Chapter Text
ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER:
Albus stood in line, justifiably annoyed at the two students standing between himself and his best friend, Scorpius. The student at the front of the line was also taking an unnecessarily long time to sign in. Who even was it? Albus peaked over to see it was a girl from Gryffindor he vaguely recognised. She was in his Herbology class, and that was about it. Unless she was also taking Care of Magical Creatures, he doubted she should be taking forever to sign in.
Finally the line started to move forward, things went much faster. When the line eventually got to Albus, McGonagall smiled at him briefly.
"Mr. Potter," she crossed off his name. "Alright, you're in the Primrose cabin with Professor's Longbottom and Hagrid as your caretakers, dorm seven. Which classes?"
"Herbology and Astronomy," he answered.
"Group two for Herbology and group one for Astronomy," McGonagall wrote something else down. "Did you bring your own equipment or will you be borrowing?"
"Brought my own."
"Good," she continued to scribble. "Here's your pin for in case you get lost, and off you pop."
Albus nodded and hurried over to Scorpius, who stood distanced from the rest of the babbling crowd, trying to stick his pin into his shirt.
"Here," Albus held his hand out, "let me."
Albus fastened the circular pin, with the Hogwarts emblem, onto Scorpius' shirt. Scorpius offered to do the same for Albus.
"Primrose seven?" Scorpius asked.
"I'm in that dorm," Albus smiled. "Looks like we're sharing."
"I mean we did get to pick," Scorpius turned and waved over someone else. "I think Vincent might be rooming with us too."
Albus figured that made sense. They weren't exactly close with Vincent Goyle, although Scorpius had a much more friendly relationship with the Slytherin Chaser. None of the other Slytherin boys were taking any of the classes required for the excursion, and all of Goyle's other friends were girls, so he wasn't going to be allowed to dorm with them. Albus wouldn't have been surprised if Goyle said he'd like to share a room with them, Albus and Scorpius had both put him down as a second preference because they trusted him much more than any of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws. Well, Roper (Ezra not Elijah) and Hopkins were alright. But that didn't mean Albus had to like putting those two down as a third and fourth preference.
Albus was a little surprised by what Goyle was wearing. He supposed it wasn't that different to the way Scorpius dressed, but Scorpius had blood-traitor parents and Albus had brought him into muggle London a couple times, so Scorpius wearing a shirt and jeans wasn't nearly as jarring as Goyle wearing the same thing. The Goyle's were somewhat important in the pureblood community weren't they? Or at least, the workplace rivalry his Aunt Hermione and Gregory Goyle had made it seem that way. And Albus knew Vincent Goyle didn't agree with supremacy, he wasn't super public about that and Albus always assumed he couldn't be. He didn't know what he expected, probably a whole three piece suit, but definitely not muggle casualwear.
"What room are you?" Scorpius asked, bouncing on his heels.
"Uh ... seven," Goyle shrugged. "Primrose cabin."
"Sick," Albus nodded. "You're dorming with us."
"Oh, what a change of pace," Goyle grinned. "We've never had to do that before."
"I should only hope you don't snore like this one," Scorpius quipped.
"Hey!" Albus elbowed the blonde in his arm. "I do not snore."
"No, snoring would require actually going to sleep," Goyle egged him on. "You just stay up all night talking, interrupting my precious beauty sleep."
"Sure you aren't in need of a beauty coma?" Albus snarked, suddenly realising that maybe they weren't close enough for Albus to make that kind of joke yet.
"I will have you know that I am very beautiful."
"He's too busy drooling over goth girls to notice," Scorpius snorted.
"I'm sorry, that was one time," Albus glared at his friend. "One time! Try to ask out one girl and suddenly your obsessed."
"Okay, I need the context for this."
"No, you do not."
"I think he does," Scorpius could be a real menace when he wanted to be. "There's a girl that works in Flourish and Blott's, goth, and Albus after two years of crushing on her, finally decided to ask her out. It went about as well as his potions do."
"Hey! I'm getting better at Potions!"
"Not any better at asking out girls," Scorpius shook his head.
"Girls, yes, something we know a lot about," Goyle nodded his head.
Albus crossed his arms. Sometimes it was very apparent that he hadn't ... well he hadn't really told anyone a certain thing about him. There were people that assumed it to be the case, but Albus had never actually said anything to confirm or deny. Well, unless you count expressing attraction to girls as denying the more ... inaccurate guesses. He wasn't really sure if he was allowed to say it. It wasn't like he had a specific crush to display as proof. Or at least, not one he was willing to say out loud. Or even to himself really. A rather inconvenient crush. But he just wasn't sure how to bring it up, wasn't sure what he'd even say. He was sure Scorpius was somewhat suspicious, but he'd only ever brought up girls when talking about who Albus might date. Which was fair enough he supposed.
