Sunday June 19th 2022:
"Albus, it's the first day of summer vacation. Why are you pacing like this?" Scorpius asked.
Albus was indeed pacing — by their cherished pine tree alongside the Whomping Willow to be precise, unlike Scorpius who was relaxing on the grass, hands behind his head.
"I can't believe we have to wait to find out our results. I wish they could just tell us before we leave for the summer."
"That sounds like something I would worry about, not you," Scorpius said. "Since when do you care so much about failing?"
"I've been wasting my time, Scorpius. I could be doing something useful and helpful in the world. If I don't graduate, I won't be able to do that."
"You don't have to graduate to do something good in the world. Your father didn't have to."
"I don't mean that kind of way of helping or changing the world. Remember I told you I wanted to work with creatures? I guess not because you were chatting it up with Erika I believe when I came back from the career choice meeting," Albus said, exasperated.
"Oh, right. I'm sorry," Scorpius said.
"It's fine," Albus said. "Besides, if I don't pass, I won't be with you anymore. Only for the holidays. Plus, it would be nice to proudly tell my children in the future that I graduated."
"Already having kids, are ya?" Scorpius said playfully.
"No, but you know what I mean. I'm going to mostly fail anyway," Albus mumbled, kicking tiny specks of rock from the grass underneath his feet. "Speaking of kids, Teddy and Victoire sent me another photo of little Dora. Want to see it?"
"Sure," Scorpius cheerfully said, delighted in getting off the subject.
Out of Al's pockets surfaced a moving photo of Teddy and Victoire laughing while trying to hold their three month old daughter in position for the picture — one of Teddy's hands were tickling her belly. Her face was chubby but heart-shaped like her father. The thin strands of hair on her head was a beautiful fair blonde like her mother, but her eyes were a light blue, not inherited from either of her parents, but her grandfather on the Weasley side.
In Victoire's excellent handwriting she wrote:
This morning — at 8:45 in the morning specifically — precious little Dora giggled for the first time ever! Unluckily, she never likes the camera on her, so we couldn't cinematicize the moment. Which is why Teddy had to tickle her in this very photo I have given you.
She's already growing so fast. We love her so much. And in case you're wondering, no her hair still doesn't morph. Luckily she's perfect the way she is.
Can't wait for you to see her!
Love,
Vicky and Teddy
-xoxo
"She really is adorable," Scorpius said, fawning over the photo. "Are they married yet?"
"I don't know what's going on with that honestly. They never mention it," Albus replied.
"Isn't it obvious why?" Rose asked, unexpectedly joining them in their spot. "They are focusing on discussing Dora and nothing else."
"You sound like James," Albus said.
"I know, but it's true," Rose said. She coolly leaned alongside the pine tree and set free an unrestrained sigh. "It sure feels good to be done with our O.W.L.S."
"I'm guessing you are confident about your results?" Albus asked.
"Of course," Rose said. "What about you two?"
"Well, you just missed Albus pacing about, thinking he's going to mostly fail. When in reality it will be me," Scorpius said.
"You? Scorp, you may have had your head in the clouds most of this year — figuratively and literally — but intelligence doesn't leave you just like that. The worst you could get is exceptional, but not a fail."
"Thanks," Scorpius said, not really convinced. "I'm sorry for backing out of most of our tutoring sessions."
"It's alright. Dominic and I pulled it off just fine... hopefully," Rose said.
To Albus and Scorpius' disconcertment, Dominic joined them at that instant, making their secluded spot on Hogwarts grounds less secluded. "Hey, Rose. I was thinking, perhaps we could hang out during the summer."
"Yeah, sure. Dominic, how did you find my tutoring?" Rose said quickly.
"Huh? You were excellent," Dominic said, off put from the unexpected question and unsure if Rose truly heard his own or not.
"Well, I suppose I should have questioned somebody else. You pretty much aced everything, so it would be easy for you."
Dominic seemed flattered. "Thanks, but I hear people talk about your help all the time."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
"Good to know."
"Well nevertheless, I would like your precise feedback."
"Is that really necessary?" Dominic groaned.
"Of course! Now come on," Rose said, cravingly dragging the reluctant blond away.
