Hello all. This little oneshot came to me one day and I just had to put it to paper and share it with my fellow scorbus fans. I know it's not really the time of the year for this type of story but I don't really care. I consider this story to be in the same story line of my other multichapter story, Tricked. If you have read that story then you will know this takes place before the events of Tricked. That being said you do NOT need to read Tricked to enjoy this oneshot. I hope you all enjoy this little oneshot.
Chocolate Hearts
Many people find it hard to put their feeling into words but some find that when they create something by hand with their loved one in mind the feelings can be passed on.
Scorpius was reading from a small pink book as he sat alone in the library. Next to him sat a stack of books of similar subjects to the one in his hand: confessing one's love for another. It had been a long 4th year thus far and while he had confessed to Rose after the time-turning fiasco it seemed as if the stubborn girl had not taken the confession to heart. While she was much nicer to him than their earlier years at Hogwarts, it was still obvious that she avoided Scorpius and Albus quite often.
Scorpius felt as if he were in limbo. He still admired Rose but part of him was unsure if the acorn was really growing quite the way he had planned it to. It was like he took the time to water the tree, but Rose didn't even seem to realize the acorn existed.
Now Scorpius had one goal. To make Rose decide if she was going to help the sapling grow big and strong or not. Scorpius didn't know why, but he felt like he needed answers because currently he just felt stuck.
Scorpius had discovered that he was never the best at talking with Rose and was hoping that he could possibly get his feeling across through a handmade gift. His mother had always insisted that handmade gifts held much more love than store bought, and he was going to hold true to this thought.
He flipped to the next page of the pink book he was reading, finding a small index of handmade sweets ideas. Scorpius was leaning towards making a sweet treat knowing that everyone loved sweets. His eyes immediately shot to a sweet labeled minty hearts. Scorpius flipped to the page containing the curiously named treat. It held a simple recipe, perfect for a first time pâtissier. His mind immediately wandered to Albus as he read about the small minty chocolates. Parts of the melting process seemed sensitive but it couldn't be that much harder than making a potion. He let loose a small hum as he read through the ingredients, knowing that this would definitely be something Albus would enjoy.
"Wait! You're not looking to make a treat for, Albus," Scorpius reminded himself as he gave his head a small shake. He looked over the recipie for only a second more before flipping to the next page.
This was the fourth time a recipe had reminded him of Albus. He made a mental note to try and make some of the ones he come across at a later date.
"You're not here for Albus, Scorpius! Get it together," Scorpius grumbled to himself in frustration. He had flipped through several books already but had no idea what Rose would possibly like in regards to food.
"Looks like you're studying hard," Albus said out of nowhere.
Scorpius let loose a surprised gasp as he practically jumped to the ceiling.
"Albus?" Scorpius breathed as he shook off his nerves. "You're going to give me a heart attack someday."
"Sometimes I forget you zone out everything when you're studying," Albus teased as he took a seat next to Scorpius.
"What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked trying not to sound to put off. He had hoped to do this particular research on his own. "I told you I would be down soon."
"Is it so wrong if I want to hang out with my best friend," Albus shrugged.
Scorpius lifted an eyebrow unconvinced.
"And maybe the common room is less fun when you're not around," Albus added trying to sound like it was not a big deal.
"Aw, that's very sweet of you, Albus," Scorpius teased as he give his best friend's arm nudge.
"And I see that you have decided to get into baking," Albus said as he shifted the conversation to the large stack of books on the table. "I had no clue you were interested in a new hobby."
"Oh well. I… This is…" Scorpius mumbled.
Scorpius had yet to tell Albus about his plan. He had found with time that Albus never really cared to talk about the crush he had on Rose. Perhaps it weirded him out, being that she was his cousin and all.
"It's for my Muggle Studies class," Scorpius insisted.
Now it was Albus's turn to lift an eyebrow.
"I had no clue we had such an assignment," Albus commented, his tone thick with amusement at the blatant lie.
