Year 1: More than a Crush
Chapter 7: March 2018
Getting even a moment alone with Hayley proved almost impossible. Everywhere Albus went, Scorpius was there. Scorpius escorted Hayley to classes, ate with her in the Great Hall, and studied with her in the library. When Hayley was with her girlfriends, it still wasn't hard to spot Scorpius nearby, watching from a distance.
"Doesn't he have any friends of his own?" Albus demanded one day in frustration. "Why does he never hang out with them?"
"I think I saw him studying with Nathan Baddock the other day," Rose offered.
Albus scoffed. "Probably only a table or two away from Hayley."
"You need to quit obsessing over this," Rose insisted. "It's starting to get ridiculous. At first it was only mildly annoying, but now I'm getting seriously worried."
"Don't be," Albus insisted. "I'm fine. I'm a man in love."
"First of all, you're hardly a man," Rose declared. "And second of all, you're not in love. We've been over this."
"Don't tell me how to feel," Albus insisted.
But Rose wasn't the problem. Or rather, it wasn't her fault that she didn't understand. She was young, naive. She'd never been in love before and couldn't imagine someone her age feeling such strong feelings as what Albus felt towards Hayley. Rose had no experience in this department and so she laughed it off, saying that since she couldn't comprehend it, it wasn't real. But it was real. Albus knew it was. He just had to find someone to talk to who could understand.
He supposed he could talk to his brother. He and James had had their ups and downs in their days. Growing up together, there'd been many times when they'd been at odds instead of on the same team. But they were at Hogwarts now. This wasn't child's play. Perhaps James would have some good grown-up advice that Albus could use.
He found James in the common room. He appeared to be working on some homework - something that looked suspiciously like transfiguration. But Albus decided that his problem was worth interrupting a simple transfiguration assignment.
"I need your advice," Albus said, sitting himself down next to James.
"What about?" James asked, looking up from his assignment.
"It's complicated," Albus hesitated. He hadn't decided how to broach the subject. He wasn't sure he wanted to announce that he was in love with a Slytherin - not because he had a problem with her house, but because James might. Then again, if he didn't mention that part, could James even give him good advice? "I like this girl..."
James put down his quill and pushed his assignment away. "Alright," he said. "And you want to know how to ask her out?"
"Well yes," Albus agreed. "Eventually. But that's not the problem."
"So what is?" James inquired.
Albus sighed. "There's this other guy in the picture," he explained.
"Is she interested in him?" James asked.
"I don't think so," Albus said. "If she were, she's had plenty of opportunity to say so."
"You're going to have to spell this one out for me," James said then. "What exactly do you need help with?"
Albus thought for a moment. "I need him out of the picture," he said. "Not completely, but just long enough for me to have some time with her. He's always around, and it makes it hard to talk to her one-on-one."
"What you need is to get him in trouble," James counselled. "If he's in detention, he won't be anywhere near her."
"That seems a little drastic," Albus frowned. He wanted to occupy Scorpius, not incriminate him. And what if he got caught setting Scorpius up? Then he'd be in trouble too.
"Do you like this girl or not?" James demanded. "What lengths are you willing to go to for her?"
"I'll do anything!" Albus insisted. "I just don't think getting this guy in detention is going to help anything."
"It'll give you an opportunity," James said. Then he shrugged. "But if you don't want to, then don't. That's just what I would do."
Albus sighed. James was no help. Framing Scorpius for something he hadn't done wouldn't help, it would only make things more complicated. It was obvious that James had never been in love, or he would have better advice.
"Never mind," Albus shook his head. "Forget I said anything."
"Who is this girl anyway?" James asked curiously.
Albus shook his head. "None of your business," he muttered.
AaAaAaAaAaA
Since talking to James had been a bust, Albus decided that he needed to talk to someone older, more worldly. He needed to talk to someone who knew about girls. James had never had a girlfriend, or probably even a crush for that matter. That was why his advice had been so bad. Albus needed to talk to someone who understood. And he knew just the person.
His older cousin Louis was a third year. Not only that, but he had a girlfriend. Albus had seen them around together. She was in Gryffindor too and the two of them could often be found studying together and sitting close to each other. If anyone was going to be able to help Albus, it was going to be Louis.
He waited until Louis' girlfriend went upstairs to the girl's dorms one night before approaching. This definitely wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with her present. Then, he sat down across from Louis, determination in his expression.
"Hey Albus," Louis greeted him. "What's up?"
"I have a question," Albus said, feeling a little self-conscious.
"Go ahead," Louis said.
"Right," Albus muttered. "Um... so I was just wondering... well you have a girlfriend, right?"
