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Chapter Text

Scorpius jumps towards Albus, putting both his arms around the boy as tight as possible. The Time-Turner's ticking gets louder and louder and then there's a  crescendo in the ticking and a bright flash. Albus screams in agony as both boys find their grounds again. Scorpius quickly takes a step back, holding Albus' arm.

'Albus! Did it hurt you?' he says as he searches Albus' face for any injuries. 'Albus are you-'

'What happened?' Albus grumbles.

'There must be some limit - the Time-Turner must have some kind of time limit...'

'Do you think we've done it? Do you think we've changed anything?'

Scorpius looks around, his hand still tightly holding on to Albus. There's loud footsteps and Scorpius quickly puts his arm around Albus, ready to throw himself between his hurting best friend and whatever is coming their way. But his eyes catch sight of Harry Potter, followed by Ginny and Ron. He quickly slips the Time-Turner in his pocket, out of sight of the adults. He hears Albus whimper next to him as he also catches sight of the grown-ups running towards them.

'I told you. I told you I saw them!' Ron says as he looks at both boys.

'I think we're about to find out,' Scorpius whispers into Albus' ear, but then his eyes catch sight of his father and he lowers his gaze.

'Hello, Dad. Is something wrong?' Albus asks as he takes a step away from his friend.

Scorpius arm falls back to his side as he looks at Harry approaching his son. He clenches his jaw, remembering what Harry had said to Albus earlier. Albus' voice ringing in his mind as he told Scorpius his father had said he sometimes wishes he wasn't his son. The hurt look on Albus' face as he tried to brush it off as just something his father said, but Scorpius could see right through his best friend. He knew Albus too well and he could see, with just one look at his face, that it hurt him more than he would probably ever admit. 

'Yes. You could say that,' Harry answers, his face full of disbelief.

Scorpius opens his mouth to say something, but Albus collapses to the floor. Scorpius is the first one to throw himself on the ground next to his best friend. He calls out Albus' name, but there's no response. He takes his face in his hands before he searches the rest of his body again for injuries. When he pulls his hands back they're red. Red from Albus' blood.

'He's hurt!' Scorpius yells at the adults. 'He's hurt. He needs help.' Two hands grab onto his shoulders as Harry kneels down next to his son. 'What are you sitting there for?' he yells at Harry. 'We need to get him to the Hospital Wing as soon as possible.' He fights the two hands on his shoulders as they try to pull him away from Albus.

'Scorpius, come on!' his father's voice is loud and stern, he flinches but he has no intention of listening to him. 'Let them help Albus.'

'I can help him,' Scorpius says, his voice breaking at the sight of his best friend in pain. The pale look of his face, the blood on Scorpius' hands. His heart breaking at the sight of how small Albus looked.  

'Scorpius,' a softer voice sounds in his ear and when he looks up Ginny is right next to him. She has her arm around his shoulders as she pulls him closer to her. 'Come on, sweetheart. Harry and Ron will bring him to the Castle. He will be fine. Come with me.'

He nods as he watches Harry pick up his son. He runs back to the Castle with Ron following right behind him. He looks back down at his blood stained hands and he lets out a soft cry. He didn't know it would end this badly. He knew it was a bad idea to go back in time, to try and safe Cedric, but he didn't know it would end up with Albus hurt. If he had known this, he would have done everything he could to stop Albus from going through with this plan.

'We need to get you to the Hospital Wing as well,' Ginny says as she takes out her wand. She points it at Scorpius' hands. 'Tergeo,' she whispers and the blood disappears from his hands. 'Let's get you checked out as well, okay?'

Scorpius nods and he lets Ginny pull him up from the ground. With her arm around his shoulders she pulls him in as they walk back to the castle. She presses a soft kiss on the crown of his head. She has no idea just how much that means to him and he can just cry at the warm feeling it gives him. He can't help but lean into her, finding comfort in her embrace. Something he hasn't felt since his mother had passed away. Something he desperately needs.

'Scorpius?' he hears his father's voice and he looks up from the book in his hands. He has been sitting next to Albus' bed ever since they came back to the castle, after an hour of begging Madam Pomfrey to please let him. She had said he could sit down next to him as long as he stayed quiet. Ever since then he's been sitting quietly beside him, occasionally glancing up from his book to look at his best friend resting. He looks peaceful. He puts a finger to his lips, telling his father to be quiet as he closes his book. He gestures to the doors and follows his father out. Harry walks up to the duo, probably making his way to the Hospital Wing to check on his son. Scorpius forces himself to smile at the raven-haired man as he greets both Malfoy's. 

'How has he been?' Harry asks.

'He's still sleeping, but he looks peaceful. It's a good thing to see after seeing him so sad lately. I'm sure you would agree with that,' Scorpius didn't mean to sound snappy, but he couldn't help it.

Draco put his hand on Scorpius' shoulder. 'I'm just going to talk to my son for a bit. I will meet up with you all later,' he says to Harry who has his eyes fixed on Scorpius, thinking about what he had just said, before nodding at Draco.

Harry walks through the doors of the Hospital Wing as Draco turns back to his son. 'What happened?'

Scorpius looks at his shoes, avoiding his father's eye contact. 'What do you mean, what happened?'

Draco sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. 'Scorpius, look at me when I'm talking to you.'

Scorpius meets his father's eyes as he looks up from under his eyelashes. His hands twitching at his sides and his jaw is clenched, preparing himself for an outburst from his father.

'What happened? What were you both thinking when you were jumping from that train and disappeared? And then turning up outside of Hogwarts with Durmstang robes? What were you boys thinking?'

'I don't think we were really thinking,' Scorpius says with emphasis on the word "thinking". 'We didn't want to come to school. We thought we could go to the Muggle world, start again. Albus having those struggles with his father. Me because of what happened to-' his voice trails off as he thinks of his mother and maintaining eye-contact with his father is almost unbearable. Because the only thing he sees when looking at his father is the loss he's feeling for his wife. His Astoria. The only thing he can think of is how happy those eyes were whenever his mother was around. But he has no idea if in this timeline his mother had also gotten sick. A silent hope is rising in his chest but the sadness in his father's eyes is enough confirmation for Scorpius. His mother did get sick in this timeline. His mother did die. He still lost her. He takes in a shaky breath, trying to keep himself steady. From breaking down in front of his father. He has no idea why he even let himself have that little spark of hope. Why he allowed that hope into his heart. He wraps his arms around his chest, trying to keep himself together. Trying to keep himself from running into the hospital wing, begging for Albus to wake up, to hold him as he cries.

'To your mother,' Draco finishes his sentence and Scorpius nods.

'We were coming back to Hogwarts when you found us,' Scorpius finishes off his story. The story Albus and he had come up with in case they were going to get caught.

'Scorpius, I-' his father sighs and this time he's the one to avoid eye contact. 'Scorpius, don't you ever do that again, okay? I was afraid something had happened to you.'

Scorpius frowns as his father looks back at him again. 'I thought you weren't afraid of anything.'

His father laughs softly at his son. 'Of course I'm afraid when it comes to you. You're my son. You're everything that I have and I don't want to lose you.'

Scorpius opens his mouth to say something, but he can't find the words so he closes it again. They look at each other for a moment. A silent moment where neither of them know what to say or what to do and Scorpius knows this is the best way to describe the relationship between his dad and him. They love each other unconditionally, but they both have no idea how to really express that to each other.

'Hey Scorpius,' a familiar voice sounds from behind him and Ginny walks up to the two of them. 'Draco, professor McGonagall asked me to look for you. She'd like to talk to us for a moment.' She puts her hand on Scorpius' shoulder as she smiles at his father.

Draco nods and turns back to his son. 'I'll be back to say my goodbyes before we have to leave the school again, okay?'

'I'll be right behind you,' she says when Draco turns and walks away, before turning towards Scorpius. 'How are you holding up, sweetheart?'

'I'm doing alright, just worried about Albus. That's all. I'm sorry that we made you go through all of this,' he mumbles.

'I wasn't talking about the situation right now. Don't worry about that, Albus will be fine. I'm talking about how you are holding up considering your mother's passing and everything else that happened in the last few months.'

Scorpius shrugs. 'I'm okay. I just-' he swallows the lump in his throat. 'I just miss her sometimes and I-' his voice breaks and before he knows it he's in Ginny's arms. He eases into her touch. Welcoming her embrace and her warmth. It feels good, it feels comforting and it's exactly what he needs right now. His mother always knew exactly what he needed and when he needed it and Ginny seems to know that as well. Albus definitely looks more like his mother and he's sure it will bring a smile to his face when Scorpius tells him that. When Albus wakes up and Scorpius can go keep him company.

'I'm going to meet up with your father and Professor McGonagall again. Keep your head up, sweetheart. Know that you can always send me a letter if there's anything that I can do, okay?' she takes Scorpius' face in her hands and brushes his cheekbones with her thumbs. 'I'm only one owl away.'

Scorpius smiles at her and nods gratefully. 'Thank you, mrs Weasley.'

'Call me Ginny,' she presses a soft kiss on the crown of his head before she turns to walk away. He looks after her before slumping down on one of the benches in the hall, to wait for Albus to wake up again.

Scorpius looks down at his hands, hands that were covered with Albus' blood. He takes in a shaky breath as he balls his hands up in fists, trying not to think of the wet and sticky feeling and the panic he had felt when he saw Albus fall to the floor, unconscious. The doors of the Hospital Wing open  and Scorpius jumps. He looks up as two raven-haired men walk out. One taller than the other. 

'Albus? You're okay,' Scorpius sighs in relief, feeling a heavy weight falling off his shoulders. 'That's fantastic.'

But instead of Albus, it's Harry who replies. 'He's completely cured. And we've got to go.'

