The year-end pageant was nothing to laugh about. All the students from school converged in the main auditorium where seats were plush, stage was raised and curtains were made of regal purple velvet. To say Scorpius was nervous was an understatement, in fact.

"Harry?" he could barely whisper through his dry throat.

Harry smiled empathetically and knelt down to meet Scorpius' anxious eyes and flushed cheeks. "You'll do fine," the teacher assured his student. "You look fine, buddy. I'll be right here with you."

Scorpius brushed aside the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

Harry clutched Scorpius' hands in his, trying to steady them. "What's the worst that could happen?" he asked. "You might be a bit angry with yourself, a bit embarrassed, and tomorrow will be a brand new day. So, if that's the worst thing that could happen, what's there to be scared of, hmm? We practiced so hard."

"I know," Scorpius sniffed. He knew he was being unreasonable. But he wanted this to be perfect. He knew Mr. Potter had done everything he could to make him perfect.

"I am very proud of you."

"Oh," Scorpius groaned in dismay. Mr. Potter said the darnedest things. He wound his arms around Harry and hugged him. "Thank you."

Harry closed his eyes and squeezed Scorpius tight. "Trust me," he whispered. He felt himself choke up a bit too. "I know exactly what you're going through. I know it's scary. And I am so sorry you're going through it. It's not fun at all… But you're not alone. All your friends are singing with you and Gabrielle will be with me right there in front of you. Push through it, Scorp. Like we practiced, okay?"

"Okay."

When the thick curtains opened to reveal the first event in the program, twenty young children dressed to their nines stood on small risers with their hands clutched in front of their stomachs and their eyes trained on Gabrielle and Harry who were kneeling in front of the stage with expectant smiles. A few secretive flashes went off in the auditorium despite prohibition of photography, but that was easily overlooked. Gabrielle counted them in and started the music with a flick of her wand.

The children's voices rang out in the auditorium, echoing against the walls. Five-year-olds hardly had a sense of timing or volume, but the charming picture of so many little boys and girls singing and, in some cases screaming, their voices away was enough to make all the parents beam. And what was even better than listening to nursery rhymes? Watching the children animatedly use their hands to mime the song word for word. It even made some of the parents laugh.

Scorpius kept his eyes on his teacher. Even though his chest ached from nervousness, it wasn't the same scary feeling as that first time. He actually felt a rush of adrenaline, making him giddy somehow. His voice wasn't loud, but he wasn't mouthing the words either. His gestures weren't wild, but he wasn't being restrictive with his motion. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't crying either. He was concentrating so hard, in fact, that Draco and Astoria could practically see the gears turning in their child's mind. When he glanced at her, she seemed to be close to tears and was beaming from ear to ear.

Harry urged Scorpius on encouragingly whenever their eyes met. The boy always felt his shaky voice calming down when Harry nodded at him like that. He was also glad for his friends standing on either side of him because they remembered all the words and helped him remember when he forgot. The four-minute performance felt like four hours to him, but he did push through like Harry told him to. His hands were cold and his voice was hoarse as they neared the end, but he pressed on with his classmates without faltering. As long as he kept his eyes on his teachers, he wouldn't have to worry at all.

The enormity of all that singing didn't strike him until the applause. His eyes snapped up to the audience and, though he couldn't make out a single face because of the lights above his head, he could hear loud clapping and amused laughter from the crowd.

Then he smiled.

"Oh dear," Astoria mumbled. Draco had a handkerchief ready for her and she snatched it without another word, quickly dabbing her eyes that were overflowing. He had been expecting as much from her.

Scorpius had barely sat down on the bench in the dressing room to get the weight off of his jelly legs when his mother and father walked in, evidently having shirked the rest of the school's performance. Thankfully they weren't the only parents who had slipped out. If they were, Scorpius would have been thoroughly embarrassed. Well, he was embarrassed, nonetheless… But he would have been more embarrassed.

"Sweetheart," Astoria cooed, kneeling down beside Scorpius' chair before he could get up anxiously. "Oh, sweetheart." She hugged him tight. "You are the most wonderful boy."

Scorpius smiled into Astoria's neck. "Not really," he murmured. "Did you like it, Mother?"

