Disclaimer : I own nothing but the plot and am making no money.
A/N: Thank you to my beta, Lisa. I appreciate all the work you ahve put into this fic so very much.
From this moment life has begun
From this moment you are the one
Right beside you is where I belong
From this moment on.
Fifth year.
Albus Severus Potter was not having a good time. He was attempting to pack his trunk for the Christmas holidays and was failing miserably. He had never been good at this sort of thing; he was very untidy. He had, so far, only managed to pack a couple of pairs of pants and a few t-shirts, and he had been packing for over half an hour. He scowled as he looked out of the window and saw the snow falling heavily. I should be out there having a snowball fight, he thought moodily.
His mood lightened slightly when he looked at his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy, who seemed to be having an even worse time of it than he was, if that was even possible. His pale face had a light sheen of sweat over it, probably due to the stress of packing thought Albus sympathetically. The most obvious sign that Scorpius was not his usual calm self was that his usually immaculate hair was slightly mussed. Albus didn't dare mention this to him though because he did, after all, value his life.
"Albus Severus Potter," growled Scorpius, doing a good job of looking menacing considering he had a grey sock draped over his shoulder and a pair of boxers around his wrist. His eyes were narrowed so that they were just grey slits. It was a frightening sight, decided Albus.
"Yes, Scorpius?" he asked sweetly.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Albus looked at him in alarm. "What are you raving on about, you lunatic?"
"This!" he screeched, gesturing wildly to the mess of clothes that surrounded him. "If you hadn't enticed me with chess and coffee, I would have done this last night at a leisurely pace, and I would not be stressed out of my mind today!"
Albus had to think of a way to calm Scorpius quickly; he could sense one of his tantrums coming on.
"It's okay, Score, you have plenty of time. The train doesn't leave until one o'clock tomorrow."
"I won't manage it in time. I'm going to miss the train, and I'll be here alone for the entire holiday," Scorpius whined.
"No, you will manage it just fine. Even if you didn't, you know I would stay here with you, you toad."
Scorpius relaxed slightly at these words.
"My mum showed me a spell that separates all your clothes. I'll do it for you, okay?"
Scorpius nodded.
"Singulus Vestitus," murmured Albus, pointing his wand at all of Scorpius' things.
Immediately, the clothes began to sort them selves into neat piles. T-shirts with t-shirts, trousers with trousers, pants with pants, robes with robes, and socks with socks.
Scorpius smiled serenely at all the little bundles and began lifting them and gently placing them all into his case while Albus did the same with his things.
Scorpius sighed happily. "Ah, finished at last."
Albus sniggered at his friend; he was such a drama queen.
"Why didn't you think of that spell before? You were enjoying watching me suffer, weren't you?" Scorpius accused.
"No, I was not! I forgot all about it, actually. I only remembered when your little temper tantrum flared up."
"Shut it."
Albus smirked triumphantly.
"Scorpius, have you seen my Weasley jumper?" asked Albus, looking around for it.
Scorpius flushed a deep shade of pink.
"Scorpius," said Albus menacingly, "What have you done with my jumper? I don't care how much of a fashion crime you think it is, but I told you very clearly not to bin it!"
"I did not bin it!" squawked Scorpius, looking affronted by the accusation.
He rummaged around at the bottom of his trunk and pulled out a thick, forest green jumper with a large silver 'A' on it.
"You stole my jumper?"
"I didn't think you'd mind since you'd be getting a new one at Christmas next week anyway. It's just so warm and cosy," he admitted, the pink glow fading only slightly. "Please may I keep it, Albus?"
Albus stared at him incredulously for a moment and then let out a loud roar of laughter.
Scorpius did not look at all amused by the situation.
"Of course you can keep it, Scorpius. You could have just asked instead of trying to smuggle it out of the school," said Albus, tears of mirth shining in his bright green eyes.
"Shut up," muttered Scorpius, but he couldn't fight the smile that tugged at his lips as he watched Albus laugh happily.
Albus stood up suddenly. "Let's go enjoy the snow. Get your Weasley jumper on—you know you want to." He ran off cackling before Scorpius could kick him in the shins.
The next day the Hogwarts Express began its journey from Hogsmeade station to Kings Cross at one o'clock as scheduled.
