Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.
Note: Sorry for lack of updates, I got hung-up editing and rewriting some old HP fics that were driving me crazy, plus I just couldn't get my muse to work on this one. Hope you like.
Eve of Bonding
Phoenix was currently in possession of the greatest box house to ever be created, and the toddler couldn't be more ecstatic about it. The boy practically had to be dragged feet first out of the house, so great was his love for it, as his parents found themselves easily able to finish up their last minute Christmas things since Phoenix couldn't be less interested in spending time with them or Tomo. Both Albus and Scorpius were embarrassed to find themselves a little jealous of a box house after a while, but they also had to admit that thanks to Elle's cousin the house really was a work of art.
It would have been just a regular box house like the one back at Hogwarts if they'd made it, but when Rorake had found out why they'd had Fred's father put aside a bunch of boxes for them the Canadian had offered to help them build the structure. Apparently Rorake had also spent a good portion of his childhood in buildings made of boxes, and the older man had been eager to have an excuse to revisit the experience without looking totally childish and immature. So in the end, after all their shopping had been done, they'd all gotten lunch together and then headed back to Grimmauld Place for a box house building party so to speak.
It had been great fun, particularly since Fred and Elle were so adorable together. His boyfriend's best friend was still determined to pretend that she wasn't fond of his own cousin, but he saw right through her, Albus thought with a grin as he leaned against the door jamb that led into Phoenix's room on Christmas Eve, the boy nowhere in sight as per usual.
When they'd been building the box house Phoenix had gotten in their way every two seconds, but now Phoenix was the perfect angel simply because whatever trouble he was getting into these days took place in his house where they couldn't see him half the time. But right now he was going to have to figure out how to get the boy to come out because they had a family dinner to get to and Albus didn't even want to think about how much worse the meal would be if they were late arriving.
Normally having a toddler would be an acceptable excuse, but Albus wasn't about to risk that it wouldn't be in this case.
"I thought you said you were going to grab him?"
Smiling over at the blond who'd come over to stand at his side, Albus motioned towards the box as he explained that he'd been strategizing as to how best to extract their darling son from his home.
"Ah." Strategy was needed these days, Scorpius mentally acknowledged as he turned his head to study the box house as well. "Do we know what part he's in?" The box house looked deceptively small, but that was a magical illusion. This box house had not just rooms, but levels too that could support the boy's weight thanks to a spell Rorake had taught them. And while the idea of such a sophisticated box house was very sick…it also made retrieving their son twenty times harder.
Having no idea where there son was inside the structure both Albus and Scorpius took turns sticking their heads through the box house's door as well as calling through the front windows in an attempt to get Phoenix to come close enough that they could grab him without any luck.
"Would 'Accio Phoenix' work, do you think?"
"Not in this sort of situation, no. Maybe we should try bribing him with his toys?"
Agreeing that that would be worth a shot, Albus retrieved his son's favorite toys and then told Phoenix that he had them, making the phoenix stuffed animal sing as well in the hopes of luring the boy out.
No luck.
As a last ditch effort Scorpius retrieved the boy's teddy bear hat and told Phoenix that he had it, which would put their son in a bad mood temporarily but would normally have caused the toddler to come tearing out of the house to take it back.
Still no luck.
Frustration written all over their faces, Albus was about to admit that they might actually have to break open the box to get Phoenix out safely when it occurred to him that what they needed was someone their son's size to get him out. Tomo would be the most logical choice, but Albus knew that she had plans with her family, and not wanting to interrupt that Albus decided to gamble and see what his brother's house elf was up to, calling out an inquiry as to whether she'd mind helping them out.
It took a moment, but then in a flash there she was, elegantly dressed for once in a sparkly dress that went well with the multitude of earrings she had in each ear. An even bigger surprise was the fact that she wasn't alone, another house elf with her only this one was dressed up in an elf sized suit and fedora.
"You called?"
"Sorry if I interrupted your evening, Sass. I just need a quick favor."
"Sure. This is Tommy by the way. You caught us just in time. Tommy, this is James's brother Albus and the other guy's Scorpius Malfoy. Where's the kid?"
After telling Tommy it was a pleasure to meet him, his manners too ingrained for him not to, Scorpius answered Sassy's question with a rueful look. "He's in his box house and he won't come out. That's why we called you, hoping you could get him to come out as we have a dinner at my family's house to get to."
The house elf named Tommy gave both teenagers looks that said he thought they were complete idiots if they weren't capable of getting their son out of the box, but he was apparently too polite to say so outloud which they appreciated. Of course the male house elf could have just been worried that Sassy would take offense, as she could be violent when crossed, but he needn't have worried about that.
"What the heck's wrong with you two, that you can't get him out?"
"Go and see for yourself." Albus told her, pointing his thumb in the direction of the box house's door.
