Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Albus Potter/Scorpius Malfoy
Summary: Everyone was amazed when Albus Potter was sorted into Slytherin House, but no less amazing was the effect on Hogwarts and the House itself. No longer reviled, and now popular, times had certainly changed for Slytherin House. But not for Scorpius Malfoy...
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world is not mine, but it's sure fun playing in it.
Warnings: NC17 rated so graphic descriptions of m/m sex. Bullying. Mild violence.
Author's Note: I've never written one of these angst-filled, Cinderella, hurt/comfort type of things so I thought I'd see if I could. This is the result. It's also the first story that I've written for a long time that has dual pov, but it seemed appropriate.
Albus Potter and the Slytherin Fairy Princess - Chapter 7
Scorpius smiled and waved at Peony as she left the common room to meet the others and go to Hogsmeade. He knew she felt guilty but in all honesty Scorpius didn't really mind. There was a certain tension about being in a small group with Albus and Simon that he'd decided it was better to avoid, and he really did have some work to catch up on.
Besides, he was still a little wobbly over the 'picture incident', as he liked to call it in his head. Simon had been right, Albus was very affectionate with his friends, and whilst Scorpius had got used to the pats on the shoulder and the arm squeezes, the hug that Albus had given him along with the picture, had taken him unawares. He'd pulled away quickly but he could only hope that Albus hadn't noticed his confusion.
Still, he couldn't help remembering how nice it had felt and Scorpius sighed softly. But, he told himself firmly a moment later, this wasn't getting his transfiguration essay done, and he quickly picked it up and read it over. It was almost there, but it needed something more, and Scorpius gathered up his things and resigned himself to an afternoon spent in the library.
The hallways were quiet as he walked through them. The 1st years and 2nd years were mostly outside, enjoying what would probably be the last fine weekend afternoon of the autumn, and the students who hadn't gone to Hogsmeade in favour of study were probably already in the library or other study areas.
"Well, well, well," said a voice behind him and Scorpius' heart sank as he realised it was Martin Creevey. "I haven't seen you for a while, Fairy Princess. Have you missed me?"
Scorpius slowly turned to face the lone boy standing in the corridor, and shook his head.
"I can't say I have," he said quietly, and wondered if it would provoke Creevey if he started to back away, but then it was too late as Creevey strode forward and gripped Scorpius' arm.
"Well, maybe I'll have to remind you of what a good friend I can be," Creevey said.
Scorpius sighed and resisted the temptation to roll his eyes.
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" he asked, mildly.
Still, it was the wrong thing to say, for something furious flared in Creevey's eyes and Scorpius' suddenly found himself pushed forwards against the wall with his arm twisted painfully behind his back.
"Smart mouth," Creevey snarled. "Why can't you just disappear?"
Apart from the rare shove into a wall, Martin Creevey had never been physically violent but something in Creevey's voice told Scorpius that this was about to change, and sudden fear ripped through him like a knife. He began to struggle against Creevey's hold in panic but the only effect that it had was to make Creevey wrench his arm up higher, and Scorpius cried out in pain.
"So where are all your new friends, huh?" Creevey said, malice dripping from every word. "Did they leave you behind? They're sick of you already."
A fist landed on his side, and Scorpius' knees buckled. Suddenly Creevey let go of him and Scorpius crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath, desperately hoping that Creevey would leave.
But he didn't.
Scorpius walked stiffly into the Slytherin 6th year bathroom, peeling off his jumper and shirt as soon as the door was closed and locked. Never had he been so thankful for privacy as he dropped the clothing onto the floor and looked in the mirror. Slowly he turned around, gingerly looking over his shoulder, and winced at the sight of the bruises that were already beginning to mar his back.
He'd managed to curl his body as Creevey had kicked him, so he'd avoided any bruising to his chest, but his back was probably going to take a while to heal. He eyed the bath and then opened a cabinet, searching for the special muscle relaxing oil that he knew the Quidditch players used.
A few minutes later Scorpius sank into the water and sighed, trying to keep his mind away from what had just happened. But that was impossible, and Scorpius found himself reliving every detail, as well as the moment when Creevey had told him that if he told anyone he would kill him.