In his panic, Scorpius had forgotten that Albus was in this class. Albus was in all his classes!
"I take it you are planning something for Rose?" Albus asked knowingly.
"How did-" Scorpius began to ask.
"You're my best friend, Scorpius," Albus said as he laid a hand on Scorpius's shoulder.
For some reason this action calmed Scorpius's nerves.
"Also, Valentine's Day is this weekend," Albus added as he gave Scorpius's shoulder a hearty pat. He had a smug smile on his face, proud to have figured out his best friend so easily. "Find anything good?"
"Well, not really," Scorpius hummed as he placed the pink book on the table. "You wouldn't happen to know of anything she might like?"
Albus though for a long moment. Rose had always been the type who had enjoyed most anything and never seemed to lean towards any particular sweet as far as Albus could tell.
"Well, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron always give her a large chocolate cake on her birthday," Albus shrugged. "She always seems happy with it so maybe go with something chocolate."
"Yeah… I was hoping for something more exciting… something with an exciting twist to it other than just chocolate," Scorpius hummed as his mind wandered back to the chocolate heart recipe he had read earlier.
"Exciting twist," Albus mimicked with a dash of affection. "Sounds very Scorpius," Albus said with a nod.
"Is… Is that a bad thing?" Scorpius asked cautiously.
"No, I don't think so. I find Scorpius-y things to be very pleasant," Albus insisted in earnest.
Surprised by the complement, Scorpius looked to Albus and was met by his vivid green eyes. Scorpius's heart gave a strange but pleasant beat as if it were trying to jump out of his chest. His ears felt like they were on fire as a tickling feeling settled in his stomach. Scorpius immediately focused on the feeling, not being able to really give it a name. Was he nervous? That had to be it.
"Oh, um, thank you," Scorpius mumbled as the strange feeling faded.
"I think if you just do you, it will be fine," Albus insisted. "If Rose doesn't realize how great of a person you are then that is her loss," he grumbled with a nod. This was something Albus often said in regard to his cousin.
The strange thumping feeling returned to Scorpius's chest for a moment.
"Well then, I will just have to keep your advice in mind," Scorpius replied as he ignored the feeling in his chest. "Thank you for the advice."
"Well, if you need any help, I am here for you," Albus offered, though he didn't seem to have his heart fully into it.
"I… Thank you but I think I will do this on my own," Scorpius said. "Several of the books talk of the importance of making the gift on your own," he explained.
"Hummm, yeah, I probably wouldn't be any good in the kitchen anyways," Albus sighed. "Almost burnt my dad's kitchen down over the winter holiday making toast."
"Yeah, I remember you writing to me about that," Scorpius said with a stifled chuckled. The letter had contained a very smoky smell.
"Yeah, Mum and Dad weren't too happy but kept it in," Albus carried on with a satisfied grin.
Scorpius laughed lightly, imagining what must have gone down that day at the Potter household. A frustrated Harry, a defensive Ginny and a moody Albus.
"Anyways, it's getting late. Shall we head down to dinner?" Albus asked as he stood up.
"Yeah, maybe some food will help clear my mind," Scorpius sighed as he too stood up.
With that, the two boys made their way out of the library and down to dinner.
…..
Scorpius gave an audible huff as he looked at the ingredients laid out in front of him. There was a large bag full of dark chocolate, some white chocolate, mint extract, several bowls and various heart shaped molds. Scorpius had, for the first time in his life, bribed the house elves to allow him some time in the kitchen as well as access to the ingredients he needed. It had not been too hard to do so but Scorpius was not much of a rule breaker by nature.
"Now, where to start…" Scorpius hummed to himself as he flipped open the small pink book he had checked out of the library. "Ah, here we are," he mumbled as he opened to the page with the simple mint chocolate recipe. For some reason this recipe kept popping back into his mind as he considered what to make, so he just went with his gut feeling.
For the fifth time since that morning Scorpius read through the seemingly simple recipe.
