[LOG] Dinner at Godric's Hollow

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Where: The Potter Residence, Godric's Hollow
When: December 23, 2021 (fifth year)



Scorpius had never understood why his Grandma Cissy fussed over clothes so much. He never quite understood the fashion trends that swept through the Wizarding world year after year, and frankly couldn't see much of a difference between his old trousers and the new trousers his grandmother insisted on buying for him every time he visited the Manor on holiday. But he wore them anyway, because it was easier to go along with it than go shopping with his grandmother or his mother.

Scorpius was all dressed and ready for the party hours before it was supposed to start, so he lounged about in the parlor, playing a game of Go against himself, and not noticing that the rug he was sitting on was shedding on his black wool jumper. Until his sister came in and pointed it out.

"You've got rug all over you," Delphina said, staring at her younger brother with disapproval on her face. She drew her wand from the folds of her maroon dress and waved it at Scorpius. "There."

Scorpius didn't really see what the big deal was, having a bit of lint on his jumper. In his point of view, if the Potters didn't like him, it wouldn't be for the lint. It would be for the wanking he was doing with their son.

Delphina knelt on the floor and continued the Go game with him, watching her brother as he got increasingly edgy as the time to the party drew closer. It was a bare fifteen minutes before the party was supposed to start before his father emerged into the parlor, dressed in a blue button-down shirt and jacket that was a couple steps more toward casual and chic than he usually preferred. Scorpius looked up from his game and raised an eyebrow.

"Your mother insisted," Draco said in a tone which meant that Scorpius was better off not asking.

Scorpius nodded, and decided not to question his mother's decisions.

"Actually, it looks good on you, Dad," Delphina offered brightly.

"Not my usual style," Draco replied, not flattered by his daughter's compliment and looking more like he would rather spend the night alone than go to dinner with the Potters.

"It still looks good," Delphina said finally.

"Scorpius! Delphina! Draco!"

Scorpius heard his mother call from downstairs, and he leapt onto his feet, ready to go. He pelted down the stairs, leaving his father and older sister to follow is his wake, grabbing his coat and his scarf from the rack in the entryway on his way to the door. It had been a bare three days since he'd last seen Alby at King's Cross, but it felt like it had already been weeks, and he couldn't wait any longer.

"Mum!" Scorpius said, trying his best not to look impatient as he waited by the door. They had to walk all the way down the lane, out the gate, and onto the street before they could Apparate away to Alby's house, and that was a lot of time standing between him and Alby. Scorpius didn't even want to be a second late.

"You can wait a few more seconds," his mother told him, gathering her winter coat. "Don't forget to grab the wine, Draco!"

Finally the small family was assembled, and they bid Grandma Cissy goodbye. Grandpa Lucius was notably absent.

It was dark and snowing when they arrived at Godric's Hollow, a few steps from the Potters's door. Scorpius wanted to race up to Alby's door and knock loudly, but his father reminded both his children to mind their manners.

The Potter Residence was a cozy little cottage, probably larger than the inside than it looked on the outside, looking picturesque in the evening with a bit of snow dusting the roof and frost covering the edges of the windows. Scorpius's mum walked up to the door, fixed the collar of Scorpius's shirt, and rang the doorbell.

"Don't screw this up, Draco," Ora said, glancing up at her husband.

Scorpius's father lifted the bottle of wine in his hand. "I'll do my best," he replied dryly, right before the door opened.

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Alby had been waiting by the window for what felt like hours, watching the dusk fall with the snow, waiting for the Malfoys to arrive for dinner. Uncle George and Aunt Alison had arrived with Freddy earlier in the afternoon to help Mum with dinner; Dad and Uncle George had been set about cleaning while Freddy, Lily, and Alby had played exploding snap and wizard's chess until they'd been rushed off for baths and clean clothes about an hour ago. Now Alby was wearing dark trousers and a green jumper that Grandma Molly had knit - one of the ones without his initial on the front, just ringed with silver at the cuffs. Mum often remarked how his grandmother's knitting had vastly improved with her age. His hair had been wrestled with and, as usual, given up on to float around his head in its usual flyaway manner. Alby wondered if there was a spell for making hair respond to gravity. He'd have to ask Aunt Hermioned about it sometime.

It had only been three days since the start of holidays and the last time Alby had seen Scorp, but it had been three days longer than he'd gone all term. Lily had sat with him for a while at the window, but not long ago she'd pronounced him "hopeless" and gone off to make sure James was properly dressed. Alby wondered why it was that sisters had to act like mothers, no matter that they were younger than their brothers. Mum did it too, sometimes.

Alby glanced up at the clock on the mantle - the Malfoys should be arriving any minute, and his stomach was doing flip-flops, though he couldn't decide if that was because he'd get to see Scorp again or because he had no idea how their parents were going to get along for longer than five minutes. Though Aunt Alison and Scorp's mum were best friends - so that would help, righ? Alby suspected that was why his aunt and uncle were present in the first place. His mum had a sharp eye for keeping situations from exploding. Maybe it came from being the youngest and only sister.

Of course, just as the minute hand inched closer to the appointed time, Freddy came tearing into the room. "Alby, your mum wants -"

Apparently all it had taken was a few seconds away from the window. Just as Freddy was about to recruit Alby to do something or other for his mother, the doorbell rang. Alby forgot all about Freddy and especially that he'd been trying to get Alby to do something and ran for the door, wanting to be the one who opened it. He saw his mother approach the door from the kitchen, but he got there first, pulling it open to be faced with the Malfoy family, though the only person he really cared to see was Scorp.

