Disclaimer: I only own the original characters and the story line. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.

"Scor!" Fran cried, grinning in delight, "Are you going to sit with us again today?"

Scorpius gave her a charming grin, "I was thinking about it. Rose and Lily wanted to tag along as well."

"It's just that you've got me incredibly curious." Lily said, sliding into the empty space beside her brother as Scorpius sat next to Fran and Rose took the seat on Albus's other side. "What exactly is so great about eating at the Slytherin table? You've been spending a lot of time here lately."

Al's jaw tightened as he noted the truth of her words. It had begun a week after his face-off with Scorpius. The Gryffindor had, cool as cucumber, walked up to their table during dinner and asked if he could sit with them. Fran had been surprised, Damien curious, and Al stoic. His stoicism hadn't wavered once in the two weeks that had followed of Scorpius joining them for dinner. Not that it seemed to bother the other boy at all. No, he just turned around started eating lunch with them as well! Add that to the hours they spent together in Potions and outside class studying for Potions; Al was seeing a lot more of Scorpius than he really wanted to.

He was bound to get annoyed at some point, Al reasoned, as he took a bite of the Sheppard's Pie in front of him. It had to be frustrating to keep throwing questions at someone only to get nods, shakes of the head, or one-word answers. Fran had already told him off for his behaviour extensively, but Al's stubbornness and pride came into play here.

Just who did Malfoy think he was to talk to Al the way he had? And did he think that just because he wasn't going to give up, Al would entertain thoughts of being friends with him?

"How was class today, Al?" Rose asked, serving herself a slice of pie.

Al opened his mouth to reply then paused. God dammit! He slid his gaze to Scorpius and felt his temper spike as he saw the smug smile on the Gryffindor's face. So Scorpius had managed to find a loophole in their little game. Al knew he couldn't be blatantly rude to Scorpius in front of Rose and Lily the way he could be in front of James or his friends. This was because Rose and Lily had access to his mother and had no qualms about informing her of his behaviour if and when he annoyed them. Al had got quite a few Howlers over his years at Hogwarts because of the two of them.

Well, Al mused, just because he had to talk didn't mean he had to talk to Scorpius. "It was okay. I have a test in Transfiguration next week, so I've been spending my spare time in the library studying." He told his cousin, grimacing.

"We have the test too. McGonagall assigned it to us just last hour." Rose said, frowning, "I should start studying for it as well. I hate Vanishing spells."

"Why don't we all meet up in the library after dinner? We can help each other practise until curfew." Scorpius suggested innocently, inwardly cheering. Al had walked right into that one.

"Oh!" Lily's face lit up, "Could you lot help me with my work as well?"

Rose made a clucking noise as she looked to her younger cousin, "Lily, don't you have friends your own age?"

"Sure I do." Lily said sticking her tongue out, "Your brother."

Rose rolled her eyes, only then seeming to notice Al's dangerously still posture. She frowned, "Al? Are you alright?"

"I'm bloody brilliant." Al muttered, pushing his plate away from him and grabbing his bag, "I just remembered there's a letter I need to post."

"Are you going to the Owlery then?" Scorpius asked, "I'll come with you. I have a package that I need to send to Mother."

It was a testament to his control that Al didn't curse Malfoy right then and there. Instead he glowered at the other boy and started to walk away, knowing Scorpius would catch up before he made it out of the Great Hall. There would be no shaking the Gryffindor off. Not right now anyway.

Once they were outside, the two boys set off towards dungeons by silent agreement, keeping pace with one another. Al finally cracked halfway there, whirling around and glaring at the other boy, "What is your problem?" He asked, steel in his voice.

Scorpius smiled that ridiculously charming smile of his; leaning back against the wall of the corridor they were in, "You're forgetting, I'm not the one with the problem. That, my friend, would be you."

Al rolled his eyes as he continued on his way, "We aren't friends."

Scorpius pretended to mull over that, "You're right. We aren't. We're just two people who are suddenly spending a ridiculously large amount of time together."

"We're only spending time together because you won't leave me alone." Al pointed out bluntly. "I don't even talk to you."

