Bruised but not Broken [Albus]

[Deleted]

It was the morning after the attack. 

The night before had been a nightmare. Chaos. Screaming. Fighting. And.... death. Dusti had stayed out of it, to no one's surprise. She found her sister, and they'd bunkered down in their dormitory with a few of their yearmates, and stayed there until a Professor appeared, trying to locate the sixth year girls. Several students had been kidnapped, and the school was doing a headcount, to see who was simply hiding, and who had actually been taken. Classes, obviously, had been cancelled today. The school was in ruins, and several parents had already come to find their children, make sure they were safe, and in a few cases take them home. Dusti had yet to hear if her parents would come. She hoped and prayed they didn't... Let them stay away. Far away. 

Unable to stay in the overcrowded Slytherin common rooms, Dusti headed for her only real sanctuary, the library. It was... well, it had seen better days. Several of the giant bookshelves had fallen or collapsed in the chaos, a few set on fire though they'd long since been extinguished. Dusti worked her way through the mess, her gaze downward as she searched for anything salvageable. The front of the library had taken the most damage, purely because students had been scrambling to escape and the intruders were waiting. The back, towards the Restricted section was untouched. 

Stopping, she crouched down, shifting through the rubble until she pulled out a book. Though singed, it was still intact. And so, her sorting began.

Dusti was there an hour, a small pile of rescued books growing larger with each new find. A few aurors had approached her in the time, to see if she was alright, or needed assistance. One dirty look and they backed off, deciding to leave the girl alone. Finally though, one of the Professors appeared, a grim look on their face.

"Miss Flint?" He started, continuing before she could stop him. "It's about your brother. Raleigh. He's still unaccounted for. We're sorry but... He was taken. We've already notified your parents-" obviously he had more to say, but the look Dusti gave him said she didn't want to hear anymore. Still she didn't speak, instead she just turned away, going back to her digging. After a few moments, he left, leaving Dusti alone once again. Only then did she freeze, the book she'd been holding slowly slipping from her fingers as she stared at them. Raleigh had been taken?

@al

[Deleted]

@dusti

albus heard the teacher. he had been making over to dusti when he had heard the words come out of his mouth and he knew. so many seventh years had been taken. a few lives had been lost the night before including ethans. his throat clenched at the thought. him and his stupid idea of hiding ethan away. if it hadn't of happened last night might not have been a thought on the enemy's mind. he ran his hand through his hair as he watched the teacher leave and watched the book fall from her hands. he knew how she felt. she'd told him about how her and raleigh didn't get along. in a way it reminded him of himself and james. they didn't get along most of the time, didn't talk all that often and really only spent time together when something was wrong. though he and james love each other deep down it was al that did most of the pulling away where as with raleigh and dusti, both of them pulled away and there was no one left in the middle. he moved to her, his hand leaving the handle of his crutches to touch her shoulder as he stood behind her. "he'll be fine dusti" he said simply knowing she would probably act like she didn't care but he knew. he knew different because he knew her. he was dead tired and hurting in places he couldn't imagine but he had wanted to find dusti when he'd found out her brother was missing. she was his closest friend other than scorp and he knew she needed someone.

[Deleted]

Dusti really didn't have the best relationship with her elder bother. But, was it that surprising? Considering their childhood. But at the same time, he was still her brother. And he understood her in a way few could, because they'd survived the same childhood. Endured the same physical and emotional pains. No matter how much they avoided each other she didn't hate him. She couldn't.

But, there was one other person that understood her. Someone no one expected. Albus Potter. Their friendship and deep connection shocked most, but those that knew them both weren't surprised. They were so similar. And, on a few occasions, hadn't even needed to speak to understand what the other was thinking.

Dusti heard him coming. The crutches made it hard to sneak. So she didn't freeze when she felt his hand on her shoulder. The girl didn't like being sneaked up on, for obvious reasons. "I'm not worried." She slowly, carefully said, her voice unusually calm given the situation. It was a lie, obviously. Silently she reminded herself that Raleigh wasn't a weakling. He was tough as nails. He'd be fine...... Slowly she picked up the book that had slipped through her fingers, setting it in the stack she'd created before rising from her crouch and turning to her friend. "You look terrible." She said with same even tone. It wasn't exactly the response you'd expect to hear considering last nights events, but it was Dusti's own way of voicing she was glad Albus was safe.... And relatively fine.

@al

[Deleted]

@dusti

"I'm not worried." he knew different because he knew her. from day one they had been friends. it hadn't taken long for them both to figure out that they were the same and that somehow they would each play an important part in the others future. how? he didn't know quite yet but he was sure that dusti would be one of those few people that followed him through life, that he would care about no matter what she did or what he said or no matter how detattched they tried to be. that's who she was to him. she meant a lot, not that he'd tell her in as many words. but she knew. "course not." he said as he managed a light smile for her.

