Albus Severus Potter

  Eyes narrowing as her brother began spouting his excuse,   she couldn’t help but feel herself growing angrier and angrier   with each word. Balling her hands into little fists, she began   pacing the small space of the room. “I’m sorry, did I just hear   you say that you have been spying on the people that want to   kill us?Are you out of your mind? You are suppose to be the    responsible one, not the one pulling crazy stunts like that!”   Letting out a deep breath, she looked at the vial in his hand,    before looking back up at her brother. “What exactly does it   do? Turn you into a piece of furniture that sits in their lair of    gloom and doom?”

  "Yes, yes it does. You smart ass."

I have feelings for you that can’t be explained any other way…the only conclusion was love.

  ”I do not have a temper, not unless the person I’m   getting angry at is being particularly annoying.”   Stumbling into his room, Lily crossed her arms over   her chest, watching her brother through narrowed   eyes. “Where exactly do you go? Have you managed   to find a place that isn’t crawling with witches and    wizards that want to see our family on the receiving    end of a killing curse.”

Albus tried to hold in laughter as his sister attempted to convince what seemed to be herself that she had no temper. "Sure you don't, Lily." he snickered at his sister,  turning around to grab something from the desk behind him. As he turned back around to face his sister, he raised a narrow  test tube to his sister's eye level."No. Unfortunately the Death Eaters have convinced most of the community that we are the enemy." He shook his head, shocked that the words were coming from his mouth. Albus shook the test tube once, returning his own attention back to it. "With this little potion here, however, I have been able to listen in  on Death Eater meetings, and I believe that plans to move forward with 'operation kill Potter' will be reviled tonight."

"If I do something, it’s a big deal that everyone, including Grandma Molly has to find out, but  the moment you decide you want to start stretching your legs, it’s not a big deal anymore? If you go out tonight, I’m coming with you.” Pulling open the door between then, Lily looked up at her  brother, a determined expression crossing her features. “If you even think of trying anything, I will scream so loud everyone that is hiding in this house will come to see what happened. You don’t want people asking question, do you now?”

Albus shifted his weight nervously between  both feet as he listened to his little sister speak. There was no possible way he could leave the house now that he had Lily watching him . . . unless he took her along. Albus paused for what seemed like forever before giving her a curt nod. "Okay, Lils," his words were breathy as his eyes darted around where they stood. "You can come, but you have to be stealthy. I can't have you blowing my cover with that redhead temper of yours." With the last of his words, Albus tugged his sister into his room and shut the door carefully. 

  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that     you’ve been sneaking out of the    house every night.”

"Why are you making this a bigger deal than it really is, Lily?" Albus asked, peering through the crack the open door made between the Albus  and his sister. 

[feels a familiar presence at her side, turning to give Albus a small smile] It is…A bit gawdy for my taste, but beautifully made.

Gaudy indeed. [Albus begins to laugh, turning back to the broom] I'm sure you prefer the Nimbus? No, you look like the Comet type.

James hated to be the bad cop, but Albus’ naivety could have got him killed, which was more important to avoid than a pet peeve of the other boy. A breath left his lungs in the form of a long sigh, preparing his words, for the speech that was following wasn’t meant to be pleasant, for neither of them. Knowing it might hurt or send Albus away, with the impression that he doesn’t want the best for him, but also knowing that he was right when it came to the people Albus referred to as friends, he tried to maintain a calm tone as his lips parted again to offer him an explanation. “Albus, you’re the one that doesn’t understand. Your friends aren’t your friends if they’re playing for the other team. They want us, the ones you also love dead, and whoever means to harm your family isn’t your friend. I know you think they wouldn’t hurt you, but at the end of the day, before you’re a Slytherin, you’re a Potter, and in case it has escaped your notice, they aren’t fans.” James stopped before throwing the last words on him, knowing it would hit him like a wave. “Your friends, regardless of the things you’ve been through together aren’t your friends. Not anymore, when it comes to a war. I want you to be fine and I don’t want your friends to die, but your friends don’t seem to be sharing my peaceful intentions. Remember the scars dad used to come home with? Your friends got him those and are up to doing worse. You need to go, Albus. If your friends are waiting for you here, it is to kill you.”

Albus shot James an evil look. "Are you suggesting that my friends are the only ones that could possibly be on the dark side?" Albus laughed mechanically trying to hard to show his brother how amusing this all seemed. James knew absolutely nothing of the life Albus had at hogwarts, of this Albus was sure. He had the same idea of Slytherin as everyone else who was in the the house. Sure, some of the accusations were true; they did have some evil among their branches, but most of the residents were just there to grow up around others that had the same ideals. The friends Albus had were far better than any other house could give to him. If they were on the other side, it wouldn't be by choice. "Living up to your name, aren't you James? Never your friends that could betray you, huh?" Albus knew that if he finished his thought there would be consequences, but Albus didn't care at this point. "I'm sure that is what Grandpa thought before Peter stabbed him in the back." Standing up from the table, Albus shook his head at James. "I am being careful, James. I know that there is a possibility that they could kill me and I have taken precautions." Albus turned away from his brother before speaking his last words softly, "Trust that I know what I am doing, Please?"

