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Bast, Egyptian Goddess of Fertility

-

I can remember walking in on Uncle Sev sitting at the kitchen table. He didn't look up at me. Aunt Hermione and Grandma Molly were there also. Grandma Molly hugged me as tight as she ever had.

When I looked at Uncle Sev, a chill went down my spine.

"Where's Papa?" I had asked.

And this is when it starts to get fuzzy

I remember asking is over and over again. No one would tell me. I collapsed somewhere along the way. When I woke, Uncle Sev explained what had happened. He had seen it all.

Papa had been killed. The final chance at a peaceful life had been stomped to death and then used as snake-food.

However, to me, my papa, the only blood family I had left, was gone.

-

Harry loved Saturdays. They were always perfect for sleeping in. Especially after a Friday night meeting when he had a lot on his mind to think about.

Even though they had discussed several disturbing things about the Death Eaters and their master, he couldn't get his thoughts off the boy who interrupted their meeting. Scorpius Malfoy-whoever was more than enough to rattle his brain. And it wasn't so much because he was an enigma in who he was, but how he affected Harry so much.

The conditions were almost Voldemort-like. Sure, it wasn't the pain he felt when Voldemort touched him, but the mere fact that it got a reaction scared him a little.

He lay back in bed, one hand under his head, as he stared up at the ceiling. It wasn't as interesting looking up at it without his glasses on, he realised three minutes into his endeavour. Without his glasses, the cracks and patterns bled into each other, providing him with a blurry mass of white paint with a few dots here and there. It wasn't as appealing as he had first thought.

Not only was Scorpius capable of such fascinating sensations, but he was also the son of Malfoy and some unknown man. That also toyed with Harry's interests. It toyed with them a lot.

He shook his head with frustration, trying to convince himself that the heat in his cheeks was from him getting angry with himself.

Sure. There was a chance he was gay. There was a huge chance, in fact, and yes, Malfoy's body proved that. But it wasn't Harry's fault that Malfoy had that absolutely gorgeous body and that neck that he would just love to nibble on...

"Oh crap," Harry breathed, turning to his side. "Physical attraction, nothing more."

And that was true. It wasn't as if he had started to fall for the blonde's personality or anything.

"I'd rather screw the giant squid."

He had already cast a soundless barrier around his bed, which was surrounded by his usual curtains. None of the other boys could hear or see him talk to himself, for which he was thankful for. The last thing he needed was another bout of rumours depicting his insanity to take over his life.

"They're probably true," he reasoned with himself. "What kind of sane teen boy talks to himself about not appreciating the most amazing body he's ever seen." He rolled his eyes at that. "Not that you've actually seen his body...just what it looks like...do not think in that direction, Harry Potter."

He took deep breaths to calm himself and began to think about less appealing thoughts.

The Death Eaters will begin to capture Order members soon, according to Scorpius' words. Yes, that was a good place to start. Death and torture.

It wasn't very long though before he started to think about his rival again, though. On Monday, they had potions together and more than once that year, he had already been forced into a partnership with the blonde.

"I need some serious help," he concluded finally. "A girlfriend..." Harry stopped himself. "That's a useless thought, closet case."

Another deep breath led to a heavy sigh.

And that seemed to awaken the beast that was the belly of a young man.

"Breakfast is always positive."

And with that, he rolled out of bed.

-

Ron was the last one to join them at the breakfast table and instantly set his mind on next week's Quidditch game. It was the second match of the year, being Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Ron had been made captain, much to everyone's surprise, rather than Harry.

The Gryffindor House had expressed their displeasure over the choice. As it turned out, however, the decision to make Harry the captain had been overruled by Albus. While Minerva had initially chosen the Seeker, Albus had decided that Harry had far too much on his plate that year and needed the time to work on his fighting skills.

Hermione glanced at Harry, who obviously wasn't paying much attention to Ron's words about the game. The rest of the team, however, was showing interest in his plans.

"What's wrong?" she asked him softly, hoping not to gain the attention of those around them.

"I'm worried about Scorpius," Harry admitted just as quietly. "Who knows where he stayed last night?"

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully now. "Maybe he's been taken to Malfoy already."

