Raven and Scorpius enter the Headmistress's office, and are immediately separated into separate sections so that they couldn't get their story straight first.
Slughorn asked Raven where she was the morning that Polly first showed symptoms of psychosis. And McGonagall is the one who addressed Scorpius Malfoy. He clasped his hands behind his back, standing straight and confident. "I was in the library. You can ask Christine. She was there with me." Scorpius told the Headmistress unflinchingly.
"Scorpius you know that if you are lying to me, you'll be sent home for the rest of the year, don't you?"
"Will I be, Headmistress? Because since everyone knows I'm the son of Cypress Black, it would be very suspicious to send me home. Even if you offered up a valid reason why." Scorpius tested slowly, forcing his tone to me more inquisitive and cautious rather than egotistical (which was his natural expression). "There would be talk that I was a danger to the students. And then there would be talk that you couldn't protect the students from me- considering you had to send me home to eliminate the threat." Scorpius bites his lip in faux thought. "Even after Harry Potter cleared me himself to return. You'd be seen as weak, old."
"Mind your tongue, Mr. Malfoy." She snaps at him. Scorpius's lips tugged into the slightest of smiles.
It was ten minutes later and the twins were released from the office. Their stories are backed up by the students they mentioned, and as no evidence was tied directly to them... As soon as they are left alone in the halls, Raven turns to Scorpius. A smile on her face. "Who was your alibi?" She asks.
"Christine. She won't break the rules herself unless it's to get me out of trouble." Scorpius tells her, giving her hand a high five. "You?"
"Ashton of course." Her smile was brighter than the sun.
"He's a keeper." Scorpius answers, and they strut down the halls together. Having a boost to their egos considering they just got away with making Chapman insane. Possibly permanently. At least now she can't sexually harass others.
—-
Scorpius pulled Albus's shirt over his head. The brunette boy was flushed, laying back on his bed with Scorpius hovering over him. "What if someone comes in?"
"Then they're walking into a gay porno." Scorpius responds breathlessly, swollen lips meeting Albus's before he can respond. His tongue deepening the kiss as both their eyes fluttered closed with the contact. Albus dominated the kiss, using a hand to guide the tilt of Scorpius's head. A soft moan vibrates through them. Scorpius's bare hands follow the curve of Albus's body, like he was memorizing the boy by touch.
"Tonight." Scorpius breaks away and pulls Albus's hips up with his hands, so they raised off the bed slightly before settling again. "When we're at the party and," His words are cut off as he presses his lips to Albus's neck, feeling his rapid pulse under his skin. "you're visiting with people who no one cares about," Scorpius bites his skin lightly, and then pulls up to look Albus in those green eyes. "Telling Luke goodbye, your shirt will sit uncomfortably against your bruised skin. And you'll know your mine."
"Scorpius I think you're forgetting who's the top in this-" Albus's words are cut off as the other boy's lips reattach to his neck. "Fuck." He curses, the sensation of Scorpius's damp hair from his shower brushing against his jaw and neck coupled with his warm lips made Albus burn with desire for more. He craved the way Scorpius's hands roamed his body, like he cherished the feeling of that smooth skin.
"Hmm." Scorpius finished the red hickey and pulled away. "Where should the next one go?" He hums, hands shifting down Albus's stomach. His thumb circled his bellybutton. "Around here?" The touch had Albus's hips shifting.
"You keep teasing me and I'll fuck you right now."
"Ooh Potter. You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Scorpius purred, fingers trailing to the waistband of Albus's sweats. He pulled it slightly away, and let the elastic snap back against Albus's skin. "How about here?" Scorpius pressed a kiss to Albus's collarbone, and went to work on another bruise. Albus whined softly, hard in his pants. His hands found Scorpius's hair and softly tugged on the damp locks. "The only thing stopping me from tearing all your clothes off right here is the fact someone can walk in on us." Scorpius whispered against his skin. Albus whimpered at the words.
"You really making me pay for that comment, aren't you? About seeing how long you can hold out for?" Albus pulls his legs up, and wraps them around Scorpius's torso to pull him down and against his body. "You are purposely driving me crazy."
