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Harry Potter was staring at his son with a confused, lost expression, not understanding why he was getting so upset and annoyed by what he had suggested. He had merely said that he believed Albus should focus on his schoolwork rather than putting all of his attention on Scorpius Malfoy. Granted, he shouldn’t have said it the way that he did – or in the presence of Scorpius – but he couldn’t stop the words from flowing out once he had started. He just wanted what was best for his son, and he was never good at wording how he was feeling without hurting other people’s feelings.
“All I mean is that you need to focus on yourself, Albus Severus. You can’t let anything – or anyone – corrupt you in such an important year.” Harry didn’t realise he was doing it but his eyes darted to Scorpius. “It’s your final year-“
“It’s just Albus.” Albus snarled, turning his nose up to his father, not able to hit back in any other way at the present moment because his brain could barely fathom what it was that his dad was suggesting with his comments. Scorpius was not a bad influence on him in any shape or form, and it was incomprehensible that anyone would think that.
“What?”
“My name is Albus.” He snapped. “Not Albus Severus, not Al, Albus.” The small Potter boy turned to Scorpius, who had taken a few steps back from the conversation to stand in the corner of their shared dormitory, fidgeting with his fingers and running his hands up and down the fabric of his robes to try and regulate himself. “Are you alright?” He asked, his eyes doe as he watched Scorpius nod slightly, fidgeting with his tie now.
“It isn’t anything personal, Malfoy.” Harry tried to soften his voice. Scorpius was just staring at him, his eyes doe and averted away from the eye contact that Harry was offering him.
“His name is Scorpius.” Albus chimed in, bitterly. “He isn’t ‘Malfoy’, he’s Scorpius.”
“Your mother and I are just trying to-“
“No – I don’t want to hear any of your excuses this time – you’re just trying to control me. But I’m not you. This is my final year at Hogwarts and I am tired – I am so tired of hearing the same thing every single year.” Albus had snapped, his voice stern and cold. What he was saying was calculated, years of pent up anger overflowing out of his tall, slender frame. “Scorpius isn’t a bad influence on me, dad. He’s-“
“Albus – it’s alright.” Scorpius tried, his voice small. Harry watched as the blonde boy tried to grab onto Albus’ hand, tried to calm him down.
“It’s not alright, Scorpius.” Albus’ voice softened as he turned his attention to his friend, soothing momentarily as their eyes met for a split second. Then, his eyes flushed with anger again – seeing how much hurt was swirling in Scorpius’ eyes about this whole thing – even if he was trying not to show it. "And you're wrong about Scorpius." Albus gritted his teeth, his hands clenching as he took a step forward to face his father, standing just inches away from the glass in his glasses frames. Harry was astonished and stunned as he watched as Albus' face distorted into a mix of frustration and utter exhaustion. "He's not the person you think he is; he's not dark, or angry, or cruel."
Harry, for the first time since Albus had started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was seeing the Slytherin coming out of his son. He took in a breath, shakily.
"If anyone is dark, or angry, or cruel here then it’s me. You make me feel all of those things when you accuse my best friend – my only friend – of being-" Albus was staring with intent, which made Harry's heart pound beneath him. His voice was cold and unfeeling, stammering slightly over his thoughts, debating whether he was going to say how he was really feeling or not. "-of being bad for me. My friend - my Scorpius - he isn't any of them things."
It was said with such a poison that Harry found the words difficult to digest.
"You talk about Scorpius as though he's blinded by hatred, but you're looking into yourself, and you don't like what you see staring back in the mirror."
Scorpius tugged on his sleeve, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. He had never seen Albus so angry, and it was making his stomach churn in a way that he didn't know was possible; his insides were twisting and folding as though he'd swallowed a bitter potion. Harry Potter faltered in front of his son, his eyes averting to look at Scorpius, who was cowered in the corner, bouncing on the balls of his feet. The young Malfoy had his head lowered, his arms wrapped around himself as though he were suffering from unimaginable groin pain. Harry Potter blinked, feeling tears prick in his eyes - beneath his glasses. He hoped the dim lighting within the Slytherin bedroom would hide his upset, hoping Albus wouldn't look into his eyes and see his shame.
"I want you to leave." Albus spat, at last, after what felt like a lifetime. Scorpius sniffled, his hand still quivering from the telling off that the Auror had given him. "I want you to leave now." He repeated himself once he saw that his father hadn't moved. Harry took one last look at Scorpius before backing out of the room.
