The Little Marauders Nursery and Day Care

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.

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Draco Malfoy has the presence of a rock star.

Every day at four o'clock, all heads turn when the door opens and little Scorpius Malfoy screams "Daddy!"

Harry is the only one rolling his eyes, because he's the one who is left looking after the children as the other teachers not-so-subtly drop everything just so they can say goodbye to the boy and greet his father.

"You know, I don't pay you to gawk at the parents," Harry grumbles after the Malfoys have left and closed the door behind them.

"We do not gawk!" Elsa Creevey says as she's setting Hugo down in his baby crib. Elsa is half a dozen years younger than Harry and the youngest employee at the Little Marauders. She started at Hogwarts after the school was rebuilt and is the youngest of the three Creevey siblings. After she finished her schooling, she came to Harry looking for a job, and Harry, as guilty as he'd felt for Colin losing his life for him, offered it to her with no questions asked.

It was sheer luck that Elsa is amazing with children, especially with babies, and especially with Hugo, who cries when anyone else besides Hermione holds him. Ron kisses the ground she walks on because she's always the one who comes to the rescue when he's left alone with the kids. And if that wasn't enough, she also happens to harbour a huge crush on Ginny; to Harry, she feels like the closest thing to family.

"Besides," Elsa continues as she played with baby Hugo, "we're not the ones who gave him his pet name." She looks up at Harry who is not avoiding her gaze, but looking down at the application for a new child. "Rock star."

"You—you don't know our history," Harry tries to argue, and he knows he's failing miserably. "Besides, it's tons better than what you lot call me behind my back!"

At that, she turns slightly red. "How do you know about that?"

"The children have heard you, and when Mrs Jones dropped Kyle off, she asked me who Lover Boy was. I had no idea what she was talking about then she said that Kyle says that the teachers were whispering about Rock Star and Lover Boy. Eventually, I put two and two together."

In the beginning, the staff at Little Marauders gave all the parents code names so the children wouldn't know what they were talking about. Unfortunately, this phenomenon has taken a life of its own and the teachers have started to gossip about everyone using the pet names.

Up until that day, Harry had no idea that his staff was gossiping about him, as well.

"Well Argyle Sweater is out," Elsa says, "so Rock Star is the best option."

"Lover Boy?" Harry asks, ignoring whatever she's trying to do and who she's trying to set him up with. "And why is Alistair out?"

"Because his name is Argyle Sweater! The man has a million of those ugly sweaters and then in the warm weather he wears argyle-designed vests, Harry! And the way he looks at you, it's too creepy. There's no way you're becoming Mrs Argyle Sweater!"

"Mrs—" Harry huffs and wants nothing more than to change the subject. "You like it when Ginny comes in wearing one of Molly's masterpieces," he says.

At that she turns visibly red. "Well, Ginny looks good in everything—"

"You're a hopeless case," Harry says, grinning. "So you all call me Lover Boy, because..."

"Well, we're looking for love for you, so it seemed to fit." Elsa shrugs and pats Hugo's tummy before standing up straight. The baby's finally fallen asleep and now they can carry the conversation to the office where they have to fill out the paperwork for the new student that's starting soon.

"I don't need you to find me love," Harry says, once they are in his office and he's closed the door. "I'm too busy with—"

"With what?" Elsa snaps at him and he's taken back a bit. Usually she's sweet and polite; always in front of the children, but he also knows that she can be abrupt and to the point when she wants to be. It's the Ravenclaw side, he reckons. "You have more than enough competent employees to run this place. When you are here, most of the time you are in the office, brooding—"

"I don't brood—"

"You brood, Harry. Your last relationship was with a girl, who is also now gay, and all the other women you meet—there's a higher chance of me getting a date with them than you. All the single parents ogle you and all you do is pine over someone that—" She stops talking, as if she's afraid she's crossed the line.

"Someone what?" he says. He's not cross, and this isn't the first time he's heard this. Most of the time, the lecture is coming from Hermione. Hearing it from someone else is actually kind of refreshing.

"You don't want to be in a relationship with someone who sees you as a celebrity. And Draco Malfoy doesn't even bat an eyelash when you walk by. He comes in, picks up his kid, and goes home. He isn't impressed by you and—"

"Then why does he send his kid here?" Harry retorts before he can stop himself.

"You know why, Harry."

Harry does. Long after the war, even after Malfoy's marriage into another Pureblood family and the public divorce, he wasn't accepted in the wizarding world. Not really. There are still many people who think that he got off too easy as a former Death Eater. Harry had read in the papers that Malfoy had managed to obtain full custody of his son and as a result no one in the wizarding world was accepting Scorpius into their pre-school program.

Harry also knew that Malfoy wouldn't accept Harry's offer to take Scorpius into the Little Marauders, so he asked Ginny to contact her ex-girlfriend Pansy to convince Malfoy to apply. Harry pretends that he had no part in the planning of events, and he also pretends that he doesn't know why he still keeps tabs on Malfoy. Long after the war.

Harry also knows that after Scorpius had been at the Little Marauders, Malfoy started to receive offers from other Day Care programs, but he chose to keep Scorpius here.

"But—"

"Rock. Star. Harry," she says and Harry scowls at her. He has no idea what she's on about. "All the other parents are: Argyle Sweater. Funky Socks. Blue Hair... When we talk about the parents, we have pet names that describe them...Rock Star, where did that come from?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. He's just got this persona about him, like he's better than everyone. That you have to cherish everything he says or does, like he's waiting to be impressed..."

Elsa laughed. "Do you even hear yourself?"

"What?" Harry scowled.

"That is exactly the kind of bloke you need to go out with!"

"How do you even know he's gay?"

"Would you be interested if he was?"

"I— He's a parent and you know my rule about dating parents!"

"I'll make a deal with you, Harry," Elsa says, gratefully interrupting Harry since he has no idea what he was going to say; except what she'd said wasn't reassuring. "If you ask Draco Malfoy out on a date, then I'll ask Ginny."

"What makes you think he'll say yes?" Harry argues.

"I didn't say be successful, I said take the first step!"

"So if this all fails and I fall flat on my face, you'll still tell Ginny how you feel?"

