-wince-
I am sorry this took so long. I wrote, deleted, and re-wrote this chapter many, many times. I finally decided to break it into two versions. This one is from Albus's POV – Scorpius's chapter should be along shortly.
Honestly, the first chapter and the last chapter were both originally to be one-shots before I decided to connect them, making these middle chapters all explanation and filler-y. Hope it's not too yawn-ish. =)
-o-o-o-o-
"Grindylow."
In response to the password, the stones in front of Albus scraped and slid until they formed a doorway in the wall, opening to the Slytherin common room. Stepping through, Albus searched the green and silver decorated dungeon, not at all feeling nervous or out of place despite his red and gold tie, lion shaped year pin, and lion-emblazoned prefect badge. A few heads turned at his entrance but they, upon seeing that it was Albus, simply ignored him as though having this Gryffindor stand in their midst was an everyday occurrence – which was close enough to the truth. While Albus could not claim that he was in the Slytherin dungeon every day, he was there weekly at the least. The beginning of the year was always the most amusing, when the first years were shocked that none of the older students cared.
Spotting the person he'd come to visit – the reason he had started visiting in the first place – Albus grinned and jogged over to the pamphlet covered table. "Scorpius!"
The Head Boy didn't glance up, eyes roaming over the various careers laid out before him, and was absentmindedly eating some chocolates – no doubt given to him by the senders of the leaflets. As his hand dipped to pick up another sweet, Albus slid onto the bench and caught the hand, stealing and eating the chocolate from between the long, delicate fingers.
"You too, huh? Rosie's been swamped with them," Albus said around the chocolate with a nod at the brochures. Ever since their N.E.W.T. scores were posted the week prior, the Great Hall flooded with pamphlet-bearing owls each morning. He arched an eyebrow at the bemused Slytherin. "Distracted much? You didn't even hear me call your name."
There was a secret in Scorpius's smile as he withdrew his hand from Albus's own. "I believe you are highly sought after as well."
"Yeah, I guess." Albus shrugged, and then, stealing another chocolate, added with a smirk, "But I already know what I want to do."
"I see."
Albus frowned at the tone. It was the tone that meant Scorpius neither supported nor opposed his decision but had a high level of doubt about the topic.
"I know it's dangerous," he said, scooting closer. His knee bumped against Scorpius, but he acted like he didn't notice and hadn't done so on purpose. Propping an arm on the table, he dropped his chin into hand and scowled down at the leaflets. "My parents are trying to talk me out of it, especially Dad, the hypocrite. I thought he'd be excited that I was applying to Auror training."
"Excited?" Scorpius hummed in question.
Albus pretended to glance at a pamphlet, flipping it over, and then dropped it to casually lower his hand to the small of Scorpius's back, again shifting a bit closer. "Well, not excited, but not so against it. I know it's not pleasant work, but it's the fastest way to get my foot in the door with the Ministry, especially since everyone already knows Dad."
Scorpius's eyes were focused on a brochure about mediwizards and he didn't appear to notice the inappropriateness of their proximity, probably too accustomed to it. "Using your family name?"
"Well… it's not like I plan on being an evil dark lord, so…" Albus fidgeted, uncomfortable with the topic, "So why not? If my name gets me where I need to be to help people, then… I'll use it… I think…"
"You should have been in Slytherin," Scorpius said, smirking.
"Wha-! With all this raw courage, no way!" Albus denied, puffing up with a forced laugh. Their eyes finally met and Albus deflated with a sigh. "Yeah, I should have been in Slytherin."
"What should have been isn't the issue here," a strong, female voice said from behind them. They both turned to find May Finberry, the seventh year Slytherin prefect (Scorpius having been her counterpart before being promoted to Head Boy), standing with her hands on her hips and glaring down at Albus authoritatively. "Slytherin at heart or not, you're still a Gryffindor, so get out of our common room!"
There were snickers from the other Slytherin students, even as May demanded to know who had given "this idiot" the password, again.
"Aw, it's a little late for that, isn't it?" Albus joked. "The year's over in six weeks and I've been in here all the time since fourth year anyway, even if you did keep changing the password on me this year. Which is annoying, by the way."
