Author's note: Don't even ask me how I came up with this idea. It just popped up in my head a few weeks ago and it wouldn't leave until I had written it. This wasn't even supposed to be this long *shakes head*

Warnings: Scorpius' pov for the majority of this oneshot; angst; drama; smidgen of violence; slash; implied future character death; possibly a sensitive subject? I'm not certain about that, but I figured I would put it as a warning anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.

I hope you'll enjoy it. Also a Happy New Year to everyone!

Heart's Affinity

Scorpius knew that most children had both a father and a mother. While he waited with the teacher for his own parents to show up, he watched how his classmates were picked up by either their mother, their father or sometimes both.

The blond boy had been puzzled by this in the beginning. How could those children have a mother? Didn't the others have two fathers?

Apparently they didn't. In fact, he had been told by his teacher, having two fathers was considered strange. Not really abnormal, but definitely not an everyday occurrence either.

Scorpius could barely remember his mother; he was six years old, yet only remembered his mother having light blonde hair. His father told him that his mother was living elsewhere and that she wasn't up for visiting often, but that she still loved him and was happy she had him.

The little boy didn't really care about his mother – he had still been a baby when she left, so he could barely remember her and the few pictures that showed her didn't bring forth any feelings of missing her or loving her.

He simply didn't know her and therefore didn't miss her.

Until two years ago, he had been living alone with his father and that had been fun. His father was stern, but played with him every day and even showed him some cool magical tricks at times. He may have never known his mother, but his father made up for the lack of mother figure.

Then his daddy had appeared in their lives two years ago and Scorpius had learnt how it felt to be loved by two people. His daddy may not be a mummy, because he was a boy and not a girl, but he filled that role nicely.

And with his daddy, he also gained an older brother in the form of Teddy Lupin, daddy's godson. Teddy was very fun to play with and unlike the stories he heard of his classmates – who said that they were constantly being teased by their older siblings – his brother never taunted him or hurt him on purpose.

Despite the missing presence of a woman in the family, Scorpius thought his family was perfect and he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Except that something had been bothering him for a while now and it made him think that his family wasn't that perfect after all.

It had started out innocently.

Night was slowly falling and the house elves were preparing the rooms for the cold night that would come. While the little elves bustled around, the two adults and the two children had gathered in the living room after dinner.

Father and daddy were softly talking to each other on the couch; daddy was snuggled up against father's side and they were holding hands. Teddy was curled up on the arm chair, browsing through a photo album and Scorpius was quietly putting a jigsaw puzzle together on the carpet, a white teddy bear clutched against his chest.

"Prongslet," Teddy called out.

Scorpius didn't look up at first; after hearing Teddy use that particular name a couple of times to refer to daddy, he had grown used to it. He still thought it strange that his older brother didn't call their daddy 'daddy', but he figured it wasn't any of his business what his brother called their daddy.

"Look at that; the perfect mixture of us both," Father remarked amused.

This time Scorpius glanced up; his curiosity piqued. What he saw, made him blink in confusion. Instead of having light brown hair and blue eyes, Teddy suddenly sported dark green eyes – the eyes of their daddy – and blond hair, like that of Scorpius.

"How do you do that?" Scorpius demanded and sat up straight; his puzzle forgotten for the moment.

Green eyes glanced at him bemused. "I can change how I look whenever I want," Teddy replied and shrugged.

"It's something only a few wizards and witches can do, sweetie," Daddy murmured and smiled. "Teddy got that talent from his mum."

"Oh." Scorpius blinked and long after Teddy had turned back to his brown hair and blue eyes, the little boy contemplated what he had seen.

For some strange reason, father's words made his tummy hurt.

"Scorpius? Your parents have arrived," his teacher murmured and patted his shoulder.

Scorpius blinked and turned his head. Daddy and father were waiting for him at the gate with Teddy standing next to father.

"Goodbye, miss," Scorpius mumbled and hurried to his parents; his small legs carrying him quickly over the courtyard.

"Hey, Scorpius, did you have fun?" Daddy grinned and accepted the hand Scorpius held out.

Scorpius nodded; his backpack thumping softly against his back with every step he took. "We worked on our paintings," he informed them.

"What's the painting about?" Father asked curiously.

"My family," Scorpius muttered subdued.

He missed the glance thrown at him from both men.

"Scorpius, I still need to do some grocery shopping," Daddy said and halted on the sidewalk. He nodded to father and Teddy. "They are already going home; if you want, you can go with them."

"Shopping?" Scorpius perked up.

Daddy chuckled. "Yes, but only for food. Nothing too fun, I'm afraid."

"You can just let the elves buy it," Father said exasperatedly.

