Because I definitely owe James some Albus x Hunter fluff

And I needed to use all the fluff scenes I write but never release somehow

Is it even still a one shot if it's technically just an entire fanfiction I stuck into one chapter

"Did you hear?"

"Yeah, you too?"

"Wait, can anyone actually confirm it?"

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Albus Potter went to Camp Half Blood for a week and came back with a hot demigod boyfriend!"

"No way, I heard that, too!"

Okay, so apparently he wasn't being subtle.

Or, actually, maybe he was being subtle but then Rose told Scorpius, who decided to be a best friend and spill the details of his dating life to the entirety of the school in the corridor while he confronted Albus about it.

"AL!" He whined, "How could you not tell me about this? Do you even understand how it feels to be a bro who doesn't get told about your crushes? Haven't you been spending any time with your Uncle Jason at all? Do you want me to end up like him?"

"You can't just diss my boyfriend's dad like that."

"Yes, I can. His best friend exploded and came back with a hot island girl without even telling him he was alive. He told your Aunt Hazel about Aunt Calypso first, after he got back from his first time on Ogygia. I still think that what you did to me was worse, but like, come on."

"I didn't even know I liked him, alright?" Albus pat his friend on the shoulder comfortingly, "Our families stuck us under the mistletoe and he confessed and so I kissed him and I liked it. That's all. Otherwise- Actually, okay, no, I still probably wouldn't have told you. But-"

"Al!"

"I'm sorry, alright? You know now! You're the only person I've told."

"Only because Rose told me first!"

"Still counts!"

"Look," Scorpius sighed, his voice growing exponentially louder with every word, "I know that Hunter is some hot blonde demigod and that's totally your type, plus he can deal with that sarcastic monotone thing you do, and by Merlin did that boy get a glow up since we met him as first years, and I know you have a thing for abs and pretty eyes, but still, you should have told me!"

"Scorpius!" Albus squeaked, completely out of character and blushing to the tips of his ears, "Not so loud!"

"Why not?" Scorpius pouted, "If everyone else already knew and I was your poor best friend who was left out of the loop, it should be fine, shouldn't it be? I mean, your relationship shouldn't be a secret. You should know, you were absolutely the first person to know that I had a crush on Rose, alright? I didn't even tell my Dad. Not that he knows now, because like, he would disown me if he found out I was dating a Weasley, but that's beside the point."

"You are such a spiteful Slytherin."

"Now, now, Al," Scorpius tutted, "Those are not words you should be using to describe a house. It is words like those that made people so prejudiced against Slytherins in the first place. Slytherin is not an evil house. You get into Slytherin for being cunning and ambitious."

"And you just happen to also be spiteful?"

"Exactly. I don't take betrayal well."

So yeah, this was all Scorpius's fault.

_______________

Maintaining a long distance relationship was a lot harder than Albus had expected it to be.

Excluding the Christmas visit, the last time they'd seen each other for more than a couple days at a time was Albus's trip to Camp Half Blood, and even then they hadn't spent all that much time alone together. He'd only been back at Hogwarts for three days and he was already missing his boyfriend. Somehow he felt more lonely now than when he was single.

He groaned a little, flopping into his pillow. He was a sixth year, for crying out loud. He was the infamous Potter Snake. He was not supposed to be getting this worked up over a boy.

Even if he was god-like in every sense of the word.

Albus rolled over, slinging his arm over his eyes and fighting his blush.

"Ooh," came a voice from the door, "Alone in the dorm, red in the face? What's going on in here, Albus?"

"Shut up, Scorpius."

"Is that any way to treat your best friend?"

Albus sat up with another groan, death glaring at the other boy.

"Now, see, that'd be a lot more threatening if you weren't still blushing."

Scorpius sat at the edge of his bed. "Are you okay?"

Albus averted his eyes. "I'm fine."

"We both know that you're lying to me."

"Yes, we do."

Scorpius smirked. "If I guess right, will you tell me?"

"I know you're going to guess right, so out with it."

"If you need to see Hunter that badly, I can help you sneak out to Apparate during one of our Hogsmeade weekends. I can enchant a galleon to warm up when you need to get back."

"I don't need to see him," Albus protested, "I just- it might be nice."

"Wow. One week was enough for him to wrap you around his pinky finger. Imagine how it's going to be by your anniversary."

"I'll deal with it when we get there."

Albus finally softened, smiling at him. "Thanks, Scorpio."

"Any time, Al."

Scorpius paused.

"So that one date I want to take Rose on..."

Albus pursed his lips.

"Fine. But you're buying the Dissimulator."

"Deal!"

<*~*~*~*~*>

"Listen, Albus. You need to be back in two hours. I'll warm the Galleon at the ten minute warning."

"Got it."

"Intercontinental Apparition is hard. Dumbledore can do it, but you're no Dumbledore. You need to focus. I swear, you'd better not Splinch. I'm not putting you back together."

"Alright."

"Don't Splinch. I don't want to have to put you back together."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And Al, please, I know he's hot, but-"

"Bye, Scorpius, thanks!"

"Wait, I'm not done-!"

<*~*~*~*~*>

Finding Hunter was the easy part.

Albus knew the other boy liked to take walks in the forest around this time of day.

Working up the courage to actually talk to him was the hard part.

He was his boyfriend. He liked him enough to kiss him. There was no way he would be opposed to seeing him months before they were supposed to meet again.

But he was also surrounded by a group of rowdy, drunk looking centaurs and Albus wasn't entirely sure he could interject without being hit with a paintball.

Hunter smiled awkwardly at them, obviously trying to edge away without being rude and ultimately failing. The beer bottles being shoved into his face were certainly not helping matters.

Albus took his wand out and silently cast a harmless spell through the trees. Any of the centaurs who weren't drawn away by the flying light had their attention stolen by the pop it made as it dissipated.

"Milo's blowing things up without us again!" One of the centaurs cried loudly.

"Party Ponies, charge!"

He watched Hunter sink to the ground, finally alone, letting out a heavy sigh. He rubbed at his eyes, bringing Albus's attention to the dark circles under them, as well as the angry red splotches on his palms, evidently from working too hard with his knife.

Albus gulped.

Was it worth his selfish loneliness to bother Hunter when he was clearly exhausted? Should he just leave without-

"Albus!" Hunter gaped as he caught sight of him, a huge grin splitting his face, "Hi!"

Nope, definitely worth it.

The blonde boy leapt to his feet, tackling Albus in a hug. "What are you doing here?" He laughed giddily, "Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts right now?"

Albus couldn't bring himself to speak, too stunned to do much more than return the hug. He'd made it all the way across the Atlantic without losing a limb somewhere along the way and actually seeing the boy he'd come to meet was what shocked him.

"Albus?" Hunter murmured, patting his back, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"You're shaking."

Albus just held on tighter.

"Nothing's wrong anymore."

He could feel Hunter soften, melting into his embrace and cooing sweet nothings into his ear.

Albus had to laugh. "Don't do that. That's so sappy."

"More sappy than surprising your long distance boyfriend with a visit?"

"Yes, more sappy than that."

Hunter pouted, drawing away just far enough to look him in the eyes.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Albus," he said, "But why are you here?"

Albus looked away. He mumbled.

Hunter leaned closer. "What?"

"I missed you."

This time he'd definitely heard. The legacy smirked. "What?"

Albus rolled his eyes and shoved him playfully, a vulnerable smile stealing its way across his face.

"I missed you, you doof," he teased, "But now I can't even begin to imagine why."

"Styx, I really am part god," Hunter grinned, rubbing at his cheeks, "How else did I get the Albus Potter to admit he missed me?"

Albus bit his lip tentatively. "Is that okay?"

Hunter laced their fingers together. "Of course it's okay."

He leaned in conspiratorially. "Don't tell my boyfriend, but I missed you, too. I just didn't have the means to get myself out of the country without parent supervision."

"Dork."

"Your dork."

Albus sighed, hip checking him.

"My dork."

