#(I think Scorpius and Astoria's book might be a Muggle book)

[loonyluna]

some hedric + rose being a cutie

Harry didn't think he was a violent person. 

But at that moment, he had to restrain himself from walking over to his longtime friend and roommate, with whom he got along fine most of the time, and beat him up. The muggle way.

For what you may ask? Well that answer was simple, not that Harry would ever admit it to himself or anyone else. That he was jealous. Jealous of the way Seamus kept making Cedric laugh and jealous of the way his hand kept lingering on his shoulder. For Merlin’s sake did he not have a boyfriend? Then why was he so handsy with other men?

Harry tightened his grip on his 2nd(read 5th) glass of firewhiskey.

He had no right to be jealous, because after all he was the one who decided they needed a break.

He took a long sip of his drink before a voice broke his thoughts.

“Hullo Harry, enjoying yourself this evening?” Ginny the owner chirped.

He grunted something in return.

Ginny stared at him before following his gaze towards the two laughing men and chuckled.

“Oh Harold, how in Merlin’s name are you an auror? Cause last time i checked you were supposed to pay attention to things.”

“What do you mean?” Harry questioned, confused.

“I mean you and Cedric of course! Both of you are obviously still in love with each other. I might be aromantic but I'm not blind.” she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry started to deny it but Ginny interrupted him. 

“Do you even remember why you two even broke up?”     

Does he remember- of course he does. They both- no he thought that they needed some space. Cedric had been against it at first but reluctantly agreed.

“You thought it'd be for the best if you two took a break. Why? Merlin knows, you think differently than us normal folk. Anyways my point is that you should get him back because you love him and he makes you happy. And after the shitshow you went through you deserve some happiness.” Ginny finished, quite proud of herself.

“Wow Ginny i don't know what to say-,” Harry started but was promptly cut off.

“You don't have to say anything, just go get your boy. Oh godric is that luna and neville behind the curtains? I've got to cockblock them again. Bye Harry! Don’t be an idiot! Aw, I love being the mom friend.”

And with that the redhead practically skipped away.

Harry started thinking again now that he was alone. 

Was he still in love with Cedric? Probably but did Cedric love him as well? Was he really that oblivious? Also probably. 

His thoughts were disrupted when raucous laughter could be heard from the direction of Seamus and his ex-boyfriend, who (according to Ginny) he was still in love with, which was proved when Harry decided to walk over there.

Cedric was saying something but stopped when he caught the green eyes walking over to him. 

“Hi.” he breathed out.

Harry was about to reply before a flurry of red hair ran towards the ex-hufflepuff and jumped into his arms, shrieking “uncle Cedric”.

“Merlin, she runs so fast.” came in Ron Weasley panting. “You okay? Mate?”

“Yeah i'm fine, besides i missed my rosie too.”

“You wouldn't have to if Daddy and Mummy let me come visit you and uncle Harry.” The little girl crossed her arms and glared at her father.

The comment about Harry and Cedric laid a thick layer of awkwardness over the group.

“So Ron, where is my best friend?” asked Harry, trying to lighten the mood.

“You little shit-,” Ron started but was swiftly cut off by his daughter reprimanding him about how she’d lost count of how many coins he needed to put into the swear jar.

“You’re hermione’s daughter alright,she saw astoria malfoy on the way here and all of us were going to go talk to her, but this one-” Ron pointed at the girl in Cedric’s arms,accusingly “-saw you guys and ran.”

“Well is it my fault i hadn't seen Uncle cedric in ages?” 

“Oh will you stop bringing that up!”

“Never.” 

“You're so bloody stubborn you know that?”

“I’m your daughter!”

“Ok ok, i think that's enough.” Cedric cut off the squabbling father daughter duo, chuckling. 

Harry’s heart tightened at the sight, it was like they had been back at one of their weekly game nights with the granger-weasleys.

But it wasn't, they hadn't had one of those in quite some time, hence rose’s tantrum.

Rose adored Cedric so much, Harry didn't have the heart to tell her that Uncle Harry and Uncle Cedric were not living together anymore, that's why she hadn't been able to visit the both of them.

“So how have all of you been?” Harry asked that question to everyone, but it was more directed to the brunette that had been haunting his thoughts.

Before he could answer however, two women dressed in heavy blazers entered the store, chatting away animatedly about some obnoxious book written by some Lockhart fellow. Lockhart. Hmmm, the name sounded quite familiar.

Harry whispered a quiet “Thank God,” to Hermione and Astoria Malfoy, who had five year old Scorpius Malfoy clinging to her skirts. Harry reckoned he was about the same age as Rosie.

Hermione, who seemed to finally have noticed her husband and best friend, loudly exclaimed and went over to hug Harry and smiled warmly at Cedric. People who were already whispering began whispering even louder at the arrival of the Minister of Magic.

“Mommy! Mommy! Daddy won’t stop swearing and-” Rose began excitedly, but her voice faltered as her eyes dropped to meet the little blonde boy’s. A bright red flush spread across her cheeks as she whispered a soft greeting to him.

“Hi ‘pius and Mrs.Malfoy,” she almost murmured. 

Harry was taken aback, to say the least. His boisterous, talkative, loud niece was quiet? He was so surprised he almost forgot about Cedric and failed to notice the deafening silence that had befallen the group; but then again, this was Harry we were talking about.

Everyone stared expectantly at Scorpius, who had shrunken down so much into his coat that a little more and he’d disappear. 

“Hi Rosie,” he stated loudly, then cringed at his own voice, as if he had not meant for it to be so loud.

Now Harry was completely and fully befuddled, and at the look on everyone’s faces, so were they. His Rosie didn’t let anyone except her parents, Harry, Ginny and Cedric call her Rosie. She’d correct anyone else who called her that, politely of course, she was Hermione's daughter after all.

“Hey Astoria, how are you doing?” Ron asked her, breaking the silence. “Where's malfoy? The male one.” Scorpius looked at him expectantly. “The older male one.”

“Oh he just had to stop by flourish and blotts, don't worry Ron your husband will be here soon enough.” she replied with a sly smile.

Ron turned red and looked at Hermione in protest, but she merely smiled, “oh don't worry Ronald, Astoria and I know all about your affair.”

“Oi mate! I thought I was the only secret husband you had without Hermione's knowledge.” Harry teased his best friend, who had now gone from embarrassing red to angry red.

“But I thought Uncle Cedric was your husband?” 

Harry loved his niece very much, but at that moment he felt that Ginny should have made the inn a child-free zone after that one time a party had rampaged the entire inn.

“Rosie, what were you going to ask me?” Hermione quickly asked her daughter, trying to cover up the question. 

“Oh!” the young girl regained her previous enthusiasm. “Could i please spend the night with Uncle Cedric and Uncle Harry? Pleaseeeee. I haven't seen them in so long. Uncle Harry, could I please?”

Harry started to say some half baked excuse but was beaten by the man holding her.

“Some other day, maybe sweetheart?”

Rose looked disappointed, Cedric had never said no to her. Harry could see that his niece was quite hurt.

“Oh,” she said softly, “that's okay i suppose.”

Harry could tell Cedric’s heart broke at her tone. And even more so, when she slid down from his arms.

“Mummy, Mrs. Malfoy, can me and ‘pius go on an a-a-adventure?”

“Scorpius and I.” her mother corrected. “And sure my love, just stay close.”

The young girl’s eyes lit up again and she took the shy boy’s hand and dragged him along her, almost bumping into the latter’s father.

“So how much are we betting that Ron and Draco are going to become in-laws?” Seamus offered.

This seemed to do the trick in reducing any awkwardness that had lingered in the little party. Everyone was laughing, except for Ron of course, who looked ready to murder someone, preferbly Seamus, Harry would help him with that, he decided.

“Where is the Weasel spawn taking my young, still innocent son?” draco malfoy demanded, resting his hand behind his wife’s back.

“Draco, don't be rude.” Astoria reprimanded her husband. “They're just exploring.”

“Fine but if anything happens to him, i will hex Weasley.” 

“Draco, you're overreacting, nothing is going-”

A crash turned the group’s(and almost everyone in the inn) attention, away from their previous conversations. 

Rose and Scorpius were covered in punch, the bowl was overturned between them, the former was smiling sheepishly and the latter looked like he was about to cry.

It didn't take a genius to find out what had happened.

The four parents rushed to their children’s sides, as Seamus walked away, laughing and muttering something about “never having kids”, leaving Harry completely alone with Cedric(Harry wondered if Ginny put Rose up to this).

“I’m sorry.” said Harry just as Cedric started, “I miss you.”

The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, the atmosphere crackling with electricity before both of them lunged at each other.

Harry let out a sigh as his mouth met his lover’s. 

He had missed this.

His fingers found his way to Cedric’s hair, pulling and deepening the kiss, before-

“Now can i stay with Uncle Cedric and Harry?” 

“Rosie!” 

The two broke apart seeing they had an audience now. And while Cedric looked embarrassed, Harry couldn't care less.

“Let's get married.” he blurted out before thinking.

“What,right now?”

“Well not right now now, but yeah.”

“Harry, you're not thinking straight.”

“No, I'm sorry Cedric, saying we needed a break was probably one of my stupidest ideas. I love you so much and I'm sorry I ever doubted that.”

“I love you too, Harry.” Cedric smiled softly.

“Does that mean you will say yes?”

“Yes Harry! Are u really that-” but Harry cut his boyfriend off by kissing him soundly.

“Can ‘pius and I be the flowergirls?”

“Rose!”

[phoenixstartedthefire]

My thoughts on the cursed child part 2: things I didn't like

I made a post before about my opinions on the cursed child. I recommend you go read that one if you haven't yet before you read this one. My other post was mostly about my positive opinions and thoughts on the addition to the harry potter universe. This one is going to be more focused on my problems with the play. Again, this won't make such sense if you haven't read it.

I cannot stress how much I hate the fact that Harry named his child after Dumbledore and Snape. I know there is something to be said of some fondness he may feel for Dumbledore. He was kind to Harry at times and was someone Harry really looked up to. I can understand why he named his child after Dumbledore. But I don't think it's right. Dumbledore left Harry in an abusive household for his entire childhood, even when McGonagall questioned his judgement, insisted on tiptoeing around the truth and being vague on purpose when all Harry wanted was answers, ignored Harry when he needed him most(ootp), and raised a child to die without him knowing. And even though what Dumbledore put Harry through was terrible, I can understand that Harry might feel a certain fondness for him. But Snape. I cannot even begin to explain how much I hate him. I may make another post about it detailing exactly why but long story short, snape literally abused harry to the point where even less than a year into knowing him, Harry was convinced that his own teacher was trying to kill him. And then, "ur mom got mad at me cus I called her a slur twenty years ago and im still sad" and he's a saint? Fuck Snape.

I didn't like the 'Scorpius might be Voldemort's son' plotline. I don't think it made any sense. And I think it's stupid that everyone just believes this stupid rumor with no evidence at all. Even Harry believed it at one point. If they thought all the time turners were destroyed, how did they think Astoria traveled back in time to get knocked up by Voldemort? Why would Voldemort agree to that? How do they explain Scorpius looking like his father? It's ridiculous and shouldn't have been included. If they wanted to keep the plotline that Scorpius was secluded and ostracized by most of his classmates, they should have just gone with the 'his dad was a death eater' route. It makes a lot more sense than some stupid rumor that in no way could be true.

I didn't like the whole "there's a dark cloud around ur son" plot. Harry has been known to repeatedly discredit divination in the books. So why does he believe the centaur so wholeheartedly without hesitation? I know that he has respect for the centaurs because they saved his life and they are oppressed for being 'half-breeds' which is not right at all. But I still think its out of character for Harry to just believe in some vision the centaur had without any question. And it shouldn't take Draco Malfoy to tell him that after he already made both of their sons lives hell.

Speaking of Harry's character, I don't think it was in character for him to split up Albus and Scorpius like that. He, out of all people, should know how important friends are at Hogwarts. He even says to Albus earlier in the play that friends are important and he didn't know what he would've done without Ron and Hermione. So why would he willingly split his son and his only friend up just because Scorpius might be evil? And honestly, if he ever even made the effort to meet Scorpius, he would know that Scorpius 'excuse me, Mr. Muggle' and 'my geekness is a-quivering' Malfoy is the least likely person ever to be evil. I suppose it isn't too unlike him to hate Scorpius at first just because he's Malfoy's son. But if he can forgive Snape for bullying him for years, he should be able to look past his rivalry with Draco for the sake of his son's safety and happiness. I mean, Harry would be downright murderous if someone tried to split up him and Ron for no good reason at Hogwarts. So why does he think it's okay for him to split up Scorpius and Albus?

Also the way he treated McGonagall was completely out of line and out of character. In the books, he (almost) always treated McGonagall with complete respect and admired her, even if he didn't quite agree with her at times. So for him to storm into her office and demand anything of her is completely out of character and just downright shitty.

Also, and I know this has been said before but the whole Cedric Diggory being a death eater thing? So stupid. Cedric is quite possibly the best person in the series. He is always nice to everyone and always makes sure things are fair. You're telling me that because of getting embarrassed when he was 17 he's gonna turn into a wizard nazi? It doesn't make any sense. I mean. So many people loved him and were absolutely destroyed when he died. Because of how much of a genuinely nice and loving person he was. Amos Diggory, over 20 years later still is trying to find ways to bring his son back. Cedric wanted a rematch in poa after the dementors made harry faint in quidditch! Because it wasn't fair! That boy deserved better.

I hate the Delphi plot. It just kind of invalidates Voldemort's whole character. The whole point of his character and why he was so evil was because he was incapable of love. The only reason he tolerates certain people is because he has a use for them. It's incredibly stupid that Voldemort would ever feel enough for Bellatrix to do...that with her. I know that one doesn't need to love someone to have sex but I don't see Voldemort ever doing that. Not only because i dont want to picture it but also because he would find the whole concept of it too human. He would never trust anyone enough to have a child with them. The only way I could ever see him having a child is maybe to clone himself? Or find some other self dependent way to have a child. And he wouldn't have a child. So that's stupid.

I didn't like the relationship they try to push between Rose and Scorpius. Rose makes it pretty clear from their first meeting that she doesn't like Scorpius and her opinion doesn't seem to change throughout the play. Rose to me just seemed like 'I know that Albus and Scorpius have chemistry throughout the entire play and would make sense to be together but...no homo'. It's one of those 'won't take no for an answer' kind of relationships that are super harmful. If a girl says no, respect it and move on. I thought the little awkward attempts at flirting with her were cute but the overall concept of Rose and Scorpius ending up together doesn't sit right with me. Especially with the amount of chemistry that he has with Albus. It doesn't make sense for him to be with Rose.

Also. I hate that Ron and Hermione don't end up together in the alternate timelines. They obviously still love each other. It wouldn't make sense for Ron to end up marrying Padma after spending one night with her at the yule ball. While the yule ball was a big factor in ron and Hermione figuring out their feelings for each other, it definitely wasn't the only moment that mattered. Just because Hermione and Ron went to the ball together doesn't mean they wouldn't end up married. Wouldn't the house elf situation in DH have still happened in the timeline where Hermione is the teacher? I just don't get it. Is there something I'm missing here?

Hey, wtf was with the whole trolley witch thing? I hated it.

That's most of my problems with the cursed child. I overall enjoyed it but there were a lot of flaws and plot holes and things that just didn't make sense. To me the whole play was just a cash grab for jkr. She wanted to keep profiting on the franchise. She did the same with the fantastic beast series. She didn't do it for her passion for the series. She did it to stay relevant and make money. She sucks. It’s nice for if you want the feels and just need something to read but not if you want to take a serious look at something. Don’t go into it with high expectations.

Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to hear my opinions on! I was thinking about making a post about Draco Malfoy and my thoughts on his character since he’s pretty controversial in the fandom. Or maybe some popular\unpopular ships?

[theazkabandreamer]

Hide and Seek

This is a revised edition of a story I had written a while back.

Can also be read here.

___

Scorpius always wanted to go to London ever since he had read about the capital in his history books; It was a city so rich in history and he was entranced by it.

He had begged his parents to take him to London but for some reason, his father was reluctant to go.

But finally, he was going. His father said that he had business to do at Gringotts Bank and Scorpius had asked Draco if he could go with him. Scorpius's mother suggested that they make it a day out together.

Scorpius asked if they could visit Muggle London as well much to his mother's delight, so the Malfoys ended up visiting the many famous landmarks of London where Astoria took many photographs of a beaming Scorpius standing in front of them.

Scorpius noted, however, that his father looked uneasy when they were out in Muggle London. He supposed that it was because of all of the Muggle cars and busses and the city was heaving with people, many of them taking photos.

Draco looked a lot calmer once they reached the Leakey Cauldron and they went out to the courtyard at the back of the pub where he took out his wand and tapped one of the bricks with it.

Scorpius got a shock when the bricks parted revealing to Scorpius for the first time in his life; Diagon Alley.

He had seen many photographs of the famous street, but that didn't prepare him for the hustle and bustle of many witches and wizards going about their business.

He wished he could stop and watch it all but his father was in a hurry and didn't have time to look at the shops. Astoria mentioned getting something at the Apothecary and his father said he needed to get to Gringotts.

___

Scorpius never forgot the moment he saw the snowy building; It towered above all other buildings in Diagon Alley and he let out a cry of wonder.

"It is rather majestic, isn't it Scorpius?" Draco said, putting a hand on Scorpius's shoulder.

"Is it true that there are Dragons inside the bank?" Scorpius asked eagerly and Draco hesitated, a peculiar look on his face.

"There used to be," he said slowly. "But not anymore."

"Oh, okay," Scorpius said, feeling slightly disappointed. "It would've been nice to see a dragon though because I've read so much about them in that book that Mum got me for Christmas. Do you think that Gringotts had Hungarian Horntails guarding the vaults? Because they're the most vicious dragons. Sometimes I think-"

"Listen, Scorpius," Draco said, cutting Scorpius off. "We're not going down to our vault. I have some business to do at one of the counters. You are not to wander off whilst we're in there. Can you do that for me?"

"Okay, daddy," Scorpius said happily and Draco smiled and squeezed his shoulder.

As Draco and Scorpius got closer to the snowy building, Scorpius saw two smartly dressed creatures standing by the entrance. He had read about them and froze, staring at them in wonder.

One of the creatures noticed him staring at them and gave him a sharp look which took Scorpius by surprise. He hid behind his father's leg and poked his head out to look at the creature.

"Daddy?" Scorpius asked, tugging at Draco's cloak. "Are they who I think they are?"

"Yes, Scorpius," Draco said gently. "Goblins. They're the ones who look after our gold."

Scorpius continued to stare at the Goblin from behind Draco's legs and the Goblin nodded at Scorpius and gave him a small smile. Scorpius returned the smile with a brilliant beam which took the Goblin by surprise.

He felt a lot braver as he entered the bank. Draco ushered him through two pairs of doors and once inside, Scorpius let out another cry of wonder.

He was greeted by a big hall that was full of tables and counters. There were more Goblins behind the counters and they were seeing to various wizards and witches and Scorpius saw a Goblin lead several wizards down a torch-lit passageway.

Scorpius followed Draco down the hall and he wished he had eyes in the back of his head; Everywhere he turned, there was gold being counted and various jewels being examined.

They passed a counter where a scraggy, ginger-haired man was arguing with a Goblin.

"We are very good at identifying Leprechaun Gold, Fletcher," the Goblin said smartly. "We don't like being made fools of."

Draco and Scorpius stopped to look at the man. Scorpius didn't like the look of him; There was a strange, smoky smell hanging about the man that made Scorpius wrinkle his nose.

"Wait a minute, I can explain," the man called Fletcher said hastily. "It was that old mucker Warty. See, I meant to give 'im the Leprechaun Gold and you the ordinary gold. 'e must've taken the wrong gold. You know I would never lie to you."

"Then how do you explain the incident the other month when you claimed to have in your possession a suit of Goblin made armour?" the Goblin asked swiftly.

"It was Goblin made," Fletcher said. "I've even got a Goblin made teaspoon. It's been in me family for years and I've stirred me tea with it for as long as I can remember. I hate to let it go, but a big pot of gold might help drown me sorrows away."

Fletcher took a grubby teaspoon out of his pocket and put it on the counter. The Goblin picked it up and examined it with its long fingers.

"Do you take me for a fool?" the Goblin asked sharply. "I know Goblin made Silverware when I see it and this 'spoon' was not made by any Goblin I know."

"Maybe you don't get out much," Fletcher said.

"You have tried our patience time and time again," the Goblin said. "I have more pressing matters to attend to."

The Goblin pressed a button behind the counter and Fletcher jumped back, drawing his wand.

"Now 'ang on a minute," Fletcher said, waving his wand threateningly at the Goblin. "So a man makes a mistake in identifying a piece of Goblin made Silverware. You can't go kicking 'im out of Gringotts for that. I know my rights."

"I can for wasting my time," the Goblin said swiftly.

"Daddy?" Scorpius whispered, giving Draco's cloak a gentle tug. "What's happening?"

"Just someone trying to trick a Goblin, Scorpius," Draco said gently. "It's best not to watch."

Draco moved to block Scorpius's view of the counter as four human security guards burst out of a torch-lit passageway.

Scorpius heard curses being shouted and saw the four security guards carrying Fletcher out of the bank. Fletcher was stiff and not moving at all.

"Daddy, I think he's dead," Scorpius said worriedly.

"It's okay, Scorpius," Draco said comfortingly. "It was only the full body bind curse. I remember using that at School."

Scorpius felt shaken, but Draco put a comforting hand on his shoulder and kneeled so that his face was level with Scorpius's.

"Never try to deceive a Goblin, Scorpius," Draco said. "They are smart creatures and only fools would get on their bad side. Treat them with respect, and you will go a long way."

Scorpius nodded, although he still felt a little bit shaken after seeing the man called Fletcher being carried out of the bank.

"Such important advice for a first time visitor," the Goblin said, clearly listening in. "You sir, are a fine father."

Draco's cheeks briefly flushed pink and he stood up and approached the Goblin.

"I need to do business with you," he said curtly and the Goblin nodded.

"Of course," the Goblin said. "I'm sure that you will be a far better customer than Mundungus Fletcher. He's always coming here trying to cheat us. I regret that I lost my patience with him. Especially in front of your son."

The Goblin gave Scorpius an apologetic look and Scorpius felt braver as he looked up at the Goblin.

"I'm Draco Malfoy and this is my son, Scorpius," Draco said.

"Hello!" Scorpius said brightly, giving the Goblin a big smile and a wave.

"A pleasure," the Goblin said. "I am Kragor. To what do I owe this visit to Gringotts, Draco Malfoy?"

Draco pulled a large bag out of his pocket, along with several rolls of parchment.

"I have several assets that I need put away in the Malfoy vault and there is the matter of the debt that my ancestor, Victivus Malfoy owed back in 1865. I've decided that it's time that we're going to pay the debt back in full."

"You have my complete attention," Kragor said sharply.

Scorpius didn't pay attention to the conversation; He was too busy looking around the hall, watching the various interactions between wizards and Goblins.

He watched coins being counted, emeralds being weighed and observed a group of four Goblins take a large chest down one of the torch-lit passageways. Scorpius saw a couple of large gold coins fall out of it.

If only he could wander off and explore the place properly, but he promised his father that he would stay by his side and he wasn't going to break his promise.

Instead, he watched a family at the counter opposite Scorpius.

A woman with flaming red hair was talking to the Goblin who was presenting a large piece of parchment to a teenage boy with turquoise hair - Scorpius had never seen hair that colour before.

The woman had her hand on the teenage boy's shoulder and would nod every time the Goblin would finish speaking.

Standing apart from them, was a boy the same age as Scorpius.

He had messy jet-black hair, a thin, kind face and even though Scorpius was at a distance, he could still see the boy's bright green eyes that shone like the emeralds that Scorpius saw being weighed.

Scorpius felt as if he should know the boy somehow – he looked oddly familiar – but the excitement of being in Gringotts seemed to drive it from his mind.

The boy was also looking around the bank and little did Scorpius know, he caught the boy's attention. After he looked to the spot where the boy was standing, he saw that the boy had disappeared.

Scorpius frowned and blinked; Where did the boy go? He looked around for the boy and found his head sticking behind a pillar a few feet away from his mother, grinning at Scorpius.

Scorpius giggled and spotted a man carrying a large chest full of gold. As the boy darted from the pillar, Scorpius used the man with the chest as a cover so that he could hide behind the nearest pillar from his dad.

He looked around the pillar to see the boy looking around confusedly to see where Scorpius had gone.

Scorpius stuck a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter, however, he felt a pair of eyes on him and he looked up to see the boy grinning at him again.

They darted from pillar to pillar and Scorpius noted that this was the first time that he was able to play with someone his age and he was having the time of his life. But all things come to an end.

___

At the counter, Draco had finished doing business with Kragor the Goblin and once the ink had dried and they shook hands, Draco was ready.

"Come on, Scorpius," Draco said, beckoning to Scorpius.

Scorpius was hiding behind the nearest pillar and gave the boy an apologetic smile before following Draco.

Draco saw the boy and gave him a shrewd look which the boy faltered under. However, Draco's face softened and he gave the boy a small smile and a curt nod before turning on his heel and striding out of the bank, his black cloak billowing behind him.

"Bye!" Scorpius called to the boy and he ran after Draco.

"It's nice to see you making a friend," Draco said quietly. "Now, let's go find your mother and stop her from buying the Apothecary. You've been very good today. Shall we get an ice cream?"

"I'd love an ice cream, daddy!" Scorpius said excitedly. "Can I have two scoops instead of one? With lots of sauce and sprinkles and a big cherry on the top? Oh, and a wafer! I like wafers because I get to scoop up the ice cream."

"I don't see why not," Draco said. "Because you've been so good for me, I'll take you down to the vault the next time we visit Gringotts."

"Really?" Scorpius asked. "We get to go on the really fast cart? I've always wanted to ride that cart ever since I read about it and it doesn't matter that there aren't any dragons at the bank anymore. I can't wait. Hooray!"

Scorpius beamed up at his father and did a little skip on the spot before looking back at the boy. The boy waved at him and Scorpius waved back, feeling slightly disappointed that he didn't get to ask the boy his name.

___

Al watched the beaming blond boy leave with his father and sighed; It was nice while it lasted. Al had enjoyed it very much. He could hear the boy giggling the entire time that he was playing with him.

He wished he could've talked with the boy instead of playing with him but his mum told him not to wander off and he didn't want to disappoint her.

He would rather be with his mum and Teddy at Gringotts instead of Quality Quidditch Supplies with his dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, James, Lily, Rose and Hugo celebrating the Chuddley Cannons recent win.

The endless Quidditch talk was starting to grate on him and if he had to watch his Uncle Ron dancing again, he would probably die of embarrassment on his behalf.

But Gringotts was an interesting place and Al had enjoyed playing with the beaming blonde boy whose sheer joy was infectious even at a distance.

The Goblin at the door might have given him a suspicious look, but his mum ushered him in with the promise that Al wasn't here to rob the place.

He had the feeling that there was something more to the story that Uncle Ron had told them and tried to ask his mum about it, but she was in a rush and Al had to keep quiet.

"Right, that's that then," Ginny said after finishing with the Goblin. "Come on, Al. Let's go meet up with dad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione."

