Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter is property of J.K Rowling, including the characters and places. I do not own anything. Everything presented here is just for fun!

A/N: Yay I broke my own record of words in a chapter. I apologize for any misspellings or incoherent phrasing. Please do tell me if you find any.

Chapter 15

Triple Date

Scorpius walked slowly behind Albus, crossing the castle grounds and heading towards the Quidditch Pitch. Albus turned around every now and then to make sure Scorpius was still following him, half expecting the blond boy to run away and hide somewhere far from the pitch for the rest of the school year. He could see fear and anxiety flicker through Scorpius' eyes, to which he could do nothing more than answer with a friendly smile.

"You'll do fine, Scorp. Stop fretting about it" he said, trying to endow Scorpius with some confidence.

At least six other students turned up to the pitch, looking for a spot in Slytherin's team as Seeker. Obviously the only one who got the position was Scorpius. Because, well, it was Albus Potter who said so.

Scorpius changed to his Quidditch robes, which he hadn't used for ages, mounted his broom and with a trembling kick he raised over the ground and into the infinite sky.

He was quite good at flying, what with being raised in a traditional pure-blood Wizard family with a father who enjoyed Quidditch enough to teach his only son all about it, so he had no trouble with the first warm-ups.

Albus knew Scorpius was a great Seeker. He remembered the way Scorpius caught those eggs; he moved swiftly, and had a firm grip; his reflexes were top notch, and he had a thin, agile body, perfect for a Seeker. But as soon as the actual training began, Albus could see that Scorpius lacked a lot of confidence. He wasn't playing bad, but each time he missed the snitch he would turn his head and look at Albus with an apologetic expression, like he was more worried about what Albus would say than about actually catching the Snitch. Albus felt torn between wanting to shout him to Focus on the fucking Snitch, and comfort him. He just tried to smile and encourage him to keep trying.

So, all in all, the first Quidditch practice went quite terribly wrong. Scorpius managed to catch the snitch just once during the whole time, and when the time came to come back to the ground, Lance Feder looked distraught and a bit panicked.

"Good training everyone. Malfoy, you..." Lance seemed lost for words. "You need to practice a bit more, yeah?"

Scorpius nodded softly, feeling Albus' hand on his shoulder, comforting him.

"Practice a bit more?" spat Albert Harries, a big, muscular 5th year beater. "Is everyone going mental? he's rubbish!" he finished, pointing at Scorpius.

"Watch it, Bertie." hissed Albus in a threatening tone.

"No, Potter, this is fucked up." Albert replied. "I mean, yeah, he can fly, I'll give him that. But we've only got one game left, we can't waste time teaching this chap what a bloody Snitch is."

"He's as good as any." replied Clarity, a sixth year girl who played as Beater too.

"No he's not!" said Albert immediately, frustration evident in his face. "We've only got him 'cause of Potter's whim, and sorry mate, but he's not good enough. I mean, don't tell me you actually believe he stands a chance." he finished, now raising his voice as he got more and more angry.

"Yeah, actually I do." replied Albus immediately, in a voice full of confidence.

Scorpius didn't like the fact that Albert was insulting him so freely, but he didn't like the fact that Albus placed so much trust in him either. He just didn't want to be here, because he knew deep down that Albert was right. He wasn't good, and he supposed Albert had the right to feel angry.

"Don't kid yourself Potter, look at him, he has no idea what he's doing here," said Albert, and Albus started losing his temper, unable to stand Albert insulting Scorpius so shamelessly. "Yeah, Seekers must be light, but this one's so skinny the flutter of a snitch could send him flying off the pitch." he finished, pushing Scorpius backwards softy with his fingers to prove his point. And that made Albus snap.

"Don't fucking touch him!" Albus spat, standing in front of Scorpius and pushing Albert backwards with both hands. Albert stumbled backwards and nearly fell to the ground, and everyone knew this wasn't going to end well. Albert launched forward colliding against Albus' body, and sank his fist into his stomach, seizing the opportunity to vent his frustration on someone, but Albus stood his ground and managed to aim a couple of fists at Albert.

It was the most awkward situation for Scorpius, who stood paralyzed on his spot. Many thoughts crossed his mind, but above all he felt guilty, because he knew Albus was fighting to defend him, and yet there he stood, frozen, unable to do anything about it.

Before Albert could leap over him completely and let his frustration take the best of him, Lance got in the middle and separated them. Henric grabbed Albus by his arms and pulled him away, while Albus moved furiously.

"Al, chill out mate." Henric said, holding Albus firmly while dragging him backwards.

