Written for the QLFC, Season 5, Round 12.
Position: Beater 1
Position Prompt: You'll be writing about two characters in a friendship (platonic) relationship.
Characters: Harry/Scorpius
Title: Recipe
Word Count: 1,900
Beta(s): Aya Diefair; CUtopia, VanillaAshes, Aelys_Althea
Optional Prompts:
5. (food) strawberry
13. (object) blouse
Go Wanderers!
Recipe
Albus Potter let out a relieved breath when his cousin, Rose Weasley, placed the last book on her already overstuffed bookshelf. He didn't think her invitation meant she was going to include him in her room reorganization for the third time that summer, and, quite frankly, he wondered why he always gave into it so readily.
"Are you done?" Albus asked with an annoyed tone. "I'm going to be late for dinner again."
Stepping back from the bookshelf, Rose scanned her room a final time before nodding her approval. "I think that will do for now."
Albus groaned, needing to remember to say no to her in about a week when she changed her mind. "Good, 'cause I gotta go."
Making for the door, his cousin said her goodbyes. Albus would normally just stay for supper, but the Weasley's never had a designated dinner time, and he wound up going home to eat after waiting so long anyway.
The moment Albus stepped out of the fireplace, leaving ash on the carpet, he heard an all too familiar sound. Like countless times before, it caused a frown to grow on his face, and he withheld a sigh while stripping off his cloak and moving towards the kitchen, following the laughter.
Crossing the threshold, Albus wasn't surprised at all by the sight awaiting him, and yet it still made his stomach twinge uncomfortably. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table, dabbing at a tomato sauce stain in her blouse, while his father was standing at the stove, stirring said sauce with a huge grin that made his green eyes sparkle.
Albus finally looked over at the blond boy sitting at the table, chuckling over whatever had transpired before he had arrived. Scorpius looked to his raven-haired friend and smiled.
"Hey, Albus!"
"I thought you didn't want to move in, Scorp?" he teased, approaching his best friend.
"And we thought that you would never show up," Scorpius shot back with a jokingly scold in his voice. "When will you learn to be punctual?"
"It's never been his strongest trait," Harry commented from the stove, making Scorpius snort.
"Oh, I've experienced it first hand way too many times."
Harry and Scorpius exchanged knowing glances that had Albus rolling his eyes, but he didn't comment, knowing that it wouldn't make them stop. Ginny was only smirking to herself, observing the scene with amusement while preparing a bowl of strawberries for dessert.
"Maybe I'll learn when I move in with your parents," Albus playfully jabbed back, nudging the other boy's arm with his elbow.
"Scorpius was just telling me about this new café in Diagon Alley," Harry started, gesturing for Scorpius to come over and taste the sauce. "They're said to have awesome food. You wanna join us for brunch?"
"And feel like the third wheel in your... whatever you call this thing? Nah, I'm good," Albus replied lightly while shaking his head, gesturing between Harry and Scorpius, which caused them to exchange another glance.
Scorpius had been at his house almost every single day during the holidays. Normally, Albus would be thrilled to see his best friend on a daily basis, but as the days passed, he also experienced some downsides. It wasn't inherently bad that Scorpius got closer to his family, but for Albus' taste, his friend got along with his dad almost a bit too well.
It got to the point where Albus didn't even know Scorpius was in the house until he stumbled across him laughing about something his father had said, or when Scorpius scared the pants off him when he came out of the loo then went to high five Harry. Of course, it didn't bother him much then, until it started to feel like he was sharing his best friend with his dad. That seemed just a little strange.
"So, how long have you actually been here?" Albus asked, watching how Scorpius tasted the sauce from the spoon Harry held towards him. "Considering that you've had enough time to agree on brunching and all."
"Oh, three hours, I think." Scorpius replied nonchalantly with a shrug. "It needs more salt."
The blond acted as if it was perfectly normal to hang at a friend's house during his absence. Well, for them it probably was normal already, Albus supposed. He couldn't hold back a chuckle and crossed his arms with an expression of mock hurt.
"You want me to leave you two alone to finish exchanging recipes?"
"Nah, it's okay, I'll do that when you're at the Burrow tomorrow," Scorpius replied casually, flailing his hand in a dismissive gesture.
"We've got Quidditch to discuss," Harry added with a serious nod.
Albus raised a puzzled brow. "I'm not going to... oh, nevermind."
Turning to his mother, Albus gave her a grin and said dryly: "Ah, well. You want to hang out, Mum? They obviously don't need us anymore."
"Sure, hun. We can brunch with your father and Scorpius. Make it a double date." Ginny joked.
Albus let out a huff in response, but it didn't hide the smile that twitched the corner of his lips. All this playful banter had his stomach starting to growl. "Is dinner ready yet? I'm starving over here."
