Scorpius sighed in frustration as he parted his hair over again in the mirror. Today, it seemed, he couldn't get it just the way he wanted.
"Why are you fretting with your hair love?" Albus said moving past him into the bathroom to get a small towel. "I know you aren't nervous about being at the Burrow. We go there all the time."
"Yes, but we have never gone with a baby before. I think I have the right to be a little on edge."
It was true, Scorpius loved being at the Burrow. He was always entertained by the Weasley chaos and he loved it. It was nice being around Albus' cousins who were all different ages telling stories, playing quidditch, and of course Molly's delicious food. There was never a dull moment, and they had welcomed him into their lives many years ago as more than Albus' best friend turned boyfriend, but as a member of their family.
But this week, he wouldn't be coming to the family house with just Albus on his arm, he was bringing in a child. A child that he was still learning. Andrew was a great kid, he seemed to light up any room he was in, but bringing him to meet everyone, made it seem almost... real.
Like Andrew was their real son.
And as much as he was warming up to the idea, he still couldn't let himself fall into a fantasy that Albus, himself, and Andrew could be an actual family.
Albus, watched his fiancé struggle with his hair one more time. He knew his mind was running a mile a minute and it had nothing to do with the way he looked. Albus kissed his shoulder and walked out of the bathroom to go and make sure Andrew was dressed, deciding it was best to let him finish without distraction.
"Andy, are you almost ready?" Albus said opening the door to the spare room that Andrew was currently occupying.
"I is ready. I was waiting on you!" The young boy was sitting on the bed playing with a few toys James had found in his old room the night before and let the young boy take them home. Albus was not impressed as he was sure any old toys of his brother were some sort of prank.
Albus walked over to the bed and sat down picking up an old stuffed lion, rolling his eyes he began to speak, "So today's a big day! We get to meet some new people. How are you feeling about that?"
Andrew shrugged his shoulders still playing with the toys, "Will Draco, James, Harwy, Ginny, and Lulu be there?"
The older man smiled at the use of his sister's nickname, "Well everyone except Draco. He will be home. We will be spending time with my family. Everyone you named and a ton more. There are a lot of them, but they are really nice and funny. They all look like my mum and James."
This seemed to bring some comfort to the small child, he looked up at Albus and smiled. "Will there be someone for me to play with?"
Albus nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! My nephew Gabe is your age. He is a really fun kid! I think the two of you will get along just fine."
Hearing this made Andrew smile and get off the bed. He grabbed his shoes and handed them over to Albus who helped him put them on his feet.
"Alright, it's nearly time to go, let's go and get Scorp. He is a bit nervous." Albus whispered the last part to Andrew who looked concerned.
"Is there no ones for him to play with at your family's house?"
Albus laughed and picked up the small child, "Yes there is, he just wants everyone to be excited to see you."
—
"HUGO! I cannot believe you told your dad that. Uncle Ron will tell my parents! Ugh."
The second Scorpius, Albus, and Andrew walked through the floo they were met with a familiar sense of noise.
"Oh come off it Lily, I'm sure your parents can assume where you have been spending your nights. You live with them. And all I told dad was that you slept over after we all went out last week. It's no big deal."
Ignoring the rest of the argument, the three snuck around them before Albus' sister tore into Hugo. If there was one thing everyone knew it was to avoid Lily when she was on the verge of losing her temper.
Scorpius was holding Andrew in his arms. Andrew's eyes were wide as took in the site of the Burrow.
With a glance, Scorpius noticed everyone has already arrived, except for the Lupins.
There were a lot of people moving about the house when the three of them arrived. The older cousins were holding cups filled with some concoction no doubt James and Freddie came up with. While the younger ones could be heard outside gearing up for a pick-up game.
Albus heard his Aunts Audrey and Fleur in the kitchen helping his Gran finish the cooking.
"Look whose here! Little Alby." Before his eyes even met the person's voice, he knew who it was immediately. Albus's Uncle George was the only one who called him by the childish nickname. "You kept us waiting for long enough nephew. We have been trying to meet the new addition of the family."
"Hi, Uncle George and Auntie Angie," Albus said letting the older man grab him into a bone- crushing hug and his aunt kiss his cheek. Though he wasn't a hugger, his family sure was, and he was glad for the comforting contact.
