Chapter ten! I can hardly believe I've written ten chapters, it seems like so many! Thanks so much to everyone who has been reviewing and following my story! You guys are all so great, and as you can see all the positive reinforcement is really helping me get these chapters up way quicker… heh heh
Albus Potter stood in the Owlry grinning like an idiot for almost ten minutes.
Scorpius might like him.
Despite the warning signals going off in the back of his head, Albus couldn't help but feel ridiculously happy. Sure, Scorpius and his friends could be downright evil sometimes, but they had been nice to him… for the most part. Scorpius had returned his cloak, and the blond might even like him.
Albus thought back to his first meeting with Scorpius' friends in the woods. Sure they had seemed terrible, but looking back they had simply been telling the truth. Albus did have a secret crush on Scorpius, and he was kind of a loser. If anything Scorpius and his friends were just honest with Albus. Honesty was a good thing right?
And besides, so what if they did bully him a little in the past, Scorpius might like him!
Albus could have spent the hours standing there if it had not been for the first year that chose that moment to send off a letter to his mum. Once Albus saw the other student, he was brought out of his daydreaming. Blushing furiously he ran past the boy and down the stairs out of the owlry.
For the rest of the day Albus had to put a lot of effort into keeping a silly smile off of his face. But even his best efforts couldn't stop him from occasionally reaching down and touching the back of his hand, the very same spot where someone's lips had been.
Scorpius walked back into his room almost an hour after he stormed out, with a big smile on his face. His friends were surprised to say the least, to see him back so soon, and looking so happy. Steph was the first to comment on how he returned empty-handed.
"You must have found Albus." She said softly, pouting at Scorpius. She was afraid that his smile was the result of tormenting the poor boy.
"Yep." Was Scorpius' cheeky response. He laid down on his bed and tucked his hands behind his head, looking very pleased with himself.
"As much as we love this little game you always play Scorpius, just tell us what happened." Steph said angrily.
"I gave the bloke his cloak." Scorpius said with a chuckle. No one else thought his rhyme was funny.
"And then?" Andrew prompted.
"We talked." Scorpius continued with a shrug.
"About?" Tess almost yelled.
"Oh this and that." Scorpius said. He could tell that his friends were about to hex him into oblivion so the blond sat up and continued. "Oh, you know there was one part of the conversation you might find interesting. Albus told me that he liked me and then I told him that I liked him and then I kissed him."
There was a split second of silence in the room before everyone started yelling.
"Wait, WHAT?"
"What did he say?"
"You did WHAT?"
"YOU KISSED HIM?"
"I only kissed him on the hand." Scorpius said, choosing to answer the last question he heard.
The room went silent again.
"The hand?" Andrew asked, "that's pretty gay."
"Yes, well that is the idea isn't it." Wendy said with a giggle.
"Come on, there is no way, you told him that you liked him!" Jaysen said. "Why would you do that? You practically bit our heads off this morning for even suggesting the idea!"
"Maybe I was lying." Scorpius said rolling his eyes. "Like I've never done that before."
"Sounds like you have a new plan." Sullivan suggested from his bed.
"Indeed I do." Scorpius said with another grin on his face.
Everyone waited for Scorpius to tell them, but the Slytherin seemed to need more encouragement.
Stephanie rolled her eyes and with a loud sigh asked, "Oh, Scorpius wont you please tell us what your new, amazing, wonderful plan is?"
"Well since you said please. I took what you all said into consideration this morning, about not hating Albus and not wanting to hurt him. I completely agree, I don't exactly hate Albus either, I think he is very interesting and entertaining, but he is still a Gryffindor and a Potter. Then I realized, what would drive the Potter family crazy? What would make Harry Potter, and even better James Potter, furious?" Scorpius paused for dramatic effect. "Well if dear little Albus was dating a Slytherin, and not just any Slytherin, a Malfoy. So that is just what I plan to do."
"I don't get it." Wendy replied. Scorpius glared.
"What don't you get Wendy?" he asked.
"Are we friends with Albus then? Or are we still using him?"
"Well he's going to be my boyfriend, so I hope you would be friends with him."
"But aren't we still using him, I mean, in a way? Using him to piss off his family." Tess clarified.
"Well, yes, but that doesn't mean we cant be pleasant to him."
"Scorpius, are you sure about this?" Jaysen asked suddenly, looking nervous.
"Why?" Scorpius demanded
"I dunno, I mean, are you sure you don't just want to date Albus for real? I mean that would be okay too. There doesn't have to be some plot behind it."
