Hogwarts - The Next Gen.

Chapter 15. Chrismas presents

When they arrived in London, it was as if the magic came to the muggled world. Light, stars, colors, decoration... everything.

Y/n was looking for a few presents for her friends. She suddenly saw a beautiful matching scarf for Lilly and Rose. She called Scorpius for his opinion.
He came and put his hands on her shoulders and leaned on her slightly. Suddenly she became aware of how close he was.
She could feel him breathing next to her.
She looked at him. First looked at his lips, then into his eyes. A smile came from the corner of his mouth as he looked threw the window. "They're nice. Who do you want to buy them for?" Y/n held her breath for a moment so she would stop blushing. What was she thinking? And why did he had to make her blush all the time?

Before the could answered she looked at the scarfs herself and replied.
"For Rose and Lilly." Scorpius seemed to have forgotten about Rose for a moment. Y/n could see a gust of disappointment in his eyes. "Yeah, they probably like that." he finally replied. Y/n teased him a bit and saw him turning pale. "Have a seat. I think you shopped a little too much." She said as she helped him to sit down. She gave him her bottle of water.

At that moment, they ran into Karl and Yann, who immediately started being mean to Y/n. Scorpius stood up and pushed Karl away. Then Yann tried to throw a punch. Draco, Scorpius's father, came between the two of them and grabbed his fist and looked at them with a stern look. The boys ran away and Scorpius thanked his father.

"Hey dad, shall we get something for mum together? A bunch of flowers she would have liked." suggested Scorpius. Draco looked at Scorpius, nodded gratefully and agreed. Y/n remained silent, realising that Scorpius's mother and therefore Draco's wife had died only a few months earlier. With a lump in her throat, she left the two alone and sat down on a bench.

She thought of Lilly and Albus. What would they be doing now? She looked at the two who we're buying flowers to set up near the grave before going to the Chrismas party.

--- Chrismas reunion. ---
Y/n, Scorpius and his father Draco arrived at the Potter family's house, which already included Weasleys and other old friends. Draco immediately went up to Neville and Harry started recalling old stories with a laugh.

Scorpius whispered to Y/N that she shouldn't get too upset at the sight of what will happen. Y/N looked confused, not understanding what he meant by that.

Lilly stormed towards Y/N as usual and hugged her like a long-lost friend. "You should know what you've been missing out of!" she shouted enthusiastically.

At that moment, Albus and a girl unknown burst in, clearly enjoying each other's company. Y/N cleared her throat "Hi?" She said towards Albus. As she looked at the girl curiously. The girl greeted Y/N with a joke: "Oh, so she is your goddess that everyone teases you about." Y/n was confused by the remark.
"Sorry who are you?" She asked. The unknown girl laughed hard and gave Albus a kiss. Then she walked away to James and gave him a kiss. Albus rubbed his neck with his hand, looked uncomfortable. He invited Y/N to go outside with him. The atmosphere between them was a mix of infatuation, excitement and uncertainty. What were they really like?

Albus suddenly took a sigaret and lighted it up. Y/n was discusted about it, but yet she has questions seeing Albus being nervous and everything. "You look nice tonight." He chuckeld while blushing. Y/n thanked for his compliment. "How was your trip?" She asked. Albus smiled softly but akwardly "nice i guess..." t
The awkwardness lingered between them. Albus almost walked back inside when Y/N suddenly exclaimed "What do you want from me?"

Albus was startled and turned around. He had not expected this. "Well? Do you have anything to say? Like for example.. i like you? Or hey i am into other right now..." Albus didn't respond. Suddenly, tears began to roll down Y/N's cheeks as she waited for an answer. He remained silent and did not dare to look back. Why was there such tension suddenly between them? He threw away his sigaret and left the scene, while y/n stayed outside.

It was time to unwrap presents. Y/n felt unease. No one was probably missing her right.