Albus looks up at Scorpius. When their eyes lock, Scorpius sees sadness in his best friends eyes. Sadness he can't place, but before he can ask about it, Albus walks on. Scorpius quickly catches up to him, gently grabbing his arm to stop him.

'Are you mad at me?' Scorpius whispers. 'What's going on?'

Albus turns around.  His eyes look at Scorpius' hand around his arm before their eyes meet again. Scorpius knows Albus can see the panic in his eyes. He knows he can see his hand twitching at his sides, his breathing getting heavier. Just like Scorpius can see the hurt in Albus' eyes. He leans in closer to Scorpius.

'Did it work?' Albus asks in a low voice. 'Did any of it work?'

'No,' Scorpius shakes his head. 'But, Albus-'

'Albus!' Harry cuts Scorpius off. Both boys flinch and step away from each other at the booming sound of Harry's voice. Harry fixes Scorpius with a stern look before turning to his son. 'Whatever gibberish you're talking, you need to stop it, now. This is your final warning.'

Albus' eyes dart between his father and his best friend. 'Albus,' Scorpius voice is full of hurt. He wants to close the space between him and Albus, he wants to grab his hand, ask him what's going on and tell him about the fact that in this timeline his mother was still dead, but Albus shakes his head as soon as he sees Scorpius move back towards him. 'My mum-'

'I can't, okay?'

'You can't what?' Scorpius voice breaks as his eyes search Albus' face for answers. For anything. But there's nothing. His expression is blank.

'Just- we'll be better off without each other, okay?'

Albus quickly turns around and walks away. Harry gives Scorpius one last look, a warning, but Scorpius doesn't see it. The only thing he sees is his best friend turning his back on him, literally. The only thing he sees is his best friend, his only friend, walk away from him.

And then Scorpius is alone.

He has no idea what just happened. What he did that caused Albus not wanting to talk to him. That he can't talk to him. He opens and closes his hands, stretching his fingers and balling them in fists again. Trying to stop them from shaking, but it's no use. He has no idea how much time passes as he stands there, his eyes never leaving the corner Albus rounded. The only person he had and the only person he needs right now.                                             

'Scorpius?' his father's voice calls out to him.

He needs to steady himself before turning around to face his father. 'Yes, dad?'

'Are you okay?' Draco asks him as he takes a step closer to his son, a worried frown on his face.

Scorpius nods. 'Yes, I'm okay, dad. Are you leaving again?'

'I am, but if you need me to stay any longer, I will stay.'

Scorpius knows that his father is aware that he's lying. That he's faking being alright. But Scorpius also knows that he wouldn't know what to say or do if he'd tell his father that his heart has been broken by his best friend. Scorpius shakes his head. 'No, I'll be fine. Thank you.' He forces a smile on his face, desperately trying to hold in the tears fighting their way to the surface. 'I will make sure to write to you in the next few days. Bye dad.'

He clenches his jaw when he turns away from his father and quickly walks towards the Dungeons, leaving his father behind. He hopes to catch Albus there, on his own, when his parents leave again. To ask what just happened. All he knows is that watching his best friend walking away from him left his heart in pieces.

Scorpius walks into the Slytherin common room. Looking around, trying to find Albus in the swarm of faces. A swarm of faces that is looking right at him. He can hear whispers, people talking about him and Albus, he hears them talking about the Hogwarts Express. Which means they all know what happened and what Albus and Scorpius did. Except for the time travelling. He wraps his hand around the Time-Turner in his pocket and storms off towards the staircase leading up to the dorms. He closes the door behind him, leaning his head against the cold wood. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath he has been holding ever since he arrived in the common room. Albus, he was looking for Albus. He runs towards the bed that's on the left of his own. A frown appears on his face as soon as his eyes find the trunk standing in front of the bed. It's not carved with Albus' initials. There's no A S P on the trunk. He falls to his knees and opens it but as he goes through the stuff in the trunk, he doesn't recognize anything. He doesn't see Albus' Weasley sweater that he always takes with him, because he knows Scorpius loves wearing that during study sessions, no hidden sweets that his grandmother gives him when his mother isn't watching. None of the books on Potions and Herbology that Scorpius got Albus in the Summer, as a present because he knows how much Albus loves to read about the subjects. Nothing. The door behind him opens and someone yells his name. 

'Malfoy! Get your hands out of my trunk!'

Scorpius tumbles backwards as he tries to get away from the trunk as fast as possible. A blonde haired boy closes the lid and looks down at Scorpius, his face scrunched up in anger. He has never seen this boy in the Slytherin common room before. He is definitely not one of the boys that Scorpius and Albus share a dorm with.

'Where's Albus?' Scorpius whispers.

'You need to speak up, Malfoy. Otherwise I won't hear you,' the boy grunts.

'Where's Albus? Has he come back to the common room already? Have you seen him?'

'Albus?' the blonde boy looks confused. 'Albus Potter? Did you fall on your head when you jumped off that bloody train? Albus Potter is in Gryffindor. If I catch you going through my stuff again, you're in serious trouble, Malfoy.' As the boy makes for the door again, he turns around to give Scorpius one last look. 'Weirdo.' he mumbles under his breath, loud enough for Scorpius to hear it.

The door closes but Scorpius doesn't get up from the floor. It's as if all his limbs are frozen in place, he can't move. He knew Cedric is still dead and they have failed. But he didn't stop to think that maybe other things would have changed. But Albus isn't in Slytherin and that was the second things they had changed by going back to the past. Albus is in Gryffindor. They're not in the same house. They don't share a dorm room. He is not here.

Scorpius sits up in bed. Gasping for air, his whole body shaking, trying to get his long limbs out of his blanket. 

His hands.

Blood.

He looks at his hands, expecting them to be red and sticky, just like in his nightmare. But they're clean.

There's no blood.

Albus.

He opens the curtains and trips as soon as he tries to get out of bed, his feet still stuck in his blanket. He groans as he falls to the wooden floor and a loud thud echoes through the dorm. Normally Albus would have been out of bed already. Albus always seems to know when Scorpius has a nightmare. Scorpius would wake up, gasping for air, bathing in his own sweat and his body shaking uncontrollably. Then Albus would jump out of his own bed and run over to his best friend. Helping him calm down, comfort him as he started crying and held him until he'd stop. But there is no movement from the bed to his left.

'Albus?' Scorpius cries out as he kicks away his blanket, tears streaming down his face. 'Albus?'

The curtains move slightly as movement comes from inside of it. Scorpius struggles to get up. His knees give out again and he falls back to the floor. The curtains open but instead of Albus sleepy face looking out, it is the blonde boy that had yelled at him earlier that day. His eyes half closed and full of sleep.

'Malfoy, can you stop? It's the middle of the night and-' his eyes find Scorpius, on the floor. 'Why the fuck are you on the floor? Are you crying?'

Scorpius shakes his head violently. 'I'm- I'm not,' he manages to get out as he wipes away the tears on his face. 'I'm not. Go back to sleep.'

'Just be fucking quiet already,' the blonde boy snaps. 'I'm getting sick and tired of your crying and whining in the middle of the fucking night. Just like everybody else.'

He closes his curtains again and Scorpius hears him fall back onto his mattress. Everybody was sick and tired of his crying and whining. Everybody. Scorpius manages to stand and stumbles to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind him before he collapses to the floor again. He pushes his back against the door as he hugs his legs to his chest, trying to keep his breathing steady. Trying to stop his head from spinning, his hands from shaking and trying to keep his sobs as quiet as possible. 

The next morning Scorpius walks into the Great Hall. His body hurts from sitting on the cold, hard floor. He had been sitting there for hours to calm himself down before he went back to his bed. He had hid under the blanket, scared to wake any of the other boys in his dorm. He now realized just how much he has been relying on Albus to be there for him, to comfort him when he needs it. How calming it is to have Albus by his side when he starts crying because he misses his mother or has another nightmare. How safe it feels when Albus hugs him to his chest to comfort him. But now it was just Scorpius and the dark, lonely night that surrounded him, not Albus' arms. 

He had considered staying up in his dorm room until classes started but he has to know for sure that Albus is okay. That Albus really is in Gryffindor. He looks over at the Gryffindor table, looking for the raven-haired boy. But Albus is nowhere to be found. He sighs as he turns back around, but he bumps into someone that was about to enter the Great Hall. He mumbles an apology as he keeps his head down and wants to pass the person quickly, to get out of here. But the voice saying it's alright, sounds all too familiar and when he looks up, he looks right into Albus' eyes. Both boys stand completely still, looking at each other, like the other is the only one in this huge hallway and for a moment Scorpius' heart seems to have stopped beating. He wants to reach out to Albus with his hand, to take his hand or to just touch his arm, but as soon as Albus notices he steps back. Away from Scorpius.

'Albus, you're really in Gryffindor,' Scorpius says, his eyes finding Albus' red and gold tie. 'And not in Slytherin anymore. Not with me.'

'Scorpius, I-'

'You can't, of course. You can't, Albus. But what can't you do?' Scorpius takes in a sharp breath when Albus' eyes grow distant. Just like last time, when he got out of the Hospital Wing with Harry, Scorpius feels his hands twitching at his sides. His breathing getting heavier and he can feel the anxiety blossoming inside of his chest, slowly spreading to the tips of his fingers and toes. His eyes never leaving Albus' eyes. Pleading, begging for him to stay. Begging for him to not walk away from him. Begging him to not leave him, like his mother.

'I can't talk to you. I can't be around you. I can't be seen with you,' Albus says and he looks away. 'I can't be friends with you.' A group of Gryffindors walk up to the Great Hall and Albus notices them. 'I have to go.' He walks past Scorpius, leaving him alone in the opening of the Great Hall.

