Little Things

Chapter Thirty-Three

Scorpius Malfoy

Four months. It had been four months. Four months since Scorpius started to become top of the class again, four months since he'd been sober and four months since he lost Rose. Scorpius had his good days and he had his bad days, but for the most part he just lived. He let days and days go by without really acknowledging anything. He woke up, went to breakfast, went to his morning classes, ate lunch, went to his afternoon classes, go to the library to study, ate dinner, went to bed early, and then repeated the same routine the following day.

Occasionally, he would go with Albus and Louis to one of the Quidditch games or hang out with them in the Room of Requirement, but that didn't bring him the happiness and satisfaction he hoped it would. He knew he was depressed. He'd been before, but this time it seemed worse. Perhaps it was the loss that caused the depression or maybe it was because the last time he'd been like that, Rose was there to help.

As the days got warmer, Scorpius's spirits got colder. He knew that in a few weeks, he'd be leaving school. He hadn't a clue where he was going. He knew he couldn't go to his father's, but he also wasn't sure if his mom had room for him. Scorpius knew he could always crash at Albus's for awhile, but being surrounded by all her family 24/7 wasn't something he wanted to be doing.

He felt lost and like there wasn't really a place for him. For so long Hogwarts had been his home, but whenever summer rolled around he could always go home to his parents, who for most of his schooling had been happy together. Now it was if he was floating, just searching for a place to land. He knew that he only had one more summer of floating before he could soar off on his own, but until then he didn't know what to do.

That was why Scorpius had always turned towards the bottle. In an odd way, it gave him a sense of control like he was able to handle how things in his life would go. But the main reason he drank, was because he was able to forget. He was able to forget how shitty his life had become and all that he'd lost. He'd lost Rose, he'd lost his father's love, he'd lost a safe home.

And it was because of this loss, that caused him to pick up the bottle. After four months of being sober, he grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey Albus thought he'd hidden away. Scorpius uncorked it and took a long sip. He felt the control slip into his fingers and the liquid slid down his throat, making him numb. He felt complete. He felt empowered.

~

It was growing dark on a Saturday night, although Scorpius didn't know that because he had no concept of time. He was completely intoxicated. What had started as a little sip of alcohol in his dorm room had turned into probably his worst case ever. He didn't understand anything. His brain was all fuzzy, with little bits of things floating around in there. Then one thought came undeniably clear... Rose.

He needed to go see Rose. Scorpius got up, throwing his bottle aside, barely hearing it shatter as he headed out the door. He stumbled down the dormitory stairs and then almost fell into the common room. There were a few students in there, who gave him odd glances but then ignored him. He scanned the room quickly, but didn't find Rose. So he ran towards the Ravenclaw door.

He stumbled around Hogwarts halls, not sure of where he was going. A few times he wasn't even sure why he was there. But then he remembered, Rose. He had to talk to her, to see her.

Scorpius was gradually losing his footing more and more, stumbling, looking like a complete drunkard, which is exactly what he was. But then, all of sudden he tripped, his head hitting the concrete floor.

The last thing her remembered before he passed out was red hair.

Rose Weasley

Rose paced in front of the hospital wing, ringing her hands as she did. Albus sat off to the side, sitting in a chair, his head in his hands. They were both waiting for Madam Pomfrey.