Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter.
Choices To Make
Holding in his curiosity Albus searched for another space for them to occupy where they wouldn't be overheard. Whatever Scorpius had needed to talk to Gellert about had to be huge for the man to have actually asked for advice from their roommate. Gellert normally wasn't someone you went to for advice about anything other than school work, and even then his lover wasn't the type to help anyone with their work unless it benefitted him in some way. And while he shouldn't stick his nose in Malfoy's personal business, if it had to do with Al then he had to investigate, Albus told himself, not about to admit that a lot of his interest stemmed from his own curiosity.
He'd been around too many Weasleys in this lifetime.
"Over there." Gellert pointed in the direction of the pair of chairs he'd spotted, both large and comfy looking. Walking over the blonde took a seat and then held out a hand to his lover.
Puzzled by the action Albus walked over and took the hand, eyes widening behind his glasses as he was tugged closer and into the other man's lap. "Gellert?"
Wrapping his one arm around the redhead's waist to anchor his redhead to him Gellert gave Albus a questioning look in return.
"Since when…we're in public."
As he wasn't affectionate or clingy by nature Gellert could understand the other man's confusion now that he knew what his lover was asking. And it wasn't that he needed the affection, he was secure in his position in the man's life, but still… "I like having you close to me."
"Oh." Pleasure bringing color to his cheeks Albus snuggled in to better fit his body to his man's, definitely liking being close to Gellert just as much. And since the blonde had initiated the show of affection Albus allowed himself the pleasure of stroking the other man's short curls. "So what were you and Malfoy talking about? The Jordan thing?"
Scorpius probably didn't want his personal business talked about, but he hadn't given his word not to and he cared more about making Albus happy then his blonde roommate. So Gellert summed up his conversation with the other man pretty much word for word while he tried his best not to make it obvious how much he enjoyed the simple pleasure of his lover's hand stroking through his hair.
When Gellert was done explaining Albus shook his head, marveling at the fact that anyone in their right mind would ask his lover for relationship advice. Not that the advice had been bad, just incredibly brutal, the redhead thought with a wry smile. "So what do you think he's going to do?"
"If he knows what's good for him he'll take my advice." He would not kindly to the other man ignoring his advice after he'd gone to all the trouble of giving it. His time was damn valuable and wasting it was not in anyone's best interest unless that someone was Albus.
Poor Malfoy, Albus thought as he leaned his head against Gellert. The blonde had no idea just how much trouble he was potentially in.
)
Sipping from the tea cup Scorpius concentrated on the warmth flooding into his body, only a little embarrassed now as he watched his mother watch him over the rim of the cup. He'd frozen like a man under a body binding curse, the blonde thought to himself with a mixture of self-loathing and sheer awe at the power Gellert had at his disposal, to so completely obliterate him with words alone. The man had some seriously scary skills. He'd so pay to see his grandparents face off against his roommate. It would be epic.
And he was trying hard not to think about what the other man had said without a whole lot of luck.
"Feeling better, Baby?"
Under normal circumstances he'd be embarrassed by the fact that his mother had just called him baby while his peers could possibly be in hearing distance, but at the moment Scorpius was so beyond caring about that. "I've been better, but I'll live."
"Your friend is a very intense person." Astoria agreed, knowing her words were an extreme understatement. She'd always sensed that there was a lot more to her son's roommate then met the eye, but she'd gotten the distinct feeling that the boy could have gotten up in the Dark Lord's face and told the son of a snake to go fuck himself without an ounce of fear or hesitation.
Definitely an understatement, Scorpius thought as he swiped a hand through his hair, thinking to himself that the fact that Wimbledon was completely moony over Gellert was serious proof that the redhead's brain didn't function like a normal person's.
"So what brings you by, Mother?"
"To basically say some of what Gellert said to you." Was Astoria's rueful response as she reached out to take one of his cool hands in her own. "Though I was going to say it in a lot nicer, no doubt less compelling way. The way he did it you'd think your life was being threatened if you didn't think exactly like he wanted you to."
Good, so it hadn't just been him.
And thinking more clearly about what she'd first said Scorpius gave his mother a puzzled look. "You came here to talk to me about my future? About…my…marriage prospects?"
"I came because I've learned enough from talking to other members of our family to know that you were once very serious about Al Potter and might still be. That it's quite possible that the members of our family that I'm less than fond of at the moment might have a lot to do with your decision to end that relationship. If that's true then I came to knock some sense into you." Astoria's lips curved ruefully. "But it seems Gellert beat me to it."
