Hello there, if I still have any readers left. I know 3 months seems like a long time to wait for an update, but moving across the country and starting college is a real time-taker-upper. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy!
It took Albus a while to find his way back to the dorm after his encounter with Scorpius. He wasn't exactly focused on where he was going, but he found his way back to the fat lady eventually.
"Well if it isn't Albus Potter, the talk of the town." The portrait said with a smirk. "You better get in there before you miss all the excitement." Albus just looked at her in confusion. "Well, come on! The password," she prompted, "Spit it out."
"Uh, wormschuckles…" Albus said after a moment. The picture swung open and Albus walked through to the common room. Before he even entered he could hear loud angry voices. Well, one loud angry voice, and if he wasn't mistaken it sounded exactly like his brother James.
"The hell do you think you're talking too?" James screamed out. Albus peaked his head in the doorway and almost immediately pulled it back with a gasp. James was holding up Jeremy by the collar of his robes and shaking him in the middle of the Gryffindor common room.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jeremy said. Albus had to admit that he sounded quite calm.
"You're really going to lie to my face? You little shit!" James roared again. "Let's connect the dots shall we? You torment my little brother for weeks before this, make his life a living hell. Then this morning he comes down to breakfast looking like he fought a hippogriff. Then this afternoon Rosie just out of the blue dumps you and slaps you in face. You're going to try and tell me that you don't fucking know what I'm talking about?"
"I didn't touch your brother." Jeremy yelled back, finally sounding a little scared of James.
"Course you didn't" James' disgust was clear in his tone. "You'd let someone else do your dirty work. Probably Ian, that idiot doesn't have enough brains to fill a teaspoon. I don't really give a fuck who hit him, because the root of the problem is you. Running around the castle telling lies about my brother just because you're a vindictive little shit. Let me tell you something. If I have to have this conversation with you again you're going to seriously regret it."
Albus almost couldn't believe the venom in his brother's voice. He peaked into the room again and saw that Jeremy was back on the ground, but his back was pushed up against a wall and James was holding him there.
"You're bluffing." Jeremy spat out. "You're head boy, you cant do anything to me."
"I'm your captain, and I'll kick you off the quidditch team so fast it'll make a tail wind. After that I'll give you detention in the dungeons until summer. I'll make your life a living hell in as many ways as humanly possible." Albus looked again, knowing he couldn't miss the look on Jeremy's face. And he was right. The boy looked terror-stricken and was even shaking slightly.
"Fine." Jeremy replied quietly a moment later. "What do I have to do?"
"For starters, you can apologize to my brother."
Albus grinned. Stepping out into the room he smiled as Jeremy noticed him. "Why don't we take care of that right now?" Albus asked.
James turned and looked surprised to see his brother. He pushed Jeremy forward, "Go on then." He growled.
"I-I'm sorry Albus." Jeremy started, staring at the ground. "I honestly never meant for you to get that hurt." He finished lamely. James shoved him hard, egging him to continue. "Um, and… I-I promise to leave you alone from now on." He added. James shoved him harder. "And Ian will too." He finished quickly. James rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by the apology.
"Now, get the fuck out of my sight." James yelled again. Jeremy gave a tiny squeak and ran out of the room.
Once they heard the portrait close behind Jeremy Albus couldn't help but laugh. "I can't believe how scared he is of you. Seriously, did you hear that squeak?" Albus looked at his brother. James face didn't look amused; in fact it looked the opposite. James looked seriously angry.
"What?" Albus snapped, suddenly annoyed. Why on earth would James be angry with him? He was victim in this situation!
"Were you planning to not tell anyone at all?" James asked him quietly, "Were you just going to let Jeremy get away with it?
Albus rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He muttered, "I had it under control."
"No Albus!" James said whacking his brother on the head. "You didn't have it under control. Getting your face cracked open doesn't count as having it under control."
"Well why don't you keep hitting me?" Albus shot back, "I'm sure that will help my serious head injury."
"Why didn't you tell me you idiot?" James continued.
