Chapter Text
Rose hummed to herself as she rearranged the socks in her trunk. Contrary to how many people felt, Rose loved packing. Without fail, it always get her more excited about the reason behind the packing. That was especially true when it came to going back to Hogwarts.
As much as she loved the house she’d grown up in, it was a far cry from the castle where she could see her friends whenever she wanted.
Her eye caught the badge on her bedside table, and she grinned. This year she would also be Head Girl, a position she’d been angling for since her first year. She’d been pretty confident that she’d get it, especially after she was made a prefect, but it had still been gratifying when the badge arrived in the post alongside her Hogwarts letter.
A knock on the cracked door pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked up right as Hermione stuck her head into the room.
“Mind if I come in?” she asked, already stepping inside as she spoke.
“Sure.” Rose moved the set of clothes she’d set aside for the train to give Hermione room to sit down. Her mother looked around the room and nodded at the progress Rose had made since that morning when her trunk had been empty and her wardrobe full.
“Do you have a moment to talk?” Hermione asked.
Rose nodded and took a seat beside her mum. She was growing apprehensive as she watched Hermione twiddle her thumbs.
“What’s going on?” Rose asked with an awkward smile. Just that morning, nothing had been amiss, and she couldn’t think of a single reason for Hermione to be acting peculiarly. Hugo was putting off his own packing, but that was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry wrote today,” she said. “It turns out that Scorpius has been made Head Boy this year. They found out from Albus.”
“Oh.” Rose frowned at the wall. It wasn’t that unexpected. Scorpius had been made a prefect when she had, and the possibility that they might one day work together as Head Boy and Girl had crossed her mind that day and a number of days since. Scorpius took his prefect duties quite seriously. More seriously than most of the other prefects, beyond Rose.
But he was also bashful and reluctant to confront people to such an extent that Rose had convinced herself that McGonagall would never believe he was right for the job. Both Alex in Hufflepuff and Blake in Ravenclaw would have been better equipped to handle the responsibility as far as she was concerned. Apparently, McGonagall had a different point of view. Apparently, sheer enthusiasm for the position overrode the need for someone competent at the job.
“Thanks for telling me,” she said, getting up to keep rearranging her trunk.
Hermione eyed her. “That wasn’t the end of the conversation.”
“What else is there to say?” Rose asked.
“I know you and Albus have grown apart since first year—“
Rose groaned and rolled her eyes. “Mum, it’s my last summer holiday. Don’t I deserve not to listen to this again?”
“Your father and I haven’t said anything in years,” Hermione said. “We know that we can’t make you be friends with anyone, even your cousin, and Albus being sorted into Slytherin was a shock to everyone in the family. I understand why you pulled away at the time. All I’m asking is that you try to tone it down. It’s your final year of school, and you and Scorpius should be able to work together without any whining or arguing because of old prejudices. You’ll see that house rivalries don’t mean anything once you leave Hogwarts.”
Rose snorted. “Yeah, right. Dad hates Slytherins more than I do, and he went to Hogwarts fifty years ago.”
Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. “First of all, your father and I aren’t that old. Also, your father is only one person, and whatever he says, it doesn’t mean anything in practice. I know for a fact that multiple employees at Weasleys Wizard Wheezes were in Slytherin at school, and Ron treats them the same as any other employee. Everything else is just talk, Rose. Too much talk sometimes, but it’s still just talk. No matter what you do after school, you’re going to work with former Slytherins. They make up a fourth of the population! You have to treat them politely and professionally.”
Rose shoved a textbook between her clothes and the side of her trunk. It was a tight fit, but she was able to squeeze it in. “I’m not going to hex him or anything, Mum. That’s against the rules.”
“I know,” Hermione said with a sigh. “But you do have a habit of saying things without considering the impact they’ll have on those around you.”
“I do not!”
How could someone like that be made Head Girl in the first place?
“Rose.” Hermione’s voice grew stern. “Albus told Aunt Ginny that you referred to him as a slimy snake during the last school year. The only reason I let it slide was because it happened at school and Ginny wanted Albus to handle it himself.”
Rose tried to keep her composure as her cheeks burned. Trust Albus to tattle on her. “That was different. I wasn’t acting as Head Girl then. Besides, I’m sure he exaggerated the whole thing. It was one comment.”
“You may not have been Head Girl, but you were a prefect who insulted another student.”
Rose groaned and closed her trunk with a thud. “I wasn’t acting as a prefect in that moment either though. It was just a cousin thing. Even prefects have personal moments.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better about it, Rose.”
