Chapter Text
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Albus could feel his heart pounding beneath his slender frame, doing his best to hide how anxious he felt visiting Malfoy Manor for the first time. Scorpius skipped through the door frame with a bounce, his dad asking him to slow down as he put Scorpius and Albus' bags down. Scorpius brushed off the excess Floo powder and raced over to grab a glass of water from the sink, asking if Albus wanted one too. Albus had heard a lot about the Manor from his Aunt Hermione and his Uncle Ron, who was absolutely adamant that it was the worst place he had ever visited. But Scorpius spoke so highly of his home and Albus could feel how homely it was the moment he fell through the fireplace. It was airy and beautifully decorated, and it didn't look at all like his dad had described.
But, then again, Draco and Astoria were very different to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, and there was no Dark Lord skulking around the home anymore. So, he figured it made sense.
"Scorpius, do you want to give Albus the tour? Or do you want to just take your bags straight up to your room?" Draco asked, his voice softer than Albus had ever heard it before. He had imagined that Draco would mellow behind the scenes because Scorpius had spoken so highly of him but it still took him by surprise. They walked through to the living room, the green sofas catching Albus' eyes immediately. "Astoria was a big fan of the colour green." Draco said, noticing his fixation on the colour scheme. "She always insisted it had nothing to do with the fact she was a Slytherin but - but I was never convinced."
"It looks lovely, Mr. Malfoy." Albus said.
"Draco, please." He said. "Scorpius, I'll have dinner ready for 5pm, okay? Is there anything you fancy in particular, Albus?"
"I don't want to be a bother, Sir."
"I imagine your father said the same to Scorpius but I'm going to say it anyway. You are not bothering me, not in the slightest." He said. It was a warm comment, that made Albus feel instantly at home. "I know this is very different to what you are used to at home, or I imagine it is, but you are, well, you are part of the Malfoy family now. As far as I'm concerned, I mean."
Scorpius felt his eyes prick with tears.
"Dad-"
"Scorpius." Draco raised his eyebrows.
"That's - that's very kind." Albus stammered, looking between the two blonde Slytherins. Draco gave him a small smile before walking away, his feet unable to carry him fast enough. He'd never been one for emotional outbursts, and Albus started to understand where Scorpius got his inability to talk about his emotions from. He found himself smiling. "But I will eat anything at all."
"Just to check, you don't mind eating vegetarian food, do you?" Draco asked. "I haven't eaten meat since Scorpius turned veggie but I can go and grab something-"
"Vegetarian is fine, thank you." He smiled.
"Come on - I'll show you my room." Scorpius said, excitedly, grabbing his wand and performing a simple spell so that their cases followed them up the stairs.
Scorpius' room was a fair walk away from the living room, and Albus could feel himself struggling to catch his breath. He'd thought having to climb three flights of stairs in the Weasley beach house was had but Malfoy Manor was neverending. He stopped for a moment, pretending to have to tie his trainer laces and bending down to catch his breath.
"I know you're not a Quidditch player but are you really that unfit?" Scorpius teased, his voice light and airy.
"You're not a Quidditch player either." Albus pulled a pretend wounded face, his eyes narrowing as he smirked. "But Scorp - your house is massive And there are so many stairs - why are there so many stairs?"
"I know." He laughed. "You'll get used to it. I suppose we're quite fortunate not having to climb up a load of stairs to get to our dorm at school."
"Unlike Ravenclaw or Gryffindor." Albus said, eyes wide. He'd never thought about that before but maybe he was sorted into Slytherin because the hat realised how lazy he was. "Can't we teach ourselves to apparate or something?" Albus was half joking and half not, and it made Scorpius laugh quite harshly. So harshly that he let out a small snort. Albus sat down on the floor, doing his best to pretend he really wasn't that tired.
"I suppose we could try." He knelt down and took Albus' hand, pulling him up and pressing his forehead to his.