Harry let out a sigh and dug into his breakfast. He wasn't sure why, but that nearly disappointed him. Sure, he knew the kid really wanted to see his dad again, but if he was there with Malfoy, that meant that Scorpius wouldn't spend time with him at all.

"Maybe, but is that the best idea? I mean, this kid idolises the dad he never knew...in this time, Malfoy's still a little prick. What if he's completely different from the Malfoy Scorpius remembers?"

"He was five, Harry; he's not going to remember much about Malfoy."

Rather than taking another bite of his food, he played around with it with his fork. "I don't know what he's done to me to make me think about his safety so much. What if the Malfoy of this time is really a Death Eater? Maybe that's why he's been off our radar for so long. He could hurt the kid."

The moment the words left his mouth, he raised his eyes to search for the blonde father. Slytherin was clear of that obvious patch of hair. He had noticed over time that Malfoy had shown up for breakfast less and less.

"It's not that big of a surprise that he's not here," Hermione muttered.

"All throughout last week, I couldn't help but notice how skinny he was getting."

An eyebrow rose at his sentence. "And just how much attention are you paying him, Harry?"

"He was my partner in potions. That's all."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders before Ron nudged Harry, trying to get him into the conversation.

"What do you think of Hensing as Seeker? Bold move this year, eh?" Ron asked Harry. "He wasn't very fast as a Chaser, but I guess they have to do what they can. You should beat him easily."

The others on the team agreed.

"He was pathetic against Malfoy," Ginny added, having been placed as a Chaser. "Couldn't keep up with his Nimbus to save his life."

Harry nodded his head, agreeing. But that had him thinking of Malfoy's performance. He had started to get slower on the field. The blonde wasn't as quick to see the Snitch in the last few games. What confused him even more was how Malfoy was still flying the Nimbus 2001. The once highly sought-after Silver Arrows had returned to producing Quidditch broomsticks and had released a new line only a few months ago. The 'Straight Shot' was just as fast as Harry's Firebolt, and was nominated to be Malfoy's broomstick for his last year at Hogwarts.

It wasn't long before Severus arrived at the Gryffindor table, looking down at Harry.

"That...child has requested you take him to his parent," he claimed, noticing how Harry's eyes lit up instantly. He rolled his own eyes before walking off.

Harry nearly jumped as he felt a hand land on his shoulder. Before he could react, though, Scorpius' soft voice calmed him.

"You gave me your Invisibility Cloak in my time. Let's go and see my dad. Uncle Sev said he was down in the dungeons working on a project."

That got Harry interested.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" Harry whispered in response.

"Professor Dumbledore organised it with the house elves."

Harry turned to Hermione. "I have to go. I'll explain later," he muttered before he stood. There was a loud complaint from Ron when he realised that Harry wouldn't be there to see the Quidditch plan he was plotting out with the salt, pepper and Neville's goblet of pumpkin juice. "Sorry, mate, but something came up. Snape wants me to run an errand for him."

The Gryffindor Quidditch team vocally objected to that reasoning, but Harry left the table anyway.

He could hear Scorpius' shoes as they walked along beside him.

"Where'd you sleep last night?" Harry asked, glancing around the bare hall.

"Apparently the professors are allocated spare rooms in case they have spouses or young children or visitors. I stayed in one of Uncle Sev's spare rooms."

Harry nodded his head. "So you'd know you're way around this area?"

"Not a clue," Scorpius laughed.

Harry found he liked hearing the boy laugh. "So did Snape tell you where your dad is?" He paused slightly. "You have no idea how weird that is. I mean, he's my age. It's crazy to think of him as a father."

"I can't wait to see him again. I have a photo of him, but that's nowhere near good enough. I'll see him and talk to him and hug him...it'll be so good to be with him again." Harry couldn't hold back his laugh as Scorpius ran into him as he turned a corner. "Sorry...I'm just really excited about seeing him."

"I guessed as much."

They fell into silence as they passed a large group of first year Hufflepuffs. Even though they were well into the new term, the first years still stopped and pointed when they saw Harry Potter. The two could hear the gossiping giggles well after they started their descent of the stairs.

"That must be annoying," Scorpius observed.

