"To bake?"

Albus might have been learning to cook from his father lately but despite the bread recipe book Rose had gotten Scorpius for Christmas, he had never gotten the impression that Scorpius was particularly interested in cooking or baking, let alone to enjoy it so much that they had to do it at a sleepover when Scorpius could just snap his fingers to have the Malfoy house-elves eagerly bringing them all the delicious sweets and desserts expertly prepared by the house-elves themselves.

Scorpius had started blushing, "Do you remember me crying while eating Mrs Weasley's Christmas cake when you were here for breakfast, Albus?"

As if I could forget, thought Albus. Albus' grandma had given the Malfoys a whole box of Christmas cakes upon hearing his dad's plea to let Albus visit the Malfoys on Christmas morning. He could vividly remember his shock seeing Scorpius crying so soon again eating his gran's cake after having just cried earlier because he had been too moved by how people had been treating him better that Christmas. He had hid it well then but it had hurt him just to see his best friend, who he believed deserved to be happy more than anyone else, sad that Albus had made it his mission to comfort Scorpius whenever that happened.

"Of course I do, you said your mum used to bake Christmas cakes too but they're completely different."

"Well, my mum gave me a notebook of hers just before she died. It wasn't too organised but she wrote a lot of random things that meant something to her there, like a list of her favourite books, some of her favorite memories, messages that she had written especially for me to read someday, etc. Among those were her notes for her Christmas cakes. I don't think she had ever written a recipe before so it wasn't too clear and detailed and she used a few cooking spells there which I'm not completely sure could be replaced without magic but at least the list of ingredients is there. I've lost track of how many times I've read the book back-to-back now but I used to reread the recipes again and again, not daring to make it because I was too afraid of ruining it. Maybe eating that other Christmas cake motivated me, or I probably felt like I should try everything after almost dying, or maybe it was because I've read how you've been cooking with your dad, in any case, I finally started experimenting with it this Easter and I am hoping that by next Christmas, I will be able to recreate the cake."

This sleepover was surprisingly Astoria-centric to Albus but he did not really mind, however, something else was bothering him.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Scorpius. I enjoyed cooking with my dad so it'd definitely be fun cooking with you but… with something so meaningful in your family, wouldn't it be better for you to experiment with your dad instead of me? Baking a cake couldn't possibly make him more uncomfortable than making a house for Pygmy Puffs, right?"

"You don't miss a thing, Albus… Well, you see, I want to surprise my dad. I have no idea how many tries it will take for me to succeed but imagine me taking out the cake next Christmas out of the blue when he has absolutely no idea I've been trying to make it."

For some reason, Albus got the impression that Draco was not a big fan of surprises but he could not imagine him to dislike anything Scorpius did, especially something he did to remember Astoria.

"I bet your dad would be quite touched… but how on earth could you be experimenting with it right under his nose without him knowing?"

"I've tried it twice so far and it hasn't been too easy, I did have to tell my dad that I wanted to try baking myself since I rarely ever enter the kitchen. He has asked if I would like him to join me but I hope I didn't hurt him when I declined. I had to order the house-elves not to tell my dad no matter what and to eat it all or dispose of the cake secretly after I'd tried it…"

Scorpius said it as if ordering house-elves was something hard to do but Albus knew how tender-hearted Scorpius was and how much he loved the Malfoy house-elves like his family that it made sense to him that it would be somewhat difficult for Scorpius to be strict with his orders for once.

"I would have Becky help baking a bread with magic from Rose's recipe book simultaneously as I was baking the cake so at the end, I could pretend to dad that all I was trying to bake was the bread instead of the cake. I even had to make sure that Becky wouldn't bake them too perfectly to make it more convincing that I was baking them because of course she's the most brilliant cook there's. She was also able to cast a spell so the recognisable aroma of chocolate and cinnamon won't penetrate the kitchen wall as easily. It's kind of a shame as you know chocolate and cinnamon smell so good even though the cakes haven't been good so far."

Albus could tell Scorpius had gone to great length to try baking the cake for both Draco and himself. He had no idea how would the next Christmas be for the Malfoys and the Potters as he was not completely sure if his dad would let him spend the morning here or would they be able to somehow invite the Malfoys to join the Weasleys gathering at the Burrow since his gran had promised to invite Scorpius over someday but remembering his own worry about how Scorpius had been coping with his grief over the holiday these two years, he wanted very much for Scorpius to succeed in recreating something so precious to his memory.

