Sorry..again, haha. I finish one research project and another one comes up. I hate school lol
NightRoseK: I get a lot of story alerts and no reviews..I don't get it. At least people are reading it though. :p And I'm glad you like it.
Sophia Anna-Mae: That review was riveting. ;) I hope you mean "wow" in the good way lol
Chapter 7
Albus and Andrew had just finished Qudditch tryouts. They were sweaty, filthy, and exhausted. Albus had been Beater last year so he was confident that he'd make it. This was Andrew's second year of trying out for Chaser. He didn't make it last year, but he practiced almost everyday over the summer with Albus' family (his family had its own Quidditch field). From what Albus saw today, Andrew did really well and would probably make the team.
"I'm proud of you, Drew," Albus lightly slapped Andrew's back as a job well done. Andrew grinned and said thanks.
Tilly ran down the bleachers, almost tripping over a handful of small first-year Gryffindors, as he and Andrew were walking past. "Wicked job, guys! I thought you were going to take Riley's hand off, Albus!"
They laughed aloud. Albus had slammed his broom into Riley's, who was a Chaser, and almost knocked the poor seventh year into the pillar. Normally aggressive, Quidditch was a great way to release his pent-up aggression and not get expelled for it; not to mention, he was naturally competitive.
"I'd hug you, but you guys smell disgusting," Tilly added, chuckling. Andrew and Albus looked at each other and mischievously grinned. Then they, arms open, reached for Tilly to give her a big bear hug. She ran from them, squealing. As they playfully tackled her, Albus noticed a line of green out of the corner of his eye. He stood up and immediately spotted Scorpius. "Hey, the Slytherins are trying out. Let's watch," he said, keeping his voice cool and even. He really wanted to see Scorpius play. The Slytherin had been a Seeker since fourth year and Albus had heard that he was good, but he had never thought so because he'd hated the guy.
He glanced back at Andrew and Tilly. They had a look of surprise and disbelief upon their faces. Albus cleared his throat and lied, "I want to seek out the competition. And, um, we can poke fun." This lying thing was not working out well for him.
"I need a shower," Andrew stated, clearly not seeing the fun in watching the Slytherins.
"Yeah, and I have a paper to write," Tilly explained, a look of perplexion plastered on her face.
"Come on guys, it'll be fun. We don't have to stay long." He then proceeded to give him his infamous puppy-dog face.
"Okay, fine, but only for a little bit," Tilly and Andrew said. Albus grinned to himself as they made their way back to the bleachers.
Twenty or so Slytherins mounted their broomsticks and flew around the field with Scorpius leading the pack. Is Scorpius captain? Albus smiled to himself. He's fast. Scorpius overlapped a few Slytherins, and then yelled out positions for each person to play of whom was trying out.
Then Malfoy and a seventh year, Teri Flint, the co-captain, landed on the ground and blew their whistles. As the two captains made their way to the stands to make their picks for the team, Scorpius spotted Albus. His ears reddened as Albus smiled at him and he quickly looked away, taking his seat in the front row.
Albus grinned, his cheeks flushed. Then he felt a pang in his arm. "Ow," Albus turned to see that Tilly had punched him; and she was smiling about it. "What was that for?"
That same huge smile upon her face, Tilly became really animated, her eyes wide, gesturing wildly. "Your cheeks are red and you're blushing! Do you fancy someone?" Her mouth got wider as she glanced at the field which was filled with Slytherins. "A Slytherin?! Is that why you wanted to watch them play? Who's the lucky guy?"
"Tilly, shut up!" He glared at Tilly, his cheeks growing redder and redder.
Then Andrew, much to Albus' dismay, piped in, "You like a Slytherin?" His voice was dripping with venom on the word 'Slytherin'.
Albus heavily sighed, furrowing his brow. "No, I don't fancy anyone, and especially not a Slytherin." It took all of his strength to look his friends in the eyes.
"Then why'd you blush?" Tilly curiously asked, unconvinced.
"My cheeks are red because I'm red and sweaty," he lied, narrowing his eyes and holding his breath.
Tilly gave Albus a weird look, disappointed that Albus didn't like anyone; she thrived for juicy gossip. "If you say so. And speaking of sweaty, you two reek something awful and it's giving me a headache."
"Fine, we can leave," Albus reluctantly said. He wanted to see Scorpius play, but since the Malfoy was judging the other Slytherins, Al decided that it would be in his best interest to leave. He didn't want Tilly and Andrew to find out about him and Scorpius; plus, he really needed a shower.
As they made their way down the bleachers, Albus caught Scorpius' eyes. He mouthed the words "four," then quickly turned away. Albus smiled to himself as he headed toward the castle with his friends, ready to take a nice, hot shower.
