Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks very much for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Have a great day!

Required Bonding

Phoenix had made people clap before, he'd done the most ordinary things before and his parents and other people had acted like he'd done something really important, but this time he felt genuine pleasure and a sense of accomplishment as they applauded his singing and asked for more. So he sang his 'Twiller' song again, and then his absolutely favorite song, 'Mr Hug-A-Bug-Bear', because that was his and Mummy's song and he knew it by heart. And the clapping and the whistling and the goodwill beaming at him filled Phoenix with happiness, his whole face lighting up as his little body wiggled with glee.

It was only after he was done with his little show, the majority of the people going back to their work while those closest to him paid him extra attention, that Phoenix became aware of the serious problem in the room. He'd been so eager to get to the music place that he hadn't really paid attention to the other people before, but now he was and their colors were making his tummy hurt! They were all faded and tired, the cores still bright, so they weren't all going someplace far away like Kreacher, but their colors were not how they were supposed to be!

Worried now Phoenix studied his family's colors, noting that Music Maker's was fine, and his parents were better than the others, but Funny One, Poofy, Cookie -Smelling, Fwinty-the others had messed up coloring too that were not right. They were supposed to be brighter! Happier! What was going on here?!

"What's wrong, Little Man?" That was Mummy's voice, and he could see from the colors that his mummy was worried for him.

Wanting to explain, and just wanting answers to what was going on, Phoenix tried to think of a way to make himself understood, frustrated that he lacked the words to talk about the colors and what they meant. All he could think to do was motion around his mummy's form, then those closest to them both, saying 'Wrong!" over and over again.

He could see they didn't understand, which frustrated them all, so Phoenix threw his hands in the air in exasperation and then toddled over to his da, knowing that the calmness of his aura would help him think better. Once snuggled in, with da's soothing voice in his ears and one of da's hands rubbing his back the way he liked best, Phoenix's faced settled into contemplative lines.

It didn't take him long to come to the obvious conclusion, which was that he needed to give them the happy stuff inside him so that they were happy too. Scrunching up his face in concentration Phoenix evaluated his stores, finding them to be pretty good though he certainly wasn't as full as he'd been the last time he'd had to let the stuff out. He had enough to spare, he decided, especially since his mummy and da's colors were so in tune with each other and him lately. That meant it wouldn't be hard for him to gather more of the happy feelings inside him.

And besides, this was important. Most of these people belonged to him, their connection to him such that someday he'd get the good stuff from them too. He would help them now.

Keeping enough to keep him going Phoenix smiled and let it loose, unaware that his hair glowed like a golden halo as the boy watched his colors leave him and spread out like flowing water, though only he could see it.

But he could see when it hit, watching their bodies jerk and their colors flare up like lit candles.

Perfect.

)

Later, when everyone tried to discuss and describe what it had felt like to experience Phoenix's gift, they all found themselves at a lack for words. The Hufflepuffs had all been asleep when Phoenix's gift had hit them, so their version of what it had been like revolved around the vivid and happy dreams they'd had. But being awake-there weren't words. They hadn't seen or heard anything, and to say they felt the gift when it had crashed into them didn't really fit either. It would be more accurate, they finally decided, to say that what they'd felt was feelings they associated with love. The emotions inspired were of the purest sort, like the warm hug of a mother or grandmother, the joy in seeing a loved one after a long separation, the scents of home…and an inner calm and peace that couldn't be put into words either.

They also felt refreshed, like they were having the most relaxing vacation of their life and had never heard of homework. You'd have thought they'd been getting ten hours of sleep every night for the past month and were in tip top shape.

And they all knew who they had to thank for it, the boy's hair all but standing on end and the smuggest grin any of them had ever seen on a little boy's face graced the toddler's. Someone was VERY pleased with himself.

Naturally they were pretty pleased with him too, thanking Phoenix with lots of kisses, hugs, and head rubs, plus he was passed around like a Muggle football before ending up in Scorpius's arms, since that's where he'd wanted to be before.

Filled with renewed energy and purpose everyone got back to work with the sense that there was no way they could fail now while Albus and Scorpius, seeing that Phoenix was pretty tired and ready for bed, decided that they'd head out for the night since they were pretty sure they were no longer needed.

Davey, riding high and forgetting about the looks Scorpius and Gabrielle had been giving him earlier, asked what time they wanted to meet up tomorrow after Hogsmeade so that he could continue giving Phoenix music lessons. They had to see now how important it was to continue exposing Phoenix to music after all.

Feeling very good didn't stop Scorpius from hesitating to go along with the idea though, the Slytherin not a hundred percent sure he could trust Davey to take proper care of his son.

