Archive of Our Own

Ginny

The Potter household, en route to the Ministry of Magic, two weeks into the summer break.

“Dad, come on!” Albus shouted from downstairs, his tone impatient but underneath that, excited. Harry glanced at the watch strapped to his wrist - the same one Molly had given him on his seventeen birthday, to see they were still going to be on time. It had been a crazy year for both Albus and Scorpius, and the summer break had been desperately needed. Their new version of them, from friendship to relationship, had been good for them. And it had been made very clear by both boys that they were not going to spend another summer break apart from each other. Thankfully, the Potters and Draco had gotten over any concerns about one another - traveling through time to save their sons had managed to mend any old wounds. 

And while this had been a good thing for Albus and Harry, he was aware he still had a lot of making up to do with his second son. While they were communicating better, and with Harry’s acceptance of Scorpius in his son’s life, the weight that had settled over Harry had begun to lift. However, it seemed that Draco Malfoy just seemed to be doing it slightly better with Albus. As soon as they had come home from Hogwarts for the year, Albus had been begging his parents to let him go to Malfoy Manor - while they were still on the platform! Only after Draco had promised to ensure his Floo was set up at the Potter’s house so Albus could visit whenever he pleased did his second son agree to come back with his family.

After hugging onto Scorpius for a considerably long time (James had to nearly tackle Albus to get him going), Albus had surprised Harry by grabbing Draco’s arm before they disappeared through the barrier. When their eyes met, Albus grinned at him and released him, instead giving him a small wave. 

“See you soon, Draco! I’m counting down the days to France!” 

The easy smile and goodbye that Draco had returned to his son had made Harry freeze, before it was James now turning on him and pushing him through the barrier, complaining that he wanted to go home. 

He had mentioned the exchange to Ginny later on, once their takeaways had been eaten and the kids had finally clambered off to their bed. He felt his words came across as normal, but from the look on Ginny’s face, it hadn’t.

“He was saying goodbye to his boyfriend’s dad - he was just being polite. No need to feel jealous over it, Harry.”

Not that Harry was jealous, of course. There was nothing to be jealous about - after all, Harry wanted Albus to have a positive relationship with Draco. And if Draco was kind enough to take Albus away on their family holiday this summer, then they must already have somewhat of a good relationship. And sure, maybe it felt weird, because Albus never seemed so keen on their own family holidays, but that was maybe because there was no Scorpius with them. It wasn’t Draco that Albus missed. 

He just wished it wasn’t France that Malfoy had chosen to take them too. Because Harry knew exactly who lived there. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Even thinking their names made his stomach twist. After testifying against their fellow Death Eaters and managing to avoid Azkaban for their participation in the war, they had more or less fled the country to their summer home in the beautiful French countryside, leaving Draco with Malfoy Manor. When Draco had asked for their permission to take Albus with them, he hadn’t tried to act like they wouldn’t be visiting his parents.

“We will be stopping by their home, just for the day. They want to see Scorpius.”

Ginny nodded next to Harry, her face neutral and giving nothing away. Harry knew he wasn’t as good at hiding his emotions. “Can’t Scorpius go himself?” He heard himself ask, his voice sounding funny to his own ears.

Draco shot him a look. “I am hardly going to drop off Scorpius by himself. Besides, Albus would insist on going with him.”

“I’m not sure about this,” Harry responded, feeling his heart beating fast in his chest. A tell tale sign of his anxiety acting up. “I’m barely getting my head around Al going away without us. And on top of that…”

“I understand your feelings,” Draco cut in, his tone sharp. “But I am not interested in bringing harm to Albus. Neither is Scorpius. And my parents wouldn’t dare touch him.” He paused and seemed to take a deep breath, as if to calm himself down.  “I’ll be with him the whole time. I swear on my life that nothing will happen to your son.”

“I think that is good enough for me,” Ginny said, before Harry could argue. “If we are going to show our boys that we love and care for them the way they deserve, then we need to have trust between us. And this holiday is a good starting point. Just remind Al to check in with us each night, okay? That will keep us from worrying.”

And so, it had been agreed that Albus could go to France and would make a stop to Draco’s parents. Truthfully, Harry had nightmares over it - he had already nearly lost his son so many times over the past year, this felt like such a bad idea. Each time he woke up from these dreams, he kept repeating in his head: trust Draco Malfoy . It didn’t make him go back to sleep, but it seemed to calm his racing heart. 

“ Daaaaad !”

“I’m coming!” He called out, running his fingers through his hair to try and calm down his anxious thoughts. He tried to school his features as he headed downstairs to the living room. Albus was there with his luggage, bouncing on his feet in front of the fireplace. Ginny was there too, putting on her coat. Lily and James also were there, slouched on the sofas and yawning, still in their pyjamas. It was rather early for them, but Albus’ shouting must have awoken them. 

“What’s wrong?” Albus asked, obviously picking up on the anxious energy coming from his father. Harry forced a smile and reached out to push his hand through Albus’ messy hair, mirroring what he had been doing upstairs. For once, Albus didn’t push his hand away. 

“Nothing,” Harry lied, “all ready to go?”

“I’ve been ready for twenty minutes!” Albus complained, but there was no real heat behind it. Merlin, they normally couldn’t get Al out of bed before noon in the holidays - being ready to go anywhere this early was practically unheard of. 

“Have you said goodbye to Lily and James?”

“Yeah yeah, bye.” Albus said, giving his little sister a half hug and not even bothering with James, even though he tried to grab him for a hug. Instead he lunged forward to grab the Floo powder and wasted no time in throwing it in the flames, shouting out “the Ministry of Magic!” and disappearing in a flash of green. 

Ginny and Harry followed after him, their hands clasped as they made their way through the green fire and into the Ministry. The two Malfoys were already there, their white blonde hair standing out from the passing crowds of Ministry workers. Between them was Albus, who seemed to be chatting animatedly to his boyfriend. Draco said something, causing both boys to laugh - and caused Harry to clench his teeth.

“Relax,” Ginny murmured to him as they walked over.

“I’m fine,” Harry said, forcing his face to relax. He never found Malfoy that funny growing up. 

Draco seemed to straighten once he caught sight of them, giving them both a nod. “Morning, Potters.”

“Draco, Scorpius.” Ginny nodded, smiling at him. “I’m surprised you beat us - if Al had it his way, we would have been here an hour ago.”

Albus flushed at that, but Draco just laughed. It still felt weird to hear a real laugh, not a snide one. “Trust me, Scorpius was much the same. Convinced somehow I would make him late.”

“My dad was going to make us late too,” Albus muttered to Scorpius, causing him to snicker.  

“He was not! Now, remember to check in with us every night,” Ginny reminded Albus, before pulling him in for a tight hug. Albus returned the hug, even though his cheeks were turning red, aware of the onlookers watching them all. “Listen to Draco, and behave! No sneaking around France with Scorpius.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs Potter - I think our sneaking around days are over.” Scorpius said, bouncing on his heels. 

“Ginny is just fine, Scorpius - and I’ll believe that when I see it,” Ginny said with a smile, tugging Scorpius into a hug next. The surprise on the blonde’s face would have been funny, but considering it had been years since Astoria had passed, it made Harry feel sad, knowing Scorpius had not had a hug from a mother figure in a long time.  “You have fun as well; Albus was telling me you can speak French?”

“Oui je le fais! Mes ancêtres étaient d'origine française, donc j'aime le parler quand je suis ici.” Scorpius rattled off as he pulled back, a grin on his face. Albus turned slowly to face him, his green eyes wide and his blush crawling further up his face.

“I have no idea what you just said,” Albus admitted, “but that was really-uh, you know .” 

“Impressive?” Scorpius offered, but by his tone, he knew that wasn’t the word Albus was looking for.

“Among other things.” Albus said slyly back. Draco cleared his throat at that, just before the teenagers forgot where they were and started making out. Harry had seen James do that quite enough, in places where he really shouldn’t. 

“We should get going before we miss our time slot,” Draco said, waving his wand at the cases and sending them over to the fireplace that was reserved for international travel. The guard for the fireplace was watching them with keen interest, but once the bags arrived in front of him, he began to pull them into the fireplace. “Albus, don’t forget to say goodbye to your father.”

“Right!” Albus spun around to face Harry, an easy smile on his face - for years, it felt like Albus couldn’t even muster one for Harry. Baby steps were better than backward steps however, and Harry smiled easily back, even though his heart began to pound in his chest.

Albus was leaving him. He would be in another country, where Harry couldn’t get to him. His mind went back to his son being lost in time, and how hopeless that felt-

His son came forward and gave him a hug; not tight like the one he shared with Ginny, but his arms still wound themselves around his waist, a gentle pressure. Harry froze for a moment, suddenly remembering the first time he held Albus once he was born - his angry squeaks filling the room as the Healer congratulated them on the birth of a healthy baby boy. He was so small then; how was he suddenly nearly the same height as Harry? 

