A/N: Finally, right? I know that's exactly what you all are thinking. Well, my excuse is that I'M BUSY. Give it a rest. Anyway, here's the first chapter of my AlbusxScorpius story. It's a sort of companion story to "Any Way The Wind Blows, Doesn't Really Matter", but obviously that story doesn't have to be read to read this story. The other story is a Teddy Lupin/ James Potter Jr. story, and there will be mentions of that pairing in this story.
A couple warnings: This story contains SLASH! If you have not yet learned to appreciate the wonderful goodness that is boylove, then don't read this story. I don't appreciate flames and if you're going to flame a story simply for being slash, go away and don't come back. We don't want you here.
That said, I ALWAYS appreciate constructive criticism! And I love reviews, even if they simply say "love it" or whatnot.
Another warning: for those loyal fans who read "Any Way The Wind Blows, Doesn't Really Matter", you may remember that I updated just about every single day. Unfortunately, that won't be possible for this story. With that story, I already had the entire story written out before I even posted a chapter, and it was also summer holidays. Now that school has kicked up again, I am considerably more busy (especially with Cross Country) so I would appreciate your patience. A bonus is that these chapters are longer than my other story's chapters, so brilliant, right? Please continue to review and bear with me if I seem to be taking a long time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
December, 2020
4th year
"Get the hell away from me, Dawson!"
"Ah, come on, Weasley, don't be like that..."
Al winced as the sound of shattering glass filled the half-full common room.
"What'd I miss?" Scorpius asked, dropping onto the couch beside him and pulling a roll of parchment out of his bag.
"Nothing much. It's a re-run fight."
They both ducked as another glass ornament flew over their heads.
"Which one? The stop-hating-Malfoy-you-git, or the get-out-of-my-personal-space, or the stop-treating-the-world-like-your-personal-playground, or the I'm-just-annoyed-so-I'm-taking-it-out-on-you fight?"
"Something about Dawson getting in her personal space, blah blah blah," Al said disinterestedly, leaning over and making a few marks on Scorpius' divination essay. "Let's talk about something else," he said. "I'm sick of hearing of Rose and Miles' issues with each other."
Scorpius laughed. "Okay. Are you staying for the holidays?"
Al smiled. "No, actually. I'm going home. I haven't seen Teddy since last Christmas and I miss Mum and Dad."
"Oh." Scorpius' forehead wrinkled a little bit, and the corners of his lips turned down. "Mum and Dad are going to France on Christmas so I signed on to stay."
Al rested his arm across Scorpius' shoulders. "Actually, you're going to come stay with us after your parents leave."
Scorpius' eyebrows shot up.
"I mean, you'll be spending Christmas Eve and part of Christmas with your parents," Al said. "McGonagall says you can't come to our house until they leave, even if they say it's okay?"
Scorpius stared at Al. "That makes absolutely no sense."
"It's McGonagall. Since when has she ever made sense?"
"Good point." Scorpius leaned into Al's arm. "So I can really come over on Christmas? Your parents would be okay with that?"
Al grinned. "Of course, Dad loves you. And Mum can't wait for you to cook, because you know she burns the meal every Christmas."
"Just like you burn the tree every year?" Scorpius asked slyly, watching as Al's face flushed a delicate pink.
"That's not my fault," Al said, withdrawing his arm from Scorpius' shoulders and crossing it with the other arm across his chest. He glared at the fireplace.
Scorpius opened his mouth to say something teasing back, but was interrupted by the slight distraction of Rose plopping into the spot between them.
Scorpius grinned slightly. "Yelled yourself out, my child?"
Rose shoved him, scowling. "Dawson is such a prat!"
She looked toward her cousin for agreement. He held up his hands in defense. "Don't look at me. I like the bloke. He's James' best friend."
Rose snorted. "Teddy is James' best friend."
Al shrugged. "In any case, you could at least try to get along with him. He's actually a decent person, once you get to know him."
"I don't want to get to know him," Rose said, crossing her arms moodily and staring into the crackling fire, just as Al had been minutes ago. "Not when he keeps bloody teasing me."
"You know he only does that because he fancies you."
"He's fifteen, Al, I honestly doubt that he's only teasing me because he fancies me. That's what Mum used to tell me about boys who teased me when I was in nursery school."
"It's true, though," a voice called from across the room.
Rose, clearly recognizing the voice, flipped the owner a two-fingered salute before she'd even turned around to glare at him.
James was lounging at a table with his arm around Michelle Turner, who was blushing a sort of tickle-me-pink color. Al felt that slight twinge of jealousy at looking at him that he always did. While Al had inherited the inarticulation and awkwardness of his father, James had only inherited their father's hair. Instead of all of their father's worst character flaws that seemed to shine through on Al, James had gotten the good looks and charming attitude of his namesake. Firelight played lightly over his highlights and defined biceps, and lit up his laughing hazel brown eyes. He was lounging back with the sort of elegance Al had never been able to achieve.
