Necessity, Chapter Nine.

"Would you have the guts to say: I don't love you like I did yesterday?" ~I Don't Love You, The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance

"What do you want, Miggery Sow?!" -Pea, Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo

"Old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young." -You'd better know where this is from.

"It takes two to tango." -Idiom

"All of us- including me- have within ourselves the wickedness of a serpent and the gentleness of a dove." -Elen of the Sapphire Eyes, the Seven Songs of Merlin, T. A. Barron

"And I will try to fix you." ~Fix You, X & Y, Coldplay


After the Aurors arrived, cleaning up the mess of the Malfoy's was relatively simple. A small group, directed by Uncle Ron, quickly conjured a stretcher and, with a Mobilicorpus!, promised to deliver her to St. Mungo's straight away.

Meanwhile, Dad swiftly scaled the stairs and confronted Mr. Malfoy. "Draco Lucius Malfoy," he said, with a steely look in his eye the likes of which I'd never seen, "You are hereby arrested for the attempted use of a Unforgivable Curse on a minor, and assault on a Mrs. Astoria Greengrass Malfoy." Draco looked furious and raised his wand again, only to be disarmed by a second intruder.

"Harry!" panted Uncle Ron, who had ascended the stairs only a few paces behind. Apparently there were anti-Apparition wards inside the Manor; maybe that was what prevented Astoria from escaping. "I've got to read him his rights! Slow down, mate."

"The Malfoys were given a pardon for out anti-You-Know-You rebellious acts, and I fail to see how you can presume-"

"Shut up, Draco. You have the right to remain silent, as anything you say can and will be used against you, you prat. Better, Ron?"

While they were occupied with boring legalities and such, Scorpius and I slunk away to my dungeon. To my disappointment, it had completely reverted to the stone layout. There was no need for its brightness; its purpose had been served, its occupant's stay was complete.

"Wow!" exclaimed Scorpius, his eyes bright, though salt tracks still marred his face. "We did it! Well, not really... But it's done!"

"Yeah..." I said, trying and failing to muster some triumph. Instead, I felt my spirits droop slightly. All of the things I had- which did not amount to much, seeing as they were pretty superficial and fake anyway- I had gladly tossed away for this endeavor. But now that it was over, I wasn't really sure what was left. Scorpius had his family back, but I was alone as ever.

"James," Scorpius' grin had faded. "What's wrong?"

"No," I said, sniffling a bit and feeling like a five-year old. "No, I'm being selfish; this is your day. You're mom is free! Draco Malfoy is gonna rot in Azkaban! Celebrate!"

Rather than take my advice, he took me into a hug. Not one of those awkward guy things, like a pat on the back or the one-armed heave- this was a real embrace, like I should be getting from my parents... My parents. "James," Scorpius said fiercely. "Don't let anyone ever call you selfish. Look at yourself, look at where you are! You hauled ass to get here, to perform some half-baked plan for a meager chance at the happiness of some random pitiful first-year. You've never asked for anything, but you gave everything; time, effort, safety, comfort... for me. Don't call yourself selfish!" We separated, and he sat, gesturing for me to join him. As always, he seemed completely at ease with himself, and I was completely not. "I owe you one, big time. So tell me what's wrong."

"It sounds so lame," I sighed, reluctantly giving in. He'd bared his skeletons, and therefore I'd have to bare mine. "Dad likes Albus better than me and Mom likes Lily best, and I'm just 'the other kid' that they have to feed and pay school tuition for. That's it, okay? Happy?"

"I'm sorry, James," was all he said, though it did help a bit. There was a moment of silence. "We probably have to return aboveground, or the parentals will get worried."

I stood. "Yeah."

When we reached the "lobby" of their house, as I call it, we were accosted by Aurors. Once they established that we were relatively safe and healthy, Dad beckoned me to him. For the first time, I noticed Mum there, too.

"James, we need to talk," Dad said sternly, wheeling me around to go outside, where there would be no witnesses but the albino peacocks. I knew it was a necessity that we'd have to sort this out sooner or later, but I didn't want it to happen now. Scorpius caught my panicky expression and ran to my aid. "Erm... who is this?" To Dad's credit, he didn't respond negatively to his old arch-rival's son.

"I'm Scorpius," said he, gripping my arm tightly. "And I'm not leaving James."

"Scorpius, we're trying to have a private family discussion right now. Surely you could wait a few moments?"

"Sorry, sir, but I've really got to be here. I'll try not to bother you too much, but as this whole situation has a lot to do with me, I'd appreciate being involved."

