“Rosie loves Scorpius! Rosie loves Scorpius!” sang Hugo Weasley as he tore around the house, his sister hot on his trail.
“I do not!” shrieked Rosie, aiming a jinx at her brother.
Realizing that capture was imminent, Hugo hid behind his father. “Rosie loves Scor...”
“I DO NOT!” yelled Rosie, blushing furiously.
“Hugo, stop teasing your sister,” ordered Ron. “Rosie, you know you aren’t allowed to do magic at home, so put the wand down.”
Ron went upstairs, leaving his two children glaring at each other. He couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly after Rosie’s safe return the two had gone back to fighting with each other. Hugo had cried himself to sleep every night that Rosie had been missing. Now, to celebrate his beloved sister’s return, he was running around the house teasing her. Ron had hoped for at least a few days break.
“I still can’t believe you invited the Malfoys for dinner,” grumbled Ron, walking into the bedroom.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Ron! They helped save Rosie; I’m not about to snub them. Besides, it’s just one night. Are you actually planning on wearing that?”
“What?” asked Ron, happily looking at his reflection in a full-length mirror. “There is nothing wrong with these robes. Besides, you bought them for me.”
“You are not wearing your ‘Gryffindor Pride’ robes to dinner,” snapped Hermione, while busily brushing tangles out of her hair.
“That’s only because I don’t have a set that say ‘Former Death Eaters can go to...”
“Ron!” hissed Hermione, while looking worriedly at the open bedroom door. “Besides, you said you liked Astoria.”
Ron smiled with an air of superiority. “Actually, Madam Weasley, I believe what I said that I liked her better than her git of a husband.”
“Even so, tonight you will act as though you like Astoria, ‘her git of a husband’, and their son, or you had better hope that Harry and Ginny let you sleep on their sofa.”
Ron perked up a bit. “So you admit he’s a git?”
Hermione didn’t even smile. “I mean it, Ron. Rosie is not going to be happy if you insult the father of the boy she likes.”
“Oh, come off it,” answered Ron. “You sound like Hugo. She’s far too young to be interested in boys.”
Hermione smiled and answered, “Of course, dear. I just meant that she likes him as a friend.” Silently, she wondered how thick her husband could be. Then she remembered the first six years she’d known Ron. Deciding that some things are best left unsaid, Hermione began picking out earrings to wear to dinner. Ron started looking through a drawer for a tie, trying to determine which would be most likely to annoy Malfoy.
“Is it time to leave yet?” asked Scorpius.
Draco rolled his eyes and tossed his pocket-watch to his son. “No, just like it wasn’t time five minutes ago, five minutes before that, or five minutes previous to that. We were asked to be there for seven o’clock. What time is it now?”
“Six,” grumbled Scorpius, scuffing his shoe in frustration. “Wouldn’t it be more polite to get there early?”
“No, it would be rude,” replied Astoria. “We will be arriving at precisely ten minutes past seven: fashionably late. Besides, you’re going back to school tomorrow morning and will have plenty of time to see all your friends then.”
“Rosie and Albus are pretty much my only friends anyway,” answered Scorpius.
“Did you try making friends with any of the Slytherins?” asked Astoria, somewhat surprised.
Scorpius furrowed his brow. “Well... no, I guess I didn’t. Rachel Zabini said the Slytherins wouldn’t talk to me if I stayed friends with Rosie and she was the first person who was nice to me on the train.”
Draco narrowed his eyes slightly, but tried to keep his tone light. “What do you mean she was the first person who was nice to you?”
Scorpius felt his cheeks grow warm and started speaking more quickly. “No one else would sit with me when they heard my name. Rosie convinced her cousins to give me a chance... did you know ‘half-breed’ is a bad word?”
Now it was Draco and Astoria’s turns to redden. Astoria looked to Draco who shrugged helplessly. Glaring at her unhelpful husband, Astoria explained, “Er, you see, Honey... Back when we were your age that was the word that most people used. It’s just not ‘politically correct’ anymore. It’s difficult to change.”
“Do you use it when you write articles?” asked Scorpius.
“I hardly ever write about half-br… er, part-humans, Dear,” answered Astoria.
