Ho hum, we're almost done (and that sortof rhymed?) But wow, this story is taking me the whole course of my senior year...and it'll probably be my first story that I've finished haha...how sad is that! Anyway, just a few more chapters to go. :( Another sadness is that you'll probably have to wait a month for the next chapter. Sorry! Exams must take precedence, grr.

Disclaimer: I own not the HP characters

Chapter 12

For the next week, Albus and Scorpius tried to avoid each other like the plague. Everyday, Albus would go to class then go to his chamber to work on homework and study for the quickly approaching exams. His friends tried to cheer him up, but nothing worked. And he knew that he was being ridiculous and difficult but he couldn't stop feeling so depressed. He didn't even have an appetite anymore, which was unusual because Albus could eat three pies and a turkey in one sitting if he wanted.

To make matters worse, Albus had to watch Scorpius and Olivia hold hands and cuddle during class. They were always together now, which was why Albus mainly stayed in the common room. The only satisfaction in seeing those two together was that Scorpius always looked as depressed as Al felt.

And now, today was Saturday, which meant it was the last Quidditch game before winter break. Slytherin vs. Gryffindor.

Albus grudgingly got dressed in his Quidditch uniform and skulked into the Great Hall. He sat down at the Gryffindor table with his friends and looked at the plate in front of him. It was his favorite breakfast: sausage-and-cheese scrambled eggs with hashbrowns, but Albus couldn't eat. He pushed the plate away, disgusted by the smell.

James, who was sitting across from Albus, pushed the plate back toward his little brother. "You need to eat or else you'll have no strength or energy to play today," he demanded.

"I'm not hungry," Albus weakly protested, putting his head down on the table.

"Al, I'm serious. You need to eat." James said with a stern look upon his face. "If we beat Slytherin today, we have a good chance at winning the Quidditch cup. And as captain, I want to win it. So forget all that has happened for a couple of hours and kick some Slytherin arse."

"I just want to lie down. I don't feel well," Albus said, his voice muffled from the table.

Andrew placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and pleaded, "Mate, c'mon, you have to think about the team."

Albus sighed. He knew he was being selfish and he hated disappointing his friends. So he lifted his head and started to eat the eggs and hashbrowns. As he felt his stomach ravenously grumble in pleasure, Al thought, At least I can get revenge on those ignorant Slytherins. It made him feel better thinking about hitting bludgers at the Slytherin team.

Meanwhile, over at the Slytherin table, Scorpius was trying to shove Olivia's hands off his thigh as he tried to eat breakfast. "You're distracting me," he absently remarked after swallowing a piece of toast. Olivia pouted, but kept her hands to herself, still blissfully gossiping about Merlin knows who.

Suddenly, Dolohov exclaimed, "Holy shit! Scorpius, have you seen the Daily Prophet yet?"

Scorpius, who was thinking about Albus and how guilty he felt for being with Olivia, took a moment before realizing that he was being spoken to. Dolohov threw the newspaper at him. Confused, Scorpius took it and glanced down at the front page. In big, bold letters, the headline read: DRACO MALFOY IS SENTENCED TO AZKABAN PRISON. There was a picture of his father, who looked badly beaten up, in handcuffs.

Scorpius felt as if a dementor had given him the kiss, then petrified him. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. His heart sank lower than he thought was possible. Scorpius read the first lines of the article: Draco Malfoy was found guilty of stealing 500,000 galleons from his world-renowned business, Malfoy Potions Enterprise. In a daze, he turned the paper over, then looked at it again, hoping he had been hallucinating. But the article was still there; his father's bruised face was still there.

Scorpius vaguely felt Olivia's consoling him. Then he vaguely heard his friends saying it was time for the Quidditch match. He waited a few minutes for everyone to clear out of the Great Hall before standing up to head to the fields. And as he absently walked, one small tear escaped from his eyes.

---

As soon as Madame Hooch threw the Quaffle in the air, the game began. Albus, who definitely felt as though he was going to pass out, tried to focus and stay on his broom. Scorpius, still in a trance, flew up higher than everyone else. But he wasn't watching the game. Instead, he was thinking about his father, Azkaban, his mother, and Albus. More tears rebelliously streamed down his cheeks, but Scorpius didn't wipe them away. He was the only person in the universe below the clouds. No one was here to judge him; it was safe.