"Thanks for helping me understand all of this, Ginny," Teddy said, putting three leaflets carefully into his pocket as they left the bank. "It sounded very complicated."

"No trouble at all, Ted," Ginny said, patting Teddy on the arm. "Bill's better at explaining to you the finer details but it's all there in the leaflets."

"You're going to get a bank vault soon, Teddy?" Al asked, walking beside his Godbrother as they made their way down the street.

"Yeah, I can't believe it myself, Al," Teddy chuckled. "I'm soon going to be old enough to manage my own money. I remember it as if it were yesterday when your dad took me to Diagon Alley to get me my first books for Hogwarts."

"Do you have to put gold in your vault, though?" Al asked, kicking at a pebble. "You could put other stuff in there as well."

"Anything you have in mind?" Teddy asked slowly.

"Yeah, sweets," Al said. "James keeps eating them all."

"James will eat anything if it's coated in sugar," Teddy snorted. "You've just got to find a better hiding place."

"But he always finds them wherever I hide them," Al muttered, taking his frustrations out on another pebble.

"You've been well behaved today, Al," Ginny said, ruffling his hair gently. "I would've thought you would've found Gringotts boring."

"Not really," Al said, thinking of the beaming blond boy he had met in there and smiling. "It was quite interesting, actually. Why did you say to the Goblin at the door that I wasn't here to rob the place?"

Ginny seemed lost for words and Teddy caught her eye and turned away quickly, trying not to laugh.

"Well, love," Ginny said slowly. "I don't think I'll be able to explain it in the street."

"Because your dad did rob the place," Teddy said and Al stared at his godbrother.

"What do you mean?" Al asked, frowning.

"It's a long story, Al," Ginny said hastily. "You might want to ask your dad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione about it."

"And watch them squirm," Teddy muttered. "Anyway, shouldn't we get some lunch? Al can ask them when we're eating."

"Could I get an ice cream?" Al asked suddenly, still thinking of the beaming blond boy.

"Of course you can," Ginny said, ruffling Al's hair again. "And because you've been so good for me, you can have an extra scoop."

"Really?" Al asked and Ginny leaned forward.

"But don't tell James," she whispered.

"Never," Al grinned and Ginny winked before ruffling Al's hair again.

As they walked down the crowded streets of Diagon Alley, Al spotted the beaming blonde boy from Gringotts sitting in an ice cream shop between his parents and eating a large ice cream with sprinkles, sauce, a big cherry on the top and a large wafer.

He was still wearing that big smile and Al caught the boy's eye and waved at him before moving on.

[bookspined]

❝ that’s all history is after all: scar tissue. ❞

{ cis-man, he/him }  huh, who’s FROY GUTIERREZ? no, you’re mistaken, that’s actually SCORPIUS MALFOY. he is a TWENTY-TWO year old PUREBLOOD wizard who is A HEALING APPRENTICE. he is known for being CAPTIOUS, RETICENT, FACETIOUS, DISMISSIVE, and DRAMATIC but also RESOURCEFUL, CONSCIENTIOUS, FERVENT, INNOVATIVE, and OBSERVANT, so that must be why he always reminds me of the song IN DREAMS BY BEN HOWARD. i hear he is aligned with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, so be sure to keep an eye on him. { merry, 24, gmt, she/they }

CHARACTER PARALLELS: Amy Santiago (B99), Claire Temple (Daredevil), Chidi Anagonye (The Good Place), Giles (Buffy TVS), Michelle Jones (MCU), Simon Tam (Firefly), Elizabeth Swan (PoTC), Spock (Star Trek), Clarke Griffin (The 100), Harley Keener (MCU), Gregory House (House) suggested honorable mention Gizmo (Gremlins) 

pinterest [blood, medical imagery tw]

wanted connection ideas

Full Name: Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy Gender/Pronouns: Cis man | he/him Age: Twenty-three Birthdate: January 20th Parents: Draco Lucius Malfoy & Astoria Céline Malfoy (née Greengrass) [Not biologically Astoria’s due to her health, if you ever point this out he’ll flay your eyeballs] Siblings: N/A. Birth place: St. Mungo’s Hospital, England Height: 5’11” Weight: 56 kg Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Demiromantic Bisexual Nationality: British Body Alterations/Marks: A ragged diamond shape scar at the base of his throat.

Blood Status: Pureblood Hogwarts House: Slytherin Wand Arm: Right Pet: His pet toad, Jarvis, recently passed away. Patronus: Arctic Fox Wand: 11 2/3 inches, Willow, Supple, Dragon Heartstring.

Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, I have noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it. While many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) my willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.

Personality Traits: Brilliance, innovative, empathetic, individuality, openness, social consciousness, inventive, logical, practical skills and self assertion; lack of attachment to people outside his circle and the “real world,” over-intellectualizing of the emotions, dismissive, anxious, crotchety tempered, facetious, rigid, prone to self-isolation, intellectual arrogance, and stubborn. Zodiac Sign: Aquarius/Capricorn Cusp Moral Alignment: Neutral Good Core values: Loyalty, Knowledge, Hope Four temperaments: Melancholic  

HOGWARTS HOUSE ANALYSIS

Slytherin Primary and a Burned Ravenclaw Secondary.

Slytherin Primaries prioritize their own selves and loved ones first. Slytherins don’t feel guilty or selfish about this– they feel righteous and moral. The most important thing is to look after your own. Abandoning or hurting one of your own is the worst thing you can do.

A Burned Ravenclaw Secondary might want to be skilled, curious, and prepared, but they feel like they are (or like people think they are) limited, clumsy, or inconstant. Gathering knowledge, hobbies, skills, or tools is the right way to achieve their goals, but Burned Ravenclaws know that’s not going to work within their capabilities. So they take other paths and use other tools– maybe a Gryffindor’s bluntness, a Slytherin’s flexibility, or a Hufflepuff’s slow and steady dedication.

You may have a Hufflepuff Secondary Model.

Hufflepuff is the House of grit, reliability, and determination, and Hufflepuffs use those values to help live, act, and succeed. If you model Hufflepuff Secondary, you also value these things and like to live by them. You like to be hardworking, dedicated, and consistent– but you wouldn’t feel guilty for abandoning those values in the service of other, higher priorities. If there’s another, easier way to get what you want– you’d take it. You think hard work provides valuable rewards– and those rewards are why you work. The work doesn’t have persuasive value in itself.

Despite his very best resistance he’s always been pretty empathetic in nature, he tries to rule his emotions as well as he can but fails more often than not. He was always one of those toddlers that if another kid started crying he’d be right along with them, not because he wanted attention but because he just couldn’t not. A bit of a crybaby, has researched how to magically seal up his tear ducts. Obviously managed to keep the family’s flair for the dramatic there as well. After a few years he leant into the sarcastic vague-snobbishness to hide the core of overwhelming anxiety.

Just managed to scrape through his schooling with nearly all top grades, this isn’t really due to him being a model student. He has always accrued information with a voracious appetite. Any knowledge he could find, even if most people would consider it entirely useless. His mind clicks into that place? You can’t keep him away. However, when there is not an immediate stir of interest on his approach to a topic he has to fight with himself tooth and nail to carry on. 

Predictably found exam season highly stressful, was never open about it but was quietly competitive and silently smug over his good grades. Could comprehend well above his reading level from an early age and would often look into experimental research and complicated magic but found himself lost in OWL level History of Magic when chapter upon chapter lay ahead of him about something that didn’t catch his interest. Some people he beat just to spite cause he hates them. It worked, whatever.

Tends toward introversion and finds himself tired sometimes quite easily by a large amount of social interaction. Witty and big-mouthed when he feels comfortable or is in the presence of those that embolden him and very likely to get flustered and snap at people when things are becoming a bit too much. Especially if he feels however unjustly that someone is blocking his escape. Has matured slightly in this since leaving school but it happens still, he’s just anxious. Quite fickle and can at the drop of a hat decide that he’s done with you for the day once his Give Me Attention Meter is maxed. Could be an absolute bloody brat when he felt like it but feels he has grown out of it, which he mostly has.

Always been very, very aware of many people’s distrust of him and his family, he used to sneer and play it up if anyone tried to bring up his dad and go on the offensive but was genuinely affected quite deeply by it all. In his early school years, despite his weakness to the cold, he constantly had his sleeves rolled up to the elbow so that his blank forearm was bared as a statement to just about everyone. I am not marked, I never will be. Now he’s older he has more of a handle on things and can be diplomatic in situations where people are clearly discomforted by his presence and his family history.

Even though the war culminated far earlier in this verse I imagine Scor would have had to have been relatively sheltered as a child if not for how emotionally sensitive and prone to periods of ill-health he was, it was definitely for his own safety. He is still the grandson of a known high-ranking Death Eater and that made him a media target and put one on his back for anyone else that might happen to be watching. 

Never produced much of a talent for offensive magic and wouldn’t resort to those methods unless he had literally no other choice, not a front line fighter by any means. His talents with strategy, potion-making, healing and his perseverance with defensive magic are what define him to the Order. While everyone kind of knows who he hung out with at school and who his friends are he is deliberately very mischievous with releasing rumours and misleading people. He deliberately keeps his cards very close to his chest so most people don’t know that he is aligned with anyone, he usually uses glamours or a scarf to conceal his identity if he has to. 

While he is knowledgeable about healing and anatomy, he is the WORST at taking care of himself. The literal embodiment of Healers make the worst patients, tends to forgo sleep and basic bodily needs if he’s locked into what he’s focusing on. Sometimes needs reminders to sleep and eat, like a child. 

Healing is the most satisfying part of his life and he would never give it up, he likes to experiment as he has a fascination with magic and muggle science and where they might intersect. A fucking nerd honestly. While he thinks he’s being fairly subtle about it a large part of his academic life has been doused in research into blood maledictions, for obvious reasons. He does his best not to flutter too obviously around his Mum. She is capable and ten times stronger than he is. 

Lives in a small studio flat in Diagon Alley that is mostly stacks of books and makeshift shelves.

the stillness of the world the moment you take the first step into fresh snow, cashmere and fine wool, the pearlescence of dreamless sleep draught, the scratch of a quill on parchment, faintly tremoring fingers, a shiver up your spine in a warm room, the exhilaration of a problem solved, a thunderous grey overcast sky, the bite of a stitching charm, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, petrichor, the burn in your eyes before a well of tears.

Always had somewhat fragile health tending toward sickly. Hands are never warm, his existence is an endless heat seeking mission. 

Went to one Slug Club meeting and used his time to verbally berate and or challenge most of the contacts in attendance, he was not asked to return. 

Potions Club, Charms Club, used to sometimes be willing to be dragged to Dueling Club but didn’t enjoy himself. 

Plays quite a bit of chess.

Bruises like a fucking peach and scars so easily.

Views quidditch as a good fly spoiled. 

Is a very skilled pianist almost entirely due to his Grandmother’s tutelage. 

Surprisingly great with children/toddlers/babies, no one including himself expected this, he mostly feared them beforehand. 

Bit of a mummy’s boy in that he practically GLOWS when people talk of Astoria’s achievements. 

When he has time off from healing he will have chipped black nail varnish on. 

Highly intelligent but rarely manages to match a pair of socks, chews his quills but no one else’s. 

While very eloquent and well spoken, he is markedly less posh than when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

When he isn’t prone to bouts of insomnia he can take a nap pretty much anywhere. He was once found in a tree after several frantic hours search.

[ CREDIT : CHARACTER PSD template by @karmahelper (defunct url) I tried to find a current social this week by messaging around but couldn’t find anything unfortunately. Forgot to copy this over from the google doc! ]

[ohscorbus]

Young Scorpius discovers muggle plasters and insists on using them every time he gets a minor injury. Bruised his arm? A plaster. A paper cut from his new book? A plaster. Opened the snack cupboard right into his forehead? A plaster. Oh, and a telling off from mum...

It’s a badly scraped knee this time so understandably his parents want to use magic to heal it. But despite the blood collecting on his kneecap, Scorpius is still being frustratingly stubborn about it. They are eventually able to come to a compromise though. He allows them to use magic to clean the wound, and only clean it, if he then gets his plaster.

“People used to fear me. Now I can’t win an argument with a four year old.”

“That’s because you can’t say no to said four year old. You’re a big softie, Draco. Accept it.”

He’ll accept it alright, but in his own way. He waits until Scorpius is napping before quietly healing the skin underneath the plaster. He smiles to himself as he walks back into the other room, kissing Astoria on the cheek as he passes her. She looks up from her book and smiles back. She doesn’t know what’s got him so happy but she’s glad of it.

The peace the next morning is shattered by a loud squeal and the thundering of hurried footsteps. That’s all the warning they get (and need) before their bedroom door is flung open and their son is falling backward onto their bed. He’s wiggled himself between them with his bare, perfectly healed leg proudly up in the air for all to see. He’s rambling on about how good the plaster did and how his knee is already better. He’s so happy. Too happy for 7 o’clock in the morning. Astoria touches his knee and marvels at it. She wonders if it’s accidental magic. It was only a graze but it couldn’t have possibly healed that quick naturally. That’s when she realises how suspiciously quiet her husband is being. There’s no way he’s sleeping through this. She peers over Scorpius’s head and tries to catch Draco’s eye. That’s all it takes for her to figure it out. Her boys are as bad as each other. 

“That’s great, sweetheart! I’ll make sure daddy buys some more today.”

That gets his attention. He looks up and gets hit by his son’s beaming smile and Astoria’s all-knowing one. He manages to quieten Scorpius’s continuous chorus of thank yous with a kiss dropped in his wild bed hair, but he knows Astoria won’t be as easily satisfied. He still tries though. He gives her his best smile, but she’s had years of sweet Scorpius doing the exact same thing. It’s a lost cause and Draco knows it. There’s just no comparison, not even with his own bed hair.

So that’s how Draco finds himself in a muggle shop that sounds like it should sell footwear but here amongst the endless aisles of bottles and tubs, it’s clear it sells everything but. He finally finds the aisle he needs and pulls out the shopping list Scorpius had spent the entire morning writing for him. Well, I say writing but it’s mostly drawings of brightly coloured plasters with only ’I love my DAD’ and ‘Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy’ proudly written on the parchment. He looks up from the drawings and easily spots the shelf he needs. It’s an explosion of colour and cartoons that reminds him of the gallery wall in Scorpius’s art room. He tries to match his son’s requests to the boxes in front of him and he’s surprised at how well it’s going. He can feel himself smiling with pride at his son’s creative brilliance. He’s got three boxes in his basket when he remembers the conversation with his wife earlier.

“A scraped knee isn’t going to scar him, Draco.”

“It might! It could also get infected and that is dangerous. You know I will always support his wishes but I cannot risk his health.”

“You… are ridiculous and I love you. Do what you must but you’re going to be the one who explains to him when he’s older what you’ve been doing.”

“…I’ll wait until after he’s graduated medical school.”

“Good idea.”

Draco hesitates for only a second before picking up two boxes of every design available. The lady at the counter eyes his black clothing after seeing his basket of pure colour but she decides not to say anything. Draco thought that was a shame, he was ready to show off his shopping list.

Scorpius goes through the plasters at an alarming rate but thankfully not because he’s a complete disaster. Some go on his toys, some on whatever unfortunate creature he stumbles upon in the garden, and the rest go on his mum and dad. That’s how the game begins. Whenever they injury themselves now they have to quickly heal themselves, silently and sneakily, otherwise the other will see and delightfully shout out for their son’s assistance. It’s important for you to know it’s not because they’re mocking their little healer in training. No, this is simply about the joy they get from watching the other having to deal with their new shadow for the next 24 hours because Scorpius is relentless with his care. It starts with the fact he’ll drop everything to immediately run to them with his little bag of supplies. Then there’s the plasters themselves. Now technically, all the plasters do the same thing but to Scorpius, the red ones are for cuts, blue for burns, and purple for bruises. The ones with animals on are extra special. (He tried to explain his rather complex animal system to them once but ten minutes later, with no end to his speech in sight, they told him as long as he knows what he’s doing then they trust him.) After that, it’s the constant check-ups and if he finds that you’ve taken the plaster off before he’s said you could? There will be hell to pay. So they secretly play this game that allows them to be ruthlessly competitive in their teasing of each other while still encouraging their son to be his best. It’s a win-win! Not that Draco thinks that while he’s sat there giving Astoria, who’s barely holding her laughter in, a look of utter betrayal and a silent promise of revenge as she follows Scorpius’s instructions to magically clean the skin so he can put the bright purple plaster on his dad’s forehead.

But Scorpius’s passion for healing only continues so Draco and Astoria put aside their competition (which means Astoria won) and have accepted that muggle first aid is simply going to be part of their lives. So Draco doesn’t think about the red plaster on the top of his hand when he walks into the ministry. The article that runs in The Daily Prophet the next day reminds him though. Astoria cuts it out and frames the photo for Scorpius who is bursting with pride. His mum didn’t let him read the article but he doesn’t care about the words. This picture means now everyone can see that he’s only four and he’s already healing his dad! Draco, who’s sulking in the doorway, silently wishes he could tell him he’s been healing him for a lot longer than these past few months. But instead he walks into the room and places a kiss on the top of his son’s head as thanks. Scorpius doesn’t look up from the frame he’s still holding but the hand that’s gently rubbing his back tells him Astoria understood. The wizarding world can mock him all they like. It’s worth it all for these two.

(Inspired by this art by @yendts)

[fanficflaneuse]

One Day - Part 9

A/N: Hello, magical tumblr friends! We’ve reached part 9! I can’t believe it. Thanks for sticking with me through this wild ride. Thing are getting really good here. Today I realized I have like 70 of them. Can you believe it? I never expected to have followers lol. Thank you all. 

For this chapter, all I want to say is that I don’t hate Astoria. I really don’t. Thank you for your turkish telenovela plot twist ideas lol, I’m definitely going to write something in that fashion sooner or later.  

Also, the novel I’m referring to (both in with the quote and the comments) is called “Normal People” by Sally Rooney. If you haven’t read it, I very enthusiastically recommend it. I couldn’t put it down. And now I can’t stop thinking about reader and Draco’s relationship to be a bit like theirs (better written and without a lot of the tragic subtext, of course). 

Anyway, let’s do this! 

Draco x reader (she/her pronouns) Word count: 1874 Summary: One day AU. Post-war. Since The Battle of Hogwarts, Draco and y/n meet one day a year.

Masterlist  

Enjoy! 

3 May, 2007

“You really don’t want to sleep, do you?” Draco cooed at his son.

“Da-da,” the eight-month-old baby babbled as he made grabby hands at his father. The blond man melted and took his toddler out of the crib, cradling him in his arms.

“What am I going to do with you, Scorp?” he asked as he nuzzled his nose. The boy giggled in response.

Draco tried to be the most loving father. Whenever he wasn’t at the hospital, he was pampering his son, playing with him and making him feel loved. Draco lived for Scorpius’ cute little chortles and he vowed to do everything in his power to keep his son laughing without a care in the world.

The day Draco held Scorpius for the first time, he was invaded by a bliss he had never experienced before. Draco realized that he had finally done something good. He had helped create a little person, a pure and wonderful little person. He, Draco thought, was his second chance in life. Even if the nightmares and the guilt still haunted him, Scorpius’ tiny self reassured him. And so, the boy became his everything.

This week, though, Draco had to admit he was exhausted. Astoria had moved to the Greengrass estate for a few days to take care of her sick mother. 

“Nothing too scandalous,” she had explained when he asked about the symptoms, “but she still needs her daughters’ care”.

If Draco had noticed something suspicious in the defensive tone she adopted, he said nothing of it. Astoria’s family emergency left him alone to take care for their toddler. Since she hated every minute of living under the same roof as Narcissa and Lucius, they had moved to a flat in muggle London. His parents hadn’t yet forgiven him for that. Throughout the week, it was Molly Weasley who had come to his aid. Much to her delight, she took care of Scorpius – as well as her grandchildren – while he worked. As he did his rounds, though, his son was in the back of his mind. Scorpius had never been without at least one of his parents before and Draco hated the idea of him thinking he had been abandoned. He’d floo back and forth from the hospital to the Burrow only to find a very smiling Scorpius crawling around with Albus and Rosie.

Thankful as he was for Molly’s help, the whole ordeal drained him. He was working double shifts and then going to their empty apartment to feed his son and play with him before he could even think about hitting the sack.

Regardless of this, every time Astoria owled him he insisted it was fine. Ever since he found out Astoria was pregnant, Draco made an extra effort with their relationship. Even before Scorpius, they had turned cold and awkward with each other, but Draco loved and cared for Astoria and by Merlin did he try. He was gentle and kind, he took her out for dates, asked with genuine curiosity about her day, bought her gifts and was as accommodating as he could possibly be. She had an agitated social life, with weekend getaways with her friends and constant dinner dates with her sister, but even if at times it meant sacrificing his own social life, he wouldn’t complain. Draco could even say they were happy.

At times like these, however, he couldn’t help the intrusive thought of what all of it would all look like with (Y/N) by his side. He’d supress those ideas immediately, thinking about how Astoria was the best mother Scorpius could ever have. Yet, an overwhelming sense of how incredibly plastic and sterile his relationship with Astoria was would still linger for a while, filling him with dread. He’d then try to push it back and shower their son with as much love as he could possible give him.

Tired as he was, Draco realized it was very late. Scorpius was still giggling in his arms. As he sat in the library, Draco grabbed (Y/N)’s latest book in one hand and held his son cautiously with both arms.

“I’m going to read this novel to you, young man,” he said, “And you’ll understand none of it. But hopefully I can enjoy it for a while and you’ll fall asleep. Deal?”

Scorpius’s glimmering eyes lit the world for Draco. He kissed his son’s forehead before starting to read out loud:

“Sometimes she felt like saying: Would you miss me, if you didn’t have me anymore?” Draco gulped before continuing, “She had asked him that once on the ghost estate, when they were just kids. He had said yes then, but she’d been the only thing in his life at that time, the only thing he had to himself, and it would never be that way again”

As he carried on, he couldn’t help but think that this novel was written just for him to read. It was, after all, about two friends whose relationship status changes throughout the years. He felt his heart heavy, wondering if (Y/N) ever thought about him not caring for her. Because he did. He cared for her very much. And he missed her. She had been living in Paris for the last four months and she’d come every now and then, but he still missed her. At times, he felt like he always missed her, even if they were in the same room.

“I did choose your godmother well, didn’t I Scorp? You’ll be nothing if not a well-educated, perhaps even a bit snobbish, lad,” he teased.

Much to his satisfaction, Draco noticed how his son was now peacefully sleeping in his arms. He walked to the nursery and put him on the crib, leaving the door ajar just in case. As he was about to crawl into bed, Draco heard a crash on the living room. He grabbed his wand and hurried out, determined to protect his son.

“Leave now, please,” he heard a hushed, almost panicky, voice say.

As he reached the living room, Draco faced something he never thought he would. A wide-eyed Astoria stood in the middle of the room. She was giving her back to him and, instead, faced none other than Theo Nott, Draco’s old classmate. He had a determined glint in his eyes.

As Astoria turned around to face him, Draco noticed a sense of complicity between the two of them. He gulped, realizing what was going on. The blond man blinked tears back as he noticed his wife sported a series of love bites he had certainly not printed on her skin. They were both dishevelled, lips a bit swollen. Draco also realized Astoria was wearing a man’s sweater.

“Draco, it’s not what –“

“We’ve been seeing each other for a while, mate. I love Tori. We’re happy together and I am tired of hiding,” Theo’s deep voice interrupted her.  

“Draco,” Astoria said, her voice sounded muffled, as though they were underwater, “Draco, listen to me.”

Draco stared at his wife as though she was a total stranger. The shock made him experience everything in slow motion, to the point in which he only realized he was actually crying when Astoria tried to wipe the tears. Draco pushed her away very softly, barely even touching her, and just turned on his heels. He stumbled towards his room, scantily registering what was going on around him.

For a second there he thought he was dreaming. He closed the door and put up a charm. Draco collapsed on the bed and finally heard himself sob. His heart felt genuinely broken. He heard the knocks on the door. Draco picked on Astoria’s conversation with Theo, maybe they were even fighting, he couldn’t tell. He didn’t care either.

As many times before, Draco felt empty, small and pathetic. And, as many times before, his thoughts went to (Y/N), wishing she was there to console him.

…

On the other side of the English Channel, possessed by coffee induced jitters, (Y/N) sat wide awake in her library. It was late and she was very tired, but she couldn’t bring herself to sleep. She decided to read Hermione’s letter, which she had postponed for a couple of days already.

Dearest (Y/N/N),

Four months gone and I still cannot believe you’re living in Paris. What a dream! I am really happy for you, dear. We have all agreed that a change of ambience could benefit you greatly, even if it means we won’t be able to enjoy your presence as much. Don’t make our great sacrifice of depriving us of your company be in vain. Remember you’re in the city of love, so you better not be glooming on your desk all day.

All jokes aside, please take care of yourself, (Y/N/N). I would be lying if I didn’t say I’m worried. Molly is worried. Even Ron – at times so daft and oblivious – is worried. Sleep well. Eat at regular times. Don’t overthink…too much. This whole poète maudit behaviour might be very fancy and bohemian, but it is, without a doubt, unhealthy. And we all want you – no, we need you – healthy and happy.

Lovely, I devoured your latest novel. It is an absolute hit. It feels so…so real, so visceral and heart-breaking. I cried thinking about how much of it is inspired by your real-life experiences. I have never met someone who experiences life the way you do, someone who has this way of conciliating the world through words. My heart goes to you, (Y/N), along with my admiration. I hope distance can mend your heart, so you can finally write some lighter poetry, like you did when we were children.

I am very busy with work, looking forward for a promotion over the next couple of weeks. With Ron we have also been talking about the possibility of having more children. As an only child, I would love my Rosie to grow up with someone by her side, although I must say she’s practically attached at the hip with Albus and Scorpius. However, I still cannot decide, you know? I feel like my ever-growing responsibilities at the ministry might get in the way of me giving my child – and potential other children – the attention they deserve. I do not think I could adapt as easily as Ginny did. She is doing great at her new post, by the way. But I do not see myself anywhere else. I know maternity is far removed from your reality right now, but I would love to know what you think about this. I already know Ginny’s perspective. I also talked about it with Molly and my own mom. I have read a couple of books as well.

Anyway, I will not bother you anymore. Please write back whenever you see fit. Do not isolate, (Y/N). We are all here for you. We miss you. We cannot wait for you to come. As soon as we have vacations, we will visit you as well. I am hoping for the day in which we can finally stroll together through all of those bookshops in Paris – muggle and magic.

Love,

‘Mione.  

tags: @fandomscombine @okaydraco @naomi02hook @iliketoast23 @hopplessdreamer @winnsmills @oldfashionedlovergirlsblog @animelover09556 @happycomb @xtrashmouthxtozierx 

[lilylysanderscorpius]

The Story of Astoria Greengrass and Draco Malfoy

(As told by Scorpius Malfoy)

'So-' Lily propped her elbows up on her knees and rested her cheeks onto her palms, settling into a comfortable position in preparation to listen.

'Who is this story about?'

'It's about a witch who turned into a hawk'

Scorpius had turned his face back up to face the starry night sky and had his eyes closed peacefully.

