Summary: Brief looks into the relationship of Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy each year as they get on the train to return to school. Focuses on the kids, but includes cameos by the original trio and Draco as they all deal with a Potter-Malfoy friendship. Begins at the Deathly Hallows epilogue. AS/S slash. Shameless fluff.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and friends belong to the beautiful goddess JK Rowling and her publishers. I do not claim any ownership or profit. I only wish.
You Were Worth It
By LadyKatie
Year 1 - The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
Al and Rose had ended up in a compartment alone, which was fine with them, as they weren't all too keen on sharing space with James and his friends. He had been telling all sorts of horror stories about fighting trolls in the Forbidden Forest during detention and then there was the matter of the thestrals. No, little Albus and Rose were quite content to chat with each other and eat sweets the whole way to their new school.
"And then I said that I thought History of Magic would be my favorite subject, although Ancient Runes sounds just fascinating. Pity we can't take that until third year."
Of course, there were drawbacks to sitting with Hermione Granger's daughter too. Al wasn't really sure what that meant, but he had often heard his parents or Uncle Ron comment about how Rose "certainly is Hermione's daughter" when she started reciting text books.
"I just can't wait to transfigure something. Mum says that it's really boring stuff this year, but I think I may check out some extra books in order to get ahead."
Just as Al was wondering if there was a way to jump out the window to get away from her, the compartment door slid open and a pale blond boy stood, just looking in at them. By the look on her face Rose seemed to have recognized him, but Albus just looked on with curiosity.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Go ahead," Al said.
The blond sat down on the bench that Al was on, but stayed a polite distance away. Rosie looked him over appraisingly and then spoke in that know-it-all tone that made Al wish he could disown her.
"I'm Rose Weasley. And you are…?"
"Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy."
Al tried to cover up his snort with a small cough, but he was caught. Scorpius whipped his head around to him, his eyes narrowed.
"Think my name's funny, do you?"
"No," he replied seriously. "I was just thinking that it's better than my name."
Scorpius raised a thin, pale eyebrow at him. Albus gave a little nervous laugh and extended his hand.
"Albus Severus Potter."
Scorpius stared at him for several seconds, apparently contemplating whether he was serious or not. Finally he reached his own arm out and shook hands.
"So you're a Potter, huh?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well then you're Harry Potter's kid."
"Well, I guess my dad is pretty important with what he does for the Ministry and all, but so what?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "It's nothing to do with that. My father says that yours was in a big war. He says people think he's a hero."
"Your dad knows my dad?"
"They went to school together, but Father doesn't talk about him much."
"I don't think my father likes yours at all," Rose said to Scorpius. She was still watching the boy through narrowed eyes. "We saw him before I got on the train. Al, I think your dad wouldn't want you talking to him either."
"Dad never told me to stay away from anyone just because he didn't like their dad." He turned back to Scorpius. "What house do you think you'll be in?"
"I dunno. My mother and father were in Slytherin, but Father said he doesn't care where I am, so long as it isn't Hufflepuff."
Albus' eyes went wide. "You're dad was Slytherin? My brother says that's a bad house."
Scorpius scowled then. "It is not!"
"Well, my dad says that it's not too bad. But if I'm in Slytherin James will never forgive me. Our whole family is always in Gryffindor."
"I'm going to be in Gryffindor," said Rose as if that settled the matter. "My parents both were. And so were Al's."
"Father said that Gryffindors are nosey people who follow others around all the time."
Rose huffed and opened one of her school books, prepared to ignore them.
"Nevermind her," whispered Al.
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Yuck! No, she's my cousin."
Scorpius nodded. "So your father really never told you about the war he was in?"
"He said that there was a war, but he doesn't talk about it. That's how my Uncle Fred died. And Teddy's parents too."
"Who's he?"
"My cousin. Well he's not really. He's my dad's godson, but we call him our cousin."
They chatted happily all the way to Hogwarts, but when they got off the train James and his friends caught up.
"Who's this, Al?"
"This is Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius, this is my big brother, James."
James was several inches taller than both Al and Scorpius and looked down on them with a sneer. "You better not be caught hanging about with a Malfoy."
"Why not?"
"They're all liars and cowards, that's why."
"Are not!" Scorpius yelled at James. He moved forward, as if prepared to fight, but then Hagrid's voice came over the crowd, calling for the first years to follow him.
"Come on," urged Al. "He's just cranky is all."
Rose had somehow shown up next to them again. From the smug look on her face she had seen the entire exchange.
"He's not. He knows that your dad wouldn't want you around him."
Al scowled, determined that he wasn't going to let his brother or Rose boss him around. "Well then Dad should have told me himself. I don't have to listen to James anyhow."
"Do what you like, but we'll see where it gets you."
