Originally written for slashedsilver's prompt at kink-n-squick on livejournal (check mine linked on my profile for more details): The appeal of Scorpius is that he is so young. It was never finished for that so finished now with her permission.


"Now is everybody all packed? Scorpius, did your mother check to make sure that you have everything that you need?"

Harry tries for a smile, grabbing Ginny around the waist and pulling her in close, stopping her frantic back and forth through the house. "When Asteria dropped him off, she promised that she had made sure he packed everything you listed. You've checked our kids' bags at least six times. The Portkey leaves in-" Harry stops to check his watch, noticing that all four of the kids have slinked away while he has Ginny stopped. He wishes he could do the same but he knows that he should try to calm her down for them. He wants this vacation to be a success. "thirty-two minutes. Finish making lunch and then we have everything."

Pursing her lips, Ginny narrows her eyes as she looks at him and he sees the way that the vacation is going to go. It's not looking to be a success so far. "This is our first vacation in a long time. I just want to make sure that everything is perfect," she says, her voice carefully controlled but he can hear the tension underneath. It's constantly Ginny's problem, trying to make things perfect in a way that they just threaten not to be. It's part of why they're still together even though they fight more than anything else.

Harry tries not to sigh, the almost smile fading quickly as he lets go of Ginny and watching as she goes back to being frantic, back and forth, packing and unpacking. It's infuriating really and threatens to ruin the vacation before it's even started for Harry. She's right. It's the first vacation that they've had since Lily was three and he just wants them to enjoy themselves. It's why they had given in to Albus' request that his best friend, Scorpius, come along and invited Lily and James to choose a friend. They'd declined, saying that they wanted to just spend time as a family. Harry had thought that was a blessing considering he doesn't want to be stuck with just Ginny for company as horrible as that sounds.

It's tense as they make sure that they have all their luggage. Harry finishes their lunch when he sees that Ginny isn't going to and he calls for everybody. When it's time, he glances around, everybody holding onto their luggage with one hand as Harry holds out the Portkey in the middle of them and they all reach forward to touch it. "You all know how to contact us if you get lost, right?" Harry asks, trying to look at his watch while making sure that he's got a hold of his luggage, they all have their luggage and all of them are touching the Portkey, including himself.

There's a chorus of yes's and Harry counts down. At the last second, Ginny gasps as if she's forgotten something but she fortunately doesn't pull her finger away and it's a typical journey. Their three children fall as they land, Harry, Ginny and Scorpius stepping gracefully onto the ground. Harry and Ginny use Portkeys often for work but Harry wonders where Scorpius learned the skill that is really only built with practice. Ginny immediately helps the children and Harry looks up at the house that they've rented for the week that they're going to spend in the middle of nowhere for Christmas.

"It's nice," Scorpius says, standing next to him as Ginny brushes some snow off of Albus' back. They've landed in the front lawn and Harry looks up at the house, nodding. It is very nice although it's freezing out with a few inches of snow already in the yard. "It'll be nice to be somewhere with so much snow for Christmas."

"It is. There's already plenty of snow and it's supposed to snow even more tonight," Harry answers as he pulls the key out of his pocket and lets Lily slip her hand into his. He'd been surprised when Albus had begged for Scorpius to come, mostly because he knew that as much as he could say about Draco and Asteria, they aren't bad parents. Harry would've thought that they would've wanted to spend Christmas with their son. Scorpius had said that he preferred to come with the Potters, though, and his parents had taken the chance to have their own Christmas holiday.

Scorpius is on one side of him, Lily on the other as they walk into the house. Harry had seen a few pictures but it's even better than he had expected. It's like a breath of fresh air from his home. There's none of the clutter that they can never quite get cleaned up. The furniture is clean and the whole place is airy, bright. It almost reminds him of the Dursley's but it feels more like it could be home, paintings and plants and other decorations around that the Dursley's would never allow.

James whistles as he steps inside, looking around at the entryway, skidding his toe along the stone floor. "Wow. This is nice. And didn't you say they have a hot tub and a pool in the back?"

When Harry nods, all the kids are gone immediately, bags dropped right in front of the door and Harry laughs, shaking his head. Seeing that Ginny doesn't look as amused, he reaches out to grab her wrist. "Come on, Gin. They're excited. Let's take their stuff up to the bedroom and let them enjoy themselves."

Ginny doesn't exactly look thrilled about it but Harry isn't surprised. They've talked a lot in their years together and he understands how much she dislikes mess. She's big on clutter, hoarding and saving things but it's all packed away. She can't stand having tons of people's things around. It came from being in such a large family, or so she'd said and so he understands even if it drives him crazy. "Alright, fine."

