Snow day
Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy
January 3rd
Hogwarts express
12 : 00
The minute he walked into the room his parents were currently occupying, he knew he was in big trouble.
“ Albus, care to explain what that was all about ? “ his mother asks.
He swallowed.
“ Well ? “ she prompted.
“ Rose came up to me and….she said that she wanted to be friends again.”
Ginny pressed her hands against her temples. “ I dont see why you could not handle that in a rational way Albus. Honey, I understand that Rose and you have had a…rough time these past three years, but you need to start to begin to move on. If Rose wants extend an olive branch, I think you should humor her.“
“ Yea well I’m pretty sure her mom was the one that was making her “ apologize “ Albus muttered.
Ginny Weasley s eyes narrow. “ That’s it. I am done with your attitude, Albus Severus Potter. “ she hissed. “ You are to apologize to your cousin immediately, and when you do so you will pack your bags and return home immediately. “
…..and then as usual my cousins and my siblings have taken Rose s side and all but a few refuse to talk to me..“ Albus finished morosely. “ And then to make things worse, my grandpop stepped onto an obsidian spike that someone left hanging around and we has to go to St Mungo s to get it removed. So I’ve had a lovely holiday, thank you for asking. “
“ Oh. “
“ Well. “
“ Well at least New Years could have gone better right ?….Right ?“ Bree says,
“ Well……not exactly. “
Bree and Scorpius get even more slack-jawed as he recounted that after his familial outburst, his siblings have been annoyed at him and the fact that his grandpop had a brief stay in the hospital did not help ease tension in the Potter household.
“ Well….that was interesting “ Bree said.
An awkward silence descended upon the group
“ So uh….does anyone want to hear about my holiday ? Scorpius asked
Bree elbowed him in the ribs.
“ That s a little insensitive Scorp. “ she said but she was smiling.
Scorpius smiled sheepishly “ Sorry I did not know what to say. “
Bree snorted.
“ Oh and I just remembered ! “ She reached into her duffel bag. “ I got these for you guys ! “
She pulled out two small individual packets that she gave to them.
“ Oh wow ! “ Scorpius exclaims as he held up a small green froggie pin to the light “ I love it ! “
In spite of himself, Albus smiled as he clipped the bat pin to his backpack .
“ Yea sure Scorp, lets hear about your holiday “
“ Oh, uh well alright so my dad accidentally… “
———————-
Albus Potter
Divination class
January 6th
9 : 00 am
“ Alright students, today we have a new student joining us ! “ Ms Patil declared “ Ms Chang, care to introduce yourself ? “
All idle chatter stopped and everyone turned and stared at the new arrival.
She stared at the room cooly and gave them a half wave before replanting her nose in her copy of Witch Weekly.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw a bunch of people swoon and inwardly groaned.
Apparently it was not missed on Ms Patil “ Miss Chang why dont you go sit next to Mr Potter here. He can help you out with the divination work. “
“ Well isn’t this just great. “ Albus muttered.
Ai- Mei didn’t seem to care as she gracefully made her way over to to his table. She plopped on the seat right next to him.
Albus payed her no mind and kept on working.
“ Potter right ? “ A cool voice said next to him. “ Ive been wanting to meet you. “
Albus looked up, annoyed.
“ If these are about those rumors about me I- “ he started to say but she pressed a well manicured nail to his lip.
She smirked.
“ I knew it. You did have some personality in you. “
“ Mr Potter, Ms Chang im glad you two are making friends up there but its not the time. “
Albus cheeks flushed in embarrassment and so he pulled his cap over his head.
Ai-Mei snorted.
“ Could you not ? “ Albus muttered.
She flipped her long silky black hair and Albus could see that she was wearing pearl earrings.
“ Nope“ she said emphasizing on the p and started applying some shiny lipgloss.
Albus rolled his eyes and kept working.
——————-
Albus Potter
January 4th
After-school ( Hogwarts grounds )
4 : 00 pm
“ You met Ai-Mei Chang today ? And she sat next to you willingly ? “ Scorpius exclaimed.
“ No Ms Patil made her sit next to me. “ Albus groused, looking ahead. “ She s so …weird. She said two words to me, and then did not talk to me the whole lesson. “
“ You know, when you get to know her, she isn’t as cold as you see her to be “ Bree chimed in.
Albus let out a screech and Scorpius jumped three feet into the air.
“ Where did you come from ? “ Scorpius asked. “ And where did you get that ! “
Bree took a sip from her hot-chocolate. “ I conjured it. And to answer your question- “ she points at Albus “ I was here the whole time. You just failed to notice. “
A cup materialized into Scorpius s hand.
“ It has multicolored marshmallows in it. You welcome. “
Albus whirled towards Scorpius. “ How come you two are so close all of the sudden ? “
Even through his thick scarf, A very visible hint of a blush spread underneath Scorpius s cheeks.
“ Ah… Well Gryfindor and Hufflepuffs have quite a few classes together. “
“ Wait Albus…..dont tell me your jealous ! “ Bree exclaimed. She vanished her cup, and then put an arm over his shoulder.
“ Dont worry we have enough space in our newly growing friendship for our favorite emo kid. “
Albus smiled in spite of himself until he realized the new nickname he had somehow acquired.
