A/N: So I woke up the other day with this idea. I thought it was awesome, so I hope you enjoy! Please leave reviews!
"You look... Fuck, you look sexy tonight."
Not again. This is definitely not happening again.
"Let's skip dessert. I just wanna get you to back to my place."
Yeah, that's romantic. I don't think I could ever ask for more in a relationship that this stunning display of affection. Oh, so touched.
"Strip for me. You know you want to, you little slag…."
Slag? That really makes me want to jump in bed with you now!
"Just shut up and take it like a man, Potter."
Like a man? A man now takes it up the ass without question after the shittiest date of his life? Wow, I wasn't aware.
…But if I have to, I will. We've already gone this far, right? And it's expected. Besides…this could be the thing that saves this date. A good lay.
Scrubbing a hand over his face, Albus Severus Potter rested his head back against his seat on the Hogwarts Express. It had been nearly a month since his last date, but he just couldn't shake it from his mind. It had been…an absolute wreck. He'd done the walk of shame the day after for the third time that month and had never felt more humiliated in his life. Mostly because he was pretty sure he had lost whatever shred of dignity he'd had left in that high-class apartment that practically reeked of Daddy's Pureblood money.
"Hey, you never told me what happened with Aubadon. Is he letting you call him 'Auby' yet?" Rose Weasley threw a saucy, little wink over her cousin, who also doubled as her best friend. They were close and they told each other anything. Which was why it was a huge surprise to her that he hadn't yet gushed over his date with a guy he hadn't been able to shut up about before the start of summer.
"No. He insisted I call him 'Mr. Zabini, sir' the entire time he was plowing me," Albus spat, his voice dripping venom and hate. It was clear in every syllable he uttered that he had definitely not had a good experience with the once-upon-a-time man of his dreams. "And when I left, I insisted upon calling him 'Goodbye, Asshole'."
The girl seated across from him frowned, unable to decipher what exactly it was that she was supposed to say here. She flicked her brilliant crop of red hair over her shoulder, wanting it out of her heart-shaped face as she thought. Those eyes, deep blue as the lake they were currently crossing, scanned every inch of her cousin's face for hidden emotions. Albus was good at that – tucking away what he was feeling so he could seem tougher. She knew why he did it, too. Growing up with a brother as intimidating as James could do that to a boy. Perching on the edge of her seat, Rose leaned in to gently touch the other's shoulder. She didn't dare touch him more for fear of having him close down entirely. "Are you feeling ready to talk about it…?" she pried gently, her other hand coming up to close over her subtly revealing chest through her hardly-buttoned blouse. This was more for Al's sake than her own. It was a long-standing pet-peeve of his that she showed her rather fully blossomed breasts at any chance she could. And seeing that she wasn't bothering to cover up in the wake of his devastation could distract him from the actual subject at hand.
Full of drama and obvious hurt, Albus sighed and threw his hands up in the air. What was he supposed to say?! "It was all I wanted all last year! All I wanted was for Aubadon Zabini to notice me! I wanted him to look at me and think 'Hey, I want to make that boy mine!'. But this…. It didn't happen the way I wanted it to, okay? That's all I know, Rose. I expected it to be beautiful and romantic and like…a slow courtship and whatever. But it wasn't. All throughout the date, he was handsy under the table. He whispered about how much he just wanted to take me on the table. And…and I still went home with him! Even after he called me a fucking whore, basically, I still let him fuck me! I didn't want to…but I let him! I was depressed and I wanted something to be good from that stupid night! But it wasn't! It was painful and depressing and he kept calling me names and spanking me and…. It was just like the other two dates from this summer – miserable.
"I am a fucking waste of space. …and a slut."
A small keening noise closed over the silence left in the wake of Albus' words. Rose wasn't really sure what to say to that…. This was more than she had expected to be dispelled. It was a rush of pathetic and rage and shattered pieces of a heart that just tore her to shreds. "Allie…," she intoned softly, launching herself off of her seat and into Albus' lap. She had her arms wound so tightly around him; he wouldn't have been able to push her off if he'd tried. And try he did. But her arms held steadfast and her reassuring stream of words never ceased.
