Obliviate

Chapter 11 - Normality

The end of October brought talking pumpkin heads floating above the Great Hall tables, their flickering candles spilling golden light across the room. With them came a sharper frost in the air and, for Lily, in her thoughts.

"You know," Albus said, plucking a stray leaf from her hair, "if I didn't know any better, I'd think you and Scor were hiding something from me..."

"What are you on about?" Lily turned just in time to see him swipe a bread roll from the basket at her elbow.

Down the table, Scorpius was fully absorbed in a Ravenclaw boy's exaggerated Quidditch story, laughing at the right moments, leaning in as though it mattered.

"In five minutes," Albus said, voice casual but eyes sharp, "you two will get up and leave together. Are you-" his brow arched, "romantic with each other?"

"Good God!" Lily's face burned. "Albus, hop off it. He's just helping me study for O.W.L.s, and I'm helping him figure out what he wants to do with his future."

"Does his future involve you?" Albus's tone was light, but his gaze wasn't.

"Go ask him," Lily snapped, stabbing her fork into her potatoes. "I'm not having this conversation with you."

"His reaction was the same," Albus said with a sly grin, laughing as he sauntered back toward the Gryffindor table.

Later that evening, the Room of Requirement welcomed them with its now-familiar glow. The Tree stood tall and serene, its branches brushing the ceiling like a cathedral canopy.

"So," Scorpius said as Lily joined him, "your brother asked you the same thing he asked me?"

Her cheeks heated again. "I told him we're studying. He's convinced he's a detective now."

Scorpius smirked. "He's been nosy ever since summer. But I suppose I should be glad he and I are close again, even if it means constant prying."

"I think he's testing it out," Lily said thoughtfully. "This whole investigator thing. I saw him reading a Ministry pamphlet in the Summer break."

"I thought he wanted to be a Potioneer..." Scorpius trailed off with a shrug. "Anyway, if the Death Eaters are gone for good, what do you think the Tree's next step is?"

The golden leaves rustled as the Tree's voice swept through their thoughts.

No more steps are needed. I am whole. The Death Eaters cannot touch me. My roots run deep, strengthened by serenity, by love, by the bond you two share.

Heat rushed to Lily's face as she glanced at Scorpius, only for them both to look quickly away. Lily's mind snapped back to the echo they had seen and her dream... You're so brave...

Focus on your studies, the Tree whispered. What must be revealed will be revealed. Time cannot be forced.

The words pressed into Lily's chest, heavy and frustrating.

Scorpius clapped his hands together. "Shall we actually do some studying then?" He winked, dragging his textbooks out of his bag.

But Lily didn't move. Her gaze lingered on him, the question rising before she could stop it. "Did your dad stop... hurting you?"

The air shifted. Scorpius froze.

"After I Obliviated him, he did." His voice was low, uneven. "I don't know if it was the Tree's magic, or just that his memories are broken. But he's... different now. He stares out the window a lot, like he's searching for something. There's this look in his eyes..."