"You're talking to me now." Scorpius couldn't help but point out gleefully.

Al sighed, "That's because I'm sick and tired of whatever game it is you're playing." He stopped walking and turned to Scorpius once more, "What? Did I hurt your pride by telling you that I truthfully wanted nothing to do with you? Is that why you are hell bent on stalking me?"

"You have a large ego, don't you Potter?" Scorpius mused, "I hardly think I'm stalking you. I'm just giving you the opportunity to get to know me."

Al ran his hands through his hair, a sure sign of complete frustration, "Why don't you understand that I don't want to know you, Malfoy? You have the rest of my family wrapped around your little finger. Is that not enough for you?"

Scorpius blinked at the reference to the Potter-Weasley family. Hm, he thought, that's certainly interesting. Shaking himself he focused on answering Al's question, "Honestly? No, it's not."

That comment gave Scorpius the supreme satisfaction of seeing Albus Potter dumbstruck. Al opened and closed his mouth a few times and then his green eyes filled with confusion, "What did you just say?"

And since he didn't mind repeating himself, Scorpius obliged, "It's not enough that I have your family wrapped around my little finger. I want you." And when he saw Al flush at his words he berated himself and quickly rectified his statement, "I mean, I want to be your friend."

"Why?!" Al asked, not understanding at all, "Where is your bloody pride mate? I've been nothing but awful to you for the past six years and you've been nothing but nice. I've ignored you intentionally more times than I can count. And I've told you twice in the last three weeks that I want nothing to do with you! Why in the wizarding world would you want anything to do with me?!"

"Because I think you'd be worth it." Scorpius answered simply.

Al blinked, noting the completely serious look on the other boy's face before sagging back on the wall opposite Scorpius. He couldn't stop his cheeks from flushing with colour again as he replayed what had just been said in his mind. A light laugh left him as he shook his head and met the Gryffindor's gaze once more. There was something softer about it now, something warm in those silver eyes that seemed to be there solely for Albus. Al sighed, knowing when he was beaten.

"Do you not get embarrassed? Saying things like that to someone who could very well tell the entire school what a sentimental troll you are?" Al asked, a small smile curving his lips.

Sensing victory was at hand, Scorpius grinned, "You wouldn't. You aren't that kind of person."

"And you know that, how?" Al asked sceptically.

Scorpius chose his words carefully, after all he couldn't give away just how closely he'd been watching Al all these years. "I may not know it, but I sense it."

Al pushed himself off the wall, studying him for a long moment before shaking his head with another sigh, "You have good senses, clearly. Fine, you've worn me down. We can try."

Scorpius straightened, his heartbeat picking up its pace. "Try what?" He asked, needing to hear it from Al's lips.

Al gave him a dry look, "Try being friends."

Scorpius held out his right hand, "You won't regret it."

Al slowly let his hand slide into Scorpius's grip, "We'll see."

"Evanesco." Al glared at the piece of parchment that simply refused to disappear. This was his fifth try and he was becoming extremely frustrated. Scorpius, who had vanished his parchment in his first try, watched him work, a small, amused smile on his face.

"Will you ask me for help now?" Scorpius asked, fighting the grin that threatened. Four days had gone by since Al had reluctantly accepted his hand of friendship. And in those four days Scorpius had discovered that Al was as bad in Transfiguration as he was in Potions. Not that Al would ever admit to that, of course.

"Rose, would you tell Malfoy that if he valued his life he would stop gloating?" Al growled at his cousin, not even looking at the other boy.

Rose's lips twitched as she fought a smile of her own, but she dutifully conveyed Al's message to Scorpius, even though he had heard the entire exchange.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "Really, Potter. I knew you were stubborn, but there has to be a limit."

Fran snorted, "Oh Al's stubbornness is quite legendary to anyone who knows him."

"Snufflifors." Lily said, successfully transfiguring her book into a mouse. "Once when he was twelve, Al got lost when we went camping and he couldn't find his way back to the campsite. Dad had told us that if something like that happened we had to send up a flare and he would come get us. Al didn't want to admit he was lost, so he just wandered around the woods looking for our camp. He was missing for three whole days before the aurors finally found him."

