24 December, 2038

"Oh, you really shouldn't have," Albus cooed sweetly to Scorpius when the latter proffered an elaborately wrapped Christmas present.

"Nonsense," Scorpius said, shoving the gift into Albus's hands. "Go on, open it."

Taking the box, Albus looked at it warily. It could have easily been booby-trapped, but he shook off that thought immediately. It was clear by this point that Scorpius adored 'Melinda', so giving her a dangerous gift was not something he would do. It was squarish and flat, so its possible contents included jewellery, a book, or some sort of picture (of what, he had no idea). Unable to help himself, he shook it slightly. The contents shifted, but they didn't clatter. That meant that he had no idea what it was.

Deciding that he was stalling more than was proper, Albus carefully removed the ribbon and paper, just in case it was something unsafe, but it had not been necessary. Inside was a shimmering necklace, which the box was fitted to hold in place. That explained the lack of rattling. It was gold, and inlayed into the pendant was a heart-shaped emerald. Even to Albus's aesthetically illiterate eye, it was gorgeous. And most likely extraordinarily expensive.

"I…I don't know what to say," Albus said honestly. What was one supposed to say after receiving a gift that probably surpassed his annual salary in value?

Scorpius suddenly looked very unsure of himself. "Do you, um, like it?"

"It's lovely," Albus said quickly — and truthfully — but his conscience screamed for him to give it right back. "I can't believe you spent this much on me."

His mouth quirking into a familiar smile, Scorpius said, "But you're worth it, Melinda darling. You keep me from going mad. Besides, I thought that this time, when you go to another one of these horrid balls with me, you could wear something to let the other blokes know to piss off, 'cause you're taken."

Albus laughed, but it was without mirth. Each day this charade continued, he felt more and more guilty about deceiving Scorpius, who was, he had come to learn, a good man. It was increasingly obvious that Scorpius was falling for 'Melinda', and there was nothing that Albus could do to prevent it.

Thankfully, when any sexual advances had been shot down, there were no suspicions or bad feelings between them. As far as Scorpius knew, 'Melinda' was saving herself for the right moment, and he respected that. Oddly enough, though, spending time alone with Scorpius had become fairly simple and stress-free for Albus. He was polite, considerate, and mindful of 'her' likes and dislikes. Down the road, when Scorpius found a woman who was actually a woman, Albus thought that whoever it was would be lucky to have him. One could definitely do worse.

They were attending a Christmas party at Malfoy Manor later that evening, hence why they were exchanging gifts then. What Albus had bought wasn't nearly as nice, but he thought that it would be fun at any rate. Since Scorpius had played Quidditch at Hogwarts, Albus had the idea of buying him the latest model of broom. Whether he still flew or not was a complete mystery, but it was the only thing that Albus could think of.

Scorpius cleared his throat, snapping Albus out of his reverie. "So, is this box here for me?"

It was a rhetorical question, because that's what the tag on it said. In order to combat any guessing by box shape and size, which had been a vice of Albus's since boyhood, the box was charmed to hold the broom, gloves, and flying robe — all while it was barely larger than a loaf of bread.

There was something charming about the look on Scorpius's face as he tore into the package that, after several failed attempts, Albus had paid one of his younger cousins to wrap. One of the simple pleasures in life for Albus had always been to enjoy someone's reaction to a gift. For the most part, he had a knack for choosing just the right thing, and judging by Scorpius's expression once he pulled out the broom, he had succeeded once again.

"Wicked," Scorpius breathed as he ran his hand delicately down the polished shaft of the broom. It was a Firebolt 5000, which had only been in production for three weeks when Albus had bought it and was only being manufactured in limited quantity. Though he had never been much of a flier himself, Albus had even gawked at the gorgeous broom, such was the awe that it inspired. It had taken an owl from the Ministry just to get him bumped off the waiting list and take it home immediately.

"Do you like it?" Albus said, genuinely hoping that he did.

Jaw slack, Scorpius just looked back and forth between Albus and the broom, words seemingly lodged in his throat. "It's...I don't know how you knew, but this is the greatest gift anyone's ever given me." Broom still in his lap, Scorpius pulled Albus to him and kissed him hard. There was such passion behind it that Albus could scarcely keep his mind focussed. The kissing didn't bother him any more by this point, but this time, the sheer appreciation that had brought it about actually caused Albus to enjoy the kiss just a little.