"You have no idea."

Slytherins passed them this time as they continued into the depths of the castle.

Harry had never really paid much attention to the architecture of the dungeons. He more or less dreaded his time there and thought of ways to get away from it, rather than observe it. What he found was interesting.

The main halls were made of old stone but were covered with some of the most beautiful tapestries Harry had ever seen. He slowed down to further his observations. Between each tapestry was a lit torch creating enough light for the images to be seen. And underneath those torches were full suits of armour, ranging between looking ominous and looking chivalrous. Most were marred with war scars and scratches.

A loud bang reminded Harry of Scorpius' presence and he turned around just in time to see Scorpius, from his position on the floor, cover himself back up with the Cloak. Lying across his legs was one of the suits.

"I didn't mean it," Scorpius muttered as he felt Harry lift the suit up magically.

"You klutz," Harry laughed lightly and continued walking, happy to hear that Scorpius was up on his feet again. He could, surprisingly, imagine the boy sticking his tongue out at him for that. "Almost there."

He turned another corner only to find himself crashing into a taller body. While Harry had to find his footing, the other didn't seem effected.

"What are you doing all the way down here, Potter?" came Theodore Nott's voice from somewhere above Harry.

The tall Slytherin was in the same year as Harry and was one most expected to join Voldemort's side at the drop of a hat.

"None of your business, Nott," Harry hissed, stepping around the other teen. He didn't get too far. A hand tightened around Harry's upper arm, shoving him against the closest wall.

"Lions aren't appreciated this deep in the dungeons, you know?"

Nott paused before he looked down at his stomach. Harry had his wand jabbing into his abdomen.

"I'm running an errand. Do you have a problem with that?"

Like all Slytherins, Nott was smart enough to know that when Harry Potter had his wand against you, you agreed to whatever the hell he said. The hand loosened and Nott stepped back, raising his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"No harm caused," he shrugged, heading out towards the open corridor, though not turning his back on the Gryffindor. "Just hurry up with your little 'errand'. I don't know how many Slytherins you could take on your own, and I'm not necessarily going to keep my mouth shut among my friends about this."

Harry scoffed. "Of course you're a much bigger man when you have your reinforcements. Tell them what you want; I'm not willingly here, nor am I staying for much longer."

And with that, Nott was around the corner and gone from Harry's sight. The brunette let out a heavy sigh before he pocketed his wand again. Another hand came out to grasp him, but this time he knew it was Scorpius.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Scorpius asked with a worried tone.

"Nott is nothing I can't handle," Harry admitted. "His bark is definitely worse than his bite."

"I hope so."

"Come on."

Before long, they started to approach the classrooms. Sticking his head into each door, Harry motioned for Scorpius to join him when he finally spotted the blonde thorn in his side.

He felt Scorpius' hand wrap around his arm again.

"I can't do this," Scorpius whispered to Harry, who stepped back away from the door. "It's my dad...I haven't seen him in years...what if he's different...? Or maybe I'll say that wrong thing and he'll hate me..."

"I thought you wanted to see him."

"I do. I really, really do. It's just...I've been waiting years for this..."

Harry smirked. "I highly doubt Malfoy will disappoint you."

The trembling hand slipped off his arm. Harry stepped into the room, ushering Scorpius with him.

The moment the door closed behind Harry, Malfoy spoke, even though he was facing the other way.

"I told you not to bother me today, Pansy. I have a lot of work to do."

"Not Parkinson," Harry replied bluntly.

He seemed surprised that a male voice answered him. So surprised, even, that he turned to face the intruding Gryffindor.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Malfoy demanded to know. Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that Malfoy had reached for his wand.

"Don't even bother with that," Harry sighed with exaggeration, running a hand through his hair. "Snape sent me here with a...message."

Malfoy replaced his wand on the table beside him before he returned to his potion. His head shot up to his right, however, as he heard something. Not being able to see anything, he focused on the book before him.

"What message, Potter?"

"A rather interesting one." Harry stepped around the table Malfoy was working on to face him. "I've discovered something rather amazing."

The fine chopping motions Malfoy had started abruptly stopped. "Surely you're not falling for those marriage rumours; I've already hexed Blaise with an impotency spell for that."