<*~*~*~*~*>

They continued walking until the Galleon warmed in Albus's pocket. He groaned.

"I know I'm a delight to be around but you don't have to get that upset," Hunter joked.

"Long distance relationships are harder than I thought they'd be. I didn't think I'd miss you so much."

"Should I be offended or happy?"

"You decide. I'm too tired to think anymore."

"Hey," Hunter stopped him, taking his hand and pressing golden drachmas into his palm, "If you get lonely again, Iris Message me. If you run out, I think Galleons will work, too."

Albus peered closely at it. "Can't I just use a sickle?"

Hunter gaped at him, eyebrows furrowing. "You really think Fleecy's gonna work for anything less than a Galleon? You're kidding yourself."

"But-"

"If you want to limit the Iris Messages to these drachmas," Hunter cut in, frowning a little, "Fine. But just know that's an option."

Albus paused, looking down at their still intertwined hands. He let a fond smile spread over his face.

"Okay," he relented, squeezing, "It'll be well worth the price, anyway."

"I-" Hunter squeaked, free hand shooting up to try and cover his blush, "I mean- I- gah! If you say things like that I'm never going to be able to let you leave!"

"That's kind of the idea."

"Albus!"

Albus grinned, waggling his eyebrows. "A kiss for the road?"

The other boy got even redder, pecking him on the cheek.

"Come on, you can do better than that."

"Albus!"

Hunter averted his eyes.

"Next time," he stammered out, fiddling with the hem of his shirt, "If you want anything more than that, it will have to be a reward for visiting next time."

If Albus started blushing just as hard, struck speechless, no one ever had to know.

_______________

Hunter coming back to Hogwarts for their seventh year was supposed to be a blessing.

It was supposed to be a year full of romantic, happy, fluffy times with Hogsmeade dates and cuddling.

Albus being in mortal danger was not supposed to be a part of it.

He was eating breakfast and cramming for a test by the lake with Scorpius, so the only danger that should even be hypothetically possible was the Giant Squid launching itself out and drowning him.

However, his brain was in danger of melting, and there was a very distinct possibility that his heart would not make it out of this ordeal without exploding.

The most adorable thing he'd ever seen ambling across the grass was not supposed to deal this much damage.

His quill fell out of his hand, spilling ink across his paper.

"Ooh," Scorpius teased, "Hot date last night, Al?"

"Guh-"

"Isn't that your favorite jumper?"

"Not anymore," Albus blurted dreamily, his brain effectively shutting down and depriving him of a filter, "It's his now. He can have it forever. He wears it better."

Hunter Grace had very obviously just woken up, if his ruffled hair and bleary eyed yawn was any indication, and he was wearing a cozy gray jumper that was very much too big on him and very much not his and it was very much destroying Albus on the inside.

How he even got all the way from the Hufflepuff dorms to the lake without having enough awareness to temper his cuteness before it blew up his boyfriend was beyond him.

He could feel the blush on his face, radiating even more heat than Milo Valdez could create with his father's powers. And yet he couldn't bear to rip his eyes away from the sight because he was contractually bound both as a boyfriend and a human being to sear the sight into his brain.

"Mornin' Albus," Hunter mumbled, plopping behind him on the grass, "Whatcha eating?"

He was wearing his clothes and he was snaking his arms around his waist and he was pressing himself against his back and he was warm and he was adorable and he was soft and he was warm-

This was definitely illegal.

Seeing as he was physically unable to do much more than gape, Scorpius answered for him.

"Eye candy," he chuckled, "Right, buddy?"

"Mmm," Hunter hummed contentedly, "Share."

He lazily opened his mouth.

He wanted Albus to feed him.

What in the actual name of Merlin.

"Oh, boy," Scorpius cackled, "He's not sharing any time soon."

Hunter pouted, propping his chin up on Albus's shoulder and tilting his head against his, completely oblivious to the spontaneous combustion occurring in the other boy's chest.

"Al," he murmured into his ear, "Ah."

He choked on air.

Finally, Scorpius took a little bit of pity on his best friend.

"Hey, Hunt," he cooed, "That's a nice jumper. Where'd you get it?"

He looked down drowsily, tugging at the fabric.

"I was just cold," Hunter mumbled, "I grabbed the first thing I could- buh."

The adrenaline flooding his brain snapped him awake, and he looked just about ready to pull the offending article over his head despite the robe hanging over it that would make it extremely difficult to do without flopping around like a Percy with a bucket on his head.

"Woah!" He yelped, "I'm so sorry, Albus! I know this is your favorite sweater, I'll wash it and return it to you!"

"No, no!" Albus stuttered back, holding onto the bottom of the jumper so that it stayed on him, "Keep it! You look- it looks good on you! It's okay, really!"

"How'd you even get it?" Scorpius snickered, not even bothering to hide his growing grin, "We all know we're not allowed into the other house dorms."

Hunter waved a panicked hand, blushing up a storm. "He must have just gotten a little hot while we were hanging out and forgotten it somewhere! No big deal!"

"A little hot?"

"Scorpius!"

Albus turned away bashfully, running a hand through his hair. "I want you to have it. You look cute."

He neglected to mention how seeing his boyfriend in his clothes was very actively destroying his self control and his heart. Knowing that, he wouldn't ever be able to wear it again anyway without remembering how he looked in it and burning up.

Hunter averted his eyes as well, though he hadn't quite removed himself from the embrace he'd started. "Thanks."

Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"You dorks."

_______________

If Albus had remembered that the Triwizard Tournament landed on his seventh year, he would have ditched school.

It hadn't mattered in his second year, because the only person he cared about enough to worry over was James, both too young to enter and half way across the world living it up at Camp Half Blood.

(Though, if anyone ever told James he'd even thought that, he wouldn't hesitate to pull out the Unforgivable Curses)

Back to his point, he should really be more specific.

If he had remembered that his boyfriend was definitely the type to be stupid enough to enter, he would have ditched and taken Hunter with him.

"Hey, Albus," Hunter called, walking over from the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall, "I'm going to go put my name in the Goblet of Fire, wanna come with?"

"No. Also, I'm taking your Pumpkin Pastry."

"Hey! And why not? A leisurely, romantic stroll through the halls after lunch? Sounds great to me."

"No, as in you're not entering the Triwizard Tournament."

Hunter blinked at him for a second, then wrinkled his nose. "Who do you think you are, my dad?"

Albus stared at him like he couldn't believe he even had to explain it to him.

"Come with me," Albus demanded, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him out of the hall.

He didn't slow or speak until they reached the Goblet, not even when Hunter quipped something about their stroll being neither leisurely nor romantic, its blue flames flickering. They watched one of their peers drop their name in, the fire roaring red.

"Does that look like something fun to you? It's too dangerous."

"Albus," Hunter laughed, "Stop worrying. I'm partially immortal. I'm a demigod! My life is supposed to be dangerous!"

"That doesn't mean you're supposed to go looking for it!"

"I don't understand why you're getting so worked up!"

"People die in this Tournament, Hunter," Albus narrowed his eyes angrily, "All of the time! Cedric Diggory, Raydon Jesome. It was cancelled for centuries because of the death rate! I can't believe Dumbledore is still allowing it!"

"So you think if I get chosen I'm just going to die?" Hunter asked, glaring back, "Is that it?"

"That's not what I said!" Albus yelled, "You don't have to do this!"

"I want to do this! Why can't you just support me? Isn't that what boyfriends are for?"

"It's because I'm your boyfriend that I don't want you to do this! Are you even listening to me? If you wanted blind support as you ran off to do something stupid you should have just started dating James!"

Hunter shoved him, and though he was shorter and leaner than the average demigod, he still had years of training and muscle mass over Albus. He stumbled back.

"Just because you can't handle it, doesn't mean I can't."

"Just because you can handle it doesn't mean you should have to!"

"I'm choosing it!"

"You shouldn't be!"

"It's not your choice!"

"If my input didn't count you wouldn't have told me in the first place!"

