Lily looked up at James in bewilderment. 'How?' she mouthed. James shook his head in bewilderment.
Even after the two pulled away, Harry didn't let go of Scorpius. "You're so tall!" he gushed. "You're all grown up!"
"Well, it's been so long," Scorpius mumbled while Lily and James slumped in embarrassment. Their father was always so… unguarded.
"Oh!" Harry quickly turned Scorpius towards the three Potters standing off to the side. "My children."
"Of course," Scorpius smiled politely. "I'm Scorpius."
"And that's James, Albus and Lily," Harry introduced. "You finally get to meet them after all this time, right?"
Scorpius opened his mouth to try to thoroughly clear that up but was interrupted. "You're as humiliating as ever, Potter."
Harry turned with a defeated smile at his lips. "Of course," he murmured, shaking his head at Draco Malfoy.
The door suddenly swung open behind them. Usually, dramatic entrances pointed to…
"Squirt?" Teddy gasped, staggering to halt in front of the reunion. "What the hell?"
Scorpius grinned sheepishly.
"Man!" Teddy crowed with laughter as he pulled the younger man forward and ruffled his hair. "Long time!"
"You are all making a scene," Draco drawled.
"Right, right," Harry rushed. A few minutes later, all seven of them were seated around a long table in one corner of the room, away from prying eyes. It was certainly bound to be a strange dinner.
Harry and Draco were sat opposite each other at one end of the table while the rest scattered themselves beside the men. The Potters were frantically conversing with each other without words and watching on as Teddy poked fun of Scorpius good-naturedly.
"Last time I saw you, you were tiny!" he exclaimed.
"And now I'm taller," Scorpius grumbled. "Deal with it."
"It's so great to see you!"
Scorpius smiled begrudgingly. "It's nice to be back."
So apparently Scorpius and Teddy were buddies. But what on Earth was Draco Malfoy doing here? The Draco Malfoy. That heinous man. A heinous man in a button-up shirt, dinner jacket and sleek trousers. A heinous clean-shaven man with slicked hair. A heinous man who was having a relaxed conversation with Harry Potter.
"What's going on?" James asked loudly.
Harry and Draco didn't even look up at the question, too deep in their rally to hear the question.
Teddy, however, was more than eager to share the whole story. "This here's my baby cousin," he simpered.
"I'm not a baby anything," Scorpius sighed.
"How do you know our father?" Albus wanted to know.
"Well." Teddy cracked his fingers as he got ready to tell the tale of the Malfoys. "Here's how it all began."
"I need a favor."
Harry must have looked shocked upon hearing that statement because Theo simply glared at him, implying that he would never say those words again. After getting over his amazement, the Auror finally said, "Alright." This was the first time Theo had appeared so defeated and confounded. "What's wrong?"
"It's not me. It's… about Malfoy."
Harry bristled. But he was diplomatic enough not to voice his opinions on Draco Malfoy. "Alright," he said again. "What's wrong?"
Theo let out a huge rush of air. "I'm sick of it," he exploded. "I'm sick of the way they're being treated. It's not fair! It's just not fair, Potter!"
"Wait, wait, wait," Harry hurried to say. "What's going on?"
"They're being ostracized! Everywhere they go, anywhere they go, they-It's just… They have a kid, for fuck's sake!"
"Oh."
Theo pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down. His headache had bested him many times but now was not the best moment. "Could you help them start over?" he asked.
"Start over?" Harry blinked in confusion. He wasn't sure what that meant.
"Just help them relocate somewhere and start over," Theo continued. "That's all they need. Shit, that kid's going to go to Hogwarts in a few years and I'm seriously scared, Harry. I mean, what if… Shit!"
"Malfoy's kid?" Harry faltered.
Theo nodded silently.
Harry wasn't a fool. He knew exactly how Dark Army followers were being treated after the war. The ones who had not been sentenced to Azkaban had almost no chance of a normal life. They were looked down upon, denied jobs and given less than adequate service. But he hadn't thought that the problem was spilling over into the next generation as well. "What's his name?" he asked.
"Scorpius."
"Hmm."
Two days later, Harry found himself standing in front of Malfoy Manor with Theo knocking on the door for him. "They have no idea I'm visiting, do they?" he asked.
