A/N: Alrighty guys! As a momentary detour from my many unfinished Tom and Hermione stories *nervous laugh* I'll be posting my second next-generation fanfic. This one is Albus/OC, and I hope you all enjoy it very much! :)
The title was inspired by Jane Austen's, "Sense and Sensibility" :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Rash & Rationality
Albus Potter dragged his feet on the way into the headmistress's office. She arched an eyebrow as he entered the office, and wordlessly gestured to the armchair in front of her desk. His usual armchair, the one he normally occupied, all seventy-six times he had been called in here over his six years, was taken by a smaller figure, who looked back at him, and then looked away quickly, her cheeks reddening. Restraining a smirk, Albus plopped down in the chair, slumping back, drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair.
"Mr. Potter…why am I not surprised to see you here?"
Albus tapped his chin, pretending to think. "Because you possess the unusual talent of insight, so you had a sudden vision of me, sitting in your office, and you, spontaneously, because of your kind disposition, letting me go without punishment." Albus said this all in a very bored monotone, but then he flashed a charming grin at the headmistress, and he heard the smallest giggle from beside him.
"Mr. Potter, what is it this time?" McGonagall questioned tiredly, massaging her temples. Albus felt a twinge of guilt and considered, momentarily, on apologizing, but then deciding against it; James would be so ashamed. However, he did decide to try a different approach this time; honesty.
"Set off dung bomb in the Gryffindor common room, professor. Me and Scorps decided to have the ultimate prank war." Albus grinned again. "On the upside, Slytherin is two up on Gryffindor." He looked innocently at her, and she raised her eyebrows.
"Mr. Potter, what have I told you about pranking Gryffindor?"
Albus sighed and recited in a flat voice, "It's wrong to treat them unfairly in comparison to the other houses and I should learn to form inter-house relationships." Before she could speak, however, Albus continued. "But professor, I do have inter-house relationships. Rosie's in Ravenclaw! And Roxie and Lily are in Gryffindor! James is in Gryffindor! Not to mention most of my family! It's not as if I don't like Gryffindors, I just don't feel particularly inclined to be nice to them."
The girl beside him giggled again, and he glanced at her, flashing her a charming smile, and she blushed, looking at her lap.
"Mr. Potter, all I'm saying is-"
"Headmistress!" the door burst open and Professor Longbottom burst in, his round face red. "It's the Weasley's! They've set off fireworks in the great hall again!"
McGonagall sighed, and then glanced at Albus conspirationally, as if he had something to do with the disruption. "Stay right there, Mr. Potter, and Leah, I'll be back with you in a moment, dear."
Albus frowned; she had never called him dear before. He looked at the girl again, and, reddening, he realized she was quite pretty. She was incredibly small, and her soft brown hair hid her face from him, but when she glanced up again, he realized that she had gentle features, and delicate grey eyes.
"So, what're you in for?" he asked roughly, yawning as he slumped back further, propping his feet up on McGonagall's desk. She blinked at looked up at him, her eyes wide, like an animal caught in a trap, realizing he was addressing her.
"Erm…..I wanted to talk to McGonagall about making up some essays I missed over Christmas Break. I was in the hospital wing for a month."
Albus arched a dark brow. "You sound like my cousin Rose. She's an absolute nerd."
The girl, Leah, smiled softly. "Yeah, I know Rose; we're in the same house."
"Oh, so you're in Ravenclaw?" Albus smirked, and Leah got the feeling that being in Ravenclaw was a reason of mock to him.
"Erm…yeah…..a year below Rose though…she's very nice, she's helped me with Defense against the Dark Arts, I'm rotten at it…." She blushed again.
Albus smiled and held out a hand. "Albus Potter, at your service."
She tentatively shook his hand with her incredibly small hand. Albus realized it was like a child's hand. "Leah Pantenyreirra," she said softly, and his eyebrows shot up.
"I'll have to write that one his down," he teased, grinning disarmingly, and she blushed, looking at him shyly from beneath her long lashes. Albus swallowed thickly.
At that moment, McGonagall returned, looking harried. She sat back down across from them in the desk, and laced her fingers, peering at Albus over her hands. "Mr. Potter, double detention, tomorrow night and Thursday with Professor Longbottom."
Albus groaned, annoyed with two detentions, but slightly reassured that they were with his most favorable Uncle Neville. "That will be all," McGonagall smiled kindly at him. "Do try harder, Albus. You're a good student, and your parents are good people. Don't disappoint them." Albus felt another stab of guilt and he nodded, looking slightly apologetically at McGonagall, and then he bent down ever so slightly.
