FIC: "The Comprehension Series - Part 80" | AS/S | PG
Bah. Sorry for the delay. Stuff happened. :S
Title: The Comprehension Series - Part 80
Pairing: Albus/Scorpius
Rating: PG
Summary: Beware of raging hormones...
Words: 1,338
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38
Part 39
Part 40
Part 41
Part 42
Part 43
Part 44
Part 45
Part 46
Part 47
Part 48
Part 49
Part 50
Part 51
Part 52
Part 53
Part 54
Part 55
Part 56
Part 57
Part 58
Part 59
Part 60
Part 61
Part 62
Part 63
Part 64
Part 65
Part 66
Part 67
Part 68
Part 69
Part 70
Part 71
Part 72
Part 73
Part 74
Part 75
Part 76
Part 77
Part 78
Part 79
"Well done, you guys," Al said, smiling as he touched down and dismounted. "Mike - excellent job on the Double Eight. And Alex - nice Porskoff. That's a Gryffindor tactic, so Hufflepuff probably won't be expecting it from us. That's good."
"And while you've been so busy watching us, what tactics have you been honing?" piped up Jeremiah from the back. Al took it in his stride, having chosen that today was too sunny, too warm, too cheery and just generally too nice a day for Jeremiah's mouth to ruin it.
"I always find that spotting the Snitch first helps," Al replied, with a shrug. "And catching it first, of course. Anything other than that is mostly circumstantial."
Jeremiah closed his mouth and Al chuckled quietly to himself as he slung his broom over his shoulder and walked with the team to the changing rooms. The warm weather meant that practices were becoming sweatier and more uncomfortable, and the changing rooms slightly less pleasant-smelling as everyone undressed and threw their various clothing items onto the benches. Al grimaced as he peeled his sweater away from his sticky back and gladly climbed into the shower.
"Are we going to have time for one more practice before the game next week?" asked Ian after a while.
Al winced as the soap in his hair dripped into his eye. "Uh…" he said, rubbing it and blinking rapidly into the water. "Tuesday okay?"
"I have an assignment due for Wednesday," said Mike.
Al sighed. "Monday, then?"
"I can't do Monday," replied Alex. "I have lady plans."
"How about Wednesday evening?" Mike asked. "The day before the game. It'll keep us sharp."
Al's stomach plummeted; he had plans to study with Scorpius on Wednesday and he didn't particularly want to put them off. Logically, of course, he knew he could study with Scorpius any time, but they'd made plans. It felt somehow more official than it always had before. They'd made plans. Actual plans.
"Um…" he said, finally succeeding in ridding his eye of the soap. "I don't think I can manage Wednesday."
"Why not?" asked Jeremiah. Albus caught the slight frown on Jerry's face and his brain raced for some viable excuse.
"Well…" he began, awkwardly. "I have to… I have a… some work stuff."
He kicked himself. Yes, Albus. Well done.
There was a silence for a while, then Mike spoke. "Well, I suppose if we do the practice early enough I can work on my assignment afterwards."
There was a general ripple of assent from the team and Albus relaxed, feeling a lot less guilty about the whole thing than he thought he probably should. And only marginally more guilty about that. His plans with Scorpius had not been compromised, and that was the main thing.
He finished showering and dressed, packing his leathers and Quidditch robes into his bag as the others did the same. They had their next game in just over one week and Albus felt confident about it, this time. Ravenclaw had been a bad team to start the year with, but Hufflepuff had never been too much of a problem; the next game would probably be their easiest. Then they would have to start thinking about Gryffindor. But that was for later.
"Okay," Al said, picking up his broom. "If we meet here at four on Tuesday? That should give us enough time to polish up and be done in time for dinner. Everyone okay with that?"
The team nodded and he left them to get on with getting changed as he made his way to the castle. The school always seemed oddly quiet and deserted between the hours of four and seven - it was like everyone vanished into thin air and didn't appear again until the smell of food went wafting through the corridors. Albus could understand. He reached the stairs and was about to descend when James appeared beside him, obviously having run to catch up.
"Careful," Albus warned. "You're about to cross the border into enemy territory. Slytherin turf starts five steps down."
"Who is it, then?" James asked, grinning mischievously. Albus raised an eyebrow.
"Who is what?" he asked, puzzled. James' questions often had that effect.
"Your new person."
Al's knees almost buckled beneath him and he had to stop just to keep from falling over and breaking his neck on the stairs. He swallowed around his heart that had lodged itself in his throat and turned to James. "New person?" he asked, wondering if the slightly higher pitch in his voice in any way negated the nonchalance he was going for.
"Don't play dumb," James said, his grin turning into a wicked smirk. "I've been talking to Joanna. So who is it?"
Albus frowned. Joanna?
"What did she say?" he asked, gripping his broom handle tightly.
