Written for the ass_carnival on LJ.


Summer Voodoo

Scorpius frowned as he watched Albus standing by the bar, surrounded by boys. He was laughing, obviously enjoying himself. And he looked gorgeous, as he always did. He looked so casual and comfortable in his Bermuda shorts and his Hawaii shirt, his sunglasses on the top of his head, holding his dark hair back. His tanned skin looked even darker, contrasted with the bright colours of his clothes, his radiant green eyes shining with joy and passion.

Scorpius couldn't help thinking back to their days at Hogwarts when he had been the only one to see that expression in Albus's eyes. Thinking back to those nights when they had fooled around, exchanged heated kisses behind the curtains of their beds, Scorpius felt a pang of jealousy in his chest as he watched one of Albus's groupies casually touch his hip, and Scorpius downed another shot of Tequila. The alcohol made it easier for him to deal with this but he knew their fling hadn't meant anything to Al. Not in the way it had mattered to Scorpius.

He was still in love with him, and just seeing his friend confirm the fact that he wasn't in the least interested in Scorpius, by flirting with dozens of guys every night, made Scorpius want to throw up. It was over. He should deal with it and move on.

But how could he when he knew that Albus was the one?

He turned his back to the bar so that he wouldn't have to watch those guys devour ihis/i Albus with their eyes. Instead he thought back to the plan he'd developed these past few weeks. He hadn't planned to go through with it while they were on vacation with Lily and Teddy. But watching Albus with those guys that didn't deserve him, he knew that he had to do it soon.

He had long decided that there was no one else for him. If he couldn't have Albus he would have no one. But he wasn't ready to give up on Albus just yet. He still had the perhaps naïve hope that once the holiday was over, when the summer boys were gone and their lives were back to normal, that Albus would come back to him then.

After all, Scorpius had always been there, had always helped Albus get through the break-ups, had held him when another of those careless guys had broken his fragile heart by cheating on him. Scorpius wanted to kill them all but knowing that Albus probably wouldn't approve, he restrained himself.

Shooting a glance at his wristband watch, Scorpius emptied his last drink for the night and placed it back on the table before making his way over to Albus. He was vaguely aware of the lustful looks that followed him as he walked across the dancefloor to where his friend was standing.

He shivered when Albus caught his eye and gave him that unique smile that used to brighten Scorpius's day. But now it only made him sad, and all he wanted to do was crawl under the covers of his bed and forget.

"Hey, you leaving?" Albus asked, slurring slightly from the excessive amount of alcohol he'd probably consumed. For a moment, Scorpius thought he saw a flicker of sadness in Al's eyes but that was probably just another trick his mind was playing on him.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling well," Scorpius replied, using the same lame excuse he used every night. He couldn't exactly tell Albus that seeing him with someone else felt as if a knife was being turned around in his heart. Albus gave him his disbelieving frown, as he did every night before nodding and turning back to his harem.

Scorpius sighed and with a last glance at Albus's smile, he left the beach bar and walked back to the hotel.

* * *

When he was ready to go to bed and was sure that Albus wasn't going to walk through the door anytime soon, he hesitantly pulled out the shoebox from under the bed. He placed it on his lap, trailing his fingertips over it for a moment before opening it and staring inside.

It was crazy, he knew it, and probably unfair. In their third year at Hogwarts they had learned how dangerous Love Potions and other spells that would mess with one person's head could be. He knew it was completely unfair to Albus but Scorpius was desperate.

He needed to know if it was possible for them to be together, to experience the happiness he'd always dreamed of. This probably wasn't the best solution but for him there just was no other way anymore. He wanted Albus and he would do anything it took for the other boy to love him back.

He slowly took the small puppet out of the box, stroking its hair almost affectionately. It had taken him weeks to make it, and he was rather pleased with the result. It really did look like Albus. He stared at it for some moments and pressed an adoring kiss to its tiny head before placing it on the bed in front of him and pulling out the rest of the content of the box.

He leaned back against the headboard of the bed and opened the book that would tell him how to prepare his Voodoo spell. He started reading, absentmindedly stroking the puppet's soft dark hair. He wasn't even aware that his eyes were closing slowly and he dozed off, holding the Albus-puppet to his chest.