"Come on in!" Mum called from behind him, managing to catch up before

First came Scorp's mum, followed by his dad, and a girl who looked slightly older... Right! Because Scorp had a sister. Alby had just never met her. He tried to offer up a friendly grin even as he tried to look around her to see Scorp, who seemed to be brining up the rear. Alby grinned at his boyfriend as the family stepped over the threshold, Mum and now Aunt Alison stepping up to take coats as Dad and Uncle George approached from where they'd been (most likely) setting the table. There was a small congregation in the narrow hallway as Alison exchanged greetings with the Malfoys smoothly and Mum followed her lead, asking if they'd had a good trip and exchanging holiday greetings. Dad and Uncle George seemed as though they felt out of place, but nodded their heads in the directions of the family and welcomed them nonetheless. Dad took everyone's coats and left to put them in James' room, while Mum shooed everyone into the living room where there was more space to sit down.

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Scorpius tried to peer around his sister's shoulder to get a glimpse of Alby, but she seemed to be blocking to him on purpose, moving right into his way just as the door opened. There was flurry of activity as they stepped inside, with hugs and greetings being exchanged as coats were swept up and hands were shaken, the men looking completely uncomfortable in each other's company as the women settled into a group like old friends, with Delphina left hovering uncertainly on the outskirts of her mother's group. Then she spotted Freddy and moved over to wish him a Happy Christmas.

Scorpius swept Alby into a giant hug and pressed several kisses to his cheek. "I've missed you so much, Alby," he said, trying to behave himself like his father said, but having difficulty resisting the allure of his boyfriend after having spent so many days without him. "Happy Christmas." Scorpius nuzzled Alby and touched him all over, recalling the feeling of embracing Alby and resting his hands at the small of his back. "I've got a present for you, but I'll give it to you later."

The entryway emptied as Alby's mum shooed her guests into the living room where they could have a place to sit and talk. Scorpius and Alby stayed behind for a bit, looking after their parents, especially worried for their fathers, who had a thirty year vendetta still unsettled between them. They finally felt it might be about time to be joining their parents, lest somebody start worrying.

There were still two seats left when Scorpius and Alby joined the rest of the party, feeling a bit like they'd been shoved off to the side with the rest of the 'kids.' Delphina was sitting next to Freddy and Lily, asking what life at Hogwarts was like, even though she never seemed interested in the subject when Scorpius was home for the holidays. Scorpius suspected that she was just asking for lack of anything better to say.

There was a distinct space separating George Weasley, Harry Potter, and Scorpius's father, who all seemed to be carrying on the politest, most impersonal and boring conversation that Scorpius had ever bothered to eavesdrop. His mum, her best friend, and Alby's mum were clustered about the couch, each with a glass of wine in her hand, laughing and talking about their school days at Hogwarts, and entirely ignoring their husbands on the other side of the room.

Scorpius and Alby settled into the loveseat, holding hands, cuddled up against each other casually, just like when they lounged about the common room. They were content to lean their heads together and listen to snatches of conversation that drifted by.

"You have to tell me that story of how you ransacked the Department of Mysteries in fifth year again," Scorpius heard his mum say. "I'm still upset I missed out on something as legendary as that."

Scorpius cocked an ear to his father cluster, wondering if they'd found anything more interesting to say to each other. "An auror? Really?" Scorpius heard the voice of his dad say. "That working out for you?"

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It took a moment to properly locate Scorpius, but soon Alby had been swept into a hug and kissed several times on the cheek, and he grinned at the familiar (and missed) feeling and reciprocated, sliding arms around Scorp's waist and squeezing, thinking that no matter how awkward the evening could get, it would be worth it in the end. He nodded, whispering into Scorp's ear, "Me too, it's upstairs, for after dinner." He'd had to hide it under his bed behind the box of postcards and a couple of photo albums. Lily had a tendency to find presents and shake them, regardless of whose they were.

Alby and Scorp hung back as the group filed into the living room and drinks were handed out. Alby took the brief moment of being relatively alone to press a kiss beneath Scorp's ear and inhale the familiar scent of shampoo, soap, and something else that was uniquely Scorpius. It seemed silly - they'd spent vacations apart before with no problem, but all the same he was glad to be wrapped in his boyfriend's arms once more. They eventually wandered into the living room, realizing they'd be missed if they hung back too long; the loveseat was open and waiting, so they sat together with their fingers twined, eyes and ears flitting about the room to pick up snatches of conversation.

Mum and his aunt were talking with Scorp's Mum about their various adventures at Hogwarts; Scorp's sister was quizzing Lily and Freddy on what school was like while James managed to sit somewhere between them and their fathers, pretending he was paying attention to the adults' conversation but spending just as much time staring at Scorp's sister. Alby wondered if James had even known Scorp had a sister. Probably not...

Their dads seemed to be having a hard time finding a decent topic of conversation that wasn't incredibly boring. Alby had hoped they could find something in common... finally, after a moment, he heard Scorp's dad ask after his dad's job.

