Friday September 6th 2019:

Despite it being only a few months since they had last seen each other, Scorpius was already a few inches taller than Albus; it must have been Malfoy genetics. At the same time, his voice was starting to crack and slowly become deeper.

Albus' voice was already cracking, and he was beginning to develop an uncomfortable amount of hair in uncomfortable areas.

There was no doubt about it, puberty had begun. Not only for them, but many of their class and dormmates — some earlier or later than others.

"Hey, you lot. Check out what I got," one of Albus and Scorpius' dormmates, Orion, announced.

Scorpius and Albus weren't paying much attention due to studying and practising spells together at their beds, but the reactions of the other boys in their dorm surprised them. Sounded like something amazing but gross at the same time judging from their reactions — now their interest had peaked.

"What is it?" Albus ultimately asked, approaching the other boys.

Nothing was said, but one of the boys practically shoved the magazine right in his face.

Albus didn't need to ask twice, because the only thing he could see was an exposed nipple, and it didn't belong to a man.

"Oh," Albus said, his face turning warm.

Scorpius held Albus' shoulders and hovered over him to see what everybody else was going on about.

"Where did you get these?" Dominic asked.

"I swiped them from my big brother's room. He's not the best at hiding things," Orion replied.

The excited teen handed Albus one of the extra magazines he had while handing them around to the others to look at. Albus didn't understand the appeal, at least when it was just pictures of a woman half-naked or completely, but Scorpius didn't let him turn the pages too quickly — obviously he enjoyed the show.

With a turn of another page, there was something that did catch not only Scorpius' attention, but Albus'. A moving photo of a man intimately close to a woman. No clothes on, just open mouths with pleasurable expressions. Albus couldn't stop staring, but especially at the man on top — for reasons he didn't really understand. The man had a nice figure and passion.

Suddenly interrupting their arousal was a playful little ferret almost crawling up his owner's leg.

Albus yelped from the unexpected touch, and he quickly passed the magazine back.

Albus couldn't form any words — at least not ones that made sense, and he muttered a quick "okay" to Gerald. He managed to attach the pet to his leash and he unknowingly boosted in speed while walking out of the dorm, naturally with Scorpius following his lead.

"So… that was… interesting? Am I right?" Scorpius ultimately spoke, breaking the uncomfortable tension.

"Oh, um, yeah," Albus said. "I know James has some, but I never bothered to look."

The uncomfortable silence returned, and they paced their way through the dungeons.

During their hike, Scorpius spotted Rose from a distance; her flaming red hair supported by a bun like it ordinarily was, her freckled skin silky-smooth, her arms bonded with her books and wand, and her body growing more and more mature. She was the most gorgeous girl in the school, at least according to Scorpius. What was magnificent about her was that her beauty was beyond anything he had just seen in those magazines, and despite her lovely appearance — like that of an actual rose — her mind was the real beautiful thing about her.

"Scorpius."

Albus' arm blocked his friend from walking any further. "You might want to watch your step. Or it will be the hospital wing for you, and a funeral for Gerald."

Scorpius checked his feet as Albus rearranged the leash from around his legs so there would be no accidents.

"Sorry about that, little mate," Scorpius bumbled to Gerald. "I was just thinking about Rose, and—"

"It's fine. It's fine. You don't need to explain," Albus hurriedly interrupted, waving his hand around.

"Oh, okay. Can I just tell you one thing?"

Albus wanted to say no because he knew what it was going to be about, but all of these years knowing him, he never found a way to say that one word to him, and if he did, he could never stick with it.

"Sure, I guess," Albus gave in, leading Gerald out of the castle.

"Rose, well, I think I have a crush on her?" Scorpius confessed, twiddling his fingers.

Albus was barely walking anymore. His steps were slouched and it felt like the wind was knocked right out of him. He was fully aware of Scorpius' inexplicable strong feelings for Rose, but for Scorpius to actually state it was something different.

"Is that so? I never would have guessed that," Albus finally remarked.

"Really? I thought I was being too obvious."

"No, not at all," Albus said scornfully.

Tilting his head to look over the brunet's shoulder, Scorpius asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Albus lied, watching over Gerald's safety beneath him.