Siblings

In another part of London, Albus endured a similar interrogation from his brother and sister.

"Come on, this is the most interesting thing that has happened since you joined the Ministry and became so boring. Why the sudden hesitation?" James asked.

"We haven't known each other for that long. And there was a lot of drama involved."

"Drama? How? Wasn't she the one you rescued from the Knocker? The one who is such a genius with computers?" Lily asked.

"Yes. How did you hear about that anyway?"

"I overheard Dad talking." Lily said. "Now spill!"

Albus groaned. "What did Dad say, exactly?"

"That the two of you seemed to be very close, that she was a genius with computers and that Hermione hired her. And that she helped you on that chase through Europe a few weeks ago."

That wasn't even half of it. But how could he explain the Order thing without telling the full story? He really didn't want to tell James and Lily about Piers, if they didn't already know.

"How did you meet her? Was it during that week you weren't at home? Mum was awfully worried, you know." Lily said.

"I know, I was hoping Dad would tell her a bit."

"Dad is awful at telling her things. You know that."

"I know. But I also didn't want her to worry. I didn't mean for it to last that long." That wasn't a complete lie. Albus had originally meant to send his mother an owl when he was safely away from Britain.

James and Lily continued to prod and eventually they were able to coax most of the story out of him. Albus didn't say why he had decided to remain with the Order, but he explained most of the rest, including the arrest. James laughed out loud when Albus told him about it, but Albus wasn't able to laugh about it yet. It would probably be funny later, looking back, but it was still a sore subject.

"How did it go from her being arrested to her working for the Ministry?"

"It was a misunderstanding. They were released after only a few hours." Albus explained how he had been tasked to track down the Knocker and how Sophia had continued to help from behind the scenes. He didn't go into detail about how she had refused to help at first.

When he finally finished by explaining how they found her in the warehouse, Lily smiled.

"She sounds like a good person. When can we meet her?"

Albus jumped. Meet her? That was a bit too soon.

"I don't know. I mean, nothing's official. We haven't really had time to talk about things. We've been to dinner a few times but…"

"Why are you hesitating?" Lily asked. "Do you like her, or not? Because it sounds like you do."

"I do," Albus sighed. "But it's… complicated. And I don't know if she feels the same way. Besides, for much of the time we've known each other, one of us has been in the hospital."

"Well, from what you've said, it sounds like she likes you. I mean, she didn't need to help you at all, did she? But she did. And even went to France for you." Lily said.

Albus didn't want to think about that disaster. He still felt terrible that she had been taken hostage because of him.

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's discuss something else, like James' complete lack of a love life." Anything to get the subject away from Sophia.

"Hey, at least I have a reason for it!"

"Do you? Or are you just afraid?" Albus teased. It wasn't the first time they'd had this argument. It was good that James was more comfortable talking about his mind issues. His episodes weren't nearly as frequent either.

The three siblings talked long into the evening about a large variety of subjects. They tried to have meals like this at least once or twice a month, separate from the rest of the family. It was nice to talk about things without the whole Weasley clan overhearing. The bond between the three siblings, which hadn't always been the best, was stronger than ever.

Unfortunately, it ended on a bit of a sour note. James got one of his fits again, and Albus had to take him to St. Mungo's. When he got comatose like this, he didn't want to leave him unsupervised in the room the Malfoys had prepared for him. As he carried his brother into the ward, the Healer didn't ask any questions, just pointed to an available bed. They had all done this before.

"I believe we need to keep him overnight this time," the Healer said. "He is completely unresponsive. What were you doing when it began this time?"

"We were having dinner with him, my sister and me. We were about to finish when he collapsed. My sister is informing our parents now." They had both been through this before, but it never stopped hurting. In a way it hurt even more now that he and James got along better.

"I see. Have you noticed a trend to these fits? Have you taken notes on when they happen?"

The Healer had asked this before, and Albus had started taking notes, and asked Scorpius about the instances he had seen as well. He pulled out a piece of parchment. Once again, he was reminded of Sophia and how she argued that Muggle paper was more efficient than parchment. Why did everything he did remind him of her lately?

"There isn't a clear trigger, but it has never happened when he is alone. Or at least James hasn't been aware of it, and lately he has started to watch the time, to see if he spaces out at home. It only happens when he is around other people and interacts with them, usually in a friendly or familiar manner."

James had never had a comatose fit when he was in what they called "dark mode" and went to Knockturn Alley to start fights. But that was perhaps a mood of its own and was triggered by other things. That didn't happen nearly as often as it used to either. Albus was relieved, James could end up in some real trouble if that continued. He knew Scorpius had had to save him from getting beaten up on more than one occasion, though neither of the two had given much detail about it.

"That is what I suspected. The damage to his brain was mostly on the parts that affect memory. There are parts of his memories that are unrecoverable. I think that sometimes, when Mr. Potter makes new, especially happy, memories, it can trigger a fit, as it tries to connect to some memories he has lost."

That made sense. But James couldn't just leave or never meet with family again! That was no way to live. Albus knew that all too well. At least he had been with Rose and Scorpius when he had been on the run the first time. And this time, the idea of never meeting any of them again threatened to crush him.

"Is there anything you can do about it?"

"I will keep trying but knowing the cause of something doesn't mean we always know why it happens. What happened to James Potter is unprecedented. The Department of Mysteries have not been able to activate the statue again, so we don't know how the exact process works. And besides, we don't want to subject someone else to such Dark Magic."

Albus knew that. He had learnt the full extent of what his father and Aunt Hermione had done when he joined the Auror Office. Harry had personally met with each of the Death Eaters that had been present and offered them clemency if they could give them the clue he needed to heal his son. They had all refused. Both because of their hate for anyone named Potter, but probably also because they already had a new escape plan. And now they were in Norway, where Harry couldn't offer such a thing again.