ohscorbus - Tumblr blog

ohscorbus · 2 years

Text

Name Tags

Scorpius keeps growing. Astoria makes sure he’s always ready for Hogwarts. Draco realises he’ll never be alone.

[ Drastoria | Angst and fluff. Loss and healing. Also features several bloodied fingers but fear not, they’re only minor sewing related injuries. | 2.5k words ]

First Year

Astoria sits by the window the afternoon they arrive back from Scorpius’s first uniform fitting. She can still hear him talking his dad’s ear off down the hallway. Draco had made the mistake of mentioning the staircase with the missing step and now Scorpius won’t rest until he knows all of Hogwart’s secrets apparently. She smiles as she reaches for the white thread and scissors. She picks up the first name tag, S. Malfoy, and she feels the same excitement running through her that’s been living in Scorpius for months. It feels like only yesterday when they were buying these same letters on little wooden blocks in his nursery. Now she’s placing them in school uniform. Time shouldn’t go by this fast. It hasn’t felt like enough. But her son’s excitement always stops her from wishing time to stop. He desperately wants to learn and live and she could never hold him back from that. So with a discussion about swamps in corridors as background noise, she starts sewing in the first label into his white shirt. With each one she finishes, she gently swipes her thumb across the name and just for a second, thinks of all the ways she loves him. It’s not a charm but she hopes he feels loved whenever he sees it. People may not like his name but it’s something he’ll wear with a different sort of pride than his father in his youth. That she’s certain and proud of. Finally, she adds an anti-itch charm to make sure the tag doesn’t irritate his skin before she folds the shirt and picks up the next one.

Second Year

If she thought he’d suddenly grown up the summer before his first year, it was even more pronounced the summer before his second. Once again, his new uniform arrived and this time Scorpius is lying on the rug by her window seat. He’s writing to his best friend, Albus Potter, and she ends up pricking her finger because she’s too busy watching the smile getting bigger and bigger on her son’s face as he writes. She quickly heals her finger and looks back down at her own work. She had been hoping to have fewer items to sew this year but when they went through his trunk to see what uniform still fit, she wasn’t surprised to find it nearly all needed replacing. She was surprised however to find a third Slytherin tie that had Albus P handwritten on the underside of it. Astoria made sure to owl it back to his mother the same morning, knowing how hard it was to keep track of one child’s school supplies, never mind three. She’d had a reply back just this afternoon with a thank you and a question as to whether Scorpius owns the fluffy grey socks with gold owls on that she’d found in Albus’s trunk. It took her a second to place them and then smiled to herself over the fact Scorpius must have added them to his trunk after they had finished packing together. She goes back to mentally planning out her reply as she sews the last shirt.

Third Year

The next summer she wasn’t in her window seat as she got out her sewing supplies. Instead she was in bed, a pile of white shirts and even longer school trousers in a neat pile by her side. The bed was too far away from the window for this task but luckily Scorpius jumped at the chance of using magic outside of school. His face was giddy with excitement as he cast lumos and held it up in front of her. The happiest he’d been all summer. She felt guilty at that. They had made a decision to shelter him from the world, but never from his family. Her condition was at its worse and he knew it. Not that they could hide it at this point even if they tried. Yet this morning she’d felt better than she had in months. So she sat up and requested her sewing kit. Draco had looked worried, even a simple stitch charm would likely be too much of a drain on her these days. But he knew better than to refuse her. And anyway, she didn’t need magic for this. Just love and a little patience. It was barely a minute later when Scorpius stuck his head around the door and offered his help. She knew it was Draco’s doing but she could never be mad. Every moment spent in their son’s company was a blessing. She thought back to the summer before his first year and remembered thinking how fast time seems to go by. It was nothing compared to this.

Scorpius was a little over two years old when he had his first bout of accidental magic. He’d been playing with his building blocks when she had told him it was bath time. He’d refused. He wanted to keep playing. It wasn’t until she’d started to pack the blocks away that she realised it was stuck to the floor. She tried to pick up another one and realised that one was stuck too. She shouted for Draco and then felt a little bad when she saw his panicked face as he ran through the door. But watching it change from anxious to elated as she explained still lives with her today. Little Scorpius had giggled away, tantrum and bath time long forgotten, as he watched his mum and dad try and pick up his now unmovable blocks. He thought it was a new game and their obvious joy didn’t show him otherwise.

