Chapter 34 – Enlightening Albus

Over in the Slytherin common room, Scorpius was freaking out. What he and Rose shared was special and he cared deeply for her. He even felt that just maybe he was falling in love with her. But regardless of how they felt, their relationship was dangerous. It was forbidden.

Scorpius could have fallen for any girl in the school, yet it had to be the one that his parents had ordered him to avoid. It was too late to go back though. He was in too deep.

And despite how confident he'd felt when she'd spent the night in the Slytherin common room previously, and how well she'd gotten on with his friends, he didn't think announcing that they were a couple would be appreciated or accepted. He definitely couldn't risk letting his mother find out.

"Daydreaming?" a voice said, causing him to look around in shock.

"No," he muttered, relaxing slightly as he recognised Ebony's familiar face. "Just... thinking," he said hesitantly.

"About Rose?" she asked slyly, perching on the arm on the armchair he was sat in.

Scorpius blushed deeply. "Not exactly," he mumbled, embarrassed that it was so obvious.

"You can tell me," Ebony said sweetly, but Scorpius only felt patronised. "So you said that she had a boyfriend," Ebony prompted. "Does that boyfriend happen to be you by any chance?"

Scorpius stiffened in his chair. He didn't know anybody as sweet and friendly as Ebony, but yet he felt he could not trust her. "No," he said after a while. "No, I'm not."

Ebony looked confused. "Well, you seem awfully close..."

"I'm friends with her cousin," he said sharply.

"Albus Potter, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I met her through him. She's nice but," he hesitated slightly, "she's not for me."

"Well, that's a shame," Ebony replied, "because you seem to get on well. She seemed nice."

Scorpius immediately regretted not telling Ebony the truth. There was nobody as genuine as her, and she seemed as though she actually liked Rose.

"Well, actually," Scorpius piped up, deciding in that moment to tell her the truth.

"It's probably for the best," Ebony interrupted.

Scorpius sat up sharply. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

She looked embarrassed. "Well, you know what everybody thinks about the Weasleys..."

"Not exactly," he lied. "Do enlighten me."

Ebony narrowed her eyes at him. "Scorpius, it's not that I have a problem with her, but you're very much aware of what some people in this house think of her and her family, and you're lying if you pretend otherwise. My mother's good friends with your mother, and from what I've heard, your family is especially intolerant of the Weasleys and the Potters."

"I don't care what you've heard," Scorpius muttered angrily. "Not everything you hear is true."

Ebony rose from the chair huffily. "I'm not your enemy, Scorpius. I don't have a problem with Rose or any of her family, but you need to be careful, and I can't stress this enough."

"I can take care of myself, Ebony," he hissed.

"Don't turn on me, Scorpius; I'm just trying to help."

"I can take care of myself," he repeated.

"You're playing a dangerous game," she warned. "Be careful. Don't get carried away." And with a toss of her coal black hair, she strode away from him.

Scorpius knew she meant no harm, but he was tired of people telling him what he could and couldn't do, and who he could or couldn't be friends with. He remembered back to when he'd first become friends with Albus. He'd received hell, both from his family and from his fellow Slytherins. They seemed tolerant of Rose, but he felt like he could trust no one.

He felt bad for arguing with Ebony though. She, at least, seemed to understand the dangers of their relationship, and she was a genuinely nice person. She seemed as though she merely wanted to protect him, and he couldn't blame her for that.

He vowed to make amends with her, but for now he just wanted to spend time with Albus. After everything that had been going on with Rose, he'd barely had any time for his best friend. He left the Slytherin common room in search of him. He knew better than to go to the Gryffindor tower, but it was his biggest chance of finding him. He pleaded in his mind that he wouldn't encounter James or one of his friends.

Remarkably enough, the two crossed paths. "Al!" Scorpius cried, his eyes lighting up as he recognised his best friend in one of the corridors. "Where are you going?"

"Scorpius!" Albus exclaimed, blinking in surprise. "I was just on my way to find you, actually," he explained in disbelief.

"Same for me actually. Though that was much easier than I thought it would be." The two began to walk side by side down the corridor. "So, how have you been?" he asked, a little awkwardly.

Albus blushed. "Oh, you know, alright I guess. How were the holidays?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Alright, I suppose." The two walked in uncomfortable silence. It used to be so much easier. Conversation used to flow between the two of them, but everything was different now.

"You're okay with me and Rose, right?" Scorpius blurted out suddenly, at precisely the exact time that Albus said "James is back on the team."

"What?" Albus asked quickly.

"James is back on the team?" Scorpius gushed, ignoring Albus' question. "That's great! Well, maybe not for me, but for the team at least."

"Well, yeah, but what did you mean when you said –"

"You must all be really excited!"

"We are, but what's going on with Rose and –"

"This is fantastic news!"

"Scorpius!" Albus yelled irritably.

Scorpius fell silent immediately. Now was the time for the truth to out. It was his fault, anyway. He was the one who'd brought it up after all.

"What did you mean when you asked if I was alright with you and Rose?" Albus asked quietly.

"I just meant, now that we're, you know..." Scorpius trailed off, embarrassed. Albus looked dazed, remaining completely oblivious. "Has – has Rose said anything to you?" Scorpius asked nervously.

