Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Albus Potter/Scorpius Malfoy
Summary: Everyone was amazed when Albus Potter was sorted into Slytherin House, but no less amazing was the effect on Hogwarts and the House itself. No longer reviled, and now popular, times had certainly changed for Slytherin House. But not for Scorpius Malfoy...
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world is not mine, but it's sure fun playing in it.
Warnings: NC17 rated so graphic descriptions of m/m sex. Bullying. Mild violence.
Author's Note: I've never written one of these angst-filled, Cinderella, hurt/comfort type of things so I thought I'd see if I could. This is the result. It's also the first story that I've written for a long time that has dual pov, but it seemed appropriate.
Someone asked me a question in a review that I couldn't respond to because there was no link so I'm responding to it here. The question was about whether Scorpius would use a Pensieve to show his memory of what happened.
I did originally think about doing this so I did a bit of research on it and found that Pensieve memories were not usually allowed as evidence against someone as memories can be tampered with or doctored. As a side note I also researched the use of Veritaserum and discovered the same thing. And there is also the whole illegal to use against underage wizards thing.
Also, my memory from the books is that only skilled and more experienced wizards are able to put their memories into a Pensieve and it's not really something a school student would be able to do. And I'm trying to use Rowling book canon as much as possible for this story, rather than fanon.
So, no, there will not be any Pensieve memories, or Veritaserum, in this story.
Albus Potter and the Slytherin Fairy Princess - Chapter 13
Scorpius sat on the kitchen sofa with Lily and Hugo and ran his fingers lightly over the place on his throat where he was certain he had felt Albus' lips the day before. When Albus had acted as if it hadn't happened Scorpius had begun to think that it was his own imagination that had conjured up the moment, but the sensation had been too real. In the end, he'd decided that it must have been some sort of accident. After all, Scorpius thought, he had moved suddenly, trying to get away from the pressure on his bruises. Albus had probably been either too embarrassed, or didn't see it as important enough, to mention it.
He hadn't seen Albus yet, and James and Rose seemed to be missing as well, but he wasn't left wondering where they were for long, because the kitchen door suddenly slammed open and the three of them clattered through it, discarding coats and scarves.
Rose immediately came over to him and pulled him up into a light hug.
"I wish you had told us sooner," she whispered, and Scorpius' heart sank.
Beyond telling Albus, he hadn't thought too much about anyone else finding out and as his eyes met Albus' over Rose's shoulder he couldn't help feeling a flash of annoyance that Albus had taken it upon himself to tell the others without talking to Scorpius first.
"All right," he said into Rose's ear in a low voice. "I want you to tell James and Albus not to tell anyone else. Please."
Then he let go of Rose, gave her a tight smile, and walked out of the room.
He'd only just got into the hallway, when a hand landed on his arm and he was pulled into Harry Potter's study.
"You're angry with me," Albus said, as Scorpius turned to face him. "But Scorpius, you have to remember that I'm a prefect. I can't just ignore what you reported to me."
"I didn't expect you to go running to James and Rose without talking to me," Scorpius said, flatly.
"Look, I called a Prefect's meeting between Gryffindor and Slytherin," Albus said. "With the Head Boy. But it was unofficial, and it will stay between us, I promise you. We can't just leave things as they are, we had to decide what to do about Creevey."
Scorpius sighed. "I didn't want to leave things as they are," he said. "That's why I told you about it."
They stared at each other for a moment and then Scorpius relented and smiled slightly.
"All right, what did you decide to do then?" he asked.
Albus shifted his feet in a way that Scorpius thought looked decidedly nervous.
"Um, I can't actually tell you that," he said, and Scorpius raised his brow, incredulously.
"What?"
"We're going to take care of it, Scorpius," Albus said quickly. "But it will be better if you don't know exactly what's going on. Don't worry, we'll make sure that Creevey doesn't get near you."
"Al, that isn't fair," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "I need to know what's happening."
"I'm sorry, Scorp," Albus said, giving Scorpius a disarming smile that made him forget his previous irritation. "But we agreed to keep this as prefect's business. This way you can't get into trouble for anything that might happen."
Scorpius was dumbfounded, and suddenly very worried, for there was a look in Albus' eyes that a prefect probably shouldn't have.