"You look terrible." he raised a brow and rolled his eyes slightly at her. he felt terrible. his body ached, his head hurt and so did his guilt. this whole thing had come about because he had decided to try and clear his name on blowing up the tower by hiding ethan and that had pissed off the people who had wanted him to keep quiet. or so he figured anyway. people had died and been taken and now they were suffering more than he was so he didn't think it best to wallow on it. "thanks for the vote of confidence" he said as he used his crutches to make his way to one of the chairs that was still standing upright. his legs still weak, had decided to let him know the walk from the hospital wing had been enough for now as he moved to sit down. "are river and your sister okay?"

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Only the faintest of smiles responded to Albus'. She wasn't a big smiler, which he knew. Heck, she wasn't big on emotions in general. And when she did show something, most of the time she was snapping at someone to back off. She was a little more open with Albus though, but even then... He knew there were things she kept to herself. For example, she'd shared very little of her childhood and family with him. During the summers she'd never invited him to the Flint home. But she was positive he suspected. That over the years he'd started to piece the puzzle together. He'd never pushed her for answers though, and she'd never openly admit how grateful she was for that.

The Potter family, as a whole, had had an extremely hard year. Dusti, being close to Albus, knew most of what was going on. Albus had had the hardest time recently though, and she'd done her best to try and help. To support him in whatever ways she could. She'd even braved the Hospital Wing for him after the explosion, when it was still incredibly crowded. While to most that didn't seem like a big deal, but Albus knew how... uncomfortable crowds made her. It was why she was here now, she couldn't deal with how crowded the Slytherin common room was at the moment.

"Brutal honesty is a vote of confidence." She responded, as she picked up the stack of books she'd unearthed. It didn't seem like to much, but at least it was something. At least she was staying busy, rather then dwelling on last night's events like everyone else. At the mention of her siblings, she nodded. "She was with me all last night. And since they didn't say River was missing... He's fine." Like Raleigh, her relationship with the youngest Flint boy was... difficult. She was sure River thought she hated him. She didn't. She just... Every time he was around she remembered that searing pain. Dusti let out a sigh as she set the books down out of the way, so they wouldn't be mistaken as part of the rubble. "What about James and Lily?" She asked, walking back to sit on the ground a few feet from him, her back against one of the fallen bookshelves. "Your dad was here last night too... Wasn't he?" She remembered seeing him. She'd been considering going up to visit Albus when the Potter Patriarch, Harry Potter, had passed her in the hall. She'd changed her mind very quickly, deciding to visit in the morning. Obviously that plan had changed as well...

@al

[Deleted]

@dusti

"Brutal honesty is a vote of confidence." as he sat on the chair he chuckled just a little and shook his head slightly. okay so she had almost half a point. he rubbed his fingers into his eyes for a moment while she picked up some of the books that had been knocked off and somehow burnt in the horror of last night. he leaned his shoulder on the book case that was next to him, rested the side of his head against it aswell as they continued their conversation. "She was with me all last night. And since they didn't say River was missing... He's fine." he nodded a little. it still must have been hard for her to hear that raleigh had been taken. they didn't have the best relationship with each other but he was still her brother. "that's good. that they're safe" he elaborated, so he didn't come across as saying it was good that raleigh was gone. it wasn't and albus had no beef with the guy. "What about James and Lily? he nodded a little as he shifted slightly. "they're fine. both of them" he said, glad about that. he'd been worried about them. and andy. andy too. he'd worried about whether she was safe or hurt or been taken but he'd found her this morning and she had been fine. shaken up but alive. "Your dad was here last night too... Wasn't he?" he nodded again and reached too rub his shoulder lightly. "yeah he came. he brought diesel and dexter to see me" he said with a light smile. the dogs had been taken home before everything had happened so he knew there was no way they'd been caught up in the carnage.

[Deleted]

Diesel and Dexter. Those were Albus' dogs. She knew them by name, but had never been around the dogs personally. To be honest, she'd never really been around any of his family, despite them being such close friends. She'd never got to the Potter home during the summer breaks, or met his parents. His siblings she avoided as well, which wasn't hard seeing as they were in other years and houses. His siblings was simply due to personality clashes, and his parents? Well... She was a Flint, neither of her parents liked the Potters. At all. She didn't know how they would react if they found out about her friendship with Albus... She did know that she felt a sinking feeling of dread in her stomach at the thought though. She always passed it off as her family having extensive plans during the summer and so she just never had time, but he knew she was lying.... "That's good to hear." She responded as she sat there, slowly wrapping an arm around one of her knees.

