Entry tags:

.♥draco, .♥scorpius, :♥: Love Is :♥:, :♥albus severus, :♥slytherins, s.a.m.

"Love hopes all things"--the 3900+ word version
Warning: Not rewritten yet. So transitions between parts are choppy.

Title: Love hopes all things
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: One-sided (?) Lily/Scorpius and Albus Severus/Scorpius. Shades of Harry/Draco.
Rating: PG-13 for pre-slash
Inspired by: toomuchplor’s "The Trouble with Love" and the movie Love Actually.
Author’s Note: I didn’t have time to make this shorter, so you get 3900+ words of fluff. Just think about it as that Ethan Hawke movie where he keeps on talking to this girl in a train compartment in Europe. Yeah…
Two betas told me to leave it as it is, one beta suggested I condensed two parts. If you tell me which parts were boring, that'll be v. helpful. Thanks! =)

---

“So how do you like your new classes?” Harry asked in an exaggerated cheerful voice.

“My new classes?” His daughter barely lifted her head to answer him.

“Yes, do you have any new professors? Are the classes more fun now than in First Year?”

“Fun?” Lily asked distractedly.

At that point Harry gave up. Lily seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

The twelve-year-old let loose a long-suffering sigh and fiddled with her fork.

Albus rolled his eyes. “Oh don’t mind her, Dad—she’s just sad that Score’s moving to another country.”

Lily promptly blushed to the roots of her hair. She was suddenly fascinated with folding and refolding her napkin into some sort of bird shape.

“You can talk, Al,” James stabbed his fork into the gooey chocolate cake. “I heard you sulked for two whole weeks when Score told you about his move.”

“I did not sulk!” Albus exclaimed indignantly. Looking at his brother suspiciously, he muttered, “Where did you hear that any way?”

“Oh, I have my sources in the snake pit,” James said with what he probably thought was an enigmatic smile.

Harry, mouth agape, stared at the drama unfolding at the Potters’ dinner table. He had, of course, known that Albus was good friends with Malfoy’s son from the moment they were both sorted into Slytherins—but Lily? Sweet, gentle Lily in love with a Slytherin?

Lily gave another heartfelt sigh and made a woebegone face at her favorite chocolate cake. She had a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes.

“So, Lily. You are…friendly with Albus’ friend?” Harry asked awkwardly.

Albus looked up at the ceiling, as if asking what he had done to deserve such a clueless parent. Lily seemed to share the sentiment.

“Dad, Score and I had been friends ever since he heroically rescued Mr Whimsy from the lake.” She huffed and went back to not eating her pudding.

“I…didn’t realize that that was Score.”

Of course he had heard of the daring tale of rescue. Mr Whimsy was a much loved yellow teddy bear that Ginny gave her when she was six. After her Mum passed away, Lily rarely went anywhere without the toy, even braving ridicule from her classmates.

When she wrote to him about the kidnapping and subsequent rescue of Mr Whimsy, Harry was so relieved that she seemed back to her normal energetic self that he didn’t put together who “Albus’ dashing, heroic friend” was.

James had covered his grief with bigger pranks, coarser jokes, and louder posturing. His list of school transgressions rivaled the Weasley twins’. Albus had heaped excuses upon excuses to avoid big family gatherings. When the excuses stopped working, he started dragging Scorpius along to almost every visit to the Burrow.

But Lily…Lily just faded right before Harry’s eyes.

For months, Harry had wandered aimlessly inside the big, empty house worrying whether he had made the right decision in making her come back to Hogwarts for her second year. Molly and Arthur had agreed that she needed the normality of Hogwarts to help ease the pain of her loss.

With every single letter that Lily wrote saying she missed her Mum, Harry agonized that he seemed to be losing his daughter too. Just when he started to consider whisking her home and engaging a tutor, the lake incident happened.

In her long rambling letter, Lily had sounded in awe and not a little bit in love with her “knight.” James and Albus had also seemed in much better spirits when Harry came to watch their Quidditch match a few days later.

*********

Harry quickly came to a decision. If Scorpius Malfoy is what Lily and Al need for a dose of holiday cheer, then Scorpius Malfoy they will get.

“So what do you think of inviting Scorpius over for Christmas?”

Al promptly knocked over his glass of pumpkin juice.

