Archive of Our Own

The realization of just how profound the day was had him searching frantically for a familiar tuft of white hair amongst the crowd.

"Merlin, you're pathetic." Lily cackled as she wheeled her trolley beside him. 

Albus shot her a glare as he flashed two fingers in her direction, smiling when he saw her face fall in annoyance.  

"Dad! Albus is making vulgar hand gestures at me!" She whined in her best little sister voice as she smiled at her brother. 

"Uh huh, and I'm sure the sight of it robbed you of your innocence." Harry deadpanned. Albus met his eyes and smiled, he was sure that he had been about to be scolded and wanted to make his appreciation clear. 

"And don't tease your brother about Scorpius. They've never been apart this long, of course he's anxious to see him again." His mom added, attempting to be helpful but from the way Lily fell into giggles, it was clear that her statement had the opposite effect. 

Lily smirked at her brother. "Do you know what codependency means?"

Albus was just about to lay into his sister when two, warm hands snaked from around the back of his head, landing firmly on top of his eyes.  He instinctively held his breath with excitement. There was only one person who would initiate this kind of contact with him and it had been three long months since he'd been in the same country with him, let alone close enough to touch.

"Guess who!" His favorite voice said and Albus immediately whipped around and threw his arms around his best mate. Scorpius stumbled backwards, laughing but somehow managed to wrap his arms around Albus with the same ferocity. "You're no fun! You were supposed to guess."

"Oh, bugger off! I've missed you too much to waste time with guessing games." Albus said into his shoulder.

Scorpius tightened his grip slightly. "Me too. No more separate, long holidays."

"I one hundred percent agree with that sentiment." A voice interrupted. Albus broke the embrace to see Scorpius's father, Draco Malfoy joining the group, wearing a warm smile. "It wasn't the same without our yearly wizard's chess tournament. Scorpius just isn't competitive enough for me."

Albus smiled at him and reached out to shake his hand. "It's good to see you, Draco."

"You too, Albus."  Draco said as he accepted his outstretched hand and clapped him once hard on the back.

"A wizard's chess tournament?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows. "I taught Albus everything he knows so if he's good competition for you then maybe we should have a go?"

Ginny rolled her eyes next to her husband. "Here we go."

"Oooh, this sounds like the perfect opportunity to make some money. I'm taking bets!" Lily announced, wringing her hands excitedly.

Albus glanced over, meeting Scorpius's eyes and smirked. "I've got 4 galleons on Draco."  He shouted.

Harry's mouth dropped open as he shot Albus an incredulous look. "You would bet against your own flesh and blood?" 

"Don't think of it as betting against you, Dad. Think of it as betting to win." Albus said with a cheeky grin. 

Draco immediately let out a belly laugh. "This one..." He shouted, motioning to Albus. "This one is Slytherin through and through."

Albus beamed at him gratefully.  He loved the way that Draco spoke of their common house. Although his own family had stressed that they never cared which house he belongs to, he always felt that they loved him in spite of his house, not because of it. Draco, on the other hand, made him feel like he should be proud of his Slytherin traits and it was because of this, that having Draco in his life made Albus feel just a little bit more comfortable in his own skin. 

"Uh huh." Harry said impassively. "Well that settles it. You'll have to come around during the break so I can restore my son's faith in me and lose him some money in the process." His dad gave him a smug smile which Albus met with an eye roll. 

"Christmas!" Draco interrupted without acknowledging Harry's challenge. "I almost forgot, Scorpius was wondering if Albus could stay with us on Christmas Eve? That way they could be together on Christmas morning?" 

Albus instinctively looked at his friend who was standing to his right. Scorpius was wearing a sweet, shy smile and instantly pinked and looked at his feet when he met his eyes.  There was a warm, tightening sensation in Albus's chest at the sight of him and he couldn't help but smile; he had missed that smile so much. He started to lift his hand, intending to pull Scorpius into another hug, but remembering Lily's teasing, stopped short and let his hand fall back to his side. He turned back to the parents who were still discussing Christmas plans.

"...because James will be with Bria until ten so we won't be opening gifts until then anyway." His mother said, reasoning out the offer. "So, as long as Albus wants to..."

"I do!" Albus interrupted a little too loudly. 

"Ugh! Lily sighed dramatically. "That's so unfair. Why do I have to suffer and wait too? "

Ginny rolled her eyes at her daughter. "Please. You act like you are EVER awake before ten! Dial back the dramatics, Lils."

Lily was huffing something under her breath when the train let out a whistle, alerting them that it was almost time to depart. Everyone began saying their final goodbyes but when it became apparent that his mother was becoming overly emotional, Albus grabbed Scorpius's wrist and turned towards the train. 

"I'll write." He shouted over his shoulder as they broke into a run, Scorpius scolding him all the way about his inability to humour his mother. 

It took several minutes of searching but they eventually came to an empty compartment and made their way inside. After situating their bags in the above head shelving and situating themselves cross legged on the train seat, Albus sat surveying his friend and smirked when the two made eye contact. 

