Folie à Deux

Chapter 16: Dream A Little Dream Of Me

Chapter 16: Dream A Little Dream Of Me or, I Don't Want No Saviour, Baby, I Just Wanna Have A Good Time

Rating: M mainly for language, and I can't discount any funny business later on

Disclaimer: I work with only what the infallible J.K. Rowling has given me.

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Scorpius rubbed tiredly at his eyes as they adjusted to the soft rays of light pouring in from his window.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he had the distinct feeling that he'd woken up halfway through a dream. He blinked slowly, automatically tightening his hold around the duvet engulfing him, its warmth spreading around his body like his blood had been heated. And yet, it was as if the warmth was within him; he felt warm and good and...well, confused. Confused about a dream he was sure he'd had that he could feel but not remember — it was on the tip of his tongue, like a flint that continued to spark but refused to catch flame.

He didn't often wake before his alarm, and he turned in his bed to check the time, his eyes still having trouble focusing—

At least until they fell upon the numbers blinking red on his clock's interface.

In seconds, Scorpius had leapt out of bed, that warm, fuzzy, unexplainable feeling smoked out and replaced by a sheer panic that had wormed its way past his grogginess with impressive speed and force.

He had never slept through an alarm in his life.

He scrambled out of his pyjamas and into his uniform, hopping ungracefully into his bathroom as he tore a brush through his hair and then over his teeth, splashing his face with cold water for good measure. After towelling off any damp skin, he packed up his books and wand from where they were set on the table and reached urgently for his socks and shoes, darting a quick look in the mirror before he grabbed his now packed bag and left his room.

Once in the living area, he stopped short in surprise.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Toby raised a finger without looking up and continued to scribble on his parchment. "Hang on, just finishing this up now, one sec — aaaand, done!" He brandished his completed assignment at Scorpius before rolling it up and standing. "You didn't come down to breakfast, so I came up to look for you and brought you some food," he explained. "Your lights were still off so I figured I'd wait and see if you'd come out, I was just about to come and wake you actually, we do have to go rather soon, oh oops, make that rather now—"

Scorpius' brain ached, and he shut his eyes, wondering whether if he willed it hard enough he could be back in that bed feeling warm and good and left alone to figure out just why he was feeling that way—

His stomach growled, another reminder that that lovely wish of his was merely a wish, and he took the muffin and banana Toby was offering to him, biting into the muffin instantly.

"Thanks," he said, voice muffled. "We'd better head down."

Toby continued to speak at him as they descended towards the ground floor, Scorpius occasionally grunting in order to convey a sense of engagement, though in reality the sudden lack of urgency he was feeling meant that his brain had instinctively wandered back to what it was doing earlier. He didn't know why he couldn't help but grapple with this, but there was something about it that felt important, important enough that his body had reacted to it - was still reacting to it if the incessant tugging at his stomach was any indication.