Telling Tales.
Having her children home from Hogwarts always brightened Hermione's mood, especially when they were home for the summer holidays. It now meant she could spend a couple of months with her children, rather than having to keep in touch via letters. She could really talk to both Scorpius and Lyra, and make sure they were both okay and nothing was bothering them.
On their first night back home, Hermione always made a big dinner and the family all settled down to spend the evening together, and Scorpius and Lyra could fill them in one what they'd been up to over the course of the year. The tradition had started when Scorpius first started Hogwarts, four years ago. Now Scorpius had just finished his fourth year and Lyra had just completed her second.
"Did you have fun this year?" Draco asked as the family ate.
"Yeah, we won the quidditch cup again," Scorpius replied with a grin. He and Alex were chasers on the team, and in his opinion they were the reason their team was so good.
"Excellent," Draco grinned. He always liked to hear that Slytherin were beating the other houses, especially Gryffindor.
"And what about your studies?" Hermione asked. "Are you both doing okay in your lessons?"
"Of course," Scorpius replied breezily. "They're a doddle."
"I finished top of the year again," Lyra offered. She was every bit as bright as her parents and had soon established herself as the top student in her year.
"That's great Lyra," Hermione said with a proud smile.
"Have you thought about what lessons to take next year?" Draco asked. Since Lyra would be entering third year, she could take up a few extra lessons.
"I want to do Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," Lyra replied. "And of course, Care of Magical Creatures. I'm going to need good marks in that if I want to become a medi-vet."
"You don't have to decide on a career just yet," Hermione said with a laugh. "You've still got a few more years of school to go, you could change your mind dozens of times."
"I won't," Lyra replied confidently. "I'm going to be a medi-vet."
"I'm going to be a quidditch player," Scorpius announced, not wanting to be outdone by his little sister.
"I thought you wanted to join the family company," Draco said. Just last summer Scorpius had spent several days at Malfoy Holdings and seemed keen to join his father and grandfather in the family business.
"I can do that afterwards," Scorpius replied with a shrug. "Or maybe at the same time."
"You can leave career choices for another few years," Hermione said. She knew Scorpius changed his mind like the wind and chances were when he did finish school, he would have a completely different career path in mind.
"You should take Muggle Studies and Divination," Scorpius advised his sister, leaving the career conversation behind.
"Why would I take Muggle Studies and Divination?" Lyra asked with a frown. "Divination is a pile of old rubbish, and I know all about muggles."
"But that gives you an edge," Scorpius said. "You'd know everything in Muggle Studies, so you could spend the lessons relaxing. And as for Divination, you just make crap up and get praised for it. I've heard that as long as you predict happy things that Professor Patil gives you great marks."
"Sounds like Parvati is the opposite of Trelawney," Draco chuckled. "For her it was all doom and gloom that got the good marks."
"Parvati is a much more positive person," Hermione said. "But I disagree with taking a subject because you think it's going to be easy."
"Me too," Lyra said with a nod. "I want to earn my grades."
"Suit yourself," Scorpius muttered. "I was just being helpful."
"If your advice was so helpful, you would have taken those subjects yourself," Lyra retorted. "But you didn't pick either Divination or Muggle Studies. You just don't like the idea that my grades might be better than yours."
"I couldn't care less what grades you get," Scorpius shot back. "I was just suggesting ways in which you could lighten up and not take things so seriously."
"School work should be taken seriously," Lyra replied haughtily.
"Quite right, Lyra," Hermione agreed. "And don't you pretend you don't take your work seriously, Scorpius. You picked subjects that you had to work hard in, and all your grades are really good."
"Pity his behaviour doesn't match," Lyra snorted. "He's always in trouble."
"Lyra," Scorpius hissed, attempting to kick his sister under the table. However, Lyra knew what was coming and had tucked her legs well under her chair, meaning they were out of Scorpius's reach.
"And what sort of trouble has your brother been in?" Hermione asked. "And don't think of covering for him. We're having dinner with Severus next week, and he'll tell us everything about the pair of you."
