Al and Summer were sitting on a low cliff by the beach. The waves crashed against the rock beneath them, causing chunks to break off into the sea. The sun had just started to set. The orange glow reflected off of Summer's hair, creating a halo of light. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at him and her smile made his heart melt.

"You know how much I love you, right?" he gently took her hand in his.

She smiled at their entwined fingers. "More than life itself?"

"That's right," he nodded, "and I will never leave you."

"Never?"

"Never."

She leaned towards him, her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted. He leaned forward to meet her. Their lips were millimeters apart when thunder lit up the sky.

Summer was gone.

Al twisted about, searching for her. "Where are you?" he called out desperately.

"You said you'd never leave me." He voice spoke, but she wasn't there.

"I didn't," he pleaded, looking around desperately.

Now he was in the ocean. The waves splashed his face and knocked him about; he couldn't breathe.

"You left me!" She was standing on the surface of the water looking down on him. "You left me when I needed you! Why didn't you fight for me?" She barely resembled Summer. She was beautiful but terrible, and her face held only wrath.

"No," whispered Al, as she began to walk away. "No… No…"

He was sucked under the water. He struggled for breath. He was going to die.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—"

Al jerked awake very suddenly, as though he had been doused in water. A quick look around his room quelled his sudden fear. No one was there.

Al rubbed his face. He was out of breath and extremely tired; it felt like he had just run a marathon. For a moment, he couldn't understand why. And then the dream came back to him.

The dream itself was new, but the content was not. He and Summer together, as a couple, being torn apart while she blamed him. She said he left her, but he hadn't. He couldn't.

He would never leave her… abandon her… desert her.

He loved her.

Albus sighed and rubbed his face again. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he realized that he liked her. It had been sometime during their sixth year. Summer had been a late bloomer and hadn't fully… developed until the summer before sixth year. He had been attracted to her, but it had turned into more. He liked her as a friend, and then he liked her more. About halfway through the year he realized that he liked her-liked her. He found himself enamored with her eyes and spellbound by her smile; and many times he caught himself staring at places that he really shouldn't. She had the most gorgeous legs that he had ever seen.

Ah, bad thought, bad thoughts.

He shook himself and jumped out of bed. This was getting out of hand. He couldn't go around with thoughts like that. His dad knew legilimency after all.

Those long slender legs—.

He bolted out of his room, making a beeline for the kitchen. A cold glass of water would fix this. A nice, ice-cold glass of water dumped over his head. Just the thing for—

"Al? What are you doing?"

Al whipped around and saw his father sitting at the kitchen table, looking surprised.

"Dad?" he choked out in a hoarse voice. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

Harry looked amused. "It's six o'clock."

Al turned to look at the clock on the wall.

"Oh," he smiled sheepishly.

"I see your hair turned back to normal."

"Did it?" asked Al distractedly, running a hand through it. The dream had made him totally forget about his hair.

Harry was looking at him curiously now, and Albus started to panic. His dad was an Auror. He could worm a confession from any death eater/bad guy out there; his kids were no problem.

Except for Lily.

He was putty in her hands.

"Come on, have a seat," Harry said.

He sat down in the chair opposite his father, looking anywhere but his face.

What a lovely ceiling we have.

"What's on your mind?" The question was gentle, not too pushy. His father's voice was interested and caring. It was meant to entice a truthful response. Auror tactics, thought Al.

Al should have been able to talk to his dad about girls; he was his dad after all. But it felt wrong. If it was any other girl, then it would have been no problem. But it wasn't any girl. It was Summer Winters and she was basically family.

He looked up at his father and took a deep breath, fully intent upon denying that anything was wrong.

"It's a girl," Al heard himself say. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, but the damage had already been done. His father was looking thoughtful.

"A girl?" he asked, not looking at all surprised. He sighed. "That's definitely a problem. Girls are mysterious creatures, luring in their prey with their charm, good looks, and certain body parts—"

Al felt his face heat up. This was dangerous territory.

"—before you realize it, you've been ensnared in their trap. They become whiny and needy, spend every dollar you make, and dictate every aspect of your life. They make you their slaves and place burdens on your back when all you want to do is be free. Life becomes worthless and miserable. You end up dying an early death or getting a divorce. Either way they get all your money and property. It's not worth getting mixed up in."

Al stared at his father with wide eyes.

"That's how most guys feel." His father shrugged, taking a sip of coffee.

Al gaped at him. "What are you talking about? You make it sound horrible! Is that really my future? Merlin, what have I gotten myself into?" he asked desperately letting his head fall onto the table with a bang!