---
4:20. Albus sat in a chair, skimming through a book called, Controlling Your Future. It wasn't bad, actually. He had only gotten to the beginning of chapter two - the book was 647 pages long - and it was about not letting fate determine one's destiny.
4:23. Where is he? Albus was beginning to think that Scorpius had stood him up. Did I do something or say something to him? Or did he mean four o' clock for a different day? Or did tryouts get late?
4:28. That was it. Albus closed the book and stood up. He was just about to walk out of the library when he saw Scorpius approach the Divination aisle.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. My friends were getting onto me for going to the library so much."
"It's fine," Albus sighed in relief, glad that Scorpius hadn't stood him up. "I was just reading. How'd tryouts go?"
"We're going to have a good team; I'm excited for it."
"Well, not as good as the Gryffindors," Albus grinned. "I didn't know you were captain though. I guess you must be pretty good."
Scorpius grinned and bragged, "Well I have beaten your brother almost every time." James, the captain, was the seeker for Gryffindor's team. He took after father's quidditch skills. Albus, on the other hand, was decent at Quidditch, but certainly not the greatest. He wasn't too fast, but he had impeccable balance on his broom.
Albus rolled his eyes at Scorpius' arrogance. He remarked, "Guess I never noticed because I've blocked out the few of your accomplishments."
"Or you blocked them out because you were ashamed that I'm better than you at, well, everything," he retorted, giving that infamous smirk of his.
Albus stifled a guffaw. "Ha! Like what?"
"Oh, quidditch, potions, girls, overall manliness. The list could go on and on."
Albus shook his head, grinning. "First off, potions is useless, and your Dad owns a potion-making business so that's a bit unfair."
"Yeah, well, your parents are - or were - insane Quidditch players," Scorpius retorted back.
Albus narrowed his eyes; Scorpius did have a point. He chose to ignore what the stubborn Malfoy said and continued. "Anyway, as for the girls, I'm a hit with the ladies. They all want what they can't have, which is a gay guy."
At this, Scorpius bursted out laughing, and was shushed by a random passerby. "Maybe I should try that method, then." He wagged his eyebrows and grinned, still chuckling.
Albus started to smile, but then stopped. "Wait, what are you?" He had wanted to know this impending question for awhile now, but hesitated to ask because he didn't want to ruin the light-hearted mood.
"Uhh, well, I dunno. A wizard?"
"No, no, you know what I mean."
Scorpius bit his lip. The tone became a tad more serious as Scorpius, who stopped laughing, just stared at Albus, not sure what to say. "I mean, I kiss you, haven't I?"
"Yes, but you kiss girls, too." Albus grimaced and mentally kicked himself for even bringing the topic up. But he hadn't realized how awkward this made Scorpius feel.
"Well, I don't, er, feel anything like I do when I kiss you. So, I guess, I'm just like you," Scorpius softly said, relieved that he was actually saying this aloud.
Albus grinned and moved closer, glad that he obtained the answer he was looking for. Then, he kissed Scorpius. "Like this?" He murmured, placing his hands on Scorpius' lower back. Scorpius nodded, groaning in agreement as he moved his tongue inside Albus' mouth. They laid down on the table, feeling each other up and down, moving their lips and tongue in sync.
Then Scorpius heard some shuffling. He opened his eyes and saw a guy walking toward this aisle. The same aisle where he and Albus were snogging. Scorpius flung himself off Albus and flew to the ground with a loud thud. Albus, momentarily stunned, looked dazed as he registered the guy in purple robes heading towards him.
"Found it! Found my wand!" Scorpius loudly exclaimed. The Ravenclaw looked at Scorpius to Albus and back to Scorpius again, thoroughly confused.
"Er, were you two just -" The Ravenclaw stopped, unsure of what he saw.
"He was helping me look for my wand, pervert," Scorpius hostily said. "Right, Albus?"
Albus looked at Scorpius, still dazed. His lips were still tingling. He didn't want it to stop. "Um, yeah, I have your wand," he absently responded as he pulled out his own wand from his pants pocket and held it up. Scorpius looked at Albus as if he were stupid. Confused, the Ravenclaw walked out of the aisle, deciding that he would read about Divination some other day.
Once that guy left, Scorpius sighed. "That was close."
Albus, who had come to his senses, nodded. "Sorry, I'm not a very good liar."
"Yeah, you're going to have to work on that," he said, a small smile forming upon his lips. It was kinda cute the way Albus couldn't lie. Then, his smile vanished as he added, "I don't think we're safe here. And people are starting to get suspicious. We needed to find another hiding place."