A part of him couldn't believe that Creevey was serious, but another part of him, hidden deep inside his heart, a part that was bruised and bleeding and quivering with fear, couldn't let go of the feeling that Creevey had meant it. After all, Scorpius thought bitterly, Creevey had gone this far. Why not further?
Slowly he shook his head. It wasn't any use to think like that, he had to decide how to handle this. He could go to the Headmistress or Teddy, but aside from the bruising on his back, there was no proof. There had been no witnesses and it would only be his word against Creevey's, and he knew that the majority would believe Creevey over a Malfoy.
Rose was a prefect, and Scorpius had an idea that she would believe him. She had never seemed too fond of Creevey for a start, and she'd even asked Scorpius once if Creevey was bullying him. Scorpius had told her that Creevey only teased him – he'd never expected that it would go this far, and he was still bewildered by the fact that it had.
The problem was that even if he told Rose and she backed him up, she still hadn't actually seen anything happen, and most people would still take Creevey's side. It wouldn't really be fair to put her in that position.
A wave of sharp longing swept over Scorpius, the longing for home and his parents. He'd felt lonely before but he'd never felt so alone as he did right now. For a few moments he let the feeling hold him in a grip that made his throat tight and his eyes sting, but before the tears could fall, Scorpius forced the sense of aching loss away. It wasn't going to help him to wallow in self-pity and he still had to make up his mind about what had happened.
In the end, Scorpius decided, it would perhaps be wiser to stay silent. It probably wouldn't happen again, particularly if he was cautious, and more careful about being caught alone with Creevey. The sooner he could forget about it the better, but, Scorpius thought with grim, angry determination, if Creevey did catch him again, no ban on magic usage out of class was going to stop him from hexing Creevey into oblivion.
A couple of hours later Scorpius was seated in the common room, trying to finish his transfiguration parchment, when Peony and Adrian came through the door, holding hands and laughing.
"You look like you had a good time," Scorpius said, smiling as they sat down near him. "Where are the others?"
"Don't know," Adrian said, with a leering grin. "We all had lunch together and then we all sort of went our separate ways, if you know what I mean."
Peony blushed and thumped Adrian on the arm. "Merlin, you can be such an arse sometimes, Adrian," she said, and then giggled helplessly as he began to tickle her.
Scorpius sighed softly as he watched them. Love certainly seemed to be in the air at Hogwarts, for everyone but him, and the worst of it was that the more time he spent with Albus as a friend, the more he realised that, physical attraction aside, it would be so easy to fall in love with him. He was fun to be with, affectionate and loyal to his friends, as well as generous.
He was also gorgeous, but Scorpius wasn't going to think about that too much. It was too dangerous, and as much as Scorpius had come to personally dislike Simon Crimshaw, he was Albus' boyfriend. And even without Simon's warning, Scorpius had no intention of interfering with that.
He felt a tap on his arm and looked up to find Adrian grinning at him. "Wake up, Scorp," he said. "You haven't been dozing about the common room all day, have you?"
Scorpius shook his head. "I went to the library for a while."
"Bloody hell, how boring," Adrian said. "Look, it's still nice out and there's some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws up at the Quidditch pitch having a bit of a game. Why don't we go up and watch?"
"Oh, you just want to play," Peony said, and Adrian looked slightly guilty. "Fine," she said, relenting. "Scorp will keep me company, won't you, Scorp?"
Scorpius nodded, for in truth he'd had enough of trying to study and he needed a distraction, but then his eyes widened in panic as he realised that he couldn't move. The other two stood and looked at him expectantly and Scorpius thought rapidly.
"Ah, you couldn't help me up, could you?" he asked Adrian. "I had a bit of an accident and I've hurt my back. It's all right," he continued quickly as Peony frowned, "it's just stiffened up a bit, that's all."
Adrian nodded, took Scorpius' hand and dragged him to his feet, whilst Scorpius tried not to groan aloud with pain.
"What happened?" Peony asked with a worried tone.
