FIC: A Sort Of A Mess [PG-13]

Nov 17, 2011 18:34

Author: jezzifishie
Title: A Sort of a Mess
Pairing(s): Albus/Scorpius
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nothing too bad, just swearing.
Word Count: 4,542
Summary: Al hates Hogwarts. He hates living in the dungeons, he hates having to pretend to be a Slytherin (he’s a Gryffindor, damn it!) and he hates the other boys in his dorm. Especially that loud Malfoy one.
Prompt: Albus and Scorpius meet for the first time in their third year. You'd think they would have met early, but those boys have been avoiding each other ever since they've been sorted into the same house as first years; the most glorious house of Slytherin. Now that they've become seat mates in Arithmeticy, everything is really up in the air. (submitted by silentdictator)
Notes: Much love to my ever faithful beta! <3 <3 <3



A Sort of a Mess

“Malfoy, Scorpius!”

Around Al, many of his fellow first years snickered. What sort of a name was Scorpius? A poncy name for a poncy Malfoy. They still swanned around like they owned the place, even though everyone knew that they had supported You Know Who during the last war.

Al refrained from joining in. He knew all too well the difficulties that came with an unusual name. What had his parents been thinking when they decided on Albus Severus?

Lost in thought, Al didn’t notice that Scorpius had been sorted into Slytherin, and his own name had been called. “Go on! That’s you!” a blonde girl muttered, and gave Al a shove towards the Sorting Hat. “What? Oh, alright, I’m going!” he mumbled, as he walked over to the stool. He picked up the Sorting Hat, and placed it carefully on his head.

“Another Potter?” murmured a voice in his ear. “You’re not like your brother, nowhere near as spontaneous. Hmm, where to put you?”

“My Dad said I could choose,” Al whispered. “He said you take what I want into account.”

The Hat laughed. “That’s only for borderline cases - you are a true SLYTHERIN!”

The last word was bellowed loudly to the rest of the hall. Everyone fell silent - a Potter in Slytherin? Al risked a glance over at the Gryffindor table - James was staring at him open-mouthed. It seemed that for all his teasing, James hadn’t really thought that Al would ever be sorted into Slytherin.

“Come on lad,” smiled Professor Llewellyn. “You can’t sit there all day.” Al pushed the Sorting Hat into the Professor’s hands, and stumbled towards the Slytherin table. He sat down, feeling that everything was out of place. His tie was green, not red. He was sat with a Malfoy, instead of his brother and cousins. The table was close to the teachers’ table, rather than next to the doors. Everything was wrong, wrong, wrong, and he hated it.

“Hey Scorp, you coming to breakfast? Those bratty first years will eat all the good stuff!”

“Oh, piss off Ellis! There will still be plenty of bacon in twenty minutes…”

Al sighed and let the noise wash over him. He always felt uncomfortable coming back to Hogwarts, and returning for his third year was no exception. He had moved his bed into the furthest corner of the dormitory, so he was nowhere near his dorm mates. They weren’t interested in him, and as he wasn’t bothered about spending time with any of them, it suited him just fine.

His first couple of weeks at Hogwarts had been terrible - he had been so isolated and lonely. After a day or two of watching Al shuffle around the castle without speaking to anyone, James had relented and had given Al the password to the Gryffindor common room. “It’s where you belong, anyway,” James had said rather awkwardly. He seemed to believe the whole thing was a massive mistake - Al couldn’t possibly be a slimy snake, so it was okay to give him the password and to hang out with him occasionally.

These days, Al spent the majority of his free time in the Gryffindor common room. The Fat Lady had been outraged at first that someone had given him the password, but she had eventually come round. Al loved his siblings and cousins dearly, but sometimes they were all just a little bit too loud. He occasionally found himself making excuses so he could escape to the solitude of the library.

