legacy? what is a legacy?

The brunette could tell his friend was surprised, he tried to hide it- but Albus didn’t have to see his face to know. He knew the other well enough to know Scorpius would be shocked, probably even worried- and he should have been. He wasn’t himself, he hadn’t been himself for a while now- and this only proved it. He’d never been much of a drinker, he’d never had any desire, and even when he did drink, he always made a point to stay away from fire whiskey. 

And yet there he was, a half empty bottle clutched tightly in his hand, his arm draped around his friend as he struggled to stay upright. “My break was fine,” he muttered as he shifted his gaze towards the ground in front of them. It was an obvious lie, but he hoped his friend would know better than to pry. It hadn’t been terrible, but it was far from good- he’d spent most of it in his room, only leaving to use the restroom and to eat. 

When he heard Scorpius’ question, Albus couldn’t help but let out a stark laugh as he glanced at his friend. It was nice to know that he cared- even if it wasn’t what he wanted the other to care about, he’d take it. “I wanted to have some fun,” he responded with a small shrug as he took another sip of the bottle, attempting to keep a straight face as he downed the liquor. “Is that a bad thing?” he added, arching an eyebrow as he stared at the other. At this point it was clear that Albus was trying to get a rise out of his friend, maybe even start a fight if he was lucky. 

Scorpius wanted to reach over and extract the bottle from Albus’s hand but he didn’t think the other male would take kindly to it in his state. And their friendship had already felt fragile...he didn’t want to do anything to make things worse. He wasn’t sure he believed Albus about his break but he figured he could always quiz Lily about it later, she’d know if her brother was acting strange or broodier than usual.

“That’s good...mine was okay too. It was nice to see dad,” he said, awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. He kind of just wanted to shake Albus until he spat out what was wrong. But that wasn’t like him. It was just frustrating and painful to feel like Albus was hiding something from him. They didn’t hide things from each other. He felt off kilter in this situation.

He frowned at the way the brunet was looking at him, like he was challenging him to something. He crossed his arms and shook his head. “No, of course not...but this -- is this really fun? You’ve never done this for fun before,” he said stubbornly. He couldn’t help feel twinges of annoyance. He just -- he wanted Albus to be honest. “Besides, we always do things together. So is there a reason you’ve been avoided me and then decided to have fun without me?”

James placed his hand over his heart, “All I want is for everyone to be proud, so thank you. That means so much to me.” he pretended to wipe away a tear. Though he’s being sarcastic, it would be nice to have surprise his parents with some amazing grades for once, but he can’t be bothered. Especially after all these years, why would he suddenly care now, in his last year?

“I’m fine Scorpius, really.” People always seemed to offer him help. It was nice, but there was only one person he’d allowed to actually tutor him. And only because she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Not that he was going to admit to that of course. “I think I can handle my parents. Besides, you know them. They’re not all bad. Don’t let Albus make you believe that they are. He was born as a grumpy old man, mentally. He’s too bitter for his age.”

Scorpius stifled a laugh at James’ theatrics. Every single one of the Potters was so dramatic -- James with his rambunctiousness, Lily’s fiery spirit and Al’s endearingly relentless pessimism and eternally grouchy nature. He wasn’t entirely sure how their family managed all of them. “You’re welcome.”

He shrugged. “Alright, if you say so. Still, the offer stands if you change your mind.” He shook his head and smiled as James mentioned Albus. “You’re not wrong about that. I try to get him to look on the bright side sometimes but I think it’s a losing battle. Then again, would he really be Albus if he wasn’t perpetually brooding?”

“ don’t be blunt scorpius. legilimency. ” rose ROLLED her eyes and crossed her arms. she was S U R E that he should’ve known this. wouldn’t she have told him ?? and if SHE didn’t, wouldn’t albus have complained about her with it ?? she, after all, was liberal with her use of it most days.  “ it’s N O R M A L. well… normal-ish. it’s within the realm of possibility ?? UNFORTUNATELY it’s with in the realm of, O U C H !! i can’t turn the GODDAMNED thing off !! so i’m stuck hearing two conversations at ONCE. it’s a pain. in the ass. “

“Oh shush, legilimency isn’t exactly hearing voices. It’s hearing thoughts. Voices make it sound like you’re hearing things that don’t exist,” he said, shrugging at her. “I guess that’s what this place is for right? There must be a way to turn it off.” He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t curious about her ability though. “Do you hear all their thoughts or just certain ones? What am I thinking now?”

