Chapter 20
Scorpius still can’t believe that this is the last week of their summer. In exactly seven days, they‘re gonna be on their way back to Hogwarts and Beginn their last year of school.
It feels like yesterday when Albus just told Scorpius his name and they became inseparable.
Albus spends their last week with Scorpius in the Malfoy manor. Most of their times they spend with the freshly new couple Timothy and Eudora (it’s not new, they‘ve been going out for three months but they act like they‘ve been apart for a century)
„Honestly, we weren’t that bad“ Scorpius said as they walked to the kitchen. „I mean, aren’t they getting annoyed with each other?“
„maybe we weren’t that bad because we dated in secret“ Albus said. „And we are close like they are too, and we‘re not getting annoyed, or are you annoyed of me?“
„Yes very much, that’s why I always almost choke you in my sleep“ he said. „Are you annoyed of me?“
„holy shit yes, when you cuddle me so much I almost choke is the worst and I always hope you stop, that’s why i‘m doing it too“they both laughter because do their dry Humor
When Scorpius made coffee Albus was on his phone and sat in a chair in front of the counter. „Polly asked if we‘re still up for her party tomorrow“
„I‘m in if you are“ Scorpius answers. „Isn’t weird that she suddenly decided to be nice to us?“
„maybe she‘s finally for gay rights“ he said and Scorpius laughed. „You know what I think is weird? That we‘re technically going out for a year now“ he said
„Technically, but we‘ve broken up in September till Halloween, so not really a year now“
„But when we ignore the horrible two months, we‘ve been together for a year“ he said.He swung his arms around Scorpius from behind and gave him a soft kiss on his neck.
How is it that after a year, this still makes him feel soooo—how did a year ended and he still gets weak in the knees when the boys is near him?
But when they hear slow steps coming in their directly, they separated. „hey dad“ Scorpius said He walked with his Walk stick to the kitchen.
„letter for you“ he said and handed it to his son. Scorpius saw the sender and tried to move away from Albus since he still doesn’t know about it.
It’s from the healer school in New York and as he opened it, his heart was racing so fast he was afraid Albus might hear it
Dear Mr. S. Malfoy,
We‘ll be honoured to have you as a new student on August 1. 2024…
… etc…etc
„I’m in“ he said quietly. „I‘m in!“ shouted louder. „I got accepted!“
„To what?“ Albus asked before Draco could say something
He looked confused to the potter until he realised that he has no idea. „Oh“ he said. „I should leave you alone“ he said and was about to leave. „But, son. I‘m very proud of you“ and so he left
„What’s he talking about?“ Albus asked. „Where did you got accepted?“
„Okay…listen“ he said. Scorpius jumped on the kitchen counter and sat in front of Albus. „Madam Pomfrey wrote a letter to the Marie-Angle-School in New York, so I applied and—I got accepted“ while he’s talking, his smile grew with every word. „So I’m gonna study in New York next year“
Albus tried so hard to keep his smile up. „New York? Wow, that’s—that’s amazing, Scor, I‘m very happy for you“ he said. „Why haven’t you told me sooner?“
„I don’t know, I guess I was scared how you‘re gonna reacted even tho you were the one how really made me do it“
„Really? Why?“
„You were the one who said I shouldn’t listen to those who are unsupportive about my decision—it’s my dream that comes true…you kind gave me that little boast I needed to really applying“ he said proudly. „Isn’t that great?“
„Yea“ Albus voice sounded more surprised than exited. „It’s great, really great, I’m happy for you“ he sank his head lightly to hide his sadness
„You don’t seem so happy“ he said. „I know, New York is far away but—I need to leave“ he took the other boys hands in his and looked him deeply in the eyes. „I‘m tired of England…I’m tired of the weather, I’m tired of Stonehenge right besides my house, I’m tired of being the son of Voldemort to everyone…you need to understand that I need more, I want my childhood back“ he brushed Albus hair away from his face and he could see the slow tears burning up in his eyes. „And I’m tired of keep faking to have a British accent just to fit in even when I have the most American voice you could ever imagine“
Albus took a deep breath to prepare himself for his next question. „are you tired of me?“ he asked
Albus didn’t imaged that Scorpius would smile about that—but he did. „Albus, I can’t get enough of you“ he pulled the boy closer to give him a deep kiss. „And besides, we still have a year left—let’s make it the best year we ever had together“
In the evening they went back to Scorpius‘ room. Albus tried to get his head somewhere else than keep thinking about Scorpius being in new years next year—and that they probably have a long distance relationship—or maybe they break up…
It feels like Albus‘ stomach is getting ripped out by only thinking about it. They both layed in bed on their phones with comfortable silence around them. Albus think they should talk about it—what might happen if he moves away into a whole different continent.
