When i woke, it was to a start. I realized the bed was empty and immediately began to panic.
"Al?" I called, remembering too late that it was no use trying to signal him from down here. I merely leapt from the bed and raced up the stairs as fast as i could manage. I prayed silently to myself that I wouldn't find him injured again.
To my overwhelming relief I found him unharmed, in an emerald bathing suit that looked almost identical to his fitted microfiber underwear. His hair was still dripping wet as 'in gold' played loudly on my eyepod. He was standing in front of the stove, very carefully mapping the distances between the knobs and burners, tracing the size of the skillet in front of him. there were five spent egg shells in a bowl and pancake mix already properly prepared. As i drew closer i noticed the whipped eggs and the jug of milk to one side.
To his credit and my surprise, there was virtually no mess to be found anywhere.
The music was too loud for him to hear me approaching but i paused to examine him all the same. My gaze fell from his stunning back down to the emerald swimming material that hugged his flawless rear. How was he still single? i thought to myself. Suddenly i'd remembered his letters and thought about the two beautiful seventh year Slytherins. Maybe he was secretly involved with one of them? At least this explained how he had gotten so toned. It was from swimming. Although how he'd managed to do it this morning without drowning i wasn't yet sure.
Thats when I heard his voice begin to give life to the lyrics of the song. My eyes grew wide with sudden shock at the bliss of hearing him. He could sing. Merlin he could sing.
"In this perfect shadow… Red light fills my eyes… Words that only we know… In the darkness lies… Oh and do you wonder what could have been? In the moments that came between… Is this love or is this just a fool's paradise? Here tonight… Too close ...to know! To let go... to hold! For now... let's stay… in gold!"
I went to grab a towel and sat down at the table, listening to his exquisite voice and watching his soft lustrous skin shift to his movements. There was nothing to do but wait for the song to finish playing. There was no way I could have ever dared to interrupt this...
His whole being seemed to shift and roil as he carefully grew and shaped the song with his voice. I could see it in his body... the way he moved as the words slipped from his delicate lips. The way he seemed to pour his soul into each and every syllable. Such depth of feeling... such emotion... such beauty even now in the face of his infirmity.
"Too close... to know! To let go... to hold! For now... let's stay… in gold! Too close to know! To let go, to hold! For now... let's stay… in gold!" The beat blasted so fantastically in the echo of Al's chamber and I felt for the first time something inexplicable move in my chest. Like a fluttering of birds wings. A tingle crept through my skin and down to my fingertips.
"Too close... to know! To let go, to hold! For now... let's stay… in gold!"
"Unbelievable Al... you can really sing." I shot when the song ended. In hindsight it wasn't the wisest move. He yelped and leapt back, causing the pancake that had been in mid flip to fall unceremoniously towards the ground.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" i cast pointing a bone straight finger directly at the flying disk. I hadn't had my wand but i had performed the movement flawlessly with my index finger, managing to save breakfast from ruin just in time. I couldn't keep the spell going for long without a wand so i quickly covered the distance and grabbed the cake from the air, depositing the hot half formed thing back in al's skillet. "Sorry to startle you." i added.
"Don't do that again!" he barked. "You scared me half to death." He scolded turning back to the stove to make sure everything was still cooking properly. A timer went off and he removed the omelet from the second skillet, dividing it down the middle and serving them onto two plates. "Can you watch this second pancake, i'm going to find a shirt." He turned the back burner off and removed the egg skillet from the stove.
"Here, that's for you." I offered dropping a towel onto his wet head and half ruffling his hair to begin drying it. I turned back to the stove to finish the pancake, leaving him to finish drying himself. When i turned around i realized he hadn't retrieved the shirt, he just sat at the table with the towel draped around his shoulders. He looked like he was writing something in the air. I noticed the symbol for the accio spell. That would come in handy. At least when we were outside of our room.
"The pancakes are almost ready, do you mind if i take a look at your arm quickly?" I asked approaching the green eyed boy at the table. He proffered his arm and i marveled at how quickly he had healed with only the couple applications of Poppy's balm. "Wow all better for the most part." i was already back in the kitchen readying to serve breakfast.
"Thanks for checking. Yeah i don't think i would have been able to swim properly had the blisters been as severe as they were last night."
I gathered the food and orange juices onto a tray, switching off the last burner.
"Ok Al foods ready" I offered bringing our plates to the table. "Thanks for cooking."
