LOG. of awesome and win.
Who: Stephen Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy
What: Stargazing, a.k.a. doing something outside of the library for once.
When: Night.
Scorpius strolled down to the Potions class, completely unfazed by the fact it was an hour after curfew already. Security by Prefects was lax on Fridays nights and the teachers were few and far between in their rounds. He leaned aganst the wall beside the Potions' door and straightened his shirt absently, thinking how strange it was that he was already uncomfortable in non-uniform, Muggle-style clothes in the school even though he'd only been there mere weeks.
Gathering up a few things and shoving them into his bag, Stephen headed out of Ravenclaw tower and walked down several flights of stairs towards the Potions classroom. The halls seemed to be empty, but Stephen planned to tell anyone he met that he had fallen asleep in the library if they asked any questions. Finally, he spotted the blond first year slouching against the wall, and he waved to him.
Raising a hand in a response to the greeting, Scorpius pushed himself away from the wall, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He really needed to get that cut. Holding a hand out for the approaching boy to shake, he said quietly, "Stephen, I assume."
Stephen nodded and clasped the other boy's outstretched hand. "Scorpius?"
He nodded briefly. "Let's go, then." He walked by Stephen, tucking his hands into his pockets as he headed for a hallway to their right. "I'm glad you could come."
"So am I. I'm sure this will be far more interesting than spending time by myself in my room." Stephen gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. Scorpius was doing him a favor, after all, and it most likely wouldn't do to be arrogant around him. He followed Scorpius around the corner, eventually matching his pace.
Sending a sideways glance at the boy beside him, Scorpius raised a brow. "I thought books were always satisfying?"
Stephen smirked. "Satisfying, yes, but interesting is a different story."
Scorpius smiled in response. "And only those of our intensity level would understand the difference." He turned up a set of stairs and started climbing, windows now visible as they climbed up to ground level and above.
Stephen ascended the stairs about a step or two behind Scorpius. After a few moments of silence, he gestured abstractly toward the windows, where the moonlight was filtering in and lighting their path. "It's a good thing the sky is so clear tonight."
"That's why I asked if you were free tonight. Not much point in stargazing when there are no visible stars." Taking one hand out of his pocket, Scorpius trailed his fingers along the wall instead. "Do you stargaze often? Or just in Astronomy?"
Cringing slightly as he watched Scorpius run is fingers against the wall - he hated the sensation of his own fingers running against surfaces like that - Stephen began to explain. "I tried a few times in my first year to go by myself, but I didn't really find anywhere private enough. So i decided to leave most of my stargazing for class." He paused for a moment, reminiscing. "I do go with my father sometimes during the summer, though."
Scorpius smiled absently. "Mm, so do I. My father is the one who introduced me to the stars. Almost every clear night, we would go outside and point out all the constellations we could see." He looked over at Stephen. "You can use this place for stargazing, if you want." A short pause. "As long as you don't bring any of your own 'midnight wanderers' with you, Mr. Older Year."
"This is a spectacular view. Thanks for showing me this place." Finally, Scorpius' last few words sank in, and he laughed. "You don't have anything to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "If you say so." Then he added. "The view? It only gets better." Approaching a window, he shoved his thin shoulder against it and pushed it outward, wincing against the cold air he let in. "How're your climbing skills?"
"Um." If Stephen was fully honest, he would admit that his climbing skills were next to nonexistent. However, he was about as eager to admit that as he was discuss his doubts about his personal life. "I'll be fine."
Scorpius sent him a level stare for a moment before nodding once and turning to the window, climbing through and standing on the foot wide ledge there. "It's not far." He looked to his upper left. "There's a low bit on the roof we can get on to."
Stephen gritted his teeth and nodded. "Alright. I'll follow you, then." He was extremely thankful that even if climbing wasn't his forte, he at least had a decent sense of balance.
Scorpius looked pleased as he shifted out of Stephen's way, fingers seeking out the rough edges of the old stone beneath his fingers to hold. He was tempted to look down but thought the better of it. He learned long ago that while he could climb, all sense of "bravery" left when he actually saw how far up he really was. And while they weren't that high above the ground, having just climbed from the dungeons, it was still a significant enough fall for him to know his palms would sweat.