Albus must have noticed his lack of action in returning the hug, as he quickly began to pull away. However, Harry’s reflexes as a seeker was just a bit faster - he swept his arms around Albus and pulled him back in, holding him just a bit tighter.

“Have fun, okay? But please don’t go off by yourself.” He said  into Albus’ hair. “You’ve got the two way mirror, don’t forget to use it. If you need me, just say the word.”

“Dad, I’ll be fine.” Albus said, his tone patient for once. “I’m not going to be alone.” 

“I know,” Harry said, pulling back to look at his son. “I’ll miss you.”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll miss you guys too.” Albus said, stepping back and taking Scorpius’ hand. “Come on, we better get going!” 

“Au revoir, Mr et Mrs Potter!” Scorpius said, giving them a wave even as he was pulled away by Albus. Only Draco stood back, just for a moment. His grey eyes bored into Harry’s green ones. 

“... No hug for me?” Draco asked dryly, causing Ginny to snort and push his arm. 

“You’ll get a hug if you manage to keep the boys from getting into trouble.” She responded, taking Harry’s hand again. “If you need anything while you are away, Draco, just send an owl - or use Al’s mirror.”

“Of course, though I am sure we will be fine.” Draco said, his eyes moving to look at Harry. Probably noticing his silence, which Harry seemed unable to break, not with his mind racing that his son was really going away without them. 

“... I’ll take care of him,” Draco reminded him, spoken so softly only Harry heard it. With that, he gave them both a stiff nod, and went to follow the boys. The Ministry worker checked all their documents, double checking both Draco’s and Scorpius’  before letting them enter the fireplace. He threw down the Floo powder and clearly stated; “Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France.”

And they were gone, in a puff of green smoke. Harry stood still for a moment, looking at the spot where his son had been. His chest was tight, but Ginny’s hand grounded him, allowing him to breathe. 

“... It's nice to see him so excited, isn’t it? With Scorpius and Draco.” Ginny finally said, turning to look at her husband.

“What does that mean?” Harry asked, his eyebrows knitting together. “You mean, Albus is excited to go away with his boyfriend to a romantic country, right?”

“Well, yes.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “But he did say he was looking forward to spending time with Draco, too.”

“He did?” Harry paused, as if confused as to how anyone would be looking forward to that (he could call a truce for the sake of their sons, it didn’t mean they were going to be best friends any time soon). 

“ Yes , Harry. Albus likes Draco. I think he always has. And,” Ginny began to steer him away from the empty fireplace. “I know Draco likes Albus. I first thought it was because he was Scorpius’ friend and made him happy, but after everything we went through last year, I can see how much he cares for Albus as his own individual person. It’s a good thing, Harry - don’t get in your head about it.”

“I’m not , Ginny, I just didn’t realise that Albus and Draco had any kind of bond.” He muttered. After all, Albus had a dad - a dad who loved him very much. Draco didn’t exactly need to fill those shoes. So what, apart from their mutual love of Scorpius, did they have to connect over? 

Probably disliking you for most of their childhood, a voice that sounded like Snape said in his head. He fought to keep the frown off his face - because if Ginny saw that, she would know that piece of information had rattled him. 

“If this goes well, we really need to bring Scorpius along to one of the big family holidays.” Harry decided as they made their way back to the fireplace they arrived from. No way was he going to let Draco have a family holiday with Albus and not give his son the same experience - minus the visit to ex Death Eaters.

Trixie the House Elf

Malfoy Manor, a week after Albus left for France with the Malfoys. 

It had been a long week for Harry. He had tried to keep himself distracted by throwing himself into his work - even his paperwork - and he had spent extra time with Lily and James practicing quidditch every night before bed. He cooked, went for walks with Ginny, and even went to the pub with Ron twice that week. But nothing worked; he couldn’t stop thinking about Albus, in a whole other country, without any family members with him. His son, who had nearly been lost in time months beforehand. It had been so difficult to not go to France himself and use his invisibility cloak to keep an eye on his son. But he knew that was stupid, and would cause a lot more trouble than it was worth. So, he decided he would only follow through with his plan should Albus fail to check in with them daily. 

However, Albus had surprisingly stuck to his word and checked in with them every night with his mirror, keeping them up to date with what they had gotten up to. Harry took it all in, his eyes never leaving Albus’ face. But his son had never looked upset, or unsure - in fact, Harry wasn’t sure when he had last seen him smile so much. He seemed to be making the most of his holiday with Scorpius, and Draco seemed to be keeping him safe.

He was dying to ask if Albus had been okay around Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy; the thought of Albus coming to harm while visiting them had made it nearly impossible to sleep. But he promised Ginny he would trust Draco, and in doing so, he had to keep his mouth shut. His nightmares kept going back to his return to life, when Narcissa lied to Voldemort and said he was dead; except in these dreams, he was looking over Narcissa's shoulder, and it was Albus lying on the ground. He woke up in a cold sweat twice from it. 

Finally, Sunday evening had rolled around, and Harry watched the clock as it ticked down to five o’clock. Ginny watched him from the corner of her eye as she worked on an article, a slight smirk on her face, but said nothing. Once the clock struck five, he was out of his chair and heading out the door, calling out that he was off to get Albus. She waved him off, telling him to “remember to thank Draco” as he left. 

He apparated outside Malfoy Manor at ten minutes past five. Although the Floo was now connected, it felt wrong to arrive in Malfoy’s home when he wasn’t there. He paused at the gates, the familiar feeling of dread overcoming him at the sight of the Manor. The horrors that had happened here during the war, the suffering Hermione had gone through… it wasn’t something Harry would ever manage to forget. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and tapped his wand against the gates; they opened at his touch, thanks to Draco charming the gates to recognise it was Harry. He walked up the pathway to the house, ignoring how sweaty his hands felt the closer he got. Albus had spent most of the summer here - it wasn’t the same place it had been all those years ago.

The door seemed to swing open by itself, before he heard a voice come from inside the house. “Oh, hello Mr Potter!” Squeaked the voice; Harry looked down into the smiling face of one of the house elves that worked in the Manor. “You can come in, Mr Potter sir!”

The elf bowed and backed away from the door, giving him space to come in. “Er…” Harry awkwardly wiped his feet before entering. The door automatically closed behind him, making him jump. “Thanks…?”

“Trixie, Mr Potter.” She bowed again, her nose nearly tapping the ground. “The Masters are not home yet, but they will be soon! Would Mr Potter like a cup of tea while he waits?”

“Oh, no need.” Harry responded, smiling at the elf. He had been concerned over how the house elves were treated; Dobby had been treated horribly by the Malfoys. However, Albus had made such a face when Harry asked him about it, and informed him the house elves were treated well. 

“Oh? If Mr Potter changes his minds, he just needs to call for Trixie.” She bowed low, before clicking her fingers and apparating. He didn’t move further into the house, the same feeling of awkwardness and apprehension coming back to him. The whole house seemed to have been redecorated - nothing was the same in Harry’s memories of the Manor. 

The only thing that hadn’t changed were the portraits of dead Malfoy family members. Harry was sure these portraits had been here when he, Ron and Hermione were captured. The striking blond hair and pointed   glared down their noses at him, clearly aware he did not belong. However, none of them made comments - Harry was beginning to wonder if Draco had found a way to enchant them not to talk. He wondered, with a sinking feeling, what comments they had been making before he had done this. 

Harry refused to meet their gaze; instead, he looked at the smaller photographs in carefully selected frames. There were many of Scropius as a baby - he was adorable, and really, he hadn’t changed much. There were two of Draco and Astoria, one which appeared to be from their wedding day and then one with Scorpius as a toddler. Draco always had a small smile on his face, but Astoria’s smile was wide. As much as Scorpius looked like Draco, he had his mother’s smile.  

But there, next to the family photo, was a familiar face. Harry blinked, taking a step closer. From a distance, it looked like Draco and Harry - but closer up, it was obviously Scorpius and Albus. They boys had their arms over each other’s shoulders, hugging closely together. The photo seemed to have been taken in the Manor’s gardens. They knocked their heads together, and seemed to be laughing at some inside joke.  

It took him by surprise - Draco loved Scorpius, of course, but for Albus to have a place on his wall, with his personal photos and family portraits… that kind of acceptance was permanent. Draco wanted to show he supported their relationship, and supported Albus being in his family . 

No wonder he loves coming here so much , Harry thought. We don’t have a photo of them. I wonder if Scorpius even feels welcomed at our home.

“Mr Potter sir!” Trixie apparated next to him, causing him to jump. “The Masters have informed me they will be here at any moment! Is Mr Potter sure he doesn’t want a cup of tea?” 

