harry potter scenarios

scorbus - hanahaki disease (pt 3)

week three
Scorpius' condition worsened quicker than he had thought. He managed to choke up many petals throughout the day instead of just a few - dark bags formed under his dull eyes as his sleep schedule went off the rails, seeing as he had to wake up at multiple times in the night to find evil little presents in his throat.
Week by week, little by little, these damn petals kept coming back in bigger and more painful quantities. At first, although he knew they were only causing destruction to his body, Scorpius found the bright white rose petals hauntingly beautiful. In a weird way, he looked forward to each time the sensation arose in his raw throat - like the pain he went through was worth the end result.

Now, they just feel like a living nightmare.

When the eye bags only grew bigger and Scorpius' weight started declining from his lack of consuming nutrients, Albus couldn't look the other way anymore.

"Hey, Scorpius." He stopped and turned on his heel, facing the Potter and focusing on the patterned tiles underneath his feet instead of Albus' eyes. "Are you getting enough sleep, man? You just seem more... tired lately and the bags under your eyes are darker than my hope for the future haha." The joke was made to try and lighten the dull mood but Scorpius couldn't really find the will inside himself to laugh. The silence after Albus' humour was foreign and felt slightly uncomfortable.
Panic started to rise inside his heart as he realised he should probably answer the question of the boy he's going through all this suffering for, his eyebrows furrowed and bushed together in thought.
"Not really. I've been getting these nightmares."
He wasn't sure where the lie came from inside the deep corners of his mind, but it sprung from nowhere and - being seemingly realistic - Scorpius decided to go with it.
"Oh? What of?"
"...My mother."
Oh no. Not pulling the accidental pity card. Where the hell can he turn with this without materialising a string of lies and getting caught in the spider's web?
Scorpius' face was a mirror of Albus', being just as surprised as he was to hear the sentence come from his mouth. Green eyes widened and shined out of curiosity, but the 'o' shape Albus' mouth settled into told Scorpius everything he needed to know without saying a word.
"It doesn't really matter anyway! I, uh, it doesn't really affect me that much I swear! I have a- I have a date to go on so if you'll excuse me!"
Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as Scorpius finally turned the corner and slumped down the cold wall; why is telling his best friend about his condition such a difficulty? Was he too afraid, perhaps, afraid of the affects that admitting the truth would bring?

Avoiding Albus turned out to be more difficult than Scorpius had imagined - especially when one was seeking out the other at every given opportunity he had. When Albus had Quidditch practice, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy hung out together, eventually getting much closer and bonding over the disease; something Scorpius had not expected. On Friday, they decided to spend time looking over the lake. A beautiful sight to see, when the sun goes down and the artist of the sky paints a rainbow of colour over the clouds: and they got to watch it together.

When the silent show was over, Scorpius sighed and fell onto his back with his arms supporting his blond head laid on the dewy grass. Rose stayed sitting, staring intently at the hint of colour left in the sky, lost in a daydream.
"Scorpius, what does love feel like?" He opened his eyes and gazed at her, pondering the question.
After a while, he spoke up.
"Love? It changes every day. Some days, it feels like a raging beast that's difficult to control - it gets so overwhelming that I can barely restrain the heartbeat in my chest." She looked him back in the eyes, but was met with someone preoccupied in his thoughts, the spirit in his eyes far away.
"Other days, it's calmer and more peaceful. A nice place to hide away from the world."
"It sounds exhilarating."
"It's painful, is what it is."