Harry nearly stumbled. "You did what?"

Malfoy raised a pale eyebrow. "And since when do I answer your questions, Potter? Get on with this bloody message of yours and piss off."

"You know, I can't imagine even Snape would appreciate that hex..."

"It's only temporary. The message, Potter. I have a lot of work to do."

Whatever he was chopping (it created a disgusting hue of yellow) was gently placed into the cauldron, making Harry raise his own eyebrow. Never before did he think that a Malfoy would allow such filth to touch them. A phial of something red was picked out of the ingredients lining the table to his left.

"I found out recently about your son," Harry claimed, and for the first time in his life, he made Malfoy laugh genuinely.

The way he smiled had Harry blushing. It was an amazing sight, one he instantly engraved into his memory. That, of course, was followed by rather loud and crude mental bashing.

"Me? A father? Not likely, Potter. I don't screw women. Never have, never will. My body just doesn't work that way."

Hearing it from him had Harry's stomach tumbling, even though he knew about it for a while.

"I've met the kid, actually," Harry continued, thankful he was lucky to find words. "He's right here with us."

"So all those insanity rumours all those years ago were actually true?" Malfoy asked before he raised the phial up to the cauldron. He focused on tipping the red liquid in, only to watch as the glass was ripped from his hand.

"Are you trying to kill us?" a voice hissed at him before Scorpius revealed himself from under the Invisibility Cloak. Instantly recognising the likeness between the two, Malfoy grabbed for his wand again, only to have it removed from his hand by Harry.

"Potter...? What the...?" Scorpius' words drowned Malfoy's questions.

"Boggart blood is the single most volatile ingredient known to potion brewers worldwide after it's been exposed to laughter. Adding it in to anything other than pure water or the distilling potion would cause an explosion half the size of Hiroshima!" the blonde snapped, holding the phial of Boggart blood in his right hand as he searched through the pouch he carried with him.

"Potter?" Malfoy tried again, looking at the Gryffindor.

"Malfoy, meet your son, Scorpius."

It was the only time Harry could remember Malfoy looking so gobsmacked. That at least settled the butterflies.

"That's still physically impossible; he's too old, and I've never been with a woman before."

Harry smirked, watching as Malfoy's eyes raked the boy from head to toe and back. "Well, he certainly looks a hell of a lot like you. And Professor Lupin performed a DNA test on him last night."

Scorpius lifted a bottle from his bag. "Boggart blood distilling potion," he claimed with a small grin. "I knew I had some with me."

The Gryffindor raised an eyebrow. "Do you always carry random potions with you...?"

"It's not exactly random. I wasn't joking when I said half the size of Hiroshima. You can never have too many anti-exploding-of-the-volatile-ingredient-potions on hand." And with that, he started to mix the two liquids together with a slight flick of his wrist to stir the concoction.

Harry looked up at Malfoy again; whose grey eyes were still examining the child. "This is impossible," he repeated.

"He's from the future," Harry finally explained. "He's born five years from now."

"That's..."

"Impossible...yeah, we get it."

For the first time since Scorpius made his appearance, Malfoy's eyes hardened at Harry.

"Holy shit," Scorpius finally gasped. "You're my dad..."

Harry nodded his head at the taller blonde. "Yeah, and you're building up one of the worst first impressions I've ever seen in my life, mate. First you accuse him of trying to blow us up and then you swear in front of him."

Scorpius felt his face burn before he took a step towards his dad. "I'm so sorry," he muttered before he looked at Malfoy shyly. "It really is you."

Malfoy put out a hand to stop Scorpius where he was. "Stay," he ordered as he grabbed Harry by the wrist and dragged him towards the door. "What the hell is going on here?"

Harry rolled his eyes, pointing at Scorpius briefly. "He showed up out of thin air in Dumbledore's office last night, claiming that he was your kid from the future. He said everyone died, including you and me, and that Voldemort was going to win the war in twenty years."

"That's a huge gap in time, Potter. This has to be a trick." Malfoy turned his head towards Scorpius to see him venture toward them. "I said stay," he hissed out, causing Scorpius to take a step back. His green eyes quickly dodged to Harry's.

