SPOV

I first woke up when the urge to pee roused me from my haunted dreamworld. Stumbling absently towards the marble bathroom in the half gloom of sleep, I couldn't help but feel off balance beneath the weight of alcohol and my still eighteen year old frame. When I returned from the ensuite washroom to slip back under the covers I decided to snake my arm around Al's waist, bringing her naked body flush against mine in the process. I began to place soft drowsy kisses on my best friends pretty shoulder but no sooner had my hand settled on Al's abdomen that it accidentally grazed the head of his male anatomy. 'He's a boy again' I protested groggily, drifting back to the lull of the infinite without thinking too much about it.

Hours later I woke up again, this time to the sight of a naked Al sitting on the padded sill by the window, a sheet wrapped tastefully over part of his legs and waist. 'He's definitely a boy again now' I noted dumbly, the fog of sleep still heavy in my mind.

"Are you smoking Al?" I asked, noticing the trail of fumes from a green cigarette in his mouth. He stared longingly out into the gardens, the sight of a Paris morning peppering the backdrop of the scene as the magical smoke drifted serpentine through the air. The boy made no move to answer me and I realized he had those small wireless buds placed firmly in his ears.

"I might be." He smirked charmingly my way. The glance lasted only a moment before he returned to stare out the window in poetic rapture. He appeared mesmerized almost.

"You seem, different somehow Al." I offered, observing him as if for the first time.

"Its a sunny day in Paris Scor! I have wealth, I have brains, I have looks, I have years of life and youth ahead of me. I'm building myself a little family of friends and allies. What manner of resplendent luck has found its way to me?" He asked philosophically.

'He's in a good mood today.' I thought to myself, puzzled. Reading the first section of the tome of Love must have done something to him. He's stronger now somehow I realized.

I yawned and stretched myself out in the decadent plush of the Valois bed, happy that he was happy. Happy that we were speaking again.

"You know Scor, I think I'm going to go take a stroll through the muggle Louvre. Look at the art and have a cappuccino. Maybe work on a new song while i'm there." He explained, grinding out the green fag into an ashtray to extinguish it.

"I guess that could be fun…" I commented, checking the time and yawning once again. 'The clock is off by two minutes' I noted absently, depositing the crystal cube back onto the nightstand from where i'd retrieved it. As my naked body snaked back across the bed I couldn't help but admire how pretty it was at eighteen… would be at eighteen. The sight of me in the enormous gilt framed mirror was a source of delight to my eyes. I looked like one of those ephemeral models one saw on instagram or in the cover of fashion magazines. 'Pity i'll revert to fifteen any minute.'

"Oh… you wanted to join me? I guess you can come along if you absolutely want… I already planned to go with Louis and Raven though…"

I startled at the odd way he'd phrased that, a trace of fear sneaking in. 'I suppose we don't have to spend every minute together…'

"Do you… not want me to come with you today?" I asked curiously. "I don't want to intrude if you had plans?"

He sighed and stood up, letting the sheet fall away from him immodestly as he stretched his lithe body upwards. The sun rose further just above the line of the buildings, flooding through the window to lighten up the boy's outline.

I realized that eighteen year old Al was like a renaissance painting himself, whether male or female. Perfect ass, defined yet delicate features, beautiful eyelashes…

His long arms flexed upwards as his soft hands met above his head in a naturally playful yawn. Before I could further admire the musculature of the figure in front of me, I gulped in horror at the sight of bite marks and light scratches on his neck, chest and shoulders. Doubtless these were the wounds I'd made during our heated activity the night before.

He removed his earphones and the music merely continued to play on his speaker as the connection transferred automatically over. It was an upbeat BAYNK song I recognized from off his Spotify weekend playlist. The speaker was Louis Vuitton, shaped like a cool black cone the logo stamped classically in relief along its surface.

"Not really. No." Was all he replied as he walked unabashedly away into the bathroom. The door shut promptly behind him and I heard the shower run for three short minutes while shock paralyzed me.

The odd new version of Al came out with damp hair, a towel around his waist and a toothbrush still in his mouth. His age must have reverted while he washed, a shorter less defined boy appearing in place.

He paced over to his dresser and proceeded to dress himself casually in his muggle clothing. The cute creature jammed happily to another BAYNK song, ignoring me completely as I grew more and more confused.

