Those Dratted Posters

Disclaimer: For those stupid enough to believe that I'm JK Rowling... I honestly am not. For starters, I don't write anywhere near as well as her. That's just one reason out of many. Believe me.

Hugo scowled down at his older sister. "Rose, I hate you."

She shrugged and smiled sweetly at him. "Not my problem that someone put those dratted posters up..."

"Yes, it is. Because you put them up."

Rose waved a hand vaguely and wrinkled her nose. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Either way, you have no way of proving it. Anyway, come on, you have to come down to the Great Hall at some point. Otherwise you won't be able to see your boyfriend."

Hugo pounded his head into the wall and glared at Rose. "Why did you even do it? And, I've told you, he's not my boyfriend! He's my friend!"

"Yeah... who you happen to be in love with," she said, raising an eyebrow. "And you can't deny it, because you told me."

"I still don't know why I did that," Hugo grumbled. "Life isn't fair."

With a shrug, Rose went on her tiptoes and ruffled up his hair. "Life isn't fair," she agreed. "But, hey, look on the bright side: Scorpius is actually gay! So you do have some chance with him."

"No, I don't. He likes someone else. He told me."

Rose gave him a look. "Did he actually tell you a name?"

"No..."

Rolling her eyes, Rose snorted. "Boys are so oblivious. Now, stop hiding out in your dorm and come with me."

Blanching, Hugo followed her out of the room and down the stairs, trying to ignore the staring and scowling once more as he came face to face with a giant poster with him on, one that spilled his biggest secret. Yes, Hugo Weasley was in love with Scorpius Malfoy. He wasn't even sure how the blonde Slytherin would take it; he just hoped that he wouldn't hate him for it. The entire population of Gryffindor who were in the common room looked at him, and he ducked his head and quickly made a bee-line through the portrait hole. When he and Rose were standing in front of the Fat Lady, he shook his head. "I really hate you."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do. Anyway, can't I go now? I'm not hungry."

Rose snorted and shook her head. "Hugo, you haven't eaten in twelve hours. You hadn't been out of your dorm in three days. Now, come on. You will eat."

Knowing that it was best not to disobey his sister, Hugo nodded and followed her down towards the Great Hall, ducking inside quickly and grabbing a seat, purposefully not looking at the Slytherin table.

"Hey, look! Hugo's actually alive!"

Looking up at the familiar voice, he shot a glare at Albus and punched him lightly in the stomach. "Git."

Albus' face adopted an 'I'm innocent' expression and then sat down next to his cousin. "Anyway, Scorp wants to see you."

At this, Hugo groaned and face planted the table - completely forgetting about the plate of food that Rose had just placed there.

The girl snorted. "Attractive, Hugo. How could Scorpius not fall for someone with mashed potato stuck to his face?" Shaking her head, she turned to Albus, knowing that Hugo wasn't going to ask her next question, as embarrassed as he was already. "When and where?"

"The Room of Requirement. In... ooh, five minutes."

The fifteen year old ginger sighed. "Rose, kill me now."

Rose seemed to be fighting between laughing and scolding him. Dearly hoping for the latter, Hugo was disappointed when she started to laugh. "No, I don't think Scorpius would be very happy if I kill you." She raised her eyebrows, her eyes trying to convey something to Hugo.

"Oh, yeah. I guess then he wouldn't be able to kill me himself."

Sighing, Rose shook her head. "You... I give up. I really do." She turned to Albus, who had remained miraculously silent during their short exchange. "You tell him."

Albus snorted. "Nope. I'll leave that for the man himself - oh, look, there he is."

Despising himself as he did so, Hugo turned around to look at the Slytherin, sighing heavily. Why did he have to fall for him? His cousin's best friend. They'd spoken quite often, joked with each other, even hugged each other, but never without someone there, mostly Albus. Hugo felt nervous and he looked back at his plate just as Scorpius turned to face him. "I guess I'd better go clean myself up," he said, pointing to his face unnecessarily. Rose could only assume it was because of anxiety.

"You not hungry anymore?" Albus asked, a concerned expression on his face.

Hugo silently shook his head, standing up slowly, aware of the surrounding giggles. "See you guys later, then, if I'm not killed by Scorpius." He waved a hand in their vague direction and then made his way to the bathroom. Having not bothered with personal hygiene for three days, he looked like total shit. Shrugging it off, he figured that if he was going to be killed anyway, there was no point in looking his best. He cleared the potato off and then sighed.

He stepped out of the bathroom and made his way tentatively towards the Room. Once there, he stood outside uncertainly, not sure of how he was going to get in. As if it read his mind, the doors sprang open and Hugo pushed it open cautiously, wondering what to expect.