"James?" Rose inquired politely, though she looked a bit murderous.
"Miles fancies you, Rose," James drawled, releasing Michelle and sauntering over to them in a way that only James Potter could saunter.
"Well, does he know that I'm dating Scorpius?" Rose hissed, through gritted teeth.
Both James and Al froze, their jaws dropping. "What?" they asked at the same time.
Rose gave Scorpius an exasperated look. "You didn't tell Albus?"
"I meant to, mate, I forgot," Scorpius said, smiling sheepishly at his friend.
"No problem, Scor, that's great!" He said, trying to ignore the slight twisting in his stomach that said something was wrong.
Rose was beaming all of the sudden, her hand clasping Scorpius'. She was more prone to mood swings than the rest of them, being a girl.
Al caught James' eye and they both shook their heads. Girls, their silent communication seemed to say.
"No," James said to Rose, answering her question. "I'm sure that Miles doesn't know you're dating Scorpius, considering that even Al didn't know, and when did this happen, anyway?"
"This morning," Rose said, sharing a secret glance with Scorpius that made Al feel a little left out. Was this how his Dad had felt when Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had gotten together? He snapped back into the conversation when Scorpius poked him in the side.
There was a slam from above that made everyone in the common room jump, including Lysander, who was buried in paperwork in the corner of the room.
Lorcan poked his head round the corner of the stairwell as footsteps began to thunder down the stairs.
"Have any of you seen Lysander?" he asked, looking at Al, James, Scorpius, and Rose.
"I think he's behind that gigantic mound of parchment over in the corner," Scorpius said, grinning. The other three laughed.
"Thank you," Lorcan said. "And by the way, Rose, that's Miles thundering down the stairs right now. I'd... erm... hide." He withdrew again.
Rose looked around frantically. There was no place to hide anywhere near her spot on the squashy sofa in front of the fireplace. The portrait hole was too far away to make an escape. She looked beseechingly at James, who sighed.
"Fine," he said, drawing his invisibility cloak out of his robes and throwing it over her head, rolling his eyes at Scorpius and Albus.
Scorpius slipped his Slytherin tie off from around his neck as Miles appeared around the corner of the boy's stairwell. Miles was the only person in Gryffindor house who still cared whether or not there was a Slytherin in their common room.
Miles' eyes landed on James. "Hey, mate."
James lifted his hand in greeting. "Fancy a run to the kitchen?"
"I am a bit peckish." Miles looked around, then lowered his voice. "Did I really upset Rose before?"
Beside Al, Rose stiffened in surprise.
James flicked a glance over to where Al and Scorpius were sitting, beside an invisible Rose.
"Erm... more irritated, I think."
Miles ran one hand through his hair. "Bugger," he swore. "I mean to get along with her, James, I really do. But something about her... something about the way she reacts makes me always want to goad her."
Rose's nails clenched into Al's arm painfully and he gasped, his eyes watering. He quickly pretended to be looking at the essay he was writing when Miles and James glanced at him. He kicked her in the shin, hard, when they turned away.
"That's not the best way to get with her, mate," James said.
"You don't think I know that?" Miles shook his head. "Never mind, I sound like a sodding poof. Let's just go to the kitchens." He nodded at Al and Scorpius. "Al, ... Malfoy." his eyes landed for a moment on the wadded-up tie in Scorpius' hands, then he strode away.
James followed him, reaching over at the last minute and plucking the invisibility cloak off Rose's head. She gasped, cowering against Al and Scorpius to avoid Miles' gaze, but the two older boys were already climbing out the portrait hole.
The portrait swung shut again, and they all looked at each other.
"Told you he fancied you," Al said, quietly enough that the buzzing conversation around them blocked his words from all but Scorpius and Rose.
"Shut up," Rose muttered. She was glowing a fetching shade of tomato-red.
Scorpius was grinning. "He liiiiiikes you," he sang, poking Rose in the ribs.
Rose grabbed his finger, twisting it away from her body, then giggling as he caught her up in a hug. "Shut up," she said, but she was beginning to smile.
Al began to feel a bit left out. "I'm just going to go to the dorm then. I'll meet you at the usual time to study, Scor?"
"Right," Scorpius said, before pouncing on Rose and tickling her.
Al swallowed, looking away. "See you later, then," he said weakly, and hurried away.
Once in the dorm, he leaned against the door and let out a deep breath. Nathan was lying on his bed, a book dangling from his hand, snoring. His glasses were still on and he was still fully dressed, shoes and all. Al snorted.
He threw himself down on his bed, staring up at the dark red draperies that hung so comfortingly above him.
Rose and Scorpius were dating.
He couldn't wrap his head around the idea. He was happy for them, of course- what sort of friend and cousin would he be if he wasn't?- but also hesitant about the idea for a few reasons. The first and most obvious one being the question of what would happen when the two lovebirds broke up. Would they stay friends? Or would Al be forced to choose between his two best friends in the world?
