Written for Fandom Scrabble at Caesar's Palace.
Written for "write a five stages fic" and for the OTP Challenge at Hogwarts.
WC: 1624
i.
The first time Albus really noticed Scorpius, his hair was a blazing white under the afternoon sun, his pink cheeks singed with more than sunburn. His eyes spoke anger, and it was all on Albus's behalf. Albus had shivered.
"Hey, loser," Scorpius spat. "Let's see you fly if you're so keen on judging Albus."
Being first years in their first lesson, they were all a bit fumbly, but Albus moreso. He hadn't inherited his father's or his mother's coordination, a child who preferred to spend his time indoors.
Through a combination of fear and discomfort, Albus had been the only one who couldn't seem to stay on his broom, no matter how hard he tried to balance.
The other boy, Patrick, gave Scorpius an unaffected snarl. "You wanna see how we compare?"
"Sure," Scorpius said with a nonchalant shrug.
The flying instructor had left the children alone to take a girl having a panic attack to the Hospital Wing. The one thing Albus remembered thinking was: how did this always happen to Potters?
Scorpius and Patrick took flight, testing each other and trying out new tricks. Scorpius hadn't been in Slytherin for nothing. Somehow, Patrick found himself unable to copy a move that Scorpius did and found himself hurtling towards the earth, only a quick wingardium leviosa from Albus stopping him from breaking his neck.
Scorpius and Albus met eyes with a certain kind of smug pride.
The first time Albus really noticed Scorpius, an unfortunate flower bloomed in his chest. He was foolish enough to hope that when their timers appeared at sixteen, the one that counted down the time until they would meet their soulmate, they'd both be at zero.
ii.
Years passed. Albus and Scorpius roomed together, did homework together, ate together. They shared secrets. They shared lives.
Their spaces bled into one another's until lines disappeared and they were one and the same. There was rarely a line that divided anything in their lives into halves, the Scorpius half and the Albus half.
Except one thing. Scorpius avoided talking about the prospect of his soulmate, and Albus followed his lead, almost grateful that he wouldn't have to come up with a lie to tell. He'd seen many a friendship broken by a one-sided confession, and he also had seen couples break up because of the appearance of a timer that didn't confirm their perfect compatibility.
Still, the two of them spoke about everything else, and Albus wondered if it were better or worse, because with each secret Scorpius divulged, Albus felt more pulled to the magnet that he was.
"Albus," Scorpius started one night, hesitantly. That was unlike him. He stood right out of Albus's bed, his shadow outlined in the curtain. "You awake?"
"Yeah."
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah."
"Something's been on my mind."
Albus's heart jolted into action, pounding in his ears. "Yeah?"
Scorpius took a seat at the edge of the bed, inching closer.
"Is any other word in your vocabulary?" Albus heard the smile in Scorpius's voice through the dark; then it sobered. "My mother and my father aren't soulmates."
"Are they happy?"
"I guess."
"Okay. What's up, then?"
"I've been thinking: if your timer is at zero when it happens... do you settle in life? There's too much uncertainty to know anything for sure... how do you know your soulmate isn't with someone else? Do you settle for someone?"
Scorpius lay down on the bed, his form barely visible in the dark, and Albus tried to calm his heart. This was a taboo topic that they'd never talked about this before.
"Um," Albus mumbled. "Let me think."
Albus thought for what felt like an eternity. Selfishly, his hopes that Scorpius would settle for him instead of his soulmate clouded his mind. But Albus would never settle, personally; choosing Scorpius wouldn't be settling for him, even if he had a different soulmate for him.
Well, it'd just be another year before their sixteenths.
"I don't know," he said finally, but Scorpius was already asleep.
iii.
Albus brushed the mark on the inside of his wrist. He'd picked it up as a bad habit and now couldn't stop it, and it got especially bad whenever he was worried about Scorpius.
The other boy had been lying in bed in deep sleep when Albus left for breakfast, and if he didn't come down soon, he's have to miss breakfast and go straight to class.
But sure enough, Scorpius came storming into the Great Hall, a scowl marring his features, as always. He wasn't a morning person.