'Your mother?' Lily asked with interest. She had only ever heard snippets of Scorpius's mother's life. Though she had always wanted to ask more, she had felt nervous about prying. Scorpius nodded and then, taking a deep breath, he began speak in a low, tranquil voice that seemed to defy the fact that he had just spent the past few hours screaming in pain.

'Seven years after the defeat of the Dark Lord, a witch of twenty four years of age by the name of Aglaé of the distinguished pureblood Maudit family, runs away from her home in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. With no intention of returning, she takes with her several very valuable family heirlooms; enchanted jewelry, rare potions books, and other such things.'

'Wasn't your mother's name Astoria?' Lily asked. Though it was rare for her parent's to gossip, that name had been on their lips on a number of occasions when Lily was a young girl and they had discussed rumors of Draco's marriage. To Lily it was a distant memory of a conversation which at the time she had had no interest in because it had been about people she didn't know and who she thought she would never meet.

'Don't worry I'll get to that' Scorpius said. He smiled as though reminded of an old joke.

'Anyway- Aglaé has been living inside the family home in Paris for the best part of 24 years. She was homeschooled there and though her sisters were all allowed to attend Beauxbatons and the elite Parisian pureblood social gatherings that their parents attended, Aglaé was always made to stay home. Even on the nights when she transformed into a hawk- something that she could not avoid doing but which always made her parents very upset with her- she was confined to a bird cage in her father's study. The only time she was allowed outside into the fresh air was when her family would go to their holiday manor near Beynac-et-Cazenac, in the countryside of Dordogne. On those occasions they would allow her to take walks along the rivers or through the empty farmland. There she was also allowed to fly- on the condition that she never told anybody outside of the family about her affliction. These trips gave her hope that one day her parents might allow her to leave them and to live freely'

'But by the time Aglaé has turned twenty-four, all of her sisters have married wealthy pureblood wizards and have left the family home. She, on the other hand, is yet to even meet another person who is not a family member or a tutor or a healer. So in a desperate bid to find a way out of her restrictive life, she tells her father that she wants to marry and leave as her sisters did. But he forbids her, saying the blood curse of the Maudit line must stop with her. She is never to leave the house, never to marry and certainly never to have children'

Lily watched the small crease in Scorpius's brow with concern. She had already learnt from seeing how he had reacted to his french grandfather at the dueling championship last year that he was not a fan of his mother's family.

'So Aglaé decides to leave. She knows that her family will be looking for her in the skies; that they will assume she has flown away from them as a hawk. So instead, Aglaé chooses to take the one form of transport out of France that she knows they will never think to search; she decides to take a muggle cargo ship. She does not particularly mind which country it is headed to, as long as it takes her far away from France and so she sneaks aboard a container vessel bound for Iceland.'

'Iceland?' Lily asked in surprise.

'Iceland' Scorpius repeated, giving her another little knowing smile.

'Most of her time on board this ship is spent hiding from the crew; either as a hawk perching on the masts or as a witch huddled in between shipping containers. But the journey takes longer than she predicts and soon she is out of the food rations she had taken with her. But the ship has a kitchen and a food hall for the workers and so she begins to source her meals from there.

'The head cook of that kitchen, an elderly muggle man by the name of William Bush, begins to notice that food is going missing. It doesn't take him long to figure out that there is a stowaway and to discover Aglaé hiding in the bowels of the ship. She is wearing the strangest attire he has ever seen- traditional wizarding families in France tend to wear fairly extravagant dress robes- but he is a kind man and when he hears that she has run away from a cruel family, he decides to help her. He tells the ship's crew that she is his niece come to assist him with the cooking duties and so for the rest of the journey she is able to live on the ship without hiding. Aglaé is determined to start a completely new life for herself and so she tells William and the rest of the crew that her name is Astoria Greengrass. 'Astoria' because it means 'like a hawk' and 'Greengrass' to symbolize new beginnings.'

'She gave herself an allias?' Lily said intrigued. 'That's kind of brilliant. But did she know that there was already a Greengrass family in wizarding Britain?'

'Well she wanted a name that didn't sound French to help hide her identity and she had thought that she was going to Iceland at the time so I suppose she wasn't too worried about that. Honestly I suspect she spent so much time growing up being shown lists and diagrams of pureblood family lines from all over Europe, that the only surnames she could think of where those of well established wizarding families. People think the Malfoy's are obsessed with pureblood ideology, but the Maudit's take it to a whole other level. She had never even really spoken to a muggle until she met William Bush. For most of her life she had heard that they were awful, inferior beings who hated anything they could not understand- like magic. And yet here old William Bush was helping her even though she had been stealing from him.'

'But the problem of course with having grown up in a pureblood wizarding family with little to no contact with the muggle world, was that Aglaé- now Astoria- is hopeless when it comes to hiding that she is a witch. At first, William Bush simply thinks that her quirks are just a result of her having been treated badly by her family for so many years. Until one day, Astoria slips up and he sees her transform before his very eyes.'

'No longer able to hide who she is, Astoria tells William everything. He is the first person she has ever been able to tell about her condition and she is terrified that he will think she is a monster. But though as a muggle it is a lot for him to comprehend, he thinks it is wonderful. So wonderful, that he offers to let her stay with him and his family in London. So after having travelled all the way with the crew to Iceland, Astoria decides to come right back again with William to start her new life in Britain'

'When they finally arrive in London, William takes Astoria to his small townhouse, where he introduces her to his wife April, who is just as excited to learn that she is able to perform magic. They take her in and treat her like a true niece and for a short while Astoria has the family that she has always wanted. They accept her unconditionally. But though Astoria does her best to start a new life with them in the muggle world, her condition makes it very difficult for her to find and hold down a muggle job. Besides this, years of homeschooling with elitist pureblood tutors means she has not learnt anything remotely useful outside of magic.'

'But Astoria is eager to earn money to contribute to the household that the Bushes so kindly opened up for her. In the end, she realizes that she has no choice but to make contact again with the wizarding community in Britain. And so, one day, in desperate need of an income Astoria finds herself in Knockturn Alley-'

Lily caught Scorpius's eyes.

'At Borgin and Maudit's?'

Suddenly, this tale which had sounded so otherworldly had connected back to something familiar and Lily was eager to hear more.

'It was called Borgin and Burkes at the time, but yes' Scorpius smiled.

'Burkes had long since passed away and Borgin's health had begun to deminish. So old Borgin solicited the help of one Draco Malfoy-'

Lily laughed at this. He spoke as though he were a character in a fairy tale.

'Your father you mean'

Scorpius just grinned back at her and carried on.

'At the time Astoria walks through the door, Draco has been working at the shop for a good year or so. He's fairly bored with it; it's not the most exciting job, especially as the Ministry has been cracking down on the trade of illegal magical goods and he isn't able to sell anything near as dark or dangerous as what the place used to stock.

'But when Astoria walks in she's changed out of the muggle clothes she now usually wears and is back in her elaborate French dress robes; She's there to pawn off her family heirlooms and she wants to give the impression that they are valuable. In her best British accent, she tells him that she has come upon some very expensive gifts that she would now like to sell. She shows him each item in turn, exaggerating each ones worth and usefulness. But though he is quite impressed with the quality and rarity of the goods, he says 'no'. Besides the fact that he finds her manner of speaking to be quite odd and is suspicious of her, business has not been going well and he's in no position to be buying'

'He tells her as such, but she won't take no for an answer. She tells him that her items will undoubtedly sell and that he can pay her a commission once they do. Draco is quite ill-tempered by this point but he agrees just so that she will leave. But she doesn't leave. Instead she walks outside onto the street and starts spruiking the shop, grabbing onto the arms of passersby and asking them if they wouldn't like to have a look at the new items Borgin and Burkes are stocking.'

Lily giggled.

'She's so determined' she said impressed.

Scorpius grinned.

'She was always very good at getting her way- incredibly persuasive when it came to convincing people to do what she wanted. People say that's a Malfoy trait, but she was much better at it than my father…'

'Anyway- as it so happened she was able to talk several people into visiting the shop and suddenly Borgin and Burkes has more customers than they've seen in years. A few items are sold; some are hers, others are just those that had already been in the shop. But Astoria demands a commission for everything. Draco is less than pleased; he says they only agreed on her getting a cut from the items which she had brought in herself and he refuses to pay her a sickle more'

'So by the time old Borgin returns to the shop from his check-up at St Mungo's, Astoria and Draco are in a yelling match. And by this point Astoria has completely lost any flicker of a British accent. Not knowing what on earth is going on, Borgin demands to know her name.'

'She introduces herself as Astoria Greengrass and tells Borgin that Draco has swindled her out of money and that she'll be back to collect it, before storming out the door.'

'But wait- isn't it technically true that he only agreed to give her a portion of the sales from the items she brought in?' Lily asked.

Scorpius shrugged.

'Depends whose version of the story you believe' he smirked.

'Anyway, a few days later she comes back to Knockturn Alley determined to get the cut for the other items she helped to sell and he asks her if she is from the Greengrass family that are part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. And because that was where she heard the name in the first place, without really thinking it through, Astoria says yes. But then Draco tells her he went to school with the Greengrass's daughter Daphne, and that she never mentioned anything about having a younger sister.'

'Oh no-' Lily was now fully engrossed in the drama, her hands clutched tight to her knees and her eyes wide. 'What did she say?'

'She said not many people know about her because her parents sent her to Beauxbatons rather than Hogwarts and so she lived in France for a number of years-'

'That's pretty clever-' Lily remarked. 'Lies are always much more believable when they're closer to the truth'

'Like I said- she was always very good at being convincing' Scorpius smirked.

'So was he convinced?' Lily asked.

Scorpius laughed and shook his head.

'He was right up until she called him 'Mr Burke''

'She did what?' Lily asked confused.

'She'd assumed that that was his name because of the sign- 'Borgin and Burke's'. She'd met Borgin the day before and he had introduced himself. But Draco had been far too grumpy with her to do that himself. Besides, he had sort of assumed that she knew who he was. Some of the particularly complicated death eater trials were still going on at that point, so the war was still fresh on the minds of the general public in wizarding Britain. Besides, everyone knew that the Malfoy's- mostly my grandfather mind you- had managed to avoid Azkaban by giving every single detail of who had done what during the war to the Ministry. Draco was one of the most hated wizards in Britain, by death eaters and Voldemort haters alike. In fact, that was part of the reason business was doing so bad. So it didn't make sense to him that she wouldn't know who he was- particularly if her sister was Daphne Greengrass, who he had snogged at few times at school'

'So what did he do?' Lily asked.

'He gave her the money that she was demanding from him and then he asked her to dinner'

'What?' Lily was taken aback. 'But he didn't even know who she was- and he knew that she was lying to him-'

Scorpius grimaced, seeming to find the whole thing a little pitiful.

'Yeah, but he hadn't been on a date since Hogwarts and everyone who knew who he was hated him. So he figured this might be his only chance'

'And she said yes?' Lily wanted to know.

Scorpius grimaced again.

'She hadn't been on a date in her entire life, so she wasn't that picky'

'And it went well?' Lily couldn't quite imagine what a dinner between two people who had only ever spent time in conversation arguing with each other would be like.

'She was impressed that he took her to a muggle restaurant' Scorpius said with a frown. 'Since moving in with William and April, she had really taken a liking to muggles and she thought it was proof that he wasn't as conceited about blood purity has her family had been.'

'That's sweet-' Lily cooed.

'Not really- in reality, he'd only taken her there because he didn't want anyone to recognize him and for her to find out who he was'

Scorpius looked apologetic for having ruined the romance for her.

'Oh…' said Lily.

'They did that for months. They'd go out together to muggle places; restaurants, parks, even the cinema. And the whole time he's calling her Miss Greengrass and she's calling him Mr Burke. He does a great job of hiding the fact that he's from a family of war-criminals and she does wonderfully at hiding her blood curse from him and for a little while they're quite happy'

'But then one day Astoria sees an advertisement for a wizarding ball in the Prophet. She really wants to go; she's learnt all the ball dances from her sisters but was never allowed to attend any when she was living with her family in Paris. So she asks Draco to go with her.'

'He refuses of course. Going out into wizarding society together would be a minefield; someone would be sure to recognize him. But- like I said- she's very good at getting her way, and low and behold, she convinces him that it is absolutely essential to their relationship that he takes her. So he does'

'He got away with it?' Lily asked.

'Oh no- he was recognized instantly. Everyone was calling him 'Malfoy' left, right and centre. But to his surprise, she didn't freak out. She was just confused as to why he'd changed his name'

Lily raised both eyebrows.

'The thing about my mother was-' Scorpius explained with a sigh. '-she didn't know much about Voldemort or the war. She knew of his existence and that there had been a war, but her family never told her about the awful things he did. Though they weren't ever directly involved in Voldemort's rise to power in any way, the Maudit's were sympathetic to his ideals. She'd heard of the Malfoy's, just like she had heard of every other pureblood family name in Europe, but she'd been living with muggles so she didn't know anything about the trials or why the faces of the people at the ball darkened when they saw Draco as though he were a Dementor'

'But obviously she realizes that he has been lying to her about his name for a reason and so she demands that he tell her. And he does and finally he's honest. He tells her everything that happened during the war; everything that he contributed to. And to his great surprise she isn't disgusted by him. She just asks if he's sorry and he says 'yes' and she says she forgives him'

Lily felt her heart swoon a little.

'That's when she decides that she has to tell him about her curse- and about her true identity-' Scorpius said gravely.

'And he tells her he doesn't mind?' Lily guessed.

'No, he's a total prat about it' Scorpius said tonelessly.

'He tells her he can't be with someone who's blood is tainted'

'What?' Lily felt truly outraged. 'But she's just forgiven him for having been a Death Eater!'

'I don't know if you've heard but my father hasn't always been totally virtuous' Scorpius lamented sarcastically.

'So anyway, then they sort of break up and she's absolutely furious with him- hates his guts. He on the other hand- he's completely miserable. He misses her, and through some kind of mental gymnastics- which to this day I am unsure of how he managed- he has the revelation that he's being an utter tosspot and that he has completely messed up his one chance at being happy'

'He tries to formulate a way of finding her and telling her he's sorry but he has no idea where she lives. So for a few months he wallows in self-pity and drowns his sorrows with Nettle wine'

'But then, luckily for him, a few months later she comes marching through Knockturn Ally again to see him'

'Why? I thought she hated him now?' Lily said with a frown.

Scorpius turned his head to the side to catch her eye.

'Me' he said with a small shrug.

Lily looked at him in confusion until it dawned on her.

'She was pregnant?'

'Like I said; my father- not so virtuous, loose morals and all that' Scorpius rolled his eyes.

Before Lily had time to question what he was implying, he hastily continued his story.

'Anyway, she's still really angry with him but she figures that he should know about me, so she marches up to Borgin and Burkes only to find something that makes her five times angrier than before'

'What?' Lily asked in suspense. She couldn't really imagine how Draco might have made the situation any worse.

'He's changed the sign on the shop' Scorpius sniggered. 'His stupid idea for getting her attention and getting her to come back was to change the name from Borgin and Burkes to 'Borgin and Maudit's'. But of course, she's been trying to ensure that her family doesn't find out where she has run off to, so she's enraged that he would do something with such blatant disregard for her situation'

'So she comes in, and after she's screamed at him and smashed about half the things in the shop, he tells her that he loves her and that he doesn't care about her blood curse'

Lily winced.

'Not great timing…'

'No' Scorpius agreed. 'She yells at him that it doesn't matter anymore because he won't ever be seeing her again now that her family is sure to be on their way to come get her and force her back to Paris. Then he tells her that he won't allow that to happen- that he'll start a new family with her and so she won't be a part of her old family anymore'

Lily raised her eyebrows again questioningly. 'Was that a proposal?'

Scorpius nodded ruefully.

'I honestly have no idea why she said yes; but I suppose she must have still liked him for some insane reason. And I think him asking her to marry him was just really shocking to her because she had thought that no one would ever want to marry someone who was cursed as she was'

'But she's concerned he doesn't know what he's getting himself into. So she tells him that if they get married, one day she'll stop being able to turn back into a human again and that it'll be up to him to raise their child alone-'

'-that's how he found out about me-' Scorpius added with a smirk in Lily's direction.

'And she also said that if I turned out to be a girl there was every chance that I could have the same curse that she did'

Lily was now tipped forward in a crouch on the balls of her feet, hanging on to every word.

'He tells her he isn't worried about the first point- though he definitely was- and that she needn't worry about the second point because for centuries of generations Malfoy's have only ever had sons'

'Is that true?' Lily asked in surprise.

'Yeah' Scorpius frowned and his eyes flickered away in thought. 'We think it might be some kind of weird blood curse of its own, but nobody knows the exact reason behind it'

'What happened then?' Lily was eager to know.

'Well that's pretty much it. Not exactly a 'happily ever after'; my grandparents were absolutely furious. They didn't want a daughter in law with tainted blood, no matter how well-breed a family she came from. Plus they were shocked that Draco had asked for her hand in marriage without introducing her or consulting them; I think it was the first time he'd ever really rebelled against them. It didn't help that she insisted that William and April attend the wedding.'

'But to be fair, the Maudit's were much more furious when they heard that their daughter- who they had forbade from marrying anyone in the first place- was marrying into the disgraced Malfoy family. They disowned her faster than a snitch, but I think she was quite pleased with that. It meant they wouldn't come looking for her anymore'

With Scorpius's story now at an end, and Lily still deep in thought imagining the vivid characters in it, the pair fell into a silence. After a while, Lily nudged him gently with her foot.

'Were you thinking about all this because you almost died?' she asked bluntly.

'I suppose so…' Scorpius reflected. Then with a small laugh he said; 'I mean, I guess I was thinking I'd better not snuff it here after all the trouble my mother went to to be able to start a family'

When Lily looked upset, he added; 'which would've been your fault, seeing as you were the one flying the broom'

Lily burst out laughing. She gaped at him in mock outrage.

'That is not the part of tonight where you almost died!' she cried, slapping him on the shoulder.

'Really? Because the Acromantula felt like a tickle compared to that turbulence' he shot back with a grin.

From: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12973166/75/Lily-Potter-and-the-Villain-in-the-Valley

[torestoreamends]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Fic: Finding the Words

8k words, G rated

Scorpius is being weird – more weird than normal, that is. He’s spending longer than ever in the library, he hasn’t spoken to Albus in weeks, and he keeps forgetting to do his homework. Albus is determined to find out what’s wrong with him and help. That’s just what you have to do when your best friend is upset. 

Thanks to @abradystrix for being a stellar human being and beta, and thanks to @the-eighth-story for nudging me to add the last scene. <3 

*

Scorpius is being weird. Given that Scorpius is always weird, this shouldn't be that remarkable, but this isn't the normal sort of weird. It's not a good kind of weird. He's gone all quiet, and distant, and he's spending twice as long as normal in the library (which is quite a feat, considering how long he was already spending in there). He also looks tired, and Albus thinks he might not be sleeping very well.

Albus found out quite early on in their friendship, within the first couple of weeks of first year, that Scorpius doesn't sleep well at the best of times. Anything and everything wakes him up, from the temperature, to changes in the amount of light in the room, to the tiniest whisper or creak. If he's worrying about something, or his mind is working over some problem, he'll lie awake for hours, wriggling around and muttering to himself. And on the worst nights he has nightmares, that leave him shaking and in tears. 

They've only known each other for just over a year, but Albus has lost count of the number of times Scorpius has come crawling into his bed, looking for warmth and comfort in the middle of the night. But that hasn't happened for weeks now. 

Even though Scorpius looks exhausted, and keeps drifting to sleep in lessons, and there are dark shadows under his eyes, he hasn't asked for help once. Albus is starting to think about staying awake one night, just so he can find out what's wrong with Scorpius to make him this tired. 

Normally he'd just ask what the problem is, but as hard as he tries, Albus can't seem to get a second alone with Scorpius right now. Scorpius doesn't seem to have time for him anymore. Any request to practice spells together seems to fall on deaf ears. Meal times involve Scorpius shovelling food into his mouth as fast as he can, and barely responding to any conversation Albus tries to strike up. At the weekend Scorpius simply vanishes into thin air. The one time Albus goes looking for him, to ask if he's okay and if they can work on their Transfiguration essays together, he finds Scorpius curled up in a corner of the library, barricaded behind a wall of books, hair all ruffled and stressed looking. Despite his better judgement, Albus goes across to talk to him, but Scorpius just snatches up some of the books and runs away without another word.

The strangest thing about all this is that Scorpius has always excelled in class. He's never once been behind on homework. His spell work is so effortless that he isn't set extra practice. It's not as if he has masses of revision to do. It's March, so the exams are on their way, but not for a couple of months. And last year Scorpius had drawn up revision timetables for both of them, and they'd done the work together, so it makes no sense for him to have decided to fly solo this year. 

Albus simply doesn't understand what's going on. He feels lonely, confused, and worried. He's worried that something is wrong with Scorpius that Scorpius isn't confiding in him. He's worried that maybe he's said or done something awful without meaning to, and now Scorpius doesn't want to be friends anymore. He's worried that maybe something has happened to Scorpius's mum, although last he heard she was alright; at home, doing well. He's worried that maybe he's a terrible friend for not being able to work out what's wrong. He's worried... well, he's worried about everything. 

Another horrible consequence of him and Scorpius not spending all their time together is that there's no one to defend either of them from the bullies. One afternoon, Albus is on his way back from Transfiguration when he's ambushed from a secret passage by a couple of third year Hufflepuff boys. They destroy his school bag, steal the packet of Pepper Imps he'd been saving to give to Scorpius later, then they shove him sideways into a suit of armour that collapses on top of him, leaving him winded and pinned to the ground. He manages to free himself using Wingardium Leviosa, but his ribs and head don't stop aching all evening. 

Just a couple of days later, Scorpius shows up in Potions after a lunchtime library session with a purple bruise on his cheek, and dried blood staining his tie. When Albus asks what happened, he changes the subject back to the Potion they're meant to be making in that day's lesson. Albus tries multiple times to check if Scorpius is okay, but Scorpius just ignores him. 

That Potions class is also the first time Scorpius forgets to do his homework. As far as Albus knows it's the first time Scorpius has ever failed to do a piece of work, and it's so bizarre and shocking that Albus has no idea what to do with himself. When they're asked to hand in their essays on the uses of Mandrake root in Potion-making, Scorpius stares up at their teacher aghast, 

"We... had homework?" He breathes.

Albus glances sideways at him, eyes wide with amazement. "Did you not do it?" He asks. "I thought that was what you were doing in the library." 

Scorpius doesn't answer. He dives down and grabs his bag, riffling through it for his homework planner. When he pulls it out he looks down at the page, and his eyes swim with tears. "I-I didn't think we- I missed it. I forgot." 

He looks so distraught that he doesn't get detention, just ten points from Slytherin as long as he promises never to do it again. At the end of the lesson, he sprints from the dungeon at top speed, head bowed, face still red with shame. Albus packs his bag as fast as he can and chases after him, but he loses Scorpius at some point, and by the time he gets to the crowded entrance hall, Scorpius is nowhere to be found.

Over the next two weeks, Scorpius seems to be working harder than ever. Albus never sees him any more. He doesn't come down for meals. When Albus wakes up every morning his bed is empty, and he doesn't get into the dorm until after Albus has gone to sleep each night. In fact, the only way Albus knows that Scorpius is sleeping at all, is because one night he wakes up to use the bathroom, and finds Scorpius sprawled out on his bed, fully clothed and fast asleep, a book lying open on his chest. He marks Scorpius's page for him, puts the book away, and tucks the blankets over him, careful not to wake him. He looks like he desperately needs the sleep. 

Despite everything, despite all the hard work and studying, Scorpius forgets to do his homework four more times. In two years, Albus has seen Scorpius do extra homework countless times, but never fail to do it. It's just unthinkable. And by the time Scorpius is on his third detention of the week, Albus is seriously considering writing to Scorpius's parents to ask them to step in.

At the end of Transfiguration on Wednesday afternoon, Professor McGonagall asks Scorpius to stay behind to talk to her after class, and Albus decides to try one last time to find out what's going on for himself. There's only one way out of the classroom, and if he waits right outside, maybe he can trap Scorpius and force him to talk about whatever is going on. 

For a couple of minutes he paces up and down the corridor, trying to decide what to say. He has to be sensitive about this. He can't just pin Scorpius against the wall and demand to know everything. Maybe he can be more gentle, tell Scorpius how worried he is, ask if he needs any help with his work, suggest they start doing their homework together again like they used to... 

He's just rehearsing exactly what he's going to say, when the classroom door flies open and bangs against the stone work. A streak of blond hair and black robes comes sprinting out, so fast that Albus almost misses him. His head is bowed and his hands are covering his face. Albus can see his shoulders shaking, and hear muffled sniffling over the sound of his running footsteps. 

Albus is faster than Scorpius, so he catches up with him quickly, and follows him down the hall to the boys' bathroom. Scorpius seems entirely oblivious to his presence, because he doesn't look round at Albus as they go inside. He throws himself down on the floor in front of one of the sinks and rests his forehead against the ceramic basin, his entire body shaking with desperate sobs.

Albus hovers in the doorway, clutching the strap of his bag with both hands, and watching Scorpius. After several long seconds of indecision, he takes a deep breath and steps forward. 

"Scorpius," he says. "What's wrong?" 

Scorpius jumps. He swings round and stumbles to his feet, tripping on the hem of his robe. His face is red and raw, shining with tears, and he hurriedly scrubs at his eyes as he faces Albus. 

"Go away," he says, avoiding looking at Albus, voice harsh and quiet. 

"Did McGonagall tell you off for-"

"I said, go away!" His voice rises hysterically, cracking, and breaking into another sob. 

Albus takes a step back. Scorpius has never shouted at him before. Scorpius isn't the sort of person to shout. But now, here he is, covered in snot and tears, and yelling, and Albus has no idea how to respond. 

"I'm only trying to help you," he says, firing up. "We're supposed to be friends, Scorpius. You have to tell me what's wrong with you. You have to let me help." 

"I don't have to do anything. I don't have to tell you anything," Scorpius shouts, voice echoing off the tiled surfaces. "Just leave me alone!" 

Albus folds his arms and stands in the doorway, so Scorpius has no way of escaping. "No," he shouts back, then draws in a deep breath to calm himself down. He doesn't want to fight with Scorpius. He wants to make this better. "You've been weird for weeks," he says, forcing his voice to be quiet and steady. "I want to know why. And... and I'm not moving until you tell me." 

Scorpius wipes his nose on the back of his sleeve, then draws his wand. "Get out of the way or I'll hex you."

Albus blinks at him in shock. "You wouldn't." 

Scorpius levels his wand, hand perfectly steady, despite his hiccuping, shaky breaths. "Wouldn't- wouldn't I?" 

Albus takes a tentative step forward. "Scorpius," he says softly, one hand on his own wand, just in case. "Please don't hex me. I just want to know that you're okay. I know you've been struggling, but maybe I can help. Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me? Or are you ill? Have the bullies done something horrible? Is it- is it your mum?" 

"Expelliarmus." 

Albus doesn't even see him move. He doesn't have any time to defend himself, to tighten his grip, before his wand spins out of his hand and clatters away across the bathroom floor. For a moment he stares at his empty hand in amazement, then he looks up at Scorpius, whose eyes are narrowed, and who still has his wand levelled at Albus's heart. 

"Leave me alone," Scorpius says, low, and dangerous and unsteady. 

