Chapter 6: Divided
Adjusting to a new normal didn't exactly feel like much adjusting. Scorpius and Albus had agreed to keep Andrew and sign his temporary placement forms nearly three weeks ago. And the trio couldn't be happier.
With Andrew being so young, and the couple not wanting to change his life so drastically, they decided during the day while Albus and Scorpius were at work, he would stay with either Ginny, when she did her articles from home, with Draco, or at the Burrow. Andrew didn't seem to mind, when at Ginny's or the Burrow, Gabe was there since he had to wait for muggle school to start next term.
Andrew especially enjoyed his time at the Manor with Draco. The two often started their morning off with breakfast in the garden, then reading in the library, and taking a trip to the shops in search of any antique or special potion ingredients Draco may have been looking for. But each trip always ended with the two of them eating some variation of sugar-filled treat that both enjoyed. This came as a surprise to everyone except Scorpius, who knew firsthand that his dad had a sweet spot for young children.
Andrew, in all of his three-year-old glory, was beginning to enjoy his new life and couldn't imagine anything better.
"Okay Andy, tonight is the big night!" Albus scooped up the child in his arms. "You are going to spend the whole day and night here with Draco."
Andrew beamed at Albus, "I am excited! Draco said me and hims are going to have hot chocolate tonight and biscuits!"
"That sounds like fun! But this is your first big sleepover since you came to live with me and Scor so we wanted to make sure that you knew that if you wanted to come home early you can. Just have Draco send a message and we will be here." Albus' tone was serious and comforting.
"Yup I knows, Scorp told me too. But me and Draco are going to have fun."
"And don't forget Daphne as well, little one. She will be joining us later tonight since Laurel will be out of the house with the boys." Draco said walking into the main room with Scorpius following closely behind. The two had gone to talk about something in private they didn't want Andrew to hear and repeat.
Scorpius' had decided to properly introduce Andrew to his Aunt Daphne and Laurel a few days after he and Albus had signed the temporary guardian papers. The couple figured there would be no way to avoid having them meet Andrew and it only seemed fair since Albus' family got to meet the young child.
Laurel, who was a natural with children took to him immediately, and when he was over at the Manor spent as much time with him as she could, while offering Draco a break if needed. Her mother on the other hand was polite but had her reservations about bringing a child whom past everyone was still unsure about.
Daphne didn't spend anytime alone with Andrew, but would often pop in to sit with him and Draco here and there. None of which Scorpius and Albus' minded as she was still adjusting to being around the couple as well.
"Oh, now that sounds like fun. You and Dad and Aunt Daphne having a little hot chocolate around the fire tonight. Dad and I used to do that all the time when I was younger and sometimes Al and me still come over. Dad makes the best hot coco ever. I think it's the mini marshmallows and extra chocolate syrup!" Scorpius said as he tickled the little boy's tummy while Albus held him.
"And here I thought you got your sweet tooth from your Mum when it was Draco all along!"
"Honestly, it was both of them. Mum and Dad both can't resist a sugary treat. It's probably why I was so hyper when we first met. Years and years of straight sugar."
"What do you mean, used to be hyper? You very much still have the same amount of energy as the eleven-year-old boy I met all those years ago." Albus teased.
His fiancé shrugged his shoulders, and took Andrew out of his arms, "Okay Andy, you are going to be good tonight. I have packed everything you need,"
"And more" this time the teasing came from his dad.
Draco and Albus chuckled at each other as they looked over to the floor where Scorpius sat down three bags for Andrew's sleepover.
"Whatever!" Scorpius rolled his eyes, "And you can always have my Dad call us if-"
"Albus already told me. If I wanna goes home." Andrew finished for him.
Scorpius signed, kissed the boy on the cheek, and sat him on the floor, "Well it seems like I am useless here." He smiled softly, to show the young boy that he wasn't truly sad, "If that's everything, Al and I have to get ready for work. Thanks again, Dad!"
Draco nodded as Albus picked up Andrew, kissed him on the head, and whispered something in his ear making the small child laugh. He sat him down and Andrew ran over to Draco grabbing his hand.
"Anytime boys. Have a goodnight and we will see you in the morning. No rush though, enjoy." With one final wave, Draco and Andrew headed towards the kitchen to get their day started, leaving Albus and Scorpius in the living room.
"So how does it feel to be replaced by Andrew with Draco?" Albus joked taking Scorpius' hand?
His fiancé laughed, "Honestly it feels alright. I will admit I am a little jealous of how well the two get on. But I like seeing my dad with Andrew. He is a big softie, and I like seeing that side of him."