"I loved it," she gushed. "You were brilliant. I had eyes for no one else." She pulled back to kiss her son's cheek. Then she handed him the long-stemmed red rose that she had been holding onto. "For you. First time on a big stage, right?"

"Thank you," he said shyly after accepting the flower.

Draco smiled at Harry when the teacher approached them. "Not bad," he said, his head tilted in a magnanimous fashion.

"Not bad?" Harry intoned. "Went pretty great, if you ask me."

"Sure, sure."

He narrowed his eyes at Draco. "Are you suggesting you could do a better job?" he prodded.

"No. Of course not."

He narrowed his eyes still. "I can never tell with you," he said in distrust.

"I'm being civilized, Potter," Draco conceded with raised hands. "I genuinely believe you did a good job."

"Well, thank you, then. I think."

Scorpius flicked his eyes up at his teacher. "Mr. Potter helped me so much," he told Astoria. "He's been so great, Mother."

Harry shrugged it off with a smile when Astoria looked back at him. "Now, now. No need to be modest," she laughed. "If Scorpius said you've been great, then you must have been really great."

"I wasn't the one singing up there," Harry reminded Scorpius, who blushed and looked down at the rose in his hands.

Astoria glanced at Draco for a second, then got up on her feet to sidle towards Harry. "Could I speak with you for a second?" she asked quietly, turning a blind eye to Draco's inquisitive frown.

"Um, sure," Harry said.

Draco sat beside his son while watching Astoria and Harry walk away to a secluded corner of the room, talking amongst themselves. "What are they saying?" Scorpius wanted to know. Draco shook his head. He had a feeling he knew what it was about, but he couldn't be sure. "I know it's nothing bad," Scorpius continued. "Maybe Mother wants to say thank you too, huh?"

"Probably."

In fact, that was exactly what she was doing. Harry didn't do well with gratitude, so he just smiled sheepishly while she articulated her appreciation with a beautiful smile. "He has been doing so much better at home," she said. "Draco's seen the changes and I know he won't tell you himself. Scorpius is a very special boy. I want the best for him."

"Really, it's not just my efforts," Harry tried to say. "Just being in an environment with other children helps him. That's all he needs. He adapts very well to situations."

"He's a lot like his father in that aspect of things," she sighed in defeat. "Those two get on my nerves sometimes because they never tell me what's bothering them, you know?"

"I know." Harry had seen that stubborn streak more than once in Scorpius. "I'd wager Scorpius is a tad bit easier to deal with, though."

"Oh, you'd win that wager, no doubt about it," Astoria scoffed. "And… now that school is almost over, I think Scorpius will be sad to leave your class."

"Hmm."

"He's been talking about Teddy a lot. They're exchanging letters now, I believe."

Harry blushed when he remembered that first letter. "Teddy loves writing letters to his cousins. He was so excited when he got one from Scorpius," he told her. "He's already seemed to have made plans for the summer."

"Draco's told me," she murmured. "I can't thank you enough, Harry. For everything, at school and at home. It's meant the world to Scorpius. He doesn't have anyone else."

Harry exhaled loudly. "That's not true," he tsked. "He picks up on talk like that. He is very empathetic. He takes things to heart when he hears things like that. He's never alone, alright? Not with Teddy and his grandmother around. In fact, I think Teddy's got some of the little Weasleys warming up to Scorp as well. So there's nothing to worry about. He'll have a great summer."

"Weasleys?" Astoria let out a short laugh. "That'd be the day."

"Wouldn't it, though?" Harry grinned.

He stifled his exasperated sigh and sat quietly with his hands folded on his lap while he listened to rants and raves for an hour. He was at the Burrow for brunch and he should have known something was up. Rumors had been flying around all different branches of the Weasleys through Ron's accounts of Harry's talks and Teddy's weekly letters. They had heard was enough to point incriminating fingers at him and Draco.