"It's really embarrassing," Scorpius said, as he followed them from the common room. "I fell off a step-ladder in the library."
Adrian started to laugh but Peony glanced at Scorpius with a strange look, and he wondered if she'd guessed that he was lying to her. He'd never been particularly good at it, after all. His mother had caught him every single time.
But Peony didn't say anything and they all walked to the Quidditch pitch, a bit slower than usual because of Scorpius.
When they reached it, they found Rose and Michael already there, sitting at the bottom of the Slytherin tower with a group of Hufflepuff 6th years.
"You're too late," Michael said. "Albus and Simon have already turned up and they've made up the numbers. But they said we could sub in at some point."
"Bugger," said Adrian. "Shove up, you lot, and let Scorp sit down. He's gone and hurt his back while in the library of all places."
There was some shuffling around and Scorpius took a seat on the bench next to Rose, whilst Adrian and Peony flopped at their feet.
"Is it really painful, Scorp?" Rose asked, sympathetically.
"A bit," he replied. "It's just stiffened up, that's all. Makes it a bit difficult to get around but I'm sure it will wear off soon."
"You know," Michael said, leaning across Rose. "Madam Pomfrey made a special bath oil for the Quidditch players. It's really good. I'll find it for you when we get back to the dorm if you like."
"Um… thanks, yeah, that would be good," Scorpius said, flushing slightly, thinking of the now half-empty bottle in the bathroom cupboard.
After that they all became engrossed in the game and Scorpius found that, whilst the pain in his back remained, being surrounded by the warmth of his friends eased the ache in his heart.
The next morning at breakfast Creevey watched Scorpius with a smug expression, and Scorpius made every effort to avoid returning his gaze. But he couldn't avoid the anger that simmered inside him, particularly when he saw Simon and Albus sitting at the Gryffindor table with Creevey and he remembered that they were actually friends.
"Really, Scorpius, what is wrong with you this morning?" Peony asked with irritation, after Scorpius had slammed his glass onto the table and splashed pumpkin juice everywhere. She picked up a napkin and wiped the mess off her hand. "You've never been so messy in your life."
"Sorry, Peony," Scorpius said. "I'm just… restless I suppose. I should have gone to Hogsmeade yesterday, I think. I feel like I need to get out of Hogwarts for a while."
"Well," she said, excitedly. "That's the thing. Professor Sprout told the prefects this morning that senior students could go to Hogsmeade today if they wanted to. It'll be great, no juniors hanging around, getting in the way, so Rose and I wondered if you'd like go with us to Gladrags to look at-"
"No, not knitting patterns," Scorpius moaned. "Honestly, I'd rather stick those darn needles you use in my eyes, than look at more knitting patterns."
"Shut up," Peony said, laughing. "No, we thought we'd try to get ideas for Halloween costumes. I mean, do you have any idea what you're going to go as?"
"No, actually," Scorpius said, thoughtfully. "All right, let's go."
An hour later they were wandering into Hogsmeade, rather slowly for Scorpius was still fairly sore. They had been in Gladrags for about half an hour looking through the racks of clothing, when Rose came up to Scorpius holding a silvery top in some sort of satiny material and a pair of black pants.
"Scorpius," she said, her eyes shining. "These would look wonderful on you."
Scorpius frowned. "As a Halloween costume?"
"Yes," she replied. "Peony," she continued as the other girl joined them, "do you remember those magazines your Mum sent you with all the pictures of those Muggles dressed as goths or whatever they called it?"
"Oh, yes," Peony said, eyeing Scorpius. "Yes, I think you're right, Rose. That look would be perfect for Scorp."
"I don't know about dressing for Halloween as a Muggle," Scorpius said. "It's a bit lame, isn't it?"
"No, not as a Muggle, nitwit," Rose said. "As one of those goth people. Oh, who cares anyway, as long as you look amazing. And you will, we'll really spike up your hair, and in these clothes-"
"And I just found these," Peony interrupted, holding up a pair of tall black lace-up boots and what looked like a black leather collar.
