Epiphany |Scorpius Malfoy|

Chapter Forty-Five

The week passed and the day Scorpius had been dreading but anticipating at the same time at last came. Finally, it was his mother's birthday.

Like every morning of that specific day, he found himself not wishing to get out of bed, as the weight that had settled overnight on his chest seemed heavier than the one his frail body could carry. Albus was worried, but he assured him that he was fine and just needed some more time to leave the bed. After plenty of reassuring, he finally left and Scorpius was left alone in the dormitory.

In an extremely slow pace, he got out of bed and with heavy steps made his way to his wardrobe. He took out his clothes for the day and then headed to the bathroom. He thought that a shower would help him, as it usually did. That morning though, the shower didn't help him in any manner as when he stepped out of the shower, he felt as bad as he had felt before and he was also dripping wet and freezing.

Perhaps a shower wasn't his solution that morning.

He knew that if he kept going like that, he was going to be extremely late to breakfast, and while there wasn't a specific time he should leave to visit his father in the Manor, there was a specific time breakfast ended and classes started. He wanted to see Isabelle before leaving, and if he didn't see her during breakfast, then he wouldn't see her at all.

He dried himself off and got dressed, styling his hair to the side like he usually did. He looked at his reflection once, making sure that he didn't look like a walking dead body, and with a small sigh, left the bathroom and headed back to his dormitory. He grabbed his wand and without looking back, left the room and headed to the Slytherin common room. He had expected it to be empty there, but the moment he stepped foot in it a person stood up from an armchair.

Effie made her way towards him, a small frown on her lips as she came to stand beside him.

"You never get out of bed that late," she commented as she took in his appearance, her eyebrows furrowing. "Why are you not wearing your uniform?"

"I am excused from all classes today," he mumbled as he started heading to the exit, Effie following after him. "Why are you not in the Great Hall?"

"Albus told me you didn't seem to be all that well and I wasn't really hungry so I decided to stay back and wait for you," she replied as they left the common room. "Why are you excused from classes today? Is it a Head Boy thing?"

"No, I'm going to visit someone," he said as he stole a look down at her. "I told Albus not to worry and that I would be with him in some time. You also didn't have to stay behind for me, I'm fine."

"You are not fine," she pointed out, "Your mood is worse than usual. Something happened. I don't know if it has to do with your visit or if you saw a nightmare, but whatever it is, I want you to know that both Albus and I are here for you, no matter what. We are here, we are going to listen to you and support you, because that's what friends do. You are not alone."

"I know I'm not," he mumbled, "and I really appreciate this. I'm just not in the mood to talk."

A small frown formed on her lips, but she said nothing. Instead, she nodded, respecting his decision and looking ahead of her in the distance. They didn't speak at all for the duration of their walk to the Great Hall. When they got in the room, Scorpius mumbled a quiet apology before leaving her alone and heading straight to the Hufflepuff table. To his relief, Isabelle was still there, and he didn't waste a second to sit down next to her.

The girl looked up as she felt someone sitting down beside her and as soon as she saw him, she offered him a small sympathetic smile. She knew what that day meant for him. She wasn't going to talk about it, though. Instead, she placed a hand on his knee and squeezed it gently.