Chapter 16 - Lily
Chapter 16 - Lily
A warm breath against the base of his head and an arm firmly gripping his hip slowly but surely wake Albus. He has to blink a few times before he can see a upper body.
It takes him a moment to understand where he is and in whose arms.
When he finally understands, his heart starts pounding, and he has to resist the strong urge to slide up and place his lips on his best friend's.
With his heart pounding, he closes his eyes again, tempted to banish the thought from his head and think about something else.
For example, how he can get Scorpius out without being discovered.
"Are you awake yet?" Scorpius removes his arm from Albus so quickly that he thinks he might have only dreamed it.
His best friend's voice sounds tired, too quiet for Albus's taste.
"Yes, just now," Albus replies, his voice wavering as he tries to calm himself, but the nervousness still comes through.
After a while of only laying on the bed albus becomes thoughtful as thoughts of Hogwarts enter his mind. It makes him nervous.
"Hey," Scorpius nudges Albus lightly. "What's wrong?"
Albus meets Scorpius's eyes and his stomach flutters a little.
"I'm just worried about Hogwarts. Rosier and all, you know." Albus speaks quietly as Scorpius continues to stare at him. Albus immediately avoids his gaze when he notices his stomach flip a few times because Scorpius is staring at him so intensely, never once taking his eyes off him.
Albus wants to kiss him.
So much.
And that scares him.
He's never thought about kissing Scorpius.
And right now, kissing is the only thing on Albus's mind.
"We can do this together. We're in this together. We'll survive it together..... Albus, listen, We just have to stick together, then we will be okay," says Scorpius, his voice sounding determined, and Albus just nods absentmindedly.
Albus's gaze briefly flies to Scorpius's lips before he turns his head away, his heart pounding in his throat.
Shit.
He thinks he can hear Scorpius about to say something, but is interrupted by a knock and a loud voice. "Albus! Are you awake yet? I want to annoy James, and I need your help." At the end, she laughs a little maliciously.
"Shit," Albus and Scorpius both say at the same time and get out of bed. Albus quickly looks around to find a way for Scorpius to escape, but he is unsuccessful.
"Do you think I can climb out of your room quickly?" Scorpius asks bloody nervously, and in the end he laughs, trembling but still quietly, because of the nervousness that fills the room at that moment.
Albus wants to lie, but he doesn't. "No," he answers almost desperately, the realization hitting Albus like a blow so powerful it makes him forget everything else going on in his head.
The door opens in the next second, Scorpius immediately freezes and Albus also slowly turns around.
Albus feels like his heart is going to burst any second, more so with every second that Lily just stands there, her hands clasped over her mouth, the worst expression on her face Albus has ever seen, and it makes his heart break.
"Lily..." Albus begins, but stops himself, not knowing what to say at this moment or how to explain this action.
Scorpius is standing to his left, but a little behind.
In a matter of seconds, Lily closes the door and you can clearly see that she has to take a deep breath before she can even turn back to the two boys.
Her gaze is blank, not a single emotion visible, and her lips are pressed into a line. "So," she begins slowly, and there's a tone in her words that suggests she's about to lose control.
"What were you two idiots thinking?!" she snaps, her voice shaking with anger, and the only thing they all hope for at this moment is that no one heard Lily scream, because that would not be explainable without telling the whole truth.
Albus flinches noticeably, and Scorpius also takes a few steps back, even further away from the danger zone.
It's not a lie, it's not a matter of opinion.
It's the truth.
The two of them made a mistake, and they can consider themselves more than lucky that Lily caught them, and not Harry or Ginny or other relatives.
So it's more than just luck for both of them that it's Lily.
"It was, no, it's stupid!" Lily isn't talking as loudly as she was before.
"We know," Albus murmurs, not daring to look Lily in the eye. He also doesn't dare to look at Scorpius.
His eyes remain fixed on the floor and then on the wall. He feels Lily's gaze on him, penetrating him, as if she could see into his soul and notice what he's feeling.
Scorpius is staying out of it all. It's probably better that way.
Albus sighs, his hands fumbling with his sleeves before he manages to let his gaze fall on Lily. "Are you going to tell anyone?"
Albus can hear Scorpius holding his breath the moment the words are finished.
The look Lily gives him is a silent expression of disappointment. It's a look that speaks more than a thousand words. A look that perfectly conveys the disappointment without words. There's no sign of understanding in her gaze.
Albus's eyes sink towards the ground, his gaze seems completely empty, almost painful.
