"Albus get up already; it's almost time to leave!" Lily screamed at the top of her lungs at her unresponsive brother once again before slamming his bedroom door in frustration. Albus contemplated going back to sleep for a few minutes before turning over and finding his clock had just ticked ten. Remembering that today was the day he left for Hogwarts, the teen dragged himself out of bed.
Still fairly groggy, he hastily put on his clothes from the day before, too lazy to find new ones. After packing up some last minute belongings into his suitcase, he opened his door, the light flooding his eyes stunning him for a moment before heading downstairs for breakfast.
"Finally he awakens!" cracked Albus's mother with a playful grin on her face as she helped Lily stuff her trunk, "There are pancakes over there, help yourself."
Judging by the cookware strewn about on the counter as well as the leftover breakfast crumbs sprinkling the entire kitchen island, Albus guessed the rest of the Potter family had been up for a while. The pancakes were noticeably cold as he picked one up and took a bite.
"How come you guys didn't wake me up sooner?" Albus inquired with a bit of an irritable tone.
"We tried to, but you wouldn't budge," Ginny replied matter-of-factly, "I guess you really needed some extra sleep," With a quick flick of her wand, Lily's case closed and locked itself securely. "Now brush your teeth, get your trunk and help your father and James pack the car, we're leaving in 15 minutes."
~~~~
The car ride was rather uneventful as usual. Lily nattered on about how excited she was for her third year at Hogwarts to Ginny while Harry discussed N.E.W.T.s with James. It all melted into obnoxious white noise to Albus as he observed the scenery whizzing past the car window.
His mind started to wander with thoughts of the upcoming year of course taking the forefront. How would he like his classes? He was usually rubbish at charms and transfiguration although he got along well enough, but Potions class was usually where he and Scorpius excelled. His thoughts began to fill with memories of the disastrous adventure he and his best friend and gotten into. Due to their time-traveling escapade the previous year, the pair had decided to lay low for a while and avoid attention. It had worked fairly well, even after their classmates heard of what happened, although Rose had finally taken a liking to Scorpius much to his excitement. Perhaps Scorpius would be getting that date with Rose he so desperately wanted. That thought caused a lurch in Albus' stomach. He didn't particularly like the idea of Rose having 'something' with Scorpius, but he guessed that was because he was still bitter towards his cousin after the years of dismissal they received from her. Even so, while Scorpius had been invited to a few of the Potter family's summer activities and vice versa, most of their summer contact was through letters and he was looking forward to finally seeing his best friend in person again.
~~~
Platform 9 ¾ was busy as ever on such an occasion.
"As many Hogwarts students as there were in my day, I don't remember the platform ever being this packed." Harry remarked as he tried to look over the wall of train goers. Albus did the same looking for a sign of Scorpius. The Potters all took hands and continued through the bustling crowd. Faint whispers and murmurs followed the family through the platform whenever the kids headed off to Hogwarts and this year was no different. Between that and his absentmindedness, Albus was having an especially hard time keeping up with his family, running into people left and right when he found himself on the ground after a particularly bad clash. His trunk was knocked out of his hand which unfortunately led to several passersby tripping over it.
"Oh lord, I'm so sorry I-"
"Yeah well why don't you just look where you're going next t-" Albus began crossly, rubbing the bump on the back of his head before meeting the eyes of the panicking student and noticing unmistakably blonde hair. A smile immediately found itself on the young Potter's face.
"Scorpius!"
"Albus!" responded an excited Scorpius without missing a beat. Albus frantically embraced his friend who affectionately returned the gesture.
"I think I'm getting used to this hugging thing." The spindly wizard said with a chuckle. Albus stuttered in agreement, trying to hide his blushing. He had noticed that his best friend's looks had improved quite a bit since the last time he saw him even if it was only a couple months. His face had become more sculpted while still retaining that friendly appearance that Albus had grown quite fond of. Scorpius's figure had also filled out quite nicely, although he was still on the thinner side, characteristic of the Malfoy family.
"You seem to have grown over the summer, Albus," commented the blonde eyeing the wizard in front of him. "You're almost as tall as me now!" Scorpius let out a bit of a snicker. The gap between their heights had indeed gotten much closer since last year, but Albus was still a few inches shorter. Noticing their chat, Albus's parents doubled back and greeted Scorpius and his father.
"It's so good to see you two!" said Ginny with a warm smile as she pulled Scorpius in for a hug.
"Good to see you too, Mrs. Potter!" Scorpius replied happily, a bit suffocated by Ginny's affection. Harry and Draco exchanged a cordial handshake accompanied by a look of approval and a couple friendly smiles.
"Scorpius!" Lily yelled and latched herself onto the boy with a satisfied smile as soon as her mother had released him.
"Oh hello, Lily." he replied calmly and returned her embrace for a second or two. Albus felt his cheeks warm at the sight, but he quickly cooled down when Scorpius flashed him a wide eyed look of slight irritation as he pried Lily off of himself. Ginny, Draco, and Harry had begun their own conversation when the Granger-Weasleys joined the group. Hermione and Ginny immediately began chattering away while the fathers had less talkative interactions. Albus and his siblings greeted their cousins until Rose strolled up to him and Scorpius. His heart dropped as he looked over and saw his friend blushing uncontrollably at her.
"Hey, Scorpius." Just those words accompanied with her subtle smirk seemed to shock the infatuated teen.
"H-hello there, Rose," Scorpius sputtered out. Albus couldn't help but shoot them a harsh glare, but the pair thankfully didn't notice. The awkward conversation between Albus's cousin and his best friend caused a burning pit in the stomach. It seemed to last forever but was, as well as all other conversing, cut short by the Hogwarts Express's boarding signal.
"Oh, we'd better get going." Scorpius noted with a sigh. As the families regrouped to say their goodbyes, Draco turned his son around and set a hand on his shoulder.
"Scorpius, be safe this year and try to stay out of trouble." The younger Malfoy could see a faint tear begin to form in his father's eye before he was pulled into a firm but loving embrace and given a goodbye kiss on the forehead.
"Love you, Dad" said Scorpius with a smile. His father returned both the statement and the grin.
"Alright, Albus, no messing with the timeline this year, promise?" Harry joked to the anxious teen.
"Yes, dad," answered the teen with an eye roll. Harry was glad to see an improvement in his relationship with his son. It still wasn't perfect, but he wasn't complaining.
"Lily, do you have everything?" asked Ginny as she checked Lily's trunk and helped her daughter hoist her cat's kennel on top of it. "Alright, Lulu, listen to your teachers, okay? And make sure to take care of Misty." Lily nodded her head to her mother's requests and absentmindedly let Misty play with the finger she had stuck in her kennel.
"And James, try not to worry too much about your N.E.W.T.s. Study, and I know you'll do great." Harry assured his eldest son with a pat on the shoulder.
The young wizards all packed onto the Hogwarts Express, which had been extended to accommodate the increasing numbers of students. Scorpius and Albus found a compartment accompanied by Rose and Lily and set their belongings down with a thump. Rose and Scorpius sat together and started another conversation, but Albus was too busy scowling to pay attention to what they were telling each other. Lily crashed down next to her brother and took up most of the seat on the bench, sprawling her legs out and setting her head on his shoulder with a small intention of annoying him.
The train let out one final departing whistle as its wheels began rolling. The group of students waved one last goodbye out the window at their families while the train sped up and headed off to Hogwarts. Albus was glad the summer was over, but when he looked over at the 'lovebirds' sitting across from him, he didn't have the greatest feeling about his fifth year either.