"Look, Malfoy, Lupin would have told us if he wasn't your child. He did the test on him and everything. You gotta admit he looks identical to you, except for his height and his eyes. And it's not that impossible to think that someone could create a better time travelling potion in the future, is it?"

"Okay, that's doable," Malfoy agreed with little thought. "But I'm never reproducing..."

"You would with another guy, wouldn't you?"

"You see, Potter, there's this slight problem with the male anatomy that doesn't allow for a man to fall pregnant. It's called not having a womb. It's not all that technical, but it's a problem most gay couples face daily."

Harry groaned at Malfoy's sarcasm. He really didn't need that. "Imagine this, Malfoy. Things are in the future. There are endless possibilities."

"Are you trying to tell me that I conceive a child?"

And with that, Harry turned beet red. "I really didn't need to know what position you are."

Malfoy turned his eyes back to Scorpius, ignoring Harry's comment. "Then again, there could always be a surrogate mother..."

"Smart boy," Harry congratulated him, patting him on the back. He quickly withdrew his hand at Malfoy's glare. "Look, I'm only here as the messenger. I wouldn't be here willingly."

Malfoy's face lost what little colour it had. "You're going to leave me here alone with him?"

"He's your kid. Deal with it."

"Potter...!"

"Dad?"

Harry could have almost laughed at the way Malfoy froze at that single word.

But then again, it unsettled his stomach, too. And for some strange reason, he felt like Malfoy really could do with some help with the boy. At least, that's what his brain tried to reason. He really didn't want to part with either.

For that thought alone, Harry nearly turned on his heel at that instant to leave the room.

"Dad?" Scorpius tried again. Harry watched as Malfoy acknowledged him. At the same time, he beat down whatever monster it was that wanted to kill Malfoy had he turned down his son.

His.

That brought along a mental shake of his head.

Malfoy's son. Not his. Definitely not his own. Malfoy. Not Potter.

Harry was under the sudden impression that he didn't need a girlfriend. No, he needed an unlimited pint of something three times stronger than the strongest firewhiskey Madam Rosmerta had on her shelves.

"W-what?" Malfoy asked, completely unsettled by the name used.

"Well, you see, you died when I was only five, and now I'm fifteen, and I was wondering, but you probably won't agree to this because it'd be a little weird..."

"What?"

It was an exasperated sigh so perfectly suited for a parent wanting his child to get to the point. That definitely killed the monster in Harry.

"Can I hug you please?"

The question was so completely out of the blue that both Harry and Malfoy paused.

"What?" Malfoy asked for the third time.

"Can I hug you please?" Scorpius repeated, a shade darker than what he was when he realised he had sworn in front of his dad.

Noticing Malfoy's inner turmoil, Harry stepped over to Scorpius. With a simple thwack to the back of the boy's head, he shoved him towards the shorter blonde.

"He's your dad; you shouldn't have to ask for permission," Harry claimed.

With a shy smile to Harry, Scorpius closed the distance between him and his parent, wrapping his arms around the Slytherin's torso and holding him tightly.

Harry felt his own chest contract as he saw Malfoy's arms envelope Scorpius' shoulders.

He knew his heart tore in two the moment he heard Scorpius choke back a sob. The poor kid was crying. He started muttering utter nonsense, but Malfoy held him close anyway.

Scorpius abruptly pulled away, distancing himself from his dad so he could look him in the eye. "You have to stop giving your new potions to my grandfather. You have to. I know he'll be angry, but you know they go straight to Voldemort..."

His words stopped as Malfoy's grey eyes focused on Harry.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that for Scorpius' sake, Malfoy," Harry claimed.

Malfoy nodded his head in understanding before he pulled Scorpius in to his chest again. Words were whispered into the taller Malfoy's ear.

"My grandfather would never kill you!" Scorpius hissed, breaking all contact from Malfoy. "No parent could do that..."

"Lucius Malfoy is a different kind of parent, Scorp. I do what..." He paused as Scorpius' eyes glistened with new tears. "What's wrong?"

"Scorp?" Scorpius repeated the nickname. "You called me Scorp...Papa refused to call me that once you died...he said you were the only one who was allowed to call me that."

