James was sitting on Caroline's couch, his arm around her waist, her head resting on his shoulder. He smiled at her, twirling a lock of her hair around one of his fingers. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, pupils dilated and lips still shiny from kissing him. Her voice was soft, it was always soft.

'Tell me a secret.'

'I cheated in a potions exam once' he admitted 'brought in a bewitched cauldron so I wouldn't overheat it.'

'Oh.' She looked disappointed.

'Sorry, I don't have a lot of good secrets. How about you tell me something instead?'

'OK, um...' she thought for a minute, gaze never moving from James' face, 'How about this? I've loved you since the first moment I saw you.' She bit her lip 'Well, maybe not right from the beginning, we were what? Twelve?' James nodded, 'I remember all the other Hufflepuffs were out on a herbology field trip all day collecting plants from the Black Lake, but I'd been hexed by some stupid fourth year playing a prank and so that week I couldn't go near the lake without fainting. I went to the hospital wing but they said they weren't familiar with the spell so there was nothing they could do, but it would wear off on its own. It sucked, but I didn't mind too much and now I'm glad, because that's how I ended up sitting in on a Gryffindor DADA class that one time in second year, and that's where I met you.'

James remembered it, the shy Hufflepuff girl, looking a little left out in her black and gold tie, sitting on the edge of her chair as though a little afraid of him. He'd stuck out his hand and said 'I'm James' and her face had lit up with a smile as she replied 'Caroline'. That had been about the extent of their conversation during the lesson, but something about her had intrigued him and somehow they'd found that they were friends, he wasn't quite sure how.

'I'd never spoken to you before,' she continued 'didn't know your name, didn't even know you were a Potter, but I found myself sitting next to you, watching you chewing on your quill and leaning back a little too far in your chair and all I wanted more than anything was to know you. I can't explain it. It's like I suddenly knew that nobody else in that room could have been a proper friend because none of them would be half as good at it as I somehow knew you would. I think even then I probably loved you a bit. After that you were all I could think about, the only person I wanted to spend time with, and I kept imagining how well your hand would fit in mine, like puzzle pieces.'

That's really the point at which James' mutual reminiscing stopped. He too had felt drawn to Caroline, had wanted desperately to be her best friend in the world, to share everything with her, but he'd never thought about what it would be like to hold her hand. Not when he was that young and not even more recently, when he would spend the day with Al, part of him wishing that they didn't need to hide how they felt for one another. Even then, when he did sometimes find himself wondering what it would be like to walk around Hogsmead holding someone's hand, he had never made that association with his bert friend. He hadn't considered it until he'd found himself asking her to be his girlfriend, and then found that he did indeed like the way that her hand felt clasped in his own. He didn't mention this now, of course, just kept listening.

'One day I tied a ribbon to the end of your broom, do you remember that?' James didn't, so he shook his head apologetically, 'It was some joke, I can't even remember what it was about, something to do with kites I think, but you kept it there for weeks and it was like everyone knew that I was important to you, that I played a part in every element of your life, and I remember thinking that I almost wouldn't mind it if you never wanted to be with me as long as if ever I tied a ribbon to your broom you'd leave it there, like a banner flapping out behind you proclaiming that I mattered, that you cared...'

'I did care.' James interrupted, placing a light kiss on her forehead, 'I do care.'

'I know that now.' she replied, grinning. 'I'm so glad! I remember the first time I realised I was in love with you. I mean I loved you from the start, like I said before, but it was a while before I really understood what that meant. It was during the holidays sometime in fourth year and you were over at my house, standing in the backyard. It was barely sunny, but you'd found this little patch of heat and the sunlight was making patterns in your hair, remember how long you wore it that year, and you were looking at me with this curiosity, like you could see something I couldn't. You were telling me some story, some crazy thing your brother had done I think, it was so long ago, I'm not sure. Probably though, you used to talk about him a lot. Remember how he annoyed you?'

James did remember. Al had been infuriating for a while, especially as he entered his teenaged years. Now though, James wonders if that perhaps wasn't the only reason that the younger boy had been playing endlessly on his mind, the subject of any anecdote and always James' first priority. Of course to the outside observer it would seem that James thought less about his little brother now that they had both become more mature and ceased to get on each others nerves, but the truth was that James only mentioned him less because he now knew exactly why Albus played so often on his mind, and that was a fact that he wasn't prepared to share.

