This was written for the wonderful jennyelf for her birthday. Thank you again for everything you do. Also, big thanks to deadwoodpecker for checking this over to help me flesh this out and make, sure that, my, comma, issues, didn't, overwhelm, the, fic,,,.,,.
And, just in case you were wondering what I was doing writing Ginny/Scorpious, please remember I have never written a fic that wasn't Harry/Ginny.
I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own Stacy's Mom.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG GSGS
'As far as kisses go,' Ginny thought absently. 'It wasn't too bad.' It had only lasted a second or two at the most, of course, but for such a quick peck, a feather brush of lips, so much had been conveyed from the kisser to herself, the kissee.
'I desire you,' had been in the lick of the lips in the moments before it had happened. 'I am brave. I am bold. I am brass. I am scared to death,' as he leaned in towards her face. 'You have so much power to hurt me,' in the wide, clear eyes as his lips had touched hers. 'I can't stand not taking this chance any longer,' said the minuscule addition of pressure in the split second before she had pulled away. 'I knew you couldn't love me as much as I love you,' in his shocked, hurt expression before his eyes turned defiant and stated rather bluntly, 'No matter what, I don't regret it.' Then he stepped back with his arms crossed over his chest, a confident smirk on his face that only a Malfoy could pull off and inclined his head, 'I dare you to deny that you liked it.'
She would have smacked or hexed him if she hadn't been able to see the pain in his grey eyes that he tried so hard to hide.
Ginny sighed and looked up (when had he gotten so tall) at the young man who had just stolen a kiss from her. "Why did you kiss me, Scorpius?"
He didn't answer right away, just stood immobile for a few seconds, before dropping his arms and looking at the ground. She'd known the boy for long enough to recognize that this meant he was searching for the answer and would take his time in an effort to say exactly the right thing. It would be calculating with just the right tone and the appropriate amount of emotion.
Very snake-like, but he still had plenty of work to do to cultivate his best friend's innate skill. Al had been a Slytherin in the womb and the only hint that he may not be sorted into the house of green and silver had been his flash-point temper and habit of expressing his emotions as loudly as possible. Al had met Scorpius Malfoy on the Hogwarts Express and the two had hit it off immediately, not having realized that their families had years worth of animosity between them.
Time and perspective had cooled the feud between the Weasleys and the Malfoys. Until Albus, Rose and Scorpius had met on the Hogwarts Express, the families had moved from outright hatred to distant animosity and finally settling on polite aloofness. Harry and Narcissa Malfoy had been on the friendliest of terms through their shared connection with Andromeda and Teddy. After their kids had formed a friendship, however, the Potters and the Malfoys, at least, had made attempts at being on friendly, if somewhat stilted terms. Hermione initially made a go at it as well, but while she and Asteria were cordial enough, Draco seemed unable to speak with the Muggleborn. Ron flat out refused to be in Draco's presence, but didn't forbid his daughter from being friends with Scorpius. He actually liked the boy, having bonded with him over the Cannons. He didn't allow her to visit Malfoy Manor, however.
Harry and Draco were almost friendly, which lead Ginny to secretly believe that if Draco hadn't been such a git to Harry, they might have been friends at Hogwarts. Of course, that would only have been possible if Draco's family hadn't supported a crazy Dark Lord bent on killing Harry. The two men discussed Quidditch, politics and many topics without bringing up their pasts, though they were never quite able to get past the fact that Draco remained on probation for the rest of his life and Harry could easily throw him into Azkaban with his father if he stepped one toe out of line.
Personally, Ginny couldn't stand the bastard. There had been comments made when Harry wasn't in earshot that had left her feeling uncomfortable with him, but even more, it was how he treated his wife and son. While he did love his wife, marrying Asteria was a means to earning respectability for the Malfoy name. Scorpius was loved, but with an air of expectation that she knew the boy felt he could never live up to.
She had known Asteria while at Hogwarts, but only in passing. However, in the last seven years they had become friends, good friends even. They met for tea every couple of weeks and Ginny had a sneaking suspicion that outside of Daphne, she was Asteria's only friend and confidante. She found the other witch to be intelligent and with a wicked sense of humour that was similar to Harry's. It had been difficult to understand why Asteria stayed with Draco when she had confessed to Ginny that he wasn't faithful, but she had her reasons. They didn't speak about their husbands often, however, it was their boys they had bonded over. Al and Scorp were as close as Ron and Harry.
