#cursedchildnetwork

Albus had never been an early riser. Having to get up early for classes was one more reason to hate school. On weekends he rarely left the bed before nine. But after the attack, his hatred for waking up rose to a completely new level. Most people, upon waking up, leave the world of darkness and come back to light. But Albus, even after opening his eyes, was stuck in darkness. What was worse, in his dreams he could still see. He saw people, places, colours. If it wasn't for nightmares, he would be very happy to spend most of his time sleeping.

With a sigh, Albus got up from the bed. He knew that if he stayed in bed even a while longer he would fall asleep again and wake up at noon (if it wasn't noon already). Reluctantly, he dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, which James had claimed was green (Albus made a mental note to ask someone else if it was indeed green). He went to the bathroom and got ready for the day.

Carefully, with one hand on the wall and the other outstretched in front of him, he found a banister. Shuffling his feet, he located the first step and slowly went downstairs, counting the steps. He managed to get to the kitchen with only one collision with a small table in the hall.

“Good morning!” Albus heard Lily's cheerful voice. How could someone be so joyful so early in the morning?

“Hi, Lily. What time is it?” he yawned and clumsily sat down at the kitchen table.

“Almost ten o'clock.” Alright, it wasn't so early. “Would you like cereal?” Lily asked.

“Actually, I would prefer toast. Eating cereal, or any soup, is a bit problematic and messy.”

“No problem,” Lily said and Albus heard as she put bread slices into a toaster. Moment later she placed something on the table and sat down opposite him.

“And here's your tea. Earl Grey, no sugar, no milk, as you like it.”

“Thank you,” Albus said and felt carefully in front of him until his fingers touched a hot mug. He took a little sip and sighed in delight. Strong, hot tea always did wonders in the morning.

“Where are our parents and James?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“James is still sleeping,” Lily said and her tone of voice told Albus that she was rolling her eyes. “Our parents are at work but they are coming home early so you can meet with McGonagall today.”

Albus had almost forgotten about today's appointment with the Headmistress. They were going to meet at Hogwarts and discuss what kind of help and adjustments Albus needed so he could still effectively and safely learn in the castle.

“There are letters for you,” Lily said and put them beside Albus's hand. “One from Hogwarts, the second from Scorpius.”

Albus smiled at the thought of the message from his boyfriend.

“Could you read them to me?” he asked Lily.

“Sure.” Lily took and opened one of the letters. “It's a standard Hogwarts letter. The list of new books and a reminder when the train leaves. Are you certain you want me to read Scorpius's letter?”

“What choice do I have? I can't read it myself, can I?” Albus took a sip of his tea. “Besides, I'm pretty sure Scorpius knew someone would have to read this letter to me and didn't write anything too personal.”

“Alright.” He heard Lily ripping open the envelope and unfolding the letter. “'Dear Albus-'” She was interrupted by popping toast. “I'll get them. What do you want them with, Albus?”

“Um- cherry jam is fine.”

Lily quickly made him breakfast and put the plate in front of him. Albus took a bite of the toast with his favourite jam and listened to Lily as she continued with the letter.

Dear Albus (and whoever is reading this letter to you),

How are you feeling? I hope you haven't had any pain attacks recently and that you feel more comfortable and safe now that you are in your own house. I know that you have a meeting with Headmistress McGonagall today but maybe I can visit you tomorrow? I miss you a lot. Yes, I know, I saw you two days ago, but a lot has happened since then.

I've been made a prefect! I can't believe that after what we did last year, McGonagall chose me to be the prefect. I wonder who is the second Slytherin prefect? I bet Rose is the Gryffindor one. I can't wait to show you my badge!

Write back if I can visit you tomorrow.

Lots of love

Scorpius

“A prefect?” Albus asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

“Why are you so shocked? Do you have so little faith in Scorpius?”

“Of course not,” Albus shook his head. “It's just- unexpected, I guess. Scorpius is a very good student and is kind and willing to help others but- I always thought that you needed to be at least a bit popular and respected to become a prefect. And people would rather laugh at Scorpius than listen to him.”

