Draco Malfoy had faced Aurors, Death Eaters, the second most powerful wizard of his lifetime, crazy magical creatures, his parents, and a certifiably insane ex-wife. While he had not always triumphed over these horrors, he was rarely afraid. So really, there was no reason at all for him to be terrified right now. Comparatively speaking, his ancient boss was very tame. She was a little old lady, for goodness' sake! He sighed despondently, shifting in his seat. This was taking so long. If he wasn't so afraid for what lay ahead, he would be afraid for his son. The boy was only three, after all, and he'd already been in there for twenty minutes. At least McGonagall wasn't yelling.

He glanced nervously at his surroundings. This sitting room had been a recent addition, since he had left. It was a shame, really. He hadn't been particularly fond of Dumbledore, but the man certainly had a way of making people trust him. Once McGonagall had taken over, parents barged in on a regular basis to complain of some injustice that had happened to their precious little brat. Draco thought it was silly. Dumbledore was very fair, but if at all possible he thought that McGonagall was even more so. Maybe because she had to put up with more pressure. Whatever the case, the comfy waiting room was usually full of angry parents, who she dealt with patiently. Draco would have sent them packing, if he had to deal with them.

Surprisingly, though, he was quite alone today. Possibly because it was a beautiful Saturday in the middle of summer, but he couldn't be sure. He sighed softly. In spite of his fear, he was beginning to get restless. His eyes scanned the room, looking for something to amuse him. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the corner of a magazine poking from under a couch cushion. He knew that arm, that hand. They belonged to a certain dark-haired wizard that put him in this mess to begin with, a wizard that he would have to have a strict talking-to when this was all over. "If I survive it," he thought pessimistically. He knew he was overreacting, but that only made him more peeved.

After approximately three seconds of self-control, he grabbed the magazine and skimmed the front cover until he found the proper page numbers. Flipping to it, he chastised himself. It simply wouldn't do to feed this ridiculous obsession. Ever since details about the entire Last Battle situation, and his role in it, had come to light, Draco had simply become fascinated by the man he once thought he know. The more he learned, the more he realised how little he understood. The headline splashed across the page luridly, making Draco wince. Honestly, the font was simply garish. The words, however, made up for the assault on his eyes.

HARRY POTTER – FIVE YEARS LATER

Harry Potter, the saviour of the wizarding world, speaks exclusively with our consultant about his life, career, and plans to adopt.

"Adopt?" Draco said outloud, "Why would he want to do that?" He loved Scorpius very much, but being a single father was extremely difficult, and he didn't think that he would ever have gone into it intentionally. Now, of course, he couldn't imagine life without his son, but before his birth he was very apprehensive. He quickly skimmed to the part about Potter's adoption, and certain quotes jumped out at him.

"Rather famously, of course, I am an orphan myself, and as such I am very aware of the stigma against having no parents, and the heartache of being raised by people who do not want you. Although I will be doing it alone, I know that I will be able to provide for this child what it needs most – love and a home."

"The adoption process is very long and complex, and even being Harry Potter does not get me an easier path [laughs]. However, the end is near, as I've been going through the process for more than a year now. The estimate is about two weeks until I get my little baby. I don't mind if it's a boy or a girl, but I've been told that more girls get put up for adoption, so that's what I'm anticipating. I'm very excited!"

"To be totally honest, I haven't thought much about a name. I'll only get to name her if she's a newborn or very very young, because most orphaned children already have names. As such, I haven't been worrying about it. If anyone out there has any suggestions for names, just owl me! [laughs]"

Draco laughed to himself, knowing just how much people would love to be part of the naming process of the famous Harry Potter's baby. He anticipated Potter's house to be overflowing with mail in the next little while. The magazine's distraction had almost made him forget about his nervousness, but it returned when McGonagall opened the door to her office. He jumped up. "Professor! Where is Scorpius? I'm very sorry about everything, but I can explain."

