Chapter 20 / But Baby It's Cold Outside

                                    

                                          
A cool breeze wafted their way, and Albus felt an icy tendril of wind worm its way down from his neck into his shirt. He shivered.
"You should have listened to me," Scorpius smirked at him as they strolled through the main street of Hogsmeade, which was unusually empty. The reason being, that many of the other students had escaped from the unexpected chill of an early October morning into the stores that lined the way, hoping for a warmer atmosphere. He watched as a group of fourth years scampered into Gladrags Wizardwear, as mice scurried into their hole.
"Do shut up," Albus beseeched, as he crossed his arms over his chest, which was clad in only a cotton Slytherin-green Quidditch t-shirt—one that Scorpius had told him to wear a jacket over. "Just because you check the forecast every day, doesn't mean everyone else does."
Scorpius laughed. "I didn't tell you to check the forecast, I only told you to listen to me, and I told you it would be cold today."
Albus scowled as a fresh wave of goose bumps rose like little hills on his exposed skin, each a small reminder of why he so hated winter. He glanced over at his companion and groaned as he saw Scorpius in his long gray, obviously very warm, coat, complete with a bright red scarf wrapped leisurely around his neck, while black woollen gloves covered his hands. "Thank you so much for rubbing it in, you wanker," he mumbled grouchily, which was only received with more amused laughter from Scorpius. "Now can we please get out of the cold? Look, the Three Broomsticks is right there, with all the Butterbeer you could want." He pointed to his left desperately.
"I don't like Butterbeer," he said impossibly, while Albus blanched. "Besides, it's so wonderful out here," Scorpius said, spreading his arms out and breathing in deeply. "The air is so fresh and cold—you can just tell Christmas is coming!" An uncharacteristic giggle arose from his throat.
"Christmas is more than two months away," Albus muttered under his breath, rubbing his hands together frantically. "And who doesn't like Butterbeer?"
"Why do hate the cold so much?"
"Because it's so ..." Albus searched for the right word. Unable to find it, he finished pathetically: "cold."
Scorpius stared at him, deadpan. "Profound, truly."
"Well I can't think straight when I'm so cold that I can't feel parts of my body I should be able to," Albus whined, wondering why he ever thought befriending a winter-lover was ever a good idea. Abysmally, he watched a pair of seventh-years sitting and drinking warm Butterbeer inside the Three Broomsticks, wishing desperately he could be in there too.
"You just need to warm up," Scorpius said, shrugging his shoulder.
"Warm up! What a brilliant idea!" Albus replied suddenly, mockery heavy in his tone. "Why didn't I think of that?"
Scorpius gave him a look. "Well, if you had just listened to me!" he said, sticking his nose up, in that distinguishing Malfoy haughtiness he possessed.
Just as another icy wind tore through the deserted street, the compulsion to wipe that stuck-up look of Scorpius' face hit Albus. An evil smile formed on his face.
"You're right," Albus sighed dramatically, watching Scorpius' reactions closely, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"What?" Scorpius looked at him, stunned.
"You're right," he repeated. "I should have listened to you."
Scorpius began to relax, and turned to face Albus. With a sigh of his own, he said, "Next time—"
Albus pounced.
"Albus!" Scorpius shrieked as the other boy's arms wrapped around him and merciless fingers began tickling him with fury. "Stop!" he cried, struggling in Albus' embrace.
Albus, who had no idea whether Scorpius was ticklish or not, discovered gleefully that he was.
"You told me to get warm!" Albus laughed.
Scorpius' cried were a mixture of laughter and heavy breathing. "Stop! Please! Albus, let me go-AH!" His plea ended in a shriek as Albus' left hand snaked around to his stomach.
Albus held fast to Scorpius, determined not to let him go. He found he was beginning to laugh as well just by watching his friend's futile attempts at escape. In a brave move, he slithered his left hand under Scorpius' jacket, trying to make contact to Scorpius' warm skin with his freezing cold hand, knowing it would infuriate him.
Scorpius screamed when he did.
"ALBUS! It's cold!"
Albus laughed. "Now you see what I mean?" His fingers wriggled against Scorpius' warm stomach, around his bellybutton, making it flutter and contract rhythmically, trying to escape from the exquisite torture.
