Chapter Text
He woke up in the hospital wing around six in the morning the next day, clothes from the day before still tight around him, wool jumper still damp from the bloody lake.
“Finally awake are we?” Poppy asked as she crossed the room, her red medi witches uniform swaying behind her as she handed Airakus a potion.
He opened his mouth to speak but Madame Pomfrey hushed him.
“Don't try and talk, not until you drink that anyways' ' She replied, Airakus furrowing his eyebrows as he chugged down the potion, feeling of warmth spreading down his throat as he coughed.
“Merlin Poppy, what did I do this time?!” He chuckled, reaching up only to realise there was a bandage around his hand.
“You fell asleep on the grounds according to the other students who found you last night. They would've been in trouble for sneaking out of the castle so late, if they hadn't landed upon you buried in the snow.” Poppy sighed, Airakus’s eyebrows shooting up.
“Snow? It's mid May?!” He exclaimed, Poppy shrugging.
“Weathers been odd ever since it happened,” She said as if ‘it’ were a slur.
She meant Voldemort's return of course, but even Madame Pomfrey wouldn't dare say that aloud.
“Did anyone..” Airakus began Poppy nodding as she cut him off.
“Hermione and Ginny were here this morning, oh and Seamus and Mr.Potter were summoned last night so they knew you were alright.” Poppy explained, Airakus guilty glancing down at his feet hidden under the blankets, eyebrows furrowed as his mind raced.
“He was here this morning, before the girls. Said he didn't want me to tell you he’d been but I won’t lie to you Airakus.” Poppy sighed. “He was distraught.”
At that the woman stood, leaving Airakus as she walked towards another student down with something, most likely a stomach bug.
Airakus let his head fall backwards onto his pillow, eyes tracing the edges of the pillars holding up the high ceilinged hospital wing.
Draco had come to see him? Draco was upset? Even after what had happened last night?
Airakus thought to smile for a moment before the memories flooded back and he remembered why he had fallen asleep on the lawn. Cemented on the spot, unable to think let alone walk to the dorm.
Draco had left him.
He loved him and he had left him.
“YOU'RE ALIVE!” Seamus exclaimed as he ran towards Airakus’s bed, clinging to the boy aggressively as Dean and Harry chuckled, walking in behind Seamus who was being snapped at by Poppy reminding the boys to be quiet.
“Yes I am alive!” Airakus replied choppily, head pounding as those thoughts circled the drain that was any emotion Airakus had ever had.
What had he done!?
“Are you alright mate?” Harry asked, suddenly all three seemed rather concerned, more so for the horrid face Airakus was making as he stared into the abyss.
“Have any of you seen Malfoy this morning?” Airakus asked, Seamus freezing as Poppy dropped something she was carrying, scurrying to clean it up as she watched Airakus cautiously.
“At breakfast, why?” Dean asked, eyebrows raised as he glanced at Seamus who was wearing the same shocked expression.
Nothing like Harry's face which was pure frustration and concern.
“Did he do this? Did he cast some jelly legs jinx and get you stuck outside?!” Harry exclaimed, Airakus shaking his head as he sat up straighter, feeling dizzy as he tried not to fall over again.
“No he didn't bloody do this,” Airakus chuckled, although humour was at the bottom of the list of things he was experiencing at the moment.
He looked around again, eyes adjusting to the lights as he turned to Seamus.
“Then what happened?” Harry asked, Airakus sighing as he collapsed back onto his pillow.
“I don't remember” He lied, Seamus raising an eyebrow as Harry sighed.
“I better get to the dungeon before Snape comes and murders me himself.” Harry began apprehensively, patting Airakus’s shoulder as he turned and left.
“See you at lunch mate!” He called as the doors closed behind him.
Airakus sat back up, facing where the boy had been to see that Dean was also gone. He realised moments later that he was talking anxiously to Madame Pomfrey clearly about Airakus’s health while Seamus looked at him with a concerned glance.
“Pansy told me you two were arguing, no?” Seamus asked, Airakus nodding slightly.
“What about?” Seamus asked again, Airakus sighing as he shook his head.
“I f*cked up Sea.” Airakus said, his voice cracking.
Seamus grabbed his hand tightly, stopping the boy's tears which had filled his eyes in the moment.
“She said we can take you back to the dorm now if you'd like?” Dean asked upon return, Airakus not bothering to reply as he stood, Seamus casting adrying charm over the boy as the three left the hospital wing quickly and quietly.
“Oi mate! Feeling better? Ron asked groggily as he sat up in his bed, nodding to Dean as he followed Airakus and Seamus into the dorm.
Airakus opened his mouth to speak and immediately disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of the boy throwing up clear through the thin walled dormitory.
“Clearly not!?” Ron sighed as his head hit his pillow once more, Dean rushed into the bathroom as Seamus sat on the edge of Dean's bed, lighting a cigarette.
“Don't smoke in here Seamus!” Ron scolded.
“Awe piss off Weasel!” Airakus groaned as he emerged from the bathroom, plucking the cigarette from Seamus’s hands as he took a long drag, Dean emerging right after him with eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead.
“DON'T SMOKE IN HERE! Airakus we should go back to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey doesn't know your throwing up it could mean something!” Dean rambled as he tried and failed to take Seamus’s lighter.
“We just left, I'm probably still hungover. I'll take a seltzer. I’m fine.” Airakus scoffed, all three of his roommates pausing as they turned to him cautiously.
The last time he had said the two words, ‘I’m fine’, he had been carried to bed by their head of house because he was indeed not fine.
Once again, Airakus Rosier was far from fine; but he would rather die than explain to his roommates why he felt this deathly.
He doubted Ron's reaction would help him feel better.
Airakus sat on the floor of the dormitory smoking with Seamus until lunch.
By the time Neville and Harry returned from wherever they had been, the room was full of blue tinted smoke, the light from outside covered by the thick red curtains that Ron had drawn so he could sleep in.
“Stop being drug addicts, it's time for food!” Neville exclaimed with a chuckle as he walked inside, Seamus bursting out into laughter as Neville rolled his eyes, sitting on his bed as he tugged on a different jumper.
“I get it, it's ironic, stop laughing.” Neville said, red in the face as the boys chuckled.
Airakus ignored the concerned glances his roommates were sending on another as the six boys walked down to the great hall for lunch.
He then ignored Hermione and Ginny's rapid questionnaire about the events of the night before as he scanned the great hall for a certain Slytherin whom he couldn't find.
He ate, in relative silence, cracking a joke every now and then teasing the others, but he was too distracted by the lack of blonde Slytherin boy to care what anyone was talking about.
Dinner followed and Airakus did the same thing, scanning the great hall and absent mindedly half participating in the conversation with his friends, returning to the dorms early and taking two sleeping potions which knocked him out soon after.
He didn't want to think, he wanted to sleep, no dreams meant no torment.
The morning that followed would be the return of those thoughts, for now he let the spring air fill the dorm as he slept, his roommates mumbling gossip over him as he dozed off.
