Written for Divergent Competition – Prompt: Amity (1):"Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them."

Boot Camps: Book-Quotes – Prompt21:Without suffering, there'd be no compassion. – A Walk to Remember; Character Diversity – Prompt15: Duplicate; Movie Quote – Prompt12: I'll be back;

Classic Disney Movie Challenge - 1) Maleficent: Write about love between friends or family

(Not betaed, forgive any mistakes!)

Empathy

Draco Malfoy had always been a hard hearted man; that was what his son thought of him. Scorpius had never seen any side of his father which contradicted his thoughts. The elder Malfoy seldom showed any feelings, and even when he did – it was only for a moment. Before he had started Hogwarts, he had believed that everyone was like his father. His parents weren't the best at portraying feelings, though his mother was kind and loving, she hadn't exactly been very different from Draco. That was why it came as a shock when he saw other families, how his friends mingled so easily with their parents, and how their parents didn't mind showing their affection. That was when Scorpius realized how wrong his childhood had been.

All along Scorpius had learnt to hide his thoughts and remain stoic, he had idolized his father despite the little interaction he had with him. And he hated himself for being so naïve. At the tender age of eleven, he had never felt so out of the world. The fact the other students had been wary of him and been very mean to him because of the name he carried wasn't much help either. The only person who didn't seem to mind his presence was Albus Potter; he had never thought he would befriend Harry Potter's son but he had. For some reason Albus seemed to like him too and considered him as a friend – that made things easier for him slightly. It was through Albus that Scorpius really learnt how different his father was. All the idolization left him, and he began to grow indifferent and hide the hurt. It wasn't as if Draco really cared for him, right?

The only time Scorpius ever really saw Draco affectionate was when he spoke to his mother, Astoria. And that settled his disturbed thoughts; at least the man wasn't completely cold. Sometimes even Scorpius got to be the center of his father's attention – only when they were discussing about school though, his studies and quidditch. But Scorpius took it anyway. Anything to make his father interested in him.

Scorpius had assumed that he knew his father very well and there was nothing more to him than his indifference. And then his mother had fallen sick. It was life threatening, they had been told. Scorpius had felt the floor fall from under his feet. It had been horrible to know that his mother wouldn't be a part of his life much longer. He had turned to Draco for comfort, after all they shared the pain. But Draco had been nothing but angry. His eyes had blazed with fire that Scorpius had never seen in his eyes. That was the last time Scorpius had seen any emotion from him.

After Astoria's death, the only link holding Draco and Scorpius seemed to break. During Scorpius' vacation, they lived in the same house, and yet failed to communicate. Astoria had taken the last of their relationship with her. He had never hated his father as much as he learnt to in those few weeks.

Soon Scorpius graduated, he left the manor and moved in with his best mate. Over the years, he turned into a curse breaker at Gringotts, learnt to mingle with Rose Weasley without any arguments and eventually fell in love with her. He was finally having the time of his life and refused to acknowledge the part of him that wished Draco would also be a part of his happiness.

A couple more years passed, he got married, Draco sent his congratulations through a letter and Scorpius felt guilty that he hadn't invited him. But in a way he was relieved. He didn't know what he would have said if his father had shown up. And there was too much bad blood between their families. And so that time had passed.

Scorpius never really felt the same as Draco and thought that he never would. That was until something happened – Rose fell sick, the same sickness that had claimed his mother. Old memories began to rise up, but Scorpius wasn't the kid who needed comfort. He had unknowingly turned into his father. Because he felt nothing but anger. And he couldn't not feel angry. He blamed the illness for all the worry it was causing. He blamed his wife for not detecting the symptoms sooner. He wasn't angry at her but at the pain she was going through. He just cared too much. It was in this moment that Scorpius really understood what kind of a man Draco was. He couldn't show his feelings, there were certain things in the past that had changed him and there was nothing which Scorpius could do to change that. But his father was definitely not the man who didn't care.

The night Rose died in her sleep, Scorpius visited his father. He had simply stood in front of Draco, feeling empty. This was the last place that had been on his mind, and he could have gone anywhere else. But the memories of Rose and him in their happy and sad moments was too much to handle. The Malfoy Manor was the only place that held no memories of her.

Draco had simply stared back, but astonishingly without surprise. Maybe the news of his daughter-in-law's death had reached him? Or maybe he just didn't care. Scorpius hadn't asked. When no conversation passed between them after few minutes, Scorpius turned to leave. He realized that coming back to his first home was a mistake – what did he imagine? That he would somehow be comforted here?

But Draco did something which surprised him. He asked him to stop, and when Scorpius turned, he (Draco) pulled him into his arms. Scorpius had felt nothing but shock for the first few seconds, and then he broke. He began to cry, and his father didn't scoff at his outburst. In that moment, Scorpius knew that he wouldn't wish to be anywhere else but with his father. In the end, he was the only one who actually knew him. Despite all the refusal and the attempts to change himself, Scorpius hadn't really changed. He was his father in looks and deepest nature. And he knew that no one else in the world would understand what he felt other than Draco Malfoy.

For the first time in a very long while, Scorpius was grateful for Draco's presence.

AN: This is a product of me crying over The Fault In Our Stars and being sick with cough and headache. I hope it didn't feel too unrelated and you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you thought of it. : )