Over the years, Scorpius had become a regular guest at the Potter house, while Al had visited Malfoy Manor frequently. Scorpius was a sweet boy. He'd been incredibly embarrassed and had apologized profusely when he and Albus had discovered their families' roles in the War.
"Don't be an idiot," Al had scoffed. "If mum and dad thought you were an evil git, they'd have chucked you out the first time you Flooed over." Which was true enough. Al could charm a cobra, but he never beat around the bush unless it was for some sort of gain. Usually he was painfully, brutally honest. "They wouldn't let Lily have that ridiculous crush on you if you were a Death Muncher wannbe." Harry had needed to turn his laugh into a hacking cough at that.
"They wouldn't let us be friends?" the small thirteen year old had whispered.
Al had rolled his eyes. "Naw. No need. If you were that much of a prat, I'd have broken your nose. And then I would have told Rosie."
Both boys shuddered. Rosie was scarier than Hermione and made up the third part of their own little "Trio." As she was in Ravenclaw, the three weren't quite as close as Ron, Hermione and Harry had been, but it was a small distinction.
"I'm in love with you, Ginny. Your husband doesn't appreciate what he has. Since he has run off with that tramp of an assistant, you deserve to have someone who will love you like I do." Without waiting for her to speak up, Scorpius ploughed on and she was too shocked to interrupt.
"You're beautiful and intelligent and perfect," here he paused to take a deep breath and she was startled to notice the pink tinge on his cheeks. The young wizard was usually very good at controlling his emotions. "When your husband left, I lost all of the respect I had for him. I know there was no possible way you would notice that a boy was in love with you, but I know I can be the man you need me to be."
Ginny was still speechless, partly due to the declaration of love from someone she viewed as almost another son, but also by the certainty that he held that Harry had left her. Her mind immediately went to the fight that Scorpius must have been referring to back in June, the night before Harry left on a month long trip to Australia to work with the Ministry of Magic there about a new Auror training facility the two nations were partnering on. Ginny had been out of sorts that she couldn't go with him and that his tart of an assistant would be accompanying the team. Jamie had been a part of the team and Tiffany, Harry's assistant, had turned her eyes towards the younger Potter when she had realized that Harry was oblivious to her advances. Her husband was not happy about going either and his petulant attitude had fuelled her own anger. Nasty words had been traded, which wasn't something that usually happened in their relationship. He had accused her of flirting with Humphrey Wainwright, her photographer who made Gilderoy Lockhart look rumpled and shabby by comparison.
Of course, this had been a silly accusation because Humphrey, while a good friend, was much more likely to flirt with Harry than Ginny. Besides, Ginny preferred oblivious blokes with sexy, unkempt dark hair to the put together blonde Lockhart-wannabes. Harry had Apparated away before she could tell him this, but two days later she had knocked on the door of the bungalow he was staying in after catching a Portkey to Australia. She had pushed him onto his bed before he could react and pinned him down while telling him exactly what her preferences were and then they had proceeded to make up until her Portkey back to England three days later. Somewhere in there, he had apologized and reassured Ginny that Tiffany had no appeal to him or, apparently, for their son.
Ginny almost considered apologizing to the girl for calling her a tart, but decided against it since she had already set her sights on the wizard that served as England's ambassador to the South Pacific region who apparently did find the little tart appealing.
She swallowed hard. "I didn't realize anyone else was home that night."
Scorpius looked down. "I came by because Al and I realized we didn't know how to use the Muggle stove and weren't sure if we had enough quid to get something from the Indian place on the corner. You said to come back if we needed anything..." he trailed off. Ginny nodded her head absently. Al and Scorpius had moved into a flat just the weekend before Harry had needed to leave for his trip and she had been surprised that they hadn't shown up for food earlier than they had. Of course, she hadn't known that Scorpius had come by the day before and overheard the fight.
"So, you haven't been dropping by here so much because of the food, have you?" Ginny had been certain that Scorpius was the one to come to Potter's Glen for food several times a week in the hopes of seeing Lily, who had harboured a crush for the blonde boy since before her first year. Lily was out often, going to Quidditch games and practicing at the Burrow with Hugo and a few of their friends from Hogwarts. She had already been asked to try out for both the Harpies and Portree next spring and her daughter was becoming more Quidditch obsessive than Ginny had been. Even Ron couldn't hold a candle to his youngest niece.
