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.
Albus Potter and the Slytherin Fairy Princess - Chapter 14
It had been a strange week for Albus Potter, full of highs and lows. On the one hand there had been the adrenaline rush and the sheer enjoyment of everything they had done to Martin Creevey and on the other had been his confusion about Simon and the growing feeling that he was going to have to give up on something that only a few months ago he could not have imagined losing.
Aside from anything to do with Scorpius it seemed that his relationship with Simon had finally died sometime in the last couple of weeks. Even when Simon had surprised Albus with a New Year's kiss, Albus had known a moment of wanting to pull away and since then he'd found himself reluctant to display any physical affection towards his boyfriend. It was confusing and depressing and a part of Albus was hoping that his feelings for Simon would return. He really didn't want to hurt him.
And of course, there was also the problem of Scorpius and then, once again, Albus had come close to kissing the other boy when they had been alone together in the alcove. And the fact that it had been Simon who had interrupted them, and the knowledge that all Albus had felt about it at that moment was extreme annoyance that Simon had turned up, had finally made him realise exactly what he was going to have to do, and that it wasn't fair to anyone to put it off any longer.
Albus didn't know what might happen with Scorpius - he was reluctant to launch straight into another relationship - but it was definitely time to end the relationship with Simon, and the part of him that had hoped his feelings would return now grieved for what it had lost.
Albus leaned against the wall and sighed as he waited for James and Rose to join him in a small room just near the Slytherin dungeons. He distracted himself by casting the Muffliato charm, for this was a conversation that he definitely didn't want anyone overhearing.
"Hey, Al."
Albus looked up with relief as Rose wandered into the room followed, a few seconds later, by James.
"Can we make this quick?" Rose continued. "I want to meet up with Michael soon."
Behind her James rolled his eyes and Albus smiled.
"So, what's next for Creevey?" James asked.
"I think we might have come to the end of what we can get away with," Albus said thoughtfully, and then smiled again when Rose groaned.
"No," she said. "I've been having so much fun. I want to see how bad we can really make him look."
"Rose," James said. "I think Al's right. Somebody put a body bind on Creevey yesterday and put him in a cupboard and it wasn't one of us. If other people start having a go at Creevey just for the fun of it then this whole thing could really get out of hand and it could get traced back to us. Besides, I think Creevey's ready for the final stage," he added, nodding at Albus. "So, what do you want me to do and when?"
"Tomorrow, after final classes. We've got double Potions together after lunch. Rose, you delay him a bit after class. James, you have the cloak and herd him up to the Charms corridor on the 3rd floor. I'll follow you up there as if I'm concerned about him and get him into one of the classrooms. Then I'll take care of it."
"So, that's it?" Rose asked with a sigh.
"Yes, Rose, that's it," Albus said. "You know I'm beginning to get worried about you. Talk about bloodthirsty."
Rose stuck her nose in the air. "Well, he hurt one of my best friends," she said haughtily, and then ruined the effect by grinning. "Besides, it was bloody good transfiguration practice. I'm just annoyed that no one will ever know it was me that created that marvellous charm. I really should get credit for it you know."
"Write a book about it one day," Albus said, kissing her on the cheek. "You know we couldn't have done this without you. Now, go and see Michael."
Rose laughed and left the room, and Albus was just about to follow her when James took his arm and pulled him back.
"What's up?" Albus asked.
"I was going to ask you that," James said, his eyes serious, and Albus froze for a moment. Very occasionally James could be inconveniently perceptive and Albus' heart sank as he realised that this was one of those times.
"I'm fine," Albus said shortly, but James wasn't going to be deterred.
"No you're not," he said. "I know something's wrong with you and Simon, and I thought you might like to talk about it. You know I had that break-up with Kirsty early last year and, I admit it, I was a mess, and I really regret that I didn't talk about it with anyone. Well, not until Dad locked me in his study and made me, anyway. But my point is, it really did help, and now that I'm with Jane, when I have a problem I'm better at talking about it."
"Fine," Albus said with a sigh. The truth was that once he would never have dreamt of talking to James, but his brother had changed a lot in the last year, and maybe it would be a good idea to clear his head by talking.