"Well," his dad said, looking like he was trying to relax and mostly succeeding, though there was still an air of an edge about him that Alby had only ever seen when he'd come home after a particularly bad day at work, when he was a bit jumpy and tended to go straight to bed so as not to snap at anyone. "It's working well. I hear you've done quite well for yourself - Ambassador's not a bad title."

Alby nearly groaned inwardly - talking about work was not exactly riveting, but then again, he supposed it could be worse. Right?

"I suppose you don't find it too stuffy to work in an office all day?" Uncle George asked, though with no derogatory air behind his voice. He always said that working in an office would be one of the worst ways to spend his life, but he didn't seem to mind that others did it, as long as he didn't have to. (Of course, that didn't mean he gave those in his family who did a hard time of it, but Alby supposed he wasn't about to start treating Draco Malfoy like one of his brothers.)

Alby nudged Scorp, whispering, "D'you think they'll find enough to talk about to last the rest of the night?"

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Scorpius watched his dad look a little pleased. Just the smallest bit. "Well, it's certainly different, " Draco replied, trying to be modest. "It's quite different over there. Chinese magic, the society...completely different from here. Being in an office all day isn't that great, but then you get to walk around and talk with the most influential and powerful wizards in China." Scorpius's father took a sip of the wine and commented on its quality as another silence fell among the men's group.

Frowning, Scorpius shook his head. "Maybe after they mention the weather five times," he said with a grin, realizing that he and Alby's little area of the room was the quietest. Not that he minded. It was a comfortable sort of quiet. He squeezed Alby's hand and pointed at his mother's group. "Do you think our mums will ever stop talking all the fun they had in school?"

Scorpius's mothers group was all laughter and excitement, each woman with a dreamy, nostalgic look in her eyes.

"We battled Lucius Malfoy too," Alby's mum said, as if it hadn't been one of the most terrifying moments of her life. "He's quite scary, Ora, I don't see how you can even handle him as a father-in-law."

"You don't really," Ora replied with a grin, bringing her wine glass to her lips and taking a sip. Scorpius noted that her cheeks were starting to get a bit red, but he didn't think she'd noticed yet. "You just sort of let him think whatever he wants and leave him alone when he gets bad. You know, just yesterday, he and Draco got into a huge fight over Scorpius."

Scorpius leaned forward, suddenly a bit concerned. A fight? Yesterday? Must have been when he'd gone shopping with his sister.

"If it weren't for the fact that he's Draco father," Scorpius's mother continued earnestly, "I think I'd have tried to actually beat some sense into him."

Alby's mother and his Aunt Alison nodded sympathetically.

"But enough of that. Tell me about the part when the Order of the Phoenix appeared."

Scorpius glanced at Alby, annoyed that his parents had failed to inform him of the fight that had taken place between his dad and his grandpa. Maybe that was why Grandpa Lucius had been scarce around the Manor all day, even missing his usual meals at the family table.

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"Heh, yeah," Alby laughed quietly, watching their dads a moment more as they continued to talk, discussing the differences between the wizarding beaurocracy in China and England. He turned his attention back to his boyfriend as he squeezed Alby's hand, remarking that their mothers certainly seemed to enjoy reminiscing.

Alby laughed again. "Probably not," he replied. "You'd think they hadn't done anything interesting since." Which he knew was certainly not the case - both his mom and his aunt had played professional Quidditch, if nothing else. And he was sure Scorp's mum had had her share of post-Hogwarts adventures, as well. Though he supposed it did give all of them some common ground to start from. He hoped that maybe eventually they'd run out of school stories and move onto something else, though he was glad they, at least, didn't seem to have any trouble getting along.

He was just noticing that Scorp's mum got the same pink in her cheeks as Scorp had, when he'd had a bit too much butterbeer, when the conversation suddenly turned to Lucius Malfoy - Scorp's grandfather. He cocked his head, trying to better make out what they were saying about him. He'd heard his mum tell stories about her encounter with him in the Department of Mysteries, and his dad had told him about how he'd liberated Dobby from the Malfoy family after Lucius had planted Tom Riddle's diary among his mum's schoolbooks. He had to admit, he hadn't heard much good about the man, though he'd been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, once he'd met and befriended Scorp. He honestly hadn't thought about him much - that all seemed so far in the past, it was hard for him to imagine.

Now, though, Alby glanced over as Scorp leaned forward - a fight? Alby bit his lip, thinking that there was really only one possible reason for them to fight over Scorpius: him. He squirmed a bit, his eyes flickering between his boyfriend and their mothers. After a moment their mothers moved on to the next part of their story, and Alby frowned, not liking the expression on Scorp's face, which told him he hadn't known about the fight before it was mentioned just now.

He settled back, pulling Scorp against the backrest so they could talk quietly without being overheard. "You didn't know they had a fight?" he asked, worried. "I... hope it wasn't too bad." Though that seemed a bit moot to mention, he thought wearily.

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Another frown crossing his face, Scorpius shook his head. "Mum and Dad said nothing about it," he replied, settling back into the couch with Alby, turned a bit to the side as they spoke softly no one else could overhear them the way they were observing everybody else's conversations.

Scorpius chewed his lip. "I don't know, Grandpa Lucius is even harder to read than Dad." With a sigh, Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really care, you know. He can go on thinking what he wants." Scorpius gave his boyfriend a wry grin. "I just care about you, Alby, and anybody who can't respect that is a bloody bastard." Scorpius leaned over a small kiss to Alby's lips. He wasn't going to let anybody or anything stand between him and Alby during this party, or ever, for that matter. It might be a few days before he saw Alby again, and he didn't want a rumor of a fight to ruin the evening, even if he did make a mental note to ask his mother about it afterward.