"I don't want any of you getting into trouble," he said, watching Albus carefully.
"We won't," Albus said, with another smile. "Everything will be fine, Scorpius."
And Scorpius reflected that this was exactly what he'd wanted to hear Albus say, but somehow it didn't sound as reassuring as he'd thought it would.
Over the next few days, his concern only increased for there were quite a few moments when he walked in on James, Rose and Albus having a whispered conversation that would end abruptly as soon as they saw him. They were very polite about it but he couldn't help feeling annoyed with them. This was his problem after all, and to have it taken so completely out of his hands made him feel as if he was some sort of damsel in distress.
He was also fairly certain that there were some items missing from his Weasley's Wizard Wheezes gift box, but that could just as well have been Hugo, so Scorpius chose not to mention it. After all, if they were only going to tell him that it was 'for his own good' that he not know what they were up to, he wasn't going to lower himself by showing any curiosity.
Besides he was suffering from a feeling of dejection that he couldn't ignore and sapped his energy. It had hurt when he'd thought that Albus thought he was lying, and whilst that had passed when Albus had explained himself, he still couldn't escape his disappointment over the fact that Albus had chosen to give Simon the benefit of the doubt.
He knew now that a part of him had hoped that Albus would break up with Simon, and that perhaps Scorpius would then have a chance, and that had been a completely humiliating realisation in the wake of his discovery of how much Albus apparently loved Simon.
And he obviously did, very much. And it made Scorpius doubt his own version of events. Had he really seen that moment of guilty knowledge in Simon's eyes before he'd walked away – or had he just imagined it because he'd wanted to believe the worst of Albus' boyfriend.
He couldn't help regretting telling Albus about Simon and it was even more annoying because he hadn't actually meant to. But when Albus had immediately started going on about talking to Simon, Scorpius had let his irritation get the better of him.
He couldn't help wondering, though, what had prompted the decision for Simon not to join them. Scorpius found it easier without him there, but he could see that Albus was often thoughtful and he guessed that he was either thinking about or missing Simon.
Fortunately the weather got better and they were able to spend more time outside. Sledding, or skating in the barn, as well as the occasional impromptu Quidditch game kept them busy and Scorpius' mood gradually improved.
And then New Year's Eve arrived and Simon Crimshaw turned up for the party.
For some reason Scorpius had assumed that Simon would not be there, if he'd thought about it at all, so it was a bit of a shock, when after a very busy day helping the Potters prepare and decorate for the party, he'd seen the flash of green in the corner of his eye and turned to see Simon standing near the fireplace with two people who were obviously his parents.
Scorpius looked around, rather desperately, and his heart sank when he realised that he was the only one in the kitchen. It had been a great mistake, he decided, to linger over a cup of tea before going upstairs to get changed.
"Um, hello," he said, and Simon's mother smiled at him.
"This is Scorpius Malfoy," Simon said to his parents.
"Hmm, Malfoy, you say," Simon's father said, frowning, and Scorpius held out his hand.
"Yes," he said. "Pleased to meet you."
There was a moment of tense silence and then Simon's mother took his hand, still smiling, and Scorpius decided that he liked her.
"I'm pleased too," she said. "I was sorry to hear about your parents. I met your mother a few times, she was a lovely person."
"Thank you," he said. "Harry and Ginny are in the living room if you want to go through."
They nodded and went out into the hallway but Simon stayed behind and Scorpius' heart started to beat harder.
"Where's Al?" Simon asked quietly, and it was at that moment that Scorpius realised he hadn't made a mistake about what had happened with Simon and Creevey, for Simon was not meeting his eyes.
"He's upstairs," Scorpius said. "He went up to get changed. He should be down in a minute."
"In fact, I'm here."
They both turned to see Albus standing in the doorway.
"Hi, Simon," he continued. "Scorp, you should get changed."
It was a clear dismissal, but it was one that Scorpius was happy to take. He left the room quickly, but not without taking one last look over his shoulder into the kitchen.
Albus was leaning against the kitchen table talking quietly, and Simon was holding his hand.
Thankfully Michael and Adrian and, to Scorpius' great delight, Peony, also turned up and so he was able to spend most of his time with them and Rose. Whenever Simon and Albus were with them, Scorpius usually managed to find an excuse to wander off and talk to someone else.