“Maybe McGonagall made him a prefect so other students will stop bullying him. And you,” said Lily. “Or she thought that being kind and helpful was more important. Either way, Scorpius is going to be a perfect prefect.”

“Absolutely,” Albus agreed.

“Are you jealous?” Lily asked. Albus heard a hesitation in her voice as if she was afraid that he would be offended by her question.

“No,” Albus said with honesty that surprised even him. He didn't feel even the slightest pang of envy. “I never wanted to be a prefect. Too many duties and responsibilities. And I knew that I would never become one. That would be a disaster. And now- it's rather impossible.”

Lily was silent for a while, then she said: “Yes, it is.”

“You nodded?” Albus asked, a little amused.

“Yes, sorry,” Lily said, sounding ashamed. “I forgot that you can't see me so I nodded in agreement. I have to get used to expressing everything verbally while talking with you.”

“It's hard for me too,” Albus admitted, turning the empty mug in his hands. “I get a lot from the tone of voice but only now realised how many emotions people convey through their faces and gestures.”

“You amaze me, Albus,” Lily said.

“Why?” he asked, though he had a good inkling what she was talking about.

“Because of how well you deal with what happened. I can't believe you're not a Gryffindor with all your bravery and determination.”

“I'd say it's more resourcefulness than bravery. And people say that's a Slytherin trait. The Sorting Hat was pretty intent on putting me in Slytherin. Now I see that was a right decision. I feel good in Slytherin.”

“I'm glad,” Lily said. “Would you like me to write a reply to Scorpius?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Lily went out for a paper and a quill while Albus finished his breakfast. She returned after a minute and sat down beside him.

“How should I start?” Lily asked. “My beloved Scorpius?”

“Lily!” Albus blushed. “Don't write that! 'Dear Scorpius' is enough.”

“Alright, alright, just joking. So- 'Dear Scorpius'.” Albus heard a quill scratching on a paper. “What's next?”

“Um- Congratulations on becoming a prefect. I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to see your badge.”

“See?” Lily stopped writing.

“What? Should I say feel? That sounds strange. Write 'see'.” Lily resumed writing. “I feel fine and I'm so happy that I'm finally at home. You can visit us tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait to see you,” Albus emphasized two last words.

“Done,” Lily announced. “Now, sign here.”

She put the quill in Albus's hand and positioned it over a proper place on the paper. Carefully Albus wrote his name.

“That's nice. You could have written this letter on your own,” Lily said and added her own name next to her brother's. “I'll send it.”

Lily ran out of the kitchen in search of their family owl, Kirjava. Albus took the plate and the mug to the sink and washed them, cursing under his breath that he wasn't allowed to use magic (and then cursing even more when he realised that he actually didn't know the spell to wash dishes). Albus always hated house chores and doing them blindly took much more time and energy. But he was determined to do as much as he could independently and ask for help only when it was absolutely necessary.

He put the dishes into the cupboard and went to the living room. Lily joined him shortly after and they spent another hour talking and listening to the radio until James came downstairs and unceremoniously ordered a breakfast.

"What am I? Your servant?" asked Lily indignantly. "Do it yourself."

Huffing, James went to the kitchen and Lily said to Albus:

"Sometimes I envy you that you are in a different house and don't have to deal with him."

Albus smiled as James shouted from the kitchen: "I heard that!" Two younger Potters burst into laughter.

The next day, after the breakfast, Albus was lying on his bed and listening to music on his headphones. He was slowly drifting off to sleep when someone suddenly touched his arm. He gave a small shriek and sat up abruptly, his heart beating madly.

"I'm so sorry." It was Lily. "I called you a few times but obviously you didn't hear me with your headphones on."

"It's alright," Albus said, taking a deep breath in order to calm down. "I'm fine. I was almost asleep."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. I thought you were just listening to music." He felt Lily sitting on the bed beside him. "But James and I want to watch a film. Would you like to join us?"

The good mood Albus had been in since he woke up instantly vanished.

"In watching the film?" he asked gloomily. "Lily, you know-"

"I know you can't watch it," Lily interrupted him. "But you can still listen to it and we will tell you everything that's going on."

"Sorry Lily, but I really don't feel like watching the film at the moment."

