I know, I haven't written anything in a long time but I've been having trouble finding the time and the enthusiasm to write anything so when the inspiration for this one struck I was thrilled. This is my first time writing these characters and unlike what I usually write, I don't have a lot of canon to fall back on concerning their personalities so I'm sorry if they seem a bit wobbly while I get my head around who they are. Anyway, as always; enjoy and tell me what you think.

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Contrary to what Albus's dad had feared upon seeing Draco Malfoy with his own son on platform nine and three quarters for the first time, Albus and Scorpius had very little to do with one another for the majority of their schooling. With Albus surprising no one in his family by being placed in Slytherin and Scorpius surprising everyone by being placed in Ravenclaw; their lives and circle of friends remained largely unaware of each other.

In their six years at Hogwarts the two boys had interacted only twice; once when Albus had run into the blonde boy outside of first period Potions, in which he'd apologized and they'd gone their separate ways and the second time they'd been studying at separate tables in the library and Scorpius had asked to borrow a quill. That was the extent of it and Albus was aware of the collective sigh of relief throughout the castle when it became clear the two boys had no interest in continuing their father's rather legendary war. Of course all of that changed three weeks into Albus's seventh year.

…

When you grow up in such a large family you come to appreciate the importance of alone time, something Albus had learnt long before his siblings. Of course when you share a dorm with fifteen other boys, more creativity is needed. His brother James had relied on the Marauder's Map stolen from their father's desk draw to aid him in his midnight activities. Albus used a different method, one that wouldn't get him in trouble with his dad should he be caught with a map he wasn't supposed to know the existence of.

Although the prefect's scouting routes were meant to be random, they rarely were and each had their own section of the castle they preferred. Tonight being Friday meant that the Hufflepuff Prefect was meant to be patrolling the library and the surrounding area, however Albus knew he had a habit of using his time to make out with his girlfriend by the second floor suit of armor instead of actually doing his job.

Which is how Albus found himself strolling down the blissfully empty hallway, the moonlight shinning in from high windows and illuminating his way. The night air was chilly and he shoved his hands deep into his pockets, sighing happily at the silence. He loved his friends and he loved his family, however mad they all were, every now and then he needed peace and quiet and…

The heavy doors of the library swung open violently, smashing and splintering against the stone walls, their hinges squealing in protest. A thick cloud of ash and smoke came pouring out, making his eyes water and his lungs burn. Through the smoke he could see the burning inferno that had once been the library and he froze, mouth open and eyes wide at the sight.

He should run, get out of there quickly before teachers and students arrived, but he was frozen to the spot, not quite believing what he was seeing. In his shock he didn't see the boy with platinum blonde hair coming towards him until it was too late and he hit the ground with a thump, the air whooshing out his lungs.

His head spinning from the hit he rolled onto his side, coughing and spluttering, gasping for air but getting smoke instead. The blonde had fallen next to him and was staring wide eyed at the room full of orange fire he'd managed to escape from. It took Albus a moment to recognize the blonde boy covered in ash as Scorpius Malfoy and he blinked.

He didn't know what was more surprising, that the quiet boy who more or less kept to his small group of friends had seemingly snapped and set fire to the school or that a Ravenclaw had set fire to a room full of books.

"Malfoy… what did you do?" he asked breathlessly, at a loss for anything else to say.

The blonde boy startled like he'd forgotten Albus was there and shook his head jerkily, looking at him with watery eyes. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to." He whispered, barely audible over the crackle and pop of the flames.

Albus couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he looked like hell, his eyes were red and bloodshot from the smoke, face smeared with ash and his robes were charred in places and completely burnt away in others. Before he could answer they heard hurried footsteps and yelling from down the hall and Scorpius began to shake.

"I'm going to be expelled. My life is over."

Albus watched as Scorpius started to hyperventilate and started to panic himself. He didn't do well with comforting people and even if he was, there was nothing he could say that wouldn't be a lie, chances were, Scorpius was going to be on the Hogwarts express on his way home in a few hours.

