Author's Note: I hope you enjoy the chapter, something important happens! ;)

Disclaimer: Didn't write the song, didn't invent the characters, just came up with the idea of putting the two together.

Chapter Ten: Lesson # 1

Albus Potter walked with an easy, purposeful stride down the busy London street and stopped in front of a shabby little pub that was tucked in between a bookshop and a music store. The people hurrying by him on the street paid the building no attention whatsoever for the simple reason that they, being Muggles, couldn't see it.

Albus patted his pockets to make sure he had the money and the order form that the head of the Auror Office (aka his father, Harry Potter) had given him, and then stepped through the wooden doorway into the room beyond.

The inside of the pub was a sharp contrast to the dingy front it displayed to the gray London street outside. In Albus's parent's day both the inside and outside of the Leaky Cauldron had been dark, dusty, and rather grubby, but in the four decades since the Second Wizarding War had ended, and the little pub had come under new ownership, it had been transformed into a bright, cheery place with a cozy, homey atmosphere.

A round, doughy little witch with pink cheeks and a messy blond bun liberally streaked with silver bustled out of the back room and caught sight of Albus standing in the doorway.

"Al!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to give him a soft, squishy hug. "Please tell me you can stay for a mug of ale at least."

Albus shook his head.

"Sorry, Aunt Hannah, I wish I could, but I'm here on Auror business."

Hannah Longbottom, Albus's honorary aunt, sighed. "Ah, yes, of course. What a busy young man you are. Perhaps on the way back, then?"

"Definitely," said Albus.

"Good luck, Al," said Hannah, moving off to one of the tables where a patron had put up his hand for another drink.

"Thank you, Aunt Hannah," said Albus, laughing, "but I'm only going to submit a request for a map, I hardly think I'm going to need it."

"You never know," said Hannah, winking.

Albus nodded to a few of the pub's patrons as he crossed the room and then exited through the back door into the little courtyard beyond. He pulled out his wand and tapped the required bricks and they parted obligingly to allow him passage into the street beyond.

Albus had always liked Diagon Alley; a wizard could find anything their heart desired among the various shops lining the cobbled streets. Albus would have dearly loved to stop off at Fortescue's Ice Cream parlor for a sundae or Quality Quidditch Supplies to look at the latest line of brooms, or to drop by Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to see his uncle George and his cousin Fred, but, as he had told Hannah, he was here on Auror business, not for pleasure.

Ever since Albus had been a small boy he had wanted to become an Auror when he grew up, like his father and his uncle Ron. By the time he had graduated from Hogwarts, however, he had not secured the N.E.W.T marks necessary for entrance into the Auror Academy. He had been prepared to let his dream go, since it had been his own fault that he had lost it in the first place, when his father had offered him a desk job in the Auror Office. Filing papers and making appointments may not have been Albus's idea of an exciting career, but he had recognized the offer for what it was: a small window of opportunity. Ever since the laws regarding entrance into the Auror Academy had been modified following the Second Wizarding War, it had been possible for a witch or wizard to gain admittance even if they had graduated from Hogwarts without receiving the required levels on their N.E.. Difficult, certainly, but possible. Albus harbored the hope that by working his way up through the levels of the outer Auror Office, he would eventually be in a position to take the Academy Entrance Exam. The exam was grueling, even more so for those who had not received the required N.E., but Albus was determined and, as his mother said, if she had to place a bet between a determined Albus and a rampaging hippogriff, her money would not be on the hippogriff.

Albus was currently the Junior Executive Secretary of Auror Communications and Affairs, a complicated sounding title that really meant that he was in charge of running a lot of important, and sometimes classified, errands. Today he was on his way to a shop called Millegar's Maps, the most highly praised, and priced, magical map shop in all of Britain. Hoover Millegar, a wizard whose parents had both been Muggles, but who had traced his family tree back to find prominent wizards in earlier generations, had established the shop thirty years previous. Originally it had been only him and his two sons, but now he employed several secretaries, errand-boys and girls, and a select group of apprentices to support the demand that had grown for his business. All Millegar maps were hand-drawn, and there was usually a two year long waiting list; Albus was here to convince Millegar to bump up the Auror office's most recent order—a map detailing a particularly complicated part of London which was forever undergoing changes of both magical and non-magical nature and it's connections to other magical outposts—on the list.