Scorpius gave Jaysen a hard look, but it quickly turned into a humored smile. "Jaysen I don't exactly know what you think my type is, but I promise it isn't a Gryffindor, book-worm, virgin, with a bad haircut and a daddy complex."
The room went awkwardly silent, until Stephanie spoke. "And may I ask how you are so sure that Albus Potter will go out with you in the first place? He seems pretty wary of you."
Scorpius gave her a smile that she had seen many times before. I smile that was always followed by Scorpius getting his way. "That my dear, you can leave to me."
When Monday morning rolled around Albus got out of bed as quickly as possible. He went into the bathroom, showered, dressed and brushed his teeth. As he was getting ready to leave Albus heard another boy enter the room. He immediately tensed and turned around to see who it was, then visibly relaxed when it was only Drew.
"Morning Albus." Drew said with a soft smile.
"Morning." Albus responded, "I'm just leaving, going to head down to breakfast."
"Oh alright then. See you later."
Drew gave him another weak smile before walking into a stall. Albus grabbed his things and left the bathroom. He sat down on his bed to put on his shoes, then grabbed his books and headed out the door.
Once the door was closed behind him he breathed a sigh of relief. All weekend long he had to deal with awkward interactions with his roommates. Ian and Jeremy were openly hostile to him while Austin acted like he had some contagious disease. Drew was the only one who was polite to Albus, but even that seemed taxing for the meek boy.
Walking down to the Gryffindor common room Albus spotted his sister sitting with a few friends. When she saw Albus she waved him over.
"You're up early." Albus commented giving his sister a hug.
"I could say the same about you." She replied.
"Right." Albus said. Lily wasn't stupid, she knew that Albus had been avoiding his room as much as possible, and she knew why. "Lily, I appreciate you doing this but you don't have to get up early to have breakfast with me."
"I don't know what you're talking about Albus, I always get up this early." She replied proudly. Albus noticed a few of her friends roll their eyes. After their little talk on Saturday Lily had tried to be there for her brother as much as possible. Sitting next to him at every meal, and talking to him in the hallways. He appreciated what she was trying to do, but the whole thing was a little sad.
"Lily, I'm serious. I'll be fine." He said.
"No, Albus I'm serious! I want to do this. So shut up and let me." With that she turned around and walked out of the common room, leaving her brother and friends behind.
From the hallway they heard a loud yell, "Well are you coming or aren't you?"
Albus gave the girls a little grin. They grinned back and followed after Lily.
"I mean, does he really expect me to go on some stupid family vacation over the holidays? I'd much rather hang out with my friends. Mom was so mad, but its not like they spend time with me anyways, they just go out to dinner and let me order room service at the hotel, its pathetic."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. What did a boy have to do to enjoy a nice peaceful breakfast around here? Stephanie was blathering on again about how horrible her parents were. Really, she got to spend nine out of twelve months away from them, you would think a couple weeks in a high-class wizard's resort wouldn't kill her.
"Scorpius are you even listening to me?" Steph said a moment later. Scorpius turned to look at her.
"Darling I don't really have a choice. You're rather shrill."
Steph chose to shrug off the comment and instead replied with. "Anyways, I told them I had already been invited to stay with your family during the holidays."
"Funny I don't recall inviting you." Scorpius smirked.
"Well, I figured you wouldn't mind." Stephanie laughed. Scorpius shook his head, there were really no boundaries where he and Stephanie were concerned, she did whatever she wanted, and he let her.
"I was trying to convince my parents to leave me alone for the break anyways. Thought I could throw a few parties. They've been wanting to explore China, god don't ask me why, so we might have the house to ourselves." The blond explained.
"Did I hear you say house party?" Scorpius turned and saw Jaysen walk up with Andrew and Sullivan following closely behind.
"Settle down Jay," Stephanie teased, "Not for a few months."
As the boys sat down Stephanie began to share her parental woes yet again. Scorpius took the opportunity to tune her out, and instead glanced around the Great Hall. Too soon his eyes landed on a certain black haired Gryffindor and Scorpius found himself staring as the boy ate a piece of toast.
A minute later Scorpius felt someone gently elbow him in the ribs. He turned and looked to find it had been Andrew.
"You really shouldn't stare like that. Unless you really want to creep Albus out."
"I wasn't staring." Scorpius defended himself.
"Right." Andrew replied, letting the idea rest.
"He's still sitting with his sister." Stephanie joined in, "It's been three days, do you think he'll ever make up with Weasley?"