"Oh, come on, Albus," Lily tugged at his hand. "I think you can still enjoy the film."

"No, I don't want to watch anything," he said and pulled his hand out of hers, maybe too harshly but he didn't care.

"Albus, please, we'll have fun." Albus was pretty sure his sister was looking at him with the most adorable and innocent expression she could muster. Pity for her, it didn't work on him anymore.

"Lily, what don't you understand in a simple word like 'no'?" Albus was past the point of being concerned about her feelings. He wanted Lily to leave him alone, and to leave quickly. Before he started crying in front of her. "Go and watch that stupid film with James. Just leave me alone."

"Albus?" Lily sounded surprised and hurt. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"No, I'm fine. I just want to be alone." He bowed his head, hoping Lily couldn't see his eyes, which were brimming with tears.

"Albus-" She touched his hand.

Albus lost his patience. "Lily, just get out!"

He felt Lily standing up and walking out of his bedroom, then closing the door behind her. He felt a pang of guilt for shouting at her, but it was quickly replaced by overwhelming feelings of grief, sadness and anger. He grabbed a pillow and threw it at the wall, barely restraining himself from screaming. Then he buried his head in his knees and started silently crying.

It was moments like that that reminded Albus, in the most unexpected and painful way, how much he had lost. While he was immensely grateful that he could still do basic activities, like eating, washing and dressing, on his own, he hadn't made peace yet with the fact that he could no longer enjoy to the fullest things that brought meaning, joy and pleasure to his life. Lily couldn't understand it. No one could. It felt like losing his best friend and knowing that he was still there, somewhere, yet you would never meet him again.

Albus knew that eventually he would have to move on and learn how to enjoy these things in a new way. But he wasn't there yet. He needed time, a lot of time to make peace with his loss.

He lay down, tears still streaming down his face, dark thoughts swirling in his mind. Eventually exhaustion won over misery and Albus fell asleep.

He woke up drenched in sweat after another nightmare. He had no idea how long he had slept, fifteen minutes or two hours. Although his parents had bought him a special watch that announced the hour when touched, he had no strength or interest in checking the time. He just lay on his bed and tried not to think about the approaching school year. He'd never liked the end of holidays and return to school, but now even thinking about the vast Hogwarts castle made him feel panicky and almost sick.

A knock on the door broke his reverie.

"Yes?" Albus called in an uninterested tone.

"Hi, Albus," said his mum and entered the room, closing the door behind her. Great, thought Albus. Now she wants to talk. "I made lunch. Are you hungry?"

"Not really," said Albus, not sitting up, hoping that his mum would get an inkling that he wanted to be left alone.

"You should eat. You need a lot of strength."

"What for?" Albus murmured.

"What?" Ginny sounded alarmed. "What do you mean?" She sat down beside her son and took his hand.

"What do I need strength for? I'm not doing anything but sitting in this damn room." He turned away from her. "It would've been better if I hadn't survived," he said in an almost inaudible whisper.

But Ginny heard him.

"Albus! Don't say such a thing!" Her voice was breaking and Albus was almost certain that she was crying.

"But it's the truth," he said, still facing the wall. "I can do almost nothing on my own. I'm so dependent on others. And to you all- I'm just- a burden," he finished and, even though he tried very hard, tears started to run down his face.

"You're not a burden!" Ginny said fiercely and grabbed her son by the shoulder, turning him back to her. "Never, ever, think that! You're my beloved son and you will never be a burden to me, or to your dad, or to anyone!"

"But- I need your help with almost everything." Albus sat up and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief his mum gave him. "And I want to be independent and to do and enjoy things like I used to."

"I know, sweetheart," Ginny said and stroked his hair. "I know it's difficult to accept these new limits, to come to terms with how much your life has changed. I want you to know that if it were possible, I would give you my eyesight without any hesitation. But I believe that in time you will learn to be independent and you won't need others' help so much anymore." She paused for a moment, still running her fingers through Albus's hair. "Lily told me how you had reacted when she'd suggested watching a film together."

Albus sighed. "I'll apologise to her."

"I don't think she's angry," Ginny said. "She'll understand if you tell her why you got upset."