Millegar's Maps was a deceptively unimpressive looking building. Simple and modern, it was made of white stone with square windows and a neatly painted sign over the mahogany door.

Albus pushed this door open and a bell jingled somewhere in the shop. The young woman at the front desk, a tall, thin blond, had her head bent over a piece of paper with an air of intense concentration, her right hand working furiously on something obscured by her crooked arm. She held up one long-fingered hand in Albus's direction, indicating for him to wait until whatever she was doing was completed. Albus shrugged and took the time to look around the room.

He had been to this shop a handful of times on Auror business. The whitewashed walls were covered with intricately drawn maps of everything from the entire world to a single block of an English suburb. A shelf contained all sorts of fancy parchments, inks, quills, and other map-making implements. There were no other decorations and everything was as neat as a pin and put in its proper place. Albus was always afraid that he'd mess something up whenever he came here, and yet it was absolutely fascinating.

The young woman finally looked up from the desk, laying down her quill folding her delicate fingers in front of her.

"Sorry about that," she said in a voice that was surprisingly deep for a woman, startling Albus out of his examination of a full-color, three-dimensional map of the Forest of Dean. "What can I do for you?"

Albus turned his attention back to the polished mahogany desk and nearly fainted.

The person sitting behind the desk wasn't a young woman at all; it was a young man. A tall, thin young man with long, white-blond hair tied back with a black silk ribbon, pale, delicately pointed features, and stormy gray eyes.

Albus simply gaped, temporary incapable of coherent thought, let alone intelligent speech.

The young man raised one translucent eyebrow in confusion. Why was this man—this dark-haired, green-eyed, admittedly very sexy man—gaping at him as thought he had never seen anything like him in his life? Surely the fact that he was fairly obviously gay—at least he made no attempt to hide the fact, though he didn't go flaunting it either—wasn't that shocking.

"May I help you?"

"Scorpius?"

Scorpius blinked. "Er—yes?" he said, confused.

"I—Merlin—Wow... This is...unexpected."

"Do I know you?"

The green-eyed young man ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Damn, you don't even recognize me, do you? I guess that makes sense... I mean, it's been nearly five years, I'm sure I've changed. You have too, but I recognized you right away—well, no, that's not true, I thought you were a woman at first, when your head was down. But I guess I just assumed that you'd recognize me too—which I shouldn't do of course...assume things I mean..."

Scorpius stared at the nervously babbling man in front of him and licked suddenly dry lips.

"Albus. Albus Potter."

He didn't know why he hadn't recognized the other man sooner; it was so bleeding obvious. The only reasonable explanation he could come up with was that he'd spent so much time looking for Albus in other people, that he hadn't noticed when the man himself had turned up right under his nose.

Albus stopped talked as suddenly as if someone had pressed the mute button.

"Er—yeah."

"What are you doing here?"

Albus was slightly taken aback by the abrupt question.

"Er—I'm here about a map order for the Auror Office."

"The Auror Office?"

"Yeah, I work for them. I'm the Junior Executive Secretary of Auror Communications and Affairs."

"Sorry?"

"I run important and often classified errands."

Scorpius suddenly laughed. "Leave it to the Ministry to come up with such a complicated title for such a simple job."

"It's not simple," said Albus hotly. "It happens to be very important."

Scorpius laughed again. "Don't get your knickers in a knot, Potter, I'm sure it is very important."

"And what do you do?" asked Albus.

"I'm Mr. Millegar's Head Apprentice," said Scorpius casually.

Albus's eyes widened. "Really?" He looked toward the desk that Scorpius had so recently occupied.

"I know, I know," said Scorpius. "What am I doing sitting at the front desk like a common secretary. The girl scheduled to work today got sick last minute and Mr. Millegar asked me fill in for her. He enjoys knocking us down a few pegs when he feels we're getting too cocky."

The two men stared at each other, unsure of what to do next. What did you say to your ex-enemy/boyfriend/schoolmate who you hadn't seen in nearly five years?

Finally Scorpius broke the silence.

