The Time that Everyone was Honest with Everyone Else

Lily and Alice

Lily roared off on her bike at the crack of dawn the next morning bound for the flat of one Alice Longbottom. As the wind rushed over her the thrill of riding pushed all other thoughts to the back of her mind. She let herself be in the moment as she concentrated on navigating turns and ignoring the niggle to go faster and faster.

Parking in front of Alice's modest flat Lily popped off her helmet and straightened out her hair before knocking on the door.

"What time do you call this?!" greeted Alice in jest as she opened the door, clearly having been up for a while. Her deep brown hair was styled so that it flowed over her shoulders effortlessly. She was dressed for comfort in a loose yellow dress under a white knit sweater.

"Time for a cuppa," Lily retorted, as she made her way in, flicking her wand so that her helmet and jacket hung themselves on a hook by the door. She felt instantly relaxed and at home. Alice had that effect on people.

"Way ahead of you, Lil," said Alice smugly. Sure enough, sitting on the cute round table by the window were two steaming mugs of tea. "Even made it in your favourite cup!"

"Matches your dress," said Lily with a small laugh, "You look great, by the way, sorry it's been so long since we caught up."

"Hey, you've had a lot going on, not everyday you cure Dragonpox and open a new wing in St Mungo's."

Lily just smiled. They sat down and took a sip of their tea.. Lily sighed. Alice looked at her in surprise and put down her tea.

"Maybe you start with your news, Lil, you seem…bothered."

Lily quirked her lips up in a quick smile. "Bothered is about the sum of it, Ally."

She took a deep breath and relayed the previous day's happenings as logically as she could, then filled it in with anecdotes as needed.

Alice's eyes were round, she gasped and said "No!" or "Shut the front gate!" in all the right places and practically squealed when Lily got to the end with her almost kiss with Scorpius. Lily was bright red by the end of it, she really hated talking about her - gulp - feelings with others, but if ever the occasion warranted it, it was now.

"Lily Luna Potter you red hot marshmallow you!"

"What does that even mean Ally!" groaned Lily, "You sound like we're back in Hogwarts!"

"It means, you rotten old hag, that you are smoking hot and have a soft gooey centre you've kept well hidden! Honestly, I'm surprised nothing has happened between you two before."

Lily reddened even more.

"So, what are you going to do about it! Just 'slither-in' to his bed one night and jump his bones?"

"Oh Merlin save me, I am NOT having this conversation!"

"Uh, yes you are, that's why you came to me and not Kat, Xander, Hugo or even Molly! For the dirty real talk, Lils and you know it."

Lily gripped her tea like a lifeline stared at the ceiling trying to compose herself, "This is so painful," she whispered desperately to herself.

"Stop talking to yourself Lil, focus! What's the plan?"

"Believe it or not," replied Lily dryly, looking back down at Alice, "I was kind of hoping you could tell me."

Alice looked at Lily sharply, seeing tired eyes and a rare vulnerability under the embarrassment and humour. She could count the times Lily had asked for help on one hand.

She softened. "I actually think that this might be the perfect time to tell you my news. Perhaps the story will inspire you."

"I'd love to hear it either way," said Lily with a small smile.

"Well, here it is - I'm dating Albus."

Lily blinked once, twice. "Pardon?"

"Albus, your brother," repeated Alice, more amused by the second, "We are dating, going together, seeing each other, doing the horizontal-"

"Got it, got it, thank you!" Lily frowned in concentration and things from the last few months clicked into place in her mind. "So you're the woman. I knew there was someone. No one is that happy for nothing and Albus has been almost unbearable."

Alice's face radiated happiness, "I know the feeling! I've been on cloud nine since it happened, can hardly bloody sleep!"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I honestly wasn't sure what you would think. I mean, he's your brother and you're close and we're close…I just wanted to be sure before I said anything." Alice bit her lip, "So…thoughts?"

Lily reached over the table and grabbed her in a hug (the second in 24 hours), nearly knocking over her tea in the process.

Rather alarmed and unprepared, Alice hugged her back and said, "One, you are clearly not ok; two, does this count as a major life event and three, does this mean you're ok with us, Lil?"

Lily drew back with a sharp laugh. "I don't know what I am Ally, this is absolutely a major life event and I am beyond happy for you guys. I can see it. You fit. So how in Circe's name did this happen?"