Daddy frowned. "Not in the store I'm planning to go. Besides, I've been cooped up in my office the whole day," he complained. "I want to see something else besides some streets."

Father rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Fine. Scorpius, who do you want go with?"

Scorpius bit his lip and narrowed his eyes slightly, contemplating his choice. Go home or join daddy during his shopping and potentially get some candy …

His choice was quickly made.

"I want to go with daddy," he stated firmly.

Father quirked his lips in a faint smile. "All right, I'll see you both soon."

They waved and continued on their way home, while daddy directed him to the pedestrian crossing. They had to wait for the light to turn red – something Scorpius still thought was strange, because in their world, there were no such things as red and green lights – and as soon as the cars stopped and the little man turned green, they crossed the road.

"Did you do something else besides working on your painting, Scorpius?" Daddy asked while they slowly made their way to the Muggle grocery store daddy liked to visit occasionally.

The little boy looked up at the sky – dark clouds were gathering, promising a heavy down pour later on – and answered, "Miss teaches how to read. The book is fun."

"Yeah? That's good to hear. Now, sweetie, remember you can't mention magic in this store, okay?" Daddy said softly when they halted in front of the glass doors of the shop.

Scorpius nodded. "I know, daddy."

Most people in this store were Muggles, so Scorpius couldn't say anything about magic or anything magic related until they were almost home again.

The doors automatically opened once they approached them and Scorpius started looking around immediately. He had only been here a few times before, but every time it was fascinating how busy it was. A lot of people were walking around in the store; most of them were here to buy stuff like he and daddy, but some people wore bright yellow shirts and brown trousers and daddy said they worked here. Scorpius thought that particular shade of yellow was quite ugly under the artificial light, but he knew he wasn't allowed to say that out loud, because it was impolite.

Daddy grabbed a cart and made Scorpius hold on to it, so he wouldn't lose him. Grabbing the cold, metal bar tightly in his fist, Scorpius watched how daddy fished out a folded paper from his pocket and read it.

"First, we need some vegetables," Daddy murmured and steered the cart to the vegetable area.

Scorpius grimaced and stuck out his tongue. He didn't like vegetables at all – they were icky and gross, but his parents still made him eat them, because otherwise he wouldn't get dessert. They also told some nonsense that he wouldn't be able to grow tall if he didn't eat his veggies, but he was already drinking milk! Wasn't that enough to grow tall?

"Don't pull that face or you'll look like that forever," Daddy muttered without looking down at him.

Scorpius immediately pulled his tongue back and pouted. He still didn't understand how daddy knew what kind of face he was making when he wasn't even looking.

"How do you know what my face is?" he asked, pursing his lips slightly.

"I'm your dad; of course I know what face you're making," Daddy answered amused.

Scorpius didn't know what to say to that, so he looked down while his cheeks flushed and became very warm.

They were walking through the aisle with cookies and all sorts of delicious candy when a woman with dark red hair and light blue eyes turned around and looked at them. Her eyes lightened up when she took notice of the blond boy standing in front of the row with chocolate bars.

"Aw, he's so cute!" she gushed and smiled widely.

Daddy smiled indulgently and Scorpius beamed.

"Is he your nephew?" the lady asked curiously and a blush appeared on her cheeks.

Scorpius stiffened and looked down again, his small fingers pulling at the edge of his jacket while he bit his lip.

"Ah no, he's my son." He heard his daddy say.

"Oh, sorry, I just assumed he was your nephew because …" she trailed off, because she forced out a chuckle. "Well, anyway, he's adorable!"

"Thank you," Daddy replied politely and the lady quickly walked away.

"Scorpius?"

Scorpius refused to look up and fixed his stare on the chocolate bar, right in front of him.

Daddy sighed and he felt a hand caressing his hair. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head.

"Why don't you pick out some candy for you and Teddy, hm?"

Hesitatingly Scorpius started selecting some chocolate bars, a box of vanilla cookies for Teddy and two small bags filled with colourful Muggle candy.

All the way from the cash register to their home Scorpius kept silent, despite the gentle coaxing of his daddy to tell him what was wrong.

What was wrong was what the lady had said. Wrong was what she had assumed.

He didn't look like his daddy.

He wasn't stupid; he knew he didn't look like daddy. He had blond hair, his daddy raven black; he had light grey eyes, daddy emerald green. He was pale like father, daddy had a slight tan the whole year around. Nothing about the boy made it clear that he was daddy's son.

Teddy wasn't daddy's real son either, but he could change his looks so that he could still look like him. In fact, that was what his brother often did when they went out shopping. He turned his hair black and his eyes green, until he was a smaller copy of daddy. Strange people always remarked how much Teddy looked like daddy.

