Chapter 2: Cuddling

Albus yawned heavily, which earned him a nasty look from Scorpius.

It was Friday night and it was so late that almost everyone had gone to bed by now. Albus and Scorpius were some of the few still present in the Slytherin common room. And they were they only persons in the room studying.

Their classmates didn't like it, when the two friends stayed up in the bedroom learning and chatting, so it had become a tradition for them to curl up in on couch in the common room and study there together.

"Stop yawning, Al. You know exactly, when you start, I get all sleepy.", Scorpius reproved his friend as if he could control his yawning.

But Albus was in no mood to discuss this matter. For weeks now, there had been a different matter on his mind. It was almost November now and Albus still hadn't told his best friend about the fact that his long-term crush Rose might like him back. Of course, Albus wanted his friend to be happy, but he just didn't want to tell him. He told himself that if Rose was serious she could just tell Scorpius herself. But Albus knew that wouldn't happen. And if it was not true, he didn't want to get his friend's hopes up, just to get his heart shattered into a million pieces. But after what he had seen that summer and after what his sister had told him, he was certain Rose did in fact have a crush on Scorpius.

And every time, Albus carefully pushed aside the fact, that he didn't want to imagine Rose and Scorpius being together, happily together.

He had talked to his sister Lily today, who had asked him to let Scorpius know about Rose's feelings. He had told her the exact same reasons he had told himself, why he should not do that.

But then, his sister had said something that didn't let go of Albus' thoughts all day: "Do you really want to be responsible that your best friend is kept from being happy?" And before Lily could declare she would tell him herself, Albus promised he would do it.

So, all night, he had thought of the best way to tell his friend the news he had been wanting to hear since his first day at Hogwarts.

"Albus, are you even listening to me?" Scorpius sounded a bit mad, but also concerned. Of course, he had noticed something had worried his friend for most of the day. But Albus would tell him in his own time.

Albus stared down at his book, eager not to meet his friend's gaze. "Well, you see, I have to tell you something." Scorpius waited patiently for Albus to start, still a bit confused, but also curious as always.

"Lily talked to me today and she told me…that Rose might have a crush on you." Albus tried to sound casual, but even he could hear the tenseness in his voice. Not that Scorpius would care. He would be so overjoyed that he wouldn't even notice if Merlin's and Dumbledore's ghosts would have a dance party in the middle of the common room.

But when Albus looked up after a moment, he found his friend with confusion written all over his face.

Albus gently put his hand on Scorpius arm. "Scorp? Are you alright?"

That ripped Scorpius out of his thoughts and he nodded eagerly. "Sure. Thank you for telling me. I guess I should talk to Rose about this."

"Okay." Albus gave his friend one last concerned look, before going back to studying in his Potion book. Scorpius reaction was a bit surprising, but at least it made Albus confident, that his heart wouldn't get broken. Then, Albus yawned again, which earned him another nasty look from Scorpius.

Half an hour later, Albus woke up on the couch. Obviously, they had once again fallen asleep in the now empty common room. Scorpius head lay on Albus chest. Albus took the scene in for a moment, but then went to wake him. "Scorpius, come on. Let's go to bed." He tried to push the blond off him, but Scorpius just wrapped his arms around Albus and mumbled "no". Albus just sighed, lay his head back on the couch and let himself fall back to sleep as he wrapped his arms around Scorpius to draw him closer.

…

Albus had not been the only one surprised by Scorpius reaction to the revelation of Rose's crush on him. What Scorpius felt was beyond confusion. He had been pining over her for years and now that she finally returned his affection…he felt nothing.

So, the next morning, after a surprisingly comfortable night on the couch with Albus, he got up and went to find Rose.

She was sitting in the Great Hall at breakfast and was chatting with her cousin Lily. After greeting the two girls, Scorpius asked Rose to speak to her privately once she finished breakfast.

Rose agreed and told him she was free now. The two of them left the Hall with many eyes following them and Lily sending them both a satisfied grin.

"So, tell me what was so urgent, Malfoy.", Rose demanded with a gentle smile.

Scorpius took a deep breath before he started. "Well, I heard that you have a crush on me. Or that people think you have a crush on me."

A deep blush crept over Rose's face. "Well, yeah, I do like you. But I don't know if I really have a crush on you. I'm not sure."

Somehow, Scorpius was relieved. "Me too! I mean, I know I used to have a crush on you…or at least I think I had…or…", he stammered.

Rose chuckled. "You know, we could easily find out if we have feelings for each other." Then she tapped at her lips.

Now, it was Scorpius turn to blush. "If you think this is…", but he was interrupted by Rose crushing her lips to his. After a moment of shock, he kissed her back.

After they pulled apart, Rose had a relieved expression on her face. "Well, I felt nothing. You?"

Scorpius thought for a moment. It had not been unpleasant. Rose was a good kisser. But his heart was not racing, he hadn't been disappointed when they pulled apart and he didn't crave to do it again. "No, nothing. You are a good kisser, but that's it. But thank you. This might sound odd, but now I can finally get the thought of us out of my head."