Rose fell back onto the bed, making the mattress bounce beneath her and Hermione.
“I’ll be nice to Scorpius unless he starts something first,” she promised.
Hermione sighed and shook her head. “I hope so. Think of it as practice. You’ll have to deal with plenty of people you don’t like in your professional career, and I can promise you that many of them will be far more annoying than Scorpius Malfoy.”
Rose rolled her eyes. Her mum didn’t realize how annoying Scorpius actually was. “Right, Mum. I know.”
She reluctantly let Hermione pat her on the head. The second she had left the room, Rose collapsed against her pillows and groaned.
Scorpius was on a roll packing his trunk. After six years of school, he’d created the perfect method for getting everything to fit. Sure, he had to make a few adjustments from year-to-year as he decided to bring some things and leave behind others, but at least he knew more or less how to make it work. With the trunk almost full, he turned to look for his Head Boy badge only to realize that it wasn’t where he’d put it. He spun around, his head swiveling back and forth. He couldn’t have lost it before reaching school. What kind of an example would that set?
All worked up in a panic, he almost didn’t notice Albus sitting on the edge of Scorpius’ bed with the badge between his fingers. Albus was too busy staring at it to notice Scorpius’ frantic search.
“Do you want to wear it?” Scorpius joked, poking Albus in the cheek to make sure he had his attention.
Albus scoffed and handed the badge back to Scorpius. “Definitely not,” he said. “You know how relieved I was when I didn’t get the prefect position. There’s no way in hell I’d want to be Head Boy. Plus, you know that Rose has been named Head Girl.” He shuddered. “I’d never make it to the end of the year if I had to work with her.”
“You’d do fine,” Scorpius said despite knowing it was only slightly true. Albus could have managed being a prefect or Head Boy if he had to, but he wouldn’t have enjoyed a single second of it.
Scorpius slipped the badge into a pocket in his trunk and snapped the lid shut with satisfaction. He grunted as he lowered it to the floor before taking the newly free spot beside Albus.
“You’re the perfect Head Boy,” Albus said in a tone that could almost be mistaken for a joke.
Scorpius knew it wasn’t. “Because I’m a stickler for the rules,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
“Well, yes,” Albus said, “but I was thinking more about the fact that you constantly want everyone to get along and work together, even the different houses.”
It was Scorpius’ turn to scoff. “Yeah, that’s what I wish things were like, but I’m seventeen, Albus. I’m not naive. This year I’ll be working with Rose, who’s spent the past two years completely ignoring me. I’m not expecting us to frolic into the sunset together.”
“Maybe you will,” Albus muttered, casting his eyes downward. “Maybe being Head Boy and Girl together will make her finally realize how great you are. By the end of the year, she might be falling into your arms.”
Scorpius cringed. “No, she won’t. Not even if she wants to.” He knocked his shoulder against Albus’, feeling triumphant when he got a smile in return. “You should be well aware of how over that ‘crush’ I am. If we can even call whatever that was a crush.”
Despite Albus’ laugh, there was tension in the set of his shoulders. Scorpius pulled Albus’ hand into his lap and intertwined their fingers.
“Trust me,” he said. “I’m not interested in Rose.”
“I know,” Albus said, a light pink dusting on his cheeks. “Really, I do, but I’m not looking forward to the hell she’s going to put us through this year either.”
Scorpius took a deep breath. “Surely it can’t be that bad,” he said, trying to convince himself of that very fact. “She can’t be angry at me the entire year.”
Albus snorted.
“Seriously!” Scorpius shouted, tugging on Albus’ arm for emphasis. “As much as I don’t want to date her, it would be nice if we could be friends after all these years of her yelling at me.”
Fondness shone in Albus’ eyes as he shook his head. “You’re more optimistic than I could ever be, Scor.”
Scorpius pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “That’s fine. I can be optimistic enough for the both of us.”
It wasn’t hard to find Erin and Dustin once she was one the train. Rose shoved her trunk onto the rack with too much force and plopped down on the seat beneath it, crossing her arms against her chest.
Dustin and Erin eyed her warily. Even Rose had to admit that it wasn’t the warmest of greetings after weeks spent apart.
“Did you run into Scorpius already?” Dustin asked with a smirk, brushing his curly black hair away from his eyes.
Rose huffed. “Is it that obvious?”
“With that look on your face?” Erin asked, kicking lightly at Rose’s foot with her own and making her blonde ponytail bounce with the movement. “It was either Scorpius or Albus, and the two of them are always together anyway.”
