Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the situations and the original characters. Everything else, as the lawyers will tell you, belongs to somebody else. Thanks very much for reading, hope you enjoy this and my other works.

A First Meeting

Five year old Scorpius Malfoy was miserable. Standing out on the balcony, close to tears, the poor little guy tugged at his tail for the hundredth time, muttering under his breath as it stubbornly remained wrapped around the railing. He'd wanted to dress up as a scorpion, after his name, but his grandmother, his mother's mother, had said that while his name was darling a scorpion was an ugly and disgusting bug. She'd insisted on picking out a costume for him, which was why he'd come out here to hide, not wanting any kids his own age to see him dressed up as a kitten. His father had nearly had a stroke when he'd seen it, but his mother had insisted. The grey cat suit was really warm, and the whiskers she'd attached to his cheeks felt really weird and itched. The worst was the tail though. It had been bewitched to move and he'd pissed it off by stepping on it a couple times by accident. Hence it wrapping itself around the railing so that he was stuck there, as punishment.

"What's wrong?"

Letting go of his tail Scorpius looked over to see a kid about his age walking towards him, also dressed up as a cat. This kid was dressed up as a lion though, which was loads better than his own costume in Scorpius's opinion. Plus someone had bewitched the boy's green eyes to be slitted like a real cat's, which was really sick.

"Nothing's wrong." Scorpius finally blurted out, when he realized the other boy was waiting for a response.

Raising an eyebrow the boy pointed at Scorpius's tail. "Your tail is stuck, isn't it?" It looked stuck to Albus, but he was only five and did realize that there were plenty of things he didn't know. How could he not, when his big brothers Teddy and James were constantly reminding him. Though he'd know even more than they did when he got big, he'd already decided.

Torn between wanting to get free and embarrassed about his predicament Scorpius fingered the front of his costume. Malfoys didn't ask for help from anyone after all. But he was really, really getting hungry, and he could smell the buffet tables from here. "It won't let go." He finally admitted as the boy came over to get a better look.

"Let's pull on it together." Albus decided, reaching out to get a good grip on the soft grey tail. "And if we can't get it loose I'll go find my big brother James. He'll probably help. My other brother Teddy would help, but he's at Hogwarts. He's nicer than James."

"So you have two brothers? I don't have any brothers or sisters." Reaching behind him Scorpius got a good grip on his tail as well.

"Yup. Teddy is twelve, James is seven, and I have a sister named Lily who's only two and a half. I'm five. Ready to pull then? On three?"

When the other boy nodded Albus counted it off and on three they both pulled as hard as they could, the tail letting go just to be contrary. The two boys went flying backwards at the unexpected give, landing in a heap on the stone floor.

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked as he held out a hand to help the other boy out.

"Yup."

)

Taking the offered hand Albus got up, not the least put out. He was used to falls and crashing into things. When one had as many siblings and cousins as he did getting hurt and dirty were common occurrences. Brushing the dirt off his costume Albus looked at the girl in front of him, admiring the fact that she wasn't crying. His cousin Dominique, who was a year older than him, cried all the time when her clothes or stuff got dirty. Girls were weird that way. This girl wasn't as pretty as Dominique was, but Albus thought she had the prettiest colored eyes he'd ever seen. Just like fog, which he loved to play in.

"I'm Al by the way."

Opening his mouth to answer Scorpius hesitated. "My father says I'm not supposed to tell strangers my name or who I belong to unless I'm lost."

Albus had been told plenty of times by his parents not to talk to strangers, but he never really listened. But maybe the girl's dad was really strict about that sort of thing. A thoughtful look on his face Albus tapped a finger against his cheek as he pondered. "I'll just call you Grey then, shall I?"

"Grey?"

"Because you have the prettiest grey eyes ever. Would that be alright?"

Blushing brightly Scorpius didn't know what to say, nodding shyly instead. Nobody had ever told him his eyes were pretty before. His stomach rumbling distracted him from wondering if he should tell his new friend that he liked his eyes too.

"Hungry? Me too. Let's go get some food." Motioning for Scorpius to follow him Albus confidently led the way through the crowds, taking Scorpius hand when old witches kept surrounding his new friend to pat her head or pinch her cheeks for looking so adorable. Dragging Grey along with him Albus got them to the buffet in record time. Only problem was they were both too short to see what there was, much less load up a plate with the stuff.

Sharing annoyed looks the two turned and glared at the tables that dared to be too high up for them. What were they supposed to do now?

"Need some help, you two?"

Turning his head Albus beamed up at his Uncle George. "Yes please."

