Chapter 10: Careful
'Going to stay at the Manor for the day to spend time with Dad. Talked to Daphne, and will fill you in, work in progress. Hope it's fine I am leaving you with Andy. Enjoy the day with your family. See you at the house tonight. I love you both'
Since he had been up all night tossing, turning, and ranting about the paper, Albus decided to listen to Scorpius' and get some rest.
Once his fiancé had left for the Manor, Albus and his parents sat at the table and talked. It wasn't until he let the third yawn escape his lips that his mother suggested he go take a nap. Ensuring that she and his father could keep an eye on Andrew.
Albus didn't even hesitate. He climbed the stairs to his old bedroom and the second his head touched the pillow, he was out.
He woke up nearly two and half hours later by Scorpius' Patronus announcing that he would be staying at the Manor.
Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and stretched, and made his way out of the door. The voice he heard from the bottom of the stairs almost made him go back up and hide. It was too energetic for Albus who still felt sleep deprived.
"I am telling you squirt, there are little creatures called nargles that infest mistletoe and steal people's belongings. But you can't see them, so it makes it extra creepy."
"No way Jamie. Thems not real."
"Ask my Aunt Luna. I'm telling you, even though I haven't seen them, they sneak around and steal all of your shoes and toys. You better watch out kiddo, or they might catch you off guard." James stayed silent for a moment and in an instant yelled out grabbing the child and tickling him.
"Alright enough, James. He just ate lunch." Harry chuckled from the other side of the couch. He looked up and saw his youngest son staring at his brother and Andrew with a faint smile on his face, "Hey Al, how did you sleep? Your mother tried to come and check on you a dozen times."
"Good, it was needed."
"Hey bro, are you about to head out to meet the Mr.?"
Albus shook his head at his brother, "Scorpius sent a message and said he was going to stay at the Manor today with his dad. I'd figure me and Andrew could do the same."
James' smile lit up, "Lulu, come out here quick!"
In a flash, the men in the family room saw a blur of red hair appear in the doorway. "What! What's wrong James?"
"Al has the day off husband duties. You know what that means?..."
Lily caught her breath and smiled at her older brothers, "POTTER SIBLING BONDING!" She jumped up and down then stopped realizing something. "Oh no! Teddy is still out of town, he won't be able to come."
"It's alright he will understand, and we will make it up to him. So what do you say, Al? Spontaneous sibling day?" James opened his eyes wide and started making his way over to his brother to undoubtedly do something silly.
"Oh come, guys, not today. I still have Andy to keep an eye on." Albus tried to hide his smile as his siblings began doing a crazy dance around the house.
Harry chuckled at the goofiness, "me and your mum can take Andrew. We are meeting with Ron and Hermione at the Burrow."
"Oo can I? I wanna see grandpa Arthur. He has so many funny toys in his small house." Andrew rushed over to Albus and reached his arms up asking to be held.
"Dad are you sure? We already kinda just popped in this morning. I'm sure you and mum-"
"Your dad and I are more than happy to take him to the Burrow. Plus he won't be much of a bother, he and dad will have their hands full. I think Mum wants him to start cleaning out the shed." Ginny said coming from the stairs dressed and ready to go. It was only then that Albus realized his dad had his shoes on as well.
Convinced, Albus hugged the young boy in his hands and told him to be good. He kissed the boy and the trio headed out to the Burrow.
"Ah finally! So where do you two wanna go? I heard there is a new tea house near Hogsmeade, we can try that out."
"Sure Lils, that sounds alright. You in Al?" James said stepping into his shoes.
"Like I have an actual choice. I guess that doesn't sound too bad. It's better than where James took us last time. I couldn't get the smell of that smoke out of my hair for a week. It nearly drove Scorpius to sleep in the spare room.
"Well, we wouldn't want that, would we? We all know how you get when you don't get your daily dose of Malfoy affection." James teased, causing Lily to giggle and take Albus' arm leading him to the floo network.
—
"Al you should get some tea leaves and I can try and read them for you."
The three Potter children had made it to the tea house and ordered their specific drinks and took a booth in the back of the cafe. The room was colored in pick decor and had lots of moving pictures on the walls of various animals and Wizarding locations.
Though Albus himself wouldn't have chosen this place, he knew why Lily would and figured his fiancé might enjoy it as well.
"I did do quite well in Divination class," Lily continued.
"I know Lils, but I am okay. After everything this week, the last thing I need is a fortune."
"So how is the little one after his... wolfish episode." James lowered his voice to make sure no one heard him. Though his brother appreciated the effort, only he, his siblings, and the workers were in the cafe.
