They'd only been together a short time, but it already felt like a lifetime. Well, whether labels had been involved or not, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy had been Albus Severus Potter's for the past five years. Sure, there had been a few bumps in the road involving a few less than perfect girls, but in the end, it had always been each other that the boys turned to.

But good moments never last, and eventually reality must return, and that is what happened when the boys woke up hours later in front of the fireplace with curious eyes all staring at them.

Albus was the first to awaken, and he could do nothing but stare back at everyone due to Scorpius lying fully on top of him. He wondered what time they'd fallen asleep and blushed when the taller of the two let out a rather loud snore. The black-haired boy poked at his ribs moments later, and the blond let out a groan as he attempted to burrow closer to Albus, wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Scorp, there are people." Albus whispered, and the blond's grey eyes opened slowly as he stretched his body and lifted his head to look around. Once the fog from his tired brain cleared, he jumped off of Albus nervously and sat with his knees to his chest as he looked at everyone's still silent and shocked faces.

"I totally saw this coming." One of the Third Year Slytherins claimed, a smirk on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest and her friends giggled.

"Albus?" Scorpius asked, and when the green-eyed boy looked back, he found his newfound boyfriend's lip quivering and a panicked look on his face. He sat up, and moved to sit closer to him, rubbing his back in soothing circles as he glared at the crowd.

"We're not some circus attraction, guys. Give us space." He snapped, pulling Scorpius closer to his body.

"Oh, just wait until your brother hears about this!" Bruno Holden appeared in the crowd with a malicious smirk on his face. He was already dressed for classes, as were most people, and it caused Albus to wonder what time it was. As he casted a subtle tempus charm, Bruno's cronies stepped behind him. "Haven't you heard of the No-Fag Policy in our dorms?"

"No, I haven't." Albus muttered and Bruno only continued to smirk.

"That's because it's starting now!" He spat, and suddenly Albus and Scorpius found various articles that they realized belonged to themselves were being thrown at them, and Scorpius' eyes went wide as the two stood to protect themselves.

"You've went through our stuff!" The blond stated accusingly and Bruno shrugged his shoulders, angering Scorpius greatly. He placed a protection charm over himself and Albus, and they began to pick up their belongings quickly while everyone continued to be bystanders. "Doesn't anyone care to help us?" Nobody moved.

As Bruno and his cronies continued to relentlessly attempt to beat at the boys, an eerie feeling settled through the room, and if the students hadn't been so focused on the accented antagonist, they would've noticed the drop in temperature, and a seemingly dominant change in air pressure. What happened next was so sudden that many students barely had time to scream.

The windows in the Common Room shattered and gallons upon gallons of icy water from the lake began pouring into the room, dousing the last few embers from the fireplace, and soaking everyone's feet as they attempted to scramble out at once. Albus and Scorpius, whose arms had been full, were the last ones out of the Common Room and as they looked back just before the lights flickered out, Albus could've sworn he'd seen a set of pale eyes staring back at them.

~△⃒⃘~

In the Great Hall, where students from every house had gathered due to the Slytherin's commotion, the headmistress, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to draw everyone's attention.

"I realize by now everyone's heard of the Slytherin House's flooding, and I can assure you that I have a team of professionals in the Black Lake currently searching for whatever outside force could've done this. No magic inside the castle is able to break through that glass. If anyone has any information to determine what the creature may be, please step forward." The headmistress spoke and everyone whispered anxiously as they wondered what it could possibly have been.

Albus stood then, surprising most of those who'd been paying attention, and as he went to step forward, Scorpius grabbed his arm.

"I've got this, Scorp. Let me go." He whispered and began walking through the Great Hall until he stood directly in front of the headmistress. All eyes were trained on him. "Professor, I saw the creature just before the lights in our common room were doused out."

McGonagall looked down at Albus thoughtfully, thinking back to his father and even his grandfather's days at the school. When trouble was afoot, there was always a Potter involved in some way, shape or form. She almost pitied the rotten luck and turned to face the rest of the students. James stared at his brother, an apprehensive look on his face. When Albus caught it, he gulped, knowing that the secret had already gotten back to him.

"Due to recent events, all classes will be canceled for the day, though I request students from Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff return to their houses while the Slytherins make themselves comfortable here." As she spoke, students began to walk from the Great Hall with mixed emotions of excitement and fear. When most were gone, McGonagall turned to Albus and said: "I need you to follow me, Mr. Potter."