Nearly every family member figured it was their moral duty to lecture Harry on the various devious reasons the Malfoys had befriended him. All of them seemed valid and would have convinced Harry. In fact, they did convince Harry. But he didn't really care for the reasons as much as he cared for the results of his actions. So what if he was being used by the Malfoys? As long as Scorpius benefited, he didn't care… He knew that no amount of reasoning would help him get out of this mess, though, so he just listened quietly, nodding and mumbling at the desired pauses while letting his mind wander. He had been expecting this. In fact, he was somewhat surprised that it had taken this long for the Weasleys to intervene in what they saw as a trap. He knew of their animosity towards the Malfoys. On more than one occasion, he found himself wondering whether the reason he was helping Draco was because it was rebellious gesture.

After all the lecturing, he made sure to look sincerely sad and sorry. He knew that they weren't angry with him. They simply seemed to think that he was incapable of taking care of himself. There might be a bit of truth in that statement, but Harry glanced over that. He then told them that he had to continue maintaining a good relationship with the Malfoys because he was Scorpius' family.

Oh, the uproar that statement caused was enormous.

"I'm bringing Scorpius and Teddy over next week," he said over the loud arguments in an attempt to shush them. "He's just a child, so please be nice."

Draco had his jaw set and his nostrils flared to give off a threatening air as he handed his child over to Harry.

"I'll return him without a scratch," Harry promised.

"Me too!" Teddy chimed in as he threw a casual arm over Scorpius' shoulder.

"You two better," Draco muttered under his breath. He was having immense reservations about sending his son deep into Weasley territory for an entire day. He must have gone insane… He looked down at Scorpius who appeared about as nervous as he did. "Behave," he said sternly. Scorpius nodded more than a few times to show that he understood.

"You can join us, Malfoy," Harry taunted lightly.

"In your dreams," Draco snorted. "I'd rather live. Make sure you bring him back in time for dinner."

A few minutes later, Harry was knocking at the door to the Burrow while Scorpius and Teddy stood behind him. The little boy was looking about in awe at the strange plants half-hidden behind fences. This house was so strange looking, like the ones he read about in his books. It was old and had ivy growing on the outside. The windows were crooked and the walls seemed to sway with the wind.

Victoire threw open the door excitedly. "Teddy!" she crowed as she bounded the last few steps and threw herself at him. Scorpius jumped out of the way just in time because a torrent of children rushed out after her, all of them wanting to hug a piece of Teddy. He was obviously a very popular young man. Harry simply laughed as he ushered Scorpius past the chattering crowd. Inside was a more domestic crowd of adults gathered casually by the foyer to see what all the commotion was about. Most of them were redheads and most of them had a derisive brow arched at the sight of pale Scorpius Malfoy who was hiding behind Harry.

"Scorpius, this is everyone," Harry introduced. "Come on." He tugged the boy away from his leg.

Scorpius swept his eyes across all of them. "Good morning," he said quietly.

Hermione was one of the many who smiled in response. She moved in and knelt down next to Scorpius. "Harry's told me a lot about you, Scorpius," she said.

Scorpius flicked his eyes from Hermione to the baby held against her hip. "Thank you," he responded for the lack of anything else to say.

Hugo blinked at Scorpius once before reaching out with his chubby hand and swatting at the boy's blond hair. Scorpius flinched away in shock, knocking into Harry. He had never really been that close to a baby before. Harry also knelt down next to them. "He likes you," he told the boy. "See? He's smiling." Hugo was grinning, which exposed his four pearly whites, while reaching for Scorpius' hair again. Harry urged Scorpius forward again. "You have to be gentle with him, okay?"

Scorpius nodded dolefully and held still when Hugo rested his hand against his head again. But he wasn't really expecting the baby to grab a handful of his hair and pulled hard. His head jerked down and he hissed in pain. Before Hermione could do more than gasp in dismay, Scorpius had his fingers wrapped around Hugo's wrist. "That hurts," he chided as he managed to get his hair away from Hugo's itching fingers. "You have to be gentle with me too, baby," he said. "No pulling hair, okay?"

Hugo giggled and hid his face against Hermione's neck, like he knew that he had done something mischievous.

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized as she patted down Scorpius' ruffled hair.

"It's okay," Scorpius said. "He's just a little baby. Babies don't know anything yet, so it's okay."

