Disclaimer: All characters that you recognise belong to J.K Rowling.
CHAPTER 1
Lily Luna Potter loved dragons. She loved dragons so much that one could say that she was obsessed with them to a point where they consumed her life. She couldn't exactly pinpoint when it was that her obsession with the creatures began. Her mother suggested that perhaps it all began on her 5th birthday when her favourite Uncle Charlie returned from Romania for her birthday party. Her Uncle Charlie had always been her favourite uncle. He was patient, kind and never seemed to have a shortage of exciting stories revolving around dragons.
Her 5th birthday present from her Uncle Charlie had come in the form of a very life-like Chinese Fireball dragon plush toy that sprouted heatless fire and gave tiny realistic roars. Lily's father always said that from the moment she laid eyes on that plush toy, it was love at first sight. She had nicknamed the plush toy Kai on suggestion from Uncle Charlie that it meant 'fire' in Celtic and since then Lily and Kai had never been apart. That had been exactly 20 years ago though and now on her 25th birthday she found herself in the middle of Diagon Alley championing her obsession; dragons.
"So this was what you blew me off for when I invited you to for lunch?" a voice cut in as Lily took a swig of water.
"Hugo!" she exclaimed, her lips breaking into a wide smile.
"Happy Birthday cuz!" he said, pulling her in for a warm hug. "Now care to tell me, what on earth you're doing in the middle of diagon alley, with this?" He gestured to the makeshift table she'd set up with pamphlets and dragon related memorabilia.
"I'm working" she replied simply, pulling her deep red curls into a ponytail atop her head.
"You can't really consider it working can you?" Hugo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Working generally implies that you would be getting paid but in this case, you're doing it for free aren't you?"
"You know Uncle Charlie can't afford to pay me right now" she replied pointedly. "Why do you think I'm doing this?"
"Is the reserve still not doing well?" Hugo asked, concern etched on his face.
"Unfortunately no", she let out a long suffering sigh. "We thought we could make it with the donations we got from our other family members but it appears that the entire reserve needs an overhaul. Only problem is that Uncle Charlie doesn't have the finances to overhaul the place but he needs to overhaul the place to get increased finances. It's a catch 22. What we really need is an investor, someone willing to put in money and help with the management."
Hugo nodded in understanding, concern still evident on his face. "Don't get too consumed by everything though. I don't want you to get too upset by all this. We all know how you get when it comes to dragons".
Lily rolled her olive green eyes at her cousin. "Did you come here just to nag me Hugo?"
"Amongst other things", he replied with a grin on his face. "I'm also here to remind you to turn up on time to your own birthday dinner tonight. I bumped into your mum earlier when she was getting some groceries and she told me to remind you. Remember that one year you went to protest with all your dragon loving friends over the illegal poaching in Bulgaria and you arrived so late you almost missed your entire birthday dinner?"
"Well, speaking of late Hugo, it's almost 2pm" she said looking at the watch her Aunt Hermione had given her as a graduation present. "Your lunch hour is almost over and if you so much as return a minute late Healer Jenkins is going to kill you".
"Shit, shit shit, I'd better run" he exclaimed. "Healer Jenkins already has me doing extra ward rounds from the last time I was late".
"Toodles" Lily called out chuckling to herself as she watched Hugo make a mad dash back to St Mungos muttering a string of expletives as he went.
Out of all her cousins, she was the closest to Hugo. The two of them had attended Hogwarts at the same time and had been inseparable despite being in different houses. Hugo who was quiet and studious like his mother had been sorted into Ravenclaw and she had been sorted into Slytherin much to her own dismay. It hadn't been too bad for her in Slytherin. Her older brother Albus had also been sorted into the same house 2 years before and he had endeavoured to make her life as comfortable as possible. If it weren't for him, she probably wouldn't have survived.
Her mother and father had been the picture perfect Gryffindors. Their tales were legendary and there wasn't a single witch or wizard alive who didn't know the name 'Harry Potter'. Apart from her and Albus, the other Weasley cousins were all sorted into the remaining houses with a majority of them in Gryffindor. She relied on Hugo the most, being the same age. They studied together and hung out often and there wasn't much that they didn't know about one another. She'd grown up amongst boys and easily felt comfortable with him.
When they both graduated from Hogwarts, they started Healer training together before Lily had branched out into being a healer for magical creatures, specializing in dragons. It had been her Uncle Charlie's suggestion and she had pounced on it, diving head first into the world of dragons that she loved so much. She had spent most of her summers helping her Uncle Charlie in the dragon reserve that he ran so it seemed only natural that she would end up with a career that supported her obsession over the creatures.
She thought back to her long struggle to get to where she was today. She'd never been very academically inclined back at Hogwarts and had been fairly average with most of the subjects that she'd taken. She was however, very good at healing. Madam Pomfrey had called her a natural and she seemed to excel at all the tasks in the subject and her eyes glazed over as she remembered spending every waking moment outside meal times in the library with Hugo studying for the Healer College entrance exams. Once she'd received her acceptance letter, there had been no going back.
A gust of wind sent the pamphlets on the table flying, rudely jerking her out of her nostalgia. Much like Hugo had earlier, she let out a string of expletives as she scrambled to collect the stray pamphlets.
"You missed a few" a hand thrust a small stack of pamphlets under her nose while she placed a paperweight on top of the ones she'd collected.
"Thank you" she said as she collected the pamphlets from the stranger.
"You're most welcome" he said formally and her gaze found its way to his face to meet steely grey eyes.
