#scorbus

Fri, 17 Feb 2017 13:02:34

Written by @rarity-kasket

1.4k words, T rated

Albus is exhausted when he retires to the Slytherin dormitory after a long day of watching couples snog nauseatingly in every corridor of the castle, and dodging owls swooping in and out with scented red and pink envelopes. He hates this time of the year.

However, the sight of Scorpius sitting on his bed, surrounded by a fort of books and parchment, revives something in Albus. When Scorpius finally notices his presence, he looks up from his thick book and smiles before quickly burying his head back into his studies.

“You finally made it back,” Scorpius remarks as his eyes scan the pages of the book in his hands. Albus shrugs off his robe and slips out of his shoes and socks before flinging himself on top of Scorpius.

“Albus Severus Potter!” Scorpius gasps, squirming under the weight of Albus’ body. “You’re crinkling my notes!”

“Mm, I don’t care,” Albus replies, pressing his face against the crook of Scorpius’ neck.

“Albus, I really need to study tonight. We need to study tonight.”

“Stop being a nerd for like one moment.”

“There is a test in Defence against the Dark Arts this week, and it’s absolutely imperative that I familiarise myself with the different hexes and-”

Albus cuts him off with the gentle press of his lips. A part of him should feel guilty for dragging Scorpius away from such important work, but it’s hard to feel bad when Scorpius’s warm mouth presses back against his own. One of Scorpius’s hands reaches up to cup his face as the other hand weaves gently through his dark hair. A soft and audible moan leaves Albus’s lips at the warm, wet welcome of Scorpius’s tongue slipping into his mouth.

It’s Scorpius who pulls away first, flushing.

“You’re a terrible influence. We have a test to study for and essays to write.” Scorpius says, smiling, and Albus can’t help but smile back.

“Seriously Scorpius, do you want to spend the whole evening absorbed in those old drab books?”

“They aren’t drab. They’re actually fascinating. For instance, did you know that jinxes, hexes, and curse-” Albus kisses him again.

“You’re geeking out on me,” Albus says affectionately when he pulls back to look at Scorpius, who looks a bit dazed, cheeks bright pink.

“Geekiness comes with the Scorpius package.”

“Can I have a refund then?” Albus grins cheekily.

“If you’re going to poke fun at how geeky I am all night, I can go back to studying.”

Albus replies quickly. “No!”

“I thought so.” Scorpius leans his forehead against Albus’s shoulder, his hand tugging gently at his hair. For some reason, this draws a quiet laugh from Albus. Scorpius turns to look at him, smiling softly before pressing a kiss to the corner of his smile.

“Tell me all about your day, your royal geekness.”

Albus listens to small details of Scorpius’s day. Like talking with Professor Slughorn about the upcoming potions essay, a brutal Quidditch practice, and studying for their transfiguration quiz.

“Rose and I were in the library together when the most peculiar thing happened.”

“What was that?” Albus asks.

“Apparently, Yann worked up the courage to ask Rose out. A dozen or so owls swooped in dropping rose after rose until the table was completely covered in them. Roses for Rose.” Scorpius giggles at his own joke. Albus ignores it.

“What did she say?”

“That she would at least consider his offer. There are other suitors.”

“Merlin’s beard, how many?”

“I don’t know. I feel bad for him. I think he was hoping Rose would be his Valentine tomorrow.”

“Ugh, Valentine’s day. Don’t remind me. You can’t turn a single corner without seeing people snogging. And I am pretty sure that Lily is attempting to brew a love potion.” Albus throws himself back against the mattress.

“It’s just a holiday.” Scorpius shifts on his hands and knees, leaning over Albus.

“I hate Valentine’s day,” Albus grumbles. “It’s a completely ridiculous. Why do you need one day to show people that you care about them? It makes single people feel lonely and puts too much pressure on people in relationships to spend money on ridiculous gifts that they can hardly afford. I’m just glad that there’s someone else who also understands how pointless this all is.”

Scorpius looks down at Albus curiously.

“Who? Rose?”

“No, you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Oh.”

Albus pushes himself up on his elbows as Scorpius’s eyes flicker away from him with an uncertain expression.

“You like Valentine’s day!” Albus winces at how accusatory his tone sounds.

“It’s just a holiday.” Scorpius sighs.

“ I thought we decided not to celebrate Valentine’s day. ”

“Because I know how much you hate it.” Scorpius shrugs and sits back on his heels. “Yeah, it would be nice to receive a rose on Valentine’s day, but it’s not about the gifts. I don’t need a gift to know that I love you.”

Albus’s breath hitches softly at the sudden confession, and he feels his heart surges before racing like the speed of lightening.

Scorpius Malfoy loves him. Deep down, Albus feels that he already knew this. That he’s known for a long time now. That both Scorpius and he have been dancing around these three little words, afraid to break the spell. And now, it’s finally broken. It feels like everything has changed, and yet all remains the same. Albus swallows thickly as he thinks of what to say back.

“You love me?” Albus asks quietly as he watches a warm flush darken Scorpius cheeks.

“I’ve always loved you, Albus. You’re my best friend. You’re my first friend.” Scorpius pauses and looks up at the ceiling for the words before he sighs. “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you. Even though you make fun of me all the time and sometimes you’re in the most terrible moods and you can be a little self-centered-”

“Scorpius,”

“Right, sorry- Albus, you make me the happiness person in the world. I love you. I’m in love with you.”

Albus swallows thickly again as he tries to push the words out of his mouth. It’s just three simple words, and yet his tongue feels heavy as lead.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way–”

“No! You too. No, I mean, me too. I feel the same way too.“ Albus face-palms at his own botched confession. “I love you too. “ Slowly, a gentle smile tugs on Scorpius’s lips before he pushes Albus back against the bed.

“Say it again,”Scorpius breathes. Albus groans. Scorpius shouldn’t be allowed to look at him like that or say things like that. It’s unfair. It does things to Albus, makes him feel warm and light and drunk all over.

“You’re really going to make me botch this up again.”

“Yes.”

“Fine,” Albus exhales. “I love you.”

“And again.”

“I love you.”

“Again.”

Albus laughs. “Are you ever going to get tired of hearing me say it?”

“Nope.” Scorpius pops his lips obnoxiously, grinning from ear to ear, “Albus, I don’t care about Valentine’s day or the gifts. I care about you and being with you. So I’m okay if we don’t celebrate Valentine’s day. “

“Anyway, we all know that the best day is the day after Valentine’s day.”

Scorpius grins before he guesses, “All the discounted chocolate at Honeyduke’s that you can eat?”

“So it’s a date?”

“Absolutely. I won’t be late. I’ll be on Valentime! ” Albus groans at the awful pun, and Scorpius laughs heartily at his own joke. “Get it?”

“I wish I hadn’t.”

“Admit it, you loved it!.”

“I love you.”

Scorpius grows very pink at Albus’s confession. Albus feels his own cheeks grow warm too.

“And my puns?”

“Scorpius…”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t ruin this.” Albus leans forward to capture the laughter on Scorpius’s lips. And as much as he hates the snogging couples and the owls on their way with scented envelopes and roses, Albus realises that he’s not so different in this moment with Scorpius.

When it comes to love, they’re sappy, gross, and vomit-inducing too.

