Draco looked directly into the boy's green eyes, which looked identical to Harry's. Talking to the boy felt a lot like talking to Harry, Albus' gaze looked so honest and serious it was easy to forget that the boy was not even fifteen. However, it appeared that he had taken a moment too long being lost in his own thoughts.

Albus abruptly looked down, "I'm sorry, Mr Malfoy. That was very rude of me, please ignore it and pretend I haven't asked about that."

"Albus," Draco called the boy gently that he looked up with curiosity, "there is no reason for you to apologise at all. I do want to tell you about my nightmares, which was why I brought it up in the first place. Scorpius told me that he had told you all about the war, you might be familiar with what they call the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, in which I had arranged for an army of Death Eaters to infiltrate Hogwarts."

"I-I… do know about it. But please, I'm not even sure if I really want to know about it."

"That's fine, I won't bother you with the specifics… but I dreamt mostly about one moment from that night every night for a year," one look at Albus told Draco that the boy knew exactly which moment he was referring to, "only for that nightmare to be replaced by a room of fire. More accurately, it was a room of fire in which I got chased by cursed fire dragons, serpents and the likes."

"Oh…" The boy was speechless for half a minute before he weakly managed, "That was terrible."

"I suppose it was, I bet yours are pretty terrible too in their own way, but of course there's no merit in comparing the terribleness of our nightmares. What I do want to say is this, what you have been through, Albus, was traumatic and you having nightmares is neither a sign of weakness nor anything to be ashamed of."

Draco felt like such a fake even though he meant every word he said as the delighted taunting voice of his thirteen-year-old self rang in his mind, You fainted, Potter? You actually fainted? For the millionth time, Draco wondered if Scorpius' had been bullied in school as punishment for his own wrongdoings in his youth, or what the Muggles called karma, a word he had come across reading books recommended to him by Scorpius. He had to admit that there was actually a lot of depth in Muggle's ideologies, religions and technologies, things he would not care enough to learn about if it had not been for Scorpius, who was interested to learn about literally anything, in addition to the fact that he had all the time in the world but little to do since Draco had no reason to work given the enormous Malfoy's fortune and the unfortunate circumstances that anything the Malfoys did would be under public scrutiny.

He coughed unnaturally before taking a sip of his tea, but the boy seemed to pay little attention to his uneasiness. Albus reached for the mug again only to realise that it was empty. Draco immediately snapped his fingers again.

"Yes, Master?"

"Becky, please refi… actually, Albus, would you prefer a hot chocolate instead of milk?"

"Chocolate would be nice, thanks Draco… I mean, Mr Malfoy."

Draco smiled a little as he remembered how Scorpius kept trying to call Harry Mr Potter but would often slip up with Harry insisting it was fine for Scorpius to call him Harry.

"Becky, please bring Albus a cup of hot chocolate." As expected, the house-elf disappeared then returned within seconds before handing Albus the drink then apparated out.

"Albus, you can call me Draco if you want." He said while Albus was quickly devouring the drink.

The boy replied after swallowing his large gulp of hot chocolate. "I prefer calling you Mr Malfoy, but thanks."

"Okay."

"My dad has said the same thing about the nightmares too."

"What?" Draco had been distracted that he forgot what he had been saying just then.

"That I should not think anything less of myself because I've been having nightmares."

"He's right about it."

"Do you still have those nightmares, Mr Malfoy?"

"Sometimes." As much as he wanted to give this child a better answer, Draco could not lie about this, but he added, "But I've been dreaming much more about Astoria the past two years, and Scorpius since your adventures."

"I see."

Albus looked so intently at his mug as if he was trying to study it when he said, "Mr Malfoy."

"Yes?"

"I-I'm so sorry for dragging Scorpius into this whole disaster and for getting h-him... tor-tortured." Albus was obviously trying to sound brave but his voice was shaking by the end of the sentence.