"See ya round Pany-Panter-see ya round, Leah." He smirked at her and she blushed, smiling unsurely at him, and he could have sworn he saw McGonagall look between them with raised eyebrows.
Albus felt it was quite ridiculous that the professors were giving them enough homework in a week to last a month, but as Rose explained to him numerous times, apparently they were preparing them for their N.E.W.T's.
"I just don't understand," Scorpius muttered around a mouthful of food. "Why we're spending all this time preparing for tests that we don't even have to take until next year. It's stupid, I mean, it's not like we won't have plenty of time to study next year! We aren't like Rose, who starts studying practically years ahead!"
Rose glared at the boy, smacking him on the back of the head none-too-gently. "Of course you wouldn't understand. It's called self-discipline, Scorpie."
He was about to respond when James snickered, and the three of they looked up at him. "Sorry, I just can't help but find your wittle nickname for your wittle boyfriend adorable, Rosie."
Rose turned bright red, looking down at her plate, but Scorpius merely smirked the signature Malfoy smirk and slipped an arm around her waist. "You're just jealous, Potter, because you can't get a girl half as amazing as Rosie."
James turned bright red with fury, and started to retort. Albus could tell an argument was going to start, so he stood quickly, addressing Scorpius and Rose. "Erm…I'm going to head to the library, I'll catch you guys later."
"See, even Albus takes his education seriously," Rose exclaimed, glaring at Scorpius, who just rolled his eyes, motioning for Albus to escape while he could. Albus grinned at his two best friends' playful banter and strode out of the great hall, his bag over his shoulder. He sauntered into the library, heading straight for the Transfiguration section, his goal; a book on animagi. He finally found several books on the subject, and started to sit down at a table, when he saw a familiar figure hunched over a roll of parchment, and he moved towards her.
She looked up surprised at him as he sat down at her table, and he flashed a toothy grin. "How's it going, Leah?" He tried very hard to ignore how much he liked the idea of seeing this girl again.
"Erm….good."
He smirked again as she blushed, amused at how easily flustered this girl was. "So….Ravenclaw, hmm? You're good with the books and stuff? Maybe you could help me with a little bit of transfiguration project," he suggested, setting his books in front of her. "You good at Transfiguration?"
She nodded. "But you're a year ahead of me," she pointed out.
"And I'm rotten at Transfiguration," he said in a slightly patronizing tone. "How about this? I help you out with Defense against the dark arts, and you help me out with Transfiguration? It's a win-win situation."
Leah frowned, licking her lips nervously, as if he had some ulterior motive, and Albus suddenly realized the reason for her hesitation. "Hey, just cuz I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I'm evil," he said, grinning at her, and she visibly relaxed.
"I…s-suppose it wouldn't hurt….much?"
Albus chuckled, and she looked surprise. Smirking charmingly, he leaned across the table so that his face was closer to hers. "Just cuz I'm a snake doesn't mean I bite," he teased, and then added in a low voice, "Unless you want me to, that is." He watched her reaction with a pleased expression. Her face turned bright red and she drew her book up to hide her face, peeking over the top with wide eyes. He grinned an animalistic grin as she peered at him, and she hid her face again.
"So, shall we start today?" Albus said finally, nearly all of the amusement gone from his voice. She nodded, still not emerging from behind her book, and Albus sighed. He pulled his chair over to her side of the table and rested his chin on the table. He glanced at her seven books, stacked high on the table, and raised his eyebrows.
"So what are you guys studying at the moment?" he asked her, resting his elbow on the table and putting his head in his hand tilted, so that he was looking at her sideways. She blushed under his unflinching gaze.
"Erm….we're starting nonverbals, but I just…..I can't…..-"
Albus smirked, but there was something a little softer in his gaze this time that Leah didn't find so condescending. "That's alright. I had trouble with those too; in fact we're still working on those, just with the more intense spells. I've got them mastered now, though." Albus stood, withdrawing his wand and twirling it between his fingers. He held out a hand to her, and she took it, and he easily pulled her to her feet. She ended up standing rather closer to him that she had imagined, and she blushed as he smirked down at her. Still looking smug, he released her hands and strode away from her, turning to face her about ten feet away. He gestured for her to take out her wand.
"But Madam Pince-" she started worriedly.
"Is off somewhere snogging Filch," Albus said, grinning, his nose scrunching in disgust at the notion, and Leah giggled. "Now, focus…..just think the incantation in your head, but you have to really focus on actually doing it, what it would look like, the hand motion, the fluency, all of it, how it flows together….focus."
She nodded, holding her wand in a dueling stance and biting her lip, and Albus couldn't help but think how adorable she looked. She squinted her eyes shut, focusing intently, running the phrase over and over in her head, and then performed the wand motion, but nothing happened.
