A/N: I probably should be working on the next chapter of my ongoing story, No More Mysteries, but this little oneshot demanded to be written. As I said in the summary, this story centres around Harry and Draco, but it is NOT a slash story. It more or less follows canon up until the epilogue of Deathly Hallows, with a few notable exceptions. For one, in this story, Harry never became an auror, and followed a different career path instead (which you'll see once the story actually begins.) For another, I haven't specified whether Harry is married, has kids, etc, as I'm unsure whether he'd be allowed to do so in his current job. I guess you can feel free to imagine whatever you want in that regard, since whether you picture Harry with Ginny, Hermione or whomever else, it really makes no difference within the context of this story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm just borrowing it for a bit of nonsense.
Sins of the Father
by: MayorHaggar
Draco Malfoy walked slowly through the corridors, distinctly uncomfortable. It had been many years since he'd been to Hogwarts, but he felt no more at home inside the familiar old castle now than he had during the memorial service his mother had dragged him to shortly after the end of the war with the Dark Lord.
He had protested that little visit fiercely, claiming (and with good reason) that the both of them would be shunned, if not attacked, if they showed their faces amongst the very people they'd once called enemies. Perhaps, he'd argued, they'd even chuck the two of them in Azkaban alongside the patriarch of the Malfoy family. But his mother had insisted, declaring that the Malfoy name would not be redeemed unless they made a sincere effort to show their remorse, and reintegrate themselves in wizarding society. Once his mother made up her mind about something, there was no budging her. So he'd gone along with her, and the two of them had endured the hostile stares and angry mutterings of those who had lost friends and family during the war. It had been a difficult day to get through, knowing how many of those people loathed him and likely wanted nothing more than to turn their wands on he and his mother for a bit of revenge.
In retrospect, though, his mother had been correct, as she usually was. That had been an important day for the Malfoys. It was the day that helped separate them from many of the other former Death Eater families, most of whom refused to turn their backs on the old ways, and were subsequently dealt with by a restored wizarding government. While the day had been worth it in the long run, Draco had sworn to himself that it would be the last time he would ever set foot in the castle, site of the worst of his misdeeds.
But, as fate would have it, Draco saw no other alternative but to visit the school once more. He had a son to think of, after all. A son he would do absolutely anything for.
Even this.
He knocked on the door to the office, and waited until a voice from inside told him to enter. Draco complied, opening the door and quickly shutting it behind him, before meeting the surprised gaze of the last person he'd ever thought he'd be paying a visit to.
"Malfoy? What in the bloody hell are you doing here?"
Draco did not flinch at the less than civilized greeting. He'd expected nothing less, given their history. "Hello, Potter. Hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Harry put aside the parchment he'd been looking over, and fixed Draco with a cool stare. "Oh, not at all. I always have time to speak with bastards like you."
Draco bit back the scathing retort that was just begging to be unleashed, knowing it was imperative for him to keep his cool. "Very well, Potter. I'll just get straight to the purpose of my visit, so we don't have to spend any more time with each other than absolutely necessary. I came here to ask for a favour."
Harry stared at him, wide-eyed. "A favour? You came here to ask me a favour? You can't be serious."
"I am quite serious," Draco insisted. "I assumed you'd at least hear me out. After all, if it weren't for my mother, the Dark Lord would've finished you off in that forest."
"That was your mother, Malfoy, not you," Harry said. "Besides, I think any debt I owed to the Malfoy family was more than repaid when I stood up for the two of you after the war. If it hadn't been for my testimony, you and your mother would probably have been chucked in Azkaban right alongside daddy dearest. How is that arsehole doing, anyway?"
"I have no clue. I haven't visited him in many years. He wants nothing to do with me, and the feeling is very much mutual," Draco said. He wasn't just trying to get on Potter's good side, either; it was the truth. He hadn't spoken a word to his father since shortly after Scorpius had been born. The timing of that decision had not been a coincidence.
"Well, I guess I can understand that, on both accounts," Harry said snidely. Draco ignored the verbal jab, determined to remain civil towards the man he once took great pleasure in taunting.
Once Harry saw that Draco wasn't going to respond to the taunt, he sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, Malfoy, out with it. What do you want?"
Draco stepped further into the room, let out a deep breath, and began. "As you may already be aware, my son, Scorpius, will be starting at Hogwarts during the upcoming term."
"Term starts in two weeks, and I'm the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Of course I know your son is enrolled," Harry said derisively. "This favour of yours involves him, I take it?"
"Yes, Potter, it does. I want to speak with you about how he'll be treated. Particularly, how you will treat him in your class."
Harry stared at him through narrowed eyes. "If you came here to ask me to give him preferential treatment, you can sod off. I don't care how much money you offer; I don't play favourites."
"That isn't what I wanted to ask," Draco said, exasperated. "I'm not my father. I will not spend a single galleon on bribery. My son will make it on his own, without any help from his father's bank account. And even if I considered doing so, I'm well aware that you have just as much money as I do, if not more."
"So what is there for us to talk about? What's this favour you want?" Harry asked, genuinely confused now.
"I just want him to be given a fair chance," Draco said, his voice growing louder as he made his plea. "I don't want him to suffer because of things that I've done, decisions I've made."
"What in the name of Merlin are you talking about, Malfoy? Why wouldn't he be given a fair chance?"
"Oh, come off it, Potter!" Draco said heatedly. "When we went to school here, I did everything I could to antagonize you. I taunted you, I insulted your parents' memory, I verbally and physically attacked you and your friends. I loathed you. And I know you felt the same way about me."
