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“ALBUS! Get up and get down here to help us”

Albus groaned and rolled over, pressing his face into his pillow, trying to block out the sounds of his older brother.

“Albus seriously if you don’t get down here right now, I swear I’ll come up there and wake you up myself with a nice bucket of cold water,'' James shouted up.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming! Just give me two minutes to wake up properly James!”, Albus called back as he slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He looked over at the clock on his bedside table: 9:20. Albus groaned again. It was the summer holidays and normally his parents were okay with him sleeping in until midday, but not today. Today was the day of the annual Weasley-Potter Barbeque, which meant it was all hands on deck from first thing in the morning. Hosting of the event alternated between the Potters, Granger-Weasleys and The Burrow and this year the responsibility fell on Harry and his family.

Albus had a very love-hate relationship with the family event. Before he went to Hogwarts, it was one of his favourite days of the year. He had fond memories of being sat on his Uncle Ron’s shoulders when he was just a toddler, Ron bouncing him around the garden showing Albus all of his latest prototypes for the shop, making Albus giggle until his stomach hurt. When he was a little older, he remembers sitting on the front of his Mum’s broom during the Quidditch match, soaring above the garden and feeling on top of the world. Albus had even learnt how to walk at one of his first Barbeques, determined to keep up with his older cousins.

However, once Albus had started at Hogwarts and his relationship with his family became strained, the event took on a whole different meaning to him. It went from one of his favourite days to one he dreaded; he would desperately beg his mum to let him stay up in his room, not wanting to be downstairs amongst all of his family sporting their Gryffindor colours and laughing about all their fond memories of Hogwarts. When he was eventually forced downstairs, he would spend most of the day sullen and sat away from everyone, snapping at anybody that tried to talk to him.

It was only ever his grandma Molly that could coax a smile out of Albus. Since her grandson started at Hogwarts, she noticed a change in him at the annual celebrations and so made it her mission to make sure Albus felt included. Over the years, this included a number of different activities, like persuading Albus to help her bake the cake that was served before the Quidditch game, or teaching him how to knit (Molly secretly hoped that Albus would be the one to continue her tradition of making Weasley jumpers when she knew she would no longer be able to).

However this year, for the first time in a long time, Albus was excited for the day ahead. This year, Albus wouldn’t be the only Slytherin at the event, because, as he had been informed by his dad at Kings Cross station just two weeks ago, his best friend (and now boyfriend) Scorpius Malfoy, and his dad Draco, would be joining them. Albus’ stomach did little butterflies at the thought of seeing Scorpius again. Even though it had only been two weeks since he had last seen the blonde haired boy on the platform, it had felt like an eternity, since the two were so used to seeing each other every day at school. Albus had initially been worried about being so far away from his boyfriend for so long, but the two had been owling each other almost daily, Scorpius’ letters always a highlight of Albus’ day.

Albus rolled out of bed and grabbed the first t-shirt and pair of shorts he found and began to make his way downstairs. He would bother later about making himself look more presentable, as he knew the work he was about to do would mean a shower now would be a stupid idea. As he walked into the living room, his mum smiled warmly at him and handed him a steaming mug of tea, which Albus gratefully accepted. Lily was sat at the table making the scoreboard for the Quidditch game they would be partaking in that evening, a look of serious concentration on her face.

“Morning sleepyhead, you finally decided to grace us with your presence then,'' James said, grinning as he walked into the room and slapped Albus on the back.

Albus just glared up at his brother, wincing slightly when he hit him.

“Dad and I have been out putting up the marquee since 8 this morning, Al, you’re slacking you know,'' James said cheerily, also accepting a cup of tea from his mum.

“Well you should have woken me then, shouldn’t you?”, Albus snapped. Just as Ginny was about to intervene, Lily spoke up.

“Does Scorpius know that you’re this grumpy in the morning, Al? Also, you’re going to change before later, aren't you? Scorpius hasn’t seen you in two weeks and I don’t think your morning bed head hair should be the look you’re aiming for.”

“Scorpius knows what I look like in the morning Lily, we’ve been sharing a dorm for the last five years. And I’m only grumpy when I’m being woken up by someone shouting at me incessantly”, Albus grumbled as he sat down at the table to drink his tea.

“Awww sorry, Al,'' James cooed at him, ruffling with Albus’ hair as he spoke.

“Do you prefer being woken up by Scorpius? I wonder what he does to wake you up that means you’re not so grumpy in the morning?”, James said, smirking down at his brother who had turned bright red.

“James!” Albus cried, trying to desperately avoid eye contact with the others in the room and looking as if he wanted to apparate away there and then.

“Scorpius is staying in your room with you, isn’t he? Do I need to cast a silencing charm for you both, save you worrying about waking us all up in the morning?” James continued, winking at Albus as he spoke.

“Merlin James, I beg of you, please stop talking,'' Albus said, his head falling into his hands as he sank lower into his chair.

“James, stop embarrassing Albus! Just because you and your girlfriend can’t keep your hands off each other whenever she comes to stay, doesn’t mean the rest of us are like that,” Lily snapped, as she turned to carry on with her schedule.

“Oi!” James said, as he playfully nudged Lily in the ribs. “Anyway Mum, how come Scorpius is allowed to stay in Albus’ room? You never let any of my girlfriends stay in with me when we were 16. I think Scorpius should stay in with me instead.”

At this comment, Albus finally raised his head to protest when Ginny slammed her hands on the table.

“That’s enough! James, stop antagonising your little brother. Your father and I trust Albus and Scorpius enough to let them stay in together. Unlike you, we know they’re taking their relationship more...slowly...and when the time is right and they want to progress, we know they'll talk to us first.” Ginny said gently, smiling over at Albus.

“I mean, that is if they haven’t progressed already. You know what those dorms are like Mum, they can get very...intimate, especially down in those dungeons” James said, winking over at Albus, who was turning red again.

“It’s true Mum!”, Lily piped up. “There are loads of rumours going around that Blaise Zabini’s son and his girlfriend have already slept together and they’re only in fourth year.”

By this point, Albus was sat there as red as a tomato, absolutely horrified that his sex life had become the discussion over breakfast.

Just at that moment, Harry walked in smiling.

“Morning Albus! You’re up then. Wait, why are you so red?”, Harry asked, peering down at his son.

“Come on Dad, I’m going to help you set up the Barbeque in the garden,” Albus said, quickly grabbing his dad’s hand and dragging him away from the kitchen as quickly as possible, leaving James cackling.

-

2 hours of hard work later and the house was finally ready. The decorations, hand made by Lily, were hanging all over the house and the garden, the Quidditch rings were set up, odd bits of garden furniture were scattered everywhere and the Barbeque was sizzling, ready for Harry to start cooking the food for everyone.

Upstairs, Albus was having a bit of a crisis. He was stood in front of a mirror trying to decide if what he was wearing was nice enough. It was strange; in all their years of friendship, Albus had never really cared about what Scorpius thought of what he was wearing. However now they were together, and they hadn’t seen each other for two whole weeks, Albus was desperate to make a good impression. He had even gone to Lily to ask for help, who had told him anything green is always a good idea, as that would match Albus’ piercing green eyes.

So, Albus had settled on a green polo neck shirt and a pair of blue jeans, with his favourite sunglasses pushing his hair out of his eyes, but now he was doubting his choices. Just as he was about to throw all of his clothes out of his bedroom window in frustration, James appeared in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, and wolf whistled at him.

“Bloody hell Al, Scorpius won’t know what hit him,'' he said, smirking at his brother.

“Very funny James!”, Albus retorted, turning back to the mirror in frustration.

“I’m serious Al, you look good,'' James said, giving Albus a genuine smile, which Albus returned.

“You think so? I don’t know. It’s just that Scorpius always manages to look perfect”, Albus sighed, sitting down on his bed.

“You shouldn’t put yourself down you know, you’re a good looking bloke Al,'' James said, sitting down next to his brother.

“Although, given the way Scorpius looks at you, you could show up wearing a potato sack and he’d still snog you senseless I’m sure” James joked, to which Albus playfully dug him in the ribs, the two laughing.

“Look, I know we were having a laugh earlier and everything, but if you do genuinely need me to cast any privacy charms for you both, you only need to ask,'' James said gently.

Just as Albus was about to protest, James added,

“BUT, if you’re not there yet, which I’m guessing you’re not, then when you do get to that point, you can talk to me you know? I know Mum said about talking to her and Dad but I also know how awkward sex talks can be with parents, so...I’m here you know.”