He looked startlingly familiar and she wondered where she'd seen him before. His platinum blonde hair was neatly cut and styled and he wore an expensive set of formal work robes that looked to have been tailor made for his physique. He gave her a polite smile showing the slight wrinkles around his mouth and the faint crow's feet around his eyes. He was probably around the same age as her parents but unlike her father and mother who smiled and laughed readily, there was an air of restraint about the man in front of her.
"Err, can I help you with anything?" she asked awkwardly as the man continued to linger at her table, his eyes scanning the pamphlets and paraphernalia on the table.
"Silver Scales, Dragon Reserve" he read the title of the pamphlet out aloud. "Is this the charity that you're promoting?"
"It's not really a charity per say" she explained. "My uncle owns and runs this dragon reserve. We use the profit we make and channel it into dragon research as well as medical treatments for the creatures".
"And you young lady?" he asked looking at her with his lips curving slightly into what resembled a small smile. "Do you work at the reserve?"
"Yes, I'm a dragon healer sir" she replied.
"A dragon healer?"
"Yes" she replied earnestly, her eyes sparkling. "I help with the care and treatment of the dragons and often double up as a dragon keeper" she replied. "I'm especially involved with the care of dragon eggs and the behavioural aspect of the dragons as well. The same way females experience postpartum depression, female dragons can experience the same after they have laid their eggs and this can lead to them destroying their own eggs. I monitor things like that and see how to help the new mother dragons. I also help raise orphaned baby dragons that have been rescued and brought to the reserve".
"You sound like you're passionate about your work", the man remarked. "Not often are young people as passionate about their jobs as you are". He fished into his pocket and produced a hand full of galleons, dropping them into her collection tin.
"Thank you very much for your donation sir" she said, pleasantly surprised by his act of random kindness. "I'm sure the dragons will be very grateful for your donation".
"Do you enjoy your work?" he asked.
"Very much so" she replied with a broad smile, nodding enthusiastically. "They are fascinating creatures after all and we could learn a whole lot from them. Are you interested in dragons sir?"
"I suppose you could say that. My mother in particular was very fond of dragons and I would often visit dragon reserves around the world whenever my family went on holiday" he replied, the small smile on his lips widening. "I will never forget trekking the beautiful Scottish highlands to glimpse the long neck water dragons. Muggles who had sighted them on rare occasions thought they were monsters but those creatures were so much more than that."
"Oh yes, the 'Loch Ness Monster' is what Muggles used to call them" Lily leant forward enthusiastically to converse with the older stranger. "They are incredibly shy but every so often they do show themselves. You must really like dragons to trek the highlands to see them".
"My name does mean dragon after all and it would be somewhat tragic if I didn't like the creatures I was named after" he mused.
Lily laughed and nodded in understanding. "Well perhaps you should visit the reserve when you have the time. If you ask for Lily at the ticket counter, I'll come out and will be happy to give you a tour of the reserve".
"That is very kind of you but surely that would be too much of an imposition" he said, his gaze shifting once again to the pamphlet on the table.
"No, no not at all! I would be more than happy to show you around sir. It's always nice to meet a fellow dragon enthusiast! Besides, the reserve isn't doing too well. Not many people visit these days so your visit would be most welcomed."
She picked up one of her name cards from the holder, writing her name on the back of the card before handing it to him.
"Lily Potter?" he asked reading out her name.
She nodded with a thin smile, steeling herself for the comments that usually followed whenever people heard her last name but to her pleasant surprise, she didn't receive any.
"Well thank you Lily, it certainly was a pleasure to meet you" he replied pocketing the card. "Do you mind if I take one of these?" he asked, gesturing to the pamphlets.
"Not at all sir" she replied happily as he took one of the pamphlets.
"Enough of this 'sir' nonsense Just call me Dray", he waved his hand dismissively and this time, he smiled wide enough for Lily to see the laugh lines appearing at the side of his mouth.
"Sure. It was nice to meet you, hope to see you at the reserve" she replied with a toothy grin and with a wave in her direction, the man she now knew as Dray carried on his way.
Lily watched as he walked away, the happy grin still on her face. She wasn't overly fond of handing out pamphlets in the middle of Diagon Alley but every so often she met someone who didn't mind listening to her talk about dragons and those interactions made it worthwhile. Not to mention he had given a generous donation worth more than she'd collected in a long time. She could only hope that more people like him came to the aid of the reserve.
Draco Malfoy stood outside the large office building in Diagon Alley that housed various businesses. The large 'M' loomed imposingly on the side of the building. He had bought the building a long time ago and it had since proved to be one of his more lucrative investments.
"Sorry I'm late Uncle Draco, I had a problematic client to attend to".
Draco turned to look at the young mocha skinned man who had spoken while hurrying over to stand beside him. The young man before him was no stranger to Draco. He had known him since he was born and as the son of his best friend Blaise Zabini and the best friend of his son Scorpius, he had a significantly close relationship with the young man.
"Good to see you Varian" he greeted and gave the younger man a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Where is Scorpius? I expected him to be with you."
"Uh I'm not sure where he is to be honest, he might still be at home" Varian replied as he led Draco through the revolving glass doors of the building.
"When there's work to be done?" Draco raised an eyebrow and Varian looked uncomfortable.
"Uh I think he needed to speak to a client and"-
"Varian, when are you going to stop protecting him?" Draco asked, looking at him seriously.
"I'm not"-
"Did you think I wouldn't know what that idiot son of mine is up to?" Draco sighed tiredly. "I thought he would improve once the firm was up and running but he seems to have gotten complacent".
