Chapter 14
Albus and Scorpius were on their way to the Black Lake. It was early December, so they had dressed relatively warmly.
The last week was so stressful. So much had happened and both noticed that it was slowly becoming a bit too much for them.
Harry and Draco hadn't spoken to them since last week, but Albus and Scorpius honestly didn't really think about it.
Of course it hurt them, and a lot, but they had each other.
And that was enough. For both of them.
"Are you really sure Lily hasn't changed her mind?" Scorpius fumbled with the end of his sleeve and Albus glanced at him briefly.
Something was changing between the two of them, but he wasn't sure what it was.
"I'm sure, Scorp."
Scorpius gave Albus a quick smile before placing his hand briefly on Albus' back, which made Albus shudder for a moment.
"We should hurry, we're already late," Scorpius reminded Albus and they both picked up their pace a little.
When they arrived at the black lake, Lily was already sitting on the ground. Of course, she had spread out a blanket and built a fire pit, which is not allowed.
Lily was the first to recognize the two of them. "Hey!" She grinned and waved excitedly. "Hey." The boys greeted her as well before the two sat down on the ground next to Lily.
Lily immediately started talking and Albus couldn't help but smile.
He didn't like to admit it, but it really made him happy to see his best friend and his sister getting along so well.
Lily sighed in annoyance. "Wow, I hate it so much that our family thinks so badly of you. I mean, it's not too much to ask if they would at least give you a chance, is it?" Scorpius nodded and Albus shrugged.
,,Has Dad already spoken to you?" Lily asked Albus, but he shook his head.
"Our dad is still mad at me anyway." Albus scratched the back of his head and Lily shook her head. "I'll take care of that during the winter holidays."
Albus and Scorpius could both see Alaric from a distance. He was waving like crazy and Lily followed their gaze. Then she began to smile. "Indicates that he should sit with us."
Albus furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"
Lily narrowed her eyes. "Otherwise I wouldn't suggest it, brother."
Alaric came over to the three of them and greeted them all enthusiastically. He had a girl next to him who looked two years younger and probably was.
"This is my little sister, Faye. She's in third year." A year younger than Lily. Albus and Scorpius both smiled at the girl.
Albus looked at Lily, who seemed to be in a trance. Her eyes almost sparkled as she looked at the girl in front of her. Then she began to smile. "Hey, I'm Lily." She held out her hand, which Faye immediately took.
Albus had to suppress his smile as he looked at the scene. He had already suspected something.
"Hey, I'm Albus' sister!" Alaric grinned. "You met in secret today, didn't you? I'm Alaric, by the way."
Lily nodded in response. "James would probably give me thousands of lectures."
After the sentence was said, everyone laughed.
The five of them talked about all sorts of things. They understood each other very well.
Three Slytherins, one Gryffindor and one Ravenclaw.
Well, after a while there were four Slytherins when Jareth joined the group. It got later and later until the group finally noticed that it was already past curfew.
"Shit," whispered Alaric and everyone immediately stood up. "Can we sneak back into the castle?" Jareth grinned provocatively and Faye sighed. "We have to."
"A little detention never hurt anyone," said Lily and Albus rolled his eyes. "I knew you'd say that now." Lily shrugged her shoulders, grinning.
Faye whispered something in Lily's ear, causing a laugh to escape from Lily's throat.
Albus dared to say that he had never seen Lily as happy as she was today.
"The two of them would be cute together, wouldn't they?" Scorpius nudged Albus, who began to smile. "Oh yes."
"Be quiet!" Alaric demanded as the six entered the corridors of Hogwarts. Nevertheless, the group laughed a little too loudly now and then.
"Into the corridor, now! Filch's cat is up there!" Faye recognized and everyone followed her, laughing quietly.
For a moment, Albus and Scorpius' hands touched, sending a bolt of lightning through Albus' body.
Now his heart was no longer racing because of the fear of being caught, but ultimately just because of Scorpius.
The other four were discussing how to get away from Filch and were ignoring Albus and Scorpius.
Albus' gaze wandered to Scorpius, who was already looking at him. Albus became even more nervous under Scorpius' gaze.
Slowly, Scorpius reached out and gently ran his fingertips behind Albus' ear, touching a few strands of hair there.