Until the boy's hands finally wedged under her arms and forced her back into her own seat, that pathetic frown still on her lips. "Stop!" Albus nearly shouted, pushing his hair out of his face and trying to remain composed. Yes, he was hurting. Yes, he was a bit shattered. And, yes, he just wanted to hide in a hole for the rest of his life rather than going back to school for their last and hardest year. But these weren't options. He had to be strong, and he had to reassure everyone that he was fine.
Because he would be. Eventually.
"I'm fine, Rose." His words sounded forced and fake, but he ploughed on. If he could get it out, he could believe it himself. "I just want to get past this…and focus on this year. We graduate in nine months and…and that's all I really want to think about. I've had enough…bad dates and desperate fucks to last a few years. So…please, don't try to fix this. Because I know you will if I don't expressly bar you from it."
Though Albus had tried his best to convince himself that the thing with Zabini had been fine and dandy in the end, he knew somewhere on the surface that he was lying. It was hard to fool yourself completely, after all.
It also was a bit hard to trick your dreams into believing your lies. Dreams were a special sort of evil that rooted into your deepest and darkest secrets to bring things to the surface that you wished you could just let alone. And it was in his dreams that the boy had come to actually regret the way he had spent his stomach.
These dreams kept replaying the moments of lapsed judgment over and over again. Three separate occasions of reckless abandon that he had enjoyed for the moment of release and hated the rest of the time. Three times he could have readily said 'no', and should have, but didn't. The harsh fucks in the dark with fumbled kisses and a lack of kind words. There was no denying it; he had actually liked being taken so forcefully. But this took a backseat to the need he had to be loved. He found himself longing the entire time to have waited with all of this intimacy until he'd found 'the one'. He hadn't waited, however, at the first part of the summer to give up that small part of him that should have been locked away tightly. And it had all tumbled downhill from there….
Albus could only blame himself and his incredible sex drive.
Today, just like every day in the month since he'd started his seventh year at Hogwarts, Albus awoke in tears. He was grateful for the drapes that hung around him and that he'd learned to close them before going to sleep. Starting your mornings with a good sob-fest was not an indication of sanity in a teenage boy, he was sure. He didn't want to give the others in his dormitory the opportunity to point that out, either.
As his breathing calmed back to normal, the boy sat up in his bed. He took a deep inhalation of the stale, sealed-in air around him, satisfied with the homely smell of his own things and his own body. He was alone, and right now that felt more comforting than anything. He wasn't waking up sharing this bed with a man he'd hoped could bring love into his life before he'd shattered what was left of his heart. He wasn't waking up with a soreness that could only remind him of the shame he'd brought to himself the night previous. And he most definitely wasn't waking up with the worst ache to his chest that he'd ever experienced.
If he kept playing his cards right, maybe that would never happen to him again. But for that, he'd have to stop acting like an irrational idiot and just...settle. Maybe he should just stop looking for love and that could fix all of his problems.
A snort of derision preceded his action of basically tearing his curtains to the side. He looked around the dorm, scanning all five of the other beds shrouded in reds and golds subdued by the faint light of early dawn. Not a single one of the other Gryffindor seventh year boys were awake, causing a frown to split Al's lips as he reached for his watch.
Seven-thirty...
Anything before eight was considered damnable to these boys, so everything clicked back into reason easily. Only a small smile on his lips, Al raised himself up and stretched, the hem of his pajama shirt raising up to reveal a small section of slightly tanned muscle. The only other article of clothing he wore was a simple pair of navy boxer shorts that accentuated his Quidditch-toned frame just right. And though it might look like he had severe bed-head, Albus finished off his deliriously attractive physique with a crop of rich black hair that was always touseled in just the right way.
It's no wonder, he couldn't help but to think as he rummaged silently around in his trunk. If I wasn't this good looking...they may want to love me more than fuck me.
