undeniable | scorbus

nineteen - albus

sneaking out isn't easy.

———

Sneaking out with Scorpius had proven to be much more difficult than Albus had anticipated. He was positive he could have reached the Astronomy tower in less than half as much time if he was alone.

Scorpius had stepped on his feet at least five times, and despite that, they hadn't been through more than two hallways.

Climbing the staircase was especially difficult when there were two people, one of which was an inch taller than the other, and both of which were teenage boys.

Albus vaguely remembered having multiple inches of extra cloth dragging against the floor when he used the cloak with Rose during first year. That tradition had been broken immediately after their first rendezvous, after Rose declared that having fun wasn't worth losing house points. Albus had called her a boring old nerd (his insults weren't the most creative back then), but she wouldn't budge.

"Sorry!" Scorpius's whisper was a sharp slice through the silence, and Albus put a finger to his lips.

Not all the paintings could be trusted not to report suspicious activity, he knew from experience. Scorpius nodded, and they attempted to move up the steps at the same time. Scorpius nearly slipped. Twice. It was enough to give Albus several minor heart attacks.

He would have to train Scorpius to get a little bit better at the whole rule breaking concept; there was no doubt it would take at least a few months. But Albus found he was perfectly fine with it, because it meant he could spend more time teasing Scorpius, which was a feat the blond made all too easy.

If he could get paid for teasing someone, Albus surely thought he'd be drowning in galleons in just an hour of hanging out with Scorpius.

After what felt like half a day, they managed to get up one of the moving staircases. Scorpius was looking around anxiously, as if he was expecting Nearly Headless Nick to pop out of the walls and yell "BOO". Albus had to roll his eyes in amusement.

He checked the map, and the coast was clear. The hallway they were in was devoid of students and teachers, so Albus slipped the cloak off of them. He did a quick check, making sure there weren't any portraits around that could report them.

He'd had one too many close calls because of knights and kings who tried to do the noble thing and tell the Headmistress that an invisible presence was suspected to be haunting the hallways. Not that he'd ever tell Scorpius that, of course. There was no need to worry him, although it would have been quite hilarious. Scorpius would probably pass out if he knew they could get caught, and the time it took them to climb the staircases would have been for nothing.

Scorpius let out what sounded like a yelp as the cloak slid smoothly off of him, and Albus raised his eyebrows at him, holding back a laugh.

"Are you sure no one's coming?" He whispered, glancing around.

Albus handed him the map. "The coast is clear, see? You can relax, you know. This isn't my first time sneaking out."

"That's supposed to be reassuring?"

"Obviously. I've never been caught," he responded slyly, folding the cloak in half and throwing it over his shoulder. "Have you ever broken a single rule in your life?"

"When I was younger, I'd sleep at nine thirty sometimes." Scorpius responded thoughtfully.

"...I'm not following."

"Well, my mum explicitly stated that I wasn't to stay up past nine," Scorpius explained. "I always felt really guilty about it afterwards."

Albus covered his mouth with his hand in a failed attempt to stifle his laughter, and Scorpius cracked a smile too. Albus didn't need to look at him to know that he was blushing.