“Alright, alright, I’m up. Have you seen my shoe? I can’t find it. Come on Ellis, I can’t go to breakfast if I can’t find my shoe…”

Eventually the door slammed shut, and Al was alone. “Finally! A bit of quiet,” he grinned. His avoidance of all people and all things Slytherin had become so strong that he was always the last person into their dorm at night, and he hid under his duvet in the mornings until everyone had gone and he had the room to himself. He didn’t even eat with his housemates, preferring to eat with his relatives at the Gryffindor table.

Al was in a relatively good mood as he strolled to breakfast. “Okay, plan of action. Grab toast and timetable, then head over to eat with Lily and Rose.”

“There you are Potter! I’ve been waiting for you,” scowled Professor Osian. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry Professor,” said Al, brought back to Earth with a bump. “I overslept.”

“Make sure you eat your meals at this table today boy - I’ll be watching you. I’ll have no more of you gallivanting around with those Gryffindor louts. This is where you belong.” Al’s timetable was slapped onto the table so hard that it made a nearby first year jump. Al sighed, and turned it over. He had been hoping that this year would turn out to be better than the last, as his two new subjects meant that he wouldn’t be having all of his lessons with his House. This didn’t look likely, if he had the head of Slytherin watching his every move.

Al’s first lesson of the day was Arithmancy, one of his new subjects. He arrived on time, only to find the rest of his classmates waiting outside the door.

“Malfoy, Scorpius!” called a shrill voice, and Al had a sudden flashback to the day they were Sorted. “Al, you’ve missed your name again!” sighed Kaylee Smith, the blonde girl from his Sorting. Al turned and glared at her before briskly entering the Arithmancy classroom.

“Albus Severus, you will sit next to Scorpius,” stated the teacher. She had cropped grey hair, and the shape of her mouth made her look permanently displeased. Al hated her at once. Why couldn’t they sit where they wanted? None of the other teachers sat them alphabetically, like they were little kids.

Eventually Al stopped seething about the fact that there was a seating plan at all, and realised that he would be sitting next to Malfoy for the rest of the year. “Damn it!” cursed Al under his breath. His avoid-all-things-Slytherin plan was completely shot to pieces, and it was only the first day of term.

The blond boy next to him gave no indication that he had heard what Al said, or in fact that he realised Albus was there at all. Scorpius merely continued to stare straight ahead, occasionally tapping his quill on the desk.

“Now we are all finally seated, we can begin. My name is Professor Quinn, and I wish to make it very clear that there will not be any misbehaviour in my classroom. If you do not obey my commands, you are not working hard enough. If you are failing, you are not working hard enough. If your marks are not up to the standard I expect, I do not want you in my class. Understood?”

Al couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This teacher was worse than Aunt Hermione on one of her power trips!

At the end of the day, Al made his customary trip up to Gryffindor tower. As he climbed through the portrait hole, he could hear Kaylee Smith in full flow.

“…and then she said that she would kick us out of the class if we weren’t good enough! The cheek of it! Aren’t teachers meant to help you if you’re stuck, instead of mocking you? Oh Jess, when she said that, I was so angry!”

She spotted Al walking across the common room, and beckoned him over. “Albus! You were there this morning - isn’t Professor Quinn a total bitch?” Kaylee carried on in this vein for quite some time, all Al had to do was smile and nod.

Eventually Kaylee wound down. “After all that, she’s given us heaps of homework! I don’t know how I’m going to get it done, it looks really hard.”

Al stretched his legs out, and clambered out of the soft and squishy armchair. “Speaking of homework,” he said to Kaylee, “I’m going to get started. See you later.”

He walked quickly across the common room before anyone had a chance to say that they’d come to the library too. He had no intention of going to the library to work; he just craved some peace and quiet. Why couldn’t people be more like him - why did they have to be so loud and enthusiastic all of the time?

“Oi! Albus Severus!” Al sighed; it looked like his chances of getting some alone time that evening had just flown out of the window.

“Hi Lils, hi Rose. What’s up?” he replied. The red-headed girls stared at him, hands on hips. They looked more like twins than cousins, except Lily’s eyes were green, whereas Rose’s were blue.

