Has it been this long?

[Sam Prince]

Sam slipped Scorpius a note during their potions lesson to met him at the cliffs at six o' clock that evening. He hadn't seen his best friend since Hoshi's party at the beginning of the year and sitting next to him in that potions lesson was the first he had seen of him. They didn't even get to speak to each other as the professor was already in the classroom by the time Sam arrived in the classroom.

He had his usually fly around the pitch after his lesson and his lunch but made sure to be at the cliffs at the set time. He changed into a t-shirt, a leather jacket and a pair of jeans. His hair was now spiked up, he was a little taller, his facial features were more defined but not by too much. They were small changes. Nothing that would stand out to anyone who didn't know him.

He made his way up to the cliffs at six to find it empty. Perfect, at least here they wouldn't run into anyone, if they were on the lawn or in the corridors things would be different. Sam had never been on the cliffs before but people began to hang around on the before the term ended last year, he never got the chance to go up to them. Sam walked along the jagged rocks sticking from the cliffs, he sat on one of the larger ones not too close to the edge and waited for Scorpius to arrive.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius got Sam's note while they were in Potions and was very excited to finally catch up with Sam. Even though they had finally seen each other in class they couldn't even talk, and Sam had told him to meet at the cliffs, a place that Scorpius had surprisingly never visited yet. Around six o'clock Scorpius retreated from Ravenclaw tower, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, with his hands in his pockets. He had gotten taller over the break, but didn't think it was very noticeable and his hair was beginning to get too long to spike up anymore, though he still did.

He arrived at the cliffs at 6:05, five minutes late, that was an improvement right? and saw his best friend sitting on a large rock waiting for him. "Hey mate," he said in his thick Irish accent, grinning at him. It seemed like ages ago that they last hung out.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam looked at the view around him. Hogwarts really had certain spots that were undescribable. Then Sam heard a familiar Irish accent, he looked around to see Scorpius grinning at him. "Hey!" Sam said turning himself around on the rock. It really had been ages since they last saw each other. "How're you? How was your summer?" he asked him with a bit of a cheeky smile knowing well that Scorpius and Taylor had a date lined up. He defintely wanted to hear about that. He was happy for Scorpius and Taylor they seemed to just click with each other from the very start.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius walked over to where Sam was, finding a large rock to sit on right across from him. "I'm good," he replied with a wave of his hand, "Already had your daily fly?" he asked Sam with a playful grin, knowing his friend couldn't go a day without flying. Now that he no longer had his skateboard anymore, Scorpius had taken to flying more often too, so he had already gone flying early in the morning before classes, or even breakfast. When he asked about his break, Scorpius grinned once more and said, "It was..great," he concluded with a grin. Even though he and Taylor had only seen each other twice, it still made his entire summer for him. Since he knew Sam had been referring to the two of them, Scorpius decided to stop beating around the bush and said, "Taylor and I are dating now." He shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal though it actually was to him. "How were yours?" he asked in return, now that he had said the main event of his holiday.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue as Scorpius pressumed that he had already flown that day. "...and yes. Yes I have." he admitted with a chuckle. Sam listened to Scorpius as explained his summer and smiled widely as he annouced that he and Taylor were dating. "Really? Thats great!" Sam said still smiling, "I'm really happy for you guys." He added truthfully. When Scorpius returned the question he just shrugged. "...blah!" He said simply, it was the only word that described it. It wasn't too bad but it wasn't too good either. "I took up a load of sports and stuff...y'know to get out of the house. But it was weird not seeing all of you guys." He told him.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius chuckled and shook his head in amusement when Sam confirmed Scorpius' assumption that he had already flown. Scorpius grinned brightly when Sam approved and said he was happy for them. "Thanks mate," he said, ruffling his hair in embarrassment. He was glad that Sam approved, because that was a sign that everyone in the group would approve as well. Scorpius nodded his head yes in agreement when Sam said it was weird not seeing them all. It was crazy how in one year a place just became your home and the people around like family. As Sam mentioned sports Scorpius looked up again and said, "Hey mate, Ravenclaw is having try outs for Quidditch some time soon so I was wondering if you could help me train?" It wasn't that Scorpius thought he was lousy at Quidditch, it was just that there were so many people going up for the Beater position, he wanted to make sure he was at the top of his game, or at least practice the Seeker position better, which is what he had also agreed to try out for. He looked at his best friend with hopeful grey eyes, if there was anyone who would help him train, it was Sam.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam's eyes danced with excitement as Scorpius said that Ravenclaw where having tryouts, would that mean Hufflepuff were? But the next thing Scorpius said caught him off-guard though a wide grin spread across his face. He didn't even have to ask. Sam nodded excitedly, "That would be wicked!" He couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Sure! When will we practice? I am off classes Monday and Tuesday but we can train after classes either, or during I mean I can dodge a few History of Magic classes." Sam said extremely quickly with a lot of excitement to his voice. "What is it you wanted to practice?" Sam asked him trying to calm down a bit, he knew that Scorpius played the beater position but was wondering if it was another position either. "When our the try-outs?" he added quickly to his last quesiton.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius held back a chuckle once he noticed Sam's enthusiasm for it. He was glad he agreed to helping him train, the last time he'd checked the list of tryouts, the list had gotten considerably longer. And worst of all was that most of the sign ups were for the Beater position, only one spot on the team. Scorpius had previously purchased The Beater's Bible in the summer so now he was doing what any Ravenclaw would do, reading all he could to better prepare himself for the task at hand. He always thought he was good at the position, but now he needed to prove himself. When Sam asked when the tryouts were he replied, "I have no idea to be honest." It wasn't a good answer, because that meant they both wouldn't know how much time they had to prepare. "I'll practice whenever," he added with a grin, skipping a few classes for Quidditch was a good enough reason for him, but he knew the two could squeeze in some time here and there. "Well I want to improve my Beater skills of course," he said with a small nod of his head, "However I also signed up for Seeker, only alternate though, since the position is filled," he added with a hint of bitterness. "Honestly I've never seen anyone so interested in the Beater position before," he said with a shake of his head, once again remembering all the names on the list with the word 'Beater' beside it.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam nodded, "Okay, well let me know when they are on? " How he wished Hufflepuff would get their act together and start some try-outs. Sam was glad that Scorpius was willing to train 'whenever', this should be fun Sam thought. Not only did he get to hang out with his best friend, he could to do what he loved. Quidditch.