Scorpius shrugged, trying to seem as disinterested as possible, making up for the fact that he had been staring at the boy not a minute before. Luckily for Scorpius in that moment the post arrived. Hundreds of owls soared into the room, dropping letters and packages here and there, occasionally swooping down to pester their owners into sharing their breakfast.
Scorpius was surprised when his family's falcon dropped a letter in front of his plate. None of his friends had received anything so they all leaned in, curious as to what the letter would be about.
Scorpius sighed, recognizing his mother's small handwriting on the front and opened it up.
Scorpius,
You've been gone hardly a month, but I already miss you horribly. We haven't gotten any letters from you! Oh, but don't worry, I remember how busy students are, you surely have no time to write, with all your studies. Don't worry about us, just reply if you can, and at least let us know that you're eating right and feeling well. I believe your father has some things to say, so I'll say goodbye for now dear. I love you!
-Mummy
The second part of the page was written in his father's handwriting, and Scorpius practically cringed just at the sight of it. This couldn't be good.
Scorpius-
I've received a letter from the school, alerting me to the fact that you have been skipping classes regularly and that your marks are suffering heavily. I haven't told your mother, because it would break her heart, but you should know that this is extremely disappointing and this sort of behavior is unacceptable. If you do not turn this around soon I will be forced to enact severe consequences. I expected more from you.
The bottom of the letter wasn't even signed. Scorpius scanned the letter once more then folded it up and shoved it in his pocket. Glancing at the large clock that hung on the wall he saw that classes would be starting soon.
Looking around he realized that his friends were watching him expectantly. Steph had a pitying look on her face, as if she could guess what the letter said, without having even read it.
"I think I'll go to class today." Scorpius offered. He began to walk away without another word. Andrew, who had class with the blond, shoved the last of a cinnamon roll in his mouth and followed his friend.
Suddenly, Scorpius turned around and looked back at his friends. "Sullivan. Remember that thing we were talking about?"
Sullivan nodded silently.
"Can you do it today?" He asked
Sullivan nodded again and replied, "Sure."
"Good. Everyone, we're meeting in the forest for lunch. Someone tell Tess and Wendy." Then, without another word, Scorpius turned and continued to walk away, Andrew trailing after him.
Once they had left the Great Hall Andrew stopped Scorpius.
"Are you okay man? Don't worry about your dad, I'm sure it wasn't that bad, besides our parents are all talk, we know that."
"I'm fine Andy." He replied. "It was just a shitty way to start out the week."
Andrew gave his friend a pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic smile.
As they kept walking Andrew asked, "What is the thing that Sullivan is going to do."
Scorpius shot him a playful smile. "You'll see."
Andrew sighed. He needed to find some new friends.
The classroom which had previously been filled with the loud chatter of students grew uncomfortably quiet when Albus Potter entered the room. Albus had made his way from his potions class in the dungeons to his transfiguration class on the third floor, making him one of the last arriving students.
Walking in and taking the first seat he could find, Albus tried his best to ignore the fact that everyone was staring at him. Reaching into his bag he took out his book and a piece of parchment praying that their teacher would call all the students to attention soon.
The boy sitting on Albus' right got up and moved to a seat in the back of the classroom, whispering something under his breath. Albus couldn't hear what it was, but something told him that he didn't want to know. This occurrence caused a whispering to break out all over the classroom and Albus could barely contain a groan.
Albus wasn't surprised by the behavior. He had sat alone and been ignored in his two previous classes of the day. However, the boy was confused why everyone seemed to care so much. Couldn't they all just leave him alone? Why did it even matter if he was gay or not?
Just then someone else entered the room. Albus looked up and recognized Sullivan Graves. Without hesitating Sullivan planted himself in the seat next to Albus, and smiled over at the Gryffindor.
"Morning Albus." He said pleasantly. Albus had spoken so little all day that it took him a second to say anything.
"Hello Sullivan." He replied hesitantly. Glancing behind him Albus noted that there were other empty seats in the classroom, Sullivan didn't have to sit down in the front.
"I was hoping maybe I could talk to you after class." He heard Sullivan say. Albus wasn't looking at the Slytherin, and simply assumed he had been talking to someone else. Then he heard his name "Albus?"
"Were… you talking to me?" Albus asked hesitantly.
"Yes did you here me? I was hoping to talk to you after class" Sullivan repeated. Albus was too surprised to say anything. He simply nodded in the direction of the other boy. Sullivan returned the nod with a large smile, and then looked up to the front of the room, where their teacher was attempting to start class.