"Stop it! Stop, please!"
Albus finally decided to have mercy and withdrew his hands. "Alright, alright, I'll stop," he said, chuckling. Nevertheless, he didn't let go of his hold on Scorpius.
The blond was just getting his breath back, staring darkly at Albus as they stood face-to-face. "That ... was cruel," he said.
"But it got me warm! Look, the goose bumps are gone!"
Scorpius hit him on the shoulder. "That's because they're all on my stomach, you prat!"
Albus chortled in reply.
"Now let me go," Scorpius said snootily. Albus watched with incredulity as he still managed to turn his nose up, despite the fact that they were so close.
Albus smirked, determined to drag this on for longer. "Ask nicely."
Scorpius peeked a silver eye at him angrily, looking at him down his pointy nose. "I beg your pardon," he said, looking stunned at Albus' audacity.
"I said," Albus spoke clearly. "Ask nicely."
Scorpius' mouth dropped open, before he tried once more to escape Albus' clutches, pushing at the arms encircling his waist, struggling furiously—yet futilely—inside his cage. Albus held fast.
Albus opened his mouth wide in a mock yawn, knowing it would incense his prisoner. "We could potentially be here for a long time, because you won't say please, and I certainly will never let you go."
Scorpius stopped resisting and huffed at Albus. "Fine," he said. "Please, let me go."
Grinning, Albus graciously opened his arms wide. "Was that so difficult?" he patronised as Scorpius stepped out, far beyond Albus' reach.
He turned to deliver a steely silver star to Albus. "That," he said in an offended tone, "was completely childish."
But Albus knew it was put on. Somehow he knew that Scorpius was having just as much fun as he was, and he reasoned, that after the last couple of days they've had, fun was exactly what the pair of them needed.
A wicked glint in his eyes, Albus returned the stare. "Childish, was it?"
"Indeed," Scorpius replied, looking cautiously at him.
Albus noticed a slight waver in his voice and grinned. "Need I remind you, Malfoy," he began, taking a long and deliberate step towards him, "That we're still children."
Scorpius took a wary step back. "Speak for yourself, Potter."
"No, Malfoy, that would include you also. Even if you're older than me by about two months," Albus remarked with another step.
"And I think, Malfoy, you need to
lighten up a little." The wicked green
glint hadn't left his eyes as he increased his pace, startling the other boy.
"Don't you dare."
"Dare what?"
"Tickle me again."
"Well, then," Albus said, smiling broadly. "I suggest you run."
Albus granted him a handful of seconds to come to terms with the challenge before he charged forward, intent on his goal.
Scorpius shrieked but took up the proffered gauntlet. Whipping around, he sped away, shouting curses at Albus all the while. Laughing merrily at the chase, Albus pursued him—albeit, not with as much speed as he was capable of.
The chill he had felt earlier disappeared as his heart rate accelerated dramatically and his blood started pumping vigorously. He felt enlivened, and dimly thought that this was far better than sitting in the Three Broomsticks—if only for the once-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing Scorpius Malfoy run like hell was on his heels.
And run he did. Albus was actually surprised at his pace, as he nimbly weaved through the main street of Hogsmeade, his lean body propelling him forward. He quickly reached the end of the road, but Scorpius continued on in the direction of the Shrieking Shack, still shrieking at the prospect of being caught by Albus.
Adrenaline and excitement coursed through Albus as he increased his pace by a fraction to catch up to his fleeing friend, determined to finally catch him. Scorpius must have noticed, and he followed suit, pushing himself to go faster. Still, he was no match for Albus, who, within seconds, was an arm's stretch away.
"NO!" Scorpius panted, his voice half-laughter, half-shriek, as he felt himself firmly ensconced within the circle of Albus arms once more. "Not ... fair ..." he struggled out between heavy breaths that caused his chest to inflate and deflate visibly against Albus. "You play ... you play Quidditch."
"Quidditch is on brooms; we don't run," Albus thought it was necessary to mention. He didn't however, point out the slight ego boost he was experiencing at the fact that he was breathing normally; he doubted Scorpius would appreciate it.