Scorpius flushed, fairly sure he didn't even want to know what Victoire and possibly Flora had told his mother.
"Scorpius…all any good mother wants is her son to be happy, and to know that she has raised a good and honorable man. I know that I've raised a good and honorable man, but I don't think I've raised a very happy one at the moment. If the Chosen One's son is what you need in your life to be happy, then you need to grab hold of him and refuse to let go. You aren't being selfish to want love. Everyone should have love in their life. And anyone who can't respect your right to have that can just go to hell on a broomstick as far as I'm concerned."
Lips twitching in spite of himself Scorpius couldn't help but smile at his mother, love for her in his eyes. "And here I thought you wanted loads of grandchildren."
"Of course I want grandchildren. Loads of grandchildren. Grandchildren are the reward we parents get for not killing out own children no matter how provoked we might occasionally be. I expect you to adopt, young man, and will be seriously displeased if you don't. Your brother or sister can't be expected to do all the grandchildren producing, now that would really be unfair."
At that Scorpius really had to laugh.
Enjoying the sound Astoria propped her chin on her palm and smiled. "Now that's what I like to hear."
"You know…you know the others are going to have a fit if I start publically dating Al. And that's if he'd take me back in the first place."
"From what others are telling me he's pretty much yours for the taking." Astoria informed him, wisely not mentioning that Flora had been extremely vocal about that before she'd left to come to the school. "As for my darling in laws…well really, Scorpius, what does it matter what they think? If I cared what they thought do you think I would have been the excellent wife and mother that I am? Their lives are a testament to what happens when you let others think for you. I didn't raise a fool, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. You know what you want. And you know what you need."
"I like your way of saying all that a lot better than Gellert's."
"Who could blame you?"
)
Once she was fairly sure that her son was on the right track and had been given as much encouragement as she had to give Astoria gave Scorpius a big kiss and hug for luck and then sent him on his way. She could only hope at this point that everyone was right about how Harry Potter's younger son felt about her boy or this was all going to end horribly. And if it did end horribly then she was just going to have to find someone better than Al Potter for her son. Which would certainly be difficult, the Gryffindor was quite the catch, but she was too much of a Slytherin to ever admit the possibility of failure until it was ludicrous to do otherwise.
She was really hoping to be able to brag that her son had caught one of the Wizarding World's most eligible young bachelors though.
Shrugging her coat back on Astoria had just gotten back to her feet when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. Turning around she was surprised to see Gellert there with a couple loose pieces of parchment in his hand. "Gellert."
He held out pieces of parchment until she took them from him. "I was bored in class earlier in the week and decided to pass the time by putting together some bullet points in case I had to step in and deal with your idiot husband. I thought you might want them since logic dictates you'll probably be seeing him shortly to make it clear he isn't to interfere in Scorpius's love life."
"And why would you possibly have to deal with my husband?" Astoria wanted to know, not even wanting to think about how that would go.
Gellert made a sound that suggested he was feeling very put upon. "Because if your son is unhappy then Potter is unhappy. And if Potter is unhappy then Albus will feel it necessary to spend time comforting him, and that's time that should be spent with me."
"Ah." Okay, that made sense. Gellert sense anyway. "Well I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I think between the two of us Scorpius has his head on straight, even if his father's is still backward."
A considering look came into the blonde's eyes. "You do realize you could do better than Draco Malfoy, right?"
She laughed. "Perhaps. But I love the idiot."
"My condolences."
"Thank you, Gellert. I hope you and your young man have a good day."
Nodding his head in acknowledgement Gellert politely wished her the same and then left to get back to monopolizing his man's attention.
Astoria watched him go with amusement in her eyes, waiting until he was out of her line of vision before she turned her attention to the parchment he'd given her. Reading over the neatly written list of points Gellert had thought her husband needed to be aware of Astoria felt her eyes get bigger and bigger, her jaw dropping in shock by the time she'd reached the fifth suggestion.
"Oh for…thank Merlin he gave this to me instead of going to see Draco himself. He'd have ended up a catatonic at St. Mungos."
But it wouldn't hurt to hang onto it either, Astoria decided as she folded up the pieces of parchment and put them in her coat pocket. Especially if she needed to shut any of the other Malfoys up when she laid down the law where Scorpius's future was concerned.
And if they didn't fall into line…well she knew just who to sic on them now.