"Yes. That's the deal. I can't expect you to follow through with something if I won't." She offers her hand to Harry and they shake on it. "Operation Rock Star and Ginger Bombshell is a go!" she says and Harry groans.

Nothing good will come out of this.

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Draco Malfoy is aloof like a rock star.

The next time Malfoy is at the Nursery, all the teachers are still staring, so Harry takes a step back and hides himself in his office. He isn't really hiding because he can still see the main play room from his office. He's watching Malfoy from his office, under the Invisibility Cloak which he still uses even now that he's too tall to hide under it properly. That's why he needs the privacy of his office, because the window hides the parts of his body the Cloak does not.

For a brief moment Malfoy looks around and then his attention is back at his son. Harry can't help but wonder if Malfoy is looking for him. His schooled expression fades away and he's all smiles. Harry isn't sure what to make of that. Does Malfoy only look unhappy and unimpressed when Harry is around?

Scorpius has just woken up from a nap and is being fussy. Harry watches the patience Malfoy displays toward his son, and he's all smiles towards all the other staff. So it's just Harry. Malfoy hates Harry and—Harry sighs with the annoyance that is his life. He has to ask Malfoy out on a date and get rejected, so Elsa will finally ask Ginny. Ginny, who is fully aware of Elsa's feelings and returns them, but won't let Harry tell Elsa.

Fuck. Harry is beyond hopeless.

He takes the Cloak off, folds it, and stuffs it in his desk drawer. He's going to get this over with. As soon as he leaves his office, he locks eyes with Malfoy and stiffens. Malfoy's eyes are cold again and it looks like he's also become tense. Great. This is going to be so much fun!

"Harry!" Scorpius is now wide awake and rushing towards Harry. Harry can't help that his heart melts as he picks Scorpius up. "It's my birthday!" Scorpius announces. "And we're going out for ice cream!"

Harry nods in surprise, like he doesn't know it's Scorpius's birthday. He does. They've planned a surprise party for all the kids born this month and it's due for tomorrow. The parents, too, are aware and are going to stop by.

"That sounds like fun," Harry says and walks towards Malfoy, Scorpius still in his arms and this is a great opportunity for him to show Malfoy that Harry really isn't so bad. That maybe Harry is just a bit loveable. Shite. No wonder they call me Lover Boy.

"And then Father said that I'll get a new present!" Scorpius is clearly too excited to feel the anxiety in Harry and the near panic in Malfoy's eyes as Harry is approaching close.

"What's the present?" Harry asks Malfoy as he hands the mini-Malfoy off to him.

"It's a surprise," Malfoy replies, rigid.

"Oh, I love surprises," Harry says facing Scorpius and everyone else in the room turns to look at him.

"You do?" Elsa's voice is the loudest, but Harry's quite sure that Mary, Hannah, and Joseph have exclaimed their shock, as well.

Harry turns to glare at Elsa. "As an almost-six year old getting a present on his birthday!" Harry says, his brows furrowed, and he tames his expression when he turns to face the Malfoys again.

"Are your parents going to visit?" Why did Harry just ask that? Way to make things more awkward, Potter! Harry's mind shouts.

"Yes, tomorrow night," Malfoy answers, without flinching.

"That is why we have to practice!" Scorpius says and Malfoy shushes him in his ear. Harry's eyes travel from Malfoy's lips to Scorpius's ear and then back at his lips, and Harry knows he's done for.

"Practice for what?" Harry can't help but ask.

"Daddy says, I mean..." Scorpius sits up straight in Malfoy's arms and continues, "Father says that I have to be proper when Grandfather and Grandmother are here, and then after they leave, we'll have chocolate cake!"

Scorpius looks at Malfoy and grins, and Malfoy grins in return. Harry's heart's just about melted and he isn't sure how he's standing up.

"My parents wish for some alone time with Scorp, and I just want to make sure he's on his best behaviour. I'm sure you understand how they can be—" Malfoy's sneer completely disappears as he's speaking to Harry, and Harry is too shocked to respond when he realises that Malfoy has stopped talking.

"Right. Of course," Harry manages to stumble out. "So you're free tomorrow night?" What? Did he really just ask that?

Malfoy gives him a puzzled look. "Well. I suppose, in a matter of speaking, I am."

"Hey, I'm free tomorrow night too," Argyle Sweater chimes in, and Harry remembers that there are other people in the room.

"Oh, Arg—I mean, Alistair, didn't see you'd come in," Harry says, as politely and cheerfully as he can. He's annoyed at the interruption, because the faster he asks Malfoy out on a date, the faster Malfoy can reject him and then finally things can go back to normal. Except Ginny and Elsa would be dating and that will be a serious relief.

"Yeah, Tina's with her mum tomorrow night so let's all go out together. What do you say?"

"I—uh—" Harry is struggling and he looks toward Elsa for help. Her eyes are wide in surprise as well, and clearly she hadn't expected this obstacle either.

"Sure!" Malfoy, much to Harry's surprise, answers.

Argyle Sweater is all smiles. "Brilliant. Let's touch base tomorrow after the surp—"

"Brilliant, thanks!" Both Harry and Malfoy snap in unison. Harry shakes his head and Malfoy scowls at Alistair.

"Oh, right, of course," Alistair answers back and then shrugs as if it wasn't just the biggest mistake, ever. Elsa and the other staff members had been planning the surprise birthday party for a while and they would have been devastated if the cat had got out of the bag!

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With the last child out the door, and almost all the staff gone, Elsa closes the door to Harry's office and catches his gaze.

"That was a good start," Elsa says, smiling at him, and Harry can't help but bite his lip awkwardly.

"It wasn't that great, you saw what Alistair did," he says. He's not sure of how to set himself up for rejection.

"Well, I think that Argyle Sweater is good for something," she says and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the keys on his desk.

"What's that?"

Elsa turns around and winks at him. "At least now you know that you're the Lover Boy for a Rock Star." She's out the door before Harry can say anything else and he's really just about kicking himself for coming up with that pet name. He had been out one night with Elsa, Ron, and Hermione, and somehow Malfoy had come up in conversation and Harry had blurted it out, how Malfoy was such a Rock Star, and then the damned name stuck. It was over a year ago, and the name never went away.