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

Thu, 16 Feb 2017 13:02:26

By@abradystrix

With massive thanks to @torestoreamends for beta-ing and @autumn-of-ilvermorny for snogging enthusiasm :)

~~~

It’s a beautiful evening on the shore.

The water is warm and their toes are clutched deep into the wet sand as they roll their trouser legs up. Scorpius can’t help but glance at the skin on Albus’ legs, pale beneath a thatch of dark hair, bony ankles and knobbly knees exposed. His own feet seem long and gangly in comparison, and they instinctively curl inwards as his focus changes to the warm hand clasped in his.

He turns to look at Albus, whose gaze is soft and rests on the very line of the horizon. It burns orange and pink at the close of day. Scorpius rests his forehead down onto the crown of Albus’ head and breathes in the smell of the sea, the salty tang of the air and Albus. Just Albus. Fierce, funny, windswept Albus.

Albus tilts his head up to gaze at his friend, and something shifts. Before Scorpius realises what he’s doing, he’s caught Albus’ lips with his own and is kissing him, being kissed by him, feeling his breath and his soft lips and the slightest hint of a warm, tentative tongue.

His heart catches in his throat as the kiss deepens, and Albus’ hands are in his hair. He pulls him closer, pressing their chests together, beating hearts talking to one another through the soft fabric of their clothes. He rests his hands on Albus’ waist, softly at first, pulling him closer as it all intensifies. Feeling a burning sense of need inside, he allows his fingers to brush the delicate line where Albus’ t-shirt has ridden up and feels the delicious warmth of the skin there. Albus shifts against him, making a nondescript but utterly intoxicating murmur of approval.

They pull apart, infinitesimally, eyes closed and foreheads pressed together. They are both breathing quick, ragged breaths, and their feet in the sand are now touching, toe to toe. Albus draws a hand up to Scorpius’ face and presses his warm palm onto his cheek. Scorpius sighs happily, resting his flushed cheek into the reassuring pressure of Albus’s touch. Right now, the calming rush of the sea and the delectable warmth of this moment truly are all they need.

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

Wed, 15 Feb 2017 22:01:06

By@xoruffitup

7.7k words, G rated

Albus is desperate to find the right words to tell Scorpius how he feels about him. Meanwhile, Scorpius has all but given up on Albus ever returning his feelings. Surely Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity for them to figure it all out.

Albus had been at it for a good hour now, but the small, infuriating roll of red parchment lying on the desk before him still remained only half-written. It seemed to be taunting him more and more with each passing minute. Sighing so heavily his lips buzzed, Albus was just about to let an exasperated fist fall against the worn old library table, when a familiar blonde head suddenly appeared beside the bookshelf Albus had hidden himself behind.

“Albus?” Scorpius inquired, making Albus jump and scramble to swipe the parchment and everything else on the desk hurriedly into his bag. The corner of his mouth tilting in amusement, Scorpius asked slowly, “What are you doing hiding back here?”

“I just… needed a quiet place to do that Potions essay. Had to focus. You know.”

“I know that when it comes to Potions, your go-to method is to do your homework as nearby my vicinity as possible, so you can steal all my answers.”

Albus’s lips puckered sourly. “I do not.”

Scorpius crossed his arms and struck an air imitating Albus’s belligerence. “Do so.”

“Whatever,” Albus muttered. “Can we just go to dinner? I’m starved.”

He made sure everything he’d swept from the desk was safely out of sight and his bag securely closed before standing up. He swept past Scorpius, leaving the other boy to pull the straps of his own bag tight and scramble after him.

“But obviously I approve of you spending more time in the library!” Scorpius chimed as they passed into the corridor together, heading down towards the Great Hall. “It warms the cockles of my heart to see you finally appreciating the unparalleled serenity of being surrounded by shelves and shelves of old books…”

Scorpius got a dreamy look on his face and Albus, glancing sideways at him, couldn’t suppress a fond laugh and smile.

“There is truly no hope for your geekness,” Albus deadpanned, just to cover up the erratic tone his heartbeat had taken.

Scorpius elbowed him easily as they went through the tall double doors into the Great Hall.

“Lucky you love me anyway.”

Albus’s hand tightened so hard around the strap of his bag, his knuckles went white.

“Yeah.”

Of course, Albus hadn’t been annoyed at all with Scorpius when his friend found him in the library. Quite the opposite. For Scorpius, he felt practically every emotion opposite on the spectrum from annoyance. But with himself, he was quickly losing patience.

Valentine’s Day was a week away. For most of his life, Albus had let the silly Muggle holiday come and go with little more than an eye roll. As far as he was concerned, the day wasn’t good for much more than a good laugh at the elaborate schemes girls undertook to gift singing cards or feeble love potions to the current targets of their infatuation.

But this year the day had taken on quite different significance for Albus.

He had felt quite unexpectedly adrift ever since the day of his and Scorpius’s return to Hogwarts from the last Christmas holiday. Or more precisely, that moment when he had first glimpsed Scorpius’s smiling, shining face in the crowded corridor of the Hogwarts express.

Albus’s feet had stopped dead as if turned to stone, his heart had started fluttering in an entirely unaccountable way, and a lightness suddenly overtook him that had yet to dispel, and he doubted ever would.

A single moment where his entire world seemed to upend. But once Scorpius fought his way through the tide of first-years and threw his arms around Albus, all the strangeness slotted into perfect position and clarity, just as quickly as it had all fallen upon him.

Oh, Albus had thought, returning Scorpius’s hug and breathing in the familiar scent – the thing that had been missing on those mornings at home when he’d woken up with a strange feeling of absence.

Wow. Albus had thought, spacing out entirely and not hearing a word as Scorpius chattered on in their compartment. Albus could do nothing but stare at him, while his thoughts whirled in a cacophony around the plain truth. Stunning yet natural all at once.

All this time.

Since then, there had never been the right moment to tell him. Albus suspected such a moment would never just fall into his lap of its own accord. He would have to make it himself – in the form of a little red parchment on which he would commit the truth of his anything-but-little feelings much more articulately than if he tried to voice them unscripted.

But Albus only had three more days… and the proper words still eluded him. Falling again into the recent habit he’d developed of using Scorpius’s prattling about homework this or history that as an opportunity for losing himself in Scorpius’s eyes, Albus turned agonized thoughts to the unfinished parchment in his bag. He would set himself to it again later tonight, behind the secrecy of his bed curtains.

The day before Valentine’s, Albus bustled from the library with a vexed expression, tucking a bit of red parchment into his bag, when he almost collided with a girl who’d been hurrying in the opposite direction.

“Oh!” She exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders at the last moment to right herself and narrowly avoided knocking him over.

“Clara! I’m so sorry, wasn’t paying attention…” Albus said absently.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” the girl said, blushing.

Albus knew the Hufflepuff girl from their shared Herbology classes, but he’d never really spent time with her outside of class. Even now, his thoughts were busy circling around all the different synonyms for ‘love’ he could possibly think of… surely he couldn’t write that word, could he?

Before Albus could rush off, Clara spoke again, “Actually, it’s good that I- ah, ran into you here… literally…” She gave a nervous little laugh, and Albus reflexively mirrored it. “I- um, I’ve been wanting to give you this…” She plunged a hand into her bag and started feeling around. “I know it’s a day early, but you won’t tell, will you?”

She winked before producing a small envelope from her bag and holding it out to Albus. It was white, except for a small pink heart adorning each corner.

“Oh. Ah. Thank you.” Completely off-kilter, Albus reached out to take it. He hadn’t a clue what kind of smile to go for or what to say, so he just did his best to reconcile his surprise into the friendliest expression he could muster.

“Sure,” she replied, blushing furiously now. This time, Albus noticed. “I hope you like it!” she added in a rush, before hurrying away down the corridor.

Albus remained rooted to the spot for a few moments, staring at the wholly unexpected letter in his hand. He had a pretty good idea of its contents. Of the many reactions currently working at him, the first was an admiration and wonder at Clara. She had, seemingly quite effortlessly, managed what he himself had spent the last week agonizing over. Not only had she completed the writing, but the delivery too! This slid into guilt, because while Albus knew all too well the effort, thought, and vulnerable hope that went into the writing, he also knew full well how poor a recipient he was of her efforts.

Then, the most important emotion settled in – the warm, fluttering flattery that unfolded in his chest when he recognized what she was handing him. With his perspective flipped, he suddenly knew exactly the kind of sentiment to put into his letter to make the most of its impact. Knowing Scorpius almost as well as he knew himself, Albus realized exactly what Scorpius would want to read if such a letter were pressed into his own hand – exactly what would move Scorpius the most.

“Albus! Been in the library again? I must say I’m quite pleased.”

Coming from his Ancient Runes class that had just let out, Scorpius saw Albus turn to him with quite a massive grin.

“Are you okay?” Scorpius asked, uncertain. “I didn’t expect you to catch onto the charms of the library quite so whole-heartedly…”

“I’m great. Brilliant, actually,” Albus replied, still grinning. “Just- ah, cracked those Arithmancy problems!”

Oh, he’d cracked something alright, but something much more important than Arithmancy…

“Right… Well, if you’re finished the homework, want to go watch Quidditch?”

Albus was tempted to make an excuse to stay in the common room to write the parchment to completion, but the warmth of Scorpius’s company was too much to resist. He would finish it later tonight, and a few hours with Scorpius might provide even more inspiration…

“Sure! But let’s drop our bags off first, alright?”

So the two dashed down to the Slytherin common room and dumped their bags onto their beds before racing each other out again, breathless and laughing the whole way to the Pitch.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Albus spluttered for what must have been the fifth time. But his manner was only play outrage as he wiped mud from his face and batted at Scorpius, trying to smear some of the mud on him. Scorpius yelped and jumped out of Albus’s reach, darting ahead of him into the castle Entrance Hall.

“Not my fault you’re such an easy target!” Scorpius taunted, grinning over his shoulder for a moment before Albus lurched after him. Scorpius gave a squeak and tore off towards the dungeons and the Slytherin common room.

After Scorpius had succeeded in covering Albus in mud while they ambled along the shore of the lake on their way back from the Quidditch Pitch, Albus immediately attracted the ire of his fellow Slytherins when he entered the common room, dripping mud on the carpet.

“It’s his fault!” Albus declared indignantly, pointing at his infuriatingly clean and dry best friend.

Scorpius just stood there laughing silently to himself. It certainly wasn’t his fault his own mud-slinging aim was so much better than Albus’s.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” Albus replied, flapping a hand at the chorus of calls for “SHOWER, POTTER!”

“Don’t think this is over,” Albus muttered to Scorpius with a playful grin as he walked towards the showers. “I will have vengeance.”

“I’ll be on my guard,” Scorpius assured, trying for serious even though a few giggles still escaped him at the sight of Albus’s mud-speckled face.

Scorpius watched Albus disappear into the bathrooms with a slight sigh. It really wasn’t fair… Even covered in mud, Albus still looked attractive.

But then again, Scorpius supposed he shouldn’t be surprised by now. After all, it had been in the moment when Albus shattered the surface of the lake water beside him – when he’d emerged sputtering for breath, the water plastering his hair in every direction against his face, his eyes blown wide with both thrill and confusion at all he’d just seen – that he’d first realised it.

Even while Scorpius’s toes had gone numb from the frigid lake water and the memory of the Dementors’ dark, soul-sucking faces remained fresh in his mind, that had been the moment when he was suddenly overwhelmed by staggering relief and joy the likes of which he’d never known before. And with Severus Snape’s Patronus still glimmering in his mind’s eye, Scorpius knew exactly what the force of it all meant.

One person. It only took one person.

And Scorpius had embraced Albus desperately in the water that day, and known ever since that no matter what happened, no matter what the future held, he would love Albus Potter for the rest of his life.

