Albus/Scorpius: As Long As I've Got You By My Side

The Best Season for Birthdays

The remainder of the school year passed in a blur. Albus could hardly comprehend how quickly time seemed to go by when the spring holidays came to pass. He and Scorpius stayed at Hogwarts, reveling in the warm weather and their lack of schoolwork. Most days, the two boys could be found under a large beech tree by the Black Lake, occasionally visited by Rose. The three of them would partake in multiple chess tournaments, most of which ended abruptly when Albus flipped the board over and tackled Scorpius to the ground. There they would stay, eyes shining with mirth, until Rose brought them back to reality, saying that she'd won by default since they both forfeited the competition.

Of course, she thought, I'd have been able to beat them both, distracted or otherwise.

=(-)=

Unfortunately, there was still homework to be done, no matter how much time they had to do it. When they weren't outside, Albus and Scorpius stayed in the Slytherin common room beneath piles of parchment and books.

"Why should it matter that there were seventeen goblin rebellions before the eighteenth century?", Albus whined.

History of Magic was his least favorite subject by far; he couldn't care less what had gone on in the Wizarding World prior to the 20th century.

"History shapes the present and the future, Albie. It's important to understand what happened in the past to predict what might happen next", Scorpius reprimanded his friend.

"Can't we just use Divination for that?"

"Not until Third Year".

Albus gave a deep sigh. He leaned back so that his head was in Scorpius's lap, lifting his textbook above his face and continuing to read about goblin rebellions.

Smiling slightly, Scorpius ruffled his friend's hair and went back to writing his essay.

SSS

One sunny Saturday morning in May, Scorpius was woken up by somebody jumping into his bed, right on top of him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SCOR!", Albus shouted.

Instinctively, Scorpius wrapped his arms around the other boy, burying his face in Albus's shoulder.

"Wouldn't it have been a better present to just let me sleep in for once?", he grumbled, but without any real venom behind his words.

Albus chuckled.

"Speaking of presents..."

He rolled off Scorpius and reached over to his nightstand, pulling out a small parcel from its drawer handed it to his friend, who eagerly sat up to open it. Inside was a beautiful silver compass attached to a thick leather cord. Scorpius looked up at Albus with wide eyes, a grin spreading across his face.

"D'you like it?", Albus asked nervously. "It's meant to point in whatever direction I am from you, so you can always find me...you know, if you want to. Rose helped me enchant it".

"Are you serious? I love it!".

Scorpius enveloped his friend in a tight hug. The force of the impact caused both boys to fall off the bed, landing in a heap of blankets and laughter.

=(-)=

Now that Scorpius had the compass from Albus, he just had to test it out. Naturally, the best way to do so was with a game of Hide-and-Seek on the castle grounds. Scorpius stood under their tree with his eyes closed for two minutes while Albus found a place to hide. Then, with the help of the compass, Scorpius was able to find him easily.
"Found you!" Scorpius tackled his friend to the ground and pinned him there, eyes sparkling.

Albus looked up at him with a relaxed smile on his face.

"I guess the compass really does work, doesn't it?"

That, however, was not the end of Scorpius's birthday surprises. Lunchtime would certainly not be a quiet affair.

=(-)=

Albus checked his watch for what seemed to be at least the fifteenth time in as many minutes. He gasped, saying, "it's time!", and ran off to find Scorpius. Said boy was in the Slytherin common room, studying for their Transfiguration exam. Albus grabbed Scorpius's hand and dragged him off to the kitchens without a word. When they reached the secret entrance in the form of a painting, Albus tickled the pear, which turned into a green handle.

"Surprise!", he cried, throwing open the door.

In the kitchen, the house elves had set up a table and with Scorpius's favorite sandwiches and a bench to sit on. One elf was carrying a cupcake with a green and silver candle in it.

"Happy Birthday, Master Malfoy!", it squeaked.

"Hello, Winky", Scorpius replied kindly.

He whispered to Albus, "you planned this all for me?"

"Well, yeah", Albus replied. "I paid them all, don't worry. Although I must say, that was a job in itself. They just didn't want to take the money".

The two boys had just began eating their lunch when Rose burst in, bringing with her a large and rectangular package.

"Happy Birthday, Scorpius!", she exclaimed, throwing herself on the bench next to Scorpius. "Sorry I'm late, Albus, I lost track of the time because I was studying and I nearly forgot to come at all, but then I saw Scorpius's present on my nightstand and remembered-". She took a deep breath. It looked like she was about to continue talking when Albus interrupted her, reassuring his cousin that he didn't mind her being late.
"I'm just glad you showed up at all", he laughed.

Scorpius, who'd been eyeing Rose's package, reached over to see what was inside. She had gotten him a book on Transfiguration, his favorite school subject.
"Thank you guys so much", he said, giving them both a hug. When he let go of Albus, he laced their fingers together and laid his head on the other boy's shoulder.
Rose looked at her "slimy green idiots" with a fond and knowing smile. She wondered,
When will they realize how much they love each other? 

=(-)=

That night, Scorpius climbed into Albus's bed and lay next to him so that he was facing the other boy. He ran one hand through Albus's dark and notoriously messy hair. Albus wrapped his arms around Scorpius, who sighed contentedly.

"Thank you", he said, "for the best birthday ever".

Albus nuzzled his friend's neck affectionately and tightened his arms around him. Before he fell asleep, Scorpius was sure he heard Albus whisper something back.

"Anything for you".

He decided that spring was a great time to have a birthday, and an even better time to share it with your best friend.