Fic: Scavenger Hunt

[mysecretashes]

Title: Scavenger Hunt
Summary: Sometimes courage needs a little help.
Word Count: 2700
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Humor
Prompts: Person: Luna Lovegood; Place: the wilderness; Object one: compass; Object two: rope; Food: hotdogs; Emotion: courage; Quote: "Happiness only real when shared." - Christopher McCandless; Freeform: a great adventure 
Disclaimer: Not mine.
AN: I've never written Luna before, and I have to admit that she wasn't the easiest character for me.  But it was fun, and I hope you enjoy it!

Scavenger Hunt

Albus couldn't help but wonder how he'd let himself get talked into this. It probably had something to do with the fact that Lily never let him say no. Oh, he tried to say no; he always did. But somehow she always managed to get her way-every bloody time.

Which was exactly why he currently found himself at the Scamander twins birthday party, despite his best efforts to get out of going. The only consolation he had was that he'd convinced Scorpius to come with him-the more time Albus got to spend with his best friend and crush the better.

"This is utter bollocks," Albus muttered to Scorpius, who was standing beside him in the Scamander's backyard. "What fourteen year olds do you know who have a scavenger hunt at their birthday party?"

"Those two, apparently," Scorpius said, nodding toward where the twins and Lily were chattering excitedly. "Remind me again why I'm here? I don't even know them."

Because it's summer and I miss you, Albus thought. "To keep me sane. And if I have to do this so do you, because I'll be damned if I'm playing kid games by myself."

"Hullo Albus."

Albus jumped and let out a very un-manly squeak, spinning around to see his sister's godmother smiling serenely at him. "Oh. Um. Hullo, Aunt Luna."

"I'm so very relieved that you came today. I was just telling your father how very much you needed it," Luna said, and then shifted her gaze to Scorpius. "Who is your guest?"

Albus didn't even try to make sense of what the woman meant; he'd learnt long ago that there was no point. "This is my best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. He's going to be my partner today."

"Oh, yes," Luna said dreamily. "And after today as well."

Albus blinked and exchanged a confused glance with Scorpius. "Um. If you say so."

"It doesn't matter what I say," Luna said, smiling. "What exactly do you boys need? Oh, I know! Courage."

"Courage?" Albus asked. "What do you mean we need courage?"

"That's what you have to discover for yourselves," Luna said. "Your great adventure will be for the courage you need."

She turned, raising her wand, and Albus exchanged a gobsmacked look with Scorpius. Luna caught the piece of paper that came flying toward her and then handed it to Albus. "Here's your first clue. Have fun, and don't forget that the first ones back win a prize!"

Albus watched as she walked away and then turned to Scorpius. "She's nutters."

"How are we supposed to hunt for courage?" Scorpius asked. "That's mental."

"Might as well get this over with," Albus sighed, opening the paper Luna had given him.

North, South, East, West- 
into the woods you go. 
Which direction will serve you best? 
Only your hearts will know.

"What does that mean?" Scorpius asked, reading over Albus's shoulder.

"No idea," Albus said, his heart automatically picking up speed at Scorpius's proximity. "I think we have to go into the forest, though."

"Obviously," Scorpius drawled.

"Tosser," Albus huffed.

"By the way," Scorpius said, quickly moving away toward the woods behind the Scamander home, "you squeal like a girl!"

"Oi!" Albus cried indignantly, feeling a flush rise on his cheeks. "I do not!" Scorpius laughed and Albus took off after him, half-heartedly punching him on the arm when he caught up.

"And apparently you hit like a girl," Scorpius said with a grin, punching Albus back.

"You're an arse," Albus stated flatly, ducking a branch as they entered the forest.

"It makes me wonder," Scorpius said, his voice teasingly thoughtful as he obviously ignored Albus, "if maybe you fuck like a girl too."

Albus stumbled, his entire body heating at Scorpius's words; he quickly straightened and glared at his best friend. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Scorpius raised an amused eyebrow. "I think we're looking for a compass."

Albus blinked. "What?"

Scorpius gestured to the paper still in Albus's hand. "A compass. I think that's the first thing we have to find."

"Oh," Albus said, glancing down at the paper. "Yeah, that makes sense. But how are we supposed to find something that small?"

"Pure dumb luck?" Scorpius suggested unhelpfully.

"Right," Albus sighed. "I guess we should get started then."

Twenty minutes of fruitless searching later Albus was ready to give up and head back to the Scamander home. Unfortunately, they were completely and utterly lost.

"Where the fuck are we?" Albus asked irritably as they climbed over a fallen tree.

"The woods?" Scorpius offered.

"Har-har," Albus said sarcastically. "You think you're so funny, don't you?"

"Yeah, sometimes," Scorpius said, grinning.

Albus stopped walking, throwing up his arms in frustration. "Are you bothered by this at all? We're lost in the wilderness and all you can do is make jokes!"

"I'd hardly call this the wilderness," Scorpius said with amusement. "And no, I'm not all that bothered by it."