"Perfect," Rose squealed, and Scorpius looked at them doubtfully.
Still, the shirt was rather nice, and he actually really liked the boots, so he supposed he could humour them.
"All right," he eventually said, and they both giggled with excitement and dragged him to the change rooms.
They were laden with bags when they walked into the Three Broomsticks and immediately saw Albus and Simon sitting at a table with Martin Creevey and a couple of his Ravenclaw friends. Scorpius recognised the boy and the girl instantly - they were on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and they had often joined in with Creevey's teasing.
Albus waved them over and for a moment they all hesitated near the bar.
"Maybe we should just leave," Peony murmured.
"It's too late," Rose said, as Albus waved at them again. "It would look really rude if we walked out now, or if we sat somewhere else."
"Darn it," Peony whispered, and then they both looked at Scorpius. Scorpius frowned and shrugged.
"Let's go and sit down," he finally said, with a slight sigh. "Before Al waves his arm off."
They walked over to the table, choosing chairs as far away as possible from Creevey, and somehow Scorpius ended up beside Albus.
"Been shopping, girls?" Creevey called out, as they sat down and the two Ravenclaws laughed.
"Yes," Rose said, shortly. "And you?"
"Butterbeer and Quidditch talk," Creevey said, with a grin.
"I imagine these three came here for Butterbeer and knitting talk," said Simon, and laughter erupted at the other end of the table.
"Well, either way," said Albus, and Scorpius saw him shoot a strange look at Simon. "Let's actually get some Butterbeer." He waved a hand in the direction of the bar, and a few moments later the bartender came over with a tray of tankards.
Scorpius sat silently, concentrating on his Butterbeer, and trying to think of a way to leave as quickly as he could. He really wasn't paying any attention to what was being said at the table, he only knew that it was loud and there was a lot of laughing from Creevey and his friends.
Eventually he felt a tap on his wrist and looked up. Albus was looking at him with concerned eyes and the sight made Scorpius' heart leap.
"You're very quiet," Albus said, softly. "And you're very pale. Back hurting?"
Scorpius nodded, clutching at the excuse, although in all honesty he'd been so frozen in the last couple of minutes he hadn't even thought about his back.
"Yes," he said. "I think I might actually go back to Hogwarts."
Albus looked like he was going to say something but before he could, Peony spoke up from the other side of Scorpius.
"We'll come too," she said. "Help you with all the bags."
Scorpius smiled. "Well, most of them are yours."
They gathered the bags and rose from the table, said a quick farewell and were almost out the door when Scorpius heard his name called.
"Wait a minute," Albus said, following them into the street. "None of you were happy about Creevey being there. Why?"
"Merlin, Al, you can be so dense sometimes," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "Creevey's a pig."
"Why?" Albus asked her. "What's he ever done to you?"
"Well," she glanced at Scorpius, "I suppose he's never really done anything to me."
Albus raised an eyebrow and then looked at Scorpius. "So, it's you then," he said. "Has Creevey done something to you?"
For a brief moment, Scorpius was sorely tempted. The three of them were looking at him, the girls with anxiety and Albus with concern, and he wondered if Albus would actually believe that one of Simon's friends had assaulted Scorpius if he told him. And Scorpius found that he didn't want to take the risk of Albus not believing him and losing his friendship.
"He's just… unpleasant to me," he finally said. "You know he started the Slytherin Fairy Princess thing," he added, flushing.
"Yeah," Albus said, frowning. "If he's still doing that I'll tell him to knock it off."
"I don't think it would help," Scorpius said, because he had a feeling that Albus having a go at Creevey would only make matters worse. "I just usually avoid him. That's probably the best way of, um, dealing with him."
Albus watched him for a moment with an indecipherable look in his eyes and Scorpius found himself almost holding his breath.
Finally Albus nodded slowly. "All right," he said. "I'll see you lot back at Hogwarts yeah?" Before they could answer he had already gone back into the Three Broomsticks.
Rose sighed and looked at Scorpius. "You know, James is Head Boy," she said, tentatively. "If I told him that Creevey teases you a lot, I'm sure he'd talk to him."