Harry is so angry with himself. Why did he have to go and start fancying Malfoy? Why after all these years? He's so cross with himself that he thinks of Firecalling Ginny just to rant to her about it. She's the only one who wouldn't judge. "I mean, she dated Parkinson!" Harry tells himself, as if he's really trying to muster up the courage and call her. She'd fallen for Parkinson, so why was it so wrong that Harry had fallen for Malfoy? It wasn't really that weird! Was it?

He's just about ready to call it a night when the Floo chimes and Harry finds himself on the end of a receiving call. Did Ginny hear my thoughts and decide to call me? Much to his surprise, when he answers the call, he finds Scorpius's head floating in the Floo.

"Scorp, what's the matter?"

"Harry, I lost my Teddy!" Scorpius is near tears and Harry knows from experience that it is not pretty.

"What Teddy, love?" Harry asks in a soothing voice.

"Potter. It's the bear that his cousin Teddy gave him. We think he forgot it in the classroom." Malfoy pokes his head in. "Do you mind if we—"

"Of course not, go ahead," Harry says and stands up to wait for his visitors.

Malfoy is holding onto Scorpius for dear life, and they both look like they're about to lose it. "Let's go and check in Ms Hannah's classroom, okay?" Harry asks, and Scorpius charges up the stairs.

"Sorry about the intrusion, Potter," Malfoy says as they follow Scorpius up. Harry can hear Scorpius running around frantically. "Not sure if you had any plans..."

"No, no plans," Harry says and runs a hand through his hair. "I was just about to turn in for the night."

Scorpius is out of the classroom by the time they reach door. He's holding his Teddy and Harry can see the relief on Malfoy's face. Harry loves this. He loves it when parents smile the way they do when their children are happy. When their joy is in their child's joy. He loves it all. And he especially loves it on Malfoy. It suits him.

"Turn in for the night?" Malfoy asks in surprise. "Rather early for you, wouldn't you say?"

Harry shrugs. This is his life now. He spends the day in the office or with the children, and unless Ginny, or Ron and Hermione, ask him to hang out, he tends to turn in early. Sometimes he goes out with Elsa, but she only pines over Ginny and there's only so much of that he can take.

"Well, my night consists of a long bath, some brandy, and a book, so—" Harry stops talking when Malfoy raises an eyebrow. "I know, I sound like an old fart—"

Scorpius snorts at Harry's statement.

"Sorry! It's after hours," Harry says, trying to make an excuse, thinking Malfoy will glare at him again, but he doesn't.

Malfoy is looking at Scorpius, who has the most intriguing expression on his face. He's looking at Malfoy like he's asking for something, but neither the father nor the son are saying a word. Then with a quick nod towards Scorpius, Malfoy looks at Harry and smiles.

"Harry, do you want to go get ice cream with us?" Scorpius asks.

Harry is shocked at Scorpius's question. "What?" he asks, not realising until after the fact that he's all but barked the question.

"Scorpius has been meaning to ask you all day," Malfoy says. "He was going to ask you before when Alistair—well—made plans with us. Then he realised that he'd forgot his Teddy and wanted to ask you again. It's his birthday and he, apparently, is a fan." Malfoy rolls his eyes, but Harry can tell there's no malice there. There hasn't been any malice since Malfoy's returned as a father.

"Sounds great!" Harry says, and Scorpius beams up at him in response. "Do you mind if I change, though?"

"Of course, we'll wait for you down here," Malfoy says.

"No, please. Just come upstairs, I've turned the attic into a proper sitting room for guests and you can wait there." Harry leads them up the stairs, and once they are out of the Nursery area, he places a Protective Charm on it. "I had another Floo connection established for my private residence area, we can use that when we're ready to leave," Harry says and he thinks he can see a twinkle in Malfoy's eye, as if he is impressed. He suppresses his grin at the mental dance he's doing.

Harry shows them to the sitting room and then quickly hops in the shower. He's ready in record time and when he enters the room again, Scorpius is sitting in Malfoy's lap and they're reading together. It's one of the books Rosie had left scattered about, and Harry sees then and there that this is the kind of thing he wants to come home to. This is what he wants with none other than Malfoy.

He's not sure if he's in love with Malfoy, but there's no doubt in his heart that he's attracted to Malfoy, and he loves Malfoy with Scorpius. It had taken Harry a very long time to realise that he wanted to be with a man who wanted a family. That had become more and more evident to him since he'd started The Little Marauders Nursery and Day Care, and he'd all but given up on dating because he couldn't find a single man his age who wanted the same thing as he did. He'd ruled out dating parents a long time ago and that's why he hadn't even given a second glance to Alistair or any other single parent, but Malfoy, hadn't it always just been Malfoy?

"Potter? Are you ready?" Malfoy asks and yanks Harry out of his thoughts.

"Yes! Let's go," Harry answers enthusiastically. All these years of running the Little Marauders has really schooled him into faking his excitement, even when he's nervous.

They arrive at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and Scorpius charges into the shop. Malfoy has to run after him and then he mumbles something in Scorpius's ear that makes him stand up straight and his smile turns into a frown.

"More Pureblood rules of conduct?" Harry asks. He hasn't forgotten how Scorpius had changed his expression earlier that day and almost looked like Malfoy when Harry had first met him.

"Father wouldn't approve," Malfoy answers as they move in line and Scorpius still keeps his poise. Harry is mildly impressed. It's no wonder how Scorpius almost never gets in trouble at the Little Marauders.

"What happens if he misbehaves?"

Malfoy is shaking his head as if it was the worst thing ever. "They threaten to take him away for Christmas holidays. Father has already offered for Scorpius to stay with them over the summer, but sometimes Scorp visits his mother in the summer so—"

"Right, we always miss him when he's gone for a few months," Harry answers. Most kids take a week or two for holiday with their families, Scorp's gone for months.

"As much as I love him and wouldn't mind a bit of a break in the winter-time too, work gets really crazy during the holidays with all the..." Malfoy pauses for a moment, "...suicides and everything," he whispers. "I can't justify putting him through a week or two with Father. There's no amount of chocolate cake that can cure that."