Draco imagined that if Scorpius had been killed or permanently harmed in any way, he would have been extremely mad at Albus and likely never be able to forgive this vulnerable boy even if he had known the full extent of Delphi's involvement. However, as things stood now, even though he would never openly admit to the boys, he was incredibly grateful that they had taken the Time Turner, for he had no confidence that he would have been able to mend his relationship with Scorpius to this point without this disaster. He did not want to tell Albus that he had done a good thing because it was not technically a good thing and an innocent boy had died but it was heartbreaking to witness his remorse that he instinctively reached out to pat his shoulder.

"I don't know if Harry had told you this but Albus, I don't blame you for anything that happened, including the Cruciatus Curse that she cast on Scorpius. It was all Delphi's fault. But if it matters to you... I forgive you."

The tear was freely flowing down Albus' cheeks by now. "My dad did tell me that… but it was something that I had to do."

"I still do not think that it was necessary, but I appreciate it. That was very brave of you, Albus."

"It was nothing," Albus roughly wiped his face once on his sleeve before looking up again, Draco could tell that it made little difference. He conjured a tissue and handed it to the boy, who readily received it before blowing on it.

Albus took a deep breath before continuing, "It was nothing compared to witnessing the curse. I thought she was going to hurt me and I had accepted it… but she saw right through me… I was the one who started it and dragged him along so it should have been me, I wish she would torture me instead… I-If anything had happened to him, I...I don't know what I'd do and I, I would never be able to live with it for the rest of my life. H-He's the best person I've ever known."

Draco had always known that Albus and Scorpius were inseparable and he had been accustomed to the way Scorpius constantly talked about Albus but somehow, it felt much more impactful for him to witness Albus talking about Scorpius this way. For as long as he would live, Scorpius would be his life and purpose but it had always worried Draco that Scorpius would be alone in this cruel world which had shown little kindness to his family if anything ever happened to him. Of course it was completely inappropriate for him to appear glad at this moment but he was indeed very glad to be reassured that whether the boys would become something more than friends or not, there was someone in this world who cared almost as much about Scorpius as he did.

Draco looked directly into Albus' eyes when he said, "I know this is not an easy thing I am asking you to do, Albus, but you need to learn to forgive yourself."

Albus stared at him in shock and disbelief, before turning away and said, "You don't understand, Mr Malfoy. You see, I had always been this biggest loser, failure and disappointment to everyone. Growing up, everyone had expected me to be Harry Potter Number Two, a Gryffindor, a great Quidditch player, brave, confident and strong. But I was nothing. I'm a Slytherin, I fell on my ass in every single flying lesson for years. My potions exploded, I couldn't even utter a simple spell. I had always been this big fat disappointment to everyone, my father, my siblings, my cousins, my professors, all of the students, everyone… Everyone except Scorpius, the one person who has always accepted and even appreciated me for who I've always been, not who they wanted me to be, the Slytherin Squib and all. I can't get his look of pain, hurt and just pure disappointment out of my head even if I try... Because you're a terrible, the most terrible, friend... He said that when we argued in the library in the alternate universe… I put that look, that pain and disappointment there, he's the one who had lost his mum, he's the one who's been called the Son of Voldemort, I should be lifting him up, instead of dragging him down. He didn't ask to come… I forced him to. He called me the boy who doesn't ever give anything back… and he was absolutely right about that… about me."

"And what was his reward for sticking with me through all of that? To be tortured. Scorpius is the most trusting and accepting person in the world but he didn't trust her from the get-go… I should have trusted his instinct and not have followed her lead. Even after everything, he has kept protecting me by insisting that he shared equal responsibilities for the incidents, which is just completely wrong."

Scorpius had recounted their whole adventure to Draco so he was aware that the boys had argued in the library, in this alternate world where Albus and Scorpius had been sorted into different houses and just like they had been in the reality Draco knew, been purposely separated by Harry Potter. He did not know for sure what the Draco Malfoy in that world had done for his son but Scorpius had mentioned crying to him there. Scorpius had largely glossed over the details of the argument when he had recounted it to Draco but he did repeat these words that Albus had said to him, I don't think Voldemort is capable of having a kind son - and you're kind, Scorpius. To the depths of your belly, to the tips of your fingers. I truly believe Voldemort couldn't have a child like you.

