Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be(sadly)

18. The first time Al cried because of Scorpius

After Albus Potter exited the infirmary, he proceeded to slump down in the nearest alcove and cry his eyes out. Now, Al was never very partial to crying, but at the moment, he felt rather justified. Of course, he'd been about to tell Scorpius that they couldn't do anything because it would ruin their friendship, but still…

How could he not remember? What bloody potion did Madame Pomfrey give Scorpius that was so potent it made him lose his memory? And why in the world did this bother Al so much? He'd been ready and willing--or if not completely willing, then at least ready--to tell Scorpius that it was all off. So why did the fact that Scorpius didn't even remember it make him feel like his entire blood supply had been replaced with ice?

With no options left, Al decided to give Rose another visit. She would know what to do, or if not, then she'd at least listen when Al complained about his feelings. Urgh, honestly, apparently Al didn't do anything half way. When he was a fairy, he was really a fairy.

However, when he got to the Ravenclaw door, the person that answered said Rose wasn't there. And, after checking the library, Al was forced to conclude that Rose was probably in Hufflepuff with Lysander. Since that meant they were probably snogging--or Lysander was spouting some nonsense that Rose would disprove with her facts and science--Al decided that, in lieu of better company, he would have to visit Lily.

Lily, being the lovable slag she was, had been in so many relationships--or at least that was what Al hoped they were, instead of one-offs--in the few months she'd been at Hogwarts, that Al figured she had to have some sort of advice for him.

When he got up to the Gryffindor Tower, he told the Fat Lady the password--he, for some reason, always knew it--and entered a place that probably should be enemy territory.

Upon walking into the common room, he found his little first year sister snogging someone Al knew to be in James's year. Al, of course, told the boy that he wouldn't kill him, but if he didn't let go of Lily immediately, James might find out.

James being the great and terrible Gryffindor he was, was enough motivation for the boy to hightail his way out of there. Lily, surprisingly, didn't looked too upset.

"Merlin, that boy was a bad kisser. I thought older boys would mean more experience but I guess I was wrong," said Lily. As she reapplied her lip gloss, Al took a moment to feel nauseous over the fact that Lily was telling him about her love life. Then, Lily snapped her strange makeup thing shut and looked up at him. "So, what do you need? I was going to try snogging--"

Al put up his hands. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I do not want to hear who you are snogging next. I mean, Merlin, it was bad enough when you were just attacking Scorpius with your Lily kisses, but I do not need to hear that my little sister has a love life. In my mind you are still that six year old who asked if Uncle Neville was preggers because he had gained some weight."

"Al!" hissed Lily. "Shut up! I was six. Look, if all you're going to do is embarrass me, then could you please get out?"

"Right, sorry. I actually came because I need your advice."

"Really? Why aren't you asking Rose? Is it because there has finally come a time where I am the smartest redhead?" asked Lily. Her eyes lit up.

"Nope, sorry. Actually, Rose is probably off arguing with Lysander, and I didn't think she'd want me to interrupt that. They're a bit crazy with their arguing."

Lily nodded sagely; she didn't seem too upset. "That they are. Anyway, what do you need advice on?" Lily stared thoughtfully at Al for just a second, before clapping her hands. "Ooh! Lemme guess: You're having relationship problems with…a bloke."

"How did you know?!" asked Al. He looked at Lily with something akin to surprise…and also a tad bit of fear. Lily laughed at him.

"Let's just say you aren't my only clueless brother." Before Al had time to process what that meant, Lily was grabbing his hand. "Come on, this corner is quieter."

When they sat down again, Lily rested her head on her knee and stared quizzically at Al. "So, who is it?…Oh!" There was a pause. "Oh! Is it…Scorpius?"

"Merlin, Lily, you're very nearly as scary as Mum, did you know that? How did you guess?" asked Al. Lily, surprisingly enough, was one of the only people that knew what he was thinking or feeling about 90% of the time. She was a bit like Rose in that respect.

"I was at the game yesterday. I've fancied enough boys to know it went I see it. You've got it bad," said Lily. She adjusted her head. "So, what's the matter? He doesn't like you back? Or are you too much of a pansy to admit your feelings?"

"Oi! Watch it, missy, I'm still your big brother! If I have to, I'll give Dad a comprehensive list of all the blokes you've snogged. I'm sure he'd like to meet with them each, personally!" Lily's face paled.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I respect and admire you?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. It'd take a lot for me to tell Dad, seeing as he'd probably make me help him kill them all, and surprisingly enough, the inside of an Azkaban prison cell isn't on my list of One Hundred Places to Visit Before I Turn Eighteen." Al shook his head. "Anyway, neither of those reasons is why I need your advice."

"Oh? Then, what is it?"

"Last night, I told Scorpius…how I felt about him." You are such a fairy! "And then we snogged."

"Wait, what?" Lily asked. Her face paled again. "You do realize this means that we've snogged the same bloke, right?"

"That, my dear sister, is too disturbing to even think about. So, I will instead try to finish my story." Lily waved her approval. "As I was saying. We snogged. However, after I left, I realized that it would probably completely ruin our friendship, and so I decided to go back and tell him, but when I got there…"

"Ooh! Was he snogging someone else?" asked Lily. Al shook his head impatiently.