"So, you and Simon?" James prompted, his eyes full of curiosity.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but I think it's over," Albus said and James whistled.
"And how does Simon feel about that?" James asked.
"I haven't really talked to him yet," Albus said. "At Christmas we sort of took a bit of a break," he looked up as James nodded. "Yeah, I thought you'd figured that out. We haven't really talked about things since then, but I know I'm acting differently and he's nervous, and wary. But, of course, that might be because…"
Albus paused for a moment of thought and then told his brother about what Scorpius had told him about Simon and Creevey.
"That's why I didn't want Simon involved," he finished, as James frowned. "I thought I didn't want to compromise him, but I think a part of me just doesn't trust him with this. He's a bit… irrational… about Scorpius."
"Yeah," James said. "He knows that Scorpius fancies you."
"Merlin, does everyone know about that?"
"Hmmm, only Peony," James said thoughtfully, ignoring Albus' angry glare. "Me. And I think maybe Fabian. I'm not sure about him though."
Albus valiantly squashed his immediate instinct to interrogate James about what Fabian might have said about Scorpius, and he sighed instead.
"I'm attracted to him," he said flatly.
"Fabian?" James asked, his voice full of laughter, and Albus smacked him on the arm.
"Sorry, couldn't resist," James said, and then his eyes went serious. "You haven't… um… cheated on Simon have you?"
Albus shook his head. "But it's been close a couple of times," he admitted, his face flushing. "It's not Scorpius," he said quickly as James raised an eyebrow. "It's me. I don't think Scorpius has even realised, actually. But I can't get him out of my head."
"Look, Al," James said. "It's a really flattering thing when you realise that someone has a crush on you. And maybe that's why you're so interested in Scorpius now. And maybe that's why you're feeling this way about Simon."
"I thought it might be that," Albus said. "I was worried it might be that. But I've thought about it, James, and I was starting to feel differently about Simon before I knew about Scorpius. He showed a side of himself that I'd never seen before, and yes, the situation with Scorpius aggravated it, but it was already there. When I said he's irrational about Scorpius I didn't just mean because of me, it's also because Scorpius is a Malfoy."
"Oh," James sighed. "He's one of those idiots."
"Yeah," Albus agreed. "And nothing I could say would change that idea in him, and once the irritation set in me, I just couldn't seem to shake it. As for Scorpius, I've always thought he was, well... gorgeous really, even if he didn't seem like my type. And then the more I got to know him the better I liked him. I think it could grow into more than just attraction."
"So, you're going to dump Simon and go off with Scorpius, are you?" James asked, with a sly smile. "Doesn't seem like you, Al."
For a moment Albus was so shocked that he couldn't speak. His brother could certainly be blunt but Albus saw the smile on his face, and he knew that James wasn't trying to make him angry. He was trying to help Albus think about the future more clearly.
"You're cleverer than you look," he said, and James laughed.
"I didn't become head boy just from my good looks, you know," he said.
"You're right, of course," Albus said, ignoring the opportunity to tease his brother. "I can't do that to either of them. I know I have to end things with Simon, but I need some time after that. Alone."
"Well, that's good," James said. "Because I think I should tell you something. Fabian told me that Scorpius has agreed to go out with him. On a date."
Albus' heart dropped like lead and he froze. James was watching for his reaction, he knew it, and he struggled for a moment to decide exactly what that was. Shock, he knew, and a sort of angry disbelief because why was Scorpius doing this when he liked Albus? Of course, he immediately knew that he had no right to feel like that, and he remembered the disappointment that he'd heard in Scorpius' voice when he'd said that Albus loved Simon, realised that Scorpius was obviously trying to move on, and for a split second he was ready to storm into the dorm room and make Scorpius change his mind… and then he felt James' hand on his arm.
"So, maybe you feel more for him than you thought," James said, quietly.
Albus took a deep breath. "Maybe," he said. "But it doesn't change anything," he added regretfully.
"Bad timing," James agreed. "Sorry."
"I can handle it," Albus said, but then he looked at his brother intently. "But I'm telling you this, James, even if Fabian is your friend. I'll do worse to him than I've done to Creevey, if he treats Scorpius badly."
