"They dated."
"Yes."
"For a year."
"For a year, yes."
"And we're the only ones who know."
"The only ones, yes."
"They dated."
Scorpius shook his head at a still slack jawed Albus. "Don't make me go through this for a third time, Al. Our dads dated. That's why your dad has such ill will toward mine."
"Well, I suppose I see what my dad saw in yours." Albus grinned devilishly. "Now that I know what you're going to grow into..."
"Please don't talk about my father like that ever again," Scorpius said in a stern tone, though he was smiling. "And I won't talk about yours."
Albus shuddered. "Agreed. So we do have a plan, then?"
Scorpius nodded. "The ceremony is set for the 16th of January. Your father will be receiving his owl notifying him of the commendation sometime this week."
"That's wonderful." Albus brushed a kiss against Scorpius' cheek. "I wonder how soon I'll hear from him after that."
Very soon, it turned out. His father's Thursday afternoon letter referenced a correspondence he'd received earlier that morning. His dad asked if he, Lily, Hugo, Rose, and—Albus' heart soared—Scorpius would be able to attend the ceremony. His father had already talked with James via Floo network, and James was begging off of a game or two to come as well.
"So your mum told him about us, then?"
"Apparently," said Albus, tucking away the letter, knowing he wouldn't simply discard this particular note. The two of them were at the shore of the lake, keeping warm with a contained blue fire and the comfort of each other's arms around their shoulders. Exams had ended that morning, and since they'd both be going home for Christmas, they were squeezing in as much private time as possible till the next day. Albus had been invited to Malfoy Manor for New Year's through the conclusion of their break, but he hadn't yet asked his parents. Sure, his father was being more understanding than before, but a trip to the Malfoys' house might be taking things a touch too far.
"And all this before he finds out my dad did it," Scorpius said. "Maybe we didn't have to be quite so elaborate."
"Maybe not," agreed Albus. "But it was kind of fun, right?"
"A good distraction, I suppose." Scorpius took a silver case out of one of his pockets. Its intricate carvings featured his family's name and crest. Albus didn't think the Potters even had a crest and was thus mildly jealous of Scorpius. Ifwestaytogether,youcanshareit, he thought to himself, and just the image of an older Scorpius by his side gave him a warm feeling all over.
"My dad gave this to me today," said Scorpius. "It's a cigarette case. I found out he smokes. He wouldn't give me any cigarettes, though. Said he didn't want me to get addicted. He put this note for you in there instead. Don't know why I don't get any special letters today."
Albus laughed. "You got your crest emblazoned on a silver case. That's pretty cool, right?"
Albus unfolded the note, skimmed its contents, and tucked it away with the other letter, blushing.
"What, I don't get to know what it says?" Scorpius' tone was teasing. "This one's private, then?"
"I think you'd just be embarrassed. It's about how great you are and how great I ought to be." Albus was telling the truth. Mostly.
Scorpius looked mollified. "Well, that's all true enough," he said. "Oh, I know we said we were going to spend as much time together as possible today, but I told Andy and Lorcan we might be up for a round of Two A Side. Is that OK with you?"
"Course," said Albus. "It's cute that you were worried it wouldn't be OK, though."
"Stuff it."
"Hard to take you seriously when we're snuggling, my dear."
"Oh, shove off." Scorpius kissed him then, and Albus lay back on the shoreline, letting go of any worries of getting caught snogging his boyfriend on very public school property.
"I love you, you know," Scorpius murmured against Albus' throat. "And I'm looking much more forward to going to the prefects' baths after Two A Side than the game itself."
Albus smiled and held Scorpius just a little bit tighter, breathing him in. He always smelled like some combination of mint and pine and maybe citrus, and he tasted even better. How had Albus gotten so lucky, catching the attention of a boy like this?
"I love you too," he said to Scorpius, running his hands up and down the boy's back. "We should go, shouldn't we?"
