Hello all! Okay, I have this new story that is slowly but surely taking over my life and now I'm graciously sharing it with you.

Now I know I've been unfair to you all especially since I haven't updated To Win the Heart in ...well, months... but believe me I am ashamed. Extremely ashamed. HOWEVER, the next installment is well on its way, so is another two new stories that I will release... soonish. Just know I am still writing feverishly for you all, but I'm so excited about this one I just can't keep it to myself any longer. Lex's (my beta) enthusiasm may have spurred me on to post this one too. Thanks for looking it over!

I'm trying out a new ship, its a Potter/Malfoy offspring fic. So I hope you enjoy.

The usual disclaimer (not that I really do it anymore lol everyone knows these characters aren't mine and if you don't you're an idiot). The Potter universe and its inhabitants all belong to JK Rowling and thank God for her I say! Sadly this is for my enjoyment only and I make no monies.

Enjoy.

Chapter 1: School in the Summer holidays

Albus Severus Potter cringed at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Everybody told him how much he looked like his father, especially people his dad went to school with, but he didn't see the resemblance. Sure he had his father's dark hair and bright green eyes, but his face was also littered with Weasley freckles and he had his mother's full pink lips. Nobody else seemed to notice this; they were too preoccupied with the idea that he was a 'little Harry'. 'He's like a little clone!' they would exclaim. Albus would try not to make his grimace too noticeable as he felt the pressure of being compared, yet again, to his famous and heroic father.

Generally he tried to escape these situations as quickly as possible in an attempt to avoid the questions that often followed. Albus was an intelligent boy and the stupidity of people who should know better grated on his tolerance incredibly, but his patience and understanding never allowed him to be short with those whose idiocy couldn't be helped. Many people – more than you'd expect – thought that because he looked like Harry that he must, in fact, be Harry. 'Do you play Quidditch for Gryffindor too?' they would ask him. Sometimes he would want to lie and say he did just so he didn't have to see their disappointed faces when he told them he'd rather bash his head against a brick wall until he was unconscious than sit through the torture of a Quidditch match.

He was similar to his father in ways only people who knew them both well could see; Albus had Harry's compassion and generosity, he inherited his selflessness, courage and concern for others. He had a big heart just like his dad and he was much happier having his heart then he would have been had he inherited his father's talent on a broomstick as his older brother James had.

As though bidden by Albus' thoughts, James appeared in the bathroom doorway. "Hey, Nerd," he said in greeting.

"Sod off," Albus groaned at his brother. James was always teasing him; he thought it was funny, but Albus thought it stopped being funny fifteen years ago.

"I can't believe you're going to school when you don't have to," James said, comfortably ignoring Albus' disdain.

"It's not school, James," Albus snapped, losing his temper immediately. Only James had that power over him, he was usually a calm person, but his brother had a unique effect on his nature. "It's an incredible opportunity!"

"No, it's the summer holidays," James insisted. "Going out camping with your mates in the country is summer holidays; some lame trip with students and teachers is school."

"It's not a lame trip!" Albus barked. "That house hasn't been disturbed for two hundred years and I get to investigate it!"

"That's just an academic cover for slave labour!" he laughed. "You'll be cleaning two hundred year old dust bunnies off the furniture!"

"James," Albus heard his mother growl unseen from out in the corridor. "You're of age now, you've just graduated Hogwarts, why are you still picking on your little brother?"

"Because he constantly rises to the occasion," James smirked at Albus who frowned back at him.

"Your Uncle George is expecting you at the shop in half an hour," their mother told James, "I told him if you're late he should make you clean out the Product Testing Room again – manually."

James cringed as he remembered the last time he was subjected to that punishment – George had just been testing a new balloon bomb that was designed to explode slime, James suspected George had tested that product on purpose so the clean up was particularly nasty for him. "Yeah, alright, I'm going. See ya, Nerd, have fun at school," he laughed as he left Albus alone in the bathroom.

Albus grit his teeth to physically contain the nasty response he felt like shouting at James' retreating back; despite the fact that their mother was only two feet away, Albus would have contained the response anyway – he was better than that.

"Got your toothbrush, Sweetie?" Ginny asked her son. Albus gasped as he realised he'd completely forgotten why he was even in the bathroom in the first place. "Everything else is downstairs and your father is waiting for you," his mother continued.

Albus snatched up his toothbrush and raced downstairs to meet his father. "Okay, I'm ready!" he announced. "Let's go!"