"Scorp my main man, well I guess I should say Albus' main man. Ha!" George laughed, "How are you? Is this the lost boy I have been hearing so much about?"
George had always taken a liking to Scorpius, he often liked how easy it was to get his nephew's friend to laugh and take an interest in his joke products. This all came as shock to his family. It was no secret that he, his late twin brother, Fred, and Draco never seemed to get along when they were younger. Though the adults were in a comfortable place in their relationship, Albus was grateful that Scorpius never dealt with the rivalry of his family's past with the Malfoys.
The little boy in Scorpius' arms remained silent as George walked closer and side hugging them.
"George, you are going to scare him. He isn't like you lot, be careful." Angelina called back to her husband. "Hello, dears. I am Angie and this is George, I promise he is harmless just a bit loud."
Andrew gave her a small wave and smile. Albus was right, George did look like James and Ginny.
"I am Andy." He said in a small yet friendly voice.
"Look at those eyes, Mum is going to fall in love with him. Come with me squirt, we will come
to find your dads after you meet everyone."
Before Albus or Scorpius could react to the mention of being called 'dads,' George lifted the child out of Scorpius' arms, threw him over his shoulder, and moved around the house making introductions to the entire family as he passed them.
"I would say I am sorry, but honestly you guys know your uncle. Always the eccentric. I will go and make sure the child remains in one piece." With a smile, Angelina turned around and yelled after her husband, "George! Turn him right-side-up!"
"Awh Ange, you used to be fun!" The couple heard George whine back to his wife in the distance.
Andrew could be heard from the other room laughing and screaming with glee.
Still, in shock, Scorpius felt Albus grab his hand and move him through the house having brief conversations with various family members as he passed, "Don't freak out, you know George. He didn't mean anything by it I'm sure."
Scorpius nodded as the couple found Albus' parents, Hermione, and Bill sitting on a couch in the living room.
"Hello, boys, nice to see you." Bill cooly got up from his seat and hugged them both. "I haven't seen you since Gin's party. I hear there is a new addition to your family. George zoomed through here with him very quickly, but he seems like a sweet boy."
Scorpius smiled with pride at the mention of Andrew.
"I am not sure how he has so much energy still, he is older than we are!" Ginny started moving her hands to gesture to everyone except Bill.
"I envy it. Fleur had to help lift me out of my chair the other day when my back got stiff from falling asleep in it after dinner."
The older adults mumbled a bit about their woes of aging, while the young couple sat there looking on in silence.
After what seemed like a reasonable amount of time, Albus cleared his throat, "So Aunt Hermione, you owled yesterday about an update of some sort?"
"Yes! Thank you, Al." She pulled a stack of papers out from behind her. Albus smiled looking at his amused husband. He and his aunt shared a love of paperwork and organization.
"I have some forms for you both to sign. They state that you will remain Andrew's temporary guardian while the investigation continues." Hermione looked over at Harry silently promoting him to jump in.
Harry looked over at the two and began speaking, "You two should know a few things though before you commit. It isn't too late to send him to a group home setting while everything is settled."
Harry ignored his wife's disapproving look and continued, "the other night we got a lead on who may have dropped Andrew off. The letter he was found with, was written on a very special type of parchment. When we went to the shop it was sold in, we were led to a small community not too far from Hogsmead. We did a bit of questioning and found out that there was a man and a child who lived in the town but hadn't been seen for a while. It wasn't unusual as they were known to travel a lot, but no one had seen them in nearly a year."
Both boys leaned forward eager to hear the rest of the story.
"One of the older women in town told us that the man, was married to a woman and when she gave birth to their son, she soon fled and the man spent most of his time tracking her down. He didn't seem to be well or over-attentive to the son, but they kept to themselves so no one bothered them. She said the last she saw of them, was a year ago when the man and boy came home and the man's clothes were torn and destroyed. We talked to a few other people to see if the stories matched, but this was all we got."
"And you all think this is where Andrew came from?"
Harry nodded, "It seems unlikely that anyone is coming from him. His parents seem like ghosts."
"Which means, he might be here longer than you two expected," Ginny said softly. "Though you boys have done a good job this week, is this something you two think you want to take on for the long run? There is still so much we do not know about Andrew. And with his missing parents, we may not ever get those answers."