"Enough!" declared Lance, this time noticeably furious "Malfoy is staying in the team. So you either get over it or we better as well search for a new Beater." he finished, looking at Albert dangerously.

Albert stayed still for a moment, waiting for his anger to subdue.

"I hope you teach your boyfriend how to be a decent Seeker before the next match, Potter, or we'll be fucked, and you'll be the one to blame." Albert announced finally, pointing a threatening finger at Albus. He then turned around and stalked to the changing rooms. The others followed him after a couple of seconds, until only Scorpius and Albus were left in the middle of the pitch.

"He's right, Al." said Scorpius in a small voice, eyeing Albus sadly.

"Scorp, listen." Albus said, standing in front of him, and resting his arms on Scorpius' shoulders. "Look at me." Scorpius raised his head, looking at Albus' beautiful green eyes.

"you're a great Seeker, Scorp. I know it." he said, looking directly at Scorpius' eyes. "You are brilliant, and I wouldn't trust the snitch to anyone else."

Scorpius was at a loss for words. He wanted to tell Albus not to be so naive. Tell him to face the truth and just admit that Scorpius wasn't any good. But he knew Albus wasn't a good liar, and yet he didn't see a drop of doubt in those emerald-green eyes.

"I believe in you, Scorp. I just need you to believe in yourself." said Albus softly, giving him one of those smiles that made Scorpius' knees go weak. "Can you do that?"

"I..." Scorpius knew that Albus genuinely believed in him, that he truly, wholeheartedly thought that Scorpius was good. And suddenly he realized that was all he needed: one person who believed in him. One person who made him believe that things could be different. That his life wasn't written in stone, and that choices could be made. One person to assure him that life could be unexpected, and that somehow things that didn't matter, like Quidditch, could suddenly become so important.

He didn't want a life where he married a witch he didn't know, and he didn't want to spend the rest of his life imprisoned in his Manor in Wiltshire. He didn't want the life that he thought he was destined to have. The life he couldn't escape from. The life where nothing exciting ever happened.

But suddenly he found himself dating Albus, staying up late, running from hordes of spiders and becoming a Seeker for his team. And everything was so odd, but exciting. And his future started blurring in a magnificent whirlwind of possibilities. In that precise moment, while those beautiful emerald-green eyes gazed into his very soul, he felt as though Albus was opening not one, but so many doors for him. Doors filled with possibilities; doors he never dared open.

Albus was believing in him. He was sure that Scorpius could be much more than what he was now. And Scorpius wanted to believe this too, because hope is the only thing that allows change; and so he did. He suddenly started believing that he could do it, he could do something about his life, and he would.

"I can. I will." he heard himself reply. It was a promise that came from the depths of his heart. And Albus smiled, because he could see honesty in Scorpius' eyes. He wrapped the blond boy in a tight hug, now trusting him more than ever.

"By the way" said Scorpius, as they started walking towards the changing room. "Your little...err...Muggle fight. It was Brilliant. A little barbaric, but quite entertaining."

Albus chuckled, but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry that I put you in that position though. It wasn't fair that you had to fight, when it was me he was messing with." Scorpius added, now looking serious again. They entered the changing room, which was empty by now.

"Exactly. You're my boyfriend," Replied Albus, immediately stripping off his shirt. "Don't expect me to just stand about while he's taking the piss out of you."

Scorpius' lip twitched at the mention of the word 'boyfriend', a mixture of emotions making his stomach tighten, unable to get his head around them. But he quickly snapped out of it and walked towards the dark haired boy undressing right in front of him.

"Sometimes you just have to be rough, Scorp." Albus said, still unaware of Scorpius drawing near. "You can't let people walk over you."

"Oh I can be rough." sneered Scorpius, standing now in front of Albus. They were almost the same height so their eyes were at the same level. Albus blushed immediately after noticing what Scorpius meant. He looked a bit off by Scorpius' sudden proximity.

"Y–you can?" he stuttered with a nervous glance.

"Uh-Huh" replied Scorpius, suddenly shoving him up against the nearest wall. Albus shivered at the contact of the cold and bumpy surface of the stone wall against his soft skin. And suddenly Scorpius was all over him, kissing him furiously everywhere.

