Even Scorpius was no longer at peace with all this. A few days had already passed and the Ravenclaw still racked his brains over it. So much so that it was difficult for him to concentrate on his lessons, and that never happened!

But how could he listen to what gnomes loved to eat when his father was so visibly unwell? Scorpius always had the feeling that his father was missing something. Something big and important. But he had never figured out what it was, and now he knew. It was Harry Potter who was missing. The - as Scorpius believed - true love of his father. Because it wasn't his mother, he was sure of that. It wasn't hard to tell, either. After all, they slept in separate rooms and didn't have much else to say to each other. Their relationship had always been cold, even though Draco always tried to be a good father to his son, he knew it was hard for him. Slowly Scorpius seemed to understand why. His father had never really known love. And then there was Harry Potter, who suddenly gave him everything he had ever wanted. But what had happened? What had happened to take it all away from his father?

He just had to know. He had to know what was making his father unhappy. He had to go back to the Pensive.

xXx

Scorpius had finally arrived at the Room of Requirement and now opened the door. He had sworn to himself, even if he had to search through every single memory twice, he would find out the reason for the breakup of Harry and his father. But as it would turn out, this was all made much easier for him than he had thought. For as he entered the Room of Requirement and walked purposefully towards the Pensieve, he could already make out Albus leaning wearily on the edge of the stone bowl.

"Albus?" asked Scorpius cautiously, so as not to startle his friend, and stopped a few steps in front of him. However, no matter how well the Ravenclaw had meant it, his intention not to startle the Gryffindor unfortunately failed. Wincing slightly, Albus turned to Scorpius and looked him in the eye. And immediately it was clear to the blond that Albus knew. He knew why their fathers had split up and it was only a matter of time before he would tell him.

Tired and nearly at his wits' end, Albus lowered himself on the Pensieve and sat down on the floor. He put his face in both hands and began to laugh bitterly. Scorpius, despite some doubts, continued to walk towards Albus and dared to kneel next to his friend.

"War," was the first thing Albus said. - "Nothing but war. It's what's to blame for them not being together anymore. Voldemord made sure of it. It was because of him that there was this war! Under any normal circumstances, they would have stayed together, but when the war was over, they just weren't the same anymore" - Scorpius didn't dare say anything yet, or ask him how exactly Albus meant that. He knew he would explain it to him yet, and he had a feeling that the Gryffindor needed time himself first to realize what he had seen.

"They met again, a few days after the war ended. By that time, however, your father had done terrible things that he couldn't forgive himself for. Your father was a Death Eater who was soon facing trial. He was despised by the wizarding society and my father was celebrated. He was celebrated like a hero" - Again that bitter laugh. - "They adored him. And they both knew that would never go away. They were so pushed into their roles that they didn't even have the chance to be together anymore" - So that was it. It wasn't the feelings that changed, but the times. Draco couldn't reconcile it with his conscience to taint the Savior of the Wizarding World with his little self. And Harry knew that their relationship would never be tolerated in public. Not after what had happened in the war. After so much their children, parents, and friends lost to the Death Eaters. It would be an eternal hunt for them, were they to publicly admit to each other. And Harry's friends, would never understand either. Never could they understand why he loved a dirty, rotten Slytherin, a Death Eater. No one would understand.

"It breaks my heart" - Gone was the laughter and it gave way to sobs. Albus had never felt so bad in his life as he did at that moment. He imagined how his father must feel, pushed into a life he never wanted to lead like this and yet had to. Did he even love his mother? Did he at least have some feelings for her? Or was it one big torture for him to be separated from his true love? Because Draco Malfoy had been nothing else to his father.

"Albus, get up. Let's get out of here," was all Scorpius could say in reply. He had never been good at emotional things like this, yet he knew they couldn't stay here any longer. They needed distance from this Pensieve now, and Albus needed rest to recover from this emotional chaos.

Without argument, Albus let himself be pulled along until they reached the common room of the Ravenclaws. There Scorpius led his friend to the boys' dormitory, because in no other place could they talk undisturbed right now. Albus took a seat on the blond's bed. He still hadn't said anything and preferred to stare in front of him. He was simply far too confused. His head seemed to be empty and at the same time he was bursting with confused thoughts.

