The next time that Scorpius saw Harry, he had a gift for him. He had worked tirelessly under Draco's supervision to make Harry something "absolutely perfect" to put on his quidditch locker because "he's Harry Potter daddy he should have the prettiest locker." Draco supposed he couldn't argue with that one. All he could do is pray that this Potter obsession calmed down the more Scorpius got to know Harry, because it was very clear that Harry Potter was here to stay.

It wasn't even Wednesday when they saw each other again. Scorpius insisted that Harry got his gift for the next quidditch practice, which was Tuesday, and it had to be delivered in person. He insisted that he needed to be there to see Harry's reaction.

That was how Draco found himself, Scorpius in hand, standing outside of the practice pitch and waiting for practice to end. Draco knew from speaking with Harry about what time he left from practice, and what door he used to avoid fans, so that's where they were waiting. Scorpius hadn't even let Draco write Harry a letter, afraid that the surprise would be completely ruined.

"Scorpius? Malfoy! Couldn't wait another day to see me could you?," Harry asked with a grin, dimple popping out as Scorpius threw himself at Harry.

"Harry! I made you a present! Daddy said I could mail it but I can't see your face when I mail things. It also could not wait until tomorrow."

"Well, any day that I get to see the both of you is a fantastic one. Where should I open this gift, love?"

"Inside!," Scorpius replied, bouncing anxiously on the balls of his feet.

"Come on then. How was your day Scorp?"

Draco would never get tired of how Harry seemingly hung onto every word that left Scorpius's mouth. He was a natural with children it seemed, and Draco wholeheartedly trusted the other man with his son. It was hard not to, especially when Harry smiled at Draco like that.

"Close your eyes," Scorpius instructed once they got to the locker room.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, squeezing his eyes shut and placing a hand over them for good measure.

"Hold out your other hand. There! Open your eyes."

"Oh Scorp," Harry said softly, kneeling down in front of him, "this is wonderful."

True to his word, Scorpius had worked very hard on something for Harry to put on his locker. The paper was covered in carefully hand drawn pictures, words of positive encouragement, and right in the middle was a copy of the picture of Harry and Scorpius.

"You really like it?," Scorpius asked hopefully, looking up at Harry through his eyelashes.

"I love it! Would you do the honors of hanging it up for me?"

"Yes!"

Once it was properly in place, Harry hugged Scorpius tightly.

"Thank you, love."

"I told daddy that you had to have the prettiest locker because you deserve it."

"The only way I think my locker could be prettier is if I had a picture of your daddy to put in it," Harry flirted, winking at Draco.

Harry would never tire of Draco's pink cheeks.

"I'll get you one," Scorpius volunteered obliviously. "I'm getting the photos I took of you printed! They'll be ready tomorrow when we have dinner. I'm so so excited!"

"I'm also very excited. I haven't had anyone to cook for in a long while."

"What should I bring? I want to have good manners."

"You can bring me another one of your story books and we can read it together yeah?," Harry offered.

"Okay! I love my books," Scorpius replied with a happy sigh.

"I don't have very many, but we'll look at mine tomorrow and you can borrow any that you want," Harry promised.

"Thank you Harry!"

"Anything for you Scorp," Harry replied with a grin, lightly ruffling his hair. "I do, however, have to go shopping for tomorrow. Did you want to come?"

"Daddy, can we please? I won't even get a treat this time."

When did Draco ever have resolve when it came to Potter? Throw his son into the mix, and Draco was a goner.

"Fine," Draco acquiesced with a large sigh.

"You missed me," Harry teased, lightly bumping into Draco.

"You think highly of yourself."

"You're here with me now aren't you?"

"Because of my son. I didn't know the Potter gene was genetic."

"That implies your father was obsessed with my father," Harry replied with a snicker.

"Oh Merlin," Draco whispered, horrified at the thought.

"How was practice today Harry?," Scorpius asked, feeling left out of the conversation.

Harry told Scorpius all about his practice, and about his day in general. He answered any questions the small child had, most of which focused on Harry's practice schedule.

"Do you fly for fun?"