May narrowed her eyes and merely ordered darkly, "Remove him, Junior."
Albus's shoulders tensed at the Slytherin beater's strong presence behind him. Hastily getting to his feet, stumbling over Scorpius in the process, Albus backed his retreat to the exit, hands up to show defenselessness, as Adelbert Rascher Jr. bore down on him. "Hey, hey, let's think about this. If I had been sorted to Slytherin, we'd of been a great team on the pitch. With you as beater and me as keeper, no one would score on us!"
"If you fancy Slytherin so much, you should'uv thrown the matches," came Junior's rumbling reply.
Albus cocked an eyebrow at this. "If I had, someone would've notice."
"A true Slytherin wouldn't get caught."
"Touché!"
Junior simply grinned wickedly in response and winded his arm in a stretch, something he often did on the pitch before sending a well-aimed bludger in Albus's direction. Just as Albus backed against wall, the stones next to him opened for a couple of fourth years entering the common room. Albus ducked past them, barely avoiding the strong hands reaching for him, and made it to the safety of the hallway.
"So much for Gryffindor courage!" someone shouted amongst the laughter in the common room.
"Hey!" Albus protested, pointing a finger at the young Slytherin in mock anger. "It takes a special kind of courage to be bold enough to run away!" Albus jumped back again when Junior moved to stand in the doorway, arms folded over his chest and a smirk on his face. Leaning to look around him, Albus waved bye to Scorpius who was still sitting calmly at the table. "Thanks for the chocolates!"
Scorpius responded with a small wave of his own and only an indulgent smile for the cooing banter that erupted.
-o-o-o-o-
The night before their last Hogsmeade weekend, Albus had stopped by the second floor bathroom after dinner on his way to Gryffindor tower when he noticed a small, crumpled note on expensive parchment in the trash can which read in elegant handwriting:
"S. Malfoy,
As neither of us have previous engagements, meet me behind the greenhouses at 7:00 PM tonight.
E.E."
Frantically, Albus checked his watch. It was 6:58. With an angry shout, he bolted from the bathroom and ran back down the stairs he'd just climbed, taking them in leaps of two and three.
Albus didn't have to question the identity of "E.E.," or why he had asked that Scorpius meet him behind the greenhouses. Only one student had those initials, that arrogant tone, and fancy handwriting: Ethan Evans, a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect, and a constant thorn in Albus's side. Every prefect meeting – every single meeting – ended with Albus wanting to hex the younger student into a blob of boils; the conceited Ravenclaw yielded to no one, not even the professors, save for Scorpius. It seemed the Head Boy was the only person Evans deemed worthy enough to stand on his level – and, apparently, worthy enough for his affections.
That arrogant little…
Every student in Hogwarts knew what went on behind the greenhouses. The small area was shielded on all sides by willow trees, making it difficult for anyone looking in to see what was happening. Students could easily slip down to the greenhouses unobserved by curious friend, ill-intentioned foe, or stern professor. With these advantages in mind, the spot was often used for private discussions – which was just a fancy way of saying confessions.
Albus would rather take a quill tip to his eyes than sit back while Evans confessed to Scorpius.
A tad overprotective, yes, especially for a friendship – which was all he had with Scorpius, despite the popular gossip circulating the school rumor circuit. Albus had received a few confessions under the willows himself, but they always started with, "I know you're already with the Head Boy, but…" Embarrassing, to be honest, but Albus, well…
Well, he desperately wished all the rumors were true.
"At that age" – what bullshit. Denial wouldn't change the fact that he'd completely had the hots for Scorpius since they first met. The idea of Evans confessing to his Slytherin made him throw up a little in his mouth and sprint harder when he heard the main clock start booming the struck hour.
Fourth year had rolled around with promises of more harassment from James, Fred, and generally all of Hogwarts – even Hugo and Lily, the little snots – Albus finally took a page from Scorpius's book of composure: smile, shrug, and let people think what they wanted. It was a hard change at first – a little torturous, actually – but he found soon enough that casual indifference rather than vehement denial made life considerably easier. Not only did the comments and jokes die down but he could also be around Scorpius whenever he wanted under the guise of "a good friendship" – more bullshit, but no one looked twice if best friends were sitting a bit too close.
