Albus lay in bed, staring up at his bed hangings. He had been this way for hours, listening to the soft snores coming from his Slytherin house mates. One distinct snore was missing from the symphony, and it was the reason he lay awake. The last he saw of Scorpius was at dinner, where he had completely ignored his best friend to chat up a petite Hufflepuff, pretty in a simple way but definitely not the brightest. To be fair, even the most intelligent girls often acted like idiots around Scorpius. Finally having enough of their flirting, he decided to head back to the dormitory, a smirking Scorpius calling after him to not wait up.

Of course he was though. He never could sleep when Scorpius was out. Finally, he decided there really was no use lying awake in bed, so he climbed out quietly, deciding to maybe finish the Potions essay he still had to write. He was the only one awake at this hour, so he had no trouble snagging a chair right next to the dwindling fireplace. He wasn't their long, when the large door to the common room swung forward.

In walked Scorpius, his hair a disheveled mess, his usual pristine shirt untucked and unbuttoned, and a sloppy grin on his face. Albus felt a sharp sting in his gut, but he pushed it away, unwilling to deal with the mixture of sadness and anger that rose within him. It took a minute for Scorpius to see him, his eyes focused somewhere else entirely. When he finally did acknowledge his best friend, he sent him a trade mark smirk.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, sitting in the chair next to him, kicking off his shoes and resting his feet on the arm of Albus's chair.

Albus didn't look up from his notebook. "I got to thinking what the world would come to if the Malfoy's had another son, and I knew if I tried to fall asleep with that idea in my mind I'd have nightmares," he responded dryly, the smallest of smirks playing across his mouth.

"So your humour doesn't decrease with lack of sleep then? Wonderful, I was worried I may have to live without your sarcasm for half a minute," Scorpius replied, without skipping a beat, poking him in the cheek with his foot. This was how their friendship worked, dry humour, witty remarks, and an abundance of sarcasm. It fit both of them perfectly.

Albus allowed the smallest of chuckles to escape him, finally turning towards his friend. The first thing he saw were his feet, covered in green wool with golden snitches woven into them. The socks his Nana had knit for him for his birthday.

He jumped out of his seat, fuelled by an anger not completely tied to the socks. "What the fuck Scor!" he yelled, his eyes dangerously dark.

Scorpius jumped in surprise, partly due to the yell, and party due to his friends sudden flip of emotion. Albus was never mad, he was always the calm one out of the two, keeping his emotions in check and far to forgiving for his own good. "Uh... what?" he asked, looking up at Albus in confusion.

Albus rolled his eyes. He knew he was being stupid, but he didn't care. "Those are mine," he hissed, pointing at the other boys feet, "Take. Them. Off."

Comprehension dawned on the blonde's face. "Jeez, sorry I didn't know you would be so upset about it," he said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"You never think it will!" Albus burst, his voice loud in the empty room, "Did you even think that maybe by taking the socks, it would leave my feet cold! That maybe by doing what you do, you're hurting me! No, because the world revolves around Scorpius Malfoy, and him alone. Nobody else's feet matter."

Scorpius just stared at Albus, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Normally, he'd have a quick retort ready and waiting on the tip of his tongue to cut through a person like a blade, but shock made him slow. "Oh and your just Mr. Perfect aren't you?" he replied, jumping out of his seat, "Maybe the only reason I took your socks was because I didn't have any of my own! And I knew if I asked, you'd say no!"

Both boys stood glaring at each other, their bodies shacking with anger. Both felt like their words held a deeper meaning, a deep rooted, unspoken message to the other. Albus was the first to soften, his anger leaving him as quickly as it had came.

"You're right, I was being stupid. I'm sorry," he breathed, smiling softly at the Slytherin. "But... your wrong. If you asked, I would've said yes," he added, looking straight into the grey orbs of his best friend.

"Good to know," the other replied, his eyes flickering between the brilliant green eyes of his friend, and the his light pink lips, curved in an almost feminine softness.

Albus grinned, finally taking a step back, breaking their proximity. "G'night slut," he said, making his way back to their dormitory.

"Night loser," Scorpius called back, a strange feeling filling his stomach. It felt like... Hope.