Two years later
Scorpius groaned as he lay in bed. The summer was not going according to him. His father had grounded him for a month for setting up a portable swamp in a school corridor and then throwing some students in it. Scorpius had argued that the said children were bullying prats in general, but both his parents felt his prank had gone too far. While Scorpius felt his punishment was completely unjustified, he had received long letters from Alex and Albus telling him about the amount of chores they were given on top of being grounded. So while, fifteen year old Scorpius sulked at being grounded, he had thanked his stars that their parents had not talked to each other about setting up punishments.
It had been three weeks since he had seen his friends. None of Carina's friends were visiting them either. Rose and Hugo were off on a holiday to India with their parents. His only comfort was Victor who visited time and again but not as much as Scorpius would have liked because he was busy covering up for his sister. In a humorous twist of events, it turned out that Warrington was mad at Louise because she had a crush on him and she didn't want to admit to it. Once that was cleared and the happy couple started spending time with each other, Antlia was forced to spend time with Fred and Roxanne Weasley and James Potter. Given the number of arguments James Potter and Antlia Nott had everyone assumed that one of these days they will be together. Till one fine day during breakfast Scorpius' in fourth year, when James shouted at her in the Great Hall for being too thick to notice that Fred was trying so hard to change for her. What conspired next could be anybody's guess but by the end of the year Antlia Nott and Fred Weasley were dating each other and disgustingly so.
Now with the summer break and their respective internships, Antlia interning under Miss. Morag to be a curse breaker and Fred training with the Tornadoes in a summer camp for future Quidditch stars. The two had to sneak around a lot to avoid the press, their families and find time for each other. Roxanne and Victor were pulled into the net to cover for their lovesick siblings. Scorpius had taken immense pleasure in teasing Antlia about her parents' reaction once they found out that she was crazily in love with a Weasley. Theodore Nott may have liked Ginny Weasley enough but he genuinely believed that the twins were flashy, bigheaded idiots.
Scorpius lay in his bed, he knew it was near lunch time but he didn't want to get out. He still had to figure out what he would do with his day. He was surprised that Carina thought he was an annoying sibling now. In any case, she had packed off and left to stay with Longbottom as soon as they had landed home. Cordelia, Lily, Lyra and Carina were going to spend a week each at one of the girls' place. Scorpius had received a letter from Albus a couple of weeks ago about entertaining the girls at his home. Scorpius figured, Carina would be returning home soon. He sighed as he pushed himself off his bed, his stomach growling with hunger.
After a quick shower he padded down to the kitchen to hear tinkering laughter emanate from the door.
"Scor!" Carina exclaimed excitedly as she ran into him.
"Hey there." He said, catching her and smiling into her hair. He would never get tired of Carina's hugs. "Miss me?"
"Like you didn't." She grinned.
"Now, Come on. I am hungry." He said with a laugh, dragging her with him.
He looked at the girls sitting at the kitchen table already halfway through lunch. He stared at them again, all of them looked different, like something had happened to them in the three weeks. He took his seat in between Lily and Carina, appraising both girls critically.
"What?" Lily asked self consciously.
"Nothing." Scorpius said with a frown, "It's just all of you look different."
Lily and Carina exchanged sly glances, their eyes alight with mischief as they batted their eyelashes.
"Well!" Carina said smiling sweetly.
"What?" Scorpius asked, after swallowing a mouthful of his food.
"Umm…" Lily started. "We have now reached the permission-to-visit-Hogsmeade age."
"Lovely-dates- at- Madam- Puddifoot's- age." Lyra sang as Scorpius paled, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at Carina.
"The dreamy age of falling in love." Carina sang clapping her hands and sighing, giving Scorpius a dreamy smile.
"The age when boys don't have cooties anymore." Cordelia added, "And kisses may pop your toes."
Scorpius covered his ears. "There will be no dating or kissing." He said loudly.
"But Scorpius!" Lily shrieked, imitating the shrill tones of some of the girls that prey on Albus regularly. "You can't stop love!"
"Yes. Romeo and Juliet met when they were our age." Cordelia commented.
"And what a beautiful love story." Lyra said with a soppy smile.
