Albus heard him crying, though he thought it was for a reason entirely different. He heard the quiet sniffles come from the bed beside his and could imagine his usually pale skin an irritated pink as his friend wiped furiously at his face, because Malfoy's don't cry. He heard it, but he was too afraid to do anything about it.

Would Scorpius want him to see him like this, or was it best to leave him alone? Albus wasn't sure, and it pained him because all he wanted to do was be there for his friend, but he didn't know how. He believed the two had had a great relationship, and could only imagine how horrible the breakup must've been, as he'd missed key parts to the argument that had taken place earlier that day.

Still, he couldn't bear the thought of Scorpius feeling alone. He quietly made his way from his bed, padding across the cool floor of their dormitory and opened his bed hangings, thankful the blond hadn't used a privacy spell to keep them shut.

"Scorp?" He asked, more so to make the boy aware of his presence than for actual conversation. He climbed into the bed and closed the hangings, pulling the blond into his arms and running his hands through his hair soothingly. "It's alright, Scorp. It's alright."

The blond sniffed again, burying his face into Albus' chest while the dark-haired boy rubbed his back and whispered soothing nonsense to him. Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus' waist and pulled the two of them closer together, shifting himself so his face was now in the crook between the smaller boy's neck and shoulder.

"It's alright, Scorpius." Albus whispered again and the blond nodded his head, embracing the green-eyed boy as strongly as he could. It was more than alright, it was perfect. It was relieving.

When the blond pulled away, he had a smile on his face showing just how beside himself he was with happiness, catching Albus off-guard.

"You're not-"

"Albus," Scorpius spoke, quieting the other boy. "Albus, I'm free."

The blond's gaze met Albus', and then he was hugging the boy furiously, gripping him for dear life. It was over. He was free. He felt safe and without any stress. But he knew the moment wouldn't last, as he'd now revealed that he wasn't crying because of sadness: he cried tears of joy, and his best friend would be very curious as to how the blond was taking the breakup so well.

"I thought you liked being with Rose." Albus claimed and a series of questions formed in his brain - much like Scorpius predicted - as to why the blond was okay. "You've wanted to date her forever. I thought you loved her."

"I don't love her." Scorpius snapped, hoping he didn't sound like a menace, but his friend had the wrong idea. 'I love you,' he wanted to say, but he couldn't. "She was controlling, and I've been waiting for this day for a long time." He decided instead. Albus nodded understandingly; he'd seen the various controlling girlfriends James had had.

"Well then," he decided. "I guess you are free."

"I am!" Scorpius exclaimed, perhaps a bit louder than he should've, but damn it, he was happy. "Now I could be with whoever I want, and I don't have to live in fear. I'm free, Albus!"

"Have you got another crush, Scorpius?" Albus asked, taking notice of what his friend had said and finding the phrase questionable. He'd just gotten out of a relationship hours prior.

'You could say that,' Scorpius wanted to say, but instead he shook his head. "I just mean that... When I do want to be with someone, it'll be alright. Rose will no longer be there to control my every move."

"Oh, makes sense. But I was really worried about you today, Scorpius," Albus admitted. "You looked horrible at dinner, and then I find you crying in our dorm after everyone's gone to sleep? I didn't know what to think, but I didn't want you to be alone."

"Then don't ever leave me." Scorpius confessed before he could stop himself and Albus looked at him questioningly again. "I mean, I just- Albus, thank you so much for being the greatest friend I've ever had. I love you more than you'd ever even know."

"I love you too, Scorpius." The green-eyed boy sighed, hugging the blond. As their chests collided again in the tight hug, Albus felt a shortness of breath, as if his lungs were constricting inside of him, and his heart felt full, as though it would burst. "I love you so much."

Scorpius was back. He'd finally have his friend again. 

~△⃒⃘~

"And what do you think you're doing by the Quidditch Pitch?" James Sirius Potter snapped as he shoved his brother roughly with the tip of his finger after classes that day.

"I just wanted to come watch you practice." The younger boy admitted, stepping out of reach so his brother couldn't shove him again. His cronies stood behind him, laughing.

"Slytherins aren't welcome here!" Clayton Phillips joined in, drawing his wand in order to try and scare off the fifteen-year-old.

"Does it look like I'm wearing my house colors? I'm just here as an observer." Albus snapped at Clayton, jaw stiffened angrily. He drew his wand as well, prepared to fight for himself. He was alone, after all.

"Oh, you'd like to fight, would you?" Clayton smirked, stepping away from James in order to march closer to Albus.

"I'd like you to stop being an arse and putting your nose where it doesn't belong, Phillips." Albus announced and sidestepped the Seventh Year as he charged him, making a beeline for James, knocking him over with just enough force.