"Yes, of course I did," Harry said, nodding. "You were a foul, stuck-up, bigoted little git. But I don't see what this has to do with Scorpius being given a fair chance in my class."
"Really? Can you honestly tell me that you'll treat him the same as everyone else, knowing that he's my son? Will you be able to look past his blonde hair and grey eyes, and see him as his own person? I have a hard time believing that you'll treat Scorpius the same as, say, the Weasel's kid."
"That's what this is about? You think I'm going to treat your son like shite because I hated you?"
"Yes, of course that's what this is about! I know how the world works, Potter. Since the war, everywhere I've gone, everything I've done, I've had to overcome not just the things I did, but the things that my father did. As you know, I was not a Death Eater. I never took the mark; I never killed anyone. I have done some pretty terrible things, but I am no killer. But when people look at me, they don't just see Draco Malfoy, of the diminished Malfoy line. They also see Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater. All my life, I've had to deal with people lumping me together with my bastard of a father. I don't want the same thing to happen to Scorpius. I don't want him to get a poor education because I treated you like rubbish."
To Draco's immense surprise, Harry laughed. "You know, Malfoy, this is the first time I feel like I can actually relate to you."
"What do you mean, Potter? People loved your father, and your mother as well."
"Most people did, yes. But not Snape. Snape hated my father, hated him with a passion that was probably way beyond what you and I felt towards each other. And actually, he did the exact same thing you're worried that I'm going to do to Scorpius."
"I suppose that's true," Draco mused. "He did insult your father quite often during class."
"Yeah, he did," Harry agreed with a nod. "Snape despised my father, even after he'd been dead for years. And when I arrived at Hogwarts, he transferred that hatred onto me. The very first time I walked into his class, he singled me out. He belittled me, and did his best to make me look like an idiot. Before I'd even so much as said a word to him, he decided that I was the same as my father. And, for the next six years, he did everything he could to punish me simply for being my father's son. Like you said, he insulted my father's memory frequently. But he also looked the other way when you and your Slytherin friends started trouble in class, only to take away house points and assign detentions for me and my friends for trivial things. He sabotaged my potions, ridiculed my essays, and bullied me around. In short, he was an absolutely terrible teacher who took his petty teenage grudges out on me."
Draco nodded thoughtfully, but said nothing, unsure of what sort of response Harry was looking for. As it turned out, he needn't have worried, because Harry soon went on. "I hated you when we were kids, Draco. Even now, I will never like you. You simply did too many rotten things to me and my friends, not to mention the danger you unleashed on the entire school when you let those Death Eaters in during 6th year. For you and I, there will never be anything besides bad memories and bad blood."
Draco prepared to respond in defence of his son, but before he could get a word out, Harry continued. "But your son is not you. I will not judge him based on the sins of his father. Thanks to Snape, I know exactly what that feels like, and I would not do that to anyone else. When Scorpius walks into my classroom at the start of term, I will treat him exactly the same as I do all my other students. If he answers my questions correctly and does well on his assignments, I will award him house points. If he misbehaves, I will take house points away, or assign detentions if his actions are severe enough. If he asks for my help, I will give it to him."
"You mean that, Potter? You'll treat him the same as you do everyone else?" Draco asked quietly.
"I will," Harry confirmed. "I will treat Scorpius Malfoy no better or no worse than I treat any of my other students. You have my word on that. Maybe most of the people you've encountered in your life have lumped you and your father together into one terrible package, but I won't do that with Scorpius. I believe in judging people based on their own actions, not by the actions of their parents, their blood status, or anything else."
Draco wasn't sure he had the words to respond to Harry's proclamation. He settled for a nod and a quiet, but heartfelt, "Thank you."
"There's nothing to thank me for, Malfoy," Harry said, waving him off. "This isn't a favour at all, nor is it something you needed to ask of me. It's simply the way things should be."
"Nevertheless, not everyone shares your sentiments, Harry," Draco said. "Many people in your position might have done exactly what Snape did. Especially given our history."
"Well, I guess I'm different from most people, then. So, now that we've gotten that out of the way, was there anything else you needed? Because term is about to start and, honestly, I've got much better things to do than sit here and look at your ugly mug."
"The feeling is mutual, Potter," Draco said with a smirk. "I have some other things I really should attend to as well, so I will leave you now. I will say that I believe you will think far better of Scorpius than you ever have of me. He may have inherited my looks, but in personality, he takes after his mother."
"Thank Merlin for that," Harry said, returning the smirk. Draco gave another curt nod and turned around. He walked towards the door, but as he was about to open it, Harry spoke again.
"I just have to ask you one thing, Malfoy. Scorpius? Really? Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy? What were you thinking?"
Draco's smirk turned into a true smile, though since he never turned around, Harry didn't see it. Rather than turning to look at the man he'd once considered his mortal enemy, Draco kept his back turned as he fired back.
"You're one to talk, Potter. Given your horrible taste in...well, just about everything, I wouldn't be surprised if you named a child after Dumbledore. Better yet..why stop at honouring your beloved Headmaster? Why not honour your favourite professor as well? Albus Severus. Albus Severus Potter. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
Draco opened the door and made his exit, Harry's chuckles accompanying him down the otherwise silent corridor.
A/N: There it is. I spent just a few hours on this, so it probably isn't the most polished story around. Just a pointless little idea that popped into my head and would not leave until I jotted it down. Hopefully at least a few of you found it semi-interesting anyhow.