He turns his head away, hoping to banish the frustration rising within him with a single movement, but a hint of frustration remains in his expression and his lips form a barely perceptible line for a brief moment.
Albus meets Scorpius's eyes for a moment, as if the world around them stands still. Albus's eyes reflect, for a split second, feelings of guilt hidden within his body, feelings he didn't want to reveal.
His gaze falls back on Lily, who is now watching Albus and Scorpius with narrowed eyes. A few minutes of silence must have passed before Lily sighs loudly and shakes her head.
For a brief, tiny moment, Albus carries hope within him.
Lily crosses her arms. "You owe me something," she says, her words slowly drawing out, as if she were about to take back her speech immediately.
Albus and Scorpius exchange a glance.
"I'll keep my mouth shut. For now, at least." Albus's heart stops as he takes in the words. Lily is lying. Lily is lying for him.
Lily.
Lies.
For.
Him.
Footsteps can be heard outside the room, getting closer and closer to Albus's room. They sound suspiciously like Harry's.
"Okay, I'm going out, say goodbye quickly. I'll stop Dad somehow," Lily explains quickly, and she too is starting to feel uneasy about the whole thing, but she's made a decision. She wasn't going to simply go back on it now.
Lily opens the door just a tiny crack, through which she slips.
Albus turns to Scorpius, who looks like he's about to say something, but he can't. Scorpius swallows and shifts his weight slightly from side to side.
For Albus, it's as if something dark is settling over his heart. Everything in him rebels against this moment, against this farewell.
A slight smile creeps onto Scorpius's face, although the restlessness in his eyes definitely gives him away.
"See you at school?" Albus asks stupidly, even though the answer is already clear.
,,Yes, of course."
Albus and Scorpius look at each other; there are too many words unspoken at this moment. Albus wants to hug Scorpius somehow, but he doesn't dare, can't overcome his fear.
After all, it's not a near-death situation.
They only hug when the other is in danger.
And the fact that Scorpius put his arm around Albus in bed only happened because Scorpius was asleep.
And not because he wanted to.
"Okay, see you next time." Scorpius's voice is quiet, and Albus has to really concentrate to understand him.
Slowly, Albus nods, even though everything else in him is screaming at him to go to Scorpius and hug him, to let him feel what he feels.
Scorpius makes his way to the window, opens it, and of course, it squeaks. Albus watches him.
He is about to climb out the window when he stops and turns back to Albus.
"Hey, you know... you know that you are the most important person in my life, you know that, right?"
Albus is frozen for a moment and cannot fully comprehend what Scorpius has just said to him.
But Scorpius doesn't give him time to answer and quickly disappears from the room, leaving Albus confused and with his heart racing.
I am what?!
"Are you still alive?" Lily's voice sounds behind Albus, and he jumps. Did she hear that?
Her gaze was piercing, a small glimmer of amusement flashed in her eyes.
"Did you hear something?" Albus asks quickly, hoping for a "no"; he can't bear any more embarrassment today.
Lily raises her eyebrows. "What am I supposed to have heard?" A slight, cheeky grin appears on her lips.
Albus breathes a sigh of relief. He has never been happier than he is at this moment.
"Nothing, nothing. Let's go." Albus speaks so quickly that it's almost impossible for Lily to keep up with his words.
Albus rushes past Lily and she follows him.
Albus collides with Ginny, Harry is standing behind her and James, who is just coming out of his room, starts laughing hysterically.
"Woah, woah, darling, calm down," comes out of Ginny's mouth, concern evident in her eyes. She put her arms around Albus when he fell against her.
"Are you okay?" Harry asks, giving James a stern look when he still can't calm down.
"What was so funny about that?" Lily asks hypocritically, but her voice betrays that she finds it all quite amusing herself.
"Of course everything's okay! What's wrong with that?" Albus speaks the words quickly and somewhat shaky, laughing nervously at the end before he frees himself from Ginny's grip, forcing himself between her and Harry to reach the stairs and escape the embarrassment.
James turns to Lily.
"Has he been drinking?"
"James Sirius Potter!"
-
Albus Potter sits in the kitchen, his cheek pressed against his right palm, in an awkward silence as he watches his mother bake a cake in Muggle-style. Hermione has shown her how.
Her hair is tied in a messy braid, while she occasionally strokes her forehead with her hands because the sun is beating so hard into the kitchen.