“Thanks James, that means a lot,'' Albus said, giving his brother a genuine smile, even if he was still blushing slightly.

“I’ll even promise not to tease Scorpius about it. Well, at least not for a couple of weeks,” James said, winking at Albus, laughing.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Albus replied, giving his brother a stern look.

“Nah, although it would be fun to watch mini Malfoy squirm a bit,'' James joked, standing up.

“Right, enough of all this gooey shit, you’ve got a boyfriend to find and I’ve got a Quidditch match to win. I still can’t believe I let Louis play me like that last year, he better watch out today.”James said, as he walked out of Albus’ room, his little brother in tow, who’s heart was fluttering at the thought of finally seeing Scorpius again.

-

The Granger-Weasleys were, surprisingly, the first to arrive, Ron carrying a crate of fire whiskey with him. Slowly over the next half hour, more Weasleys began to trickle in, all bringing various different kinds of food and drinks with them, the house and garden quickly becoming very noisy. Albus was so busy greeting his family members, he almost didn’t notice his cousin Louis shouting,

“Hey, the blondies have arrived!”

Albus’ heart skipped a beat as he and his mum hurried to the front door to let in Scorpius and Draco. Scorpius was wearing black jeans and a fitted white t-shirt, sunglasses tucked into his shirt. Draco was wearing black trousers and a long sleeved black shirt.

“Draco, Scorpius, I’m so glad you could make it,'' Ginny said, taking the box of Butterbeers Draco was holding and leading him inside, giving the two boys a moment of privacy.

“Hey”, Albus breathed, before diving straight onto Scorpius, wrapping his arms tightly around his boyfriend’s neck. Scorpius responded instantly, his arms snaking around Albus’ waist, burying his face into his boyfriend’s hair.

“Hi”, Scorpius muffled into Albus’s hair, clutching onto his boyfriend even more tightly if that was possible.

The two stayed like that for a good thirty seconds, just breathing in the others’ presence, before Albus pulled away slightly, just enough to be able to lean up and press a kiss to Scorpius’ lips.

Scorpius instantly deepened the kiss, coaxing open Albus’ mouth with his tongue, his fingers running through Albus’ hair as Albus placed his hands on Scorpius’ waist, pulling him closer.

After a few minutes, they both pulled away breathless.

“I’m so glad you’re here,'' Albus whispered, linking their hands together and rubbing his finger over Scorpius’ thumb.

“Me too, I’ve been so excited to see you again. I’ve had butterflies all day,” Scorpius replied, smiling as he spoke.

Albus brought their intertwined fingers to his lips, placing a soft kiss on Scorpius’ knuckles before resting their foreheads together.

After a few more moments, Albus pulled away and took Scorpius’ bag from him.

“MUM! We’re just gonna take Scorpius’ stuff up to my room” Albus called, as the two climbed the staircase.

“I’m going to give you a bit of a heads up, it’s manic here already. Uncle Ron brought a ridiculous amount of fire whiskey so expect everyone to get very drunk tonight”, Albus informed Scorpius as they made their way to his room.

“It sounds like fun! You know I’ve never seen my dad drunk before, maybe tonight will be a first”, Scorpius replied cheerily.

“Now that I would love to see”, Albus laughed as he opened the door to his room, leading Scorpius inside.

The minute he closed the door behind him, Albus felt himself pushed up against it, Scorpius pressing their lips together.

Albus very quickly responded, weaving his tongue against Scorpius’, melting into the kiss. Scorpius’ hand once again found Albus’ hair, his other hand placed on his boyfriend’s hip. As Scorpius lightly tugged on Albus’ hair as he kissed him, Albus let out a soft moan, which made Scorpius’ heart flutter. Albus responded by moving his hands from Scorpius’ waist to his arse, giving it a small squeeze. Scorpius groaned loudly and he felt Albus smirk against his lips. After a few more minutes of snogging, they eventually pulled apart, both boys panting slightly, smiling at each other.

“I missed you. So. Much,” Scorpius whispered, pressing another chaste kiss to Albus’ lips.

“I’ve missed you too. I’ve been miserable without you”, Albus replied, leading Scorpius over to his bed as the two lay down.

“Good job I’m here now then, isn’t it?”, Scorpius said, as Albus curled up on his chest.

“Mmhmm”, Albus mumbled, snuggling his cheek against Scorpius’ t-shirt.

“My mum said you can take my bed and I’ll sleep on the floor by the way,'' Albus informed him, tracing patterns with his fingers on Scorpius’ chest.

“Albus I’m not making you sleep on the floor in your own room, no way Jose,'' Scorpius said indignantly, looking down at his boyfriend.

Albus moved slightly so he was now leaning on his elbow, looking up at Scorpius.

“Well if that’s how you feel, I guess you could always just join me in my bed, my parents would never know,'' Albus said, reaching up to press a kiss on Scorpius’ lips.

“Mmm, I like the sound of that idea, I have missed being able to cuddle you all night these last two weeks”, Scorpius sighed, as Albus kissed him again.

“How long do you reckon we could stay up here before they notice we’ve not come down?”, Scorpius whispered as Albus moved to lie on top of him.

“Oi, lovebirds, are you coming down or what? Food’s ready!” James shouted up the stairs.

“About 5 seconds”, Albus groaned as he reluctantly rolled off of Scorpius.

“Come on, we better go. As much as I would rather be up here snogging you senseless, my Uncle Ron will eat all the food if we don’t go down now” Albus said, taking Scorpius hand in his.

Just before they were about to walk out of Albus’ room, Scorpius leaned into his boyfriend’s ear and whispered, “Don’t worry, you can do plenty of that later”.

-

As soon as they stepped foot into the garden, Scorpius finally understood what Albus meant about chaos. There were Weasleys everywhere: Harry was at the barbecue making the food, chatting away to Arthur who seemed very interested in how muggle barbeques differ from wizarding ones. Ginny and Lily were sat on a blanket on the grass talking to Hermione and Rose. Louis and James appeared to be having a very animated conversation about the Quidditch game later on that day. Hugo, Fred, Dominique and Roxanne were stood in a corner of the garden throwing the Quaffle around between them.

Bill and Fleur were stood at the edge of the garden talking, but keeping one eye to ensure that the Quaffle the children were throwing around didn’t fly anywhere where it could cause harm. Molly and Lucy were sat on the grass, Molly braiding Lucy’s hair whilst Lucy was making a daisy chain. Curled up on a picnic blanket were Teddy and Victoire, Victoire running her hands through Teddy’s hair whilst he laid back in the sun. Percy appeared to have been roped into trying out one of Ron and George’s new prototypes for the shop, looking very wary at the drink his brothers were trying to persuade him to take. Audrey and Angelina were helping to lay the table and Molly was sitting on a comfy looking garden chair knitting, watching her family with fondness.

“See. I told you,” Albus said, winking at his boyfriend.

“Wow! This is crazy!” Scorpius replied, looking around the garden in wonder. “Hang on, where’s my dad?”

“Umm...oh there he is over there, he’s chatting with my Uncle Charlie”, Albus replied, pointing to Draco and Charlie who were sat in two chairs on the patio.

“Dad looks happy,'' Scorpius said smiling. “I was worried you know, with everything that happened in the past, whether he’d want to come.”

Albus took his boyfriend’s hand and smiled softly at him.

“I’m glad you’re both here. And everyone else is too, you know. I know it might seem like my family hold grudges, but I promise you, everyone is really excited to have you here.”

Scorpius gave Albus’ hand a squeeze and leant down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, which made Albus blush slightly.

“Scorpius! It’s good to see you again,” Harry said with a smile on his face as he walked over to the two boys. Scorpius let go of Albus’ hand to shake Harry’s, as he replied,

“It’s good to see you again too, Mr Potter. Thank you so much for inviting me and my dad, I’ve been looking forward to today all week,” Scorpius said, beaming.

“It’s a pleasure to have you both, it’ll make for some interesting competition during the Quidditch match later,” Harry said, chuckling. “Also, please call me Harry, Scorpius. Mr Potter sounds so formal.”

“You can call me Mr Potter,” James said, sauntering over with a burger in hand.

“DON’T call him Mr Potter,” Albus butted in, rolling his eyes at James.

James just laughed, ruffling Albus’ hair, Albus flinching away from him.

“Awww sorry, Al, I didn’t realise that was Scorpius’ secret bedroom nickname for you,” James said, winking at Albus as he did so.

Albus turned bright red and Scorpius started sputtering, Harry looking on mildly confused. Ginny however came to the boys’ rescue, interrupting the conversation.

