Savanna Zabini had inherited a lot from her mother (the former Cho Chang), but her patience was not one of those things. The woman needed to be awarded a prize for handling her husband, even Savanna knew that; but, unfortunately, what kept her mother married to her father stayed within her and Angelo, because Sav had her father's short fuse. As such, the moment she heard a stomp against the marbled floor, she released the loudest, aggravated noise.

"For Merlin's sake," she hissed, halting Rose Weasley from stomping down the corridor again, muttering curses under her breath. "Shut up."

Of course, just as Savanna had a lot from her mother, Rose had inherited a lot from her own (the former Pansy Parkinson). Although she insisted on denying the blatantly obvious, Rose had a flare for dramatics (although, Sav supposed, Rose got that from her father, too. Then again, who was she to talk; her father was Blaise Zabini).

"Well, excuse me," Rose returned with a cutting tone, her nostrils flaring. "One of us has to worry about Ana's whereabouts! And apparently that's going to be me."

Savanna kicked off the wall, nudging Rose's shoulder a little too harshly. "I am worried," she defended, "she is my friend, too, but I know the meaning of discretion. We aren't supposed to be out of our dormitories, remember? So reel it in, Weasley."

Rose aimed a smack of her own at the Ravenclaw. "McGonagall isn't even here," she said through clenched teeth, but she lowered her volume. "And if you want to keep those hands, I suggest you never hit me again."

"Don't threaten me." Smack. "I'm not scared of you, Rose Weasley."

The girls narrowed their eyes at one another, a second away from a physical fight, but then—

"We got it!"

Heaving, two boys, one Gryffindor and the other Slytherin, turned the corner of the corridor, racing up to them, disheveled hair, wrinkled robes, and cheeks red. Fred Weasley bent over, desperately pulling in air while Al Potter clutched his side, cursing about running seven minutes straight and being out of shape. 

Fred was the first to catch the girls in their standoff. "Not again," he said through puffs of oxygen. 

Al groaned. "James and Louis creating a ruckus, taking the fall with Filch so we could be here. Quit it now."

"You two are the worst," Fred supplied. "How are you even friends?"

Rose turned her frown at her cousin. "What are you on about? Sav and I are best friends."

"Best friends who have disagreements, but love one another through it all," Savanna added, throwing an arm around Rose's shoulder, grinning up at the two boys.

Al shook his head, signaling Fred to not even ask how those two functioned. Instead, he marched into the classroom Savanna and Rose were supposed to be guarding; inside, at the front in a corner desk, Al found his best friend. His silver eyes were downcast, fingers running over the crumbled edges of a parchment that had belong to his sister.

Al swallowed, nervous. "Mate?" He reached for Rose before she took the step forward, knowing perfectly well she needed to keep her distance. She frowned at him, disagreeing; she wanted—needed to be beside Scorpius, but was still kept in place. "I've got news."

Scorpius didn't look up at the sound of Al's voice. Instead, he counted the lines Ariana had created on the paper before she dropped it and ran off.

The friends looked at one another, unsure on how to act. Al took a deep breath, shrugging, before saying, "Ariana broke into the Headmistress' office. Went in through the Floo. I tried asking Snape where she went, but he locked it. I couldn't trace the last location. Dumbledore assured me she was safe, though."

"How the hell does he know that?" Rose demanded. "Anything could happen on the other side of the Floo."

Al rolled his eyes. "Snape nor Dumbledore would have led her through if she was at risk. I trust them. Besides—"

"Who cares?" Scorpius jumped off the desk, startling his friends from his sudden action. The expression on his face was an uninterested one, but Al knew better. Scorpius was his best friend, after all. He knew what he hid. He knew all his masks. Even when the next words that followed were harsh and uncaring. "Ana does this all the time, running away. Do you not remember the time she was seven and ran from the Burrow because Mum and Dad were fighting? She disappeared for two days for attention."

While Al understood Scorpius and kept quiet with whatever came out of his mouth, Rose was not like that. She had no problem marching up to him despite the protests of others, getting right up to Scorpius' face to say, "What the hell is wrong with you? How can you compare this to that? Your family was attacked! Ariana left to find them. Don't you care about— why do I even ask, of course you don't."

"She'll be back," Al said, eyes not leaving Scorpius even when the latter looked away, shoving the letter into his pocket. He didn't miss the glisten in Scorpius' gaze.

Scorpius always knew when his disgusting emotions were going to take toll, when they were going to try and peek through his barriers to show the world what he was feeling. But that's the thing, Scorpius was not an idiot . His emotions could not try and  attempt to play the commander and overtake him as master. He knew exactly what he felt all the time, and it was up to him to bury that before it got out.

It's how he managed to casually walk away from the scene in the Great Hall. How he let the others handle the mission to find Ariana—because he knew himself. Because he knew the hours that were going to come were going to drive him insane, because he already expected an entire day, possibly more, of her missing presence. He knew that worry was going to pump up through his veins, seep into his skin, and dig its way into his head and reside there.

But the damage was already done. Destruction had already taken place. The letter left that perfectly clear. 

What could he do now? How should he act when his sister was missing for more than twenty-four hours? How should he display himself when he knew crap of the attack his family had suffered? What was he supposed to say when no one kept him informed? What was he suppose to assume happened to his family? To his mother, to his sister, and to his grandparents if he didn't know how to start off? How was he supposed to look at his friends and show them that he was actually human and felt all that?