Before he could say something, Scorpius grabbed his phone and threw it on the end of his bed „Hey!“ Albus said right before Scorpius bend over to kiss him—deeply
Scorpius layed on top of him and had both of his hands on each side of Albus‘ head. They both just wanted to lay like this forever—and it even felt like the time around them just stopped—just like Scorpius.
He looked Albus directly in his eyes and was about to say something „Are you okay?“ Albus asked and wanted to stop when Scorpius seemed uncomfortable. „Should we sto-„
„I think I’m ready now“ he said slowly.
„Are you?“ First Albus didn’t quit understand the question, but when Scorpius moved his hand down his chest and was about to lift up his shirt—he understood
It was awkward at first—but they both were filled with all kinds of emotions that it made it better. It was for both of them all so new and exciting. At that moment they both realised how emotionally connected they are—they both knew there was nothing for them to be embarrassed about And Albus never felt like this before—he had a past with his other „boyfriend“—although they never were boyfriends.
It never felt like this before—when they both truly love each other, sex gets a whole different meaning.
When they finished, they layed in bed out of breath and holding each other in their arms. Scorpius brushed his hand over Albus‘ hair. „Have I—hurt you?“ he asked quietly
He looked up. „No“ he said. „I liked it“
This was a relief to Scorpius. They stayed like this until they both fell asleep. What Scorpius didn’t know is that Albus lied.
He haven’t done this in over a year—plus the unexpected size made it difficult not to show his pain. But he didn’t wanted Scorpius to worry, if he told him the truth he would apologise and would stop—he also wouldn’t touch Albus like he did a few minutes ago because he‘ll be scared to hurt him again—and Albus really wanna be touch like this again
<3
„don’t you think it’s weird, that after all this time Polly suddenly decided to be nice to us?“ Albus asked as they walked to the kitchen the day of Polly chapmans Summer end party. „Shouldn’t we be suspicious?“
„Maybe she just realised that after six years of torture it would be better to just be nice to us“ he answered. „But yea, it’s kinda weird, but it’s also our last year so enjoy it at least a little bit“
It’s true, it’s their last year together in Hogwarts—and this was their last summer together. It’s weird how fast time fly’s by and from one moment to another, Scorpius will be on his way far away from Albus while he still has no idea what’s he’s gonna do when he finish school.
He doesn’t even wanna think about how it would be like when Scorpius is gone, and they probably would have a long distance relationship too—it hurts to know that, and it hurts even more to think about what would happen if this doesn’t work out—are they breaking up?
When they arrived to the house of the Chapman‘s—Eudora came running towards them, obliviously already pretty drunk. „My favourite gays, it’s so nice to see you again!“ she said and hugged them both at the same time. „I missed you“
„We saw us like a week ago“ Scorpius said. „how long have you been here?“
„About an hour, and I feel awesome“ she almost spill her entire drink on the floor. „I need to find Timothy, I want a drunk hook up in the bathroom“ and then she left
Albus laughed. „Well, she’s in a good mood“ he said. „whatever was in that drink, I need that too“
„you‘re not in a good mood?“ Scorpius asked. „What’s wrong?“
„Oh—nothing, I’m just sad that summer is over“ he said—which was a lie but fortunately Scorpius noticed nothing.
