She whispered

by Lucas Chesterton

  There’s no need, they’ve been at this game too long.

  SCORPIUS

  ‘You can’t sit next to me,’ he hisses as Thea settles down in the open seat at his table. She sticks her tongue out as she pulls out her quill and ink from her satchel and Scorpius groans inwardly at her persistence.

  It’s their first class together and she’s determined to make it hell for him. He’s supposed to be the one with top marks, but as much as it pains him, he can’t deny that his sister’s talent in Potions exceeds his own. Still, he’s Head Boy. He has spent the last six years being top of class and suddenly a few O’s land her in N.E.W.T. level potions and he would prefer not to share the spotlight.

  He’ll make a point sitting as far away from her as he can in Herbology.

  The class is filling up as Professor Slughorn walks in, James Potter shuffling behind him and it’s clear the boy is hungover despite the failed attempt at combing his hair. He’ll be sure to remind him about the appearance of senior prefect members at their next meeting because for now all he can do is shake his head as they await Professor Slughorn’s instruction.

  Scorpius is settled in and unlike his sister he doesn’t need quill and ink, his memory serves him better than notes ever could. It’s his mother’s mind, his father always reminds him but not too often because they rarely ever speak about her unless Thea brings it up. But Thea is much too like their father and once they start covering new material, her detailed notes will be coveted by the entirety of N.E.W.T. level Potions.

  Slughorn is about to begin when the final member of their class rushes through the door, apologizing profusely walks and suddenly Scorpius feels himself sit up a little straighter at the site of her auburn hair tied neatly back with a red ribbon. She’s not late but he gets the feeling Rose Weasley never arrives to class less than fifteen minutes early.

  ‘Ah, Miss Weasley,’ the professor announces and points to the empty seat near the front. ‘Welcome. So glad to have the daughter of Hermione Granger in my class, at last.’ He says this because Professor Slughorn only teaches one class at Hogwarts now due to his age and preference for leisure.

  ‘Thank you, professor,’ she says with a smile as she settles into the empty desk nearest Dominique Weasley.

  To say her presence bothers Scorpius would be an understatement. Having Thea in his class, competing for top marks will be difficult enough. But both Malfoys know how driven they are likely to be now that Rose is part of the equation as well. But for Thea, it’s competition.

  For Scorpius, it’s something else entirely.

  He has never told anyone about his feelings for Rose. His sister has her suspicions but so long as they stay off the topic of relationships neither one is eager to pry. Their unspoken agreement means she doesn’t talk about her relationships and he doesn’t talk about his. Scorpius, unlike his sister, is painfully inexperienced but she doesn’t lord that over him. And to reciprocate, he doesn’t remind her that despite her few relationships the majority of the student body has proclaimed him, ‘the likeable Malfoy.’

  He’s heard the rumors about Dominique. He knows it’s the reason his sister doesn’t talk about Majorca. But it’s not his place to pry. If he pries into Thea’s bottled up feelings he knows she’ll retaliate with questions about Rose. His sister respects his privacy, it’s the least he can do to respect hers.

  Class runs smoothly at the beginning but slowly the tension begins to grow as the class begins secretly taking tally every time Rose corrects one of Thea’s answers. Technically, neither girl is wrong, but even Scorpius sees the humor in his sister’s vast knowledge being tested by someone as innocent as Rose Weasley. They debate for half an hour about the magical properties of squid ink before Scorpius finally interrupts and puts everyone out of their misery. He’s pretty sure he hears James mutter a ‘Thank Dumbledore’ as he does so.

  The final tally is somewhere near twelve and he can already tell Thea will be out for blood this term. It means he has to step up his game if he plans to keep up. He contemplates several ideas which are far to Slytherin for his liking so he shoves to the back of his mind as tries to focus on Slughorn’s lecture.

  It’s made difficult by the fact that he stands directly in front of Rose and in order to see him he has to stare in her direction. He tries taking notes but there’s hardly anything in the introductory lesson that he hasn’t already memorized and he’s not brazen enough to look as bored as his sister.

