[Fic:]The Expected, The Unprepared And The Odd (HP/SM)
Title: The Expected, The Unprepared And The Odd
Author: smirkingcat
Summary: Harry didn't expect it to be easy, but does it really have to be hard?
Word Count: 3,379
Rating: PG-13
Content/Warning(s): fluff, so much fluff
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: all my thanks go to my amazing beta smallbrownfrog for taking time and making my story better. thanks so much for the help! you are really spoiling me <3
and then 1/2 of belated HAPPY BIRTDAY to tryslora and nia_kantorka!!!
you both get half of this story (i'm working on your other halfs which will be h/d of course too) but since you both wanted to see some harry/scorp and i had the urge to test my boundaries (that is i had to make it into something _I_ actually can live with because i'm really not that comfortable with corssgen) but this was created with the both of you in mind!!!
i hope you find it enjoyable!!! i really did give it my best shot - and in the end, i must confess i kinda like it *is not going to be feeling bad by liking own work*
The Expected, The Unprepared And The Odd
"I really don't think that this is a good idea," Harry says and sits down on the bed again, the button-down shirt still in his hand. He can hear the sharp intake of breath, then a soft mumbling of words, which try to be calming but which he can't really make out.
In temperament, Scorpius is the grownup. If Harry were in Scorpius' situation, he would be yelling by now.
"And I refuse to lie one more day to my father. I have done so for the entire time of our relationship, and it's just wrong." Scorpius comes out of the bath, looking at him with beutiful gray eyes, just shy of blue. There is a deep pain in them, that Harry knows he has caused.
"I tell him everything. He is my father, and has always been there for me. I keep things from mum and even my brother, but I share everything with him. How can it be that the person I share my life with has turned into a secret only he doesn't know?" Scorpius asks, his voice heavy and small at the same time.
Harry knows that Scoprius and his younger brother Aquila are close. In fact Aquila and Scoprius often remind him of Fred and George: finishing each other's sentences, having entire discussions with looks and eyebrow movements alone and being very attuned to each other's moods. At the beginning Harry had to fight with his jealousy, when he was confronted with the closeness between the brothers. Yet later he and Scorpius also became able to read each other's moods and have silent conversations and secrets between just the two of them. Harry knows his feelings are childish, knew it back than too, but when it comes to Scorpius rationality isn‘t really Harry‘s forte.
"You said you're done with hiding, so you must understand that I don't want him to read it in the papers." He leans against the door frame, his blond hair shielding his eyes, his arms shielding his chest.
"Your father and I never got along-"
"-well. I know. You and all your friends and family tend to remind me about that fact each time I‘m with you,“ Scorpius snaps. Then he takes taking another deep breath, never noticing Harry wincing at the harsh truth. The snide comments to Scorpius about how unbelievable it is that they are dating, when Harry and Draco hardly shared any nice words at all, still haven't stopped and have only ever so slightly dropped in frequency.
„But Harry“ Scorpius goes on, after taking three more calming breaths, „you must see that the both of you have changed. And really, I can‘t go to my brother's wedding alone, sitting by myself just because of a past that I can‘t change or even really understand, since I wasn't even born back then,“ Scorpius said in a defeated, flat voice, his scar-less, lean body shrinking even more against the door frame. Harry‘s eyes are drawn to the flawless chest, the broad shoulders, the thin neck, which ends in a very aristocratic face. So beautiful. Scorpius can‘t deny his family name, just like his father never could. However for all the similarities Harry never saw Draco in Scorpius. The way the young man moves, holds his body, and speaks are so different. They tell the story of a boy brought up with acceptance, encouragement and love.
If nothing else Scorpius and Aquila are a testimony to Draco‘s change.
Harry puts the button-down away and stretches his hand out for Scorpius. He watches as long, straight, white teeth began to gnaw away on red, full lips.
"I didn't say I won't go. I just want you to be prepared that it might not end as well as you're hoping for. 'Ius, I know how important you are to your father, and I fear his reaction, even more than the I feared the reaction of my family. And if you remember Ron was quite displeased with me," Harry says softly, playing down the wrath he has had to face from his adoptive family. He doesn't even bring up how often he has heard that his feelings are wrong, that Scorpius is only four years older than Hugo and more than twenty years his junior.