"He is a very good lawyer Uncle Draco" Varian said as he and Draco reached the highest floor of the building.
"It's not his competence I'm worried about" Draco replied quietly. "It's his attitude. Astoria and I have spoilt him thoroughly and my parents coddle him to no end".
Draco looked at the large sign outside the glass doors. 'Zabini, Malfoy & Associates'. Varian held open the glass doors and Draco stepped through. There was a flurry of movement as soon as Draco stepped into the firm with staff members scrambling to greet the elder Malfoy.
"Mr Malfoy will have a latte and a cappuccino for me Marie" Varian called out to one of the secretaries.
They walked along the corridor before stopping at a glass door on which the words VARIAN ZABINI, PARTNER stood out in black. Varian held the door open for Draco who paused, looking through the glass doors of the office directly opposite Varian's. Draco frowned at the words 'SCORPIUS MALFOY, PARTNER' on the door before following Varian into the office.
"When your father and I invested money into this firm Varian, we expected returns" Draco began. "You and Scorpius had finished training at the judicial institute and after completing your five years of practice, your father and I decided to open this firm because we believed that both of you would do something great".
"Umm I must apologize Uncle Draco if we have disappointed you in any way" Varian said leaning clasping his fingers together on his desk, leaning forward.
"Nonsense Varian, you are in no way a disappointment. In fact, I would say that you are single handedly managing this firm and keeping it afloat when it should have been a 50-50 partnership. Scorpius should not be burdening you with his duties and from what I can see"- Draco gestured to the stacks of files and papers on Varian's desk "you have enough on your plate already".
They were interrupted by Marie bringing their drinks and Draco looked at her with a frown.
"You're Scorpius's secretary aren't you?" he asked Marie and she gulped nervously, nodding as she set his latte down on the fancy glass table. "Tell me then, how many days has Scorpius been in the office this week?"
"Uh, umm I-I'm not sure" Marie stammered holding the bare coffee tray to her chest.
"If you want to keep your job you'll tell me what I want to know" Draco stated coolly.
Draco had interrogated Marie for a good 10 minutes before he allowed her to return to her normal duties. The pretty secretary had scampered away as soon as Draco had finished his line of questioning looking somewhat satisfied with himself.
"I think you should fire her," Draco casually sipped his latte and Varian looked at in disbelief.
"Uncle Draco wh-why do you say that?" Varian asked, looking at the older man.
"She's too pretty to be a secretary. Her heels are too high; she can barely walk in them. Her nails are too long, she can't write things fast enough and her clothes look far too tight for her to complete any laborious task comfortably and I doubt she has adequately completed any of her duties" Draco remarked. Varian nodded, taking a sip of his cappuccino and looking like he secretly agreed with the older Malfoy. "If she's the one Scorpius hired then he's probably already slept with her. You know I don't condone office relationships".
Varian choked on his drink, spluttering in embarrassment, his cheeks blotched with crimson. "Uncle Draco!"
"Look Varian, the reason I asked to see you is because of my idiot son. I know Scorpius takes things for granted. He's never had to work hard, everything has come easy for him. He was naturally gifted with his studies, he was good at Quidditch and he was blessed with good genetics if I do say so myself. He has always been a spoilt child and for that I can only blame his grandparents, myself and his mother. He has never had to struggle.".
"He'll be fine Uncle Draco, he just needs to mature a little more," Varian consoled.
"He needs a good kick up the bum and a bit of roughing up before he can mature and I know just how to do it" Draco exclaimed.
"Wait, how?"
"With this!" Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled pamphlet that he'd taken from Lily Potter that morning.
"Silver Scales Dragon Reserve?" Varian read out aloud looking puzzled. "How is this supposed to help?"
"I'm going to invest money into this reserve Varian," Draco explained.
"Oh, ok. I can contact the owner and we can sort all that out" Varian explained. "How much are you willing to put in?"
"A million galleons" Draco replied simply and Varian dropped his cappuccino mug back onto its saucer with a clang.
"A mill- a million galleons?"
"Yes, a million galleons" Draco replied firmly. "I want you to draft up a contract and I want to include certain conditions in it that are somewhat unusual".
"What kind of conditions do you want to include?" Varian asked as he began scribbling notes on a piece of parchment.
"I want Scorpius to run it," Draco stated, a smug look gracing his features.
"Oh-oh dear, Scorpius isn't going to like that", Varian pointed out.
"I know, that's why I want him to do it," Draco replied. "And you're going to convince him to do it".
"I can't do that Uncle Draco!" Varian protested. "Your son is an enigma, he does whatever the hell he wants. How can I convince him?"
"You'll convince him by any means possible if you want this firm to keep running. With the amount I've put into this place, all I have to do is pull out my original investment and this place will have to shut. Besides, your father stands with me in solidarity on this". A trademark Malfoy smirk plastered itself on Draco's face.
Varian paled, finally understanding the seriousness of this task bestowed upon him and Draco watched in satisfaction as he buzzed Marie on the wireless. "Marie, can you please contact Scorpius Malfoy for me. Now".
"I knew you were the right man for this," Draco said, taking a delightfully triumphant sip of his latte.
The room door burst open and Scorpius Malfoy woke up with a start.
"What the fuck" he exclaimed and the sheets stirred beside him to reveal a blonde, half naked woman.
"Rise and shine princess" the voice of his best friend, Varian Zabini called in a sing song as he entered the room, letting in the natural light from his opened room door. "It's 3pm in the afternoon. Time to get up!"
