could say to accurately express how I felt about my father. He meant the entire world to me even though I didn't always show it. He'd been there for every laugh, every tear, every scraped knee, every triumph, and every defeat. He had been there when Hadley had broken me, and he'd carried me away in his strong arms without a word. How could put into words all that he had done for me? How much I loved him?

I would just have to try my best. "I just…" I swallowed. "I want you to know how much I love you. You make me laugh, and you—" My voice broke but I cleared my throat and continued. "You make me feel loved. You never once made me doubt your love for me. Daddy… I'm worried about mum. She needs you. But… I'm going to try. I'm going to try and be there for her when I know she really just needs her soul mate because sometimes… Sometimes we lose the ones we're supposed to be with, but she…" I started to cry. I couldn't help it. "She'll always have those memories of you. The memories of you being the best husband and father that anyone could ever—want."

I finished with a choked sob and buried my face against my hands that were holding his.

"I know… I know I haven't always been easy, especially this last year," I said into my hands. "But… I'm going to try to change, Daddy…" I said through my tears. "I want to be better because I know that's what you would want. You've always just wanted me to be happy. I—love you…"

I was saying goodbye to my father. I didn't believe it was real, but here I was, clasping my father's hand in between mine and crying against our hands as I said goodbye to the father that had loved me for almost 18 years. He had always been there for me, making me smile, kissing away my cuts and bruises, telling me stories, and always making sure that I understood why I was being punished. He had been kind and gentle, but also firm and a bit crass. No matter his flaws or his triumphs, his past or his present, he was my father. And I was going to miss him terribly.

But then, I almost screamed. The shock was so acute that I saw stars dancing in my eyes because someone had spoken in this room that had only two people in it. And it hadn't been me.

"Don't change for me, Cheeks. I love you just the way you are."

Next chapter:

Another taste of the present day.