St. Mungo's

Once they arrived at St. Mungo's, Harry went straight to the room where Albus was. Rose and Hermione took over the stretcher with Scorpius on it and went to the ward where the experts in mind ailments worked. There, Rose had to explain Scorpius' symptoms exactly, over and over again, with her mother as a comfort next to her. She repeated all that the Death Eaters had said, how Scorpius had reacted and what he had said on different occasions. When she had finished, for what she felt was the 5th time, Scorpius started to stir again. He was still handcuffed. They all looked over at him.

"It may be best," the healer said hesitantly, but quickly "if you are not here when he wakes up, Mrs. Malfoy. From what you describe, it seems his main focus is to keep you safe. Once he saw you, he didn't even notice the others anymore. I think it will be the most beneficial for all of us if you are not present when he wakes up."

Rose wanted to protest, but she knew the Healer was probably right. She ached to go over to Scorpius, to kiss him and tell him everything would be alright, but instead she walked away from him. Again.

"We'll go and see how Albus is doing," Hermione suggested. "Then come back later." Rose nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak.

Rose and Hermione walked away from Scorpius' room to where Albus' room was without saying a word. Rose was still worried about Scorpius and had little room for anything else, though she wanted to know that Albus would be fine as well. Hermione seemed to understand and didn't try to make her say anything yet.

Albus did not look well. He was unconscious and in the fully lit room, Rose could really see the extent of his injuries. Harry and Ginny sat next to his bed, holding his hand. Ginny's robes were still covered in mud from long hours out with the search teams.

Ginny looked up when they entered, and immediately ran over to hug Rose.

"Rose! I am so glad that you are alright. And thank you. You saved both Albus and Scorpius, by the sounds of it. How is Scorpius?" Ginny hadn't noticed Rose's pained expression before now. She looked over at her son again.

"He will be fine. It looks worse than it is, according to the Healer and most of the damage has already started to heal. He will be fine in a few days."

Rose didn't reply. She just sat down next to Albus and grabbed his other hand.

"You shouldn't thank me." she said quietly after a while. "It is my fault he is this way." Then she broke down crying as she told them of how she had been cooking for the whole group and tried a distraction by putting some special ingredients on the list. And how Lestrange had beaten Albus instead of her.

"It is my fault," she said. "I shouldn't have taunted them like that. I didn't even need the ingredients, I just tried to find a way to be left alone for more than 15 minutes. I didn't think it through."

No one said anything after she was through, but both Ginny and Hermione had sat down next to her, comforting her.

"It's not your fault," a weak voice suddenly said from the bed. They all looked up, startled. They hadn't noticed that Albus was awake.

"They would have found a reason to beat me up in front of you anyway. They wanted you to despair, Rose. They wanted you to feel helpless. You did the best you could. Don't let them get to you now Rose. Not now that you have beaten them again."

Rose didn't reply, she just held Albus' hand tightly. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"He's right," Harry said. "It is clear that the Death Eaters were after revenge. This was their way to punish you as well, Rose. They would have done it regardless of what you did. And anyway, that was just the latest round. They had had Albus for over a week before you got there."

"Rose," Ginny said in a firm voice. "Without you, who knows what would have happened? You got them both out of there and you captured the ten Death Eaters almost single-handedly. You can't blame yourself for the evil deeds that others did."

Rose sighed. She knew that they were right, but at the moment she just couldn't make herself believe it. Albus squeezed her hand, and she gave him a faint smile.

Just then, a gasp came from the door. Molly Weasley had just entered and saw Albus on the bed. She was at his bedside in a flash. Her robes were also dirty, which was unlike her.

"Albus! What happened? My goodness, I came as soon as I could when I heard you were at the hospital but…" Then she stopped and looked up at the others in the room. Rose in tears and all the others serious looks. "What has happened here?"

Then, a dishevelled-looking Ron was in the doorway. He also gasped at the sight of Albus, but he looked relieved when he saw Rose seemingly unhurt.

"Rose! Thank Merlin you are alright! What happened? Where is Scorpius?" He ran over and embraced his daughter. Rose held tight and cried in his lap.

"I think it would be easier," Hermione said quietly while holding Rose's shoulder. "If you told us the whole story Rose. If you can manage it. I don't think waiting until tomorrow will make it easier to relive."

Rose nodded. "Yes, you're right. I just don't know where to begin. And there are some details I don't know."

"I'll start." Albus said from the bed. "It all began with me anyway." He proceeded to tell them about how he had been on the way to visit the Malfoy's when he was suddenly surrounded by the Death Eaters.

"I don't know how they found me. But I didn't stand a chance. They Disarmed me and broke my wand. I have no idea where it is, and I suppose it doesn't matter now." He then told them how he had been captured and beaten often. "I don't know how long it was. It must have been days, but I lost count. All I remember is that suddenly, Rose was standing there with Lestrange. I don't remember exactly what he said, but after that I at least got some food."

Then Rose told her story. How she had come home and been taken. How Scorpius had slowly deteriorated in front of her. How Lestrange had threatened to hurt Albus if she tried to fool them. And again, how she had underestimated Lestrange and Albus had paid for it. And lastly, how she had discovered the secret exit, the Potion stash and put the Sleeping Powder in the syrup. When she had finished, she felt relieved. To get it all out there, to know someone else also knew the burden felt more soothing than she thought it would be.

"How's Scorpius now?" Ron asked when she had finished.

"We don't know." Hermione replied when Rose didn't say anything. "He was about to wake up when we left, but the Healer thought it best if Rose was not there when he woke up." Ron held on to his daughter as she cried into his lap.

No one said anything for a long time. Albus seemed to be close to falling asleep again. Then Harry asked just one question.

"Did they explain how they escaped from Azkaban?"

"No," Rose replied. "But Crabbe was clear on the fact that it wouldn't be hard for them to do it again. But that may of course just be a bluff."

"I don't want to take that chance." Hermione said. "I am going to secure them a lot better this time and change most of their guards."

"I have another idea," Molly added. "Why don't we place Trackers on all of them? That way, if they do manage to escape again, we know exactly where they are."

Hermione looked at her. "That is a fantastic idea! If you share the schematics, we could have those made within a few hours. In our estimations, most of the Death Eaters will not wake up until tomorrow. By then, I plan to have them all back in Azkaban, in a totally different area than where they were previously."

"Until tomorrow? Why would they sleep that long? Scorpius was only out for a few hours each time." Rose asked.

"You gave the others a pinch of the powder straight into their mouths," Hermione explained. "Undiluted, that stuff is a lot stronger. We don't know exactly how long they will be out, but they are not going anywhere."

"As for the schematics for the Trackers, it is George who made the actual devices. I'll go and get the plans now. Knowing him, he might even have 10 Trackers ready to go, if needed." Ron said. After a quick nod of agreement from Molly and another hug for Rose, he was out the door again.

A paper plane landed next to Harry. A Ministry note. He opened it and smiled when he read it.

"Great news!" he said. "They secured Draco; he is on his way here. And it seems they even got a lead on the last Death Eater; they are hot on his tails. I'll go and meet Draco, to explain the situation to him."

"I'll come too." Rose said.

Harry seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he just said. "Of course. Just remember that when we get to Scorpius' room, we need to be careful. He should probably not see you just yet."

"I know," Rose sighed. "But I still want to see him"