"Who the fuck are you?" the blonde half naked woman asked rudely, looking at Varian with deep disdain.
"He's my best friend. Who the fuck are you ?" Scorpius turned to look at the woman beside him.
"Don't you remember?" she asked in surprise.
"Nope and don't really care". Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly.
"You chatted me up at the three broomsticks last night!" she exclaimed.
Scorpius looked thoughtful for a moment. "Still don't remember you. Now if you're done here, would you please leave?"
The blonde huffed angrily spluttering and muttering about arrogant pig headed jerks as she collected her discarded clothing from where they were scattered around the room.
"Cookie" Scorpius called out with a snap of his fingers and a house elf appeared dressed in what looked like an embroidered pillow case with a matching knitted hat on its head. "Would you please show this lady out?"
"Yes Master Scorpius" the house elf replied with a low bow.
"Of all the rude, arrogant jerks I have ever met, you're the worst" the blonde half naked woman accused as she was led out of the room by the house elf.
Scorpius looked at his best friend who was standing there watching the situation with an eyebrow raised and blinked innocently. "What?"
Varian sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "You've got to stop doing this".
"Doing what?" Scorpius asked and Varian scowled.
"Score it's a fucking weekday man and here you are still sleeping off your hangover from last night when you really should be oh I don't know- going to work?"
"Urgh, spare me the lecture Varian and stop talking so loudly, my head hurts" Scorpius groaned.
"Well you deserve it".
Scorpius made a non-committal noise before rolling over on his side, pulling the sheets over his body.
"Are you seriously going back to sleep?" Varian asked incredulously.
"Yes" Scorpius replied, not moving from his horizontal position.
"Alright, that's it" Varian exclaimed, walking over to the dark coloured drapes at the corner of the room and pulled it apart fiercely.
"Argh Varian what the fuck!" Scorpius shielded his eyes as a burst of sunlight flooded the room. "Are you trying to fucking blind me?"
"Come on Score, wake up. I have something urgent to discuss with you" Varian said as he stood at the foot of Scorpius's monstrous king sized bed.
"What about?" Scorpius asked, never moving from his position on the bed.
"Your father visited the office today" Varian stated and that propelled Scorpius straight from his bed.
"What did my father want?" He started moving, locating his boxer briefs, pulling them on in haste and Varian rolled his eyes.
"I know we're bros and all but can you please try not to parade around me stark naked?"
"Why? Worried that you might suddenly develop feelings for me? Sorry but you're not really my type" Scorpius teased.
"Score I have something urgent to discuss with you". Varian followed him into the large ensuite bathroom.
"See this is why you're not my type. You're too serious for me and besides, I have a thing for blondes". The younger Malfoy sniggered as Varian let out an exasperated puff of breath.
"Will you try and be serious for just one god damned moment in your fucking life?" Varian snapped.
Scorpius paused midway, taking his toothbrush out of his mouth. Something must have happened, for Varian to lose his cool. He was the calmer one between them and something major must have happened for him to have snapped at Scorpius.
"What is it?" Scorpius asked sobering at the expression on Varian's face.
"You might need a cup of tea and a pepper up potion if you're going to hear what I have to say. Get dressed; I'll meet you at the cafe downstairs in 10 minutes". Without another word, Varian turned on his heel and walked out of the room leaving Scorpius wondering.
"NO, ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOT! I AM NOT DOING IT"
"Scorpius" Varian began tiredly as he massaged the bridge of his nose.
"NO! THE ANSWER IS NO AND THAT IS FINAL. I'M NOT RUNNING SOME SHITTY RESERVE LIKE SOME DRAGON LOVING HIPPIE!"
"Will you keep your voice down!" Varian hissed "the entire cafe is staring at us".
Scorpius crossed his arms in defiance, his freshly washed hair falling into his eyes. "I'm not fucking doing it Varian".
"Well tell that to your father because he is going to pull out his investment from our firm if you don't do it" Varian explained.
"So? We still have your dad and if we combine our savings we can"-
"My dad's siding with yours on this little point and sent me an owl, asking me to follow whatever your dad wants to do" Varian leant back in his chair looking like he'd aged ten years.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
"Scorpius! Keep your god damned voice down! You're drawing attention to us". Varian frowned at the platinum blonde man before him and sighed.
"He can't make me do it," Scorpius said defiantly. "He won't follow through with it. You know that, he can try but in the end I'll probably win".
"What makes you so sure?" Varian asked. "He's already drafted up a contract for the reserve indicating the terms of the investment".
Scorpius's jaw dropped. "No he fucking didn't".
Varian sighed again, the fatigue apparent on his face as drank his 5th cappuccino for the day. "Yes he did and he made me do it. In fact, he made up his mind this morning and came to see me. We took an hour to draft the contract and then contacted the reserve after that- and the day isn't even over yet".
"I'm going to go and see my father right now and talk some sense into him," he exclaimed.
"Look, you know better than I do that once your father makes up his mind, nothing can change it. You should just accept defeat with this one and do what he wants you to".
"Never" Scorpius snarled. "I'm not doing it! He can't force me to do it".
"He can't force you, but his means of getting you to do it are..." Varian trailed off. "Quite persuasive, I dare say".
"Nope, no way in hell am I doing it". Scorpius folded his arms, a defiant scowl on his face.
"Stop being a childish little snot Score and just get it over and done with" Varian snapped.
"Easy for you to say V, you don't have to fucking do it!" Grey eyes flashing, Scorpius glared at his friend.