  She’s leaning back, inspecting her fingernails as if she couldn’t care less about Potions. But it’s her favorite subject so he knows she’s taking mental note of everything coming out of Slughorn’s mouth.

  Albus is scrambling to keep pace and his notes are entirely illegible from where Scorpius sits. Thea scribbles something in the margins of the parchment and by the gleam in Albus’ eye as he glances over at his brother, it’s clear Thea is poking fun at James. This goes on for what seems like ages before Slughorn dismisses class and on his way out of class, Scorpius receives a quick nudge to the shoulder as retaliation for his interference in the debate with Rose. When he glares up at his sister she’s already halfway down the hallway, Albus in tow.

  She spares him one final smirk over her shoulder paired with a black polished middle finger directed at him. Or at least he thinks it’s him because when he checks behind him and sees James Potter fumbling with his books but he’s not paying attention so it’s safe to say it could be directed at either. Or both. Thea likes efficiency. He’d threaten to take house points if he thought it would bother her. But she’d probably just respond with another so he drops it and carries on down the opposite corridor.

  He has no Head Boy duties until the evening and so he uses his free period to sit outside with fellow housemates Sedge and Lorcan. Preston is much too busy snogging his new girlfriend to talk about Quidditch trials and so he goes on without him. Trials are quickly approaching at week’s end and while his friends Lorcan Scamander and Sedgewick Li are obvious choices for the squad, their biggest concern is finding a keeper.

  ‘Matherson is the obvious choice,’ Sedge argues again but Lorcan is just as adamant in his opposition. It’s obvious there’s tension there since Paul has suggested his younger brother and, as his boyfriend, Sedge feels slightly obligated to vouch for him.

  ‘Math can wait a year,’ Lorcan argues. ‘We have good talent in 6th year that we’re not utilizing. I still think we should consider bringing Sal back.’

  ‘He and Preston don’t exactly see eye to eye,’ Scorpius says and there’s a collective groan when their fourth friend’s name is mentioned.

  ‘Preston shouldn’t have a say, he can’t even bother to be here to defend himself.’ Lorcan’s comment is a reminder that they’re all a bit tired of sticking up for the guy. He’s their friend, but when it comes down to it, Preston Corner can be a bit of a prick. ‘Think about the other teams,’ Lorcan continues. ‘We haven’t seen the final squads yet but we know the major skillset we’ll be up against. With Chasers like James, Emery and Thea, we’re going to need the expertise.’

  ‘And who says Math doesn’t have expertise?’ Sedge says, his voice rising.

  ‘He’s never made the team, for starters.’

  ‘He stood in when Sal broke nearly every bone in his body last term,’ Sedge counters and no one likes to bring up that game because it was a disaster they’re all happy to forget.

  He appreciates that Lorcan doesn’t express that despite Matheson’s ability to stop some of Thea’s better throws, it was still not enough to win them the Cup. By the time one of the Slytherin bludgers blindsided Salomon from his broom, the game was getting ugly fast. It was an Alumni event, and Thea had never played better as Malfoy was pitted against Malfoy in front of their father.

  By the time the match had finally ended, a three hour-long battle against Albus, the damage was irreparable.

  He and Thea had agreed never to speak of it again.

  ‘Captain?’ Lorcan asks and Scorpius s
ighs, resigned.

  ‘We’ll let them both try out on Friday,’ he says finally. ‘And may the best keeper win.’

  Both Sedgewick and Lorcan reluctantly agree to the terms Scorpius has set in place but Lorcan still grumbles late at night on their way back to the dorms. For this reason, amongst many others, Scorpius is happy to have his own rooms, but tonight he’s most happy to not have to listen to any more complaining.

  He spends his evening writing a letter to his father as he always does on first day of term. He constructs it formally, with no mention of the issue of keeper or of Rose Weasley being in his Potions class. He talks mostly about his role as Head Boy and about his interactions with Thea because it’s all he really knows how to talk about, all he thinks that will interest his father with whom he shares so little in common.

  When he lies down in bed, he’s awake for what seems like hours staring at the ceiling of his small dorm. The ceiling bleeds out into various shades of blue, intricate constellation patterns painted from one side to the other and he can name every single one.