“Scorpius! You must be starving, let’s get you something to eat,” Ginny said, steering Albus and Scorpius over towards the food table, subtly swatting James on the arm as she went, who was still smirking.

Handing the two boys plates, Ginny smiled at them warmly, saying,

“Help yourselves to whatever, there’s plenty to go around so don’t worry. Just maybe avoid that crate of butterbeers over there, I’m pretty sure I saw my brothers slip one of their latest prototypes into the bottles”, pointing at a crate just to the left of the barbeque, as she began loading up a plate of food herself.

“What does the prototype do?”, Scorpius asked, as he and Albus began to pile food onto their plates.

“Honestly? I don’t know. I think it could be the one that turns whoever drinks it purple for the day, but I can’t be sure. Although I’m pretty sure Louis and James drank some earlier so I guess we’ll find out,” Ginny replied, winking at Albus and giving Scorpius’ arm a small squeeze.

“I’m just going to give this plate of food to Grandma, Albus. I’ll catch up with you two later,” Ginny said as she walked over to where her mum was sitting.

“Do you have enough food there Scorp?”, Albus said as he laughed at the huge pile of food on his boyfriend’s plate.

Scorpius just smiled back at him sweetly, blushing slightly as he tried to subtly add another few potatoes to his already overflowing plate.

“You’ll want to save some room for dessert later, Grandma’s made her legendary rainbow cake, it’s 8 tiers and the best thing I’ve ever tasted”, Albus informed him, as Scorpius’ eyes lit up.

“I remember you telling me about that in our first year, it sounds amazing!”, Scorpius replied, beaming at Albus.

“I actually helped her bake it this year,” Albus added, shyly.

“Really? I didn’t know you could bake?”, Scorpius asked.

“Yeah, Grandma started teaching me a few years back. She’s actually struggling a lot with pain in her hands so it can make it hard for her to still bake and things. She should’ve probably stopped years ago, but she’s stubborn,” Albus said, smiling fondly at his grandma, who was sat having a conversation with Ginny.

“Also, she started to notice that after I joined Hogwarts, I struggled a lot with family events. I think it was her way of still making me feel included without being directly in amongst all the Weasley madness,” Albus said, smiling softly up at Scorpius.

“Albus, that’s wonderful,” Scorpius put down his plate and took Albus’ hand in his, tracing a pattern on his palm with his fingers. “I always used to worry about you when you went home in the holidays, your owls always made it seem like you were so miserable, but I’m glad you have someone in your corner”.

Albus smiled up at Scorpius, stepping closer and gripping his hand tightly.

“Yeah, Grandma Molly has always stood up for me. Plus she’s the only one in the family everyone listens to. Except maybe my Mum,” Albus said, as he and Scorpius laughed.

“Although, if the cake this year turns out to be an absolute disaster then everyone will definitely blame me”, Albus chuckled.

“I’m sure it’ll be absolutely perfect, just like you are”, Scorpius whispered, leaning down to press a light kiss to Albus’ lips, making him blush.

Albus smiled up at him again, before picking up both of their plates.

“So, where do you want to sit? Choose wisely, these Weasleys are a handful,” Albus said, winking at him.

“Shall we go and sit by my dad and your Uncle Charlie? I think Dad wants to have a catch up with you,” Scorpius said, as he and Albus made their way to a pair of deck chairs by Draco and Charlie, who were in deep conversation.

“Hello boys,” Charlie said as they sat down.

“Scorpius, it’s wonderful to finally meet you, Albus has told me all about you,'' he said, shaking Scorpius’ hand.

“It’s wonderful to meet you too! Albus has told me all about you and your dragons”, Scorpius replied enthusiastically, before noticing the slight look of horror on his dad’s face.

“What’s wrong, Dad?”, Scorpius asked.

“Scorpius, how much food did you get? That’s not very polite, do you know how many people need to eat today?”, Draco said, exasperated, giving his son a stern look.

Just as Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, Albus interjected, laughing,

“Oh don’t worry, Draco. That’s just the starters. You should see how much more food we have inside, Dad even had to put an expanding charm on the fridge so it would all fit.”

“That’s all well and good Albus, but I spent 6 years at school with your Uncle Ron and I know just how much he can polish off when he’s hungry,” Draco replied, smirking.

“Oi! I heard that Malfoy!”, Ron yelled over, looking offended, as Charlie and Albus burst into laughter, Scorpius also smiling as he began digging into the food on his plate.

“You know my brother very well it seems, Draco,'' Charlie said, wiping tears from his eyes. “And here I was thinking we were going to have to give you the full induction”.

“Don’t speak too soon Uncle Charlie, the Quidditch game hasn’t even started yet. That’s an experience in itself,” Albus added, smirking.

“Is it very competitive?”, Scorpius asked.

Charlie and Albus glanced at each other, before Charlie said,

“Put it this way, I think James has only just forgiven Louis for last year’s incident”.

“What incident?” Draco and Scorpius said simultaneously, Scorpius looking curious and Draco looking concerned. “James was playing dirty, so Louis decided to put a giggling potion in his firewhiskey. Except it turns out that when you mix the two, it has interesting results.

James was laughing so much during the game he couldn’t even hold the Quaffle, then when they lost, he spent the rest of the evening sobbing on Roxanne, he was hysterical,” Charlie said, trying to keep a smile off his face.

“It was so humiliating that he banned us from ever talking about it. So naturally I bring it up whenever I can,” Albus said, grinning at Scorpius as he tucked into his food.

“This year, my sister’s made sure that there will be no cheating whatsoever. They’ve got charms all ready to check everyone for hexes,” Charlie explained.

“How do you decide on teams? Surely whoever has Ginny has a serious advantage, with her being a professional Quidditch player?”, Scorpius asked.

“Oh Mum doesn’t play,” Albus said. “She referees instead, we’ve decided it’s the only way to keep it fair after her and Dad nearly got into a fight a few years back over whether Dad should be given a penalty point or not. I honestly thought they were going to get a divorce over it. And the teams are picked randomly every year to try and keep the peace”.

“Does that work?” Draco asked.

Albus and Charlie exchanged a glance before Charlie replied,

“Ummm...sometimes. It depends on how much firewhiskey people have had. We try to minimise the amount people drink before the game but Ron always manages to sneak a few glasses”.

“It should be fun though, right Dad? You’re still going to play?” Scorpius said, looking over at his dad who suddenly looked down at his plate of food, embarrassed.

“What’s this I hear? Are you going to try and take my victory reign from me, Malfoy?”, Ron asked, who had suddenly appeared behind Charlie, clearly having caught the end of their conversation.

“He’ll certainly give you a run for your money, Uncle Ron,” Albus said, him and Scorpius smiling at one another.

“Is that so? Hmm, well, I guess I better step up my game this year then,” Ron replied. “Maybe this time, it’ll be my turn to make up a chant about you, eh Draco?”, Ron said, slapping Draco on the shoulder as Draco grimaced.

“Chant? What chant?” Scorpius asked.

“Oh, he hasn’t told you about that has he Scorpius?”, Ron said, looking over at Draco in mock surprise, whose cheeks were starting to go slightly pink.

“You see your dad thought he was being clever. He made up this chant about me being their King because I helped Slytherin win the game when I was still...getting used to everything. But it all backfired when I actually helped Gryffindor win though didn’t it?”, Ron said, smirking at Draco, who had a stone faced expression.

“Anyway…that’s all in the past now isn’t it?”, Charlie said quickly, looking from Ron to Draco in slight panic, hoping to dispel any awkwardness.

“Oh absolutely, all water under the bridge now. You and Scorpius are practically family, or at least you will be soon I’m sure. 16 isn’t too young to get engaged right?,” Ron said, winking not very subtly at Albus who looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Scorpius just blushed and Draco looked like he might faint.

“Only kidding, don’t worry, that’s a few years off I’m sure,'' Ron said, laughing. “No I actually just came to see if you wanted a butterbeer Draco?”

Albus, Scorpius, Charlie and Draco all looked stunned, Draco taking a few moments to pause before answering,

“That would be lovely, thank-you Weasley, I mean...Ron”.

Ron just nodded and smiled at him cheerily, before heading off to go and grab their drinks.

Charlie and Draco sat there watching after Ron, still dumbfounded, while Scorpius leaned into Albus and whispered,

“Do you think he’s already started on the firewhiskey?”