They tried this several more times before they both had to move to their respective dormitories. Albus told Leah that he'd meet her on Thursday after his detention in the Defense against the dark arts classroom, after assuring her that she would progress after her, discouraged, put away her wand.
As Albus sat down at the Gryffindor table at dinner, Scorpius turned and smirked at him. "And where have you been all day, mister?"
Albus blushed at the implication, only because it referred to Leah, and he recalled the conversation they had had about 'biting', and he reddened further. Noting this, Scorpius raised his eyes. "And what're you blushing about, Potter?"
Albus, unable to restrain himself, glanced over at the Ravenclaw table, and his green eyes immediately found her grey ones, and she looked way quickly, blushing, absolutely horrified at being caught. Albus, feeling smug, turned away, only to find Scorpius, who had apparently followed his line of sight, smirking at him.
"And who would that young lady be, Mr. Potter?" At the mention of a young lady in the scenario, both Rose and James turned rather quickly to look at him, raising their eyebrows.
"Just….just a friend," he muttered, not looking at any of them.
"What's her name?" Scorpius interrogated, and at that moment, Albus cursed his poor lying skills.
"Leah, she's just a fifth year that I'm tutoring."
"Tutoring?" Scorpius said skeptically. "In what, anatomy?" It took Albus a moment to understand the implication of his words, but when he did he turned bright red and looked down at his plate.
"DADA, actually," he muttered. Scorpius waggled his eyebrows, and Rose shoved him. James, however, looked interested.
"So Allie's got a little lady friend? And when will I be meeting this miss, little bro?"
"She's not…..we're not….just tutoring!" Albus grumbled in annoyance before turning away from the three of them, silencing the matter once and for all. Rose and Scorpius shared a look.
"Whatever you say, little bro," James said knowingly, throwing him a conspicuous wink, and Albus barely retained a growl.
Dinner passed as it normally did; James flirting with Melanie Finnigan, Rose and Scorpius flirting, then fighting, then Scorpius apologizing and Rose blushing and forgiving him with their….erm…..enthusiastic make-up activities. As they said goodbye to Rose at the cross-section of the grand staircase, Scorpius glanced at him sideways as they made their way down towards the dungeons.
"So who is this Leah girl really?" Albus snorted, amused at how Scorpius thought he would confide in him because of the others' absence. All the same, Albus decided to humor him.
"She's just a study partner, honestly, but I do think she's awful pretty." Normally, Albus would have blushed at this statement, but when the two of them were alone, Scorpius seemed a lot less intimidating.
"Do you fancy her?"
"A bit," Albus shrugged. "I've only met her twice and she's dreadfully shy…so…."
"Here's what you do." Scorpius started, and Albus restrained rolling his eyes. Scorpius was under the impression that he was the relationship doctor, despite the fact, which everyone else observed, that he and his girlfriend fought on a daily basis. "Invite her to come to Hogsmeade, with all of us, you know, as a group. That way, you two aren't quite on the spot, and she doesn't have to feel like you're too sudden."
Actually, Albus pondered, that didn't sound like too bad of an idea. In fact, it sounded better than what the brilliant and all-knowing Rose Weasley could have come up with. He snickered at that thought.
"Yeah," he said aloud. "Yeah, I might just do that." Scorpius smirked and his stride became much more of a swagger, proud that for once he had actually given a good piece of advice.
"Well, uh, you can call me the love doctor," he started to sing. "Girl, I can make ya feel better-"
Albus put a hand over the taller boy's mouth, laughing. "Scorpius, first of all, you said one smart thing, it doesn't make you a rocket scientist, and second of all, trust me buddy, you're no Donnie Klang. Might wanna sign up for some vocal lessons if I were you."
Scorpius pretended to glare at him. "Hey, you watch it buddy! You're going to wish you hadn't said that when you come begging me to teach you some love ballads to serenade your lovely Leah."
And that shut Albus up for quite a while.
Albus found himself looking forward to his next meeting with Leah, and was staring at the clock anxiously as he drummed his fingers on the desk.
"Al?" He glanced up hurriedly, straightening his glasses and they were knocked off course by his haywire hand. He looked apologetically up at Professor Longbottom. "Aren't you supposed to be sorting those?"
"Sorry, Uncle Neville," Al said, glancing down at the papers in front of him, and beginning to rearrange them into the right sequence. He was surprised when the professor didn't yell at him not to call him that.
"You seem a little off tonight, Albus. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," he said quickly, reddening. "Just have somewhere to be, is all."
"Ah," Uncle Neville said, and Albus was stunned to see a smirk on his lips. "That's right. The girl."