She looks up as the needle pokes through and sees the same amusement in her son’s eyes today. She wants to keep that light there for as long as possible. So she asks him to tell her about what plans he has with Albus this year. She’d already signed his Hogsmeade permission slip and was wondering if he’d convinced Albus to get his signed yet. She knew he was desperate to visit Honeydukes but wouldn’t want to go without his friend. He spent the next hour talking as she sewed. She could have done it quicker but not knowing when or if they’d get a moment like this together again, she told herself that making sure each stitch was perfect was worth the extra time. Because that’s what this felt like now. These days felt like a gift, one she hadn’t expected but refused to waste a single minute of. It didn’t matter if this was her last week or her last hour. She was his mum and he needed his uniform sorted. His hand never wavered nor did he grow tired of casting and she gained strength through that. She had feared darkness in her final days, instead she was blanketed in light.

Fourth Year

Draco is sat in his office while his son sits in his bedroom. The past year their home had felt hollow, while the piece that was missing from his heart had steadily filled with grief and loneliness. He never expected that feeling to increase tenfold once Scorpius was back. Yet it has and he’s sure it’s breaking them both. He looks at her portrait, looks at the half empty bottle of firewhisky, looks at the door and thinks of his son beyond it. He drags his hands down his face and feels the three day old stubble he knew she’d tease him for. He’d experimented with facial hair when Scorpius was young. She’d laughed every time Scorpius would frown as he tried to pull it off his face. He could only speak in babbles and squeals at that point but it was enough to know he wasn’t a fan. Astoria, usually the first to offer her opinion, had held back until he directly asked her one night. She quietly told him it aged him, and he remembers opening his mouth to joke back, but her sad eyes stopped him. Because she’d never expected to see him in old age. He shaved it off later that night. Not wanting to remind her one more second of what she was going to miss. He promised her when they started dating, and again when he asked her to marry him, that they would live for today. That they’d live a whole lifetime in the precious days they’d have together. If she insisted on helping him through his past then he would pull all of her future into the now. Sudden pecking at the window knocks him out of his head. Letting the owl in, he unties the package and stops when he sees her name. He sits back down before slowly unwrapping it. The little white tags confuse him until he spots the lettering. S. Malfoy. He hadn’t even thought about the tags, not even in Madam Malkin’s as he watched his son stand unusually still as he was getting measured. He wanted to let the immediate feeling of failure overtake him. But seeing their names staring up at him from his desk stops him. He takes a deep breath and gets up and heads towards the sun room. The little box in the cupboard under the window seat is still there. Exactly where she had told Scorpius to return it to this time last year. He’s fallen down onto the seat with it in his hands before he realised. For once he’s glad Scorpius doesn’t venture out of his room much. He’d be embarrassed to be caught sat there staring at this box for as long as he does. Eventually he places it next to him and makes a decision. He pulls out his wand and summons the folded clothes still on the table where they’d left them earlier. He places them on the other side of him. He’s seen her do this before and failing that he’s fairly decent with a stitching charm, but he also knows what she’d want to do. So he does exactly that. If he can’t do it for himself yet, he’ll do it for her. He picks up the white thread and a needle and makes a start. Or he at least tries. He never knew how difficult this apparently was. Once he’s finally threaded the needle and worked out he needed to knot the end to stop it from coming through, he begins what he’s sure isn’t even a proper stitch. And yet it does seem to hold. Somehow. He feels the side of his mouth start to turn upwards and for the first time in a year, he doesn’t feel guilty about it. She’d have loved this. She’d have mocked him and then rewarded him with a kiss for his efforts and here in her sun room he feels her warmth as if she were in the room again. It takes him two hours. He loses count of the amount of times he has to heal his fingers and vanish spots of blood but he gets it done. The feeling of achievement, of love and hope, finally replacing some of the awful ones still filling the void. It’s what gives him the confidence to walk upstairs and knock on Scorpius’s door. He offers his son a gentle smile and his folded uniform and asks if he can help him pack.