She took off toward the lake and Al looked back at Scorpius who had hesitated.
"I guess I should go so you don't get in trouble."
"I'm not in trouble. I don't have to listen to Rose. She doesn't even like Quidditch," he added, as if that was the true test of her character and the case was closed.
The boys stayed close by each other, quietly discussing what the sorting ceremony would be like. It didn't take long to cross the lake and Al took care not to lean too far over in the boats, remembering the story his dad had told of a boy who had fallen in. Deputy Headmistress Bones ushered them into the Great Hall. Al was never one to like a lot of attention, so the fact that the entire room was staring at them was a bit unnerving.
The names were called in alphabetical order and halfway through it was Scorpius' turn. Al whispered "good luck" and watched his new friend go to the front of the room. He'd watched a variety of reactions from the sorting hat already. Sometimes the hat would take its time, while for others it would shout the name of the house when it had hardly even touched the person's hair. Al noticed Rose smirking at him and it wasn't hard to tell what she was thinking; the new friends were about to be separated by the seven floors between the Slytherin dungeons and Gryffindor Tower. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
The sorting hat rested on his blond head for a few moments debating where to place the nervous boy. After some consideration it finally yelled "Gryffindor!" Al couldn't help it, he cheered. He stole a glance at Rose, who was now scowling, and stuck out his tongue. In his joy he didn't miss the murmurs that spread throughout the hall. Perhaps there was something to these rumors about the Malfoy family.
When it was Al's turn he suddenly felt nervous again. Since his conversation with his dad he had put the issue out of his mind. Now he hoped desperately that he would be in Gryffindor.
"Another Potter," the hat said into his ear. "Hm, where to put you… Loyalty I see in you… Hufflepuff would be a good fit. But then there's the courage… yes, honor and courage, chivalry… that means… GRYFFINDOR!!"
Al let out the breath he'd been holding and went to join his house. The final name on the list was Rose and she took her place, as predicted, at the Gryffindor table a few moments later.
Dinner felt a bit tense with so many of their house staring at Scorpius.
"So your dad is Draco Malfoy?" asked one of the older boys.
"Yes."
"Then how did you end up in Gryffindor?"
Scorpius shrugged.
"Your old man was a Death Eater. And so was his dad."
Scorpius seemed to shrink away from them without a proper answer. What could one say to such an accusation?
"Leave him alone," Al finally said. "It's not his fault you don't like his dad."
The boy looked down the table at him and glared. "Albus Potter, is it?" Al nodded. "Well, Albus, then I guess you don't have a problem knowing that you're named after the man who his dad was supposed to kill. Just like a Malfoy though, couldn't do the job right. Too much of a bloody coward."
Scorpius' fork hit his plate with a clang. "Take that back!"
"I'm not taking anything back. You probably cheated somehow just to get into this house. No Malfoy could otherwise."
"So we're all just as good or bad as our parents?" asked Al. "Well then if I'm a Potter and my dad was a hero then you should trust me, right? And I say he's alright. So you can just mind your own business."
The others seemed to accept that as a reason for the time being, but Al knew that it was far from over. He found out later that the older boy was named Patrick Finnigan and though he didn't go out of his way to cause trouble, he wasn't a very likable person. Al knew that first night that being friends with Scorpius would mean certain difficulties for him. He looked over at the blond boy. He seemed to be nice enough. Until Scorpius gave some indication that he shouldn't be trusted then what was the harm in being friends with him? No matter what James or Rose said, Al's instincts told him that somehow Scorpius was worth it.
Year 2 – By Any Other Name
"Wait till you see the new broom my father bought me!" Scorpius said excitedly as they made their way to an empty compartment with Rose just behind them.
"The new Nimbus model?"
Scorpius nodded smugly.
"I got one too! I'm going to try out for the Quidditch team."
"Me too. What position do you think you'll play?"
"I reckon probably Seeker. My dad says I'm almost as good as he was, but James says I won't make the team because Matthew is better."
They finally found a place to sit and continued the conversation as they settled in, hardly paying attention to Rose following them.
"You're way better than Matthew. Besides, I heard that Matthew did so badly in Potions last year that his mother isn't going to let him play on the team."
"Honestly, boys," Rose huffed. "Don't you think of anything besides Quidditch?"
"What else is there?"
"There are classes and homework and doing something worthwhile during school."
"Quidditch is worthwhile," Al replied defensively.
"You're just jealous because you can't even fly a broom without crashing," Scorpius told her.
It was true, though she would never admit it. Given how badly she and Scorpius had gotten along the previous year he took pleasure in tormenting her about it during their flying lessons. He and Al were naturals of course and had been flying since they could sit up on a broom.
"Al, how can you be friends with such an obnoxious idiot?"
"I dunno, Rose. I think it's because I'm your cousin and I sort of have to be friends with you."
