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Albus had been slowly drinking since he woke up, and with it being boxing day no one had noticed or intervened. A shot of brandy in his coffee, another glass of bucks fizz, finishing off his Dad’s fire whisky. This would have been fine if it wasn’t for Scorpius Malfoy. The two boys had been together for little over a year now but decided their parents would be better off not knowing. They’d discussed the options and neither was ready to come out and make a big deal of their relationship, so they were effectively in the closet. Not that anyone at school hadn’t noticed them holding hands occasionally or kissing under the mistletoe in Hogsmeade. Now the problem wasn’t that they weren’t out, it’s just that Scorpius was coming over in about half an hour and Albus wasn’t exactly in control of himself.
“Dad, I’m fine.” the petite blonde boy sighed, looking back at his father “You don’t have to come in with me.”
“Are you sure-“ Draco asked, stepping ever so slightly closer to the door.
“Yeah.” the son smiled, blocking his dad’s path to the front door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Scorpius rushed through the gate and up the slabbed path, turning to give Draco a quick wave before disappearing inside.
The moment Scorpius had stepped inside the Potter’s house, just over four years ago, he’d felt like he was home. It had a way of settling his soul and making him feel warm even on the coldest days. This boxing day was no exception, leaving the flurry of snow outside, Scorp threw his coat on the overflowing rack and added his shoes to the stack that was accumulating by the door.
“Scorpius! I didn’t hear you come in,” Ginny caught him in the kitchen, hugging him tightly and nursing a large glass of wine.
“Merry Christmas, Ginny!” The Malfoy beamed, hugging her back just as tightly.
“Did your Dad stick around?” She asked as they pulled apart, looking around for him through the windows.
“No, he had some plans in the city so I told him to head off.” Scorpius shrugged, he knew it was better if his Dad didn’t linger, not here anyway.
“Oh, well maybe we can offer him a glass of wine if he picks you up later.” She grinned, ruffling Scorpius’s brilliant blonde hair slightly.
“Albus is in the library with James.” She sighed but smiled, sensing the boys' eagerness to see his friend “Tread carefully.” She added with a whisper.
Scorpius made his way through the house, sipping on the mulled wine Ginny had handed him on his way out. He’d been at the Potter house just before Christmas but it never felt like he had enough time here. In his dreams, he liked to imagine he lived here, with Albus and the rest of them.
The cottage was such a stark contrast to Malfoy Manor, with all its sharp corners and gleaming surfaces. Scorpius felt he could breathe easy when he was here, the fire roaring and the plush carpets underfoot.
The door creaked as he stepped into the library, the two dark haired boys looking up at him as he came into view.
“SCORP!” Albus’s face lit up, running (but mainly stumbling) over to where his boyfriend stood. Between that morning and when the other boy had arrived, Albus had become considerably drunker, and it was showing.
He bowled Scorpius into a hug, turning to kiss him deeply before the blonde could push him off. Looking over at James, who was pretending not to watch, then pointing his attention back to the boy hanging off his neck,
“What are you doing?” Scorpius whispered, giggling nervously, trying to calm the anxious bubble growing in his chest.
“I’m greeting my very-“ *burp*-beautiful and handsome boyfriend-“ Albus was inching closer as he spoke, letting his lips graze Scorp’s before leaning in to kiss him again. The Malfoy was caught off guard a little and let himself get kissed, what the hell, James already knew.
“Boys-“ A deeper voice sounding on the other side of the door. Scorpius shoved Albus away as Harry’s words boomed through the library, entering from the door behind the blonde.
“Mr Potter-Harry, sir.” He stuttered, holding his hand out in panic, uncomfortably formal.
“Uhm, hi Scorpius.” Harry chuckled, clapping the skinny kid on the back and slinging a hand around his shoulders as he addressed his sons “Boy’s, mum's made up a spread of cold cuts. Come on.”
He looked at Albus on the floor, who was slowly trying to get up. Harry gave him hand up, scuffing up the boy's hair a little as he said,
“How about slowing down on the drinks a little, eh mate?” At that, he let go of Scorpius’s shoulders and left the two of them alone in the library.