Of course there were moments when it hurt. Moments when they were alone together, studying late into the night next to the roaring fire, when Albus looked at him with such a fond glimmer in his eyes, it was all Scorpius could do not to take Albus’s head between his hands and kiss the lips he had to pry his eyes away from. There had been moments at the Potters’ over the summer – lying outside on the lawn under the stars, when Scorpius had to ball his hands into fists and dig his nails in, to stop his hand from curling around Albus’s in the grass just beside him. Moments when it all felt so clear, so natural… that fighting those urges felt as difficult as resisting the oxygen in his lungs.

But these came few and far between. Scorpius may have come to see Albus in a different light once he’d lived the hopeless darkness of a world without him, but nothing changed the fact that before everything else, Albus was his closest and dearest friend. They still ate all the Pepper Imps and Jelly Slugs they could manage on the train rides to and from Hogwarts. They still whiled away the hours sitting together in the Owlery, talking about everything and nothing – candour and rubbish. Scorpius still let Albus copy his homework now and then, and Albus still made sure Scorpius got to bed every night rather than falling asleep across his books in the library or in the common room.

Scorpius was immensely glad that although everything had changed within himself, his and Albus’s friendship remained unaffected. Albus was still the defining centre of his life, and Scorpius didn’t plan to do anything to jeopardize that. Being with Albus every day was more than enough to keep his heart happy, regardless of how his fantasies sometimes ran away with him…

Wondering what the corner of one of Albus’s smirks would taste like, or whether their fingers would fit together just as seamlessly as Scorpius had always imagined…

In their dormitory, Scorpius went about tidying up his bed while Albus was off in the showers. He gathered together the books that had spilled from his bag after he’d carelessly tossed it onto his bed earlier, and stacked them neatly on his bedside table.

His foot knocked against one of Albus’s books that had tumbled to the floor. He leaned down to pick it up and replace it in Albus’s bag. But as he lifted Albus’s bag, two colored envelopes fluttered onto the bedspread. One was bright red. The other, white with pink hearts.

Scorpius froze. His brows knitted together in puzzlement. He took a furtive look around the room to double check he was alone.

At first glance, they looked like… Valentine’s cards? And two of them? Surely Albus would have told him about girls suddenly running after him…

Scorpius swallowed around a suddenly dry throat. He’d known a day like this would come eventually: when Albus would get a crush he might actually have a chance with, and Scorpius would have to put on an encouraging, approving front for Albus’s romantic pursuits that would have nothing to do with him.

But why wouldn’t Albus have told him? Neither of them had ever had much luck as far as girls were concerned (not that Scorpius was giving much effort in that department anymore), so wouldn’t this have been big news? And two cards…

Scorpius knew he really shouldn’t, but he simply couldn’t help himself. He was disappointed, and further bewildered, to find the white envelope unopened. But when he turned it over in his hands, he spotted a girl’s small, curling script on a back corner.

‘To Albus Potter, from Clara Moon.”

The Hufflepuff girl he and Albus shared a few classes with? Scorpius hadn’t realized Albus even knew her at all… But Scorpius’s surprise quickly melted, then soured, when he saw the little hand-drawn hearts Clara had adorned around Albus’s name. Scorpius had always thought Clara seemed nice enough, but now his thoughts of her suddenly turned rather uncharitable.

Before he could think better of it, Scorpius reached for the red envelope. This one was open, and he took out the similarly colored bright parchment inside. He opened it slowly, not sure what would hurt less… Was it from some other newly-revealed admirer, or…

No, this was worse. Scorpius’s heart thudded painfully when he immediately recognized Albus’s own handwriting. The letter was only partially written. It wasn’t even addressed with a name yet, but Scorpius couldn’t bear to read a single word.

It all seemed quite plain to him. Clara had made an advance, and Albus was returning it. Or maybe Albus had written first?

Maybe, while Scorpius had been so busy telling himself he was perfectly happy being silently in love with his best friend, he had entirely failed to notice his best friend’s eyes finding a new favourite target in Herbology class…

Scorpius couldn’t put words to the storm in his chest. He fought valiantly to keep his mind blank as he replaced the cards as he thought he’d found them, so Albus wouldn’t know he had seen.

There was jealousy, of course. An odd, inexplicable sense of betrayal Scorpius knew he had no entitlement to… And naturally, a deep, lonely pain…

“AHA!” Albus suddenly leapt into the dormitory, freshly showered and brandishing a towel wet from his still-sopping hair.

Before Scorpius had a hope of defending himself, Albus leapt on him and rubbed the towel thoroughly over Scorpius’s head, until Scorpius’s hair stood up in damp, unkempt spikes.

Scorpius needed a moment to recover from the surprise attack.

“Told you I would have vengeance!” Albus declared, grinning triumphantly as he slung the tool of his revenge over his shoulder and sauntered over to his wardrobe.

Once he’d blinked a few times through the suddenness of Albus’s timing, Scorpius found a smile spreading across his face.

Relief, normalcy… and the same easy intimacy he and Albus had always shared. Nothing would change that, and no girl would ever know Albus as completely as Scorpius did. At least for now – no one else in the world shared these moments with him, and Albus was still his in a way no one else knew.

Scorpius abandoned his concerns to the moment.

“No you don’t, Potter!”

And a pillow came hurling for the back of Albus’s head.

Today was finally the day, and none too soon. Once Scorpius went off to the showers on the morning of Valentine’s Day, Albus reached for the red envelope he’d hidden between the pages of his Transfigurations textbook. Retrieving it, he read through the completed letter one more time. He’d finished it by wand light the night before, once everyone else had gone to sleep.

Albus smiled as he folded it and tucked it away in his bag. He was terribly, unspeakably nervous about how the day would go, but at least he could be sure he had written the letter as well as he possibly could.

In his mind, Albus went over both his and Scorpius’s timetables for the day, trying to plan the best opportunity to pull Scorpius into a quiet moment alone. Scorpius had a free period before lunch, and if Albus finished his Charms test this morning rather quickly, he should have time to find Scorpius before they headed to the Great Hall…

“Albus! You’re not out of bed yet?!” Albus startled and leapt up.

“I am, I am!”

Scorpius was just coming back from the bathroom, dressed in his uniform robes with his hair freshly fluffed from the shower steam. “You have that Charms test this morning! Come on, we’ve got to get some breakfast in you beforehand so you can be in top shape!”

“I know, I just need a minute…”

The ‘minute’ it usually took Albus to throw his uniform on and grab his books turned out to be more like five, with the recurring effort it took him to reel his gaze away from the sight of Scorpius, freshly-showered and still damp and pink-cheeked.

They still scampered from the dungeons with enough time for breakfast – Albus feeling around in his bag to make sure one last time the bright red card was securely inside.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Albus said as they parted after breakfast, trying not to sound too squeaky when he said it.

“Of course! Good luck on the test!” Scorpius called, flapping his hand in an exuberant wave.

Albus watched Scorpius’s blonde, grinning head shrinking away through the throng of students. He swore he could feel his heart beating right between his ears. Albus took a deep breath before hurrying off in the direction of the Charms classroom.

He would certainly need all the luck he could get today; But for something much more important than Charms…

Albus couldn’t concentrate on a damn thing in his lessons. He’d been so focused on silently rehearsing what he wanted to say to Scorpius, he suddenly found himself paired with Yann Fredericks for their Charms assessment, without any clue what it was they were supposed to be demonstrating.

“Shield Charms,” Yann hissed at Albus’s helpless look while they took their places across from each other.

Professor Flitwick had left a half hour for the assessment, but Albus grew restless after the first five minutes. It hardly bothered him that his force field, meant to be deflecting the sparks Yann fired from his wand, kept turning purple and floating away. All he could think of was the fact that Scorpius would have finished Divination by now. He would be heading towards the library for his free period, where Albus had to catch him and take him away to…

It was no wonder Albus couldn’t focus on Charms, through all the fervent silent prayers bouncing through his head that things would go according to plan.

As soon as Yann had performed his own charms well enough to receive his deserved marks, Albus scurried to start collecting his things as inconspicuously as possible.

“Going somewhere, Mr. Potter?” Professor Flitwick’s voice chimed.

Already throwing his bag over his shoulder, Albus turned towards Flitwick while his feet gravitated towards the door.

“Yes, Professor. Stomach ache. Terribly sorry. I’ll make up the assessment!”

Albus hurried from the room, his last thought on the subject of Charms being that it didn’t make the slightest difference to him whether Professor Flitwick let him make up the test or not.

Dashing for the library, Albus already saw all the tell-tale signs of Valentine’s Day. Pink streamers and banners were to be seen adorning the hallways and corridors. Girls moved along the corridors in grinning, giggling groups; while boys slinked around in grumbling embarrassment.

Albus slid to a halt in front of the library entrance. He hoped to find Scorpius before he became too immersed in his work. He could sometimes be known to get cross when Albus interrupted him from an especially productive study session.

“Albus!” Scorpius looked up in surprise when Albus appeared suddenly beside the table where he’d just started spreading out his notes and books. “How did the test go? You finished already?”

Just like that, in the flash of a moment it had taken for Scorpius to raise his head and mingle his gaze with Albus’s, all the determination that had propelled Albus to this spot abandoned him.

Nervous, fretful butterflies replaced it, suddenly making clear thought an immense challenge.

Plan. He had a plan. Keep to the script.

Albus clutched the strap of his bag tightly.

“Fine. The test was fine, I think. Doesn’t matter. Go ahead and pack your books up again, why don’t you.”

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him, fixing Albus with an amused expression. “Since when do you boss me around like that?”

“Since today,” Albus responded with every bit of flippancy he could muster. “Come on – I want to show you something. Something important.”

Scorpius’s raised eyebrow almost disappeared into his blonde fringe. “Okay…”

His friend seemed quite set and serious about whatever it was, so Scorpius obliged, promptly packing his things away again without another word.

“Where are we going?” Scorpius asked as they left the library together. “What’s this ‘something important’?”

“You’ll see,” Albus said in a preoccupied sort of way, coming to a halt outside the library and looking back and forth to each end of the corridor a few times, as if trying to remember directions. Scorpius watched him in bewilderment for a moment, before an almost-visible light bulb went off over Albus’s head.

“It’s this way!” His face set, Albus abruptly took Scorpius’s wrist and marched off towards the right.

The Slytherin common room, the Great Hall, and the Entrance Hall were all towards the left… leaving Scorpius at a complete loss of ideas as to where Albus could be dragging him off to. But he knew better than to question Albus right now. Plain as day, Scorpius caught that glimmer in Albus’s eyes – the one that meant Albus had his sights set on some hair-brained scheme or undertaking that no one would be able to talk him out of. There was nothing for it but to accompany Albus down whatever path he’d glued his feet to, and try to contribute at least a bit of sanity to Albus’s hot-headedness.

Albus’s fingers remained linked around Scorpius’s wrist. Unable to help himself from looking down to where Albus’s hand held him in a gentle but insistent grip, Scorpius’s cheeks tinged pink and he prayed Albus wouldn’t look back to see. When they passed by an alcove draped in pink lace and mistletoe, Albus’s fingers seemed to burn warmer against Scorpius’s skin, and Scorpius waged a desperate but ultimately hopeless battle against the pounding of his heart.

“Yes!” Albus exclaimed suddenly, finally stopping their march. “Here it is.”

Scorpius’s struggle to contain his attraction suddenly subsided, distracted by concern that Albus had finally lost his marbles.

They were standing in front of a completely blank, unremarkable wall.

“Albus. Not that I’m not glad you took me from my studying to stare at this lovely wall, but…”

Albus flapped a hand at him in a quick be quiet gesture. But that wasn’t what brought Scorpius up short – It was the unmistakable extra color in Albus’s face, and the way his eyes shone and kept darting away and then back towards Scorpius in a rapid chase.

“Just… Just trust me for a minute, yeah?”

Albus’s voice rung unnaturally high – nervous, though distinctively purposeful. Whatever this was about, it was obviously important.

“Always.”

They shared a blossoming smile.

A moment later, Albus turned back towards the wall with a determined set to his shoulders. Albus closed his eyes for a moment, squeezing them like he was thinking very hard about something. Then, Scorpius watched as Albus started pacing back and forth before the wall.

Once…

Twice…