"Well apparently you already knew." Albus replied, "I heard you talking to Jeremy, you know he's been tormenting me. So why didn't you do anything before?"
"Because," James said, voice slowly rising, "I was hoping that you would take care of it yourself. I was hoping that you would stand up for yourself and not let some punk like Jeremy mess with you. Apparently I was wrong."
Albus glared at his brother. "What did you want me to do?" He asked.
"Dammit Al! Hex him, put troll dung in his toothpaste. I don't care. You could have even told a teacher. Just do something, don't take it like you deserve it, like you're repenting for some wrong you've committed. You haven't done anything wrong."
"I know that!" Albus yelled, suddenly furious. He couldn't believe James was lecturing him. James was quiet for a moment, then he sighed loudly. Albus met his brother's eyes.
"You're not alone Albus." James said softly. "Lily was really worried about you. Next time just… just ask for help. We're always here for you."
Albus looked up at his big brother and had a sudden urge to give him a hug. Instead he crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. James and Albus weren't big huggers. More often they just gave the manly alternative of a slap on the back.
"Thanks." Albus said quietly.
"Yeah, yeah." James waved off his brother's words and started to walk towards the exit. "I just hope you can take care of this from now on. Jeremy and Ian may be assholes, but they're decent Quidditch players. If I have to lose a beater and a chaser this late in the season we'll have no hopes of beating Slytherin for the cup."
And with that James walked out of the common room and left his brother alone.
Albus rolled his eyes, of course that was what James was most worried about, Quidditch.
Sighing, Albus walked up the stairs to his dorm deciding that he fully deserved to sleep for the rest of the day.
By dinner time that same night the news of Rose and Jeremy's break up was sweeping the castle. And, as usual, if there was something to be gossiped about it completely consumed the attention of most Hogwarts students.
"I heard she slapped him, in front of everyone. Apparently he teared up and ran away crying."
"Well I heard James Potter kicked the crap out of him in the common room."
"I heard Albus has serious brain damage and is excused from homework for the rest of the term."
"Well I heard that Rose broke up with Jeremy because he was cheating on her, with Albus Potter!"
Scorpius couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous rumors being spread around the Slytherin table.
"What's so funny?" Wendy asked.
Scorpius looked over at his friend. Wendy was one of the biggest gossipmongers in entire castle, there was no way she would appreciate his humor.
"Nothing." He replied with a smile.
Wendy smiled back and then asked, "Want to know something interesting that I heard?"
Scorpius almost had to laugh. Wendy could be so predictable.
"Oh, what's that?" he asked.
"I heard that a certain someone apologized to a certain someone else today." She whispered.
Scorpius practically spat out his dinner. He looked over at Wendy, who had a secretive smile on her face, and glared.
"I'll kill Stephanie. I mean it this time."
Wendy giggled, "Oh, don't be so moody. I think its sweet, and I promise I didn't tell anyone." She winked.
"Somehow I find that hard to believe." Scorpius sighed.
"I didn't think you ever apologized to anyone Scor. You must have really felt bad for Albus."
Scorpius sighed loudly, clearly frustrated with the conversation. "It's not like a MEANT it." He replied, "I just needed him to talk to me again."
"You needed him to talk to you? That's sweet, I had no idea you two were so close." Tess jumped in.
Scorpius turned and glared at the new addition to the conversation.
"Oh, don't worry I've been eavesdropping this whole time. No need to slow down the conversation for my sake." She smiled sweetly.
"This is exactly why I never tell you two anything."
"Why?" Wendy asked, "Because we always find out about it anyway?"
The two girls both laughed.
"No, because you're annoying." Scorpius replied grumpily. "And for the record I need Albus to talk to me for the plan. Remember the plan? Where I lead him down the path of wrongdoing to the utter horror of his friends and family? It's kind of hard to seduce a guy when he's ignoring you."
"Oh don't worry Scorpius, we remember the plan." Wendy said.
"Speaking of which" Tess added, "The 'plan' has been grinding to a stand still as of late."
"I'm working on that." Scorpius replied.
"Alright then, what is it?" Wendy questioned.