Scorpius never got to hear those words. He didn't look like daddy, because he came from a mummy and he couldn't change his looks like Teddy could.

It wasn't enough that he looked like father. He wanted to look like daddy too! He didn't want to see the looks of uncomfortable confusion on strange people's faces when daddy told them he was his son. He didn't want to hear another "Oh, your nephew is so cute!" or "Aw, your friend's son is utterly adorable! Do you babysit him often?".

When Scorpius was tucked into bed that night and his parents left him after giving him a soft kiss on his forehead, tears started trickling over his cheeks and he muffled his sobs in his heavy blanket.

His chest hurt and all he could think of was what the lady had said in the store.

It all came out on a cold winter day in early December.

The class had finished their painting of their family and the teacher was instructing them to hang it up on the wall to dry. She bustled around, making certain that there was enough space between each painting so that the wet paint wouldn't accidentally touch.

Tongue peeking out, Scorpius carefully hung his painting up on the wall; fussing until he was happy with the way it hung. In his best handwriting – which was still a bit messy and shaky, but he was improving every day! – he had written 'My family' on the top of the painting. He had painted their garden: the red and yellow spots near the edge of the painting were the flowers that bloomed during spring and summer and the two big trees at the end of the garden were present as well. Father was drawn on the left side and was holding Teddy's hand (who sported his regular brown hair and blue eyes). Teddy's other hand was held by Scorpius and he had drawn daddy on the right side, holding Scorpius' hand in his bigger one. They all had big smiles on their faces.

Their teacher had mentioned a week ago that the paintings would be shown to their parents on parents' day, so the little, blond boy had done his best to make the most beautiful painting of the entire class. He wanted his parents to be proud of him and they surely would be if they saw that his painting was the best!

One of his classmates, a dark brown haired boy with muddy brown eyes named Eric, hovered near him, studying his painting.

The boy cocked his head slightly to the right and wrinkled his nose. "Who's that black haired man?" he asked, his question slightly garbled thanks to his index finger in his mouth.

"My daddy," Scorpius answered and threw the other boy a glance. His father had always said that only uncouth people put their fingers in their mouth; Scorpius didn't know what 'uncouth' meant, but judging from the sneer his father wore every time he mentioned it, the boy gathered it had to be a bad thing.

Eric snorted and looked at him incredulously. "I was serious! Who's that man?"

"My daddy," Scorpius repeated and frowned. He shifted his feet and shuffled a bit backwards. He didn't like the tone Eric had adopted.

Muddy brown eyes rolled in obvious disbelief. "Yeah, right! He can't be your daddy! You don't look like him!" he retorted accusingly. "Miss said only to draw your parents! That means a daddy and a mummy!" Suddenly a cruel smile unfolded on his face and his eyes started to glint viciously. "Oh, I know! Your mummy doesn't want you! That's why you don't have a mummy! You can't make this painting when you don't have a real family!"

Scorpius snapped. Hot anger coursed through his body, making his limbs tremble in response and everything seemed to become red for his eyes. Hands transformed into fists and started punching while legs kicked every soft spot they could find.

It was only when Scorpius was abruptly snatched away, held up high in the air, while the teacher snapped at him furiously, did he realise what he had been doing.

His eyes grew wide when he took in the sight of Eric, whose face was bloodied and dirty with snot and tears while the boy cried and screamed in pain.

"Your parents will hear about this, Scorpius!"

He was hastily marched towards the headmistress' office, all the while harshly scolded; his arm in a tight grip. All he could do was keep silent and cower on the chair he was dumped on, while his heart beat rapidly, like it wanted to escape from his chest. He clasped his hands together and hid them between his legs while he bowed his head. Tears prickled behind his eyes and tear drops plopped down on his trousers; his face uncomfortably warm.

His upper arms hurt from when Eric had been pinching them and his knees hurt as well from the kicks he had received. He was still better off than the other boy, though, because he wasn't bleeding.

"I'm going to call your parents, Mister Malfoy," the headmistress said sternly.

Scorpius swallowed and his shoulders shook with his repressed sobs. His parents would be so angry at him. He bit his lower lip hard and squeezed his eyes shut, while the tears continued to trickle over his face.

He had been bad before, but he had never actually fought with someone. How angry would his parents be? Would father yell like he had done before when he had pushed away Aunt Pansy's daughter? Would he ignore him?

Would daddy decide that he didn't want him as his son anymore?