"And who's your friend, Al?" George asked while he loaded down two plates with the good stuff for the kids, after asserting that there wasn't anything the other kid couldn't eat. He knew from past experience that his nephew would eat just about anything. This really came in handy when he needed to test something and Ginny wasn't around to stop him.

"This is my new friend Grey."

"Nice to meet you, Grey. Here you both go." Passing the plates over to them George winked, tipping the brim of his Mad Hatter's hat. "Now don't eat too much or it will put you to sleep before the big fireworks display later."

"We won't." They promised, though both intended to gorge themselves first opportunity. Everything looked so good and their parents weren't around to make them use napkins or even utensils! Hurrying off they returned to their balcony and sitting down on the floor with their plates in their laps got to know each other between bites.

They both came from wizarding families and they both intended to go to Hogwarts when they got big. Their mums and dads and grandparents had all gone there of course, since it was the very best. Albus felt very sorry for the girl when Grey explained that she had to get into Slytherin because that was where all her relatives went. Scorpius was equally sorry when Albus told him that he would go into Gryffindor because that's where all his relatives went. Both agreed that they didn't see why they couldn't remain friends anyway. Albus even told Scorpius about being named after a Slytherin, thinking that that would reassure the girl that she didn't have to become a bad person and his enemy, even if they were in opposing houses.

Glad that he would know someone at Hogwarts Scorpius was only sorry his friend couldn't be in his house too. He was pretty sure he was going to be miserable there too, because most of the other families from that house didn't like his family anymore. Scorpius wasn't sure why, but apparently his grandmother had done something that had really made them all mad at them. Nobody had really explained it to him though, always saying he wasn't old enough to know.

"Well when we're in Hogwarts together we'll still have classes together." Albus pointed out, once he'd learned that they were the same age. "And when we get even older we can go to Hogsmeade together. I've been there a couple times and it's really, really neat."

"That would be fun." Scorpius agreed, popping a pickle into his mouth.

"Loads. I'll introduce you to my brothers too, and all my cousins. They'll all play with you and we'll have lots of fun. And if any of them pick on you I'll beat them up for you." With Teddy's help, Albus silently added. So far he'd always come out on the losing end in fights with his older brother James. Though there was some satisfaction in the fact that James also got lectured more too.

Scorpius had always wanted a bigger family, having no siblings or even cousins to play with. It sounded even better now, hearing about all the things Albus got to do with his brothers and cousins. It seemed like they got into a lot of trouble, but Scorpius thought that the trouble would probably be worth it.

)

They had pretty much cleaned their plates off when the large clock nearby chimed off the hour, reminding Scorpius that he hadn't checked in with either of his parents in a while. They liked to know where he was.

"I better go and find my parents." Scorpius said regretfully as he got to his feet. "Mother worries and I don't want her to cry again."

"Cry again? Did she lose you before?" Albus had wandered off on his own several times and his mother had always been more mad than sad. But his mum was really tough; she wasn't a girlie girl like his Aunt Fleur.

"No, but she and grandfather were talking about how I'll probably never get married because no pure blood family would ever be interested in me. Me marrying a pureblood is very important to grandfather and he yelled at my mother when she said that she'd rather I be happy. I don't know what the fuss is, since I'm only five, but she cried anyway. Grandfather can be scary sometimes. Anyway, I better go."

"Well do you want to meet back here, after you let her know you're alright? I'll go find my mum and da, and I'm sure they'd be alright with us playing out here."

So pleased he was beaming Scorpius nodded his agreement then waving headed off to find his mother, wanting to do it as quickly as possible so he could hurry back to play with his friend.

Also heading into the crowd Albus's young mind was busy trying to think of a way to help his friend out. He'd seen his mother cry a time or two, especially on the anniversary of Uncle Fred's death, and it always made him feel awful. His da said that mum's tears made him feel awful too.

By the time he'd found his mother an idea had taken root in Albus's mind, one that had him grinning as he wiggled his way over to her side.

"Why hello there. And where have you been?" Ginny Potter asked as she set a hand on her son's furry head, grinning down at him. Dressed as a ghost she wore all white, with the rest of her transfigured to be as pale as possible. Her sons had declared that she looked very sick, which she took to be a good thing.

"With my friend. I just came to let you know I'm okay and I ate." His mother was very particular about him not skipping meals.

"So George told me." Surprised that he would check in with her, since her kids generally had to be dragged away from their fun, Ginny was none the less touched at the gesture. "Well you can go back to whatever trouble you were getting into, just remember that after the fireworks we're going home. Your dad and I will be by the main staircase."