“They were,” Rose scoffed. “Mum and Dad made me go say hi to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny on the platform, and they had Scorpius with them. I guess he spent time with them this summer. As much as I respect Uncle Harry, I can’t believe Harry Potter of all people would let a Malfoy into his house.”
Dustin and Erin shared a look before Dustin decided to handle it. “He and Albus have been friends since first year, and it’s not like Scorpius is a Death Eater himself or anything.”
The glare Rose shot at him would have made others shrink away, but Dustin held his ground even as she snapped, “He’s a Slytherin,” like that was the end of the argument.
“He is,” Dustin said, “and I agree that most of them are annoying, but as far as Slytherins go, Scorpius is pretty okay. I sat behind him in Charms one year, and he was very friendly.”
“Yeah, too friendly,” Rose said with a dark laugh.
Erin struggled to hold in her laughter, her green eyes sparkling. “Only with you, Rose. Because he likes you.” She dragged out the words in a sing-song voice.
Dustin rolled his eyes just like Rose did, but even he looked amused at Erin’s taunting.
“Whatever,” Rose said. “I haven’t told you the worst part yet. Mum heard from Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry that Scorpius is Head Boy this year.”
This time Erin didn’t bother holding in her laughter. She leaned back in the seat as she lost it. “You’re going to have a lot of fun this year!”
Rose growled in frustration and hit her hand against the seat. “Fun is the last thing I’ll be having. It’s going to be absolute hell. As if Malfoy is the best choice for the job! But I can’t do anything about it. He has McGonagall wrapped around his finger. She adores him for some reason. That’s why he got picked, no doubt.”
“I think the other professors usually give their opinion too,” Dustin said, “but pretty much all of them like him, don’t they?”
“Yes,” Rose grumbled. “Even Neville.”
Erin snorted. “That’s an understatement. He’s Professor Longbottom’s favourite. You know he put in a good word for Scorpius instead of Daniel, even though he’s our Head of House.”
“What will you do?” Dustin asked, eyeing Rose.
“What can I do?” Rose shrugged. “I’ll work with him. If I complain it only makes me look bad. Even my dad said that I should be nice to Scorpius on the platform. My dad! He still talks about how much he hates Draco Malfoy whenever the man is brought up, but he wants me to be nice to Scorpius and not cause any trouble.” Rose collapsed against the back of the bench with a groan. “He’s getting to my own family.”
“Maybe you really will fall for him this year,” Erin giggled. “Then you would be just like Romeo and Juliet.”
“Who and who?” Dustin asked.
“Romeo and Juliet!” Erin exclaimed. “Do only Muggles know Shakespeare?”
“Oh,” Dustin said, drawing it out. “It’s a Muggle thing.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “It’s the most famous love story ever. Two people from fighting families fall in love with each other.”
“Okay,” Rose cut in sharply. “Two things: One, I’m most definitely not going to fall for Scorpius ever. And two, did you not just hear what I said? My family’s turning against me. They’d probably welcome him with open arms.” She pretended to gag. “It would not be like Romeo and Juliet.”
Erin shrugged, completely undeterred. As per usual, she’d gotten caught up in a romantic idea and wasn’t going to let it go. It was a trait of hers that had driven Rose up a wall numerous times over the course of their friendship.
“While I agree that he’s annoying, Rose,” she said, “it would be really cute.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “And with that. I’m off. I have to go and deal with Malfoy.”
She gave one last dramatic shudder before she disappeared out of the car.
Scorpius paced back and forth in the car at the front of the train, trying—but failing—to release his nervous energy before Rose arrived. He picked up the parchment that had been waiting for him when he arrived, reading it over again but only retaining a fraction of the information. He sat it down again and paced some more.
The same cycle repeated itself three times before the door slid open to reveal Rose. Scorpius launched into a less than stellar reenactment of the exchange that he’d been practicing in his head.
“Rose! Good to see you. I heard that you were Head Girl this year. Congratulations! This parchment has been left for us.” He brandished his own copy vigorously in her face, making her take a step backward and press against the door. “We need to figure out the prefect patrol schedule for at least the first week and hand it out on the train. It’ll be quite hectic at the feast since we have to make sure the first years get to their dormitories and things, you know. And then there’s classes and settling in. So they recommend that we do it now so everyone knows what to do before we get to the castle. But I guess you know that. We’ve always received our patrol schedules on the train.”