'Anyway,' Caroline continued, 'I remember looking at you then and it was nothing out of the ordinary but it felt somehow different, and I realised in that moment that you weren't just a friend, weren't even just someone I cared about immensely, but rather somebody I loved, was actually in love with for the first time in my life, and suddenly it all made sense- how happy I was whenever you walked into the room, how I wanted you to look at me, and only me, all the time, how time spent with you seemed so valuable, more valuable than any time I'd ever spent with any other friend. Anyway, that's when I figured it out, so when you asked me out and I said yes, that answer had been a while in the making.'

James felt a little guilty then, as the question had developed itself over the course of maybe about 10 minutes, while Caroline's response had been pre-set for years.

'There's my secret.' she finished brightly, 'Now you tell a real one!'

'I'm just not that great at secrets Caroline...'

'What about the same one then, do you remember the moment you fell in love?'

'Yeah...'

He had answered without thinking. He did remember, very clearly, the moment he had realised that he was in love. It had been towards the end of sixth year, after a quidditch game, and Albus had come down from the stands to congratulate him on his win, handing him a bottle of water and telling anyone that would listen 'That's my big brother!'. He had been smiling like being around James made him happier than anything else in the world. James had messed up his hair and pulled him into a hug, thanking him for both the water and the moral support, and he hadn't wanted to let go. Then Albus had left him and he had headed off to the changing rooms, and there was something inside him telling him not to leave, never to leave Al's side if he had the chance, and that was it. He'd already been thinking about Albus in a less-than-brotherly way over the previous month or so, although he'd been trying to push that aside. He'd come to terms with his sexuality not long before, and it seemed logical that perhaps that would lead to unintentional appreciation for any good-looking guys, so he'd suppressed the feelings and hoped they'd go away. This, though, was different. He was in love with his little brother and always would be.

'Well tell me about that then...' Caroline's voice reminded him of the question he was supposed to be answering.

'Actually...' he stuttered, 'I mean no, I mean, I don't know! Look, Caroline, I love you. I've told you that before and you know it's true. The way I look at you, that isn't a lie. And this...' he kissed her for a time, really tried to mean it 'Did that feel fake?' She shook her head a little hesitantly, 'I know that I love you, but I'm just not sure I'm actually in love with you... Yet.'

'Then what were you thinking about a moment ago, when you said you remembered?'

'I just...' he didn't know where to go with that, and before he could over-think it he decided just to tell her the truth (albeit an abridged version) 'Look honestly, I was... I was thinking of somebody else.' '

'You...?' Her face fell as that sunk in 'Oh. I see.' Then after a moment, 'Can I at least know who?'

James remained silent for several seconds, not even attempting to come up with an answer, just hoping this would all go away, until finally Caroline changed her mind.

'No, actually don't worry about it. I don't want to know.'

Still James said nothing.

'So... What does this mean for us?' Caroline asked finally, and James knew it wasn't worth fighting for, because she wanted it so much more than he did.

'Caroline. I love you, and you're my best friend, but this isn't going to work. I'm so sorry!'

'No, it's fine. It isn't your fault. You tried.' She sounded like she was trying to convince herself. 'I just... I hope whoever it is that you're in love with makes you very happy, and I hope she appreciates just how special you are.' James didn't add insult to injury by correcting the pronoun. 'Is it possible to hate somebody you don't even know? Someone who must be awesome, who's won the heart of someone you care about and who never wronged you intentionally in any way. Is it possible to be jealous of someone you've never even seen?'

James knew the question was rhetorical, but answered anyway.

'I think it is.'

'James, I'm sorry.' she said finally, 'Sorry I couldn't leave things be and sorry for getting so upset about it all. I don't want to lose my best friend. We'll still be friends, won't we James?'

The desperation in her voice upset him greatly. She had always been his best friend, that's perhaps all she'd ever really been to him, all she was supposed to be, and he couldn't bear to think that his stupid desire for a girlfriend last year had lost him that.

'I think we will.' he replied.

Nevertheless, he left soon after. He needed to talk to his brother.

