dinner parties | scorbus

CH28: gambling

CH28: gambling (6702 Words)

* * * * *

Albus was letting Scorpius squirm, but for a few days. He only wanted to convey that he didn't appreciate Scorpius pulling such stunts, and he hoped that it had been working, but he wasn't sure. He was yet to call, or send a letter, or reach out in any way that would indicate that he wanted to talk. Whilst he wanted to, more than anything, he found himself committed to his act. Countless times, Scorpius had waterboarded his senses with a peculiar kiss or phrase that had driven Albus up the wall with confusion. He supposed that this didn't really count, as they'd already discussed their kiss, but he certainly wasn't providing Scorpius with any proof that he still approved his decision.

After three days, Albus' chest had grown a dull ache of longing. It pained him each time that he stopped to catch his breath, silently beginning for a hint to pay Scorpius some attention. He was agitated that his own heart had betrayed him, wondering why its allegiance resided in Scorpius' court, rather than his own. Then again, Albus thought that his friend (boyfriend?) was perfect, and he could hardly blame himself.

But Albus had a couple of things to do before he called Scorpius again; one of which updated his mother on the situation to ensure he had her approval. So, three days after the night that Albus had kissed Scorpius, he bounced down to her office with an altered version of events to tell her what had happened.

Albus knocked on her door, listening for resulting permission to enter. He received as such, and pushed inside with a large smile on his face. (He'd had one ever since he and Scorpius had first kissed — and James and Lily had been teasing him relentlessly for his inability to stop grinning for even a second. He couldn't expect either of them to understand; he was happier than he'd ever been, whilst they were not).

Much to his surprise, Lily and James stood by Ginny's desk. The both of them looked rather bored whilst standing with their arms crossed, swinging on their feet. Albus' smile faltered, only slightly. Ginny lifted her eyes and smiled at him, waving him inside.

"I need to talk to you, mum," Albus said, spinning his ring as he watched the trio inside the room.

"You can talk to her in a minute," James whined, "we're about to look at the guest lists for tomorrow."

The younger son didn't even bother to look in James' direction, agitated. "Mum, it's important."

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Ginny questioned, glancing up from her letter with a raised eyebrow.

Albus felt all of the eyes in the room shift onto his face. He continued to spin his ring, shuffling, as he glanced at her. Albus lifted his hands to his shoulders, then dropped them in a giving motion. He wasn't entirely wary of his actions, yet hoped they conveyed his point.

Immediately, the redheaded mother's face illuminated. "Out, you two," She said to her other children, pointing at the door. "You can come back in a moment, I wasn't quite ready to find the list anyway."

"Albus came in last!" Lily argued. "He can wait. You're not ready to find a list but you can waste time kicking us out to talk privately with him?"

"Yes, most definitely," Ginny said. "That list will remain in a few moments after our conversation is finished. Albus may not want to talk to me in a few minutes, so I'll tend to his needs first. Out!"

"You're gambling that we will still want to talk to you in a few minutes," James huffed. He stomped across the room with Lily in tow. The girl elbowed Albus on her way out of the room, but he couldn't care all that much.