Chapter 29: A talk, long overdue

Harry could see the surprise on his son's face as he exited the family fireplace, "What? Did you think we'd leave ya up by yourself?" He jested lightly.

Al shrugged, "No… I thought it be Mum is all. Erm how was the New Year?"

Harry twitched his nose briefly at his son's honesty but brushed it off, "Good, we just got back a bit after midnight-thought we'd catch you as we went in the door- but you must've had a fun night." He nodded lightly at the clock positioned above the fireplace mantle, nearing the one o'clock hour.

"Oh sorry, yeah Mrs. Malfoy wasn't feeling well, and Mr. Malfoy was taking care of her, so the time got away." Al explained, shrugging again.

"I see, okay…." Harry got up from his seat at the kitchen island, gesturing to two mugs sitting near a humming kettle, "Well your Mum thought you'd like a cup of hot chocolate to end the night… oh…. And your brother obviously thought you'd appreciated some snapping mints... I'm going to have a word with Uncle George about presents..."

What Harry assumed were marshmallows now popped and fizzled like champagne. Harry's shoulders eased into a more natural angle as he caught his son's smirk. He stretched the mug across the countertop as Al covered the chocolate spray lightly with his hand. And then, as the clicks and whistles settled, licked his hand so as not to waste any of the goodness.

"Well!" Harry snorted as he sent over a napkin, "Please tell me you didn't do anything like that at Draco's. Narcissa might have cursed this whole family."

Al nodded, "Don't worry, she said I'm very polite."

"I wouldn't expect less…" Harry scratched his head as he drifted off. He appraised his son, trying to choose the right words to segue them into talking about school. As his gaze roamed, he noticed a long, elegant scarf still loosely hanging unto Al's shoulders. "Did Scorpius give you that?"

Al touched the knitted stripes absentmindedly as he studied his Dad's face, "Yeah, well, his Mum made it… one for him too."

For a little longer than necessary, Harry nodded as his eyes seemed to search for prompts in the swirls of his hot chocolate. A delayed pop of a mint splattered a bubble of the liquid square onto his glasses to the amusement of Al. Harry readjusted the frames after wiping them clean. Feeling the atmosphere lighten again, he took a large breath, "So," he gestured to the scarf, "How's Slytherin been treating you?"

Now it was Al's turn to examine his drink like a pensieve, "It's been good… some ups and downs- but good."

"I see," said Harry slowly, though he jumped a little when his son's head suddenly snapped upright.

"Why… did, did McGonagall write here?" Al questioned, alarmed.

"We did receive a letter, yes- for detention." Harry tried not to look too serious, "And then another one came shortly after explaining that you seemingly need to defend Scorpius every time he ventures out of your Common Room."

Harry regarded his son, confused, as the boy seemed to take this news reassuringly, "Well…" he prodded, a little more sternly.

Once again, Al shrugged and Harry tried not to grit his teeth, "Yeah that's what I've had to do," He had the sense to look more contrite as he caught his father's glare, "I don't do anything that nasty, mostly disarming… sometimes a jelly-legs jinx. You should see what they try to hex him with."

Harry ran his hand through his hair, "And it's always in defense?"

"Of course it is." Al replied quickly, drawing his chin up.

"And Scorpius… he doesn't say things that are… off," Harry winced as those words clearly didn't resonate with his son well.

"What do you mean by…off?"

Harry tightened his lips, "Things about ancestry, magical worth… muggleborns…stuff that might instigate a hex or two."

"Dad," Al interrupted impatiently, "He's friends with a muggleborn- I told you about Jeya remember? He's been friends with her since they were small…"

"I know, I know Al," Harry held up his hand, "I just wanted to know… sometimes even when they think certain things, they can make exceptions…"

"No they don't" Huffed Al. Finally, Harry had lost his patience.

"You don't think I know what I'm talking about Al?" His temperature inched higher as his son remained stonily silent, "Your grandmother isn't here because of a Death Eater that was her childhood friend. So don't act like these things are coming from nowhere… I know how far you've gotten in 'History of Magic'- you know what Scorpius' family has done."

Al's eyes gleamed as he listened to his Dad. For a moment, Harry only heard shaky breaths coming from the other side of the countertop. But Al regained his voice before Harry could quite cool down "I don't care what someone else did, Scorpius doesn't believe in that stuff. None of it. Is that why you think people bother him? He's doesn't do anything!"

