Albus/Scorpius: As Long As I've Got You By My Side

Inevitable Inseperability

The months following his mother's close brush with death were not kind to Scorpius. He constantly worried that she had somehow fallen ill once again, and he began to experience a tightness in his chest, throat, and abdomen every time he imagined her dying. Most nights, he found himself unable to sleep due to the suffocating feeling that plagued him so often. That was where Albus came in. Always the altruist, he stayed up with Scorpius no matter how tired he was. The two of them had taken to sharing a bed so that Scorpius could seek comfort in his best friend without even having to leave his bed.

Unfortunately, Scorpius's reasons for worrying did not end with Astoria's health. He soon became fearful of losing everyone he loved, Albus in particular. This resulted in a certain clinginess on Scorpius's part; if he and Albus had been close before, they were inseparable now.

=(-)=

"Are you sure I'm not annoying you, Albus?".

"You're not, I promise. I can't pretend that following me to the toilet during class is...well...normal, but I can honestly say that it doesn't bother me".

Scorpius gave a reluctant laugh.

=(-)=

And so it continued: Scorpius simultaneously refusing to leave Albus alone for more than two minutes and wondering if he should cease to do so. Until one night, as they were laying in Scorpius's bed, Albus decided to discuss his friend's issue.

"Scorpie?"

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering... Look, don't take this the wrong way-"

"You want me to give you some breathing space or something along those lines?", Scorpius interrupted, his voice resigned.

"Not exactly", said Albus. "I just thought...well...it can't really be healthy for you to be so nervous all the time, can it? I'm just a bit concerned... You can't carry on like this, for your own good-"

"How do you know what's good for me?", Scorpius snapped.

Albus said nothing. There was a moment of silence, in which Scorpius rolled over to look into his friend's eyes. Upon seeing the hurt in them, he put a tentative hand on the side of Albus's face.

"I'm sorry", he whispered.

"S'alright", replied Albus. "I didn't mean to make you angry".

"I'm not angry, not really", said Scorpius. "Just a bit... I dunno..."

"This is why I'm worried about you, Scorpius".

"I suppose you've got a right to be, haven't you?", Scorpius sighed.

"You know what, Scorpius?", said Albus. "I think we've done enough worrying for one night".

He put his arms around Scorpius and closed his eyes. Scorpius, finally feeling at ease, did the same.

SSS

Their second year at Hogwarts was drawing to a close when Scorpius had his first "episode". His traitorous mind had been thinking about what would happen if Albus had somehow died during their final exams, and Albus was nowhere to be seen. The logical part of his brain told him that Albus was probably just finishing up the last few questions of their test, but his breathing was becoming more and more shallow nevertheless. Tears stung his eyes as he fought to take in oxygen; it had suddenly become very difficult to breathe...

Almost as quickly as it had come, the moment of panic was over. Scorpius felt drained, almost tired. He was on the verge of tears. What had just happened to him? Scorpius certainly didn't know...

Just then, Albus walked into the Slytherin common room where Scorpius was sitting. He took one look at Scorpius's face expression and immediately ran over to sit next to his friend.

"Scorpie, what's wrong?", he asked, brow furrowed.

Upon seeing that Albus was indeed alive, Scorpius almost sobbed in immense relief. He leaned into Albus's chest, feeling the sudden and inexplicable urge to be held. Luckily, Albus seemed to sense this, and he wrapped his arms around him. It was then that Scorpius finally spoke.

"Nothing is wrong... Well, not now, anyway".

"What do you mean?"

Scorpius explained what had just happened to him. As he spoke, Albus's frown became more and more pronounced and he held Scorpius tighter.

"Well,", he said, "we know that this definitely has something to do with your tendency to worry about my well-being".

"Right", said Scorpius.

"But... it sounds like this is starting to make you physically ill. That can't be good, obviously. I think we should go to the hospital wing and ask Madam Pomfrey if she knows anything about whatever it is that just happened to you".

"It's not really related to my health, though, is it?"

"I think we should do it anyway. You need help, Scorpius".

And with that, Albus disentangled himself from Scorpius and took his hand, pulling him towards the common room's exit.

=(-)=

As it turned out, Madam Pomfrey had seen students like Scorpius before. She told him that what he was experiencing was called anxiety. According to her, some witches and wizards developed anxiety after a certain experience (like Scorpius), but the tendency to get anxious was something with which they were born.

"Here, take this Calming Draught", she said, handing Scorpius a vial full of the potion. "It should make you feel better right away".

Scorpius drank, and immediately felt less jittery. Madame Pomfrey handed him a few more vials of the Calming Draught, telling him to take one whenever he felt it was necessary, but no more than once per day. Then she turned to Albus, who'd been watching Scorpius intently.

"You're a very good friend, Mr. Potter", she said. "Not many young witches and wizards your age would accompany their friends to the hospital wing on an occasion such as this. Most would not even consider anxiety to be a real problem, unfortunately".

"It was his idea to come here, actually", Scorpius remarked sagely.

Albus blushed.

"I...er...yeah", he said.

"How very eloquent of you, Albie", Scorpius teased.

Albus's face became even redder.

Madam Pomfrey retreated to her office, leaving the two boys to walk out of the hospital wing together. Albus's face remained as red as a tomato.

As she watched them leave, Madam Pomfrey smiled knowingly to herself.

These boys certainly are inseparable, she thought. I'm sure they will remain that way for the rest of their lives.