Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter is property of J.K Rowling, including the characters and places. I do not own anything. Everything presented here is just for fun!
Note: Like always, please let me know if you find any errors! My english is rubbish sometimes, so sorry about that. Also thank you to those who comment and review with positive feedback. Especially Blueberry709, who's been so nice and supportive all the time! Thank you so much!
Chapter 7
Of Frog Cards and Breakups
Scorpius decided that after lunch he'd go back to the dormitories and have a quick nap before the next module. He ate quickly and as soon as he finished he grabbed an apple from the table and quickly headed back to Slytherin's common room.
When he reached the dormitories he opened the door and found Albus, standing alone in the middle of the room. He was shirtless, holding a wand in his hand and a sporting a huge smile on his face.
"Hey, Scorp! Check this out!" he said, pointing the wand towards him, "Accio!" he shouted, and the apple in Scorpius' hand hovered lazily towards Albus, falling to the floor halfway through. Albus' huge smile remained plastered on his face, as if the spell had had outstanding results. "Did you see that? My magic is coming back and it's been less than a week!" he said, filled with excitement.
"That's remarkable, Albus," said Scorpius, stifling a yawn. He lifted the apple from the floor and walked to his bed.
"And I feel fantastic," he beamed, doing some lazy warmups. "I think all my ribs are completely healed! Maybe I'll be able to begin Quidditch training by tomorrow!"
"Oh, that's great. I've been putting very small doses of Skele-Gro in your Potions to increase the healing. I reckon it's starting to work." replied Scorpius, smiling at Albus. The grin on Albus' face made his heart immediately beat faster and all the tiredness disappear.
"Oh, by the way, Look what I've got!" Albus said. He walked hastily towards his bed and kneeled down to grab a big black bag from under his four-poster. He opened it in front of Scorpius, who leaned forward to peak inside, and found himself staring at a huge mess of herbs, roots and seeds tangled together.
"How on earth are you getting...?—Are those?—" Scorpius put his hand down into the bag, grabbing a chunk of various different plants, "—Mandrake roots? and are these—you got Aleabar seeds?! These are extremely rare, Albus! How did you get all this?" Scorpius asked staring back up with wide eyes, his expression full of bewilderment.
"Told you, Professor Longbottom is my godfather. He goes to our house all the time, so I know him well," said Albus, while crouching down beside Scorpius to put the bag back securely under the bed. The sight of the dark-haired boy bending his naked body in front of Scorpius sent butterflies down his stomach, hot arousal instantly heading south. "So I remembered you gave me the herbs book that he sent while I was at the Hospital wing. I told him it was the greatest book I've ever read." continued Albus, now standing and looking excitedly at Scorpius while he finished the story. "You should've seen him. He was ecstatic! I asked him if I could borrow some herbs from his cabinet every once in a while, just to see them in real life. And he almost squealed. No—no, don't laugh!" Scorpius burst out laughing halfway through the story. "I swear to you, he was about to start jumping in one leg!" The thought of professor Longbottom jumping and squealing with glee was too much to handle. "He gave me a copy of the key, and told me that the cabinet was practically mine." Albus finished with a triumphant smile, shrugging while pointing lazily at an old rusty key laying on top of the desk.
"You're scary, Albus." Scorpius said as soon as he stopped laughing, looking at him with a fond smile. "Literally every single person in Hogwarts loves you!" he blurted out, but immediately realised that that statement obviously included him. His blood instantly turned ice cold, ready to reach down for his wand and cast a Killing curse onto himself right there.
"Oh, shut up," Albus replied immediately with a chuckle, apparently oblivious to Scorpius' implied confession. "So, how was your morning?" Albus asked then, putting his wand back in his pocket.
"Fine, slept almost the whole morning actually," replied Scorpius, still a bit shaken, but entirely too happy that Albus didn't think too much of his open declaration of love and eager to change the subject. "Oh, by the way, Professor Flitwick asked me to give you this homework." He opened the bag laying on his bed and took out the piece of parchment in one hand, and a chocolate frog card he had put there the day before in the other.
