~What Am I Feeling?~
~Chapter 51- Bright~
Albus and Scorpius returned to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays and Scorpius was happy to admit he was feeling considerably better. Spending Christmas with the Potters and Weasleys had been a strange but blissful experience. Scorpius really did feel at home with the family. They had been so welcoming, not to mention entertaining. Despite being disowned and feeling lonely and isolated because of it, it was now different.
He was now part of a family again. A family which accepted and loved him no matter what. And Scorpius had realised this holiday that although he was no longer deemed a Malfoy, that really didn't matter to him anymore. He had Albus and he thought that he could actually do anything as long as he had Albus with him.
The couple were sitting inside a café in Hogsmeade on sofas, Scorpius' legs slung over Albus' as Albus flicked through a phone book.
They were at that point where they had to start seriously thinking about next year. The café was directly designed to help seventh year students from Hogwarts with applications for courses and applying for jobs. A lot left it until last minute, but Albus and Scorpius had decided to come as soon as possible and get their applications in first. They were some of the only students there, along with a few other efficient Ravenclaws.
They knew that wherever they went to for their courses, they would be going together. They had only been applying for courses in the same place and around Europe, they didn't want to go too far.
"Oh, here's another Wandlore one in… Luxembourg. Lovely." Albus nodded, handing over the details to Scorpius.
"I think I saw a Healing one in Luxembourg earlier…" Scorpius started flicking through his pile of 'Healing maybes'.
"Of course there's a Healing one there… there's a Healing one everywhere," Albus groaned, "There are so many more Healing courses than wandlore…"
"You know why, Al. Healing is a much more common job…" Scorpius said casually when he came across something that made his eyes widen and a grin paint across his face, "Wandlore course in Rome… Italy."
Albus and Scorpius had agreed on a few places they would put at priority to any others if there were courses there. Some of those places were France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Greece and Italy. Italy, being one of their top. Albus had been on holiday to Italy a couple of times and absolutely adored it, stating he wanted to live there when he was older. Scorpius, although he had never been, had a particular interest in seeing the country as it seemed like a simply beautiful place.
Scorpius looked at Albus who beamed immediately, "I saw a Healing course in Rome too! You have to apply! That would be amazing if we get into the courses in Italy!"
"It would, definitely…" Scorpius trailed off, picking up his quill to start filling the form out. He looked up at Albus, studying his boyfriend's face, "Do you really want to be a Healer, Albus?"
Albus stared at Scorpius in confusion before nodding repeatedly, "Of course. What else would I be?"
Scorpius laughed, "You could be anything you wanted to be."
"But I want to be a Healer. I swear."
~X~
Albus and Scorpius sat with Lily for breakfast over a month later, Scorpius listening to an argument between the siblings, over something he was not listening to and probably wouldn't care about. He had his nose buried in a History of Magic book, revising as he spent a lot of his time doing at the moment.
"Scor, you need to stop revising all the time. It's really not good for you…" Albus snuggled into Scorpius' side.
"Al!" Scorpius protested, pushing him away gently, "NEWTs only come once in a lifetime at we have to work as hard as possible on them while we have the chance! And you're not working hard enough!"
"I work better under pressure…" Albus groaned, grabbing onto Scorpius' arm, "I will study… just nearer the exams… but in the meantime, I want alone time with boyfriend which I'm not getting at the moment."
Scorpius glared at the brunette, shaking his head disapproving, "Studies are more important."
"Can we not talk about this while I'm here please?" Lily hissed.
Suddenly, a flood of owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying impatiently anticipated mail. Owl after owl dropped envelopes in front of Scorpius and Albus, both of them recognising them immediately as letters from different schools. Letters which would tell them whether they were accepted or declined from their courses.
Scorpius had been accepted from all but one course so far. Albus hadn't been accepted for a few, but the majority he had been. A few had been in the same place so they were the ones that they had accepted for the time being. It looked like there was more to come now. The one that had been important was the Healing course in Rome which Albus had a place in. Scorpius had not yet heard from the Wandlore course in Rome. That was the one they hoped to go to.
The first few they opened were more acceptances, on conditional terms of course. But Scorpius came across one which he recognised the return to immediately. Rome.
He nudged Albus, getting the older boy's attention, "It's from Rome."
Albus watched tensely as Scorpius ripped the envelope open impatiently. He quickly skimmed through the letter, a wide smile spreading across his face immediately.
Albus raised his eyebrows, "So?"
The blonde threw his arms around Albus' neck, pecking his lover's cheek and neck over and over, "I'm in! I got into the Rome course!"
A smile slid across Albus' face as well and he squeezed the smaller form, "Oh Merlin! Congratulations!"
"We're going to Rome, Al! We're going to Rome!"
"Just need the grades now and we'll be in Rome!"
"Which means, you're going to need to get revising." Scorpius said sternly, thumping a stack of books in front of Albus.
~X~
The couple were back in the café, but this time they weren't looking for schools or courses, they were looking for flats and apartments in Rome.
Albus had sent a letter to his parents telling them the good news and in return they sent him a list of potential homes and information about them. It felt like they had been there forever looking through them even looking at a Wizard computer that the shop owner had let them borrow.
They were tired and fed up but when Scorpius came across one apartment in particular, it felt like a blessing from Merlin himself. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Albus… I've found it."
Albus opened his sleepy eyes and gaped at Scorpius, "Really?"
"Yeah, come look!"
Albus moved over next to Scorpius, circling an arm around Scorpius' waist and pulling him as close as possible, "Spacey, two bedroom apartment, overlooking the stunning Trevi Fountain in the centre of Rome. Specifically for students… Rent is five galleons a week… Look at it! It's lovely! It has a balcony and everything!"
They looked through different pictures of the flat and it was perfect. It was everything they could have dreamt for. The beautiful apartment in the centre of Rome, together, alone. It was all piecing together, all going their way. Their futures were bright now.
~X~
A/N: Short, but hopefully sweet chapter! Wasn't a filler chapter really, it was neccessary because we needed to know what Albus and Scorpius are doing in the future! Fun little chapter to write, but the drama starts next chapter... oh yes.
Thank you to GreenGirl111, , DarkSnakeLordess, drumline, Romeine, esinger, Satary, lilexe and Stereotypical Emo for reviewing the last chapter! Much appreciated as always!
Next chapter:: Shopping in Diagon Alley, they could never have imagined it to be so chaotic when Albus and Scorpius bump into some very unexpected people.
^^ Can anyone guess who? You might be able to guess one of them... not sure if you'll guess the others...