Slowly Scorpius takes Harry's hand, lets himself be pulled closer to finally be kissed.
"Might I remind you of the tea we had with my mother and grandmother? And that even before that Aquila and Victoire were happy for us?" Scorpius sits on Harry's lap, his face firmly set: lips thin, chin raised. Yet there is also a softness, a hopeless gleam in the eyes. If Harry debates some more Scorpius will say that Harry doesn't need to come, that he won't force Harry to do something he absolutely doesn't want to.
It is a fragile balance they have reached, the age gap clearly a matter both of them are unable to ignore: If Harry demands too forcefully, Scorpius will yield and even do something he doesn't want to do. If Harry ignores an argument, because he doesn't see the point, he hurts Scorpius by treating him as a child, and then the young man will throw a tantrum like a child.
At first this annoyed Harry, until he realized that Scorpius is respoinding to his cues and living up to his expectations. Harry now understands, that it was upon him, to not only give Scoprius the room to grow and make the mistakes a young man needs to make, but also to treat him like a partner, respect his opinion, his view of the world and the knowledge and honesty only Scorpius can give him. Since that realization their rows have become almost legendary: Scorpius wielding a sharp Malfoy- tongue and Harry being his blunt Gryffindor self.
The sex afterwards is fantastic!
Harry is amazed by the fact, that they have been a couple now for five years, living together for the last two. Since the beginning of the year he has been the owner of Quality Quidditch Supplies and Scorpius was now a potion master in his own right, with his own pupil, Harry had reopened the discussion about no longer hiding their relationship, after he had closed it four years ago, with a very final comment. But four years ago things were very different. He was still an active player for Puddlemore and Scorpius was in the middle of his apprenticeship with the potions master of St Mungos, whose name Harry is never able to recall. All he knows is that both Scorpius and Draco have no regard for the man, both sharing the opinion that said master totally misses the subtlety of the subject. But Scorpius had no other option, since the ministry had no potions master anymore, the potions teacher at Hogwarts refused to take pupils, and no one would have believed in Scorpius' skill if he had taken an apprenticeship with his father, the owner of the best Apothecary that Diagon Ally ever saw, but also a known Death Eater.
Now that things have changed, and their future won't be damaged when the word of their relationship comes out, Harry sees no further reason to keep their love a secret any longer.
However this makes it necessary to go to the Manor for tea and not only facing Draco, which he has been managing fine so far, but also confessing to him, that he is dating his first born son. The thought alone makes his insides cringe. He'll call himself lucky, if he is able to walk out of there with all his limbs still attached. He knows that Draco loves both his sons very deeply. However he shares a special bond with Scorpius, who shares his interest for potions, magical theory and a deep interest for Malfoy family history, not only the good but also the bad one. In the same way Aquila shares a special bond with their mother, is interested in everything Italian just like she is (especially when it comes to shoes and shoe leather) and likes discussing charms and books with her.
The problem that Harry faces is that he knows all this and has seen it happening before his eyes, both when he met the Malfoys at Bill's and later in Aquila's and Victoire's home, but somehow he and Draco have managed to never speak more than a few polite words to each other. He really needs a 'How to tell your school rival that you're dating his son'-manual. Sadly he knows there isn't one. He checked, just to make sure. It would even help if he had any experience with talking to a date's parents, but with Ginny everyone expected the two of them to date and there was no need to talk about it.
And then it was after the war, and nothing was like before. The funerals, the trials, the fame, the media: they all just got in the way of any relationship he might've envisioned. After that there was his failed attempt at being an Auror, an Unspeakable and a Healer. In the end it had been Luna who asked him, 'why aren't you doing something you enjoy?' Soon after that he was attending the Puddlemere try-outs and the rest, as they say, was history.
