Cursed Love || A Scorbus Story

Five: In Which One Young Boy Grows Jealous

Shivering despite the warmth of the September night, Scorpius trudged on, following Albus through the winding streets of London, the streetlights bright, like miniature moons. Crossing his arms, Scorpius licked his lips.

With a trembling hand, Scorpius straightened his glasses, glancing around. He had never been in London alone, especially at night. Often, Scorpius heard of children that had gotten kidnapped or murdered in the alleys.

Speeding up, he fell in line next to Albus, tripping when the toe of his shoe hit an uneven stone. "Do you know where we're going?" The only thing Albus had mentioned about where they were going was the name: St. Oswald's Home for Old Wizards and Witches.

"An old warehouse, Delphi said," Albus replied, glancing around. He put his hand in his pocket, fishing out a few damp and slightly torn Muggle pound notes. "Have you any Muggle cash?"

Scorpius shook his head, digging into his own pocket. He pulled out a large golden coin. "I've one Galleon. No Muggle notes."

"Wait here," Albus told him, and he began to walk away.

"You can't just leave me here!" Scorpius pleaded. "What if someone---"

"Nothing's gonna happen to you," Albus assured him, his emerald eyes shining even in the dark. "I'll just be a moment."

Edging away from the darkened alleyways, Scorpius gulped as Albus took off. This was stupid, leaving the safety of Hogwarts like that. He had nearly lost his glasses during the jump, for God's sake!

But. . .that had been his choice. To follow his best friend. To follow Albus to bring Cedric Diggory back to life so that his father could see him. . .

Scorpius had a bad feeling in his stomach, making his throat burn. Swallowing the burning sensation, Scorpius couldn't help but feel suspicious of this Delphi woman, of her intentions. Father had always told him Never trust a person unless they are an enemy or friend, which Scorpius always found misleading. How could one trust an enemy over a stranger?

Truthfully, this Delphi woman had pure intentions on bringing her uncle's son back to life. Maybe he was just paranoid, but the longer he thought of it, the more unnatural it sounded.

His thoughts were interrupted by Albus, who had returned, two hot sandwiches in his hand, a grin on his face. "Happy eating," he said, handing Scorpius one of the sandwiches. "It's all I could get, sorry."

"Thanks." Scorpius marvelled at how good a street sandwich could taste, which was surprisingly good, given at how Father had always said they were dirty and probably full of germs. Cringing at that last thought, Scorpius tried not to think of his father.

Albus, feeling quite guilty, ate his sandwich, the Muggle notes from earlier still in his pocket. He had stolen the sandwiches from a vendor who left his stand unattended. He tried not to let on that it bothered him.

He tried not to look at Scorpius, a warm, fuzzy feeling expanding in his chest as he remembered Scorpius' white-blonde hair billowing about, making his boyish features stand out. He remembered the rush of blood in his cheeks before they jumped, the way his hair plastered to his forehead with water, even the way he sucked in air into his lungs. Albus adored it all.

He didn't know if it was love. He had heard his mum and dad say that they loved each other a lot, but that couldn't be what Albus felt for Scorpius. For one thing, Scorpius was not a girl like his mother was. Second, there was no way that Scorpius could ever like him back, as he always spoke of Rose Granger-Weasley, making Albus' spirits sink every time her name was brought up.

Love was something he heard Uncle Charlie say about his work with dragons. It was what Uncle Oliver whisper to Uncle Percy when he thought nobody could hear. It was what Aunt Hermione said to Uncle Ron when he did one of his lame magic tricks. But, most importantly to Albus, it was the word he associated with Scorpius ever since that night in their third year when Albus had aided him in gathering his things after their dorm mates defaced Scorpius' bed.