Scorpius was about to (very gently) voice concern again before Albus finished the third round of pacing, but then Scorpius froze with his mouth only half-open.

Three times…

Thinking back to what had always been one of his favourite sections of Hogwarts: A History, Scorpius quickly looked around them. And sure enough, there it was. On the wall behind them hung the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

A surge of excitement leapt loose in Scorpius’s chest.

“Albus! You found the-”

Scorpius’s words cut off as a door slowly appeared in the wall before them.

“The Room of Requirement,” Albus confirmed with a nod, coming to stand next to Scorpius again with a gratified smile. “But I wanted to wait until today to show it to you.”

He grinned at Scorpius and took his wrist again.

“Let’s go.”

Albus pushed the door open, and Scorpius followed him in.

Compared with the resplendent flowers, the blooming papier-mâché hearts hanging from garlands, the soft glow of twinkling lights throughout the room… the Valentine’s decorations that had appeared throughout the rest of the castle seemed downright gaudy.

Here, the two seemed to have stumbled into an untouched Eden, where no poisoned apple had ever spoiled the existence of pure, innocent love and beauty.

“Wow,” Scorpius breathed, his attention stolen by a small fountain sprinkling water into a wide basin, where tiny birds chirped atop heart-shaped lily pads and bright flowers blossomed.

“I know the rest of the castle is decorated too…” Scorpius’s attention was reeled back at the sound of the jumpy, high-pitched edge to Albus’s voice, making Scorpius turn towards him.

“…But the decorations are usually so ugly and pink… A-and, well… I wanted something nicer for you…”

Though instantly touched, Scorpius had to make his brain keep working through how to interpret Albus’s words. How could he respond in a way that was sufficiently… platonic? What was Albus really on about here?

Sometimes, Albus Potter still managed to throw him for a complete loop. Yet another reason why Scorpius adored him so.

But Scorpius knew full well he had to keep such thoughts at a distance while in Albus’s proximity. Still fishing for the appropriate words, Scorpius reached out to put a hand on Albus’s shoulder, to bide a few seconds while silently conveying that Albus’s gesture – whatever its motivation – had made an impact.

Still looking nervous, Albus seemed to jump slightly when Scorpius’s hand touched his shoulder. Surprised, Scorpius watched as Albus suddenly pulled his bag around and began fingering through the contents. His hand closed on something, and Scorpius watched in growing bewilderment as Albus seemed to wholly freeze for a moment – locked somewhere between determination and apprehension. Albus looked up at him again, and something he saw there seemed to finally spur him to action.

“Here.”

Albus withdrew his hand from his bag. In it was a bright red envelope.

Scorpius’s throat constricted and for a split second, he couldn’t breathe. He’d had no idea where this was all heading, but this certainly hadn’t been one of the possibilities that had flown through his brain.

Albus didn’t expect him to… To read over a love letter he’d written for some girl… Did he?

The sudden turn of Scorpius’s expression made Albus momentarily falter. Albus couldn’t remember ever seeing his friend look so profoundly off-kilter.

Albus’s heart began sprinting a mile a minute, doubt and regret clawing their way up within him. But he’d started, he’d come this far and now he had to see this through…

Albus cleared his throat, trying desperately not to let all his fear show through.

“This is my first time doing something like this. I know you might be surprised but… You’re the only one I could ever want to write it for. The only one who ever made me feel so much that I couldn’t help it…”

Ignoring how his fingers trembled, Albus reached out to take one of Scorpius’s hands in his own. He lifted Scorpius’s hand between them, and placed the letter in it.

“You might think I did a rubbish job of writing it, but… There was a lot to figure out, you know? A lot to say.”

For a long moment, Scorpius just stared at the envelope blankly.

Scorpius didn’t understand. He was wholly at a loss. Something in Albus’s words pulled at him, but the painful memory of Clara Moon’s twirly handwriting was too fresh to ignore.

“I-I’m sorry, Albus,” Scorpius choked out. He looked at the bright red envelope in his own palm, resting beneath Albus’s fingers, but all he saw was that other, white envelope beside it. The little pink hearts.

It was too much.

“I can’t…”

“I just… want you to know,” Albus blurted, desperately. “That’s all.”

He squeezed Scorpius’s fingers slightly. He just needed Scorpius to read the letter… Albus couldn’t bear this moment at the precipice. His tongue would never be able to form the sufficient words for them to survive the jump.

He had no idea that at that exact moment, Scorpius hung by his fingertips above his own precipice. And because, before this, he’d only barely managed to forget the letters – because all this strangeness stabbed right at the spot under his heart that he hid and cherished above all else… Scorpius’s temper flared. It was an automatic self-defence mechanism; otherwise he would have crumbled where he stood.

“You just want me to know you fancy someone else? Pretty odd way to go about it. Why did you even bother bringing me here, Albus? Was it supposed to be some kind of mean joke? And I thought I’d been so careful not to let on, ever since…”

Scorpius’s breath caught, and stalled his speech. He had never, ever confessed a word of it to anyone… Then, suddenly, he was propelled into proper anger. At Albus, for toying with his feelings like this. At himself, for letting his meticulously built walls crack.

He felt that there couldn’t be any going back or sweeping it away. He’d given a voice to the depths of his most powerful longings, and it was to him so momentous, it wasn’t possible for him to ignore. It stood before him like some physical force suddenly escaped from his control, as plain to Albus’s eyes as to his own. But he would master it again. If he didn’t, there would be nothing left of him…

“Is that it?! You-you figured out how I feel about you, and this is how you chose to make clear what I already knew the whole time. Have me read the letters you’re writing to some girl, after you take me to this place, mocking me… Well, you shouldn’t have bothered. I know how it is. Don’t think…”

Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut, barely able to breathe.

“I’m not stupid enough to think that you’d ever love me back!”

The words rang in the room. Birds took to the air in a twittering flutter. The garlands hanging from the ceiling swung in an imperceptible breeze.

Albus blinked rapidly, utterly frozen as what he’d just heard sank in. And then he was blinking tears away – of frustration, heartache to see the pain and the depth of feeling clear in Scorpius’s wounded expression.

And then the word echoed back to Albus across the room.

‘Love.’

A distant, buzzing prospect of joy twinkled like a far off star. That word had just come from Scorpius’s mouth… About Albus. But its fulfilment glimmered at a hopeless distance. It lay light years beyond his reach, and Albus stood impossibly far from its warmth. Unless…

There was one thing to do. One thing that would heal everything…

Albus took Scorpius’s hand between both his own with deliberate, delicate tenderness. He didn’t dare look at the distraught expression on Scorpius’s face any further. It would rend his own heart in two. Instead, Albus focused on Scorpius’s fingers. The fingers he’d watched so often scrawling notes and essays elegantly across parchment. The fingers he’d yearned to touch more times than he could count. As gently as he could, Albus pushed Scorpius’s hand towards him, until the letter was pressed against Scorpius’s heart.

“Read it,” Albus whispered, raw. “Please.”

Scorpius just stared at him. His expression unreadable. His eyes simultaneously accusatory and pleading.

“It’s not what you think.”

The desperation, the feeling in Albus’s voice moved Scorpius. He looked down to the letter, watching Albus’s fingers tremble around it.

Albus would never take a joke this far. He would never go on with this, if the contents of the envelope would cause Scorpius pain. Scorpius might have lost all clue as to what his friend was thinking or planning since Albus had taken him from the library, but he still knew that part of Albus without a doubt. Scorpius had made it plain that if the contents of the letter were what he expected, they would break his heart. And yet Albus pressed the letter to him more insistently than ever.

Scorpius had no choice but to trust Albus. The letter must be something else…

After wetting his lips and swallowing thickly to clear his expression as well he could, Scorpius loosened his hand from the cradle Albus’s had made. He slid a finger under the envelope’s back flap.

He looked up into Albus’s face one last time. Taking in Albus’s wide, defenceless eyes, the way his lips were parted as if it were all he could do just to continue drawing breath… Scorpius thought he found traces of the same desperate passion he himself had lived with all year.

It seemed, in giving Scorpius the letter, Albus was risking just as much injury as Scorpius in reading it.

Scorpius held his breath, and opened the envelope.

Dear Scorpius,

You’ve been my best friend for five years now, but only now do I feel like I’ve fully seen you for the first time. I know Valentine’s is a terribly cliché day to tell you all this, but I don’t think I’ll be able to go on for very long hiding it all, and it’s far too important to leave to chance. I decided to take Valentine’s as an opportunity to tell you properly, even though I’m scared witless.

It’s hard to explain why I’ve only just realized exactly what you mean to me. I don’t think you’ve changed – you’re just as wonderful as you’ve always been. And I don’t think I’ve changed in any considerable way, either. The answer must be that actually, I’ve always felt this way about you. Possibly since the first day we met. I’ve never been so close with anyone before, and maybe this whole time I took the depth of my feelings for granted as just friendship. But even if friendship is all you ever have or ever can feel for me – which is already more than enough to make me happy, since you’re such a better friend than anyone could ask for – I just want you to know the truth.

We’ve always told each other everything, and I feel I may explode if I tried to keep this inside. You would probably start to wonder what’s the matter with me. So I’ll just out with it. You make me feel more complete than I knew it was possible to feel. You make me more than just happy. The whole world seems right and better when you’re in the middle of mine. I don’t want to use that word because I don’t want to freak you out, but I don’t suppose it could bother you too much to know that I’m (several words had been written here, then crossed out) quite smitten with your terrible jokes and your geekness extraordinaire. All of you, in fact. Even when you eat too many Pepper Imps and start rocketing off the walls. I hope you’ll always let me be there to get you down from the ceiling.

Still your best friend,

Albus

Halfway through reading the incredible sentiments scrawled there on the red parchment that moments ago had been so terrifying to Scorpius… Scorpius fell from his own precipice. He fell headlong into uncharted depths. Mere moments ago, it had been inconceivable that such words could come to him from Albus. Suddenly his lungs struggled to find air and his brain stuttered around the words on the page, as all that he’d assumed and expected fell away from him.

His mind rushed in frantic circles, from one stunning fact to the next.

Albus felt what he felt.

Albus had done what Scorpius never even allowed himself to imagine.

Scorpius had jumped to the farthest incorrect conclusion and unjustly accused him.

Scorpius swallowed down shame and guilt. Albus had been braver than Scorpius could ever hope to be himself. He’d been moved to his act of courage by his feelings for Scorpius, and Scorpius had yelled at him. Albus had been unthinkably, heroically bold on both their accounts, and…

“Albus,” Scorpius whimpered, overwhelmed and holding the parchment up before his face in a reflexive attempt to hide his watering eyes and trembling mouth. The revelation of Albus’s feelings was quickly beginning to bubble and vibrate in Scorpius’s chest, giving off such warmth that his self-admonishment – indeed any feeling at all other than pure elation – rapidly melted away. But the feeling was so immense, and Scorpius hadn’t been at all prepared…

“I’m so sorry,” Scorpius choked, making Albus take half a step closer to him in concern. Although Scorpius’s thoughts had seemed to slow into confused eternity since reading the letter, in actuality only seconds had passed. Albus had spent them in anxious agony, biting his lip as he desperately tried to read his friend’s face. He’d had no luck. He’d never seen Scorpius look anything like this before.

Scorpius’s voice came wavering again, “You… you’re so brave. So incredibly brave. And lovely. And I…”

Scorpius took a vast breath in. And then, finally, the parchment dropped and Albus saw Scorpius’s wet eyes fixed on him in wonder. And-… Albus wanted to believe… something like adoration.

“Oh, Albus.”

Scorpius launched himself at Albus. The parchment fluttered to the floor as Scorpius entirely lost himself. Lifted by elation and the suddenly overwhelming need to do what he had longed so desperately for… Scorpius’s hands cupped Albus’s face without a trace of symmetry and he kissed him with all the feeling and passion as if his life depended on it. Scorpius felt like it did. Like only Albus’s lips could bring his mind back to rational thought and restore his proper senses.

And kissing Albus felt just like sublime perfection. Like something too good, too powerful for this world.

Albus floundered for half a moment. The sudden press of Scorpius’s lips – desperately insistent and yet unspeakably soft – knocked his breath from him. His brain shut down full stop, and instinct took over as he grappled blindly for as much of Scorpius as he could reach.