'Move, Malfoy.' A Gryffindor pushes him out of the way into the doorframe and Scorpius lets him.

All he can think about is Albus. Albus' voice repeats everything he had just said inside of his head. He can't talk to Scorpius. He can't be around Scorpius. He can't be seen with Scorpius. But the thing that hurts the tall blonde the most is, he can't be his friend. Albus can't be his friend anymore. He gasps for air as it feels like all of it is being squeezed out of his lungs. His hands shake and his knees are getting weaker with every second he spends standing in the opening of the Great Hall.

He covers his mouth with his hand as he feels a wave of nausea coming up. Someone is calling out his name, but he has no time to see who it is. He runs into the first restroom he sees. His knees buckle as soon as he runs into the stall and he throws up. He can feel the tears he has been holding in since he got out of bed, make their way down his cheeks and his chest begins to heave from the sobs he has been pushing down. He falls back against the door of the stall and runs his fingers through his hair. He had lost his mother and now he has lost his best friend. Two of the most important people in his life, gone, just like that. He is alone again. Motherless. Friendless. Alone.  He's as alone as he was when he first got onto the Hogwarts Express, when he was on his way to the castle to start his first year.

He scrambles up from the floor as another wave of nausea comes up. He takes in a shaky breath as he tries to control the heaving of his chest. He has no idea how he's going to survive Hogwarts without Albus by his side. He has no idea if he's going to survive Hogwarts at all, if he doesn't have the only person that accepted him for who he is on his side.

Dear dad,

It's me, Scorpius. Your son. I know it's only been two days since we last spoke to each other and I know I walked out on you without saying a proper goodbye and I'm sorry for that, dad. I know I told you I  was fine and I know you probably know that I was lying, I'm not that good of an actor. I think we both know that. But I just don't know what to do anymore, so that's why I'm writing to you. Also because I don't have anyone to talk to anymore, that kind of plays a big part as well. Albus won't speak to me anymore. He says he can't talk to me, he can't be seen with me and we can't be friends. I don't know what I did wrong, dad.

I know you told me to not mind the rumors. But it's hard to block out all the whispers and the people talking about it, calling me names. Especially now that I walk the hallways alone and Albus isn't there to block out the noise coming from them. When Albus and I were together we were able to keep each other away from those noises and those people. Albus has a complete different school timetable so we aren't in any classes together and as he doesn't want to be around me, it's just me. I know you tried to raise me to become a leader and I disappointed you into becoming a follower and I know I have always been an easy target for others because of that, but now that I'm alone, and our blonde hair is kind of an eye-catcher, I'm not that hard to miss. I know we usually don't really talk about these things but I guess I'm just writing you because I don't know what to do or how to fix this. I was hoping you'd have an answer or could maybe help me out a bit. I wish mum was here to tell me what to do.

Scorpius wipes away the tears on his cheek as he dips his quill in the ink once more to finish off the letter. Some of the ink has smudged from tears that have fallen down onto the parchment, but Scorpius doesn't feel like starting the letter all over again. This will have to do. He hears rustling behind him. He takes a second to collect himself, expecting for one of his bullies to be right behind him. But as soon as he looks up and around the library, there's nothing. He listens closely but there's no other sounds than the scratching of other students quills on their parchment and the rustling of pages being turned. A girl catches his eyes when she looks up and shoots him a weird look. He quickly averts his eyes, hiding behind his book again. His eyes must be red and puffy from the crying he has been doing the last hour and maybe the library wasn't the best place to come. But he didn't want to go back to the common room either, none of the Slytherin students would be waiting for him to join them there. He quietly collects all his stuff and heads off to get to the Owlery before it gets dark.

A group of Gryffindors standing outside the great doors of the Castle catch his attention.

'Have you heard? Potter cost us another 80 points during Defense Against the Dark Arts? Professor Granger went all in on him,' one of the Gryffindor boys says to the other three students.

'He's going to be the reason we will lose that bloody House Cup for sure.'

'Someone should teach him how to keep his mouth shut or he will lose every single point we have earned.'

'You should leave him alone,' Scorpius hisses at the group. Surprising the group of Gryffindors but mostly surprising himself.

'What did you just say, Malfoy?' the tallest of the group walks towards him.

'I said that you should leave Albus alone,' Scorpius says and he tries to make himself bigger by standing up straight and pushing his shoulders back. Trying to look like his dad whenever he is angry at someone. He knows he doesn't look like his dad at all, but that doesn't stop him from looking the tallest one directly in the eyes. 'Leave him alone.'

Laughter rings from the group of students as they look at each other. The tall boy pushes him and Scorpius stumbles backwards, his tough exterior washing away all at once.

'What are you going to do if we don't? It's not like you two hang out anymore. Everyone knows that you used to be the best of friends, inseparable. But we've heard the rumors. We know you're on your own now.'

'At least Albus is a Gryffindor,' another boy says as he comes up to Scorpius. 'You're a Slytherin ánd the son of Voldemort. What makes you think we won't kick your ass right here, right now for that useless threat?' The boy grabs the collar of Scorpius' green sweater and pushes him against the wall behind him, making him drop the letter he was holding.

'Oh!' a Gryffindor girl takes the envelop from the ground. 'What do we have here? A letter?'

Scorpius tries to push the boy holding onto his collar off of him, but it's no use. He just pushes Scorpius back into the wall as they laugh at his failed attempt to get the letter back.

'Let's see what this says,' the girl opens the letter and she starts reading. 'Dear dad-'

'Give that back, right now!' a strong voice sounds and it startles the group of Gryffindors.

Scorpius looks up and he sees Lily Potter standing in the opening of the doors.

'If you keep reading,' she points at the girl before pointing at the boy holding Scorpius' collar. 'And you don't get your hands off him right now, I will have no issue with hexing you all.' She walks towards the girl and Scorpius admires how much strength and authority she radiates. 'And I think you all know how good I am at that.' She snatches the letter and envelop out of the girl's hands and gives the boy near Scorpius a hard look.

He gives Scorpius a disgusted look before he lets go of his collar. 'Don't you ever dare threaten us again. It won't end well for you then, Malfoy.' He spits out his name as if he was something he absolutely despises and Scorpius flinches.

'Are you okay?' Lily's voice is soft. She runs up to Scorpius as soon as the group leaves. Her voice as soft as her mother's when he had just returned from time travelling. Lily really reminds him a lot of Ginny. And Albus. His heart aches. She carefully hands back the envelop and he takes it from her.

'Thank you so much, Lily.'

'Don't mention it. I've been looking for you and I'm just glad I found you,' she says and he gives her a confused look. ' I saw you in the Great Hall earlier and called out your name but you ran away. I've been meaning to talk to you ever since you both have been back from wherever you've been. Shall I walk with you to the Owlery?'

Scorpius nods and he grabs his bag off the floor before walking down the stairs with Lily on his side. He takes a deep breath, breathing in the fresh autumn air and tries to release some of the tension in his body.

'Scorpius, I just want you to know that I don't believe that stupid rumor. Not at all,' she says and she reaches out for his arm, but catches herself. 'Is it okay if I take your arm?' she asks. He nods and she gently takes Scorpius arm, linking hers into his.

He smiles at her and it's a genuine smile. One that he hasn't been able to get out ever since he and Albus had travelled back in time.

'I heard about you and Albus. I heard about what happened after Albus was released from the Hospital Wing and that my father has been quite rude. I think he's being unreasonable and I know Albus thinks the same.'

'I think he looks fine whenever I see him,' Scorpius mumbles.

'Oh Scorpius, my brother is a mess. He's miserable, I can see it whenever he's around. But most of the time he's hiding and I have no idea where that is, he avoids James and me as much as possible. He is really good at faking, you know? He does that all the time whenever he's at home and I feel like I'm the only one that has been seeing right through that mask. He won't tell me why he isn't talking to you anymore, but it must be something serious if it can keep him away from you. I told him that whatever it is, it's probably not worth throwing away his friendship with you. But he won't listen to me and he won't answer me. He's incredibly stubborn, just like my father.' Lily lets out a dramatic sigh and she shakes her head. 'I honestly don't understand the Potter men. They can't live with or without you. They're always bickering and fighting but at the same time they have this unconditional love for each other. But honestly, they're the worst at expressing that. Us Potter women? We are straight forward. What you see is what you get, I get that from my mother. Just like I get the rambling I'm doing right now from her, she does that when she's either nervous or when she's had too much sugar.'

'And what is the reason you're rambling right now?'

'Too much sugar. For sure,' she says and she giggles. 'I found James' secret stash of all the sweets he managed to steal from our home. He's remarkably easy to steal from and I'm just really good at sneaking around. You learn that when you have two older brothers. Because honestly if they notice you, you either get something thrown at your head,' Albus, Scorpius thinks. 'Or someone messes up your hair or just swings you around for absolutely no reason at all.. Oh Scorpius, I'm sorry if my rambling is annoying you.'

Scorpius smiles down at Lily. 'You're not annoying me at all. If there's anyone that's good at rambling, it's me. So to find someone who does that as well, is great. I've been mostly talking to myself these past few hours and I think I'm starting to understand why people find me annoying . It's good to have someone to talk to.'

Lily looks up at Scorpius and flashes him a big smile. One that is as bright as Albus' when he saw Scorpius walking up to him on September 1st, when they would see each other after a long vacation of being part. Or when Albus would walk into the common room and would see Scorpius waiting for him. Or when Scorpius would look across the classroom and catch Albus looking back at him.

'I know I'm not Albus,' Lily pulls him back to reality, probably seeing the way his face clouded when he started thinking of Albus. 'But if you want to we could have lunch together sometime? Or maybe just study?'

'I'd love that,' Scorpius says and she squeezes his arm before letting him go so he can send his letter off to his father.