Malfoy ran a hand through Scorpius' hair before he froze again. "Papa? You have a papa along with me?"

Scorpius nodded his head. "You were on the right track with the surrogate mother thing. You invented a potion that strips the DNA of the surrogate mother from the baby and replaces it with the second father. I'm one hundred percent you and Papa."

"And who is he?" Malfoy asked hopefully.

It caused a smile to appear on Harry's face.

"I'm not allowed to tell you. Uncle Sev would completely kick my butt if I did. He said that I wasn't allowed to let anyone know who they marry since it mightn't happen if they know."

"He refuses to tell me who I end up marrying as well," Harry added lightly. "But he managed to reveal to Lupin who his husband turns out to be."

Malfoy's jaw nearly dropped. Had he been from any other family, it might have. "Lupin's gay?" The thought was interrupted by the potion boiling over. Malfoy swore out loud, rushing over to the cauldron and removing it from the flames.

"I can fix it," Scorpius claimed, watching as the blue liquid bubbled on the outside of the iron cauldron. "It just needs a little..."

"A few drops of house elf tears, I know," Malfoy smirked, sorting out the ingredients on his table. "You were raised by Severus, weren't you?"

Scorpius smiled brightly. "I was raised by my Papa, but sometimes our relationship wasn't all that good...but I spent a lot of time with my Uncle Sev. He trained me to be his apprentice, just like he did with you. I would have become his apprentice just like you did, but then Harry went and got himself killed, so I got sent here..."

"What good did Severus think you'd do?"

The younger teen pouted. "Excuse me? I can do plenty. I'm a talented brewer and I hold the secrets to every potion you and Uncle Sev have ever imagined. I even have your journal." He added the house elf tears while he said this, having found it before his dad had.

Harry could only watch in surprise at the two. They weren't concentrating at all at the ingredients they were picking up or the book in which the directions was written in, but as they added each element, they went through the steps as it was outlined in the text. He picked it up and read each part to make sure they were doing it right. As Malfoy dropped in a plant of some sort, Scorpius stirred the potion once clockwise (as he was standing on the other side of the cauldron, it was anti-clockwise for him) before three anti-clockwise rotations. Just as Malfoy moved to dispose of the roots of the plants, Scorpius grabbed them off him.

"They're not needed since they have absolutely no magical prop..."

"They add flavour," Scorpius said with a smile and a shrug. "It says so in your journal."

"What's with that?" Malfoy asked as a side thought, forcing the juices out of something fuzzy. "It's completely rude."

Scorpius laughed lightly. "If you knew who my Papa is, you wouldn't be surprised."

Grey eyes narrowed. "Better not be Blaise. I swear, if he is, I'll Crucio myself."

"My papa isn't Blaise Zabini. He's killed within a few months." He covered his mouth with his hand again. "I didn't mean that."

Eyes widened as they looked at him.

"He's killed?" Malfoy demanded.

"I'm not allowed to talk about that sort of stuff. I not supposed to give timeframes that accurate. You're not allowed to do anything to stop it."

Malfoy reached out and lowered Scorpius' hand from his mouth. "Scorp, it's not that easy with Blaise. He's a very good friend of mine and he'll always have a place in my heart."

"You tried to stop it in my time and near-you love him?"

"For reasons less than honourable," It was said with a light laugh. As Scorpius cocked his head to one side, the laugh got stronger. "He was my first."

Scorpius shook his head. "You always told me that Papa was the only person you ever loved."

Harry couldn't help but have to cover his grin with his hand.

"Dear Merlin, you were raised by either a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor," Malfoy grumbled, placing a hand on Scorpius' shoulder.

"Hey," Harry argued, "Gryffindors aren't that innocent."

"Ickle Potter not a virgin anymore?" Malfoy instantly teased but it became light-hearted quickly as Scorpius caught on.

"Oh! He was your first! I get it now." He started to pout in the same manner that had Severus and Remus answering him. "I wasn't raised like a normal kid. I don't have the same social experiences as other kids my age. Anyway, virginity-stealing or not, Blaise Zabini dies a horrible death and there's nothing you can do about it. You try to stop it, but my grandfather stops you from getting in the way. You would have been killed as well."