Scorpius looked over at the two girls, "Why should I tell you?"
Tess rolled her eyes and Wendy pouted.
"I promise not to be annoying ever again!" Wendy declared, "Please tell me!"
Although Scorpius could have pointed out that it was more likely for Jaysen to do his own homework then for Wendy to stop being annoying, he decided to spare the girls.
"Halloween party" he said.
Wendy almost gasped and Tess gave a crooked smile.
"Oh, you're evil." She said with a grin.
Albus Potter was having a very busy week. Just yesterday he had suffered a massive head injury followed by a trip to the infirmary. Then came the return of his best friend, who dumped her asshole boyfriend. His brother took a sudden interest in his life and his sister almost gave him another massive head injury for not telling her about the first one. The next morning when Albus woke he really should have been prepared for anything.
To his credit, Albus was prepared for most things. He was ready for his once hostile roommates to be deflated and despondent. He was also ready for most of the students in the castle to stop looking at him like some sort of pervert because of all the lies that Jeremy had told. Most of all, Albus was completely ready to sit and eat breakfast with Rose without Jeremy around. Finally, Albus thought that school could be enjoyable again. It could finally be normal.
That was, of course, before the letter came.
Because nothing could have prepared Albus for the letter.
"What in the world does he expect me to do?" Albus asked his little sister frantically later that morning. They were in between classes and he offered to walk her to Potions as a clever cover for what he was really doing; which was freaking out.
"Well I imagine that he expects you to go." Lily replied sarcastically. "Hence him sending you an invitation."
"But I can't just GO!" Albus told his sister, completely exasperated. "The Slytherin Halloween party is strictly for Slytherins!"
"Albus, when the most popular guy in Slytherin invites you, you're totally allowed to go." Lily said matter-of-factly. "And truthfully you'd be stupid not to go. Not only is it one of the coolest parties that happens in the castle all year but," her voice dropped to a whisper, "You have a fat crush on Scorpius. Why wouldn't you want to spend more time with him?"
Albus had conveniently not told his sister about the little fight Scorpius and his had in the woods.
"I dunno, he makes me really uneasy." Albus mumbled.
"That's because you're just new to this whole thing." Lily smiled, "Go. Get drunk. Have fun."
Albus sighed. "You know usually the older brother would be bad influence on the younger sibling. Not the other way around."
Lily grinned. "That's why you need to go out and party Al. So you can be a bad influence on me later." She laughed and Albus just shook his head.
Dropping her off at her classroom he head back up the stairs to get to his own class.
Although Lily made it sound so easy, Albus knew that going to the Halloween party could be a disaster. When he had received a letter from Scorpius that morning he was surprised to say the least. But when he opened it and read the contents he practically fell off of his bench. Luckily for him the letter burnt itself up after he finished reading it, saving him from Rosie's questioning. After all no one knew about his relationship (could you even call it that?) with Scorpius except Lily. So, first chance he got Albus tracked down his little sister and told her everything.
Now that he had collected the only advice available the decision was up to him.
Should he go and almost certainly be humiliated, or stay in his dorm and feel like a pathetic failure all night. Neither prospect seemed too tempting.
Walking into his DADA classroom Albus was pleased to find that his classmates were willing to sit near him today. The whole period he spent copying notes and trying to focus on his professor's lecture, hoping that it would distract his brain enough to forget about Scorpius or the party.
Needless to say, it didn't work.
The next week and a half should have really been wonderful for Albus. The rumors surrounding his bloody appearance in the entrance hall were beginning to die down. He spent loads of time with Rosie and was even beginning to spend more time with Drew. He received a letter back from Teddy, apologizing for the late reply (he couldn't separate the owls) and saying they would meet in Hogsmeade on Saturday, the first of November.
There was an air of excitement around the castle as the decorations for Halloween went up. Pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns furnished every hall and classroom. The ghosts even began acting more stereotypical; popping out of floors and walls to shoot 'BOO' at passing students.
