"Have a cup of tea," Harry said softly after Scorpius had sat down on the big, comfortable couch in his teacher's private quarters. He sniffled and rubbed his cold, red nose, then took off his mittens as he leaned back. He watched Professor Potter – whom he'd been calling 'Harry' in his head for weeks now – pour them both a cup of tea, then reached for the one that was closer to him, warming his hands on the hot porcelain of the cup.
A comfortable shiver went through him as he took a sip, his body warming instantly. He watched the older man sit down across from him, and gave him a timid smile, only now realising that they were all alone.
"They'll be in detention for months," Harry said, a frown passing over his features as he stared down into his cup. "They'll get the punishment they deserve."
Scorpius was glad that it had been Harry who had found him, not some other teacher. He had always had a feeling that he was Harry's favourite, and this seemed to confirm it. Or maybe he was reading too much into it. Maybe any other teacher would've reacted just as angrily as Harry had.
Only a few minutes ago, Harry had found Scorpius tight to a lamppost just outside of Hogsmeade while a few of the older boys had been throwing snowballs at him. He had been standing there for over an hour and was frozen through and through. If Harry hadn't come by when he had, Scorpius would probably still be there.
"Thank you," he said softly, grateful that the boys who had been torturing and mocking him for weeks were finally getting what they deserved. He hadn't talked about this to anyone before because the boys had been threatening him with worse things, should he ever rat them out. So Scorpius had shut his mouth and accepted the pranks the other boys played on him wordlessly, trying not to show how much it got to him.
But today had been too much; he had been crying when Harry had untied him, and he still felt the hot, dried tear tracks on his cheeks. Finally warming up a bit, he shrugged off his jacket and drank some more tea, looking up to find Harry watching him. He shivered, then held his breath when Harry got up and wrapped his arms around him, almost making Scorpius drop his cup. He set it down carefully, stiffening a bit. Harry was so close. Scorpius could smell him, and his arms around him felt just as wonderful as he'd always expected. He bit his lip, then hesitantly rested his head on his teacher's shoulder, trying to relax.
"This wasn't the first time, was it?" he heard Harry's soft, low voice in his ear. "They've done this before? You should've come to me earlier."
Scorpius nodded but bit his lip, not trusting his voice right now. He closed his eyes and, without even realising it, nestled further into his teacher's body, his face almost pressed into Harry's neck. He had never felt more safe – and nervous, at the same time – before. The strong, protective arms wrapped around him made him feel protected and like nothing and no one could hurt him ever again. Harry's large, gentle hand stroked his back, and Scorpius' heart was pounding in his chest.
This was it. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. He would never get an opportunity like this again, so he should take it. He bit his lip and glanced up briefly, worrying about a possibly bad outcome before shaking his head inwardly. He could always claim the many snowballs that had hit his head had confused him, or… something. He needed to do it now, or it might never happen.
Closing his eyes again, he shifted and tilted his head up, hesitantly brushing a kiss over Harry's chin. Close. He'd actually been planning on kissing his ilips/i but his chin wasn't bad either. He felt Harry's hand on his back still, and held his breath for a moment before he pushed himself up and kissed him again, managing to reach the older man's lips this time.
He let his lips linger against his teacher's for a long moment, and was about to pull back and apologise when he felt Harry's hand slide up to the back of his neck. The sensitive skin there was rubbed for a moment before Harry's lips pressed against his, his mouth opening a little to deepen the kiss. Scorpius' heart skipped a beat and his mouth opened in surprise, a strangled whimper leaving his lips when Harry's tongue slid into his mouth, gently caressing his own.
This was a real kiss; the kind of kiss he'd not even dared to dream about. And it was even better than he'd thought it would be; so much more… realistic. And even though it lasted for only a couple of minutes, Scorpius knew that he would remember it forever, no matter what would happen next.
Harry was the first to pull away, and he stroked Scorpius cheek with his fingertips. Scorpius bit his lip and forced himself to open his eyes, and when he saw the intensity in Harry's eyes, another whimper escaped him. A small smile crossed Harry's lips, and Scorpius swallowed hard when he felt his teacher's arms around him tighten rather than let go of him. Finally, he relaxed, and when Harry kissed him again, he couldn't help but be secretly grateful that those boys had tied him up today. If they hadn't, his dreams might have never come true…