Scorpius and Alby continued watching the party, talking with each other about their holidays so far when nothing interesting seemed to be going on. The cluster of fathers had started talking about international wizarding politics, which was mostly a discussion between his and Alby's dads, with occasional comments from Alby's Uncle George. They were arguing something fierce about Chinese trade politics, which to Scorpius was possibly even more dull than the weather.

His sister, Delphina's conversation with Freddy and Lily had faded, as they both headed over to the kitchen to rummage for more butterbeer, being denied the nice wine that was being served to the adults. Noticing that James was the only person sitting by himself, Delphina moved herself over to sit next to him and introduce herself.

Scorpius glanced at Alby, making a face. He probably should've warned his sister that Alby's big brother had been staring at her since she'd arrived, and despite looking quite handsome, was a complete and total prat.

"Mind if I have a seat?" Delphina asked, smoothing her dress over as she sat down next to James. "I'm Delphina, Scorpius's big sister." She extended her hand to James and glanced over in her little bother's direction. Scorpius had the unnerving imagine of suddenly being trapped in a fishbowl for his sister to stare and poke at. "You must be Alby's brother. It's nice to meet you."

Scorpius leaned over to whisper in Alby's ear. "If James hits on my sister, I'm going to kill him," he said, half seriously, gazing at his boyfriend's green eyes and noting how much deeper they seemed to be in the light of his house. "Or maybe just sick up the contents of my stomach."

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"Hm," Alby hummed, frowning, not liking the idea of Scorp's dad and grandfather fighting over him. But it was done and past, and he supposed worrying about it right now didn't do anybody any good... So he settled back down against Scorp, smiling as another kiss was pressed to his lips, and wishing their families were someplace else right now, so there could be more. But he could wait, he told himself. And at least everyone seemed to be getting along as well as could be expected...

Actually, maybe a little too well, he noted, as Delphina moved over to sit beside James, introducing herself. He knew the look on James' face - he always got it when he saw a pretty girl. James was a lot like Dad, in that respect - easy to read to the point of predictability. At least, usually. He hoped that James wouldn't do something stupid... though that might be too much to hope for.

Alby shrugged, grinning a bit despite himself. "Nah, if he hits on her I'll owl Rachel and she'll kill him," he whispered genially, watching to see just how his brother was going to deal with the older sister of his brother's boyfriend. Of whom he obviously did not approve.

James seemed a bit startled - as though he had expected to be able to look all night, but not have to speak to her. He took Delphina's hand a bit stiffly, shaking it. "Yeah... James. Likewise." He looked at her a moment more, as though trying to work out whether she posed a threat or whether to ask her out. Alby sighed.

"You didn't go to Hogwarts, then?" James asked, obviously grabbing onto the first thing he could think of to talk about when faced with someone so foreign. Alby buried his face against the side of Scorp's neck and wondered why they bothered to let his brother out of the house, some days.


[OOC: And I suppose we can kind of skip to dinner, soon? Also, Valerie had this hilarious idea that Freddy should slip Harry and Draco some veritaserum or something in their drinks or dessert... it might be kind of funny to watch them be honest with each other for once. XD; Though that doesn't have to happen this time. Just a thought~]

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"That might be in her best interest in the long run," Scorpius said with mock gravity, giving Alby a serious look and then breaking into a smile. He cuddled a bit closer to Alby, mostly because he wanted to, but also a bit because he wanted to annoy James. Regrettably, Alby's older brother was not looking at all in their direction.

"Oh no. I actually just graduated from a school in China," said Delphina lightly. "So you go to Hogwarts then? I was just talking to your sister and she was telling me about the fight you got into with my little brother a couple of weeks ago."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. He knew that tone of voice. He'd been on the receiving end of it more times than he could count. Delphina had mastered the art of concealing steel in the soft tones of her voice--she probably learned it from their mother--and was rather protective of her exclusive rights to beating up her little brother. She was also so good at telling people off that she could walk away from a diatribe with a smile and it would be fifteen minutes before the other person realized they'd gotten the tongue-lashing of their life.

Scorpius leaned down to whisper into Alby's ear. "Delphina's mad," he said, a grin forming on his face as he tried on to laugh. James was treading on egg shells here, if Scorpius thought he could beat James in a fair fight, then Delphina would have him on the floor before he'd even have the time to blink. Not that she would do anything at a nice dinner party, but she did have a way with words that let her disguise the most unpleasant of insults in a pleasant way. The smartest thing for James to do, if he even realized what was about to happen, was to politely extricate himself from the situation. But Scorpius certainly wasn't going to jump to his rescue.

"She's going to give him an earful if he even says the slightest thing wrong," Scorpius said, glancing over in his sister's direction.

[OOC: Oops, I was supposed to start dinner. D: But for length's sake, I don't think I can get around to it. XD Let's see how James does and then we can move to the dinner scene. :D

Hahaha. XD The fangirl in me thinks the veritaserum's a great idea but...the writer in me thinks that if Draco suspected that he ingested veritaserum at the Potters for Christmas dinner, he'd tell them on the spot and very truthfully exactly what the thought about that, and then he'd get up, leave, drag the rest of his family with him...and yeah. D: Shit hitting fan and all that.