"But-"

Scorpius gives his wand a tiny flick. "Rictusempra." 

Albus ducks just in time, the streak of silver light flying over his head and bouncing off the wall behind him. It ricochets back and hits one of the sinks, which starts spraying water everywhere. He doesn't need telling twice. 

He raises both hands in surrender, scuttles sideways to collect his wand, hurriedly stuffing it into his pocket so it doesn't look threatening, then he backs toward the door. "Okay," he says. "Okay, I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry." 

He fumbles behind him for the doorknob, keeping his eyes on Scorpius the whole time. When he finally grasps the handle, he twists it and stumbles backwards through the door, nearly falling into the corridor. He rights himself, straightens his robes, and glances back. As the bathroom door swings shut he sees Scorpius's wand fall out of his hand as he collapses onto the floor, lost in a wave of broken sobs.

Albus doesn't really pay attention to where he's going as he walks. He feels numb, and lost, and he has no idea what to do. His best friend is in pieces and won't let him in. It's a bit terrifying, really, the sense of powerlessness. He's scared of what's happening to Scorpius, and the fact that he can't help. 

There's only one possible thing he can try, but he isn't sure if it would be a betrayal. What if he tries to help and just makes everything worse? What if Scorpius never forgives him? He's already tried to hex him for helping... What will life be like for Albus without a best friend? Lonely. Miserable. Much like it is now, probably. But if Scorpius is in such a state then maybe none of that matters. 

His feet carry him to the Slytherin dungeon without him planning to go there. It's dinner time, and he should probably be in the Great Hall, but he isn't hungry anymore. In fact, the idea of eating anything makes him feel sick. Instead, he mutters the password to the blank stone wall outside the dungeon, and drags himself across the common room and up to the dormitory. 

He's grateful to find it deserted, and he dumps his bag on the ground and collapses face down on the bed. Behind his closed eyelids he can see Scorpius's tear streaked face. Desperate, and angry, and so unlike the normal happy, bouncy Scorpius he's used to. 

It's such an awful image to think about, that Albus sits up, rubbing his eyes to clear away the picture. He curls up, hugging himself, and staring blankly across at the dormitory door. 

After five minutes of empty numbness, he decides that he can't just sit and do nothing. Scorpius might never speak to him again, but that's better than seeing him suffer. Anything is better than that. 

He crawls to the edge of his bed and leans over the side, pulling open his drawers so he can grab a quill, ink, and parchment. Then he curls up against the pillows and starts to write.

Dear Mrs Malfoy,

I don't think we've spoken before, but my name's Albus, and I'm Scorpius's best friend. He might have told you about me. 

I'm writing to you because I'm really worried about Scorpius. He hasn't talked to me in weeks, and he's been forgetting to do his homework, and I'm not sure what I can do to help him. I tried to talk to him earlier, but he ran away from me. 

I thought that maybe, since you're his mum, you might know what's wrong, or you might be able to help him, or maybe you could tell him that I want to help him. 

I'm really sorry for intruding, and I think Scorpius might be upset with me for writing to you, but I just really want him to be okay. 

Thank you for helping.

Sincerely, Albus 

He stares down at his letter, trying to work out if it sounds stupid or not. He wonders whether writing to Astoria is even a good idea. If something has happened to her, if she's the reason for Scorpius's unhappiness, she might not be well enough to read letters. He might send this only for it to sit there for weeks and weeks, while Scorpius gets more and more upset. Writing to Draco might be a better option, but the idea of that is downright terrifying. Draco has always seemed a bit forbidding, and sending him an unsolicited letter isn't something Albus would even consider. Not unless writing to Astoria fails first. 

He folds the letter up and slides it into an envelope, then he gets to his feet and starts to cross the room to head to the Owlery. But after a few steps he stalls. Maybe he should try to fix this himself, just one more time, before he gets Scorpius's parents involved. He knows he can do better, knows he can get through to Scorpius. They're supposed to be best friends after all. And giving up after a handful of failed attempts isn't what a best friend should do. If it were the other way around Scorpius wouldn't give up on him. He would keep trying. And Albus is going to have to do the same. 

Determined, Albus tightens his grip on the envelope and marches back to his bed. He tucks the letter under his pillow, to keep for later, just in case he needs it, then he flumps down on top of the covers, kicks his shoes off, and sets about waiting for Scorpius to get back. After a few fruitless minutes of staring at the door, he gets his Transfiguration homework out. This is probably going to be a very long wait. 

Several hours later, the dorm is pitch black apart from the pale light of Albus's wand. The room is full of the sound of snoring and quiet breathing. It's peaceful, almost too peaceful. Despite all his anxiety, Albus is starting to get drowsy. The wand light is making his eyes sting and water, and he has to squint to make out the text of the book he's reading. 

Normally he finds his Potions work so interesting, but now his tired, worried brain keeps bouncing off the words. He's already written his Transfiguration essay, done a little bit of Charms practice, and finished a sketch for Herbology, and he's exhausted. He has no idea what time it is. Definitely after curfew, but there's still no sign of Scorpius, so all he can do is struggle on with his work and try to stay awake. 

He blinks blearily down at the Potions book and tries to work out which line he was reading last. Nothing on the page looks even a little bit familiar, although he's been staring at it for at least ten minutes. He doesn't know what any of it means, and he isn't even sure what this chapter is meant to be about anymore. 

He rubs his eyes and yawns, then he glances across at the door. There's no sign of Scorpius anywhere, not so much as a creak from the staircase outside to indicate that anyone might be coming upstairs. But it has to happen sometime. It has to. Scorpius can't have just disappeared from the school, can he?

The pages of his book rustle as he turns them. His eyes burn with tiredness. The bed beneath him feels so soft and comfortable. He sways where he sits. No. He has to stay awake. He has to- He covers his mouth as he yawns, and he tries not to think about how warm it is and how exhausted he is. 

His eyes drift shut. His head droops.

Twice he starts awake and scolds himself for being so weak. He scrubs at his eyes and drags his hands through his hair. The words of his book swim and become nonsensical. His lit wand falls from his hand and goes out, and he's vaguely aware of his body slumping sideways as he loses his battle with consciousness. 

The next thing he's aware of is that he's lying with the corner of his book digging into his cheek. It hurts, and he groans and shifts his head into a more comfortable position, pushing the book away. He opens his eyes a crack and peers around. 

The dorm is no longer completely dark, but it's not daylight that's brightening it up. Daylight in here is of a turquoise, watery consistency, but this is silver. Silver and flickering, and it seems to chase and dance across the room, although it's very faint. 

At first he has no idea where the light is coming from. He's never seen that colour and quality of light anywhere before. It's not a Lumos spell, none of the lamps are lit; the lake light is still a murky green, almost black. 

He sits up a bit, rubs his eyes, and happens to glance in the direction of Scorpius's bed. 

With a jolt of realisation, he sees that Scorpius's hangings are closed now. He must have come up to bed while Albus was sleeping. He also realises that the flickering light is filtering through the drawn curtains. They're so thick that only the barest glimmer escapes through the bottoms and tops and edges of the hangings, but it's enough. Enough to know that Scorpius is there, and that he's awake, and that he's doing... Albus has no idea what he's doing. 

Albus glances around. Everyone else in the dorm is fast asleep, so they won't be disturbed. Still, just to make sure, he draws his wand and waves it in a circle, pointing at each of his sleeping dorm mates in turn.

"Muffliato," he whispers. It's a spell James taught him, and it's one of the few spells he's good at, because he's practiced it so often. He and Scorpius have been using it to hold late night conversations for almost two years now. He hasn't had much chance to use it in the last couple of weeks, but if this conversation goes well, hopefully he'll be able to start practicing it again. 

Staying as quiet as he can, he slips off his bed and tiptoes across the creaky floor between his and Scorpius's beds. When one of the floorboards squeaks he stops dead, waiting for any sign that Scorpius has noticed him, but the silvery light keeps flickering and dancing.

Albus exhales and pads the last couple of steps, then he stands and faces Scorpius's hangings. The emerald green expanse looks black and forbidding in the darkness. Opening the curtains is a step he can't turn back from, and he has no idea how Scorpius will react when he does it. But he has no choice. This is the only way forward. Swallowing hard, Albus reaches out a shaking hand and pulls the curtain back an inch. 

"Scorpius," he whispers. "Scorpius, are you-" He breaks off at the sight in front of him. 

Scorpius is sitting against his pillows, wand in his hand, eyes half closed from exhaustion. A thin, silvery mist hovers in the air in front of him, and Albus recognises it from a book he read once for Defence Against the Dark Arts class. His eyes widen with amazement. 

"Is that a Patronus?" 

Scorpius looks at him, and he seems to tired; too miserable for surprise. His expression barely flickers as he takes in the fact that Albus is standing there, although his grip on his wand loosens, the silver mist fades away, and his lip trembles. As they're plunged into inky darkness, Albus sees by the very last silver flickers of light that Scorpius's eyes are swimming with tears. 

In the blackness of the dorm, he hears rather than sees Scorpius collapse. There's a squelchy, muffled little gasp, and then Scorpius breaks apart. The bed creaks as his shadow curls in on itself, and Albus hears, for the second time that day, desperate sobbing. Alarmed, but glad Scorpius isn't going to try and duel him this time, Albus scrambles up onto the bed, shuts the hangings behind himself, and lights his wand. 

Scorpius is huddled in a little ball, face buried in his knees, whole body wracked with sobs. Albus doesn't waste a moment. He crawls in beside Scorpius and wraps both arms tightly round him, and Scorpius melts in his grip, all resistance apparently now gone. 

He feels thinner and bonier than he had last time they hugged, and Albus is certain he must have been neglecting to eat. When he brushes his fingers through Scorpius's hair it feels limp, and a bit greasy, but Albus doesn't stop. He cares less for Scorpius's current state, and more for making sure it doesn't get worse. And this, shuddering and weeping but letting Albus hold him, is a sign that maybe there's a chance. 

"I'm here," Albus murmurs, because it's what his mum says when he cries to her. "I've got you. It's going to be okay." 

"No," Scorpius says. "No it's not." The words tear out of him, tight and strained and a bit hysterical, and Albus clutches him tighter. 

"Why?" He asks. "I don't understand. Scorpius, what's happening?" 

Scorpius doesn't answer. He opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a little hiccup. He shakes his head and pulls the sleeves of his sweater over his hands, curling up tighter in Albus's grip. 

"Take your time," Albus murmurs. "I'm not going anywhere." 

Scorpius gives a little twitch of his head, that's probably meant to be a nod, and tucks his jumper-covered hand in between his and Albus's bodies, curling his fingers into Albus's t-shirt. 

For several long minutes they sit there. Albus's arms begin to hurt from the awkward way they're curled round Scorpius's body, and the knee of his pyjama trousers is splattered with Scorpius's tears. The sobs seem to be lessening though, and Scorpius is dragging in more desperate, shaky breaths. Albus tries not to look at how red and wet his face is, shining with tears and snot and spit. Seeing Scorpius doing anything other than smiling feels weird, and upsetting. Scorpius is supposed to be the happy one. Bouncy and full of life, not a care in the world...

After a little bit longer, Scorpius starts mopping his face with the sleeve of his jumper. He's still sniffling a bit, but he seems better. Calmer. And Albus releases him, although he keeps one hand on his back.

"Please tell me what's going on," he says, and he can hear the concern in his own voice. He doesn't mean to sound so worried, so shaky, but he can't help it. 

Scorpius shakes his head and picks at his sodden sleeve. "I'm alright. You don't need to worry about me." 

"Then what do I need to worry about?" Albus's voice snaps harshly in the silence of the dorm, and Scorpius blinks and looks up at him. Albus sighs, shoulders slumping. "Sorry. I'm just-" He runs a frustrated hand through his hair. "You haven't been eating. You haven't been sleeping. Your homework... you keep forgetting it, and you never forget homework. You haven't talked to me in weeks. I want to help. I'm your friend, Scorpius. Friends are supposed to help each other, aren't they? You help me all the time, with bullies and schoolwork, and- and now I want to help you. So please?" 

Scorpius looks at him for a moment, then he bows his head and picks at the hem of his jumper. "It's..." he takes a deep, unsteady breath. "It's Mothers' Day. This weekend. And I've been trying to... to work out a way to show my mum that I-" He breaks off, twisting himself away from Albus, so Albus can see is his back, and a bit of blond hair. "I don't know what to do. Nothing is working, and-" he pauses as his breathing starts to go shallow again, more tears flooding in. "And she's never going to know that I love her." He breaks again, burying his face in his hands.

In spite of himself, in spite of the whole situation, Albus laughs. "But that's silly!" 

Scorpius goes stiff, shoulders tightening, and Albus realises his mistake. 

"Sorry," he says quickly. "Sorry, I didn't mean-" he moves closer to Scorpius and puts a hand on his arm. "I just meant that, well, surely she already knows you love her? And why can't you just send her a card, or make her breakfast in bed, or... I don't know. There are loads of things you could do!" 

Scorpius gulps in several breaths before he glances at Albus. The tears trailing down his cheeks glitter in the wand light. "My- my mum's going to- my mum's going to die. Soon. And this might be the last chance I get to- I have to do it properly." 

Albus grips Scorpius's arm tightly, reeling from the new information about Astoria. He knew she was sick, but he didn't realise- it must be really bad. It must have got so much worse since last time he and Scorpius properly talked. 

"I'm sorry," he breathes, because he doesn't know what else to say. "I didn't know it was that... I thought you said before that she was alright?" 

"She's been in hospital for weeks," Scorpius mumbles, inspecting his fingernails. "It was a really sudden- She just got really bad, and ever since then..." he draws in a trembling breath. "She's been improving recently but we've still been told that she only has a few- a few months left." His voice breaks and he takes a second to compose himself, while Albus stares at him, speechless. "Every time Dad writes I keep thinking it's too late, that she's..." He trails off, and wipes his eyes with his fingers. It makes no impact on the steady flow of tears that are still pouring down his cheeks and dripping off the end of his nose. "I-I wanted to do something special. I thought I could- There are spells to conjure flowers, but I couldn't make them work. And then I wanted to try a Patronus Charm, using a-a happy memory of her, but I'm not good enough." He flicks at his wand with his fingers, and it goes rolling up the bed away from him, showering little gold sparks everywhere. "I've been practicing for weeks, and now I've run out of time and I don't know what to do." His tone rises with frustration, and he kicks at his blankets. 

"Those are N.E.W.T. spells," Albus says in amazement. "Is that what you've been doing in the library all this time? Is that why I haven't seen you? Because you've been practicing?" 

Scorpius nods. "And it was all a waste of time, because now I've got nothing." He gives a mirthless little laugh and shakes his head. "Stupid idea, all of it."

"But you've still got yourself," Albus says, nudging Scorpius's arm. "Are you going to visit her on Sunday?" 

Scorpius shrugs. "I don't know. There's no point if I don't have anything to give her..." 

Albus shifts on the bed so he's kneeling beside Scorpius. "I think you should visit her. And -- you probably won't agree with me, but -- I think you should just tell her how much she means to you, and how hard you've been working. You don't need fancy spells to show her that. I mean, Patronus Charms are amazing and impressive, but even my dad-" he breaks off and runs a hand through his hair. Thinking about his dad always makes him feel thoroughly miserable, and he tries not to ever do it. 

"The point is," he continues, shoving Harry well out of his mind. "I think you can just be you, and she'll understand. I think it's a parent thing." He looks at Scorpius, desperate to convince him. "You know, last year me and James and Lily tried to make a big meal for Mum? James and I came home for the weekend, and we were going to cook something fancy. But James is the worst cook ever, and it all ended up burned and rubbish, and it was awful. But when Mum found out, she said- she said it didn't matter, and that she knew we all loved her without the silly meal. So maybe your mum will be like my mum was, and it won't matter that you can't do the things you wanted to?" 

Scorpius sniffs and wipes his nose as he looks up at Albus. "Do you think?"

"I don't know," Albus says honestly. "Parents are weird and I don't understand them. But I think it's worth a try. And maybe-" he bounces on his knees as the idea comes to him. "Maybe instead you could write her a letter or something. To make sure she really knows? Letters are easier than saying things in person I think. I can help if you want. We could write it together and then you could give it to her on Sunday!" 

Scorpius hugs his knees and frowns. "How are you supposed to put all of that sort of thing into a letter? The reason why I wanted to try the spells was because... because I didn't know what to say. I didn't know where to start." 

"Well we can try it at least," Albus says. "It's worth a go, isn't it? Let's do it now!" He picks up his wand and shoves Scorpius's hangings aside. He flops half over the edge of the bed, head and wand sticking out past the curtain, and rummages through Scorpius's drawers, searching for parchment, ink, and a quill. He's such a geek that he keeps them in his top drawer, ready to be whipped out at a moment's notice, so Albus quickly locates them and scrambles back inside the hangings, almost losing his balance and toppling out onto the floor. Scorpius grabs his ankle and helps him, and soon the two of them are curled up by Scorpius's pillows, staring down at the blank piece of parchment. 

"Dear Astoria," Albus suggests. "That's how you're supposed to start letters." 

Scorpius steals the quill from him. "Dear... Mum," he says, as he scrawls the words down. He glances up at Albus. "Happy Mother's Day?" 

Albus nods. "That's good."

Scorpius pokes his tongue out from between his teeth as he writes. When he's done he stares blankly down at the parchment. "Now what?"

Albus leans against his side and also stares at the parchment, hoping it will give him some inspiration. It doesn't.

"Maybe this is the part where I tell her about the spells that didn't work," Scorpius suggests. "I think I should say sorry at the beginning, and then tell her all the things I really wanted to tell her afterwards..."

Albus nods. "That sounds good."

"Alright," Scorpius says. "I think I can do this." 

For the next few minutes they sit in silence. Albus listens to Scorpius's quill scratching on the parchment, and his mutterings as he tries to work out what to say. Occasionally he pauses to ask Albus a question, or Albus will make a suggestion as he reads over Scorpius's shoulder, but mostly Scorpius works in silence, pouring his heart and soul out onto the page.

Eventually, with one final flourish, he signs his name and looks down at the letter. The wet ink glints in the pale wand-light, and Scorpius blows on it to dry it out. 

"I think that's what I want it to say. I think that's good." 

Albus puts an arm round his shoulders and hugs him tightly. "I think it's perfect." 

"Me-" Scorpius breaks off as he yawns widely. "Me too." 

"And now I think we should go to sleep," Albus says, poking him in the arm. "We can leave the letter to dry while we rest. You need to sleep, Scorpius. You haven't slept in weeks."

"Mmm," Scorpius agrees. He pushes the hangings aside and sets the letter, quill, and ink on top of his set of drawers, then he wriggles his way under his covers and curls up. 

Albus moves to get up and go back to bed, but Scorpius catches hold of his wrist. 

"Don't go," he says, looking up at Albus. "I've missed you. And it's easier to sleep if you're here. I mean, you don't have to, but-" 

Albus crawls under the covers beside Scorpius and lies on his side, facing him. "No. I'll stay. I missed you too." 

Scorpius squeezes his hand. "I'm sorry I tried to duel you earlier." 

"It's okay," Albus murmurs. "If you want I'll try to help you catch up on your homework?" 

Scorpius rubs his eyes and smiles. "That would be..." he yawns. "That would be nice. Thank you." 

They mumble a few more increasingly incoherent things into the dark, quiet space between and around them, until first Scorpius and then Albus drifts asleep, their hands still clasped together on the bed between them.

---

Astoria drifts along the shoreline between sleeping and waking. She can feel the soft bed beneath her, feel the warmth of sunlight spilling through the window onto her face, but she can't find the motivation to open her eyes. It's easier to just stay asleep for now. 

Time flows in strange patterns. It's difficult to tell how long she spends asleep or awake. She loses track of time. Someone was supposed to come and wake her up just before lunch, but there's no one here yet, so it must still be the morning. 

At some point she hears the door creak open and closed. Footsteps, two pairs of footsteps, tiptoe across the room, and a pair of familiar voices whisper to each other. 

"Go on. You can sit there." 

"But this is your-" 

"I want you to sit there, Scorpius."

"...okay. Thank you." 

Scorpius's voice sounds tight, and small, but just the sound of it is music to Astoria's ears. She turns her head to the side, opens her eyes, and beams at her son, who's sitting in the seat next to the bed, clutching a letter and a book, and looking very uncertain. The sunlight shines through his hair, making it glow golden. He looks older and more handsome every single time she sees him, and her smile widens to the point where her cheeks are aching. 

She starts to claw her way into a sitting position, and both Scorpius and Draco, realising she's awake, get to their feet and rush to help. She waves them both away. 

"I'm fine. Sit down. Draco, I said I'm fine." 

Scorpius has already returned to his seat, but Draco is still hovering over her, the familiar worried crease carved into his forehead. She reaches up and smooths her fingers over it, then she pecks him on the lips. 

"I'm so fine they're talking about letting me come home on Tuesday. Now would you sit down?"

Draco sighs and returns to his seat. "We thought you were asleep. We didn't wake you, did we?" 

Astoria shakes her head. "Not at all. I was actually wondering what time it was." She runs a hand through her hair and looks around for her wand and glasses. Scorpius passes them both to her. 

"It's just after eleven," he tells her, before retreating back to his seat and curling up into a little ball, hugging his book to his chest like he's trying to protect it. 

Astoria watches him carefully. He looks a little paler than usual, and it's unlike him to be so quiet. She wonders if there's something wrong. Although it's possible that she's what's wrong with him. She hates thinking that she's causing her son any sort of suffering, but she can't deny that she is, and there's nothing she can do about it. She hates it. It might be the worst part of being ill. 

Her smile fades and she swallows. "So," she says, forcing herself to sound cheerful. "How are you both? It looks like a beautiful day." 

"It is quite nice," Draco says, glancing out of the window. "I think the weather's going to hold this week. It'd be nice to have you home while it's still warm. Your garden is doing beautifully. I don't think I've done too much catastrophic damage to your roses yet."

Astoria tuts. "You won't damage them as long as you follow the instructions I left you." 

"Your instructions are twelve pages long," Draco says, smirking at her. "It's almost as if you don't trust me." 

"I trust you with my life, Draco dear. But you never did have green fingers. Daphne told me how you killed your Venomous Tentacula in fifth year." She grins at him, then glances across at Scorpius. He's staring down at his feet like he can't even hear the conversation. 

Her smile softens and she reaches across to him. "Scorpius... how has school been this week? Weren't you about to start studying the wizarding wars in History of Magic?" 

Scorpius glances at her and shrugs. His fingers stroke the parchment envelope in his hands, and he hugs his book tighter, resting his chin on it. 

Draco turns to watch him for a moment, then he gets to his feet. "Would either of you like a drink?" He asks. "I'm going to go and get some tea. Not the muck they serve upstairs. I'll go to that shop down the road." 

"There's Muggle money in my purse," Astoria says, not taking her eyes off Scorpius for a second. "Do you know how to-" 

Draco plucks a note from the top and waves it at her. "This one's worth £10. I've been learning." He glances between her and Scorpius, then backs towards the door. "I'll see you both in a bit." The door clicks shut behind him as he leaves, and Scorpius and Astoria are alone. 

Once Draco has gone, Scorpius wriggles in his seat and tucks a bit of hair behind his ear. He glances at Astoria, then away again. 

"Are you alright?" Astoria asks, voice soft and low. "You look unhappy." 

Scorpius looks down at the book and envelope he's holding, then he pulls his chair closer to the bed, scraping it across the floor. "I wrote this," he says, holding the envelope out to her. "For you." He glances up at her, and as she takes the envelope, he pulls the sleeves of his sweater over his hands and holds them so they're covering his face. She thinks he might be chewing on the wool, but he looks so anxious that she doesn't comment. 

"What's this?" She asks, turning the envelope over in her hands. Scorpius's seal is pressed onto the back. It's so neat, as is the way he's written her name on the front. He's clearly taken time and effort over this.

"It's a letter," he murmurs. "Because it's Mother's Day." 

She smiles and places her finger next to the seal. "Can I open it?" 

Scorpius goes pink all the way to his forehead, and nods, grey eyes wide and shining in the sunlight. 

Astoria slits open the seal and pulls the letter out with slightly shaky fingers. She lays the letter in her lap, clenches and unclenches her hands to try and steady them, then she picks the letter back up and reads. 

Dear Mum,

Happy Mother's Day. 

I wanted to do something really special for you this year, because you haven't been very well, and because you deserve to have a good day. I tried to learn all these different spells, to show you that I love you, and that you're the best mum ever, but I couldn't make any of them work. I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything nice for you, but Albus said you wouldn't mind, and that I should write a letter to you instead, telling you how I feel, so I hope that's okay instead. 

First, I want you to know that you're the best mum ever, and you always will be. I think you're amazing, and I like reading with you, and playing the piano with you, and looking at the frogs in the river with you. I'm glad you're there so I can talk to you, and I think it's going to be very hard when you're gone. 

Second, I want you to know that I love you a lot. You make the perfect hot chocolate, and you taught me how to dance, and you make home feel like home. It's always quieter without you. 

It makes me sad that you're ill, and I'm sad that you're hurting. I wish I could make you feel better, and I'm sorry I can't. But I hope that maybe I can make you forget about it all for a bit. I've brought our favourite book with me, for us to read together if you're feeling well enough. And if you're not then I'll leave it for you so you can read it later. 

I really hope you know that I love you, Mum. I'm always going to love you, and I'm never going to forget you. Have a very happy Mother's Day.

Love you forever,

Scorpius 

Astoria's eyes prickle with tears as she reads. Twice she has to stop because her vision is too blurred to see the words anymore. When she's done she takes a deep breath and brushes the tears off her cheeks. For a moment she tries to compose herself, then she glances at Scorpius and reaches a hand out to him. 

The second she lays eyes on him, her beautiful, sweet son, who's growing up to be so brave and brilliant, the tears start to well up again, and she sniffs and beckons to him. "Come here." 

"Is it okay?" Scorpius asks, finally removing his hands from his face, and getting to his feet. 

"It's perfect," Astoria replies. The second Scorpius is within her reach, she pulls him into the tightest hug she can, brushing her fingers through his soft hair. "I'm going to love you forever too," she says. "You wonderful boy." She kisses the top of his head, and he squirms. She releases him, but all he does it put his knee on the bed and frown. 

"Will I get told off if I-" 

"I won't let them tell you off," she says, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

He gives a shaky smile and crawls onto the bed next to her, curling up by her side and wrapping his arms round her. She folds an arm round his shoulders in return. 

"I tried to learn the Patronus Charm," he says. "I can get a bit of silver mist but I can't do it properly. And I was trying to learn Orchideous, so I could bring you flowers, but that was too difficult as well. So I brought our book instead. And myself. Albus told me that might be enough." 

Astoria blinks very hard to hold back her tears. "Your best friend," she says, voice a little shaky, "is quite a smart young man." She squeezes Scorpius tightly and drops another kiss into his hair. "Of course this is enough. This is wonderful. You are wonderful." She gives Scorpius's shoulder a little shake and looks down at him. "Never forget that, okay?"

Scorpius looks at her and nods. "Okay," he murmurs. He picks at the hem of his jumper for a moment. "I really meant what I said in the letter," he says. "All of it. I love you, Mum." 

"And I love you too," she says, holding his gaze, fierce in a way that she hopes will convince him to believe it, and remember it. 