-

The next few hours were spent eating copious amounts of food and, in Ron’s case, drinking a rather large amount of firewhiskey. Albus and Scorpius were chatting to Draco and Charlie for a while as they ate, before Albus took Scorpius over to meet his Grandma. Scorpius was nervous at first, he knew how close Albus was to his Grandma and he was desperate for Molly’s approval, but he needn’t have worried. Upon seeing him, Molly rose from her chair instantly to pull him into a tight hug. Scorpius was slightly taken aback at first, before squeezing Molly back just as tightly, smiling at Albus as he did so.

“It’s so lovely to finally meet you Scorpius, Albus talks about you all the time. You make him very happy you know,” Molly said softly, cupping Scorpius’ face in her hands as she spoke.

“It’s lovely to meet you too, Mrs Weasley. And I’m glad, because Albus makes me so happy too,” Scorpius replied, beaming as he and Albus shared a smile.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Molly said as she sat back down in her chair, Scorpius and Albus sitting on two chairs facing her.

“Albus was telling me all about the wonderful cake you two have made, I’m looking forward to it!” Scorpius said eagerly.

“Oh yes, Albus has been a wonderful help to me over the last few years. It’s my hands you see, they’re not what they once were and I struggle sometimes,” Molly said, taking one of Albus’ hands and squeezing it.

“I’m always happy to help you Grandma,” Albus said softly. “I’ll even help you make the Weasley Christmas jumpers this year, I’m sure by then my knitting skills will be up to scratch”.

“Well that’s good to hear as I’m sure we’ll have one or two more to make this year,” Molly replied, her eyes twinkling.

“Why?”, Scorpius asked. “Oooh is somebody pregnant?”

“What? Who’s pregnant?!” James shouted, drawing the attention of the others in the garden, who all started to look very confused.

“What’s going on?”, Ron chimed in, looking up from his conversation with Draco.

“Victoire’s pregnant?”, Lily squealed, clapping her hands together in excitement.

“You’re pregnant?!” Teddy said, looking at Victoire in alarm, his eyes wide.

“What?! No, of course I’m not!” Victoire replied, as Teddy put his hand over his heart in relief. “Who said I was pregnant?”

“Scorpius apparently,” piped up Louis, who was sitting next to James.

Scorpius suddenly turned bright red, looking equally embarrassed and horrified at having caused such a commotion.

“No, no, I didn’t say that”, he said, spluttering. “I...I was just asking Molly if someone was pregnant as she said she might be making a few extra Weasley jumpers this year, that’s all, right, Albus?” looking for Albus for support. However Albus and his Grandma were both keeled over with laughter at Scorpius’ embarrassment, Albus clutching his side in a fit of the giggles.

“Aww Scorpius, why would you get us all excited like that? I thought we’d be getting another baby to cuddle” Lucy whined, looking over at him with a sad look on her face.

“Do you really think what this family needs is more people?”, Audrey said, looking at her daughter with a fond smile. “Look around you, there’s plenty of Weasleys to go around don’t you think?”

“I know but no-one’s little enough to cuddle and play with” was Lucy’s response.

“I don’t know, I reckon Al could be short enough. Come here ickle baby Albus”, James cooed as he suddenly ran over to Albus and hauled him over his shoulder, cackling.

“James! Put me down, for Merlin’s sake”, Albus cried, his voice laced with anger.

James, still laughing, refused and began to walk around the garden with his little brother still swung over his shoulder, Albus hitting him in the back.

“James! Put Albus down and come and give me a hand!”, Ginny shouted over, walking in from the kitchen carrying the 8-tier cake in her hands.

“If you insist mother,” James replied, placing Albus back down on his feet and ruffling Albus’ hair before sauntering over to the food table to help Ginny cut the cake.

“Oh blast, I’ve forgotten the dessert spoons!”, Ginny said. “I’ll just go and grab them, I’ll only be a moment.”

“No, don’t worry Ginny, I’ll get them”, Scorpius interjected, hurrying inside the house, his face still slightly pink.

Albus, noticing the look of worry on his boyfriend’s face, followed him into the house, glaring at James as he passed. He found Scorpius in the kitchen leaning over the sink, breathing heavily.

“Hey, Scorp, are you okay?”, Albus said, his voice full of worry as he quickly made his way over to Scorpius, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I messed up, Albus,” Scorpius said, his eyes beginning to fill with tears, his breathing still heavy. “I’m sorry”, he said, a sob coming out as he spoke.

“Messed up? What are you talking about, love?” Albus said in confusion as he snaked an arm around Scorpius’ waist and pulled him round so they were facing.

“Are you talking about what just happened with the whole ‘Is someone pregnant thing?’”, Albus asked.

Scorpius just nodded meekly, refusing to look up to meet Albus’ gaze.

“Love, don’t worry about that,” Albus said, as he began to smile, cupping Scorpius’ cheek with his hand as Scorpius leaned into his touch. “Everyone’s just kidding you know? Don’t worry, no-one actually blames you. We all make fun of each other, that’s what the Weasleys do, haven’t you noticed?”, Albus said quietly, chuckling.

“Really?”, Scorpius replied, looking up at Albus hopefully.

“Really”, Albus said firmly, taking Scorpius’ hand in his. “If it helps, just think of it like this. Everyone making fun of you just means you’re a part of the family,” Albus said, a shy smile on his face.

“I like the sound of that,” Scorpius whispered, leaning down to brush his lips against Albus’. Albus deepened the kiss, the hand on Scorpius’ cheek moving to his boyfriend’s hair, his other hand snaking around Scorpius’ waist. They stayed there for a few more moments, just kissing and enjoying each others presence, before eventually Albus pulled away slightly, resting his forehead against Scorpius’.

“You look gorgeous today, by the way, I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned that yet,'' Albus whispered, smiling at Scorpius.

Scorpius opened his eyes and gazed at Albus, a smile quickly making its way onto his face too.

“You flatter me, Albus Potter,'' he replied, leaning in to press another chaste kiss to Albus’ lips.

“Good, you deserved to be flattered,” Albus leant up to press a kiss to Scorpius’ cheek, making him blush.

“But..it’s also my job to fatten you up a bit, namely in the form of mine and my grandma’s delicious rainbow cake. Which, if we don’t head back outside right now, I imagine will be pretty much gone,” Albus said, taking one of Scorpius’ hands and leading him back out to the garden.

“I absolutely cannot have that, that cake is the only reason I came here, if I’m honest,” Scorpius said, winking at Albus.

“You mean...you didn’t just come all this way to see me?”, Albus feigned a shocked expression.

“Nope, not a chance. I came for the cake and nothing else,” Scorpius said, a smug smile on his face.

“And there was me thinking it was my irresistible charm that drew you here,'' Albus joked. “Well, I guess that was me well and truly fooled then!”

“As I’ve told you before Albus, Malfoy the Unanxious is a pretty good liar”, Scorpius replied, trying to look at Albus with a stern look, which lasted for all of two seconds before both boys burst into laughter, making their way back to the garden, hand in hand.

-

“So, the teams are as follows: Red team: Bill, Victoire, Louis, Percy, George, Fred and Rose. Blue team: Fleur, Lucy, Angelina, Ron, Harry, Albus, Draco. Green team: Dominique, Charlie, Roxanne, Hugo, James, Lily and Scorpius. Everyone will play one game against each other and then the team with the highest number of points overall will win the cup,” Ginny said, holding up the trophy that Lily had made.

“Now, I’m going to give you ten minutes to talk strategy before we begin. So, use that time wisely,” Ginny informed them.

“Ten minutes, is that it?”, Hugo said, looking worried.

“Don’t worry, we’ll only need five minutes to figure out how we can absolutely thrash the other teams,” James replied, smirking, winking at Hugo.

“Are you sure you should be talking about thrashing us James, don’t you remember what happened last year?”, Louis said, sniggering as he spoke.

“Last year’s in the past Louis, this year, we have a secret weapon,'' Lily piped up, smiling sweetly.

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?”, Ron asked.

“Scorpius of course!” Lily replied, putting her arms around the blond haired boy as she spoke, who suddenly looked like he might be sick.

“M..me?”, Scorpius squeaked.

“Yeah, you’re a Slytherin, that means your cunning can be used to our advantage,” James said, patting Scorpius on the back encouragingly. Scorpius, however, did not look encouraged.

“Surely by that logic, we should win, seeing as our team has two Slytherins so twice the cunning?”, Albus added.

“Yeah, but you also have Uncle Ron who I’m pretty sure has already drank half of the firewhiskey he brought with him, so it cancels out,” James replied.

“Oi! I’ll have you know, I’ve only had half a bottle,” Ron said, his speech slightly slurred. “Draco drank the other half,” he said, nudging Draco.