Albus looked at his parents and aunt and uncle. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but it wasn't that.
"We love having Andrew around and we have discussed the possibility of having him for...the foreseeable future. But can we look over the paperwork and give you an answer after brunch Hermione? I think we need to process everything." Scorpius said looking calmly at the adults around him.
"Sure! These papers are temporary custody. After a few months if the case goes cold, then we have to reassess the situation. If you two choose to formally adopt him then we can begin the process and have a proper home visit and meet with the Department of Misplaced Children to make everything official."
"Sounds good Aunt Hermione, thank you!"
The adults looked at the boys and continued talking about their previous conversations.
Just as Scorpius and Albus were getting up to leave to discuss the information they had just gotten, the floo network lit up, and out running was a small boy.
"Uncle Al and Uncle Scorp!" Gabriel crashed into both the men's legs giving them a huge hug. Before they could respond, Gabriel's eyes fell on his grandparents. "Grandma Ginny! Grandpa Harry and Pop-pop!"
"Hi, Gabe. You seem very excited today." Bill said picking up his only grandson.
"I am. Mummy told me that there would be someone new for me to meet today at Gran's house and I wanted to come heres so bad and say 'hi.'" All the adults laughed as Gabe bounced around the floor.
Ginny got up from the couch, squeezing her husband's shoulder as she moved passed him and took Gabe in her arms, "well let's go meet this new person shall we. I think you two will be fast friends."
Harry, Hermione, and Bill continued talking, while Ginny took an excited Gabe outside to see Andrew.
—
After the conversation they had had about Andrew, Albus led Scorpius up the stairs to his Uncle Ron's old room. He was accustomed to it, as he, James, Freddie, and Hugo often stayed in it when they were younger and visited the grandparents over the weekends and summers.
He led Scorpius to the bed and sat down next to him. Scorpius was reading the papers that Hermione had asked them to sign and once he was done, he looked up at his fiancé with a blank expression.
"Are we ready for this Al? I mean a three-year-old will be in our possession. Our lives will change forever."
Albus nodded, " Yea, I know."
"You have to give me more than that babe, what are we going to do?"
Albus signed and stood up so he could look Scorpius directly in the eyes, "I want to keep him. I want us to be a family. A real one. When Uncle George called us dads today, I wasn't shocked because I was mad, I was shocked because of how happy it made me feel to think about sharing a child with you and being our own little family."
Scorpius smiled a little at his fiancé's directness, "yes but what about what your dad just told us. If that little boy is the one that your dad found the lead on, then that means there will be a lot of things in his past that may come up. He is remembering things slowly, and when your father mentioned the man who was with Andrew, I felt a chill run through my back."
"I won't lie, that freaked me out too. But it's all the more reason for us to keep him. Andrew is a bright kid, and if that story is true, then I wouldn't want him going back to living with a man who wasn't attentive and always traveling. He deserves a stable home," Albus stated.
"Very true. I'm still scared. Even though I want him to be ours as well, I am still afraid. Give me until the end of dinner and I will make a decision. I know we can provide a good home for him. We have the support and-"
"The love," Albus added.
"Yes sweetie and the love, I just want to make sure that's enough. We have never been dads before...obviously. I want to make sure we can be right for him." Scorpius finished looking up at his partner hopeful.
Albus sat back on the bed and pulled Scorpius into a tight hug. "You are an amazing person, and there is no one else I would rather try and be dads with. Take your time and let me know when you are ready."
Albus, still had Scorpius in a tight embrace and felt his head nod. After another second, the couple pulled apart and stared into each other's eyes. Having a silent conversation with one another and not needing to say another word, Scorpius leaned in the last inch and locked his lips in a sweet kiss with Albus.
"We have barely spent a moment alone together in the past week since we got Andrew. I have missed you." Scorpius whispered as their foreheads touched.
"Hmm, then stop talking and kiss me." Albus closed his eyes and smiled as he felt Scorpius kiss him again. This time the kiss wasn't as delicate, but urgent. Albus felt Scorpius' hands begin to roam across his neck and down his back as he leaned them down slowly on the bed.
The two were lost in the kiss so much that they didn't hear the door open, "Alright you two break it up! How would you feel if Gran had been the one to come find you in here making out." Teddy said exclaimed as he watched Scorpius nearly fall off the bed startled by the intruder.