Scorpius glared at him with a look that said, I'm not that ignorant about the sport! but didn't say it out loud. Instead, he gushed out, "Please ... please don't tickle me ... I can't breathe!"
Albus chuckled. "You are so scared me right now," he noted with a self-satisfied smile.
Angry, Scorpius cried, "Albus!"
"Okay, okay, I promise not to tickle you," he said. And he couldn't help but adding, "Though the idea is extremely tempting," at the risk of receiving yet another death glare from his captive. Albus thought amusedly that if looks could kill, he would be dead a hundred times over in the short amount of time they had spent since arriving in Hogsmeade.
"What do we have here?" someone drawled from behind.
Albus and Scorpius spun around to see they had an audience—a most unwelcome one.
"Matt," Albus said. All traces of joking had fled his tone and his face dropped the smile he had, as he stared at the Keeper. He inadvertently stepped forward in front of Scorpius, whose entire body had stilled in fear.
"How's the nose, Potter?" Matt sneered.
Albus struggled not to wince at the painful memory of the Bludger that smashed his face inward. "Fine," he replied in a tone carefully chosen to not give anything away.
"On a date?" Matt asked, glowering at the pair. Over Albus' shoulder, he stared Scorpius down, his lip curling in aversion.
Scorpius' breath hitched before Albus replied angrily, "What the hell are you doing here, Matt?"
Matt tsked condescendingly as he cocked his head to the side. "No need to get upset. This is free territory, Albus; I can be here if I want to be."
Albus felt his blood churning with anger. "Yeah, well, you shouldn't be anyway. You're just here to get on our nerves, but I don't particularly feel like ruining this day, so I think you should just leave."
"You're right," Matt said after a while, still staring at them with derision and mockery. "I should leave; give you some more alone time with your new girlfriend. Say, does Mel know about this? Because I bet that if I told her that I saw you two together, she won't be too happy about it all."
"Mel knows I'm here with Scorp, and she doesn't mind." Albus knew this wasn't entirely true; Mel was currently very angry with Albus for organising to spend time with Scorpius on the day of their anniversary. Still, Matt wasn't to know.
"Does she indeed..." Matt's voice trailed off in ponderous thought, as if he was turning ideas around in his mind. Albus could almost imagine him stroking his chin.
"Just leave us alone," Scorpius' voice piped up from behind him. Albus closed his eyes and wished he hadn't spoken.
"Why?" Matt spat, his face contorted with disgust, as if the very notion of Scorpius talking to him was dirty. "So desperate for a shag, are you? I bet when I leave, you're just going to spread your legs and beg him—"
"Shut up!" Albus shouted loudly. A pair of birds in the tree above them flew away, startled by the sudden cry.
Matt laughed darkly. "Little whore."
Albus gritted his teeth and took a step forward. "Don't call him that."
"Why not? Can't you see he's desperate for it?"
Albus breathed out heavily, trying to calm himself down. The urge to physically hurt Matt was overwhelming, and he could feel his blood pumping in his ears steadily. He was ready for it. But then, a hand gently gripped his arm from behind.
Scorpius leaned into his ear and quietly said, "Calm down, Al. It's okay. Let him think what he wants; let's just go."
Albus closed his eyes, blocking his ears to the fresh taunts spewing like filth from Matt's mouth at Scorpius' simple touch. He sighed. Scorp knew exactly what to say.
Slowly, he nodded. "Let's go," Albus repeated. Together, they turned their backs on Matt to walk away, but not before Matt had the final say.
Albus barely heard him, but he was ready for it.
"Confringo!" Matt hissed, flicking his wand towards them.
Albus whirled and faster than a blink of an eye, he had own wand up and ready. "Protego!"
His Shield Charm immediately withheld the spell in the last possible second, before the light of Matt's hex could reach them. Both Matt and Scorpius stared at Albus with stunned faces—Matt in anger, Scorpius in awe.
In the silence that followed, Albus lowered his wand. "See you around," he said, using all his self-control to contain the intense desire to send a hex of his own. He held onto Scorpius' arm and walked away from Matt, keeping his hand gripped on his wand in case Matt decided to try again. Thankfully, he didn't.