“Oh.” Scorpius turned to go, but remembered a conversation he’d had with Rachel. “Is ‘Mudblood’ a bad word too? Rosie’s mum is one, and I don’t want to call her that if it’s rude.”
Draco’s face resumed its scarlet shade. “Er, yes… I believe they’re saying ‘Muggleborn’ now.”
Astoria stifled a smile. “I think it would be safest to simply not discuss blood status at dinner tonight, Scorpius. That’s really something that’s better suited for when we have dinner with your grandparents. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of other things to talk about: Quidditch, school, recent kidnapping plots…”
Scorpius grinned, “Yeah, I guess.”
Astoria continued, “Whether or not you should be grounded over the holidays for breaking so many rules and putting yourself, as well as the Potter boy, in imminent danger…”
“You’re looking really pretty, Mum. I think I’ll go clean my room,” replied Scorpius, running off.
“What have we gotten ourselves into?” groaned Draco, after Scorpius was safely out of earshot.
“I’m not the one who spent most of my school days calling Hermione Granger a Mudblood,” replied Astoria tartly.
Draco smirked, in spite of himself. “No, Mrs Malfoy, you spent your school days calling Creevey a Mudblood.”
“Yes, well, he’s not going to be at dinner tonight.”
Draco’s face froze, but he tried to keep the mood light. He didn’t see the need to point out to his wife that Creevey had died in the battle at Hogwarts. He then silently cursed himself for getting stuck going to Potter’s for dinner at all. This was obviously going to be a disaster.
“This is going to be a disaster,” announced Harry.
“Shh!” scolded Ginny. “The kids will hear you!”
A loud crash came from the general direction of the stairs, followed by Lily shrieking, “MUM! James crashed his broom into the dining room and I just finished setting the table; I’m not going to do it again!”
“Over the racket they’re making?” Harry asked incredulously.
Ginny sighed before shouting, “JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! How many times do I have to tell you NOT to ride your broom in the house?”
She then turned to Harry. “Can you go fix whatever he broke? I’m still busy trying to get dinner ready.”
Harry gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying off to see what needed repairing. While Harry was busy mending all the broken dishes, Albus entered the kitchen.
“Mum, the upstairs toilet’s clogged.”
Ginny looked at her youngest son suspiciously. “How did it get clogged?”
Albus stared at the newly polished kitchen floor and mumbled, “I was practicing for Potions and tried to flush what I made…”
“What kind of potion did you make?” asked Ginny quickly.
Albus meekly replied, “Forgetfulness Potion.”
Ginny let out a sigh of relief. “That becomes water soluble fairly quickly, it should unclog soon.”
“But I don’t think I made it right,” added Albus. “Is it supposed to smell like rotten eggs?”
Without answering Ginny made a dash for the upstairs toilet. Upon arriving, she discovered that the entire room now smelled of rotten eggs, green water was spewing from the toilet, and the towels that had soaked in the green water were changing into fire-belching toads. She quietly moaned to herself, “This is going to be a disaster.”
The doorbell rang and James shouted, “Mum! Dad! Uncle Ron, Auntie Hermione, Rosie and Hugo are here!”
“Thank goodness,” added Ginny. One of the toads burped, setting a roll of toilet paper ablaze. “Hermione! I need you up here!”
Ron joined Harry in the dining room. “Why is it that girls always have to go to the bathroom in pairs?”
Harry shrugged. “Do you smell something burning?”
Over the course of the next hour, Kreacher rescued the dinner, which only suffered the loss of a few burnt potatoes. Harry and Ron put out fires started by escaped toads while the cousins tried to capture the belching amphibians. Ginny and Hermione were able to restore most of the upstairs bathroom, although the water in the toilet bowl stubbornly remained green. They had an entire five minutes to spare before the doorbell rang a second time.
“I’ll get it!” shouted Albus, racing for the door with Rosie, James, Lily and Hugo on his heels.
“Hi!” Albus said brightly, upon opening the door. Lily and Hugo hung back a bit, not really knowing Scorpius and having grown up hearing tales of the fearsome Draco Malfoy.
“Welcome to Grimmauld Place!” added Rosie.
Scoripus waved to Rosie and Albus.