He keeps reaping in his head: one year left with him
you‘re gonna break up in a year
make it the best year you have with him
Maybe it’s a silly thought—but Albus actually started to believe that they‘re gonna spend the rest of their life’s together
„I need alcohol“ Albus said as they walked into the kitchen where tons of different alcohols were standing
„But please don‘t get completely wasted, I don‘t know if my dad‘s gonna be up when we‘re coming home“ he said as Albus took his first shot
„You should get drunk too“ he said and gave Scorpius a vodka shot too. „last week of summer, who knows whats gonna happen in a year“
Right before Scorpius was able to drink—he stoped as the sentence his boyfriend just said caught him of guard. „What do you mean by that?“
„Well, you know—you‘re going away in less that a year, so“
„I don’t understand, I thought you were happy for me?“ he said and puts his shot down
„Scor—oh god, I am so happy for you can’t believe it…it’s just—no, we‘re not doing this now, we need to get drunk“ and he took another shot—that was suppose to be Scorpius‘
„Albus-„ he started to say when all of the sudden Polly Chapman came to interrupt
„Albus! My guy“ she said and layed her arm around him. „You know, I’m so happy you‘re here“ she said—obviously she already had a few drink. „You need to know, my whole entire life I hated gay people“ she said and Scorpius laughed a little about that. „But than I realised…i‘m one of them“
„Oh, wow—congrats?“ Albus said
„Thanks, and you know, my girlfriend is the hottest bitch in the entire school too“ she laughed and left—without giving Scorpius any attention
„Who would’ve thought that“ Albus said. „I kinda feel sorry if the girlfriend tho“
„She didn’t even say hi to me“ Scorpius said. „Isn’t that weird?“
„Everything about this girl is weird“
„Yea, I guess you‘re right“ Scorpius said and saw that Albus filled a whole cup full with vodka. „Don’t you think that’s enough already?“
He looked at his boyfriend with a grin and started sipping from the cup. „It’s never enough“
After midnight, Albus was in a condition where he’s talking and talking without pause—and right now with his mental stability and the fact that he’s probably breaking up with his boyfriend in less than a year—it’s not looking good
He decided to stay away from Scorpius because he’s afraid he’s gonna say something dumb—as usual
He’s sitting at a corner with Timothy and talking over the loud music. „We‘re so gonna break up“ Albus said and took another sip of his drink
„Have you even talked about it yet?“ he asked. „I mean, maybe long distance is gonna work and you gonna life happily ever after, ever considered that?“
„he probably hasn’t even thought about what’s gonna happen between us, right now he’s soooo exited that he leaves next year and probably never coming back“ he said. „I don’t wanna break up with him!“
„Tell him“
„But what if he breaks up with me?“
„No, mate, Scorpius loves you, everybody in this fucking room knows that. And if you guys break up, I’ll won’t believe in love anymore“
During that, Scorpius was looking everywhere in the house for his boyfriend. He looked at all the rooms until he needed to relax a bit
the alcohol made it hard to walk. He finds an room with a bed in the middle—and on the bed there was no one but Rose Granger Weasley „The party is down there, you know“ Scorpius said. „Are you alright? You seem upset“
„Yea—no, I’m not, i‘m just thinking“ she said. Rose moved her whole body on the bed and layed down. „when you started dating Albus—you already knew you were gay, right?“ she asked
Scorpius sat on the edge of the bed and seems confused by her question. „Well, I knew it way longer“ he said
„When you had a crush on me, was that fake? Or where you just trying to hide your real feelings?“
„sweetheart, It was not fake“
„But you‘re gay?“
„Gay, bi, pan, whatever you wanna call it. You know I never was a big fan of labels“ he said. „What’s this about, Rose?“
She exhaled loudly. „I like a girl, but—people would judge me“
„No one would judge you for being into girls—„
„No, I know…people would judge me because of the girl I’m dating“ she said. „But I really like her, I don’t know how that happened, but it did and I don’t know what people would think of me and I’m so scared“
„Why does it matter to you so much? Okay, people may judge you, but do you have any idea how much me and Albus where judged? I mean, we got outed in the Daily prophet“ he said. „A Malfoy dating a potter—how is that possible“ he layed down besides her. „But we went through it together, and than someday everyone accepted us for who we are“
„that’s another thing I’m scared about“ he voice went quiet. „You guys didn’t had any control of your coming out—and I have famous parents too, what if it’s gonna happen to me too? And then I’m not the only one suffering about it“ she turned to her side to face him. „And I don’t want to hurt her like that“
„I‘m gonna be real honest with you, you‘re gonna suffer—both of you. It’s never easy to come out. but another thing is, you really don’t have to do it“ he said and took her hand for comfort. „Albus and I never wanted a big announcement and be like hey we‘re together now—the original plan was to just stop hiding“
„that went well“
He laughed lightly. „And then we got outed and literally had no power of who knows and who don’t—that’s also the reason we were apart at the begging of our sixth year. It was so much pressure on him that we thought it would be better if we‘re not together anymore. Bad idea, because now we‘re deeply in love with each other and I honestly can’t imagine a life without him“ He said until his gaze changed. „But—it’s gonna happen in less that a year“ he said mostly to himself
„Why that?“
He never really thought about what’s gonna happen if he leaves for New York and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his heart and it felt like his stomach is getting ripped out. „I got accepted in a healer school in New York—this is my last year in England“
„bloody hell, Scorpius, that’s great! Congratulations“
„Thanks“ he chuckled nervously and starred at the ceiling. „I won’t see Albus anymore tho“ he said. „Now I understand why he‘s so upset—he‘s sad I’m leaving…and I didn’t even thought about it what happens to us—I’m the worst boyfriend…“
„Don’t say that, you‘re awesome boyfriend—and Albus would say the same thing“ she said. „but you two will work it out, right?“
„I don’t know, we spent for the parts six years almost everyday with each other—I don’t think long distance is gonna work out“ he said slowly—keep staring at the ceiling—hoping Rose won’t see the tears that started burning in his eyes. „But I don’t wanna break up either“
„Tell him, you need to talk about it“ she said. „Now, you already cheered me up and honestly—I’m not so scared anymore“ she said and sat up on the bed. „I see how good it worked out between you two and it gives me hope, so thank you“
Scorpius looked at her face and sees she’s being honest. „It’s Polly, isn’t it?“
„Don’t tell anyone“ she said quietly
„I won’t“
the moment Scorpius trying to stay up again, he felt a dizzy feeling and realised he’s drunk—too drunk to talk to Albus about that topic right now. „I‘ll talk to Albus in the morning, when we both sobered up“ He left the room to give Rose some time for herself.