"Wait a minute."
"Did you only just clock that?" Scorpius looked at Albus with genuine surprise.
"You're gay?" Albus hadn't realised that about Goyle.
"I mean I use the term vincian because I think it's funny," Goyle shrugged. "But yeah, I'm gay."
"Did you not know that?" Scorpius asked.
"No, I think it has been well-established throughout the years that I do in fact live under a rock," Albus snarked. "I tend to hear about anything about half a year late."
"Two years late, buddy," Goyle corrected. "I came out two years ago."
"So, I'm really late to this party."
"You're late to every party, Albus, it's fine," Scorpius waved him off.
"Alright everybody!" Headmistress McGonagall called out, using her wand to amplify her voice over the crowd. "It's time for all of you to get onto the bus. It'll be taking you to Camp Amicitia. Everyone, in two straight lines."
"My weakness," Scorpius feigned a sigh. "Having to fake straight."
"You convinced no one with that whole 'I have a crush on Granger-Weasley guys, I'm not gay' shtick," Albus teased.
"I mean I convinced Granger-Weasley."
"Yeah, and no one else," Goyle shook his head. "You know even the pureblood circles were like 'that ones limp-wristed, correct?'" Goyle imitated a posh English accent.
"Sounds about right," Albus stepped onto the bus as Professor Vector counted his head (he still had no idea why the Arithmancy Professor was coming with them).
He and Scorpius were able to sit relatively close to the front and away from all of the shouting students. Scorpius rifled through his satchel to find what Albus had to assume was a book. Albus could think of a few subjects Scorpius might pick. A book on the history of the Amicitia Forest, a book from the Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures curriculum, a book on ancient civilisations, or a book on historical seamstry. Scorpius pulled out a book on historical shirt patterns, and adjusted his glasses to read.
Goyle sat down in front of them and turned with a raised eyebrow. "He does this everywhere doesn't he?"
"Why?"
"I thought the whole bringing books to social gatherings was specifically for like, pureblood galas or soirees or whatever," Goyle elaborated. "Caused a bit of a scandal when he was caught reading a book on corsetry."
"I stand by that book choice," Scorpius lifted his hand to point at Goyle without looking up. "It was actually a very interesting read. I'm sure they were more mad I was reading a book called Corsetry and the Vilification of Historical Women."
"Oh that sounds like the perfect book to read at a pureblood party," Albus snickered.
Scorpius hummed, scrunching his face at how loud the bus was getting now that more students had piled in.
"Do you want to borrow my headphones?" Albus offered.
"Yes please," Scorpius nodded.
Albus really ought to get Scorpius his own pair, but he was perfectly happy to let Scorpius borrow these ones for now. He pulled out the muggle device and helped adjust them to Scorpius' head, brushing the criminally soft blonde hair out of the way. Albus pulled his hands away, and couldn't suppress the fond smile as Scorpius curled up like a bat (much cuter than a cat in Albus' own opinion) to read his book in peace.
"Wow, that was very heterosexual," Goyle remarked, earning a middle finger from Albus.
Scorpius started to lean away, tucking himself even tighter. Albus decided to move next to Goyle. He'd only ever seen Scorpius try to shrink to the size of an actual bat whenever he was too overwhelmed from all the people around and feeling crowded. Being stuck between Albus and the window was not going to make him feel any better.
"So, you're not straight are you?" Goyle smirked at him.
Albus felt his face heat up. "Um ... well I... I haven't got um - a word for it, or anything. I just, I like girls, and sometimes I like boys. I think. I haven't ever actually had a crush on one-"
"It's fine Albus," Goyle waved to silence him. "I can, call you Albus, can't I?"
Albus nodded. "Only if I can call you Vincent."
"Fair enough."
SOPHIA AMELIE BARCLAY:
Sophia ended up close to the back of the bus, and whoever was sitting all the way back was blasting their music on a speaker. Sophia ignored it mostly, unless they ended up playing a song she particularly liked. In that case she might join in on screeching the lyrics. She vaguely registered her girlfriend moving her head, resulting in some of her black hair tickling Sophia's neck. Sophia brushed the hair away and tried not to bother Alice as the girl napped. She'd had to get up at some ungodly hour to assist in preparations. Damn prefect responsibilities.
Something small hit Sophia on the forehead and she jumped in surprise, resulting in Alice falling into her lap. Yeah, that girl was fully conked out.
"Sorry!" Sophia looked up to see Polly Chapman leaning over the back of her seat. "Didn't mean to hit you."
"It's fine," Sophia picked up what turned out to be a lip gloss and gave it back.
"Aw!" Chapman smiled as she accepted the lip gloss. "Is Longbottom asleep?"
Soon enough Rose Granger-Weasley popped up to look over. "Hi, sorry about Polly, she's nosy."
"But look at how cute they're being!"