He blushes a faint pink and drops his head onto her shoulder. She gathers him in close, and gently slides the book from his hands. 

"Do you want me to read this to you?" She asks. 

"Maybe we can read a bit each," Scorpius suggests, reaching out to trail his fingers over the cover. 

"I think that's a good deal," Astoria says, kissing his temple. "Shall I go first?" 

Scorpius nods, and he wriggles in closer so he can see the book open across both their laps. 

As they read, Astoria rubs his shoulder, and feels him wriggle and breathe against her side. He's a lot bigger than he was as a baby, but he's still just as wriggly, and just as excitable. He's still her little boy, and she's never been more confident in the knowledge that he loves her deeply. She only hopes that he knows, that he will always know, that she feels exactly the same way in return. 

[thebookishsnake]

Intro to Scorpius

Is that [SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY]! It’s so nice to see them back at Hogwarts! [HE] is [16 ], and a [SIXTH YEAR] [SLYTHERIN] and totally looks like the muggle [WILL TUDOR]. They are known to be [INTELLIGENT], and [EMPATHETIC] but also have a tendency to be [SELF-DEPRECATING] and [NERVOUS]. There are whispers around the castle that in the unrest that is brewing they are [NEUTRAL]. [OTHER INFO: Slytherin keeper, sixth year prefect]

Full Character Name: Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

Does your character have siblings? What are their names?: Nope. He’s an only child. The Malfoy household has been and will continue to be a quiet one.

What is your characters best subject in school? Defence Against The Dark Arts

What is your characters wand? 12 and ½ inches, unicorn tail hair, Hawthorn, exactly the same as Draco’s except two and a half inches longer. It makes sense when you think about how father and son are both highly skilled wizards that are excellent at casting both healing magic and curses, but are men “with a conflicted nature, and wizards passing through a period of turmoil.”

Can your character cast a Patronus? What is it? What memory do they use?: He can cast a patronus. It’s a fox. He uses a memory of him, his mum and his dad going to pick strawberries when he was seven.

Who is your characters best friend?: Probably Dominique Weasley. They clicked on their first day at Hogwarts, and they’ve been close ever since.

Does your character look up to anyone? Who? His dad. He’s proud of Draco for making the choice to become a better man, and he gets upset when people hold his dad’s past against him, because his dad is the best man he knows and he thinks it’s incredibly brave of him to have pushed past how he was raised.

What is your characters relationship like with their family? He was closer to Astoria than to Draco, though he loves them both very much and gets very defensive if he hears people speak badly about his parents. Which happens a lot because they’re Malfoys, duh. After Astoria died in his third year, he had a rough time but it did bring him and Draco closer together. He also sees his grandparents quite often, though he can tell they disapprove of how he’s being brought up. He can tell they want to mention it, but Draco has threatened to not let them see Scorpius anymore if they do, so to preserve their weekly Malfoy Sunday Dinners (during school breaks and holidays), they keep it cordial. 

If your character has siblings, do they have a favorite? He doesn’t have any.

What is your characters go-to spell in a duel? Rictusempra. He’d much rather make someone tickle than to actually hurt them.

What spell does your character use most often? Accio. It’s practical and easy and helps him be lazy — or efficient, as he prefers to call it. What’s not to like?

Five or more facts/headcanons about your character:

He has a Siberian Forest Cat named Lyra and a Eurasian Eagle Owl named Aquila, in keeping with the family tradition of naming children after constellations.

His favourite Quidditch team is the Montrose Magpies. This causes a lot of conflict within the Malfoy home, as Draco is a Falmouth Falcons supporter. When Astoria was alive she would go visit her sister if the two teams were ever playing against each other.

Scorpius’s favourite holiday is Christmas, but it was hard for him to celebrate it after Astoria died because the holidays haven’t been the same without her. He’s trying to teach himself to love it again.

He knows the Malfoys have French ancestry, so he really wants to learn French so that he can feel more connected to his ancestors. Yeah they were kind of evil dickheads, but he wants to feel like they have *something* in common enough that he wouldn’t get totally disowned for being a gay, muggleborn-loving nerd.

When he grows up he wants to be a healer. He’s seen what incurable magical maladies did to his mother and he wants to make sure that can never happen to another person ever again. He wants to find a cure to her blood curse, and other ailments like it.

Scorpius has an addiction to candy. He’s always carrying a bag around. It’s something he picked up as a child, because his mom would always tell him that sharing sweets would help him make friends.

BIO: I loved a lot of what Cursed Child did with Scorpius. His personality was wonderful, his family backstory, I adored. His romance friendship with Albus? I LOVED. The tacked on Rose romance was cringey, but the potential for a friendship there? Wonderful. So anyways my Scorpius takes the best of CC!Scorpius and discards everything I didn’t like. 

Scorpius grew up in Malfoy Manor with his parents, who did their utmost best to raise him differently than they’d been raised themselves. The result was a boy who grew up isolated, but ultimately loving and friendly to everyone around him.

Scorpius loves to learn and spent most of his childhood devouring every single book he could get his hands on. Despite his friendliness, he is also fairly distrustful of the people around him because of the way he’s been treated his entire life due to his last name, and his striking resemblance to his father. He also gets very upset when people speak badly about his parents and it’s one of the only things that will trigger his anger. He was proud to be sorted into Slytherin, like his dad, but he also finds it overwhelming to have such a heavy legacy on his shoulders that he both wishes to uphold and revamp. He also feelings like he might not fit in — people see him on the surface and assume he was more suited to Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. 

Lately, he’s also been struggling with his sexuality as he’s come to realize it’s yet another thing that makes him different, and he’s deeply afraid of what accepting it to himself would even mean. It’s something he’s been suppressing for several years, and he’s only realized recently that he’s been repressing anything at all.

Scorpius misses his mother deeply. She’d been ill his whole life and died when he was in third year, which left an ugly wound in him. Her death had brought him and Draco closer together, but Scorpius misses his mother viscerally every day and would give anything to have her back since she was his biggest supporter. He knows his father’s past, but he’s not ashamed of it. Rather, he’s proud of who his dad has become. 

Extremely skilled in magic, Scorpius is one of the most gifted students in his year at Hogwarts. He’s also a Keeper on the Slytherin quidditch team. He’s also made it a personal mission of his to look out for the younger years and help them out in school whenever he can. If he’s not in his bed or the Slytherin common room, he can likely be found in the library. He has a tightknit group of friends who can deal with his spastic, awkward and overbearing nature, and he keeps them close. Scorpius is extremely loyal and would do anything for his friends.

[dramioneficindex]

Title: Country Matters Author: oracle_bones Rating: MA/NC-17 Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 7,101 Summary: There are faint red imprints on her skin, leftover from the elastic’s pressure; they stand apart from the less uniform blotches of blood pooled under the surface. Malfoy scrapes a thumb over a shallow red dent that circles her waist, beneath her navel.“I should think that this is where you—oh. Yes, I think you’ve got the idea.”“Yes.” He pulls his mouth off of her in order to sneer. “I might have the hang of it.” Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Published: January 28, 2015 Themes: Magical Items [Books], Shakespeare Draco: Ministry Employee, Snarky, Witty Hermione: Bossy, Know-It-All, Ministry Employee, Witty Locations: Malfoy Manor, Ministry of Magic Characters: Arthur Weasley, Lavender Brown

Title: Couplage Author: msmerlin Rating: E Genre(s): Romance, PWP Chapters: 7 Word Count: 32,829 Summary: When the Ministry decreed all persons with Veela heritage must make the pilgrimage back to Les Champs D'accouplement for a mandatory two week stay to their most sacred grounds, Draco was far from happy. Little did he know his connection to the Veela Queen and just how upside down his world would turn after his short stay. PWP. Non-War AU. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts, No-War AU Fest/Exchange: DFW Halloween Trope Fest Published: October 10, 2018 Themes: Magical Creature [Veela], Travel, Ministry and Politics, Bonding, Ancient Magic Draco: Veela Hermione: Veela Friendships: Lucius/Narcissa Characters: Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Original Characters Warnings: Explicit Sexual Situations, Threesome and Moresomes

Title: Couples Counseling Author: scarlettcat Rating: T Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 9,244 Summary: Narcissa suggests that Draco and his new wife seek couples counseling. Hermione has a thing or two she’d like to suggest to her meddling mother-in-law. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Fest/Exchange: Otter & Ferret Published: April 16, 2013 Relationship: Already Married Themes: Conflict/Bickering, Counseling/Therapy Draco: Redeemed, Sex God, Snarky, Witty Hermione: Bossy, Campaigner, Feisty, Know-It-All, Unspeakable, Witty Locations: Malfoy Manor Characters: Cho Chang, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Theodore Nott

Title: Courage Author: ashleyfanfic Rating: PG Genre(s): Angst Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,135 Summary: Draco finds it difficult to move on after the war, and he receives help from his mother and an unexpected person. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: December 10, 2009 Relationship: Engaged/Married (at some point) Themes: Alcohol, Counselling [Draco] Draco: Broody, Draco’s Feelings, Emotional Hermione: Campaigner, Compassionate Locations: Malfoy Manor Friendships: Hermione & Narcissa Characters: Narcissa Malfoy Character Point of View/POVs: Draco

Title: Covered in Crimson Author: cklls Rating: MA/NC-17 Genre(s): Drama, Angst Chapters: 30 Word Count: 152,159 Summary: Draco awakens in an unfamiliar place, having committed an unspeakable crime, with no wand, and no memory of how he got there. Will he save her from death, or will he be the coward he’s always been? Status: Complete  Timeline: Year 6, Year 7 AU, War, Post-Hogwarts/War AU, Compliant until OoTP Alternate Links: FF.net Published: June 20, 2010  Completed: November 5, 2010 Pregnancy/Children: Children Names [Louisa] Themes: Abuse/Assault/Hurt Emotionally [Rape], Addiction [Draco], Apologies [Draco], Arrest/Questioning, Baths/Showers, [Draco], Cooking/Baking [Draco & Hermione], Drugs, Forced Partnership/Together, Healer/Patient, Injuries [Hermione], Kidnapping/Imprisonment [Hermione], Memory Modification [Draco], Muggle Life, Potions, Psychological Trauma/Disorder, Redemption, Sharing a Bed, Speaking Another Language [Draco speaks French], Trapped Together, Wandless/Non-verbal Magic [Hermione] Draco: Broody, Death Eater, Emotional Hermione: Campaigner, Compassionate, Order Member, Weak/Vulnerable Locations: Malfoy Manor, Ministry of Magic Side Pairings: Rodolphus/Bellatrix, Lucius/Narcissa Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Bellatrix Lestrange, Ginny Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, Minerva McGonagall, Narcissa Malfoy, Nymphadora Tonks, Pansy Parkinson, Rodolphus Lestrange, Severus Snape, Ted Tonks Anti/Pro-Characters: Pro-Lucius, Pro-Narcissa Additional Notes: Flashbacks Warnings: Explicit Sexual Situations, Implicit Sexual Situations, Yew List: Non-con/rape Sequel: Consequences and Complexities - MA, 34 chapters - Sequel to Covered in Crimson. It really wasn’t his fault, but there had been consequences to his actions. They would both be dealing with the results for the rest of their lives. What does the future hold for Hermione? And how will Draco deal with what he’s done?

Title: Coveting Madness Author: rlassie  Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Drama Chapters: 2 Word Count: 12,849 Summary: Sequel to Stark Raving Mad but can be read alone. “She was leaving him.” In a world turned to chaos, the female third of the Golden Trio makes a decision that ends up tearing her and her lover apart. How will her possessive Slytherin cope in her absence? On which side do his loyalties really lie? Dramione two-shot, rated M for language, violence and adult content. Status: Complete Timeline: War Published: January 4, 2014 Completed: February 1, 2014 Relationship: Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Forbidden Love/Secret Relationship Themes: Battle of Hogwarts, Cruciatus Curse [Hermione is tortured], Injuries [Draco & Hermione] Draco: Draco’s Patronus [Otter], Redeemed Locations: Malfoy Manor, Room of Requirement Characters: Alecto Carrow, Ginny Weasley, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, Lavender Brown, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Severus Snape Prequel: Stark Raving Mad - M, one shot - Take one Christmas party, a cocky, overzealous Gryffindor, a bushy-haired bookworm and an arrogant, possessive, platinum blond Slytherin, who may or may not be a jealous git. Now, mix them all together and what do you get? One hell of a headache!

Title: Co-Workers Author: Dramione84  Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Friendship Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,119  Summary: Hermione has always had a practical mind. So when she realises she has an attraction to her MLE partner, Draco Malfoy, she resolves that the only way to concentrate again is to do something about the attraction she feels.  Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War Alternate Links: ffnet Published: December 31, 2016 Completed: December 31, 2016 Themes: Co Workers Office Partners, Secret Feelings, Dreams Draco: MLE Officer Hermione: MLE Officer  Friendships: Hermione & Pansy Characters: Pansy Parkinson Warnings: Explicit Sexual Situations 

Title: Crashing into Love Author: mutt712 Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Family, Humor Chapters: 20 Word Count: 71,497 Summary: “Granger…you were my breath of fresh air, and I see the world differently because of you. Stay with me, you’re my world now,” - Draco and Hermione find each other amidst the most troubled times of their lives.  Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, Semi-Epilogue Compliant Published: March 28, 2013  Completed: May 11, 2013 Relationship: Engaged/Married (at some point), Friendship Pregnancy/Children: Children Names [Isobel], Pregnancy/Child Birth, Single Parent [Draco has a son (Scorpius)] Themes: Alcohol, Apologies [Draco], Cooking/Baking [Hermione], Co-workers/Office/Partners, Cuddling/Spooning, Endearments/Pet Names, Hermione Sits in Draco’s Lap Draco: Auror, Divorced, Redeemed, Single Father Hermione: Bossy, Emotional Locations: Diagon Alley, Hermione’s Flat/House, Grangers’ Home, Malfoy Manor, Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo’s Side Pairings: Blaise/Daphne, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Astoria Friendships: Draco & Blaise, Draco & Ginny, Draco & Harry, Hermione & Ginny, Hermione & Harry Characters: Astoria Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, Ginny Weasley, Grangers [David and Norah], Hannah Abbott, Harry Potter, James Sirius Potter, Ron Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy Character Deaths: Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy

Title: Craving Author: Inell Rating: R Genre(s): Plot? What Plot? Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,370 Summary: Hermione has a craving….for Draco  Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7 Published: March 2, 2004 Themes: Head Boy/Head Girl Hermione: Blushing Virgin Locations: Hogwarts Express

Title: Creature Comforts Author: Bunney Rating: NC-17 Genre(s): General Chapters: 1 Word Count: 5,033 Summary: Hermione finds an injured transfigured Draco and nurses him back to health. Contains elements of bestiality. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7, AU Fest/Exchange: hp_squick Alternate Links: LJ Published: October 23, 2005 Relationship: Fast Romance Themes: Injuries [Draco] Draco: Animagus [Ferret], Vulnerable Hermione: Compassionate Locations: Gryffindor Tower

Title: Crescendo Author: dormiensa Rating: T (or M15) Genre(s): Fluff, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,605 Summary: Hermione and Draco are celebrating a milestone. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, Epilogue Compliant, Mature Dramione Fest/Exchange: dramione_duet Published: October 27, 2013 Relationship: Already Married Pregnancy/Children: Children Names [Eolande] Themes: Anniversary [Dramione], Bantering Draco: Redeemed, Witty Hermione: Bossy, Witty Characters: Rose Weasley  Warnings: mild violence, some sexual innuendo

Title: Crimson with a Silver Lining Author: Lady Cailan Rating: M Genre(s): Tragedy, Romance, Angst Chapters: 77 Word Count: 411,902 Summary: It is six years since the fall of the Ministry to Voldemort. Those other than purebloods are deemed less than human. When Ginny’s daughter ends up in grave danger, Hermione sells herself to the Death Eaters to save her life. Draco/Hermione. Not fluffy. Status: Complete Timeline: War, Post-War Published: July 11, 2011 Completed: December 10, 2012 Relationship: Engaged/Married (At Some Point), Forbidden Love/Secret Relationship Pregnancy/Children: Children Names [Leo Frederick Etamin], Pregnancy/Child Birth Themes: Apologies [Draco], Cooking/Baking [Hermione], Cruciatus Curse [Hermione], Draco’s Dark Mark, Events/Celebration [Party], Injuries [Hermione], Love Triangle, On the Run, Polyjuice [Hermione], Scars [Hermione’s Scars], Travel, Voldemort Wins Draco: Death Eater, Draco’s Feelings, Emotional, Ministry Official, Possessive/Protective, Smoker Hermione: Emotional, Feisty, Slave Side Pairings: Blaise/Lavender, Charlie/Angelina, Draco/Astoria, Neville/Hermione, Neville/Pansy, Seamus/Ginny Friendships: Hermione & Ginny Characters: Albus Severus Potter, Angelina Johnson, Astoria Greengrass, Bellatrix Lestrange, Blaise Zabini, Charlie Weasley, Dean Thomas, Fenrir Greyback, George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, James Sirius Potter, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Lavender Brown, Lily Luna Potter, Luna Lovegood, Marcus Flint, Mulciber, Neville Longbottom, Padma Patil, Pansy Parkinson, Percy Weasley, Seamus Finnigan Character Deaths: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley

Title: Crossing Paths Author: xfsista Rating: G Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2,500 Summary: Life has a funny way of pushing people together. A Regency era AU… Status: Complete Timeline: Pre-Hogwarts, Post-War, Historical Era Fest/Exchange: Otter and Ferret Published: April 14, 2014 Relationship: Friendship Themes: Duelling, Events/Celebrations [Party], Injuries [Draco & Hermione], Polyjuice [Hermione] Friendships: Hermione & Harry, Hermione & Ron Characters: Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Lucius Malfoy, Ron Weasley

Title: Cruisin’ Through Love Author: widthsandcurves Rating: PG Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 3 Summary: Sometimes love is smooth sailing. Most times, it’s stormy waters. Not to worry, when you’ve got Rose and Scorpius at the helm of the ship. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, Epilogue Compliant Fest/Exchange: dmhgficexchange Published: May 7, 2011 Themes: Apologies [Hermione], Illness/Sick [Draco], Matchmaking/Blind Date [Matchmakers: Rose and Scorpius], Muggle Life, Summer, Travel [Nice, France; Mediterranean Sea; Florence, Italy; Capri, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia] Draco: Ministry Employee,Snarky, Snob Hermione: Feisty, Know-It-All, Ministry Employee Characters: Grangers, Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy

Title: Crumple Author: MissiAmphetamine  Rating: M Genre(s): Angst, Drama Chapters: 11 Word Count: 93,903  Summary: As the war rages on two years post-‘final battle’, Hermione is captured by the other side and Malfoy is the only hope she has of surviving. [“Granger?” His voice is urgent, but she just sits there and breathes for a moment, feeling violated and still radiating pain, her eyes staring blindly at the cell wall opposite her, her brain frozen in what she thinks dully might be shock.]  Status: Complete Timeline: War Published: July 7, 2014  Completed: October 13, 2015   Themes: Kidnapping and Imprisonment [Hermione], Abuse and Assault, Curses and Spells, Injuries [Draco and Hermione], Nightmares [Draco and Hermione], Master and Slave, Spying, Sharing a Bed, Sharing Clothing Draco: Death Eater, Spy, Protective and Possessive Hermione: Prisoner, Compassionate, Emotional, Weak/Vulnerable  Locations: Malfoy Manor Characters: Voldemort, Theo Nott, Crabbe Sr, Gregory Goyle Warnings: Rape, Torture, Mentions of Suicide 

Title: Crying Author: l0stinl0ve Rating: T Genre(s): Romance, Hurt/Comfort Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,886 Summary: There is a kind of crying I hope you have not experienced, and it’s not just crying about something terrible that has happened…a crying that can only be diluted by someone holding you as your shoulders shake and your tears run down your face. EWE. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Published: November 24, 2012 Relationship: Engaged/Married (At Some Point) Pregnancy/Children: Children Names [Cassiopeia, Scorpius], Pregnancy/Child Birth Draco: Emotional Hermione: Emotional Side Pairings: Blaise/Luna, Ron/Pansy

Title: Cupcakes and Kisses Author: X-Midnight-Lady-X Rating: K+ Genre(s): Romance, Humor, Fluff Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1,030 Summary: Hermione is not having a good day! And it’s her birthday! So Draco tries to cheer her up with a little present.  Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7, AU Published: August 15, 2010 Themes: Head Boy/Head Girl, Sweets Character Birthdays: Hermione

Title: Cupid Cards: Trapped Author: SiriuslyPadfoot’sGal Rating: M Genre(s): Romance, Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 5,157 Summary: Draco and Hermione have one thing in a common, something that is unimportant three hundred and sixtyfour days out of the year. Lucky for us, today is day number three hundred and sixtyfive. Happy Valentine’s Day! Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War AU Holiday: Valentine’s Published: February 13, 2007 Themes: Co-Workers/Office/Partners, Elevators, Trapped Together Draco: Redeemed, Snarky Hermione: Feisty Locations: Ministry of Magic Characters: Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan

Title: Cupid’s Fool Author: ammiva Rating: K+ Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 2 Word Count: 11,475 Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day at Hogwarts. Draco is searching for his mystery Valentine writer. Hermione is searching for her lost sonnet. What will they find? A short and sweet little bit of fluff.  Status: Complete Timeline: Hogwarts Years Holiday: Valentine’s Published: October 16, 2004  Completed: October 29, 2004 Themes: Abuse/Assault/Hurt Emotionally [Draco] Characters: Gregory Goyle, Harry Potter, Lavender Brown, Lucuis Malfoy, Minerva McGonagall, Pansy Parkinson, Parvati Patil, Ron Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid, Terry Boot, Vincent Crabbe

Title: Cure for a Headache Author: y3llowdaisi3s Rating: PG-13 Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: ~1,100 Summary: Hermione has just woken up from a night of - she’s not even sure - with a huge headache. Status: Complete Timeline: Year 8 Holiday: Christmas/New Year’s Fest/Exchange: HP Mini Fest Alternate Links: AO3 | ff.net Published: December 29, 2012 Themes: Cuddling/Spooning, The Morning After Side Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Luna

Title: Curious Malfoy’s Author: lezonne Rating: T Genre(s): Romance, Drama Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3,001 Summary: Those Malfoy men are some curious fellows… Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition round 13 and the OTP Boot Camp prompt #50. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, EWE Published: December 11, 2013 Themes: Adultery/Cheating [Draco is cheated on], Martial Problems/Divorce Hermione: Tutor Locations: Malfoy Manor Side Pairings: Draco/Astoria, Macus/Astoria Characters: Astoria Greengrass, Scorpius Malfoy

Title: Curse Me, Kiss Me Author: jess_lovecat Rating: NC-17 Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 7,322 Summary: Hermione hears Draco is going to join Voldemort and tries to stop him Status: Complete Timeline: Hogwarts Years Fest/Exchange: dmhg_ficathon Published: May 13, 2004 Themes: Contracts/Deals, Duelling Hermione: Campaigner, Feisty Locations: Great Hall, Forbidden Forest Side Pairings: Ron/Original Character Characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley

Title: CustomMade Boots Author: Bobotuber Pus Rating: K+/PG/PT Genre(s): Humor, Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2,269 Summary: Christmas Fluff. Draco snoops. Hermione surprises. Status: Complete Timeline: Post-Hogwarts/Post-War, AU Holiday: Christmas/New Year’s Published: December 16, 2003 Relationship: Already Married Pregnancy/Children: Pregnancy Themes: Presents/Gift Giving 

Title: Cute, Little Stinker Author: RZZMG Rating: PG-13 Genre(s): Humor Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2,400 Summary: Draco’s got a secret… a secret… a secret. And it’s kind of em-bar-ras-sing! When he tells Hermione, his fellow Head Girl, hoping she’ll be able to help him somehow end the curse (she is the brightest witch of their age, supposedly), things don’t exactly go the way he’d planned… Status: Complete Timeline: Year 7 Fest/Exchange: hp_drizzle Published: September 28, 2013 Themes: Curses/Spells, Head Boy/Head Girl, Rain, Sharing Clothing Locations: Black Lake Characters: Ginny Weasley

[15001700tt]

A Draco Meta (-ish)

“1. You mention Scorpius needing to achieve eternal glory in order to clear the family. How do you see the Malfoy's having to live in the post-war world up until that point? Do you think they were allowed to keep their manor/land? Or do you think Scorpius grew up in a different sort of environment to Draco?” *from the lovely @prideofprewett​* (a question from my writing journal on HPFT)

So in my story, (at least so far, its very beginning stages when to comes to the Malfoy family), the family comes out relatively unscathed, but i also don’t want to say that, because Draco will have to deal with *much* emotional trauma. there is a lot of debate on whether Draco deserves a redemption arc (i think so,) i definitely think Draco should've gotten one if Snape had one, but thats a different debate.

Now for Draco post-war; i think its pretty evident that Lucious Malfoy has to lay low after first; aiding the Dark Lord and second *running away from the consequences* Narcissa Malfoy may have helped Harry but that holds little importance when it comes to the families reputation to the public. They definitely lose a lot of their land, but the Manor stays. Now for Lucious and Narcissa, they stick to their pureblood ideals, but they aren't willing to join a side anymore. Because in the Malfoy Manor family comes first, anything else comes second (can you tell that this is a recurring theme?) they realized that they are running out of luck. They came out physically unscathed from both wars, but the emotional, damage? you cant fix that with money. so Lucious mellows down on the pureblood ideals, he wouldn't willingly fraternize with muggle-borns but he's not going to be outright rude either.

The Malfoy's aren't ones to lay low but they really do for the first 5-7 years post-war (this is an estimate, and i am also coming up with this as i go so it might change but i sincerely doubt it) when Scorpius is born or even a few years before that when Draco is dating Astoria, Draco realizes that his family feels like its stuck in time. So he does some serious self reflecting (Draco might've not been physically abused but the household he lived in wasn't mentally friendly either). He decided that if his parents cant accept he will hold the reigns of his life then they can't be in it. Of course his parents agree and try to be supportive. I want to say that his parents weren't approving of his relationship with Astoria (even though she's pureblood) because i feel like that that would be the first conscious and clear decision that they are different and won't go down the same road they did. (i read somewhere probably tumblr, that he knew he can trust Astoria with his life with no questions asked and that the reason she was never mentioned in the books until in the epilogue is bc the books are written through Harry's point of view, so why would he notice her, (she was two years younger i believe? her sister; Daphne was in Draco's year.) ) and also the blatant fact that the Greengrasses were one of the publicly reformed families that accepted muggle-borns, it's a like a slap to their faces.

when Scorpius is five Draco accidentally stumbles across Luna Scamander (Lovegood), through her aloofness and Draco's renewed awkwardness. he manages to apologize for what his family has done to hers. Luna forgives him after giving it a thought. They start an unlikely friendship (of course the twins were a year younger but being five and our they got along fine without any thoughts). At some point Luna becomes a certified tattoo artist (i saw the headcanon and i knew i *had* to have it in my story. credit to owner) 

so Draco gets a sleeve done over his scarred Death eater one. (Credit to Artist, i got this from pinterest)

and that was the *end* of his hurt and his trauma. of course he still has it but by getting this done he's able to think past the pain and for a better future.

the Malfoy's may have been able to keep the Malfoy Manor but their wealth wasn't infinite, so Draco had to get a job. the mentioned self reflecting wasn't only with his family but himself, he had sat down and thought about what he wanted to do. He liked quidditch when he was young but he missed that train with the war going on, so he went through the subjects he excelled in (somehow i always forget that Draco was smart and also a freaking Prefect at some point). He had a talent for Alchemy so he decided to work for the ministry in that department. (he worked very hard and all by himself but the stigma against his family hindered him a lot. At some point Harry had to pull some strings). Draco eventually became the head of the department through hard work and talent/skills.