"Scorp you–you weren't even– listening..." he protested, chuckling as Scorpius' hot breath hovered over his shoulder, but soon he surrendered to the attack and gave in, kissing Scorpius back. Albus' trousers were down to his knees, exposing his pants now a bit too tight for his growing erection. He pulled Scorpius' shirt over his arms between kisses, wanting to feel their naked bodies pressed together. They finished undressing while walking towards the showers, and stepped under the stream of hot water together, touching each other all over. Albus's hand travelled south along Scorpius' naked body until it finally reached his wet cock, curling his fingers tight around it, and Scorpius felt like nothing had ever felt this right. No one had ever touched him there before, and as Albus stroked him from the base to the tip he felt his knees go weak. Both boys dropped to the wet floor of the shower, still embraced, holding onto each other while Albus stroked Scorpius' cock slowly, his wrist working hard to keep the pace, and Scorpius could only moan and drop his head onto Albus' shoulder, feeling the water splashing on his back and Albus' hand stroking his shaft so painfully slow.

"Al, please." he moaned, holding on to Albus' wet chest, unable to think about anything else but the unyielding pleasure that each stroke produced. "P–Please, faster!"

Albus obliged, resting one hand on Scorpius' back while increasing the rhythm with the other, stroking faster along Scorpius' cock. Scorpius couldn't help start fucking Albus' hand, rocking his hips against the tight grip and raising his head, letting the stream of hot water hit him on the face. Albus kissed the blond boy's neck, working faster on his cock, feeling Scorpius' desperation in his pulsating prick.

"Oh, Al...I'm–I'm gonna–" The few words he was able to produce were muffled by the stream of water hitting his face and accumulating in his mouth. Scorpius increased the speed, awkwardly sliding his shaft through Albus' curled fingers faster and harder, now unable to focus on anything else, feeling the hot water pouring over his face, and Albus' mouth slowly sliding from his neck to his ear to whisper, "Come on Scorp," the words sounding hot and seducing. "Come for me."

Scorpius thought it was unfair the effect Albus' words could have on him, feeling a slight pinch in the pit of his stomach. He suddenly went stiff, shooting his load all over Albus' stomach as his moves became spasms and his mind went blank with pleasure. He groaned against Albus' ear, clenching his jaw and holding on to his shoulders tightly. And just a couple of seconds later, he's back in the shower, opening his eyes to meet Albus, who's staring back at him with a smug smile, still with a hand on Scorpius' cock and the other on his hip.

"Alright?"

"Y–Yeah" replied Scorpius smiling, "Actually more than alright, but don't look so smug."

"Admit that I'm great at this." replied Albus, letting go of Scorpius' prick and standing up, offering a hand to Scorpius.

"Yeah, you are. You're great at everything, is that what you want to hear?" replied Scorpius, taking the hand as he felt his knees too weak to get up on their own. "I'm still going to be the one to fuck you, though."

Albus didn't take the reply the same way as he had the last time. His smile faltered as fear flickered through his eyes.

"Were you– serious?...– about that?" he asked, with a clear tone of uncertainty to his voice.

"Does it really scare you that much? The idea of me fucking you?" asked Scorpius, now standing and looking incredulously at Albus.

"No, of–of course not" lied Albus, trying to sound nonchalant. "It's just that...I'd never really thought about it, is all." Scorpius could see that Albus was having troubles getting his head around the idea. So he decided to drop it.

"We'll figure it out, don't worry." he said, kissing Albus on the lips under the stream of hot water, and Albus' face immediately responded with a smile.

The next few weeks fell into much of a routine. Albus and Scorpius went to their classes and during their free periods they would dash down to the pitch, spending every waking hour chasing after the Snitch. Scorpius got considerably better, improving daily and now showing the natural seeker talent Albus had spotted that night in the Forbidden Forest. He still couldn't beat Albus, but he was getting there pretty fast, considering only two weeks had passed since he started playing.

The day before Valentine's day the two boys walked sleepily down the Great Hall, finally sitting at the Ravenclaw table next to Rose, ready to eat their breakfast.

"Morning Al, Malfoy." said Rose, without looking up, her eyes fixed on the Daily Prophet she was holding.

"Morning Rosie. Looking forward to tomorrow? Got a date yet?" asked Albus, pouring some porridge into his bowl.

"Al, you know I don't take part in those silly events." replied Rose, casually lifting her gaze to meet Albus' eyes.

"Well, you are now." said Albus, ready to drop the bomb and hope for the best. "I've set you up with Henric."

"What?!" replied Rose, wheeling around to stare at him confusedly.

"Henric. Henric Heavyway. Slytherin, dark hair, he's my room mate–"

"Yeah I know who Henric is, Al. What do you mean by setting me up with him is what I'm asking." replied Rose, now starting to turn slightly red.

"Well, you know, just a date, for valentine's day. I owed him–"

"You OWED him?" she bellowed. "What's that supposed to mean Albus?"

