Summary: Sequel to After the Fairytale. Little snippets of the lives of the Potters and Malfoys as the children grow up. In no particular order. This does have the Harry/Draco pairing- Not much slash in this, but the original was all slash, so beware!
Author's Note: I just didn't want to let them go when After the Fairytale was finished. I wondered what they would be like as they grew up given the little bit I had already established for them. So here you go. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter world. Everything belongs to JK Rowling. Though I have somewhat based Lily's personality on my own daughter. And I think I'd like to adopt Albus Severus.
Other Fairytales
By LadyKatie
Love and Family
It was a warm autumn afternoon as the group of seventh years sat under a large shade tree with their books out. The leaves had only just begun to change color on the Hogwarts grounds, signifying that it was far too early in the school term to require such a massive study session. Unfortunately, Professor Sandu, the new Potions Master, was not familiar with the concept of mercy and the class had quickly become the most hated in the whole school. In addition to concerns over N.E.W.T.s at the end of the year, the students were scrambling to cram for yet another big test that was becoming a weekly ritual. One bad score could throw off a student's grade for the whole year and too many had already fallen behind.
Albus Potter wasn't doing too badly, considering the raised difficulty level, but certainly could use some help. Fortunately, he had just the person on standby who could serve as his Potions guru. Scorpius Malfoy was not only excellent at nearly every subject, but he also had a sense of obligation when it came to helping Al. They didn't consider each other brothers, or even really friends, but any observer would have called them such. They shared secrets, stood up for each other and could be seen sitting together in class or in spare time.
Their friendship had gone a long way to bridging a long standing gap between their two houses. As such, they ended up with a rather diverse group for their little study sessions. Even on an afternoon like this, most seventh years were inside studying, which meant most of the students still outside were younger ones and some of them proved to be a distraction for a few of the boys.
"Hey, Bethany! Nice mammal to reptile transfiguration!" Richard yelled to a group of girls a short distance away, who happened to be practicing spells for class. This earned him a smirk and an eye roll from the girl and several laughs from his group of friends.
"Nice one, Rich," Al said sarcastically. "Now she thinks you're a freak, but at least you finally got the nerve to talk to her."
Rich threw a quill at him in retaliation, but Al just laughed and lay back on the grass with his head in Daniel's lap. It had been more than two years since he'd gotten the nerve to tell his family that he was gay. Of course Scorpius already knew and after Harry himself had a horrendously public outing in the newspaper and dealt with months of rumors about who he was dating, his son coming out as gay didn't even begin to register on his crisis scale. Al couldn't have asked for a more supportive environment. He and Daniel had been seeing each other for a year. They were what Scorpius called "nauseatingly cute," but all their friends eventually accepted the relationship. It was difficult because most of the boys hung out with each other, at least partially, to get away from their girlfriends and talk about them. But with Al and Daniel, they were always part of the group. It changed the group dynamics for a while, but they got used to it. They didn't care anymore that the two of them would hold hands while talking about a Quidditch match, or cuddle up next to each other during study sessions. It just sort of became part of life.
"Alright Gentlemen. Can we get back to Potions, or does anyone else have an ill-timed outburst for a pretty girl?"
"I don't know if I can focus on Potions," said Michael, looking off toward the lake. "Look who just showed up?"
The others glanced in the direction he pointed to see a small group of Gryffindor fifth year girls. Thea Murphy, Angela Adams and Lily Potter were just sitting down with a stack of magazines, laughing about something. Scorpius swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. He'd been doing so good about ignoring her since they returned to school. The summer holidays had been so excruciating that he found himself asking to stay with his mother for extra days, but that was only after his father and Harry had taken them all on a family trip. When his mother asked later how the trip was, all Scorpius could really remember of it was that it had been hot, they'd stayed in a beach house and Lily had gotten herself a bikini. Everything after that was a blur of cold showers.