The footsteps were closer now and Albus knew it was only the thick grey smoke pouring from the burning room that was hiding them from view and it wouldn't last much longer. He looked over the other boy's shoulder to the end of the hall, if he ran now right before the Professors stumbled upon Scorpius, he could make it down there without being seen while they dealt with the blonde boy and slip through the hidden passageway behind the portrait without anyone knowing he was here and keep his spotless record.

He hadn't done anything wrong, why should he get in trouble when it was Malfoy's fault? For all he knew the blonde would blame him in the hopes of avoiding expulsion. Mind made up he stood to his feet ready to bolt, and then he made the mistake of looking down Scorpius who was so caught in his own worry, hadn't even realised Albus had stood up.

Ice blue eyes met his and god Scorpius was handsome, even looking like he'd lost a fight with a Blast Ended Skrewt. He looked so lost; nothing like the confident boy he'd seen walking around the castle, or the cold aloofness Albus had seen in Mr. Malfoy.

Why wasn't he running already? He was wasting time! Unfortunately for Albus, he had much more of his dad in him than he sometimes liked to admit and tonight that part of him won the battle.

Shit!

He dragged Scorpius off the ground roughly, there was no time to be gentle and linked their hands together. "Run."

To Scorpius's credit he didn't falter and took off running, keeping with pace with Albus as they bolted down the hallway. Yells to stop alerted them to the fact they hadn't been quick enough to avoid being seen but they made it the portrait before anyone could catch them and Albus shoved Scorpius inside the hidden passage way, muttering a quick sticking charm behind them.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius panted, breathless from the run and the smoke. "They saw us, now we'll just get in trouble for running as well."

"Only if they catch us. There's no way they recognized us from behind, especially with your hair the way it is." Albus told him, gesturing to the ash-streaked hair, which almost completely concealed the instantly recognizable Malfoy platinum blonde. "We need to keep moving, that sticking charm wont hold."

He dragged Scorpius down the dark, roughly hewn passageway, knowing at any second the portrait was going to swing open.

"Why are you doing this?" Scorpius asked, sounding much calmer as he obediently followed Albus through the dark.

"Damned if I know." He muttered in return. When they reached the other end of the passageway, he stopped suddenly, causing Scorpius to bump into him with a small grunt.

"We're stopping? Why?"

"We need to fix you up. You might as we'll be holding a sign saying 'I like to set fires.'" Albus explained. Scorpius stood out like a sore thumb in his charred robes. "We'll come out near the Charms classroom, then we split up. If you go right you'll come to a dead end with a suit of armor on your left, kiss its cheek and it will step out of the way to reveal a set of stairs, they go straight to the fifth floor, that's where the Ravenclaw tower is right?"

"Yeah. How do you know that?"

"The perks of having a brother with a magic map."

Quickly he tapped the boy's robes with the tip of his wand, silently thanking his mom for teaching him basic household spells. He continued until Scorpius's robes look good as new. Next was his hair, which was easily fixed with a few low level cleaning spells.

"If you're caught, you admit to nothing, understand?" Albus ordered, a constant litany of curses steaming through his head as he wiped the black smudges off the boy's face with the sleeve of his robe, ignoring the flip in his stomach at how intimate this was. Why was he doing this? Why did he feel the need to protect this boy he hardly knew? Maybe his dad had been right to be worried all those years ago; maybe Malfoy's and Potter's were simply drawn to one another for better or worse?

Scorpius managed a hasty nod, still looking a bit dazed but Albus supposed he would too if he'd burnt down a piece of Hogwarts and was now being dragged through the school by a boy he'd never said more than three sentences too. Realizing it was as much confirmation as he was going to get, Albus pushed on the portrait, it swinging open to bring the two boys face to face with four stone-faced Professors and one seething Headmistress McGonagall.

Well Shit…

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So I know this was a short chapter and the others will be longer, this one is really just to open the story and set the stage.