“No, but thank you.” Harry said firmly, looking back at the photo. Trixie followed his gaze, and beamed at the photo. 

“It is a lovely photo, yes? They both look happy!”

“Uh, yes, it is.” Harry said, “it’s kind of Draco to put it up.”

Trixie nodded, but seemed to pick up on his more sombre mood. “No need to be looking unhappy, Mr Potter! The Master wouldn’t have put it up to make you jealous!”

Jealous , there it was again. Was that what he was feeling? 

“I’m not jealous,” Harry responded, feeling a need to defend himself. “I’m just…” annoyed that he didn’t think to do it first? Honestly, he had no idea what he felt.

“Of course not, sir, Trixie spoke out of turn.” Thankfully, instead of hitting herself for doing so like Dobby would have, she simply bowed again. “I’ll leave you alone, Mr Potter.” And before he could say another word, she apparated once again.

As soon as she was gone, Harry could hear the familiar noise of the fireplace crackling to life, and then - voices. Harry forced himself to push his thoughts to the back of his mind and began walking towards the living room. Before he could reach it, Albus appeared at the door, his hair as wild as ever with soot on his cheek. 

“Albus,” Harry said, the relief in his tone evident. His youngest son was here, and he was whole, and smiling. Without thinking, Harry pulled him in for a tight hug, squeezing him gently. Normally, Al would duck out of any kind of hug, especially in front of others, but Harry felt his son’s arms wrap around him. The anxiety that Harry felt that week seemed to disappear in his hold.

“Hi dad,” Albus said, his words slightly muffled against his chest. He pulled back, green eyes meeting green. “Sorry we were running a bit late, we went to see the Eiffel Tower one last time.” 

“Did you have fun?” Are you okay?

“Yeah, France was awesome!” Albus nodded, pulling back from him to stand with Scorpius. “The food was so good, and we saw loads of places - magical and muggle!”

“We come back with an addiction for croissants,” Scorpius said with a beam, his hand taking hold of Albus’. “I think Albus ate four one morning!” 

“Three and a half,” Albus argued back, a grin on his face. “We split the fourth one, remember?”

“I can’t wait to hear all about it,” Harry interrupted gently, before the boys got lost in their own world as they tended to do. “Al, we should head off, your mum will want to hear about all your adventures.”

“Aw, ok…” Albus muttered, as if he hadn’t just spent a week away with his boyfriend. “Can Scorpius come over tomorrow?”

“If Draco says yes, then sure.” Harry responded, beaming at Scorpius. It must have been a bit much, because Scorpius gave him a wide eyed look back before he managed to smile and nod. 

“Of course he will!” Scorpius responded on behalf of his father, pulling Albus back into the living room with the large fireplace that was used for Floo travel. “We’ll get the Floo ready for you!” Which really meant they were going to make out for a few minutes. Neither father moved to follow them - Draco clearly knew what they were up to, as well. 

“Draco, thanks again for taking Albus.” Harry said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“It was a pleasure,” Draco answered, “he’s a great kid. I’m sure once they are finished at Hogwarts, they will both go traveling the world.” A pause fell over them, heavy and suffocating. Harry cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a strong urge to get out of the Manor again. The portraits glared between him and Draco.

“He was fine. With my parents.” Draco said, though it sounded like he was gritting his teeth. “Scorpius can find my father intimidating. I can find him… difficult . But Albus just took it all in his stride. My mother liked him a lot.”

He was glad he didn’t have to voice the question, because he wasn’t sure how to ask it without causing offence. Draco, for once, seemed to understand that. “That’s good,” Harry said, exhaling slowly. “I was… well, worried before he went. But I knew you’d keep him safe.” 

And that, he realised, wasn’t a lie he was telling himself.

“We better check on them,” Draco said suddenly, turning away from Harry and heading back into the living room. Harry followed him after one last glance at the photo of Scorpius and Albus. 

The boys had managed to separate by the time Harry entered the room, and Albus already had a handful of Floo powder in his fist, and his suitcase in the other. “Come by tomorrow when you can,” Albus said, before he grinned at Draco. “Thank you again for taking me, Draco. I had a great time with you.”

“You’re welcome, Albus.” Draco responded and smiled back . 

Albus threw the powder down and said “the Potter home” , before disappearing in a flash of green. Harry stepped up and took the powder in his own hand, turning to say his goodbyes, but paused. He hardly recognised this room due to the large makeover it had gotten since the war. 

“This place looks great - the changes… yeah, it looks good.” Harry said, looking back at the Malfoy family. 

Draco seemed surprised at the comment, but Scorpius smiled back. “Thanks, Mr Potter - my mum… she was really good at interior design.” Scorpius responded, looking around his home. Draco’s face fell, just slightly. The image seemed burned into his mind as he entered the green flames and into his own living room. 

That night, after the family reunited and listened to all of Albus’ stories, Harry found himself holding his wife in bed, his thoughts still on the photos he saw in the Manor. The idea of only being able to have memories of him holding Ginny… Well, it made him pity Draco Malfoy more than he cared to admit. 

“Cuddly tonight,” Ginny commented with a hum, snuggling into his arms. 

“Just happy Al is back,” Harry said softly, stroking his hand up and down her arm. “Gin? Next time Scorpius is here, we need to take a photo of him and Albus.”

“We do?” Ginny raised her head to meet his eyes. “Why?”

“I think it’s a nice idea.” Harry said, his tone light. 

“... Merlin’s Beard, you saw that photo of Albus and Scorpius that Draco has up, didn’t you?” Ginny asked, laughter in her tone. “Is everything a competition with you two?”

“No! It’s just nice, to show Al that we accept Scorpius.” Harry said quickly. “I messed up before, about them, I just… want Albus to feel seen here, too.”

“Aw,” Ginny smiled, leaning back down onto Harry’s chest. “Well, we could do with some new family photos anyway; can you believe this will be James’ last year at Hogwarts? Where has the time gone?”

Harry nodded with a sigh; they were growing up, all of them, far too fast. 

Ron

The Potter Household, Albus’ fifteenth birthday party.

Once he started at Hogwarts, Albus was adamant he did not want to celebrate his birthdays anymore - not unless it was with Scorpius. However, with how… frosty things had been between the Malfoys and Potters for most of their sons' time at school, that had never happened. So the family would come over to celebrate, but really, Harry knew that it wasn’t Albus’ thing, being the centre of attention. Even as a kid, he had struggled with all eyes on him. 

However, with the madness of the previous year, and the general motions of getting along better with… well, everyone, Albus had agreed to have a small gathering at the house. His previous stipulation was still in place, of course - there would be no party without Scorpius being there. But, there was also a new condition - Draco Malfoy was also to be invited along. Harry and Ginny both agreed, but privately, Harry wasn’t sure if Draco would show up. Being around Harry and Ginny could be enough some days, never mind the added pressure of the Weasley clan. 

The house had been carefully decorated with birthday banners, balloons and Harry’s most favourite decorations - photos of Albus on each of his birthdays. The fourteen photos were lined up on under his birthday banner, and Harry had his camera ready to take the latest photo. And, he was determined to get plenty of photos of Albus with Scorpius, which would stay up permanently. 

It didn’t take long for James to start the music - he had a love of both magical and muggle music, and so they had bought him an iPod and speaker that Arthur had managed to charm to work without electricity. Lily helped Ginny set up the table, full of party food and drinks. Albus, not surprisingly, was absent from it all. He would be soaking up all the alone time he could get before the crowd arrived.

An hour later, they had to call Albus down from his room when his family began to appear. He seemed anxious at the sight of them, but with Harry’s hand gently on his back, it had kept him grounded enough to join in the chatter and accept their hugs and kisses. The large pile of gifts certainly helped Albus find himself in a better mood. 

It didn’t take long for the house to be crowded, and noisy - a comfort to Harry, because it reminded him of the noise of the Burrow from his childhood, but Albus seemed to be looking for an escape - or for someone else. The Malfoy’s had not yet arrived, and although there was no set time to arrive, Albus had not been keen to do anything until they got here. 

Ron had been by his side most of the night, making the kids laugh with all his stories and gifts from the store. When the Floo next came to life, Albus jumped out of his seat, not paying any mind to his uncle who was halfway through another childhood story. His shoulders drooped when Teddy walked into the room, a present tucked under his arm and a large grin on his face. Still, Albus went over to say hello, accepting the hug Teddy pulled him into. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Albus look so unhappy to see Teddy,” Ron snorted, slyly taking a sausage roll from the table (Albus didn’t want anyone to eat without his special guests there). 

“I know, poor Ted.” Harry said, also taking a sausage roll. “Do you think I should Floo call Draco? If he doesn’t show up with Scorpius, I think Albus will be heartbroken.”

