Time After Everything || a Sequel to Saving Myself

LI

Just the two of them. That was what Scorpius loved. Just him and Erick talking, even if the redhead did most of it. He helped Scorpius sit up, helping him eat and drink as he talked and talked, trying to keep Scorpius' mind off everything except for them.

"Where's everyone else?" Scorpius asked, his lips twitching. "Nobody wants to see me on my deathbed?"

Erick winced, even if it was just a morbid joke. "Dunno. Teddy might've told them that you're up."

Scorpius blinked, not looking away from Erick's face as he said, "Will Teddy even let them see me? Or will he have them schedule a meeting in a week?"

Erick wilted. "Don't be angry with him, Scorp."

"I'm not," he replied. "I'm just saying." He sighed, relaxing into the pillows, wishing they weren't St. Mungo's but his own at home. Home. "I wanna go home, Erick."

The redhead placed a hand on Scorpius', saying, "I know. But I'm sure you can go back soon. If you want to, of course."

"I do."

Erick furrowed his eyebrows, frowning at Scorpius. "You---you do? Why do you wanna go home now?"

"It's not Draco's fault that my mum died."

Erick's mouth opened in shock as he looked at Scorpius. "It's---you're not---?"

"No." Scorpius shrugged, his shoulders slumping forwards. Before Erick could respond, Teddy came into the room, a grin on his face, his purple eyes gleaming.

He hugged Scorpius, his arms tight around the pale boy. "Wonderful news, Scorp," he said, releasing the blonde. "If you're up for a visit or two, Harry and Albus want to see you tomorrow."

"Why not today?"

Teddy told him, "We need to get your strength back up a bit. But they'll be coming by tomorrow."

"Is Dr---Dad coming too?" Scorpius asked, looking up at Teddy. "Draco-Dad, not Harry-Dad."

Teddy frowned. "You want to see him? Even after---?"

"Yeah." Scorpius' gaze didn't waver. "I wanna see him too."

"W---well, I don't know if that'll be---"

Scorpius' features softened as he explained, "I just want to tell him how sorry I am. Please, Teddy."

The Healer hesitated, looking at Scorpius. He was sickly pale, his skin taking a greenish hue, his grey eyes sunken into his skull, making the bags under his eyes stand out even more. He was skinny---far too skinny to be considered healthy.

Teddy glanced down at Scorpius' hands. One held the edge of his blanket tightly, while the other was intertwined with Erick's, though his grip wasn't as strong on the redhead.

Erick gave him an almost nonexistent nod and he finally said, "Well, if you really want to, I'll see if he can come by tomorrow as well."

Scorpius let himself relax into the pillows, sighing. "Thank you." He squeezed Erick's hand, closing his eyes and allowing Erick to lean over and kiss his cheek. It was weird, having people in the same room as them, knowing about the two of them being together.

Erick smoothed out Scorpius' sandy bangs, saying when he noticed Scorpius' uneasiness, "You're fine. You're fine."

"I---I'm fine," Scorpius repeated softly, turning his head and grinding his teeth together as Erick trailed his thumb over Scorpius' knuckles, finding them nearly healed from his endless biting.

There was a moment of tense silence where nobody knew what to say. Teddy was the one to break it, saying to Erick, "How about you help Oliver out so that he can get out of here?"

Erick looked at Scorpius, asking, "Would you mind if I stepped away for a bit?"

"No, it's okay," he replied, his lips twitching into a frown. Beckoning for Erick to cone closer, Scorpius whispered, "Get me a Butterbeer or something, would you? I haven't had one in ages."

"I'll try," Erick told him softly, kissing Scorpius' forehead and then his temple. He gave Scorpius' hand one last squeeze before leaving.

It was just Scorpius and Teddy now. The blonde avoided his godfather's gaze, crossing his arms over his lap and licking his lips. "I know that you just wanted me alone," he said softly, looking up. "So. . .what is it?"

Teddy tilted his head. He had been expecting a hostile response, not a soft, almost shy one. "Why did you do it, Scorp?" he asked quietly, shocked when Scorpius didn't look away, but turned to look him in the eyes, silver meeting purple. But Scorpius' gaze fell, his answer lost in his messed-up mind. "I mean, was there anything holding you back? Something that made you second guess your decision?"

"Well," the blonde replied, his voice tight and soft at the same time, "there was all of you. Albus, Dad, Dra---Dad, you and Erick. . .I didn't want to have you all responsible for me. Of course I thought about you all, I---I just didn't wanna cause any more problems."

Teddy reached out to touch him, but Scorpius flinched away. "What about the Stone?"

Scorpius snapped his gaze up to Teddy's eyes. "What stone?"

"The Resurrection Stone."

"How do you know about that?"

Teddy told him, "Draco let slip that he had given it to you. Did seeing your mum make you want to do it?"

Scorpius opened and closed his mouth several times before answering. "Of course not. All I did was talk to her for a few minutes. But. . .it didn't go how I thought it would."

"What happened?"

"She told me Draco was innocent," Scorpius told him. "She told me that---that he loved me and that he would never hurt anyone."

"So it wasn't---?"

"No. It was more of a way for me to say goodbye. For me to hear that he wasn't guilty."

Teddy stood, hugging him again, tighter than the first time. "You're strong, you know. Don't even try to argue with me either, Scorp. You are."

"Thanks," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. The door opened and he pulled away, seeing Erick standing in the doorway with his hands behind his back.

"I'll leave you two alone," Teddy said, giving Scorpius one last hug. "Make sure you eat something, alright?"

"Okay," Scorpius said. "I will."

Erick let Teddy walk past him, kicking the door shut behind the teal-haired man. From behind his back, he showed Scorpius a glass bottle. "Hey, I got you that Butterbeer you wanted, darling."

Scorpius let a small smile cross his lips as Erick helped him sit up. "Thanks. I've been needing one of these." He touched the front of Erick's Apprentice robes, grabbing a handful loosely. "And one of these," he added with a grin, planting a soft kiss on Erick's lips. "And maybe a few of these." He kissed Erick's cheek and jaw, laughing for the first time in ages when Erick did the same thing back to him.

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