Disclaimer: Not Mine.
Author's Notes: Enjoy for Christmas!!! I should have the final 4 days up by Christmas Eve, because I am not home for Christmas day to post it.
Have a wonderful holiday season everyone and thank you for all the lovely reviews.I appreciate every one of them and send you all warm kisses as thanks.
jamie
xxxxx
Harry groaned. Either he was having a very nice dream where he was swimming in cool, cool water or… he had no idea, so it must be a dream, mustn't it? He shifted in his dream, feeling a trickle of cold down his back and another under his shirt that cooled his chest. His body seemed to be searching for the sustenance and he groaned again, surprised when he heard it as a hoarse croak.
Then there was cool water at his lips and he gulped at it, instinctively knowing that he craved it; necessary for his survival. He must be dreaming he was parched and dry and needing a drink. Surely when he woke he would be home in his warm house, surrounded by shiny Christmas decorations, in front of an open fire – that would be why he was dreaming he was hot - preparing to settle for the evening with some spicy eggnog.
'Wakey, wakey, Mister Auror,' the singsong voice in his dream urged. 'You is needing to be waking up now or Peggy Jones will be in big trouble.'
Harry started. He knew that voice. His eyes flew open and he stared at Peggy Jones, the reality of his situation sinking in.
She held a battered cup at his mouth coaxing him to drink more. He almost didn't want to; who knew what she had put in it, but his thirst won out over the possible danger and he drank greedily, prepared for gut wrenching pain when – if – the poison took hold.
He finished the water and she filled the cup from a bottle on the desk and held it for him again. Even though he was wary of her, he still had no choice and he finished the second cup as well. She stood back and looked at him, holding the cup in both hands.
Something about what she'd said made Harry think. 'Why would you be in trouble?' His voice barely worked though it was better lubricated.
Peggy Jones looked at him and shook her head. She had a flower in her hair now; a big red flower stuck behind her ear. She'd also changed into a less ratty dress, Harry noticed. It wasn't quite so colourless as the previous one. She smiled at him, with her rows of broken decaying teeth giving her a macabre grin and Harry was horrified to think she might be flirting with him.
The water had revived him somewhat, but he still felt weakened by his ordeal. He needed to think and fast. If she was going to be in trouble then it seemed logical to assume that someone else was calling the shots here and she may be an unwitting accomplice. Although perhaps not an unwilling one.
There was nothing for it but to try and be nice to her, respond to the flirting and maybe, just maybe he could talk her into letting him go.
'That's a nice flower in your hair,' he said, forcing a smile.
Her hand flew up to the flower, petting it as she smiled again.
'May I have some more water, please?' he asked. 'My throat is still very sore and I wouldn't like to see you get into trouble.'
'Peggy Jones gots a boyfriend,' she sang. Harry grimaced but she poured him another cup of water and held it for him to drink. Most of it ended up running out of his mouth, down his throat and into his shirt, but he didn't care; he'd just realised that she was using both hands! Where was his wand?
He was still weak but if his wand was close then he should have the energy to call it to him. He didn't have much wandless magic in his repertoire but a wandless Accio was something he was sure he could manage in his desperation. He'd have to wait until she moved away from him, though, not give her enough time to grab it back or stop him.
'Thank you, Peggy,' he said when the water was all gone. How could he get her to move away from him?
'All good now, Mister Auror?'
'Yes, thank you. Could you get me some food?'
Peggy tilted her head to the side and appeared to think about his request. 'I gots a banana,' she said, nodding and turning for the door.
Brilliant, thought Harry. He spread out his right hand wide and concentrated as hard as he could, then whispered, 'Accio wand!'
Wonder of wonders his wand flew from somewhere on her person, perhaps a pocket, and straight into his hand. Her delayed reaction cost her and she screeched as Harry caught the wand, aimed it at her - with difficulty but it was enough – and yelled, 'Incarcerous!
