Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This is only for entertainment purposes.

Shiver

Chapter IV


All of the things that I want to say

Just aren't coming out right

I'm tripping on words

You got my head spinning

I don't know where to go from here

.

'Cause it's you and me

And all of the people with nothing to do

Nothing to prove

And it's you and me

And all other people

And I don't know why

I can't keep my eyes off of you

[You and me-Lifehouse]


Albus left the dormitory and went to find Henri in the common room. It was a Saturday morning, two weeks away from the end of the school year.

"Henri, what are you doing?"

"Er, reading?" Henri said, showing Albus his book, a bit confused.

"Yes, I can see that but… since when do you read?"

"Since I thought that it would be better to know something about literature in case I ever ask Rose out." Henri answered, blushing.

Albus chuckled. "I'm sure she would appreciate the initiative, but I don't think you should force yourself if you don't like it."

"It's not that bad actually."

Well, that was surprising. "Good for you then." Albus said with a grin. "Let's go have breakfast now!"


Albus stepped out of the Great Hall. Henri had told him that he wanted to spend some time with Marion, so Albus didn't know what to do with his free time. The weather was nice that day…

Albus went to sit by the lake. He wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees. He stared at the clear water through his lashes, eyes half closed. He felt extremely tired, but it wasn't due to lack of sleep. It was a sentimental fatigue as Rose would wittily state. His lips curled into a tiny smile when he remembered that his friend had started reading for her sake. Henri. Reading. It was absurd. Albus laughed lightly.

"Laughing on your own, Potter? I knew that your almost nonexistent brain was fucked up, but I didn't think it was that bad."

"Someone kill me." Albus muttered to himself. Malfoy heard it too though, because he bent and whispered in his ear: "I can gladly help you with that."

And then he pushed him.

Albus was so taken aback that he didn't have the time to steady himself. There was a loud splash and the next thing he knew was that he was choking. He was aware that he must be looking like a complete idiot splattering like a retarded seal, but he was so furious that he didn't care.

Malfoy! The motherfucker had pushed him into the fucking lake! How dare he?

Malfoy was still standing there, enjoying Albus' humiliation, and sneering like the prat he usually was.

"Fuck you! FUCK YOU, BASTARD!"

"With pleasure." the Slytherin said in a sultry voice and walked away, but not before winking suggestively at him.

Okay, what was that?

"I hope you rot in hell!" Albus shouted, not wanting to look affected by Malfoy's stupid teasing.

"Have fun in the giant squid's stomach!" Malfoy shouted back in an amused tone.

Albus sighed in exasperation. His throat was aching and his lungs felt too heavy. And he had to swim to the opposite shore to get out…

Damn you, Malfoy! If I get my hands on you…

Wait, no, maybe it was better not to have any physical contact with him. Not that he would mind… Albus shook his head violently to clear his mind. It wasn't the right moment to have those kinds of thoughts. He swam slowly to the other side. He almost had to crawl to get out of the water, his soaked robes pulling him down. How humiliating. Albus walked back to the Castle, dragging his feet, water dripping off his clothes because he was too lazy — and angry — to take them off. And since he was the unluckiest person on Earth, he met Rose at the entrance.

"Albus? Why are you all… wet?" she asked with round eyes.

"It's nothing. I'm just clumsy, you know?" Albus said hastily.

Rose raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious. "At least you could have used a drying spell."

"Huh? Ah, yeah… I… I didn't think of it." the dark-haired boy answered shamefully.

"What's the matter with you, Al?"

"Listen, you don't need to rub it in. Okay, it didn't cross my mind, but you don't have to imply things like 'what would your father think?' or other stuff Malfoy would say." Albus said dryly.

"What?" His cousin seemed completely lost. "I didn't mean it that way! You've been acting differently lately so I wanted to see if I could help you. And stop thinking about all the foolish things Malfoy says! If you start believing them, then it's like letting him win!"

"It's not a bloody competition! I'm sick of this!"

"Maybe for you it isn't, but that's how he sees it! And he did this to you, didn't he?" Rose added, pointing a finger at Albus' uniform.

"No! I told you it was an accident!"

"I don't understand you, Albus. You constantly complain about him, but as soon as someone says something against him, you take his side. It doesn't make any sense!"

"I'm not taking his side! I'm simply trying to be unbiased, because the rest of you seem to be only seeing his name!"

"I can't believe we're actually arguing about Malfoy! Get a grip, Albus!"

"Well, that's right! Why don't you just forget about it and leave me in peace?"