Althrough while he got shagged quite a lot as a Quidditch player, and finally figured out that yes, he liked women, but men turned him on even more, there was no long-lasting relationship. According to Ginny, who managed to get married while actively playing, it was his fault for not trying hard enough. He knew that, but the fact remained he didn't want to try, casual fitted him just fine. Well and then he met Scorpius, and casual was no longer an option. A view he and Scorpius share very much.
Having Scorpius around him has been an eye-opener to how possessive Harry really is. And Scorpius is just as bad. He can't remember how often he told Scorpius not to leave any visible marks back in the beginning - a request that was disregarded with an enthusiasm, which defied description. Scorpius even helped healing most of the bite marks, except the biggest, and deepest, mostly found around his neck. Those ones the brat charmed to resist healing. Cheeky, little Slytherin. It not only got Scorpius make-up sex, when Harry was done with his shouting, but also made sure very quickly that everyone knew Harry was taken.
At the memory Harry still smiles, he had never felt more desired or wanted. Ithad also stopped Scorpius from objecting to Harry marking him.
Harry let his eyes roam the lean body on top of him silently counting the fresh marks in between the older ones. They never really got out of that habit, like Ron had told him he would for sure soon enough.
The hard truth is that Hermione had told him on the day he had introduced Scorpius as his boyfriend, that it was wrong from him to hide his relationship from the Malfoys and that it would only become more difficult to tell them. He should've known then that she was right. He really should've, but somehow he disregarded her advice, thinking that he was doing the right thing.
"You know what", Scorpius said softly, "why don't you just put on your shirt, while I get dressed, and then we'll floo over to my father's study, and you can talk and scream - although I highly doubt it will come to that - at each other until your happy. No big room, no family watching, no big declarations needed." The suggestion is followed by a soft kiss to Harry's cheek before Scorpius gets up.
"It's really my fault, I know you don't do well with stuff when it's all planned out, so we will do it your way, get in and try to get through" Harry listens, while he watches Scorpius getting dressed.
"So, uhm we are going now?" Harry asks, finally reaching after his button-down, since his lover is already more dressed than him.
"Yes, if it goes badly, we will miss the tea party, and if it goes ok, since you refuse to believe that it can go well, we will stay," says Scorpius, setting down Harry's shoes in front of him, and then putting on his own shoes.
"How do you know he will be in his study?" Harry asks, feeling the adrenalin rushing through his blood, but at the same time some of his inner tenseness has lessened. Doing it now, getting it over with, that really feels natural to him.
"Saturday after lunch? He will be doing his accounting, before he starts his weekend with the tea. He has always done it that way. Mum said that the routine stuck even before I was born, so they would have more time together," Scorpius explains easily, and with such love in his voice, that Harry has to gulp down the big knot of guilt forming in his throat.
Draco is a part of Scorpius's life, a big part, and Harry has been denying Scorpius the opportunity to talk about him.
"...need something, son?" Harry hears the last of Malfoy's slightly concerned greeting as he stumbles out of the floo, as undignified as ever. Flooing never brings out his dignity.
"Potter!" Malfoy states, eyebrow raised. Harry can see how Malfoy tries to calm himself with a deep breath, and has to fight a smile. Well, now he knows where Scorpius picked up that habit.
In a regal movement, if Harry has ever seen one, Malfoy puts down his peacock feather quill, and closes the leather-bound notebook: "I imagine you both showing up here now is not a coincidence."
Harry tries to see though Malfoy's mask, but he really can't. The git doesn't give away anything.
"So you knew?" Scorpius says sounding disappointed and hurt.
Harry's head snaps in Scorpius' direction. Well, apparently he is the only one unable to read Malfoy's face. It annoys Harry, but at the same time, he is very sure that this really should not surprise him. Father and son are very close.
"At first? No, I didn't. And both my mother and your mother have been very tight lipped when it comes to the topic of who you are seeing for quite some time now," Malfoy answers and then Harry is thrown again, because like Scorpius does so often, Malfoy crosses his arms in front of his chest, a gesture Harry can actually read.
