Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I can't even claim I own the plot of this chapter. Zana helped me with it. So thank you Zana, this chapter is officially dedicated to you.

Evie Glacier Tako: Ah, James... Yes, well, it will all get taken care of. Believe me; I wanted to smack James several times while I was writing this story. But in the end... And Scorpius wasn't hurt bad enough to have Madam Pomfrey tell Draco. If he had to stay there overnight, then she would've. And don't worry; what you said made plenty of sense. Thanks for reviewing, and I would love to receive more feedback, so feel free to pm me anytime. I will answer questions as long as they aren't spoilers...

Readers: That last part of Evie's review response goes for all of you. You can pm me anytime, and questions will be answered as long as they aren't spoilers.

"James seems to be happier," Lily said thoughtfully.

Albus nodded. "I wonder what's up with him."

Lily looked up, not meeting her brother's eyes. "I don't know."

"Well, I'm going to find out," Albus said.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever Al. I'm going to go find Hugo."

She left to go find their cousin and Albus went looking for his brother. He finally found James in a deserted classroom. He quietly slipped in and hid in the shadows, watching. Scorpius Malfoy had his shirt off and James was examining some bruises and scratches on Scorpius' chest.

"I'm fine James," Scorpius sighed.

"These cuts need to be cleaned," James replied, pulling out his wand and muttering a few spells, looking satisfied with the results.

"Where did you learn those?"

"The day you were in the Hospital Wing, I went to the library and looked up some first aid spells so that I could help you," James said.

"That was sweet of you," Scorpius said, hugging James.

James smiled and tilted Scorpius' face up so that he could kiss him.

Albus gasped softly, covering his mouth so the two boys wouldn't hear him. No wonder he hates Dad so much, he thought. Maybe I should write to Dad, and at least tell him that something is going on.

Scorpius broke the kiss, smiling at James. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too," James murmured.

Scorpius yawned. "I need to get some sleep, we have Astronomy tonight."

"Sounds fun," James said, walking out with Scorpius, presumably to walk him to the dungeons.

Albus waited a minute before following, arriving in time to watch James kiss Scorpius one more time before they went to their separated common rooms. As soon as they were both gone, Albus went into the common room to write to his father, sending the letter with a school owl. He went to the dorm to find Scorpius was already asleep. Albus laid on his own bed, reading by wand light until it was time to go to Astronomy.

Albus walked with Scorpius, talking. "I just think that since your dad is dating mine and we are going to be living together, we should at least try to be friends," Albus said.

Scorpius nodded, only half paying attention as he thought about James. They got to the Astronomy Tower, turning in last week's homework and beginning their class work as they talked.

~Malfoy Manor~

"Dad,

"James has been spending a lot of time with Scorpius and Scorpius is covered in bruises. I'm going to try and become friends with him since we will be living together, and I will try to keep an eye on him and see if I can figure out where the bruises are coming from. Lily and I can't wait to see you again, and we love you."

"Albus"

Draco's vision turned red as Harry watched him read the letter. "James has been beating my son?" he growled.

Harry stared at him in shock. "That's not what Albus said."

"You've read this. You should see that all of the evidence points to the fact that James beats Scorpius up," Draco snarled, waving the letter at Harry.

"James would never beat anyone," Harry protested.

"I read somewhere that children who were abused sometimes grow up to abuse others," Draco said nastily, looking at Harry pointedly.

Harry flinched. "James wouldn't," he said again.

"You are going to continue to defend him when everything points against him?" Draco asked incredulously. "Not to mention he hates you and probably wouldn't appreciate your efforts anyway. Look at the evidence: He spends a lot of time with Scorpius after making it crystal clear that he is not happy about us dating, and now Scorpius is covered in bruises! It is obvious that James is the one giving him the bruises."

"I'm leaving," Harry said, going upstairs to back his belongings.

"Good. Keep your son away from my son or else," Draco growled.

Neither of them noticed Astoria watching through the window. "This is working better than I planned," she smirked to herself.

Harry came back downstairs with a bag, hands shaking in anger. "I may not have spent time with him in a year, but—"

"Exactly!" Draco said. "You haven't spent time with him in a year! This means you really don't know him anymore. People change in a year, Harry."

Harry shook his head sadly and left the house. Draco watched him leave and angrily stomped upstairs to write to Scorpius.

"Scorpius,

"I know what he's doing to you, and you need to get away from him. Nobody has the right to hit you like that. If he doesn't leave you alone, I'm going to have to deal with him myself."

"Love, Draco"

~Hogwarts~

Scorpius read the letter in the morning, heart sinking. "James promised," he whispered, getting up to look for James, who was eating breakfast in the Great Hall.

As soon as James saw Scorpius, he hid the letter he had been reading, which just made Scorpius more suspicious.

"We need to talk," Scorpius said.

James followed Scorpius to the Room of Requirement.

"What's wrong?" James asked, hugging Scorpius.

Scorpius pulled away and glared at James. "You promised," he growled.

"What did I do?" James asked.

"You told my father!" Scorpius yelled, showing James the letter.

James groaned. "Your father isn't talking about Greyback. He thinks I'm beating you."

"How do you know?" Scorpius demanded. James silently handed him the letter he had hidden at breakfast.

"James,

"I know you didn't want to hear from me again, but I need to know: Are you beating Scorpius Malfoy? Draco thinks you are because of a letter Albus sent me."

"Harry"

"I never break my promises," James said quietly.

"Scorpius buried his face in James' chest. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

James wrapped his arms around Scorpius. "It's fine," he said, kissing Scorpius' hair.

They stood like that for a long time, Scorpius trying to think of a way to convince his father that James wasn't beating him without mentioning Greyback, and James was trying to figure out why Albus would write a letter like that to Harry.