Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Season 11, Round 1

Team: Holyhead Harpies

Position: Keeper

Word Count: 1,249

Summary: Astoria knows her time with Scorpius is limited, but she will make every precious moment worth it.

Warnings: references to pain, anxiety over the future

I'm ready to fight for what's mine

Astoria stared at the most perfect little face she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Scorpius slept soundly in her arms as she gently moved the rocking chair she was sitting in. He was less than a day old and she wasn't sure if she'd actually taken her eyes off him for longer than a minute.

She was sore, she was exhausted, and she was completely overwhelmed with emotions, but at the same time, she wasn't sure she would ever be as happy as she was now that he was here. He was worth the arguments with Draco, worth the time taken away… worth everything she'd sacrificed.

A creak of the floorboard at the entrance to the nursery alerted Astoria to Draco's arrival. She glanced up to meet his eyes and saw the same look she knew was permanently etched on her face now; a look of unadulterated love for their son.

"Let me take him while you sleep for a while." Draco already had his arms lifted as he walked over.

She wanted to say no. She wanted to never let him go. She needed to commit every precious moment to memory.

But she couldn't deny him this time with Scorpius. She knew that they were going to blink and he'd be crawling, then walking, then running, and before they knew it, he would be off to Hogwarts. She hoped she… she couldn't think about the rest of it as pain shot through her heart.

She kissed Scorpius' cheek, his skin a kind of softness she would never aptly describe. "I never want to let him go."

"I know," Draco whispered with a breathy laugh. He was already lifting Scorpius out of her arms, placing his own kiss in the same spot on his cheek. "One of us will always be ready to catch him if he should fall when we have to let him go."

With Scorpius snuggled in the crook of his arm, Draco pulled Astoria to her feet, taking her weight into this side of his body as he helped her to bed.

And the weight of her decision to have Scorpius flooded her thoughts as she struggled to hide the burning heat racing through her blood.

No.

He would always be worth it. Even before he was a thought, he was worth it.

XXX

"Mama! Look! Mama!"

Astoria stood at the entrance of the Manor, watching a two-year old Scorpius floating on a small broom, holding her teacup with both hands. Draco stood with his hands reaching out, ready for anything now that their son had finally won the argument to fly a broom without being held.

"I'm watching, little one," she called. Much like he was first born, if he was nearby, her eyes never left him.

In a swift movement that was too fast for Draco, Scorpius started circling him, his hearty giggles filling the air. "Scorpius, I'm going to be sick!" Draco declared.

A bubble of laughter escaped Astoria as she watched Draco struggling to stay on his feet after the eighth circle around him. Then it built into a hearty laugh.

"It's… not… bloody… funny…" Draco huffed the words out between heavy breaths.

Finally, he snatched Scorpius off the broom, the little boy shrieking in pure delight at Draco tucked him under one arm. The broom fell with a soft thud on the path.

"Dad-dy! No-o!" Scorpius protested, his voice jumping with each step Draco took back towards the Manor. "Dad-dy! Bro-oo-oom!"

"Scorpius! Yes!" Draco said with a laugh. "It's lunchtime."

Astoria met Draco's chaste kiss as he passed her, still laughing at Scorpius' giggles and protests as they started to echo around the entrance hall. She turned to follow, the cup almost at her lips when it slipped from his grasp instead. The burning raced through her veins.

"Darling?" Draco called from the dining room.

"Just being clumsy," she called back an answer to his unasked question.

She took a deep breath, the burn lingering as she flicked a hand at the broken pieces. By the time the cup was fully formed in her palm, the pain had subsided.

She was having more of her perfect moments shattered by these reminders.

XXX

Astoria watched as Scorpius stood ramrod straight on the stool, the measuring tape moving round him quickly while the assistant working with Madam Malkin took notes of the measurements. She didn't know whether to lean into the pride she was feeling at seeing her sweet, well-behaved boy finally be measured for his first set of school robes or let the tears of joy go at being able to witness this moment.

The bell of the door rang sharply as Draco arrived. "I'm here! I made it!"

Even at the unexpected noise, Scorpius didn't move an inch. He obediently stood still as the tape measure now stretched across his forehead. It was these moments watching him that Astoria always knew he was worth it.

Their boy was good, kind, and everything she could ever wish for him. It was almost like the world was agreeing that she had made the right decision. There needs to be more like Scorpius in the world.

Draco stood behind their son, a smile pasted across his face, his eyes shining. "Your first robes. You're not old enough, surely?"

"I think he's lying, Draco," Astoria added. "He was only born last year. It makes no sense." She winked at Scorpius when his eyes flicked to her.

"Stop joining in with him," he pleaded, a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"I think we should write to the Headmistress and tell her to check the Book of Admittance again." Draco started poking him in the ribs.

Scorpius could no longer hold position as he moved away from his dad, laughing as the tape measure slapped Draco's hand. "Serves you right!"

Not ten minutes later, Scorpius stood before a mirror with a set of robes on, the Hogwarts crest proudly on the left side above his heart. Draco clapped him on the shoulder with a proud smile. "I suppose I'm going to have to admit that you are going to be leaving us in two short weeks."

The tears finally dropped down Astoria's cheeks as she looked at how happy her son was wearing the robes. Excitement shone in his eyes at the adventures he could feel coming when he finally boarded that train.

She could see his entire future before him in that one moment, with his first set of robes on.

How much he would grow during his first year. His first kiss. Arguments with friends. Playing Quidditch. The stress of exams. Graduating.

Then further.

Adulthood.

His first job. His wedding day. His own children.

She wouldn't get to see most of it, but that was okay. She'd made it to this very day.

The day they bought his Hogwarts robes.

And she knew she would make it to seeing him on the train.

These were never a guarantee, as the Healers repeatedly told her she was already on borrowed time.

The burning pain that she lived with every day reminded her.

Now, she could stop fighting. Scorpius was going to be okay. He was going to go off to school, make friends and build his own family, ready for adulthood.

She could see it in the way he treated all those around him. He was better than she and Draco had ever been.

He would be okay.