Harry finally left home for work after Ginny had reassured him that she would keep a close eye on Albus for that day as well as the rest of their winter break. Fortunately, with the Quidditch season over, Ginny was able to work at home for this entire time to take care of their children, especially Albus.

It had been another chaotic day at work that by the time the clock struck nine in the evening, he had yet to touch on the report on the previous night's raid, which was due by the end of that day as the Ministry was supposed to release a statement to inform the Wizarding community about some irreversible damage done on Knockturn Alley as well as a more detailed description of the fugitive. Determined to spend some quality time and to countdown with his family on the one night of the year in which their children were allowed to stay up till midnight, he had no choice but to bring his paperwork with him to the New Year's Eve gathering at the Burrow.

When he had arrived at the Burrow's living room, Ginny, who had apparently been chatting chillingly with his parents-in-law, Angelina, Roxanne and Lily, immediately rushed forward to greet him with a kiss, despite the soot on his face. The kiss could not have been longer than ten seconds but was apparently annoying enough for James that he called out across the room, "I'm really happy to see you dad, but you two better get a room, it's so humiliating!"

"James Sirius Potter, 'us two' are your mum and dad and we are perfectly capable of grounding you for the rest of your break if you continue to talk to us like that." Ginny had transformed from welcoming wife into her no-nonsense matriarch mode in no time.

Not surprisingly, Ron decided to chime in in support of his nephew. "Give him a break, Ginny. James is absolutely right, you two have no right to subject us all to that, especially me. It's still disgusting as ever for me to watch after twenty-four years."

She rolled her eyes, "If it were up to you, I would still be a bitter virgin till this day."

"That's not true. When did I ever object to your relationship? But accepting my best mate as my brother-in-law doesn't mean I agree to look at you two snogging in public whenever you like, which is pretty much all the times."

"You know that isn't even snogging, maybe this is some unsubtle way for you to tell us that you want some demo snogging now…" Ron's face looked almost as red as his hair.

"Ginny! What kind of mother would say that in front of her own kids? That's enough for the both of you. It's New Year's Eve and Harry didn't rush here from work for this." The two youngest Weasley parents looked suitably embarrassed by their mother's scolding while she made her way through to hug Harry. Then it was Lily's turn. While his daughter was lovingly hugging him after not seeing him at all for two whole days, Albus gave Harry a slightly awkward smile across the room from the dining table, where he was seated along with Ron, James, Rose, George and his son Fred.

The New Year Eve's gathering was always more chilled than the Christmas lunch as there would usually be less people present and the feast would be much less elaborately prepared. Charlie had returned to Romania while Bill's family along with Teddy had travelled to France to visit Fleur's family. Harry was told that Percy had stayed for dinner but had left afterwards while Hermione was going to come in within an hour before counting down. Harry only had time to briefly chat with the group at the living room before borrowing Bill's old room, which had one of the best desks here, to work on his report. He did steal a glance of Albus, who was animatedly arguing with Rose about why Gonçalo Flores was one of the best current chasers, before heading up.

Ginny had told him that Albus had asked about him earlier in the day and he would have given his son a real greeting but seeing Al passionately discussing Quidditch with his family had given him such nostalgia that he would rather not disturb that. Albus had been a great fan of the sport like any other young wizard before going to Hogwarts, where his own inability to fly coupled with his hatred on houses' rivalry had killed his passion for the sport. Since overcoming his weakness in flying, Albus' love in Quidditch had rekindled and had become as strong as ever now that while Harry would not mind either way, he could not help wondering if his boy would end up trying out for the Slytherin team in the coming years. Of course, it was also wonderful in itself to see Albus simply enjoying himself after finding out about his nightmares.

It was almost eleven when Harry heard a knock on the door, he had cast a silencing charm that blocked out the noise from downstairs and had been remarkably productive that the report was almost done saved some editing work. He had expected Ginny or Molly entering with a mug of coffee or tea when he called out 'Come in' without turning away from his work since he was proofreading the middle of a paragraph. However, his curiosity got the better of him when he realised that the door had been cautiously opened yet no one had entered or said a word. He could not see the figure looming behind the door when he first turned around but once he leaned forward for a better look, he immediately spotted the messy black hair sticking out behind the door before Albus took a step to the right to show himself. It was surprising enough to find Al looking for him but he found it more surprising that his son appeared quite nervous and uncertain.

"Hello, Albus. Why don't you come in?" Harry gave his son a welcoming smile while gesturing for him to enter with a hand.

"Am I bothering you, dad? Mum said you are busy working on a report." The boy was indeed holding a mug of something but he remained glued to the spot.

"Of course you are not bothering me, Albus. Why would you think that? Is that for me? I could definitely use a drink now." Harry dramatically stretched his arms and gave a huge yawn.

"Yes, mum said you may be feeling sleepy that I should bring you some tea." Albus seemed grateful for his cue, he looked more relaxed when he opened the door wide then carefully walked in to avoid spilling before handing him the mug.

