The first week of classes came and went without much fanfare, and by the first full weekend back, Albus and Scorpius had settled back into their routines. Unfortunately, they learned pretty quickly that a few things weren't going to work out.
"This is ridiculous," muttered Scorpius as they walked down the hall. It was the first Monday back in class, and the honeymoon period of the semester was long gone. "I only get to see you in our core classes, and we don't have any of the same electives or free periods."
"I know. I wasn't expecting this."
"And you've got Quidditch practice, and I've got dueling club on the nights you won't have practice."
"Well, you're the one who decided dueling was important despite being an academic."
"Sometimes academics go to risky places! You don't know. Maybe I've been hiding my dangerous side this whole time."
"You're a massive geek, and the most dangerous thing you've done lately is climb on a table to get a book from a high shelf in the library."
"It was a big book and it could have fallen on my head!"
"Look, all I'm saying is that it's awkward, but it's okay. It's fine. I still see you, like right now. And look - we're going to Transfiguration together, and then we've got Care of Magical Creatures later this afternoon -"
Scorpius stopped Albus before they walked into the classroom, tugging him to the side of the door. For the briefest moment, Albus was sure he saw his eyes dart around to make sure no one took notice.
"Look, I just don't want you to think I'm not..."
"I know," said Albus, trying to sound sure of himself and only feeling sure that he was failing miserably. He chose his words carefully. "Everything's fine. I'm not... hurt or anything."
Scorpius nodded, hearing the professor begin ushering students to their seats and let go of Albus' sleeve. Maybe Albus was fine with it, but he wasn't doing so well.
September came and went, and with the autumn breeze came Quidditch season. Scorpius had long since resigned himself to watching intensely from the sidelines and offering post-game commentary to the Slytherin team. Even if he wasn't a good enough player to join the team, he was an excellent strategist.
Albus spent most nights on the pitch, practicing with the team. When he, Flint, and Maggie Goyle came back from a last-minute practice on Friday night, Scorpius was almost asleep in his armchair in the common room.
"I don't know how the hell Hufflepuff got that good this year," said Maggie, taking off her muddy boots and placing them by the door. The elves would come and clean them before tomorrow morning. "I'm not going to be able to beat Johnson."
Johnson, Hufflepuff's 7th year keeper, was larger than anyone else on any of the other Quidditch teams.
"I'm most concerned about the Greengrass beater," said Albus. He gave Flint a knowing look. "I was watching her tonight before our practice started. She's a beast of a player. There's no way I'll catch the snitch if she's on my ass the whole time."
"Greengrass' eyesight is going," said Scorpius. He set his book down on the table. Apparently, they hadn't noticed he was there until he spoke. Albus gave him a warm smile and folded his arms, waiting for more.
"Didn't you notice? She got glasses over the summer. I was watching her in class the other day. She was holding the books closer to her face, so they're not doing their job. She'll put her googles on over her glasses and that will make it worse. Keep her swarmed and she'll be disoriented."
"That's not a bad idea," said Flint, looking at Maggie. "You and Karen can take turns staying on her. Just move around in her periphery. That should be enough."
"I'll talk to her in the morning at breakfast," said Maggie with a yawn. "Anyway, I'm going to take a shower and go to bed. I'm exhausted."
"We all are," said Albus, looking at Flint. "You've had us practicing all week."
"Well, we weren't operating as a unit. Three new players will do that to you. I'm going to head up. See you all in the morning," said Flint, following Maggie down the hall toward the dorms. In the distance, he heard Flint complementing her on her style during practice.
"I'm thinking Flint has the edge with her," said Albus. He took off his boots and placed them next to Maggie's, then folded his robe and placed it on top. "Quidditch gives him more time to pretend to be charming."
"I guess that's helpful," said Scorpius, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. Albus looked around and realized the room was empty.
"Were you waiting up for me?"
"What? No," said Scorpius, stacking up his books. Advanced Potions, A Guide to Transfiguration - Book 6, and The Hobbit. "I was just reading a bit, and..."
Albus raised his eyebrows and folded his arms. His hands were dirty, and his dark hair was a mess atop his head. Under his robes, he'd been wearing an old Cambridge shirt that he'd had for several years, and Scorpius noticed it had a new, fresh tear down the left side, underneath which was a shallow but still-bleeding scrape.