"Right, temper the chocolate," Scorpius sighed as he set up a rather large bowl over a saucepan half filled with water and readied the heat. He then measured out the suggested amount of chocolate into the bowl and began to gently stir. "See, just like Potions," he said as he tried to convince himself there was nothing to worry about.
As he stirred the slowly melting chocolate, he remembered the most important part of the candy making process.
"Right, I must think of the recipient," Scorpius said with determination. He tried his best to think of his lovely Rose.
His mind wondered to about a month ago when he, Albus and Rose had spent a Saturday in Hogsmeade. It was right after the winter holiday and they and been exchanging winter holiday stories. Rose had joked about how aloof Albus always was at family gatherings but would always quietly linger in the background.
"I caught him a few times laughing and smiling along with everyone else when he thought no one was looking," Rose had said. "We know you love us, Albus," she had teased.
Scorpius had longed to one day spend Christmas with Albus and his family. He knew it would be a day full of life and laughter, something he had never really been able to experience being from such a small family. His Christmases had always been quiet. Whenever he thought of sitting by the fire sipping Baileys bundled in a blanket with Albus by his side, it sent a shiver down his spine and a warm happy feeling swelled in his stomach.
Scorpius mindlessly stirred the now mostly melted chocolate as the Christmas fantasy danced through his mind. A stupid smile spread across his face as his gray eyes glazed over in content.
"If you're not careful, you will overheat the chocolate," came the squeaky voice of Winky the house elf.
Scorpius's body gave a lurch as he came back to reality.
"Huh! What?" Scorpius gasped as he looked around. "Oh yeah, um, thank you," Scorpius nodded as he looked to Winky who was studying the chocolate that was now almost melted.
"If you heat it too much or not enough it will have a dull look to it," Winky said timidly.
"Oh yes, I read about that," Scorpius nodded, his mind back on the chocolate in front of him. "Thank you for the help," he said as he smiled at the small female house elf.
Winky timidly shuffled her feet as she gave a small nod.
"Let Winky know if you need any assistance," she replied quietly.
"Yes. Thank you. I will let you know," Scorpius nodded awkwardly. It was a common fact that this particular house elf could be a bit sensitive, so Scorpius was treading lightly so as to not set her off.
Winky gave another quiet nod before walking off to carry on with whatever chore she had to take care of.
Scorpius turned his full attention back to the now fully melted chocolate.
"Right! The temperature," he mumbled as he checked the candy thermometer sticking out of the chocolate. "Just a little more and it should be good," he said as he watched the little red line creep up the thermometer.
Before long, the chocolate reached the temperature indicated in the book. Careful not to spill the chocolate nor burn himself, Scorpius removed the bowl from the heat and stirred in some mint flavoring. He dipped his pinky finger into the bowl of chocolate for a taste test. He sucked the rich minty chocolate from his finger, causing a small pop noise to echo throughout the kitchen.
"Mmmmm, not bad, Malfoy," he hummed satisfied with the balance of dark chocolate to mint.
Next he positioned the heart molds. There was one large heart shaped mold that was about four inches in diameter and a few mini, one-inch heart shaped molds. Scorpius had decided to make a few smaller chocolates to share with his friends as well.
Carefully, he tilted the bowl and poured the chocolate into the molds. The task was much easier said than done. Several times he overfilled a few of the molds and somehow got several spots of chocolate all over his clothes and even his face.
"I should have worn an apron," Scorpius mumbled as he poured the chocolate into the last small heart mold. "Finally," he huffed as he set the bowl aside.
Without missing a beat, he pulled out his wand and cast a charm on the chocolates so that they would give the eater sparkling ice breath, something Scorpius had decided to add as a little extra. Albus would most likely find it amusing.
"Rose!" Scorpius corrected himself as he gave his head a shake. "You're making these for Rose."
Next Scorpius cast a cooling charm on the chocolates to help it set faster.