"Her suggestion just reminded me that I can't do such a simple thing like watching a film anymore," Albus explained. "I wasn't angry at her, but at this whole situation."

"I see," his mum replied. "I don't want to push you or tell you what to do but maybe you should reconsider Lily's offer. I think watching the film will help you to relax a bit and prove to you that you can still enjoy many activities, just in a different way. But that's just my opinion, don't feel pressed to do it if you're not ready or comfortable with it."

"You really think that I should give the film a try?" Albus asked, suddenly eager for Lily's suggestion after his mum's encouragement.

"I really think so. I'll watch it with you and tell you everything that is happening on the screen. Though I think Lily and James are more than willing to do the same."

"Yes, Lily mentioned that," Albus said, playing with the edge of the blanket. "But they've probably started watching the film so-"

"They haven't. They're still arguing about what to watch."

"What?!" Albus jerked his head up. "How long was I sleeping?" Either he had slept less than he'd thought or his siblings had been quarrelling for hours. Which wasn't so improbable, if he had to be honest.

"Lily came downstairs from your room about half an hour ago," his mum said. "If you decide to watch the film with them, they'll be so happy that I bet they'll let you choose one."

Albus smiled. Usually his suggestions didn't matter. It was time to use the whole situation for his benefit.

"Alright, let's end their dispute," Albus said and left the bedroom with Ginny, quickly thinking of films that would irritate Lily and James the most.

Draco and Scorpius Apparated in front of a gate to the Potters' property. They went without any interruptions through protection spells, which had been set a while ago to recognise them and let them through at any time. The Potters' garden was much smaller than the one at the Malfoy Manor and after a short walk Draco and Scorpius reached the front door. Draco rang the bell.

Scorpius could hardly hold in his excitement. He saw Albus three days ago, a day before he was discharged from the hospital. It was a short and depressing visit as Albus had just had a strong pain attack and was very tired when Scorpius came. Scorpius hoped that Albus was feeling much better today and his visit would be longer and a lot more pleasant. He missed his boyfriend greatly. Some would say three days without seeing each other wasn't long but for Scorpius it was three days too long.

The front door opened and they were greeted by smiling Ginny.

"Good afternoon, Ginny," said Draco, bowing his head slightly. "I know you were expecting just Scorpius but I thought we should talk as well. If you have time, of course."

"Come in, Draco, Scorpius." Ginny let them in. "I have plenty of time. Would you like something to drink?"

"Tea is fine," said Draco.

"Scorpius?" asked Ginny, heading into the kitchen.

But Scorpius didn't pay her any attention. He almost ran into the living room, searching for Albus. And there he was, sitting on the couch, looking in Scorpius's direction, a huge grin on his face.

"Albus!" Scorpius slightly jumped up in his happiness of seeing Albus in a good condition. He sat down beside him and hugged him tightly.

"Scorpius," Albus groaned. "Let me breathe."

"Sorry," Scorpius said and released him. "I'm just so happy to see you! How are you feeling?"

"Fine," answered Albus. "But that's not important right now. You're a prefect! Congratulations! I'm so proud of you. You truly deserve it." Albus reached out and after a moment of searching, found Scorpius's arm. He moved his hand upwards until he reached his boyfriend's cheek and then carefully kissed him.

"Thank you," Scorpius said. "I've brought my prefect badge. Would you like to see it?" Scorpius knew that Albus didn't want others to refrain from using words like 'look' or 'see' when talking with him.

"You needed to ask? Of course I want to see it!" Albus exclaimed and impatiently held out his hand.

Scorpius took the badge from his pocket and gave it to Albus. Albus turned the badge, feeling around the edges and running his fingers over every groove and detail.

"What colour is it?" he asked, returning the badge to Scorpius.

"The 'P' in the middle is silver, and the background is green. There's a golden frame around the edge." Scorpius put the badge carefully in his pocket.

"You must look dashing with it on your robes," observed Albus. Scorpius blushed.

"How was your meeting with Professor McGonagall?"

"Let's go to my room and I'll tell you everything. There's a lot to tell."

Albus stood up, took two steps and collided with a coffee table. He cursed under his breath and massaged his shin to ease the pain.