"They committed suicide after knowing each other for just one day." Scorpius snapped.
"Yes. But love will find its way." Carina drawled, "I hope it finds me soon."
"Nina!" Scorpius cried, "You are a baby. Where is dad when you need him the most?"
"Carina!" Astoria Malfoy said walking into the room, "Stop teasing your brother."
"But mum, it's fun." Astoria said with a pout.
"He looks like he is going to pop a vein." Astoria pointed out.
"But he took it better than your brothers, Lily." Cordelia said conversationally.
"James looked like he was going to throw a fit." Lily said snickering.
"I am surprised at Albus though." Lyra said, "I didn't expect him to react this way. I thought he was the cool one. With the whole I trust you with your life attitude. But he looked positively pained."
"And did you look at Teddy?" Cordelia said giggling madly, "He looked horrified."
"Frank took it surprisingly well." Lily added, grinning evilly at Scorpius, who had gone back to eating his food.
"That's because we had to spell the changes out for him." Cordelia said, "That boy is thick. I don't know how he gets good scores."
"But Alex was the coolest." Carina declared as their laughter subsided.
"Why? What did he do?" Scorpius asked.
"Nothing." Carina replied.
"He just looked at us and said and I quote 'You girls would turn into some really fit birds. Boys would be falling all over at your feet. It would be fun to watch them stutter and mumble and embarrass themselves. If someone gives you trouble, you let us know. Cool?'" Carina smirked at Scorpius' nonplussed expression.
"He is showing us up. That prat." Scorpius said, "Don't worry Ly, he would secretly curse the nutter's balls off."
"Scorpius!" His mother chided him.
"Mum." He whined, "They are talking about dating people. They are midgets, knock some sense into them."
"Thirteen is a perfectly acceptable age to start dating. I went on my first date when I was thirteen. He was a very sweet boy too, his name was-"
"I don't want to hear it!" Scorpius said loudly.
"Women are evil." He groaned as everyone around him started laughing raucously.
"Dad?" Scorpius asked tentatively as he knocked on the door of his father's study. "May I come in?"
Draco looked up at his son and frowned. "Since when have you been so well mannered? Seeking permission to enter my study and all that?"
Scorpius grinned, rubbing the back of his neck, a habit he picked up from Albus.
"Err… I just wanted to let you know that I have finished and revised all my homework and done extra reading."
"Very good." Draco said with a knowing smirk.
"Err…"
"Yes?"
"Umm… The girls are all here." Scorpius said rocking on his heels.
"Yes." Draco said fondly, "They have livened things up, haven't they?"
"Yeah… Yeah, sure. But umm…"
"Scor."
"Umm… Look Dad, I love Nina." Scorpius said, "I really do and Lyra is like a cousin. Delia is a good friend and I am really fond of Lily. She is one of my best friends. Individually I like these girls but together they are a nightmare!"
"Come on." Draco said, "Don't you think you are exaggerating. They aren't as bad as Albus, Alex and you."
"Worst, Dad." Scorpius said shaking his head.
"What are you on about?" Draco asked confused.
"Well, they were all talking about boys and dating." Scorpius said horrified, "Dating! Bloody midgets! And they want to start dating. Why are you laughing?"
"Nothing, nothing." Draco chortled. "I had the biggest crush on Daphne when I was thirteen."
"I did not need to know this." Scorpius said, making a face in distaste.
"Please. It's not as if you haven't had a crush on anyone."
"Apart from Victoire, no one." Scorpius said honestly, "And even then, I just thought she was pretty cool."
"Maybe you haven't met someone worthy enough." Draco replied. "What about your friends?"
"Albus generally avoids girls like the plague. And Alex has had the longest crush on Chelsea Montague, it's kind of pathetic really." Scorpius replied.
"That's why you are here, aren't you?" Draco asked.
"Please." Scorpius said eagerly, "I have behaved myself these past weeks, may I please go see them?"
"I guess you could. Don't tell your mother." Draco said, "Let me talk to Blaise, I think he would let Alex go. And I will ask Teddy to ask Potter to let Albus out too."
"You are the best." Scorpius said jumping to his feet and almost hugging Draco, he held himself just in time.