'Are you sure?' Albus muttered into the side of Scorpius' neck, breathing in the taste of him and trying desperately to remember that they could stop now and he would be OK with that.

Scorpius was right, it was the perfect opportunity. Al's Mum and Dad were at some Hogwarts reunion function and Lilly was at a friend's place. James was over at Caroline's, which Scorpius had also mentioned, but Albus knew that that made no difference either way. James wouldn't be 'mentally scarred', as Scorpius had put it, were he to walk in on them. At best he would walk away discreetly and allow them their privacy. At worst he would stand hidden in the doorway and watch, which didn't unnerve Albus as much as it probably should have. Either way, the only advantage of his being at Caroline's was that it motivated Albus further to do anything he needed to to push out of his mind the images of what his brother might be doing with that girl, who held no appeal to Albus and with whom James himself had admitted that he wasn't in love. It didn't matter that they were together, and he had to allow his brother that one shred of normalcy, but the thought of what they might be doing was allowed to get on his nerves.

'Absolutely.' Scorpius enunciated, 'I've never been more sure of anything!'

They were in Albus' room, which was for the moment Scorpius' room, spread out on the bed. It had started out as just chatting, and lying in peaceful silence for a moment, feet bumping together near the foot of the bed and lazy smiles gracing both of their faces. Then Scorpius had begun to sing softly, a gentle melody drifting across to Albus' ears, and the Potter boy could have sworn that he'd never heard something so sweet. He understood how that had led to kissing. His hand had somehow ended up clasped in the other boy's as he mouthed light kisses over his shoulders, neck and jawline, finally tasting the young Malfoy's mouth after his song became stuttered and breathless, sealing the last words with his own lips and silencing the other boy in a way that neither minded so much. He felt so in love, so privileged to have been chosen by somebody so sweet and beautiful and endearing, and he could perhaps in that trace his thought patterns in driving their slow, soft kisses into something more heated and passionate.

What Albus failed to remember or understand was when and why the clothes had come off, exactly how he'd got so achingly hard or what precisely has possessed him to crawl down his boyfriends body and take him into his mouth. He had tried and failed to keep his brother's recommendation that he do so from echoing in his mind, tried to ignore the fact that his brother's voice in his head only served to make him harder, to give him more enthusiasm in the movements of his tongue and the grip of his hands on Scorpius' stomach and hips.

At first, the young Hufflepuff had gasped, his head thrown back and fingers stroking almost roughly over Albus' scalp, little stutters of Al and Yes and Just like that reaching the Potter boy's ears from time to time. At first it had seemed as though this was as far as things would be going, which Albus had had no objection to seeing as things rarely made it even this far. Then, when Scorpius was fighting to control the jerky movements of his hips and the other boy was inching his hand up his own thigh, a cloud of lust and compelling need to be touched overshadowing all other thought, Scorpius pushed lightly on Albus' head, then a little harder until the boy pulled back with a groan.

'Did I do something wrong?' The Ravenclaw questioned.

'No. No,' his boyfriend assured, 'the opposite if anything. It's just...' he bit his lip.

'Just...' Al prompted.

'I want you so badly right now!'

'You want me?' Albus teased, 'I think you already have me. I'm naked on your bed and until a second ago I was...'

'You know what I mean.'

Then there had been some token resistance, met with solemn assurance that this was the best time and here they were now, wrapped up in each other, skin on skin all the way up their lanky, teenage bodies, Albus pressing kisses into the side of Scorpius' neck, muttering 'Yes, OK' like a prayer, Scorpius' fingers sliding over the bumps of the others' vertebra, coming to rest on the protrusion of his shoulder bones.

'I mean it, Al, I really do. I want you inside of me now, please just do it!'

That was when it occurred to Albus that they'd never really talked about how they would go about this. He couldn't help but remember James' words the first night after term ended. Bet he feels so good inside of you. Al had never considered that it might be the other way around. It didn't bother him. Quite the opposite. The idea of taking charge, of hovering over the other boy, the feeling of being completely immersed in him, that was almost too much to bear. His heart was racing so fast, even as a blush rose to hide his cheeks and his thumbs stuttered to a shocked halt where they'd been running repeatedly across the Hufflepuff's hip bones as though able to wear down their sharp edges.