His hands buried in the folds of Scorpius’s robes, Albus drew Scorpius tightly to him as he kissed back with clueless, pure-hearted enthusiasm. Finesse wouldn’t have belonged. The kiss enveloped gasps of cut-off, shocked breath; over-eager lips that sought to feel and claim and caress all at once. Delight that turned each point of contact into indescribable bliss.

Neither had felt anything like it before. And when they slowly parted – Albus’s heels sinking to the floor again while their eyes tentatively found each other – they each slowly beamed to find that same wonder reflected back at them.

Albus let out a low, stunned laugh of relief. “I-I had no idea how you would react. I just prayed that you wouldn’t be angry – wouldn’t hate me for messing things up between us…”

“Albus Potter,” Albus’s heart stopped short at the fond tenderness resonating in Scorpius’s voice. Scorpius lifted a hand from Albus’s shoulder to rest his fingertips against the side of Albus’s face, stroking his thumb along Albus’s cheek with a feather-light touch, as if Albus were something holy. “There’s nothing in the whole world you could do to make me hate you.”

Not knowing what to say in response to this declaration, Albus fumbled on, “I-I just couldn’t keep it all inside. It was too much. Being around you all day, wanting so badly to touch you and not being able to…”

Scorpius felt Albus’s hands grip more tightly where Albus still held him around the waist.

“I know. Oh, I know. It’s almost unbearable. I’ve been living with it since last year…”

“Last year?” Albus echoed incredulously. “You’re the brave one.”

Scorpius’s fingers were still caressing Albus’s face, revelling in the feel of Albus’s skin and the curve of his cheek – all the features he’d so longed to acquaint himself with. Albus’s eyes slipped shut as Scorpius traced a thumb along Albus’s upper lip. Scorpius watched his own movements with a wobbling smile and wet, overjoyed eyes. Only the warmth of Albus’s breath against his fingers assured him this wasn’t another dream.

“I don’t even know if I would call it brave, what I just did,” Albus murmured, shivering a touch at the feel of his lips bumping Scorpius’s fingers. “More reckless, really.”

Scorpius let out a breath of laughter. Foregoing his precise explorations for the moment, he threw his arms around Albus’s neck and burrowed close to him again. He pressed his face down tightly against Albus’s neck and breathed in his scent, overjoyed that he was finally allowed to openly do so.

Neither had ever thought their friendship wanted for anything, and yet both found themselves thinking they’d never felt more at home than in each other’s embrace.

As Albus squeezed him close again, Scorpius murmured, “Then thank Dumbledore you’re so reckless.”

They were lying together on a thick blanket spread out beside the water fountain when Albus asked, “What made you think the letter was for someone else?”

Leaning on an elbow, Albus looked down to where Scorpius lay facing him, his arms entwined around Albus and fingers tracing random patterns on his back. “I know I can be a bit thick about these things, obviously it took me a while to sort out that I feel for you quite a lot more than friendship, but…”

Scorpius looked down towards Albus’s chest for a moment, remorse making a brief reappearance.

“It wasn’t your fault at all. I’m the one who should apologize about it. You see… I saw the red envelope in your bag a while ago, and… it was together with an envelope with a girl’s handwriting on it, so I only assumed…”

Albus breathed out in a rush. “You thought the red envelope was my reply.”

Scorpius nodded, before he finally dared to look back to Albus’s face. He was just opening his mouth to ask the tentative, awkward question, when Albus thankfully beat him to it.

“I won’t be replying to that other letter, just so you know. Clara is a nice enough girl and I feel a bit bad she had to waste her effort on me, but…”

Albus’s smile returned with unencumbered full force again, twinkling for Scorpius and Scorpius alone.

“I happen to have the best Valentine in the entire school, and I don’t plan on giving him up anytime soon.”

Scorpius hadn’t known it was possible for his face to hurt from smiling, or his heart to ache from joy. He’d lived so long with the normal, dreary kind of heartache, Albus’s loving eyes and the heat of him pressed close made Scorpius feel he’d been granted a jolt of new life.

“From now on, I think Valentine’s Day will always be my favourite holiday. It’s the first day I’ll get to hold your hand and let anyone who asks know that you’re all mine,” Scorpius replied, leaning up close to nudge his nose against Albus’s – their lips only an eager breath apart.

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

Wed, 15 Feb 2017 18:00:48

By@ijustwalkintomordor

4.1K words, G rated

Scorpius knows his dad is lonely, so he convinces Albus to help set him up with the new smokey-eyed potions professor. If Scorpius has his way they’ll all have a happy Valentine’s Day.

Scorpius Malfoy isn’t stupid, but for the life of him he can’t figure out why his father hasn’t dated anyone since his mother died. Astoria had made it very clear that she wanted him to move on, but Draco isn’t even trying, and for Scorpius, who hates leaving his only family alone for most of the year, it’s infuriating.

It’s even more infuriating watching Draco’s attraction to their new potions professor when he knows his father won’t do anything about it.

“It was just a small incident,” Professor Ross says as Madam Promfrey bandages Scorpius’ hand. She’s being particularly gentle under the elder Malfoy’s gaze and Scorpius is grateful – the burn isn’t exactly pleasant, and the numbing potion hasn’t reached its full effect yet.

Scorpius watches Draco, who seems to be torn between watching his son and looking at Professor Ross, who Scorpius must admit is quite beautiful with her dark hair and pale skin. The Scottish accent doesn’t hurt either…

“It was my fault,” Scorpius mutters. Beside him, Albus nods, pleased that for once a potions explosion wasn’t his fault. He’s a bit sober, though, in his chair beside Scorpius’ cot, because he knows exactly how the accident happened.

Albus had been stirring the Draught of Peace, and everything had been going just fine until Scorpius misread one of the instructions to him. It took only a second for him to realise he’d misspoken, and the potion began to hiss and bubble and become temperamental. He had just enough time to shove Albus’ hands out of the way before it bubbled over onto his palm, burning straight through his glove and onto his skin.

Scorpius hoped they wouldn’t have to talk about it, and judging by the way Albus was carefully studying his shoes, he was fairly certain they wouldn’t.

Draco looks from Scorpius’ hand to Professor Ross, whose concern for her students is admirable.

“Albus, shouldn’t you be getting to class?” Professor Ross asks.

Albus’ green eyes flicker from her to Scorpius – lingering just long enough for Scorpius to know he hasn’t forgotten being shoved out of the way – and back again.

“But I thought I’d wait-”

“No ‘buts,’” Professor Ross says. “Besides, I have it on good authority that Professor McGonagall is planning a surprise exam tomorrow, and one of you should be there to get the notes today.”

Albus wrinkles his nose and looks back at Scorpius who nods.

“It’s not like I could write them anyway,” Scorpius says with a smile as Madam Pomfrey finishes wrapping his hand. He holds it up with a grimace. “It’s my right hand.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Albus mutters, defeated. He gets to his feet and straightens his robes. “Fine. But you know you can’t read my handwriting.”

“You’ll have to read it to me,” Scorpius says, though he knows very well he can decipher Albus’ sloppy handwriting. He’s been able to for over a year, but hasn’t owned up to it. He just likes listening to Albus read too much.

Albus claps him on the shoulder, letting his hand linger for just a second before slipping past Draco and Professor Ross and leaving the Hospital Wing. Scorpius watches as his robes disappear beyond the door before looking back to Draco, who is thanking Professor Ross for her quick response.

“These things happen,” Professor Ross says, her light tone a stark contrast to Draco’s intent gaze. “We just have to be prepared for them.”

Scorpius looks between them, his interest obvious and entirely ignored.

“Other than this,” Draco says, gesturing in Scorpius’ direction, “has my son been doing well in your class?”

“He’s one of the best students I have,” Professor Ross admits with a smile. Draco’s hand twitches at his side, and Scorpius watches as he folds them behind his back. “Though I’m not sure if it’s him that’s skilled or Potter. They’re inseparable.”

Draco glances in his direction, his gaze unreadable even for Scorpius, before looking back at Professor Ross.

“He did quite enjoy our potions and alchemy collection as a child and over the summers,” Draco says. “It’s quite substantial. There are some texts in the Malfoy library that are one-of-a-kind.”

“That sounds fascinating,” Professor Ross says.

“You’re welcome to browse it any time,” Draco says a bit too quickly. Scorpius bites the inside of his cheek to fight a smile.

“I may take you up on that,” Professor Ross says.

Say ‘I hope you do,’ Scorpius thinks, staring at his father. Set up a time. Do something!

“Well,” Draco says after a pause. “I’d best be going now that I know you’re okay.”

He smiles at Scorpius – that warm smile Scorpius knows is reserved for him alone – and pats his son’s ankle before stepping away.

“Stay here until that potion works,” Draco instructs. Scorpius gives him a single nod and watches as Draco gives a polite – albeit excessive – bow to Professor Ross.

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” he says, letting formality intrude upon real human connection once again.

“And you, Mr. Malfoy,” Professor Ross responds, amused.

Draco sweeps from the room without another word, and Scorpius watches Professor Ross as she watches him leave.

Well, that’s interesting, Scorpius thinks. Professor Ross turns back to him and he quickly arranges his face into a goofy smile, leaning back against the cot’s stiff pillows.

“Are you alright here, Malfoy?” she asks. From anyone else, it could have sounded condescending, but Scorpius is certain Professor Ross has never spoken to any of her students with anything less than kindness. He’s certain Severus Snape would be appalled by her kind demeanour in his classroom.

“I’ll be fine, Professor Ross,” Scorpius says with a wave of his hand that he immediately regrets. “And you should check out the collection. My father has spent a long time pulling it together – it’s one of his favourite hobbies. I’m sure he’d love to have someone appreciate it.”

Professor Ross smiles and nods noncommittally. “I’ll think about it, Mr. Malfoy.”

It’s not until Scorpius visits home a few weeks later in late January that he decides action must be taken.

“The Manor is just so big,” he whines, flopping down beside Albus on his bed. Albus sets his book side with a sight and looks down at Scorpius, whose legs are draped over the side of the bed and arms are sprawled out.

“He needs a girlfriend,” Scorpius decides aloud. “And I know he liked Professor Ross. Did you see the way he looked at her?”

“For the millionth time, yes,” Albus sighs. “But what can you do about it?”

“I don’t know,” Scorpius admits. “I haven’t gotten that far yet. But he asked about her when I had dinner with him last week.”

“Hmmm,” Albus hums. “Scorpius Malfoy rushing in without a plan? Shocking.”

“Hey!” Scorpius cries in mock offence. He reaches up to smack Albus on the arm but Albus catches his wrist gently and holds it, laughing.

Scorpius isn’t sure when they became like this – when Albus stopped whispering assurances to him when he panicked over looming exams in the library and began taking his hand instead, or when he stopped handing Albus the tea and breakfast and began pouring it for him – but he isn’t about to complain. Scorpius doesn’t understand it as Albus examines his previously-burned hand, but it brings back a familiar warmth in his stomach so he doesn’t ask questions.

One of these days, one of them is going to have to do something, Scorpius knows. They’ll have to address the little touches and longer looks, but for now… well, this isn’t bad.

“At least it didn’t scar,” Albus mumbles, though Scorpius knows Albus was aware it hadn’t scarred days ago when the bandage came off.

Scorpius looks up at him for a moment until Albus lets his hand go with a sigh.

“He just seems so lonely,” Scorpius says after a moment, folding his hands across his stomach.

“Why do you say that?”

“He was so happy when I came home – way too happy.”

“Maybe he’s just happy to see you,” Albus speculates. “Although I’m having trouble picturing your father being happy about anything.”

“And he was telling me all about the alchemical manuscripts he’s been reading,” Scorpius continued, “and how he’s re-investing in our private library.”

“And that makes you think he needs a girlfriend?”

“No, it makes me think he’s terribly lonely, Albus,” Scorpius says, looking up at him. “He’s been lonely for a long time, and he deserves to have someone special.”

Albus looks down at him and holds Scorpius’ gaze for a long moment – long enough for Scorpius’ worry for his father to fade.

“So what do you propose we do?” Albus asks, and for a moment Scorpius wonders if he’s talking about them. “I’m assuming you want to dosomething.”

“What, like a set-up?”

“That’s what you’re thinking of, isn’t it?”

“Maybe,” Scorpius all but sings. “Possibly.”

“Definitely.”

“Definitely,” Scorpius grins.

Albus sighs in resignation, but a moment later he slides down on his bed a bit so he can see Scorpius better.

“What do you suggest?”

Convincing Albus to forge Harry’s signature is easier than it should have been.