As he waited for them to set, he got to melting a bit of white chocolate that he could use to decorate the hearts once they were set. The white chocolate was a much smaller amount so it only took a few minutes of the white morsels to melt.
"What color shall I go with?" Scorpius hummed as he thought about the best color to decorate the chocolates with. "Yes, perhaps green would be the best. Green for mint," he decided after a moment of thinking. Scorpius has always been partial to the color green and it wasn't just because he was a Slytherin.
With a swoosh of his wand, the white chocolate became a vibrant green. He gave his wand another flick and a sparkle was added to the green. Scorpius studied his work with a satisfied nodd. The swirling sparkling green chocolate reminded him of the twinkle Albus's eyes would flash when Scorpius would tell a particularly funny pun.
Scorpius laughed softly as he poured the shining green liquid into a small piping bag and set it aside.
Truing back to his heart chocolates, Scorpius was pleased to find that his cooling spell had set up the chocolate perfectly. He immediately started popping the chocolates from the molds. He was delighted to find that the chocolates had a satisfying shine to them.
"You really outdid yourself, Malfoy," Scorpius quietly cheered with a small jig.
Once all the chocolates had been popped out of their molds, Scorpius neatly lined them up on the counter to be decorated. He had thought long and hard on what to write on the large chocolate heart for Rose. There was only so much space on the chocolate heart, so every word mattered. Knowing he only had one real shot of getting the message right Scorpius readied the piping bag in his hands.
"Don't mess this up," he mumbled to himself as he tried to keep his hands from shaking. With as steady a hand as he could manage, Scorpius wrote out the message he had decided on. Once done, he lifted his hand and studied the emerald sparking letters. "Not bad for a first time," he sighed in satisfaction.
He studied the shining letters for a moment, making sure he really was satisfied with his work. The green letters once again reminded Scorpius of his best friend's eyes. His heart gave another strange lurch and the fuzzy feeling from last night returned to his stomach.
Scorpius shook his head as he tried to push the feeling away. Not dwelling on it, he turned to the smaller chocolates.
"Your turn," he mumbled, as the fuzzy feeling in his stomach disappeared. Scorpius decorated the small hearts with swirly designs, each one having it's own individual pattern. It only took him a few minutes before he was done decorating all the chocolates.
"See! I knew you could do it, Malfoy," Scorpius cheered as he studied the beautiful chocolates. "Now they just need to finish setting."
"If you keep talking to yourself like that, people are going to think you are crazy," came a very familiar voice from the doorway.
"Albus!" Scorpius gasped as he turned to find his best friend leaning on the doorframe in an obvious attempt to look cool. "What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked as he tried not to laugh as how much Albus was failing at looking cool.
"Bored," Albus shrugged as he strode on over to where Scorpius stood.
"I should have know," Scorpius sighed. "How'd you know to find me here?"
"Being that tomorrow is Valentine's Day and you were so nervous about getting your little gift ready in time, I suspected you might be here," Albus replied as he studied his chocolate-covered friend. "Did something blow up?"
"No. Why would you ask?" Scorpius asked with a tilt of his head.
"Well, you have a little something here, and here and here…" Albus began as he pointed out all the chocolatey spots on Scorpius's body. "And a big glob right here," Albus said as he poked a rather large chocolate glob on Scorpius's cheek. He stuck his finger in his mouth as he sampled the melted chocolate. "Mmmm, not bad."
Scorpius's heart beat aggressively in his chest as he watched his best friend suck the chocolate from his finger. His pulse accelerated yet again as his ears became hot.
"Albus," Scorpius squeaked, not able to get much more out. Why did he suddenly feel so flustered?
"Are you okay, Scorp?" Albus asked as he examined Scorpius. "You're looking a little red."
"I'm fine," Scorpius replied quickly. "I think I'm just nervous is all."
Albus's green eyes examined Scorpius as if he didn't quite believe him. He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something but stopped half way. He paused for a moment, thinking.
"Do you need help with any other preparations?" Albus finally asked.
