Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 26: Three Worried Friends

As soon as Scorpius stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut with a surprising amount of force, Rose burst into tears. She just didn't understand. Yes, this was a traumatizing experience for him, as well as her, Albus, and Holly. Rose understood that. But what she didn't understand was what triggered him to start panicking a few moments ago.

While Rose curled into a fetal position on the bed and let her tears flow down her face, she felt Holly and Albus's gentle hands touch her shoulders, rubbing them and trying to comfort her.

"He just needs time, Rose," Albus muttered, but sounded unsure in his tone. "Anything could've set him off. Like how we were talking about our comas and recovering. Maybe that's a sensitive subject for him."

Rose nodded. That made sense.

"He might be upset because of his parents," Holly said suggestively, which made Rose lift her head off of her arms and look at her friend curiously.

"What about his parents, Holly?" Rose asked.

Holly gulped. "Well," Then she sighed shakily. "When I woke up just a few hours ago, I asked the doctors where my parents were. You know, because I was expecting my parents to be by my side like they always were when I was in the hospital for cancer treatment. Anyways, they said my parents were missing, as well as Draco and Astoria Malfoy."

Rose suddenly remembered a year ago when she and her friends took refuge at Malfoy Manor, and how Scorpius's parents and Holly's parents were there. Well, they thought they were their parents. It turned out that those Death Eaters, or whoever they were, had used polyjuice potion to disguise themselves as the Longbottom and Malfoy couples. Apparently, the whereabouts of the real couples are unknown.

"Wow, that's awful. I can't even imagine what Scorpius is feeling right now," Albus replied, staring at the floor with a blank expression. Most likely from shock.

"He probably feels the same way I feel," Holly said. "Like there's no hope of finding them anymore. It's been over a year since they went missing, and I, and probably Scorpius too, feel like they won't ever be found." A single tear rolled down Holly's rosy cheek. It was rare to see Holly cry. All Rose could do was pull her best friend into a hug.

"Don't lose hope, Holly," Rose said as she rubbed Holly's back. "I'm sure we all thought we'd never find each other again, right?" She glanced at Albus, who nodded slowly. "Well, we ended up finding each other again. So there's just the same chance that they'll find yours and Scorpius's parents."

Holly pulled away and looked at Rose with her watery blue/gray eyes. "You're so good at comforting people."

Rose chuckled, as well as Albus and Holly. She smiled and replied, "As I've been told."

As the three of them laughed, suddenly, an abrupt knock interrupted them. The door then opened, and Rose's uncle, Harry Potter, stepped into the room. His eyes widened slightly at the three teenagers sitting down in the room. Rose realized she probably should've let somebody know she and Albus had left his room while they ran around in the hospital.

Albus looked like a deer in headlights. "Dad, we can explain..."

Uncle Harry held up his hand, stopping his son mid-sentence. "I'm not mad, Al. I just want to know where you and Rose have been all night long. Everyone's been looking all over for you two!" Then he spotted Holly, who smiled at him like an innocent child. "Oh, good to see you're awake and about, Holly."

After he said that, Rose's parents rushed into the room, followed by Aunt Ginny, who was carrying Rose's infant cousin Ariana in her arms.

"There you are!" Rose's mother huffed out a sigh of relief when she saw her daughter. Rose rolled her eyes, as her mother tended to over-worry. "Rose Weasley, where have you been?"

Rose gave a sheepish grin, hoping to lighten the mood. "Relax, Mum, Albus and I left the room to grab a snack from the vending machine and we walked around the hospital corridors for a few hours."

Uncle Harry raised an eyebrow. "So you grabbed snacks and took a walk, and that lasted all night long?"

"And you didn't even leave us a note or inform the staff?" Rose's mother added, putting her hands on her hips.

Rose glanced at Albus nervously. They were so screwed.

"Um, we're sorry?" Rose said, hoping she's get let off the hook. After all, she was in the hospital and she'd just woken up from a bloody coma! They should cut her some slack.

Rose's mother sighed, looking Rose's father to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. "You're forgiven. But please leave a note next time. We understand you're both growing up and you want to get out more."

Rose's father looked uneasy about this. Rose just hoped her mother wouldn't go into the whole "you're growing up" speech right now.

Aunt Ginny smiled in Holly's direction. "Oh, Holly! You're here! I'm so glad you're alright." Then she rushed over to Holly, set Ariana down in Albus's lap, and gave Holly a bone-crushing hug. Rose chucked as Albus blushed, but tried playing it off while he made faces at his baby sister.

Rose was pretty sure Albus's parents loved Holly so much because they knew she could possibly be their future daughter in law.

Then Rose's mother walked over to her and hugged her, whispering, "I love you, darling."

Rose smiled and hugged her mother even tighter. "I love you too, Mum. Where's Hugo?"

Her mother chuckled. "Fast asleep in your room, I think. He told me to tell you that he loved you."

Rose gasped. Hugo never said things like that. "Well, I'll have to give him a hug in the morning, won't I? Though I don't think he'll like it very much." Rose and her mother chuckled at the thought.

Rose's father walked over and joined his wife and daughter. "So, Rosie, have you seen your...er...boyfriend?" Rose knew her father hated that word more than anything.

Then Rose remembered what had happened earlier. She gulped. "Yes, I saw him earlier and we all came back in here to hang out. We were having a nice time until he got upset and left the room. I don't know where he went though. I'm really worried about him."

Rose's mother glanced at her husband nervously. "Oh dear, that's awful. He must be struggling with this whole situation. Well, can you think of any places where he might be?"

Albus's eyes met Rose's as she glanced at him. She could tell he had been listening in on their conversation. And she could tell he was thinking the same thing she was.

Rose knew exactly where Scorpius was.

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Well, that's chapter 26! Hope you liked it! :)

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