Harry realized all too late that the sparkles in Al's eyes were the edges of tears. They now spilled over in two neat lines. He closed his eyes and sighed, "Al, please. Okay I just want to know what's going on. I didn't send you to Hogwarts for you to turn into a human shield," Awkwardly, he extended his arm and ran his thumb in circles on Al's hand, balled in a loose fist, "Hey buddy, I'm worried about you that's all."

Al clearly wasn't calmed, but he had regained the ability to speak, albeit punctured, "They broke his things… take his stuff… they say all these things about him and Voldemort and his mom. And no one cares at all except us…"

Harry frowned, "Yeah James mentioned that…Haverford, well both of them, Driscoll and Adrian. They're a tough lot the two of 'em."

Al sulked, "Just ask James how bad it's gotten. Teddy says it's the worst he's ever seen the students. I can't even go near Gryffindor anymore without something happening."

"Yeah, James did mention that as well. Well, he said that he barely saw you before break… maybe you can try to visit him a little more. You can see Teddy and Rosie too-she seems to have a nice group of friends in her year…"

"Yeah, they're nice, but they don't like Scorpius all that much. They get all quiet around him and it make him feel weird. Plus, there's these two boys that have really turned out to be real gits…"

"Al mind your language!" Harry snapped. He sighed, "You don't need to bring Scorpius along all the time, do you?"

Al thought about telling his Dad that he mostly spent his evenings holed up in his and Scorpius' secret nook as the latter calmed himself from some incident that day. But something stopped him. So instead, perhaps a little too harshly, he replied, "Yes. I do."

Harry let out an exhausted breath, piquing Al's annoyance, "What?"

"I think that's ridiculous."

"Why? Why do I have to act like I live in two different worlds? Did you ever think to ask James or Rosie why they don't come down to my Common Room?"

"No," Harry conceded, "No, I didn't ask him that. Al I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I'm just trying to remind you that there are people outside of your little bubble with Scorpius. It's fine that you two have grown close, but you have more options as well…"

"If it's alright with you, I can make my own choices about my friends okay?"

"I know Albus, it's very clear what you've chosen…" Harry set his jaw as Al grew quiet again. "Al I just mean that I don't want you to think the world is against you… I want to know what's going on, a letter or two…"

"No," Al had on a face that Harry recognized. He'd seen it in the mirror after coming back from his first year at Hogwarts, stuck back at the Dursley's and hearing how troublesome his existence was. But he was no longer the scorned child rather… that thought pained him as his son continued. "You hate that I'm in Slytherin."

Well, they had finally gotten to the heart of it, Harry thought. Now he just had to convince him otherwise, "No I don't Al. I don't at all."

Al shrugged again, "Okay, great."

"Sarcasm isn't a great look on you Al," Harry replied coolly, "I don't want you in detention this semester. I want you to try to earn your House some points. I just… Al do you really feel like you fit in, in Slytherin?"

Harry braced for another wave of indignance, but he instead saw his son truly ponder that question. And, to his dismay, the thoughtfulness slowly gave way to sorrow.

"No, not really." Came a small whisper.

They sat in the silence of the now lengthy night, sipping on the last bit of hot chocolate that had long gone cold.

Finally, Al spoke again, "Dad, when you said you chose to be in Gryffindor… what Houses were you choosing from?"

The pained expression on Harry's face told him everything before he could reply.

"So, why did you choose not to be in Slytherin? Where you afraid you would become…bad?" Al finished in a rather small voice.

"No," said Harry quickly, "No, I was much more immediate, I guess. I mean I'd been told that Voldemort and other bad wizards were frequently placed there… but really, the thing that made it for me was that Draco insulted Ron just before sorting…" Harry's eyes drifted into the distance, " can't even remember what exactly, but the just was that he thought I needed guidance on meeting the right kind of wizard… and," A realization graced his features, "And I wanted to choose my friends myself."

Another silence fell between the two Potters, though this one was considerably more comfortable. A part of Harry thought it might be good to call it a night at that, but he needed to explain himself more fully.

"Look Al, I only asked about Scorpius because I heard Rosie say that he sometimes doesn't quite say the right thing. And I also heard that Jeya hangs out with Rosie and she's recently been coming alone so I didn't know if something happened…"

Al bristled, but he kept his cool, "Sure I guess he says some things that aren't the most sensitive, but he apologizes when Rosie tells him- not very nicely all the time either…. And yeah, Jeya's been a little distant. I don't know why, but Scorpius just feels down about it- he hasn't been mean towards her at all."

"Okay, okay," Harry stopped him, "I believe you, really. And I wouldn't have brought it up if I'd known anything about your side of the story, okay? But I didn't… and I want to. I want to know how everything's going with you."

"How can I get you to do that with me?"

Al looked up at the sincere pair of green eyes that begged him for an answer. But he hadn't a clue. Not when he'd much more likely go to his Mum as she never looked at him like he wasn't her son. Deep down, Al knew this wasn't fair to hold that episode over Harry's head for this long. His job was to chase Dark Wizards after all. But he also knew the fear he'd felt when a confounding hex once hit Scorpius and he saw his friend's eyes glaze over, disturbingly familiar…

Harry sighed, bringing Al out of his thoughts. His Dad nodded, sadly, "It's still about that, isn't it? I'm sorry son."

Al froze, mortified, as Harry grinned, "You're not the only one in this family gifted with remarkable perception, Al, and I've got many more years on you."

"Humph" Al muttered, though the serious groove in his forehead remained, "Well then you should also know that I really, really do hate Dark Magic…"

"I know."

The two trudged up to bed, but both took a while to fall asleep. Besides Scorpius, Al felt his relationship with the other first-years was less of a friendship than a sort of reluctant alliance against their many foes. And Rose did have a very nice group of friends- he could picture himself easily getting along with Ida and Anya… he'd love to know Aldo Creevey better. And in the back of his mind Al knew why Jeya was seeing less of Scorpius. He'd watched her become close with a few Hufflepuffs- they also seemed like a friendly bunch. Al squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to sleep, but awoke quickly when he saw himself walking up to the snow-strewn castle, bundled in a hand-knit scarf of red and gold….

"Did everything go okay," Ginny had roused awake when she felt the weight of her husband settle beside her, "I heard a few loud words…"

"No Gin, it was alright… somehow it ended up okay." Harry sighed. Ginny pursed her lips The disappointment was visible in the deep lines of Harry's face, enough to penetrate her half-conscious state.

"Then why aren't you happier?" she replied, shrewdly.

"Don't miss a thing do you?"

"Well I've had to get quite good at inferring things that you don't tell me." But she reached out her hand affectionately when Harry shrank at those words, "What?"

"Nothing…I guess I'll need to sharpen those skills with Al too." Harry replied.

"What do you mean? I thought he talked to you?" Ginny was becoming quickly more aware and more concerned.

"He still holds on to that bout I had, Gin- the mission in Wales." Harry watched his wife's face darken.

"I know it was selfish Gin. Going there alone, not telling anyone….I was just obsessed with finding her" Ginny put her hand up, as if swatting away his explanation.

"Harry don't. I know I said it was many things back then- but I know I never said selfish. I know the one thing about you is that you are not selfish at all."

Harry grew silent and Ginny sat up to face him, her brown eyes looking resolutely into his, "You think Al doesn't know he's got this whole big family looking out for him. Who can be there for him and who worries about him. Harry if you want him to believe that, you have to show him. Cause when you start wandering away-at dinner, on holidays-and aren't looking at anyone, a million miles away, I guarantee he's looking right at you and taking notes." She sighed.

"I know it's not selfishness Harry. But I just wish that you didn't make decisions like you did as a boy- when you knew there wasn't anyone looking out for you. I wish you'd never been in a place where that was true."

Harry lifted a stray lock of ginger hair from his wife's face, now falling back asleep. He smiled as he thought of how lucky he was to finally be a part of the Weasleys. But as sleep overtook him as well, he thought of another woman with red hair and a man with round glasses and another with darker black hair and deep-set gaunt eyes…

Presently, the third man appeared quite vividly before Harry. Though he was now returned to his former handsomeness, his features were fraught with worry.

"Harry? Harry!"

"Sirius?" Harry felt light as he took in the crispness of his godfather. I had been ages since he'd seen him so…lifelike

"Harry this is wrong, I shouldn't reach you like this." Sirius backed away as Harry reached out to hug him, "No! I don't know why you are so close… you are too close."

"What?" Harry stood with his arms still half outstretched. His voice, as well, felt oddly alive.

"Harry be careful please. You must be careful if he comes again. He did terrible things, Harry…. Regulus…. Regulus never came home…"

Harry bolted in his bed to golden rays peeking through the window. Good, he thought. He had an excuse to not go back to sleep.