Author's Note: There is a scene of a sexual nature in this chapter, just so you know.
I don't have much more to say here, other enjoy the chapter :)
-SQ
Disclaimer: Phone, check. Water bottle, check. Lunch, check. Ipod, check. Harry Potter...no, wait, that belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Happy Birthday, Albus Severus
The front door opened with a reverberating slam that in earlier times would have woken the unpleasant portrait that had hung in the entry hall until Harry had blasted it away twenty-two years previous.
"I'm here!" announced James, completely unnecessarily.
"So we hear," said Ginny disapprovingly, looking down at her eldest son from the top of the stairs. "Well, don't just stand there, bring your things up."
James levitated his trunks and bounded up the stairs to give his mother a kiss.
"How have you been, Jamie?" she asked.
"Great Mum, just great," replied James enthusiastically. "How is everyone here?"
"Good," said Ginny. "Your father's been busy at the office, but it's the usual everyday busyness. Now get your things upstairs and then come down and tell me all about Training Camp."
James directed his trunk up the stairs toward his room. On the landing below he met Albus and Scorpius, who had just finished moving Scorpius's things into one of the guest bedrooms.
"Oh, hi Scorpius," said James, not particularly surprised to see his little brother's best friend at Grimmauld Place.
"Hello James," said Scorpius. "How was Quidditch Training Camp?"
"Great!" said James, grinning. "Mum's about to grill me for all the details, so come downstairs in a few minutes if you want a full account."
James continued up the stairs and Scorpius looked at Albus.
"When are we going to tell him?"
"Later," said Albus. "Let Mum have her share of him first."
*****TWAMM*****
Ten minutes later the entire family, minus Harry who was still at work, and plus Scorpius, were sitting around the kitchen table, listening to James regale them with dramatized stories of Quidditch Training Camp.
"And there's this guy, McKinnon. Irish. Muggleborn, but flies like he was born on a broom. He's definitely going to get a place on a team. I'd hate his guts for it if he didn't have his heart set on the Keeper Position. How boring! I want some Chaser action! And there was this one time that Darren Hornby—"
Albus smiled and exchanged a look with Scorpius. His brother had always been like this; talking a mile a minute and not able to keep his attention on one thing for more than a few seconds.
Lily kept shooting Albus looks across the table which he correctly interpreted to mean that she was aching to spill the beans about his relationship with Scorpius. Figuring that he oughtn't to press his luck where his little sister's big mouth was concerned, he and Scorpius caught up with James when he left the kitchen (after devouring a ridiculous amount of the lunch Ginny had prepared) and fell into step beside him.
"So, how long are you staying, Scorpius?" asked James.
"For the rest of the summer," replied the blonde.
"Really?" said James, looking surprised. "I thought Al was spending time at your place this summer."
"I already did," said Albus.
"What, you two just can't get enough of each other?"
The two younger boys looked at each other and blushed, a gesture which was completely lost on James.
"Maybe you can help me practice Quidditch!" said James excitedly.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Don't you ever think about anything else?"
"Of course I do!" said James. "I think about friends, and food, and girls..." he grinned. "Any girls caught either of your eyes lately?" he asked teasingly.
"Er—" said Albus.
"Oh you're hopeless," said James. "What you need is a good fuck! When are you going to get with someone, little bro?"
"Well, actually, he is with someone," said Scorpius, picking up the slack, as Albus was obviously tongue-tied with embarrassment at his brother's teasing.
James's head snapped around to look at Scorpius.
"You're joking."
Scorpius shook his head.
"Who?"
"Me."
James stopped as though he had walked into an invisible wall, for once in his live utterly and completely speechless. Scorpius had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out laughing. This was the funniest sight he'd seen all week. Hell, it was the funniest sight he'd seen all summer.
After a good forty-five seconds of gaping, James managed to croak, "Excuse me?"
"Scorpius and I are together," said Albus, managing to look his brother square in the eye, something he had always had trouble with. "We're dating."
"You're gay?"
Albus nodded.
"I knew you'd never shown much interest in girls, but gay?"
"Yes, we've established that James," said Albus quietly.
"Have you told anyone else about this?"