Harry smiled at his son. "I said that's how most guys feel." He waited until Al lifted his head from the table to continue. "Guys have a tendency to go for the prettiest girl even if she's completely horrible. They become infatuated instead of falling in love, and they end up regretting hooking up or getting married. And more often than not, guys with low character will hook up with a girl and then dump her the next day. They treat them like trash." Harry wrinkled his nose at the thought. "When you fall in love, that girl is the most beautiful girl you've ever seen, even if she's not that pretty. She's the smartest girl, even if she has made some bad decisions. Love blinds. When you find the right girl, you'll have a bond stronger than just infatuation. She will complete you, make you stronger, and always be there to support you. Except when you're wrong… then she'll slap some sense into you."

Al looked at his father with both reverence and apprehension. "Is that how you feel about mom?"

"Your mother is the smartest most beautiful witch there is," he said sincerely.

Al took that as a yes.

"So who is this girl?" his father's Auror persona returned and he fixed Albus with a look. "Why haven't you mentioned it before?"

"I don't know, I was just kind of nervous. And, well, I couldn't exactly talk to Scorpius about it—," once again, Al's mouth spoke before his mind told it to. He clamped his jaws together.

"Ah," his father said smirking, "Summer is a very attractive girl." The knowing look he was receiving spoke more than words ever could.

Al considered denying it, but he knew it was futile. "What do I do?" he asked desperately.

"Well, you could mope about it for days, even months, or you can do something about it. Find out if she likes you back. I'm afraid there's not much I can do to help you. You've known Summer for years… can't you just ask her out?"

"No," said Al, shaking his head. "If she doesn't like me and I ask her out, then it'll just be awkward between us."

Harry sighed. "I don't' know what to tell you, Al. Maybe just that Summer is not the girl you think she is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Al asked quickly.

Harry gave him a grim smile. "Nothing… you'll figure it out." He looked at his watch. "I need to get going." He jumped up from the table.

Al panicked. "But what do I do? About… everything? I can't ask Scor or Summer about it."

"You have more than two friends, Al. You'll figure it out," he repeated. "I have to go."

With that Harry rushed out the door, leaving Al alone with his very confused thoughts.

"Al? What are you doing up this early?"

Al jerked his head in the direction of the hall where Summer was currently standing. She was clad only in a baggy t-shirt and shorts. Very short shorts.

Very nice short shorts.

Al realized that he was staring at her legs and Summer was waiting for a reply.

"Uh…," focus. He pulled himself together. "I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. What time is it?"

"Seven. I was in my room doing yoga," her voice was casual but her expression was odd.

As if to increase the oddness, she sat down across from him and stared unblinkingly at him.

It was a bit unnerving.

"What are you doing?" he asked, weirded out.

"Staring at you." Good old Summer, always the honest reply.

"But why?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I have my reasons." Her voice was odd now.

He leaned back a little when a horrible thought occurred to him. What if she had found out about his crush? If he had been talking in his sleep, and she walked by the door, then he was screwed.

Crap, crap, crap.

"Are you okay?" Summer asked, concerned, when he hadn't spoken for several minutes.

"Fine," he squeaked. "Just fine."

The dream, the talk with his father, and the talk with Summer had sufficiently made Al forget the reason that Summer had stayed over in the first place.

Getting ready for Scorpius' surprise birthday party.

They of course couldn't have the party on his actual birthday, since September 1 was the day they left for school, so they settled for the day before. It was Saturday, and Summer had arranged for Draco to keep his son occupied all afternoon.

The Potter family spent the majority of the day at the Burrow, setting up decorations and helping Nana Molly cook.

Al barely noticed. He went through the day in a bit of a fog. He meditated on his father's words, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it. Any part of it.

"Rosie! You're here!"

Al was startled out of one of his reveries by Summer's exclamation. When he looked around, it was to find both Rose and Hugo glaring at Summer, who was grinning.

"I see your hair turned back to normal," she said brightly. "What color did your hair turn, Hugo? I never got to see."

"Purple," said Hugo glowering.

Summer laughed. "Come on, I know you can't stay mad at me," she batted her eyelashes at him.

It worked. Hugo turned slightly pink and said a begrudging, "No."

At around four, the Potters and Summer went back home to change from their work clothes and to get the presents they had hidden.

Al was in his room, staring moodily at his desk. He wasn't even sure why he was in such a bad mood.

"Are you ready to go?"

