The Tenth Anniversary 2/2
A/N: This is the last chapter. Enjoy!
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Chapter Two
Scorpius Malfoy couldn't take it anymore. All he wanted to do was scream at the top of his lungs to stop Albus from making another mistake. He wished he could just stop looking at the limp man the man he loved had become since his disappearance. He wished he could do the same as the rest of his family and pretend like/that nothing had happened to them. But he couldn't. He didn't have the strength to look away. So he watched as his train-wreck of a boyfriend was falling off the cliff that had become his life. Maybe if Albus could find a way to move on, Scorpius could move on too. Maybe then he could go back to the manor and pretend.
It will be so great - better than the pathetic sight of a highly drunk Albus going through old photographs with that bloody wooden box in front of him. It wasn't like when they were teenagers, getting drunk just because they could.
It was fun back then. You were climbing on tables; you were dancing and fooling around. You didn't crawl in your living room stuck in memory land.
It was only seven thirty, and Scorpius was yawning already. New Year Eve was always so boring at the Ministry. He envied Albus, who was probably enjoying himself in the continuous noise and laughter at the Burrow. The Weasleys were so much more fun than these uptight aristocrats.
He'd almost begged his parents not to bring him, but they had refused, saying that everyone in respectable society was going to be there. The face his grandfather, Lucius, had made when Scorpius pointed out that Mr Potter wasn't coming had been priceless, but it didn't change the fact that he missed Albus like crazy.
"Scorpius! Scorpius!"
Scorpius recognised the voice immediately. It was Evangeline, an annoying classmate. He ignored her and tried to ditch her in the crowd. She didn't seem to understand that just because he was gay didn't mean he was interested in clothes and hair products.
She was closing in on him when he felt a familiar presence near him. "Hey babe," he heard before being dragged under Albus' invisibility cloak.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to save you. What else? Teddy's bought us alcohol, and everyone's waiting for us in that room he found during his training."
"If my family find out I bailed on the party -"
"Well, I can still leave you with her..." Albus pointed at Evangeline, who was by now almost close enough to bump into them.
In response, Scorpius took his hand. Albus smiled and brought him to the mysterious room.
Unsurprisingly, Scorpius got punished pretty badly for having ditched the party to get drunk, but it had been worth it.
Coming back to his senses, Scorpius sat beside Albus. He wished he could touch him, just one last time.
"Scorpius..." The whisper was full of despair and it stabbed him right through the heart.
Someone knocked twice at the door, but Albus didn't even react. He took another sip of firewhiskey while turning the pages of the photo album.
"Albus Severus Potter! Open up the damn door!"
Albus stood up, scrambling as he made it to the entrance. His hand shook as he reached for the doorknob. Scorpius stood still behind him.
"What - burp - want?"
"For Merlin's sake, Al! How much have you had to drink?"
"Dunno."
James Potter pushed his brother aside in order to enter the house and made his way to the living room.
"Shit, Al. What's wrong with you?"
James glared at Albus. Already he was holding an empty bottle of firewhiskey in each hand; two other bottles - one of them half full - were still at his feet. He began to clear them away under Albus' protestations. Albus, however, was weakened by the alcohol and couldn't really stop James from doing whatever he wanted. Heck, even when sober he couldn't stop his brother from doing as he pleased.
"Gimme…" Albus pleaded, stumbling over his own feet.
Scorpius made a pointless move toward him while James rolled his eyes. "Really, Al? Don't you have any pride at all? Malfoy died ten years ago!"
"You - burp - hate - burp - Scor."
"You know that's not true. Sure the lad wasn't my favourite person in the world, but... he wasn't a bad lad. And he made you happy." James tried to smile, and Albus took that moment to throw up his last meal.
"Great!" said James to himself. "Now I'll have to clean up everything."
He brought Albus away from the vomit and took out a potion from his pocket. "Take this potion. You'll feel better."
"No." Albus moved his head left and right frenetically.
He may have been drunk, but he could still tell what kind of potion it was just by the colour and the scent. He felt dizzy and ready to throw up again, but he'd rather that than take this potion.
