Okay, so it has been a while since I have posted, I am rather out of practice and nervous to post this. I will do my best to update regularly but obviously sometimes real life gets in the way. I hope that this isn't too atrocious and that you enjoy reading it, if you have a minute please let me know what you think.

Obviously the usual disclaimers apply here. The only things I can lay claim to are the characters that you do not recognise :)

Chapter 1: Plans

It was a week before the Christmas Holiday's were due to start, and Harry was being dragged down to the dungeons by the eager boy grasping his hand tightly. The excited young man glanced back at the young Gryffindor, his bright blue eyes reflecting his state to Harry who simply laughed. Settling down on the leather sofa beside his boyfriend Harry allowed himself to be pulled into the other boy's side and laid is head down on the broad shoulder. Glancing up at the seventh year Harry saw the flash of nerves cross the older boy's face and frowned a little,

"Scorp? Is everything okay?" The older student ran his teeth over his bottom lip, a habit he tended to when he felt unsure of himself, before turning his body to face his younger mate,

"Erm, well, you know you were saying that you were going to stay here for Christmas? Well we… I was wondering if you would maybe… erm, come and spend Christmas with me and my family… but only if you want to, please don't feel like you have to…" he cut himself off blushing furiously at his nervous rambling. Harry regarded the other boy, gently reaching up to cup his face, leaning forwards to place a gentle kiss against his lips, before pulling back with a broad smile,

"I would love to Scorp, as long as it is okay with you parents and everything." There was a pause, "Thank you." The elder boy looked down, confused, at his raven-haired boyfriend,

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For thinking about me, and for inviting me to spend Christmas with you, I haven't really ever spent Christmas anywhere but Hogwarts and that is usually quite lonely as everyone else usually goes home." A sad smile slipped onto Scorpius' face and he pulled Harry onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around the slender waist, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck,

"Well that will not be the case this year, I vow to give you the best Christmas you have ever had, I promise. I love you Harry." The statement was so sincere and honest and Harry could only beam as he leant in once again for a kiss,

"I love you too Scorpius."

Elsewhere in the dungeons Draco was sat alone in a corner reading over the most recent letter he had received from his Mother. The majority of the family had arrived and they were all doing what they could to help his father who was slowly but surely recovering. It was relief to know that the elder Malfoy was slowly getting back on his feet, but they still had a long way to go; Draco only hoped that the time spent with their family that holiday would help to speed the recovery along, plus it had been such a long time since they had all been together so it would be nice to see everyone again as well as see how much his cousins' children had grown. The holiday was going to be one of the best: Draco had his parents back, he had his mate and now he had his whole family, he couldn't be happier.

The next morning Harry went to speak to McGonagall about going home for the Holidays. The older witch was glad that the young man finally had somewhere he could go where he would be properly appreciated and cared for, she still stood by her belief that the Durlseys were the worst kind of muggles imaginable. Watching the young man as he hurried out the door, a spring in his step, she knew that, despite not totally agreeing with who his mate was, the family would take the best care of him and they would love him as he deserved to be loved.

Harry slipped into his seat at breakfast between Hermione and Neville. Ron and Hermione were engaged in a rather serious sounding conversation so Harry proceeded to fill his plate and eat while making light conversation with Neville who was more than happy to discuss the different points of their Charms essay with him. Casting a quick glance over to the Slytherin table Harry caught Scorpius' eye and nodded, indicating that he had permission, causing his boyfriend to beam much to Harry's amusement. Scorpius' house had been surprisingly accommodating when he and Harry had discovered they were mates and some mornings Harry could even be found over there eating with them. Unfortunately the same courtesy had not been shown by the Gryffindors who had refused to have a Slytherin in their midst meaning that Scorpius was not welcome to sit with Harry during meals unless they were amongst the other snakes. The worst thing for Harry had been how unaccepting Ron had been, he knew that Ron had a dislike for Malfoys but it wasn't as if soulmates had a choice in who their mates were, and Harry had hoped that the fact that he was happy would have been enough for the red head, but this was clearly not the case. Hermione, while not being outright against the couple, had been silently disapproving but did not openly insult Harry's relationship in front of him, something Harry was immensely grateful for as he got enough of that from other members of his house. Thankfully there were people who fully supported Harry and his relationship, simply happy to see the young wizard happy and Harry could not be more grateful for these people.