Immediately, ropes flew from his wand and bound her tightly. She dropped to the ground still shrieking until her head bounced on the floor and she fell silent. He quickly freed himself and stood shakily, flexing his muscles, exultant.
He was free!
***
A good night sleep had done much for Draco's state of mind. The memories had not been all bad ones, although he knew that as he continued to tell the boys the story, they would become less the memories he'd like to keep and more of the ones that he'd like to forget.
The sound of eighteen-year-old feet thundering down the hall gave Draco pause to smile fondly. Scorpius had resisted every attempt both himself and his mother had made at curbing his youthful exuberance. The boy had never been one to do anything particularly quietly, unless he was doing something sneaky and then he was as wily as any spy and as quiet as a mouse. When Scorpius was young, Draco had despaired, wondering from whose loins the boy had sprung. Draco had certainly never been allowed to run in the manor as a child; not even when Lucius was away.
Eventually, he'd realised that the boy had him wound around his little finger and Draco loved him so much that he couldn't bear to repress the inquisitive nature and the joy he exuded with every breath he took.
Still, he wouldn't be a good father if he didn't remind the child of his manners sometimes.
Scorpius skidded to a stop at the door to the dining room but his feet slid out from under him and he promptly fell flat on his arse. Draco held back his laughter with difficulty when he saw the surprised look on Scorpius' face.
'Scorpius, the hounds of hell are not after you, nor should you feel the need to polish the floor boards on a regular basis. That's what we have house-elves for.'
Scorpius stood, grumbling and rubbing his bum. 'It's that blasted house-elf of yours.'
'Pippy?' Draco asked, shocked.
'Yes, that's the one. I'm sure he polished the floor several times yesterday. You really let him get away with too much.'
Draco laughed. 'I do indeed, but he is practically family, he's been here all his life. Besides, you've threatened him with clothes so often he knows you don't mean it.'
'And you spoil him,' Scorpius protested, leaning down and pulling up his socks.
'Maybe,' Draco agreed. 'I should think you might want to move away from the Mistletoe. Pippy hung it and it might be sabotaged.'
'Sabotaged?' Scorpius looked up at the piece of plant hanging limply over the door frame.
'When Albus comes down for breakfast, I'll tell you the story of being caught under the Weasley version of mistletoe.'
Scorpius raised his eyebrows. 'Al!' he turned his head and called out.
Draco smirked. 'And even if it is not sabotaged you might want to move, unless you're prepared to kiss your best friend.' As Scorpius skipped away from the offending plant immediately, Draco felt rather cruel pointing it out, seeing as he had an idea of the young Potter's feelings for his son, but a touch of it now when Al wasn't present was infinitely better than an awkward situation with more hurt for the boy should they both be caught under the mistletoe.
Not that he'd have any objections to Scorpius and Al being together. He might have even encouraged it had he seen that same depth of feeling in Scorpius' eyes. But it didn't seem like it was meant to be.
He smiled and said good morning to Al as he dragged himself in for breakfast. At least this story would give the boys a laugh to start them on their day. It was all the fault of those troublesome Weasleys…
…
Draco had agreed to give the Weasleys another chance but he flatly refused to meet them on their own turf and so Harry agreed that they would all meet and have Christmas drinks at Grimmauld Place. In the turmoil of all the preparations, Draco barely had time to think or worry about how he might react if Ginny began to behave as she had last time.
Harry had redecorated the gloomy old place and while it still pretended to be dark and horrible, it had somehow become cozy and warm. Especially with the addition of all Harry's Christmas decorations festooned on just about every surface and spare piece of wall. Something the old portrait of his great Aunt Black disapproved of very vocally and at ever decreasing intervals.
Draco had finally had enough of her and surrounded the portrait with the strongest Silencing spells he could think of. The sudden quiet was broken by several pats on the back and congratulations from a horde of redheads that stampeded along the hall.
