"Expelliarmus!"

Scorpius felt his own wand yank from his hand. He watched with vague contentment as it fell onto the tile and skittered away. That was okay. Everything was okay. He waited for what to do next.

"What the—!" Albus cried.

"He's been Imperiused, oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should've come sooner, they tried it on me and I was going to come straight here to tell Evvie and Nora but I was upset and—"

"Iset, okay, all right—slow down! Who tried to Imperius you? How did you get away? How do we get Scorpius back to normal?"

"I didn't get away, he never managed to do; nobody's been able to Imperius me since I was seven, we have to find—"

Get your wand. Try again.

Scorpius immediately began to walk forwards. Iset quickly leaned over and snatched up his wand. She pointed hers at Scorpius afterwards. Her hand was shaking.

"Don't," she told him.

"My dad. Iset, let's get my dad!" Albus said urgently. "He'll know what to do!"

"Okay," she said, but she wasn't really paying attention to Albus now. She was walking around the edges of the hall.

Stop her. Stop her!!

For a moment, Scorpius thought: Why?

"I know who it was," Iset told Albus suddenly. "He tried...but he didn't know...and I heard his voice in my head. I recognized it."

Now! Crucio them both!

But Scorpius's heart gained weight again, and he thought, with more uncomfortable insistence: Why?

"So Avery's around here somewhere, it's just a matter of finding him," Iset continued.

At that, Scorpius felt a strange tug inside his skull, and a moment later, he was left shaking in place, his mind feeling oddly vacant and bruised. He gulped in air. He shut his eyes. He could feel the cool air against his neck, the texture of his clothing, the floor beneath his feet. He was back—but he was—he'd been—

"Albus," he said, his voice quivering.

"Scorpius? Are you okay? Are you...Iset, how do I know if he's himself again?" Albus asked.

Scorpius wanted to run to him—he could tell Albus wanted to run to him, too—but he didn't want to frighten him. Albus was clearly still uncertain.

"Avery must've run off. I thought he would when I said his name...we have to get a professor or somebody before he gets too far or tries it again—"

"ISET!" Albus yelled, clearly frustrated. "How do I make sure he's okay?!" Iset jumped. She quickly walked over to Scorpius, but judging by her urgent, jerky steps, Scorpius got the feeling she was only doing it so Albus wouldn't yell again; she didn't look convinced that it was necessarily safe. And maybe it wasn't. How did he know that voice was gone entirely? What if it came back, right as Iset walked up? What if it told him to reach out and take her throat into his hands?

He took a step back from her, his eyes wide.

"Scorpius?" she asked hesitantly.

Scorpius was still shivering. "I want my dad."

"Scorpius, it's okay," reassured Iset, but Scorpius wasn't reassured.

"No—it's not—I could—I don't know what to do," Scorpius said.

"Think of something you want to do and then do it," she urged. He didn't move. "Go on. If you can do it without hearing that voice, you're okay, it's over."

So Scorpius thought: I want to be beside Albus.

He waited, quivering and sweat-soaked, but he didn't hear that odd voice. And when he took a step forward, there was no resistance.

"It's okay," he realized, and then he took a larger step and met Albus halfway. He fell into Albus's open arms and gripped his waist tightly. Albus's returning hold was tight and protective, to the point that Scorpius felt both reassured and a bit suffocated.

"We need our dads," Albus said. His voice had taken on a tone that Scorpius had hardly ever heard—fierce, yes, but in an almost intimidating way. An angry way. A way that abruptly made Scorpius certain that Albus could be somebody to fear. "We don't give them another chance. Straight to Draco, his room is closest."

Scorpius couldn't bear to move from Albus's touch. He stayed close to his side, their arms looped around each other's waists. Albus's hand was so tight around his side that it was pinching. He was still shivering.

He had never known—not really. He'd been vaguely aware of the horrors of the Imperius curse as they learned about it, but he'd never thought deeply enough about it to realize the full implications. But having now felt both the Cruciatus and this—he would've chosen the Cruciatus time after time. There was nothing more painful or frightening than the realization that something out there could make him hurt Albus.