Chapter Seven

Albus' POV

The summer holidays turn out to be some of the best weeks of my life.

No, scratch that; they are, without a doubt, the best weeks I've ever experienced.

Katie and I spend almost every day with one another, at mine or Rose's place, depending on if either Ron or James is at home (both keep making fun of me whenever they lay eyes on me and Katie together, so I try to avoid them wherever possible.)

However, although I've been impossibly happy over the holidays, I also cannot wait to return to Hogwarts where Katie and I can actually spend some time together away from my nosy parents and relatives. And then there's the fact that it just seems so much more official having a girlfriend whilst at school rather than just over the summer holidays.

This is why, the evening before we're due to return to Hogwarts, I'm sitting in my room feeling quite excited.

To improve my mood even further, Katie is coming round tonight, for the Weasley- Potter 'last day of the holidays get together,' an annual tradition, for which the responsibility of hosting falls on my parents this year.

I'm lying on my bed, absent-mindedly flicking through Quidditch Weekly, when there's a knock on my door.

'Come in!' I shout, surprised that whoever it is had the courtesy to knock; people are usually just barging into rooms all over the place round here.

My dad walks into the room, looking as though he wants to be anywhere but here.

'What's up Dad?' I ask, throwing my magazine aside and sitting up.

He takes a deep breath and sits down on my desk chair, looking so uncomfortable that my immediate thoughts are that either him and Mum are divorcing, or that someone has died.

'Well, it's my turn to have tomorrow morning off work to take you all to King's Cross, while Ron looks after the office. Now Hermione's working as well, so it's just me and your mum taking you, Lily, Rose, Hugo and Katie.'

'Yeah, you've already told me this,' I say, giving him a weird look and wondering why he seems so awkward.

'So, Rose, Hugo and Katie will be staying here tonight to make it easier in the morning.'

Suddenly, with a rush of horror, I can see exactly where this conversation is heading, and I want nothing more than to not be a part of it.

'No, Dad, we do not need to talk about this!' I protest, attempting to cover my ears with my magazine.

By the look of his uncomfortable expression, he's clearly thinking along the same lines. Nevertheless, he presses on with the torture.

'Al, your mum and I have been talking and we want to make sure you're… that you and Katie are…' he takes a deep breath, 'That you're being safe.'

Oh what I wouldn't give to not be in this room right now.

There's silence for a moment, before I realise I'm expected to reply.

'Dad, we've not-' Words fail me; I cannot explain to my father that I'm not actually having sex at the moment.

After a few moments of awkward silence, however, the decision to tell Dad this is taken out of my hands.

'Dad, there is no way that Al is getting any!'

James has jumped into my room, clearly having heard the conversation and wanting to add to the embarrassment.

Dad ignores James and turns back to me, 'Al, it's not that your mum and I mind…' he goes bright red at this, 'we just want to make sure you're careful if you are.'

'Okay, Dad, I understand. Now please tell me this conversation is over.' I'm even redder in the face than Dad; in fact, the only person who is enjoying himself is James.

Dad nods and makes to go out of the room when James stops him.

'Dad,' he begins, putting on a serious expression but continuing to smirk slightly, 'I think you need to have The Talk with me. I have some questions I need to ask.'

'James, from what I'm forced to read in The Prophet every morning, I think you could do with taking a leaf out of Al's book.'

'What, being a woman repeller?'

Dad shakes his head and hurries out of the room, evidently having decided he's done his duty as a father and not wanting to have to talk about sex with us anymore.

I wait five seconds, to make sure he's gone downstairs, before leaping off my bed and throwing myself at James.

'What's wrong, Albus Severus?' he laughs as I knock him to the floor and attempt to put him in a headlock.

'Do you have to be such a twat?' I exclaim, as I succeed in wrapping my arm around his neck.

James doesn't seem capable of speech, however, although that may be due to my partial strangling of him.

'What are you two doing?'

I look up at the doorway (still keeping James in a headlock) and see Scorpius standing there. He's coming to the party tonight, so I assume he's used that as an excuse to get out of his house early.