Harry laughed as he watched his son bounce excitedly around the Entryway where their main fireplace was located. "Okay, Champ," he said. "Go give Mum a kiss and I'll take your bags."

Albus jogged over to his mother and wrapped her in a big hug before pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Bye, Mum," he farewelled her softly.

"Have fun, Darling," she replied, waving to her husband and her son as they disappeared through the Floo network. "I love you!"

"Love you, Mum! … The Leaky Cauldron!" he announced as he threw down his Floo powder and stepped into the flames. His father was waiting for him as he stumbled out of the grate – no matter how many times he travelled that way he didn't think he'd ever get used to it.

Professor McGonagall, his Headmistress, had said in her letter that they would meet as a group in the Conference Room at the Leaky Cauldron and would depart from there. At the end of his fifth year – only a few weeks ago – Albus had been invited to participate in this project. A young couple had inherited a centuries old manor that hadn't been lived in for nearly 200 years. The couple had no use for the house and, like its owners before them, they were simply going to let it sit. Albus wasn't exactly sure how it came about but somehow the top boy and top girl from each Hogwarts house in fifth and sixth year had been invited to explore the manor. Despite what James said, Albus didn't think of this as school, he wouldn't be getting a grade, just an amazing learning opportunity.

"Harry!" Albus heard someone call out to his father and he looked up quickly to see if he needed to make a hasty escape plan, but, to his relief, he saw the familiar red Weasley hair of his Uncle Ron. "Thank God you're here," Ron whispered as he got closer. "You can deflect attention off of me!" Albus looked up to see his usually stern looking Headmistress making her way over to them looking pleased at their arrival.

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron. He shuddered at the thought, but the two of them were nearly forty and Minerva McGonagall still made Ron as nervous as a First Year.

After greeting Professor McGonagall, Albus left the adults to chat in order to seek out his cousin Rose, Ron's daughter; she was also set to come on this trip. He spied her across the room talking to Lucinda a sixth year Gryffindor girl – one of James' numerous ex girlfriends – and, urgh! Stacey Gilbert – a fifth year Hufflepuff with such a nasty obsession with Albus that it bordered on stalking.

"Traitor," he whispered under his breath as he eyed Rose being friendly to a girl who, in all likelihood, would one day tie him unwilling to a bedpost and have her way with him.

"Who are we looking at?" a voice behind him asked in a sing-song tone.

Albus didn't need to turn around to see who it was, he knew already; Oscar Diver. Oscar was a sixth year Gryffindor and Chaser for the house Quidditch team – he was also another of Albus' admirers, but he wasn't quite as unwelcome as Stacey. Albus could feel Oscar's body pressing lightly against his own as he stood closer to him than strictly necessary. "Rose," he answered eventually.

"Are you in a fight with her?" he asked as he placed his arm around Albus' shoulders, a friendly move to the casual observer, but rather more intimate to Albus.

Oscar's thumb moved tenderly back and forth over his robes and Albus tingled under the touch. "No," he answered, willing his body not to shiver noticeably.

"Then why are you frowning at her?" Oscar asked him.

"Because she's talking to Stacey Gilbert," he explained.

"The girl who tried to break into your dorm room wearing only a trench coat and a pair of lacy black knickers?"

"Yeah, her," Albus confirmed, cringing at the memory of that night only four months earlier.

"Don't worry, Gorgeous, I'll protect you from her," Oscar assured him in a low voice. "Which one is she?"

Rose was now talking to another two girls and one of the teachers – Professor Faulkner, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, a handsome young man in his late twenties who most of the girls, and some of the boys, had a crush on. "The dirty blonde on her left in the purple robes," Albus pointed out.

"What?" Oscar gasped, pretending to be shocked. "There's nothing wrong with a nice blonde!"

Albus rolled his eyes. Tessie Glayde – universally considered the hottest chick at Hogwarts – could be standing naked in front of Oscar begging to be touched and he wouldn't even get remotely warm; the boy was unequivocally gay. "Yeah, a nice blonde," Albus retorted, scoffing at Oscar's sarcastic suggestion that Stacey was in any way appealing.

"What, do you mean like Malfoy?" Oscar teased. Albus coloured instantly, his cheeks glowed under a rosy blush and he heard Oscar practically purr at him. "I never did like that you passed me up for that Slytherin, but I always understood," he said.