"Hey, settle down," James said, smiling. "Fabian got the worse end of the story in that business with Henry and Patrick last year, and he never bothered to correct it. Scorpius will be fine."
"Well, good," Albus said, not sure whether he was relieved or more irritated by the information.
James looked at his watch. "I'd better get going," he said, and he looked at Albus with concern. "You all right?"
"Yes," Albus said, giving James a quick hug. Aside from the unfortunate news about Scorpius, their talk really had helped to clear his head, and he was grateful. "Thanks, James."
They parted in the hallway and then Albus went into the common room. Immediately he saw Scorpius, sitting with Peony and Adrian, and when Adrian waved him over, Albus shook his head, faked a yawn and went up to the dorm. There was no way he was ready to be close to Scorpius just yet.
And besides, he had a lot to think about. Not only did he have to work out what he was going to say to Simon but he also had to be clear about exactly what was going to happen the next day with Martin Creevey.
Their plan worked so well that a very short time after their final class had ended the next day Albus found himself taking Martin Creevey's arm and leading him into an empty charms classroom.
He quickly cast Muffliato and then examined the extraordinary sight standing before him.
Martin Creevey was barely recognisable, for as well as his unfortunate appearance he'd also lost the confident swagger that he'd always had. Albus preferred him without it.
Albus took a deep breath and forced a gentle tone into his voice. "I'm worried about you Martin."
Creevey didn't reply, he simply shrugged his shoulders and then slumped against a desk.
"So, I've decided to tell you something," Albus continued, lowering his voice to a confidential whisper. "But if I do, you have to swear never to repeat it. I'm risking my role as a prefect by telling you this."
Creevey looked up, his eyes full of curiosity but also wary suspicion. "So, why tell me then?"
"Because I'm getting sick of looking at you in this frightful state," Albus couldn't resist sniping. "And if I don't tell you how to fix it, it will only get worse."
"Worse?" Creevey shrieked, and Albus winced. "No. You have to tell me."
"I will, but you have to swear."
"I swear, I swear."
Creevey was nodding franticly, and Albus smiled a little and then pushed him into a chair.
"Right," he said. "Now, when someone becomes a prefect, they are told a little secret about Hogwarts that they're not supposed to talk about. Except under the most dire circumstances," Albus eyed Martin Creevey and shook his head. "You're looking fairly dire so I think maybe I should tell you."
"What is it?" Creevey breathed, and Albus knew he was hooked.
"Well, when a student does something bad and they get away with it, sometimes the castle itself decides to get involved. You see if the castle thinks that what the student did should be punished, it will take care of the punishment itself."
Martin Creevey stared at Albus with his mouth gaping open in shock.
"You mean, the castle is doing all this stuff to me?"
Albus narrowed his eyes. "If you've done something bad, Creevey. Have you done something that you shouldn't have? Something the castle wouldn't like?"
Creevey suddenly stood up and paced around the room and Albus held his breath, hoping that the confession he wanted was about to come.
"This is insane, Potter," Creevey eventually said, and Albus sighed with disappointment. "You can't expect me to believe this story."
Albus shrugged. "I don't really care whether you believe it or not, after all, you're the one who looks like something out of a second-rate freak show in Knockturn Alley," he held up a hand as Creevey gave him an angry look. "I'm telling you what I know."
"Why didn't Simon tell me about this then?" Creevey demanded. "He's supposed to be my bloody friend."
"We can't tell anyone in our own house," Albus said quickly. "Look, do you want to know how to get it to stop or not? I've got other things to do, you know."
Creevey suddenly looked a bit panicked, just as Albus had hoped he would, for he knew that the only way this was really going to work was if Creevey didn't have too much time to think. Although, fortunately Creevey seemed fairly stupid, something that Albus had never really had the chance to notice before.
"What do I have to do?"
"Well, a confession would help," Albus said, and waited, watching as Creevey paced the room again.
"Fuck it," Creevey finally said, rounding on Albus. "I'm not confessing to anything. If this stupid pile of rubble wants to punish me for something then it can. I don't care."