Scorpius came back to the table to resume his seat, only to find that Albus had taken it. "Hey, that's my spot."
"Since when do you have a spot here? I always sit here."
Harry gave his son a mockingly scolding glance that was quite similar to the one Scorpius had given Albus earlier and grabbed the saucepan off the stove. "Don't be rude, Albus. There's enough space for everyone here, right? Bring over the spaghetti, will you, Scor?"
Scorpius went to help, and Albus couldn't help but roll his eyes, hopping over to the other seat next to him to avoid further issue. All of the teasing was quickly exhausting him; he could handle it if it was coming from one of them, but both was too much. Sometimes it really grated on his nerves; it became especially bad if George stopped by, or if James and Teddy were lurking about.
The four tucked into a lovely dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and fresh salad. The chatter came and went in small bursts as everyone ate, which was a nice relief for Albus' sake.
"Oi, Harry." Scorpius started, finishing a bite of food. "I forgot, my Father wagered five-hundred galleons on Bulgaria to win the Cup this year. He wanted to know if you were in?"
Harry chuckled and shook his head. "It isn't even the quarterfinals and he puts his faith in Bulgaria already?"
"That's what I said!" the blond responded, "I told him the last thing I want to hear about if they lose before the finals is how you beat him yet again, and that he should wait until at least the semifinals."
"I'm sure that does gets bothersome." Harry snickered.
Feeling a little left out of the conversation, Albus racked his brain about something Quidditch related. It really wasn't his forte, but he was desperate. Before he could come up with anything, Scorpius looked his way.
"Oh, Albus. Did you pick up your socks this time because–"
"My what?" Albus stumbled out over Scorpius speaking.
"–last time I woke up to them like right in my face." The blond finished, making a classic Malfoy look of disgust at his friend.
"Uh… sorry?" Albus said slowly, processing what was said. "Wait… you're staying over?"
Scorpius nodded his head. "Of course, silly. I was invited to brunch!"
"Oh, geez." The dark-haired boy smacked his forehead with his hands.
"Dessert time! Who want's some strawberry shortcake?" Ginny asked, turning to the group.
"Oh, I do!" Scorpius announced excitedly.
Everyone was soon full of the sweet dessert. Harry rose after overcoming his food coma to help his wife clear the table. Scorpius hopped off his seat and quickly started to help as well, and the gesture bothered Albus enough to slip away to his room.
Harry watched as his son left the kitchen, clearly upset about something. He took the plates from Scorpius and placed them on the counter. "Why don't you let us handle the cleanup and you can go hang out with Al. Sound good?"
The blond looked oddly disappointed by the request. "But I like to help you. I don't get to do anything like it at home."
"I know, and it's appreciated. But Albus looks like he needs his friend more than I do right now. After all, he's your friend first." Harry said, messing up Scorpius' perfect hair.
The boy chuckled and attempted to fix it. "You're right. Thanks, Harry."
Scorpius ran up the stairs after Albus.
Albus sat on the floor of his room pretending he wasn't sulking as he shoved a pile of dirty socks and shirts under his bed. He was pulling out the extra bedding from the closet when Scorpius entered.
"Hey," Scorpius said.
"Hi," Albus muttered, not looking Scorpius' way as he yanked out a sleeping bag. "Your best mate get bored of you, too?"
The blond grabbed the pillow from the shelf along with a duvet. "You're hardly boring, Albus. Your dad – he's just so nice to me."
"He's nice to everyone." Albus deadpanned, trying to see what Scorpius meant by it.
"You know what I mean." Scorpius plopped down on the makeshift bed the two laid out on the floor. "After hearing all the things he's done for our world, everyone of my family made it seem like his head would be in the clouds and forever boastful about it. But, he's just… normal. He treats me like a normal kid, too."
Albus sighed, looking to his best friend. He knew he was right; there was a lot of anxiety the two exchanged on how their parents would react to their fast developing friendship. After facing the first official meeting between the families, everyone had become so civil and polite and it didn't seem forced at all. It was a great relief for Albus and Scorpius to know that their dad's weren't going to kill each other every time they saw one another.
"Anyway, as you know, my parents are so proper." Scorpius continued. "Jokes and pranks are like a taboo. Your dad makes me feel welcome and at home when I am here, so I hope it doesn't bother you that I befriended him.
"Besides, you're my best mate." Scorpius finished, giving Albus a gentle nudge on his shoulder.
The dark-haired boy chuckled after a moment, realizing something. "My dad ruined your hair, huh? He's good at that."
"Yeah," Scorpius fiddled with it, only making it worse. "Also a taboo at home: messy hair."
The two laughed for a moment before Albus grabbed his Exploding Snap deck. "I've been practicing. Want to play a round?"
"Only if you're ready to lose." Scorpius challenged, a grin forming on his lips.