Whatever, any means to get what I want, Albus told himself.
Slytherin, his mind rightfully accused.
Once outside, Albus ran past the greenhouses, his side aching from the speed for such a distance, and felt his irritation increase when he heard faint voices from the willows. He was about to shove the thick tendrils out of his way and burst through the other side when he hesitated, his traitorous mind tossing out questions of doubt.
Would it really be okay if he interrupted?
What right did he have?
And, most of all, the question that plagued him more and more every day: Scorpius was bound to find someone special eventually; what would he do then?
Albus closed his eyes and took a deep breath, addressing the first two questions but, yet again, ignoring the third, No. It's Ethan Evans. Scorpius wouldn't want to be alone with him.
Gathering up the pride from his Gryffindor half, Albus pushed his way through the thick willow branches, moving faster when the voices stopped on the other side. He saw the other two soon enough – both looking in his direction as they had heard him coming – and, once free of the branches, he jogged to Scorpius side, shooting Ethan Evans a glare. "What do you think you're doing, Evans?"
Evans's eyes narrowed on him but then jerked to Scorpius. "Interesting, how he knew we were here."
"I, too, drop things on occasion," was Scorpius's quiet reply.
After almost seven years with the Slytherin Albus recognized the tinge of sarcastic humor and his lips twitched in a mild smirk.
"Is that so?" It was clear by his expression and tone that Evans hardly appreciated the sarcasm. His scowl settled on Albus once more, speaking to the intruder at last, "This is supposed to be a private meeting, Potter, one that you were not invited to. Leave."
"No," Albus refused, and faced Evans squarely. The sixth year was slightly taller than him but they were otherwise evenly matched, glare for glare. "You have a lot of nerve calling Scorpius out here."
"I believe I have an adequate amount of nerve," Evans countered coldly. "What's appalling is that you think you have the right to interrupt. Surely you haven't deluded yourself so far as to honestly believe the imaginary relationship you so pathetically perpetuate? It's disgusting the way you prance about trying to get Malfoy's attention when it's clear that he only tolerates your behavior because he has the sense of propriety that you lack."
Ouch. Evans certainly knew where the weak spot in Albus's armor was, his sharp words stabbing right into the Gryffindor's insecurities. Albus's hand reflexively dove into his pocket for his wand, but he felt warm fingers close around his wrist, stopping him from drawing it. He glanced back at Scorpius, anger subsiding almost instantly at the comforting smile.
Turning back to Evans, Albus imitated the younger man's haughty sneer mockingly. "There's no harm in letting people think what they want to, whether it's true or not. I am Scorpius's friend, and I'm not going to let a ponce like you try to take advantage of his kindness."
"How dare–"
"That's enough," Scorpius cut in softly, easily gaining their attention. He smoothly stepped between them, amusement clear in his expression. "I've seen what I came here to see."
Evans's eyed Scorpius suspiciously before his mouth dropped slightly in shock. "You–!"
"Albus," Scorpius interrupted again and faced the Gryffindor, moving the hand from Albus's wrist to push gently against his arm, "Wait for me in the East greenhouse? I'll only be a minute."
Albus glanced at the darkening expression on Evans's face and hesitated. "Are you sure? I just got here and I came to get you…"
"Mm-hm, I know," Scorpius hummed with another gentle push.
Albus cautiously moved to leave, trusting Scorpius to be able to handle himself but not trusting Evans to take the rejection like a gentleman. Scorpius truly was too kind and would probably let the younger brat be insulting without reprimand. Another calculating glance at Evans showed the boy to be scowling at them both, and Albus couldn't help but first smirk triumphantly and then give his own hostile glare in return, daring the Ravenclaw to try anything.
As soon as he ducked out of the willow branches, he headed to the eastern-most greenhouse as Scorpius had asked, feeling smug with having barged in on and ruined the confession but useless with having been kicked out so quickly.
Just another example of how Scorpius didn't need his help, he supposed. Uselessness was depressing.