She made a frustrated, annoyed sound in her throat and opened her book, determined to ignore them. It was the latest edition of Hogwarts: A History. Her mother had gotten it for her as a gift to start out the new school year. Al hadn't seen her separated from it since.
He turned back to Scorpius. The only problem he found with being friends with the blond boy so far was that their parents hated it. Every time he had mentioned Scorpius over the summer his dad had dropped whatever he was holding and looked almost pained until the subject was changed. And that was nothing compared to Uncle Ron's reaction at last Christmas.
He had apparently been practicing his speech ever since he found out about the friendship and the moment Al got off the train in December, Ron began lecturing about the evils of the Malfoy family. He still didn't know exactly what the problem was other than that the Malfoys had been on the wrong side of the war. But then, Teddy's family was related to the Malfoys somehow, but he and his grandmum weren't evil. Unfortunately he hadn't gotten a straight answer when he had asked. Uncle Ron had mumbled that it was completely different, but didn't explain how. Al guessed it was just one of those things that they would tell him when he was older.
In the meantime, being friends with Scorpius was his effort in being a rebellious child. After all, as best as he could tell, the only problem anyone had with Scorpius was that he was a Malfoy. If he had any other name, it wouldn't be a problem. And a name seemed like such a silly thing to fuss over. There was just something about Scorpius that drew Al in. And it wasn't just that Rose hated him. They just clicked, better than he ever had with anyone else. Al might be young, but he knew enough to keep a good friend when he found one.
Year 3 – Little Boys
"You always did have an attitude, Potter. I think you just became an auror to justify sticking your nose into everyone else's business."
"I have the attitude? I think you better take a look at yourself, Malfoy!"
Scorpius sighed loudly. He had a palm covering his reddening face. Al couldn't take his eyes off their dads though. He'd never seen his get into a fight like this. Sure there had been some not so kind words directed toward Uncle Percy on occasion, but this was on a whole other level.
"I do look at myself. Maybe you should try it sometime. Then your hair wouldn't look like something died in it."
"Oh and I'm going to take advice from you? I'm surprised you walked away from the mirror long enough to be here."
The summer had gone well. Scorpius had visited the Potter house twice and they had all gone flying. Fortunately on both occasions his mother had been the one to bring him. Astoria got along well enough with the Potters so the visits went rather smoothly. Unfortunately now Astoria was sick and stayed home from the train station. And Ginny was busy comforting Lily about going away from home for the first time, leaving the two former rivals alone with their sons. When they started yelling James had run to get a couple of his cousins to watch, so Al and Scorpius were quite alone with their dads.
"What should we do?" Scorpius whispered.
"You're asking me? I don't know."
"We could find your mother."
"You want to leave them alone? What if we're all that's stopping them from drawing wands?"
"They wouldn't do that." Scorius paused. "Would they?"
Al honestly didn't know and didn't want to find out.
"Harry James Potter!"
All four of them turned to see Hermione coming toward them and she looked angry. Scorpius and Al knew the look well. It was the same one that Rose gave them when they copied her History of Magic homework.
"What do you think you're doing? You're making a scene. And did you know that at this moment Ginny is trying to calm your daughter. Her first year at Hogwarts and you're engaged in some sort of schoolboy fight." She fixed her gaze on Draco. "And both of you are far too old to duel like a couple of second years."
Harry seemed suitably abashed, but Draco only glared.
"Not too old to beat you in a duel, Granger."
"You've never beaten me in anything, Malfoy," she replied coolly. She looked back at Harry. "Both of you stop acting like children, especially in front of your sons. You can at least behave until the children are on the train. After that, if you still feel the need to assert your masculinity then I'll lock you in a room and let you kill each other. I might even watch."
The boys were seated on the train before they mentioned the incident at all.
"So that's what everyone means about our fathers not getting along."
As they had gotten older they found out more about the war and the reasons for the Potter-Malfoy feud. But they had never really seen it in action.
"I really thought they were going to hex each other," said Al, still in shock.
"I don't think it even has anything to do with the whole Death Eater thing. It looked more like they just wanted to fight."
Rose came in then, wearing a smug smile.
"My mother is furious. And Aunt Ginny looked as if she were going to hex both your fathers!"
When Al's mum finally showed up she had tried to shift focus onto the children, but Al heard her tell his dad that she was going to be speaking to him after the train left. His parents didn't fight often, but he knew that nobody dared mess with his mother. As powerful and respected as his dad was there was one person who could silence him with a mere look.
"I'm just glad your dad wasn't there," said Al to Rose. "He hates Mr. Malfoy more than my dad."
"Father won't tell me why," said Scorpius.
"Dad said that yours was always an annoying, evil prat at school," said Rose. "But then mum told him he better keep quiet. She doesn't want him encouraging the feud."
