Harry whipped his head up when he heard his name being called out. He found a small group gathered by the monkey bars, which could only mean one thing.

Sure enough, Gabrielle was consoling a very pale Scorpius while tending to what appeared to be a twisted ankle. Harry attempted to shoo the other children away but all of them insisted on staying and watching this excitement. So he got down on his knees beside Scorpius and tried to ignore the staring eyes. "Hey, buddy," he murmured.

Scorpius bit his lip and sniffed. Harry could hear him gulp loudly. Gabrielle shrugged at her coworker, as though to say the sprain wasn't that bad. Harry ruffled Scorpius' hair to try to get him to look up. Scorpius ducked his head instead. Harry was getting a bit frustrated by the boy's lack of trust in his teachers. Gabrielle hooked a finger under her student's chin and moved his head up so he could see her smile. He blinked back his tears and used the back of his hand to wipe his nose. "Can you walk?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Scorpius answered shakily.

"Let's try," Harry encouraged as he helped the boy up.

He was able to stand on one foot while keeping a tight hold on Harry's arm. "There we go," the teacher exclaimed. "Perfect." He waved a hand at Gabrielle so she would stay put with the other children.

"You're okay, Scorpius," some of the children said eagerly. "Maybe you'll get a cool cast!"

Scorpius didn't find that idea as appealing as everyone else and Harry noticed that by the way the boy's face twisted up. "Let's go," he rushed, but it was a moment too late. Scorpius sagged heavily and shook his head as a muffled sob escaped him. He was scared and shocked and everything hurt so badly. He just wanted to go home. He didn't even protest when he was picked up and cradled against Harry's arms. He hid his voice against his teacher's shirt, vaguely hearing kind words being spoken into his ear.

Before long, they were in the nurse's office and he couldn't have stopped crying even if he wanted to. It was even sadder to see because when Scorpius cried, he kept his voice inside, as though he didn't want to be heard. So he ended up shaking and trembling with each stifled breath.

"You should call his home," the nurse said with a helpless smile. "As far as I can tell, nothing is wrong with him other than a few bruises and the twisted ankle, okay?"

"Yeah," Harry mumbled as he moved towards the outside office where the receptionist helped him with Scorpius' contact.

He wasn't ready for the phone to be picked up after the second ring.

"Malfoy."

Harry stumbled over his words and managed to say, "Hello. I'm calling from Scorpius' school."

There was a short pause on the other end. "From school?"

"It's nothing to worry about," Harry rushed. "Your son took a bad spill in the playground and sprained an ankle. He's fine otherwise. He's-"

"Who is this?"

"It's... it's Harry Potter."

Another pause filled their conversation, at which point Harry was trying to figure out how best to say that Scorpius might need to go home. But before he could speak… "Potter?"

Harry all but huffed into the phone. "Yes," he said tersely. "You didn't know that I was his teacher?"

"No… I didn't."

Now Harry did huff into the phone. "Well," he continued to say, no longer bothering to keep a polite tone. "Will you be able to come by soon?"

"He sprained his ankle, did you say?"

"Yes."

"But you said it's not bad, right?"

Harry had half the mind to hang up. "That doesn't mean your son is fine," he said slowly and condescendingly. "Which is why I'm asking you to come take a look and decide on what to do. He can stand on his foot but I think it hurts him too much to walk. He might just be in shock. If he is distressed, the best thing-"

"Yes, yes." That was followed by muffled voices in the background. Then, "I'll be there in a bit."

Harry was tempted to ask how long 'a bit' was going to be, but he kept his comments to himself. He glanced at his watch after placing down the receiver. He still had about a few minutes before naptime. He hoped Gabrielle would be able to manage things until then. When he checked in on Scorpius again, the nurse was stowing her wand into her coat.

"Hey, buddy. How are you feeling?" Harry asked the boy who was lying down on the small cot with his foot elevated by pillows. The nurse left them alone in the room.

Scorpius responded with a sad sniffle. He had his eyes closed and he was clutching a small stuffed golden-brown bear fiercely.

"Gosh, if you hold your teddy that tight, won't you hurt him?"

Scorpius opened his eyes to reveal tears welled up in them. He looked down at the bear as though just noticing that he was all but strangling the poor doll. He relaxed his grip as best he could while still hugging it close.

