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Third Person P.O.V

Finally after two months of his return home, Albus was visibly getting better. He worked on sentences and his words with Ginny. Harry went back to work a month early which he was happy about. It wasn't that he didn't like staying home, he did, but he was distressed and getting bored being home all the time.

Another up for Albus was he allowed Ginny to cut his hair, with Scorpius in the room of course, and he gained some weight that he lost. He still hadn't left the house, his anxiety was still high, but he did go outside a lot of time. He'd draw or sketch or sometimes even color. Sure it was cold with it being winter but he liked to sit on the chair and just sketch. Scorpius would frequently sit with him and even if the boy didn't talk to him, he liked his presence.

"Albus." Scorpius spoke. Albus looked up from his sketch.

"Y-yes, S-Scorpius?" He asked. The boy still had a stutter but he was speaking clearer.

"Wanna go in the house and have some hot chocolate?" He asked and he nodded.

"Y-yes." He told him. He got up and closed his sketch book.

"What are you sketching anyway?" He asked Albus as they started to go in through the kitchen.

"You." He told Scorpius.

"Really? Can I see?" Scorpius asked ginning but Albus shook his head.

"N-not d-done." He told Scorpius. "H-have to w-wait." He told Scorpius then grinned cheekily. Scorpius gaped at him and then pouted. "D-do not p-pout." Albus told him.

"I wanna see." Scorpius crossed his arms. They were standing in the middle of the kitchen.

"L-later." Albus promised shedding his coat.

"Fine." Scorpius muttered.

"I-I'll f-find mum." Albus told the older boy. He walked into the living room.

"Oh hi Al, what's wrong?" She asked.

"C-can w-we have h...hot c-coco?" He stuttered to his mum.

"Oh sure." She walked in with Albus and he sat down. She walked over to the stove. "Your father should be home soon. He told me that he's gonna pick up Lily from her basketball practice then pick up something for dinner."

"O-okay, c...can S-Scorpius s-stay?" Albus asked his mother. She smiled and nodded her head.

"If Scorpius is allowed." Ginny told him so Albus looked at Scorpius.

"Mum and dad are going out to celebrate their anniversary. They got the hint to go alone. D'ya mind?" He asked. "Cause if you do, I can go back home and make something."

"Not at all. You know we love having you here." Ginny smiled and Scorpius smiled.

"I-I l...love h-havin' you." Albus told him and Scorpius grabbed Albus' hand.

"I love being around you too." Scorpius told him honestly. The water on the stove went off so Ginny poured it into the mugs with the instant hot chocolate. She added a drop of milk to each and then stirred.

"Do you want some marshmallows?" She asked.

"Y-yes." Albus spoke up.

"Yes what?" Ginny asked and he opened his mouth. He blinked a few times before finishing his sentence,

"Y-yes p-please."

"Good." Scorpius smiled and ran a hand through Albus' locks. Ginny handed them the mugs. Albus quickly drank his but then cried out.

"Albus, are you alright?" Scorpius asked and Albus nodded.

"H...H-hot." He mumbled.

"That's why they call it hot chocolate." Ginny spoke teasingly. "Do you want anything else?" Albus and Scorpius shook their heads. "Okay, I'll be in the living room. I love you."

"L-love too." He told his mother. Some sentences he just couldn't get. 'I love you too' being one of them. He tried to but Scorpius figured it was a more security thing than anything. He was afraid he'd being taken and lose everything again. Ginny smiled and kissed his head before leaving.

"Okay Albus, cut the crap." Scorpius spoke and Albus' eyes widened. He was just about to ask 'what'. But Scorpius cut him off. "I want to see the sketch."

"F-fine. I-I'll fin... f-finish it." Albus rolled his eyes. He pulled out his sketch book and with a shaky hand started to sketch it. Scorpius watched in admiration how elegantly his hand moved. Albus would pause to shakily drink some of his hot chocolate but then go right back to it. It took all of ten minutes to get it finished. When he was done, he scrunched up his nose in distaste. "N-not t-that g-good." He informed Scorpius. "D-doesn't d-do j-justice but- b-but y-you ru-rushed me."

"I want to see." Scorpius pressed so Albus rolled his eyes. He turned the sketch book towards Scorpius who gasped. If Albus didn't think it did him justice, he seriously wanted to know how the boy saw him. It was perfect. It looked just like him so he blinked at it. He was speechless.

"S-see?" Albus stuttered.

"I love it." Scorpius told him. "It's better than any other picture I could ever take." Scorpius blinked at it.

"R-really?" He asked and Scorpius let out a breath.

"Really." He said. "C-Can I keep it?" He asked and Albus looked at him for a bit. He finally nodded.