The East greenhouse was full of flowers and reeked of their sweetness when he entered. Albus wrinkled his nose and dropped onto an overturned bucket. As he waited, his mind wandered to Scorpius and their odd friendship. Did the Slytherin know about his true affections? He tried not to be too obvious, but following someone around like a lovesick crackhead was hardly discreet. Sometimes, the clever, knowing way Scorpius looked at him made Albus think that Scorpius was aware of his obsession but the topic never came up in conversation.
Well, of course it didn't. That would just be insanely awkward.
…Right?
What would Scorpius say if Albus one day called him down to the willows?
He'd probably accept, just so he wouldn't hurt my feelings, Albus thought with a depressed slouch to his shoulders. How was Scorpius so considerate and even-tempered after such a painful childhood?
It was no wonder that Albus was lovesick.
With a soft click the door next to Albus opened and Scorpius slipped inside, smiling brightly when he saw Albus.
Albus grinned back and moved to stand, but a sudden wave of dizziness hit him and he stumbled back onto the bucket. When the dizziness cleared, he blinked up at Scorpius who was leaning over him in concern.
"Your low blood pressure again?" Scorpius asked with a wrinkled brow.
Albus chuckled awkwardly, embarrassed by his recent and repeated condition. Like always, his body feeling strangely warm, and he licked his already wet lips. They tingled oddly. "I guess that's what it was…"
The quick, secretive smirk from before appeared briefly on the Slytherin's face, but then Scorpius drew away to walk down the aisles of flowers, stopping by a large cabinet made of stone. Albus watched as he pulled on the thick gloves that were lying next to the cabinet and then took a fire-proof pouch from his pocket.
"Getting ingredients for a potion?" Albus asked.
Scorpius nodded with another bright smile and stepped to one side of the cabinet. He opened the stone door, using it as a shield when fire burst forth upon breathing the oxygen, and waited for the flames to die down before reaching inside to the fire lilies stored there.
"So…" Albus started, coughing awkwardly. "I suppose you told Evans to shove it then?"
Nice, he thought with a wince, Real subtle and smooth.
Scorpius laughed quietly and clipped the top off of one smoldering flower, storing it in the pouch. "Mm, not quite in that manner, but yes. He's a tad upset, so let's politely keep it to ourselves, hm?"
"If we have to," Albus sighed dramatically, sharing a grin with his friend. He stood as Scorpius closed off the burning plants and prepared to leave. "If I'm not allowed to gloat, will you at least stay with me all day tomorrow? In Hogsmeade? Just to tick him off?"
The secretive smirk appeared again.
"Of course I will."
-o-o-o-o-
The potions shop that Scorpius frequented was in a secluded part of Hogsmeade. Few residents or students were adventurous or advanced enough to necessitate a visit to the wayward shop that contained rather unusual ingredients. While Scorpius loved the shop – the earthy smell, the mysterious feel, the one-eyed, one-armed owner – Albus tended to stand awkwardly near the door, planning different routes of escape should one of the "ingredients" come to life and attack.
A paranoid strategist? Maybe. Growing up with an Auror for a father probably didn't help.
Seriously, though, what was breathing on him?
"Albus?"
He hadn't considered the shop to have a low ceiling until he nearly jumped into it, and shot a half-hearted glare at the amused Slytherin who'd snuck up behind him. Seeing the paper bag in Scorpius's arms, he asked hopefully, "Ready to go, then?"
Without waiting for an answer, Albus took Scorpius by the elbow and started tugging toward the door. Scorpius didn't resist and soon they were outside in the spring air, away from the heavy musk of the shop. Albus breathed in the fresh air deeply and released it as a sigh, ignoring the quiet laugh next to him.
"Where to now?" he asked.
"Wherever you'd like."
Albus considered this as they walked. They'd already visited the shops on the main street that morning. Lunch had been especially entertaining, with Ethan Evans glaring daggers at him and Scorpius from across Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.
I really am a Slytherin at heart, Albus thought, grinning even now at just the memory. "Why don't we head back to The Three Broomsticks? It's our last Hogsmeade day…"
"And you want to spend the rest of it being social and showing off," Scorpius finished, a teasing lilt in his voice.