He'd always gotten along with Lily. She was funny and smart and a great Quidditch partner. And he could remember back when they first met that she had a terrible crush on him. Could that have really been more than four years ago? He wasn't really sure when she had gotten over her crush, but she didn't flirt with him anymore. At least no more than she did with anyone else. He didn't think so anyway. They'd done a lot of growing up in four years, as evidenced by the bikini. Until then, he hadn't noticed that she had actually become very attractive. And… curvy. She was a real girl, which as silly as it might seem to describe her like that, it was a way that he had never really thought of her before. Before she was always just Harry's daughter. Now that was the last way that he thought of her.
Scorpius cleared his throat. "Yes, let's all fail our Potions test because we chose to stare at fifth year girls instead."
"I'm not staring at them," smirked Daniel.
"No, you have a whole other kind of distraction. Now let's get back to work."
"When did Lily get hot?" asked Michael, choosing to ignore Scorpius.
"Hey!" Al yelled, slapping him on the arm. "That's my sister."
"Sorry. I forgot. But I meant that in the most respectful way possible." Al snorted. "Seriously though, is she seeing anyone?"
"Not that she's told me."
"You wouldn't mind if I asked her to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend, would you?"
"Not at all. I could do the protective big brother routine, but I know that she doesn't need me to kick your arse if you didn't treat her right. You'd be dead and your body dismembered and scattered over the ocean before I even knew what happened. She's brutal."
"Come on, she's not that bad." But Michael was sounding far less sure of himself now.
"I don't know. Scorpius, what do you think?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. This was Al's way of doing the protective big brother routine, even after he said he didn't. Al theorized that people expected him to threaten to do physical damage if his sister was hurt, but if he scared the bloke off indirectly they didn't always see it coming. The idea was to make the boy afraid of not Al, but Lily herself. It was really quite genius and Scorpius didn't mind playing along. Usually.
"There was that one guy over the summer," Scorpius began, heart only half into the charade. "We never did find out what happened to him. Now, maybe his family left to go home early, we just don't know. We do know, however, that he wasn't seen again after that walk down the beach with her."
"You two are a couple of liars. All I want to know is are you going to hex me if I ask your sister out?"
"No. But we aren't lying when we say she knows how to defend herself. If you're a dick, I'll be the least of your worries."
"Hey, you think I'm dumb enough to mess with Harry Potter's daughter? You're insane."
Scorpius sighed. "Yes, he is. And yes, you are dumb. And I thought we were going to study, not obsess over Potter's sister."
"Fine. Didn't want to ask her right now anyway."
An hour later, the sun was beginning to set and the boys slowly started heading in for dinner. The grounds were emptying out quickly. Even Lily's friends began to head in. Al and Daniel were still sitting with Scorpius, pretending to study, but really just being nauseatingly cute. Scorpius was pretending himself. Though he was bent over a Potions book, the page had not been turned in several minutes, as he was glancing up at the lake more often than he was actually reading. Finally Al and Daniel chose to go in also.
As he stood up, Al looked down at Scorpius. "I don't think she really wants to go to Hogsmeade with Michael, but she might accept just to escape boredom if there's no other offer."
Scorpius looked up at him. "So?"
Al only laughed. "You can't hide things from me any better than I can from you. We always could see the truth, even if everyone else was fooled. Go talk to her and let me know how it goes."
As he walked off, hand in hand with Daniel, Scorpius watched Lily. She was sitting by herself now, though it looked as though she was putting her stuff away. Scorpius quickly threw his own papers in his rucksack and headed over toward her.
"Need any help?"
"Oh. Hi. Um… yeah, I guess."
He knelt down to help. "You seem surprised to see me."
"Well you've said maybe two words to me since school started. I thought I must have done something to piss you off."
"Sorry about that. I'm not angry with you or anything. I've just been… busy."
"You've been cold and grumpy."
"That too. Sorry."
Having put away the last of the magazines, they stood and began walking back toward the castle.
"First Hogsmeade weekend is coming up."
"Yeah. It'll be good to get out."
"So you're going?"
"Of course I'm going."
"Well yes, but…. I just meant… Who are you going with?"
"Probably Angela and Thea, as usual. Why?"
"No reason." Merlin, was he actually babbling? "Actually Michael was talking about asking you to spend the day with him."
