Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 32: The 25 Minute Date

Things were gradually getting better for Scorpius. He was nearly out of his depressed state that he was in for so long, and he rarely got angry for no reason anymore. The anxiety attacks still occured, however, but those were manageable. At least they weren't like the one he had at St. Mungos where he ended up screaming at people and breaking things. Usually writing, reading, or even running laps around Hogwarts helped Scorpius calm down.

Speaking of Hogwarts, Scorpius was glad he came out of hiding (from what, he still didn't understand) and came back. He realized the night before he was due back at school that hiding was not going to get him anywhere, and what he really needed was to be around others that love and support him. Scorpius really did have the best friends ever.

Anyways, the first few days back at school were quite stressful also, to be honest. Because Scorpius and his friends missed so much, half of their fourth year and fifth year, the extra work pile was brutal. They each had to take extra lessons after their main lessons during the day, which would keep them doing schoolwork for the large majority of the day. It was quite exhausting and overwhelming, which fueled a lot of Scorpius's anxiety issues too. But it was better than repeating a year; the very idea nearly made Rose faint.

Before the group of four knew it, it was finally the weekend. Of course they had to spend time doing schoolwork on weekends too, but that could wait. The four needed a well deserved fun day at Hogsmeade to celebrate their chaotic first week back at school. It was freezing outside with occasional snow flurries falling from the sky, since it was just the beginning of March. Scorpius loved this kind of weather.

He dressed warmly in a thick red sweater, a beanie, and his Gryffindor scarf. Then he left the boys dormitory and went down to the Gryffindor common room, where his friends were waiting for him. He stopped to take in the scene in front of him, and he nearly laughed.

Holly was dressed in the puffiest purple winter coat Scorpius had ever seen, and to top it off, a Gryffindor beanie in the shape of a lion on top of her head. It was a lot to take in at first, but hey, that was Holly. But that wasn't what was so funny. Albus was dressed in an almost identical puffy winter coat like Holly's, but his was red, making him resemble a giant tomato.

"Holly, is this really necessary?" Albus complained, flapping his arms awkwardly because of the size of the coat. Scorpius almost felt sorry for him.

"Yes, Albus!" Holly said, like she was surprised that Albus would even ask her such a thing. "It is below freezing outside and I don't want you getting sick!" Then Holly spotted Scorpius, who was standing there hoping this ordeal wouldn't turn into a fight or something. "Oh hello, Scorpius. Is that what you're really wearing out in this cold weather?"

Scorpius looked down at himself. Sure, he wasn't wearing as many layers as Holly and Albus were, but he was dressed warmly enough, in his opinion. Plus, Scorpius absolutely hated wearing puffy winter coats.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Scorpius asked, gesturing to himself.

Holly rolled her eyes. "Honestly, do any of you care about possibly getting pneumonia or frostbite?" Then she stomped out of the room and marched upstairs.

Scorpius whistled, trying to make the situation less awkward, "What's up with her, Al?"

Albus sighed, obviously frustrated, and unzipped his puffy red coat, shrugging it off of his shoulders with a struggle. "The heck if I knew. You know Holly. She's unexpected sometimes."

And that Holly was. You really never knew what was going to come out of her mouth every day.

Then Scorpius had a thought about Holly. "You think she's worrying about us getting sick because of her cancer?" Scorpius knew Holly's cancer was gone, but she had to still have fears about it coming back. All cancer survivors must have that fear.