Scorpius easily returned the smile and Albus again felt that tug in his chest and twitch in his arms to reach out and touch him.  He silently chastised himself, three months away from his only friend and he had turned into a needy, first year girl.

"So..." Scorpius said, reaching into his cloak and brandishing two pepper imps. "sweets?" He asked with a smile, tossing one to his friend.

Albus caught it easily and laughed. "I'm told they help you make friends." He said as he opened the packaging and took a bite. Suddenly the nostalgia of eating sweets, with his best mate, on the Hogwarts Express descended upon him and he felt an emptiness in his chest, as if he was mourning something that wasn't even gone yet.

Scorpius must have felt it too because his face took on a pensive quality. "Seventh year."  He said shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it. 

"Yeah, this is it, mate." The two friends locked eyes for a moment and something unfamiliar passed between them. "You seem different." Albus blurted out unexpectedly.

"What? No, no I don't. It's just me. Still me in all my Scorpius glory. Well not glory, per se, more mediocrity. Or perhaps not mediocrity because I'm slightly above average intelligence and slightly below average in social interactions." Scorpius said suddenly uneasy.

Albus furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Scorpius, relax. I didn't say it was a bad thing! You just seem less fidgety or something, like France did you some good." Immediately Scorpius flushed and started playing with the hem of his shirt, Albus chuckled. "Well, maybe not less fidgety, just more mature."

Scorpius nodded but stayed silent. Albus couldn't help but feel like he had something more on his mind and was about to broach the subject with him when Scorpius stood suddenly. "Presents! And pictures. Pictures and presents." He said, reaching into the front of his luggage and returning to the train seat with a black photo album and a small box wrapped in plain brown paper. "Which first?" He asked, extending the photo album and then the box in a repeated rhythm.

"Pictures." Albus said, impressed with his own restraint as he grabbed the photo album from Scorpius's right hand.    He laid the book across his lap and opened it as Scorpius slid next to him. 

When he looked down, Draco and Scorpius stood waving at him from a very Parisian looking street.

"That's where we stayed." Scorpius pointed to the stone front building on the corner. "And this," he said as he leaned across Albus and turned the page. "This is the family we stayed with. Monsieur and Madam Durand and their son, Luca."

"Luca the prat?" Albus asked, chuckling lightly. Scorpius had attempted to be diplomatic about their host's annoying son at first, but as the summer wore on, he became more and more frank about his dislike for the teenager. 

Scorpius nodded and shot him a look as if to convey, 'you have no idea,' before turning the page. "Oh! The Eiffel tower! It really is just as magical as they say." He said, motioning to the next photograph. Albus was only vaguely aware that there was a giant tower in the picture as his sole attention had fallen to the unknown, light-haired boy with his arm around Scorpius. 

"Who's that?" Albus asked, pointing to the boy in question. 

"Oh, that's Julien, the neighbour's son? I mentioned him in my letters." Scorpius said as he turned the page again. 

Albus remembered Scorpius briefly mentioning that the neighbour's son had taken him sightseeing, but he wasn't aware that the excursion had lasted more than one day. If the pictures were any indication, the two had spent the entire summer together. Albus ignored the heaviness in his chest and feigned interest in the rest of the photo album until Scorpius closed the book and tossed the neatly wrapped gift to him. 

Happy for the distraction, Albus surveyed the package trying to predict the contents when Scorpius lost his patience. "Just open it, already!" He yelled with a smile.

Albus smirked at him as he slowly and carefully removed the paper. Scorpius rolled his eyes and began drumming his fingers on the train seat, impatiently. After succeeding with his attempt at annoyance, Albus increased his pace and ripped the rest of the paper off, throwing the lid onto the seat next to him.

Inside we're two, delicious looking eclairs and a smaller box that sat unwrapped. "I suppose I'm supposed to share these with you?" He asked, indicating the pastries.

"Only if you would like to be a good friend. If you would rather continue your reign as a selfish wanker then by all means, eat them both." Scorpius laughed as Albus pushed him hard in the shoulder.  

Albus lifted the smaller box from the package and set the eclairs in between them, motioning for Scorpius to take one. "My reign has ended." He announced dramatically. 

Scorpius only laughed and then pointed to the box in Albus's hands. "That will need a bit of explanation."

Albus smiled and popped the lid off, lifting the silver chain from the paper, ignoring how his heart raced at the realization that he was gifted jewelry from his best mate. He set the box down so that he could catch the stone in his hands, bringing it close to his face for inspection.  The stone that dangled from the end was light green with flecks of emerald, brown, and forest green throughout.

"Fuchsite." Scorpius offered. "I went to a magic shop in Paris. A muggle magic shop  - just for laughs, really. It is quite remarkable how many factual  associations the muggles were able to stumble upon, like the healing properties of amber, for example. I guess there was much more incorrect information, though."

"Scorpius." Albus interrupted.

"Right. Right, sorry. So I saw this and it immediately reminded me of you. The stone is the perfect mix of Slytherin green and your eye colour." Scorpius didn't notice Albus's cheeks pinking at his words and he continued. "So then I read the description and it said that the stone was to help the wearer gain insight into their purpose in life. Perfect for you!"