"Can I ask why not?" I continued very delicately, not having moved an inch while he'd showered or dressed. He didn't seem upset… but something was clearly off. My question elicited another sigh and I knew something was definitely wrong then.

"Can I ask you instead… what exactly you thought was going to happen when you fucked me Scor? Three times in one night…" He explained matter of factly without sparing me a backwards glance. The reminder of last night struck me like a slap to the face.

"Oh…" I said stupidly. "But… we're ok right?"

He tried a balmain cap on to match his t-shirt but switched it for a prada one in the end, checking himself out in the mirror as he finished to dress. The handsome boy shrugged into the reflection, thumbing the enormous hicky on his neck in obvious annoyance. There was no answer beyond an exaggerated tsk over the sight of that deep purple mark…

'This Al is so strong' I realized in horror. 'This version of Al doesn't need me at all…'

A third Baynk song "Touch Me" came on and he smiled to himself as it played.

"Sure we're ok. So long as you get to do whatever you want to me whenever you want right?" He tossed back my way, slipping on a backpack with a notebook and a music sheet pad packed into it. He merely walked out of the room, ruffling my hair dismissively on the way out. "See you later Scorpius." He quipped as the music shifted back to his AirPods.

"Al wait!" I shouted, leaping out of bed and opening the door into the hall. He hadn't even spared me a backwards glance.

A veelish maid screamed at the sight of a naked boy in the hallway, causing me to slam the door shut before catching which way Al had gone. I changed frantically into day clothes, not even bothering to rinse off the sweat of sleep and passion. By the time i'd gotten myself fully together the brunet was nowhere to be found.

I didn't care that I was obsessing or might look like an idiot, I merely raced through the corridors to the breakfast hall, desperate to find and make things right as fast as possible. Instead of Al, I found only what remained of the adults and a few of the order sitting together at a corner table.

"Have you seen Al?" I asked Markus, Lily and the Japanese twins. "Morning by the way."

"Not yet. No. Why?" Lily inquired curiously.

"Morning Scorpius." The Muramasas replied cooly.

"Sorry I can't stay to explain, it's sort of an emergency. Cyril, How could I get to the real Louvre from here?"

"The Muggle Louvre? Why on earth would you want to go there?" Appoline snickered derisively from the table next to us.

"There's a secret passage that connects the two in the subbasement. Or you could take the long way and walk outside and through the shadow gate. Ask that elf in the red livery over there. She can take you." My doppelgänger cousin explained.

"We were supposed to return to Japan this morning but we figured we would stay and discuss the music business. Alex wants to run through some structural information before we all head back to our respective homes. We'll be here if you need us."

"Ok great, so we'll definitely catch up tonight. The Valois don't mind us staying on a bit? Most of the guests are to leave this morning."

"The seven families are always welcome in their respective wings." Appoline noted, spreading jam on her scone.

"After your performance last night I rather doubt papa will have a problem with a few of your friends staying on an extra night or two. It is a Palace. We're set up to host an entire court if the need arises." Cryril added. Even Acelin nodded at his brothers words although they all seemed confused by what the twins and I had meant by music business.

"Alright, well, i'll see you all later. I'm going to run."

I wandered for over an hour in the halls of the magnificent museum, not able to enjoy a moment of the sublime artwork present as I searched anxiously for my twit. My thoughts were fixated on the brunet and the flashes of passion that lingered as the memories of our joined bodies danced on repeat in my head. "Scor… Scorpius… Al… fuck… I'm about to… me too! Inside me… please… I want you to finish inside…"

A furious blush erupted across my face at the echo of our words and the intimacy of our touch. The way we had kissed each other so hotly. The way we had moved together was like our performance during the Aria. Perfect. 'Something too deep for words exists between us… that's why everyone fears us…'

I realized stupidly as the thoughts overwhelmed me, that the source of my morning anxiety lay not twenty feet before me.

Al was sat daydreaming in front of a marble sculpture, scribbling notes and lyrics down on his pad. I watched the blue charm on his bracelet glow as it signaled my approach. He looked down to observe it, his head swiveling around the room in search of me. He packed his bag and quickly left the sculpture gallery as though in a hurry, clearly hoping to dodge me before I found him.