Draco could vividly see the look of pride, fondness and pure happiness on his son's face when he had repeated the words. He himself had been very moved by those words as he understood then that this Potter boy had been able to see the best in Scorpius, the same qualities his son had inherited from his beloved Astoria. Scorpius had contentedly stated that they had made up after this then promised to be friends forever before Albus pulled him into his second hug ever. Draco wished that he had a Pensieve so he could just show Albus his memory now to convince the poor boy that Scorpius had not been that hurt and disappointed by him. Even if he had, Scorpius was someone who always preferred to remember the good instead of the bad that no doubt his son had chosen to move on from that moment of hurt instead of dwelling on it.

As for Albus' obsession about his own guilt and responsibility, deep down Draco did know that Albus had been more responsible in the disaster than Scorpius but what right did he, a Death Eater who had tortured and almost killed under Voldemort, have to judge a fourteen-year-old who had messed up because he had believed himself to be righting a wrong and had been cruelly manipulated by the daughter of Voldemort. Not to mention, this naive boy had lived under the enormous shadow of Harry Potter his entire life, something Draco could relate to all too well, and upon his failure, Albus had clearly beaten himself up without an outlet to express the full extent of the guilt he had felt.

Then there was Harry, who had expressed nothing except concern over Albus for his the traumas he had experienced and the nightmares he was suffering from, as well as pride in the boy for the braveness he had shown defying Delphi and cleverness in finding the way to communicate to them through that blanket. Of course he did not know for sure how Harry had felt about Albus before the disaster but he would be willing to bet a big fortune that Harry had not been disappointed in Albus. Draco was strongly reminded of how Scorpius had once believed himself to be a disappointment to him, which could not be further from the truth, just like Albus' misconception about Harry's expectations that he would believe himself to have been a big fat disappointment to his father.

Albus was at the same time both very similar to and very different from Scorpius. Similar in the sense that they both shared complicated expectations from family and themselves, as well as an inferiority complex; different in the sense that they had completely different personalities and likes, but the more Draco got to know Harry and Albus, the more he felt that it had been fate that drawn the two boys, as well as their fathers, together and in ways that might not have been completely revealed, they would somehow be connected always.

"People say things they don't mean when they are mad, Albus." Albus did not appear to have heard his words at all as he stared intently at his ball of tissue. Draco casually handed Albus a new tissue as he continued, "I know my son, Albus. I know he was not lying when he happily declared at least a dozen times how you are the most amazing friend there is after your little adventure with the Time Turner. I would not deny that it must have been a moment of deep hurt and disappointment to him that he would say those things but that's the thing about friendships or any kind of relationship. You made mistakes then hopefully learned something from them. You two quarrelled and made up. You apologised and Scorpius forgave you. You learn more about each other and your friendship grows and develops overtime, as do you as a person. I can see that you have let that guilt eat you up that you may not believe me. Would you like me to repeat the words you had used to describe Scorpius at the library which my son had proudly recited to me a few times that I have it memorised?"

"Please don't… Mr Malfoy. T-That would be really embarrassing."

"And I can't believe I'm saying this but… although I have to admit that the fourteen-year-old Harry Potter was a decent Quidditch player and brave… to a certain extent, he was anything but confident and strong in my opinion… Your dad was thrust into the spotlight the moment he re-entered the Wizarding World and he was just forced to act and fight in most of his adventures. He was able to come through most of the time but it was through luck, a lot of much-needed help from Granger and on the rare occasions Weasley, and the stubbornness to not give up. If anything, I believe he was more insecure than most young wizards except when he was in his element. Of course he would always pretend to be stronger and braver whenever I was provoking him but that's beside the point. You might call me biased but Harry wasn't even that great a student, he was good at Defense Against the Dark Arts and Flying lessons I'll give you that, but just average in most other subjects, even with Granger's help. He had gotten into some pretty big troubles over the years so he was hardly a model student. It might be a lot of pressure needing to live under his shadow but your father had to live up to the expectations for The Boy who lived, or more precisely The Baby who defeated the Dark Lord, when he had grown up believing himself to be a Muggle. Even though you may believe that you are constantly messing up and not living up to your family's name, your father wasn't as brilliant in his teenage years as they make him out to be and you two are actually more alike than you think."