"What is it?" asked Albus, approaching and extending his arm. The fact that he was now so close —and shirtless— made Scorpius very uncomfortable and nervous, so he tried not to look at him very much, just so his eyes wouldn't wander. He put the chocolate frog card on the bedside table and handed the piece of parchment to Albus.
"Oh, this sucks, man," said Albus, sitting beside Scorpius on the same bed while he read the parchment. Scorpius absently noticed he could smell Albus' body. He smelled really nice, but he couldn't quite identify the smell. He supposed it was just Albus' skin. He wanted to rest his head on Albus' shoulder, to press his face against his arm or his chest and feel his scent, but immediately decided that following that train of thought was not a good idea.
Suddenly a letter fell from the ceiling onto the floor. Owls that knew that some of Slytherin's windows weren't under the lake used to deliver letters there. Albus immediately stood up and walked to where the letter had fallen. He picked it up and immediately scowled.
"It's for me. It's from Emily," he said absently, ripping the envelope and reading the letter quickly. His eyes moved rapidly through the parchment. When he finished reading his face was already sporting a big grin, giggling softly.
"I assume everything's okay?" said Scorpius, who had been watching Albus carefully.
"Oh, it's worse than you think," replied Albus, staring back at him with his stupid smile plastered all over his face.
"I don't understand...Why—why are you smiling then?"
"Emily's been sending me these weird subtext in all of her letters. I've had the feeling that she wants to dump me for weeks now, and this letter just confirms it. She's telling me all about this new Gryffindor chap she met at Hogsmeade." replied Albus.
"So, she's breaking up with you or..." Scorpius trailed off, looking at Albus with a questioning glance but unable to turn his words into a proper question, scared of Albus thinking he had crossed the line.
"Oh no, she'd never dump me. 'suppose she thinks everyone will hate her if she does. But all her letters suggest the same, that she's tired of me. Quite honestly I'm tired of her too—" Albus stopped abruptly, his eyes widening suddenly as though a lightning bolt had shot through his body. Scorpius immediately knew that he thought he had said too much. This was, after all, precisely the kind of thing he would never ever ever talk to anyone about. But suddenly Albus took a deep breath and, looking at the floor, carried on. "I—I don't think I've ever fancied her, really," he finished softy with a weak chuckle.
Scorpius stayed silent for a moment, not used to Albus suddenly telling him so many things about his private life. His brain was working fast trying determine the reason behind this extremely odd behaviour, but he came up with nothing. Maybe Albus was just feeling particularly talkative that day, so he might as well just go with the flow.
"Is that so," Scorpius replied weakly. He knew it was lame but he couldn't really think of anything better; not when they were walking such unstable territory.
"I mean—" Albus suddenly raised his voice and walked directly to his bed, sitting on it directly in front of Scorpius. "I mean, how do you even know if you fancy someone, really?" his voice sounded excited but frustrated, like he was actually expecting Scorpius to give a proper answer.
"I suppose you just...know," Scorpius croaked, and, wow, today was definitely not his most inspired day.
"Yeah, but what if you just don't? What if you just can't figure it out?" pressed Albus, now leaning forward and letting his arms rest on his knees while invading Scorpius' personal space.
Scorpius became immediately tense by Albus' proximity. "I—I don't know, Albus," he whispered. His eyes wandered instinctively towards the boy's red lips. He always hoped that in his dreams he was idealising those lips,—they couldn't be that perfect—, but in reality they were actually just as red, and soft and elegant and plain beautiful. "But I've heard that..." he carried on, not really sure what he was going to say, "when you...kiss the other person," he gulped, eyes fixed on the boy's lips and feeling his mouth extremely dry, "that's when...when you really know if you like them..." he finished with a voice that sounded half drunk-half hypnotised. He was trying his best to stop looking at Albus so intently, but it was proving to be entirely too hard.