"Albus? Look at me," Scorpius said, clasping the Gryffindor's face with both hands. If he didn't do it willingly, he would have to force him to. At last Albus looked at him and had such a hurt look on his face that it joked Scorpius as well.

"Hey, it's all right, isn't it? I know it's horrible what happened, but it happened. If you let it take you like this now, it won't make it go away," the Ravenclaw tried to comfort Albus a little. But every attempt seemed to fail. What on earth had he seen that was so upsetting to him.

"You say that so easily," were the first words Albus had spoken in a long time. He pushed his friend's hands aside and got up from the bed again. Restlessly, he paced back and forth.

"You just didn't see those memories. You didn't see how they loved each other"- Albus had stopped again and was looking at Scorpius again, this time freely.

"If you had looked at every single memory, you would know that they were actually meant for each other" - At those words, Albus' stomach turned. It might be true, but that inevitably meant that his parents' entire relationship was a lie. One big fat lie!

"They were going to be together after the war. I saw the way they looked at each other. The way they handled and talked to each other. With so much feeling. And your father may have been a creep, but my father looked past all that. And once they were alone, your father was different. He was- like you."- Albus seemed to choke on the tears that were making their way, threatening to burst out at any moment. He never thought that such a disgusting person as Draco Malfoy could give so much love. And especially not, to his own father.

"Father has never been a happy man. Whenever he could, he would give me a smile, but I never bought it. Now I know why" - As it seemed to Scorpius, no Malfoy had ever been truly happy. What curse was weighing on his family?

"And I always thought that between my parents was true love. I always dreamed of one day finding someone as important to me as my parents are to each other. But the truth is that my mother has been merely second choice. I don't want that. I don't ever want to be second choice to anyone, and I don't ever want to settle for second choice."-"Sometimes, second choice is more than you ever dreamed of." - Scorpius moved closer to Albus again, as they still gazed into each other's eyes. It was like a spell that made their eyes melt together. Scorpius dared to step very close to Albus until he could feel the soft breath on his skin. It had a calming effect on both of them, knowing that they were not alone in this moment. Albus seemed to calm down and the thoughts in his head, slowly came to rest. It no longer felt like he was going to burst at any moment.

"It must be awful," Albus whispered. - "To get up day after day and know that the person you love has a life of their own. One without one." - Albus's voice faded into a whisper, and he couldn't help but notice that Scorpius possessed truly beautiful lips. How had he never noticed that before?

Nothing more than a murmur was heard from the Ravenclaw before he closed his eyes for a moment. It was intoxicating how wonderful it felt to enjoy that closeness. And before he knew it, he was also leaning forward a little further, just millimeters. But that was enough to gently brush his friend's lips with his own. With that, it was done. Neither of them knew who had started it, but they kissed. They felt each other's lips on their own and seemed to sink into that small and shy kiss.

Albus thought he felt his whole body vibrate. A tingling sensation overtook him and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. His mind went blank and there was nothing more around them than that kiss. Scorpius seemed to feel the same way, as he placed his hand on the back of his friend's neck, applying more pressure to his lips. He had never felt anything like this before. Never had he felt so happy and electrified. Words simply could not describe how free he felt.

Yet it had remained with that gentle kiss. Neither of the two had made any effort to deepen the whole thing or to push it further. No one wanted to ruin this beautiful moment. Carefully they detached themselves from each other.

"So this is what it feels like"-"What? "To kiss someone you trust. I bet father felt the same way. After all, you're looking at me right now just like your father did," Albus laughed, carefully brushing a strand of hair out of Scorpius' forehead. Albus was sure that their fathers had felt the same way. He simply couldn't imagine anything else. Because it seemed to be the highest feeling to have someone with you, who you trusted more than anyone else, who held you and cheered you up. Who made you happy and at the same time gave you everything you thought you needed.

"This is all so crazy," Scorpius now laughed too and together they fell into laughter. They disengaged from one another completely now and looked at each other.

"Thank you," Albus said as his laughter died down, leaving only a wide grin.

