AllOutOfBubblegum

-x- Footsteps clicked upon stone, leaving brown and red smudges in a trail, followed by the flutter of a black cloak. Tiny hands grasped wooden slats, and gray eyes peered through the spaces. He recognized the sound of his father's brisk approach. The child's eyes grew wide when a tall figure with a scary face swooped into the room. Draco began to fuss, but then his fears were doused when Lucius removed his half-skull mask. Draco's teary gaze shifted over his father's form, a happy smile tugging at the corners of the boys delicate lips. There were shiny, wet patches, and splatters on Daddy's robes, though Draco did not know what they were.

Swooping down corridors in a black cloud, he heard the children whisper behind his back. He heard them talk in corners. He knew the way in which the other staff said his name, and he felt the judgment of their searching eyes crawl over his skin, no amount of layers protected him from that creeping feeling. He heard the silence in the halls at night, when he walked them alone, cool stone gazing back at him hard and unfeeling and he knew it. His long fingered hands traced patterns in the stone, cold seeping through bones, radiating, mirroring the persistent chill in the center of his chest. The moonlight poured in through slotted windows, makin

-s-s-s-s-s-s-s- When Scorpius came to he was curled up in his soft bed beneath a layer of covers. Al was sitting on the bed with Scorpius, his legs tucked beneath him, holding onto Scorpius hand. Draco was sitting in a chair next to Scorpius bed, and he reached forward to stroke a stray lock of blond off of Scorpius forehead. Astoria was sitting in a corner of the room with her nails between her teeth, while Harry hovered nearby, now and then touching his scar which Scorpius had learned was a nervous habit of his. "Good to see you again," Draco said. "How are you feeling, son?" Scorpius curled his fingers around Al's. "I feel alright," Sc