Yes, I know it's been two months. I'm so sorry! I've just been really caught up in summer and my internship that fanfiction was in the back of my mind. But I haven't abandoned this story, I promise! So I hope all of you readers are still with me! We're nearing the end, I'll tell you that much.

Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters.

Chapter 21

Albus slid his hands up Scorpius' bare torso as he pressed his body hard against the boy. His tongue gracefully tumbled inside the Slytherin's mouth, and Scorpius groaned in pleasure. Scorpius roughly tugged at Albus' hair while kissing his swollen lips with lustful ferocity. Then he yanked Albus' head back and moved his lips down to the other boy's neck and proceeded to give him small love bites.

Albus grinned, his eyes still closed, and he quickly slid his hands back down Scorpius' back. Scorpius thrust forward as Albus clenched his ass, both of their erections rubbing against each other.

As both mouths found their way back to each other, Albus fumbled with Scorpius' belt; he was overcome with the desire to fully taste his boyfriend. Just as he threw the belt to the ground and started to unzip Scorpius' trousers, the Slytherin pulled away and opened his mouth.

"Do you think we should make a list of all the attacks on the Death Eaters?" He asked.

Albus dropped his hands and stared dumbfounded at the blond in front of him. "You're talking about this now?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I can't help thinking about it."

"Don't tell me you've thought about this the whole time we've been making out," Albus groaned, leaning against the stone wall.

"I think it's worth looking into," Scorpius continued, ignoring Albus.

Albus glared at the floor. Earlier today when Scorpius asked him to come up to the towers tonight, he was excited. They'd been so busy worrying about other things lately that he and Scorpius hadn't made out like this in a long time. But of course, just as it was about to get really good, Scorpius talked about the attacks again. To be honest, it was starting to annoy the shit out of him.

"Dammit, I have blue balls now," Albus said aloud, sighing.

Scorpius stopped his rant and a small smile played at his lips. "I'll relieve you later, but I want to get your opinion on this first."

"Can't it wait? We rarely have alone time anymore. You can ask the group next time we see them," Albus snapped, his patience wearing thin.

Scorpius frowned. "This is important to me."

"And I'm not?" Albus shot back, looking the other boy squarely in the eye.

Scorpius stared at Albus, saying nothing. Honestly, he was a little surprised at the Gryffindor's audacity.

Sighing, Albus continued, his tone softening, "I know how much this affects you. But maybe that's all the more reason to get your mind off it." He took Scorpius' hand and clasped it with his own. "I don't want you to get too deep into things that you become depressed again."

Scorpius finally tore his gaze from Albus and lowered it to the floor. He softly murmured, "I need closure. I won't be truly happy until this is all over."

Albus instantly released Scorpius' hand like it was on fire. He knew what Scorpius said hadn't intentionally meant to hurt him, but that didn't stop his insides from churning. Why can't you be happy with me? Why aren't I enough? He screamed at Scorpius in his head. He wouldn't say it aloud though; it'd have been too insensitive. Trying to wipe the hurt from his face, Albus slowly said, "You need to be realistic. We don't even know where to begin looking."

"I can't let my guard down. There could be another attack at any moment."

"And then what? We're stuck at school. The people responsible have killed so many people without getting caught." Glancing helplessly at Scorpius, he paused for a brief time before quietly adding, "We're just kids."

Scorpius was quiet for a long time. Clenching and unclenching his jaw, he finally stated, "You don't have to be part of this."

Albus ran his fingers through his messy black hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "That's not – " Sighing again, he tried to formulate his words to avoid pissing off his boyfriend even more. "I said I would support you, and I'm not backing out of that promise. I just wish we weren't going into this completely blind. There's a chance we might not be able to do anything."

"But we have to try," Scorpius desperately said. "I can't sit around and do nothing. My mum could be next."

Albus stared at his boyfriend for a long time. Finally, he decided to raise the proverbial white flag and stand down. He realized Scorpius was so occupied with his desire for revenge that nothing he said would change his mind. "Fine, so what happens now?"

"I still think a student has something to do with this," Scorpius said, relieved that Albus stopped arguing with him. "I know it was just a dream, but I have a really strong feeling about this. I can't explain it."

Albus thought about the hundreds of kids at Hogwarts. It could be anyone, and there wasn't a sure way to find out. "We'll all keep an eye out and see if we find anything odd. As for making a list, we can look through the Daily Prophet archives."