The second, and less obvious reason Al was hesitant was because he had just never seen it. He'd never seen any sort of feeling between Rose and Scorpius that gave them away as more than simply platonic friends, never looked at them and thought: Wow, they like each other, or Wow, they'd make a good couple.
He must've fallen asleep, lying there on his bed, because when he next opened his eyes the sky outside the window was dark and Nathan was gone.
He checked the time on his watch. It was only 17:22, which meant he still had 38 minutes before he had to meet Scorpius in the library. He tidied up his room, throwing random things into his trunk he thought he might need when he left for the Holidays the next day.
The door behind him opened, and snicked shut. The bedsprings nearest to Al creaked.
"'Lo, Coby," he said, digging through his trunk for his sneakascope.
No reply.
Al turned around to see what was keeping Coby from speaking back to him (hexed, maybe?) and nearly had a heart attack.
A completely naked Amandine Thomas was sitting on Coby's bed, grinning sweetly at him.
He fell back against his bed.
What the hell...?
"I've been trying to get your attention for weeks," she said, softly, advancing on him. "I need a favor."
"Wh-what?" He stammered, his heart racing.
She smiled a slow, seductive smile. "See, my friends made me a bet I couldn't get into your pants before this week was out. And it's Saturday now, you see, so I haven't much time. I bet them that if I offered- no relationship required- you'd say-"
"-I don't- I have to-"
"Shhh." She stood up, crossing over to place a finger on his lips. To his horror, she climbed onto his lap.
Her body was all wrong. Too soft, and curvy, and squishy and jiggly. He sucked in another panicked breath. How in Merlin's name would he get out of this one?
In a sudden burst of relieved clarity, Scorpius flashed across Albus' mind. The perfect excuse.
"I have to meet Scorpius, Amandine," Al said, trying to push her off without touching her in any inappropriate places.
He was surprised, but immensely relieved when Amandine pulled herself off his lap and stood in front of him, arms folded. He averted his eyes politely, embarrassed.
"That's it," she said.
His eyes flew back to her face unintentionally. She was scrutinizing him.
"Do you even find me attractive, Albus?" she asked abruptly.
"What?" Al stammered. "I... er... you're the best looking girl in our year."
"That didn't answer my question," Amandine said, her eyebrows lifting up. She tapped her bare foot against the floor, waiting.
"No," Al said, "I just- well-"
"I'm offering you no-strings sex, Al," she said matter-of-factly. "You're turning me down because you're gay. Or a woman," she added as an afterthought, then unexpectedly reached forward and gave Albus' crotch a squeeze. He jumped, turning redder than before.
She winked. "No, definitely gay." she headed toward the door and slipped back on the silky robe she'd left there before she'd accosted Albus. She paused at the door, and turned. "If it makes you feel better, he feels the same way about you, I'm sure of it."
She was gone before Albus could even ask who she meant.
He fell back on his bed, his brain buzzing.
She couldn't be right. She just couldn't be. Al pushed her off because he didn't want her... right? Because he didn't want to have sex this young?
No. Every night he wanked to some fantasy, thinking about how much he'd like it if a girl came and offered him what they were clearly offering Nathan, Coby, Seth, and Sean.
But what he hadn't noticed before Amandine attacked him was that his imaginary lover was frustratingly ambiguous. They never had a face, or a clearly defined body, just a spectral aura with ghostly hands that never really helped Al much with the frustration that sometimes threatened to choke him.
He slammed his fist into the pillow. Just because he'd turned down Amandine Thomas, did that necessarily mean that he was gay? No. He'd never felt anything real for anyone- male or female. He'd tried so hard to be attracted to any of the girls he'd dated- but had felt only cold apathy.
He buried his face into the soft crimson fabric of his pillow and yelled until his throat felt hoarse.
He heard a cough from the doorway, and sat up.
Nathan Detroit and Coby Finnegan were standing in the doorway, staring at him.
Al grinned pleasantly at them, stuck his hands into the pockets of his robes, and headed out the dormitory door, whistling.
Anyway, Amandine wasn't the brightest lumos in the wand-shop. She couldn't be right, because Albus most definitely was not gay.
A/N: Please review!
A few things: In Any Way The Wind Blows, Doesn't Really Matter, a reviewer called Le Reves was the only person to catch the fact that I accidentally changed the last name of the character Miles (James' friend) from Finch-Fletchley to Dawson.
The reason for this was because when I originally wrote the first chapter, Miles was meant to be much more of a minor character than he ended up being, and I filled him in with a last name that has already been used in the Harry Potter series (we assume that he is Justin Finch-Fletchley's son). However, once he became more important in the development of the plot, I began to see him as a different person and felt he deserved his own last name. I have very important reasons for choosing the last name "Dawson", as you will see later on :) I never went back to change his last name to Dawson, as you can see in my other story. And now I'm too lazy to do it, so have fun being confused :)