When he pulled back, Scorpius sighed and rested his forehead on Albus's. "I can't believe you sometimes. I can't even figure out how you could possibly know I like to fly. It's no wonder I love you."

Albus felt his heart stop for a second that felt like an eternity. As much as he had wanted to avoid hurting Scorpius, there was no avoiding it now. The idiot had to go and fall in love with a fraud. The worst part was that the bloke was nice and respectable, not just some means to an end. His female chemistry exacerbated Albus's guilt, and his eyes filled with tears.

"Hey now," Scorpius said softly, brushing away a salty droplet with the pad of his thumb. "What's wrong?"

Even if he could answer the question, Albus wouldn't even know where to start. "Fucking hell," he said frustratedly, forgetting for a moment to stay in character.

Scorpius chuckled. "Charming, dear. I love how I never know what you're going to say."

A sad smile ghosted across Albus's face. Every minute that he listened to the besotted man pour his heart out made him sick inside, as only it could for the one who knew the ultimate outcome of the relationship. Straightening himself, he realised that he had to stop thinking about such things and focus on the task at hand, which was reconnaissance. "Shouldn't we be getting ready?"

Taking Albus's changed demeanour for improved spirits, Scorpius rolled his eyes playfully. "And you're already bossing me around."

From there, Albus left to prepare for the ball, taking the necklace with him. As much as he felt like a complete ass taking such a lavish gift from someone he was lying to, he had to wear it.

At this point, the art of feminine attire was much less daunting. It no longer took hours to get dressed and to apply cosmetics, which greatly reduced the amount of the Polyjuice Pills that he needed to consume. That subsequently meant less visits to the Ministry, where his co-workers took the mickey out of him for pretending to be a girl.

And, in record time, he was ready. Having invested in self-styling hair implements, that took the least amount of effort, and the make-up cost him less than a half-hour. The outfit, a simple, forest-green cocktail dress, was one that he could just pull over his head and zip up the side. The matching bag contained his wand, a couple extra pills, and a covert recording device that looked like a harmless compact mirror.

Heading down to the lobby, even though Scorpius wouldn't be there to pick him up for over an hour, Albus decided to take a detour. When he was sure that no one was listening, he Flooed to his father's office. He really needed some advice. As he suspected, Harry was sitting at his desk, poring over a stack of reports before leaving for the day.

Looking up, Harry noticed the well-dressed stranger in around his very top-secret work, and he instinctively reached for his wand. Albus fought the urge to smile. "I know this looks weird, but I'm not who you think I am."

"And just who is it that I think you are, madam?"

"Some random bint who fell out of the wrong Floo because she's too drunk to see properly," Albus said as he sat on the chair across from his father. "It's Albus, Dad. I'm undercover."

Still not buying it, Harry eyed Albus suspiciously. "Prove it."

Leaning back lazily, Albus said, "Oh, you mean like tell you that Mum was really upset with me when I said I wouldn't be home for Christmas because I'm working? Or maybe when you tried to tell her that I can't pick when things come up, so she got mad at you for doing the same thing and enabling me, as well."

After careful consideration, Harry started laughing. "Oh, Merlin, how the hell did you get stuck as a woman, Al?"

Grumbling, Albus said, "This is what I get for being the best at what I do." Now more serious, he added, "But that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I — I'm having second thoughts."

Now back into dad mode, Harry nodded, "I can see that. You seem distracted. What's your problem?"

"Um, the part I'm playing in this," indicating his female form, "is supposed to be Scorpius Malfoy's girlfriend."

"Okay, go on," Harry said with a remarkably straight face.

From there, Albus knew he was breaking some sort of protocol about divulging aspects of his investigation, but it wasn't like his dad was some regular bloke; he was the Head Auror. He would understand such things, if he didn't know already. "I'm undercover for an investigation on the increased activity of the Knights of Walpurgis."

Nodding, Harry said, "My people have noticed that, as well. Jenkins said that he has people on the task. I'm assuming that's you."

"Yes," Albus confirmed. "But I can't talk to him about…about this. I sort of already know what he would say."

"About what, Al?"

"I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing." Albus couldn't meet his father's eyes as he said this; he felt almost ashamed for what he was admitting. "Scorpius is a decent person, and he's not like the rest of them. I know when this whole thing blows up, his heart is going to be broken, and I'm not sure I can bring myself to make that happen."

