Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

WARNING: This story contains female on male rape and self harm. If either of these things are triggering to you, DO NOT READ. I will put a warning at the beginning of each chapter that will explain what triggers will occur in the chapter so you can skip it if you so desire, but read with caution. This story deals with very serious themes.

The first snowfall of the season landed on Hogsmeade, white fluff drifting down to the ground. It was early this year but greatly appreciated as students, already excited for their trip, engaged in snowball fights nearby and ordered hot cocoa from The Hog's Head or the Three Broomsticks. Others had escaped into shops for warmth, much to the delight of the shop owners who had a sudden influx of customers.

Albus originally planned on retreating into the Three Broomsticks when the snow had started but it had quickly packed up with students, so he had avoided it, instead sitting on a bench near Honeydukes and munching on a sugar quill. Not far from him, Dominique was engaged in a snowball fight with some of her friends, and Albus was forced to keep an eye out for it in order to know when to dodge balls of frigid snow.

"Hey."

The voice came from directly behind him, close enough that he could feel warm breath on his ear. He jumped and turned his head quickly, coming face to face with a grinning, blonde-haired teenager. His grey eyes were bright and there was a smudge of chocolate by his lips.

"Scorpius, you scared me!" Albus exclaimed, reaching back and shoving the boy slightly.

Scorpius just grinned wider and moved onto the bench so he was sitting beside him, throwing an arm around Albus' shoulders. Albus unconsciously leaned into him, smiling despite himself.

"Sorry, Albie. It was just too much fun to resist," Scorpius exclaimed cheerfully. He shoved a box at Albus, "I got you a chocolate frog from Honeydukes. I was going to get more, but it was too crowded."

He wrinkled his nose up at the name, but took the frog anyway.

"Thanks. You've got a little something on your face, by the way," Albus said, gesturing to the chocolate that stained his pale skin, "Already ate one without me, I see."

Scorpius grinned, "You know me. I can't hold myself back from chocolate. It's a flaw of mine," he said dramatically, "Don't blame me for not being strong enough to hold myself back from the chocolate's temptation."

"Oh, shut up," Albus said with a light laugh, leaning closer into Scorpius. He reached up, gently wiping the chocolate off of the boy's face. His green eyes connected with Scorpius' eyes, and he found himself lost in them, "There," he said softly, "Much better."

Scorpius had such beautiful eyes. They were grey, with flecks of blue, and made Albus feel as if he was looking into a cloudy sky. They were always so wide and happy, able to find Albus in a crowd so quickly. When he was angry, they would get so dark, as if that cloudy sky had broken out into a storm. Albus had only witnessed it a few times. Scorpius was not an angry person. He was generally rather cheerful, which was something that Albus loved about him.

He found himself leaning in more as he stared into the boy's eyes, and Scorpius did the same, until their lips connected in a soft kiss.

It didn't last long, despite how much Albus wish it did. A commotion down the street had Albus pulling away to see what was going on, part of him worried that it would be a reporter that would send pictures of their kiss to the papers.

Luckily, it was not a reporter, and instead it was James, Albus' brother, and his girlfriend, Ava Myers. Ava had stormed out of Zonko's with James right on her tail. She was yelling and shouting and James was silent, but the glare on his face made it clear that he was angry.

"Uh oh," Scorpius muttered, eyebrows furrowed, "Are they fighting again?"

"Seems so," Albus let out a sigh, frowning at the display. This would be the third major blow-up since the year started, and they hadn't even reached Christmas Break yet.

Ava was still shouting. Now out of the shop (which Albus had a sneaking suspicion that they had been kicked out of, probably for their fight), she had whirled around on James, "How DARE you? I can shop wherever I want to shop, James!"

James took a step back in surprise when she turned on him but stood his ground, "They're the enemy! You promised me that you would only shop at Uncle George's shop!"

Albus shook his head at his brother's words. James had always been very loyal to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, refusing to shop at Zonko's due to them being the competition. He had even gotten a job at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes over the summer. It seemed like catching Ava shopping at Zonko's had made him a bit upset.

He could understand why James was a bit upset, but also why Ava found the whole thing ridiculous.

"That's it!" Ava shouted. She threw her hands in the air and glared hard at him, "We're done, James Potter!"

"Merlin," Scorpius whispered beside him. He turned to Albus with a small smirk on his face, "Rose owes me ten galleons. I bet that they would break up again before Christmas Break."

The fight was absolutely ridiculous, and breaking up over it even more so. Yet, they had broken up over less serious things in the past. They had been off and on for three years now. There was no doubt in his mind that this break up wouldn't last long.

"Mm, I bet you ten galleons they will be back together before Christmas Break," Albus challenged, watching as Ava stormed away from a silent James, whose anger had melted away into heartbreak.

Scorpius hummed for a moment, in thought, before nodding, "You're on."

Albus turned his attention away from the scene as Freddie and Roxanne made their way over to James to comfort him, as they had so often since Ava and James had started to date. He glanced over at his boyfriend and grinned at the sight of his boyfriend. Snow clung to his hair and his cheeks were flushed with the cold.

He leaned in and kissed Scorpius again. James and Ava weren't his problem. He would talk to James later about it, as he always did, and reassure his brother that Ava did not hate him, but he would not let their drama affect his relationship. He and Scorpius were happy, and in that moment, Albus could not think of anything that could ruin that.