"Really? So what are you doing exactly? Acting as his spy to find out if I'm interested?"
"Definitely not."
"Good." She smiled. "I'm not though. Interested, I mean. Michael is nice, but he's a bit of a bother. Besides, I don't go out with my brother's friends."
"Oh." He paused, then grinned. "I hate your brother. Does that mean you would consider spending Saturday with me?"
Had he always found her laugh so enticing?
"You love my brother."
"Okay. But I'm willing to pretend to hate him so you can escape Michael's presence next weekend and go with me instead."
"My hero. But I don't need you to save me. All I have to do is say no."
"I've always known you don't need saving. I was just offering my company, but like you said, all you have to say is 'no.'"
"Are you offering your company as a friend, or as my step-brother, for lack of a better term, or as… something else?"
"Good question." He paused, considering his answer carefully. He certainly was not asking as a brother, step or otherwise. "Well, can we just say that I'm asking as someone who knows you very well and enjoys your company?"
"Fine. I'm walking down with Thea. I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks around one?"
"That sounds lovely."
They had reached the castle and Scorpius started to turn toward the Great Hall. Lily stopped.
"I have to run up to the dorms before I eat. I'll see you later."
He gave a little half wave before wandering into the Great Hall and sitting down next to Al. His presence at the Gryffindor table and Al at the Slytherin table from time to time had become a non-issue over the years. In fact, there seemed to be a lot more inter-house mingling these days. Daniel almost never sat with his fellow Ravenclaws since he and Al started dating. No one really cared. Al turned away from Daniel to see Scorpius' goofy grin.
"Oh god, you asked her out."
"I did not. We just decided to meet up in town Saturday."
"I'm proud of you. I really am. Just make sure you don't screw it up like your last relationship."
Scorpius shuddered, thinking of the terrible month he spent with a Ravenclaw in their year. "That wasn't my fault. Besides, this isn't that kind of relationship."
"Oh, it isn't? So I was just imagining you staring at my sister's breasts when we were on that beach in the Bahamas?"
"You didn't tell me about that," said Daniel, looking curious.
"Well, I don't like to talk about my sister's breasts, do I? And for some reason I didn't think you'd be interested either." Al grinned and leaned in to kiss Daniel quickly.
"I'm not. I just didn't know that he was."
"I'm not."
Al snorted. "He had to carry his towel in front of his swim shorts walking back into the house and then disappeared into the bathroom for twenty minutes."
"Thank you for watching me so closely. Don't you think this is a little weird? Most people consider us siblings. We live together during holidays."
He shrugged. "Only part of the time. And you're not related by blood. Just don't shag her at home, if it comes to that."
Scorpius blushed. "It's not that kind of relationship," he repeated.
"I don't get it," said Daniel. "Anyone else talks about dating her and you scare them off, but when it comes to him, it's just 'don't shag her at home'? Why?"
"Well, he can't be scared off by me and I've known for four years that it would come to this eventually. Even after she stopped acting all lovesick, I knew it was only a matter of time."
"You watch me entirely too closely. Are you sure you're not in love with me?"
"Oh please. How many Potters do you have to have falling all over you to satisfy that ego?"
"You know me, I'm an attention whore."
Hogsmeade weekend came around before Scorpius knew it and he found himself sitting alone at a corner table at Three Broomsticks, waiting. After debating with himself silently for five minutes, he finally ordered a butterbeer and alternated between drinking it and drumming his fingers on the table. Every time the door opened he jumped and then relaxed when he saw the new arrival was not Lily. Unfortunately, one new arrival turned out to be turned out to be Al and Daniel. Scorpius scowled. Were those two never separated by more than an inch and a half?
"Heads up, Scorpius. We passed her and her friends on the way down here. They're all giggly and annoying."
"Her friends are coming too?"
"No. They're stopping at the clothing shop and she's coming here. And don't act like a dick or I'll have to beat you up."
"I'm not going to. And besides, this is just as friends."
"Sure. I can guarantee that's the last thing on either of your minds."
The scowl deepened. "What are you two even doing here? I thought you'd be taking full advantage of the empty dorm rooms today."
