Working Through the Rest

Echoing Fire

"Alohomora!" I shout, aiming desperately for the second door.

It bursts open and Draco, Scorpius and mum come charging through, wands aloft, ready to win a war. For a short moment, there's chaos all around me, in the noise and fear and life around us. And then it stops.

It stops because Delphi flies at me, and seizes the hood of my jacket, hoisting me into the air with her. As soon she's stable in the air, it feels as if some of her magic, some of her flight, is circling me and keeping me aloft.

It allows her to let me go and keep me suspended in the air. I close my eyes, not wanting to see the fear of my family as Delphi's hand reappear near my throat, this time with a knife.
"Well, Potter," she sneers. "I told you I'd kill the boy first."
"No!" Scorpius screams, his rising hysteria echoing through the church. "Don't hurt him! Please! Please let him go!"
"No," Delphi smirks. "Say goodbye, little Malfoy."

Her hands rest on my shoulders, though I can feel some sort of shadow drawing up the side of my neck. I start to sob.
"Scorpius," I whisper. "Scorpius!"

*

"Albus!"

I sit bolt upright, breathing heavily in the dark. Scorpius is sat, practically in my lap, and I bury myself in his chest, starting to sob quietly. It was just a dream. Just a bad dream. It isn't real. You won't die. You won't lose Scorpius.
"Shhh," Scorpius rubs circles in my back and my breathing starts to slow. "You're okay."
"She – she was going to – she tried to..."
"She's not here," Scorpius murmurs. "She's not going to hurt you again. I promise."

I nod as I start to sit up, reaching towards my drawers for my spare pyjamas. Due to a combination of the night heat and the nightmare, I'm soaked through with sweat and now starting to shiver slightly.
"I'll be back in a moment," I mutter.
"Okay," Scorpius nods. "I'll be here if you need me."

I nod again, going to the bathroom and peeling off my sweat-soaked clothes. I put them on the rail as I run the tap and splash a little cold water on my face. My eyes start to drift closed and something fiery flashes through my mind. I flinch, starting to pace a little. I'm okay. I'm okay.

I turn off the tap slowly, pulling on the new pyjamas and biting my lip. I don't want to go back to sleep. I need to, because OWLs begin tomorrow. But I don't want to.

I trudge back through to the dormitory to find Scorpius still sat on my bed, smiling silently. I sit next to him and he wraps his arms around me, lying back. I look at him, trying to find some strength to smile back.
"Stay?"
"Of course."

I pull the duvet back and wriggle beneath it as Scorpius closes the hangings. I wrap my arms around him again as he settles, and I laugh quietly, tucking my chin over his head.
"What are you doing?"
"Hugging you."
"I'm taller than you. This doesn't work."
"Yes, it does."

He laughs again, wrapping his arms around me, and I close my eyes. He's here. I'm here. We're safe. And we're going to be okay. Entirely okay.

I love him. He loves me. And we have managed to make it through these chapters of our lives. We have survived and we will forever be stronger because of it.