Draco POV

I walked down Diagon Alley, holding Scorpius' hand as he looked into the nearby shops. I had promised, if he behaved well at father's dinner party last night, a trip to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. As he had behaved I thought it proper to reward him as soon as possible. He was a brat like I had been and by rewarding him as soon as possible it encouraged him to do what I said. To be kind and well behaved. We had come from the Floo network a bit early though and stepped out in the south part of town. Scorpius wanted to walk through the alley and look into the stores. He turned four in a week and I had yet to buy him presents, I had never had to shop for presents before.

Up until a few months ago I had been married and as much as I tried to keep it alive there was always something missing. When voiced to my wife she got upset and asked what was wrong with her, what made her unpleasing. I replied with the fatal clichéd line. "It's not you, it's me." Recently I had come to accept my secret, one I had tried to hide from everyone; myself included. I had never been interested in women. Sure, I humored everyone by following father's footsteps, married a pure blood, had a little blonde monster of my own, and tried my hardest to live up to Malfoy expectations. I was not brave enough to tell my lady this. Was it fear or was my mask still preventing such words as I, prefer, and men from being said in the same sentence? Either way she left, thinking I was having an affair, and disowned Scorpius. She wanted nothing to remind her of me and now I was a single parent, funded by parents, living in an apartment about five minutes from father's house. This wasn't the life I would have guessed ten years ago.

I paused to think on this and once I snapped back into it there was no longer a little hand in mine. Scorpius had wandered off towards the candy shop across the street and stood staring into the window. The only time that child stood still is when he wanted something and being young he wanted often. As soon as I crossed the street Scorpius ran a few stores down and into the orange doors of a brightly colored joke shop.

Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, one of the few places I felt out of place among wizards. After "completing" my final year at Hogwarts I looked back at all the tormenting I had done and felt dreadful about how I had treated the Weasley family. In the end it was them who came to the school's aid and defended all the students, and lost Fred. George never left the store, it was his pride and joy, now that his twin had been murdered, as such I was sweating bullets as I walked through the doors to find Scorpius. How many times had I scorned them and mocked their name? There was no use to dwell on it now. Scorpius had to be found, which was never hard until now. He was a giggly child who loved loud noises, explosions, and bright colors, which meant everything in this store would pull his attention, he could be anywhere.

"Daddy, look at it!"

Behind a glass case was a sleeping dragon the size of a toy pug. It was shiny green and silver and a low grumble same from it's mouth as it's eyelids flickered. Scorpius had found the one motionless, quite, normal thing in the store. I had heard of these domesticated dragons, they were in popular demand among the wealthy families currently; cooler than a dog, smarter, and better behaved. How George could afford to stock these I wasn't sure, then again this store was a total success.

George POV

I would have recognized him anywhere, no one had blonde hair like he did. What would draw him into this store was beyond me but there he was, seemingly alone, and admiring the little sleeping dragon. I was ready to stand behind him and make a smart remark when he bent over and lifted up a little boy with his precise hair color who squealed at the dragon and pulled his feet up to his chest, causing Draco to smile and chuckle too.

I couldn't help but smile at how fatherly that man had become. He had always been charming, even when he was acting like a prick. Only Fred had known my preference, men. He had teased me when I told him I dreamed of Draco but encouraged me and teased all the more after we received sneers and pulled pranks on a very put-out Malfoy. If anyone else at school had found out I would have denied it or put it out of their minds forever with a well placed joke. Now that I was alone in the world and Fred had...all my thoughts seemed to be of Hogwarts boys who, might have been, if I was lucky, interested. I was well liked by everyone there, save the Slytherins. Since Draco was the romantic interest Fred liked to tease me about, I put him out of mind once Fred was gone. Now, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I had always felt his difference; no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Sure, he dressed well because he was a Malfoy and it was expected but his outfits were too precise, too well cut, too accessorized. He had a fashion sense even Lucius lacked. Knowing my stare had lasted too long I turned to help a customer and he jumped when he heard my voice so close and gazed at me.

His blonde son came over and tugged at my pants, waiting for me to acknowledge him, before asking a price.

"How much is that dragon? I see 3...5...0 there!"

He already looked so like his father with his blonde hair, high cheek bones, and intense grey eyes.

"Oh hey little guy, what's your name?"

"Scorpius Malfoy. That's my papa over there, see?"

He waved at Draco who smiled warily then came over.

"I went to school with your papa, Scorpius. The dragon is 350 Galleons but for you I will drop it to 275 Galleons."

"Hello, how have you been?"

He had grown up nicely over the years, last time I saw him he was covered in dirt, messy haired and his fine clothes were singed from the fire he had encountered during battle. Now, five years later, he looked sharp and clever as he always had.

"I'm alright. When did he come along?"

"A few months after the battle I married Ms. Parkinson and had him within the year. My father was desperate for grandchildren to spoil and Pansy was obsessed with me. Our parents arranged it."

"I'm glad you are happy together."

"We're not together anymore."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"Don't be, it was a terrible match."

I sat there looking into his calm face and he glanced at mine in between watching Scorpius wander from item to item. I looked towards some girls by the love potions and he looked at my face and didn't look away until he noticed me watching him again. Maybe he had come to accept himself as I had. He turned and followed Scorpius around the store, making him put back everything he picked up, squatting down to make jokes with him when he stopped, and glancing at me as they browsed. This was my chance. If I was ever going to find out if he felt things for me this would be my only chance. When I fantasized about telling Draco I had been smitten by him since his first year it was not in my joke shop, surrounded by my riches, with his scent lingering around me. This was better than I had imagined.

Snot started to drip down his son's nose and he pulled a tissue from his fitted robes and cleaned it off his face. He threw the tissue away and tucked the pack of clean ones back into the hidden pocket. It was now or never and I chose to live in the moment. Carpe Diem, right? I snuck into the back and wrote, in my best print, a small note and levitated the note into his pocket, he would find it later.