"I told you because I thought you were going to support me!"

"How can I support you when you're telling me you're putting your life on the line for a bag of coins?"

"You always do this!" Hunter protested hotly, "You always twist my words with that... that wile and I hate it! If you say it like that of course I sound stupid! But it's not stupid."

"Then explain it to me."

Hunter scrambled for the words to vocalize it, but he had never been nearly as eloquent as Albus without using his Charmspeak. Even in his rage that was a line he wouldn't cross.

"You can't," Albus sneered, "Because it is that stupid!"

"I can't talk to you when you're like this!" Hunter scoffed, "So caught up in your pride and thinking that you're right! I'm going to go cool off before I stab you."

"Yeah, you do that," Albus taunted, "Maybe you'll realize you're wrong by the time you get back."

They stormed off in opposite directions.

<*~*~*~*~*>

Sometimes Albus hated being on the same wavelength as his boyfriend all of the time.

They'd run away from each other and somehow still ended up at the same spot in front of the lake.

Hunter had gotten there first though, and Albus was a little out of breath. The demigod was in the middle of rant into an Iris Message, and Albus could see his mother in the mist, listening closely.

"-he's such an idiot!" Hunter was yelling, arms flying around animatedly, "It's just a stupid competition, why can't I just do it? I might not even get chosen!"

Hunter paused, scoffing. "I know what he'd say to that," he grumbled, putting on a mock accent, "If it's so stupid, you shouldn't be doing it. Blah, blah, blah."

His voice was slipping in and out of Charmspeak with his anger, and for a split second Albus was almost convinced that he was an idiot.

Albus huffed and tried to slip away, but Piper saw him anyway.

"Albus, get over here."

He froze. Even without using her powers, Piper McLean was a force to be reckoned with and her voice held all the authority of the goddess she was.

"So desperate for my company that you followed me here?" Hunter muttered under his breath.

"I didn't follow you. You know I didn't. I just got here and there was a toddler in my spot."

"Who are you calling a toddler?"

"Who are you calling desperate?" Albus fired back.

"Boys!" Piper roared, silencing them both immediately.

Hunter crossed his arms and looked away while Albus stared at her petulantly.

"Albus, you're going to talk to Annabeth. She'll sort this out."

"Ha!" Hunter laughed scornfully, "Aunt Annabeth's going to rip you a new one!"

"Hunter," Piper barked, "Go to your room."

"I'm not even-"

"Hunter Tristan Grace. Go to your room."

He blanched, darting off for the Hufflepuff dorms.

Albus clenched his jaw, glaring anywhere but Piper.

"It's going to be okay Albus," Piper murmured, voice softening, "Talk to Annabeth."

"I don't need a lecture."

"You're not going to get one."

He lifted his eyes suspiciously and saw nothing but kindness and love on the goddess's face. She leaned in conspiratorially, corners of her mouth lifting into a smirk.

"Just between you and me, Hunt can be a little too much like Jason. I love him so much I married him, but by Hades, he's got the EQ of an five year old sometimes."

"Ugh," she groaned, peeking over her shoulder, "I hate using my godly privileges. I'll talk to Dumbledore and get you excused for the rest of the day. Annabeth's busy so the only way I'm going to get her to talk to you is to plop you in front of her."

"Wait, what-"

She snapped her fingers, and the lake front was empty.

<*~*~*~*~*>

Albus fell to his knees, gasping for breath and trying to keep his stomach from heaving.

"What's up, Potter?" Piper chuckled, "Have a nice trip?"

"Is that the way I need to go back, too?"

"Well, Apparation doesn't work, so..."

"Of course I had to start dating a guy with a goddess for a mother."

"And father, grandfather, and grandmother."

"I'm really about to get smote, aren't I?"

"Do you think you should be?"

He rolled his eyes. "No."

"Then you have nothing to fear going to talk to Annabeth."

"I have many other things to fear when speaking to Aunt Annabeth."

"Touché."

She smiled a little ruefully, ruffling his hair. "Really, Albus. This will be good for you. Both of you."

"Fine."

Albus knocked on the door to the Athena Cabin where Annabeth was supposedly working, frowning a little.

Despite all of Piper's reassurances, Hunter was still Annabeth's family. And everyone knew how Annabeth Chase got when something upset her family.

"Come in!"

The door was unlocked, and it only took Albus a glance to figure out why she hadn't greeted him at the door.

He didn't even know that Annabeth wore glasses before seeing them crooked on her face, evidently having gone at least a day or two without sleep. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, giving him a clear view of both the bags under her eyes and the frenzy within them. Blueprints were scattered everywhere, and she didn't even look up from her sketch, tongue poking out in concentration.

"What's up, Al?" She asked calmly, as if her hand wasn't still moving in a blur, "Piper said you wanted to talk to me?"

"That's one way to interpret what happened, I guess."

"Against your will?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Sounds like her."

When she didn't follow that up with anything, Albus took a seat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"What are you working on?" He asked, unfurling a nearby piece of paper, "Is this a building?"

"Yeah, Camp Jupiter needs some new temples, so I've been drawing them up."

"Some?" He chuckled, "There's six on this page alone."

"It'll be fun, he said," Annabeth grunted, "Right up your alley, he said. Two days and twelve temples is not fun, Jason. You want it done so bad, you draw them, Mr. Pontifex Pain in My Gluteus Maximus."

"So did you need something?" She rolled her eyes as she refocused on him, "If Piper's just trying to get me to take a break, tell her she can-"

"I got into a fight with Hunter."

The movement of her pencil ceased. She was silent for a moment.

"Can I ask why?"

"He wants to be in the Triwizard Tournament. I told him he couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's too dangerous!"

"Is it?"

"Your friend Raydon died in that tournament! Are you really okay with letting someone who's basically your nephew do the same?"

"Technically, Raydon didn't die in the Tournament," Annabeth mused.

"Aunt Annabeth!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

Albus took a breath. "Am I wrong?"

He was suddenly much smaller, grimacing a little. He wrung his hands, his bangs falling over his eyes. She sat next to him.

"Should I be letting him run into this death game?" Albus murmured weakly, "If he's chosen, should I be supportive? If he's not, am I supposed to be- Am I supposed to be sad that he's not risking his life?"

Annabeth sighed, nudging him.

"You're not wrong," she assured him, "You're just- you didn't tell him that the right way."

"I get why Piper sent you to me," the daughter of Athena continued, taking his hands and unclenching them, "This happened to me in my year at Hogwarts, as well."

"You tried to enter the Triwizard Tournament?"

"That too, but I was referring more to your fight."

"Yeah, Uncle Percy doesn't seem like the type to let you put yourself at risk."

"No, I got mad at him."

"What?"

"We didn't fight-" Annabeth paused, tilting her head. "I didn't yell at him because he entered the Triwizard Tournament. But when he put his name in the cup he passed out. Steven had been torturing Grover, you see, and their empathy link knocked him out. I thought he was going to die."

"And so you- Huh?"

"After he woke up, I basically chewed him out."

"What? Why? That doesn't make any sense."

Annabeth chuckled darkly.

"It doesn't, does it?"

"Listen, Albus," Annabeth brought her knees up, loosely wrapping her arms around them, "I know how hard it is to watch him be in danger. I know how much harder it gets when he does it to himself. But you've gotta know where to draw the line between challenging and too far. You've gotta know how to tell him what your issue is with what he's doing."

"I want him to be safe!" Albus protested, "The Tournament can get so dangerous and I don't want him to be a part of that! I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to him! He's so important to me and I can't lose him. Is it so much to ask that he just stays safe and with me?"

"Did you tell him that?"

"Of course I did!" He scoffed, "It should be obvious!"

"Albus," Annabeth said again, putting her hands on his shoulders, "Did you tell him that?"

"I-" he started indignantly. Then he stopped, realization washing over his face, "No. I didn't."