"All in due time. If we get what we need at Zonko's we can still make it back with a couple hours to spare before the others start coming in."
"You're impossible."
"Insatiable, more like it," Daniel answered.
"Ugh. Didn't want to hear that."
The door opened again to reveal Lily Potter. She looked around and grinned when she caught sight of the boys.
"I didn't know this was going to be a party."
"They were just leaving to go snog."
"Yes," said Al. "We'll leave you two to have a nice, friendly chat."
With that, and a wicked grin directed at Scorpius, he threw an arm around Daniel and left.
"So…" Scorpius began awkwardly. "How's everything going?"
"Fine. You?"
"Good."
The silence stretched for several moments.
"Scorpius, why did you ask me to meet you here?"
"I thought we could catch up. We don't talk all that much these days."
"Scorpius, be real. I'm not an idiot."
"I know that."
"So what is this?"
"Why does it have to be anything?"
She shrugged. "It doesn't have to be, but it's been my experience when boys ask you somewhere and then act nervous and don't have anything to say, it means that they want it to be something. And you've been acting oddly around me since summer."
Damn her. She'd always had a way of getting right to the point that made him uncomfortable. Because she never seemed uncomfortable at all.
"Okay, here it is. I feel like some sort of incestuous pervert for liking you, but I do."
"Oh."
"Oh? That's all?"
"You're not my brother, Scorpius, and I've never thought of you that way."
"But you have to admit that it is sort of… odd."
"We're not related by blood, we weren't raised together and technically our parents aren't even married. We're not siblings in any sense of the word."
"You're not weirded out by this?"
"I've liked you since I met you. I didn't really care whose son you were and I don't care now. I do care that you'll leave school after this year and I might not get another chance to find out just how much I like you. Does that weird you out?"
Scorpius smiled. "No."
"Good. Then just relax. It's just me; no need to try to impress me. You couldn't anyway, since I know just about everything about you."
Mistakes of Youth
If James had to choose the one thing he hated more than anything else, he probably would have said annoying people. But he would have been lying. More than even the most annoying person on Earth, James absolutely hated admitting when he was wrong.
Over the years, as he'd grown up some, he'd come to understand when he absolutely had to admit to being human and when he could get away with a little slip. Now and then, even he had to admit that apologies were in order. Occasionally he had moments of regret for the way he'd treated Draco when the man had first entered their family. Since that time, Draco had proved to be a loyal partner to his dad. They were quite obviously in love, as nauseating as that thought was. James had seen the way Draco sat, worried, at Harry's bedside when he was injured. And Draco had always treated Harry's children with fairness. Aside from Draco's rather dark past, James really had no reason to hate him at all, and even he could admit that mistakes of youth were hardly grounds for a judging a grown man.
All four children were home on Christmas holidays the day James decided to finally make things right. He and Draco had been getting along just fine already. They weren't the best of friends, but they didn't fight and James had never said an unkind word against him since his ultimatum to his father all that time ago. James was in his seventh year and with any luck by next year would be able to move out of his father's and Draco's house. It was feeling more and more like his last chance to say what needed to be said to Draco.
He picked Draco's Diagon Alley office to meet with him. He found the house office rather annoying because of the large portrait of Lucius Malfoy hanging over the fireplace. Lucius didn't usually say much, but he did glare and James would much prefer discussing such delicate matters where he wouldn't have the man's presence unnerving him so.
"What are you doing in town?" Draco asked, looking up from his paperwork when James entered.
"Shopping. Only three days left until Christmas, you know."
"Yes. Do you know what your father got me? He's being quite stingy with the clues this year."
"Sorry. We looked, but we think he's keeping his gifts at his office this year. He must have figured out that we found his last hiding place."
Draco frowned. "I'll have to find another way."
"What did you get him?"
Draco grinned suddenly. "You won't tell him, will you?"
"Share information with him when he has not been forthcoming? Of course not."
"I'm taking him away for New Year's. It's an anniversary of sorts for us. I already made arrangements with your mother and Scorpius' for you all to stay there for the last few days before you go back to school. Harry has no idea of course."
