you are what you love, not who loves you [dusti]

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Albus was in the hospital wing. Harry had been sitting vigil ever since he had brought his son there, not necessarily sitting right at his son's bedside, but always there. Right now, he was waiting just outside the door, watching who came and who went with an eagle eye, wondering who was there for his son and who was there for one of the other students occupying the hospital wing beds. It was surprisingly difficult to tell, since he didn't recognize most of the children who were flitting in and out. That was to be expected, since he didn't work at Hogwarts and the only people he'd have reason to interact with otherwise were Lily and Albus's friends (and, of course, his nieces and nephews), but it was still a disconcerting experience. He probably got more than a few strange looks, since it wasn't exactly typical for Harry Potter to be sitting on the floor outside the entrance to the hospital wing at Hogwarts, but he didn't care. He just wanted his son to be safe.

@dusti

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Albus was in the Hospital Wing again. AGAIN. Should she be surprise? No. Was she? Extremely. Worried? Without a doubt. No one had told her why he was there, or what he had done, and her mind had obviously jumped to the worst possible conclusions. With his luck though, it wasn't exactly that far fetched to assume he was seriously hurt. She'd been extremely tempted to skip her class to come see him, but she knew she was already on thin ice with her head of house. While she rarely cared what others, especially adults, thought of her, she thought she should at least try to be a little nicer, seeing as she was friends with Professor Malfoy's son. That and Professor Malfoy had done the girl a huge favor by not informing her parents about catching her and Albus together like she'd told Al's parents. Either way, as soon as class ended, she was heading towards the Hospital Wing as fast as possible.

Dusti came to a screeching halt when she spotted Harry Potter sitting just outside the entrance. Al's dad. Dusti recognized him on site, despite never having a conversation with the man. She'd mastered the art of avoiding Al's parents. Mostly because she knew both of her parents despised Al's parents with a passion, and she didn't want them to find out about her relationship with the Potter boy. Heaven only knew what they might do. But he was so strategically located that there was literally no way around him. So, stuffing her hands deep into her pockets, she forced herself to keep walking towards the Hospital Wing... and him. "They could probably bring you out a chair or something...." She muttered, forcing herself to at least acknowledge the father of her boyfriend when she was close enough.

HARRY JAMES POTTER

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Harry looked up when he heard someone's footfalls approaching. He heard her quite a ways away, being trained to look out for the kind of thing. Plus, he was still getting over his recent bout of paranoia, so he was even more aware than usual. He saw a blonde girl, one he'd never actually spoken to but he instantly knew how she was.

Dusti Flint.

It was odd to see her, especially after being informed of what her and his son were caught doing not that long ago. Teenagers. What can you do with them? Still, he was glad she was coming to see Albus. She spoke first, and he waved off her comment. "no," he said, "I can't sit still. Come on, I think he's sleeping," he stepped inside the door, stepping aside to allow her to enter first.

@dusti
(hi 0.0 suzie here)

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Dusti personally didn't know how much Mr. Potter knew about her and Albus. She didn't know what Albus had told his parents. Didn't know if Professor Malfoy had spoken to him, or what she might have told him. What Mr. Potter knew about her family. Nothing. But when he looked at her, she knew immediately that he knew who she was.

Immediately she froze though, refusing to take another step as she stared at her boyfriend's father, waiting for his reaction. Unsure what reaction it might be. Good or bad. But then he was moving to the door and telling her to come on. There was a moment where she just stood there and her eyes narrowed warily. Not because she didn't like or trust 'Harry Potter', but because she didn't like or trust anyone. It was natural instinct. "I can come back later, if it's family only right now..." She muttered quietly, hands still in her pockets and still not moving from her spot.

HARRY JAMES POTTER

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Harry was having a lot of fun encounters with his sons girlfriend this month apparently. Well, fun wasn't the right word. Neither was a lot. Still, he had talked to Natalia for the first time one on one earlier this month and now he was standing here with Dusti. He felt uncomfortable, solely because of the fact that this girl was caught by Draco Malfoys wife having sex with his son in a closet. That was a fine owl to get. Good times.

She didn't go inside when he opened the door, but instead narrowed her eyes and said she could come back later if it was only family. "It isn't," he said quickly. Her hands were in her pockets, her eyes distant, her shoulders hunched. Harry recognized that. He knew what kind of the girl this was. Or at least, what her life was like, at least at home. "I hope he doesn't worry you too much," he started, "Al, I mean. He tends to get into a lot of trouble, doesn't he?"

@dusti

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Dusti didn't move immediately after Mr. Potter explained that it wasn't family only right now. She should have, but she was still obviously wary. Especially by how quickly he'd responded. After a handful of silent moments her feet finally moved, carrying her through the door he was holding open. Of course, she made sure to give him a wide berth as she slipped inside. She could already spot the bed Albus was occupying, because it was the only one with the curtains drawn shut. Like her, he liked his privacy. Like his father had suggested, she assumed he was asleep.