He swallows as he tries to gather his courage, tapping his fingers on the table a few times before sighing inwardly and fixing his eyes on his mother.
"Mum?" His voice wavers and he tries not to let it tremble too much.
When Ginny hears this sound, she immediately drops everything and turns to Albus, drying her hands.
"Yes, darling?" She says it in such a gentle tone that for a moment Albus feels like he could tell her anything. Everything he's keeping secret.
"I want, um.... I want to talk to you about something."
Albus has an expression on his face that causes immense concern to rise up in Ginny and makes her stop in her tracks.
Albus starts playing with the end of his sleeve. "Can, can you get rid of feelings?"
Ginny tilts her head and asks, "What feelings?"
Albus's heart is beating way too fast; this is more than just embarrassing and uncomfortable for him. "Feelings of being in love."
It takes a moment before a smile spreads across Ginny's face. "You can't really tell. Some people grow to really love the person, and some can forget them," she explains slowly, and Albus hopes the ground beneath him will give way and swallow him up.
Ginny takes a chair, pulls it up next to Albus, and after a brief hesitation, sits down. "Who is she?"
That was obvious.
Albus's gaze drops and he has to swallow; his throat suddenly feels dry.
"No one," Albus mutters, his gaze flying to the kitchen door to make sure no one comes in.
Ginny watches Albus for a long time, frowning as she tilts her head again, trying to catch Albus's eye. But Albus avoids her gaze like a pro.
And when Ginny suddenly asks this question, he suddenly feels sick and is about to throw up.
"Is it a he?"
Although Ginny's voice is gentle and has an understanding tone, it doesn't help Albus's inner feelings at all and he doesn't want her to say it.
He doesn't want anyone to say it at all.
At first he doesn't answer, and then, when he finally decides to, James comes running into the kitchen, with Lily chasing after him.
"Come back!"
,,No!"
Ginny's attention turns to her other children, and she sighs loudly as she gets up from her chair. "What's going on now?"
Albus doesn't pay any more attention to this and takes advantage of the situation by getting up and sneaking out of the kitchen.
He doesn't want to think about this topic anymore.
》♡《
The end of the summer holidays is fast approaching, and the Potter family is already on the platform at King's Cross. Rose and Hugo are standing next to the Potter siblings, while their parents are once again having trouble getting their children onto the train.
There are only two reasons why Albus is looking forward to returning to Hogwarts.
First, he sees Scorpius and can spend every day with him again.
Secondly, he doesn't have to pretend in front of his family and can be himself again.
Harry kisses Albus on the forehead before releasing him from the hug. "I love you, my son. Have fun!" Harry says goodbye to Albus, and Ginny also says goodbye with a kiss on the forehead and a slightly longer and tighter hug.
The students board the train one by one and look for empty compartments. "Are you sitting with me and my friends?" Rose suddenly asks, and Albus has to admit that this shocks him a little. He wasn't expecting this.
"Um, no, I have my own friends," Albus replies, and Rose raises her eyebrows. "Yeah, right. We should talk more next holiday, though," she adds, before quickening her pace and setting off to find Polly and Yann.
Albus's stomach twists uncomfortably, really uncomfortably, as he realizes that he has just called Nott and Zabini his friends for the first time.
A slight smile creeps onto his lips and his mind can't think of anything else but Scorpius as he walks down the aisle of the train towards his and Scorpius's compartment.
He notices his hands starting to shake as he tries to open the compartment door. He takes a deep breath, his mind racing as he thinks about finally seeing that blond mane of hair again.
Sleeping in the same room with him again.
"Hey," Albus exclaims as he enters the compartment. His gaze immediately falls on Scorpius, who has a happy, handsome—damn bloody handsome—smile on his face.
"Hey,"
Scorpius' voice has a calming influence on Albus, making him feel immediately safe and at home again.
And he loves it.
He loves his voice.
》♡《
Albus and Scorpius don't see Nott and Zabini for the first time until they're at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest. Nott and Zabini said they had something to do, which is why they didn't show up for dinner.
It sounds a lot like a lie.
This year, Albus senses that something about the tradition is different. Anna Heyward looks meaner, her expression marked by sternness, which immediately inspires fear. She holds her wand in her right hand, letting it glide effortlessly between her fingers, her gaze sweeping over the entire Slytherin group.
Albus exchanges a quick glance with Scorpius, a look of concern hidden within. Something's wrong.
Suddenly Rosier appears next to her and after a moment nods to her.