“Hurry inside, we’re starving,” blurted James.
Neither Draco nor Astoria was accustomed to being greeted so informally, or by so many children. Before either had a chance to reply to anyone, Harry arrived at the door.
“James!” he warned. “Why don’t you take Mr and Mrs Malfoy’s coats upstairs?”
Stifled somewhat under the weight of the coats, James made his exit.
“Sorry about that,” apologized Harry. “Why don’t you follow me into the sitting room? Dinner’s almost ready.”
Astoria and Draco followed Harry into the sitting room, where they joined Ron and Hermione. Meanwhile, Scorpius followed Albus and Rosie upstairs.
“This is my room,” explained Albus. “It used to belong to someone named Regulus. James’s room used to belong to Regulus’s brother, Sirius. Lily’s room is one floor down, next to Mum and Dad’s.”
Scorpius looked around with curiosity. It wasn’t unlike his own room, and was decorated in blue and gold, Puddlemere United’s colours. The hangings on the carved wooden bed even bore the crossed golden bulrushes. There was a small rusted cauldron in the corner, a Wizarding Wireless by the window, an old worn Quaffle by the foot of the bed, and a bookshelf with many odd looking magazines on them.
Albus followed his friend’s gaze. “Do you read comics too?”
Scorpius had no idea what a comic was, but noticed Rosie roll her eyes. “What’s a comic?”
Albus looked at Scorpius in delight, while pulling half a dozen comics from the shelf. “Here, I’ll get you started with these! They’re Muggle stories and they’re great!”
“Don’t get him started on that trash!” blurted Rosie.
Grinning at his cousin, Albus replied, “Now Rosie, how can you deprive Scorpius of the greatest of Muggle literature?”
“That is not literature!” argued Rosie.
Scorpius still had no idea what his two friends were arguing about, but decided to pick up one of the magazines and begin leafing through it. Meanwhile, having completed his duties towards the Malfoy’s coats and having heard the raised voices of his brother and cousin, James returned.
“What’s going on?” asked James in a casual tone.
“Albus is trying to get Scorpius addicted to comics,” answered Lily, who had apparently been eavesdropping from around the corner.
“And Rosie called them ‘trash’ and told Al not to,” added Hugo, who had also refused to be completely left out.
“I dunno,” added Scorpius. “I hardly know anything about Muggles; maybe this would be a good way to learn?”
Judging from the enraged expression on Rosie’s face, Scorpius surmised that she did not consider comics to be a good representation of Muggle culture.
James then stepped in, putting his arm around Scorpius’s shoulders. “Come young Scorpius, I will show you the best of what Muggle culture has to offer.”
James led Scorpius downstairs, towards the den. “Have you ever heard of a Wii?”
“I really enjoyed your article, Astoria” began Hermione, as she sat down next to Ron.
“Thank you. I appreciate having been given the opportunity to interview Lockhart,” replied Astoria. She gave a quick smile to Ron and Harry, before taking a sip of from the cup of tea Harry had just served her.
Silence fell upon the room. Draco began to drum his fingers on the arm of the sofa. He vaguely recalled being in the house before, back when his great-aunt still lived in it. Draco had been four and terrified of the house-elf heads mounted on the wall. This visit was turning out to be worse. He searched his mind for something, anything, to say. Silently sitting across from Potter, Granger and the Weasel was torturous. Judging from the way Weasley was tapping his foot, he wasn’t enjoying this any more than Draco was. A faint trace of his characteristic smirk crossed Draco’s face at this thought.
Harry suddenly blurted, “I almost forgot, Molly repaired your handbag. I’ll just run upstairs to get it.”
Silence descended upon the room again, as Harry made his escape. Once having left the sitting room, Harry walked as slowly as he reasonably could to get to his study. He also took a while to retrieve the handbag from his desk, decided that it needed to be brushed off, and then remembered that it had been ages since he’d watered the Fanged Geranium that Neville had sent him the previous Christmas. Harry was debating on just how slowly he could walk back when the doorbell rang yet again. Curious as to whom it could be, and thrilled at a new excuse to not immediately return to his guests, Harry hurried to answer it.