Great, he thought ruefully. One annoying noise replaced by another just as annoying. But he smiled politely and let them pass.
'Well done, Malfoy,' George said thumping him on the back. 'Welcome to the family, mate.'
Draco grimaced and tried to remember that the bruise he'd surely be sporting the next day from the overly enthusiastic welcome was surely worth it to keep Harry happy. Besides, George was one of the least offensive of the family; his sense of humour amusing Draco into begrudging respect. It couldn't have been easy losing his twin.
Draco followed them all into the lounge where Harry was welcoming everyone and handing around drinks for all. Draco moved to Harry's side and slipped a hand into his, looking for a reassuring squeeze. Harry, of course, did not disappoint and gave him a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek as well.
'I hear you performed a miracle in the hall,' Harry said.
'It was nothing but a few strong silencing spells. I would have thought the man who defeated the Dark Lord would have known how to do those himself,' Draco replied casually, but secretly pleased with himself. He was even more pleased when he looked around the room and spotted Ginny with a venomous look on her face.
'You're right, of course,' Harry replied. 'We should have. I think she's just become so much part of the furniture I forget that she's there half the time.'
'At least we'll have a peaceful evening now, dear,' Mrs. Weasley said kindly.
Harry beamed, as it was obvious that the Weasley family were going to make an effort.
Draco really should have known better.
Not five minutes later, Ron and one of the other ones, Percy he thought it was, began to snicker, and they seemed to be directed toward Draco. He frowned when the snickers became outright laughter and their looks were aimed over his head. Fearing some trick or other was going to dump a load of dragon dung over his head he looked up fearfully.
All he saw was mistletoe, and he relaxed. He could certainly handle snogging Harry in front of everyone; especially Ginny.
He turned towards Harry in preparation for the kiss to end all kisses, but something weird happened. Instead of wanting to snog his boyfriend, he was feeling an overwhelming compulsion to undo his trousers and take them off!
'Harry?' he asked, horrified that his hands were heading towards the fastenings of his trousers, seemingly of their own accord. He had to stop himself somehow!
Harry gave him a puzzled look and just as Draco finished undoing them and let them fall to the ground, Harry's expression cleared and he grinned. Harry was grinning at him? There were several laughs from the others in the room and even, Draco heard through his horror, a whistle. What was happening?
Harry turned to George. 'You used the 'Mooning Mistletoe' didn't you?'
Draco had no idea what the fuck that was, but he was standing in Harry's lounge room with his trousers round his ankles, displaying his deep green boxers and fighting the irresistible urge to drop those as well. He looked frantically at George who was grinning manically.
'Sure did. Had to welcome him to the family properly. Never took you for a boxers man, Malfoy.'
'And they match Harry's eyes,' Ron chimed in, red in the face from laughing so hard.
'That's hardly fair, guys,' Harry protested and Draco heard Mrs. Weasley admonishing George, too. Draco was definitely going to reevaluate his respect for that bloody Weasley.
No matter how hard Draco fought his need to rid himself of his boxers as well, he knew it was a losing battle as his thumbs were under the elastic. Abruptly he turned as he lost the battle and pushed them down, desperate to get away from them all. He knew his face was flaming and all thoughts of handling himself with even one ounce of dignity disappeared when he tripped over his bloody trousers and fell face first through the door, leaving his bare arse on display for all to see.
On the verge of tears he slowly and silently picked himself up, dressed and left, Ginny's malicious laughter loudest of them all ringing in his ears.
…
Draco could laugh about it now, but at the time he'd never thought he'd ever get over how they'd treated him. After that incident though, he had to admit that the Weasleys, with the exception of Ginny, treated him like part of the family. He reflected, amused, that he no longer had anything left to hide.
***
Al sat in silence through Mr. Malfoy's revelations, and while Scorpius roared in laughter at hearing how his father had ended up face first on the floor baring his bum to a room full of Weasleys, Al reflected that his family had given a very poor account of themselves. He wasn't naïve enough to treat every word Mr. Malfoy said as unbiased; the rivalry between the Weasley and Malfoy families had a long history that was only being breached with any success by this generation.
