AlbusScorpius

On Your Side

Chapter Ten: The Truth

A/N: I have been looking forward to writing this chapter since I started this story. Mainly because I love writing a certain person who will finally arrive on the scene. Like, srsface amazing.

Albus had only seen Scorpius once more before they left for winter holidays, a firm look on the pale face as the spoke, arms folded across his chest, the very image of the Professor he was as he spoke. Hopefully this time apart will do you some good. I expect you to be over this frivolous attraction when we return, understood? He understood. He didn't need telling twice.

The dark haired boy grinned as he stepped off the train, meeting his family with every ounce of happiness that he usually did, allowing his mother to fuss him and Lily, greeting his father with a light hug and a pat on the back, before allowing Lily to do the same with reluctance, swatting away her mother's hands and rolling her eyes as she had to hug her father. Their parents seemed to find it more amusing than anything, Harry taking his daughter's bags before leading his family out of Kings Cross Station and towards the car.

Albus' good mood lasted until about two days after coming home.

During meals he was still perfectly good company, but for the rest of the time he buried himself in his work, locked up in his room, conjuring and vanishing random objects, claiming it as practice every time his parents came to check on him. They seemed far too pleased with the fact he was successfully able to transfigure an entire cot than worry about why he was sighing like a heartbroken teenager.

Then again, he was a heartbroken teenager.

It wasn't until four days into the holiday that anyone tried to do anything about it. The day before Christmas Eve, as he lay across his bed, staring at the ceiling and dreaming about grey eyes and pale skin, the door to his room opened with a bang, startling him into sitting up, green eyes meeting brown.

"I have returned!" James declared with a grin, giving a flourishing bow. "You need not be mopey and a total downer anymore!"

"Hey James," Albus greeted half-heartedly, laying back on the bed. "How was China?"

The boy scowled, placing his hands on his hips and giving his little brother a look. "Wow, thanks for the enthusiasm, Al. Glad to know I can count on you to make me feel welcome."

Albus chuckled, grabbing a pillow from his bed and tossing it in James' direction. "Fuck off, you big girl."

"I should be calling you the girl," the brunet teased, catching the missile and stepping forward into the room, creeping up to the bed with a knowing grin on his face. "Speaking of girls, who's the pretty doll who broke your heart?"

"There's no girl."

"Bullshit," James replied, falling back onto the bed to lie next to his brother. "I know this this attitude, it's the 'oh woe is me, no one loves me!' attitude."

"How would you know?"

James grinned. "I have another little sister, not just you."

Albus scoffed, blocking the pillow as it was swung to hit him in the stomach. "Maybe I just miss Quidditch."

"I miss Quidditch, but you don't see me going round making Lily seem like a pocket full of sunshine."

"Let's not bring up that song again."

James grinned wickedly. "Oh, I think I will. If it'll cheer you up, I think I should sing it. At least until you start singing like a little bird."

"Fine! Fine, there's not a girl," Albus paused, mouth half open, sucking in a breath to speak, the words caught in his throat. "There's just a friend."

"Oh yeah, I've heard this one before."

"Shut up, James!" Albus demanded with a laugh. "I won't tell you if you keep interrupting."

"Okay, okay, Merlin's beard, just let me check one thing."

"What?" the younger boy encouraged, turning to look his brother in the eye. He froze at the serious look there, face soft and brows raised slightly with curious acceptance.

"Are you gay?"

Albus' eyes widened, spluttering as his face reddened, caught off-guard. "What?"

"It's okay if you are," James said, eyes searching his brother's. "It's not like we weren't expecting it."

"We?"

James fidgeted, glancing away for a moment and pulling a face. "Yeah, you know, Teddy and me. And possibly dad. And maybe mother."

"Do you guys enjoy discussing my sexual preferences while I'm away at boarding school?" Albus demanded with a huff, folding his arms across his chest and turning from his brother.

"Oh, come on Al, we weren't discussing that exactly, we were talking about how you were doing and stuff. And then Louis told me about that rumour that went round with what's-his-face-!"

"Jeremy."

"Yeah, that guy, and it just call kind of fell into place," James explained, waiting for his little brother to say something. He said nothing. Letting out a sigh, the brunet ran a hand through his hair, wondering how his parents had put up with their middle child for four days already. "I'm just going to take your lack of denial and horror as a 'yes, I am gay'."