"You weren't going to let us know that we would be moved about?"
"I was going to tell you all, but I haven't had a moment alone with any of you. Your father insists on getting home on time every day. If you lot weren't there, he'd be staying at the Ministry until all hours of the day and night."
James laughed. "That sounds like him."
"You'll have fun with your mother, I'm sure."
"Less since Dean moved in."
"As far as step fathers go, he can't be so bad."
"He's great. Just different, that's all."
"Better than me anyway."
"You're not so bad," James said quietly. "Actually, that's sort of why I came here today." He took a deep breath. "You said, years ago that someday I would apologize to you. I guess I never really got 'round to it. I am sorry. I was a spoiled, obnoxious shit."
Draco smiled. "What made you change your mind?"
"You love my dad. I never really cared that much that he's gay. I mean, personally the thought of being with another guy really, really grosses me out. No offense; I'm sure to most gay men you're really good-looking and all, but watching you kiss my dad pretty much makes me lose my lunch. That said, it's not really my business what my dad or anyone else does with what's in his trousers."
Draco laughed a little at that. James had a way of being very direct, to the point of vulgarity at times.
"And I guess I realize that having that Mark doesn't make you a Death Eater. You were man enough to own up to your mistakes. Thought it was about time I did the same."
"Thank you for saying so. I was worried after Albus came out that maybe it would set you against me more."
"Well you didn't make him gay or anything."
"No, but I was never clear on exactly how you felt about it. But I understand the way you explained it just now."
"I don't understand why my dad and brother are what they are or you for that matter, but it doesn't change everything I've already known about my family. And I was wrong about you. You ended up being the best thing for my dad."
"Thank you, James. You saying that means more than you can understand and I accept your apology."
James exhaled, as if just remembering to breathe. Had he underestimated the amount of guilt he had felt these years? "I should have said it a long time ago."
What the Future Holds
"Harry?" Scorpius asked tentatively, peeking in the door.
Harry looked up from his paperwork, surprised. "Scorpius? What are you doing here?"
"Father sent me home early. Apparently he doesn't need Lily and I both there at once. Thought I'd stop by. I hope it's okay. Your assistant said I could come in."
"It's fine. She wouldn't have let you in if I'd been busy. She likes stopping my visitors, but then you look so much like your father she probably likes you already." Harry pushed his papers aside and leaned back in his chair, smiling. For the first time Scorpius noticed the little age lines around Harry's eyes and the little flecks of gray hair near his temples. "Sit down. What can I do for you?"
Scorpius sat, feeling nervous. "I'm sure you remember I told my father last summer that I don't want to help him run his businesses after school."
"Yes, I remember. He still rants from time to time because you haven't decided what you do want to do."
"I know. He's rather cross with me."
"No. And it's not so much about the business because he would never push you into it if you didn't want it, but he's worried that you'll never find what you do want to do, especially since you'll leave school in a few months. And as far as his business goes, between you and me, I think Lily is much more likely to want to work with him after school. She really gets into the potions. You do well with them, but you're more like me in that you prefer spell work. I think you need a certain amount of adventure too. It's not something your father always understands."
"Well, that's sort of what I'm here for. I've been thinking about something for a while, but I wanted to run it by you, see what you think."
Harry frowned. "Did you run it by your dad?"
His eyes dropped to the hands in his lap. "Not yet. I know he won't be happy. That is why I need your completely honest opinion. Do not tell me what you think he would want you to say."
"Of course."
Scorpius took a deep breath. "I think I want to be an Auror." There. He said it. He looked back up at Harry for his reaction.
"That's it? With that lead in I thought you were running away to join the circus." He laughed. "I think you would make a great Auror. You certainly have the marks for it."
"You think so?"
"Yes. You're right about your father not liking it though. He says that I have an obsession with saving people and considers it a mental defect. He's counting the years until I retire, I'm sure. He's a bit of a drama queen about it, but he's realistic about how dangerous it can be."
"I know the dangers. I remember your injuries and he's told me stories about Dark magic."