Albus' mind was racing. This was about Scorpius right? It had to be, there was no other reason that Sullivan would have to talk to him.
Albus hadn't talked the Scorpius since their exchange in the Owlry a few days prior. Why was Scorpius sending Sullivan to talk to him? Albus' heart fell when his mind could only settle on one obvious conclusion. Scorpius had changed his mind. Scorpius had decided that he didn't like Albus after all, and didn't care enough to even say it in person. Instead the Slytherin sent one of his friends to break the news to poor Albus.
Albus sighed heavily; and realized he had no idea what his teacher had been talking about for the past few minutes. Trying to shake his head of the thoughts, Albus got out a quill and started scrawling notes. After all, he decided, there was no point in worrying about something that was already over.
"You what?" Albus found himself asking almost an hour later.
Sullivan had packed up his things very slowly at the end of class and once all the other students had left the room he had approached Albus, with some very surprising news.
"I asked you to come have lunch with us in the woods again." Sullivan repeated.
Albus had no idea what to say, and so he just stood there, with his mouth slightly open, trying to process what was happening.
"Lunch is now." Was Albus' response almost a minute later.
Sullivan rolled his eyes, grabbed Albus' bag and started towards the door.
"I'm afraid I cant really take no for an answer mate, Scorpius wouldn't be pleased, so come on, let's go."
At the mention of Scorpius Albus found his feet moving towards the door, following Sullivan. Once Albus caught up the boy he was handed back his bag and they walked down to the grounds together in almost complete silence. Sullivan hummed a tune quietly to himself. Neither boy seemed to be too inclined to conversation.
It was only once they started crossing the grounds that Albus heard someone call his voice, but it wasn't Sullivan. Glancing around Albus spotted Professor Longbottom walking towards him from the direction of the greenhouses.
"Albus, I'm so glad I caught you. I was just about to look for you in the castle. Do you have a minute?"
Albus looked up at Sullivan, who had also stopped.
"I'll go on ahead," The boy said, "You remember the way?"
Albus nodded. "Yes." He replied quietly.
"See ya then." Sullivan nodded and then kept walking in the direction of the forest.
Albus glanced back at his professor, afraid that the man might comment on his choice of company or their obvious destination of the Forbidden Forest, but he seemed to be too excited about something else.
"I meant to find you this morning Albus, but I left the bloody letter in my office. I'm so glad I found you." Longbottom repeated. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Albus.
"I received this letter last night from Saudi Arabia. The curse-breakers working there said they would be delighted to have you join them this summer. They would even be willing to pay you and give you certified claim to anything you might discover! And of course, you would be getting daily technical lesson and hands on training. They are currently deciding on transportation and lodging for you, while you are there. All the information is right there." Longbottom tapped the letter in Albus hand. "You can read it all for yourself, but I just couldn't wait to tell you!"
"So it's really happening!" Albus said, gripping the letter tight. "I'm actually going to go?" He still had a hard time believing it.
"Without a doubt!" His professor grinned. "You're parents are on board, and all that's left now are a few insignificant details."
Albus couldn't hold himself back he leapt forward and gave Professor Longbottom a huge hug.
"Oh thank you professor," He said grinning widely. "I can't wait."
Neville grinned back at the son of one of his best friends. "I couldn't be more proud of you Albus."
They let go of the hug and Albus received a kind pat on the shoulder.
"Well, I have to go, but please come by my office anytime if you have any questions, or just want to talk."
"Bye professor." Albus waved as his teacher walked off. Glancing down at the letter stilled clutched in his palm, Albus gave another large smile. Then he shouldered his book bag and turned to walk into the forest.
"What the bloody hell do you think your doing?" Was Sullivan's greeting when he arrived at the Slytherin's secret spot.
"Afternoon friends." He replied, sitting down on the closet couch.
Scorpius, who was the one who had originally greeted him continued. "I said, what are you doing? You were supposed to bring Albus." The blond said angrily.
"He's right behind me, had to stop to talk to Longbottom." Sullivan replied dismissively. It was then that he noticed the pipe Malfoy was holding.
"Have you all been smoking." Sullivan glanced around at everyone.
"Do we look high to you?" Tess asked sarcastically. "We were just about to start. We were waiting for you, what took you so long?"
"Albus was… hesitant about coming at first." Sullivan sighed, "But he'll be here."
"He better be," Scorpius threated, but there was no real malice behind it. Reaching into his pocket, Scorpius held out a little sack and emptied some of the contents into the pipe he was holding in his other hand.