“We saw you in our common room, but you didn’t say hello to us. Why?” demanded Rose. “It’s not very nice to ignore your family,” Lily added. Although Lily hadn’t even been at Hogwarts a day, she seemed to be perfectly happy in Gryffindor and part of the furniture already.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you,” placated Al. “I was just talking to Kaylee about Professor Quinn, then she reminded me that I have a lot of homework to do.”

Rose raised an eyebrow at him. “I was in that lesson too,” she reminded Al. “I know what Professor Quinn was like. Are you sure it wasn’t just an excuse to get closer to Kaylee?” Lily grabbed her brother’s arm and started dragging him towards the library. “Come on then, on the way you can tell us all about Kaylee. Do you think she’s pretty? Do you love her?”

Rose and Lily burst into loud giggles, gaining them a glare from Scorpius Malfoy, who was just leaving the library. Al resigned himself to an evening of gossip and girly giggling, rather than an evening of quiet solitude and plotting. This happened far too regularly for his comfort.

Over the next couple of weeks, Al kept running into Scorpius Malfoy. Everywhere Al went, whether it was the Great Hall, corridors or the Quidditch pitch, Malfoy was there with his group of Slytherin and Ravenclaw friends.

“Why are you following me?” snapped Al, after meeting Malfoy in the corridors for the sixth time that day. “He’s not, you stupid tosser,” scowled Ellis. “Why, do you want him to?”

“Enough Ellis, let’s go,” said Scorpius firmly, tugging on Ellis’ elbow. “I don’t want anything to do with that weird Potter family, so don’t start.”

“What was all that about?” queried Rose, who had joined Al during the exchange. “I really don’t know!” replied Al. “He’s never spoken to me before. Besides, I don’t want anything to do with that terrible Malfoy family either. Who knows what Dark secrets they are keeping?”

That night, Al decided to sit by the fire in the Slytherin common room. As long as no one spoke to him, it should be okay to be in the common room for a bit, and it would keep Professor Osian off his back. He was just starting to feel warm and cosy when he heard the door slam violently.

“Oh, he just drives me mad!” stropped Scorpius. “Bloody Albus Potter! He struts around the place with his Gryffindor groupies, just like his older brother. I bet he sits up in that tower like a King, expecting everyone to do his bidding!”

“What the hell?” thought Al. “I don’t do that!” He heard Scorpius’ friends murmuring their agreement, and realised that he needed to move right now. Al moved onto the couch, using his cloak as a pillow so if spotted, he could claim he had been taking a nap. Luckily for him, Scorpius and his friends headed for the dorms instead of lingering in the common room.

Al was left bewildered. “Why would Malfoy say those things? I don’t know him, and he doesn’t know me.”

The next morning, Al felt sick and anxious. Not only did he have Arithmancy that afternoon, but he had to sit next to a boy that hated him. Al wasn’t entirely sure why this bothered him so much; he certainly didn’t like Scorpius, so his opinion of him shouldn’t matter.

Eventually it was time for Arithmancy, and Al sat down in his chair rather heavily. He risked a quick glance round; it seemed that none of his other classmates felt particularly enthusiastic about this lesson either. This cheered Al up - misery loves company, after all.

Al behaved in his usual manner during the lesson - taking neat and careful notes, speaking only when spoken to by the teacher, making small and precise movements with his wand. He caught Malfoy staring at him in puzzlement a couple of times.

“He probably doesn’t expect me to work hard, he’s convinced I’m like James,” thought Al grimly. It was true that Al preferred to sit at the back of the classroom during lessons, but this was due to a desire to stay out of the spotlight, rather than a wish to mess around and slack off work.

“Next lesson there will be a test on the Abjad system,” announced Professor Quinn. “I want you all to revise hard, as I do not expect anyone in my class to receive less than ‘acceptable’.”

