any time

"Dad?" Albus hesitated at the doorway, his barely-there fingernails digging into the wood. His father turned; a smile was in his green eyes that were so much like Albus' own.

"What is it, Al?"

Albus stepped inside the study and shut the door behind him. The walls of this room were covered in either bookshelves - his aunt Hermione had finally gotten rid of all the haphazard piles of novels and textbooks, saying that 'they were far too dangerous leaning about all over the place' - or newspaper clippings, showing people that his parents had known in school, like Luna and Neville and Lavender Brown. This place was his father's work area, where the desk on the far side was strewn about with paperwork and copious pages of notes in his father's trademark messy handwriting. The study calmed Albus down more than he liked to admit, and the only place he felt safer in was the kitchen at the Burrow.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, I need to…talk to you about something."

At his son's serious tone of voice, Harry's smile slackened slightly, and he swivelled completely in his chair, pushing up the sleeves of his jumper to his elbows. "Yes?" he said, patting the only other seat in the room: a small wooden stool with two sound legs and one that looked about to snap. Albus sat. "What is it, Al?" Harry repeated, eyes roving his son's face, searching for signs of what was to come. Albus squirmed uncomfortably; his dad always did have an uncanny sense of people's emotions, especially his children's.

"Well…it's sort of…um…" Albus paused, unsure of how to phrase this. He'd been wrestling with himself for so long, swinging to and fro on the scales of his mind as to whether or not he should tell his family The Secret. He'd finally decided that yes, he would, but it had taken him a whole month before he was able to stand before his father and spit the words out…well, he hoped it only took one moth, anyway. He was determined to spill today, absolutely and unequivocally unable to be swayed from his decision…but actually standing here, teetering on the verge of The Reveal, he almost chickened out.

Almost.

"It's, er…" He found his voice. "It's serious, Dad, and it's no joke. So please, please believe me, okay?"

Harry blinked in surprise and nodded.

"Dad…I like boys…the way I'm supposed to like girls." Albus closed his eyes, hoping that it would make The Reveal easier. It didn't. "I'm gay, Dad." There. It was out. And Merlin, how good did it feel?

Albus waited for Harry to respond. The silence hung awkwardly between them, and the air was thick with The Secret. But that was okay. Because it was out.

Harry took a deep breath. He had not been expecting this. "Al…you really think this would bother me? That my son was gay would be a cause for outrage?"

"Er…I s'pose."

And then Harry did something Albus did not expect.

He laughed.

Al frowned, brow scrunched in confusion. "Dad…?"

Harry's fit subsided, but his shoulders remained shaking and a smile was plastered across his face. "Albus," he began, "This really isn't as serious as you think it is. Sure, you're gay. Sure, it'll take some getting used to. But it's not the end of the world!" At this his voice softened; his smile and face did too. "Drop the hangdog expression, Al. I don't mind one bit who you choose to love. Just as long as you can still talk to your old man about anything, okay?"

Albus nodded, dumbfounded. After a long moment he found his voice. "And…er, there's something else." Harry raised his eyebrows. "The…guy I like…he's, um -"

"Scorpius Malfoy?"

Albus' head snapped up in shock. "Dad! What? How did you- When-?"

"You've been friends for years, Al, and closer. I'd be daft not to have seen it. And don't worry. I'm not going to blast you for it. Scorpius is a nice young man, and so are you, Al. Just…don't go losing your innocence just yet," Harry added cheekily, followed by a knowing waggle of his eyebrows.

Albus groaned. "Dad! Come on! We haven't even- even-" He fell silent at the look of amusement on his father's face. "Whatever," he growled, spinning on his heel and opening the door again.

"Come again any time, son," Harry called after him, and even though he was annoyed, Albus couldn't help smile. His dad had accepted him, and that was all that really mattered.

"Thanks," Al murmured, barely loud enough for Harry to hear.

"Any time," Harry repeated and, grinning, returned to his paperwork.

Albus shut the door.

Author's Note: Whoa…NO idea where that came from…I always imagined Al as gay, so sorry if you guys don't…by the way, in my head canon, Al and Scorpius are both in Slytherin and are best friends. And YES, I know the majority of people ship Rose/Scorpius, but I ship Scorpius with almost everyone: Rose, Albus, Lily…the list goes on. It's kind of like Leo in Heroes of Olympus…seriously, that dude can be with anyone! Anyway…please review! :P