Albus gaped at him. "You're not? But…why not?"

Scorpius flushed slightly and looked away, shrugging casually. "I haven't seen you all summer because of one thing after another, and now we're getting to spend the day together. It doesn't matter that it's for some weird kids' birthday party; we're the only ones here right now."

"Oh," Albus said, not sure what to make of that. "Well, yeah, that's a good point."

"There!" Scorpius suddenly shouted.

"What?" Albus said, confused as he watched Scorpius hurry over to a large rock.

"The compass," Scorpius called back to him. "It's here!"

"Really?" Albus asked in surprise, finally getting his feet to move and walking over to the rock. "Bloody hell! It is!"

"It just appeared," Scorpius said, picking up the palm-sized brass object. "Oh, damn. It's broken."

Albus frowned as he took the compass from Scorpius; the little arrow was spinning wildly. "What's the point in giving us a useless compass?"

"Maybe this will tell us," Scorpius said, picking up a small piece of paper where the compass had been. He opened it and read aloud:

"You're on the right track
Make sure you don't stray
Crumple-Horned Snorkacks
Might get in your way!

Look close for the twine
Quadruple in size
Don't let your hearts pine
Enough with the lies!"

Albus and Scorpius looked at each other blankly.

"What's a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?" Scorpius asked.

"A creature that doesn't actually exist," Albus answered. "But I think we're supposed to look for a rope."

"Right," Scorpius said, frowning down at the paper. "So are you pining for something and lying about it?"

"What?" Albus asked, startled. Then he realized what Scorpius had asked and gave him a bright smile. "Of course not!"

Scorpius looked skeptical. "If you say so. Come on, then, let's look for some rope. Do you think it has anything to do with bondage?"

"Bondage?" Albus squeaked, his eyes going wide as an image of Scorpius bound to his bed immediately popped into his head. He cleared his throat, willing his sudden blush away. "Er, no. No, I really don't think it has anything to do with that."

"Too bad," Scorpius said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "That could have been fun." Albus gaped at him, but Scorpius didn't notice; he was staring down at the compass. "Look! It stopped spinning."

Albus blinked, swallowed, and looked down at the compass still in his hand; the little arrow was now pointing west. "Oh. Yeah, it did."

"Should we follow it?" Scorpius asked.

Albus shrugged. "Why not? I don't have any better ideas."

They began walking, and Albus was grateful for the excuse to look anywhere but at Scorpius. Had the other boy figured out his secret? It seemed that way, but it didn't really make sense. They hadn't seen each other all summer, and everything had been completely normal when they'd said goodbye on the platform.

But now Scorpius was dropping hints that he knew something, and Albus couldn't help but feel a bit panicked. He had tried so hard to keep Scorpius from finding out that his feelings had developed into something more than friendship, but it seemed like his best friend had figured it out anyway. Albus glared morosely down at his moving feet.

"Al?" Scorpius suddenly said, sounding hesitant.

"Yeah?" Albus said cautiously.

Scorpius glanced quickly at him and then away. "I have to tell you something."

Albus's stomach clenched and he felt vaguely nauseous; Scorpius was going to tell him that he'd figured out Al's secret and didn't think they could be friends any more. "O-ok."

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Um. Do you remember last year, when I stayed over Christmas hols instead of going home with you?"

"Yeah," Albus said slowly. Fuck, had Scorpius known that long?

"Well, I never told you this, but the reason I stayed was because I needed some time by myself to figure something out," Scorpius explained. "And I did, and I had meant to tell you when you came back, but as soon as I saw you I lost my nerve."

Albus swallowed and closed his eyes, not wanting to see the apologetic pity on Scorpius's face. "So you're going to tell me now?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said. "Yes. Al, I-I'm gay."

At the words Albus's eyes flew open and he whipped his head around to stare at Scorpius with wide eyes. "Wha-,"

Unfortunately, Albus's inattention to where he had been walking was a big mistake, because he suddenly found himself falling. The logical, unsurprised part of his brain told him that he should be hitting the ground, and it couldn't make sense of the fact that he wasn't. He heard Scorpius call his name from above him, and automatically closed his eyes.

Albus hit the ground with a hard thud, the breath knocked out of him. He could still hear Scorpius yelling his name, but was unable to do anything but lay there and struggle to breathe.

"Al! Albus! Fuck, oh fuck. Can you hear me? Are you alive? Oh my god."

Albus finally managed to drag in a painful breath, and coughed out an answer. "Ow."

There was a brief moment of silence above him, and then Albus heard a short, relieved laugh.

"Fucking hell, Al. Your best friend being gay is no reason to try and off yourself!"

Albus opened his eyes to see Scorpius several feet above him, face full of fear. "Funny," he wheezed sarcastically. He slowly sat up, checking to make sure nothing was broken, and looked around him. He was surrounded by solid-packed dirt walls, and there was no obvious way out. Spotting the compass, he picked it up and pocketed it.