"I'm not ready to come out," was the quiet reply. "I've only ever told four other people; and only one of them by actual choice. Lucy and Rose forced it out of me."

"Al, there's nothing to be ashamed of," James said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, encouraging the boy to face him. "We still love you for it. Isn't that what matters?"

"I guess so."

James smiled brightly, his sombre mood vanished in seconds, propping himself up on his elbow and pulling the face of a girl getting ready to share secrets with her bestie-for-life. "So, this boy then."

Albus felt his cheeks heating up, taking the pillow that was still between them and covering his head with it as he groaned. "You've gotten one confession out of me."

"I don't care, I want another!"

"What do you want to know?" the younger male asked with a sigh.

"Is he straight?"

"No, he's gay."

"Is he your boyfriend?" James gasped dramatically, pulling the pillow away from Albus' face with an excited look on his face. "Oh, he is, isn't he?"

"No! He's not," Albus said with a laugh, though there was sadness in his eyes. "He doesn't think we should be together."

"So he likes you."

"He's never said that."

"He's never not said that though."

Albus gave him a look. "Stop trying to confuse me with your fancy-pantsy double negatives."

"I think I'm confusing myself with my fancy-pantsy double negatives," James replied sourly, scrunching his nose up before continuing. "But the point is, just because he doesn't think you should be together doesn't mean he doesn't like you."

"Since when were you a guru of romance?"

"Since now," the brunet decided before nudging his brother. "You should go visit him and ask him. Why does he think you shouldn't be together?"

Albus hesitated, knowing he couldn't really tell James why. "Because he doesn't think it's proper. And I can't imagine his family would approve."

"Then we'll just have to sneak you in while his family aren't awake," James suggested with a wicked grin. "Won't be too hard I imagine."

"I'm not sure how I feel about breaking into someone's house."

The older boy pushed himself off the bed, patting Albus' knee and heading towards the door. "You have two options, you can suck it up and stop moping, or you can agree to go see if you can fix your problem before you drive everyone insane."

Albus was left in his room on his own with his mind in turmoil.

The brothers stood in front of the fireplace, Albus shifting his weight from foot to foot nervously, wondering if he should be telling James where they were going. He glanced to the brunet who flashed him a grin, stepping into the fireplace and holding out a hand for his brother. Albus took a handful of floo-powder, biting down on his lower lip, and took James' hand, sucking in a breath as they went through the plan.

"Remember, pureblood families tend to have big estates, so they'll have more than one fireplace. Try to guess something specific, like 'upper floor west wing' or something."

"Will there be wards or anything to announce our arrival?"

James shrugged. "Probably, but we'll deal with that when we get to it. We want to be in and out as quickly as possible," he shared a look with the younger boy, squeezing his hand. "You ready?"

Albus nodded before looking straight forward and announcing their destination as clearly as he could while not making too much noise. "Upper floor, west wing, Malfoy Manor!"

In a flash of fire they were gone.

They stumbled out of the fireplace, James scrunching his nose up slightly and looking around the room before giving Albus an accusing look. "Did I hear you right when you said where you wanted to go?"

Albus flustered brightly in response, shrugging half-heartedly. "Yeah."

"Isn't-?"

There was a pop and suddenly someone was in front of them, large, round eyes looking up innocently, regarding the brothers with curiosity. The two paused, looking down at the House Elf for an awkward, tense moment of silence.

"Shit."

"The Masters are not expecting anyone," the Elf said, her voice squeaking before she frowned slightly. "Are you expected?"

Albus glanced at James, clearing his throat. "Yes, we are."

"I shall go get Master Draco for you then."

"No wait-!" Albus cursed as the House Elf popped out of sight, heading straight for the door, determined to get what he came for, the brunet flowing closely behind with words of warning.

"There's something seriously wrong about this situation, Al. I don't know what it is exactly, but there is. Isn't the Malfoy son a lot older than you?" the man scowled. "He graduated before you even got to school, I'm sure of it."

"He graduated the year after I got to school, James. He teaches now."

"He's your Professor?"

"They were just in here, Master."