"Yes I am." Scorpius grins, pink lips meet Albus's with fervor.
"Who cares if someone walks in on us?" Albus murmurs against his lips. The blonde grins.
"Desperate, are we?" He taunts, and pulls a page out of Albus's book, softly grinding his pelvis against Albus. He could feel how hard he was through the fabric, and moaned softly.
—-
Scorpius met Albus in the Slytherin common room after getting dressed for the party. He wore a long sleeve flannel over a tank top, and Albus had on a simple tee shirt. "Are you going to get cold in that?" Scorpius wonders, seeing his bare arms as he approaches. He had initially only had a tank on, but then realized that would put his purple scar on full display. So he was compelled to pull on a flannel over.
"No. But if I do, I'll borrow this." Albus reaches towards him, taking both unbuttoned sides of Scorpius's flannel in his fingers. He smiles a little. "I've said it before but this time I mean it very seriously. You look a lot better shirtless."
"I see Raven's taught you a few backhanded compliments." Scorpius grins, pulling Albus against him to slowly kiss him. Students in the Slytherin common room made a point to avoid looking in their direction, immediately uncomfortable with the public display. That familiar tingling of passion burning through them at the touch, and they both didn't seem to care about who watched. Scorpius pulls away before they could get carried away again. "Let's go before the girl wonders if we got lost."
Albus takes his hand as they leave, heading towards the Ravenclaw tower. There was a sixth year outside the Ravenclaw tower, letting people into the dorms. Considering they had to solve a riddle for the door to open, there had to be someone to let students in. And probably keep watch for Professors who would shut the party down if they knew alcohol was circulating. The girl let's Scorpius and Albus in as they approach, and they enter the Ravenclaw common room.
It was how you'd expect a high school party to be. Anyone under fourth years weren't permitted to join them, as most of the parties were at Hogwarts. No one wanted to party with kids. The room was filled with students, and in the middle was a throng of dancing. Around the sides students sat or stood in groups, drinking out of red disposable cups. Scorpius's grey eyes scanned the room, trying to find that platinum blonde hair. And then he does. He takes Albus's hand, and gently guides them through the crowd where Raven sat.
She was sitting on a couch that faced another couch. And the entire group was there, talking and laughing. Raven was sitting on Ashton's thighs, and to Scorpius's relief, she had a water bottle in her hands instead of liquor. Raven was a light weight due to her petite figure, so she had to be closely watched when it came to drugs or alcohol. Scorpius lead to the opposite couch, and took a seat beside Rose Weasley. And Albus sat on his other side.
"... not what I said!" Dinah was saying, pointing accusingly at Orion across the coffee table in the center of the couches. Orion was laughing hard, and the others were grinning. Whatever was going on- it had tickled everyone's humor. "Drink! Drink!" Dinah scolded the Gryffindor boy, and finally Orion nodded, picked up one of the full shot glasses from the coffee table, and tipped it past his lips. He grimaced, indicating to Scorpius that this was probably his first shot of the night.
"What's going on?" Scorpius asks, not directing the question to anyone specific. Rose answers beside him.
"We're playing Most Likely To. Where we go around and say who's most likely to do what. Anyone with the most votes has to drink." Rose explains. Scorpius nods, having played before. Albus shook his head in distaste. "Wanna play?"
"Absolutely. Poor me a shot." Scorpius gestures to the coffee table where Orion, Dinah, Xavier and James sat around it. He was somewhat surprised to see James sitting here, but consider that both Rose and Orion were hanging out here- perhaps it's not that strange. Dinah sways her hips to the music as she pours a shot from the liquor bottle, and hands it to Albus to pass to Scorpius. Christine speaks up from where she sat beside Raven and Ashton across from Rose.
"Most likely to get expelled from getting in a fight." The Ravenclaw girl says with a smirk in Scorpius's direction. He scoffs.
"You did that intentionally!" He exclaims, watching as everyone in the group points to him. Albus chuckles a bit from his side.
"Drink!" Dinah orders, laughing. So Scorpius downs the shot, and his nose scrunches up at the strong taste.
"Whiskey! A little warning would've been nice." He coughs, setting the glass on the table to be refilled. The liquor burned its way down his throat.