He was chatting to Hugo when he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around and found Fabian Smith grinning at him.
"Hi, beautiful," Fabian said, and he put a finger under Scorpius' chin and pushed his gaping mouth closed. "Don't look so shocked. James always invites me. Didn't he tell you?"
Scorpius shook his head, still a little surprised at how glad he felt to see Fabian.
"No," he said. "He didn't."
"Ah well," Fabian said. "Then it makes it a nice surprise, I hope?"
"Yes," Scorpius said with a smile, and Fabian's grin widened. He moved closer.
"So," he said, in a low voice. "Do you think there's any mistletoe still around?"
"The Potters don't hang mistletoe," Scorpius said, feeling his cheeks beginning to heat.
"What?" Fabian looked outraged. "That's disgraceful. I shall have to have a word with James about that. I was counting on that mistletoe."
Scorpius couldn't help laughing and then there was another tap on his shoulder and Albus handed them both glasses of punch.
"Here," he said. "Not quite as good as the Halloween punch but I thought you'd like some all the same. Hi Fabian, no Firewhiskey in your pocket this time?"
"Merlin no, Al," Fabian laughed. "You know I'm terrified of your mother. I wouldn't risk it."
"James and Fred were looking for you a moment ago," Albus said. "They're in the kitchen now, I think."
"Oh, really?" Fabian said, and Scorpius saw that he was looking at Albus with a strangely speculative expression. "All right."
Then he smiled at Scorpius and took his hand. "Let's go and find James and Fred," he said, and Scorpius found himself being pulled across the room. When they got to the doorway, Fabian turned and looked down at Scorpius, laughing.
"He'll have to do better than that," he said. "First no mistletoe and now Albus Potter on guard duty. What sort of party is this?"
He winked at Scorpius, who was feeling rather bewildered by what had just happened, and then ushered him into the kitchen.
Scorpius stayed in the kitchen with Fabian, Fred and James until just before midnight and then they were all called into the large living room for the countdown. Scorpius leaned against the wall next to Fabian, and grinned happily when Peony and Adrian struggled through the crowd to join them.
"Where have you been?" Peony whispered, and then she eyed Fabian. "Or maybe I shouldn't ask."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Give it a rest," he said quietly. "I bet you only just noticed I was gone."
Peony giggled and snuggled closer to Adrian who looked thoroughly smitten in Scorpius' opinion. He was glad they were so happy but in some ways it tore at his heart, and then just to make it worse, a gap cleared across the room and he saw Albus and Simon with their arms around each other and their mouths glued together.
"Happy New Year, Scorp," Peony said, planting a loud, smacking kiss on his cheek and Adrian and Fabian burst out laughing.
"I think you've killed his brain, Peony," Adrian said. "He looks like you've stupefied him. Mind you, your kisses have that effect on me too," he added, waggling his eyebrows.
"Oh, that was truly bad," Peony said, laughing and kissing him as well. "You're really going to have to improve your wit if we're going to stay together."
An arm nudged against Scorpius jostling him out of the daze he'd been in.
"Hey," Fabian said, quietly. "Wake up, and Happy New Year, Scorpius."
"Thanks," Scorpius said, forcing a smile on his face. "And to you too."
"I'm rather miffed that Peony got to you first," Fabian said, winking. "Between that and the mistletoe my heart is breaking."
Mine too, Scorpius thought as the image of Albus with Simon rose before his eyes. Firmly he pushed it aside. He wasn't going to dwell on that and the start of the new year seemed a good time to do what he should have done weeks ago.
He'd always known that he should have no hope about Albus and what he'd just seen had proved it completely. For his own good, Scorpius decided, he had to stop dreaming about someone who was unattainable and finally move on.
"You know," Fabian whispered in his ear. "If this was Monday instead of Friday, I'd have a question for you, beautiful."
Scorpius shivered slightly and for the first time he thought that he might just say yes.
The next day was a strangely languid one in the Potter household for it had been the early hours of the morning before they'd all finally got to bed and everyone was tired. So most of the day was spent lounging around in the kitchen, drinking cups of tea, and Scorpius managed to stay as far away from Albus as possible. He was still determined to move on from his infatuation, and whilst in one way he was dreading returning to Hogwarts and facing the Creevey situation, in another way it meant that he would be able to more easily avoid Albus.