"That's noble," Harry mutters before he can stop himself.

"What?" Malfoy's tone is full of wonder.

"I mean—you don't want him to grow up the same way as you—" Harry is hesitant to continue, but Malfoy's curious gaze urges him on. "You're a good dad," he manages to say and hopes he's eased the tension.

"Well, he's all I've got," Malfoy says and they've reached the counter and Scorpius tells him one of everything he wants.

Malfoy's a Healer, and Harry hadn't thought about it before, how hectic that can be for him. A Healer who usually works ten hour days and then has to take care of his child as a single parent. And he does it all by himself because he wants Scorpius to stay in his life. Harry tries to remember what he'd read about Malfoy's divorce in the Prophet. Malfoy had easily given up half his inheritance so he could keep custody of his son. Noble is the right word to describe Malfoy, and that surprises Harry more than the realisation that he wants to be with Malfoy.

They take their seat in the far corner and Malfoy brings out his wand. "Do you mind if I—" Harry shakes his head, not sure what Malfoy wants to do, but lets him do it anyway. After Malfoy's placed a Charm around them he turns to Harry. "It's a Notice-Me-Not spell," he says.

"Sometimes patients stop by and want to chat, and sometimes reporters, so I just—it's my and Scorpius's time."

Scorpius looks up from the plethora of ice cream that's laid out in front of him and gives Malfoy a winning smile, as if he's just realised that there are other people around.

"It's fine," Harry says. He knows what it's like to be harrassed by reporters all the time; even almost ten years after the war. "Hermione does the same thing when she's out with Hugo and Rosie—" Malfoy nods and puts a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and Harry forgets what he's talking about.

Scorpius asks a question about Quidditch and finally Harry is distracted enough to not think about Malfoy and the bit of ice cream that is on his lower lip.

"Oh, I haven't been to a game in forever!" Malfoy says.

"Really?" Harry is surprised. "You loved Quidditch when we were—" Harry stops when Malfoy gestures toward Scorpius. He can understand that. Harry knows that Scorpius isn't that great with crowds; even during play-time he likes to sit in a corner and colour and play wizard's chess with Rosie.

"Elsa," Harry says, distractedly, "she babysits Hugo and Rosie when Ron, Hermione, and I go out. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you out. And Ginny gets free tickets all the time, so if you ever want to go—" Malfoy's eyes widen. Wait, does this sound like I'm asking him on a date?

"I mean, I can get you tickets. If you'd rather go with your friends, of course."

"Pansy hasn't watched a Quidditch game since—"

"Oh, right."

"It's sort of a sore spot," Malfoy says.

"I can imagine," Harry answers and starts to wonder about break-ups. He had the thought earlier tonight, in his office, that he was going to tell Ginny that he liked Malfoy. He can't even imagine breaking up with Malfoy, if they ever dated, that is; it would make everything so complicated.

After Scorpius finishes off his ice cream, he turns to Malfoy with hopeful eyes again. "Da—Father, when will I get my surprise present?"

"At home," Malfoy answers.

"Will Harry see it, too?" Scorpius asks innocently, and Harry's face is burning up. "Oh, and can you two read me a story, also?"

Harry isn't sure if he's supposed to interject. "I—"

"But, it's my birthday!" Scorpius argues.

"Well, it is his birthday," Harry says, shrugging.

"You do this for all your children at the school?" Malfoy asks, his eyes are smiling too, and Harry thinks that this isn't something he's seen before.

"Only the ones who hijack me for ice cream," Harry replies, and Scorpius is all but jumping on the table with anticipation.

They leave the ice cream parlour and Malfoy finds the closest Apparition point before they are Apparated to Malfoy's home. Harry hasn't been to Malfoy's house before, not since he gave Malfoy Manor to the Ministry. He bought this house after his divorce when he'd returned to the UK with Scorpius.

It's small in comparison to most Pureblood family houses that Harry's been to, but it seems big enough for the two of them. Harry can't help but wonder about what Lucius Malfoy thinks of it. Harry is quite sure that he wouldn't approve.

As he enters through the sitting room, he's engulfed in the warmth of it. He can feel the love that exudes through the walls. It's one of the reasons Harry wanted to start a child care centre, because he loves the feeling of familial love. He's visited almost every student's house and he has to admit that he's always been curious about Malfoy's and it's perfect.

"It's not much," Malfoy says, breaking the silence of Harry's observation.

"It's amazing," Harry answers and smiles. When Malfoy gives him a curious-surprised look, Harry adds, "I have a thing—it's a feeling I get when I go into someone's home. I can channel the energy and know if it's safe or not. It's why I started the Little Marauders at Grimmauld Place—to me that's my safe place—" He takes a seat on the sofa when Scorpius pulls out a book and hands it to Harry. "Trust me, it's perfect."

Malfoy looks a bit taken aback. "Wow. Can you stop by tomorrow and tell that to my parents?" He grins and Harry nearly loses his footing; he's glad that he's sitting down.

"If you really want, of course," Harry says.

"Well, I might hold you to that," Malfoy answers. They're quiet for a bit and Harry can feel Malfoy's gaze on him, but he hasn't looked away from Scorpius and the book they're getting ready to read. "Potter?"

Harry looks up when his name is called, because otherwise, that'd be just weird. "Yeah?"

"Have you had anything to eat besides ice cream?" Malfoy gives Harry this look that Harry has never seen before, not from Malfoy anyway. Hermione gives him this look when she asks if Harry has had anything to eat. It must be a look parents do, Harry reckons. He nervously shakes his head. No he hasn't had anything to eat since lunch because he usually scrounges around in the ice box after a couple of glasses of brandy.

"That's what I thought," Malfoy says and stands up. "Scorpius." His voice is commanding, but he hasn't even raised it by one decibel.

"Yes, Father," Scorpius says and straightens up, turning to Harry. "Harry, I have to go change into my pyjamas and then brush my teeth. I'll be right back." He nods, and then he's off, leaving Harry speechless.