"Weakling." James jokes, earning a half-hearted glare. "Your turn Orion." He tells the other Gryffindor Quidditch player across from him. Orion takes a moment to think and then speaks.
"Most likely to be a teen mom." He says. There's shared glances around the group.
"That's a good one." Ashton tells him. "I think Rose."
"Me too." Christine agrees.
"Hey!" Rose scoffs. But then there's nods around the circle. "That's just cruel. I'm more responsible than that."
"Are you, though?" Orion taunts. Rose sent him a look that could kill, but takes a shot. She grabbed a lemon slice to bite afterwards, already knowing she wouldn't stand the taste.
"Most likely to have sex in a classroom." Xavier says next. Scorpius follows the circle in clockwise motion, getting a hang of who's turn it is next.
"Ah fuck." James clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and glanced at Christine. "You told him?"
"It still haunts me to this day!" Christine laughs, and they watched as James disappointedly took a shot. Scorpius tried not to imagine James and Christine going at it in a classroom. And to his dismay, there was even a guilty glance shared between Raven and Ashton.
"Most likely to cheat on exams." Rose offered next. Most either pointed at Raven or Dinah.
"Hey I'm not playing!" Raven defends herself. Dinah throws her hands up and nods.
"I'm not about to waste my time studying." She agrees, and downs the whiskey. She didn't even make a face at the taste, and Scorpius assumes its probably because she's more than a couple shots in and can't taste it by now. It was Scorpius's turn.
"Most likely to die because of a stupid challenge." He suggests. There's fingers pointing at James, Scorpius, and Rose. "James you have the most."
"Oh come on!" The Potter complains.
"You can't be surprised, you just scream dumb decisions brother." Albus tells him. James shook his head, but took another shot without further ado.
"Albus, you playing?" Christine asks, suggesting that it was his turn if he was.
"No." Albus grins.
"Oh come on." The ravenclaw girl coaxes. The brunette shakes his head.
"I'm not a fan of the game." He shrugs.
"Let's play something else then so everyone will play." Ashton offers. "How about Truth or Dare?"
"Again? Let's not." Scorpius speaks up.
"Let's do it." Rose agrees, and there's agreements from around the circle. "Albus, you in?" She asks, leaning forward to see her cousin around Scorpius between them. Albus thinks a moment and then finally agrees.
"As long as I don't have to drink." Albus laughs.
"Suit yourself, Potter. Who wants whiskey and iced tea?" Dinah stands from where she was sitting on the floor, and Orion stands up as well, heading over to the girl. Clearly he was worried she might fall over. And her legs seemed a little unsteady. Still, she was handling her alcohol for being so small.
"I'll help get drinks. Anyone?" Orion asks, looking around the circle. Scorpius gestures that he'll take one, and other than Albus and Raven, the rest agree to a drink. They chat amongst themselves until Orion and Dinah return with red cups of tea and whiskey. Dinah dances as she sits back beside James.
"Okay Albus. You start." Ashton prompts, readjusting Raven on his legs so that he could pull his cup to his lips.
"Same rules as before?" Albus clarifies. Ashton nods. "Okay, Dinah. Truth or Dare?"
"Let's do Dare." Dinah tells him in response.
"I dare you to... kiss Orion." Albus smirks a little. Scorpius knew immediately what he was trying at- shifting Orion's attention away from the Malfoy's and towards Dinah. The platinum boy stays silent and takes a sip of his drink, thankful it was mixed with tea since it made it more bearable. The alcohol warms him from the inside, and he knew before long he'd have to take off his flannel.
"Come here." Orion crooks a finger in her direction. Dinah stands up and there's ooohs from around the circle.
"I'm still only interested in myself, just so we're clear." She tells Orion, and then pulls him into a kiss before he can say something arrogant in response. Scorpius looked at Albus, avoiding watching the scenario unfold.
"You couldn't help yourself, could you?" He asks gently so only his boyfriend could hear, tugging Albus a little closer by the belt loops on his jeans. Potter grins at him.
"He needs a reminder of his place." Albus leans into Scorpius's ear to respond.
After returning to her seat, James speaks up. His turn. "What's the rules on relationships?"
