Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, own nothing and am not affiliated with Harry Potter in the least.

As a fan of James/Scorpius, I've come across very few fics of the pairing and decided to try my hand at the two myself. This is just a short prologue, I promise to have more excitement for the boys in future chapters. Enjoy!

A World of Expectations : Prologue

After years of all kinds of attention and his experience as head of the Auror department, Harry Potter wouldn't believe there was any situation that could catch him off guard. Yet here he was with his eldest son crouched against the far wall of his living room, head tilted back as hazel eyes stared blankly at the old ceiling in every attempt not to look over at his younger brother who was huddled on the couch across the room, shoulder shaking in silent sobs.

Worse was that was he not only unprepared for such a far cry from the normal rambunctious rivalry of when the two came home for the holidays but the reason why they were both so distressed left him speechless. Looking from one son to the other, Harry couldn't fathom how to lessen the hurt emanating from the pair. In a last attempt to find any footing, he glanced back to his wife who sadly shook her head, letting her hair fall in front of her face like red curtains in order to shield herself from her sons' pain. Sighing, Harry looked towards the younger of the two.

"Albus-"

"Don't Dad. Please just…" Albus's cracked voice trailed off, hiccuping slightly as a new wave of tears came. Eyebrows furrowing, Harry turned towards James with a bout of blind anger. Shaking his head, Harry reminded himself that it wasn't his fault that they were in this mess. Glancing across the room, his eyes narrowed as they spotted the offending jumper that had brought his house to pieces in mere minutes.

Not for the first time Harry found himself cursing his old rival's family. Although numerous years had passed since his days at Hogwarts and fragile civilities had been laid between himself and Draco Malfoy, Harry never was keen on the family. When Albus had brought the son of his former classmate to his house that for the holidays during his first year, Harry had half a mind to turn him out the second he lay eyes on the familiar visage. Unfortunately, he had begrudgingly accepted the friendship Albus was so keen to defend. Now, Harry was regretting not following his gut that December evening six years ago.

Crossing the room to the discarded item, Harry stooped down to examine the evidence of the argument. Sure enough there was a faint "SHM" embroidered in silver under the Slytherin emblem- small enough that his wife hadn't noticed when she had been doing laundry that morning and mistakenly given the much too small jumper to Albus thinking it was one of his. Sighing yet again, Harry grabbed the offending article and crumpled it beneath his arm before rising and letting his eyes settle on his eldest.

James must have felt his father's gaze turn to him as his caramel colored eyes-previously unmoving throughout the straining aftermath, closed in a painful grimace. When they reopened, James had turned to face his father, resolve and defeat lining his already distraught expression.

"I should go back to my flat," he offered in an uncharacteristic monotone. "I'll just cause more problems being here."

"Oh is he waiting for you there?" Albus shot in a voice much too high to be his.

"Albus," Harry chastised warningly, turning to challenge the fierce green eyes so much like his own that were now shooting daggers at his brother. James didn't respond but merely swallowed hard and went back to tilting his head against the wall and staring at the ceiling. As a third sigh threatened Harry, the brunette turned back to James with the firmest expression he could muster.

"I think you should stay here. It is still the holidays and the entire family shall be over tomorrow for Christmas. Your mum set up a feast for us and we aren't going to let something like this get in the way. We are still a family and you two still brothers and that is stronger than any…misunderstanding," Harry worded precariously, earning himself a snort of amusement at his understatement from Albus. Brown eyes turned to the doorway of the dining room, almost as if Harry's words of encouragement went unheard.

"Mum?" James asked meekly, emotions rarely seen spilling out from beneath his carefully crafted shell. Harry felt another tug of emotion towards his son and this time is was regret. Somewhere within his time as a parent his family had become divided, although the division was rarely seen. James had flocked to Ginny while Albus was always grouped with Harry due to their uncanny similarities and Lily had assumed the role of the Chosen One's only daughter- which was another mess entirely that he had to deal with this holiday as well, he reminded. But as he watched his son reach out towards his wife with vulnerability he had never been privy to see, Harry regretted turning a blind eye to these forged alliances within his own home and felt the need to physically reach out to the boy. Before he could decide his next move, Ginny beat him to it.