“Dunno, mate.” Ron said, reaching for another roll - only stopping when Hermione glared at him. “There’s no way Scorpius won’t show up, but maybe Draco is having doubts. I mean, I know we are trying this friendship thing, but this maybe wasn’t what ponytail was signing up for…” 

“I’ll give it ten more minutes.” Harry decided, before getting caught up in a conversation with Bill and Arthur. 

Ten minutes came and went, and Harry was ready to go and Floo over to the Manor to see if everything was alright, when he saw the telltale signs of a green hue flash on the walls. A second later, Scorpius came running into their main living room, his eyes bright as he took in the group in front of him. If he was nervous, he didn’t show it.

“Hi, everyone! Have you seen-”

“Scorpius?” Albus’ head appeared from a sea of red heads, his eyes wide and a grin breaking over his face. He pushed past his cousins, not caring when he stood on Hugo’s foot.  

“Albus! Happy birthday!” Scorpius said with a grin, before throwing his arms around his boyfriend. Albus grinned and hugged him back just as tightly, his feet nearly leaving the ground. “Sorry, dad got stuck at work and I said I would wait for him! You didn’t have your cake already, did you?” Harry understood his worries - Molly’s cakes were legendary. 

“No, I haven’t even opened gifts yet, I wanted to wait for you.” Albus said, his hands coming up to rest on Scorpius’ cheeks. “I missed you.”

“You saw each other yesterday,” Draco said, but there was humour in his voice. He was dressed down, somewhat - he still wore a suit, but there were no heavy black robes to accompany them. Compared to the rest of them, he stood out. He looked around at the different faces in the room, his face giving nothing away except the slight twitches when he saw certain people. Harry was aware that Draco hadn’t seen some of these people since the War, and it would be intimidating, a snake walking among a whole heap of lions. 

“Draco, you came!” Albus said, pulling back from Scorpius, a grin on his face. 

“Of course,” he said, slightly stiffly. “Happy birthday, Albus. My apologies for being late.”

“Not at all!” Albus said, as if he hadn’t been panicking minutes before. Hary purposefully ignored the voice in his head, pointing out just how pleased Albus was to see Draco. There was a pause, in which no one in the room seemed to know what to say, but it was thankfully broken by Molly. 

“Oh, just look at you!” Molly said, instantly going into grandmother mode once she made her way over to Scorpius. She patted his cheeks, beaming up at the younger Malfoy. “You are just the double of your dad, so handsome! Albus is very lucky. And you!” It was almost comical, to see Draco jump when Molly moved onto him. “I’ve only heard good things about Scorpius from the kids, you’ve raised a fine young man. And Albus told us all about France, it was so kind of you to take him along.” She patted his cheeks too, as if he were a teenager too. Molly never seemed to view any of them as anything other than kids. 

“I, uh…” Wow, Malfoy was at a loss for words - Harry was almost tempted to take a photo of his face but he figured Ginny wouldn’t find it funny. Luckily, Teddy seemed to be able to save him.

“Hi!” Teddy walked over to him, his hair turning from blue to the silver white of the Malfoys. He offered his hand to Draco, then Scorpius. “I’m Teddy Lupin; I hear we’re second cousins. My grandmother is Andromeda Tonks; she couldn’t make it tonight but wanted me to pass on my hellos to you both.” 

Scorpius’ face lit up at that. He shook his hand back vigorously. “Hi! Albus has told me all about you! You do a lot with Magical Law regarding the rights of werewolves and other types of mixed species. I can’t imagine that it is easy, a lot of people can be so backwards in their views.” 

Teddy seemed delightfully surprised at Scorpius, and it wasn’t long for them to get talking about Teddy’s campaigns with the Ministry and the wizarding world. 

“Draco, come and get a drink,” Ginny said warmly, placing a hand on his arm. He was looking a little overwhelmed, and honestly, a little surprised with how well Scorpius was handling the pressure of walking into a party of people he didn’t know. “I’ll go round the group and put names to faces, alright?” 

*

Once Draco and Scorpius were properly introduced (or reintroduced, in Draco’s case) to the whole Weasley clan, the chatter and laughter picked up again. Draco found himself in discussion with Hermione, Percy and Bill (no doubt Ministry related, but they still seemed to be laughing while they spoke), while the many different cousins spent a lot of time chatting to Scorpius. This in turn kept Albus close by, an arm wrapped around his boyfriend, especially when Rose joined in the conversations. It didn’t take long for Lily to call Scorpius over to the photos of Albus on different birthdays, much to Albus’ chagrin. 

“Oh, look!” Scorpius laughed, pointing at Albus on his fifth birthday. He was grinning wildly at the camera, with an equally beaming Rose by his side. “This is too cute, Albus! You were so adorable when you were little. And Rose, you haven’t changed a bit!”

“He was so adorable,” Lily nodded solemnly, patting her brother’s cheek. “Whatever happened to you, Albus?”

“Oh, shut it,” Albus grumbled, desperately trying to pull Scorpius away from the photos. 

“Scorpius, if you like the photo, feel free to keep it.” Harry called out to him, a grin on his own face when his second eldest groaned. “I’ve got other photos from his birthday I can use for next year.”

“Really, Mr Potter? Thanks!” Scorpius beamed, carefully taking the pin out of the photo and into his pocket. “Guess I’ll be putting it up in our dormitory.” He teased, tapping Albus on the nose. 

“Do not ,” Albus hissed, trying to reach into his pocket for the photo. But Scopius saw it coming, and had his hands in a tight grip before he could get any further. 

“Actually, boys! While I have you, let’s get a photo of you two together.” Harry said, accio-ing his camera over to him. He took a few, his smile getting wider the more Albus relaxed in front of the camera with Scorpius. There was no denying that they were a well suited couple, and he promised to give Scorpius a copy of this photo, as well. 

This felt like the perfect time to strike up a conversation with Scorpius; he really did want to spend more time with him, and maybe he could share stories about Albus when he was young, he was sure the other would love to hear them. He opened his mouth to strike up the conversation, when Ginny’s voice called out from the other side of the room. 

“Albus, let’s get these gifts open and then we can cut the cake!” Ginny said, all his gifts levitating over to him. Albus groaned, feeling all eyes were back on him, but with Scorpius’ coaxing he sat down on the sofa, surrounded by his presents. Scorpius took the seat next to him, a small smile on his face. 

“Hurry up, birthday boy.” James said, tapping his empty butterbeer bottle. “If you do this now, we can go and play party games!”

“Er…” Albus eyed the bottle in his brother’s hand dubiously, before looking between Rose and Scorpius. “Not spin the bottle though, right?” 

“Well, unless you want to put a new meaning to kissing cousins , no.” Said cousins snickered at that, while Rose just rolled her eyes. “I was thinking along the lines of truth or dare!”

“Merlin, even that might be a bad idea.” Albus muttered, before reaching out for the first present.

They were reaching the end of the gifts; Albus had just opened the present from Scorpius, which was a handmade scrapbook of their trip to France, complete with photos they had taken and personal mementos, like train fares and receipts. Scorpius had seemed nervous at the gift, but the look of pure love on Albus’ face seemed to calm his nerves. Albus pressed a quick, small kiss to the corner of Scorpius’ mouth along with a whispered; “I love it, thank you.” He valiantly ignored the jeers from James and his uncles at the kiss (Ginny whacking them on the arms seemed to stop them, but only just). 

They had given Albus some new clothes from muggle brands he seemed to like, as well as two enchanted parchments that allowed instant messaging when written upon to one another. Albus declared that his parents should keep one, when he went to Hogwarts. The final present was directly from Harry - while he realised the blanket he had given at the start of last term hadn’t been the greatest gift (though it had helped save the boys in the end), he had other sentimental possessions he could give Albus. And this time, it wouldn’t be used as a way of keeping an eye on him. 

“ Wow , dad.” Albus exhaled, looking over to his dad with wonder. “For real? You are giving this to me?” In his hands was the Marauders Map - currently, it looked like old parchment and nothing else, but Albus had recognised it straight away.  

“Well, I thought you could put it to good use.” Harry said, smiling over at his son. “Just don’t let Professor McGonagall catch you with it - she’ll have my head.”

“What is it?” Louis asked, his tone confused. “It’s just parchment!”

“Exactly,” Albus said, tucking it away carefully and sharing a sly grin with Scorpius. “It’s nothing important. Thank you,” he said, beaming at his dad. Harry felt a similar expression on his own face, while he mentally congratulated himself - that present had certainly gotten the best reaction. He felt really connected with Albus, in ways he hadn’t felt in such a long time. 

“You’ve got one left, Al,” Ginny said, pointing to the envelope next to him. Draco seemed to stiffen at the sight of it, taking Harry out of his mini congratulatory thoughts and back in the room. 