"About what?" Albus asked suspiciously. "I haven't talked to her much. She was busy trying to make up with her friends and with Sam –"

Scorpius flinched at the mention of Sam's name.

"– and then James pulled her aside to talk about this ridiculous party that they're all planning."

"Party?" Scorpius interrupted. "Rose is having a party?"

"Well, not exactly," Albus explained. "James, Gwen, and Janey are supposedly throwing her a party, but I don't think she actually wants one."

"Why are they throwing her a party?"

Albus stopped walking, and turned to stare at Scorpius as though he was an idiot. "It's her birthday in a couple of weeks."

Scorpius froze. "You're kidding, right?" he asked in a panic.

"Umm, no..."

"You mean to tell me that it's Rose Weasley's birthday a couple of weeks from this very date?" he demanded frantically.

"Yeah – May fifth – but why exactly are you so worried about that?"

"I'm the worst boyfriend ever," Scorpius groaned to himself.

Albus looked at him sharply. "Boyfriend?" he breathed, almost like a whisper.

Scorpius gulped, realising what he'd just said – what he'd just revealed. "Albus, you can't tell anybody," he pleaded frantically.

"Boyfriend?" Albus asked louder, contemplating this word, and what it meant.

"Al, please," Scorpius begged.

"As in, like, you and Rose are dating?"

"Yes," he said hurriedly, "but please, please, you've got to a keep it a secret. Do you understand?"

"Understand?" Albus repeated.

"I was going to tell you, Al, I swear. That's why I came looking for you. It's only been official for about a day, but nobody must know apart from you."

"But – why?"

"Because you know how much James hates me, and how much our families and houses hate each other. Your brother would kill me, and so would her dad. My mother would disinherit me and the Slytherins would all loathe me."

"No," Albus said slowly. "Why – why are you dating?"

Scorpius began to relax. Thinking about Rose made his heart flutter and his stomach fill with butterflies. "Because I – I really like her," he explained. "I feel about her, how you feel about Evangeline."

Albus' eyes widened at this remark. "Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Scorpius said, turning bright red, "she means everything to me."

"But she's my cousin..."

"I know – and if I thought it would affect our friendship then I would leave her alone, but I know how understanding you are."

"You only met her at the ball," Albus pointed out. Scorpius gulped. There was no way he could tell Albus about the Forgetfulness Potion. At least not today. He was still in shock.

"True..." Scorpius said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "But do you remember the first time you saw Evangeline?"

Albus nodded dopily.

"Well, it was like that. When we danced at the ball, it was just simply amazing," Scorpius reminisced affectionately. "And we got closer during that detention we had, and during the train journey here." He deliberately avoided telling him about the late night Quidditch pitch moment, or the reason that they'd both gotten detention.

"But I was with you on the journey," Albus pointed out. "And you were – you were a couple?" he stuttered.

"No," Scorpius said quickly. "Later that night though – that's when we made it official."

Albus didn't speak for a while, letting everything sink in. Finally he said, "Well, I suppose I should have seen this coming, shouldn't I?"

Scorpius ignored his question. "Are we – are we alright, Al? You don't hate me, do you?" he asked warily.

"I'm not James," Albus pointed out. "I'm your best friend, Scorpius. If she makes you happy then that's fine with me. I'm not going to come between you, but it might take a little while to get used to."

"That's fine!" Scorpius exclaimed. "And it'll be easy," he assured him. "Nothing will change. We'll simply keep pretending that nothing's going on, and I'm not going to ditch you to be with her, if that's something you're worried about."

"No, it's fine. I enjoyed it when it was just the three of us on the train. It was nice."

"Exactly – we can all hang out together!"

"And I suppose I'd prefer that you were dating Rose than somebody else, or that she was dating somebody that I didn't know."

"Yes!" Scorpius cried in excitement, delighted that Albus seemed to be taking it well. "This is a good thing, Albus, trust me."

"I do," Albus said seriously. "I think this could work..."

Scorpius was relieved. "I will make this all up to you, Al, I swear. I'll put in a good word with Evangeline about you, if you want."

Albus' eyes lit up. "Thanks," he mumbled bashfully.

"So, can I ask you a favour?" Scorpius asked, as the two began to continue their walk down the corridor.

"Sure."

"What in Merlin's name am I supposed to get Rose for her birthday!?"
Albus laughed. "Something meaningful," he said thoughtfully. "Something that will last, and that she'll treasure forever."

"What kind of things does she like?" Scorpius prompted.

"Books."

"Do you think I should get her a book?"

Albus contemplated it. "No," he said finally, "it's not personal enough."

"Then what?" Scorpius asked, beginning to panic even more. "Jewellery or something?"

"I'll tell you what – I'll do some investigating. I'll ask Gwen or Janey and try and find out what kind of things she likes, and then I'll let you know."

"You're the best!" Scorpius exclaimed, slapping Albus on the back. He seemed pleased with himself.

For the first time in a while everything seemed to be working out perfectly. As long as he had Rose and Albus, Scorpius was fairly certain that nothing could go wrong.