MORALITY ⟶ Angelina Johnson [1]

Chapter Thirty-Two

[Chapter Thirty-Two]

Angelina figured that Saros needed to get into his bed and go to sleep in order to feel better. Despite their best efforts, he was still shivering quite a bit as they walked along. However, she couldn't allow the Weasley twins to get into the Slytherin Common Room, there was no telling what they would decide to do with such power. So she decided to let the boys help her to the stairwell by the Entrance Hall before helping Saros the rest of the way. He had been leaning heavily against the twins initially but when he was transferred over to walk with Angelina, Saros did his best to shift his weight to walk as much as he could on his own. But he was in a good amount of pain, triggered by the cold water.

"I can manage back to the Common Room," he told her, feeling quite embarrassed at the time for relying so much on Angelina and the twins that evening. Whether it pertained to his leg or not, Saros never wanted to express any signs of weakness. He had been fighting for his independence for so long within his family that believed him to almost be helpless in so many scenarios. He didn't want to give the impression that he would need constant help from that point on.

But Angelina wasn't having any of his nonsense, sending a glare in his direction that told Saros to swallow his pride for the night. It really had nothing to do with how she viewed him or anything pertaining to his leg, it all revolved around the idea that he had stupidly jumped into the Black Lake to solve a clue. She would have thought that a warm bath would have worked just the same and given him the same results, rather than the drastic step he had taken to figure it out.

Her main priority was to get him warm, get him into bed, and make sure that he got enough rest so that he would be well by the morning. Angelina helped him along towards the Slytherin Common Room, standing outside of the dungeon doors as Saros' gave the password again that evening. She had thought about letting him go in the rest of the way by himself but as soon as the doors were opened, Saros stumbled forward and Angelina was left uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Saros alone to make his way back to his room.

Since the Common Room remained silent, she assumed that everyone was still at the ball, giving them privacy as they walked in. Saros didn't seem to protest her company anymore as they walked along, although he did seem to be hitting somewhat of a delusional stage as he appeared quite exhausted. But it certainly didn't stop him from talking, more so than Angelina had ever heard him talk in one sitting.

"It's times like this that I wish I had my father's walking stick," he confessed as they passed the long leather sofas," it really did help, even if I didn't like to admit it all the time. But I felt like it made me look silly walking around with it. And if I did, I knew that others were going to judge me for it. I had kept my leg a secret for so long, that would just seem like a dead giveaway, wouldn't it? So I usually always told him no when he offered it. Guess it wouldn't matter now, everyone knows about it and I don't think my father will ever offer his walking stick to me again unless it's to beat me with."