'Al has just been given The Talk, and has had to explain to our Dad that he doesn't actually need it because he's not having sex,' explains James, taking advantage of my distraction to throw me off him.

Despite supposedly being my best mate, Scorpius bursts out laughing and actually has to clutch the doorframe for support.

'Oh, I didn't know you were pulling a different woman every night, Scorpius,' I retort, and succeed in shutting him up.

James pulls himself up off the floor and laughs at us both, 'You two need to come out with me and Fred one night.'

'Funnily enough, I'll pass,' I snap, 'I hardly think that would go down well with Katie.'

James makes a whipped noise, which causes Scorpius to burst out laughing again.

'Excuse me!' I exclaim, rounding on my so called friend, 'You're supposed to be my mate. But whenever you come round you're always laughing about me with James.'

'To be fair, there is quite a bit to laugh about,' smirks James.

I throw the nearest available textbook at him.

'Okay, okay,' he laughs, dodging One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, 'I'm going. Now you make sure you're careful, Albus.'

I slam the door shut behind him and throw myself back on to my bed.

'You're here early,' I comment, as Scorpius takes a seat in the desk chair.

'Yeah,' shrugs Scorpius, 'I couldn't wait to get out of the house. Narcissa and Lucius are coming round for dinner.'

I wince at the idea of having to sit through a meal with Scorpius' grandparents, neither of whom have renounced their pure blood mania views since Voldermort's defeat. No wonder Scorpius spends so much time here or at Rose's place.

'Bet they didn't like you coming over here.'

'Oh no,' whistles Scorpius, 'Although it was quite funny explaining that I was ditching them for a Potter- Weasley family party.'

I roll my eyes and toss Quidditch Weekly towards him, 'Did you hear about Fields being sacked from the Tornadoes?'

To my surprise, Scorpius 'massive Quidditch fan' Malfoy doesn't catch the magazine but lets it fall to the floor instead.

'Something up?' I ask, glancing at him and noticing he does look rather glum about something.

He shrugs but doesn't say anything for a few moments. I don't push it, knowing from experience that he won't talk about anything if he doesn't want to.

Instead, I let my thoughts trail back to Katie. I picture her smile, her beautiful eyes, how it feels when we kiss.

Except, following the horrific conversation Dad instigated, I feel a squirm of embarrassment as well. It's not like I haven't thought about that, I mean I am seventeen years old after all, but Katie and I haven't even spoken about it yet.

Of course when she sleeps over tonight, she and Rose will be sharing the spare room, and no doubt I'll have Hugo in with me. Still, the thought of her staying over makes me feel a bit funny.

'Can I ask you something?' asks Scorpius suddenly, jolting me out of my thoughts.

'Huh?' I reply inarticulately; I'd temporarily forgotten that he was there.

He sighs deeply, 'Do you think I should just ask Rose out?'

'Of course you bloody should!' I shout, sitting up so quickly that my head spins.

I've suspected that Rose and Scorpius like each other for ages now; I've always assumed that it was various family complications that were keeping them apart. Not that either of them have ever said anything to me about it.

Scorpius looks down at the floor, rather than at me, 'I really like her, and I can't see why we shouldn't be together anymore.'

'Brilliant!' I exclaim, causing him to grin reluctantly.

'Hey, we could be cousins in law!' I realise.

'I'm going off her by the minute.'

I spare him one glare, and then imagine how great it would be if he and Rose got together; they could double date with me and Katie.

Okay, so I have suddenly turned into a girl.

'Do you think I should say something tonight?' he asks, looking rather excited at the prospect, 'I already know she likes me too, I just need to make the first move.'

'Do it!' I exclaim. Then a thought hits me and I can't help but burst out laughing, 'And make sure Uncle Ron isn't nearby.'

Katie's POV

The evening before I'm due to return to Hogwarts, Al's parents hold a massive family get together, to which I'm invited. Admittedly, I have already met the majority of Al's family already, but it seems so much more of a big deal now that we're together.

At seven o clock, I apparate round there with Rose and Hermione, while Ron is given the task of Flooing with Hugo. Me and Rose have all our Hogwarts stuff with us as well, since we're staying at the Potter's tonight so they can take us to King's Cross tomorrow.

