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Into the Lion`s Den	By : Koira Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Albus Severus/Scorpius Views: 3017 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The HP universe including characters, concepts, and events is the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling. Occasionally mentioned muggle brands don't belong to me, either. I don't make any profit from writing this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter One

The moon was bright that night, illuminating the room sharply even through closed curtains. James' little brother yawned so loudly that James almost followed his example.

Why was the brat even home? James asked himself. Brat only in the most affectionate of ways, of course.

It was a bit strange, he decided, hands linked behind his head. He could count the times Albus had used the privileges that came with their name on his owl's talons. Oh, Lily used them. Indirectly, mostly, usually to get the boys' attention. Their little sister was sneaky that way. And James himself had dropped his father's name on several occassions to get out of trouble when nothing else had worked.

But Albus?

The older he got, the less he seemed to want anything to do with wars, ex-headmasters or his father's history. Not that their father himself was any problem. They had always gotten along quite well.

But where James had been, and still was, fascinated by all the things Harry had accomplished before he was even eighteen, Albus had become more and more reluctant to talk about them. He had even left the dinner table one time the previous summer when their dad and Uncle Ron were in the middle of a story about Harry's first time on a broomstick. Had left, without a word.

James could understand that to some extent. Even though their dad was modesty personified and more often than not even downplayed the role he had played - you didn't always want your father to be a hero. The older teachers always compared you to him, and the Klitterer published a biography of each new girlfriend you had.

Yes, it got old sometimes.

Which, and now James returned to his original line of thinking, made it even stranger that Albus had suddenly announced a few days ago that he would go home for Halloween. Halloween! No one went home for Halloween, the students were not even allowed to go home for Halloween.

Of course, it was somewhat unusual for a grown man who had his own London flat to go to his parents' house for Halloween, too, but in James' case, which was an accidentally-having-turned-your-landlord's-owl-into-a-pug sort of case, a weekend at home was entirely legitimate. Until the coast was clear, at least. His mother had been delighted to see him, and his father had eyed him in amusement but hadn't asked any questions.

But his little brother?

When the strict Professor Bottlebreaker, head of Gryffindor house, had pointed out that students were not allowed to go home for Halloween, Albus had apparently replied that he would get in touch with his father – and had a metaphorical Hogwarts Express ticket home in his metaphorical hand five minutes later.

And now, five days later, he was tossing and turning so much on the matress on the floor of their room that James couldn't sleep.

It wasn't their room exactly, they'd had two different rooms growing up, but when James had moved out, Albus had moved into his room because it was bigger. Albus' old room had then been turned into a storage room, and so, now that both brothers were visiting, they had to share. Which James really didn't mind, except –

„Will you cut it out?“ he groaned exasperatedly. „I want to sleep!“

„You always want to sleep,“ Albus countered, but he stilled immediately.

James waited for a whole three seconds for another comment. He could already hear it in his mind („That's the only thing you can do right!“) and he was very, very surprised it didn't come.

Albus wasn't his usual self.

James smirked in the dark. There was something wrong, Albus was in trouble, he knew it. He knew it.

The fact shouldn't have pleased him as much as it did. It was about time, James thought. Little Ally had always been much too good. His OWL's had been good, he was good at Quidditch, he had good friends. James' OWL's on the other hand had been decent, his Quidditch skills extraordinary, and his friends acceptable. So all in all, it came out the same, no? Quidditch skills could compensate for every fault in James' eyes.

Argh. Focus, James. Focus.

Yes, it would do little Ally some good to be in trouble for once. What could it be...

It had to be bad if the boy fled home and was unable to sleep at night. Then again, Albus was probably unable to sleep when he had been late to class once. The boy was much too good.

James would, for instance, bet his broomstick that Albus had never once used the old invisibility cloak to walk around Hogwarts at night. Hm. Alright, he would only bet one of his old Nimbusses. There was no point in risking losing his more precious ones, as small as the risk was. He had really only given the cloak to Ally because he didn't want Lily to have it. But maybe deep inside he had also hoped that his little brother would start a new career as a marauder when his role model of a brother had left school.

Well, now he was in trouble. That was a good start.

James wanted to find out badly what it was about, but he had to be subtle about it. Oh boy, he was excited! His little Ally, a troublemaker!

„What have you done?“ James blurted out, unable to contain himself.

Albus jumped, but it was more the shock of the suddenly broken silence than the actual question. „Uh, what?“

„You're in trouble, aren't you?“ If James had had any less dignity, he would have bounced up and down with excitement. But he didn't, and congratulated himself on his maturity. Still, he couldn't help grinning like a maniac.