Uncle George and Uncle Ron's tricks and practical jokes were well known and accepted by the family generally, as long as no one was hurt. Grandma Molly seemed to be the sole dissenting voice and was forever telling them to grow up. It was a bit of a ridiculous demand seeing they made a living from it but she tried nonetheless. Al had been the butt of so many practical jokes he'd about lost count. He'd even been the perpetrator of several of his own in revenge. It had always seemed to him to be harmless fun with no malicious intent.
That didn't mean he could not empathise with Mr. Malfoy. It must have been incredibly mortifying for him, and suddenly he was ashamed of his father for letting it happen. And he had no words for the sick feeling he had in his stomach over the way his other seemed to have been behaving. He was almost positive that there was more Mr. Malfoy was not saying.
'I hope my father apologised,' Al said abruptly.
Mr. Malfoy looked at him and immediately allayed his fears.
'Of course he did. I refused to come out of the kitchen, though. Couldn't face them all. I heard him giving them all an earful about how that wasn't what he meant by accepting that he was dating me. Then we had a long discussion in the kitchen after they'd all come through and apologised. Even your mother,' he finished kindly.
'Good,' Al said, still embarrassed by their behaviour even though it was so long ago and forgotten about.
'Don't think too harshly of them; they were trying to treat me as they would anyone else in the family, and your father reminded me that it was no good being stressed over something that wasn't going to matter in five years.'
'He seems to have said that a lot.' Al gave a grudging smile.
'He was right, though. I can look back on it now and laugh. I imagine I must have looked a sight.'
Al blushed; he'd just had a terribly inappropriate thought of what Scorpius might look like face down and arse up…
He was saved by the whoosh of the Floo and Lily's head appearing. 'Sorry to interrupt but can I borrow Al for a few hours?' She gave Al a pleading look.
'Sure, what is it?' Al asked.
'I have no idea what to get James. I'm his Secret Santa. You know him better than I do, will you come shopping with me?'
Al was torn between wanting to hear the rest of the story and getting away for a while to think about all he'd heard. The conflict must have shown on his face because Mr. Malfoy spoke.
'We can continue this later if you wish, Al. Hello, Lily.' He gave her a warm smile.
'Hello, Mr. Malfoy,' she replied, giving him a shy grin. 'Sorry, I should have said hello first. Hello, Scorpius.'
'Hello, Lily Luna,' Scorpius said, teasing. Scorpius thought her second name funny and so teased her about it regularly.
She poked her tongue out at him and then turned to Al. 'So you'll come with me?'
'Yes, all right. I'll come straight away.'
…
'So what did I interrupt?' Lily asked later as they wandered down the main street in Diagon Alley.
Al had no intentions of telling his sister the story; he was beginning to wonder why Mr. Malfoy was telling it to he and Scorpius in the fist place. 'Nothing much.' He shrugged. 'Do you have any idea what James might like?'
'No.' She sighed dramatically. 'Want to swap? Who did you get?'
'Dad,' Al said. 'You're welcome to him if you like.' The way Al felt about him at the moment, he'd likely end up with last week's Quibbler pulled from the bottom of the owl cage.
'No,' she groaned. 'He's worse than James. All he ever says is "Whatever you get me will be wonderful.' At least with James, I can always settle for something from the Apothecary for those potions of his he has bubbling away in his room.'
'You hardly need me, then.' Al said elbowing her in the ribs playfully.
