Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 25: Scorpius Flees

Scorpius could not stop the smile that seemed to be permanently plastered to his face. He had to pinch his own arm to make sure he wasn't just having a pleasant dream from being sedated. But no, this was very much real. His reunion with his friends was real. That sweet, amazing kiss that he shared with Rose in the lift was real. Finally, Scorpius was beginning to see hope for himself.

First, he saw Rose. Then when he saw Holly emerge from the lift, and then saw the look of shock, relief, and complete adoration on Albus's face, he swore he felt his heart thaw from its depression. Everything was slowly returning back to normal before his eyes.

Scorpius grinned even more when Albus went up to Holly, lifting her up in his arms and pressing his lips to hers, kissing her with every ounce of passion he had. He didn't even realize his eyes started watering. Since when was Scorpius this emotional? Jeez, there was so much wrong with him.

"Scor, are you okay?" Rose asked, her voice soft with concern.

Scorpius gave her a cheeky grin. "Yeah, I'm fine. This is just...a lot. I haven't been this happy in a long time."

Rose leaned in and kissed Scorpius's cheek, then said, "I know how you feel. We're all starting over, in a way. Maybe something good will come out of it."

Scorpius admired how optimistic she was. "I hope you're right."

The four of them ended up walking back to Albus's room, just to hang out like they did in the old days. They didn't even care if it was past one in the morning. Heck, they didn't even care that they talked for nearly 4 hours! Their sleep schedules were already horribly messed up anyway. Besides, when you haven't talked to your friends in a year because they were all in comas, it was completely acceptable to stay up and talk with them until the sun rose in the sky.

They ended up watching to sun rise at five a.m, which was definitely a sight to see. Scorpius realized that small things like that were worth cherishing, since they wouldn't be around forever.

Look at me, thought Scorpius. I'm beginning to sound like Rose.

Rose giggled as she looked at the clock. "I can't believe we stayed up all night long, and I'm not even the least bit tired."

"I don't think we'll be sleeping normally for a while, Rose," Albus replied, chuckling.

Holly shrugged and smiled. "I don't really mind. The less we sleep, the more time we all have to be together."

The coma must have changed Holly too, because she wasn't speaking in her old dreamy tone anymore. Something else seemed different about her too. Without the dreamy, soft way she spoke, her accent had changed.

"Holly, had you always had an American accent?" Scorpius asked, slightly blushing. He should know better since he's known her since first year.

Holly looked at Scorpius like he just spoke to her in Chinese. Usually, it was the other way around, where Scorpius was the one giving Holly a funny look for all the weird things she's said. "You're just now noticing my accent? When I was first learning to talk when I was a baby, my Mum would always turn on American animated television shows to help me learn. Somehow, I began speaking like an American, though over time, my accent was also mixed with a British one, so I kind of have both accents. My Mum always thought it was quite funny and cool that I was unique from everyone."

Well, Holly was certainly unique. Although, Scorpius didn't know what to say. Why hadn't he noticed her odd accent before?

Rose laughed at her boyfriend's confused expression. "Scor, you look confused. Did you forget some things while you were...asleep for your period of time?" He didn't know why she didn't want to say coma, but he let that go.

"I guess I am a bit fuzzy on things. But shouldn't we all? I mean, don't comas make people a bit confused for a while?" Scorpius tried convincing himself of this, but he still felt uncomfortable suddenly.

"Mate, it's okay if you've had a bit of trouble with your memory. We've all been affected by the coma differently," Albus said. "We all probably won't be able to sleep well for a while. I have issues walking, so does Rose, and Holly, well..." Albus glanced at Holly for assistance.

"I'm cured of my cancer," Holly finished for him. Everyone's eyes widened. Rose even gasped.

"Holy Merlin! Why didn't you tell us earlier, Holls?" Albus exclaimed. He laughed happily and pulled Holly into a big hug.

"How is that even possible? Oh, well forget that! We're happy you're healthy!" Rose beamed, rolling her wheelchair over and joining in on Holly and Albus's hug.

Scorpius suddenly felt a wave of panic and fear. What was wrong with him? His hands began shaking uncontrollably and he could feel sweat beginning to form on his forehead. The room felt uncomfortably warm, so Scorpius pushed up his sleeves, but that wasn't enough. Then, what was going on instantly hit him.

He was having another panic attack.

Scorpius couldn't breathe. He had to get out, fast. He got up and dashed to the door, ignoring his friends asking where he was going. He needed to leave and be alone to calm down. Fresh air sounded nice.

When his hand touched the knob, he felt another hand touch his shoulder. That's when he snapped.

Scorpius spun around, grabbed the hand that touched him and threw it off of him, and yelled, "Leave me alone! Can't you see I want to be alone?"

He froze when he saw the person he just yelled at was Rose. She stared at him in utter shock, and even fear, holding her wrist, which Scorpius had just grabbed roughly. What had he done? What was he thinking when he thought he was suddenly back to normal? The loneliness after the coma literally made him go insane, and now look where that's gotten him.

Judging by the looks on Albus and Holly's faces, and the way Rose was looking at him, they must have thought he was losing it. Maybe he was.

He opened the door and tried to leave, but his arm was held back by Rose. He carefully pried her fingers off of his arm, afraid she was fragile and he might break her.

"Scor, it's okay," Rose whispered, her eyes pleading him to stay and not leave her again.

Scorpius didn't want them to see him like this. "No, Rose, it's not okay," he snapped, then glanced at Albus and Holly, who looked frightened. "You guys say everything will be okay, but it's not! The coma has changed us, yes. Holly, you're cured of your cancer. Albus and Rose, you two can't walk properly, but that's not a big deal. Just look at me. I've gone insane."

"Scor, that's not true..." Albus started to say, but Scorpius stopped him mid-sentence.

"Yes, it is true and quit acting like you all don't know it! I'm constantly scared and nervous. All. The. Damn. Time. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't even get out of bed sometimes without having a mental breakdown. I'm not going to be the same, so quit saying that I am!"

And with that, Scorpius stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard it caught the attention of nearby nurses. They asked him what was wrong, but he couldn't hear anything over the pounding in his ears. He needed air, and fast. So, he began running. Doctors and nurses told him to stop, but he kept running until he found a door that led to the stairs. He ran down the stairs, ignoring that he kept tripping, and kept moving downwards for what seemed like hours until he finally hit the lobby.

Wizards and witches stared at him, probably because he looked like a runaway mental patient, as he ran through the lobby until he found a fireplace. He wanted to floo somewhere far away from here. So, he took a pinch of floo powder from the jar on the fireplace's mantle, sprinkled some on himself, and announced, "Malfoy Manor."

Then, he felt himself being sucked into the fireplace and traveled far, far, away from St. Mungos.

~ ~ ~

Eh...not my best chapter. I've had writers block lately. Hopefully I can make the transition work where they leave the whole hospital scene and adjust back to normal 😁

Anyways, vote and comment please! Thanks for reading!