Albus Potter and the Crush on His Best Friend | Scorbus Fanfic

Chapter 1: Veritaserum

"Today we'll be partnering with Professor Prang for a special two-hour Defense Against the Dark Arts/Potions class! You will be testing the Veritaserum you made last week by consuming some and then being questioned, so all of you will understand what being under the influence of it is like, should you come across it again. Of course, Madam Pomfrey is on hand just in case your potions were brewed incorrectly, and you will be awarded House Points for your success. This is going to be so much fun!" Slughorn boomed from the head of the classroom.

Albus shrank into himself. Of course potions class with Slughorn would turn into a demented version of Truth or Dare.

"Do we really have to do this?"

Al turned to Scorpius, who was slumped in his seat. Albus was surprised, he had thought Scorpius liked this sort of thing, being a complete nerd and all. Then again, no one wanted to share their innermost secrets.

"This'll be fun! And since I'm feeling nice today... everyone gets to choose their partners!" Slughorn spread his hands widely as if expecting praise for his generosity, and his mustache jumped as he grinned. Everyone seemed to relax at that. So they would only be questioned by their best friend. That wasn't too bad.

Scorpius turned to Al, not even needing to ask.

"Okay, so do you want to go first, or should I?" Scorpius had that squinty look that he got when he was worried, and Al realized that he had a secret too. Well, it definitely couldn't be as bad as mine. He thought.

"I-I'll go." Al grabbed the vial of Veritaserum he had made and bottled last month (as it the potion needed to mature for a full lunar phase) quickly, carefully depositing two drops into the provided pumpkin juice, and gulping it down the way one did cod oil or medicine. Scorp was chewing on his hair nervously and jiggling his knee up and down, but he was smiling slightly.

Al closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

"Alright then. Let's start off simple, what's your middle name?"

"Scorp. C'mon. That's boring, you know it already!"

Scorpius sat up and smirked, "I know, I know, I'm just testing to make sure you made the Veritaserum right. "

Al rolled his eyes, something he had picked up from Scorpius.

When Scorpius asked again he started to feel a pressure inside of him, hot and heavy, slowly building. It began below his stomach, but was spreading slowly through his body. Some of it seemed to bubble up and into his throat, nearly making him gag.

Say it, the pressure seemed to be urging him, tell the truth....

Al's mouth opened, "Severus."

The pressure was instantly gone, and Albus drew in a deep breath.

Scorpius sat forward, "Good. Okay. Who do you fancy?"

"Scorp!" Al was taken aback. "Why this?"

Scorpius' tone was light, but his eyes looked worried. "I dunno. Just answer!" Scorp wasn't the only one who wanted him to answer. The pressure was building up again, but this time it was painful.

"I-I dunno, I guess."

Scorp frowned slightly. "Is it Alisa Prewitt?"

"Erm, no."

"Liza Devins?"

"No."

"Emietta Dawson?"

"No!"

"Is it any girl in this school?"

"No-no." Al choked out, the pressure constricting his breathing and making him nauseous.

"Merlin, Al-oh!" Scorp's eyes widened, and he licked his lips. "Is-Is it a girl at all?" He whispered, his grey eyes as dark as the Great Hall ceiling on a stormy day.

The pressure was up to his ears, and it felt like his eardrums might explode.

"No!" Al cried out, "No. It's not a girl." The pressure lessened, but was still there, weighing him down.Scorp let out a deep breath, shaking his platinum blonde head slowly and loosening his Slytherin tie.

"Never mind, Al. You don't need to answer that question. That's enough."

The pressure gone, Al sat there, panting, watching Scorpius' hands. His fingers were long, pale, and manicured. Al knew without touching them that they were soft, and there were light calluses on his palm and on the pads of his fingers.

Those hands were the only thing of Scorpius he could watch. Albus wasn't sure if he could ever meet Scorpius' eyes again.

Scorp cleared his throat, "I guess it's my turn now," and got up. Al knew without looking that Scorpius was flushed, probably worrying away at his lips. He wondered what Scorpius was thinking.

He came back a moment later, and Al still didn't look up. Scorp set the small vial down, eyeing it warily, instead of just getting it over with like Al had. Al could practically hear the gears turning in his head. Scorp had always been more Slytherin than Al.

Then, in one go, the pumpkin juice was gone. And Al had to look up.Scorpius was flushed, and he was biting his lip apprehensively. His eyes were smiling. He didn't look angry. He didn't look ashamed. But Al had to make sure.

"You do-don't think any less of me?" He whispered.

Scorp smiled slowly, and in that second Al loved him more than he ever had. Wait, where did that come from?

"Because you're gay?" Scorpius teased gently, "Or because you crack so easily under pressure?"

Al smiled too, even though he could feel his heart racing in his chest. What the hell was going on?

"I-I actually, Al. I'm gay too." Wait, what? If Scorpius hadn't been under Veritaserum, Albus would never have believed him.

"Oh." was all Albus could manage. Discovering that your best friend had the same huge secret as you is quite unnerving. But relieving, in a way. Wait-

"Oh! But I thought you liked Rose?" Al was confused again.

"Merlin, Al. That was in, like, fourth year. And I'm bi."

"Oh! But you just said you were, erm, gay?" Al was still confused.

"'Gay' is an umbrella term. Honestly, Al."

"Oh." Al said again, and he was grinning for some reason. The kind of grin that shows all your teeth and makes your face bright red. Scorp raised a perfect blond eyebrow, but he was grinning too. They just sat there, grinning, when Al realized he hadn't asked Scorp any questions.

"Well, then. Who do you fancy?" Al leaned forward, watching as Scorpius' smile quickly went out.

Did I do something wrong? Al thought worriedly.

"Actually, Al-"

"Oh, look at the time!" Slughorn had cast a Reloxo* from the front of the classroom, and its shimmering gold hands and numbers emitted long shadows on the classroom walls, "Class dismissed!" Scorpius looked relieved, and he grabbed his books and was out the door before Albus could open his mouth to apologize. And that was probably just as well, because Albus didn't even know what he would be apologizing for.

*I completely invented this spell. It's supposed to be a clock spell, but there may already be one in existence that I don't know of, so if there is one please tell me and I'll change it.