He stared at her, eyebrows furrowing. "How could I not have told him? I want him to be safe. I want him to be happy. I want him where I can protect him even though I know he can handle himself because I- I-"

His eyes widened, face taking on a little pink tinge. He fell silent.

Annabeth shot him a sideways smile, resting her cheek in her hand. "Yes, Albus?"

He blushed harder, looking away. Annabeth smiled wider.

"It's hard to tell the people who are important to us just how important they are," she mused, "Most of the time even we don't know just how important they are. Love is bright and amazing. So much so that it's blinding. Did you know that when you fall in love, parts of your brain shut down? That's terrifying to me."

"Percy woke up from fainting and started joking about it. But it's not a joke. We've been demigods long enough to know that tempting the Fates has real consequences. He said that we got through it once, so we could get through it again. He might as well have stabbed me in the gut, because that's how I reacted to him. I didn't want to go through it again. More than that, I didn't want him to go through it again. I absolutely blew up."

"I got a lot of bad looks for a while after that. The other students who heard about it thought I was getting mad at him for getting hurt, which wasn't his fault, has never been his fault. But that wasn't why. Percy knew why. That's all that mattered to me. That's why we're still together now."

"Sometimes when you're so close to someone, it's hard to see straight. If I were you, yeah, I probably would have done the same thing. But because it's Hunter and not Percy it's a little easier for me to rationalize."

"You and Hunter are going to be okay. Communication is important, though. He'll listen if you tell him. Not yell at him."

Albus smirked. "This coming from you."

Annabeth smacked him playfully, grinning. "You're too much like me. Don't make my mistakes, kid."

"I suppose I should go apologize to Hunter now, huh?"

She turned serious. "Never apologize for wanting him safe."

"I may have said some other things."

Annabeth laughed again. "Apologize for the way you said it, then. Hunt's a lot tougher than he looks. No matter what happens, you two are going to be okay."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, before Albus turned to her warily.

"I know you're not technically a goddess, but can you get me back to Hogwarts?"

"Of course. The gods gave me and Percy some perks."

"Do you have to send me the teleportation way?"

"No, I can always ask someone to Shadow Travel you there."

"Good, because-"

"But I really need to finish this blueprint, and I don't have time to fish Percy out of the Canoe Lake."

"No, Aunt Annabeth, please-"

She snapped her fingers and he was gone.

<*~*~*~*~*>

As it turned out, Albus was very lucky that he'd skipped lunch in order to have that fight with his boyfriend, otherwise he'd definitely be throwing up.

He curled up into a fetal position on the ground, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Gods, Albus!" He heard a voice cry, "Are you okay?"

He opened his eyes slowly, taking in the way Hunter was kneeling above him worriedly. So of course the first thing out of his mouth had to be

"Aren't you supposed to be grounded in your dorm?"

Hunter looked at him like he was an idiot, not for the first time that day. "Albus, this is my dorm."

So Annabeth didn't have enough time to call Percy out of the lake, but she could strip him of his dignity and leave him to suffer on the floor of the Hufflepuff dorms no problem, huh?

Typical.

"Ugh," he groaned, the world spinning again, "Give me a minute to resuscitate myself, and then we can discuss how many rules I'm breaking by being in my boyfriend's room."

He could feel Hunter pause at that.

"Am I- Are we still... you know?"

If there was ever a good way to shock Albus out of feeling like death, it was that.

He shot up, blinking away the black spots in his eyes and gripping Hunter by the forearms.

"Of course!" He exclaimed, quieting back down almost immediately, "I mean, if you want to."

Hunter swallowed hard. "I didn't think you did. You got so mad at me for no reason that I- well, you know."

"I'm not mad at you, I never was. "Albus relented, sagging a little, "And it wasn't for no reason. I just didn't tell you what it was."

"Hunter, this Tournament gets dangerous. It shoots from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye, and even though you're partially immortal you can still get hurt and I- I don't think I could stand it if you did."

Hunter opened his mouth to protest, but Albus shook his head.

"Let me finish," he pleaded, watching him back down, "I trust you with my life. I trust you with yours. I trust you because I know you and it's because I know you that I know this is fully within your capabilities, but I still can't help but be afraid."

"You're one of the strongest people I've ever known. I, on the other hand, am not. I hide it behind dry sarcasm and a straight face but I'm a worrier and an over thinker and that all comes out when I'm with you. This Tournament is so unnecessarily risky and I don't want that."

"Strong people can still fall. That's what the Tournament does. It knocks the floor out from under you. I talked with Aunt Annabeth like your mum told me to, and... sometimes we just get so close to someone that we end up hurting them just because they're close. I don't want you hurt. I don't want to hurt you. But I especially don't want you to hurt yourself, not when it could have been avoided."

Albus lifted his hand to Hunter's cheek, brushing his thumb across his face.

"I love you," he murmured shyly, "I don't even want to face the possibility that I might have to live the rest of my life without you."

Hunter's eyes widened.

"I love you, too," he breathed when he recomposed himself, pressing their foreheads together, "Very much."

Albus felt his breath catch at the words, his heart swelling with affection.

"But I still need to do this."

Irrational anger surged in his chest. He swallowed it down.

"Why?"

He hated how tense and so obviously withholding screaming his voice sounded.

"Because I don't know what I want," Hunter said, "It's seventh year, Albus. I could go to New Rome for college, I could probably swing a wizarding job if I wanted to, but I don't know what kind of thing I'd want to do for the rest of my life, you know? I don't know what to do."

"My parents are heroes. They're gods. Don't even get me started on Aunt Annabeth and Uncle Percy. Even Achilles knows he wants to be a pilot. To protect the Camps from the air if war ever comes again."

"You have nothing to prove-"

"Yes I do. I have to prove myself to me."

Hunter ran his fingers over Albus's almost subconsciously, his eyes taking on a fire that he'd never seen before.

"I don't have ambition. I'm not exceptionally talented. I'm so average it almost hurts. I know that about myself. All I have is how hard I work towards a goal. The problem now is that I don't have one."

"The Tournament is more than just a death game. It's more than just money and glory. It's a chance for me to discover myself. I want to find out what I like and what I'm good at and this is the perfect chance for me to toss myself out of my comfort zone and I need that."

Albus had never heard him speak so passionately about anything before.

"Okay."

The look in Hunter's eyes was well worth the worry gnawing at his gut.

"One condition," Albus told him sternly.

"Name it."

"If you get chosen, you come back to me alive and well."

Hunter just kissed him, a determined smirk crossing his face.

"No matter what."

<*~*~*~*~*>

"Guys," Scorpius demanded, "Where have you been? You missed all the afternoon classes! I've been worried sick!"

"Sorry, Scorpius," Hunter chuckled, running a bashful hand through his hair, "We had some stuff to take care of."

He gave them a suspicious look. "Snogging in the Room of Requirement again?"

"Scorpius!" Albus yelled, scandalized.

Hunter flailed, going red to the tips of his ears. "We've never- I wouldn't- No!"

"I know, I know," Scorpius laughed, "I'm well aware that my friends are boring. You two keep your secrets."

His eyes lit up, remembering something.

"Oh! You two missed me putting my name in the Goblet of Fire!"

Albus sighed internally.

Right. The other idiot in his life.

Okay so I know this is like literally years late and most people who hated that section won't be reading this or even stick my book through to this chapter, but I felt the need to address that Annabeth knew her feelings were irrational and Percy wasn't at fault. She only got angry after he joked about him fainting.

And guys, for real. Here's my hot take.

Annabeth disappeared for like one day before Percy had a prophecy and a vision and a Percy-hating crew to go find her. Annabeth had to deal with him missing for eight months with her only lead being some guy who was missing his shoe and that he was possibly not beaten up by Romans and there were the two weeks during BotL when she literally thought he was dead and was about to burn a shroud for her best friend. During the time she was missing she was getting manipulated into holding up the sky. During the time he was missing he was sleeping or getting taken care of by a hot island girl. And I know I'm exaggerating a little but you still can't tell me that's the same.