"Y-yes." He agreed. "I-I w... w-would l-love it i-if y-you did." He gently pulled at the perforated edges and then held the picture out to Scorpius who took it with a smile on his face.

"Thank you so much Albus. You don't know what this means to me." Scorpius spoke honestly. Albus just smiled in response and finished his hot chocolate.

~~~

Scorpius' P.O.V

Harry brought McDonald's home and told me he expected me to be over. He handed me a hamburger and fries. I bit my lip and looked at it anxiously. I had never actually eaten fast food before. My meals were always either eaten at a fancy restaurant or at home.

"Something wrong?" James asked and I glanced across the table at him. Albus was slowly and shakily eating his chicken nuggets.

"I've never erm eaten fast food." I admitted and James let out a laugh.

"Well it's not gonna bite you." James laughed.

"If you don't want it. Help yourself to the fridge." Ginny told me but I shook my head.

"It's fine." I said and picked up the burger. I put it to my mouth and took a bite. I moaned at the taste and I heard a tiny giggle next to me. Everyone seemed to stop because it got really quiet. Albus had never, in the months of his return, laughed. He sounded so full of joy it was beautiful. I looked at Albus and he hid his mouth under his hand trying to stifle the giggle. "What's so funny?" I challenged.

"Y-you s-seemed to... to l-like i-it." He told me. I smirked and winked at him causing him to giggle again.

"I do." I chuckled. "My parents never let me eat this stuff. Mum is home most of the day so she cooks." I shrugged and he grinned.

"W-well t-there's a... a f-first f-for e-everything." He told me and I smiled.

"I suppose there is." I shrugged and took another bite. Soon enough conversation started up again and everyone was happy Albus seemed to be happy again.

After dinner, I got a text from my mum asking me to come home so I agreed. Albus asked to walk me to the door so I allowed him to. He only walked me to his door to show me out not mine.

"B-bye S-Scorp." He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my shoulder.

"I'll be back tomorrow Albus." I promised. "And you can always come see me on the bridge."

"O-okay. L-love you." He told me and I hugged him tightly.

"I love you more Albus." I promised. "I'll see you soon." I kissed his head and then left his house. I went back home and my parents were sitting in the kitchen.

"I'm home!" I called.

"Scorpius, we're in here!" Mum called to me. I walked into the kitchen and they were sharing some ice cream.

"Hey guys, how was your anniversary?" I asked taking a seat.

"It was great. Did you have a good day at Albus'?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. Oh! And he giggled today." I smiled.

"Giggled?" My mum asked. They had been involved in asking me questions about Albus. Finally they saw my 'obsession' was more than that.

"Yeah for the first time. It seems he's really improving." I smiled. They shared a glance and then looked at me. I swallowed hard and bit my lip.

"Scorpius, we heard from your school yesterday and we wanted to talk to you about it."

"Yes?" I asked and my father smirked.

"He says you're on top of your class." He told me. "We're very proud of you. With everything going on with Albus, you've really on top of your studies."

"Thank you." I smiled.

"Have you put thought into what you want to do next year? We'll support any decision you make." My mum told me.

"Um I was thinking of taking a year off. That's what I told grandmother and grandfather. Harry told me I could intern with him if I really wanted to."

"Do you want to be a detective?" My father asked.

"I think I'd be good at it." I told them.

"And would you need to be educated?" He asked and I shrugged.

"I could go to a program for training and everything." I told them. "I like the idea of catching the bad guys and finding clues."

"Kind of like Nancy Drew." My mother said and I scrunched up my nose but didn't say anything. "Anyway, I have a very serious question for you." My mother told me and I nodded. "Regarding Albus, how do you feel about him?"

"How do you mean?"

"Are you attracted to him?" My father asked. They knew about my sexuality, I had come out at thirteen when I told my mother about a cute little boy who I wanted to snog.

"Well erm... I am." I admitted. "So much." They sighed and my mother squeezed my shoulder.

"You know you can't do anything about it, right? The boy is... troubled." My father told me.

"He may be! But he's getting better and he's almost back to normal... well he can't really ever be back to what he was but still."

"Just, give him some time. You haven't really had a relationship before." She told me and I frowned.

"It's like I'm gonna fucking jump his bone."

"Scorpius!" My father scolded. "We're only looking out for you." He told me and I took deep breath.

"I apologize." I told her. "I-I just really like him and we have a connection. He likes me and feels safe around me. I like it." I admitted. "I think it will be okay." I answered honestly. My mother hugged me tightly.

"Just don't push him love, you know he's been through a lot." She told me and I nodded.

"I know." I agreed and then yawned. "I'm gonna go to bed now." I told them.

"Alright love. We love you." Mum spoke. I hugged them goodnight and then went to my room. I stripped into my boxers, snuggled into my pillow and dreamt of green eyes.

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