“Oh, this one is from dad,” Scorpius explained, holding it out to Albus. Ah, that explained his reaction slightly .  

“Really?” Albus looked over to Draco, a small smile on his face. “You didn’t need to do that, France was enough!” Still, his son wasted no time in opening the envelope, reading the message with a small smile before turning his attention to what was tucked in the card. He picked up two tickets, before gasping loudly. 

“No… no way,” Albus murmured, gaping at the tickets and then Draco. “No way! How… I mean, what ?”

“What is it?” Harry asked, feeling alarmed at Albus’ reaction. The rest of the family seemed to lean towards Albus in suspense. 

“We… I’ve got VIP tickets to see and meet The Talking Pumpkins !” He said, jumping up to show them the tickets. The kids (and some of the adults) let out a mix of positive and negative sounds, with most of the cousins going over to Albus to see the tickets. 

“What?” Lily roared, stomping over to her brother and reaching him first. Her dream was to be in a band when she was older, and it was well known that all the kids loved The Talking Pumpkins . “Are you kidding me? You need to take me!”

“As if!” Albus laughed, his arm back around Scorpius’ waist. “Draco got these for me and Scorpius! Merlin in Avalon, we are going to see The Talking Pumpkins !” 

“I mean, you can take whoever you want,” Scorpius said, a grin on his face. “But I’d really like to go.”

“As if you need to ask,” Albus said, jerking the tickets away from prying hands. “Draco, thank you so much!” Albus shouted, waving wildly over to Malfoy. “Seriously, this is amazing!”

“Albus,” Lily clicked her fingers in his face, trying to get his attention back on her. “Will you give them the tape of me singing?”

“No, you weirdo!”

“If you loved me you would!” Lily said with a pout. Soon enough, the kids were all talking over each other, even managing to drown out the music still playing in the room. Ginny shook her head with a fond grin, before announcing she would get the candles ready for the cake. 

Harry had yet to say anything. He felt that his smile was still frozen on his face, which was good, but he could not make himself turn to look at Draco. Harry had tried to get tickets for Albus (really, all the kids) for weeks with no luck. Maybe he should have tried harder, if Draco seemed to pull it off. Because there was no denying that this was Albus’ favourite gift, and it hadn’t even come from his family - from Harry . He thought he had nailed it with the gift of the Map, but… this reaction was much bigger. Much happier. 

Ron had slid his way over to stand with Draco and Harry, a grin on his face, not seeming to notice the silence between them. 

“Mate, good gift,” Ron said, clapping his hand on Draco’s shoulder. Draco’s lips twitched at the compliment, but gave a modest shrug. “Seriously! Harry had me trying to get tickets for that concert, too, but it was practically sold out as soon as they went on sale! And the Head of Magical Law Department, aka the Saviour over there, wasn’t willing to use his title to get a couple of tickets!”

“Hermione would have killed me,” Harry argued, pleased he was able to keep his voice light. “You know what she's like about taking anything that can be seen as a bribe. Those tickets must have cost you a fortune, Draco.”

That did cause Draco’s face to pinch, as if he were in pain. “Actually, I didn’t pay a penny for them. You remember Pansy, from school?” As if Harry could forget her - she had been rather vocal about handing him over to Voldemort. 

“Parkinson?”

“Yes, that’s the one. She is the band’s manager. I’ve not spoken to her since… well, since school.” He looked over at Albus, who was currently waving the tickets in his siblings faces with an almost childish glee. Scorpius was trying to get him to stop, but he also had a large grin on his face. 

“She laughed at me for about ten minutes when she heard who I was sourcing the tickets for. Asked me to repeat myself. When she confirmed I was actually buying Albus Potter a birthday present, she insisted on giving them backstage passes, so she could ‘see it with her own eyes’.” Draco shook his head, his face looking less pinched and more resigned. “The only cost I have is that I am overdue catching her up on my life, apparently. She has ensured we will meet up at least once a month,” he took a large gulp of his wine, “and of course, extended the invite to you, Harry. Though I think that is just so she can spend time laughing at your misfortune in being stuck with Malfoys in your life.” 

Ron snorted at that, not even attempting to cover it up. That certainly sounded like the Pansy Harry remembered from school. Sometimes, he forgot just how strange it was for the Malfoys and Potters to be so aligned - it was funny how one year could change a lifetime of hatred.

“Well, I’m sure Albus will be grateful for your sacrifice,” Ron said, tapping his glass against Draco’s. “I’ve not seen him so excited over a gift in a long time!”

Harry had to grit his teeth at that, and took a long drink of his own beer. Ron obviously hadn’t meant to push his buttons, and really, he was right. It was just… slightly annoying that he hadn’t managed to get the perfect gift for Albus like Draco had.

Stupid Slytherins and their stupid connections. 

“I really cannot take the credit - Scorpius told me it was his favourite band,” Draco said, as if he picked up on Harry’s frustration. He cleared his throat, and gestured to his nearly empty glass, “if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen.” And with that, Draco headed to the kitchen, easily moving around the Weasley clan as if he were made of smoke. 

“A great bloody gift and it didn’t cost him a penny,” Ron snorted, turning to face Harry. “Honestly, he’s a lucky git, isn’t he? Hey, you alright?”

“Hm? Yes, of course I am! Why?” Harry said, a frown on his face.

“Well, you had that look on your face. I’m having flashbacks to our sixth year when you would stare at Malfoy like that.” Ron crossed his arms over his chest, an amused eyebrow raised. “So what is it? You aren’t bloody jealous that he got Albus that gift, are you?”

“Jealous? Hardly, Ron - it’s not like I wanted to go and see the Talking Pumpkins .”

“I know that! Merlin, Hugo has them blasting all the time, it does my head in! But you know what I meant - are you jealous that Malfoy got Albus the gift he really wanted? Because from the sounds of it, he only got it because of his connections. Even if you did try and get tickets, you wouldn’t have gotten backstage passes.”

“I’m glad he got Albus those tickets. He’s going to have a great time with Scorpius.” Harry could feel his neck getting hot. He took another sip of his beer. “I’m not jealous, mate. Don’t even go there.”

Ron held up his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright! I’m just saying, just because this was Albus’ favourite gift - it is, don’t give me that look - it doesn’t mean he loves what you guys got him less, y’know?” 

“I know, Ron. Seriously, you are overthinking this more than I am.”

“I don’t know if that's possible,” Ron responded, nudging his shoulder into Harry’s. “You are forgetting how well I know you. Just means when it’s little Malfoy’s birthday, you need to get him an even better gift.”

Harry nodded along and even managed a laugh - but his mind was in a panic. Merlin’s beard, how was he meant to top that gift? 

“Dad!” Albus shouted at him, tickets still in his grip. “Can Scorpius stay over tonight? For a sleepover?” Scorpius was not far behind him, his eyes wide and pleading. Sadly for the boys, James had also followed. 

“Yeah dad, Scorpius wants to give Albus his real gift.” James said from behind the boys, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Ron choked on his drink as he laughed - while poor Scorpius went bright red. 

“I… I mean, yes but no -” Scorpius squeaked, looking between James and Harry with growing horror.

“Shut up, James!” Albus hissed, cutting off whatever Scorpius was about to say - this was most likely a good thing. “Mum told you you can’t be a dick to me on my birthday.”

“As if you didn’t just spend ten minutes flaunting your precious tickets to your whole family!” James responded, his eyes back on the tickets with open desire. 

“Boys,” Harry chastised gently, feeling a fight brewing between them and keen to squash it before it could get out of hand. “ Yes , Scorpius is welcome to stay, but check with Draco,” he smiled at the two cheers he got from the boys. 

“Yes, thanks dad - best birthday ever!” Al beamed, before handing him his tickets. “Can you keep these safe for me? I don’t trust James or Lily with them.” 

“Good idea,” Harry said, taking the tickets and pocketing them. “I’ll guard them with my life.”

Albus nodded and grinned at him, before taking Scorpius’ hand and pulling towards the kitchen, shouting for Draco. 

“Aw, young love. Still so glad mini Malfoy is in love with Albus and not Rose.” Ron murmured, before taking his empty bottle from his grasp, “another drink?” 

“That would be great, thanks.” Harry confirmed, tapping the tickets safely tucked in his pocket with a thoughtful expression. 

Perhaps he would offer to go to the pub with Draco, when the boys went to the concert. Or join him and Pansy on one of their meetings.  After all, it wouldn’t hurt for Harry to build contacts of his own (and he’d need all the help he could get if he wanted to get Scorpius an amazing birthday gift, too). 

Hermione

The Ministry of Magic, two weeks before the start of school.