"You said you were here about a map order for the Auror Office?"

"Oh, yeah," said Albus, who had completely forgotten about the Auror Office's map order. He fumbled around in his pocket and pulled out the folded order form and priority request, which he handed to Scorpius.

Scorpius took the papers and sat down at the desk, and as he studied them Albus studied him. Scorpius had filled out over the past few years; while he was still delicate and graceful looking, he didn't seem as fragile as he had when they had gone to school together, as though a strong breath of wind could shatter him like a piece of china. There was an air of muted confidence in the way he carried himself—not the false confidence he had worn during his first three years at Hogwarts, but a sort of collectedness, as though he knew who he was, and didn't feel the need to either broadcast or hide it. He was taller, though still thin, and his skin was as smooth and white as porcelain. He seemed almost feminine, but not quite; there was an undeniable undercurrent of masculinity there as well. The focus with which he studied the papers Albus had handed him was so complete that Albus got the feeling the other man had forgotten he was even in the room. Then Scorpius looked up and Albus, suddenly realizing he was staring, looked away swiftly.

"Well, Mr. Millegar isn't going to be happy," said Scorpius, refolding the sheets of paper. "But I think this can be arranged. Probably by having me work my fingers to the bone to complete it on time."

Albus suddenly realized something.

"Oh, how perfect!"

Scorpius looked at him in confusion.

"Pardon?"

"You, working here, it's perfect! What a wonderful use of your artistic skills. I'm glad you're still drawing."

"Er—thank you," said Scorpius uncomfortably. "The map will be ready for you to pick up three weeks from today."

Albus, taking this as a dismissal, nodded and handed Scorpius the advance part of the payment for the map before turning to leave.

At the shop door Albus turned back and was struck with a nearly overwhelming sense of deja vu; him standing in the doorway looking down at Scorpius seated at the desk, his blond head bowed slightly over his work once more. And the memory of the last time Albus had turned back and looked at Scorpius through a doorway rooted him to the spot for a second, and the words were out of his mouth before he knew he was going to say them.

"Would you maybe like to get a coffee sometime?"

Scorpius raised his head and Albus was certain he was going to decline, was almost relived at the thought.

"Alright. If you come at closing time for the map maybe we could get something afterwards."

"Yeah," said Albus. "That sounds good. See you then." And he left the shop and Apparated home, completely forgetting about his promise to drop back by the Three Broomsticks to see Aunt Hannah, a memory lapse he would feel guilty about later, when his mind stopped reeling.

*****LA*****

Scorpius sat at his desk in his fourth story apartment, staring out of the window at the star-studded sky, one heel propped up on the edge of the chair, his chin resting on his knee.

What in Merlin's name had he just agreed to?

Coffee with Albus Potter? With three weeks between now and then in which to second guess and worry himself into distraction? And what did he have to be worried about anyway? He was a completely different person than the lost little boy who had depended completely upon Albus; he hadn't depended on anybody but himself in years. So why did the sight of the former Gryffindor make him feel like that little boy again? Not that he had let the other man see that, or at least he hoped he hadn't; the last thing he needed to do was to feed Albus Potter's ego. Although, come to think of it, the man who had come into Millegar's Maps today hadn't had the air of pretension about him that Scorpius had grown to associate with Albus during their last year and a half at Hogwarts. Well, he himself had certainly changed since then; it stood to reason that Albus would have too. Somehow he had just never considered that.

Scorpius rubbed his eyes and looked toward his bed, which was suddenly looking very inviting. There was no use worrying about it now. He had better get some sleep so he could get to work on that map tomorrow.

*****LA*****

Albus opened his closet for the tenth time and scanned the contents, even though he knew it by heart. This was something he could really use Lily for, but for some reason he couldn't quite justify to himself, he didn't want anyone else knowing he had met Scorpius again just yet. It seemed somehow...private.

He sighed and turned his attention back to the contents of his closet. What was he supposed to wear today? Something nice? He hadn't seen the man in nearly five years after all. But they were just going out for coffee, it wasn't a date, so maybe something more casual? He picked up a green t-shirt and considered it. But first he was going there on business, so maybe he should wear a suit? Albus scowled. This was ridiculous! Who cared what he wore, anyway? Without any more thought he grabbed a pair of khaki slacks and a button-up with thin stripes of black, white, and navy blue and threw them on. If he didn't leave now he was going to be late.