"He is doing well, as you can see he is back to his normal self. I think, from what Teddy told me, Scor and I should expect mood swings, tiredness, and weird food cravings right now. He did try and reassure us that these things can go away with age, or change up. I think we can handle that. Some people have it much worse, and we are just glad he doesn't have to transform."
"Agreed, I can only imagine Scorp. He wouldn't handle that very well." Lily took a sip of her drink.
"I mean who would! It's a lot. These two have just become full-time parents overnight and to imagine having a kid turn into a furry creature, would be too much too soon for anyone. Be grateful for a gene."
Albus nodded agreeing with his older brother. "So are you finally going to tell me about what I walked in on the other night between you and Jane?"
Lily looked shocked at the two of them, "Wait! Jane - Jane. Your co-worker Jane?"
Albus smirked at his sister, "yup it seems that she and Jamie here have been getting cozy since the bar."
James' cheeks turned a slight red which only happened on rare occasions.
James loved the spotlight, even from a young age. Albus had figured that's why he and Freddie stayed in trouble everywhere they went because they simply loved the attention.
It wasn't often that James got nervous, he was prone to oversharing with everyone he came in contact with, he was a nearly open book. But the Potters could contest his sense of keeping his love life private.
The older of the Potter children was a hopeless romantic and true to what Scorpius had said a few nights ago, James hadn't been in a relationship in a little over a year. He took breakups personally and never jumped right back into anything until he knew he was healed. Albus admired that about his older brother.
James let the flush die down from his face and cleared his throat to answer his siblings, "I am only going to tell you two because I know Jane will tell Albus eventually when you go to work on Monday, and I want to be the first to say it."
James took two sips of his coffee and chuckled as his younger siblings looked as if they would fall out of their chairs in anticipation.
"I like her."
"That's it, that's all your going to give us? Come on James don't be a prat, Tell us!" Lily had reached her hand over to grab his lower arm and squeezed as if he wasn't paying her any attention.
"It's true. I like her. She is pretty of course, but we also have a lot in common. It's weird because of all the times I have met her before I don't think we have spoken one on one. At the bar, we got that chance and a bit after everyone else went to bed. She is something and I am hoping it works out. I am taking my time though. What you saw the other night at mum and dads was just us hanging out. I didn't expect anyone to be home. Mum was supposed to be traveling and Lil's you are always at Hugo and Richard's, so I figured it was a nice place to avoid any reporters and such. You both know how private I am when it comes to dating."
Both of his siblings nodded furiously. "Right, so when you walked in you just caught us on a 'get to know ya hang' of sorts. Nothing too crazy."
"But you two were sitting rather close to one another it almost looked like you were about to kiss her."
Lily gasped at Albus' recounting of the other night making James join in the laughter. "Albus S. Potter, who would have thought you to be a town gossip. If you must know I was leaning in, but because we were whispering. I figured dad would be upstairs, but I knew he wouldn't mind as long as it wasn't too loud and we were behaving."
Albus took this answer and smiled at his brother, "well I hope it works out for you. She is a good friend of mine and she hasn't been very lucky with dating." Albus took a sip of his drink and looked into the glass, not wanting to look at his brother, "You are a lot of things James, but a manipulator isn't one of them. It's admirable the way you treat those you date, and if Jane asks, I will tell her as much."
"Oh dear, you're going to make me cry. Come here, little brother." James made a show of standing up and wrapping both his arms around his brother's head and kissing the top of his curls. "I Luv you Albie!"
Lily couldn't hold it in anymore, she laughed at her brother's antics. "Alright, alright you two, people are watching." She joked about the empty cafe.
"LuLu it's your turn. Tell us about Richard!" James demanded once he was back in his chair. He crossed one leg over the other and leaned in towards his sister.
"That is a no-go. You and Albus are a bunch of tattle-tells. I don't want everyone in the family to know. I have a hard time keeping Hugo's mouth shut."
"Well give us something Lu, are you happy at least?" Albus asked.
A small smile passed over her lips that could have been missed if one of them blinked. "Yes. You two know I wouldn't be there all the time if I wasn't. I mean I would, because Hugo and I see each other every day, but you get it."
At times Albus envied the relationships that his siblings had with their cousins. James and Freddie were inseparable as were Lily and Hugo. Though he loved all of his cousins, and they had definitely all gotten closer after the time-turner year, he still felt like he lacked what his siblings had.
"Good to hear! Now moving on to more pressing issues. Please tell me you guys have noticed the weird way Dad has been wearing his trousers. I mean come on old man, this isn't the stone age. Let the nineties go." James exclaimed, "One of us is going to have to tell him before he embarrasses us any further."