"Last time we established it was up to the partners if they were okay with it. I don't care if Raven kisses anyone. It's just a game." Ashton tells James in response.
"I don't care either." Albus agrees. Scorpius tried to contain his shock and disappointment.
"Well I definitely care." He spoke up, voice filled with contempt. Albus notes the tone, and scoots a little closer to Scorpius, almost like he was apologizing. Scorpius responds to the movement, tapping Albus's thighs so that he swung his legs over Scorpius's on the couch.
"Just ask and then if someone's not okay with it, you can do something else." Ashton suggests, giving James the signal to go ahead.
"Very well. Raven, truth or dare?" James asks the small girl. Scorpius takes another drink from his cup, and watched silently.
"Dare." She replies without hesitation, ready for whatever James threw her way.
"Since Ashton doesn't care... I dare you to kiss Orion." James smiles a little. Orion looked at the platinum haired girl, and Scorpius waited for her to speak up. We're related that's gross. But she didn't. And when she didn't, Albus crossed his arms over his chest, and flicked his emerald eyes to the coffee table. Scorpius realizes that this game might've been worse than the other, and took another drink so that maybe he could get more tipsy and not have to worry as much.
"I care if it's Orion." Ashton immediately says. Orion whistled.
"I'll try not to be offended." The curly haired boy grins, like he'd just won the lottery.
"Since he's uncomfortable with it, let's do truth." Raven brushes off Orion's comment like he hadn't said anything. James huffed but thought of his truth.
"Alrighty. What's your thoughts on polyamory?" James wondered. Raven thought about it before responding.
"Ashton and I have already talked about it. I'd be down to have two boyfriends." She responds honestly. That didn't surprise Scorpius. Ashton didn't seem bothered that she revealed that bit of information, and jokingly added.
"But we aren't currently accepting applications, so don't get any ideas you horny bitches." And that brought laughter from everyone. "My turn." Ashton sips his tea and then scans his eyes around the circle. "Xavier. Truth or Dare?"
"Let's do dare." Xavier shrugs.
"I dare you to kiss someone of your choosing. French kiss." Ashton specifies. The ravenclaw boy didn't have to think about it before turning to the Gryffindor beside him. Orion smirks.
"Look at me getting all these kisses tonight." He muses. Xavier grabs the front of Orion's shirt and pulls him to him fiercely. Orion seemed to show a little more excitement with Xavier than with Dinah. Using his hand to grab Xavier by the throat as their lips met. Of course anyone would elect to kiss Orion- he's arguably the most attractive one here. Scorpius tore his eyes away and looked back to Albus, who seemed more satisfied with the fact that another person was kissing Orion.
Like somehow it painted Orion as a whore or something. Scorpius felt a little annoyed with that; even though he tried to feel neutral about it. Why should he care? He finished his drink, feeling his body warm all over from the booze. Finally, he pulled his flannel off, handing it to Albus. Potter takes it and slides his arms into the sleeves. "You finished your drink?" Albus sees the empty cup. Scorpius shrugs. "That was fast."
"I can handle my alcohol." Scorpius replies, tuning out as Raven asks Rose truth or dare. "You okay?"
"I'm good." Albus nods, taking Scorpius's right hand in his and entwining their fingers. The basilisk scar up Scorpius's arm was on full display, though due to the alcohol buzzing his veins, he wasn't as self conscious over it now.
"Scorpius. Truth or Dare." Christine asks, bringing his attention back to the game and away from Albus's touch.
"Truth." Scorpius replies, looking over the coffee table at her. The others look between them. Christine thinks a moment, and as soon as she speaks Scorpius knew that she and Albus had coordinated this. They must've. Or at least had talked before the party.
"How do you feel about Orion flirting with you when you're in a relationship?" Christine you bitch. Scorpius put on a plastic smile, and glanced at Albus with a suspicious look in his eyes. Albus batted his lashes at Scorpius innocently. The blonde saw through that bullshit. Clearly Albus had vented to Christine about Orion as well. And potentially told her about how Orion and Scorpius was related. So he treaded carefully.