)
Reading one of the assigned chapters in his textbook Christopher turned the page, absently looking down at the beautiful blonde head that was currently using his thigh for a pillow. And how weird was that? Here he was, a werewolf surrounded by his peers, with the most beautiful woman in the school curled up beside him on the couch and making her claim very well known to anyone who passed by. She seemed absorbed by whatever article had caught her attention in the magazine she was reading, but she had to be aware of some of the looks they were getting. He was pretty sure he'd caught a couple people with cameras in their hands before they'd hastily disappeared from his sight. So she knew and just didn't give a damn.
How lucky was he?
Well aware of his warm gaze Domi looked up from her magazine and blew him a kiss, giving him a wink for good measure before going back to her article.
Curious as to what she was reading about Christopher turned his attention to the article, reading the title with more than a little trepidation.
'How To Make Your Guy Think It Was His Idea When It's Really Yours'
Retrieving his pad of paper and pencil Christopher quickly scribbled a note informing her that she really didn't need to work on that area of their relationship, shoving the pad in front of the article for her to see. He was already twisted around her finger too much as far as he was concerned. The last thing he needed was for her to deliberately try to hone her skills in that particular area.
Turning her attention to the message Domi read it and then smiled winningly up at him, deliberate making her voice overly innocent and girlie. "Oh I know that I'm a pro when it comes to manipulating your gender, Sweetie. But it's always good to add to my repertoire too. I wouldn't want to become predictable after all."
Christopher's next message was straight to the point. 'You're already extremely unpredictable.'
"Awww, thank you."
Looking towards the ceiling with a 'why me' gaze Christopher sighed and then turned his attention back to writing another message, informing her that he very much preferred her straightforward, take no prisoners attitude.
Laughing, Domi closed the magazine and then shifted over so that she could comfortably snuggle into the man's lap, resting her head contently on his shoulder. She did so love his scent, Domi thought as she fingered his collar. "Don't worry, I don't intend to stop being a bitch anytime soon."
With some shifting around Christopher managed to write on his pad that she shouldn't call herself a bitch.
Reading the message Domi laughed and shook her head. "Of course I should. I'm a werewolf's girl."
It took Christopher a moment to figure out what that had to do with anything, but when he got it he had to smile and shake his head. That was his Domi for him, he thought as he nuzzled the top of her head, content to cuddle for the time being as he abandoned his pencil and paper in order to free his hands up to hold her close.
)
Al smiled as he watched them from a nearby chair, man enough to admit that while he was happy for them he was jealous too. The two were a prime example of how two people were perfectly capable of making it work even though logically they shouldn't. Christopher and Domi were so different in so many ways, but under the surface stuff they fit each other like two pieces of a puzzle. They'd probably never be a perfect fit, but who really wanted perfect? It was fitting right that was the important thing.
Albus and Gellert had that too. Or they would when Albus finished sanding down a few of the blonde's sharper edges.
When he thought about the bonds his friends had with their guys, well he figured he had a reason to be a little more green eyed than normal.
Turning his attention back to the textbook he was also supposed to be reading Al had gotten half way through the chapter when he sensed someone standing in front of him. Looking up from the page he was on Al could only blink in surprise when he saw who it was. "Scorpius."
You could have knocked the Gryffindor over with a feather when the blonde held out a hand and asked him to come with him.
Confused but more than willing Al closed his book without marking his place, holding it in one hand while he placed the other in Scorpius's, letting the other man pull him to his feet. Something was definitely up, it was in the storminess of the former Slytherin's eyes. But sensing that the blonde wanted privacy for whatever they were going to talk about Al didn't ask and simply let Scorpius gently pull him off in the direction of their dorm room.
Staring at their joined hands as they walked in silence Al testingly tightened his grasp, pleased when the blonde's fingers returned the gesture.
When they arrived at their dorm room Al went in first when Scorpius opened the door and gestured him to go in, reluctantly letting go of the man's hand as he did so. Turning around to face him as soon as the door closed behind them the Gryffindor gave his ex a questioning look but didn't ask, sensing that the blonde had a lot to get off his chest and needed to take the lead in this conversation.
Belatedly realizing that he probably should have taken some time to think through what he was going to say and how he was going to say it Scorpius mentally ranted against Gellert, who'd obviously short circuited way more brain cells then he'd previously thought.
Running an annoyed hand through his hair Scorpius stared at the man staring back at him, calmly waiting for him.
Waiting for him.
Okay, he knew where to start.
