Albus left the ward looking dejected. He decided to see if Sophia was still awake. He hadn't been able to talk to her much this afternoon, since her aunt was visiting.
Seeing Sophia reading a book rather intensely as he entered made him smile. She really looked adorable when she concentrated on something. She looked up as the door closed.
"Albus," she said, looking startled. "What are you doing here at this hour? I thought you had dinner with your siblings?"
"I did. But it ended with James having another episode, so I had to bring him here." He didn't realise until he saw her questioning face that he hadn't explained what the situation was with James.
"He has some… issues. Ever since he was captured by the Death Eaters all those years ago, there are times when his mind goes blank, or he gets all dark and moody." He told the story without much detail, but Sophia didn't look horrified. She looked sympathetic.
"That must be so awful for all of you. For him most of all, of course, but also the rest of you."
"Yes, it is. For a while, it looked like he wouldn't be able to hold down a job at all. Not that we really need to work, but…"
"But it's a way to feel like you're doing something of value," Sophia finished for him. "I know."
They both sat in silence for a minute, before Sophia hesitantly asked a question.
"What was it like for you? I mean, I read the excerpt from Scorpius' trial, but that didn't say it all. How were you able to pretend that you enjoyed it?"
"It wasn't easy. The worst part was that we had to do it in front of Rose, and we hadn't been able to warn her of the plan. It took her quite some time to trust us again. Having her look at me like I was a monster was probably the worst part."
Albus found that he told Sophia more about that dark part of his past than he had done to anyone else outside of the people directly involved. It was also a good way to know just how many details of what they had been through the regular magical society knew. One detail in particular shocked her.
"You say that they marked you as one of them? Does that mean…" Sophia seemed to hesitate again. Albus sighed and rolled up his sleeve. She needed to see this sooner or later, if they were to move forward. The Dark Mark was still visible on his arm, which was one of the reasons he usually wore long sleeves. Sophia gasped. Even though her family was mostly Muggles, she knew what that symbol meant. It was impossible to be a witch in Britain and not know that.
"I can sometimes cover it up with an illusion," Albus said. "But it won't last for very long. And it's impossible to remove. Scorpius and I have tried."
"Does it hurt?"
"No. At first, some of them tried to press the marks to punish us, but when they were all moved to Norway, that changed. It hasn't hurt in years." Albus hadn't even told his family about that. Neither of them talked about those events, if they could help it. That was the way in their family. Forgive and forget.
He spent several hours talking with Sophia about that, but also about other things, like he had done every day when he visited. Neither of them wanted to talk about the future while she was still recovering.
"I'll probably be discharged tomorrow, like I mentioned earlier." Sophia said as Albus started to leave.
"That would be great. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I will greet my computer with great joy," Sophia said with a laugh. "I have my phone here, but it's not the same. I miss my main rig."
Albus laughed. "You don't mind the hospital beds, but miss technology?"
"My own bed will be nice too. But yes, I can't remember the last time I went this long without my computer. It was probably when I was away at Hogwarts. And then I was prepared for it."
Albus had to laugh again. "If I can get time off work, I'll come get you. Good night."
Sophia smiled as Albus closed the door. He had in fact already cleared it with his father that he could take the afternoon off. He had a lot of overtime accumulated after the hunt for the Knocker, so it wasn't a problem.
***
Sophia had never been more pleased to see the Base. She still hadn't been cleared to be allowed to work, so she had to wait another three days before the Ministry would allow her to get back to it. She decided to spend that time catching up on what she might have missed while she was away. She went straight to her computer and almost cried as she heard the familiar sounds of the computer booting up.
"Wow, you weren't kidding, you really have missed it," a voice said behind her. She spun around and saw Albus sitting on her couch. Had he been there all along?
"I was going to surprise you at the hospital, but you were discharged even earlier than I anticipated. I suspected you would come here at some point, so I didn't see the point in texting you."
Sophia blushed. She hadn't thought he would actually get time off work just to come and get her. Taken off guard, she found she had nothing to say either. Why did her head go completely blank when he caught her off guard? No one else was able to do that to her!
"Did the Healers say anything about going back to work?" Albus asked. Finally, something she could answer!
"They said I had to wait at least three more days. And then only deskwork."
Albus had to laugh at the pouty expression she made as she said that.
"Well, I presume you will have a lot of paperwork waiting for you."
"Paperwork?"
"Oh yes. That is perhaps the main difference between being an employee and an independent contractor. Everything needs to be documented. Hermione loves the archive and is very passionate about leaving thorough records for the next generation."
Sophia sighed. Maybe returning to work wouldn't be as fun as she imagined. She hoped she would be able to fill out some of it on the computer. She typed a lot faster than she wrote by hand.
"Don't worry, you'll get through it in a day or two," Albus said. That didn't really make her feel better, but she couldn't help but smile. It really had meant a lot to her, that he had been there for her at the hospital.
"I forgot to ask, what did your aunt say after I left?"
"I don't think she realised who you are. She might have been distracted because she figured out that I was a member of the Order of the Hidden Dragon. Apparently, our arrest and release were a topic in the Daily Prophet."
"Huh, I didn't know that. I haven't really had time to read the news much lately. I'll have to dig up the story. I'm sorry it came to that; I know you guys value your privacy."
"I don't think this affected it that much; there were no names mentioned, at least Aunt Carrie didn't know I was a member. So, all that's really happened is that people now know that our group exists."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Mary.
"I thought I heard your voice. I'm glad to see you're out of the hospital at last."
Sophia smiled as she hugged her friend. Mary really had been a true friend through all of this. Only when they let go of each other did Mary notice Albus.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you. Did I interrupt something?" Her smile said more than her words. Did everyone think they were a couple? Sophia wished she knew if they were.
"Not at all," Albus said. "We were just talking. Did you know that there was an article about the Order in the Daily Prophet?"
"Of course. We all talked about it, but you were busy Apparating all over Europe at the time. It isn't really a big deal though, none of our names are mentioned and neither is our location."
"Let me guess, McLaggen is the most upset about it?"
"Definitely. And he's even more upset that the rest of us aren't that bothered by it. Even Fred, who knows the most about our traditions, says that this ended up being a good thing. At least the Ministry knows who we are now, if our name should pop up again. But none of us wants to be more involved than we already are or accept Ministry oversight."
"I don't think anyone at the Ministry would dare to suggest that anyway." Albus said. "It was a complete overreaction on their part, and they know it."
"Anyway, it's about time for lunch, are you joining us? Or would you prefer to be alone together?" Mary definitely had her mind in the gutter with that suggestion! Sophia wanted to strangle her.
Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one. Everyone was happy when they saw her at lunch and expressed happiness that she had recovered. But eventually, all of them asked about Albus and her. They didn't even sit on the same table, why did everyone ask about them? She saw that Albus was deflecting the same sort of questions, and neither of them looked at the other for long. They really needed to talk. But somewhere they couldn't be overheard, either by family or friends.