Scorpius shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I've been trying to work up the nerve to tell you how I feel. And then, today, you walked out in that, and I just, I couldn't stop myself." He blushed and looked away dejectedly. "I guess...you and Harry didn't split up, did you?"
"No."
"But," the poor boy looked bewildered. "I know Mother always forgives Father, but I didn't think you'd forgive Harry for having an affair."
Ginny took a deep breath through her nose and gritted her teeth. She had never understood why Asteria hadn't chucked Draco when she had discovered that he had fathered a daughter with one of his mistresses. But Asteria was not Ginny and while the women had become friends over the years, Ginny could only respect the other witch's decision without trying to interfere. Scorpius was right about one thing; if Harry had ever stepped out on her, she wouldn't have stood for it. She wasn't sure if she could have ditched him, but he would have certainly regretted it. Of course, this wasn't necessary because no matter what her insecurities, Harry was too noble and too oblivious as to how the female population viewed him to even think about it. And that didn't even touch on the fact that they loved each other deeply.
"I have never approved of your father's affairs, but I understand that it is between your parents. You are right. If Harry cheated on me, I would hex his arse for starters. But he never has and I trust him completely. I love him very much. We had a fight; it happens. I don't need to explain it, but we resolved it quickly. In fact, I spent a few days with him in Australia right afterwards." She took another deep breath, trying to be as gentle as possible, but also make sure that the young wizard before her didn't continue to carry a torch for her.
"I am flatted, Scorpius, I really am. You are wonderful in so many ways, but even if Harry and I weren't together any longer, I could never see past my son's best friend. The feelings I have for you are more mothering than anything." He gave a small despondent nod and trailed his eyes quickly down her body, the longing in his eyes clear. She felt wholly underdressed for this, standing in her hallway with nothing but an ancient Gryffindor Quidditch shirt on it, the gold "Seeker" above her left breast nearly illegible after so many years. It was so worn, the shirt moulded against her curves, something that Ginny normally appreciated, but right now she wished that she had at least thrown on a dressing gown when she left her room. Of course, she hadn't been expecting anyone else to be here and if she hadn't been completely surprised by Scorpius' kiss, she would have ducked into the loo and conjured something up, at least.
Instead she stood there, praying that the shirt still reached midway down her thighs so that the nineteen year old wouldn't realize she wasn't wearing any knickers. He looked into her eyes once more and gave her a small, pained smile before leaning in to quickly kiss her cheek.
"Thank you," he whispered and then abruptly turned and fled down the hall. She heard the back door close and moments later a loud crack. Ginny stood still, heart racing, not realizing that the entire few minutes had flooded her body with adrenaline until after it was all over. She was so focused on what had just happened that she jumped and yelped when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and a hard body press up against her back.
"Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson," her husband chuckled in her ear. Ginny turned and swatted him.
"He kissed me. I didn't try to seduce him," she stated a little angrily. She was upset that she had hurt the boy and didn't want Harry making fun of him.
Harry, the prat, smirked down at her. "What boy? I was talking about me." His grin faded and he looked at her with admiration. "You handled that well. I wondered when it would come to a head."
"You knew?" Ginny was shocked. Harry rarely noticed these things.
He shook his head with a snort of laughter. "I can always tell when someone has taken a liking to you. You never notice." He laughed harder at her look of disbelief. "I guess it's easier to see when it's someone else."
She shook her head, deciding to let it go. "Thank you for not interrupting. I could hear you on the stairs. I don't think Scorpius did, though. I'd like him to think that this stayed between the two of us. It's going to be uncomfortable enough as it is without him worrying if you're going to curse him."
Harry pulled her to him and she pressed a quick kiss to the scar over his heart as was her habit. "I thought about it, but you had everything under control. I didn't know how he would react if I came around the corner. He could have shot off a spell in fright or shite himself, and neither of those were messes I wanted to deal with." He pushed her back slightly so that he could look down into her eyes. "Now, how about we play sexy older witch seducing a hot, young wizard." He waggled his eyebrows at her.
Ginny couldn't help it; she snorted in laughter and then pulled away from her husband. "I don't think that will work, love." She ran her hand through his messy hair, before smirking at him. "You have too much gray in your hair to be mistaken for a hot, young wizard!" Harry faked an indignant look and then raced after his wife as she giggled over her shoulder and ran to their bedroom.