It was a vain thing to think, but he'd been told it ever since he could recall. Girls and boys alike had been pointing out how gorgeous and tempting he was for years now. Ever since it was acceptable for someone to lust after him. And before that, there had always been these small remarks to his mother on how beautiful a baby she had. Lily and James were never talked about as much as he was - but maybe that was because he was practically a carbon-copy of his father.
The great savior of the wizarding world!
With a roll of the eyes, Albus shucked off his clothes before pulling on a fresh set of school robes. He didn't even bother to check the room and make sure no one was awake. He wasn't ashamed of how he looked, there being no reason for it. Even if the rest of the boys had been awake, he still wouldn't be abashed to change in front of them as they would have. He just...had no shame. And he wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not...
"Why are you always up so fuckin' early?"
Only slightly startled, Albus looked up at bed directly behind his. His eyebrow was raised and he was halfway through zipping up his trousers. "Maybe because I have drive and ambition, Frankie Shlongbottom." He flashed a heart-stopping wink before finishing dressing and going to sit on the edge of the other's bed to pull on his shoes. "Unlike you?"
The boy, whose pale cheeks had a slight roundness to them that he'd come to grow in to, reached out to lazily push at his friend's shoulder. He couldn't be bothered to stand up for himself because, in fact, it was true. No one wanted anything more than Al's overall desire for everyday life. Anyone who couldn't believe that was just deluding themselves.
"Get dressed. I want breakfast and I don't want to go down alone."
Frank nodded and got out of bed, signaling for a minute of patience as he grabbed his clothes and headed for the bathroom. He hadn't questioned Albus' need to have a friend at his side. After seven years of sharing a dormitory room, it was common knowledge that this boy was never alone. No one knew why, and it was possible that no one cared. He was just…always by someone's side.
No doubt there was some sort of deep, pathological need that he had for constant attention. But it wasn't something he put much focus on. It was what it was.
He felt absolutely helpless without company.
"Looks like partner projects start today," Frank said under his breath, nodding to a list of potions on the chalkboard as they entered the Potions classroom. "You'll be my partner, right? I don't think I can pass this if I get paired with…someone else." Eyes widening, he looked pointedly over at the table they were making their way over to. There sat Albus' cousin Rose along with a pair of blonde boys with dreamy eyes – the Scamander twins. And the someone else that his friend was referring to was most definitely not either Lorcan or Lysander. Rose's skill in potions was the worst in the class, with Frank's seconding close behind.
Rolling his eyes, Albus made his way to the table and settled himself easily onto a stool. "Sure, Frankie. I'll work with you," he said, making a point to be heard by Rose so there would be no qualms later.
Clearly she had heard as he let out a small moan of distress. "Seriously, Allie? Who am I supposed to work with, then?" She crossed her arms over her chest again, the signature signal for when she was trying to get her way. With most boys, the obvious reveal of her large breasts through the opening of her unbuttoned uniform shirt was distracting enough to win them over.
Except Albus' trigger was most definitely not the female anatomy.
With a smirk and a casual shrug, Al nodded towards the door just as a tall boy with sickly pale skin, luminescent blonde hair, and a predatory slink to his step walked through it. "Malfoy always seems to be in need of a partner. Maybe your girlish whiles could work on him?"
Rose pulled an unpleasant face and tugged her robes around her chest. "Don't even. Malfoy is the last person on this earth I would sit next to, let alone work on a term-long project with. And he's-"
"Standing right beside you and can hear every word you say. Thanks, Weaslette." A dangerous whiff of a musky cologne mixed with…peppermint? overwhelmed Albus' senses as the blonde boy leaned in closer to their group at the side of their table. For a moment he found himself pleased with the scent, but the drawling voice in his ear brought him to a cringe. "You're lucky I don't take offense easily. For you, it's a good thing I've grown up hearing things like that aimed towards my family all my life. And that I expect them coming from your family." Scorpius put on a cloying smile before turning sharply on his heel and walking to the opposite end of the classroom.
