honourbyname | [OOM] Letters and Confrontations

Hogwarts is both a big and small enough place to be to suit one's needs.

Big enough to hide away when you want to, when you're trying to avoid someone and stay out of someone's way.

Small enough because no matter how much you hide or avoid someone, they're always within sight of you - during mealtimes, during night hours, during after-class study hours.

It's worse when you're in the same House.

Albus has been avoiding Scorpius for a little more than a week now, though the letter he'd received from the other boy in Milliways has been on his person at all times, usually tucked into the pockets of his robes, or hidden between the pages of whatever textbook he happened to be reading at the time.

He didn't have to worry about anyone coming over and nicking his book off him.

No one but Scorpius, himself, really did that. And, well ...

He's read the letter now more times than he can count, and he can practically recite it word for word if he wanted to.

It wasn't that Albus never wanted to speak to Scorpius again; far from it, in fact.

It's just ... it's waiting for the right moment to have a conversation.

And it's Albus giving Scorpius' letter a great deal of thought. And giving Scorpius a great deal of thought.

Albus still has no bloody clue what to think about him.

But there's one thing he has missed, and it's his friend.

So, gathering what little courage he has that allows him to remain a Potter at all, Albus decides to find Scorpius.

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"... Mr Benedict what-now?"

There is a frown of frowny proportions.

"Oh, uhm. It involves some back-story I won't go into, but he's a skeleton. An animated skeleton. You should ask her to introduce you."

"I ... suppose I will," Albus says slowly, in a sort of 'are you going mad?' tone of voice.

"Anyway. It's not that; keeping her for myself or anything. It's more the fact that ... it's not like I could really talk about her because ... back home, she's not - well, she's not there. You know?"

"No, I know," Scorpius says, softly. Though, he can't truly understand, having all his grandparents still. "You can always talk to me, though. I won't look at you as if you've gone mad."

Albus nods.

"Yeah," he says, grateful. "I could talk to you. And I'm glad I can, too. Though I suppose if we do start talking here at Hogwarts, we'll have to get used to people - um. Looking at us a bit odd. You know, considering we haven't really said much to each other all these years."

"Right. That will be... fun. Oh, Merlin," he suddenly exclaims, laughing, "I can imagine Rigel's face now. It's been weird, not being able to tell him anything. About Milliways. I've known him for ages. My entire life, even. He'll think I've gone mad. He knows how I am at school. I don't just talk to anyone."

Unbeknownst to him though, his friends have already started to notice something is up. Considering they've caught one or two of the glances that Scorpius has snuck at Albus this last week especially.

Albus' own friends probably have noticed something, too.

Particularly where it has concerned the letter.

(Not that Albus has told a soul about it at school. Honestly, the only one besides himself and Scorpius who knows about the letter is Lily. And that's because Lily helped him.)

Though his ability to really keep things close to the chest has still - more or less - lowered such suspicions.

Now, though.

"How d'you think other people do it? Especially if you have no one to talk to about it in your world ... but then - there are all these brilliant things you want to - um. To share with others."

"I haven't a clue, honestly. I remember, when I'd first found Milliways, and this was some time before I knew you were even there, I hated it. Having no one I could talk to. I think..."

He frowns, thoughtfully.

"I think in some ways Milliways has prompted me to be more honest about the things I can talk about. I suppose that, er, explains the letter I left for you."

"I wish I were a little more like that," Albus admits. "But it's not easy for me to ... to be honest about some things.

"As ... as you'll know."

"I think the fact that you wish you were says a lot about you," Scorpius says after a long pause. "But, anyway, I think you're doing fine as is. You realize you initiated this chat, don't you? That must not have been easy. Honestly, I sort of wanted to walk in the other direction when I saw you."

Edited 2011-04-15 04:14 (UTC)

Albus trains his eyes to the flagstones again, a bit bashful now.

"Well, I'm not really all that brave or anything. I sort of thought about the ground swallowing me up, or - um. A three-headed dog eating me whole while I was ... trying to get the words out," he confesses. "It wasn't easy, you're right.

"But I - it's important, so I knew I had to talk to you. Instead of writing a reply letter, even."

"A three-headed dog?"

And Scorpius got the have you gone mad tone for an animated skeleton?

"Like Cerberus?"

Not that the three-headed dog is the important thing here.

"Well, anyway, I'm glad you did. Talk to me, that is."

Edited 2011-04-15 04:45 (UTC)

Albus nods.

"Yeah, like Cerberus. Or like Fluffy. Not that I've met either one of them before."

He's just heard stories. Particularly about the latter.

"I'm ... glad I did too. It's cleared up some of this, anyway. And - er. Scorpius, I feel like maybe I should apologize for ... making you feel like you couldn't tell me what you did in your letter. I think, from now on, we should probably just talk to each other - honestly - if - we've got something to say. Yeah?"

"I think that sounds like a brilliant idea," Scorpius readily agrees. "I'm sorry if my letter was - Well, I'm usually better at writing letters than that."

Albus shakes his head.

"No, your letter was all right," he assures the other boy.

It was just the confusing contents and its implications that caught Albus by surprise. He's pretty sure that even if Scorpius wrote like Shakespeare or Dickens, it'd still make him react the same way.

"I mean, it was clear. And it - um - stated what you wanted to say. Right?"

Scorpius goes bright red in the face and ducks his head.

"I think so."

He has no desire to read it again to be certain about it. He'd only be too hard on himself if he did that.

"Mostly I wanted to find out if we were still friends. Which, we are. So."

Albus smiles a little.

"Yeah," he says. "We are."

And really, if Scorpius ever wanted to reread that letter, he's welcome to.

Though he will have to ask for it.

Scorpius hardly expects Albus to keep the letter after this.

"Right. Cool," he says, bumping Albus' shoulder companionably.

"So, uhm, what were you off to do after this? Because I was headed back to the dorms, but I haven't got anything to do and -

"Well, what I'm trying to ask is if you wanted to do something? Even if it's just Milliways and Butterbeer. You could tell me about your grandmum some more."

"Oh - um. Yeah. Milliways and Butterbeer sounds good, actually," Albus says, nodding.

Because as far as the rest of today goes, Albus didn't think past 'find Scorpius and talk to him about the letter and try not to bugger it up'.

So, this ... this is good.

Brilliant, even.

[OOM] Letters and Confrontations

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