"Remember yesterday,
walking hand in hand.
Love letters in the sand,
I remember you.
Through all the sleepless nights,
through every endless day,
I'd want to hear you say,
'I remember you.'" –Skid Row

(-) Chapter Four – Sixth Year

"The best part of the Tri Wizard cup is going to be the winter ball," announced Rose.
"Speak for yourself," said James.
"My parents tried to make me go to beauxbatons."
The trio all laughed at Scorpius' outburst. Since it was the beginning of November, the air was chilly in the courtyard, and everyone was bundled up. A Slytherin was walking toward them, waving.
"Hi Albus," said Rose, "do you have a date for the ball yet? It's next week."
Albus smiled slightly, "nope. No one wants to go with me."
James and Rose laughed, throwing in comments. Scorpius furrowed his brow in concern.
"Who've you asked?" he asked gently.
"Every gay guy but you," Albus said with a smirk.
His brother laughed loudly, and high fived him.

(-)

In the hours before the ball, Scorpius was borrowing Albus' potions text book to study in the library. He didn't do very well on his last exam, but that was because someone had stolen his book. As he flipped through the pages, he came across a piece of scrap paper with two very different scrawls.
The first of them, in what Scorpius imagined was Albus' handwriting, said "if he didn't have a girlfriend, do you think he'd go to the ball with me?"
The second, in a loopy cursive scribble read, "Sorry, don't think so. It's not like he's dating someone you aren't close to, even if he is gay."

(-)

Scorpius met Lily, his fake date, in the common room. She had bribed him into taking her so she could attend the ball, since she was only in fourth year. She was wearing a green gown, which contrasted with her hair. It was hard to decide whether she or Rose was prettier, but Scorpius liked to think that Rose was the better looking of the two.
Rose was dressed in a short dark blue dress, which matched Scorpius' tux. He hoped that Albus wouldn't look too out of place with the white suit he had prepared for the occasion.
They gathered together to make their way to the great hall. When Lily moved to grab his arm, Scorpius caught a glare from Rose. He made sure to take her in his other arm for good measure, which seemed to irk Lily.
Albus met them with his friend and her date. The Slytherins didn't seem particularly friendly to them, but Scorpius did his best to ignore them.
"Its nice that you make sure to light yourself up like that, Albus," said Lily jokingly, "that way no one will think you're straight for a second."
Albus glared at her, but didn't retort. Directing his attention to Rose and Scorpius, he complemented them on their attire.
"You look good," said Rose good-naturedly, "too bad you don't have a nice date."
"Yeah," Albus replied, blushing, "guess I'm unlucky."
Lily furrowed her brows in defiance, "He's lying," she said, "he had two boys ask him. They just weren't who he wanted."
Albus looked at her angrily, "alright," he said, "Since Lily's being such a bitch, you guys should know that there was someone I wanted to go with, but he's not gay."
Scorpius looked down at his feet, feeling guilty for reading the note. He hoped that Albus wasn't upset, "I saw the note in your textbook," he admitted.
The dark haired boy went pale, but Lily cut in, "look, the dance is starting, can't we all argue inside?"

"Who do you think Albus likes?" asked Rose during a slow song with Scorpius. Many other students were on the dance floor, chatting quietly while swaying. The decorations in the great hall were exceptional, and the lighting was dim enough to create a romantic effect.
"A Slytherin, maybe," he said honestly, "why don't you ask him?"
"He wouldn't tell me, but I bet Lily would tell you."
"Bribing her would be so not worth it," Scorpius said with a laugh.

(-)

The train from Hogwarts arrived at King's cross station on Christmas Eve, and Harry and Hermione were there to greet them. As James and Hugo got off the train, their relatives rushed to greet them with the usual displays of affection. Rose and Lily ran off next to hug their parents, followed by Albus. Scorpius got off quietly and tried to suppress how out of place he was feeling.
Luckily though, Hermione stepped forward to give him an awkward one-armed hug, "we're glad to have you with us this year," she said politely.
Harry smiled at him from behind his overly excited relatives, and the blonde boy smiled back. His parents would have preferred he visit them in France for Christmas, but he had insisted on spending it with his friends this year. He would have plenty of time to see Draco and Virginie before New Years.

