Harry Potter and Another Malfoy

Summary: Harry is the object of Scorpius Mafloy’s affection, but his life is rather complicated at the moment and fully depends on the mercy of Scorpius’s father.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not make any money from these writings

Pairings: main Harry/Scorpius, mentions of Harry/Draco and Harry/Ron

Additional Warnings: mentions of mpreg, screwed-up canon, epilogue, kids, jobs and relationships and mean!Ron (cause someone has to be); Spoilers.

I am awfully sorry for such a long lack of updates but it was really out of my power. I hope you are still here though. I present what is probably the last instalment of this fic. I had lots of fun writing it, but unless I have a month off I won’t be able to do it. Thank you for reading it. I hope you had as good time reading it as I had writing it.

Part 9

***

Harry half expected Scorpius to follow him into the shower but was pleased to note that he didn’t fail the test when Harry didn’t close the door, leaving it temptingly open. The important thing was to keep the balance in their relationship and not let one party take over the other. Especially, since Harry didn’t feel overly confident when it came to executing his power over Scorpius and wasn’t going to jump with joy if Scorpius took a leaf out of his father’s book and tried to exercise power over him. There was nothing that he could hold over his head, thought Harry, before he remembered (with a slip on the tiled bathroom floor) a sizable collection of paintings that showed him in varying states of dress, undress and decency, depending on Scorpius’s age, mood and imagination. Harry’s cheeks flushed.

But he shook his head. Scorpius was not his father. And never was; no matter how hard Malfoy tried to make him see the world through his eyes and follow in his steps. He and Scorpius were always on good terms and Scorpius never failed to treat Harry with respect or heed his words and there was no reason why his attitude had to change now that they were a couple. If anything, Harry suspected, it would only be reinforced by their new status. But though it was a comforting idea, Harry didn’t escape from an avalanche of other, more worrisome thoughts, that attacked him once he was alone and could not be distracted by a handsome young man and his ministrations. As he stepped into the shower and willed his body to relax under the soothing stream of water, his mind took over and launched another thinking-things-through round. It proved to be one of the longest showers that Harry had ever had in his life.

What Harry didn’t tell Scorpius was that he felt like he’d missed a few steps ahead of him and fell straight through the door without taking time to reach and open it at his own pace. He was sure that there was a crucial step or two on the way to their relationship that he’d severely neglected – but the problem was that he couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to be and thus couldn’t retract his steps and go from there.

Instead, he hit his head and had his breath knocked out of him so that he felt disoriented and confused and could only envy the ease and confidence with which Scorpius approached the whole thing. But Harry’s confidence in himself as well as in his ability to maintain a long and happy relationship left him alongside Ron. And the fact that Scorpius was young, rich, handsome and successful at his chosen career did nothing to promote Harry’s self-esteem or make him any more secure about being in a relationship with him. Actually, when he thought about it, Harry wasn’t entirely sure what being in a relationship meant. He had no clear idea how relationships worked when not immediately forced by a baby or financial crisis and he wondered if he wasn’t making a mistake.

Another thing that left Harry worried was his family, his friends and at last the whole wizarding community and their reaction to the news of their affair. He knew perfectly well that a relationship such as theirs (starring a war-hero-turned-single-dad with barely a Sickle to his name and a young prosperous artist not to mention a Malfoy all complete with age disparity, different background and social standing) would become immediate public knowledge, garner obsessive attention from all quarters and make a first page story for weeks to come. It would be a thing to gasp over and speculate about and find immoral and Harry (as it was always the case) would be the one to carry the cloak of notoriety and all the name calling to go with it. The most important thing in such a situation was, naturally, to keep things from turning ugly and to give their story a positive spin. And there was only one person who could juggle the press any way he liked that Harry knew of and who could make what was undoubtedly a sordid affair sound like a fairy-tale romance that everyone would salivate over.

Harry went downstairs with due amount of strain and trepidation, thinking about a difficult day ahead and the looming lunch with the person whom a large portion of his happiness depended upon. He stopped in the doorway and smiled as he watched Allegra attacking her breakfast like a human version of a bulldozer and shovelling it in very much the same way her other father did. It was remarkable that while her appetite was as healthy as Ron’s she was as scrawny as Harry was at her age, even though she’d never seen an inside of a cupboard or anything cramped and dark. Harry leaned against the doorframe and felt happiness surging through him. He always felt this way whenever he looked at Al and Allegra. No matter what disappointments and hardships he faced, it took him just one look at them to set everything right.

Albus was nowhere to be seen and Harry had enough time to curse himself for taking so much time with the shower and missing him when he was engulfed in a bear hug from behind.