He carefully hands the envelop to one of the owls and she nudges his hand. He pets her head softly before she spreads her wings and takes off with the letter. He watches her as she flies away until he can't see her anymore, before turning back to Lily.

'You know what's funny?' Scorpius says. 'Your mother once stood up to my father. She stood up against a Malfoy and here you are, standing up for a Malfoy, for me.' he points at himself and a slow smile erases the creases between his brows.

'My mother doesn't believe any of the rumors either,' she says as they look at each other. 'She adores you, you know that? She send me a letter, asking me about you. Asking about how you were doing and if I could keep an eye on you. You're not alone, Scorpius.' She gently takes his hand and squeezes it.

Chapter Text

'Dad?' Albus mumbles as he feels himself waking from his sleep, his father's voice sounds next to him. He's talking to someone.

'But I need your advice,' his father's voice sounds desperate. Albus has heard the tone in his voice before, when he begged Albus to listen to him, to not push his buttons. Albus groans, there's a dull ache in his arm when he tries to move it. He hisses through his teeth as he tries to sit up straight.

'Dad?' he calls out again. His father looks at him and then back at an empty portrait.

'No, where have you gone now?'

'We're in the hospital wing?' Albus looks around as he sits up against his pillow.

His father turns back around at him. He grabs one of the chairs and sits down next to Albus' bed. 'Yes. And you're- You will be fine. For recuperation, Madam  Pomfrey wasn't sure what to prescribe and said you should probably eat lots of chocolate,' he reaches out a piece of chocolate. Albus takes it from him and takes a small bite. 'Actually do you mind if I have some? I've got something to tell you and I don't think you'll like it.'

Albus looks at his dad, confused. What would he have to say to Albus? It surely couldn't be worse than the last time they were together. A chill runs through Albus' body when he thinks back of their last fight, in Albus' room. When his father told him he sometimes wishes he wasn't his son. 'Okay, I think,' his voice sounds small as he takes another bite of his chocolate. His father takes a bite from his chocolate. 'Better?'

'Much,' he says and then points at Albus, causing him to flinch away. If his father had noticed it, he does not show it. 'The arm, how does it feel?'

Albus flexes his arm, trying to keep a straight face when a shot of pain runs through it. 'It feels great.'

His father rubs his face with his hand and puts the chocolate down. 'Where did you go, Albus? I can't tell what it did to us. Your mum was worried sick.'

Albus felt a pang of guilt for the worry he has caused his mother. He looks down at the chunk of chocolate in his hands. 'We decided we didn't want to come to school. We thought we could start again, in the Muggle world, we discovered we were wrong. We were coming back to Hogwarts when you found us.'

'In Durmstrang robes?'

Albus eyes find the Durmstrang robes that were neatly folded and placed on another chair next to his bed. 'The robes were- The whole thing, Scorpius and I, we didn't think.'

'Why? Why did you run? Because of me? Because of what I said?'

Albus takes a deep breath, avoiding every eye contact with his father. 'I don't know. Hogwarts isn't actually that pleasant a place when you don't fit in,' and boy did he not fit in. His eyes are fluttering around the room, trying to find something else to focus on. Then they focus on a book on the bedside stand, together with a folded black sweater, Scorpius'. His heart jumps at the thought that Scorpius had been with him, sitting next to his bed, reading. He probably would have begged Madam Pomfrey to stay and she had said yes, because who could say no to those eyes?

'Has Scorpius been here? Is he okay?'

'And did Scorpius encourage you to go?' His father ignores his question as he stands up, looking down on his son.

Albus looks up at his father. A frown on his face at the sound of that question, confused. 'Scorpius? No!' Albus had been the one that convinced Scorpius to go with him. He had told him he couldn't do this without him, had begged him to come with him. He can feel himself grow uncomfortable under his father's gaze. It's almost like he's trying to look through Albus. 

'I need you to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy.'

Albus heart skips a beat. He can feel his blood run cold. He freezes for a minute, not knowing what to do or say, before he throws off the blanket and jumps out of bed. 'What? Scorpius?'

'I didn't know how you became friends in the first place, but you did and now I need you to-'

Albus cuts his father off, his eyes fierce when they meet Harry's concerned ones. 'My best friend? My only friend?'

'He's dangerous,' his father's voice grows louder.

'Scorpius? Dangerous?' Albus lets out a joyless laugh, shaking his head in disbelief at his father. At the fact that his father is convinced that Scorpius is dangerous. Scorpius, the boy that has stood by Albus' side through all these horrible years at Hogwarts. Scorpius, who has shown Albus what true friendship is. Scorpius, the kindest person he has ever met. 'Have you met him? Dad, if you honestly think he's the son of Voldemort-'

'I don't know what he is. I just know you need to stay away from him. Bane told me-'

Albus holds up his hand. 'Who's Bane?'

'A centaur with profound divination skills. He said there's a black cloud around you and-'

'A black cloud?' Albus can't believe what his father is saying. Growing more frustrated and angry with every word he speaks.

'And I have very good reason to believe that Dark Magic is in resurgence and I need to keep you safe from it. Safe from him. Safe from Scorpius.'

Albus can feel his breathing grow heavy at the thought of not having Scorpius by his side anymore. Scorpius and Albus always walk the hallways together, to block out all the noise from the students that talk about them or call them names. When bullies come up to them, they stand together. When he can't concentrate on his homework because his thoughts are all over the place, Scorpius helps him. Next to Scorpius, Albus feels stronger than he has ever felt. He can't possibly stay away from his best friend. His only friend. All he has left. He takes in a deep breath before he straightens his shoulders.

'And if I won't?' Albus' face strengthens. 'Stay away from him?'

His father looks at him, with a look of dissapointment. That his son would question him but would also dare to defy him. 'There's a map. It used to be used for those wanting to get up to no good. Now we're going to use it to keep an eye, a permanent eye, on you. Professor McGonagall will watch your every movement. Any time you are seen together, she'll come flying. Any time you attempt to leave Hogwarts, she'll fly. I expect you to go to your lessons, none of which you will now share with Scorpius, and between times, you will stay in the Gryffindor common room!' 

'You can't make me go into Gryffindor!' Albus screams at his father. 'I'm Slytherin!'

'Don't play games Albus,' his father points his finger at him, his face scrunched up in anger and Albus takes a step back. 'You know what house you're in. If she finds you with Scorpius. I will fix you with a spell. Which will allow me eyes and ears into your every movement, your every conversation. In the meantime, investigations will begin in my department as to his true heritage.'

'But Dad,' Albus can feel tears falling down his cheeks as he lets out a soft sob. 'You can't,' another sob. 'That's just not-' his voice breaks.

'I thought for a long time I wasn't a good enough dad for you because you didn't like me. It's only now I realize that I don't need you to like me.' Albus takes another step away from his father, scared of his father. 'I need you to obey me because I'm your dad and I do know better. I'm sorry, Albus. It has to be this way.'

Albus follows his father up the Grand Staircase. Trying to hold back the tears forming in his eyes by biting the inside of his cheek. Trying to resist the urge to punch the wall by balling his hands into fists, his nails digging in the palms of his hands. Scorpius' face is stuck in his mind. Before he can lose himself in his thoughts, his father stops in front of him. The portrait of the Gryffindor common room is in front of the two Potter men and they both look at it in silence before his father turns to him. He reaches out a hand to his son, but Albus flinches away from it. He clenches his jaw as he looks up at his father.

'I don't know the password so if you would be kind enough,' he spits out his words at his father. 'to tell me it. I can enter the common room and you can be on your way home again. Or the ministry, as you are so eager to go look into the heritage of an innocent boy.' The anger he has been trying to hold in all this time is almost too much for Albus to bear. He's afraid that if he spends another minute with his father, he won't be able to keep it in anymore.

'Albus,' his father's voice is low and angry. 'If you don't stop-'

'Dad,' Albus says. 'I don't want to talk anymore. I just want to go to bed. The password, please?'

But before his father can give it to him, the portrait swings open. Lily and James are standing in the opening, smiling sheepishly at their brother and father. Albus nods at them before he walks past them, into the Gryffindor common room, leaving the others behind. The red and gold of the room screaming at him. The light too bright. He has never been fond of the Slytherin common room as there were always students that he was trying to avoid. But right now, he misses it. He misses all the green, the sinister atmosphere caused by the lake above the common room, Scorpius. The common room is quiet, so it must be late and the students are probably up in their dorm rooms.   

'Albus?' James voice sounds from behind him and he jumps. 'Are you okay?'

Albus clears his throat as he turns to face his sibling. 'I'm fine. I'm just-'

His voice is cut off by Lily running up to him. She wraps her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. James quickly follows Lily's example, wrapping his arms around both his siblings, resting his head on Albus'. Albus hates how his first instinct is to move away, away from their touch, but he doesn't. He lets them hug him because they need it and maybe, he realizes then, he needs it as well.

'I'm really glad you're okay,' Lily's voice is muffled as her face is still buried in Albus' chest.

His siblings let him go again and he forces a smile on his face. 'I'm okay, thank you guys. I'm sorry I scared you like that. I never meant to do that to you two.'

James ruffles his hair and gives him a smile. 'As Lily just said, we're just really glad you're okay. We'll let you get some rest now.'

Albus nods at them, grateful that they don't ask him what happened or where he went. He looks around until he sees the staircase that probably lead to the dorms, panic blossoms up in his stomach. The dorm room. His new dorm room in Gryffindor. He bites down on his lip and balls his hands into fists. Most of his bullies were Gryffindor students. Everyone had always expected him to also be in Gryffindor and somehow those students thought that gave them a pass for teasing him that he's not. But now he is and he has no idea what the students are like towards him in this alternate universe. Will they be kind to him because he's a Gryffindor now? Is he still being bullied? The only thing he knew for sure was that his friendship with Scorpius was still real, the most real thing. But now he doesn't have that anymore and he's on his own. He will have to figure out this world on his own.

