Slytherin's Potter ( Scorpius Malfoy x Lily Luna Potter)

Part 102: Lessons of life

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather I stay with you today?" Scorpius inquired with a concerned tone. Lily understood his concern. After all, she had cried herself to sleep the night before. But when she woke up that morning, and that sad and painful ache had ripped through her, she looked over at where Duncan's letter rested on the night stand. Smile. That word rang in her head, and it took hold. So she forced any tears back, and got up from the bed before Scorpius was even awake. She showered and dressed, and Scorpius had found her making a slightly large breakfast for him.

She wouldn't lie. That ache was still in her heart. But it wouldn't be right for her to dwell on it. It wouldn't be what Duncan wanted. Besides, a plan was forming in her mind, and she was going to put it to work.

"I'm ok, Scorpius. Really," Lily assured.

Scorpius came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I won't mind. If you're hurting, I don't want to leave you alone."

"I won't be," Lily replied.

"Jace is spending the day with Lola, remember?" Scorpius reminded.

"I wasn't talking about, Jace," Lily retorted. She gave one of his arms a squeeze. "Really. It'll be ok. Now sit down. Breakfast is ready."

Scorpius watched her carefully all through breakfast, but Lily paid little attention to it. She so wrapped up in her thoughts and the plan that was slowly but surely mapping out before her. So she assured Scorpius ten more times before sending him off to training. Then she cleaned up and left a note for Jace. Then she too was out the door.

Lily sat in the office of one of St. Mungo's head healers. She had asked to see him, and as soon as she gave her name, she was lead to his office. It was one of the first times she had purposely dropped the Potter name.

The door opened, and a man stepped in. He was middle-aged with thin gray hair. But he had a friendly looking face. Almost like an old fatherly figure. He gave Lily a smile as he came around the desk to sit in his chair. "Ah, Miss Potter. I'm Greyson Carnige," he greeted as he shook her hand. "Now, I understand you had some questions about a patient?"

Lily nodded. She pushed away the ache, and took a deep breath. "Yes. I was hoping that I could ask a few questions about Duncan Chapman. He was a very dear friend of mine."

Now Greyson Carnige looked a bit somber. "Well, I'll try my best. What's your first question?"

"How long did he know that he for sure wouldn't make it?" Lily asked immediately.

He sighed. "About a year, although it wasn't until about three months ago that we could give him a specific day."

Lily bit her lip as she pushed away tears. A year. He had known that he was for sure going to die for a year! And he didn't tell her. He had kept the truth from her, just to keep her from being upset. "Do you know why this happened to him? Why no method worked?"

"Well, our theory is his immune system. It was uncommonly weak, hence the infection he got as well. We just don't think his system was able to fight it off. And while we have potions and spells to help the process, the body still must be able to work. It's a magic of its own," Greyson explained.

"Was he ever hurting?" Lily inquired.

Greyson shook his head. "No. There was never any pain that he felt. At least physically."

Lily thought about her new answers. A weak immune system. That had apparently been the main factor. "Will this happen to his baby sister?" she asked.

"It's possible. From what we've seen through tests, neither of his parents had a weak system. But his father thinks that Duncan's grandfather did. He too had apparently died of a disease that rarely kills," he explained. "But we won't know until the baby is born."