"Are you ok, really?" Scorpius asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Albus answered, breath finally starting to come a bit easier as he stood. "But I'm sure as hell going to hurt tomorrow. You're going to have to help me out. I think this is some sort of animal trap, and there's no way back up."

Scorpius glanced around him and then let out a disbelieving snort before disappearing from Albus's view.

"Scorpius?" Albus called, trying not to panic. "Where'd you go?"

Scorpius reappeared and held something up. "How about a rope?"

Albus started to laugh, but quickly stopped as his lungs protested. "Perfect. Toss me an end."

"Hold on," Scorpius said, moving away. "I'm going to tie it around a tree first."

"Oi," Albus said indignantly.  "I'm not that heavy."

"What?" Scorpius called, voice teasing. "I can't hear you!"

"Git!" Albus yelled, and was promptly hit in the face with his end of the rope.

"Oops," Scorpius said unrepentantly.

Albus glared up at him but refrained from making more insults; he wanted to get out of that blasted hole. Grabbing onto the rope with both hands he tugged hard on it to make sure it would hold and then planted one foot against the dirt wall in front of him.

"Don't trust me?" Scorpius asked dryly, apparently having noticed Albus's tug.

"You, yes," Albus said. "Your knot-tying skills, not so much."

"Arse," Scorpius said without heat.

"Prat," Albus shot back.

Fifteen minutes later, and a desperate grab at Scorpius's outstretched hand, Albus tumbled out of the hole and onto his stomach, breathing hard. "Fuck. Climbing a rope isn't as easy as I thought."

"When have you thought about climbing a rope?" Scorpius asked from beside him.

"Good point," Albus said, pushing himself up to his knees. He hissed in pain and looked down at his reddened hands. "I've got rope burn."

"Let me see," Scorpius said, reaching out and cupping Albus's hands in his. "You're going to need some salve for that."

"Yeah," Albus agreed, glancing up from their hands to the top of Scorpius's bowed head. "Are you really gay or were you just taking the piss?"

Scorpius looked up at him, surprise on his face. "Why would telling you I'm gay be taking the piss?"

Albus flushed and looked back down. "Dunno. Just thought maybe-maybe you'd found out I am and was making fun of me."

Scorpius's grip on his hands tightened, and Albus cautiously looked up at him. Scorpius's eyes were wide, shock filling them. "Are you gay?"

Albus hesitated briefly, but nodded. "Yeah."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and stared at Albus for a long moment, making him squirm uncomfortably. Without warning Scorpius yanked on his hands, pulling Albus so close that he could feel the other boy's breath ghost over his lips.

"What would you do if I kissed you?" Scorpius asked quietly, demandingly.

Albus's eyes widened and his heart started racing; his tongue unconsciously flicked out to wet his lips. "K-kiss you back."

And then Scorpius's mouth closed over his and Albus couldn't stop the moan that rose in his throat. He parted his lips and ran his tongue along Scorpius's mouth. Scorpius made a noise deep in his chest, opening his mouth and slipping his own tongue out to meet Albus's.

The kiss deepened, Scorpius loosening his hands to slide them around Albus's waist and pull him closer. Albus wrapped his own arms around Scorpius's neck and plunged his tongue as deeply into the boy's mouth as he could. Scorpius whimpered and rocked their hips together.

Albus pulled away with a gasp, resting their foreheads together and gazing into Scorpius's grey eyes, dark with desire. "I've wanted to do that for ages."

"Me, too," Scorpius said breathlessly. "We're going to do it again, right?"

Albus grinned wickedly. "Among other things."

Scorpius grinned in return, but before either of them could move there was a flash of light above them and a piece of paper appeared. Albus reached up and caught it, bringing it down so the two of them could read it together.

Congratulations!
You've passed the test
Courage is now yours
Your choice was the best.

Hotdogs are waiting
And butterbeer too
Day is abating
You're tired, it's true.

The compass is key
Just say this next phrase:
From out of the trees
And into the craze.

And remember boys-happiness is only real when shared.

Albus looked up from the note to see Scorpius shaking his head, an amused smile on his face. "Mental. Completely mental."

"At least now we know what she meant by hunting for courage," Scorpius said.

"That doesn't make her any less crazy," Albus insisted, carefully folding the note and putting it in his pocket.

"Do you think the compass is a portkey?" Scorpius asked.

Albus shrugged. "Either that or it'll point us in the right direction. I don't think I want to go back at the moment though."

Scorpius shook his head. "Me neither, but we've got to get your hands taken care of."

"Oh," Albus said, looking down at his raw palms; he'd managed to forget about them while kissing Scorpius, but now they started to hurt again. "Yeah, I guess we should."

"Come on," Scorpius said, standing. "Maybe we can convince your dad to let me stay the night."

Albus grinned and stood as well, carefully reaching into his pocket to pull out the compass. "There's only two weeks until school starts; we can probably convince him to let you stay the rest of the summer."

Scorpius grinned back and reached for the compass.  "Then what are we waiting for?"