Fifth Year

Draco doesn’t cancel the standing order Astoria had set up with the name tag company. He wonders if she set one up deliberately. Before he would have worried it's because she believed he’d forget. That he wouldn’t be able to parent by himself. Now he knows she did it to remind him he wasn’t alone. That she knew he’d never let their son go to school unprepared. It wasn’t lack of faith, it was just another way she had taken control of a destiny she couldn’t escape. She may have left this world but that wouldn’t stop her from being a mother and a wife. He obviously knew about the letters she’d asked him to hold onto until Scorpius was older. He also thought about the seventeenth birthday present she had already wrapped and stored in her wardrobe. He even started to find the little notes hidden in the pages of his own favourite books. (’I loved watching you read. You know that serious frown Scorpius does when he's trying to figure something out? It’s exactly what you do when the plot gets particularly complex. I’m glad our son inherited that from you. I hope he gains more. You have so much to offer the world, Draco. Don’t let them make you feel otherwise.’) So when the next order of name tags arrive, he smiles at her name. He thanks the owl and offers them a treat before shouting out for Scorpius. His son bounds into the room and sees the parcel and frowns. Draco can’t help but think back to the note. A chuckle must accompany his smile as Scorpius quickly looks up at his face and is even more confused.

“What would you say to helping me with something? Your mum made it look effortless but I can guarantee it’s difficult and dangerous. I actually lost quite a bit of blood last time.”

“What? What are you- are those my name tags? You’re… you’re talking about sewing on my name tags?”

“Your mother never used magic for this, you know.”

“Except for the anti-itch charm! She told me the night before I left for Hogwarts when she was double checking my trunk.”

“Oh… I didn’t think of that.”

“I know. I had Albus help me with the charm at school. Dad, it’s fine. You didn’t know.”

“You could have told me.”

“I’m telling you now.”

“Okay. Let’s do this. We’ll both sew and then you can show me the charm.”

“This definitely beats going on a walk.”

“What?”

“Nothing! Just an Albus thing.”

“Ah yes, talking of difficult and dangerous, how is my favourite Potter?”

“Dad!”

“You know I don’t mean it. Although surprisingly, the favourite Potter part I do. Don’t tell him that though. Or if you do, make sure it’s in front of his father.”

“I thought you two were friends now?”

“Hmm. I have you to thank for that too. Really though, tell me about what you two have got planned at the weekend. If I have to go play nice with the Potters, at least tell me you’re getting something out of it.”

They sit there, side by side in Astoria’s favourite window seat, for hours as they talk and teach each other, learning far more than a simple running stitch or a basic charm. They laugh and talk freely for what feels like the first time in years. Here in the sun room they only feel her presence, not her loss, and they heal far more than their bloodied fingers that afternoon. Draco helps Scorpius carry his uniform back up to his room and makes sure the shirt that they’d accidentally sewed the tag in upside down on (and had decided whilst still laughing not to fix) was packed on top. They were doing better but Draco wanted to make sure Scorpius never forgot, not for one single moment, that his parents loved him and were always with him. He swipes his thumb across the name tag and smiles. wrote

#drastoria #scorpius malfoy #draco malfoy #astoria greengrass #scorbus #this has been sat in my drafts for months and the night before the 1st seemed like an appropriate time to release it into the wild #text post #mypost

78 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Text

saw a little boy in a dinosaur poncho and had to draw little scorpius wearing one since @roonilbwazlib made it canon that he’s in love with dinos 😌🤲

#funny story: I started to write tags for this but it turned into a 2.5k AU fic which has been sat in my drafts for months #anyway I'm thinking of posting it so I'm telling you about its existence so it means I have to post it #scorpius malfoy #kids #dinosaurs #fan art

596 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Note

Do you have any headcanon as to how scorpius and albus would deal with there trauma from the delphini events?

I think Albus actually acknowledges it and responds in a positive and healthy way, which is new for him. He also doesn’t do it alone. That’s the headcanon and the hope!

For years he’s isolated himself and he's just been hit with the ugly reality of the consequences of that. While Scorpius is undoubtedly the brightest star in his life, I think when he knelt behind his father in that church as his family and friend fought fiercely alongside him, he realised there was a whole galaxy of people surrounding him. His parents, his siblings, his cousins, his whole extended family. Even his classmates and teachers, who maybe aren’t all so bad. Not if he gave them a proper chance.

So when he stood at Cedric’s grave with his dad, he listened. He processed before he reacted and when he did he was still honest, and it worked. I believe he’ll continue to do that. No matter how hard it is some days. Because he needs them as much as they need him. Which is something he’s having to re-learn after years of convincing himself that he could disappear without anyone caring. Learning the hard way how wrong that was wasn’t ideal, but he won’t make another mistake twice.

As much as I think a lot of these changes come from within Albus, and need to in order to be successful, I also like to think an adult in his life offers him the opportunity for professional help. McGonagall brings someone in for Scorpius almost immediately. While Draco and Scorpius are communicating better and that does help, she knows Draco has his own demons and would hate to bring those back to the surface with everything else he’s dealing with. She still cares for her old students as much as she does her current ones. So she invites a nervous Draco to her office to talk. Draco only wants what’s best for his son, but he’s reluctant. He doesn’t trust an outsider. He knows that even highly trained medical professionals sometimes still hesitant at their surname. McGonagall understands but she has someone already in mind that she trusts, so she simply asks him to trust her. And so he does. The sessions work wonders on Scorpius, which encourage Albus to finally cave and take a few sessions himself. I also hope that Draco sees the good it does and actually seeks them out himself. Between his youth, the war, fatherhood, the loss of his wife… there’s a lot to unpack. Yet if he can improve himself and make sure what just happened never happens again, then it’ll all be worth it.

So in short, Albus will listen more and they’ll both talk more, especially to people other than each other, and they’ll also definitely hug more. Since that’s a thing they apparently do now. After that time on the staircase, their next hug was in the corridor outside the mind healer's office. Albus was waiting for Scorpius to finish so they could walk to dinner together. He leaves, right on time, but Albus barely gets a word out before Scorpius launches himself at him. Albus starts to ask what it was for but then realises he’s counting. Scorpius explains afterwards that hugging someone for twenty seconds has been scientifically proven by muggles to slower stress, anxiety, and heart rates. The cuddle hormone or something. Albus isn’t sure it worked, his heart rate is anything but lower and he’s thinking of another hormone entirely. Yet the hugs keep happening and soon Scorpius stops counting and just enjoys them. Albus too. And yeah okay, he’ll accept now that he does always feel better when Scorpius decides to cuddle up with him but he’s not entirely convinced that’s because it stops him from having to do his homework while he holds him back. But give him a few more months and he’ll admit that’s just a bonus. Because the headcanon that I’m most adamant on is that these two don’t get together until at least sixth year. Fifth year is all exams and recovery which is a lot. And important. Sixth year brings its own stresses of course, but it also gives them the time to properly explore this new version of themselves before they re-discover each other.

#I've written about this before and definitely answered it with more angst but you caught me in a good mood #scorpius malfoy #albus potter #scorbus #albus severus potter #text post #mypost

46 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Text

a heated scorbus moment with the fairy lights on

uncensored/unclothed version on my patreon

#maybe it's all the spicy hockey books I've read this year but like... that's a hockey butt #and I know there’s a couple of scorbus hockey au’s out there already #which I am forever grateful for and highly recommend btw #(‘turning circles’ by roonilbwazlib on AO3 is my personal favourite)#so I hope you don’t mind me seeing this as hockey!albus because quite honestly I can’t unsee it #also... on a more family friendly note #if this is a muggle au then it means those fairy lights aren't held up with sticking charms #which means they will absolutely fall down in the middle of the night and scare the hell out of scorpius at some point #which is something I feel all teenagers experience #well I say all but you know albus will sleep straight through it #he'll just wake up the following morning wondering why he's all tangled up in lights???#not gonna lie - I hope james finds him first because you know he'll switch them on before walking out laughing #scorpius malfoy #albus potter #scorbus #fan art

531 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Text

Lily, whispering: Why are Albus and Scorpius sitting with their backs to each other?

Rose: They had a fight.

Lily: Then why are they holding hands?

Rose: They get sad when they fight.

#this is so them though #it doesn’t matter what is said or done they’ll give each other their needed time to cool down #but you best believe they aren’t ever going to be cold and distance with each other #scorpius is still going to make sure albus has a blanket when he insists on sulking I mean sleeping on the sofa #he leaves it a whole hour before going back downstairs and pulling a miserable (and still awake) albus back to their bed #scorpius rolls over on his side to still give albus his space #but it’s only minutes later before he feels albus rest his forehead on his back and finally fall asleep #or the time draco unexpectedly finds scorpius sat brooding in the manor greenhouse #the first owl arrives less than ten minutes later - the rest follow suit in regular intervals #each bringing scorpius either a note or a small bag of sweets #it’s been a while since draco has seen his son aggressively eat jelly slugs #but thankfully with each new arrival he seems to get a little bit calmer #he waits until scorpius is re-reading all the letters again for the fifth time before ‘letting it slip’ that albus is down in the kitchens #he’d been there the second scorpius stormed out - just waiting nearby for whenever he was ready to talk about what was really bothering him #when scorpius walks into the kitchen he reaches for three mugs and starts making them all tea #he hasn’t looked at albus yet but he can smell that he’s cooking his favourite #‘you know all that sugar ruins my appetite’#‘that’s why I’ve made garlic bread to go with it - you always find space for bread’#scorpius drops the teaspoon and walks over to hug albus from behind - murmuring sorrys and thank yous into his neck #albus keeps stirring but smiles in relief (and also because he’s ticklish and scorpius knows exactly what he’s doing by kissing him there)#scorpius malfoy #albus potter #scorbus #text post #lily luna potter #rose granger weasley

667 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Text

Morning Glow

Imagine Albus and Scorpius moving together after Hogwarts. They couldn’t be happier waking up in an embrace every morning🌞. Except that every time Scorpius wakes up with a Albus’ toy owl poking in his spine or ribs. He gets an idea! He buys for Albus pillowcase with owls🦉 and it became Albus’ second favorite thing next to fall asleep❤️

#this is adorable and now all I can think about is scorpius having his own ‘albus’ pillow #it’s the summer before his final year at hogwarts and draco understands teenagers need their sleep but it’s now nearly lunch time #scorpius is usually up with the sun but then he was sure he was hearing owls coming and going all night #he thought they were joined at the hip as best friends - it seems they’re inseparable as boyfriends #he knocks on his son’s door and calls out his name #he gets no response so he lets him know that he’s coming in #he opens the door slowly and pokes his head into the room #it takes his eyes a second to adjust to the darkness but when they do the sight nearly gives him a heart attack #but then he quickly realises he isn’t seeing his son curled up around his boyfriend #it’s just a pillow with albus’s pyjama shirt put over it #he quietly backs out of the room and thanks merlin #he did not want to have to deliver The Talk today and especially not in front of albus #he drops down onto the couch with a groan and lets his head rest back against the wall #it takes him twenty minutes to realise he never did wake scorpius up #then again - maybe they both deserve another hour to themselves after all #scorpius malfoy #albus potter #scorbus #fan art

529 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Text

Computer: Please enter a password.

Albus: *types in scorpius*

Computer: Your password is too weak.

Albus: How fucking DARE YOU-

#imagine them in muggle studies and they have to create an account on the class tablets so they need to think of a password #and the professor lets them all have a go without any instruction #once they’re all done she goes into the portion of her lesson about security and she’s got a plan to prove her points #she explains how easy it is to guess someone’s password and get access to their accounts and how bad that can be #she looks over her students and sees scorpius frowning down at his tablet and albus looking visibly nervous - just as she suspected #she walks over to albus and asks him to hand over his tablet - which he does - very reluctantly #she gets into his account on the first try #she places the tablet back in front of albus with a knowing smile and starts explaining to the class how to create a strong password #meanwhile scorpius is leaning over to albus and trying to get out of him what his password was #‘but it’s important albus! what if we used the same word?’#‘I’m fairly confident we didn’t scorpius’#‘how can you be sure?’#albus mumbles something which scorpius doesn’t catch so he asks him to repeat it #albus drops his head into his hands and mutters it again - only slightly louder - ’because she told us not to use our own name’#it takes scorpius a second but albus feels the exact moment he works it out #he slowly lifts his head and drops his hands and looks across at his boyfriend - who has the biggest grin on his face #‘you love me’ he says so smug that albus wants to deny it on instinct #but apparently it’s so obvious even his professors and random internet muggles can figure it out #‘so what was your password?’ aaand that soon wipes the smile off his face #‘you love me and that’s all that matters’#‘….if it was pepper imp then I’m eating your entire collection’#‘you wouldn’t dare!’#‘it was wasn’t it?! scorpius!’#‘it’s only because I didn’t want to keep you a secret….?’#‘smooth’#‘I thank you’#scorpius malfoy #albus potter #scorbus #text post

306 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Photo

and obviously also my favorite HP ship #scorbus ✨

#honestly can’t wait for albus to grow up and into his own style because I think it’s going to be exactly like this #a little bit malfoy-ish but still comfy because he’s albus #and while james may have left hogwarts seven years ago and still obnoxiously wears his gryffindor shirts #albus instead will prefer quiet little nods to his house #not always (even though scorpius is forever telling him that colour suits him)#but sometimes when he needs a little reminder of who he is - something he’s worked so hard on #other times it’s because it simply goes with his outfit #or occasionally when he’s going round for a family dinner and feels like goading his brother #whatever the reason it’s always because he’s proud #he’s finally gained his confidence - and thankfully in a quieter way than james #‘dignified’ draco calls it #although he knows better than to repeat that in front of james #he’d never hear the end of it #scorpius malfoy #albus potter #scorbus #fan art

375 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Text

Interview with Vincent Lang (Albus Potter) and Mathias Reiser (Scorpius Malfoy)

A new edition of the German Harry Potter and the Cursed Child script came out last week, to match the script currently being used in the Hamburg production of the play. Several changes have been made to the original translation of the dialogue and lots of fun little details have been added, and I might discuss those at some point, but for now I’m going to focus on the interview included at the end of the book, which was done with Vincent Lang and Matti Reiser on March 2020 ✨ It covers topics like how they got these roles, what they think of Albus and Scorpius, and how they developed their own versions of them!

(Disclaimer: this is 1.5k words, I translated it in about 4 hours, and I’m working with two foreign languages here, so! it’s not perfect and some liberties were taken, but it turned out quite well overall 💙)

Keep reading

#THANK YOU!!!#I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this and all the content you translate and share ♥#and I already knew these two were absolutely perfect in these roles but this just confirms #vincent especially #it makes me so happy that I want to cry every time I realise just how much he not only understands him but LOVES albus too #albus deserves nothing less than having someone equally as passionate and driven playing him #I've lost so much faith in the play recently but this cast (and these two in particular) continue to remind me why I loved this play #mathias reiser #vincent lang #hamburg #text post

67 notes · View notes

ohscorbus · 2 years

Note

Did you see the that Twitter thread about scorbus being canon in the shortened Broadway show??

I did see that thread but I haven’t commented on it yet because all the sources were (understandable) way too excitable. I just couldn’t make an informed decision based on timelines and dashboards full of capital letters! But having now listened to the final two scenes (and only those scenes) myself, I’m happy to share my take on it.

This is going to be a long post but in short, a romantic Scorbus pairing still isn’t canon.

Let’s start with the penultimate scene. I like the new script changes in this scene. It’s still fun and full of teasing so we leave them knowing they’re still together. It’s the perfect way to say goodbye to these two characters as a pair. The beauty of it now is that there’s even more heart in it thanks to Rose. Her line asking Albus if he’s good is easily my favourite addition. She’s family and they were best friends once and now she’s reaching out to him without being prompted. More than that though, she sounds genuine and that fills me with so much joy. It's like everything is finally falling into place for Albus. He's got his friend and his family back.

The other changes; Scorpius’s ‘isn’t it?’ when asked if he’s sure Rose is who he wants in his love palace, and the removal of the ‘in my head’ from his ‘new version of us’ line are also quite lovely. There’s still an ambiguity about them in regards to Scorbus. I can see why people see this as Scorpius pushing Albus for confirmation or dropping a hint, but personally I see it as Scorpius speaking freely because they’re each others go-to. If Scorpius is questioning his feelings and/or sexuality, it’s Albus who he’s going to confide in. Even if it becomes about Albus, he’s still the one person who isn’t going to judge or run from him. They’re best friends, first and foremost. That’s what I love most about them. They’re each other’s everything, through thick and thin. Their adventures have only confirmed that. That’s also why I love how much more confident the ‘new version of us’ has now become. It’s not just in his head, it’s their reality. Going through what they have has changed them. Losing Albus and nearly losing their lives will have affected them to their core. That is absolutely a new version of Albus and Scorpius we’re looking at on that staircase at this point and I’m glad he recognises that. I’m not excited about the ship at this point, I’m fangirling with pride over their growth. I love the changes in this scene not because it makes anything canon, but because it strengthens them. Individually and their relationship. That’s what’s important to the story and to me here. What exactly their relationship is at this point, is not.

Then there’s the final scene. This scene has always been about father and son finally listening to each other. It’s always been about acceptance and the new version doesn’t change that. Albus is opening up. He’s doing exactly what he tells Draco to do. He’s putting his trust in his dad. (Which he hasn’t done since the first scene when he trusted his dad when he said that Slytherin was okay and that the Sorting Hat would listen to him. Which was not a lie on Harry’s part but it became a betrayal and a disappointment to Albus.) In return, Harry is telling him it’s okay, that what he is and who he is, is a good thing. I know people are saying it’s ‘literally’ Albus coming out but I don’t think it’s specifically about that. Nor do I want it to be. That scene is closure for the play and a promise for the future. Albus didn’t do all of this because of his sexuality, he did it because he’s struggling with himself and where he fits in. You could argue his sexuality is part of that crisis. I’m sure it is too but I doubt he 100% knows that yet. I think it’s still a feeling he doesn’t quite understand but he knows it means something big. Something that could change everything. It’s scary and unknown yet feels right and that’s enough for him to know it’s worth fighting for. Albus ‘this one does’ Potter will always stubbornly be himself, he just needs acceptance from those who mean something to him to do so fully and comfortably.

Harry is a major part of that process for him. He needs his father’s love and support in every aspect. Again, even if he’s now fully aware of his feelings and accepted this additional label (although I have no idea when he’s had the time), I doubt that’s what he needs in that moment. I think the Slytherin side of Albus, that self preservation in him, will want that acceptance as a whole before he opens up further and deeper than ever before. The lines about Scorpius are honest and heartfelt but I feel like they’re a final test. Scorpius was tested, so was Albus. Now it’s Harry’s turn. Which he too passes. I have no doubt that when Albus does specifically come out to his family, it’ll be because this conversation with Harry has already told him it won’t end in disaster and that to me is more important than his actual coming out. Because Albus doesn’t hide his truths, he speaks directly regardless of the consequence. You see it time and time again in the play. He’s a boy who leads with his heart. It’s why he’s confirming his acceptance through a conversation about Scorpius. Because Scorpius is such an integral part of him. Harry accepting Scorpius is Harry accepting Albus and his choices. Because Albus always has and always will choose Scorpius. I have no doubt that when he’s ready, he’ll say and be exactly who he is. He’ll offer no doubt or show no fear because once he’s gained acceptance from his dad, he’ll finally be able to accept himself. Because Albus has a front as much as his dad does. He may put on his Slytherin green hoodie but he’s still hiding behind it. That’s why he wears it too big for his small frame. But he’ll grow into it, in so many ways. There are so many labels attached to him and now he’s got that support from his dad, it’ll be easier for him to sort through them. One by one they’ll become part of him. A skin he’s comfortable in and proud of rather than being weighed down by it. Because while Albus right now won’t admit how much he needs his dad, he does. He needs him by his side, just as much as he does Scorpius, to grow into the man he’s going to be. That’s the ultimate message they leave you with. That you need your friends and family, you need support and love, to become the best and truest version of yourself. That means his house, his history, his sexuality, his friendships, his choices. It’s all wrapped up for us in a beautiful bow and it saddens me when people only focus on one of those things.