After a quiet weekend, on Monday they met up with Michael, Adrian and Peony in Diagon Alley. At one point, Adrian asked Albus where Simon was, and when Albus replied shortly that he'd been busy, no one questioned it further.
Then there was a frantic day of packing on Tuesday, made particularly so by the fact that Hugo seemed to have lost the entire contents of his trunk, and then suddenly they were on the Hogwarts Express headed back to school.
Not long after they'd all finally settled into a compartment there was a knock on the door and Simon came in. Scorpius thought he looked slightly nervous, but he smiled when Albus waved him into the seat next to him and they fell into a quiet conversation. He tried to ignore them, but at one point he looked over and Simon was watching him with an expression that Scorpius quickly recognised. It was guilty defiance and it made Scorpius furious, and he quickly got up and left the compartment.
He leaned against a window frame in the corridor and watched the countryside flashing by outside. His anger about Simon couldn't be ignored. The other boy had deliberately lied about what had happened with Creevey, of that Scorpius now had no doubts, and no matter what his own feelings about Albus, he couldn't stand the thought that his friend's boyfriend had lied to him and Albus was oblivious to that fact. It wasn't right; and Scorpius decided that at the first opportunity he was going to tell Simon exactly that.
He felt movement near by and looked up to find Albus standing beside him.
"Scorp," he said quietly. "I know that it's hard for you to have Simon around with the way things are, but I was hoping… I mean I wanted to make sure that you aren't still angry with me. We haven't talked much in the last couple of days."
Scorpius eventually shook his head. "No, I'm not angry," he said. "I've just had a bit to think about."
"So have I," Albus said with a sigh, and Scorpius looked at him curiously. He'd never seen Albus so sombre before, and he looked tired.
"Are you all right?" he asked, letting his anxiety show, and Albus smiled.
"Yeah," he said. "So, I wanted to talk to you about Creevey as well."
Scorpius frowned, but accepted the change of subject, especially if it meant that Albus was actually going to tell him what was going on.
"What about him?" he asked.
"It will take about a week for us to take care of him," Albus said, a gleam coming into his eyes. "And I want you to promise me that you won't wander around Hogwarts alone. We don't have to tell the others but make sure you stay close to them, all right? Creevey might get a bit… um… frazzled."
Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "Al, I'm worried about-"
"Don't be," Albus interrupted. "It will all be fine, I promise you. You may even find it entertaining."
Scorpius sighed in frustration as Albus grinned and went back into the compartment. He really wished that he knew what they were going to do.
It was towards the end of breakfast the very next day that Scorpius began to get an idea of exactly how Albus, James, and Rose were going to handle the Creevey situation. He was buttering his toast when he heard the swell of laughter building in the Great Hall but it was Trevor Pucey's astonished voice that made him look up.
"Why in all the wizarding world is Martin Creevey wearing a skirt to breakfast?"
Scorpius could hardly believe his eyes, but sure enough Martin Creevey was walking into the Great Hall, looking absolutely furious, and definitely wearing a Gryffindor uniform girl's skirt. He plunked down on the Gryffindor bench next to one of his friends and glared around the Hall before bending his head over his breakfast.
A few moments later, Lily hurried over to the Slytherin table and squeezed in beside Albus.
"It's been the most hilarious morning," she said, her eyes brimming with laughter. "Someone has put some sort of transfiguration charm on Martin Creevey during the night. Every time he touches a pair of trousers it turns into a skirt and as soon as he let's go it turns back into trousers. Professor Cratherwaite is furious about it but he says it's an advanced piece of magic and he couldn't find a way to reverse it. Eventually he sent Creevey to the hospital wing but apparently Madame Pomfrey said that there wasn't actually anything wrong with him and he could go to classes."
Most of the Slytherin table broke into laughter but Scorpius looked over at the Gryffindor table with suspicion. Rose, he knew, was very good at both Transfiguration and Charms, but he couldn't for the life of him think how she could've got into a boy's dormitory. And she looked supremely innocent sitting at the Gryffindor table, chatting with a friend.
