19 Interlude
Summer school finals were complete, and a flotilla of boats were drifting away from the school buildings. There would be a one-month break until the school year officially started.
Once the wizened caretaker gave the go-ahead, Leo and other older students stepped outside Hogwart's gates, and disapparated. There were spells to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the school grounds in this matter, but they were relaxed at the end of a semester or during hols.
Leo reappeared outside Diagon Alley. His aunt had requested he pick up a few things at the apothecary's.
Once inside, he strolled towards the storefronts, in no hurry to go back to Herfordshire. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a pair of wizards standing next to each other inside the Weasley joke shop. One pale blonde hair, one jet-black, it wasn't hard to figure out who they were. He had heard stories of the unlikely friendship between Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, which lasted even after graduation.
He secretly sneered at the pair. A noble pureblood in a friendship with a mixed Blood Traitor? Friends with the son of his father's enemy. Malfoy belied his family heritage with his disgusting behaviour. Leo sailed past the shop's window without looking any further.
~~~
After leaving the joke shop, the unlikely pair stopped at a small black box painted with flames. Albus dropped a few coins in a slot and stepped back. A window popped open, showing a miniature red dragon breathing flames over a small pile of chestnuts. A moment later, the window went dark and a small paper with steam wisping out of it fell out into a slot near the bottom.
"Careful, Al, they're hot." The white-haired boy said, smiling. Al gingerly picked up the bag in his sleeve-covered hand and blew across the chestnuts.
"I know, but they are so good when freshly roasted." A moment later, he tapped one with his wand, causing it to crack open and expose the inside. He happily popped it in his mouth.
His antics as the nut burned his tongue caught the attention of passersby, including those sitting in front of the Leaky Cup.
~~~
"Oh, hey Al!" Zach called. He stood up and waved his older brother over. Albus ran over, snatched up Zach's glass of water, and chugged it down with one gulp. Scorpius caught up and patted the young man on the back to ease his coughing.
"Hullo Zachary", Scorpius said carefully. Although he was not brought up with the usual pureblood hatred of muggles, his solitary childhood left him with few interactions with non-magic folk. Zach was his best mate's little brother, so he tried to be friendly despite the awkwardness.
Zachary understood, and smiled. "Hey Scorpius, what are the two of you doing here?"
Albus spoke up, his injury forgotten. "We are here to look for birthday presents for Ronnie." He was the only person to call their cousin by that name.
Zach scratched his head. "Rose's birthday isn't for another three weeks, why the rush?" He looked over and noticed a bright blush on the pale face of his brother's friend. Interesting…
Scorpius ducked to avoid the younger boy's speculative look, and nudged his friend's elbow.
"Oh! Well, we must be going, then, little bro." Albus hugged Zach and clapped Alfred on the back. "You try to keep him out of trouble, okay?" He gave a final wave as he was dragged away. A brief moment later, both heads disappeared into the crowd.
The two boys looked at each other and burst into laughter.