"I'd say it was no trouble but it was slightly…"
I stared again at his bare chest, my eyes devouring the lines of his muscles. His chest and abdomen were completely smooth, not a hair could be seen.
"So you swim? and sing apparently" I asked curiously. "How'd you manage not to drown out there?"
"Lilith called out from the rock i usually use as a landmark and then flew back to the dock to call out again. It was easy to do a couple dozen laps like that." He ignored my comment about him being able to sing. He really did have a beautiful voice. The mention of lilith however had set my skin tingling.
"You saw her then." It was a statement more than a question. I watched his fork pause in mid air.
"I did… I explained how well you were looking after me… just in case she harbors any misplaced blame for what happened." He offered carefully.
"Thats good… since I will need to speak with her at some point." He stopped his fork in the air a second time.
"Really? Why's that?"
"I was reviewing your web charts… you tested some of her feathers and scales and venom for property potential. Awanyu are rare. You couldn't pass up the opportunity." I remarked.
"So? i fail to see what this has to do with anything?" Al queried. He didn't like the idea of me seeing lilith again.
"I guessed at your core principle theory… father said it was astounding that i grasped it before i'd even picked up your notes. When i saw the chart for Awaynyu scales last night an idea hit me. Loyalty is the core property of those scales."
He put his fork down in shock. "Have you seen the other properties on that chart? Paralysis ten, magical resistance ten, mental clarity minus ten in other words confusion ten. Now we get to the really dangerous and unpredictable property: attribute amplification ten. You've got clairvoyance ten which combined with that confusion ten could cause you to lose your god damned mind… complexity of those scales make them almost unusable. All that for a core property of loyalty? What's the point of that?"
"I need your help to work around the competing properties. I need an ingredient with loyalty at its core and a high capacity for clairvoyance. I need to be under the influence of one or even two exceptional potions to deduce the formula for this property revelation spell. Do you know of another ingredient with either purity of heart, loyalty, friendship, benevolence, something like that at its core. Duty maybe a good one too if the property exists."
He frowned. "Are you stupid?"
"No, quite the contrary. We seek to ring the secrets out of all magical things on the earth. You think a spell like that can be achieved without multiple disciplines of magic layered together? Doubtful. I'd say i probably need a large dose of Felix felices and some other very complex potion combined with it to give my mind the boost it needs to put this together. Something high in clairvoyance too which judging by the charts you've assembled so far is exceptionally rare. Potions, charms and probably divination magic will need to be added into the mix." I merely scooped up the last bite of my omelet before grabbing my plate and bringing it over to the sink to rinse.
"You've lost your mind. I'm not going to accuse you of not understanding the level of complexity at play, since clearly you've given this some thought, but honestly Scor… Do you get what you're saying? Felix Felices is already complicated to make and its highly toxic and you want to mix a luck potion like that with another highly toxic clairvoyance potion… of our invention. You could die combining potions like that."
"I'm a Gryffindor, i'm determined to do this no matter the amount of work involved. Some level of risk i find acceptable as well." I carefully ignored his obvious sense of doubt. "And you're going to help."
"No i am not! I'm not going to help you possibly do irreversible damage to yourself for a hail Mary. That's merely to discover the spell that may help us catalogue healing ingredients. There may not even exist the proper concoction of ingredients to create a healing potion strong enough to fix my eyes!"
"Hey." I whispered to try and calm him. He was very agitated. "We're not there yet… i have at least a months worth of reading through your notes and my dads before i know enough to even draw up a first draft of what i'm suggesting. Don't worry you'll help me make this as safe and methodical an d as possible… ok?" I offered gently, sitting back down in the seat next to him. "Plus i told you because you're the expert. I know if you think about the potions aspect i'm certain i can crack the charms component. Now, i'm going to get you a change of clothes and maybe you can start with a potions lesson before we head to class?"
"It feels like you've… I don't know. I feel like I don't deserve a friend like you Scor…" He whispered back. "I've gotten in the way of your own friendship with James, i've put so much pressure on you already… now you tell me you're attempting something akin to a quest for the holy grail. For me…"
"You didn't know me either a couple days ago… You had barely met me that night in the forest. … i was your big brothers best friend and one of your fathers favorite students sure… but you put yourself in harms way to save me… You put yourself in deaths way to save me… not knowing that you would even survive… all for a stranger… so yes… for YOU… Because if you think about it, it's I who does not deserve you Al." at that i rose from my seat and went to his dresser to retrieve some clothes. When i turned around to bring them back to the table albus had followed me, he'd left his towel on his chair. Before i could do anything he grabbed me in a tight hug, his arms wrapping fiercely around my neck. I was so surprised by the gesture that it took me a few moments to bring my own arms up from my sides to snake around him. I could feel his skin on mine as my hands came to rest on his naked back.