It might be possible if Freddy's careful and slips such minute amounts into their wine that both Harry and Draco can later justify their truth-telling as being slightly buzzed, and not being under the effects of a potion. Hmmmm...I think this may be worth persuing to spice up the evening. >3 I'm quite tired of polite chatter too. >3]

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James looked like he hadn't exactly expected Delphina to have inquired after - and certainly not mentioned - his fight with Scorpius. He didn't exactly turn red, but he did shift a bit and rub at the back of his neck. "Yeah, well... It was a bit of a surprise, you know..." Now he did look over at Scorp and Alby, the expression on his face a rather uncomfortable one. Alby almost felt bad for him. He supposed James had really never thought that someday his brother might end up curled in a chair next to his best friend and mean it in a more intimate way than just friends. But James was just going to have to accept it and move on. Not liking it wasn't going to make Alby stop.

He glanced over at Scorp as he whispered in Alby's ear. "Yeah?" he asked, shooting James another look. "I wonder if he realizes it." But then, James did actually have plenty of experience reading girls - even if he didn't always put that experience to good use, Alby supposed.

James heaved a nearly silent sigh, then turned back to Delphina. "Look, I didn't mean any offense..." Alby thought otherwise, but he decided it was best not to pipe up, casting a doubful look in Scorp's direction now. "I expect if you thought someone was saying rubbish about your brother, you'd do something about it too." Which, Alby thought, was awfully ironic, considering James might not have exactly talked rubbish, but he'd certainly taken a couple of swings at Delphina's brother.


[OOC: That's fine~ XD We'll get there soon. I don't think James realizes he might be digging his own grave. XD; He's trying not to, at least. :D;;

Haha, that is true. If Draco thought it was intentional that could be really bad. >> But yeah, maybe Freddy could sneak just enough in that it might seem like the wine? It could definitely make things more interesting~ But only if we feel like it. XD]

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Scorpius did his best not to look too amused as James looked in his and Alby's direction, suddenly a little uncomfortable on his end of Delphina's questioning.

"I don't think he really knows what my sister can do," Scorpius replied, his voice turning a little more serious as childhood memories of skirmishes between him and Delphina surfaced. They'd rarely ended in his favor until one of his parents got involved. "She can be pretty...ah..." he glanced over in his sister's direction briefly, trying to think of a word that would do Delphina justice that wouldn't also earn him her ire if she happened to overheard. "...intense," Scorpius finished.

"That's very understandable," Delphina replied sympathetically, with a nod of understanding. "I know exactly how that feels. If someone even tried doing something to my brother, I would make sure he regretted it." A rather genuine-looking smile crossed Delphina face. Scorpius watched the color draining from James's face, his mouth twitching at the corners in amusement.

"There's a smart Chinese proverb that says, roughly in translation," Delphina continued, her voice perfectly gentle and serene, "'Even the tiger must watch what he does, for there is always a god in the heavens watching him,'" Delphina said, leaning closer to James, a dangerous glint in her eyes. James started looking distinctly uncomfortable, so Scorpius turned away, turning his attention back on Alby.

They whispered together for a while more, smiling and giggling, touching each other discreetly, until the women rose from their couch and Alby's mother showed them all into the dining room, waving her wand as dinner appeared on the table. The children all clustered together, not wanting to be mixed in with the grownups, Scorpius and Alby sitting next to each other with Freddy and Lily opposite them on the other side of the table. James was doing his best to not look miserable sitting across from Delphina, who was still smiling and talking with him.

The parents were on the other side of the table, the three women on one side and the men on the other, Alby's father sandwiched in the middle of the fathers, sitting a bit closer to Alby's Uncle George than Scorpius's father.

[OOC: Dinner! :D I'll let you decide what's getting eaten cause you might know better how good of a cook Ginny is. XD

I totally like the idea that Freddy's sneaked just the tiniest bit of veritaserum into Harry and Draco's wine. I have a feeling they're probably working on their fourth glass or so, so alcohol + veritaserum = win? :D]

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"Mm," Alby hummed, thinking the exact same thing - he might not know exactly what Delphina was capable of either, but he could read Scorp's voice just fine. James was definitely getting himself in deeper than he thought. It was kind of a nice sort of turnabout, though, to see James realize that he couldn't get away with everything just because he was big and strong and good-looking. Alby nudged Scorp and said, "You know, I think I'm really glad your sister seems to be on our side." He didn't want to think about what it would be like to have her looking at him like that.

Soon enough, though, James was saved (relatively speaking) by the decision that it was dinnertime; everyone was funneled into the dining room to sit down to the meal. Mum had gone all out, making a turkey and a number of sides - even the vegetables had been hidden inside dishes that everyone liked, such as casseroles or mashed potatoes. Alby was happily seated next to Scorp, which felt comfortably normal, though he kept sneaking glances at James, who was across from Delphina. She was still talking to him and he was still responding, but not with the vigor of his first few remarks in the sitting room. He seemed to be aware that he was not on her good side.

Freddy kept making faces and looking over at the adults, but Alby supposed that wasn't too strange - Freddy was a bit of a busybody, after all. Alby could relate - in fact, it was often the two of them that got sick of sitting still and went off to cause trouble at family affairs. Only this time Alby had Scorp to ground him, so he was content to sit at the table as long as his boyfriend wanted - though, of course, he was also happy to eat as much dinner as possible, because Mum's cooking was pretty good.

