Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This is only for entertainment purposes.

Shiver

Chapter XII

Lightning strikes

Inside my chest to keep me up at night

Dream of ways

To make you understand my pain

[Heartbreak Warfare-John Mayer]

Albus entered the library. As soon as he caught sight of Scorpius's blond head, his chest was filled with an intense feeling of excitement. It felt as if they had gone back in time, as if they had never broken up and this was just some sort of date. He knew he shouldn't let himself think that way; it would only hurt him even more afterwards, but hope is hard to wear down.

The dark-haired boy sat in front of Scorpius, who was reading an enormous book, and opened his mouth to greet him, but no sound came out. Scorpius looked up at him for a few seconds, before resuming his reading.

"Hello to you too." he said in a neutral tone, head still lowered.

Albus' cheeks reddened slightly, and for a moment, he wished he could disappear from the surface of Earth. "H-hi." he mumbled.

"Oh, Scorpius! You're here too? What a surprise!" a Slytherin exclaimed, leaning to wrap an arm around the blond's shoulders.

"Go away." Scorpius hissed in a low voice, violently pushing his friend's arm away.

"But why? I won't bother you at all; you can continue your work as if I wasn't here."

"Ethan. Go. Away. Now."

Instead of leaving, Wilson sat with them with a bit too much enthusiasm for Albus' taste.

"So, Potter, how are you?" he asked.

"Er, I… fine."

"Very eloquent." Wilson commented with a smirk, looking at Scorpius.

Scorpius gave him a murderous look, his fists clenched, and Albus thought that if they weren't in the library Scorpius actually might have killed him. As for Albus himself, he was feeling more uncomfortable with each second that ticked by.

"What subject are you working on?" Wilson asked, turning his gaze back to Albus.

"The third one. About venoms and stuff."

"Ah, yeah, good choice."

"It's Scorpius that chose it." Albus felt the need to clarify, a tiny smile on his lips, smile that disappeared instantly as he realised the mistake he had just made. He quickly decided to stare at the table and never say a word again.

"Oh, I see… Well done then, Scorpius."

"Just fuck off already! Go annoy somebody else! Like David, for example!" Scorpius snapped.

"Unfortunately, David is working with his partner so you'll have to put up with me." Ethan replied airily, completely ignoring Scorpius' awful mood.

"Why don't you go find your partner then?"

"I'm waiting for her."

The Hufflepuff couldn't help but pity whoever that girl was.

"Go wait for her somewhere else!" Scorpius retorted. "You're disturbing us."

Wilson raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "Hmph. Okay, as you wish."

Then he stood up and gave a tap on Albus' shoulder. "It was a pleasure talking to you, Potter. I'll leave you two alone now; I don't want to disturb you any longer." he added before finally leaving.

Albus caught himself sighing in relief.

"Sorry about that." Scorpius said. "He can be quite, um… spontaneous."

Albus shrugged. "It's okay."

"So, I… I found this book earlier; it's about all the kinds of venoms coming from animals, and there's an entire chapter dedicated to spider venoms." Scorpius informed him. "It's nicely explained, very clearly, so I thought… I thought you could read it before actually starting working on the assignment; it will help you understand better what we have to do, and… you can always ask me if you have any questions…" he said, pushing the book towards Albus.

The dark-haired boy looked at him incredulously. This wasn't the Scorpius he knew. The Scorpius he had in front of him now was different; something in him seemed to have changed. The way he talked to him wasn't cold, or sarcastic; he wasn't on the defensive. Scorpius sounded almost friendly… It was weird, yet surprisingly pleasant.

"Er, thanks." Albus replied at last, pulling the book before him.

If Scorpius was just any other classmate, Albus thought, he would have been the best partner he could have asked for. Scorpius knew everything there was to know, and even more importantly, he knew how to share all his knowledge. Yesterday they had spent two hours in the library, most of the time with Scorpius explaining him the parts he hadn't understood well. Albus thought if Scorpius could always help him revise, he would ace every future Potions test. But he couldn't ask him such a favour. Because Scorpius wasn't just any other classmate.