Surprisingly, the Room was just a plain room, the walls painted grey with one window. Scorpius was leaning against a wall, eyes boring into Hugo. The lack of chairs made Hugo uncomfortable; obviously, Scorpius wasn't intending on having a long talk. Eventually, when he could put it off no longer, he stood looking around the Room and met grey eyes. He slipped in the rest of the way and shut the door gently behind him.

"Urm... hi." Hugo said, after the silence stretched out for a few seconds.

Scorpius smirked and his chuckles echoed around the room. "Aren't you supposed to be a Gryffindor, or something?" He asked, eyebrows raised, not dropping his gaze from the ginger, who blushed and look down at his feet.

"Yeah..."

"So? You want to say something to me, then? Because, believe it or not, I have better things I could be doing with my time, and I'm sure you do too."

Hugo swallowed the lump in his throat, thinking about the things he'd rather be doing with Scorpius, alone, in the Room of Requirement... another blush lightly up his cheeks, he stole a glance at Scorpius and then reverted his gaze back to the floor. "I, uh... I love you." He shook away his fear and looked at the Slytherin directly in the eye. "I love you, and I know that you don't feel the same, and everything, and I know I should have told you, and I know you don't want to be friends anymore, and I know you hate me, but... I love you."

"All of those 'I know's? My, my," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "I'm afraid you only got one out of four on that."

"I- what?"

Scorpius laughed and folded his arms. "Yes, I suppose you should have told me. But you were wrong to assume all the others. Although," he said thoughtfully, "I guess I don't want to be friends with you anymore."

Trying to get his head around what the boy he was in love with was saying, Hugo frowned. "But I..."

Rolling his eyes, Scorpius pushed himself off the wall and made his way over to Hugo, only stopping when he was about ten centimetres in front of him. "In one word that even you can understand..." he closed the gap and pressed his lips against Hugo's.

Hugo gasped. The feeling running through his veins was magical; it filled his whole being and made him ache for more. As he came to his sense, he lifted his arms around the other boy's neck and worked his mouth. He was new to this, having never kissed anyone before, much less a boy, but clearly Scorpius wasn't. Hugo didn't dare to think about how many people the Slytherin had kissed before him.

They drew apart, and Scorpius smirked at him. "You really need to work on your kissing skills, you know."

"I, urm..." Hugo was speechless.

"Good thing you have such a good teacher, though. But if you continue to be unable to say anything after we kiss, then people will start to wonder why you never say anything ever..." he raised an eyebrow, watching Hugo's bewildered expression.

"You mean... you want to kiss me again?" He asked in disbelief.

Scorpius sighed and rolled his eyes. "You are the slowest person I know, I swear. Yes, you idiot. Of course I do. I..." he took in a deep breath, forcing his eyes up to meet Hugo's. "I love you."

This was only responded to by Hugo gaping at him. "I... you... really?" He croaked.

"Yes, doofus." He hit him gently on the arm. "Just because I'm a Malfoy doesn't mean I'm completely devoid of emotions. Although, you're the first person that I've told I love."

"Why?"

Scorpius shook his head a tiny fraction, obviously wondering if Hugo was going to say anything more than one word per sentence. "Because I was so in love with you. You even missed all the hints that your cousin and delightful sister dropped. I do wonder about you sometimes, Hugo."

"So... you love me?" He asked, for clarification.

"Yes, don't expect me to repeat it again. Malfoys aren't supposed to fall in love as a rule, but it's not the only rule I've ever broken."

Hugo smiled and chortled. "Probably not the last rule you're going to break either."

Scorpius cocked his head to one side. "You've actually learnt something about me, today. Well done, Weasley. Now, I believe your cousins will want to know all the dirty details. I suspect you better go and tell them, before them come in to see what the delay is."

Grinning, Hugo looked up at his friend- boyfriend? "Are we... dating, then?"

"And here I was, thinking that you'd actually found a brain." Scorpius teased through a smirk, before his expression softened and he nodded. "Yes. If you want."

"Oh, I do want. You have no idea how long I've waited to hear those words." Hugo leant in closer.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I think I do."

As the Slytherin closed the gap, the Gryffindor couldn't even remember what they'd been talking about; he wanted to cherish this moment forever - Scorpius' lips on his, his hands curled around the taller boy's neck... it was perfection.

A/N: I figured, since I write too much Albus/Scorpius, that someone else should be allowed a go. I know it's incredibly cutesy - well, I think it is - but hopefully you liked the humorous bits too. Now... why don't you tell me your thoughts in a review? ;3