Alby also kept stealing glances at the adults - Dad was sandwiched between Scorp's dad and Uncle George; the men were valiantly trying to keep their conversation going, aided by their wives who were now in closer proximity. Though Alby wondered just how long they really could keep up the reminiscence - wouldn't they run out of safe schoolyear events to talk about, eventually? It seemed they'd made it though most of their schooldays already, weren't they coming up on the years that weren't so... politically correct to reminisce about, given the present company?

"I really thought I'd killed you, sixth year," he heard Dad say to Scorp's dad; Alby glanced over, suddenly rather interested. He hadn't heard any stories about Dad almost killing Draco Malfoy.

Dad looked like he hadn't really meant to admit something like that, and took another drink of wine. Freddy snickered into his mashed potatoes, and Alby glared at him.


[OOC: I... don't know if the British eat differently than we do for the holidays, but turkey is, uh, generic enough that it shouldn't matter, right? >>; I'd say Ginny's probably a pretty decent cook, given that her mother had to cook MASSIVE amounts of food ALL the time. XD;

And okay, just a bit of veritaserum in each of Harry's and Draco's glasses~ Possibly George's too, just for the hell of it. XD; Evil kid~

Uh. Harry also means the thing with the sectumsempra in the bathroom. :D;; I couldn't really think of a way to lead into it, so, uh, I hope that works. ^^;;;]

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Scorpius had had no idea what a good cook Alby's mum was until he'd tasted her food. It was nothing like the fancy fare he enjoyed on his holidays at the Manor, but it felt like it was home-cooked and that Alby's mother had put in that extra personal care in its making that made it feel like it was a feast.

A scrap of conversation at the other side of the table caught Scorpius's attention, but he kept eating in effort not to appear like he was interested in the subject of killing and his father in the same sentence. Scorpius glanced over at Alby to see if his boyfriend was listening, and he was.

"I thought you had killed me, you bastard," Scorpius's father said, taking another sip of his wine. "I thought that I was going to die, killed Harry bloody Potter while having a cry in the boys loo."

A hush fell over the women's side of the table, Scorpius's mother turning sharply to her husband to gaze at him with wide-eyed disbelief. For a second, Draco Malfoy looked like he ought not to have said what he just did, but figured that the damage was done.

"I actually still have scars from it, Potter. On my chest. I always meant to get you back for that, now I think about it," Scorpius's father said flippantly, like he might have been describing a nightmare he'd had when he was a child and it really didn't matter to him. "By the way, what were you doing that day in that particular loo anyway?"

So the dinner conversation had definitely taking an interesting turn. Scorpius raised his eyebrows at Alby and followed his gaze to Freddy, who had a very somber expression on his face and was staring entirely too keenly at his mashed potatoes. He didn't exactly know Freddy well, but he knew him well enough to know that that boy could hatch up schemes that would make his ghost uncle proud of him. And that was saying quite a lot, given the pranks the ghost of Fred Weasley pulled on all four Houses.

Scorpius leaned over to talk to Alby quietly. "Have you been counting their drinks? I don't think Dad's had that many yet."

[OOC: I have very little idea what the British really eat besides fish & chips and tea & crumpets, but turkey sounds good! :D I hope we're the only ones reading all these logs, or I'd have to be really embarrassed about not knowing anything about the Old Country. =_=;;

You know, I'd totally forgotten about that sectumsempra thing until I was getting into HP again close to when DH came out, and some HPDM fic mentioned that Harry had given Draco all these scars, and I was like, "Duhhrrr, what?" And only later did I look it up and go, "Holy shit, I totally don't remember that happening." XD Thankfully, I know my shit now. ^^;;

Also, the Snogs canon is so close to ruining HPDM for me. D: Now I'm all like, ">:F Rrr, MINE." It's a guess it's a good thing I don't mind sharing as long as I get to watch. And hey, there's always AS/S. XD]

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"... Looking for you, actually," Harry said, though he looked and sounded like it wasn't something he was particularly proud of. "I always detoured by the Room of Requirement, those days, because you kept disappearing into it. And then I saw you were in the bathroom, and..." he shrugged, taking another sip of his wine, seeming to notice that their wives had fallen silent and having the tact to look a bit embarrassed. "Anyway, I didn't know what the spell would do."

Alby glanced over at Scorp, shaking his head. "No... can't have been more than two or three, though... Dad doesn't drink a lot though..." He frowned, definitely not having missed the sudden interest Freddy was taking in his dinner. He reached out with one foot and kicked his cousin, lightly, under the table. "I'm wondering if there isn't something in their drinks."

While it was entirely possible they'd stumbled upon this particular matter to reminisce over on their own, Alby wasn't willing to bet money on it. Dad was usually pretty good at being tactful - maybe that didn't apply to his old arch-enemy, but Alby wasn't so sure. Freddy glanced up, offering a ghost of a smile before taking a bite, still paying his food more attention than required.

"I dunno," he said, with the air of someone who did. "If there was something, it wasn't much."

That didn't exactly make Alby feel much better. Even James, who usuall tucked into any food set before him with single-minded fervor, had slowed enough so that he could listen to the conversation and chew at the same time.