When Harry looks at Malfoy again, he's got a small smile creeping up, but Harry can tell that he's struggling to keep is suppressed. "I'll fetch you something to eat," Malfoy says and leaves the room.

Harry gets up right away and follows Malfoy into the kitchen. "That was really impressive."

"What was?"

"What you did with Scorpius. Very few parents in my experience have that much sway over a six-year-old."

"Well, Scorpius and I have discussed things at length about what we like. What he does that I like and how I react. We've also been practicing our behaviour for my parents' visit."

"That must be some chocolate cake," Harry mumbles and he can see Malfoy smiling again.

"Malfoys don't joke around about sweets."

A minute later, Malfoy serves Harry a ham and cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. "Sorry, I don't have any alcohol...I mean I do, but it's in a cabinet in my bedroom. I don't get a lot of company and I don't like to leave it anywhere where Scorpius can find it. His safety is—very important to me."

"That's—that's fine," Harry says stumbling. "I've got an early day tomorrow, anyway." He's trying really hard to not think about Malfoy, or his bedroom. Malfoy, drinking in his bedroom. Malfoy, drinking, and touching himself in his bedroom.

It's really a miracle how Harry manages to finish his food in silence and not have an aneurism with all the thoughts in his head. Thankfully, Scorpius returns and all Harry can think about now is reading the book and taking his leave. This really has become quite a day.

Scorpius grabs Harry by his wrist and leads him to his bedroom. "Why are we going—"

"Father says that I need to get ready for bed on my own, and he usually reads to me right before I fall asleep. I can't fall asleep on the sofa!" Scorpius's response is so matter-of-fact, and he can see that some Malfoy traits are passed down from generation to generation without any effort.

They're sitting on Scorpius's bed and Harry has started to read Flat Stanley, when Scorpius squeals. Harry first looks at him and then towards the door where Scorpius is looking. Malfoy is standing by the door and holding a kitten. It's a tiny all-white-furball that is possibly the most adorable thing Harry has ever seen.

"My present! My present! My present!" Scorpius is chanting when Malfoy walks into the door and places the kitten on the bed.

"Happy birthday, Scorpius," Malfoy whispers; or it at least sounds like a whisper because Scorpius hasn't stopped squealing.

"I always wanted a kitty! Look, Harry!"

"That's great, Scorpius! What are you going to name him?" Harry asks.

"Her," Malfoy says.

"It's a girl kitty!" Scorpius squeals again. "I dunno...what about Snow White? It's Mum's favourite story!"

Harry immediately looks at Malfoy for his reaction.

Malfoy is just smiling and he nods approvingly. "Sure," he says. Then maybe we can send her pictures of you and Snow White, too."

"Oh, that'll be so great! Wouldn't it just be so great, Harry?"

"That sounds brilliant, Scorpius," Harry says, feeling somewhat defeated, and slightly jealous.

Scorpius lays back down on the bed again and rests against Harry. Malfoy brings Snow White and places her on Scorpius's stomach and she sits there, purring, and dozing off. Malfoy is finally on the other side of Scorpius as Harry reads the book. It's barely been five minutes and Scorpius's breaths are deep and even and he's fallen asleep.

"Well, my work here is done," Harry says jokingly. "If only all the children were like this during naptime." He smiles at Malfoy and carefully gets up off the bed. Malfoy follows suit and picks up the kitten that is sleeping on Scorpius and they walk out. He then places Scorpius's birthday present in her own bed by the door.

"Do you think Scorpius will behave with the kitten around the house, given how worked up he just got and that was what—five minutes with Snow White?"

Malfoy gives him a knowing smile, like he's got everything under control. "Scorpius will be his perfect little self, I have no doubt," he says. "And Father is allergic to cats so—perhaps, if he sees how attached Scorpius is to his present, he'll want to stop harassing me to bring Scorp over for the holidays."

"That's...unsurprisingly very Slytherin of you," Harry says, impressed.

Malfoy smiles again and closes Scorpius's bedroom door.

"So, I'll just go, then," Harry says, feeling awkward as he and Malfoy have been standing outside Scorpius's room for a few minutes now.

"I don't have a Floo—"

"That's fine, I'll Apparate."

"I thought you couldn't Apparate to Grimmauld Place?"

"You can't," Harry says. He'd placed the same sort of Anti-Apparition jinx on the Nursery as they have at all wizarding schools. "I can Apparate to my portion of the house. It's my house, so there are wards set up for everyone else but me."

"Oh, that's smart," Malfoy says and he's looking rather sheepish.

It has been such an interesting evening. Before today, Harry didn't even think that Malfoy would have one word to say to him, or at least one kind word—but tonight, Harry had called Malfoy noble, and Malfoy has just admitted that he thinks Harry is smart.

"Scorpius is doing really well at school," Harry says, unable to take the silence that is hanging over them. Malfoy's eyes widen with surprise at Harry's words. "I think he's come a long way since he first started with us nearly three years ago. I know he's still shy around new people, and afraid of rowdy crowds in general compared to the other children, but—"

"Yeah, that's really my fault," Malfoy says.

"What do you mean?"

"His mother and I, we used to fight a lot. There were always screaming matches and sometimes he was afraid to go home after his pre-school because he was afraid that we would go at it again. That's why—that's why I had to bring him here. Astoria is a good mum, but we just didn't work together, and it's not good for Scorp to be in an environment like that. That's why he can't go to Quidditch games—he's afraid of anyone that raises their voice."

The silence is back and Harry lets it linger. It felt needed now.

"That's why I'm more worried about my parents' visit. He has to just behave for two days so my father won't yell—" Malfoy runs a hand through his hair and looks exhausted.

"He'll do great. He's a great kid. The best, really!"

The tension in-between Malfoy's eyebrows are gone and he's laughing at Harry. "Thanks, Potter. I bet you say that to all the parents."

"Not all the parents. Not to Argy—Alistair Harris."

Malfoy groans at the name. "I know I'm not supposed to say this as a parent and all, but I really hate his kid sometimes."

"Yeah, Tina can be a bit handful," Harry agrees. "But she's just projecting—that thing you said about parents not fighting in front of their children—yeah Tina's parents haven't figured that out yet. Even though they've been divorced for several years now. And with Alistair being out and all."