"We still have about six minutes to get to the pitch."
"And the pitch is at least six minutes away."
Scorpius sighed and got up, pulling Albus along with him. The game was easier this time than last; the win felt effortless, probably due to the connection between Albus and Scorpius. Though Albus could not quite explain it, he could anticipate Scorpius' movements and decisions better than those of any other. As a result, rather than squeaking out a victory, they plainly demolished the Lovegoods.
"Brilliant, right?" Albus grinned at Scorpius, whose hair had been dusted with snow as they played, making it appear even whiter than usual. "And you're sure the rest of the prefects have gone home?" He lowered his voice when he asked that question.
"All but your dear cousin, and she'll stay out of our way." Scorpius laughed. "Relax, Al. When have you not known me to plan ahead?"
As Scorpius had said, the prefects' bath was blissfully empty.
"Should've trusted you," sighed Albus as he slid down into the water. "You are going to join me, aren't you?"
No matter how well he knew Scorpius—and that, Albus thought, was pretty damn well—he still had it in him to surprise his boyfriend. This time, he did that by behaving almost shyly as he slipped out of his clothes and into the tub.
"You realize this is nothing I haven't seen before, right?"
Scorpius laughed. "It's just, I don't know, this is different from the bed. This is ... this is more intimate somehow."
"Well, we are both completely naked rather than just mostly."
"Right."
"And someone could walk in at any time."
Scorpius shook his head. "Door's magically locked. And I've got a silencing charm on there. Just in case," he said sheepishly as Albus laughed and scooted nearer to the boy. Though Albus' frame was slight, he had always been just a little bit bigger than Scorpius, and Scorpius fit so neatly in his arms that he imagined that was precisely why he'd been made as big as he was. He put his arms around Scorpius, who put his head against Albus' chest.
"I know we said we were going to have sex down here," said Scorpius, sounding far off, even dreamy. "But could we just hold each other like this?" He slid his arms around Albus. "Forever, maybe?"
Albus laughed softly. "Forever, maybe not. But holding each other, that, I think I'm OK with."
Saying goodbye was strange. Having never had a boyfriend before, Albus wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Did he promise to write? That seemed dumb. They'd only be apart for a couple weeks, a little more than that. Did he kiss him? Well, that seemed obvious. And at this particular time, what was he supposed to do about Scorpius' Christmas present? Should he save that for later, or pass it off to him as they left the Hogwarts Express?
Scorpius alleviated Albus' anxiety by telling him his gift wasn't ready yet and they could exchange them when they got back from the holidays. And in the compartment Scorpius had snagged at the back of the train, there was plenty of snogging to be done all the way to King's Cross. By the time they got to London, Albus' lips felt swollen and he'd been thoroughly groped—in a welcome way, of course, but groped nonetheless.
"That's to tide me over, then?" Albus grinned as the boys gathered up their trunks and walked out onto the platform, on the hunt for their respective sets of parents.
"As if I ever could. You're insatiable."
"You know me. Oh, I see my auntie and uncle. That means my parents can't be far behind. Do you want to meet them? Proper this time?"
"Seems a bit much."
"Nope. You're going to meet them again." Albus dragged Scorpius toward his mum and dad, who said hello warmly. Albus' mum even gave him a hug, which Albus could tell thrilled Scorpius, but you'd never know it from how level his expression remained.
"We should be going," said Albus' dad just as Scorpius' parents approached. Both of them hugged Scorpius, and then Albus, even though Albus had never met Scorpius' mother. Now he could see that good looks were inescapable in the Malfoy family; his mum was every bit as good looking as Scorpius, as was his father. Albus ran his hand over his permanently messy black hair self-consciously. Scorpius squeezed his hand and, smiling, gestured toward the brisk nods their fathers were exchanging.
"Better than nothing, right?" Scorpius kissed Albus swiftly. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Only 17 days. Or less. Ask your parents. I love you. Did I say that?"