Albus stayed silent, the side of his lips curving into a weak smile. Scorpius wanted to build them a shrine. "Maybe that's what I have to do." he finally whispered mysteriously, dragging the silence and the tension until it all became too much for Scorpius to handle.
"Right!" he boomed as he jumped back to stand up and go around his bed, finally deciding to lean on one of his four-poster columns, clearing his throat to recover his usual nonchalant drawl. "So why don't you...you know, break up with her?"
"What?"
"Emily, you said you're tired of being with her, why don't you just break up with her?" repeated Scorpius.
"Well, because if I do that everyone will find out. And the magazines will start gossiping about my relationships again. And you have no idea how uncomfortable that is." replied Albus, sounding like he was explaining this to a five year old.
"Well...I've talked to her a couple of times, and she's quite nice. Just tell her not to say anything for a while, I'm sure she will agree, 'cause she won't like people thinking that she broke up with you either." said Scorpius, shrugging. He smiled weakly, trying to encourage Albus.
"You're saying that—" Albus looked confused.
"I'm saying that you break up and stay quiet about it. Tell her not to say anything. Make it your secret. You don't say anything, she doesn't say anything. You drag it for a while, let it die quiet and slow. Then finally when people notice, just say that you naturally grew apart, haven't been together for months. Suddenly it's old news, see? No point talking about it. Missed the queue, tough luck."
As soon as Scorpius finished, Albus was positively glowing.
"That's brilliant, Scorp!" he beamed. "It's so simple! I just tell her not to say anything for the sake of both of us. She'll probably agree to that!" he finished, leaning to his bedside table to grab a piece of parchment and a quill.
"I'm always brilliant, Al." said Scorpius. Albus turned his head and nodded at him with a huge grin. Scorpius noticed that he didn't say anything about Scorpius calling him Al, and considered it a small victory.
"Alright, just give me a second, I'll write to her immediately," said Albus, still smiling while he got himself comfortable on his bed again. "C'mon, help me out!" he ordered, suddenly grabbing Scorpius by the arm and pulling him towards the bed, which made Scorpius almost fall on top of him. He quickly adopted a sitting position next to him, where he could see the complete piece of parchment, along with everything Albus was writing. Close enough to bask in Albus' delicious scent.
"Saddens is spelled with two d's, Al." Scorpius said, reading the letter from over his shoulder.
"Oh, right. Cheers." He didn't wince or say anything about the Al thing. Scorpius heard applauses in his brain.
After a brief moment, Albus folded the letter and stuffed it inside an envelope. He wrote "Emily Stark" on the back, and drew out his wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa" he whispered, and the letter flew up high with difficulty, until it reached the window in the upper part of the bedroom. He knew Emily's owl would still be around, waiting for a reply, and soon enough they heard an owl flapping it's wings outside the window.
"Alright. It's done," Albus said, putting the wand back in his pocket and sighing. He grabbed his shirt laying on top of his bed and started putting it on, noticing the Chocolate Frog Card on top of the bedside table in the process.
"Is that yours?" he asked Scorpius.
"Uhh...yeah...but, I mean...I don't collect them," lied Scorpius, too embarrassed to accept the fact he still collected the cards.
"Right, right. Can I have it then?" asked Albus, looking expectantly. Scorpius squinted.
"Why do you want it?" he asked, Albus shrugged as he finished putting on his shirt.
"It's for my little sister, Lily. She collects them, you know, just a kid, still interested in those things," he finished, rolling his eyes dramatically.
"Oh...alright. I mean, sure. You can have it," replied Scorpius weakly, sounding unsure. He watched Albus grab the card and stuff it in his pocket. Scorpius didn't have another one of those, so he felt a sting of regret as he watched it disappear inside Albus' pocket.