"Yes said Albus. Mum and Lily and Rose and Hugo. And none of them were surprised. Apparently you and I were the only people who didn't know."
"My brother is gay?" said James distractedly, running his hands through his shaggy hair. "My brother is gay. My brother is frickin' gay! And Scorpius too?"
"That would be implied by the fact that we're dating, yes," said Scorpius levelly.
"But—but—" stuttered James. "I never would have taken you for a poof."
Scorpius just shrugged, unsure what to say to that.
A light suddenly went on in James's face.
"I'm not saying I'm against the idea," he said. "Not that I'm saying I'm all for it either mind—personally I think it's disgusting—but if you want to screw guys that's none of my affair." He shuddered at the thought. "Please don't make it any of my affair."
Albus blushed. "Who said anything about screwing anybody?"
James gave him a blank look.
"You're dating aren't you?"
"Yes, we just said that, you are slow, aren't you Potter?" said Scorpius with a smirk.
James glared at him. "So aren't you screwing?"
Albus shook his head, his cheeks bright red.
"We haven't gotten to that stage yet," said Scorpius, only a slight tinge of pink coloring his pale cheekbones. "Not that it's any of your business."
James shook his head. "Backwards, the both of you, utterly backwards. I don't know what possessed you to pick this brother of mine as your boyfriend, Scorpius, but good luck to you. You're going to need it."
He walked away from them, still shaking his shaggy head.
Scorpius looked at Albus.
Albus looked at Scorpius.
"Well," said Scorpius at last, "that went very..."
"James-like," finished Albus.
*****TWAMM*****
Harry came home that evening tired but excited to see his eldest son. Naturally James dominated the dinner conversation, with Lily frequently throwing in her own opinions.
After dinner and an especially tasty custard for dessert, the members of the Potter family retired to their own rooms, Scorpius accompanying Albus to his. James noticed this and quickly tried to pretend he hadn't, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Lily too noticed, and made kissy faces at them until they slammed the door in her face. They had barely been alone five minutes, however, when there was a knock on the door.
"Al? Scorpius? May I come in?"
"Yeah, Dad," said Albus, who had been expecting this in any case. "The door's unlocked."
"It had better be," said Harry, opening the door and coming into the room, "since Scorpius is in here with you."
"So Mum told you then."
Harry nodded and sat down in the desk chair, swiveling it to face the bed where his son and his—boyfriend?—were sitting.
"And?" said Albus nervously.
"And I feel the same way your mother does. I support you one hundred percent and I am happy for you." He sighed. "I'm not happy for the prejudice I know you are going to experience because of this"—he looked at Scorpius—"have already experienced because of this—"
"What my mother did has nothing to do with you, Mr. Potter," said Scorpius.
"I know," said Harry. "I've long since learned that taking things that are beyond our control onto our shoulders is a sure way to lead to mental breakdown. But that doesn't make it any more right."
Scorpius shrugged.
"I mean it," said Harry. "And I hope you can feel at home here."
Scorpius looked up and smiled. "You've never made that very difficult, Mr. Potter."
*****TWAMM*****
It was finally, finally, finally Albus's seventeenth birthday. Why his birthday had to be in August he would never know. But the day had finally arrived, and in half an hour's time number twelve Grimmauld place would be filled to the brim with all manner of Albus's friends and relatives come to help him celebrate the big day.
Currently Albus and Scorpius were in Albus's room, getting ready to go downstairs and await the guests.
"You look gorgeous, as usual," said Albus, wrapping his arms gently around Scorpius's waist which, like the rest of him, was clad in light blue silk.
"Nothing compared to you," said Scorpius, turning around in Albus's arms to admire the other boy's own outfit of darker blue.
Albus blushed and rested his head against Scorpius's chest for a moment.
"I'd be content just to stay here all day. That would be the best birthday present ever."
Scorpius chuckled. "But think how disappointed the rest of the guests would be. Come on, birthday boy, you don't want to be late to your own party."
The two boys picked up their over robes, Scorpius's of a soft cream and Albus's of a light gray, and shrugged them on as they exited the room.
Lily was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.