'In-inside you?' he stammered automatically, his head still reeling with the unexpectedness of it all.

'Of course.' Scorpius stated, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. 'What did you think I meant? You're still OK with it aren't you?'

'No- I mean yes of course, I just didn't expect, I mean I've never- well I mean I have, but never- I usually...' he began to gesture awkwardly with his hands.

'Usually?' Scorpius cut him off and Albus' hands stilled, face flaming. 'I mean I knew you'd- well, not knew but I suspected you weren't new to all this. You always kind of seemed to know what you were doing and stuff, I just- usually? How much have you actually done this?'

Albus would have flushed further if that were possible, he'd been too flustered and blurted out the first thing that had come to his mind and of course Scorpius would question it. As far as the poor Hufflepuff knew he was his first boyfriend and he'd probably given Al's past experiences more thought than the youngest Potter boy had anticipated. He hurried to fix the situation, back-peddling rapidly before the blond changed his mind about the whole thing.

'Not usually, I didn't mean usually, it was only a handful of times. Not even a handful... a few, I'd say a very few. It doesn't even matter anyway, I just meant that those times I wasn't the one to- well you know. I guess I just hadn't given it much thought that that might be what you wanted- not that I mind, we can do whatever you want, I just meant that this will be new to me too.'

It wouldn't, although he could count on his hands the number of times he and James had been together like that. It just had never seemed right, James was his older brother, his strong, protective older brother and it just worked the other way around. It's how they were. Nevertheless, they were teenage boys so naturally they'd experimented with different options, but that was hardly something Albus was about to confess to his already confused boyfriend. He'd almost said that it would be 'pretty new' to him, but had decided against it, because he'd already decreased his apparent past to a 'very few' times, and in that kind of a situation he supposed everything would be pretty new anyway. He didn't feel entirely comfortable lying but really, what choice did he have?

'Can I ask you something?'

'Anything.'

'Who was it with, those other times.'

James' smile swam through his mind and Al too smiled despite himself. It really couldn't have been anyone else. It's a wonder that nobody had figured it out, the way he became giddy at the mere thought of his brother or the mention of his name, the way the two connected not only through their gazes but with a playful punch to the shoulder, a too-tight hug, a brush of their knees in adjoining chairs, and how each of those fleeting touches seemed to hold all the weight in the world and pull Albus' attention so readily he couldn't for the life of him understand why they didn't draw other eyes as well. Even without the way they behaved around each other, the way they reacted to one another, or even to the mere idea of one another, should be enough. Albus still wondered how nobody saw it. They were the two final pieces of the puzzle, the only thing that made sense, the kind of logic that you couldn't unknow- that from the second you worked it out you wondered how you never saw it before, why you never bothered to question it. It was almost a shame he couldn't share such an obvious truth with someone he cared so much about.

'Just some Slytherin in the year above.' He said instead, 'Nobody special, just convenient really- awful I know but there it is. Not like you...'

Than he lowered his mouth to the other boy's and they were done with talking for a little while longer. From the pressure of Scorpius' lips, the movement of his tongue, the grip of hands on his shoulders like an anchor, the boy was satisfied with his answer. Albus kissed back with as much enthusiasm, losing himself in the feel of the other boy, his taste and smell, the way he moved and breathy sounds he made. Al ran his fingers through Scorpius' blond hair, so unlike James', but then he moaned 'Come on!' in a voice just like Albus' brother's and the Ravenclaw wasn't sure which he preferred.

Albus started to kiss Scorpius' neck then, his tongue running over salty skin. His boyfriend's breath came fast and hot, a mix of nerves and excitement, as Albus urged his legs apart, lay between them and gently bent his knees, allowing his hand to brush briefly over the boy's erection before moving further back, over Scorpius' backside. A hand reached down to grab at Albus' wrist as it inched towards its goal.

'Do you...?'

'Do I...?'

'Do you have... I mean I don't know why you would... I should have thought of this before, but you can't just do it like that, can you? I always thought you'd need lotion or oil or...'

