Disclaimer: All these wonderful characters belong to J K Rowling. I've just borrowed them for my amusement and hopefully yours.

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Summary: Albus and Scorpius are in their sixth year at school. Albus is popular, famous both for his surname as well as his skill on the Quidditch pitch. Scorpius is the quiet, bookish Ravenclaw that Albus doesn't really know or think about much. A chance encounter makes him realise that Scorpius may be the most interesting person he's ever met...

Draco Malfoy is the Potions Master at Hogwarts while Harry Potter is the reluctant Head Auror. Draco is one of the best teachers at Hogwarts and he's pretty content with his life until Harry starts coming to him for help with his cases and stirs up long buried feelings. They slowly become friends and there is hope for more as Harry's marriage, which has been in trouble for a long time now, comes to an end.

The first few chapters are entirely Albus/Scorpius, but there is a plenty of Draco/Harry from chapter 11 onward.

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It was a Sunday afternoon in the beginning of October. Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley were sitting in a quiet corner of the Ravenclaw common room and talking.

"Frank asked me out last night," Rose said, trying not to blush.

"Again? I'm starting to like this guy. What did you say?"

"Um...I said I'd think about it."

"And?"

"I don't know Scor. I'm not sure. I like him, I really do. But, he's just too damn popular. He's got all these girls chasing after him and he's so good looking and he's always so elegant and put together and I'm...I'm just me. I'm this quiet little bookworm who wouldn't understand fashion if it bit me on the nose. We're just so different from each other..." she said, frowning.

Scorpius shuffled a bit closer and put his arm around her. "So you like him, but he scares you..." he said gently.

"Yes," she said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder. "He's been around a bit. I've never been with anyone and every time he comes close to me, my brain shuts down and I start babbling. We've only spoken a few times but I've made a fool of myself every single time...It's embarrassing and painful. I wish he would just give up. I don't know what he sees in me to be honest."

"I'll tell you what I see. I see the smartest witch in this entire school. I see a girl who is loving and loyal to a fault. A girl who is beautiful, but doesn't seem to know it. The fact that you're shy and a bit awkward just adds to the allure, I think. Frank is a smart guy, Rosie. He knows what he wants. He's been chasing you since the beginning of this term. You haven't given him any encouragement, but he's stuck around. I think he's serious about you. He's not just looking for a fling..."

"How did you know that I was worried about that?"

"I'm not your best friend for nothing you know...Just give the guy a chance, alright."

"If I can keep my head long enough to actually talk to him...Why am I like this?"

"That's just the way it is with us...we do better with books than with people."

"Hmmm...That's why all you ever do is look at Albus, is it?"

"It's not like I could anything else," Scorpius said with a sigh.

"I don't see why not. You should take your own advice and talk to him, make an attempt to get to know him and let him see what you're really like, instead of mooning over him all the time."

"I do not moon over him."

"Yes you do. You're asking me to be brave and take a chance with Frank. I don't see why you can't do the same."

"It is not the same, Rosie. Frank is actually interested in you."

"If Albus is not interested in you, it is because he doesn't know you at all. Every time you see him, you clam up...and then you find an excuse to be somewhere else."

"That is because I know I don't stand a chance with him. Or haven't you noticed that he's straight?"

"Merlin! Not that again. I've been telling you since the beginning of this term; Albus is not as straight as you think he is. I used to think that he was straight too, that's why I never gave you any encouragement before, but I noticed a few things over the summer that convinced me otherwise."

"What things?"

"I saw him checking a few blokes out when we were at the beach and I even caught him flirting with this guy in a cafe...I don't think Al was aware that he flirting, though."

"How can he not know that he's flirting if he's doing it?"

"He's a bit oblivious that way. Anyway, the point is that I think Al is bi and so you have a very good chance with him, particularly considering the fact that he values brains over looks and you have both. So you should let me get you guys together."

"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen. Your cousin has never looked at me twice and he never will. I just have to accept that," Scorpius said with a sigh.

Rose gave him an exasperated look. They'd had this conversation several times since the beginning of the term and no matter what she said, Scorpius wouldn't listen to her. So she sat in silence for a while, trying to think of a way to convince him. Scorpius was a bit lost in thought as well...

The two of them had been good friends right from their first year, much to the annoyance of Rose's cousins. The only ones who didn't mind were Albus, Louis and Lily. James could never understand how Rose could choose to hang around with a Malfoy. He was very much like his uncle Ron in that respect. He'd only refrained from teasing and taunting Scorpius after Rose had hexed him a few times.

Rose had heard her father talk about the Malfoys ever since she was a kid. Draco Malfoy had featured in a lot of her father's stories about school. He'd even warned her about Scorpius before she got on the Hogwarts express for the first time. Everyone had been surprised when Scorpius was sorted into Ravenclaw. That, combined with the fact that all her cousins were in Gryffindor, was perhaps what prompted Rose to seek him out. It was a big surprise when she realised that Scorpius was even shyer than she was. But she'd liked him straight away and she'd kept after him with all the determination that she had inherited from her mother, until he gave in and they became friends.