Albus frowned. He didn't like the idea of their parents fighting so much. He loved his family very much, but Scorpius was his best friend. He was very relieved when Rose started to accept Scorpius and even more so when his parents allowed Scorpius to visit in the summers. But he still worried that they really were on thin ice. That one day either his family or Scorpius' would split them up. He wasn't sure why that thought scared him so much.
Year 4 – On the Verge of Something Wonderful
"My father is so embarrassing sometimes," Scorpius said as he dropped onto the seat next to Albus.
Another year had gone by and the boys had managed their relationship despite disapproval. Most of their classmates had gotten over things by now. It didn't take them long to realize that Scorpius was mostly harmless and accept him as a fellow Gryffindor. It was their fathers and Ron who were the very last holdouts. Still.
"Sometimes?"
"Most of the time," he conceded. "I suppose I should just be grateful that they didn't start hexing each other. I thought after last year that they would behave. I'm sorry he called your father a self-important arsehole with a hero complex."
"I'm sorry my dad called yours a ferret." Al frowned in thought. "I have no idea why he would say that. Doesn't it seem like an unusual insult?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I think I'm going to give up figuring out our parents."
"Me too. Mum isn't too bad. She gets along with yours alright."
"So we just need to get rid of our fathers? We could lock them in a room somewhere until they work out their problems."
Al cringed at the thought. "It's like my Aunt Hermione said last year; they would end up killing each other."
Scorpius raised an eyebrow curiously. "Who do you think would win?"
"My dad would of course. He beat Voldemort."
"That wasn't even a proper duel. If they had a real duel, would your dad be faster than mine?"
"Yes," said Al confidently.
Unfortunately their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Rose, Lily and their fourth year friend, Abby. Rose had warmed up to Scorpius quite nicely over the years. In fact, she counted him a good friend and they enjoyed studying together. Albus suspected that despite Uncle Ron's warnings, Rose actually did fancy a Malfoy. He didn't know why, but this disturbed him greatly. He loved his cousin dearly, but the thought of her with Scorpius made his stomach flip uncomfortably.
Abby was the primary factor making their arrival particularly unfortunate. She made no secret of the fact that she thought both Albus and Scorpius were cute. She was popular and he'd heard a lot of the boys talk about wanting to go out with her, but honestly he didn't see the appeal. She was just another girl, not too much different than his cousin or little sister. In fact, he didn't really see the appeal of any of the girls at school.
Abby sat down right between Albus and Scorpius. There wasn't really enough room to fit a whole person in that space, but it was enough room for her to wiggle her way in uncomfortably, forcing them to slide over.
"How was your summer, Albus?"
"Er, fine," he said, adjusting so that he was as far away as possible. "How 'bout you?"
He could see Scorpius smirking at him. The blond was leaning casually against the back of the seat and was thoroughly enjoying Al's discomfort.
"Oh it was lovely, Al. I do wish you had come over with Lily and Rose when I invited you."
"Yes, Albus," Scorpius grinned wickedly. "Why didn't you visit our dear Abby?"
"I even told him to invite you along, Scorpius. We could have had a lovely afternoon. My mother took us to Diagon Alley for ice cream."
She was actually pouting at him now and Al had to fight the urge to push her off the seat. Or perhaps out the window.
"I was busy helping my granddad with one of his projects," Al explained.
"One of his muggle experiments? Rose has told me all about them. He sounds a bit mad."
"Yeah? Well what would you know?"
To his absolute horror she moved closer to him and grabbed his hand. "Don't take it wrong. I only meant it in a good way. I think muggle things are fascinating as well."
She had him completely pinned into the seat now and out of the corner of his eye he could see Rose and Lily holding back giggles. Scorpius' expression was somewhat different. He no longer appeared to be enjoying himself, but now looked slightly alarmed.
"Er, Albus, weren't you going to help me finish that summer Herbology essay?"
Abby backed up a little bit to allow Al to look over at Scorpius with his slightly confused expression. Scorpius gave him a pointed look, nodding ever so slight to his side of the compartment.
"You know, because I don't think Professor Longbottom really likes me all that much, so I want to make sure that it's right."
"Oh…?" The metaphorical light bulb flickered on. "Oh! Yes. Yes, I was going to look over your paper." Al looked at Abby. "I'm sorry, I'm going to switch places with you so Scorpius and I can go over the project."
Abby sulked, but moved anyway. She ended up sitting with Lily and Rose and flipping through Rose's issue of Witch Weekly. Al noticed Scorpius following her with his eyes though. He seemed angry or perhaps a little possessive as Al slid over closer to him.
"Thanks for saving me," Al muttered.
"Any time." Scorpius was still glaring at Abby ever so slightly and Al was happy that they would never let any girl come between their friendship.