"Cool, well we should get right on that." Sam said happily though could tell that Scorpius was a bit peeved off that so many applied for Beater. "How many would you say are up for beater? Who do you think is you competition?" He asked, Sam didn't know too many Ravenclaws so he probably wouldn't know many of the people he listed off. Sam hoped when the Hufflepuff tryouts were on that there wouldn't be great competition for the spot of chaser. He really hoped that he would get a position on the team, if there even was a team..

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius nodded his head affirmatively when Sam said they should get right on that. When he asked how many were trying for Beater and who was competition, Scorpius threw his head back in thought. "There are about 4 or 5 people," he answered, not sure if that included himself or not. "This one guy got on the team without a tryout," he said somewhat bitter, simply because it left only one more position open. "As for competition, I wouldn't really say they are," he said truthfully, "they're all first year girls," he said with a chuckle. "But you can never be too sure about girls," he said warily, thinking of Hoshi and her aim with the bludger last year. "Other than that there's this older kid who was trying out for the Beater position and since he's older he probably has more experience, but I think I heard that he was going for Chaser instead," Scorpius continued with a shrug.

He hated how the tryouts were making him all nervous about playing. He liked to have a good time while playing Quidditch and flying, not be all stressed out trying to make the team. He hoped the tryouts would happen soon so he could stop freaking himself out.

 

[Sam Prince]

"What that is not fair!" Sam said angrily as Scorpius that one guy got on the team automatically. "Which position was it for?" He asked him he couldn't believe that. It should be a fair try-out. As Scorpius told him about his so called competition Sam couldn't help but laugh, "Aww mate you have it in the bag!" He said happily. He hoped that Scorpius got on the team it would be such a let down if he didn't get on the team. Though he could tell Scorpius was very nervous about this older guy, "Well if he is going for the beater he won't be nothing on you, you'll kick his ass! Especially by the time I'm through with you." Sam laughed genuinely. "I wouldn't stress over all of this. I mean, you don't want to sart hating quidditch." As Sam said this he wondered what he would be like in the days for upcoming try-outs. He too would most-likely also be stressing, but he didn't let that fact known.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius nodded his head in agreement with Sam's declaration that getting on the team without a tryout wasn't fair. "It was for the Beater position!" he answered in exclamation when Sam had asked. That was partly the reason Scorpius was so bitter about it. He gritted his teeth but let his anger subside, for all he knew the guy really was good enough to be on without a tryout.

Scorpius laughed in relief when Sam said he had it in the bag but he suddenly remembered one more name on the list. "Oh wait, Thomas was trying out for Beater too," he recalled aloud. So that was two male second years, about four female first years, and one older student who might be gunning for Chaser instead, he calculated in his head. Were his odds good enough? He grinned when Sam said 'especially when I'm through with you.' He chuckled and felt a little relaxed already, nodding his head once more in agreement when Sam said he didn't want to start hating Quidditch. That seemed impossible, but he didn't want to risk it. "Yeah, Quidditch is supposed to be a stress reliever, not the opposite," he commented with a shake of his head. "No idea when Hufflepuff will be having their tryouts?" he asked Sam with curiosity.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam shook his head, "Aww no way! That is so unfair. I would complain!" Sam said fustratedly. If someone came along and took the chance of him being on the team Sam would not let that person get away with it. "Thomas?" Sam said considering it, he had met Thomas only a couple of times and couldn't imagine him on the field. He seemed to be such a bookworm. "Nah not a chance. You'll get it for sure." Sam said encouraingly.