"I really like the view of the garden." Albus said, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight as Scorpius placed his hand up to the back of Albus' neck, pulling him by his waist so that their breaths were inches away from one another. Scorpius opened his mouth a little, his breath catching in his throat. "But - but I like this view more." Albus twisted his neck slightly and lifted his face up, his mouth landing delicately on Scorpius' lips.
Scorpius let the touch linger for just a moment before pulling away and dragging Albus by his hand to his room. It was round the corner from where they were just standing, and Albus made himself laugh at the fact he was being so dramatic over twenty more steps.
"Did you just cut a kiss short, Scorpius Malfoy?"
The light in Scorpius' room was almost blinding, the green undertones of the furniture giving a healthy contrast as he guided Albus into the room. It was a fancy room, Albus thought, but it felt like home the moment he stepped foot in there. Scorpius had a large king sized bed that was draped with multiple different blankets and pillows, all in different shades of green and silver, and his teddy bears were lined up neatly on the side of the bed that was closest to the wall.
"You didn't tell me you shared a bed with other-"
"Shut up." Scorpius nudged his boyfriend before he could finish that sentence. "My parents bought me a bear for every important moment in my life."
"That's - that's really sweet." Albus could feel his heart pounding at the idea of the teddies each having a little meaning. He caught himself glancing at a small bear that was doused in a black veil and couldn't help but feel his breathing hitch, wondering if it was a bear that signified his mother's passing.
"It was dad's idea." Scorpius said, which took Albus' by surprise slightly. The teddies were the expensive kind, and he dreaded to imagine how many galleons each one cost but they were sweet and they were incredibly on brand for Scorpius. "This one-" He picked up a small brown bear with a little green and silver scarf. "This one is supposed to signify the day I met you."
There was a small heart sewn into the Slytherin scarf, and it made Albus grin.
"Dad - dad bought it for me when I told him how I felt about you."
Albus stammered a little, tripping over his own feet as he took the bear from his boyfriend. Draco Malfoy was this okay with them being together from the very first moment? That made his heart happy. Not only because it meant Scorpius' dad accepted him but because he knew how much it must have meant to Scorpius. He could imagine how nervous he was telling him the first time, only to be given this bear and be told that he was loved.
It was much the same with his family. They understood Albus and Scorpius' love better than anyone, and it made him happier than he could put into words.
"And - and he thought that you'd - that you'd want one too." Scorpius pointed over to a gift box that was delicately placed on Scorpius' desk, which was placed right next to his collection of books.
"Oh my Dumbledore - Scorpius!" Albus could barely hear anything over his heart pounding. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him. Scorpius guided him over to the desk and handed him the box, which Albus studied before delicately unwrapping the silver bow from the green box. He lifted out a replica of the small bear that Scorpius had aptly named Albus and ran his finger through its hair. It had the same Slytherin themed scarf on, with a small heart stitched in in a silver string and - instead of brown - was made from platinum blonde fur. "This is the sweetest." He placed it up to his mouth, planting a light kiss on its fur and smelt a faint aroma of peppermint.
"Dad thought it would be a nice touch." Scorpius avoided his gaze, unsure if Albus was finding it overwhelming, or not.
"I - I don't know what to say. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever gifted me."
"Really?"
"Really, really!" Albus placed his bear delicately beside Scorpius' and wrapped his arm around Scorpius' waist. "Thank you! I don't know how I'll thank your dad."
"Just compliment his cooking and it'll be thanks enough."
Albus laughed, holding his boyfriend close to him. Scorpius melted into the touch before wriggling out of the hold and skipping around his room.
"Is that - is that peppermint I can smell?" Albus asked, unsure if he was just smelling the reminents of the bear.
Scorpius skipped over to the counter and pointed at his Pepper Imp candle that was enchanted to last for years.
"Scorpius - this is all so you." He grinned, bouncing around the room with a slight Albus hesitation. "I love it." He opened his wardrobe up and saw multiple versions of the same jumpers and black jeans and pyjama sets. "I'm going to steal so many of those."
