"Malfoy, Scorpius!" Professor Chang called. The boy stepped forward with more than a bit of a swagger in his step. Placing the sorting hat on his head confidently, he began tapping his foot against the floor impatiently after only sitting for twelve seconds.
"Tricky, ohhhhh yes, very tricky mind you have here, young man." The sorting hat mused thoughtfully.
"Tricky?" The young boy squeaked indignantly. "I'm not tricky! I'm in Slytherin, I've got to be! My whole family was in Slytherin!"
"I knew a boy like you before," the hat mused. "Name was Sirius Black. Thought he belonged in Slytherin too. But no, that was not him. And I can tell you too, you don't belong in Slytherin."
"But-"
"Hufflepuff!" The hat yelled. Scorpius Malfoy, hands shaking, made his way to the Hufflepuff table amongst happy, and, it must be said, confused cheers.
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"Albus Severus, Potter!" Professor Chang called. The hall fell silent at the shock of hearing the name of Harry Potter's son. Albus Severus, a bit more than nervous, walked up to the stool.
"Oh, you've just the same mind of that Malfoy boy," the hat sighed. "So desperate to please his father. You needn't worry about Slytherin, dear boy. A mind like yours, you must be in Hufflepuff!"
Albus Severus Potter sat down next to Scorpius Malfoy, though he tried his best to ignore him.
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"Malfoy!" Professor Longbottom snapped. "What do you get when you add an infusion of Gurdyroot to root of Wormwood?"
Scorpius paled. "I-I don't know, sir. I'm sorry."
Albus Severus tentatively raised his hand, a bit nervous about his new Herbology teacher.
"Yes, Potter?" Professor Longbottom said, significantly softer.
"It-it's a potion that works the exact opposite of a love potion. It makes you hate someone."
"Exactly correct, Potter."
Scorpius glared at Albus.
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"Anyone staying for the holidays?" Albus bellowed in the Hufflepuff common room. "Sign the sheet if yer stayin', otherwise you'll be expected to be on the Hogwarts express on December fifteenth!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Albus saw Scorpius signing his name while the rest of the common room jeered at him.
Hours later, when everyone else was asleep, Albus signed his name underneath his.
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"So," Scorpius said moodily. "You're staying for the holidays, too?"
"Yeah," Albus said quietly. "You didn't deserve it," he added as Scorpius began to leave. "What they said, I mean. You aren't my favorite person, Scorpius, but no one deserves that."
Scorpius turned just before he left the common room. "Thanks."
He left before Albus told him he was welcome.
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"Oi." James said, leaning against the doorway to the courtyard. "What's this I hear about you staying the holidays with that prat, Scorpius?"
"Get outta the way, James." Albus said, clutching his satchel.
"So it's true!" James said, glaring at his younger brother. "I'm telling Dad!"
"So what if you do?" Albus shouted, but James was already running across the quad towards Fred, Teddy, and Xeno.
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Scorpius got back to the common room late that night.
"Malfoy?" Albus called out sleepily from the enormous yellow armchair. "What're you doin' back so late?"
"Nothin'," Scorpius said, his posh accent sounding muffled.
"Oi," Albus called. "What 'appened?"
"Nothin'!"
"Scorpius!" Albus snapped, standing up. "You can trust me! I ain't gonna tell a teacher, if that's what your worried about."
"It'th not," Scorpius said. "I jutht don't wanna talk about it."
"What's wrong with your teeth?"
"I'm telling you, nothin'!"
"Scorpius, if you don't tell me what happens, I'll call the head boy!"
"You wouldn't dare."
"Ten-"
"Albuth, I'm begging you, don't yell!"
"Seven, six,"
"Pleathe, Albuth, don't thay anything!"
"Three, two, one-"
"Okay! I'll thow you, jutht-don't tell anyone."
Albus folded his arms expectantly. Scorpius took a dee breath.
"I wath runnin' late after Athtrology. Wath running over the quad to get back on time. That'th when they caught me."
"Who?"
Scorpius hesitated. "Promithe not to be mad," he said finally.
"Why would I be mad?"
"At them. Don't be mad at them."
Albus sighed. "Fine."
"Jameth, Fred, Teddy, and Theno."
"What?!"
"Albuth, be quiet!"
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yeth. I don't think I would get it wrong."
Albus put his head in his hands for a few seconds before grabbing Scorpius by the elbow.
"Come on," he said gruffly. "I know a friend in Ravenclaw who can fix you up."
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Rose Weasley blinked at her younger cousin. "So," she said sleepily. "I'm supposed to fix up this Slytherin for life, and not ask how he got so injured, and not tell any teachers."
"Yes, that's right." Albus said, still holding on to Scorpius' elbow. " Please, Rose. Just one thing for me."
Rose sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Fine."
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On Christmas Day, Albus Severus Potter woke up to an enormous pile of presents at the foot of his bed from his Gran, his parents, and his aunts and uncles.
"Presents!" He yelled, forgetting for a moment that he was eleven-years-old and shouldn't be talking like this in a room with only one other person in it. Glancing over at Scorpius' bed, Albus could tell he had been awake for a while. At the foot of Scorpius' bed was...nothing. Albus, tearing open the topmost package, was treated to a sight of sixteen boxes of chocolate frogs.
"Oi," he called, startling Scorpius. "Care for a frog?"
Scorpius smiled. "Never had one before," he admitted.
"Mate, you're missin' out on somethin' amazing!" Albus laughed, tossing a box at Scorpius. "You should start collecting the cards!"
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The entire population of Hogwarts was shocked at the sudden relationship between Albus and Scorpius after the holidays.
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On Valentine's Day, Albus gave Scorpius a box of his uncle George's joke candies.