"Oh, I see." Draco said, giving him a mock glare, "You are too old and cool to hug your father now. Aren't you?"
Scorpius grinned, rumpling his hair, before giving his father a fleeting hug.
"Oh, thank Merlin!" Albus exclaimed as Scorpius stepped out of the fireplace at Potter Manor.
"I know!" Scorpius said, grinning widely at Albus, thumping his back.
"James is out. Lily is at your place. Everyday has been a torture." Albus whined.
"You know what Megan, I regret pitying this prat." Rose Weasley said loudly, entering the room with Megan Dursley in tow.
Albus stuck his tongue out at them, as they hugged Scorpius.
"So, where is Alex?" Megan asked, "I thought he would be coming in with you."
"Probably trying to make us look bad." Scorpius said with a shrug.
"Why?" Rose asked rolling her eyes, "What did he do?"
"The prat went and told the girls that they would all look pretty fit soon enough and that it was perfectly cool for them to date as many boys as they wanted."
"He- what?" Albus gasped in horror as Rose and Megan snickered.
"Come to think of it." Megan said, "He is actually pretty cool. I am so glad I don't have an older brother."
"Yeah me too." Rose said, "But if I were to have one, I would rather it be someone like Alex."
"Oi!" Albus said, "Literally every Weasley older than you looks at you like a little sister, Rose. That includes Fred, Louise and James. And Megan, you are as good as James' little sister which makes them look out for you too."
"Why?" Megan whined.
"It's not as if you have a boyfriend." Scorpius said, "So, why are you whining?"
Megan blushed and Rose smirked.
"When did this happen?" Albus wondered aloud, "How is it that we don't know?"
"Because it is none of your business, Al." Megan shot back.
"Oh! Defensive, are we?" Albus grinned, his eyes shining with mischief.
"Albus. Severus. Potter." Megan said with her hands on her hips, "If you do anything. Anything, I swear you would regret-"
"He won't do anything." Rose cut in grinning triumphantly at Albus, "Or a certain Herbology professor would hear about things."
Scorpius watched in amusement as Albus turned red and Megan and Rose exchanged identical evil grins.
"What?" Scorpius asked with growing understanding and excitement. "Rose, what do you know?"
"Just that- Ow!" Rose exclaimed, nursing her foot.
"Nothing." Albus said, "Rose and Megan were just leaving."
"Come on, Al." Scorpius said with a smirk. "I am your best friend. Your brother in arms; your partner in crime. I am the Ron to your Harry- mmmphmph"
"Dramatic much?" Albus asked slapping his palm on Scorpius' mouth.
Scorpius rolled his eyes and looked pleadingly at Albus.
"That look doesn't work with me, Malfoy." Albus said shoving Scorpius.
Scorpius gave the look to Rose and Megan and the two girls folded under pressure. Albus threw his hands in the air and turned his back petulantly to the group.
"Albus has a crush." Megan squeaked excitedly. "On Cordelia Longbottom."
"No way!" Alex exclaimed, stepping out of the fireplace, making the rest of them jump.
"Yes way." Rose said, rushing ahead to give Alex a hug.
"You have grown!" Megan exclaimed, giving Alex a hug.
"Prat!" Scorpius said affectionately, holding Alex in a headlock.
"You absolute wanker!" Albus said, hitting Alex upside on the head.
"Hey!" Alex exclaimed, "What did I do?"
"Did you have to go and tell the girls that they can have as many boyfriends as they wanted?" Scorpius asked.
"You guys are dumb!" Alex stated.
"How?" Albus demanded.
"I will tell you later." Alex said, giving the two boys meaningful looks.
"Don't worry." Megan said patting Rose's arm, "I will coax this thought out of him." She sent Alex a deliberate wink. "Now come on! Let's go to the lake."
"What just happened?" Scorpius asked as the three boys watched the two girls walk away.
"Oh! Hell no!" Albus groaned shoving Alex.
"What?" Alex asked distractedly.
"You bloody wanker. You just had to go and get in relationship with my cousin."
"Its not my fault that you are related to half the people in our year." Alex said.