The two walked out of the Great Hall and Albus realized the woman was leading him back to the quiet, frozen dungeons. When news of the flood had reached her, Professor McGonagall and a few other teachers ran down to place a freezing charm on the dungeons so the water couldn't move and damage more of the building.

As they coasted through the dungeons, feet splashing in the icy water, Albus felt the already chilly temperature drop the closer they got to the Slytherin Common Room. When they approached the wall that separated the Slytherin House from the dungeons, Albus spoke the password clearly, and the wall disappeared, a wave of water splashing down upon them. Professor McGonagall seemed unbothered, though Albus gasped as the cold water pierced his skin. As the water spilled into the corridor, the headmistress stepped inside and towards the window that had been broken.

"Please, tell me exactly what happened, Mr. Potter." She said, casting a lighting charm so the two could see in front of them. Her catlike eyes stared at him intently and he blew a breath, watching as the cloud of warm air fell from his mouth.

And so Albus began telling the headmistress all of the events that morning, from when Scorpius and himself had woken up, to the No-Fag Policy, to the discovery of all their belongings having been gone through and thrown at them. He noticed everything now soaking wet, and frowned as he realized he'd lost everything to the flood. When he continued again, he spoke of the protection spell, how Bruno and his cronies still worked at him viciously, and how suddenly the air had dropped and the window burst. He concluded the tale by remembering the pale eyes staring at he and Scorpius from the other side of the window just as the wall slid into place.

"Firstly, I will have a word with Mr. Holden as we at Hogwarts have a policy of no discrimination of any kind. I'm under the understanding that your brother has been antagonizing you this year as well?" Albus nodded. "For your belongings, I will have a team of recoverers work to salvage yours and Mr. Malfoy's belongings. And as far as the creature with pale eyes goes, have you had any history of seeing this creature before?"

"I didn't get that good of a look at it, Professor, but from what I did see, I believed it could've been the Dementor I saw weeks previous, but then I remembered Dementors don't go in the water, but it was black like before and brought coldness with it. It even felt like the air changed around it." Albus explained and the headmistress nodded.

"I'm sure we'll have an answer by this evening, though I'm fairly certain I already know what it might be."

The two made their way to the Great Hall again soon afterwards, with the headmistress stepping inside first and Albus only faltering when he heard a noise that startled him. When he turned around, he found James squatting behind a pillar. He stood and made his way to his younger brother with a concerned look on his face.

"Sorry to hear about Slytherin, Albus. I would've thought snakes liked the cold though." He stated and Albus frowned.

"What do you want, James? I've been through enough today as it is. I don't need your antagonizing." Albus complained, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at his brother.

"I heard about you and Scorpius."

"I figured as much, but it's not really any of your business, is it?" Albus rose an eyebrow.

"It is, because you're dating him, and that means he'll be around even more than before. You know how much I don't like him."

"Well, tough, because it's not about whether you like him or not, it's about me. For once, James, let something be about me. I'm happy and I care for Scorpius. He's my best friend, and that'll never change, but these feelings have been introduced and I had to act on them. He means the world to me, and you're a right prick if you think I'd let you take the one thing that's been good for me away. I'll be damned if I let you do that." Albus ranted, and James seemed to falter to a stop. He stared at his brother and saw the sincerity and meaning behind his words. He gulped as his throat felt suddenly dry.

"You've cost me my Prefect badge, Albus. I hope you're happy." He said, and Albus rolled his eyes.

"Good, because jerks like you don't deserve one in the first place."

"I'm sorry, alright?"

"You're not, though, James. You're still only worried about yourself." Albus claimed and James shook his head.

"Albus, listen to me, please." James pleaded. "I've been rotten, I know, and it'd be a miracle if you forgave me for all of the rubbish I put you through every year, but I am sorry. I'm sorry I've been a horrible brother to you, and I'm sorry that it took me having my Prefect's badge taken away to realize that what I've done really hurts you." His eyes fell over Albus' exposed, no longer bandaged wrist and winced at the sight of the words forever permanent in his skin. Why had he let Phillips do that? "I'm so sorry."

"You're a fool if you think I'll forgive your apology so easily. Actions mean a lot more than words, and if you're really as sorry as you claim to be, you'll prove it." Albus stated seriously and crossed his arms over his chest once more to hide the hideous words.

"I will. I promise."