"Can't we just go out in public?" Albus felt ready to introduce to the world that he liked a Slytherin, and a Malfoy at that.
"Are you serious? Albus, no one can know that I'm gay. Like I've said, I would be murdered. Promise me you won't say anything; I'm not ready yet."
"Okay, I promise," He'd forgotten that Scorpius was still in the closet. But how long? Because he's right; we can't always meet in the library. People will catch on.
Scorpius walked over to Albus and put his arm around the Potter's shoulder. "Hey, Hogsmeade is coming up. Maybe we can meet by the Shrieking Shack."
This brightened Albus' spirits, though he tried not to let that show. "Okay, that sounds cool."
Scorpius smiled, glad that he and Albus would get to spend a whole afternoon together, and alone. "Awesome. I'll see you then." He kissed Albus one last time, then made his way out of the library.
---
It was after dinner and all the Gryffindors went to the commons to sit by the fireplace and finish their homework. But Albus couldn't concentrate on his homework. Not that he normally did anyway, but tonight he couldn't help but think about Scorpius. The Malfoy constantly flooded his thoughts.
"Hey, what's problem seven?" A voice broke Albus' thoughts.
"Eh?"
"You're still on problem 3?" Albus looked to his right and saw Tilly staring at his paper.
Albus glanced down at his own paper, as well. Shrugging, he cheerfully replied, "Guess I can't concentrate tonight. I'll do it tomorrow."
Tilly raised an eyebrow, confused by her friend's strange behavior. "It's due tomorrow," she stated.
"No worries," he absently said, still picturing Scorpius in his mind, laughing, his bare stomach revealing his impressive six-pack. Albus grinned, happily sighing.
Ten or so seconds passed until Tilly gasped in shock and yelled, "Don't deny it, you fancy someone, Albus Severus Potter!" Heads turned to see what the commotion was all about. Tilly, realizing she had been a bit too loud, exclaimed, "What are you all staring at? Go back to your studies!"
Andrew, who was sitting across from Albus, stared at Albus, a look of bewilderment upon his face. "So it's true then?!"
Albus grew red from embarrassment, a flood of panic streaming through his body. What would he say? He couldn't tell them the truth. Albus cleared his throat and tried to lie as best he could; it seemed to him ever since he and Scorpius grew closer, he'd had to lie more often. "Um, I don't fancy someone. I was, er, I was just thinking about Quidditch and how well we did."
Suddenly, Andrew perked and happily exclaimed, "Aw man, it was great! We're going to make the team for sure, mate! I mean, did you see that goal I made on Kriggs? Brilliant!"
"Yeah, it was wicked!" Hey, maybe I'm getting better.
"No, no," Tilly chimed in, bursting Albus' bubble, "it's so obvious now. You do like a Slytherin! That's why we had to watch their tryouts." She paused, and then added incredulously, "I can't believe a Slytherin is gay."
Albus frowned. "Tilly, stop jumping to conclusions. I don't like anyone. Go back to your homework." His eyes nervously wavered and he scratched his nose.
"Albus, you're a terrible liar," Tilly remarked.
"Yeah, and you have been acting differently lately. Like, more cheerful and happier," Andrew added.
"What? I'm always cheerful and happy!"
Andrew didn't seem to agree by the look of his face, which upset Albus. Am I not cheerful and happy? A brooder maybe, but not depressed. "Well, I mean," Andrew nervously started, not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings, "you aren't always—" Luckily, Tilly interrupted Andrew by saying, "Anyway, back to the more important topic: who do you like?" She smiled sweetly, as if to say, "You can tell me everything and I won't tell a soul."
"I don't like anyone. Let it go," Albus snapped. His friends were a bit too intense sometimes; it was annoying. He quickly, and regretfully, added, "Besides, even if I did like someone – which I don't – I wouldn't ever tell you because your big mouth would tell the whole wizarding world!"
Tilly winced, hurt by Albus' statement. Immediately after he said it, he wanted to take it back and apologize; but then he'd be lying.
"I can keep a secret," Tilly softly said, though she knew that what she said wasn't true.
"So can I," Andrew added, hurt that his best friend was keeping a secret from him.
Albus slowly breathed in and out, the "cheer" draining from his veins. Al couldn't tell them that he liked Scorpius; they'd judge him even more than they already did. And more importantly, he had promised Scorpius that he wouldn't tell anyone; if Albus told, what he and Scorpius had would be forever gone.
Albus started gathering his books and parchment as he curtly stated, "I think I'll just finish my homework in my bed. Night." And with that, Albus briskly walked to his bed, only to lie down and heavily sigh, closing his eyes. This clandestine stuff was hard work.