It was mid morning. Harry sat in his office with a pile of paper work in front of him. It was the one part of his job that he truly hated. Becoming head auror was something he had resisted for as long as he could. But he had ended up there anyway. According to him, it was the most boring job in the auror corps. All he had to do was hold meetings, give out assignments and sign off paper work. His stubbornness was the only reason he got out into the field at all.

He'd been working on a case all of last week and he had steadfastly ignored all the paper that had piled up on his desk. Now that the case was solved, he was trapped in his office by his secretary who had threatened not to let him go until he'd tackled at least half of that mountain of paper. He sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair. He had a cup of coffee...then he picked up the next report, scanned it, signed it and tossed it aside. It was going to be a long day.

He was interrupted by the sound of tapping on his window. He looked up. It was Lana, Albus' owl. He opened the window and let the bird in. He untied the parchment from her leg and gave her an owl treat. Lana hooted her thanks and flew out. Harry was always happy to get letters from his kids, though Albus was the only one who wrote to him regularly. Lily and James seemed just too busy with their lives. He unrolled the parchment and started to read. As usual, there was no salutation of any kind. Albus always started his letters as if they were already in the middle of a conversation. Harry found it rather endearing.

This is my fifth attempt at writing this letter. Writing to you should not be difficult, I know, but there it is. I have a few things on my mind that I need to talk to you about. And before you start worrying, I'm not in any kind of trouble. I've been making a few decisions about my life that I want to share with you. I could use some advice and a lot of support.

I know I'm being all mysterious. I don't mean to. It is just that I don't want to put any of this in a letter. I had intended to talk to you when I got home for Christmas, but I'm starting to think that it may not be a good idea to wait that long. Do you think you could make the time to come and see me at school?

And could you please not let Jamie and Lily know. I know that it sounds like a strange request, but I have my reasons. Don't say anything to mum either. I know that you're very busy, but I'm hoping you'll find the time to come see me. I love you.

Al.

Harry was surprised and worried despite his son's assurances that he wasn't in any kind of trouble. He read the letter a couple of times, but it didn't really tell him anything. Albus had chosen his words very carefully. He sighed. I'd better do as he says, I guess. But how can I meet him at school without Jamie and Lily knowing about it? McGonagall's office? No. Maybe I could ask Draco. He'll keep quiet about it, I'm sure. What is up with Al, though? He says not to worry, but how can I not? And why the insistence on not telling Ginny? Not that she's around to tell, but still...

...

Harry had initially considered going to Hogwarts the next day, but then he decided that he couldn't wait. So he Floo called Draco just before dinner.

"You're early," Draco said. It was two weeks since he'd last met Harry and he was really glad to see him, though he tried not to let that show.

"Yeah well. I need a favour."

"Sure. Ask away."

"I got a letter from Al this morning. He said he has something that he needs to talk to me about and asked if I could come over to the school and meet him."

"Ah!"

"You know what it is..."

"I think I have an idea, and no I can't tell you."

"What? Why? Why is everyone being so mysterious? Is he in trouble?"

"Not at all. It's just something personal. Get here and he'll tell you."

"He says he doesn't want Lily and Jamie to know."

"Then you can meet him here, in my rooms. Can you come over after dinner?"

"Yeah. If that's okay with you."

"Of course. I'll get a message to him."

"Thanks."

...

Harry stepped through the floo with his usual lack of grace. Draco rolled his eyes but he didn't say anything. Harry noticed and he smiled. Albus was there with another boy...one look was enough to decide that he had to be Scorpius. He looked uncannily like Draco.

"Hi dad," Albus said. He sounded nervous.

"Hi Al. Hello Scorpius," Harry said and he held out his hand.

"Mr Potter. I've wanted to meet you for so long," Scorpius said as he shook the offered hand.

"Call me Harry, please. 'Mr Potter' makes me feel like I'm back at school and Snape is about to insult me yet again."

Scorpius smiled. "I've heard that he used to do that a lot," he said.

"You have no idea. I used to hate potions with a passion."

"Unlike Al, then."

"Hmmm...But Al has a very good teacher who practically dotes on him from what I hear."

"That's true, alright. You should hear Rosie talk about it. She thinks dad can't see anyone other than Al in the classroom."

"Patently untrue," Draco drawled. "I occasionally sneak a look at you and Rosie as well."

Albus looked a bit self conscious but he smiled happily enough. It reassured Harry somewhat.

"Well, I think Scorpius and I will be going now. We'll be in my office," Draco said. "The drinks are over on the table. Feel free to help yourself."

"Thanks," Harry said.

Draco nodded and then he turned to leave.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr...I mean Harry," Scorpius said. Harry nodded and smiled. Scorpius looked at Albus for a moment. And then he left as well.