He pulled back finally and i was loath to let him. "Here Al. I got you some clothes. I'll clean the table and kitchen so go to the bathroom to shower and change. I'll see you when you're done. And let me know again if you need anything at all."
"Ok Scor. Maybe you can read me my letters before we start the next potions lesson?"
"Sure thing Al. I'd like that very much. If you trust me to read them to you?" I watched him nod at my offer.
After he'd showered and i'd cleaned the kitchen we sat down at his desk. I wished he was still in his wet bathing suit.
"So we don't have class until our double transfigurations period at the end of the day right?"
"Yeah. I've been excused from charms which was a double this morning and you are excused from double potions right?"
He nodded. "We have advanced magical theory together tomorrow and Dada tomorrow too. My dad moved me to your class section."
I was surprised that Harry hadn't told me personally.
"Alright so i've got your letters here. Any one in particular you'd like me to start with?" I asked, tapping the small packet of envelopes.
"The Lysander twins… they're nice. They introduced me to most of my ravenclaw friends."
He smiled as i read the brothers letters to him. They had each written how much they missed him and how sad they were at what had happened. the letters both ended with the same sentient. "Don't let this be a reason to not hang out. We'd love to help if we can. You're always welcome with the ravens."
"Those were sweet." I mused to myself. He nodded again. "Now Aurora Parkinson's?"
Albus gulped at that, hesitating.
"Oh boy… I can only wonder how much she's put on paper…"
"Al I can get Lily to read it if you want? I don't have to be privy to what's in here if you don't want me to." I offered trying to preserve his privacy. For the first time he actually contemplated my proposal to let someone else handle something for him. Ultimately i watched him sigh resignedly. "Its fine… lets just keep our fingers crossed."
'Hey Love, Words cannot express how sad i was to learn of what happened to you in the forest. I actually wept when i heard the news from Melody. I can only tell you what an incredibly brave thing you did saving Draco's boy like that. I am continually taken aback by your kindness and selflessness. I'm almost certain you don't belong in Slytherin sometimes. I miss you so much Al. Please know that i'm still here for you. Nothing's changed as far as i'm concerned. I'm here if you need anything.
Always yours,
xoxo
Rory
P.S. I guess that whole secret thing with your dad is on hold? You never told me how Draco took it when you informed him? Well i guess i'll have to wait until i see you next. Don't take too long to come say hi.'
My chest tightened as I read the letter, although i could not have said exactly why. Why hadn't his girlfriend actually come to see him? Why had he not mentioned her before? Why hadn't he felt like he could go to her? She clearly said nothing had changed between them.
"Thanks for reading that Scor. I think i'll save the others for later." Al looked contemplative as i watched him. I thought better than to press him on the contents of a letter that by all rights i wouldn't know anything about had i not needed to dictate it to him. "She doesn't ever change." he added after a moment, almost inviting me to weigh in. I debated whether or not to respond when something inside of me made the decision for me.
"She seems like a wonderful girl. Gorgeous too. You're lucky to have her." I offered sincerely. I had too many unanswered questions about the topic to know where to begin. He smiled at my words.
"I am very lucky to know her… but i don't have her. She's not my girlfriend. She's my James." He corrected.
"Oh. It just sounded like that from the letter. So Aurora Parkinson is your best friend?" I asked curiously.
"Something like that. We're confidants of a sort. We share our darkest secrets with each other… although i don't know if we're best friends exactly. She's a pureblood who's parents were rebels… my mom wouldn't approve of us being friends." I thought about Ginny and her prejudice where purebloods were concerned. At least with everyone but me.
"Dad knows a secret of yours? Why would you trust him over Harry?" I asked absentmindedly. His whole expression changed the moment i mentioned the secret in Aurora's post script. He actually looked angry then.
"I'm sorry but that's private…" it was a curt and final sounding reply.
"Sorry Al... I wasn't thinking. I won't ask again. It was my mistake." He softened slightly when he registered my apology.
"You promise that if i tell you you won't stop being my friend, or stop helping me out?" he asked a little frightened. Was it more dark magic? Could it be any worse than what he'd already shared with me. I shook my head. It doesn't matter what it is…
"I don't need to know everything. Its clear that this is private. Lets just leave it here ok?" He nodded his relief.