Albus stifled a sigh of angry resignation. He could hear the fear underneath the defiance in Creevey's voice but obviously the fear of expulsion was stronger than his fear of what else might happen to him. Their main plan had failed and they weren't going to get a confession so Albus quickly settled for the back-up plan – to at least make sure that Creevey never touched Scorpius again.
"There is an alternative," he said calmly, and Creevey looked at him with hope in his eyes.
"What?"
"You can swear to someone of authority that you won't repeat whatever it was that caused the castle's ire. It can be a teacher or a prefect."
"That would work?" Creevey asked, looking around anxiously at the walls surrounding them and Albus suppressed the desire to laugh. "I mean, the castle would accept that?"
"So I was told," Albus said.
"All right, I swear," Creevey said, quickly. "I won't do it again… um… the thing I did that annoyed the castle."
"Fine," Albus said. "But remember this, if you break that oath, the castle will do things to you that will make this last week look like a picnic. Understand?"
"I understand," Creevey said, after taking a deep breath.
"Right, I'm off then," Albus said, heading for the door. He really wanted to get away from Creevey before the anger that had been simmering away inside him boiled over.
"Wait," Creevey said, and Albus paused in the doorway with a long-suffering sigh, and then turned and looked at Creevey expectantly.
"Thanks Al," Creevey said, and Albus nodded. "But… um… I was sort of hoping," and he pointed at the toadstool beside his head. "I was sort of hoping that all this might disappear."
"I think you'll find," Albus replied, "that you'll have to wait for it to go naturally. But at least nothing else will happen to you now."
Creevey nodded, and Albus left the room.
"He's fairly stupid, isn't he?"
James suddenly appeared beside him and Albus started and then swore quietly under his breath.
"You're the one who had him on your Quidditch team," he said, thumping James on the arm.
"Well, he's not stupid at Quidditch," James replied. "But there was a moment there where I almost laughed and gave myself away."
"Me too," Albus said. "Unfortunately he wasn't stupid enough to actually confess."
"That depends on how you look at it."
They reached the Grand Staircase and paused for a moment on the landing.
"Well, that was a fun week," James said, grinning. "I'll go and let Rose know how things turned out. What are you up to?"
"Make sure she takes that charm of hers off Creevey tonight," Albus said, glancing at his pocket watch. "I'm late for Quidditch practice, but they'll have started without me. By the way, who did you get to replace Creevey?"
James laughed and Albus raised an eyebrow. "That bad, huh?"
"Oh no," James said. "I got permission to use Hugo. He's only a first year but you know they broke that rule for Dad, and when I reminded them of that, I got my way."
"Bugger," Albus muttered, as James waved and wandered off to the Gryffindor Tower.
After Quidditch practice Albus had hoped to let Scorpius know that things were settled with Creevey, but dinner had already started when they got back from the pitch.
"Hi, Scorp," he said, as he sat down beside him at the Slytherin table. "I've got some good news for you."
"What?" Scorpius asked, looking curious.
Albus glanced around the table. "I'll tell you after dinner."
"Hey, you two," Peony interrupted them, turning from her conversation with Adrian. "Apparently there's a new café opened up in Hogsmeade. Shall we all try it this weekend?"
"Oh, um, I can't," Scorpius said quietly, and Albus could see that he was starting to blush.
"Why not?" Peony asked, frowning. "Merlin, you are not staying here and studying, Scorpius. I won't have it."
"No, it's not that," Scorpius almost whispered. "I'm already going with someone else."
"What? With who?"
The excitement in Peony's voice was huge and it made Albus wince.
Scorpius looked around nervously and Albus had to admit that he would have found his shyness about the whole thing adorable if he hadn't already known whom Scorpius was going to Hogsmeade with. Or if Scorpius had been going with Albus.
"Oh, I know," Peony said. "It's Fabian, isn't it? Oh my goodness, you're finally going out with him."
Scorpius nodded, Peony grinned, and Albus decided he felt a bit sick. Then he looked up and saw Simon sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating quietly, and that was it, he had to get out of there.
"I'll talk to you in the common room later," he said to Scorpius, and then before anyone could say anything, he quickly got up and left the Hall.