Albus caught him by the waist smoothly and looked at his God-brother annoyed and not at all frazzled by his entrance.
"Well, hopefully, Gran would have knocked before coming in here. We were having a private conversation."
"I know I am older than you, but when did a conversation turn into a very looking adult sideways hug?"
"Sod off!" Albus let go of Scorpius as the two stood up and adjusted their clothes. Teddy smiled as the three of them headed down the stairs.
"Lunch is ready. By the way, Gabe and Andrew, are now inseparable." Teddy said walking ahead of the two men who were holding hands.
"That's good to hear, Andrew was excited to meet him," Scorpius said relieved the two had connected.
"Not as excited as Gabriel. He bounced around the house all morning, Vic had to threaten to leave him behind so she could get his shoes on properly." Teddy laughed at the memory.
As the three men made their way outside, everyone was already sitting around the big table that Molly charmed to extend in the fields.
"Boys just in time. Thank you Teddy dear for fetching them. We are ready to eat." Molly said smiling from the left side of the table. Arthur, as usual, took the head of one end of the table while Bill occupied the other end.
"Let's dig in everyone." Arthur's voice could be heard from the table.
Ron and Freddie didn't need to be told twice.
—-
"Uncle Al, me and Andrew are best friends. Did you know that?" Gabriel turned to his uncle at the table.
Several different conversations were going on though Al was quietly eating his food and enjoying his family. Scorpius, who sat left of him, was in a deep discussion with Roxy about work in the potions department.
'Is that so, Andrew are you aware that you and Gabe are now best friends?" Albus said pretending to be shocked at the news.
Once Teddy had led Albus and Scorpius to the table for brunch, Albus noticed that Andrew was sitting across from him in a chair between Gabe and Fleur. Albus expected him to move seats to be closer to himself or Scorpius, but Andrew gave a simple wave of the hand and begin to eat the food, that Fleur served him and her grandson.
Andrew nodded, "I did. Me and Gabe want to see each other every day now. Can we?"
Teddy who was having a conversation with Bill looked over at the young children and smiled, "I'm not sure about every day, but Uncle Al and I can arrange for you boys to play very soon."
Albus nodded in agreement, "Yes maybe Grandma Ginny will be able to watch you both when Scorp and I go back to work this week."
The boys looked thrilled at the news of going to Potter's house together.
Teddy gave Albus a look, in which the younger man shrugged his shoulders. He knew his mum wouldn't mind keeping an eye on the boys. Granted he should have asked her first.
Once brunch was over, the family remained outside for hours doing various activities. The men helped Molly clean up the trash and un-charm the table. Once that was done they went with Arthur for drinks in the shed and to tinker with old muggle items he had from work and no longer needed in his retirement. and the wives chatted inside the house leaving their now-adult kids outside.
Scorpius watched from the grass below as the Weasley/Potter/Lupin family mounted their brooms and played catch with the quaffle that was stored at the Burrow.
Teddy had Gabriel on his broom while Albus allowed James to hold onto Andrew on his broom, not trusting himself to fly safely with the squirming child.
The family hovered in a large circle and tossed the ball to one another for a while, laughing and joking with each other.
After a while, Albus glanced at his fiancé and headed down to keep him company. "You didn't have to come down here, You know I like to just watch."
Albus nodded, "But I wanted to spend some time alone with you." Scorpius eyes him cautiously. "Not that kind of alone time, we can save that for later." He winked at him as he saw James and Andrew zip lower to where the two were sitting.
"Wave at yourdad's! Now that Albus is gone, we can have some fun up here." James yelled taking off for the skies as an excited Andrew waved his hand at Scorpius and Albus briefly before James zoomed towards Teddy and Gabe, making both the boys laugh with glee.
Albus' eyes widened, but he didn't shout at his brother, trusting him to keep the young boy safe. James was the professional flyer, and he was afraid of their mum enough to put the boy in any real danger.
Albus continued looking up at his whole family, not noticing the big smile he had on his face until he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders.
Looking over, he saw the same silly smile forming across Scorpius's lips, as he leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Albus," Scorpius whispered in his fiancé's ear as he handed him the papers to be signed, "I'm ready."
A/N:
Hi (:
Thanks for read and expect a new upload by Thursday!
Jazz.
