It had been the worst Christmas of my life. And that's including all the Christmases I had spent being neglected and abused at Privet Drive.

"You know, Gryffindor common room has an amazingly cosy fireplace," I feebly offered my son as we stepped onto platform nine and three quarters.

The fierce glare he gave me told me exactly what he thought of that.

"So does Slytherin." He said between gritted teeth.

"Listen, Al," Tony said in a jovial voice, making Albus visibly wince, "your mum is trying here. She - we - only want what's best for you."

Tony had stayed with us over the holidays and Albus had not disguised his hatred towards the both of us. He had spent the whole of it in his bedroom, refusing to even join us for Christmas dinner. The presents I had lovingly bought and wrapped for him were still unopened in the sitting room, laying abandoned on the floor where the tree had been.

It broke my fucking heart.

Albus dragged his luggage towards the scarlet train, refusing to let either of us help him lift his trunk as he lolloped on. He never came back out to say goodbye.

Tears filled my eyes as the train started to leave the station and, as the billowing steam began to disperse, a pair of silver-grey eyes met mine from across the platform.

The disappointment visible on Draco Malfoy's face hurt me just as much as my son's had done.

*****

"I HAVE TOLD YOU TIME AND TIME AGAIN, SIR! YOU NEED TO MAKE AN APPOINT-"

The rest was drowned out by Draco crashing open my door.

"It's okay, Carol!" I called, but whether she heard me or not, I never knew, as Draco slammed the door shut immediately behind him.

"Hurt me as much as you like," he seethed, looking furiously at me as he strode towards my desk, "but to hurt my son - our sons - is something I cannot condone, Potter!"

I shifted uncomfortably under his thunderous gaze. "If you're referring to Albus's move to Gryffindor-"

"FUCK GRYFFINDOR!" He spat, slamming his fists down heavily on my desk, leaning his face close to mine, his eyes bulging angrily, "I thought you were better than this."

"Draco-"

"Scorpius is in pieces! And I am here as his father to ask why you would keep apart two good friends?"

"I have to do what's best for Albus."

"By keeping him away from Scorpius? Is this that scumbag's doing?"

"That's not what this is about."

"Are you sure about that?" He snarled, his grey eyes piercing icily into mine.

I looked down, not being able to cope with the intensity of his glare. "Minerva advised it. She doesn't think they are good for one another."

Draco scoffed loudly. "You have no idea, do you? Of course you don't. You had them."

"What are you talking about?" I furrowed my brow in confusion as he pulled up a chair and heavily sat down upon it.

"I envied you them, you know - Weasley and Granger. I had-"

"Crabbe and Goyle." I finished for him, my lips tugging helplessly up at the corners as I recalled how they had constantly flanked him wherever he went.

"Yeah, those two useless idiots who couldn't tell one end of a broomstick from another. You three... you three had fun, you had each other's backs, you were close. I didn't have that at Hogwarts, Etta. I was... lonely. And look what loneliness did to me." He paused to roll up his shirt sleeve, revealing the bare skin of his left forearm. The Dark Mark, although faded, was still faintly visible. "Look what it did to Tom Riddle..."

"I didn't realise you had felt that way," I said quietly, not being able to take my eyes off the skull with its serpent tongue snaking its way down the taut tendons of Draco's arm. I itched to reach out and trace it, to feel the smoothness of his skin beneath my fingertips.

Draco roughly pulled his sleeve back down, breaking me out of my trance.

"It's what's going to happen to our boys because of what you've done," he muttered darkly. "I'm warning you, Etta, if you don't put this right, I'll never forgive you."

"I had no choice, Draco." I implored, feeling ridiculously hurt by the solemnity of his tone. "Albus was facing expulsion!"

"And you think him being torn apart from his best friend is going to fix his behaviour, do you? Do you honestly think that Scorpius is bad for him? Because I don't believe you do, Etta. You said so yourself that Scorp's a good kid."

"He is."

He looked at me then. Really looked at me. I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat and I could see regret swimming in the silver of his eyes as we simply gazed at one another from across the desk, the silence loaded but by no means uncomfortable.

Sighing heavily, he slowly rose from his chair, finally breaking the silence.

"Then you know what to do."

*****

Tony looked on at me incredulously.

"You've been speaking to him again, haven't you?" He spluttered.

"This affects his child too, Tony."

After my conversation with Draco, I had immediately sent an owl to Minerva to arrange an emergency meeting. Tony had walked in as I was attaching the letter to one of the Ministry's top owls, instantly spotting the address on the envelope.

Needless to say, he didn't take my change of heart well.

"If you go back on what we have agreed, then I'm walking away, Etta. I will not be undermined like this!"

I wheeled round and stared at him. I suddenly wondered what on earth I had ever seen in him. I realised I would sooner spend the rest of my life alone and broken hearted than spend another day with this tool bag.

And he wasn't even that good in bed.

"You know what, Tony - just leave. I should never have allowed you to bully me into this in the first place. Draco was right - you are a scumbag."

His expression told me that he wasn't expecting this response. He opened his mouth and then shut it again. And then opened it. And then shut it. Just like some idiotic goldfish.

"If that's how you feel..."

"Yes, it is! I only ever wanted some stability for Albus's sake, and I thought being with you could provide him with a bit of that. But instead, it's done nothing but mess him up even further!"

"Fine! This is it, Etta! Don't come crawling back to me when you realise what a mistake you've made!"

"Goodbye, Tony."

His face was a picture of cold fury and he leaned in close, hissing menacingly.

"You're going to regret this."

Just two days later, I found out that Tony Tripp wasn't one to mince his words.

*****

Ron poked his head tentatively around my door.

"Have you seen the paper?"

I looked up, wondering why he sounded so nervous.

"No, why?"

Slowly, Ron stepped fully into my office, carefully closing the door behind him. As he crept timidly towards the desk, I could see he had a newspaper tucked under one arm, which he shakily held out once he had taken the seat in front of me.

"I think you'd better take a look."

What I saw made me fucking furious.

On the front page was a large, blown-up selfie Tony had taken of us over Christmas. We were both tipsily clinking our champagne glasses together, his arm draped possessively over my shoulders, smacking a kiss against my cheek.

But it wasn't the photo that made me mad. It was the headline below.

How I Thawed Potter's Pants

Ministry official, Tony Tripp, exclusively reveals how he charmed Miss Frosty Knickers herself into bed... and what goes on behind The Chosen One's closed doors. "She likes to do it with the lights on," Tripp, 42, shares.

Also, inside, Tripp reveals that she puts sex before the child she had kept hidden from the world for the first eleven years of his life. "It's clear she's ashamed of him; constantly referring to him as 'the problem child' and refuses to accept responsibility of his antisocial behaviour. No wonder he is the way he is."

I was going to fucking kill him.

***