That, out of all the possible outcomes, made him the most afraid and made his heart squeeze in fear and hurt. What could he do if his daddy decided that he didn't want him anymore? His daddy had always been so proud that he behaved so well, especially compared to his Weasley family and daddy liked that family a lot, so him saying Scorpius behaved better had been a big deal. Had he ruined that now? Would daddy be so angry at him that he didn't like him anymore?

Fear stretched its long, thin arms around him and tightened its grip, making it harder for him to breathe properly.

The fire crackled loudly and the familiar sound of Flooing announced the arrival of Scorpius' parents.

"What happened?" Father asked and he sounded annoyed.

Scorpius cowered even more on his chair and didn't dare to look up at all; he tried to stifle his sobs as much as he could. He didn't want to anger his parents even more by acting like a big baby.

"Your son got into a fight with another student. He was extremely violent and his teacher had to practically wrestle with him to get him to lose his grip on the other boy," the headmistress clarified. "We don't know yet why he suddenly started to fight, but you can understand why we had to call you here."

"You did what, Scorpius?!" Father's voice boomed through the office and Scorpius could feel his glare burning in his head.

His sobs grew louder and he hiccupped, "I'm sorry, father, I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, I did not raise you to behave like a hooligan! What do you have to say for yourself?" Father demanded and in just a few steps, he was standing in front of his son, looking down at him.

Scorpius took a quick peek and whimpered when he saw how angry father looked. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he cried and rubbed his hands roughly over his trousers, sniffing loudly so that his snot wouldn't dirty his clothes.

Father made a disgusted noise. "Look at me when I'm talking to you! What do you …"

"Draco, let me talk to him," Daddy murmured and touched father's arm.

"Harry, he needs to …"

"You're scaring him by being so harsh," Daddy admonished him. "Just let me talk to him, all right? You need to calm down before you say something you're going to regret later."

Father huffed. "What am I supposed to do then?"

"Go talk with the headmistress and find out whether that boy has said something already."

Father clucked his tongue harshly, but nodded and walked back to the headmistress. As soon as they started murmuring, daddy bent down until he was on the same height as Scorpius.

"Scorpius, here; blow your nose," Daddy muttered and held a handkerchief against his nose.

Hesitatingly, Scorpius took a deep breath and blew.

"All right, now, can you tell me what happened?" Daddy asked softly, putting the soiled cloth in his pocket. He was still in his Auror's clothes and Scorpius felt even more awful when he realised that his daddy had to leave his important work behind to come to the school.

"I don't want to be bad," Scorpius mumbled and sniffled again. He brought his hands up to rub in his eyes, which felt gritty and tired.

Two larger, warm hands grabbed his fists and brought them back down. Soft green eyes gazed at him calmly. "I know you don't want to be bad, Scorpius, but can you tell me why you hurt that other boy?"

He didn't want to confess. Daddy would find his reason stupid – or maybe he would agree with Eric.

Scorpius' next inhale sounded like a pained gasp and he quivered, trying his best to stop his crying.

Daddy wrapped his arms around him and stood up, shifting around until Scorpius was sitting on his lap with his face towards his chest.

"Sweetie, tell me what happened," Daddy murmured and slowly started rubbing over his back.

The slow back and forth rubbing worked soothing and Scorpius' stifled sobs quietened down bit by bit, until he was left hiccupping occasionally and sniffling a bit.

Meanwhile daddy kept rocking him back and forth; once shaking his head warningly when father wanted to approach them. Scorpius heard father huff, but he retreated again and the office became silent, as if daddy and he were the only ones in the room.

Scorpius started when a light golden screen appeared around him and daddy. Wide eyed, he looked up and stared at daddy, who nodded towards the screen.

"This screen makes sure that your dad and the headmistress can't hear what you're saying," Daddy explained and wiggled around a bit, placing the boy better on his lap. "So you can say what you want. Only I will hear it."

Scorpius looked down, his hands coming up to grab daddy's robes tightly, wrinkling the cloth slightly. Shame burned like a fire in him.

"I don't want daddy to hate me," he whispered and felt his cheeks flaming up once again.

Daddy stilled. "Why would I hate you, Scorp?"

"Because I hurt Eric," he mumbled, still refusing to look up.

"I don't hate you for that. I'm not happy with it," Daddy added. "But I don't hate you for that. In fact, there is nothing you can do that would make me hate you, sweetie. I just want to know why you hurt Eric. I know that you're not a violent boy, so something must have happened. Your dad and I want to help you, Scorpius, but you need to tell me what happened."

Scorpius started to squirm, but daddy just held on tighter until he gave up with a sigh and he bent his head once more.

Realising daddy wouldn't let him go until he had confessed, he gave in and told through trembling lips and with a quivering voice, "Eric says I can't paint a drawing of my family, 'cause I don't have a mummy. He says you're not my daddy, because I don't look like you."

