Chapter Text
"Mr. Malfoy, you may partner up with Mr. Potter."
Scorpius jerked his head up so quickly that he was almost certain he nearly got whiplash. There was absolutely no way he could be serious, could there? Of all the suitable candidates in the room?
"Er... Albus?" Scorpius asked awkwardly, furrowing his brows.
The butterflies in his stomach felt like they were doing a moderately complicated gymnastics routine. Scorpius tried his best to slow their fluttering, a difficult feat considering the situation at hand.
He cringed the moment the words escaped his lips, and the amused snickers from his nearby classmates echoed throughout the too-vast Potions room. The students hardly bothered trying to conceal the sound of their giggles, something that didn't exactly come as a surprise to Scorpius. If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that people at Hogwarts were generally quite cold. At least, in his personal experiences.
Even Rose Granger-Weasley was looking sympathetically in Albus's direction, but he could tell by the slight droop of her shoulders that a part of her was purely relieved that it wasn't her that was assigned to be working with him.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," Slughorn said, clasping his hands together, looking all too cheerful for Scorpius's liking.
Then again, Scorpius couldn't recall ever seeing any other expression on Slughorn's face besides that bright jolliness. He was one of the most chipper old men Scorpius had ever had the pleasure of meeting.
"Your parents did give me quite a bit of trouble during their time here, as you may have known," the balding man continued, his casual tone seemingly signalling the memory of their parents to be fond rather than a pain in the neck. "How they managed to get into detentions from opposite sides of the room, I'll never truly understand. I trust you two not to do the same?"
He gave Scorpius a bright smile that did virtually nothing to reassure him. Scorpius tried to return the gesture, but it came out as more of a slight grimace. Slughorn didn't seem to take notice, though.
"Yes, Professor." Scorpius hesitantly averted his eyes over to where Albus was chatting animatedly with a group of Slytherins, and to Scorpius's slight astonishment, even a few Gryffindors with whom they shared Potions class.
It was always Gryffindors and Slytherins who shared classes. It had always been that way, though none of the various history books Scorpius had spent his free time pouring through had ever thought to explain why. He could only dream of how peaceful a class of only Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs would have been.
But Gryffindor and Slytherin?
In Scorpius's opinion, the two houses seemed the most polar opposite. Weren't opposites intended to attract? There was certainly no attraction between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins.
Unless, of course, you happened to be Albus Severus Potter.
Of course house rivalry doesn't matter with him, he thought to himself, as a raven haired Gryffindor girl laughed loudly at something Albus had said. It seemed a little over exaggerated, in Scorpius's opinion, but then again, what did he know? He'd never truly understood Gryffindors. They were just so hard to read, even though Scorpius was normally quite talented at reading people.
He recognized the girl, Katie. She'd tripped him in the hallway once, back when they were in second year. She was currently whispering something into Albus's ear, and Albus scoffed in what could have been either amusement or distaste. Scorpius suspected it was a mixture of both.
She was giving him a look that signified something that was definitely not platonic. Scorpius wasn't an expert on relationships, but like any observant wizard, he knew pining when he saw it.
For a brief moment, he wondered if they were dating, before realizing that if Albus Potter had been seeing someone, it'd be all over the school before the pair of them could even bat an eye.
To no one's surprise, Albus Potter was one of the most well liked students in their year. The son of the Chosen One, with his equally popular siblings, had a vast array of admirers despite being sorted into Slytherin. In fact, Scorpius thought that him being in Slytherin seemed to make him even more of a catch, and of course, it was easy to see the appeal; everyone loved a rebel, and Albus seemed to be exactly that.
Scorpius had read enough about the Potter family to know that throughout their entire lineage, there hadn't been any noted Slytherins. Until now.
With his world famous parents, charming green eyes, and enough Quidditch skill to rival Viktor Krum, he couldn't name a single person who disliked Albus Severus Potter, not even the resentful Gryffindors who were upset that their house didn't get the entire Potter set.
Attempting to focus his thoughts back to the classroom, he noted Albus hadn't seemed to have even heard Slughorn's announcement. He was now in a deep conversation with a tall, brown haired Slytherin named Flint.
Scorpius didn't know much about Flint except that he was a chaser on the Slytherin team, but seeing as he'd eagerly joined in to the chants of "son of Voldemort!" back in second year, Scorpius tried his best to steer clear of him and his cronies. This wasn't a hard task; Flint seemed to spend 90% of his spare time on the Quidditch field, which Scorpius would avoid at any cost. It was always packed, and Scorpius hated crowds.
"You may proceed to start gathering your materials! Sleeping droughts are a complex and detail-oriented solution to brew, so work carefully with your partner and make sure you're using your class time effectively! Your final product should be deep purple in colour," Slughorn announced cheerfully, gesturing around to the class. "Remember that this assignment isn't worth any significant marks; I'd just like to observe your progress."
As students started to head over to the storage cupboards, Scorpius noticed that Albus still had no idea what was going on, and seemingly, neither did his friends, who were in a passionate discussion about what sounded to Scorpius like Quidditch.