The blonde waited until he heard Harry’s footsteps leave them before scolding his boyfriend.
“What the hell was that!?” He yelled, folding his arms and glaring at Albus “What if he’d seen us, what if you Dad had just walked in, unannounced and seen you snogging me? What would he have said-“
“Scorpius, please-“ Albus, tried to reach out and pull the boy closer by the front of his t-shirt.
“No!” Scorpius pulled back and turned around, his back to the Potter.
“Scorpy…” Albus cooed, snaking his arms around the slender boy’s waist, kissing his the back of his neck lightly “I’m sorry honey.”
“Yeah, well you should be.” He hummed, still a little reserved.
“Can I have a proper kiss?” Albus pouted, moving to face the smaller boy and stroking his cheek,
“If you must.” Scorpius sighed, still leaning up to kiss the other boy quickly.
They made their way to the kitchen together, slotting into their usual seats next to one another. Scorpius looked across the table, accidentally meeting James eye, who huffed a laugh and shook his head at the two of them before turning to his sister.
“Salad Lil’s?”
“So Scorpius,” Harry asked above the muted muttering going on “Good Christmas at home?”
“Uhm,” He stalled, realising that everyone’s eyes were turning to him, waiting for his reply. “Yeah, yeah it was fine. Just the usual with Dad and I, my Grandmother was there for lunch too, it was nice but Dad was called into work for most of the afternoon.” He coughed at the last part, wishing that someone else would start talking again to stifle the awkward way that they all looked like they felt sorry for him.
“He didn’t say that he got the new Nimbus, though Dad,” Albus chirped up, shovelling more tomatoes onto his plate “That's the model X!"
“No way!” Harry’s jaw may as well have dropped into his cranberry sauce “You got the model X?”
“Yeah, Dad got my name engraved on the holt!” Scorpius loved talking about his broom, he’d been flying as much as he could out along the lawn “You should see the dive drops!”
“You know, this story is going to show up how old I am,” Harry chuckled, picking at some stuffing “But I remember when I got my Firebolt for Christmas one year. God that was my most prized possession.”
“I remember that.” Ginny squeezed Harry’s shoulder as she passed his chair “I had never been more jealous! That thing was pure gold compared next to my second-hand Cleansweep.” She grinned.
“Yeah, but who’s the one that is still sponsored by Nimbus because of her record breaking competitive Quidditch career?” Harry smirked from the other end of the table.
“Alright, alright.” Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes lovingly “I suppose I do beat you on that front.”
Scorpius's eyes flickered over to Albus, who was busy stuffing his mouth. The brunette didn't realise that he'd saved his boyfriend from another awkward encounter, but Scorpius had noticed. He struggled to talk about himself honestly without seeing pity in the eyes of his audience but since meeting Albus, the other boy always seemed to know when to interject and fix the situation and the blonde could never really express how grateful he was.
After they’d all finished eating, Scorpius, like always offered to help clear away but Harry swatted his hands away.
“Nonsense, go and relax before school starts again!”
He joined Albus who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him, he let their hands link loosely, loving how perfect his fingers felt between his boyfriends.
They made their way up to the taller boys room, locking the door behind them, and both flopping back on Albus’s bed. They weren’t there long before Albus rolled over, hovering above Scorpius, running a lazy hand through his white hair.
“Hey.” He breathed, the rogue smell of whisky still strong on his breath.
“Hi.” Scorpius didn’t waste any time, pulling his boyfriend’s head down to kiss him, letting Albus’s hand’s travel under his shirt to squeeze his hips.
The two of them pulled apart to regain their breaths, laughing as they rolled back into the sheets.
“I’ve missed you,” Albus whispered, turning to watch Scorp as he laughed.
“I saw you three day’s ago.”
“It’s too long.” The taller whined, pulling the blonde close so that he could kiss him again.