Despite all of these things however, Albus couldn't relax. Every pumpkin he saw was just a painful reminder of the fact that Halloween was fast approaching. Even the thought of seeing his favorite cousin didn't cheer him up, because their meeting wasn't until the day after Halloween. Albus wasn't even sure he would be able to meet his cousin, depending on how traumatizing his Friday night turned out. Scorpius sure didn't help the situation either. He never talked to Albus, but instead sent him cryptic little smirks whenever the two made eye contact.
Even with all his fretting and indecision however, Albus could not stop the days from steadily passing by. Soon enough it was October 31st.
By his last class of the day Albus still hadn't come to a resolution. To go or not to go, that was the question. At this rate, he would just be pacing the halls all night between the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms until a teacher gave him detention.
Walking into his transfiguration class Albus noticed Sullivan sitting alone in the front row. As soon as Sullivan saw Albus he waved him over. Sitting down next to the Slytherin Albus was about to say hello when Sullivan handed him a little piece of folded up paper.
Surprised, Albus opened up the note. There was only one word written on it. Cottonmouth.
"What is this?" Albus asked, turning to look back at Sullivan.
"The password, to get into the Slytherin common room tonight." Sullivan whispered back.
Albus visibly paled. "Oh." He said quietly.
"You are going aren't you?" Sullivan asked.
"I don't know." Albus replied truthfully.
"Why not?" Sullivan looked genuinely confused.
"I mean, I really don't belong there. It will be really awkward wont it? Plus, Scorpius treats me differently everyday. I never know where I stand with him." Only after he had said it did Albus realize he probably shouldn't have. Sullivan was Scorpius' friend, not his.
"I wouldn't worry about it being awkward. Once everyone figures out Scorpius invited you it wont be a big deal." Sullivan replied thoughtfully. "And about Scorpius, that's just his style. He thinks he's all mysterious and enigmatic. Once you hang out with him more often you get used to it."
Albus was surprised by how sincere Sullivan's response was.
"Also," Sullivan added a moment later, "I was really hoping you would come."
Albus looked up in surprise.
"Oh don't look so shocked." Sullivan laughed. "Usually these things are so boring. If you were there it would be a lot more interesting."
"You make it sound like I'm some sort of experiment." Albus said.
Sullivan smiled knowingly, and then gave a shrug.
Just then their professor started lecturing and the boys weren't able to talk again until the end of class.
"So are you coming?" Sullivan asked, packing up his things.
Albus didn't reply for a minute. "You think I should?"
"Have anything better to do?" Sullivan asked with a smirk.
Albus rolled his eyes. "Fine, I get it. I'll go."
"In that case, I'll see you tonight." Sullivan smiled and walked out of the classroom, leaving Albus alone to ponder what the hell he had just gotten himself into.
"Ugh I can't believe I ate that much." Rose complained clutching her stomach.
"Me either!" Amy chimed in, "I'm gonna get so fat!"
Grace, Rose and Albus all rolled their eyes.
"What?" Amy asked, defensively.
"Amy, you had like one roll and some salad." Grace responded.
"You didn't even have any pie!" Albus added, sounding offended.
"Whatever," Amy said. "You had enough pie for all of Gryffindor house!" She said, pointing an accusing finger at Albus.
He simply shrugged and rubbed his stomach. "It was good pie."
Everyone laughed at that and Albus couldn't help but smile. Ever since he and Rosie became friends again Amy and Grace had been hanging around as well. At first he was annoyed, thinking they would be just as critical and rude as before. Rosie must have talked to them or perhaps they had a change of heart; either way they were much nicer to him now and he almost felt like friends with the two girls.
As they approached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room the girls started talking about their plans for the night.
"I dunno, I heard some Ravenclaws might have a thing in one of the empty classrooms on the 5th floor." Grace said.
"Yeah, but those things get ratted out in less than an hour. Plus I really don't want to get a detention already." Rose complained.
"Well there might be something even smaller in the Gryffindor common room, but no alcohol because James wont allow it." Grace rolled her eyes.
"He's such a hypocrite!" Amy whined. "Last year he could out drink anyone, and now that he's head boy he acts like none of it ever happened."
