Draco waved at his son until Scorpius and the Hogwarts Express disappeared around the corner. He turned around to find that Astoria was now engaged in deep conversation with a redheaded woman and a man with jet black hair that Draco knew only too well. Since the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco had avoided most of the Order of the Phoenix when he could, and he hadn't spoken to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, Ginny or any of their families since then. He knew that this conversation would not end well.
'Draco.' Harry's voice suddenly turned serious and curt. Draco's fear of a fight breaking out in front of all their fellow parents came back, and ice flowed through his veins.
'Hello, Potter,'' he replied, just as curt. Harry hadn't changed much since 1998, he still had the same untidy, black hair, the same green eyes, the same faded red lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. Ginny hadn't changed much either, she still had flaming red hair and hazel eyes, her hair a bit longer since he'd last seen her, but apart from that, nothing.
'Draco, this is Ginny and Harry Potter. They have a son joining today too, and a son in second year,' Astoria told him excitedly, but Draco wasn't really listening.
'Yeah,' he said.
Astoria looked confused then. 'Harry Potter, Draco! We have a world-famous wizard and top auror in front of us, and all you can say is 'yeah'?
'Astoria, Draco and I were at school together, remember? We were two years above you, and besides, I really don't like being fussed over because of my scar and my past.' Harry said, looking quite uncomfortable.
'Oh...' Astoria broke off, looking at Draco for support, but he shrugged and went back to examining his hands.
'So, how would you two like to come for lunch today, at Grimmauld Place?' Ginny's voice broke the silence.
'Ginny!' Harry stared at her, his mouth literally dropping open. 'We can't have the Malfoys over for lunch!'
'Why not, Harry? If we've got boys in the same year, we're going to be seeing quite a lot of each other, so we'd best get to know each other, and how better than over lunch? I'm sure that Kreacher can cook up something.' Ginny retorted, while Astoria looked away in discomfort, and Draco continued to look at his hands.
'We'd love to come! Maybe we could all be friends, and forget the past then.' Astoria's voice rang out hopefully. Draco's head snapped up as though he had been struck by lightning.
'What?'
'That would be great,' Ginny replied firmly.' Come back to our house with us then, we'll be leaving via the floo network soon.'
'So, how's life? Did your Dark Mark ever fade away?' Harry asked Draco, as they headed out the barrier.
'It's hardly visible now,' Draco told him. 'Astoria and I live with our son, Scorpius in Malfoy Manor with my mother, sometimes. Most of the time Mother lives with her sister, Andromeda, and Scorpius's cousin, Teddy.'
'Oh, he comes round to our house about four times a week already. It's like Teddy's part of the family already.'
'Already?' Draco inquired.
'It's common knowledge in our family that Teddy's going to marry Bill's daughter, Victoire. I mean, they've been inseparable since they were tiny.' Harry replied, grinning.
'Right then, I should start thinking of a wedding present then,' Draco and Harry grinned at each other, and Harry started to speak.
'Have you just got one child, then?'
'Yes, just Scorpius. How about you?
'Three. James is in his second year, Albus started today, and Lily has gone to play at Ron and Hermione's house, with their son, Hugo. They have a daughter who started today too, Rose.'
'Trust Saint Potter to name his kids after dead people,' Draco said, and Harry laughed.
They had reached the fireplace where they would be taking the floo network to get to 12 Grimmauld Place, where Ginny and Harry had lived since Harry had left Hogwarts. They had thankfully managed to get the picture of Sirius's mother off the wall, though as soon as James was old enough, he had insisted on having Sirius's old room, which Harry hadn't and wouldn't change one bit, except to tidy it up from where Snape and Mundungus had been scavenging in it, while Albus took Regulus's room, with the Slytherin banners changed magically to gold and red Gryffindor banners, and all the Voldermort newpaper clippings had been abandoned in the attic, where they would be staying for good. Kreacher still worked for the Potters, though he was getting very old now, and needed some help from Winky, who had begun to work for Harry occasionally since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts.
'So are we – friends – then?' Draco asked Harry, as Harry took some floo power from a small pot on the mantelpiece.
'Yes, I suppose we are,' Harry smiled, before stepping into the fireplace and saying '12 Grimmauld Place!' before disappearing into the emerald flames.
Draco smiled, for the second time in quite a long time, and proceeded to follow Harry into the flames.
The letter that Ginny and Harry received the week following 1st September, the week after Albus, Rose and Scorpius started school.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Sorry for not writing before, but school has been so busy! I got sorted into Gryffindor, just like I wanted to, and I hope you're proud of me. Rose is in Gryffindor too, and that boy that Uncle Ron told Rose to stay away from. He's called Scorpius Malfoy, and he's really nice. I told him how the Great War had killed Uncle Fred, and he said that his great-aunt died in the war, along with one of his dad's best friends and his dad's first cousin and her husband. I asked him who they were, and he said that his dad's cousin was called Nymphadora Tonks, but she married Remus Lupin, and then they died in the war, leaving their one-month-old son to live with his grandma, Scorpius's great-aunt, whose sister also died, along with his great-aunt's husband, who was murdered a few months before the war. Isn't that amazing, that Teddy Lupin is Scorpius's second cousin! I think that him and I are going to be really good friends. I told him that my dad is Harry Potter, and he wants your autograph when you pick James and I up at Christmas. Could he come and stay with us sometime? He says that his dad is friends with you now, and his mum and dad went to dinner with you last week. Is that true?
James hasn't talked to me much, but he's already got into trouble with Filch for throwing dungbombs at the statue of Gregor the Smarmy with Fred. James and Fred have to clean out the trophy room without magic. James was complaining about it in the common room yesterday, until I told him you said there was trophies of services to the school won by Dad and Uncle Ron in there, and a quidditch trophy that was won by Grandpa James for him being such a good chaser, and he cheered up.
Rose says hi, and so does Scorpius. I told Professor Longbottom that you send your love, and he says he misses having classes with you, and that he still can't get used to not having Snape sitting at the staff table, yelling at him for not mixing his potions right and taking points from Gryffindor for no reason. I hope that makes sense to you.
Lots of Love,
Albus (but Rose, James, Fred, Roxanne, Victoire, Dominique, Louis and Molly send their love too.)
xxxxx
P.S. Did Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur tell you that Victoire is head girl this year? Well, she is, and she has her own dormitory and a common room to herself (and the head boy, of course). She's really lucky! I bet Uncle Percy's proud of her. Just don't mention it to Uncle George, or he'll try and vandalise her badge like you said he and Uncle Fred did to Uncle Percy's Badge!