Harry was sure he had read the same line on the report twice. With a groan, he took off his glasses to rub his eyes, willing the building headache to leave him. Sadly, even with Delphi’s arrest, the many creatures of the magical world had not yet fallen back into the Ministry's sights. Worst of all, were reports of movements with old Death Eater families - not enough to make arrests, but certainly enough to shake up his department. He was yet to decide what to do - part of him wanted to ask Draco if he had heard of any rumours, but considering how that last went… Well, Harry didn’t want to rock the boat. 

He pulled out a map and began to cross off places his teams had already searched, looking for any missing links. A few minutes later there was a knock on his door; Harry was tempted to shout at them to leave him be, but before he could the door opened. Hermione’s bushy hair came into view, glancing around the door. “Harry! It’s not like me to find you actually in your office.”

“Haha,” Harry said, gesturing for her to come in. She did so, shutting the door behind her. “I’m glad you did find me, actually. Do we have an agreed date to trial Delphi? I would like an opportunity to question her about the trolls and werewolves' disappearance. She must know something.”

“Hopefully soon - we’re worried about the press coverage.” Hermione admitted, taking a seat at his desk. “And without knowing who her supporters are, it could be dangerous to even trial her. I don’t like the unknown people surrounding this, Harry.”

“Me neither,” Harry said, leaning back in his chair with a groan. Merlin, he was feeling old. “The Aurors assigned to her said she doesn’t mention anything, except…” he frowned, his hand closing into a fist over his wand, “except she talks about Albus. Apparently she acts like they are old friends. She asks for updates about him all the time.”

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione reached over and rested her hand over his fist, “she won’t get near him. If anything, she is saying that just to get to you. Don’t give her the attention she wants.” Hermione patted his fist, then reached for some of the files that cluttered his desk. “Now, not that I want to be accused of any kind of favouritism, but I’m going to take these files off your hands and sort through your notes. You don’t want to be late for your lunch date, now do you?” 

“I am?” Harry’s frown deepened, tapping his wand onto his calendar. It flicked to the correct date, where he could see that except for his morning meetings, he had nothing else on. 

Hermione had stood up and  leaned against the back of the chair, one eyebrow raised. “I thought Albus was meeting you for lunch? I bumped into him and Scorpius at the main entrance - I didn’t get a chance to talk to them, but I managed to stop Rita Skeeter from pestering them. I presumed they were waiting for you.”

Albus? He never visited Harry at work (and really, he wasn’t counting the time he was polyjuiced as Ron) and had made it clear he would only come there as an emergency. Lily loved to come to his office and pester him when she could, but even that had stopped now she was getting older. 

Well, it was sweet of them to come and see him. Albus had been staying over with the Malfoy’s most of the week, checking in through his two-way mirror when he remembered to do it. He was glad Scorpius was here too; Harry was desperate to spend more time getting to know him, to make amends, but Albus had a terrible habit of disappearing with Scorpius to his room every time his boyfriend came over - and Harry was not brave enough to interrupt whatever it was they were doing. 

“Oh,” Harry stood suddenly, shoving his wand back in its holder and grabbing his robes. “Al didn’t say he was coming by. I’ve barely seen him since his birthday!”

“Teenagers,” Hermione said dryly, heading over to the door. “I swear, I hardly see Rose or Hugo these days. Come on, I’ll walk you there.” 

Harry hurriedly put on his robes, locking his office behind them. They took off towards the lifts, nodding and greeting different wizards and witches as they went. From the dark day he was having, looking at all that paperwork and finding more questions than answers, this welcomed break with his middle child had lifted his mood considerably. It didn’t take them too long to get to the atrium, which was as busy as usual. 

“There!” Hermione pointed over towards the statue, and sure enough, Harry could make out Scorpius’ white blond hair. The boys seemed to be talking to each other, their heads bent low. Albus was frowning, his hand rubbing Scorpius’ back. Scorpius seemed upset, and Harry was worried Rita hadn’t left them alone. 

“Thanks, ‘Mione,” Harry said, sending her a grateful smile. He gave her a wave and began to walk over to the boys. 

“Hey guys,” Harry said cheerfully once he reached them. Albus looked up at his dad, and didn’t seem overly happy to see him - in fact, his frown only seemed to deepen. Scorpius, at least, tried to crack a smile, however up close Harry could see his eyes were tinged red, like he had been crying. “What are you doing here?” he asked, unsure whether or not he should make on that he knew that Scorpius was upset.

“We’re going out for lunch,” Albus said, his tone rather short and Albus-like. Truthfully, he hadn’t heard this tone in a while, and it caught him off guard. He had to pull back on the urge to bite to it, as he normally would.   

“Oh yeah? Hermione mentioned it.” He checked his watch. “I’ve got time to join you, but it will need to be somewhere close by - I have to submit a report by this afternoon, and I’ll be honest, I haven’t even started it yet!” 

“Er, dad…” Albus said, his tone a bit softer. He rubbed circles on the back of Scorpius’ hand with his thumb; Harry wondered if he even noticed he was doing it.  “We actually arranged to meet Scorpius’ dad for lunch today.” The ‘ not you’ was heard, loud and clear.  

“Albus, your dad can come if he wants to.” Scorpius said quickly, frowning at his boyfriend. Though, even Scorpius didn’t seem too thrilled about that. Harry found himself shaking his head, trying to shake the slight feeling of jealousy that he wasn’t actually invited to the lunch plans. Not that he wanted to go for lunch with Draco, of course. It just never felt nice to not be included, regardless of how old you were. 

“No, Scorpius, that’s alright.” Harry said, trying to keep his tone light and only half succeeding. “If you just made plans with your dad, I don’t want to disrupt them. Sorry, Hermione had just said - she thought you were here to see me, is all.”

Scorpius bit his lip, and finally met his gaze - worryingly, there seemed to be new tears there. Harry began to frown, because if someone had upset Scorpius, well, he wanted to know about it. 

“It’s just… well, today is sort of-”

“Scorpius,” he heard from behind him. Harry turned to face Draco, who somehow looked paler than he usually did. His hair, usually tied back neatly, was messily put together, and his eyes had dark circles under them. Would it be weird of Harry to ask if he was alright? He looked just as ill as he had when the boys were traveling through time.

Draco, however, didn’t even look at Harry. He kept his eyes on his son with a frown on his face, as if he was unsure if he should sweep him in his arms or keep him at an arm's length. 

“Draco,” Harry said in greeting, taking a small step back from the group. Draco blinked at Harry, as if he only just took in that he was here, and responded with only a small nod. “I heard you guys have lunch plans today.”

“... We do, they were rather last minute.” Draco murmured, his eyes flickering between Harry and Albus. “I wasn’t aware you were joining us…”

“He’s not,” Albus said, meeting his father’s gaze. His eyes were determined, but behind that, they seemed to be pleading with him to listen. “Right, dad?”

“... Right. I was just going to see you off.” Harry forced himself to smile, ignoring the sting in his chest one could only have from rejection. “Albus, it would be nice of you to show your face at home some time, or we’ll forget what you look like.”

“I won’t be back tonight,” Albus said firmly, “I said I would stay. But I promise I’ll come home tomorrow night.”

“Well, I’ll make your favourite.” Harry said, reaching out to pat his son’s head. He didn’t try to duck out of it, thankfully; instead, he shot Harry a grateful look. “Enjoy your lunch,” he told the three of them, before turning around and heading back towards the elevators. Once the doors shut, he managed to exhale, that pressure feeling building behind his eyes again. He didn’t feel hungry anymore. He headed back to his office, his feet dragging him back to his messy desk. He wasn’t kidding about that report, and although he felt ready to head home and call it a day, he knew brooding about his son’s apparent favouritism of Draco would do nothing for his mood. 

Catching dark wizards, now that usually cheered him up. With a sigh, he reached out for the next case file. 

Not ten minutes later was his office door opening, this time without a knock. It was Hermione again, but this time, she came with food and an apology. 

“I’m sorry, Harry.” Hermione said as she put down the plate of sandwiches on his desk. “I just saw the boys leave with Draco; when I saw Albus I just assumed he was here to see you, which was stupid, because of course they might be meeting Draco-”

“Hermione, it’s fine.” Harry said over her, his voice sounding false to his own ears. “I should have known Al isn’t quite ready to surprise me at work with lunch plans, anyway. Sounds more like Lily.”

“It does,” Hermione agreed, taking one of the sandwiches. “But I feel like I set you up there. You know, you and Draco have been getting on rather well, I thought he would have just assisted you join them.”

“Hm…” Harry took a sandwich, but picked at the bread. “I suppose he is just being civil for the sake of the boys. We aren’t ever going to be real friends. Not that it matters - Albus wants to spend all his time with the Malfoys. He’s been there all week, and now they are having lunch outings together.”