  The last thing he remembers before he succumbs to sleep is a vision of auburn hair and rosy cheeks and he wishes for the first time he had been sorted into Gryffindor, because then he might be able to muster up the courage to talk to Rose Weasley, instead of cowering behind his astronomy books.

  ALBUS

  It’s nearing the end of summer, he can tell by the warmth in the air. Humidity is dwindling but Thea and Albus indulge in the scattered bits of prolonged sunshine as the afternoon nears it’s peak.

  The courtyard is full of students doing much of the same and though he’d rather be down by the lake where they usually seclude themselves, they have Herbology next, and it’s the only class Thea refuses to be tardy for.

  She’s soaking in the sun as Albus reads, her head propped on his stomach with her jumper wedged neatly in between them as her pillow. He knows her well enough to know she’s only pretending to be sleeping because for once she doesn’t want to talk.

  But Albus can’t concentrate on his book on a day like this. He knows Slytherins get a bad rap for spending all their time in the dungeons but Thea and Albus have always loved the sunshine as opposed to their damp common room. So he sits there, pretending to read his book as he lazily toys with the ends of Thea’s dark curls and she pretends to sleep even though he’s pretty sure she’s trying to ignore Dom.

  Dominique sits nearby and the Head Girl does not indulge in pretense as she sits giggling happily next to Bev Whitby. There is intimacy in the way the girl brushes an auburn hair from Bev’s face and he suddenly understand why Thea has pretends not to know the girl’s name on multiple occasions despite the fact that she and Albus have exactly four classes with her.

  Thea would never admit she’s heartbroken. She’d say she doesn’t have a heart, or something equally as ridiculous because of course she does and Albus would simply laugh in agreeance despite the fact that he hates when she says things like that. It’s obvious her fling with Dom was meant something. It’s something real for the first time since whatever she had with Alec and even that was more of a fling than whatever happened in Majorca over the summer.

  Dom brushes it off when he plucks up the courage to ask and he only does so because it’s the one thing Thea refuses to talk about. She acts like she’s fine but she can’t keep her eyes off of Dom every time she walks in a room. Her only distraction is sarcasm and Albus is allowing it because it’s how she copes with rejection. As far as Albus can tell, that is what is going on here. Rejection.

  And Thea Malfoy has lived with rejection for far too long.

  ‘Your face is getting pink,’ he says finally when he can’t find his place on the page and she’s quick to move as she pulls her wand from the blanket they’re lying on and from it sparks one of her healing spells. Suddenly the pink is replaced with the milky white flesh he remembers.

  ‘It’s just a bit of sun, Albus,’ she whispers, shifting slightly and he groans uncomfortably as she presses into his stomach, still full from lunch. ‘How long until Herbology,’ she asks him and he glances up at the clock tower.

  ‘Twenty minutes,’ he replies and she smiles, brushing the hair from her face.

  He’s sick of reading, he decides, and he’d much rather listen to her antics than pretend to read words on a page. So he decides to coerce her into conversation but trying his hand at something she hates.

  ‘Thea?’ he says and her eyes stay closed but she’s listening.

  ‘Hm?’

  ‘Why are we friends?’ he asks and at first she makes a face and peeks out of one eye to see if he’s joking. But his expression goads her response. A shrug.

  ‘I dunno,’ she says boredly. ‘I suppose because you’re the only person here I could possibly tolerate.’ He scoffs.

  ‘The only person?’ he hints and she pokes him gently under his left ribcage. He winces and pretends that she hasn’t found the spot he’s most ticklish.

  ‘Why are you asking such a stupid question anyways?’ she says then. They hate small talk and by the crinkle in brow he can assume she classifies this type of question under small talk. But he’s determined to make her stop moping so he pokes under under the ribs in the identical location and but unlike him, she doesn’t react.

  She never does. She’s quite possibly the only human he’s met that isn’t ticklish.

  ‘Just answer.’ He pretends to be annoyed and she tries to hide the way the corners of her mouth twitch upwards.