"And a helpless romantic."
"You say that like I haven't caught you stealing my books!" Chapman flicked Granger-Weasley on the forehead. "You enjoy cute romance just as much as I do!"
Sophia smiled at the two. "I haven't read much romance, do you have any suggestions?"
Chapman's eyes lit up. "Finally! Rose is in her not-like-other-girls phase-"
"I am not!"
"-and the boys hate talking about this stuff. Have you heard of Diamond Thrones? It's a really good trilogy."
Sophia had heard a few things about that trilogy. Mostly bad, if she was being completely honest. From what she'd heard it relied more on fate and soulmates to build a romance rather than character interactions. Although those claims could have been misrepresentations. Chapman seemed to really enjoy the books, so it couldn't possibly be that bad.
"Vaguely," Sophia opted not to mention the scathing reviews she'd seen.
"Oh it's awesome!"
"It's stupid," Granger-Weasley wrinkled her nose.
"How can you say that?" Chapman looked affronted. "The two love interests literally meet each other in every life!"
"Exactly, stupid."
"What? You mean you wouldn't like the idea of your soul being magically bound to the perfect person? Sounds like it would take the hassle out of dating."
"No, I would not like that idea," Granger-Weasley seemed appalled. "I don't want destiny to give me a boyfriend."
"I hear that," Sophia chimed in. "I quite like the girlfriend I've currently got."
Chapman made a face of awe and jealousy. "You guys are so sweet. And nice. How come we've never talked before?"
"Well, you're always hanging out with your friends," Sophia shrugged. "Fredericks and Jenkins aren't the worst. But you know, you have other friends that are a bit mean."
"Finnegan and Wenlock right?" Granger-Weasley asked. "Yeah, they suck. We only really hang out with them because Karl is close with them."
Sophia hummed, playing with Alice's hair. Finnegan and Wenlock had a weird tendency to say some really weird things to ... well everyone. If you weren't friends with them, they'd be mean to you. Although, she wouldn't put it past them to say something rude to Chapman and Granger-Weasley. They'd said some unsavoury things in regard to Sophia's hair and made some crude joke to Alice about bisexuals and threesomes. It was safe to say, the couple weren't particularly fond of the boys.
"So, what room are you guys staying in?" Granger-Weasley asked.
"Uh, we're both in the Thistle cabin, dorm two," Sophia supplied.
"We're in that room!" Chapman bounced excitedly. "Oh, we're going to be friends. I can tell already."
Sophia would like that. Chapman and Granger-Weasley didn't seem to be nearly as bad when they weren't hanging out with the boys. They were actually quite nice when they were by themselves. Sophia wasn't sure how far that niceness would extend, she was aware there were many other students that group treated much worse than her and Alice, but they did seem like genuinely nice people. At least, she hoped they were genuinely nice people.
"I already called top bunk," Granger-Weasley quickly blurted out.
"Fairs fair," Sophia shrugged. "You can have the top bunk."
Granger-Weasley smiled at that. Yeah, these two seemed nice enough. Sophia imagined they'd have a great time sharing a dorm, and she knew Alice was at least a little friendly with Granger-Weasley.
SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY:
Scorpius put his book back into his bag and pulled the headphones off when he noticed the bus had stopped. Scorpius ended up separated from Albus and Vincent for a short period of time while leaving the bus before he was able to reunite with them and return Albus' headphones.
"Alright everyone!" Professor Longbottom called out. "Bluebell cabin will follow Professor Bones, Thistle cabin will follow Professor Sinistra, Cowslip cabin will follow Professor Sekha, and Primrose cabin, you're with me!"
Scorpius, Albus and Vincent weaved their way through the crowd and followed Professor Longbottom. The Primrose cabin was the furthest one, tucked all the way behind a few tall trees. It was also smaller than a lot of the other cabins, as though it had been built as a bit of an afterthought.
Once they stepped through the front door, they found themselves in a common space, with slightly worn but still very soft couch’s lining the right wall and some of the raised floor of the rest of the cabin. Beyond that there was a kitchenette, with all of the basic essentials, but nothing much beyond that. The cabin split into two corridors either side the kitchenette that Scorpius couldn’t get a good look at. Overall it was very basic and bright with the white walls.
”Okay, dorms one through four are on the right,” Professor Longbottom motioned as such, “and five through seven are to your left. Each half has their own functioning bathroom, although I have been warned that one of the showers to the left side has shocked some people, and there is a sign on that stall. Professor Hagrid and I will be staying just through that door,” Professor Longbottom pointed to a door Scorpius hadn’t noticed. “So if you need us and can’t find us for whatever reason, we’ll probably be in there.”
”Now off to yer rooms,” Professor Hagrid smiled.
The students began hurrying off to their rooms excitedly and Scorpius, Albus and Vincent were about to do the same when Professor Hagrid stopped them.
