AlbusScorpius

On Your Side

Chapter Fifteen: Discoveries

A/N: Mass Effect Mass Effect Mass Effect Mass Effect Mass Effect OMG MASS EFFECT.

Scorpius dismissed his class, returning to the paper that was littering his desk, slumping into his seat and immersing himself in the work. He was tired. He had been thinking as hard as he could about the plant, about how to destroy it. He had not been able to find anything to far, though what he had find had made him question the very foundation of his grandfather's relationship and mental state.

The plant needed a sacrifice. And Lucius wanted to use Astoria.

He shivered at the very thought, grimacing slightly. He couldn't allow his mother to be used like that. Not when the outcome of what would happen to her was so uncertain. He couldn't do that. But he wasn't sure he could allow this to continue.

Flicking through his papers again, he barely noticed someone approach his desk as the last person exited the classroom.

"Professor?"

Scorpius jumped, looking up expectantly. "Wha-Albus!" he flustered, clearing his throat and regaining his composure. "Pleasure to see you."

"I'd hope so," Albus teased, giving a small smile. "You look busy, do you need me to come back later?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Scorpius replied with a matching smile, leaning forward. "I always have time for you."

The grin that lit up Albus' face was priceless. "I was wondering if you were busy this evening, seeing as I've done all of the work I need to do for my classes, and I don't have any plans for the rest of the day."

Scorpius smirked, raising a brow. "I do have a lot of grading to do. And I might be spending the larger portion of my evening doing work."

"If you need company to do it, or help, or someone to come make sure you're not going insane," Albus trailed off, making a circular hand movement with his hand. "I'd be more than happy to sacrifice my time to do so."

"'Sacrifice your time', hum?" Scorpius repeated. "How generous of you."

"I aim to please."

"And please you do," the blond tried to suppress his smirk, turning back to his paper. "Be at my room at nine. I'm sure I can pull myself away from work to take you somewhere."

Albus grinned, glancing at the door before leaning forward and placing a quick kiss on Scorpius' brow. "Thank you!"

"Child."

"I'm worried, Rosie."

It was a simple sentence, though it wasn't one Rose had expected to hear when the usually chipper Albus walked into the library that day. She hadn't noticed the slightly gloomy look on his face however, that had started off as forced happiness and just morphed into worry. She mentally berated herself for not paying attention, though she had been busy. Putting her book down, she turned her full attention to the green eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"About Sc-!" he cut himself off. "Professor Malfoy."

The redheaded girl gave him a disapproving look, but began packing up her things anyway, knowing they couldn't talk about it in the middle of the library. They had to find somewhere no one would overhear them, seeing as apparently Albus didn't know much about subtly and secrets. She gestured for him to follow and headed out of her favourite place, Albus jogging slightly to keep up as she stormed through the hallways, trying to find a quiet, unoccupied place for them to talk.

Grasping his arm, she dragged him into an unused classroom, raising a brow as she talked through a slightly clenched jaw. "You know I don't like helping you with this."

"I know, I know, I'm just worried!" Albus said, trying to calm her down. "He's just slightly distracted. I'm-I'm beginning to wonder what's making him so distracted."

Rose observed her cousin curiously, calming slightly and narrowing her eyes. "You're wondering what?"

He shifted nervously under her gaze. "I keep thinking back to that day we saw him in the alley, with that weird man."

"You're finally taking my advice that he's a bad sort?"

"No!" Albus scowled. "No, I'm not. Not exactly. I just-I'm just worried that maybe someone else is doing something."

The girl sighed, running a hand through her red locks, shutting her eyes for a moment's concentration, before folding her arms across her chest. "Well it's not like we can just jump into this. We have to seriously consider what we're going to do. What is it that's making you worried?"

"He's just incredibly distracted. I mean, he says he has a lot of school work, but I know that he's lying. He's more than capable of dealing with his work."

Rose furrowed her brow, biting the inside of her lip. "I see. We need a way to prove that something's going on, not just 'distracted'. You don't know exactly how much work he has, after all. And he's not telling you anything else easily."

"We could sneak into his room and rifle through his stuff?"

"No, Al, we have to seriously consider our options."

Albus groaned in protest. "Can't we act now and think later?"

"You're so much like your brother sometimes," the girl stated, huffing at her companion.

"We are kind of related, it's not surprising."

Rose rolled her eyes at the sarcastic tone. "When are you seeing him next?"

"This evening, we're going out."

"You just go about like you normally would, and leave the plan making up to me. Merlin knows we don't want another half-arsed plan like the one your brother had at Christmas," she gave the boy a glare. "Why you even agreed to go along with it is beyond me."

"It turned out for the best."

"Just trust me, Al. I'll come up with something. You be the dutiful boyfriend."

Grinning, Albus leant forward and gave his cousin a large, bone crushing hug. "You're the best!" he pulled back, ruffling her hair. "I knew I could count on you."

"I'm not happy about this."

"Which is why I appreciate it so much."