He trailed off as Rose continued to stare at him without saying anything. His cheeks warmed. He hadn’t meant to go on and on like that, but he’d been thinking about so much while waiting for her to arrive, and he felt like he needed to get it out before he forgot anything, but now he thought he’d said too much. And he’d probably still forgotten something.
Rose glanced down at the parchment that Scorpius was holding, but she didn’t reach for it or even ask for more information about what it said.
“We need to talk about something else first,” she said, crossing her arms against her chest. “I know you didn’t choose yourself as Head Boy, so I won’t blame you for it, but I don’t want you making my life miserable during the most important year of my schooling, okay? We’re Head Boy and Girl, but that’s it. Keep your crush on me to yourself. I just want to do my job.”
Scorpius stammered over his response. “But I— I don’t like you anymore! I haven’t for years! I thought you knew that!”
Rose laughed, not looking the least bit convinced by the desperation in Scorpius’ voice. “Whatever you say, Malfoy. I’d rather you pretend that’s true than constantly remind me about your feelings.”
“But I’m not—” Scorpius stopped himself. He really had thought that Rose knew his crush was over. He hadn’t said anything to her about liking her since the end of fourth year. While he’d tried being friendly with her since then, he hadn’t thought he’d done anything that could be construed as romantic, but then again, he had never explicitly said that he didn’t like her either. He’d been too embarrassed to make a confession like that, and he hadn’t thought that he needed to.
It also would have been useless to say something if the way she was looking at him now was anything to go by. He was pretty sure that nothing would convince her that he was telling the truth. He deflated, trying to ignore the nagging in his head urging him to keep talking until she believed him.
“Even if I did have feelings for you,” he said carefully, “I’d never let them get in the middle of our duties. Being Head Boy is important to me too. I love being a prefect. Besides, I hate conflict.” He shuddered at the thought of it. “I don’t want to spend the whole year fighting.”
Rose hesitated, thrown off her game by how easily Scorpius had accepted the situation. “Good,” she said. “Then we deal with our duties, and we don’t talk otherwise. We’re nothing more than colleagues.”
Scorpius sighed. He didn’t dare voice his hope that they could be more than that. Rose would jump to the conclusion that he was trying to date her instead of the truth: He just wanted to be friends. Was it that hard for her to believe that he wanted to spend a good chunk of his year around someone who could stand him instead of an enemy? Apparently, it was.
He eyed her, not trusting how quickly she’d let the subject go. She walked further into the compartment, making a ridiculously wide circle around Scorpius to reach the table where her own copy of their instructions was laying.
“So,” she said as if she was the first one to find the parchment, “we need to sort out the first week’s patrol schedule.”
Scorpius gripped his parchment tightly and glanced down at the scribbled notes he’d made while waiting for her. During his nervous pacing and obsessive thinking, he’d managed to complete a patrol schedule, but he hesitated over revealing that he’d done all the work himself for fear that Rose would accuse him of usurping her.
“Yes,” was all he said instead.
Rose tapped her foot as she considered the best course of action. “How about I worry about Gryffindor and Ravenclaw while you do Hufflepuff and Slytherin? We can wait to schedule inter-house patrols later in the year. The fifth years will feel more comfortable if older members of their own houses show them the ropes first anyway.”
“Sure, sounds great,” Scorpius said, scribbling over his work from earlier.
Rose collapsed in the same spot in the compartment across from Erin and Dustin that she’d taken before. “Thank Merlin that’s over.” She blew away a few strands of hair that had fallen over her forehead.
“How was it?” Erin asked, inching forward with a smirk. “Was he nervous to be working with you all year?”
Rose rolled her eyes with a groan. “When is Malfoy not nervous? But, get this, I told him that he has to put his personal feelings aside so that we can work together this year, and he claimed that he doesn’t like me anymore.”
She laughed, and Erin joined in. Only Dustin frowned.
“Why do you think he was lying?” he asked.
Rose froze, squinting at Dustin like she was struggling to make sense of his question. The possibility that Scorpius was telling the truth hadn’t crossed her mind despite Scorpius’ frantic claims.
“I mean, of course he was lying,” she said slowly. “Most people would lie about their feelings when it’s obvious that their crush doesn’t like them back.”
Dustin rolled his eyes. “Malfoy never had a problem with that before though. And, if he really doesn’t like you, what was he supposed to say to convince you then?”
“Why wouldn’t he still like Rose?” Erin demanded.