The snow had stop falling, but it still lay thick on the ground. The December air had a nasty bite to it. Despite the cold weather outside, the Hogwarts Express remained deliciously warm, which was greatly appreciated by all aboard.
Albus and Scorpius had a compartment to themselves, which was a rare occurrence. They were usually accompanied by their two friends Alexander Zabini and Mathew Thomas. Mathew had turned out to be the boy Scorpius had heard being sorted into Ravenclaw on their first day at Hogwarts, but the Slytherins had accepted him as soon as they learned that he was a friend of Albus. If he could be trusted by one of them, it was okay for the rest of them to trust him too.
The one Slytherin who had taken a shine to him almost immediately was Alexander. Alexander, to the dismay of his father, Blaise Zabini, was very interested in Muggles—not unlike Albus' grandpa Weasley. Mathew had a great deal of knowledge about Muggles because his father was Muggle-born, and he had been more than happy to talk with Alexander for hours on end about Muggles and their customs.
Scorpius had met Alexander a few times before he arrived at Hogwarts because their fathers were friendly. They were friendly, but Draco had once told Scorpius he wasn't particularly fond of him. On getting to know Alexander when he started school, Scorpius realised he was not like his father and was actually very nice.
A week before the holidays were due to begin, Alexander had received a letter from his father informing him that he and his wife would be jetting off to France for a winter break and that he was to stay at Hogwarts.
Mathew, the loyal friend that he was, could not bear the thought of his friend spending Christmas alone and had owled his father to let him know he would be staying at school for the holidays to keep Alexander company.
Albus and Scorpius were lounging comfortably on the floor of the compartment on two large cushions Scorpius had transfigured from two of his textbooks.
They were both leaning over a book reading a paragraph that Scorpius had found fascinating. Their heads were touching lightly: Albus' dark hair was tickling Scorpius' cheek slightly, and their sides were pressed together a little more than was necessary.
Albus' older brother entered the compartment, took in the sight of the two younger boys cosied up together, and smirked knowingly.
"You two are so nauseating," he stated as though it were a fact. "When are you going to put each other out of your miseries and go out, for Merlin's sake."
The boys blushed furiously and shifted apart.
"Piss off, James," muttered Albus.
James snickered. "Calm down, little bro, I'm only saying. Anyway, the only reason I invaded your little love shack was to tell you that we'll be there in ten minutes, so get your stuff together."
They sat in an awkward silence after James left. It was not the first time someone had made a comment like that. In fact, remarks like that were often made about their relationship, but both boys tried to ignore it and refused to acknowledge—at least not out loud—that there might be even a glimmer of truth in what people were saying.
Scorpius finally broke the silence. "Father says he'll make arrangements properly with your parents at the station so that you can come stay—that is, if you still want to," he said hesitantly.
"I do!" said Albus quickly. He loved staying at Malfoy Manor.
"Oh, good," said Scorpius, relief evident in his voice.
They stepped onto the platform, all embarrassment forgotten, and looked around for their parents. They found their families standing together and were surprised and relieved to see that their fathers were not arguing for once.
"You're sure you don't mind having Albus stay?" Albus' mum, Ginny, was asking the Malfoys.
"No, not at all!" replied Astoria Malfoy, smiling kindly at Albus. "He is a charming boy."
"Yes," drawled Draco. "He's very smart and has excellent manners. I rather like him, actually. It's a miracle considering that he has lived in a house with you all of his life, Potter." He smirked at Harry.
"Draco!" scolded Astoria.
Harry laughed, a loud, cheerful sound. "Touché, Malfoy."
Albus and Scorpius looked at each other and shook their heads at their fathers' antics. They still acted as though they were fifteen. It was quite amusing to watch until someone ended up being punched on the nose.
"Well, we'd best be off," said Astoria Malfoy, obviously wanting to leave while things were still friendly.
Ginny, who seemed to agree with her, said her goodbyes to the Malfoys and led Harry away.
"I'll see you on Boxing Day then, Score," said Albus with a grin.
Scorpius beamed, an expression he rarely showed anyone but Albus. "Have a good Christmas, yeah?"
Albus waved to him one last time and followed the rest of him family out of the station. He forced all thoughts of the peculiar pang in his chest out of his mind.