I cursed to myself, racing after him. 'He's trying to avoid me damn it!'

I caught up to the idiot in the neighboring portrait gallery, not giving him the chance to run again.

"Al just stop."

"Oh. Hey Scor. Take a look at this."

'The Coronation of Napoleon' —Jacques Louis David, painted 1808.

"I've been marveling at all the muggle art—

"—Are you really going to pretend you didn't just try and dodge me back there?" I complained. The interruption had broken the spell of his artificial cheer. His smile fell away like a shroud.

He rolled his eyes, getting up again and slinging his backpack onto his shoulder. I had to stop him physically this time, pinning him by placing my arm outstretched against the marble wall just as he moved to pass by me. "Stop this ok, you're scaring me Al."

"I'm scaring you? Because I don't want to talk to you for like a day or two? I swore to you in the forest we'd never fight again, didn't I? So we're not fighting. I don't however want to see you right now. Can't I even have a tiny break? We'll have plenty of time to see each other soon. Once the order is up and running we'll be glued together. Music, school, investing, inventing, training, scheming."

"A break? You just ignored me for the better part of four months. Before that they forcibly kept us apart for over a year while our blue scale ate us from the inside. For how long do you not want to see me this time then?" I asked a little frightened.

"Hmmm, can't say exactly." He answered, smirking. "Anyway… I'm supposed to meet Louis here soon. So… if there's nothing else Scorpius…"

"Al come on. Can't we just talk this out. Please? I beg you."

"You want to talk? Okie dokie! Right this way." He shot impatiently, leading me into a bathroom and locking the handicap stall behind him. The idiot cast a spell to clean the bathroom and another to insulate the sound before pulling his designer t-shirt off. He angrily threw his pack into the corner along with the balled up T. Next he removed his shoes and jeans, moving to stand defiantly in front of me.

The markings I'd made seemed to glow on his naked torso and legs like strange paint strokes. Each gentle bite mark, each passionate scratch I'd put on his body while he was a girl, appeared to me as if highlighted by magic.

He did not look as amused now as when I'd made them.

Without warning Al grabbed my hand and pressed it unabashedly against the base of his abdomen, wincing in pain at the feeling of where I must have pounded into him last night…

"You remember everything then… I had hoped it might all be a little hazy when you changed back…" I whispered, reaching out to touch Al's cheek in concern with my other hand. He recoiled, pulling his head away from my outstretched fingers in disgust.

"No such luck."

"Put your shirt back on Al. Please."

"No, I want you to look at them. Thank you very much."

"What's the point? Can we take it back? You weren't exactly saying no at the time were you!"

He slapped me at that, hard across the face. He was so fast…

"I was a girl! My whole neurochemistry was different. You didn't stop for one bloody second to consider how I might feel about it later?" He asked in pain. "Just because I didn't say no doesn't mean it was a good idea! You hated the few times we've kissed as boys! Then you fuck me as a girl as soon as I become one?"

"I'm sorry."

"You should be!"

"Al I'm so sorry."

"You infuriate me!"

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that!"

I grew quiet for a moment, observing his expression and the confusion that lay there.

"For what its worth… I'm sort of glad my first time was with you…" I whispered carefully, wincing. He grabbed me by the collar in anger, raising a fist and pulling it back as though about to punch me.

"UGHHHHH! Merlin's ghost, save me from the curse that is Scorpius Malfoy!"

"Can I at least treat you to lunch to make up for it? Somewhere chic and expensive?" I asked. His eyes searched mine with a fury that made me flinch. "Or do you want to hit me again maybe? What can I do here Allie?"

"I just forgave you two days ago and you do something that could risk our friendship again almost immediately afterwards?"

"Again, what can I do beyond apologize over and over?"

"You figure it out! Whatever it is… it had better be good though because i'm livid."

"Ok… well I had my lawyer prepare these on the way over from the palace. I need you to sign them."

He recoiled again as I handed him the silver leaf contracts. He lowered his fist and snatched the paperwork from me in a huff.

"What's this? These have Malfoy seals on them." Al asked angrily, shaking the parchment in my face as though refuting that what he held could in any way make up for my behavior.

"Basically? In the event I die before having kids… You will inherit the entirety of the Malfoy family estate. My army, my properties, my fortune, my art, my photos, my elves, my clothes… everything… including my family seal. Neither my parents nor grandparents know I've done this for you, so please don't say anything."