“Dad!”, Scorpius cried, looking at his Dad with a mixture and shock and awe.

“Oh great, we’re screwed”, Harry groaned.

“Anyway, if you’re all done yapping, I thought we were meant to be discussing strategies?” George shouted out.

“Our strategy is to win!”, Lily cheered, fist pumping the air.

“That’s great Lil, but I think we should try and come up with something a bit more specific than that,” Roxanne replied, grinning at Lily.

“I agree. Everyone, let’s huddle,” James instructed, as each of the teams huddled together to talk about their strategies. James and Lily each had an arm around Scorpius, leant in whispering together. Scorpius chanced a quick glance over at Albus, who beamed back at him, mouthing “You’re going down”.

Scorpius just smirked, before mouthing back “You wish”.

‘Oh yes,’ Albus thought ‘This was going to be interesting.’

-

The first two games went by in a bit of a blur. The red team played the green team first. It seemed like everything was going in the green team’s favour, Dominique and Roxanne scoring 10 goals each, with Charlie scoring another 4 and Hugo doing a brilliant job as keeper. However, about 30 minutes into the game, Louis aimed for a bludger with an incredible amount of force, hitting James square in the chest. He jolted back in pain, trying desperately to keep his balance, before eventually falling off his broom, Ginny quickly casting a cushioning charm just before he reached the ground. Despite James’s protests, both Ginny and Molly insisted he sit out the rest of the games and with no-one willing to take his place, the green team were down a beater. Despite their best efforts, with Charlie scoring another two goals, and Scorpius trying to juggle being both a beater and a seeker at the same time, Fred suddenly spotted the snitch across the pitch and dove for it, catching the small golden ball and ending the game with a final score of the red team with 310 points and the green team with 260 points.

The green team played the blue team next. Despite seeming slightly tipsy, Ron still managed to block most of the green team’s goals, him and Draco high fiving one another every time he did. It was decided that in order to give him the best chance of focussing on catching the snitch, Roxanne would take over James’ role as beater, as well as playing chaser, leaving Scorpius free to play as just seeker. But it seemed that Scorpius had his own ways of trying to distract the other team. Every time he flew near Albus, he made sure to lean over his broom in just a way that his t-shirt rode up ever so slightly, revealing his lean torso that was becoming more defined with the more Quidditch he played. On more than one occasion Albus was stopped in his tracks, pausing in the air to stare at his boyfriend wide-eyed, whilst Scorpius smirked.

“Anything I can help you with, Albus?”, Scorpius asked innocently.

Albus just stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open, his eyes lingering on the part of Scorpius’ chest that was currently peeking out from his ridden up shirt.

Slowly, Albus rode over to where Scorpius was and leaned over to whisper in his boyfriend’s ear, his eyes full of lust.

“Look, my dad will kill me if he knows I told you this but I need this game to be over so I can get you on the ground and kiss you”, Albus whispered.

Scorpius just looked at his quizzically before Albus added,

“I spotted the snitch by that tree over there”

Scorpius’ eyes lit up as he followed where Albus was pointing to. He winked at his boyfriend before quickly diving down to where the snitch was flying around by the trees.

Within seconds, Scorpius’ fingers had tightly wrapped around the small golden ball and the sound of Ginny’s whistle pierced the air.

Unfortunately, despite Scorpius catching the snitch, James’ absence meant that the green team still lost with 220 points against the blue team’s 320 points. Once all the players had their feet on the ground again, Harry shook Scorpius’ hand, congratulating him on catching the snitch (“Getting old, are we Potter”, Draco joked), before Scorpius was dragged away by Albus.

Scorpius barely had time to register what was happening before he was pushed against the back wall of the shed in the Potter’s back garden, Albus pressed against him, kissing him hard. Scorpius responded straight away, snaking his arms around Albus’ waist and resting his hands just below Albus’ hips. Albus had one hand in Scorpius’ hair, the other rucking up Scorpius’ t-shirt, exploring the blond boy’s bare torso. Scorpius moaned into the kiss as Albus’ hand travelled up his chest and he pressed his body even closer to his boyfriend, sucking on Albus’ lower lip. Albus hummed in approval, tugging slightly on Scorpius’ hair to expose his throat as he broke the kiss to lean down and pepper kisses first along Scorpius’ jaw and then down to his pale throat.

“Al...Albus”, Scorpius moaned as Albus began to kiss his neck softly.

Albus eventually pulled away to look at Scorpius, a smirk on his face.

“Do you want me to stop?”, Albus said quietly.

“N..no,” Scorpius stuttered, “I definitely don’t, but, do you really think here is the best place to be doing this?”

“Maybe not, but then I didn’t think that 50 feet in the air would be a good idea either,'' Albus replied. “I knew exactly what you were doing up there by the way,” he whispered in Scorpius’ ear.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Scorpius replied, feigning a look of innocence.

“Liar”, Albus said jokingly, reaching up to kiss Scorpius again.

“But...if you do need a reminder later, I’m happy to be of service,'' Albus said quietly, giving Scorpius one last quick kiss before taking his hand and leading him back to the makeshift Quidditch pitch. “For now, I still have another Quidditch game to play”.

“So I guess it’ll be my turn to stare at you this time,” Scorpius said, leaning closer to Albus as they walked.

“Scorpius Malfoy, you used to be so innocent,” Albus gasped. “Whatever happened?”

“You did, Albus Potter. We started dating and you stole away all my innocence and turned me into a lovestruck teenager”, Scorpius replied grinning, leaning in for one more kiss. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.''

-

The final Quidditch game of the day was significantly longer than the previous two. Since both teams had already played one game each, everybody was exhausted and generally a bit slower on their brooms. However, this did not make either team less determined to win: Fleur and Bill were heckling one another from their opposing sides of the pitch; Draco and Ron had teamed up to try and ensure the other team didn’t score any points at all, Draco circling the rings to cover Ron whenever he may need it, and Rose was shouting words of encouragement to her team members, reminding them that if they lose, they’ll be teased about it for the rest of the year.

Scorpius was sat in a chair on the lawn with a bottle of Butterbeer, his eyes following Albus as he flew through the air, swinging his bat at any bludger that came his way. Since the sun was beginning to set, Albus had pushed down his sunglasses from where they were resting on the top of his head, which meant the slight curls in his hair were becoming more prominent, blowing in the wind. Scorpius didn’t realise he had been staring at Albus for so long, until Molly, who had sat down next to him, spoke, making Scorpius jump.

“Here you go dear,'' Molly said softly, handing Scorpius a green jumper with an ‘A’ knitted in the middle. “I thought you might like one of Albus’ jumpers, you looked a little cold”,

“Thank-you so much,” Scorpius replied with a grateful smile, pulling the jumper over his head, appreciative of the warmth. “You probably shouldn’t tell Albus you gave it to me though, I steal enough of his clothing already”.

Molly laughed, “Well I guess I’ll have to make you your own jumper for Christmas then,'' she said.

Scorpius’ eyes lit up.

“Really?”, he said hopefully.

“Really”, Molly replied, nodding. “Shall I make you a green one too? To match Albus’?”

“Yes please, that would be so wonderful, I would love that,” Scorpius said, smiling at Molly.

“Well that’s settled then,'' Molly replied, giving Scorpius’ hand a squeeze.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few more moments, watching the Quidditch game going on above them until Molly broke the silence.

“You know Scorpius, I’m so glad Albus found you. I was quite worried about him going off to Hogwarts, he’s always been different to my other grandchildren. He was always sensitive as a child and so shy. Rose and James, they took the fame that came with their names in their stride, they’ve always been confident. But with Albus, I was worried, worried about how he would react to all of the attention from the other students. And then when he got sorted into Slytherin, I just knew what would happen,” Molly said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Before we even got the first letter from Professor McGonagall, I knew he was being bullied. But when the letter came through, and my fears were confirmed, I was devastated. My poor Albus, I just didn’t understand how the other children could be so cruel, how they couldn’t see him how I’ve always known him.

“The first time he came home for Christmas, he seemed so lost, it was like he’d lost his spark, like he didn’t know who he was anymore. It was incredibly hard to see him like that. But then when he spoke about you, about your friendship and how much it meant to him, I finally saw a glimpse of my grandson again. You were such a wonderful friend to him all those years Scorpius, I know Albus wouldn’t have been able to get through those first few years at Hogwarts without you. Then when he finally came home when the two of you got together, it was like he shone, he was Albus again,” Molly said, tears streaming down her cheeks, Scorpius’ own eyes swimming with tears.

