Author's Note: This is the sequel to Turn to Gold, in case you hadn't realized that yet. This story also has a song basis, but it's a little different than TTG. While TTG was based on one song, with each chapter being a line from the song. Look Around is based on the Album Look Around by Anthony Rapp, with each of the twelve songs on the album representing a chapter. The songs are not in the same order in the fic as they are on the cd, though the first and last chapters of the fic are the first and last songs on the cd. Originally I was going to name the fic Now I Know, after the song which will serve as the last chapter and which was the original inspiration for using the album, but I decided to use the name of the album instead, since the fic is based on the entire thing. I will be putting the song lyrics for each chapter at the end of the chapter.

I hope this sequel meets your expectations!

-SQ

Disclaimer: The Song "Living Alive" belongs to Anthony Rapp, all of the characters and things from the world of Harry Potter belong to Jo, hell, I can't even take credit for a lot of the ideas in the fic, since I'm certainly not the 1st person to use them. But I'm not making money off it so who cares?

Chapter One: Living Alive

"Al! Al! Albus!"

Albus's friend Asher Thomas stuck his head into their dormitory. "Scorpius is outside the portrait hole shouting for you."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Isn't he supposed to be the patient one? Tell him I'll be there in a minute."

He scanned his unmade bed to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, tucked his Potions textbook into his bag, and trotted down the stairs, across Gryffindor common room, and out of the portrait hole.

Scorpius Malfoy, Albus's one-time arch-enemy, was standing there, hand on his hip.

"You're late."

Albus shrugged. "I'm always late." He pulled Scorpius down by his green and silver Slytherin tie and kissed him on the lips.

Scorpius returned the kiss, his hands coming to rest on the shorter boy's shoulders. Even after over two years he couldn't believe that Albus was really his.

Albus released Scorpius's tie and and broke the kiss. "Good morning," he said, smiling impishly up at his boyfriend of nearly two-and-a half years.

"Good morning, yourself," said Scorpius.

"You could have come in, you know," said Albus. "You know the password."

Scorpius shook his head. "I'm a Slytherin, Al, not a Gryffindor. I don't belong there."

"You belong with me," said Albus.

"You sound like a bad romance movie," said Scorpius.

Albus shrugged. "Come one then, let's go down to breakfast before everyone else eats it all up."

The two sixth years walked down to the Great Hall together hand in hand, studiously ignoring the looks many students gave them as they passed. The population of Hogwarts looked on the boys' relationship with a feeling of incredulity; most people couldn't believe that they had lasted this long. Three years ago Scorpius had been solitary, broken, and friendless, looking to suicide as his only way out. Now he was confident, popular, and never far from the side of Albus Potter, his arch-enemy turned boyfriend.

The two boys were hardly thought of as individuals anymore; they were "Albus-and-Scorpius", "Al 'n' Scorp", Hogwarts's token odd couple. From rival houses and rival families, they were a sort of modern-day Romeo and Juliet. And everyone knew how that story ended...

Albus and Scorpius parted ways at the entrance to the Great Hall and went to sit at their respective tables. Scorpius watched as Albus was hailed by his myriad of family and friends, the people who, over the last three years, had become Scorpius's friends too. He looked down his own table. Sylvester Nott and Zachary Goyle, the two students who had done the most to make his first three years at Hogwarts a living hell, were no longer there. They would have graduated the year before if they hadn't been expelled in their sixth year for sexually abusing Scorpius. Albus, of course, had been the one to help him overcome that part of his life. He didn't know that Scorpius still occasionally had nightmares about the two older boys...

Scorpius pushed Nott and Goyle to the back of his mind and looked down the Slytherin table again. He was struck, not for the first time, by the fact that he still felt like an outsider in his own house. Sure, he was no longer miserable or frightened there, but he spent nearly all of his time with Albus and his circle of friends, so that he didn't have his own circle of friends.

Seventeen and not a single real friend in my own house, he thought. Pathetic. He looked to his right where Kevin Goldstein, a fellow sixth year with curly strawberry blond hair and a rosy complexion, was sitting.

"Hey, Kevin, how are you today?"

Kevin looked at him, surprised. Even though they had shared a dormitory for five and a half years and were on good terms, they had rarely spoken to each other. Well, duh, thought Scorpius, I leave the dormitory early every morning to go meet Albus at freakin' Gryffindor Tower!

"I'm pretty good," said Kevin, "how are you and Albus?"

Scorpius gritted his teeth. Couldn't, just once, someone ask how he was without adding Albus in there too? He loved Albus with all his heart, but they were two different people!

"We're good," said Scorpius, not letting his irritation show in his body or voice. It was a skill that came fairly naturally to a Malfoy, and had only been heightened by being in the closet for close to three years.

Xander Montague, an olive skinned seventh-year and the only other openly gay Slytherin, leaned over from Kevin's other side. "Well that's a pity," he said. "But that aside, how are you today?"

Scorpius looked at him, puzzled; Montague had never paid him any notice before. "What do you mean?"

"Well," said Montague, "now that we've established that your's and Potter's relationship is fine and dandy, though I can't say I'm happy about that, can the same be said for you individually? Or is it to be assumed one and the same?"

"I'm well," said Scorpius, surprised and a little irked by the question, not to mention what Montague had said about not being please he and Albus were doing fine. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Of course," purred Montague "As long as Potter is happy you're happy, right?"

"Not necessarily," protested Scorpius. "And what's wrong with being happy, anyway?"

Montague snorted. "Nothing, nothing at all. Whatever you say, Malfoy. If you ever want to try living your own life, look me up." And with that he turned back to his breakfast.