The main topic of conversation throughout Hogwarts for the rest of the day was what had happened to Creevey, but as it was Thursday, Scorpius didn't see him again until dinner, for which he was fairly grateful. Unfortunately it also meant that he didn't see Simon either, which normally would have pleased him, but he was still determined to find a way to speak with him alone.
It was when Simon joined them at break the following day that Scorpius heard about the next thing to happen to Martin Creevey.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Simon said, looking at Albus with what Scorpius thought was wary suspicion. "But there was an incident in Herbology this morning, and I've just left the hospital wing."
"What happened?" Peony asked, her voice full of concern.
"Well, Professor Longbottom thought that Martin Creevey must have been infected by some sort of fungal virus. He sent him to Madame Pomfrey and she quarantined Greenhouse 5, but then Madame Pomfrey found the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes wrapper in his pocket. Professor Longbottom thinks that Martin tried to get the Greenhouse closed down because of a prac test he set for next week, so he reported it to Professor Sprout and she's given him detention. And, of course, Martin just has to wait for it to go away. Madame Pomfrey says it will take about a week."
"Wait for what to go away?" Adrian asked, sounding puzzled, but Scorpius was remembering that the 'Fantastic Fungi That Grow Anywhere' packet was one of the things that had gone missing from his gift box.
"He's got a large red and green toadstool growing out of his left ear," Simon said, and he looked like he wanted to laugh. "I have to admit, it really does look extraordinary."
And when Scorpius saw Martin Creevey at Care of Magical Creatures later that morning, he found himself agreeing with Simon Crimshaw for the first time ever.
It was a quiet weekend for there was no Hogsmeade visit on the first weekend back at school, and the weather was still freezing so most people stayed indoors.
Scorpius had hoped to be able to catch Simon alone at some point, but it was difficult when he was always with someone else, and Simon, himself, seemed to be keeping a very low profile.
As was Martin Creevey. Of course, his appearance alone was enough to get everyone talking but when he turned up to Sunday breakfast with bright purple hair the main reaction seemed to be astonished silence.
"That really is too much," Trevor Pucey suddenly exclaimed loudly, sounding exasperated. "This is a serious place of learning. I appeal to you Professor Cratherwaite," he continued, standing up and facing the head of Gryffindor house at the staff table, "I appeal to you, please curb this apparent new fashion amongst your students for taking on such a ridiculous appearance. This sort of thing may be deemed appropriate for Halloween, although I object to the practice myself, but it is hardly appropriate for an environment of studious learning and endeavour as august as Hogwarts. This student," he spluttered, pointing a trembling finger at Creevey, whilst the rest of the student body watched the usually timid and quiet student with amazement, "is reducing Hogwarts to the status of a circus tent, and I, for one, won't stand for it."
Trevor finished his impassioned speech and took his seat to the sound of growing applause, whilst Simon Crimshaw and another Gryffindor, physically restrained Martin Creevey from vaulting over the table and trying to get to him.
After a few minutes order was restored, and Scorpius turned to watch Albus calmly finishing his breakfast. He raised an eyebrow as Albus grinned at him.
"Who would have thought old Trevor had it in him, hey," he said.
On Monday morning Simon sat down beside Albus at the Slytherin table and sighed wearily.
"What's up?" asked Adrian.
"I'm a little worried about Martin," Simon said. "I think there may actually be something wrong with him. He says that someone has been following him around all weekend, whispering at him, but there's never anyone there, and now he thinks he's being haunted."
"Perhaps he's going mad," Albus said mildly, and Simon frowned at him.
"You don't know anything about this, do you?" he asked.
Albus gave him an indecipherable look. "You know my opinion of Creevey," he said, his voice cold. "And I can assure you, I've got better things to do than follow him around everywhere, even if I could make myself invisible."
Simon flushed, and his eyes flitted to Scorpius, and Scorpius could clearly see the guilt and anxiety in them and it made him more determined then ever to talk to Simon. But, he thought, he needed help and luckily he knew the perfect person to ask for it.
Everyone was rather subdued in Potions that morning for Martin Creevey really did look absolutely frightful. He was still wearing a skirt, and the toadstool in his ear and growing along his face was now higher than the top of his head and it clashed horribly with his purple hair. He was deathly pale and one of his eyes had developed a twitch.