The group gathered together and started to move towards the exit. With Rose on his arm, and Albus at his side, Scorpius felt ready to face whatever it was that the holidays held for him.
Dinner with the Potters/Weasleys was as always a good experience, leaving Scorpius to feel less out of place. James always kept up the conversation, and he was rarely not surrounded by his friends. After dinner, James began spreading the word that tonight the adults would be getting quite drunk. Being the Gentleman he was, he passed the invitation on to Scorpius, Albus, and Rose. Lily and Hugo were however sent to bed before the drinking began.
Harry and his many guests, including a muggle named Dudley, stayed mostly in the dining room. They talked loudly, and laughed more and more as the evening went on. The house began filling with cigar smoke and the scent of liquor.
James was drinking in the living room at a faster pace than any of the others. Around midnight, he suggested playing Quiddich outside. Rose agreed, and the four of them made their way to a crudely built pitch.
Knowing in his gut what a bad idea it would be, Scorpius sat on the sidelines while his drunken friends bobbed along and frequently dropped the quaffle. It was hard to get James to stop giggling long enough to shoot, and Rose had trouble staying in her position.
Albus was unsteady on his broom, and not after long, the group demanded he stop playing. They didn't want to lose their drinking privileges because of him getting hurt.
"Why didn't you play?" he asked, sitting on the grass next to Scorpius.
He tried to explain that he wasn't crazy for Quiddich on a good day, but he forgot the point of his statement while speaking.
"I think Lily wants you," Albus said.
"She's like, 10."
"No, she's fourteen, I think. She's just wants to take you from Rose," he slurred, "but she also might think you were pretty as her date to the ball."
Scorpius glanced at Albus, "pretty? I thought only girls were supposed to be called pretty."
Albus laughed hard, patting Scorpius on the back, "guys are pretty sometimes. Except for you, you're pretty all the time."

Scorpius hiccupped, his mind hazy. He was glad that he hadn't drunk as much as Albus and James.
"You know that I know you're pretty, right?" Albus said, his eyes staring at the sky, "like, you're not with Rose because you don't know I love you?"
Scorpius felt dizzy, and looked at the dark haired boy, "what did you say?"
Albus smiled, "You know, I love you. But I know that you don't feel the same, coz if you did, you wouldn't be with Rosie."
Suddenly Scorpius had chills, and his heart was beating quickly, "I didn't know."
"Oh," Albus said, "I'm tired."
"I should drink more."
"Nah. You don't need to get drunk. You're like, great the way you are. You're like, the only one."
"Only one?" Scorpius asked, his brows furrowed.
"Only one for me."
Scorpius stood up, and walked to the house. His head spinning, he downed more booze, hoping not to throw up. Staggering up the stairs, he managed to get to his room before blacking out.

Scorpius woke up with a hangover on Christmas morning. Albus was on the floor beside him, still fast asleep. Without knowing why, Scorpius moved closer to him. His mind wasn't awake enough to think properly.
"Albus," he said, nudging his friend.
Albus grunted, but didn't open his eyes. Scorpius' heart sped up. He admired how tan and smooth the dark haired boy's skin was, and how nice his features were together.
"Merry Christmas, Albus," he muttered, his heart running a mile per minute.
Scorpius' lips met his friend's gently. Albus made a noise of surprise, and then started to respond. The dark haired boy's arms wrapped around Scorpius' shoulders, which allowed him to deepen the kiss.
Scorpius felt electricity and adrenaline flow through his body, and he moved his arms so that he was pining Albus to the ground.
It would have been perfect had Rose not walked in on them.

(-)
As he ran down the hallway, he couldn't feel his feet hitting the ground. Albus was dizzy from the kiss, and also dizzy from his hangover. He was worried about Rose, and confused about what was happening, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to regret it.
"Rosie," he said, as he ran up to her in the hallway. Her eyes looked bloodshot, or at least teary. She glared at him with a fury he was not used to.
"What in hell was that, Albus?" Rose yelled, "Was he drunk? Were you drunk? You let my boyfriend cheat on me with you. Don't you care about me?"
"Last night I told him I loved him," he said, finally feeling some guilt, "I think he was taking pity on me."
"Pity doesn't involve tongue," she spat.

"Rosie…"
"Don't bother. It's over between me and him, and its over between me and you. I hate you."
"Rose…"
"I won't tell anyone," she spat through gritted teeth. She held back the urge to punch him.