With a soft sigh, he got up and started to make his way over to where Albus was sitting. If he made a complete fool of himself in front of a group of the most popular students in his year, the best he could do was hope they'd forget about it in a week or two. It wasn't as if they cared enough to think about him after that long, which he supposed was actually quite fortunate.
He stopped within a short distance of Albus's desk, trying to decide how to gently inform him that he'd been paired with his father's childhood rival. Oh, if either of their parents could see them now...
"You don't honestly believe Portree could beat the Harpies, do you?" Albus was saying, leaning forward on his chair, mouth slightly agape. He had an eyebrow raised in disbelief, and his posture was that of someone who didn't have a care in the world. Scorpius envied him slightly for that.
"I'd say you're a little biased, Al! Your mum plays for the Harpies," Flint retorted, folding his arms conclusively.
"That has nothing to do with it!" Albus protested. "Portree hasn't won a game in three years!"
"That's because their best players conveniently caught a nasty case of dragon pox!"
Albus shook his head, finally looking around the room as he started to realize people were getting to work. His startling green eyes landed past Flint and onto where Scorpius was self-consciously standing, fiddling with his wand.
Albus looked surprised, almost as if he'd just noticed they shared Potions class together. He probably had just noticed.
Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, but the first word didn't have time to make its way out of his mouth before Flint whipped around to see who Albus was looking at. Flint raised his eyebrows, an expression of annoyance growing rapidly on his pale face.
"Do you need something, Malfoy?" He asked coolly.
Albus gave him a slight glance, but didn't bother commenting on his tone of voice.
"I sort of need my partner," Scorpius replied, and he heard Katie snicker. "Uh... Albus, Slughorn says we're - we're supposed to work together. For the sleeping draught?"
Albus looked more confused than upset, which Scorpius took as a somewhat positive sign.
"Are you serious?" Albus asked, furrowing his brows, but Katie intervened before he could reply.
"Why on earth would Slughorn pair you with him? He may be daft, but not that daft," she said, and the students around her sniggered.
"It's almost laughable. A Potter and a Malfoy," Flint added, giving Albus an amused grin, and Scorpius wanted nothing more than to disappear and ask Slughorn if he could work on the potion alone, complexity be damned.
Albus shot Flint a hard look that quickly wiped the smile off his face. Then, he turned back in his chair to face Scorpius, who breathed a sigh of relief. He still didn't appear to be too disheartened, which was kind of reassuring.
"Did he really partner us up?" Albus questioned, looking more exasperated at not being able to choose their own partners than the fact that he'd be working with a Malfoy. "Merlin, you'd expect sixth years to have a little bit more freedom..."
"I'm not quite sure why, but yes, he did," he said, trying to sound as certain as possible, noticing that Albus's friends were hanging on to every word of the conversation.
A few of them looked disbelieving, but the majority just looked amused. Scorpius had to force himself to stay put, no matter how much his brain was telling him to take off. He couldn't make an even bigger fool of himself than he already had. Especially not in front of the one person who didn't shove past him in the hallway any chance he got.
Albus Potter was a complete mystery to him. Any normal person in Albus's shoes would have despised Scorpius with a passion. After all, his father (although Scorpius firmly believed he had changed) was an ex-Death Eater.
They'd been on opposite sides of the war, and yet, Albus Potter had never tried to hex him in their shared dormitories, vandalize his things, or even call him a Voldemort supporter. In fact, they'd never really even spoken except for an occasional "did we have homework?", but only when there was no one else around to ask.
It would be refreshing, Scorpius supposed, working with someone who didn't seem to despise him over something he had no control over.
"Okay, then," Albus said, letting out a slow breath.
He started to pack up his things, and the rest of his group followed suit without a moment's hesitation, not bothering to mask their appalled expressions regarding this obvious injustice. Katie looked so distressed that Scorpius suspected she was genuinely worried for Albus's safety.
"I'm going to go work with Rose," Katie said finally, still keeping a wary eye on him, as she pushed herself off her stool with an air of haughtiness. "Don't let him convert you to the dark side."
"Shut up, Katie." Albus's voice was slightly lower than it usually was, and he furrowed his eyebrows at her as he spoke.
It wasn't harsh enough to be rude, but it certainly wasn't friendly enough to be taken lightly. She gave him an almost hurt look, clearly trying not to let the surprise show on her face before stalking off.
Albus walked over to him until they were about a meter apart, and for a moment, it seemed like the eternally confident Slytherin was at a loss for words.
Scorpius was all too familiar with what that felt like, so he interjected before Albus could speak.
"Do you want to set up while I grab the ingredients? Or you could grab the ingredients and I could set up. Whichever you'd prefer." Scorpius blurted out, much too quickly.
It was during times like this that he desperately wished he was the type of person to go silent, rather than ramble, in stressful situations. It would certainly make things less weird.
"That's an awfully hard decision to make," Albus said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm conflicted."
"Are you? I've noticed you're a little clumsy sometimes. No offence of course," Scorpius replied, failing to note the obvious sarcasm on Albus's part. "But maybe I should get our things, just to be on the safe side. Not that I watch you closely or anything. That would be a little bit weird."