"Someone give me a light."
Jaysen, who was sitting next to Scorpius, held out his wand and murmured a quiet incendio. Holding the pipe up to the flame, Scorpius took a deep breath and then slowly let the smoke out of his lungs.
The smoke danced in the air, creating intricate shapes. First a bird, then the shape of a quidditch player, finally a dragon. Scorpius took a few more puffs before passing the pipe around the circle.
Scorpius leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and let the effects of the drug take control. Already his head was starting to feel light, and his mood was lifting. Scorpius felt almost as if he was floating, the worries and cares of his day slowly being pulled off of his shoulders.
The letter from his parents, the condescending looks from his teachers, none of it mattered now. He watched the pipe come back around the circle and reached out for it when it was his turn. The magic weed was still burning bright in the bowl and so he took another long drag before letting the smoke out, this time watching as it turned into a train that resembled the Hogwarts Express.
Just then the hedge shivered and began to move. A moment later Albus Potter stepped forward into the clearing, and the shrubs closed behind him.
"Albus!" Wendy squealed. She jumped up and wrapped the Gryffindor in a large hug.
"Hello." Albus responded shakily. Wendy took his hand and led him to her couch, sitting him right beside her. The pipe was passed to her and she offered it to Albus.
"You want some?" Wendy asked.
"What is it?" Albus glanced in the pipe and saw the burning leaves. The whole clearing reeked of whatever it was.
"Wizard's weed." Andrew responded. "Don't tell me you've never heard of the stuff."
Albus meekly shook his head.
"Oh Albus, it's great." Wendy explained, "It's sort of like a muggle drug, only it's altered with magic. You feel high so quickly and your magic can even get stronger. If you smoke enough, sometimes it feels like little firecrackers are going off under your skin." She smiled and took a hit off of the pipe.
"Try some." She held the pipe out to Albus again.
Albus took it in his hand, glancing down at the burning leaves once more. Just the smell of the smoke was making him a little dizzy. He handed the pipe off to Stephanie on his left.
"I'm okay." He said shyly.
"Suit yourself." Steph said, before inhaling the smoke deeply. She let it out contentedly with a loud sigh and passed it off.
Scorpius watched this whole interaction in silence. He saw Albus glance at him a few times, but he was feeling to good to move, or even talk.
"So Albus," Sullivan asked a moment later, "What did Longbottom want."
"Oh, he gave me this." Albus pulled the letter out of his robe's pocket. Scorpius watched the boy and noticed the small smile that appeared on his face.
"What is it?" Andrew asked.
"A letter. It's about me working in Saudi Arabia this summer. I'm going to go there and train to be a curse breaker. They're even going to pay me." Albus was trying to keep his voice calm, but everyone could tell how excited he was.
"Wow, Albus you must be so smart." Wendy said.
"That's cool!" Tess agreed.
Scorpius watched as Albus glowed with pride. He felt a twinge of annoyance in the back of his mind.
"Geez, I cant believe you have all of that figured out. I mean, I have no fucking clue what to do with my life." Jaysen whined.
"That's such a cool trip too." Stephanie added, "You're going to have so much fun."
Scorpius felt another twinge of annoyance rise up. Why was everyone paying so much attention to Albus?
"Congrats man, I'm seriously jealous. I wish I could go to Saudi Arabia. How long are you staying?" Andrew asked. Albus was about the answer the question, when Scorpius jumped it.
"S'not that cool." He said rolling his eyes. "Isn't Saudi Arabia like, a fucking desert?"
Scorpius watched as Albus' smile faded and his eyes grew wide.
"Who would want to spend their summer digging up dirt anyways, sounds awful." Scorpius continued. Albus frowned slightly and looked down at his shoes. Scorpius felt a large amount of satisfaction, and a tiny bit of guilt.
He looked around to the rest of the circle. Everyone was watching his with different levels of astonishment. Except for Steph, she looked angry.
"What's your problem Scorpius?" She asked.
"Nothing." He replied. "All I'm saying is that little Al here has spent 6 years working his butt off. He's going to spend all summer working his butt off, and in the end his job is going to be playing in the dirt. Sounds pretty lame to me."
Steph continued to glare at Scorpius. "Don't listen to him Albus. He's just jealous because he has absolutely no idea what to do with his future."
"Yeah right!" Scorpius shot back angrily, "Don't I? I've spent 6 years partying and having the time of my life. I'm going to spend all summer partying and having the time of my life, and when I'm done at Hogwarts I have a nice little spot waiting for me in the Malfoy family business." Scorpius grinned, "Nothing quite better than that."
