Summary: Scorpius and Albus find a really old tree.

Rated: K

Genre: Friendship

Warning Tag: Child Injury

Competition/Challenge Block:
Written for/Stacked with: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Term 14); Monthly Challenges for All (Year 4)
Hogwarts: Ravenclaw -A2: Quidditch Lessons #3: Write about getting hurt while doing something fun.

MC4A:

Word Count: 565

The Tree with a Beard

They discovered the tree by sheer accident one day while flying over Malfoy Manor's grounds. What caught their attention was the tangled kite sparkling and billowing in the wind among the leaves of the branch it clung to. The tree looked to be very old based on how massive its trunk was, but it piqued their curiosity enough for the pair to land nearby it to give it a lookover.

With the kite's shape and extra long grey, ribbon-like tails, it gave the look of the massive tree having a greying beard around the wispy leaves. Scorpius concluded that it looked to be like a willow tree. An old, thick, spindly willow that had lost life in one area of its side and made a perfect little entrance to slip between its drooping curtains of leaves.

"This would make for a wicked tree fort," Albus said, captivated by how a couple of the thicker branches had grown in such a way that would hold a good foundation. "Would you want to try and make one?"

Scorpius bit his lip, inspecting the hefty branches carefully. It's size alone was unusual for a willow, indicating its age. His mother would scold him at the mere thought of him thinking about harming it by building a structure on it.

"I don't think we should… it is pretty cool the way it is now, isn't it?" Scorpius reasoned, but Albus was already hoisting himself up on a low branch. "What are you doing?"

"Testing its strength. C'mere." He gestured with his hand before swinging it down to help Scorpius up.

"Seems pretty solid, help me get to the next one."

Scorpius sighed, wrapping his legs around the branch so Albus could use his back as a stool. He reluctantly got helped up to the next one, but that is when things went south. Scorpius' foot slipped, and Albus couldn't hold his weight and himself stable and ended up letting go. Scorpius hit the ground on his side hard, but the hot, searing pain that shot through his arm was what had him almost blackout.

"Oh, Merlin," Albus said, skillfully maneuvering out of the tree to drop down beside his friend, his emerald eyes widened in shock. "Your arm is…"

Scorpius started to panic at seeing how swollen it looked, grey eyes as wide as Albus'.

"We got to get you to your dad."

Without much thought, Albus grabbed his broom and helped Scorpius mount it. He cradled his arm painfully to his chest, feeling dizzy and sick.

"Can you… Can you fly with two people?" he asked warily, unable to hold on properly.

"Yeah… I fly with my sis loads," Albus said, but his voice was hesitant. "I can do this. Just hold my waist and clench your knees on my hips like piggybacking."

"O-okay…"

Scorpius did as instructed, but the pressure against his arm hurt. Albus took off once sure they were secure, flying low and slow through the field and only going higher to clear the trees. The second the garden came into view, he landed right at the backdoor and burst through them, navigating through the vast home to where Draco was and entered the office without knocking.

"Mr. Malfoy! Scorpius got hurt!" he said breathlessly, pointing behind him. "He-he's in the uh… on the back patio..."

Albus wasn't allowed to visit for a while afterwards.