"We have to be quick, find them. We can't have two strangers wandering round my halls."

James' jaw clenched and he glanced down the hall they'd just come from, turning to look at his little brother who had started opening up random doors in search of his crush, seemingly unaffected by their current situation. "I think we have to bail, very soon," James warned, glancing back down the hall to see a middle-aged man walking down the hall, pale hairline receding slightly, dressed far too well for someone who should've just gotten up. "And by very soon I mean now."

Albus opened a final door, about to express his joy at finding the right room before he paid more attention. The man was writhing on the bed slightly, odd noises coming from his lips. The dark haired boy rushed in, moving to the bed with concern, worrying about his Professor having a nightmare. That is, until he saw the flustered face and slightly raised tent pitching in the blanket that covered him.

The eldest Potter child moved to cover the door, looking into the room for a split second before turning his attention back to the man wandering round the halls looking for them. "Al, seriously, by you two having a relationship being 'not proper', I have to agree with Malfoy on this one."

"Just give me a second," Albus muttered, leaning over his teacher and hesitantly running a hand through the pale locks, licking his lips as the man began to calm down, eyes still closed and breathing heavy, scared he'd wake the man.

"Albus…"

He pulled his hand back like it had been burnt and watched the man whimper in disappointment.

"Don't go," the low voice pleaded. "Albus."

"Al, wrap things up in there."

The dark haired boy found himself drawn in by the fair haired male, leaning down slightly and running his knuckles against the pale cheeks, watching in awe as the man leant into the touch, gravitating further towards the pale face.

"Albus."

"Al, come on! They're almost here!"

The boy allowed his eyes to slip shut as he pressed his lips to the paler ones in front of him, staying there for five seconds before pulling back, a small smile on the man's face, though he was still asleep. Albus smiled back, pulling away and racing towards the door, clapping his brother on the back, looking both ways before running out the room, James on his tail, watching their backs.

"You check the rooms on the left, I'll do the right," James said as they ran down the halls, beginning to open the doors. Albus followed suit, glancing behind to see another man had joined the middle aged father who was striding down the hall far too quickly.

They reached another corner, James looking both ways, Albus glancing behind to see the blond man approaching. "He's almost here!" Albus hissed, gripping his brother's arm. James clenched his jaw, pulling his brother down the hall, running towards a dead end. "What are you doing?"

"Do you trust me, Al?"

Albus hesitated, frowning amid the confusion. "What are you going to-?"

The brunet reached a long window that went from the floor to half way up the tall walls, pointing his wand at it and casting an unlocking charm, climbing up onto the black bars that reached his waist to stop people accidentally falling out the window, holding his hand out for Albus.

The boy looked behind them, seeing the elder Malfoy striding down the hallway, another older man behind him, walking at a slower pace. Grey eyes glinted with anger, wand whipping out and mouth opening to cast a spell. Albus grabbed his brother's hand and heaved himself up, crying out as he was suddenly in the air, James having jumped off the bars with him in tow.

Albus looked towards the window, seeing a spell fly out, barely missing them, glancing back to see the blond man staring at him with wide eyes, as if stunned in place as the moonlight luminated Al's face.

And then they were gone, collapsing on the floor in the living room of the Potter cottage in a heap, James rolling off Al to lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. "That was close."

"I'll say," James agreed before turning to his brother with an accusing look. "Your Professor? You didn't think this was important to mention before?"

Albus flustered, looking away in shame. "It didn't seem important."

"He's older than me!"

"You're only two years older than me!"

"He's almost as old as Teddy!"

Albus glared, huffing slightly. "And Teddy's parents were a good thirteen years apart!"

James pushed himself up, scrambling to his feet, Albus following suit. "That's not the point; he's your Professor! That's not right!"

"Says the man who slept with-?"

"We're not talking about me," James said, jabbing a finger into Albus' chest. "Besides, he's a Malfoy."

"I know, Rose tells me regularly."

"She knows?"

The blue eyes flashed with hurt and Albus grimaced slightly. "I-she guessed. I didn't mean for her to know."

James shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "It's okay; I'd expect you to tell her first. You are very close. I suppose she's told you to get over it too then?"

Albus nodded mutely.

"What happened, when you went into his room?"

