Age 6
A young boy with exceptionally pale skin and blonde hair ran down the crowded street, trailing behind his father.
"Stay close, Scorpius," his father said in a kind voice.
Scorpius ignored his father and ran over to the window of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, peering inside at all the wonderful goodies he wanted. "Daddy, I wanna toy," he pleaded, looking up at his father, who laughed slightly and rolled his eyes.
"I bought you a toy yesterday," he pointed out.
Scorpius frowned. He was clearly confused as to why it should matter that he'd just gotten a new toy the day before. The new toy he got yesterday was much different from the one he wanted today.
The door to the joke shop opened and a small boy who looked the same age as Scorpius walked out with his father.
"Hi, Draco," the father said, noticing Scorpius' father.
"Hey, Harry," Draco said, and the two adults started a conversation.
Scorpius walked over to the other boy.
"Hi," he said, "I'm Scorpius. I'm six," he added, holding up six fingers.
"Me too," said the other boy, "My name's Albus."
"Did your daddy buy you a toy?" Scorpius asked.
"Yes, he got me this," Albus replied, placing the hat he was holding on his head.
Scorpius jumped back as Albus' head disappeared.
"What happened you your head?" he exclaimed in alarm.
Albus took the hat off and his head became visible again. "Nothing, that's what the hat does. It turns my head invisible."
"That's cool!" Scorpius yelled.
"Do you want it?" Albus asked, holding the hat out towards the other boy, "I already have one at home."
"Thanks!" Scorpius smiled, taking the hat and putting it on, "Daddy look!"
Draco looked down and laughed, familiar with the Weasleys' famous Headless Hats.
"Albus, did you give your new toy away?" Harry asked, smiling at his son, "That was very nice of you."
Albus smiled up at his dad with a proud look on his face. "I shared, Daddy."
Harry and Draco said their goodbyes, and so did the young boys, but after that day the two of them were inseparable.
Age 11
"What if I'm sorted into Slytherin?" Albus whispered harshly to Scorpius.
"Then you'll be a Slytherin, like I know I'll be," Scorpius laughed, "It's no big deal. Everyone in my family was in Slytherin."
"Scorpius Malfoy," called out Professor Longbottom from the long list of 11 year olds.
Scorpius grinned at Albus one more time before running up to the stool and sitting down. Neville Longbottom placed the Sorting Hat on Scorpius' head, and the hat began it's muttering.
"Another Malfoy, eh?" it said, "Well well, everyone in your family has been in Slytherin. But oh, what's this? You show some different qualities than your family before you."
"I have to be in Slytherin," Scorpius whispered desperately.
"And why is that?" the hat asked him.
"Like you said, everyone in my family was a Slytherin. I have to be."
"That's not a very good reason. I see great Loyalty in you. I think I know just where to put you."
"Oh no," Scorpius groaned.
"Oh yes," the hat said in an almost mocking tone, "You belong in HUFFLEPUFF!" The last word was shouted for everyone in the great hall to hear.
People stared in shock at Scorpius got up and trudged to the Hufflepuff table. A Malfoy not in Slytherin? Unthinkable. Scorpius felt like vomiting as everyone stared, wide-eyed. But as he sat down, he heard someone clapping, and looked up to see none other than Albus Potter congratulating him on his placement. He smiled and accepted the congratulations that the other Hufflepuffs gave him.
Some time later, "Albus Potter!" was called out from the list. Albus walked nervously up to the hat. Scorpius' sorting hadn't been such a big surprise to Albus. Scorpius was always the most loyal friend he could hope for.
Professor Longbottom placed the Sorting Hat on Albus' head.
"Yet another Potter," the hat said, "Oh, but you're half Weasley. Your family is quite large, you know. And I've sorted every one of you."
"Yes, I know I have a large family, thank you," Albus muttered sarcastically.
"You've got a sharp tongue on you, don't you, boy?" the hat asked, "And I see here in your head that you often get into mischief at home."