"No," Scorpius said, irritation rising. "Thank you, but it would probably only make it worse, Rose. And really, I just want to stop talking about bloody Creevey."
He started walking back to Hogwarts and they followed him silently.
Over the next couple of weeks Scorpius was quite successful at avoiding Creevey and his friends, and his back slowly healed. The only significant problem that he had was managing to use the dorm bathroom when it was empty in order to avoid anyone else seeing the condition of his back, for the extent of the bruising could not really be explained by a simple fall.
Albus and the girls had not brought up Creevey again, and Scorpius was thankful, as he wasn't comfortable with the lies he had told. It felt too much like he was protecting Creevey and that was hard to stomach.
Thankfully nearly everyone was distracted with Halloween preparations. Scorpius still wasn't sure about his Muggle inspired costume, but Rose and Peony had decided to keep with the theme and were going as fictional Muggle witches. Rose had picked a character called Morticia Addams from an old Muggle television show and Peony had decided on the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz, although she had decided to forego the warts and the hooked nose.
Albus, Adrian and Michael were busy with Quidditch practice for the first game against Gryffindor would be on the weekend after Halloween and Albus was pushing the team hard. Thankfully they didn't seem to mind. Albus also seemed to be spending more time than usual with Simon, so Scorpius often only saw him during classes and study sessions. He didn't know whether to be sorry or thankful, for on the one hand he'd come to enjoy Albus' company and friendship, but on the other hand, his growing feelings for Albus were easier to bear when he and Simon weren't around.
And Scorpius had to admit that his feelings were developing into something more than just a crush and he didn't know how he could stop it. It was embarrassing and humiliating to say the least, to feel like this about someone who didn't return his interest, and he tried to keep it hidden as much as possible but there were many times when he caught himself watching Albus. He was sure that Simon had noticed on occasion but he never approached Scorpius again, in fact he acted as if Scorpius didn't exist, which was something Scorpius could easily live with.
Finally Halloween arrived and Rose and Peony spent the day in a state of absolute excitement. Fortunately it had fallen on a Friday and as all 6th years had a double free period after lunch on Fridays they had plenty of time to prepare their costumes for the feast. Rose had smuggled them into the Girl's Prefect's bathroom, ignoring Scorpius' protests that he wasn't actually a girl, but as he looked around at the comfortable surrounds he had to admit that he wouldn't mind if she smuggled them in there more often.
"Oh bugger it," Peony exclaimed suddenly, rummaging in her bag. "I've left my shoes in the common room." She gave Scorpius a pleading look, and he rolled his eyes.
"Where are they?" he asked.
"Near the couch by the fireplace," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks, Scorp, I'd go but I really don't want anyone to see me in this dress yet and it's a nightmare to get in and out of."
Scorpius laughed. "Yeah, you can't fool me, Peony," he said, heading for the door. "By 'anyone' we all know you mean Adrian."
Scorpius had found the shoes and was on his way back to the Prefect's bathroom when he heard multiple footsteps behind him. Instinctively he walked faster, but before he got much further a hand on his back shoved him into the wall. He tensed, silently cursing himself for getting caught alone, and turned to face Martin Creevey and a few of his friends.
They were all grinning, and Creevey's smile widened when he saw the high-heeled shoes in Scorpius' hand.
"Nice shoes, Slytherin Fairy Princess," he said, whilst his friends laughed. "Can't wait to see the rest of your costume."
He reached out and shoved Scorpius into the wall again and then they were gone. Scorpius heaved a sigh of relief, in a way he'd been lucky that it hadn't turned out worse but still the simmering anger he felt whenever he saw or thought about Creevey, suddenly boiled over.
"Fuck it," he muttered, and then he was running along the hallway. He burst into the Prefect's bathroom, the door slammed behind him, and both girls looked up with widened eyes.
"I need your help," he said. "We need to make some adjustments to my costume."
"Oh?" said Rose. "Why?"
"Because," Scorpius said, "if they want a Slytherin Fairy Princess they can bloody well have one."
there will be more