"Cheers, mate," said Albus. "I think I'll go outside for a while, see you later, yeah? Oh, and thank you for...everything, I guess," he finished, beaming at Scorpius, which made his legs go weak.
"It's alright," he replied even more weakly. Albus raised his thumbs and then turned around, walking towards the door.
"Al, wait!" Scorpius yelled as soon as Albus touched the door. "I...I can't give you the card." he said finally, giving up. "I collect them, alright?"
Albus looked at him with a bemused expression. "You still collect Chocolate Frog Cards?"
"Yeah, I know, it's pathetic, whatever. But I only have one of those, and I can't just give it away," he said, looking down at his bed, embarrassed for having to say this out loud.
Albus looked at him for a couple of seconds, and then started to laugh hysterically.
"I..." he tried saying, but his giggles wouldn't let him finish. Scorpius immediately turned a bright shade of pink, feeling his fury build up in his stomach, but before Scorpius could say anything, Albus finally managed to talk. "I lied too. It wasn't for my sister. I collect Chocolate Frog Cards too..."
"Oh, sod off you prick!" said Scorpius, clenching his fists.
"No, no—really, Scorp! I collect Chocolate Frog Cards as well. I've never told anyone because...well, I felt kinda silly." Albus replied, approaching Scorpius slowly. "Here" he said, giving the Chocolate Frog Card back.
"Are you being serious?" asked Scorpius, eyeing him carefully, unable to believe that Albus Potter of all people still collected Chocolate Frog Cards too.
"Of course I'm serious," Albus replied, offering a weak smile. He grabbed Scorpius' hand and opened it softly. The touch making Scorpius' heart skip a beat. Albus placed the Card in the blonde's hand and looked at him in the eyes. Emerald green eyes shining beautifully.
"Just...let me know if you get Circe, I've been trying to get her for weeks." whispered Albus, and with that he let go of Scorpius' hand and walked towards the exit. Leaving Scorpius alone in the room, standing next to his bed with his hand open and the card on his palm.
By nightfall they stepped into their usual routine, sitting on Albus' bed. Albus doing his homework while Scorpius finished the mixture.
"I didn't add Skele-Gro this time, since you told me you were already healed," he said, mixing the cream energetically.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'll start practicing Quidditch tomorrow," said Albus absently, focusing his attention on what was written in his Charms homework. "I don't understand this homework at all! do you think you could explain to me all this Banishing Charms gestures tomorrow after Quidditch? These figures don't make any sense..."
"I suppose. Are you really gonna go out and practice Quidditch? If any teacher sees you playing they'll remove your medical license and you'll have to go back to classes. Maybe you're risking too much."
"The only thing I care about is winning the Quidditch Cup, Scorp. Everything else is secondary."
Finally Scorpius finished the mixture and Albus drank the first Potion. Scorpius poured the cream on his fingers and started massaging Albus' temples, as usual. Albus had been smiling nonstop since he sent the letter, and kept his happy face while Scorpius put the cream on his temples.
"Stop smiling like that, makes you look like an idiot." said Scorpius, now smiling too.
"I'm just excited, you know? I'm healing really fast, I can play Quidditch now, and I don't have to worry about Emily anymore..." he replied cheerfully as he counted each of his fortunes with his fingers.
"You know, you could do this yourself, now that you know how it's done," said Scorpius absently, pointing at his own hands massaging Albus' temples with a quick nod of his head.
"I know..." Albus replied in a self-satisfied tone, yet he didn't do anything. He just kept staring at Scorpius, following his eyes as they moved.
Scorpius wondered what he meant by that reply. Does he like me doing it? he wondered, and the very idea made him shiver with raw excitement. He looked at the green eyes, trying to decipher that mysterious glance. He could faintly feel Albus' breaths against his face, their eyes locked in what started to seem like an eternity to Scorpius.