Al looked up and saw Summer standing in his bedroom doorway. She had done her hair and makeup and changed into a flattering skirt and blouse. Al was slightly mesmerized.

"Go where?" he asked stupidly.

"The Burrow," said Summer. She gave him a pointed look. "It's the last day of summer break… Scorpius' birthday is tomorrow." She raised her eyebrows. "We're going to the Burrow to throw him a surprise party. We've been setting it up all day."

Al stared at her for a moment while her words sunk in.

"Oh!"

She chuckled. "There you go. You better hurry. We're leaving in a few minutes."

"Right. I'll be down soon," he said.

"Good." She flashed him a gorgeous smile and left.

Al sighed. He was really far gone.

Only family and close friends had been invited to the party at the Burrow.

Which naturally meant that the place was packed.

As soon as Al stepped through the door, he was attacked by Nana Molly. She enveloped him in a bear hug that no one would have expected from such a small woman. Unless they knew her, of course. After a moment, she pulled away and held him at arm's length.

"You've grown since I last saw you. And you're awfully thin. Are you getting enough to eat? I'm sure my daughter is responsible about meals. After all, I raised her." She pursed her lips for a moment and her sharp eyes sought out Ginny. But then she looked back at Al and beamed. "Oh you look exactly like your father did at this age…"

Summer walked past the two of them, and Al's eyes automatically followed her.

Nana Molly noticed his gaze. "Your father couldn't take his eyes off Ginny either," she said slyly.

Al felt his face heat up. "W-what?" He cleared his throat nervously. "What makes you say that?" Did everyone know about his feelings?

Nana molly just smiled and gave his arm a pat, and then she moved on to greet the rest of his family.

Face still red, Al moved into the living room. Hung up on one wall was a giant banner that said in large letters: Happy Birthday Scorpius, Head Boy!

A smaller banner, written in sloppy handwriting, had been carelessly hung in the opposite side of the room. It said: And Rose is Head Girl and Albus is Quidditch Captain, Yay.

"I knew Scorpius would feel strange if the two of you weren't mentioned as well, so I asked Ron to make sure that you and Rose were recognized," said Hermione wearily as she came and stood next to him. "I didn't expect that."

Al laughed. "It's Uncle Ron. He's a two-year-old a heart."

Hermione sighed but smiled. "Yes he is. I better go tell him how… wonderful his attempt was," she said dryly. Al chuckled.

"Quiet everyone!" called Summer. "Scorpius will be here soon!"

The noise died down and the tension in the room steadily climbed. Even Al felt a thrill of excitement when the familiar pop! was heard outside. Two seconds later, the door opened and the whole room screamed "SURPRISE!" Scorpius' jaw dropped. Everyone broke out into applause and clamored to greet the birthday boy.

Al laughed and went to clap his friend on the back once the area cleared a bit. "Congratulations, mate!" he said.

Scorpius rubbed his ears in jest. "What?!" he yelled, but then broke out in a smile. "Thanks." He turned and saw a person that Al hadn't noticed yet. "Dad?" he asked in disbelief. "I just talked to you a second ago."

Draco smiled at his son. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." He gave his son a hug. "Didn't think I'd miss my son's own surprise party, did you?"

Scorpius looked incredibly happy. He father shoved him off to talk to other people, and Draco himself went to join Harry and Ron in conversation. The three had made amends when their children became friends. Though it was still awkward for them at times (every time the conversation left the topic of Quidditch, that is) they had come a long way from their years at school. Sadly, Al knew that the biggest step towards their acquaintanceship had been the death of Scorpius' mother.

Al sighed and stood alone for a few minutes, looking around. Scorpius was talking to Teddy and Victoire. They had gotten married a few years ago. Percy was informing a very bored looking Rose of all the benefits that came with working for the Ministry. Hermione had finally found Ron and was pulling him away from Harry and Draco to berate him. But no matter where he looked, Al could not find the one person he was looking for.

"Boo," came a voice right next to his ear.

"Ahhh!" He jumped so much that he spilled the drink he couldn't even remember acquiring.

He turned and saw that Summer was doubled up, laughing and clutching her stomach.

"That wasn't very nice," said Al.

"I-I'm s-sorry. Haha! You're face!" She was laughing so hard that she was no longer making any noise, only emitting a sort of strangled squeak now and then.

"You didn't scare me," said Al trying to regain some dignity.

"Of course… I didn't," she said gasping for breath. And she looked so beautiful when she smiled at him, that he felt inclined to forgive her.

"Well, just warn me next time you're about to surprise me." He realized one second later how stupid he sounded.