"Not Slytherin," Albus begged.
"But you could be perfect in Slytherin. It'll be like a second home to you. Why don't you want to be a Slytherin? Give me a good reason, and I'll reconsider."
Suddenly, Albus realized that he really had no idea why he didn't want to be a Slytherin. He could not think of a single reason why he didn't belong in the house of the snake. After a minute of silence from Albus, the Sorting Hat cried out "SLYTHERIN!"
Albus proudly walked over to the Slytherin table, ignoring the shocked stares from everyone else, and was glad to hear Scorpius and the rest of the Potter and Weasley family clapping for him.
A Malfoy in Hufflepuff, and a Potter in Slytherin. This was definitely something new.
Age 13
"You two are in so much trouble!" Head Mistress McGonagall shouted at the two boys sitting in front of her desk, "What would possibly make you think that giving Peeves dung bombs was a good idea! Now we need to have practically all the corridors cleaned!"
"It'll only take a flick of the wand," Albus pointed out, "So we didn't really cause that much trouble."
"Didn't cause trouble, indeed," McGonagall huffed, "A week of detention for the both of you!"
Albus and Scorpius left her office grinning at each other. Best April Fools Day ever.
Age 15
Scorpius walked into Albus' bedroom, excited to go out and play Quidditch to celebrate the start of their summer vacation. Albus yelped in surprise as Scorpius tapped him on the shoulder. Albus spun around to face his friend. He was shirtless, and the sight made Scorpius blush a little.
Albus pulled on a shirt and buttoned it up, trying to hide the slightly pink shade in his cheeks.
"Right," he cleared his throat, "Let's…uh….let's go."
They walked outside together to play Quidditch with Lily and James.
"Why are you two all red?" James asked, raising an eyebrow, "Been snogging, or something?"
"What!" Albus exclaimed, "No! I-, We-, I mean-…No!"
"Relax," James laughed, "Just kidding. We all know you two are madly in love though. You should just admit it."
"Really," Lily chimed in, "It's like when we had to convince you guys to admit that you like blokes. What was the point in coming out of the closet if you two aren't even going to date?"
"Just because we like blokes, doesn't mean we like each other," Albus said defensively, "Let's just play."
Later that night, Scorpius and Albus were sitting on the front porch of the Potter's house, staring up at the sky.
"Do-Do you ever…" Albus stuttered, but then fell silent.
"Do I what?" Scorpius asked.
"Do you ever think about…us…as being more than friends?" Albus asked slowly, his cheeks burning red hot. He hoped he wasn't sporting the signature Weasley blush, but one look from Scorpius, who laughed slightly, told Albus that his face was, indeed, glowing bright red.
Scorpius remained silent for one agonizing minute after Albus' question, and Albus was about to speak again when Scorpius suddenly turned towards his best friend and kissed him square on the mouth.
When he pulled away, Albus looked dazed and confused, which made Scorpius laugh.
"I couldn't think of any words to answer your question," Scorpius admitted, "Does that about cover it, though?"
Albus grinned widely at Scorpius and moved in to kiss him again. This summer was definitely going to be amazing, although Albus knew James would never let him live it down. But he was perfectly ok with admitting that, just this once, his big brother was right about something.
Age 17
"I can't believe the year is almost over," Scorpius said, playing with Albus' fingers.
"I know," Albus agreed, "We're gonna be leaving Hogwarts in less than a month."
"Then what?" Scorpius asked.
"I don't know, but whatever we do, all that matters is that we'll be together."
Scorpius smiled up at his boyfriend and hugged him tightly.
"I love you, you know that?" he asked.
"I love you two, Scorp," Albus said, holding him close and giving him a light kiss on the head.
The two of them leaned back on Albus' bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. Scorpius, who had spent the last few months panicking about what he would do after Hogwarts, suddenly felt a lot less worried about the rest of his life, because he knew that Albus would be in it and that was all that mattered.