Watching Scorpius inch deftly along the stone, Stephen was having some difficulty convincing himself that he could, in fact, do the same. He tried not to think about what he was doing - which left him obsessing over how easily he could fall. Still, somehow, he managed to follow Scorpius, although at a considerably slower pace,
Checking back on the other boy briefly, Scorpius gripped the ledge of shingles that, as he had said, dipped down below the rest of the roof ledge, reaching his chest. With a small hop, Scorpius wriggled his way up onto the roof and steadied himself in a squat before watching Stephen's progress. "You okay?"
Stephen hesitated for a moment before realizing the other boy probably wasn't mocking him. "I'll be fine. Just...give me a minute." Gathering his wits, Stephen took a few deep breaths, and then crawled up on the roof after Scorpius.
Scorpius was, indeed, not mocking him. He knew it wasn't easy to get up onto the roof. But, he thought as he leaned back against the gentler slope of the roof, it's definitely worth it. Looking up, he was glad the night was so clear. The stars were perfect, for fall stars, and from their vantage point, they could see the sky from the tips of Hogsmead houses to the tops of Forbidden Forest trees.
After he convinced himself that he wouldn't be sliding off the roof anytime soon, Stephen settled himself down and looked up at the sky. "Wow." If the view hadn't been so impressive, he probably would have kicked himself for his lack of eloquence.
Scorpius smiled to himself. "Exactly." He folded his hands together on his chest. "Worth the climb out here?" He breath frosted as he spoke, floating away in the light breeze.
"Definitely." Stephen laughed slightly as he watched the little puff of warm air coming from his side float up, temporarily obscuring what was probably a few thousand galaxies in the sky. "Thanks for taking me."
"Thanks for taking interest." Scorpius' eyes scanned the sky until he found what he was looking for: his namesake. "Not many people have a... strong enough interest in the stars." He unlinked his fingers and traced the shape of the scorpion in the sky, connecting the dots of stars millions of miles apart with short movements of his finger.
Stephen murmured in agreement. Even in his own house, few people seemed specifically interested in astronomy. He saw Scorpius hold his hand up and trace a pattern above his head. "That's your constellation?"
A nod. "And that." He pointed to his side."Is my father's. The Dragon." He quickly traced the length of the twirly shape. "You have any favourites?"
Stephen hesitated. "Well. I know astrology isn't the most reliable of sources, but because of my birthday, I'm a Scorpio myself. So I guess I've always been a fan of that constellation as well." He could feel himself blushing a little, although thankfully it was dark enough to hide it.
Scorpius was silent for a moment, thinking. The rubbed his thumbs together. "Astrology is.. interesting, in the least. It's curious how people become what they think they should be because of their sign. But that's the human mind for you." Another silence. "I'm a Scorpio, too."
"Well, supposedly it's some use in Divination, but I'm still a bit skeptical of that. But it is strange how people seem to think the date of one's birth should have anything to do with their personality." Stephen couldn't think of anything interesting to say about Scorpius' birthday, but added "Oh, that's cool," somewhat uselessly.
"I think Astrology has some truth in it, but mostly it's just a load of crock. However, I think things like... summer babies' first memories occur in the winter, normally, so they have different first emotions and reactions than winter babies that first remember summer." Scoprius pillowed his hands behind his head. "Or something like that."
"I guess that could have some kind of effect. But hardly to the level that some people claim. " Stephen sighed. "For example, a few of my cousins are Scorpios as well, and they're nothing like me. Or you, I suppose."
Scorpius nodded. "I think it's all just perception on how one thinks they should act. 'I'm a Leo so I need to be brazen and outgoing' or something. It's ridiculous. It's along the same lines as letting your House decide who you are."
Stephen thought for a moment. "Yeah. Although I would hope that at least Sorting would be based on something more accurate than basic astrology. Then again, you have a point about not letting your house decide who you are."
Scorpius hummed in agreement. "The whole... angst-ridden first year is bothering me because everyone seems upset that they're in the wrong house. But it really shouldn't matter. Personally, I thought I would be a Ravenclaw. But I'm a Slytherin. And it doesn't matter. I'm still at school and, if I'm smart enough to know myself, I won't turn into a 'stereotypical Slytherin' because I'll turn into me instead."
"I hope you will." Stephen smiled. "Personally, I was just glad I didn't get sorted into Gryffindor. Although I can't say I would have been happy with Hufflepuff..." He trailed off. "But then again, that's the very thing that I shouldn't be thinking. Each house has their own respectable qualities, and they shouldn't just be stereotyped into caricatures. The whole process is really rather...archaic, I think."