"Not much." James shrugged. "She kept saying she didn't want to talk about it."
"So why did you make her?" Al demanded, aware that nonchalance was out of the window, now. He didn't even try to hide the anger in his voice.
"So there is someone else, then?" James looked infuriatingly triumphant and Albus could feel his neck tense uncomfortably.
"What did she say?" he asked again, narrowing his eyes.
"I just asked why you'd broken up. I knew there was a reason because she and Lily talk about it all the time. She said it was because you liked someone else."
"You're a prick, James."
"Is it Wilmot?"
Albus rolled his eyes and groaned, turning and heading down the stairs. James followed.
"It is, isn't it? She's all over you after matches."
"Get out of my dungeons," Albus growled, ignoring the question. There was no answer he could give, so his only option was to keep putting it off until he could get inside the Common Room and shut James out.
"Who's that other girl?" James went on, still keeping up, even as Albus quickened his pace. "That girl with the huge boobs? Maria What's-her-face. Is it her?"
"No, James," Al barked. "It's not Maria. It's not Olivia. It's none of your business who it is."
"How about that girl in Ravenclaw?"
Albus stopped and spun round, glaring at his brother and pointing the end of his broom at James' chest like some sort of weapon. "Look," he snapped, frowning, his face hot with rage. "It's really none of your business who I go out with, okay? I don't have to tell you every little detail of my life. Why do you even want to know, anyway? Why do you care?"
James' smirk faltered slightly, then vanished from his face completely. "Well, I…" He stopped, then shrugged. "I'm your big brother. I just… you know… wanna make sure you're alright."
Al looked at him for a while, a little taken aback.
"I didn't want to be all dad-like about it, though," James went on, grinning. "You know… all 'you be careful, young man' and stuff."
Al let out a small laugh, despite himself and felt the tension in his shoulders ease somewhat.
"So… is it anyone I know?" James asked, and his voice was softer this time. Al was torn. Now was not the right moment, but this was the first time James had really shown any sort of concern for him since they were both little. Al sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," he said. "But I can't really… we're not telling anyone yet."
James rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. But I'll find out sooner or later, you know?"
And regular James was back.
Albus just sighed, suppressing a smile. "Get back to your own part of the castle," he complained. "You're dirtying up the place."
James punched him on the arm and Al frowned as he watched his brother disappear back up the corridor. He stood for a while, unsure what to do next. Joanna had told James he was seeing someone else. If she'd already told him, how long would it be before the rest of the school found out?
Part 81...
Title: The Comprehension Series - Part 80
Pairing: Albus/Scorpius
Rating: PG
Summary: Beware of raging hormones...
Words: 1,338
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38
Part 39
Part 40
Part 41
Part 42
Part 43
Part 44
Part 45
Part 46
Part 47
Part 48
Part 49
Part 50
Part 51
Part 52
Part 53
Part 54
Part 55
Part 56
Part 57
Part 58
Part 59
Part 60
Part 61
Part 62
Part 63
Part 64
Part 65
Part 66
Part 67
Part 68
Part 69
Part 70
Part 71
Part 72
Part 73
Part 74
Part 75
Part 76
Part 77
Part 78
Part 79
"Well done, you guys," Al said, smiling as he touched down and dismounted. "Mike - excellent job on the Double Eight. And Alex - nice Porskoff. That's a Gryffindor tactic, so Hufflepuff probably won't be expecting it from us. That's good."
"And while you've been so busy watching us, what tactics have you been honing?" piped up Jeremiah from the back. Al took it in his stride, having chosen that today was too sunny, too warm, too cheery and just generally too nice a day for Jeremiah's mouth to ruin it.
"I always find that spotting the Snitch first helps," Al replied, with a shrug. "And catching it first, of course. Anything other than that is mostly circumstantial."
Jeremiah closed his mouth and Al chuckled quietly to himself as he slung his broom over his shoulder and walked with the team to the changing rooms. The warm weather meant that practices were becoming sweatier and more uncomfortable, and the changing rooms slightly less pleasant-smelling as everyone undressed and threw their various clothing items onto the benches. Al grimaced as he peeled his sweater away from his sticky back and gladly climbed into the shower.
"Are we going to have time for one more practice before the game next week?" asked Ian after a while.
Al winced as the soap in his hair dripped into his eye. "Uh…" he said, rubbing it and blinking rapidly into the water. "Tuesday okay?"
"I have an assignment due for Wednesday," said Mike.
Al sighed. "Monday, then?"
"I can't do Monday," replied Alex. "I have lady plans."
"How about Wednesday evening?" Mike asked. "The day before the game. It'll keep us sharp."
Al's stomach plummeted; he had plans to study with Scorpius on Wednesday and he didn't particularly want to put them off. Logically, of course, he knew he could study with Scorpius any time, but they'd made plans. It felt somehow more official than it always had before. They'd made plans. Actual plans.