Year 5 – Falling for You
Al said his goodbyes to his family and rushed to where Scorpius was just boarding the train. They had learned their lesson about giving their parents any chance to talk on the platform. The blond smiled warmly as they greeted each other and then found seats. So far their compartment was empty, but it would only be a matter of time before they were joined by someone—probably Rose or Lily. They took advantage of the quiet moments to catch up on news. They'd only seen each other twice over the summer and Al was feeling lonely.
"I really missed you," he said quietly once they were seated in their compartment.
He was shy enough as it was, but the fact that he didn't know how Scorpius would react added to his anxiety. It wasn't the type of sentiment that they usually shared with each other. When Al first arrived and saw Scorpius something immediately felt different about it. There was a funny, fluttery feeling in his stomach and he hadn't stopped smiling since then.
To his amazement, Scorpius blushed. "I…er… I missed you too."
Al caught himself staring. Had Scorpius' eyes always been so distracting? He had never fully appreciated them before, but now they were intoxicating.
They didn't normally spend a lot of time together over the summer and though he always missed having his best friend around, this was far different. He had found himself thinking of Scorpius a lot, especially in the past few weeks. The last time they saw each other was at the Potter home for an afternoon quidditch game with Al's cousins and picnic lunch with the entire family. Al had found himself moving closer to Scorpius through the entire day and it took him a long time to figure out what it all meant.
It was a week before he realized that he had a crush on his best friend. After that he thought of Scorpius all the time, especially at night. The thoughts he'd had made him blush during the day, and made him nervous to be around Scorpius so much at school again.
Scorpius surprised him by sliding his hand toward Al's on the seat. Albus' breath caught as their fingers touched briefly. Scorpius pulled his hand back quickly, a frightened look crossing his face. He made a quiet noise, as if he were trying to figure out what he was about to say, but it never came out. Rose entered the compartment, immediately complaining about the prefect meeting she had just come from.
"Some of those second years just don't have any respect for the prefects. Mandy is Head Girl, you know, and she had to threaten detention to get the kid to go back to his compartment and sit down." She glanced between them, noticing that something was off. They were usually quite chatty when they were together. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Al said a little too quickly.
"We were just talking," Scorpius said calmly. Al would forever be jealous of his ability to remain composed under pressure.
"You're both acting weird."
"Define weird, Weasley."
"As if I interrupted something. Something serious. You weren't talking about me, were you?"
"Have you done something we should be discussing?"
"No."
"Then no."
She looked from Scorpius to Al and back at Scorpius. She clearly did not believe it was nothing, but continued on about all of her new prefect duties, just as she had ever since she got her letter. Al and Scorpius were only half listening to her though. They made a game out of stealing glances at each other and smiling at nothing. They let Rose prattle on; they were used to her. And after all, there would be plenty of time to discuss other stuff. Rose couldn't follow them into the boys' dorms.
Year 6 – Of Capulets and Montagues
"You remembered to pack everything, yes?"
"Yes, mum," Al dutifully replied. It was times like this when he understood what his dad meant when he said that she was turning into her mother.
"I know you've forgotten something. You always do."
He was only half paying attention, craning his neck to see through the crowded platform. He just needed to catch a glimpse of blond hair, but all he saw was ginger; it seemed the entire Weasley family had arrived. He looked back at his mother.
"Well then you'll send it to me. You always do."
"Yes, fine. Have a good year, Al."
"I will, Mum."
She set about fussing over Lily and that's when his dad took him by the arm and led him away from the others. He frowned. His dad didn't usually have anything extra to tell him that he couldn't say in front of the rest of the family.
"Be careful, son."
"Be careful? I'm just going to school, how much trouble can I get into?"
Harry raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You'd be surprised."
"Well, Mum always says you can get into trouble no matter where you are. You need to stop worrying about me. I'm nearly an adult."
"Yes, you are."
There was something in his tone that Al didn't like. A little sad maybe, but definitely tired, worn out.
"I only say it because I noticed that you snuck out of your room at least three nights this summer."
Al felt his heart rate accelerate. "Dad, it's not what you think…"
"And you know what I think?" A smile played at the corners of his mouth, so Al wasn't in trouble. Yet.
"No, I suppose not."
"It's exactly what I think. You see, I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do anything illegal or too terribly dangerous."
He sounded sure of himself, but his eyes were boring into Al, confirming his analysis. He was in full-on interrogation mode. Sometimes it really sucked to have an Auror for a dad; he caught every lie.
"And I know that your mother and I are extremely lenient in letting you go places and see friends during summer. So that would mean that you want to see a friend who you already know we don't entirely approve of. Or whose parents don't approve of you."
"Dad, I'm sorry."
"I understand why you did it, Al. I just wish you could have told me."