* * *

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! I cannot believe the nerve of you!"

What seemed like only minutes later, he was awoken by a loud screech and his first instinct was to pull the pillow over his head, ignore the unpleasant sound and go back to sleep. But then he realized that the voice sounded suspiciously like Lily Potter's and he sat up abruptly, only to find himself face to face with a very pissed off looking Lily.

"I demand an explanation and I really hope this is not what it looks like!" she yelled, tossing the book back on his lap and placing her hands on her hips. She looked positively menacing and when Scorpius opened his mouth, no sound came out. He felt his cheeks heat up and stared down at the Potter-puppet that was still pressed to his chest.

"I, um…," he started, then shrugged uncomfortably, avoiding Lily's eyes.

"Well, then let me explain to you what I am thinking," she snapped, not even giving him time to come up with a reasonable explanation. Not that he would have found one. He'd known from the start that his plan was madness but he hadn't expected anyone to find out about it before he'd have the time to go through with it. But it was probably for the better.

Lily took a step forward, flopping down on the bed and taking the puppet from Scorpius, staring at it with disgust. "This," she said, holding the puppet in front of his face, "looks suspiciously like my brother Albus Severus Potter, whom you've been in love with for ages."

She paused and pointed at the book. "And this is one of the oldest books about Voodoo spells," she continued, her voice still high-pitched and angry pink spots appearing on her face. Scorpius mentally wrote his last will because he knew that his life would end in the next few minutes.

"You've got all the ingredients, and putting one and one together leads me to think that you are planning on making my brother some kind of Voodoo... baby," she screeched, glaring at him with big angry blue eyes. "And I really hope you do have a VERY good explanation because I swear to Merlin you're going to be castrated if you don't."

She crossed her arms in front of her body and kept glaring at Scorpius. It obviously was his turn to speak now. "Lily, it's… not like you think," he stammered, looking down at his hands and biting his lip.

"Oh, I think it's exactly like I think!" she interrupted him again. "Have you lost your fucking imind/i? Seriously Scorpius, what the hell?"

"I'm sorry! All right?" he snapped back, finally lifting his head to meet her eyes with equal anger. "He never notices me! Every day since we've been here he's had sex with another guy! He hasn't spent the night in the room iwe/i were supposed to share one single time! He doesn't care about me and I can't fucking live without him!"

"And that gives you the right to fucking ivoodoo/i him?" she shrieked, waving her hands exasperatedly. "You are fucking bonkers!"

"Well, do you see another way for me to get him back?" he asked, throwing the puppet across the room and jumping up in anger.

"How about iasking him out for a date/i?" she asked, getting up as well and waving her hands as if she had just suggested the most obvious thing in the world. Which she probably had. "Seriously Malfoy, why don't you just itell/i him? I've been telling you for iyears/i that he's just as smitten with you as you are with him but none of you fucking losers ever idoes/i anything about it!"

Scorpius opened his mouth to spit back a retort but it died on his lips as he saw that Lily wasn't as unreasonable as he would have liked. She was completely right. He had been out of his mind to even consider a thing such as Voodoo.

"He doesn't love me," he said and fell back onto the bed, his shoulders slumped in distress. "If he did, he wouldn't hurt me this much."

Lily was silent for a moment and walked around the bed to take a seat next to her brother's best friend. "He doesn't know, Scorpius," she said and luckily the furious tone was out of her voice. "If you'd only tell him that you're mad for him, he wouldn't even look twice at those boys. Why don't you see that? It's only his way of dealing with the pain of not having you."

Scorpius looked up at her and bit his lip uncertainly. "You really think so?" he asked in a small voice, feeling the tears prickling behind his eyelids.

"I'm sure of it. I've been watching the two of you for years now. You are meant to be together," she said, wrapping her arm around Scorpius's shoulder and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, the last of her anger vanishing. "Ask him out. I'm serious. You won't be disappointed.

Scorpius looked at her and felt one single tear run down his cheek before he gave her a weak smile and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry, Lily," he murmured against her neck. "Don't tell him?"

"Of course I won't," she said, returning his embrace and kissing his cheek again. "Seriously, though. You're damn lucky I found you before he did. Because that would have ruined even the smallest chance you could have with him."