"Well, thank you. You are a good kisser, too. And I'm glad we both feel the same way. I really hope that now, we have a chance at being friend. Because I do like you. You can be pretty annoying, but with my crazy family, I don't mind that."

Scorpius gave her a happy smile. "I'd like that. Constantly beating Albus in Wizard Chess gets boring. I wouldn't mind real competition." At that, they both laughed together.

…

Lily Potter wouldn't be Lily Potter, if she hadn't sneaked after her cousin and her brother's best friend. And after seeing them kiss, she had hurried back to the Great Hall to share what she had just seen. It so happened that Albus was just sitting at the Gryffindor table with James to look at the package their parents had sent them.

As she approached her brothers, they didn't give her much attention. "Look, Lil. There are new glows for you. And mom send us all the brand new Holyhead Harpies scarf.", James explained without looking up.

She dramatically dropped down next to them and gave them a serious look. That made her brothers look up and roll their eyes at her, knowing that now the gossip would start.

"You won't believe what I just saw. Rose and Scorpius kissed!", she declared victoriously, not even trying to whisper. James wasn't impressed by this news and went back to inspecting the package. Albus, on the other hand, was speechless. He had known Scorpius would talk to Rose, but after his reaction the night before, he had hope…thought nothing serious would happen. Albus felt like he had been stabbed in the belly. He excused himself, grabbed his things and left the Great Hall as fast as he could, fighting tears he didn't know why they were coming.

…

Scorpius hadn't seen Albus all day. But he didn't think much of it. He felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off him and like he could see clearly for the first time he had been in Hogwarts.

He had spent time after lunch sitting in the Great Hall with Rose playing Wizard Chess and exchanging stories about Albus.

So, at dinner timer, Scorpius was looking forward to telling his best friend all about today's turn of events. He saw Albus sitting at a spot on the Slytherin table, punting the food on his plate.

Scorpius sat down next to him and began. "You wouldn't believe what a day I had.", he exclaimed happily.

At this words, Albus look as though Scorpius had kicked him. Without any more word, Albus got up and left the table. Scorpius looked after his friend in shock, before running after him.

Only in their bedroom did he catch up with Albus, knowing they needed to talk about this alone.

Scorpius reached for his friend's arm, but Albus stepped away from him.

"Please, Albus, don't do this to me again. I completely got crazy they last time you avoided! I can't take this, you are my best friend. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I can't live in a world where you hate me. Please, talk to me!", Scorpius pledged, more desperately than Albus had ever seen him.

Albus felt a sudden pang of guilt. Scorpius had done nothing wrong. He had just acted on his feelings and he didn't have to come running to him to tell him the moment he left Rose. But Albus had thought about this all day and was finally begin to realize why he was feeling this way.

And wanting to hurt Scorpius was the last thing he wanted.

So, he reached for his best friend's hand and gave him apologizing smile. "Sorry, Scorp, it had nothing to do with you. I was just feeling a bit sick today. I didn't want to avoid you."

Scorpius was so relieved, that he didn't even notice the other boy had been lying to him. He was instantly looking in his closet for the medicine his grandmother had insisted on him taking with him. She always claimed the food in Hogwarts had made her sick all the time.

…

Later that night, Scorpius and Albus sat on the couch in the common room together once again.

Albus was deepened in the Daily Prophet, reading the latest article his mom had written, and Scorpius was studying with a Herbology book, when Scorpius suddenly looked at Albus seriously.

"Today, I kissed Rose.", he declared in a serious tone.

Albus still looked at the newspaper in his hands and tried to sound casual. "So I heard. Was it good?" Not, that he really wanted to know, but he wanted to be a good friend.

Scorpius ripped the newspaper out of Albus' hands and motioned him to look at him. "Yes, it was. But…not in the way I had thought. I felt nothing. It was good kiss, but there was…no fireworks or anything. So Rose and I are friends now. I know you told me this day would come, I am finally over Rose Weasley. And it feels…good. I can't really explain, but it's a good feeling."

Scorpius was glad that his declaration earned him an honest smile from his friend.

"I'm happy for you, Scorpius. I'm sure you'll find another…person, who deserves you and loves you back." Albus hugged his friend shortly, before snatching his newspaper back.

After a while, Albus began to yawn. He gave Scorpius a sly smile and mumbled: "Sorry."

But Scorpius just shook his head. "You know, you can go to bed now. I want to finish this chapter, but that could still take a while. And I don't want to keep you from your bed again."

"I don't mind, if you do.", Albus said sleepy and cuddled up against Scorpius chest.

Albus looked up at him for a moment. "We do that now. Right?", Albus asked for conformation, not wanting to make his friend uncomfortable. When Scorpius nodded, Albus made himself comfortable settling his head in Scorpius lap. He soon fell asleep, so he didn't notice the deep blush that had settled on Scorpius face.