“Really, Dad?” His eyes were huge with barely concealed excitement. Sighing inwardly, Harry nodded and threw his napkin at the spreading orange stain.

Even James didn’t complain that he wanted to invite his best friend over, too. All three of his children had become Malfoy groupies and he wasn’t even aware of it happening.

“Do you think Score will like my new Christmas dress?” Lily asked fretfully. “It’s green velvet.”

Al made a derisive sound. “Velvets are for curtains.”

James snorted. “You’re just jealous because now Score and you wouldn’t be the only ones wearing green.”

“What? You—how—” To Harry’s chagrin, Al’s neck started flushing.

Right. Maybe Lily was not the only Potter child who thought Scorpius was positively dreamy.

James started snickering at the look on Al’s face.

Al quickly schooled his expression and pushed his chair away from the table. “I haven’t wrapped my present for Score yet. And Dad, we need to get something for Professor Malfoy!”

“What?”

Al rolled his eyes. “Professor Malfoy—Score’s Dad, remember? We can’t invite Score without inviting his Dad too. It’s Christmas.”

Harry winced. Scorpius Malfoy was one thing. But inviting Draco Malfoy into his house?

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They might have a family party to attend.”

Al shook his head. “Score’s grandmother is in France. Usually Score and his Dad have a quiet Christmas celebration at home, then visit her place for New Year.”

“…I’m sure I can scrounge up something for Mr Malfoy, don’t you worry about that.”

Al gave him a radiant smile and quickly disappeared up the stairs to his bedroom.

At least, Harry consoled himself, he hadn’t worried whether Score would like his Christmas robes. And then he remembered James’ remark about matching green robes and decided to stop that line of thought.

Honestly, Lily and Al had barely reached puberty, and they were already crushing on a boy?

“Dad?” Lily’s voice sounded hesitant.

“Yes, pumpkin?”

In her distraction, Lily did not protest the childhood endearment.

“Do you think Score will like my present for him?”

Harry smiled at her. “I’m sure he would appreciate anything you get him, sweetheart.”

James, having finished his chocolate cake and Al’s, popped the fork out of his mouth. “You know he would still love Al’s better.”

Lily’s face—there was no other word for it—crumpled.

“James!” Harry hissed at his oldest.

“Oh face it, Dad,” James said unrepentantly. “Guys always know better what present to get for other guys. Which presents do you like better—Uncle Ron’s or Aunt Hermione’s? And don’t say ‘It’s the thought that counts’ either!”

“As a matter of fact—”

Lily was waiting for his answer, her face filled with yearning.

“As a matter of fact, I like the ones from your Mum best,” Harry finished quietly.

Lily wrapped her arms around Harry’s waist. He hugged her back, tightly.

James looked out of the window. “I miss Mum too.”

*********

On the night before the Malfoys were scheduled to arrive, Lily and Al fussed to make sure that their tree was just right.

Upon spying the wrapped presents under the tree, Al whined. “Da-ad, don’t tell me you’re getting Professor Malfoy a book.”

Harry’s forehead wrinkled. “What’s wrong with a book?”

“Nothing, if you’re a Ravenclaw or Aunt Hermione.”

Harry chuckled. “Trust me, Professor Malfoy will love his present.”

Al lifted an eyebrow at Harry’s enigmatic tone. He shrugged and went back to helping Lily make sure that Score’s presents are displayed to their utmost advantage.

Harry left the children to their own devices and went upstairs for an early night. Christmas would arrive soon enough.

In the morning, Lily and Al went head to head arguing whether they should wait for Score before opening their own presents. Lily didn’t want Score to see her opening potentially embarrassing gifts from family, whereas Al wanted Score to feel included in the family activity.

“Opening presents is the most fun part of Christmas,” Al pointed out. “Even when it’s not your own presents.”

Harry thought that Al wouldn’t think it fun if he didn’t have his own presents to open. His children knew nothing about the Dursleys, and he wanted to keep it that way.

“Don’t you want to make Score’s last Christmas memory here special?” Al delivered his final argument.

“Oh, alright,” Lily agreed grudgingly. She whirled and pointed an accusing finger at her oldest brother, who had been watching their argument with increasing glee. “James Sirius Potter! You better not give me a prank gift in front of Score!”

“Who, me?” James adopted an angelic expression that looked deeply suspicious.

“James…” Harry said with a warning tone.

“Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” his son said flippantly. “I won’t embarrass you in front of your knight, Lils—what kind of older brother do you take me for?”

Lily eyed him suspiciously.

“Of course, Al is a different matter altogether,” James finished with a huge grin.

Al shot him a murderous glare but kept his mouth shut.

When Al failed to respond to the taunt, James quickly lost interest and set out demolishing the bowl of sweets on the coffee table.

“Don’t touch the orange sweets,” Al said sharply. “I bought them specifically for Score.”

James rolled his eyes and grabbed a handful of Every Flavor beans instead.

“This family would be so boring without me,” he remarked, tossing the beans up one by one and catching them in his mouth. “I’m the only form of entertainment around here aside from the telly. You’d be scraping for excitement without me.”

“Yes, we all appreciate your efforts to spice up our bland everyday lives,” Harry remarked dryly.

James gave him a cheeky grin, missing the last bean toss in the process.

*********

At that exact moment, there was a whooshing sound from the fireplace.

“How do I look?” Lily turned nervous eyes to her Dad.

“You look wonderful, sweetheart,” Harry smiled warmly. She had tied matching green velvet ribbons on her braids.

Al had immediately scrambled to the fireplace, almost tripping on a rug.

“Score!” he exclaimed joyfully.

Then, he turned to Malfoy and said in his most polite voice, “Professor Malfoy. Thank you for accepting our invitation.”

Harry suspected that had Malfoy not been there, Al would’ve already dragged Score to the pile of presents.

“Scorpius. Malfoy,” Harry nodded at the tall man. “Welcome to the Potter zoo.”

Malfoy’s mouth quivered, as if he was fighting off a snicker.

“Thank you for inviting us, Potter,” he said with a slight tilt of his head. “Scorpius hadn’t talked about anything else these past few days.”

Scorpius’ cheeks flushed pink. “Thank you for having us, Mr Potter,” he mumbled to Harry’s left shoulder. The boy had always been a bit shy around Harry for some reason.

The greetings had apparently gone long enough for Al, who started pulling at his best friend’s arm. “Come on, you have to see our Christmas tree! Dad enchanted a set of miniature Quidditch players to chase a snitch all around the tree!”

Malfoy looked on bemusedly as his son was half-dragged out of the room.

“They’re noisier than a herd of Hippogriffs, aren’t they?” he said, his tone affectionate.

Harry grinned. “The house felt like a zoo even when we only had James.”

“He sounds like he’s quite a handful,” Malfoy remarked.

“Sometimes I question the wisdom of naming him after two notorious pranksters,” Harry said wryly.

Grey eyes peered at him. “Your father and your godfather.”

He nodded.

“I wanted to name Scorpius after Severus, you know. He was my godfather. But my ex-wife was dead set against it.”

Harry shifted awkwardly on his feet.

“Instead, here you are,” Malfoy gestured at him with a half-wave. “His least favourite student barring Longbottom, naming your second son after him. Severus would appreciate the irony.” There was a twist to Malfoy’s smile.

Harry didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to dispel the quiet sadness in Malfoy’s eyes.

“And you, his favourite student, are a renowned Potions professor. Snape would’ve been proud of you, Malfoy,” Harry said earnestly.

Malfoy looked startled at this pronouncement. His subsequent smile transformed his entire face.

“I think it’s high time for us to call each other by our first names. Our boys are best friends after all, Harry.” His eyes watched Harry’s face intently.

A warm sensation bloomed in Harry’s chest.

“Of course…Draco.”

Draco gave him another delighted smile. Harry cleared his throat. “We should go to the living room. Five minutes of quiet in this house is never a good sign.”

Draco laughed and followed him to see what the children were up to.

*********

In the living room, Al and Lily flanked Scorpius, a tangle of limbs and green fabric.

Scorpius, white blond hair tousled, looked like a drugged kitten in catnip heaven.

“You got me Reese’s!” he let out the moan of a child starved of Muggle sweets. He cradled the bowl joyfully in his arms, gazing raptly at the orange wrappers.

Al looked best pleased with himself. “Aunt Hermione helped me figure out how to buy things from the Internet.”

“Tell me more about this wonderful net,” Score said in the fervent tones of a new convert.

Draco groaned. “Oh great. Next he will be pestering me to open a credit card account.”

Harry turned to him, surprised. “You’ve heard of credit cards?”