"No! No, I'm- it's fine," Scorpius stuttered as he turned away from his friend. "I'm just waiting for the chocolate to set."
"Oh, you're done already?" Albus asked, genuinely surprised.
"Well, it wasn't a particularly difficult recipe," Scorpius explained as he collected the cooking utensils he had used.
"I would have expected you to try something extravagant," Albus said with jazz hands.
"Since this is very important, I didn't want to mess it up," Scorpius replied as he handed off the dirty dishes to Albus.
Albus, in confusion, took the dishes as he looked to Scorpius for an explanation.
"Turns out I can use your help," Scorpius said with a cheeky smile.
"Should have known," Albus sighed with a roll of his eyes.
"If we work together we can get these cleaned quicker and then maybe do something fun before dinner," Scorpius said as the two dropped the dishes into the sink.
"Don't you know any washing charms?" Albus asked as he examined the dishes.
"Nope," Scorpius said with a shake of his head. "Wash or dry?" He asked as he held up a sponge in one hand and a drying towel in the other.
"Dry," Albus sighed as he took the towel, his expression playfully upset.
"Then I shall wash," Scorpius cheered as he turned the sink on and got scrubbing. "You know, I did see some really interesting recipes in the small pink cookbook I would like to try out someday," Scorpius said as he passed off a dish for Albus to dry. "If these chocolates turn out right I may just give some other treats a try."
With that, the two quickly got lost in a normal conversation. One where Scorpius jabbered on about something he found interesting and Albus contently listened.
…..
Scorpius's hands shook with nervous energy. Today was the day. He was going to confess his love to Rose and demand a 'Yes' or 'No' answer out of her. He had to do this. He didn't know if he could take not knowing anymore.
Being that it was a Sunday and Gryffindor had secret Quidditch practices early mornings on Sundays, Scorpius had decided he would ambush Rose after her practice was over. He would make his way down to the Quidditch pitch after eating and wait for the practice to end and then spring it on her. Now he just needed to get his body moving.
He was excited to present his gift to her but another part of him was nervous. He was nervous to hear the answer but he wasn't quite sure what answer he was nervous to hear.
'Definitely don't want her to say no!' Scorpius internally screamed.
'But what if she does say no?' came his pesky inner voice.
'She won't. She will definitely return my feelings!'
'Well, what then? What if she does return your feelings?'
'I don't know… I guess we will date.'
'But what about Albus?'
'Albus?'
'What will happen to Albus?'
This wasn't the first time this thought had come up during one of his internal arguments. It always caught him off guard and it left his mind blank and very confused.
"If you don't eat your eggs, they are going to get cold," Albus said through a mouthful of toast.
"What!" Scorpius said as his mind shot back to reality.
"You've barely touched your food," Albus said, motioning to Scorpius's full plate of scrambled eggs.
Scorpius looked to his plate as if he had no clue what an egg was. He had not even realized he had taken so many eggs. With his stomach the way it was, there was no way he was going to be able to eat the large pile.
"Eggs…" Scorpius mumbled mindlessly as he poked at the yellow pile. His stomach was too full of butterflies to fit any eggs.
"Hey," Albus said as he rested a hand on Scorpius's shoulder. "It's going to be okay no matter what Rose says," Albus said in a low voice so others could not hear.
Scorpius looked to Albus and was met by earnest green eyes. Scorpius's heart thumped loudly in his chest and his ears went hot yet again. Scorpius was at a loss for words as he got lost in the emerald gaze.
"Hey! Are you okay, Scorp?" Albus said as he gave Scorpius's shoulder a small shake.
The shake brought Scorpius crashing back to reality. He blinked the daze from his mind as he did everything in his power not to look Albus in the eyes again.
"Yeah I'm… I'm fine," Scorpius said with a small shake of his head.
Albus removed his hand from Scorpius's shoulder but still examined him in concern. He opened his mouth to say something else but Scorpius stood up before anything could be said.
