for uni

prompts at the bottom

thanks to shiba and ck for betaing!

987 words by gdocs

1.

Everything seems new. Scorpius has grown up in the Wizarding World. He knows what magic is.

Still.

Going onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters for Hogwarts is amazing in Scorpius' eyes. It's like he's seeing everything for the first time. Or maybe it's because of the knowledge that he's finally going to Hogwarts. He can't focus on one thing to look at.

There's the train sitting there, smoke billowing out of it. It's a nice shade of scarlet. It could be a Muggle train and Scorpius wouldn't know the difference; it just seems more magical. There are people walking around, in long robes and in short Muggle clothes.

There's magic in the air, almost tangible to Scorpius.

Giving his father a swift hug, he makes his way onto the train. This is it. He's about to go off alone for the first time. Hogwarts, here he comes.

…

2.

Scorpius scans the station for some sign of Albus, ignoring all of the other people.

He catches a flash of black hair — is that Albus? — and decides to go follow it. With a rushed goodbye to his father, he follows the direction he thinks the hair went in.

Pausing for a second, he turns back around — he should probably say a proper goodbye — but his father is already gone.

A weird feeling takes its place in Scorpius' stomach, but he tries to ignore it. It's not that he's never been alone before. He'll be fine without his father.

He should find Albus.

…

3.

Honestly, Scorpius should've just come to King's Cross alone. He's old enough to navigate the Muggle trains by himself. He would've been fine without his father. He bets that no other third year has their father kissing them besides the train.

Scorpius' father says bye, but Scorpius just shrugs it off, heading onto the train.

Really, he wishes his father wouldn't embarrass him so much. He's a teenager. He doesn't need to be smothered. Thank goodness he gets to escape at Hogwarts. He won't have to deal with his father until Christmas.

…

4.

Scorpius practically falls into Albus' arms when he finds him at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Albus pats his hair and Scorpius knows that he should get up and explain why he's breaking, but he just… can't.

He already left his father as quick as he could — being alone with him was beginning to feel suffocating — and he thought that maybe when he saw Albus, maybe when he got on the train to start fourth year, he'd feel better.

Scorpius doesn't feel better, though. There's a hole in his heart, a hole only his mother could fill.

Scorpius is hugging Albus like it's the only thing that's keeping him alive. He knows that he'll always have Albus no matter what, but at this moment, Scorpius has never felt more alone.

…

5.

Trying to find his boyfriend Albus is different than trying to find his friend Albus, and it would be easier if Scorpius didn't have his father standing next to him. Scorpius wants nothing more than to get away from his father and just see Albus again. He wants to hug Albus and breathe in his scent and kiss him and just be with him again. Yes, his father is aware that they're dating, but Scorpius knows that his father doesn't entirely approve. He wouldn't want to put his father through seeing him with Albus.

Scorpius is pretty sure he sees Albus a few yards ahead of him and his father so he turns to his father with a tight smile and begins to walk towards him, leaving his father behind.

If only his father was a little less uptight, maybe he wouldn't be so bad to be around, but honestly Scorpius would prefer to be alone.

…

6.

Scorpius knows that his father is trying to be comforting, but it's not really working. He knows that his father is aware that he always finds Albus at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters every year, and they both know that Scorpius won't be looking for him this year. Maybe his father was right when he told Scorpius that Malfoys and Potters don't mix.

It might have seemed like a little fight, but everything that built Scorpius and Albus' relationship just seemed to explode during the summer. Scorpius doesn't know if he'll get his boyfriend back, or even his best friend back.

Suffice it to say, Scorpius isn't looking for Albus when they arrive at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, but he still doesn't want to be with his father, who's trying so hard to cheer him up. It's almost pathetic, really.

Scorpius just wants to get on the train and make it through his sixth year. Alone.

…

7.

Scorpius is alone.

Even though he spent the majority of last year hoping that Albus and him would be able to repair their relationship, they never did, so it's not like Scorpius is going to go looking for Albus.

And then, this summer, with his father dying on that mission…

Scorpius wishes his father was here. His father, who spent every first of September dropping him off. It feels foreign to be at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters without his father. He never really realised that his father gave him someone to be with every single year. How his father ensured he wouldn't go to Hogwarts alone.

If there had ever been a time when Scorpius wished he wasn't alone, it's now. He still remembers how Albus helped him after his mother died. Scorpius wishes he had Albus now.

Someone taps him on the shoulder as Scorpius looks at the train, mentally preparing himself to get on it. He turns around to find Albus standing there, looking slightly sheepish.

He knows Albus says an apology, but Scorpius is already collapsing into Albus' arms.

He doesn't want to be alone.

for:

monthly one-shot exchange [for uni, alscor, angst, no mention of harry]

the houses competition [year three, gryffindor, standard - 1st september]