His beautiful mouth fell open in dumbstruck awe at the papers he now held. "I don't mean to insult you Al. I know you don't care about my money or my stuff. I just wanted you to know… like the time I snapped my wand for you… that you're the most important thing in my life."

He looked from the papers to me and back a few more times, releasing his hold on my collar with a soft shove.

"You don't expect me to sign this, this, garbage, do you?" Al croaked indignantly.

'You know, he's kind of cute when he's mad.'

I shocked myself with the thought but didn't stop from withdrawing the ornate fountain pen i'd brought with me from father's office at the Shadow Louvre.

"I demand that you do."

I handed him the writing utensil and unfolded the contracts to the signature portion. "Here and here, initials and dates here. When you walked out this morning you scared me to my core. I figured I needed some ammunition if I was coming to crash your nice day out."

"Wretch, don't move until I tell you to." He ordered, turning me forcefully around. He came up behind me and placed the papers gruffly on my back, scribbling his signatures angrily into each page. "You're lucky i'm fuming right now or I doubt i'd be signing these at all. I'm guessing this copy is for me?"

"Yeah, you get one and I get the other. They've automatically been registered to Gringott's and the Ministry."

"I said don't move!" He barked when I tried to turn back around. "I have more in mind for your penance than some silly pieces of pretty parchment…"

"Ok… and what exactly did you have in…" I stopped mid sentence when I felt his lips descend against my neck. Every muscle in me froze as shivers ran down my entire spine. "W-what do you think you're doing Al?"

The question had revealed a hint of fear in its tone.

Why was I afraid of him suddenly? I gulped as my heartbeat quickened in my chest.

Before I could examine that thought, he bit down hard, suckling ever so gently at the skin. I winced at the shock, pulling in a short breath through gritted teeth. I saw a spell send the paperwork into his backpack as the silver sheets flew through the air towards the corner of the stall.

"You marked me… so I'm leaving a few marks of my own. Maybe everyone should gossip at what you've been up to huh? I canceled on Louis and Alex because I knew they'd ask questions about these. For some reason magic can't cover them up." He whispered, lifting my shirt off of me in the process. He moved to my exposed shoulder and bit down again.

Again I winced at the contact, a kind of buzz fogging my thoughts.

'He's so mean sometimes.'

"Revenge is your automatic go to then?" I asked through my clenched jaw, frozen in place. His hands snaked around my naked torso and I shivered at the softness of his skin against mine. His fingers splayed over my abdomen and I was surprised that I didn't recoil. The buzz just droned louder.

"Revenge? Don't be dense Scorpius. If revenge was on my mind I would be doing more to you than this." He whispered into my ear suggestively, slipping his hand beneath my pants and underwear to rest it on my groin. I startled as I felt myself react, hardening at his touch.

"Don't fuck with me Albus." I seized his hand and yanked it away from its resting place.

"Don't fuck with you? Are you serious right now? I feel so, so, used Scor. All you cared about was a quick screw? Toss me aside when you're done with me? Is that it?"

I turned around then, furious. "Thats not all it was to me! I would never just use you like that!"

"Then what the fuck was it?"

"I don't know alright!? I saw Max flirting with you and touching your back where your braw was undone… and I just lost my mind. I got so angry… and I guess jealous."

Albus froze when his brain pieced those words together. "You were jealous? You slept with me… because you were jealous… of MAXIMILIAN MCMILLAN?!"

A blinding pain overtook me as my vision blurred hot and purple. I found myself suddenly on my knees as a storm of horrendous nausea pounded through my every nerve and muscle. Al had kneed me in the balls… hard… very hard. A strike like his defense trainer Amelia had taught him.

"What was that about dying without any kids?" Al joked, amused at the sight of me clutching myself on the floor.

"N-N-Nul" I croaked out, numbing the pain so that I wouldn't further collapse. I stood back up and raised my fist to Al's face. Somehow though, I couldn't bring myself to strike him. He was already crying.

As he slid down the stone wall of the bathroom, the tears only fell harder. My body slackened and my anger bled away like seeds floating off a dandelion.

"I'm always just hurting you aren't I?" I asked somberly, lowering myself to the floor next to him.