 Albus chugs the last of his coffee before pouring another cup. He has gotten no sleep during the night. He has been laying awake looking up at the ceiling of his bed. Thinking about how Scorpius was alone in the Slytherin dorm room now. Knowing he isn't there for Scorpius to wake him up when he's having a nightmare, to comfort him and get him to fall back asleep again, kept him awake. Every time he'd close his eyes, he'd see Scorpius.

'Why did I just see Scorpius running away?' Lily sits down oppose Albus and he drops his hands from his hair to look at her. 'Al, you look horrible. Have you had any sleep?'

'Thanks for that,' Albus mumbles as he takes another sip of his coffee. 'No, I haven't slept at all.'

He puts down the cup of coffee, pulling the sleeves of the black hoodie over his hands. The black sweater Scorpius had left on the bedside stand in the Hospital Wing. Albus had taken it with the intention of giving it back, but his father prevented that from happening. This was the closest he could now get to his best friend. 

'What's going on, Albus? Why are you here and Scorpius isn't? Why did he run away, crying? I called his name, but he didn't respond.'

Albus winces as he thinks of Scorpius crying. A soft whine escapes his lips as he buries his face in his hands. 'I can't talk about it, Lily.'

'Albus, something is going on and I don't know what it is, but Scorpius needs you right now.'

When Albus doesn't reply she grabs both his arms and pulls them away from his face.

'Do you hear what I'm saying?'

'I can't, okay?' he yells at her, pulling his arms out of her hands. 'I can't!'

He jumps up from the table, knocking his knees into the wood but he doesn't care. He storms out of the Great Hall, pushing past the students entering the Hall to get breakfast. He runs up the staircases and doesn't stop until he enters his dorm room. Closing the door with a loud bang and collapsing to the floor, his back against the door. He's panting from running all the way from the Great Hall. He leans his head against the cold wood as he closes his eyes. The hurt in his eyes, the panic that took over his body, the way his hands started twitching at his sides. The image of Scorpius is stuck in his mind and he is not sure if he can ever let that go. If it will ever go away. He has hurt his best friend, he has hurt him badly and it was all his fault. Albus runs his hands through his hair, pulling on the ends, trying to get his thoughts to stop. He can't think straight, his mind is a mess. His life is a mess. Everything is a mess and he doesn't know how to fix it. He feels like screaming, like punching a wall. His anger and his desperation growing with every minute he spends away from his best friend. But right now he has no idea just what his father is capable of. He never really thought he knew his father, but the man he saw in the hospital wing, that was not the man he expected him to be. He can't be seen around Scorpius or there will be consequences. Not just for him, but for Scorpius and he doesn't deserve that.

He has no idea how long he's been sitting on the floor of the Gryffindor dorm before he lifts his head. He has to know if Scorpius is alright and if they can't actually see him around Scorpius, they have no proof that he's been around him. Albus scrambles up from the floor, running towards the dorm room he saw James leave earlier this morning. He kneels down by James' trunk and shakes his head at how easy his combination is, way too easy. He rummages around the Gryffindor clothing before his hands find a silky smooth fabric. He pulls out his dad's invisibility cloaks and disappears under it.

As he walks out of the common room, he makes sure all of his body is covered with the cloak and he doesn't walk into anyone before entering the Library. If he knew Scorpius well enough, he would probably be hiding in the library, at the table in the back where no one can really see him and he doesn't stand out much. He usually goes there when Albus has detention, which happens quite often. He says it's where he feels most safe, outside of the dorm room.

Albus slows down his pace when he sees Scorpius' white blonde hair, hunched over a piece of parchment. He's sniffling and he wipes his face with the sleeve of his Slytherin sweater. It reminds Albus of the times that Scorpius would come to their dorm room because he wanted to stay in the library some longer and he'd cry because students were being mean to him. Taunting him, calling him names, grabbing his bag and emptying it on the floor. They would always find another way to make the tall blonde boy feel miserable, they would always find a way to try and break him. He'd run into the dorm room, tears streaming down his face and would try to hide underneath his blanket. Telling Albus he was okay, that he didn't have to worry. But Albus did worry. And Scorpius wasn't okay. So he'd always get up from his bed to put his arms around his best friend. To try and make him smile by offering to go and teach those bullies a lesson, professor Flitwick had told him he was getting quite good at charms or maybe he could brew a potion that would make their hair turn all kinds of colors. It normally worked and there would be a smile on his face, a small one, but a genuine one. One that made Albus heart flutter, because he could make his best friend smile and feel better, even if it was just the slightest bit.

Albus has to keep himself from reaching out to his friend, to comfort him. To try and crack a joke to make him smile. To tell him it's going to be alright and they're going to be alright. But the problem is that Albus has no idea if they're going to be alright. He can't risk Scorpius getting in trouble, but somehow the voice inside of him is cursing at himself for not throwing off the cloak and comforting his best friend. Albus groans and quickly covers his mouth with his hand. Taking a few steps back. As Scorpius looks up, Albus knows he isn't able to see him, but he stays as still as possible. Scorpius looks right through him. Just like his father does. His eyes are never leaving his friend who is now grabbing his stuff. His eyes never leaving Scorpius as he walks away, out of the library, away from Albus.  

Albus walks through the empty hall leading to the grand doors. Classes have just finished and he needs some fresh air. He's been feeling like the walls have been closing in on him, like he's been suffocated. Suffocated by his father, the treat of the investigation he is starting and the knowledge that they have changed the timeline. He lets out a shaky breath as he rounds the corner of the hall, nearly outside, when he hears voices. He freezes in place, his bag with the invisibility cloak hanging from one of his shoulders, clutching the strap in his hand. His name. He wants to turn around when someone calls for him again. He sees a group of four Gryffindor students walk his way and he can feel his heart skip a beat.

'Hey Potter,' the student in front calls out to him again. 'We've been meaning to talk to you!'

Albus wrings his hands as he forces a small smile on his face. Trying to hide how anxious he is, but he's not sure if it's working. His anxiety has probably been written all over his face all day long. 'You have?'

'Yes, we've heard about what happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts,' the girl on the right says and Albus cringes.

He has lost the Gryffindor house a total of 80 points in that class.

'We're not planning on losing the bloody House Cup to Slytherin again,' the boy in front says, crossing his arms in front of his body, his wand in his hand. 'So tell us, how are you going to get us those 80 points back?'

Albus takes a step back, his eyes on the wand in the boy's hand. 'I- I don't know,' he whispers.

 'Then I guess someone will have to teach you how to keep your mouth shut or you will lose every single point we have earned,' the girl walks up to Albus who's looking around in a frenzy, trying to find a teacher or someone else that might help him, but no one's there.

'Your boyfriend- Oh, sorry. Your ex-boyfriend,' the students let out a loud laugh. 'tried to tell us to leave you alone. He honestly thought he could stand a chance to us.' They laugh again and Albus jerks his head back to look at them.

'What did you do to him?' he asks, surprised by the strength of his voice. He takes a step towards the group, his hands balled into fists. Scorpius had stood up for Albus, even though Albus couldn't talk to him. Even though they couldn't be friends, he still did that. His heart is aching for his best friend, like it has never done before. 'What did you DO to him?' he repeats his question when none of them answer.

'The poor boy had been crying and writing his daddy a sad letter,' the boy says, his voice a sneer. 'We just wanted to know what he has been writing about. If he hadn't threatened us like he did, we wouldn't have to teach him a lesson.'

They should have been together. Albus should have been by Scorpius' side when he ran into this group. Scorpius that usually flinched when a group of student came close to the two of them, scared of what was to come. Scorpius that had now stood up to them, to tell them to leave Albus alone. He should have been with him. Albus lunges forward to the boy, dropping his bag to the ground. But he's being knocked back almost immediately. He has no idea what he was planning on doing, he is no match for four students and had completely forgotten about the wand in the boy's hand. His back hits the stone floor and the air is being pushed out of his lungs. He gasps as he tries to scramble to his hands and knees, but the girl walks up to him, pushing him down with her foot.

'We've always known you two to be complete idiots. But I didn't expect you to be stupid enough to think you'd be a match for us,' she hisses his way.

He looks up at the four students surrounding him. His breathing shallow, his back aching and panic clouding his mind. He has to get out of there, the girl is right he is no match for them. Especially not on his own. The boy raises his wand again and Albus flinches.

'What's going on here?'

The group of Gryffindors look up in the direction of the voice. The boy quickly hides his wand and the girl huffs. Albus quickly scrambles up from the ground. The students are distracted by the teacher asking them what's happening and Albus takes the chance to grab his bag off the floor before running towards the grand doors. He ignores the teacher calling out his name. As soon as he's outside he pulls the invisibility cloak out of his bag. His hands are shaking when he wraps the cloak around him and pulls it over his head. At least he can avoid the bullies this way.    

'Hey there, little Malfoy!'

Scorpius looks up as James sits down next to him. Lily flashes her big brother a smile before returning to her Charms homework that Scorpius has been helping her with. He grabs his own bag and empties it on the table. Books, quills and pots of ink scatter across the table and Lily looks up with an exasperated sigh.

'James, can you at least try to be quiet? And clean up your mess,' she scolds him as she looks at the mess he's made on their table. 'You're going to make me regret asking you to come study with us.'

'I'm sorry, Tiny. I'll be quiet,' he says as he leans over the table to mess up her hair.

'Stop calling me that. I'm not tiny,' she hisses through her teeth.

James leans over to Scorpius. 'She's Tiny but her mouth sure isn't, as well as her temper. When it comes to temper, she and Albus have gotten the fair share of the Potter half of the family. I'm definitely the most relaxed Potter-Weasley there is.'