He didn't see his brother coming at him. Before he knew it, James had stabilised him and was forcing the amber liquid of the potion down his throat.
It wasn't long before he collapsed in James' arms. James took him to the couch, laid him down and left the living room to get a blanket.
In other circumstances, Scorpius would have strongly opposed James' treatment of Albus. There was something wrong about forcing someone to drink a potion without their consent. But he had to admit that he was relieved to see Albus sleeping peacefully for once.
Scorpius sat near Albus and started slowly clearing his face from the hairs glued to his forehead. He smiled sadly as he leaned down toward Al to brush his lips against his. He closed his eyes, wishing he could actually really touch him. He couldn't feel the warmth or the softness of his lips. It was unsettling.
"Why do you put yourself through this, son?"
Scorpius jumped and stood up. "Dad! What are doing here? You were the one insisting we should listen to Grandfather and stay at the manor."
"He is trying to find a way -"
"He's the one who put us in this mess in the first place!"
"Do not raise your voice with me, son."
"I'll raise my voice if I fucking want! The sick bastard was doing illegal experimentations in the hope of finding a way to destroy all Muggles, and now we're stuck here, and I have to look at the man I was going to marry while he's destroying himself because of him! "
The more he talked, the more he raised his voice and the more tears rolled down his cheeks. His knees felt weak, and Scorpius had to steady himself on the only thing he could touch: his father.
Scorpius could hear his heart beating in his chest. This wasn't a bad stress. It was more like the kind of nervousness he'd had the first time he had sex with Albus. He was anxious about the unknown elements of the situation, but at the same time, he was thrilled because he was taking the last step toward a life with Albus.
If everything went well, he will soon be Mr Scorpius Malfoy-Potter. He had dreamt of that since their first kiss under the tree at Hogwarts. He still had his textbooks from that year, and they were full of hearts and their names put together. He'd been pathetically lovesick back then, and sometimes he felt like he still was.
They went to their favourite restaurant. As they were walking back to Albus' apartment, Scorpius pulled the wooden box out of his pocket and stopped Albus. Getting down on one knee, Scorpius opened the box, revealing two delicate wedding rings.
"Albus Severus Potter, I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you marry me?"
Forcing Scorpius to stand up, Albus kissed the life out of him.
When they separated, Scorpius whispered, "Does that mean yes?"
Albus laughed in response.
Draco put an arm around Scorpius. He'd never been an affectionate father, but he loved his son deeply. He didn't know what he would have become if he had never been born. Scorpius, without knowing it, had allowed Draco to have a happy life.
"I know you're angry at my father, but he's trying to make things right." Draco ignored Scorpius' sneer. "He knows what he did was wrong, and if - when we get back into our own dimension, he will get punished."
Scorpius got out of his arms and glared at Albus. "Look at him. He is only 28 and he has all those wrinkles around his eyes because he can't get me off his mind. How can I just ignore that, and stay at the manor doing nothing?"
"You don't have to do nothing. I'm sure you can help Lucius; you're one of the best Potion masters."
"And then what, Dad? The potion has a three-month incubation. It's ninety days for us, but it's ninety years for them. Assuming we can complete the potion today, Albus will be something like 118 years old and I'll still be 18. What a life! He'll be on his death bed and I'll be at the beginning of my life. I'd rather stay here. Maybe in a couple of days he'll have moved on. His family insists more and more that he dates again. Besides, I don't think I can see Grandfather without killing him, and then we wouldn't really be advanced."
"I'll go back to the manor then. Feel free to join us when you're ready, okay?"
"Okay."
While Scorpius was having his long monologue, James had come back and wrapped Albus up in a blanket. Scorpius smiled when he recognised Albus' old favourite blanket. They had had so much fun watching the fire in the Gryffindor fireplace, snuggling underneath that old thing.
"Wait, Dad!"
"yeah, son?"
"Thanks."
Draco smiled and disappeared. Scorpius sat on the floor and fell asleep looking at the man he loved.
When he woke up the next morning, another year had gone by for Albus, and the pain was still so present in his eyes that Scorpius took the decision to go back to the manor.
He needed to find a way to get back to Albus.
The end.