Scorpius didn't have an answer for any of it.

He couldn't act in any other way than how he normally would. He can't express or say what exactly is going through his head when that has never been him. It was like a lump in his throat, a knot that was made up of more than feeling and pressure. It was a lock. It was a barrier that kept everything that lived in his chest from coming out; so that every time he tried to express himself that knot would stop it. It would make his sobs useless, his crying tear-less—all because he's never done it.

So, then, how exactly is he supposed to say his heart is tearing with every passing minute?

"Maybe you're right," Scorpius glanced up at Rose. "Maybe I don't care."

"You don't mean that," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't I?" he snorted. "You just said I didn't. I'm agreeing with you."

"Oh, now you decide to agree with me, you twat?"

"Enough!" Savanna shouted before Scorpius could find a response for Rose. "For Merlin's sake, this is serious. We don't have time for your old married couple shit. Save your twisted sense of flirting when Ana isn't missing."

"— Flirting?"

"—Married? To her? Ha."

Rose launched forward, swinging her fists, but Fred was fast enough to intercept her. "You'd be lucky to get a girl half as good as me, Malfoy!"

Scorpius snorted. "Please refrain yourself from thinking I could ever end up with someone lower than you. You're already far beyond my standards, I can't imagine what's beneath you."

Rose gasped, freezing for a single, long second before she swung again. 

Al frowned at Scorpius. "Uncalled for," he told him just as the door of the classroom was pushed open.

"—You're hurting me!"

"— Yeah, well you kicked me! Man up!"

"—You pulled my hair!"

"—You kicked me!"

Swinging her legs back and forth, Ariana Malfoy was putting on a bloody good fight with Ron Weasley as he carried her into the classroom. 

While the other remained shocked at the sudden appearance, Rose put her hands on her waist. "Dad, did you pull Ana's hair?"

"She kicked me!" Ron defended as he lowered Ariana just as Scorpius descended toward them. "She's wickedly strong for someone her size. I'm surprised she didn't break my leg."

"I wouldn't have kicked you if you just told me what that bloody map is, Uncle Ron," Ariana spat the last two words with feigned sweetness, letting herself be hugged by Savanna. "I'm expecting a response soon, or I'll let it slip to James and make him find out for me."

Ron scoffed at Ariana's throat, turning to his daughter. "Come, Rosie. Walk me to the Head Office," he told her, but then quickly looked up at the rest of the students.  "And all of you, go find the rest of the lot and tell them the news. I'm sure the Longbottoms are about fed up with all the rubbish Dominique and Peyton are feeding them as a distraction for you."

"We don't know what you are talking about, Uncle Ron," Fred said. 

"Go get James and Louis from the Forbidden Forest, Fred, before Filch has a heart attack," Ron replied, rolling his eyes. "Zabini, you go save Neville from Dominique. And, Rose—"

"I'll get Peyton after I leave you," she finished her father's sentence.

The classroom began to clear out, each one squeezing a part of Ariana as a demonstration of their relief. Scorpius approached quietly, carefully. He didn't have to say her name for her to look up at him; their matching, metallic eyes connected, and Scorpius fought with himself to put his walls up, to be strong and unmoved, but he knew she could see the weight off his shoulders at having her near.

Unlike her older brother, Ariana narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms, lifting her chin to build herself up. She was stronger than he was when it came to keeping defenses. "St. Mungo's," she said to him, knowing the question he wanted to ask. 

Her brother clenched his jaw, paling at the words. As much as Ariana was austere, she could not—would not—hurt Scorpius with what she had seen at the hospital. He needed the news of what happened to their family to be broken gently, minding his fragile heart. 

"Demi was hurt," she told him. "She's in a coma. The Healers—Dean is sure she'll wake up soon. She's strong. We know that."

That was a lie. Her father had let her know exactly what Dean had said about Demi's condition, but she would not burden Scorpius with that terrible news. If one of them had to have hope, it should be him. He hated to admit it, but he got it from their mother. Alike the former Hermione Granger, Scorpius could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was something Ariana greatly admired and envied.

Yet, there was one thing Ariana could not lie about. No amount of stalling or careful wording was going to soften this blow. As such, in one steady breath she said, "Grandfather died, Scor. He died protecting Mum."

Feeling like an invisible force was pushing down on him, weakening his knees, Scorpius reached for the nearest desk to hold him up. He fought harder, cursing his brain to keep himself poised and together, but his heart was shattering inside his chest. 

Ariana felt her body jerk, wanting to get to him, put arms around her brother and hold him together. She knew she should have; she knew she should be able to keep Scorpius from falling to pieces, to grieve with him, but she hardly was the right person with the right words. She had never been. Because of that, she looked at the boy behind her brother. Ariana knew she did not have to show her panic, her pleading— Al Potter could always pick up the pieces when it came to Scorpius Malfoy.

Al wanted to be there for her, too, she knew. But Ariana was always fine on her own. Scorpius needed him more. As such, Ariana swallowed her grief and turned on her heels, heading out the classroom with only a muttered Silencing Charm at the door before it closed behind her.

Scorpius' legs finally gave out. He fell to the floor, bringing up his knees to his chest as his body quivered in waves of loss and despair. 

Al took a seat beside him. He didn't say anything, just let Scorpius break into a silent mess while he gave him a silent vow of support and companionship. After all, Scorpius knew that Al would never leave him; they were brothers through it all, that included life and death.