"Since when," Scorpus whispers, and Harry can't stop himself, he moves closer, caresses Scorpius' fingers with his own. This is his fault. He never imagined it would go this badly. But at the same time, he is afraid to say anything, out of fear of saying the wrong thing. He always says the wrong thing when it comes to Malfoy.
"I suspected something two years ago, when Potter here started to show up at odd meals, family gatherings and such. I must confess at first I simply dismissed the notion, because it was rather an odd thought to have," Malfoy laughs at a joke only he knows.
However Harry notices that Malfoy is neither screaming, shouting or using a mean tone, which relieves him a little bit. This might go ok after all.
"Still, I could not help myself, and I started to watch the two of you, and believe me if I tell you both that I am very experienced when it comes to watching either one of you. But the confirmation was when I heard Aquila talking to Astoria about the seating arrangements, and saying that it would be so much easier, if he only knew whether you two would be sitting together, or not" Malfoy goes on, and Harry can see Scorpius blushing next to him. What had Malfoy said that was making Scorpius blush?
"At first I was furious, and angry," Malfoy states and captures Harry's attention once more. "But then again, in your position I wouldn't have known what to do either. I always hoped that you could trust me and tell me anything... I believe you did for a time..." Malfoy is taking another deep breath, and the silver eyes shut closed and Harry suddenly understands what really is hurting Scorpius.
It's not about being able to tell a secret, about sharing or hiding, it's about being the one to hurt your father, who loves you so much, and who you love so much. Harry thinks that maybe he never saw it that way because he never knew his parents, but he knows he is lying. He just didn't want to see it that way, he didn't want to be the man who cut through the close bond between father and son.
"Just tell me, when have I disappointed you, when have I let you down, so that you think you can't trust me?" Malfoy asks his voice neutral. Another tell Harry is all too familiar with.
"It's not Scorpius' fault," he says, his own voice rather raw. "He wanted to tell you for years, but I was afraid of you. I didn't want to lose him, because you would not approve of me...I...I selfishly wanted this to last for as long as it could." Harry feels laid bare in front of both the Malfoys.
"I didn't mean to hurt either of you, I just wanted to be happy. And I didn't want to understand why Scorpius wanted me to tell you about us... It really is already bad enough with my friends and I really..." Harry stops himself from speaking further. It wouldn't do him any good to give Malfoy any more ideas than he most certainly already has.
Malfoy's heavy look makes Harry's throat dry. He has said the wrong thing. Of course he has.
"You know Potter, the fact that I know you as well as I do is the only thing that really keeps me in my seat and doesn't make me want to hex you." Malfoy smiles, and it is a wicked smile at that.
"I know how you look when you believe yourself in love, and now I know how you look when you are in love. And I also know Scoprius and I see that the two of you oddly enough are happy together," the last words sound a little slurred to Harry, but he for certainly isn't going to call Malfoy on that.
"I won't ever permit you calling me father, simply because it would be weird, and I would very much appreciate if I don't have to ever, I emphasise the EVER, have to see you molesting my son." The glare Harry receives at this point he knows very well, it's the patented Malfoy- death-glare he got plenty of in school. Silently Harry is impressed not only that Malfoy still remembers the glare, but also that it still succeeds in annoying him.
"Other than that however," Draco sighs heavy, "I won't stand in your way. You make my son happy, and that is all I ever wished for him."
Suddenly before anyone else can move, Scorpius is standing in front of his father, bending down and hugging him tightly.
"I'm so sorry," Scorpius whispers, tears silently falling. "I do trust you, and I do love you, father, so much...I'm so sorry, I just..."
Harry nods once to Malfoy, as he catches his eye and silently leaves the room, giving father and son the privacy to talk things over.
He finds himself in a part of the Manor he never has been in before, but really he doesn't mind, because while he goes and searches for Astoria, Narcissa or Aquila he can think about how grown up Malfoy has become. What an understanding father he truly was. And how odd the whole situation has been. After the fiasco with the Weasleys Harry never thought he would get approval from the Malfoys, but all they seem to care about is that Scorpius is happy. If Scorpius is happy with Harry in his life, they accept that. How odd, after all that Lucius had put the family through. Odd but wonderful.