"Draco is a big softie. And here I was worried he would be a recluse hiding away in his study. Do you guys know the first week me and mum got here your dad asked me to cook with him and tend to the gardens and creatures he keeps? He does enjoy the company. And I mean who wouldn't this place is massive, I can't imagine being in here alone." Laurel came walking down the stairs and joined in on the conversation.
"Hey Laurel, excited about tonight?" Albus greeted her. Just like her cousin, it seemed when she got excited about something she began to ramble on.
"Of course I am! I finally get to go out with you lot and hang with the Potter-Weasleys. Mum, Draco, and the little tike are great, but I am ready for a night out."
"It must be hard, with all of your friends back home. I'm glad you are coming out with us as well. Sorry, it took a few extra weeks. Andrew shook up a few things and we had to get-"
"No worries baby cousin. I am looking forward to it. Plus I get to lay eyes on Albus' extremely hot older brother James. That's a perk in itself." Laurel joked, knowing it would make Albus uncomfortable.
As Albus groaned, he felt Scorpius lead him towards the floo, so they could head to work. "We will meet you at the bar in London around seven Laurel."
Still smiling, Laurel nodded her head making her way to the kitchen to catch up with Draco and Andrew. "Can't wait!"
—
"Are you sure it will be alright if I tag along? This seems like a family-only type of thing." Albus was gathering all of his belongings so that he could head to the showers and get ready to meet everyone at the bar.
It had been a typical day at the sanctuary. Albus arrived on time and completed all of his end-of-the-week tasks. He even had enough time to prep the well enough creatures for their send-off to various other locations the week coming. A few of them were to his Uncle Charlie.
During lunch, Albus had mentioned to Jane that he was meeting with a few of his cousins and Scorpius' cousin for drinks after work, and asked if she wanted to join them. She was long over her bad date with Matthew from a few weeks ago, but Albus could tell she needed a night out and away from the Sanctuary.
"Trust me, you are more than welcome to join. It won't be many of us there. Just me and Scor. Freddie, James, Rose, and Roxy. Oh, and of course Laurel. I think Freddie is asking a bloke from work to join in as well. So not all family."
Jane nodded smiling, "Okay sounds like a good time! No Lily? Out of all of you, she is my favorite. Her take on natural animal care is always good conversation."
Albus shook his head, "Nope, she and Hugo have plans already. The two of them are so close, that they rarely come out with the rest of us. You would swear they were actual siblings. I suppose that's how close Mum and Auntie Hermione wanted me and Rosie to be."
"You guys are close now, so that still counts."
"Yes, but that came with time. Lily and Hugo have been inseparable since birth. I mean Lily is dating his best friend. It doesn't get much closer than that." Albus chuckled. "I'm going to hop in the shower, meet back here in thirty minutes?"
Jane nodded, heading in the opposite direction to also shower.
Once he made it to the showers, Albus pulled out his wanted and conjured a Patronus charm.
"Getting dressed, meet you at the bar in forty-five minutes. Love you." Albus sent the sparrow off to find his fiancé.
Albus took an extremely hot shower, and relaxed the muscles in his body, though work wasn't significantly challenging the past few weeks, he still felt the tension in his bones. He figured it was due to all of the new changes that were occurring in his life. Good changes, but still wearing on his body.
Once he was finished he toweled off and got dressed. He choose to wear dark-washed jeans, a red button-down shirt, and white trainers. He held a jacket in his arms, put his work clothes in a duffle and into his work locker, and decided to deal with them on Monday.
Though Albus and Jane had hung out after work many times over the last few years, seeing her outside of work clothes as well as her casual clothes still came as a shock to him.
Jane had traded her black work jumpsuit for a figuring hugging green dress. She wore boots and a leather jacket to complete the look. Her curly hair hung over her shoulders and she smiled when she saw him coming near her.
"Wow Al, you look great. Scorpius is gonna drool when he sees you."
Albus blushed, "You are the one that's going to make me drool. You clean up nicely too. I mean I have seen you get ready for dates before, but tonight you look flawless with minimal effort. Best I have ever seen you."
"Well, I figured I'd try a little bit, not a whole glammed thing. I just wanna have a drink with my friends tonight. Thanks though."
The two friends smiled at each other and Albus extended his arm for her to hold, "Well shall we then?"
"We shall," Jane concluded and Albus apparated them behind the bar in London.
"Sorry we had to walk a bit, this is as close as I could get us without any muggles seeing us. The last thing I want is for Dad to contact me about being spotted. Dumbledore knows James does enough to get everyone spotted as it is."
Jane laughed, "No worries, it's a lovely night for a little walk. And look there is a full moon out tonight. They are my favorites."
Albus looked up to see the full moon shining in the sky. He admired it for a moment, as the two made their way to the door of the bar.