"Oh Scorpius," Daddy sighed and hugged him closer. He pressed a soft kiss on his forehead. "Don't listen to that boy. You have a real family. Your dad told you that your mummy loves you, right? And I love you too. A family is more than only a mummy and a daddy."

"But I don't look like you," Scorpius repeated and bit his lips. The fingers wrapped in dark red cloth tightened.

Daddy was silent for a short while. "That doesn't matter, Scorpius," he said softly. "I'm still your daddy and you're still my son. You don't have to look like each other to be family." He raised Scorpius' head, so that the boy had to look him in his eyes. "Teddy doesn't look like me either all the time and we're still a family. He doesn't look like your dad either and your dad still sees him as family too."

"But Teddy can look like you and father," Scorpius interrupted and his lower lip quivered. Fresh tears started to gather in his eyes and he hiccupped again. "Everybody sees Teddy is your son, but they never see me!"

Daddy's mouth dropped open in an 'o' and he sighed softly. "Scorpius, I can't control what other people say," he said gently. "But what other people say, doesn't matter. You're my son and I'm your daddy. We don't have to look like each other for that to be true."

"But I want to look like daddy!" Scorpius cried out and the tears started once again dripping over his cheeks. "I don't want to look like mummy, I want to look like daddy!"

"Scorpius," Daddy started, but had to watch helplessly as Scorpius continued to cry.

"I want to look like daddy; I want to look like daddy," the little boy kept repeating, crying his heart out until he tired himself out and fell asleep on his daddy's lap; an unhappy frown lingering on his face.

After the scene in the headmistress' office, it was decided that both boys had to apologise to each other and the issue was finished with that.

However, apologising to Eric did not mean that all of Scorpius' problems were solved.

The day after Scorpius' confession, his parents had come up to his room to talk to him about what had been bothering him.

No matter how many times daddy kept reassuring him that he loved him like his own son and that it didn't matter that Scorpius had come from a mummy and not from daddy, the Malfoy heir was inconsolable and kept repeating that he wanted to look like daddy.

Eventually, father had to leave after a house elf announced that Uncle Blaise was in the Floo, but daddy stayed behind, seated on Scorpius' large bed.

"Scorpius, why do you want to look like me?" Daddy asked softly.

Scorpius looked up with wide, grey eyes; childish innocence lurking in them. "Because then we are a real family," he stated. "I don't want to come from a mummy's belly, I want to come from your belly. Then I look like daddy."

Daddy chuckled weakly. "I'm afraid that that won't be possible, Scorpius."

Scorpius swallowed and looked down at his bed, feeling the sting of rejection hitting him like sharp needles.

"Don't you want to be my real daddy?" he asked in a small voice; his fingers aimlessly tracing meaningless patterns on his blanket.

"Scorpius, I am your daddy. It doesn't matter that you didn't come from my belly," Daddy murmured and shifted closer to him. "Do you love me?"

Scorpius jerked his head up. "Of course I love you!" he said, horrified that his daddy could doubt that.

Daddy nodded gently. "And I love you. See? We don't have to look like each other to love each other."

Scorpius deflated and looked away. Why couldn't daddy understand what he wanted? He just wanted to be daddy's real son, so that daddy would never leave him. As it was now, daddy could still easily leave him. Sure, daddy loved him now, but daddy could stop loving him one day, precisely because Scorpius wasn't his real son. But if he was daddy's real son, then daddy would never stop loving him. It wasn't enough for Scorpius to be the real son of father; he wanted to be the real son of daddy too and just couldn't understand why that wasn't possible. Magic could do anything, right?

Then why couldn't it make him daddy's real son?

Nothing was further said about the matter until a week later, when everyone was gathered in the living room.

Father and daddy were seated on the couch, next to each other; father was reading a large, old book with no pictures in it and daddy was writing something down. Teddy was curled up on the armchair, reading one of his own books.

Scorpius had nestled himself next to father; a jigsaw puzzle – with the picture of three unicorns playing – holding his attention.

"All right, Teddy, is there something else you wanted for Christmas besides books and a broom?" Daddy asked amused.

Teddy pondered over the question and his hair rapidly changed from dark green to dark blue to golden brown. "No, can't think of anything else for now."

"What do you want for Christmas, Scorpius?" Daddy asked and gave him a warm smile.

"I can ask anything I want?" Scorpius wondered out loud and his hands stilled above his puzzle.

Daddy nodded, smiling. "Of course you can, Scorp."

