Chapter 11
It was the middle of the night and long after closing time when Albus and Scorpius sneaked out to get into the forbidden section of the library.
Scorpius was the first to suggest this - in the hope of learning something about the magic Albus was capable of.
Albus agreed to the suggestion immediately, of course.
The thought of sneaking out with Scorpius at night was too tempting.
The two walked very close to each other and had to be careful not to get caught. For a moment the two stood frozen when they recognized the sound of a cat, but then the two started moving again.
"Who is actually the bad influence of us?" Albus kept his voice low and had a grin on his face.
"Both of us," Scorpius replied with a grin.
Albus thought that Scorpius was absolutely right.
The two of them were never alone.
Either Albus and Scorpius together, or neither of them.
Hopefully that wouldn't cause any problems for the two of them.
"Al, we're here." Scorpius would always be the only one in Albus' life who was allowed to call him "Al." Scorpius almost never called him "Albus." And Albus had no problems with that at all. He was actually kind of happy about it.
It was their thing.
The black-haired boy followed the other into the library. Inside, they both cast the spell "Lumos."
They had a feeling where they had to go.
Still very slowly and quietly, the two continued to move. Until they were standing in front of the forbidden section.
Both took a deep breath, then looked each other in the eyes.
"We're just doing stupid things."
"As long as no one finds out."
"Okay." Scorpius exhaled and took a few steps forward before turning back to Albus. "Does everyone really think I'm evil?"
Albus gasped a little. How could anyone hurt this blond boy? He didn't understand.
"I... Maybe. But that doesn't matter, Scorpius. Let them talk. The only thing that matters is what you think of yourself. If you think you're a good person and want to be, then you are. Nobody gets to decide that."
Albus held his breath as he was pulled into Scorpius' arms. They wrapped around him as if Scorpius never wanted to let Albus go again.
"Thank you..." Scorpius' voice was very quiet, but Albus didn't care.
"We should fulfill our mission," Scorpius said and pulled away from the hug. Albus laughed. "Mission?"
A smile formed on Scorpius' face. "Yes, we're not here for no reason." Then he turned around and started to move.
Albus followed him with a warm feeling.
-
"There are so many books that could possibly cover this topic." Albus stood in front of the shelf, somewhat helpless.
Scorpius stood in front of the other shelf, who seemed to leaf through each book in a matter of seconds. He only read the explanation and then he knew immediately whether it would make sense to pay further attention to this book or not.
This was another thing that Albus found fascinating.
He himself would be far too lazy for that.
"Scorpius?"
Scorpius' head shot up and his eyes met Albus'. "Yes?"
Albus scratched the back of his head.
That wasn't such a good idea - he thought at that moment with a queasy feeling.
"No, it's fine." Albus avoided Scorpius' gaze, which had become more stern. "Albus."
Oh oh.
He said Albus.
Sighing, Albus walked to the table and sat down opposite Scorpius. "You know that you are the only person I feel completely comfortable with, right? And that I don't want to lose you, no matter what happens."
Scorpius' gaze softened with every word Albus said.
"To be honest, I thought so." Scorpius grinned at the look on Albus' face. "But I don't want to lose you either. Never. And if things get worse with this dark group of wizards, we'll get through it together."
Albus nodded when Scorpius finished his speech.
Then Scorpius sat down next to Albus and pointed to the pile of other books that the two hadn't looked at yet.
Slowly Scorpius raised his arm and put it over Albus' shoulder.
The moment Scorpius' arm touched Albus, it was like a tiny firework.
Albus' heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was about to burst out. But he was enjoying the touch so much that he probably wouldn't have cared at that moment.
Albus's gaze fell to the floor and a smile crept across his face.
Scorpius' heart was also beating way too fast, but he tried to ignore it.
♡
The next day, Lily looked for Albus in the corridors. She had remembered when Scorpius wasn't with Albus, because Albus had a free period at that time.
"Hey!" Lily caught up with Albus and walked casually next to him.
"Hey," Albus replied and Lily immediately started talking. "We can meet in the next few days, right? At the Black Lake, perhaps? No one will see us there." Lily's excitement was still obvious.
"I mean, I have to ask Scorpius first. But he'll probably agree anyway," Albus explained, looking forward to his best friend and his sister finally getting to know each other.
But he wouldn't say it out loud.
"He certainly can't say no to you," Lily grinned, nudging Albus before holding onto his arm.
"I'll obliviate your memories of our conversation about my feelings," Albus countered annoyed, but Lily knew he wasn't serious.
"Yeah, yeah," Lily replied before distancing herself from Albus. "I have class now!" She waved to him before turning around and disappearing.
Albus shook his head, a smile on his face.
He hadn't smiled properly for a few days in a row for a long time.
Albus decided to go to the astronomy tower. There he sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the wall.
After his free period, he had no more classes today.
"Hey..." Fred's voice rang out and Albus took a breath. "Hey."
Fred carefully sat down next to Albus. He played nervously with his hands. "You know that James just wants to protect you, don't you?"
For a brief moment, Albus closed his eyes.
"Somehow. But I don't need to be protected, especially not from Malfoy. Okay? He should just stop doing that, please."
"He's your big brother. He can't just stop doing that."
"Then he should at least leave me alone."
Fred sighed and turned his gaze to the floor. "James sent you, is that possible?" Fred looked up from the floor and looked at Albus, who had furrowed his eyebrows.
"No, Albus. He didn't."
Albus nodded, but he didn't believe Fred.
Then Fred stood up. "Um, that's all I wanted. See you around." He turned to the stairs and walked down them.
Albus' gaze flew from where Fred had been standing to the ground, then to the cloudy sky. His eyes became slightly moist, so he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and only opened them again when he heard footsteps.
He looked around, but there was no one there.
Or so he thought.