A/N: I edited the Author's Note at the end since I had said a few bad things about CC, and I should have worded it better, or kept my opinion to myself. I didn't mean to be harsh towards it, there are a lot of parts that I enjoyed (mainly the Scorbus parts) however, there were a lot of parts I didn't agree with, plot holes, and some inaccurate characterisation. But, i have no problem if other people enjoyed it, and I'm really glad they do! Sorry for my original blunt, and kind of stupid sounding statement. And i don't want it to ruin the whole story for readers, I would hate that. Credit to reviewers for pointing this out (I won't say your name just in case you don't want to, and I wouldn't without permission), I want to make sure my fanfictions are as inclusive as possible so thank you. And now, I will stop.
Albus awoke to the shrill sound of his alarm and shielded his eyes from the slits of sunshine streaming in through the blinds. He turned the alarm off before it could disturb Scorpius and glanced at the sleeping figure beside him. Tufts of blonde hair poked out of the bedsheets and Albus could feel Scorpius's hot breath on his arm. Scorpius's eyelashes fluttered gently and his mouth was slightly open so Albus couldn't help but lean down and kiss Scorpius's parted lips, making Scorpius jump.
"Good morning, sleepy head," smiled Albus. Scorpius smiled back, rubbing his eyes.
"How many times are you going to rudely wake me up with your weird need to always kiss me?" He said jokingly.
"Forever. You're too irresistible," replied Albus, sitting up and swinging one leg over the mattress so his foot rested on the floor
"Yeah, I am pretty gorgeous aren't I?" Albus kissed him again, and Scorpius's smirk melted into Albus's lips and he forced Albus to lay back down in his arms.
"Please stay in bed. It's Saturday and you're so warm." Scorpius murmured, tickling Albus's ears with his breath.
"As pleasurable as it would be to lay in bed with you for eternity, I need to go, I have important stuff to do."
"Like what?"
"Never you mind." Albus tapped Scorpius on the nose affectionately and jumped out of bed, smiling to himself. The 'stuff' he had to do involved collecting an engagement ring and planning on how to propose to his boyfriend. He wanted to do it tomorrow, on their five year anniversary, and it had to be perfect, just like his Scorpius was.
Albus threw on the clothes he had worn yesterday and walked down the carpeted stairs into the kitchen. He made himself a cup of tea and some toast and knowing Scorpius probably wouldn't be properly awake for at least another few hours, Albus made him breakfast as well and put a charm on it so it stayed warm. He fed their owl, Quinn, picked up his house keys and wallet, then opened the door, squinting at the brightness of the day.
As the jewellers was in a muggle town, he had to get there the muggle way, by bus. And from his experience, it wasn't the most pleasant way to travel, what with all the strangers sitting next to you and how stupidly slow it was. But he had to in order to get the ring, which was the most important object Albus had ever bought. So, with a slight spring in his step at the thought of proposing to Scorpius he buried his cold feelings towards buses and set off in the direction of the bus stop.
The bus was late and when it arrived it was packed with people. Albus sighed mentally and scrunched up his nose as he stepped on. He handed over some muggle coins to the disgruntled looking driver, squeezed past the other passengers and sat down on the only available seat at the back by the window. The bus moved forwards and Albus stared out at the passing houses and cars, already lost in a wonderful daydream about his and Scorpius's wedding. In it they were handsome grooms in matching black suits, walking down the aisle, hand in hand as music played from the alter and all their friends and family cheered at the new happy couple. A smile played on Albus's lips as he imagined Scorpius leading him onto the dance floor as the song that played when they first kissed all those years ago filled the room.
The ring of a bell jerked Albus from his thoughts and he suddenly realised that he had missed his stop. Swearing under his breath, he stood up as the bus pulled in next to the pavement. He pushed through the tired and grumpy looking people wearing coats and carrying brief cases and stepped off.