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked, putting his hand on Albus's shoulder.

"I still haven't remembered the exact layout of every room in the house. I tend to forget that there's furniture in my way. But I'm fine, though I'll probably end up with bruises," Albus said with a smile. "Could you help me walk upstairs?"

"Of course." Scorpius tapped Albus's hand and the other boy grabbed his upper arm.

"Oh, Rose is a prefect as well," announced Albus while they were slowly walking upstairs. "Uncle Ron came yesterday evening and couldn't stop talking about how proud he was of Rose. It is a miracle mum didn't strangle him."

Scorpius laughed as they entered Albus's bedroom. Albus sat down on the bed. Scorpius took a seat in the chair and looked over Albus's desk. It was so well organised that he couldn't believe his eyes. Albus wasn't an overly messy person but he had never arranged his things in such a pedantic order. Then Scorpius realised why it was so and his face fell.

He turned to Albus. "So, I'm anxious to hear everything about that meeting."

"Mum, dad and I met with McGonagall at Hogwarts. There was also Mr Parry, he's a Muggleborn wizard who specialises in teaching blind people how to adjust to a new life and be independent. He uses both magical and Muggle methods. Parents found him, apparently he's the best and helped many people."

"That's great." Scorpius was grateful that Albus was going to get a professional help. "What is he like?"

"He seemed nice but demanding. He's not blind but he has a blind brother. That's why he made his life's goal to make blind people's lives easier."

Scorpius was silent for a while. Then he asked anxiously: "Are you going back to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I am," Albus replied and Scorpius sighed in relief. "We all agreed that sitting at home alone wouldn't do me any good. I want to live as normally as I can and that means going back to school."

"I'm so happy," said Scorpius, looking at Albus and smiling broadly. "I can't imagine Hogwarts without you. I wouldn't survive it alone."

After the incident with the Time-Turner, bullying considerably decreased but it didn't mean that Albus and Scorpius suddenly became popular and had many friends. They were still outsiders, ignored by most of the students. Without Albus, Scorpius would be alone, with no one to spend time with. True, he was on good terms with Lily, James and Rose, but they were all in a different house and had their own friends.

"You know, it was me who dragged you into that mess last year," Albus reminded him. "So it seems I'm more of a danger to your survival."

Scorpius laughed. "Maybe, but thanks to you I survived the first three years." Scorpius went silent and recalled his depression after his mum's death and how much Albus's presence had helped him then. Judging by Albus's solemn expression, he was haunted by the same memories.

"So, this Mr Parry," said Scorpius, trying to lighten the mood. "What is he going to teach you? Reading Braille?"

"Yes, he's coming tomorrow for our first lesson. But he's already given me a Braille book to get me accustomed to the feeling of dots." Albus gestured in the direction of the desk where Scorpius noticed a large and thick book. He opened it; every page was full of raised dots. He curiously ran his fingertips over them.

"It seems extremely hard to learn," Scorpius said.

"Mr Parry said that learning the alphabet was easy and I should be able to read quite fluently in about two months. But that's just Type One Braille, the easy type, in which every cell of dots represents one letter. There's also Type Two, with contractions, which makes reading quicker and books shorter. With a lot of hard work, Mr Parry said that I may be able to read it fluently in about a year."

"Is he going to teach you while you're at Hogwarts as well?"

"Yes, we're going to meet every other day in the beginning and he's going to come to Hogwarts after school year starts. Over time our lessons will be rarer. And he's going to teach me a spell that reads a text aloud. I'm going to use it until I learn to read Braille quick enough to study."

"Can't you just use that spell all the time instead of learning Braille?" asked Scorpius. "It's much easier."

Albus laughed. "I asked the same question. But Mr Parry explained that reading Braille is very important. First, it allows privacy, no one can overhear what I'm reading. And using that spell to learn at Hogwarts is problematic. I wouldn't be able to read in the common room, the Great Hall, the classroom, because the noise would be distracting and I wouldn't hear anything. Learning in the library would also be impossible because then I would be disturbing other students."

"Of course," Scorpius nodded. "What about writing?"