"What happens?" Harry asked. Scorpius sealed his mouth back up. "You've already given us a time frame and that we can't prevent it. It's not going to get any better on your behalf. Snape's still gonna kick your arse when you get back. I'll pin a note on you and everything."

Scorpius set him with a glare both the Malfoy and Snape families would be proud of. "Mean jerk," he accused, stirring the potion once more. He let out a loud sigh before he continued. "His mother is a black widow. Plain and simple. She marries the rich men and kills them for their money. She goes after Voldemort, and Nagini doesn't like that very much at all..."

"How do you know about her?" Harry interrupted.

"You were eaten by her," Scorpius said bluntly. "The whole wizarding world knew about her by the time I had left." He paused in his stirring motions as Malfoy added the remains of the fuzzy ingredient. "There's something strange going on between Voldemort and his snake. I think she's an animagus, honestly. I know he talks to her...anyway...Mrs. Zabini goes out after Voldemort, trying to woo him. Nagini got really pissed off about it and in order to keep his precious snake happy, Voldemort tortured the lady by torturing and killing Blaise in front of her."

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"I can't say any more on the issue. I would be incriminating someone very important to me if I was to continue."

Malfoy rolled his eyes as if it wasn't obvious as to whom that someone was. He turned to Harry and deliberately rolled up his sleeves as he continued to work on slicing the pieces for the potion. Harry could clearly see his creamy, unmarked arms.

And that, of course, set his stomach jumping again. It was very rare that Malfoy showed his skin. It was nice skin, Harry realised. The colour was the same shade as his face, if not a little paler. He was also lightly muscled.

He mentally cursed himself over and over again for wanting to see more.

Harry quickly focused elsewhere, only to see a typical Malfoy smirk waiting for him. This time, however, it was worn by Scorpius.

"Maybe I should let you two enjoy your time together. Ron and Hermione are probably going crazy over this..."

"They know about me already, don't they?" Scorpius asked, now looking into the potion. He quickly glanced up as his dad. "How many newt claws did you put in?"

"Six," Malfoy answered simply.

"You should have put in seven. The number's better for magical properties and would have made the potion better..."

"Don't make me drown you in this."

Scorpius was smiling greater as he turned back for Harry's answer.

"Yeah, they know."

Malfoy nearly snorted at the knowledge. "You can't keep a single secret from them, can you? They have to know everything about the Golden Boy."

Harry felt like he should have puffed his chest out at the accusation or something. "I can keep a secret from them. I have a few going at the moment."

"Sure you do." Malfoy started to bottle the potion before he raised his eyes to Scorpius. "Maybe you should have given it one more anti-clockwise stir before I added the root."

"Not likely," Scorpius objected. "I've brewed this a thousand times and it always turns out the right shade of blue."

"I can keep a secret from them," Harry repeated, though he didn't really know why.

"Again, sure you do, Potter. Hurry back to them before they report your abduction by Death Eaters to Dumbledore."

Scorpius piped up again. "Do you trust him?"

"Potter or Dumbledore?" Malfoy stopped for a moment. "Neither, actually. Continue."

"Professor Dumbledore," Scorpius clarified. "Do you trust him, Harry?"

Harry didn't really have to think it over. "Not as much as I used to." At Malfoy's smirk, he glared at him. "Tell any of your snakes that, and I'll personally remove your ability to create Scorpius."

"Sounds kinky. Keep that to you and your girl weasel," Malfoy told him with a shudder. "Hetero love...it's so cringe-worthy."

"Don't I know it?" Harry grumbled before he realised what he was doing. Malfoy's knife dropped from his hand in an instant. Harry hissed out a curse before he turned and left the room.

Malfoy bent to retrieve the knife, only to stand with a smirk on his face. "Is he gay in your time?" he asked Scorpius, who was smiling.

"He marries a man. They have two children together with your potion," Scorpius admitted. "He doesn't know about the gender of his spouse, though."

"This is interesting."

"He only sleeps with that one man, though. So don't get any ideas. Especially not when I'm here. The last thing I need is to walk in on you going at it."

"You're incredibly brash for someone who mistook my losing of my virginity for love," Malfoy pointed out.