Albus swallowed, his heart fluttering at Scorpius' touch.
Why was Scorpius doing that?
Then Albus' eyes wandered to Scorpius' lips before he caught himself and let his gaze wander anywhere but to Scorpius' face.
"Hey, you can go without Albus and me. We still have something to do," Albus suddenly heard Scorpius say and the other four nodded. "It's okay," Lily said before letting her eyes dart back and forth between Albus and Scorpius. Then she frowned before turning her attention back to the other three.
Albus' hands were shaking a little, but he managed to hide it well.
Scorpius pulled Albus along the corridor before they stopped at a quiet corner and he asked Albus to sit down.
Which Albus did. Scorpius sat down next to him.
"What are we doing here?" Albus' voice was barely more than a breath of air.
Scorpius scratched the back of his head. "I wanted to spend time with you alone." Albus just nodded in response.
He hoped Scorpius didn't see that his gaze was directed at his lips.
"The moon is beautiful today, isn't it?" Scorpius asked gently and Albus frowned briefly in confusion before he let his gaze wander to the window. "I think so, yes."
He felt Scorpius' gaze on him and he only turned his head back to Scorpius when he was sure that Scorpius had turned his attention to something else.
Albus sighed once pleasantly and leaned back against the wall, slowly and gently putting his arm around Scorpius' shoulder. Scorpius returned the gesture by laying his head on Albus' shoulder.
They sat like that for a long time.
Two best friends or more?
Two people who made each other feel like they were under fire but at the same time it was so pleasant.
Two people who understood each other best.
Two people that nobody wanted to see together.
♡
This school week has gone by the fastest so far. Now it was Friday and the last lesson.
Albus sat there with his left hand in his hair and his right hand holding the quill. This was the Defense Against the Dark Arts test.
The test for which Albus had studied for so long and Scorpius had helped him.
"Hand in." Slughorn's voice rang out and a groan went through the classroom. Slughorn went to each table and took a quick look at the test before picking it up. When he got to Albus, his gaze rested on the test a little longer than the others.
Coldness crept over Albus' arms. He exhaled nervously.
"Exceeded expectations, Mr. Potter," Slughorn whispered to Albus and then walked away with the test in his hand. "You'll get the test back next week. Have a nice day!"
Scorpius had a genuine grin on his face. "You did it!" He put his hands on Albus' shoulders and Albus nodded immediately. "Thanks for your help, Scorp. Thank you."
Both smiled at eachother and their eyes almost looked like they were sparkling.
Alaric and Jareth turned to the two of them before looking at each other for a moment. Then they nodded. "Albus, are you coming with me for a minute?" Alaric asked innocently and Albus nodded after a brief hesitation. Then he followed him.
Scorpius and Jareth stayed behind in the classroom.
"Um..." Alaric began a little uncertainly and Albus only became more confused. "What's going on?"
"I don't want to offend anyone, but....Is it possible that you two are in love with each other?" Alaric asked and everyone could immediately see that he was referring to Scorpius.
Great.
Just great.
Albus frowned in confusion. "What? No. No." Now Albus was obviously nervous. He couldn't imagine that Scorpius returned his feelings.
But was he so obvious himself?
Sighing, Alaric looked at the floor before letting his gaze wander back to Albus. Alaric tried to hide his little smile. "You are in love with him, aren't you?"
Albus shook his head, his heart racing. "No."
In response, Alaric just nodded, but he looked anything but convinced.
"If you say so. But it's okay if you are. I just wanted to let you know." Alaric patted Albus on the shoulder in a brotherly way. Then he nudged him forward slightly. "We should go back to the others."
Albus stopped after a few steps. "Is that all you wanted?"
Alaric turned to him. "Yes."
"Okay." As Albus was about to leave, Alaric stopped him again. "Look, I'm not that good at showing my feelings. Let alone talking about them. But I still want you and Scorpius to know that I'm starting to like you both."
Albus didn't have time to answer because Alaric had immediately headed for the classroom after the last sentence.
Hawthorn.
First Scorpius Malfoy, then Alaric Hawthorn, then Jareth.
What would his family say about that?
But does Scorpius really return his love?