"I won't say anything to him until you're ready. He will say a lot of really terrible things about this decision, but it's only because he doesn't want to see you hurt. It's because he's seen Dark magic up close and knows what it can do. If this is what you really want, don't listen to him. And don't ever tell him that I said that."
Scorpius smiled. "So I have your support? If I apply to the program this spring?"
"Absolutely. You'll still have to pass all the tests. I can't help with that part, but I will certainly move your application to the top of the pile. Application deadline is May first, testing and interviews are over the summer and training starts at the end of August. So you have plenty of time to consider it."
"I'm pretty sure. I mean, I've seen what it's like through you and Ron and Teddy, so I know what I'm getting into."
"Good. Well, no hard feelings if you change your mind, but I'm glad to hear you're considering it. We'd love to have you here."
"Er, there's something else that I wanted to talk to you about. And I hope it won't make you change your mind about supporting me joining the Aurors."
"Is this about you dating Lily?"
Scorpius' jaw dropped open. "You know about that?" Harry nodded. "How?"
He smiled. "I've learned a few tricks over the years. But the most important one I learned from Albus Dumbledore: you never reveal your sources. That way you seem mysterious and omniscient."
"It's sort of creepy."
"I know. Isn't it great? One of these days I'll grow the beard too. Though I don't believe your dad would approve."
"Lily and I weren't really trying to keep it secret. We just didn't know how to tell you."
"I know. We were letting you find your own time, though we were surprised you didn't say anything at Christmas. It was very obvious by then. On the plus side, we both lost the bet. I said you'd wait until you got caught snogging and he said that you would go straight to him next time you were home. We were both wrong."
Scorpius cringed. "You were betting on us?"
"We bet on everything."
Scorpius knew this. That was an element that had not existed within his father and Harry's relationship from the beginning, but started soon after they'd bought their house together. He thought at first that they were just that bored in what nearly equaled married life. Then he'd gotten to understand the relationship a little better. Things that he'd not noticed due to childhood innocence became plain. He knew his father had been… well, promiscuous seemed an understatement. Though he had never been told the details, he knew that Harry and Draco had some kind of arrangement that allowed them to both sleep with other men occasionally. Somewhere along the line though, the arrangement became obsolete. As near as Scorpius figured, that was when his father started making bets on everything. It was a compulsion. He was naturally competitive and he needed something to occupy his mind when he was no longer focused on seducing every man over the age of eighteen. They'd bet on everything from quidditch games to political matters to, apparently, their children.
"Draco and I are just fine with the relationship. I trust you. At least as much as I can trust any teenage boy.
"Thank you. I thought you might… I mean, you've indicated before that you didn't really like Lily's boyrfriends."
"True. But my boyfriend has informed me that I need to 'mellow out,' I believe he called it."
Scorpius frowned at the odd wording being attributed to his father. "He was smoking weed at the time, wasn't he?"
"You know him too well." Harry glanced at a picture sitting on his desk. It was one of him and Draco and all four children that was taken two summers ago. "Scorpius, I want you to know, especially now that you're leaving school soon, that I'm still here for you. I may not have been in your life for very long and I know you're not my son, but I do think of you like a son. Whatever you need, you can come to me. Regardless of where your relationship with Lily goes."
"Thank you, Harry."
Long Distance
Lily Potter had been a Gryffindor, but she'd always had a Slytherin streak in her. Perhaps it was why she had always gotten along with her dad's boyfriend. Of course Draco would have said that all Harry's children had a Slytherin streak. It was how he justified loving them so much. Of all the children, Lily was the closest to Draco from the first day they met. They just understood each other. They shared a blunt manner of speaking and doing things. Though they both had impeccable social manners, they were both quite authoritative and even demanding. They nearly always got their way. This is why Draco insisted on Lily working for him after school.
She didn't work exclusively for Draco right away. She'd been working in his shop during holidays for some time, but after school they both agreed she needed a little more training to move up in the company at all. Her true skills were in herbology and potions. She had a talent for making potions, but even more for choosing the perfect ingredients for them. She stayed at school to work as Neville Longbottom's assistant in the Herbology department, helping him with research. After two terms of that, she did the same in the Potions department, still working for Draco between terms. She often accompanied Draco on his business trips. Sometimes it was to get contracts, other times they were off to find potions ingredients, but either way they were a good team.
