Chapter Three

"Rose," Scorpius called as he watched her disappear into the darkness of the lawn, "Rose," He followed her, halting as she did. Rose was aware of him, Scorpius could tell by the rigidity of her frame, yet she said nothing to acknowledge him, "Rose," He placed his hands on her soft shoulders; the only thing preventing them from being completely bare were her thin dress straps.

"I hate her sometimes," She croaked, not moving from under his hands, "Molly thinks that because she is one of the 'older cousins' makes her the boss of everyone else," Scorpius felt himself cringe; Molly took after her father Percy in both appearances and personality, "I mean, I love her and all, but she always feels the need to argue about something or another," He knew what she was talking about; this time it had been the promiscuous of her dress (which wasn't actually that bad, plus it was summer and extremely hot out) whereas last time he had seen her it was about who would clean the silverware, "It's aggravating,"

"Yeah," Scorpius rubbed her shoulders gently, kneading the skin with his thumbs and palms, "Your cousins are lovable and obnoxious and insane all rolled into one,"

Rose shook with laughter and a strange feeling filled Scorpius' chest, "I envy you, Scorp. You only have two cousins,"

Scorpius scowled, "At least your cousins are fun. Mine are boring and never want to do anything interesting. When I get married I'm going to have lots of kids so their kids won't be subject to the tedious torture I am,"

A soft warm breeze wafted through the garden, and the full moon made an appearance at last. Rose's dress blew back and Scorpius was suddenly hyperaware of the way her tan legs looked in the pale light of the flushed moon. The skin was flawless on her legs except for a few sparse freckles that were invisible in the semi-darkness. The string lights that had been up on the patio since mid-October cast a yellow shine on her shoulders, revealing the dips and curves of her partially-exposed back. Gulping, Scorpius removed his hands, nervous for the first time. Rose spun about, a smile on her face. Her yellow dress was low cut, not obscenely so but enough to tease, and it made him want to escape the sight of her beauty. She's just my friend, Scorpius scolded himself, Stop being so pitiful, Scorpius Malfoy.

"Me too,"

"Hm?" He questioned, distracted by her mesmerizing blue eyes, the same eyes that were glowing in the moonlight and reflecting his face, as if made of glass. Everything about her, it seemed, was admirable in this washed-out, yellow light. A strand of her hair fell loose and he resisted the urge to tuck it back behind her ear.

"I want a lot of kids too," The implications were there, and Scorpius felt himself blush. They weren't dating of course; they were best friends for the love of God…

"Oh," Scorpius' hands had found their ways to her wrists. When did that happen? And why did he suddenly find a clear look down her dress?

Scorpius focused on the sky. Yep, there was the Big Dipper; the stars were really clear out here-

"Yeah," Rose's mouth pursed and puckered, her white teeth grasping the pink flesh of her lips, "Cool,"

His hand was in her hair then, running his long fingers through the tresses. She stopped biting her lip nervously and stared earnestly at him, eyes wide. Scorpius had never seen a more honest creature. Feeling self-conscious was not an option, because he had wanted to do this for so long. He just hadn't had the will, nor the opportunity, to do so until now.

"Yeah," He repeated her earlier words "Cool," Then his lips were on hers, and his hands were gone from the wrists onto her waist. Scorpius bit down on her bottom lip playfully eliciting a small gasp. She then traced her tongue about his top lip and he was exploding inside. He wanted to drag her into the Burrow up to a guest room and…

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out from across the shadowed lawn, "Scorp, which cousin you snogging now?" Scorpius pulled away from a radiant Rose. Inside his mind, he cursed Albus Potter with every nasty word he'd ever learned.

"'Which one?'" The infuriated Malfoy turned around to glare at Al, "Gosh, mate, I'm not that bad," Al's dark hair was messy from the wind as he marched towards them.

"Oh," Al's mouth fell open when he realized who his best friend was kissing. A very pleased Rose wiggled her fingers at her cousin jokingly, "It's…. b-but you two…" For the first time in his life, Albus Potter was at a loss for words. He and James were quite alike in that they always had something to say. If there wasn't another similarity between them, there was that. At this moment in time, however, Albus had absolutely nothing to comment on. All he could do was stutter.

"Y-you can't snog!" He shouted at last, throwing his arms in the air, "You're my best friends, my greatest accomplishments," Rose snorted, "And you're… SNOGGING,"

"Al," Scorpius paused, looking at his friend sternly, speaking a line that was often said as a warning to those who were about to piss him off, "Shut up,"

And that was when things began to go downhill.

Scorpius stood next to Rose, her hand clenched in his. His father was shooting him odd looks; which was understandable considering the circumstances. Al was staring at his 16-year-old father with horrid fascination. Harry Potter was the splitting image of Al, or rather; Al was the splitting image of Harry. They were practically clones.

The boy-who-lived was knocking on the Headmaster's thick wooden door.

