Year 1: More than a Crush

Chapter 10: June 2018

Exams flew by and before Albus knew it, they were over. They hadn't been as hard as he'd been expecting. Albus had been prepared for the tough questions, to be quizzed on the footnotes and the bits of the textbooks that hadn't been covered in lectures in addition to the primary material. Instead, the exams had been straightforward. He'd been tested on basic concepts and general theory. There hadn't been any trick questions or complex phrasing to decipher. In short, Albus was disappointed.

He supposed that the more complicated exams would come in future years. A first year exam could only be so difficult. Things would get harder as he got older and as the material got more complex. But Albus did wish there'd been at least one question about the rare exceptions to the basic transfiguration equation or an extremely obscure dark wizards in history.

Not that Albus was complaining. He knew he'd breezed through his exams and had every expectation that he would receive top marks, second only perhaps to his cousin and only if he was very unlucky, Scorpius Malfoy. Straight O's were a given, and Albus was looking forward to showing his exam results to his parents and using them to rub it in James' face that he was smarter than his brother. Not that he had a problem with his older brother, but it did occasionally get on Albus' nerves that James had made the Gryffindor quidditch team in his second year, living up to the Potter name in quidditch, while Albus had only barely passed his flying lessons.

But as much as Albus looked forward to receiving his exam results and showing them to his family, he wasn't looking forward to going home at all. Going home meant leaving Hogwarts, and by extension Hayley, for two whole months. The two weeks Albus had spent away from her over Christmas had been excruciating. At Easter, he hadn't been able to bring himself to leave school at all even though she had gone home. But this wasn't two weeks. This was two months. Two months was a long time. Albus wasn't sure he was going to be able to make it.

And as the end of the year approached, Albus was finding less and less excuses to spend time with Hayley. They didn't have homework or studying to complete, so hanging out in the library was out. And Scorpius kept a close eye on her, making her spend most of her time in the Slytherin common room where Albus couldn't interact with her. Time was running out and Albus was starting to worry that he wasn't going to get a chance to talk to Hayley again until September.

AaAaAaAaAaA

On the last day of term, Albus and Rose got their exam results from Professor Longbottom and were pleased to find that they'd both received straight O's. Rose had scored only slightly higher than Albus overall, and Albus had managed to come in second in the class, with Scorpius bringing up third place. Albus had to admit that he felt a bit smug knowing that he'd beaten Scorpius in this way, especially since Scorpius was beating him when it came to Hayley.

That afternoon, Albus was taking a casual stroll around the grounds while Rose was up in her dorm packing. Albus didn't see why it was taking Rose so long to pack her things. It had taken him all of half an hour. It wasn't as though there were many places for his things to have gone, and with a little magic, he'd been able to fit it all into his suitcase easily. But Rose had been in a panic at lunch, claiming that she was running out of time, and had been packing all afternoon.

As Albus rounded on the greenhouses, he saw Hayley sitting alone on a bench. For a moment, Albus couldn't believe his good fortune. He looked around, and noted that there was nobody in sight. Wherever Scorpius was right now, it wasn't here. Sucking in a breath, Albus strolled confidently over to the bench and took a seat. It wasn't until he'd sat down that he realized Hayley was crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Albus frowned.

Hayley sniffled and turned her face away. "Nothing's wrong," she insisted.

Albus debated his options. He could be polite and pretend like she wasn't lying to him and accept her statement. He could get up and continue his walk and wait until September for another chance to talk to Hayley. Or he could stay here and insist that she talk to him. It was a risk. She could get angry and send him away. It could ruin their budding friendship. But Albus was feeling daring. He was a Gryffindor, after all.

"Something's wrong," he insisted. "Can I do anything?"

Hayley shook her head. "I'm being stupid," she insisted. "It's really nothing."

"Obviously it's something," Albus pressed. "Tell me and maybe I can help."

Hayley took a deep breath and turned her tear-stained face towards Albus. "I got my exam results back," she said.

Albus nodded. "So did I," he said. "This morning. Straight O's actually, I'm really happy with - " Albus trailed off, realizing that he'd put his foot in his mouth. Hayley was upset and talking about exam results, which obviously meant that she hadn't done well, and here he was talking about how smart he was and how great his grades were that year. "Oh," he muttered dumbly.

"Yeah," Hayley said, looking away again. "I don't know how I'm supposed to face my parents now."

"You can't have done that poorly," Albus insisted. "I'm sure they'll understand a bad grade or two - "

"I failed three classes," Hayley insisted. "I'm a dunce."

Albus frowned. Something wasn't right. He'd studied with Hayley, and though she wasn't the top of the class, she certainly wasn't stupid. If she'd failed three classes - obviously something more was going on.