Oh yeah, I'm staying over at Al's tonight. I'll probably be in the spare room with Rose, but it's still something.

Arriving at Harry and Ginny's house, we head through the back gate into the garden, which is quickly filling up with various Weasleys.

'Katie!'

Al runs up to me and hugs me enthusiastically, despite us having seen each other the previous evening.

'You're in a good mood,' I laugh, as he helps me with my trunk.

'Why wouldn't I be? My beautiful girlfriend is here and-' (he glances over at Scorpius, who is making his way over to Rose) 'there may be a big development tonight.'

I look over at Scorpius, who has taken Rose's trunk off of her, and is making conversation with Hermione.

'He better avoid Ron,' I mutter, following Al into the kitchen with my trunk.

'Hello, Katie,' says James, winking at me as he grabs a drink from the fridge.

'Erm, hi,' I reply, wondering why he's giving me that knowing look. I notice he winks at Al as well.

'Let's go and put your stuff upstairs,' says Al hastily, leading me out of the kitchen.

'What was that about?' I ask, as soon as we're out of the kitchen.

'Oh nothing,' says Al, his face reddening slightly, 'How are you, anyway?'

'I'm fine,' I say, still suspicious about James' behaviour.

I soon forget about it, however, as Al leads me into the spare room, puts my trunk down and wraps his arms around me. I run my hands through his hair, loving the feel of it under my fingers.

'Hey, do you know how long it takes for me to do my hair?' he complains, laughing and pulling me closer to him.

'Shut up,' I murmur, pressing my lips against his.

We kiss for a while, until we're interrupted by Ginny yelling up the stairs at Al to come down and greet his grandparents. Blushing and feeling slightly ruffled, the two of us break apart and head out into the garden, where all attention quickly falls on me.

'Al's finally worn you down then?' laughs James' best friend, Fred Weasley.

'Oh ignore him, Katie,' mutters his sister, Roxanne, glaring at her brother and then turning to hug me.

'I hear Rose got Head Girl,' she mutters under her breath, casting a glance at Rose, who is standing on the far side of the garden with Scorpius.

'Yeah,' I laugh, picturing how dictator like she's going to be, 'And she's already threatened to put you in detention.'

'I hope you're not misbehaving, Roxy!' exclaims Fred, giving his sister a look of mock outrage, 'I don't want you ruining my excellent reputation.'

'Your family is a tad mad,' I comment to Al, as Roxanne and Fred start a furious war of words.

'Tell me about it,' he mutters, rolling his eyes. Suddenly, something catches his eye across the garden, 'Oh God, keep your head down, Uncle Percy's arrived.'

'Run for your life, Katie!' exclaims Fred dramatically.

'Yep, definitely mad,' Al confirms.

Despite Al's crazy family, the night is great fun. We all eat outside, simply because the house isn't big enough to accommodate thirty odd people, with all the adults sitting at one table and all us 'children' sitting at another.

The food is brilliant, and the company even better. I sit next to Al, who holds my hand for most of the night, something which makes it difficult to use cutlery but which I appreciate all the same.

Rose and Scorpius, meanwhile, sit at the far end of the table and look deep in conversation. Both of their expressions are quite serious, as though they're discussing something important, but I notice their hands keep brushing one another's, and Scorpius' arm rests on the back of Rose's chair.

I'm not the only person to notice this however, in fact Ron looks ready to march over to them at several points during the night. Luckily Hermione manages to stop him.

Scorpius having the Avada Kedavra curse put on him would definitely put a damper on the evening.

By eleven o clock, everyone has said their goodbyes and left, James and Fred have disappeared in search of a night club, and Harry and Ginny have gone to clean up, leaving me, Al, Lily, Hugo, Rose and Scorpius outside.

We all sit on the grass, chatting for a while, with Rose and Scorpius sitting incredibly close to one another, and occasionally exchanging the most adorable glances.

'I'm going to bed,' sighs Lily, after a while, 'I've still got all my stuff to pack tomorrow morning.'

'Good idea,' agrees Hugo, 'Where am I sleeping Al?'

