Must Have Done Something Right / Scorbus

Chapter 9 / Apologising to Scorpius 102

As loathe as he was to admit it, Scorpius knew he wasn't paying full attention to Professor Vector and the number charts posted up at the front on the classroom. Not that he wasn't trying. Scorpius had his quill in hand, occasionally writing things that the Professor was saying, but after ten minutes, he looked down at his page and found he had written: Sum of your name numerical magic charts that Greeks used this method often a way to predicting future subtle. He squinted, but whichever way he looked at it, he found it didn't make any sense to him.
Frowning, he tried to concentrate harder, but he found that Professor Vector's voice was drowned by the whispers and giggles behind him. Scorpius didn't need to turn around to know that at least two members of the Slytherin Quidditch team were talking about him, and he valiantly tried to ignore it.
But he couldn't when they deliberately raised their whispers a fraction. Scorpius knew that they wanted him to hear, while the Professor happily carried on the lesson, oblivious.
"...he actually cried..." one of them was saying.
"...such a girl..." the second replied.
"Why doesn't he just leave the school? Everyone hates him," the first voice hissed.
"He may be good for something," the second said darkly. "I mean, he is a faggot."
"And?"
"He probably sucks cock like a Knockturn Alley whore," he said.
Scorpius' breath hitched as he froze. Why couldn't they just stop? Why couldn't they leave him alone? His grip on his quill slackened and he found he felt weak in his arms.
"Maybe I can get him to suck mine?" the first voice hissed loudly. "I bet he'd love nothing more. The fag's probably gagging for it."
A hot flush swept through Scorpius and he felt tears prickle in his eyes. Squeezing his eyes to prevent any of the tears escaping, Scorpius hoped the lesson would end soon. A glance at the clock revealed that there was still twenty minutes of the period, and Scorpius was about to raise his arm and ask to be excused to the bathroom. He stopped, however, when there was a thudding at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in!" Professor Vector cried.
Scorpius, along with the rest of the class, turned to see the door creak open to reveal Albus Potter.
Scorpius frowned in confusion and stared at the newcomer while hastily wiping his face to remove any trace of his reaction to what the boys behind him were saying.
"Sorry, Professor," Potter said as he stepped into the edge of the room. Scorpius saw him eye the classroom warily, his gaze stopping first on his Quidditch friends behind Scorpius, and then on Scorpius himself. Potter took a breath as if steadying himself for something big, then said. "I was wondering if I could have a word with Malfoy."
Whatever Potter was going to say, Scorpius did not expect it to be that. He blinked at Potter.
"What?" the Quidditch boys behind him asked stupidly and Scorpius felt tempted to ask the same thing.
Professor Vector, seemingly unaware of the absurd happenings, nodded jovially and turned back to the lesson. Scorpius wasn't sure whether this was the cue for him to stand or what. He turned back to Potter and saw him waving to come with him.
Confused out of his wits, Scorpius stood despite himself and amidst threatening hisses from behind him and curious glances from every other student in the class, he followed Potter outside.
When the door to the classroom was shut behind them he turned to ask Potter what this was all about but he was stopped when the other boy blurted, "I'm sorry."
Scorpius stared at him. "Don't worry; the lesson wasn't that interesting anyway," he said, confused.
Potter shook his head. "No, not the lesson. I don't care about ... I meant, about you," he said frantically.
"What?\""
Potter swallowed and paused for a moment, realising that he wasn't making much sense. "Look, Malfoy, I'm sorry for everything."
"I don't—"
Potter rushed on. "Ten minutes ago, I was just sitting by the lake, thinking about you—" (Scorpius blushed furiously) "—and I realised what a ... what a prat I've been. I have been such a horrible person ... and I needed you to know that I know that now," he said, staring straight at him.
Scorpius found himself drowning in Potter's eyes, unable to breathe, let alone respond.
Potter said again, "I don't understand why'd you'd want to talk to me or hang out with me, and I know you have every reason to hate me, but if you're willing ... I want to be about to do those sorts of things now... you and me..." he trailed off, looking determinately at the ground.
Scorpius forced himself to remember how to breathe. He took a look at Potter's downturned face, at his bitten bottom lip, and the lines etched across his forehead—a testament to his worry. Then he realised that guilt was eating this boy up.
"Potter ..." Scorpius said quietly in the deserted corridor. But he didn't look up, so he tried, "Albus." Green eyes looked up in alarm, and Scorpius turned the word 'Albus' in his head, trying it out, and finding that he liked his first name. "You've done nothing wrong—"
Albus shook his head adamantly. "No, don't say that. I have done something wrong. Hell, I've done many things wrong ... and I'm only just realising it now ..."