"Um…" he said, finally succeeding in ridding his eye of the soap. "I don't think I can manage Wednesday."
"Why not?" asked Jeremiah. Albus caught the slight frown on Jerry's face and his brain raced for some viable excuse.
"Well…" he began, awkwardly. "I have to… I have a… some work stuff."
He kicked himself. Yes, Albus. Well done.
There was a silence for a while, then Mike spoke. "Well, I suppose if we do the practice early enough I can work on my assignment afterwards."
There was a general ripple of assent from the team and Albus relaxed, feeling a lot less guilty about the whole thing than he thought he probably should. And only marginally more guilty about that. His plans with Scorpius had not been compromised, and that was the main thing.
He finished showering and dressed, packing his leathers and Quidditch robes into his bag as the others did the same. They had their next game in just over one week and Albus felt confident about it, this time. Ravenclaw had been a bad team to start the year with, but Hufflepuff had never been too much of a problem; the next game would probably be their easiest. Then they would have to start thinking about Gryffindor. But that was for later.
"Okay," Al said, picking up his broom. "If we meet here at four on Tuesday? That should give us enough time to polish up and be done in time for dinner. Everyone okay with that?"
The team nodded and he left them to get on with getting changed as he made his way to the castle. The school always seemed oddly quiet and deserted between the hours of four and seven - it was like everyone vanished into thin air and didn't appear again until the smell of food went wafting through the corridors. Albus could understand. He reached the stairs and was about to descend when James appeared beside him, obviously having run to catch up.
"Careful," Albus warned. "You're about to cross the border into enemy territory. Slytherin turf starts five steps down."
"Who is it, then?" James asked, grinning mischievously. Albus raised an eyebrow.
"Who is what?" he asked, puzzled. James' questions often had that effect.
"Your new person."
Al's knees almost buckled beneath him and he had to stop just to keep from falling over and breaking his neck on the stairs. He swallowed around his heart that had lodged itself in his throat and turned to James. "New person?" he asked, wondering if the slightly higher pitch in his voice in any way negated the nonchalance he was going for.
"Don't play dumb," James said, his grin turning into a wicked smirk. "I've been talking to Joanna. So who is it?"
Albus frowned. Joanna?
"What did she say?" he asked, gripping his broom handle tightly.
"Not much." James shrugged. "She kept saying she didn't want to talk about it."
"So why did you make her?" Al demanded, aware that nonchalance was out of the window, now. He didn't even try to hide the anger in his voice.
"So there is someone else, then?" James looked infuriatingly triumphant and Albus could feel his neck tense uncomfortably.
"What did she say?" he asked again, narrowing his eyes.
"I just asked why you'd broken up. I knew there was a reason because she and Lily talk about it all the time. She said it was because you liked someone else."
"You're a prick, James."
"Is it Wilmot?"
Albus rolled his eyes and groaned, turning and heading down the stairs. James followed.
"It is, isn't it? She's all over you after matches."
"Get out of my dungeons," Albus growled, ignoring the question. There was no answer he could give, so his only option was to keep putting it off until he could get inside the Common Room and shut James out.
"Who's that other girl?" James went on, still keeping up, even as Albus quickened his pace. "That girl with the huge boobs? Maria What's-her-face. Is it her?"
"No, James," Al barked. "It's not Maria. It's not Olivia. It's none of your business who it is."
"How about that girl in Ravenclaw?"
Albus stopped and spun round, glaring at his brother and pointing the end of his broom at James' chest like some sort of weapon. "Look," he snapped, frowning, his face hot with rage. "It's really none of your business who I go out with, okay? I don't have to tell you every little detail of my life. Why do you even want to know, anyway? Why do you care?"
James' smirk faltered slightly, then vanished from his face completely. "Well, I…" He stopped, then shrugged. "I'm your big brother. I just… you know… wanna make sure you're alright."
Al looked at him for a while, a little taken aback.
"I didn't want to be all dad-like about it, though," James went on, grinning. "You know… all 'you be careful, young man' and stuff."
Al let out a small laugh, despite himself and felt the tension in his shoulders ease somewhat.
"So… is it anyone I know?" James asked, and his voice was softer this time. Al was torn. Now was not the right moment, but this was the first time James had really shown any sort of concern for him since they were both little. Al sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," he said. "But I can't really… we're not telling anyone yet."
James rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. But I'll find out sooner or later, you know?"
And regular James was back.
Albus just sighed, suppressing a smile. "Get back to your own part of the castle," he complained. "You're dirtying up the place."
James punched him on the arm and Al frowned as he watched his brother disappear back up the corridor. He stood for a while, unsure what to do next. Joanna had told James he was seeing someone else. If she'd already told him, how long would it be before the rest of the school found out?
Part 81...