“Harry, don’t be jealous,” Hermione said, her tone soothing but firm. “Albus doesn’t prefer Draco to you, if that is what you are getting at. There is certainly nothing to be jealous about!”

“I’m not bloody jealous! Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Oh, and if everyone is saying that, then that must mean everyone is wrong?” Hermione asked him with a snort, picking up another sandwich. “Harry, come on. I can see you feel jealous about it, and you don’t need to be. Albus knows what it is like to feel excluded, he certainly wouldn’t want you to feel like that. And above all, Albus loves you, so I’m sure there is a good reason you weren’t invited for lunch. My advice would be to not even ask him why - just you wait, next time, the boys will take you for lunch. And maybe, you can go with Draco to show them that you can hang out with each other without using Ginny as a buffer.”

“I’m not sure we can, I mean, what would we even speak about?” Harry grumbled, finally shoving the sandwich in his mouth. Hermione gave him a look that she usually reserved for Ron when he insisted on stuffing food down his throat.

“Harry, you literally went on a rescue mission through time with the man, he was with you when we witnessed your parents die,” Hermione said slowly, “I’m sure you can find something to discuss for an hour or so.”

“Well, we’ll see,” Harry said darkly, taking the last sandwich. “While I’ve got you… help me with this report?”

Hermione rolled her eyes at the request, and with a swish of her wand, vanished the empty plate. “You really haven’t changed since Hogwarts, you know that?” She grumbled, reaching for his paperwork. 

Lily 

The Potter Household, one week before the start of school.

It was a nice, quiet Sunday afternoon. Harry was trying to meal prep for the final week of the holidays - the kids were old enough to be left at home to their own devices when Harry and Ginny went to work, but leaving them to cook without some kind of supervision was still not totally allowed (not after the time James lost his eyebrows when trying to work out how to light the gas). His vegetable soup was usually a crowd pleaser, so he made a huge pot of it for the kids. While it boiled, Harry finally managed to sit down and read the newspaper the family owl had delivered this morning. 

The quiet, however, didn’t manage to last for too long.

There was some commotion from upstairs - he could hear a muffled shriek that sounded like Lily, followed by angry shouting that was definitely Albus. Harry sighed, but didn’t shout up the stairs to see what was wrong - arguments in this house could be over in a matter of minutes. It seemed to go quiet for a moment, before there were thunderous steps running down the stairs. Lily burst into the kitchen with a cackle, a large grin on her face. 

“Hi dad!” She said, running over to hide behind his chair. He didn’t get a chance to ask what was going on, because Albus was hot on her heels. 

“Give it back, Lily!” Albus yelled as he stormed into the kitchen, his face flushed with his frustration. Lily grinned at him, completely unfazed with her brother’s anger. 

“Not until you tell us how he asked!” Lily responded in a sing-song voice, still hiding behind her father. She waved her left hand in the air, causing Albus to turn even more tomato red. 

“Asked what?” Ginny asked from the backdoor, where she was currently peeling off her muddy quidditch gear - she had been practicing with James all summer, who was determined to have a career in the sport just like his mum after Hogwarts. The constant rain they had suffered with all week had not stopped them from going out as much as they could. 

“Who are you even talking about, Lily?” Harry asked, looking up from the Daily Prophet with a frown on his face as his children continued to circle each other around the table. Albus made a jump for his sister, who managed to evade his reach, her ponytail nearly ending up in the pot of soup Harry was making. “Oi, Lily, be careful!”

“I’m talking about Scorpius, of course!” Lily grinned, holding out her hand again - on her ring finger was, well, a ring . A large silver one, that didn’t have any kind of stone but some kind of pattern. 

“Lily!” Albus snapped, his hands clenched into fists. “Just give it back and shut up, ok? You shouldn’t be going through my things; if I catch you doing it again, I’ll hex you!”

With a sigh, Harry took out his hand and pointed it at Lily’s hand. “ Accio ring .” He ignored Lily’s complaining and looked down at the ring in his hand. Now it was up close, Harry could see the design of the snake, which he instantly recognised as the Slytherin snake. It seemed like a pretty ordinary ring. Albus stomped over to his dad, who held out the ring for him to take, which he did with a grumbled thank you . 

“See? It’s an engagement ring.” Lily said, a smug look on her face.  

“It’s not a stupid engagement ring, Scorpius didn’t even give it to me, his dad did!” 

“Draco gave you it?” Ginny asked, cocking her head to the side. “Whatever for?”

“It’s a Slytherin tradition, ok? These rings are passed down in families, it’s meant to celebrate being sorted into the house. Scorpius got his dad’s one in his first year.” While Albus explained this, he seemed to calm down, but his face was still red. “Obviously I didn’t get one, and he thought… Well, I guess he wanted me to feel more welcomed in my house.” Welcome to his house was left unsaid, but Harry still heard it. It made his heart ache in a way that he didn’t want to think about.

“Classic Slytherins, wanting to be flashy with their jewellery.” James teased, causing Albus to roll his eyes and head back out of the kitchen, clearly done with his siblings.  

“Aw, so no proposal.” Lily turned to James, her grin still in place. “What sounds better, anyway? Malfoy-Potter or Potter-Malfoy?”

“Hmm…” James matched her grin. “Albus Severus Potter-Malfoy? Albus Severus Malfoy-Potter? Honestly, they are both a bit of a mouthful. You guys really cursed Al with his name, didn’t you?”

Albus’ head appeared at the door frame, scowling at them all. “If that ever happens, I’ll be dropping the Potter part and becoming a Malfoy !” And with that, he raced upstairs, his feet stomping up each step. 

“Huh,” Lily said, tapping her chin, her calmness a total contrast to the chaos she had created in the first place. “Albus Severus Malfoy. I mean, it certainly has a ring to it, doesn’t it?” 

“Hah! Good one, Lils.” James said, giving his sister a high five. Ginny snorted, leaning over to press a kiss to Harry’s head. 

“Lily, stop annoying your brother, please. You wouldn’t like it if he went through your things,” Ginny reprimanded, giving her daughter a look that meant ‘no talking back’. “I’ll go check on Al,” she said, heading out of the room and up the stairs to her second son.

Harry felt frozen, even with the chatter in the kitchen between James and Lily. Albus’ words were still ringing in his ears. He wasn’t against the idea of Albus and Scorpius marrying - though he never pictured having a Malfoy in the family, as long as Albus and Scorpius were happy, that was all that mattered. No, it was the idea that Albus was happy to drop his own last name. He knew that the Potter name had somewhat haunted him - while his other children thrived on their last name, Albus only ever seemed to suffer. But the idea that Albus would leave behind the Potter name entirely… Well, that hurts .

“Dad?”

“Hm?”

“Your soup is boiling over,” Lily said, pointing to the pot.

“Yeah, sure thing.” Harry murmured, but made no movement to rectify it. Lily cocked her eyebrow at him, and if Harry could focus out of his thoughts for a moment, he would have felt like he was staring at a younger Ginny. 

“Is it meant to be doing that?”

“Doing what?” 

“Are you freaking out about Albus and Scorpius getting married one day? Because it might not even happen,” Lily asked, poking her dad’s shoulder. 

That seemed to snap Harry out of his thoughts. “I’m not worried about- ah , my soup!” He sprung up from his chair and took the pot off the heat.

“I did tell you!” Lily said with a cackle. “You were totally freaking out, dad.”

“No, just… it would be weird if Albus wasn’t a Potter, right? And the ring… if I had known about it, I would have-”

His beautiful, bright and clever daughter stopped him in his speech by flicking his forehead, right over his scar. “Wow, dad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you overthinking like this before. Albus said it himself: we are a Gryffindor household, we don’t have these traditions. It was nice that Scorpius’ dad got him his own one. Plus, I don’t think Albus meant it… no way would Scorpius miss the chance of being at least a Potter-Malfoy. Our last name is pretty famous, you know? I mean, if I get married, I’m keeping Potter!”

“Let’s stop talking about marriage,” Harry said, wrapping his daughter in a side hug. “But, thank you, Lily. I’m going to miss you when you head back to Hogwarts.”

“I know,” she said with a serious face, “I’d miss me around here, too.” 

Harry snorted and shook his head, trying to mentally shake off this feeling of uncertainty and, perhaps, a little bit of jealousy over Draco seeming to once again know the right thing to do for his son. Honestly, if Draco knew just how much panic he had caused Harry by giving Albus that house ring, he would never hear the end of it. 

Draco
The Hogwarts Express, the start of the new school year.