Albus groaned. „No. Let me sleep.“

James' grin widened. „Oh yes, you are. I can tell. You are in trouble.“

„I'm not,“ Albus replied. He paused before adding in a softer voice: „I'm going to be.“

Oooh. So Ally had something to confess. Uh-huh...

„Is that why you came home?“

Another short pause, then a „...yeah.“

James gasped theatrically. „You're gay! You've robbed Gringotts! You've gotten a girl pregnant!“

Albus gave a humourless snort. „That's so typical. Guessing blindly and still right on first try.“

James needed a while. A long while. The first conclusion he reached was nonsense, so he backtracked his line of thought, took a different route and reached another, much more plausible conclusion: Albus was joking.

James laughed.

„What's so funny about it?“ Ally sounded amused. „It's not as though I was joking.“

„What?“

Now, Albus was the one laughing and James the one struggling for words.

„What?“

„What what?“ Albus said, grinning.

„You're gay? Really?“

Albus sighed softly and his grin dimmed to a smile. „Yes. Really.“

„Whoa. I. That. Merlin. You... whoa.“

„Thanks for your support,“ Albus said ironically. How could he be so calm about this? He was gay. His little brother, little Ally, gay.

Gay.

„Whoa“ was a damn adequate reaction in James' eyes.

He propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at his brother. „Once again,“ he said. „You are gay?“

„Is that so hard to believe?“

No, actually it was not. Albus had never had a girlfriend, never even had a crush on anyone that James knew of. And he had always been the gentle one, the sensitive one. Now, James told himself sternly, don't get lost in stereotypes. But yes, it made sense. Somehow.

„Wow,“ he said. He still couldn't think of anything better.

„I'm sorry,“ Albus said seriously, „I shouldn't have shocked you like that. I'll try to be a bit more careful next time.“

James laughed sharply. „Next time. Right. You have already told me once, you can't tell me again next time.“

„Not you, no,“ Albus replied simply. „But our parents tomorrow.“

Oh. Damn. Yes. Albus had something to confess, right.

„You're going to tell them tomorrow? Is that why you came home for Halloween?“

„Yes.“

„But why? Why now?“

„We... it can't wait anymore.“

„Hm.“ James laid back down and stared at the ceiling. Coming home to tell your family that you were gay. That had to be... scary. He propped himself back up.

„Hey, Ally?“

„Hm?“

„You know I'm on your side, yeah? I mean... it's a surprise, but... I'll always support you. I'm your brother. Okay?“

Albus smiled at him. „Thanks. I can use that.“

Following a sudden urge, James climbed out of the bed and hugged his brother tightly. Now who's the gay one, he thought as he held Albus' head against his shoulder. It felt nice, though.

„But, really,“ he said. „Don't worry. Our parents are... You know how they are. They won't mind.“

„I know.“

„And I'll be right behind you. Don't be scared.“

„I'm not.“

If I had to go through that, James thought, I would be scared out of my mind. „They are always so accepting,“ he went on. „You know how close they are to Uncle Bill, even though he's half a werewolf, and to Longbottom's child, the squib. They won't mind that you're gay. Dad loves it when people are different.“

Albus sighed against his brother. „I know that. That's not... that's not what I'm scared about.“

James pulled back. „What do you mean, that's not what you are scared about?“

„I didn't only come here to tell you that,“ Albus said miserably. „There's something else.“

„What?“ James nearly yelped. „Blimey,“ he whispered then, remembering to be quiet. „Something else? Being gay isn't enough of a confession?“ There he had thought that Albus was the perfect son, and now he was probably gay and had robbed Gringotts.

Albus snorted. „Merlin knows it would be. Seriously.“

James had let go of him and they were now sitting cross-legged facing each other. Despite all their differences in character, they looked quite similiar. Only Lily had inherited the Weasley hair and freckles, the boys both had dark eyes and hair. The biggest difference was that, in an ironic way, James' hair was smooth while Albus' was as untamed as their father's. They looked like brothers and they had always been brothers. They felt like brothers. All their life, it had been natural for them to stand up for each other and be there for each other.

They had always been so close. And now James had to wonder how much he really knew about this boy. Why had Ally never told him? Didn't he trust him?

Okay, James had to admit to himself, he might not be the best person to tell a secret to. Not if you wanted it to stay a secret, that is. But still, Ally had to know that James would never spill something as important as this, didn't he?