She did feel a bit bad for him, that he'd come to find her in such a hard to reach place with his crutches. It wouldn't have been easy, and it had to have hurt. 'Should you be moving around this much?" She finally asked, sounding a little more concerned then earlier. She wouldn't admit it, but when the school was under attack, she'd thought of him. Of if he was safe. She refused to tell him that though...

@al

[Deleted]

@dusti

'Should you be moving around this much?" he rolled his eyes a little toward her as she said that and shook his head. he didn't really care that he hurt right now. he was alive and he was at the school and he wasn't dead. or kidnapped. that was all that mattered right? a bit of pain was nothing. "doesn't matter dust" he said lightly, leaning his arm through the handle of his crutch he leaned forward on it lightly and he watched her. "do your parents know about raleigh?" he asked her, he didn't know a whole lot about her parents, just that she didn't like talking about them and she closed up whenever they were mentioned. he knew she wasn't friendly with river and her and raleigh passed each other in the halls without a glance so al had never been able to work anything out from those two. he ran his hand through his hair lightly and rested his forehead against the cold metal of the crutch. "lets go somewhere not destroyed .. yeah?"

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Of course he shook his head. Why did she even think he’d be allowed to move around this much? Out of all those caught in the tower, he’d been hurt the worse, and his recovery had been far from easy. Dusti tried not to look concerned, even though she was. Due to her childhood, the girl resented people around her being hurt. She’d tried to protect River growing up, until it’d gone terribly wrong for her. And even to this day she covered for her sister, all so her twin didn’t have to endure their parents abuse. Having the same face made it easy to trick them. This was different though. Albus was her friend. How could she protect him?

And then her parents were brought up. Her lips became a thin line, her expression dark. ”Yes.” She answered. She managed to hide the dread in her voice. The eldest Flint child, her father’s heir, was missing. Her parents wouldn’t be happy. She knew they’d be arriving soon. Sometime today, for answers. They’d want to know why Dusti let them take Raleigh. Raleigh was more important than her. Dusti would have to ensure Albus was safely back in the Hospital Wing when her parents came. She didn’t want him to see what sort of monsters her parents were.

The subject change was a relief, and she barely managed to hold back a relieved sigh, instead simply nodding. ”Not the common room. It’s chaos.” She muttered as she rolled back to her feet.

@al

[Deleted]

@dusti

”Not the common room. It’s chaos.” he figured it would be. what with everything that had happened all the common rooms would be in total chaos. people were missing from each house and no matter how distant you were with the person that had gone missing it was still hard to stomach. he felt for their families though, like dusti before him. he knew she was going to tear herself up about raleigh, she might not even be able to admit it to herself but he knew. knew her. he nodded a little and moved to stand up as she did, putting his weight on his crutches and biting back a wince. "outside?" he asked. it was a nice day out there and he didn't want to be cooped up inside any longer. there was no reason to stay indoors. the school had been cleared and he doubted there was much mess on the outside since everything had happened inside. "it'll be nice to see the sun" he said mildly as he started to make his way from the door, his green eyes moving to look at dusti as he picked his way over the rubble and books that were still out of place.

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Dusti hated crowds. With a passion. It meant people were in her bubble, her little safe zone of personal space. To close for comfort. The Great Hall during meals was always an effort, and she usually sat at the end so she could make a quick escape when she was finished. Albus knew this, so she wasn't surprised that he didn't question her statement about the Common Room. While the space could comfortably hold all the members of their house, it was still overcrowded for her taste. And to make it worse, everyone was... well mourning or trying to comfort each other. She couldn't stand it. And now that she knew Raleigh was missing? She was far less likely to return any time soon. Because she knew her housemates would try to comfort her if she reappeared. No, the only presence she would tolerate right now would be her sister's, and Albus'.

She nodded as he suggested they go outside. Outside, good idea. Part of the grounds had been burned last night, but not all. As she saw that wince though she took a single step toward him, as if to do.... she didn't know. What could she do right now? Her lips pursed together slightly, annoyed that she couldn't stop him from being in pain. Ever since the tower explosion she'd been beating herself up about Albus getting hurt. That she hadn't been there to protect him and Scorpius. If there was one thing the girl truly couldn't stand, it was people getting hurt. Being unable to protect them. She's always been like that, ever since she was a child. And while it had originally only been towards her siblings (thought primarily focused towards her twin), that protectiveness had grown to include the two Slytherin boys. Well, if she couldn't take away his pain like she wanted, she could at least make his path a little easier.

Pulling out her wand, she gave it a wave at the rumble Albus was trying to work his way through. It shifted, clearing the way in front of him. "At least try and be a little more careful." She stated as she pocketed the wand and fell into step beside him. Her tone was her usual non caring and cool, but there was a hint of concern still in her eyes.