"I just wish me putting off all of that tutoring actually pulled off winning our house the Quidditch Cup," Scorpius said glumly.
"Yeah, thanks for that, Scorpion," Horace asserted from near-at-hand. By happy chance, Horace would never trod any further from his justified cowardice of the Whomping Willow. Still, Albus and Scorpius didn't appreciate all of the sudden company in their special spot.
"How does it feel to be back to being a loser?" the Slytherin Jerry mocked.
"Oh boohoo, he didn't win our house a pretty shiny little trophy. Why don't you two get a life and care about things that actually matter?" Albus mocked. "Besides, nice thing to say from one of Scorpius biggest "fans", Jerry."
"Oh, piss off, Al," Horace growled.
"Hey! Don't talk to him like that!" Scorpius snapped, his comfortable pose disappearing in a flash.
"Enough!" All four of the teens were silenced from the intimidating and uproarious voice of Madam Hooch. "If you boys have nothing courteous to say, then leave this instant!" She was already the supervisor on castle grounds, but ever since Cora's complaints, she had an everlasting watch, especially on Albus and Scorpius.
Horace and Jerry left, and when they did, Albus turned to Scorpius, "And you." He restrained Scorpius to the tree with his hand immovably established on his chest. "Stop being so hard on yourself about not winning a pretty trophy!"
Scorpius smirked and booped Albus' nose. "Love it when you're feisty." As usual, that sort of compliment was met with speechlessness from Albus.
"Albus! Albus!"
Albus groaned from what felt like the hundredth intruder. From the peppy and high-sounding voice, Albus would have sworn that it was Lily, but the pitch was a wee bit matured — which meant that the person was Roxanne.
"Did you hear?"
"Hear about what?" Albus asked.
"Come with me! Both of you," Roxanne cheerfully said. Her cheerful tone reduced with her last sentence because of what happened with Scorpius and Roger and her fondness of him.
Astonishingly, Roxanne ushered them over to the Greenhouses. She pointed to the skirting of one of the shacks, but was as equally stupefied as the two boys when witnessing James leaning against the wall of the Greenhouse Three with Cora Figel's waist sheathed inside of his arms. They were staring so infinitely deep into each other's eyes that they didn't notice the three teens staring at them, and they were speaking softly to each other.
"Is this what you wanted to show us?" Scorpius whispered to Roxanne.
"Umm, no," Roxanne said.
Using his hands around his mouth to pretend he was speaking through a megaphone, Albus yelled "ARE WE INTERRUPTING?"
Not only did Cora and James jump, but so did Roxanne and Scorpius.
"What the hell, Albus?" James barked.
"I couldn't deny the perfect opportunity. You don't seem to mind interrupting Teddy and Victoire with their snogging sessions--"
"We weren't snogging. We were just talking," James excused.
"Just celebrating him graduating," Cora said, blushing.
"Oh, that's what I was asking you about, Al," Roxanne said cheerfully.
"You passed?" Albus asked, facing James.
James nodded.
"Congratulations!" Scorpius said. "What did you want to do afterwards?"
"I dunno. I was thinking maybe a Charms professor here some day," James answered.
"I wish I knew what I wanted to be," Scorpius said.
"You can be anything you want to be, Scorpius," Albus said. "You've got the brains."
"But I don't want a boring job, and I don't think I would be able to take all of the responsibility of most jobs," Scorpius said gloomily.
"Which is why this will be my last year here. I just want a simple job," Roxanne chipped in.
"Wait, so you aren't going to graduate?" Albus questioned.
"Nah. Don't need to really... I don't need the extra schooling and especially since Roger is gone now—"
"Roger deserved what he got," Cora said as politely as she could.
"I get that you are friends with everybody, but I'll never understand why you are so persistent with that jackarse," Albus said.
James cleared his throat both for the reason of going off topic of Roger and to put the attention back on him.
"Oh, sorry about that, James," Roxanne apologised, trying to keep her temper hidden from what was just discussed. "We're happy for you."
"Yeah, and that means you won't be around to bug me," Albus said, relishing the thought.
"Keep talking like that, and I will take back that gift I gave you," James threatened.
"I'll be good," Albus said without hesitation.
Nobody knew what they were talking about except for Scorpius.