Later that morning Scorpius caught Harry in the corridor as they were headed to their respective lessons. The older boy caught the younger in a quick kiss saying,

"I have owled my mother to let her know that you can come, you have no idea how excited she is going to be. I will see you later, usual place usual time?" Harry nodded and gave Scorpius one more quick peck before they hurried off in their separate directions. Harry saw how Neville was grinning at him as they continued to walk to Herbology and blushed causing the taller boy to laugh.

The pair did not see each other again until that evening when they met in their usual alcove on the 4th floor away from prying eyes. Harry melted into his mates embrace before allowing himself to be led down to the black lake, the sun was just starting to set so the pair sat down and watched as it slowly sunk, noting how the giant squid periodically popped up waving its tentacles around wildly causing them both to laugh. Harry decided to sit at the Slytherin table for dinner, ignoring some of the vicious glares from members of his own house in favour of settling amongst his boyfriend's friends, all of whom were surprisingly friendly, easily chatting with him about some of the topics he was covering and answering his questions as best they could.

Scorpius walked Harry back to Gryffindor tower after dinner, as the younger had an essay that he needed to finish. Placing a tender kiss on his cheek, and giving is hands a squeeze he watched the younger boy disappear into the vibrantly decorated common room before he turned and headed down to the library having an essay of his own to complete.

Draco had been distracted all afternoon, so much so that his godfather and potion's master had called him back after class, consequently the last class of the day. Severus led his godson through to his private chambers and sat the boy down with a mug of hot chocolate, no sugar and made with milk. The usually stern man then simply sat there, waiting for his godson to be ready to speak. It took a few moments but Draco soon snapped out of his daze and looked up at his godfather,

"Scorpius is bringing Harry to spend the Christmas Holidays with the family. Don't get me wrong uncle Sev I am really glad that Scorp has found his mate, but you know that Harry and I don't exactly have a great rack record and with everything else that is going on I am not sure how I feel about having him in my home." Severus regarded his godson, taking in the sheer look of worry that plagued the young man's expression. Leaning forwards he set his own mug on the low coffee table before catching Draco's eye,

"I know I am not one to talk, but I think that you should give Potter a chance. It has become clear to me over the start of this term that he is not the arrogant brat I thought him to be and that the person I have judged him to be is entirely wrong. I think that if you give him a chance he will surprise you. Anyway, you know that Scorpius would never allow him to hurt any of you because while Harry is his mate you are all his family and you know as well as I do that family is one of the most important things in life. I think that you should try not to worry too much about Harry Potter and concentrate on other things. Have you heard from Chaos recently?" At the mention of his mate's name Draco couldn't help but smile,

"Yes he wrote me yesterday, Father is doing better and everyone is beginning to arrive. He said that it has been quite hectic trying to get everything and everyone sorted out. He also said that my mother was doing better and is really starting to gain her confidence back, he caught her ordering Uncle Loukas around a few days ago and couldn't wait to tell me. I just hope that having everyone there will help dad to heal faster, he was thrilled to hear that everyone would be joining us over the Christmas period. Uncle Sev are you joining us for Christmas?" Glancing up at the potion's master the young blonde saw him nod,

"Your mother would have my head if I even thought about declining, so yes I will be joining you, but only for Christmas day. Unfortunately the petulant old fool here has asked if I can be present for the majority of the holiday as there are several members of staff who are going off on various adventures at different points of the holiday and someone needs to be around to keep track of the remaining brats." Draco smirked at the irritated tone his godfather took but knew that Dumbledore really did take advantage of the man.