Albus's head shot out of his hand and his eyes widened, cheeks flushing. "How…how did you…..?"
"Oh, James told the whole family," Neville said, brushing his stuttering aside and Albus gaped at him. "Hey, he was excited, that's all. He said this is the first girl you've ever fancied. You can't blame the guy, he was worried. The first girl you ever fancied, all the way in your sixth year, we were starting to think maybe you swang the other way-"
"WHAT!" Albus roared, reddening and managing to be furious at the same time. "I-no! I just….and I don't fancy her!" he spluttered, vowing to later hex Scorpius for his loose tongue, although, he realized, to his brother, it was probably quite obvious. "You all keep bothering me about this, like it's a big deal or something-"
"Oh, no, no, we're all just….well, it's just….little Al growing up," Neville's eyes glazed over, and Albus suddenly felt horrified as Neville continued. "Your mother was in tears, talking about how soon you'd be moving out-"
"Ugh!" Albus groaned, slamming his forehead down on the table. "I-you-they-"
"Better get going, Al. Wouldn't want to miss your date." Albus sent him his old Uncle Ron's favorite finger, suddenly quite thankful that Neville was not one of the stricter teachers, and threw his bag over his shoulder, storming out, turning even redder with fury as he heard Neville chuckling behind him.
He had not cooled down when he reached the Defense against the arts room, so when he barged in, the door slamming against the wall, Leah, who was already there, sitting on a desk and twirling her wand, making little sparks emit from the end, looking up and him in surprise and then her eyes widened in slight fear.
"Erm…are you alright, Albus?" she questioned tentatively, and he growled in response. She swallowed thickly and stood, lifting her bag and walking over to where he was sitting, glaring angrily at the wall. "We….erm….we can do this another time if you aren't up to it tonight," she said softly, and Albus looked up sharply at her, and it suddenly occurred to him exactly who he was being such a git to.
"I-no!" he said quickly, standing and moving, as if to block the doorway. "I-sorry! I just….rough day. I didn't mean to take it out on you….." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a trait, he had been told, that he inherited from his father.
To his surprise, Leah smiled brightly, seeming in even brighter spirits than normal. "It's okay. Don't worry about it, I have grumpy days too."
Albus quirked an eyebrow, finding it very hard to picture Leah stomping around with a scowl on her pretty little face, kicking random objects and shouting at her companions. Actually, he couldn't imagine the idea of Leah displaying any emotion besides happiness and embarrassment.
He cleared his throat. "So…erm…you ready to get started?" She nodded.
They tried it the first couple times and Albus started to see the problem. Sighing, he lowered his wand and approached her, rounding so that her back was facing his chest. He reached around her, standing very close, and put his hand over her wand hand.
"No, see you've e got to relax," he said in her ear, and he felt her shiver. "There's a big difference between being readily focused and being relaxed. You're too tense, because you're trying too hard….you're fueling your magic with tension, which won't work. You've got to relax your muscles, breathe deeply….yes, like that."
He could hear her breathing steadily now, her wand held firmly but her body slightly more relaxed than it had been. Reluctantly, he moved away from her and turned to face her again. "Now, try it."
She did, and it only took two tries this time before she managed to disarm him. As his wand shot out of his hand and landed several feet behind, her face adopted a shocked expression before a wide smile broke out upon it, and Albus smiled too, stunned by how positively radiant she looked when she smiled like that.
"Well done Leah," he praised, retrieving his wand and grinning at her. "We can try this a few more times a couple more nights, and, if you really get the knack of it, I'll teach you some of the advanced sixth year stuff."
The real reason Albus made this suggestion was because he did not like the idea of no longer seeing her just because she had accomplished a nonverbal. In fact, the idea made him very unpleased.
"I'd like that," she said, smiling softly and looking up at him with big eyes. Albus was suddenly reminded of the idea that Scorpius had suggested, but as he opened his mouth, no words came out. "So, I'll see you around, Albus? Saturday, maybe? After your Quidditch match, of course."
Albus suddenly was curious. "Are you coming to watch us cream Ravenclaw?" he asked, and he was pleased that the sentence hadn't come out too desperate.
She frowned. "Maybe."
He paused and then stepped closer to her. "I'd like it if you did." And she froze, staring up at him, her cheeks pinker, perhaps, than he had ever seen, and she slowly nodded, seeming slightly in a daze.
"I'll be there. See you around, Albus." Just before the door closed, he called out quite suddenly not altogether too sure why he did,
"Call me Al!"
She poked her head back in, grinning, her eyes crinkling at the sides. "Will do…..Al." He grinned at her, and she waved before closing the door behind her, and Albus couldn't help but feel a tad bit better than he had before.