For a moment, the small group at Albus' table said not a word. They didn't know what to say…. It seemed everyone had been surprised by the reality of getting caught.
Biting her lip, Rose let out a small, nervous giggle and waved it off like it was nothing. Inside she was still shaking a little bit, but she was good at putting up facades. She was a growing woman, after all. "What a jerk," she said, meaning to come out strong and resilient. But the pounding of her heart swayed her tone to being embarrassingly unstable.
Albus wanted to respond. He wanted to spew out a list of insults against Malfoy. There was so much he could have said, but there was no time. As he opened his mouth to speak, a glare poised on his self-righteous peer, a rather rotund man waddled through the door, closing it with conviction behind him.
"As I'm sure some of you have guessed, we start our first term project today! You will be working in pairs and you will be working on one rather lengthy, rather complicated potion until the middle of February." Every teenager turned in their seat to look for their partner, smiling knowingly to one another. But these hopes were quickly dispelled with Professor Slughorn's next sentence – "I will be picking your partners." The man ignored all of the groans of protest, turning towards the chalkboard. "Your partners will be matched to your skill-set. The two of you will be working on a potion that is just slightly higher than what I know you can currently handle. What I want to see from this project is your progress. You will have to work alongside your partner both in and out of class to complete these potions. I'm not going to lie, quite a few of them will take a lot of time, especially if you make mistakes." He pointed to the list on the board, peeking back at the angry bunch that was his seventh year class. "This is a N.E.W.T. level class, children. All of these potions are required at this level. So I don't want to hear complaining. I also don't want anyone asking for new partners. In the adult world, you will have to work with people you don't like. Here is your chance to experience that."
Slughorn put on a small smile, and then pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. From it he started to list off last names in pairs, starting with the Scamander twins. Following came Rose and Frank. The rest of the class was called out into pairs, as well, leaving Albus for last. And he had been listening for who would be left, which had his face falling before he had even heard the name. Slowly, his gaze travelled over to the other side of the room and landed on the person he knew no one in this class wanted to work with – Scorpius Malfoy.
Those eyes of silver darkened dangerously as he realized it as well, looking over to share the look of hatred. Between them burned someone so intense it could only be a mutual lust for one another's head on a silver platter. So…why exactly was it that Slughorn thought it a good idea for them to work together on this?
Albus' fists clenched as he broke the uncomfortable look and turned towards Rose and Frank. "What is he thinking?!" he hissed, vaguely hearing the call for partners to sit together. "We'll kill each other by the end!"
"Maybe that's the point," Frank said softly, avoiding looking at his friend out of shame and using a tone that was less than sympathetic. "Look, you can't let him sit here, Al. You…you gotta go over there."
What?
Nevermind having to work with this absolute jerk. This…this pig-headed, self-righteous, narcissistic asshole! But his friends wouldn't even allow him to sit by them for his support?! In a huff, his jaw squared and his fists clenched around his things, Albus stood and stormed over to Scorpius' otherwise empty table. On the way, he allowed his bag to thunk into both Frank and Rose's heads with absolutely no remorse. He'd properly chew them out later, but for now their cries of protest would have to do.
"Don't look so enthused to work with me."
Albus refused to look up at the other boy. He narrowed his eyes down at the wood of the table and nervously drummed his fingers upon his thigh. If he gave the other the satisfaction of responding, Scorpius would have the upper hand. He couldn't allow that or the next few months would be hell.
"Fine, don't speak to me. No skin off my back." He could hear the Malfoy sneer in his voice, a fact which made Albus grit his teeth in order to try and drown it out. "However, it may be easier to get through this project with good marks if you do speak a little to me. It's not like it will kill you..."
The pair sat in complete silence for the next few minutes, Scorpius' eyes following Slughorn around the classroom, and Albus still focused on the table. It wasn't until the plumply man hobbled over to them that any words were shared within their small radius.
"And lastly, my greatest group. I'm actually rather fond of this pairing."
"I'm glad someone is...," Albus muttered under his breath.
The Potions Master didn't miss a beat, unfazed or unaware of what the boy had said. "There's quite a bit if potential here. I expect a lot from this group. And that's why I'm giving you the hardest brew of them all." The man waved over the the chalkboard where every potion had been crossed off but one.
Albus squinted at it and read out loud, "The Fertility Salve?"
With a nod, Slughorn set a book the size of a small novel down in front of them. Both boys' eyes went wide and they reached for it at the same time. The instant his hand touched Scorpius', Albus shrank back as if he'd been burned. An electric shock had flown straight through him that he couldn't quite describe or understand. He didn't want to dwell on it and therefore shoved the feeling from his mind. He, instead, just sat resilient in his chair and watched his partner open the book.
"This takes...ages and countless long days to brew," Scorpius spoke softly, his voice gentle and actually tolerable when around professors, apparently. "My father brewed a batch once and...I never saw him." He let out a mirthless wind of a laugh. "What makes you think we can handle this?"
There are two of you and you are quite possibly the most brilliant wizards of your year. Quite possibly the most brilliant I've seen in years. Put your heads together and you can handle this!" With a sly smile, the man walked away and left the other two to simultaneously stare at their manual in silence. Shocked.
"He...he's right..."
Finally, Albus managed half a look in Scorpius' general direction. He frowned at him, peeking over into that book that looked like hell in word form. "What...what do you mean...?" he questioned uncertainly, still not losing the bite to his tone.
With a shrug, Scorpius set the book on the tabletop and slid it between them. He flipped through the pages, looking up at his partner. "We could do this. With the two of us going at it, it wouldn't be all that complicated. Just...time consuming."
Which means spending a lot of time with this pretentious dick. Is that something I really want? Then again, is it something I have the power to fight?
With a sigh, Al gave in and leaned in closer to the book. He studied the steps, then flipped a few pages back to examine the ingredients list. It did look like it could be alright... "Fine, then," he said softly. "I'll do it. But, uh...what exactly does this potion do? I'm not familiar with it and if we'll be brewing it, I should know what it does. Right?"
There was a moment where the blonde boy seemed to just stare at the brunette, trying understand him. Maybe trying to figure out if he was serious or not. Or maybe just trying to understand his behaviors. Whatever it was, it made Albus squirm uncomfortably and shiver before averting his own eyes again. "It's used as a last-ditch effort to conceive children in couples who may he having...issues. The salve works as a lubricant that gets spread over the 'father's penis. When he penetrates and their fluids mix...it is supposed to help guide the process of fertilization. I'm told it works very well, actually. Especially in homosexual couples."
Scorpius' casual mention of homosexuality was very nonchalant. But something about the way his eye twinkled or something said that he knew something. It seemed to say, "You know, for your future sex life and all."
Blushing, Albus turned away from the Slytherin boy altogether. Had he guessed? Had someone told him? Did he think himself superior because of it now? Or was he himself just imagining that look...?
The rest of the class went bt rather quietly for this pair of partners. Albus didn't want to acknowledge the other anymore, small fears eating at his insides. And Scorpius was rather content to just devour the lengthy potion-making process. Before either of them knew it, the bell rang to signal the end of class. Both boys jumped up rather quickly and gathered their things, heading for the door to escape this nightmare and try to put it behind them for the moment.
Or that was what Albus intended, anyway.
Scorpius' didn't seem to care as much for he, on the way out, grabbed the Gryffindor boy's elbow and stopped him to say just loud enough for him to hear, "We should work up a schedule for this potion. I'll meet you in the library after dinner. And...Aubadon said you left something at his place. I'll give it to you then."
As Scorpius pulled away, that smug look settled into those perfectly pink pouts, Albus could literally feel the world crashing around him. His heart stopped and he couldn't breathe. Vaguely, he thought he heard a familiar voice, but through the drama of what the other had said, words were not something he could comprehend.
