𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑠𝘩𝑎𝑑𝑒'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝗁.𝗉. 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍 𝗀𝖾𝗇.

.twenty-five.

Scorpius watched as Ophelia rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that hour. She glanced at Cas, who was beside her and the two girls shared a look of pure exasperation. Teddy had stolen Ophelia's book (which she had already finished) and although Scorpius had never personally seen Teddy read a book in his life, he was currently buried in the pages and avoiding everyone else's gaze.

To be honest, Scorpius couldn't blame them.

"And he's so pretty!" Al said for the fifth time. "Like...like, I don't even know how it's possible but--" he turned to Scorpius and bridged the gap between their beds by reaching out and gripping his arm. "Dude, you don't understand! He's so strong and sweet, and amazing and--and his face is so pretty, with all of his little freckles, and his curly hair, and his gorgeous blue eyeballs, and---"

"Okay, okay, okay," Cas groaned, "We get it, you're absolutely in love with Jonah. Are you done yet?"

"Nope." Al said defiantly, popping the "P" at the end of his word. He continued to ramble on about how much he liked to play with Jonah's hair and how soft his lips were, but for once, Scorpius was able to drown out the noise.

Hearing Cas's voice again had pierced through the mental dam he had put in place, allowing all of the uncomfortable and uncertain thoughts to flood back into his brain. Part of him knew that the only reason any of that had happened was because of Madam Pomfrey's insanely effective yet notoriously unpredictable magic painkillers, and yet another part of him was also insanely confused and concerned about how the hell he felt about all of it, but...

A small voice inside of his head was terrified at how comfortable it felt.

How normal.

And every part of him wanted it to stay that way.

Of course, Pomfrey chose that moment to bustle over with her wand and a plethora of potions. The dread in his stomach grew as she headed straight for him.

"Alright then, it's time for the next round of these. I would recommend--"

"Hell no," Scorpius spat before he could stop himself. Ophelia snorted.

"You can't exactly say no to recovery, Scorpius." He raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Uh, I'm not the only one who saw what that shit did to Cas, am I?" Cas's head shot up.

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying!" Madam Pomfrey seemed to be resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"This isn't optional Mr. Malfoy. Just attempt to sleep through it." Scorpius sighed, glancing at the others. He tried to adjust his position on the bed while still holding his composure.

"I said, I am not taking those---holy fuck." Scorpius gripped at his right side, willing the excruciating pain in his ribs to vanish. "Okay...maybe it would be a good idea." Giving him nothing but a curt nod, Pomfrey got to work administering her remedies.

Scorpius had to admit, all those potions did make him really sleepy...

The next time he opened his eyes, it was midnight.

Scorpius squinted and tried to get used to the moonlight streaming in through the windows.

Wow, the moonlight looked beautiful. Filtering through the glass, it twisted and sparkled as if it had traveled to him straight out of a storybook. Everyone else was asleep---their eyes closed softly and their faces peaceful. The room was dark and quiet, the only unnatural light coming softly from under the door of Madam Pomfrey's personal office.