Sorry that it took me a little bit. This was my only free day to type it. But here you go! I hope you enjoy :D
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in Harry Potter; don't sue me.
Chapter 6
Andrew and Albus were walking on the Hogwarts grounds, talking about Quidditch tryouts that were in a week, when Andrew froze. Albus, who was still walking, ran into his friend, nearly knocking him over. "Andrew, what the hell?"
"Albus," Andrew whispered loudly. "Th-there she is." He pointed to a girl in Hufflepuff robes who was sitting on the grass, reading; Albus immediately knew to whom he was referring. Arabelle Trotsky. She was in their year. She was tall and had long, wavy golden-blond hair; the girl was very pretty. Andrew had had a crush on her for a year or so, but had only talked to her maybe three times.
"Go talk to her!" Albus demanded.
Andrew's ears reddened at the thought. He was still frozen in place. Andrew had a hard time talking to girls. It was embarrassing, really; not to mention so unlike the outgoing, talkative Andrew he knew. "I'll go with you. She likes me."
Andrew snapped his head around to look at Albus. "What? How do you know? Have you talked to her before?"
"Just the same as you. But she's a girl and I'm gay."
Andrew gave him a blank stare. Albus sighed at his friend's lack of common knowledge. He explained, "Generally in my experience, girls, and especially girls who like fashion - take note of the fashion magazine, A La Mode, in her hand - want to have a gay best friend. It's a weird, subconscious desire that they have. And we've talked about shoes and such before."
Andrew blinked, unconvinced. "Albus, you mismatch your socks, so how can you have a conversation with her about shoes?"
"Alright, so I just nodded my head a lot, agreeing with whatever she said. But the important thing is that I put in a good word for you."
Andrew's eyes grew wider, shocked. "Wha-wait, why haven't you told me this before? What'd she say?" He grabbed Al's shoulders and shook them.
"Geez, calm down. I saw her in Diagon Alley a little bit before school started. And I meant to tell you, I'd just forgotten." I'm such a bad friend. But still, it's pretty funny to see Andrew freak over girls. It makes me feel more sane. Albus laughed aloud to himself.
"What did she say about me?" Andrew's eyes were still wide, intense. He was about to hit Al over the head with his spellbooks.
Al thought for a moment, then replied, "She thinks you're cute, but she doesn't know you well enough. So talk to her."
Andrew's ears perked up when Albus said that she thought he was cute. "Really?" Andrew glanced back at Arabelle; she was walking into the castle. "Bugger, she's leaving!"
Albus rolled his eyes. "Merlin's beard, you're so difficult! Catch up to her, stupid, and ask her what she's reading."
"But you've just told me what she's reading." He watched Arabelle walk closer to the castle and bit his lip.
"Andrew, I swear if you do not go over there -"
"Okay, okay, fine. Thanks Al!" He grinned at his friend, then practically sprinted to Arabelle. Albus tutted to himself, shaking his head, as he walked away. Andrew was so dense sometimes. Well, no, most of the time.
This thought made him think of the disgusting Lysander, and then he had a sudden urge to find Rosie.
---
It wasn't until after dinner in the Great Hall that he could speak with his cousin. He found her and Blake heading out of the hall, their hands intertwined. I swear these two are one human being. Can they not keep their hands off each other for one second? He wasn't too big a fan of PDA.
Nonetheless, Al caught up to the two lovebirds and tapped them on the shoulder. Rose turned around and practically yelled, "Ally! Hey!"
Al laughed and said hi back, but did so much more quietly.
"I've been looking for you everywhere today! How was your date?" She smiled, always straight to the point.
Albus narrowed his eyes. "It was horrible, actually."
Rose tilted her head to the side, genuinely confused. "Seriously? Lysander told me it went great."
"Maybe for him," Albus muttered. "I love you and everything, Rosie, but you are never setting me up with anyone again." He grinned at her so that she'd know that he wasn't mad at her.
Suddenly, Blake started uncontrollably laughing. "Rose-bear, you set Albus up with Lysander Riviera?! For a straight-O student, you're pretty dumb."
Rose hit Blake on the arm, then sheepishly grinned. "Sorry that it went so terribly, Ally."
"It's okay; I survived," he said. Besides, if I hadn't met up with Lysander, I wouldn't have had snogged Scorpius. Albus still wasn't sure if that were a bad or good thing yet.
He, Blake, and Rose chatted for a bit more, then went their separate ways. Albus needed to catch up on homework that he'd put off.