They wandered along the street, knocking on the window of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and waving at Uncle Ron, as they passed. This close to Christmas the streets were adorned with decorative ornaments and lights and trees, which gave it a festive atmosphere. And there were people everywhere. Worse, it seemed to Al that there were couples everywhere he looked. Holding hands, kissing, leaning up against each other, staring into windows and speaking excitedly or whispering close together, sitting in cafes drinking hot chocolate and just generally being…coupley. After hearing about his dad and Mr. Malfoy, Al tried to imagine what it would have been like for them back then. Even these days there were not that many gay couples. They would have had a lot to contend with – Mr. Malfoy's involvement in the war and his dad's reputation as the Chosen One. They would have had an easier time hiding it from everyone. Just like he hid his feelings for Scorpius.
Lily was chattering on about something inconsequential and suddenly Al wanted to tell Lily about Scorpius. Lily was his favourite sibling; always had been since the day she'd grabbed on to his finger as a baby and refused to let go.
'Lily, what would you say if I said I was gay?' he asked, then kicked himself. It was a stupid question, not like he could take it back if she had an unfavourable reaction.
She turned to look at him intently for a moment and then smiled. 'You're serious aren't you?'
He nodded, encouraged by the smile.
'Then I'd say good for you and do Mum and Dad know?'
Al breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thanks, and no they don't and I don't want you telling them, all right?'
'As if I'd say anything to them. That's something you have to do when you're ready. Which I suspect will be when you find someone you want to go out with.'
Smart girl, Al thought. 'True, I don't envision telling anyone until that happens.'
'Then why tell me now? Oh…' Her eyes lit up. 'Who is it?'
'No one,' he protested weakly, her perception having surprised him though he really should never be surprised at anything Lily said or did.
'Liar,' she shot back. 'I can always tell when you're lying, Al, you go red around the collar.'
'Bugger,' he said laughing. 'All right I'll tell you, but nothing will come of it; he's straight.'
'Well, that's a shame,' she said sympathy flashing across her face.
'Hm,' Al agreed, a dull pain settling in his chest, thinking of it.
'Oh, no,' Lily said, linking her arm through his. 'You have it bad, don't you?'
'The worst,' he agreed, comforted by her touch.
She was silent for a moment and then stopped walking suddenly, forcing Al to stop and turn to look at her. She appeared stricken. 'The only person you know well enough to fall in love with, is…Scorpius,' she whispered.
Al's face fell; he could feel it crumbling. The relief that someone else knew and understood how hopeless it all was, somehow made his body think it was all right to want to blubber like a ruddy girl.
Lily hugged him so tightly he could hardly breathe, murmuring that everything would be all right. He didn't believe her and his throat ached with the need to just let it all out.
***
Harry made sure that Peggy Jones was securely bound, before he took the time to stretch his limbs properly and flex his wrists. He actually felt rather sorry for her, but there was nothing he could do about her situation; she would have to face the consequences of her actions. But he did hope they were lenient with her.
Once he had ensured that she could not escape the ropes that tied her even if she woke up, he sat down on the chair again, still a bit lightheaded from his ordeal. He quickly sent off a Patronus asking it to lead Simon back to him. Whoever it was that had knocked him on the head was still out there and had done so for a reason. He needed to stay put until this person showed up, and arrest him or her. Or them, he realised; it could be a whole gang.
Hopefully, Simon would arrive shortly and have some back up with him.
After he'd rested and finished the water in the bottle, he stood and made sure the rest of the room was secure and that there were no traps to hinder the capture of whoever was behind the attack.
A loud rumble from his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since the day before and his body was shouting out it's displeasure with the situation. He wondered if he should search the rest of the building in the hopes of finding some food, but decided safety was better than satisfying his hunger; he should stay with his prisoner. It didn't stop him thinking about food, though, and the more he thought about food the more he wanted it.
The light was changing outside, Harry could see, and the stifling heat of the day seemed to have abated somewhat. He thought it must be nearing sunset by now and the thought of dinner – a thick juicy steak, with chips and eggs the shape of Christmas trees like Lily had cooked for him for breakfast last Christmas – made his stomach cramp up in protest.
