A/N: welcome to chapter two! sorry for the late update, life has been really busy lately. anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Published 05/22/24 - Word Count: 2945 

Just a short 20 minutes later, the three arrived at the magnificent castle that was their school. Theo audibly gasped as she saw it for the first time as they came around the bend. They all stared up at the majestic towers and moonlit crevices in the brick. The castle was even more astoundingly incredible than remembered, despite Albus and Scorpius being there only 3 months before. The carriages slowed to a graceful stop and the two boys allowed Theo to get out before them. She smiled at them as she stepped out, moving to the side quickly to let them exit.

Stepping onto the cool night road, Albus took a deep breath and looked at his boyfriend. Scorpius' stormy, deep eyes glinted and glowed in the moonlight, and Albus practically melted at the smile he received.

The blonde stepped out of the carriage onto one of the small steps and felt his foot slip. He crumpled quickly onto the ground, falling into the brunette. Albus caught him before his head hit the ground, thankfully. However, the foot that had slipped had landed on the dirt at a horrible angle, and Scorpius cried out in pain. Theo gasped and ran to get a faculty member from where they were all standing around 20 meters away. Scorpius buried his head into Albus' robes, wincing and gasping in pain.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay, where does it hurt?" Albus asked worriedly.

"My–aghh! My ankle! It slipped–mmh–when I went on the step!" Scorpius gasped, tears running down his pale cheeks. Albus knew that the injury had to be bad for Scorpius to be reacting like this. He was usually very calm and collected when in pain. Albus held him closer as Scorpius' hands grasped his arm tightly.

Hearing hurried footsteps, the boys looked up to see Professor Longbottom rushing towards them. The man gave Albus a worried look, and Albus shot him one in return. Professor Longbottom asked some quick questions to assess the situation, and when Scorpius couldn't fully answer, the professor made a hurried decision.

"I'm going to apparate him to the hospital wing, he needs medical attention." Albus nodded at this. After the war, Headmistress McGonagall had made an executive decision to allow all trusted faculty the ability to apparate into the castle in emergency situations. "Albus, please make your way to the castle for the sorting and feast. He'll be okay, there's no need to worry."

"But–"

"No buts! He will be okay. If anything happens, I will tell you. I promise." Professor Longbottom said. All of his father's close friends at school became big parts of Albus' life, so he had known Professor Longbottom–or, as he was called at their home, Neville, for all of his life. Neville knew him incredibly well and knew how much Scorpius meant to him. The fact that he was promising meant a lot, because he knew Neville would never lie to him.

Albus took a deep breath, knowing he would never win the argument to go with Scorpius. He helped his boyfriend up off of the road, allowing the blonde to hang off of his shoulders. Scorpius stood there for a few moments, saying a silent goodbye to his brunette as they stared into each other's eyes. The Malfoy eventually allowed himself to be taken away by Professor Longbottom, and vaguely remembered the tight, suffocating feeling of apparition through the terrible pain in his leg.

As he saw his boyfriend and the professor vanish into the night, he took in a large amount of air and moved his gaze around to look for Theo. Spotting her a few feet away, he made his way towards her and gave her a comforting look, his eyes assuring her that Scorpius would be okay. They both fell in with the rest of the crowd who were making their way up the short path into the castle.

Normally, Scorpius would have been excited to apparate, but he wanted more than anything for the pain to go away. He vaguely remembered being set onto a soft, plush, white bed with a curtain around it, and hardly felt his leg be lifted onto a higher pillow. The blonde was barely conscious as he saw Madam Pomfrey talk to the professor about the situation, but he did feel the rap of Madam Pomfrey's wand on his leg. He only felt this because of the immediate bliss that followed. His ankle still hurt, sure, but it was a huge relief of pain. He let out a sigh and fell even deeper into the warm bed, shutting his eyes and drifting into a very restful state.

Still making their way over, Albus and Theo walked into the castle side by side, both marveling at the incredible architecture around the school. They walked into the great hall, Albus going towards the Slytherin table. Theo followed close behind him, but as they sat down on the familiar benches, Headmistress McGonagall came up to them.

"Excuse me, Ms. Thomas? Please join me with the first years in the entrance before you sit down, you must be sorted." The headmistress said in a polite and welcoming tone. Theo took a large, deep breath and nodded.

"Okay. Okay, I can do that." Theo told herself. Albus gave her a comforting look as she got up and walked out of the hall with the emerald clad witch. Albus looked around the hall for his blonde, even though in his mind he knew that he was still in the infirmary. The injury had seemed pretty serious, and Albus was sure that he would have to spend the night in the infirmary. We were separated the whole summer, Albus reassured himself, what's one more night? And he'll be close by, so if there's an emergency, I can get him, right?

