Working Through the Rest

Not First. Not Last.

They let us leave the Hospital Wing the next day and the first thing that Scorpius does upon entering the Common Room is try to find a roll of parchment and begin planning when to catch up on all the work we've missed. I know it's an effective distraction for him, so I don't stop him, instead sitting with him and trying to help. I don't do any of my own work. I can climb that mountain another time. Probably.

We sit for a long time, watching the embers in the fire burn down before we go to bed.  And after the next morning, when McGonagall sends us a note in the Great Hall to inform us that we are permitted in lessons again from the next day, we spend the day in the Common Room, pieces of parchment, quills, and piles of books strewn around us.

Once we're back in lessons, the teasing returns, almost unrelenting. Neither of us are required to turn in any homework until we've caught up with our missing weeks, but no one else actually knows why we have this 'privilege', or they do not care. They apparently do not seem to notice that we spend every evening sat by the fire, working for hours after everybody else is asleep.

Most nights, we go to bed after Scorpius' main piece of work is done, but as the month drags on, he stays up longer and longer, even after he's finished what he's doing. I stay with him, occasionally dozing off as he continues to stare at the fire.

I didn't know whether he actually slept at all.

Until now.

Tonight, I wake up sooner than I normally do when I fall asleep. Something had flashed across my mind, and I had woken up, halfway to hitting the floor. I stand up slowly, looking around the empty room. The fire has all but burnt out and we're the only people in here. Scorpius is asleep on an armchair, book on the floor next to him. It looks as if it fell out of his hands when he dozed off.

I smile softly. He looks peaceful, and part of me wonders how often he does sleep. I haven't seen him rest since the morning in the Hospital Wing and, while I know that I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow morning, I don't try to fall asleep again. I want to remember this. I want to remember that Scorpius can find some form of peace, even though it's only temporary.

I turn away and stand up for half a moment to find the mug of water that I filled earlier, and that seems to be when everything changes. Scorpius whimpers a couple of times and I glance over my shoulder. He looks fine and I turn around, picking up the mug and walking back towards him.

As I sit down again, he whimpers again and I start to hear words in the noise. My name, manes of potions, potions, ingredients. Pearl dust. And then he starts to shake.
"Scorpius," I put the mug down, crouching in front of him. "Scorpius!"

He doesn't react and I try to take his shoulders to wake him up. And then he lets out an ear-splitting scream and I jump back slightly. I cry out accidentally as my head hits the books hanging over the edge of the table, and then I'm back on the Quidditch Pitch, his screams echoing around me. Delphi with her wand in my neck. Delphi, moving towards Scorpius. Craig. Dead. And then. Back. In. Time. And then I scream out.

It's not real. It's not happening. But what is happening is Scorpius' nightmare. And I need to wake him up. He's now lying on the floor, writhing and shaking and crying. I try to pull him away from the chair so that he doesn't hurt himself, but he pushes me away unconsciously.
"Scorpius," I grab his shoulders, trying to keep him still. "Scorpius, I'm here."
"No..." Scorpius whimpers. "No...please..."

And then he screams again, shooting upright, hitting me in the face with the top of his head. I fall backwards, letting go of him as he pulls himself up to lean against the chair.
"You awake?" I smile weakly, ignoring the throbbing in my chin.
"Albus," Scorpius breaths heavily. "Are you...what happened...I..."
"You had a nightmare."
Scorpius nods. "Are you...are you okay...?"
"Yeah," I nod. "Yeah, I just got in the way of flailing limbs."
"Sorry."
"It's fine. Honestly. I'm just glad you're awake."

Scorpius nods and I pull the mug off the table, passing it to him. He takes it shakily, sipping it slowly.
"Are you okay?" I ask quietly.

Scorpius shakes his head, still breathing heavily. Moments ago, he looked peaceful, almost happy. And now his shirt and face are drenched are sweat, and he is shivering violently.
"Here," I take off my robe and pass it to him.

He doesn't react and I stand up and sit down next to him, wrapping the robe loosely around him as a blanket of some sort. He pulls it closer to himself, continuing to shake.
"Thank you," he mumbles.
"Do you want to change into some other clothes?"

He shakes his head, leaning into me weakly. I put my arm around him gently and watch his eyes flutter closed.
"Please don't go anywhere," he murmurs.
"I won't," I promise. "I'm here."

His breathing begins to return to normal after that.