Harry's P.O.V

          I woke up rather early so I went downstairs and got myself a cup of coffee. The sun was just coming up and I smiled to myself. When Albus went missing, I was either up all night, restless, or I would wake up as early as I did now. I wasn't allowed to work because everyone around was on his case and in case I did something drastic, my boss had to put me on leave. I didn't want to be home, I wanted to be out looking for my son so that's what I did. I drove around to his favorite places and to the local parks thinking he was hiding.

            James had come to me after a few weeks of his disappearance all upset. He told me he scared that Albus had runaway because of something he told him. That's when he disclosed to me that Albus was gay. I was shocked to say the least and to be honest, a little uncomfortable. I told Ginny who told me she'd accept our son anyway he is if that means he'd be back home safe. After that, I didn't care because she was right. I only wanted him home.

            "Harry!" A voice shrieked causing me to jump and drop my coffee.

            "Gin?!" I yelled ignoring the mess and running to go upstairs.

            "He's gone again! Albus is gone!" She shouted and my heart plummeted. I ran into his room and sure enough, the bed was vacant.

            "Did you check under the bed?" I asked getting on the floor.

            "I checked the whole top floor!" She shrieked.

            "Well he couldn't have gotten far." I muttered stupidly. "There's no sign of forced entry, his bed looks like he just left it, it-"

            "Stop being a detective and help me look for our son!" She shouted and I cursed under my breath. Just as I was gonna sprint out of the room, a call from next door stopped me.

            "He's over here." The voice said groggily. We both whipped around and Scorpius was at his window.

            "Scorpius?" I inquired quietly walking over to Albus' window. He looked like he just rolled out of bed and from what I saw, he was only in boxers. I was just about to ask how Albus got over there when I saw a board connecting to the two houses.  "What is he doing over there?"

            "He had a nightmare and came through the window late last night." He disclosed. "Usually I can get him back over there before you wake up but today is an early day I guess." He mumbled.

            "How long has this been going on? Him sneaking into your room?" I asked and he shook his gently to clear his sleepy mind.

            "Two weeks probably." He confessed.

            "Is he okay?" I asked and he nodded.

            "He's sleeping still. You woke him but I told him to back to sleep." He told me.

            "Okay."

            "Want me to bring him back?" He asked and I looked over to Ginny. She had been listening so I looked to her for an answer. She shook her head so I turned back to Scorpius.

            "No keep him there until you two wake up fully."

            "Sorry to scare you sir." He told me and I gave a small smile.

            "It's okay Scorpius, we're sorry we woke you." I told him and he smiled.      

            "See you later Harry." He told me and I nodded.

            "You too Scorpius." I said and then he left the window. I turned to Ginny who collapsed against my chest.

            "I thought he was gone again."  She sounded like she was crying. I hugged her tighter and kissed her head.

            "He's not though." I told her. "We have him back for good."

            "Do we?" She asked harshly. She looked up to me and her eyes were filled with tears. "He doesn't talk, he barely communicates, he only cuddles with us when he wants to, he hides when he's sca-"

            "Ginny he was missing for three months. We don't know what kind of... torture he endured mentally. We only see the things that bastard did to his body. The things he did to him." I told her and swallowed hard. "We don't understand."

            "I just want him to be okay again." She told me and I started crying.

            "So do I Ginny but it's gonna take a while, it will. And we just need to wait." I told her and she hiccupped a few times. She nodded and I wiped away her tears before kissing her lips. "It's gonna be worth the wait."

Scorpius' P.O.V

          When I woke up the second time, it was a few hours later maybe 8, and it was because my mum walked in.

            "Scorpius hunny." She stroked my hair so I woke up.

            "Yeah mum?" I asked.

            "Does Albus' parents know he's here?" She asked and I nodded sitting up.

            "Yeah they do."

            "Okay." She smiled. "Are you two hungry?" She asked me. I looked over to Albus who was now awake. He blinked at me before pointing to his mouth.

            "Yeah, we'll be down shortly." I told her and she nodded.

            "Okay." She left the room and I rolled out of bed.

            "Okay Albie, I'm gonna throw some clothes on before we go down. All you have to do is get out of bed." I told him and he nodded once. I pulled out sweats and threw them on as he got out of bed. He ran over to me and snuggled up to my chest. "Let's go." I told him and we started to walk out. It hit me that he'd never eaten over my house and both of my parents were home so I was apprehensive. They were like the manner police.

