Must Have Done Something Right / Scorbus

Chapter 6 / Getting Both Heads in the Game

Whenever Claire and Andrea sat together in an isolated corner, heads together and furiously whispering, Scorpius knew they were up to something. More often than not, he would later live to regret asking what.
"What are you up to?" Scorpius asked despite himself, approaching them with caution.
"Nothing," Claire smiled sweetly, but Scorpius was having none of it.
"It's not nothing," Scorpius said, "Come on, tell me...whose going out with whom...who lost their virginity...who bought a new dress." He ticked each off with his fingers, pointing out the most obvious and most scandalous options first.
Andrea rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Scorpius. That's not all we talk about," she said indignantly.
Scorpius looked at her. "Humour me, what were you talking about if not the usual gossip? Was it your History of Magic essay? Can't be, seeing as neither of you have started. Could it be that new potions discovery articled in the Prophet? Or perhaps you're debating on the Goblin Rights Act of 1683?" Scorpius drawled, not believing for a second that any of the above could be true.
Claire wore a dumbfounded expression, as she scrunched her face to figure out why Scorpius would be mentioning Goblin Rights Act to her of all people.
Andrea sighed impatiently. "Are you quite finished?"
Scorpius smirked.
"We were actually talking about ... where the best place to study would be," Andrea said, ignoring the puzzled face Claire was giving her.
"Really?" Scorpius asked dubiously, not buying it.
"Yes, in fact, we've just thought that on a beautiful day such as this, wouldn't it be marvellous to go outside and study?" Andrea asked.
Claire suddenly nodded in enthusiasm, as if she just realised what Andrea was saying.
Scorpius stood unsure. "Why? What's outside?"
Andrea huffed. "Well, the sun for one thing. Come on, Scorpius," she insisted. "Let's all go outside and study."
Claire was already standing up and gathering her bag, and Scorpius, with little choice, followed.
Exiting the Entrance Hall, Scorpius realised that Andrea was right. The weather was just right and the sun was just beginning its downward slope, signalling dusk. Scorpius began to head directly for the vine-covered courtyards, sure that this was where the girls meant, but they called him on and they continued walking—passed the courtyards, passed the greenhouses, down towards the Quidditch pitch. Scorpius was highly confused but remained quiet, thinking that if this was what it took to get some study done, then he would go along with it.
Andrea and Claire finally stopped about half-way down the grassy hill that led to the pitch, and the three sat down and began to extract their books. Scorpius couldn't help but notice little figures zooming around on the pitch, clearly in the middle of Quidditch practice. The green-coloured blurs of the students indicated that it was the Slytherin team. The blonde-haired wizard turned slowly towards his friends.
"Do you mean to tell me you led me all this way to study when all you're planning to do is perve on the boys and gossip some more?" Scorpius said crossly. He also hadn't failed to realise than Albus Potter was right down there with them, but he thought it unwise to mention it to the girls.
Claire giggled. "Oh, Scorpius, live a little. So what if that's what we wanted to do?" she asked casually, her eyes glued to the practice session going on in front of them. "We're three teenagers, sitting here and watching seven highly fit males practicing their sport. Now tell me which part of that is so disagreeable?"
Scorpius sighed. "But it's just so ... it's not right. We should be studying."
"Oh, hush, you," Andrea said firmly.
Scorpius shut his mouth and fell back on the grass. "This is wrong," he mumbled, before pulling his book up and holding it directly over his upturned face, trying to make it seem like he wasn't interested.
The annoying part, Scorpius thought over the shameless giggles of his two friends, was that he was interested. To be able to secretly ogle some of the finer specimens the Hogwarts could offer—even if they were students who despised him—was a chance that rarely presented itself. Add to it his curious recent obsession with Potter, and Scorpius was itching to lower his book, sit upright and watch the boys as eagerly as Claire and Andrea were doing right now. Still, it was the principle of the matter.
"Oh my, look at that skill. He really knows how to handle his broom," Andrea said in a hushed tone.
Scorpius clenched his teeth but resisted the urge to sit up.
"Look at how fast he's going! And so aggressive," Claire said dreamily.
His grip on his book went a little tighter.
"He looks positively edible in that uniform. It's tight in all the right places," Andrea giggled.
He scrunched his eyes shut.
"I wonder what he'd be like in bed," Claire whispered.
"That's it!" Scorpius shot up. "That's it! Shut up, both of you." He sighed loudly and furiously. He looked at their innocently smiling faces and snapped, "That was certainly not necessary."
"Problem, Scorpius?" Andrea smiled.
He snarled in response, while the two girls chuckled and went back to their Quidditch-watching. Now that he had sat up, Scorpius found his eyes drawn to the players zooming around like flies, and without conscious thought, he found himself unable to look away from Potter, who flew higher than the rest, overseeing the play. He would occasionally call out orders, and although Scorpius couldn't hear them from this distance, he marvelled at the way his players obeyed him. That took power and authority, and Potter had that in spades. Scorpius watched as the black-haired captain flew, only half-heartedly looking for the Golden Snitch, appearing to be incredibly calm and cool and in control.
"He's looking good, isn't he?" Andrea asked in his ear.
Scorpius jumped. "What?"
"Potter," she said.
Scorpius frowned. "I don't know ... I hadn't noticed," he lied, keeping his gaze purposefully off Potter.

He sensed Andrea becoming suddenly a lot more serious. And in a quiet murmur she said, "Scorpius, there's nothing wrong with what happened, you know. You find Potter attractive, is that such a terrible thing?"
Scorpius flushed again. "I don't find him attractive," he denied.
"Alright, alright," Andrea placated.
Claire chuckled and placed a comforting hand on Scorpius' shoulder. "If you don't want to admit it to us, that's fine. But in the privacy of your mind, don't hate yourself for it," Claire said, far more wisely than anything that had ever come from her mouth.
Scorpius looked at her strangely. "Who are you, and what have you done with Claire?"
The girls laughed and Scorpius felt a smile shape his face.
After a while, he said, "Look, in all honesty, please don't ever mention this to anyone," he asked.
Andrea smiled. "You have our word."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Perched on his Nova, above the rest of his team, Albus had a good view of their practice session and their small mistakes. Occasionally, he would them up on some.
"Oi! Dennison! Bring your bat around to full swing. Gives you more momentum!" He yelled to one of his Beater's who hadn't hit the Bludger with the full force he could have.
He spotted Raymond Peters, one his Chasers, stubbornly refusing to give away the Quaffle. "Peters! It's a team sport. Pass it to Rockwell!"
All in all, though, practice was going fairly well. Half way through, something caught his attention though: three figures sitting on the slopes, watching them. His first thought was that they were spies. Maybe James had sent a few Gryffindors to find out their newest tactics? But then he saw that one of them had the unmistakable hair of Malfoy, and he calmed down a bit. Still, what were they doing watching them?
Albus shrugged. Either way, they weren't threats, and they weren't harming anyone by being there.
Even so, for the rest of practice, Albus realised he wasn't flying as best he could. He kept getting distracted by the thought of Malfoy watching him. Why, he didn't know. Albus was watching them as well, out of the corner of his eye, unable to draw his gaze away from that hair. He remembered that morning where Lily had greeted Scorpius amiably, and once again, he couldn't fathom when and why they had suddenly become acquaintances.
"Potter!" Albus jolted on his broom and looked down to see Matt waving at him. "Get your head in the game!"
Albus scolded himself for being distracted, and with one last look at Malfoy, he continued his job as Captain.