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They both stayed again on the Easter holidays. Molly Weasley sent Scorpius an Easter egg. James, Teddy, Fred, and Xeno began keeping a closer eye on Scorpius, just in case.
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On the train back to London, Scorpius lost his only Harry Potter card out the window. Albus gave him a new one, insisting that Scorpius not mention it.
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At Platform 9 3/4, Albus' mum and dad glared at Scorpius when he waved goodbye to Albus.
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Year Three
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"I chose Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures, how about you?" Scorpius asked his best (and only) friend in the world.
"I got Runes instead of Muggle Studies. My dad always tells me about muggles anyway."
James, Teddy, Xeno, and Fred glared at Scorpius.
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Christmas came, and James, Fred, and Teddy stayed behind as well.
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Valentine's Day came, and Scorpius and Albus got each other joke candies.
James, Fred, Teddy, and Xeno glared at Scorpius as he and Albus laughed at the effects of the candies.
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Easter came, and, mysteriously, Scorpius' annual egg went missing.
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On the train back, Albus and Severus played darts using the passerby as targets.
Xeno, Teddy, and Fred got very angry at them.
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Year Five
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Albus kissed first, of course. Sometimes, they sorted too early.
In private, though. Under Albus' invisibility cloak, right next to the lake.
Their feet didn't even peek out because they were huddled so close together.
Someone tripped over them, but the squid pushed out poor Creevey in the end.
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In November, Albus owled his father asking if Scorpius could come over for Christmas.
His mother wrote back promptly with a yes.
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Scorpius was awkward in the Potter house.
James had Teddy over for the holiday, so the sofa was taken, and there weren't any spare mattresses or tents, as Mrs. Potter never went camping, and Albus refused to let Scorpius sleep on the floor, while Scorpius refused to let Albus sleep on the floor.
Albus and Scorpius ended up sharing a bed, not that they minded.
James wrote to his girlfriend, Charley Finnegan.
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On Christmas Day, Scorpius and Albus woke up first and fell out of the bed. Sitting between where their noses had been as an enormous rubber rat.
It was a very convincing rat, however. Scorpius stood an a corner away from the bed while Albus hit the rat with his broom handle.
James and Teddy stood outside, shaking with laughter.
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Scorpius got seven presents. One from each of the Potters with two extra from Albus.
A blanket, a box of chocolate frogs, a carton of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (best not try those, James told Albus he'd gotten a nail polish flavored one once), a fedora, a stingy piece of paper (James, probably), a book on Astronomy, and a sprig of mistletoe.
"What's this for?" Scorpius asked, dangling it over his head.
Albus leaned over and kissed him.
"That," he told the dazed Slytherin for life.
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Valentine's Day.
Everyone knew they were dating now, there was no need to keep it a secret.
Half studying, half flirting in the middle of the library was the perfect way to spend Valentine's, Albus argued. Scorpius refused to disagree.
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Easter.
They stayed at Hogwarts, as was the tradition. They gave each other eggs that had charmed chocolate doves in them you had to jump around to catch.
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Summer.
They both dreaded this time, as Scorpius didn't have an owl and Albus' owl was far too small to fly the distance between their houses.
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Year Seven
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Halloween
Fred sets off dung bombs during the decorating, not Fred Weasley II, Fred Weasley I, the poltergeist, and the Hufflepuff ghost (the Fat Friar faded away the year before they started school, Fred I tells them). Professor Longbottom catches them snogging in the pumpkin patch and hurries away quickly, and Gamekeeper Creevey tells them off.
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A reporter named Lovegood comes to the school to interview them about the infestation of Crumple Horned Snorcacks. Professor Longbottom goes a bit dreamy while she's there and spends an entire Herbology lesson telling them about what she wore to the Yule Ball in his fourth year and how he had to dance with a girl named Ginny.
Albus coughs at that part, and Scorpius leans on his shoulder, trying not to laugh but failing miserably.
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At around five p.m. that evening, Fred the Poltergeist locks the reporter and the professor in a closet together and shouts, "I'm not letting you two out until you finally snog" through the door. Reporter-to-be Lisa Skeeter listens at the door and reports that Professor Longbottom muttered about how Fred hasn't changed, and then the Lovegood reporter suggested that they do as Fred asks. More details to come.
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Scorpius learns to Apparate, but Albus is too young by three months. Every time the two of them go to Hogsmeade, Scorpius will show off by Apparating from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Hogsmeade to Honeydukes and holding Albus by the waist, until he unfortunately Splinched both Abus and himself, leaving them both with one leg each until Headmistress McGonagall sorts them out.
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Albus isn't sure what happened, but he thinks that he just passed his exams. Scorpius is chatting with him, talking about things like Question 168 and how Professor Longbottom'll take points off because he doesn't like Scorpius, but they've both passed their exams and they don't even care when Lisa tells them that Teddy is with Victoire and they don't even care when all the first years stare at them as they collapse on the same spot as their first kiss and don't stop laughing until something in the lake splashes them, though it may just be Fred.
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They're going to get married, they decide, right after they graduate. Screw what James, Teddy, Fred, Xeno, and Scorpius' father think, they're in love. Have been for a long time. And they are going to get married.
Rose cheers a bit when they tell her, says that she knew it, and won't stop hugging and threatening Scorpius for an hour.
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Year One
"But Dad, what if I get sorted into Slytherin?" Lydia Molly Malfoy-Potter asks one if her fathers, Albus Severus.
Albus smiles. "Let me tell you something, Lydia. If you get sorted into Slytherin, everything will work out. If you're in Slytherin, then you were meant to be in Slytherin. That's how it happened with your dad and me."
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