"Okay. Mum, you don't have a ring on you that you don't want, do you?" The only rings she was wearing were her engagement and wedding rings, but he'd learned in the past that mothers were rather miraculous in being able to produce anything you might need, whether it be a band aid or a cookie.

"And why would you need a ring?"

"So that I can propose to Grey. Then her grandfather wouldn't yell at her mum anymore. Our family is pureblood, and I like Grey."

Very confused Ginny made her son explain himself, enough to get the idea that her son's new friend came from one of the old wizarding families still obsessed with their bloodlines. Obsessed enough to have a five year old worrying about her marriage prospects. Ginny wondered who the girl belonged to, but Al didn't know her last name. It was really very sweet, Ginny thought, that her son would want to propose to the girl to help her out. Of course her son had no idea what he was suggesting, how could he at five?

"Well I don't have a ring." Ginny began, looking around her. Aha. Walking over Ginny quickly slipped a daisy from a nearby flower arrangement and pulling out her wand caused the stem to curl in to form a ring the way her father had done for her when she was a girl. Making sure it would stay together Ginny casted another spell to preserve it, since she WAS dealing witha pair of rambunctious five year olds. "There you go. One ring." She announced, handing it off to her delighted son.

It was even prettier than his mother's rings, Albus thought proudly. "Thanks, Mum!"

Watching him run off Ginny was tempted to follow and get a look at her future daughter in law but no, proposals should be a private thing, she thought with a grin, wishing her son good luck.

)

When Scorpius finally broke away from his mother's grasp he headed straight back to the balcony, waving delightedly when he spotted Albus waiting for him. "Sorry it took so long." Scorpius apologized, though his father said Malfoys never apologized for anything. "She wanted to show my costume off to her friends." A humiliating experience he wanted to forget as soon as possible.

"No problem." Shrugging his shoulders Albus was too proud of himself to care about being kept waiting. "Guess what, I've figured out a way so your grandfather won't yell at your mum anymore."

"Really? How?"

"You can marry me. Then he won't be worried anymore, cause I'm a pureblood. My mum said it's alright with her." Well she hadn't exactly, but she'd given him the ring, hadn't she? And his mum was boss in their house. Da said so.

Blinking in surprise Scorpius didn't know what to think. He'd thought his friend was a boy, it hadn't occurred to him that Al might be a girl. She didn't look like a girl much. Was Al a girl's name? Or maybe it was just short for something. Either way, her feelings would probably be hurt if he told her he'd thought she was a boy. And even if she did look like a boy she was still really, really nice. And his grandfather had said that pickings were slim.

"You sure you want to marry me?" Scorpius asked, just to make sure.

"Sure. I like you. Now hold out your left hand."

Confused Scorpius did so, eyes widening as Albus slipped a ring with a flower on top of it on his finger.

Leaning forward Albus placed a quick kiss on Scorpius's lips, just like he'd seen his own da do to his mum. Pleased, he grinned over at her proudly. "There, we're engaged now."

Blushing furiously again Scorpius stared down at the ring and then back up at Albus. "Shouldn't…shouldn't you be the one to wear this?"

"The girl always wears the fancy ring."

It took a moment, but Scorpius had been mistaken for a girl in his costume too many times that evening to not get it. "I'm not a girl! I'M A BOY!"

Blinking Albus's jaw dropped. "You're a boy? But…but…no boy would wear a costume like that." Really looking at his friend Albus had to admit that the face wasn't that girlie, but he'd just assumed that no boy would ever be caught dead dressed as a kitten. He certainly wouldn't. He'd die first.

"My grandmother made me!"

"Oh." This was something Albus could understand and relate to. He couldn't say no to his grandmother either. Gran was even more his boss than his mum was. Bad things happened to people who didn't listen to her. "Sorry I thought you were a girl." Albus finally said.

Looking down at himself Scorpius couldn't really blame him. "It's alright. Just don't do it again."

"I won't." Albus promised, crossing his heart for emphasis.

The two awkwardly looking at each other neither quite knew how to proceed.

"Can boys get married?" Albus asked, once he'd wrapped his head around the idea that Grey was a boy. It was actually better that way, since he'd much rather play with a boy than a girl. It wasn't a bad thing at all, Albus decided, except for the fact that he'd never heard of two boys getting married to each other. He had just proposed after all.

Scorpius had never heard of boys getting married, but he wasn't sure. He shrugged instead, indicating his ignorance.

"We should go ask my Granddad." Albus decided. "He works for the Ministry and he would know." He wasn't sure exactly what his granddad did at the ministry, but it involved laws, and rules and stuff. If granddad didn't know his gran certainly would.

And so the two set off to find Albus's grandfather, hoping he'd be able to tell them whether or not they could get married when they got big.