"Flying for work is fun for me, but yes. Sometimes I'll just lay down and hover when I have too much on my mind. Not too safe though, so I try to lay in the grass, roll down a hill, something like that."

"You lay in the grass? For fun?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh because the way Scorpius wrinkled his nose reminded him so much of Draco. He laughed harder when he saw the same expression mirrored on Draco's face.

"Have you never rolled down a hill?"

"Why would I want to do that?," Scorpius asked in confusion.

"We're going to have fun tomorrow," Harry promised, shaking his head in fond exasperation. "You too Malfoy."

"Absolutely not."

"I think I can convince you," Harry replied smugly.

"What else do you do for fun?," Scorpius questioned as they got to the store.

"I like to swim, I like to garden, I like to watch films. I have a lot of fun trying out new recipes, but that's less fun when you don't have anyone to try them out with."

"You can try them with me!," Scorpius volunteered.

"That's very kind of you. What do you do for fun, Scorp?"

"I play the piano! And I like to take pictures."

"The piano is beautiful. I play the guitar."

"Daddy sings when I play the piano. We could start a band!"

"Wouldn't that be lovely Malfoy?," Harry asked with an antagonizing grin.

"Why do you and daddy call each other by your last names?"

"I dunno, he started it."

"I did not!," Draco interjected.

"And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Harry mocked. "And then you immediately called me Potter. You know, I don't know if I've ever heard you call me Harry."

"Have you ever called me Draco?"

"Yes actually at your tri- after everything," Harry corrected, sparing a glance at Scorpius who was skipping ahead down the aisle. "If you're going to keep calling me Potter, I'm going to keep calling you Malfoy."

"Is that so... Harry?," Draco chanced, brushing against Harry as he grabbed something from the shelf.

He was close enough to hear Harry's sharp intake of breath.

"Was that so hard Draco?"

"Nothing with us is ever easy, Potter." 

"Nothing good ever comes easy, and you're worth it Malfoy."

It would take more convincing for Draco to believe Harry's words.

"I mean it, you know," Harry continued. "I've missed having you around. Throw Scorp into the mix? I'm quite taken with you both, if it wasn't obvious."

"Scorpius I get, but myself? Not so much."

"You see me Malfoy, you always have. Even growing up, you could always see right through me. You always knew exactly which buttons to push, because you, we, understand each other at such an innate level that it's easy. Correct me if I'm wrong. You're also incredibly witty, and quite easy on the eyes, but you're also a wonderful father.

I love being around you and Scorpius because you're not using me for anything. You let me come around and be a part of your family, and yes he might be a fan but it's not the reason everyone else is. I told you, he likes what I can do, not what I did when I was 17. Despite our past, you encouraged his interests, and it's hard not to like you even more with the way that he talks about you."

"All I ever wanted was to get to know you, to become your friend. I don't think we could have worked, not back then, but I like what we have right now. Scorpius adores you, and I won't pretend that I don't like having you around either. I thought this would be complicated, I know we eventually have to talk about everything that we've ignored, but for now, this is good."

"Just good?," Harry teased with a grin, resetting the atmosphere.

"I'll reevaluate tomorrow once we've all had dinner at yours."

"Fair enough."

"Harry, can we have the fun shaped pasta for dinner tomorrow please?"

"Of course we can love. Which one would you like?"

"Can I see the ones on the top shelf please?"

Harry looked to Draco for approval to pick Scorpius up, and upon receiving it he put Scorpius on his shoulders so he could pick out some pasta. He kept Scorpius up there as they continued their shopping. As they were finishing up, Draco having decided to do his own grocery shopping as well, Scorpius was falling asleep. Harry had moved Scorpius from on top of his shoulders to his hip, and his movements were careful and methodical to be sure Scorpius remained asleep.

Draco allowed Harry to hold his son, knowing that Scorpius was fussy when he was this tired. They checked out, all the while Harry held Scorpius protectively.

"The excitement has finally caught up to him," Draco said quietly, falling into step beside Harry.

"Thank you. That meant the absolute world to me. The other guys, they had family and friends come in and decorate their lockers. I never thought I would have that."