Oscar had discovered Albus studying alone in the common room one night late last year, everyone else had gone to bed, but he couldn't sleep worrying about the Potions test they had the next day so he'd gotten up to revise for another hour longer. Oscar had never been subtle in his affections for Albus so, after months of confusion and worrying about his sexual orientation, Albus had kissed him and it was wonderful. He was unprepared for the wash of desire he felt from this small act, and the sense of freedom for finally letting go and feeling right for the first time in years. The experience escalated into Oscar giving Albus a life changing blowjob in his favourite squashy chair by the fireplace – there was no going back after that and he never looked at that chair the same ever again. Despite Oscar's desire to take things further, Albus found he wasn't quite ready for that and the two parted amicably and slipped back into a flirty friendship. One day, a week or so later, Oscar caught Albus staring at Scorpius Malfoy across the Great Hall over breakfast and had teased him ever since that Malfoy was the reason he resisted a relationship. It was good-natured teasing however, since both boys knew it was about more than that, but Albus was sure Oscar also knew that had it been Scorpius requesting a relationship the outcome may have been very different.

"Speak of the Devil," Oscar whispered leaning into Albus' ear and using his fingers to gently direct his gaze over to the doorway, "and the Devil shall appear."

Scorpius Malfoy stood next to his father looking like a heavenly being and for a second Albus stopped breathing.

"Oh what I'd give to have you react that way to me," Oscar whispered still leaning close to his ear, making him shiver. "I'll distract the Beast while you rescue our young Rose-bud," he offered when it became obvious that Albus was struggling to respond and he was across the room before Albus had a chance to blink.

He watched as Oscar charmed Stacey over to a seat at the conference table far from where he was standing and a good distance from Rose. Oscar was only a year older than him and he was very attractive – he had a lean, but well muscled, Quidditch body and bright hazel eyes that always seemed to be laughing despite being half covered by a delicious mop of chocolate brown hair. But he was very intense which was why Albus was so reluctant to explore his sexuality with him. He knew Oscar was comfortable with his own orientation, apparently he'd known he was gay all his life – he'd had sixteen years to get used to the idea – but Albus was only just discovering it about himself.

Before he hit puberty he hadn't given either sex much thought, he was just happy spending time with his family and friends and reading his books. As he got older, he began to wonder if it was strange that he had to force his interest in the girl-related conversations his roommates had, but he tried not to worry about it too much – he assumed it was because he hung out with Rose and the girls so much and it was weird talking about them that way because he knew them so well. He began to worry a little more when he found he had his own opinions on the discussions the girls had about Andy Watkins' smile or Jason Lawrence's arse and became even more concerned when the girls began asking his opinion on these things.

One night, the summer after his enlightening fourth year, when he was staying at Rose's house, he crawled into her bed after everyone was asleep – as they often did – and cried into her arms as she told him she'd always known he was gay, even if he hadn't. When he thought about it he began to suspect his family had known all along as well and for nearly a month he was irrationally angry that no one had thought to mention it to him; didn't they think he deserved to know! He remembered once, when he was in second year and James in fourth, James had very nearly been expelled for punching a fifth year Slytherin that called Albus a faggot – normally punching wasn't an expellable offence, but the boy had been standing at the top of a staircase at the time and … well, by the time he reached the bottom he had lost six teeth, had two black eyes, a broken nose, a broken wrist, a concussion, and a sprained ankle. Let's just say Albus never had much trouble with homophobes who couldn't keep their prejudiced opinions to themselves after that.

Even though it was obvious to everyone else, somehow the realisation that he was gay took Albus a little off guard, and he was still unsure about it. He knew he would need someone he felt much more than just desire for explore it with him and, in some way, he was sure his friend knew that, which is why he was able to be so relaxed about Albus' rejection; Oscar didn't love him, he lusted for him and that was all. Albus' big heart required careful handling and he wanted to be loved not fucked, especially for his first time. That being said, he wouldn't say no to another kiss or two with Oscar Diver.

"Argh," Rose groaned in frustration as he walked up to her. "Someone needs to tell that psycho Stacey Gilbert that you're g-"

"ROSE!" Albus shouted a little too loudly. The whole room looked up at them, including Scorpius Malfoy, and Albus felt his blood rush to warm his cheeks.

"Well, she's trying to talk to me about you and before Oscar pulled her away from me I was dangerously close to using the Tongue-Tying hex just to shut her up!"