And in the end, odd was right up Harry's ally.
Author: smirkingcat
Summary: Harry didn't expect it to be easy, but does it really have to be hard?
Word Count: 3,379
Rating: PG-13
Content/Warning(s): fluff, so much fluff
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: all my thanks go to my amazing beta smallbrownfrog for taking time and making my story better. thanks so much for the help! you are really spoiling me <3
and then 1/2 of belated HAPPY BIRTDAY to tryslora and nia_kantorka!!!
you both get half of this story (i'm working on your other halfs which will be h/d of course too) but since you both wanted to see some harry/scorp and i had the urge to test my boundaries (that is i had to make it into something _I_ actually can live with because i'm really not that comfortable with corssgen) but this was created with the both of you in mind!!!
i hope you find it enjoyable!!! i really did give it my best shot - and in the end, i must confess i kinda like it *is not going to be feeling bad by liking own work*
The Expected, The Unprepared And The Odd
"I really don't think that this is a good idea," Harry says and sits down on the bed again, the button-down shirt still in his hand. He can hear the sharp intake of breath, then a soft mumbling of words, which try to be calming but which he can't really make out.
In temperament, Scorpius is the grownup. If Harry were in Scorpius' situation, he would be yelling by now.
"And I refuse to lie one more day to my father. I have done so for the entire time of our relationship, and it's just wrong." Scorpius comes out of the bath, looking at him with beutiful gray eyes, just shy of blue. There is a deep pain in them, that Harry knows he has caused.
"I tell him everything. He is my father, and has always been there for me. I keep things from mum and even my brother, but I share everything with him. How can it be that the person I share my life with has turned into a secret only he doesn't know?" Scorpius asks, his voice heavy and small at the same time.
Harry knows that Scoprius and his younger brother Aquila are close. In fact Aquila and Scoprius often remind him of Fred and George: finishing each other's sentences, having entire discussions with looks and eyebrow movements alone and being very attuned to each other's moods. At the beginning Harry had to fight with his jealousy, when he was confronted with the closeness between the brothers. Yet later he and Scorpius also became able to read each other's moods and have silent conversations and secrets between just the two of them. Harry knows his feelings are childish, knew it back than too, but when it comes to Scorpius rationality isn‘t really Harry‘s forte.
"You said you're done with hiding, so you must understand that I don't want him to read it in the papers." He leans against the door frame, his blond hair shielding his eyes, his arms shielding his chest.
"Your father and I never got along-"
"-well. I know. You and all your friends and family tend to remind me about that fact each time I‘m with you,“ Scorpius snaps. Then he takes taking another deep breath, never noticing Harry wincing at the harsh truth. The snide comments to Scorpius about how unbelievable it is that they are dating, when Harry and Draco hardly shared any nice words at all, still haven't stopped and have only ever so slightly dropped in frequency.
„But Harry“ Scorpius goes on, after taking three more calming breaths, „you must see that the both of you have changed. And really, I can‘t go to my brother's wedding alone, sitting by myself just because of a past that I can‘t change or even really understand, since I wasn't even born back then,“ Scorpius said in a defeated, flat voice, his scar-less, lean body shrinking even more against the door frame. Harry‘s eyes are drawn to the flawless chest, the broad shoulders, the thin neck, which ends in a very aristocratic face. So beautiful. Scorpius can‘t deny his family name, just like his father never could. However for all the similarities Harry never saw Draco in Scorpius. The way the young man moves, holds his body, and speaks are so different. They tell the story of a boy brought up with acceptance, encouragement and love.
If nothing else Scorpius and Aquila are a testimony to Draco‘s change.
Harry puts the button-down away and stretches his hand out for Scorpius. He watches as long, straight, white teeth began to gnaw away on red, full lips.
"I didn't say I won't go. I just want you to be prepared that it might not end as well as you're hoping for. 'Ius, I know how important you are to your father, and I fear his reaction, even more than the I feared the reaction of my family. And if you remember Ron was quite displeased with me," Harry says softly, playing down the wrath he has had to face from his adoptive family. He doesn't even bring up how often he has heard that his feelings are wrong, that Scorpius is only four years older than Hugo and more than twenty years his junior.