Rose made a shocked face. She didn't like to be dismissed. "You don't need to talk to me like this because you're angry at somebody else." she hissed.

Albus sighed impatiently. Rose glared at him and went outside. Albus sighed again, and then headed back to his dormitory.

He changed clothes because he didn't like how the cloth felt like after being magically dried. Then, he went to sit in the common room. He couldn't stay still though; he had that sudden urge to break something. Or hit someone… Malfoy, more precisely. So Albus got up, determined to show him that, contrary to what the blond thought, he wasn't a sissy.


Albus didn't know how much time he had spent pacing in the dungeons. He wasn't sure where exactly the door of the Slytherin common room was hidden, so he had to check every corridor. And then, at last, he heard Malfoy's voice. But he wasn't alone; Albus could hear two other boys. The dark-haired boy carefully took a look at the next corridor, from where the voices were coming. Malfoy's fair head was easily recognisable. The two other teenagers were obviously Slytherins too. The tallest of the three, whose hair was blond too, but not as light as Malfoy's, was called Ethan Wilson, and he was Malfoy's acolyte. The brown-haired one, Davis or something, was rumoured to be Wilson's boyfriend.

Well, shit, Albus thought. Now he couldn't talk to Malfoy…

"You go, and I'll come later." Albus heard Malfoy say. "I want to look for something first."

"Okay, but don't take too long." Wilson said.

Albus heard Scorpius' friends leave and then there was a long silence. The dark-haired boy quickly glanced at Malfoy. He was standing with his back on the wall, lost in thought. Since Malfoy wouldn't notice him, Albus silently crossed the hallway and hid behind a column. After some minutes, Malfoy finally moved. He took the opposite direction of the one of the other two Slytherins, and walked past Albus without seeing him. The Hufflepuff left his hiding place and followed the other boy. He could feel the adrenaline rise at every step he made. Albus took a deep breath and ran after Malfoy to catch up the distance separating them.

"Oi, Malfoy!" he shouted.

And before the blond had the time to fully turn around, Albus punched him in the face.

"Ow!" Malfoy cried. He lost his balance and fell down, hitting the back of his head against the stones of the wall. He quickly sat up, cursing, his hand massaging his head and then his jaw. For a brief moment, Albus regretted what he had done, and felt the need to kneel down and take the blond boy in his arms, making sure he was okay. He had to give the impression that he was strong though, he couldn't let himself be influenced by his feelings.

When Malfoy looked up, his eyes were almost black from fury. "Have you gone completely insane?"

Albus smirked. "What's wrong, Malfoy? You finally realised that it's not fun when you're the victim?"

Malfoy abruptly jumped up and threw himself on Albus. Albus tripped, causing the fall of both of them. For the next minutes, they were rolling on the floor, struggling to get the upper hand. They quickly got tired, and a miracle had to have happened because Albus found himself on top of an immobilised — though enraged — Malfoy. They just stared at each other for a moment, breathing heavily, and then Albus started hitting Malfoy's chest. He wanted to hurt him, to make him understand what it feels like to be him. The hits were weak, but he didn't stop. And surprisingly, Malfoy didn't stop him either. He had simply closed his eyes, waiting for Albus to calm down.

Albus felt his eyes tear up.

"I hate you." he said in a whisper.

Malfoy didn't react. Albus couldn't clearly tell whether it was due to anger, sadness, or pain; but when the first tear rolled down his cheek, he felt his chest get somewhat lighter. He rested one hand on Malfoy's chest and then lightly caressed the pained area. Malfoy's eyes opened instantly. He inhaled deeply and looked at Albus, but the dark-haired boy lowered his eyes.

"Why can't we get along well?" Albus whimpered.

It wasn't really a question, so he wasn't expecting an answer. But when Malfoy spoke, Albus had had a faint hope that maybe for once he'd hear something nice from the other boy.

"I don't hate you, Potter. It's simple; I just think that you're pathetic, so get off me, because I have better things to do than watch you cry."

Albus didn't stir. He couldn't. He felt as if the whole weight of the Earth had been placed upon his shoulders.

"Get off me!" Malfoy yelled.

Get off me.

You're pathetic.

Get off me!

I don't hate you.

Pathetic.

Pathetic…

Albus bit his lip and shut his eyes tightly. He slowly got up, letting Malfoy go, then stood motionless in the middle of the dark corridor, eyes still shut.

He was heart-broken.


A/N: I hope you don't mind me for using OCs of my other fic. It's not because I was too lazy to create new ones, but I love them so much that I cannot simply stop writing about them so easily… (I'm the pathetic one lol)

Thanks for reading!