The minute Albus saw that Harry was at the door frame, Harry watched as his youngest son's shoulders collapsed in on themselves, the tension dropping from them immediately as he raced to Scorpius' side. Albus wrapped Scorpius in his arms without a thought, surprising the young Malfoy boy so much so that he remained frozen in his stance - his arms straight down by his side as Albus' clutched his frame tightly. Harry swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Albus' face scrunch up and place itself in the crook of Scorpius' neck.
"I'm so sorry, Scorpius." Albus sobbed, his voice breaking as he clutched onto the other Slytherin. Harry couldn't find the energy to leave the room, his eyes fixated on what the Malfoy boy was going to do next. “You deserve so much better than that.”
Harry noticed the way that Albus said his friend's name acted like a therapy to his son, the moment the name left his lips he would ease his body entirely. He would soften and mellow at the touch of the other Slytherin boy.
"Don't be sorry, Albus." He had said. Scorpius lifted his gaze up to meet Harry's eyes, noticing that Albus' father hadn't left the room and was glaring at them. He gave him a crooked, polite smile before lifting his hand up to Albus' hair and running his fingers through his son's curls. "You have nothing to be sorry for." His voice was tender but firm, the words meant with all of his emotion.
Albus sobbed into Scorpius' shoulder, his heart aching in a way that the Potter boy hadn't known was possible. Harry bit his lip and left the school, disapparating away from the place he used to call home in a cloud of guilt. He had made a number of errors in his life, and this was the worst. He was going to make it up to Albus – and to Scorpius. Just not now. Now, the two boys needed each other; Albus needed Scorpius, he could see that now.
The brunette boy pulled his head out of Scorpius' clavicle and pressed his forehead to his, his skin warm against Scorpius' cold flesh. He closed his eyes, his body still shaking beneath him. He was trying desperately to regulate himself and his feelings and he knew the only way he was able to do that was with Scorpius, but it wasn't working this time. He figured it was because he knew Scorpius was also hurt by what Harry had said, even if he had put all of his energy into making sure Albus was okay now.
The two boys stood in complete silence for around fifteen minutes, just holding each other, with Albus sobbing uncontrollably.
"I don't think you're dark, or angry, or cruel." Scorpius was the first to break the silence, his tone soft as he shuffled where he stood. Despite knowing how difficult the Malfoy boy found physical interaction, Albus couldn't find the strength to break the touch. And Scorpius wasn't trying to move away either. Albus lifted his head off of Scorpius', his eyes bright red as they looked into the Malfoy boys'. "In fact, I would say you're the exact opposite, Albus." The Potter boy shivered, his skin standing to attention at the kindness in his friend's tone. "I wouldn't even just say it - I know it. I believe it."
"My dad should never have said those things about you, Scorpius." Albus said. "He's completely wrong and – and-"
"He's your dad, Albus." Scorpius picked at his hand, his thumb clicking as he tried to keep himself composed.
"And you're Scorpius - my Scorpius." Albus placed his hands up to Scorpius' cheeks and pressed his fingers into his skin, applying just enough pressure to make the other Slytherin boy shiver at the touch. “My dad doesn’t matter.” He said, the words sincere. "You're my favourite person in the whole world - my best friend - my - my Scorpius."
Scorpius felt a small grin form on his face, his eyes lighting up as much as his smile did. The words hit his ears like soft clouds. Albus always had kind words, and it was what had gotten him through the years of relentless bullying they'd both endured at Hogwarts. He always knew exactly the right thing to say to make everything better.
"You're my Scorpius." He cradled his head in his hands, running his thumbs up and down his pale skin.
Scorpius didn't blush like an ordinary person blushed - he blushed in a very Malfoy way. Whenever Albus was kind to him like this, he knew he blushed in the exact same way that his father had blushed the day that his mother had agreed to go for a date with him. He had a light blush, a gentle blush.
And Albus was kind to Scorpius every single day, so Albus was used to seeing his soft blush every single day. He'd started to believe he couldn't live a single enjoyable day if he didn't see Scorpius' soft blush every single day.
"You didn't have to do that for me." Scorpius said, his voice smaller now. "I - I appreciate it but, Albus, he's your dad."