The exam was snatched from his grip, and he chased after it, turning so swiftly he almost bumped into the culprit. “Scorpius!” he greeted the other enthusiastically, only for that enthusiasm to disappear as quickly as it had appeared at the sight of Scorpius scanning the piece of parchment. “Fucking hell Schorpius don’t give me that attitude.” he sneered at the younger boy’s comments. “I worked my ass off for this. You know what a devoted student I am.” he joked, as always his annoyance was rarely genuine, especially when it directed at people he’d come to see as pretty much part of the family. “Of course, that is if working my ass off is another term for cramming one day before the exam in the library because I procrastinated. But who cares about terminology.”

Scorpius shook his head but passed the sheet back over. “Oh definitely. The most diligent student I know,” he said, shaking his head at James. He was always the Potter wildchild and even after all these years Scorpius sometimes struggled with how to behave around him. “I’m sure you did....well not your best..but more than we’re all used to and we’re all very proud,” he joked back. He turned serious. “But I mean if you ever need help with potions or a different subject...you can always ask,” he said, even though he didn’t expect James to ever take him up on the offer. “Even if it’s just because your parents are on your ass.”

After the events following Scorpius’ quidditch accident, Albus had turned towards avoiding his friend, taking ridiculous measures to make sure they wouldn’t run into each other in the halls. It had been difficult- but break couldn’t have fallen at a more convenient time. It had allowed him to put the kiss behind him, to focus on other important issues, literally just anything but Scorpius.

But from the moment he stepped foot on the island, the brunette found himself starting to panic. He had spent the past couple of weeks trying to deny what had happened and for the most part it had worked, but now- every where he went, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It had been impulsive, wrong, but at the same time it had been completely right. He had never felt more sure of anything in his life, and that was what scared him.

Albus had made the decision to skip the welcome back feast, heading straight to the bonfire, where he quickly found a bottle of fire whiskey. As the evening wore on, he found himself increasing a copious amount of alcohol, allowing himself to loosen up. 

So when he came face to face with the familiar head of blond hair, he let out a laugh as staggered towards him. “Scorpius!” he slurred, before wrapping his arms around his friend. “How’ve you been?” he asked, pausing to take another sip from his bottle, “I’ve missed you!”

Scorpius hugged Albus back, trying not to let his surprise show too heavily on his face. This was a far cry from the way things had been before break but Scorpius didn’t know what had happened then and he didn’t know what had changed now to warm Albus back up to him so much.

“I’m good,” he said hesitantly. “I missed you too.” He raised an eyebrow when Albus took another long drink from the bottle he was holding. He could vaguely detect the scent of firewhiskey on his scent and he had to stop himself from visibly cringing.

He guided Albus over to one of the logs that was lying next to the crackling bonfire, and pulled him down so they were both sitting. “There, that’s better,” he murmured, glancing at him carefully. He had certainly seen Albus drink before but he couldn’t figure out why it was the first thing he’d done when he’d gotten back to school and why....why everything felt weird with them.

“H-how was your break? And is there are particular reason why you’re trying t drown yourself in that bottle?” He asked, keeping his arm on Albus’s shoulder to make sure he didn’t topple off the log.

“ god. how i would REVEAL in the quiet. at least i wouldn’t have to listen to the complaints of literally everyone all the time. ” rose groaned, half burying her head in her hands, and running her hands slightly through her hair. her eyes are closed once more, and she POPS up one eye to glance at the blonde boy. “ you know, it’s worse when you can hear them both in your head and out loud. like.. Y E S H. i get it. you’re pissed off. but i have a raging headache ?? i don’t need Y O U R complaints about your raging headache on top of my own. “ 

Scorpius furrowed his brow, shooting her a concerned look, unsure if she was joking or being serious. He didn’t think hearing voices was good, and he went ahead with vocalizing that. “If you’re hearing your cousins in your head you should probably get that checked out. Doesn’t sound very healthy,” he mused, running a hand through his blond hair. “Can’t you just hole up in your room, lock the door and cast a silencing charm to get away from it all?”

Things had been a little weird between them since Scorpius had woken up from his quidditch accident, but break had happened so soon after that he hadn’t been able to figure out why before they’d been apart for two weeks. But now he just needed his best friend and he really hoped things would be back to normal.

Once he got to the bonfire, he looked around for Albus’s familiar head of messy dark hair. He furrowed his brow when he spotted him, lurching around with a bottle clutched in one of his hands. He crossed over to him, and then shot him a nervous smile when their eyes met. “Al! I’ve been looking for you all afternoon.”