Yeah, right. The thought of telling his dad the truth was about as pleasant as back-to-back History of Magic classes, followed by a study session with Rose.
"You're right. I wasn't doing anything illegal or dangerous. I was just meeting up with a friend. Can that be all of your lecture now?"
"I'm not lecturing. But I don't think that was all it was." Al tried to remain casual as he waited for his father to finish. It wouldn't do to give away something that wasn't already in the open. "It's not how I would have wanted to find out. And I debated about how to bring it up or if I should bring it up at all. But I thought that it would be better to be honest. I thought that if I was in your position I would want someone to know so that I didn't have to keep the secret."
Al felt queasy suddenly. Nothing got past Harry Potter.
"Dad?"
"You snuck out of the house at one in the morning to meet Scorpius. You were gone the whole night, didn't get into any trouble and you weren't even drunk when you came back. You don't think I can put two and two together and get four?"
"Of course you can, I just…"
"Didn't want me to know," Harry finished for him.
"You can't tell me you don't understand that. With the history you and Mr. Malfoy have?"
Harry nodded and ran a hand through his messy black hair, a habit that Al had inherited as well.
"We're not… Merlin, how do I do this? Draco and I have issues. And I'm really sorry that they have gotten in the way of your friendship with Scorpius. We should have been grown up enough to put it aside. You don't have to hide it though. This isn't… Romeo and Juliet; we're not Capulets and they're not Montagues. We aren't at war and I don't want you to feel that being… friends with Scorpius is some forbidden secret."
"It's just that we didn't want to start some sort of fight. And we certainly didn't want either of you to get all righteous and forbid us from being together. So we just figured if nothing appeared to have changed then your behavior about it wouldn't change."
"You said it yourself; you're almost an adult. You don't need me to tell you who you can or can't see."
"You're really okay with this?"
"No. But I also don't think that there is any way to go about this that would make it any better for either one of us. I want you to be happy."
"Really? You're not going to freak out?"
"No, I'm not going to start a war with the Montagues to defend your honor." He paused and glanced at his son. "Unless your honor needs defending."
It was a question. He was making sure that his son was being treated right.
"No!" Al replied quickly. "My honor is just fine the way it is, thanks."
Harry nodded, satisfied. "You know the last summer your brother was home he snuck out every Friday to meet Samantha Thomas. He thought he was pretty clever."
"You have charms on our windows, don't you?"
Harry nodded.
"He never knew?"
"No."
"Then why did you tell me?"
"I wasn't sure if I should, but I figured maybe you needed to talk about… you know."
"Being gay?"
"Yeah." If he didn't know better he could have sworn his father was blushing.
"I'm okay, Dad."
"Good. You better go get on your train now or you'll be late."
"Thanks, Dad." Al turned to head toward the train, but then faced his dad again. "You realize that in your little Capulet/Montague metaphor that I'm actually Juliet, right?"
"Yeah," Harry mumbled, cheeks definitely coloring this time. "I didn't remember until after I said it and by that time I just decided to roll with it."
Al laughed and continued his path to the train. He quickly caught sight of Scorpius, but it was just a flash of blond hair. He was making sure that Al saw him to get onto the right car, but didn't hang back enough for him to catch up. Al was one of the last ones on the train, so he wasn't surprised when it started moving before he found his compartment. At the end of the car a compartment door was left open and he knew that was where he was headed. Once at the door he stood, looking in on his boyfriend who was pretending to read the paper.
"I see we're all alone today."
Scorpius looked up, grinning. "I had to scare off a couple of third year Hufflepuffs to preserve our privacy."
He stood and met Al just inside the door where they kissed. Al reached behind him and pulled the door shut to guard against any nosey children who might wander into the corridor. Once that was settled he wrapped his arms around Scorpius and pulled him closer. They'd only been apart a couple weeks, but it seemed like ages.
Al broke the kiss, mostly to catch his breath, but he still cupped Scorpius' face in his hands and rested their foreheads against each other.
"I missed you," he whispered.
"Me too. The last bit of the summer felt like it would never end."
Al pulled him down to the seat and got comfortable, or as comfortable as they could get on the train.
"My father was trying to play matchmaker for me. There's a girl in France who is a friend of his cousin. He has said he wouldn't force me into something, but he keeps pushing. It's either her or Pricilla Parkinson."
Albus made a face at that. Even if he liked girls he would never stoop so low as to date Pricilla. But as he understood it, Scorpius' father used to be quite good friends with her mother, so it made sense. The more serious Albus and Scorpius got the more nervous Al got about Draco Malfoy and his not-so-subtle hints that his son should start thinking about marrying a pureblood girl after school. Though he didn't like to admit it, Draco scared the hell out of him still. He'd been over to Malfoy Manor for a day just that summer when he and Scorpius played Quidditch one afternoon and Draco was every bit as intimidating as he was the very first time they'd met.