Albus just laughed kindly and took his wand from the bedside table, whispering a spell over his hand. It felt odd to be using that spell. It worked even though he wondered for a moment if it wouldn't. This, also, was James' area of expertise. Scorpius' eyes went wide as a sticky substance coated Al's fingers. Albus just smiled in return, offering no explanation as to how he knew that spell, and offered Scorpius a shy wink as he slowly pushed one finger into him.

The Hufflepuff breathed in sharply. Albus looked down at him with concern and Scorpius smiled up at him, looking only a little uncomfortable, but mostly just disbelieving the he was actually in this situation. After a moment Albus added an additional finger, kissing over his boyfriend's jaw and cheeks and forehead. It took a moment for Scorpius to get used to the feeling, a moment of slow movement and whispered reassurances and Albus' impatience mounting quickly, until finally he was bucking into the touch, chasing the feeling of the fingers inside of him, and Albus was sliding in a third finger, still mouthing at his jaw but no longer putting in the effort to form kisses, listening to a voice that was distinctly Scorpius' murmuring 'Yes, Al, yes...' and willing himself to hold off a little longer, almost there, almost there...

'Go on, Al, I'm ready.' Scorpius muttered finally, and Albus didn't hesitate to remove his fingers and slide slowly, glacially into Scorpius, stilling once he was inside him to once again capture his lips in a messy kiss, tongues sliding together and his teeth brushing lightly over the other boy's bottom lip as he pulled away for air.

'Move.' Scorpius instructed, his voice deep and breathy, the word barely more than a whisper but stated with such assurance that Albus could barely bring himself to question it.

'You sure?' he asked anyway, just in case.

'Absolutely, just do something!' the other insisted.

Al didn't need to be asked again, and began to rock his hips against his boyfriend, beginning slow and shallow but gradually increasing in both pace and force. It wasn't like those few times that he'd done this with James. It didn't feel awkward or unnatural, didn't feel like he was forcing this. This was where he belonged, what he was supposed to be doing, Al was sure of this and, further to that, he knew that he wouldn't be quite as enthusiastic about it all if their roles were reversed. By the look of bliss on Scorpius' face and the way that he pushed back against Albus, he guessed that his boyfriend felt the same.

'Al... wow...I...mmm...just...oh...its...'

'Yeah...it is...isn't it?' Al chuckled breathlessly, peppering kisses over Scorpius' shoulders, the other boy's mouth hanging open.

Scorpius hands rested firmly on Al's lower back, tugging him closer. Al's own hand's were below Scorpius' hips, one stroking him enthusiastically, the other squeezing at one of the boy's thighs. They murmured to each other, little encouragements and endearments, smiling and laughing breathlessly like children playing a game. Al was giddy with the new feeling, the less familiar sight and smell of Scorpius beneath him, the sound of the other boy's panting breaths, the feel of his legs wrapped around Al's own hips, that thin, pale face so different from his own. He knew even beforehand that he couldn't last nearly as long as he usually did, had no self-control left to exercise.

Sure enough it was all over fairly quickly, but with the intensity of it all Al could hardly complain. Before long he found himself lying by Scorpius' side with his face buried in his shoulder and a hand carding through his hair, and he felt so in love at that moment, like this boy was the answer to any question he may ever have, like he was made to lie beside him. Because perhaps James was his adjoining puzzle piece, but even at the corner a puzzle fits together on two sides.

'Al!' Jame's voice from near the front door jolted both boy's out of their near-sleep. 'Al, where the hell are you? Caroline and I just broke up and I realy need you to be my brother right now. Al!'

'What does he mean?' Scorpius muttered drowsily from beside him, 'Aren't you always his brother?'

Albus muttered something noncommittal and got out of the bed, dressing hurriedly.

'I need to go talk to him, I'll be back, OK?'

He bent to place a quick kiss on Scorpius' mouth and then left the room in search of his brother.

Sorry this took so long to update, and sorry in advance that this is likely to continue to have very sporadic updates. I know that you guys are waiting on me for updates, and I don't really want to leave this unfinished, but I've been a little unsure lately where I sit on the whole writing-somewhat-perverted-fanfiction issue (as a Christian, that is). I mean, I always thought it was OK because its all fictional, but I've been feeling less and less comfortable about it. Not that this affects you guys at all, just thought you ought to know why it took so long...