"So be it, then," Dad said, shrugging. He leaned on an enchanted fountain, while Mum stood tall. "James, I have to ask you this, and I want you to answer me, no nonsense. What is going on here?"

I bit the inside of my lip, trying to think of an appropriate answer, but Scorpius responded for me. "It started with me, Mr. Potter. I was having some familial problems, as you might have gathered from the scene earlier. So, James wanted to discreetly help me solve my problem."

"...And what was the idea behind this?"

"Well... We were going to spike Mr. Malfoy's alcohol with love potion so he'd like his wife," I explained very quickly.

"You what?!" Mum cried.

"Even possession of such a substance is absolutely illegal. Do you want a criminal record?"

In frustration, I emitted a small "Ugh! Don't you get it? I had to help him! His mum could die without it!"

"And with it, she could be raped," Mum said, clearly distraught by the idea. "Obsession couldn't help her escape. A love potion would only bury her deeper!"

Raising a hand timidly, Scorpius mumbled, "We didn't know sorry. Our intentions were good."

"Yeah!" I snarled, "If I were your precious Lily or Albus, you wouldn't be scolding me like this. You would be comforting me, like 'aww you poor baby you had to see that', or 'you did your best to help' or something, not telling me 'you didn't do it right.' Yeah, I guess I screwed up, right? Nothing I do is worth note, or pride. I'm just an arrogant little twit who goes around spiking drinks and dragging you guys down, distracting you from doting on your perfect daughter and your perfect green-eyed son."

"James!" Mum said, shaking her pretty head in confusion. "What brought this on?"

"Nothing," I sighed. They'd never get it anyway. "How did you get here?"

"Answer your mother-" started Dad mechanically, but Mum interrupted, "Harry, give it a rest. He'll tell us if he wants to."

"He wants to, but he isn't," Dad grumbled, looking fairly helpless. "Why else would he have started?"

"Fine! It's just that I'm tired of being the least loved," I said quietly, suddenly feeling exhausted.

Dad: "You're not-" He tried for a pat on the shoulder, but I knocked it away vehemently.

"Don't lie to me. Albus is so sweet and timid and has the famous Evans eyes, just like you. Lily's the youngest girl of a few rough-and-tumble blokes, just like you. And who am I? I resemble James Potter in name. I resemble Uncle Ron in eyes. I resemble Uncle George in humor. I don't belong to anyone." I glanced at Scorpius, who was silent and still, just as I was earlier when he had been confronting his father.

There was a thick, palpable silence. Everyone's attention pretended to be elsewhere. Mum stared at her shoes; Dad admired the enchanted fountain- magic always enthralled him; Scorpius imagined shapes in the clouds. It was Mum who broke the silence with a whisper. "We're so sorry, James." And then in a flurry of movement, I found myself in her arms, my head nestled in her neck. I hadn't had a hug like this in so long- last time I remember, my ear was to her abdomen. She stroked my hair, murmuring, "my poor baby." It was something I'd heard her say so many times, directed towards Lily or Albus. I felt almost ashamed to be compared to them, so much younger than I, but the warmth of her embrace overrode my doubts. She gently released me and brushed her eyes, and Dad halved the distance between us.

"We love you so much," he said in a strange voice, his hand resting gently on my cheek. "Please. Tell me you know that." I nodded, trying not to tear up; my expression was mirrored in Mum's face.

Dad dropped his hand and fiddled with his fingers uncomfortably. Once again, Mum was the first to speak. Her voice, though wavering, was stronger; her words, carefully placed. "What do you want us to do?"

"Er," I said, faltering at the response. I had predicted there to be excuses, denial, or putting-it-off-as-hormones. They had surpassed my expectations; they were braver and wiser and in my bemoaning and angst and righteous anger, I had missed that. They were Gryffindors, too. They were adults, and certainly nothing like Scorpius' Dad in parenting.

"When you were born," Dad began at my lack of response, partly to fill the silence that so agonized both of us, "we had no idea what to expect of a baby. Sure, we'd seen Teddy, but we hadn't really babysat or anything. So we did our best with you, and we were pretty certain that you turned out all right."

"You were so independent, it seemed. After Albus and Lily were born, they were such a contrast to your natures that we assumed..."

I interrupted her; I didn't want to hear any more about the past. "How about this, then? Listen to me when I want to say something. And don't spoil Albus and Lily. ...And... I don't know, okay?! Why do I have to think of it? Why do I have to fix you?" Tears would not fall. I would not let them. "You figure it out. I just want to feel like you care."