Obviously getting that vibe Magda opted to save her boyfriend yet again by stating that she'd stick to the two like glue and would supervise. She came from a large family and both Scorpius and Albus knew her to be a dependable and far more mature babysitter than her boyfriend.

So Scorpius caved, knowing how much Phoenix enjoyed being around Albus's idiot friend. Plus he couldn't help but melt under the puppy eyes Albus was giving him, no doubt thinking of the plans they'd had for their 'good nap'.

Agreeing to the time Albus suggested, Davey was all smiles and eagerness as he assured them both that he would take the best care of their musical genius and would not expose him to anything harmful. The kid was really getting into Michael Jackson at the moment, best to keep that momentum going.

"And if he wants to alter his face afterwards, at least it can be done magically."

Face alight with rarely seen fury at the slur against one of his idols, horrible plastic surgery aside, Davey immediately jumped on the offensive as he defended the Prince of Pop, having done so many times before. That it was his girlfriend who'd said it didn't matter, he wouldn't tolerate such slander from anyone.

Leaving him to it Albus and Scorpius headed out with Phoenix, the boy clingy the way he had been the last time he'd let loose his happy energy. The two took turns passing the boy between them as they walked, Phoenix was practically a deadweight in his tiredness, but they managed to get back to their rooms without incident until they tried to put Phoenix down in his own bed, the boy clutching at Albus and muttering low, but audible "Nos."

Offering to put him in his box house instead got the same response, though this time he followed his negative response by asking a question. "Me stay you, peas?"

"Maybe he needs to be with us, needs to be close?"

Considering this Albus agreed that that made sense, taking Phoenix with them as they headed towards their room. They took turns getting changed into their pajamas and then they placed Phoenix in the middle of Albus's bed, the two climbing in on either side to sandwich their son between them.

Leaning over Phoenix Albus gave Scorpius a long, slow kiss good night, whispering that he couldn't wait until tomorrow.

Whispering back his agreement Scorpius smiled, both men settling in to sleep beside their boy with smiles on their faces.

They fell easily into slumber, their dreams happy and vibrant with colors and sounds and with a clarity that promised that these dreams would not fade quickly the way most dreams did. And though none of the three knew it then or later on their dreams were shared, all of them together and happy as they played in their brilliant dreamscape.

)

Mother Nature proved to be on the students' side when the day of the Hogsmeade visit rolled in, or at least she felt such pity for them that she figured the least she could do was give them a picture perfect winter day with no wind and the sun giving enough warmth that those leaving the castle didn't have to bundle up like explorers at the North Pole. The snow on the ground wasn't deep, there was hardly any ice to contend with, and the vast majority of the students lining up to leave school grounds that morning looked like death warmed over.

Still riding high off the energy boost Phoenix had given them Albus, Scorpius and their fellow study buddies were some of the few exceptions to that, looking hale and hearty and getting plenty of dirty looks from those who were only going to the tiny village because they refused to miss out on the visit after nearly killing themselves to ensure that they could go.

In three straight lines they approached their headmaster, Filch and the teacher sent from hell to torture them, waiting for their turn to have their name checked off the lists Professor Adler had compiled of students whose work merited them being allowed to go to Hogsmeade.

Had all five years' worth of students been there this would have taken forever, but most had given up on trying to meet Alder's standards or just didn't have the energy to go even if they had. Only the stubborn, brilliant, or very lucky students were lined up and the lines moved quickly because those in front of them wanted to get to the village and back as quickly as possible to sleep.

Fred Weasley stood a short distance away from the castle, waiting for Gabrielle, and that fact entertained those in line and gave them something to talk about as they willed the caffeine in their system to do its job and their bodies to last the day.

For her part Gabrielle ignored the looks and comments, waiting patiently in line before marching up to Professor Adler when it was time for her to pass through, her gaze resolute and determined as she nodded regally when she was given the nod to proceed.

Striding off and over to Fred Gabrielle came to a stop in front of him, fighting the urge to squirm as he smiled at her. She'd let Lily and Rose help her pick out her outfit and style her hair, the makeup her own doing and not something she had a lot of skill with. She'd gotten the okay though, so hopefully she didn't look too bad.

Feeling she should say something Gabrielle said the first thing that came to mind. "I thought about snogging you in front of her, just to rub it in her face, but I thought that would be wrong, you know, seeing as you said you were serious and all. I mean-because-we haven't-aren't-bugger."

Gabrielle's face when red as she realized that she'd just said

Grinning widely Fred reached out to take her hand, lifting it up and placing a chaste kiss on the brief line of skin showing between her gloved hand and the edge of her winter coat. "I'm just glad you came. You look beautiful."