He walked down the stairs into the area where the loud music came from and saw Albus sitting with Timothy in the corner of the room—god knows how many drink Albus already had.
He walked up to them and saw a gaze of fear in Albus face. „Let’s go home“ Scorpius said and took his hand
„I don’t wanna go home“ he said
„Albus, please“
„No, only so you can break up with me, I don’t need that“
and suddenly, it felt like the room went quiet—but Scorpius still saw people dancing to the music without anyone giving them attention „We‘ll talk tomorrow“ he said. „Let’s go home now“
Without anymore discussion, Albus went home with him. They used floo powered and landed in the big main room which is connected to the kitchen. The silence between them sounded very loud and they both wanted to say something but didn’t dare to start.
„My dad is probably already asleep“ Scorpius said. Albus didn’t answer. He just sat down on the big couch and looked at his hands.
Scorpius noticed a tear dropping down from his boyfriends cheek and sat down beside him „I never thought about what will happen when I go“ he said. „But now I see that you‘re upset and we need to talk about it—but not today. We can’t do this drunk“
„I‘m not drunk“
„We both are, let’s get some sleep and talk about it in the morning“ he stood up and was expecting Albus to follow him—he didn’t
„No“ he said. „We talk about it now, I don’t care how drunk we are“
„Albus-„
„Are we breaking up?“ Hearing these words from him mouth hurts even more than when he only thought about it in his head.
„I don’t know“ was the only thing Scorpius was able to say. „I don’t want to“
Albus exhaled. „Me neither“ he said quietly. „so what now?“
„Long distance is never going to work out“ he said. „But—I can’t imagine a life without you“ he took his hand and trying not to cry right now. „I love you. And god, you have no idea how long I wanted to tell you that, I loved you for years now and being with you is the best thing that ever happen to me, I can’t stop saying it“
„You said you don’t want to break up but why does it sound like you do right now?“
„I won’t break up with you“ he said. „But—I think we have to separate when I move to New York“
Albus slowly pulls his hand back to him. „So what‘re you saying?“
„We stay together for the year…than we break up“
„So you just wanna put a timeline in our relationship?“ he asked almost mad. „Scor, that’s fucked up“
„Do you have a better plan? I mean, we both don’t want to break up—but we agree that long distance is not working so…what do you think?“ he asked. „Or we end it right now“
„No—I definitely don’t want to end it“ he said. He thought about it for a long time and then exhaled loudly. „Alright—we break up after the school year is over“
Scorpius pulled his boyfriend into a deep hug on the couch. „This is so messed up“ he said They stayed like that for a while—Albus head resting on Scorpius shoulder while he gave him soft kisses on his forehead
<3
Albus left the Malfoy manor at six in the morning. After spending five entire weeks together—sleeping at each others houses and spending time together, it feels like somethings missing.
He sees Albus in a few days again but he misses him so much already
„Good morning“ his father said when he walked to the kitchen—slowly with his walking stick „It’s noon“ he said while sipping on his coffee. „Since when do you sleep so much? Albus already left“
„Well, I stayed up real late last night“ he said. Draco sat down on the table and looked at his son like he needs to say something now
He saw the gaze of his father—he knew. „You heard?“
„Every word“
„Look, dad, I don’t wanna talk about it right now“ he said. „If you heard everything that you know what’s going on and I don’t need to explain myself“
„Do you really think it’s a good idea?“
„No, absolutely not, but it’s the only way“ he said. „If I could, I would stay with Albus for the rest of my life—but I can’t“
„You know this is not going to be easy— it hurts even more when you know that you only stay together for a year an then it’s over“
„Yes dad, it hurts, but there is no other way—can we please stop talking about it now?“
„Alright. Let’s talk about something else“ he said. „You know how I quit my job at the ministry because of—you know“ he say. „well, I’ve been looking for a job for quiet some time now—and I found one“
„That’s great dad, where?“
He started to smile. „you‘re looking at your new potions teacher right now“
Scorpius wides his eyes. „You‘re kidding! That’s that’s awesome“