Scorpius blinked and thought deeply. There were a lot of new toys that he wanted – like a particular playset that included a whole Quidditch team that could imitate a real match – and even some picture books that had captured his interest. A kitten would also be nice. Or even several stuffed animals that he could cuddle when he went to sleep.

Deep in his heart, however, he already knew the answer. And that didn't include anything materialistic.

"I want to be daddy's son," he answered in a clear voice.

"What?" Teddy asked bewildered.

Father sighed and closed his book, while daddy looked uncomfortably.

"Scorpius, we already talked about this before," Daddy murmured and gave him a weak smile. "Isn't there something else you want? A new toy or a book?"

Scorpius gathered the pieces of his puzzle back into the box and jumped off the couch. "I don't want something else," he announced subdued and looked up with stubborn eyes. "You say I can ask what I want. I want to be daddy's son."

With that, he left the living room and let one of the house elves lead him back to his room, so that he could go to sleep.

Scorpius had just climbed into his bed with the help of the elf after changing into his sleepwear when father entered the room.

With a small sigh, father sat down on his bed and Scorpius shuffled a bit to the side, so that father had more room.

Grey eyes looked at him softly. "Scorpius, why do you want to be daddy's son so badly?" Father reached out with his hand and gripped his small one in his larger, cool one. "You know daddy loves you."

Scorpius nodded mutely.

"Then why? Harry sees you as his son, so why …"

"But I want to be daddy's real son," Scorpius repeated frustrated and his hands curled into fists. Why did nobody understand this? Why were they being so difficult?

"But you are his …"

"I'm not daddy's real son. I don't come from daddy's belly," Scorpius retorted and the corners of his mouth went down, showcasing his unhappiness.

Father blinked and gazed at him contemplatively, while his thumb started caressing Scorpius' hand. "Well no, Harry didn't give birth to you," he admitted easily and his grey eyes grew intense. "But that doesn't mean that Harry doesn't consider you as his son. You know he does. We really don't understand …"

Scorpius interrupted him again; he normally didn't do this, as his father wasn't fond of being interrupted and had told him many times it was rude, but he couldn't hold back now. He wanted his parents to understand why he so dearly wished to be daddy's real son. "If I'm daddy's real son, he won't leave me."

Father seemed shocked; his thumb stilled and he seemed speechless. He finally broke the silence. "Why would Harry leave you? He hasn't said anything about that."

"If I'm daddy's real son, he will always like me," Scorpius stated frankly and looked away. "Just like mummy always like her children. If I look like daddy, he will never leave me."

"Scorpius," Father murmured and leant forwards to hug him.

Startled, it took Scorpius a few seconds before he returned the hug awkwardly, as he wasn't used to his father hugging him so suddenly.

"Harry isn't planning on leaving us. And even if he did," Father paused and then continued with a strange infliction to his voice, "and even if he did, I can assure you he won't stop loving you. You can trust that."

"Not enough," Scorpius muttered against the white shirt and wondered once again why the adults in his life didn't seem to understand his need.

What was so difficult to understand about his desire to be daddy's real son?

He felt a kiss being pressed on his hair. "We'll talk about this later, okay? Can you at least make a list of other things you want?"

Only the promise that father would consider his wish more seriously now made Scorpius agree to create a list of the toys he wanted.

Christmas passed by with a lot of presents, delicious food and family visiting them. Aunt Pansy and Uncle Nott had brought their daughter with them and Uncle Blaise with Aunt Sylvia had dropped by as well. Even grandfather and grandmother had left their house in Paris to visit them and while the atmosphere between grandfather and daddy had been weird, nothing bad had happened.

Daddy and Teddy had left for a few hours to visit their own family. Scorpius had been confused during their first Christmas as to why he couldn't join his daddy on his visit – apparently a part of daddy's family didn't really like his father, so to avoid possible fights, it was better to keep them separated. Scorpius thought it was a shame, because he would love to know what kind of family daddy had, but he knew he couldn't push the issue.

Besides, daddy did take him and father with him when they visited daddy's own mummy and daddy, who were apparently in another place now which meant they couldn't visit daddy. Scorpius hadn't really understood it, but he did know that they went to a graveyard to visit daddy's parents, so that had to mean that this other place couldn't be on earth. Scorpius thought it was sad that daddy had never known his mummy and daddy, but daddy didn't seem too bothered with it.

On the morning of New Year's day, Scorpius woke up to find both of his parents entering his room with a queer look on their faces.

"Happy New Year, daddy, father," Scorpius greeted them sleepily and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Happy New Year, Scorp," Daddy smiled and sat down on his bed.

Father smiled as well and chose to stand at the foot of the bed. Both he and daddy shared a look, before they turned to the boy again.