Draco could literally see Albus processing his words that Albus took a whole minute to finally admit, "I...I have never thought about my dad in this way. Hearing about everything he's done… it had always sounded to me that everything had come easy for him."

"You may find that parents have the tendency not to be completely honest about the kind of person they had been and things they had done as teenagers, especially things that had gotten them into trouble, in front of their children. I'm already a poor excuse of a father to Scorpius, I think I'd rather kill myself th-than... to tell him all the terrible things I'd said and done in your age." Draco was so taken aback himself by how honest he was being in front of Albus that he briefly stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

"Scorpius loves you, former Death Eater and all." Albus said matter-of-factly, then added with a fond smile, "And I think he'd be excited to hear all about the feud between you and my dad in Hogwarts from you."

Draco was impressed by how this fourteen-year-old could be so blunt yet somehow, he could not find his words to be offensive even if he tried. In fact, he appreciated Albus' honesty a lot, which was so much more likable than all the silent contempt and frosty politeness he had endured so much over the years. Despite their lack of personal interaction, Draco was reminded that this was not even the first time Albus had displayed these qualities of his in front of him.

"Do you remember the last time the two of us have talked on our own?"

"Of course… I don't think it'd be possible for me to forget a conversation like that."

Back when the boys were in their First Year, Draco had felt extremely grateful when he had first learned that Albus had stood up against his own cousin to befriend Scorpius. They had met briefly on the platform before and after holidays but he had asked to talk with Albus on his own when the boy had first visited the Malfoy Manor during their first summer holiday because he had wanted to thank the boy formally for all that he had done for Scorpius. Any twelve-year-old who had been asked to talk alone with the father of his friend, who just happened to be a former Death Eater, would be nervous, Albus had been no exception but that nerve completely yielded to shock when he had thanked him then to a weird stubbornness which had made quite an impression on Draco and had reminded him strongly of Harry. Albus had insisted that he had done nothing to deserve his thanks and it had been all thanks to Scorpius that he himself had survived his First Year in Hogwarts and would hear nothing more of his thanks.

"I had not thanked you again for being Scorpius' friend after that day but the truth is, I have felt immensely grateful for your friendship with Scorpius every single day, especially the past two years. You think you had been a terrible friend to Scorpius, Albus, but you can rest assured that if you had been terrible, which was not the case at all, you were still a much better friend to Scorpius than I had been as a father for the longest time. You stayed by his side after Astoria's passing, something I, as Scorpius' father, had not been able to do and it will always be one of my greatest regrets. He might not have confided in you at the time but I know that your presence had made all the difference and for that I am eternally grateful."

Albus' face had turned bright red but at least his eyes did not look as bloodshot as before. "Now I don't really know what to say."

"You can say 'You have absolutely no reason to thank me." as you did almost three years ago." Draco deadpanned, then continued with a mischievous smile as he saw Albus' shocked expression. "Or a simple "You're welcome." will suffice."

"You're welcome, Mr Malfoy." Albus gave him a sheepish smile.

"I know I hadn't been a good friend to Scorpius in the past," Draco wanted to interrupt but he did not as he could see the solemnness and sincerity in his eyes, "but for the past five months, I've been trying to be better for him, to become a better listener instead of focusing on myself all the time, to encourage Scorpius to talk more about Mrs Malfoy."

"I am sure Scorpius appreciates that a lot." Albus gave him a small nod. "And this is actually something the two of us have in common. Scorpius and I had not talked about Astoria at all before Christmas but we have since talked about her every chance we got. It's good to have someone to reminisce about a deceased loved one together."

"That makes sense." The boy looked lost in thought for a while before he abruptly looked up. "Mr Malfoy?"

"Yes, Albus."

"It's been nice, actually great, talking to you but could you please keep our conversation a secret from my dad?" Albus looked really nervous, Draco imagined that if he had been Harry, he would have given anything to have Albus confide in him this way but he knew better than anyone how fragile a boy's trust could be that he nodded solemnly. "I promise."