Mum glanced down again, but her determinedly dry eyes quickly snapped up to meet mine. Meanwhile, a peacock had started nudging and nestling Scorpius' legs, and he was petting it kindly.

"We're so sorry," Mum said again, Dad agreeing awkwardly.

He then added, "Just believe me, whatever happens, that we're going to try."

That was it. We had fulfilled the necessity of confrontation. It ended with me saying, "I know." I did know. I knew that they were going to do their best, and I knew that it might not be enough, it wouldn't be completely well, it couldn't be perfect. But I knew that it was going to be better.

And right now, better is fine with me.


A/N: All right, so this is probably the second to last chapter. This resolves the main conflict, but I still have a few things that need to come together, like that cameo appearance of Teddy that I promised Katie. :) Tell me, my rapacious readers: is this a satisfactory resolution? I wanted it to be good, but not unrealistically good or in a way that downplays the problem.

Now, to those of the last chapter:

Lady Stephy: Since I'm doing a lot of stuff with the Malfoy family, I'm going to copy and paste my explanation to another reader (who PMed me about the Greengrass=pureblood slytherin? issue) here:

The notes from which HP Lexicon got the information of the Greengrass' blood status were very rough. Neville's last name was still Puff and Cho Chang was a first year named Li Su (rather than a 2nd year). So, although JKR may have once intended their blood to be pure, this is not a canon source. Even HP-Lexicon states: "this document can't really be considered canon." Even if she never intended them to be anything less than pureblood, she probably also never intended Draco to be an abusive husband.

As the Greengrasses aren't mentioned much at all (one mention of Daphne in OP, and their blood status is sketchy at the most,) I can live with my Greengrasses being muggles.
Muggleborns can survive in Slytherin. If you are a Slytherin by personality, you have the cunning to survive and get your way, even against adversity. Plus, Daphne being is a Slytherin is also information from those notes which "can't really be considered canon," (the same notes which had actually named her as Queenie so even knowing that Daphne and Queenie isn't writ in stone.)

Thank you for being perceptive.

HARRY POTTER, OUR ETERNAL SAVIOR! mwa!

xandromedax: Yeah, Scorpius IS spunky! It's kind of funny, that having Draco Malfoy as a father spurs him to become a Gryffindor. It's like reverse-psychology, Sirius Black style. And I'm glad to have a new reviewer, as always!

Katie: A huge cliffhanger? I hadn't thought of it that way, but I suppose it is. And how did they know? Well, that's coming in the next chapter. James tries to ask, but Harry and Ginny segue him back to more pressing matters (for them). Yeah, Scorpius and mother are going to have a lovely time- well, most of the time. They'll probably have a lot of the issues of the single mother scenario, but it's definitely a big relief to have Ashley- whoops, I mean, Draco- off of her shoulders. Funny that Gone With the Wind came to mind...

AJ: I liked the comparison of Harry coming to the rescue to Dumbledore in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. So much that I subconsciously compared them in this chapter! Wow! Now, as for the career comments: Harry doesn't need to do Quidditch for the fame; he needs it for the fun! He's been cheated out of a childhood by nonstop attacks by Voldemort/Death Eaters/Dursleys, and he's had "enough trouble for a lifetime" by the time he's 17 5/6 years old. I think he deserves to have a more comfortable pastime, though of course he's welcome to make intrusions on his best mate's work whenever he so wants. :) I was actually really miffed when Mrs. Rowling announced that Harry's future career was to be an Auror; it just seems really dumb to me. Of course he won't be left out of the action, but he needs to live off something other than an inexhaustible supply of evil.

Shadrac: Yeah, it was pretty short, though I did try to disguise it with a super-long a/n. Sorry about that; I'm not that good at action-y stuffs. Yeah. OH, by saying that "we're at the climax," I meant that we were ABOUT to delve into the climax, not that we had just passed the climax. Sorry. It was badly worded of me. 2: Haha, sorry, I can't do murder. Honestly, do we want James and Scorpius to forever see thestrals, and for Harry to split his soul? Remember what Harry said about Peter Pettigrew. Death is too good for Draco. If we want Draco to be punished, there's nothing worse than Azkaban for him. And I'm not going to let Draco turn into a rodent and run away like Pettigrew- :( That made me so sad in the third book. Everything was going so well and then it all had to go wrong! Yeah, anywayses- I'm so sorry that you had to live with this kind of stuff. Did I do it justice?

Wow, I just had this wave of sadness for Sirius, at him having to live in Azkaban for so long. :( Well, anyway, moving on... The last chapter is coming up! Make sure you review to remind me of those leftover loose ends, because this is my last shot to fill you in!