*****LA*****

Scorpius had offered to work the front desk for the last hour of the day so that the scheduled girl, Marylena, could go home and get ready for her date that night. Of course in reality Scorpius couldn't care less about Marylena's date. Marylena was a huge gossip and he knew that if she saw Scorpius and Albus leaving the shop together it would be national news by morning. So he had offered to take her place for an hour so he could leave with Albus without any unneeded fuss. They were merely catching up over a cup of coffee; Albus was a married man for Merlin's sake!

Scorpius looked up as the shop bell tinkled overhead. Sure enough, Albus Potter was shutting the door behind him, looking casually adorable in a blue, white, and black striped button-up and khaki slacks.

"Working the desk again, I see," he said. "Don't you get time off for good behavior?"

Scorpius felt a smile tug at his lips. "I volunteered to take over for the last hour of the day, close up shop and all."

"A selfless act of kindness?"

"Of course," said Scorpius, smirking, "and a convenient way to get that busybody secretary out of my hair."

Albus chuckled. "How very Slytherin of you."

Scorpius finished up the last of the day's work, gave Albus the completed map for the Auror Office, and closed up the store. Then the two headed out into the dusky streets of Diagon Alley and toward a little coffee shop where Scorpius had been on several first dates with various boyfriends since he had started working at Millegar's.

The two young men sat sipping cappuccinos and catching up on each other's lives since they had last seen one another. Scorpius marveled at how easy it was to talk to Albus. He had assumed that when they finally met again after all that time it would be exceedingly awkward, and it had been, at first, but now talking to the dark-haired young man who was seated across from him seemed, well, natural.

"So you're working in the outer Auror Office, Albus? I always thought you wanted to become an actual Auror."

"I still do," said Albus. "Only I didn't get good enough marks on my N.E.. I kind of slacked off during my seventh year," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm hoping to be able to take the Academy Entrance Exam eventually though, that's why I'm working the job I have right now. What about you, Scorpius? How did you land an apprenticeship with Millegar?"

"It's actually kind of a funny story," said Scorpius, stirring his cappuccino idly. "I was working in Twilfitt and Twattings as a sales clerk when Mr. Millegar came in to buy some robes. It was a slow day so I was doodling on a spare piece of parchment and I didn't hear him come in. All of a sudden he's looming over me, gazing down at my drawing. I jumped up and tried to hide the thing away, but he grabbed it and said, 'Do you have more of these?' The next thing I knew he was offering me an apprenticeship in his shop."

"I'd love to see some of the other maps you've drawn, Scorpius" said Albus. "This one is fantastic."

"Maybe I'll bring some of them with me next time," said Scorpius without thinking.

"Next time?" said Albus, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Er—well—that is if you'd like to meet again sometime," said Scorpius.

"You know what? I think I would," said Albus.

*****LA*****

Albus and Scorpius met at the same café several more times over the next few weeks. Somehow neither of them had gotten around to mentioning their meeting to their friends and families, but it didn't seem that important; they were just old acquaintances catching up on each other's lives. They talked about what was going on in their daily lives, the news, the weather, their jobs...nothing that dated back further than four years, nothing about their time together at Hogwarts. They might as well not have gone to school together for as much as the topic came up.

"Albus, does your wife mind you spending so much time out of the house?" asked Scorpius one day over a shared piece of chocolate tart.

"Come again?"

"Your wife, she must miss you when you come here instead of going home after work."

Albus looked at him in confusion. "I haven't got a wife."

"You—what?"

"I haven't got a wife. I'm single."

"But...but..." said Scorpius, feeling utterly bewildered. "You were engaged. I read it in the Daily Prophet three years ago."

"Oh, that." said Albus. "No. That didn't work out."

Scorpius felt as though the floor had just vanished from beneath his feet. All this time he had thought he was spending time with a happily married and so perfectly off-limits man; the revelation that this wasn't the case opened a whole new can of worms that Scorpius did not want to deal with.

"Er—what happened?"