"There we go," Harry murmured. He grabbed a chair and dragged it towards the bed so he could sit down next to the boy. The nurse seemed to have tended to the small scrapes on Scorpius' hands and elbows already. Everything looked as good as new except for his healed ankle that still seemed a bit swollen. "Are you aching anywhere else, Scorpius?"

"I don't know," Scorpius answered.

"Well, you are a very brave boy. You aren't fussing at all, are you? That's so grown up," Harry praised.

"I'm not brave. If I was brave, I wouldn't cry."

"Well, I cry all the time," he said with an affected sniff. "I guess that makes me a baby, right?"

Scorpius turned his head towards Harry and looked at him skeptically. "Do you hurt yourself all the time?" he asked.

"All the time," Harry sighed. "My friends always tell me I'm a clumsy guy. And if it hurts a lot, I cry."

"But my father said big boys don't cry," Scorpius argued.

"And are you a big boy already?"

"Yes."

Harry arched his brows.

Scorpius exhaled in defeat. "No," he grumbled. "I'm still a baby."

"I guess we can all be babies sometimes, right? I rather like being a baby," Harry told him.

"You like to cry?" Scorpius asked incredulously.

"I like to be taken care of," Harry explained with a cheeky smile. "It's fun when everyone's being extra nice to you, right?"

Scorpius didn't say anything to that.

"So… Want to tell me what happened?"

Scorpius brought his teddy up to face and hid behind it as he shook his head. He knew he would start crying again if he talked about it. He shouldn't have tried to climb up all the way to the top. He should have known that he would tumble off the play set. He didn't want to get hurt again. He didn't want to cry anymore. But thinking about crying made him want to cry some more.

Harry consoled him as tears spilled over once again. These tears were out of frustration though, Harry could tell. The sobs weren't as heart-wrenching and he was even quieter than the first time. Harry squeezed Scorpius' hand comfortingly at intervals, letting him know that crying was okay. He remembered crying like this when he was alone in the cupboard under the stairs. The walls were so thin that even the slightest sound would result in someone snapping at him to shut up. He didn't dare think about Scorpius' situation. It couldn't possibly be the same as Harry's. So why was the boy crying like this?

The door opened to reveal the nurse. "Mr. Malfoy is here," she said.

Harry glanced at his watch as Scorpius stirred upon hearing the familiar name. A little less than fifteen minutes. Not bad.

He stood up when Draco walked into the small room.

And he jumped when he heard a loud shriek behind him followed by awfully sad and heaving gasps.

He whipped around to find Scorpius sitting up in bed and crying like there was no tomorrow. His cheeks were red, his brows knit together, his bear lay beside him, discarded and forgotten, and his fists were pressed against his eyes that were screwed shut. Torrents of tears flowed freely as well. Scorpius was definitely not trying to keep quiet anymore.

"For Merlin's sake," Harry heard Draco mutter under his breath. He looked back to find the man standing with one hand at his hip and the other massaging his forehead. From the looks of it, he had indeed come from work as he wore a dark suit that was still creased and polished black shoes that echoed authoritatively on the floor when he tapped his foot. "Potter. Some privacy would be much appreciated," said Malfoy. Then he pursed his lips to indicate that he didn't have the time or patience for any arguments.

Harry was, quite frankly, terrified to leave the crying child alone with Draco Malfoy. But he really had no grounds to stay. He all but stumbled out the door. However, instead of closing it behind him, he stood with a hand over the doorknob, leaving the door slightly open so he could barge in if something were to happen.

"Stop that, Scorpius," Draco muttered through gritted teeth. "It's absolutely undi-"

"NO!"

"You're giving me no reason to n-"

Scorpius wailed even louder and brought his balled fists down to his lap. "I don't like you," he sobbed accusingly. "I'm hurt and you're being mean and you're supposed to be extra nice and I don't like you."

Harry cringed.

"Good," Draco drawled as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "I don't particularly like you either."

Scorpius scrambled onto Draco's lap. "I hurt my leg," he sniffed. "I hurt my leg."

"I suppose it's no one's fault but your own," Draco chided as he wiped Scorpius' cheeks.