“The Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts—She considers me her…” Draco reached for the words, “personal pet project for the edification of Purebloods.”

Harry winced in sympathy.

“I even know how to use text messages and instant messengers,” Draco drawled. “Not that I own a mobile or a computer, mind. We don’t even have a telly.”

“Is that—?” Score’s gaze fell on a present wrapped in shimmering green paper. Gold and silver snitches chased one another across the paper.

Al was too excited to act properly smug. “I think you will love this—no, I know you will love this.”

Score’s grey eyes are huge on his face. They both looked expectantly at Harry and Draco.

“What are you waiting for? Score is here, get to it!” Harry said with a clap of his hands.

Three boys quickly descended upon the pile of presents with glee. Lily tried to maintain her dignity, but she was clearly excited about her presents too.

“How bizarre.” Draco said flatly. “If twenty years ago someone told me that I would be spending Christmas watching my son wrestle Harry Potter’s children for presents, I would have laughed so hard I’d send myself to the Infirmary.”

Score let loose a crow of triumph.

“You got me movies! A.I. and The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and–is that E.T.?”

Harry blinked. Al must have spent his entire Christmas money on Score’s present. Score was too happy to wonder about how much his present had cost.

“Good bye, my Muggle box-less existence,” Draco said wistfully.

“Reese’s Pieces and E.T. Thankyou thankyou thankyou!” Score hugged Al happily, while Lily gave her brother the evil eye.

“Ah, young love,” Draco smiled at the display. “How utterly sweet and sickening.”

Harry gave Draco a glare, and flicked his eyes toward his youngest. Draco’s mouth made the “O” shape of realization.

“Scorpius, why don’t you open the young lady’s present here,” he suggested. “And do try not to scatter sweets all over Mr Potter’s rug.”

Score flashed his Dad a sheepish grin and righted the sweets bowl. He then reached for a box wrapped in silver paper and snowflake ribbons.

He looked inside the open box, blinking. Lily’s ribbons were coming undone with all her nervous tugging.

“Oh,” he breathed.

Inside the box were wooden dolls a hand span tall. There was a black-haired boy, a red-haired girl and a red-haired boy. The fourth doll had no features.

“It’s Al and you. You even have James here,” Score said with wonder. He cradled the dolls in his hands, seemingly at a loss.

“They’re not just plain wooden dolls,” Lily said, words all in a rush. “As long as the person is well and healthy, the doll will feel warm to the touch.”

Score ran his fingertip over one red braid with reverence.

“How did you get them to look so much like you?” he asked in a hushed voice.

Lily was blushing madly now—clearly happy that Score loved his present. “It’s Uncle George’s new invention—you just need to add a person’s hair for the doll to link it to the person. I just supplied the hair and the dolls’ clothes.”

“This is—this is really great,” Score was looking at the dolls with suspiciously shiny eyes.

Al touched his shoulder, and he seemed to regain his composure.

He looked up at Lily and smiled. “So what is the fourth doll for?”

“I—I thought you can add your own hair and leave the doll here with us,” she stammered. “If you don’t mind, that is!”

Score’s smile was blinding, even to Harry. He plucked off one fine blond strand and eagerly asked, “So where do I put the hair?”

*********

The present exchange continued without Lily, Al, or Score bursting into tears. Harry considered it an unqualified success.

There was a part where Draco’s expression fractured though.

“Potter,” he said, lips white. “Where did you get this book?”

Harry winced, bowled over by a sudden rush of guilt. “Look, Malfoy—Draco—I should have given this to you decades ago. He would have wanted you to have it, instead of someone whose only accomplishment in Potions is following directions correctly—”

“Harry.”

He paused in his rambling apology. “Yes, Draco?”

“Shut up.”

The blond man was grinning from ear to ear.

“I can’t believe it!” If Draco’s voice was an octave higher, Harry would have said he just squealed. He looked like he was bravely resisting a desire to molest the book binding.

“Professor Snape’s Potions notes! Do you know what you just gave me here?” He asked excitedly.

“Um, no?”

Draco’s eyes were glittering like Score’s just moments ago. “It’s just the most valuable Potions research notes for the last 50 years—no, the last century.”

Harry just nodded along dumbly.