"Well it's a funny story actually.."

It turned out that they had quite literally bumped into each other in Diagon Alley months back. Alice had been coming out of the Leaky in a hurry as Albus was going in and it resulted in quite a spectacular collision. Bags flew everywhere, but so did sparks as Alice took Albus out for coffee to apologise. Once coffee became two, then drinks, then dinner and the rest was history.

"Honestly Lil, chemistry is just off the charts! Like, butterflies in my stomach, a rush when we see each other, and the way he kisses-"

"Blegh! Going to stop you there, Ally!" Lily looked a bit green.

Alice just laughed, "So what about you then, feeling any fluffy feelings?"

Lily's face bloomed red again, "Yes. Quite a few. More than," she waved a hand around in the air, "You know, previous people."

"I thought it must be different since you've never come to me about 'previous people'," Alice replied with a question in her voice.

"Yes. It's…overwhelming. It's…" Lily suddenly threw all Slytherin proprietary to the wind and barrelled on in true Gryffindor fashion, "I'm losing my mind Ally! I want to pounce on him, snog his brains out until he forgets his own name, then drag him to bed and blow his mind! And this is only in the last 24 hours! How am I supposed to live with him and keep my damn hands to myself?! It doesn't help that he's so bloody thoughtful and caring all the time too. "

Alice looked positively gleeful as she listened to Lily's rant, "Lil, I first just want to say I am so proud of you for letting out your inner lion and telling me what you really feel!" Lily rolled her eyes, "And I think you should just do it, kiss first, talk later."

"I don't know Ally," Lily frowned, "We live together, what if it doesn't work out and our friendship is destroyed? Just see what happened with him and Rose"

"You are not Rose. And from what you're telling me I feel like you both aren't going to be able to resist much longer anyway."

"You think he feels the same way?" asked Lily in surprise.

"100% Lil. Just from what you described and what I've seen since he moved in with you guys. I saw an inkling of it when you and Dario did your Dragonpox announcement too."

Lily's heart leapt with hope and nerves. She shook her head to clear it.

"I will cross that bridge when we come to it. What else is going on with you?"

They spent the rest of the day catching up and it was honestly the nicest time that Lily had had in ages.

Draco and Scorpius

After being woken by the roar of Lily's bike, Scorpius rolled straight out of bed and into the fireplace, pausing only to croak out, "Malfoy Manor."

The green flames whisked him away through the Floo Network and deposited him roughly in the entrance hall of the Manor.

Miffy was ready and waiting for his arrival, and her eyes widened as she took in his dishevelled state. "Is Master Scorpius alright? Are you needing of anything to refresh yourself or…dress in?"

Scorpius managed a smile at the poor elf, "No thank you Miffy, I will be fine. Is father up?"

"Oh! Yes Master Scorpius, sir, he is being in his study, sir. Right this way if you please!"

Scorpius traipsed through the winding halls of the Manor to arrive finally in front of his father's study.

"I'll be letting you see yourself in sir, good day to you!"

The elf popped out of sight before Scorpius could manage a thank you.

Knock knock!

"Come in, son!"

Scorpius opened the door to find, to his utter shock, that his father was in much the same state as he was.

They blinked at each other in surprise before laughing.

"Looks like all is not well in the house of Malfoy," said Draco drily once they'd recovered, "Why don't you start, my news might be something of a shock and you don't look up to it, to be frank."

Scorpius snorted, "You are in your sleepwear father, maybe you're the one not up to it."

"There's the cauldron calling the kettle black," replied Draco with a smirk, "I am certain I have heard worse things, so please do go on."

"Ok then," Scorpius ran his hands through his already mussed up hair frantically and started pacing the floor, "I think I'm in love with Lily Potter." Draco's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline, "I've no clue how it happened or what to do and it all kind of came to a head last night after Rose came round," Draco's eyebrows shot down into a frown, "All I want to do is grab her and snog her senseless," Draco smirked in amusement, "and it's driving me mad, I don't know what to do!" finished Scorius, practically pulling his hair out.

Draco was silent for a moment while he processed it all. "Tell me from the beginning, son."

"Well I suppose it all started with Dario and the Dragonpox announcement," Scorpius started and continued to recount the whole saga end to end, pacing and waving his hands, taking note of his father's changes in expression which told a story of their own.