When Draco needed tough business decisions made, but was unable to attend to them himself, Lily was the woman for the job. Like a true Gryffindor, she didn't back down. But like the Slytherins, she had ways of conning, tricking and, if need be, bullying her opponents into submission. The business had never been doing better. So when Draco saw the need to keep someone in New York indefinitely to oversee the exports, he saw no reason why anyone but Lily should be assigned the mission.
She stayed there for weeks at a time in a very nice flat Draco had purchased for just such situations. It was difficult being away from Scorpius and her family, but she loved the work. And Draco visited every couple weeks to check in on her.
The New York office was all abuzz when Draco swooped into town. Lily made sure everyone was on their best behavior, but on this particular trip it wasn't the other employees that she needed to be concerned about. Draco arrived just as Lily was finishing up a meeting with Andrew, one of their herbologists. He remained outside her office, going over paperwork with the secretary, but couldn't help noticing the body language between her and Andrew. It was subtle, perhaps just in the way she smiled and the way he leaned in toward her, but it was there. He let it go until after they had gone over the day's business and Andrew was long gone.
"It must be lonely here for so long," Draco said suddenly.
Lily looked up from her notes, startled by the change in subject.
"I've been managing. I'd rather be home, but New York is lovely. I've ventured out to the muggle areas a lot, seen some plays, walked through Central Park, but don't tell my dad that part. He's convinced I'm going to be attacked by some deranged psychopath. He's got some odd ideas about the city, I think."
"He's just concerned. I wasn't until today."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you can take care of yourself. Merlin help any stranger who tries to sneak up on you in a dark alley. No. I'm far more concerned about the people you know, rather than the other six million in this city."
"Now you've really lost me." But she looked as if she was anything but lost.
"Andrew."
To her credit, she didn't look away or even blink. "What about him? You think he's a danger to me?"
"Does he know that you have a boyfriend back home?"
"Of course." She gestured to the photos of Scorpius all over her desk. "Anyone who has been in here knows and Scorpius was introduced to the entire team when he was here last month."
"But that was a month ago. A lot can happen in that time."
"I understand that you feel protective of your son, but I don't like what you seem to be implying."
"Neither do I and I wish I didn't have to have this conversation. I've known you since you were eleven. I think I know when you're flirting with a boy."
"I'm not cheating, nor have I ever cheated on Scorpius."
"I believe you. But I also believe that no one is perfect."
"Including you. Ever think that you might have the wrong idea here?"
Draco frowned, but then nodded. "Enough of this. Let me take you out to dinner."
Dinner was fun and comfortable. They didn't waste time with polite conversation or social conformity. When it was just the two of them they could be completely straightforward with each other. And that was exactly how each of them was most comfortable.
The next two days were passed with dinners, catching up and a lot of business. Andrew wasn't in the office every day, as Draco discovered, but when he was, he was being watched. Draco followed him with his eyes from the front door, to Lily's office, and back. The boy had a smile on his face that said it all. And Lily blushed when he looked at her. Draco knew that she would never intentionally hurt Scorpius, but the whole situation was making him uneasy. It was time to sit down with the boy.
That evening Lily found herself in a very expensive black dress at Draco's hotel, knocking. They were supposed to go to dinner again, but he had left a message for her to come up to his room. When she knocked, she was directed to enter and she found Draco sitting in partial darkness, facing out the window watching the sun set. It only took her a quick moment to notice the smell of his cigarettes. He didn't smoke often anymore, but he indulged when he was away from Harry. Partly out of boredom, and partly because he knew Harry wouldn't find out and scold him.
"Joanne said you wanted to speak with me before dinner."
Draco exhaled a cloud of smoke before answering. "He's in love with you."
She raised an amused eyebrow. "Who?"
"Andrew. I talked to him today. I wasn't going to, but when I saw him in your office this morning I knew I had to."