Meanwhile, Ron was debating on who he’d rather strangle: Draco, for being himself, or Harry, for having abandoned them to the horrors of small talk. They had sat in deafening silence for nearly five minutes and Ron thought that if Harry took another five minutes, he might have to share a room in St Mungo’s with Lockhart.
Ron’s grim thoughts were interrupted by a loud ribbit, followed by a puff of smoke.
Draco barely had time to register the fact that a toad had set his robes on fire before Astoria leapt into his arms and screamed at the top of her lungs into his left ear. Hermione tried to catch the toad while Ron burst into helpless peals of laughter. Draco finally managed to free his wand arm enough to extinguish his robes.
Astoria had calmed down and Hermione had managed to Vanish the toad when Draco sniffed the air. “Do you smell something burning?”
“Hermione! Your hair!” shouted Ron. All three adults very helpfully tried to aid Hermione in putting out her hair, the results of which left Hermione thoroughly soaked, although her hair was mostly saved.
Hermione and Draco were both dripping wet with a fine covering of soot on them. Harry and Ginny came rushing into the room, having heard Astoria’s screams.
“Wh-what was that?” asked Astoria in a shaky voice.
“Er, one of the mutant toads from a botched Potions experiment,” replied Ron, also answering Harry and Ginny’s unspoken question.
“Perhaps we should go get cleaned up,” Hermione suggested to Draco. “I’ll take the upstairs bathroom, there’s another down the hall, next to the den.”
Draco acquiesced and began his way down the hall. As he left, he heard Harry begin to explain, “It turns out there’ll be one more for dinner tonight...”
Draco could barely remember the basic layout of the house, as it had been over thirty years since his last visit. A quick glance up the stairs revealed that the Potters had removed the house-elf heads from the décor. Sensing that he was being watched, Draco quickly turned and could have sworn he saw a house-elf’s head. Giving himself a bit of a shake, he continued on to the bathroom. He didn’t need very long to tidy up, but he decided to take his time.
As Draco was starting back he heard Scorpius shout, “Quick! Do something! I’m going to die!”
Panicking, Draco drew his wand and charged into the room, shouting, “Let him go!”
Upon entering the room, he realized that not only did Scorpius appear to be perfectly fine, but so did the other children. In fact, all but the youngest two seemed utterly bemused. Lily and Hugo, however, appeared to be on the verge of tears. Feeling completely wrong-footed, Draco had no idea what he ought to say or do and before he could determine what would be appropriate, a young man with bright turquoise hair burst out laughing.
“I- I’m sorry!” the young man gasped. “I guess Super Mario must have sounded pretty intense from outside.”
“Supermar- what?” Feeling slightly dazed, along with a rush of relief, Draco attempted to put together what was left of his dignity. “Am I to understand that no one is in danger?”
Scorpius tried to suppress a grin. “Super Mario. It’s a Muggle game, Dad. You have to try it!”
“Super Maria is a Muggle game?” Draco asked. “What sort of games do Muggles play where you can die?”
“Super Mario,” corrected the young man, his hair now a dazzling purple. “Don’t worry, we’re all perfectly safe. I’ve been playing this game since I was eight. Why don’t you watch for a few minutes and then, if you like, we can teach you to play?”
Deciding that it couldn’t possibly be as bad as being set ablaze by another toad, or even worse, having to sit in a room with his old schoolmates, Draco decided to stay.
Lily and Hugo were still shy of Malfoy and remained fairly silent. Rosie, however, was more than happy to educate Mr Malfoy on how a Nintendo Wii operated. Draco was doing his best to listen politely, and nod when it seemed appropriate.
“It’s a Muggle device that runs on electricity,” she explained. “Muggle programmers write computer code for a game, and design the graphics. Then when you insert the game into the playing console...”
James rolled his eyes. “Rosie, I’ve been playing this for years and I still have no idea what you’re talking about. We don’t care how it works.”
Handing a small white box to Draco, James explained. “You push this one to jump, and this is how you steer. See? When I press the button, the person on the telly jumps.”
Draco hated to admit to himself that he was impressed. Apparently, Muggles were more industrious than he had ever realized. He had no idea what a telly was, but assumed it was the rather thick and oddly framed photograph which had a small strangely dressed jumping man.