Scorpius nodded. "Good idea. I knew I kept you around for something," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Bur Albus merely nodded and glanced away. He was so tired of having these conversations over and over again. He felt like whatever was happening was tearing him and Scorpius apart.

Scorpius sensed Albus' frustration and apologetically ran his thumb across Albus' palm, softly saying, "Sorry."

Albus turned his head to look back at Scorpius.

"I'm sorry I've been so pre-occupied with this. I realize I just lost my chances of getting a blow job tonight."

"Yeah, you did."

Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus' waist and murmured, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Although Albus had his hopes on tonight being special, he smiled anyway. "I expect to be given the best damn chocolate in the world."

Laughing, Scorpius leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, "I'll give you more than just chocolate." Then he softly pressed his lips upon Albus' lips, hoping the Gryffindor would forgive him for being so distant lately.

(

That same night, Scorpius was on his bed facing Selwyn, talking about what had happened earlier in the towers. He wanted reassurance that he hadn't been a complete asshole to his boyfriend. Being a good friend, Selwyn politely gave the other Slytherin what he wanted.

The brunette completely empathized with Scorpius because all he could think about were the attacks too. However, if say Rose was making out with him and trying to get in his pants, he wouldn't stop to chat for anything in the world.

"I know, I really messed up," Scorpius miserably said, running his fingers through his floppy white-blond hair.

Selwyn gave a sympathetic smile and lightly said, "I'm sure he's already forgiven you."

It had been about an hour since he and Albus left the towers, and it was just setting in how stupid he'd been. He could have gotten his first blow job. Tonight could have been the night the two deepened their relationship. But he ruined it by opening his big fat mouth. Scorpius sighed again in irritation and flopped down on his pillow. Albus really must hate me right now.

When his friend didn't say anything more, Selwyn spoke again, "Valentine's Day is coming up and we get to go to Hogsmeade that weekend. Make it up to him then."

Scorpius abruptly sat up and grinned. "His birthday is that week too! I'll make sure it's the best damn date he's ever had," he exclaimed, already thinking of ideas. After a few moments passed, Scorpius snapped out of his thoughts and looked back over at Selwyn. "Are you doing anything with Rose?"

Selwyn's chocolate brown eyes widened at the thought. "But we're not dating."

"Do you want to be?"

The brunette fervently nodded. "Yes, she's perfect."

Scorpius smiled to himself. His friend's crush on Rose was adorable. "Then ask her to be your girlfriend on Valentine's Day," he suggested.

"That's not too cliché?"

"Nah, she'll probably think it's romantic."

Selwyn considered this and nodded again as his face lit up. "Alright, thanks mate. I think I will."

"Malfoy. Selwyn," a voice called out to them. Both Slytherins turned and saw Monroe standing in the doorway. "Pince and I snuck some alcohol in our dorms. You guys want to join?"

"Sure," Selwyn said, hopping off his bed. Reaching the doorway, he turned to Scorpius and asked, "You coming?"

The blond stifled a sigh and reluctantly followed the two Slytherins down the hallway. He still wasn't comfortable hanging out with Selwyn's friends, especially when they all got drunk, but there was nothing else to do on a Saturday night and he wanted to get his mind off of Albus. He knew if he stayed in his room, he would only worry about having hurt Albus earlier. Merlin, when did I become such a follower? Scorpius disdainfully thought.

Entering the sixth-year boys' dormitory, Scorpius saw Nott and Rowle, along with Pince, breaking into the firewhiskey and rum. As everyone greeted him with surprised tones, Scorpius sat next to Selwyn on a nearby bed.

"Got away from your Gryffindor friends long enough to have some real fun, did you?" Pince asked after taking a sip from a nameless bottle that held an amber liquid with golden flecks.

Scorpius gave a forced smile and said nothing – he didn't know what to say without getting upset.

"Hey arsehole, hand me some of what you've got," Selwyn demanded of Pince, undeterred by his leader's words.

"You can have your own bottle," Pince said as he reached inside a brown bag to retrieve a bottle and throw it at Selwyn.

After Selwyn opened it and took a long swig, he asked, "How the hell did you get that much alcohol?"

"I'm seventeen," Pince proudly declared. "Monroe and I bought everything after sneaking to Hogsmeade from the secret passage on the third floor and apparating to a liquor store."

"That's impressive," Nott mused. Then he turned to Scorpius and asked, "Want some rum?"

Scorpius paused, his conscience at a crossroad. He didn't want to drink, but he also didn't want to be a pansy and refuse. Finally, he decided he wouldn't drink enough to get drunk. "Maybe a little," he said. Monroe handed him the bottle and he took a small sip, trying not to wince as the liquid burned his throat.

