1.
The first time Scorpius wanted to tell Albus that he loved him, Albus wasn't even there.
Scorpius had never faced danger like this before, and the worst part, worse even than the Dark Lord's reign, was that his best friend no longer existed. He had to do it all without Albus.
It was then that Scorpius realized that Albus wasn't just his best friend. Of course he wasn't. Albus was everything to him.
When they emerged from that lake, Scorpius wanted to tell Albus how he felt. He wanted to tell his best friend that he loved him, that he was in love with him. But he couldn't. And it wasn't just the fact that they had never been in so much trouble, or that all of their parents were there, and the Headmistress, but the fear of ruining what the two boys already had, that kept Scorpius quiet.
o-o-o-o-o
2.
The second time Scorpius wanted to tell Albus the truth, they were packing their trunks for the summer holidays. The dormitory was empty; they were the last two left.
"Dad says you can come visit this summer," Albus said, looking up from the pile of old textbooks, robes, and potion ingredients he was trying to force into his trunk.
"Me, too," Scorpius said, grinning. "I mean, my dad. He says you can come. To visit."
"And you guys are invited to the Weasley family barbeque in July. And you have to come, because I am not facing that alone."
Scorpius laughed. "Fine. But only because it's you, Al."
Albus looked up from his packing and smiled, and Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat. "Al-"
"Yeah?" Albus was still watching Scorpius. Green eyes met grey, and Scorpius knew he couldn't do it. There would be other opportunities… right?
"I'm just… really glad everything worked out- with everything that happened this year. You know?"
"Seeing as how I wouldn't exist if they didn't, I'd have to agree."
o-o-o-o-o
3.
The Burrow was packed to the brim with various Weasleys, Potters, and family friends. Scorpius stood in the garden, scanning the crowd for Albus.
"He's still inside, you know."
Scorpius turned, jumping backwards in shock. Lily was standing there, hands on her hips.
"You're gonna ask him out, right?"
"What- who are you talking about?" Scorpius asked. He hadn't been that obvious… had he?
"Albus, of course. He won't shut up about you."
Scorpius couldn't help it- he blushed. "Really?"
"Really. So go talk to him!"
"Talk to who?" Albus had appeared a few feet away, holding a plate of food. "And do you want any of this? Grandma insisted."
"Aww! Thanks, Al," Lily chirped, grabbing the plate from her brother and jogging back to the house.
"She's horrible," Albus muttered. "Anyway, Scor. What's up?"
Scorpius hesitated, then smiled.
"Nothing," he said. "Let's go get some more food."
o-o-o-o-o
4.
It was the first day of fifth year, and it was so good to be back.
It had never felt quite like this before. Scorpius had never missed Hogwarts like this before.
Not that it was really Hogwarts he had missed.
Scorpius laughed, watching Albus wrestle with the mess in his trunk as he attempted to find a clean set of robes. "You could trya Summoning Spell, you know."
Albus rolled his eyes. "I suck at that spell."
"Come on, Al. I've seen you do it."
Albus sighed and reached for his wand. "Accio Robes!"
A slightly wrinkled set of black school robes flew out of the depths of the trunk, knocking Albus to the ground. He sat up, groaning, and shoved the robes off him.
"See?"
Scorpius looked down at his best friend, sitting on the ground, hair a mess and face flushed with embarrassment, and lost his train of thought.
"Scor?"
"What? Oh! I'm fine," Scorpius said, ignoring the twisting feeling in his heart.
o-o-o-o-o
5.
The teachers went all out on the decorations for Halloween that year. Enormous jack-o-lanterns and live bats filled every corner of the Great Hall, and the suits of armor had all been enchanted to creak menacingly and turn to face you whenever you walked by.
Albus and Scorpius were sitting at the end of the Slytherin table, helping themselves to a third serving each of the House-Elves' delicious feast, talking about some Muggle story Albus had heard from his Aunt Hermione.
"That's just what she said her parents told her," Albus defended. "Vampires can't really turn into bats." He glanced around at the swarms of bats surrounding them and said, "Can they?"
"Who knows?" Scorpius asked, fascinated. "You know, wizards know very little about vampires- where they came from, their culture, how they work-"
"You should do a study," Albus said drily.
"Maybe I will." Scorpius didn't miss the sarcasm; he just chose not to respond to it.
"I'd read it."
Scorpius snapped his head up in shock. He knew that if he did write something like that, Albus would read it; he would then complain about how boring it had been, never meaning a word of it. It was simply unlike him to say something like that aloud, and sure enough, he was already blushing and turning away.
"Thanks, Albus."
Albus just cleared his throat. "'Course." Then he went back to his food.
Scorpius was in way too deep.
o-o-o-o-o
+1
Christmas Eve at the Potter home was always a noisy affair, since Ron and Hermione brought their kids so the cousins could exchange presents while the adults got through a few bottles of firewhiskey.
This year, Draco and Scorpius had been invited to join the gathering, and Albus had dragged his best friend away immediately after dinner, to climb out of his bedroom window onto the roof.
The December night was cold, but Albus had long ago stashed a blanket up there, so he and Scorpius huddled together under it, both of their stomachs in knots.
Scorpius took a deep breath. There was no better time than now- they were alone, and likely to remain that way until someone came to fetch them. He had to do it. He had to-
"I'm in love with you, you know."
For a moment, Scorpius thought he had spoken without meaning to, but no. Albus was staring straight ahead, cheeks pink, picking at his fingernails.
Scorpius was too shocked to say anything, so Albus barreled ahead. "And I get it- if you don't feel the same way. I'll never mentioned it again. I just wanted you to-"
Albus was forced to stop talking when Scorpius leaned over and kissed him.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Albus kissed Scorpius back, and they stayed there for a few minutes, kissing on the roof on Christmas Eve.
"In case it wasn't clear," Scorpius said, separating himself from Albus just enough to speak, "I'm in love with you, too."
"Good," Albus said, smiling. Then he reached over and took Scorpius' hand.
Fin.