"Your ancestors must be rolling in their graves." Scorpius said.
"I think they rolled enough when dad married mum." Alex replied with a wide grin. "But I am not in a relationship with Megan. She has been teasing me like that ever since I asked her to flirt with me in front of Montague."
"And that's pretty hypocritical of you, Potter." He added, "You like your Godfather's daughter."
"I know." Albus sighed, running a hand through his hair, making it messier than it normally was. "If James finds out, I will never hear the end of it."
"I would be worried about Frank." Scorpius said.
"Yeah. That's why no one can know." Albus said.
Alex scoffed, "Have you even talked to her? Does she know?"
"Of course, she doesn't!" Albus said, looking incredulously at Alex. "What with Lily in the house, I couldn't have said anything! She would have started picking out the wedding flowers!"
"Crazy witches." Scorpius muttered. "I am glad this madness hasn't reached me yet."
"The day it touches you, it would be glorious." Alex said dramatically.
"Yeah." Albus joined in, "Time would stand still, the world will suddenly look more colourful and people would be playing violins in the background."
Scorpius shoved both his best friends and walked away.
"Hey, where is Scorpius?" Victor asked barging into Carina's room at the Malfoy Manor.
The girls looked up from their various tasks and shrugged.
"Out." Carina said finally, "He got his freedom back a little early."
"Oh! Thank Merlin!" He exclaimed, "I love him but the prat was getting on my nerves."
"How is Lia?" Carina asked, rolling over to where he sat as the other girls continued with their books.
"Good. Fred and she are driving Roxanne and me insane." He whined.
Lily grinned. "When the parents do find out, it is going to be epic!"
"Speak for yourself. My dad would probably skin me alive for not telling him." Victor muttered.
"Oh come on!" Lyra said, "It won't be so bad. Uncle Theo is quite a reasonable man."
"That's because he is your Godfather. You do no wrong. I am his son and am always wrong."
"You are just being dramatic." Carina said rolling her eyes.
"I have a question." Cordelia said, "Why mustn't we add boomslang skin to a wart cure potion at minimum temperature during the day but can do so at night?"
Victor was about to answer when Lyra spoke up.
"I thought Albus helped you with your potions homework." She said slyly as Lyra and Lily sported identical smirks.
"He did." Cordelia replied, blushing hard. "I was just fairing it out but I can't find this in my notes."
"Am I missing something?" Victor asked as the other three girls continued to smirk at Cordelia's red face.
"No." Cordelia squeaked, eyes wide in embarrassment.
"You like Albus, don't you?" Victor asked his brows furrowed. "What in the name of Merlin is wrong with you lot?"
"What did we do?" Lily asked.
"Well, if my sister wasn't bad enough. Now I will have to sit and listen to you guys talk about boys." He whined.
"You don't have to." Carina said, "There is just one boy. None of us want anything to do with boys."
"Well good." He said, "Anyway, I am off to meet Hugo and Jason. I will see you girls later."
"You guys are useless." Cordelia muttered throwing a pillow at Lyra as Carina and Lily laughed.
"Oh relax!" Lily said, "It's not like he would go tell anyone."
"He won't, right?" Cordelia asked anxiously, "Merlin, it would be so embarrassing."
"My brother likes you too." Lily teased, "I have never seen him blush that much."
"He is just shy." Cordelia said softly, looking at her hands, "I am sure he has better options."
"You listen to me, young lady." Carina commanded, as Lyra and Lily made noises of protest. "I wasted a lot of time doubting myself and I sure as hell will not allow one of my best friends to do that to herself. You will go out there with your head held high and if Albus Severus Potter acts ridiculous, I will ask Scorpius to turn him into a toad."
"Hey, I can do that too." Lily said, "If my brother is anything less than decent to you, it's a bat-bogey for him."
"But Lily, he is your brother." Cordelia protested.
"And you are my friend and no one has the right to string you along, especially my brother."
"I- Thank you." Cordelia said solemnly. "This means a lot."
"Okay!" Lyra said holding her hands up, "That's enough mushy things for the day. Now, who wants to go fly out?"
"Since when have you been interested in flying?" Carina asked jumping to her feet.