The girl stopped when Mr. Potter spoke again. Of course Albus worried her. He'd had the absolute worst luck when it came to injuries in the past year. Well, to be honest, half of them had been his own fault... "Sometimes. I'm just... I'm glad he's okay now." She found herself answering, and even surprised herself with how honest the answer had been. It definitely didn't help that some of the trouble he did get into was because of her. But at least he wasn't always talking back, so the school trouble was at a minimum.

HARRY JAMES POTTER

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She didn't move yet, but he was willing to wait. He didn't want to rush her, and knew that in that moment that she wasn't the type who should be. Finally, she moved, and she stepped through the door. He waited until she was up ahead a few paces before letting go of the door and following. He made sure to stay diagonally behind her, so he was in easy peripheral vision if she wanted to see him. She stopped, though, when he spoke of Al. He nodded at her words, "me too," he said softly. Then, he gestured back toward the bed up ahead, "you can take a look, if you want. The injuries are going to heal but it does look pretty bad," he warned.

@dusti

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Dusti inhaled through her nose, and then out through her mouth, taking a deep breath as Albus' father explained that he would heal.That it looked bad. How bad could it be? She hadn't been given to many details about what had happened. Just that he was there. But his warning only validated that she should be concerned. Extremely concerned.

Turning away from Mr. Potter, she moved quickly to the bed Albus was occupying and pulled the curtain back. She drew a sharp breath as her blood ran ice cold and her face paled. He was definitely asleep, thank god. At least he wouldn't have to see her reaction to his injuries. "What happened..?" She whispered as she ripped her eyes away from her boyfriend's broken body and turned to his father.

HARRY JAMES POTTER

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She moved to Al's side and Harry let her go, hanging back as to not disturb. Then, she drew that sharp breath upon seeing his son and Harry wanted to move to her side, but he didn't. He knew better than to surprise her like that. She asked what happened in a whisper, turning back to look at him. He took a few steps forward, til he was standing in front of the bed beside Albus's, still not too close to her. "Gytrash attack," he explained, "it was rather sudden... we were out late and," fighting, they were fighting. As they often were, which Harry was hoping to remedy. "We were out and I wasn't careful," he sighed, stepping up toward his sons bed now, hand on the other side of the curtain that she wasn't standing close to, "my fault," he finished.

@dusti

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Gytrash. The ghost dogs in the forest. How..? She'd never seen them outside the wood, hell, she'd never even seen one that close to begin with. She turned back to look down at her slumbering boyfriend, and felt her eyes sting just a little. Harry was starting to explain what happened, but she was only half listening. Until he said it was his fault. Her eyes immediately shot up, staring intensely at Al's father. It was almost as if she was trying to decide if it really had been his fault or not. After a few moments of that intense staring she looked way, her gaze finally softening. "How long will it take for him to heal?" She manged to asked. It wasn't his fault, she decided. Even though he and Albus didn't get along, she'd always known he was different from her parents. He actually loved his son and cared about his well being.

HARRY JAMES POTTER

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Her eyes were incredibly intense when she looked up at him, and he caught his breath a little at her fixed gaze. She was judging him, taking him in, seeing if she could trust him. He stood his ground, just being himself, that was the best he could be. Then, she looked away again, her eyes not so aggressive. "I would say only a day or two. It's not necessarily a magical injury, but they are magical creatures so it may take more time," he explained. His eyes found Albus again and he sighed, "I don't think he'll wake up for a while though, several hours..." he stepped back just a little more, "maybe some tea would do us good," he offered.

@dusti

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A day or two. That wasn't bad. Still... Albus' luck lately with injuries... it was enough to give her a heart attack. Why did everything have to keep happening to him? At least he didn't look like he was in any pain now. That was a relief. She hates seeing people she cared about hurting. Hates it more than anything else, and it made her feel helpless knowing she couldn't do anything about it. Finally she let out a slow breath, as if to try to force herself to stop overreacting, and nodded. She'd be content with Mr. Potter's answer for now. "That's good..."

Now was the awkward part. Should she leave? Give Albus' father some time alone with him? Harry was the first to break the small silence and she slowly looked back at him, her eyes just a touch wider with slight surprise. She'd heard that word. Us. As in both of them. Dusti didn't move immediately, just silently stared in surprise. At last though she... nodded. She didn't know why she did it. "As long as we don't have to go to the kitchens..." she answers softly. No, she would not go down there. Especially not with another person.

HARRY JAMES POTTER

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She was quite and calm, and she said that she didn't want to go down to the kitchens, which made sense to him. She didn't want to go down there with someone she barely knew, especially someone so much older then she. "I have an idea. I'll fetch it, and then I'll leave you two be for a while," he offered. "Just give me a moment," he left, giving her time to contemplate and catch her breath. He went and got the tea, brought it back, and offered her some before bowing out. Before he was completely out the door, though, he turned to face her. "Glad he's got someone around here to care for him. Thank you for that, Dusti," he said softly before leaving her be. He knew for certain that this relationship was going to take time...

@dusti
(the end)