A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy and review! Oh by the way, some time has passed since the last chapter.

The Stinging Kiss:

Albus brushed off the dirt that soaked his Quidditch robes, watching his team brush it off, too. The changing room was filled with the scent of determination and sweat, a scent Albus had become very accustomed to.

"I'm going to kill you, Albus," Lily snapped as she pulled off her boots and let mud slop onto the ground. She glared at her brother with utmost intensity. Obviously practice in the pouring rain wasn't part of her ideal Saturday.

"Lily, darling," Albus drawled, "you couldn't take me."

She slapped him on the arm. "Oh, please."

He laughed, throwing a bit of mud on her robes. "Gotcha!"

Then with that, he ran from the room, dodging the mud his sister hurled at him. Her laughs echoed after him as he scurried into the October, cats-and-dogs rain.

"There you are," Rose said, irritated. From one aggravated girl to another, Albus thought with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, you fool."

She seized his arm and towed him through the rain with fingers of iron and a growling stomach that matched his own.

The rain made the trip back to the castle nearly impossible to see, and nearly impossible to accomplish. Their feet slipped at every mud puddle, the brownish liquid sticking to their boots and the hems of their robes.

"This weather is the worst," Rose shouted over the waterfall rain. "I can't see how you can practice in this!"

Albus grinned at his cousin. "You wouldn't know, Rose; you're no Quidditch player."

She gave him a look that made the smile on Albus's face falter before entering the castle. Warmth and dry air greeted them within the towering walls of the Entrance hall. They quickly shook off the excess mud of their clothing and shoes, and Rose performed a charm to dry off their robes.

"Thanks, Rose," he said gratefully, hugging his newly warmed robes to his body. He did a small spin on his heel, smiling broadly at his cousin, who just stared with bored eyes.

"Don't expect me to do it again anytime soon," Rose growled, tucking her mahogany wand away. Then she swept her robes like a cape—rather dramatically, Albus thought—and headed for the rumbling Great Hall without a backward glance.

Albus headed in the same direction but kept distance between him and his moody cousin. The wizard may be a bit thick at times but he wasn't dumb—or at least he thought so—enough to crawl into the lion's den, and besides, he wasn't partial to getting his head bitten off.

"I'm serious, Albus," Rose snapped. "Next time you have a Quidditch match, I am not coming to watch you."

"Please, you didn't have to come outside and wait for me. I mean, you could've just waited in the Entrance Hall," Albus countered, rendering a red-faced Rose Weasley speechless. Her lip curled; Rose really didn't like losing an argument, especially one with her cousin.

"I was trying to be nice! The least you could do is say thankyou!"

"I did, Rose Weasley," Albus huffed, throwing his hands in the air in defeat. The two walked down a hall towards the Gryffindor common room, their feet echoing throughout the stony surfaces.

Rose shot him glare, and in return, acquired one from the green-eyed boy. "You're impossible," he cried, taking longer strides, not waiting for his cousin to catch up.

Rose continued her slow stroll, watching as Albus's feet stomped ahead, frustrated. She had officially accomplished the art of getting under her cousin's skin; right then, she was proud of this fact, usually the boy was unfazed.

Soon, they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, speaking the password ("Treacle Tart"), and they were permitted into the golden-and-red common room that was the Gryffindor Tower. Rose, having tumbled many times through the portrait hole, focused on her steps as she entered into the friendly smells and sounds.

That was her mistake because, a moment later, Albus stopped abruptly as if he were a wind up toy that had run out of power, sending an already cross Rose into his robed back. Anger flared within her and she was about to shout into his ears—she hoped he would go deaf—but then she saw what Albus saw. And what Rose gawked at deflated the anger and the annoyance, for what she saw was none other than Scorpius and Lena with lips locked in a gentle kiss. They stood off to the side, near the glowing embers of the fireplace, going unnoticed by every Gryffindor save the two cousins.

"Albus," Rose started, grabbing at his arm. "Albus, I—"

Her cousin cut her off, turning to face her with a ghostly white face. He spoke harshly, "Just shush, Rose."