It's not.

I'm sorry I needed that rant.

_______________

"Hey," Albus murmured, tilting his head against Hunter's, "Can I ask you when you fell in love with me?"

"Dunno," Hunter whispered back, tucking himself farther under Albus's arm, "Probably somewhere between Hunter, just kiss me, you doof, and Hunter pick up that quill right now or so help me I will beat this information into your skull."

"So basically somewhere between when we started dating and the study session we just finished?"

"Listen, falling in love with you was a process."

"Then can I ask you when you started crushing on me?"

Hunter burst red.

"I'd really prefer if you didn't, Albus."

"When did you start crushing on me?"

"Albus Severus Potter!" Hunter's voice was scolding, but he was hiding his face in Albus's chest and hadn't broken out the Charmspeak or his knife, so the Slytherin could only assume he was still in the clear.

"Hunter," Albus coaxed, his voice softening, "Hunter. Hunter, come on, tell me."

He smirked, leaning down so he was whispering into his boyfriend's ear.

"Hey, Hunterpuff."

"Albus!"

Hunter headbutted him, bursts of pink creeping their way across his cheeks. He rubbed at his face to try to dispel the heat, jabbing Albus in the ribs a couple of times with his elbow.

"That's a stupid nickname," Hunter pouted, calming down, just a little, "I hate you."

"Love you, too," Albus grinned, relaxing back into the chair they were cuddling in, "Besides, you were the one who insisted on pet names. I don't see what the problem is."

"It's embarrassing! What would you have done if I were in any other house?"

"Dunno, something generic, probably. Hunterclaw doesn't have nearly as nice a ring to it."

"GryffinHunter sounds cool, though."

"But you're not cool, so it wouldn't work. Also, Hunterdor is technically what it would be."

"Albus!"

The boy had to stifle his laughter under the gentle onslaught of fists and protesting, just pulling him closer.

"Well, we wouldn't have started dating you if you were a Slytherin, probably," Albus mused, "A good thing, too, because there's no good pun for my house."

"Wait, what?"

"I mean if you want to be called Hunterin I can do it, but-"

Hunter furrowed his eyebrows, pinching Albus's cheek. "No, why wouldn't we have started dating if I were Slytherin?"

Albus rolled his eyes, as if the answer was obvious. "You think an ambitious Slytherin version of you would've settled for someone like me? You're kidding. This is why you're in Hufflepuff. You're too nice. Too loyal."

"Don't say things like that," Hunter growled, squeezing harder, "You're not allowed to."

"I'm just saying-"

"No, you're not."

Albus opened his mouth again, but Hunter just reached up and kissed him hard, pulling away with a huff. "Shut up, Albus."

He blinked dumbly. Sometimes Hunter was cool, but Albus had a reputation to uphold. "Yes, sir."

"Wait!" The green eyed boy remembered suddenly, "Being cute is not going to distract me. I want to know."

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

Hunter continued to smile innocently up at him, which almost was enough to blank out his brain again. Almost.

"I'm not gonna kiss you for a week."

"It started when you came to Camp for fourth year," Hunter said quickly, drawing a laugh from his boyfriend, "And I know it's going to sound completely arbitrary and dumb, but you're going to promise not to laugh. The Slytherins were in the arena training with swords, and even though you were kinda bad, you still just kept sassing everyone until they eventually got so mad they just charged and you beat them. After that, I don't know. My eyes just kinda kept finding you."

Hunter sighed, half dreamy and half nostalgic. "I already sort of knew you in first year because you're Rose's cousin, but we didn't really talk because you two were fighting, or something like that. But then fourth year rolled around and you two were better friends, and it would be us and Scorpius in a little group, and it was just really fun."

"Everyone kind of knew Rose and Scorpius were going to get together, and I dunno. Somewhere along the line I started wanting something like that with you."

"I didn't really notice until they shuffled you guys into cabins and you and a bunch of Slytherins were in Aphrodite and all I knew was that I needed to get out of there as fast as possible before my heart exploded."

In Camp Half-Blood, the legacies got to choose which of their grandparents' cabins they wanted to sleep in. Usually, the grandchildren of the Big Three chose their other grandparent because the cabin was less empty.

"So I spent all night in the Zeus cabin instead and when I woke up all of the Aphrodite kids were just surrounding me and snickering and I guess that was when I finally connected the dots."

Albus laughed loudly, earning him a smack in the chest.

"What," Hunter pouted indignantly, "Sometimes a guy's gotta roll around under his covers and giggle to himself like a dope until his heart calms down, stop judging me."

He tugged lightly at Albus's collar.

"How about you?" Hunter asked.

"You know when. Christmas and right before you put your name in the Goblet."

"That's not fair. I want some internal realizations about how I was the one for you all along."

"I need to get smacked in the face by my feelings before I acknowledge them, so sue me."

"So the next time I smack you you'll propose, is that what you're saying?"

Albus leaned down with a smirk, their noses brushing.

"Go ahead and try."

Hunter immediately flushed crimson, hiding his face in Albus's chest.

"One day."

_______________

"Scorpius, stop."

"Aww, Al, why?"

"Rose and Hunter are right there."

"So? Let them see."

Albus shoved the other boy away from him with an exasperated sigh.

"Are you embarrassed of me?" Scorpius sniffed, mock hurt written all over his face. "Albus, is it over between us?"

"Yes, I am embarrassed of you. And no, because I still need you to teach me this spell, so hurry it up."

"I was, but you keep getting flustered!"

"Of course I do! You don't need to get this close!"

"Yeah, well, this spell needs close contact, so you're just going to have to deal."

"I know you. You're enjoying this way too much for it to just be within the requirements of the spell."

"Oh ye of little faith."

"I need a test dummy to practice my explosion spell on. Care to volunteer?"

"No need to go that far."

Hunter gave them a look. "Should I be worried?" He asked Rose. "I feel like I should be worried."

"Yes," she said, at the same time as Albus rolled his eyes, "No."

Hunter stared down Scorpius. He smirked right back.

"Only if Rose ever breaks up with me."

Rose glared at her boyfriend, body jerking as she kicked him under the table. She put a hand on Hunter's shoulder.

"Yes, you should be worried."

"Rose!"

"Albus, we're leaving."

"Whatever you say, Hunter."

______________

Unlike his Uncle Percy, Hunter Grace was not 'the sucker.'

Albus was half relieved and half disappointed for his boyfriend, but there was still plenty of time before graduation to do some self discovery.

On the other hand, Scorpius had obviously taken after his father in doing everything in his power to spite the Potter family, because suddenly Dumbledore was announcing the new Slytherin Champion of Hogwarts and Albus was trying not to hit someone.

"Al, d'you think I'm gonna fight a dragon? A giant? A god?"

Albus shot his best friend a withering look, crossing his arms. "At this point, I'm hoping so."

"Your words are supportive, but I'm not liking that tone."

"What?" He taunted, his smile coming out toothy and forced, "You want to fight a dragon so badly? Go ahead. Fight one. I needed some charbroiled Scorpius in my life anyway."

Scorpius was spared from more not-so-passive passive aggression by their significant others wandering over from their tables.

"The Beauxbatons Champion," Rose murmured, leaning against Scorpius, "Doesn't his name sound familiar?"

"Ray Grace-Lander?" He recalled, "I mean, sure? It's a common enough name, I guess."

"It is?"

As if he could tell they were talking about him, the boy glanced over, baby blue eyes sharp and challenging. He shot them an impish grin, mischief exuding from it like an aura.

"Hermes," Hunter breathed, smacking Albus in his realization, "That has to be Aunt Sophia's son!"

Scorpius tilted his head at them. "Who?"

"She's been travelling since graduation," he explained, "She competed in the Triwizard Tournament with Uncle Percy back when they were in school. If he didn't eat himself into a cookie coma, she definitely would have won."

"Mom is always telling me stories about her," Albus added, "I think she's a Dragon Tamer now? Uncle Charlie says he watched her bare knuckle brawl with a Norwegian Ridgeback."

