Broken

Worried

Hermione sat in a chair in the hospital wing, Scorpius cuddled on her knee, reading Peter Pan.

Hermione glanced at Draco, unconscious in the bed beside them. The golden snitch was trapped under a cup on the bedside table, its wings a whisper against the glass.

Hannah told her they'd done their best on Draco's broken bones, though he'd be in pain for a while. Their bigger concern was his head injury. They wouldn't know the full extent of the damage to his brain until he woke up.

"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

Draco groaned, catching Hermione and Scorpius' attention.

'You do all the voices,' Draco muttered. 'It's cute.'

'Daddy!' Scorpius rushed over and flung himself at Draco, who grunted at the impact.

'I bet you do the voices when you read,' Hermione teased, hiding her relief.

'Me? No way!'

'Well Scorpius, does your daddy do the voices when he reads books to you?'

'Yeah!' Scorpius giggled, his big blue eyes twinkling.

'Aha! Your secret is out, Mr Malfoy!'

'Oh no!' He grumbled with a mock grimace. 'I just can't catch a break this year!'

'Lucky for you that I'm always there to help you out!'

'Oh yes, a regular knight in shining armour,' Draco smirked.

'That would make you the damsel in distress, oh fair maiden...'

'I'm a dragon princess!' Draco chuckled, wincing as the laugh tore through his battered body.

'Hmm, I think your highness needs to stop making Royal proclamations and get some beauty sleep...' Hermione smiled, as Draco was struggling to keep his eyes open.

'Stay with me?' He whispered, his grey eyes locked with her brown ones.

'Course I will, I'll be right here,' she whispered back, squeezing his hand. A ghost of a smile was on Draco's lips as his eyes fluttered shut.

******

Hermione was curled up in the chair, reading books Teddy had brought her from the library. Scorpius was asleep in the bed next to Draco, Teddy was examining the Hogwarts grounds out of the window.

'How is he?' Hannah asked quietly, 'has he woken up at all?'

'For a minute or two, not long, but he was coherent and lucid,' Hermione whispered, stretching the kinks out of her back.

'Did you notice anything unusual?'

'Well he didn't insult me...!' Hermione and Hannah giggled.

'I heard that,' Draco muttered from the bed, eyes closed and arm around Scorpius.

*****

Hannah slipped out of the hospital wing after examining Draco. He was sat up in bed, squinting as the late afternoon sun poured through the window.

'How long til Slytherin's next match?' Draco asked, smiling at Scorpius who was blinking sleepily at him.

'Surely you're not thinking of playing?!' Hermione was horrified at the prospect.