As for Scorpius which is your original question (lolol so sorry i rambled a bit, this is the first time i talk about my plans for the Malfoy family so i am excited!) he is raised in a loving family. nonetheless the Malfoy family is very centered around control. So yes, Draco is a lot more loving and caring than Lucious ever was, but the idea of control never wavered. there was a time and place for certain emotions. the press will jump at any opportunity to portray the Malfoy Family's weak or up to no good. Astoria guides Draco a lot through being a good family. i even would like to think that Draco made his parents promise they would not interfere or have any opinions on how he raises Scorpius. which i think would cause a lot of tension but also is for the best.

Scorpius understands from a very young age that his family is like no other. the Malfoy is quiet and serene. it will never be lively with people. thats not going to ever change. the place haunts many but it is home for Scorpius. Astoria did major home decor/ transformations to make the Manor seem more friendly and cozy. she succeeds to a certain point. the place is still haunted by screams (for fucks sake it has its own dungeon. i think, correct me if i am wrong tho)

Another factor that's vital is that in my story, Scorpius has a little sister, Daphne. Draco was an only child, that must've been awful. Draco was alone and lonely for the majority of his life. his friends were his friends because their families were in a 'cult'. he wouldn't want Scorpius to feel the same despair that he did. he also admired Astoria and Daphne's sisterly relationship. So i think it was quite justifiable to give Scorpius a little sister.

fun fact: all of my 'main' characters have most of their zodiac signs traits Scorpius's character is heavily influenced by a Capricorn male traits and Daphne is a scorpio Female. so thats how i get most of my characterizations if i am not sure how to go on about my characters. so both these signs are very compatible with the way of life in the Manor or so i believe.

i will add more if i think of more stuff!

Halie_x_

[fandom-susceptible]

HP Cursed Child

You know something that really sucks?  Many people have experienced feeling like you're the only one in a fandom.  What's worse is being the only one who like a certain part of a fandom.

When you read or watch something in the fandom that was created years later, a show, movie, book, whatever, and you absolutely love it.  There are things you're not particularly a fan of but that was even true of the original.

And then you find out that your entire fandom hates everything about it.

I've been feeling depressed lately and I'm novelizing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for my family, who don't like to read plays (we're American so it's never been performed here than I know of).  I started feeling drained and bored so I looked it up here on tumblr to see some of the memes and connections that the rest of the fandom might have come up with.

And I find out that so many things I loved about it, everyone else hated.

I'm gonna vent about this for a minute.  I'm not going to cover nearly everything and I do acknowledge that yeah, the play doesn't have nearly the same feel as the books did.  But neither did the movies, okay?  Give them a break, it had been years, JK only had so much say over the actual writing.  The basic story was hers but Jack Thorne's to blame for the iffy writing style - plus, in play format, it's really hard to actually see the expressions and the feelings behind everything the people are saying.  It takes a lot of reading between the lines, and I feel like most people that hate it just took it all at face value.  That said, I'd appreciate it if anyone who disagrees with me would please just make your own posts about it and refrain from contacting me.  I've read enough hate rants.

One big pet peeve: Everyone seems to think that Snape is out of character.  WELL OF COURSE HE'S OUT OF CHARACTER.  IT'S AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TIMELINE.  Yes, it's implied that time only changed from Goblet of Fire onward, but Snape even directly *says* "One person.  All it takes is one person.  I couldn't save Harry for Lily.  So now I give my allegiance to the cause she believed in.  And it's possible - that along the way I started believing in it myself." So yes, he's out of character compared to the original books.  BUT IN THE ORIGINAL BOOKS, HARRY DIDN'T DIE (permanently, or before Snape).  This was a life-changing event for him.  And so I really don't think that his basic personality was changed too badly, with that considered.  Yeah he seemed weirdly close to Hermione and Ron, but he's been literally alone with only them to depend on for years at this point.  You just can't continue to hate someone when you're in a situation like that.

Harry's shouting at Albus "I wish you weren't my son".  Now I'm not saying I loved this part - I really didn't.  But, everyone yells about how Harry would NEVER do this because he'd NEVER let his kids feel like he did.  Guys, he lived under Vernon Dursley's roof for sixteen years.  He was already stressed, tired, and upset.  He even explains later that he was having trouble articulating what he really meant and that in his anger those words were all he could manage.  Yes, he made a mistake.  And yeah he screwed up big time and there's no excuse.  But I do NOT think this is evidence of Harry bullying Albus or acting horribly out of character.  Even in the books we saw that Harry could be insensitive sometimes if he was stressed or distracted.

Albus being in Slytherin and how he's treated after that.  Alright - who came up with this crap about him being treated as an outsider or a pariah by his own family?  Yeah, there were cruel kids at his school.  But Harry fully supported him.  His screwup was telling Albus that he'd get to choose his House.  The Hat wasn't sure about Harry - it was sure about Albus, and so he went to Slytherin despite what he wanted.  Still, Harry comforted him, Harry and Ginny never stopped supporting him.  Lily Luna wasn't in the play much so we didn't really see her reaction.  Rose got in her fight with him over SCORPIUS, not his Hogwarts House.  Now James - he was a bully, but honestly, as the third of four kids, both older ones brothers, he's actually a painfully accurate portrayal.  He's honestly way nicer than my brothers would've been - all he did was tease in words and ignore Albus.

There's complaints that they were just trying to make Harry as little like Harry as possible.  Well of course they were.  James was a mix of Harry and his namesakes through and through - of course Albus took after the Weasleys' side.  I do have to admit that making him so spectacularly bad at Quidditch was a bit much, but it wasn't a big plot point, and honestly how else were they to show how different he was in the very little time they had?  Quidditch was unnecessary for the plot and so it was exploited.  I'm not a huge fan of how they handled it, but it wasn't horrible.

I've seen a couple complaints about how Albus doesn't seem like he fits in Slytherin, and how Scorpius' personality seems to be flatly based on breaking the Slytherin mold.  Well ladies and gentlemen I have a harsh reminder for the lot of you.

HOGWARTS HOUSES ARE DETERMINED BY THE TRAITS YOU VALUE NOT THOSE THAT YOU POSSESS.

This is why bookish Hermione who seemed like a Ravenclaw went to Gryffindor - because in reality she valued bravery, chivalry, selflessness over her books. "There are more important things!" This is why gentle, hardworking, loyal Neville went to Gryffindor in favor of Hufflepuff. This is why cunning (if a bit stupid at times), Parseltongue, survivor Harry went to Gryffindor over Slytherin.  Because the Hat was confused by Riddle's presence in him, and Harry's real values rested with Gryffindor, like Ron's.

Albus clearly isn't impressed by his father's bravery and selflessness.  He's grown up hearing stories about how great his dad is and he's just tired of it.  What kid wouldn't be sick of being told oh your dad's so great he's amazing can I meet him.  Being side-glanced and pushed aside when they realize he's not like his dad.  Albus grew up with Harry, he knows how much of a reckless dork that Harry can be, about all Harry's dumb little quirks that endear him to a reader but are so, so different than the stories the wizards tell of his heroism.  So of course Albus is more intrigued by Ginny's intelligence and the way she survived, how resourceful and clever she is - things that are Slytherin traits, not Gryffindor.  And yeah, intelligence and cleverness are Ravenclaw traits too, but really, each House is a mix of other Houses.  The lines aren't perfectly clear.  Slytherin is Ravenclaw and Gryffindor in one.  Hufflepuff is Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.  Gryffindor is Slythern and Hufflepuff.  And Ravenclaw is Hufflepuff and Slytherin.  Long story short, it makes perfect sense that Albus is in Slytherin.

Now let me start on taking apart why Scorpius is actually written very well.  This is a child who grew up knowing his grandfather loathed his existence.  His mother was chronically ill since at least his first year at Hogwarts.  He has a father who was bullied and coerced into becoming a Death Eater like his parents, but who married a Muggle-born and tried his hardest not to be like Lucius.  Draco is shown on numerous occasions to care deeply for Scorpius.  After Harry tries to keep Albus and Scorpius apart - which I'll get to in a minute - Draco comes to him, even still being furious with him, with this line "I'm not here to antagonize you.  But my son is in tears and I am his father and so I am here to ask why you would keep apart two good friends." He didn't hear this from a teacher.  This says to me that Draco sits there and actively listens to Scorpius and is there as a shoulder to cry on.  He will do ANYTHING for Scorpius.  So of COURSE Scorpius isn't as bitter and cynical as the previous Slytherins we're shown.  However, he also did grow up with Astoria and Draco, both of whom were SLYTHERINS (anyone who says there were only pure blood Slytherins can fight me).  He grew up knowing the stigma against his family's usual Hogwarts House and against his family itself.  Draco and Astoria would know that and I feel they would've tried to prepare him for that.  Scorpius is clever, he's resourceful, and no he's not your typical Slytherin, but he knows how well those values will serve him as a Malfoy.

Harry trying to keep them apart.  Okay.  Yeah.  That sucked and the first time I read it I thought it was completely out of character.  But then I read it again.  Harry was stressed, upset, he'd just been told there was a curse around his kid.  He's still prejudiced against the Malfoys because of his childhood rivalry with Draco.  He's frustrated, he knows Scorpius was involved in how and why his son went missing, and Harry, for all his good points, is very impulsive and simultaneously very stubborn.  We saw in how he treated Snape during the original books that he jumps to conclusions about people.  Of the Golden Trio we saw Harry jumping to conclusions, Ron generally having to think a little longer but backing him up, and Hermione holding out until she was sure.  So when Harry panicked over Albus' fate, and Scorpius was there as an easy scapegoat, of course he picked the Malfoy to blame.  It isn't as if he and Draco have patched things up.

This is ridiculously long now and I'm tired and upset and depressed, so I'm gonna end it here.  If anybody wants my thoughts on anything else in the play, or my response to any other opinion, shoot me a polite ask and I'll post it later.

[notsissannis]

ーJust A Boy

Ronald Weasley x Hermione Granger, Pansy Parkinson

One-shot: complete

Second installment of My Boy

Rated: M ー Violence, Guns, Explicit, Violence sex, Violence death.

Read more here [AO3]

Read part one of the series here [AO3]

ー Please take the tags seriously. I’m not joking. This might triggered some of you. Talk to me if it does.ー

Hermione put down The Prophet to greet her husband, “Morning.” She smiled, watching him fixing his flaming red bed head, “Coffee or tea?”

Ron hugged her small frame and kissed her forehead, “Morning, love. Coffee please. I have so many things to do today.”

“New product?”

“Products,” he corrected and smiled gratefully when Hermione put his cup on the table. “George and Angeline going to celebrate their anniversary today. So… Yeah.”

She sat on the table, facing him. His free hand held her thigh as she passed him the paper. He looked at her questioningly behind his cup.

“Nothing new. Just another news of The Malfoys,” she shrugged.

He put down his cup and turned to the page of said news. There, almost covering the whole page, moving pictures of Scorpius and Pansy on their holiday. Morocco, Caribbean, Paris, and more countries that Ron didn’t know how to pronounce.

“Where are they now?” He asked casually, folding the news into half and continued stroking her thigh.

“Back at the manor. Thinking to invite them this week, you know, for Albus’ birthday,” she ran her fingertips along his jaw.

“You know I love it when you wear this stockings,” he murmured and nipped her finger.

“I know,” she leaned forward to his ear to whisper, “And I’m wearing that lacy black thong, too.”

Ron groaned, squeezing her thigh, “You’re killing me here, Hermione.”

She chuckled and kissed his nose, “Tonight.”

“Come on, love. Just the tip?” He pulled the elastic band of her thong then let go, letting it slapped her soft hip.

She moaned at the slight pain, “No, Ronald.” She jumped off the table and laughed when Ron spanked her bum on their way to the fireplace.

“Tonight!” He yelled as Hermione disappeared in the green flame.

He walked back to the kitchen ー magically cleaned his cup ー and took the folded paper with him to work.

It was late evening when he decided to send Hermione an owl, telling her he would be late tonight.

Not too late, I hope. We do have plan, if you know what I mean.

Love, Hermione

Ron read her reply with a goofy smile. Even after two kids and under the heavy pressure of being the Minister of Magic, his wife could still excite him like a teenager. He tucked her reply into his pocket and wrote another owl.

The Langham London, 08:00 p.m.

Ron W.

Once he got a reply, he grinned wickedly and closed the shop, getting ready for his night in Muggle London.

He turned off the telly when the soft sound of bell echoed the suite room. He lit the candles and kept the room dimly-lit to set the mood. Looking at his preparation one last time, he opened the door to welcome her.

“Weasley,” she said as she walked in and clearly surprised at the interior. “Someone’s quietly breeding Galleons,” she commented, smirking at him.

“Only to be spent on special occasion,” he smirked back and leaned against the closed door.

She sat on the soft bed and hummed happily, satisfied at being treated like a queen. Suspiciously, she asked, “Why the sudden invitation, Weasley?”

Ron chuckled and waved his wand, casting silencing charm and wards for extra security. Seeing her confused face, he explained, “We don’t want to get caught now, do we?”

He sat beside her, caressing her naked arm with his knuckle, “How’s Caribbean, Pansy?”

Pansy still looked wary but she didn’t stop his leisure movement. “Beachy and sandy.”

“Oh? And you don’t like it?” His body turned to her while his other hand slithered under her skirt, touching her tan thighs.

“What are you doing, Weasley?” Her voice was low and her eyes slowly closing under his touch.

“We’ve been playing this childish push and pull game for quite some times. And I got tired of waiting,” he pulled the small string of her dress down, “Or, if I’m just simply misunderstood all the signs, I can leave now.”

She shrugged her dress down, leaving it pooled around her waist. She pulled him by his collar and licked his neck, “You got it all right.”

He pushed her down into soft mattress completely, and watched her exposed chest heaving intently as he pulled her knickers down deliberately slow.

“Red? For my Gryffindor?” He asked, standing up to stand between her dangling legs at the edge of the bed.

She propped herself up with her elbows to look at him seductively, “First impression and all that.”

He summoned a small black cloth and tied it behind her head ー covering her eyes. “I heard you like games.”

She moaned when he kicked her legs wider and tied each of their ankle to the posters, “Why? Granger doesn’t?”

He answered her by filling her wet cunt.

Pansy screamed at the surprised intrusion. She moaned in pleasure as he pushed and pulled in a slow sensual rhythm, until she started to kick around panicky.

It was useless.

It was too late.

“What’s wrong Parkinson? Didn’t you say you like games?” He leered.

“Fuck you, Weasley! Stop!” She screamed and tried to get up, but Ron pushed her back down with his weight.

“You know, I have my suspicion. Hermione, too, I daresay,” his voice was icy cold yet he didn’t stop moving.

She moaned and panicked, all at once. It was comical for Ron to see her pug face contoured like that.

Comical and satisfying.

“Weasley, let me go,” she pleaded.

He ignored her plea. “I mean, who wouldn’t? You were crazy for Draco. Yet he chose Astoria. You were rejected. Discarded. Thrown away like a ragged cloth.” He watched her mouth gaping, feeling disgusted at the feeling of her breasts rubbing on his clothed chest. “So you figured, why not Scorpius?”

She wailed when he pushed deeper.

“Stop!” She sobbed.

“But just being Scorpius’ wife wasn’t enough. It was never enough for Pansy. Pansy got to have everything. Pansy got to have Galleons, Pansy got to have big manor, Pansy got to have title.” Ron choked her, happy to feel her quickened pulse under his touch. “But why Albus?”

He got up and magically tied her wrists together. She tried to push her body up when a cocking sound filled the room.

She froze and started to cry uncontrollably. “Weasley, please.”

He pushed the gun deeper into her cunt. “Why Albus, Parkinson?”

“I promise I’ll tell you everything. I swear on my magic! But please… Merlin, please. Take the Muggle killing machine out.”

Ron laughed maniacally. “So you do know how this thing works! Brilliant!“ He wiggled the gun, "And I’m going to expect answers now, Pansy. Or this will go… How do they sound like again? Oh, yeah!

“BANG.”

She bit her quivering lower lip to bleed and hastily nodded. “Yes. Yes! I told him to kill Albus!”

“Why?”

“Because he tried to stop him from meeting me! He threatened to tell Potter!”

Ron was eerily quiet, pulling the gun out of her and took the cloth off her eyes.

She looked at him in relief and kept mouthing thank you.

“Oh, witch. You got the wrong idea!” He moved to stand between her legs again. “I took it off so you can watchー” he put the gun back into her cunt “ーthe adorable red liquid splattered off your cunt.”

He pulled the trigger once.

Pansy screamed her voice hoarse. Begging and cursing him all at once. “You crazy loyal Gryffindor fool!”

He pulled the trigger second.

She tried to kicked him away with her weak legs. It only made her situation worse as she could feel the burn from the gunshots on her thighs and inside her.

He pulled the trigger third.

She fell back. Blood was trickling down from her throat, her chest, her holed stomach. Her eyes were wide open, staring at him unseeingly.

He pulled the trigger fourth.

Just to make sure.

Hermione put down The Prophet to greet her husband, “Morning.” She smiled, watching him fixing his flaming red bed head that she’d ran her fingers thoroughly in last night, “Coffee or tea?”

Ron hugged her small frame and kissed her forehead, “Morning, love. Tea please. I feel relaxed today.”

“Ravished?” She added innocently and laughed when Ron pinched her bum.

He took his seat, rubbing his face sleepily as he watched his wife moved here and there.

“Read the paper, Ron,” she told him without turning.

He obliged and scanned the paper. There, the Malfoys, as always. But this time it wasn’t because of their holidays and bikinis.

“Mrs. Malfoy was found in an extremely devastating condition at one of the luxurious Muggle Hotel last night,” he read out loud.

She sat on the table and put his tea beside her. “It was horrible. Harry owled this morning. Apparently she got shot with a gun.”

He stroked her thigh up and down soothingly, “Did they find who did it?”

She nodded. “The CCTV, that security camera that record everything, managed to capture the man when he was booking the suite. Blonde hair, short, chubby.”

“Muggle?”

Hermione kissed his head before she jumped off the table. “Yup. They identified him as one of the janitor. He hung himself though.”

Ron took a sip of his tea.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think someone polyjuiced themselves to kill her,” she looked amused with her own idea.

Ron sipped more.

“Scorpius going to stay at Harry’s for a few days. He’d lost his parents, and now his wife.” Hermione pulled him up and the couple walked together to the fireplace.

“Go and see him if you’re free, Ron. He could use some Ronald’s magical pep talk.”

Ron grunted his agreement.

“He’s just a boy, Ron.”

“Alright alright. But, it’s because I love you.”

Hermione smiled sweetly at her husband before she left to work.

Ron walked back to the kitchen, scratching his freckled chest as he yawned. He picked up the paper and looked at the moving picture of Scorpius. He burnt the paper with a flick of his wrist as he muttered, almost sarcastically.

“Just a boy.”

[ohscorbus]

Has Harry met scorpius: I want him/Draco to see how cute their sons boyfriend is, part 1. Al says early on he knows Harry doesn't like scorp implying Harrys met scorp though it might be JUST bc he's Dracos son. 2, scorp and Harry don't acknowledge each other when scorp runs up in 1st alternate reality. Bc they already met or bc of the current circumstances? 3, Harry later says to al that he can nowsee scorp is not the black cloud implying he's never properly interacted with his fluffiness before

Has Harry met scorpius: I want him/Draco to see how cute their sons boyfriend is, part 1.

Oh they’re definitely cute, but I think Harry and Draco are mostly going to see how happy they are together. Harry will notice how the smile never leaves Albus’s eyes and how he doesn’t curl his hands up into his sleeves when he’s with Scorpius. Draco will notice how Scorpius lights up around Albus the way he’s only ever seen him do in bookshops…. and sweet shops. Oh and that one time he took him to a muggle zoo- ok. Bad example. But he sees, they both see, how completely comfortable their sons are with each other. It’s like they belong together, you know? But Draco would only mock Harry for using the word ‘cute’. (Even if he secretly uses it himself when he’s telling the photograph of Astoria about them in his office later on.) And anyway, Harry should have seen three year old Scorpius on his first toy broomstick wearing full Quidditch gear, goggles and all. Now that was cute.

Also, just to deviate for a second. I’m 100% convinced that it’s after the first official ‘meet the boyfriend’ dinner that Draco begins his campaign for Malfoy-Potter. They’re out of earshot of the boys of course, but Harry needs to know now that Potter-Malfoy isn’t happening. It’s not even alphabetised. His son will never stand for it. (The word ‘wedding’ hasn’t even crossed Scorpius and Albus’s minds yet, won’t for years, but their parents just know already.)

Al says early on he knows Harry doesn’t like scorp implying Harrys met scorp though it might be JUST bc he’s Dracos son.

I do believe they’ve met. Even if it’s just quick hello’s on the platform. The boys must have mentioned each other in their letters home constantly. I can’t imagine any parent not wanting to meet the ‘best friend’ after a year of, ‘then Albus and I’ and ‘so Scorpius said’ etc. Even if it’s just out of curiosity, given their surname.

As for their first meeting, I don’t think Harry would have known how to take Scorpius? On one hand, there is all that history with Draco and the Voldemort rumours in the papers. (Although as someone who’s had similar experiences with the Daily Prophet, I like to think he doesn’t believe them.) Regardless, he’s bound to have some preconceived idea as to who Scorpius is. Not that any of that seems to fit with what Albus says about him in his letters… Anyway, he finally meets this kid and he sees a Malfoy but that’s where it stops. This boy is visibly nervous and fiddling with his clothes. He’s excitable and talks too much, too fast. I can imagine Harry’s eyes getting bigger in alarm with every squeak. He’s not what he was expecting. At all. He’s an anomaly. That works as much in Scorpius’s favour as it works against him.

2, scorp and Harry don’t acknowledge each other when scorp runs up in 1st alternate reality. Bc they already met or bc of the current circumstances?

Scorpius doesn’t acknowledge Harry at first because he’s so focused on Albus. He’s been in the hospital wing for 24 hours by this point, during which I’m presuming Scorpius was denied access and updates. So finally seeing him again, alive and well and looking all grumpy Albus-y? I doubt little else matters to Scorpius in that moment. Present company included. He only looks to Harry after Albus has ran off.

So yeah, I’d say it was the current circumstance. Of course any previous meetings before would have made what happened next hurt more, especially if Scorpius wasn’t aware Harry didn’t like him. (I’ve always believed Albus protected Scorpius from that bit of information.) But Scorpius’s confusion and hurt in that moment as he looks at Harry is all from realising whatever Albus is doing to him, doing to them, it’s Harry’s fault.

Everything about Harry’s actions towards Scorpius in that scene are cold and dismissive. It’s cruel. I mean, I understand why he did what he did, but it doesn’t make that scene any easier to watch. Scorpius is looking at Harry, the saviour of the wizarding world and his best friend’s dad, silently asking why. He gets no answer but Harry’s unfaltering glare back is clear enough. His sharp stare isn’t for show, it was intended to sever their ties. Which is why it hurts to see Scorpius always break the eye contact first. Harry must go from hero to zero in Scorpius’s eyes and he doesn’t even know what he did to deserve it. He just wasn’t worth the explanation. He wasn’t worthy of Albus. No wonder he went to his dad in tears. He thought he was the only person he had left now :’(

3, Harry later says to al that he can now see scorp is not the black cloud implying he’s never properly interacted with his fluffiness before

Yeah that’s why I’m inclined to believe their previous interactions have only been minimal. I get the impression Harry wasn’t overly thrilled at the prospect of Scorpius coming to stay over the holidays which makes me believe he hasn’t been over before. I’m guessing it’s either the ‘Malfoy the Unknown’ thing or it’s because that’s the only time he gets to bond with Albus and knows he could never compete for his son’s attention with Scorpius around? Or maybe he has been over before and that’s the reason why? Anyway, that’s another issue for another time…

I think once the events of CC are over, and the two boys (and their families) start spending more time together during the holidays, that’s when Harry will get to know him properly. It won’t be long before he too loves and appreciates the bouncy bean of knowledge that his son has become so attached too. I mean, it’s Scorpius. He’s impossible not to like. Smug dad Draco mode activated. Although I’m sure Harry’s still a little wary of him from time to time. But these days that’s got nothing to do rumours or surnames. Oh no. It’s all down to the bounce in his step as he walks into the Potter kitchen with a history book clutched to his chest (bookmarks and parchment sticking out everywhere), followed by the dreaded, “Mr Potter. Harry. Sir. Hello. Scorpius. Erm… could I ask you about-“. Despite the frequent (and numerous) impromptu interviews, Harry does end up loving Scorpius like one of his own. It doesn’t take him long to see he much he adores Albus and Albus is clearly at his happiest when the two of them are together. What more could a father want for his son? *cough* and his future son-in-law *cough*. That, and he is rather entertaining and useful to have around too. No, he’ll happily take a thousand afternoons of questions for that privilege. (And he does, by the way.) But standing there, chopping vegetables with Albus ready for dinner, as Scorpius frantically annotates his book curled up in the armchair that he’s claimed as his own, Harry feels as blessed as Draco does to have gained another son. He honestly couldn’t be happier.

…although maybe if Albus stopped laughing quite as much every time he’s forced to use the ‘but I was there’ line on Scorpius? That would be nice.

(Scorpius may have learnt he can’t literally re-write history, but it doesn’t stop him from re-writing his own history books. Harry’s a great firsthand source and all, but no true historian is going to take one person’s word over hundreds of accounts. He’s got to make sure it’s right, you know…)

Aaaand lastly, because I look for any excuse to recommend @torestoreamends​ fics, you should totally read ‘The Same Side’. It’s a take on Scorpius and Harry’s first conversation post-CC. Enjooooy!

[time-to-hit-the-clouds]

To Love & Be Loved

Summary:

Astoria Greengrass and Draco Malfoy went on with their lives feeling like they didn’t deserve to be loved, but there they are holding each other hoping for a bright future together. (Can be considered a spinoff The Greengrass Sisters, or a story by itself)

Characters featured in this story:  Astoria Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy and a small (very small) mention of Scorpius Malfoy

You can also read this story on: FF | A03

Astoria Greengrass had only been in love once before. She was fourteen years old when she met a Muggle named Wren. He was sweet, intelligent and an overall good person. It was everything Astoria wanted from a guy she liked. Wren, as a person, seemed too good to be true which makes her wonder if he isn't some figment of her imagination.

Growing up, Astoria was never 'boy-crazy.' She knew that at some point of her life, she would be married off to someone by her parents so she thought she didn't have to waste time dating or fawn over a guy.

There was a part of her that didn't want to be married off to so that she wouldn't have to feel guilty of making someone a widower when she dies. Ever since she was informed of her curse, Astoria knew she wouldn't grow to see old age. Due to her condition, she might not even be able to carry a child full-term. If she did marry someone, she would cheat them of an heir. She figured why waste anyone's time with her when she would had just been contented with being alone.

