The end of November arrived suddenly, cold and damp. The fires in the house common rooms were kept lit day and night now, to drive away the chill. The two large hearths in the Great Hall were roaring merrily, as students feasted on hearty stews and meat pies. A cheerful clinking noise was heard over the dull clanging of cutlery.
"May I have your attention please!" Headmistress McGonagall's voice rang out clearly and the drone of a hundred conversations ceased. "Thank you. As you all know, the last month of term is upon us and with it the Yuletide season. This year, we will be bringing back a rather special tradition. Hogwarts will be holding a Yule Ball for students years four and up. It will take place on Saturday, December 17th, at six o'clock, here in the Great Hall. Attire is formal and I expect everyone to be on their best behavior. For our younger students, a Christmas party will be thrown in three of the Charms classrooms. Thank you for your attention, you may return to your pudding." And with that an array of desserts appeared on the four house tables and students started chattering excitedly.
The school was a buzz with the news. The girls were gossiping and giggling about who might ask them, while the boys were reluctantly plucking up the courage to approach the roaming bands of girls. The other three sixth year Slytherin boys had already secured dates for the dance. Albus and Scorpius had not.
It had been a week since the announcement, one very awkward week. It began before bedtime several hours after the feast. Scorpius had been so distracted by the appearance of sweets that the boys had not talked about the news. Now however, Albus noticed Scorpius was fidgeting more than usual, tugging at his pajama sleeves and rubbing the back of his neck. Scorpius cleared his throat.
"Al-Albus?" he asked uncertainly.
Albus looked up from folding his robes. "Yeah?"
"Do you think maybe...that we, um... nevermind." Scorpius said, clearly flustered.
"What?" Albus replied curiously.
"It's nothing," Scorpius said, twisting his tie into and out of knots, then setting it on his dresser. "Goodnight Albus."
"Goodnight, Scorpius." Albus said bemused.
The next morning at breakfast Scorpius seemed to be working up his courage.
"Albus, w-would you..." Scorpius looked panicked. "Would you... please pass the cranberry juice?" He said quickly, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, sure..." puzzled, Albus passed the pitcher of juice to Scorpius, who was almost as red as its contents. "Here you go then."
"Thanks." Scorpius smiled weakly.
"No problem..." Albus returned, studying his friend's face.
Scorpius seemed highly distracted in Transfiguration that afternoon.
"Albus, would... I mean could... you um, could I see your notes? I think I've missed... something."
"Oh, yeah of course." Albus said confused. Scorpius had never asked Albus if he could see his notes before. Though Albus frequently studied off of his more studious friend's tomes. Albus glanced over and saw that Scorpius's parchment was completely blank.
At dinner Scorpius asked Albus to pass him several items that were either well within his reach or which Albus had never seen Scorpius consume in the six years they had known each other. Each time with a stutter, a blush and a muttered thanks. At the end of the meal Scorpius stood up abruptly and practically shouted, "ALBUS WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO TO THE... to the... to the library with me?" He finished lamely.
"Uh, sure... I guess there are some star charts I need to look up..." Albus said cautiously.
"Okay, great, good I mean. Yes, good. Let's um, go then, to the library." Scorpius said, gathering up all his books and hurrying for the doors.
"Right..." Albus stood up and followed Scorpius out of the Great Hall, with a bewildered expression on his face.
Scorpius didn't seem to be able to sit still in the library, a place where he was usually quite at home.
"Scorpius, is there something the matter?" Albus asked.
"The matter? No! No, nothing's the matter... I just..." Scorpius's eyes darted around nervously, "I just wanted to as... to ask... if you... um," he glanced downward, "if you had an extra quill to borrow. Yes. I... I seem to have... broken... mine."
Albus looked at the quill lying on the desk in front of Scorpius. It was utterly destroyed, as if Scorpius had been bending and twisting and picking off every last barb.
"Scorpius," Albus gently placed a hand on the other boy's forearm, trying to soothe him, but this only startled Scorpius, who jerked away his arm and scooted back his chair. Albus's eyes widened. "Sorry, I'll um, just get you that quill." He said, bending over to rummage through his bag.
The rest of the week continued on in much the same way. Scorpius had never asked Albus for so many things in the entirety of their friendship. Scorpius was now frequently borrowing quills, parchment and ink, after spilling several bottles in class. He even asked Albus for several items of clothing, which he proceeded to wear with a sheepish look on his face, and were returned with the sleeves stretched out. The boys had ended up playing several impromptu games of chess, gobstones and exploding snap over the next few days. They had taken spur of the moment walks round the Lake and up to the Owlery and the Astronomy Tower, all at Scorpius' frantic suggestions. Scorpius was becoming an increasingly more adventurous eater, even asking for some pickled herring at lunch one day. He actually took a hesitant bite of the offending fish, chewed and swallowed it, before promptly running out of the Great Hall with his hand over his mouth. Most uncharacteristically Scorpius was frequently interrupting lessons to start and then promptly drop conversations with Albus. Even Professor Binns had noticed.