It wasn't until Scorpius pointed it out to him, in a mocking way, of course, that Albus realized that he and Leah spent an awful lot of time together. He also found himself smiling at her when they passed in the hallways, and even just walking over to the Ravenclaw table just to say hi.
True to her word, Leah had come to the Quidditch match, and had later praised him on his performance, something which Al smugly retold to Scorpius later in the Slytherin common room, which led to the initial teasing of: You care way more about her opinion than you should.
Albus, even after the end of Leah's nonverbal training and her helping him in Transfiguration, found that she didn't mind spending time with him just for the heck of it. They would spontaneously meet in the library and they had become accustomed to sharing a table. Leah would usually read over all her O.W.L reviews and Albus would sneak a peek at her over his book every five seconds. Albus found he had grown quite fond of the library.
It was very close to Christmas, a Friday evening when Albus met her in the library again, finding her hidden behind an incredibly tall stack of high-leveled charms books.
"You know," Albus said, sitting beside her and making her jump, tossing her a chocolate frog which, after a furtive glance at Madam Pince, she unwrapped. "They aren't nearly as difficult as the teachers make them out to be, these exams."
Leah snorted. "Coming from a boy who everything comes easily to."
Albus frowned. "I told you, I'm rotten at Transfiguration."
Leah got a mischievous look on her face, and Albus was suddenly worried. She leaned forward and addressed him in a whisper. "A little birdie told me that you made that up so you could spend more time with a certain someone, hmmmm?" she grinned evilly as his eyes widened and he flushed.
"Getting awful brave, aren't we Leah? Soon you'll actual be making fun of me! Too bad I've got a head start."
"The only thing you've got a head start on is who can lose the most brain cells in the shortest amount of time," Leah jibed, and Albus nearly fainted. Had she actually just insulted him? Where had the shy little girl gone? Recovering quickly, however he simply said,
"Oh, Leah, if you're in love with me just say so already."
Gotcha. He thought as she turned bright red. She was good for quick-wit banter, but the moment he said anything having to do with innuendos, love, fancying him, or anything of that nature, she lost her nerve.
But then he grinned at her and she grinned back it's like they were even again because Albus felt like he was floating, and there was a bubbly feeling in his stomach and his toes were tingling.
"Hey, Leah," he said softly, and she looked up at him questioningly. "Tomorrow me and a couple friends are going to Hogsmeade, and I wanted to know if you'd…like to come?" He suddenly lost his burst of courage and he added quickly, "I mean, just if you want to, I….uh…"
She grinned again, this time a little less bitingly. "I'd like that. That is, if your friends don't have a problem with ickle fifth years tagging along with them."
Albus chuckled. "Well, if they do, I'll set them straight by telling them how totally and completely cool and outgoing and not at all shy you are."
Leah giggled. "No, no, don't do that. So…I'll meet you guys at the entrance hall at…say…elevenish?" He smiled and nodded, waving as she left. He made his way to the great hall for dinner, plopping down beside Scorpius and snatching up a leg of chicken.
"Leah will be joining us in Hogsmeade tomorrow," he said nonchalantly. Scorpius dropped his fork turning to stare at him before regaining his countenance. Clearing his throat, he nodded quickly.
"Yeah, of course, that's perfectly fine," Scorpius said, going back to his eating quietly, but Rose was still looking at Albus with a knowing glint in her eye. Feeling self-conscious Albus looked around the great hall absently, but nearly cursed when his eyes landed on Leah, who was sitting with some other Ravenclaw girls at the Ravenclaw table, who were all giggling over something, and when one of them addressed her, she just blushed and rolled her eyes and they started to giggle again. Albus vaguely wondered if the conversation had something to do with him.
Albus considered, for a moment, asking Rose to sit at the Ravenclaw table like she used to in first year, before she had began dating Scorpius, who sat with Albus at the Gryffindor table, who sat there with James. He figured if she sat close enough, she'd be able to catch some of their conversation. But then he thought about facing the smug expression on her face, the I-knew-it look in her eyes, and he decided against it.
"So when are we meeting her?" Rose asked, snapping Albus out of his thoughts. "Leah, I mean."
Albus was infuriated to feel his cheeks heating up. "Er…..around eleven in the entrance hall, if that's alright," he said unsurely, looking between Scorpius and Rose, silently begging them to lower their voices, because James was sitting right there.
"Of course!" Rose said obligingly. "Anything for little lovely Leah." Albus nearly groaned. They had added another 'L' beginning title for his Leah?
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Leah. Just Leah.
Yeah
You called her your Leah!
I….no I didn't!