"Then I forgive you," Scorpius said, keeping his gaze locked onto Albus' and feeling a stirring in his stomach that he knew shouldn't be there, but he revelled in it anyway.
Hope, a small ray of it, shone through Albus' eyes. "You forgive me?" he asked, unsure.
Scorpius nodded slowly and clearly, not letting his eyes escape Albus'. "Yeah ... I mean, that's what friends do," he said, inwardly wincing and automatically thinking that perhaps he had gone too far to assume that that's what they were.
He actually breathed a sigh of relief when Albus' mouth twitched upward. "Yeah, friends," he breathed out, and Scorpius felt himself melt a little at Albus Potter's sideways smile.
Scorpius thought he could have happily remained there all day staring at the boy who had effectively captivated his heart, but the danger was that he would actually begin to get aroused over it, so he quickly and awkwardly coughed in the silence.
This jolted Albus. "You should probably get back..." he said briefly, waving his hand in the direction of the classroom door. "I'm sorry I interrupted the lesson, I just ... you know ...yeah," he stammered awkwardly, running an agitated hand through his black locks, making his hair look somewhat electrified. Scorpius thought that was one of the most adorable things he's ever seen.
"Yeah," he replied, moving towards the door. But before he opened it, Scorpius said, "You know you're going to have to explain some things to your team mates later on."
Albus looked at him, "Yeah I know ... I haven't thought about that part yet."
Scorpius tried not to let himself be upset as he thought about the other side of Albus' life, full of people who hated him, and of one other person who Scorpius wasn't too fond of either: his girlfriend. Angrily, he shook the thought away; he didn't want anything ruining this moment. He turned back to the door and grasped the handle.
"See you later, Malfoy," Albus said.
"One more thing," the blond said. "Call me Scorpius."
He had a final fleeting glance of Albus' wide smile, and shining green eyes, before he opened the door and walked back inside, his heart pounding furiously.
Quietly, he walked back to his desk, thinking of Albus' smile and the way it makes him feel like jelly. The lesson continued on as normal. Professor Vector droned on and on about the ancient Greeks and their charts, and the boys behind him picked up where they left off and began to hurl whispered insults at Scorpius.
But for a reason that Scorpius knew very well was due to one Albus Potter, he found that he didn't care much about them now. He picked up his quill and jotted down some sentences. This time, ones that made sense.
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Mel cancelled their study session that was scheduled for that night, telling Scorpius that she desperately needed to see Albus about something. Silently fuming that she was with Albus and he wasn't, Scorpius told her that it was alright with him, and headed off to the library. Just because she couldn't make it, it didn't mean he shouldn't do some work on their assignment. So he found himself alone in the library, sitting at a massive desk littered with Potions books of all kinds, researching.
His solitude was soon interrupted.
"Hey Scorpius," Lily smiled widely as she invited herself over to his table.
Scorpius hastily moved some books around to make some room for her. "Sorry about the mess," he muttered.
"Oh that's no problem," she said. "Working on the assignment again?"
Scorpius nodded.
"Where's Mel, then?" she asked, looking around for the brunette.
"She couldn't make it," Scorpius said. "She's actually with your brother." He tried to make his voice sound neutral as he said so; hoping Lily didn't pick up the hint of anger in his tone.
"Three guesses on what they're doing," Lily said as she shuddered. "Urgh ... the very thought."
Scorpius froze at that, and then, totally unbidden, horrifying images of what Lily was hinting at infiltrated his mind ... of Albus and Mel ... together...
Scorpius saw red. "Oh, that's disgusting. She wouldn't really skip a study session to ... you know?" He asked her, hoping against hope that her answer was no. He had thought Albus and Mel were merely chatting or taking a walk. The notion that they could be doing ...other things never occurred to Scorpius, and suddenly he realised how stupid he could be. Albus was a red-blooded teenager who was straight and had a girlfriend. Of course he was going to be shagging her. Scorpius was suddenly very jealous.
"I don't know," Lily said dubiously. "Wouldn't put it past them. Honestly, sometimes they make me sick. Especially when she comes over and all they can do is stare at each other and make love with their eyes. Ew! I'm glad you're coming this Christmas ... that's still on, isn't it? You said you were going to come," Lily gushed out, looking at Scorpius through puppy dog eyes.
To tell the truth, Scorpius had actually forgotten about that. But now he was more determined than ever to go to the Potters' this Christmas.
"I'll have to check with my parents, of course," Scorpius said, not looking forward to trying to convince his father on letting him stay with Harry Potter's family, of all people, during the break. "But I'd love to come," he said truthfully.
Lily lit up. "At least this time when Mel and Albus go off, I can hang out with you!"
Scorpius couldn't help but smile along to Lily's enthusiasm, even if the thought of Albus and Mel together made him feel extremely queasy.