Disclaimer: Do YOU think I own Harry Potter? (if your answer is yes than you're pretty stupid)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Thank You For Telling Me

Albus woke at eight o'clock the next morning. This was extremely unusual, seeing as he usually slept until eleven or noon easily. But this morning he woke at eight o'clock and his first thought when he opened his eyes (once he had gotten over the groggy disorientation of first waking) was of Scorpius.

He sat bolt upright, nearly throwing the covers to the floor, before he remembered that was in his own bed at Grimmauld Place, not at Malfoy Manor, and that Scorpius was no longer ill. He let himself breathe for a few seconds, feeling slightly sheepish, before getting out of bed and getting dressed in a much calmer, more reasonable fashion. Then he left his bedroom, walked down the hall, and tapped softly on the door to the room Scorpius was currently occupying.

"Scor?"

He cracked the door open and stuck his head inside.

"Scor? Are you awake?"

The blonde raised his head from his pillow.

"I am now."

Albus bit his lip. "Sorry."

"Never mind, I was waking up anyway," said Scorpius, sitting up fully and brushing pale silken strands from his silvery gray eyes.

"How did you sleep?" asked Albus, stepping fully into the room.

"Much better after you came," said Scorpius. "I think I might actually feel half alive again."

Albus smiled and sat down beside his boyfriend on the bed, sliding an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close.

"I'm glad," he said, kissing Scorpius's temple.

Scorpius turned his head and caught the other boy's lips with his own. Albus tilted his head slightly and increased the pressure of the contact.

"Mum says to come down to breakfast now before it gets cold," said a cheerful voice from the doorway.

Albus jumped, but Scorpius started so violently he slammed back into the headboard, a look akin to terror on his face.

"Scor, it's okay," said Albus, pressing his palm over Scorpius's frantically beating heart. "Relax. Breathe." He turned to scowl at Lily. "Scare us half to death, why don't you. Do you ever knock?"

"The door was open," she said innocently.

Scorpius was still staring at Lily as though she were a ghost.

"Scorpius, relax," he said again. "She already knows about us."

Scorpius blinked. "You told her already?"

"No," said Albus irritably. "She was listening outside the door last night."

Scorpius relaxed and chuckled. "Ah, I should have known. And I shouldn't have freaked out like that. It's just that that's the way my parents found us. And I want to tell people, but not like that."

"I understand," said Albus. "That makes perfect sense." He stood and offered Scorpius his hand. "Let's go have breakfast, shall we?"

Scorpius grabbed his robes and then the two boys looked pointedly at Lily.

"Do you mind?"

"Oh please, you're practically my brother."

"Scram!" said Albus.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," said Lily huffily.

She shut the door and Scorpius got dressed.

When he opened the door again to go down to breakfast five minutes later Lily was still standing right outside.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" said Albus.

"Nope," said Lily cheerfully. "Now," her eyes narrowed. "Why did you tell Hugo before you told me?"

Scorpius chuckled. "Is that what you're in a huff about? Anyway, we didn't tell him. You and he have something in common."

"Oh, we have nearly everything in common," said Lily airily. "What in particular are you referring to?"

"Eavesdropping on private conversations," said Scorpius, raising his pale brows in his best Malfoy look.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him and skipped ahead of them down the stairs.

"Good morning, boys," said Ginny when they entered the kitchen. "Lily, as you've already eaten breakfast can you please run to the store for me and buy some more flour, we're clean out."

"Mu-um, why can't—"

"Lily..." said Ginny warningly.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," said Lily irritably. "But don't think I don't know what you're doing. You just want me out of the way so you can talk to Al and Scor in private."

"Go!" said her mother, and Lily flounced bad-temperedly out of the room.

Ginny turned back to the boys and placed a plate of toast and a bowl of oatmeal in front of each of them, followed by a cup of coffee for Albus and a cup of tea for Scorpius.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Ginny kindly, settling herself down across from them with her own cup of tea. "You looked exhausted when you arrived last night."

"Yes, Mrs. Potter," said Scorpius, swallowing his nervousness about the conversation he knew was coming. "Thank you for letting me stay."

"We're always delighted to have you to stay, Scorpius," said Ginny.

"But just why am I staying, right?" said Scorpius.

Ginny set her tea cup back down on its saucer, keeping her hands cupped around it.

"You know you are always welcome in this house, Scorpius," said Ginny. "But I can't just let you stay here indefinitely without a reason. Have you had a fight with your parents?"

Scorpius stared down at his oatmeal. "Sort of."

"Don't you think it would be better to go back and sort it out?" she asked gently.

"That isn't an option," said Scorpius, more harshly than he had intended.

Ginny's eyebrows shot up.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Potter. I only meant...it's not something that can be sorted out."

Albus reached out and took Scorpius's hand, a gesture that wasn't missed by his mother's keen eyes.

"I think the two of you had better explain the situation so that I understand it."

Albus ran a hand through his messy black hair.

"Mum," said Albus, his voice breaking—he hadn't realized how hard it would be to say this to his mother. "I'm—I'm gay."

Ginny looked at her youngest son for a moment and smiled softly. "Thank you for telling me, Albus."

"You knew, didn't you?"

"I suspected."

"And you're"—he swallowed—"okay with it?"

"Albus," said Ginny, reaching across the table to squeeze his shoulder, "your father and I will love and support you no matter what your preferences. It makes no difference to us whether you like men or women; just so long as you are happy then we are happy for you. You are our son."

Beside Albus, Scorpius clenched his fists so hard that his nails bit into the flesh of his palms. He was happy for his boyfriend, he was, but this display of motherly acceptance and affection was physically painful for him to watch.

