Working Through the Rest

Dark Truths

Eventually, someone does find us. A Ravenclaw prefect. She helps me carry Scorpius up to the Hospital Wing, and once we've lain him down, she offers to find Madam Pomfrey. I stammer out a thank you, my mind still slow and blank. My best friend is lying unconscious in front of me and I know enough about human anatomy to know that his arm, if not more, is broken. And he still hasn't woken up.
"Out of the way," Madam Pomfrey bustles past me, wand in hand.

I step to the left quickly, accidentally bumping into the Ravenclaw prefect.
"Sorry."
"It's fine," she says. "I just hope he's going to be okay."
"Of course he will," Madam Pomfrey half-barks. "This room has seen much worse than a broken arm and cracked ribs."

I nod, continuing to stare, almost blankly at him. I don't understand. Before I had looked away, I could have sworn that every move he made was more than calculated. Watching him climb had been like watching someone who had been planning their route for months. And even if it hadn't been planned for months, Scorpius is smart enough not to put all his weight on one weak branch. But he did and he fell and now he is unconscious in the Hospital Wing, with a broken arm and cracked ribs. None of it makes any sense.

After a while, I realise that Madam Pomfrey is gone and I walk slowly towards the chair by the bed.
"Thank you," I mumble to the Ravenclaw girl. "For helping me."
"No worries," she smiles. "Will you let me know if he's okay?"
"Yeah," I nod. "What's your name? So I can find you."
"Izzy," she says. "Izzy Walker."
"Thank you, Izzy."

She walks away through the Hospital Wing door and I sit down in the chair, part of me desperate to take Scorpius' hand. I just want, need, some sort of reassurance that he is going to be all right. We came through everything, not unscathed, but alive. We can't fall now. We can't have come through everything only to crash and burn now.

I shake myself. We haven't fallen. We're not burning. He's okay. His arm is back to normal, lain over the covers. I can't see his ribs and, while I hope they're no longer cracked, his chest is probably bruised. Not unscathed, but alive.

*

I don't move for the rest of the day. I just sit, thinking the same thoughts, trying to piece together the same reasons. I don't think I notice the time passing. There isn't a clock in here, and I don't own a watch. So, I don't know how long it has been when Scorpius wakes up.
"Hey," he looks at me.
"Hey," I look at him quickly, jumping at his voice. "Hey. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Scorpius starts to nod before wincing. "What..."
"You broke your ribs," I say quietly. "They're probably still slightly bruised."

There is a silence and I take a deep, shaky breath. I can't ask him those questions yet. I can't ask him to focus on that now. But I need to. I need to know that he is okay.
"Scorpius..." I start slowly. "Are you okay? I mean, really, really okay?"
"Getting better," Scorpius doesn't look at me.
"Scorpius," I look at him helplessly. "Are you sure? I..." Silence. "Sorry."

Scorpius nods and I close my eyes slowly. Questions and answers can wait. Starting to help my friend needs to come first. So it's going to.