Albus stormed down the corridors of Hogwarts, his footsteps against the stone echoing all around. With every step he thought on his mother's advice. Be brave. Be true. Be honest. Could he really be all these things? Could he really tell Scorpius how he felt? Or rather, how he thought he felt. His mind was swimming with hypothetical scenarios and conversations as Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, glided past him.
"Good evening, young Potter." The ghost called, giving a slight wave of his translucent hand before gliding through a nearby stone wall and disappearing. What Albus would give right now to be ghost, to be a spectator to all of this and not have to return to the dungeons. With that thought, Albus noticed that he was dragging his heels slightly and with a sigh quickened his pace.
Out the corner of his eye he could see various portraits gathering together in hushed whispers as he passed. Clearly gossip spread quick around Hogwarts, even through the portraiture. He heard one whisper his mother's name and another gasp but they quickly dispersed once Albus had shot them an icy glare. As he approached the stairwell leading down to the dungeons, Albus recognised the long, vomit coloured robes ascending the stairway towards him. For a moment he panicked and started to turn away in the opposite direction but it was too late.
"Mr Potter!" Professor Gideon called, rushing towards Albus, sweat coating his wrinkled forehead, "Good to see you again!"
Albus froze and turned back to face the Professor who had almost gotten him killed twice last semester through carelessness and reckless decisions. Albus took a deep breath, pushed the anxious swirling feeling into the pit of his stomach and met Professor Gideon's curious, frantic gaze.
"Professor…I didn't realise y-you were back." Albus stuttered, failing to calm his nerves.
"Ah, yes, nasty business that. Been interrogated by the Ministry more in the past month than in my entire life! I imagine you're feeling right as rain after that fall?" he asked, eyes darting around Albus but never landing on Albus' eyes for more than a few seconds.
"Madam Pomfrey can work miracles." Albus said, gritting his teeth.
"Quite right. Good work you did fixing the ceiling. Looks just like before!" Professor Gideon beamed, dabbing at his forehead with a dirty handkerchief.
"Actually, Professor McGonagall fixed it." Albus countered, wanting to run past the Professor and down to the security of the Slytherin dungeons. Just out of reach, Albus could see the air wavering slightly at the heat rising from below and at this moment he would happily be sweating it out with Scorpius down there.
"Remarkable woman she is! Bit stern but remarkable no less. Hm, I did have a favour to ask of you, Potter."
Albus felt his heart stop for a moment and he began shaking his head furiously and waving his arms around like he had no control of them.
"No, Professor. No offence but the last two favours you asked didn't exactly end well." Albus protested but Professor Gideon waved off his concerns just as he had previously done.
"Dear boy, I can assure you, you will come out of this unscathed and handsomely rewarded I might add!"
"I-" Albus began again but the Professor had already sidestepped him and was disappearing towards the Great Hall.
"My office, tomorrow evening, Potter. Come alone!" he added and Albus heaved a sigh of relief to be alone again but was completely frustrated at having been roped into another one of Gideon's dangerous plans. He wouldn't have enough time to send an owl to his parents and the Headmistress would just ask why he hadn't flat out refused. Perhaps he would ignore the Professor's last request and bring Scorpius along anyway. Maybe James too. After all, misery does love company. Albus sighed again and continued on down to the dungeons. The blast of hot air hit him immediately and he could already feel the sweat forming on the back of his neck. Each step down raised his body temperature and as he approached the stone passageway to the common room, Albus was sure that Finlay had completely failed in trying to reverse the failed heating charm. If anything, it seemed to be warming up even further. Albus wandered through the deserted common room and into the fifth year boys' dormitory, where everyone was laying on their beds in various stages of undress, desperately trying to keep cool against the stifling heat.
Scorpius was on his back on his bed with eyes pressed firmly closed, and the hanging curtains pulled mostly across. His hair was damp with sweat and his t-shirt soaked through and lifted slightly over his abdomen to allow any non-existent breeze to cool him down. Scorpius didn't open his eyes as Albus crept over to his own bed and slipped out of jeans. The heat was almost unbearable in the dormitories and the large glass windows had all fogged up completely so it felt positively like a sauna.
Albus sat on the edge of his bed and blew air up from his mouth to his forehead, using his bottom lip as a funnel. It was to little avail as the air that came out of his mouth was warm anyway. Over on the far bunk, a boy named Roger had his wand pointed at his shin and he was muttering something under his breath, a look of relief momentarily crossing his face as blue light trickled from the end of his wand. Albus looked around at the others and noticed that those who weren't trying to sleep through it were doing the same spell, with relative degrees of success. He glanced again to Scorpius, his mouth hanging open, almost panting against the hot air. Albus got to his feet and knelt on the edge of Scorpius' bed, without his friend stirring. He grabbed his wand from the bedside table and muttered 'Glacius' feeling his hand chill at once. Little intricate patterns of ice crystals wove their way up the handle of his wand and over the tip as a faint blue light hummed out of it. He pressed the tip of his wand to his temple and felt relieved almost immediately, it was as though a snowman were pressing his icy fingers along Albus' forehead, letting his brain cool down and he even noticed that his breath came out as a chilly mist. Reluctantly, he pulled the wand away from his own head, leaned down and pressed it to the middle of Scorpius' chest.
A look of unbridled pleasure crossed his face and his lips turned up into a little smile as Albus' freezing spell coursed through Scorpius' body. Albus lightly grazed his wand down Scorpius' chest and to his exposed stomach, for a moment wanting to dip it lower, but he thought better of it and traced his wand back up to Scorpius' forehead. The little beads of sweat above his eyebrows froze over into tiny bulbs of ice and Scorpius opened his eyes slowly to look at his friend, now leaning over him with his wand pressed against his head. Scorpius reached up and pressed his hand to Albus' cheek. His skin was cool and Albus pressed back against his hand. They held there for a moment, not moving, and Albus was thankful that Scorpius had pulled his curtains around his bed so that no one would be able to see them. As Albus was resting his face against Scorpius' hand, his wand slipped from place and the spell faded, leaving them both at the mercy of the unrelenting heat once more.
"More." Scorpius whispered, almost begging, "Please, Albus."
Albus cast him a lazy smile and placed his wand back on Scorpius' forehead, whispering the incantation more forcefully this time. The blue light trembled and flooded the entire bed, before entering Scorpius and chilling him once more. Without thought or hesitation, Albus lifted his left leg up and swung it over Scorpius' torso, straddling him. Scorpius was stunned for a second, feeling Albus' weight pressing down on his chest wasn't as uncomfortable as he would've thought and he decided to take his chance. Leaning up from where he lay, with Albus' wand still pressed to his forehead and still with the freezing spell coursing through his veins, he pressed his cold lips to Albus' and held him there for several long, pleasant minutes. Albus ran his free hand up the back of Scorpius' neck and grabbed a handful of his damp hair, pushing them closer together. Still tangled together but lips broken apart, Scorpius reached over and grabbed his own wand from where it lay next to him. He pressed his lips against the hollow of Albus' throat and whispered 'Glacius', pressing his wand against the base of Albus' spine.
They shivered together for a moment, their bodies straining against one another, quickly cooling and leaving fine mist hanging around them.
It was a long, icy night in Scorpius' bunk.