Dustin made a frustrated noise and threw his hands up. “All I’m saying is that he asked you out three years ago, Rose, and you turned him down harshly and have treated him terribly ever since. It’s not wildly unbelievable that he’d have moved on by now. In fact, that would make more sense. It’s not like he’s made a move since fourth year.”
“Of course not,” Rose said. “He knows that I’d say no.”
“Again, that didn’t stop him in fourth year.”
“No,” Erin said, leaning back and crossing her arms against her chest. “Malfoy hasn’t dated a single person the entire time we’ve been at Hogwarts. He has to still be hung up on Rose.”
“Those two things aren’t even related,” Dustin scoffed. “Most Slytherins don't like him, let alone the other houses. Who is he supposed to date?”
Rose snorted. “Fair point. I don’t care if he’s dated anyone or not, but I’d think he’d leave me alone if he didn’t like me. Instead, he still swears that we can become friends.”
Dustin threw his hands up. “You two believe whatever you want. In the end, none of us knows what he’s thinking, and it doesn’t matter anyway because Rose doesn’t like him. So whether he likes her or not is a moot point because nothing’s going to happen.”
Rose crossed her arms against her chest. “It’s not,” she promised. “I just hope he accepts that.”
Scorpius flopped himself onto the seat beside Albus and laid his head on Albus’ shoulder before his worries of being spotted got the better of him. Albus wrapped an arm around him, though he did glance at the compartment door to make sure that no one was walking by. Thankfully, at this point in the trip, there weren’t many people moving up and down the corridor.
“Was Rose that bad?” Albus asked, amused despite himself.
“She’s convinced I still like her,” Scorpius admitted.
Albus tensed. Of course he knew that whatever Scorpius had thought he felt for Rose once upon a time was long over. He wasn’t the least bit insecure, but he couldn’t deny that it was annoying to hear that Rose was still holding onto something from fourth year.
“You told her that you don’t, right?”
Scorpius lifted his head from Albus’ shoulder and leaned back against the seat instead. “Of course I did, but how much does my opinion actually matter to Rose? She didn’t believe me.”
“She didn’t believe you about your own feelings?” Albus pressed, but it wasn’t actually a question. Of course Rose didn’t believe him. She never listened to anyone about anything. Even when they’d got along, back before Hogwarts, Albus had often been annoyed because she wouldn’t listen to reason once she’d become convinced of something.
Albus fell into his own thoughts. If Rose knew the full truth, she wouldn’t be able to keep claiming Scorpius liked her, but it wasn’t that simple.
“Do you ever think about coming out?” Scorpius asked, voice low as if they’d be overheard in the otherwise empty compartment.
Albus looked down at him where he’d slumped in the seat. “Of course I do.” He reached for Scorpius’ hand. “I mean, I’m still terrified, and I honestly don’t know if I’m ready to do it right now, but how can I not think about it?”
Scorpius hummed in agreement. “It would be nice to come out before this year is over. Before we leave school.”
Albus sucked in a breath but didn’t comment on that fantasy. “Well, I hope Rose doesn’t keep bothering you about your supposed crush, or I may not be able to keep my own mouth shut.”
Scorpius smiled softly and intertwined their fingers together on the seat between them, where anyone walking by the corridor would be unlikely to notice.
Erin groaned when Rose dragged her and Dustin to the end of the Gryffindor table where most of the new Gryffindors would sit after they were sorted.
“I’m the Head Girl,” she’d insisted. “I have to help them settle in on their first night of school.”
Though her friends had resisted the same request each year since she’d become a prefect, they humoured her this time around. Rose sat tall, motioning for each new Gryffindor to join them as they were sorted. Some of them beamed as they joined the table; others looked scared, like they’d be shooed away.
There were no surprises during the sorting. A Selwyn went to Slytherin where they belonged. An Abbott went to Hufflepuff just like her aunt, which left Rose a little upset as she’d have loved to have Professor Longbottom’s niece in Gryffindor. But at least the new students they did get looked promising.
“You’re Rose Granger-Weasley,” a particularly bold student, who had been the first brave enough to sit next to Rose, said as they began to eat dinner.
“I am,” Rose said. “But don’t let that bother you. I’m just like everyone else. What’s your name?”
“Thomas Reid. My dad’s a Muggleborn, but my mum was a Podmore. I’ve heard all about your parents.”
Rose nodded as she dug into her roast. Most of the school knew of her parents. Even the Muggleborns caught on within a few months that Rose was the daughter of the Minister for Magic. She didn’t think it had made much of a difference in her schooling except for the brief period of time when people first found out.