She didn't hate love. She loves the idea of being with someone who makes her smile every day. But being in love also leads to heartache and she doesn't want to go through it nor does she want to put anyone through it. So, she kept her head low, not attracted too much attention to herself and live her days as she wants to.

When Astoria met Wren, her heart opened for the first time as she started to fall in love with a guy who made feel like the luckiest girl ever. He didn't care that she was a Witch nor did she care that he wasn't a Pureblood Wizard. Astoria was attracted to how self-assured Wren was with himself. He was confident but not boastful. He deeply cares for the people he loved. He was proud of his upbringing even though it was a humble one.

But when life gives, it also takes. Wren was a victim of a vindictive Death Eater while protecting his mother who was a Muggle-born Witch. Astoria was left heartbroken. All she had left of Wren was her memories of him. Because of this, Astoria felt that she could never fall in love again, much to her mother's dismay. Giselle Greengrass never once gave up on matchmaking her youngest daughter with a suitable man.

"So, Mama has told me about the men she was thinking of setting you up with," Astoria's sister, Daphne, stated as they were sitting in formal living room. Astoria simply chose to remain silent. "There are lots of real contenders that I think would you would love," she added.

"Mhm," Astoria responded, not taking her eyes from the book she was indulging in. Now that she had graduated from Hogwarts, their mother was putting her on the market for potential suitors to court her.

Daphne sighed as she looked at her little sister, "Astoria, it has been two years. Don't you think time for you to move on?" she questioned her gently, referring to Wren's untimely death. She understood that Astoria needed to mourn but Daphne knew that her sister is stuck in the past. "I know 'courtship season' can be annoying, and suffocating, with Mama being on your throat the whole time but she knows what's she doing."

Astoria had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Yes, it is true that their mother did introduce Daphne to her husband, whom she has been married to for eight months and so far, he was a swell guy, but this "courtship season" isn't something Astoria wants to be part of. She would rather make use of her time focusing on the Greengrass Foundation, an organisation created by their father of which Astoria would be taking over soon as Daphne didn't want to.

Running a philanthropic organisation would eat a lot of her free time but this was something Astoria had always wanted to do - to help people in ways that she could. The Greengrass Foundation help Wizards and Witches who lost everything during the most recent war. It places more focus on the children, especially those Muggle-born, who are left on the streets and orphaned. Every year they would hold a charity ball to raise money for the foundation.

"You know I don't like it when Mama tries to set me up with guys I don't know," Astoria finally responded. "What's so romantic about being forced to marry someone?"

"Everyone deserves to find their true love, Astoria," Daphne told her.

"I already found my true love," Astoria replied coldly.

"Well you can find another one then," Daphne encouraged.

"There's no such thing as finding a second true love!"

"Well maybe Wren wasn't your true love," Daphne argued.

Astoria closed her book, not caring if she marked the page or not, and looked at Daphne with an insulted look on her face. "What did you say?" she questioned.

"If Wren was your one and only true love, he wouldn't have died. If he was your 'meant to be' then he'd still be here but he's not anymore. So, maybe he's not your 'meant to be' and that's ok because that means someone out there is, and he is looking for his 'meant to be' too and that person is you," Daphne explained to her.

"I can't believe you are actually saying this things to me. I loved Wren," Astoria responded, hurt by her sister's words.

"Do you?" Daphne challenged her. "Ok maybe you did but you were 14 when you met him and spent majority of the time apart with you being in Hogwarts and him in the Muggle World, only exchanging letters by owl. How do you know you really love him if you barely know him very well?"

"Daphne, just what are you trying to say?"

Daphne hesitated before answering her sister. She knew whatever it is she say next will upset Astoria, however, she needs to hear this from her or else Astoria would never come to the realization. "If someone loves you, they wouldn't have left you. They would have stayed and never gave up on you," she said. "I'm sorry, Astoria, but it's true and you're going to have to accept it sooner or later."

"He died saving his mother. He was a noble person. You want me to be angry with him for sacrificing himself to save his family? Name one person wouldn't risk everything to do the right thing to save their family," Astoria challenged her.

"Just because you can't see people risking everything for their families, it doesn't mean that they didn't do it. I could list down the people I know who would do or have done the same thing as Wren did but I know that now you wouldn't be convinced because you're still asleep in your own bubble," Daphne answered her. "It's time to wake up and join us in the real world."

Astoria digested everything Daphne had said to her and wondered if it was true. Has she been asleep in her own bubble? She knew she loved Wren, she never doubted it before, and she knew that Wren loved her. Or maybe he didn't. The truth was, she still never understood what love was. She thought if someone loves you, you should love them back.

"Maybe you're right…" Astoria said sadly. She looked at her hands to prevent her sister from seeing her tearing up but Daphne saw it anyways. "Maybe I'm using Wren as an excuse."

"An excuse for what?" Daphne asked curiously.

"I don't deserve to be loved by someone because...I'm going to leave them ultimately. So, what's the point?"

"Astoria…"

"No but it's true," Astoria interrupted. "I know I'm not going to live a long life so why cheat someone of that? I deeply care for Wren yet he still left me and it hurts me until this day. I don't want anyone to feel this when I leave them. It wouldn't be fair."

Daphne grabbed Astoria's hand and held onto it tight. She was unsure what she wanted or needed to say next. They don't usually talk about Astoria's illness for her sake. Seeing her little sister feeling so helpless doesn't sit well with Daphne. Astoria deserved as much happiness as the next person. Daphne leaned into her sister and pulled her to a hug.

"You deserve to be happy," Daphne whispered to her, still holding her sister in her arms. "Just don't forget that ok?"

"Happy…" Astoria echoed. She missed being the happy and carefree person that she was. "I want to be happy," she declared.

"Good. No one's stopping you," Daphne smiled.

Draco Malfoy had never fell in love before. However, he knew that something deep inside him wanted to find someone who would love him for who he was. Someone he could call his best friend, and be his comfort and home in his world full of darkness. He needed someone to help keep his sanity and help him survive the dreadful world. As selfish as it sounds, all Draco ever wanted was to be loved by someone who would love him unconditionally, and in return, he would love that person as well.

He knew his parents loved him. They spoiled him rotten. They got him everything he ever wanted, but always expected something in return for their generosity. This behaviour was especially explicit by his father, Lucius Malfoy, who always expected Draco to be the best at everything. Narcissa Malfoy was a lot more enduring. She pushed Draco to what her husband wanted their son to be because she thinks that her son has tremendous potential, but at the same time she was also Draco's comfort growing up.

"You are much better than you think you are, my son," Narcissa once said to a 12-year-old Draco as she tucked him to bed. Earlier that day, he informed his parents that he was not the top of his class during his first year in Hogwarts. His father was less than pleased. "Never lose sight of that. You are a Malfoy after all. You are destined to be the best."

Draco looked at his mother intently, "Do you really think so? That I am destined to be the best?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course. Hard work will always be rewarded as long as you persevere towards the goal. But above all Draco, know who you are and you will succeed in life," Narcissa replied before kissing her son's forehead goodnight. "Sweet dreams, my son. Mommy always love you."

However, his father had a different take when it comes to achieving greatness.

"You should be more cunning, Draco! You should always strive to win. Do whatever it takes to win and never let anyone take your success away from you," Lucius said to him. "I just don't understand it. Success should come easy for a Malfoy," he added disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry, Father," Draco replied sadly.

"You will spend this school holiday training and studying hard for your next year. At the very least you should have a head start. I will find you a tutor and find a coach for you to join the Quidditch team in the new term. Every waking moment you have will be focused on this, you understand?" Lucius declared.

"Yes, Father."

Lucius approached his son and bent down to meet his eye level, "I know you may think that I am being strict and unfair towards you, my boy, but I am doing it because I love you. I want to see you be the best you can be."

Draco nodded furiously. To hear his father say that he loves him was the motivation he needed. He looked up to his father growing up and wanted to be just like him. He wanted to be the best and have the world at the palm of his hands. Growing up, this was what Draco thought love was. He thought love needed to be earned like rewards and prizes, and that if he done something wrong or bad, he didn't deserve it. Thus, it was a major reason why he felt he didn't deserved to be loved after his involvement with the Death Eaters during the second Wizarding War.

"I can't imagine a crazy person who would want to spend the rest of their lives with me," Draco said one day as he was having tea with his mother.

"Loneliness doesn't look good on anyone, my dear boy," Narcissa replied to him as she held her teacup close to her mouth.

"You're just saying that because you want me to find someone to give us an heir for the Malfoy name."

"Maybe so, but finding that special someone is a reward itself," she responded again. "Your father may have his shortcomings but I love him nonetheless. He's my soulmate and I am his. We're placed in this world to find someone who would look at us beyond our mistakes and flaws. Do try to remember that, Draco," she added as she pushed an envelope that was placed on their table by the house elves.

The heading reads: "You are cordially invited to the 12th Annual Greengrass Foundation Charity Ball." Draco was invited by an old classmate and former Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass whom he shared a social circle with back when he was in Hogwarts. They were still close friends and she was one of the few people he knew that reached out to him even after the events of the war.

"Who knows," Narcissa continued. "You might find someone who could actually help you out of this whatever state of emotion you've been sporting in for the last two years. Love can do you know."

Draco scoffed as he picked up the invitation again to read the contents. The party was held at the Greengrass Estate. Draco remembered going there a few times during his youth with his parents and his group of friends, "You seem so sure that the love of my life is going to be at this party," he said sarcastically.

"It's always good to have hope, dear," she responded.

Hope is for suckers and it leads to eternal misery. At least that was what Draco felt his whole life because hope can also bring disappointment. So why must he put himself through it?

Astoria and Draco attended the social event without any hope of meeting someone but instead to show their faces, and yet they left with hopes of seeing each other again. During the event, they found themselves glancing over at the other and locking eyes for a moment before turning away with secret smiles and feeling their heart beating quickly.

It was odd because it was not the first time they met other or cross paths. Draco knew Astoria even before she attended Hogwarts, heck they were even in the same house together. Still, they were just merely acquaintance, never really interacted, much less have a conversation with one another that last more than three sentences. But for some reason, there was simply something there that wasn't there before that night.

"Hi," she greeted him simply after she reached the bar of where Draco was leaning against.

Draco was caught off-guard and wasn't sure if she was talking to him or the guy the was standing behind to him. He returned her a smile and proceeded to avoid eye contact with her.

"Would you like a drink?" she offered him before placing her order, seeing that his glass was almost empty.

Draco looked to over to his shoulder, waiting for the guy to respond to her but Astoria kept her eyes on him. "You do know I'm talking to you right?" she asked his amusingly.

Draco blinked a few times, "Oh, sure. Firewhiskey please," he finally said, blushing at his actions.

Astoria nodded in response and made her order with the bartender. Draco took caution to the wind and stepped closer to her but not so close that their arms touch. While waiting for their drinks, they stole a glance at one another and Astoria gave him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"So, are you enjoying yourself?" she asked him, trying to make conversation.

"It's not the worse social event I've been to in recent years," Draco said casually making Astoria laughed quietly. "I hear from Daphne that this will all be yours soon. The foundation, I mean," he said as they received their drinks.

"Yeah, it will be in a couple of months. I'm still learning the ropes. My father will step down once he thinks I'm ready. I'm really looking forward to it," Astoria replied.

"So how exactly is the foundation contributing to those in need?" he asked curiously, wanting to keep their conversation going. He felt that he finally found someone, other than Daphne, whom he is willing to talk to.

"It's very long winded," Astoria warned him jokingly. "We help a lot of people."

Draco smiled, "I got time."

"Right this way then," Astoria replied as she brought him back to the party.

They talked all night after that and the next following days. When they were not seeing each other, they were writing to one another via owl. Draco even found himself involved in the Greengrass Foundation, participating in charity drives and donating money every now and then. At first, he did it to find an excuse to spend more time with Astoria, but he soon realized how he liked helping others. It made him sleep better at night that he was helping people instead of causing misery.

Draco and Astoria became quite close friends after the Greengrass Charity Ball. They could talk to each other about their lives, what they have been up to and even what their hopes are for their future. Astoria wanted to be able to reach out and help as many people as she could, while Draco told her that he hoped he could grow to not hate himself anymore. They became each other's confidant regarding all their secrets and insecurities. Astoria even told him about her illness one day.

"It's a blood malediction," she explained.

"I've never heard of it," Draco responded with a worrisome look on his face.

"It's very rare. It's easy for me to get sick because of it because my blood won't be able to fight viruses. Healers said it only will get worse as I grow older. But there might be a chance that I do get to live old age but it's pretty slim," Astoria explained again. Her mother had advised her not to tell anyone about her curse. The only people that knew were her best friend and her family.

She decided to tell Draco because she wanted him to know. Lately, they have been seeing a lot of each other and Astoria could tell that there might be something developing between them. All those conversations they had, all those time they spent together, all those playful moments they experienced together, both knew deep down their relationship wasn't platonic. It was developing into something more.

Astoria felt herself falling in love with Draco more and more every single day. She loved seeing the person he became which was a big contrast to who he was during his Hogwarts days. Obviously, he didn't change entirely as she can still see a hint of young Draco Malfoy in his behaviour but he seemed more together and knew who he was. She felt that she should get out of whatever it is brewing between them before Draco gets hurt.

"And there's no cure?" he inquired.

"No," she inhaled. Astoria expected Draco to end their friendship or run away. But instead, he pulled her into a hug. He placed his arm around her frame and one hand on her head. They stood there for some time in the snow after Astoria wrapped her arms around Draco too.

Draco released his embrace from Astoria slowly but still held her close. They were just inches from each other, both were afraid and wonder over who will make the next move. Astoria took a deep breath and placed her lips on his. It felt warm and it felt right. She felt as though she just lifted a weight from her shoulders. She felt as though everything is finally ok with the world and there is just peace.

Draco moved his lips on Astoria's and deepened their kiss. At that moment, he felt his world was finally balanced and the whole universe is finally give him a break. He felt like he could have conjured a Patronus right then and there. This woman in front of him did that for him. He loved Astoria a lot. It didn't take him long to realize that ever since they got closer after the charity ball. He felt the need to give the world to her because that's how much he loved her.

The he stopped.

Astoria was too good for him. Too good. If word got around that they're together, people would start talking about her. She would have to endure gossips and media frenzy all because she was with him. He couldn't let that happen to her.

"I have to go," he whispered to her regretfully.

Astoria looked at him in confusion, "What?"

Without another word, he apparated away leaving her behind. He apparated back to his bedroom at Malfoy Manor, kicking himself of what he did. He ruined it. He ruined their friendship. He felt that he could never face Astoria ever again. Then he decided that not seeing her again was better than seeing her get hurt.

They stopped seeing each other for weeks. Draco needed some time to recover from what he did. He had to force himself to not write back to all the letters Astoria written him, wanting an explanation of why he left so suddenly and why he is avoiding her. Astoria was confused, upset but above all furious at what Draco did. She just told him her deepest secret, kissed her and then ran away.

Astoria came by the Malfoy Manor one day to confront him. She was greeted at the door by the Malfoy house elf and led her to where Draco was. He was in the library studying some books when he saw her at the door frame. She stormed her way towards him just when he stood up from his chair and Astoria pushed him back down to the seat.

"You are a complete ass, Draco Malfoy!" Astoria shouted at him.

Draco breathed and tried to speak, "Astoria…"

"You think you could just kiss me one day and then just leave me like that? What kind of man are you?!" she continued, interrupting what he was trying to say.

"You kissed me first!" he accused her, abandoning what he originally wanted to say.

"You kissed me back!" she debated with him. He could see the hurt in her eyes and it made him feel guilty. "And I know for a fact that it wasn't a pity kiss either. How can you do something like that and try to cut ties with me after all we've been through together. If this is about my illness-"

Draco got back up to his feet and looked at her intently, "It's not!"

"Then what is this about?" Astoria demanded.

"I'm in love you, Astoria!" Draco declared waving his arms furiously. He could see Astoria breathe in shocked at his statement and waited for him to continue. "But you deserve better! You deserve someone better than me. You deserve someone who will make you happy. I can't make you happy."

Astoria tried to digest what he just revealed to her. "Well if you love me then why did you leave me like that then? If you love me, you wouldn't have left!" she argued. "I can't believe you are still in this self-loathing state. The war is over. It has been over for almost three years now. You should stop living in this bubble of yours and join us in the real world. Did you really expect yourself to live in self-hatred for the rest of your life?" she questioned him.

"Of course not."

"Then stop doing this to yourself!" she shouted at him. "You need to wake up and realize the fact that you deserve to be happy too, Draco. Even though you were a bad person in the past, I know deep in my heart that you are not that person anymore. You are trying your hardest to be the best person you could be and I see that and that is what I love about you. So, stop being stupid and start forgiving yourself."

Draco stared at her in shock over what she just admitted to him. She said she loved him. Astoria was about to leave the library when Draco held onto her hand, not wanting her to go just yet.

"Astoria," he called after her.

"What?"

Draco leaned in and kissed her passionately. He felt the tears that formed from her eyes as they were arguing with one another. He pulled back and wiped those tears and leaned in once again to kiss her. Astoria held on Draco's neck for support and things started to get steamy. Astoria pulled back to catch her breath and leaned her forehead with him.

"You make me happy, Astoria," Draco confessed to her. "I want to make you happy too but I don't know if I can promise you that."

Astoria moved her hand to Draco's cheek and made him look her in the eyes, "You make me happy," she admitted. "I feel like I can be happy forever as long as you're with me always. I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"Do you really think I deserve to be happy after all that I've done?" he inquired.

"Yes, definitely. Always," she replied honestly. "You're a good person now, Draco. Never doubt that for one second."

"Did you really mean it when you said that you love me?" he asked again.

"Yes."

"And you will take me as I am?"

"Only if you take me as I am. A sickly little Greengrass," she responded with hint of amusement. "Draco, I don't expect anything from you other than you promise that you would love me always and to never leave me."

"I will never leave you," he promised her. "But I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Of what's to come for us. People will start talking about us. I'm not even sure if your family would approve of me. I'm not sure that they will see me other than an ex-Death Eater," he explained.

"I don't care. The only opinion I care about is yours," Astoria reassured him as caress his hair. "I'm scared too, you know."

"About what?"

"I want to be with you, but I don't know how long I can. I don't want to hurt you," she confessed to him.

Draco grabbed her free hand and held it close to him chest. "Then I'll take my chances," he said bravely. "Because this is far better than not being with you period."

Astoria beamed him with a smile and moved her hand towards his cheek again. "Can you please tell me again? That you love me?" he asked.

She giggled quietly and looked at him in his grey eyes, "I love you, Draco Malfoy."

"And I love you, Astoria Greengrass. Always. Forever. And I would never leave you."

If 10 years ago, someone was to come to Astoria Greengrass and Draco Malfoy and tell them that they would be in each other's arms in an embrace declaring their love for one another, they wouldn't believe it. But there they were, looking into each other's eyes like two lovesick puppies not wanting the moment to end. They were each other's 'meant to be' and each other's soulmate.

And if someone would to tell them that years after that, they would wed at the Greengrass Estate in the spring, and welcome their first son few years after they got married, they would think it's all just a joke. But there they were in Platform 9 ¾, bidding farewell to their son as he heads off to his first year at Hogwarts.

Astoria leaned towards Draco as she waved to their son. She still had a hard time believing that she had a son. To think that she wouldn't be standing there if Daphne hadn't made open her heart, she wouldn't be with the man of her dreams. Draco held on to his wife's body closely and kissed her forehead. To think that he wouldn't be standing there, being the luckiest man in the world, if his mother hadn't forced him to attend some social event where he did meet the love of his life.

It's funny how things fall into place when you open your heart and never give up fighting for what you want. Love doesn't come easy and not a lot of people experience the same kind of love. But if you wait for the right moment, it's magical. Sure, Draco and Astoria had to detour in dark places to get to where they are now, but the lessons they learn along the way made it all worth it.

[malfoysscarhead-blog]

How to love and hate a Potter

A Christmasy thing written in the middle of Spring. I had this idea for a long time and it took some time to finish. I dunno how many words does it have but it is pretty long and with a bunch of grammar errors i bet and with a plot that doesn’t make too much sense. It’s my first Drarry one-shot and English is not my main language. Keep this is mind while reading. Warning! It is long.

The Potters.

 Always finding a bloody way to enter Draco's life and never leave. Always there to torture the Malfoy Heir and make him develop an obsession for a Potter. First, Harry bloody Potter, The Boy Who Lived, The Golden Boy, that Scarhead -and Draco has an awfully long list of nicknames fitting the raven-haired man- sneaked into Draco's mind and now they got to his son. To his own son, to his pride!

And what's worse is that Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy is shagging the latest Potter conception.  

But Draco would rather not think about that.

Now, his problem was this Christmas party he was invited to at Harry Potter's place- not that he was directly approached by the man and asked, of course not, it was just Scorpius's idea of "getting to know them better and not holding old school grudges" kind of thing. Draco hated it. But he had to comply for his son's own good. Since he developed a crush for Potter's conception with the female Weasel, he had to get used to the idea of hearing the other Potter's name more often because "Oh, Harry that" and "Oh, Harry this!" , "Do you know how awesome Al's dad is, Father?"-not like Draco was going to call Scarhead, Harry, any time soon, but this was getting stressing for Draco and since Astoria wasn't here anymore to deal with this kind of stuff, he had to take all the burden. A Christmas party wasn't in his plan at all but since Scorpius insisted, well . . . He is not the type you can tell "no" to. He mastered his father's own power of persuasion after all, along with the bleach-blonde hair and grey eyes. The rest were from the mother; the stubbornness especially. It's not like Draco's got any of that anyways.

This evening had to be perfect. He couldn't make a fool of himself in front of a Potter. Especially not in front of two Potters, a know-it-all and a clan of Weasels. The red-head menace that was Potter's wife, was a Potter herself technically but . . . Draco wasn't seeing her as a Potter. He never did actually. He tells himself is because of the hair. What is clear is that she will always be the annoying female Weasel to Draco. That's all. 

Back to his problem. 

`Father, are you ready to go? You've been staring at that mirror for hours, you look just fine!` came Scorp's shout from downstairs making Draco startle. He checked his hair again, making sure it's all gathered in a perfect ponytail resting on the back of his neck, before straightening invisible wrinkles from his waistcoat and leaving the room with his coat on his forearm, the Dark Mark safe hidden under the shirt's sleeve. 

`I'm coming, Scorpius!` he said patiently from the head of the stairs. `And no shouting in the house, it bothers the poltergeists.`He then went down to find his son already dressed up in his winter coat, waiting for him. He looked nervous. Bloody nervous, actually. The perfect mirroring of Draco's emotions, if he was honest with himself. But of course, he wasn't going to tell Scorp that, no. 

`You really think you can freak me out with that poltergeist story like you did when I was a toddler? Not a chance! I'm fifteen father, remember?` Scorpius asked, ducking his hands deeper into the coat's pockets. `Now, come on. Al must be waiting for us in the outside parlour.`

`What do you mean?` asked Draco, feeling sweat begin to accumulate under his collar and his hands going cold. 

`Al is coming to get us. I told you that yesterday. Harry has his house under the Fidelius Charm and Albus knows the address better than I do and you know he has to tell it to you so you can se the house as I can-`

`No stuttering, Scorp, please. I know what a Fidelius Charm is. What I don't understand is why you kept the poor boy in the blizzard outside without inviting him in if he arrived.` said Draco and proceeded to the main doors. The Manor wasn't so welcoming, but it was warm inside and Draco got used to it in the last fifteen years he spent raising Scorpius here. The place got even more gloomier after Astoria's death but Narcissa Malfoy's occasionally visits were always brightening up the place for him and Scorpius, as well as Pansy or Blaise's. Nott's ones weren't just as good. He was only Draco's drinking buddy in Friday nights when Scorpius was staying over at the Potters. They both agreed on one night per week and Scarhead himself promised to be very careful with the pair. Draco didn't knew if that meant only silencing charms or much more closer supervision but he trusted the man with this at least. It was about his own son too, after all. Draco wasn't counting on it anyways. 

When they got out on The Manor's doors, they were greeted by the sight of a raven-haired boy with snow glimmering on his winter coat. The sun set for long enough to feel the cold winter, the alley in front of the mansion lightened up only by floating lanterns the house elves were careful to put at Draco's demand. The boy's face was red by the light coming from inside The Manor, his cheeks red and eyes watering. Even in his woolen coat, Draco could still feel the blizzard's bite on his pale face. 

`Good evening Mister Malfoy, it's good to see you,` Albus Potter said, stretching his gloved hand for Draco to grab. It is good to know that Draco Abraxas Malfoy will never be fond of touching the Potter kind, but the glove might be a good repellent to any kind of disease. All right, maybe he was exaggerating but it costs nothing to be wary. Draco stretched his own hand and wrapped it around the boy's one in a firm hand-shake. The door closed behind him, making Draco startle and break the grip.

`Hello, Al!` said Scorpius and Draco could see even through the dim lighting that his son was grinning like some sort of mad-man at the sight of his boyfriend. He gulped. Draco had always hoped Scorp would have found himself wanting to date a nice aristocratic girl from a wealthy family and everything would have been alright but since Draco found out Scorpius befriended one of the Potters, he knew he was doomed. Astoria was thrilled when he found out about their friendship and was encouraging their son on any occasion but Draco once had an obsession with a Potter and look where that took him! It was not the fact Albus Severus was a boy that was bothering Draco, it was the fact that he was a Potter. At least, Scorpius has been more lucky than him on that chapter. And his son's happiness was as well as his own and Draco will learn to accept the boy and his relatives for Scorp's good. He hoped.  

`It's so nice to see you,` Scorpius said and hugged the other boy with some hesitation. Curse Scorpius's third year at Hogwarts. 

`It's nice to see you too. If your Father is ready, we can go. My dad is waiting for us. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione haven't arrived yet but they can't wait to see you! Rose is having this awesome book about runes she- umpf. Right,` he said after catching sight of Draco again. `Shall we?`

`Then I see where the stuttering comes from,` mumbled Draco and straightened his posture. `Come on, we will Apparate outside of the gates. Tell me the street, and we will side-along,` said Draco -louder this time- and began walking in front of the boys and to the gates without waiting for Albus Severus's response. After marching all way there, because of the cold of course, he stopped and waited for his son and Potter's boy. 

`Right, Grimmauld Place, Borought of Islington, London. It's a Muggle lived area so you might wanna be-`

`-careful? Yes, I've got plenty of experience with being careful, don't worry Mr. Potter. Now, grab my arms, both of you.`

`All settled, let's go Father,` said Scorpius with a bright expression on his face.

They Dissaparated. 

`The Potter residence is at 12 Grimmauld Place, London,` said the Potter boy. Draco watched as number eleven and number thirteen split up and stretched to make place for number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The Scarhead's house wasn't making the best first impression, that's sure. It was looking old and somber from the outside and Draco could only imagine the inside. He never wanted to know, but he found himself moving ahead towards the set of stairs. The Potter boy was in front of him and Scorpius and quickly entered, leaving the door open to Draco and his son. Draco felt a hand on his upper arm and turned to look towards Scorpius who was shooting a concerned glance towards him.