"But I'm not quite clear on what this has to do with Scorpius being here," said Ginny.

"Scorpius was—that is—his parents..."

"I am no longer welcome at Malfoy Manor," said Scorpius, still staring at his plate. "My mother and I...do not see eye to eye about my own preferences."

Ginny looked between the two boys. She had a distinct idea where this was going and she didn't think she would like what she was about to hear.

"Scor's Mum made him pick between her and me," said Albus, tears choking his voice. "He chose me and now he has nowhere to go. Please Mum, you have to let him stay."

Ginny clenched her jaw. "Scorpius, your mother kicked you out because you're interested in men?" her voice was icy.

"She doesn't have a very high opinion of homosexuals," said Scorpius.

"And your father?"

"He understands. He isn't happy about my...decision, but...the problems aren't with him. He is more supportive than you might expect." The end of the phrase, 'from a Malfoy' went unsaid.

Ginny leaned across the table and squeezed Scorpius's shoulder. "Of course you can stay with us, for as long as you need," she said, holding in the anger that was bubbling in her blood. "And if you need anything, just ask. I know I can't take the place of your own mother, but..."

Scorpius nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"We will have to establish some conditions of course," said Ginny, raising her eyebrows slightly at the two teenagers.

Albus blushed furiously.

"Mum!"

"When James brings a girlfriend home to stay the weekend I impose conditions on them, and I will do the same for you," said Ginny sternly. "No locking yourselves in the bedroom, no late night rendezvous..."

"Mum, please!" said Albus, mortified. "We won't, you know we won't!"

Scorpius chuckled. "She's teasing you, Al. Lighten up."

Ginny smiled. "Only partially. I won't hold for any indecent behavior. I trust you boys, but what kind of mother would I be of I didn't set ground rules when my son's boyfriend is living under my roof?"

Scorpius nodded. "Of course, Mrs. Potter, I understand. And thank you."

"You are very welcome, Scorpius," said Ginny. "Over the past six years I have watched you and Albus grow into fine young men; I'm very proud of both of you."

Scorpius took a shaky breath and Albus touched his knee under the table.

"Mum, I know it's cowardly, but...d'you think you could tell Dad? I know...I know he'll be fine, I just...I don't feel up to going through that again. It's nerve-wracking."

"Of course," said Ginny. "I'll talk with him tonight."

Scorpius was privately relieved—he didn't want to go through that again either. It was nerve-wracking.

"And Lily and James?" asked Ginny, the corner of her mouth quirking slightly.

"The dirty little spy already knows," said Albus.

"Don't call your sister a dirty little spy," said Ginny mildly, her eyes veiling laughter. "I supposed that explains her behavior earlier, then?"

"Mmmph," grunted Albus.

"And James?"

"I'll tell James," said Albus "I'd like to tell at least one person who hasn't already figured it out on their own."

Both Ginny and Scorpius laughed.

*****TWAMM*****

Harry looked over his glass of wine at his wife.

"Gin, what is it? You've been pacing like a caged hippogriff all evening. Sit down and tell me what's on your mind."

Ginny paused in her circuit of the kitchen and fell into the chair next to her husband.

"Albus and Scorpius told me today the reason Scorpius wants to stay here for the rest of the summer."

"And?"

"His parents threw him out!" she exploded, unable to hold it in anymore. "His mother has disowned him, Harry—his own mother! And do you know why? Because he had the courage to be himself!"

"Whoa, Ginny, calm down," said Harry. "Astoria has disowned Scorpius? Why? What do you mean 'had the courage to be himself'?"

"He and Albus are together, Harry," said Ginny. "Romantically. You know how we always suspected that Albus was gay. He and Scorpius are together, and they're so sweet, you should see them..." she smiled. "But Astoria doesn't see that, she rages at her own son—her own son! Nearly curses him. Astoria and I have never seen eye-to-eye about a lot of things, but we got along decently—I never thought she could do something like this!"

Harry stared into space, wine glass forgotten on the table in front of him.

"So...Albus and Scorpius are together," he said eventually, his voice level.

"Yes..." said Ginny hesitantly. "Harry, surely you don't mind Albus being gay."

"Of course not," said Harry. "I would never tell any of my children who to be or how to live their life."

"Scorpius is good for Albus," said Ginny. "I know we were dubious about him at first, being Draco's son, but he's worked wonders on Albus. Remember how shy he used to be?"

Harry brought his eyes back to his wife. "I do," he said. "I like Scorpius. What I don't like is the same thing you don't like; the way his family has treated him about this. No one deserves to be denied by their family because of what they are."

His voice was raw. Ginny laid a hand on his arm in understanding.

"The last two generations, and more, saw enough lives ruined by that; I won't let Scorpius's become another one."

Ginny smiled and hugged her husband. "I knew you'd understand."

He returned her embrace, inhaling the fragrance of her hair.

"He said Draco was understanding," she added, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "Draco hasn't disowned him."

"Good," said Harry. "His experiences during the war taught him something. Maybe if Astoria's family had been more affected by it she'd have different sentiments too."

"That's an uncharitable thought, Harry," Ginny chided him gently.

Harry ran a hand over his brow. "I know."

"We should get some sleep," said Ginny, feeling much calmer after venting her anger to her husband. "James comes home tomorrow and then we'll have four teenagers in the house."

"Merlin help me," said Harry, rubbing his eyes behind his glasses. "How soon 'til the first of September again?"

AN: Ok, not the most exciting, but I was really just trying to wrap up all the loose ends at this point. I like this fic, but I was ready for it to be OVER. (But there's still a chance to review before it is ;) )

-SQ