Harry fell silent for a while, and it made Albus uncomfortable. Was he being judged, or was Harry just trying to think of an easy way out? There was no easy way out, and Albus knew that already. He had had weeks to think of one, and it simply didn't exist. "Dad?" he asked quietly.

"So let me get this straight. You're investigating the pure-blood power circle, and Malfoy was your way in. Now that you're in, you feel bad about using Malfoy. Is that about it?"

Albus wanted to say that it was far more complicated than that, but he hesitated. He wasn't about to tell his father that the son of his childhood rival had professed to love him, a cross-dressing MLE agent. "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

Even though he could tell that Albus had something else on his mind, as well, Harry didn't push the issue. Instead, he did what Albus hoped he would do, and that was to remind him about priorities. "I want you to think about this. It's possible that a lot of people's safety is riding on what you're doing. You don't have the option to back out or to do it half-heartedly. If you know you can't finish the assignment, you need to tell Jenkins now before it's too late."

"But I can't just do that," Albus snapped. "I'm the best and most qualified to do it. I just don't know if I can look Scorpius in the face every time I see him, knowing that when everything falls to shit, I'm going to rip his heart from his chest. How do I deal with that? What am I supposed to do?" Albus's frustration was palpable, and he desperately wanted to run his fingers through his hair as he would normally do but couldn't because it would disrupt its styling. Then he was angry all over again that the thought would even have to cross his mind.

Sensing the tension in his middle child, Harry pushed aside the mountain of paperwork and focussed only on Albus. "So, do you care about him?"

Blushing, Albus sputtered, "No! I mean, I do, but…I don't even know." He stared at the ceiling as the obnoxious tears started to form in his eyes again. Kohl was a pain in the ass, and he didn't want to put it on twice in one night. Throwing discretion to the wind, he said, "You see this necklace? He got it for me for Christmas — right before he told me he loved me."

Harry's sharp inhalation was all Albus needed to know that his father finally understood his quandary. For a long while, there was silence, but Albus knew that Harry was merely trying to think of a good nugget of wisdom to impart. Finally, he said, "Albus, you know what is and isn't right, and I also believe you know where the line is. You can't sell out what you believe in for the sake of the law, because it isn't always justice." Bitterly, he added, "I should know."

Albus knew that this is what he had come to hear — confirmation that his conscience should not be secondary to his work, no matter what the situation. He also knew what he had to do. "Thanks, Dad."

"Anytime, son. You know where to find me."

"Yeah." Indicating the Floo, Albus added, "I need to go now, but I'm really glad I could see you. Give everyone my best."

Nodding, Harry said, "Will do."

Returning to the hotel only moments before Scorpius arrived, Albus hardly had time to think before he was forced to fall back into character. He had just taken the first drink of the water that he'd ordered, but the sight of his current moral crisis made him choke on it.

Ever gallant, Scorpius rushed to 'her' side, worried. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Albus gasped. "Just swallowed wrong." When he recovered, he took another fortifying swig of the cool liquid and said, "Shall we, then?"

Arm-in-arm, they departed to Malfoy Manor. This was the first time that Albus had been there, as Scorpius lived in a flat in the city instead of at his ancestral home. Knowing what he knew of things that had occurred during the war, the mere idea of being in that place made Albus's soul shudder. But that didn't matter. He had a job to do, and this party would afford a good opportunity to rub elbows with Knights, who were still planning something big.

Now that he was more adequately clothed, Draco seemed less inclined to stare and Astoria seemed less hostile, albeit a bit frosty. After a few forced pleasantries, they disbursed to mingle, as was expected of them. Goyle, Belby, and Greengrass were all there, the former two purposefully ignored by both Scorpius and Albus. The latter was far more interesting.

"Well, it's nice to see that my grandson has still managed to keep you by his side. I'm surprised that all of this hasn't scared you off by now."

Fluttering his lashes, Albus asked, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, just the overall atmosphere. It's borderline claustrophobic."

That wasn't what Greengrass had really meant, and Albus knew it, but he wasn't going to find out unless he played along. "Oh, you mean the socialising? I was born into it."

Evidently not garnering the sort of answer he sought, Greengrass smiled thinly and said, "Of course." He quickly dismissed himself and left Scorpius confused and Albus slightly offended.

"What in the name of Merlin was that about?" Scorpius asked.

