Time After Everything || a Sequel to Saving Myself

L

Harry was the one to enter Albus' room an hour later, his eyes swollen and red, his cheeks covered in splotches. He had been crying. But Albus had been too.

"Hey, Dad," he said, his voice just above a whisper. "What's going on down there?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, sitting on Albus' bed as he told him, "Teddy's said that we can start visiting him tomorrow. But, as of now, Draco can't. He's upset."

Albus looked away, his voice hard as he said, "Let's not talk about Draco. I. . .it was stupid, what he did."

Looking down at his hands, Harry swallowed the lump in his throat. He hadn't gotten this emotional in years and he wasn't sure if he liked this. "I know you're upset. I am too. Teddy is. But. . .he had good intentions. It wasn't like he wanted Scorpius to hurt himself."

Albus felt his stomach roll. "I'm sorry. It's just hard, knowing he was hurting and nothing was done. I mean, Teddy's supposed to know about this kind of thing!"

Harry held his hands up, motioning for Albus to lower his voice. "I know, I know. But it's impossible to notice everything, Albus."

A moment later, Albus nodded, running his tongue along his teeth, sighing as he leaned into his dad's arm, tears prickling his eyes as he choked out, "Maybe if I had been a better brother, Scorp wouldn't be all alone."

Harry bit his lower lip, wiping a tear from Albus' cheek. "We all made mistakes, Al. Scorpius loves you, I know it." With a grateful smile, Albus allowed his father to hug him tightly, unaware that Draco was standing outside his door, unshed tears burning at his silver eyes.

He hadn't meant to do this. He had only wanted his boy back.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Erick didn't want to leave, not even for a moment. He wanted to be the first person Scorpius saw when he woke up, not some ceiling and silence.

Teddy sat himself down in a spare seat, sighing heavily. He had just gotten back from telling his godfathers the news and, Erick assumed, they hadn't taken it too lightly.

"You can leave, if you want," said Teddy, rubbing his face. "Olly knows I won't be back tonight, but you can."

Erick shook his head. "I'm fine."

"At least grab something to eat. It's gonna be a while."

Again, Erick shook his head. Frowning, he said, "I---I don't mind waiting. Really, Teddy, I promise." Giving Scorpius' hand a slight squeeze, Erick brushed a few of his sandy locks away from his pale forehead, frowning when he found the blonde's forehead sweaty. "Is that supposed to be happening?"

Teddy nodded. "It's normal. Don't worry, he shouldn't be feeling a thing now."

Tracing a finger down from Scorpius' temple to his chin, tapping it once or twice. "Will. . .will he be okay? Don't sugar coat it, either, Teddy," he added. "I just want to know."

Teddy folded his hands over his stomach, thinking for a moment. "I don't know," he said truthfully. He watched as Erick wiped away some tears, looking away when the redhead turned towards him. "But he'll pull through. He's strong."

Erick blinked back his tears until he couldn't anymore. "I love him. I. . .yeah." He clasped both of his hands over one of Scorpius' bringing it to his lips, though he didn't kiss it. Tears dripped from his chin and onto the sheets. "I don't think he believes it, judging from that note."

Teddy licked his lips, looking away as he choked back tears of his own. "He does, he just. . .doesn't want to believe it."

Hours passed, but they seemed like eternities to Erick. Teddy snored at the desk, where he had fallen asleep, oblivious to the redhead, who opened the book he had given Scorpius, looking at the note again. By his wand light, Erick read the words slowly, wishing they would vanish.

Teddy,
I didn't mean to make this whole thing a mess. I can't find the right words to say verbally, so I'm going to rely on this as a sorry attempt. Just don't hate me after this. That's all I'm really asking at this point.

Please tell Erick that I love him and that I'm sorry for bringing him into this mess. This isn't his fault, or yours, or even Draco's. It's just what I have to do so that nobody has to worry about me. I love you all.

That was where the note ended and where Erick's tears began again. He took a slow, steadying breath as he rested his head on the hospital bed. Kissing the back of Scorpius' hand gently, Erick shut his eyes and imagined that he was back in his dingy flat, Scorpius lying next to him.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Erick chewed his breakfast mournfully. Teddy sat across from him, rubbing his face and drinking coffee as if it were a lifeline.

In Scorpius' room, Oliver Whitney sat, feeling quite awkward with Scorpius in his unconscious state. He wasn't sure what to do.

Just a few minutes ago, he had brought Teddy a coffee from his favourite place, bringing a bagel for Erick, who looked horrible. Oliver couldn't blame him for that, of course. He would look and feel just as horrible if Teddy were in this position; alone and hurting terribly.

He heard a weak voice croak out, "What. . .am I. . .?"

Oliver looked up from his lap, his mouth falling open as he exclaimed, "Scorpius!" The blonde's eyes were open, flickering over everything. Oliver scooted his chair closer, placing a hand on Scorpius' shoulder. "How are you? Hungry? Thirsty?"

The blonde caught Oliver's eyes, his own burning even though he wasn't crying. "I'm not dead."

"No, thank God."

Scorpius shut his eyes. "Damn." With a deep sigh, he blinked, frowning deeply. "Where's Erick?"

"Getting something to eat, hopefully." Oliver patted Scorpius' shoulder as he added, "Teddy too."

Scorpius cleared his throat, wincing. "W---will he be back soon?"

"Yeah." Oliver gave him a sad smile, though he hoped it didn't look terribly somber.

"I can't move."

Oliver said, "Teddy might be able to help with that, I'm sure." He sat with the blonde boy in silence until the door opened, Erick in front of Teddy, his face pale, showing his freckles more clearly.

Slowly, as to not hurt himself further, Scorpius turned his head, his pale grey eyes filling with tears as he looked at Erick, shocked to find the redhead doing the same. He opened his mouth to say something, but Erick barreled into him, hugging him so tightly and roughly that the smaller boy's upper body was lifted up.

Shakily, he wrapped his arms around Erick. He listened to Erick whispering how much he loved him, watching as Oliver and Teddy left the room.

"Erick---" he began, his voice cracking with pent up emotion, but he stopped when Erick pulled back, his face tear-streaked.

"I'm right here," he whispered, cupping Scorpius' face in his palms. "I won't leave."

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to comment and vote!