It helped that they were very alike. They loved books and learning with a passion. They were both very private people who had trouble making friends and hated drawing attention to themselves. They worked hard at their studies and they were both creative as well. Rose was musically inclined while Scorpius was an artist. Over the years they had formed a solid bond and they trusted each other more than anyone else in the world. Their friendship had come as a bit of a shock to their families, but Draco, Harry and Hermione had accepted it fairly quickly, though Ron, Ginny and rest of the Weasleys were still uncomfortable with it...

Rose chose to ignore all of them. Ron in particular was terrified that his daughter might fall in love with that Malfoy boy as he continued to call him. Rose knew that there was no chance of that happening at all. Scorpius was more like a brother to her anything else and he was gay. But she chose to keep that bit of information to herself because she enjoyed watching her father splutter and go red in the face every time she mentioned Scorpius...It was perhaps a little spiteful of her, but she resented her dad because he would never acknowledge Scorpius as her friend. Rose hated the fact that she was not allowed to invite Scorpius home or to visit him even.

"So what are you going to do?" Scorpius said, finally breaking out of his reverie involving a tall, well built, green eyed, messy haired somebody.

"Tell you what," Rose said with a gleam in her eye. Scorpius had taken to calling it the Weasley glint. It was a look that she always got when she was up to something.

"What?" He said warily.

"I'll go out with Frank if you will make an attempt to get to know Albus."

"How would I do that? And what makes you think that he wants to get to know me?"

"He doesn't. But he will want to be your friend if you can manage to have even one proper conversation with him. Let him have a glimpse of what you're really like. I'll find a way to get you some time alone with Al and you find something to talk about. That shouldn't be difficult considering that you and Al share a lot of interests. But you have to promise me that you will not run away like you always do. You're a very interesting guy Scor, not to mention gorgeous. Just let him see that, will you?"

"Gorgeous, me? You have got to be kidding."

"No. You are one of the top three in the list of the hottest guys at Hogwarts."

"Really? And who makes this list?"

"All the girls do," Rose replied with a smirk. "There'll be a lot of broken hearts around here when they finally figure out that you're gay."

"Oh shut up!" Scorpius said irritably.

"Aren't you going to ask me who the other two blokes in that top three are?"

"Albus Potter and Louis Weasley," Scorpius said and then he chuckled at the look of surprise on her face. "I am gay, you know," he said.

"So do we have a deal or not?"

"You're not serious!"

"Of course I am. Come on now. Don't be a spoilsport..." Rose said making puppy eyes at him.

"Why are you so keen to get me and Albus together anyway?"

"Because I know you'll be good together. And I love you both too much to pass up a chance to make you happy. Say yes. You know I'm not going to let this go."

"Alright. Fine! But I'm telling you nothing will come of it."

"What if I said nothing would come of my going out with Frank? You would tell me that I still have to give it a shot, right? This is the same."

"Fine!" Scorpius agreed grudgingly.

...

It was later that evening. They were going down to dinner when they ran into Frank. He approached them with a small smile. He tried to look confident (he was a Gryffindor and confident sort of came with the territory there) but Scorpius could see that he was tentative. It was only natural, considering he'd already asked Rose out twice and had been turned down. Scorpius admired him for the fact that he seen beyond the rejection to the hesitancy and fear that had made Rose say no and kept after her. If any girl in this school is worth risking your pride for, it's Rosie, hethought.So he smiled encouragingly as he greeted Frank and then he excused himself.

Scorpius walked in to the great hall alone. He was about to walk over to the Ravenclaw table when someone bumped into him hard enough to make him lose his balance. "Sorry," that someone said as he grabbed Scorpius by the arm to keep him from falling. Albus! He thought as he looked up and fought down a blush.

"Where's Rosie?" Albus said.

"We ran into Frank on the way here." Stop blushing.

"Oh. He told me that he asked her out again. Please tell me she's going to say yes this time. Frank is much too nice a guy for her to toy with."

"She's not toying with him. She's just a bit unsure. She's not used to having handsome, popular, Quidditch playing, school heart throbs chasing after her," Scorpius said.

Albus looked surprised and amused by that statement. He looked curiously at Scorpius like he was seeing him for the first time. "I know...It's just that he's a very nice guy and he's perfect for her. I hope she can see that."

"And he's your friend," Scorpius said.

"Well, that too."

"Don't worry. She's going to say yes...well, in fact I think she already has," he said as he pointed to the door.

Rose Weasley and Frank Longbottom walked in holding hands and they were greeted by whistles and cheers from the Gryffindor table. Frank was one of the most popular guys at school and his pursuit of Rose, who most people thought of only as a bookworm, had a fairy tale quality to it. The school had been talking about it for weeks now, so seeing them together like this, they all felt entitled to express their appreciation.

"Good for her. Well, I'll see you around, I guess," Albus said and then he smiled that damn smile of his, the smile that made Scorpius dizzy every time he saw it, and then he turned and walked away. Scorpius stood rooted to the spot trying to clear his head. Then he sighed. Why? Why of all the people in the world did I have to fall for Albus?