"My first time Scor… I didn't want to be a girl for that! That's not how I… You shouldn't have…" He whined tearfully. "I can't believe I did that! What's wrong with me? I was on my knees for you… I…let you… do everything you wanted to me… three times Scor! I begged for it. Begged for you to finish inside of me! I moaned like an animal in heat for it."

I blushed at the memory of his mouth wrapped around me, lapping at me deliciously. The memory of his calls and panting. All I could do was bring an arm around his shoulder awkwardly.

"Are you saying no to me?" He parroted, reminding me of the way i'd almost ordered him to comply on the roof. "As if I can even say no to you?" He whimpered. "Should I order you to do that back? Get on your knees for me?" He tested skeptically. Are you saying no to me Al?

I sighed to myself… wondering If I'd blow him back merely because he told me to. We had a strange hold over each other but I hadn't meant it the way he'd taken it. It hadn't been an order… although I had used his real name when i'd spoken… the one Phoenix had taught us in the forbidden forest. Every time one of us used that name we would shiver to our very core.

He buried his face in his hands finally and for a moment I tried to put myself in his shoes. I imagined myself on my knees before him, using my mouth to pleasure him as diligently and headily as he'd done for me.

I blushed at the thought.

To think that was the least of it. Albus's moans of 'Scorpius, Scorpius, SCOR!' echoed into my head with disturbing clarity. I'd finished inside her too. Each time… I remember clamping my hand over her mouth when we sat upon Ancalagon, mortified by her words. I'm just a little shaken… I can still feel you leaking out of me Scor…

"Don't cry Al. I hate to see you cry."

"Fuck off… You hate when anybody cries."

"No… that's not… I didn't mean it out of annoyance this time." I whispered, drying his tears with my fingers.

"It happened when I was a girl but I have to remember it as a boy!" He repeated, his eyes glistening. He got up from the floor to sit himself on the lid of the toilet. He buried his face in his palms once more out of what looked to be embarrassment.

"I hate this! You're the one who's terrified of the way I might feel about you! You're the one who panics at the idea I could be attracted to you… or worse be in love with you! Then you do this?"

The statement stung me like the slap he'd given me earlier.

"That's what really bothers me the most Scor! If you even had half a whisper of a suspicion that I was into you like you feared… you wouldn't have seduced me while I was a girl… You did it without even worrying that it might hurt me! How could you do that? Do you really not give a shit about me? Am I just trash to you?" the words sank in like a bite wound.

"You knew all this time? That I suspected you had feelings for me? Why didn't you…"

APOV

"You're like a brother to me! I didn't think I needed to reassure you!" I lied. 'Of course I love you, you idiot. How could I not…'

I wanted to say it. I wanted to scream it at him. Shake him. Kiss Him. Fear instead overwhelmed me. He had wanted me as a girl. Would only ever want that version of me.

Again anger resurfaced at the thought of what he'd risked by last nights activities.

"Don't change the subject! You suspected I felt more for you than friendship and you risked what you did to me anyway! Am I just garbage to you? Something to use at your convenience to sate your desire?"

"I just made you my heir! I snapped my first wand for you! How can you even ask that?"

"Answer the question! If you're afraid of me pining away for you… why seduce me? You don't think you run the risk of causing the very thing you fear?"

"You were a girl! I like girls Al! Don't you?" He barked at me. "I honestly didn't think it would bother you this much when you changed back. Wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

"I do… like girls" I replied honestly, almost adding the word 'too' as an afterthought. "Does that mean I couldn't also like you? Especially when you do something as stupid as last night…"

"You're just playing devil's advocate now to be difficult! I said i'm sorry. I know that I messed up. I don't want to risk our friendship… and yes… OK! if I mistakenly thought or suspected you had feelings for me I shouldn't have just… fucked you so casually…"

"Thank you! Merlin! I just wanted some acknowledgement that you get how fucked up it was. For christs sake you whispered you'd marry me if I was actually a girl. What was that supposed to mean?"

He froze at the reminder of what he'd spoken to me through our link. I had been wrapped in his arms while on dragon back, still panting from fear and fresh memories of our first encounter.

"You know, if you were like this all the time, I think i'd marry you."

He shivered as I repeated it. "You'd marry someone you didn't have feelings for? Just for the sex?" I asked skeptically.