"That's really neat, so do you want me to cook something on the side while you experiment with your cake to cover for you? It makes more sense for me to cook instead of Becky since you're doing this while I'm here."

"Oh right, that's great!" Scorpius eagerly clapped his hands. "So you cook now, Albus? Are you a good cook?"

Albus could feel his cheeks warming, "My dad said I'm pretty good but it wouldn't be fair for me to say I'm a good cook when I've only ever made a few pancakes and cook some eggs so far, would it?"

"Becky serves pancakes pretty often for breakfast but I actually have never seen it made myself, especially without magic, would I be the first person to have seen you cook, Albus?"

"Well, aside from my dad who taught me, my mum actually came downstairs early that morning so she got all excited and took a few pictures of us cooking," He rolled his eyes, "imagine that."

"Hm… I think I'd feel pretty excited to see you cooking with Harry Potter too." Scorpius admitted sheepishly.

It still amused Albus after all these years seeing his friend interact or observe his family like his family was some big celebrities. He knew very well that his dad was a war hero but growing up Albus had felt pretty normal especially because of how frugal his family had always been despite the small fortune his dad owned. His parents had felt ashamed of hand-me-downs as children so they had made sure to get Albus new stuff when it really mattered like school robes and textbooks and always something really nice for special occasions but Albus had had his shares of hand-me-downs, had to share so many things with his siblings and had always gotten not much for pocket money that he had never felt special in any way. Till this day, Scorpius still had the tendency to feel in awe of his dad which had honestly lost most of its novelty to Albus by now, especially because of the irony that Draco would take every opportunity to spoil Scorpius that he would imagine the Malfoys had been living way more like celebrities than the Potters had ever been.

"Let's go then, it's half past two… You wouldn't want to have pancakes right before dinner, would you?"

Draco raised his eyebrow when he heard Scorpius declaring that they would be in the kitchen making pancakes but he did not question them. The moment they entered the kitchen, Becky the house-elf eagerly rushed over and bowed very low, "How may Becky help you, Master Scorpius and Master Albus?"

Scorpius had taught the house-elves to address Albus as Master as a joke that kind of stuck, which had always made Albus a bit uncomfortable but he had gotten somewhat used to it.

"Becky, I'm going to try baking my mum's cake again, could you please get and organise the ingredients for me? I would also like to have some ingredients for pancakes laid out separately from the cake ingredients please."

"Master, you want some pancakes? Becky could serve some to you and Master Albus right away. We also have ice cream, cheesecake, creme brulee and apple pie."

"That's so kind of you, Becky, but Albus will be cooking today so just the ingredients will do. Thank you for offering though."

The tiny house-elf looked a bit disappointed but she bowed low and said, "Of course, r-right away, Master Scorpius."

The house-elf snapped her fingers and the ingredients for both Scorpius' cake and pancakes appeared instantly on the counter and were so organised that each ingredient was placed in a different container. As Albus looked at the ingredients, he realised a potential problem.

"Scorpius, I just realised that pancakes take very little time to make so it probably won't be enough to cover for your cake."

Scorpius frowned for a momen, "You could try making pancakes of different flavours then, didn't you tell me you and your siblings all prefer different types of pancakes?"

"We do and I did make three types of pancakes with my dad last time, it really doesn't take that much more time to mix in one different ingredient. I suppose a pancake tower would be more practical as a cover."

"A pancake tower! That's awesome!" Scorpius' eyes brightened but then the light dimmed as he asked, "Would it be too much trouble for you? You're our guest, Albus, I shouldn't be asking you to cook at all."

"Of course it's fine, I volunteered, remember? I actually quite like cooking… at least making pancakes and I want you to succeed too. My dad and I made about fifteen pancakes together last time, so it isn't that much a stretch to make a pancake tower. It's not like we need thirty pancakes to make it a tower. We could make a tower with different flavours of pancakes then decorate it, how long do you think you need to bake your cake?"

"I want to be the one making the cake so I never let Becky use magic to speed up the process before baking but once everything's in the pan, I'd have Becky bake it with magic for me so the baking could literally take just two minutes. I spent less than an hour in total each time."

"Good, then I think we probably would take around the same amount of time."