“Albus is so much like his mother. He loves so fiercely. People often think he’s closed off, that he’s emotionless. But they couldn’t be more wrong. Albus is so full of love, but for a long time he didn’t know how to express it. Since he met you, that’s changed, he’s so much happier and more free when he’s with you. You can just see in the way he talks and the way he acts, you helped him so much Scorpius. You two are a perfect fit,” Molly said softly, giving Scorpius a genuine smile full of warmth.

For a moment, Scorpius was silent, taking in everything Molly had just said to him. He spent so much of his time so grateful for everything Albus had done for him, it didn’t even cross his mind that he had done the same for Albus, that just their friendship alone had been an incredible comfort to him.

“I was so nervous about going to Hogwarts,” Scorpius said, his voice shaking as he spoke. “I knew about the rumours, I knew what was coming, I wasn’t expecting anyone to want anything to do with me. Everyone else that day who’d come into my carriage had run away as soon as they realised who I was. Except Albus. He came in with no expectations, it was like he saw for who I am, not who everyone expected me to be. From that moment onwards, he was the greatest friend I could have ever dreamed of having. He stood up for me against the bullies, he held my hand when Madame Pomfrey had to fix my arm after I was pushed down the stairs. He makes me laugh all the time, even when I thought it wasn’t possible to laugh, he’d come out with something so witty and Albus-y. He makes me feel safe, he…he makes me brave,” Scorpius said, his voice breaking.

“When I lost my mum, I felt so scared. I didn’t think I’d be able to carry on, I didn’t know how to exist in a world where my mum didn’t. I had Dad, but he was grieving too, so it was difficult to talk to him. But I also had Albus. He was everything I needed. He could just tell when I was feeling down about my mum, but he never forced me to talk about it if I didn’t want to. He’d stay up with me when I couldn’t sleep, playing chess or even just sitting there because he knew just his presence was a huge comfort. I couldn’t have gotten through all of that without Albus”, Scorpius was now smiling as he spoke.

“I wake up every day with a smile on my face because of Albus. I wish he could see just how wonderful he is, how much ...how much I love him”, Scorpius whispered. He paused for a moment, before taking a shaky breath,

“I’ve not told him that yet. But it’s true. I love him, I love him so much,” he said, laughing slightly as he spoke, giddy with happiness as he turned to look at Molly, who had a matching smile of her own.

“Don’t worry Scorpius, your secret is safe with me,” she said, her kind eyes sparkling. “But you should tell him. He feels the same way, I’m sure. I know Albus, and I know when he loves someone. And he loves you very much too”.

Scorpius just beamed, his heart swelling with happiness.

-

“WE WON! WE DID IT, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!”

Ron had been running around the Potters’ garden cheering in celebration for the past ten minutes. After an intense final half an hour of the game, the blue team had eventually been victorious, Harry spotting the snitch a split second before Fred did and diving towards the ground just before the cheers of the blue team rang out.

Draco and Ron high fived in the air, Ron immediately declaring they both deserved another well earned bottle of fire whiskey. As soon as Albus’ feet had touched the ground, Scorpius had rushed over to his boyfriend and threw his arms around his neck, before pulling him in for a passionate kiss. Albus was surprised for a split second before he wound his arms around Scorpius’ waist, kissing him back just as intensely, still feeling exhilarated from the game, the two forgetting about everyone else around them before Fred loudly cleared his throat.

Both boys pulled apart, cheeks flushed, Scorpius’ from embarrassment and Albus’ still from the heat of playing Quidditch.

“Congratulations”, Scorpius laughed, beaming at Albus.

“Thanks, I still can’t believe we won. I genuinely thought at one point, your dad and my uncle Ron were going to kill each other in frustration” Albus replied, as he and Scorpius went to go and sit down by the grass. Scorpius sat down with his legs crossed and Albus collapsed beside him, resting his head in Scorpius’ lap. Scorpius immediately began to run his fingers through Albus’ hair, which was still slightly damp from the game, Albus sighing contentedly.

“Maybe what they needed all these years was to be on the same team,'' Scorpius said.

“Hmm, maybe. Imagine if your dad had been in Gryffindor. Or Uncle Ron had been in Slytherin”, Albus sighed, his eyes closed as Scorpius continued to play with his hair.

“Now that I would have loved to have seen”, was Scorpius reply as he leant down to press a kiss to Albus’ temple. “Tired, love?”

“Maybe a bit”, Albus yawned as he threaded his fingers through the hand Scorpius wasn’t using to play with his hair. “Reckon I could stay awake for a few more hours though, you know, considering we haven’t had much time alone today yet,'' Albus winked up at Scorpius who blushed slightly.

Just as Scorpius was about to respond and suggest that they make their excuses and go straight up to Albus’ bedroom, Roxanne’s voice called to them across the garden.

“Hey you two! Do you want a celebratory butterbeer?” she called over, holding up two bottles in one hand.

“Sounds good Roxy”, Albus called back, barely lifting his head, before suddenly sitting bolt upright, a look of horror on his face as he noticed what Roxanne held in her other hand.

“Rox...what are you doing with that?” Albus asked tentatively, eyeing his guitar that was currently clutched in Roxanne’s grasp.

“Oh! James may have mentioned that Scorpius doesn’t know you play guitar so we thought now would be a great time for you to show him”, Roxanne smirked.

“Wait, what?” Scorpius turned to Albus, his face incredulous. “You play the guitar, how come you’ve never told me?!”

Albus opened his mouth to speak, a look of panic on his face, before Lily called out, “He sings too!”.

Albus gave her a pleading look, before turning back to Scorpius, who looked too stunned to speak.

“I’m no good Scorp honestly, that’s why I never mentioned it. I only play when I’m home from Hogwarts and it’s all rubbish,” Albus said quietly, looking embarrassed and refusing to meet Scorpius’ gaze.

“He’s being modest”, Lily interjected, ignoring Albus’ glare. “He writes his own songs and everything.”

“Yeah, you should hear some of the ones he’s written about you Scorpius. ‘Scorpius ohhhh how I loooove youuuuu, with your pretty hair and your pretty eyes, oh I do love youuuu, why won’t you love meeeee’” James sung very loudly, standing on the top of a table, a bottle of fire whiskey swinging from his hand.

“James, Lily! How many times do I have to tell you to leave Albus alone? Come and here help me clear up, it’ll be a much more productive use of your time,” Ginny shouted over at her eldest and youngest. James sighed dramatically, before jumping down from the table and walking over to his mother on the patio with Lily.

Scorpius and Albus were too far down the garden to hear Ginny quietly add, “Look, if you’re all really that desperate to hear Albus, you’ll leave the two of them alone. We all know the only person right now who could convince Albus to play is Scorpius.”

By this point, Albus had buried his face in his hands, refusing to look at anyone at all. It wasn’t until Scorpius gently prised his hands away from his face, giving him a small smile, that Albus finally looked up, chewing his bottom lip, a sign he was internally panicking.

“Hey, you,'' Scorpius said softly, cupping Albus’ cheek as Albus leaned into his touch. “Do you really play the guitar? And sing?”

Albus nodded meekly before answering, “I was going to tell you. I really was. It’s just...I’ve only just become confident enough to play in front of my family. And you’re the most important person in the world to me, I wanted to make sure what I’d written was perfect before I played it to you”. Albus finally made eye contact with his boyfriend, giving him an embarrassed smile.

Scorpius’ heart soared at Albus’ words, a wide grin forming on his face. “Have you really written songs about me?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah. Yeah, I have. In fact, you’re pretty much the only thing I write songs about” Albus replied, grinning back at Scorpius.

Both boys sat there beaming at each other, before Scorpius spoke up again.

“If you don’t want to, that is absolutely okay, but...could I maybe hear some of them? Please” he said, giving Albus his best Malfoy pout.

Albus paused for a moment before taking a shaky breath, “Okay”. Scorpius’ eyes lit up in delight. “BUT”, Albus added, “Later on. Not in front of my whole family. If they really want me to sing, I’ll do a cover of a song now and sing one of my own songs later. Deal?”

“Deal!” Scorpius replied, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to Albus’ lips, before both of them stood up and made their way over to where the rest of the family were sat scattered on deck chairs and picnic blankets, hands interlocked. Albus walked over to Roxanne and held out his hands for the guitar, a look of defeat on his face as the rest of the Weasleys cheered.

“I knew you’d persuade him Scorpius!” Lily said, giving Scorpius a high five whilst Albus scowled.