"He was sleeping," Albus said, shifting slightly, not really wanting to discuss it. "He asked for me, in his sleep."

James turned away, biting down on his lip, brows furrowed in thought. They were silent for a good ten seconds, Albus becoming increasingly worried, letting out a breath of relief as his brother finally looked at him again. "I think it's a terrible idea. And I don't think it'll work."

"I'm not letting go, James," Albus decided. "Not now. Not now I know."

"It's illegal!" the brunet pressed. "He could get fired for dating a student, and go to jail for dating a minor."

Albus hesitated. James latched on.

"Did you never think of the reasons why he would think it 'wasn't proper'? Did you ever think about the consequences of what might happen?" he stepped forward to press a finger into his little brother's chest. "What would happen to him?"

"I-I never thought that he even liked me," Albus stuttered, face flushing slightly with fear. "I didn't have a reason to think of the consequences."

"Exactly, which is why it's such a bad idea. You haven't even thought."

The younger boy had recovered however, and was more determined than ever. "Then I'll work something out."

James sighed, unhappy with that answer, but giving up, ruffling the boy's hair and heading out the room. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Al. I'll always be there to watch your back."

"Thanks, James. I appreciate it."

And then he was alone, staring at the fireplace, the scene replaying in his mind over and over, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He couldn't have mistaken it.

Scorpius frowned as he stepped out his room, wrapping his dressing gown cord round himself, glancing down the halls. He'd been woken up moments prior at the sound of his grandfather bawling about burglars and thieves, waking him from a very pleasant if not a bit worrying dream. He'd been having those dreams a lot lately. The fact that he'd then found his door open was slightly worrying however, but he was trying to focus on making sure everything was okay.

"Father?" he called, seeing a man walking towards him. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine," Draco replied, straightening his tie in an irritated gesture he'd acquired over the years. "Your grandfather is just having a fit about our uninvited guests. They arrived in the study just down the hall, Rinkle found them, two boys, one had startling green eyes, both had dark hair," he tucked his hands into his pockets and raised a brow at his son. "They came in here, did you not notice them? Did they not take anything?"

Scorpius shook his head, turning to look into the room, the description disconcerting him. "No, I don't think so. I was out for the count though; I only woke up because of grandfather's shouts."

"They can wake up the heaviest of sleepers."

The younger Malfoy smiled wryly. "Do you know how old they looked?"

"Probably about twenty. They certainly weren't old. The smaller one held a startling resemblance to Harry Potter," Draco mused before patting his son's shoulder. "You should get some rest. Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"I do, yes. I plan on visiting a friend," Scorpius decided, figuring he should check with one young, green eyed boy who looked a lot like Harry Potter about how his Transfiguration was going. "Are you going to be filing a complaint about these children?"

"Probably not. I highly doubt it will be taken seriously. You know how the Auror's can be with things like this."

Concerning families of Death Eaters.

"Of course," Scorpius said, the unanswered explanation making him feel slightly irritated. "How could I forget?"

"Father will want to do something about it no doubt."

"Well, he can want then, can't he?" the younger man asked with a knowing smile. "If you need anything, just tell me. I know he can be a handful."

"I appreciate it. Goodnight, Scorpius."

"Night, father."

He certainly was going to be visiting one young, green eyed boy tomorrow.

Okay so I feel like I totally owe you all an explanation. I've not been updating mainly because my boyfriend got hit by a bike and I've been looking after him, so I've not been at home (I'm still not at home) and I've also been trying to finish all my uni work (unsuccessfully might I add) so there really wasn't time to do everything and this and the Christmas oneshot I did. And then Katawa Shoujo finally came out and I've been waiting like FOUR YEARS for it to come out so I've spent like…the larger part of the last three days playing it. Ergo, lack of updates. I apologise greatly, you should all have had two updates by now probably, and this is only one. So once my play is out the way, I will be forcing my beta to make me furiously write the next chapter ASAP.

I love you all!

Thanks for faves and alerts and reviews, as always!

Thanks ~

Kivea R.

PREVIEW

"Are you-?"

"Scorpius Malfoy, I'm here to see Albus. I'm his-!"

"Transfigurations Professor, I know. Please, please, come in!"

"Thank you, Mrs Potter."