"Well, that's my brother for you." Albus chuckled.
"Do you wanna come with us Al?" Rose asked. "I mean I know you don't usually go to parties, but you're welcome to join us."
"Yeah!" Amy all but squealed. "Come with us! That would be so much fun!"
Albus smiled slightly. "No thanks guys, I think I'm just gonna head back to my dorm, all that pie really made me sleepy."
"Okay." Rose smiled back at her cousin. "But if you change your mind, let me know."
"If only we could get into the Slytherin party!" Grace fumed aloud. "They always throw the most amazing Halloween parties!"
"Yeah, but those stupid snakes never let anyone else in." Amy reminded, "Strictly Slytherins only."
"Pricks." Grace mumbled. "They're all pricks."
Albus couldn't help but grin.
"Cottonmouth." Albus said for what felt like the twentieth time. The wall still didn't move, and he cursed silently. Was this really another one of Scorpius' practical jokes? Albus hoped not, but that hope was starting to disappear. James had told him once where the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms was; in the cellar on the left, next to an old shield with a serpent on it.
"Cottonmouth!" He said again, almost angry at the unaffected wall.
"Oi! What the fuck to do you think yer doing?" Albus heard a very loud and very Scottish voice him. Albus turned and to his horror realized that the voice belonged to none other than Coby Murray, one of the beaters for the Slytherin quidditch team. Although Coby was only in fifth year, he was already a head taller than Albus and more than twice as wide.
"This party is fer Slytherins only!" he bellowed again, "You better get outta here."
Albus was tempted to do just that and run way from the intimidating boy. But he had come all the way down here, he couldn't back out now.
"I was invited." Albus said matter-o-factly.
Coby just glared at him, and loomed closer. "Oh yeah? And who invited ya then?"
"Scorpius Malfoy!" Albus declared.
Coby's response wasn't exactly what Albus had in mind.
"Oh really? Well let's go an' ask him then." The fifth year stalked past Albus to the far side of the cellar and spoke the password into the wall. The wall slid sideways and created an opening to walk through.
"Well come on then!" Coby yelled again. Albus quickly scurried after him, through the archway and into the common room.
The Slytherin common room was nothing like what Albus expected. While the Gryffindor common room seemed like a parlor, the Slytherins had more of a dungeon. There was no furniture and it was dark, lit only by orange and green lights, that hung from the ceiling. The room was packed with people, mostly dancing, but there were some groups just standing and drinking.
It only took a few moments after entering for someone to ask. "Why the fuck is he here?"
Coby turned to the accuser. "I caught him saying the password to some random wall just outside. Says Scorpius Malfoy invited." Coby snickered, as did the other boy.
"Well, isn't that interesting." The boy sent a wicked smile at Albus. Before calling out "HEY MALFOY!" As loud as he possibly could.
The yell was loud enough for most of the room to quiet down, even the music seemed to get softer. That's when most people noticed Albus. There were a lot of outraged shouts and even a few laughs. Albus swallowed loudly. If Scorpius did play some joke and tell everyone that he hadn't been invited, Albus would be in deep shit.
"What the fuck do you want Perry?" Albus heard Scorpius' voice and a moment later the blond appeared. It took him a few moments to recognize Albus, but when he did he smiled.
"So Potter, you decided to come after all."
"Wait, what?" Coby looked astonished. "Did you actually invite him Scorpius?"
"Well of course I did," Scorpius stepped closer and slung his arm over Albus' shoulder. "You think Potter would have the balls to crash our little party without an invite." Albus chose to ignore the insult, happy that Scorpius was at least defending him.
"But this party is for Slytherins only!" The boy, who Scorpius had called Perry complained.
Scorpius looked taken aback. "You mean… Perry, you mean you don't know?"
"Know what?" Perry asked, clearly confused. By this time the common room was almost dead silent. The music had stopped and everyone was listening to Scorpius Malfoy.