Summer burst out in renewed laughter.

Al rolled his eyes. "What is this? Make fun of Albus day?"

"No," said Summer, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "You were just the nearest person."

Al snorted. Across the room, Lily had sidled up to Scorpius and was attempting to gain his attention. Mostly by pawing at his arm. Rose, seeing Scorpius' discomfort, hurried over and pulled him away and into the kitchen. Lily appeared quite peeved.

Albus frowned at the exchange. "What was all that about?"

Summer snickered. "I think Lily was trying to hit on Scorpius."

Al was overcome with a sudden fit of coughing and Summer laughed at him. Again.

"It's not funny," he said with a shiver of disgust. "It's creepy. My little sister is hitting on my best friend." He wrinkled his nose. "No, actually it's beyond creepy. It's downright disgusting."

"It's not that surprising though," said Summer. She took a sip of her muggle Diet Coke. She was the only person Al knew that drank it. "I mean, half the female population has a crush on Scorpius. I even overheard a couple of adults in Diagon Alley talking about how good looking he is."

Albus shook his head. "Lily's fifteen."

"And having a crush on a guy is normal at fifteen," said Summer. "It's if she wasn't interested in guys that you should be worried."

Al gave Summer a look. "Are we really standing here, discussing how much girls like Scorpius?"

Summer laughed, but she wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, I mean you could be standing there, discussing how much girls like me. That would be much more understandable."

Al and Summer both turned around.

"Freddy Weasley," she said. "How kind of you to grace us with your presence."

Fred grinned at them. He was tall and freckled and possessed the trademark Weasley hair that his sister lacked. He and James had been the new 'James and Sirius' or 'Fred and George' during their years at Hogwarts. Fred was currently working in the family business, managing the Hogsmeade branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"I know," said Fred mock seriously. "I don't have a lot of time for the little people you know. You should be honored that I even remember your names, Alber and Summus."

They stared at him. "You've got to be kidding me," said Al.

Fred frowned. "You dare disrespect me? Now you must die!"

He gave a great shout and tackled Al to the ground.

"Fred!" cried Summer as she watched Fred successfully get Al in a choke-hold. "What have I told you about wrestling?"

Fred sighed and let Albus go. "That I'm not supposed to wrestle in front of you when you're wearing a skirt and can't join in."

"That's right," said Summer, though she was having trouble suppressing a grin. "Now I must run along children, so be good boys while I'm gone."

She gave Fred a rather harder than necessary pat on the head, though Al only received a smile. He wasn't complaining.

He watched her leave, his mind once again returning to his father's words.

When he turned to make a jab at Fred, he found his cousin staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" he demanded.

Fred looked in the direction that Summer had gone and then back at Al. The eyebrow went higher.

Al glared at him, daring him to make a comment.

In a very un-Fred-like manner, Fred didn't say anything humiliating or mocking and instead got up smiling.

"Well, I'll leave you to figure that out then. I have important, manly things to do. Must find James."

He walked away; and Al remained on the floor, wondering how many more of these incidents he would be forced to endure.

Apparently many more, because Rose came over and sat down beside him. "Soooo."

He gave her a look. "So what?"

"You and Summer…" she said smirking.

Her too, then. Al swallowed nervously and turned away from her. "Me and Summer what?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Come on, Al. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, even Fred caught on." Al threw her a dirty look. "I can see the way you look at her. And it wasn't really hard to notice the way you were glaring at James yesterday when she was paying more attention to him than she was to you." She raised her eyebrows.

Al opened and closed his mouth a few times, each time almost saying something stupid in an attempt to deny it. Finally, he sighed. Rose was closer to him than almost anyone. Might as well give in. "Yeah, I like her."

Rose squealed.

"Shhh!" hissed Al, looking around furtively. "I don't want her to hear."

"Oh this is wonderful!" Rose ignored him. "You're perfect for each other! I can't wait to start planning the wedding!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Al, holding up his hands but forgetting to keep his voice down. "I don't even know if she likes me back."

"Of course she does! She hasn't had any boyfriends this past year has she?"

"No, but she did the year before," said Al sulkily.

"But that was forever ago!" insisted Rose. "She just has to like you!"

Al sighed. He knew it was pointless to argue. "Whatever you say, Rose, whatever you say."

[A/N: So there's chapter 3. Things will start to be revealed in the next few chapters or so, so stick around! I will try to post a new chapter every Monday. If I don't, then I'm probably dead. Or busy…. Either one.]