"Well I needed his bed and–"

"You traded me for a bed?!" Rose yelled, looking as red as an apple.

"Kind of...but it's not a big deal, I mean it's just for a day." Albus reasoned, cautiously trying to calm Rose down.

"Oh you've got a nerve, the two of you." Rose sentenced, crumpling the newspaper under her fists. "You Slytherins are disgusting."

"I know, we hate ourselves, don't we Scorp?" Albus said, casting a nervous glance at Scorpius, who responded by nodding avidly.

"Well, you can forget about it, I'm not doing it." Rose said.

"But...Rose, I've already made the deal." Albus protested. "It was to make sure the Mandrose treatment worked, and it did! So you should be thankful for that."

"What, for you not getting yourself killed? I told you not to do it, but you wouldn't listen to me. Why should I listen to you now?"

"C'mooon! It'll be fun! I will go with you if you want." said Albus, trying hard to encourage his cousin.

"You? You don't even have a date." asked Rose.

"I do!, I've–"

"WHAT?!" asked Rose and Scorpius at the same time, Scorpius almost jumping off the bench. Albus glanced immediately at Scorpius, who was looking so shocked he thought Rose would notice something weird and ask about it, but fortunately she didn't.

"It's nothing Scorp," said Albus in a soft voice. "Just a girl that–"

"But you're...Taken." Scorpius hissed immediately, having some difficulty finding the correct word to use in front of Rose.

"Taken? What do you mean taken?" pressed Rose suddenly, her eyes flickering with something like intrigue.

"Heeeaaa–" Albus panicked, turning around to face Rose once again. "He means...We've got something to do tomorrow...you know, homework. I'm taken...err...busy, tomorrow is what he means. But I–I...I've already taken care of that."

"Al you better not–"

"Scorp can we talk about this later?" Albus whispered, interrupting Scorpius.

"I'll go." said Rose suddenly, her eyes flickering between Albus and Scorpius.

"You–You will?"

"Yeah, but it'll be a double date. Me with Henric, and you with...whoever you wanna bring along."

"Triple date. Scorpius and his date are coming too." said Albus.

"What arAAAAARGHHH–" Scorpius growled, unable to finish the question as Albus kicked him under the table.

"Alright, fine. Triple date." said Rose, standing up and gathering all her books, still eyeing the two boys carefully. "Tell Henric we'll meet at the High Street of Hogsmeade. Don't be late." She turned around and walked swiftly out of the Great Hall.

"Al, you better have a good explanation for all this." hissed Scorpius as soon as Rose's ginger hair was out of sight.

"I've got it all planned, Scorp."

"Oh, here we go..." Scorpius rolled his eyes, ready to hear yet another one of Albus' not-so-brilliant ideas.

"No, listen. We can't go together as a couple, right?" said Albus, his eyes shining with excitement. "So, I came up with this brilliant plan. What if we both had dates, but at some point they both had to go back to the castle urgently, and leave us all alone."

Albus stared back at Scorpius for a couple of seconds with excitement, but the blonde didn't say anything. He was just staring back with his mouth half open. In the end Albus had to speak up again.

"Well? Did you hear what I say?"

"Yeah, I did hear it, I just think it's a fucking stupid idea, Al." Scorpius burst out.

"What, Why?" Albus frowned.

"For starters, I don't have a date. And I doubt a girl will take me just a day before Valentine's...or even go on a date with me like...ever." Scorpius mumbled.

"Ah, well, that's where you're wrong, see?, I got you a date already." replied Albus, once again smiling broadly.

Oh no.

"What? Who?"

"Valerie Smeitt. Hufflepuff. Fourth year." Albus announced. "I talked to her friend Denise Lange, and told her I'd go with her only if Valerie went out with you on a double date."

"I'm not dating a Hufflepuff though."

"Oh, c'mon Scorp, don't be so judgmental. She's nice!"

Scorpius just winced, but decided to give Albus' plan a shot. At least if the thing worked out he'd be able to spend the day with him. And that was bloody well worth it.

"So, how are we gonna make them go back to the castle?"

"Oh, leave that to me, I've planned this out carefully." Albus smiled as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice, which dribbled from the corner of his mouth and smeared his shirt.

"Whatever you say, Al." replied Scorpius, handing him a napkin.

The three couples entered Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop in a row, Albus walking in first along with Denise, followed by Rose and Henric, who was sporting a permanent blush, and finally Scorpius and Valerie. Scorpius hadn't come up with anything witty or interesting to say during the whole trip to Hogsmeade, so he was starting to get a bit desperate by the time they crossed the doorway.