Suuurrreee
"Al?" Scorpius asked, and Albus was terrified to hear and smugness in his voice as well. When Albus looked at him he realized he was waggling his blonde eyebrows. "At some point during this trip do you want us to….er…..disappear? If you know what I mean." Scorpius winked rather noticeably and Rose rolled her eyes.
"Wha'….I-" Albus spluttered, but then froze. Actually, that sounded like a very good idea. He pictured him and Leah walking through Hogsmeade, hands intertwined, alone…
Albus blinked, and then looked back at Scorpius, who looked as though he had been reading his mind. "I….you can do whatever you please, Scorpius."
"So, that's a yes then?" Albus shrugged, but when Rose turned away, he winked at Scorpius, and the blonde boy grinned widely.
Saturday morning Albus rolled out of bed, unable to retain the grin on his face that had been there since he had woken up. He showered quickly and got dressed, but was deterred when he stopped in front of the mirror and saw that his hair was even untidier than usual. In vain, he attempted to flatten it, repeatedly. After ten minutes of standing in front of the mirror messing with his hair Scorpius walked in on him, smugly chuckled, and backed right back out again.
After finally giving up on his hair, Albus emerged from the loo to find that it was only ten thirty. Groaning, he silently made his bed and then made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Scorpius was already at the Gryffindor table, he and Rose tightly embraced, and Albus grimaced at looked away. His eyes went to the Ravenclaw table, where they immediately found the head of brown, soft-looking hair. Feeling another burst of Gryffindor courage, he strode over the Ravenclaw table, tapping on Leah's shoulder and smirking when she turned and blushed when she saw him. Her friend's started to giggle
"Mind if I sit here? Rosie and Scorps are uh….occupied." She followed his line of sight and cringed. She moved several of her books over and he sat beside her, his arm brushing hers, and he tried very hard to ignore the tingles that crept down his spine.
After a few minutes of silent, Leah cleared her throat. "Erm…Al, this is Tabby…." She gestured to the very short, redhead girl across from her, who grinned widely at him, "Catherine…" A blond girl batted her eyelashes flirtatiously.
"It's Kitty." He nodded at her.
"And I think you know Molly and Lucy." Albus smirked at his cousins, who looked knowingly between the two of them.
"Nice to meet all of you .I must say, you're all very lucky to have such a lovely lady as a friend." Tabby and Kitty giggled, and Molly and Lucy rolled their eyes.
"So I'm not your friend?" Leah asked, arching an eyebrow, and Albus chuckled.
"Nonsense," Al said softly, leaning in and whispering in her ear so close that her lips brushed the lobe. "You're my best friend."
She shivered rather noticeably and her face turned bright red. Albus smirked at her discomfort, removing his arm, which had snaked itself around her waist and pushing away his untouched place. "Well, shall we get going, Leah, darling?" She blushed even brighter and nodded. Albus scrambled out of his seat and held out a hand to help her up. Her friends began to titter again, but from the Gryffindor table, Rose gave him an approving nod as she and Scorpius rose to meet him. The two met them at the doors of the Great Hall, and Scorpius flashed a devilishly charming grin at Leah.
As they walked across the grounds, Rose smiled kindly at Leah. "So are you doing better with your Defense Against the Dark Arts, Leah?"
She nodded softly, eyes on the ground. "Yes, Albus helped me a lot."
"Yeah, gave her a lot of…..private lessons…" Scorpius said suggestively, waggling his eyebrows at the younger girl and ducking as Albus swatted at him. "What? It's true?"
Scorpius led the three of them into the three broomsticks and ordered four butter beers while Rose got them a table. She sat down in the booth and Scorpius sat next to her, passing a butter beer to each of them, leaving Leah and Albus pressed almost uncomfortably close together.
After the three broomsticks, Scorpius led the three of them out to an open field, where he proceeded to pelt them with snow balls. Albus let out a bellow of fury when one hit him square in the face. He turned to glare at Scorpius, but saw instead Leah, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked at him innocently, her hands folded behind her back.
He let out a feral growl, bounding after her as she ran, screaming and giggling, darting between trees and around rocks. He finally caught up with her and instead of hitting her with snow, he tackled her to the ground, pinning her beneath him. Her giggling intensified as he tickled her, until she screamed loud enough to wake the dead. He chuckled, looking down at her, supporting his own weight on his arms and knees. She looked back up at him, her eyes innocently wide, a single snowflake clinging to her eyelash. He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, swallowing thickly, and leaned closer, his face inches from hers-
SQUELCH!
Albus jumped as a strangely hard snowball got him right between the eyes and he and Leah scrambled up quickly, guiltily glancing around, only to find James and several of his friends grinning evilly at the two of them, James wearing a sinister smirk.