"What was that?" Albus scoffed and tugged so that Scorpius fell against him, laughing. "Are you being snarky?"
Distracted by the playful banter, a sharp crack! of apparition directly in their path startled both, causing Albus to stumble into the unexpected arriver. The person jolted and spun around, red sparks flying from her wand and only just missing Albus's face as Scorpius ducked to the ground, grabbing Albus's hand to pull him down, too. Another spell was coming but Albus erected a shield charm before it could land, hand having drawn his wand and voice shouting the incantation on reflex and instinct, his mind only catching up once he and Scorpius were effectively protected behind the charm. A defensive hex was on the tip of his tongue when he recognized the woman's Magical Law Enforcement uniform.
"You're Enforcement!"
"Students?" the woman whispered harshly, eyes wandering over their House pins and ties and coming to rest on Scorpius's Head Boy insignia. She lowered her wand a fraction, but when she lifted her eyes to meet Scorpius's light ones she stiffened and glared at him questioningly. "If you're students of Hogwarts, then this must be Hogsmeade, yes?"
"Yeah, it is," Albus snapped and moved to stand in front of his friend, not at all liking the way the Magical Law Enforcement officer was looking at Scorpius. It reminded Albus of the way one would scowl after having stepped in dog poo, and it also reminded him that people outside of Hogwarts were still prejudiced against the Death's Eyes. "I don't remember apparating without knowing where you're going and firing spells at the first people you meet being a part of the standard M.L.E. protocol."
"Most likely she was using a trace," Scorpius said quietly, squeezing Albus's hand that he still held and pressing closer. "A rather dangerous and bold move, taking into account that she could have ended up anywhere or in a trap."
The woman appeared shocked, as if she hadn't expected a student to have knowledge on traces, but then flushed in embarrassment and demanded, "Did you see who arrived before me? Where did they go?"
"We didn't see anyone," Albus answered flatly, pointedly eyeing the woman's raised wand, angry that she had not yet lowered it. He refused to lower his wand until she lowered hers, especially since Scorpius was currently wandless, with right hand in Albus's left and the other arm holding the potion shop's paper bag protectively against his chest.
"That's impossible!" the woman argued, "They were ahead of me by seconds!"
"Apparating under a trace delays time. The spell must first connect to the already made trail and locate the destination before the apparition can be made. The farther the distance, the longer the delay," Scorpius explained. "What felt like seconds to you could have been up to several minutes. Your body would have been suspended in–"
"I know all that!" the woman barked.
"Then you shouldn't call it impossible or be surprised that we didn't see anyone," Albus growled back.
She narrowed her eyes, her face flushing even more, and ground out, "Listen, child, I don't have time for this. You and your brainy little boyfriend need to get back to the safety of Hogwarts. Tell anyone you see along the way to do the same. Now get out of here!"
Albus opened his mouth for a sarcastic reply, but Scorpius suddenly let go of his left hand, snatched the wand out of his right, grabbed his shoulder with the paper bag bearing arm, and drew them both back down to the ground, all so quickly Albus didn't even have time to blink or register the sharp crack!s or the curses flying around them. Albus's head spun as he tried to comprehend what Scorpius had just done and why, but then he heard a groan and looked up to see the M.L.E. officer crumble to the ground. It was then that he realized they were surrounded by at least five men, all with their wands now pointed at him and Scorpius.
"Jus' some brats!" one of the men said. "What should we do with 'em?"
"Drop your wands," another commanded, coming up to loom over Albus and Scorpius ominously. "Now."
"We don't have them," Scorpius said in a small-sounding voice. "She spelled them off of us. We don't know where they are…"
Albus, of course, knew Scorpius was faking the timidity and kept his expression calm and eyes firmly on the man in front of them so as to not give away the lie.
"Get to your feet! Hands where I can see 'em!" the man growled. He snatched the paper bag out of Scorpius's hands as soon as they were standing and tossed it to another, ordering, "Check them! Get her wand, too!"
Albus shot a sidelong look at Scorpius, panicking when a grubby-looking man started checking the blonde's robes for the wands that Albus knew were there. To his shock, however, the man turned to face the one giving orders with shrug, muttering, "Nothin'. Bitch musta nicked 'em like he said."