Twenty minutes later, Kreacher was making his way towards the den. He was curious to see the Malfoys, great-nephew and great-great-nephew to his poor old mistress. Even though he was thoroughly dedicated to the Potter family, he was curious as to what had become of the master he had wanted so many years ago. He couldn’t help himself, but suspected that Draco may have caught him watching earlier. He was about to tell the children that dinner was ready, when to Kreacher’s astonishment he heard Draco shouting, “NO! I needed that mushroom!”
Meanwhile, Astoria was silently cursing her husband for leaving her alone with Potter and the Weasleys. Hermione had been searching for something to say to relieve the tension, but before she could do so, Harry and Ginny walked into the room. Ginny announced with a forced cheeriness, “Dinner’s ready!”
“I’ll go get the kids,” offered Ron.
“Don’t bother, Ron,” called out Ginny. “Kreacher’s already gone to get them.”
“Draco’s been a while,” ventured Astoria. “Perhaps I should go look for him...”
As she said this, Draco, Scorpius, Albus and Rosie appeared in the hallway. James and Hugo were flanking a young man with brilliant purple hair. Lily was sitting atop the young man’s shoulders giggling with glee.
“Orange! Change it to orange, Teddy!” she laughed.
Teddy obligingly changed his hair to orange, much to Lily’s delight.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a Metamorphamagus before,” exclaimed Scorpius.
“I can’t believe you know what one is,” teased Albus.
“Yeah, you’re like Rosie, you obviously read too much,” added James.
“There’s no such thing as reading too much,” scoffed Rosie. She paused grinning. “Unless it’s those stupid comics of Albus’s.”
Albus pretended to look hurt. “Tsk, you just don’t appreciate great art.”
“Well, at least we can all agree about Wii,” James added.
“Yes, I believe we can all agree that I’m the best at it,” supplied Teddy, as they reached the dining table. “Down you go, Miss Lily.”
Ginny turned to Astoria to explain, “We normally have Teddy over for dinner on Tuesdays, but with all the excitement, we forgot that today was Tuesday. I’m terribly sorry, Teddy.”
Teddy grinned. “No problem, Aunt Ginny. The more the merrier, right?” Teddy flashed his godmother a quick smile and then walked over to Draco and Astoria.
“I’m sorry; I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m Teddy Lupin, Harry and Ginny’s godson,” he explained, extending his hand to Draco.
Draco tried not to let his jaw drop. “I... I’m Draco Malfoy, your first cousin, once removed, and this is my wife, Astoria.”
Teddy didn’t let his surprise at Draco’s words alter his expression. “Ah, see that’s why you’re both learning so quickly with the Wii, it must run in the family, right Scorpius?” added Teddy. He winked at Scorpius as he shook hands with both his newfound cousin and Astoria.
Scorpius hadn’t realized that he was in any way related to Teddy. He had never had a cousin of any kind before and now it seemed he was second cousins with the boy that James and Albus had grown up near and admired. He grinned back, simply saying, “Yeah, that’s probably it.”
Draco couldn’t help but smirk at the thought of what his mother would say if it was suggested to her that an ability to play Muggle games ran in her family.
Harry was less than thrilled at the mention of how his godson was related to the Malfoys. He cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should all sit down.”
An awkward silence fell over the table again.
Astoria carefully folded her napkin on her lap. “Dinner looks lovely, Ginny.”
“Thank you,” replied Ginny. A few more seconds of silence ticked by, punctuated by the ancient grandfather clock in the hallway.
“I really enjoyed your article, Astoria,” supplied Ginny, without realizing it had also been Hermione’s only ice-breaker.
Teddy looked up in surprise. “Are you Astoria Greengrass?”
Astoria blushed slightly. “Well, yes. My married name is Malfoy, but I had already begun my career in journalism before my marriage, so I didn’t bother to change the name I write under.”
I wouldn’t either if my name changed to Malfoy, thought Ron. He too, was not pleased at the mention of Teddy’s lineage. Hermione, while obviously not a Seer, had a gift for divining her husband’s thoughts. She put her hand over his, hoping she wouldn’t have to remind him that he too was distantly related to the Malfoys.