"With a bit of practice, my handwriting is going to be readable so there's no problem in writing to other people. But of course I need to be able to read what I wrote or what others wrote to me. And here comes-" Albus gestured again towards the desk. "-a special quill."

Scorpius took the quill lying on the desk. It looked like an ordinary quill, but had a white strip around the base of the nib and a dot indicating in which position to hold the quill.

"Can I write something with it?" Scorpius asked, almost bouncing with excitement to try something new.

"Sure, that one is for you," said Albus. He stood up and slowly went over to Scorpius. With a smile on his face, Scorpius took a sheet of paper and wrote his name. After a second a set of dots appeared over his elegant handwriting. Scorpius gave a squeak of joy.

"It's brilliant, isn't it?" said Albus, running his slightly trembling fingertips over the dots. "Dad bought a whole set of these quills. Everyone in the family got one. Your dad also will get one, and I have two for you, because you're going to use them a lot, I think. The spell wears off after some time. When it does, just say and my dad will buy you a new one."

"Thank you." Scorpius took Albus's hand and gently guided him so Albus was sitting in his lap. He kissed Albus on the cheek. "I'm so glad that someone invented all those things and spells to help blind people."

"Yeah, me too," said Albus. "McGonagall also told me that instead of writing essays and tests, I can pass the topic orally. You know how much I hate answering teachers' questions during lessons and oral exams so that's another motivation to learn Braille quickly so I can write homework and tests again."

"What about practical aspects of the lessons? Like casting spells?" asked Scorpius, playing with Albus's hair, which he knew his boyfriend loved.

Albus hummed with pleasure. "Charms and Transfiguration shouldn't be a problem. The object is usually static so I'll need help only in pointing my wand in the right direction. Defense will be problematic, if not impossible, with the target moving all the time. McGonagall said that I could pass only theoretical part on my O.W.L. Not that I wanted to be an Auror anyway."

Scorpius smiled. He wanted to ask Albus if he had gotten a white cane yet, but suddenly Albus tensed on his knees and started to take deep breaths.

"Albus?" Scorpius asked, trying not to panic. "It's pain, isn't it?"

Albus nodded, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. Scorpius stood up and supported Albus to the bed. They sat down on the edge and Albus doubled over, putting his head between his knees.

"Albus, you need to take the potion." Scorpius was trying to pull the flask from Albus's pocket.

"I'm going to be sick," Albus said weakly and before Scorpius could react, he vomited on the floor.

Scorpius grabbed a bin from underneath the desk and put it in front of Albus. He didn't know what to say to comfort Albus so he just gently rubbed circles on his friend's back, while Albus was retching into the bin. After a few long minutes it seemed that Albus emptied his stomach completely, though he was still in pain. Scorpius took out the flask with the analgesic potion from Albus's pocket and put it in his shaking hand.

Albus greedily drank the potion. He took two big gulps and waited for a few seconds to see if it was enough. Then he took one smaller sip and gave the flask back to Scorpius. Scorpius corked the phial, watching mesmerised as it filled itself to the brim, and put it back in Albus's pocket.

"You're okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, it's fine now," Albus said, looking at Scorpius. He was pale, a thin layer of sweat on his face. "I've made quite a mess, haven't I?" he asked with a grimace, indicating the floor.

"I'll get your mum to clean it. Don't move. There's some vomit near your feet and you don't want to step into it."

Albus made a disgusted face and brought his legs up on the bed. Scorpius left the room and went downstairs to fetch Ginny. However, on the stairs he met Harry, who was still in his Ministry robes.

"Hello, Scorpius," said Harry. He looked tired but smiled.

"Good day, Mr Potter. We need your help."

"What happened? Something with Albus?" Harry's smile instantly vanished and he instinctively reached for his wand.

"He had a pain attack but he took the potion and is fine now," Scorpius hurried to explain. "But he vomited on the floor and we need you to clean it."

Harry almost ran into Albus's bedroom, Scorpius closely behind him. Albus raised his head when he heard the commotion. Harry got rid of the mess in a second and sat down beside his son.

"Hi, Albus," he said and put his arm around Albus's shoulders. "What happened?"