With a half-shrug, Albus said, "No idea." That was not quite true. Greengrass had been subtly asking Albus what his standing was on blood status, and apparently, he had failed that particular test. He wasn't even sure what the right answer was supposed to have been, but that hardly mattered. It was just unfortunate that he had left yet another bad impression on one of Scorpius's relatives and a prominent social figure.

Brushing off the incident, Albus hinted that he wanted to dance. Though he had no such desire, it had been enlightening last time around, so perhaps it would be so again. But this party yielded far fewer attendees, so the choice in partners would surely be smaller. After a couple of dances with Scorpius, Albus was whisked away into the arms of none other than Lucius Malfoy, much to the distaste of the former.

"So, you're the one that has managed to ensnare my only grandson."

Lucius was trying to be intimidating, and had he not been prepared for such an event, Albus might have actually succumbed to it. But, as it was, he had already circumvented several obstacles successfully, so a blustery old man was nothing to him. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. I've simply been swept away by a wonderful man who just happens to be your grandson."

With a calculated perusal of 'her', Lucius smiled. It was, however, an expression more like a cat who had spotted a tasty little rodent. "So, are you saying that who he is doesn't matter to you?"

Damn. Albus couldn't say that it didn't matter, because his persona was supposed to care about such things, but if he said it did, then he would have just contradicted himself. This would take some work. "Oh, don't get me wrong! I know how lucky I am to find myself in such wonderful surroundings with such a well-bred man showing interest in me, but I would have liked him anyway."

Seeing that 'Melinda' was familiar with the game he wanted to play, Lucius said smoothly, "Oh, don't think I'm judging you, my dear. But you know how things are — people never being what they seem." The way he looked at Albus made him extremely uncomfortable. It almost felt like the man knew that this mysterious girlfriend of his grandson's had secrets and that he wanted to know what they were.

"Of course," Albus said, trying not to convey any of his nerves. "Everyone has their secrets, sir. For instance, I am afraid of heights and spiders."

Affording Albus a courteous chuckle, Lucius said, "But those are hardly dark secrets. Surely you can do better than that."

"How's this for you," Albus challenged, stopping mid-step. "I know who your grandson really is, and he loves me for it."

This simply annoyed Lucius. "You presume much."

"I presume nothing, Mr Malfoy. Perhaps it is you who is presumptuous to question my motives."

A grudging respect seemed to form on Lucius's face. "Well played, Miss Macmillan. Well played indeed."

Albus was saved from further awkward sparring by Draco, with whom he had never actually conversed. "Father, if I might steal your partner for a whirl or two. No need to keep the gorgeous ones to yourself."

Without waiting for a reply, Draco pulled her into the waltz that was currently playing. "Sorry about him. He thinks everyone is after Scorpius because he's got more Galleons than Merlin himself."

Rolling his eyes in mock commiseration, Albus said, "Oh, no worries in that department. He's handsome, considerate, and charming. The fact that he's a pure-blooded princeling is merely an added perk."

Draco considered this. "Ah, so you are a pure-blood, I take it? Scorpius never told us if you were."

"He doesn't seem to set much store in such things, from what I gather. Then again, it's not like we have anything to worry about."

His features not nearly as schooled as his father's, Draco was unsettled by what Albus had said. "What do you mean by that?"

Not wanting to divulge anything that could lead to suspicion, Albus said, "Oh, just that the Mudbloods can have their fun. That doesn't mean that we're going to let them do so forever."

Looking appeased, Draco said, "Rightly so." He seemed to approve of her viewpoint, which would definitely help her case, considering the man's general inability to stay quiet about anything important. As it was, he positively reeked of wanting to say something to further what 'she' had said but had barely stopped himself. That meant that he knew something of Knight activities, and it shot to the top of Albus's to-do list for the night to find out what that was.

"Lovely party, Mr Malfoy," Albus said nonchalantly.

With a non-committal huff, Draco said, "It was Astoria's doing. I couldn't care less about china patterns and string quartets."

"So, you'd rather be somewhere else, then?"

"You have no idea."

After that, the dance finished in silence, but Albus was trying to think of a way to open the conversation back up without arousing suspicion. The rather dark look on Draco's face didn't give him much hope, though. When the dance was over, Draco practically ran away, but Albus wasn't letting him get far.

Draco wove his way through the people, and Albus did his best to look like he wasn't following directly. The former ducked up the stairs in the foyer, but as soon as he was far enough away, Albus took off his heeled shoes and ran up the stairs in pursuit. His quarry ducked into a room on the second floor, and standing outside of it to listen was Albus.