"I wasn't aware he was flirting." Scorpius responds, holding Christine's threatening gaze across the table. Then Scorpius looked to Orion. "Were you flirting?" He asked the Gryffindor. Orion hides his smile by taking a drink and then shakes his head.
"Of course not. I don't go after people who are taken." Yeah, right. Orion backed him up. Scorpius looked back to Christine like what now? She snorts disbelievingly.
"Seemed like flirting to me." Dinah brings up. Fuck.
"I agree." Ashton backs her up. Scorpius felt anxiety churn his stomach as all eyes turn to him.
"I didn't take it that way, so I suppose I don't have any feelings on it." He shrugs like this was the first time he was hearing this. Albus's legs tensed a little, and Scorpius rubs a circle into his thigh with his free hand in an attempt to smooth him. Christine rolled her eyes, but Orion realized it was his turn so he swiftly spoke to divert everyone's attention.
"Albus. Truth or Dare?"
"Dare." Albus responded without enthusiasm.
"I dare you to smooch Rose." Orion pauses, looking to Scorpius. "Unless you don't want them to kiss."
"Well their cousins so it's not like I'd be jealous over her." Scorpius says without thinking, then mentally slaps himself. He probably shouldn't be drinking. Albus huffed, his eyes meeting Scorpius's gaze. "Change to truth." Scorpius tells his boyfriend softly, feeling his face get warm. And this wasn't from the alcohol.
"I don't wanna kiss him. That's disgusting." Rose laughs.
"Don't be such a bitch." Raven tells her, earning an incredulous glare from the Weasley.
"It doesn't matter. I'll do truth." Albus interrupts. Orion shrugs, like his dare had been innocent all along.
"Very well. What's the most embarrassing place you've had sex?" The Gryffindor asks. Albus thought about it.
"Here. The ravenclaw common room." Albus finally reveals. Scorpius poured strait whiskey into his empty cup, figuring he needed to be a lot more drunk to continue playing this. Xavier directed his question to Dinah, and then it was Rose's turn. And after a few sips of straight whiskey, Scorpius got to his feet.
"I'm dancing." He looks at Christine. "Care to join me?" He walked over and extends a hand to her. "My lady?" Scorpius adds jokingly, an old nickname.
"It's rude to decline an invitation from the Malfoy Prince." Christine sets her cup down and takes his warm hand. As soon as they are out of the corner and away from the group, in the throng of dancing, Scorpius confronts her.
"Really subtle with your truth question." He tells his ex-girlfriend. Christine raises her arms above her head to sway to the music.
"Ah, so that's why you asked me to dance." She shook her head. "Albus told me that Orion was making him uncomfortable."
"Albus is overly sensitive."
"He doesn't seem overly sensitive. He doesn't seem to care if you kiss anyone for truth or dare. He doesn't even care that you're dancing with me. That's not overly sensitive. That's someone who's confident in their relationship. Doesn't mean he's okay with Orion flirting with you." Christine explains. Scorpius realizes he's too tipsy to continue this conversation, so succumbs to dancing in silence.
Scorpius closed his eyes, letting the pounding music fill his body and take his movements. He felt loose, flowing. And the beat washed over him like ocean waves. It was several songs later when he finds himself dancing in a group of girls. One hands him a shot and he takes it, unable to taste the full tang of the liquor.
Scorpius's body shone under the dim lights with a sheen of sweat. His hair stuck to his forehead, and his scar shined under the lights. He'd accepted a few more shots and before he knew it, he was absolutely drunk. He jolts as he bumps into someone behind him. Scorpius turned to apologize and sees Orion. He struggles to focus his drunk mind. "You're very drunk." Orion realizes immediately. Scorpius pushes hair out of his eyes and blinks rapidly to focus on Orion's face.
"Mm yes." He agrees, hearing a slow song come on.
"Care to dance?" Orion asks as the song changes, holding a hand out for him. Scorpius shakes his head no.
"Sorry. Albus's only rule was not to dance with you." He reveals. Orion snorts.