"I just got sick from the pain. It happens sometimes," Albus explained. "But the pain wasn't very bad, I only needed three swallows of the potion."

"And you're alright now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. But- could you get me a glass of water."

Harry summoned a glass and conjured up the water. Albus thankfully drank the whole glass. In the meantime Scorpius put the bin back under the desk and sat down in the chair.

"I've brought you something," said Harry to his son. He took the glass from his hand and gave him a strange white object. When Scorpius looked more closely, he realised what it was.

"A white cane," said Albus, turning it in his hands. He stood up and unfolded it. The cane reached his sternum.

"Mr Parry will show you how to use it properly tomorrow," said Harry.

Albus took a few steps, swinging the cane right and left. He smiled when it collided with the chair Scorpius was sitting in.

"I haven't told you yet but I'm going to visit Hogwarts a few times before the school year starts," Albus said, looking in Scorpius's direction. "I want to learn how to navigate the common room, the dormitory and some routes, like how to get to the Great Hall or to the library."

"But remember what Mr Parry said," Harry interrupted. "Even when you know the castle, it's still difficult and dangerous to walk around alone. Especially during breaks, when there's a lot of students and nobody is looking where they're going. You should always have someone to guide you."

"Well, we're always together, so it doesn't change anything, really," said Scorpius.

"Right," Harry smiled and turned to his son. "There's a special enchantment on the cane. If you're close to an obstacle, it'll vibrate, even before you touch the object. And when you press this button-" Harry moved Albus's finger to a small red button on the handle. "-the cane shrinks and you can put it in your pocket. Just press it again to enlarge it to a normal size."

"That's useful," Albus said and pressed the button. The cane shrank to a pen's size.

"I'll leave you two alone, then. Dinner will be ready in about an hour. Draco said you'd eat with us," said Harry, looking at Scorpius.

"With pleasure," the boy grinned. He loved meals with the Potters. Harry was an excellent cook.

Harry left the room. Albus sat down on the bed, where Scorpius quickly joined him. The blind boy curled up on his side, with his head on his best friend's lap. Scorpius's hand automatically went to Albus's head and started to play with his hair. Albus sighed with contentment.

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"I'm alright. That potion is amazing. It works so quickly," Albus answered.

"That's not what I meant. How are you feeling mentally?"

"Oh. That's more difficult to answer," Albus frowned. "There are moments, like now, when I feel good, strong, determined and ready to learn new things and not give up. But there are also times when-" Albus went silent. Scorpius was running fingers through his thick hair, waiting patiently. "For example this morning, when Lily suggested we watch a film together. Initially I got extremely upset and angry that I can't do it anymore. I even shouted at her."

"Poor Lily. How did she survive it?" mocked Scorpius.

"It wasn't the first, and probably won't be the last, time when I realised that I can't do and enjoy things the way I used to. And it distresses me greatly," continued Albus. "There are days when I don't have strength to do anything, when I want to just sleep. Except I can't because of nightmares and that makes me even more depressed and miserable."

"You still have them? The nightmares?"

"Unfortunately," sighed Albus. "I don't think they'll pass quickly. I still dream sometimes about Delphi. And Dad said that he occasionally dreams about the war and Voldemort."

"I also have bad dreams about Delphi. Or the alternate reality, when Voldemort ruled. Not often, but sometimes." A shiver ran down Scorpius's spine when he recalled these few awful days without Albus, but full of Dementors and Death Eaters.

"We're in this together, then."

"As always," said Scorpius with a fond smile. "Do you want to do something? I can read you the book."

"Mum has just read a few chapters to me," said Albus, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "Is the weather nice today?"

"Yes, it's sunny but not too hot. Do you want to go for a walk?"

"I'd love to but I can't." Albus gave a long frustrated sigh. "Dad forbade us to leave the boundaries of protection spells. He's afraid the attacker may come back. We can't go anywhere alone."

"That's reasonable," said Scorpius. "You don't know if he's waiting somewhere to attack you or Lily or James. It's better to be safe than sorry. But we can go to the garden, right? Lie down in the sun, talk and just relax."

"Yes, the garden is safe. Let's go then," Albus said eagerly and stood up, holding his hand out to Scorpius.