Beside me, Al shrugs, 'Well you were meant to be staying in my room, but I doubt James will be home tonight, so you might as well sleep in his.'

'Okay,' agrees Hugo, heading into the house with Lily.

Meanwhile, a strange sensation shoots through me at the thought of sleeping in the same house as Al.

'What's wrong?' he murmurs, wrapping his arms around me.

I shake my head, 'Nothing.'

'I better go home in a minute,' mutters Scorpius, looking thoroughly miserable at the thought; I notice Rose places her hand over his as he says this.

'I'll walk with you to the gate,' she says, glancing directly into his eyes.

And with that, they ignore both me and Al, and disappear down the garden.

'What the hell is going on with them?' I exclaim, 'This is driving me crazy!'

'I know!' agrees Al, 'He said earlier that he was going to ask her out. I don't know why it has to be so complicated!'

I turn my face towards him and raise my eyebrows.

'Okay, okay,' he laughs, 'I know we were a bit complicated as well.'

I laugh, and lean back against him, enjoying the final night before we return to Hogwarts and Lucinda bloody Nichols.

'I'm going to bed,' I say after a few minutes, when I'm unable to supress a yawn.

'Yeah, me too,' says Al, helping me to my feet and causing that odd sensation to shoot through me again.

The house is quiet when we go inside; clearly Harry and Ginny have already gone to bed, as well as Lily and Hugo. We head up the stairs, hand in hand, my heart suddenly thumping incredibly loudly.

Al pauses at the top of the steps, 'Want to hang out in my room for a bit?'

'Sure,' I say, following him inside and trying to control the explosion of excitement and nerves that is currently going on in my stomach.

Feeling slightly awkward, I take a seat on Al's bed, where he soon joins me, wrapping his arms around me.

'So,' he says, 'Are you looking forward to going back tomorrow?'

'Yeah, I suppose.'

I'm unsure whether or not I should tell him what I'm thinking. On one hand, I can't wait to get back to the castle, which is where I've had some of the happiest times of my life. Yet, at the same time, I'm dreading having to deal with Lucinda Nichols and her posse, who consider an hour wasted if it's not spent stalking Al. In fact, I've been worrying about this non-stop for the past week or so.

'What's wrong?' asks Al, gently.

I look at his expression and decide to tell him what I'm thinking, 'What happens when all the girls in Hogwarts go back to stalking you?'

He pulls a face, 'I don't think all the girls in Hogwarts fancy me.'

You'd be surprised, I think bitterly.

Al pulls me closer to him and tightens his arms around me, 'And it doesn't matter anyway. It's you I want to be with, Katie. You mean everything to me.'

I smile as I feel my worries lift slightly. 'That was the right answer, Albus,' I mutter, kissing him.

We get passionate pretty quickly, and the next thing I know, he's pulling us down so we're lying against the pillows. I don't stop to think of the implications of this, however, as I continue to kiss him, my hands on his Quidditch toned chest.

Meanwhile, Al's hands are stroking my hips, roaming over my back, sliding up underneath my shirt. I moan slightly at the feel of his hands on my skin, and his lips move to my neck, applying delicious pressure.

I don't want to stop, I really don't. Yet something makes me pull away from him and sit up.

'I'm not ready to do this yet,' I say quietly, fiddling with the corner of his duvet.

'That's okay,' insists Al, sitting up and taking my hand in his, 'I don't know if I am either to be honest. I suppose the idea was just put into my head earlier.'

I frown at him, 'What do you mean?'

He reddens slightly, 'Well, my dad had The Talk with me this afternoon, and then James has been giving me non-stop banter about it.'

If dying of embarrassment was medically possible, I would have achieved it right now.

The thought of Harry and James discussing mine and Al's relationship in that way is so cringe worthy, I want to bury my head in the covers and never look either of them in the eye again.

'Oh dear God,' I mutter.

'Tell me about it.'

And then suddenly we're laughing, and we don't stop for a long time.

'I love you, Katie.'

'I love you too.'

Okay, this chapter should have come with a fluff warning. Really this was just a bit of a filler chapter, building up to their return to Hogwarts. I promise more drama is on the way!

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading, and please review.