"Since all of you made it to your teams." Lyra replied.
"Boy, am I excited about not being a reserve anymore." Cordelia muttered.
"Wait, till you play in your first match." Lily said excitedly, exchanging a grin with Carina.
Lily and Carina were chaser and seeker for the Ravenclaw team, and Cordelia was a keeper for the Hufflepuff team.
"So, you mean to say that you act supportive in front of the girls while you would hex any guy that so much as looks at Lyra?" Scorpius asked, draining his butterbeer mug at the Leaky Cauldron. The boys were making the most of their day together. They had moved to the Leaky Cauldron, after Rose and Megan had left them to do whatever girls did together.
"Yup!" Alex chirped.
"That's actually kind of brilliant." Albus said, as James, Louise and Fred nodded their agreement.
"What kind of Slytherins are you?" Alex asked skeptically.
"The stupid kind." James said smacking Albus upside in the head.
"Hey!" Albus complained, "You could have come up with something too. Don't you call yourself Marauder 2.0 or something?"
"I don't agree with this madness in the first place. Nor do Fred and Roxanne." Louise stated
Everyone stared at Fred who shrugged.
"I have a formidable twin sister. I would be mad to meddle in her affairs."
"That's the difference!" Alex argued, "Louise is the youngest and you have a twin. Younger siblings are sort of your responsibility especially baby sisters."
Fred nodded thoughtfully, as James waved someone over.
"Hey, what's up?" Frank Longbottom said, joining the boys.
Albus busied himself with his drink as everyone greeted Frank. No one seemed to miss anything, but Alex smirked and Albus rolled his eyes discreetly. James and Fred exchanged a look, they had to get Albus alone, soon.
"The girls were a menace." Frank swore as Louise filled him in. "I never thought Delia and date would come in one sentence, this soon."
"I hear you." Scorpius sighed, "It's like till yesterday, Nina was a tiny, little thing dragging her dragon behind her as she followed me around the house and now she is talking about dates."
"You didn't expect her to be a pipsqueak forever, did you?" Louise asked, clearly amused.
"No. But thirteen is too young to date." Frank declared.
"Excuse me!" Fred exclaimed, "But weren't you drooling after Sarah Corner, when you were thirteen?"
"That was different!" Frank exclaimed as everyone snorted.
"How?" Louise asked with a sardonic smile.
"Whose side are you two on?" Frank demanded.
"These two sods are traitors to the cause." James muttered, smacking Louise upside in the head.
"Look, I care about Lily too. I would hate to see any of them get hurt." Louise said, "But we can always do something after someone hurts them."
"I agree." Albus said, "She is more than capable of taking care of herself and boys her age are stupid. But I am worried about the guys our age who could take an interest in her. She is entirely too young for that."
James quirked an eyebrow but did not comment.
"I would wring such a tosser's neck. Won't bother with hexing him." Frank muttered.
"Oh come on! Not all boys our age are randy." Scorpius said lightly. "Look at Al. Doesn't even look at women."
"That's because most girls want to date the son of Harry and Ginny Potter." Albus muttered, "James filters them out just as much."
"But I do go for an occasional snog." James argued, "What about you?"
"He is our virgin child." Alex quipped, making everyone laugh.
"Albus is just one decent bloke." Frank said, "I would rather he date her than anyone else."
Albus choked on his butterbeer and started coughing loudly.
"Now, why don't you date Delia, Al?" Alex crooned, thumping his back.
Albus glared at his best friends who had an innocent smile on their faces.
"I am sorry, Frank." Albus said hoarsely, punching James' arm. "My best friend is a git."
Frank waved it off with a grin as he stood up to go back to his work.
"Seriously, Al?" Fred asked as soon as Frank was out of earshot.
"Shut up!" Albus snapped, blushing slightly.
"Our Delia?" James asked, "You have taken after dad. No doubt. Imagine what the newspapers would say."
"They would say nothing, because you can't tell anyone." Albus said, looking quite alarmed, "Merlin, guys! Don't you remember how horrible it was for Teddy and Victoire and they weren't even dating then. It could have damaged their relationship."
"But won't they find out when you take her out on a date?" Louise asked.