Al was so busy scribbling down reminders about the test; he didn’t notice the look of despair on Scorpius’ face.

“Potter, can I have a word?” whispered Scorpius, as the two boys packed quills and ink away after the lesson. “I’m in a bit of a mess, and I need a favour.”

Al was stunned. Two whole years of silence, and suddenly Malfoy wanted a favour? There had to be more to this than meets the eye.

“Do a favour for you? You must be joking,” Al sneered. He was still hurting from overhearing Scorpius’ conversation, and he wanted to make the boy pay. “Why would I lower myself to help a Malfoy?”

“Fine then, be like that!” retorted Scorpius. “I was starting to think that you were alright, but obviously I was wrong. You’re just like your brother after all.”

Scorpius stormed off, leaving Al standing in the middle of the classroom. “Ouch,” he thought. Of all the nasty things Malfoy could have said, he chose the one taunt that was guaranteed to hit him straight in the heart.

Lessons for the rest of the week were unbearable for both Scorpius and Al. Whenever they were near each other they squabbled over missing quills, using each other’s inkwells, getting ink/dirt/potions on each other’s robes.

It all came to a head the day of the Arithmancy test. “You’re taking up too much space! Move over,” complained Scorpius, the moment they sat down at their desks. “I’m sitting at my desk! It’s not my fault you’re too fat for your chair,” returned Al, knowing perfectly well that as Scorpius was Slytherin’s seeker, any jibe about his weight would not go down well.

“Me? Too fat? Don’t be ridiculous,” snarled Scorpius. “You’re the one that’s too big - see, I can barely move you!” He gave Al a hard shove, and Al fell to the floor in a flurry of limbs. “Look, the chair broke under your weight!” laughed Scorpius, just as Professor Quinn reached their desks.

“Scorpius Malfoy! What is going on? Why are you out of your chair Albus Severus? I expect better from both of you!” Al climbed back into his chair and stared hard at the surface of his desk. He really hated being in trouble. Scorpius seemed to have no such issues, as Al distinctly heard him mutter ‘He started it.’

“Detention Malfoy,” said the teacher calmly. “Seven o clock tonight.”

“Fuck that shit,” mumbled Scorpius, after making sure that Professor Quinn was out of earshot. Still, he settled down and worked hard on his test, which Al was grateful for. This situation was getting out of control fast, and he didn’t know what to do.

After another awkward dinner with the Slytherins (Professor Osian was still watching his every move), Al decided to go for a walk around the castle. The Arithmancy test earlier had been extremely difficult, and his brain still felt a little fried. “Some exercise will do me good,” he smiled, as he pushed open the door and wandered aimlessly down the corridor.

Before long, he realised that he was up by the Arithmancy classroom and Professor Quinn’s office. Not the best place to be if you’re trying to forget about that particular subject! Al was about to turn around and go back down the stairs, when he heard voices.

“I have marked your Arithmancy test Scorpius, and I must say that I am very disappointed. You still do not seem to have a grasp of even the most basic principles! I do not believe that you are suited for this class at all.”

“Please Professor Quinn, don’t throw me out! I’ll work really hard, I promise. I did ask someone to help me, but… it didn’t work out. I’ll ask someone else tonight - please give me another chance!”

Al ran down the stairs as fast as he dared. His heart was beating painfully hard in his chest - Malfoy hadn’t been trying to trick him! He really had needed a favour, and Al had just laughed at him. “I’m a horrible person,” Al moaned as he reached the library. “He asked me because none of his friends study Arithmancy, and I was too proud and stubborn to help him.”

He walked briskly to the back of the library, and hid in a dark alcove. He had some serious soul-searching to do.

Some time later, Al spotted Scorpius entering the library. “He looks so sad and stressed,” Al whispered, his stomach clenching at the realisation that he was to blame for the boy’s unhappiness.

Scorpius collected together a set of Arithmancy books and started studying, while Al was still taking deep breaths and steeling himself for what he had to do next.

