~What Am I Feeling?~

~Chapter 57- Sacrifices~

Scorpius spent the next few days in the hospital, giving him time to strengthen up and think over the events over the last year or so.

Albus had been down to St Mungos everyday, all day to spend time with Scorpius. They just lay there, talking and kissing, revelling in the feeling of just being alive together. Albus was always very sad when he had to leave Scorpius in the evenings. Mr and Mrs Potter visited everyday too, Lily once before having to go back to Hogwarts. Term had now started and fortunately Scorpius and Albus were given a week off.

Some of the other Weasleys came too. Louis had bounded into the hospital, dragging Martino with him who he had forced to fly over from Switzerland to see Scorpius. Albus and Scorpius had thanked Martino for telling the Ministry about the 'invitation' and their whereabouts.

Dominique had also been to visit, bringing with her some new books she thought Scorpius would like. Hermione and Ron also came, with their regards from Rose and Hugo. Mr and Mrs Weasley sat by Scorpius' bedside for a total of five and a half hours one day; Molly looked after Scorpius as well as thanking him over and over for saving her grandson, Arthur told Scorpius lots of interesting stories about his younger years. George and Teddy had been down everyday too to entertain Scorpius and Albus. Teddy brought his record player for Scorpius so Scorpius could listen to some music when he was alone at night.

His mother and father had been visiting regularly, giving them chance to bond closer and make it up to Scorpius for all they had put him through. They were generally back to normal, except for Draco who was still blurting out apologies every once in a while. Astoria fussed over her poor baby, bringing him presents, mostly new clothes, as well as other treats.

Scorpius was achy and had horrible scars across his stomach and he was still slightly scared from his experiences, but overall he was happy. He had all his friends and people he considered his family around him, making him feel extremely uplifted. Albus was alive and well which was the main thing he wanted to come out of their capture. They were to going to be together, going to Rome and starting their life.

But most of all, he was over the moon to have his parents back. For a while he had literally lost hope about ever having his parents accept him again. He didn't even think he was a Malfoy anymore, he thought he was disowned. He didn't care that it took him nearly dying for his dad to see he was just the same Scorpius he had always been, that Albus loved him and their relationship was pure and good. He was just happy that it had happened.

Today, Scorpius was finally getting out of the hospital and was going back to the Potters with Albus for a few days for rest, before they returned to school. Scorpius was desperate to get out of the dull place where they mostly forced him to stay in bed, just with a few walks each day. His Healer was a rather worrisome person and was constantly trying to look after Scorpius, even when not necessary. She even said she would come everyday while Scorpius was at the Potters, to check Scorpius' scars, despite Scorpius insisting it was not necessary.

Teddy and George came to pick Albus and Scorpius up since Mr and Mrs Potter were working. Albus had been apparating there everyday, on his own and finally, Scorpius was leaving with him. Teddy and George were going to bring them to a Muggle café in London first, as a treat, then home to Grimmauld Place.

Albus helped Scorpius dress because Scorpius' scars were still sensitive and fresh and could open up again if the blonde put too much strain on his belly, which included just bending down. He was also very weak still and although putting clothes on wasn't a hard task, Scorpius found things such as just walking a long time tiresome. He had lost a lot of blood. But Scorpius was actually happy to be pampered by Albus for now, secretly. He knew he would soon get fed up of not being able to do things on his own.

Albus led Scorpius down to the entrance of the hospital, Scorpius using one crutch to support him as well as his boyfriend's arm. Teddy and George were waiting there, standing next to their vintage car that George had bought, mainly for Teddy, however he also used it when he needed it too.

"Ah, so Albus has already fallen into the trap of becoming Scorpius' slave for the next few weeks." George commented, eyeing Scorpius' heavy bags grasped in Albus' hands.

"Well, he's my little prince and you can't expect me to just leave him, dragging himself across the floor." Albus rolled his eyes.

"Because you're the perfect gentleman, Albus," Teddy glared at George playfully, "If it were me in Scorpius' position, he would leave me sprawled out on the floor."

George allowed a mischievous grin to spread across his face and he brushed a few of Teddy's blue locks out of his eyes, "Well you know how much I love to have you sprawled out on the floor."

"Gross…" Scorpius muttered when Teddy opened the car door for him.

The older couple laughed and started to help Scorpius climb into the car.

They had a lovely time in Muggle London in the café. They ate lunch, chatted and listened to the live music from a talented acoustic performer. Albus and Scorpius finally felt like they were returning to normal.

Albus and Scorpius were brought back to Grimmauld Place. Scorpius settled himself on the sofa while Albus made some coffee and Teddy and George made sure everything was in order for the two.

"Are you going to be okay if we leave you now?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah… I'll make Scorpius dinner later." Albus called from the kitchen.

"We'll come back tomorrow." Teddy shook Scorpius' hair then poked his head around the door to say goodbye to Albus.

George also said goodbye and they were soon gone. Scorpius relaxed on the sofa, watching the ceiling into Albus came into the room, a mug in his hands.

"They've probably rushed home to have sex." Albus joked, passing the coffee to Scorpius.

"Oh Merlin, I don't even want to think about that." Scorpius groaned as Albus lay down next to him.

"Well… what about thinking about us having sex…?" Albus dragged his lips over Scorpius' cheekbone.

"Al… the Healers said no 'strenuous activity' or the wounds would open up again…" Scorpius smirked, playfully pushing Albus away.

"Well you sit back and relax then and I'll do all the hard work…"

Scorpius chuckled as Albus ducked his head into his neck, planting hot kisses along his throat. It felt like a while since they had been intimate and Scorpius felt comforted by the soft feeling of his lover's lips dancing over him.