Louis frowned. "I guess so," he agreed.
"How did that happen?" Albus asked eagerly. Perhaps the key to getting Hayley wasn't about removing Scorpius at all. If he knew what his cousin had done to win his girlfriend's affections, then maybe Albus could replicate that.
"Actually, my friend Justin set us up," Louis replied. "We went out to Hogsmeade together."
"And then what?" Albus wondered. Louis had to have done something that had made Julia fall for him, something that if Albus did would make Hayley fall for him.
Louis shrugged. "We went out again," he said.
"But how did you get her to want to go out with you again?" Albus insisted.
Louis shook his head. "I didn't really," he said. "She was the one that wanted to. Why are you asking me all this?"
Albus sighed and glanced away uncomfortably. "There's this girl - " he began.
"And you want to go out with her?" Louis asked.
Albus nodded.
"Sorry. I don't think I'll be much help with that," Louis admitted. "Unless you want me to ask her out for you?"
"No," Albus shook his head. That wasn't the problem. And if Albus couldn't get a minute alone with Hayley, he doubted Louis would. But Albus didn't need his cousin to ask Hayley out for him. He needed to know how to do it himself.
Everything was just so complicated. But it was clear that Louis wasn't going to be of any help, so Albus thanked him and took his leave, returning to his dorm, where he lay down on his bed to think.
James had been no help in figuring out how to get Scorpius to stop being an obstacle, and Louis had been no help in figuring out how to ask Hayley out. But maybe Albus was going about this all wrong. Maybe what he should be trying to figure out was what he was going to do with Hayley once she'd agreed to hang out with him. It wasn't like there were that many options at Hogwarts. He could ask her to study with him, but that didn't seem at all romantic, nor was it really the kind of forum for getting to know someone. No, what Albus needed was ideas on things he and Hayley could do to get to know each other. And for that, Louis couldn't go to his brother or his cousin Louis. He needed a girl's perspective. He needed to talk to his cousin Dominique.
AaAaAaAaAaA
Finding Dominique alone proved much more challenging than Albus would have thought. If she wasn't with her boyfriend, she was with one of her many friends.
Eventually, Albus caught her at breakfast. She'd been eating with her friends, but they'd all left together and she'd remained behind, still working on her pancakes. Taking his chance, Albus slid across the bench until he was sitting across from her.
"Oh! Albus, hi," she said, seeming slightly surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" Albus inquired.
Dominique nodded. "Of course Albus, anytime," she said.
Though he was very aware that Dominique was older than he and Hayley were, she'd been a first year once too, so Albus knew that she could help him with his questions.
"You have a boyfriend, right?" Albus asked, though it wasn't really a question. He already knew the answer was yes.
Dominique nodded. "He's in Ravenclaw," she stated. "William."
"What do you do together?" Albus asked bluntly.
Dominique looked affronted. "Excuse me?" she asked. "Albus I don't think you should be asking those kinds of questions."
Albus frowned. "I just meant - like what is there to do at Hogwarts? Like if I wanted to go on a date?"
"Albus do you like someone?" Dominique asked, a smile spreading across her face. She looked like one of Albus' aunts would look if they found out he had a crush on a girl. Albus' face heated up in embarrassment. "No!" he protested. "I was just wondering... you know because one day maybe I might."
It was a terrible cover and Albus knew it. Dominique could see right through him, but she was kind enough to pretend to believe him.
"Well, your options are limited right now, because you aren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade," she said.
Albus nodded. He'd realized as much. Hogsmeade was the obvious spot to invite someone on a date, but Albus wouldn't be able to go until his third year. And he wasn't willing to wait until third year to spend time with Hayley.
"But there are other options too," Dominique said. "You could go for a walk by the lake. Or if it's too cold to go outside, the lounges are great places to spend time with someone if they're not from your own house."
"What if I want to spend time with her alone?" Albus asked. "Without anyone else being able to barge in on us?"
Dominique looked uncomfortable then. "Well there are places for that too," she said hesitantly. "But you're only in your first year. I hardly think you should be doing anything like that for a few more years at least."
"Doing anything like what?" Albus demanded. "I only want to talk to her - er - hypothetically that is."
"Right," Dominique nodded. "This is all hypothetical."
"Right," Albus agreed.
Dominique sighed. "Look Albus, if there's a girl you like, you don't have to be shy about it."
"There isn't!" Albus cried defensively. Though he might be ready to let Louis or James know that he liked someone, Dominique was another story. She was a girl. She wouldn't protect his secret like his male relatives would. She was already likely to blab all about Albus' love life to the entire family, and as far as she knew it was only theoretical.