"Did you ever hear about a boyfriend?"

"No. And I feel like we would have known if she was pregnant."

"She doesn't seem the type."

"Maybe he was adopted?"

"But look at him."

"She could have just adopted the kid who looked the most like her."

"But that smile is all Hermes. And shouldn't we have known if she adopted a kid at all?"

Ray's smile slowly transformed into a smirk as they watched him, and he nodded to Scorpius before turning back to the Ravenclaw table.

"Al!" Scorpius gasped, "I'm screwed. I'm going to die."

Albus just shrugged.

"This is where you're supposed to give me a pep talk! You'll do great, Scorpius! You're strong and handsome and you can beat him up, Scorpius! Albus!"

"Do you even know me?"

"Rose?"

"Nope.'

Hunter pat his arm with a smile. "You'll be fine, Scorpius, you're one of the best wizards in our year."

Scorpius blinked, then turned and gave Albus a baleful stare. "Your boyfriend's real cute, you know that?"

"I know," Albus assured him, sighing, "He does, too."

"You don't deserve him."

"I know."

Hunter punched Scorpius in the shoulder. They all sometimes forgot he was three-quarters god and also much stronger than any of them.

"I take it back," he scowled, shuffling closer to Albus, "If Ray doesn't kill you, I will."

"I thought we were hoping for my survival!"

"Not anymore," Hunter grunted, spinning on his boyfriend, "And you. I thought we agreed you were going to stop talking like that."

"Yes, Hunterpuff, whatever you say, Hunterpuff."

He blushed, but still reached up to prod his cheek. "I wouldn't be dating you if I didn't want to be. You know that, right?"

Albus nudged him. "Of course I do. We're okay."

As he leaned forward, Rose tugged on his ear to yank him away.

"No," she scolded, "No snogging while I'm around. I don't need to see it."

"But-"

"You're basically my brother, and he's my best friend. Don't do this to me, Albus."

"Aw, Rose!" Hunter pouted, "Just this once!"

"Yeah, Rose!" Albus argued, "That was a good moment. If I have to listen to Scorpius's report every time you two come back from a date or a broom closet, then you can deal with this."

He'd pointedly ignored Scorpius's frantic signals to stop.

"Scorpius?" Rose said darkly, turning to her boyfriend, "Care to elaborate?"

"I have no idea what he's talking about," he lied.

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, we're not rooting for your survival anymore."

_______________

The first task and the Yule Ball ("Mule Ball," Hunter had coughed) passed without a hitch, Scorpius leading the way over the other two champions.

He did not get to fight a dragon.

Disappointing, but he was willing to forgive that and hold out hope for the other trials.

The second task, though bumping him down the scoreboard, below the Durmstrang champion by three points, was manageable.

(Still no dragon)

The Beauxbatons Champion, on the other hand, was insufferable.

Forget the dragon. He had something else he wanted to fight.

"Hey, Rose!"

"Do you want to hit up the library with me, Rose?"

"Rose!"

Every day without fail, interrupting dates and hang outs, just inserting himself into their lives, reading the room and choosing to ignore it, Ray Grace-Lander was there with that stupid smirk and glint in his baby blue eyes.

And Rose wasn't even annoyed!

"I don't know, Scorpio," Albus said when he brought Ray up, "I think you should just tell Rose if it's bothering you that much."

"What am I supposed to say?" Scorpius burst out, "Hey, Rose, I want to go out on a proper date, tell your friend to buzz off?"

"Yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to say."

"She's going to think I'm clingy and jealous!"

"But you are."

"She doesn't have to know that." Scorpius pouted, crossing his arms.

"You've been married to her like twenty years now. I'm pretty sure she already knows."

"I won't do it," he decided, "He's her friend. I can't tell her to stop being friends with him. I'll just treat him like he's Hunter or something."

Albus glanced down the corridor they were in, seeing Ray sling his arm around Rose's shoulders as they laughed about something Hunter had said.

"Easier said than done," he snickered as Scorpius flushed red in anger, "Hunt is Hunt, after all. None of us could get properly mad at him even if we tried."

"What's that Muggle sport, Al?" Scorpius seethed, clenching his fists, "The one with the fat gloves."

"Boxing, I think."

"I'm gonna boxing him in the face."

"I'm not sure that's how you use that word."

_______________

By the time the third trial rolled around, Scorpius managed to shove his annoyance at Ray to the back of his mind and also give up hope on that dragon.

"Guys, I get three sidekicks for the third trial!" Scorpius said, bouncing excitedly, "It's a scavenger hunt across campus. Something about teamwork and stuff. I can count on you, right?"

"It says we need parent permission," Rose noted, unfurling the scroll a little more, "My mom will be fine with it. My dad might pout about it since it's you, but I should be fine."

"Dad's not going to stop me from participating in a Tournament," Albus smirked, "My parents give me leeway as long as I'm not as bad as he was."

"I'll just ask Mom," Hunter said, waving a flippant hand, "This is going to be fun!"

<*~*~*~*~*>

Piper McLean was extremely supportive of both her sons, whether it be in their ambitions or their relationships.

Piper McLean was laidback and approachable, leaving the overprotective mother henning to Jason.

Piper McLean was fully confident that they had raised their children to be excellent fighters and even better people.

That being said, it would be simply unfair for her to have done all that and not to get any fun out of giving her son grief.

Piper raised an eyebrow at Hunter through the Mist, as if contemplating her decision to let him participate in the Tournament.

"Do you have Albus's permission?"

"I don't need his permission!" Hunter said indignantly, "But yes. He's doing it, too."

She hummed, thinking. She turned to Rose.

"Are you going with them?"

"Yes, Mrs. Grace," she replied dutifully.

Hunter sighed. "Why does that matter, Mom?"

"Someone needs to stop you kids from being dumb."

"Mom!"

Albus narrowed his eyes at her. "Hey, I'm smart."

Piper stared right back at him. "You'd do anything if Hunter puppy-dog eyed you long enough."

"..."

"..."

"Fair."

"What about me?" Scorpius pouted, "I'm ranked second in the year."

"You're also you."

"I can't even argue with that."

"Can I do it or not?" Hunter interrupted before he could get embarrassed any more than he already had been.

"Of course you can," Piper laughed, "Just don't over do it, alright?"

"Thanks Mom," he grinned, waving and cutting the connection.

"You weren't going to tell her to come watch?" Rose asked, "Parents are allowed to."

Hunter stared at her. "No way. Do you know how big my family is? She'd bring them all and Dad would set up a cheering section in the stands."

"I don't need to hear Uncle Percy start the family chants up again."

<*~*~*~*~*>

Hunter's extended family might not have shown, but Albus's certainly did, and his Uncle Ron was just about as happy with Ray's closeness to Rose as Scorpius was.

"What is it," Ron seethed, "About these bloody Triwizard Tournament Champions and the girls in my life? I don't care if he is Sophia's son!"

"'Malfoy Jr.!" The redhead shouted, spinning on him and grabbing him by the shoulders, "Do something about this!"

Scorpius gave him a look that screamed how idiotic he was being without having to say a word.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" The boy scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Rose is pretty, Ray has eyes. Rose is amazing, the boy has taste."

"I don't know, you're the Malfoy!" Ron insisted, still extremely worked up, "Buy him off! Do something illegal! Threaten to tell your father! Anything!"

"Be civil, Ronald," Hermione scolded, elbowing him, "Scorpius is a fine young man. And Rose can handle herself."

"Look at them, woman!" Ron yelled, pointing to where Ray was sitting far too close to his daughter, "You can't tell me that's okay!"

"Say that again, Ron," Hermione said, sickly sweet, "I'm not sure I heard you right."

Ron blanched. "Take a look over there, light of my life. I think they ought to be a little farther apart, don't you?"

"That's better."

She turned to Scorpius, actually sweet this time. "I wouldn't worry about it, Scorpius. She's head over heels for you."

