A/N: It's a bit hard to explain the idea behind this fic. It's inspired by Inception, in a way. I really just took some quotes from Inception, then thought of a chapter based on each one, then put them in order and boom. So you're being presented with the result of that, congratulations. The plot isn't that creative, but I'm honestly more concerned about honing my writing on this one.

Author's notes and disclaimers annoy me so I'm only doing this once. I don't own Harry Potter or Inception. So yeah. Enjoy, and things.

Chapter One: Possessed By An Idea

A pair of boys sat on the ground, leaning against a tree. They weren't facing each other, but were obviously engaged in conversation. Students passing through the courtyard all knew what was going on. They all proceeded to ignore it. They were accustomed to the heated debates of Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy – nobody wanted to witness more than they had to. It gets rather annoying after a while.

The sixth year boys clearly didn't feel the same way about their debates. They argued about any topic they could think of and still never tired. They were just so different, they didn't agree on many things. Even when it came to things they agreed on, sometimes one would take the opposing view just for the fun of another topic to tear apart. Not that they really needed to look – occasionally they would come back to topics that stuck in their heads. And the point of discussion could be anything. It could be a serious political issue, an insignificant assessment of some fashion trend among the girls in their year, some hypothetical prediction of how some scenario would play out…really, anything.

The current debate was one of the more ridiculous ones.

"You have to be kidding me…height shouldn't matter at all!"

"But it does. If you have to bend down too far to kiss her, it makes your neck uncomfortable, and that does not make for a pleasurable kissing experience."

"Not if you're sitting, or laying down," Al pointed out quickly. "Besides, Hayley's lips are chapped. Haven't you ever seen them?"

Scorp reflected for a moment, then admitted he hadn't noticed they were chapped. "But I'm sure I would have noticed if it was really that bad," was his retort. "Anyway, Hayley is the best out of all of them. Sharon has gingivitis, you'd probably drown in Elaine's saliva, and I bet Amber has never even been kissed."

Al raised his eyebrows and craned his neck to look at his best friend. "That's exactly why I think Amber would be the best. She'd have no clue what to do, so she would let you take the lead, and she'd follow. For some reason I don't think her roommates would be the same way."

There was silence as the blonde stared at him in disbelief. "You've never been kissed, have you?"

"What makes you think that?"

Scorp let out a light chuckle. "No need to get defensive, it's your business. But it's no fun if your partner doesn't take any initiative."

Al huffed and reevaluated his approach. He wasn't prepared for the conversation to take this direction. "Okay, we agree that kissing Sharon or Elaine would be hell, for obvious reasons. What, in your experience, makes a good kiss?"

"Well, like I said, when you're not initiating everything." Scorp licked his lips as he thought about other details. Al couldn't help noticing how pink and shining they looked. Definitely not chapped either. He found himself wondering if his friend had any gum diseases as well.

"Sometimes the atmosphere makes a difference." The brunette was jolted back to reality by the sound of Scorp's speech. Had he seriously been considering kissing him just a second ago?

"Oh, and how much you actually like the person. And it might not be so pleasant for you to kiss one of your cousins or something…oh but I'm forgetting the physical part, that's what you were asking about, right?" Their eyes met, and there was a long silence. Al was the one to break it, after he broke the eye contact and faced forward again.

"Yeah, that's what I was asking. But you're right, that's not all that matters."

And the boys realized how stupid it was to debate over which Hufflepuff girl in their year would be the best to kiss, and they fell into a thoughtful silence.

Al never acted this way about anyone before. That's why he didn't immediately recognize his sudden obsession with Scorp as a crush, but now he was certain that was it. The blonde thing was all he could think about. And what an interesting specimen he was, now that Al was paying attention.

The man defied all expectations set upon him. Quidditch and blood purity were about as important to him as dust motes. He was actually interested in history, and he lacked a certain flair for potions. And he was full of contradictions. Attentive, yet ignorant. Friendly, yet shy. Innocent, yet devious. He was airheaded. He was down to earth. He was masculine. He was feminine. Simply put, Scorpius Malfoy was a paradox.

To some extent, Al had always known all this. He had just never realized it before.

He could swear he was going mad. It had been a month, for Merlin's sake! A month ever since they had that bloody ridiculous conversation. Surely the blonde thing forgot about it within five minutes. And here was Al, acting like…this.

He was possessed by an idea. An idea that seemed so small, an idea he should be able to laugh at and brush away and never approach again. But it stuck, and it grew. Scorp was right, he hadn't ever been kissed…

How does it feel to be kissed?

Then it became how does it feel to be kissed by Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy?

It was all Albus ever thought about anymore.

She was possessed by an idea, this one, very simple idea, that changed everything.