"For what?" - "For cheering me up. I know no one can undo what happened. But if our fathers really had that feeling, then it was all worth it" - It was crazy how a single kiss, could lift Albus mood like that. But he realized that such feelings as he had just felt during that kiss, might not just have to do with love. Of course, being in love with each other amplified that feeling a lot more, and Albus was excited right now to find out what it would feel like, but there was a lot more to it than that.

He wasn't in love with Scorpius and neither was he with Albus, but they trusted each other. They were friends and felt so much and so deeply for each other and yet it wasn't love. It was a friendship like no other and perhaps that was what his parents had as well. Such a deep bond didn't come from anywhere and never would it go away. Sometimes, that was probably enough to spend life together.

xXx

So the mystery of the ribbon had been solved and so the days went by. It became weeks and at some point it was time for the students to leave Hogwarts for the summer vacations. The third school year was coming to an end for Albus and his friends and that was just fine. He had missed his family and was looking forward to getting off the Hogwarts Express any minute.

And then the time had come. The doors opened and the students all poured out of the train to take a quick look around and then rush to their families.

"Hey Al, there's Mom and Dad over there!", James called out. He ran ahead while Albus and Rose said goodbye to Scorpius, whose father was standing in the opposite direction from them, waiting for him.

Rose's parents were standing with Harry and Ginny, which was why the two of them were now running in the same direction, running into their mothers' arms.

"Did you have a good school year?", Ginny immediately asked her younger son as she lovingly stroked his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Yeah, it's been great. When we get home, I really must tell you all the new things I've learned," Albus rejoiced, finally looking at his father. And suddenly he noticed something he had never noticed before. Harry seemed to be in a completely different world and kept his eyes on something far away. As Albus followed his gaze, he could make out Draco Malfoy, who was hugging his son. Then he could see the blond looking to him as well and their eyes met. Albus could make out the same look he had seen in the memories. They were still looking at each other in the same way, just nothing had changed.

"Dad, I can summon a Patronus now," Albus heard, Rose's voice sounding terribly distant. Immediately, he perked up and waited for Rose to continue speaking. Because he knew exactly what that was all about.

"That's just great! I knew you were just the best daughter to have!" - Proud as a peacock, Ron took his daughter in his arms. When it came to his kids, Ron was probably the luckiest guy in the world.

"Dad, it's a Jack Russell terrier" - Rose waited anxiously for her father's reaction, which promptly came. With a cry of jubilation, he lifted his daughter into his arms and squeezed her so tightly that Rose felt like she was going to be crushed. But she had not expected anything different. After all, for Ron, it was probably the greatest gift Rose could give him. After all, Ron's guardian spirit was also a Jack Russell terrier. It had to mean a lot if the same spirit protected her as her father.

"And with you, Albus?" - Of course his father was interested in what was now with Albus. But he was rather less eager to tell his father. Still, he wouldn't get around that answer.

"A snake," he said quickly and half mumbled, nevertheless Harry could understand it well and clearly. And immediately it was clear to Harry that his son was ashamed of it. He had already been terrified of ending up in Slytherin, how did he feel about having a snake as a guardian spirit? Especially after his brother James' was a lion. While James and Albus were similar, they still couldn't have been more different.

"That's good. Snakes are fast and powerful. They're often underestimated, and therein lies their strength" - Harry waved his son through his hair and smiled encouragingly. And suddenly it didn't seem so bad to Albus that his Patronus was in the shape of a snake. For his father had spoken almost fondly of this animal. Perhaps it reminded him of Draco. After all, he had been a Slythrin.

"I think you're right," Albus said more confidently, grinning that one special grin he had picked up from Scorpius. Harry didn't believe what he was seeing. It couldn't be. His son, a Potter, had the obligatory Malfoy grin on his face and seemed more confident than ever. What had happened in the last six months?

Harry Potter would never find out. And never would Albus ask his father about Draco Malfoy. Scorpius would also be careful not to breathe a word about it. It would remain their secret. Their eternal little secret. Just like the kiss. It was Albus' first kiss and also the last kiss with the Malfoy. They both knew they didn't belong together. This kiss was born out of sadness and despair. They had agreed to remain friends. And yet, that kiss had been the beautiful memory with which Albus had managed to summon his Patronus, and it always would be.

Although his father had not gotten his great love, that did not mean that Albus could not find it. He would find his great love and then he would be happy for two.

26.01.2014