"What did you fail?" Albus asked gently.

"Potions, astronomy, and transfiguration," Hayley revealed. "I'm going to have to repeat my first year all over again."

"Of course you won't," Albus protested. "You'll just go to summer school and re-take your exams in August. It'll be fine."

"I can't go to summer school," Hayley said in a small voice. "Sullivans don't go to summer school."

"It's not that big a deal," Albus insisted. "Lots of people go to summer school. It doesn't mean anything - "

"My parents will be so upset with me," Hayley said. "They expect so much more from me. And Scorpius - well his report isn't going to help at all."

"His report?" Albus frowned, not understanding. "What are you talking about?"

"He promised my parents he'd look out for me. When he tells them I've wasted my whole year running around with you - "

"You've hardly spent the year running around with me," Albus insisted. "Scorpius never leaves you alone long enough for me to even manage a conversation."

"That's not how he's going to tell it," Hayley insisted. "He's going to say that you distracted me. That you're the reason I did so poorly."

"That's rubbish!" Albus cried. "I'm at the top of the class. If anything my influence would have been a positive one."

Hayley shrugged. "They'll believe what Scorpius tells them. Nothing I say matters."

"Why does Scorpius get to be in charge?" Albus demanded. It was a question he'd had since the beginning of the year. It was something he'd wondered time and time again. Every time Scorpius had intervened, every time Hayley had let him. Albus didn't understand the dynamic there at all. Why did he think he was in charge of her? Why did she let him control everything she did? Why did she almost always do and say what he wanted her to do and say? It was more than him being brotherly and protective. It was like he owned her.

Hayley shrugged. "That's just how it is," she said. "My parents trust him to keep me in line. They charged him with my care."

"With your care?" Albus demanded. "Can't you take care of yourself?"

Hayley shook her head sadly. "Not in my family," she said. "In my family... well things aren't like how they are in families like yours. I don't get to - I'm not - "

She searched for the words to explain herself, but couldn't seem to find them.

"What Scorpius says goes," Hayley finally said. "If I don't do what he says, I'll get in trouble."

"But you don't always do what he says," Albus noted.

Hayley frowned. "Of course I do," she insisted.

But Albus shook his head. "You're talking to me right now. Scorpius wouldn't like that. He's never approved of us being friends. You stood up to him before."

Hayley sighed. "That was when I wasn't facing returning home for two months," she said. "But now - we shouldn't even be having this conversation."

But Albus wasn't willing to walk away yet. "I still don't understand," he said. "Why does Scorpius get to make the decisions? What does he have that qualifies him to be in charge of not only his own life, but yours too?"

"He's a boy!" Hayley cried then. "Alright? Happy now? He's a boy. In my family - well my father doesn't think girls should be allowed to make decisions."

"But that's archaic," Albus said, dumbfounded.

Hayley nodded. "But that's how it is. In fact, now that I've failed three classes, maybe he'll just pull me out of school altogether. He was hesitant about sending me at all. I doubt he'd have done it if Scorpius hadn't taken on my care."

"This is the twenty first century," Albus insisted. "This is ridiculous."

"Maybe," Hayley nodded. "But it's my life."

"It doesn't have to be," Albus said desperately. "You could refuse to put up with it. I know you don't like things the way they are."

"What makes you say that?" Hayley insisted. "This is how I was raised. Maybe I'm alright with it."

Albus shook his head. "If you were, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Hayley sighed and Albus knew he was right.

"I like hanging out with you," Hayley said. "I went against Scorpius this year because I thought you were worth getting to know. But once he tells my father that you're corrupting me - "

"Oh so now I'm corrupting you, am I?" Albus asked defensively.

"Don't worry," Hayley muttered, a slight smirk crossing her lips. "I like being corrupted."

Albus' heart thumped hard.

"But once Scorpius reports to my father - well he's going to see to it that things change," Hayley said.

"Change how?" Albus frowned. What could Hayley's father possibly do to her? What was Hayley so afraid of?

Hayley shook her head. "I should pack," she declared then. "I don't want to be running late in the morning."

"Can I write to you this summer?" Albus asked as she stood up from the bench.

Hayley hesitated. "I don't think that would be a good idea," she said. "My father wouldn't like it."

"How long are you going to let him rule your life?" Albus insisted.

Hayley shrugged. "Until I'm seventeen?" she replied, posing it as a question. "I don't know, honestly."

"I think you should try," Albus insisted. "Not for me, but for yourself."

He watched as something in Hayley's eyes solidified. She nodded. "You're right," she agreed. "I need to take control of my life. It's my life after all."