"You have to admit, you weren't exactly helpless," his dad put in from the other side of the table, and Alby wondered if they'd had some sort of duel or something. He wanted to know!

[OOC: Haha, well, we're doing our best. :D;;;

I think that incident is one of the only things I really remember clearly from that whole book. XD; Though I have no idea why... Anyway, having books as reference is a good thing. :D

XD Well, that's what living vicariously though sons is good for~ Ora can be sure to give her son pointers. XD]

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"I'm sure there's a lesson in here somewhere about not casting spells whose effects you don't know," Draco said, raising an eyebrow imperiously, as he looked at his wife who had gone rather red, and not just from the wine.

Scorpius glanced at Delphina, who had turned her attention away from torturing James for a while to observe the happenings at her father's end of the table. She shrugged her shoulders in response to her brother's look, an amused smile on her face. Both she and Scorpius had heard bits and pieces of how their father had acquired those thin, white scars on his chest, though he'd glossed over the whole crying and dying bit.

Scorpius's mouth twitched as Freddy all but admitted his guilt in this matter. He wasn't quite sure whether to keep listening to the conversation for the sake of decorum, or forcibly drag Freddy somewhere private and give him a stern lecture about spiking the drinks of family friends and relatives with what could only be veritaserum. However he got his hands on that. Scorpius seriously considered the latter; Alby looked like he was thinking of it too.

"Well, of course not," Scorpius heard his father say, spearing his casserole with his fork as he tried not to appear to be listening too intently. "A man has to defend himself if he's being walked on in the bathroom," said Draco, sound a bit affronted. "It was a complicated situation."

The wives had all stopped eating and were eyeing each other, their lips pursed. This was not the most appropriate conversation topic for dinner. Scorpius's mother was shooting her best friend looks, and together they both turned their glares to George.

Scorpius finished chewing his casserole and spared another glare for Freddy, noting that his expression was rather blase, and that Lily eye's were just as wide and disapproving as the rest of the womens'. Scorpius leaned over to whisper in Alby's ear, a pit of dread forming at the bottom of his stomach.

"If Dad figures out there's something in his drink, he's going to be furious. And this night will be over." He glanced in his father's direction, who was finishing off his glass of wine. Scorpius could only think of one way to salvage this situation, and that was to make sure his father kept drinking.

[OOC: Do we have a direction for Harry and Draco's conversation? Cause I have a feeling that if they keep going in this direction they're going to end up fighting with each other again, unless one of them backs off.

We could also use Alison, Ora, or Ginny to help steer the conversation elsewhere, if we need to. :3]

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Harry only shrugged, probably agreeing with Draco but not saying so aloud. He took a few more bites of his dinner, but was still considering Scorp's father beside him.

Uncle George only shrugged beneath the looks he was getting - he hadn't done anything, obviously, but Alby wondered how long it was going to be before the blame fell to Freddy. If something went wrong, and it wasn't George, it was usually Freddy. Anyone in his family knew enough to make that sort of conclusion. And sure enough, he saw Aunt Alison's eyes slide over to Freddy, obviously noting his feigned lack of interest in the conversation at the other end of the table. But if she noticed his guilt (and she likely did), she didn't say anything, merely turned back to the adults, exchanging a look with her best friend that Alby couldn't see.

Alby kicked at Freddy again, but his cousin only made a slight face and shrugged. "What do you want me to do about it now?" he hissed. "It really wasn't very much," he insisted, and went back to his meal as though nothing had happened. Maybe he hadn't noticed his mother's glare. Alby turned back to Scorp, worried - he didn't want the Malfoys to leave in a huff because of something Freddy had done - that would certainly ruin everything. Though he didn't know exactly how to counter what was happening, he could only hope that they'd move on to talk about something less... volatile.

"Is there any way to keep them from noticing?" Alby whispered, even though Freddy wasn't paying any attention and James wouldn't know. But maybe Delphina or Scorp had a clue - Alby was hoping that the adults would just assume it was the wine and move on, but if they hadn't had enough to think that...

"There were a lot of complicated situations, back then," Mum said, glancing at her husband as though trying to tell him silently that this wasn't the best subject for conversation. Dad wasn't really looking at her, but he seemed to get the point, nodding silently for a moment.

"Well, I guess things look a lot different when they're behind you," he said quietly.


[OOC: I didn't really have a direction. ^^;; And fighting would be bad, eheh... Harry probably doesn't have much more to say on the subject, though, so I suppose they can move on?]

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Scorpius watched as his mother's gaze settled on Freddy, the next natural choice for any mischief-making, though she wasn't still quite sure that George hadn't done it and wasn't lying about his involvement. He did have quite a reputation from his school days, after all.

"I hope you have the antidote!" Scorpius whispered to Freddy as quietly as he could, his hand absent-mindedly searching for Alby's beneath the table as Alby turned to him, a worried expression on his face. Scorpius glanced at Delphina out of the corner of his eye, who was pointedly looking at her father's empty wine glass and then back to him.

"We have to keep them drinking," Scorpius said, seriously, wondering how the hell he was going to manage to keep his father's glass filled without arousing his suspicion. "So that by the end of the night he'll have had so much he won't know the difference between being drunk and being potion'd." Scorpius hoped his father held his liquor better than he did.

Scorpius looked around desperately for the bottle of wine his father had picked out for the party, trying to think of how best to bring it up.