Unsurprisingly, he couldn't find the blonde anywhere, and he settled for just sitting down at his table. He contemplated finding his siblings or cousins, but eventually decided it wouldn't be worthwhile, as he would get sent right back to the Slytherin table anyways. After a few minutes, the chatter died down as a stool with a tattered brown hat was carried into the hall. After the stool was set down, the hall went quiet as the hat cleared its throat and began to sing.

"In Hogwarts halls, I sit and ponder,

A task beyond the housey yonder.

In secret corners, darkness thrives,

Split souls hiding in shadowed lives.

Within my brim, ancient whispers sigh,

Of fragmented souls that yearn to fly.

To split, to hide, to seal their fate,

In vessels dark, they contemplate.

Gryffindor's courage, burning bright,

To face the shadows, challenge the night.

With lion's heart and valiant stand,

They'll battle evil, hand in hand.

Slytherin's cunning, sharp and sly,

They'll seek the truth where shadows lie.

In cunning schemes and whispered lore,

They'll unlock secrets, forevermore.

Hufflepuff, loyal, true of heart,

They'll never falter, never depart.

With steadfast faith and friendship's grace,

They'll bring light to the darkest space.

Ravenclaw's wit, a guiding light,

To pierce the darkness, reveal what's right.

In books and scrolls, they'll find the way,

To bring an end to night's dismay.

So listen close, dear students dear,

The task at hand is all too clear.

United we stand, divided we fall,

Together we'll conquer, one and all.

For Hogwarts stands, a fortress strong,

Against the shadows, against all wrong.

And with each soul, brave, true, and bold,

We'll triumph o'er darkness, as foretold."

The hat finished its song triumphantly, and was met with tremendous applause. However, the hat's songs were usually bright and cheerful. This song, contrarily, was morbid and dark. It seemed as though nobody thought much into that, because the song was soon forgotten by all students as the first years walked in with Headmistress McGonagall.

Walking briskly next to her, a bit taller than most of the first years but still able to blend in due to her short stature, was Theo. She looked excited and terrified at the same time, rightfully so. As the first years were all called up and sorted individually, Theo grew increasingly more nervous. Soon, she was the only one up there, standing sheepishly in front of the entire school. Before she sat on the stool, the headmistress walked up to the podium and cast a spell to allow her voice to be projected all throughout the great hall.

"Hello students, welcome or welcome back to another school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! We are all delighted to see you all back here! We have a small announcement before we eat, however. Everyone, please give a warm Hogwarts welcome to Theodora Thomas!"

There was applause scattered throughout the hall, and Theo looked even more embarrassed than could even be possible. Her face was bright red as she stared across the room.

"Now, Ms. Thomas here is a student from Ilvermony, the American school, who will be joining us this year as a 6th year student. I expect you will all welcome her and allow her to integrate with our community. Now, if you could step up to the stool, please," Professor McGonagall gestured to Theo and then the stool and hat.

Theo took the few steps needed to get to it and took a seat, placing the hat on her head. The hat was silent for a few seconds before shouting out a loud, clear "Slytherin!"

The entire table cheered, as well as some polite clapping from the other houses and teachers. Theo spotted Albus through the crowd of green and grinned at him. He grinned back just as big, and patted the empty spot on the bench next to him, gesturing for her to sit there. She made her way to the seat and sat down promptly, turning and smiling at the other students who started to introduce themselves.

As she was shaking hands with her classmates, she turned back to Albus and he gave her a side hug, excited to be in the same house as his new friend. Once the cheering had died down completely, Professor McGonagall stood at the podium to address the school once more.

"Now that that has been sorted out, I see no reason for us not to eat. Please, dig in!" She said, smiling at the students as they looked around excitedly.

The tables suddenly filled with piles upon piles of wonderful food. There were chicken wings, pot pies, salads, mashed potatoes with gravy, souffle, asparagus, stuffed bell peppers, and more. All of the people in the hall started filling their plates with the food; Albus and Theo both had their plates piled high with meats and veggies.

Even while enjoying all of his wonderful food, Albus couldn't stop thinking about Scorpius. His mind would jump to the most outrageous things, things that weren't even possible.

What if his leg has to be amputated? What if he's paralyzed? What if it causes a tumor? That's probably really unlikely, but still, it could happen!

Albus was snapped out of his thoughts by the girl next to him. It seemed Theo had only just noticed the ceiling and candles, so Albus swallowed his food and spent the next few minutes explaining. The sky that night was dark and clear, with bright stars and distant galaxies visible past the floating candles.

Once everyone was finished with the main feast, all of the plates magically cleaned off and the huge decadent savory foods were replaced with mountains of ice cream, trifle, custard pudding, and many more delicious looking desserts.

As people started finishing their puddings and becoming more and more tired, the plates disappeared completely as McGonagall stood up to make her usual pre-school year speech.

