Chapter 26
I'm full of unsaid words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♡
Albus was just about to go into the bathroom, but before he did he knocked again. Better safe than sorry.
"Yes." That was Scorpius' voice and it sounded a little higher than usual. But only for a moment.
Albus slowly opened the door before entering the room and discovering Scorpius in there.
"You did a good job, Al," said Scorpius and Albus was a little confused for a moment until he had a guess.
He slowly walked over to Scorpius, his hand wandered to Scorpius' collar and pulled the sweater down a little. There was a very strong hickey hidden under the sweater.
Oops.
Albus blushed at that. Scorpius giggled for a moment.
"It was great, wasn't it?" Scorpius suddenly whispered, moving his face closer and stopping just in front of Albus' lips.
"More than that," Albus whispered back, putting his hands on Scorpius' waist. Scorpius' eyes darted back and forth between Albus' eyes and lips. His fingers brushed a few strands of hair from Albus' face before he gently placed his lips on his.
Out of longing, Albus immediately deepened the kiss, which is why Scorpius pushed him against the wall. Their bodies pressed against each other, Scorpius' hands immediately wandered under Albus' sweater - out of reflex, Albus pressed himself even closer to Scorpius. His hands gently ran over his hips, his back and his stomach.
A light and very quiet moan escaped Albus' mouth, which turned Scorpius on even more.
Goosebumps ran through Scorpius' body as Albus' hands disappeared under his sweater.
Their breathing became heavier and the only thing that was in their heads was the other.
But of course there had to be a mood killer, as footsteps sounded outside the room and disappeared again. That brought the two back to the present.
"Fuck..." whispered Scorpius before the two distanced themselves from each other.
♡
"We should go on a trip," suggested Fleur, Bill immediately looked at her. "Does that have to be?"
Hermione put her hands on her hips. "Well, it's still better than sitting around here."
"Trip!" Hugo jumped up, Rose sat next to him and flinched a little. "Dude!"
"And where to? There are no places," Ron thought, and Hermione slapped him on the shoulder. "There are enough Muggle places," she suggested, and there was a brief silence in the room.
"Why not?" Fred's voice rang out. "Well, I think that's a good idea."
"I knew you were well-behaved," Ginny said, squeezing his shoulder for a moment.
"We'll think of something for the rest of the holidays."
♡
Albus gave Scorpius a kiss before he pulled away again and distanced himself. Scorpius tilted his head, confused.
"Want a challenge?" Albus stood up straight and Scorpius put his arms under his head. "What challenge?"
Albus shrugged innocently. "Well, I noticed that it's very difficult for you not to kiss me. And that's why I thought that you aren't allowed to kiss me today. If you manage that, you've won."
A grin crept across Scorpius' face and he slowly stood up. He moved towards Albus and put his hands on his hips. "And what do I get if I win?"
"You decide then," Albus grinned and Scorpius tightened his grip on his hips. "Touching is allowed?"
Albus nodded. "But don't you think that will be harder for you then?"
"It's already difficult for me," Scorpius began and swallowed once. "But we'll see."
"Good luck," said Albus, before leaning closer to Scorpius' lips, then immediately turning around and walking towards the door.
"Your games are driving me crazy."
♡
You could tell that Ginny Weasley was starting to suspect something. But she didn't want to speak to him because she wasn't completely sure. And she wanted Albus to come to her on his own.
She and Hermione were just in the garden together to build a small campfire. They wanted to bring the family together in the garden this evening and enjoy a good time.
Ginny really wanted to broach the subject with Hermione, but she didn't want to do it behind Albus' back.
But then Hermione broke the awkward silence.
"Albus and Scorpius are close, aren't they?"
Ginny's first reaction was to freeze. Her brain was rattling and confused. Then she nodded slowly.
"I mean, they're friends. That's what we've learned."
Hermione nodded. "I think they're best friends." Ginny agreed, of course.
She breathed a sigh of relief. She was more than happy that Hermione had only talked about best friends. Ginny wouldn't have known what she would have said then.
"Do you think that will hold?" asked Hermione and Ginny smiled in response. "Sure." The family came out into the garden. With the guests, of course.
"Why are we doing this again?" asked Percy, George nodded immediately. "I'd like to know too."
Ginny folded her hands. "I think that will be good for us. At least to spend onenormalevening."
After that, marshmallows were made over the campfire - everyone was involved in various conversations. Ginny let her eyes wander over the whole scenario until she stopped at a certain group.