“He would have done it when he was our age,” Albus says with a dismissive wave of his hand, sitting at the back of the library. He dips his quill into a small bottle of ink and starts writing a letter from the great Harry Potter to the new Hogwarts potions master. Apparently, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has a tricky case and needs to consult an expert, and Professor Ross is the best one available. Mr. Potter doesn’t feel comfortable meeting her on Hogwarts grounds though – sensitive Ministry business and all that – so he’s requesting a meeting in Hogsmeade.

“Perfect,” Albus says, scratching his father’s autograph into the bottom of the letter. Scorpius stares in a bit of shock, in awe that they’re actually doing this and that Albus is willing to play along. He watches closely as Albus folds the letter with crooked creases and slides it into an envelope.

“What about the seal?”

Albus grins mischievously and Scorpius’ stomach does the warming thing again. Albus digs in his bag and withdraws a portion of red wax and a stamp. Scorpius snatches it from his hand an examines it.

“Dad alternates between using the Ministry seal and the Gryffindor one,” Albus says with a shrug. “No one questions his house loyalty and, well… he’s Harry Potter. He can do what he wants, which is what I’m betting on here.”

Scorpius grins back at Albus and watches as he seals the letter with the Gryffindor shield.

“Perfect.”

It takes a bit more precision than slipping a letter under Professor Ross’ door on February 13^th to get Draco Malfoy in the right place at the right time, but Scorpius knows his father better than anyone and is prepared to use his most effective card.

Himself.

The note is hastily written, and for effect Scorpius tosses a few carefully placed droplets of water on the ink to look like he was crying, or at the very least uncharacteristically reckless with his writing.

February 14

Dad,

Do you think you could come up to Hogwarts for dinner tonight? I really want to see you, but I know I need to stay here and study and can’t come home. There is a lot going on right now, but I did that thing I always do with Rose on Valentine’s Day, and I was really hopeful it would work this year, but she was really harsh and I just want to get out of the castle tonight. Do you think you could take me to Hogsmeade? I need a few things anyway but the next visit isn’t for another few weeks.

Love,

Scorpius

He grins at Albus, who has his chin resting comfortably on his shoulder while he writes – so close that Scorpius can smell his toothpaste.

“Perfect,” Albus whispers, and watches as Scorpius slides the parchment into one of his fancy black envelopes with the Malfoy crest embossed in shimmering silver ink in the corner.

“Indeed. Did Madam Puddifoot confirm?” Scorpius asks.

“Yes. I wrote to her and she said she’d have everything set up – you know, since you’re her favorite customer and all.”

“I’m sure it had nothing to do with your last name.”

Albus ruffles Scorpius’ hair and flops back onto his bed, smiling contentedly.

“And Professor Ross should be there about twenty minutes before you,” Albus says. His stomach grumbles loudly. “Something about scheming makes me hungry.”

“Me too,” Scorpius agrees. “Ready for some heart-shaped toast?”

Scorpius leaves Albus in the Slytherin common room just before dinner. It’s rare that anyone can find a moment entirely alone at Hogwarts – there are so many students and teachers that deserted corridors are hard to come by, but it’s that awkward hour between the last class and dinner when most students have retreated to their houses, and the teachers are likely enjoying a well-deserved drink after a long day of dealing with excuses for missing homework and panic over tests.

The atrium is silent, and Scorpius paces back and forth between the pillars and statues, hands folded behind his back. He’s changed out of his uniform and traded it for a pair of black trousers and a deep blue shirt, making sure his appearance is up to snuff for his father. Draco isn’t so vain these days but he is proper and Scorpius tries not to disappoint him.

He tries to ignore the enchanted cupid statue flying around just above his head, giggling and dropping pink heart-shaped confetti on him. If only he could get his hands on the person who placed them all around the castle…

“Scorpius.”

He turns at the sound of his name and sees Draco descending the staircase into the atrium at a decent clip, the tapping of his boots echoing off the walls. Scorpius can’t help smiling, but reminds himself that, until he gets Draco to Madame Puddifoot’s, he’s heartbroken. He brushes the small hearts from his shoulders and shakes them out of his hair as his father approaches.

“Thanks for coming,” Scorpius says, keeping his voice quiet.

“Of course,” Draco assures him. “You sounded quite distraught in your letter. Are you alright?”

“I’m better now,” Scorpius said. “She was just so… mean.”

The corner of Draco’s mouth quirks. It’s his 'of course she is’ face – the one he’s been giving Scorpius for years when he talks about Rose’s repeated rejections.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Draco asks. Scorpius lets out a long sigh that feels more dramatic than it is.

“No. Not right now,” he says. He has most of the story prepared – like last year’s Valentine’s Day rejection with just enough new material to keep it interesting.

Draco nods in understanding and gestures toward the castle’s massive doors. Scorpius tugs his robes back on and fastens them. It’s not until he wraps his scarf around his neck that he realizes it’s not his scarf at all – it’s Albus’ and it smells like him, which is an unintended comfort.

“Can we stop by Honeyduke’s?”

“Didn’t Rose return the chocolates again?” Draco asks, shouldering open the door.

“No,” Scorpius lies. For the last four years he’s sent a box of chocolates to Rose Granger-Weasley on the morning of Valentine’s Day with a handwritten request for a single date, and each year she finds a new way to reject him without fail. “This time she sent the box back empty.”

“Is that progress?” Draco asks, curious.

“No,” Scorpius says. “It’s spite.”

It’s cold on the path to Hogsmeade but the last snow has long since melted. Now it’s just bitter, and Draco and Scorpius walk close together, their faces covered with their scarves. Draco tries to shield his son from the wind, but finds that Scorpius has grown too tall and broad-shouldered, and he grumbles about being useless.

“Not useless,” Scorpius says, quickly removing Albus’ scarf from around his mouth. “I’m just too tall.”

It’s not until they get to Honeydukes – which is also covered in Valentine’s Day décor – that they speak again, and Scorpius has to remind himself to contain his excitement at the sight of the pepper imp display. He wants the pepper imps so much that he can almost forgive them for being 'special holiday edition’ and pink.

“It’s terribly bitter outside,” Draco says. “I don’t know why you wanted to leave the castle.”

“I needed a break,” Scorpius says, grabbing a box of imps and tucking it under his arm. He needs his hands free to grab some chocolate to fuel his upcoming study session. “And I didn’t want to have to see her at dinner. Besides, it’s Valentine’s Day, right? That can be about loving your family too.”

Draco smiles at him over a small tower of licorice snaps.

“Indeed.”

By the time they leave, Draco has bought him a mountain of sweets. Scorpius feels a bit guilty about taking advantage of his father’s pity, but remembers that he’ll share with Albus and some of the less-popular first years, and feels a bit better.

Draco takes him from shop to shop, reluctant to brave the cold, but pleased to see his son and be of some help. It’s not until Scorpius is accepting a bag of new quills and fresh notebooks (he does love the smell of untouched parchment) that he checks his watch and realises how late it’s gotten. He bites down on his lip as they move toward the door. He’s cutting it close on time.

“Do you want to eat at The Three Broomsticks?” Draco asks as they reach the door to the school supply shop, bracing for the cold once again.

“Oh,” Scorpius says, pretending to think. “No, I think… can we go to Madame Puddifoot’s? I know it’s not really dinner, but the tea is so good and last time I was there she had these cute little cakes…”

Scorpius makes a gesture to indicate exactly how little and cute the cakes were and Draco sighs, rubbing his face.

“If that’s what you want, sure,” he concedes, and Scorpius grins behind his back as they walk out the door again and into the main street. It only takes a few minutes to get from the shop to Madame Puddifoot’s, but it’s long enough for Scorpius’ hands to go numb again.

The shop is small and quaint and somewhat shabby – everything that Scorpius usually likes when he gets away from Hogwarts. Tonight there are a few couples from the village enjoying a cup of holiday tea, but Scorpius walks right past them towards the shop’s back room.

“Where are you going?” Draco hisses.

“Oh, I’m friendly with the pastry-maker,” Scorpius improvises. “I wonder if they have any fresh cakes…”

Draco grumbles something about being 'incorrigible’ and how Scorpius would one day be the most overweight Malfoy in history – nothing he hasn’t said before, so Scorpius ignores it and opens the door to the back room, gesturing Draco through. Draco walks past him, clearly expecting his son to follow. Scorpius catches only a glimpse of Professor Ross looking out the window with her back to the room and an elegant spread of tea and sandwiches, and Scorpius has to imagine the confused look on his father’s face when the door closes behind him without Scorpius inside.

Scorpius presses his ear to the door to listen, ignoring the awkward looks from the other patrons.

“Mr. Potter? Oh!”

Professor Ross gives a near squeak of surprise.

“Mr. Malfoy,” she says. “I’m not sure you’re supposed to be here – I’m supposed to be meeting someone on Ministry business.”

“Harry Potter?” Draco drawls and then sighs. “Miss Ross, I’m afraid you’ve likely been misled.”

“Pardon?”

There’s a beat and Scorpius knows his father is putting things together.

“My son – I knew something about that letter seemed strange,” Draco says to himself. Scorpius can hear him pacing. “I’m so sorry. I think my son decided to lure both of us here for a Valentine’s Day meeting.”

“I don’t follow,” said Professor Ross.

“My son has been adamant about my meeting new people, and I believe… well, I believe this is a setup.”

Albus appears from around the corner, walks to Scorpius’ side and presses his ear against the door too. Scorpius doesn’t have to question how he got there – the telltale lump of the Potters’ invisibility cloak shows through Albus’ jumper beneath his open coat. Albus flashes one of his conspiratorial grins at Scorpius, who shoves his shoulder just a bit.

“Your wife died a few years back, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” comes Draco’s voice. “She did.”

“Scorpius mentions her in passing sometimes,” Professor Ross says. Albus meets Scorpius’ eyes for just a second before Scorpius looks away. Albus squeezes his wrist in reassurance, pressing his ear back against the door.

Scorpius braces for Draco’s automatic and insufficient response.

“She was a lovely woman,” he says, just as Scorpius expected, to likely be followed with the customary piteous silence while Professor Ross considers the best way to say “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Perhaps you could tell me about her,” Professor Ross says after a moment. “And then tell me about your collection on potions. It seems quite a shame to let this lovely spread go to waste.”

“Very true, Professor Ross,” Draco says. Scorpius can hear his smile.

“Please, call me Iona.”

Scorpius grins and steps away from the door, hearing the scraping of chairs as Draco and Professor Ross take their seats.

“Mission accomplished?” Albus whispers.

“Mission accomplished,” Scorpius agrees.

“Even if it doesn’t become a thing,” Scorpius says, “I’m glad he’ll at least have gone on a single date.”

“Maybe it will break the ice for him,” Albus says, his teeth chattering by the time they reach the castle again. Though it’s perfectly feasible that Draco took both Scorpius and Albus up to Hogsmeade (they’ve left the cloak tucked away), Albus still looks wary as they pass through the main doors. The pair sticks close to each other for warmth and some shelter against the wind.

“Why didn’t you ask someone to be your Valentine?” Scorpius asks. It’s a question he should have asked for, but he needs a bit of assurance now.

“Didn’t want to,” Albus says, muffled by his scarf – well, Scorpius’ scarf. His eyes flicker back to Scorpius and then he quickly looks away. Scorpius looks at his shoes and grins as they re-enter the castle. He’s just about to suggest they go back to the common room since dinner is already over when a familiar voice echoes through the atrium.

“Hey, Bread Head!”

Albus groans as they see Rose exiting the Great Hall, a couple of her Gryffindor friends in tow. He wasn’t sure it was possible, but Scorpius thinks she’s gotten even more confident in the last few months since her Quidditch skills started winning games. She’s arrogant, but wears it so well.

“I’m going back to the common room.” Albus grumbles. “I can’t watch her do this to you again.”

Scorpius nods and watches as Albus makes a quick exit, heading towards the dungeons as Rose approaches with a lopsided grin and her arms folded. Her red hair is wild and her cheeks are pink like she’s just come off the pitch.

“How may I be of assistance?” Scorpius asks, folding his hands behind his back. Rose folds her arms and shifts one hip to the side with a friend at either arm.

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” she announces.

“Indeed, it is,” Scorpius says. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“We have a tradition, Malfoy,” Rose says with the sarcastic grin she uses when they play their 'game.’ Scorpius doesn’t think it’s much of a game anymore, but doesn’t argue. “I get chocolates and the opportunity to turn you down. That’s been my gift the last few years.”

Scorpius just nods, wondering where she’s going with this.

“Well, where’s my box of chocolates, Bread Head?”

