Rose was one of Al's best friends and that was what made it hurt so much. She was the first person he talked to about being gay and in love with his best friend. Her shoulders held him up when he wept every time Scorpius got a new girlfriend. Al didn't know whose shoulders he would cry on this time. Rose was too busy snogging Scorpius to realize she was breaking his heart.

The older teachers called them the new golden trio. That the latest Weasley and Potter had been sorted into Gryffindor was no surprise, but when Scorpius Malfoy landed in the lion's den the whole school gasped. Neither Al nor Rose had ever been particularly good about following directions, so they immediately set out to make friends with Scorpius, regardless of what any of their parents would say. Scorpius was quite good about following directions, and his father had urged him to make friends with "the Weasley spawn," so Scorpius was happy to befriend them.

From the very first night when they met at the Sorting Feast, the three were inseparable. The brains of the bunch belonged to Rose. Scorpius was the leader and the one who loved adventures. Al was the one who kept the peace between the two if they fought and followed along when plans were made. Sometimes Al felt like a third wheel when Scorpius and Rose seemed to understand each other perfectly, but overall it was a system that worked well for them. They quickly became known as mischief makers that rivaled the legendary Marauders in audacity, which upset all of their parents and made Rose and Al's Uncle George proud enough to send them every single one of his newest products weekly.

Rose matured the fastest. In fourth year she dated a fifth-year-Hufflepuff and decided that pranks were juvenile. The group almost split over that, but the Hufflepuff boy broke up with her so he could date a sixth-year-Slytherin and then they were fine.

Scorpius hit his growth spurt over the next summer. He had continued to play tricks on people with Al's help, but when he grew out his shoes he grew out of his interest in that as well. Instead, he found new shoes that fit him perfectly and a series of girlfriends that didn't.

Al made it all the way until the end of sixth year before he started puberty. In fact, Al didn't just start growing up, he hit puberty with a crash that sounded round the school. Girl's swooned over him, but Al still didn't notice them. He did notice something though. Walking into a bathroom full of naked Quidditch players after practice was enough to make his lower body take notice. And if Scorpius was one of those boys, well, Al had to jump into the shower once to hide the sudden wet spot on his pants.

Rose, as the intelligent one in the group, noticed what was happening before Al did. When she opened up a conversation between them one day over the summer before seventh year by saying "Al, is there anything you want to tell me?" Al had no idea what she was talking about. She led him down the path to realizing why he thought about Scorpius constantly, especially when he woke up to tented sheets in the morning. Al cried that day when he realized that he was in love with a boy he could never have.

Scorpius had started dating as a fourth year and he hadn't stopped since. Every weekend he had a different girl on his arm. In fact, Al had once joked that Scorpius had probably dated every girl in their year except Rose. As Al sat sobbing in a broom closet after witnessing Rose and Scorpius kissing in the garden, he let out a single hoarse laugh. Now Scorpius could claim he had dated every girl.

The Room of Requirement had been Al's favorite place in the castle ever since his dad told him about it in his fourth year. Now it was his refuge. Hiding your broken heart from the people who broke it was easy when you never had to see them. The Room gave him a room with a place to study, a place to sleep, and a bathroom. A quick trip to the kitchens after Al moved in led to the house elf Dobby agreeing to bring him food three times a day. Rose's plans to become a Potions Mistress and Scorpius's interest in Magical Creatures meant that they shared only two classes with Al who yearned to be an Auror almost as much as he yearned for Scorpius. He skipped History of Magic with Binns as a habit anyway, so the only time Al saw either of them was in Potions class. He spent two months living like that.

With Dobby and the Room at his convenience Al was prepared to avoid them until he completed his NEWTS in two weeks and fled to Belgium for the rest of his life. It appeared they were not willing to follow Al's plan. They stood outside of the Room one morning when Al left to head to Charms. He tried to escape back into his hideaway but the door had disappeared when he closed it behind him.

"Al, what's wrong?" Rose stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

Al fixed his eyes on the offending hand. "Nothing. Please let me go to class."

