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Chocolates, flowers and a book
Scorpius POV
January 2022
"Pottah!" The other boy sighed in desperation as he approached him. They never had a good relationship, which was unlikely to begin with, given that their cousins always surrounded them. While Potter's cousins seemed to think the Slytherins were the most evil children in the world, his own held a grudge against several of the redheads, instigated by Quidditch. Scorpius had never cared much for either belief, but after he had followed his godfather's advice to stand his ground, he seemed to have fallen in with the Slytherin badboys.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" The boy tried to glare at him, but his eyes betrayed him. It had always seemed to Scopius that the younger of the Potter boys didn't quite believe all the nonsense either.
"I need your help." One of his friends snickered. It was his cousin Chive who clearly thought he was smarter than he truly was, with his barely passing marks. Scorpius couldn't have been bothered by it if it wasn't important to get Potter's help. He usually avoided Chive, who seemed to think he was ruling the world, but there was no way to find his cousin without the redhead attached.
"Why would I help you?" Albus squinted as if that would help him read a Malfoy.
"Humour me." Scorpius send a glare towards one of Potter's other Weasley cousins for good measure. They seemed to have this radar to gather when they assumed one of them was in trouble.
"Go on then."
The blond boy was a bit surprised that Potter would actually indulge him, but now everyone's eyes were on him.
"This isn't a public thing." He wasn't even quite sure yet if he wanted to share with Potter. But he had to do something.
Someone whistled, and Scorpius regretted asking. He should have stuck to his usual crowd; maybe Daisy or Diane would have been of help as well, they were girls after all. But he also knew why he hadn't asked them. The endless gossip would have soon reached their mothers, and that would have ruined everything before it could even begin. Scorpius hadn't seen his father as happy as he was now since long before his mother's passing, and it was very clear who the cause of this development was.
"Can't even speak up, do we need to get daddy to help you out?" Chive seemed particularly happy to bring up the fact that his dad was now a Hogwarts professor. This was especially ironic, since he had been the one milking the fact that his own father had been such close friends with Professor Granger for years. Not that she ever marked him up on anything for that fact.
"Never mind." Scorpius turned on his heels and followed his long-gone housemates down the corridor and deeper into the dungeons to get to his common room. He wasn't going to let the Weasley idiot make fun of him.
A few days later
The satchel slammed on the table in front of him and scared the living daylights out of him. Scorpius had several essays due in the next week, the longest coming from his own father, who most certainly didn't favour him like some other students seemed to think. Nobody seemed to remember that he had the highest marks of their year while Professor Slughorn had taught potions, and now he had to work even harder to keep them.
"It's really hard to catch you alone." Potter sat down in the chair opposite him and pulled his satchel back off the table. Scorpius just barely managed to keep his parchment from dragging along.
"What do you want?" This was exactly the reason why he didn't deal with Potter on an everyday basis. He was chaotic, unraveled and unbelievably likeable while being that way. The last thing Scorpius would never admit to anyone unless threatened by death.
"You came to me, remember?" The raven-haired told him, causing Scorpius to lift his head and straighten his posture. Grandmother would have been proud seeing him like this. "After double Potions on Monday?" Potter leaned back in his chair and raised a suggestive eyebrow.
"You mean, when your idiot relatives made a big show of nothing?" Scorpius couldn't help himself. He needed to throw that out there. The fact that the other boy had found him to offer his help or at least hear him out didn't settle deep enough to shut Uncle Theos' training off.
"If you want to be that way, I'll leave." Potter sighed. "I just figured you deserved the benefit of a doubt. It seemed important, but if you'd rather go spewing about Chive and his dumb comments, I have essays to be written."
"Fine." Scorpius pressed, surprising himself. "As I said, I'm in need of your help."
Potter didn't say anything, but he seemed to wait him out at least.
"My understanding is that Professor Granger is your godmother." It was a well-known fact around the castle. When it came to all the family ties that had once connected the Sacred 28, it seemed now it was all about who married a Weasley or was as much as adopted by them. His friends would regularly roll their eyes over the matter. If he trusted his father's Hogwarts stories, things had only slightly shifted since then.