They were in the library again. Scorpius was seated in front of him, just like last time, and he was reading a book that looked even bigger than yesterday's one. As for him, Albus was supposed to read an article and take notes. He hadn't done much though. Scorpius on the other hand seemed very focused on what he was doing. He was rhythmically tapping his fingers against the table, which, under normal conditions, would have annoyed Albus. But Albus' eyes were fixed on those fingers. Since he couldn't let himself look at the other boy's face directly, Albus was staring at the only other thing there was left to observe.

Scorpius had beautiful hands. His palms were perfectly proportionate with the rest of his body; his fingers were long and slender, but not knobbly, his nails neat. The skin was pale and soft, the hands' movements graceful. They were delicate looking hands; they seemed to be capable only of light, gentle touches. However, Albus knew that those hands were far from weak. Just like the rest of Scorpius' appearance, it was only an illusion, like wrapping paper; it looked pretty but there could be anything hidden underneath.

The dark-haired boy kept tracing with his gaze every sharp edge, every curve of Scorpius' hands. He remembered what Scorpius could do with those hands, how they felt on him, how he wished they were on him right now, and… and how it was highly inappropriate to have such thoughts in a moment like this. Scorpius' fingers stopped moving. Albus looked up at him and their eyes met.

"Oh, sorry, was it bothering you?" Scorpius asked, curling his fingers into a fist. "I do it without realising it…"

He seemed to be about to add something but he said nothing.

"No! No, it wasn't bothering me!"

"Is there something else bothering you then? You look quite… agitated."

Albus' cheeks became even redder. "What? No, I… It's just that I can't concentrate, because… because it's, er, too… noisy."

"Too noisy?" Scorpius repeated, bewildered. "It's just us and this guy over there…"

Albus resisted the urge to slap himself. How could he be so stupid?

"Er… I mean… I… I have a headache, so… maybe it's just my ears buzzing…"

Scorpius' expression clearly showed that he didn't believe his lamentable excuse, and Albus was sure the Slytherin was currently questioning his mental state.

"Er, okay… We should probably continue some other time then…" Scorpius eventually said.

"Yes, maybe." Albus agreed.

They both began gathering their books. Scorpius finished first; he stood silently next to the table. The dark-haired boy looked at him questioningly.

"What are you waiting for?"

"You, maybe?"

"You don't have to." Albus responded dryly.

"Your common room is on my way…"

"I'm not your girlfriend! There's no need to accompany me!" Albus burst out, straightening up abruptly.

Scorpius was taken aback by Albus' sudden aggressiveness. He slightly gaped at him, looking somewhat distressed. Then, he scowled.

"Well, excuse me for being polite." he spat.

"Well, fuck you and your politeness!" Albus seethed.

He couldn't understand what had gotten to him, where all that anger that was making him shake came from, but Albus suddenly wanted to hurt Scorpius — physically — just like he had been hurt — emotionally.

"I think you need to calm down, Potter."

How could he be so impassive? His calmness made Albus even madder.

"Don't tell me what to do! You don't know what I need! You don't know how I feel!"

"That's more than enough, Mr Potter!" he heard a woman call him out.

Oh, right. The damn librarian.

"Both of you get out immediately!"

Albus had to try hard not to yell at her too.

"Oh, and you, Mr Potter, you're forbidden to come here for a month."

"What? But I have an assignment to work on!" Albus answered back.

"That's none of my concern. You should have thought about it before making a scene in my library."

What a bitch!

Albus grunted, then grabbed his books and left with brashness.

Rose was about to push the library door when it flew wide open, letting an enraged Albus appear.

"Albus? Is everything fine?"

"No. Leave me alone." he replied coldly, pushing her lightly aside.

"But-"

Her cousin had already turned in the next corridor, disappearing completely from her sight. She felt disoriented for a moment; then the door opened again. It was Malfoy this time. The Slytherin didn't look much better than Albus… He gave her a quick glance, and went on his way.

"Wait, Malfoy!"

"What do you want?" he asked exasperatedly, turning to face her.

"I… I don't know exactly what happened, nor what is going on now, but please, don't play with him."

Malfoy's eyebrows shot up. He remained silent for a long time.

"I can assure you that's not my intention." he finally stated.

"Good." she said, feeling relieved.

Rose briefly smiled at him, before entering in the library.

I don't care if we don't sleep at all tonight

Let's just fix this whole thing now

I swear to God we're gonna get it right

If you lay your weapon down

A/N: Short chapter again, I know! Sorry! I hope you still liked it though:)