Summer Fling

Chapter 2

Scorpius was glad to be able to spend the rest of the summer holidays with Albus. At home he was often bored because his parents didn't have much time for him. Besides, he liked the smaller cottage the Potters lived in better than the huge manor he lived in with his parents. Potter Cottage was much cosier,homely.

Although the cottage of the Potters was small in comparison to the manor of the Malfoys it was big enough for every child to have his own room plus one guestroom. Scorpius could have slept in the guestroom but he preferred to sleep in Albus' room.

Albus birthday party was over, so Albus and Scorpius disappeared into Albus' room. Scorpius sometimes envied Albus because of his big family you could have so much fun with. Like that day playing Quidditch. Father would shudder to even think of all the Weasleys, Scorpius thought amused.

Tired they both went to bed and after talking a bit about Albus' birthday, presents and Quidditch they fell asleep.

When Scorpius awoke the next day it was late morning and Albus was already up. Still half asleep he padded over to the bathroom but before he could reach the door it opened and out stepped James Potter, only clad in a towel around his hips.

Scorpius pale cheeks reddened and he quickly looked away. What by Merlin's beard is wrong with me? He's not the first boy I've seen half naked, after all I only need to look into a mirror for that, he thought confused.

"Malfoy" James growled as he walked by.

"Morning" Scorpius mumbled still embarrassed and quickly disappeared into the bathroom.

There he sat down on the rim of the bathtub and tried to calm down with no success. Oh Merlin, he will never let me live this down! Why did I even blush? Maybe he didn't notice. The thoughts were running rampant around Scorpius head.

Of course he noticed. And you blushed because you thought he looked hot, a voice in his head whispered.

No, no, no I don't fancy boys and especially not that self-righteous prick. I'm not gay!

Determined Scorpius shook his head and decided to forget the incident as much as possible. Qickly he washed and dressed himself. Then he went down to the kitchen looking for Albus and something to eat. In the kitchen he not only found Albus but also Ginny and – of course – James.

"Good morning" he greeted them politely as he came into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Scorpius" Ginny replied kindly.

"Morning" Albus said between two bites of scrambled eggs.

James too was eating scrambled eggs with bacon and only gave him a short nod. Then he went on ignoring him. That suited Scorpius just fine. At least he hadn't made any of his usual stupid remarks or mentioned the earlier incident.

"Take a seat. Do you want scrambled eggs and bacon or rather something else?" Ginny asked.

"May I have some toast and jam please, Mrs. Potter?" Scorpius asked.

"Of course, that's no problem" Ginny said and put a basket of toast and various jams in front of him on the table.

Scorpius helped himself and spread some strawberry jam on his toast. Albus, who had finished his scrambled eggs, helped himself as well and spread some cherry jam onto his toast. James sat next to them in silence while Albus and Scorpius talked during their breakfast but every now and then he would look at Scorpius funny.

When they had finished eating, Albus and Scorpius went back to Albus' room. James had to stay in the kitchen and help his mother cleaning and drying the dishes. Since he wasn't seventeen yet he wasn't allowed to use magic and had to do everything by hand.

The two friends sat in Albus' room on their beds and thought about their plans for the day.

"Do you have an idea?" Albus asked.

"How about a game of chess?" Scorpius suggested.

"Ok" Albus agreed and fetched his chess board.

"Black or white?" he inquired.

"White" Scorpius decided.

Both placed their pieces on the board and started to play. They played the rest of the morning until Ginny called them for lunch.

James meanwhile had spent his time thinking about his encounter with Malfoy that morning. He just couldn't forget the blush on Scorpius' cheeks and his shy behaviour.

Why did he act so shy and embarrassed? He never acts shy, on the contrary, James wondered.

Yes, I only wore a towel but that can't be the reason. As far as I know he isn't even bi let alone gay. Just because I think he's hot doesn't mean he has to think the same about me. But then why did he blush?

To James it was a mystery, one he was determined to solve. If there was even the slightest chance Scorpius fancied him, he wanted to know. He couldn't miss out on this fun now, could he? No, he didn't want to start something with Malfoy but it would be fun to tease him, embarrass him and make him blush. He would start to test his theory as soon as possible.

After lunch Albus and Scorpius decided to fly around the garden. They couldn't play Quidditch because they were only two people. At the same time James wondered how he could put his plan into action. Finally he decided to sunbath in the garden only clad in his boxers. Of course in plain sight of Malfoy, so he could see his reaction to his – nearly naked – body. That would be the first step. The next step would be to test his reaction to touch.