The man in charge nodded to show that he'd heard, but he was looking at Scorpius suspiciously. "What's wrong with your eyes, kid? Ain't got no pupils. You blind or somethin'?"
Scorpius mutely shook his head, dropping his gaze to the ground shyly. Albus figured it was an act, but it still made him want to hex off the man's face, though his resentment towards the man was almost matched by his curiosity of what Scorpius had done with their wands.
"What do we do with 'em," the first guy repeated, just as another crack of apparition sounded.
"Anyone see us?" the main man asked.
"Nah, it's too empty on this side a town. Nobody comes here," the newcomer answered.
"Then let's get outta here. Grab her." The man motioned to the unconscious officer on the ground and then pointed at Albus and Scorpius. "Grab them, too. M.L.E. will be more inclined to nuhgotiate if we've got more hostages than jus' that stupid rookie."
Albus glowered at the man, but a wand pressed against his back and he only had time to sense a quick ache before darkness enveloped his vision.
-o-o-
Albus awoke with a hiss of pain, arching forward as much as he could to take pressure off of his back, mostly likely burned where the spell had hit him at close range.
"Stop whining," said a nasally voice and he felt something coarse wrap around his wrists, binding them tightly together behind him. He made to twist to see the man spelling him to the chair, but another sharp pain in his back stopped him and the man laughed at his wince. "Now ya know better, eh?"
Clenching his teeth to keep from smarting off, Albus searched the part of the room he could see. It was apparently a bedroom, dark, dingy, and falling apart, with holes in the walls being barely covered by slats of wood and the warm spring wind blowing in the smell of blooming flowers. A pained moan to Albus's left caught his attention and he saw the M.L.E. officer slumped in another chair, only kept from sliding to the floor by her own bound hands. Next to her was Scorpius, who smiled faintly at him when their eyes met.
Albus breathed a sigh of relief and smiled reassuringly back, until he received a heavy smack to the back of his head.
"Stop makin' eyes," the nasally-voiced man snorted, and then moved to flop down onto the room's creaky, rusted bed. He grinned a yellow, crooked toothed grin when he caught Albus glaring and folded his arms behind his head to lounge. "Too bad fur you looks can't kill, eh? Get ya far, wouldn't it? If ya be a good lil' prefecty maybe you'll get home to yur mum and dad."
"Do you even know who my dad is?" Albus asked, annoyed.
The man barked out a laugh. "Some high up official, 'spose, well-bred pretty boy like you. But that won' do ya any good here."
"A high up official? I guess you could say that," Albus said cockily, all self-conscious worries about using his father's name momentarily ignored. "He is the Head Auror. You know – Harry Potter. Relatively unheard of, but a decent wizard in his own right."
The man shot up from his reclining position, an interested frown look overcoming his grin but he narrowed his eyes on Albus as though weighing the truth of the words. After a long stare, he finally gruffed out, "Yur makin' that up," but continued to eye Albus curiously.
"Because I don't look just like him or anything," Albus scoffed, rolling his eyes. He drew in a breath to add another scathing comment but caught Scorpius's piercing stare out of the corner of his eye. The expression on Scorpius's face was serious and firm and the Slytherin gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head when their eyes met.
When Albus jerked back to the grungy man, he found that he was being eyed hungrily, a greedy sneer growing on the man's face.
"Ya do look like Pottar," the man said. He hopped up from his position on the bed, chuckling to himself, and made for the only door. "Oughtta pass that lil' bit a knowledge on…" He paused at the door, tilting his head back to give Albus a dark grin. "Yuh'll wait, wontcha pretty boy? I'll be righ' back."
As soon as the door closed behind the man, Scorpius whispered softly, "That was ill-planned, Albus. These are not good criminals. Now they know that you are Harry Potter's son and they will try to hurt you."
"Good criminals?" Albus asked, trying to keep his voice down but it made him sound harsher than he intended. "I don't think that any criminal is good."
"To be an Auror, you need to learn the difference between people who are bad, people who do bad things, and where those two groups meet in the middle. By understanding this difference, you will know how to treat every situation," Scorpius chided gently.