"Oh, that's nothing," Scorpius had said, laughing. "You should meet my grandfather. Now he's scary when he wants to be."
It didn't help that Al had now heard all of the stories about the Death Eaters and the parts that Draco and Lucius had played during the war, and how that had affected his family. Sometimes it was still hard to wrap his brain around the fact that Scorpius' granddad had actually tried to kill Al's father. Though no one ever talked about it in much detail, there had been references made to a night when his father, with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, were held captive at Malfoy Manor. On the few times that Al had visited there he had found himself wondering if it had looked much different then. What room had they been held in? Though he believed that perhaps Draco could be capable of some of the things he'd heard, the old stories from the war just didn't add up to what he knew about Scorpius. A man who was truly as evil as Uncle Ron said couldn't possibly have raised a person as wonderful as Scorpius.
"My dad knows," Al said suddenly. At Scorpius' alarmed look he rushed to explain. "He won't tell anyone. He just… caught me sneaking out I guess. I should have known better than to try it with an Auror in the house, huh?"
"An Auror's son should do a better job of covering his trail."
"I think it will be okay. My family won't freak out too much. I mean, if my dad says it's fine, then they all have to listen, right?"
"I doubt it. And my father certainly won't take it so well. He's never liked your father."
"Well then it's a good thing you're not seeing my father."
"It won't be so simple."
"It is simple. Just not easy."
Scorpius acknowledged the subtle difference with a nod.
"I love you, Scorpius. I want us to be together and I don't want our families in the way."
"I know."
They hadn't been keeping the secret long and already it was wearing them down. If it had to last until they were out of school, then they'd never make it and they both knew it. Rose was the only one who knew. She was the only one either of them trusted. For as much as she hated Scorpius at first, she now counted him and Al as her best friends.
Scorpius took Al's hand in his and squeezed. "I want to be able to talk to my father about it. I can't just owl him with something like this." Al nodded. "Let's make a deal. By the time the school year ends we will have come out to our families and everyone here."
Al grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me. In the meantime though…" He leaned in for another long kiss and it turned out to be the most pleasurable train ride either of them had ever taken.
Year 7 — The Truce
Harry was not looking forward to this at all. Most of the time he had plenty of reasons to avoid Draco Malfoy. Today was the exception. Al was practically bouncing in nervous excitement as they crossed the barrier to Platform 9 ¾.
"I don't see them."
"I'm sure they'll be here soon," said Ginny. "We're a little early anyway."
"Dad, you're sure you can do this?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not as if I haven't spoken to the man at all."
"No, but this is different. You haven't talked to him since Scorpius and I came out."
Harry winced at the words "came out." He didn't like the term one bit. And liked even less that it was applied to his son. It wasn't the gay thing that he had a problem with. It was the stereotypes that went along with the gay thing. He felt like suddenly everyone looked at Al as something less than the smart, talented young man that he had turned into. And they looked at Harry as if he had done something wrong in raising him. And the fact that Malfoy was involved was even less appealing. But somehow Scorpius had turned into a fine young man, despite being raised by Draco. And he made Al happy, so how could Harry or Ginny really complain about that?
Ron was another matter. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that his nephew was in love with a Malfoy. But Ron was always one to hold grudges a little longer than the rest of them. Hermione didn't seem too perturbed by it and Rose thoroughly approved.
They met up with Ron and Hermione's clan first. Rose was busy fiddling with her Head Girl badge, while Hugo complained loudly that he wasn't taking orders from his sister even if she was Head Girl. Lily didn't seem to mind it much. She had been made prefect, so it gave her something to talk to Rose about. Al was never prefect, though he was made captain of the Quidditch team, much to his parents' delight. Gryffindor had won the Cup three years in a row now and Al was determined to get one more before he left the school.
"Hey, there's Scorpius," Lily announced.
Sure enough, the boy was coming toward them quickly, his parents following at a much slower pace.
"That's my cue to wander over this way," said Ron. He told Harry the previous day that he was going to watch the event from a distance, but he'd be on hand in case the old Potter-Malfoy rivalry surfaced. Harry could tell that he was actually counting on it. So he headed over to where George's family stood. Hermione held her ground and stayed where she was chatting with Ginny and the girls.
Al greeted Scorpius with a brief kiss. "I missed you."
Lily rolled her eyes. "You just saw him last week."
They ignored her as Al turned toward Draco and Astoria. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, it's good to see you again."
Draco nodded stiffly while Astoria greeted him with what appeared to be a genuine smile.
"You know my parents, I believe," Al said awkwardly.