Scorpius flinches a little when he hears Albus name and Lily looks up at him, her face expression soft and her eyes searching his face. As much as he loves being around Lily and James, all Scorpius can see is everything they have in common with Albus. It makes his heart ache even more for his best friend.

'How has Rose been? I haven't seen her in a while,' Scorpius tries to start up another conversation, not wanting to talk about anything related to Albus anymore.

'Rose?' Lily asks him. 'Who's Rose?'

'Rose,' Scorpius repeats her name and looks at James, back to Lily. 'Your cousin Rose.'

'We don't have a cousin named Rose,' James says.

Scorpius looks at his hands as his eyes grow wide. Lily and James don't have a cousin named Rose. Rose. She's gone. When they went back in time and changed the timeline of the Wizarding Tournament... they changed this as well. Rose has never been born.

'But-' Scorpius' attention gets drawn to a woman entering the library. But she's not just any women. 'Hermione?' She looks up and Scorpius averts his eyes to Lily. 'Hermione works at Hogwarts?' The group of Gryffindors had been talking about professor Granger, but it wasn't until he saw Hermione walk into the library that he connected the dots.

Lily looks behind her at Hermione and back to Scorpius. 'Professor Granger is our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Scorpius. You know that, you follow her classes.'

'But Hermione and Ron-' James jumps up and puts his hand over Scorpius' mouth, shutting him up.

Hermione  looks up with a deep frown and Lily and James awkwardly wave at her. She turns back around without showing any kind of recognition and walks out of the library. James takes his hand away and sits back down, he whistles. 'That was close. little Malfoy, a little piece of advice: don't ever mention our uncle Ron when professor Granger is around.'

'Why not?' Scorpius looks confused as his eyes are still locked on the door Hermione just walked through.

'Has Albus never told you anything about what happened between uncle Ron and professor Granger?' Scorpius thinks it's best to act like he is oblivious and shakes his head. 'My parents once told us this story after a family get together. Once our father, uncle Ron and professor Granger were great friends. Dad said he always thought Ron and Hermione were going to end up together. Until one time at the Yule Ball. Uncle Ron had asked professor Granger to go to the ball with him, as his partner. My dad said they were dancing and it looked like they had a good time, until uncle Ron started dancing with aunt Padma.'

'But didn't Viktor Krum ask Hermione to the Yule Ball?'

Lily and James both shake their head but it's James who speaks. 'No, dad told us that Hermione was constantly talking about how two boys from the Durmstrang school sabotaged one of the contestants tasks. She wouldn't shut up about it and rejected Krum when he asked her to the Ball. She believed he had something to do with it and she was not having that.'

'So after uncle Ron and aunt Padma danced at the ball, they started dating and they fell in love. They got married and had Panju,' Lily continues James' story, but Scorpius holds up his hand to interrupt her.

'I hate to interrupt you like this, but who's Panju?' Scorpius pulls a weird face at hearing a new name.

'Uncle Ron and aunt Padma's son of course,' James says. 'Come on, don't tell me Albus didn't tell you that. He's also in Gryffindor! A real pain in the ass if you ask me, but who am I to judge? I think professor Granger is still a bit bitter about it and hasn't let it go that it all ended the way it did. So please Scorpius, don't ever speak of uncle Ron whenever you're around her.'

Scorpius nods and runs a hand through his hair. Hermione had seen Albus and him at the Triwizard Tournament. She had seen them cast that spell, disarming Cedric. His head is spinning at all the new information that Lily and James have given him. He didn't expect so many things to have changed after the slight change they thought they made when they went back in time. Albus in Gryffindor. Rose not being born. Ron and Hermione never marrying. This is all their fault.

'Pepper imp?' Lily interrupts his thoughts as she extends a bag of sweets towards him. It's like she knows from the look on his face that Scorpius is lost in his own thoughts again. Maybe his worst habit.

'Wait-' James looks from the bag of sweets in her hand to Lily and back to the sweets again. 'Aren't those mine? How- How did you get those?'

'Honestly seeing that confused expression on your face is probably the best part about stealing your sweets,' Lily says, an amused smile on her face. 'James, you're the worst at hiding your stuff. Your trunk combination is the date that you got your first broom. You're so predictable!'

James scoffs. 'I just don't want to get to Hogwarts to a trunk where I forgot the combination from. So I make it easier to remember! Give me my sweets back.' But before he can grab the bag, Lily has put them back into the pocket of her robes.

'They're mine now, James.'

'Little Malfoy, some help please?' James looks at Scorpius and gestures towards Lily.

Scorpius shrugs and he can't help but chuckle at the two siblings arguing. 'I'm sorry, James. But I don't think there's anything we can do. They're hers now.'

James lets out an exasperated sigh and slumps down into his chair. 'So what's the news on our little brother? Have any of you seen or talked to him lately?' he asks and Scorpius' body goes rigid.

'I haven't,' he says softly as he quickly averts his eyes back to his books.

'What happened between you two?' he asks and he turns his body towards Scorpius. 'I know that Albus and you don't talk and he's been avoiding everyone and everything lately. But like, what happened? Where did you two go when you jumped off that bloody train? And why have you been flinching every time I mentioned his name just now? I-'

'James!' Lily calls out his name and puts her hand down on the table, startling both boys. 'That's enough!'

'I just want to know what happened,' James says, his expression serious and almost hurt. 'Albus has been shutting me out and I know we haven't been that close ever since he got to Hogwarts, but he isn't talking to me at all. I know Scorpius wouldn't hurt a fly, so I don't expect this to be his decision, so it must be Albus'. I know I haven't been the most supportive of your friendship. But I hate seeing you both apart, you look miserable without each other.' 

'It wasn't Albus' decision either. I'm sure it was dad's,' Lily says, a deep frown on her face. 'He had been so distant and cold when he was here at Hogwarts. Ever since he had visited Albus in the Hospital Wing, Albus has been sad and distant.' She looks up at her brother. 'It has to be dad's.'

'You mean, your father doesn't want Albus and me to be friends?' Scorpius says. He has always looked up to Harry Potter. He knows he hasn't been the best father to Albus, it's been the reason he had lashed out at Harry when he last saw him... Maybe that was why he didn't want his son to be friends with Scorpius Malfoy anymore. Maybe it was Scorpius' fault after all. 'It's probably my fault.'

'How is that your fault, Scorpius?' Lily looks genuinely confused at him saying that.

'Albus had told me about what your father said to him. That he sometimes wishes Albus wasn't his son. I'm sure you all have heard that as well?' Lily and James look at each other and nod. 'I sat by Albus' bed for a long while, just reading and he looked so peaceful as he was sleeping. I hadn't seen him like that ever since we met up at platform 9 3/4. So when your father asked how he was doing, I said it was good to see him peaceful like this after seeing him so sad. Then I said that I was sure your father would agree with me. But I never meant to sound so rude,' he sighs and puts his head in his hands. 'Do you think that's why he doesn't want me around Albus anymore?'

James laughs softly. 'Of course not. I don't think Lily and I have been that easy on him either after we heard him say that to Albus. I think he needs a good wake-up call from whatever rock he's been living under these past few weeks. If this really is dad's doing, I'm going to have a word with him.' Scorpius smiles at James who squeezes his arm. 'You're a good person, little Malfoy. Don't doubt yourself so much. I know my brother can be a knucklehead but he really does care about you.' James stands up from his chair, pushing everything back inside of his bag. 'I will see you little ones later, alright? I have to take care of some big brother stuff.'

Scorpius and Lily say their goodbyes, but before he leaves, he turns around once more.

'Lily, have you seen my invisibility cloak?' he asks her, eyeing the pocket she put the stolen sweets in. 'I genuinely thought I'd packed it in my trunk when we left for Hogwarts, but it's not there.'

'No, I haven't seen it and I haven't taken it from your trunk, if that's what you're actually asking me. Best to ask mom and dad so they can check your room.' Lily rolls her eyes at Scorpius when James leaves the library. 'Potter men,' she huffs and gets back to her homework.

'Stop right there, Albus Severus Potter!'

Albus freezes. For a second he thought his father was standing at the end of the hall, calling out to him. But when he turns around he sees his brother coming up to him at a fast speed. He releases the breath he has been holding.

'What do you want, James?' Albus asks.

'I have to talk to you,' James answers. Albus opens his mouth to tell him he's busy, but James cuts him off. 'I was not asking, Albus. We're going to talk.'

He gestures for Albus to follow him outside, to a bench in the empty courtyard. Albus huffs as he sits down and crosses his arms in front of his chest, looking up at James who is standing in front of him.

'What's going on?' his voice is soft and gentle, sounding much more like his mother now. It's kind and full of concern, for his little brother.

'Nothing. I'm-'

'Albus, don't lie to me. Please, don't lie to me.'

He crouches down, to get on eye level with Albus, holding his gaze for a moment.

'What's going on, Albus? What happened with dad the other day?'

'You know, just the usual. It seems like arguing is all we can do. But this time he was being incredibly unreasonable and I just-' Albus sighs as he runs a hand through his hair, slightly pulling on the ends. 'Why won't he just listen to me? Why can't he just listen to me for once?' he snaps, biting down on his bottom lip to keep the tears in his eyes from spilling, but it's no use. 'Scorpius has done more for me than most of the people I know have done these last few years. He has been here to support me through all the bullying, helped me when I struggled with schoolwork, talked to me when I needed someone to be there for me. He is my friend and he took that away from me. The one person that cared enough for me to stand by my side and

'Did you know he actually stood up against dad?' James says and Albus looks up at him, surprised. 'When you were in the hospital wing and he had to step out for a moment to talk to his father. Dad asked him how you were doing.  He said it was nice to see you peaceful in such a long time. That dad probably would agree with that.' James chuckles softly. 'He told me he thought that might have been the reason that you're not allowed to be around him anymore. He was mortified. Saying something like that to the Harry Potter, that takes courage. I admire his bravery. He's a good kid.'