‘What’s with the lover-boy?’ asked Al cheerfully. ‘He’s in a right snit over something and refuses to come down to have breakfast. I thought he’d be happy now that he’s here. With you. One would think that was all he ever wanted. But I guess you never know these things until they happen.’

Harry frowned and slowly took a seat as soon as Al had let go of him. It didn’t look like his son at least had to be informed of the affair after all. Did Scorpius tell him? But when? Harry was rather off-balanced by his son’s reaction. He would have expected a ‘How could you do it?’ sort of conversation, an argument, even a tantrum wouldn’t be out of place. But if anything Al looked uninterested in hows and whys, did not look betrayed and was not questioning Harry’s sanity nor throwing accusations at him. Which was a huge relief, but highly irregular. Harry did not think he would act as unconcerned or calm if Albus (Merlin forbid!) told him that he had an affair with someone who was twice his age and went to school with Harry. No, his reaction would be something entirely different and it made him feel like a right hypocrite but there it was.

Harry cleared his throat, took a fortifying gulp of tea and addressed his son with all the uncomfortable feelings that the occasion merited.

‘I must say that this is not the kind of reaction I would expect.’

‘Why?’ asked Al, while racing Allegra to a piece of bacon for fun and winning. Allegra made a noise between a gurgle and a giggle, yelled ‘Dad! Tell him!’ and made a vaguely threatening stabbing motion with her fork. Al turned the fork into a rabbit; Allegra screamed, let go off the animal, toppled onto the floor and hopped away, though not without promising her brother vengeance once she could use magic.

‘I don’t know, Al. But doesn’t it bother you that your best friend and your father are, well, together. You can’t say that you don’t find it strange, maybe even improper.’ said Harry.

Al shrugged.

‘I guess I would be shocked if it was news to me. And I was shocked at first. It was not something I would imagine could happen. I mean, I had no idea that Scorpius would take his infatuation with you this far. I knew that he was fascinated by you, read every book on you, asked questions about you. But so did lots of kids, you know. And it wasn’t such a stretch to suppose that he saw you as a kind of father that his father never was and craved your attention, support and affection. And, well, you gave plenty of that. So he got completely crazy about you, but I thought it was just a teenage crush and that it would go away once he found another object to adore. Only it never did. He grew more and more serious and I realised that he would get you one day. I can’t say that I wasn’t shocked by that but I got used to the idea. Besides, you’ve never been on the receiving end of his letters and, trust me, you don’t want to, but they had a fair share in preparing me for the possible outcome.’

He looked seriously at his father and added:

‘I mean, it’s up to you. No one is forcing you into anything. And if you’ve been worried about my reaction – you don’t have to. I’m ok with it as long as you are and I really think that Scorpius can be good for you. You’ve always been a good team and always seemed to understand each other. So the real question is if this is what you want.’

Harry smiled wryly.

‘Well, that’s just it, isn’t it? I wake up one day and realise that I have feelings for Scorpius. But where have they been all this time and how come I had no idea that they were there? I keep going back, wondering, blaming myself for not being more reserved and letting Scorpius’s feelings loose.’

‘Dad – just stop. Haven’t you suffered enough?’

‘Suffered - what?’

‘Dad,’ Al almost whined and rolled his eyes. ‘I might have been just a kid when father left,’ Al didn’t like to mention his other father and his face showed just by how much. ‘But I’d known even before that happened that you were deeply unhappy. Now you have a chance at something with a person who genuinely cares for you – so why not just take it and see what happens?’

And so Harry did. He saw them off to the Quidditch match and, though awkwardly (but refusing to feel guilty over what he was about to do) Harry kissed Scorpius good-bye. Scorpius returned the kiss and Harry was pleased that while he was still obviously angry over the lunch with his father, Scorpius was not about to object his decision.

The lunch was Harry’s idea. It was meant as a reconciliatory move. When Malfoy found out about Harry’s relationship with Scorpius, he was beyond furious. Of course, Harry wished that Scorpius was a bit more tactful when informing his father of their entanglement and not flat out tell him that he was moving in with Harry and professing his undying love for him (or whatever it was that he felt the need to profess) in order to piss his father off. Harry didn’t know the particulars of their conversation and the exact expressions that Scorpius used to describe his feelings, but judging by his glee at having accomplished it, he must have been supremely careless and stupid. And it was up to Harry now to smooth things over. It was not pleasant. Malfoy immediately discharged him from his desk job and said, not without malice, that he no longer required his services in bed but that he would be most willing to pass on the word and supply him with necessary references.