Harry smiles tightly, hoping that she can't see how the smile doesn't meet his eyes. Although he knows how horrible it is, he just wants to spend most of his time away from his wife. He loves her, honestly he does, but he can't stand it. He can't stand the constant stress. And that's what Ginny has turned into, constant stress. He doesn't want his vacation to be like that.

Harry gives Lily a short kiss as Ginny finally takes her up to bed. The fire is still going in the fireplace and Harry and Scorpius are finishing their last game of chess. James had gone to bed hours ago, Harry is pretty sure he has a girlfriend that he's been writing to, and Albus had gone shortly after, bored when he'd seen that Harry and Scorpius weren't going to be done anytime soon. "You're a good match. Does your father play with you a lot?" Harry asks as he moves his rook across the board.

"Yes. Dad and Mother and I all play a lot. Mum was really proud when I was sorted into Ravenclaw. That's the house she was in, you know," Scorpius says conversationally, considering the chess board before moving his queen.

Groaning at Scorpius' move, Harry takes a minute to tap his chin and look at it. He's been playing chess with his kids since they were old enough to learn the rules but Scorpius is twenty times better than any of them. He likes it, actually, likes the challenge that Scorpius represents. Ginny's never played chess with him and Ron never has time anymore. It seems like he's always having to play without using his full skill to not win immediately.

"Well I'm sure that Albus is thrilled that you were sorted there so you guys were able to become friends," Harry says, barely paying attention to the conversation as he concentrates on the game. He finally decides on moving a knight and hopes that Scorpius does what he thinks he's going to do.

Scorpius doesn't, moving his rook across the board. "Check. I'm glad that me and Al became friends too. He's really great. He's really supportive of me and he seems to really like my idea of becoming an Auror."

Harry looks at the board before Scorpius' words catch up to him and he looks up at him instead, momentarily distracted from the game. "You're planning on becoming an Auror?"

"I'm thinking about it," Scorpius says with a shrug, sliding his finger along the side of the chess board, avoiding Harry's eyes. "I mean, I'm only 15. I don't really know what I'm going to end up doing with my life but I've considered it. Why? You don't think I can?"

There's a certain amount of bitterness in Scorpius' tone but more than that, and what Harry can see in Scorpius' eyes when he looks up, is a fierce determination. Scorpius expects something from Harry, expects something from the world Harry suspects. It has to be his last name, his family and Harry immediately reaches across the board, resting a hand on top of Scorpius' before he even thinks about the movement. "I think it's a brilliant idea, Scorpius."

Scorpius looks hesitant for a moment, unsure whether Harry really means it or not before he smiles. "Well good because I do too. I want to help people. The world is a good place in general but then there are people who don't deserve to be here," he responds. "I want to help keep the world such a beautiful place."

They sit in silence for a moment before Harry realizes what he's doing and he quickly pulls his hand back, moving a chess piece without looking.

Grinning, Scorpius moves his quickly. "Checkmate."

Harry looks down, shocked that Scorpius has managed to beat him and he shakes his head, laughing. It's actually quite a change and he enjoys it. "Good game, Scorpius. Maybe we'll play again."

"I certainly hope so."

There's something in Scorpius' voice, the way that it's low and meaningful, that makes Harry jerk his head up, looking at him carefully but Scorpius is already sweeping up his chess pieces and putting them in the bag that he keeps them in. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight."

Harry stands where he is, watching as Scorpius goes upstairs. There's something about him, about the way that his eyes had looked when he had said that he wanted to be an Auror. Something about the way that he'd said that he hoped they'd play again soon. Harry had meant chess but that hadn't been what Scorpius' tone had sounded like.

Realizing that he's still standing and staring, Harry shakes himself, putting his own chess pieces away and heading upstairs. Thoughts of Scorpius keep him up late into the night, listening to the sound of Ginny's breathing. He's thought a lot about Malfoys, about Draco and how Harry had kept him and Narcissa out of Azkaban. He's never really spared much thought for Scorpius besides the fact that he was Draco's son and Albus' best friend. Now, he really thinks about him, about his dream to be an Auror, about what the world might've already thrown at him to make him look like that about his dream of being an Auror. He doesn't understand but he can't stop thinking of Scorpius' eyes.