Albus was growing more concerned and frustrated by the day. By the time the following Friday rolled around, he had had enough. So when Scorpius nervously cleared his throat as they were getting ready for bed, Albus beat him to the punch.
"Scorpius, what is it you actually want to ask me?"
"Umm, ask you? I didn't... I wasn't going to..." Scorpius stammered.
"Come on, Scorpius," Albus looked at him earnestly, "you've been dancing around something uncomfortable for over a week now."
"Dancing? I didn't say anything about dancing!" Scorpius squeaked.
Albus shook his head. "We haven't had a proper conversation since... since McGonagall announced the Yule Ball..." Albus trailed off, a look of comprehension dawning on his face. "Are you worried about who you're going to take? Because I figured we could just-"
"Yes," Scorpius interrupted, a little too loudly. "Yes, there has been something I've been meaning to ask you! Albus, would you... would you... umm, would you mind if I... if I asked Lily to the ball?"
"Oh," replied Albus dejectedly. "Wait, Lily? You want to take my sister to the Yule Ball?"
"Well, I was just thinking..."
"You fancy my sister? Where the hell did this come from?" Albus demanded. "What about Rose?"
"Well I, I didn't think Rose would-"
"So what," Albus asked, "my sister is your, your second choice?"
"Well actually-"
"Why do you seem to want to pursue all the women in my family? Why don't you just go ahead and ask out Roxanne or Lucy or Molly?"
"Albus, they're not even at Hogwarts anymore, they're too-"
"Why should that stop you?" Albus cut him off again. "What about Dominique or Victoire? Everyone says they're 'great beauties'!"
"Albus..." Scorpius pleaded.
"Or how about my Aunt Hermione?" Albus fumed. "I'm sure Uncle Ron wouldn't mind."
"Albus you're being ridiculous!" Scorpius chided. "And anyway, you're the one who kissed her!"
Albus went silent with embarrassment and anger.
"I definitely don't want to marry your Aunt Hermione," Scorpius said calmly for the first time in their conversation, "or your elder cousins."
"And why is it always about marriage with you?" whined Albus, regaining his nerve. "Why can't you just date someone?"
"I... I don't know... I..." Scorpius mumbled, "I suppose, I like the idea of being related to you."
"Well I don't!" Albus shouted. "I don't want you to be my brother-in-law or my cousin... in-law! I just want you to be..."
"To be what, Albus?" Scorpius asked quietly.
"Mine." Albus looked down at his feet awkwardly, his ears and cheeks burning red.
"Y...yours?" Scorpius squeaked.
"Oh Merlin, I shouldn't have said that. You know what, nevermind. Just ask Lily to the dance. You have my blessing." Albus tried to make a dash for the boy's bathroom but Scorpius reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Albus wait," Scorpius said. "Lily, Lily wasn't my second choice... She was my third."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Albus asked incredulously.
"It might, if you knew who was first..." Scorpius said hopefully.
Albus glanced down at their hands. "You mean Rose wasn't your first choice?"
"No Albus," Scorpius squeezed Albus's hand, "you were. You will always be first."
"I... What? You..." it was Albus's turn to be at a loss for words.
"All this week," Scorpius began nervously, "I haven't been trying to ask for your permission to take your sister to the ball. I've been trying to ask... you."
"Then why did you let me think you fancied Lily?" Albus asked softly.
"I panicked, you put me on the spot and I... It just popped into my head." Scorpius confessed. "It was a really bad idea."
"Scorpius..." Albus began.
"I didn't know if you'd..." Scorpius continued. "I thought it might... ruin our friendship." He looked at Albus questioningly, worrying his bottom lip.
"Scorpius, nothing could ruin our friendship," Albus said, pulling Scorpius down into a tight hug and resting his cheek on the taller boy's shoulder. After a minute Scorpius cleared his throat.
"So you'll go to the ball with me?" Scorpius mumbled into Albus's shoulder.
Albus pulled out of the hug and took a step back, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Only if you ask me properly."
Scorpius straightened up and took a deep breath. "Albus Severus Potter, would you do me the h-honor of accompanying me to the Yule Ball?"
"Wow. That really was actually proper." Albus laughed.
"Albus..." Scorpius warned.
Albus stepped forward and gently took each of Scorpius's hands in his, marveling at how right they looked and felt. Then he slowly looked up into Scorpius's wide grey eyes. "Yes. Yes, I'll go to the ball with you, you great big dork."
A huge grin spread across Scorpius's face and Albus was engulfed in a warm hug. "But I'm y-your great big dork." Scorpius murmured into Albus's thick dark hair.
Albus turned his head upward and pressed his lips firmly to Scorpius's cheek. "Yes, you're mine."