"All right, Scorpius, we need you to pay attention now," Daddy started slowly. "What we're going to say is very important, okay?"

Alert and more awake now, Scorpius sat up straight and glanced at daddy and father. "What is it?"

Daddy took a deep breath and shifted around. "Do you still want to be my real son?"

If they hadn't captured his attention before, then they sure had it now. "Yes, yes!" Scorpius answered excitedly and he started to quiver from happiness. Did that question mean what he thought it meant?

"You see, Scorpius," Father took over and he leant slightly forwards. He wore a very serious look. "There is a way for you to be Harry's real son, even when Harry didn't give birth to you." He looked at daddy again, who nodded. "There is a ritual that we can do; it is called the Blood Adoption ritual."

"If we perform this ritual," Daddy continued and the green in his eyes deepened. "Then you would get some of my blood and magic in you and that would change some things in your body."

"I can look like daddy?" Scorpius asked hopefully; his wide eyes shining brightly.

"Yes, probably. We don't know how much the ritual will change," Daddy admitted and he raked a hand through his hair. "But that would make you my real son."

"I want to do the ritual!" Scorpius exclaimed and leant forward eagerly. He knew magic would be able to help him! Magic could do anything after all!

"Listen, Scorpius; if we do this ritual, that means that Astoria won't be your real mummy anymore," Father warned him and he had a slight frown on his face. "That also means that you won't look like her anymore."

"But I look like daddy and you then, no?" Scorpius asked, just to make sure he had understood everything.

Daddy nodded. "Yes, you would look like your dad and me."

"I can be daddy's real son?"

Both men nodded silently.

Scorpius clapped his hands and barely hold himself back from jumping up and down from joy. He was finally getting what he wanted! This was the best present he could have hoped to receive!

"But Scorpius, this ritual won't be painless," Daddy said and he grimaced. "You see, you and I need to make a small cut in our hands and then press our hands together."

Scorpius glanced down at his hands and tried to imagine how much it would hurt to have a small cut in his hand. He had cut himself on the pages of his books before, and that had stung a lot, but he figured that this particular cut would hurt a bit more.

But still, if having a hurt would make him daddy's real son, then he thought he could put up with it.

"You also don't need to do this ritual now," Father added and Scorpius' head shot up so that he could stare at him. "You don't need to decide today whether you want to do the ritual. It can wait until you're older. Maybe you have changed your mind by then and you won't need this ritual."

"I'm not." Scorpius shook his head and scowled. "I want to be daddy's real son." He turned to look at his daddy, who gazed back calmly, but with a pale face. "Can I do the ritual now?"

Daddy hesitated and he shared another look with father, who narrowed his eyes and shrugged. "Are you sure you don't want to think about this longer?" Daddy asked gently. "This is a really important decision, Scorpius. Once we do this ritual, you can't go back."

"I know; I want it," Scorpius said stubbornly. No matter how much time would pass, he knew he wouldn't change his mind. He didn't want to look like mummy anymore; he wanted to look like daddy, he wanted to look like the man who took care of him and who loved him.

"Scorpius …"

"I want it; I really, really want it, daddy," Scorpius said, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice.

Silence reigned in the room for a while until daddy nodded. "All right. If you're really certain that you won't change your mind, I'll perform the ritual with you."

Scorpius whooped with joy and this time he couldn't hold himself back; he launched himself at his daddy and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said over and over again, while excitement and happiness filled him completely.

Daddy hugged him back and father's hand came to rest on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.

The ritual was performed two weeks later. Daddy and Scorpius had to sit in a large circle, drawn with white chalk. Several strange symbols were written around the circle and seven candles (three white ones, three red ones and one blue one) surrounded them as well. Father chanted the spells and Scorpius could feel the immense pressure of magic rising up around them, making his hair and daddy's hair flutter.

At one point daddy picked up a silver knife and cut a thin line in his right hand. Without needing to be prompted, Scorpius offered his hand and bit hard on his lower lip when the sharp knife slid through his skin as if it was butter. The cut hurt a lot and stung sharply, but he forced himself to hold back his tears and his hand only trembled slightly when his cut touched the one on daddy's hand.

What happened then was a mystery to the small boy as he blacked out as soon as the magic took a hold of him. He thought he vaguely whimpered when the magic ruthlessly entered his body and maybe he screamed once it felt as if lava was being poured in his body.

He couldn't remember anything clearly.

When he opened his eyes again, panting harshly, he was still in the circle, but the magic had disappeared.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Daddy whispered concerned.

His green eyes were red rimmed as if he had been crying, but Scorpius thought that was silly. Daddy would never cry.

"Yes, I think so," Scorpius muttered and with the help of daddy, he sat up again. He didn't feel different – did that mean the ritual had failed?