`Please, watch what you are saying. Especially about the Weasleys, Father,` Scorpius said and proceeded to enter the dimly lit corridor. Draco followed, carefully trespassing the threshold but when he turned to close the door, he felt something touching his leg and startled, kicking that something over. He couldn't see what it is but it made a pretty loud noise, followed by a set of footsteps and a silhouette appearing at the base of the stairs. 

`Sorry, for a moment I thought it was- never mind. It's good to see you, Malfoy!` Draco recognized the voice as being Potter's. He didn't dare to make any move and just stood there glaring through dark, hoping to see something more than Potter's body shape, glowing by the light coming from a set of doors on Draco's left. 

`Yes, sure. I guess I can say the same,` responded Draco, struggling to keep his voice even and surprised to find a little tremble in it. He wasn't scared, of course not. But he didn't knew where all this wave of emotions came from. Maybe it was the thrill of meeting your old arch enemy again, or the sudden cold shiver from his spine, but it sure wasn't fear. I mean, Draco could definitely stun him and run if something got bad. It was just fine. 

`Yes, well, hang your coat and follow me. The boys must be upstairs in the sitting room,` Potter said and patiently waited for Draco to unbutton his coat and hang it in one of the hooks above the "thing" Draco kicked earlier and now he could see it was an ugly, old troll leg with some umbrellas scattered next to it. Draco frowned before turning back to Potter, finding him with a sheepish grin on his face. 

`Come on,` he said and went for the stairs, with Draco close behind him. They both reached the head of the stairs and Potter walked forward towards a door he opened and suddenly stopped after two steps inside, making Draco almost bump into him. Draco trespassed him and in a fraction of second, he wished he hasn't. Scorpius and the Potter boy where in a very close proximity, Scorpius's elbow on the back of the red couch, his fingers tangled in Albus Severus's raven locks. Their foreheads were connected and they both had happy grins on their faces, seeming to whisper. Suddenly, Scorpius leaned more towards the other boy and in the moment their lips almost connected Draco felt some sort of sound -more like a high-pitched Thestral neigh- making it's way in his throat and he awkwardly grumbled and cleaned his neck, almost escaping the infamous sound out. The boys both startled and parted away, to Draco's high bliss. He felt Potter shaking through silent laughter besides him and felt his ears heat and most probably go a shade of scarlet red. The Potter boy turned around and glared at them, his cheeks a slightly tempt of pink, a pretty obvious sign for Draco that this is not the first time they get caught mid-act. 

`Dad, and- hgmph, Mister Malfoy,` he said and tapped Scorpius's upper arm to make him turn. 

`Hi, Albus,` Potter said and smiled. Now it was the only moment Draco could properly inspect the other man's face traits. He faintly turned his head and saw Potter's strong jaw with the beginning of a beard, his eyes wrinkled at the corners and a shiny smile spread all over his features. A few hair locks were hanging on his forehead and temples but the rest was caught in a messy man bun on the top of his head. Potter was wearing a red t-shirt, his muscled arms crossed over his chest -not like Draco was admiring or something, it was just a statement- and a pair of muggle jeans with ridiculous socks with golden snitches all over them. Of course, the signature pair of glasses were resting on the bridge of Potter's nose, lenses smudged and all that. Green eyes were amusingly glaring forward to Draco's son and his own. The Golden Boy's scar was still there of course, but it seemed that the years made it fade a little and now it wasn't that obvious anymore. He was an inch or two shorter than Draco but his imposing stature was doing it's trick. 

`I see that you are pretty busy at the moment, we can come back later if you want,` Potter laughed and turned to smirk at Draco. 

`No, it's fine, w-we weren't doing anything, r-right Scorp?` Potter's son stuttered and, catching sight of Draco, straightened his posture and smiled. 

`Yeah, sure,` said Scorpius and shoot a glance towards his father. 

`Of course not, Al. Come along Malfoy, I want to show you the dining room,` 

`Yes, but-` started Draco but was caught mid-sentence by Potter's hand grabbing at his forearm and tugging him away from the room, closing the door behind them. Potter wanted to drag Draco down the stairs as well, but as soon as they were outside, Draco snatched his hand away from Potter's grab and fiercely looked at the other man.`I'm not a kid, Potter. I can follow you by myself, you don't have to drag me!` he half-shouted.

`Of course not, now come on, let's give them some privacy,` said Potter and proceeded to the ground floor. `Privacy? They are our sons! How do you now they will not engage in much more private endeavors on that horrendous couch of yours?`

At that, he gained a laugh. Draco felt anger wrap around his mind and was ready to snap again but Potter turned around at the base of the stairs and leaned against the stair railing.

`Merlin, you sound exactly like in school,` he huffed and pushed his glasses higher on his nose. `Except, you don't look like in it, and that should actually be a compliment but I can't find myself doing any to you at the moment. Do you really think the boys are that irresponsible? They are doing that kind of stuff only if they are in their private room,` Potter said and smirked at Draco.

`Very soothing indeed, Potter,` said Draco and went down the last stairs and settled himself next to Potter with his arms crossed protectively over his chest.

`Don't worry, Malfoy. The Floo is open as well, so if they really are that needy- well, let's say it will not last long,` the man said and after patting Draco's arm, he went for the set of doors and let them open for Draco to follow. After doing just so, Draco found himself in a room with a table for twelve people, the place lightened by Christmas lanterns on the walls. There was no Christmas tree, and Draco thought he missed it when he went in the sitting room upstairs. He couldn't blame himself, there were much more important things in that room.

  Like his son smooching Potter's boy for example. 

`Do you want a drink until the others are coming?` asked Potter and went for a cabinet filled with a few bottles of wine.

 `All right. Whatever you are having,` said Draco and pulled a chair at one end of the table to sit. Potter took out two glasses and set one in front of Draco, pouring from a  bottle that seemed to be one of Ogden's finests. Draco wasn't having much experience with drinks. On Fridays, he was usually drinking whatever Nott was bringing over. In the rest of the time, he was counting on Blaise to bring the drinks at dinners and so. 

Potter sat in front of him at the table and started looking at the old wood, playing with the glass in his hands. Draco wondered where that boldness from earlier dissipated. In all this silence, Draco found his mind floating over the subject about where the other people from this house are. 

`Where is the fem-your wife, Potter? I thought you were living together,` said Draco and arched an eyebrow. He couldn't stop himself from asking, the curiosity was too big. He almost slipped "the female Weasel" insult, but he doubted Potter would like it much.

`What do you mean?` asked Potter, visibly confused.

`I am pretty sure you didn't gave birth to your own son,` laughed Draco and took a sip from his wine.

`What? No, of course not. It was all over The Prophet, how could you miss it?` asked Potter and frowned. Draco didn't knew what he missed. He wasn't reading The Prophet anymore and neither did Astoria. Pansy and Blaise were restraining themselves from telling him anything, since they knew he didn't liked it. His Mother was in France so he doubted she was keen to spreading the gossip by post to Draco. It just sounded stupid.

`I don't read that rubbish, Potter,` said Draco, his curiosity growing stronger and stronger. Even though he had an idea about what Potter was trying to say, he wanted to hear it from the other man. The blonde didn't actually knew where this want came from, but still.

`Me any Ginny are divorced, Malfoy. I thought you knew, or you were smart enough to figure that out yourself,`Draco's heart skipped a beat. He didn't care, but he was shocked to actually have this thing confirmed since he always thought at Potter and the Weaslette as that perfect couple with lots of children and forever happiness. Draco frowned at that thought. 

`But I thought Albus Severus is having a brother and a sister?` said Draco. 

`James is at Hogwarts and Lily is at her mother. After divorcing, Ginny moved to a house not far from here and took Lily. She wanted to stay with her rather than here with me so I was left with the boys. James is already grown up and it's his last year at Hogwarts but Al is more than thrilled to stay here with me. He loves the place and so do I. I think you can guess who owned the house before me, it's not that difficult,`

`The Black family. My Mother told me about this place. She lived here, apparently,`

`Believe me, the place looked much more horrible before the restorations,` said Potter and took a gulp from his own glass.

`And Gran-` but Draco was again caught mid-sentence by a shout coming from upstairs. 

`DAD! UNCLE RON AND AUNT HERMIONE ARE HERE!`

`WE'RE COMING AL!` shouted Potter back and Draco cringed. The Manor was a silent place, especially with Scorpius at Hogwarts and Draco wasn't coping too well with shouting and loud noises. `Come on Malfoy,` said Potter and finished his glass. Waiting for Draco to do it as well, he Scourgified his and put it back in the cabinet, next to the bottles. Draco drank the rest of his wine and rose from the table. A new set of voices could be heard from upstairs now. After they were done, Potter went up before Draco, without waiting for the blonde to follow this time. He was going to anyway. 

Once upstairs, he found himself in the company of the complete Golden Trio of The Wizarding World and two more children besides Scorpius and Potter's boy. One of them was a girl with shoulder-length ginger curls and freckles who seemed the same age as Scorpius and Albus Severus and the other one was a boy shorter than his son with hair looking horribly like Weasley's. But now, since the mudblood's marriage with the Weasel, the clan is entitled Granger-Weasley apparently. A horrible choice of name, if you asked Draco. Of course, he would never mention it. 

Draco went further in the room he and Potter caught Albus Severus and Scorpius earlier and the first one to notice him was Granger.

`Hello, Malfoy. I'm glad to see you, Scorpius told us so much about you. I heard you are a wand-maker now. How is the job?`. Terrible attempt to be friendly, after Draco.

`Hi, Granger. It's just fine, thank you for asking,` Draco thought is better to keep the conversations with the others at a minimum. Potter was an exception. Potter was always a bloody exception. Sooner this is over, the better. 

`Actually, it's Granger-Weasley now, Malfoy,` cut in the Weasel, circling his wife's waist with a hand. Draco's heart clutched in his chest. `It's nice to see you. You changed since school,`

`You pretty much look the same to me, Weasley,` said Draco and crossed his arms once again. 

`It's good to see you anyways,` grumbled Draco, more to himself. 

`Oh, Harry! Ginny said she will arrive soon with Lily. Neville and Hannah can't make it but George said he and Angelina will try to see if they have time,`

`Great! It's . . . half past seven and the dinner will be ready at eight according to Kreacher so we have nothing better to do than talk a while until Ginny arrives. Albus, you can go and stay in your bedroom if you want and take the others with you. We will be at the ground floor if you need something,`

`All right, dad. Come on, Rose, you can show Scorp that rune book you bugged me with,` said Albus Severus before taking Scorpius's hand -by Draco's greatest horror- and going upstairs with the Granger-Weasley children after them. After the first set of stairs, their voices began to fade before sinking into complete silence.

`Al's room is on the third floor, Malfoy. If you need to talk to Scorpius it's the door next to the cupboard's one. Come on now, let's go downstairs,` 

It is going to be a long evening.

`So, tell us, how did you actually convinced your dad to come with you tonight? I thought he hated the red-heads and Scarhead,` said Rose mockingly and laughed towards Scorpius. He shot her a glare and leaned against the pillows squeezing Al's shoulder and bringing him closer, sighing.

`I don't know, but I'm glad he came along. And I don't really think he hates you, but since Mother died he closed in himself and since he rarely leaves The Manor...` Scorpius paused, huffing. `I guess he just realized he needed to get out tonight since is Christmas Eve and stuff,`

`I like your dad,` said Albus, trying to comfort him. `He is quiet mostly, but he seems nice... From our small encounters,` Al ended with a laugh and Scorpius pinched the bridge of his nose. 

`He is going to have nightmares with that scene. I am very sure he will wake up in the middle of the night screaming and he will come to my room to make sure you are not hiding under the bed or something,` he laughed and felt Albus giggle next to him as well. Hugo was sprawled on his back on the bed and he rolled over, ending on the floor because of laughter, sight that made Rose throw her head back and laugh until she fell on her back as well, her curls sprawled on the blue covers of Albus' bed. Hugo emerged a few minutes later from the floor and raised himself on the bed, sitting cross-legged next to his sister and bumping her arm to make her stop laughing. Scorpius felt Albus shifting upwards and followed the other boy's movement so they were standing more comfortable, Al's arm circling his waist. When she raised and saw them, Rose chuckled and rolled her eyes and Hugo just caught a darker shade of red in his cheeks -if that was even possible- besides the one he already had from his fit of laughter.

`It would be really unfortunate for your dad to enter right now, wouldn't it?` asked sarcastically Rose and leaned back on her hands.

`As funny as always,` laughed Scorpius and mockingly kissed Albus' head, glaring towards Rose who just popped her lips. `I bet my dad is having an awesome time downstairs and nothing unfortunate happened until now to him or someone else,` 

A series of unfortunate events was the most fitting description of this evening.

Draco's hand tightened around his second wine glass before raising his glare, smiling reluctantly towards the Trio who seemed to have the time of their lives, laughing and talking like they haven't probably met just yesterday. Gryffindors. Always so sociable. Draco wasn't like them and he never really wanted to be, thank you very much. He mostly preferred his usually silent Christmas Eves standing alone in his drawing room, in his always so comfortable armchair with white patterns, listening to both Muggle and Wizard Christmas Carols -though he will never mention the Muggle ones no matter what- at his father's dusty gramophone that somehow still magically worked until midnight when he would spare another sad thought about Astoria before silently going to his room and sleep until morning. 

Here, he was forced to, Merlin forbid, socialize with the Gryffindors and the all-smiles Scarhead himself when they weren't forgetting he was there or ignoring his gloominess. In this mean-time, his mind was free to float around different thoughts and at one moment, his eyes lingered a bit more on Potter and surprised himself by actually liking the warmth his laughter was spreading through the room and around the table. 

He quickly shook himself out of that kind of thinking.

Maybe he had a little too much wine. 

His salvation, if you could call it this, came in the form of an avalanche of red hair and thrilled shouts of `Dad!` before Potter was having his arms full of a girl slightly shorter than Draco's son with shoulder length ginger hair and brown eyes, with her mother trailing after her. Ginevra Weasley was glaring adoringly at the pair and Draco tensed and shot a court nod over his shoulder, turning his eyes towards Potter and his daughter. The man raised from his squat with his daughter clinging around his neck and Draco felt hot prickling behind his eyes at the sight, but he never showed it normally and he had lesser reasons to do it here so he turned his head to the other side of the table, horrified to find both Granger and Weasley shooting glances towards him. Draco cleared his throat and had more wine. 

`Hello, Lily! You've grown so much since I saw you last time,` Potter said, and Draco could almost feel the smile in his voice. 

`You saw me three days ago when we went to buy gifts from Diagon Alley, dad!` said Lily Luna and Potter left her down, from what Draco could tell with his head turned.

`It doesn't matter,` laughed Potter. `Hi, Ginny, I'm so happy to see you,` said the man and went to hug her but Draco kept his determined glance in his wine glass before a voice startled him. 

`'Evening Mister Malfoy,` Draco’s head snapped to the side and he saw the ginger girl shyly smiling to him. 

`Hello,` he simply said, nodding, and returned her smile how genuinely he could at the moment. Behind his chair, Potter and the Weaselette were exchanging pleasantries and proceeded whispering furiously for a few seconds before Ginevra approached the table and hugged by turn both Granger and her brother. She turned to Draco and the grin spread on her face faded a little and turned into a kind smile, the woman stretching her hand across the table. Draco raised from the chair he seemed to be stuck in and grasped her hand. 

`It's good to see you, Malfoy,` she said before pulling back her arm and sitting next to Potter at the other end of the table. Draco was the only one on his side and he couldn't say he was disturbed by this. Actually, he was very happy about it. 

`Nice to see you too, Ginevra,` answered Draco and sat back in his chair. After a few moment, conversation started around the table like it was never interrupted and Potter's girl seemed to disappear upstairs, probably in Albus Severus' room. Draco continued to lurk in his chair, speaking only when asked. 

The grandfather clock from the room announced eight o'clock before a set of footsteps sounded from the stairs and his son, Albus Severus, the Granger-Weasleys kids and Lily Luna entered the room. They all greeted Ginevra with smiles and hugs and then took their seats at the table. Scorpius sat next to Draco, Potter's boy next to him, with Granger's girl and boy next, Lily Luna on the other side by her mother. Draco was facing Weasley who was  standing next to Granger, Potter and Ginevra coming next.

 After the kids were settled, conversation resumed once more before a popping like sound interrupted it and an old house elf appeared next to Draco's chair. 

`Oh, a descendant from the Black house. You must be Mistress Narcissa's son, Master Malfoy. Kreacher is delighted to meet you, Sir,` said the house elf and bowed, his nose almost touching the floor.

`Yes, thank you, er- Kreacher,` answered Draco and nodded once, feeling Scorpius's encouraging tap on his knee, and turned to find him smiling.

`Now, if you are ready, Master Potter, Kreacher will fetch dinner,` said the house elf once more, waiting for Potter's response.

`Thank you Kreacher,` smiled Potter and Kreacher snapped his fingers, a bunch of plates appearing in front of them. There was turkey, some salad, a bowl of pastas, along with a basket of bread and some other stuff Draco didn't bothered thinking about. He quickly filled his plate and in the first minutes, everyone was silently eating, before the conversation gravitated towards the subject of Potter's job and Draco found himself interested. 

`How is the work, Harry?` asked Weasley and took another bite of his turkey drumstick.

`Brilliant! The classes in the last week were much more calmer since it was just before Christmas hols and McGonagall let me get the kids on a flight around the lake and through Hogsmeade. The Gryffindor Quidditch team had a match against Ravenclaw and they are close to winning the Cup if they will win against Slytherin after the holidays,` 

`They will win! It would be, what... The sixth year in a row? Those Slytherin wouldn't know what it hit them- hmpf,` Weasley ended and pursed his lips at the sight of Draco's glaring. He might not be at Hogwarts anymore, but he was a Slytherin and the idea of his house losing at Quidditch in favor of Gryffindor was as annoying as ever. He didn't even made a mental note to ask later about Potter's business at Hogwarts but Draco's first thought was, however,  flying instructor.

`What makes you so sure they'll lose, Weasley?` asked Draco and stabbed the meat with his fork a bit to hard. He felt Scorpius's eyes on him.

`Are you kidding? With Harry as their coach, they stand no chance. Sure, the Slytherin one is just as capable, but he isn't comparing with our Harry,` he said and reached behind his wife to clap Potter on the back of his shoulder. Granger huffed and rolled her eyes, reaching for another slice of bread. Draco found himself wanting to protest at Weasley's statement but he hadn't been at a Slytherin-Gryffindor match since Scorpius's first year when even there he watched the team lose against the Gryffindors. Potter's other son was in the team, if Draco recalled well. 

`We'll see about that, Weasley,` was his only answer and watched as a sly smirked crossed Potter's face.

`Dare to bet, Malfoy?` he asked and tucked a raven strand behind his year, leaning on the table on his forearms, his glare pinning Draco to the spot. The blonde's heart skipped a beat. 

`I wouldn't do that if I were you, Father,` he heard Scorpius's voice next to him. `You heard what Ron said, they haven't lost a match in six years,`

`Yeah, Mister Malfoy,` he heard Potter's son warn as well. Draco gulped. A rational part of his brain was screaming that the best variant was to back off, but, wasn't he a Malfoy? He wasn't going to let Potter have his satisfaction, so he shrugged and leaned on his forearms as well, measuring Potter with his sight and slightly biting his lip, an action that raised a memory from his third year when he challenged Potter in almost the same way. He still had his two inches over the man and he used them as best as he could. 

`The wager, Potter?` he asked, spatting Scarhead's name, just as he did in the good old Hogwarts days, but with lesser venom in it. Maybe he did had too much wine. 

He watched Potter flush before he regained his composure, his green eyes flashing behind his round spectacles. Draco definitely felt all the eyes on them.

`Father!` warned Scorpius faintly, but Draco could fell the interest in his voice as he did so.

`Sunday,` burst out Potter and Draco startled. `Every Sunday after the next match you will come with me, Ron and `Mione at dinner at The Leaky Cauldron, if Gryffindor wins,` he said, leaning back in his chair and Draco widened his grey eyes and watched as a smug grin spread across Potter's traces. Draco almost missed the shocked faces of his friends and Ginevra's chuckle as he gulped once more and blinked.

`Why in the love of Merlin you would suggest something like this?` were the words that left his mouth, before stepping out of his dizziness and sitting straighter in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest.

`Do you accept the wager, or not, Malfoy?` asked Potter and waved his hand. Draco regarded the dazzled expressions of Weasley and Granger, Ginevra's twinkling eyes and his son's expecting glare, before turning to face Potter again and humming.

`I do,` he said. 

He definitely had too much wine.

The late evening found Draco on the steps of number 12 Grimmauld Place, with his coat on his shoulders.

After the disastrous dinner that ended with the group retreating into the sitting room on the first floor, Draco was finding the air hard to breathe. It was warm inside and the Carols could be heard from one of Potter's strange Muggle devices but after he saw them all sit around the hearth, in front of the fireplace laughing and grinning, he froze in the doorframe regarding the atmosphere and remembering the nights he used to spend with Astoria and a younger Scorpius before his wife passed out in Scorpius's second year at Hogwarts. His son looked happy next to Potter's boy, holding Albus Severus's hand and leaning against him, the other children spread on the rug with their parents looking adoringly towards them and speaking, Potter's laughter as bright as ever. It all looked as a beautiful family picture in which Draco hadn't seemed to find his place.

For a second, he felt hollow but deciding he wasn't having any reason for this, he left the house in favor of the cold outside. 

His mind was instantly cleared by the biting frost from outside and any idea of intoxication flew from his head, like those two glasses of wine haven't even existed. He sat down on the cold steps with his coat hanging loosely around his back, watching his breath turn into mist then dissipate in the night. His face was lightened by the lamp post on the street. Somewhere in the distance, some peaceful Muggle Carols could be heard from what seemed to be a Church and Draco closed his eyes and tried to relax against the railing. 

His ponytail was lost, as he decided it was no use to keep that somehow uncomfortable thing on the back of his neck, strands of bleach blonde hair hanging around his face and floating into the wind. He brought his knees closer to his chest and strengthened the warming charm he remembered casting before going outside, in hope of not catching any frostbites. 

Draco was very sure that his sight was very depressing, just like the insides of The Manor, but it was the only moment of the night when he actually felt peaceful. 

Well, until the door opened, however. 

Draco was anyways too calm to move so he focused on the Carols and ignored whoever dared to disturb his serenity.  

`Bloody hell, Malfoy,` he heard Potter's voice. Of course it was Potter. 

It was always Potter.

`It's freezing outside, come in,` he demanded, a faint worry in his voice as he said so. He squinted next to Draco and looked the blonde in the face.

`Why did you do it?`was the only thing Draco asked, before opening his eyes and glaring in the distance. 

`Did what?` 

`Oh, don't play the oblivious with me, Potter,` said Draco and turned his eyes to the Scarhead. As he did so, he saw Potter flush and sit on the steps next to him, covered in an ugly knitted blanket that seemed warm enough, pass the sight of it.

`Well, I don't actually know,` Potter laughed and shuddered, snowflakes beginning to accumulate on his raven locks. Draco waved his hand and cast a wordless and wandless spell on the other man, trying to restrain his eye-roll. Potter visibly relaxed and his skin got a nice- wait, no nice. Draco didn't mean nice. A... normal shade of red. That's exactly what Draco meant.

`Thanks,` he mumbled and Draco nodded, closing his eyes. 

`Look, Malfoy-`

`Shush!` Draco snapped and struggled to catch the sound of Carols once more. When he did so, he only opened his eyes to find Potter's gaze on him, a strange warmth in his eyes, before Draco glared towards him and he reluctantly returned at inspecting his shoes which Draco saw, were a pair of those funny dragon slippers he saw in Diagon Alley a few days ago when he went to buy Scorpius a Christmas gift. He snorted and Potter turned to him, his eyes wide. 

`I haven't bought them for myself, if you want to know! They were a gift from Neville,` Potter sounded amused but offended in the same time. `He think he is funny,`

`Not as funny as you wearing them,` Draco stated and laughed for the first time in that evening at Potter's offended expression. The man seemed startled like he never heard one laugh and surely shook his head, smacking Draco on his arm and shoving him closer to the railing.

`That's what one does with gifts, Malfoy. He uses them!` 

`Of course,` The atmosphere changed into a much more warmer one and Draco could almost forget Potter was there until he spoke again.

`Listen, I know it was stupid, you don't have to come if you don't want to. But surely Ron and Hermione won't mind and neither would I. It is however the only time I can leave from Hogwarts during the week, let away Hogsmeade trips with classes and I would like if you would come along. It must be awful to stay alone in that whole Manor all by your own after what happened with your wife and I thought-`

`Merlin, Potter, do you ever stop talking?` asked Draco exasperated and brought the coat closer to his body. `A wager is a wager, even if I don't see why you are so sure Slytherin will lose, and if I agreed that means I have to come, to my great despair,` he said the last part more silently. 

`Brilliant,` Potter said, pausing. `Why are you here?` he asked and turned to Draco. 

He sighed.

`It's different. Everything is so different to what I've been used to. This kind of Christmas Eve is strange and unusual, besides, you lot seem to be far better without my constant gloomy presence,` he ended and dryly laughed. 

`Now you're just being ridiculous,` Potter said and shook his head. `If your gloomy presence was that disturbing, I would have not invited you here in the first place,`

`You didn't invite me here, Potter,` stated Draco. `Not in person anyways,`

`Well, since... Astoria passed away, you locked yourself in that awful hell of a Manor that it seemed the only way to get to you was through your son,`

`You haven't tried so much either,` said Draco and saw Potter's cheeks going a shade of scarlet, before he fell into complete silence.

A few minutes passed like this. With Draco carelessly leaning against the railing with his hair blown by the wind, casting glances towards Potter who seemed to enjoy silence just as much, with his bun covered in snow and glowing by the light of the lamp post. In the distance, Carol of the Bells could be heard from the Church Draco couldn't spot in the dark, no one daring to cross the paved streets in the Christmas Eve's frost. Potter finally sighed and raised.

`Come on, Malfoy, Scorpius will wonder where you are,` 

`Isn't he a bit busy with Albus Severus's mouth to mind me?` Draco sarcastically asked but raised from the stairs as well. Potter was looking at him, his head slightly raised, and Draco flushed tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, before deciding to tie back his ponytail, just in case. His hands went to the back of his head before he saw the widening in Potter's eyes at what he was about to do and felt a hand grasp his wrist, releasing it just as fast. 

`No, leave it,` Potter said. `No one will notice. Plus, it-looks, erm- just fine like this,` Scarhead ended and scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish grin on his face. Draco froze mid air before letting his hands fall around his body and tuck the hair tie in his waist-coat's pocket. Draco huffed.

`Why, Potter,` he smirked. `Can't resist my charm?` 

`Fuck off,` Potter said and shoved Draco before entering number 12, casting one last glance behind to make sure Draco followed. 

He felt reluctantly at first. A pitch found it's way in Draco's stomach at the sight of Potter watching him and he felt his hands going even colder than possible but at the sound of Scorpius's voice shouting his name he decided maybe things weren't so bad after all. He will face the weirdness of this situation later, when he will contemplate at what actually happened tonight but now he realized that the time spent with his son -and even Potter, Merlin forbid- was much more important than his indecision and weird feelings. Maybe it was that wine coming all over him again, or the fluttering feeling from his gut.

`Are you coming, Malfoy?` Potter asked.

This time he went without questioning his actions. He will face the consequences later.