Scorpius didn't dignify that with a response. He simply burrowed into Draco's arms and closed his tired eyes. Draco examined the boy's foot with prodding fingers. He couldn't tell how bad the damage was but, from the looks of it, it wasn't that bad.

"So," he went on say as he made his son look up at him. "Didn't you think it wise to mention that your teacher is Harry Potter?"

"Huh?" Scorpius hiccupped while fiddling with his father's tie.

"Why didn't you tell me your teacher's name is Harry Potter?"

"Oh. I did tell you."

"No," Draco said slowly. "You told me your teacher's name is Harry."

"Yeah. Harry."

"Potter."

"Potter."

"You are such a jerk," Draco muttered.

"I want ice-cream. Two scoops."

"Anything else?"

"Chocolate syrup."

"You just want to get out of school, don't you?"

Harry blinked rapidly. What was going on in there?

Five minutes later, Draco walked out of the room with his son in his arms. Harry pushed off the wall he was leaning against, flicking carefully guarded eyes between Malfoy and his son.

"I'm taking him home," Draco said. He sounded formal again. Scorpius had his arms around his father's neck and his face was hidden against Draco's shoulder. "I need to get his knapsack and things."

"Of course," Harry murmured before leading the way out the nurse's office and towards the deserted hallways. The children were being put down for naptime. Harry heard quiet whispers behind him and realized that the Malfoys were talking to each other without letting him hear anything. He started wondering if stoicism was, in fact, a familial trait. From the looks of it, Scorpius behaved as any healthy child would in this situation, but only when his father was present. Otherwise, he seemed to tuck his emotions away and stay silent. It was so strange to see the transformation.

Harry grabbed Scorpius' bag and coat from the small cubbyhole near the door to the classroom. The blinds were shut and none of the lights were on. Gabrielle was walking up and down the rows of students, making sure all of them were asleep. She jerked her brows questioningly at Harry who gave her a thumbs-up in turn before walking out the door and handing Scorpius' things off to Draco.

Draco nodded once and walked away without waiting for a response from Harry.

Scorpius lifted his head up a bit to reveal his pale eyes over his father's shoulder. He stared at Harry for a moment.

Harry smiled at the boy and waved. Turns out he had been worried about Scorpius for no reason at all. Harry shook his head to himself once the Malfoys had rounded the corner and disappeared from view. Trust him to jump to awful conclusions based on prejudice. He tiptoed back into the classroom to fill Gabrielle in on all the details.

"You know my father?" Scorpius asked during recess. He was sat next to Harry on the grass with his sore leg stretched out in front of him and a picture book nestled on his lap.

Harry hid his surprise well when he heard the question. Scorpius had never initiated a conversation before. "Yes, I know him from school," he answered.

Scorpius nodded into his book.

Harry looked down at him. "Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

Apparently so because there was no response to the prompt.

He pulled a few blades of grass from beside him, feigning an interest in them as he asked, "What did he say about me?"

Scorpius cast Harry a sideways glance that read, 'Are you serious?'

Harry laughed to himself. "Fair enough." He brought his knees up to his chest and rested his chin against them. "I never liked your father in school," he confessed.

"That's not nice."

"He wasn't very nice."

"That's not nice."

Harry turned his head and smiled at Scorpius. "You're nicer than him, though."

Scorpius stared at his book for another moment, then looked up at Harry.

"Don't tell him I said that," Harry added.

Scorpius smiled abruptly.

Harry was astonished to find dimples on the boy's cheeks. That must be from Astoria's side of the family. Scorpius quickly looked down at his book to try and hide his smile "I won't," he promised. "You're nicer than him too… But I still like him better."

Harry laughed again. He wondered if Draco had divulged things like that to his son as well. It was a strange thought to have.

That evening, Harry walked Scorpius down the stairs and towards the fence where Draco stood, glaring at everybody and looking just absolutely miserable. The man obviously hated all children except his own son. He even glared at Harry, but latter was used to it.

He pretended not to notice when Draco picked Scorpius up in his arms. Scorpius wound his arms around his father and laid his tired head down. "He didn't strain too much today," Harry reported dutifully.

"Mhm," Draco murmured. He nodded once at Harry and turned to leave.