"For Godric's sake, Albus!" James exclaimed, shoving his younger brother off of him and gaining the upper hand. He straddled him and punched his face hard. Albus winced, but spat in his brother's face. Clayton soon joined in, and kicked at the Fifth Year's ribs.

Spectators had soon turned to watch and a circle had formed around the students. Albus shot a hex at James, but it did him little good as his wand was kicked out of his hands moments later. The green-eyed boy was bloody and miserable, but he was tired of his brother's endless torments, and refused to let this go.

He swung his fist out, smiling to himself when it hit James with a forceful click, and the Gryffindor paused to clutch his jaw in agony, spitting blood everywhere. He reached out for his wand, which was just out of his reach, and cried out as a heavy boot came down on his wrist.

"Get off me, you fat oaf!" Albus screamed, glaring up at Clayton while shoving at James. "Two on one isn't fair!"

"I'll give you a mark to match the one you got last time." Clayton Phillips sneered, digging his boot harder into Albus' wrist, and the fifth year cried out again as he heard the snap of his carpal bone.

"James?" A small voice called out just as Phillips pointed his wand at Albus' face. The crowd parted and Lily stood where a gap had formed - Lysander and Lorcan on either side of her. "What are you doing?"

James halted his movements, staring at his sister in shock before climbing off of Albus and pulling his brother from the ground, earning another piercing cry as he'd purposefully grabbed his newly broken wrist. He shoved Clayton away, warning him to get out of there, and walked towards the thirteen-year-old with the best innocent look he could muster.

"Lily, I thought you had some club to go to." He scratched his neck awkwardly, wiping at the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I did, until Lysander and Lorcan pulled me out to tell me a fight was going down at the Quidditch Pitch. Why were you fighting with Albus?" Lily asked angrily, as this was the first time she'd ever witnessed her brother bullying Albus on the pure premises of being an asshole.

"He's a Slytherin!" Clayton Phillips interjected, earning an angry glare from James. Lily frowned at Phillips and then turned to her brother again.

"Really?" She asked. "You're letting a house come between your blood? How shallow can you possibly be, James? He's our brother!"

"Lily, I-"

"No. I'm telling Mummy and Dad. This is not okay, James." The thirteen-year-old stopped her older brother and walked towards the fifteen-year-old with a sympathetic look on her face. "Come with me, Albus. We'll take you to Madam Pomfrey," she glanced at her eldest brother once more. "And then maybe we'll go see Professor McGonagall."

~△⃒⃘~

Albus walked into the Slytherin Common Room later that night sporting a sling around his shoulder, holding his broken wrist securely in place. Slytherins from various years chatted on the leather couches, worked on homework, or played games. When Scorpius spotted his best friend enter through the secret wall, and then spotted the cast, he gasped in shock, causing the students around him to look his way, and then at Albus.

"Your wrist!" The blond exclaimed, rushing towards his friend and staring at the sling and bandaged arm. "What happened?"

"Pomfrey mended the bones, but my wrist is recovering still. More damage than just a break was done to it." Albus muttered and then Scorpius noticed it was the same arm he'd been hiding in his thick robes a few days previous.

"Albus, what happened to you?" The blond asked angrily, pulling his best friend from the Common Room towards the dormitories. "Don't leave out any details."

And that was how Albus found himself explaining the various run-ins he'd had with James over the last few days, and how each of them had landed with him bruised, bloody, and with poor self-esteem. When he got to talking about the most recent quarrel, he began to unwrap his wrist to reveal a set of horrible words etched and scarred into the newly broken and mended wrist: worthless squib.

"You don't know how bad I want to kill your brother and all those good-for-nothing-Gryffindors." Scorpius snarled once the green-eyed boy had finished speaking and Albus winced.

"Not my sister, though, right?" He asked, frowning down at the words while Scorpius traced them delicately.

"I am indebted to your sister for saving my best friend's life. Of course she can live." The blond joked and Albus pushed him lightly with his non-injured hand.

The two were quiet for a few minutes as Scorpius stared and traced at the words forever ingrained into his best friend's wrist.

"They're wrong, you know." He whispered, catching Albus' attention as he'd been deep in thought.

"Hmm?" He queried.

"You're not a worthless squib, Albus. You've got magic running through your bones just like the rest of us. You're powerful, and perfect. You're my Albus." Scorpius explained, grabbing the dark-haired boy's shoulders to make him meet his eyes. "You're worth everything, at least to me."

"You're a pathetically cheesy sap, Scorpius." The green-eyed boy rolled his eyes. The blond smiled.

"But you love me."

"Yeah, I really do." Albus agreed, pulling the blond in for another hug, carefully keeping his wrist secure between them, and felt his heart race faster in his chest as he rested his forehead against the taller of the two's shoulder.