Albus wasn't entirely sure what Scorpius meant, but knew that Scorpius wasn't one to scold without reason. The Slytherin also had a lot more experience with "bad people" who did "bad things" so listening to the advice was probably in Albus's favor. He swallowed his pride with a nod and turned his attention to their current situation. "We need to get out of here, then."
"There are barrier charms on this room, but I can get through them," Scorpius said with a small smirk. "His magic is strong, but completely obvious. It won't take me but a moment."
"Take you but a moment? He tied us to the chairs! How are you– right, right," Albus rolled his eyes at himself as Scorpius held up freed hands, "You de-magicked the spells. How did I not see that coming?" If he hadn't felt foolish before, he certainly did now. "How long have you been free?"
"Oh, not long. Like I said, his magic is strong so it took a bit more unwinding," Scorpius hummed and moved behind Albus, pulling his wand from his sleeve, while the Gryffindor pondered what he meant by "obvious" magic and "unwinding," as well as where he had hid his wand.
A moment later Albus felt the rough, spelled rope disappear from around his wrists and then a relaxing coolness settle over the burn on his back. He sighed in relief, but glanced back at Scorpius curiously. Though not really expecting an answer – Scorpius rarely explained any unusual magic to him – he asked, "Your wand, where did you hide it?"
Scorpius smiled and took one of Albus's hands in his own, drawing it into his sleeve. Albus cocked an eyebrow but then Scorpius pressed their hands against a small tear in the inner layer of fabric of his sleeve a few centimeters from the opening. Albus dipped his fingers into the tear and was shocked when he felt the tip of his own wand within the tear. Wrapping his fingers around it, he drew it out and looked between it and Scorpius's sleeve in wonder.
"You… You have a…"
"An expanding charm, yes. It is quite handy."
"Wouldn't that be really difficult on something loose like fabric?" Albus asked, bewildered. "I mean, wouldn't you have to cast it all the time, too? That would take a lot of magic almost every day…"
"Yes, it does," Scorpius agreed, "but I have been using it since second year, so I am familiar and comfortable with the spell."
"Since second year?" Albus marveled. He stuttered for a breath before choking out, "Merlin, you're amazing, Scorpius!"
Scorpius smiled wider but looked away a bit shyly. "Only sometimes…"
"No, not just sometimes," Albus corrected, but before he could express his deepened but already-intense respect for the other wizard he was hit by another one of his bouts of dizziness. He grabbed onto the chair for support and the room swam in a haze, but then, slowly, his eyesight began to focus once more.
"I'm sorry," Scorpius said softly, hand brushing across his cheek, "but we really have to go. Are you okay?"
"Mm fine," Albus murmured, swallowing back some nausea and confused as to why Scorpius was apologizing.
Scorpius tenderly pushed the hair out of his eyes. "Can you help the officer while I de-magic the barriers?"
Albus nodded and Scorpius gave him another affectionate pat before moving to the door to feel out the magic confining them. Albus took a deep breath to help clear his head and then eased over to the M.L.E. officer, studying the binding charm. It looked to be a simple spell and he made quick work of removing it, having to leap to catch the limp officer as she fell forward once she was freed. The jolting movement made his eyes water from another wave of nausea, but he managed to keep his lunch down as Scorpius appeared at his side again, rubbing his back soothingly and helping him hold the dead weight of the unconscious woman.
"We should be able to apparate," Scorpius informed him. "Are you feeling up to it?"
"Yeah," Albus answered, but his stomach turned at the idea. He gestured to the officer. "What about her?"
"Side-along, I'll take her," Scorpius said simply, hand clasping her shoulder. "We are not far from Hogsmeade, so should we apparate to the main street, outside of The Three Broomsticks?"
Albus vaguely wondered how Scorpius knew where they were, but answered, "Sounds good to me."
Scorpius reached over to squeeze his hand encouragingly and he grinned shakily back. Then, each turning on the spot with two sharp crack!s, they disappeared.
-o-o-o-o-
Filler chapter is filler.
Scorpius's POV to be posted soon!