Albus shrugged. "Nothing really. We just realized that getting married wasn't the right choice for us. Merin was a very close family friend, and a very sweet girl, but we would have been lying to ourselves and to each other if we had gone through with the marriage, because neither of us was really in love with the other. And I've learned the hard way that lying in a relationship is a sorry, losing game."

This was the first reference either of them had made to their previous relationship. Scorpius looked up from his cup of tea to meet Albus's eyes.

"Yes, things would have been a lot easier if I had paid attention to that from the start too," he said softly. "It's a shame when you violate a relationship with needless untruths. Even if they start just small."

"But they never seem to stay small, do they?" said Albus ruefully. "It's such an obvious thing, a fundamental truth."

"Lesson number one:" agreed Scorpius, "Tell the truth. Isn't that what your parents tell you from the time you're old enough to understand?"

"Lying only leads to more problems that are worse than the ones you started out with," said Albus.

"Doesn't it ever."

The two men shared a look of understanding and recognition.

"And yet it seems to be a lesson you really have to learn for yourself," said Albus. "I know I certainly have."

"Me too," agreed Scorpius. "Hmm," he said, almost to himself. "I wonder why Lily never mentioned that you didn't end up getting married? Come to think of it, I don't think she ever mentioned your engagement in the first place... We never really talked about you in our letters."

"You're still in touch with Lily?" said Albus, surprised.

"Sporadically," said Scorpius. "We write back and forth every few months. It sounds like she's having a wonderful time."

"She is," agreed Albus, smiling at the thought of his younger sister. "She really loves what she does."

"She's in South America now, right?" said Scorpius.

"Yes, she just left for Chile last week. She'll be home for Christmas though."

"And she's still single too, yes?"

Albus nodded in affirmation, "It would take one hell of a man to reign her in enough to capture her heart."

"Or love her enough to let her roam free," said Scorpius.

"How about you, Scorpius?" said Albus. "Do you have anyone special in your life?"

Scorpius shook his head, staring at the wood grains in the tabletop. "Not right now. I have, but nothing ever worked out."

"I'm sorry."

Scorpius shrugged. "Maybe there's just no one out there for me."

"Sounds like a lonely kind of life."

"And yours is any different?"

"Touché."

Scorpius drained his teacup and stood up, suddenly feeling reckless. "I don't feel like going home yet. I know a great place not too far away, if you don't mind going to a gay bar."

Albus grinned. "That sounds fun. Just because I was engaged to a girl doesn't mean I can't still appreciate testosterone. I do swing both ways, remember?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, making Scorpius blush. "I'm afraid I'm not really dressed for partying, however," he said, looking down at his outfit, which was what he had worn to the office that day.

"That can be remedied," said Scorpius, feeling his face stretch into grin as well. "There's still plenty of time to go shopping."

*****Song Lyrics*****

Nobody can share my troubles, this I know.

And let me tell you I learned a lesson, here I go.

Don't you know?

It's just as sure as the rising sun.

Don't you know?

To tell the truth is lesson number one.

To lie to your lover is sorry losing game.

To lie is violation and a shame.

Don't you know?

To tell the truth is lesson number one.

I remember being told to be careful, for telling even one lie

Would surely lead to more problems of alarming dimensions

I wish I'd paid attention, oh...

Don't you know?

It's just as sure as rising sun.

Don't you know?

To tell the truth is lesson number one.

Don't you know?

It's just as sure as rising sun.

Don't you know?

To tell the truth is lesson number one.

AN: Reading over this again for re-editing I find that I really like this chapter. A lot.

Sooooo...our boys (well, men now) have become reacquainted. And you know why Al's not married and that Scorp did stay in touch with Lily some. And what their jobs are too.

This is totally not important, but the shirt Albus wears the first time he goes out to coffee with Scorp—so any of you know who Chris Colfer is? Kurt from "Glee"? Have you seen some of the pictures of him (as Chris, not as Kurt) where he's wearing a navy blue, black, & white striped button-up? 'Cause that's the shirt I'm envisioning Al wearing here. Random, I know.

I know you've been just waiting for this point, and now you have it! And can tell me what you thought of it! (Right? Right? ;) ) Thank you for reading!

-SQ