—
"Such a lovely couple walking in. Scorpius you better watch out looks like Alby has got some new eye candy on his arm…. Wait, is that Jane?" Freddie was mid-tease when he saw his cousin walk in through the doors.
Scorpius turned his head away from the members at the table as they all continued to talk. He had arrived only a second before Laurel and the two walked inside to see all of Albus' family as well as Rick, the young man who worked at WWW with Freddie, already sitting.
With short reintroductions, Laurel had jumped into an animated conversation with James, and Roxy. The three of them, including Freddie, had remembered each other from their time at Hogwarts. Though different houses, they were familiar with each other from various classes.
Walking in the door, Scorpius saw his fiancé and Jane laughing at something Albus had whispered down at her. Once the two looked around briefly they laid eyes on everyone at a table near the back of the bar and immediately started laughing all over again.
Albus led Jane over to the table, released her arm, and replaced it around Scorpius' shoulder kissing him on the side of the head.
"Hey love, sorry we are late. How long have you been here?"
"Oh not too long, Laurel and I got here at the same time. Maybe around fifteen minutes ago or so. Everyone else was already here. Nice to see you again Jane, I feel like it has been too long." Scorpius got up and gave the short curvy girl a huge hug. Scorpius loved Jane, she was a great blend of hilarious, intelligent, and sarcastic. Much like his soon-to-be husband. He wasn't surprised when the two became fast friends at work.
"Scorpy, I have missed your face! I hear there is a little one taking up all of your guys' time these days. I am not going to say I am jealous, I just want to mention that if you were looking for something to adopt then I would have volunteered." Jane exclaimed as she did a small twirl, "I mean, I'm cute." The three adults laughed and Albus cleared his throat to get the attention of his family.
"Hey everyone! You all remember Jane. This is Laurel, Scorpius' cousin and that is Rick he works at my uncle George's shop. Jane, you know everyone else." Albus received small waves from his family and was called over by Rose and Rick.
He gave Scorpius a small squeeze and made his way around the table.
"Let me pour you a drink Jane, and tell me all about the new Mooncalves you guys have, I'm sure they are-"
"Scor, no one wants to talk about work, mate. Jane, come I'll get you a drink." Freddie said rounding the corner and placing his arms around Jane and guiding her to the bar so she could get a drink.
Jane looked over her shoulder and smiled kindly at Scorpius, who only shooed her away, used to Freddie's boldness when it came to women he found attractive.
He would talk with Jane later on.
Scorpius made his way over to James, Roxy, and Laurel.
"You have got to be kidding me, we played Puddlemere U. And true... they are good! BUT recently their technique has left much to be desired." James said taking a long drink from his glass.
Immediately Scorpius knew he had joined in the wrong conversation.
"Roxy nodded furiously, "Yes! P.U has let cockiness get to what matters. James has been doing an excellent job at training and flying drills with the Chudley Cannons. Their ranks have never been higher.
"Since the move to France, I have been following the Quiberon Quafflepunchers. They dominate the French league, although the colors are a tad bright for me."
"Yet another team with rouge techniques. James, I didn't know you were working with the Cannons. I thought you were still with the Harpies. I must admit the Cannons have been climbing the ranks this season. I've been keeping an eye on them, it's impressive." Jane and Freddie had come back with a round of drinks for the table and sat them down.
James smiled up at Jane, and nodded cooly, "Yea I left the Harpies about two seasons ago, they really didn't need the flying help. Plus working with the Cannons feels more at home, Uncle Ron strictly refused to let us cheer anyone else on growing up."
All the Weasley children nodded, "Even with your mum being a Harp?" Jane exclaimed.
Freddie nodded, "Surprisingly yes. It was family divided. Well not really. My dad always goes for Ireland."
"Jane, Albus mentioned you liked to fly. Tell me what you think about…"
As much as Scorpius wanted to continue to listen, he was losing interest. He turned his body around and met the back of Albus. Who was smiling at Rose and Rick.
He rested his head on his shoulder which caught his attention.
"You doing alright, love?" Albus shifted his head to whisper to his fiancé.
Scorpius nodded, "Yes. I am having a lovely time. I had to leave the conversation over there, as it seems they are all about to get into a riveting discussion on quidditch teams and flying. And we both know I am not good at either of those debates."
Albus laughed, turning around and looking at his family and friends.
James and Jane had taken over the conversation and seemed to be having that exact debate with Freddie, Roxy, and Laurel.
Albus also noticed that James had traded his seat next to Laurel, who immediately went to go and sit next to him when entering the bar, to get closer to Jane. He noticed a spark in his brother's eye whenever he was interested in someone and shook it off. Knowing better than to get involved with James and his escapades.