The cramping was so severe, for a moment he considered the water had been poisoned after all, but after several seconds the pain eased and he realised that drinking so much water too quickly had probably caused them. He sincerely hoped the water would stay in his stomach and not find its way back up his throat.
A large green and red parrot Patronus flew through the wall and fluttered around the room before settling on the table. Simon's voice said, 'On my way, Harry, and bringing back up.' Relieved, he stood again and paced around the room to work out any stiffness left in his legs from sitting all day in the one place. It wouldn't do to be hit by a curse because he couldn't move fast enough.
A noise from outside had him on full alert. It might be Simon, but it might not. When his Patronus did not appear, he knew that it was not the MLE officer. He picked up his wand and hid himself in the corner as best he could.
'Jones! Where are you, you useless dimwit?' the male voice called. When he received no answer, the man continued to berate her. 'Can't fucking do one damned thing right. Should never have let her remember what she saw in the first place. Stupid bloody woman, where are you?'
Harry remained still, heart thumping loudly as the voice drew closer. He wasn't afraid; he just hoped that the man wasn't too powerful, as in his weakened state he might be no match. He did, however, have surprise on his side. That would have to do.
'If you're in there talking to that damned Potter, I'll break what's left of your teeth and shove them down your throat, you crazy bint!'
The door opened and the man stepped through. Harry stared in shock as a familiar face stared down at an immobilised and bound Peggy on the floor. As the man looked up, suddenly afraid, and saw the empty chair, he drew his wand.
Harry was frozen in shock and luckily in the shadows or else he'd have been captured again, because standing in front of him was someone he knew quite well and had done for several years, though no one had seen him for the last three. It was rumoured that he had moved to Europe.
The person who had knocked him on the head, was none other than Blaise Zabini.
***
After hugging him for as long as it took for Al to get himself back in control, Lily stepped back and studied him.
'You'll do,' she said, nodding.
'For what?'
'Come with me. We're going to by you something that's a total knock out to wear Christmas day and Scorpius can eat his heart out.'
'Lily, I am not going to try and seduce him!' Al exclaimed, shocked.
'Why on earth not?'
'Because he's straight for one thing and my best friend for another! On what planet would tying to seduce him be a good idea?'
'I never said you had to jump him, just make him sit up and take notice. Surely you can do that? Some new clothes, fix that hair of yours - which is so much like dad's it's like you just transplanted it straight from his head – and things might change.'
'No, I'm not doing it,' Al said sternly and moved to walk away.
'Would you rather go and sit on Santa's lap and ask him for a Scorpius for Christmas?' she mocked.
'I hate you; you are not my sister.' Al was hurt; he hadn't told Lily how he felt about Scorpius to have her try and fix it, merely to lighten his heartbreak a little.
'Al…'
'Why can't you just leave it? I'm all right with us being friends. It's enough.' Even he could hear the lie in his own voice. He sighed shakily and then took a deep breath. 'I can't risk losing him as my best friend, Lily, I just can't and if it means never ever telling him how I feel then that's what it means, because I'd rather have him with me as a friend than not have him at all.'
'All right, I'm sorry,' she said, voice soft and apologetic now. 'I hate seeing you hurting so much.' She looked at him intently. 'Will friendship be enough?' she asked gently.
'It will have to be, there is no other choice.' Determination to make it enough hardened Al's voice.
He hadn't fooled Lily, though, and he knew it.
…
While Al was gone, Scorpius seemed at a loose end and looked like he'd no idea what to do with himself. Draco found him sitting in the lounge pouring over old family photo albums. For several minutes he stood and watched his son, so much like himself, smiling at each of the pictures and studying them closely. Al and Scorpius were together so often that it almost seemed strange that he wasn't there alongside Scorpius, dark hair in stark contrast to the blond, sharing laughter and their usual teasing banter.
Draco couldn't help reflecting that they could have made a beautiful couple.
'Missing Al?' he asked, smirking when Scorpius jumped.
