Albus Potter and the Cursed Legacy | Scorbus

41. A Warning

Even the dim Slytherin dormitory seemed a little bit brighter when Albus woke up the next morning after he'd kissed Scorpius.

As he'd come to that morning, before he'd opened his eyes, there was a moment when he'd thought it all had been a dream. It wouldn't have been the first time his dreams had tantalised him with the thought of kissing Scorpius only to wake up in disappointment when nothing had changed between them--the feeling of pining for his best friend causing his chest to tighten every time he'd look at him the rest of the day.

But yesterday had felt so real. Between everything that happened with Magnolia and Matthias, he couldn't have made that up, right? A rush of adrenaline had shot through Albus' body at the idea that the entire day might have been a figment of his imagination.

He'd shot up out of his slumber, clutching his duvet against his chest in a panic as his eyes adjusted to the light of the dormitory.

"Albus, are you okay?" Scorpius' voice had been filled with concern when he'd noticed Albus wake up with a start from across the room where he was in the middle of doing up his tie. But the tie was immediately forgotten as he shuffled to Albus' bedside.

In his head, Albus had still been trying to piece together whether the day before had actually happened or not. He scanned Scorpius up and down, trying to tell if there was anything different about him--anything that might indicate the change in their relationship. But Scorpius just looked like Scorpius: alight with energy at even at the earliest morning hours.

Albus had assured Scorpius that he was fine. Just a nightmare, he'd claimed. Scorpius had gone back to assembling his uniform as Albus pulled himself out of bed--his head still spinning.

He hadn't gotten his answer until Scorpius had trotted up behind him, throwing his arms over Albus' shoulders and resting his chin on his head. His touch still caused Albus to jump, not used to early morning affection.

"Haven't changed your mind, have you?" Scorpius had said in a slightly joking manner but Albus could hear the hint of insecurity behind it.

It hadn't been a dream. Scorpius was Albus' boyfriend and the world felt right again. The sunlight that streamed into the room through the brackish lake water seemed to brighten up the room more than usual, filling Albus with an uncommon amount of enthusiasm for this early on a school day.

"Of course not," Albus eased into Scorpius' embrace. He spun around to give him a peck on a cheek--something so simple but yet it still sent the butterflies in his stomach hurdling in all directions throughout his body.

As soon as he did, a rush of horror replaced the good feeling in his body as he whipped his head around to check that no one had seen. But to his relief, the other three beds were empty with their roommates nowhere in sight.

"Don't worry," Scorpius assured him, noticing his distress. "They're not here. Must have gone to breakfast."

"They're going to find out eventually," Albus muttered, going through his trunk to pull out his school robes.

Scorpius nodded, "I think that's inevitable...How do you feel about that?" He asked tentatively.

As Albus buttoned his shirt, he thought about the potential reactions from his peers when they realised he was gay and dating Scorpius. He suspected it would be mild, for the most part. There had been plenty of gay couples at Hogwarts before--it wasn't as if it was unheard of. Of course, being the outcast son of Harry Potter didn't make things easier for Albus, in particular. And Scorpius still struggled with the assumptions of his family's dark past and general geekiness. Albus could already hear the sharp crackle of Silas when he discovered the truth. But apart from him and his friends, Albus had hope that there wouldn't be too much backlash.