"Well guess what, I have to help you, so I guess you could say I'm in this with you" Varian sulked.
The scowl on the younger Malfoy's face was soon replaced by unabashed glee. "That does actually make me feel a little better. You know what they say, misery loves company and right now, you make excellent company".
"Piss off".
"That still doesn't mean I'll do it," Scorpius stated.
"Lily! My sweet petal! Happy Birthday" Grandma Molly exclaimed, throwing her arms around Lily in a warm hug. "I'm glad you could make it on time this year dear".
"Grandma!" Lily's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet and she quickly moved on to greet other members of her family.
She spied her parents talking to her uncle Bill and she approached them to give her greetings. "Happy Birthday sweetheart" her mother pulled her into a hug, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Can't believe you're 25 already!" Harry exclaimed as he too wished his daughter with one of his bear hugs.
"Grown into such a big Lily flower, this one" Uncle Bill remarked, ruffling her hair fondly.
"Uncle Bill!" she protested but couldn't help the giggles that escaped her mouth. She should have been used to this; he did this every time she'd seen him after all.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my little god sister Lily Potter" Lily groaned.
"Teddy, please spare my hair, Uncle Bill has already mussed it up once". Lily held her hands protectively over her head but the blue haired man only gave her a cheeky grin in response and attacked her hair, ruffling it worse than Bill had done before.
"Not a chance!" He stepped back to admire his handiwork.
"Ugh Teddy! You know how unruly my hair is naturally, I didn't need you adding to it!" she growled in annoyance while trying desperately to smooth her hair to her head.
"You still look beautiful darling" Harry said as he tried to help her smooth her hair.
"I blame this"- Lily pointed to her wild mane of hair "on you Dad!"
"At least you got your mother's looks though" Harry replied and Lily frowned.
"Genetics, such a blessing and a curse. I can't count the number of times people remark how mum and I look like sisters- great for her, terribly awkward for me", she sulked.
Harry chuckled and stroked her hair lovingly, "think about it- one day that'll be you and your daughter too".
"She needs a man first before she can have a daughter and right now she's not doing too well on that front" Sirius interjected.
"Did anyone ask for your two sickles worth?" Harry asked. "Speaking of not doing too well, what's this I hear from Neville about you failing your last Herbology report?"
"Oh err…would love to stay and chat dad but I think I heard Grandma asking for me to help her in the kitchen", Sirius shifted before making a run for it.
"I'm not done with you yet!" Harry called after his retreating back with Lily sniggering behind her hands.
Half an hour later, she'd come full circle and made her way around the Burrow to greet every man, woman and child in sight. It was all part of having a big family. She spied the various cliques around the Burrow deciding which one to insert herself into when she spotted her Uncle Charlie at the drinks area.
"Lily pie" he greeted enthusiastically, enveloping her in a firm hug despite seeing her almost every day.
"I thought you weren't going to make it today because you were on night shift?"
He grinned suddenly "I managed to get Max to swap with me and I think he was quite happy to do night shift because Rachel is also on night shift tonight".
"Wait why- I didn't know they had a thing!" she exclaimed.
"What? How did you not know? It's been going on since the beginning of this year!" Charlie looked at her incredulously.
"She's quite blind to everything that doesn't have scales" a voice cut in and Lily beamed in delight herself at the black haired youth with her mother's chocolate eyes. "You're smothering me!" His voice came out muffled as Lily hugged him tightly.
"Sirius! Oh my little brother, now I can properly give you a hug without you running away from dad because you're so incompetent with Herbology! I'm so happy to see you! I thought you weren't back till Monday because you had Quidditch practice?" she asked and he shrugged. Lily held on to him tightly and he patted her arm lovingly.
"I wanted to surprise you," he replied. "Al came and got me this afternoon. "Strange that Al volunteered to come and get me. I was expecting dad".
"Well, how could I not go and pick up the baby of the family," Al said, coming to stand beside his siblings.
"I reckon he just wanted to visit his old hunting ground" Sirius remarked. "And maybe a certain new professor Patil-Finnigan that Casanova Albus Severus can't seem to get enough of".
"Will you shut up" Albus hissed and Lily raised an eyebrow.
"He-hello M-Maya uh ho-ho-how are you?" Sirius mimicked and Lily thought the baby of their family sounded uncannily like their older brother. "Oh I'm fine Albus, how are you?" Sirius proceeded to do a one man reenactment of the encounter between his brother and his supposed love interest."I-m good thank you Ma-Maya".
Sirius made a big show of flicking his hair to imitate the object of Albus's affections. "Did you get a haircut recently? It looks good!"
Albus growled in warning, heat radiated off him. "Don't you dare."
Sirius blinked innocently and drew out a slow mischievous smile. "What do you think our dear big brother Albus replied?" he asked Lily who shrugged in response. "I-I like your-your eyebrows".
"I like your eyebrows?" Lily snorted. "That's the most original compliment I've heard in a long time!"
"Piss off" Albus scowled but he'd turned an unflattering shade of crimson.
"Can you believe I had to watch this painfully awkward exchange?" Sirius turned to his sister trying to express the suffering he'd been put through.
"I'm going to kill you" Albus seethed and Sirius's eyes widened with the sudden realization that he was about to be murdered by his brother.
"Save me Lily" Sirius wailed dramatically as Albus lunged forward prompting Sirius to dart around her.
Lily laughed uncontrollably as she watched Sirius weave his way in and out of relatives trying to escape his brother who promised bloody murder for such betrayal. Shouts from various relatives reached her ears as her brothers traversed through the house.