"Entirely agreed. And it causes ridiculous rivalries between children who don't know what they're fighting about. It's depressing." Scorpius tore his eyes from the sky and his beloved stars to look over at the older boy, his form sprawled out on the roof thrown into sillhouette.
"You would have thought some things would have changed by now..." Stephen mumbled wistfully. "I mean, sometimes I try to tell myself that at least Ravenclaw isn't so petty, but that isn't true. We're just as bad as the rest." He could feel Scorpius' eyes on him, and slowly turned to look at the younger boy. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't be so bitter."
"You're not bitter. You're just telling the truth." Scorpius kept his eyes trained on Stephen. "And not being stuck up, which is a decidedly good thing."
"I suppose so." Stephen smiled again at what was the closest thing to a compliment that he had received from one of his fellow students in a long time. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Scorpius returned his gaze to the stars as a silence fell over the two boys. Then: "If you don't mind me asking, what did you mean earlier by me not needing to worry about you bringing anyone up here in the Astronomy Tower fashion?"
Stephen tensed. He really had not planned on discussing anything of the sort with Scorpius, or anyone else for that matter. Then again, Scorpius had trusted him enough to bring him here, and had been entirely honest with him this whole time. It probably wouldn't be fair to go abruptly silent, simply because a question was mildly personal. "Ah...Well. I guess I don't expect anything resembling a "love-life" to be part of my future."
"Oh." Scorpius twiddles his thumbs for a moment, thinking for a long moment. "Are you gay?"
If Stephen had been sitting on a chair, he probably would have fallen off of it. Fortunately, he only jumped a bit, causing some of the small rocks around him to shake, and looked away hastily. "I...didn't imply that, did I?"
Scorpius glanced at him again. "Well, not really. I just assumed that since you are a fourteen-year-old male, you are as all others your age are and are sex driven. And since you say you don't expect a love life, I then deducted that you are either ashamed of your sex drive, because it's homosexual, or you don't expect to find any other gay boys here, which is ridiculous." He raised an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"
"That's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?" Stephen sighed. "Besides, I could have simply meant that, having a generally antisocial disposition, I don't expect to actually meet anyone who would be interested in me, instead of my notes." Realizing what he had just said, Stephen blanched, and hit his head lightly against the ground, mentally cursing his own stupidity.
"Perhaps presumptuous, but based on known facts." Scorpius quirked an eyebrow. "So, you're either gay or anti-social. Considering the interactions between you and the others in the journals, I'll believe the latter. With a possibility of the former, as you haven't denied it yet." Staring at Stephen as he bashed his head, he continued. "And if you can't find someone who is interested in you and not just 'your notes', then society is in a worse state than I thought and I should just kill myself now. If you're pleasant enough that I can have a decent conversation with you without foul words, boredom or carnage, then someone else has to find you attractive."
"Hmph. Well feel free to spread that around then, because I'm fairly sure the rest of Hogwarts hasn't gotten the memo." Stephen closed his eyes. He could have died of embarrassment, if it were physically possible. He had thought this was about stargazing, not analyzing his...preferences. After another few moments of uncomfortable silence, Stephen opened an eye to look back at Scorpius. "Oh, and please. One romantically hopeless Ravenclaw is hardly proof that society has completely degenerated."
"That wasn't quite what I was getting at," Scorpius replied in a very matter-of-fact voice. "I was more going for the idea that if no one finds an intelligent, studious person appealing, then there is something wrong." He looked back to the stars, wondering if he had gone too far again. Damn, he did have a tendency of doing that. What issues it caused. "I apologise if I made you uncomfortable, Stephen. I let my mouth run off sometimes, often leaving my tact trailing far behind."
"It's alright. If I didn't want to answer, I wouldn't have." Stephen felt slightly bad, it really wasn't Scorpius' fault that his questions had unsettled him so much. It was obvious the other boy meant well. "Besides, if that's your idea of speaking without tact, my cousins could teach you a thing or two."
Scorpius' face wrinkled in a grimace. "Yes, so I've heard. I have tact in most situations, they have tact in none."
"Exactly. I can't believe I'm related to them, most of the time." Stephen laughed half-heartedly.
"I can't either." Scorpius raised a brow. "You're very different. In a very good way."
Stephen momentarily forgot his embarrassment. "Er. Thanks." He paused for a moment. "Again."
"You're welcome. Again." As Scorpius leaned back into his pillowed fingers, he stretched out his toes in his shoes and smiled a very little smile as a silence settled over the two boys. And they stayed there, watching the stars move across the sky in the darkness until the first streaks of dawn appeared in the east.