"Listen," Anna's voice is sharp, immediately cutting through the air and causing even her own classmates to freeze.
"What did I actually say last year? We didn't win the Quidditch Cup or the House Cup, even though I explicitly stated that was the highest priority. You didn't try hard enough." Her voice sounds bitter.
Everyone is quiet, everyone knows that this will probably cause problems.
"I tried being nice, I spoke calmly and explained things calmly, hoping you'd be smart enough to follow it. But no, it didn't work. So Rosier and our two groups have prepared a new idea, one for the first years." She slowly takes out a knife, and Rosier illuminates the floor with his wand, revealing a large circle.
This looks like a...
"A blood oath," Anna interjects, her voice loud enough to immediately break everyone out of their trance.
"Blood oath?" Albus whispers quietly, hoping that either Scorpius, or Nott and Zabini know about it.
"A blood oath is a very old spell, dating back to ancient magic. The blood oath cements the words that come out of you. From then on, you have to stick to your words, otherwise terrible things will happen. At least the blood oath they probably use makes it like this ," Nott explains in a low voice, pausing for a moment. "I think they're planning this because the first years aren't listening to the prefects anymore. And how else are they supposed to convert students to the dark side if not by force?"
The world around them all seems to slow down, as if announcing the approach of danger. Albus's chest tightens painfully; he can't do anything to stop what the others are planning.
He can't stop it. It's driving him crazy.
But they can't be serious? They can't just go through with it.
"This is excessive and dangerous. We're listening to you, but don't do it," a student says, immediately interrupted by a snap of Anna's fingers and a humming sound escaping her mouth.
"You'll have to live with the consequences. And besides, don't worry. It only affects the first-year students; the older ones are spared anyway. Consider it a kind of deal or agreement. Ultimately, you're the ones to blame. You didn't do your tasks, you're responsible for the innocent souls of the first-graders, not me or Rosier."
She can't be serious, can she? Albus lets his gaze wander over all the Slytherins, and what catches his eye most are the first-years, standing in front of Anna and Rosier with trembling bodies and fear-filled expressions. The little ones look around, catching the gaze of the other Slytherins, and begging for help with their eyes and facial expressions.
"Are you just going to watch?" Scorpius asks, his gaze, filled with anger and horror, fixed on Nott and Zabini. The two sigh and shake their heads almost in unison.
"No, but what can we do? They won't let us dissuade them. Not just like that. Not when they've got something so firmly set in their minds," Zabini's voice sounds tired, as if he's fed up with the whole thing.
And he's right, it's simply unnecessary.
"Albus," Scorpius whispers, and Albus meets Scorpius's eyes as he looks to his left. "I know," Albus replies quietly, and he touches his temple as a headache suddenly appears, probably because he finds this all really nerve-wracking, and it's getting worse every year.
Anna grips the knife in her hand tighter, her lips curling into a manic smile as she takes a few steps closer to the first-year student.
The eleven-year-olds walk closer together; there are five students.
"We can't let this happen," Albus says resolutely, deciding he can't stand by and watch this any longer. But Scorpius is holding onto his arm, his grip strong, and Albus has to concentrate hard to keep from completely losing control and saying everything he has on his mind.
Albus frowns as he turns back to Scorpius. Nott and Zabini glance at the two before they too understand why Scorpius is stopping Albus.
A silhouette with a black cloak and a witch's hat can be seen between the trees, coming closer and closer, its steps becoming faster and faster.
"Damn it, is that Professor McGonagall?" Albus breathes as Scorpius gestures at the person. "How does she know about this?" Scorpius whispers, his voice trembling at the end.
Albus's heart begins to pound as he thinks about what would happen if Professor McGonagall saw all of this.
They would probably all be kicked out of school.
Shit, his family will be so disappointed in him.
It feels like a noose is wrapping around Albus's stomach, squeezing his gut, while he can already taste the disgusting bile creeping up his throat.
His breathing quickens and the pressure in his chest grows worse with every passing second as McGonagall draws closer.
"Fuck, Anna!" Rosier hisses, grabbing her arm. "We have to get out of here!"
"Shit, we're going to get in trouble!" Zabini says angrily, nudging the three boys in front of him. "We have to get out of here! She can't see us!"
It's as if a switch flips in Albus's head and suddenly he's no longer frozen, but puts his left hand around Scorpius's arm and pulls him along as he begins to follow Nott and Zabini as fast as possible.
Hopefully McGonagall didn't see them.