"Those two will never change", Charlie had poured himself a glass of firewhisky and had moved to stand beside her.
"Tell me about it" Lily replied, shaking her head. "They're bloody incorrigible and quite hopeless too".
"Speaking of hope" Charlie cut in "how was today's collection?"
"It was pretty good. I had a really generous donor". Lily's smile broadened as she recollected the kind stranger she'd met in the morning.
"Well things are definitely looking up I'll say" Charlie remarked with a satisfied sigh.
"What do you mean?" the confusion was evident in Lily's face.
"I received an offer today" Charlie gave her a toothy grin. "Someone wants to invest in the firm?"
"Oh my god!" Lily exclaimed in surprise, drawing the attention of Albus who had finished dealing with Sirius and was leaning against the wall with a glass of red wine in his hands.
"What happened?" Albus moved from his position by the wall to insert himself into the conversation between his sister and uncle.
"Uncle Charlie got an offer of investment today!" Lily repeated.
"What? That's bloody brilliant Uncle Charlie! Who is it from?" Both Lily and Albus waited eagerly.
"Do you know Varian Zabini?" Charlie asked the two of them and both nodded but didn't offer anything. "What's with the expressions? Aren't you going to tell me about him?"
"Sorry, just shocked that's all". Albus looked thoughtful for a moment, "I didn't figure him for a dragon loving sort that's all".
"Wait, what does a dragon loving sort have to look like?" Lily asked, her hands on her hips, her expression challenging Albus to speak.
"Oh you know, batshit crazy?" Albus offered and Lily hit him hard on the shoulder. "Exhibit A", he held his hands out gesturing to Lily and Charlie laughed. "And exhibit B" Albus shifted his hands to gesture in Charlie's direction and Charlie stopped laughing..
"Wanker" Charlie muttered darkly, emitting a chuckle from Albus. "But yes, back to Varian Zabini, what is he like?"
"Drop dead gorgeous" Lily replied dreamily. "He had the best eyes, nose, lips I've ever seen and imagine all that on the same face". She looked lost in thought for a moment before continuing. "Plus he also had the most taut, round, bubble butt which had all the girls in Hogwarts frothing over"-
"I meant personality" Charlie scowled, slapping his palm to his forehead.
"Sorry" she shrugged sheepishly, "priorities".
"He's a good guy," Albus added helpfully. "He was in Slytherin too but he always hung around Malfoy back in Hogwarts so we didn't have much to do with him. He was just a nice guy though, friendly and just an all round good bloke.".
"Very smart, kind and capable too!" Lily put in. "I think he was head boy when Rose was Head Girl. But he was always fair and didn't dock off points from other houses for no reason. Generally everyone liked and trusted him. Heard his father wasn't so nice back in Hogwarts though".
"I had to work with him a couple of times and he was pretty easy to work with", Albus looked thoughtful. "I heard he has his own firm now or something like that, so he must be raking in the big galleons."
"Gosh he was gorgeous though" Lily sighed again and both Charlie and Albus rolled their eyes.
"Well froth all you want my niece because it seems like he's the new investor. He sent me an owl today asking if he could meet with me tomorrow to discuss the terms and conditions of the contract".
"I hope it all goes well", Lily looked a tad too eager but Charlie merely snorted.
"You just want to perv on him", Charlie wagged a finger at her and she smirked.
"So when will everything be finalized?" Albus asked.
"I'm not sure but Varian Zabini seemed very efficient. He told me he's drafted a contract and wants me to have a look over it and then he'll discuss amounts and additional terms tomorrow. Weird that he asked that there be no cooling off period. I would have thought it would be in his best interests to have a cooling off period".
"No idea" Lily replied. "Maybe he's so sure of his investment?"
"Possibly" Charlie looked thoughtful. "But I don't want to get my hopes up too early. I'm going to wait till tomorrow then see how things go."
"But what about the charity ball tomorrow?" Lily asked. "James has booked 2 tables for our family. Besides, it's a good place for us to promote our reserve and hope that people consider donating to us too".
"I think our discussions should be done by then so I'll still be able to make it".
"Famous last words" Albus warned.
"Urgh it's just going to be filled with boring old people though" Lily complained. "Remember last year Al?"
"Urgh don't remind me", Albus shuddered. "I supported the children's wing at St Mungos last year and Hugo made me dance with all these old ladies in exchange for their donations to the wing."
"Uh excuse me, he made me do that too don't you remember?" Charlie grumbled. "Then one of of the old ladies asked me how much it was extra for her to take me home!" He shivered uncomfortably at the memory.
Lily laughed heartily. "You should be so pleased that you've still got it Uncle Charlie".
"What? I should be pleased that these old ladies, old enough to be my mother may I remind you, are lusting after me?"
"Fair point. I retract that, I'm just so glad that didn't happen to me". Lily chuckled.
"That's because you weren't there!" Albus retorted. "You did miss Malfoy getting blind drunk and leaving with Kingsley Shacklebolt's grand daughter. I mean can you imagine leaving with the minister of Magic's grand daughter?"
"I heard they shagged in the female toilet" Charlie told them.
"No, surely he didn't do that? How did I not know this" Lily's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Well maybe if you attend these functions more often, you'd get all the goss" Albus chided.
"Are we talking about Malfoy and last year's dinner?" James Potter Jr interjected, throwing his arm around his sister.
"Yeah" Albus replied "and his sexcapades".
"I heard he ripped her underwear off with his teeth," James added.