Scorpius peeked over Draco's shoulder to look at Harry. Then he mumbled, "Bye, Mr. Potter."

Harry nearly laughed when he saw Draco freeze. "Bye, Scorpius," he reciprocated warmly instead of showing his amusement.

Scorpius hid his face against Draco's shoulder again.

"Are you feeling okay?" Draco asked incredulously as he rubbed his child's back.

"Don't be silly," Scorpius mumbled, rocking in his father's arms to prompt him to move. Draco started walking with uncertain strides. Scorpius turned his head so his nose was pressed against Draco's neck. "You have to be nicer," he added.

"What's so great about being nice?" Draco asked.

"I don't know… Something." It's just that he was starting to like Harry because he was being so nice to him. Then maybe being nice wasn't as bad as he had thought.

"You should have heard them!" Harry exclaimed theatrically, clapping his hands together and smiling wide. "Malfoy actually took care of the kid! He's a bona fide father, for crying out loud!"

"Nothing to be so excited about," Ron muttered.

"But you guys weren't there," Harry continued. He was interrupted by Rose who wanted to show him her scribbled drawing. "Oh!" he gushed. "Is it for me?"

As Rose clambered onto Harry's lap, Hermione sat down with her big cup of tea. "So Malfoy's human. That doesn't make him a model parent," she reasoned.

"That's the thing," Harry told her. "Scorpius was happy to see Malfoy. I mean, he put on this big show, but still…"

"What do you mean?"

Harry shrugged. "He seems really shy about showing his emotions. He was crying and all when he sprained his ankle, but he was being quiet about it. And just when he saw his father, he started crying up a storm and throwing this incredible tantrum. And after, he was happy as a peach once I was out of the room. He was asking for ice cream, even. I had never heard him talk that way before." He hugged Rose instinctively. "It was actually very sweet."

"Only you, Harry…"

"Your father's been coming to pick you up lately, huh?" Harry noticed and mentioned to Scorpius. The boy nodded. "I guess he was pretty worried when you fell," Harry continued. Scorpius nodded again. Harry glanced around them to make sure they were somewhat isolated. All the children were working on their own worksheets, so Harry knelt down next to Scorpius. He wanted to speak to the child seriously now. "Scorpius?"

Scorpius looked up.

"I just wanted to say how well you are doing in class," Harry commended. "You are respectful of all the other boys and girls. You don't make a fuss about anything. And you're even speaking more. I just want you to know that you are doing well, alright?"

Scorpius blinked at Harry.

Harry smiled as he ruffled the boy's soft hair and got up. Scorpius watched his teacher move to the table next to him and kneel down next to little Lucy and speak with her in a low voice, no doubt saying nice things to her too. But he didn't mind that. It was just so strange to see someone who was so nice to everyone. He had never seen his teacher without a smile. It was both unnerving and oddly comforting. He looked down at his half-done worksheet. Whenever Harry encouraged him, he felt like performing so much better. He pressed his pencil to the paper and carefully traced his alphabets. He wanted Harry to keep saying nice things to him, even if he said those things to all the children.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

Scorpius pushed his food around with his fork as he hesitated. "Is Harry Potter my family?" he asked.

Draco arched a brow in derision. "Pardon?"

"Because my cousin lives with Harry Potter, right?" Scorpius continued. "Nanna said that's why Harry Potter is my family."

"Patricia told you Potter is part of your family?" Draco repeated carefully.

"No. Harry Potter told me he was my family," Scorpius corrected.

"Oh…"

"So… Can you be nice to him?"

Draco groaned inwardly as he sat back in defeat. Some of the things his son said led him to believe that the boy was really so much more mature than he appeared. "I don't want to be nice to him, Scorp."

"But he's so nice to me," Scorpius said gravely. "He always smiles at me."

"And that is who he is," Draco explained. "Some people are naturally that way. I know it makes you feel special, but just because he smiles at you doesn't mean he wants me to be nice to him."

"I know that," Scorpius grumbled. "He already said he doesn't like you."

Draco gaped as his eyes widened.

"He said he likes me better than you because I'm nicer than you," Scorpius continued with an affected sniff.

"He told you what?"

Oh, Harry Potter had another thing coming his way tomorrow.