James lay in the sun to tan while he watched Albus and Scorpius fly. They hadn't noticed him yet and raced each other laughing around the garden. James used the time to watch Scorpius without being noticed.

"Hey James! Do you want to play a game of Quidditch with us?" Albus called when he finally noticed him.

Scorpius was now looking at him as well and like that morning his pale cheeks reddened and he looked away bashfully. This time though he had a pointed remark on the tip of his tongue.

"Hey Potter! Don't you have enough clothes or why are you lying around in your underwear?" he shouted.

"I'm sunbathing, something you obviously never heard of, going by the tone of your skin that has probably never seen any sunlight in your whole life" James replied rolling his eyes.

But inside he was delighted his plan was working. He had made Malfoy blush again. Maybe he really fancied James?

"Are you playing with us now or not?" Albus asked annoyed.

"No, too hot. You could ask Lily" James said and turned away seemingly disinterested.

Albus just shrugged and flew to Lily's window. He knocked on the glass and waited for her to open. Lily agreed immediately and only seconds later came out of the house, broom in hand. She loved Quidditch just as much as her brothers and wanted to get on the Gryffindor team this year.

James watched the three play, it was funny. Albus was a seeker and Lily wanted to try out for the seeker position as well but since they were a few players short they could only play with the Quaffle. Albus played keeper while Lily and Scorpius played against each other as chasers. Lily of course stood no chance against Malfoy who played chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team and Albus had no talent what so ever as keeper and hardly ever caught the Quaffle.

The three teenagers played while James lounged on the grass in the sun until Ginny called them for dinner. Albus, Scorpius and Lily touched down and went to the house. James followed them. As they walked through the door into the hall, James brushed by Scorpius and accidentally on purpose touched his hand. James grinned pleased as he saw Malfoy blushing again.

This is easier than I thought. I think I will have a lot of fun with this in the next two weeks. I wonder, what else could I do to make him blush? I just need to be careful so no one else will notice, James mused.

Yes, James was very happy with his plan to make Malfoy loose his calm. Malfoy really seemed to have a crush on him and he was determined to exploit that without revealing his own feelings.

At dinner he managed to place himself next to Malfoy. Every now and then he let his hands bump against Malfoy's – accidentally of course – their thighs brush and feet touch. Meanwhile he always took care so no one else would see what he was doing. Scorpius blushed every time they touched and the others started to notice.

"Scorpius, are you all right? You aren't getting ill, are you?" Ginny asked worried.

"No, I'm fine Mrs. Potter. I'm just a bit hot" the blonde answered.

"Yes, it was terribly hot today, wasn't it?" Harry agreed completely oblivious.

James had to bite back a laugh. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to spend the next two weeks in the same house as Malfoy after all. Yes, maybe it even would be fun. Again he let his foot brush seemingly accidental against Malfoy's.

"Are you sure you are well?" Ginny asked again, still worried.

"Yes, Mrs. Potter. I was probably just outside for a bit too long. No need to worry" Scorpius replied still blushing brightly.

"Oh dear. I hope you don't have sunstroke. If you start to feel dizzy or sick you will tell me immediately, alright?" Ginny seemed really worried now.

Albus started to give him curious and slightly worried looks as well. He was quite sure Scorpius was lying and his red cheeks had nothing to do with the sun but he couldn't find any other explanation either.

"Yes, Mrs. Potter. But I'm fine, really. Don't worry" Scorpius tried to calm Ginny down.

"I'm sure Scorpius will tell us if something is wrong" Harry interrupted before Ginny could start up again.

Ginny relented but kept an eye on Scorpius. Something was going on but she didn't know what.

Scorpius was relieved when dinner finally ended and he could go back to Albus' room. James actions had unsettled him and he needed to think. Unfortunately Albus wasn't tired yet so he had to act as if nothing unusual had happened for a few more hours. So he played exploding snap with Albus and tried to act normal. He didn't want Albus to find out about his new feelings for his brother. That would be just too awkward.

When Albus eventually fell asleep, Scorpius had finally the opportunity to think about this day. He wondered why James suddenly acted so differently around him and if all those touches were intentional. And if they were, what was his plan? Did James know about Scorpius feelings? Probably. He hadn't done a good job of hiding them now, did he?

But what was he supposed to do now? What was James planning? Did he just want to humiliate him? Then it would be best to ignore him completely. Or was he interested in him? Would he even want James to fancy him? Was he honestly considering James as his lover? Potter was a playboy and left his lovers as quickly as he got together with them. No, there was no way this was a good idea. He would just try to ignore James as best he could.

With this resolution he turned around and fell asleep.