Harry knew then that Scorpius would have no trouble winning over the Weasleys with his solemn words of wisdom. Hermione was already taken, he could tell. Teddy came up behind them and yanked Scorpius away from the midst of all the adults, spinning him around so the little Weasleys could get a good look at him. "This is my real cousin," he announced proudly. "He might look small but he's pretty smart. Let's play!" He slipped his hand into Scorpius' and tugged him along out the front door and around the side of the house. They were followed by six other children racing so they won't be the last to get to their base near the stone broom shed. If you were last, you were it.

"See?" Harry smirked knowingly at the Weasleys. "He fits right in."

Brunch was ready less than an hour later and all the sweaty, grass-stained children swarmed the large table Arthur had set up outside right by the house. Scorpius still stuck close to Teddy, but he was gravitating towards Lucy and Louis as well, since they were around his age. Teddy, being the mature lad he was, knew that Scorpius would be comfortable if he sat next to Harry, so the young Malfoy found himself wedged between his cousin and his teacher, feeling happy as a peach to be where he was. The food in front of him looked incredible and smelt delicious. His stomach rumbled, but it was hardly heard over all the rambunctious chatter going on around him.

From what he had learnt so far, the Weasleys met at least once every two months for such occasions. They celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and promotions as a big family this way. That was why there were at least three cakes spread across the table in addition to pancakes, syrup, fruits and sausages. Scorpius could just barely see over the big bowl of hash browns from where he sat. He let Harry fill up his plate for him, not saying a word even though he knew he would have a tough time finishing everything on that plate.

"How is it?" Harry asked him once they had gotten through a few bites. Scorpius nodded eagerly and hummed. He didn't want to talk with his mouth full, even though a lot of the Weasleys tended to do that a lot from what he could see.

He liked Hermione and Fleur the best so far. They sat opposite him and, if he shifted about while eating, he could watch them talking from around the bowl of potatoes. Hermione had bouncy Hugo on her lap and Fleur, who looked exactly like Gabrielle, held Rose. They weren't as loud as everyone else. They even smiled at him when they caught him staring. He would drop his eyes fast, but then couldn't stop himself from peeking a minute later. Hugo waved at him from time to time, obviously taken by this unusual boy with white hair and grey eyes. Scorpius certainly stood out in contrast to everyone else at the table, from his physical features to the clothes he wore and the way he ate.

Rose wiggled off of Fleur's lap as soon as she got bored and scurried under the table to the other side, peeking up at Harry and Scorpius with an impish grin. The children seemed to do that often – get out of their seats and run around to visit different adults around the table. Rose was one of the few who could fit under the table. Harry helped her out of there and sat her on his lap. She immediately turned to the strange face beside her and said, "Hello."

"Hello," Scorpius answered.

"I'm Rose."

"I'm Scorpius."

Rose wrinkled her nose. She didn't understand that name. "That's silly," she responded. She tilted her head up at Harry. "What's his name?" she asked.

"Scorpius," Harry repeated.

"Scorpius?" she mimicked.

"Exactly."

She burrowed into Harry's lap and looked at Scorpius again. "Hello, Scorpius," she said, rolling that name around against her tongue.

"Hello."

She watched the boy eat stiffly for a moment before leaning towards him. "I like your name," she whispered loudly. "It's pretty."

Scorpius didn't fancy having a pretty name. But he wasn't about to have an argument with this toddler he had just met. "Thank you," he said dutifully. "You have a pretty name as well, Rose. Like a flower."

Rose giggled as Ron rolled his eyes at Harry. "That kid's a heartbreaker," he complained. "I'd keep an eye on him." Harry laughed it off.

After brunch came more games, this time with some adults joining in on the fun. They played Stuck in the Mud and Mother May I with hilarious results of Fred having to twirl on one foot ten times until he toppled over and Angelina waving her arms about wildly at everyone who passed her so she could get 'unstuck' from the mud. Scorpius felt both overwhelmed and delighted to be part of such festivities. He never knew playing with adults could be this much fun. But he had a feeling the Weasleys weren't a regular set of adults.

