Note: This story was written as part of the "Ring of Fire" game in the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum.
Challenge: "Whores, any females that are participating write a story, choosing 1 prompt"
Prompts: Scorpius/Albus Severus (chosen) & "No, this is Patrick" (imposed)
Warnings: Mentions of bullying
The Ravenclaw dormitory was dark and silent. All the students had gone to bed and Scorpius made sure the door closed behind him with as little noise as possible. He'd made it up to the tower all the way from the dungeon without being noticed, he was not about to get caught now.
Thankfully, moonlight streamed into the room and Scorpius didn't have to try and navigate around the numerous benches and chairs Ravenclaws left streamed across the room. The room creeped Scorpius out. The ceiling arched high above him so that he couldn't see the top in the relative darkness. And then, there was this eerie whistling noise. Upon hearing it, Scorpius froze and thought he'd been caught. It was a few seconds before he remembered it was the wind whistling around the windows of the tower. He let out a panicked breath and tried to calm his nerves. No matter how many times he snuck in past curfew, this empty room always gave him the jitters.
Scorpius hurried to the dormitories. He kept his gaze averted when he passed the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. She gleamed in the moonlight – the silver light enhancing the white marble. The first time Scorpius came in past midnight, he'd actually gasped, thinking she was a prefect or, worse, a teacher.
Scorpius found Albus's dorm without difficulty. The door creaked as he entered but that hardly mattered now – the boys would just assume it was one of them going in or coming back from the loo.
Albus slept in one of the beds beside the window. Scorpius could never remember which. He went to the one of the left-hand side. He parted the curtains. A mass of black hair lay on the pillow; Scorpius knew all but one of the boys of Albus's roommates had black hair. The boy's head was turned away from him and the curtains were thick enough not to let much moonlight through. Scorpius couldn't see his face.
He took a chance anyway.
"Albus," he hissed. "Wake up."
The boy stirred, moaned in his sleep. "No."
"Albus."
"No," the boy moaned his sleep again. "It's Patrick."
Scorpius frowned, but reached out a hand to roughly shake the boy awake.
Albus turned around, eyes slowly parting open. He frowned his eyebrows up at Scorpius until recognition slowly dawned on him and he sat up.
"Scorpius, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Albus. Have you seen him, Patrick?"
Albus frowned again. "Are you alright?"
Scorpius chuckled. "You just called yourself Patrick in your sleep. Never mind. Come on, let's get out of this draughty place."
"It's not draughty," Albus argued as he pulled back the covers, slipped on socks and shoes and pulled a cloak over his pyjamas. "Do you think it's draughty?"
Scorpius shushed him. "Do you want to wake everyone up and get me in trouble? Follow me and shut it."
Albus didn't ask where they were going, the last time he'd insisted to know Scorpius had threatened to never come get him again on his late night escapades and Albus knew Scorpius well enough to know he didn't deliver empty threats.
It didn't take them long to make it to the Astronomy tower. The Ravenclaw tower was right next to it and Scorpius knew all the good hiding spots whenever a teacher or a prefect rounded a corner. Scorpius' heart always lurched when he saw a shadow near the corner, but the fear of getting caught gave these late night expedition an extra edge. They had started in second year, when Scorpius had developed a severe case of insomnia. When Scorpius and Albus grew closer in fourth year, the night was the perfect solution for them to spend time together.
The Astronomy tower was open as it usually was – teachers didn't anticipate students making it all the way up there in the middle of the night unless they had class and saw no reason to lock it. Scorpius conjured up a blanket and they lay side by side on it, huddled close for some extra warmth.
"I love it up here," Scorpius sighed, relishing the cool wind on his face and the warmth of the boy next to him. He reached over and took Albus's hand in his. Albus complied, parting his fingers to make room for Scorpius. "Look, there's my dad." Scorpius brought up his free hand and pointed at some indeterminate star in the sky. He drew a downward line with his finger, dipped up and then down again. At the end of the line, he drew a sort of triangle. "A lot of people assume Draco means dragon, but his constellation is actually a serpent. So fitting that he was in Slytherin, no?"
Albus smiled. Scorpius knew he'd heard it all before, but it was a quality he particular enjoyed in Albus, his understanding.
They took turns pointing out constellations they knew or liked. Albus had obviously been studying hard to keep pace with Scorpius and pointed out many stars he hadn't known the last time they were up there. Scorpius was impressed. He was taking N.E.W.T level Astronomy, but Albus had only gotten an A in the subject on his O.W.L.S. Scorpius smiled – the boy wasn't in Ravenclaw for nothing, after all. Scorpius knew Albus would easily get an E, if not an O now.
"Which one is your favorite?" Scorpius asked. He was beginning to get cold and he'd heard Albus's teeth clatter a few times. They'd been up on the roof for almost an hour. It would be time to leave soon.
"You'll never believe it," Albus said, "but there's this giant scorpion in the sky. It looks like a big J in the sky and its stingers reach the Milky Way. But the coolest thing about this constellation is that its brightest star is actually it's heart."
Scorpius turned his head Albus' way. His chest felt like it was expanding, he tightened his grip on Albus's hand, scared he'd float away if he didn't. It was ridiculous, really, how much he loved this boy.
"You're a goof," he whispered.
Albus turned his head and they locked eyes. Albus's green eyes were bright, shining. His cheeks were tinted red – from the cold? or from his confession? - and his lips parted ever so slightly.
"It's true."
Scorpius leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss on those inviting lips. "We should get back."
Albus sighed but nodded. "I suppose so. It's getting rather chilly."
They stood and Scorpius made the blanket disappear with a flick of his wand. He wrapped his arms around Albus. They stood hugging for a few minutes.
In the morning, it would be like this had never happened. They wouldn't make eye contact in class and they most certainly would not greet each other in the hallway. Scorpius's friends would likely make fun of Albus and his crew for their overly-studious nature and Scorpius wouldn't do anything about it. Their only moments of solitude, the only moments they were on equal footing, was late at night surrounded by darkness and cool winds, away from everyone and all social stigmatization. In the morning, it would all appear like a hazy, blissful dream.
Already, Scorpius couldn't wait until their next night out.