Albus laughed at the image that weaved into his mind and then winced as he noticed Stacey was still staring at him. "One day she's going to do something truly scary," he said only half-joking.

"What? Climbing into your dorm room naked wasn't scary enough for you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"She didn't get all the way in and she wasn't naked," he huffed. That memory was terrifying enough for him; he didn't need Rose exaggerating the circumstances.

"Oh right, the knickers, I forgot," she replied dryly. "Whatever. It's not important, what is important is Sexy Oscar Diver," she said changing the subject and describing Oscar as sexy like it was written on his birth certificate. "He's so into you Allie, what the hell are you waiting for?"

Albus sighed. He might be a sensitive, emotional sap just waiting for love, but Rose was not. She was a bookworm, definitely, but she was one of those sexy librarian type bookworms that turn out to be a secret dominatrix at home – not that she was a dominatrix, but she knew more about sex, first hand, than her father would be comfortable with. "I dunno," he said reluctantly, he didn't want to explain it to her because he wasn't sure she'd understand; she might just tell him he was being silly. Sex wasn't emotional to her; it was fun and necessary for a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle. Still, sometimes he thought it would be easier to think like Rose did, just get it out of the way and enjoy it with whomever. "It just doesn't feel right," he said quietly, knowing he just wasn't that kind of guy.

"How could it not feel right?" she asked shocked; Rose knew him very well, but they hadn't talked much about sex or relationships, that fell under the 'talking-about-his-sexuality' category and he'd steadfastly avoided that so far. "The guy looks like he fell out of Spunk Magazine, and don't even look at me like that Albus Potter, I've been in your room, I've seen your stash," she whispered quietly, barely taking a breath.

Albus' mouth fell open as he realised it had been Rose who'd stolen his favourite edition of Spunk magazine from the pile he kept hidden underneath dirty clothes in the back of his closet – the one with practically nude photos and profiles of the wizarding world's most eligible gay bachelors. But before he could properly accuse her he noticed their fathers walking over to where they stood as McGonagall began to gather all the students to the large table in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Champ! Uncle Ron and I are off, we got out of work for part of the morning, but if we're too long the boss might fire us," he said with a playful wink. Harry was, in fact, 'the boss'. He'd been Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for nearly seven years now and there was serious talk about making him Minister. He leaned in and kissed his son's silky hair and then did the same to his niece, pulling her into a big hug. "Rosie, beautiful as always, just like your mother," he told her with a smile.

Ron gave his daughter a hug and kiss before wrapping his arm around Albus' shoulders. "Right, you kids have fun," he said. "Albus, I expect you to take care of my little girl, if anything happens I'm blaming you," he laughed, but Albus knew he wasn't kidding.

"Course I will, Uncle Ron," he assured him honestly. "No worries, she'll be just fine."

Harry hurried them off to join their classmates and he and Ron disappeared back to the fireplace where they would Floo back to the Ministry.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming," Professor McGonagall began as Albus and Rose took their seats. "This is a wonderful opportunity for some independent learning, you'll have the chance to engage with a variety of magical creatures who've taken up residence in the house and you'll gain a rare insight into the lifestyle of nineteenth century witches and wizards. Now, the manor has been given the once over by several Hogwarts teachers so you won't be dealing with anything you're not equipped to handle."

There was a light hum around the room; some students were pleased to hear this and others were not. Albus let his eyes sweep the room to gauge everyone's reaction; Oscar winked at him as he glanced up and he quickly looked away, his gaze settling finally on Scorpius Malfoy who looked focused, if unimpressed, on McGonagall's speech.

"Okay, this morning I'll go over the rules of the trip, then we'll get into some fun activities that Professor Kettleburn and Professor Faulkner will lead. After that we'll have some morning tea before I assign you all buddies and then we can head off," McGonagall stated, drawing back his attention.

Albus tried to focus on her instructions as his Headmistress went through the structure of their trip, but he couldn't seem to concentrate. His mind kept drifting back to the rather alarming fact that he was about to spend the next six weeks in very close quarters to his stalker, his flirtatious admirer, and his crush.

He sighed.

Thank God for Rose.

I've decided that I'm going to keep these chapters short, rather than letting myself indulge making you wait months for an 18 page chapter as I've been known to do. Short and frequent is the idea here.

Let me know what you think. Reviews are greatly appreciated.