undeniable | scorbus

eight - albus

albus needs to be more careful...

—

The first word that came to mind when Albus saw the hospital wing was white.

White walls, white curtains, white bedsheets. It was just plain white. The only splashes of colour were from the potions and various other magical entities that lined the wooden shelves along the walls.

Being in there alone was somewhat depressing, despite the fact that white was supposed to be an encouraging colour, and Albus winced as Madam Pomfrey removed the thick bandages that were slung around his left arm.

Which also happened to be white.

He was really getting tired of that colour.

"Your friend came by to visit you a few times. I told him to come back later, you were completely out of it," Madam Pomfrey said, as she gave up on using her hands and started simply spelling the bandages off.

"Which friend?" Albus asked hopefully, before groaning in pain as Madam Pomfrey rubbed a healing potion on the giant gash that had formed on his arm.

The potion stung, and he imagined that was how it would have felt if someone poured pure lemon juice into his cut.

"Oh, fuck," he moaned, completely disregarding who was fixing his arm.

"Language, Mr Potter!" Madam Pomfrey said dubiously, as she cast another enchantment to dull the pain.

Albus let out an unintelligible sound, and slumped back onto the pillows. His arm was throbbing, and he could feel the sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"A Slytherin," Madam Pomfrey said, answering his earlier question, and Albus perked up. "Flint Goldstein, I believe."

Albus's heart sank. Flint wasn't quite the Slytherin he'd been hoping for, but Albus supposed he was better than no one at all.

"You could have just woken me up," Albus said, a little desperate for company.

"I don't bother sleeping students, Mr Potter. Especially not ones who've sliced their arm open on wooden Quidditch stands. Your brother tried to convince me not to inform your parents. I wasn't sure if it was so he could escape a scolding for not keeping an eye on you or so that your flying privileges wouldn't be removed."

"I didn't mean to slice my arm open. I just wasn't paying attention."

"Yes, that much is clear. You really are just like your father." She gave him a stern but fond look and a sympathetic glance at his arm before moving a few beds down, where an older boy seemed to have been hit with a bat bogey hex.

It wasn't Albus's fault the snitch had decided to veer off the pitch and into the stands during a Sunday evening game of inter-house Quidditch. He'd almost captured it, and if the corner of the commentary stands hadn't been in his way, there was no doubt that he'd have been able to seize the golden ball.

He'd been flying, and the snitch was close. It was so close. He'd nearly been able to feel the breeze of the shimmery ball's tiny wings on his outreached hand.

Except the next thing he felt hadn't been the cool metal of the snitch, but a searing pain in his left arm.

He thought he'd heard a girl shriek, but he didn't know why until he looked down and saw the blood that was pouring down his left arm. There was a gaping gash from his shoulder to his elbow, and for a moment, he didn't know what was going on.

He thought he felt a strong pair of arms around his waist, and Flint was swearing like a sailor. Katie sounded like she was crying, and Yann had gone to summon Rose. Of course he believed she'd know what to do. It wasn't like Albus was bleeding to death, or anything.

The last thing he remembered was asking Flint if he'd caught the snitch.

Then he woke up, and here he was.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the wooden hospital wing door. Albus started to get up, but went right back down as a white hot pain shot up his arm.

"I told you to lie still!" Madam Pomfrey scolded him, hurriedly rushing past while wiping her hands on the front of her robe.

The door opened, and Albus was too exhausted to crane his neck and see who it was. He just wanted to sleep, for a very long time.

"Good afternoon, Madam Pomfrey. I'm here to bring Albus his potions notes."

—

albus would jump out of bed at scorpius's voice, broken arm and all. wbk.

sorry for the kinda short chapter, hopefully the next one makes up for it!

- gxldensnitched <3