Found In the Past

34

Albus's POV

I don't know what surprised me more: The fact that I'm kissing Scorpius right now, or the fact that he's actually kissing me back. My brain loses the ability to make interpretable thoughts as he pulls me closer. I feel Scorp's lips twist into a smile against mine and my heart aches tellingly.

"MERLIN'S BEARD!" A loud yelp interrupts the moment, making me pull back sharply. I meet Scorp's wide eyes before turning weakly around to see my older brother standing in the doorway. James's expression is covered in complete shock and I bite my lip, not daring to glance back at the boy I just kissed. Bloody hell, I just kissed my best friend. "You... and Malfoy... SNOGGING?!" James's hazel eyes manage to get even wider as it finally seems to register within his mind what he just saw. I'm tempted to bury my head in my hands to hide my total embarrassment.

"Don't tell Dad," I beg in a whisper. My brother nods hesitantly with what I pray is understanding. A hand I didn't realize I'm still holding on to lets go of mine and I turn to see a flash of hurt flit across Scorpius's face. "I need to figure things out," I add quietly for only him to hear. I watch my friend's expression instantly cover itself in the cool look he uses too often now for hiding his thoughts.

"Erm. I'll just be going now," James says, gesturing towards the door. He glances back at me with a small smirk. "Sevy... don't mess this up, alright? He's a quidditch player," he stage-whispers. Apparently that's the only deciding factor he has about who I like. James opens the door and steps out into the hallway before I can respond, closing the door firmly behind himself. With my brother now gone, deafening silence settles between me and Scorp. The tension's probably thick enough to hex at this point.

"Hi," I start awkwardly, unable to bear the quiet. We literally kissed a minute ago and somehow things are already all wrong between us. Why does this keep happening?

"Hey," Scorp states blankly, not meeting my eyes. I run a hand through my hair, nerves eating at my stomach.

"Want to do something?" I ask carefully, looking for any distraction from this.

"Are you really going to ignore what just happened? Is this a joke to you?" Scorpius bursts out, finally letting his emotions show. I lean back in surprise, trying to figure out what to say.

"N-no. It's not a joke. Of course not," I stutter out, guiltily looking away.

"Then what is this?" Scorp asks directly before falling back onto the pillows behind him. I hesitate, unsure of how to answer.

"I don't know," I tell him honestly. Maybe we could keep our easy, picturesque friendship, but I doubt it. The thought of having to stay like that makes my heart twist in my chest. And after what just happened... I think he feels the same way about it.

"Well you should figure it out," Scorpius tells me cooly. I know he's right, but it still hurts to hear. I nod and stand up wordlessly. I walk out of the room, now feeling slightly light-headed. I look back at the closed door to Scorp's room for a second before slowly walking away. The most amazing, smartest, sweetest person in the universe kissed me and I managed to hurt him within two seconds of it. You really are an idiot, Albus Potter.

I bump into someone else hard and recoil back with a wince. I look up to see my older brother shaking his head at my clumsiness. At least James seems to have gotten his swagger back, I note with a small frown. My brother shoots me a million dollar smile and then takes my arm without a word. He pulls me into a dark room and closes the door behind us with a bang. If anyone else did this to me, I'd be worried. But this is James so I'm honestly not surprised.

"You and the 'Scorpion King' huh? How long," He demands, a wild grin stretching across his face. My heart stops for a second and I scan the room for anyone else. Once I confirm it's just us, I sigh and turn back to my annoying brother.

"Um, that was the first time we did anything like that," I answer carefully, sitting down on the arm of one of the big armchairs. We appear to be in another Malfoy sitting room, this one having the walls covered in shelves of ancient-looking books. James sits down on another armchair and leans back precariously.

"You both looked PRETTY experienced with kissing when I saw you. You were kind of into it..." He raises an eyebrow disbelievingingly and I can't stop my blush before giving him a death glare. "You haven't-"

"Nope," I interrupt, stopping him before he can embarrass me any further.

"But you've wanted to... ?" He guesses, letting my silence confirms his theory. He mulls it over in his mind and I stare at the ground in mock fascination. Before long, James makes another correct assumption.

"He's who you saw in the mirror of Erised!" James declares and I suddenly wonder if a person can ever get eaten by a chair. I sure would love to be right now.

"Maybe," I admit quietly.

"Sure," James tells me dubiously. I roll my eyes and slump down in my chair.

"It doesn't matter now because I've ruined it all," I sigh.

"ALBUS! I told you not to mess things up. Did you hear what I said about the quidditch?!? I was not joking," He scolds and I have to smile despite myself.

"Well I pushed him away again like the idiot I am," I look up to find a serious expression written across James's face for the first, and likely the last, time ever. He frowns thoughtfully.

"Albus, you just need to work things out. Apologize or that sort of thing," He eventually says, making a sort of half smile floats across my face.

"Wow what wisdom! Why weren't you in RAVENCLAW?" I ask drily, unable to help myself.

"I don't know!" James sighs dramatically before the serious tone returns. "Are you really ready for all of it? You know, explaining the whole kissing a Malfoy thing to our dear old Dad?"

"Yeah," I sigh quietly, not feeling good about this at all. "If that's what I have to do, I'm ready."