Albus just stared at him, a hint of a smile now playing across his face, which, strangely enough, only made Scorpius more anxious. His will to make a decent first impression had almost been completely defeated.
"It's just that... well, last class you dropped your jar of beetle eyes and they rolled all over the classroom. You can probably imagine how hard it is to clean beetle eyes off the soles of leather shoes..." Scorpius trailed off as he noticed the growing expression of amusement on Albus's face.
"I guess you can get the ingredients then, since I'll probably trip and get Flobberworm mucus in your eye or something," Albus said nonchalantly, twirling on his heel to head towards an empty desk.
Scorpius winced.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" he started, feeling a dreadful sense of worry creep up to him, but he cut his sentence short when Albus let out a soft laugh.
"I was just kidding," he said, now grinning widely.
"Oh." Scorpius let out a breath of relief. "Okay."
"Sorry about your shoes. I'll wait at your desk," Albus called as he walked away, and Scorpius could feel his cheeks growing warm.
Sighing, he supposed keeping his mouth shut was a skill he had yet to master.
Scorpius waited for the small crowd to scatter before making his way into the old, wooden storage cupboards and gathering their materials into a small tray. The lavender sprigs were particularly hard to find, so it was a while before he was able to head back to where his mysterious new partner was sitting.
He hoped Albus wouldn't mind the wait.
When he reached the desk in the back corner, he noticed that Albus had set up their area perfectly. He'd moved the other chairs aside so they'd have space to move about, and the cauldron was arranged neatly beside the utensils they'd be using.
Scorpius never would have expected him to be the organized type. He just appeared to be so laid back. Almost careless, in a way. Perhaps the whole idea of not judging a book by its cover had some accuracy to it after all.
"Took you long enough," Albus said.
He was teetering back in his seat, attempting to balance on the two back legs of the stool. The sight alone was enough to give Scorpius anxiety.
"Sorry, it was dark in there," Scorpius replied, setting the ingredients as far away from Albus as he could.
He'd just gotten new robes, and his father would not be pleased if he got them dirty.
"You know, we've only conversed for a total of two minutes, and you've already apologized twice. According to my calculations, that's one sorry per minute," Albus pointed out, bringing his stool back on all fours as he stared up at Scorpius expectantly.
"Sorry," Scorpius said instinctively.
"Damn, this should be a drinking game." Albus said incredulously. "Take a shot of firewhisky every time Scorpius Malfoy says sorry."
"I wouldn't recommend that."
"Because I'd pass out within twenty minutes?"
"Ten, probably," he responded, making Albus laugh, and he couldn't quite put his finger on why the sound made his heart swell.
They worked comfortably for the next half hour, and Scorpius found that Albus was a surprisingly good partner. He did his fair share of work, and stirred daintily as Scorpius poured the ingredients into their bubbling cauldron. Scorpius couldn't help but notice the way the glow of the potion made Albus's emerald green eyes light up all the more.
"Okay, your turn to stir. Twice counter clockwise," he said, handing over the mixing spoon, his fingers faintly brushing Scorpius's.
Scorpius could almost see the the blush that was undoubtedly making its way onto his face at the brief contact, but fortunately, Albus was too busy measuring lavender sprigs to notice.
He stirred the draught as Albus poured the sprigs in, suddenly becoming very aware of his technique. He tried to mimic the way Albus stirred it, with a light wrist and smooth rotational movement.
But to his dismay, he'd always been more of the bookish type, and he was a lot better at memorizing facts than using his hands. He supposed he shouldn't have expected anything different, despite the fact that he was working (quite nicely, if he did say so himself) with Albus Potter.
"Try slowing down a little," Albus said, as the spoon clanged against the inside of the cauldron, splashing a bit of solution onto the rims. "We do still have an hour left, you know. Here, let me help."
Albus scooted his stool closer, and placed his hand directly over top of Scorpius's on the mixing spoon.
Scorpius took a breath, becoming aware of just how close Albus was sitting. He could smell Albus's cologne, a pleasant lavender scent. Or was that just from the lavender sprigs they'd been using? It must have been; Albus didn't exactly seem like the lavender cologne type.
Thoughts rushed through Scorpius's head as he did his best to follow Albus's patient guidance.
Their legs were nearly brushing, and he could feel the cool of Albus's hand on top of his as he gently stirred the potion.
Were hands supposed to be that cold? Or were his own too warm? His mind seemed to be travelling at miles per minute, much against his will.
After stirring twice counter clockwise, which felt to Scorpius like an entirely too short period of time, Albus removed his hand, smirking at Scorpius as their potion turned a pleasant lilac colour.
"See? It looks so much better than the textbook version," Albus said, clearly proud of their combined potion making abilities.
"It does, doesn't it?" Scorpius responded, when his heart rate had returned to what he hoped was a somewhat normal range. "Are you this helpful with all your Potions partners?"
"Just the ones I like." He grinned at Scorpius as he spoke, with that charming smile, and his heart did that thing again.
The thing where it momentarily forgot how to work at a regular pace. That thing that he was too unfamiliar with, the thing he had absolutely no clue how to approach.
"Oh," was all he could muster.
He couldn't get Albus Potter off his mind for the rest of the day.