Even Professor Snorpatch kept away from him as they worked on their potions but when halfway through the lesson Creevey's cauldron erupted into a plume of bright orange liquid that splashed all over him, she could no longer ignore him.
"Really, Creevey," she said, in an exasperated voice. "I've mentioned five times that the saffron fireflame powder should not be added until our next lesson. Haven't you been listening at all?"
"I didn't add it," Creevey said, sounding panicked and holding up a jar. "Look, I added apricot frogspawn powder just like you said."
She strode over to his bench and looked over the bottles from his Potion's kit.
"Foolish boy," she said, frowning. "All of these bottles are completely mislabelled. I'm amazed you haven't blown up the school. Twenty points from Gryffindor and you will stay behind in the free period and relabel all of your bottles correctly."
Creevey gaped at the bottles and actually looked as if he might burst into tears, as Professor Snorpatch waved her wand and cleaned up the mess. Unfortunately, the orange streaks on Creevey's face and hands remained.
"I'm afraid that the discolouration on your skin will stay for at least a couple of weeks," she said. "Consider it suitable punishment for your carelessness." She stood and eyed him for a moment. "Although taking into account the rest of your appearance it hardly makes a difference."
Creevey glared around the room for a moment as if daring anyone to laugh and then his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"How are you doing all of this?" Scorpius asked quietly as he followed Albus out of Potions.
Albus' eyes flicked to Simon who was walking ahead of them, and he took Scorpius' arm and pulled him into a side corridor.
"I'll tell you eventually," he said. "I promise."
Scorpius sighed. "Why don't you trust me?" he asked, and Albus immediately frowned. "You can't think I'd tell anyone."
"Hey, no," Albus said, taking Scorpius' hand. "Don't think that. It's just that even though we haven't been caught, and I'm positive we won't be, there's still a chance. I don't want you involved."
"Do you really think all of this craziness is going to change anything?" Scorpius asked, despondently.
A few students wandered past and Albus pulled Scorpius into a nearby window alcove.
"I know it seems like just practical jokes," he said, stepping closer. "But we do have a plan to make sure he never touches you again. I promise you."
Scorpius was silent, unable to look away from Albus' sparkling green eyes. He was starting to regret talking to Albus and ending up alone with him, because it was only proving that as much as he wanted to move on, he was still drawn to him.
"I do trust you, Scorp," Albus said, softly, moving closer again. "And I'm asking you to trust me. Will you?"
Scorpius finally nodded and his breath caught in his throat when Albus smiled. Then Albus brushed his fingers along Scorpius' chin in a strangely intimate gesture and Scorpius shivered.
"Thanks," Albus whispered. "You're so-"
"Albus, where the hell are you?"
It was Simon, sounding very annoyed, and an answering irritation seemed to flicker in Albus' eyes before he abruptly left the alcove.
Scorpius stayed there for a while, with his eyes closed, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.
It was at break that Scorpius finally saw Fabian and he sighed with relief as he took the Gryffindor's arm and led him away from the Quad.
"I need to talk to you," he said, as they walked along the suspension bridge. "I need your help."
"With what?" Fabian asked.
"I was… um… wondering if you could help me get into the Gryffindor 6th year boy's dorm," he said, flushing as Fabian's eyebrows rose in astonishment.
"Why in Merlin's name-" Fabian began but Scorpius quickly interrupted him.
"I need to talk to someone alone," he said. "And I sort of need you to keep Martin Creevey out of the way as well."
"Well, that won't be hard," Fabian said, grinning. "Creevey's been acting like a demented freak lately. Not to mention looking like one as well. But why would I smuggle you into a dorm room to talk to another boy, beautiful? I'd much rather smuggle you into mine."
Scorpius took a deep nervous breath. This had all seemed so much easier when he'd worked it out in his head. He'd decided that Fabian was good-looking and fun to be with and it really wouldn't be so terrible to go on a date with him, but now that he was actually doing this he wondered how Fabian was going to react.
"Well, it's Monday," he finally said, feeling his cheeks heat again.
"Ah, so you're saying if I ask you the usual question, you'll say yes?" Fabian asked, his expression thoughtful.
Scorpius nodded anxiously. He couldn't read the look on Fabian's face but he rather thought it was the most serious he'd ever seen him.