Color still flushing her cheeks but going down a little, Gabrielle couldn't stop herself from pointing out that part of that was the fact that they were currently surrounded by people who looked half dead. Of course she looked better in comparison.

Shaking his head over the fact that the woman just could not take a compliment, they'd have to work on that, Fred just switched his hold so that they were holding hands, asking if she was ready to head into the village.

Nodding shyly, Gabrielle lightly squeezed his hand back.

To put her at ease Fred complimented her on the fact that she didn't look nearly as exhausted as most everyone else, which to his way of thinking meant that she must be nearly as smart as Rose and Hugo. He'd heard how bad the teacher was, and having met her he was more than willing to believe that they hadn't been exaggerating.

Shaking her head, and glad for a subject she felt steady talking about, Gabrielle smiled and explained that her appearance, as well as the others who hadn't looked like death warmed over, had Phoenix to thank for that. She told him about the study group, and Phoenix's music lessons, and how the boy had decided, after an impromptu performance, to give off whatever it was he gave off, and had given them all a boost that had gotten them through the night and to their present in decent shape. The boy had been incredibly clingy towards Albus and Scorpius ever since, so she was pretty sure Phoenix had given more than he should have, but had seemed pretty good at breakfast.

"Well that's good. Last time you lot came to Hogsmeade the wee one was all anyone seemed to be talking about. It's been novel, actually, not to be known automatically as the Chosen One's nephew. Now I'm the guy who's related to Phoenix."

Laughing, Gabrielle admitted that she was getting a lot more attention than she was used to these days, with people asking her about Phoenix and his latest escapades and milestones. People were even asking Flint about the boy, since everyone knew how much Phoenix liked the Slytherin captain.

"He seems like a good enough chap, even when he's threatening me with physical harm or driving Dionne barmy." He'd played with her back when he'd been on the Gryffindor team, the girl her father's daughter. His father had even more horror stories about his Wood than he had his so to speak.

"From what I've seen it really isn't all that hard to drive Wood crazy, and he was just being a gentleman before, when he thought you were bothering me. He's old fashioned that way."

"You like him, then?"

Picking up where this was going Gabrielle couldn't help but be a bit flattered that Fred was apparently trying to assert whether or not he had a rival in Flint. Personally she thought a lot of Flint, especially since she'd gotten a chance to really know him through Phoenix and the friendship developing between Scorpius and their fellow Slytherin, but still…

"I do like him. But he doesn't appeal to me. Romantically. Actually, if I'm reading Phoenix right, Flint just might end up related to you through marriage."

Brows furrowing, Fred asked if she was talking about Rose, Lily, or Hugo.

"Hugo?"

"Well I sure as hell didn't see Albus's relationship with Scorpius coming, now did I? And Hugo's a million times more curious than he is, so anything's possible there. I don't know Flint well enough to know what way he swings either."

Lips twitching Gabrielle explained that she had meant Lily.

"Damn. I was hoping it would be Rose."

"Really? Why?"

Fred's grin was a little sheepish. "Well in our family we have Quidditch tournaments, you see, and often times we divide by our last names. Weasleys on one side and the Potters on the other. When that happens we Weasleys usually get our arses whooped because all the Potters play and Uncle Harry could have gone pro like Aunt Ginny and James if he'd wanted to. When Victoire married Teddy we claimed him for our side, which means if Flint marries Lily then he'd play for the Potters…and they'd go from whooping our arses to annihilating them."

Biting her lip so as not to laugh Gabrielle agreed, with amusement in her voice, that that would be unfortunate.

"Do you play?"

"Play?"

"Quidditch. Do you play?"

Confusion coming over her face Gabrielle was about to ask why on earth he would ask her such a thing when she put two and two together, her eyes going wide as color reddened her cheeks once again. He wanted to know because-because if they-he was only messing with her surely, stupid Weasley humor and all that, but still-

His turn to be amused and try and hide it, Fred's eyes danced with amusement as he asked if she was really bad at it, and that's why she was blushing.

"No. No I-I've never played."

"Well then I'll teach you. Can't have my girl not knowing one end of the broom from another, now can I?"

Glaring at him now Gabrielle's eyes said clearly that she was annoyed. "I know one bloody end of the broom from another. I took the Flying classes, just like you did. I'd have a scar on my ankle to prove it if the nurse hadn't magically removed it."

"Took a bad tumble, did you?"

"An idiot Gryffindor crashed into me and sent us both flying without the brooms."

"Ah. Anyone I know?"

"Not so far as I know." Was her slightly amused response. "But I'll point him out if I see him."