Albus looks back down, wringing his hands and a small smile on his lips. Scorpius didn't just stand up for him to the group of Gryffindor students but also stood up against his father, for him. The ever kind Scorpius that never said a bad word to anyone, especially not an adult, did that.

'What did dad say?' James says, putting his hand on Albus' to stop him from wringing them, to calm him down.

'Dad said some centaur told him there's a black cloud around me. He just assumed that it's Scorpius. He told me to stay away from Scorpius, that they have this map to keep track of our every step. He started the investigation into Scorpius' heritage, James.' He takes hold of James' hand, squeezing it. 'His heritage! As if the rumors aren't bad enough already, they're now starting an official investigation that's only going to ruin Scorpius' life even more. He doesn't deserve that. I don't understand how anyone could think that he'd actually be the son of Voldemort. I mean, look at him.'

James shakes his head, putting his other hand over Albus'. 'That's not okay. I'm so sorry, Albus. I have no idea what has gotten into dad's head, but we're going to fix this okay? Just let me help you. Let me in on what is going on inside of that little head of yours.' He softly taps Albus' forehead with his index finger. 'You're my little brother and I really do hate seeing you like this.'

Albus bites the inside of his cheek. He would love to tell James everything that has happened and everything they have done, but he can't. He can't risk bringing James into any danger or any trouble. He needs to keep his siblings safe at all cost. This is his problem, his mess and he needs to fix this.

Chapter Text

Scorpius walks up one of the grand staircases. He sighs as he slumps down against the wall. He thought he saw Albus but it was just another boy with dark hair. Someone taps him on his shoulder and he looks up, hopeful. But it's just madam Hooch. She gestures for him to move. He gets up and whispers an apology as she walks past him. He holds on tight as the staircase starts to move and walks up the last few steps before he freezes. In front of him Albus comes to a stop, Albus is looking at Scorpius' feet. His whole body rigid, his hands balled into fists as his eyes slowly move up from Scorpius' feet to his face. For a moment the boys look at each other. Neither of them say anything. Mostly because they have no idea what to say and Scorpius doesn't want to ruin this moment. This moment of him and his best friend, being there, together, looking at each other. He tries to smile at Albus, he wants to tell him how much he misses him. He wants to hold him and beg him to not let him go again. But as he opens his mouth to say something, Albus looks away. Breaking the eye contact, breaking the moment and with that, whatever was left of Scorpius' heart. Albus holds onto the stair railing as his stairs starts to move again. His eyes finding Scorpius' again and Scorpius can see  the guilt in his eyes as Albus sees the pain in his. 

Scorpius takes in a sharp breath as he walks down the staircase again. A flurry of silver hair startles him and as he looks up Delphi is in front of him.

'So... Technically, I shouldn't be here,' she says with a grin on her face.

'Delphi?' Scorpius calls out and he quickly covers his mouth with his hand.

'In fact, technically I'm endangering our entire operation, which is not... well, I'm not a natural risk-taker as you know,' she rambles and Scorpius nods. 'I've never been to Hogwarts. Pretty lax security here isn't there? And so many portraits. And corridors. And ghosts! This half-headless strange-looking ghost told me where I could find you, can you believe that?'

Scorpius holds up his hand to stop her from rambling on. Is that what I look like when I'm rambling, Scorpius thought. 'You've never been to Hogwarts?'

Delphi shakes her head, a sad look on her face. 'I was... unwell as a child, for a few years. Other people got to go, I did not.'

'You were too.. ill?' Scorpius looks at her with sad eyes as she nods. 'I'm sorry, I didn't know that.'

'I don't advertise the fact. I prefer not to be seen as a tragic case, you know?'

Scorpius nods. He knows exactly what she means. He feels the exact same when it comes to his mother's death. He doesn't like to advertise it, which is why he had only told Albus and had given him permission to tell the rest of his family. He looks up to say something to her again, but Delphi ducks from view as another Hogwarts student walks past. Scorpius leans against the wall, trying to look casual, nodding at the student. She gives him a weird look as she quickly walks by.

'Have they gone?' Delphi whispers.

'Delphi,' he turns to look at the girl with the silvery blue hair again. 'Maybe it's too dangerous for you to be here-' she gestures for him to stop talking.

'Well, someone's got to do something about this.'

'Delphi, none of it worked. Time-turning, we failed.'

'I know, Albus owled me.' There's a pang inside of Scorpius' heart at hearing that. Delphi stands on the step above the one Scorpius is standing on, trying to match his height. 'The history books changed but not enough - Cedric still died. In fact, failing the first task made him more determined to win the second.'

'And Ron and Hermione have gone completely skewwhiff and I still haven't figured out why.'

'And that's why Cedric has to wait. It's all become quite confused and you're entirely right to be keeping hold of the Time-Turner, Scorpius.' unconsciously he reaches for the Time-Turner in the pocket of his pants. 'But what I meant was.. Someone's got to do something about the two of you.'

'Oh,' Scorpius looks down at his feet, avoiding Delphi's gaze.

'You're best friends. Every owl he sends I can feel your absence. He's destroyed by it.'

Scorpius snorts. 'Sounds like he's found a shoulder to cry on,' he softly pokes Delphi's shoulder. 'How many owls has he sent you now?' Delphi smiles softly as he meets her gaze again, feeling guilty for what he's said already. 'Sorry. That's.. I didn't mean- I just- don't understand what's going on. I've tried to see him, talk to him, but every time I do he runs off.' The sight of Albus turning away from him pops up in his mind and he wraps his arms around his chest, trying to keep himself from falling apart right there and then.

'You know, I didn't have a best friend when I was your age. I wanted one. Desperately. When I was younger I even invented one but-'

'I had one of those!' Scorpius interrupts her, flashing her a small smile. 'Called Hector. We fell out over the correct rules of Gobstones.'

Delphi chuckles as she pats him on his blonde hair. 'Albus needs you, Scorpius. That's a wonderful thing.'

'He needs me to do what?'

'That's the thing isn't it? About friendships,' she squeezes his shoulder encouragingly. 'You don't know what he needs. You only know he needs it.' She gives his shoulder a little push. 'Find him, Scorpius. You two - you belong together.'

And Scorpius knows she's right. They do belong together. Maybe even more than Scorpius had realized before. He needs Albus. He needs Albus to be beside him, to hold him when he's crying, to make him smile when he does something dorky. He needs Albus to breathe.

 Scorpius bursts into the library. His breathing is heavy from running as he looks left and right, his eyes finding Albus. Albus who is staring right back at him with big eyes. 

'Hi,' Scorpius manages to get out between his gasps for air to feel his lungs again.

'Scorpius, I can't-' but Scorpius cuts him off almost immediately.

'I know. You're in Gryffindor now. You don't want to see me now. But here I am anyway,' he gestures to himself and then at Albus. 'Talking to you.'

'Well, I can't talk, so-' Albus wants to stand up but Scorpius walks up to him, cutting him off.

'You have to,' he's trying to make his voice sound strong, but the pleading in his voice for Albus to just listen to him is there. 'You think you can just ignore everything that's happened? The world has gone crazy, have you noticed?'

Albus looks down at his feet, avoiding the fierce look in Scorpius' eyes. 'I know, okay? Ron's gone strange. Hermione's a professor. It's all wrong but-'

'And Rose doesn't exist.'

Albus looks back at his friend again. 'I know. Look, I don't understand everything, but you can't be here.'

Scorpius shakes his head. He's not planning on backing down now. Albus has brushed him off every time and he is not about to let that happen again. He's going to have to listen to Scorpius. 'Because of what we did, Rose wasn't even born. Do you remember being told about the Triwizard Tournament Yule Ball? All the four Triwizard champions took a partner. Your dad took Parvati Patil, Viktor Krum took-'

'Hermione. And Ron got jealous and behaved like a prat,' Albus finished his sentence but a confused look appears on his face when Scorpius shakes his head.

'Only he didn't,' Scorpius says. 'I talked to Lily and James about the Yule Ball,' a flash of jealousy crosses Albus' face. 'And it's very different. They told me that Ron took Hermione to the ball.'

'What?' Albus yelled out in confusion.

'Sssssh!' Polly Chapman looks up from her book on the other side of the room. Her eyes shooting daggers at the two boys talking.

'As friends,' Scorpius continues as he leans in closer to Albus, suddenly very aware of how close his best friend was. 'And they danced in a friendly way, and it was nice, and then he danced with Padma Patil and that was nicer, and they started dating and he changed a bit and then they got married and meanwhile Hermione became a-'

'- psychopath,' Albus finished his sentence for him.

'Hermione was supposed to go to that ball with Krum. Do you know why she didn't?' Albus shakes his head, leaning in even closer. 'Because she had suspicions the two strange Durmstrang boys she met before the first task were somehow involved in the disappearance of Cedric's wand. She believed we, under Viktor's orders, cost Cedric the first task..' The boys look at each other as they think of how badly they have screwed up. 'And without Krum, Ron never got jealous and that jealousy was all-important and so Ron and Hermione stayed very good friends but never fell in love. Never got married. Never had Rose.'

'So that's why Dad's so- did he change too?' Albus' fingertips graze Scorpius forearm before pulling back. He had wanted to grab his friend's arm, but his father's voice telling him to stay away from Scorpius makes him pull back again.

'I'm pretty sure your dad is exactly the same,' Scorpius didn't want to sound bitter, but he couldn't help himself. 'Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Married to Ginny. Three kids.'