Making a suspicious sound, this was a Potter/Weasley they were dealing with, Sassy walked over and opened the door, all three of them clearly hearing her statement of 'Holy Hippogriff' before Sassy disappeared into the box house with Tommy following after her out of curiosity, the male house elf whistling in surprised appreciation.
"Never send a wizard in to do an elf sized job." Albus joked as he slugged an arm over Scorpius's shoulder, very pleased with himself at the moment.
"They haven't retrieved him yet."
True, Albus acknowledged, but he had faith in the power of elf.
Laughing at that, his boyfriend was ridiculous sometimes, Scorpius didn't argue with Albus's faith in the two house elves, which was just as well since they came out fairly quickly, levitating their son between them.
"He was sleeping, that's why he didn't come." Sassy informed them as she used her magic to lift the boy up higher and into Albus's arms. "Most adorable kid ever."
"That's some box house you got there. Total aces."
Albus had no idea what aces meant in this context, but assuming it was a good thing he thanked Tommy for the compliment and for getting Phoenix out.
"No probs. Now we gotta split. Later." And so saying Sassy grabbed Tommy's hand and then apparated the both of them out of the room like they'd never been there.
"Well this is an unexpected bonus." Grinning down at his son before lifting his gaze to meet Scorpius's confused one, Albus pointed out that with Phoenix unconscious their son would not only not fight leaving his box house, but they could change the boy's clothes without him squirming around either. Heck, he might sleep all the way to Scorpius's old house and wouldn't that be brilliant?
"I've got his clothes in our bedroom."
"Lead the way."
With Phoenix still passed out in Albus's arms, the boy had been on a box house high for a day and a half now which had obviously caught up to him, the three headed into the other bedroom. Once there Albus laid their son out on Scorpius's bed before beginning the relatively easy task of stripping the boy of the footsie pyjamas they hadn't bothered to try and take off of Phoenix that morning. After all, he'd known that Scorpius intended to dress the poor kid up for the dinner, so giving him a day in his pyjamas first had struck the Gryffindor as the least he could do.
Not wanting to risk the boy waking up before he was finished Scorpius moved quickly to dress Phoenix in his little white dress shirt and grey trousers, the little suspenders black and with teddy bear shaped clips because yeah, Phoenix was all about the bears. The little bowtie was the same green as the boy's eyes, both completing the outfit and Christmasy.
"Done. Now you get your tie on and we're ready to go."
He'd put that off as long as he could, Albus thought with a sigh. Walking over to his own bed the Gryffindor retrieved the green tie Scorpius had picked out for him and slinging it around his neck was about to start tying it when it occurred to him that he could get Scorpius to do it for him, and steal a kiss while he was at it.
Which was precisely what he did.
)
Fighting back the urge to brush back his hair, he'd done the best he could to repair the damage Albus had done to it before they'd left the house, Scorpius could only hope that the two of them didn't look like they'd been making out like the hormonal teenagers that they were less than fifteen minutes ago. Or that if they did look a little rough around the edges Phoenix's cuteness powers would be strong enough to distract everyone from noticing, though that was probably too much to ask. But at least his paternal grandparents wouldn't be around to comment, that was something at least. His grandmother on that side never missed a thing, and if she tipped off her husband…but they weren't coming, having declined his mother's invitation so he had nothing to worry about there. Hopefully.
"It will be fine, quit worrying."
Not really appreciating the light hip check, especially since it was all Albus's fault that he had his appearance to worry about on top of everything else, Scorpius gave the other teenager a less than amused look before ringing the bell to signal their arrival.
In a snap one of the front doors opened, the house elf standing in the doorway bowing low before ushering them in and out of the cold.
"Thank you, Tippy. It's nice to see you."
"And you, Master Scorpius." The house elf squeaked out. "Mistress asked Tippy to tell you that Master's parents arrived just a few minutes ago, and are staying for dinner."
Oh bollocks. "Thank you, Tippy."
"Master is welcome." A long pause, and then the house elf shyly pointed in Phoenix's direction, asking if she might meet him perhaps, just for a moment.
"Of course, though he's still a little out of it from his nap." Bending down so that Tippy could meet Phoenix, Albus smiled at her kindly as she reached out to gently touch Phoenix's hand, the boy smiling at her sleepily since he liked house elves a lot. "Say hi to Tippy, Phoenix."
A yawn. "Hi."
Beaming at the boy, Tippy gave him a bow that was just for him. "Tippy is honored to meet you, Master Phoenix."
Amused by the bowing Phoenix copied the house elf, which Tippy didn't know how to interpret at all, since no wizard had ever bowed to her before.
Thankfully she remembered what she was supposed to be doing and quickly snapped back into servant mode, collecting their coats from them and then put them away as she announced that she would show them to the drawing room where the others were waiting.