Albus leant against the desk, watching as the Professor left through his bedroom door, a small smile on his face. He didn't know what it was he had been worried about earlier that day. The man was fine. He looked fine, he talked fine. There was nothing wrong. Albus had let his cousin's paranoid talk get to him, that was all. There was nothing to be worried about.

Nothing.

He turned to glance at the desk, shuffling round the papers, seeing nothing but school work for the most part, and what looked like a few personal letters. He resisted the urge to read them, despite how curious he could be, figuring it was probably rude. Then again, it was probably rude to be shuffling round Scorpius' desk anyway. Didn't seem to stop him.

His fingers brushed over something smooth and cold, catching his attention as he moved to face the desk fully, reaching down and picking up the object, running his thumb over it as he brought out a small mirror from the mess of papers on the Professor's desk. He turned it over, looking at the back, wondering why the man had such an odd object on his desk. It wasn't very big, hardly big enough to use as a proper mirror.

"Scorpius."

Albus jumped out his skin at the name, dropping the mirror like fire onto the desk, taking a step back.

"Scorpius, answer me! We must discuss your plans!"

He leant forward, swallowing a lump in his throat and looking into the mirror. The sight of old, grey eyes sent shivers down his spine. They looked far too familiar.

"What on-?" the grey eyes lit up with fire. "SCORPIUS!"

Albus leapt back, eyes snapping to the bedroom door as it opened, Scorpius striding out of the room with a mixture of fear and anger on his face.

"HARRY POTTER!"

The Professor grabbed Albus' arm, tugging harshly and hauling him from the room, Albus trapped in a whirlwind, looking up at his boyfriend for answers. But he wasn't getting any.

"What's going on?"

"Out."

"What the hell does he mean by plans?"

"UNGRATEFUL SPAWN!"

Scorpius yanked the door open, thrusting the boy out of the room as the sound of a man screeching continued, curses and his father's name flying about the air. Albus stumbled as he was shoved from the room, turning with words ready.

"I'll find you later."

And the door was slammed in his face, any words he had dying on his tongue, face to face with the wooden obstruction. He growled slightly, raising his fist to bang on the door, not willing to let it go. The man had talked about plans. Any doubt that had been erased from his mind earlier that day was back. And it was stronger than ever.

He couldn't say how long he stood in front of Scorpius' room, eventually giving up with banging on the door, simply standing and trying to hear what was going on inside. Eventually he knew he had to leave. Eventually he gave up trying to hear.

And he headed straight to the library, mind burning with the simple mission.

Find Rose.

Scorpius shut the door quickly, resting against it for a few moments, grimacing as he heard Albus banging on the other side, demanding for attention. He could hear his Grandfather still screaming from the other end of the mirror, and he was torn between the two. Though he often seemed to be torn between Albus and family these days. It wasn't until he heard his grandfather's voice drop and begin talking to someone else that he finally left the door, rushing back to his desk.

Unfortunately it wasn't his grandfather's face that met him.

"I demand to know what Harry Potter was doing in Scorpius' room!" boomed the eldest Malfoy's voice behind Draco.

"It Albus Potter, Harry's son," Scorpius explained, though it didn't really help his predicament.

There was a knowing look in Draco's eyes. "I wish to speak to my son alone, father."

"No! I have things I must discuss with him!"

"And you can discuss them once I'm finished. Your things can wait."

"Such insolence! It's frightening to think I ever had a hand in raising you!"

"Leave us," Draco repeated, turning from the mirror and to where his father was. Scorpius bit down on his lip, grimacing as he heard another slam of a door.

That left him with his father.

"I was under the impression you were handling the situation with your grandfather, Scorpius."

"I am," he whispered, sitting down at his desk, pleading look in his eyes. "It's taking a while to get all the pieces I need, and still make him think I'm not disobeying him. I have to let him think I'm still going through with his plan."

"If you need my help, all you need to do is ask."

Scorpius smiled slightly. "I know, father. Thank you."

The knowing look came into Draco's eyes again. "Now, why is it that Albus Potter was in your room? After hours, no less."

Strengthening his resolve, Scorpius held his head high. "I'm tutoring him in Transfiguration. He's quite behind the rest of the class, but needs it to become an Auror. So I've been giving him extra classes out of school hours."

"Okay, I trust you," Draco said, though he didn't look overly convinced. "I just get worried from time to time."

"You needn't fret, father. It will be a long time before another dreaded scandal falls on our family name. I learnt my lesson before," Scorpius spat.

"Scorpius…" the man shut his eyes in shame. "I was wrong, before. To accuse you of tainting our name. Who you chose to spend your time with is your choice. So long as you are happy, I will be also. I would not be happy about you risking your job and so much more on something like this, however."

It was hard to be mad at those words. "I am not stupid, father. And not every man that comes into my room is someone I am 'choosing to spend my time with', as you so delicately put it. Some are merely friends."

"Of course. I am sorry."

There was a pause.

"How is mother?"