"I… well… no… but you… and… I mean… I only meant…"

"So the great Scorpius Malfoy is stuttering now?"

"Stop it Al. You've made your point! I'm sorry I didn't consider how you'd feel alright!? What more do you want?!"

SPOV

"Oh can't you just take your bollocking like a grown up for a single minute?"

"Is that it? Do you want me to just stand here quietly and listen to you complain?"

"Yesss! Merlin's ghost! Who would I talk to about this if it had happened with anyone else?"

"Me…"

"Right! So since you happen to be the person I come running to in a panic but also the source of my current anxiety..."

"Won't I just shut up and take it without trying to fix everything or defend myself?"

His eyes widened as if to say 'obviously you tit'

"Oh… just be here for you…"

"Ashera's greatness! you infuriate me when it takes you so long to read my mind. Getting slow in our old age are we? I guess I have to explain everything to you now like I'm talking to regular people."

"Oh yes, that must be really awful for you." I teased, merely agreeing with him as he wanted. He smiled and shook his head before burying it back in his palms.

"UGH! Niime could smell you on me! I was so mortified when she called me out in the cave."

"You know… I was embarrassed too… when she made that comment. I was so worried our friends might find out I took advantage of you…" I admitted, commiserating with him instead of trying to fight and make everything ok. My eyes fell on the marks on his shoulder and side and I couldn't help but catch my breath being so close to him.

"I was so excited to talk to you about the Aria and our success with forming the order, the strange day I had being Athena. I guess the sex just threw me off. Now I'm having flash backs of last night and it's confusing me terribly. All I know is I don't ever want to take a transmog potion again."

I resisted the urge to tell him I had warned him not to take it. He didn't want to pass up the Valois's money or seem ungrateful for the gifts Augustin had given us.

"You looked like you were having fun though. Erm…You know the rest of the night… not… well… during the…"

"Yeah… I got what you meant. And like I said, I DID have fun, the ENTIRE night. I just have to remember it… remember how good it felt… which as a boy is kind of weird."

"If all you want to do was share how your day went, why not just do that? I'd prefer we did it over a spenny lunch, but if you want to sit here for a bit I will."

he went quiet for a minute, the sound of his breath and my racing heart the only traces to break the monotone hum of the bathroom fan.

"What was it like Al? Being a girl?"

"The feminine energy was rather interesting. What I noticed and the highlights of my attention were so different. Maybe it was also due to aging up on top of it? I'm not sure."

"That could be…"

I was trying to just listen and be there for him, rather than trying to tackle the issue. I was so used to solving problems these days that it was hard to just stop and listen for once. On top of that, we also hadn't spoken to each other in months up until a few days ago. I wasn't used to reading his mind the way I normally could.

"The boys were all drooling over you and you got to bond with the girls in a unique way. Aurora, Rose and Melody all seemed to enjoy your company as Athena."

"I did look rather hot. I had to swat half the men away while staying demure and graceful. Not to mention how intense the pressure of everyones gaze was on me. I felt hunted! You too! You were gobsmacked."

"I was."

"Really! Jealous of Max! How could you ever be jealous of Max? Did you think I would've slept with anyone else? Honestly? Especially within our friend group?"

Albus mumbled, his face reddening in his palms.

"It was silly of me. Now, are you going to take your head out of your hands? Or do you plan on hiding there all day?"

He withdrew his face and I almost died at the sight. He was so red, so flustered, that I half expected his eyes to start spinning like a cartoon's. I leaned in to kiss the side of his forehead and then twice more near the same spot. I grabbed both of his cheeks as he tried to withdraw.

"Aurora says you're adorable all of the time. Fifteen, Eighteen, Eighteen and Female… I guess I can't argue with that."

I chuckled at the sight of his beet red face, trying to look away from me. "I am not…"

"You are too. Now Al, for Ashera's sake can we please get off this disgusting floor? I know you cleaned it but honestly I'd like to get our clothes back on and just fuck off for some lunch."

He stood up and to my horror wobbled a little dizzily. I grabbed his shoulder to steady him but the moment I touched him realized he felt icy cold. His breathing picked up and I thought for a moment he might faint.

Then without warning he did faint, collapsing into my arms as he drooped dangerously to the side.