There were muffled voices inside, but they were unintelligible. He could tell that one of them was Draco, as he had more of a penchant for loud speech. The second was who interested Albus the most, but whoever it was spoke far too quietly. Pulling his wand from his purse, he cast a Listening Charm so he could hear them both properly.

However, when he finally could hear, Albus heartily wished that he couldn't. He now knew what Draco had meant about wanting to be somewhere else; the man was having sex, and his partner was most certainly not Astoria. Albus honestly wondered how Scorpius could have grown up with parents like these and turned out so bloody normal. It was mind-boggling.

While he was there, though, Albus thought it prudent to find out who the mystery girl was. At the very least, in a desperate situation, he could use it as blackmail if he had to. It was completely unethical, but then again, so was adultery. But after several minutes of listening to heavy breathing and obnoxiously fake moaning, they were already finished, and he still had no idea who she was and no longer cared. The man could have his bad sex.

Returning to the party before he was missed, Albus flew down the stairs and put back on his shoes just in time for Scorpius to come out of the ballroom. He seemed relieved to find his date. "Merlin, I've been looking all over for you. I was afraid you'd been abducted."

Waving his hand flippantly, Albus said, "Oh, don't be silly. I was just in the loo."

"Oh, then you can ignore me. It just seemed like you left at the same time as my father and—" He didn't finish the sentence and didn't have to, because Albus knew exactly what he meant. That answered one question that he'd had, and that was whether Scorpius knew of Draco's infidelity. It was obvious that he did, even to the point of practically accusing his own dad of sleeping with his girlfriend. Who knew what had happened to bring about that particular bout of paranoia.

They went to one of the small tables that lined the room, and Scorpius went to fetch them some drinks. That left Albus free to eavesdrop on the two very drunk men at the adjacent table.

"So, any news?"

"Not much since yesterday. The operative says that everything is going according to plan, and the little snag he encountered a while back seems to have worked itself out. 'There's nothing to worry about,' he says."

Under the table, Albus fumbled to start the recording device. This was far too good to pass up. In order to get the best reception, he left the zip half undone and slung the shoulder strap over the back of the chair both to get closer and to block more of the conversation that he would likely start with Scorpius when he got back.

Moments later, Scorpius returned with said drinks and they chatted about menial things like Quidditch and their respective educations. Apparently, Scorpius had been a middling student at Hogwarts and had only joined the Quidditch team to make up for his average grades to his parents. From there, he had learnt to love the sport deeply and flying in general, hence why the broomstick had been such a fitting gift.

Once the men at the neighbouring table vacated, Albus pretended to be sleepy. He would have a nice chunk of information to share with Jenkins and he was heartily sick of this forced revelry. Mercifully, Scorpius seemed to be of a similar mind, so he sent a footman to collect their coats as they made their excuses. Draco, who had come back after his quickie upstairs, looked at them both suggestively, and Albus had to draw upon every modicum of his self-restraint not to knock the man's lights out. Just because he was shagging someone or another every time he disappeared, that didn't mean that everyone else did.

In the foyer, Scorpius fired up the Floo and led them back to the hotel. He led Albus to his door, just as he had on Halloween, and it was obvious that he was angling for a kiss, a drink or something else that Albus was in no mood to dole out. Of course, he had to go and be right.

Scorpius took Albus's hand in his and traced the lines on it with the tip of his finger. There was something oddly arousing about that simple act, but Albus simply wrote it off as that he was tired and that he was used to his female body doing strange things. He even managed to keep his discomfort off his face.

"I don't know how you do it," Scorpius said, "but you make these things bearable." He brought the hand up to his lips, which brushed the now-sensitive skin of his palm. "Thank you."

In the back of his mind, Albus derisively wondered if every woman was so easy to turn on or if Irena just had ridiculously sensitive nerve endings. If he could do this sort of thing with a couple fingertips, he'd never have to sleep alone again.

By then, though, Scorpius had that look in his eye that Albus didn't want to see, which was the one where he expected to be invited in for a bit of post-party recreation. He didn't care how badly he needed a way to spy on the pure-blood circle; the line was solidly drawn at having sex with another man. There was no problem in refusing, just with how he should go about it. But it was damnably hard to think while his body was pumping blood at such an uncomfortable pressure.