Professor McGonagall looked at the young man sadly. His name had been cleared years earlier, largely thanks to Mr Potter, and most teachers at Hogwarts treated him with respect and friendliness. The students, with the exception of very few sixth and seventh years, were too young to be aware of all the names associated with the Death Eaters. The only person, now, who felt that Draco had to prove anything was the poor man himself. He had distanced himself from his parents, learned humility, and become the well-liked Potions Master. He was clearly a changed man, and his love for his son demonstrated it perfectly. Her every interaction with him, however, was filled with his own fear and thirst to prove himself.

"Professor Malfoy, please come in. I sent Scorpius down with Professor Longbottom, as he happened to be nearby and I know how much your son loves looking at the plants in the Herbology classrooms. Besides, I wanted to talk with you privately. Have a seat. Would you like some tea?"

Draco sat nervously. He refused the tea, but only because his hands were shaking. Was this incident the last straw? Would he or his son be kicked out? If Scorpius could not stay, he would not either. "Please, Professor, I can explain. I take full responsibility."

"Draco," she began. At the use of his given name, he stopped speaking. "You know that allowing your son to live here in the castle at such a young age was a controversial decision. I had a lot of people question it, especially other teachers. It has never been done before. And, as much as I do not like to admit it, a lot of the arguments had to do with who you are."

Draco flinched visibly. His position here was precarious. Although he had gotten off to a rocky start with some of the professors, particularly those that taught him during his time at Hogwarts, things had settled down well since, and all were friendly to him. In spite of this, his panic was always hovering at the back of his mind, especially as it related to his son. His greatest fear was that his innocent three-year old would be punished for Draco's past.

McGonagall continued, "I ignored everyone after I made my decision. I will admit that I had misgivings when I received your owl asking for an interview, but I knew that you deserved a chance to prove yourself. And you did, Draco. I knew from the moment that you shook my hand that you were no longer the spoiled, arrogant boy that you were during your school years. You had lived a little since then, and it made you a better person. At that moment I knew that I would give you the job, no matter what it entailed. So I made accommodations for your infant son. And it was the best decision I have ever made."

Hearing the somewhat tearful smile in her voice, Draco lifted his head to look at her. The assumptions of McGonagall and his other colleagues confirmed his fears, and he was having a difficult time hearing them spoken. Looking at her face, though, he recognised that she really did like and respect him. "You may not realise this, but I have always loved and wanted children. I like the students, Draco, but having Scorpius here for the last three years has been amazingly beneficial and therapeutic for myself and many of the teachers. In the wake of the war, we had grown bitter and sad. We had all lost so much. He reminded us of the beauty of life."

Draco was humbled. He felt that way about the child, of course, but he never understood the impact he had on others. "But Professor... he does cause trouble."

McGonagall laughed, a full belly laugh that sounded unused. "Merlin, Draco, his shenanigans are hilarious! Dive-bombing the visiting Ministry officials on a toy broom! I thought that they were going to die of fright, and then they became indignant. 'Well I never!' 'What a child!' 'How dare he!' I've never enjoyed a meeting with them quite so much. And then to blame it all on Harry Potter!" She laughed again.

Draco looked at her in confusion, but then began chuckling too. "In all fairness, he is the one who has gotten him interested in flying. Poor Scorpius looks up to him so much, but doesn't realise how much trouble he got into in school."

McGonagall smiled at him. "I didn't punish him, we just had a good talk about the time and place to do things. He was very quick to apologise to the officials, too. He's a good boy."

After several more minutes of talking, Draco headed down to the greenhouses to collect his son, feeling much lighter. At the end of their meeting, McGonagall had asked him to go visit Potter and ask him a favour. Since the war, they had been cordial, and Draco respected him very much, but he wouldn't say he had much sway over the man. Though perhaps she had sent him because he was the only one at the school under the age of fifty and over the age of seventeen.

Arriving at the greenhouses, he greeted Neville kindly and picked up his excited son. He felt, at least for the moment, very content. He smiled fondly as he listened to Scorpius' garbled explanation of a certain kind of lily. His son, at least, felt perfectly at home here.