A gentle breeze ruffled his hair as he made his way towards the common. He walked down a secluded road lined with large houses surrounded by carved, metal gates and massive front gardens which opened up towards a very large green space. The posh houses were replaced by small flats upon old, miscellaneous shops and in the middle of the wide pavement stood a fountain with no water coming out of it as it had dried up years ago, but was still in good condition. Grey cherubs which were covered in moss surrounded the outside of the fountain and old coins lay inside, forgotten and rusty. Albus walked past the structure and turned into a narrow and cobbled alleyway. The shops down here were even older and more random than the shops in the square. Antique shops and tiny cafés were the main attractions, along with shops that didn't seem to have a particular point apart from just selling curious objects. Albus, however, barely glanced at them, his gaze focused instead on the shop near the end of the street– a lovely, quaint little jewellery shop with a window display of silver rings and animal themed necklaces.
Albus pushed open the door, making the bell above it ring quietly. The man at the counter looked up and nodded his head in greeting.
"Good morning," he said as Albus walked up to the desk and started looking at the different rings, despite already having a custom made one.
"Hello," Albus replied. "I'm here to pick up a ring I ordered a few weeks ago."
"What's your surname, please?"
"Potter."
'Soon to be Potter-Malfoy,' Albus thought with another small smile. The man nodded again and went through a door leading into the back. He returned a minute later carrying a small box.
"A rather curious design, I must say, but very nice. What gave you the idea?" Asked the man, handing the box to Albus. Albus opened it and studied the ring. It was completely silver apart from the large green emerald embedded in the middle and an intricately carved snake was wrapped around it.
"Oh, you know, just... house pride." The man looked at him confused, but decided not to say anything more about the ring. Albus thought it looked brilliant and he thanked the man before handing over some more muggle money, this time in notes, which he understood better than the coins.
"Good luck. I hope she says yes," said the man with a knowing wink after he had taken the notes and bagged the ring. Albus smiled at him.
"'He,' actually. I'm proposing to my boyfriend." The man looked mildly surprised.
"Oh, really? You have a boyfriend?" He asked with a slight frown. Albus couldn't work out whether the man was about to comment something annoying or was just genuinely interested. Albus couldn't be bothered to find out.
"Yes," he replied with a stare that quite clearly said, 'is there a problem with that?' and left the shop. The bell tinkled behind him.
He squinted in the sunlight, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness. The sun had risen higher in the sky and he realised he was hungry, so Albus crossed the alleyway and entered a small café which had a pleasant smell of caffeine mixed with a hint of cinnamon. The walls were lined with bookshelves, and housed large, dusty leather bound books. Albus guessed they were more for show instead of for actual reading, but he knew Scorpius would love it here.
Albus walked up to the counter, ordered a coffee and a muffin and sat down next to the window. Like on the bus, he immediately fell back into his thoughts, hardly noticing when the waitress brought over his order. This time, however, his thoughts were focused on the proposal. He had planned most of it, but there were still things that needed going through, like where it was going to happen.
He sipped his coffee and took a small, black notebook out of his coat pocket and a pen. Albus liked to plan things, and for something as important as this, he needed a whole notebook, for ideas and lists. He opened up the page of location plans. There was only one idea jotted down:
- Outside King's Cross Station
Albus sighed and leant back in his chair, watching the cars zooming past as the sun rose steadily higher in the sky. His first thought after deciding he wanted to marry Scorpius was to propose outside King's Cross, because it was where they first met. That first glorious meeting on the train. It was love at first sight, as Albus recalled. He knew immediately that he liked Scorpius, with his light grey eyes, hiding under a mop of blonde hair, surrounded by sweets. It was enough to make Albus forget how to talk.
The waitress came back to take away his empty cup. Albus took a bite out of his muffin, put his coat on and tipped the waitress before leaving. The sun was getting higher in the sky now and Albus knew Scorpius was probably wondering where he was. That is, if he had actually got out of bed yet.
Albus walked back down the alleyway, his hand tightly clutching the small ring box in his pocket. He glanced at the moss-covered fountain and turned a corner towards the main road. He decided he didn't want to take the bus again, so he walked a bit further until he found a secluded place, away from the curious eyes of muggles. He turned on the spot and with a loud 'CRACK' he appeared outside his house. The curtains had been opened and Albus glimpsed the tall figure of his boyfriend disappearing into the kitchen.
Albus strolled up the path and placed his key in the lock. The door opened and he stepped over the threshold, only to be immediately greeted by a smiling Scorpius.
"Where were you?" He asked, pulling Albus into a hug. "I missed you."