“Malfoy… Scorpius. Can I have a word?” said Al shakily. Scorpius looked extremely wary, but nodded.

“I’m really sorry about the way I’ve behaved recently - it’s all got a little out of hand. I was wondering if you still needed that favour, and if I could help in any way?”

“Not here,” whispered Scorpius. “Can we talk in the dorm? I don’t want anyone to know.”

Silently, the boys gathered their belongings and walked towards the dungeons. Al felt very uncomfortable in Scorpius’ company, but a quick glance showed him that the other boy was feeling exactly the same way. “For Slytherins, we’re not exactly great at hiding our feelings!” he thought, then immediately backtracked. Had he really just thought of himself as Slytherin? When asked, his family usually referred to him as ‘our Gryffindor spy in the dungeons’, and he felt the same.

Al resolved to think about it later - he still had an awkward conversation to get through. Eventually they reached their dorm, and sat down on Scorpius’ bed. “Albus…” began Scorpius, then cleared his throat. “Al. I could really do with your help. I’ve noticed that you’re really good at Arithmancy, and I’m not. I’m shit, in fact. Professor Quinn keeps threatening to throw me out of the class, and I really don’t want that to happen.”

“Why?” interrupted Al. “If you’re really struggling, and you don’t seem to like the lessons that much, why don’t you take something else?” Scorpius blushed. “My Dad wants me to study it,” he explained. “He thinks it will be good for me. Please will you help me? I just need a bit of help with understanding the lessons and homework. Please Al, I don’t want to let him down.”

Al took a deep breath. “No problem Scorpius,” he replied. “Do you want to start now, since you’ve got these books from the library? How did you find the test earlier?”

“Appalling,” confessed Scorpius. “Quinn told me earlier that she’s already marked my test. I got 25%, that’s nearly a Troll! I’m so ashamed.”

“I found it hard too,” Al soothed. “It was a really nasty test. Still, we’ll start from the beginning to make sure you understand everything.”

Al wandered along the corridor towards the Great Hall. He was feeling happier than he had been for quite a while. He was meeting regularly with Scorpius for their tutoring sessions, which were going extremely well. Scorpius’ marks were improving, slowly but surely, and Al was surprised to find that he was proud of this achievement too.

“Al! Over here! I saved you a seat.”

“Thanks Scorp!” grinned Al, as he started to load his plate with toad-in-the-hole (his favourite). The other effect of spending so much time with Scorpius was that they became friends. “It’s nice to have a friend in my dorm,” mused Al, glancing up at the Gryffindor table. He hadn’t eaten there or visited their common room for quite a few weeks now.

“Albus! Albus Severus!” called a voice, one that Al knew all too well. His cousin Rose.

“Miss Rosebud! What brings you into the snake pit tonight?” teased Scorpius. Al looked at him gratefully - the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry was still going strong, and it was very unusual for Gryffindors to visit the Slytherin table.

“I’ve brought you a drink Al, we got it from Hogsmeade,” Rose explained. “We didn’t see you there because you were hanging around with your new friends, so I thought I’d give your present to you now. Try it, it’s really yummy!”

“Thanks Rose!” smiled Al. It was nice to know that he wasn’t forgotten, even though he wasn’t in the tower as much. He grabbed the small brown bottle and took a large gulp. “It tastes like raspberries!” he said in surprise, not immediately realising that everyone at the table was staring at him.

“What?” he demanded, looking anxiously at Scorpius. “Why is everyone looking at me?” Rose’s loud giggle made Al jump. “You’re blue! You’re glowing blue! That means you fancy boys, not girls. I can’t wait to tell Lily and James!”

She skipped off, leaving complete silence behind her.

“Um… Scorpius? Am I really glowing blue?” ventured Al. Scorpius nodded, not quite able to look at the brightly glowing boy.

“Right. Okay. See you later,” stuttered Al. He had to get out of there - he had never been so embarrassed in his entire life. He ran out of the hall, and kicked the door open to the nearest bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and scrutinised his reflection. “Yep, definitely blue,” Al sighed.

