The Gates are Open

Chapter Three: Sneaky Snakey, Eggs and Bakey

A/N: hey y'all!! sorry for the long wait; i'm a sophomore in hs rn and school has been crazy. sorry for the short chapter, i promise more is coming soon! i hope you all enjoy!!

Published 10/01/24 - Word Count: 1467 

 Albus knew he wouldn't be able to sleep without Scorpius, so he made the executive decision at around one in the morning to go to the hospital wing. It was locked at night but Albus knew from experience that it could be opened with a simple 'Alohomora' charm. Albus had sneaked the invisibility cloak out of James' trunk before they had left just in case it was needed, and he was glad he had done so. He knew James wouldn't check for the cloak for at least a week after they got there, so he could just have a house elf return it if it wasn't useful. He put on some ratty sneakers and a jumper over his thin pajama shirt, grabbing the cloak on his way to the door.

After getting outside of the common room and into the dungeons, he put on the cloak and lit up the end of his wand. The dungeons were never lit up well, especially at night, so even with the wandlight, it was hard to see. Albus did have the bright idea to check if the cloak was covering his entire body, since recently it had started bunching up in the back. The cloak was covering everything, though, so he started to make his way through the tight corridors and out into the larger hallways in the main castle area. After trying to climb several stairways as quickly but quietly as possible, the brunette boy had finally made it to the hospital wing.

He pulled his hand out of his robe and brought his dark wand up to the lock. With a quick spell, the lock clicked open satisfyingly, and the door opened slightly. He peeked his head in just to make sure that Madam Pomfrey had gone to bed and wasn't there anymore. When he saw that her door was closed and her curtains drawn, he crept in, closing the door behind him. From the room's entrance, he had a clear view of the beds and his eyes caught on the only occupied one, hidden from direct sight by white cotton curtains. Albus could feel his heart loudly thumping in his chest as he silently made his way to the bed.

Albus took a large breath as he quietly but quickly opened up the curtains, stepped inside, and closed the curtains. It was only after he was successfully inside the bed area that he turned to look at his boyfriend. The blonde was turned on his side to face Albus, his foot propped up on a cushion. His hair was loose and ruffled against the pillow, and Albus could see his eyelashes fluttering as he hesitantly stepped closer.

Scorpius' eyes opened fully, his pale eyelids blinking over his stormy gray irises. It only took Scorpius a few moments to register the situation in front of him, and he was flooded with emotion at the sight of his boyfriend.

"...Albus?" Scorpius whispered.

"Yes? Yes... Cor, It's me!"

"But...what are you doing here? You should be asleep, it's late!"

"I had to come see you, I couldn't just lay there with you stuck in here all alone."

"Albus... thank you." Scorpius quietly said to him, incredibly grateful that his boyfriend had come to check on him. Albus took his gratitude as the sign to come closer to Scorpius, moving down to cradle the blonde's face with his hands. Pressing a soft kiss to his pale lips, Albus moved to lay next to him on the bed, so they were facing each other. The Potter boy was very careful to to touch his injured leg in order not to hurt him as he pulled his own legs into the bed, kicking off his shoes as he pulled his feet under the blankets.

The two boys laid there in each other's arms for a while; they were simply basking in each other's company. Suddenly, Scorpius' mind cleared enough through the haze of lust and love to remember the circumstances.. "Wait, Albus, why are you doing this? You could get in so much trouble, like, so much trouble!" Scorpius felt like a horrible person. He had just only thought of that–how could he be so inconsiderate. Almighty, I'm so self centered. How on earth could I just let him be here, risking his record for that long before that thought even crossed my mind?

Albus peered up at his beloved partner, giving him a look that nearly took away all of Scorpius' worries. "I don't care about getting into trouble if you're the one I'm getting into trouble for. You're worth losing everything for, my love." Albus whispered quietly after a few seconds.

Scorpius couldn't speak; he couldn't fathom words that would express the feeling he felt after Albus had said that. His overwhelming love for the boy wasn't something he could put into speech. Instead of responding, he settled for just kissing him passionately but softly. They didn't make out or get heated; just one, simple, long, beautiful kiss. A kiss that said more than words ever could have.

When they both reluctantly pulled away, they didn't move far. They simply moved so that they were holding each other tighter, Albus' head curling on the top of Scorpius' shoulder. Scopius, though still very much injured, managed to wrap his legs around his brunette. As they laid there, in the comfortable stark sheets of the hospital wing, both boys could feel their eyes getting heavy. After all, it had been an extraordinarily long day for the pair, and they were in desperate need of sleep. Though somewhere in their nagging brains, they knew it was a horrid idea to sleep together in the hospital wing, and that they would surely get caught, they couldn't help slowly drifting off, their heartbeats slowing as they spent their first night in almost two months in each other's arms.

Albus moved his free hand to cover his tired, groggy and rapidly blinking eyes, trying to block out the sun that was shining its early morning rays directly into his eyes from the window above him. Wait...there are no windows in the common room? Not bright ones, at least, Albus thought to himself, still half asleep. Where...oh, fuck.

The brunette immediately sat up, moving his boyfriend's arm from around his chest. I'm still in the hospital wing, shit! Albus looked down at the boy next to him and then at the muggle analog watch on his wrist. The time read 06:13. He knew he couldn't stay in bed with Scorpius much longer; Madam Pomfrey would soon be awake to check on him. The only successful way to avoid trouble would be to get out and into his dorm room ASAP. After casting a lock spell on Madam Pomfrey's door (one that she could easily unlock magically but would buy him some time) Albus immediately began formulating a plan to leave the hospital wing before staff started getting up, usually around 06:30. Curfew technically broke at 07:00 for students, so he couldn't very well be caught out before then at all without facing some sort of punishment. He would have to take the cloak, wrap himself in it, and try to make his way across the castle as quietly as possible. It wasn't even close to ideal, but it was the only option.

Albus nodded to himself after he had finished mapping out his journey in his head, and began to untangle his body fully from that of the boy next to him. Once he was out of bed, he kissed Scorpius softly on the head, careful not to wake him from his peaceful, deep slumber.

Albus hastily pulled on the cloak and stepped away from the bed, drawing the milky curtains closed behind him. He managed to make his way to and slightly open the dark mahogany door before seeing the doorknob on Madam Pomfrey's door begin to jiggle. He figured he had about 10 seconds before he was caught, so he quickly slipped out, not caring about volume as he shut the door behind him.

Luckily, the floor outside the hospital wing was made of a smooth granite, so he could practically run off down the large, open hallway without making so much noise. The trip, although slow, was going very well as he approached the final stairs down to the dungeon. Deciding that the cloak would just prove as a hazard while going down the steep, winding stairs, Albus took off the cloak and draped it over his arm before beginning his descent. Just as he was about to turn the sharp corner into the hallway that led to the common room, he heard a sharp cough from above him.

Hesitantly turning around, he saw the disappointed face of Professor McGonagall peering down at him.

Fuck. 

A/N: so, that's chapter 3! i hope you all liked it!! i will update when i can, thanks for reading!!

<3 ayden