But more importantly, I don’t believe the producers/directors/writers deserve the praise the fandom and theatre critics are currently giving them in regards to it now 'being gay'. Maybe it’s because I’ve been here since the beginning so I’ve seen how they’ve handled Scorbus and Scorose over these past six years. So I can’t see these changes as a win for the LGBTQA+ community. It’s in there because we see it, because we want to/need to, but it’s just not specific enough to pat them on the back for it. I don’t know how many people were here back in 2016 but they were so against this ship. Actors got in trouble if they did anything to encourage it, they added Scorose content to the play, and they only focused on that ship in social media. We got article after article of denials of Scorbus. So excuse me for being suspicious. Because now, after yet another expensive rebrand and they still aren’t hitting the numbers they want, they’ve decided to rewrite and encourage this relationship? It just doesn’t sit right with me. As a fan of these two boys and a supporter of the ship, it makes my heart swell. Of course it does. But part of me can’t help but wonder whether that’s been done deliberately. Especially with the JKR controversy. (Although these changes are absolutely not a ‘fuck you’ to her so I don’t get why some people are saying that?) I’m here for people continuing to find themselves in this space, but this feels more like queerbaiting than it ever did back then. I think this is for another post but there’s definitely a discussion to be had here. Why after years of RoseRoseRose are we suddenly getting ‘Scorbus’? I’m here for queer representation but not if they’re only doing it because it’s profitable to capitalise on it at the moment. I do want to believe they've genuinely had a change of heart but the fact they're still playing it safe makes it difficult to celebrate. You shouldn't get the recognition if you're letting the fans do the leg work for you. Because people on social media shouting about it being gay now is half the problem. Which is rich coming from me, I know, I literally run a Scorbus blog and I’ve been shouting about them as a romantic pair for years. But I don't claim their ship to be canon. Their love is canon, absolutely. But love takes so many forms. Don’t dismiss their love now because you want it to mean something else in the future.

Albus’s identity, including his sexuality, is all tangled up in his words in that last scene. You don’t have that much emotion in your voice unless what you’re asking has the potential to make or break you. Albus has never been more exposed and he’s doing so of his own free will. It’s such an incredibly powerful moment. This is why I cried when I heard Harry’s response because he’s obviously picked up on that. He’s finally listening and he gives Albus what Albus needs. He responds positively and repeatedly and emphasises very clearly that Scorpius is not only good but good for him. If he’s also picking up on the potential of that relationship then he does the right thing again in not specifically responding to it because Albus clearly isn’t ready for that yet. So he’ll wait until he is. Because there’s still so much more to his journey. Even though we’re at the end of this story, we’re only at the beginning of his. Forty year old Harry recognises that. Albus stands there with his heart in his hands and Harry gently covers it with love that of course has always been there but now it’s in a way Albus can understand and truly feel it. Supporting Scorpius is loving him. That’s the specific Ginny was telling him about. The relief in Harry’s tone as he figures all this out is so raw I want to cry again just thinking about it. It’s so simple. It’s literally history repeating itself. Again. He rejected Draco because he couldn’t accept his friend, and Albus did the exact same thing to him. It’s that power of friendship theme that’s at the heart of every Harry Potter story and this one literally saved the world. Harry finally seeing that will change their lives for the better.

The canon outcome is still the same. I’m excited because the changes are truly lovely, but they don’t change the story. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again and again. Give these boys time. They’ve been to hell and back and that’s not including all the years of isolation and bullying and loss they’ve experienced prior to that. They need to emotionally and mentally heal. They need to figure themselves out and learn to be better friends to each other. No more library scenes, you know? They need to continue to grow and heal more before their next adventure together. Because if they get this one wrong then it too has the potential to collapse their entire world. They’re too important to each other to enter into a romantic relationship before they’re ready. Just, trust in these two nerds. They’ll work on themselves and then work it out and then they’ll work together.

#harry potter and the cursed child #scorbus #cursed child #I wrote this weeks ago but decided not to post it (this blog is my happy place)#but the headlines from last nights opening night enraged me so here we are #(fyi: that audio clip was recorded during previews so I've not referenced any of the further changes I've since heard about)#text post #mypost

101 notes · View notes