"Fair enough. Let's get you some water then. You look like you're about to fall over." He offers, and leads Scorpius over to where plastic chairs and tables were set up. Scorpius sits down, and felt like he was still dancing. Goosebumps raised across his arms, despite the fact he felt warm from the alcohol. Orion returns a few minutes later with a real glass instead of disposable, ice clinked in the water inside. He extends it to Scorpius, who takes it. "You look terrible." Orion laughs. "No wonder you don't want to dance."
"I want to dance." Scorpius sips the water, feeling sick to his stomach so he slows down. "But I want to respect my boyfriend's feelings more than dance with you." He tells Orion his words slurring significantly, struggling to hold the boy's hazel gaze. His drunk brain said who cares just dance, but he could think rationally enough to stop himself. The curly haired Quidditch player pulls a chair up to sit down, facing Scorpius and nodding.
"Understood." Orion nods respectfully. "Where is Albus?" He looked around the room. Scorpius shrugs without looking, taking another small sip of ice water. The coolness soothes his warm throat and mouth. "He doesn't drink or dance?" Orion asks. Scorpius slowly shook his head.
"Mm, no. He does but only sometimes. He doesn't like alcohol." Scorpius explains, his head swimming. "I have a headache."
"Drink more water." Orion suggests, leaning closer as though worried Scorpius was going to fall off the chair.
"I'll get sick if I drink more water." Scorpius felt a little clammy anyways, he might throw up regardless of if he drinks water or not.
"I'll take you to the restrooms if you need to." Orion offered.
"You don't have to- Albus can. Where's Albus?" Scorpius props his head up on his hand, feeling worse by the passing minute. He really regretted those last shots. He felt numb.
"I'll see if I can find him. Stay here, okay?" Orion tells the boy. Scorpius nods slightly and then the Gryffindor has left him sitting alone. He yawns, feeling tired and sickly. It was time to leave the party, probably. Scorpius felt gross, he needed to shower again. And sober up. He was probably going to throw up by now, he had too much whiskey. Scorpius should've known better than to keep drinking whiskey. It was too much- even for him. He wondered how Dinah was doing too, considering she started drinking earlier than him.
Scorpius didn't know how long it had been until Orion returns, alone. "Where is he?"
"I couldn't find him." Orion tells Scorpius, sitting back in the chair by him.
"You're lying. Where is he?" Scorpius demands, looking up at Orion.
"He's busy." Orion told him softly. "Trust me." Something in his voice told Scorpius to stop asking questions. "Ready to go to the restroom? You look a bit green."
"Yeah." Scorpius agrees, realizing he felt too sick to argue this time. Orion helps him stand and leads him to the Ravenclaw male bathrooms. They were empty. Scorpius closes and locks the stall behind him, and empties the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He grimaced, hating the taste of liquor coming up a lot more than it going down. When he was finished he felt a lot better, and flushed and left the stall.
Orion was leaning against the sinks, looking a bit sweaty and tipsy himself. But not nearly as bad as Scorpius. "Better?" He asks as Scorpius walked over to the sinks and rinses his mouth out. The blonde nods, bracing himself on the cold sink. Scorpius felt less drunk now that some of it was out of his system. "You always end up sick when you drink?"
"No." Scorpius responds softly, having a pounding headache. His body ached. "Whiskey just doesn't react well with my body. And after Truth or Dare I kind of wanted to get black out drunk." He mustered up the most accusatory glare he could in Orion's direction. The Gryffindor had the good sense to not smile or respond sarcastically this time. "Really? Daring Albus to kiss Rose? What the hell were you thinking?"
"I thought you'd say no." Orion responds, an edge to his voice. "I had no idea you were going to say... what you did." Scorpius looked away from him and into the mirror at his reflection. He was shivering now, probably from the clammy sickness that the alcohol induced. "I'm sorry." He says, his voice low where Scorpius knew he was being sincere. When was the last time Orion said sorry and actually meant it? Perhaps in that way, they were similar. Living in the present, not dwelling or regretting their actions and moving forward.
Scorpius turned and hopped up on the countertop between sinks, leaning his back against the cool mirror. "Everything was fine between Albus and I before you came along." He says simply, probably something he'd never voice aloud if he was sober. Just shut up and stop talking. Orion let's out a sigh.