Father seemed to have sensed his rising panic, for he dismantled the circle and approached them. He bent down and conjured a small mirror. "Scorpius, look."

Immediately Scorpius fixed his attention on the mirror, hungrily taking in his appearance. He couldn't hold back the tears that now started to stream down his cheeks when he saw what the magic had done.

He still had blond hair, but it was a bit darker now; leaning more to honey blond instead of the white blond his father possessed. His nose had become a bit narrower and his eyes …

Scorpius reached out to touch his reflection. Gone was the stone grey of his father – in its place, emerald green had appeared.

The eyes of his daddy.

Blond hair and green eyes – the perfect mixture of daddy and father.

"Thank you, daddy, father, thank you!" he sobbed and daddy embraced him tightly, father slipping both his arms around them.

They didn't say a word, but they didn't have to; Scorpius was happy to bask in their love and in the knowledge that he now was really daddy's son.

"We performed the ritual three days ago," Draco announced once she allowed the Floo call to come through.

Astoria nodded and hid a cough behind her hand. "Are the records in the Ministry adjusted?"

Her ex-husband gave a confirming nod. "Yes, we received a letter two days ago. They have changed the mother's name from yours to Harry's."

"I wager Scorpius was happy," she murmured.

He gazed at her contemplatively. "Yes, he was," he admitted after a short bout of silence. "Harry and I offered to wait a few years, but he was adamant that it had to happen now. I assume he thought we wouldn't go through with it if he waited a couple of years."

"That's a trait he inherited from his father," she smirked and crossed her legs. Her silken gown slid across her legs like water and she sighed contently. The smallest things nowadays made her happy.

Draco sniffed. "I do not know what you are talking about," he retorted airily.

"Of course not," she replied amused and grimaced slightly when a bolt of pain ran through her back. She wouldn't be able to sit in this armchair for much longer if she still wanted to be able to move around a bit.

"You okay?"

"Of course I am; just a light cramp," she answered lightly.

His steel grey eyes softened – a look she hadn't seen much during their short marriage and which she now usually saw when he was talking about either Scorpius or Potter. "How much time does the Healer give you?" he inquired softly.

Astoria sighed and glanced away, composing herself. She turned back with a sorrowful smile. "A month, maybe two if I'm lucky."

"Is there anything I …"

"No, Draco." She shook her head. "We have already talked about this. There is nothing that can be done. I have made peace with that. Really, I have," she added when she recognized the doubtful look in his eyes. "Now that Scorpius has Potter as his biological parent, I can leave this earth in peace."

"Are you certain you don't want to see him one last time?"

She smiled and shook her head, letting her hand dangle over her knee. "No, there is no need to. It would only distress and confuse him."

Even though Scorpius was no longer her biological child, she saw no need to distress the child by showing up suddenly and trying to explain why she wanted to see him again.

"All right, if you're certain," Draco sighed.

She quirked her lips in a soft smile – an expression not many had been graced with while in her presence. "Just … let Potter know that I'm glad he accepted the offer."

"I will. Goodbye, Astoria. Take care," Draco murmured and then the fire flashed green once again, before it returned to its regular colour.

She pointed her wand at the fire and closed off the Floo.

This would probably be the last time she would ever speak to Draco. In less than two months, the curse would destroy her body completely. Other people would panic, cry and be afraid, but she felt peaceful at last. Despite not having seen the child since he was barely a toddler, she hadn't wanted to leave Scorpius with only one biological parent. Not only that, but now that Potter had completed the Blood Adoption ritual, the blood of the Potters would flow through Scorpius' veins instead of the Greengrass' and she was grateful for that. The Potter family had always been stronger than the Greengrass' and she knew that her now ex son was better off with Potter as a biological parent than with her.

Astoria rose up; her shoulders felt strangely light as if a huge burden had been lifted. She passed by a small table and her eyes lingered on the one picture she had allowed herself to take with her when she left Malfoy Manor.

A small toddler with bright blond hair and light grey eyes gazed curiously back at her.

She picked up the frame and smiled. "Be happy, Scorpius," she murmured and placed the frame face down on the table. "That is all I can ask for and hope."

She left the room, not planning on ever entering it again. She had learnt what she wanted to know and could leave with the knowledge that everything would be all right.

The weak sunlight illuminated the hallway and she turned her head towards it, closing her eyes for a moment.

A walk in the garden sounded nice now; it was simple, but it was enough for now.

AN2: This is one of my weirder oneshots till this date I think. I still don't know what to think of it, but yeah ... What are your thoughts about it? Please leave your thoughts behind in a review!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.