"Then last night was just the final stir of the potion, I mean it was so close to being a thing, then bloody Albus had to go stomping up the sodding stairs…" he trailed off in thought.

After a moment Draco cleared his throat and brought Scorpius back to the present and a start.

"Well, that's the whole thing, I suppose. What am I supposed to do, she's Al's sister! I live with her! She's hotter than a salamander in a bloody volcano and I am losing my mind!"

Draco tried very hard not to laugh outright and thankfully succeeded. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts he told Scorpius exactly what he thought.

"This will make more sense once I get to my news," he started, " but it boils down to two things. Do you love her? And how much are you willing to risk for it?"

Scorpius sat down hard in an armchair, his eyes practically burning a hole in a small portrait of his late mother.

"I love her Dad," he said fiercely, "I've never felt anything like this. Not even with Rose, it's like a, like a…"

"Like a deep connection that comes from within your very being," Draco interrupted quietly, a wistful look on his face "Like they understand parts of you that you yourself don't know or were too scared to let out. And the very idea of letting that pass by for any reason seems like madness because it happens less than once a lifetime."

Scorpius stared at his father, "Yes," he replied slowly, "That is exactly how it feels. Dad, was this how it was with mum or…?"

Draco sighed. "Scorpius, you know I loved your mother. Deeply. I always will. She stood by me through our worst times and endured more than she ever should have had too because of me. And she gave me you."

"But…" Scorpius prompted anxiously, his eyes unconsciously flicking back to his mothers portrait.

"But," confirmed Draco, looking somewhat guilty, "It's not your mother I'm talking about. It's Hermione Granger. Rose's mother."

Silence, as they say, can be deafening.

Scorpius felt like his brain was short circuiting and it kept cycling back to a moment, years ago, during the 'Time Magic Gone Wrong' Incident, when his father had said, "Hermione Granger, I'm being bossed around by Hermione Granger. And I'm mildly enjoying it."*

He wasn't sure how he felt about his father being with anyone else. A little guiltily he realised he had just assumed his dad would carry one alone for the rest of his days. Now he understood how cold and lonely that existence would be for him and was actually glad he had found another person to share his life with. But Rose's mum! Scorpius liked Hermione. She was kind, fair and fiercely intelligent. She was still Minister for Magic after … years! He tried to picture the two of them together from their interactions in the past and was surprised to find that his memories showed they'd had banter that was almost…flirty? For years!

Draco cleared his throat again anxiously, "Scor, I would be grateful if you gave me even a slight indication of your thoughts."

Scorpius turned to him with a jolt. He'd been staring at his mother's portrait again.

"Dad, this…this isn't new is it? You guys have been building on this for years, right?"

Draco looked alarmed, "Not, years years, Scorpius, your mother was my one and only and -"

"No, no, that's not what I meant," he interrupted, "I know how devoted you were to mum. And how long her death affected you. But the first time I saw, I don't know, light or something in your face was when, ahem, Al and I royally stuffed up time and we were trying to, uh, catch Delphi." Merlin, he was an idiot when he was in Hogwarts. "Hermione was bossing you round and you smiled and said you liked it. It was weird so I remembered."

"I had no idea you paid that much attention to me," Draco seemed ruffled, "I'll admit I am mildly concerned."

Scorpius laughed, "Relax Dad, you're really not that interesting. So Hermione Granger then?"

"Hermione Granger," Draco confirmed.

Scorpius hesitated, "I mean, there's Ron and Rose and Hugo, the Weasley's, the Potter's, the British Wizarding World…"

"Thank you for the vote of confidence," Draco said drily, "Hermione is talking to Weasley today, then will sit down with the kids and go from there. As for the Wizarding World…It's going to be unpleasant."

"It's going to be a shit show Dad, she's the Minister for Magic and you're, well…"

"Yes. That." finished Draco darkly, a shadow forming over his face, "But she's worth the risk. And for whatever reason, she thinks I am too. Merlin knows I've tried to talk her out of it."

Scorpius snorted, "Bet that didn't go well!"

"Not at all, my eardrums still ring with the memory."

"Well, I'm happy for you. You deserve something good. I don't like the idea of you being locked up in here all the time."

"I do have a life, son."

"Going to work and back doesn't count."

Draco relented grudgingly. "So Lily Luna?"