Scorpius shook his head and folded his arms. "Not until you tell us why you have been avoiding us. We had to beg James to borrow the map just so that we could track you down."

Cursing his brother, Al felt his eyes start to water. "Rose, please, let go."

Instead of releasing him she took hold of the other arm as well. "No. We want you to tell us what is wrong."

Al looked up at her and saw the concerned look in her eyes. The tears fell fast and furious at that point. "I love him, Rose. I really, truly love him. You knew that and you still did it."

"Him? Wait, what did Rose do?" Scorpius stared at him like he had grown another head. The look was enough to destroy Albus's heart and he wrenched his hands from Rose's grasp and fled.

He hid in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, which was still as deserted as when his parents had attended school. Myrtle no longer moaned in sadness though. Instead, her moans came about when she was making out with Colin the Camera, as kids termed the ghost who had somehow managed to develop a way to take pictures with an ectoplasmic camera. The lustful sounds were flooding the room when Al dashed inside.

"Oh, go find a room in the Chamber of Secrets! Maybe there are baby basilisks down there and you'll both end up Petrified!" Myrtle shot him an offended look and Colin sneered at him before they headed down the nearest drainpipe. After that the only sound in the room was Al's quiet sobs.

The door creaked and Al glanced up from his crouched position under a sink. Rose was alone this time. "I'm sorry, Al. I don't know what I did exactly, but I am sorry."

Al's laugh was brittle. "You knew how I feel Rose. You know I love Scorpius. You know that the thought of him with anyone else makes me physically ill. But you are dating him anyway. So just go away, because if you actually cared about my feelings you wouldn't have kissed him in the first place." He buried his face in his knees and waited to hear the door open again. Instead he felt her kneel next to him and wrap her arms around him.

"Al, I do know how you feel about him. And I'm sorry that I've upset you. But, please, you have to understand. I feel exactly the same way about him." Rose's gaze was pleading when Al turned his eyes to her.

"How can you say that? How can you tell me that? You are breaking my heart, and you don't even care."

Rose stood and offered her hand to him. Al stood on his own and turned to the sink. Her gaze sought his in the mirror. "I do care Al, and I'm so sorry. But I love Scorpius, and he loves me."

The whimper escaped Al before he could stifle it.

"I'm sorry, Al. I knew you loved him. I tried to stop my feelings. But after you told me how you felt about him, I started to see him in a new light. I realized then how much I cared about him and how important he was to me. You are my best friend Al, and I love you so much. I never wanted to hurt you. But Scorpius... he is the love of my life. I would give him to you if I could, but I can't. Scorpius is my whole world now. We really do complete each other."

Al sank to his knees and laid his head on the sink. The feel of the cold porcelain on his face shocked away his tears, but the pain in his heart remained. "I know, Rose. I knew I could never have him. I know you two are perfect for each other. I think I may have even known how you felt about one another. But knowing things doesn't make facing them hurt any less. I just need time. Please. Just give me until after NEWTS. I'll be fine, really."

Al glanced up into the mirror and caught Rose's eyes. She nodded and walked to the door. "I'm sorry, Al." And then she was gone.

That was the last Al saw of Rose and Scorpius. He sat his NEWTS and skipped out on the Leaving Feast in favor of fleeing to Spain. He came home the first Christmas after that, only to discover that Rose and Scorpius had married while he was out of the country. Al left then. He loved them both, and while glad that they were happy, he only wished it wasn't at his expense. He didn't return to England until Professor, now Headmaster, Flitwick sent him an owl to offer him a job as DADA teacher.

Al sat up at the head table on the first evening of school and watched the children eat. At the Ravenclaw table, three sixth years sat happily talking. A strawberry blonde girl smiled at the brunette boy sitting next to her, and he smiled back. Across the table, a girl with sparkling blue eyes was watching the boy with a hopeful expression. And then Al was thankful that the DADA position was still cursed. Because the Malfoy girl and the Boot boy were obviously in love, and Al didn't want to be there next year when those blue eyes dimmed. A golden trio always ends up with a third wheel. His father had been one. Al was one. And that happy girl down there was next.