„Alright,“ Albus said, „it's probably better if you know this part, too, if you want to support me tomorrow.“

„Yes,“ James said quickly, overtaken by curiosity. „Tell me everything.“

Albus grinned. „I'm sure you don't want to know everything, but this is what I will have to say tomorrow.“

„Okay,“ James said, leaning in because he felt like a conspirator, „I'm listening.“

Albus licked his lips and blushed slightly. „I have a boyfriend.“

„Really?“

„Yeah. And I want him to come over for Christmas. To... y'know. Introduce him to the family.“

„Cool!“

„Yes,“ Albus said softly. „It is.“

„So,“ James said lightly. „What are you worried about? That's a small thing, isn't it? When our parents already know that you're gay, it won't be such a surprise that you have a boyfriend. And you know what mum always says, everyone is always welcome in our house and things like that. Don't worry, Ally, I really don't see why...-“

„His name is Scorpius Malfoy.“

James stopped talking and stared with his mouth hanging open. He closed it and swallowed, but it fell open again right away. Oh well, it could just as well stay like that.

„Okay,“ he said, pointing an accusing finger at his brother, „Okay. Now you are joking, aren't you?“ He felt like adding 'please'.

Albus shook his head, looking very serious.

„Malfoy. As in Malfoy Malfoy? Draco Malfoy's son Malfoy?“

„I like the name, don't wear it out,“ Ally attempted to joke but only managed a faint smile.

„You are gay and Scorpius Malfoy is your boyfriend?“

„Yes.“

„No.“

„Yes.“

„And you want him to come to our house for Christmas?“

„Yeah.“

There was silence.

„Ally,“ James said as gently as he could. „I'm sorry, but I think you should put that idea out of your mind. There is just no way our parents are going to accept that.“

„I know that,“ Albus said miserably, fumbling with the hem of his pyjama top. „But... we don't know what else to do.“

„We? You and... and him?“

„Me and Scorpius, yes.“

„So... you talk? With each other?“

„Of course we do,“ Albus said incredulously. „We're boyfriends!“

„But he's a Malfoy!“ James said helplessly, trying to make Ally see the gravity of the situation. „He's... he's a Slytherin!“

Albus snorted bitterly. „You're such a tolerant person, aren't you? You know what, don't bother. If you don't understand, then they won't understand at all and they will kill me tomorrow. But at least I've tried.“ He tried to lie down and pull the blanket over himself, but he couldn't as long as James was still sitting on the same mattress and refused to move.

James felt guilty. He hadn't wanted to make Ally sad. But what was the boy thinking, dating a Slytherin? And the most slytherinish Slytherin of all, at that! Not that James really knew Draco Malfoy's son, mind. He had seen him in Hogwarts, but he had been three years under him. All that he remembered was a tall, blond boy with an arrogant face. Of course, he'd never talked to him.

„Is he nice?“ he asked out of the blue.

Albus snorted. „Among other things, yes. Not that it will matter, mind.“

„Why shouldn't it?“

His little brother stared at him. „Are you dense? You said it yourself! He's a Malfoy, he's a Slytherin, he's a... non-Gryffindor and what not. Do you really think our parents are going to react any differently?“

„Oh. No.“

„See,“ Albus said miserably. „It won't matter what he's like. When I tell them his name, he won't even get into this house.“

James didn't know what to say. What a difficult place his little Ally was in!

„Okay. Okay, let me think... Troublemaker's lesson number one: distraction. You need to tell them something that'll distract them from the actual trouble. Lesson number two: worst comes first. You tell them the worst part of it all so that they'll be relieved about the rest.“

„Uh-huh. So, how do I do that in this specific case?“

„Hmm. I'd say the worst part is not that you're gay, but the... the Malfoy part."

"Probably."

"So you'll have to tell them the Malfoy part without telling them you're gay."

"Oh, and how do I do that?" Albus asked sceptically. "Like, I want Scorpius to come over for Christmas and he's my boyfriend but I'm not gay?"

"Just leave out the boyfriend part," James suggested. "You should say that... that he's your friend and... that you want him to meet the family."

"Hah," Albus said humourlessly and imitated a conversation with their mother in a fake voice. "So, Mom, meet my friend, Scorpius Malfoy. Can he sleep in my room, Mom? What? This morning? Oh no, that's normal, we always shower together, seeing how we'refriends and all." He snorted. "They'd have to be blind not to notice something," he muttered miserably.

James hadn't quite gotten past the phrase "shower together", but he closed his mouth and tried to get his mind back on track. "Well, obviously," he said, "you shouldn't... do anything like that when he's here. You'll have to act as though you're just friends, so that Mom and Dad won't be suspicious."

"Hmm," Albus said, thinking. "Well, I reckon we could try..."
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Into the Lion`s Den