"I'll stop flirting. It's messed up anyways." He shrugs. Scorpius looked over where Orion leans against the counter, his back facing Scorpius. He could just see the profile of his face. "Isn't it?" Orion asks when Scorpius doesn't respond.
"Honestly I'm not bothered by the flirting." Scorpius slowly begins, but his tongue was looser under the influence. "I guess it's flattering in a way." He pushes his hair away from his face, but it falls back into place immediately after. "Is it weird that it doesn't bother me?"
"I'm probably not the right person to ask." Orion replies with a soft chuckle, and then grabs the glass of water he had brought into the restroom, extending it to Scorpius. The blonde takes it, and slowly drinks it. "Albus doesn't like me because I was flirting with Rose for a bit. Apparently she was really crazy about me and Albus felt like I was leading her on. I guess I was, but it was unintentional." He explains.
"He never told me that."
"It was forever ago. James didn't care but maybe it's just cause he knows me better, I don't know." Orion yawns. Scorpius wondered what time it was. He had left his phone back in the Slytherin dorms.
"Well now he doesn't like you because you've been flirting with me. So I'd say you've upgraded." Scorpius teases. Orion grins, turning his neck to meet his gaze.
"Couldn't help myself, apparently."
"You know, if you'd been making moves months ago I probably would've found it revolting. Not just because I was denying my sexuality, but because we are distantly related." Scorpius considers, leaning his head against the cold glass. "After learning about who I was... being Cypress's son. And everything else... maybe it just doesn't seem like a big deal anymore. Considering the big picture." He pauses. "I'm not saying I'm interested in you." Orion laughs.
"I know."
"I'm just saying that it's probably why I'm not... reacting like a normal person. I guess." Scorpius shivers a bit more as the cool air touched his skin.
"What was he like?" Orion wonders timidly.
"Who?"
"Cypress."
"I only met him briefly." Scorpius felt a stone in his gut as he recalled the man. The image that flashed behind his eyes of Aries killing him sobered him up just a little more. "He seemed humbled. After everything he'd been through I would imagine he would be. It would've been nice to know him better before he..."
"We don't have to talk about it. I never knew my family well outside of Mum. I can't help but be curious." He explains. "I hardly know my cousin Teddy Lupin at all. My grandmother- Andromeda- wasn't really open to having Mum around. And neither was Harry Potter."
"Right. Teddy's godfather." Scorpius puts it together slowly in his tipsy mind. "I get it. Wanting to connect with family. I have an Aunt out there." Delphini. "She doesn't even know who I am. At least I don't think she does. I thought that one day Aries would introduce us but... that's probably not going to happen now." Scorpius rubbed his temples with his fingers, feeling a headache. The only reason why he even kept talking was the alcohol. He never would share this information otherwise. But right now he wondered why not?
"What happened with that girl?" Orion was curious.
"She was my best friend." Scorpius huffs. "I don't know. Even after everything a part of me hopes that she's still on my side. That probably sounds stupid after she killed Cypress. But... oh well. I don't even know what I'm saying." Scorpius scoots to the end of the counter and slides off to his feet, wobbling slightly. "I'm still tipsy."
"Obviously." Orion's sass came back, and he extended a hand to grab Scorpius's arm to stable him. Then released him immediately. "Are you cold?" He notices the raised bumps across Scorpius's skin.
"I am but," Scorpius yawns. "Don't offer your jacket." He orders. Orion grins a little.
"Boundaries. Got it. I'll walk you back to the Slytherin Dungeon." He offers, and Scorpius nods. Only so that he'd actually get all the way to the dungeons without getting lost while being drunk.
The hallways of the castle were colder now that the night had begun to turn to morning. "Where was Albus?" Scorpius asked as they walked. Orion kept some distance between them.
"You'll have to ask him." He replies shortly. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him. "Ask him." Orion repeats intently. As they reached the Slytherin dungeons Scorpius stops and turns to Orion.
"Thanks for... babysitting my drunk ass." Scorpius flushes.
"I'll babysit that ass anytime." Orion stops. "I didn't mean it like that." He backtracks.
"Sure you didn't." His lips tugged into a laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow."
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This chapter is so overdue I'm so sorry!