What: Stargazing, a.k.a. doing something outside of the library for once.
When: Night.
Scorpius strolled down to the Potions class, completely unfazed by the fact it was an hour after curfew already. Security by Prefects was lax on Fridays nights and the teachers were few and far between in their rounds. He leaned aganst the wall beside the Potions' door and straightened his shirt absently, thinking how strange it was that he was already uncomfortable in non-uniform, Muggle-style clothes in the school even though he'd only been there mere weeks.
Gathering up a few things and shoving them into his bag, Stephen headed out of Ravenclaw tower and walked down several flights of stairs towards the Potions classroom. The halls seemed to be empty, but Stephen planned to tell anyone he met that he had fallen asleep in the library if they asked any questions. Finally, he spotted the blond first year slouching against the wall, and he waved to him.
Raising a hand in a response to the greeting, Scorpius pushed himself away from the wall, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He really needed to get that cut. Holding a hand out for the approaching boy to shake, he said quietly, "Stephen, I assume."
Stephen nodded and clasped the other boy's outstretched hand. "Scorpius?"
He nodded briefly. "Let's go, then." He walked by Stephen, tucking his hands into his pockets as he headed for a hallway to their right. "I'm glad you could come."
"So am I. I'm sure this will be far more interesting than spending time by myself in my room." Stephen gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. Scorpius was doing him a favor, after all, and it most likely wouldn't do to be arrogant around him. He followed Scorpius around the corner, eventually matching his pace.
Sending a sideways glance at the boy beside him, Scorpius raised a brow. "I thought books were always satisfying?"
Stephen smirked. "Satisfying, yes, but interesting is a different story."
Scorpius smiled in response. "And only those of our intensity level would understand the difference." He turned up a set of stairs and started climbing, windows now visible as they climbed up to ground level and above.
Stephen ascended the stairs about a step or two behind Scorpius. After a few moments of silence, he gestured abstractly toward the windows, where the moonlight was filtering in and lighting their path. "It's a good thing the sky is so clear tonight."
"That's why I asked if you were free tonight. Not much point in stargazing when there are no visible stars." Taking one hand out of his pocket, Scorpius trailed his fingers along the wall instead. "Do you stargaze often? Or just in Astronomy?"
Cringing slightly as he watched Scorpius run is fingers against the wall - he hated the sensation of his own fingers running against surfaces like that - Stephen began to explain. "I tried a few times in my first year to go by myself, but I didn't really find anywhere private enough. So i decided to leave most of my stargazing for class." He paused for a moment, reminiscing. "I do go with my father sometimes during the summer, though."
Scorpius smiled absently. "Mm, so do I. My father is the one who introduced me to the stars. Almost every clear night, we would go outside and point out all the constellations we could see." He looked over at Stephen. "You can use this place for stargazing, if you want." A short pause. "As long as you don't bring any of your own 'midnight wanderers' with you, Mr. Older Year."
"This is a spectacular view. Thanks for showing me this place." Finally, Scorpius' last few words sank in, and he laughed. "You don't have anything to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "If you say so." Then he added. "The view? It only gets better." Approaching a window, he shoved his thin shoulder against it and pushed it outward, wincing against the cold air he let in. "How're your climbing skills?"
"Um." If Stephen was fully honest, he would admit that his climbing skills were next to nonexistent. However, he was about as eager to admit that as he was discuss his doubts about his personal life. "I'll be fine."
Scorpius sent him a level stare for a moment before nodding once and turning to the window, climbing through and standing on the foot wide ledge there. "It's not far." He looked to his upper left. "There's a low bit on the roof we can get on to."
Stephen gritted his teeth and nodded. "Alright. I'll follow you, then." He was extremely thankful that even if climbing wasn't his forte, he at least had a decent sense of balance.
Scorpius looked pleased as he shifted out of Stephen's way, fingers seeking out the rough edges of the old stone beneath his fingers to hold. He was tempted to look down but thought the better of it. He learned long ago that while he could climb, all sense of "bravery" left when he actually saw how far up he really was. And while they weren't that high above the ground, having just climbed from the dungeons, it was still a significant enough fall for him to know his palms would sweat.
Watching Scorpius inch deftly along the stone, Stephen was having some difficulty convincing himself that he could, in fact, do the same. He tried not to think about what he was doing - which left him obsessing over how easily he could fall. Still, somehow, he managed to follow Scorpius, although at a considerably slower pace,
Checking back on the other boy briefly, Scorpius gripped the ledge of shingles that, as he had said, dipped down below the rest of the roof ledge, reaching his chest. With a small hop, Scorpius wriggled his way up onto the roof and steadied himself in a squat before watching Stephen's progress. "You okay?"
