Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, unfortunately not me.

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Chapter 12

Draco's heart sank at the sound of Astoria's voice coming from his front room. What the hell was she doing here? "Who is that?" Harry whispered.

Draco turned to the other man and rolled his eyes. "My ex-wife. In the study, Astoria," he called back.

A minute later, Astoria Greengrass appeared at the door of the study, impeccably dressed as always but looking more than a little intoxicated. "To what do we owe this honor?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"Can't a mother come see her son on his birthday?"

Draco didn't respond, he simply raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Alright fine. Pierre and I got into a bit of an argument, and I thought maybe I could stay here tonight," she responded with her signature pout.

Draco sighed. "Oh, Astoria, really? If you must you can stay, but just for tonight. Then you can go make-up with Pierre or stay with your sister."
"Of course, darling. I really do appreciate it. I'll just go up-" Astoria turned to go upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms when she stopped in her tracks. She let out a loud, angry laugh. "You have got to be fucking kidding me. Harry bloody Potter. How'd you pull that one off, Draco? And without it being all over The Prophet. Bravo."

"Astoria, stop. His son is Scorpius's best friend."

Harry sat frozen on the couch taking in the scene around him. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he had a feeling this night was about to go downhill quickly.

"Did you tell him all about how you cheated on your wife with lookalikes for years? Did that just sweep you right off your feet, Potter? What will your wife say when I tell her you're fucking your childhood nemesis?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Harry sputtered.

"Oh, Potter, don't kid yourself. I know that Draco's been in love you for years. There's no need to hide it."
"Astoria, seriously, stop!"

Harry stared at Draco, jaw slack and face pale. "What is she talking about?" he asked, voice shaking.

Draco opened and closed his mouth multiple times, simply praying that some explanation would come to him. When that didn't work, he closed his eyes and Apparated up to his room, locking the door with the strongest spells he could think of. Then he did something he hadn't done for many, many years. He fell onto his bed and burst into tears.

The next morning Draco woke up to a knocking on his door. "Dad, are you okay?" Scorpius called.

Draco groaned and pulled himself out of bed. His head was throbbing, and his face felt puffy. All he wanted was to drink an entire bottle of firewhisky and go back to bed. Instead he did the responsible, fatherly thing, and let his son in. "Hey, Scor."

"Are you okay?" his son asked in concern.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well one, you look awful. Two, it's 2 pm, and you're just now getting out of bed. And three, I know that mom was here last night because Albus and I heard her yelling. What's going on?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, son. Your mother and I had just had a little too much to drink, that's all." He pulled his son into a hug. "Is it really 2pm?"

Scorpius snorted. "Yes, Dad. You're worse than me…your teenaged son."

Draco laughed. "You have a point. That would explain why I'm so hungry though. Is Albus still here?"

"No, he left a couple hours ago. Mom's not here either, in case you were wondering."

Draco smiled at his son and sighed in relief. "What do you say I get myself cleaned up, and we go out for a late lunch in Diagon Alley and then get some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's?" he suggested.

"Isn't it a little cold for ice cream?" his son replied skeptically.

"Never! And I thought you were my son!"

"Sounds perfect, Dad. As long as you take a shower first. You really do look terrible."

"Ha. Ha," Draco replied sarcastically. "But you're probably right. I'll make it quick."

Draco showered and dressed as quickly as possible, doing everything in his power not to think about the night before. He was determined to keep himself busy for as long as possible so he wouldn't have to think about it. He'd already contemplated Obliviating himself multiple times, but luckily the fate of Gilderoy Lockhart changed his mind quickly. He knew he shouldn't let it affect him so much. He and Potter had been enemies for years up until recently, it should be easy to go back to that, right? And yet somehow the thought of never sitting around, laughing, and drinking firewhisky with Harry Potter again was enough to cause a burning sensation in his eyes. Shaking his head to clear his maudlin thoughts, he collected his son for a fun-filled, carefree afternoon together.

Lunch went just has Draco had hoped it would: a pleasant afternoon with his son to take his mind off of the events of the previous night. They currently sat in the ice cream parlor that had been reopened by relatives of the original owner after the war ended. The pair was contentedly eating their ice cream when Scorpius cleared his throat cautiously. "Hey, Dad, can I ask you something?"

Draco paused, almost afraid of what was about to come out of his son's mouth. "Anything," he replied, not quite meaning it.

"You and Mr. Potter…" he trailed off and Draco felt his face go even paler than usual. "Are you, well, are you dating?"

"Of course not. The Potters are happily married," Draco replied, purposefully not asking what had brought on that question.

"I'm not sure that's true, but okay. You know, if you were, you could tell me right?"

Draco was annoyed to note that his heart did an odd flip at his son's words. "Absolutely, but I'm not currently dating anyone. What a silly question."

"Is it really that far-fetched?" Draco stared blankly at Scorpius. "I mean, you get along really well, and last night after you both had some firewhisky it was almost as if you were flirting a little. And then of course there was the fact that Mr. Potter lost the Seeker's match because he was too busy staring at you. Albus also told me that his parents haven't really been getting along recently. They're trying to hide it, but he can tell. And then we may have overheard what mom said…"

Draco wasn't quite sure where to begin with his son. His brain was clearly malfunctioning because the first thing out of his mouth was, "He lost because he was staring at me?"

Scorpius burst out laughing. "Oh, Dad, you have it bad."

"I do not!" Draco protested. "Although, this is probably a good time to inform you that your mother and I divorced because I realized I was gay."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Obviously!"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, c'mon. Do you really think I didn't know? I notice things, Dad, like your affinity for staring at men in their dress robes at all the fancy parties you dragged me to as a child."

"Scorpius, my little Ravenclaw," Draco responded with a chuckle. All this time, he had dreaded telling his son about his sexuality, and he had known the whole damn time. "What do you say we head home?"

"I know this is your attempt to change the subject, but don't worry. We can continue once we're home."

Now it was Draco's turn to roll his eyes. "Alright, alright. Grab my arm."

And with that the pair Apparated to the Manor. "If we're going to continue this conversation, I'm going to need a glass of firewhisky."

"Can I have some too?" Scorpius asked, giving his father an innocent look.

Draco sighed. "I'm too worn out to argue. One glass, and I'll warn you, you're not gonna like it."

"Sure, Dad."

Draco grinned to himself, remembering the first time he had tried the strong drink. Scorpius raised the glass to his mouth and took a large gulp. Which immediately came spewing back out of his mouth. "Ugh! That is vile!" he exclaimed.

Draco doubled over in laughter. "You can't say I didn't warn you, but your reaction was priceless."

Scorpius glared at his father for a couple seconds before dissolving into giggles as well. As the pair were recovering, the sound of the Floo roaring to life reached the study. "Now what?" Draco grumbled. "Let's go see who it is."

When the pair reached the front hall, they were greeted by the sight of a sheepish Harry Potter. "Can we talk?"