”Hold on yeh three,” Professor Hagrid held his arm out and Professor Longbottom had similarly stopped Jenkins and Fredericks. Oh no.
”So uh,” Professor Longbottom cleared his throat. “Jenkins and Fredericks were supposed to be staying in the Cowslip cabin, with Wenlock and Roper, but Wenlock and Roper both ended up sick, so we needed to find a place to put them. You three were originally going to be put in a smaller dorm, but with needing to find space for Fredericks and Jenkins some rooms had to be shuffled around. So uh, you five, are getting room seven, the only six bed dorm in the camp.”
Scorpius felt his eyes go wide with momentary panic and glanced to Jenkins and Fredericks. Two very mean students that very much did not like Scorpius or any other Slytherins for that matter. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with them being outnumbered?
”I’m sure this’ll be lovely for all of yeh,” Professor Hagrid gave a massive smile. “Yer all friends anyway, aren’t yeh.”
Professor Longbottom seemed to hold in a sigh and lightly shook his head. He didn’t seem to be nearly as optimistic about this as Professor Hagrid.
”Yeah, really good friends,” Vincent quipped.
Scorpius chanced a peak at the two other boys and saw them scowling but not saying anything.
“I call top bunk!” Albus dashed down the hall and left the other four stunned for a few seconds.
”Yeah, I’m going to claim top bunk too,” Vincent hurried to follow Albus.
”Um,” Scorpius glanced at Fredericks and Jenkins and decided he ought to follow his friends. Lest these jerks pummel him within a second of arriving.
Scorpius found their dorm quickly and saw that indeed, it had six beds. More than they’d need but that was fine. Albus had claimed the top bunk of the bunk beds shoved in the corner, Vincent claiming the one against the wall, leaving the bunk that jutted out into the middle of the room randomly completely unoccupied.
”You should claim the last top bunk, poss them off,” Vincent crossed.
”I’m sorry Vincent, do you want a mister under your bed?” Albus remarked.
Scorpius slipped between the beds and claimed the one below Albus.
”Good point,” Vincent nodded.
”Well maybe I can be the monster under your bed Albus,” Scorpius set his things up.
”Uh, Scorp, honey, sweetie, love of my life, fire of loins, muse of my dreams, you are the opposite of a monster,” Albus responded.
Scorpius really ought to be used to Albus saying things like that, but it was a relatively recent development and it still caught him off guard sometimes.
”Oh f*ck, just don’t do any weird gay sh*t,” Jenkins groaned as he claimed his bad, the bottom bunk of the jutting out bunk.
”Only in your wet dreams,” Vincent sneered.
“You mean your wet dreams,” Jenkins grumbled.
”Yes Jenkins,” Vincent dropped down from his bed and crossed his arms. “I have had countless wet dreams about you getting smacked in the face with a bludger.”
”Your face could use a bludger. Might even be able to attract some roadkill.”
”Alright, we get it, you two want to aim your balls at each other,” Fredericks entered the room then.
Scorpius almost snorted at that comment. Did Fredericks know what it sounded like? Vincent and Jenkins certainly did.
”Yann!” Jenkins complained, face going red.
”I’m a Chaser, he’s aiming his balls at me,” Vincent turned back to Jenkins. “And failing miserably.”
”Goyle!”
”And you were worried about us doing gay sh*t,” Albus mumbled.
Jenkins glared at Albus before practically storming out of the room.
”Maybe we should try to be nicer to each other?” Scorpius thought aloud.
”But he’s so fun to provoke,” Vincent shook his head with a grin. “I’m going to shower before dinner. Bye!”
Vincent gathered his toiletries and left for the bathroom. Hopefully the showers wouldn’t shock him.
”So they were flirting right?” Fredericks asked.
”Definitely,” Albus nodded.
“Yeah, Karl is, you know, very obviously repressed.”
”No sh*t,” Albus answered.
”I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” Fredericks walked over, either to pull some weird prank or to actually extend an olive branch. Scorpius expected the former but hoped for the latter. “I’ve tried to get my friends to leave you alone but uh … they don’t seem to like you very much.”
”Really?” Albus was hanging his head off of his bed. “I hadn’t noticed.”
”Right, well, I can’t promise Karl will be friendly,” Fredericks scratched the back of his neck, “but I mean, maybe I can be friendly. And I might be able to get him to be less aggressive.”
”Wow, real paragon of betterment and redemption over here, I’m so moved.”
Scorpius elbowed Albus in the chin.
”Ow!”
”I think that’s better than being needlessly mean to each other,” Scorpius smiled and extended his hand. Hand shakes made these kinds of deals official.
Fredericks looked at his hand for a very brief moment before deciding to take it, and offered a smile back.
Maybe this whole forming situation wouldn’t be that bad? One could certainly hope for civility.