The morning of the return to school wasn’t smooth in the Potter household - it never was, but for once, it wasn’t just to do with Albus’ mood over going back to Hogwarts. Ginny had been called into work early, leaving Harry to wrangle his children together in time for the train. Lily was thankfully ready to go; she was always much better organised than her brothers. James was half packed, getting distracted by items in his room that he couldn’t decide if he needed to take with him or not, his clothes thrown carelessly into his trunk. Albus… Well, it would be a miracle if Albus had even bothered to pack at all. Ginny normally usually did it for him a few days before leaving, but at least twice now he had simply unpacked his trunk the day they were leaving, stubbornly refusing to help repack his clothes in hopes of delaying the inevitable. 

Harry checked his wristwatch and groaned at the time. “Boys! We should have left five minutes ago! Will you please hurry up!”

“Keep your hair on, dad!” James called back from his room, his tone cheerful. “It’s my last year, I’m reminiscing about packing this case for the last time.”

“It won’t look good if the Head Boy is late,” Lily muttered, petting her cat. They heard heavy steps from above, before Albus appeared at the bottom of the stairs. 

“I’m ready.” Albus said, dragging his trunk down the stairs. Both Lily and Harry stared at him, causing him to frown, “what?”

“Nothing,” Lily answered, saving Harry from having to speak. “You are just normally the last one ready. I love that you beat James in his final Hogwarts year.” She pointed her finger at him, her nails painted red. “Don’t think you’ll ever beat me , Albus Severus Potter. I’m going for the title!”

Albus rolled his eyes at that, but the smile on his face showed he wasn’t annoyed. His dad clasped him on his shoulder, before fishing out his car keys. “Here Albus, get your stuff in the car. You too, Lily. James , if you aren’t downstairs in two minutes, I am going to leave without you!”

His eldest squawked something back, but thankfully he made it down on time. Albus, for once, sat up front with him in the car, fiddling with the radio. James muttered something under his breath at his usual seat being taken, but they had no time to argue over it. Before long, they were on the road to London.

*

“You guys are running so late!” Rose said, a frown on her face once her extended family came into view. “Scorpius went on the train already.” Albus cursed at that - something he would never do if Ginny was present. 

“Has the train left already?” James said sarcastically, pointing over to the Hogwarts Express. “No? Then we’re perfectly on time!”

“Well, the Head Girl was looking for you, you’re meant to be helping the first years get on board.” Rose said with an eye roll. 

“Oh, right!” He patted his badge absentmindedly, before giving his dad a wave. “See you, dad! Don’t miss me too much!” And with that, he was off. Lily was the next to go, waving over to a group of friends that called her name.

“Dad, I’m going to go on the train,” she said, hugging him tightly, “love you, and tell mum I love her! I’ll write to you this week.” 

“Bye, Lily, have an excellent year.” Harry said, patting her head. “I love you too.”

Then, it was just Rose and Albus. Rose took hold of her trolley again, turning it in the direction of the train. Harry felt the usual stab of anxiety settle in his stomach. This was it. Albus was going back to Hogwarts. His fourth year had been insane, and although the danger had passed, some things didn’t change. He could feel eyes all around them, watching the famous Harry Potter and his Slytherin Son, waiting for some kind of argument. He knew, around them, were some of the children that made Albus miserable. Scorpius, too. There may be no Delphi pulling the strings behind the scenes, but the other kids would continue to be cruel. He nearly spoke out to Albus, to try and give him some kind of encouraging speech about how this year could be different, but the warning whistle rang out over his poor attempt. 

“Come on, Albus.” Rose said, tapping her foot against the ground. “We better find Scorpius and get good seats.” 

“Wait, you are going to sit with us?” Albus asked, his tone surprised. Rose gave his arm a shove, a grin on her face.

“Well, if you and Scorpius promise not to snog all the way up to Hogwarts, then yes.”

“Rose!” Albus hissed, his cheeks turning red. “Will you keep your voice down-”

“Oh, chill out, Albus.” Rose teased. “Mum and dad are helping Hugo with his bags, I’m going to head over.” Rose gave him a small wave, before pushing her trolley over to the train. 

“I better go with her; she can protect me and Scorp from the trolley witch. Bye dad - I’ll write this year,” he promised. “See you at Christmas!”

And, quick as flash, Albus wrapped his dad in a small hug. He didn’t even get a chance to return it, before Albus was rushing over to the train with his own trolley. Harry was pretty sure he had never seen his son look so happy to head back to school since his first year - though, he was probably excited at the thought of finding his boyfriend somewhere on the train. He hoped the bullies might think better to pick on the boys with Rose by their side, at least. 

“Feeling anxious?” A soft voice asked from his side. He turned to face Draco, a small smile on his face. It was funny,  thinking how different their interactions were now, one year on.  

“A little, I suppose. With what this year will bring. But I know they have each other.” Harry said, “and hopefully, we’ve located and locked away the dangers in their lives for good.” 

“The rumours about Scorpius being Voldemort’s son have not died down, not even with Delphi’s arrest.” Draco muttered. “He hasn’t spoken about it with me, but I know it’s hanging over him. I think that is the only thing that has made Scorpius not overly excited to go back.”

“I’m sorry you guys are still dealing with that,” Harry frowned; everyone had hoped Scorpius would be free from the vicious rumour by now. “Maybe… we can discuss it with Hermione, to see if there is anything the Ministry can do. No promises, of course - but now we have answers to the rumours about Voldemort’s offspring, it is easier for us to combat it.”

“I always knew the truth, but no one would listen.” Draco responded, his tone hardening. Harry felt himself stiffen, really hoping he and Draco weren’t about to get into it on the platform in front of all these people. “I’m just thankful Albus did, as was Astoria. She would be so glad to see them this close now.”

“... That’s nice to hear,” Harry said, trying to steer the conversation away from the Ministry’s failings and back to Draco’s family. “Albus always said Astoria would send him sweets, as well as Scorpius. He loved them.” 

Silence fell between them, and Harry took the chance to check his watch - three minutes until the train departed. 

“... The day we went to lunch,” Draco said suddenly, his eyes on the train. “Was the anniversary we lost Astoria. I usually work to keep myself busy. I knew Albus was there for Scorpius, in ways I cannot be. But, admittedly, I was struggling to get through the day. Then an owl arrived at my office with a note from Albus, asking if I would be able to join them for lunch. It was a much better distraction than work, so I agreed.” 

“Oh.” Harry blinked. Of course Albus was trying to do the right thing for Scorpius and Draco that day, knowing they would be grieving. He hadn’t meant to be dismissive with Harry - he was just trying to protect the Malfoys when they were vulnerable. Merlin, how did they raise such a good kid?

“What I’m trying to say, Potter, is that it wasn’t Albus trying to avoid spending time with you. In fact, he was speaking very highly of you throughout lunch. And when we were in France, much to my father’s disdain.” Draco met his gaze, his expression somewhat softer. “You are doing a great job at repairing your bond with him.”

“Sometimes I don’t know,” Harry admitted, looking down at his shoes. “He can still argue, be closed off. Not as much as before, but you just never know where you stand with Albus. I love him so much, and I don’t want to end up in a bad place again.”

“The only thing you can do is trust him.” Draco responded. “He knows he can come to you now, if he needs you. He can see the effort you are making to include all aspects of his life. You don’t need to show him anymore than what you are doing. It can just be as simple as that.”

“Some days, I feel like he wished you were his dad.” Harry said, in a tone that was meant to be light and funny, but came out flat. Draco was shaking his head before he finished. 

“Oh please, every child goes through that phase. I’m sure there are days when Scorpius would have traded me in if it meant being a Potter. Plus, with how they are, I’m sure I’ll be his father-in-law as soon as they can make it happen.” Draco said as the train doors shut. “And how would you feel about that? If our families were connected in this way?”

“Happy, if it means my child can be with the love of his life.” Harry shrugged, “that’s all I want for Albus.”

“And I, Scorpius.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

They stopped for a moment as the train horn blew, billowing white smoke rising in the air and around the platform. They both raised their hands to wave as the train began to pull out of the station. Harry hoped the boys found themselves facing a calmer year - with less time turners and more time to focus on their O.W.L.s. 

“Though you know, that house ring you gave Albus caused great debate in my household about last names.”

“Oh?” 

“Albus said he’s dropping Potter and becoming a Malfoy.”

“Good choice.”

“Lily is convinced Scorpius wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to have Potter in his last name, though.”

“Sadly, I think she’s right.” They began to walk back towards the exit of the platform, preparing themselves to go back to reality. Draco shook his head with a snort. “Who could have predicted we’d be discussing this all those years ago?”

“Professor Trelawney might have tried to,” Harry joked, glad it made Draco laugh. It struck up a conversation about all the wild things the teacher had predicted when they had been in school, some of which Harry had never heard of before. They spoke all their way to the Ministry entrance, only stopping when they parted ways to their different departments.

And for the first time in many years on the 1st of September, Harry felt like he was in a good place. Because while he was sorting his relationship with Albus, maybe, he and Draco could sort theirs too.