Stephen hesitated for a moment before realizing the other boy probably wasn't mocking him. "I'll be fine. Just...give me a minute." Gathering his wits, Stephen took a few deep breaths, and then crawled up on the roof after Scorpius.
Scorpius was, indeed, not mocking him. He knew it wasn't easy to get up onto the roof. But, he thought as he leaned back against the gentler slope of the roof, it's definitely worth it. Looking up, he was glad the night was so clear. The stars were perfect, for fall stars, and from their vantage point, they could see the sky from the tips of Hogsmead houses to the tops of Forbidden Forest trees.
After he convinced himself that he wouldn't be sliding off the roof anytime soon, Stephen settled himself down and looked up at the sky. "Wow." If the view hadn't been so impressive, he probably would have kicked himself for his lack of eloquence.
Scorpius smiled to himself. "Exactly." He folded his hands together on his chest. "Worth the climb out here?" He breath frosted as he spoke, floating away in the light breeze.
"Definitely." Stephen laughed slightly as he watched the little puff of warm air coming from his side float up, temporarily obscuring what was probably a few thousand galaxies in the sky. "Thanks for taking me."
"Thanks for taking interest." Scorpius' eyes scanned the sky until he found what he was looking for: his namesake. "Not many people have a... strong enough interest in the stars." He unlinked his fingers and traced the shape of the scorpion in the sky, connecting the dots of stars millions of miles apart with short movements of his finger.
Stephen murmured in agreement. Even in his own house, few people seemed specifically interested in astronomy. He saw Scorpius hold his hand up and trace a pattern above his head. "That's your constellation?"
A nod. "And that." He pointed to his side."Is my father's. The Dragon." He quickly traced the length of the twirly shape. "You have any favourites?"
Stephen hesitated. "Well. I know astrology isn't the most reliable of sources, but because of my birthday, I'm a Scorpio myself. So I guess I've always been a fan of that constellation as well." He could feel himself blushing a little, although thankfully it was dark enough to hide it.
Scorpius was silent for a moment, thinking. The rubbed his thumbs together. "Astrology is.. interesting, in the least. It's curious how people become what they think they should be because of their sign. But that's the human mind for you." Another silence. "I'm a Scorpio, too."
"Well, supposedly it's some use in Divination, but I'm still a bit skeptical of that. But it is strange how people seem to think the date of one's birth should have anything to do with their personality." Stephen couldn't think of anything interesting to say about Scorpius' birthday, but added "Oh, that's cool," somewhat uselessly.
"I think Astrology has some truth in it, but mostly it's just a load of crock. However, I think things like... summer babies' first memories occur in the winter, normally, so they have different first emotions and reactions than winter babies that first remember summer." Scoprius pillowed his hands behind his head. "Or something like that."
"I guess that could have some kind of effect. But hardly to the level that some people claim. " Stephen sighed. "For example, a few of my cousins are Scorpios as well, and they're nothing like me. Or you, I suppose."
Scorpius nodded. "I think it's all just perception on how one thinks they should act. 'I'm a Leo so I need to be brazen and outgoing' or something. It's ridiculous. It's along the same lines as letting your House decide who you are."
Stephen thought for a moment. "Yeah. Although I would hope that at least Sorting would be based on something more accurate than basic astrology. Then again, you have a point about not letting your house decide who you are."
Scorpius hummed in agreement. "The whole... angst-ridden first year is bothering me because everyone seems upset that they're in the wrong house. But it really shouldn't matter. Personally, I thought I would be a Ravenclaw. But I'm a Slytherin. And it doesn't matter. I'm still at school and, if I'm smart enough to know myself, I won't turn into a 'stereotypical Slytherin' because I'll turn into me instead."
"I hope you will." Stephen smiled. "Personally, I was just glad I didn't get sorted into Gryffindor. Although I can't say I would have been happy with Hufflepuff..." He trailed off. "But then again, that's the very thing that I shouldn't be thinking. Each house has their own respectable qualities, and they shouldn't just be stereotyped into caricatures. The whole process is really rather...archaic, I think."
"Entirely agreed. And it causes ridiculous rivalries between children who don't know what they're fighting about. It's depressing." Scorpius tore his eyes from the sky and his beloved stars to look over at the older boy, his form sprawled out on the roof thrown into sillhouette.
