Work Text:
One of Ginny’s favorites of the traditions she and Harry have invented over the years (along with “the kids spend Saturdays with the Granger-Weasleys” and “bring mommy breakfast in bed every time she wins a Quidditch match”), is summer movie nights.
Every evening, once it’s too dark to play Quidditch, Lily has returned from her expeditions into the forest, and Albus has turned up from wherever he disappeared off to when James suggested they play Quidditch, the Potters gather in their living room, turn on the Syfy channel (Ginny has no idea how that works), and mock the living shit out of whatever movie’s playing. The evenings get even more chaotic when (as there usually are) there are additional (eg non-Potter spawn) kids present. Tonight, Hugo is sleeping over (when is he not), and it’s the first night of Scorpius’s stay with them, so the night has, predictably, devolved into screaming confusion.
Amidst the noise, Ginny notices for the first time how close Albus and Scorpius are sitting next to each other on the couch. Scorpius’s head is almost, but not quite, resting on Albus’s shoulder. As she watches, Albus raises his right arm as though to put it around Scorpius, seems to change his mind, and retreats. Scorpius doesn’t notice.
Ginny stifles a laugh. Well. This is a new, though not exactly unexpected, development.
She tilts her head at Harry: hey, look at that.
Harry, squashed on the armchair with her, looks. His eyebrows fly up, and he turns to her with a slightly panicked expression. Ginny can almost see the gears in his head turning: Draco Malfoy at Christmas dinners! Draco Malfoy fighting with us about who spends the weekend with our grandchildren!
Ginny blinks at him: they’re seventeen.
Harry shrugs, emphatically: still!, and Ginny rolls her eyes and focuses on the movie. Which is awful, by the way:
“Time travel doesn’t work like that!” James is yelling at the screen.
“That’s not what causes disease!”
“And you can’t go to the moon!”
Regardless, the movie soon ends, to mingled cheers and applause, and another begins. On the couch, Scorpius yawns, performatively.
“I’m so tired,” he says. “Aren’t you tired, Albus?”
Ginny, who had been on the verge of falling asleep, snaps to attention.
“What?” Albus says. “It’s only—I mean, yes, um, exhausted.” He fakes a yawn too; it’s even worse than Scorpius’s.
Scorpius says, “We’d better get to bed. It being so late, and all.”
Albus nods a few times, very quickly. He jumps up off the couch, then turns to give Scorpius a hand, pulling him to his feet. Scorpius comes up a little too fast, stumbling into him, and they both blush. It is, Ginny observes, adorable.
“Okay, cool!” Scorpius says. “Um, goodnight, everyone!”
Albus gives a little wave, and they start off up the stairs. Ginny snorts and looks at Harry, who smirks and raises an eyebrow at her: go on. She hides a grin.
“Hey, Scorpius?” she calls.
“Yes, Mrs. Potter?”
“We actually moved you to James’s room this year!” She raises her voice to be heard over the hubbub of the living room. “There’s more space for an extra mattress in there, see!”
There is a pause.
Albus: “I think it’s fine, Mum! Thanks, though!”
Scorpius: “Yes, thank you, Mrs. Potter! But I’m perfectly comfortable just in Albus’s room!”
Harry is clearly struggling not to laugh.
“Oh, Scorpius, we insist!” Ginny calls back. “In fact, I might say we demand; we might say that it’s a precondition of your staying here tonight!”
There is a longer pause.
“Cool!” Scorpius says at last. “Sounds good!”, and Harry breaks into silent laughter next to her as James complains that they are talking way too much, ruining not only the movie, but, more importantly, his complaining about the movie.
***
Later that night, they're at the kitchen table, mercifully alone. Harry pours Ginny a generous glass of wine, and they sit together, quietly watching the dishes wash themselves.
Finally Ginny breaks the silence. “They are definitely going to have sex tonight,” she says, grimacing.
Harry laughs. “At least we don’t have to worry about either of them getting pregnant.”
“God.” Ginny shudders. “Can you imagine trying to explain that one to Draco?”