"Find out what she likes to do," Dominique advised. "If she likes playing exploding snap, play exploding snap. If she likes being outdoors, invite her to do something outside. If she likes quidditch, take her to a match. There's no formula you can follow. Every girl is different and you have to tailor your activities to what she enjoys doing."
Albus sighed. Though he was sure Dominique thought it was, her advice was the opposite of helpful. She hadn't even really given him anything at all.
"Thanks anyway," he muttered. He swung his legs out and stood up. "I've got to go."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," Dominique apologized. "But you'll figure it out."
AaAaAaAaAaA
Albus spent the rest of the day thinking about his conversations with his relatives. What Albus wanted was a surefire way to guarantee that Hayley would like him. But from what he was starting to gather, there was no way to guarantee it. Not by anything he could do at least. But maybe he was looking at this all wrong. Maybe it wasn't about how or when he asked her out, or about what they did. Maybe he had to worry about what he was going to say once they had some time alone together. Albus had been focusing so hard on getting a date that he hadn't thought about how he would act once he was on it. Even if it wasn't an official date, Albus had to be sure to put his best foot forward. He had to bring his A-game if he was going to make Hayley fall for him.
There was only one person that Albus felt comfortable going to about this. There was only one person Albus knew at Hogwarts that had experienced the ups and downs of being in a long-term relationship - the kind of relationship that lasted. Because that was what Albus wanted. He was playing the long game here. He wasn't interested in just one date. He wanted all the dates for the rest of their lives.
Victoire was an even harder person to find time to talk to than Dominique. The problem wasn't that Victoire was always with friends, but that she was always deep in her homework. Albus was less inclined to disturb her while she was working than his brother, as Victoire was preparing to take her N.E.W.T.s that June. He'd heard that N.E.W.T.s were frightful and was sure that Victoire was eager to get as much study time as she could get. Not to mention as Head Girl, Victoire was often preoccupied organizing the prefects and completing rounds. She had almost no free time at all.
But then one day, Albus was on his way back to the common room and he crossed paths with his eldest cousin, also heading back to Gryffindor Tower.
"Hey Victoire!" Albus greeted her, falling into step next to her. "How are you?"
"Oh, you know," Victoire said, sounding stressed. "Lots to do before graduation. But I'll get through it. Just be thankful you have another six years before you have to worry about your future."
"Victoire, can I ask you something?" Louis inquired.
"Of course Albus!" Victoire exclaimed. "Anything."
Albus swallowed. "Do you think I'm interesting?" he asked.
Victoire furrowed her brow. "Well of course I do!" she exclaimed. "But why would you ask something like that?"
Albus shrugged. "I've just been thinking... well do you think I'm interesting enough that girls would like me?"
Victoire was silent for a moment. "I think that you're interesting enough that the right girl will be interested in you," she responded.
"But not every girl," Albus said dejectedly. It was what he was afraid of. That despite his best efforts Hayley might not like him.
"Maybe not every girl," Victoire allowed. "But nobody needs every girl. You only need the right one."
"But what if the right one isn't the one I want?" Albus insisted.
Victoire shook her head. "Then she isn't the right one," she said. "Trust me. And it may take a while to find her, but when you do, you'll know."
"I already have," Albus confessed, suddenly feeling very bold. "I've found her. But I'm worried if she gets to know me, she won't like me as much as I like her."
"Albus," Victoire said gently. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're only in your first year. You're twelve years old."
"I know how old I am," Albus sniffed. "And I know how I feel. She's the one."
"Maybe so," Victoire allowed. "And if that's the case, then she'll love you too. But if she doesn't, try not to be too broken up about it. Because it only means that there's someone you haven't even met yet that you're going to love even more."
"I could never love anyone more than I love Hayley," Albus said.
He realized then that he'd slipped up and said Hayley's name by accident, but Victoire was polite and pretended not to notice.
"Then you should have nothing to worry about," Victoire assured him. They'd reached the portrait hole and Victoire had paused just outside of it. The Fat Lady was watching the two converse with a curious look in her eyes. "If I've learned anything, it's that when you're meant to be with someone, everything just works itself out. It may be hard for a while, but in the end, you'll be happy."
"Thanks Victoire," Albus smiled.
Though she hadn't given him much to go on in terms of how to act or what to say to Hayley, Albus was more confident now that he'd been before. If he and Hayley were meant to be, everything would work itself out. Victoire had promised it. And Albus knew they were meant to be. So he could relax. Because whatever happened, they were going to end up together in the end. It was practically a guarantee.