Chapter 3: Al, Scorpius
"Hey, yeah, well, what I says goes. This is my house, not yours."
"Obviously," snorted Scorpius, "I'd never paint my walls that colour. They don't half match the curtains."
Albus rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous. Get off my bed."
Scorpius ignored him, still lying sprawled back across Al's bed like he owned the place. He rolled onto his side to face his best mate who glared at him with bright green eyes as Scorpius snuggled deeper into Al's mountain of pillows.
Al pulled a face. "I'm going to have to wash those again now. Mum won't be happy."
It was Scorpius's turn to roll his eyes now. "If you hadn't exhausted me with your ramblings of a crazy Quidditch freak then maybe I wouldn't be left bedridden today."
The crazy glint reappeared in Al's eyes at the mention of Quidditch, ignoring his friend's overdramatising. "You don't understand, I have to beat James! I'm captain now and-"
"Oh no, oh no," warned Scorpius, sitting upright, "do not start this again."
"But-"
"No, Potter, don't even think about it. I have your pillows and I'm not afraid to smother you with them."
Al opened his mouth to protest.
Scorpius picked up a pillow in warning. "Don't think I won't do it. You've driven me to the edge. I'm this close to breaking point." He held his hand up, first finger nearly touching his thumb. "This close!If I hear about one more training drill or see another bloody diagram you'll be front page of The Prophet tomorrow. 'Potter put to premature death by pillows'. Is that-"
Scorpius's ranting was interrupted by Al's mother Ginny's arrival at the doorway. "Al won't be the only one facing a premature death if you two don't hurry downstairs." she said, "We're going to be late."
A minute later -or what felt like a lifetime to Scorpius- after Al had hidden away all his piles of scrawled Quidditch plans (Scorpius, wanting to leave that bedroom sometime this century, had decided not to mention if James wanted to find the piles of tactics and top secret game plans he could simply summon them and Al hiding them under his bed was hardly going to stop him), the two boys were making their way down the Potter house's central staircase.
"So who's going to this …family gathering," he said the two words with some distaste, which was not really unwarranted seeing as he was to be the only Malfoy among countless Potters and Weasleys, "of yours?"
"Family," shrugged Al.
Scorpius only raised an eyebrow in response.
Al sighed, running a hand threw his forever messy black hair. "Everyone but Teddy I believe. He's headed back to school already." Teddy, although neither a Potter nor a Weasley, was Al's father Harry's godson and considered as much a part of the family as any of the cousins. He was the assistant gamekeeper at their school, Hogwarts, and had been since the beginning of the year.
"Ahh," nodded Scorpius thoughtfully, "so your cousin with the pretty eyes will be there?"
Albus frowned and glanced over at his best friend. "I thought I had the pretty eyes?" he said.
"You do, my friend," grinned Scorpius, "but unfortunately your eyes are attached to the rest of you, which, no offense, I have no interest in." He ruffled Al's hair affectionately and Al rolled his eyes, ducking away from Scorpius's teasing hand before shooting what he hoped was a stern glare his way.
Scorpius took the last few stairs two at time, laughing.
"Oi!" called Al, at Scorpius's retreating back. "You're not allowed to have an interest in any of my cousins!"