The words meant to hurt and they did. Harry’s dignity and pride, that didn’t exactly prosper under Malfoy’s rule, were pretty much destroyed by that final blow. But that new circumstance that prompted Malfoy to be blunt and offensive also prompted Harry to be extra solicitous. So he stayed as long as it took him to convince Malfoy to have lunch with him and talk things over. If there was one thing that he learnt about Malfoy, it was that he liked to have some sort of power over Harry and now that he was deprived of his body and dependence he was left with nothing but a desire to destroy Harry. He had ample means to do so too, but Harry knew that he would not; not when his son would get into the mix. Thus to keep balance of things Harry was prepared to give Malfoy that bit of advantage that would keep him relatively happy under the circumstances. He would ask for his help with the press; it would place him under Malfoy’s protection and would give Malfoy something to taunt him about; not to mention, grant calling in favours. Harry was none too happy about the arrangement but he saw no other alternative and being with Scorpius would put him permanently in Malfoy’s subordination, anyway.

‘I have to hand it to you.’ said Malfoy as they faced each other across the table, surrounded by the blossoming beauty of Harry’s garden. The inside of the house seemed too confining to Harry in case Malfoy decided to hex him. ‘I had no idea that you were capable of this, but now I know that I should not have underestimated you and your goody-two-shoes routine.’

Harry had no idea what he meant, but waited patiently for him to draw out every word. He was obviously enjoying keeping Harry in suspense and Harry was ready to oblige him as long as it got him what he wanted in the end. And then, of course, he was rather curious to hear what Malfoy had to say. Malfoy was a master of ranting. And if Harry were honest with himself, right now Malfoy had every reason to be in a rant mode.

‘You just don’t give up, do you?’ said Malfoy with narrowed eyes. Harry wondered if he was waiting for a reply. He wasn’t. ‘You were crushed when Weasel left you.’

Harry frowned, wondering what Ron had got to do with anything.

‘You were a wreck.’ continued Malfoy with relish. ‘You had an unwanted pregnancy to deal with and no money to support yourself and your brats. And yet – you were not broken. In fact, as far as I remember, you were disgustingly happy to have another spawn. Naturally, without giving any thought to how you were going to raise it on magic alone. But there really was no reason for you to be happy – abandoned, broke, left by friends and admirers, your name in shambles – but did you care about any of it?’ Malfoy shook his head, looking disgusted. ‘So I got curious – was there a breaking point for you? And I became your shoulder to cry on, your support, your company, your financial security and you gobbled it all down like a greedy child without wondering – not once – what you would have to give in return.’

Harry could argue with that but there was no time as Malfoy went on.

‘And then, at your most vulnerable, I told you the price.’ he smirked with fond memories. ‘I wondered then if it was that – the moment I would see you shatter. But though understandably stunned you were not unwilling to pay. I thought it would destroy you. Did you even realise that I basically turned you into my whore? And the things I made you do – anyone would break.’ a shake of his head and another fond smile. ‘But not you. Of course, I had no idea what your ultimate revenge would be. I wonder, how long did it take you to come up with this plan?’ His face hardened. ‘You took away my son. What do you have to say for yourself?’

Harry looked at him coolly.

‘I didn’t take anything from you.’ he replied. ‘He is still your son. Will always be. If you let him. And you are wrong, Malfoy. It was never a plan. Not mine, at least. And it is not revenge.’

Malfoy sneered.

‘So what’s your secret, Potter? What makes you so stubbornly happy?’

A bird twittered merrily on the branch above and Malfoy scowled.

‘If you’re looking for answers, you won’t find them here.’ said Harry with pity in his voice. ‘There is nothing I can say for myself that will satisfy you. I know that. And you don’t have to believe me when I tell you that I didn’t plan this, but it doesn’t make it any less true. You can be angry with me. You can hate me. You can even try to hex me. I can only imagine what you must be feeling now. But I would never think of taking revenge on you or anybody else and I would never use Scorpius like that. I don’t believe in revenge. It certainly did nothing for you.’

‘Maybe not.’ drawled Malfoy. ‘But there is an irony in all of this that I can appreciate. If it keeps up, you will be the one to give the next Malfoy heir. You do realise that, don’t you? So, how’s that for revenge, Potter? And don’t forget about all the family dinners that you’ll be entitled to attend from now on. And I know just how much you love those.’ He stopped as if to think and then added: ‘But tell me, are you going to live off of my son’s money or are you going to make some of your own? My offer of assistance still stands, of course, though I don’t think that Scorpius will appreciate it.’ he said with a sneer.

‘He won’t have to. Despite what you might think of my poor connections within the Ministry, I do have them as well as job offers that don’t include out of office hours.’ replied Harry.