Christmas was, as usual, brilliant for Albus. He got everything he wanted, including the brand new racing broom he had been hinting about. Grandma Molly had also knitted him a brand new Weasley jumper, which he was grateful for now that Scorpius had his old one.
His mind had been straying to Scorpius an awful lot since he had come home for Christmas. It was strange, but he had come to the conclusion that it was only because he was looking forward to going to the Manor. He always had an excellent time whenever he stayed there.
A sort of nervous excitement buzzed through Albus as he waited outside the huge doors of Malfoy Manor. The harsh winter wind made his unruly black hair even more untidy than it was usually, and he tried unsuccessfully to pat it down.
The door opened, revealing Scorpius standing behind it in a pair of dark Muggle jeans and his old Weasley jumper.
He looks so adorable. I wonder if he realises, pondered Albus' before registering what he had just thought and swiftly pushing it out of his mind. This was not what he needed.
"Albus!" Scorpius smiled Albus' favourite smile and pulled him in for a brief hug. He let him go, and they both flushed at this sudden burst of affection.
"Mother's had the room you always sleep in prepared for you." He took Albus' trunk and clicked his fingers.
A house elf appeared in front of them with a loud 'crack'. "Yes, Master Scorpius?" It looked at him expectantly with its huge glassy eyes.
Albus almost injured himself trying to hold in his mirth at hearing Scorpius being called master.
The blond shot him a warning look.
"Libby, would you please take Albus' trunk up to his room?"
The elf nodded vigorously. "Of course, anything for the young master,"
The elf was obviously rather fond of Scorpius.
Scorpius offered it a small smile. "Thank you, Libby."
The elf dissapparated with another loud 'crack'.
The days passed in a blur of laughter for the boys, and New Years Eve seemed to creep up on them from behind.
Draco and Astoria were heading off to a fancy party and were leaving Albus and Scorpius alone in the Manor.
"You look beautiful, Mother," Scorpius said, smiling.
He wasn't lying. His mother had on a gorgeous midnight blue dress that skimmed gracefully over her hips. Her dark hair cascaded elegantly over her shoulders in thick ringlets, and her ice blue eyes seemed to be glittering like the silver trimmings on her evening gown.
"Thank you, darling." She smiled warmly, leaning down slightly to kiss his cheek. He was almost taller than her. "Now be good, boys, won't you?"
They both nodded innocently.
"If you are not," said Draco, his eyes narrowed at them in a mock glare, "I shall know."
And then they were gone.
"So…" said Scorpius, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Shall we break out the fire whiskey now or later?"
The boys spent the evening getting blissfully drunk on the living room floor as they waited for the bells to signify that another year was over.
"Can you believe we're still friends?" asked Scorpius, his speech slurring slightly. "I mean, really, it's been five bloody years, and here we are."
He shuffled slightly closer to Albus.
Albus was silent for a few moments. "Can't really 'magine it any other way. Can you?"
"No," murmured Scorpius.
"We'll always be best friends," said Albus firmly.
"How'd you know?"
"'Cause, life would be no fun without you, Score." The alcohol was allowing him to say these things without the embarrassment that would usually have followed them.
Scorpius smiled at him with heavy lidded eyes. "Nearly midnight, just under a minute to go."
Albus shifted nearer to Scorpius so that their noses were almost touching.
"You know the stuff people say about us," began Albus, his breath ghosting over Scorpius' lips, making the blond feel light headed in a way that had nothing to do with the obscene amount of fire whiskey he had consumed. "Do you ever think they might be right?"
"When they say that we… fancy each other?"
Albus nodded, his forehead bumping gently against Scorpius'.
"Yes," he breathed.
Ten seconds left to go.
"Me too."
Nine seconds.
"But you went out with that Ravenclaw girl."
Six seconds.
"Such a big mistake. I only want you, Scorpius,"
Five seconds.
"You have me."
Four seconds.
"Kiss me then."
In the three seconds that were left, Scorpius worked up the courage to close the gap between them and kissed Albus, softly, nervously, sweetly. Albus wrapped his arms around Scorpius' neck, threaded his fingers through his silky blond hair and kissed him back deeply.
Neither could think of a more perfect way to bring in the New Year.
A/N : Hope you enjoyed, please review.
Chapter three should be up some time next week.