"Don't mess this up for him, Potter."
Albus, who had been sprawling on a couch and staring thoughtlessly into the fire, jerked upright and stared at Peony as she took the seat beside him. He looked around the room, relieved to see that Scorpius wasn't there yet.
"He'll be here in a minute," Peony said. "And I meant what I said. You have a boyfriend, Al, and Scorpius is finally trying to move on. You know what I'm talking about."
"You don't know everything, Peony," Al said, glaring at her resentfully.
"I know enough," she replied. "So, you think Scorpius is pretty cute and you know that he fancies you. Doesn't change the fact that you have Simon and whatever's going on between you two needs to be sorted out, without involving Scorpius."
"I really don't need you to lecture me, Zabini," Albus whispered furiously. "I already know all this, so back off, all right."
"Fine, I will," Peony whispered back. "But Scorpius has had a tough few months and if he's finally ready to have a little fun with someone. Don't mess it up for him just because you're feeling a little jealous, Al."
Albus almost got up and walked away, but he looked into Peony's eyes, saw the worry in them, and he knew that she was only doing this because she really cared about Scorpius. And he couldn't fault her for that.
"I won't," he finally said, and she smiled at him, a bit wistfully he thought.
"Thanks, Al," she said. "I really like you and I'd hate to have to hex you."
"Why would you do that?"
They both looked up to see Scorpius standing in front of them, and after a moment of startled silence, Peony laughed and got up.
"Al's been teasing me about my knitting," she said. "I'm off to my dorm. See you later."
"Bloody knitting," Scorpius muttered as he sat down beside Albus. "She uses that as an excuse all the time. Here," he handed Albus a sandwich, "you must be hungry."
"Thanks," Albus said gratefully, because he was hungry and he'd been planning on sneaking to the kitchens later on.
"So, what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh," Albus said. "Well, Creevey's sorted out. He won't bother you again."
Scorpius frowned. "Really. Just like that?"
"Believe me," Albus said, grinning. "It wasn't just like that. But he won't do anything, I promise you. He's made an oath on it."
"So, are you finally going to tell me how you did all this?"
Albus glanced over and found himself caught in Scorpius' clear, grey eyes and swallowed heavily.
"Not right now," he said, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. "I'm… ah, fairly tired." He made a movement to get up but Scorpius' hand on his arm halted him.
"Al, wait a moment," Scorpius said softly. "I wanted to say thank you. I'm sorry you had to do all this. And about what happened with Simon."
Albus shook his head quickly. "Don't be, Scorp," he said. "You really don't have anything to be sorry about. Especially about Simon."
They stared at each other for a moment and the temptation was there again, the temptation to move closer to Scorpius, to hold him and finally find out if his lips were as soft as they looked, but Albus steadfastly resisted it and then quickly stood.
"Hey, and have a good time on the weekend, yeah," he said to Scorpius. "Forget about all this and enjoy yourself. I'll see you later."
Scorpius smiled, and Albus smiled back, and then he walked away.
The next couple of days were borderline hell for Albus as Simon seemed to avoid him, and Albus avoided Scorpius. Many times he wondered how he'd suddenly got himself into such a mess and, even worse, how he was going to get out of it.
And he wasn't looking forward to Saturday at all, for he and Simon were supposed to join the others and go to Hogsmeade, and the thought of being with Simon when he still hadn't managed to talk to him, and also the thought of seeing Scorpius in Hogsmeade with Fabian, made Albus want to bury his head under his pillow and stay in bed for the entire weekend.
Finally on Saturday morning, before breakfast, Albus decided that enough was enough, so he waited in the Great Hall for Simon to show up. When Simon finally appeared, he paused for a moment on the stairs, gazing at Albus, and then he continued down until he was standing in front of him.
Albus took a deep breath, and Simon held up a hand.
"Yeah, I know," Simon said. "We need to talk. I think we should skip going to Hogsmeade, because there's something I really need to tell you. Meet you in our classroom, after breakfast?"
Albus nodded, letting out his breath in a sigh of relief.