"Have you seen Scorpius today?" she asked, trying to change the subject from his recovering injuries as they walked. "He looks ridiculous." She added. She'd only seen him from a distance, but he'd had the most ridiculous look on his face. She didn't know what had happened to him last night, but what would make him go positively loopy?

@al

[Deleted]

@dusti

"At least try and be a little more careful." he chuckled as he watched her clear the rubble away from before his feet. he shook his head slightly and glanced to her. he could see it there. in her eyes as he caught a glimpse of them for a second. she was worried about him. oh of course her face was her usual cool and calm demeanor but he could see past that. "careful dusti .. people might start to think you care about me" he said with a teasing tone in his voice as he used the crutches to exit from the library with her.

"Have you seen Scorpius today?" "He looks ridiculous." al shook his head a little. he hadn't been to see his friend yet, hadn't had the chance but he was on the list of people al wanted to catch up with today. "i haven't seen him .. but i'm going to try if his parents don't take him home" he said as he chewed his lip. he knew his parents would never pull him from the school because there was danger. they did't give into fear or threats which to albus it didn't make sense but hey .. to each their own. it wasn't like he would have gone home anyway but he knew some parents were pulling their kids out now that word had spread and the kidnapping had happened. "why does he look ridiculous?"

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Dusti frowned as Albus' words, accusing her of caring. Yes, she did care about him. More then she cared about most people. More then she'd actually admit, to be honest. But she was a very distant and cold person. And she kept that distance for a reason. For one? Her father would be furious if he found out about their friendship. More furious then she'd probably ever seen him. While few things terrified her (besides kitchens) just imagining her father in that moment almost made her shudder. "Maybe, but no one's here to see it. That and you're getting down the stairs on your own." She cooly teased back, unable to hide the small smirk on her lips.

"His mother's a teacher. They won't pull him out." She stated confidently. Dusti was sure, the Malfoy's wouldn't take Scorpius out. With his mother here, it was the safest place for him. Would her parents try to take her and her siblings out of school? She wouldn't put it past them, and the idea brought back that slight frown. No, she wouldn't worry about that right now. "You know that look he'd always get everytime him and Ondina started dating again? It was like that. Only worse." She was sure they weren't back together. She shared a dorm with Ondina. Ondina would have been bragging about them being back together. There'd been no bragging. In fact, Ondina had been extremely scarce as of late... What was she up to?

@al

[Deleted]

@dusti

"Maybe, but no one's here to see it. That and you're getting down the stairs on your own." he had to bite back a small laugh. he often found himself having to do that while he was around dusti. she brought something out in him, a willingness to smile which wasn't something that he felt often unless he was with andy or back int he day liv. "stairs are no problem" he said as he moved to carefully work his way down them, placing his crutches in a position that meant he wouldn't go ass over head slipping on some piece of debris. "His mother's a teacher. They won't pull him out." al shook his head a little and looked at her. he wasn't so sure. his mom was a teacher sure but his dad wasn't. "yeah but his dad might want him home with him .. you know what draco is like" he said as he moved down the path carefully.

"You know that look he'd always get everytime him and Ondina started dating again? It was like that. Only worse." he frowned. he couldn't help it. the mention of his cousins name made his blood boil and he shook his head. there was no way scorp would go back there again, would he? no. it wasn't posssible. but he had left al and rose to help ondina. he knew he shouldn't feel bitter about that but as petty as it sounded it always felt like people treated ondina different than others, took more care of her which was something she didn't really need. she played on it he was sure and a lot of the time she seemed to bring her issues on herself. well in al's mind anyway. "worse?" he asked her, curious how worse could be. he started to wonder as they walked though .. headed down to the lake.

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Dusti slowly down even more when they reached the stairs, never being more then a step ahead or behind him. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, as if to make sure he didn't trip on the steps. She wouldn't help him though. Albus was to proud to ask for help, and she to proud to offer. Only if she saw him really struggling would she step in, and there would be no asking at that point. "He wouldn't leave Professor Malfoy alone." was her response. The Professor had been acting a bit... strange lately. She didn't know why and hadn't bothered asking. Scorpius hadn't mentioned anything either so she brushed it off as just nerves. Everyone was on edge.

Dusti knew Albus and Ondina didn't get along. She heard both sides of it. Being friends with Albus, obviously she heard his story. Being dorm mates with the girl meant she overheard a lot. Personally Dusti didn't get along with Ondina either. Not like Scorpius. Somehow the guy had always seen something in her that neither Albus or Dusti could see.

They were at the bottom of the stairs now and heading out the doors that led to the outside. "Just... worse." She didn't know how else to put it. So she stopped talking. She did that a lot, and Albus would be used to it. The silence was comfortable though. They didn't always need to talk, these two. and soon they'd found a bench near the lake...

@al

(Le end!)