"No he didn't" Lily's jaw had dropped open.
"Well that's what I heard from one of the chasers on my team. She knows someone who knows someone who saw it happen" James looked proud that he'd acquired and provided this information.
"I actually heard it was edible underwear" Hugo piped up and James looked positively scandalized.
"Surely he didn't-" Charlie trailed off.
"It is Malfoy after all and he does have a reputation that precedes him" Lily replied.
Charlie grinned wolfishly, "who knew that there was something I could actually learn from a Malfoy".
"UNCLE CHARLIE!" Lily exclaimed looking positively disgusted.
Lily was so full she could barely move out of the loveseat she was in. Hugo who was seated beside her mirrored her posture. Dinner had been a scrumptious affair thanks to her grandmother and between her own mother and her Aunt Hermione, her birthday cake was indeed death by chocolate.
"Urgh I can't move" Hugo called, sticking his belly out unflatteringly.
"Congratulations honey" Lily cooed from beside him, patting his belly gently. "You're having a food baby!"
"Shut up" he scowled and waved a hand dismissively at her.
"Everyone! Can I have your attention please" James called out standing in the middle of the living room. The babble of noise ceased enough for James to continue. "Don't forget about tomorrow's charity dinner! I've booked tables already and you're all expected to be there".
Lily snorted at the reactions of her family members. It didn't seem like many of them were pleased about said dinner judging from the collective groans.
Victoire raised her hand from one of the long couches she was sitting on with her husband Teddy Lupin. James pointed at her encouragingly.
"Yes, Victoire?"
"What's the dress code again?"
"Thank you for asking that question my fashionable cousin" James remarked looking at her. "It's dress robes appropriate". He blatantly ignored the louder protests from around the room. "I can hear you Uncle Ron", he snapped.
"What's the theme though?"
"Thank you again Victoire for asking. I'm sure some of the less fashionable members of our family need to know this information. It's black, silver and gold".
"Thank god" Rose whispered as she sat on the arm of the love seat Lily was on. "Black is the best colour for literally 90% of our family, almost every other colour clashes horribly with our hair".
Lily stifled a giggle, "Godric knows how painful dress shopping is for us ladies. I remember I just borrowed one of mum's fancy dress robes for the yule ball cause I couldn't be arsed searching for one that would suit me".
"For all of you that don't have dress robes or who need new ones, Uncle Bill has kindly offered to open his fashionable wardrobe to the fashion unsavvy male members of our family. For the females that haven't already organized dress robes or who simply can't be arsed to look half presentable unavoidably bringing shame and dishonour onto the rest of our good looking family, cough, cough Lily"-
Lily glared at her brother, her eyes turning a darker shade of brown. "Shut the fu-"
"Lily" her father warned and she sighed, not finishing her sentence.
"As I was saying, oh where was I before I was so rudely interrupted. Oh yes for those unfashionable females of the family, my second most fashionable single cousin Dominique has kindly volunteered to let people her clothing. If you feel like challenging gender norms, please feel free to go to either Uncle Bill or Dom, we're pretty supportive of things like that in this family. Uncle Percy, Dom has a splendid strapless green dress robe that would go fantastically with your eyes". A seat cushion promptly smacked James squarely in the face amidst covert laughter.
"Do you have a dress?" Rose asked and Lily shook her head.
"Of course she doesn't," Sirius interrupted from where he was positioned on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Have you ever seen her wear anything other than the dragon reserve's uniform, or casual clothes".
"Just borrow from Dom then" Rose suggested and Lily shook her head vigorously.
"Have you seen her wardrobe?" Lily asked and they looked in the direction of Dominique Weasley. "It's like all she wears are scrap bits of cloth to cover the important bits. I might as well be going to the dinner stark naked".
"Lily".
George's wife Angelina beckoned for her. She was sitting at the dinner table and talking with the rest of Lily's aunts.
"We have a birthday present for you" Angelina said handing her a large pink box wrapped with a red satin bow.
"Go on, open it" Hermione encouraged. "It's from Fleur, Ange, Audrey and myself".
Lily opened the box to reveal what she thought was the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. "Oh wow" she breathed. "It's beautiful".
She let her fingers slowly caress the black silk and Angelina helped her take it out of the box. "It's for you to wear tomorrow".
"We figured you wouldn't have gotten a dress" Audrey added helpfully and Lily blushed.
"Eeets made from ze best and ze most comferrtablee material" Fleur said and Lily's jaw dropped when she saw the full dress laid out in front of her.
The dress was glossy and black, like the midnight sky. The bodice was strapless and made of stiff silk, patterned with little glittery crystals. It stopped mid thigh but was long at the back extending out till it touched the bottom of her heels.
"I love it" she exclaimed and gave her hearty thanks to her group of aunties.
"Who knows" Angelina said with a shrug "you might just bring home a man tomorrow after dinner". The rest of her aunties giggled girlishly and she blushed deeply again.
"I won't count on it," Lily mumbled, embarrassed.
"You'll never know, maybe you'll meet the man of your dreams in this dress!" Audrey said.
"Yeah right", Lily rolled her eyes.
"FATHER!" Scorpius called out as he apprated into Malfoy Manor. "FATHER!"
He stalked into the dining room to find his mother and father seated at the table mid dinner. His mother looked pleasantly surprised but his father didn't even bat an eyelid at his thunderous entrance.
"I thought you said you couldn't make it for dinner today" his mother said as she put down her cutlery to look at her son.