He nodded. 'Some. Seems like we're always together,' he said, unknowingly echoing Draco's observation.
'You're very close,' he said. 'Almost like brothers.'
Scorpius turned and looked at him questioningly. 'What are you getting at?'
'Nothing,' Draco assured him.
'For a moment there I though you were going to tell me Al was my long lost brother. That you had a fling with Al's mum, too.'
'Scorpius! That was rather uncalled for.'
Scorpius blushed. 'Sorry, but why are you asking me about Al?' He still looked confused. 'We've been best friends for seven years, Dad, nothing's changed.'
Draco sighed. 'I know. I was standing watching you as you went through the photos, thinking how you remind me so much of myself at your age, as Al looks so much like his father.' He smiled. 'All this talk of Harry and myself at your age had me wondering if you'd ever thought of…'
Scorpius' eyes widened. 'No, Dad, I'd never thought of that. Al is my best friend and I love him but I could never fancy him.'
Draco nodded. 'It would be fine if you did, though, but I understand.' Draco had known that of course, but it always did well to have confirmation. His heart went out to Al, wishing the boy could be happy, but hoping for the sake of their friendship that he wasn't planning on telling Scorpius how he felt. Then both of them would be heartbroken and as much as he didn't want Al hurt, one hurting was better than both.
***
'Well, maybe that's not the entire truth,' Scorpius said hesitantly.
'What wasn't?' Draco asked studying his son's face closely. Scorpius still had his head down, pretending to look at the photos in the album, but Draco would bet that he wasn't even aware of who he was looking at.
'When I said I'd never thought of me and Al…' A flush stained Scorpius' face; a definite side effect of having pale skin.
'Oh.' Draco refrained from asking him anything else, preferring to let Scorpius speak as much or as little as he liked. 'That's a perfectly normal thing to do,' he said to reassure the boy.
'Should I tell Al what I was thinking?' Scorpius looked at him, begging for advice. No matter how much Scorpius insisted that he was a grown man, underneath it all he was still Draco's small child who needed him.
'Well, that depends on what the outcome was,' Draco answered delicately.
'It was weird, Dad,' Scorpius said. 'I mean, not awful weird but…weird.' Scorpius gave him a helpless look.
'I imagine it would be, yes,' Draco said. 'How about you ask Al if he's ever had those thoughts?'
'Bad enough admitting them to you, let alone Al,' Scorpius mumbled and went back to the photos, turning the pages and studying them. 'Hey, who's this?' he asked, pointing to a photo taken the Christmas he'd been going out with Harry. In fact it had been Harry that had taken the photo. In it were himself and Pansy and Theo, with a sulky Blaise hovering in the background and occasionally wandering out of the shot, only to return and stand on his own, arms folded and expression grim.
Scorpius was pointing to Blaise.
'That's Blaise,' Draco replied. 'He was a friend of mine at Hogwarts.'
'Why is he looking like someone killed his pet Kneazle?'
'Blaise never liked Christmas much. His mother seemed to… marry… a lot, so Blaise spent most of his youth moving from house to house and even to different countries. He used to say, "I wonder who my dad will be this Christmas," and so the holidays always made him angry and resentful.'
'I bet he ruined it for everyone,' Scorpius said.
'We were used to him, but that year, Harry made him smile like I'd never seen him do at Christmas before.'
'That was when you were dating Harry, then?'
Draco nodded. 'Blaise was being a real arse about Christmas and sulking as he usually did. I suspect I had less time for him, too, as I was seeing so much of Harry.' Draco smiled as he recalled exactly how much of Harry he was seeing back then. They'd yet to have sex, although with the amount of orgasms they'd pulled, sucked and rubbed out of each other they may as well have called it sex. Draco had felt like he was walking on a cloud of emotion and he'd wanted his friends to feel just as good.