Teddy continued, “My girlfriend, Victoire, loves your articles for Witch Weekly. If she isn’t your biggest fan, it would have to be her sister or mum. Could you maybe autograph a Witch Weekly for her?”
Scorpius tried not to let his jaw drop. How could the snobby girl who was so mean to him his first day of school be his mother’s biggest fan? Had the world turned upside down?
“I think I can do better than that,” replied Astoria. “If you like, I can arrange for her to get a free year’s subscription, and I’d certainly be more than happy to autograph the first one.”
Teddy beamed. “I’m sure she’d love it! I wouldn’t want you to go to any trouble though.”
“No trouble at all,” replied Astoria airily. “I have several free subscriptions I can give away. However, it isn’t really the sort of thing Draco or Scorpius read.”
“Well, I have to admit, I don’t tend to read Witch Weekly either,” replied Teddy. “I have been forced to take all the quizzes though. Last time I got caught asking Aunt Ginny for the answers. Victoire was pretty miffed about that, but I suspect this will make up for it.”
Teddy continued to keep the conversation flowing throughout dinner, and eventually the awkwardness faded. By dessert, Draco even found himself laughing at one of Ron’s jokes. Deciding it would be best to end the evening on a high note, the Malfoys excused themselves shortly after, on the pretense that it was a school night and they had to return Scorpius to Hogwarts in the morning.
“That reminds me, I was going to offer to drive James, Albus and Rosie in the morning,” mentioned Teddy.
“Why thank you, Teddy,” replied Ginny, her eyes sparkling. “I don’t suppose this generous offer has anything to do with Victoire being at Hogwarts?”
Teddy grinned. “Nah, I just like to remind Uncle Ron that I’ve had my license longer than he has.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t use magic,” added Hermione, giving Ron her best suspicious look.
“Don’t be silly,” Ron scoffed. “I’m a natural driver, right Harry?”
“Definitely,” agreed Harry. “It felt quite natural that time you crashed us into the Whomping Willow.”
The children burst into laughter at this, as Harry and Ron’s adventure with the flying Ford Anglia had been a bedtime favourite for many years. Scorpius, who had never heard the story before, looked quite puzzled.
Noticing this, Teddy added. “I can tell you the story tomorrow, Scorpius. As long as it’s okay with your parents, I don’t mind driving you too. Besides, that’s what long-lost second cousins are for, right?”
“It’s fine with us,” supplied Astoria.
Draco added, “And you’re always welcome at our home, Teddy. After all, you are family.”
Teddy’s grin widened. “Well, I’m not sure what Gran will have to say about it, but I’m game. Thanks, I’ll have to take you up on it sometime.”
As they waved goodbye to the Malfoys, Harry whispered to Ginny, “I’m quite sure I know what Andromeda Tonks will have to say about it.”
“Don’t worry,” Ginny whispered back. “Teddy’s a big boy, and I think he’ll be good for Scorpius.”
“What about the influence Draco will have over him?”
Ginny shrugged. “People change. Kreacher told me that Draco was playing on the Wii with them.”
“People don’t change that much,” Harry argued. “I still don’t think he’s a good influence.”
Ginny raised an eyebrow. “Harry Potter, have you forgotten who sent you that Wii ten years ago?”
Sheepishly, Harry answered, “Well... I suppose you’re right, that was a pretty dramatic change. Still, it’s not like we ever talk or anything. I’ve never heard from his since and I don’t plan on ever contacting him. Besides, that has nothing to do with my not feeling good about Malfoy.”
“I’m not saying Malfoy’s, but he does seem to have changed a lot since school.” Ginny kissed her husband lightly on the cheek. “I’m going to go see if Kreacher needs any help.”
After she left, Harry wandered back to his study. He unlocked one of his desk drawers and removed an old letter.
July 31, 2007
Harry,
I know this doesn’t make up for everything that happened between us, or all the crumby birthdays, or lousy Christmases, but I just wanted to say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’. Since the family was taken out of hiding, I assume your side won. I would have written sooner, but it took a long time to figure out a way to get this to you. I finally asked Mum and after a while she told me to try sending it to your old school. Thanks for saving my life that summer. You’re definitely not a waste of space.
Big D