"I know," Scorpius sighed, "I know I shouldn't be worrying, but I'm worried anyway."

"We raised her better than to cheat."

"You also raised her to never back down from what she wants."

"Right," Hermione agreed, "And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that that girl wants you."

When Scorpius bit his lip instead of responding, Hermione gently ruffled his hair.

"A little jealousy never hurt anyone, as long as it never gets more than a little," she told him, "Make sure you deal with it before then, alright? In the meantime, I think Ray wants to talk to you."

Scorpius eyed the figure in the distance, no longer beside Rose, waving him over. He rolled his eyes again.

"Yippee."

He wandered over to the other champion, tilting his head so that he would speak first.

"So I was thinking," Ray smirked, slipping his hands into his pockets, "How's about we make a little wager?"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at him warily. "What kind of wager?"

"Right now," the Beauxbatons champion said, "I'm in third place, and you're second. So really, you have the upper hand."

"What kind of wager?" Scorpius repeated.

"Whoever does better in the third trial gets to go out with Rose."

Scorpius choked on air, coughing and sputtering until he had enough breath to speak. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Ray grinned wolfishly, eyes glinting, "I like Rose. You like Rose. I didn't think it'd be very gentlemanly of me to invite her out when she has a boyfriend, but I'm telling you now, so the playing field's even. We got a deal?"

"Why would I make such a stupid deal?" Scorpius snarled, "I'm already dating her. I have nothing to gain. And she's not something to be won, anyhow."

"Oh, no, of course she's not," he agreed, "In the end, I still have to earn her companionship. I'd just like the boyfriend to back down and stop glaring at me when I do."

"Don't hold your breath. I'm going to win the tournament, just watch."

"Well then there's no issue with taking the bet, is there?" Ray said slyly, "Unless... you're not so sure of your victory. Where's that Slytherin pride, Malfoy?"

Scorpius blinked for a second, words registering in his brain.

"My pride can go to Azkaban for all I care," he growled suddenly, Ray's easy going smirk finally giving way to shock, "Rose is far more important than that."

"I'm going to make my dad proud and win and still be loving Rose by the end of it all, even without your stupid wager. Bet on that."

He turned and stalked away, tossing the words over his shoulder.

"See you at the finish line, Grace-Lander."

_______________

"Hunter, you go to the lake and get a Merperson scale."

"Roger."

"Rose, you're going to the potions closet to find the Bezoar."

"Alright."

"Albus and I are going to the Quidditch Pitch to try and catch the Snitch. Then we'll meet up when the final object reveals itself. Got it?"

"Got it." They chorused.

"Okay," Scorpius growled as they split up, "Time to wipe the smug smirk off of Ray's stupid face."

In theory, spreading out his team was the most efficient play. Hunter had Charmspeak and Rose knew her way around the potions storeroom like the back of her hand.

In actuality... perhaps leaving the two least athletic members of their team with the item on the Pitch was not the best move on his part.

"Stop crashing into the goalpost!"

"Why are you doing barrel rolls? The Snitch is getting away!"

"Why is the Bludger shooting acid? Why is it shooting acid?"

Rose raised her eyebrow at them when they met up outside the entrance to the final obstacle.

"Why are your robes smoking?"

"I do look smoking, thank you for noticing," Scorpius panted, handing the Snitch over to her, "Burnt and beat up clothing are all the rage. Just ask your Uncle Percy."

"Did you get the scale, Hunter?" Rose asked, turning to him with her bag outstretched.

"I don't know what happened," he admitted, shyly raising a bag of his own, "One minute we were talking about Triton and Atlantean politics, and the next, I had way more than what we needed."

Scorpius blinked at him. "I- you- I should have sent you to the spiky Quaffles instead."

"Headmaster Krum always insists on Quidditch with monsters, after all," Albus sighed as he shrugged his robe off, acid still eating its way through the fabric.

"The last item should be in there," Scorpius said, watching letters appear across the scroll, "It's got a guardian, so be on the lookout. It will be hanging around it's neck."

Boom!

They all instinctively covered their heads as a crash shook the foundations of the corridor.

"Looks like someone beat us to it," Hunter noted, rolling up his sleeves, "Let's go get that item."

Scorpius, against all better judgement, stopped in his tracks and gaped.

"Dragon," he breathed, grabbing onto Albus's arm and shaking, "Al, I get to fight a dragon!"

"Also Ray," the boy reminded him, "Who is already here and gaining ground on you."

"Right, right. Let's go beat him."

"That locket is mine, Malfoy!" Ray yelled, rolling away from one of the dragon's blasts of fire and sending a barrage of spells toward it, "And so is this victory!"

Scorpius jerked his head around the room, his friends spreading out and surrounding both the guardian and the other champion.

"Where are your teammates?" Scorpius taunted, "Leave you to fight this thing on your own?"

Ray rolled his eyes as Rose drew the dragon towards her instead, trying and failing to Accio the locket into her grip.

"That won't work, Rose," he called, "It's enchanted. And no, Scorpion Boy. The wizarding chess knight didn't like them so it ran away. They're finding it now."

Scorpius bit back his snort, instead shouldering his way in front of the other boy to try and lunge for the locket. He was forced to retreat from the swipe of the dragon's claws.

"I'll be the one winning," he jeered, "You're outnumbered."

"And you're outmatched," he quipped back.

Ray leapt as the dragon attacked again, catching onto the talons and swinging himself up onto its back, carefully avoiding its spikes. He held on for dear life as the guardian bucked and flapped its wings in vain attempts to dislodge the boy.

"You're out of your mind!" Scorpius yelled, shielding his face against the debris kicked up by the wind.

He couldn't see him from behind the dragon's neck, but he could just imagine the smirk splitting his face.

"Yes, I am."

Scorpius almost missed what happened next, blinded by annoyance.

Hunter screamed.

"Albus, look out!"

The dragon spun rapidly.

Ray went flying.

Its tail swept outward.

Albus tried to dive out of the way.

He was too slow.

Hunter was much faster.

Crack!

He was flung into the wall, sinking to the ground, unmoving.

Rose slid over to them, shuffling through her bag to try and find anything that could help.

Scorpius set himself up to defend them while they worked, but...

The dragon was no longer attacking.

It huffed and took off, flying out of the room.

Scorpius let his eyes snap to where Ray had landed, breaking his fall with a spell.

He held up his hand weakly.

The locket glinted in the dim light.

The Triwizard Tournament was over.

Beauxbatons had won.

_______________

Hunter blinked his eyes open drearily, immediately trying to sit up when he realized he was in the Hospital Wing.

"Woah!" Albus yelped from beside him, "Not so fast, Hunter. You have a concussion."

The legacy pressed a hand to his forehead and winced, feeling the bandage chafe against his wound.

"What happened?"

"You threw yourself in front of the dragon for me," Albus told him, looking pained at the very thought of it, "Like the idiot you are."

"Who won?"

"Why is that what you're thinking about right now?"

"Just tell me, Albus."

"Ray."

"Styx."

Hunter sighed in disappointment, pausing for only a second before trying to heave himself out of the infirmary bed.

"Alright, I'm fine now," he declared, ignoring the way his world was spinning, "Let's go see Scorpius and Rose. I'm sure he's taking it hard."

"Get back in that bed," his boyfriend demanded, "You're not going anywhere until Madam Pomfrey gets another look at you."

"But I'm fine, don't worry about-"

"No," Albus scolded him, gently pushing him back down, "Thank you for saving me, but you're not fine and I am worried. You hurt yourself, you broke your promise that if you participated in the Tournament you would come back to me alive and well. Now you have to deal with the consequences."

Hunter stopped struggling and gave him a lopsided smirk as he was fussed over, Albus's hands running soft circles in his hair to distract him from the pain.

"You know," he quipped, leaning into the touch, "I'm not seeing any consequences. If it gets you to be this soft I might have to do it more often."

Albus's head snapped to him, indignant and scandalized and scared and vulnerable all at once and by the gods if that wasn't the most unfair expression in history.