Insults were a part of their routine and this would never change. Malfoy would always have something insulting to say and Harry thought that he had grown pretty much accustomed to most of it by now. But tougher skin or no, he couldn’t pretend that they didn’t make him feel bad and even worthless. Still, he supposed, he could live with them, knowing that Malfoy had to live with so much worse now.

‘You know,’ started Malfoy after a pause and Harry cringed inwardly. It didn’t sound like an opening he needed to pursue his line of persuasion. ‘I never stopped wondering if things would have been different if I made a better impression on you at Madam Malkin’s and then on that blasted train ride. If you had taken my hand.’

Harry looked at him incredulously. It was incredible that someone could be still holding on to this childish, petty grudge after all these years. It was impossible to imagine that Malfoy was still looking back on that moment in time as if it decided their future fates. Derisive laughter choked Harry, but he clamped his mouth shut and gulped it down before replying.

‘Do not fool yourself into thinking that if I had taken your hand, things would have been different. The moment I refused to follow you and your beliefs, you would turn your back on me. Rest assured that this is the one regret that you don’t need to have.’
On the whole, Harry was not without hope that this would work and that Malfoy would be satisfied with the kind of power he had over Harry now. But it was an exhausting interview and it often strayed into the areas that Harry was most unwilling to revisit. He was very happy when Malfoy was gone and sagging to the floor with weariness of spirit rather than body could not help but wonder, again, if he was making the right choice.

*
The arrival of Al, Allegra and Scorpius did not bring the wished for relief. Apparently Scorpius’s mood was not improved by an afternoon outside and his mind was not diverted by the match and Allegra’s incessant commentary that didn’t cease even now. He looked sullen and ready to burst out with frustration. Al, sensing the awkwardness, carried Allegra off to the kitchen, while Harry and Scorpius remained in the corridor.

Scorpius took off his cloak and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his muggle jeans. He looked sourly at Harry, his breathing harsh as though he had been in a fight. Harry stared coolly back. This childish behaviour was in accord with Malfoy nature but he was quickly becoming resistant to it.

‘So what was it this time?’ asked Scorpius savagely when it became obvious that Harry was not about to volunteer any information. ‘A full-out shag session? A hand job? A blow job? A lap dance? Just don’t stand there and pretend that it was just a lunch!’

Harry shook his head and laughed. Bitterly.

‘It was just a lunch – believe it or not.’ Sighing impatiently he added. ‘I’m getting tired of explaining myself to you, Scorpius. I made a mistake. I fully own up to it. But you can’t keep sending me on this guilt trip. This is not the way to make a relationship work. And one thing I am not going to pretend is that I like what you’re doing now.’ snarled Harry.

He looked at Scorpius then and when their eyes met he realised that Scorpius looked lost and insecure and that he had to be really reassured that his father had no chance of taking his place. Harry was stunned. He didn’t consider himself to be such a great catch as to make a wizard like Scorpius unsure of himself and feel the need to compete for Harry with another man. It was rather flattering.

Harry smiled and took a few steps that brought him flush with Scorpius.

‘You don’t trust me at all, do you?’ he asked gently.

‘It’s him. I don’t trust him when it comes to you.’ said Scorpius, possessively putting his hands on Harry’s hips.

‘Then trust me. And trust me when I tell you that your father will not attempt anything of the kind again. Whatever he is, he will not hurt you like that – even if it means that he will have to spare me.’

‘Just promise me not to go behind my back when dealing with him.’ said Scorpius determinedly. ‘Whatever you have to tell him, I want to be there to hear it.’

Harry sighed but moved his hand to touch his cheek.

‘Your father is not your competition, Scorpius. And you cannot discount his feelings on the matter. He can’t be happy about any of it. I wouldn’t be.’

‘Promise me.’ insisted Scorpius, biting Harry’s thumb.

‘Fine. If it makes you feel better. But tell me, have you been thinking about this all day? Your father and me. Coming up with scenarios. Picturing it all in vivid, painful detail. Sacrificing a day with your friend and torturing yourself. Coming back all riled up and narrowly avoiding a fight.’

Scorpius flushed.

‘Couldn’t help it.’ he mumbled and pressed his face into the crook of Harry’s neck.

He took a long deliberate sniff and Harry laughed.

‘Ok, you have established your claim. Can we move on now?’ he asked, meaning more than just their move into the kitchen. Scorpius nodded.

They kissed. It was a long, soft kiss. Bitter with forgiveness and sweet with promises. Their hands in a maddening rush to feel, to touch, to own.

In a while, they joined Al and Allegra for a kind of a family dinner that Harry always looked forward to.