"Honestly, Scorp, I was only gone a few hours. You're like an adorable dog." Scorpius let go so Albus could take his coat off.
"Have you just woken up?" Albus continued, looking at Scorpius's half-brushed hair, unshaven stubble on his chin and the clothes Scorpius only wore in bed, which, in the summer, was nothing but boxer shorts. Albus couldn't help but stare. All he wanted to do right now was kiss Scorpius's face off.
"Maybe..." Albus raised his eyebrows.
"Alright, I did, but come on! It's Saturday! What kind of weirdo doesn't sleep in on Saturday? Except you."
"I told you I had stuff to do."
"Yeah, yeah. Weirdo." Albus rolled his eyes with a smile.
"Are you hungry?" Scorpius asked and started for the kitchen. Albus took his chance to slip the small box into the back pocket of his jeans.
"Um- well I had a muffin, but I can eat. What about you? Did you not eat my breakfast?"
"Yes, it was delicious. But I'm still hungry. You want some pancakes?"
"I never say no to pancakes."
Scorpius disappeared through the doorway and Albus quickly snuck upstairs to the bedroom.
He looked around for a moment, deciding on a good hiding place. It was only for one night, so he opted to hide it at the back of his bedside drawer, behind a book.
Albus heard Scorpius calling so he snuck back downstairs.
Entering the kitchen he saw Scorpius's back was turned and he had his wand raised above a flat saucepan, where ingredients were being carefully poured in. Albus padded silently across the white tiles towards Scorpius and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, kissing the back of his head.
"Smells good," Albus murmured.
"Obviously. I cooked them." Scorpius placed the ingredients down and turned around so he was facing Albus, who now had his head resting on Scorpius's chest.
"I can hear your heartbeat." Albus whispered, "It's beating fast." Scorpius placed a hand on Albus's chin and lifted it up so their lips were almost touching.
"It is now." Scorpius whispered, pausing to look into Albus shining green eyes before leaning down slightly to kiss him. It was the sort of kiss Albus loved. The ones where time fades into non-existence and it feels like you're standing there for hours. The ones that always reminded him of their first kiss, years ago. 'I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him,' Albus thought to himself.
The two men pulled away.
"You should get back to the pancakes," said Albus, not taking his eyes off Scorpius.
"Yeah... yeah, right." Scorpius turned back round and Albus walked into the living room and sat himself down onto the sofa. He immediately started thinking again, this time about the actual proposal. Him getting down on one knee. And Scorpius's reaction. Will it be a good one? Will Scorpius like the ring?
"Galleon for your thoughts?" Albus jumped slightly and looked up. Scorpius was standing over him, carrying two plates. He handed one to Albus and sat down.
"Sorry, I was just... just thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing important. Work things." Albus tried to think of something to change the subject.
"So, um... I was wondering if you'd like to go out tomorrow?"
"Where to?" Asked Scorpius, taking a bite out of his pancake.
"Oh, I dunno, just around town. It's Sunday, we should do something."
Scorpius paused to lift his plate up to his mouth and drink the excess syrup.
"Okay," he said, slowly. "But I need a lie in or I'll just complain the whole time."
"Point taken."
Albus finished off the rest of his pancakes and Scorpius took away his plate. Albus stood up and followed him into the kitchen, deciding to help with the washing up.
It was quite late now. Albus was sitting up in bed, reading a book, but not really concentrating on it. He stared at the page, but his eyes didn't move.
"H-ey," Albus blinked and looked up. Scorpius was standing there, trying to stifle his yawns.
"You know that book by Angus Buchanan?" He asked. "You've finished it, right? I wanted to read it."
"Um... yeah, but I can't remember where I-" Albus suddenly froze.
"I think it's in your bedside drawer." Scorpius took a step forward towards Albus's bedside.
"NO!" Shouted Albus suddenly, blocking the drawer with his hand. Scorpius stopped immediately and stared at him.
"I mean- I'll get it for you." Albus opened the drawer, took the book out and closed it as quickly as possible. Scorpius didn't take his eyes off Albus as he took the book in his hand.