"Well Albus here was supposed to be a Slytherin." Scorpius explained. "The sorting hat got it wrong. Albus asked to be in Slytherin but his last name was too famous for the hat to ignore. It put him in Gryffindor despite his wishes, and there he has suffered for the last five years." Albus almost rolled his eyes at the dramatic tone of Scorpius' voice.
Suddenly Steph appeared on Albus' other side. "That's why we're making Albus Potter an honorary Slytherin!" she announced proudly.
"WHAT?" He heard the crowd respond.
"What!?" Albus repeated.
"Don't worry you can thank us later," Steph whispered with a wink. To the crowd she yelled, "That's the deal, if you got a problem go talk to Scorpius. And if any of you give Albus shit Scorpius will be talking to you. Got it?"
At the idea of being on Scorpius Malfoy's bad side the whole group quieted down. A few people in the crowd even seemed entertained by the idea of a Potter being a Slytherin.
"Come on Albus." Stephanie grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the crowd that had surrounded him. She dragged him back to the opposite end of the common room, where some familiar faces were waiting.
"I told you he would come!" Jaysen yelled out, slapping Albus on the back. "Come on pay up Andy, I was right."
"They had a bet going that you wouldn't come." Sullivan informed Albus, "Ten galleons too."
"You must be seriously bad-ass or seriously insane to come to a Slytherin party." Andrew informed him, reaching in his robes for the money he owed Jaysen.
"Probably crazy," Albus admitted, "I still can't believe they didn't eat me alive."
Scorpius came up from behind him and laughed, "You obviously underestimate the amount of influence I have on these people. Besides Albus, I wouldn't invite you, just to get you fed to the wolves." He gave Albus a grin.
Albus sheepishly smiled back at the blond, "Yeah, well thanks again."
Just then the music started up again. It was so loud, that most conversation was impossible. Tess and Wendy both walked over from another group of girls they had been standing in.
"Let's dance!" Wendy yelled at Jaysen. He grinned and followed her onto the dance floor.
Tess didn't even ask, just grabbed Andrew's hand and pulled him towards the mob of grinding teens that was forming.
A moment later Stephanie grabbed Scorpius, "We're dancing!" She announced and the two of them disappeared as well.
The group had diminished from eight to two in a matter of seconds. Albus looked at Sullivan uneasily.
"Don't worry, I'm not leaving." Sullivan grinned, "Besides dancing really isn't my thing anyway."
Albus was visibly relieved. At least if he was going to stand on a wall all night he wouldn't have to do it alone.
"So what do you think of Slytherin parties?" Sullivan asked a few minutes later.
"They are definitely a lot bigger than I imagined." Albus decided. "Gryffindor sometimes has parties after Quidditch matches or something. But our common room is so small that you can't even move."
"It's a trade off I would say. We give up the whole "cozy family" setting for floor space." Sullivan grinned. "We aren't very cozy people anyway."
The two boys drifted into a comfortable silence after that. Albus was content to just watch the on goings of the party. Slytherins definitely had louder parties. The average Gryffindor party involved a fair amount of drinking games but was mostly a communal event, people would talk and laugh and just hang out. Slytherin parties had music blasting the entire time. Albus could barely hear himself think, and almost everyone else at the party seemed to be dancing.
"HERE!" Albus heard someone yell out to him. Jaysen was standing in front of him with a cup of… well Albus assumed it was alcohol. Albus had been so zoned out that he hadn't even noticed Jaysen come up.
"What is it?" Albus asked, reaching for the class.
"Beer!" Jaysen called back.
Albus took a tentative sip and almost spat it back out.
"This isn't butter beer!" Albus yelled out.
"No, it's muggle beer!" Jaysen yelled back.
"It's disgusting!" Albus noticed Sullivan laughing at him.
"It'll get you drunk faster," Jaysen informed him, "It looks like you could use it."
Albus couldn't argue there.
"Just chug it." Sullivan suggested.
Deciding to take his advice Albus turned the cup up and drank the contents down as quickly as he could.
As soon as the cup was empty it magically refilled itself.
As soon as Albus saw this his face sunk.