Slowly Scorpius takes Harry's hand, lets himself be pulled closer to finally be kissed.
"Might I remind you of the tea we had with my mother and grandmother? And that even before that Aquila and Victoire were happy for us?" Scorpius sits on Harry's lap, his face firmly set: lips thin, chin raised. Yet there is also a softness, a hopeless gleam in the eyes. If Harry debates some more Scorpius will say that Harry doesn't need to come, that he won't force Harry to do something he absolutely doesn't want to.
It is a fragile balance they have reached, the age gap clearly a matter both of them are unable to ignore: If Harry demands too forcefully, Scorpius will yield and even do something he doesn't want to do. If Harry ignores an argument, because he doesn't see the point, he hurts Scorpius by treating him as a child, and then the young man will throw a tantrum like a child.
At first this annoyed Harry, until he realized that Scorpius is respoinding to his cues and living up to his expectations. Harry now understands, that it was upon him, to not only give Scoprius the room to grow and make the mistakes a young man needs to make, but also to treat him like a partner, respect his opinion, his view of the world and the knowledge and honesty only Scorpius can give him. Since that realization their rows have become almost legendary: Scorpius wielding a sharp Malfoy- tongue and Harry being his blunt Gryffindor self.
The sex afterwards is fantastic!
Harry is amazed by the fact, that they have been a couple now for five years, living together for the last two. Since the beginning of the year he has been the owner of Quality Quidditch Supplies and Scorpius was now a potion master in his own right, with his own pupil, Harry had reopened the discussion about no longer hiding their relationship, after he had closed it four years ago, with a very final comment. But four years ago things were very different. He was still an active player for Puddlemore and Scorpius was in the middle of his apprenticeship with the potions master of St Mungos, whose name Harry is never able to recall. All he knows is that both Scorpius and Draco have no regard for the man, both sharing the opinion that said master totally misses the subtlety of the subject. But Scorpius had no other option, since the ministry had no potions master anymore, the potions teacher at Hogwarts refused to take pupils, and no one would have believed in Scorpius' skill if he had taken an apprenticeship with his father, the owner of the best Apothecary that Diagon Ally ever saw, but also a known Death Eater.
Now that things have changed, and their future won't be damaged when the word of their relationship comes out, Harry sees no further reason to keep their love a secret any longer.
However this makes it necessary to go to the Manor for tea and not only facing Draco, which he has been managing fine so far, but also confessing to him, that he is dating his first born son. The thought alone makes his insides cringe. He'll call himself lucky, if he is able to walk out of there with all his limbs still attached. He knows that Draco loves both his sons very deeply. However he shares a special bond with Scorpius, who shares his interest for potions, magical theory and a deep interest for Malfoy family history, not only the good but also the bad one. In the same way Aquila shares a special bond with their mother, is interested in everything Italian just like she is (especially when it comes to shoes and shoe leather) and likes discussing charms and books with her.
The problem that Harry faces is that he knows all this and has seen it happening before his eyes, both when he met the Malfoys at Bill's and later in Aquila's and Victoire's home, but somehow he and Draco have managed to never speak more than a few polite words to each other. He really needs a 'How to tell your school rival that you're dating his son'-manual. Sadly he knows there isn't one. He checked, just to make sure. It would even help if he had any experience with talking to a date's parents, but with Ginny everyone expected the two of them to date and there was no need to talk about it.
And then it was after the war, and nothing was like before. The funerals, the trials, the fame, the media: they all just got in the way of any relationship he might've envisioned. After that there was his failed attempt at being an Auror, an Unspeakable and a Healer. In the end it had been Luna who asked him, 'why aren't you doing something you enjoy?' Soon after that he was attending the Puddlemere try-outs and the rest, as they say, was history.