XXX
Hogwarts hosted their conventional end of the year feast celebration. Including the pre-graduation festivity for the graduates.
Ensuing their Headmistress' speech and results of the combined points of each house, in order being: Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and then Hufflepuff, the graduates threw their pointed hats in the air, followed by Rosemary Jordan hastily kissing James on the lips. James returned the kiss and held her close to him. Albus couldn't believe his brother was still so clueless. He glanced over at the Ravenclaw table and saw Cora excuse herself from the table with tears in her eyes. He knew how she felt all too well.
After the feast, a great number of students made their way to Hogsmeade for further celebration. Rose offered to go with Albus, and so they accelerated their way through the crowds in Honeydukes with a handful of sweets and in the course of time hung out around a fence enclosed by the mountains and the village.
"So, how did you find this school year went for you?" Rose asked, biting the head off of her Chocolate Frog.
"Normally I would say good, but with Roger being expelled, I say great," Albus said.
"Excellent perspective," Rose chuckled.
"How about yours?" Al asked.
"Stressful, but it all came together by the end," Rose said. "And thankfully I got over missing someone as unpleasant as Polly."
She saw just the person she was referring to in the company of her new best friend Mary Zabini goggling over at the Shrieking Shack but not going in.
Albus and Rose saw Fred helping a first-year girl tie up her shoelaces while she looked embarrassed but grateful.
"It's a shame that Fred didn't pass like James," Rose said. "The main reason why I put together my tutoring sessions was to especially hope for those who have learning disabilities like he does. Dominic explained to me in great detail why I did well, but it didn't help Fred it seems."
"Everyone learns differently. There ought to be a few unsuccessful ones here and there," Albus said.
"Yeah, I know," Rose said, disappointed.
Plentiful students entered and exited out of different shops in the vicinity of them, so they caught a glimpse of many recognizable faces strolling by. Even Scorpius and Erika were wandering off together from Honeydukes to the Three Broomsticks. They genuinely looked to be enjoying each other's company, and Albus tried to shake off his feelings of paranoia and jealousy... unsuccessfully though, because Rose perceived.
What they saw next was their cousin Molly holding hands with another tanned skin girl with pigtails, both of them huddled together with their red and gold Gryffindor scarves nestled so abutting to their necks that you could hardly see their chins.
"Kavita Banerjee."
"What?" Albus asked.
"That's the girl's name with Molly. Haven't you heard about them dating?" Rose said.
"I knew she always fancied girls, but no I didn't hear about them."
"You need to get out and hang around people more."
"Why would I want to do that?"
Rose laughed, and so did Albus.
"Speaking of, where are you in terms of relationships? Ever since Abigail I mean," Rose said.
"Err, well, nothing much to say really," Albus said awkwardly. "There are times where I miss going out with her, but we still hang out at Hagrid's. I can tell she still likes me though."
"Why did she break up with you again?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, you know, it just wasn't meant to be."
"So, are you crushing on anyone now?"
Albus could feel himself mentally breaking down from that question. He couldn't tell her, he couldn't tell anyone.
"No," he replied after a delayed moment.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"You don't have to tell me who it is, y'know."
Albus looked away. He needed to say something.
"Alright. I do," Al muttered.
Rose felt triumphant. "I knew it! Who is it?"
"Hey, you said I didn't have to tell you that."
"Oops," Rose said, disgruntled. "Do you at least want to tell me about them?"
Albus was silent for so long that Rose was convinced that it was his way of saying no, but he spoke. "They are everything good in the world. They make me laugh even when I don't want to. They can be a pain in the arse, but it somehow makes me love them more. But what hurts the most is knowing that they'll never feel the same way. But who knows, this feeling might just be temporary and go away."
Albus wore the widest of smiles.
"Wow. Sounds like a special gu— person," Rose said. "You know, one of the biggest reasons why I broke up with Scorpius is because I felt like he had feelings for someone else..."
"What? Who?" Albus asked too quickly.
Rose wanted nothing more than to tell him, but she quickly realised that if she wasn't careful with her phrasing, she could have made it seem like she was upset with him, or make it sound like he was the cause of their breakup. "That I'm not so sure."