Scorpius grunted a greeting as he plopped down nex to his best friend and slopped a spoon of mashed potatoes onto his plate.
Albus raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He'd learned that sometimes it was best to wait for Scorpius to spill the news, because he always did. The poor boy couldn't keep a secret from Albus if he tried.
A few seconds passed; Albus heard Scorpius release a heavy sigh and turn to him. "Albus," he started grimly. "My soulmate timer appeared this morning, as you know."
"Yep."
"Do you want to know about it?"
"Not if you don't want to tell."
"Does it look like I want to tell?"
"For sure."
"You'd be right," Scorpius said, brightening a little. "It was already at zero. Do you know how annoying that is?"
Albus gave Scorpius a pointed look. "Of course I do. My birthday's before yours, remember?"
"Wait, what?"
"You've been friends with me for ages and you don't know my birthday?"
Scorpius shook his head with a small smile."Not that. You never told me about your timer before."
Albus shifted in his seat. Was it too weird to say that he wanted to make sure he and Scorpius had a chance before he said anything? Probably.
"Well," Albus started slowly. "Your soulmate is narrowed down to people you've already met... and there are a lot of those, so you can play the field still."
"Okay, but I'd still be playing the field even if my timer actually were counting down a time right now."
Albus rolled his eyes, but he couldn't stop the treacherous hope blooming in his chest. "You're a wonder."
iv.
It was difficult for Albus to describe that one moment. There was the chill of disappointment, the heat of shame, the tingle of you should have known.
Rose and Scorpius were like thorns and a file blunting their sharpness. They complemented each other in a way that was always push and pull, waves crashing against a shore.
They graduated.
v.
Albus moved on. He'd never thought it, but it was surprisingly easy to move into an industry and drift from childhood friends.
He guessed that Scorpius had moved on, too, but they hadn't contacted each other in over seven years, after he stopped coming to Potter gatherings when he and Rose broke up.
Albus had gone into research, spending time developing new healing draughts for patients at St. Mungos. He became the leading expert in Britain in addictive drugs, able to identify the potion in someone's bloodstream, wean addicts from the drug, and create antidotes.
He mostly kept to himself, now, but he got the occasional interview or question about his work, which is why the surprise visit that day was extra startling.
An owl pecked at his window impatiently, startling him from his work. When he opened the window, it fluttered into the room and practically threw the letter at Albus's face.
"Easy there," he muttered at the bird, opening the seal of the letter. "The Auror department, huh."
The Most Esteemed Mr Albus Potter:
Britain and perhaps all of Europe knows that you are the leading specialist in drug treatment. The Auror department would like to ask you to employ your expertise in a certain case of utmost importance...
Albus put down the letter. He had helped the Ministry before... he might as well.
He scribbled a quick response and sent the owl on its way with a piece of bacon.
Scorpius. Albus leaned back into his chair. It's been a while.
The next day, Albus was invited into the ministry to receive his assignment. The case was still mostly classified, but he had been given clearance to access to evidence so he could identify different substances and analyze the data.
"Welcome." The director of the department greeted him with a smile. "Albus, nice to see you again."
Scorpius had changed, grown out of his lanky limbs and grown out his hair. Albus smiled at the other man, shaking his hand. No wedding band.
"Pleasure," he replied.
They worked amicably, Albus catching on rather quickly to what the heart of the issue was: drug cartels and companies that worked with them to kill people's soulmates. They sold their services to desperate lovers who knew their partners wouldn't settle after they found the one fate chose for them.
The conversation that he and Scorpius had shared years ago trickled back to him, unwanted.
"So, do you want me to identify the drugs in the girl's system and any magical markers that might point you guys in the right direction?" Albus looked at Scorpius, whose brow was furrowed in concentration.
"Yes, that would be great." Scorpius looked up, catching Albus's eye with a sly smile. "And, well, it's been a while, but do you want to grab a coffee sometime?"
And Albus stumbled, hoping he wouldn't fall. But, finally, Albus found an answer to Scorpius's question.
Would he settle? Even with uncertainty in the equation, it didn't have to be settling if it felt right. And now, they could test the waters with uncertainty, which was part of the magic of fallign in love. "Sure."