  ‘You know why we’re friends, Al.’ She’s serious now, her voice lowers because she would never allow someone else to hear her talk like this. Despite his prying, he doesn’t need an answer because she’s right, he does know. They share the same vulnerability and no matter what happens between them, they can always recover. They can always be themselves. There is no pretending. ‘You and me, we just…we get each other. I only need you. Everyone else can go fuck themselves.’

  ‘Hey now,’ he warns her, chuckling. ‘You’re talking to a prefect, remember’

  ‘Ok Mr. Prefect,’ Thea says, her voice light.

  A shadow interrupts their merriment and Thea shades her eyes to see who’s standing in front of her perfect sunshine.

  ‘Ugh,’ she groans. ‘Speaking of people who can go fuck themselves.’

  ‘Language, Malfoy,’ James says at the same time Albus scolds her using her full name and there is only amusement in one of their voices.

  ‘Can I help you, Mr. Potter?’ she asks formally and James’ arms cross over his chest as he stares down at her.

  ‘They can see your knickers,’ says James.

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Your knickers,’ he repeats. ‘It’s why they’re all looking at you.’

  There’s silence for many moments and Albus knows Thea is doing her best to be nonchalant when she says, ‘It’s sweet, Jamie, that you care. But honestly, I really don’t.’

  Albus cringes when she says ‘Jamie’ because he knows how much his brother hates it. Jamie does his best to play it off, pretend that it doesn’t bother him that she’s not even looking at him as she shades her eyes with her arm. But James is obvious, every emotion written in his eyes and for better or worse, he’s never been much of a liar.

  ‘So did you come all the way over her to get a closer look at my knickers or was there something else?’ she asks and James clears his throat as he glances back at Bas who nods.

  ‘Quidditch trials,’ he says and Albus wonders how it is James ever became known as the socially competent one. ‘I…uh…I was hoping we could switch times.’

  Thea’s intrigued enough to lift her head, then slyly sits up and leans back on her hands. ‘Oh?’ she asks and even Albus can’t help but smirk at where this is going. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t settle this with Alec. He’s the captain.’

  ‘Believe me, I went to him first.’ Anything to avoid talking to Thea, his brother means. ‘But he said he doesn’t make the schedules.’

 
‘Oh,’ she furrows her brow and glances at Albus. ‘Who is it that makes the schedules?’

  ‘I believe that would be you,’ Albus answers and she smiles.

  ‘Indeed, I think you’re right,’ she replies and she relishing every squirm in James’ step as he hovers above her.

  ‘Must we do this, Malfoy?’ James says, his tone low and it comes out as a grumble.

  More people are staring now and it’s not because of Thea’s knickers if that ever was the reason. It’s because they are hoping to witness the tension between the two of them explode into something more entertaining but it’s only James who is struggling to hold his composure, for once.

  ‘You came to me as a last resort, I presume, which means Dom and Scorpius have already turned you down. And seeing as it is First Friday, I’m not sure my squad would be too thrilled to find out I’ve switched our trial time to so late in the evening.’

  ‘What do you want?’ James asks and Albus thinks she’s already got what she wants and that’s the upper hand. But she glances at him, a mischievous grin on her pink lips.

  ‘Well I’m sure if you asked nicely.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You know…please and all that.’

  ‘Oh you can forget that. Either you’ll do it or you won’t.’

  ‘How about this, I’ll do it if you say ‘please’ and I won’t if you don’t. There, now you have a choice.’

  ‘Not much of a bloody choice,’ he mutters and earns an elbow from Davy on his right. James rolls his eyes.

  ‘Come on, Thea. Pretty please,’ Bas says and even puts on a sugary smile and she winks.

  ‘No no Sebastian. Your captain is a big boy. I’m sure if getting smashed down at the pubs on First Friday is that important to him, he’ll be able to muster up a little bitty word like, ‘please’.’

  ‘Merlin, you’re a child,’ says James, his voice growing louder and more impatient by the moment and Albus tries not to laugh at his brother’s predicament but he ends up masking a snicker in an ill-timed cough.