Falling Stars

oOo

It was their routine, their thing, to sit out on the elegant porch with only the stars and moon as a source of light, nursing a warm cup of butterbeer to warm their hands during the winter, and iced pumpkin juice in the summer. It had been this way for eleven years, and neither of them ever thought of stopping because, in all honesty, change wasn't what they preferred. It always brought something bad with it.

Like when Astoria had packed up and left them. That was a change they hated, and still felt bitter toward to this day.

"Dad?"

"Mm?"

Scorpius turned his cherubic face toward his father and frowned, his full lips sticking out in a pout. Draco's lips twitched. "Do shooting stars feel sad?" he asked, gripping his mug of butterbeer a little tighter. "When they fall?"

Draco raised an eyebrow and set down his own steaming mug and rested his elbows on his knees to look at his son more easily. "Why would they feel sad?" he questioned, curious.

The question seemed to upset the young boy for some reason, and he dropped his eyes (eyes that looked so much like his fathers') to stare at his feet. "Because...because what if the other stars forget about the shooting star?"

Draco took a moment to look at his son, really look at him, and frowned sadly. The boy was his exact copy, down to the storm gray eyes that reflected each and every emotion passing through them and his crooked smile that could turn malicious in seconds. Though Draco had yet to see such a grin, but was subjected to a smirk that reminded him of his Hogwarts days on a daily basis. But his mother was definitely there in his features, in his soft lips, in the gentle curves of his cheeks. It was ultimately Draco, though, that he resembled, and it was because of this that Draco could see just how much Scorpius was fighting back showing the sadness swimming in his eyes.

Scorpius looked up expectantly at his father and Draco gave a small smile. "How could a shooting star be forgotten, they are brave, very brave, to take a jump the others were too cowardly to do."

It didn't seem to comfort him. "But it's lonely, isn't it? It's falling and no one is with it."

"Ah, but you see, it isn't alone," Draco said. "It has another star with it, helping it get to it's new home."

His son looked confused. "Another star?"

"How else would it be so bright?"

Scorpius looked away and up at the night sky, beautiful in its black expanse dotted with luminous stars and the glimmering moon. "I don't think Astoria was a shooting star," he said finally, calling his mother by her name as he had taken to doing after she left. "She wasn't very brave."

Draco sighed and looked up at the sky, too. "She was brave, Scor."

"Then why did she leave us?" he demanded, fixing his gray eyes on Draco, burning with questions and hurt. "I think she was scared, and she wanted to take the jump to get to somewhere new with us helping her but she couldn't. Because shooting stars are brave and she's not, but we are, aren't we, Dad?"

He stared at his son with sad eyes. He didn't want his son thinking badly of his mother, she was a wonderful woman. She was beautiful and considerate and compassionate, she had been his other half for years. She had been a light in his life, a wonderful memory he would never forget so branded was she in his mind.

But things changed. They always did, and Astoria changed with it.

She had never been one to settle down. During their years of marriage she was constantly wanting to be in crowds to mingle and socialize. She was the extrovert with never enough people to talk to. So, when having a son and being tied down to one man who worked constantly and spent more time with their son than with her became too much, she ran for it, to try and salvage what freedom she had lost over the years.

And the worst part of it was that she had left Scorpius behind. It was something he would never forgive her for. Leaving him was one thing, but their son was something else entirely.

Now, Scorpius was confused and angry that his mother hadn't loved him enough, couldn't understand what he had done wrong to make her leave him. No matter what Draco said of it not being is fault and to never think of it as such, he didn't believe him because what kind of mother would just leave their son?

"I think she is one of the stars that don't want to ever take the jump," Scorpius whispered finally. "I think she is too scared of what will happen." Draco watched his son carefully, guilt for him not having a mother to care burning in his stomach. "But there are other stars out there who will take the jump. They aren't afraid."

"Who might those stars be?"

"You and me. We aren't afraid."

Draco forced a smile on his face as he nodded his head and stood from his chair, stretching his arms over his head and relaxing after the satisfying cracks and pops of his joints. "No, we aren't afraid."

Scorpius stood in front of Draco, his head only reaching the middle of Draco's stomach, and grinned up at him. "Astoria can stay with the other stars, we shall be going someplace better, right Dad?"

Patting his son on the shoulder and leading him back inside the Manor away from the shooting stars and constellations, Draco replied, "Right. Someplace a lot better."

After a moment, Scorpious looked up at him and scratched his cheek absently. "I'm glad it's you helping me jump, Dad. I don't believe I could do it by myself."

Draco stopped at the foot of the stairs and knelt down on one knee, looking up the younger copy of himself. "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that. With or without me, you could do it. Because your a brave star."

"We're both brave stars."

Draco mirrored his son's grin. "Right."

A/N: Please review! It's always appreciated!