Scorpius glared at Albus as he took a long pull from his mug, pulling it closer to him once the other boy placed it back down on the table. He couldn’t help but think of what a little shit Albus was - he knew exactly what he was doing when he took Scorpius’ drink, hell he was smiling. Besides, Albus knew his feelings on sharing; Scorpius never understood the concept of sharing food, if you wanted some of it, why didn’t you just order one yourself?  ”Well I have a few errands to run and I could use some company,” he said, taking a drink from his mug and effectively finishing off the butterbeer, “but I wouldn’t want to keep Mrs. Potter from her little boy any longer than necessary, she might get worried,” he said, smirking. 

Albus couldn't help but to laugh as he watched the possessive nature of Scorpius began to react to the sip that Albus had stolen from the mug. He found it funny that something as simple as sharing food could set off this possessive and oddly obsessive quirk that Scorpius had. Though he did find it amusing, Albus had a problem with it - after all, he was Scorpius' best friend and sharing is indeed caring.

[Her hands go to her hips, growing more stern with the younger boy.] Albus, don’t argue with me. Sit and let me look at that.

[Albus begins to groan, but submits to his older cousin's wishes by shuffling his wounded leg toward her.] I don't know why you insist on worrying yourself over a small cut, Victoire. 

Scorpius nodded, figuring that although that wasn’t exactly safe, it was understandable. After all, he would have been a hypocrite for berating his best friend for doing exactly what he had done himself just early that very same day. “Not exactly, though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the house elves inform my parents that someone apparated out of the manor,” he said, shrugging. Scorpius figured that he would be heading home to a lecture from his mother - not exactly the worst consequence - but Scorpius had better things to do. After all, there wasn’t any way she could stop him in the future, he had just as much of a right to come and go as anyone else did. “You plan on sticking around for much longer?” he asked, taking a drink from his mug.

Albus shrugged as he looked out the window toward the darkening sky. He had to have been away from the safe house for a few hours now. Albus knew that he should be heading back now that he had gotten the peace of mind he needed, but he didn't want to let this time go just yet. A small smile graced his lips as he took Scorpius' mug, taking a sip from it, and then setting it back down. "I should be going home soon, but if something came up, maybe I could be convinced to stay." If one were to listen closely to the sentence Albus spoke, they would understand that he wanted more than anything to spend more time here - with Scorpius. 

[Albus stops outside the quidditch shop, noticing an oddly familiar face looking at brooms on display.] 

A triumphant grin spreading across her lips, Lily leaned back in her seat, drumming her fingers on the table. “I think I’ll have a butterbeer, I’ve been craving one of those for days!” Humming a tune under her breath, Lily looked around at the few people sitting around the tavern, none of which she recognized from school. She couldn’t help but miss her friends, nor could she stop herself from wondering whether they even cared enough to look into how she was doing. “Al, what do you think everyone that isn’t stranded in Godric’s Hollow is doing?” 

Albus nodded at his sister's request for a butterbeer, a nod that proceeded a gesture to the nearest server. As his attention returned to his sister, he noticed her looking at the people that sat around them. Albus couldn't help but wonder if she was looking for someone in-particular or if she was just hoping to spot a familiar face. 

He nodded in understanding, this wasn’t exactly the easiest situation to be in. Though Scorpius couldn’t help but be slightly envious of Al, at least the other boy knew what he was doing - he had picked a side, he had a goal that he was working towards. Scorpius didn’t have any of this - he was simply doing what was expected of him; he was a Malfoy after all and Malfoy’s always did what they were supposed too. “I don’t think anyone is ready for any of this, how could you be? It’s not like they offer a How to Prepare for War class at Hogwarts,” he said, “If they did, things could have already been over and done with by now.” As his butterbeer arrived, Scorpius thanked the waitress as she placed the warm mug onto the table. “Does anyone know you’re in Hogsmeade?” he asked, taking a drink from the steaming mug before placing it back down on the table. It wasn’t hard to assume which side of this war Albus had sided with - after all Scorpius hadn’t seen him in a few weeks. And yet here Albus was walking around in broad daylight without a disguise - yes Hogsmeade was neutral, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was safe. 

 There was a time when a trip to Hogsmeade was all it took to cure Albus of anything that was weighing him down, but not anymore. No matter what he did, his mind would always wonder back to the war - it was inevitable. Albus sat up in his seat, watching as Scorpius put the cup to his lips and back down again.