AN: It's been forever, but I have quite a bit written now. Please, please, review!
It took a train, a boat, and a portkey before Lily arrived at the gates of Durmstrang Institute. Hogwarts could look spooky, at least at night, but it usually looked enchanting, a warm glow coming from the windows, plants rustling in the wind, a still lake reflecting the moon, and the entire sky lit up with stars. Durmstrang castle had none of the majesty of Hogwart's castle, and was much smaller. There were only four stories and the building was built out of large, grey blocks. Every bit of it appeared to serve some purpose. The building was all the same height, save for one tower that Lily assumed was a guard tower, and it looked out just high enough that one would be able to see the sea in the distance.
"Miss Potter?" a voice called. She saw a man in thick red cloak behind the gate.
"Yes, I hope I'm not late." She held on tighter to the handle on her trunk that was currently floating.
"Right on time, come in." His voice was heavily accented, she suspected that German was his native language due to how he pronounced things. The gates swung open of their own accord and she walked a bit faster to see the man's face. He was a new Headmaster, had been for about three years. Her father had met him once, but her father met with all the Heads of schools to insure safety was priority. "Not all of the students have returned. I will introduce you in two days' time, during our dinner before classes commence. You can use the time to get acquainted." He pulls a bit of parchment out of his pocket, holding it out to her. "This is an invaluable tool, our school is small, but easy to get lost in."
"Thank you." Lily was glad that the school sent her one of their uniform cloaks and that she had invested in a pair of boots. The temperature was frigid, even inside. The halls were lit only well enough to have some sort of visibility. "Where are we going?"
"Teacher quarters are easiest to access through your office," he explained. "Inside your office there is another door and a set of stairs, it'll lead you to the corridor just outside your bedroom." He came to a stop and turned to look her over. "The incident with our last instructor was unfortunate. We take education and discipline seriously here. Our students strive for excellence and nothing less than that, and as a teacher you should help them reach that goal and uphold them to a high standard. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, come along. I'll show you to your classroom, office, and quarters. Then, I'll leave you be. Do you want me to have the kitchens send you something?"
"If it's not too much trouble." Soon enough they arrived at the office and he took her up the stairs to where her room was. After unlocking the door and handing her the key along with a schedule, he was gone. Lily breathed a sigh of relief, she made it here. The room was tiny, probably a quarter the size of her apartment with a bed in one corner, a small window, a wardrobe, table and chair and a small stove. There was a door that led to a closet sized bathroom. It brought her back to the days as Head Girl and a part of that made her smile. Hogwarts was like a home away from home, eventually Durmstrang would get there.
Scorpius smiled when Al dropped a paper cup of tea on his desk. He's bent over a pile of paperwork on the call that they just went out on. Al's not Roxie, but he's a damn good partner. They mesh well together, both able to get along in amiable silence. Things have slowed down around here, it's January after all. The two of them were put back in the field a few weeks after the funeral, once they got things squared away. Ironically enough, as soon as Al and Score became partners, Lily had already stopped working at St. Mungo's. She was gone now, off in Norway or Sweden or wherever that school was.
"Thanks," he mutters.
"You offered to finish up, it's the least I can do." Al is seated across from Scorpius. Scorpius moved all of his things over to the empty desk across from Al's, he being more comfortable there than having Al sit in Roxie's old desk. Though, he did tease him that he had so much crap it would be hard to relocate everything.
There both sitting there when Harry walks through the door with an armload of folders. "I've gotten some pressure to review some cold case files, can you guys stay a bit later?" He drops one on each desk, eyebrows raised in question. Scorpius nods before he moves onto the next team.
"Listen, you finished up that, I can read these over and you can get going. You're probably late already."
"Late?" Scorpius asks, his eyebrows furrowing in question.
"Steve…" Al prompted.
"Oh…Oh!" He looked down at his watch. "I still have a bit of time and he always meets me in here anyway."
"Score…" Al gave him a pointed look. "I'd love to—"
"He's my boyfriend," Scorpius snapped.
Al held up his hands in a surrender position. "I'm just saying that if I was the one dating him, I'd try to get out a little early."
"Unfortunately, I have a job that needs to get done. I can't just give it you." Albus keeps quiet at that and Scorpius feels a sting of disappointment. Roxie would have torn the folder from his hands and demanded he leave this instant. For some reason he can't bring himself to get up, he would rather stay here. So he does. He and Albus linger until they are one of the last teams. The door swings open and Steve appears looking none too entertained.
"You were supposed to meet me downstairs twenty minutes ago."
"Usually you come in." Scorpius' eyes barely lift from the paper. "I have to finish up here."
"You're done," Al told him. "And so am I…" He got to his feet and took off his robe, folding it into a neat pile along with his badge in his drawer. "Have a nice night."
Scorpius sighed and did the same, all while Steve perched himself on the edge of his desk, watching him impatiently. "I know you've been going through a hard time, and I'll talk with you, but I'm not going to put up with this."
"Steve, look, it's been a long day and I lost track of time. Harry gave us something to do before we left."
Steve looked at him, leaning forward to rest a hand on his face, pulling him in for a kiss. Scorpius' instinct was to pull away. "What the hell was that? I'm at work."
"In an empty office."
"Let's just get dinner," Scorpius suggested.
"How about, I grab takeout and head home. You do the same, but think about this, about the two of us. I don't care if you just want a fuck-buddy, but I happen to like shagging people who are at least interested." Steve walked away from him and Scorpius let out a sigh before exiting behind him.