"It's better that way," Theo reassured him. "I'll talk to them first, alright? Don't say anything stupid."
"You dragged me into this!"
The door opened to reveal a very surprised Astoria. She stared at Harry for the longest time without shame. Harry simply shrugged and attempted to smile. Theo cleared his throat when the silence grew much too uncomfortable to stand. "Could we come in?" he asked.
"I…" She glanced behind her nervously. "Alright." She let the men through. Theo shooed Harry into the room right by the foyer, motioning for him to stay. Then he ushered Astoria into what appeared to be the dining room.
Harry walked into the refurbished room, struck by many memories of the war as he heard his echoing footsteps on the marble floor. He sat down on the couch to shake off his nervousness. He didn't exactly have a friendly rapport with the Malfoys, after all.
He winced when he heard muffled commotion just two doors away from him. There was no mistaking Draco's outrage and Theo's rebuttal. He tried to stop his jiggling knees. He shouldn't have agreed to this. He had just walked into the snake's lair.
He glanced up when he heard a soft whisper.
A small, gangly child stood in the middle of the doorway with his tiny hands clutched in front of him and his naked feet scuffing the cold marble.
"Hello," Harry greeted.
The boy shook his head quickly.
Harry smiled. The boy was supposed to be James' age, but he looked no older than Lily. "Are you Scorpius?"
The boy appeared dubious for a moment. But then he shook his head again.
"Oh, you aren't?" Harry asked. "Well, that's too bad. I'm here to see Scorpius. Do you know where he is?"
The boy shook his head with a violent motion this time.
Harry sighed dolefully. "Then I suppose I'll just have to wait for him here."
The boy chewed on his lip. Then he inched forward while keeping his distrustful grey eyes on the strange man in his house. No one ever visited his house.
"My name is Harry. Harry Potter."
Scorpius froze in fright. Did he say Harry Potter? "You're lying."
Harry's smile widened. The child even sounded like an obstinate Draco Malfoy. "Am I?" He brushed his hair back. "I have the scar, see?"
Scorpius scrambled forward and peered up at the faint scar, his small mouth parted in awe. He knew all about Harry Potter. "Can I touch it?" he asked in a whisper.
"I suppose."
Scorpius pressed his cold fingers against Harry's forehead. It was real. He could feel the scar against his skin. This really was Harry Potter. "Hello," he whispered.
"Ah, so you really are Scorpius, aren't you?" Harry noted.
"No," Scorpius insisted. "I don't want to be Scorpius."
"Then who would you like to be?"
"I want to be Harry Potter."
Harry laughed incredulously. "You do, do you?"
"Mhm. Everyone wants to be Harry Potter."
And, while it was that easy to earn the trust of a seven-year-old boy, it was just as difficult to have a proper conversation with Malfoy.
Thankfully, Astoria was a strong willed woman who had the best interests of her child in mind. Even if Draco had forbidden Harry's entrance into the manor, she allowed it wholeheartedly. Of course, Harry made sure to visit only when Draco wasn't home.
His fourth visit was a very enlightening one since that was the evening Astoria started to open up to him. They were in the playroom, as always.
"Does he often play alone?" Harry asked quietly so as not to disrupt Scorpius' studious attempt at making 'tea' for the adults present in his room.
"Who would play with him?" Astoria countered, her voice betraying her bitterness. "He's… a happy boy, though. He never complains to me."
Scorpius stuck the tip of his tongue out the corner of his mouth as he balanced the cups and saucers and walked slowly towards his guests. He handed the tea to his mother and Harry. "Ta da!"
They drank the pretend beverage with relish. "The best I've tasted," Harry praised.
"Thank you," Scorpius bowed. "Next, I'll make you some cake, Harry Potter."
"You do that, love," Astoria urged.
Harry watched Scorpius talk to himself while rattling a whisk in a bowl. "If you could move, where would you like to go?" he asked.
Astoria glanced down and smiled. "I don't know. Somewhere warm," she murmured. She looked up at him with a tired shrug.
He nodded in reassurance. "I'm Harry Potter," he reminded her. "I can do anything."
"But not this."
"Even this."
