Lovely (a Scorbus story)

Part 8

Albus shot a glance at Scorpius as they sat down for dinner. The Goblet was sparking and crackling, ready for new names from different schools.

"Anyone know what schools are coming?" Polly whispered across the table.

"I heard Ilvermorny," Atticus hissed.

"The Americans?" Albus dropped his fork. "Oh no."

"What's wrong with Americans?" Ian Thomas asked, genuinely curious.

"They're just...Americans." Albus shrugged. "My dad follows the Muggle news. Their president right now is a train wreck."

Polly, who was Muggle-born, nodded vigorously. "Trump. Donald Trump. He's a complete git."

Scorpius put down the french fry he was holding. "Albus—"

The door to the Great Hall burst open and a perfectly straight line of students in blue marched in.

"Beauxbatons," Polly breathed. "I've heard about them! I didn't know we were competing against them!"

Scorpius put his face in his hands as the door burst open a second time and a gaggle of students swarmed in.

Atticus whooped. "Ilvermorny! Make room, guys!"

The Ravenclaws made room for Beauxbatons, and the Slytherins shifted down the table for the Ilvermorny students.

A girl clad in red with light brown hair scooted in next to Albus. "So what's the deal here?" she asked. "You're the Potter kid, right?"

Stunned, Albus nodded. "Albus."

She smiled. "Max."

"Is that short for anything?" he wondered, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

She shook her head. "Just Max."

"What are the houses there?" Atticus asked.

She pointed to her jacket. "I'm in Thunderbird. There's also Pukwudgie, Wampus, and Horned Serpent."

"That sounds like Slytherin, except more obvious," Polly put in. "And you're...Thunderbird? Sounds like a Ravenclaw."

"It is not." Max narrowed her eyes. "Actually, Thunderbirds are the adventurers."

Atticus whistled through his teeth. Max glanced at him, and he stopped. Something about her serious hazel eyes cut right through Albus.

This girl. I want to be friends with this girl. She'd make a great partner in crime.

Then Max grinned. "So, Slytherins? What do you guys stand for?"

The table chuckled nervously.

"Cunning," Polly suggested. "Intelligence. Loyalty."

"Loyalty's sort of a Hufflepuff thing, though," Atticus argued. "We're like..."

"Do we want to be honest?" Scorpius slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone. "We're the House everyone hates."

Max looked thoughtful. "I like the sound of that."

Albus stared at Scorpius. "Is that what you really think?"

Scorpius flushed. "I—"

Under the gaze of everyone else, Scorpius got up and left the table, running out the doors. Without a moment's hesitation, Albus dropped his napkin and ran after him.

Watching them go, Max raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with them?" she asked.

Atticus shrugged. "Scorpius is totally in love with Albus, and we're pretty sure Albus is into him too, only he either won't admit it to us or he won't admit it to himself."

"Ah."

Outside in the hall, Albus was trying to calm Scorpius down.

"Scorp. This isn't just about me, I know it. What is going on?"

Scorpius sniffled. 

Albus shut his eyes. "You're not yourself. You haven't been yourself at all since we've gotten here. It's something at home, isn't it?"

"My dad..." Scorpius exhaled. "Ever since my mom died, he's been...destructive. Destructive to me, destructive to the house, destructive to...himself." He shuddered a little, letting out a small sob. "Albus, come here for a moment."

They moved out of sight of the doors, to a darker side hallway. Scorpius leaned against the wall and pulled up his sleeve. A long, thick scar ran from elbow to wrist.

Albus gasped. "Scorpius—"

"That was when we had a giant row, and he threw his knife at me." Expressionless, Scorpius exposed his shoulder, where a gash was still healing. "He'd been drinking the last night, and proceeded to attack me with his glass." He lifted the leg of his pants, and Albus saw a serious burn on his leg. "He set my leg on fire when I forgot to do the dishes."

Albus was struck speechless.

"He's been sending me letters," Scorpius said tonelessly. "Threats. The kind of letters that destroy themselves right after you read them, too."

"You said he was self-destructive?" Albus managed.

"Oh yes. Picture what he does to me, but ten times worse." A vacant look entered his pale eyes. "I can hear screaming from his room sometimes, but if I tried to come in, he'd kill me. Probably literally." Scorpius looked at Albus desperately. "I think he's gone insane. He was never like this before."

Albus gulped, trying to process this new information. "Okay...okay...I can owl Mum and ask if you can stay the summer holidays. I'm not letting you go back there, okay?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I'll be okay. Really."

"Scorp..."

The door to the Great Hall opened and Rose came out, seeming to forget all her animosity towards Scorpius. "Hurry, you two! They've all entered! The Goblet's about to make its choice!"

"Crap." Albus grabbed Scorpius's arm and yanked him inside. They took their seats as McGonagall stood up at the front of the room.

"From Beauxbatons Academy—Aurélie Blanchard!"

Aurélie, a girl of about sixteen with smooth brown hair, stood up quickly to take her place at the front of the room.

"From Ilvermorny School—Max James!"

Max whooped and stood up, skipping to the front of the room to stand by Aurélie.

"And from Hogwarts—Albus Potter!"

Scorpius's expression went flat, looking from Max to Albus.

"Go, then," he said coldly as Albus stood up. "Claim your glory, as usual."

Shocked by the icy comment, Albus walked slowly up to stand by Max and Aurélie as everyone but the Gryffindor table cheered loudly.

I'm the champion from Hogwarts.

And Scorpius hates me now.

Because I'm in the spotlight. Again. And he's not. And if anyone deserves it, he does.

I've been nothing but awful to him.