The younger Potters laughed as their brother good-heartedly teased their dad. —-
It was well past eight at night when Albus and Andrew made it home.
Earlier that day, once he and his siblings had finished their tea, they shopped around Hogsmeade and then made their way back to Potter's house to relax and play a few of their old board games. It was a good time, but without Teddy, they couldn't form teams and alliances.
An hour ago, Harry, Ginny, and Andrew came through the fireplace covered in dirt and complaining about how Molly had everyone either doing yard work or helping his granddad in the shed. Of course, his parents whined about their backs and knees hurting but Andrew had nothing but good recounts of the day spent in the fields.
"Alright love, it's time for a bath and then straight to bed. Get undressed and I'll meet you in there in a second."
"Okay!" The toddler ran off into the bathroom while Albus took his shoes off and got some water.
"Hello dear, I didn't hear you two come in." Scorpius's soft voice nearly made Albus drop his water.
He saw the blonde man round the corner, coming from the other room. "Scor, you scared the living mess out of me!"
The taller man only laughed and pulled him in for a light peck on the lips, "I apologize. Where is Andrew?"
"He is getting ready for a bath. How was your day with your dad?"
"Perfect. We had a lovely day reading and doing a few chores around the Manor. My talk with Daphne went alright too." Scorpius told Albus about the talk he had with his aunt and where they ended. He also told him that he hoped the talk meant something to her, as it did for him, and wished they could move past everything in time.
They talked for another moment before they heard Andrew scream, "I am ready now," and the two headed towards the bathroom.
"Hi, Scorpy. I missed you today. I gots to go to the Burrow and help grandma Molly and grandpa Arthur. We played all day long."
Scorpius picked the boy up, kissed his head, and placed him in the bathtub. "That sounds amazing! Though I did miss my boys today. How about we all do something fun tomorrow?"
"Yay! I am excited." Andrew exclaimed as he began to play with the toys in the water. Once he was occupied enough, Albus moved to sit on the closed toilet lid and let Scorpius stay on the side of the tub watching the boy.
"So I found out about James and Jane today." He said wiggling his eyebrows.
"I thought you were at the Burrow with your grandparents? How did you find out about James?"
"No, only my parents and Andrew went. I guess they were meeting Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione and got roped into Gran's chores. Lily, James, and I went out to some sibling bond."
Scorpius took a towel and began to wash over the young boy's body, "I love that for you guys."
"Yes, well anyway. James said he like-likes Jane. He didn't give too much, in true James fashion, but he said he is taking it slow and the two are getting to know each other."
"For James, that's a big deal. Your brother is so careful with his heart, you wouldn't expect it but it is very adorable." Scorpius finished washing the boy and let him play for a moment longer in the tub.
"I wouldn't call it 'adorable', but I'm glad the two met. I think they could be good for each other."
Scorpius agreed silently, "Alright time to get out. And get ready for bed."
The small boy moaned but stood so that he could be lifted out of the tub and wrapped in a towel. —-
Nearly thirty minutes later, Andrew was fast asleep in his bed. He had pleaded for a story, and two sets of good night kisses before his eyes shut.
The couple made their way into the living room and sat on the couch holding hands. Both of them were tired but did not want to make their way into their bedroom just yet.
"I was afraid you were mad at me today," Albus said suddenly in silence. Scorpius looked confused at him and he went on, "I was a bit of a hot head last night and this morning because of the article. I thought that was why you wanted to go to your dad's without me."
Scorpius turned so his body was facing the man beside him and made sure to not let go of his hand, " I wasn't mad at you. I will admit I felt I needed a bit of calmness after the last few days and I knew I could get it at the Manor with my dad. But I wasn't mad." He assured his fiancé. " I will admit, I wanted to talk to my aunt alone. I knew she would probably talk more freely if it was just me. Which she did. Besides, you have been taking the lead on a lot of things lately regarding our family, and I wanted to make sure I was doing my part."
"You never have to feel like you aren't going enough. You are the glue that holds us together. I am more of the mess that needs the fixing." They laughed lightly at Albus' attempt at a joke. "I know it can be a lot. We took a whole child into our lives. And I think we are doing a pretty good job of it."
"That we are." Scorpius agreed. He leaned his head on Albus' shoulder and closed his eyes. "I am glad it's you I am doing this with. My best friend and my partner. What could be better?"
Albus brought their linked hands up to his face and kissed the side of Scorpius' hand that had the engagement ring on it. "Me too, love."
A/n: Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed this week's updates. This chapter was shorter, but I figured we'd end the week on a fluffier side. Until next Tuesday.
Jazz.