"I think I am going to just go down now," Scorpius said, not daring to look Albus's way.
"Do you want me to-" Albus began.
"No!" Scorpius said, harsher than he meant to, noticing Albus flinch ever so slightly. "No," he repeated in a calmer tone. "I think I need to think through this on my own."
"Oh, yeah, right," Albus mumbled reluctantly.
"I'll come find you when I am done," Scorpius said as he let out a shaky breath.
"Well, good luck," Albus said.
"Thanks," Scorpius replied, looking to Albus but not making eye contact.
With that, Scorpius slipped away from the table and out of the Great Hall.
'What was that?' Scorpius internally screamed at himself. 'Nerves! It's only nerves over my confession!'
'Nerves? Is that what you call it?' came his pesky inner voice.
'Quiet, you!' Scorpius thought as he quickened his pace.
Before he knew it he was at the Quidditch pitch. A little surprised at how fast he had made it to his destination, Scorpius looked around a little confused as to what to do next. He had a feeling the Gryffindor Quidditch team would not want a Slytherin watching their practice. He had not planned to arrive quite this early.
Thinking quickly, he located the locker room the Gryffindor players often used for practice.
'I will just camp out here and catch her on her way out,' Scorpius decided as he stood a little to the side of the locker room in hopes that the other teammates would not take too much notice of him.
As he waited, Scorpius looked around the snowy February grounds. It was a rather bright, cloudless day for being the middle of winter. Perhaps the weather was also cheering him on in his endeavours. He mindlessly stuck his hand in his robe pocket and felt the small box that contained the chocolate he had made for Rose. His heart began to pound with adrenaline as he felt the silk ribbon that was tied around the box. His other hand fiddled with the smaller foil wrapped chocolates in his other pocket.
Suddenly the door to the locker room swung open to reveal two of Rose's teammates. They both noticed Scorpius immediately but both chose to ignore him, rolling their eyes as they walked to the castle. Seconds later, three more team mates exited the locker room in the same fashion, all three ignoring Scorpius.
Scorpius's heart pounded in his chest. He knew Rose had to be one of the next to leave the locker room. He removed his hands from his pockets and rubbed them together in an attempt to keep them from becoming too sweaty.
"Here we go, Scorpius. You can do this," Scorpius hurriedly whispered to himself.
Just then the the door to the locker room swing open.
"Stop that, it tickles," came the unmistakable giggling of Rose Granger-Weasley. Scorpius had never heard her giggle before!
"Rose?" Scorpius mumbled timmidly.
"Scorpius?" Rose replied in surprise as she exited the locker room.
Scorpius's eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
Gryffindor's 5th year Chaser had an arm wrapped around Rose's waist and Rose's arm in return was wrapped around him. They seemed to have been caught at very intimate moment. The 5th year immediately stoot up and puffed out his chest at the sight of Scorpius.
Scorpius took in this scene, his gray eyes wide with shock, his mind completely blank. It felt as if his heart had stopped.
"Oh, stop that!" Rose immediately scolded as she gave the Chaser a poke. "Scorpius, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I, ah-" Scorpius stuttered, still unable to articulate a single word.
'Could he be her boyfriend?' his mind screamed.
"Hey! If you have something to say, then say it, Malfoy," barked the Chaser.
"I told you to cool it!" Rose scolded yet again.
"I just came to give you a gift!" Scorpius blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Oh," Rose replied reluctantly.
In a panic, Scorpius's hand shot into his pocket and pulled out one of the smaller heart chocolates he had made the day before.
"I- I made chocolates for everyone… for Valentine's Day," Scorpius lied as he passed her the small chocolate heart.
"Thank you, Scorpius," Rose said as she took the small chocolate from him. "It… It looks very cute," she commented awkwardly as she examined the small, foil-wrapped heart.
The Chaser shot Scorpius a very suspicious look but said nothing.
The three stood awkwardly as a late morning wind past between them.