"Thank you." He took the drink and promptly took a big sip, before placing the mug on the desk at a safe distance from his report. Albus had sat on Bill's old bed by the time he turned back to face him.

"Are you done with your report, dad?"

"This is due within an hour but I'm finishing up so I'll definitely be able to make it on time."

"I see…" His son had looked down and started distractedly playing with his hands.

"What is it, Albus?" Harry asked as patiently as he could since he thought there was a chance this had something to do with his son's nightmares.

"I thought that you were upset with me since you didn't come over at all when you have arrived just now… then I got worried when you hid yourself here for so long. I thought it might have been an excuse…"

"Albus," there was an urgency in his voice that his son immediately looked up, "why would you think that I would be upset with you?"

The boy looked sideway to avoid his intense look, his lips twitched a little before saying "Be-because I… was so rude to you last night when all you were trying to do was to help me. I slept very well afterwards that you waking me up from my nightmare almost felt like a dream to me now. I… don't really remember well what we have said but I do remember me snapping at you and you promising I don't have to tell you about my nightmares."

"Oh Albus…" Harry had moved closer to wrap an arm around Albus' shoulders, "You have no reason to worry… You did snap, but it was just a natural reaction from me bombarding you with questions and suggestions. I would have done the exact same thing if I were you. And I didn't come over earlier just because I saw how engaged you were in your conversation. Had I known how worked up you would be, I would definitely have come over."

It pleased Harry to see how readily Albus had accepted his comforting and had wrapped his own arm around his back in return. Although the hug he had shared with the boy on his first day back had been nice, it had undeniably been awkward in ways, this hug, on the other hand, did not feel awkward in the slightest.

After they had let go, Albus finally looked Harry in the eye when he continued, "I keep hearing what you said to me last night, dad... It might be off but you said something along the line of 'you don't have to share your nightmares with me if you don't want to.'" While staring into his son's eyes, he was fascinated by the depth of their green. He wondered if his own eyes had the same effects on others the way his son's had on him now. Al might not look emotional but he felt like if he stared at the green hard enough, he would be able to stare into the boy's soul, how much easier it would be for him to be able to read his son's thoughts and emotions. What a crazy thought it was though. He knew he would never use legilimency on his loved ones even if his skill was not rubbish. He still remembered how invaded and humiliated he had felt when Snape had used it on him. Being a father meant he should always try to understand his children through communication.

"Yes? You're right, that was pretty much what I said." Could his son be about to tell him about his secrets?

"There's a big part of me that … really wants you to know, dad, but there's also another part of me that's… hmm…" The boy started to look away in search of his word.

"Worried?"

"Hmm… it's not exactly what I want to say but it's not wrong either. Hmm..."

"Scared?" This was certainly not the word he would hope for but the boy was in such a loss and he did have to go back to finish his report soon.

"Probably…" Harry could literally see some deliberation in Albus' part before he said, "It's not the most accurate word but it'd be easier for you to think of it that way… I seriously can't tell you about them now," he could now see an unexpected determination in his son's eyes, "but I do want you to know that it's not because I don't want to tell you. It's… complicated. I hope to be able to tell you someday."

Looking at how hard his son was actively trying to communicate with him was almost like looking at a mirror for him, like looking at himself talking with Al the previous night or before Christmas. It could possibly take many years for them to ever be able to openly discuss their feelings with each other, but for now, it was more than enough for Harry to see that both of them were genuinely trying to connect with each other, which was why he gave his boy a knowing smile and said, "Thank you, Albus."

"Thank you? For what?" His son was taken aback and looked extremely confused.

"For telling me how you feel, it means so much for me. I'm proud of you."

Albus eyed him suspiciously as if trying to decide if Harry was joking, but one look at him seemed to have soothed his suspicion then his face started flushing as if all his blood got pumped to his face at the same time as he processed what Harry had said. His boy had never been able to take compliments well.

Wanting to ease Albus' embarrassment, he casually asked, "So… how's your day, Albus?"

His son looked relieved from the distraction that he immediately sat taller and leaned forward, "It's great actually! I slept in that I almost woke up at noon. Oh I didn't get to tell you dad, I have received another letter from Scorpius yesterday…" Albus was positively radiating happiness talking about his best friend.

A/N: I was going to finish New Year's Eve in one chapter but decided to cut it into two parts so I can at least post something this week. Despite Albus being a more annoying version of OotP Harry for the majority of the play, it's actually quite obvious that he does love his father a lot so I believe Harry wouldn't be the only one putting in all the efforts in this relationship. However, sometimes I do wonder if this drags to you as the plot is indeed moving much slower than I had expected but I do like it myself and it takes time to develop any relationship and trust that I don't want to rush just to get into the meatier parts.

Thank you so much for all your wonderful support again, I have been having a terrible week but you all keep me motivated enough to keep writing. please comment =)