Author's Note: Written for Arty. I hope you like it, love. :)

Many thanks to Liza and Web for their suggestions and betaing.

Deepest Desires

1,742 words

"Dad, can I ask you a question?"

Draco lowered his newspaper, giving Scorpius his undivided attention. It wasn't often that the fourteen-year-old approached him for help these days. In fact lately they barely spoke at all.

"Of course. Sit."

The teen hovered by the empty chair across from his father but didn't fill it.

"How do I get a girl to like me?"

Draco choked on his tea. "A girl? Do you … like someone?"

Scorpius' face reddened. "I dunno. I was just wondering. How did you get Mum to like you?"

His mind whirling, Draco looked to the portrait of his late wife for inspiration. Women had never been his strong suit. For years he had gotten by on looks and forced charm. Astoria had been the one to make the first move, to break down his walls and see the real Draco. He had to hope Scorpius had inherited his mother's nature.

"Women are complicated creatures, son. What worked for one is sure to repulse another. Your mother in particular was in a category all her own and I doubt I could conjure any wisdom from our courtship."

Scorpius' face fell. Draco struggled to think of anything that could help the boy.

"Perhaps one of your friends could give you some advice. No doubt women today are different than they were in my day anyhow. That Zabini boy will surely have a story or two to tell."

Draco frowned, watching his son retreat to his room. Girl talk. He was getting into dangerous territory.

:-:

It wasn't often Draco found himself caught offguard in his own home, and yet he couldn't help but feel as though he had missed something important when he found Scorpius trudging into the house with hair as bright as flames.

"What in the name of Merlin happened to your head?" he demanded, praying his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"I did as you said and got advice about girls." Scorpius slumped into a chair by the fireplace. "It didn't go well."

"You didn't ask that fool Flint, did you?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I went to Teddy."

"Teddy?"

"He's Rose's cousin … well, sort of."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "You did this to impress Rose Weasley?" Scorpius lowered his eyes. "And this boy told you that dying your hair would do it?"

"Kind of."

Draco growled under his breath and pulled out his wand. "Finite Incantatem."

"It won't work," Scorpius said, trying to keep a straight face. "The dye Teddy bought will last for a week. Spells don't work on it."

"That's it, I'm going to speak to this boy's father."

Scorpius hesitated but Draco wasn't in the mood for games. "I want his name now."

"Harry Potter, I guess."

"Potter." Just the mention of the man did something to him. It used to be that the name would set his blood boiling, but now it was something different, his stomach twisting.

"Dad? Are you alright?"

Draco stored the mysterious feeling away to be examined later, nodding at his son. "Grab your cloak, Scorpius. We're going to pay Mr. Potter a visit."

:-:

The Potter residence was not what Draco had expected - which was to say, it was not a mansion large enough to rival the manor he himself had once resided in. In fact, the house barely looked large enough to fit one person, let alone a family. Regardless, Draco's DMLE contact was sure of the address.

"Please don't do this," Scorpius pleaded quietly, but Draco ignored him. He could hardly stand to look at his son with his absurdly bright hair. Someone would pay for this.

He knocked three times on the door and waited impatiently in the humid summer air.

It had been several months since he had last run into Harry Potter on a Ministry elevator, both too busy to bother with small talk, which was just as well. Draco had no idea what he would have said to his old rival were he not fuming over their children's foolishness.

Seeing Potter in a frilly floral apron helped to dim his anger, but he held onto the reason they were there.

"Draco," Potter greeted, surprise evident in his tone. He looked at Scorpius and smirked. "Scorpius, I like what you've done with your hair. Is there something I can help you gentlemen with?"

"Your son did this to Scorpius," Draco growled.

Confusion flickered on Potter's face for a moment before he started grinning. "You mean my godson, Teddy. He's not home right now, but you're welcome to come in and wait for him."

Potter took their cloaks and then guided them through a tiny living room to an even smaller kitchen and dining room.

"Please, have a seat," he said, motioning for the dining table. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"We're fine, thank you," Draco answered, shooting Scorpius a glare when the boy opened his mouth to protest.

Potter rushed to the stove and began stirring a pot there, quietly humming to himself.

"You know you have a wand, don't you?"

