Hey guys so so sorry for the delay! Been super busy but I promise I'll try to keep updating, I love writing this fic. Thank you so much again for your kind reviews you are amazing! Hope you enjoy this one.
Christmas day had arrived at Grimmauld Place, and James, Albus, and Lily awoke to filled stockings at the end of their beds. Lily burst into Albus' room with James trailing behind her screaming "Merry Christmas!" hugging her stocking like a young child, whilst Albus and James rubbed the sleep out of their eyes. Albus saw that his stocking was full to the brim, and he reached for it. Outside the window was a light snowfall, and Caesar was tapping on the window with his beak. A letter. Albus had sent Scorpius a Christmas card, this must be one back from him. Albus felt butterflies in his stomach. Scorpius had replied to Albus' previous letter saying that he was pleased Albus had opened up to his friends about his sexuality and their friendship, but still protested that he should tell them and his parents about the bullies and anxiety. Albus loved how much Scorpius cared for him, but felt guilty for not heeding his words. Lily brought him out of his day dream, "Albus you have a letter" she said pointing to the window, "I wonder who that's off?" she said knowingly. Albus rolled his eyes and let Caesar in. He took the letter from his beak and Caesar nibbled his finger affectionately, before flying gracefully out of the window to hunt. The letter had Albus written on the front in Scorpius' elegant hand, and Albus set it aside to open later. Lily protested that Albus was taking too long, and she dragged him away from the letter and took Albus down stairs.
The living room had a cosy fire lit beneath the mantle piece, where Christmas cards with happy moving pictures on stood. The windows were long and snow covered, and the soft red carpet had been covered with presents. Harry and Ginny came down and wished their children a Merry Christmas, still yawning and stretching their tired limbs. Harry always felt emotional on Christmas day; he was so proud of his family and the fact that he, Harry Potter, had raised his own children. He had given to his children what he couldn't have with his real parents, even though Christmas with the Weasley's was always like being with family. He watched them smile as they opened their presents, always grateful for their knitted jumpers off their Grandma, the mountains of chocolate frogs, peppermint toads, and new joke products from George. Harry had chosen for Albus and James a broom care kit. Albus was so grateful for this, but was reminded of the pressure to catch the snitch and win the quidditch cup, and to be an amazing player just like his father. Albus shook away the thoughts; quidditch was one of the only things that calmed Albus down and he didn't want it to make him anxious. James ran upstairs to get his broom and immediately started polishing the handle, but Ginny told James to wait until later. "It's a shame you're not as eager to clean that broom as you are to clean your room." she said rolling her eyes. The Potter's were going over to the burrow for their Christmas dinner made by Molly, and all the family would be there. Albus loved Christmas day with his family, he felt like he belonged somewhere and felt warmer inside. They all got dressed and took their places in front of the fire. They knew the floo network would be busy but they decided that side along apparition could easily get messy, with Lily having never done it before. Ginny threw the floo powder into the flames and they quickly turned to the bright emerald green colour Albus was familiar with. Lily went first, then it was Albus' turn. He walked into the heatless flames and tucked his elbows in as he shouted "The Burrow". Albus felt himself jerk, and was whizzing past other fireplaces, seeing glimpses of red, green, and gold. He arrived with a pop in the fireplace of the burrow, and brushed the soot from his chest.
Molly was there to greet him. "Ah! Another grandchild!" she said with a smile. She walked over to Albus, grabbed his cheeks and kissed him roughly on the forehead. Albus squirmed a little, and was saved when he heard James arrive at the burrow. George, Angelina, Fred and Roxanne were already here, along with Ron, Hermione, Rose and Hugo, Bill, Fleur, Victorie, Dominique, Louis, and all the other Weasley families. When the rest of the Potters arrived, Molly called everyone to sit round the enormous table that had been laid out for the dinner. Molly waved her wand gracefully as plates, jugs of gravy, and bowls of stuffing and beetroot flew down the table, landing neatly in front of chairs. Albus and all the other grandchildren sat at one end, whilst the adults sat at the other; Teddy and Victorie were sort of in the middle. Everyone began chatting about the year they'd had, and Albus and James were immediately hounded by the older grandchildren about Hogwarts and Quidditch. "I hope they still take it seriously, Quidditch I mean. I think it should be an O.W.L." said Teddy seriously. Rose scoffed "That's not a proper subject, it's a game!"
"Yes and a very important one!" said James in defense, Roxanne and Albus nodded in unison. Rose rolled her eyes, clearly not wanting to have an argument about it, and went back to her potatoes. "Did I hear a mention of O. ?" said George looking offended. "It's Christmas, we don't talk about those sort of things at this time of year, it's rude." Albus and the others laughed, but Hermione looked concerned. "It's not rude it's important, especially for James in his fifth year." James looked uncomfortable at the mention of how close his exams were getting, and changed the subject.