Teddy's impressions brought about roars of laughter once everyone was inside, trying to escape afternoon spring heat and humidity. Scorpius lounged on the ground beside Hermione, lulled into a sleepy stupor despite holding Hugo on his lap. The baby was half-asleep as well, leaning heavily against his new best friend and sucking his thumb. Scorpius held him tight, just like Hermione and Harry had showed him, but his eyes kept drooping. It was past time for his nap, after all. When two o'clock struck, he was out cold with his head nestled against Hermione's lap and his arms hugging a small cushion close. Many of the other children were the same way. The adults had mismatched mugs in hand filled with lukewarm tea and residues of laughter at their lips. Harry absently patted Scorpius' arm while listening to George's retelling of the fiasco at his shop in Diagon Alley last weekend.

Hermione tipped her head to the side and whispered, "He's a precious boy."

"He is," Harry agreed with a twinge of pride in those words. Scorpius was working so hard at being receptive and warm. He was incredibly impressed by how much the boy had changed since that first day at school. He glanced up when Molly tiptoed towards them to unfurl a thin blanket over Scorpius. "Thank you," he mouthed gratefully. The Weasleys had done such a great job making Scorpius feel at home. Harry was proud of them too.

When Draco let Harry, Scorpius and Teddy into the house, he could tell that they had had one heck of a day. All of them had turned pink from the sun and Scorpius had a dazed grin on his face that most likely wouldn't fade for another day or two. "You had a good time, I take it," Draco said begrudgingly. Some very small part of him had been hoping otherwise.

"I did," Scorpius answered. "I had so much fun, Father. It's not fair how much fun I had. I wish you'd come with us."

"Maybe next time, huh?" Harry pitched in before Draco could say anything.

"Potter," Draco grumbled. This man was putting way too many strange thoughts into his son's head.

Scorpius tugged at Teddy's hand. "I'll show you my playroom. Come on." The boys ran up the stairs.

"Drink?" Draco offered before making his way to the kitchen. Harry followed him in to see what selection was available. This was a day neither of them had seen coming, when they would be having a glass of wine together at the Malfoy Manor. Harry leaned against the counter as he swirled the drink in his cup. Draco put the bottle away before joining him. "How was he?"

Harry laughed tiredly before taking a smooth sip. "He's a Malfoy, alright," he replied, then cast a sly glance at Draco to catch the reaction. Draco barely hid his smile behind his glass. "He charmed them half to death," Harry continued. "What did you expect?"

"I've taught him well," Draco boasted. "A worthy heir."

"No denying it." Harry wrapped his free arm around his aching chest. He was sore from head to toe from all that running and chasing. "Hermione was amazed. I think she was expecting the worst."

"Worst?" Draco appeared affronted.

"Worst is you, of course."

"Oh. That. That's definitely not the worst," he scoffed.

Harry chuckled again. "And I might have returned him with a few scratches," he added. "Thought I'd let you know before you ripped me a new one."

"As long as he isn't too bothered by them," Draco shrugged. "I'm just glad he had a good time."

"Teddy might have spoilt him a bit."

"He can afford to get a bit spoilt, I think."

They exchanged light banter for a while until they had polished off a glass. Draco rarely had an opportunity to speak at such an informal capacity. At work, he was all business. At home, he was with Scorpius. He hadn't been able to converse sarcastically in a while, so he welcomed the company. After delving into the topic in his mind, he realized that Potter wasn't such a bad person to have a repartee with. They were equally hardheaded and thick-skinned. They knew all the right buttons to push and when to ease off. They had been at each other's throat so often that they had gotten comfortable with it. Draco wasn't surprised.

But Harry certainly was. As he tipped the last bit of wine into his mouth, he was very surprised that he had been able to carry out a civil conversation with Malfoy for so long without getting on his nerves. He chalked it up to them getting older, wiser, and all that other stuff that came with passing years. "What's for dinner, then?" he yawned.

"Pasta?"

Harry raised a derisive brow at Draco. "You don't cook."

"I'd hardly call boiling ravioli 'cooking'."

"That's a dig against me, isn't it?"

"Of course. Everything I say is a dig against you."

Harry pulled a face. Draco smiled smugly in retort as he filled a pot with simmering water.