Althrough while he got shagged quite a lot as a Quidditch player, and finally figured out that yes, he liked women, but men turned him on even more, there was no long-lasting relationship. According to Ginny, who managed to get married while actively playing, it was his fault for not trying hard enough. He knew that, but the fact remained he didn't want to try, casual fitted him just fine. Well and then he met Scorpius, and casual was no longer an option. A view he and Scorpius share very much.
Having Scorpius around him has been an eye-opener to how possessive Harry really is. And Scorpius is just as bad. He can't remember how often he told Scorpius not to leave any visible marks back in the beginning - a request that was disregarded with an enthusiasm, which defied description. Scorpius even helped healing most of the bite marks, except the biggest, and deepest, mostly found around his neck. Those ones the brat charmed to resist healing. Cheeky, little Slytherin. It not only got Scorpius make-up sex, when Harry was done with his shouting, but also made sure very quickly that everyone knew Harry was taken.
At the memory Harry still smiles, he had never felt more desired or wanted. Ithad also stopped Scorpius from objecting to Harry marking him.
Harry let his eyes roam the lean body on top of him silently counting the fresh marks in between the older ones. They never really got out of that habit, like Ron had told him he would for sure soon enough.
The hard truth is that Hermione had told him on the day he had introduced Scorpius as his boyfriend, that it was wrong from him to hide his relationship from the Malfoys and that it would only become more difficult to tell them. He should've known then that she was right. He really should've, but somehow he disregarded her advice, thinking that he was doing the right thing.
"You know what", Scorpius said softly, "why don't you just put on your shirt, while I get dressed, and then we'll floo over to my father's study, and you can talk and scream - although I highly doubt it will come to that - at each other until your happy. No big room, no family watching, no big declarations needed." The suggestion is followed by a soft kiss to Harry's cheek before Scorpius gets up.
"It's really my fault, I know you don't do well with stuff when it's all planned out, so we will do it your way, get in and try to get through" Harry listens, while he watches Scorpius getting dressed.
"So, uhm we are going now?" Harry asks, finally reaching after his button-down, since his lover is already more dressed than him.
"Yes, if it goes badly, we will miss the tea party, and if it goes ok, since you refuse to believe that it can go well, we will stay," says Scorpius, setting down Harry's shoes in front of him, and then putting on his own shoes.
"How do you know he will be in his study?" Harry asks, feeling the adrenalin rushing through his blood, but at the same time some of his inner tenseness has lessened. Doing it now, getting it over with, that really feels natural to him.
"Saturday after lunch? He will be doing his accounting, before he starts his weekend with the tea. He has always done it that way. Mum said that the routine stuck even before I was born, so they would have more time together," Scorpius explains easily, and with such love in his voice, that Harry has to gulp down the big knot of guilt forming in his throat.
Draco is a part of Scorpius's life, a big part, and Harry has been denying Scorpius the opportunity to talk about him.
"...need something, son?" Harry hears the last of Malfoy's slightly concerned greeting as he stumbles out of the floo, as undignified as ever. Flooing never brings out his dignity.
"Potter!" Malfoy states, eyebrow raised. Harry can see how Malfoy tries to calm himself with a deep breath, and has to fight a smile. Well, now he knows where Scorpius picked up that habit.
In a regal movement, if Harry has ever seen one, Malfoy puts down his peacock feather quill, and closes the leather-bound notebook: "I imagine you both showing up here now is not a coincidence."
Harry tries to see though Malfoy's mask, but he really can't. The git doesn't give away anything.
"So you knew?" Scorpius says sounding disappointed and hurt.
Harry's head snaps in Scorpius' direction. Well, apparently he is the only one unable to read Malfoy's face. It annoys Harry, but at the same time, he is very sure that this really should not surprise him. Father and son are very close.
"At first? No, I didn't. And both my mother and your mother have been very tight lipped when it comes to the topic of who you are seeing for quite some time now," Malfoy answers and then Harry is thrown again, because like Scorpius does so often, Malfoy crosses his arms in front of his chest, a gesture Harry can actually read.
"Since when," Scorpus whispers, and Harry can't stop himself, he moves closer, caresses Scorpius' fingers with his own. This is his fault. He never imagined it would go this badly. But at the same time, he is afraid to say anything, out of fear of saying the wrong thing. He always says the wrong thing when it comes to Malfoy.