Scorpius smirks at her, thinking of Albus heading down to the dungeons. He knows his friend well – Albus will opt to shed his robes and change into something comfortable before starting his homework, and he’ll likely stretch out on his bed for a few moments before pulling out that potions essay (though Scorpius suspects they might get a bit of leniency from Professor Ross if her dinner with Draco goes well). While Rose taps her foot impatiently, waiting for an answer, Scorpius glances at his watch, wondering exactly how long it will take Albus to find the box of chocolates carefully tucked under his pillow.

He glances at her before walking backwards toward the dungeon corridor.

“Sorry,” he says with a smile. “I’ve got somewhere else to be.”

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #draco malfoy #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

@HPCC Nineteen Years Later

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 22:01:13

Sometimes there’s no need to say anything, because simply being there for each other speaks a thousand words and more. <3

by@plati-arts

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#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 18:01:24

By@amazingdentist

Just something very short, Scorbus-y, and hopefully very sweet.

****

“Al-buss!” A familiar sing-song voice called, “It’s time to wake up!”

Albus grumbled, opening his eyes a fraction, “Do I have to?”

“Only if you want to spend Valentine’s day with a certain gorgeous blonde!”

“And who might that be?” Albus teased, a smirk forming across his sleepy features. It was soon wiped off when a weight suddenly dropped onto the mattress, almost landing on top of him. “Scorpius, please! I need my beauty sleep.” He whined jokingly, tilting his head to look at the other boy.

A moment passed before Scorpius replied, “I don’t think all the sleep in the world could make that face any more beautiful!”.

Albus rolled his eyes, but couldn’t resist returning Scorpius’ wide, soppy grin.

“Can we just stay here all day?” He asked, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend’s waist.

“Hmmm… that does sounds like a good option right now,” hummed Scorpius, nuzzling into Albus’ side and planting a kiss on his cheek, “but no – I have plans! We have plans, more importantly! Plans that don’t involve snuggling in bed all day – not that I don’t enjoy this, of course,”

Albus grunted in response, feeling Scorpius’ warmth disappear from his side and an insistent hand tugging him up and out of bed.

***

Once they had eaten breakfast, Albus found himself being pulled enthusiastically along the corridors of the vast castle. They eventually came to a stop in front of a grand set of double doors.

“The library?” Albus asked dubiously, “Scorp, if this is how you planned we would spend today, then I thoroughly regret agreeing to get out of bed,”

“Excuse me, would you rather spend all day sleeping than with me? And are you saying you dislike the library? I am shocked, Albus Severus!” Scorpius grinned, poking his boyfriend playfully, “I just need to pick up a few books – it shouldn’t take long.”

“Okay, nerd.” Albus teased as he followed Scorpius into the library.

As they wandered through the maze of shelves, Albus smiled, realising that no one else would have taken their Valentine’s date to the library, even briefly. Yet he couldn’t imagine it any other way – Scorpius’ little traditions had become his too, and he loved every one of them.

He watched as Scorpius halted, concentration clear on his face as he scanned the shelf in front of him. Slightly impatient, Albus was about to offer his help when the other boy let out a little yelp of delight, having located the book he was looking for. Albus’ heart soared at the expression of joy on Scorpius’ face, and he suddenly couldn’t wait for them to be out of the library.

***

“You know, I think we make a great couple, because you make everything so interesting. For example, I would never have chosen to read this book, and yet here I am listening to you read it out loud,” Albus declared, snuggling closer under Scorpius’ arm, “And I’m enjoying it! I thought you were the biggest nerd, but I’m not so sure now – maybe you’re rubbing off on me!”

He faked disgust and horror at his words, drawing a chuckle from Scorpius.

“Hmm,” Scorpius said, “I’m not so sure. I, personally, find that having you around can be rather… counterproductive. You’re very distracting, you know. And as for that second part, well, I’ve known it all along – you are a huge nerd, Albus,”

“A huge nerd that loves you,” Albus corrected, grinning warmly. Peppering his words with small kisses to Scorpius’ face, he continued, “Loves you very, very much.”

“This is what I mean! So distracting.” Despite his protests, however, Scorpius didn’t seem to mind. He lay down the book gently before turning his head to meet Albus’ lips, which tasted vaguely of the Honeyduke’s chocolates they had been consuming in copious amounts throughout the day.

“Happy Valentine’s day, Al.”

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Hogwarts, the two weren’t worried about prying eyes as they continued the kiss. Most of the school was out at Hogsmeade, but they were both glad they’d decided to spend the day in the castle instead.

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 13:02:25

By@autumn-of-ilvermorny

Chocolate Cauldrons, Licorice Wands
Sugar Quills and Chocolate Charms

Fizzing Whizbees, Acid Pops
Pumpkin Fizz and Bertie Botts

Exploding Bon-Bons, Shock-o-Choc,
Chocoballs and Wizochoc

Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes
Ginger Newts and Jumping Snakes

Peppermint Toads, Chocolate Frogs
Lick'O'Rish Spiders and Flies of Fudge

Ice Mice, Bat’s Blood
Cockroach Clusters and Jelly Slugs

Mint Humbugs, Sugared Butterfly Wings
Sherbert Lemons and Mint Flossing Strings

Licorice Snaps, Sour Apple Bites
Crystallized Pineapple and Pink Coconut Ice

Glacial Snowflakes, Chocolate Rocks
No Melt Ice Cream and Mice Pops

Fizzy Wizzy, Sugar Straws
Sugar Hexes and Sweet Crystals

Treacle Fudge, Salt Water Taffy
Canary Creams and Ton-Tounge-Toffee

Puking Pastilles, Fever Fudge too
Nosebleed Nougat and U-No-Poo

Fainting Fancies, Hiccough Sweets
Lightning Bolt Shaped Dark Chocolate Covered Rice Crispy Treats

Edible Dark Marks, Glow in the Dark Gum
Blood-Flavoured Lollipops and Droobles Best Blowing Gum

Eyeball Bonanza, Choco-Loco
Chocolate Eggs and Hot Cocoa

Chocolate Skeletons, Jelly Skulls
Honeydukes Chocolate and Wrapped Caramels

Licorice Allsorts and Comfits
Pixie Puffs and Pepper Imps

Although the Potters are on sugar ban,
Of all the confections in the land:

Your friendship is my favourite treat,
Thank you for staying for my sweets!

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

@HPCC Nineteen Years Later

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:01:15

I thought the scene in CC when Scorpius and Albus get out of the lake was super adorable, and it works very well with their relationship and Valentine’s Day.

By@natmunart

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#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 18:01:08

By@albvsxscorpy

1.2k words, G rated

Scorpius is elated that his long-time crush agreed to be his Valentine, and he has the perfect gift for her…

Thank you to the amazing @autumn-of-ilvermorny for being my beta. Seriously, she’s awesome.

Scorpius was in an impeccable mood that day. Valentine’s had always been one of his favourite days of the year, for the frilly decorations, the abundance of sweets, and the lovely romantic puns made him giddy with joy. This year, however, was going to be his best Valentine’s yet, because he’d convinced Rose Granger-Weasley to be his Valentine. Even if Rose had imposed certain restrictions before finally agreeing, mainly “stay cool” and “don’t embarrass me”, Scorpius hoped that this was his chance to woo her.

He’d arranged for his dad to send him a giant box of chocolates from their favourite chocolatier in London, since an impromptu trip to their favourite chocolatier in Paris wasn’t feasible. Still, Scorpius was confident that the delicious taste would win her over, while the predictable nature of his gift wouldn’t overwhelm her.

Granted, a box of chocolates wasn’t his original gift idea for Rose, because Scorpius had never been one to do things the subtle way, but Albus had convinced him not to have 100 owls each deliver a rose to the Gryffindor table during the Valentine’s Day breakfast.

Nonetheless, Scorpius had spent a lot of time and effort to make his gift look extra special, by spending the entire morning decorating the chocolate box to perfection. He’d fiddled with ribbons and paper hearts in every shade of pink, to find the perfect balance between eclectic and refined in what, he hoped, translated to an aesthetic of delicate charm. The hardest part, though, was finding the perfect words to write in the card that would express how much he admired her without scaring her off. He’d tossed and turned all night thinking of how to convey his declaration to Rose. Finally, he’d settled on something simple with a romantic tone:

To the most special person I know,

You inspire me every day,

Thank you for being a part of my world,

Your Scorpius

They had planned to have dinner together at the Gryffindor table, where Scorpius would have to not only impress her but her friends as well.

He walked into the dorm he shared with his fellow fifth year Slytherins to prepare for his Valentine’s Day date.

“Oh, hi Scorp, thanks for the chocolates!” said Albus enthusiastically.

Scorpius stood at the entrance of their dorm, frozen. He felt the blood rushing from his face as he watched his best friend pop another chocolate in his mouth, empty wrappers littering the floor around his bed.

“What’s wrong?” sputtered Albus, his mouth full of chocolate, a worried frown suddenly appearing on his face.

“Th-those were for Rose…” replied Scorpius, still in shock.

“Oh… Oh!! I’m so sorry mate, they were on my bed I thought… I thought they were for me.”

Scorpius buried his face in his hands, remembering how he had left the box on his friend’s neatly made bed before heading down to breakfast that morning, since his own always looked like a tornado had just passed through.

“But I wrote a note…” mumbled a discouraged Scorpius.

“The note wasn’t addressed to anyone, I just assumed…” said Albus sheepishly. “I-I thought it was a nice sentiment on your part,” he finished, his eyes fixed on his socks.

Scorpius observed his friend, whose deep red cheeks betrayed how embarrassed he was about the whole situation. There was no malice in his eyes, only guilt, and Scorpius knew he couldn’t be angry with him for an honest mistake.

“What am I going to do now?” lamented Scorpius, taking in the desolate sight of the half-empty chocolate box, “I’m supposed to be meeting Rose for lunch in 20 minutes!”

“Here,” answered Albus, grabbing a small brown package from his bedside table. “You can give her the gift I was going to give you. I mean, it’s only fair after I destroyed your gift.”

“You got me a gift?” said Scorpius incredulously, reaching for the package Albus was handing him. It was definitely a book, that much Scorpius could tell just by looking at it, and it was wrapped in regular brown packaging paper carefully tied together with twine and a small, red bow. It was heavier than he had anticipated, and directly on the packaging paper, Albus had scribbled a note:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I thought books were lame,

But then I met you.

Thanks dork,

Albus

“But… I thought you hated Valentine’s Day?” was all Scorpius could think of saying, touched and a little surprised by his best friend’s words.

“I do, it’s a stupid consumerist holiday meant to make single people feel bad, but I know it makes you really happy, so…” said Albus, looking back down to his feet, as if his socks had suddenly become fascinating.

“Can I open it?” asked Scorpius.

Albus shrugged in response: “If you want to.”

Scorpius tore open the paper wrapping to reveal a blood red cover with the title of the book stamped in black gothic letters: A Compendium of Romantic Poetry. Scorpius quickly thumbed through the table of contents, revealing that it included the works of muggle poets of the Romantic era such as Edgar Allen Poe, Samuel Coleridge and Percy Shelly.

“Thank you Albus, this is so nice,” said Scorpius, a bright smile on his face. “You know these aren’t romantic poems in the lovey-dovey sense, right?”

“I knew you’d get it,” replied Albus, smiling back.

Scorpius studied his friend for a moment, touched by the thoughtfulness of his gift. He suddenly felt inadequate, for he hadn’t even thought of getting Albus a gift. Yet, Albus was the one with whom he spent most of his time with, the one with whom he passed notes in class, and with whom he laughed on a daily basis. Instead, he had spent all night thinking of thousands of words to write for Rose, in the hopes they would show how much he appreciated her. In truth, all those words could easily apply to Albus, and even if he combined them all they would not come close to encompassing how much he truly valued his best friend.

Albus cleared his throat, pulling Scorpius out of his train of thought.

“Do-do you think Rose would get it too?” said Albus, looking embarrassed again.

“Probably not, I think I’d better hold on to it,” replied Scorpius, as he walked over to Albus’s bed and jumped on it.

“What are you going to do about Rose?” inquired Albus.

“I think I’ll send her a note to tell her I’m feeling somewhat unwell and would hate to share my sickness with her. I should probably stay in bed for awhile,” said Scorpius as he plopped a chocolate in his mouth. “Mmhm, Albus, these are good, you should really have some of these.”

Albus grinned and joined his friend on his bed. “Would you feel better if I read you some gory poems?” he said, picking up Scorpius’s new book.

“That would be lovely, said Scorpius approvingly. “Maybe the macabre will scare the illness right out of me. Thank you, Albus.”

As he listened to his friend’s voice croon over the prose of Muggle literary gems, he thought that this year was truly the best Valentine’s Day yet.

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine #submission