"Albus, hey," Hunter said quickly, cupping his cheek, "Hey, I'm joking. I'm joking. I'm sorry you had to take care of me. I'm sorry for getting hurt. I'll try not to let it happen again."

Albus flushed red and averted his eyes, huffing. "You know, you really do have to stop apologizing. I think people would rather hear gratitude than apologies."

"Albus Severus Potter," Hunter murmured, brushing their noses together, "Thank you for loving me."

Albus finally made eye contact, unable to help the smile on his face.

"And thank you for loving me, too."

They sat a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Hunter spoke up.

"I think I know what I want to do now," Hunter murmured, "I like talking to people. And I'm good at it. I like working out compromises. I think I'm going to work for the Ministry of Magic. Foreign affairs or maybe administration. It'll be a good job, I can probably pull it off with my grades and my connections, and this way, after graduation, we won't be an ocean apart."

Albus's jaw dropped. He hadn't even thought about that. But obviously Hunter had, and it made his heart swell before he realized what it really entailed.

"I could never do that to you," he whispered, lacing their fingers together, "I know how important family is to you. I could never ask you to stay here with me and separate yourself from them."

"They're all at least partially immortal and can teleport at will," Hunter assured him, "They'll still be there for me to visit, and it's not like I'm really separating myself from them. I'd always intended to move out eventually, anyway."

"Plus," he blushed redder than Albus had ever seen (which was really saying something), looking pointedly away even as he squeezed their fingers gently, "Maybe- Maybe someday... I'll have family here, too."

That took a second to register in Albus's brain, but when it hit him, boy did it hit him with all the force of an angry Bludger.

He fumbled around desperately, trying to avoid being reduced to a blushing mess.

Needless to say, he failed pretty hard.

______________

"Ray!" Rose said cheerfully, finding the champions after the match, "Congratulations!"

Scorpius huffed at her obvious excitement, staring to the side even as she slipped her hand into his.

"Madeleine was super excited for you," she continued, either purposefully ignoring or oblivious to her boyfriend's annoyance, "She's looking for you now."

"Madeleine?" Scorpius asked, curiosity getting the best of him, "Who's that?"

"Madeleine Thomas," Rose reminded him, "Her dad went to Hogwarts with our parents, but she's at Beauxbatons because of his job."

Ray smirked. "She's also my girlfriend."

"Wait, what?!" The Slytherin's jaw hit the ground, and he gaped at the other boy.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Rose chirped, "She's so sweet.  They've been together almost four years, she said. They're so cute together."

"I-"

"What?" Ray said, mock surprise dripping from his voice, "I would never withhold such information from you!"

"I think you'd like her, Scorpius," Rose beamed, "She reminds me of Hunter."

"Speaking of which," Ray cut in, eyes twinkling with mischief as they locked onto Scorpius's, "Rose, I like you. You're cool."

"Thanks," she grinned, "You're pretty cool, too."

"Want to go out to Three Broomsticks with me and Maddie and celebrate my win?"

"Sure!"

"Great," Ray smiled, waving, "See you later then. You can bring Scorpius if you want. I've got some voice recordings I think you'll want to hear."

Scorpius sank to the ground as he ran away, laughing to himself.

"Scorpius!" Rose yelled in shock, slipping herself under his arm to help steady him, "Are you okay? Do you need to go see Madam Pomfrey?"

"So this whole year he was just-" He groaned in realization, "Tournament. Mind games. Hermes. That kid is definitely Hermes."

"Did he mess with you?" Rose asked, squeezing his waist gently as she helped him stand, "Do I need to scold him? Because you know I will."

"No," he chuckled breathlessly, leaning his head against hers and kissing her cheek, "It's alright."

"I've got you, and that's more than enough."

______________

"I kind of want to go on a double date."

Albus wrinkled his nose, leaning back into the grass by the Great Lake. "Why?"

"Spice things up a little," Hunter said, breaking out the jazz hands, "I don't know. Isn't that just a thing couples do?"

"We only hang out with Scorpius and Rose, though."

"Not them. Choose someone else."

"I know they've been dating since fifth year so they're like an old married couple now, but they're still solid."

"Yeah," Hunter whined, chucking a rock into the lake in his frustration, "But if we choose them it's basically just another school day."

"That's the problem. I don't know anyone else who's in a relationship right now."

"James and Alice?"

"Right, and then afterwards I can make you go on a double date with your brother."

"Okay, not James and Alice."

Hunter tilted his head from side to side a couple of times. "I think Emerald just asked out Silena."

"Rodriguez?"

"Yeah. But they're all the way in America."

"Is Luke dating anyone?"

"Probably not. I think one of the Stoll Cousins might be though."

"There is no world in which I would want to go on a date with a Stoll."

"Okay, fair. But I think we're out of options, then."

"Do we really need this?" Albus asked, "I think there are plenty more things we haven't done."

"Wait! How about Ray and-"

Albus sighed at the way his boyfriend was obviously not listening to a word he was saying.

"Hunter," Albus murmured softly, rolling over to pin his boyfriend to the ground, "We've just graduated, we're both of age. Don't you think that the two of us are enough?"

Hunter was startled out of his rambling, a blush spreading over his cheeks. He nodded quickly.

"Yeah. Yup. We do just fine on our own, yes."

"Indeed we do," Albus agreed, kissing him quickly, "So no more worrying about double dates?"

"Okay," Hunter said, a warm smile splitting his face, "But only because you're so cute."

"Aww!"

Their eyes snapped up, breaking out of their little couple bubble, to a nearby bush.

Hunter gulped, calling in a shaky but Charmspeak slicked voice. "Whoever just said that, come out so we can see you."

Albus didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't his brother.

"James!" Albus squeaked, "How long have you been watching us?"

His older brother shrugged bashfully, a smile on his face. "Dunno, maybe the beginning of the year?"

"Don't you have a job?"

"How else was I supposed to fill up on all the romance that Alice made me miss during Christmas?"

"One kiss," Albus yelled, mortified, "All you missed was one kiss. Are you insane?"

"Hey, Ace is here, too!"

An indignant yelp came from the bush. "James!"

Hunter went beet red, "Achilles!"

The bush did not move.

"Achilles Lycus Grace, you get up here right now!"

Ace shot up. "Woah, that's not fair!"

"I wouldn't have to Charmspeak you if you'd just get up!"

When Ace didn't respond to that, Hunter realized he'd been wrong about what his brother meant and James lit up.

"Lycus?"

"James didn't have to know!"

"Who named you, dude?"

"Dad!" Ace groaned, "It means wolf in like, Greek or something. I don't know why he would do that to a kid, alright?"

"You know if you were a girl, your first name would totally be Lupa."

"I know!"

Albus chuckled, glancing at James.

"Where's Alice?"

James pouted. "At her job. Being an auror. Saving lives instead of indulging in her boyfriend's hobby."

Albus rolled his eyes. "The audacity."

"Zoe's at college then?" Hunter asked, turning to his brother.

"Nah."

"What? It's Wednesday though."

"She and Charlie are stalking Silena on her date."

"Of course they are."

"Yeah, Charlie was chasing Em around all day yesterday making sure she wasn't going to hurt his best friend," Ace chuckled, "And Emily and Milo were picking on Silena. Kinda surprised those two didn't break up on the same day they got together."

"Whatever!" Albus cut in, remembering himself, "Will you two please just go? I'm trying to relax with my boyfriend here."

"Aw, but-"

"Albus-"

"Get out of here!" He yelled, pulling out his wand. The two older boys cackled, backing off and running away.

"My hero," Hunter swooned, grinning as he fell dramatically against Albus, "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Albus kissed him, smiling back.

"You let me love you, too."

I wanted to get this out in time for the third anniversary of this book but... life kinda sucks and senior year kinda sucks and college apps most definitely suck. So yeah.

Wow, Poke_Master, what a weird way to pronounce let's give up and try again next year.