"Um... thanks?" He offered slowly, before walking across the room and crawling into bed beside Albus. Albus cursed himself mentally. Why did he hide the ring behind a book? A book! Had he forgotten who his boyfriend was?
Albus rested his head on Scorpius's shoulder, distracting Scorpius from his sudden outburst of weirdness. He fixed his eyes on Scorpius's book.
"Read it out loud," he murmured.
"In the 1600s, Isolt Sayre the famous founder of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and-" As soon as Scorpius started talking Albus could feel his eyes droop. There was something so soothing about Scorpius's voice.
It must have been only a few minutes later, but to Albus it felt like hours, he felt a soft nudge on his shoulder. Scorpius gently moved to the side so Albus could lay down.
"I heard what you said... every word," muttered Albus, already falling back to sleep. "About a school. Like Hogwarts but with a weirder name..."
The last thing Albus felt before being engulfed in darkness was a soft kiss on his cheek, and Scorpius's warm breath in his ear.
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
The alarm clock rung shrilly. Albus groaned and rolled over, whacking the snooze button with his hand. He was about to fall back to sleep when he suddenly realised what day it was. He sat up, grinning to himself and looked over at Scorpius, snoring, completely unconscious to the world. Albus reached behind, grabbed his pillow and dropped it on Scorpius's head, who jerked awake.
"Whosere?" He muttered, his voice thick with sleep.
"Wake up, you dork. It's Sunday, we're going out, remember?" Scorpius looked momentarily confused.
"...Oh yeah, we are aren't we?" He stretched out and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Nine thirty." Scorpius paused mid stretch.
"... in the morning?" Albus looked at him with his eyebrows raised.
"No, Scorpius. In the evening. We've been asleep for twenty hours." he replied sarcastically. Scorpius shook his head in quiet disbelief, but crawled out of bed anyway and started searching for some socks. Albus managed to get dressed before him and he jumped down the stairs, fuelled with the excitement and nervousness of the day's events.
By the time Scorpius had stumbled down the stairs, Albus had already finished making breakfast. It was Scorpius's favourite, Full English with no tomatoes.
"What's this for?" Asked Scorpius.
"What, I can't make my favourite person his favourite breakfast?"
"Of course, I'm not complaining, it's just a surprise that's all." Scorpius sat down and immediately started tucking in to his meal. Albus sat opposite him, trying to enjoy his food, but he was too nervous and only ended up eating around half of it. Scorpius finished it off for him, and once again Albus questioned whether Scorpius was related to his Uncle Ron.
"So, where are we actually going?" Scorpius asked, pointing his wand at the empty plates and making them float with a soft clatter into the kitchen sink.
"Um- well, I was thinking we could go around London. Maybe go to Diagon Alley, or... something."
"Hm, okay. Are we apparating?"
"Yeah, it's the fastest way, I think, and we have to be there by eleven."
"Why?" Albus quickly realised his slip-up.
"Oh, um... no reason in particular it's just... a good time." Scorpius seemed to accept the answer and he stood up, smiling.
"Welp, we'd better get a move on then."
Scorpius held tightly onto Albus's hand as they apparated into The Leaky Cauldron. Scorpius had never really liked apparating, so Albus didn't complain when Scorpius gripped Albus's hand until he could hardly feel it.
The pub was relatively empty due to the time of day, but there were a few wizards and witches dotted around here and there, eating stale bread rolls and reading the Prophet. Albus lead Scorpius into the tiny courtyard, where there was nothing except a few tufts of grass and a bin. Albus stood in front of the old brick wall, counted three up and two across, then tapped the brick three times with his wand. There was still an hour and half to go until eleven o'clock, which is the time Albus wanted to propose to Scorpius in front of King's Cross. Today was September first. Nine years since they first met.
"What are you smiling at?" Asked Scorpius. Albus looked up, suddenly realising he had, in fact, been smiling to himself again.
"Oh, nothing, just thought of something."
"It was my beautiful abs wasn't it?" Albus laughed.
"Sure, Scorp."