"Yeah, nothing better then being given everything in life." Everyone turned in bewilderment, when they heard the words come out of Albus' mouth.
Scorpius eyes widened. "What was that?"
Albus looked up and met Scorpius' eyes. "Your plan. You don't have to work for any of it. Are you just going to rely on mum and dad to give you everything then?" The clearing was absolutely silent for a moment.
"FUCK YOU POTTER!" Scorpius yelled, "At least I have fucking friends. You're a fucking nobody, and the only thing you have to look forward to is your pathetic little summer trip to the middle of fucking nowhere."
"Shut up!" Albus shot back, standing up. "You know what Scorpius, I may be a loser, and I may not have any friends, but at least I have dreams and can stand on my own two feet. At least I don't sit in the forest during class getting high because I'm too afraid to actually work for something." Albus grabbed his bag, put the letter back in his pocket, and walked to the edge of the clearing.
Scorpius was fuming. How dare Albus fucking Potter talk to him like that! He was about to yell more at the boy, but the hedge opened the Potter stepped through. As the bushes were closing behind him Scorpius could hear the Gryffindor yell out.
"And my trip is NOT PATHETIC!"
As soon as Albus disappeared Scorpius sat back down, visibly shaken by the encounter. He tried to think straight but his mind was too cloudy, the only thing he could feel was anger.
"What the hell was that?" Steph yelled, "Scorpius what is your fucking problem?"
"Why the hell were you all being so nice to him? Why the hell did you take his side?" Scorpius almost screamed at his friends.
Stephanie paled after she heard his voice. They all sat in silence for a moment. Scorpius couldn't believe it, his friends actually looked scared of him.
"Scor," Jaysen said slowly a moment later, "You told us to."
"You said you were gonna date him." Andrew added gently.
Scorpius glanced around the circle again. Everyone looked confused, or concerned. He felt pathetic. He could feel his anger slowly ebbing away, but replacing it were huge waves of sadness.
"Just go." He said.
"What? Are you serious?" Steph asked in frustration.
"Do I look like I'm fucking joking Steph?" Scorpius yelled to her, "Leave me the fuck alone!"
"Fine!" She yelled back. "But I hope you use this time to fucking get over yourself."
His friends quickly packed up their things and left him alone. Once the clearing was silent again Scorpius felt yet another wave of depression hit him. He thought about smoking more, to make the feeling go away, but he was already too high, and he knew it wasn't a good idea.
Leaning back in his chair he closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. He sighed deeply and whispered one word.
"Fuck."
Albus walked briskly away from the concealed clearing, still fuming from his interaction. He had spent all day taking shit from people. He had to deal with his homophobic roommates, and his backstabbing cousin and his gossipmonger classmates. The one shining light was Saudi Arabia.
He just couldn't bear it when Scorpius started making fun of him. Sure, he had blown up and gotten way too angry, but he wasn't about to let Scorpius drag him down anymore. He'd had enough of that. At some point he had to stand up to himself.
He also wasn't going to let this end like last time, with him running away crying. No, this time he was walking out of the forest with his head held high.
"Albus." He heard a yell from behind him.
Turning, Albus almost reached for his wand, worried they had come to curse him for what he had said. However the faces he saw didn't look angry with him. He watched as Stephanie, Andrew, Tess, Jaysen, Sullivan and Wendy all filed out of the forest after him. There was no Scorpius.
"He kicked us out." Stephanie explained as they came closer. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged, as if to say it wasn't a big deal.
"Sorry Albus." Sullivan said a moment later, "I promised I wasn't expecting that when I brought you here."
"That's alright," Albus said sheepishly, "I went a little overboard too I think."
"Are you kidding?" Tess laughed, "That was hilarious, I don't think I've ever seen someone outside our group stand up to Scor like that."
Stephanie leaned over and put her arm around Albus, "I really hope you don't worry about what he said. Scorpius can be… well an asshole sometimes. You just need to let him cool off." She offered a wink and Albus gave her a soft smile.
"Well," Andrew sighed, "I supposed we might as well go to class then." A few of the group groaned loudly.
"I cant go to class," Jaysen protested in a loud whine, "I'M TOO HIIIIIIGH" He stretched the last syllable so ridiculously long that no one could help but laugh. Before he even knew it Albus had joined in. And with Stephanie's arm still around his shoulder they all started back towards the castle.