Title: Old enmities die hard

Fandom: Harry Potter

Rating: PG-13. Rated for language and some sexuality

Pairing: Albus/Severus, background Harry/Ginny

Summary: Harry dislikes Scorpius quite intensely, and what he sees as Scorpius's corruption of his son. AS/SM slash.

It unnerves him how much his son's best friend looks like Draco Malfoy did at his age. Slightly taller than Albus, wiry rather than muscular, and with that damnable blond hair, that must have marked every Malfoy out for the last thousand years. Even his eyes are the same as his father's- slate grey and cold. Harry could almost believe he was a clone rather than a son, if it hadn't been for the few different touches- the slightly fuller mouth, the nose which is not as perfectly straight as his fathers. It is slightly disturbing, that Harry feels the same loathing towards him that he felt towards Draco Malfoy in Hogwarts. The loathing he doesn't feel for Draco Malfoy now, but does feel for his son- a young man who has done nothing to him.

Nothing except wind himself so tightly into Albus's heartstrings, that removing him would break Albus's heart. Harry knows the symptoms of puppy-love when he sees it. Puppy-love was Albus spending four straight hours in Diagon alley at age twelve looking for the perfect Christmas present to send to his secret best friend. Puppy-love was Albus blushing when Scorpius hugs him in welcome on the Platform.

This isn't puppy love now. Harry sees the way that Albus's eyes gravitate automatically towards Scorpius when he enters a room, the way that his body intimately curls towards the other boy, knows when Albus sneaks out at night. This is love and it frightens Harry. Mostly because he doesn't know if Scorpius actually feels anything towards Albus, or if in his Slytherin way he is merely calculating the benefits of fucking Albus Potter on the side.

If Harry is honest, the fact that his youngest son is the image of himself at seventeen doesn't help matters. It's like some twisted version of his time at Hogwarts, made all the worse by the fact that in most other ways, Albus is a perfectly normal child. He's constantly in trouble, even more so than James. Harry had decided before his children left for school that none of them would get the Marauders map- or the Invisibility Cloak in aiding them in mischief, and Albus seemed to have taken up the challenge of finding every secret in Hogwarts himself. He has had more letters home about Albus than James and Lily combined, and as he gazed despairingly at the news that Albus had landed himself in fourteen detentions in less than a month, he wondered if children were meant to be this much trouble. Albus displays his namesake's talent in Potions and Arithmancy, but is close to failing Herbology. Harry doesn't understand that- after all Herbology and Potions were pretty closely linked, but all is made clear when Albus drops something about Scorpius disliking Herbology.

When Albus was thirteen he had finally swallowed his fear, and told Harry and Ginny that his best friend was Scorpius Malfoy. They had accepted it quietly enough. Albus was old enough to chose who to be friends with, and they both knew that it they forbid it then the two would just find ways to sneak around- as they'd been doing for three years. It necessitated occasional meetings with the older Malfoy, but they were bearable, especially as Malfoy didn't seem any happier with Scorpius being friends with Albus than they were. Both Harry and Malfoy had grudgingly allowed sleepovers, and even holidays in the others house. The first time Albus had slept over at Malfoy's, Harry had been awake all night, worrying, and it wasn't alleviated even by Albus's excitement the next day in describing what a cool house Scorpius had.

Harry had suspected them of being together since they'd both turned fifteen- Scorpius in September and Albus in December. That Christmas they'd insisted on spending even more time together than usual, and had a habit of appearing in the most unlikely places, hair mussed, robes rumpled, and eyes shining. They both wore robes even at home, unlike the rest of the family who were keen to dress in Muggle clothing when they came home, preferring the more fitted styles. The Malfoy's love of formality, seemed to have rubbed off on Albus though and he spent his time in robes, and refusing to use the Muggle inventions that Harry had introduced to the household, even preferring to wash the dishes by hand, rather than use the dishwasher. It wasn't that he despised muggles he told Harry, just that he felt comfortable with his heritage as a wizard, and that mixing the two cultures was beneficial to neither.

Occasionally Harry wondered, if he should have encouraged Albus towards Gryffindor rather than Slytherin. He might have been friends with Rose and Lily then, rather than Malfoy, but he had to admit that Albus belonged in Slytherin. He had always made it clear that he had places he wanted to go in life- James merely wanted to be a Quidditch player (like his grandfather and his mother, he was a Chaser,) and Lily wanted to go into research as befitted the house she had been sorted into. Albus though could barely hold onto a broom (Scorpius was the Slytherin Seeker), and had made it clear that he thought the whole thing was a waste of valuable exploring time. It was one of the few things that Albus and Scorpius argued on.

His suspicions were confirmed one night when Ginny had a headache. Tiptoeing out of the room to fetch a pain relieving potion from their store, he had heard a muffled sound from one of the smaller unused downstairs rooms. Silently ghosting closer, he looked through the door where a sight met his eyes that sent his heart to his boots.

Not having ever liked men in that way, Harry was surprised at just how enthusiastically Albus seemed to be enjoying Scorpius. They were pressed up against each other, Albus against the wall, kissing each other as though the world will end if they stop, Harry watched, feeling slightly sick when he realised that though Scorpius's fingers are tangled in Albus's hair, he can't see Albus's hands. He is surprised that Scorpius breaks away first, tearing his mouth away, though they remain pressed together. "We should stop. I mean your parents are already suspicious of us, and we are in public."

"They're asleep," Albus said, and there is a glint that Harry doesn't like in his eye, and he suddenly wonders if it is Albus who is the seducer in this relationship. "I haven't been with you in a month, I got James to put silencing charms on my room now he's out of Hogwarts. Come on."

Indecision was written on Scorpius's face. "Your dad already hates me," he breathed, his fingers starting to slide down Albus's face. "Imagine how much more he would despise me if he knew I was doing this to you."

"Dad doesn't hate you," Albus said, eyes fastened to the Malfoy in front of him.

Scorpius laughed, but it was a bitter sound. "He fucking shudders when I walk in a room that he is in, and he looks at me as though I'm something you'd find under a stone. Your mum at least pretends to like me, but your dad has made it abundantly clear that I should find somewhere quiet to go die in." He grabbed Albus's hand, "actually thinking about your dad, I think I would rather like to fuck you under his roof."

To Harry's amazement Albus doesn't seem to mind Scorpius saying this, instead he grins a wide grin. "Now that your dilemma is over, hurry up."

Harry walked quickly away then stopped, his heart pounding, He felt sick to his core. What the fuck was he meant to do about this mess?

Review please