Jaysen simply laughed at him "Have fun." He said, and then went back out into the crowd.
Sighing Albus continued to take little sips of the beer, finding that he was slowly getting used to the taste.
Sullivan continued to chat with him about things. The classes they were taking, and how they felt about a certain professor. Albus found himself easing up and feeling more comfortable. Sullivan was really friendly and they actually had a lot in common.
"Hey Albus!" Wendy called. She was interrupting Sullivan telling Albus about his experience during the OWL for herbology but Albus turned to look at her anyways.
"Hey Wendy." He smiled.
"Do you wanna dance?" He stopped smiling.
"No."
"Come on! I'll teach you how! The guy part is soooooooo easy!"
Albus laughed a little at her insistence. "No Wendy."
"But this is my favorite song!"
"I don't even know this song Wendy." Albus retorted.
"Its by ManDrake! You don't know ManDrake?" Wendy sounded offended.
"Nope." Well, that wasn't entirely true; Albus knew of ManDrake. He was a Canadian wizard who had chosen to be a rap artist. He was very famous in America and had started to gain more popularity in the Britain, but Albus didn't listen to his music, and he certainly didn't know the song that Wendy was so excited about.
"Whatever, you still have to dance with me. I'm not going to let you stand on this wall all night." She grabbed Albus' arm and tried to pull him to the dance floor.
"No! Wendy-," She obviously wasn't listening. "Sullivan help me!" Sullivan reached out and grabbed Albus' cup.
"Here, I'll hold this for you. Have fun" He smiled and gave a little wave.
Albus glared back as he was dragged to the middle of the grinding mob. He changed his mind, he didn't like Sullivan anymore.
"Come on Albus, it'll be fun!" Wendy said, when they finally stopped. She turned away from him and pressed herself up against him.
"Now just put your hands here." She grabbed both of his hands and placed them on her hips. "And just bounce to the music."
Albus noticed that the people around were all looking at him.
"Wendy, please, I can't do this!" He said nervously.
"Sure you can." She replied, and started swinging against him. Albus looked around frantically at the other people dancing around him. The other boys were doing exactly what Wendy had said, they were moving from side to side. Slowly Albus started to move his hips trying to match his pace to Wendy's. She was obviously a much better dancer than him and he felt incredibly awkward. His movements were stiff and too slow.
In the middle of the song the beat picked up and Wendy began to move faster. She also began to lean farther and farther down until her body was almost parallel to the floor. This made dancing even more awkward. Now Albus couldn't even see her, he was just grinding against her.
Albus heard a chuckle and looked up. Before Wendy had been blocking his view, but now he saw that Scorpius was right in front of him, dancing with some Slytherin girl.
Albus blushed, embarrassed by his current situation and Scorpius just laughed a little more. Albus couldn't help but notice that Scorpius was a very good dancer. He wasn't just bobbing side to side; he was moving to the beat and twisting his hips.
Albus couldn't help but imagine dancing with Scorpius. If Scorpius' hands were on his hips, and he was bent over, pushed up against Scorpius'-
Albus blushed even harder than before, he couldn't believe he had just thought that. Scorpius seemed to notice his sudden discomfort. He flashed him a small grin almost as if he had known what Albus was thinking. Albus looked away quickly.
As soon as the song ended, Albus broke away from Wendy and hurried back to his wall.
"Albus!" Wendy called out, chasing after him, "Come on, just one more song!" She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back to the floor. He just shook her off, there was no way he was going through that embarrassment again.
"I'm such a bad dancer," he reasoned, "You should find someone else to dance with." What he meant was, you should go rub your ass against someone who is actually interested in your ass, but he thought that might be a bit rude.
Reaching the wall Albus noticed that Sullivan was no longer there. Wendy had followed him back, so he asked her where the boy had gone.
"Oh, I don't know. Probably to bed, he doesn't like these parties very much."
Albus sighed.
"Well then, I think it's time for me to go as well." Albus said with a slight smile.
"What? No!" Wendy's eyes went wide. "You've barely been here an hour. You can't go!"