"Fine. Yes, I was waiting up for you," he said, standing up and grabbing his wand from the table. "Because you always come back looking like this."
"What? Oh," said Albus. He looked down at his stomach where the scratch stretched from the top of his pants to the middle of his stomach. "Yeah, kind of skidded off my broom while chasing Maggie. We were just playing, and I wasn't paying attention."
"Chasing Maggie?"
Scorpius pulled Albus over to one of the higher tables used for group studying and Gobstones games, and he leaned back on it. Scorpius pulled back the torn flap of Albus' shirt and saw that it wasn't one long scratch but several small lacerations. He'd clearly tumbled over his broom a couple of times. He wiped away the sand stuck to Albus' skin, not bothering to be gentle.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"That hurt."
"Do you want me to get Maggie so she can do it?"
Albus looked around, confused. "What's happening?"
"Everyone else is chasing Maggie, so I guess you would too."
"What the hell?"
"Stop moving." Scorpius pointed his wand at Albus's abdomen and started cleaning and healing them one by one. He'd always been good at these kinds of spells - the ones that are useful - unlike Albus.
"Scorp, we were doing speed drills. I've been a little slow coming back this season, and we were just making sure I was ready to go."
"That's nice."
Albus' skin burned as he was healed, and he tried to distract himself by watching Scorpius work. He looked tired - dark circles always cropped up under his eyes when he hadn't slept well, and they were always prominent on his pale skin. His shirt was wrinkled from sleeping in the common room, his glasses were askew, and he smelled distinctly of pumpkin juice and parchment. It was rare that he was this disheveled. and Albus reached up without thinking much about it to nudge his glasses back into place.
"What's wrong?"
Scorpius sighed and straightened up, setting his wand down and purposefully avoiding Albus' eyes. Albus looked down and saw that his skin was healed as if nothing happened.
"I've barely seen you all week. I know I don't get to be jealous, and I certainly can't get mad if you have other friends. I want you to have other friends," said Scorpius. "I don't know why. This year just seems harder than the others."
"How on earth is this harder than fourth year?" Albus deadpanned. Scorpius laughed just a bit, and Albus sat back on the table, exhausted.
"I'm sorry," said Albus. "I should try harder."
"It's not your fault," admitted Scorpius. "You've had practice. I've had homework and Dueling Club -"
"How is that going by the way?"
"I think Rose and I are finally an even match," smirked Scorpius. Albus had told him of Hermione's directive to have Rose beat the youngest Malfoy at everything, and since then, Scorpius had made it a point to keep them on even ground at least. "It doesn't matter. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm not mad. I'm just kind of... frustrated. I think I had all these ideas of what this year would be like and it's so..."
"Normal. I know."
Albus put his hands on Scorpius' sides and pulled him closer to stand just between his knees, against the table. For a moment, he distracted himself by idly loosening Scorpius' tie and undoing the first few buttons of his shirt.
"You look so uncomfortable," said Albus. "It's after 10 o'clock. You shouldn't even be wearing your tie."
"Says the man who's wearing a bloody, ripped-up shirt."
"Yeah, well..." Albus ran is hands up and down Scorpius' arms, wishing just a bit that he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. "Thanks for taking care of the scrape. I'm rubbish at those spells and the infirmary is so depressing."
"Any time."
Albus leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Scorpius, pulling him close to rest against his chest. He was warm, and in the stillness, Albus could hear his heartbeat.
"Just because I don't see you all the time doesn't mean I'm going anywhere," said Albus, speaking into Scorpius' shoulder.
Scorpius sighed and rested his chin atop Albus' head. "I know. I'm sorry."
Albus tilted his head back and looked at Scorpius for a long moment - longer than was necessary. His expression was soft under his blonde hair which, Albus noticed he'd neglected to cut. He pulled Scorpius in just a bit closer and kissed him slowly and gently, and completely forgot about the match the next day, his neglected homework, Johnson's snappy remark that he wasn't as good a Seeker as his father, and everything else that he'd been worrying about.
They stayed there for a long time, whispering quietly, and finding their first bit of peace in weeks.