“IF, I’m going to do this, then I’m sticking to covers of songs. Got it?”

“Understood! Can we give you requests?”, Lucy piped up.

“That depends on the request”, Albus replied, as he and Scorpius sat down on a blanket, Albus tuning the guitar with look of concentration on his face that made Scorpius’ heart flutter.

“Beyoncé?” James asked, winking at Ginny and earning an eye roll from Albus.

“Who?” Draco asked, with a look of confusion on his face.

“Oh she’s this American Muggle singer and she’s wonderful! I’ll lend you my iPod Mr Malfoy, so you can listen to one of her songs,'' Lily said, smiling sweetly at Draco.

“I would pay so much money to see my Dad listen to Beyoncé,” Scorpius whispered in Albus’ ear as the two tried to stifle their laughter.

After a few more minutes of fiddling, Albus sat with his legs crossed so that the guitar was resting on his knees and cleared his throat slightly, drawing the attention of everyone in the garden, who quickly became quiet. Albus suddenly had a look of panic on his face as he looked around at his family and realised what he was about to do until his gaze landed on Scorpius, who was looking at him with a sense of almost child-like wonder and excitement.

Suddenly feeling a bit braver, Albus took a shaky breath before speaking,

“Uh, so you guys know I don’t usually play to people so I might be a bit rusty. Also, I haven’t really practiced much recently so...yeah, sorry if it’s not great. Anyway, this is a song I learnt recently after Lily made us all watch this Muggle film about a circus. But it’s quite catchy so I think you’ll like it”.

Albus cleared his throat again moving his fingers over the strings of the guitar, the sweet sound of music filling the air, before Albus began to sing quietly,

“I saw the sun begin to dim, and felt that winter wind grow cold…”

As the song continued, Albus became more confident and began to sing louder, his voice ringing out clearly, in tune with the guitar. Scorpius was in awe. In the space of ten minutes he’d gone from not even knowing his boyfriend was musically gifted at all, to realising that Albus’ voice was one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. He sat there stunned into silence, just watching Albus as his fingers deftly moved across the guitar strings and his eyes closed slightly as he sang. Scorpius had always found Albus attractive but this was on another level, his stomach fluttering with butterflies as he gazed at his boyfriend.

The song ended and there was a brief pause before everyone burst into loud applause, cheering and whooping much to Albus’ embarrassment, clearly not used to being the centre of attention. He mumbled a quick thank you then ducked his head down and brought his attention back to his guitar. A shiver suddenly went down Albus’ spine as he felt a voice whisper in his ear “What other secrets have you been hiding from me Albus Potter?”

Albus turned his head slightly to see Scorpius looking at him with an awestruck expression, his eyes blazing with an emotion Albus had never seen in his boyfriend before. Albus gave him a small smile before whispering back,

“So...you liked it then?”

“Are you kidding? Albus, that was incredible. Your voice is just ...beautiful. Just when I think you couldn’t be more amazing than you already are, you go and prove me wrong,” Scorpius said with a look of disbelief on his face, lightly tracing his hand up and down Albus’ arm as he spoke.

Albus felt tears begin to well in his eyes at Scorpius’ words and he quickly wiped them away with his hand. He’d never had much confidence in his guitar playing and singing abilities. Sure, he’d played to his parents, but they were his family and he was pretty sure they had to tell him he was good whether they thought it or not. But to hear those kinds of compliments coming from Scorpius, the boy who was Albus’ entire world, meant so much more to him. It had been that way for a long time with the two of them; neither really believed compliments about themselves unless it came from the other, because the one thing they couldn’t do was lie to each other.

It took everything Scorpius had in that moment not to grab Albus and shower him with kisses but he could sense the rest of the Potters around him getting restless for Albus to sing another song, so he settled for a quick peck and then went and sat back down on a chair next to his father. Albus sang a few more songs at the request of his family, two from one of his favourite Muggle singers and then, after ten minutes of Lily’s pleading, a song by an artist called ‘Taylor Swift’ who Scorpius had never heard of but quite enjoyed Albus’ rendition of the song.

Eventually everyone began to get more tired as the sun set and people started to say their goodbyes, with lots of thanks to Harry and Ginny for hosting the barbecue this year. Amongst the last to leave were the Granger-Weasleys, Hermione and Harry having to carry a very drunk Ron to the portkey, much to the amusement of Rose and Hugo. Draco tried to insist on staying to help clear everything up but Ginny insisted that they had it all under control and just him being there today was enough.

“Honestly Draco, thank-you so much for the offer of help but it’s really no need. We’re all really glad you came today, it was lovely to see you and Scorpius and I know it meant a great deal to Albus too,” she said warmly.

Draco smiled back at her as Harry walked over, joking,

“If you really want to help, maybe you can host next year. I’m sure the Manor’s big enough to host our lot”.

“Big enough yes, but ready for that chaos? I don’t know,” Draco replied, grinning as he shook Harry’s hand.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever ready for our lot”, Ginny called out as she carried a pile of dirty plates through to the kitchen, winking at Harry.

“I’m just going to say goodbye to Scorpius then I’ll head off,'' Draco said as he made his way back into the garden to where Scorpius was helping Albus to stack chairs.

“Dad! Are you leaving?” Scorpius asked, running over to where his dad was stood on the patio.

“I think I am going to yes, if that’s okay, it’s getting late. Do you have everything you need?” Draco asked.

Scorpius nodded as he reached up to give his dad a hug, Draco squeezing him back as he kissed the crown of his head.

“I’ll see you in a week, Dad! And remember you can owl me if you get lonely you know,” Scorpius said, a sad smile on his face.

“Thank-you Scorpius, but don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I think sorting out all the paperwork in my office will keep me occupied while you’re gone,” Draco chucked. “Goodbye, Albus. Look after my son, please. I know what you Potters are like and I would quite like him back in one piece,” he added, earning an eye roll from Scorpius and a laugh from Albus.

“Don’t worry Mr Malfoy, I’ll protect Scorpius from anything you know that,” Albus smiled warmly at Draco.

“That I do. Right Scorpius, so I’ll pick you up next week. And Albus are you still okay to come to the Manor to stay the week after?” Draco inquired.

“Of course, I’m really excited, I think Scorpius is already planning my grand tour”, Albus laughed as he playfully nudged his boyfriend.

“I’m glad to hear. Well then, I’ll be off, have a good week boys and stay out of trouble,” Draco said giving them a knowing look as the two boys exchanged a guilty glance, before a pop sounded as Draco apparated away.

“They’ll trust us again one day, won’t they?”, Scorpius asked Albus, biting his bottom lip anxiously.

“Of course they will. I mean, your dad’s letting you stay for a week, that’s progress already. There’s no way he would have let you do that a few years ago,” Albus replied, linking his fingers up with Scorpius’ as he brought his knuckles up to his lips to kiss them gently.

“That’s true. But I think a lot of that has to do with you being so wonderful. My dad thinks very highly of you Albus,” Scorpius said quietly, smiling.

Albus looked up at him, a surprised look on his face. “Really? He-he does?”

“Of course. He knows how good of a friend you were to me those first few years at Hogwarts and how you stuck by me during everything that happened. And now he knows how even more amazing you are as my boyfriend. Why, did you think he didn’t like you?”, Scorpius asked, giving Albus a quizzical look.

Albus shifted his weight from one foot to the other for a few seconds before answering.

“No, but… I don’t know. I got you into all that trouble in fourth year and I wasn’t sure whether maybe he held it against me or something.”

“Albus, I can promise you this. My dad adores you, I think he thinks of you as a second son. Everything that’s happened is in the past, my dad never held you responsible for any of that, honestly. And he’s really excited about you coming to stay, he’s so glad your parents agreed to it,” Scorpius smiled down at his boyfriend as stepped closer to him, Albus beaming back up at him, his face flooded with relief.

Scorpius chuckled slightly, then leant down to whisper in Albus’ ear.

“But...before all of that happens, I believe you said you’d play me one more song?”

Albus pulled away slightly so he could look Scorpius in the eye as he nodded and leant up to press a soft kiss to his boyfriend's lips. Taking Scorpius’ hand in one of his and picking up his guitar in the other, Albus took a shaky breath,

“Let’s go.”

-

Albus lead Scorpius out of the garden and through the house upstairs to his bedroom, his heart hammering in his chest. Just as he was about to open his bedroom door, he paused for a second, turning to Scorpius.

“You go in, I just need to quickly ask James something, I’ll be in in a moment”.