She couldn't hold back her smile when she saw Albus, Scorpius, Alaric, Jareth, Faye and Lily laughing together.
She suspected that Lily was secretly part of this group of friends. And not just liked them - like she had said to the family.
Harry then sat down next to her. Ginny tensed.
"Darling, I don't feel comfortable doing this. I don't trust the Slytherins. I just can't do it, darling," Harry explained in a whisper and Ginny turned her head to Harry. Then she took his hands in hers. "Can you at least try? For Albus?"
Harry exhaled shakily. "I don't know if I can do this, darling."
Ginny nodded towards her son. "Don't you see how comfortable he is with them? Have you ever seen him so comfortable with us? With the family?"
"I..." Harry's voice broke. He just didn't want to. He just couldn't trust them - no matter how hard he tried.
"I love you," Harry whispered and Ginny began to smile before kissing him gently. "I love you too, forever."
Albus watched the scenario. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could see that it was about him.
Lily followed his gaze before leaning on his shoulder and putting her hand on his. "It'll be fine, I promise you. I'm here."
♡
"Albus! Can you stay here for a second?"
Albus turned and looked at his father. His heart began to race - his father wanted to speak to him alone, this realization hit him now.
Ginny put her hand on Albus' shoulder, gave it a quick squeeze before she disappeared from the kitchen - but before that she gave Harry a stern look.
"Shall we sit down?"
Albus nodded, pulled the chair away from the table a little and then sat down. Harry swallowed before following Albus.
Harry put his hands on the table and cleared his throat. "Okay, um... I wanted to talk, just talk. Without arguing."
Albus nodded slowly, then Harry continued.
"So, I wanted to try to explain to you that I just can't trust these people."
Albus interrupted him. "Those people? Seriously, Dad?"
Harry nodded quickly. "That's right, sorry. Wrong wording. So, your friends apparently. Um, it's really hard. And I just can't bear the thought of you being friends with them. It just doesn't work. I don't want this, but I also know that I can't force you. I can only hope that you realize yourself that they aren't good for you. They come from bad families, Albus. Please don't forget that. Never."
Harry opened his mouth, but Albus stood up abruptly. "Dad, I don't think I can talk about it right now. I'm sorry, but I can't. I get too upset when you talk about Malfoy like that, and I know that you can't stand him. And probably never will. But I want a better relationship with you again, I've wanted that for years, but right now it just isn't working. And you know that yourself. I haven't always been good or nice to you either, I know that. But you can't really see your mistakes and that hurts me. And it will probably take some time before we can both get back to normal again. Which, if I may remind you, was at the beginning of the first year, Dad. I would like to talk to you more now, but I know that I will say things that I don't really mean. And you will do the same. I hope you can accept that today."
Harry's eyes had grown wider the more Albus talked. Ginny was hidden behind the door, tears in her eyes.
Albus swallowed once before nodding slightly to Harry, then turning around and making his way towards the stairs.
After she heard a door slam, Ginny immediately moved towards Harry, who had already laid his head on the table. She wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm a bad dad."
Ginny sniffed when she heard Harry's trembling voice.
"No, you're not, love. Albus is hurting, you hurt him - that's true. But you can start to change towards him. But you have to remember that he will need time. You've treated him like a black sheep for the last few years. No wonder he finds comfort with someone else."
"And what if I can't, Ginny?"
"Then I see a big problem coming for all of us."
♡
Then Albus came into his room and closed the door.
"Everything okay?" asked Jareth, as he recognized Albus first.
"Did you argue with your dad again?"
Albus shook his head. His hands were shaking.
Scorpius noticed this immediately and stood up. He took Albus by the arm and pulled him into the bathroom, where the two could be alone.
"What happened?" Scorpius looked at Albus gently.
"I don't think my dad and I can ever have a normal relationship again. I... I think that's in the past forever. But I don't want that. I wanted so much for us to have a normal relationship again..."
Scorpius took Albus's shaking hands in his and kissed them tenderly. Then he gave Albus a gentle kiss on the lips, which mixed with the taste of Albus' tears.
But that didn't bother Scorpius.
Albus was able to laugh a little. "You lost the challenge."
Scorpius then smiled a little too. "We'll do it again sometime."
Then Scorpius kissed Albus again. The kiss was full of love and tenderness.
The bathroom door wasn't completely closed, which is why Ginny was able to see the last kiss between the two of them. She actually just wanted to check on Albus.
And now she had seen them kiss.