Scorpius cringed and nodded, pulling out of the hug and wiping his cheeks. "Thank you," he whispered and received a comforting pat on his shoulder.

* * *

"Hey you," Albus said and grinned when he finally entered the room a few hours later. Lily had left a long time ago and had given Scorpius time to destroy all the evidence of his ridiculous plan. For one moment he'd considered keeping the puppet, just in case Lily had been wrong after all. Of course he wouldn't have thought about trying the Voodoo spell again, now that Lily had made him see reason. But he'd grown fond of the doll, and if he couldn't have Albus the puppet would have given him some comfort, at least.

But then he had rejected the idea and decided to go with Lily's plan instead, asking Albus out on a proper date.

"Hey… had fun?" Scorpius asked, looking up from his book and pushing his silver rimmed glasses up on his nose. Albus shrugged and murmured something Scorpius couldn't quite catch before making his way to the bathroom.

Scorpius hesitated for a second before closing the book, placing the photo of him and Albus that he used as a bookmark between the pages he was currently reading, then slipped off the bed and walked to the bathroom as well, leaning against the door as he watched Albus undress to take a shower.

"Al-Albus?" he asked and cleared his throat when his voice came out small and hollow. Albus looked up at him with a questioning glance and Scorpius had to look away because those green eyes were just impossible. They always made his mind stop working and right now he needed his brain to form a coherent sentence.

"Are… I mean," he started and paused before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to look up at Albus again. "Are we going to the beach party tonight?" he asked, then bit his lip. "I mean, together? Just the two of us? Alone?"

He felt his cheeks heat up again and stared down at his hands that were fidgeting with the fabric of his t-shirt. The silence was deafening and Scorpius wished Albus would reject him already, wanting to get this torture over with.

"You mean… a date?" Albus asked, his voice quiet and soft. Scorpius nodded, and when Albus was silent again, he hesitantly looked up, only to see Albus smiling at him. "Really?"

Scorpius frowned, feeling his heart beat in his throat as he waited for Albus's reply. He nodded hesitantly and his heart skipped a beat when Albus beamed and closed the distance between them, pulling him into a hug.

His stomach fluttered when Al's face was pressed into his neck, and he let his eyes fall closed, completely melting into the embrace. "Do you-," Albus started, and did Scorpius only imagine it or did his voice really sound as if he was suppressing a sob? He heard and felt Albus take a deep breath before he started again. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you to ask me that question?"

Scorpius's eyes widened a little and he pulled back to stare at Albus. "Really?" he asked and a smile blossomed on his lips when Al nodded happily. "You mean, you… really want me?"

Albus rolled his eyes and nodded. "Scorpius… I think you are the only person who hasn't realized how much I want you," he said, reaching out to cup Scorpius's face and press a soft kiss on his nose. "Seriously, how bloody dense can a person be?"

Scorpius scowled but couldn't keep the smile off his face; he was so relieved he couldn't even express it. "Ha ha," he muttered but grinned and closed his eyes when Albus leaned their foreheads together. "Then why did you wait for me to take the first step? Why didn't you ask me yourself? You never seemed to have any problem asking anyone out. Why not me?"

"I did try," Albus answered, his hands slowly running down Scorpius's sides to rest on his hips. "I tried so often but somehow you never seemed to realize what I was asking. I never wanted anyone else. It's always been just you. But you acted weird, so I thought you must not want me after all, even though Lily kept telling me you did. You need to work on displaying your feelings more openly, Scorpius."

Albus pulled back to look at him and Scorpius lost himself in those green pools of warmth again. He brought his hand up to tangle it in Albus's hair before leaning in and capturing the other boy's lips in a long, slow kiss. When he pulled back he was panting from the sheer intensity of Albus's lips against his own. "'s that enough?" he asked, and Albus nodded.

* * *

That same evening they were sitting in the cold sand on the beach, watching the fireworks while holding hands. Scorpius's head was on Albus's shoulder as they watched the colourful sparks explode on the dark night sky while the waves splashed their naked toes.

Around them, people were chattering happily, drinking and dancing to the beats of 'School's Out For summer' but Albus and Scorpius didn't see or hear any of that. The only thing they saw was each other, and soon even the loud booming sound of the fireworks was forgotten when their lips sealed in a loving kiss.

- Fin -