"I suspected something two years ago, when Potter here started to show up at odd meals, family gatherings and such. I must confess at first I simply dismissed the notion, because it was rather an odd thought to have," Malfoy laughs at a joke only he knows.
However Harry notices that Malfoy is neither screaming, shouting or using a mean tone, which relieves him a little bit. This might go ok after all.
"Still, I could not help myself, and I started to watch the two of you, and believe me if I tell you both that I am very experienced when it comes to watching either one of you. But the confirmation was when I heard Aquila talking to Astoria about the seating arrangements, and saying that it would be so much easier, if he only knew whether you two would be sitting together, or not" Malfoy goes on, and Harry can see Scorpius blushing next to him. What had Malfoy said that was making Scorpius blush?
"At first I was furious, and angry," Malfoy states and captures Harry's attention once more. "But then again, in your position I wouldn't have known what to do either. I always hoped that you could trust me and tell me anything... I believe you did for a time..." Malfoy is taking another deep breath, and the silver eyes shut closed and Harry suddenly understands what really is hurting Scorpius.
It's not about being able to tell a secret, about sharing or hiding, it's about being the one to hurt your father, who loves you so much, and who you love so much. Harry thinks that maybe he never saw it that way because he never knew his parents, but he knows he is lying. He just didn't want to see it that way, he didn't want to be the man who cut through the close bond between father and son.
"Just tell me, when have I disappointed you, when have I let you down, so that you think you can't trust me?" Malfoy asks his voice neutral. Another tell Harry is all too familiar with.
"It's not Scorpius' fault," he says, his own voice rather raw. "He wanted to tell you for years, but I was afraid of you. I didn't want to lose him, because you would not approve of me...I...I selfishly wanted this to last for as long as it could." Harry feels laid bare in front of both the Malfoys.
"I didn't mean to hurt either of you, I just wanted to be happy. And I didn't want to understand why Scorpius wanted me to tell you about us... It really is already bad enough with my friends and I really..." Harry stops himself from speaking further. It wouldn't do him any good to give Malfoy any more ideas than he most certainly already has.
Malfoy's heavy look makes Harry's throat dry. He has said the wrong thing. Of course he has.
"You know Potter, the fact that I know you as well as I do is the only thing that really keeps me in my seat and doesn't make me want to hex you." Malfoy smiles, and it is a wicked smile at that.
"I know how you look when you believe yourself in love, and now I know how you look when you are in love. And I also know Scoprius and I see that the two of you oddly enough are happy together," the last words sound a little slurred to Harry, but he for certainly isn't going to call Malfoy on that.
"I won't ever permit you calling me father, simply because it would be weird, and I would very much appreciate if I don't have to ever, I emphasise the EVER, have to see you molesting my son." The glare Harry receives at this point he knows very well, it's the patented Malfoy- death-glare he got plenty of in school. Silently Harry is impressed not only that Malfoy still remembers the glare, but also that it still succeeds in annoying him.
"Other than that however," Draco sighs heavy, "I won't stand in your way. You make my son happy, and that is all I ever wished for him."
Suddenly before anyone else can move, Scorpius is standing in front of his father, bending down and hugging him tightly.
"I'm so sorry," Scorpius whispers, tears silently falling. "I do trust you, and I do love you, father, so much...I'm so sorry, I just..."
Harry nods once to Malfoy, as he catches his eye and silently leaves the room, giving father and son the privacy to talk things over.
He finds himself in a part of the Manor he never has been in before, but really he doesn't mind, because while he goes and searches for Astoria, Narcissa or Aquila he can think about how grown up Malfoy has become. What an understanding father he truly was. And how odd the whole situation has been. After the fiasco with the Weasleys Harry never thought he would get approval from the Malfoys, but all they seem to care about is that Scorpius is happy. If Scorpius is happy with Harry in his life, they accept that. How odd, after all that Lucius had put the family through. Odd but wonderful.
And in the end, odd was right up Harry's ally.