"Oh," Albus said. He didn't know why he was so eager to know the answer, he knew Scorpius would never have those types of feelings for him anyway.
It was uncomfortable between the two afterwards, until Scorpius and Erika left from the Three Broomsticks.
"I'm going to pack my things," Erika told Scorpius. "See you on the train."
"See you then," Scorpius said.
Rather than waving good-bye ordinarily, Erika wriggled her fingers. When she was quite a ways from Scorpius — who was standing still in the spot she left him in — Rose drew the conclusion that this was the perfect time to interrogate him, so she approached him. "Scorpius, can I talk to you privately for a second?"
"Err — sure," Scorpius said.
"Can I come along?" Albus proposed.
"What part of "privately " don't you understand?" Rose said dismissively.
"Just thought I'd ask," Albus said, bewildered from her behaviour.
Scorpius warily tagged along with Rose to a spot where they were out of Albus' view.
"Sorry about that, Scorp. Just wanted to ask you something," Rose said.
"That's okay," Scorpius said, secretly hoping that Albus wasn't offended with how far they were from him.
"Are you still alright with how things are between us?" Rose asked.
"Of course," Scorpius said. "You're brilliant, Rose. But that doesn't mean we need to go out. Why? Are you okay with how things are?"
"Yes, yes. I agree with everything you said," Rose said speedily. "So, have you found that special someone yet?" She tried to come off as nonchalantly as possible.
"Hm, good question," Scorpius said, acting to contemplate deeply. His acting carried on much longer than he intended.
"So, are you ever going to answer my question?" Rose said, rapidly becoming quick-tempered from the absence of sound.
"Well, finding the love of my life, I haven't done that yet, but—" Scorpius smiled goofily.
"But what?"
"Can you keep a secret? Keep in mind that is something I haven't even told Albus yet."
"Sure."
Scorpius signalled Rose to come closer to him so he wouldn't risk anybody nearby to hear him. "I have a big crush on... someone," he whispered.
Rose would have felt as triumphant as she did when Albus told her the same thing moments ago, but she made sure to reduce her expectations. "Really? But I'm guessing you won't tell me who?"
"Only if you really want to know."
"Well, I do."
The blond searched their surroundings intently. "You know Erika Yushamor? One of the Chasers for the Slytherin Quidditch team and the person I was just hanging out with?"
"Yeah. What about her?"
"Well, it's her."
"What's her?"
"I have a crush on her."
Rose was speechless. "Wait... what?"
"Huh, I didn't know I was that subtle about it," Scorpius said.
Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could Scorpius be so stupid? How could both of them be this stupid?
"Uh, Rose?" Scorpius asked, realising her silence.
"Why are men so clueless?" Rose snapped, leaving Scorpius there abandoned and stumped.
"How did the talk go?" Albus asked when Rose returned.
"Well, it went," Rose mumbled.
Albus cocked an eyebrow. "Huh?'
Rose didn't trouble herself in answering, but even if she wanted to, it interfered with Scorpius assembling with her and Albus, almost spooked to make eye contact with her from the way she was acting.
The three of them diverged from the path of Hogsmeade to make their way back to the school.
"Guess we better finish packing," Albus said. "What do you have left to pack, Scorp?"
"I haven't even started packing yet," Scorpius said
"You're kidding, right? Just last night I saw you packing up your books," Albus nagged. "Now you're going to have to rush with everything."
"I don't mind," Scorpius brushed off.
"Aren't you forgetting that last year and the year before that you forgot one item here at the school? When you get organized earlier, you don't forget things as much," Albus said. "How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Trust me. I won't let it happen again," Scorpius grumbled.
"You better not," Albus said.
Rose couldn't take it, it was like listening to an old married couple, or more specifically, her own parents.
"Man, James was right, I do sound like my mum," Albus said. "Sorry about that. I just don't want you to forget anything."
"No worries," Scorpius said. "I understand."
Out of the blue, Rose propelled Scorpius into Albus. "Oof! What was that for?" Scorpius asked.
"Kiss and make up already. You two are driving me bonkers," Rose said, marching farther away from the pair. The two teens gawked at each other, soundlessly speculating if Rose was feeling well.
A/N: Dora is short for Nymphadora