Soon enough Severus ushered Draco back to the Slytherin dorms, having had dinner together in the privacy of his chambers, as it was nearly curfew. Upon entering the Slytherin common room Draco caught sight of his cousin sat alone on one of the sofas nose buried in a book. Settling into the space beside the other boy Draco caught the elder's attention. Scorpius immediately set the book aside and turned to his youngest cousin.

"Hey bud, everything okay?" Draco nodded and leaned in for a quick hug which Scorpius obliged without any hesitation,

"I can't wait for the Christmas Holiday's to start I just want to get home to mum, dad and Chaos, and everyone else of course but I hate being apart from them, especially at the moment." Scorpius noticed the sorrow in his younger cousin' tone and gently placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder,

" They will be okay Draco, I have never met someone more stubborn that Auntie Cissa, and Uncle Lucius is one of the strongest people I know. As for your little angel, well we all know how well he can handle himself, they will be fine for a few more days, and besides everyone else is arriving now so they are not alone. Come on, you look exhausted, off to bed with you I will see you in the morning." Draco, suitably pacified, stifled a yawn and forced himself up off of the comfy leather, shuffling off towards the 6th year dorms,

"Night Scorp, thank you." The elder boy smiled warmly,

"No problem little Dragon."

Scorpius knew that things had not been easy for his youngest cousin. Scorpius had been there when his father had received the call informing him about what had happened to Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissa. His father had hurried off reassuring his family that he would get everything sorted. It was a week later of days spent away from the family that he had arrived home in the evening and sat everyone down. He explained that now that Voldemort had been killed Uncle Lucius and Auntie Cissa had been released from an apparent curse that had been controlling their every action. The pair had collapsed and been rushed to St Mungo's, where the truth had been revealed. Auntie Cissa had quickly recovered but seemed to be less than her usual stubborn self, while Uncle Lucius was in a dreadful way. It was another week before the man had woken, making it 2 weeks total and he had been incredibly weak: his recovery was going to be a slow one but they were all simply thankful to hear that he would heal. The plans for the entire Malfoy family to spend Christmas together had soon been orchestrated and it had immediately been decided that they would all converge at Malfoy manner to make things easier for Narcissa and Lucius. Thus at that moment Scorpius' family were all arriving in dribs and drabs and settling into the large manor helping where they could with preparations as well as taking turns to visit Lucius who for the moment was still virtually bedridden. It would be good for the whole family to be together especially at a time like this and Scorpius was glad that he could include his mate in those plans.

The day before the train was due to take them back to London; there were no classes as they had finished the day before. Scorpius was methodically packing his trunk only taking the things that he truly needed. He had made a certified effort to try and do as much of his holiday homework as possible and his work had paid off as he only had 2 essays to do both of which had been set on the last day. With less homework he could spend more time with his family. He knew that Harry had done the same and that his mate had no homework left, the same as his younger cousin who he knew had struggled to settled down and get his work done what with being so anxious to get home. Yet it had been done and the relief on Draco's face had been palpable as he had placed the last finished essay in his bag.

Similar to Scorpius, Harry was also packing his bags. He had already handed out the presents that he had bought for his Hogwarts friends and had even been given some of his own. He placed each of the neatly and not so neatly wrapped gifts, carefully into his trunk along with some of his nicer sets of clothes, a few gifts he already had for Scorpius and some other bits and pieces. With his holiday homework complete he had none of that to be worrying about but he took home his potions textbook and his transfigurations one wanting to go over a few things with Scorpius, especially within his potions textbook. Harry had found that this year Snape had been different, he didn't seem to seek to target Harry and it meant that Harry felt more relaxed in his lesson and thus found his grades steadily increasing, however there were still some things that he didn't understand and he was not at the point where he felt comfortable enough to go to Snape. Thankfully his boyfriend was fairly gifted with potions and was excellent at explaining things to Harry and answering his questions so their little system worked quite well.