"Well, we better be on our way," Rose said breaking the silence.
"Right!" Scorpius practically shouted. "Yes, I have things I must get done and I am sure you two will be busy, too, today being Valentine's Day and all," Scorpius rambled.
"Yes, well, I'll see you later, Scorpius," Rose said with a small laugh and a shake of her head. With that, she and her new boyfriend linked arms and walked off towards the castle.
Scorpius watched them walk away in complete silence. As he stood alone in the cold he became aware of the very numb feeling he felt in his limbs and the beating of his own heart. For some reason it also felt as if a large weight had been lifted from his back. With his mind blank, he made his way back up to the castle.
…..
Scorpius sat alone, looking out a rather large window in the Astronomy tower. Scorpius needed to be alone, and knowing that the tower was off limits during non-class hours he had decided to set camp here while he sorted out his emotions. He often snuck into the tower when he needed time away from the other students and, at the moment, the last thing he wanted to do was run into Rose and her new boyfriend.
It never felt good to be rejected, even if the exchange had not actually happened, but Scorpius could not help but feel like his mission was a big, fat failure. Despite how insistent he had been that Rose would return his feelings, a part of him always knew that it would never come to reality.
A part of Scorpius felt so empty and disappointed, but he wasn't feeling as terrible as he thought he would. He had expected to be devastated if the day ever came when Rose became out of his reach, but he just felt sad. He was a little frustrated with himself for feeling this way, for not feeling more broken up over it.
Scorpius held the box with the large chocolate in his lap. It was a pink box with a silky white ribbon neatly wrapped around it. He had originally planned to just throw it away, toss it right off the top of the Astronomy tower, but he just could not bring himself to do it. He fiddled mindlessly with the ribbon as he looked out the window to the Quidditch pitch.
"Hey, I thought I would find you here."
Scorpius jumped in his seat and turned quickly to find Albus standing behind him.
"Albus! What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked with a gasp.
"Well, I saw Rose and…" Albus paused as he tried to find the right words. "I thought you might need some company."
"Oh, right," Scorpius said with a half-hearted sigh. He really didn't know what to say. Part of him felt extremely embarrassed over the whole event, but he was happy to have Albus.
Albus scooted a chair so it was right up against Scorpius's and took a seat.
"It's lousy, how oblivious Rose can be of such good thing," Albus sighed awkwardly. He was obviously trying to console Scorpius.
Scorpius smiled weakly at his best friend's attempt of consolation.
"What are you talking about?" Scorpius asked with a sad laugh.
"You, of course," Albus said as he looked to Scorpius. "She really does not realize how lucky she is to have someone like you fancy her."
Scorpius felt his cheeks go pink as he once again gazed into Albus's eyes. His heart yet again began to beat heavily in his chest.
"I- I'm nothing special…" Scorpius mumbled as he tried not to read too much into Albus's compliment.
"What are you talking about," Albus said as he rested his arm around Scorpius's shoulder.
Scorpius's heartbeat increased and his ears went warm.
"You are the kindest, smartest, most brilliant person I have ever met and it is her loss for not realizing that," Albus insisted.
As Albus spoke, Scorpius felt a warmth spread from his heart through his whole body. He felt excited and calm at the same moment. He felt the need to get closer to Albus. To touch Albus. What was this feeling?
"To be honest, I expected to find you crying," Albus said awkwardly after a moment of silence. "But I'm happy to see you aren't."
"It's strange..." Scorpius whispered as he fought the need to lean into Albus's arms. "I feel more relieved than upset," Scorpius admitted awkwardly as he looked to Albus for reassurance.
Albus looked surprised and confused for only a moment before giving his best friend a kind smile.
"I guess you finally realized what a mormon Rose really is," Albus joked, his green eyes twinkling.