With that, he pushed past her, gently removing her arm from his own, leaving the way he had entered. She glanced back at the couple once more before chasing after her cousin, knowing he was in need of comforting. Cursing as she went, Rose hastened out of the common room and into the vacant corridor. Albus could be fast when he wanted to be.

Once out, the girl didn't waste any time walking but sprinted straight off, following the fresh mud prints left behind by her cousin.

"Hey, young girl, stop running the corridor!" the portraits scolded as she raced past. Ignoring their frantic cries entirely, she focused on the slowly drying prints and the small shadow ahead that was Albus Potter.

"Albus!" Rose called to him once, but she knew the efforts were fruitless. She had to catch him to talk to him.

The chase continued until Rose reached the Entrance Hall, where the prints seemed to vanish. Standing in the middle of the vacuous Hall, feeling incredibly foolish, she scanned the room, desperately searching for clues. Then she noticed the door that led to the grounds; it was opened just a crack.

With hope, Rose sauntered over to the door and peeked out into the roaring rain, her hands trembling from a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. She gasped as she spotted one dark haired, terribly tall Albus, standing on the stairs, shoulders sagging in a dejected stance.

"Albus!" she hurried down the granite steps, stopping feet from him, deciding he deserved some breathing room. "Are you alright, cousin?"

She heard him sigh softly. "Look at me, Rose, I'm such a…" he reached for the right word, "a drama queen, perfectly pathetic. It's just…" he paused, again, to take a wobbly breath, "I wasn't expecting it and me… I have to be honest, Rose, I really hate it. And I mean, really hate it. What am I supposed to do? I'm just a damn third wheel, a friend. And see, I couldn't even tolerate one simple, little kiss. Imagine if she got married to him? I just can't take it anymore."

He kept his back to her as he spoke, voice brutal and exhausted. Rose reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I don't think you're a pathetic drama queen. You're actually quite the opposite, Albus, and I'm completely proud to have you as a cousin, no matter what I said today. And besides, Al, it is very unlikely Lena will marry Scorpius. I mean, we are only sixth years, for Merlin's sake! So don't worry, she'll come around in time, who could resist you in all your glory?"

Albus twisted to face her with a watery smile on his lips, pain—as well as relief—reflecting in his eyes. Rose's heart swelled. She had actually helped him feel better, an accomplishment that she could be proud of instead of her earlier revelation. She grinned at her cousin, feeling a bond being built between the pair.

Albus scratched his hair. "Thanks… Rose. You're… You're really good at making someone feel better, you know? I really appreciate it."

"I'm pleased to help," she told him. "Want to go in now? This rain is getting a bit ridiculous."

He deliberated for a moment then shook his head slowly. "I'm going to stay out awhile, I—I'm scared to go into the common room," his voice cracked. "But you can go in."

Rose peered into his eyes and saw the distance, the need to contemplate, the want to wait out the storm—metaphorically, of course—so she nodded and bid him goodbye.

As she reached the top of the steps, she glanced back at him, making sure he was fine, and he was, with his shoulders no longer drooping as much and his head was held up instead of bent in defeat. She smiled sadly, slithering into the open door.

Albus sighed with deep hurt but in a way, with alleviation as well. The talk with his cousin had gone better than he expected, originally he thought she would just yell at him at how pitiful he was acting, but he was mistaken. Pain still sliced at his insides as he flashed back to moments before in the common room. Even thinking of it sent a sting through his mind and ice into his veins.

Right then, he was beyond envy, beyond jealousy, he was in the zone of hurt, waiting for the pain to stop and the anger to begin. He clutched his stomach, staring into the depths of the Forbidden Forest, oblivious to everything but the hammering rain that drenched his robes and hair.

"Well," a voice said behind him, "I really believed you were smarter than this."

Albus whirled to find a shadow, approaching him with a wand extended threateningly. "What the hell?" he asked when he saw who the shadow belonged to, but that was all he was able to say before he was struck by flying curse.

A/N: Uh-oh! Hope you like it! This is sort of a segue into the next chapter, so you'll just have to wait for that! Reviews, please, please, please! :)