Albus was the last of the first years who still hadn't managed to take off with the broom. Of course, this was not without the taunts of his classmates. Scorpius felt sorry for his friend. He could see that he was trying, but poor Albus was already too scared and was losing hope that he could succeed.
"I'll never succeed, and I'll be expelled from Hogwarts," Albus said almost tearfully. They walked slowly from another training class, which was perhaps even worse. They were all allowed to fly high, but Albus still hadn't left the ground.
"You should try it in peace, somewhere where the whole class and the instructor won't be looking at you," Scorpius mused. "I'd show you how if only we had a broom."
Albus looked at him with a hopeful look.
"We can borrow brooms from the broom shed. It is open during Quidditch training."
"How are you going to sneak in there? After all, everyone will see you."
"Nobody will see us. My brother has an invisibility cloak, I'll just borrow it for a while."
Albus's plans scared Scorpius a little, but he promised he wouldn't let him down. Albus went to James that same day, secretly took his invisibility cloak, and under the cloak, he and Scorpius made their way to the broom shed. They carefully hid the broom under the bed in their dormitory. No one would look for it, as there were countless training brooms in the castle.
The next day, Albus excused himself from history class because he wasn't feeling well, and Scorpius accompanied him. The blond Slytherin did not have much courage, but he determinedly followed Albus into the bedroom for the broom. They sneaked out of the castle under their cloaks and ran all the way to the Quidditch field.
"Albus, the broom doesn't obey you because you're afraid."
"I'm not afraid of falling," Albus protested.
"You're afraid you won't succeed. That fear paralyses you, and then the broom doesn't obey you."
"How do I get rid of this fear? My dad was the best seeker, and I can't even take off."
"You know what, we'll fly together. I'll sit behind you and hold you so you can feel my magic."
That sounded good. Albus sat on his broom and felt Scorpius's hands touch his shoulders. The touch was electrifying on the one hand and soothing on the other. I must not disappoint now, Albus thought. He concentrated like hell and—wonder—they were in the air. Albus suddenly had the wind in his hair and could feel Scorpius pressing closer to him.
"Albus, not so fast, not so high!"
But Albus didn't want to land just yet. He flew past Hogwarts Castle and circled several times over the Forbidden Forest and over the lake. Then they landed safely.
"Albus, see, you did it!" Scorpius shakily got off his broom and literally fell into his friend's arms.
"You taught me that. You don't even know how much you helped me."
Albus planted a kiss on Scorpius's cheek out of sheer joy. Scorpius was filled with bliss. A wide smile spread across his face, but it suddenly froze when the boy saw Minerva McGonagall and Madam Hooch approaching them with sullen expressions.
The punishment would not spare them this time, that much was clear. But it didn't bother them too much at the moment. Albus was grateful that he had learned to fly, and Scorpius couldn't stop thinking about the first kiss in his life.