"Oh you both look absolutely splendid!" she announced triumphantly. "I knew you would!"
Lily, despairing of the fact that neither of them had the stereotypical gay interest in fashion, had insisted on picking out their outfits for the event. They had to (grudgingly) admit that she had done a good job.
"Mum's in the kitchen finishing the last minute preparations," said Lily. "Unless you have a strong desire to part ways with your head I wouldn't go in there."
Ablus and Scorpius, both of whom had had plenty of experience with the Weasley temper, chuckled and then winced and made a mental note to stay far away from the kitchen.
"Hello boys," said a rather harassed looking Harry, coming around the corner from the direction of the kitchen. "Happy birthday, Al."
Albus grinned at his dad.
"The guests should be arriving any minute now," Harry continued. "Where's James?"
The three teenagers shrugged.
"Late as usual I expect," said Lily, rolling her eyes.
Just then the doorbell rang.
"Answer it, answer it!" said Lily, pushing her protesting brother and his boyfriend toward the door.
*****TWAMM*****
Soon the house was full of an assortment of Albus's family, friends, and family friends, all eating, drinking, dancing, chatting, and generally having a good time.
Albus and Scorpius were engaged in a friendly debate over Quidditch with a couple of their friends from school and Albus's cousin Fred when Ginny stood up in front of the crowd and clinked her knife against her champagne glass for attention.
Scorpius and Albus glanced at each other. This was it. They had agreed to let Albus's mother make the toast as the easiest and least painful way to go about it. Lily had wanted to be the one to make it but her mother had (thankfully) adamantly refused. Now she stood in a corner, pretending to sulk, but she couldn't keep the light of devious excitement out of her eyes.
"If I could have all of your attention please," said Ginny, rapping once more upon her glass. "Ron, George, attention."
The guilty parties looked up at their sister sheepishly.
"I would like to propose a toast," Ginny continued, "to my son Albus. I wish him a very happy seventeenth birthday, an unforgettable last year at Hogwarts, a wonderful life as an adult wizard, and every happiness with his new boyfriend, Scorpius Malfoy."
Everyone in the room raised their glasses and cheered all the louder after each successive statement. It was only as the last of the cheers died down that the final part of what Ginny had said sunk in.
Albus and Scorpius grasped each other's hands and looked nervously around as every head in the room slowly turned to stare at them. Albus felt as though he could crawl into a hole and die at that very moment. Why had he ever agreed to this? The only thing that kept him standing firmly in the center of the room was Scorpius's hand in his, and the knowledge that this must be even harder for the blonde than it was for him.
Finally someone—Albus thought it might have been his uncle George—voiced the sentiment that everyone was thinking.
"What?"
Ginny looked around at them all with a smile that never faltered.
"I am toasting to Albus's happiness with his new boyfriend, Scorpius Malfoy. If anyone has a problem with this, then they may leave now."
The room remained in eerie silence for another half a minute, and then suddenly people were descending on the couple from all directions; congratulating them, expressing surprise or "I knew it all along" smugness, asking when, why, how?. Albus and Scorpius felt rather overwhelmed, but they did note that not one of the guests left the party, and not one of them expressed overtly negative reactions. Of course, not everyone was thrilled at the prospect (whether that prospect was Albus being gay, dating a Malfoy, or both) but no one was outright hostile either.
Then suddenly Albus was face to face with his uncle Ron.
"Er—" said Albus.
Ron looked as though he had gone into shock. From behind him, his wife gave him a none-too-gentle prod in the back.
"Are you really dating?" burst out Ron.
Hermione glared. "Ronald."
"We are," said Albus, trying his best not to look at the floor.
"Why Malfoy?" said Ron, sounding flabbergasted.
"I love him," Albus mumbled incoherently.
"What?"
"He said he loves me," said Scorpius forcefully, looking straight into Ron's face. "And if that's not enough for you then that's just too bad."
"Of course it's enough for us," said Hermione, giving her husband a reproachful look. "Isn't it, Ron?"
Ron shook his head in bewilderment, but what he said was, "I suppose it'll have to be, won't it? Best friend, boyfriend, there's not that much a difference... Right?" he continued, talking to himself. "At least it's not Rosie..."