Simon was already waiting for him when Albus walked into their classroom, and he looked so pale and nervous that Albus wondered if he'd guessed what Albus wanted to say.
"Hi," Albus said, his own nerves rising as Simon looked up with an anxious expression. "So, there was something I wanted to talk to you about as well."
Simon cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I go first?" he asked. "It's just that I've made an appointment with Professor Sprout in an hour's time and I need you to know what I'm about to do."
Something in Albus' stomach twisted and he felt a little sick for suddenly he knew exactly what Simon was about to say.
"What Scorpius said was the truth, wasn't it?"
There was a moment of tense silence, and then Simon nodded.
"Yes," he said, in a faint voice. "I'm going to tell Professor Sprout what happened and hand in my prefect's badge. I imagine that Martin will be expelled and I hope that I'll only be suspended. I'm sorry that I lied to you."
Albus had been struggling, through his rising anger, to find enough breath to actually speak, but finally he took a deep breath and willed himself to stay calm.
"How the fuck could you do that Simon?"
He could tell from Simon's wince that he hadn't managed to keep all the fury he felt out of his voice, but it was the best he could do.
"I don't know," Simon said, wringing his hands nervously. "When you told me what Scorpius had said I just panicked."
"Oh for fuck's sake, not that," Albus almost yelled. "How could you walk away like that and leave Scorpius with Creevey? You should have seen the bruises on him, how could you let that happen? You're a prefect, Simon, you are supposed to stop that sort of thing, regardless of how you feel about the people involved, but even if you weren't a prefect you still should have stopped it."
"I know," Simon said, his voice low and quiet, and something in it made Albus' anger subside until all he felt was bitter disappointment.
"I just can't believe that you would do something like that," Albus finally said. "I thought I knew you."
"I can't believe I did it either," Simon said. "But at that moment… I was just so sick of Scorpius… and, oh, I don't know-" He broke off and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"You were jealous," Albus said.
Simon nodded. "Yes. We both know that Scorpius fancies you. And that annoyed me, but I didn't really panic until I saw the way you were starting to look at him."
"Simon, I…" Albus paused for a moment, struggling with a mixture of anger and guilt. "I'm sorry for that because I never wanted to hurt you, but you cannot use that as an excuse for what you did. You could have trusted me, Simon, you could have trusted that as soon as I needed to talk to you about that, I would, and I was about to do exactly that. And you could have talked to me; you could have been honest with me about this. But instead, you took it out on Scorpius, and I have to tell you, Simon, that Scorpius never did anything to deserve that. He never made any kind of move."
"But aside from all that," he continued. "You allowed your feelings to put Scorpius at risk and then you lied about it, and it's worse because you're a prefect and that's a position of trust. So, I'm sorry, Simon, with the way thing's have turned out, but you can't use it as an excuse for this."
As he'd talked Simon had slowly moved closer until he was standing right in front of Albus, gazing into his face, and Albus could see the tears rising in his eyes. Those warm, brown eyes that Albus had once loved and his heart clenched in sudden pain.
"You were going to break up with me today, weren't you, Al?" Simon asked softly.
Unable to speak through the sudden tightness in his throat and tears starting to gather in his own eyes, Albus simply nodded.
"Well," Simon breathed.
"I'm sorry," Albus finally managed to say. "It's not all about Scorpius, I want you to understand that. I've just changed."
"Yeah," Simon said. "You know, I had this stupid idea that with Scorpius finally going out with Fabian, that all I had to do was confess and clear the air with you, and this whole sodding nightmare would be over. And I'd no longer feel all of this bloody guilt and anger at myself."
"I know that you're really a good person, Simon," Albus said. "We were together for two years, I know that whatever you've done lately, deep down, you're a good person and that you'll fix it now."
He smiled and wiped his eyes and watched as Simon did the same.
"All right," Simon said, after taking a deep breath. "I have to go. You should stick around the castle, Al, because they'll probably want you to tell them about the bruises you saw."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
Simon had already started for the door, but he paused for a moment and then looked back over his shoulder at Albus.
"Thanks," he said. "But no. I really need to do this alone."
Albus nodded and then Simon was gone.
there will be more