"Nope. Not a single word. I mean its ridiculous! I was talking to Patricia who is on the team. She doesn't even know if we have a captain." Sam said with a laugh. "I doubt our try-outs will be up this year." Sam sighed. "I would love to have a proper match against you though." Sam said with a smirk.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius merely shrugged his shoulders in a 'What can you do?' manner. He just hoped he could trust the Captain's judgment and she wouldn't regret her decision. He grinned when Sam said he'd get it for sure and he raised his eyebrows as he said, "Well here's hoping..."

Scorpius frowned slightly when Sam said they hadn't heard anything on Hufflepuff tryouts. "Aw man that's too bad," he said sincerely. He smiled lightly when he said he'd love to have a proper match against him but he replied with, "Well let's hope your team gets it together that way our team can whoop your butt," he chuckled jokingly. He hadn't really paid much attention to anyone that was in Hufflepuff other than Sam and Jenn so he couldn't figure who could be the captain, if there was one, let alone anyone else on the team. Though thinking of Jenn brought him back to another question he had been wanting to ask Sam. "Hey mate," he began cautiously, "Have you heard from Jenna at all?" He was curious as to whether she had tried to keep in touch with him or if she had missed them enough to come back to Hogwarts.

 

[Sam Prince]

As Jenn came up in the conversation Sam was shocked. He hadn't thought about Jenn in a long time. He trained himself not to and over the summer he had mastered in that. "No...well I wrote but there was no reply." Sam said a little sadly, he was a little annoyed that she hadn't wrote back though, she promised they'd keep in touch. "Its weird though. Like no contact and stuff..." Sam said to Scorpius, he was fine talking to Scorpius about Jenn now. He was over her. But that still didn't mean he didn't miss her. Because he did and the more he thought about it the more he wanted to talk to her. So it was best not to think of her but he thought that talking to Scorpus about it was good, it was getting it off his chest.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius almost felt bad for bringing Jenn up, but shrugged it off, thinking they were best friends so they were aloud to talk about touchy subjects like this within each other's privacy. He furrowed his brows together when Sam said he wrote but never got a response back from her. "Wow," he muttered quietly as he shook his head. That seemed so unlike Jenna, he hoped she was okay. What if something had happened to her so she couldn't write back? Before he could go off on a tangent and freak himself out over nonexistent situations with Jenn, he shook it off and looked back at Sam. "Maybe she'll eventually write back," he said a little hopefully, Just so we know she's okay... he finished off in his mind. He knew Sam was over Jenna so at least it wasn't bad watching him pine over someone who didn't seem like she was ever coming back. "So have you got your eye on someone or are you staying clear of girls this year?" he asked jokingly, just to lift the mood from the rather somber topic of Jenna.

 

[Sam Prince]

"I hope she does..it'd be nice to hear from her." Sam said with a small sigh. Maybe he'd write to her again? He decided to give her another little while before re-writing a letter. Though Scorpius' next question caught him off guard. First Taylor, now Scorpius? How did they know this? Stop, you're just being paranoid. He told himself, his facial expressions and his body language remained calm and casual. He gave a little shrug, "I don't know..." Sam had the intention of staying clear of girls at the end of last year, because after what happened last year they just seemed cause to drama. But now he had all of these feelings back for Toni, though he had yet to admit that. "I think I'm going to stay clear of them to be honest." He said with a slight laugh. His main plan was to put friendship first. He didn't want to lose Toni as a friend if something happened between them. No matter how much he thought about her, or what he felt for her. They would just have to be friends.

 

[Scorpius Knight]

Scorpius nodded his head once when Sam said it'd be nice to hear from her. He thought about writing her a letter, but figured that if she didn't write back to Sam, why would she write back to him?

He raised his eyebrows when Sam said 'I don't know' in response to his question about girls, wondering if that meant 'I don't know but I have my eye on someone' or 'I don't know it's not worth it.' When he said he was going to stay clear of them he laughed along with him. After the year they had with girls last year it seemed to be the most logical decision but sometimes, in Scorpius' case, you couldn't help it if you liked someone and wanted to be with them. But Taylor seemed like a girl that would be drama-free so he was at least glad for that. "That's good, let's see how long you can keep up with that," he teased him, indicating that sooner or later Sam would give in to his feelings for a girl, which girl he didn't know.