"'Ello, little brother." He swaggered toward them; the smirk on his mouth broadening as his eyes roamed over Leah, knowing it would make his brother's blood boil. "Aren't you going to introduce us to your little lady friend?"
Albus scowled, dusting some of the snow off of his sweater. "James, this is Leah Panter…..Panty…Leah, and Leah, my brother James, and these are my cousins, Fred and Louis."
Leah blushed as James took her hand, brushing his lips across her knuckles. "It's a pleasure, Miss Panter-Panty," James said, winking, and Leah grinned.
"Alright, so you want to go away now?" Albus asked gruffly, glaring at James. James looked at him innocently, but Albus could see the mischievous thoughts running through his mind.
James shrugged. "Not particularly. I was hoping I could join the two of you."
"We you can't," his younger brother said. "We're on—" He stopped, glancing at Leah unsurely, who looked back at him from where she stood near James.
"You're on a what?" James repeated mockingly, cupping his ear with his hand and leaning closer to him. "I didn't quite hear you, little bro, what're you on?" James' smirk broadened as Al's glare intensified.
"We're—"
"On a date," Leah finished, striding over and taking Albus's hand. "So if you don't mind, we'll be off to go have a nice snog now." Leah led him away, past the empty buildings that marked the outlands of Hogsmeade, and it wasn't until they were out of the boy's sight that they stopped. There were a few moments of silence, and then both of them burst out laughing.
"Did you see his face?" Albus blustered. "Did you see it? He was like-" Albus made a face resembling a fish and Leah burst into a whole new round of laughter. "He totally didn't expect you to…to…."
She was suddenly looking up at him with an unreadable expression, and his laughter subsided. "Leah, what—" His mind went blank as he felt her lips against his own, gently, so gently.
And all too suddenly, she was gone, apparently having lost her nerve. She looked up at him as though she expected him to get angry. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"
But this time he silenced her, swooping down and capturing her lips with his own, his arm slipping around to fit snugly around her waist. She relaxed into his embrace, tentatively sliding her arms around his neck.
And Albus Potter was content.
Naturally, Scorpius was very curious when Albus didn't return to their dorm until seven in the evening. He had attempted to sneak in silently, but the older boy was sitting in an armchair, absently flipping through the Daily Prophet. When Albus entered, he looked up, arched an eyebrow, and said with a smirk, "It's past your curfew, young man."
"Shut up," he grumbled. "I….I was…..we were…..it's a long walk from Hogsmeade. And we got kidnapped. We had to fight our way out of a man-made cocoon. It was terrifying." Scorpius' brows rose further as if to say, Tell the truth, now, and Albus sighed. "Fine….we were snogging."
Scorpius sat up quickly, grinning ear to ear. "How was it?"
"It was…." Albus sighed, collapsing down on his bed and grinning up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head. "It was brilliant. She was brilliant. I don't think she's ever kissed anyone before, but she was…..amazing."
Scorpius scrunched up his nose is disgust. "Ew, mate. I wanted the dirty details, and you come in talking like a pansy. Was there tongue?"
"Scorpius!" Albus nearly rolled off his bed as a hand immerged from behind Scorpius' chair and swatted him on the arm. Albus realized that Rose was sitting on the ground, halfway hidden behind her boyfriend's chair, sorting through old reading material. "Don't ask those types of questions. Albus, I think that's very sweet." Albus blushed under Rose's motherly gaze, and looked away.
"So are you two like…dating now?" Scorpius asked, recovering from Rose's attack.
Albus shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe….we didn't really talk about it. It was mainly….." The two boys shared a look, and Rose rolled her eyes.
"Snogging," the redhead finished grimly, and Scorpius chuckled. "Don't laugh, Scorpie. I just think that relationships shouldn't be focused solely on the physical aspects of such-" Scorpius slapped a hand over her mouth practically and looked at Albus, rolling his eyes.
The next morning, Albus was pleased but not particularly surprised to see James give him a rather contemptuous look when he walked in the great hall. He sat down next to his brother and said pleasantly, "Morning, James. Pass me the butter, won't you?"
His brother glared at him. "How'd you get a girl that hot? And feisty, too! What does she see in you?"
It was Albus's turn to brood. "Oh, shut it, James. You're just jealous." The tension between the two boys immediately dissolved when Jenasyn Thomas sat down between them, and James turned his attention to her. Scorpius sat down on the other side of Albus, filling his plate with food.
"Good morning."
"Morning. Where's Rose?"