"Because my life has no purpose, motivation, or direction." Albus deadpanned. 

"Because you are struggling to choose which life path to go down." Scorpius corrected, slightly annoyed. "I'm sorry if it's stupid." He added self-consciously. "You don't have to wear it."

Albus felt immediately guilty for his bad joke. "No, I actually...I really love it." He said genuinely and placed the necklace around his neck. "Thank you."

They smiled warmly at each other when the compartment door flew open and in walked Rose Granger Weasley. 

"About time to get those robes on gentlemen." She announced with her usual tone of pretentiousness.

Albus looked at Scorpius and rolled his eyes. "Good to see you're not letting your Head Girl status inflate your ego." He said sarcastically. "And don't you have anything better to do than bother seventh years about putting on their robes?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. Although their relationship had improved over the years, they never quite moved passed the near constant annoyance they felt for each other. "Actually," she said smugly, "the list of duties for Head Girl includes making sure two, specific seventh years make it off the train, at the correct location, in their robes, and on time."

"You're talking rubbish." Albus exclaimed indignantly but by the way Scorpius sunk into the seat, it was clear that he believed her instantly. 

Rose laughed. "You're right, of course. After jumping off of the train year four and then falling asleep and failing to leave the train year six, everyone perfectly trusts you to make it to your destination on your own." She spat at him. 

Albus's eyes flashed dangerously. Last year had been quite embarrassing and he'd been attempting to block the memory from his mind. Since Bria was missing the sorting ceremony for St. Mungo's orientation, Scorpius and Albus were in a compartment alone, much like today. After eating their weight in sweets the two had fallen asleep and were unceremoniously awaken by a furious trolley witch.  As anyone could imagine, with their experience, their greeting to her was less 'warm hello' and more 'scream at the top of your lungs until the woman has no choice but to hit you with stupify and levitate you up to the castle.'

Albus shuddered at the memory and was about to bring up an equally embarrassing memory from Rose's past when Scorpius cut in to avoid a fight. "Thanks, Rose. We'll manage this year."

She nodded to him and then noticing the empty wrapping, asked, "Oh, what did you get?"

Albus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He would have told her to quit being nosey and bugger off, but he didn't want to give Scorpius any further reason to think that he didn't like the gift. "Um, eclairs and this necklace." He mumbled, toying with the charm on his chest. 

Rose pulled an impressed face. "Chocolate AND jewelery?" She asked. "Maybe I made a mistake turning you down all those years ago, Scorp. That's top boyfriend material right there!" Scorpius's face went tomato red and Rose laughed. "Well, I have to get back - prefects meeting. I'll see you guys later." And with that she was gone.

The silence was heavy, after she left and Albus couldn't quite figure out why. Unexpectedly a loud, welcome yawn escaped Scorpius and broke the silence. "Tired?" Albus asked chuckling. 

"No. I mean, yes. I wouldn't dare go to sleep and risk another Hogwarts Express disaster though." Scorpius replied.

"You go to sleep. After all the apparating this morning, I'm sure you need the rest."  Albus said. 

Scorpius eyed him skeptically so Albus continued. "I promise I'll stay awake this time! I'm not even the slightest bit tired."

"Really?" Scorpius asked, suddenly hopeful.

Albus smiled. "Really. Go to sleep."

Ten minutes later, Albus sat bored with his best mate's lifeless body at his side.  He felt his eyes getting heavy and panicked when they drifted closed of their own accord. He searched around the compartment, frantically searching for something to hold his interest enough to keep him awake when his eyes landed on the black photo album. 

Hesitantly, ignoring the weight that suddenly returned to his chest, Albus opened the book and began paging through it. Without Scorpius's narration and scrutiny, he was able to really look at every picture, surveying the facial expressions and small touches. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, he should be glad that Scorpius had someone with to spend the summer.  Chastising himself for his selfishness, Albus was about to close the book when he noticed a photograph on the last page that Scorpius had skipped. 

It was instantly apparent why Scorpius hadn't drawn his attention to this photo. There were no landmarks or historical buildings. It was simply an unremarkable photograph of two boys sitting on a bed laughing, their arms draped over each other in clear friendship.  Only, it wasn't unremarkable because one of those boys was Scorpius Malfoy and the other was not Albus Potter. 

Jealousy washed over Albus in waves. It wasn't as though Scorpius never had any other friends. He would often study or spend time with Bria or even Rose, who he had thought he was in love with for years, and it never made him feel this nauseous. He looked at the photograph again to try and assess his emotions. Scorpius was laughing so hard that he had to lean into this boy (Julien - what a stupid name, he thought angrily), for support.  That smile, though, it wasn't the smile he gave Bria or Rose or even his dad. That was Albus's smile. And the touching - Scorpius was barely comfortable hugging his father, what was he doing hugging this random kid? 

Albus sighed and threw the photo album back on the seat next to him. It was clear that Albus was no longer Scorpius's only close friends and Albus didn't like it one bit.