Unspoken Love

32: WILL YOU...?

"This is wonderful, thank you. Every day here has been such a dream..." Albus mused with a serene smile across his lips. He and Scorpius were enjoying a candlelit dinner, courtesy of Chef Malfoy, in the France manor dining room. They only had a few more days left of their trip but every moment had been amazing.

      Albus moved his food around his plate strategically while spooning his pasta into a napkin sitting in his lap while Scorpius wasn't looking. He knew that Scorpius noticed him growing thinner, ever since they had been at Hogwarts, especially when Scorpius would pile his dinner plate more than usual and pretend like it was an accident...Albus had to make it seem like he was eating at least one full meal a day or his boyfriend would worry. 

     Albus couldn't make sense of his aversion to food anymore. He just...didn't want it. Couldn't let himself. His mind would play tricks on him sometimes, did I gain this much weight overnight? Was it from the pasta? I should cut back on the garlic bread. No no, I'm stick thin, I should eat more...but then the food would appear in front of him and his appetite would vanish. Albus was happy, very happy. His life was shaping up to be everything he'd dreamed...but this habit he had gotten into when he was younger just never went away and he looked different in the mirror every time he looked, what the hell do I actually look like?

    Albus was happy here at the manor, Scorpius could see it every time they walked into the door or laid down to bed. Scorpius decided to owl his father a few days prior with the intention of working out some sort of business agreement that would involve he and Albus to be able to move in to the house after schooling. Draco had sent a letter back merely saying: Don't be silly, it's yours if you want it. We'll talk about it later but your mother would have wanted you to have it anyways. Scorpius hadn't told Albus the good news yet, he wanted it to be a surprise for a later. 

     Scorpius was about to respond to Albus's calm musings when his thoughts were interrupted by a screech and the sound of flapping wings. An owl burst through the open windows and into the dining room, swooping over to Scorpius and dropping a large and thick letter into his lap. As quickly as it had come, the owl left and flew back into the night leaving a trail of silence in the dining room.

     Scorpius looked down at the letter with confusion for a few moments, who would be sending me mail now? and in such a big envelope? Then his eyes laid over the address from which it had been mailed from, it was from his scout and it seemed that the letter inside held good and important news based off of the quidditch stickers and stamps that were plastered all over it. 

     Albus set down his fork, more curious about the envelope than the food. Scorpius ripped it open with nervous fingers and was surprised to find many pieces of paper inside. He first slid out a small slip of parchment and read the short sentence scribbled on it: Take your pick, they'd all love to have you. Owl me back as soon as you make your decision, preferably before you start school again. 

"Who's it from?" Albus asked curiously, standing up from his chair to stand behind his boyfriend and stare at the envelope still on his lap. Scorpius handed Albus the piece of paper and Albus's heart skipped a beat. Scorpius wasn't even sure if his was still beating at all as he sat there in a nervous haze. 

"Take your pick...quidditch teams? Scorp! Open them!" Albus exclaimed excitedly, squeezing Scorpius's shoulders and seemingly shocking the boy back to reality. The blonde fumbled to take out the papers from within. There were three different packets, three. The Chudley Cannons, Puddlemere United, and the Wimbourne Wasps.

      The papers contained application information to start training with them as soon as he graduated. If he was good enough, or better than the rest of his teammates in training...then he could be playing in actual league games...be on the actual team by the time he was 20!