The couple met in the great hall for lunch eating at the Slytherin table. After they had finished Harry headed back up to Gryffindor tower to gather the last of his things and finish packing, arranging to meet the older boy in the library in an hour and a half. Once the younger boy had gone Scorpius sought out his cousin who seemed to have skipped lunch. Draco was sat on his bed going through his clothes, looking rather distracted. Scorpius knocked on open door to alert the younger to his presence, and Draco jumped a little, startled at the interruption to his deep thought. Scorpius settled on the bed, and began to help fold the clothes and pack them into the neatly organised case. He could see that Draco was distracted but knew that the younger boy was eager to get home and that the worry, over his father especially, was driving the boy to appear rather distant, as he was lost in his worries. Once the case was closed and set at the end of the bed Scorpius prompted Draco up, telling him to go flying for a little while and clear his mind. The young blonde nodded eagerly and hurried off down towards the Quidditch pitch.

Arriving at in the library Scorpius frowned as he saw the worry clouding his boyfriend's face. Plonking himself gracefully down next to the slender boy he frowned, tilting his head by way of a silent question, one that Harry immediately understood,

"I… just, what if your family don't like me. I don't want to cause any problems and I don't think I would be able to handle being rejected by your family Scorp. Are you sure that it is okay for me to come and spend the holidays with you?" Scorpius smiled at the sheer stupidity of his mate,

"You are an idiot, my family are thrilled that you are coming to spend Christmas with us, in fact my mother will probably be rather overwhelming, I think they were worried that I wouldn't find someone, or something like that so she is particularly ecstatic that she has an extra person to fuss over. Don't worry little one I promise that everything will be fine, you trust me right?" At Harry's immediate nod, he pressed a soft kiss to the younger's nose and then pulled him onto his lap holding him close, "Then just let yourself relax, everything is going to be fine. I promised you the best Christmas ever, and Malfoys always keep their promises."

The next morning was flurry of students rushing around desperately scrabbling to get everything together and finish their last minute packing. Scorpius met Harry in the entrance hall and they headed down to the coaches together, accompanied by Neville and some of Scorpius' friends. Arriving at the train Neville headed off to find Luna, glaring at Harry's knowing smile as he hurried off, while the rest of them went and settled into a compartment.

Elsewhere Draco was sat in a compartment further down the train having come down in one of the first coaches. Settled across from him were Blaise and Theo who had only recently admitted their relationship to him, despite him knowing for several months now. Draco couldn't wait to get back to London, he knew that Chaos would be there to meet him at the station and he couldn't wait to see the younger boy again. While Chaos was 14 and technically could attend Hogwarts he was of a heritage that was somewhat of a mystery to the wizarding world thus the schools were often hesitant to extend their welcome. Chaos worked without a wand all of the time and also did not use spells, his magic was more fluid and had specialisms with particular elements, for example his strengths lay in the manipulation of water and air, as well as being prominent in the realms of healing and protection. His abilities meant it was more logical for him to remain at Malfoy manner and a tutor who specialised in this type of magic came to work with him for a few hours, 3 days a week. Chaos also followed the curriculum of Hogwarts but studied mostly independently asking Narcissa or Lucius about anything he did not understand, being at the same level as Draco meant that he liked to complete the same essays that Draco did and his tutor was more than happy to mark them.

As the train finally moved away from the station Draco perked up a little much to Blaise and Theo's relief; the pair had been worried about how distant their friend had been recently. The three made amicable small talk as they sped towards London.

In their carriage, Harry had fallen asleep resting against Scorpius' shoulder much to the amusement of the elder's friends. The group of boys talked quietly amongst themselves discussing their plans for Christmas some complaining about their annoying relatives, much to everyone's amusement. With 5 minutes to go Scorpius gently roused Harry from his extensive nap, bright green eyes fogged with sleep stared up at him as the younger boy gained his bearings. The train came to a stop and it finally sunk in for Harry; this was it he was about to meet the first of his mate's family, and he was absolutely terrified.

Okay, there you have it, hopefully that was okay, I will endeavour to post the next chapter within the next few days.

x x x