It wasn't the first time Albus had seen Scorpius leave the Slytherin bedroom in the middle of the night. It didn't happen often, but sometimes he caught his friend borrowing his invisibility cloak and disappearing somewhere. Usually, it didn't take too long before Scorpius went back to bed and fell asleep peacefully. Albus was worried. Scorpius is probably having a secret meeting with someone at night. He doesn't want others to know about it, that's for sure. Albus was sad. Why didn't he confide in him? After all, they shared absolutely everything. And he was horrified to realise one more thing. The idea of Scorpius liking someone else was very hurtful. His feelings for his friend were beginning to change. Maybe he was starting to be a little bit in love with him, but really, just a little bit.
No, he doesn't want to witness Scorpius' nightly encounters, it would break his heart to see him with someone else. He wouldn't ask him who he was meeting at night. He doesn't want to know the details because it all hurts so much that it's unbearable.
No, it really is unbearable, so one night, Albus followed his friend. He walked quietly so that neither Scorpius nor the patrolling teachers could hear him. It was dangerous because, unlike Scorpius, he didn't have an invisibility cloak. He followed him all the way from the Slytherin bedroom to the kitchen. Scorpius patted the pear, the door opened, and he disappeared into the kitchen before his eyes.
Albus didn't understand. Why is she meeting someone in the kitchen? He peeked inside through the keyhole. He saw the elf handing his friend a large bar of chocolate. Scorpius bit into it hungrily, thanked him and left the kitchen.
"Albus! What are you doing here by Merlin's beard?"
"I can ask you the same thing," Albus said.
"I'm not doing anything wrong here," Scorpius whispered. "I just wanted something sweet, so I went to the kitchen. The elves always give me something."
"Scorp, I was scared," Albus blurted out.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were sleeping and didn't want to wake you up. Do you want some chocolate?" He put a piece of chocolate straight into Albus's mouth. Albus liked that. After a while, he got another piece. He took the opportunity to lick Scorpius's fingers.
They played like this for a while before they both realised that this is not how friends usually play.
Scorpius suddenly understood why Albus was worried about him.
"Albus, if you thought I was secretly seeing someone here... I would never do it. I like you, after all."
Albus smiled brightly at him and planted a first, chocolatey kiss on Scorpius's lips.