Draco tried his best not to scowl too much as he faced Harry. They shook hands, but quickly, with as little contact as possible. Then they all shook hands, including Hermione, which seemed to startle Draco quite a bit.
Astoria and Ginny fell into conversation naturally and Harry envied their ability to do so. Hermione had drifted back to her husband to see their children off. Harry and Draco avoided speaking directly to each other as all conversation went through their sons, but soon it was time to say goodbye.
Astoria and Ginny gave hurried instructions to their children along with hugs and kisses. Astoria's lipstick rubbed off on Scorpius' cheek and he hurried to make it go away.
"Can't have anyone thinking I wear make-up just because I date boys."
Lily and Al laughed and Astoria fussed, but Harry noticed Draco cringe at the remark.
Finally all the goodbyes were said and they watched the boys walk together, hand in hand, to the train. Harry couldn't help the wide smile spreading over his face.
"Don't tell me you're actually getting into this, Potter."
"What?"
Draco waved a hand toward the train. "That."
"I'm happy for them."
Draco rolled his eyes.
"Have you actually looked at your son when they're together? He's happy. And Al is happy. I'm in favor of happiness."
They were quiet for a few moments, watching the train pull away. Their wives were still talking and waving to the kids.
"You know, Al said that they wanted to get a flat together after school."
"Over my dead body, Potter."
"That could be arranged, Malfoy."
Draco turned to look at him through narrowed eyes. After a moment he shook his head. "If you were going to kill me, you would have done it thirty years ago. Since you haven't your threats are empty." Draco sighed sadly. "What in Merlin's name happened to you? I used to believe that you could actually follow through on your threats."
"I save all my real threats for the real criminals. I don't believe that you actually want to stop them from being together. I think you want me to think that you disapprove."
Draco scowled. "As if you don't want me to think the same thing."
Harry shrugged. "It doesn't feel right to not fight with you."
"You never used to be so insightful either."
"And you used to have more hair."
"You're insufferable, you know that?"
"I've been told."
"So you really don't mind? About the boys?"
"I'm not thrilled," Harry admitted. "I think sometimes that it all would be so much simpler if he could just find a nice girl to fall in love with, but this is who he is. And as much as I like Scorpius, you know that my feelings about the Malfoy family in general are less than great."
"My father spends most of his time out of the country these days, if that is what you're worried about," he said quietly.
Harry hesitated. "It did concern me a little."
"You're not concerned about me?"
"I know you're not dangerous, Malfoy."
"I feel vaguely insulted. I'm not dangerous?"
Harry shook his head. "Not to Al anyway."
"Potter, I don't know what to say." He paused, looking pensive. "Yes, I do. You're still a sentimental idiot and I have no idea what my son sees in your family. And you married a Weasley!"
Harry took the insult in stride. "Which means that Al is half Weasley. Which means your son is… sort of dating a Weasley."
Draco cringed. "I suppose it could be worse. It could be Longbottom's kid."
**
They were lucky enough to get a compartment all to themselves. Scorpius was seated in the corner and Al lay down with his head in his lover's lap. They were quite content to stay like that for the entire trip, Scorpius playing with the thick black locks of hair and reading his book. Finally he looked down at Al.
"So do you think our fathers have killed each other yet?"
"My mum would stop them."
"You think they'll ever get along?"
"Probably not, but I don't know if I'd want them to. After all the stories I've heard about what they were like in school it would be a little disturbing to see them casually talking down at the pub or something."
Scorpius laughed at the image. "I wouldn't mind seeing them duel. Your father is one of the best in the world and mine is pretty amazing. I've never been able to beat him."
"That would be a sight. The important thing though is that they accept us."
"I think they do. Or at least they will. It seems like they've at least called a truce for now."
Al smiled and sat up. He threw Scorpius' book on the floor and took his face in both hands.
"You know, I was reading that."
"And now you're not," Al whispered, leaning in to kiss him.
A moment later he groaned in frustration when the door slid open.
"Merlin, you two need to get a room."
Al scowled up at his cousin. "We did. You just entered it."
"Can't we take one last train ride to school without the two of you all over each other? I got enough of that last year."
"We're not that bad."
"You always have been that bad. Even before you were together you were together. And if either of you are going to get decent scores on your N.E.W.T.s then you're going to need to stop snogging long enough to study."
Al rolled his eyes and turned back to Scorpius to resume their make out session. He heard Rose huff in annoyance and grinned when he heard the door slide open and shut, leaving them alone once again. He pulled back to look at Scorpius. It seemed so long ago that they were first years and he was faced with a choice about being friends with the Malfoy boy.
"What?" Scorpius asked.
"I was just thinking about the day we met and all the shit I took from James and Rose for wanting to be friends with you."
"And?"
"And you were worth it."
Scorpius grinned and kissed him again. It was going to be a great school year.