*****LA*****

Scorpius was preoccupied all week with what Montague had said. The thing was, Montague had given voice to something that had been bothering Scorpius for a while now. His whole existence did seem to revolve around Albus. It made sense; Albus had made him who he was today. Only...who was that exactly? Albus's boyfriend, he thought morosely, chewing on the ends of his long, blonde hair, a habit Albus hated.

"Earth to Scorpius," said Albus, coming up beside his daydreaming boyfriend. "What do you want to do this afternoon? Neither us have Quidditch practice—"

"Actually," said Scorpius, making a decision on the spur of the moment. "I was thinking of spending some time with some of my Slytherin friends."

"You don't have any Slytherin friends," said Albus.

"What do you know?" Scorpius snapped. "Aren't I allowed to have friends of my own? Or am I only allowed to hang out people pre-approved by you?"

"Whoa, Scorp," said Albus, taken aback. "I never said that. If you want to hang out with some of your house-mates then that's cool. I just thought you didn't have any friends in Slytherin."

"Well you were wrong," said Scorpius shortly.

"Easy, Scor," said Albus, touching his boyfriend's arm softly. "What's wrong?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I'm sorry Al, I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Maybe later," said Scorpius. He bent down and kissed Albus tenderly. "I'll see you later."

*****LA*****

Montague looked up as Scorpius came over to where he was sitting.

"Look who decided to join us after all," he said, smiling. "Our very own Scorpius Malfoy."

Scorpius nodded.

"What made you change your mind?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I'm my own person; I can choose to hang out with whoever I want."

"Bravo, little Scorpius," said Montague. "You may find some real backbone yet. Sit down."

He made room for Scorpius on the couch next to him and Scorpius sat. Montague pulled a pair of bottles out of his bag. "A toast to Scorpius Malfoy! Bottoms up, mates!"

*****LA*****

"Scorp, why do you keep running off to the Slytherin common room after lessons?" asked Albus.

"If you haven't noticed, I am a Slytherin," said Scorpius.

"I know that," said Albus, "but you never used to spend so much time there. Who are you spending it with?"

"Why is it any of your business?" said Scorpius.

"I'm your boyfriend!"

"I'm seventeen, Al, don't I think I'm old enough to take care of myself?"

"I'm just curious; who're you spending so much time with? I'd like to meet them. Maybe you could introduce me."

"You wouldn't like them," said Scorpius. He wasn't sure why he was so set against Albus meeting his new friends, except that he wanted to have something of his own, one thing that he didn't share with his boyfriend. A part of his life that wasn't also a part of Albus's. Was that too much to ask?

"Who?" demanded Albus.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "If you must know, it's Xander Montague and Damian Urquhart and a few other people.

Albus narrowed his eyes. "Montague? That seventh year? I don't trust him."

"What? Because he's a Slytherin? Because he's gay?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Albus. "You're a Slytherin. We're gay. Well, you are, I'm bisexual—but that's beside the point! I just don't think he's the kind of person you should be hanging out with."

"You don't even know him," said Scorpius. "He's fun. I like him. He's interesting."

"That's not always a good—"

"You're not my mother, Albus!" said Scorpius angrily. "Stop trying to control my life!"

Albus gaped at him, "wWhat's gotten into you, Scorp?"

"I'm tired of being defined by our relationship. I'm more than just 'Albus Potter's boyfriend'!"

"Of course you are, Scorp," said Albus, "I never said..."

"No, you never said, but other people do!" said Scorpius. "It's all very fine for you. You were someone before we started going out! I wasn't! Can't I just be me for once? !"

"You are you," said Albus.

"Am I?" said Scorpius. "And who is that exactly? Who is Scorpius Malfoy? You're always telling me to be myself, but I don't even know who that is! You wanted me to live so badly, well let me live a little!"

"Just tell me what you want Scorp, and we'll do it."

"I want some space!" said Scorpius. "We. Always with the we. This isn't about 'us' Albus, it's about me. Who the fuck am I?"

"You never minded before," said Albus in a small voice. "And I don't see what Montague has to do with this at all."

Realization dawned on Scorpius's face. "You're jealous! You know Montague is openly gay and that I'm spending time with him instead of you and you're jealous!"

"Aren't I allowed to be?" said Albus, feeling hurt. "I love you."

To both of their surprise, Scorpius laughed. "Do you? Do you really? The only person you've ever been with is me, Al, and the only person I've ever been with is you. We got together when we were fourteen. Who the hell knows who they are and what they want at fourteen?"

"But, Scorp," said Albus, almost pleadingly, "we're not fourteen anymore."

"Exactly," said Scorpius softly.

"Don't you—don't you love me anymore?"

Scorpius stared somberly into Albus's wide green eyes and shook his head slowly, pale hair swinging. "I don't know."

*****Song Lyrics*****

I know you think no one knows you, but you don't know

You think you got nowhere to go, you're not alone

I know they just won't let you be, they push and pray

Don't run away

You can't be anyone else, you've got to be yourself

You can do so much more than survive

There's something you're so afraid of, you refuse to see

If you caught a glimpse of what you're made of, you would be free

I know you know...

You can't be anyone else, you've got to be yourself

You can do so much more than survive

Try living alive

You can't be anyone else, you've got to be yourself

You can't be anyone else, you've got to be yourself

There's only one you for all time,

Try living alive

Alive...

Alive

AN: And there is the first chapter. Yes, the boys had almost 2 ½ lovely years before things began to get rocky. I'm picking back up with them were there is an actual story, meaning, all is no longer well. No one wants to read about a bunch of happy, un-conflicted people. Bo-ring.

I recommend looking up Look Around and Anthony Rapp if you're not familiar with them. Anthony Rapp was the original Broadway and movie Mark in the musical RENT, if that means anything to you. Of course, listening to the entire album before reading the fic might kind of give some stuff away...

I'd really like to know what you think about this first chapter, so if you have something to say, shoot me a review.

-SQ