The evening went on and Albus felt at peace, maybe with a little indigestion on the side. He and the others went to play in the snow outside, and James threw snowballs at terrifying speed at Albus. As Keeper, he had strong arms that could take anyone out.
You're weaker than him.
Albus shook the involuntary thought away; they were becoming a recurring nuisance. After a while, Ginny called them in to warm by the fire before they would head home. Albus shook the snow from his hair, and stamped his boots on the mat. He warmed his hands in front of the dancing orange flames of the fire, and watched the snow melt on his coat sleeves. He hoped he wasn't as vulnerable as those snowflakes that didn't stand a chance against the heat. He stared at them, until it was time to leave The Burrow. James unfortunately noticed and gave Albus the 'Are you ok' look. Albus just smiled and nodded slightly and James looked away. The Potter's said their good byes and thank yous to everyone, and departed one by one through the fire place. Albus was again whirling past different fireplaces, before he reached his own with a pop. It was then he remembered the letter he still had to read from Scorpius. Albus sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He picked up the envelope, opening it very carefully. Inside was a beautiful picture of snowy mountains and pine trees, and the words 'Merry Christmas' were written in the corner. Albus opened the card, and read the message.
Dear Albus,
Merry Christams! The picture on the front is one I took from being in Austria one Christmas. The landscape is beautiful, I feel like the picture only gives a tiny portion of how beautiful it really is. I hope you have a merry and peaceful Christmas, you deserve it. I'd love to spend it all with you, but of course it's a time to be with family as well. Write to me again soon, and stay safe.
Scorpius
The butterflies in Albus' stomach were flying around so fast he felt he may be lifted into the air. The card was short but so sweet, and he loved the way Scorpius wrote, the way he talked...everything. He admired the picture more, before placing it on his bedside table to remind him that Scorpius was there for him. A tapping at the window brought Albus out of his admiring. It was Caesar, and he was back with another letter in his beak. Albus opened the window to let him in, and noticed the owl wasn't in a good mood. He brushed past Albus after he retrieved the letter, and perched on top of his wardrobe in a sulk. Albus frowned and looked at the letter. It had Albus written on it, but he didn't know the handwriting. He opened the envelope and there was a single piece of paper inside, it was a short letter, and it didn't say Dear Albus.
I've been watching you, looks like you had a good Christmas dinner at the Weasley's place.
Albus was confused for a second, then realised it could only be one person who would start a letter like that. Rowell.
Hope you hadn't forgotten about me, I've been thinking about you, and about how much fun we'll have when we start back at school. Thought I'd send you this thoughtful letter as a present for Christmas, to remind you that you can't escape me, I'll always be there, and you'll never tell anyone. If you do, it'll be the last thing you and your friends do.
Albus was horrified, he was numb with the shock, so many questions were buzzing around his head. How did he know his owl? Had he really been watching him all this time? If so how? He read on.
To finish, I thought I'd draw you a nice picture. Look on the other side.
Albus turned the paper over slowly, and noticed his hands were shaking. The picture was drawn in red ink that looked horribly like blood. It was of Albus watching on as Rowell tortured James, Lily, Hugo, and...Scorpius. Shit. He knows about Scorpius. The picture suddenly burst into flames and burnt Albus' hands. He dropped the hot paper and watched the tiny pieces fall to the ground.
Albus felt like he was vibrating, he couldn't hear anything, but he could feel his chest heaving up and down as he was hyperventilating. He felt the sweat all over his body, and the world seemed to be tipping sideways like a boat in a storm. Rowell knew about his friendship with Scorpius, he wasn't safe around him anymore, he knew how to watch him, he could be watching him now, and he was planning more attacks on Albus. Albus heard himself wimpering and wheezing as he struggled to breathe, and saw his whole body shaking as he looked down at himself. This was the worst he'd ever panicked. He looked wildly around the room for a sign of a person or someone watching him, but there wasn't anyone there. He faintly heard someone say Albus, and whipped around to face the door. Albus yelled when he saw his Dad standing there, still in massive panic attack mode and unable to breathe. Albus was almost crying now, he hated when it made him cry. He saw his Dad's face full of worry and saddness, but Albus tried to back away when he came towards him. "Albus what's the matter? Talk to me." said Harry, taking cautious steps towards Albus. James and his Mum appeared behind Harry, and Albus felt overwhelmed. The room was too small, there wasn't enough air for him in here, he was going to suffocate. He saw James come towards Albus fast, realising what was happening, but that didn't help either. James' usual soothing presence was useless now, Albus didn't know where he was. Albus began to feel tingly, and the world started to grow darker. It was then he found himself hitting the floor, and blacking out.