Al couldn't help but grin at the memory, "They were so happy I was alive that they forgot to punish me." He recalled, chuckling.

Scorpius looked at him, aghast, "Did you seriously risk death because you were too stubborn to admit you were lost?!"

"I wasn't lost." Al said, scowling, "I just got turned around a bit."

Scorpius couldn't help a short laugh, staring at Al, "You're a complete nutter." He informed Al.

Al snorted, rolling his eyes, trying to focus on his parchment once more. "Evanesco." He tried again, only to get the same result. He collapsed back into the chair behind him. "I give up. I'm just going to fail this test."

Scorpius moved his chair so he was sitting closer to Al, "You wouldn't fail if you just let me help." He leaned closer so his side was pressed up against Al's, "I even know what you're doing wrong." He taunted in a singsong voice.

"You are really touchy-feely, you know that?" Al asked, trying to sound annoyed but not quite managing it. He should be annoyed that Scorpius was constantly touching him, however innocently, but he really wasn't. It just seemed to be a part of what made Scorpius, Scorpius. And Al was okay with that. Maybe even more than okay.

"So I've been told." Scorpius admitted slowly, leaning away from the Slytherin boy, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, does it make you uncomfortable? I can stop."

Al chuckled, shaking his head, "No, it's alright. I was just making an observation. But it's nice to see that stuff does embarrass you."

Scorpius scowled, "Shut up. Do you want me to help or not?"

Damien yawned from where he was sitting, "Let him help, Al. I'm sick of the library. I want to go to bed."

"And I want to go to bed with him." Fran agreed, earning giggles from Rose and Lily and mildly disgusted look from Al and Scorpius.

"I really truly want to have no knowledge of your sex lives. Please, spare me." Al begged, throwing an arm over his eyes dramatically.

Scorpius chuckled, "It's disturbing to think that my childhood friend is having sex so I'm going to agree with drama queen here."

Fran raised a single brow, "Oh, like you're a virgin? Please Scor, I've had to come to terms with the fact that you have sex, so you can deal with this." She shuddered, "I still get nightmares about it."

"You saw Scor having sex?" Lily asked, a laugh in her voice.

"How do you even know about sex? You're way too young, Lils." Al said, frowning as he looked at his younger sister.

Lily rolled her eyes, "I'm fourteen, Al. I don't live under a rock. Now shush! I want to hear Fran's story!"

Scorpius felt a wave of unease at the thought of Al hearing this story and tried to protest, "Um, maybe some other time? Fran wanted to head out anyway."

Fran looked at him quizzically, "I don't mind telling them the story before I leave. Unless someone here has a problem with hearing it."

Silence met her statement. Scorpius couldn't help but glance at Al who sensed his gaze and looked to him. Those green eyes looked almost gold in the torchlight of the library and Scorpius saw no emotion in there that indicated that Al would be averse to hearing a story about him shagging someone. And though that ought to make him happy, happy that Al seemed to accept him and his sexuality, Scorpius felt a pang of disappointment. He looked away from Al, frowning slightly, what was that about?

Fran was already halfway through her story before Scorpius tuned back into his surroundings.

"...noises, but I thought he just had another friend over. Turns out he did have another friend visiting, and he was on the bed under him. Thank Merlin the sheets covered up the bottom half of their bodies, or I might have been scarred for life. As it is I don't think I could look at Simon Lee the same way again."

Everyone burst into laughter except Al, who was looking over at Scorpius with an incredulous expression on his face. Scorpius felt his heart beat out of his chest as he ran a hand nervously through the ends of his ponytail, "Y-You knew I was gay, right Potter?"

Al waved away his question, "Simon Lee? Really? He looks like a cross between a minotaur and a hippogriff!"

And this of course only resulted in more squeals of laughter until finally Madam Trousseau came to their table and asked them to leave in her stern voice.

And as they made their way down to the Great Hall to finish up their studying, only one thought kept running through Scorpius's head. Al had paid attention to men enough to note that Simon Lee was rather unfortunate looking. What did that mean?

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~Living to Laugh and Love