"Exactly," Albus smiled excitedly. Though he wanted Hayley to do this for herself, he couldn't deny that it would work out in his favor.

"Alright," Hayley agreed. "I'll do it. Tomorrow night. And next year, things will be different."

"Yeah?" Albus asked.

Hayley nodded. "No more skirting around Scorpius. Next year we're going to be proper friends."

"I look forward to it," Albus said with a smile.

"So do I," Hayley said. "Thanks Albus."

"Anytime," Albus said.

AaAaAaAaAaAaA

The next day on the train, Albus was practically giddy. Yes, it would be two months before he was going to see Hayley again, but things were going to be even better when he did. Scorpius would be out of the picture. Albus would finally get a fair shot.

"What are you so excited about?" Rose demanded suspiciously.

"Nothing," Albus insisted.

What he and Hayley had talked about the previous day was private. He wasn't going to tell Rose or anyone about what she was dealing with. It was her business, not Albus'.

"It's obviously something," Rose insisted. "Tell me."

"I'm just excited to see my family again," Albus said. "I didn't go home for Easter like you did."

"That was your own choice," Rose reminded him. "And a stupid choice. Hayley wasn't even at Hogwarts for the Easter holidays."

"No," Albus agreed. "But her essence was."

"Her essence?" Rose wrinkled her nose. "Gross. What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not gross," Albus insisted. "I just meant, like I could feel her at Hogwarts because she's been there. I wouldn't have felt as close to her if I'd gone home."

"You do realize how creepy you sound?" Rose asked. "You do realize that it's insane, what you're doing? Obviously she's not as invested in this as you are, so why don't you give it a rest?"

"No way," Albus shook his head. "I love her, and she'll love me too one day. I know it."

"What you're going to end up with isn't love," Rose declared. "It's a restraining order."

But Albus didn't care what Rose said. He was happy. He had hope.

AaAaAaAaAaA

"Albus!" Lily cried, running forward and grabbing her big brother in a hug. Then James appeared and it was as if Albus had ceased to exist as Lily removed her arms from him and instead attacked her eldest brother.

"Nice to see you too, Lily," Albus muttered as James dragged Lily with him towards their parents. Albus followed behind and received a hug from each of his parents.

"Did you have a good term?" Ginny asked.

Albus nodded.

"Gryffindor won the quidditch cup!" James exclaimed proudly.

"That's fantastic son!" Harry exclaimed loudly.

Albus let himself fade into the background as his parents congratulated his brother and Lily continued to cling to his side.

Eventually, they made their way off of platform nine and three quarters and out into the muggle train station. Harry began leading the family towards the parking lot and Albus frowned.

"We're not taking the floo home?" he asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Your father wanted to practice his driving again," she rolled her eyes. "I swear, every year he wants to take that car out more and more often."

They reached the car and Albus climbed into the backseat with his siblings, Lily squishing into the middle. It wasn't really squishing though, as there was a undetectable extension charm on the backseat that made it large enough that five would have been comfortable sitting together, let alone three.

The drive back to Grimmauld Place wasn't long, and before Albus knew it, he was back in his room unpacking. His mother came by with a basket for him to load up with laundry for Kreacher to do, and then as he was organizing his school things on his desk, his father came by.

"Can I come in?" Harry inquired.

Albus nodded and his father stepped into his room and took a seat on the bed.

"How are things with Scorpius Malfoy?" Harry inquired.

Albus frowned for a moment before remembering that he'd talked to his father about the Malfoys over Christmas, back when he'd thought that he could win Scorpius over and subsequently win Hayley over.

"Not great," Albus admitted. "But not horrible. At least I don't think. He doesn't like me, but we're not openly hostile to one another."

Harry nodded. "It would be better if you were neutral," he said.

Albus frowned. "I don't think that's going to happen," he admitted, thinking about his last serious conversation with the Slytherin boy.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin need to start getting along," Harry declared. "And while I hate to say it, it would mean more to the wizarding world if it came from you, my son."

Albus looked at his father in confusion. "Where is this coming from?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "It's nothing, I'm sorry. Just, try not to hate too many Slytherins, alright?"

"Alright Dad," Albus nodded. He could tell that there was something more going on that his father wasn't telling him, but he could also tell that Harry wasn't going to reveal it. He had his auror face on, and when he got his auror face on, nobody could get him to tell them anything he didn't want to tell them.

Harry got up to go, and Albus found himself even more confused than ever. But he had the whole summer to puzzle out what was going on with his father. And if it was just about fostering positive relationships with Slytherins, then Albus was all over that. Perhaps one day he and Hayley would be the couple that finally shattered the divisions between Gryffindor and Slytherin house.

Albus could only dream.