Both their hands wandered for a few minutes, gently and affectionately as their lips moved languidly together. It was moments like these when they realised how lucky they were… Even though had been through a lot of unnecessary crap, they were still alive and here together… they were still enjoying life and still had their whole futures ahead of them. They had faced death… now they could tackle anything together.

Albus' fingers crept under Scorpius shirt but he stopped when he felt the still fresh scars on the surface of the younger man's skin. He backed up slightly, lowering his head in shame as he stared at the wounds.

"Al… they feel fine," Scorpius said innocently, "I feel fine."

"I'm so sorry…" Albus cried, trying to blink away the tears.

"What for Al?" Scorpius said, concerned, threading his fingers in and out of Albus' brown hair.

"I'm sorry that I didn't protect you… I'm sorry that I let you get hurt…"

"It's not your fault Al…"

Albus kissed the scars gently, "Yes it is… it should have been me who got hurt… not you… you were there because of me and my family. You weren't supposed to be there at all."

"Al… we can't think 'should have' and 'would have'… I was there and I did get hurt and we can't change that… we couldn't do anything to change that then as well… It's happened. And it wasn't either of our faults. It was my grandfather's. He's the one who hurt me…"

"I could've done something to stop him though…"

"No… Al, you couldn't have…" Scorpius shifted towards Albus who tried to stop Scorpius from moving, "What matters is we're fine now…"

Albus nodded into Scorpius' hipbone, planting more kisses over the scars, "I love you so much…"

Scorpius smiled in bliss, allowing Albus to venture further with his caresses.

~X~

The next day, Albus and Scorpius were cuddled up on the sofa, where they had spent most of the last twenty-four hours. They were watching a Muggle film, Forrest Gump, which Albus loved and had been meaning to show Scorpius for ages.

"Scorpius! Do you want coffee? Tea?" Ginny asked from the doorway.

"No thank you, Mrs Weasley…" Scorpius smiled at her.

"Scorpius, I've told you to call me Ginny now. You've been staying with us for the past two holidays."

"Mum, I'll have some coffee." Albus smiled sweetly.

"Stop being lazy, Albus! Get it yourself!" Albus scoffed in shock while Scorpius was giggling, "Should I get you some popcorn, Scorpius?"

"Popcorn would be nice."

Ginny grinned and turned on her heel to rush out the room. Scorpius laughed again at Albus' pout, "I don't feel like I have a mum anymore. You've stolen my mum from me!"

"She loves me more." Scorpius teased, sticking out his tongue.

"I feel so unloved!"

Scorpius loosely draped his arms around Albus' neck, kissing Albus' freckly nose lovingly, "I love you."

Albus grinned, satisfied and closed the gap between their lips. They kissed for a few seconds before they heard an awkward coughing coming from across the room.

They snapped away instantly, heads shooting around to see Draco standing there tensely, Astoria a few steps behind her husband.

"Uh… sorry to interrupt. We just flooed here." Draco said, scratching the back of his neck, looking between Albus and Scorpius.

"Oh, Draco, don't be so awkward. Your son is just kissing the person he loves. There's nothing wrong with it." Astoria said snappily, pushing past Draco to see her son.

Since Scorpius had reunited with his mother, he noticed a certain resentment she had for his father. Scorpius realised that from the start, his mother had accepted he and Al really, but couldn't do anything to stop Draco's actions so said nothing. It was obvious she regretted that now. Scorpius didn't know what had happened between them during his absence, but it can't have been good.

"I know, Astoria." Draco growled in embarrassment, obviously not wanting to be shown up in front of Scorpius.

Astoria kissed both Scorpius and Albus' foreheads fondly while Draco glared at her.

"How are you dear?" Astoria sat on the sofa next to Scorpius, taking his hand in hers.

"I'm fine mum… I just want to get back to school now." Scorpius admitted, ensuring he looked at his dad to include him.

"You should both still have a few days break." Draco sat on the arm of the sofa, hesitantly.

"I'm not as entertaining as books it would seem." Albus said in mock sadness.

Scorpius nudged into his side, dropping his temple onto Albus' shoulder, "You know that's not true. I just want to get back to reality. I don't want to dwell on it."

"Hm… I understand… I was like that after… after the war." Draco stuttered, his eyes glazing over as soon as he mentioned the war.

"Did it help?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"Yes… Because at least then I wasn't thinking about it too much. I distracted myself."

"I wasn't like that…"

Harry had just walked in. It seemed everyone was walking in at the most inappropriate times. Draco gaped at Harry for a moment, before closing his mouth. Harry joined them on the sofas with a friendly but uncertain smile.

"What were you like, dad?" Albus questioned, trying to shatter the awkward atmosphere.

"I thought about it far too much I guess. I was a bit of wreck. I got better… Ginny helped."

Although it was a strange thing to be talking about with your former arch-nemesis, plus the man who had been trying to separate your son from his son, Harry knew that he needed to put all of that behind them now, finally. Draco was sincerely sorry for what he had done and Harry had to forgive and forget, for the sakes of the Albus and Scorpius. It also made him feel like he knew Draco that little better.

Ginny strolled into the room with a tray, tea on one side and a bowl of popcorn on the other, "I thought I heard some visitors so I've made some tea… and some popcorn for Scorpius."

~X~

A/N: HALLELUJAH! I'VE UPDATED! YAAAY!

My laptop's not fixed still, but I've found a way to update so yay! I'm REALLY sorry it has taken so long and I promise to update loads over the next week, including one MEGA LONG CHAPTER which I will tell you all more about a little later.

I hope you are still with me, though I don't blame you if you're not! Please send a review to tell me how you are and how annoyed you are at me for taking so long! xD Thanks for everyone who reviewed since the last chapter was posted!

I will update soon! Hopefully tomorrow! Aaaand if you can't wait until then, I'm about to post a new Merlin fanfic that I've written recently. Enjoy and sorry again!