"Am I really going to have drinks with him tomorrow night?" Malfoy asks leaning against the wall.

"If you don't want to go, you don't have to, Malfoy. I'm sure having a night off is hard for you. So I can just—"

"Oh, do you not want me to come?" Malfoy asks with a hint of insecurity in his voice. "Do you want to go out alone with him?"

"No!" Harry snaps, trying not to sound disgusted. "I don't want to go with him, at all. I was asking you—"

"You were asking me?"

Harry sighs, he wants to pull on his hair with frustration. How did it get this hard? He lifts his arm and grabs the back of his neck, rubbing it a little bit. "I was trying to ask you on a date, and then Alistair totally chimed in and offered his—brilliant plan—"

Harry doesn't get a chance to finish his explanation as Malfoy kisses him.

0+-0+-0+-0

Draco Malfoy kisses like a rock star.

Malfoy kisses him and it feels natural. Why has Harry been stressing over this? This is the most normal thing he can feel. It's like this—kissing Malfoy—is what he is supposed to be doing and why has it taken almost ten years for him to get to this point?

Harry leans forward and pushes his lips harder. It's as if he wants to let Malfoy know that he wants this. Because kissing Malfoy back isn't enough, it doesn't convey sufficiently that Harry needs this, wants this, and he hopes that it'll keep happening.

When they pull apart, Malfoy is panting and Harry doesn't let go of his waist. He doesn't know—doesn't remember, how and when his hands travelled up Malfoy's shirt to touch his skin, but he knows that he doesn't want to let go yet.

A noise comes from Scorpius's room and Malfoy turns towards it immediately. "He has scary dreams sometimes," Malfoy says and Harry lets go of him so he can go to Scorpius. Malfoy approaches the door but doesn't enter. He waits by it, listening intently. When Scorpius is quiet again, he turns to look at Harry.

"I—uh—I should really head back," Harry says. He doesn't want to make things awkward, and more than that, he doesn't want to give Malfoy the opportunity to take back what had just happened between them.

"Alright," Malfoy says; his tone, of course, is impassive.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Harry asks. "For the party, I mean..."

"Yes, of course, I'll be there right when they're waking up from the nap."

"Brilliant." Harry buttons up his coat and prepares to Apparate.

"Potter." Malfoy's voice is but a whisper and Harry isn't sure if Malfoy really meant to say his name out loud. He turns to look at Malfoy again. "And you'll definitely see me tomorrow night for drinks."

He gives Harry a sly smile and Harry wants to jump back into Malfoy's arms and kiss him again, and again, and again. Actually, he doesn't want to go back home at all, but he's not going there. Not just yet.

Harry's wide smile escapes before he has a chance to stop it. He nods at Malfoy and Apparates before he makes a fool of himself or before Malfoy changes his mind.

0+-0+-0+-0

Harry's on his third cup of coffee and Elsa has gone to wake the children up. There's going to be some crying, some singing, and then there'll be cake. Harry can hardly wait. He's excited to see Malfoy, and he's excited to have some cake, too.

Alistair is the first to arrive. Harry's insides turn when, after greeting his daughter, he looks up at Harry and gives a wide grin. Harry can only hope that he doesn't think that tonight is going to be some kind of date, as Malfoy is going to be there too. Before Harry's thoughts can turn towards Malfoy, Alistair is standing next to him.

"Hi, Harry," Alistair says and then squeezes his shoulder. Harry sees it now, and can't believe that he hasn't noticed before. Alistair does this a lot, and only with him. He never offers more than an occasional handshake with any of the other staff, not even the male staff, only with Harry.

That isn't a good sign. What if Harry has been asleep this whole time, and only opening his eyes and seeing Malfoy has made him realise what everyone else was talking about? No wonder Elsa said that he couldn't be Mrs Argyle Sweater—Arg...Alistair does like him. And the way he looks at you, it's too creepy, Harry recalls Elsa saying.

"Afternoon, Mr Harris."

Alistair gives him a sly grin, and Harry feels ready to lose his lunch. When Malfoy smiled at him the night before, it wasn't nearly as disturbing. The look is most definitely unbecoming on Alistair.

"I can't wait for tonight," Alistair leans in and whispers in Harry's ear. Harry nods politely in reply. The children begin gathering in the playroom, and Harry wonders when Malfoy is going to show up. "It's really too bad that Draco Malfoy is going to be there tonight. But I'm sure we'll still have some fun."

Harry turns and glowers at Alistair, but the look is lost as Tina runs up to them and Alistair concentrates on her. Harry turns and walks away. He decides to go and talk to Elsa to distract himself. He doesn't want to be this upset when Malfoy arrives or when the party is underway.

"What's the matter?" Elsa recognises his foul mood right away.

Harry tries to shrug it off. "Nothing just...Alistair crashed my plans with Malfoy and now he's just...well he's not being very nice."

"So you do have plans with him, then," she says playfully and he knows that she's just trying to cheer him up.

"Yes. We definitely have plans. Talked about it last night when—" Shite. Harry stops himself before he can say anything else but knows that it's too late. The look on her face is screaming for details.

Harry rolls his eyes before speaking again. "We went out for ice cream last night, for Scorpius's birthday, and then we read him a book to bed. To Scorpius I mean, not—"

"And?" She nudges him in the ribs.

"And, you're definitely going to get me VIP tickets to the next Harpies game because Operation Ginger Bombshell is still on."

Elsa opens her mouth and is looks like she's about to scream when Scorpius beats her to the punch.

"Daddy!"

"Rock Star's here," Elsa says and kisses Harry on the cheek before walking away.

A moment later, all the teachers are in the playroom along with half of the parents. Elsa brings in the birthday cake and everyone starts singing—rather cacophonously. Scorpius and other children don't seem to care because there's cake!

0+-0+-0+-0

Harry arrives at the Leaky Cauldron twenty minutes early. He knows that Malfoy's parents are at his place tonight, so there is a slim chance that he will be able to sneak out early. He's hoping that is true so he can spend some alone time with him before Alistair shows up.