For the next hour, Albus could not help feeling amused seeing how frequently Scorpius got distracted by his cooking while he should be focusing on his cake. Scorpius had shown him Astoria's notes but he could not help his friend much in deciphering some deeper meanings in her words. Her instructions seemed too simple at times and Scorpius was too law-abiding to perform underage magic, which the Ministry would never be able to tell when there were the house-elves and Draco there, that he had no hope to be able to follow the recipe completely until he turned seventeen. Scorpius had said that his "cakes" for some reason had not been able to rise properly and were dense as rock before.

Albus was starting to dare to believe his dad's words that he seemed to have a bit of talent in cooking, at least when making pancakes. He had mixed eight small bowls of batter, each for two to three pancakes with an extra, different ingredient like strawberry, banana, chocolate chip, peanut butter and even Japanese green tea. His timing was good every time and he had been able to flip them perfectly so the pancakes would land right on the centre of the pan. Scorpius got so excited when he did it the first time that he dropped his mixer, which splashed quite a puddle of batter onto the counter, in order to start clapping. Albus let Scorpius try flipping but all he managed to do was to make the pancake do a little jump without turning. Scorpius did not seem to get tired of seeing Albus flipping the pancakes that he found himself still reminding Scorpius to focus on his cake after his tenth pancake.

Despite his distraction, anyone would be able to tell that Scorpius tried very hard but he could be a bit clumsy at times and he seemed to struggle the most beating egg whites, which he had to redo after dropping the whole batch on the counter when turning it upside down to test if it had been good enough. Albus tried to offer some suggestions when he could but he had not been able to help much since he had no experience in baking himself and had his own task to focus on. As expected, Scorpius' cake did not turn out too great even though it was neither burnt nor dense as stone like it had been the last time he made it. According to Scorpius, Astoria's cake used to be moist and fluffy but very rich in flavour. Both of them only ended up trying the thinnest sliver of a slice.

Albus' pancakes, however, turned out amazing. He had asked the house-elves to perform a warming spell to the pancakes to make sure they would not cool until he was done with the whole stack. The pancake tower comprised twenty fluffy pancakes in golden brown colour (except the green tea-flavored ones) all stacked together. The two boys decorated the tower with freshly-made whipped cream, fruits, ice cream, sprinkles and even edible flowers from the garden.

Scorpius had said that Draco did not eat desserts much but he insisted that they should show him Albus' pancake tower as well as to let him taste it. Albus found it a bit embarrassing but Scorpius made a big show of it by seating Draco in the dining room and introduced, "Hm," he coughed once, "May I present to you Albus' fabulous eight-flavoured pancake tower?"

Since the pancake tower was rather tall and slightly unstable, Scorpius had Becky rolled the pancake tower in on a silver trolley. He had asked if Albus wanted to push it himself but of course he had said no. (Who had a silver trolley anyway?) Albus could not help feeling quite pleased with himself when he saw Draco's eyes widened, clearly feeling impressed.

"As your father, I could only hope you're not planning to finish this before dinner but I must say, I'm starting to wonder if good cooking skill is a Potter's trait."

"Oh right, dad, you've tried Mr Potter's cooking as well!"

Albus could feel his cheeks warming, he had not expected Draco to compare him with his father at all, especially because his dad was an excellent cook. Draco seemed to have noticed his discomfort that he held up his hand, "But of course, that would be a bit unfair to you, Scorpius, since you must have helped him?"

"Oh, I just helped decorating a bit but the flipping was 100% Albus'!"

For a second there, Albus worried that Scorpius had accidentally blown his own cover but Draco merely looked amused without questioning why Scorpius had helped so little with the pancakes.

The pancakes turned out even better than last time that Scorpius stared at Albus goggle-eyed after taking his first bite, he exclaimed after swallowing, "This is amazing, Albus! You're amazing!"

Albus shrugged. "I-It's just pancakes…"

They did not end up finishing the tower but definitely ate much more than they should for an afternoon tea.

A/N: For a short while I've been writing alright but now I'm kinda back to how I was before. I haven't been able to write again for weeks so I've no idea when will I update next. Sorry that this short is getting longer and longer, I'm constantly annoyed by my tendency to expend things beyond control. At this rate, this sleepover will be way longer than the Easter gathering when (if) I do get to that. 2020 really has been pretty terrible so far, I shouldn't be surprised anymore when things got worse but I did anyway. Take care everyone.