Summer was never Albus' favorite time of the year, but when school ended in June he was happy to go home for the first time. This summer was bound to be far less lonely than the ones before.
With an amicable bond forged between the Potters and the Malfoys, Albus and Scorpius spent nearly every day of the summer together. They alternated spending time at each other's homes - Albus exploring the Malfoy house and Scorpius methodically going through the Potters' muggle movie collection - and found themselves in a quiet, subdued pattern that suited Scorpius' nerves just fine.
"Just try to set it on fire," said Albus one afternoon. They were in the woods near the Potter home, and he was stretched lazily out across the base of a fallen tree. He pointed at the stick he'd placed on a nearby rock for what seemed like the millionth time.
"I can't just do it at will," said Scorpius.
"Get mad at the stick."
"The stick didn't do anything to me."
Albus sighed and sat up. "Do you want me to throw the stick at you?"
"No."
Scorpius sat down next to him.
"I don't know what to do, Al," he said. "I can't do anything."
"You're here, hanging out with me," Albus said.
Scorpius knew Albus was trying, but it didn't help. He'd been breaking things he hadn't even touched left and right over the past few weeks and had caused an alarm clock in Albus room to explode during a particularly heated snogging session while the house had been empty.
"But I can't touch you."
"Yes, you can," said Albus. He slid closer and took Scorpius hand in his own, but Scorpius didn't look up. He just kept staring at the ground in front of him, his breathing slow and methodical.
"I could hurt you," said Scorpius, shaking his head. "The second I get excited or angry... things just go wrong."
"Have you tried just focusing on what you're doing? And nothing else?"
"I've tried everything I can think of," said Scorpius. "I've looked in every book I can get my hands on. I can meditate, and I'm fine for a while, but then life happens."
Albus ran his hand between Scorpius' shoulder blades, leaning into him.
"Maybe it's a teenage thing? And it'll pass?"
"Like when my voice cracked like crazy?"
Albus smiled and leaned over so he could see Scorpius' face.
"I thought that was kind of cute."
Scorpius smiled and leaned into him. "Two years ago seems like a long time. I don't know if I'd even recognize myself."
"I recognize you," said Albus. "I'd recognize you anywhere."
"I think it's time you let your dad teach you some more advanced defense," said Scorpius. "In case I ever lose it. You need to be able to keep yourself safe from me."
"Doesn't that sound a little extreme?"
Scorpius looked at him. Albus was so close and he wanted to kiss him more than anything but was afraid of starting something he couldn't finish.
"Just do it. For me."
Albus nodded in agreement and Scorpius closed his eyes, enjoying the nearness for just a moment more before going back to trying to incinerate an innocent stick.
"You've got to anticipate your opponent's next move!" cried Harry as Albus picked himself up off the ground for the fifth time, brushing himself off.
"How am I supposed to anticipate my opponent's next move while figuring out my next move?" Albus asked.
"Again," demanded Harry, raising his wand. Albus sighed and stepped one foot back, taking a defensive stance.
Scorpius watched from atop the hood of the car as Albus tried again to disarm Harry. He watched as Harry advanced and Albus blocked furiously, his technique sloppy. He saw the moment when Albus got angry and stopped using only defensive spells and turned the tables, pushing Harry back towards the house, a smile of pride on his face, and he watched as Albus found an opening and disarmed his father, jumping up to catch his wand as it flew through the air and keeping his hand raised in victory.
"See?" said Harry. "I knew you could do it."
Albus tossed Harry back his wand, and Scorpius watched longingly as he grinned, his confidence renewed, asking for another round.
Scorpius only hoped it was enough.
On a particularly lazy day at the Malfoy Manor, Albus decided it was a good idea for Scorpius to try his luck with water instead of fire. He nagged Scorpius until he put on his swim trunks and Albus sat on the edge of the pool in his shorts while Scorpius looked around.
"I don't see what this is supposed to accomplish," said Scorpius.
"Try to splash me," said Albus. He dipped his hand down and threw water at Scorpius' face.
"But I can do that with my hands."
"Yeah, but try to do it with your mind," said Albus, splashing him again.
Scorpius stood still in the water and stared at it, imagining the surface rising to meet Albus' face. He concentrated, thinking of the droplets cascading through the air, and thought of how exciting it would be if he could actually, just this once, produce the strange magic on command.
The water went still as he stared at it, and neither of them moved for several minutes until the surface started to wave back and forth in a gentle swell. The wave moved from one end of the pool to the other and back, gaining momentum, cresting over Albus' knees, and then up his thighs until it died and the water went still again.
"That was great!" cried Albus. "See? You can control it."
"I wouldn't call that control," Scorpius said. "But it's a start."
"Give yourself some more credit," said Albus as Scorpius swam over to him. "That was pretty impressive."
Albus wanted Scorpius to believe everything would be okay more than anything else. The restraint and pain in his eyes was almost too much to bear. Scorpius had loved being around his friends, and now he looked uncomfortable every minute they were away from either of their houses.
In a rare moment, Scorpius planted one hand on either side of Albus and pulled himself out of the water, soaked, right into Albus' face.
"I think you should get in," he said.
"I don't have a change of clothes," Albus replied.
"I don't care."
In one swift motion, Scorpius had his arms around Albus' shoulders and pulled him down into the water. Albus yelled and they fell in with a splash - a tangle of arms and legs and hands.
Albus surfaced, laughing as he saw Scorpius' smile. It was a rare sight these days, and he wasn't willing to waste his good mood. He plucked some of the wet tendrils of hair from Scorpius' forehead.
"You ever going to cut that? You'll have a ponytail like your dad if you don't."