Then he suddenly laughed.
"Oooh, how delightfully Slytherin of you," he said. "I like it and I accept your offer. But in the Slytherin spirit I should tell you that getting Creevey out of the way is going to cost you extra."
"Another date?" Scorpius asked doubtfully.
"Uh, uh," Fabian said, grinning widely. "A kiss. And I'm not talking some little peck on the cheek type of kiss. I want a proper good night kiss, a real end of date snog."
Scorpius froze and stared at Fabian in consternation. He had always secretly dreamed that his first kiss would come from Albus Potter but he knew now that it was never going to happen that way. He'd already decided that it wouldn't be a hardship to have his first date with Fabian and as he looked into his clear, blue eyes he decided that it wouldn't be that hard to have his first kiss with him either.
Slowly he nodded his head, his heart beating rapidly.
"Deal?" Fabian asked, holding out his hand.
Scorpius took it and shook it. "Deal," he said firmly.
That evening, after dinner, he met Fabian near the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower.
"Ready?" Fabian asked, and Scorpius nodded.
"All right," said Fabian. "Now, Crimshaw is in the common room and as soon as you're in the dorm I'll think of a way to send him up." He smiled at Scorpius' gasp of surprise. "Yeah, I figured it was Crimshaw you wanted to talk to."
"What about Creevey?" Scorpius asked.
"Oh, I've already taken care of him," Fabian said. "That was easy."
"What did you do?"
"Used the Full Body-Bind on him and stuffed him into a cupboard on the 4th floor," Fabian said, calmly. "He's been sulking because James kicked him off the Quidditch team because he reckons his appearance is too distracting for the other players. Creevey's in such a funk that he didn't know what hit him. I'll let him out later. Shame he'll never know it was me, I've been wanting to do that to him for ages."
Scorpius blinked, but before he could say anything Fabian had lead him over to the Fat Lady portrait.
"Put your hood up," Fabian said. "Now, James set the password this week. I think you'll like it."
Scorpius drew his hood up, and then muffled a laugh when Fabian said 'Freaky Fungi' to the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and they entered the common room, Fabian slipping his arm around Scorpius' waist and holding him close to his side.
Scorpius held his breath but the common room was quiet and no one seemed to notice them. He walked up the stairs with Fabian and then they stopped in front of a sturdy wooden door.
"Well, here it is," Fabian said. "Do you need me to get you out when you're ready to leave?"
Scorpius shook his head. "No, I was just worried about Simon avoiding me if he knew I was here. Once I've talked to him, it doesn't matter if anyone sees me."
"All right," Fabian said, and he winked. "I'm looking forward to Saturday."
Scorpius blushed but thankfully Fabian was already moving down the stairs so he didn't see it.
Scorpius pushed open the door, looking around the room curiously as he settled in one of the comfortable armchairs. A few minutes later the door opened and Simon Crimshaw walked in, stopping dead in the middle of the room the moment he spotted Scorpius.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Malfoy?"
"I wanted to talk to you," Scorpius said, calmly, even though his heart was thudding in his chest. He didn't for one moment think that Simon would be violent like Creevey, but it was still a risk confronting him.
"We have nothing to talk about," Simon replied.
"I think we do. You lied to Albus and we both know it."
Simon scowled and stepped closer. Scorpius tensed, but then sighed in relief when Simon sat on one of the beds.
"Do you really think you can get away with that?" Scorpius asked, his voice serious.
"Don't think that you can steal my boyfriend from me, Malfoy."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Even if I was going to do that," he said. "I wouldn't have to Crimshaw. The relationship you had with him is already over. It was over the minute you lied to him. You betrayed that prefect's badge on your chest and you betrayed your relationship with Al by lying to him. The best you can hope for now is that he loves you enough to forgive you for it. But either way, you owe him the truth."
Simon looked stunned and he suddenly took a loud, gasping breath. "Shut up, Malfoy," he said, but it sounded weak, and Scorpius smiled.
"Fine," he said, standing up. "I've only said what you already knew, but I'll add this. You don't deserve to be a prefect, Simon, and you don't deserve Al either."
He took one last look at Simon's pale face and then he quietly left the room.
there will be more