Scorpius laughed. Albus looked so at home, and he was grinning from cheek to cheek. He was glad he was here. He was glad he wanted to be here, given everything that had happened with his dad here. Even if Albus wasn't his dad, it still must have been difficult for him to imagine Malfoy Manor as a home after hearing the stories. But Albus wasn't letting on that he was bothered by it at all. And that was making Scorpius feel really positive.
"Look at all of these books. No wonder you're such a nerd, you were groomed from a young age." He joked. "Scorp, there are more books here than in the Hogwarts library!"
"No, there isn't." Scorpius rolled his eyes. "But - yes - I know, I'm a massive nerd."
"You are." Albus nodded along. "It's one of the things I love about you." He said, simply.
Scorpius smiled into his shoulder, running over to his bed and jumping on it.
"I know I was worried about being put in Slytherin but Scorp, what would your parents have said if you were placed in Ravenclaw? Your whole room is green!"
"You think I could be a Ravenclaw?" He put his hand onto his heart and jumped up and down.
"Honestly? No. You're too fixated on your learning to be a Ravenclaw." He said. "They just like to study anything at all but you - you're amazing at studying for things that you enjoy, Scorp. You're everything that's good about our house." He was beaming, and it made Scorpius smile wide. "You are a nerd so un-apologetically that you couldn't have been put anywhere else." He looked around. "But your parents would have been mortified."
"No, they wouldn't have minded." Scorpius smiled, laying back into the pillow on his bed. He lifted his head up to look at Albus, who was stood by his desk. "Green has always been my favourite colour anyway, before I even knew what a Slytherin was." He said. "And then I learned what a Slytherin was and I liked it even more." He chewed on the inside of his mouth. "And then - then I met you and I loved green even more."
"Me?" Albus looked at him, seeing how awkward his posture had become on the bed. Scorpius looked down, fidgeting with his sweatshirt sleeve. Albus walked over towards him and lay down, making sure he took his shoes off before climbing in next to Scorpius. He spun himself around so that their faces were inches apart, and lifted his hand up to Scorpius', lacing his fingers into his.
"Your - your eyes." He answered. And Albus felt his heart swell once again, his breath meeting Scorpius'. Albus found his eyes meeting Scorpius', which was a rare feat for the Malfoy boy. He moved his head a little closer, looking into Scorpius' eyes and beginning to smile once again. "You have - you have bright green eyes. Like a Slytherin."
"Also like my father - and my grandmother." He said. "I think Severus Snape would have loved me, so it's a good job he didn't meet me."
Scorpius scoffed at the joke, his throat catching as he rolled over in his bed, resting his head on the pillow.
"You have such mystical eyes, you know?" Albus returned the favour. "I - I fell for you the first moment we made eye contact because - because they're so - so unique." He brushed his index finger over Scorpius' cheek. "Like you." He noticed Scorpius' eyes twinkle. "I suppose we were always destined to be Slytherin together."
"Wh-"
"Grey was my favourite colour growing up. And I'm not kidding around - my room is grey at home and - and Merlin's beard, Scorp." His jaw locked wide open. "We've been repping Slytherin since birth. You have the silver and I have the green." He looked astonished, like he'd cracked a lifelong puzzle. "That's - that's some real written in the stars stuff."
"I am named after a constellation." He pointed out, dryly.
"You may be named after the stars, Scorp, but - but you're the sun."
"You're being soppy again." Scorpius felt a shiver collapse down his spine. "You're going to make me puke."
"I am sorry for being nice." He winked.
Scorpius moved his head forward and delicately placed it under Albus' chin, resting his face against the cloth of Albus' jumper. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, feeling secure in the scent of Albus. The smaller boy closed his eyes, too, feeling himself swooning. Scorpius' bed was the most comfortable thing he had ever laid in, other than Scorpius' arms, and it was evident that the Malfoy family were not short of galleons.
"I could stay like this forever." Scorpius murmured, his voice tender and soft. And Albus wished they could, but he knew they had agreed to eat with Scorpius' dad this evening. He found himself becoming nervous at the prospect, hoping he will be enough for the Malfoy.
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