"She is the same. She has been asking after you."

Scorpius' eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

Draco smiled softly. "Really. In her lucid moments she seems genuinely concerned about your wellbeing, and can be very proud of your job."

"I-thank you."

"They are few and far between, but they do still come," Draco looked away, before glancing back at the mirror. "I should go. Stay safe, Scorpius."

"You too, father."

Scorpius had hoped he'd have more time to prepare. He'd hoped he'd be able to come up with a good enough excuse before he saw Albus again. Then again, he shouldn't have decided to have the date on Thursday instead of Friday.

All lesson the blond felt green eyes burning into his back. He did his best to avoid them, pleased that Albus seemed patient. Though the boy's cousin was slightly off too, which was a worrying sight. That could've been for a number of reasons, however. The Ravenclaw girl probably could've been getting stressed about the fact that they were over half way through their sixth year.

This didn't bother Albus, apparently.

"And I expect at least sixty inches for next Thursday," Scorpius said, finishing up his class early, knowing Albus would want to talk. "No excuses."

Scorpius sat down at his desk, not surprised when Albus didn't leave and approached him instead, after taking his sweet time to finish packing. He put down his pen as the boy approached, standing and heading towards the back of the room, not wanting to look the boy in the face as he fiddled about with things that were there. "I'm sorry, about last night."

"What was your that man talking about?"

"It was my grandfather. He was talking about something private."

"Please, Scorpius," the blond man tensed at the use of his first name. He loved it when Albus called him by it, but in his classroom it still put him on edge. "Tell me."

"You don't need to worry yourself with it, Albus," Scorpius said, turning round and trying not to let it show that he was surprised to find Albus right behind him. Instead, he smiled softly, and put his hands on the boy's arms. "Trust me."

"I am trusting you, you're the one who's not trusting me," the younger boy replied, large green eyes full of pain and persistence, wide as they looked up. "Please?"

Scorpius chuckled slightly. "You're adorable, you know that?"

"I try."

Sighing, Scorpius leant back against the table that was behind him, careful not to sit on anything. Albus stepped closer, looking down at their hands as Scorpius intertwined their fingers. "Grandfather was the one who recommended this job to me. He was very excited about it. It was not I who chose to come to work here. Not that I regret it," he smirked slightly. "Though dealing with troublesome students who need prompting to do their homework is difficult."

Albus tried to bite back a guilty smile. "I always do my homework!"

"But Grandfather wanted me to take this job with a specific reason. He had something that he wanted me to deliver to the school. Something," he paused, grimacing. "Unpleasant."

"And did you?"

Scorpius nodded. "I did. Before I came here, and talked to your parents, and met you, I was very different in the way I thought. Talking to so many people who aren't like my grandfather, hearing the other side of the war, well," he shrugged. "It's changed my view on things. It may have been less than a year, but it's true."

"What did you bring?"

"It's a plant," Scorpius explained, squeezing the boy's arms. "The details aren't important. What's important is that my grandfather doesn't know that I've disobeyed him. I've begun taking it out of the school, and I'm going to destroy it."

Albus bit his lip. "We have to tell Professor McGonagall, if there's a threat to the school, then-!"

"There's not a threat anymore, Albus. I've gotten rid of it."

"But your grandfather-!"

"Can't hurt anyone. Not without my help. This is why I've been distracted, Albus. Is because I've been worried about when he finds out. But there isn't a need to be scared anymore," he reassured, though he knew he was lying. He hadn't fixed the problem at all. "Like I said, trust me."

Albus nodded slowly. "I trust you."

"Good," Scorpius glanced behind Albus to the door, before placing a soft kiss on the boy's cheek, chuckling at the way the dark haired boy seemed to melt. "Now, how about we reschedule that little outing to this evening? I could even catch you out after hours and be forced to escort you back to your dorms."

Albus laughed, moving closer to his Professor again, kissing him on the lips, regardless of the fact they were in a classroom. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

"Now, bugger off so I can do my work. I do have a class next, and they're not going to wait by the door till they can come in."

"Fine," Albus whined playfully, walking backwards as he left the man. "But I expect to have my food paid for."

"You're still going to be eating dinner here."

"Doesn't mean I won't be hungry!"

This chapter has taken a long time to be written. And for that, I'm incredibly sorry. I've been very busy. Doing stuff. And playing Mass Effect. And raging at the ending. But now I have Easter Holidays, and will hopefully be falling back into my usual posting routine.

THE ENDING WAS JUST ASDFGHJKL

I'm also sorry that this chapter was kinda short, I barely scraped 3K words, and I combined chapters fifteen and sixteen to do it. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. And naked Scorpius is just round the corner.

Anyway. R+R!

Thanks ~

Kivea Rain

PREVIEW

"No, Albus Potter, you will be spending the afternoon with me, and you will enjoy it."

"But- I need to see Rose!"

"Watch me care. You spend all your time with Rose! I want some attention!"

"You get plenty from Liam."

"Not the same."