"He'll have plenty to tell you," Lyra supplied with a wicked smirk. "Scorpius had at least three detentions that I know of with Uncle Severus."
"And how did you earn these detentions?" Draco asked his son.
"It wasn't my fault, none of it," Scorpius protested. "I swear, I'm completely innocent."
"You gave Uncle Severus long hair," Lyra said, laughing at the memories. "It took it a week to get back to normal."
"What happened?" Draco asked, an amused smirk playing around his lips.
With a sigh, Scorpius told the story of how he and Alex had gotten distracted in potions and accidentally added a couple of extra porcupine quills to a hair growing potion. When the potion had started to bubble and Snape had come to check out what was happening, it had exploded in his face, resulting in his hair growing all the way down the floor. He'd then had to wait for the potion to wear off, which took a week.
"How did you get distracted?" Draco asked once he'd finished laughing at his son's story.
"We just did," Scorpius answered with a shrug.
"I know how," Lyra said in a sing-song voice. "The girl in front of them dropped her quill and when she bent down to retrieve it they could see up her skirt. Scorpius and Alex were so distracted by the girl's underwear that they added too many quills to their potion."
"How do you know that?" Scorpius questioned in a hiss.
"We're in the same house, people talk," Lyra replied with a snort. "I know everything you get up to. Including the incident in Herbology when you got bit on the bum by a snapping crocus and had to go to the hospital wing to get it treated."
"Bloody hell," Scorpius muttered, dropping his head into his hands as his parents laughed at the story Lyra told about how he'd gotten too close to the snapping crocuses and had ended up getting a chunk torn out of his trousers and boxers.
"Plants with teeth are dangerous," Draco said through his laughter. "I almost lost a finger to a mandrake in second year."
"That's because you were teasing it," Hermione said with an unimpressed tut. "Professor Sprout clearly said to watch our fingers, but you had to put your finger into its mouth. You were just showing off."
"Me, showing off?" Draco questioned, looking the picture of innocence. "I'm not that sort of person."
"Of course not," Hermione said, laughing alongside both her children. They all knew that Draco loved nothing better than to show off.
"So, any more stories to share?" Draco asked his children.
"I don't think so," Lyra said with a shake of her head.
"Ooh, how about Albus and Hugo almost getting drowned by the giant squid," Scorpius said. "That was a laugh."
"If they almost drowned, how was that funny?" Hermione frowned. "They're your friends."
"Scorp is exaggerating," Lyra said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm sure the giant squid wasn't going to hurt either of them."
"So what happened?" Draco asked.
"Albus and Hugo were throwing rocks into the lake to try and catch the squid's attention," Scorpius explained. "They were hoping it would splash some first years that were right on the edge of the lake, but instead it reached out and grabbed the pair of them. They were then waved about in the air for a few minutes, before the squid dunked them into the lake and threw them back onto the grass. They ended up soaking wet and they got detention for a week off Professor Longbottom."
"I guess it does serve them right for provoking the squid," Hermione said.
"Crabbe and Goyle used to feed the squid," Draco said, smiling at the memory. "At least they did until fifth year when they gave him a piece of fruit that it was allergic to and it gave the squid the runs. Professor Dumbledore banned them from feeding it after that."
"How did they know the squid had the runs?" Scorpius asked.
"I don't think we need an answer to that," Hermione interrupted. "At least not over dinner. Until we've finished eating, we can carry on talking about the rest of your year. I'm sure you have more stories about quidditch, Scorp."
Grinning eagerly Scorpius launched into a tale about the first match of the season. While Scorpius and Draco talked quidditch, Hermione and Lyra turned their attention back to lessons and how Lyra was performing academically.
After dinner the family moved into the front room, where they continued to laugh and chat together. Sitting beside Draco, Hermione couldn't help but smile at the sight of her two children sharing stories of their adventures at Hogwarts. While she was pleased her children were enjoying Hogwarts, nothing beat having them at home.