QLFC Round 11 – Seasons Greetings;
Cannons, Captain: Write a slice of life story set on a summer's day.

AN: I mention some events that happen in Cursed Child, so if you don't want to be spoiled then don't read :)

A Miserable Exam

Albus sighed as he rested his chin on his knees and looked out across the Great Lake. It was always so calming, so peaceful to just sit and watch the water, especially when the sky was clear and the summer sun was beating down, warming everything around. Occasionally, the Giant Squid would make an appearance, but so far he had stayed hidden within the depths, and Albus hadn't glimpsed so much as a tentacle.

"How did it go?" he asked when he heard Scorpius' footsteps behind him.

Albus turned his head as he felt Scorpius sit down beside him, their arms touching slightly. Scorpius didn't look happy. In fact, Albus would go so far as to say he looked downright miserable.

Scorpius picked up a nearby rock and threw it towards the water. Albus jumped slightly as the rock broke the surface, the sound startling him despite expecting it.

"That bad, huh?" he asked.

Scorpius found another rock and a second later it hit the water with a loud crash.

It wasn't until Scorpius had run out of rocks and started pulling things out of his bag to throw that Albus stopped him, leaning over to take Scorpius' hands in his own.

"Talk to me," Albus said. "What happened?"

"I completely blanked," Scorpius told him. "There were about three questions I remembered the answer to, the rest completely disappeared from my mind. Then the practical part wasn't much better."

"It can't have been that bad." Albus started tracing comforting circles on the back of Scorpius' hand. "You're brilliant at Charms!"

Scorpius just sighed.

"Okay," Albus said after a moment. "Let's talk through the exam. What did you put for the incantation of the counter charm to the cheering charm?"

"That said counter charm? Fuck! I just read it as charm."

Scorpius pulled his hands from Albus' and searched for a rock. His hand made contact with the edge of a book and it was flying through the air before Albus had a chance to stop him. Luckily, it didn't hit the water—Albus was pretty sure it was a library book and Madam Pince wouldn't be impressed if it was returned with water damage.

"Scorp, calm down." Albus reached for Scorpius' hands again, but Scorpius pulled them away and stood up.

"I couldn't even Disarm the examiner non-verbally. I had five goes before he told me to just say the incantation. Then it took me three tries to perform a non-verbal Banishing Charm. Thankfully, I turned my vinegar to wine on the first try, but I know I wrote the wrong incantation for it in the written exam. And don't get me started on that question about the theory behind creating the elements, it took me at least ten minutes to—"

Albus, who had stood as soon as his boyfriend had, pulled Scorpius' face in line with his own and kissed him, stopping the flow of words. Albus knew from experience that it was one of the only ways to calm Scorpius when he was ranting—he usually kept going until he ran out of things to say (which rarely happened) or someone physically stopped him from speaking.

"Scorpius," Albus said sternly as they pulled apart. "You'll be fine. I promise you, you didn't do as badly as you think."

"But what if I did?" Scorpius whispered. "What if I fail? Then I won't be able to become a Healer!"

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy!" Scorpius shuddered at the use of his middle name, but Albus carried on speaking. "You managed to go back in time and find a way to not only put an end to Voldemort ruling over the wizarding world, but also bring me back into existence. You can pass a Charms exam."

Scorpius relaxed slightly in Albus' arms. "And look where that got me—dreaming of being a Healer when I could have been the Scorpion King," he joked weakly.

"Ah," Albus said with a laugh. "But then you would have ended up with Polly Chapman instead of the dashing young man you're currently dating."

"Who is this dashing young man?" Scorpius asked, his tone mocking but kind. "I must find him at once and tell him that you're trying to steal me away."

Albus laughed and hit Scorpius on the arm playfully. He loosened his hold on the other boy and walked towards his bag which was still on the ground.

"I got you a present," Albus announced as he returned. "Just a little something to celebrate finishing our exams." He held out a small rectangular present wrapped in green and tied with a silver bow.

Scorpius carefully undid the bow and took the wrapping paper off, making sure not to rip any of it. His mouth fell open as he saw what was inside. "It's…"

"A phone, yes. A pretty fancy one, too. I've already saved my number so you can call me as soon as you get home on Saturday."

"Al, this must have cost you a fortune!"

Albus blushed. "Not really, I mean… I have a bit saved up and, well, I just thought it would be easier to keep in contact now we're finishing school and I know your dad isn't a fan of Muggle technology so he wouldn't buy you one and I…" Albus trailed off, unsure of where his words were taking him.

"Thank you," Scorpius said, his voice thick. Albus noticed tears starting to make their way down his face.

"Obviously, it won't work here," Albus said. "I can't believe the Ministry hasn't found a way to make Muggle stuff work around magic yet, but still—"

Albus stopped as Scorpius kissed him, gratitude pouring from his lips.

When they parted once more, Scorpius sat down to examine his new phone and Albus walked over to the lake to retrieve the book Scorpius had thrown, stopping to gather a few rocks, too.

"What are they for?" Scorpius asked as Albus returned to his seat under the blossom tree.

"I haven't seen the Giant Squid yet today, I thought we could try and get him to come up to the surface." Albus shrugged. "Plus, it looked fun when you were doing it."

Scorpius laughed and the two of them settled into throwing the rocks, forgetting all about the results of the Charms exam.

Word Count: 1,048.

This is for:

Hogwarts October Event - Around The World In Thirty-One Days;
Sudan - (season) Summer.

Hogwarts Assignment 7 – Care of Magical Creatures;
Task 1 - Write about someone throwing objects for some reason.

Monthly One-Shot Exchange September – Rasiaa;
Albus/Scorpius, romance, (word) bow