"I prefer to do some things by hand. Just because you can wave your wand to make something happen, doesn't mean it will turn out perfectly."

There was no malice to his tone and that surprised Draco more than anything.

"Mum used to cook by hand too," Scorpius muttered, low enough that only Draco could hear.

"You two are welcome to stay for dinner. We're having pasta and I've made too much."

He couldn't bring himself to think of a snarky reply to the kind offer, but he couldn't live with himself for accepting it either. He and Potter may have matured since school, but dining together was simply out of the question.

"That's very kind, but we wouldn't want to inconvenience your family."

Potter turned, smiling. "No family. It's just me here, and Teddy when he's not traveling."

"You're not married? I thought … the Weasley girl…"

"She got signed to the Harpies and we couldn't make long distance work."

Draco watched intently as Potter filled a second pot with water and placed it on the stove, occasionally stirring the first. His stomach twisted again, as it had earlier. He could figure out what it was about the other man that had him reacting this way. But then their eyes met briefly and Draco could swear he felt his heart stop for just a moment.

This feeling he remembered, he'd had it twice before. Once on the eve of his wedding, when he had been doubting his decision and Astoria had sensed his feelings and come to him, reassuring him that everything would turn out alright.

But the first time he felt it, he'd been no older than thirteen, celebrating in the changing room after winning a Quidditch game. He'd caught sight of Julian Reynolds shirtless and his heart had stopped. He swore he would forget it, never bring it up, never look at another man the same way. Surely his father would never understand.

And yet here he was realizing for the first time how handsome Harry Potter was - not that it made any difference. He was a man, and Draco's rival no less. Former rival, he quickly reminded himself, but it didn't help the bigger issue. He couldn't be giving in to such silly whims.

He was seconds away from giving up and forgetting the whole mess of Scorpius' hair, and that was the exact moment a blue-haired young man walked through the door, hand tightly grasped by a freckled blonde.

"Uncle Harry, Vic and I-" he stopped, taking notice of Draco and Scorpius sitting at his dining table. He let go of the blonde's hand and cautiously stepped forward. "Mr. Malfoy… I take it you've come to see me?"

From the corner of his eye, Draco could see Harry pause in his cooking to watch them. He just wanted to go home and hide but he couldn't raise suspicions. He stood up, puffing out his chest in an attempt to appear more intimidating even though the boy was at least a foot taller.

"Young man, would you care to explain what's happened to my son's hair?"

"I dyed it, sir. He asked me to, said you agreed to it."

"I did no such thing."

Scorpius came between them. "You told me to go to someone else for advice and do what they said. Teddy said dying my hair would help me win over Rose, so-"

"No, Scor, I said that Vicky liked the fact that I can change my hair." To demonstrate, Teddy turned his hair from electric blue to violet and back again while his apparent girlfriend giggled at his side. "I didn't say it would work on Rose. But I did tell you green would suit you better."

Draco bristled, glaring at his son. "You could have chosen green instead of that hideous red?"

Chuckling, Harry came around the counter and rested a hand on Teddy's shoulder. "Alright, let's settle this. Teddy, please return Scorpius' hair back to its original color."

"I can't. I got the dye from Uncle George's shop. It'll last a whole week and there's no way to undo it."

Draco ran a hand through his thinning hair in frustration. "Well, I suppose there's no point in us hanging around then. Come, Scorpius." They got as far as the living room before Draco thought to turn around. "Uh, thank you for your hospitality, Potter."

"It was no trouble."

Harry followed them to the door, fetching their cloaks. "You know, I meant what I said earlier, you're welcome to stay for dinner."

Draco shook his head immediately. "No, no, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why not? The boys seem to get along just fine. And you and I … well, I think we're both mature enough to sit through a meal without bickering, don't you?"

Draco's mouth went dry. A voice in his head screamed yes and even Scorpius was looking at him expectantly, but he just couldn't give in to temptation … could he?

"Perhaps another time. Thank you."

"I'll hold you to that," Harry insisted. "Have a good night, Draco."

No doubt Harry was still just as stubborn as he'd been in school. Draco could only imagine the pestering he'd receive in the coming weeks were they to run into each other at the Ministry. He found himself smiling at the thought.

"Goodnight."