"So?" Harry said as he settled into an armchair. Albus sat down too. He ran his hands through his hair as he was wont to do when he was nervous. Harry smiled at the sight of that very familiar gesture. He reached over and took his son's hands in his. He squeezed them lightly and told him to relax. "Just tell me, whatever it is," he said.

"I've no idea where to start..." Albus said and then he sighed. "Dad, I'm in a relationship," he said finally.

Whatever Harry had expected, it wasn't this. Being in a relationship was hardly a big deal unless...Oh...Oh!

"With Scorpius?" Harry said, deciding that it would be best to be direct.

"What? How?" Albus spluttered.

"You wouldn't be making such a big deal of it if it was a girl. You would just have mentioned it casually in one of your letters. And Scorpius was with you when I got here, though he had no real reason to be. You haven't exactly been friends before. Also the look he gave you before leaving was quite telling. It puzzled me when I saw it, but I understand it now."

Albus just looked his surprise.

"I am an auror, Al. I'm trained to notice these things." Harry had figured it out, but it was no less a shock for all that. "I'm very surprised. I didn't know you liked boys."

"Me neither...not until I got to know Scor."

"And how did that happen?"

Albus told him. It was a sweet little tale and by the end of it Harry was smiling. Scorpius, it seemed was a very special person. And from the things that his son told him, it was obvious that he was a good influence. It seemed like he was getting Albus to think about himself and who he was and what he wanted.

"It'll take me a while to get used to the idea, but I have no issues with any of this, if that's what you're worried about," Harry said.

Albus had expected as much, but it was a still relief to hear it. "Thanks dad," he said as he reached over for a hug.

"It's okay. I'm guessing Lily and Jamie don't know."

"Lily does. She's cool about it. Rosie and Frank know as well."

"Rosie must be happy."

"She's thrilled. Jamie thinks we're just friends and he doesn't like it one bit." And then Albus told him about all the arguments that he had been having with his brother.

"Hmmm...Your mum won't like it either."

"I know. That's why I wanted to talk to you first."

"Look Al, Ginny has never been able to forget what Lucius put her through when she was just eleven years old. I know that it has been thirty years since then, but some scars don't ever heal. And Draco was an insufferable git when we were all at school. He always had something nasty to say about the Weasleys. And Ron nearly died because of him. I know that Draco didn't intend that poison for Ron. I also know the horrible pressure that Draco was under at the time and I forgave him long ago, but your mother hasn't been able to, hasn't wanted to. I know that none of this has anything to do with Scorpius. But she won't see it that way. She will react badly at first. But she's a reasonable person. She'll come around. I'll talk to her, okay."

"Okay."

"And I'll talk to Jamie as well when you come home for Christmas. Though from what you've told me, it seems that you're doing a very good job of asserting yourself. I must say I'm glad about that. I always thought Jamie had too much of a hold on you. In fact, I think he's been fighting with you not because of Scorpius but because he knows that he's losing his hold on you. Jamie is too fond of leading you around to give that up without a fight."

Albus nodded and then he sighed. "There's one other thing that I wanted to talk to you about...I want to quit the Quidditch team."

"What? Why?"

Albus explained as well as he could. Harry understood, of course, but he knew how badly everyone in Gryffindor would react to that. They would see it as nothing short of betrayal.

"Are you sure you want to do this? The team will hate you. And most of the house as well. And if they lose any of their matches, they'll blame it on you."

"I know. I don't want to ditch them either, but I'm tired of playing, dad. I don't want to do it anymore. I just wish this didn't have to be so damn difficult. I'm tired of everyone expecting things from me all the time. Is it so wrong of me to do something that I want for a change?"

"It's not. But it is hardly the done thing to quit the team in the middle of the year."

"I know. But you can't tell me that they would've accepted it if I'd done it in the beginning of the year."

"I guess that's true..." Harry sighed. He knew better than anyone what it was like to have people expect things from you all the time. He had dealt with it by giving in to the expectations most of the time. And he was only just starting to realise how many mistakes he had ended up making. He didn't want his son to do the same. Albus had spent all his life toeing the line. To see him come into his own was refreshing. Harry figured that he had Scorpius to thank for this.

"Al, I don't ever want you to feel that you have to do something just because it is expected of you. Do what feels right. The next few months will be difficult, but if you stick it out and refuse to let anyone pressure you into changing your mind, people will learn to leave you alone. And I'm here whenever you need me. I'll deal with Lily and Jamie if they start giving you a hard time..."

"So you think I'm doing the right thing?" Albus' relief was palpable.

"Yes. I want you to quit worrying about it. And I want to talk to Scorpius as well before you have to go back to your dorm. Shall we go find him?"

"Okay." Albus smiled. It was a smile that Harry hadn't seen on his son's face since he'd been a little kid. It made him happy. It made him want to get to know Scorpius better. If that kid can make Al smile like this, he must be pretty damn special, Harry thought as they got up and made their way to Draco's office.