Scorpius felt himself get lost yet again. The sun shone through the window they sat by and landed like a spotlight on Albus. Scorpius could not help but notice how attractive a person his best friend really was. His carelessly tousled hair framed his face in such a way that it really brought out how nicely sculpted Albus's face really was. He had a strong chin, perfect eyebrows, his cheeks were full with a slight pink to them from the cold and his lips parted in the most beautiful smile Scorpius had ever seen.
Realizing how long he must have been looking at Albus, Scorpius looked away and out the window.
"You've gotten better… you know," Scorpius started.
Albus tiled his head in confusion, his smile now more of a confused twist.
"You've gotten better at talking more about me and less about you and your dad," Scorpius smiled affectionately as he stole a side glance at Albus. He smiled softly as he saw Albus's ears go a bit pink.
Albus stuttered for a moment in embarrassment.
"You're my best friend! Of course I would be here for you during your heartbreak," Albus awkwardly replied, looking out the window and not at Scorpius. "I had to make sure you were okay. It's what best mates do."
Scorpius felt his heart ache. He had felt a feeling similar to this when he had first fancied Rose, but the feeling now was 100 times as intense. His body felt so light, and being next to Albus felt right.
Without thinking Scorpius placed the pink box in Albus's lap. It just felt right giving it to Albus.
Albus took the box, a bit confused.
"I accidentally gave Rose your chocolate so you will have to make do with this…" Scorpius lamely explained.
"Well, we would not want it to go to waste, would we," Albus joked as he pulled the ribbon form the box.
Scorpius watched Albus from the corner of his eye as Albus lifted the lid and looked at the chocolate hart.
"Be Mine…" Albus read aloud. "Be Mine? I thought this was what you were going to use to confess to Rose," Albus said with a small smile.
"When I thought about what to say that's all I could come up with," Scorpius squeaked with a shrug.
"You're usually so poetic," Albus grumbled more to himself than to Scorpius.
Scorpius gave another shrug. Now that he looked back on it, he had not really felt like his heart was in it when writing it out yesterday.
"Now for the taste test," Albus said as he snapped the pointy part of the chocolate heart. He popped the piece of chocolate into his mouth. He thought for a moment as he chewed, before his face melted into another smile. "Wow, thats really nice," Albus said. As he spoke, puffs of cold sparkles left his mouth.
Scorpius smiled with affection as he watched Albus pop another piece of chocolate into his mouth. He felt overwhelmed with happiness.
"I like your choice of chocolate, and it's my favorite flavor, you know," Albus said, now half way done with the chocolate heart.
"Yeah, I know," Scorpius replied with a soft smile. With every comment Albus spoke, Scorpius felt more and more butterflies well up in his stomach.
"Looks like we are going to have another lonely Valentine's Day," Albus sighed, a large puff of sparkles left his mouth with the sigh.
"Yeah…" Scorpius mindlessly replied as his focus zoned in on Albus's lips. He felt the sudden need to know what those lips felt like, the need to kiss his best friend.
"Seeing that we are going to be alone, I guess I will be yours for the day," Albus joked, referring to the words on the half-eaten chocolate heart.
"That would be nice," Scorpius sighed, more dreamily than he meant. The idea of having Albus as his very own sent Scorpius's mind into total bliss.
Albus must have thought Scorpius's gaze was a joke because he gave Scorpius a playful nudge.
Scorpius laughed along with Albus light-heartedly, not sure if he was ready to act on his true feelings. He was finally able to put a name to the feelings he had been having for Albus: love.
….
Yes, nothing like a Valentine's Day story in late September, am I right. I could not help it. The idea jumped into my head and I needed to write it now or I would have forgotten about it com February. I hope you all enjoyed the Scorbus fluf. If you have time than hop on over to my other multichapter fic, Tricked. Also, please do leave me a comment with you thoughts and such about this one shot. I love hearing from my audience. I hope you all have a great September and a wonderful Halloween.
I would like to thank my beta reader, Teenage Mouse. She, as always, helped me out a lot with making sure the final draft was not wacky and all over the place. If you find some time please hop on over to her page and check out her work.