Like the pub, Diagon Alley was also quite empty, which Albus preferred greatly. He guessed everyone was busy getting their children ready for the train to Hogwarts. It reminded him of when he was eleven. So excited to go to school, but also highly anxious, James not helping with his wild stories about Dragons and Thestrals. In that moment, young Albus didn't realise that Hogwarts was never as good as he thought it would be, what with the constant taunts and threats from bullies, and his lack of magic skills that he hadn't managed to posses from his parents. But, he thought, looking lovingly at his boyfriend, it was also the best thing that had ever happened to him.
"Can we go into the bookshop?" Asked Scorpius. They had stopped outside Flourish and Blotts and Scorpius had that look on his face he got whenever he was near books. Albus was accustomed to it and knew not to deny Scorpius the opportunity for extra knowledge, not that he needed it.
"Haven't you read all the books?" Joked Albus, though knowing that it probably wasn't a joke.
"I like looking at them," retorted Scorpius, already walking through the door. Albus rolled his eyes.
'My boyfriend is such a nerd, I love him,' thought Albus, following Scorpius into the bookshop, laughing at how his boyfriend's excitement grew with every new leather-bound cover.
It was only by luck that Albus looked at his watch when he did. They had been so busy pointing their noses into the yellow pages of thick, dusty books, they hadn't realised that a whole hour had passed. Albus's heart leapt.
"We should go," he said. Scorpius looked up from a large book with a dark red cover.
"But I'm reading," replied Scorpius.
"You're always reading."
"True." Scorpius begrudgingly put the book back on the shelf and followed Albus out into the street. Albus tried to remain as calm as possible. He wanted the whole morning to be nice, so the proposal would be extra special, but what else could you fit in in the space of half an hour? Scorpius seemed quite content with having read the whole bookshop.
"What do you want to do now?" Asked Albus. Scorpius shrugged.
"Do you want to get some food?"
"We've literally just had breakfast."
"That was about ten years ago."
"Alright, wanna go to the ice cream parlour?"
"Do you even need to ask that?"
Albus and Scorpius walked back down the street. Albus's mind was whirring with plans and it was getting harder and harder to hide his anxiousness. He looked over at Scorpius. He wished he didn't have anything on his mind except ice cream.
They stopped outside a small shop coloured white and purple. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was scrawled across above the entrance in green writing. Albus's mother had told him that the actual Florean Fortescue had died long ago, and was owned by someone he didn't know the name of, but guessed that they were a relation of the previous owner.
A bell dinged from somewhere in the shop as Scorpius entered enthusiastically, Albus closely behind him. The woman behind the counter looked up, grinning.
"Hello, dears!" She greeted. Albus nodded to her politely and Scorpius waved joyfully, making a beeline towards the counter displaying all the different flavours of ice cream. Albus loved it when Scorpius was like this. When he was in a good mood- which was often- he was like a happy child, all smiles and waves and getting excited at the smallest of things.
"Wait," said Scorpius, looking up at Albus. "I didn't bring any money."
"Oh, that's okay, I'm paying." Albus pulled his wallet out, as if to prove his point. The woman behind the counter was watching them and smiling.
"You two seem like good friends," she observed. Albus mentally sighed and refrained from rolling his eyes, which was something he did a lot at the moment. He was getting a little sick of people immediately assuming they were straight. Scorpius jumped in before Albus could open his mouth.
"Boyfriends, actually," he corrected, with the same voice Albus used with the man in the jewellery shop, daring her to say something against it. Luckily, she didn't.
"Oh, that's nice!" She replied. Scorpius nodded, then pointed at one of the flavours.
"I'll have chocolate and raspberry, please." The lady picked up a scoop and started digging through the frozen solid ice-cream.
"Any toppings, dear?" She asked.
"...Everything?"
"Scorpius, we've been over this already, you can't have every topping!" Reminded Albus.
"Ugh, fine, I'll have chocolate chips."
The sunlight beamed down on their faces as they walked out the shop, enjoying their ice creams. Scorpius looked like he was in his element right now, which Albus was very pleased about, though he was still rather concerned about how much time they had left to get to King's Cross. He checked his watch again. 10:40am. They had twenty minutes. The good thing about Scorpius, though, was that it didn't take long for the ice creams to disappear.
"Now what?" Asked Scorpius, who was eyeing up the bookshop again.
"I was thinking we should go somewhere else now," suggested Albus. His chest tightened with nerves. This was it. It would be eleven o'clock in exactly seventeen minutes, which means he was about to propose to his boyfriend in seventeen- no, sixteen minutes time.