For the next hour, the six Slytherins blissfully drank and loudly joked with each other. They would have gotten in trouble with the other sixth-year boys in the dorm except Monroe was a prefect and he threatened (drunkenly, of course) to give anyone detention who voiced a concern. He was also a favorite pupil of Pucey, the Head of Slytherin, who was best friends with his father. So, the boys knew they wouldn't get caught.

Scorpius now felt his head growing heavy and his world tipping a little. He was definitely tipsy, but he was the least drunk of the lot. After awhile, they moved to the commons so they could still be loud but not disturb anyone who was trying to sleep. The room was completely empty except for them.

As Pince threw another empty bottle in the bag, he slithered over to Scorpius, who was leaning against one of the velvet green couches. Scorpius turned to Pince and frowned. The seventeen-year-old now sat dangerously close to him; their legs were almost touching. He subtly moved away from the Slytherin and wondered if Pince got incredibly horny every time he drank. He did not want a repeat of New Year's Eve where the guy almost kissed him. Scorpius shuddered at the near-traumatizing memory.

"So why exactly are you guys hanging out with Potters and Weasleys?" Rowle asked, his words slurred.

"Yeah, are you building a secret army or something?" Pince followed.

Selwyn laughed and drunkenly stated, "Or something." He leaned in close and said, "Actually we –"

"We're all friends. Get over it," Scorpius quickly interrupted before Selwyn said anything. He knew these were Selwyn's friends, but what he and the group were planning was incredibly secretive. He couldn't trust anyone especially when he had a feeling someone at Hogwarts was behind the attacks, even if indirectly.

"It's just weird," Rowle continued.

"Yeah, it is a little weird," Nott echoed.

"Well, I really like Rose. She's beautiful and smart and talented and nice," Selwyn trailed off, a silly grin upon his face.

Scorpius chuckled to himself and shook his head at his friend.

"I knew it!" Monroe and Rowle simultaneously yelled.

"But she's so bloody annoying," Nott muttered.

Selwyn shook his head. "No, she's wonderful," he declared.

"But why not just hang out with Rose and Albus? Why the whole lot?" Pince pressed on.

"That family is kind of a package deal," Scorpius quickly answered. "You get one, you get all of them." He turned to Pince and searched his blue eyes. "Why do you want to know so much about this?" He suspiciously asked.

"Don't get all paranoid," Pince said, chuckling. "We have a reputation at Hogwarts, and if we all start befriending people like the Potters or Weasleys, we won't be feared as much."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and frowned. On some level, he understood exactly what Pince was saying. Slytherins only had their reputations to earn them respect. But even though he wasn't officially part of this "group," for which he was becoming thankful, he still didn't like how one person could dictate who others were friends with. Scorpius hoped Selwyn wouldn't break things off with Rose to keep his leader happy.

Fortunately, Selwyn wasn't bothered. "I don't even want to be known as a bad guy."

"You're drinking alcohol underage in the Slytherin commons," Monroe pointed out, grinning. "That's not exactly angelic behavior."

Selwyn shrugged and, in response, sipped from one of the few bottles they had left. Everyone busted into laughter.

"You're destroyed!" Nott remarked, flicking a bottle cap at Selwyn, still laughing.

"I'm not even drunk!" Selwyn insisted, his words barely comprehensible. As the brunette yawned loudly, Scorpius figured he should probably put his friend to sleep. And glancing up at the clock, which read almost 2 a.m., he longed for some shut-eye as well.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Scorpius announced. "I'll take Selwyn with me before he passes out."

"Aw come on, don't be a party pooper," Rowle protested.

"Actually, I should get some sleep too," Monroe said. "I've got Quidditch practice in the morning."

As everyone unsteadily got to their feet, preparing to leave, Pince turned to Rowle and demanded, "Come with me to dispose of these bottles."

"What if we get caught?" The beefy Slytherin asked.

"We won't if you keep quiet. Filch should be asleep by now," Pince said. Bidding goodnight to each other, the two boys softly crept out of the commons and the rest went up to their dormitories to sleep.

Not a lot of action in this chapter...but it was fun to write another drunk scene. This chapter was more building up to the next one...but that's all I'm going to say. ;) Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up before another two months passes by...fingers crossed! :)

Anyway, tell me what you liked, didn't like, etc. by reviewing! And I'll give you strawberry smoothies because I'm absolutely in love with them now!