Albus was sat up, scrolling through twitter, and later Instagram, casting the occasional glance at Scorpius who was sleeping beside him. He loved watching the way his boyfriend’s ribs rose and fell as he breathed, the line along his back curving. After a while he gave up trying to sleep, placing a quick kiss on the back of the boy’s neck before crawling out from under the sheets and pulling on some underwear which felt a little too snug, only realising later that they were Scorpius’s. He pulled on his socks and grabbed his new Grandma jumper from where his stocking lay at the end of his bed, before heading downstairs.
He stopped mid step upon seeing someone sitting in front of the fire. It was his Dad, who turned to who was coming down so late.
“Ah, Al why don’t you come join me for a night cap?” He sounded tired, but Albus trotted the rest of the way to where he was by the fire.
“How come you’re up so late?” He asked his father as the older man poured him some of the good scotch.
“Touché.” they clinked glasses and sipped before Albus answered,
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Where’s Scorp?” Harry looked back over at his son, realising how much older he was starting to look, and hence how much he looked like James.
“He’s up stairs, fast asleep.” Albus laughed a little, turning to look at his Dad “I swear nothing can wake that kid when he’s sleeping. It’s quite a problem when we’re running late in the mornings.”
“Your uncle Ron’s the same.” Harry laughed, taking another sip “I used to say that he wouldn’t wake up if the castle burned down around him.”
There was a silence between them for a while, it felt as though Harry was waiting for something to be said, and that Albus was waiting to say something.
He finally broke the quiet.
“Dad?” it was barely a whisper, but Harry turned and looked at him, smiling at the boy beside him, almost knowing what was coming next.
“Yes, Albus?”
“I think I’m gay.” He breathed his confession calmly, but inside it felt like he was caught up in a tornado, trying not to cry but feeling like it was the only acceptable reaction.
“Thank you for trusting me.” Harry was trying not to cry himself.
“You knew?” Albus choked, not quite able to hold the water works.
“I had my suspicions.” Harry crooked his head, smiling as widely as possible “Scorpius?”
“He’s not, you know, out yet-“ Albus coughed, rushing through his words. “But yeah, we're together.” Albus was staring intently at the fire in front of him, not wanting to look at his Dad in fear of…something.
“Hey,” Harry tapped him, opening his arms “Come here.”
Albus may as well have thrown himself into his father’s arms, needing the physical confirmation of acceptance. It wasn’t something he could really describe, just a feeling he had. They held one another tightly as they breathed into each other.
“I love you. No matter what house you’re in or who you fall in love with. I know you think those things could make me stop loving you, but trust me. You’re still my son, and that won’t ever change.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Albus wiped his eyes, smiling weakly “Could you not tell Mum, I want to talk to her tomorrow.”
“Okay, Albus.” Harry stopped as they got to the stairs, pulling his son close again, taking his time to really hold him. He might not get the chance to do this for a while. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks for accepting me,” Albus whispered into his father shoulder.
The two Potters returned to their respective beds and respective partners.
“I love you,” Harry whispered to Ginny, hugging her back as he shuffled to get comfortable
“I love you too, darling.” she yawned, rolling over to kiss her husband “I heard you talking?”
“Al came down.” He grinned into the darkness, kissing Ginny’s forehead “Thank you for giving me such wonderful children.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you, love.” she laughed, already giving out to sleep.
Albus snuck back into his room, slipping back into bed behind the Malfoy who wriggled and rolled over to look at him, rubbing his eyes
“Albus?” He mumbled, reaching out and grabbing the other boy's waist “Mhm, you’re warm.” he hummed quietly
“You won’t believe what just happened.” Albus smiled, stroking Scorpius’s hair
“What happened, honey?” He was trying to stay awake, but it was 4 am and he was still exhausted.
“I came out to my Dad.” He breathed, the words still seeming unreal as he uttered them “I told him Scorp.”
“Oh, that’s nice Albus.” Scorpius was on the verge of sleep, rolling over yawning “That’s nice.”
“Dude, I had this really weird dream.”
“Good morning to you, too.” Albus sat up and laughed, kissing Scorpius as he blinked repeatedly, trying to understand what he’d witnessed.
“I dreamt that you came out to your Dad and…”