"No, of course not…he…he doesn't remember our kiss," whispered Al. Lily stared at him for about two seconds before bursting into laughter.

It took Al five minutes to get her calmed down, but finally she was able to speak. "I…never thought you'd be a g--good kisser, but…I--I didn't think you'd be so forgettable!"

"Oi! Shut up! He's forgotten nearly the entirety of last night, because of some bloody potion Pompfrey made him take."

For a few moments, Lily just stared at Al. Then she shook her head. "Well, I don't know why exactly you need advice. I mean, you were planning on ending it, yeah?"

"Well, yeah, but--"

"No buts! Look, I'm going to give you the same advice as I gave Jamie: Move on. Find another bloke, or a chick, if that's how you wanna pretend to swing. Just don't dwell on it any longer, okay? I can't say for certain that it will be better, but you certainly won't waste time to figure out what you want to do." Lily sighed. "Allie, I love you, okay? But you are the biggest worrywart I have ever met. Just listen to me for once."

Al sat for several moments, just thinking. Finally, he had made a decision. "Okay, Lils. You're right. I'm going to find a new person to fancy. Thanks."

"Don't mention it!…Actually, seriously don't mention it. We wouldn't want my reputation to be ruined." Lily shuddered. "The second people start thinking I actually know a thing or two about relationships is the second people will want to have one with me. And as Lily Potter settles down for no man(or woman) that would probably turn ugly."

There was nothing left for Al in Gryffindor, so he bade Lily goodbye, and set out for Slytherin, hoping to find someone to take his mind off of Sc--everything.

19. The first time Scorpius caught Al in a compromising position.

Scorpius, having been successfully cured by Madame Pomfrey, was making his way back to the dungeons when he heard a noise. He hadn't been paying very much attention to his surroundings, as his mind was in other places. Such as the place where he wondered why Al hadn't visited him in the past four days. He had seemed upset when he'd left, but Scorpius never imagined he was upset enough to ignore Scorpius completely. It was rather upsetting to Scorpius, as his only visitor, then, was Rose. While Scorpius enjoyed Rose's company--and the company of her books--she wasn't Al. Al, with his easy smile and the laugh that made him sound like a crazed hyena. Al, who'd never even think of betraying a friend. Al who--

Scorpius had noticed the noise now, and when he turned, he found two people sitting in an alcove, attached at the mouth. Scorpius stumbled backwards, and the two people detached themselves from each other and turned to stare at him.

Scorpius bowed his head, about to mumble an apology and get as far away from the two as he possibly could, when he realized just who it was that he had seen. He'd recognize that terribly messy black hair anywhere.

Something in Scorpius's blood ran cold, and, though he moved his mouth, he made no noise. He wanted desperately to move, but his feet appeared to be rooted to the spot.

"Scorpius?"

The sound of his name released him from his spell, and without sparing another glance at A--the two people, he ran away, as fast as he possibly could.

Don't think, don't think, don't think, don--

"Malfoy? Is that you? Fuck, you look awful!" Scorpius nearly groaned. Of course, it would be his luck that he'd run into James, of all people. James, who was Al but taller and redheaded.

Scorpius raised his head, staring up at the eldest Potter. He was certainly not one to talk, as his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was void of all color.

"I'm fine," muttered Scorpius. James looked skeptical, but he merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, I was looking for Al, but now that you're here, I can just pass this message along to you."

Scorpius swallowed. James was expecting him to actually talk to Al? Don't be stupid, Scorpius, of course you're going to talk to Al. He's your best friend, and the fact that you caught him snogging with a bloke doesn't change that.

"Hullo? Malfoy, did you hear even a word of what I just said?" asked James. He waved a hand in front of Scorpius's face.

"Did you know that Al was gay?" Scorpius clapped a hand over his mouth and stared up at James with wide eyes.

James looked pensive. "Is he now?" James muttered something that sounded like Gran really isn't getting any Potter grandchildren.

"Wait a minute," said James. His eyes narrowed, and he made an annoyed noise. "You don't have a problem with that, do you? Are you a bloody homophobe?"

"No, no of course not, too many Malfoys have been gay for me to be prejudiced against such a thing," said Scorpius. He shook his head and gestured to James. "There was something you wanted?"

James nodded furiously before reaching into his pocket and extracting a note. He then handed it to Scorpius.

"Now, you need to give this to Al as soon as you can, okay? If he asks, tell him that…it's about the thing we talked about before. He should know what I'm talking about," said James. James then waved. "I need to be off; Quidditch and all that."

"Right, er, James?"

"Yes, Malfoy?"

"You don't…it doesn't bother you that Al is a…a poufter?" James gave Scorpius an undecipherable look before shaking his head.

"Of course not, Malfoy. That would be ridiculously hypocritical," said James. Then, quicker than a snap, James was gone, and Scorpius was left confused, once more.

Author's Note: Hello, all! Sorry this update took longer than usual, but I have been obsessively reading fanfiction, which caused my brain melted into a puddle of squee and I just got back to normal, so, yeah.

Have any of you seen Alice in Wonderland? I just saw that, and I wondered what others thought of it. Personally I love Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman's voice makes my head fog up...*ahem*

Anyway, Reviews=Love.