Immediately she went from amused to irritated. The subject of Andrew had her on edge all week and she'd been hoping that he wouldn't bring it up again. "Draco, I told you there's nothing between us."
"But he wants there to be. And you've let it go this far. Who is to say you won't let it go further in a moment of loneliness?"
Lily came fully into the room and sat down in the armchair nearest Draco.
"This is really bothering you."
"Did you hear me? He wants to be with you and doesn't care that you have a boyfriend. He has admitted as much."
"And why would he admit that to you?"
Draco looked at her and smirked. "Do you know me at all? I have my ways."
"I'm sorry, Draco. I love you and I know you're just concerned, but this is none of your business."
"You know me well. I'm not a big fan of monogamy. Or wasn't when I was your age. I've had more lovers than any five people combined. So obviously I'm not interested in judging. But I will say that with the exception of Scorpius' mother, everyone I ever had any kind of relationship with knew up front that they were not my only lover. And they accepted that lifestyle. Scorpius does not accept that. So as much as I would like to tell you to fill the lonely nights, I know that it would devastate him."
"I would never hurt him."
"I know you wouldn't set out to do that. I may not know everything, but I know sexual tension when I see it. And I see it when you're looking at him."
She let out a long sigh and leaned back in her chair. "Being away like this, it messes with my head sometimes. Sometimes Scorpius seems distracted when I talk to him and for a few moments I have myself convinced that he's cheating on me or just waiting for the right time to break up with me."
"He's not."
"I know that, but it's hard to remember when we're so far apart. I know he's probably distracted because my dad works him far too hard, but it's hard to understand the day to day stress when I'm so far removed from it."
"He'll propose, you know."
"I know that; we've talked about getting married a lot."
"No," he replied, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "He's going to propose next month. When you come home."
Lily's eyebrows shot up and her mouth dropped open slightly. Then, breathlessly, "Really?"
"He's distracted because every time he talks to you he is holding back the question he's been wanting to ask for months. He picked a ring out shortly after he returned to London last time.
"This job is your chance to make a clean break if you need to. If there's any chance that you have some sort of feelings for Andrew then leave Scorpius now. Don't let it continue just to hurt him later. I can make your position here permanent and you can start over. You understand I'm trying to protect my son and you at the same time."
Lily shook her head, as if just now understanding all that Draco had been saying. "No!"
"Beg pardon?"
"Andrew is nothing. Scorpius… he's everything to me."
He frowned and turned toward her fully. "Are you sure you're not saying this simply because you want to be proposed to?"
"Draco, you idiot. Andrew was never… He was a friend and you're right; it has gotten lonely here. And even after I realized that he liked me in a different sense, I kept spending time with him because it was good to feel… wanted. It feels just a little less lonely. And maybe I shouldn't have indulged, or tempted fate, but I swear to you that I have never crossed the line, nor been tempted to. Because even if I pass the evenings at a play, allowing Andrew to flirt, the highlight of that evening is when I can go home and call your son."
Draco studied her for several moments and finally sighed. "Fine. You know what this means though, don't you?"
"No."
"I just gave away Scorpius' secret plans."
"I will pretend to be surprised."
Draco nodded.
"Are we okay? I mean, I don't want you to think, every time I'm away on business, that there could be a chance… Scorpius means everything to me. I would never ruin that. Nor destroy the trust you have in me. Ever since you started seeing my dad, I wanted to be your daughter. The added bonus to marrying Scorpius is that I finally get my wish."
"Your father and I may not have ever made it official, but I always considered you a daughter anyway. That is what made this conversation so distasteful. If I didn't love you I may have handled this differently. But I do, so I had to make sure you were okay too."
She smiled. "I'm sending Andrew to New Mexico next week to collect the snake venom we need. It's been in the plans for weeks. Between that and the South America trip, he will be gone until it is time for me to come home, so you shouldn't need to think about that anymore."
"I am relieved. And I will see what I can do about getting you home sooner. After all, we will have a wedding to plan."
Lily couldn't help the grin that stretched across her face. "Let's not do that until he actually asks me."