Just do it, just kiss him! A part of himself was telling him,—screaming, even— so he leaned forward just a bit, and Albus didn't draw back. He stayed completely immobile, still staring at him; still smiling placidly. Scorpius readied himself to launch forward and close the short distance between their lips. He took a deep breath and just when he was about to do it, a part of himself (perhaps the wisest part) suddenly kicked in. If you do it, you'll fuck it up big time, a voice said inside his head, so before doing something he knew he'd regret, he drew back and poured a little more cream on his fingers. He moved a bit closer to Albus, and reached for his forehead, just between his eyes.
Albus still looked at him, hardly missing a single move of Scorpius.
"Hey, Scorp?" he muttered, almost in a whisper.
"Hmm?" Scorpius replied, focusing on Albus' forehead, massaging slowly, feeling Albus' pale soft skin under his fingertips. Albus grabbed the second potion and opened it. He drank the whole content in one fast gulp and then cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand. Finally he spoke.
"Have you ever kissed a boy?" was Albus' question, soft but still firm. Barely audible.
Scorpius' heart fell onto the bed, bounced, rolled over, and fell to the floor.
"Wh—what do you mean," he croaked as shivers thundered down his spine. His blood had turned ice cold and his voice was faltering and quivering slightly. His hands were suddenly shaking more than ever, so Albus lifted his arms and wrapped his hands around Scorpius' wrists to stop the obvious trembles.
"I mean, have you every kissed another man." Albus asked again, his expression now serious, with cold determination in his eyes.
Scorpius let go of Albus' head, slowly lowering his arms.
"I..." he whispered, unable to produce a sound. "I—no. Can't say I have," he finally was able to mumble. His expression became rueful and worried. "Why would you even ask that, though? isn't that kind of...personal?"
Albus shrugged. "I just remembered what you said earlier, about kissing somebody to really know if you like them. And then I just wondered if it would be the same for a man, since I've never kissed one either." said Albus, sounding cool and relaxed, stifling a yawn, but then his eyes flickered and a tone of uncertainty dyed his next words. "And I thought...a minute ago," suddenly his eyes started closing automatically, the Potion working fast inside his body, "...that you were going to... " he tried keeping his eyes open but it was futile, "kiss... me..." he finished with difficulty as he started swinging dangerously from one side to another, eyes closed, already asleep.
"You're just dreaming, Al." whispered Scorpius. He grabbed Albus and gently laid him on his back with his pillow under his head. He touched the dark-haired boy's cheeks and noticed he was really warm, so he lifted him a bit and took off his shirt with difficulty. Albus had already slipped fully into unconsciousness.
Scorpius wondered if Albus would remember the last words he said. He stared at Albus, shirtless and fast asleep beside him. He knew now, looking at him, that Albus was everything he wanted; now, in the intimacy of closed curtains, in the darkest hour of the night, he confessed to himself that if he could just touch Albus' lips, everything in his life would be perfect. If he had the freedom to choose someone, it would be Albus, a million times and more. And it hurt him so much to know that nothing would ever happen between them. Because his destiny was sealed, and because his father wouldn't allow it, and because Albus Potter would never like him back. Because, honestly, everyone fancied Albus. And if he could choose literally anyone, why would he ever choose Scorpius?
He stood up and closed the curtains behind him, walked to his own bed and lay there, just like every night for the past week, looking at the tester while listening to Albus' soft breaths, and he knew, in his heart of hearts, that what he felt was something new. Something unique. This must be what being in Love feels like, he thought, closing his eyes.
Just when he thought life didn't have any brightness anymore, the biggest and brightest light yet stumbled upon him, dressed in dark hair and emerald green eyes; and Quidditch robes and clumsiness. Albus was the only light in his tunnel of hopelessness. And when he was with Albus, the tunnel didn't look like a tunnel at all, but an infinite field of sunflowers.
A/N: Hey! so I've got a surgery to my hand tomorrow so I won't be able to write anything till next Wednesday when they remove the stitches. I promise I will update as soon as i can. Sorry!
Wish me luck!