Ginny saw y/n through the window and decided to have a chat with her. Ginny put a plaid over Y/N's shoulders. Y/N had never spoken to Ginny before, at least not that she could remember.

Ginny sighed. "Lilly couldn't stop talking about your friendship. And Albus blushed the whole time, until it made him uncomfortable." Y/N looked at Ginny in surprise. "He hasn't had it easy recently. So don't be surprised if he is more distant from people around him now." Y/N remained silent as Ginny comforted and hugged her.
"I just wished he would tell me how he felt and whats going on. I'm also his friend aren't i?" Y/n sniffed and whept her tears. Harry also came out. "Oh, there you are. Aren't you forgetting that presents are being handed out? We brought one for you too, Y/N." Ginny and Harry smiled at her and helped her inside.

Lilly jumped up and handed her a small present. "You probably don't know what's in it. Surprise, a potion to give you a certain kind of courage or truth." Lilly joked to Y/N. Together they shot into laughter and the evening continued. Despite the awkward moments between her and Albus, Y/N enjoyed the company of everyone and felt loved and appreciated.

--- Scorpius and Albus ---
Rose Weasley was completely captivated by Scorpius. She didn't seem to want to lose sight of him. It was as if she was glued on him. Scorpius didn't really feel much like it. And so he invited Albus to discuss something. They went to another room to talk.

Once in the other room, Albus was slightly irritated. "Scorpius help me. I'm really going crazy." Scorpius was startled by Albus's reaction. "Crazy?" asked Scorpius. "I want her and yet I don't. She's nice, pretty, funny. But ..." Albus told him confidently. Scorpius sighed. "But what?" Albus rubbed his neck again. "I don't want to feel like I'm stuck with her. It's akward. I want to kiss her, but i don't know if she wants it to." Scorpius grinned. "Well then ignore or forget her. " Albus looked silently at Scorpius's answer. "Sorry, i didn't want to sound rude but... You're not the only one who's into her. And maybe she's never been in a relationship before, so she needs someone who leads. Besides, don't you still like Delphinie? Even after her rescue daddy voltie trick?" said Scorpius fiercely to Albus. Albus realised this all too well. Albus wasn't sure he was ready for a relationship. Not after last time. Scorpius looked at his friend seriously, knowing that communication was essential in any relationship. If Albus did not, he would lose her to someone else. And deep down, Scorpius didn't even find that an unpleasant thought.

As they talked, Scorpius asked if Albus had picked out a Christmas present for Y/N yet. Albus shook his head no. Scorpius could not believe his ears. He did not understand how his friend, who was clearly in love with Y/N, could overlook such a small detail.
Scorpius hesitated to give his present for Y/N to Albus. But before he wanted to grab it, he hesitantly asked. "What if I ask her out?" Albus looked shocked. His emotions changed from surprise to anger, frustration and jealousy. "Hey I'm just teasing you." Scorpius added quickly, a smile on his face to break the tension.

Albus took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions. "You're my best friend. No girl is going to ruin that." Scorpius told him in a calm tone and patted Albus on the shoulder. Albus calmed down and realised he had feelings for Y/N, but not how to express them. "I'll think about it some more." he said finally. Scorpius smiled, but in his mind was another idea. Scorpius was determined to get Y/N for himself. With her, he was more free. And with Rose, it was the opposite, he felt like he was choking. But right now he would concentrate on giving the Christmas present. No one needed to know about this, especially not his best friend.

--- Back to story ---
After the Christmas party, evening fell and slowly everyone said goodbye. Lilly and Rose were happy with the presents they had received from Y/N. However, Y/N felt a stab of disappointment coming from Albus.

Without wasting another word, Y/N said goodbye to everyone. Albus stood somewhat lost in a corner. He did nothing and did not know anything to say either. Y/n tried one last attempt at an embrace. But he only blushed and looked away. With a disappointed look, Y/N turned and walked away and went back to Malfoy Manor with Scorpius.