Working Through the Rest

Sympathy For The Devil

I walk into the kitchen a couple of days later to see dad striding around the table, ranting angrily. Mum is leaning against the work surface, listening and nodding along with him. Dad breaks off as I walk in and, for half a moment, I think he might know about my sexuality, but a single glance at mum puts that fear at ease.
"We were so close," dad apparently finishes his rant. "So bloody close."
"You'll find her," mum says softly, passing dad a mug. "Sit down, have a rest, have some food, and then go back."
"We have time," dad nods. "Some time."
"What's going on?" I mumble, still standing by the doorway.

They share an apprehensive glance and then dad walks towards me, pulling me into a hug. I don't object, although I'm a little confused.
"It's going to be okay, Albus."

I pull away, looking between both of them. Something is going on and reassurance that it's okay while not knowing what it is does just make it worse.
"What's going on?" I ask again, a little more forcefully.
"Delphi was found," mum says quietly.
"And?"
"She got away," dad says angrily. "We had her, we were taking her back to Azkaban, and she escaped."
"You'll find her," mum assures him. "She's injured and if you didn't find her with others, then there'll be a couple more days before anyone finds her, should they even be looking."
"Who would be looking for her?"
"Her guardian and her step-father," dad half-spits. "For some reason, they weren't with her."
"Who was?"
"No one. She found an empty cabin and stayed there. Merlin knows what she was planning."

I nod, walking towards the sink and picking up a glass to fill it with water. The readiness with which he said no one is a little odd, but it's not important. He's known about this for a while. He's had time to 'prep' answers, and it's probably true.

But that's not the important part, in my head. In my head, the important part was that I was beginning to become a little less scared of her, because she's been out for weeks and nothing has happened. But if she's been planning something, she'll have learnt from her mistakes. Because she was smart. She is smart enough to learn.

I stop myself thinking through it. I cannot terrify myself this much when I know I am safe. And I will continue to be safe unless I do anything stupid when I get back to school. She won't get to me.

And she certainly won't get to Scorpius.

Draco would sooner murder her in cold blood than allow Scorpius to get hurt again. I hope Scorpius knows this. I hope Scorpius knows that his dad would go beyond the end of the earth for him.

I would too, but telling him when we're just friends would probably end with me rambling and he would probably work out that I have managed to fall in love with him. I want him to know. Just, just not yet.
"Albus."
"Uh, yeah," I jump slightly.
"It's going to be okay."
"I know."

It's probably a lie but it's better than panicking. If I just keep going, for as long as I can, maybe this whole thing will blow over.

When we saw her, she seemed as if she was almost broken. She'd lost weight. Her skin had been almost grey. She had been a mess. Maybe she's broken. Maybe sympathy for the devil won't make a difference in this situation.

Because I don't care how broken and hurt she is. She is a devil. From now until forever.