The three boys are laughing as they wrestle in the water, Harry sitting on a rock on the shore. Lily and Ginny had chosen not to come swimming with them and so it's turned into an all-out war. Wands were left to the side to avoid cheating but they tackle each other into the water, making waves with everything they can get their hands on. Albus had pulled James' swim trunks down and they're on the shore next to Harry, making all the boys laugh as James tries to reach them but he can't.

Harry can see how close that the three of them are. Even though Albus and Scorpius are two years younger than James, James wrestles with them, playing with them as if they're equals and Harry appreciates that he does that. When James was younger, he'd always considered himself above Albus and Harry's glad that they've taught him better. It prides him on his parenting skills that they've become friends with a Malfoy because he knows that the name is still essentially a dirty word in some areas of the wizarding world. Harry and Ginny had so badly not wanted their children to feel that way.

"Dad! Come in with us! You can be with James and we can have teams!" Albus calls, shivering as he pulls his body too far out of the magically warmed water. The air is chilled with snow still on the ground and Harry himself is wrapped in a warmed cloak on the shore.

Harry doesn't hesitate, setting his wand to the side, pulling off his cloak and the rest of his clothes to reveal his swim trunks underneath and slipping into the water. He's never wanted to say no to his children when they wanted to spend time with him. Albus immediately comes after him, trying to tackle him and Harry takes off. "Come and get me, little Albus!" James taunts and Albus immediately switches course.

Scorpius grins, swimming closer to Harry and there's something in that grin, the same something that was in his words the other night. The boy is only 15, Harry reminds himself. There's no way that there's what Harry thinks there is. No possible way. "I guess that leaves me to get you."

"Not if you can't catch me," Harry says playfully, his words coming out somewhat hesitant but he takes off.

From across the lake, Harry can hear his son's laughing and he glances over, not seeing Scorpius approaching. Scorpius tackles him abruptly, without much finesse, and Harry can feel Scorpius' chest pressed against his. He's still so boyish without the long, lean muscles that Harry has developed as he got older. His skin is soft, pale, unmarked whereas Harry has scars littering his tanned and freckled skin. What Harry notices most, though, as Scorpius tackles him, is the pure joy on Scorpius' face. It's the kind of joy that Harry doesn't see often anymore. It's the kind of joy that he feels only somebody so young could feel.

Harry gulps for air, letting Scorpius take him completely underwater. Scorpius is practically beaming, looking proud of himself and Harry can't resist the urge to swim forward, wrapping his arms around Scorpius' waist and pulling him further into the water. It's a game that he used to play with his son's, ones that they adored as they tried to get away from him. Harry hasn't forgotten that Scorpius isn't his son... no, he'd never forget that with Scorpius' almost silver hair and bright blue eyes but he's forgotten how it might seem. Scorpius stills in his hold and then he's pushing into Harry's arms.

Realizing how long they've been underwater, Scorpius' face is starting to turn pink from holding his breath although Harry's Auror training means that he could stay under for a lot longer, Harry pushes them both to the surface. Scorpius pushes his hair back off his forehead and Harry looks down as Scorpius bites his lip. "I got him, Al!" Scorpius yells over but the two brothers are battling too hard to notice. "I got you."

Harry draws in a breath, his lips parting because Scorpius' voice had been lower and he was right. There's lust there, in his eyes and his voice and all over it. Lust that a 15 year old boy should not be feeling for a man old enough to be his father, who went to school with his father. Harry's stomach turns as he can't look away from Scorpius' eyes, even though he knows that he should. He's analyzing, trying to be wrong but he's not. Not with the faint blush on Scorpius' cheeks. "We should... I should..."

Scorpius grins as Harry abruptly drops his arms that he'd still had wrapped around Scorpius' waist, swimming forward until their chests are touching again. "Live a little. Don't be so scared."

The words are so easy for Scorpius to say but what did he mean? Live a little? Harry can't live by keeping a boy younger than his oldest child wrapped up to his chest. Even if the water is merely warm and Scorpius had felt so hot against him. Even if Scorpius keeps looking at him in that way he does. He can't. Harry can't and so he swims away to break up the fight that's quickly turning serious between his sons. "I'm not scared," Harry calls over his shoulder because he's never know when enough is enough.

From behind him, he can hear Scorpius laughing as he breaks up Albus and James. He doesn't think he wants to know why Scorpius is laughing and he's careful to avoid his eyes for the rest of the day. It's easier that way. He can pretend that he hadn't seen that. Perhaps he had been imagining it, some far off fantasy about the younger boy. Not that that is much better (not at all) but its better if it's unreciprocated. Harry can forget about it then. He just truly wished that it was easier to forget about.