"I see it too," Scorpius said following Albus' eye. "When you two walked in Freddie noticed Jane, and I mean actually noticed her. He even took her from me the second you came over here to talk to Rosie."
"I saw that."
"But James played it cool. He waited until they were back to acknowledge her and bring her into the conversation. He has even shifted to get closer to her. Your brother is quite the study when it comes to those he fancies." Scorpius giggled.
Albus moaned, "Tell me about it. He thinks he is so cool. It's going to bite him in the arse one day."
"Be nice, James hasn't had a girlfriend in over a year. I think it's time. I hope Laurel doesn't take it too badly. I think she found your brother attractive back from school."
Albus, scrunched up his face, "She seems okay. I don't even think James knows what he is doing with Jane. It just comes naturally to him. Must be nice."
Scorpius gave him a look, "What do you mean by that?"
"It took me nearly five years to tell you how I felt about you. James… Five minutes tops." Albus looked over at his brother in awe instead of jealously. "I guess the Potter charm skipped over me and Dad. Or maybe just the blokes in my family named James are lucky in love."
Scorpius tried to hide his smile, as he stood, feeling the two drinks he had had since being there, and wrapped his arms around his lover. "I for one think, the time you took was a perfect amount. I wouldn't change it for the world and look where it got us. We are getting married, we have Andrew, and we are happy. For a while, I'm sure we both didn't think that was going to happen."
"Very true," Albus whispered back squeezing the side of his waist. "I love you."
"And I you." The two shared a closed-mouth kiss and pressed their foreheads together.
"Al!"
"Scorp!"
Yelled Roxy and Rose respectfully. Both men looked over their shoulders at one of the girls calling them over to join in their conversations.
"Let's meet back here in ten minutes. I see my family enough to know that alcohol and quidditch are only going to create some kind of house rivalry." Albus said moving slightly to join in with James and Roxy, while Scorpius moved closer to Rose and Rick laughing.
"Agreed. Ten minutes tops."
—
Three hours later the group was winding down at the bar. Rose had left stating that she and Hugo had to meet with their parents early in the morning to visit her grandparents.
Everyone else had agreed to sit and sober up a bit before trying to apparate home.
Scorpius was talking to Laurel at the end of the table, while Albus walked over to Jane. Who was having a conversation with Roxy.
"Hey, Scor and I are going to head home."
"Trying to get an early start on your adult activities while the child is out at the Malfoy's?" Roxy joked at her little cousin.
Ignoring her, but giving her a playful eye-roll, he looked back at Jane. "Do you want us to take you back home? We didn't drink as much. Well, I didn't. I could get you there and back rather quickly. I wouldn't want to abandon you with this lot."
As Jane was shaking her head, James came up behind Albus and wrapped his arms around his shoulder, "Don't worry baby bro, she will get home safely. I guarantee it."
"Ah, but who will get you home safely Jamie?" Albus said unconvinced.
"Don't be so quick Albus, I don't need a knight and shining amour. I was the one who volunteered to get your brother and cousins back to WWW tonight unharmed. It isn't too far from home for me." Jane jumped into the conversation.
She and James shared a small smile between the two of them, making Albus uneasy.
"Alrighty then. I'll leave you with it. Jane, see you Monday."
James gave his brother a big hug and whispered in his ear, "I like her Al, I won't mess this up. I'll owl you, so we can hang out. Maybe even see if we can get Lil in for some sibling bonding"
Albus nodded and smiled at his older brother and said goodbye to Rick and Laurel.
It wasn't uncommon for them to try and meet up just the three of them at least once a month. It pleased their parents very much.
"I am assuming your cousin is going to stay a little longer as well with the rest of them?"
"Correct, I wanted to make sure she was alright with the clear connection going on between your brother and Jane. She said she was fine and that she was focusing on someone else. Though she was doggy about who. Maybe Freddie?" Scorpius shrugged and took Albus' hand. "So what's next, love? I thought I heard Rox mention something about adult time." The two of them made their way out of the bar, it was before midnight. Albus could tell this due to the placement of the huge moon in the sky. "I am a little tipsy, but I could definitely go for a little-"
"Scor," Albus said interrupting him, "isn't that your dad's Patronus?" Albus noticed a glowing dragonfly, approaching them as they walked behind the bar to head to their home.
"Scorpius, you and Al need to get to the Manor as soon as possible. Something is going on with Andrew."
As Draco's Patronus faded away, so did the hope of a carefree night with one another. In a split second, the boys sobered up and apparated to the front doors of the Manor.
The only things they could hear were the screams and crashes from the other side.
A/N:
Leaving you all on a bit of a cliffhanger. Next week we find out more about Andrew and what has been going on with him.
Please continue to let me know how you all are enjoying the fic!
Until next week!
Jazz.