Thinking it would wake Phoenix up that much faster Albus set Phoenix on his feet, the little boy weaving a little as he looked around him, no doubt trying to figure out where the heck he was. Taking one of the boy's hands, Scorpius doing the same on the other side, the two teenagers started to walk Phoenix in the right direction, the toddler seeming to wake up more with every step as he continued to study the old mansion's interior with growing interest. He'd been there before, but he would have been too young to remember.
The fire was crackling merrily in the fireplace, which was about all that was merry beside the gaily decorated Christmas tree in one corner with way more present than there should have been piled under the branches. But that hardly held the teenagers' attention for long, their attentions quickly focusing on the three couples already in the room, the spouses all sitting together with tension hanging heavily over all of them.
But as soon as she caught sight of her son and grandson Astoria broke out into a wide smile, leaping to her feet and hurrying over to greet her babies and hopefully give the rest of her husband's family time to remember their manners.
First a big hug for Scorpius, who hugged her back just as lovingly, and then a somewhat awkward and brief hug with Albus because yes, they were still working on the being a family thing, not to mention their audience made them both feel like insects under a magnifying glass. And then, with those obligations done, Astoria scooped Phoenix up into her arms and proceeded to cuddle and coo over her grandson like the grandmother she now was, striding over to her own mother to show the baby off since her Phoenix was really the greatest baby in the history of babies.
Since his father had gotten to his feet already Scorpius figured they might as well start there, walking over to exchange a manly handshake before moving on to accept one from his maternal grandfather.
And having followed after his boyfriend Albus exchanged a somewhat awkward handshake with Scorpius's father, both well aware that the eldest Malfoy in the room was watching them the way a rattlesnake watched a mouse it was about to sink it's fangs into. Definitely a look that went with the spirit of the season...not.
Trying to cut them a break Astoria's father came over to block the two from Lucius's view. "Happy Christmas, Albus."
"And to you, Mr. Greengrass. It's nice to see you again." More hand shaking, though this wasn't awkward since not only had they met that summer, but the older gentleman was a businessman first and foremost. Handshakes, Mr. Greengrass had told him, were everything when it came to starting off on the right foot. Thankfully he had a good one, apparently.
Having decided to save the worst for last Scorpius deliberately didn't look in Lucius's direction, greeting his paternal grandmother instead. It was both sad and amusing to see that she was trying to hide the fact that she wanted to hold and fuss over Phoenix too, which she was doing pretty well, but he could see through her with her flitting glances in the toddler's direction.
"Happy Christmas, Grandmother, I hope you're well."
"I am, thank you. Happy Christmas to you, Scorpius." As she was sitting Narcissa Malfoy didn't offer him a hug, though the softness in her gaze conveyed affection for her grandson. "Is Phoenix all right? He looks a little sluggish to me."
"He's still a little sleepy from his nap, Mrs. Malfoy. Happy Christmas." Coming up beside Scorpius Albus gave the older woman his most charming smile, no one in the room surprised when it didn't have the slightest effect on her, though she did at least nod an acknowledgement in his direction. That was more than they'd been expecting.
Now it was time for the hard sell so to speak, neither teenager bothering to offer so much as a hand or a smile as first Scorpius and then Albus wished Lucius a Happy Christmas.
"Well, let's see him then."
Knowing who the older man meant, both Scorpius and Albus looked in the direction of their son, who was babbling away happily in his grandmother's arms currently. Neither particularly liked the idea of introducing Phoenix to Lucius, their son would pick up a number of negative emotions if they did, but they couldn't exactly say no either.
Thankfully Astoria had been frantically thinking about what to do when it came time for her grandson to meet her father in law, and giving the two teenagers a reassuring look Astoria brought Phoenix closer, though she set the boy down on his feet and then crouched down beside him.
"Phoenix, will you show your great grandfather how good you can sing?"'
"Sing?" Phoenix repeated, his eyes brightening up at the mention of one of his most favorite words.
Catching on where his brilliant mother was going with this Scorpius moved to crouch down on his son's other side. "Sing a Christmas song, Phoenix. You learned them from Davey, right?"
"Me sing?"
"You sing." Albus agreed, giving the toddler a thumbs up.
"Ogay."
)
Normally Phoenix would have been more nervous about singing in front of people, it was weird when everyone looked at him, but he knew deep in his heart that these people were his family, and that made it okay. Plus now that he wasn`t so sleepy he could feel that something wasn`t quite right with everyone in the room, and wanting to fix that Phoenix smiled at them and then began to sing his favoritiest song about Christmas.
"Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time to wuv.
Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time to wuv.
We often start to worry
And people get upset
If things don't go alright on Twistmas day.
What we should remember
In all the push and shove
Is Twistmas is a time to wuv
Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time to wuv
Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time
Twistmas is a time to wuv.
Maybe things don't sound wight
Or look the way they should
And maybe they're not per - fectly in tune.
It really doesn't matter
Lets keep our eyes above
Cos' Twismas is a time to wuv."