“You know, this is the only personal possession of Severus that I have,” he said wistfully. “The man’s a paranoid bastard—he left me Spinner’s End, but he kept nothing but the barest wooden furniture there. I couldn’t find a single personal item—not even a hairbrush. If I had known, I would have saved the cauldron he gave me for my sixth birthday.”

Draco looked like he wanted to break into a song and dance. He pulled his son into a rib-crushing hug instead.

Score squeaked. “What was that for?” He didn’t make any move to disentangle himself.

“Mr Potter just made me very, very happy,” Draco dropped a kiss on the top of his son’s head.

“Shouldn’t you hug my Dad instead then?” James piped up from the couch.

The two men stared at each other in silence.

“Oh, what the hell,” Harry said, stepping forward.

Draco opened his arms and pulled Harry into a hug. Score, squashed in the middle, started squirming to get away. With a laugh, both men released him back to Al and Lily.

“Thank you for the present, Harry.” Draco’s voice was warm like sunshine.

Harry wondered if he and Draco could have been friends all these years, if he had given Snape’s book to him years ago.

“You’re welcome,” Harry answered with an embarrassed shrug. “As I said, I should have given the book to you decades ago.”

Draco just continued to beam happily at Harry.

*********

“Dad, hurry up!” Lily was casting nervous looks at the silver and blue Apparition chamber at the end of the hallway. “Score and his Dad are scheduled to leave for France in ten minutes!”

“You and Al just go ahead!” Harry shouted. “I think James is still stuck at the security point.”

Lily gnawed at her lip and nodded. She grabbed Al’s hand and ran as if their lives depended on it.

Three minutes later, James came barreling through the heavy double doors. The security guard was convinced he was going to set off dungbombs in the station. He ended up surrendering all the Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes tricks that filled his pockets.

“Did they leave yet?” he asked, a little out of breath.

“No, but if we don’t start running now, we will miss their departure.” Harry was already sprinting toward the chamber. James was following closely behind him.

*********

In the chamber, the three children stood huddled together.

Tears were running freely down Lily’s face. Al, standing a short distance away, kept on wiping his nose with his sleeve. Score looked like he was about to cry himself.

“Promise you’re not going to forget m-me?” Lily hiccupped. “And, and Al too. And James.” She clutched at the bouquet of roses in her arms. Some of the roses were mangled, but none of the children noticed or cared.

Score blurted, “Of course not! I have your dolls to remind me after all. They’re right here in my bookbag.”

Harry edged sideways to stand next to Draco. The tall man turned to Harry with a helpless expression on his face.

“I feel like such a bad father,” he said. “You would think we’re moving to Siberia for a permanent exile instead of to France for two years.”

Harry looked at him in surprise. “You’ll only stay in France for two years?”

Draco smiled ruefully. “My contract with the university stipulates that I stay for two and a half years, but I will allow Scorpius to return to Hogwarts for his Fifth Year. The OWL is very important, after all. And he will be fifteen by then.”

Harry was surprised by the sudden easing in his heart. He had not even realized that he was going to miss Draco while he was gone.

Draco smiled at his son, who was carefully stowing away the bouquet of roses in a green striped bag.

“Ah, to be young and naïve again.” His tone was fond but just a bit sad.

“You think they’re being naïve?”

Draco started laughing, but stopped when he realized Harry was being serious.

“Oh, I’m not doubting that they will stay friends for a lifetime,” he gestured at his son and Harry’s children. “I was referring to Lily and Al’s…crush on Scorpius. Everything seems like forever at the onset of puberty,” he said wryly.

Harry watched Score bending down and kissing Lily’s forehead. Al emitted a sound that could only be described as a strangled squeak of outrage.

“I’m going to write long letters to Al every week,” Score announced solemnly. “And I will write to you too.”

Lily blushed and nodded happily. Score gave her a handkerchief to wipe the tear streaks from her face.

“Ugh! They’re more sappy than all the Fifth Year pairs put together.” James made fake retching noises.

Lily’s face turned even more red. Score seemed oblivious to James’ comment.

Draco chuckled. “My son is rather slow regarding these things.”

He nudged Harry and smiled mischievously. “Bet you fifty galleons that he will come back two years later never having a clue that your Al and Lily fancied him.”

Al had finally thrown all boyish pride aside and tackled his best friend in a full-body hug.

For the first time in a long time, Harry imagined the long years ahead and saw them filled with light, laughter and love.

He turned to Draco with a contented smile. “You’re on.”

*********

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