"Please stay, James. Your room is all made up, maybe it's best we all just head up to bed," she suggested with a small smile. "I'll make us all some warm tea and send it up when it's done." James nodded, readjusting himself before standing. Slightly taller than his father, James bore down into Harry's eyes as if silently communicating that it was not his fault, a thought that the brunette must be convinced of as he didn't even offer a good night to Harry before going to Ginny and giving her a hug and retreating up the stairs. Pausing at the first step and looking over to the lump on the couch that was Albus, James seemed to hesitate and consider something before shaking his head and continuing to his old bedroom.

After a few moments, Harry closed the distance between himself and the couch, perching himself gently on its edge. Hand coming to lay on Albus's shoulder, the younger boy sighed and seemed to let all the tension out of his body as he uncoiled from his fetal position.

"Your mum is right. Best be off to bed." Albus made an unintelligible whine of protest, earning a small smirk from Harry. "C'mon Al, we all need a good night's rest and we'll take this up tomorrow if you feel like it."

"No," Albus said firmly.

"Alright, whenever you're ready we are all here to talk. I'm sure James-"

"James? James what?" Albus snapped. Harry withdrew his hand as Albus tensed again. "You know what? Forget it. Night."

Harry watched Albus angrily storm up the stairs, not pausing at the first floor where his room was but continuing until Harry heard a door slam- one he assumed belonged to the guest room. Turning towards Ginny again, Harry frowned when he realized his wife was no longer waiting at the doorpost.

"Gin?"

"In here," her soft reply carried out from the kitchen, where she was preparing three cups of tea. Offering Harry a small smile when he slumped in defeat against the cabinets, she quickly handed him two of the three cups she had prepared.

"Here, take that to James. I'll send the last one up to Albus as I don't think he'd appreciate either of us disturbing him right now," Ginny sighed. Harry looked at the second cup warily, as if it had the potential to lash out at him the same way his son would if he approached him about such a matter. Ginny seemingly read his thoughts and placed an empathetic hand on his shoulder, brown eyes warm and encouraging.

"Go to him. He needs you," Ginny urged. Harry humored replying that he wasn't so sure he did but Ginny didn't give him time to speak. "Right now both of our sons are hurting and the only way you're going to find the real reason as to why is through James." The appeal to his detective side did the trick as Harry nodded, kissing his wife gently on the forehead before taking the two proffered cups and heading up the stairs to his sons' old rooms.

To the left, Albus's door remained tightly closed as a sign he had indeed opted not to room across from his brother that night. Oppositely, James's door was still cracked open. Bracing himself for whatever his typically short tempered eldest was to throw at him, Harry let himself in. James sat at the foot of his old bed, head in his hands as if to block out all of the whirling posters of his youth.

"James?" Harry's voice was not as strong as he intended it to be, but when James raised his head to reveal tear paths down his cheeks, Harry was glad for the tonal difference.

"Yeah?"

"Your mum made you tea," Harry said awkwardly, holding out the glass.

"Oh…thanks," James mumbled, taking the mug but not drinking from it. Taking his silence as a good sign, Harry sat down next to the distraught teen, green eyes gently probing for answers. A few minutes went by without either speaking, and since he hadn't been demanded for cause or asked to leave, Harry decided that was the closest James would ever get to saying he wanted to talk.

"James?"

"Yeah? Harry felt himself choke up for a minute, hesitating slightly at whether or not he wanted to know the truth of what had happened with Scorpius Malfoy that had torn apart his family. Steeling himself for the story, Harry took a deep breath before continuing.

"What happened?" The silence went from one of mild comfort to one so tense that Harry could have sworn he felt the pressure physically change. Typically bright caramel, James's eyes were a muddy brown- whether from the darkness of the room of his sadness Harry wasn't sure, but they rose from staring at the floor to thoroughly searching the green of his father's before closing as James heaved a large sign. James slid back on his mattress, legs curling up to his chest as he sullenly laid his head on his knees.

"I'll tell you...everything."

Next chapter begins the story of James and Scorpius. Feedback is lovely, stay tuned for the next installment!