Unfortunately for him, when Harry enters the Leaky, Alistair—in all his Argyle sweater glory, is the one that Harry sees. Alistair almost falls off the chair he's been sitting at when he spots Harry. Harry can only hope that he isn't going to run and try to hug him. He can almost imagine him doing so because Tina is exactly that way, and the girl has to have learned it from somewhere. Her mother, Alistair's ex-wife, is far too rigid for such a gesture.

Alistair does walk up to Harry but instead of trying to hug him, he moves in for a kiss. Harry is too horrified to react right away, but catches himself just in time to move so that Alistair kisses Harry's cheek and not his lips. As Harry looks away from Alistair, he sees Malfoy sitting in the corner, an amused smile on his face.

"Prat," Harry mutters.

"Pardon?" Alistair asks.

"Not you. Mal—I mean—Draco is here, too." Harry waves at Malfoy who gives a single swing of his wrist as if he's too good for them. It's incredible how the Malfoy that Harry once loved to hate is the same Malfoy that Harry now finds rather endearing.

"Looks like his table is big enough for the three of us so why don't we head over there?" Harry says and marches in Malfoy's direction, not waiting for Alistair to respond.

As soon as Harry's at the table, he slips into the booth next to Malfoy. He wants to tell himself that it's because he doesn't want to sit next to Alistair, but really, it's because he really wants to be able to bump knees with Malfoy.

Alistair sits across from Harry, looking a bit disappointed, and Malfoy slips his hand onto Harry's thigh. Harry does his best to not yelp with surprise, and he turns to scowl at Malfoy, who just smiles innocently at him.

"Draco, I didn't see you come in," Alistair says, either ignoring the interaction between Harry and Malfoy or completely ignorant to it.

"I arrived about five minutes before you did," Malfoy answers.

"Oh. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I saw you speaking with Tom, so I didn't want to disturb. Then Potter arrived and, well, here we are."

"I'll get the first round," Harry says and gets up off his seat.

"I'll come with you," Alistair says and gets up, too.

Before Harry can turn him down, he's already made his way to the bar, and Harry turns to look at Malfoy who just shrugs. Harry shakes his head because he knows that Malfoy is having way too much fun with this, and he thinks of ways to torture him when he returns with the drinks.

They come back with two rounds and Harry ignores Alistair's gesture for Harry to sit next to him as he slips into the booth next to Malfoy again. Before Malfoy can slide his hand back on Harry's thigh, Harry grabs Malfoy's hands and twines their fingers together. He gives Malfoy a sideways glance and winks before taking a sip of his beer.

Harry nearly spills his drink when he feels something creep up his leg. It takes him a moment to realise that Alistair's foot is riding up Harry's leg. Harry straightens up and tries to not look terribly flustered. He looks from Malfoy to Alistair and Alistair licks his lower lip before he takes a sip of his own drink.

In-between Malfoy's earlier squeezing of his thigh, and Alistair's foot nearly rubbing his groin, Harry thinks of how this is the most action he's had in a very long time. He chuckles to himself and thinks about how he's going to tell this story to Elsa when Alistair releases a sharp, pained noise.

Harry gathers eventually that Malfoy's foot has just stomped over Alistair's and for Merlin's sake, it's like Scorpius versus Tina all over again.

"Hey!" Alistair protests.

"Oh, was that your foot? I thought I saw a rat!" Malfoy retorts.

"Boys!" Harry interjects.

"He started it!" Harry can't believe that both Alistair and Malfoy howl in unison.

Harry takes a deep breath in and then slowly releases it. When he looks up, both Alistair and Malfoy are looking at him with the wide, hopeful eyes Harry has seen a million times before. No, it's not going to work on him.

"Malfoy," Harry says softly and Malfoy all but grumbles at him. "Draco," Harry tries again and Malfoy's expression goes soft. Harry smiles at him, just like he's smiled at Scorpius hundreds of times when Scorpius thinks he's been bad, but really Harry just wants to reason with him. "Why don't you go and get us another round?"

Malfoy scowls at that but Harry nods at him patiently and he slips out of the booth.

Alistair leans over at the table towards Harry. "Thank Merl—"

"Alistair," Harry says, firm. "Just what in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"What?" Alistair looks surprised by Harry's assertion. "He was the one that squeezed your thigh!"

"You saw that?"

"Of course I bloody saw that. Well if that twit can flirt with you, then so can I! Who does he think he is?"

"He's not a twit," Harry says calmly. "And he's flirting with me with my permission. What you were doing was...completely uncalled for."

"Why is he allowed to flirt with you and not me?" Alistair's tone is challenging and a bit loud. They're attracting attention from everyone in the pub.

"We're...well we're sort of—" Involved? Kissing? Together? Harry can't think of the right thing to say. "We have a history together, and we're trying to—be friends."

"I can be a friend like that for you," Alistair says, of course twisting Harry's words.

"You don't understand Alistair—"

"What can he give you that I can't?"

"It's not about what he can give me," Harry says, struggling to reason with the angry, irrational man in front of him.

"Of course, it's about what you can do for him. It's not enough that you've given his child a space in your school, but you're letting him fuck you, too? This isn't a martyr thing, Harry. You can't see—"

"That's enough, Alistair." Harry's voice is loud and now the entire pub is deafeningly silent. "Maybe it's time for you to leave."

"You can't make me leave!"

"Fine, then I'll leave." Harry stands up and looks around the room for Malfoy. He doesn't want to go without making sure that he's alright, or maybe Malfoy could leave with him, or—

"No, I'm leaving!" Alistair says and stands up, too. "I've had enough embarrassment for one night. If you didn't want me to be here, you should have said so. You think you can just lead me on like that?"

"I didn't mean to lead—"

"I'll have you know that I will not take this lying down! I'm going to transfer Tina to a new school," Alistair announces as he's putting on his coat.

Harry's heart sinks into his stomach. He's not worried about his school or its reputation, but Tina. "That's probably not a good idea," he says as he tries to stay calm and collected. "She's finally started to make new friends. I don't think she can—"

"Don't act like you care about her!" Alistair retorts one last time and storms out of the pub.