'So why is he being such a-' his attention gets drawn away by a librarian entering the room and when he looks back at Scorpius, his friend looks at him in disbelief.

'Have you heard me, Albus?' his voice growing louder again as he takes a step away from his best friend. 'This is bigger than you and your dad. Professor Croaker's law. The furthest someone can go back in time without the possibility of serious harm to the traveler or time itself is five hours,' he holds up five fingers. 'And we went back years! The smallest moment, the smallest change, it creates ripples. And we,' he waves his hands in between the two of them. 'We've created really bad ripples. Rose was never born because of what we did. Rose!'

The librarian shushes Scorpius but he only has eyes for Albus standing in front of him. Thinking in silence.

'Fine,' Albus eventually speaks up as the librarian disappears. 'Let's go back. Fix it. Get Cedric and Rose back.'

'..is the wrong answer,' Scorpius squeaks.

'You've still got the Time-Turner, right? No one found it?'

Scorpius' hand finds the device in his pocket and he carefully takes it out. 'Yes, but...' Albus snatches it from his hand before Scorpius can react. 'No. Don't.. Albus! Don't you understand how bad things could get?' He grabs for the Time-Turner, but Albus pushes him back. Scorpius groans as he makes for the device again, both their hands around it now.

'Things need fixing, Scorpius. Cedric still needs saving. Rose needs bringing back. We'll be more careful. Whatever Croaker says, trust me, trust us. We'll get it right this time.'

'No. We won't. Give it back, Albus!' he yells, panic seeping through his voice. 'Give it back!'

'I can't. It's too important!' Albus is yelling as well, making Scorpius flinch, but he doesn't back down. The boys fall to the ground, still wrestling for the Time-Turner.

'Yes it's too important for us. We're not good at this stuff. We'll get it wrong.'

'Who's saying we'll get it wrong?'

'I say. Because that's what we do. We mess things up,' Scorpius voice breaks as he looks from the device into Albus' eyes. 'We lose. We're losers, true and total losers. Haven't you realized that yet?'

Albus sees his chance and gets the upper hand, pinning Scorpius down to the ground. Scorpius looks up at his best friend, who looks down at him with anger in his eyes.

'Well, I wasn't a loser before I met you.'

For a moment Scorpius lays completely still. Looking up into his best friend's eyes, not knowing what to say to him, before struggling to get the words out. 'Albus,' his voice soft. 'Whatever you're got to prove to your dad. This isn't the way.'

'I don't have anything to prove to my dad. I've got to save Cedric, to save Rose. And maybe, without you holding me back, I can make a proper go of it.'

Scorpius heart skips a beat. Without him holding him back, without him. Without Scorpius. Anger bubbles up in his stomach. He pushes Albus off of him as he scrambles up from the ground. He's looking down at the raven-haired boy. His eyes like fire. 'Without me?' he lets out a joyless laugh. 'Oh poor Albus Potter. With his chip on his shoulder. Poor Albus Potter. So sad.'

Albus gets up again, the Time-Turner still in his hand. 'What are you saying?'

'Try my life! People look at you because your dad's the famous Harry Potter,' he spits out Harry's name like it's something disgusting. 'Savior of the Wizarding world. People look at me because they think my dad is Voldemort. Voldemort!' His chest is heaving as he looks at Albus.

'Don't even-'

'Can you even slightly imagine what that's like? Have you even ever tried? No. Because you can't see beyond the end of your nose. Because you can't see beyond the end of your STUPID thing with your dad. He will always be Harry Potter, you know that right? And you will always be his son. And I know it's hard, and the other kids are awful but you have to learn to be okay with that, because-' Scorpius voice breaks. 'There are worse things, okay?' His voice grows quiet as he slumps down into a chair, looking at his hands that had started fidgeting with the hem of his robes. He hates shouting, he hates getting angry at the people he cares about, but there's just so much of it that has been trapped inside of him for so long now and he can't stop it. 

Albus has never seen Scorpius so small, he is surprised at how small he could look with how tall the boy is. 'There was a moment I was excited, when I realized time was different, a moment, when I thought maybe my mum hadn't got sick. Maybe my mum wasn't dead,' his voice grew louder again as he caught Albus' gaze again. 'But no! Turns out, she was. I'm still the child of Voldemort, without a mother, giving sympathy to the boy who doesn't ever give anything back.'  He jumps up from the chair, knocking it back with the force behind the movement. Pointing a finger at Albus. His voice low and full of pain. 'So I'm sorry if I've ruined your life because I tell you - you wouldn't have a chance of ruining mine. It was already ruined. You just didn't make it better. Because you're a terrible - the most TERRIBLE - friend.' Scorpius chest is heaving as silence fills the space between the boys. Albus' shoulders slump as the realization of what he's done to his friend hits him.

'Albus? Albus Potter? Scorpius Malfoy. Are you in there, together? Because I advise you not to be.'

Albus looks at Scorpius, he pulls a cloak out of his bag. 'Quick. We need to hide.'

'What?' Scorpius looks confused.

'Scorpius, look at me.' With his free hand, he cups Scorpius' cheek and forces him to look at him.

'That's the Invisibility Cloak? Isn't it James'?' he asks but Albus ignores his question.

'If she finds us, we'll be forced apart forever,'  Scorpius gasps for air as Albus holds out his hand for him to take it. 'Please. I didn't understand. Please.'

Professor McGonagall calls out to them again, telling them she's about to enter. Scorpius nods at Albus, grabbing his hand in his, huddling close to him as they hide under the cloak. Professor McGonagall walks into the room, but the two boys only have eyes for each other. Scorpius holds onto Albus' hand, scared that if he slightly releases his grip, he might disappear again. Albus looks in his eyes, tears glistening in them as he holds his gaze. Scared that if he breaks it, Scorpius won't be there anymore. Both of the boys seem to realize in that moment just how much they need each other. They need each other's company, each other's touch. The click of a door makes them jump and when they look around, professor McGonagall has disappeared. Albus is reluctant to let go of Scorpius' hand but the blonde boy breaks their connection first. He crawls out from under the Cloak and sits down on one of the chairs, his face in his hands. Albus puts the cloak back into his bag and takes place oppose Scorpius. They sit in silence before Albus speaks again.

'Yes, I stole this from James. He's remarkably easy  to steal from, his trunk combination is the date he got his first broom,' Albus says, just like Lily had told Scorpius. 'I've found the cloak made avoiding bullies easier.'

Then it starts to click. It all makes sense now. The rustling behind him whenever he was studying in the library, the fact that he could never find the source of where the sound came from.

'It was you in the library,' he whispers and looks up at Albus. 'The rustling noise I heard.'

'Yes, it was me. I had to make sure you were alright-'

'Then you must have also seen that I wasn't,' Scorpius snaps and Albus flinches.

'I'm sorry, Scorpius. I'm also sorry - about your mum. I know we don't talk about her enough - but I hope you know- I'm sorry. It's rubbish, what happened to her- to you.'

'Thanks.'

Albus looks up, there's shame and guilt in his eyes. 'My dad said - said that you were this dark cloud around me. My dad started to think... and I just knew I had to stay away, and if I didn't, Dad said he would-'

'Your dad thinks the rumors are true. I am the son of Voldemort?'

Albus nods, trying to make himself as small as possible before he speaks again. 'His department are currently investigating it.'

'Good,' Scorpius gets up, not being able to sit still anymore after finding out that piece of information. 'Let them. Sometimes -' he sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. 'Sometimes I find myself thinking - maybe they're true too.'

Albus jumps up from his chair, so fast that it startles Scorpius. He walks over to him and takes both his hands in his. 'No. They're not true. And I'll tell you why. Because I don't think Voldemort is capable of having a kind son,' Scorpius looks down at Albus. At the freckles on his nose, his pink cheeks, his trembling bottom lip as he tries to keep a hold of his emotions. 'And you're kind, Scorpius. To the depths of your belly,' he softly pokes into Scorpius' belly before he holds up his hand. 'To the tips of your fingers. I truly believe Voldemort - Voldemort couldn't have a child like you.'

'That's nice. That's a nice thing to say,' Scorpius whispers and he can't help but smile down at the raven-haired boy in front of him.

Albus lets go of his hands and he starts fiddling with his own hands as he looks down at them. 'And it's something I should have said a long time ago. In fact, you're probably the best person I know. And you don't - you couldn't - hold me back.' Scorpius sits down as Albus eyes find his again, making Scorpius' tummy flutter and his heart skips a beat. 'You make me stronger - and when Dad forced us apart - without you-'  Albus chokes on his words.

'I didn't much like my life without you in it either,' Scorpius comes to his rescue.

Both boys look at each other, smiling.

'And I know I'll always be Harry Potter's son, and I will sort that out in my head, and I know compared to you my life is pretty good really and that he and I are comparatively lucky and-'

'Albus, as apologies go this is wonderfully fulsome, but you're starting to talk more about you than me again, so probably better to quit while you're ahead.'

Albus blushes as he smiles down at Scorpius. He stretches out his hand, never breaking their eye-contact.

'Friends?'

'Always,' Scorpius whispers back. He stretches out his hand, sliding it into Albus' and before he knows it, Albus pulls him off the chair, into his arms.

Scorpius eases into Albus' touch, wrapping his arms around Albus' shoulders. Scorpius feels like he could cry right here and now. With Albus' arms around him he felt the comfort he had been missing every night he had woken up from his nightmares, the feeling of safety he had been craving ever since the boys had been apart. He can feel tears starting to fall down his cheeks. Sobs heave from his chest and the shaking of Albus' body under his touch, tells him that Albus is crying as well. He nuzzles his face into the crook of the raven-haired boy’s neck, pulling him as close as possible, wishing he could just stay there forever.