"She's sitting with the Ravenclaw's today." Albus felt like a brick had dropped into his stomach. He followed Scorpius' gaze, and spotted his cousin at the table over, sitting next to Leah. Their heads were bent together, and they were whispering urgently. Rose's face looked mischievous, and Leah looked mildly embarrassed. The feeling in Albus' stomach did not go away.
"What do you think they're talking about?"
"Dunno," Scorpius shrugged, not looking at the girls, but seeming to know where Albus' attention was directed. "Rosie just said this morning that she'd be sitting at the Ravenclaw table. I'm sure her ulterior motive was a dreadfully evil one."
"Naturally," Albus muttered, frowning at the girls. Rose suddenly leaned in closer and whispered something and they both looked up at him. He blushed, avoiding Rose's eyes. He smiled at Leah, and she smiled back hesitantly. Behind him, he heard Scorpius snort, "You're whipped."
Albus paid him no mind. His eyes were still on Leah. "That's alright," he replied. "That's perfectly alright."
It was late, nearly midnight, and Albus Potter looked around nervously as he slipped out from behind the Slytherin portrait. Underneath his father's cloak, there was little chance of getting caught, but he would be daft to go stomping around like an idiot.
It was quiet at this unholy hour, and Albus had no trouble making his way up the grand staircase, silently and stealthy. He came to the portrait of Herpo the Foul, on the third floor corridor, and looked around himself, hesitantly pulling off his cloak.
A hand suddenly shot out of nowhere and pulled him behind one of the statues. He let out a yelp before the same hand clenched over his mouth. "Shhh!" said a familiar voice, and he relaxed. "He'll hear us!"
Moments later, he heard a familiar meow, and hobbling footsteps. "Where'd he go, Mrs. Norris? You'll find them yet."
As the footsteps drew closer, Albus pulled Leah under the cloak. They were very close; she only came up to his chin, and her eyes were level with his collarbone. "What is this?" She reached out and let the silky material slide through her fingers.
"Invisibility cloak. My dad gave it to me." She looked impressed. He directed her attention back to him by putting two fingers under her chin and gently turning her head towards him. She looked up at him with her wide grey eyes, her gaze questioning. His eyes flickered down to look at her lips, and then he met her gaze again. She arched an eyebrow at him in question, and he smirked as an answer, leaning down and kissing her, gently at first, and then molding himself to her. He pulled her flush against him. Her arms were wound tightly around his neck, so tightly that she had nearly pulled herself off the ground, standing on the very tips of her toes. His fingers danced down to the hem of her shirt, and he lifted it slightly, feeling the soft skin of her stomach. He felt goose bumps break out where he touched and he pulled her, if possible, closer.
"Filch is…..probably….gone," he gasped when they had finally broke apart. His breathing was embarrassingly loud, and he tried to slow it, peaking around the statue. At some point, the invisibility cloak had slid off, so they were in plain sight. But the old caretaker was nowhere to be seen, and it didn't sound like anyone else was around.
They sat in silence for a while, Albus sitting down on the statue's edge and Leah leaning against the stone figure, arms crossed, peering down at him. Even sitting, he was level with her chin, and he could clearly see her face, her brows furrowed in apparent thought. "Leah, are we—"
"Together?" she finished, looking relieved that he had actually brought it up. "I've been thinking about that too."
He stood up, proceeding to tower over her, and her frown deepened as she looked up at him. "Well, now, I dunno," he said slowly. She failed to notice the smirk that was curling up the corner of his mouth. "Do you want to be together?"
"I—I—I want…" Leah seemed to physically struggle in saying whatever she was going to say next. One thing Albus had learned about Leah is that she could be as stubborn as Rose at times, and she hated admitting having the lower hand. "I want…."
"You want?" He mocked, stepping closer. She seemed to realize what he was doing, and her frown transformed into a glare. Albus reached down and took both of her hands in his large one. She looked down at their clasped hands, deep lines of thought etched into her forehead. Finally, seeming to make up her mind, she looked back up him, her eyes narrowed in determination.
"I—I want to be with you." His smirk turned into a smile as she said those words. He took the final step between them and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a tight hug. He pulled back slightly, leaning his forehead against hers, staring into her eyes, which were shining as they looked up at him.
"As you wish."
A/N: And there we are! I really hope that you all enjoyed it! I also hope that you didn't think to badly of my potrayal of Albus Potter. My whole theory is that James Potter II is very James Potter I-ish, complete with ego and swagger and all, whereas Lily Potter II is very Ginnyish, tough chica with an attitude, and that Al, our darling Al, is this Jameish-Harryish mess. The arrogance comes in the heat of the moment, but then his confidence leaves him in the blink of an eye haha:)
Please review! No flames pretty please! :D
Xoxo