Harry sighs heavily and looks back at the table where they were sitting, and finds Malfoy there with two glasses of Firewhisky. "It's a good thing I only bought two," he says.

Harry shakes his head and collapses on the booth next to him. "What a day."

"I'll have you know, that just because I seem more serene about this now, it doesn't mean that I will accept another man flirting with you right in front of me."

"Evidently, you started it," Harry jokes and gulps down the shot of Firewhisky that is in front of him.

"Yesterday, when you asked me..." Malfoy's tone is grim and Harry is almost afraid of what he's about to say. All the flirting, the teasing, it's gone, and Harry doesn't know what to do with himself.

"Before Alistair interrupted us," Malfoy continues, not looking up at Harry. "I wasn't sure what you were inquiring about, my being free, us going out...I know what you did for me." He finally looks up at Harry and Harry sees something new in Malfoy's eyes and his heart breaks into a million little pieces.

"What I did?" Harry asks, rather sure of what Malfoy is talking about.

"What you did for Scorpius..."

Harry nods. "It was the right thing to do," Harry says. "He had nothing to do with anything and well, technically, neither did you."

"I like you, Potter," Malfoy says, surprising Harry, and looking rather surprised himself. "Up until yesterday, if that twit was flirting with you, I wouldn't have cared. But now, I do. After last night, I can't imagine anyone else touching you like that."

Harry shakes his head again. Seems like this is a work habit that's starting to stick with him everywhere he goes. As much as he's glad that Alistair has left and how open Malfoy is being with him, Harry doesn't want to drive the conversation towards anything too serious. So he changes tactics, something he's used to doing with the kids.

"You know what, Malfoy? I bet you that twenty years from now, that man is going to be walking his daughter down the aisle and you'll be there, standing next to the groom."

Malfoy gasps. "Scorpius would never!"

"Stranger things have happened," Harry says, picking up Malfoy's Firewhisky and taking a sip from it.

"I'd rather Scorpius be gay!" Malfoy retorts, then makes a face as if he's realised that he might have just insulted himself.

Harry laughs and leans in to whisper in Malfoy's ear. "Hey, it worked out pretty well for his dad." Then Harry kisses Malfoy on the cheek, and finishes off Malfoy's drink, too.

"Whatever you say, Lover Boy," Malfoy answers, and kisses Harry on the lips.

0+-0+-0+-0

Draco Malfoy fucks like a rock star.

He uses his fingers first, and he's slow and careful, heeding Harry's warnings that it's been a while. There is pain, but it's insignificant. He kisses the hollow between Harry's neck and shoulder, and adds another finger. Harry arches into the touch and when they lock gazes, Draco is smiling down at him.

Harry reaches up and it's like Draco can read his mind. He bends down to kiss Harry. "I'm ready," Harry whispers and Draco lines the head of his cock at Harry's entrance. When his hips are pressed against Harry, there's only pleasure.

Harry cries out at a deep thrust, and Draco leans on top of him, his hair is brushing Harry's forehead, his breath is matched with Harry's. It's quiet in Harry's bedroom, and the only sound there is, it's of Harry's panting and Draco's grunting and Harry thinks it's like music.

Harry hears Draco's groan turn into a whine in his ear and he trembles. He feels Draco's heartbeat against his and it's strong. Draco is strong.

Harry doesn't know how long they've moved together, but when Draco comes, he wraps his hand around Harry's shaft and begs for Harry to come with him. "Draco." Harry arches up again and climaxes, spilling himself on Draco's hand. He can feel Draco's smile as his face presses into Harry's neck again.

It's incredible, and Harry doesn't know if he can go back to being in this bed alone from now on. He curses himself for not asking Draco out on a date before yesterday. He curses himself for not going out for ice cream with Draco and Scorpius last year for Scorpius's birthday. He curses himself for missing out on the family that could have been his from the start—for Draco that could have been his from the start.

They lay silently holding each other, and Harry can only think of the moment when Draco is going to tell him that he has to leave. Draco had said that he can't allow anyone else to touch Harry anymore, would he agree that Harry can't let Draco sleep away from him now, either?

"It's getting late," Draco says, finally.

"Right," Harry answers. He's turned away from Draco and he can't bring himself to face him just now.

Draco. He's been thinking of him as Draco since the moment they walked into Harry's place earlier that night.

"Harry?" Draco asks and Harry suppresses a smile, even if they are in the dark.

"Yeah?"

"I can feel you tensing up."

"Right. Sorry. It's just—I'm not used to—"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"What?" Harry immediately turns and faces Draco now. He wraps his arm around Draco's waist. "No. Quite the opposite, actually."

Draco releases a small sound as if he's trying to think something over. "My parents are only here for one night," he says and Harry nods as if Draco can see him. "Do you think Elsa can babysit on a last minute notice?"

"Yeah. Definitely," Harry answers, hoping that he doesn't sound utterly desperate. "What—what did you have in mind?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure how slow or fast you want to take this—take us, I mean. And I suppose if this leads to anything, we'll have to tell Scorpius immediately. He's good at sensing things when they don't quite fit."

"Okay," Harry manages to say.

"I reckon it'll take some planning. A few nights with Elsa, the weekend having sleepovers with his friends; we could call it special treatment for his birthday..."

"Yeah?" Harry is still confused where Draco's really going with this.

"I suppose it's rather selfish of me that I want you all to myself for a few nights before it's official and we have to tell people—"

"I'm okay with you being selfish," Harry says. "I mean, I think it's a good idea to see where this might go before we tell other people, especially when children are involved. It's not just telling Scorpius; my staff will find out, eventually the parents will know..." Harry pauses for a moment to think something over. If Harry is with Draco, then it'll only be a matter of time before Elsa and Ginny get together. "If Elsa is unavailable, I know Hermione adores Scorpius, she'd be willing to take him on for that sleepover idea of yours."

"Rose is a precious child. Perhaps it'd do good for Scorpius to spend time with her and then maybe twenty years from now—"

"Ron would never allow it."

"We'll see, Potter. We'll see."

Harry laughs and pulls Draco closer. He wonders if Elsa will let Draco name his little scheme Operation Rock Star and Ginger Bombshell. It certainly fits.

END

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