"Change of plans" Scorpius replied, looking at his father who was unfazed, placing a piece of steak into his mouth.
"To what do we owe the pleasure of having you pop up unannounced Scorpius?" Draco drawled, a smirk on his face.
"You know why I'm here!" Scorpius accused, pointing a finger at his father. "Stop pretending like you haven't just fucked with my life!"
"Scorpius!" Astoria Malfoy exclaimed. "Language! Please calm yourself!"
"Very well" Draco put down his napkin. "Let's go into my study then shall we?"
Scorpius scowled unhappily but he paused to give his mother a quick peck on the cheek before storming after his father into the study.
Draco Malfoy's study screamed 'class'. The aged mahogany wooden bookshelves oozed wisdom and the study desk that matched the book case had a glossy shine to it. All that was missing was one of Cuba's finest cigars and Scorpius was sure that his father had a couple of those stashed away in his drawer somewhere. To his credit, Scorpius waited till his father was seated at his desk before he unleashed a verbal tirade on his father. It was all a blur really and even Scorpius wasn't fully comprehending what he was saying. His mouth seemed to work faster than his brain could process.
"MOTHER FUCKING DRAGON FUCKING RESERVE WITH ALL THE DO GOODING DRAGON LOVING"-
Draco raised his eyebrow in quiet amusement. "What are you actually here for?"
"I'M NOT FUCKING DOING IT!"
"Well, I'm surprised that you thought you had a choice in this" Draco drawled lazily as he poured himself a glass of red wine.
"FUCKING 27 YEARS OLD, DON'T NEED MY FATHER TO TREAT ME LIKE A FUCKING CHILD. I HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO FUCKING DO AND I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH ALL THAT AND THE FUCKING RESERVE"-
"Maybe if you stopped shagging every woman you met and woke up at a decent hour and actually went to work, you'd get your work done".
Scorpius looked like he'd been slapped. His father had never once made reference to Scorpius's womanizing ways. He was always free to do whatever the hell he wanted.
"Work at the reserve for 6 months and I'll leave my investments in the firm. Blaise will do whatever I do, so it's of little use to try and lobby him" Draco advised as though reading Scorpius's mind.
"6 MONTHS?"
"Are you going to lower your volume and talk like a sane person? Or would you like me to ignore you until you can act like the adult that you should be?"
Scorpius scowled angrily, his eye twitching uncomfortably. "What about my clients?" His voice had dropped to an acceptable decibel but his words were laced with a dangerous fury.
"What about your clients? From what I understand, you have none," Draco smirked at him and Scorpius looked to the ceiling in defeat.
"I have the Renaldi family and their estate to manage," Scorpius retorted.
"You just want to shag their daughter. Just give those files to Varian, he does all your work anyway" Draco replied. The man had no chill. Scorpius let out a roar of frustration and Draco smirked in triumph. "Shall I take that as a yes?"
"Just for 6 months! Nothing more!" Scopius gritted his teeth while his father's expression was pleasant.
"Yes," Draco replied . "Just for 6 months".
"When do I start?"
"As soon as the contract is signed. It would probably be a few days till all the documents and paperwork are completed. I'd say Monday?"
Scorpius's jaw dropped. "What the hell?"
"Enjoy the rest of your 3 days to get whatever it is you need to get out of your system", Draco took a large sip of his wine. "Varian will give you your contract to sign tomorrow about your duties and requirements".
"My contract?"
"You didn't think I was just going to take your word for it did you? I need something concrete, besides as a lawyer shouldn't you have expected this?"
"Ok fine do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care anymore, it's just a stinking 6 months anyway".
"Good to hear" Draco replied, a small smile on his face.
Scorpius glowered at him and without a word, he stormed out of his father's office, slamming the door behind him.
"Scorpius?" His mother called walking down the long corridor towards him.
"It was lovely to see you mother, I should probably be going. It's getting late" he said reaching down to hug her.
"Don't forget tomorrow's charity gala," his mother said. "Your father has invested a lot of money into the building of the geriatric ward in St Mungos, so we are expected to be there".
"Yes mother, I'll see you there tomorrow" Scorpius replied before he wrapped his cloak around him and disapparated from the manor.
"You're really doing it then?"
Draco looked at his wife, her face tinged with worry as she lay on their bed later that night, propping herself up on her elbows to stare at him. He did up the buttons on his silk pajama shirt and climbed into bed beside her wrapping his arms around her.
"Yes, I have to," he replied. "It will be good for him Astoria"
"I know" she sighed into his embrace. "I just worry about him you know?"
"As do I but if we want him to change his ways, we must do this and let him learn the hard way. He's never had to care for anyone or anything other than himself. I think it would be good for him to spend time with the people at the reserve who have made sacrifices and do their jobs because of passion and not gold. He needs to learn that gold isn't everything and that is something that I had to learn the hard way when all our assets were seized after the war because of an inquiry by the Auror department".
Astoria snuggled into his chest, "you did well to come up on your own dear".
"I just want Scorpius to learn some of what I learnt." Draco sighed.
"You know what dear?" Astoria asked looking up at him. "I think you're right, this will be a good lesson for him to learn and if he doesn't then"-
"Then?" Draco raised an eyebrow looking into her baby blues.
"Then I'll beat him with a broomstick myself" she finished and Draco chuckled.
"I'll hold you to that promise", Draco's eyes twinkled with mirth and he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before pulling her closer, giving in to slumber.
Author's note: If you liked it please review! And if you didn't like it do let me know what I can improve on and what you didn't like. I look forward to reading your reviews.