"Ugh, don't say that," said Scorpius.
"Either way," said Albus, still grinning. "You'll still look good."
Scorpius gave him a skeptical sort of smile - the kind Albus thought was irresistible - so he leaned in and kissed Scorpius intently, pulling him near with purpose, and for the first time in ages Scorpius kissed him back without reservation, digging his hands into Albus' shoulders as if he needed something to hold onto.
When Albus pulled away to catch his breath, he asked - "How long until your father comes home?"
"At least another couple hours," said Scorpius, clearly trying to keep himself calm and taking slow, measured breaths.
"Do you want to go upstairs?"
Scorpius' expression went from excitement to regret quickly, and he looked down, away from Albus.
"It's okay," said Albus. Scorpius bowed his head onto Albus' shoulder and apologized quietly.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," said Albus. "You'll get past this."
He still wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.
Scorpius felt guilty when he found out Albus had asked for a quiet family birthday party in July. He knew it was his fault Albus had asked his father to keep their combined celebration to the bare minimum and told him so when he arrived for the party.
"You didn't have to keep it small for me," said Scorpius.
"Would you have been uncomfortable if my dad had invited half the ministry and the entire Weasley family over?"
"No, but -"
"Then it's fine," said Albus. "I'd rather have you be comfortable than have a house full of noisy people."
"That hardly seems fair," said Scorpius as Albus buttoned his shirt. He was late getting ready.
"It's your party. Of course it's fair."
"I just want you here," said Albus, and as he moved to leave the room, he pressed a kiss to Scorpius' temple.
"My dad came with me," Scorpius said, following. "I hope that's okay."
"Of course it is," said Albus, tucking in his shirt as he walked down the stairs. Harry, Ginny, Lily, Ron, Hermione, Rose, Hugo, and Draco were all seated around the dining room table.
"And he finally appears," said Harry.
"Sorry," said Albus. "I got distracted."
"What were you doing?" Ginny asked.
"I was reading most of the afternoon. Lost track of time," answered Albus. Scorpius raised his eyebrows.
"Reading?"
"Yeah," Albus said with a grin as he sidled past Draco to his seat. "I read on my own now. How about that?"
Scorpius smiled. He'd never been quite sure that Albus had enjoyed their reading sessions, but if he'd started picking up books on his own, then maybe he'd won a small victory.
"I don't understand why we're having Albus and Dad's birthday parties now when it's only actually Albus' birthday," said Lily, setting a tray of hamburgers on the table - Harry's request.
"Because Albus is of age this year, and because I have to work on my birthday," said Harry. "Which doesn't seem quite fair either."
Albus smiled as Scorpius sat down beside him. "You'll win next year," said Albus. "I think yours falls on a Saturday."
Harry gave him a sad smile. "I'm just glad you're having a better seventeenth birthday than I did."
Scorpius watched as Albus talked to his family - joking and laughing - and found himself staring at his face as he talked, studying the lines of his nose and mouth as he teased Lily and the way he brushed his hair back while talking to Draco about Quidditch and how he thought they Slytherin team would do this year, and when Albus reached for his hand under the table, he felt guilty - guiltier than he'd felt since he was a child.
"Are you okay?" Albus murmured when no one was looking.
"Yeah," said Scorpius, forcing a smile he didn't feel. "I'm fine."
"This isn't stressing you out?"
Scorpius sighed, sincerely wishing Albus didn't have to worry about these things.
"I'm fine," he said. "Promise."
Albus nodded, but Scorpius could tell he didn't quite believe him.
When dinner ended and everyone went home, Scorpius told his father to go ahead - that he'd be along in a few minutes.
"Don't be too late," said Draco, who then looked to both Albus and Harry. "Happy Birthday - both of you. And take care of that watch, Al."
Albus smiled, running his fingers over his parents' gift - a family right of passage he'd been waiting for.
"Thank you, Draco," said Harry. "And thanks for coming by."
"I'll always come over to eat your food and drink your liquor," Draco said with a grin, and Harry laughed.
"Anytime," said Harry. Draco stepped into the fireplace and disappeared.
Scorpius looked to Albus once Ginny and Harry started cleaning up.
"Can we go for a walk?"
"Sure," said Albus, confused. He followed Scorpius out the front door as quietly as possible to avoid alerting his parents. He got the impression Scorpius wasn't interested in an audience.
Scorpius took Albus by the hand out into the dark, past the driveway and to the slope that led down to the forest. He walked until they were out of sight from the windows, and sat down in the damp grass. It was well past ten o'clock, but the air was still hot and sticky from the earlier rain.
Albus, confused, sat down beside Scorpius.
"What's up?"
Scorpius didn't say anything. He just took a few deep breaths, then leaned over and kissed Albus, digging his hands into the earth on either side of his chest. Albus let out a small noise of surprise and sank into the grass, letting the raindrops soak through the back of his shirt, pulling Scorpius with him.
Scorpius was careful - he kept his hands in the grass and his body above Albus, not letting them touch more than their mouths, but Albus wrapped his arms around Scorpius' waist and pulled him closer.
His fingers buried in the damp grass heated up and Scorpius opened his eyes just enough to see the veins inside his wrists developing a dull glow. He closed his eyes, wishing for just a few more minutes, but when Albus ran his fingers across the back of his neck, he had to pull away.
He looked over as he caught his breath and moved his hand, releasing the scorched blades of grass beneath it.
Albus looked over at his hand and the fading glow in his veins and Scorpius bowed his head onto Albus' chest.
"I just want you to know that I still love you," Scorpius said.
Albus gave him a sympathetic, lopsided smile and nodded.
"I know," he said. "I love you too."