“ I am NOT an emo kid. “
“ Albus with all due respect you wear dark clothes, you brood all the time and you refuse to socialize with anyone but me and Scorpius. Also you hate chocolate. “
“ Me hating chocolate does not make me an emo kid. “
“ So you say- “
Scorpius swooped in. “ Oookay lets avoid conflict ! I have Muggle Studies in ten minutes. Do you guys have anything ? “
“ Yes I have my Theatre class in …..FIVE MINUTES ? Ms Abbot s gonna kill me if I come late…again..ill see you guys later !”
She jogged towards the castle.
“ So Albus, ive notices that someone is engaging into normal conversation with Bree now. “
Albus gave his best friend an exasperating look. “ Okay fine. She s not that bad, it s not that hard to admit. “
Scorpius smiled and then checked his watch.
“ I appreciate the bonding moment, but I think we should go now. I have never had a tardy on my record, and I will not want to start now. “
Albus shivered against the frigid January air. “ Yea I agree. “
Both of the boys turned and headed back towards the castle.
Albus was grateful for the heating charms placed around the castle the minute the big iron doors closed in on the both of them.
“ Well what are you planning to do after I go to class ? “ Scorpius asked.
“ Well ill probably go to the library and do some homework….If I forget to submit another Transfiguration assignment Im sure Ms Mitchen will have my head. “
The boys stepped onto a rotating staircase that they knew brought them to the third floor. The third floor once held a series of traps created by previous teachers to protect the Philosopher s stone from the grasp of Lord Voldemort. Nowadays they just held classes that were added after the reopening of Hogwarts.
As the stairs neared their destination, Albus heard a very familiar voice emitting from the hallway.
He stepped off the stairs and froze.
James was leaning against the wall and flirting with a Gryffindor girl in his year. Upon seeing his brother, he quickly pushed against the wall and looked elsewhere.
“ Albus why did you stop so abruptly ?…oh. Hello James.“
“ Albus. “
“ James. “
The brothers looked at each other, unsure on what to say.
“…This is your brother ? “ The girl says. “ He’s kinda…small. “
Albus narrowed his eyes. His height was a sore subject.
James ignored her comment. “ Hey Sharon.. ill catch up to you later. “ He says.
She obliges and after blowing James a kiss goodbye ( making the other two boys extremely uncomfortable. )
Scorpius glanced at his watch and sent Albus an apologetic glance.
“ I have to go “ He mouthed.
“ Traitor “ Albus said with his eyes.
“ Well uh..I have to get going. Nice to see you James. “ Scorpius adjusted his glasses and left.
Albus watched his friend turn around the corner, desperately wishing that he would turn around, but he knew he couldn’t.
“ Albus. “ James said seriously. “ We need to talk. “
Albus feebly attempted to make an excuse to explain why he didn’t want to be there at the moment.
“ Uh do you think we can talk later ? I..uh I have to finish an assignment for Mrs Mitchen and you know how she is with missing assignments…”
“ Albus, ive known you long enough that you dont particularly care for your homework. “ James cut him off quietly. “ And you do know I saw you tactfully avoid Molly in the hallway the other day. “
A brief flash of guilt flickered on Albus s face.
“ You need to apologise to Rose you know. It was not fair that you yelled at her like that. “
“ Why do I need to apologize to Rose ? She never apologized to me for what she did in our second year ! “ Albus answered hotly.
“ That was the past Albus ! Everyone wants to move on except for you ! “ James retorted.
“ You know James, it would be amazing if you actually stood up for me, your brother for once.“ Albus snarled.
Not wanting to stick around to hear his brother s response, Albus turned around and stormed off.
——————————-
Scorpius Malfoy
Hogwarts Corridor
January 5th
6 : 30 pm
Something happened with James, Scorpius was sure of it. From his vantage point of the Gryffindor table, he noticed that his friend was hunched over his plate, and seldom touched it. A flurry of movement caught his eye. From the Hufflepuff table, Bree subtly pointed at Albus and mouthed. “ What’s up with him ? “
“ I don’t know. “ He mouthed back.
He tried to focus on his dinner but Albus s mannerisms kept playing in his mind. It was fine…he would ask him about it after dinner.
He stood up, and after picking up his plate, he decisively crossed the grand hall, ignoring the stares and gasps of the students who noticed what he was doing.
“ Pardon me. “ He politely asked a third-year girl . “ May I sit here ? “
She nodded, too stunned to say anything.
Scorpius slid in the empty space next to his best friend.
Albus stared at him.
“ Since when were you brave enough to pull a stunt like this ? “ He said, unable to keep the astonishment out of his voice.
Scorpius cut straight to the point“ What happened with James today ? “ He whispered.
Albus s face took a more guarded expression.
“ He told me to apologize to Rose, because I blew up at her on Christmas Day. “ He answered.
Speaking about Rose, he looked over to the Gryfindor table and noticed that she was the only one amongst her friends who were not whispering. Instead, she was staring at them both with a calculating gaze. She made no effort to turn away, once she noted that Scorpius was looking at her.
Scorpius looked away and refocused on Albus.
“ How was Muggle Studies today ? “ Albus asked.
Scorpius smiled “ We learned more about Rockets today “ He said Happily. “ They are so interesting. “
Scorpius felt himself go on a rant, but he didnt care. The contented face expression on his best friends face made everything worth it.