19 Years (HP - Drarry)

Chapter 24: Slumber Party

It didn't seem to matter, floating as he was, just at the edge of sleep, wrapped in the comfortable darkness and Al's soft snores. They were like the ocean, he thought vaguely, like waves lapping gently over him. Like the quiet sussuration of wind in tall grass. Like the slow, even beating of his heart.

Sasha's quiet voice floated out of the darkness to his left, pulling him back toward awareness. "You awake, Scorp?"

"Hmm?"

"I know we teased you and Al earlier, about being in Ravenclaw, and I know you said it was your motivation that placed you here..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I meant to ask earlier, but... what's your motivation? Why are you in Hufflepuff?"

Scorpius yawned. "Too tired to explain th' details now. Ask me again t'morrow. But, Al and I - we both studied muggle science, when we were younger. And we grew up with Luna's tales of magical creatures, and Nev's tales of magical plants - "

"What, Headmaster Longbottom?" Ivan asked sleepily.

"Oh. Right. Yeah. Anyway, Then there was Teddy's heritage - "

"Werewolves, right?" asked Tilly.

"Yeah. And Dad's interest in Potions... Anyway, we got t' thinking, me and Al, that there's a lot of things the muggle world gets right, and a lot of things the wizarding one does, and, well, a lot they both get wrong. And we thought that maybe we could find a way to sort of... nudge 'em both in the right direction."

"Hmm. So you're combining, what, muggle biology and Potions?"

"Yeah, for starters. And genetics and chemistry and -" he yawned again, "- astronomy - both worlds have that, you know - an' there's some bioengineering techniques that could improve yield an' accessibility of rare Potions ingredients, an' make harvesting others more humane, an' some green technology advances that might make it possible t' make muggle technology compatible with wizarding households, an'..." he trailed off, yawning.

"Wow." Tilly sounded impressed.

Scorpius smiled into the darkness. "Yeah. There's loads more, but I'm too tired. Ask me again tomorrow."

"I will. 'night Scorp," Sasha yawned, too, turning over and thumping her pillow.

"G'night."

He let himself drift, again, and then Al's even breathing carried him to the edge of sleep and over.

—
Saturday, October 14, 2017
When he woke, Tilly and Sasha were gone, beds neatly made, with no evidence they'd been there at all. Ivan was snoring softly, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and clutching the pillow to his chest. And Al - Al was staring at him, eyes wide and somehow soft.

"'Morning sleepyhead," he said, grinning.

Scorpius groaned. "How long have you been watching me sleep?"

Al shrugged. "Not long. It's early yet."

"When did Tilly and Sasha leave?"

"No idea." His grin widened. "I didn't hear anything though, so they must not have got caught."

"I certainly hope not," Scorpius said darkly, "since Tilly would most likely find a way to pin all the blame on us."

"Eh. We'd survive it, I'm sure. Now, come on - I'm starving."

"You and your bottomless pit of a stomach," Scorpius grumbled good-naturedly. But he threw the covers off, anyway, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Brrr! The floor is bloody freezing this morning."

Al hummed in agreement, then tossed a pair of socks at him. "Come on. No spending all day in bed - we've things to do!"

"Do we?" Scorpius couldn't recall any such things. He shook Ivan's ankle. "Come on, you too. If I'm going to be dragged off to do who-knows-what, then you're coming with."

Ivan groaned. "Where am I?"

Al snorted. "You're probably twenty feet from your bed, Ivan. You can't possibly be that disoriented."

"Oh. Right. What happened to the girls?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Who knows? They're probably busy making horrid plans for us, though, so we'd best hurry."

"Right."

They bustled about, scrounging three clean sets of clothes between them, and then, after a quick visit to the bathroom, set out to find their fate for the weekend.

The girls were already eating when they arrived at the Great Hall - even though there was hardly anyone else there yet. Ivan slid into the seat next to Sasha, and Al and Scorp sat across from the two girls.

"So," said Tilly, as soon as they'd sat down, "I was thinking - "

"Told ya!" Scorp whispered to Al. Tilly kicked him under the table.

"Aaaanyway," she continued, glaring at them, "as I was saying. I was thinking about Headmaster Longbottom's announcement last night, about the duel..."