“Okay”, Scorpius smiled walking into Albus’ bedroom as Albus made his way down the hall to James’ room. Taking a breath, Albus raised his hand and knocked twice sharply on his brother's bedroom door.

“Come in!”, the voice inside called and Albus pushed open the door to find James lying on his bed, charming a paper swan to fly around his room.

“You okay Al?” James asked him as he walked into the room and closed the door shut behind him, still carrying his guitar in one hand.

“Yeah, it’s just..”, Albus started to speak, fidgeting with his feet as he spoke. “You know that offer you made earlier, about the silencing charm?” he asked tentatively, refusing to meet James’ gaze.

“Ohhh,'' James said in realisation, a smirk on his face. “Maybe you and Scorpius have progressed in your relationship more than I thought,'' he chuckled.

“N-no...it’s nothing like that!”, Albus sputtered, his face as red as a tomato. “No, I just...I want to play Scorpius one of the songs I wrote for him. But I don’t want anyone else to hear, it’s really personal you know. I just want a bit of privacy,” he explained, although the look on James’ face said he didn’t quite believe him.

“Okay, whatever you say little bro. But don’t worry, I’ll cast the charms for you,” James said as he got up from the bed, wand in hand, and opened his door, both he and Albus going out onto the landing. James quietly cast the silencing charm around Albus’ room and Albus whispered a hushed thank-you.

“Oh, I made them last until mid-day tomorrow, you know, just in case you wanted to use them for any other reasons,'' James whispered in Albus’ ear, winking at him as he ran past, fast enough so that Albus couldn’t hit him as he went by.

Albus opened his bedroom door to find Scorpius perched on the end of his bed; his eyes lit up and he smiled at Albus as he came into the room and softly shut the door behind him.

“Everything okay?”, Scorpius asked, as Albus sat down next to him on the bed and nodded, reaching over to plant a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. Scorpius responded by threading one hand through Albus’ hair and placing the other on his waist as Albus placed the guitar down next to him on the bed so he could wrap his arms around Scorpius’ waist and pull the blond haired boy closer to him.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, kissing intensely, Scorpius’ hands raking through Albus’ hair and Albus tracing patterns on Scorpius’ back, which made him sigh and press his body even closer to Albus’. Their tongues moved in synch as each kiss became deeper and more passionate, Albus taking Scorpius’ lower lip between his teeth causing Scorpius to moan, a sound which sent shivers down Albus’ spine. Eventually, Scorpius pulled away slightly, breathless, and rested his forehead against Albus’, gazing into his green eyes.

“You are so beautiful Albus,'' he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “Every single day I wonder how I got so lucky to have you in my life. You are so good and loving and wonderful and it kills me that I don’t think you see how amazing you are,” he said, cupping Albus’ face in his hand and lightly stroking his cheek as he spoke.

Albus was too stunned to respond straight away, his eyes swimming with tears and his voice caught in his throat as he looked in awe at his boyfriend. He swallowed and composed himself slightly as he whispered back,

“Scorp...I...I don’t know what to say”, he paused for another moment before speaking again. “You are the best person in my life. You make me smile every single day and you deserve all of the happiness this world has to offer. Having you here today really made you feel like a part of my family and it just felt so right. You make my heart so happy, I hope you know that”.

Scorpius smiled back at him, his eyes glistening with his own tears as he and Albus just gazed at each other, basking in their own happiness, Albus slowly running his hands along Scorpius’ hip as Scorpius continued to caress Albus’ cheek.

After a few moments, Albus broke the silence by saying,

“So, did you still want to hear that song?”

Scorpius’ eyes lit up instantly as he nodded, making Albus’ heart and stomach both flutter with nerves as he reached over for his guitar. Albus moved across the bed to sit so he was propped up against the pillows with Scorpius sat cross-legged opposite him, an eager smile on his face.

Albus gave Scorpius a nervous grin in return as he tuned the guitar and took the pick between his fingers.

“So I wrote this a few months ago, not too long before we started dating. It was after I realised that I liked you as more than a friend and we were both still struggling with everything and all I wanted was for us to just be together and be happy. But I didn’t know how to say any of that to you at the time, so I wrote this song.”

Albus paused for a moment, before he took a breath and started to sing, his voice mesmerising Scorpius once more as he sat there as if in a trance as he watched Albus play.

“The weight

Of a simple human emotion

Weighs me down

More than the tank ever did

The pain

It's determined and demanding to ache,

But I'm okay...

And I don't want to let this go

I don't want to lose control

I just want to see the stars with you

And I don't want to say goodbye

Someone tell me why

I just want to see the stars with you

You lost a part of your existence

In the war, against yourself

Oh, the lights

They light up in lights of sadness

Telling you it's time to go

And I don't want to let this go

I don't want to lose control

I just want to see the stars with you

And I don't want to say goodbye

Someone tell me why

I just want to see the stars with you

Don't give it up just yet

Stay grand for one more minute,

Don't give it up just yet

Stay grand

Don't give it up just yet

Stay grand for one more minute

Don't give it up just yet

Stay grand

Don't give it up just yet

Stay grand for one more minute

Don't give it up just yet

Stay grand

And I don't want to let this go

I don't want to lose control

I just want to see the stars with you

And I don't want to say goodbye

Someone tell me why

I just want to see the stars with you

With you”

Albus played the final notes on the guitar, then he looked up nervously to see Scorpius’ reaction. Scorpius was sat there, his mouth slightly open and tears running down his cheeks, looking at Albus with so much adoration in his eyes that it stopped Albus in his tracks.

“So...did you like it?”, Albus asked quietly.

“Albus, I...I...I just. That was incredible. You really wrote that?” Scorpius stuttered. Albus nodded, a proud smile beginning to form on his face. Scorpius smiled back at him, still slightly in shock.

“I can’t believe how unbelievably talented you are,'' Scorpius continued as Albus leant over to rest the guitar against his bedside table so he could pull Scorpius over to sit down next to him.

“Well I can believe it, you’re Albus and you’re brilliant but that...that was beautiful. I can’t believe I didn’t even know you could sing or play and now you’ve played me the most amazing song I’ve ever heard and...and I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Scorpius said quickly as he looked over at Albus, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

Albus chuckled as he shook his head and took his boyfriend’s hands in his own. “No, love, you’re not. I’m just so happy that you love it, I was so nervous about playing for you, that’s why I waited so long to tell you. You’re not annoyed are you? That I didn’t say anything sooner?”, Albus asked.

“Absolutely not”, Scorpius reassured him with a kiss. “Although I wouldn’t mind hearing a few more of your songs, if you want to play them to me?”

“Of course I do. I might have to practice a bit more first, but I promise I will,” Albus reassured him as he pulled the two down so that they were lying face to face on Albus’ bed.

“I had a really great time today Albus. I know your relationship with your family isn’t always great but I really did enjoy spending the day with you all today. I know my dad did too, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him smile as much as he did today. Thank-you”, Scorpius breathed as he lightly traced his fingers up and down the side of Albus’ arm.

“I’m so glad, Scorp. Today was the first time in years that I’ve really enjoyed the day and that was because I had you by my side. I can’t stop smiling. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy after spending the day with my family. You make so happy, happier than I ever thought I could be,” Albus whispered back, as he leaned in to kiss Scorpius.

This was a slow kiss, a kiss that tried to convey every emotion Albus couldn’t quite put into words as his and Scorpius’ lips moved slowly in synch with one another their bodies pressing closer together.

After several minutes, Scorpius pulled away but held onto Albus’ hands as he spoke, running his fingers lightly over his knuckles.

“I need to tell you something. Something that I’ve felt for a while now but didn’t really know how to say,” Scorpius said nervously.

Albus gave him an encouraging smile so Scorpius took a deep breath and said,

“Albus, I love you. I love you more than anything in this world. I am so in love with you”. Scorpius took a second before looking up to see his boyfriend’s reaction to his words. Albus’ face broke into a grin, the biggest smile Scorpius had seen on him all day, as tears spilled out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

“Scorp, I love you too”, he said. “Merlin, I love you so much,” his voice breaking with emotion as he spoke as he pulled Scorpius into another kiss.

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief with a smile on his face big enough to match Albus’, as both boys began to laugh and cry at the same time, sharing gentle kisses in between giggles.

Eventually, they both calmed down just enough to look at one another and truly take in what they had both just said. There was a moment’s silence before Scorpius whispered with a smile,

“Hey Albus? I have butterflies.”

Albus smiled too and leant up to press a kiss to Scorpius’ lips before whispering back,

“Hey Scorpius? We match.”