dinner parties | scorbus

CH26: deadpan and raw

CH26: deadpan and raw (5425 words)

*****

"Mum," Albus spoke, his voice deadpan and raw as he begged for attention. "Mum!"

Ginny glanced up from her desk. The woman bore an exasperated expression,  yet forced a smile to glance up at Albus. She began to absently push her papers into a tall pile, spinning a pen between her fingertips. "My love?"

"I made up with Scorpius."

Ginny — in a manner that would have made her mother faint from embarrassment — kicked the chair opposite her out from under the table. Albus slipped into the seat, smiling to himself, as he glanced shyly at his mother.

"So, I now suppose my romantic candidate is out the window?" She asked, smiling slightly. Her thin fingers reached over the desk as the woman brushed the hair from Albus' eyes.

"You never told me who that was."

"It hardly matters now."

Albus smiled slightly. He reached over the table to grab her fingers. "Tell me, mum."

For a moment, Ginny looked at him with a deeply quizzical, analytic stare. Her brows furrowed slightly as she examined his face. Albus began to grow uncomfortable. He fiddled with her hands before retracting his own. The boy ran his fingers through his hair.

"You are all grown up," Ginny mumbled, softly.

Albus shot her an estranged look. "What?"

"You've grown up on me. You're so mature; smart, intelligent. That little boy arguing with me a year ago would hardly recognise you."

Albus shuffled, discomforted. Most of the time, Albus acted immaturely, and would rather blow off such actions with diminished responsibility due to his age. Though, he could understand her sentiment — his path of thinking, his interpretation, his comprehension; they had drastically evolved since last June, when he'd sit in his room on the daily and play video games.

More than

Maybe Ginny had always reminded him that someone would recognise his beauty, because he would begin to understand it over time? Maybe he gave himself too little credit.

"I just never thought I'd live to see the day that you begged me to show you romantic prospects," Ginny said quietly.

"Well, I'm still head over heels for Scorpius. I'll consider your suggestion."

The woman laughed to herself, squeezing the inside of Albus' forearm as she reached out to hold onto his skin. "I promise you'll like him. Now, tell me — how did Scorpius redeem himself?"

Albus had thought through his answer, of course. He could hardly (safely) reveal to his mother that Scorpius had snuck inside their castle gates and successfully into Albus' room without her knowledge. Not only did such a fact hold a terrifying realisation that the castle grounds may prove to have less security than previously believed, but she'd have Albus' head on a stick. He knew better than to sneak anyone into the grounds, let alone his bedroom.

James would have been grounded for months if it had been him.

"He just... called me last night. He was really nice to me. He made me feel really seen, and heard and just... he listened to me. He apologised, of course. I've just — missed him so much that I didn't want to continue hating someone that I love so dearly. I believe that he's really sorry."