"What does it matter to you?" Potter sounded suspicious now. Scorpius had noticed before that the boy and his dad were oddly protective of her. When his father had boarded the Hogwarts Express alongside him this year, the Potters and Weasleys had formed an odd sort of bubble around her at the station. It had been silly, really.
"I would like to inquire of you what some of Professor Granger's favourite things are." His own comment brought him back to the here and now.
"Excuse me?" Potter sounded as confused as he looked. He had no pokerface, never had, which was great in the wizarding chess club to beat him.
"Does she like chocolates? What kinds? Which flowers does she prefer? Would she prefer a simple invitation to a date or rather a big announcement?"
"Wait!" Potter yelled the word. It echoed through the library, and they both froze as they waited for Madam Pince to hurry over to kick them out. "Are you telling me you want to ask out Aunt Mione?" Potter was whisper-shouting after Pince didn't show up right away.
"NO!" It was Scorpius now shouting his response in pure horror. This would be the worst of all rumours Chive could spill about him.
"This is quite enough." Madam Pince rounded a corner before he could further analyse what he had just been accused of. "Out of my library, now!"
Scorpius really wanted to argue, but the librarian looked ready to explode, so he collected his scrolls and satchel and hurried out before he received a lifetime ban or worse, a note to hand to his father.
"Why do you need this information about my aunt?" Potter whispered as they were reaching the main doors. Scorpius hadn't even noticed the other boy had kept up with him.
"Not for the reasons you think." He spewed back at the boy.
"Then what is your reason?" As they stepped out of the library, Potter cornered him unexpectedly. He almost expected him to point his wand at his throat.
"I can't tell." Having all of Hogwarts know his father might fancy the other Professor was even worse than having them think he was.
"I can't tell you then." Potter stepped away from him.
Scorpius glanced up and down the hall. While he didn't want to tell them his reasons, he still wanted the mission to succeed. It was less than a month until Valentine's Day, and he didn't need some other wizard swooping in and taking his father's chance. Potter already knew too much anyway and had a completely wrong impression of what was happening. He might as well go all the way, but not in the busiest hallway of all of Hogwarts.
"I'll tell you, but not here."
"Let's walk to the Quidditch field. I need to get to practice anyway." The other boy could be so simple when his friends and family weren't making everything complicated.
Scorpius followed the other boy. He rarely made the walk down to the fields. While he loved to play, he never wanted to do it competitively; he'd much rather beat someone at chess or gobstones.
Once they were out in the open, it seemed safe enough to share his reasons.
"I don't have a silly crush on your aunt." He began with that clarification first. It seemed important that Potter didn't tell such a thing to Chive or any other Weasley. "But I think my dad might."
Potter stopped abruptly and turned to face him. His eyes were sparkling in a mischievous way.
"I know this might not be your first choice for your godmother. I have been told of some of their history." His father had been living up the Slytherin lifestyle when young.
Potter continued to stare at him, without saying anything, though. He seemed intrigued, if anything.
"You have to understand, Dad, he didn't recover from losing my mother for years. She had been unwell for years. I don't even remember her being healthy, really, and Dad would take care of her. When she finally passed, he was like a ghost. It took everything in my aunt and uncle to get him to start living again. His taking the position as Potions professor, I thought it was a terrible idea, but they were right. It was the best thing he could do."
Scorpius stopped himself from telling more. He had just spilt most of his life story to Potter of all people. It was the first thing Uncle Theo had taught him: never tell a Gryffindor too much, or they might think they need to help you. Well, he needed Potter's help, so maybe Uncle Theo was wrong and right at the same time.
"And you think your dad might be interested in Aunt Mione?" Potter clarified.
He gave a helpless nod.
"My parents and uncles have tried to set her up over the years. They were never successful." He pointed out after a moment. A piece of information that seemed surprising for their lack of friendship. "She is very particular about nobody getting involved in her love life."
"Sounds like a match." Scorpius sighed. "My dad hasn't dated at all since my mother’s passing."