"And my dad needed telling. He needed putting in his place." Albus shrugged his shoulders, sitting down on Scorpius' bed and throwing himself back, lying down in a heap. "He thinks he can just show up in my Seventh and final year at this awful school and tell me that the one thing - the one person that's brought me happiness and joy and shown me what real, true, honest love is - is bad for me – he needed telling."
Albus faltered as the last sentence left his lips, his voice breaking slightly. Scorpius swelled, joining Albus on his bed and curling up next to him - holding his knees up to his chin.
Albus sat up, crossing his legs beside Scorpius' head and placing his hand on the Malfoy's chest, circling his index finger around his bare chest beneath his shirt. Scorpius lifted his head up and stared at Albus with doe eyes, his smile small but present.
"Do you think our parents would accept us if we told him about this?" He asked, his voice timid.
"I don't care." Albus held his chin up, lifting his gaze up to the roof of the room. "I've got you and that's all I'll ever need."
Scorpius could feel his heart tugging in his chest, his mind aching slightly. Albus sat up, straightening his back and leaning over Scorpius' face with gentle breaths.
"Are you worried about that?"
Scorpius bit his lip, his feet rubbing together as though he were a Niffler that had found the largest treasure chest known to man. He said nothing, the words not forming in his throat.
"Scorpius - oh, Scorpius." He scooped him up again, holding him close to his heart. "I think your father would love you regardless."
"But your father-"
"Scorp, it isn't you that he disapproves of. It's me."
Scorpius sat up too, his hands running up and down the fabric of Albus' robe.
"It isn't, though. He thinks I'm dragging you down - he thinks I'm the one that - that-"
"That is dark and cruel and angry?"
"Yes."
"But you're not. That's me."
"You're not!" Scorpius tugged at his robe, begging him to listen to reason. The words came out as a loud shriek as Albus’ voice registered in his ears. It was like a bitter pill that he refused to swallow because it simply wasn’t true. It was his turn to reassure Albus now, he knew and understood, but he found it difficult. He found things like this difficult. "That's not you."
"It's okay."
"It is okay." Scorpius nodded in agreement. "Because you are not dark, or cruel, or angry." He said. "Well, you are angry, but that's okay. Everyone gets angry."
Albus lifted his gaze up to meet Scorpius’, whose eyes were burning into him in their usual icy way. Scorpius looked away from his eyes, his heart racing. He took in a breath and looked back into his eyes.
“You don’t get angry.” Albus said.
“I do.” Scorpius frowned his eyebrows, raising one with a cheeky grin. “I get angry all the time. About food – or when my father forgets to send sweeties or – or – or when my owl dropping the letters he drops off in the wrong place.”
Albus felt himself laugh.
"My father - Harry Potter or not - had no right to say any of that stuff to you."
"Just - just let me comfort you for once." Scorpius gave his Albus a small nudge. "Because you are kind and honest and good. You are - you are my kind and honest and good Albus."
The Potter boy felt a large smile take over his face, his heart fluttering beneath him as Scorpius placed his hand onto his chest. Albus' heart pounded beneath Scorpius' palm, his eyes focused solely on the small current that was powering through both their bloodstreams.
"We are in-sync, Albus." He said, noticing how their pulses aligned. "So, if you really believe me to be good then you must see it in yourself, too."
"I don't think that's how heartbeats work, mate." Albus teased, lightly. Scorpius rolled his eyes, laughing along with Albus.
"Don't call me mate." Scorpius nudged him in return.
"Oh, and why not?" Scorpius laughed again, a harsher laugh this time. "Is it because a 'mate' wouldn't do this?" He was smirking a crooked smirk now, his lips hovering over Scorpius' as he waited for consent from him to plant them to his.
Scorpius let out a scoff before forcing his face forwards, clumsily. The smaller Slytherin pushed Scorpius backwards, pressing his body into the slender frame of his best friend. Scorpius tugged at Albus, turning him over so that they were both on their sides on the bed, their legs entangled on top of the blanket. Albus pulled away from the kiss first, scrunching his face up as he wrapped his arms around him again.
"Maybe." Scorpius raced to catch his breath, smiling widely.
"I think my dad would say you'd corrupted me if he knew you kissed me like that every day."
Scorpius rolled his eyes, their breaths inches away from one another as the words hit his ears.
"I think he would." Albus laughed, his giggle small and making Scorpius’ heart swell.
"But - of course - I corrupted you."
"We corrupted each other." Scorpius said, his voice soft as he rested his head on Albus’ forehead.
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