But beneath him, the game was getting pretty brutal. The game kept tying and the players got more aggressive. But Albus couldn't concentrate either. All he could do was focus on the blond Slytherin seeker. Part of Al wanted to throw a bludger at his head and knock him unconscious, but another part wanted to console him. Albus had heard about Scorpius' father going to Azkaban, and as much as he hated to admit, he felt sorry for Scorpius - but only a tiny speck.

Then Albus heard Roxanne Weasley shout at him to get angry and to focus. Get angry? And then something fired up inside of him. He focused all of his rage that had been bottled up for the last couple of weeks on his competitors. He leaned forward and flew to catch a bludger. Then he launched one at a Slytherin chaser, which caused the chaser to drop the Quaffle. Albus grinned, feeling a little more alive.

Suddenly, James flew past like lightning to the other side of the field, which meant that he must have seen the snitch. Scorpius saw a blur, then a flicker of gold by the Hufflepuff stands. Shit, I should probably try to catch that, Scorpius thought somewhat apathetically. He sighed and raced toward James to do something right for a change.

He was directly behind James and was about to pass him, but it was too late. James had caught the snitch. Gryffindors won 280-170. Scorpius cursed himself. Yet another disappointment to add to the wall of shame, he thought as all the Gryffindors ran onto the field to congratulate their team. Scorpius joined his disheartened team and faced the angry remarks of, "Where was your head?" and "We never lose!"

---

The next morning at breakfast, Scorpius' mom's owl arrived at his table with a letter attached to its leg. Scorpius took the letter and fed the owl some bread as he pocketed the letter. He figured it was about his father and decided to read it when he was alone. Everyone had found out by now that Draco Malfoy was being sent to prison, and everyone kept staring at him and whispering. One guy, a Gryffindor, had the audacity to sneer, "It's about time that murderer is sent to Azkaban." If Professor McGonagall had not been nearby, Draco would have hexed the ignorant git.

Once he entered his chamber and saw that he was alone, he hesitantly opened the letter. It read:

Dear Scorpius,

I'm sure you have already read the papers about your father's going to Azkaban. I regret to inform you that it's true. Your father couldn't pay the three men back - these men who are the actual thieves - so they threatened him with taking his and my life unless he pleaded guilty. Unfortunately, these men have a significant influence over the Ministry thus being able to get away with this. And while I admire your father's act of heroism, he has been incredibly stupid, and now we're left with nothing and he must spend five years in prison.

Our house and all of our possessions have been repossessed, but even that isn't enough to pay back the debt. Oh, and MPE has gone bankrupt. So I've been staying with my mother. I would like it if you stayed with me over the holidays but I understand if you'd rather stay with a friend or at Hogwarts.

Scorpius, I know things are tough right now, but please do not let your father's rash mistakes affect your studies. You are still expected to do exceptionally well on all of your exams. We will fix this.

With love,

your Mother

Scorpius folded the letter, laid down on the bed, and stared up at the ceiling. "When did life get so complicated?" He asked himself. He couldn't even fathom the idea of losing everything. But it was happening - had already happened. He wished he could escape it all and lie in Albus' arms forever, but that wasn't realistic. Scorpius knew that he needed to be with his mother and help her through this. His mother came from a wealthier family than the Malfoys so Scorpius knew that this had to be unbelievably difficult for her. He grabbed some parchment and wrote his reply that said he'd be staying with her for winter break, then hurried to the Owlery.

As he was walking to the towers, he spotted Albus. Scorpius took a deep breath, feeling that pang he felt whenever he saw or thought about Albus now. He needed to talk to the Gryffindor, to be comforted, to be told that everything was going to be okay. And with that desire, Scorpius called out, "Albus!" He hurried toward the brunette and said in one desperate breath, "Please don't run off because I need to talk to you really badly about my father and I have no one else to talk to!"

James, who was beside Albus and hand-in-hand with some Ravenclaw girl, jeered, "Bug off, Malfoy."

"This is important. Please, Albus," Scorpius begged. But Albus just shook his head and briskly walked away.

Then James got in Scorpius' face and menacingly threatened, "If I see you try to talk to my brother again, I will beat you up so badly that you'll wish you were in Azkaban with your bloody father." Then he stalked away with the Ravenclaw in tow.

Scorpius, his heart still in pieces, slowly headed to the Owlery. He just wanted to go home away from this place.

R&R :)