"Maybe he just didn't tell you?" Potter pointed out, and while he certainly had a point, Scorpius didn't believe it. They had always been open with each other, and he planned to be in this matter once he knew how to make the arrangements.
Potter started walking again.
"She isn't whooed easily, according to dad." Potter continued as they walked. "I don't believe she likes chocolates and flowers. I remember her sneezing whenever someone gave her any."
"She's allergic." Scorpius deadpanned.
"Likely." Potter agreed with him. "Let me think a little about this. I might come up with a book she hasn't read yet."
"That's not very romantic." Scorpius stopped in his tracks, but the other boy continued to walk and simply shrugged. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to involve him after all.
"That's Auntie Mione for you." He called back over his shoulder, and Scorpius was now sure of it. Potter wouldn't be of any help.
February 14th, 2022
"Are these from you?" Professor Granger walked into his father’s office like she owned the place.
"They are." He sideeyed Scorpius and Potter.
"I love them."
"You do?" Potter couldn't help himself as he stared at the flowers.
"What are you doing here?" Granger's eyes focused on her godson.
"They are trying to explain to me why I shouldn't give both of them detention." His father's focus was back on them.
"But you are allergic to flowers, Auntie Mionie." The Gryffindor seemed out for blood; no Slytherin would continue to speak up like that.
"I am, but so far these aren't triggering anything." She smiled.
"I ordered them with specific spells against allergies." His father announced, causing Scorpius to narrow his eyes. How had his father figured out these details? "Since you didn't want chocolates either, I had to do something right about Valentine's."
Potter looked shellshocked.
"Well, why don't you decide what you want to do with these, too, so we can get going?" Professor Granger's attention was back on them. "What did they do anyway?"
"They tried to set everything up for me to whoo you." His father wore this terrible smirk that meant he was absolutely ready to embarrass him to the bones.
"With chocolates?" Her eyes had found the box on his table.
"I told him you'd hate them," Potter announced unhelpfully.
"You also told me that she hates flowers, and she just said she loved them."
"Well, he used a spell, that's cheating."
"And you claimed you'd prefer a book over chocolates and flowers, which is terribly unromantic." Scorpius glared at his partner in crime.
"What book?" Professor Granger stretched to get a better look at the table. Scorpius hated how intrigued she was. He didn't look at Potter, fearing a told-you-so look.
"I haven't checked." His father lifted the parcel. It was some old tome Potter had made him get from the Malfoy library. It had been quite the hassle to convince the elves to let him have it and bring it to Hogwarts. Dad handed it to Professor Granger. "It's for you, so why don't you check?"
His Professor opened the package and squealed in delight.
"That's where that one went." His father muttered as he glanced over her shoulder.
"Wait, this is the one from your library?" Her face filled with guilt. "You were looking for that a little while ago."
"I was." He confirmed, his eyes on Scorpius once more.
"I'll give it back after I read it." She promised.
"Told you, she would love it." Potter supplied unhelpfully.
"I wouldn't take encouraging someone to steal from his own family as a win, Albus?" Her strict eyes landed on the Gryffindor. "I'm sure your parents would agree with that."
"Auntie..."
"Stop with the Auntie, it's Professor Granger, and you know that." She told him sternly.
Had he been Potter or one of the Weasleys, he would have cackled, but a Malfoy knew when to keep his mouth shut.
"I'd say two hours of detention for each of you. Scorpius, you will help me with a project. Albus, I'm sure Professor Malfoy will find something that will help your marks while you are at it."
The boy next to him groaned, but Scorpius gave an obedient nod.
"Now, why don't you behave like sixteen-year-olds and impress someone with those?" She reached for the chocolates and split the box magically in two smaller ones. The professor handed one to each of them. "Of you go."
The door behind them magically opened. He chanced a glance at his father, but the man was entirely focused on Professor Granger - good. As soon as the boys stepped out of the room, the door shut and locked magically.
"Eww, I don't even want to think..."
"Then don't." Scorpius interrupted.