Publicity
Chapter Two
"I'm breaking up with you."
Albus looked up at his boyfriend. "Why?"
"Because Judy Perkins from Ravenclaw found that note you wrote about all the naughty things you want to do to me. And, well, she can't keep her mouth shut."
"Why didn't you tell her the note wasn't for you?"
"Because you wrote my name all over it. Plus, you drew a little vulgar image of me and you shagging."
"Oh. So you're breaking up with meā¦because of that?"
"No. I lied. I'm not breaking up with you. She did find the note, though. She passed out. And when she woke up, she swore she'd keep her mouth shut... But she still wants to watch."
"Oh. Wow." Albus tried not to laugh.
"Yeah. I don't know where she's at right now. But I was wondering if you'd want to reenact that little picture you drew."
"Scorpius. I drew us on a bed. This is a library."
"All the more fun."
Scorpius pounced. And the two lost themselves somewhere behind all the books.
Scorpius had been right. Albus was glad. The talk had died down about the middle Potter child, and life at Hogwarts was back to normal. Albus was out of the closet, and Scorpius was still in to all but Judy, Albus, and few other choice friends. But Judy Perkins was also Albus's friend. Albus knew Judy would take it as an honor to know. The only person she would deem worth knowing would be Rose Weasley, and Rose already knew.
Duncan Flinchum was a Hufflepuff. Duncan Flinchum was a "Hufflepoof." Duncan Flinchum was a year younger than Albus. And Duncan Flinchum had been watching Albus for a while. The year prior, Duncan had had a tiny crush on Albus. But he immediately dismissed it thinking Albus was straight and would never be interested.
Since Albus's younger sister outed him in a fit of rage, though, Albus returned to Duncan's thoughts. And Duncan couldn't get the boy out of his mind. As far as he knew, as far as anyone knew, Albus was single.
Duncan knew Albus's class schedule easily. He knew who Albus's friends were. He knew who Albus ate with and who he spent his time with. But he also knew when he could find Albus alone. And with this thought in his head, he sought out the library.
Albus was there, of course. His head was buried in a book. His black hair fell perfectly across his forehead and over his rectangle-shaped glasses. His cheeks were tinted prettily.
Duncan's breath caught in his throat. It was no lie that there was never a hotter Potter, though most guys argued that Lily was better.
Duncan crossed himself and marched up to Albus. When he firmly stood over Albus, he froze. His heart was beating like mad, and he was unsure of what to say. Finally, Albus looked up. An innocent look was plastered on his face. Duncan almost came right then and there. Albus Potter was looking right at him!
"May I help you?" Albus said kindly.
Duncan cleared his throat. When Albus smiled, Duncan felt his knees go weak. He knew his face was flushed red.
"Um... Albus Potter, right?" He had to struggle to get the words out. He immediately regretted ever speaking. He sounded like troll!
Albus's brows knitted slowly together in a downward angle. He looked suspicious now, but he nodded.
"Right. Of course. I knew that." Duncan laughed nervously. And one of Albus's eyebrows shot up in curiosity. Duncan blushed harder. Something he had noticed once was that every emotion Albus felt was clearly displayed on his face. How long had he wished to watch in detail?
"Well, I wanted to ask you something." The words almost sounded like gibberish because they were spoken so fast. Duncan inwardly cursed himself.
"Why don't you sit down?" Albus suggested. "You look faint. Are you okay?"
Duncan practically fell into the seat beside Albus. He couldn't believe he was actually talking to the Albus Potter. "Yeah, yeah. It's just... I've heard you're out of the closest these days." Oh, maybe he worse than a troll.
Albus laughed. "That's what this is about? You don't believe it or something?"
"No. No, I believe it. Unless...it's not true. Is it?" Duncan's eyes were bulging out of his head. What if he was doing this on a rumor alone?
"Oh, it's true." Albus smiled wider, as if that were possible.
"Oh. Oh, good." Duncan sighed.
"Good?"
Duncan tensed. Might as well get this over with, he thought. He debated for a moment on how to do it. He decided against outright kissing him. Scaring Albus away right off wasn't the best idea, he supposed. So he went with the upright method.
"You see, Albus, I've had a crush on you for, like, a year now." He laughed nervously again. "There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up, right? And I was wondering, well, if you had no one to go with, if you-you'd like to go with me?"
Albus was quite for a long time. Duncan was sweating with worry. He should've just kept his mouth shut. Albus appeared in deep thought.
Finally, Albus spoke. "Like on a date?"
Duncan nodded, biting his tongue.
Albus looked pained for a moment or two, but then his features relaxed.
"You're name is Duncan, right?"
"Yeah," Duncan breathed.
"Well, you seem like a pretty cool guy, yeah? Can I trust you?"
"Definitely!" Duncan almost shouted. His chest felt light. Was Albus going to give him a chance?
"Duncan, I have a boyfriend, alright? But I don't want him outed to the public. I'm very sorry, Duncan. I really like this guy a lot. I might even love him. You can understand that, right?"
Duncan just nodded. He felt his heart shatter, but he managed to smile weakly. He began to stare at the floor.
"Duncan," Albus said again to regain his attention. Duncan looked at him. "I think me and you can be friends. You seem like an alright guy. I wouldn't mind getting to know you. But only friends, right? I am asking you not to let this get around. The me-having-a-boyfriend thing. I can trust you?"
"Yeah," Duncan said. "Yeah," he said again for clarity.
"Great!" Albus smiled again. "Friends?"
"Friends," Duncan agreed. They shook on it.
Albus closed his book and left the library with it in tow.
Albus had nothing to worry about. Duncan had no intentions of spreading to the world that Albus was taken. He knew Albus didn't want his boyfriend to be bare to the limelight. But when Duncan's best friend heard about his heartbreak, she thought otherwise...