---
The following days after the Lysander thing, Albus and Scorpius secretly met up in the library in the Divination aisle. It was their very own secret place. The two boys talked about life, family, Quidditch, etc.; but mostly they just snogged. Scorpius was such a great kisser, probably because he had so much experience. Albus, on the other hand, had little to none. But Scorpius seemed to enjoy it, nonetheless.
One day while snogging during their free period in the library, Scorpius seemed distracted. He wasn't as into it per usual. Albus tried harder, wrapping his arms tighter around Scorpius' back, moving his tongue in a circular motion inside Scorpius' mouth. But it did no good. The Slytherin still remained indifferent.
Albus pulled away and self-consciously asked, "Have I done something wrong?"
Scorpius broke out of his trance, his eyebrows furrowed. Something was on his mind. "Huh? No, sorry. I was just thinking."
"About what?" Albus pressed.
Scorpius hesitated telling Albus, not sure if he could trust his new hook-up buddy yet. "It's nothing."
"It is not nothing. You're obviously distracted about something." Al held Scorpius' hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm a good listener."
Scorpius hesitated for a second more, but he needed to vent to someone, and he couldn't vent to any of his friends about this. He took a rolled up Daily Prophet out from his robe pocket and opened it to the front page. "It's my father. I think he's in trouble."
Albus took the newspaper and saw a picture of a distressed-looking Draco Malfoy in court. The article stated:
Draco Malfoy, enterpreneur and CEO of Malfoy Potions
Enterprise, has been suspected and charged with theft.
Last week, 500,000 galleons went missing from MPE.
Investigators found bank statements from Gringotts
which added up to the missing money in Malfoy's vault.
If found guilty, Malfoy will be indicted and sent to
Azkaban prison. The real question on everyone's mind,
though, is why would Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater,
need all that money and what would he do with it?
"Bloody hell," was all Albus could say.
Scorpius frowned and chewed on his lip. "I can't imagine him ever stealing money, especially of that huge amount. I mean, we have money. Why would he need 500,000 galleons?"
Albus squeezed Scorpius' hand, unsure of what to say.
"And he didn't even tell me. I had to find out from the Daily Prophet and from everyone's snickering and petty comments." Scorpius laid on Albus' lap. Albus ran his fingers up and down Scorpius' arms as he asked, half-serious, "Want me to beat them up for you?"
Scorpius laughed, replying, "I'm thinking about doing that, myself. If one more person makes another comment, don't hold me back."
"I'll join in with you."
Scorpius raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Funny, I didn't think you liked fighting."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, you've never thrown a punch at me, and let's be honest, I've been a complete jerk to you. We've had a couple of duels, but that's it." He smirked, adding, "You're scared of me, aren't you?"
Albus laughed loudly. "Hell no! I just try with all my might to refrain from kicking your ass because my parents would be disappointed in me. They don't like that I have a short fuse."
Scorpius made a face. "I hate having to always please parents. My parents are always like, 'A true Malfoy is supposed to be like this' and 'A true Malfoy would never do that.' It's so annoying."
"Wow, that sucks," Albus remarked. "My parents are just too nice that it'd kill me to disappoint them. How messed up is that?!" He was silent for a few seconds, then added almost as an afterthought, "Surprisingly, they were cool with my being gay."
Scorpius leaned his head back to look at Albus, his eyes wide. "Seriously? My parents would first use the Cruciatius curse on me, then murder me."
Albus stroked Scorpius' hair. "Naw, I'm sure they'd be okay after a while. I mean, I thought the same thing, but then my mum said that she had sensed it all along. And my dad said he still loved me and he'd support me no matter what."
"Albus. You do not know my parents. Not everyone's family is as perfect and loving as yours. Everything has to be pristine, in order, and above average in my family." Scorpius sighed, taking the newspaper and glancing at the picture of his father. He threw it down on the ground and added, "That's why I can't believe that he'd steal. It's so out of character for him."
"Maybe he was framed," Albus suggested, trying to appease the Slytherin.
"Maybe. I think I should write a letter to my parents." Scorpius sat up from Albus' lap and turned to the Gryffindor. He grinned and said, "Thanks, Potter."
Albus, surprised that Scorpius had actually thanked him for something, smiled. "Anytime, Malfoy. I hope this situation gets better for you and your family."
"Me too," he said softly. Then he kissed Albus on the lips and walked out of the library. Albus waited a few minutes, not wanting to appear conspicous, then left as well.
R&R :D
And I hope you liked this chapter. It's a turn of events for the Malfoys...what will happen? Dun dun dun!