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:02:19

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#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #scorose #drastoria #romione #harry potter #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #draco malfoy #rose granger weasley #hermione granger #ron weasley #ginny potter #keep the secrets #hpcc valentine

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:00:59

There are only 48 hours left to sign up! Please send us an ask before midnight GMT on Wednesday if you’d like to contribute art or a fic, or if you’re willing to help beta. We’d love to have you involved. If you have any questions or hesitations just get in touch!

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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 23:30:56

Title: It starts with an inkpot

Author: @penguinanimagus / vivi1138

Pairing:Albus Potter/Scorpius Malfoy

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1897

Prompt#: 5 - Someone has played a prank and tossed Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder into the Slytherin boys dorms before sealing it shut. Albus and Scorpius are the only ones inside and they find that their other senses are heightened when they can’t see.

Senses: taste, smell, hearing, touch

Warnings: frottage/coming in pants

Summary:

When you have a crush on your best friend, sometimes all you need is a little push in the right direction. Being locked in your dorm, unable to see or be seen, might just be the perfect opportunity to confess.

Read on AO3

This work is part of the Taste of Smut Fest, a Harry Potter-centered fest dedicated to the five senses: taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight. If you’ve enjoyed this work, please do shower our content creators with kudos and comments!

#tasteofsmut fest #tasteofsmut fic #albusscorpius #scorpius x albus #scorbus #scorbus fic #scorpius malfoy x albus potter #hearing #hp events #hp fests

@tasteofsmut

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 05:06:43

chapter five
Albus’ favourite thing about the Club had to be the view of the horizon from the patio just outside the kitchen. The curvature of the sky could almost be seen from the concrete slabs, the blending colours as the sun set casting a gentle light over the predominantly flat golf course before the Club. Under the dwindling evening heat, shirt sleeves fluttering from the gentle breeze whipping through the branches and skimming around his ankles, Albus always felt calm. The sky would transform in to a work of art right before his eyes and he would sit in silence as silhouetted birds flirted with the streaky clouds and wove in and out of their usual triangular alignment.
Often he would sit on the drying grass, fingertips meticulously smoothing through the browning strands as Albus allowed his mind to empty and be filled with nothing but silenced tranquillity. In his world of constantly moving places and frequently intense encounters Albus relished these moments of loneliness; with just him, the sun and the summoning stars Albus felt invincible.
The rest of his day had been spent following his parents around as they forced the family to spend time together. They went on a walk around the grounds, Ginny insisting that the air would clear their minds and allow them to reconnect with the earth, or some other reason like that. Albus would have protested more, but the look of desperation and desire on his mother’s face led him to follow along in their lengthening shadows, feet almost dragging as they outlined the perimeter of the golf course. Harry had then brought them to the poolside for an hours, lounging under the umbrellas as gentle splashes of chlorine-filled water cooled them from the marathon the family had practically completed earlier. An essence of awkwardness lingered as the Potter family pretended that everything was okay and that the current series of events weren’t occurring to solely create a façade of perfection and familial contentment; so, after a short while of sitting in silence, Albus excused himself again.
And his short walk led him to where he sat now: legs crossed as he watched the blue of the day intermingling with the growing darkness of night. When the world wanted him to travel at the speed of light Albus always felt that sitting right here would always bring him back to his speed.
“Are you stalking me?”
That was until, of course, someone interrupted him.
(continue reading on ao3!)

#scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #scorbus #albus x scorpius #scorpius x albus

Sun, 22 Jul 2018 15:46:45

pairing:albus potter x scorpius malfoy
wordcount:7,015
chapter four
The world seemed to be on Albus’ side as the Potter’s trudged down to breakfast the following morning. Despite the bags under his eyes from his late night rendezvous and a constellation of bug bites rising over his skin, Albus felt like the higher forces wanted him to have a good day. For starters the family had risen seemingly forgetting all of the tension from the day before, with his parents sleepily exchanging utterances of love over a cup of coffee and Lily and James actually getting along for once. Then when they arrived at their table for breakfast the waiter announced that they were finally serving crepes again and Albus physically beamed. Though he wasn’t a fan of American breakfast foods in their entirety, he would admit to being impartial to a few crepes every now and again. When they arrived the Club seemed to have discontinued from them their menu so Albus would gladly admit his delight at their unexpected return.
After the two intense positives outlining his morning Albus didn’t think his day could have got off to a better start. He had his favourite food and an array of toppings scattered around him and his finally reconstructed family, the warming sun dancing over his back as it rained in from the open doors to the golf course. For the first time in the entire week Albus felt relaxed, entirely tranquil in his situation and surprisingly happy for it being eight in the morning. Then he looked up from his plate, finding himself blinded as he accidentally looked directly at the sun.
Because, of course, there Scorpius was scuttling between tables and meandering through the masses of members sipping at coffee and scratching their knives over their plates. His fingertips wobbled as he piled one too many plates on to his stack, eyes widening momentarily as he regained his balance and plodded off to kitchen. As he went to back in to the room Scorpius’ head surveyed the dining area, eyes lighting as he caught a second of Albus’ face. Albus tipped his head in response, grinning as Scorpius lingered a moment longer before disappearing out of view in to the kitchen.
“Al,” Lily’s voice coaxed him back to reality. Her fingertips grabbed in his direction, eyes staring at the pitcher of juice in front of him. “Pass the orange juice, please?”
(continue reading on ao3!)

#scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #scorbus #scorpius x albus #albus x scorpius

Fri, 06 Jul 2018 17:21:30

pairing:albus x scorpius
wordcount:7,829
chapter 2
The dining room at Ivory Falls could change atmosphere with a flip of a coin; in the late evening sultry tones from local bands bounced off the walls, filling the area with encouragements of promiscuity and romance. Dinners and luncheons oozed professionalism as the tables boasted crisp, white tablecloths and the porcelain cutlery shone like a sea of stars outlining the placemats of the wealthy individuals who would be eating there for the day. The furniture would be cushioned with fine fabrics, not a squeak or creak to be heard as middle-aged men seated their heavy bodies down.
Even now, at nine in the morning as the sun began to creep up the clear sky, the dining room appeared completely different to the setting when Albus had arrived the evening prior. As he gently scrubbed his sleepy eyes and ignored the churning of his stomach as he awaited his breakfast, Albus glanced around in admiration at how altered the room now looked. Where the bar would have been bustling hours prior the staff had placed pitchers of juice and water waiting to be brought to the tables. The door to the kitchen constantly swung as waiters brought out dish after dish of breakfast foods to all the members cluttering around the circular tables. It was almost like a theatrical act; as time moved on the room and waiting staff all underwent quick changes to fit the new mood, dressing in costumes of luxury for the evenings or all white for wedding receptions.
The Potter’s reserved a table by the French doors extending on to the golf course for every meal. The laced table tops caught the sun beautifully, cutlery glinting and faces warmed with a morning glow as they waited for their food. Ginny’s eyes were cast to the course outside, staring longingly at the balls floating in the air while she idly stirred a cup of coffee. Lily and James had been engrossed in a mildly intense argument since they woke up, swatting petty insults at each other as James insisted he hadn’t seen her sunglasses while Lily seethed in her seat.
Albus, however, had been too preoccupied taking in his surroundings to engage in any sort of conversation. He’d spent his morning assessing the workers as they danced around the cluttered tables, tiptoeing between small spaces as they paraded trays and cups to patrons. He looked back to his family, eventually, circling his gaze around everyone until he landed on his dad.
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#scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #albus x scorpius #scorpius x albus

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 15:39:42

Albus thought he knew Ivory Falls Country Club like the back of his hand. He’d spent his summer vacation there every year since he was old enough to have a passport; he had memorised the depth of the pool, the menus for the restaurant and even the names of every staff member he came across. You can imagine his surprise when, as the Potter family return for their annual stay, he meets a blonde-haired summer worker called Scorpius who promises to turn his summer upside down.
or the one where albus and scorpius fall in love over summer.
(think dirty dancing and high school musical without the songs.)
pairing: albus potter x scorpius malfoy
word count: 8,499 (1/12)
Heathrow Airport is constantly buzzing, Albus has learned. Whether a morning flight departing over a sliver of sunrise or a night-time delay set to a backdrop of flashing lights and harmonious yawns, there are always people flocking the terminals. Thousands of discarded coffee cups and ragged newspapers outline the endless waiting areas, ghosts of the former individuals who inhabited the seats. Forgotten scarves and tablet chargers dangle helplessly to the floor, swimming between masses of people all waiting for their flight.
The four-thirty departure to California from Terminal 3 had already been delayed by twenty minutes when Albus Potter returned from the bookshop he had been perusing. It was two o’clock, prime time for flights, and the Potter family had arrived suitably early for their mid-afternoon haul to Ivory Falls, stuck among the rush hour airport traffic. There were thickets of bodies all glued together in packed waiting areas, bags invading other’s personal space as uptight businessmen battled over who would get the last charging port for their phone. Families huddled together, pillows and blankets clutched to aggravated children’s chests as their parents relayed the news of late flights to them. Albus felt as though he couldn’t breathe. So he left for a while.
With his rucksack slung over his shoulder he weaved his way through the maze of tourists to find the Duty Free area, feet dragging on the slippery floor as he trundled in to the back corner: the book corner. Albus had been to the airport enough times to memorise the layout of Duty Free. Towards the left were fragrances and toiletries – he vividly remembered walking in with Lily five years ago when she proceeded to drop a fairly expensive Tom Ford scent on the floor – with the path winding around through sunglasses to clothes to alcohol. Albus didn’t care for those areas, though. Like a bee to flora he hovered immediately to the small book area, shelves haphazardly littered with random titles from all the possible genres.
Albus thought himself a poet, and so wherever he went he would always have two particular things in his bag: his journal and a book of poetry. He consumed inspiration wherever he was and knew he would be empty without a plain expanse to inscribe his feelings. Albus’ journal had a few pages remaining, stuffed to the core with rhythmic limericks or sonnets about a cute barista he saw over the counter in a coffee shop. He needed a new poetry book, however. For his sixteenth birthday a few weeks prior his parents had splurged on a first edition copy of his favourite poet’s debut collection which, despite Albus’ attempts to read slowly, he devoured in days.
So here he was now. Stood before the bookshelves hoping to spot something that would keep him entertained for the six weeks he was about to spend in a Country Club he’d been visiting since he was old enough to have a passport. Albus would be the first to admit that he adored going away on vacations or spontaneous weekend visits to Rome, but going to the same place in the same country for the entirety of his summer break began to feel more like a chore than a luxury. Albus knew that the amount of money his parents threw at Ivory Falls Country Club to retain their membership was obscene and, after all these years, could have mounted up to the price of a small island. It was no secret his parents were ‘well off’; considering his mother had been a professional golfer for most of her life and his father had created a reputation of being one of the most successful lawyers in London it would be hard to think the Potter’s were anything less than financially stable.
continue reading on ao3!

#scorbus #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #albus x scorpius #scorpius x albus #hannah #chaptered

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 21:37:28