He continued, 'Harry was with us this day, and after a few hours we were all ready to pull out hair out over Blaise because he was loudly complaining about every single thing. Well, Harry dragged him into Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. They were gone for about half an hour and when they exited the shop, Blaise had a huge smile on his face and a bag of goodies under his arm. He never did tell what happened in that shop for that half hour, but Blaise mentioned later that his current 'dad' wasn't going to be able to tell his arse from his elbow for a few weeks while he recovered.'
'What's he doing now?' Scorpius asked, grinning.
'I have no idea. Last I heard he'd headed off to Europe, spending some of the money his mother left him.'
Scorpius leaned into Draco's side and Draco smiled, surprised, and put his arm around his son's shoulder. It had been years since Scorpius had initiated this sort of physical contact, and Draco had missed it. A desire to care for and protect Scorpius spread in his chest, prodded into action by his son's sudden vulnerability.
'You all right?' he asked.
Scorpius nodded. 'I'm fine. Thanks, Dad.'
***
As suddenly as he'd been startled, Harry was just as quick in recovering, and he raised his wand and shouted 'Expelliarmus! Blaise's wand flew from his hands and into Harry's and Harry quickly bound and secured him. He watched impassively as the man struggled to free himself, knowing it was hopeless.
'Are you going to tell me why you whacked me on the head and kidnapped me?'
'Why should I?' Blaise grunted.
'Because if you don't I am taking you back to England and you can deal with the Aurors there.' It was an empty threat; Harry had no legal right to take him back to England. On the other hand, something must have gone wrong back home for Blaise to have left everything and be living here, like this!
Blaise looked at him and tightened his lips, as if to say 'you're not getting anything out of me.'
'I could always try Veritaserum,' Harry said lightly.
'You're still a bloody arse, you know that?'
'So I've been told,' Harry agreed mildly. 'So, tell me why.'
'Because you were there,' Blaise mumbled.
'Because I was there?' Harry repeated, astounded. 'You're just nonchalantly walking down a street at night and randomly picked a guy to whack over the head?'
'Not quite like that.' Blaise sighed and stopped struggling. 'I'd seen you the day before and thought you might be after me, so I followed you, hit you over the head and brought you here.'
'Why would I be after you, Blaise?' Harry asked, narrowing his eyes.
Blaise shrugged as best he could in the confines of the rope.' Couple of potions deals went wrong and began causing all sorts of problems with the users. They weren't exactly legal deals, Potter.'
'You're a bloody idiot, you know that, don't you? Hitting me on the head really only made your situation worse. And for your information, I was not after you. I'm here to stop the sale of some stolen Dark artifacts. You wouldn't happen to know anything about those would you?'
'As a matter of fact I would,' Blaise replied. 'Get me out of this and I'll tell you what I know.'
Harry thought for a moment. On the one hand letting Blaise go was not proceeding according to the law, and yet he could solve his case and get back home in time for Christmas if he made this deal. Images of a food-laden table came to mind - turkey and all the trimmings – and it made the deal for him.
'All right. What about Peggy?" he asked.
'I don't care what you do with that dumb cunt, you can–' He was cut off as he doubled over in pain when Harry's foot connected with Blaise's ribs.
'Watch your mouth,' he said. 'There is no one else here and I can do damage to you that no one will ever find and fix.'
Harry saw Blaise gulp and he stepped away again. 'She's just a random, Potter. Happened to see me as I was carrying you back here and tagged along. Though I'd use her to look after you while I did my business. But of course, if you want a thing done well you have to do it yourself,' he finished bitterly.
'I don't want to Obliviate her; it seems like she's had one too many of those already.'
'Just let her go. Everyone around here knows she's crazy anyway; her ramblings about catching an Auror will go overlooked.'
The sound of several cracks of Apparition outside warned Harry that Simon had arrived – after all the action, typically. He smiled and went to meet them. Peggy would be allowed to leave but Blaise would be taken to the local MLE officers and charged.
***