"Lily Luna," said Scorpius with a wistful look.

"I approve, if that means anything. Even if she is Pothead's daughter."

Scorpius looked at Draco scandalised before they both shared a hearty laugh.

"One thing I will ask - would you like to tell me what happened with Rose?"

The rest of the day was spent swapping advice and stories back and forth. Scorpius felt closer to his father than he had in years and resolved to make the time to see him more often.

Hermione and Ron

Hermione Granger, mother of two, auntie of many, ex-wife of Ron Weasley and Minister for Magic lived in a beautiful cottage on the outskirts of a village in the Cotswolds. It was everything she wanted and needed as a retreat from her incredibly full, but often stressful, life. Her study doubled as a library, her lounge and dining room magically extended when family visited and she had transformed the back garden into a small slice of Eden.

It was here that Ron Weasley Floo'd to sometime after 10 in the morning. He stumbled out of the fireplace into the lounge, stomping his boots on the dust mat before calling out "Alright Mione?!"

"In the kitchen Ron!"

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves he walked through into the quaint kitchen/dining room. Hermione was seated at the table with a cup of tea and a book about wizarding politics in Brazil.

"Prepping for a state visit?" asked Ron, gesturing at the book.

"Always," Hermione replied wryly, plopping the book down and standing up to give Ron a quick hug, which he returned with a squeeze.

"Have a seat. Tea?"

"Nah, I'm fine, too jittery," Ron sat down, one leg bouncing up and down.

Hermione frowned, "Is everything ok? With you, the family, the kids? You never said in your Patronus-"

"Everything's fine, don't worry. It's just, I need to tell you something. Important."

"Well same here, I'm not sure how you'll take it, if I'm honest, but-"

"Sorry Mione, I have to go first, this is killing me! I-I'mseeingsomeone," Ron blurted out in a rush.

Hermione's mouth dropped open in surprise, "Oh! Well, I mean congratulations! Ah, who-"

"It's Padma, Padma Patil! She's opened a jewellery store up the road from the Shop, came in one day, we had coffee, it's, I mean I'm-"

"Ron!" Hermione put up a hand, "Breath! Everything is fine. I am fine. I am very happy for you in fact."

Ron looked so relieved she was a bit put out that he expected the worst from her.

It was her turn and she felt anxious herself.

"I have similar news actually, I'm-"

"Wait YOUR seeing someone too?"

"YES Ronald, I-"

"Who? Do I know them?"

"If you just stopped interrupting me you would know by now," Hermione snapped.

Ron rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Sorry Mione, I just can't believe we're doing this at the same time, what are the odds, eh?"

Hermione took a deep breath, "Ron. I am seeing Draco Malfoy."

Ron's smile dropped from his face, "I think there were wrackspurts buzzing around my head, I could have sworn you just said you were seeing Draco Malfoy."

"That's because I am. Seeing Draco Malfoy. Quite seriously or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Malfoy."

"Yes."

"Scorpius' father?"

"YES Ron, don't be obtuse."

"But, how, I mean WHY?"

"Funnily enough because I want to and I'm-" she cleared her throat nervously then said softly, "I'm in love with him, Ron."

Ron looked like he'd been clubbed over the head with a Beater's bat.

"Please say something," she whispered.

"I'm, er, surprised. Very, very surprised but, ah," Ron gulped, "I'm happy if you're happy Mione. I mean he's turned out to be an ok bloke really, hasn't he?"

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione grabbed him tearfully in another hug.

Ron patted her back patiently, "My emotional range is a bit larger than a teaspoon these days you know," he said teasingly.

Hermione drew back with a watery laugh and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "Apparently so. I had no idea how this was going to go, but it's better than I ever could have hoped."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you do have the proclivity to overreact, you know."

"Overreact? Me? The nerve of you woman!" said Ron with a laugh.

Hermione joined in, both so relieved the other was happy, not just with their news but also with their lives.

"Should we tell the kids together then?"

"That might be a good idea, then we can answer any questions they have."

Hermione and Ron spent the next hour or so sussing out details. Both were feeling so grateful for the other and the fact their friendship had survived the break up of their marriage.

Even so, there was no way of telling how the kids and the wider family were going to take it. It was going to be an interesting week.

Author's Note

*Direct quote from the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne.