Chapter 1

The familiar bustle of the Gryffindor common room comforted Albus Potter's nerves. He never failed to feel nervous at the beginning of each school year. After a summer at home, returning to the grandness of the great hall scared Albus to no end. He was always confused when he father, the famous Harry Potter, spoke of the great hall. He would always say that entering that room reminded him of home. For Albus, it was a place of anxiety. He thought back to his sorting in the first year; Albus had been so nervous, so scared he would be placed in Slytherin unlike his brother and the rest of his family. That is what the great hall would always remind him of.

Albus cursed himself for being so stupid. He was in his sixth year and was still intimidated by a room. A room! Well, maybe it was the hundreds of students staring at him as well. He was the spitting image of his father and the other students were fascinated with him. His experience of making friends in the first year had consisted of attempting to weed out the people who wanted to be friends with Albus Potter, the son of the chosen one and saviour of the wizarding world, and those who wanted to be friends with just Albus. For an eleven-year-old boy, it was not the easiest of tasks.

"Have you been drinking fire-whiskey, numpty? You look a little bit out of it?"

Albus didn't bother looking up, recognising the voice of his older brother immediately. He wouldn't tell James, but he had been offered a glass. He had accepted it, as the rest of his friends had before him. He was nicely buzzed.

James was in his final year of Hogwarts and had suddenly become far too serious for Albus' liking. He said he was going to focus on this studies this year, something he had never done before. James and he had always been close but they were very different people. James had a natural charm about him. Everybody loved him. Minister Shacklebolt once said James reminded him of the man he was named after, the original James Potter. That had made Albus' brother very happy. Albus thought it made his father very happy too.

Albus smiled up to his brother, "Of course I haven't my dear brother."

"Well, can I join you or is it too embarrassing to have your older brother hanging around you?" James grinned mockingly, sitting him on the arm of the sofa, next to Albus.

"You're always welcome here, James," One of Albus' friends Paige piped up. She had a huge crush on James, as did half the female population of Hogwarts, and was not scared to hide it. The brother shared an amused look and let slip a little laugh.

It wasn't long until James' friends (or as Albus called them, James' faithful minions) joined Albus' group. The usual chatter began and Albus found himself quickly bored. What did you do this summer? Did you go on holiday? Oh I got the latest Firebolt edition a few weeks ago! Did you see there's a new Weasley product being released? Albus wondered if anyone else noticed that it was the same old talk as they had every year.

The common room became quieter and Albus glanced around to see what was going on. McGonagall stood at the fireplace of the common room. Albus found it entertaining the old woman had such respect amongst the loudest and most boisterous house in the whole school.

McGonagall seemed satisfied with the near silence and cleared her throat. It was then that Albus noticed the boy next to her. He did not recognise this face, yet he wore the Gryffindor colours. He was not a first year, that was for sure. He was tall and lean. He had no signs of stubble but had a mature and certain face, Albus thought. He must be at least fifteen. The boy scanned the room and Albus couldn't tell whether it was an analysis of curiosity or of arrogance.

McGonagall's voice finally broke through the room, "Ladies and gentlemen!" Anybody who was still speaking came to an abrupt stop, "I am pleased to see many familiar faces and of course, some new. I would like to welcome the new first years to this house, and I hope you will all do the same. I wish you a happy and prosperous time at Hogwarts school. I would like to reinstate the rules you heard our headmaster, Professor Shacklebolt, asserted previously. There are serious consequences for any student who disobeys these rules. If you are unsure of any of these rules, please do not hesitate to inquire this evening," McGonagall finished her usual welcome speech and turned her attentions to the older students, "As seventh years already know, this is your last year and you are expected to concentrate fully on your studies. I wish you good luck in your year ahead and hope you enjoy your final year in Hogwarts."

While McGonagall addressed the fifth years about their OWLS, Albus glanced at James from the corner of his eye and sensed the anxiety in his brother's eyes. It was something Albus never truly saw in his brother and it made him nervous too.

Albus turned back to McGonagall and her speech continued, "Furthermore, I have a new student to introduce you too. He is a sixth year, transferred from Beaxbatons. This is Scorpius."

The teacher put a hand on the boy's shoulder and Scorpius smiled slightly. Albus couldn't tear his eyes away from the boy. Scorpius had an aura about him. His smile was not transparent, Albus couldn't tell what he was thinking or what the smile meant. Was the new boy nervous? Was he just unfriendly or cold? Albus was intrigued. He studied the blond more carefully and was instantly struck by his eyes. They were a piercing blue, he felt as if Scorpius could stare into someone's soul.

After what felt like a lifetime of being lost in his own world, Albus realised his eyes were locked onto the new boy's. Scorpius was watching him too. He lowered his head in embarrassment, pulling his eyes away from the other boy for a moment. He lifted his head and couldn't help but find those blue eyes again. Scorpius was smiling at him.

"… hope you will all welcome Scorpius into Gryffindor house."

McGonagall's words started to register in Albus' head and he snapped out of it. He tried hard not to peep at the strange boy again but he found himself watching Scorpius out of the corner of his eye. He attempted to stop himself over and over. He knew he didn't want to look at Scorpius, but Albus couldn't stop.

"Geoffrey," McGonagall called, "Could you come here and meet Scorpius. He will be in your dorm, show him where it is please."

Geoffrey was Albus' friend and also roommate. Albus bit his life and watched Scorpius again as he followed Geoffrey upstairs. He walked with a grace Albus had never witnessed from anybody but film stars. A slow realisation dawned on Albus that this meant Scorpius would be in his room also. Albus didn't know how that made him feel, he had never been so unnerved by just one person. Scorpius made him more nervous than the whole of the great hall and all the people in it.

"Scorpius who though?" Louis Weasley, Albus and James' cousin, asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Most of the friends shrugged it off but Harry, one of James' best friends and ironically named after their father, piped up, "I know exactly who that is. There are not many Scorpius' out there. Especially one's with blond hair like that. He's Scorpius Malfoy."

Albus knew the name immediately. There was a Draco Malfoy that his father had been to school with. His father had always said that he had been quite foul at school but said he had a lot of pressure from his family he would be never hold anything against the man. Others spoke of Draco Malfoy differently. They said he had been a death eater and once James had told Albus that he had heard that Draco Malfoy killed Albus Dumbledore. However, Albus' father still defended him. His father had been there and said that was not true, and Draco Malfoy being a death eater was not a decision made solely by the man himself.

James had his eyebrows raised and spat out, "He's not Draco Malfoy's son?"

Harry nodded, "I think so."

"How did he end up in Gryffindor?" This statement from his brother confused Albus. He didn't know why it would matter in this day and age. With everything that happened in the war, pureblood names and stereotypes did not truly matter anymore. But everyone always listened to James; if Albus questioned James he would just call him naïve. So he just nodded along.

"The Slytherins might have sent an inside spy," Albus' friend David, or ditsy Dave as they liked to call him.

"So they can find out that we're going to win again? That's pointless," James joked and of course everyone laughed.

The conversation quickly turned to Quidditch as it usually did and as captain of Gryffindor, James talked about his upcoming plans for the year. Albus quickly zoned out; he was a chaser on the team but he had heard this all summer anyway. His interest in Quidditch began and ended at Hogwarts whereas James seemed to be obsessed with the sport.

About an hour on, Albus decided to take a break from the same old conversation and go to unpack. His friends wasted no time in giving him a hard time but Albus knew how to deal with them off by heart.

When Albus walked into the dorm he was expecting solitude and was excited for it, however the sight of Scorpius Malfoy greeted him.

The boy was lounged on the windowsill, his head turned to stare out of the window to look at the Hogwarts grounds. Albus was again fascinated by the elegance of the boy in front of him; the way his fair hair fell over his eyes and he would brush the strands with long fingers without a flinch from the rest of his body. One of his long legs hung off the stone wall, rocking back and forth slightly in a soothing pace and the other rested against the glass. No matter what anybody else thought of Scorpius, there was certain quality about Scorpius Malfoy that meant you just couldn't keep your eyes away.

Albus realised it had probably been a minute since he had opened the door but Scorpius had not noticed so he tried to slip in as quietly as possible. However, this time Scorpius heard him and slowly turned his head around and he fixed his gaze on Albus with an unreadable demeanor.

Albus momentarily panicked; a sense of inferiority washed over him. How could anything he say something that would even remotely interest such a person.

Without thinking, a hi slipped out of from his lips and he closed his eyes in embarrassment because his voice falters.

To Albus' surprise, Scorpius simply smirked and eyes brightened, "Hi."

The Potter was confused even more by Scorpius' reaction. He had seemed so serious and cold in the common room. He was a mystery, without doubt.

"I am Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy," The new student appeared to sense Albus' anxiety but Albus felt another wave of embarrassment wash over him. Scorpius' voice was like velvet. He spoke with a French accent but there was no hesitation; he spoke English confidently and Albus had to resist a stray of thoughts and questions about Scorpius' language expertise.

Albus managed to splutter, "I'm A-Albus Potter."

"I know, you look extraordinarily like your father," Scorpius said, studying the Potter's face, "And Geoffrey told me about everyone that lived in this dorm."

"Oh-oh..." Albus gathered his mind and decided he needed to be more forward if he was to live with this guy. He couldn't be a bumbling idiot for the next two years, "So... you went to Beaxbatons? What was it like there?"

"Yes, I did. It was a good school, the students were very nice and the teachers. I loved all my subjects. I liked it there a lot however my father got a job here and I decided to move to Hogwarts also."

Albus didn't think about how illogical that sounded when attending a wizarding boarding school where something like distance was not a problem. He found himself hanging off Scorpius' every word.

Scorpius was still smirking at him as Albus seemed to lose his ability to speak yet again. As if Scorpius sensed this, he restarted the conversation, "How is being in the Potter/Weasley clan then?"

Albus suddenly stilled. He assumed this was some sort of jab against his family. He knew there was an ancestorial rivalry, particularly between the Weasleys and the Malfoys. He didn't know whether Malfoy senior had passed on this prejudice to his son.

"It's great, they're all great," Albus realised his tone was defensive immediately and Scorpius raised his eyebrows. Scorpius still smiled at Albus' response as if he understood his reaction. He felt like Scorpius understood him immediately and while other people may have judged him for being so snappy on first meeting, Scorpius appeared to just accept it. And for some reason, that made Albus all the more agitated.

They fell into silence and Albus lost Scorpius' gaze. He stood there awkwardly however Scorpius stayed at ease. Albus watched as Scorpius reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. Alarms went off in the Potter's head; smoking was not allowed in the castle and only at certain parts of the grounds. More importantly, only those of age were allowed to smoke and Albus didn't know if Scorpius was of age.

When Albus was about to say something, the blond placed a cigarette between plump lips and Albus' brain went to mush again. The end of the cigarette set fire without Albus noticing whether or not Scorpius even got his wand out. Scorpius glanced up at Albus through his lashes and gave that same smirk that Albus thought would be embedded in his mind for the rest of his life.

Geoffrey chose that moment to walk into the room and Albus internally cursed his friend.

"Hey Scorpius, do you want a quick tour of the castle? I can show you some of it before curfew," Geoffrey said with a smile.

"Yes, that would be good," Scorpius started to stand up.

"Oh, you can't smoke in the castle, I'll show you where you can though."

Scorpius nodded and threw the cigarette out of the crack of the window, "Thank you."

Scorpius stood up and was still smiling between Albus and Geoffrey. He walked to the door when Albus realised he must have stepped away from it while talking to Scorpius.

Albus managed an apprehensive smile when Scorpius walked past and he was yet again surprised by the boy when he turned around and said, "It was nice to meet you, Albus."

The brunette opened his mouth, closed it again, then plucked up the courage and replied, "It was nice to meet you too."

Scorpius flashed him one last smile before him and Geoffrey left and the door closed behind them.

Albus tried to mull over what just happened. But he couldn't make sense of it. He stood there for all of five minutes, staring at the spot Scorpius was sitting in. His mind was muddled and he decided to sit down.

The only thought he could muster with complete clarity was that it would be a shame that he wouldn't be able to watch Scorpius smoke all the time.

Albus found himself drifting off to sleep and let it happen.

-x-

Hi guys! Hope you all enjoyed this first chapter, I haven't written ahead but hope to get the new chapter done soon. I haven't written for a few years so I feel like I'm a little out of it! Please review with any feedback, it would be great to hear from you all!