Taking Scorpius's hand, Albus looked directly into his eyes. "I know what you want, but I can't give it to you."

Albus could tell that Scorpius knew exactly what he meant, but he chose to pretend like he didn't. "What do you mean, darling? I didn't say anything."

I could hex him right now, Albus thought darkly. He was going to make him say it out loud, the wanker. "Well," he stumbled, "I've never, er, slept with a man before." It wasn't a lie exactly.

Unperturbed, Scorpius said, "It doesn't matter. We all start somewhere."

Albus had to try very hard not to slap Scorpius in the face — or even somewhere else. He was fairly certain that if any girl had just told him she was a virgin and didn't want to sleep with him, he wouldn't have said something as crass as 'we all start somewhere'. This conversation was rapidly becoming a crash course in the 'do's and 'don't's of wooing women.

But something he said made Albus curious. "And where did you start?" Maybe that would explain his lack of understanding of what should have been a delicate issue.

Scorpius smiled at the memory. "Amanda Porter in my sixth-year. She was a seventh-year at Hogwarts back then."

Unwillingly, Albus wrinkled his nose. Amanda Porter? She had been one of the ugliest girls in school. And a Muggle-born, at that. "You slept with a Muggle-born?" he said before he could stop himself. His hands flew over his mouth.

Confused, Scorpius asked, "How do you know that?"

"The name," Albus said quickly. "It's not a regular wizard family name." Scorpius seemed to buy it, much to his relief. That had been a close call. It was seldom that Albus's life had ever overlapped with his disguise, and it couldn't happen again. "Listen, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to judge or anything. Just curious, I guess. I suppose it's only natural." Slowly but surely, he was digging himself out of his hole. Maybe Scorpius would just write it off as 'her' being scared by something new and stigmatic like sex, and hopefully he kept on thinking that.

"It's okay," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "I hadn't really set out to do anything of the sort. It's just that some prick named James Potter had called her a fat, ugly cow when she'd dared to come up and talk to him. She'd had a crush on him for years, and one of her friends told her she should chat him up before they all left school. All he'd done was break her heart."

"That's terrible," Albus mumbled. To be fair, though, it certainly sounded like something that James would've said at seventeen. His older brother had a panty-peeling smile, so he could afford to be a complete arsehole to the ones he didn't want.

Continuing, Scorpius said, "I had been in the library late, trying to write my Transfiguration essay in peace, and she was the prefect on patrol on my way back. When she stopped me to ask why I was out so late, I could tell she'd been crying. I thought that if I seemed sensitive, she wouldn't dock me any house points or report me to Professor Sinistra, so I asked her what was wrong. She broke down and told me everything."

It was impossible not to laugh at the mental image of the short, chubby Amanda bawling all over Scorpius. "How on earth did you get to, you know, that?"

"She said something like no one had ever been so sweet to her, and then she kissed me. I tried valiantly to back out before she got any romantic ideas, but it was like she had more hands than a tentacula. Plus, coupled with the fact that I was sixteen with raging hormones and the self-control of a kid in a sweet shop, it sort of wasn't left up to my better judgement."

Albus honestly couldn't think of a worse first time story. His own had been far less squicky and with a woman he had chosen, not one who had latched onto him like an emotional crutch. But this gave him the perfect out. "So I'm guessing you understand why I want to make sure that it's right for me. I don't want to look back and think that it had been a good idea at the time but regret it." Borrowing a page out of his sister's book of manipulation, he bit his lower lip and left his eyes open long enough to water and subsequently make him look to be on the verge of tears.

Sold. Scorpius kissed 'her' forehead. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to, I promise." Smiling, he backed away a couple steps. "Goodnight, love." And then he left.

"Goodnight, Scorpius," Albus said quietly, alone in the corridor. For a while, he just leant against the door, letting his mind replay the encounter. He had thought his discomfort and awkwardness would ease as he watched Scorpius leave, but it didn't. The man was just so stupidly uninvolved in the world that Albus was infiltrating yet was so irreparably tied to it. If only there was some way to get around it and not hurt the person who had just willingly shared probably one of the most embarrassing sexual encounters he'd ever heard with someone he thought he could trust.

But that didn't matter. He had a recording to listen to and a report to write the next day, and he was completely knackered. Stripping down to nothing, unmotivated to seek out his normal clothes, Albus fell into a troubled sleep.