*****TWAMM*****
Soon after, and much to the relief of the physically and emotionally drained birthday boy and his equally drained boyfriend, the guests gave their last birthday wishes and went home.
Lying on his bed with his head resting in Scorpius's lap, Albus sighed and absently played with the other boy's slender fingers.
"I'm glad that's over with. They know, for better or for worse, they know. And, by extension, soon the whole wizarding world will know. Now we can just get on with being us."
Scorpius nodded and bent over to kiss his boyfriend on the lips.
"I wonder what they're going to say when we go back to Hogwarts," he mused.
"I can't bring myself to care," said Albus.
Scorpius slid himself down on the bed so that he was lying next to Albus, slipping his hands inside of Albus's shirt.
"Take the damn thing off," said Albus. "It's stifling me."
Scorpius happily obliged, and soon they were both shirtless, wearing only their boxers, exploring every inch of each other's skin with hands and lips and tongue.
"It was a great party," said Albus. "But I'm exhausted."
"Too exhausted for one more present?" asked Scorpius, raising himself on one elbow so that his loose pale hair brushed tantalizingly over Albus's face and chest.
"You already gave me a present," said Albus, confused.
"This is a different kind of present," said Scorpius huskily, silver eyes burning.
Albus's own eyes widened.
"My Mum..."
"Is two floors below us, with several conveniently sound-proofed doors in between."
"You've been planning this," accused Albus.
"Maybe," admitted Scorpius. "Do you want it?"
Albus swallowed. He was very much still a virgin, and he knew that Scorpius was not.
Seeming to read his mind, Scorpius said. "Don't worry so much. I know you'll be fantastic."
Albus hesitated for a second longer, and then lifted his body upwards so that his chest was pressing tightly against Scorpius's.
Scorpius brought them back down onto the bed and slipped his hands inside of Albus's boxers, sliding them easily down his thighs. Albus shuddered and Scorpius pulled back slightly, caressing Albus's just-toned-enough abs with his long fingers.
"Are you sure this is what you want? It's your birthday."
Albus nodded. "I love you," he breathed, grabbing Scorpius by the shoulders and crushing him down for a heated kiss. The kiss moved from lips to neck to chest to stomach and finally to groin. Albus helped Scorpius shed his own boxers so that they were both completely in the buff.
They sat up on the bed, breathing hard, drinking in the sight of one another for a moment.
"Merlin, you're gorgeous," muttered Scorpius.
Albus blushed. "If I'm gorgeous then you're...you're perfection."
Scorpius leaned in to nuzzle Albus's neck.
"I thought we agreed that I was far from perfect."
"I didn't say you were perfect," said Albus, his voice more groan than speech. "I said you were perfection. There's a difference."
Their hands reached for each other simultaneously and each cradled the other as though he were the most precious thing on earth. Then necessity brought their bodies even closer together, fingernails digging into buttocks and shoulder blades as whimpers and moans of pleasure escaped them.
Scorpius lowered his head and then looked back up at Albus.
"May I, Albus Severus?"
Albus nodded and Scorpius extended his tongue.
It was as silky-rough as a cat's, and Albus shuddered with barely-contained pleasure as Scorpius explored him in a whole new way. When he was finished, Albus simply had to know what Scorpius tasted like as well, and so they switched positions.
Scorpius strained hard against the headboard of the bed as Albus experimentally moved lips and tongue around the new sensation.
"Stop, stop," moaned Scorpius. "Let me fuck you already or it'll be too late!"
Reluctantly Albus drew back and Scorpius, driven almost beyond sensibility, flipped him over, pressed him to the bed, and, poised and quivering above him, looked straight into his brilliant emerald eyes.
"Happy Birthday, Albus Severus."
AN: Finally, finally, finally! Last chapter is DONE! All the loose ends are wrapped UP! Or nearly. There is an epilogue, so it's not quite over yet, but the end is very near, and I can't lie, I was very glad when it was. I enjoyed this fic, but it went on a lot longer than I had intended it to, and it was very ready to be over. So...review while you can because you'll only have one more chance!
-SQ