Author's Note: I think some of you will like what happens in this chapter. That's all I'm going to say... ;)

-SQ

Disclaimer: Shockingly, I haven't turned into Jo since I posted the last chapter, meaning that Harry Potter (and hence Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy and most everything else in their world) still doesn't belong to me.

Chapter Nine: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Once, when Albus had been quite small, he, James, and Lily had gone with Rose and Hugo to their maternal grandmother's house. The old lady, unsure how to entertain so many young witches and wizards, had put in a movie for them to watch, and older one titled A Little Princess. Albus, James, and Lily had never seen a movie before and had been enthralled. Well, James had been enthralled until he realized that it was, as he proclaimed it, a "girl story", at which point he had gone out back to terrorize the wildlife in Mrs. Granger's garden.

Albus, however, had stayed to watch the movie. He couldn't remember too much of what the plot had been about, but he remembered one scene in which the main character, a girl whose name he had forgotten, was saying goodbye to her father, who was going off...somewhere. She had put her hands to his face and run her fingers over all the contours of his features. Her father had asked her if she was learning him by heart, to which she had responded that she already knew him by heart.

Albus put his own fingertips against Scorpius's cheek bones, brushing them down over his chin and then up across the bridge of his nose and, ever so gently, over the lids of his eyes.

"I alr-ready kn-now you b-by heart," he whispered to Scorpius.

Albus's fingertips continued their journey, trailing lightly over Scorpius's cracked lips. Albus tried to remember how the movie had ended, whether the little girl's father had come back or not, but he couldn't recall.

Something suddenly occurred to Albus. He brought his hand back up to Scorpius's forehead and laid his whole palm across it. Last time he had done that he had had to jerk his hand back from the heat. Now Scorpius's forehead was slick with sweat, but felt only warm, not burning hot.

"Scor?" he said, hardly daring to believe it. "Sc-corpius?"

He shook his friend's shoulder. He had done that so many times over the last several days that he had lost track, to no avail, but this time he got a response. Scorpius shifted slightly, his hand fluttering against the sheets beside him.

"Scorpius!"

Albus leaned over him, taking Scorpius's face between his hands.

"M-Merlin Scor, p-please..."

Scorpius's hand fluttered again, this time finding Albus's ankle. He made a noise in the back of his throat.

Immediately Albus conjured a glass of water and lifted Scorpius's head so that he could drink it.

Scorpius's lips found the glass, but he was still too weak to swallow. Albus massaged his throat, easing the water down.

"Albus Severus..."

The words were fainter than a breath, but to Albus they were the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

"I'm h-here," he said, his voice breaking in relief.

"Where's—here?"

"Y-our b-bedroom, Scor," said Albus. "On y-your b-bed."

"How—long...?"

"Wh-what d-d'you l-last rem-memb-ber?"

"Telling—you—you're—a—good—friend..."

"N-not qu-quite f-five d-days," said Albus stroking Scorpius's cheek.

Scorpius forced his eyes open. "Days?" he croaked.

Albus supported his head and held the water to his lips again. This time he drank on his own, though just barely.

"Sit—up..." whispered Scorpius.

Albus obliged, easing his friend into a sitting position.

Scorpius raised his hand toward Albus's hair, but didn't have the energy to make it all the way there. He let it fall again.

"You're—so—brave..."

"Wh-what?" said Albus, taken aback. "Sc-cor, I w-was t-terrified!"

"I—know...haven't—heard—you—stutter—so—badly—since—you—were—eleven."

Albus blushed and bit his lip. What he had to say could wait, Scorpius was still too weak. "H-hush," he said instead. "G-go b-back t-to s-sleep. W-we'll t-talk wh-when y-you w-wake up."

Scorpius managed a very small nod and shut his eyes again. Albus cradled him against his chest.

Thank you, he said silently. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

*****TWAMM*****

Both boys slept until well after sunset. When Scorpius woke he found that, with some difficulty, he could now move reasonably well as long as he took it slow. As he turned his head to look at Albus, the black-haired boy's eyes snapped open.

"It w-wasn't a d-dream then," he said. "You're r-really awake."

"Yeah," said Scorpius. "I really am."

"H-how d-do you f-feel?"

Scorpius frowned. "Sick as a dog and weak as a kitten. But Albus Severus," he touched his friend's cheek in concern. "It's been years since you've stuttered like this."

"I kn-know," said Albus, hanging his head. "And you w-worked s-so h-hard t-to b-break me of it."

"Albus Severus, look at me. No, really, look." Albus looked. "I'm not scolding you. I owe you my life. Besides, I think your stutter's kind of cute."

"Y-you d-do?" Albus looked into Scorpius's gray eyes and felt a rush of heat so intense it nearly knocked him flat. "Sc-cor, I h-have t-to t-tell y-you s-something."

Scorpius looked at him curiously.

"I—" Suddenly Albus lost his nerve. "N-no, f-forget it."

"Albus Severus, what is it?"

"N-nothing," said Albus. "C-come on, y-you're st-still r-really s-sick. We should t-take your t-temperature. And th-then you sh-should t-try and eat s-something."

*****TWAMM*****

Scorpius's temperature was 38.3 (101.1). Still a fever, but a safe one, lower than it had been since he had fallen ill.

Albus watched Scorpius anxiously as he fed him soda crackers, ginger ale, and applesauce, but his body showed no signs of rejecting them. Albus breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're r-really getting b-better, oh th-thank Merlin..."

Scorpius turned his head to look at him. He already felt as exhausted as if he'd run several miles.

"Albus Severus, you have got to be the most brave and wonderful boy in the entire world."

Albus blushed scarlet. "N-no, I'm n-not..."

"Yes, yes you are," Scorpius insisted. "Look at all you've done..."

Albus shook his head. "N-no, Sc-cor, I h-haven't d-done anything. Y-you alm-most d-died and all I c-could d-do was s-sit th-there! Th-the owls w-were g-gone and th-there w-was n-no F-Floo p-powder and my p-patronus is sh-shit—"

"Albus Severus," said Scorpius, cutting him off. "Most sixteen-year-olds' patronuses are shit. Stop judging yourself against your dad. It's no one's fault that the owls were gone, least of all yours, and it's my fault there's no Floo powder. Father told me to get some but I blew it off." He smiled weakly. "Karma. Now, I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Albus smiled at him, his heart feeling as though it was expanding to fill his entire chest. "Th-that you will, Scor, that you w-will."

AN: So, are you satisfied? He's awake! No, he's not completely better yet, but he's heading in that direction. By the way, it is currently in the middle of the night between days 13 and 14, in case you wanted to know.

I don't know why I threw in the A Little Princess reference, it just fit. I always loved that movie when I was little, even though, as I found out later, that version doesn't even tell the story right. *sigh* Oh well.

Hope you liked the chapter. I know, it's really short, but it is over 1000 words...

I'll only know what you thought of it if you review ;)

-SQ