Scorpius dug out the Malfoy smirk again. "As I said to Uncle Sev last night, I mightn't have been Sorted, but I do believe I have a lot more Slytherin traits than Hufflepuff ones."

Malfoy returned the look before he realised he desperately needed to sit down. He was actually standing there, having a conversation with his future son as if they were close friends and always had been.

There had been something in that earlier embrace that had proved it all to him. It was like he was holding to single most precious object in the world and every time he looked at the boy from that moment on, he realised it over and over again. That child was his. He had created him with someone he loved very much. He could feel it. It was like Scorpius was passing on whatever love he had for him for just being his dad, and was passing along the love of his papa at the same time. It was incredibly strange to the Slytherin, that anyone could feel that much love just from an embrace, but he could feel it all. The way it felt made him wonder how much he really did love his husband.

"Dad, are you okay?" Scorpius asked, standing by Malfoy's chair.

Malfoy swallowed dryly before he wrapped his arms around Scorpius' waist, pulling his stomach to his face in a hug. "You're special," Malfoy muttered into the boy's robes. "Your papa and I...we must have loved you so much."

He felt a pair of arms around his head, returning the embrace. "Yeah. You both did all you could to make me happy and safe."

"I'm sorry I couldn't have been in your life. You must have missed out on so much."

"I was five, but I guess that's why I've come to you. You need to stop handing over your potions."

"They aren't dangerous, Scorp, I promise," Malfoy claimed, raising his head to look his son in the eye. "I don't make anything that'll hurt people because I know that's what they'd be put towards. I give them over to my father to keep the three of us safe. As long as I don't embarrass him in front of the Dark Lord, he, my mother and I are safe. He'll kill me if I don't."

"Have you given them a netting potion yet?" Scorpius asked, silently hoping for a negative answer.

He received it. "I've never even thought of such a thing," Malfoy admitted instantly.

"The moment they get their hands on a potion like that, it's all over. You can't let them get it, Dad. Go to Dumbledore to keep you safe..."

"Not even Potter trusts that old fool, Scorpius," Malfoy hissed, almost pulling away from his son. "I can't go to him."

"Then go to Harry. He likes me. He'll protect you because of me. I know he will."

"You certainly are naive."

Scorpius smiled at that. "Yeah. I guess it's part of my nature."

That had Malfoy lowering his head again. "Your papa definitely isn't a Slytherin."

"Who's to say he's even from the UK? You almost went to Durmstrang; you never know what you might find. But Dad, please, whatever you do, don't give them anymore potions. You have to go to protection."

"I can't just turn my back on my family."

"They've already turned their backs on you! If they cared about you, they wouldn't threaten you with death like that..."

Malfoy ripped himself away from Scorpius at that. "You weren't raised as a Malfoy at all. The behaviour of my parents is nothing for you to be criticising, Scorpius. You know nothing of the pure blood ways."

"Then it's a damn good thing Papa and I have Muggle blood, isn't it?" Scorpius took a step back as his eyes clouded over with tears again. "I didn't want to fight with you, Daddy. I wanted it to be a good reunion. We shouldn't be fighting. We should never be fighting."

Malfoy stood and pulled Scorpius back into his arms. "We won't fight as long as you don't talk to me about your grandparents...your papa's a Muggle?"

"Hell no. My papa's an amazing wizard. He works for the Ministry before it's taken over by Voldemort."

"He's on the Light side?"

Scorpius stepped away from Malfoy again. "Yes, he is. And I'm proud of all his accomplishments. That's another reason why you need to stop handing over your creations. The more you do it, the less happy my papa will be with you. The less happy he is, the less likely you two will fall in love. And that means I won't be born." Malfoy ruffled the boy's hair before he let out a heavy sigh. "It's not as if you were planning on joining Voldemort because of your own wants, now is it?"

"I've never wanted to side with him," Malfoy admitted softly. "But these things can't be helped. I'm a Malfoy. If I don't..."

"Get Harry to protect you. He will. You two become really close over this year. It happened in my time. And you two didn't seem to hate each other the way Uncle Sev described it to me..."

"I don't have a clue why that just happened."