"Well, I really don't want to dance anymore," Albus confessed, "No offense." He added lamely.
"What about with Scorpius?" Wendy asked suddenly.
"No!" Albus blurted out. "No, Wendy I just want to go."
She apparently hadn't heard him because she yelled as loud as possible, "SCORPIUS!"
When she turned back Albus was gone.
Albus finally made his way out of the Slytherin common room. When he heard the doorway close behind him he sighed. He felt bad about rushing out of the party, but there was no way he could dance with Scorpius, no way!
Albus tensed up a moment later when he heard the doorway open again. He turned and saw Scorpius coming towards him.
"Is that how you thank someone for inviting you to a party? You run out without even saying goodbye?" Scorpius actually looked a little angry.
"I'm sorry I just- " Albus started, but Scorpius interrupted him with a laugh.
"Calm down, I'm only joking. Come on lets go." He said, walking forward."
"Go? Where are we going?" Albus wondered aloud.
"Back to your common room." Scorpius said as if it was obvious. "Didn't you want to go back there?"
"Wait, so your walking me back?" Albus asked incredulous.
"Sure, why not. I was getting a little bored anyways." Scorpius shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Albus couldn't help but grin.
They walked side by side down the long hallways and up many flights of stairs. Albus smelled alcohol on the other boy but Scorpius didn't seem too drunk.
After walking in silence for a while Scorpius finally spoke.
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said the other day. You know, when I called you a loser and everything."
Albus cringed, how could he forget? "I already forgave you for that." He mumbled.
Scorpius shook his head, "No, I've been thinking about what you said. About how I've never worked for anything and I cant do anything without my parents."
Albus was shocked, "Oh. Scorpius, I'm really sorry about that! I was just angry because of the things you said. It's not true!"
Scorpius laughed, "Well of course it is. You're the only one who has ever told me the truth, that I'm pathetic."
Albus reached out and grabbed Scorpius' hand, "No, your not." He said earnestly. "You just need to find yourself, you need to find your calling."
Scorpius snorted, but he didn't pull his hand away. "My calling? How the hell am I supposed to find that?"
"Well…" Albus thought, "What do you like to do? And don't say drinking or having sex or something. I mean, like what are your hobbies?"
Scorpius shrugged, "Potions I guess."
"Really?" Albus was surprised, "I didn't know that."
"Yeah, well I don't tell many people." Scorpius started swinging their arms, still holding Albus' hand. "But I really like it. I even got an O on my potions O.W.L."
"Well why don't you do that?" Albus suggested.
"You have no idea how hard it is to be a potion master, even being a potion maker for St. Mungos is bloody difficult."
"I think you can do it." Albus offered.
"Albus, my grades are shit, my O.W.L.s are shit. My work ethic is shit. I'm shit!"
Albus pulled his hand away and smacked the blond on the back of his head.
"Ow!" Scorpius exclaimed.
"Don't say that." Albus said, suddenly bold. "You're not shit. You just need to believe in yourself."
"Why should I?" Scorpius sighed. Albus noticed they were nearing the Gryffindor common room. He had never been so disappointed to see the fat lady before in his life.
"No one else believes in me. Not my friends, or my parents or my teachers."
"Well, I believe in you." Albus said quietly.
Scorpius stopped walking and turned to look at Albus. His face was almost confused.
After a few moments Albus became uneasy.
"What?" he asked quietly. "What are you looking at?"
Scorpius didn't answer. But a moment later he brought his hand to the side of Albus' face.
"Wha…." Albus trailed off. His eyes were locked on Scorpius'.
Suddenly Scorpius leaned in and pressed his lips against Albus'. Instinctively Albus tilted his head and leaned into the kiss. Before he could even fully grasp what had happened Scorpius pulled away.
Their eyes met for a moment and then Scorpius turned and walked away without a word.
Albus stood there watching the Slytherin walk away, trying to grasp what had just happened.
Finally as Scorpius was about to turn the corner Albus yelled out, "Good night!"
Scorpius turned, and raised his hand in some sort of wave, and then he was gone.
Albus just smiled.