"Please stop me if I'm overstepping, but what about Weasley and Granger?"

"It's complicated, you know? Ron's my brother, and I suppose it was like Hermione was the third wheel at first. Then we finished school, got started with our careers, they moved in together, got married, started a family, and things are mostly the same, but they're also so different. I'm happy for them of course, they're my family, but some days it just feels like I've been left behind. Everyone is moving on and going forward with their lives, and I still feel like I'm gonna wake up one day in that cupboard- in my old room, and this will all have been a dream. A nightmare?

We still see each other twice a month, they'll write sometimes too but... I feel like I'm intruding. So, I work. I travel. I volunteer to pass the time because if I'm not busy, bad things happen. Most of the time anyway. Sometimes a ray of sunshine breaks through the storm and reminds me that I have a bigger purpose," Harry finished quietly, caressing Scorpius's hair softly.

"You're not a bother Potter, not to me, not to us. I understand in a way. I don't see Pansy as often I would like to, she's busy traveling for work. I catch up with Blaise on occasion. Luna always seems to drop in when I'm at my wit's end and I need a break. After Astoria... I haven't been able to let anyone in. And then I talk to you for the first time in years because my son basically adopts you and suddenly you're walking us home and we're having dinners together. I don't understand it Potter, but I don't want it to stop. You're welcome in our home at any time, and I sincerely mean that. If you're alone and you feel like you shouldn't be, don't isolate yourself in the park, come over. We don't even have to talk about it, I'm all for silent company."

"That means everything to me Draco," Harry replied quietly.

"It's what friends are for," Draco offered in response.

"The same goes to you. I'll start sending you my schedule. I like the weekly dinners though, they're nice."

"Good thing we have one tomorrow then hmm?," Draco asked with a small smile.

"I like seeing you multiple times in a week," Harry admitted.

"Then keep seeing me. Keep seeing us. I know Potter that I went to school with. I... I want to get to know Harry."

"I'd like that, a lot. I want to know you, and I want to know Scorpius. I also want you to keep coming to my matches. The ones at home anyway. I don't expect you to travel or anything-," Harry quickly added in a rush of breath.

"If they're close, we don't mind traveling. In moderation though, I don't want Scorpius getting spoiled. I'm working very hard to make sure he doesn't turn out like me," Draco shared, unlocking the door to their house.

"Draco, I don't like when you talk about yourself like that. What's on your arm, that doesn't impact how I feel about you. Not anymore. It's like the scar on my forehead, it means you survived. We weren't friends, but it would have killed me if I lost you. I went back for you because you were worth saving. I... I can't say what I want to say with Scorp in my arms."

"I'll put him to bed. Stay for awhile?"

Harry pressed a soft kiss to Scorpius's head before passing him over to Draco.

"Night Harry, 'morrow," Scorpius mumbled.

"See you tomorrow love."

While Draco tucked Scorpius in, Harry put all of the groceries away. Draco found him in the kitchen as he was finishing up.

"You didn't have to do that."

"S'alright, I didn't mind."

"Wine?"

"I'll have a glass, thanks."

Harry grabbed the wine glasses while Draco placed some biscuits on a plate for them. Grabbing a blanket, he wrapped it around his shoulders, and offered the remaining portion to Harry.

"What was it, that you couldn't say?," Draco asked, taking a sip of his wine.

"I said you were worth saving, but I meant you were worth it, at least to me. I think you understand me, when I say that at the time, maybe... maybe you didn't want to be saved. Maybe you wished I hadn't come back for you because you thought things would've been easier."

"I did," Draco admitted, so quietly that Harry almost missed it. "For a long while, I cursed your name because I didn't think I deserved to live. There was nothing for me, and I knew with this cursed mark on my arm I wouldn't be able to get anywhere in life. All I had was an arranged marriage that I had been dreading for years, but I honestly didn't think I would make it out of Hogwarts alive. I had made peace in the best way that I could at the time, but then you came, Saint Potter, and saved me once again. Now, I'm grateful for that, because I have my Scorpius, but it was by no means easy to get here."