“I want to be Minister for Magic one day,” Thomas declared, puffing out his chest with more confidence than Rose usually saw from first years.
“Really?” Erin asked from across the table. “Why? It’s a lot of work.”
“You get to make a difference,” he said, his voice growing passionate as he spoke. Rose already thought that he’d be named a prefect once he was in fifth year. “I want to make the country a better place.”
“That’s an admirable goal,” Rose said with a smile. “My mum would love to hear that you’re already passionate about making a difference.”
Thomas strained his neck to look down the table, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Is it true that Harry Potter’s kids are at school here too?”
“Yes,” Rose said. “Lily is in Gryffindor with us. She’s a fifth year. James graduated a few years ago though.”
“And Albus is a seventh year,” Dustin added, ignoring Rose’s pointed glare for bringing him up.
“Right, of course,” Rose said with a nervous laugh. “There’s also Albus. Unfortunately, he’s in Slytherin.”
Thomas stopped twisting his head around the hall to look at Rose, his gaze narrowing. “My mum was a Slytherin,” he said with conviction.
“Oh.” Rose shrunk back from him before she could think better of it. “Will your parents be upset about your sorting?”
His brow furrowed. “Why would they be? My dad was a Gryffindor.”
Rose opened and closed her mouth, struggling with a response. She looked to her friends for help, but Erin was unhelpfully giggling behind her hand and Dustin just smirked at her.
“I’m glad they won’t be angry then,” she said before shoveling a large bite of roast beef into her mouth.
Scorpius didn’t need to ask for Albus to hand over his schedule the second he received it. Comparing the two documents showed exactly what Scorpius had expected.
“This is the fewest classes we’ve ever had together,” he said with a pout as he handed Albus his schedule back so that he could scan it for himself.
“That’s to be expected,” Albus said, leaning into Scorpius’ space to look at his schedule too. “You’re studying to be a herbologist, and I’m studying to be a who-knows-what.”
Scorpius rested his head in his hand with a sigh. “I miss the days when all our classes were together.”
Even during third year, they’d made sure to choose the same electives. Back then, it had been unfathomable that they wouldn’t choose to drop the same ones when sixth year came, but it hadn’t been meant to be.
“Last year was kind of boring,” Albus admitted. “I love Hagrid, but Care of Magical Creatures has started to involve too much excrement for my tastes.”
“Ew! I didn’t need to hear that over breakfast.” Scorpius pushed his plate away, knowing that he’d pull it back in a few seconds.
Sometimes he missed seeing Hagrid several times a week, but Albus’ anecdotes were good for reminding him why he’d quit the subject after fifth year. He’d never been particularly good with animals. He blamed it on the peacock that had accosted him when he was five. He’d barely been able to tolerate owls since.
“You should have taken Herbology,” Scorpius insisted for the millionth time. “Even if you don’t want to do it after Hogwarts, it’s a useful subject. You're brilliant at potions. Herbology would help you grow your own ingredients.”
Not that they could change anything now. After missing a year’s worth of lessons, Albus never could have gotten into the seventh year class. It was a nice dream though. Scorpius would have loved to have Albus in his favourite class, and he’d made that position very clear the summer before sixth year.
“I wish I was taking it,” Albus admitted. “You’re going to be so busy with your Head Boy duties this year that I feel like we’ll never get to see each other. But you know that I can’t keep a plant alive for more than five minutes. I’m better off sticking to throwing dead ones into cauldrons.”
“Hey.” Scorpius nudged Albus’ shoulder. “Of course we’ll still see each other. We share a dormitory after all. And we managed to see each other last year despite taking different classes and my prefect duties.”
Albus gave a long exhale. “I know.”
Scorpius kept nudging him until he got a smile out of him. “I think this will be a good year,” he said. “It’s our last at Hogwarts, so we have to make the most of it. Maybe Neville will let you sneak into some classes!”
“Sure,” Albus said with a snort. “We could try that. Just don’t let me get near any mandrakes.”
He shuddered as he remembered the incident from second year.
“I’ll keep you far away from all the plants,” Scorpius said, holding a hand over his heart. “They don’t deserve the torture you’d unwittingly inflict on them.”
Albus pretended like he was going to fling baked beans at Scorpius, earning more giggles from his boyfriend.
“Sorry!” Scorpius said, holding up his hands. “You’re not that bad. Promise.”
“Thank you.” Albus stopped the threats by shovelling the baked beans into his mouth. “But maybe we should stick to spending time together outside of the greenhouses. For my sake as much as the plants’.”