"Enter," Came a weary voice from inside. Scorpius was full of anticipation. Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard to ever live. He had heard of the man of course; he was Al's namesake. And if Scorpius' memory of History of Magic was sufficient the man had died in the spring of 1997 a few days before the school had let out that year. He had asked his father about the former Headmaster many times, seeing as he'd been alive when Draco was in school. All his father ever responded was muttering about needing a stiff drink. Scorpius was excited to finally come face-to-face with a man he thought he'd never meet; a man who was a revered war hero and was held in such a high regard by many witches and wizards.

Harry pulled the door open to reveal the large circular office, full with whirring machines and familiar furniture. The only things missing from the room were the portraits of Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore—everything else was the same as the office the Headmaster had in Scorpius' time. The latter was sitting behind the mahogany desk, writing on a piece of parchment. Scorpius noticed how old the man looked; lines of exhaustion carved into his already wrinkly face. His eyes swung to the Headmaster's blackened left hand before travelling upward to meet Dumbledore's twinkling eyes. There was youth there, coupled with something else. It felt like power; dangerous and unyielding. Scorpius realized as Dumbledore stood that he would not want to get the aged wizard on his bad side.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy," The Headmaster smiled genuinely, his eyes flickering around, "And to whom do I do the pleasure to this evening?"

"Rose Weasley," Rose stepped forward, sticking her free hand out. Dumbledore took it, nodding.

"A cousin of Mr. Ron Weasley, perhaps?" Said the old man idly. Curiously, he turned his attention to Scorpius next. He did not look fazed as he looked at Scorpius. Anyone who looked at Al and Scorpius could tell that they were directly related to their fathers yet the Headmaster did not blink as he waited for the blonde to speak. He had given them full control of the situation.

"Scorpius," A quick look at his father, whose jaw was clenched tight, eyes set straight ahead, "Malfoy," A fleeting look of surprise flickered across the elder man's face before settling into a serene, almost expectant expression. As though he knew that was coming. Scorpius stuck out a hand, which Dumbledore took, "It's an honor to meet you sir," said he. A visible shudder ran through Draco but his son ignored him. I had almost forgotten about the Dark Mark on his arm.

Dumbledore moved along to Al, who was grinning widely, "Albus Severus Potter," He stated proudly, taking the Headmaster's hand firmly in his own.

"Interesting," Dumbledore said, nodding to Draco, then to Harry, "I assume that you did the necessary charms to assure that they are not imposters."

Draco mumbled something incoherent and Harry, picking up on what he said, replied, "Yes, although Malfoy isn't believing whatever they told him."

Dumbledore merely nodded, moving to sit down. Gesturing to the chairs in front of him they did as he, sitting on the plush cushions that were colored in hues of red, green, yellow and blue. Rose's hand was still in Scorpius' as they sat and although Draco had stopped glaring at them, Scorpius felt terrible. His father hated him already. Wait until he finds out what house I'm in…

"So," Dumbledore pressed his pointer fingers together, resting them on his grey bearded chin thoughtfully, "How did you get here?"

"Well," Albussaid slowly, "We were at the Burrow and my older brother James had a time turner… an old one. They destroyed them a long time ago, I think. I'm not sure about the details… I think it has something to do with the Ministry. Anyways, he must've found it upstairs in one of the bedrooms. He was coming into the back yard to visit us when it fell out of his hands and it broke all over us."

Professor Dumbledore seemed to accept the statement. "Is that what they told you, Mr. Malfoy?"

Realizing he was being addressed, Draco said simply, "Yes. It is." As a sort of afterthought, he added, "Though I don't believe one word of it."

"They're not using polyjuice, it would've worn off by now." Harry commented. Draco scoffed, and muttered something that sounded like "There are other ways to disguise oneself, Potter," under his breath.

Professor Dumbledore nodded absently, and Scorpius could see that his mind was already made up. The Headmaster's eyes flickering to the dark window as he said, "I do believe some introductions are in order, as you will be here for at least the night. It's late and we need to have a discussion another day. Please, do tell me your age and what house you're in—"

"How do you know their not—" Draco proclaimed, jumping from his chair.

"—Lying, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore countered, "Because I am skilled in Legilimency. Now I suggest you take your seat."

Draco didn't ignore the hardness in the Headmaster's voice. He sat down quietly, though everyone in the room could tell he wasn't happy about it.

Scorpius blinked at the change in atmosphere. The elderly Headmaster certainly hadn't read their minds, had he? He shared a quick glance with Al, but was otherwise silent on the matter.

"Well, go on then." Dumbledore's smile was back, along with the reassuring tone he used.

Rose went first again, "I'm sixteen and I'm in Gryffindor," She pretended to stab Scorpius with an invisible sword, "Where the brave dwell, of course,"

"You can't get rid of me that easy, Rose," Scorpius joked, leaning forward.

Getting closer so he could smell her enticing perfume, Rose whispered, "Who said I'd want to?"

Al cleared his throat loudly, startling both of them. They shot back, not looking at each other. Their faces were flushed a matching shade of crimson, yet their hands remained intertwined, "Right," Coughing jokingly, Al smiled, "Sixteen and I too am in Gryffindor," Harry smiled proudly at his future son.

"Sixteen," Scorpius shot a quick glance at his father. Somewhere in the room a clock chimed twice, indicating the late hour, "Gryffindor."