"I used to wonder what would have happened if you admitted it was me that night at The Manor. I would lie awake for hours and replay that in my head. 'I can't be sure' you had said, but I know that you knew it was me. I know you almost as well as I know myself. I didn't understand why you risked your life for me. I felt the same way as you did, selfishly. I wanted it all to end and I didn't understand why you didn't end it then and there."

Harry drained half of his glass of wine in one sip.

"All I wanted was to be your friend, you know. I grew up hearing stories about you, about how you would save us all. I lived the life my father thought he wanted. I don't know how anyone could support a life like that willingly... I thought if I could just give you a chance to get out that maybe I could undo a small part of my wrongdoings. Nothing will ever fix what I did, what I let happen, but at least you survived that night because of me. It reminded me that maybe I had a purpose, maybe that was why I didn't die in sixth year."

"I should have helped you," Harry spat bitterly, staring into his wine glass. "I was fixated on you, no one else believed you were up to something, but I knew you. My suspicions were proven right but instead of trying to help, I attacked you, and I'm so sorry Malfoy. You didn't deserve that. You were at such a low point, and I made it worse."

"It was too late for me Potter, I wouldn't have accepted help from you anyway. I was in too deep, he would have killed my mother. I also tried to use an unforgivable on you. You were right to defend yourself."

"Not with a spell where I didn't know what it did. I shouldn't have been so reckless as to use something like that. I should have known better."

Draco grabbed Harry's wine glass, and placed both of theirs on the table before grabbing Harry's hands in his own.

"Harry, we were children," Draco pleaded. "We were fighting something that started long before us, and we didn't fully understand until it was too late. I'm sorry, for everything that I have ever done to you. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, even if the reason is incredibly fucked up.

I had to be knocked down to my absolute lowest to learn how to build myself up. I let myself be plagued with what ifs for far too long. I saw a mind healer, and before I even noticed, things started to get better. It was a long road to recovery. It still is, now that old wounds are being opened, but I want to heal with you Harry, not because of you."

Dropping Draco's hands, Harry pulled the other man against him, and held him for a long while.

"I tried to find a mind healer you know," Harry admitted quietly. "I was photographed coming out of the office and the healer was put under a lot of stress from having me as a patient, so I stopped going. I made them retire after 30 years...

I died, you know. Like actually died. Nothing has been the same since. I wanted to stay dead, for a brief moment. Everything was so quiet, I felt like I could finally breathe, you know? But I knew that if I stayed, whatever happened would have been on me-"

"That is not true!," Draco interrupted, pulling away to hold Harry's face in his hands.

"You have to understand Draco, whatever anybody thought my upbringing was like, they were wrong. I wasn't pampered, I wasn't loved. I was tolerated and made to do all of the household tasks like a house elf. If I messed up, I didn't eat. I would be locked in the cupboard under the stairs that served as my bedroom until I was 11. The only reason I was moved is because my Hogwarts letter was addressed to the cupboard under the stairs. They knew... they knew what I lived like... and they did nothing to stop it."

"They wanted you to feel like you had no other choice," Draco whispered coldly, teeth grit in anger. "They played you. They wanted to mold you into a weapon, and they didn't even care about you. Fuck Harry."

"Yeah."

"I would never do that to you. I might have, at one point in time, but now? I'll keep you safe, Potter. I don't think you need protecting anymore, but I'm here for you."

"I need protecting from myself."

It was the first time Harry had allowed himself to speak those words out loud.

"I'll protect you."

Harry wasn't sure when it had happened, but Draco had shifted them into a horizontal position on the couch. Draco's arms were wrapped around Harry, and now Harry's face was buried in the crook of Draco's neck.

"You can talk to me, any time that you want, but I think my mind healer would see you, if you thought you needed it. We can go together, if you want. I don't have to sit in on the session, I can just wait for you outside and I can take you out for lunch afterwards."

"I don't know how I survived all of these years without you in my life."

"I'm here now Potter, I'm not going anywhere."

Despite all odds, Harry believed him.

{I'm about to post Quidditch Qualms as its own story on here! I'm not sure how long it will be but everyone seems to love it, and honestly so do I.}