We got to the kitchen and my dad was at the table as mum was cooking. I looked at the bathroom that was down the hall so I turned to Albus. "Okay, the bathroom is over there, you should go and I will be right here." He nodded once before trotting down the hall.   "Okay so this is the first time he's here and I need you to know that he's a little... off."

            "He doesn't talk correct?" Dad asked.

            "He doesn't talk, he eats with his hands and he liked to be in small spaces...." I trailed and my father blinked at me.

            "Well that's okay." Mum spoke up. "He's a guest in the house and he may do as he wishes if he feels comfortable."

            "Eats with his hands?" Dad asked.

            "Yeah I don't know why." I shrugged. Albus came back and had his head down. I embraced him and moved him towards the table. We sat near my dad but enough to give us space.

            "Okay, I'm gonna put you here Albus. Try and sit with us." I told him. He nodded once and I took my seat next to him. He had his head down as my mother brought us eggs and oatmeal down in front of us.

            "I hope you like it Albus, we're happy to have you over." My mother told him and he nodded once. He glanced over to me and then pointed to his mouth.

            "Yes you can eat now." I told him and he nodded. He took his hand and then grabbed a handful of eggs. He put it in his mouth and chewed it. I watched my father wince at the lack of manners but my mother giggled.

            "It seems like someone enjoys my cooking." Albus hummed in response and continued eating with his hands.  I ate my eggs with my fork quite proud that I got Albus to stay sitting at the table. However when he got to the oatmeal he cried out loudly.  "Albus what's the matter?" My mum asked and he glanced at me.

            "Um I think it's because he can't eat with his hands." I told her. "Do you want to try the spoon?" I asked and he glanced at the spoon. He placed his hands on the table and shakily grabbed at it. He shakily placed it in the oatmeal then brought it to his lips. He opened his mouth and put the spoon in then ate the oatmeal. I smiled and ruffled his hair. He jerked but then relaxed. "Good boy." I told him and he smiled. He continued to eat and so did I. When he was done, his clothes got a bit dirty, but he was happily fed. After we ate and after I got dressed, I decided to take Albus home. But not through the make shift bridge.  We got to their door and I rang the doorbell. Harry answered and smiled.

            "Good morning again." He allowed us to come in. Albus immediately hugged Harry and buried his face into his chest. Harry was shocked but he ran a hand through Albus' hair. "You doing alright?" He asked the boy who nodded once.

            "He's more than alright, guess what he did!" I piped.

            "Did he talk?" He asked and I frowned a bit shaking my head.

            "No but he ate off of a spoon." I told him and he grinned widely.

            "Did you really?" He asked Albus who nodded once. "Good Albus, I'm so proud of you." Harry hummed and Albus smiled.

            "Erm he might need to wash. He got stuff on his front." I told Harry who nodded. "Albus, I'll come back later okay?" He went to lurch for me to stay but Harry held him. "I have to do some school work but I'll be back right after." He whimpered but abided. "I'll be at my desk." I told him and his eyes snapped up. I smiled and nodded that he got the idea.

            "Scorpius, wait up." Harry spoke. "About that bridge thing, it's very unsafe."

            "I understand that sir. It was all I could put up there." I answered honestly.

            "I get that but I ask that you take it down. If Albus wants, we can put something much safer to connect the rooms so he can get to you. Although I think him leaving the house to come to you in the middle of the night is silly." He told me and I nodded.

            "He was scared. He can't wake you up because he can't talk and his crying woke me up so I did it as a first resort. I shall take it down immediately." I told him and he nodded.

            "Thank you. We'll see you later."

            "Until later." I nodded to him, ruffled Albus' hair and then went back home.

~~~

            As promised, I took the bridge thing down and then finished my work. I went next door and James answered the door when I knocked.

            "Scorp, just in time." He smirked.

            "For what?" I asked.

            "You'll see." He pulled me in and then brought me into their backyard. I didn't even know they had one but it was small one.  That wasn't what shocked me, what surprised me was Albus was building something with Harry. He was smiling without showing his teeth, like usual, and working with tools. I looked at James and he smiled. "We're making a bridge of sorts." He told me. Albus' head snapped up to see me and he gasped. He ran over to me and hugged me tightly.

            "Hi buddy." I cooed. "Are you making something?" I asked and he nodded. "Can I watch?" I asked and he nodded again. "Go ahead back to your dad." I told him and he wandered back over to his dad. Harry smiled and ruffled Albus' hair. I noted the boy didn't flinch so I looked at James who smiled at me. Yes, he was finally improving.