"You would have thought some things would have changed by now..." Stephen mumbled wistfully. "I mean, sometimes I try to tell myself that at least Ravenclaw isn't so petty, but that isn't true. We're just as bad as the rest." He could feel Scorpius' eyes on him, and slowly turned to look at the younger boy. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't be so bitter."
"You're not bitter. You're just telling the truth." Scorpius kept his eyes trained on Stephen. "And not being stuck up, which is a decidedly good thing."
"I suppose so." Stephen smiled again at what was the closest thing to a compliment that he had received from one of his fellow students in a long time. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Scorpius returned his gaze to the stars as a silence fell over the two boys. Then: "If you don't mind me asking, what did you mean earlier by me not needing to worry about you bringing anyone up here in the Astronomy Tower fashion?"
Stephen tensed. He really had not planned on discussing anything of the sort with Scorpius, or anyone else for that matter. Then again, Scorpius had trusted him enough to bring him here, and had been entirely honest with him this whole time. It probably wouldn't be fair to go abruptly silent, simply because a question was mildly personal. "Ah...Well. I guess I don't expect anything resembling a "love-life" to be part of my future."
"Oh." Scorpius twiddles his thumbs for a moment, thinking for a long moment. "Are you gay?"
If Stephen had been sitting on a chair, he probably would have fallen off of it. Fortunately, he only jumped a bit, causing some of the small rocks around him to shake, and looked away hastily. "I...didn't imply that, did I?"
Scorpius glanced at him again. "Well, not really. I just assumed that since you are a fourteen-year-old male, you are as all others your age are and are sex driven. And since you say you don't expect a love life, I then deducted that you are either ashamed of your sex drive, because it's homosexual, or you don't expect to find any other gay boys here, which is ridiculous." He raised an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"
"That's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?" Stephen sighed. "Besides, I could have simply meant that, having a generally antisocial disposition, I don't expect to actually meet anyone who would be interested in me, instead of my notes." Realizing what he had just said, Stephen blanched, and hit his head lightly against the ground, mentally cursing his own stupidity.
"Perhaps presumptuous, but based on known facts." Scorpius quirked an eyebrow. "So, you're either gay or anti-social. Considering the interactions between you and the others in the journals, I'll believe the latter. With a possibility of the former, as you haven't denied it yet." Staring at Stephen as he bashed his head, he continued. "And if you can't find someone who is interested in you and not just 'your notes', then society is in a worse state than I thought and I should just kill myself now. If you're pleasant enough that I can have a decent conversation with you without foul words, boredom or carnage, then someone else has to find you attractive."
"Hmph. Well feel free to spread that around then, because I'm fairly sure the rest of Hogwarts hasn't gotten the memo." Stephen closed his eyes. He could have died of embarrassment, if it were physically possible. He had thought this was about stargazing, not analyzing his...preferences. After another few moments of uncomfortable silence, Stephen opened an eye to look back at Scorpius. "Oh, and please. One romantically hopeless Ravenclaw is hardly proof that society has completely degenerated."
"That wasn't quite what I was getting at," Scorpius replied in a very matter-of-fact voice. "I was more going for the idea that if no one finds an intelligent, studious person appealing, then there is something wrong." He looked back to the stars, wondering if he had gone too far again. Damn, he did have a tendency of doing that. What issues it caused. "I apologise if I made you uncomfortable, Stephen. I let my mouth run off sometimes, often leaving my tact trailing far behind."
"It's alright. If I didn't want to answer, I wouldn't have." Stephen felt slightly bad, it really wasn't Scorpius' fault that his questions had unsettled him so much. It was obvious the other boy meant well. "Besides, if that's your idea of speaking without tact, my cousins could teach you a thing or two."
Scorpius' face wrinkled in a grimace. "Yes, so I've heard. I have tact in most situations, they have tact in none."
"Exactly. I can't believe I'm related to them, most of the time." Stephen laughed half-heartedly.
"I can't either." Scorpius raised a brow. "You're very different. In a very good way."
Stephen momentarily forgot his embarrassment. "Er. Thanks." He paused for a moment. "Again."
"You're welcome. Again." As Scorpius leaned back into his pillowed fingers, he stretched out his toes in his shoes and smiled a very little smile as a silence settled over the two boys. And they stayed there, watching the stars move across the sky in the darkness until the first streaks of dawn appeared in the east.