Albus looked a bit out of place too, smiling at Denise once or twice, and opening his mouth a couple of times to comment on the weather or Denise's hairdo. The girl just looked at him as starstruck as every other girl in school did.

To top it all Scorpius noticed that Rose was looking at him far more often than usual. It was almost like she was expecting him to do something, and it made him even more nervous, if that was even possible.

Henric grabbed a chair at one of the tables and politely asked Rose to sit on it. He didn't like the idea of this triple date, but Albus promised he would have his own table and enough privacy.

They sat at separate tables, next to each other. Albus noticed he could touch Scorpius and Rose if he extended his arms to the sides, which was an appropriate distance, he thought, so he relaxed and called the waitress to order some coffees.

Half an hour later Albus thought everyone was doing pretty good. Valerie happened to be one of those people who don't seem to ever shut up, so Scorpius didn't have to do more than smile and nod every once in a while, to give the impression that he was paying attention. Albus looked at the clock every few minutes, and Rose looked at him suspiciously every time that he did.

"Psstt, Al" Rose whispered when Henric excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Albus bended his body to the right "What?"

"When are you gonna kiss her?"

"What?" Albus almost fell of his chair.

"She's asking for it, just look at her." Rose replied. Albus looked at Denise, who was drinking her coffee while looking at him with a smile.

"I...I..."

"C'mon, it's Valentine's day, and you're single...aren't you?" Rose said, putting an odd emphasis on the word Single, while eyeing him carefully.

"I...–" Albus didn't want to lie to her, but the situation was turning quite dangerous. He looked at the clock once again, now getting a bit desperate.

"What's stopping you? She's very pretty" pressed Rose, smiling encouragingly "Don't you think? Don't you like blondes?"

This was seriously starting to get weird. Rose had never encouraged him to go out on dates or anything like it, and there was definitely something off.

"I–I do, but–"

Rose grinned at him, her eyes shining. "Well, kiss her then."

"I don't–, Rose..." Albus tried to say. But at that very moment the restaurant door flew open with a loud bang and Tom ran inside directly towards Albus, which made him sigh in relief.

Tom approached them quickly, with a panicked face and breathing loudly. Rose looked up at him with a condescending expression, waiting to hear what ridiculous story he had to say this time.

"Are you Denise Lange?" he asked urgently to the girl sitting with Albus.

"Y–yeah...who are you?"

"You need to go back to the castle!, you and your friend" gasped Tom, sounding like this was a matter of life or death.

"What happened?"

"Someone let Peeves enter Hufflepuff's common room! He's in your room, destroying everything!" He said, urgency creeping out of his voice.

Denise looked shocked and stood up in an exaggerated jump.

"I'm sorry Albus, I–I..." she stuttered.

"Just Go!" Albus said, encouraging her and Valerie to go back to the castle.

She smiled at him and ran off back to the castle with Valerie behind her. Tom waited for them to exit the coffee shop and suddenly smiled and winked at Albus. Then he walked out of the coffee shop slowly, closing the door carefully behind him, avoiding the shocked faces of everyone in the place.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Rose said suddenly, almost laughing. "Seriously, Al? Seriously?"

"What? I didn't do anything!" Albus replied, mustering his most serious expression.

"Whatever you say..." Rose rolled her eyes and turned around once Henric came back from the bathroom.

"Where are the other girls?" he asked, looking at the empty chairs.

"They had an emergency, had to go back to the castle" Albus muttered. "But I haven't finished my coffee yet" he added, looking at Scorpius with a smirk. "Scorp why don't you sit with me while we finish this coffee, I don't feel like going back to the castle yet."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, and then looked at Albus like saying That was your plan? Really?. But he obliged nonetheless. He stood up and sat on the chair in front of Albus.

Rose just smiled and shrugged, but didn't say another word. Albus looked far too happy with himself to ruin his valentine's.

By nightfall the four boys went back to the castle. Albus and Scorpius had spent the whole day together, happy to retell the story about Peeves to anyone who asked about their dates. They weren't ready to come out yet, but the day couldn't have been more perfect just like that, even if they needed a terrible excuse to make it happen.

Scorpius lay on his bed looking at the tester above him late that night, smiling while he relived everything in his head. He still felt uneasy about Rose's knowing glances, and he was starting to suspect she knew something, and he just hoped he was mistaken. He closed his eyes and suddenly remember that the Quidditch match was drawing near. He didn't know if his stomach could endure all this without exploding