"Thank you… Actually, could you not mention it in front of Scorpius as well?"

Draco resisted an urge to sigh before taking a moment to reply, "Of course."

Draco saw the deep frown on Albus's face eased into a relieved smile. "Thank you so much, I really appre…"

"Albus, is that you?" asked Scorpius as he quickly ran down the stairs.

Albus quickly wiped his eyes again with his little ball of tissue before tossing it away.

"There you are, Albus! I was so worried about you." Scorpius confusedly looked between the two of them before greeting him, "Good morning, dad."

"Good morning, Scorpius."

"I-I'm sorry, Scorpius. I just wanted to get a drink."

"You should have woken me up! You're my guest and it's my job to take care of you, Albus." Scorpius put a hand on his chest as he said.

Scorpius looked as angry as Draco had ever seen but there was something so lovable about him that Draco felt his mouth curling into an involuntary smile at the sight. Albus obviously felt the same as he stood up, reached up to pat Scorpius' head.

"I just thought you could use the extra sleep. I really am sorry, Scorpius. Your dad did take care of me anyway so it's okay."

Scorpius turned to Draco, "Thank you so much for helping Albus, dad." He did not wait for Draco's response before turning to his best friend, "It's still not okay but just remember not to do it again. And you can't just pat someone's head when he's mad at you, especially someone who's older than you."

"Said who? You shouldn't have brought your Pygmy Puffs with you if you wanted to look intimidating and for me to take you seriously. And you might be much taller than me, but you're only a few months older than me, Scorpius."

As always, the creatures were perching on Scorpius' shoulders again. At this point, it was almost like they were permanently stuck there that Draco let out an involuntary laugh. Both of the boys turned and stared at him in shock. He coughed before saying, "That's rude, I'm sorry, Scorpius."

"That's fine, dad… Anyway, I heard voices, what were you two talking about?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all… nothing important I mean. I was just telling Draco that the weather is nice."

Draco had rearranged his face to look neutral following his outburst, "I agreed that this should be perfect for Quidditch."

"Really?" Scorpius narrowed his eyes in doubt despite his trusting nature.

"Of course, what else would we be talking about? Anyway, I'm starving. Could we go have breakfast now, Mr Malfoy?"

"Sure, the house-elves should have everything ready by now." Draco gestured with his arm out towards the direction to the dining room.

"Let's go, Scorpius." Albus put his arm behind the still hesitant and puzzled Scorpius to urge him out. His hand jumped as Severus the Pygmy Puff apparently tried to bite him. Draco's eyes followed them out but he remained where he was wondering how Albus would choose to have a heart-to-heart with him of all people.

It was something that had never crossed his mind and Draco would never admit it to Harry or Scorpius but surprisingly, Albus reminded Draco a lot of himself, both of them had been insecure under the shadows of their own families and Harry Potter, and both had felt eager to prove themselves to their dads at one point in their lives. He might not have known Albus that well personally, but in ways Draco felt that he had never felt as connected and relatable to another person in his life. He had made a pact with Harry during Christmas to look out for each other's son as a favor and a mutual benefit but Draco found that he had grown to care about Albus deeply and wanted to protect and help him almost as much as he would for Scorpius.

A/N: That's a wrap for the tangent side fic that had somehow taken almost two years to write. Writing has been really difficult for me now but it's refreshing to be able to finish a fic I started, even though it's just a short within a fic. I spoiled the main concept of a fic I've wanted to write since pretty much about the same time as I first started this fic. I'd still want to write that fic someday but I don't think I'll do that until (if) I'm done with this fic. A good news is that I've finally resumed writing my main fic after a two-year-hiatus.

As always, thank you so much for everyone who has commented. The continuous support of my long-time readers means a lot to me but it's always nice to have new readers found my fics and commented that I'd love to reply them personally. Unfortunately, two of the lovely comments I got recently were from guests. Thank you Katherine and especially to the anonymous guest who left the essay of a comment, I've been feeling disheartened and frustrated but your comment alone moved me so much and gave me so much motivation to continue.

I'm quite happy with how this short turned out and it'd mean so much to me to hear your thoughts about it. Please comment =)