"Who said anything about dating her?" Albus asked confused.
"You fancy a girl, Al." Alex said, "It's the obvious step."
"I don't see you taking that step. Besides Lily, Neville, Frank, Dad and Mum would kill me if it turns out that I strung her along."
"So, what are you going to do?" Scorpius asked.
"Sigh like a lovesick fool when he sees her, pine for her, curse every boy that approaches her for a date, be a world class prat." James replied, ticking things off his finger.
Albus boxed his shoulder. "What do you want me to do?" He demanded, "Make a prat of myself like Granddad James?"
"That would be a sight." Fred said approvingly as Louise and James snickered.
"Why?" Alex asked perplexed, "What did your grandfather do? Merlin's Pants! I never saw James Potter as anything more than a dignified war hero."
"I have been in awe of him ever since I first met his portrait at your place." Scorpius said reverently. "A prankster, an auror, war hero to boot!"
"That's pretty much all our families." Louise said looking amused.
"You have no idea how freaked out every pure blood in our year was." Scorpius said, "We were going to house with Harry and Ginny Potter's son. We thought he would be just as mean as every witch or wizard we had met before. One threatened to hex Alex and I when we were seven and wandering around Diagon Alley. We were never allowed to magical public places."
"You didn't go out at all then?" James asked looking horrified as the two shook their heads.
"We couldn't go out in magical Britain either." Fred said, "But our parents took us to Muggle places. We never even knew our own fame till we started Hogwarts."
"Well, our parents weren't raised to adapt to the muggle world." Alex said shrugging, "So, we used to just visit each other a lot as children. That's why we know everyone. We had to endure a lot of prats who were still taught about blood purity throughout our childhood. Boy, am I glad my dad is the normal level of insane."
The others nodded thoughtfully.
"So, you really are not going to ask her out?" Scorpius asked looking curiously at his best friend.
Albus shook his head. "I don't even know how she feels about me. The idea of asking anyone out is inconceivable! How do people do it?"
"Well…" Louise started, "You see, you have to make sure she sees you and knows of your existence."
"That she does, obviously. Our parents are her Godparents." James said dismissively.
"Well, she has to like you enough to not want to hex you at every end." Fred said grinning broadly.
"She does." Albus laughed.
"It's so simple then!" Alex said sagely, "Just ask her to accompany you to Hogsmeade."
"No!"
"Why not?" James demanded.
"Have you met our sister?"
"Good point."
"What if someone else asks her out?" Scorpius asked.
"Why would you say that, you wanker!" Albus groaned.
"You are being stubborn for no reason." Alex complained.
"You haven't asked Chelsea out either." Scorpius pointed out.
"Of course I haven't." Alex yelped, "Have you met Graham Montague? He would have me for breakfast and not even burp."
Everyone at the table snickered.
"I know what to do." James said excitedly.
"What?" Albus asked, knowing well that James was about to spew a crazy idea.
"We could ask Grandpa James. He got Grandma Lily to go out with him and she hated his guts."
"Delia doesn't hate him." Fred pointed out in a tone which made everyone feel that he was treating James like a four year old.
"And why didn't you say anything when I was pining for Amanda? She hated my guts, remember." Louise pointed out.
"Amanda was a different ball game." James said waving his hand dismissively, "Delia is… well she is a Hufflepuff, what does that tell you? She is nice. She needs a different approach."
"She doesn't-" Albus started.
"Oh, hush you!" James said imitating his mother. "We are going to come up with a brilliant plan. She would love it. And Lily won't find out. Marauder's honour."
Albus, Scorpius and Alex stared at the older boys, who were talking animatedly, waving their arms around and drawing something on the napkin.
"They wouldn't notice us if we walked out right now, would they?" Alex asked.
"Nope. They have their new grand scheme to think of." Albus said with a sigh.
"It won't be too extreme, would it?" Scorpius asked.
"Knowing my brother. It would be downright embarrassing. Ow!" Albus yelped rubbing the back of head, where James had smacked.
"Come on! Let's go." Scorpius said, getting ready to leave.
AN: Yes! I am alive and writing again. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Plase stay tuned, I will be updating others too.