The weekend came and I was meeting up with Cath for our date. I was nervous about it and it didn't help that Albus was watching me get ready.
"Is this really necessary?" He asked again.
I sighed. "We've gone over this multiple times. I've got to make it convincing which means I've got to go out with someone else."
"Shouldn't we tell her, though? So, you can play the part as a couple more convincing and she won't make a move on you?"
I shook my head. "No. The fewer people that know the better. We can't even tell Anna and Rose."
"This sucks," he grumbled.
I smiled and gave him a quick kiss. "It's going to be fine. We'll figure out who is doing this and we'll stop them. We're the dynamic duo, remember?"
That made him smile. "Causing trouble since 2006."
"Some longer than others," I grinned.
"Definitely." He said and straightened my tie. "I love you."
"I love you too."
****
I took Cath out to get Butterbeer. She was dressed in a beautiful green dress and her hair was curled. We'd been friends for a while now, but sitting down with her one-on-one with the looming expectations of a date over us, I found conversation difficult. I kept raking my brain about things to say but the conversation wasn't coming organically and I was running out of things to ask.
"Is that Albus sitting over there?" She asked, gesturing off to the right with her head.
I turned and sure enough, Albus was sitting at a table by himself trying to hide behind a copy of the Daily Prophet. He was obviously spying on us and it wasn't going to look good to those threatening us if Al was caught.
"Yeah, guess it is." I stood up. "Give me a second and I'll get rid of him."
I walked over to him but he still pretended that he was reading the paper.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" I hissed.
Al peeked out from behind the paper. "Reading. What does it look like?"
I rolled my eyes. "It looks like your spying. I told you if anyone finds out that we're done for. You look like a jealous boyfriend so please leave."
Albus sighed. "Fine. Meet up later?"
I nodded before he stood up and left. I walked back over to Cath.
"Sorry about that," I said as I sat down.
"It's okay but if you don't mind me asking, why did you break up with him? I've heard rumors but I'm not sure what to believe."
"I realized that we were better as friends than boyfriends. Al disagreed and is still hung up on the matter." I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "It was a mistake when we started dating. It ruined our friendship."
She didn't look convinced. "It's hard to see that since you two were such a great couple."
"It took a while but I started to realize that I cared about him as a friend more than a boyfriend. I think I was just confused." I flinched internally at the words. Confused. What a load of bullshit.
She just nodded like she understood.
"It'll pass and we'll be back to being mates. But let's not talk about him. Tell me more about you. What's your family like?" I changed the subject.
She told me about her mom who raised her and her father that abandoned her when she was young and how she was an only child. I talked about my family too and we started getting into a rhythm and I forgot that we were on a date. After a few hours, we started walking back to Hogwarts to get dinner.
"I had fun today." She said, walking through the door that I was holding open for her.
"Me too," I smiled as I followed her into the Great Hall. "We should do it again sometime."
She smiled, "I'd like that."
****
The next few weeks I felt like I did at the beginning of the year. Al and I were sneaking around but the only thing that differed was I was still seeing Cath. It provided the perfect cover because I haven't received any threatening letters. It was getting to the point that I was starting to feel almost safe.
"You know," I said between kisses, "we should really find a better place to do this."
Albus chuckled. "What? You don't like brooms jamming in your back?"
"Not particularly." I grinned. "Though, I like doing this a lot."
"Me too," he kissed me long and good. "But I say we wander the seventh floor and see if the Room of Requirement pops up again."
So, we did. The seventh floor was practically empty but we kept our distance, the 'friend distance.' We searched for about an hour and I was about to give up when a pair of double doors appeared in front of us. Al and I exchanged grins before bolting toward the doors. We slipped inside to reveal a room with a long couch positioned in front of a fireplace and an ottoman in between them. The entire room was decorated with Slytherin colors and on the back of the couch, two S's were embordered on it. On the ottoman was a photo of a couple walking in together with smiles on their faces. In the photo, the room was catered to Ravenclaw and Slytherin colors and upon further inspection, I realized it was my parents.
"This room showed itself to my parents," I breathed, watching the young couple walk into the room and embrace.
Albus looked over my shoulder. "That's wild. Why do you think they had to hide their relationship? Have they ever talked about their school days?"
"A little but I didn't know they had to hide their relationship. I just knew it was hard for them to be together because of the task Voldemort gave my dad."
"Looks like this room has been improving your family's love life for generations." He said, making me laugh.
I set the photo down and pulled Al onto the couch. I pulled him into my arms and buried my face in his hair. Al wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my chest.
"Do you think when summer comes around, we can go back to being this? I don't know how much longer I can pretend that I'm not in love with you." Al said.
"I don't know. I hope so."