"Okay, where to now?"
"It's a surprise, you'll see."
Albus lead Scorpius back down the street and into the courtyard behind The Leaky Cauldron.
"Hold onto my arm," Albus instructed. Scorpius grabbed hold, a little tighter than was comfortable as he realised that they were going to apparate again. Albus focused his mind on an empty spot near King's Cross, where muggles rarely went near, so it was unlikely they'd be seen. He turned on the spot and with a loud 'CRACK' they arrived behind a large, run-down building. Scorpius regained his balance and looked around.
"Um... where exactly are we?" He queried.
"Well, we're still in London."
"Oh, thanks, that really narrows it down. It's not like London's massive or anything." Albus took hold of Scorpius's hand and squeezed it.
"You'll know where we are in a minute."
They had to walk down a few small, empty streets to get to the main road, and by the time they got there it was exactly four minutes till eleven o'clock. But it didn't matter as the station was now right in front of them.
"Hey! I do know where we are!" Cried Scorpius. "This is King's Cross! But- why are we here?"
"Don't you know what day it is?"
"Um... yes? No. Maybe?"
"It's September first, duh!" Albus dropped his voice a little. "Today is the day we met." Scorpius features melted into realisation and he looked at Albus with eyes full of emotion, obviously remembering their first meeting.
"So it is," he murmured. Albus linked his arm through Scorpius's and lead him across the road. There it was, in all its glory, the station where Albus met the love of his life. It was only fitting that he proposed here.
Two minutes.
"I wonder who's getting on the train right now," pondered Scorpius, looking at the doors. "Which houses the new kids will get sorted into. If they'll have friends or not."
"Maybe there's a little boy or girl about to meet their future soulmate." Scorpius laughed quietly.
"Maybe that soulmate will offer them sweets and act like an idiot, because they got a bit tounge-tied at seeing such a lovely person."
One minute.
"Maybe they won't care about their soulmate's awkwardness, because it just makes them more attractive."
"Maybe they'll talk the whole train ride, and become completely inseparable by the time they get to school." The two men were very close together now. It would only take a tiny jerk of the head to be kissing. But before one of them could make the move, the large clock on top of the building started to chime. It was eleven o'clock. Now was Albus's chance. He stared straight into Scorpius's light grey eyes.
"And maybe, in a few years. That little kid will be standing in front of their soulmate, their heart bursting with love, and with a very important question to ask." And with that, Albus pulled out the small box from his coat pocket and got down on one knee. Scorpius covered his mouth, his eyes wide. Albus was vaguely aware of a few people around them gasping.
"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. I've loved you ever since I met you exactly nine years ago today, and I'll continue loving you forever, and dammit, I want to spend the rest of my life with you! So, will you, literally make me the happiest man alive, and be my husband?" Scorpius nodded. Albus had barely got his words out before Scorpius started nodding.
"Yes, Merlin yes!" Albus got to his feet and was immediately wrapped in Scorpius's arms. He heard people clapping, one person even cheered, but none of them mattered at this moment. At this moment, the only thing that mattered was that he was about to spend eternity with his favourite person in the world, and he felt like if he looked in the Mirror of Erised right now, he would see nothing but his reflection. He had never been happier.
Author's note:
Kay so, this is my first proper fanfiction, I wrote it a while ago and now I'm finally able to publish it. I hope it's good! Not really sure what to say, I've never written an author's note but uhhh I'd like to thank my Scorbus Buddy (you know who you are, and I love you, girl!) she's the most awesome person ever, and she helped so so much with my writing confidence. She's also the first person to read this, and to scream incoherently at the gayness, or the Twitter DM equivalent of screaming incoherently. Everyone is legally obliged to appreciate her. Also please read her Scorbus fanfiction over on AO3 called "The Inevitable Fate" its literally the best, most beautiful and amazing thing I've ever read. Anyone who's been searching for a good Scorbus fanfiction since CC came out can stop looking, cos her fanfiction is INCREDIBLE!
Okay I'll stop fanfirling #notsponsored
Hmm, what else?
...
Casual Affair by Panic! At The Disco is underrated.