"Hello, students! Again, welcome to Hogwarts. Now, before the school year officially begins, I must make clear the rules and regulations that must be followed if you want to remain a student here. The list of banned items that is on the door of Professor Filch's office has been updated to include all WonderWitch products such as Love Potions and Ten-Second Pimple Vanishers, among others. The Forbidden Forest is, as usual, off limits to all students."

The Professor droned on about consequences and detentions for the next few minutes before beginning to introduce faculty changes, which were always a topic of conversation, especially after a teacher leaves or retires.

"Now, we don't have any changes on staff except for one, the Astronomy teacher. As many of you know, our beloved Professor Sinistra retired this past summer, so it is my great honor to introduce you to Professor Lindsay Opal." The entire hall politely clapped as a small teacher with jet black short hair and navy blue robes came up to the podium.

"Hello everyone, my name is Professor Opal. I am incredibly excited to work with each and every one of you, and I look forward to our classes together. Thank you." She turned swiftly and walked back to her seat at the staff table. There was some murmuring, but overall the new professor seemed very normal and kind, both of which would be good for the school. The headmistress took Professor Opal's place and said her final words for the night.

"Well, that is all. It is lovely to see you all, please get some sleep before your classes tomorrow. Thank you, good night. First years, please follow your Prefects back to your dormitories." There was the scraping of the benches moving to allow the students to get up. Albus stayed with Theo and showed her into the hallways.

As the two were walking through the school towards the dungeons, Theo kept pestering Albus with questions about the school. The walk went by quickly, both of them full and happy to be back at school even though Scorpius was still in the hospital wing.

As they approached the common room, Albus showed Theo the dungeon potion classrooms, since they had gotten their schedules and determined that they both had potions first thing the next morning. They arrived at the door to the common room, and Albus stated the password loud and clear.

"Serpentine." He said, and the heavy metal door swung open. The green light from the lake was only slightly visible in the dark night, and the cozy room was mostly lit by the fire raging in the hearth and the elegant candles in their holders on the wall. Theo and Albus parted ways as another 6th year girl took Theo to her dorm.

Albus made his way through the hallway and up the small staircase to his familiar shared bedroom. His beige trunk was by the foot of his bed, and he walked over and propped it open. He spent a few minutes unpacking while singing broadway musical songs to pass the time. The brunette made sure to lay out his favorite pajamas on his bed so that he could change into them once he got out of the shower. 20 or so minutes later, Albus took his medication and slipped into his soft, warm bed. He looked over instinctively at his boyfriend's bed, and his heart fell a little when he saw he wasn't there. Obviously Albus was aware of the fact that he was still in the infirmary, but he had never spent a night at Hogwarts without him beside him. It felt weird, different, and almost lonely not having him there with him.

Meanwhile, in the hospital wing, Scorpius had just woken up from a painful but very helpful state of rest. He opened his eyes and saw Madam Pomfrey laying things out on a counter. As soon as she noticed he was awake, she came over and told him of his current state.

"Mr. Malfoy, you fell and hurt your leg pretty bad out there. You landed in a way where you managed to completely shatter your ankle. Normally, this would take months to even years for a muggle to heal from this, but it won't take nearly as long. You will be discharged before breakfast tomorrow morning, and will have to use a brace and crutches for a couple of days. Rest it well, elevate when you sleep, and take the medication that I will give you every night before you go to bed, and you should be fine in a week." Scorpius nodded at this information, processing it and understanding the precautions he would have to take.

"Okay, okay. That works. Thank you so much for fixing it, Madam Pomfrey, I'm sorry to have bothered you on the first night back."

"Oh, nonsense, it could've happened to anyone, I'm happy to help." Scorpius smiled at her graciously, and turned to take a sip of water from his bedside. She handed him a pill bottle to take and he swallowed one of the small white tablets with the water. "Also, I'm having one of the house elves bring you your school stuff for tomorrow so you don't have to run and get it before class. Now, get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day. Now, I slept dreadfully last night due to some work I had to do to prepare for the school year, so I won't be coming out to check on you until the morning. If you have any problems, just knock on my door, the one with the blinds in the window, you see?" She allowed the blonde to follow her gaze to a small door with a small glass pane embedded in it, light blue curtains drawn down.

"I will, thank you so much." They both smiled at each other and Scorpius laid back down on the bed. He turned over onto his side and heard the curtains closing, giving him some privacy. He drifted off into a peaceful sleep, somehow ignoring the ache in his foot due to both the medicine and how exhausted he was.

Back in the murky, dark Slytherin dormitory, though, Albus was restless. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep unless he knew that his boyfriend was okay, and nobody had bothered updating him. It was too late to ask Professor Longbottom, and nobody else would know. He laid in his bed contemplating what to do for what felt like hours before finally coming to a decision.

A/N: so that's chapter two! sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger there, but i promise i will update as soon as i can! thank you guys for reading!!

<3 ayden