Summary: Scorpius didn't anticipate having to adjust to the tallest tower in Hogwarts during a thunderstorm.

Rated: K

Genre: Friendship

Warning Tag: n/a

Competition/Challenge Block:
Written For: Monthly Challenges for All (Year 3); Houses Competition (Year 7); Hogwarts (Term 14)

Hogwarts: Ravenclaw; A.7 - Potions (#3: Write about someone learning to adapt to a new environment.)

Houses: Slytherin; Transfiguration - Drabble ([Emotion] Embarrassment)

MC4A: Sp Bingo (2E-Firsts); Link; Star (Pear-Shaped); Fence (Machismo); T3 (Terse; Terrarium); ICs (In a Flash (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Zed Era (Y); Ravenclaw MCx2; Old Shoes (Y)

Word Count: 958

Beta: Glowstar826, Butterflies765, CupCakeyyy, Fires of Eden red rose Aurora

Author's Note: Albus Potter is nonbinary in this because why not? Also, they're both Ravenclaws, because Cursed Child is just that—a Curse and not canon.

Lightning Strikes the Tower

The first night at Hogwarts didn't go at all how Scorpius had anticipated it would. The enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall warned of the growing storm that gathered outside of the castle during the Sorting and supper, and when Scorpius fully realized that the Ravenclaw's dorm room was in the tallest tower; that was when the fear set in.

Not only were they very high up, but every window he looked out showed the blackened clouds outside. The rain splattering against the roof was loud, and the distant rumble of thunder caused him to shiver involuntarily as the small group of first year Ravenclaws got the mini tour of the common room and dorms. Adjusting to this place was definitely going to take some time, and he was going to have to deal with it during a thunderstorm on top of it all.

Scorpius was too busy focusing on the storm outside to unpack and settle in for the night after the Prefects dismissed them for the night. Al, on the other hand, didn't seem to even notice the chaos taking place just outside the brick walls of their dorm room. Instead, they busied themself in personalizing their area with posters and putting a hand-knit blanket over the duvet of the single bed. Scorpius and Al had become instant friends during the train ride over, and seeing that their beds were right beside each other offered some comfort to him at least.

Until the first flash of lightning stretched across the sky, lighting up the room. Scorpius stiffened at the sight of it outside the window, white with fear.

"You alright, mate?" Al asked, noticing their friend frozen on the spot between their beds.

"Y-yeah…" Scorpius whispered, feeling his face go warm from embarrassment at being caught afraid of a silly storm. He clambered onto his bed and drew the curtains, holding one open for a second to address his friend. "I'm fine… Night, Al."

"Night, Scorp."

However, Scorpius didn't sleep. As the night covered every inch of the room around him, he could still see the flashes of lightning through the heavy curtains and feel the deep rumble of thunder in his chest as it rattled the tower. He really did not like thunderstorms, and being in one so high up was so, so much worse.

Lightning suddenly struck even brighter than before. A yelp escaped him and he jumped out of bed almost immediately. The flash was so bright and the sound came so quickly that he could've sworn it had struck the very tip of the tower they were in. Without even thinking, Scorpius wiggled his way onto the edge of Al's bed, pulling the knit blanket up and over his head in the process. Al was jostled awake in the meantime, groggily shifting over and sitting up to figure out what was going on.

"Scorp? That you?" Al mumbled, looking in Scorpius' direction in the darkness. "You alright?"

A bout of embarrassment rushed through Scorpius then, realizing that he wasn't back at home and not in the safety of his parents' room, he threw the blanket off him and tried to get up, falling off the edge of the bed in his haste. He scrambled to his feet, flustered and humiliated.

"S-sorry! I'm sorry. I… I forgot where I was. Really!" He was glad that it was dark because he could feel his entire face flush in embarrassment at the realization over his mistake.

He'd only just met Al that very day, after all, and now he invaded their personal space on their first night as friends because he was scared. They were going to think he was a weirdo now. Scorpius waited for the retaliation, and flinched when one of their other dorm mates loudly shushed him.

Al chuckled softly, hearing the distant rumble of thunder. "'S'fine, mate. I got a lil' sister who does the same thing." Scorpius could see Al gesture at him to come back. "I'm cool with it if you are."

Scorpius hesitated, clenching his hands at his sides as he glanced around the dorm. There was only one other person that shared the space with them, and the quiet snore emitting from the curtains indicated he was oblivious to the world around him for the time being. He wished he could be immune to the storm wrecking havoc outside like that, too. A deep, heavy rumble prompted Scorpius to take Al up on the offer and he quickly reclaimed the space on the bed, pulling the duvet up to his chin.

"Thanks, Al," he whispered, shifting over to his side in order to give them as much room as they needed to be comfortable. "I just really hate lightning… and thunder."

"Yeah…" Al mumbled, already half-asleep. "I tell Lily to count the seconds after she sees the lightning to see how long it takes to hear the thunder. You can then divide it by five to see how many miles away the lightning was. She isn't as scared anymore. The game helps, I think."

"Oh?" Scorpius said, sucking in a breath as the curtains lit up again. "Th-that's cool."

He was pretty sure that last one literally struck their tower, but otherwise, the faint rumbles and occasional flashes of light indicated that maybe the storm was moving on from the castle grounds now. The rain was still coming down in buckets, if the sound hitting the window was anything to go by. He focused on that instead as he slowly allowed sleep to take him, feeling a little less embarrassed of his action now that he knew Al wasn't entirely bothered by it like most people would've been.

Scorpius knew now that everything would be all right.