Ice and Emeralds (A Scorbus Story)

- Chapter Ten -

Scorpius was once again reading his novel. Albus lay sprawled out across the foot of his bed, lazily drawing swirls of white smoke in the air with his wand. Scorpius knew they should have been revising for their O.W.L.s, but neither of them felt up to that task today.

Nearly three weeks had passed since he had broken up with Rose. These had been some of the best weeks of Scorpius's life. The student body of Hogwarts seemed to respond positively to his new relationship with Albus. Though the two of them got quite a few people staring, pointing, and whispering to their friends when they passed, Scorpius never hesitated to hold his boyfriend's hand in the corridors or kiss him in public.

Overall, both the students and the teachers seemed to think they were a good couple. Professor McGonagall actually beamed whenever she saw them together. Lily scolded Scorpius harshly for breaking Rose's heart, but secretly admitted she thought he was much better paired with Albus. James couldn't make enough jokes about how Scorpius had dumped Rose for a boy and Hugo seemed entirely disinterested in the whole affair.

Rose had become very quiet. She didn't laugh loudly at dinner or holler to her friends in the corridors like she used to. When she smiled, the joy didn't quite reach her eyes anymore. Lily said she heard her crying in the dormitories or the girls' bathrooms. Scorpius felt a horrible stab of guilt whenever he saw her. He made an effort not to kiss Albus in front of her. There was no need to rub it in. Her heart was broken and he was very sorry. Her charm bracelet sat in the drawer of his bedside table, cold as ever.

The Slytherins weren't all that surprised at the news that Scorpius was dating Albus. They seemed to accept the fact without much uproar. They knew the two of them were always close. This was just the inevitable finally happening. Even Heiress grew warmer towards Scorpius once he made his feelings clear to Rose.

Things with Albus were perfect. He couldn't look at him without feeling a swooping surge of affection. They were spending nearly all their time together in the library, the common room, or the dorm, just enjoying each others' company. Now that they had finally accepted the way they felt about each other, everything became easier. It was like the two of them had overcome some great obstacle in their relationship and they had finally found where they were meant to be: in each other's arms. The Sun and the stars shone a little brighter now that they were together, but maybe Scorpius was just being poetic.

"I'm bored," Albus muttered distractedly. "Let's play some chess."

"Good idea," Scorpius said, his weary eyes wanting a break from the words printed on the pages.

He stood up and began to rummage under his bed for the chess board when his fingers felt something that wasn't a dust bunny or a stray sock. Scorpius withdrew a letter. He realized with a jolt that it was the letter Noah had been trying to give him the day he and Albus had made their relationship public. It was addressed to him in his father's neat cursive. Scorpius swore softly under his breath and tore the envelope open.

"What's that?" Albus asked, rolling over onto his stomach to read the letter upside down.

"A letter from my father," Scorpius muttered. "I totally forgot about it. He sent it to me weeks ago."

He hastily unfolded the letter.

Dear Scorpius,

You didn't reply to my last letter. I hope this one reaches you okay. How are you doing? How's Albus? I'm sure you're very busy revising for your exams. I hope you're getting enough sleep and drinking plenty of water. Make sure you take time off just to rest. You

have a habit of working too hard.

I've gotten an update on the new arrival. Everything's going very well. We might be expecting it a little sooner than anticipated, but it'll be okay. Don't you worry.