undeniable | scorbus

twenty one - scorpius

scorpius should really cut down on the sugar. but then again, so should I.

———

"You're going to have a heart attack if you eat any more of that."

Scorpius looked up from the chocolate in front of him to see Albus looking at him with an expression he'd define as a strange mixture of admiration and disbelief. Albus had a little bit of chocolate at the corner of his lip, and he'd taken fewer than ten bites before giving up. Scorpius supposed giant sweets weren't catered to everyone's taste.

Albus was sitting on the floor beside him, his legs crossed and his head leaning against the stony walls of the astronomy tower, looking more content that Scorpius had ever seen him as the moonlight casted fading shadows upon his face.

Scorpius hadn't been keeping track of how long they'd been up there. Likely more than an hour, but it was hard to tell. If he peered outside, the moon looked like it was in the exact same position it had been when they'd arrived. Everything did, he thought, except the chocolate frog, which had been brutally dismembered.

Surprisingly enough, Scorpius found he wasn't tired in the slightest. In fact, he could hardly remember a time he'd ever felt more awake.

"Just a few more bites and I can finish the arm," Scorpius pointed out, holding up a piece that would most definitely take more than a few bites to complete.

Albus raised his eyebrow, and Scorpius sighed in defeat. He put the limb down reluctantly, making a mental promise to finish it later.

"Seriously, how are you not hyper already?" Albus asked, adjusting himself so that he was holding himself up with one arm, while the other lay loosely on his knee.

"Sugar doesn't actually make you hyper, you know. There's no evidence of a link between sugar levels and hyperactivity. It's probably just an excuse for parents to buy less sweets for their children."

"Maybe that's true, but I'm starting to think there is a link between sugar levels and turning into a human encyclopedia," Albus responded incredulously, raising his eyebrows. "You make me feel like I have the intellectual capacity of a Pygmy Puff every time you open your mouth."

"Sorry," he grinned. "I've been told I read too many books. Not that there is such a thing as too much reading."

"Are you trying to prove that you're a nerd? Because you really don't need to, I assure you. I'm sure it's a widely known fact. I bet even the giant squid sits at the bottom of the lake wondering how anyone could possibly take in so many words at once."

"As honoured as I am that I'm constantly on the squid's mind, I believe you could also be classified as a nerd, Albus Potter."

Albus scoffed in disbelief. "How, exactly?"

"Advanced Potions? Have you forgotten?"

"Potions isn't that nerdy..." Albus said, wincing slightly.

"It absolutely is," Scorpius said firmly, and Albus let out a distressed groan as he buried his head in his hands.

"Fine, if you insist, but don't say so in public. I do have a reputation to uphold, you know," Albus said, bringing his head back up.

He accompanied the statement with a wink, and Scorpius was grateful for the darkness in the room that would mask the pink that was undoubtedly making its way across his cheeks.

"I promise," he responded solemnly, placing a hand over his heart, and Albus grinned.

"I'm serious, I'm already going to be the laughing stock of our year once my friends find out."

"Once they find out what? That you're good at something?" Scorpius couldn't help but shake his head at Albus's way of seeing things.

"No, that I'm going to be stuck in a class with a bunch of O-level nerds."

"But you're one of those O-level nerds."

"Shh, not so loud," Albus whispered jokingly, and Scorpius laughed.

They fell back into a comfortable silence, but the conversation had manifested a new concern into his head. Albus's friends, who had (as far as Scorpius knew) virtually no idea that Albus was having secret rendezvous with a Malfoy, of all people.

He furrowed his brows, wondering if Albus had told them anything. Surely, they would ask questions. He could imagine the rumours already; Albus Potter thought to be sneaking around after hours could only come with the assumption that he was having a secret affair.

"Hey," Albus's voice was soft, but it rang through the silence, springing him out of his thoughts. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Scorpius asked, confused. Was he fidgeting?

"Worry. You worry too much."

"How-" Scorpius started, astounded at Albus's ability to notice things. Just when he was starting to think he couldn't get any more observant...

"You're an open book. You should probably work on that a little bit," Albus teased, trying to lighten the mood, but his eyes gave away his concern even in the dimness of the pale white light that enveloped him.

Scorpius didn't respond. He didn't know what to say.

He looked back down at the floor, hugging his knees closely to his chest. He could feel Albus's eyes on him even though his own gaze was elsewhere, surveying him for answers to all the questions that lay between them.

"What were you thinking about?" Albus asked after a moment's hesitation.

"What people might think."

"About what?"

"About us." Scorpius cleared his throat. "Hanging out, I mean."

Albus's face relaxed. Clearly he'd been expecting something a little more troubling than the crushing weight of the opinions of hundreds of students in Hogwarts.

"I thought you didn't care what people thought of you," Albus said, turning to face him. Scorpius avoided his eyes, because meeting them was like being searched, and Albus was too good at that.

"I don't, not really. But..." he trailed off. "Don't you?"

"You're worried about what people are going to say about me?" Albus's voice was filled with so much confusion that Scorpius had to look up. His eyes were slightly wide, and his mouth was agape. At least he didn't look offended at the assumption, Scorpius supposed.

"Why wouldn't I be? Albus, can you imagine what people would say if they knew we were friends? What would your friends say?"

"Scorpius, if I dissected every possible rumour that could form about me before doing something, I wouldn't be able to breathe freely." Albus responded.

"This is different," Scorpius said quietly.

"How?"

"Albus, your dad is Harry Potter."

"Oh, really? I always wondered who I got my eyes from."

"I mean it," Scorpius sighed. "If people knew that Harry Potter's son was friends with a Malfoy..."

"They would be shocked for a couple of days, of course. Within a week, they'd be set on the next scandal."

"Do you really think so?"

Albus paused for a moment too long before responding. "Yes."

———

i honestly didn't think this would be so slow burn when I started writing. anyway, the story's almost over. hope you like the next, and last, chapter!

- gxldensnitched <3