He stood and stared until the glow began to fade. Luckily the effects of the potion seemed to be short-lived - it only took ten minutes for Al’s skin to return to normal, but for him it felt like an eternity.

After splashing water on his face in an attempt to calm down a bit, Al was ready to confront Rose. He stormed up to Gryffindor tower.

“Hey Albus! Long time no see,” called Lily, as he entered the common room. Al wasn’t in the mood for such pleasantries. “Were you part of this? Did you plan to put the potion in that drink and give it to me?”

Lily looked nervous, as a ranting and raving Al certainly was not a common sight. “Yes, I was part of it,” she confessed. “Rose and James came up with the idea.”

“Get them. Right now.” Al demanded. Lily nodded, and scrambled upstairs to the dorms. Al paced up and down the common room. He knew he was making a scene, but he couldn’t help it. They had gone too far!

Rose and James entered the room, with Lily behind them. James was laughing, obviously not taking Lily seriously. His laughter stopped the moment he saw Al’s face.

“Why did you do that to me? Why did you put the potion in my drink? I have never been so embarrassed in all my life!” shouted Al, wanting to make his brother and cousin feel as bad as he did. James merely shrugged his shoulders. “I thought it would be a laugh?” he offered. This did not soothe Al.

“You thought it would be a laugh? You humiliated me in front of my House! The story will be all over Hogwarts by now!” This was all too much for James. “Your house? Since when have those slimy snakes been your house? Your Sorting was a mistake, everyone knows that. You’re Gryffindor like the rest of us.”

“I am a Slytherin, James! I eat at the Slytherin table, I sleep in the Slytherin dorms, my tie is silver and green. It may have taken me three years to see it, but I am not a Gryffindor! If being a Gryffindor means playing jokes like this, then I don’t want to be one!”

The common room fell silent. Al felt sick and shaky - not only had his family discovered that he liked boys (something he hadn’t even admitted to himself properly yet), but he had refused to be part of Gryffindor. All his family were Gryffindor - both the Potter and Weasley sides. He had effectively walked away from his family too.

James finally recovered. “If you’re a Slytherin, then you have no right to be here,” he roared. “Get out!”

Blinded by tears, Al stumbled towards the portrait hole and fled the tower. His one thought as he returned to the safety of the dungeons was ‘I need Scorpius. I need Scorpius.’ He repeated it like a mantra, until he ran into Scorpius, just outside the Slytherin entrance.

“Where were you? I’ve been looking everywhere!” demanded his friend. “I was worried about you.” Al sighed. “I was up in the tower, yelling at James. They all hate me now.”

“Let’s go inside,” suggested Scorpius. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about, anyway.”

Once they were inside their dorm however, Scorpius didn’t seem that eager to talk. He looked everywhere but at Al, fiddled with the curtains on his bed, played with his shoelaces.

“Didn’t you want to say something?” queried Al, rather puzzled by his friend’s behaviour. Suddenly a thought occurred to him that froze his insides. “Scorp, are you going to stop being my friend because I fancy boys?”

“What? No! Of course not!” yelped Scorpius. “It’s the opposite, in fact. I just wanted to let you know that if someone gave me that potion, I would glow blue too.”

“Really?” replied Al. “I thought I was the only one.” Scorpius shook his head. “You’ve got me, Al,” he smiled.

With that, the mood changed. They stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Slowly, the boys moved their heads together and their lips met.

“I’ve wanted to do that for ages,” whispered Scorp, as his hand caressed Al’s unruly hair. “I’m sure we can do it lots more,” laughed Al, as he moved in for another kiss.

His family may not be speaking to him, and he had no idea what his parents were going to say about him coming out as a gay Slytherin, but as long as he had Scorpius, Al felt like he could take on the world.

*fic, rating: pg-13, words: 1000-5000, fest: 2011 prompt fest

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