"And times change," Scorpius's father said, mollfied. "People change. That helps." He looked like he was going to launch into something long and boring when he paused. "Is there any more wine? My throat's a bit dry."

All the mothers nearly leapt out of their seats, Scorpius's mother calling out to Alby's mother to fetch the bottle they'd brought. It was a matter of seconds before the wine was uncorked and Draco's glass filled again.

"Thank you," he said, nodding at Alby's mom who sat back down, a small look of relief on her face as she glanced at her friends. Scorpius's father took a sip from his glass, and his mother looked a bit more relieved as she and the rest of the women returned to their conversation as if nothing had just happened across from them.

"You know," Draco said, "it's interesting when you consider the social and political climate some twenty-something years ago when Voldemort rose to power. He was really clever in taking advantage of what was already available to him: a corrupt ministry, the fear he instilled in his previous bid for power, a concerned, conservative but wealthy and influential minority, like my own bastard of a father--" Scorpius almost choked on his broccoli, but managed to swallow it down with only minimal coughing, "--and so on and so forth. I really don't think, if he tried with Wizarding society today, I don't think he'd even come close to succeeding."

Another small silence fell over the table, as the last of Scorpius's coughs got washed down with some spiced cider. His father turned to his side of the table.

"Well, come on kids, feel free to join in on the conversation." Scorpius's father turned his gaze to his son's boyfriend. "You look like a smart boy, Albus, what do you think?"

If Scorpius hadn't been prepared for the question he would have choked again. It was really not fair for his father to put Alby on the spot, not at a party, not anywhere! It was a dinner, not grill-my-son's-boyfriend hour! Scorpius opened his mouth to protest.

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[OOC: I think this is a good point for Alby to say something (I am so sorry, but Draco just had to grill Alby just once! XD) and then we can gloss over the rest of the dinner?

So what's the plan with whether or not Scorpius is going to stay the night? :D]

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Alby felt fingers grasp for his own and took Scorp's hand under the table, thinking that Freddy had better have the antidote - or at least a very, very good explanation prepared in the event that he was found out. He was not about to have a family feud break out over a prank his cousin had played - not when things had actually been going all right, if not awkward. Had he and Scorp just been friends, it might've been okay if their families didn't get along. But they weren't, and he wanted very badly to be able to sit in the same room with both sets of parents, if that was going to be possible at all.

Alby blinked as Scorp said they should keep their fathers drinking - well, it did make sense. Maybe they would believe it was the wine and not the potion in their glasses that had made them talk. It was a good idea; Alby nodded, glancing at James. Maybe he had an idea... James looked a bit blank, though maybe he was thinking it over -

Just then, Scorp's father paused and asked for more wine - Mum got up quickly and refilled his glass, topping off the glasses of all of the adults as well and Alby breathed a silent sigh of relief. Hopefully Mum was thinking the same thing - at least about keeping everyone drinking.

Alby couldn't help but overhear what Scorp's father said next - he spoke about Voldemort, and how he could have possibly succeeded in holding all of Wizarding Britain in so much fear all those years ago. Inwardly, Alby agreed - he didn't think Voldemort would be able to get the same foothold he had years ago, though he still wasn't sure about all of it - fear was still fear, and people would always find something to be afraid of.

Scorp coughed beside him and Alby turned to hand him his glass of cider and almost missed the fact that Scorp's father was suddenly talking to him. He blinked, feeling his cheeks flush a little, as he glanced over at the adults' end of the table. His father was gazing at him thoughtfully, as though he genuinely wanted to hear what Alby had to say as well. They'd never exactly talked about... this sort of thing in-depth, before.

Alby was silent a moment before he realized he had to start speaking. "Um - " he paused, trying to gather his thoughts. "Um, I think you're probably right. I think a lot of things have changed, just from hearing what they used to be like." He paused, trying to think of the best way to phrase the rest of it. "I just... Voldemort seemed like a very smart leader. He... he'd probably find a different way to go about exploiting people, if he tried to do things today."

Dad looked vaguely proud of him, his lips curling into the smallest of reassuring smiles. Alby squirmed a bit in his seat, wishing he didn't feel so much like he was being quizzed in the middle of class.

[OOC: Hee, it's fine~ And Alby is going to try his hardest to get them to let Scorp stay the night. :D;]

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Scorpius broke into a small smile as Alby answered his father evenly, hesitating only the slightest bit.

"Good point, Albus," Draco said with a nod. "Voldemort was a very clever man. He could have, perhaps, adapted to anything."

Scorpius positively beamed, both his mother and Alby's mother with smiles on their faces. The conversation at the adult end of the table resumed, the wine flowing particularly freely with the men's glasses, and eventually dinner winded down to dessert, and dessert winded down to their parents moving once more to the living room. Lily and Freddy went off on their own, and Delphina and James stayed at the dinner table, James with a small look of despair on his face, in fear that the night would never end.

It seemed like a good opportunity for a little privacy. Scorpius felt a little naughty as he suggested it, hoping no parents would stop them on their way up the stairs. "Hey Alby, can I see your room?"

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Alby tried not to grin too widely as he seemed to pass this impromptu test set before him by Scorp's father. The conversation continued from there, but there were thankfully no more questions and dinner was finished with no more major mishaps, perhaps due to the fact that the wine glasses were never empty. Everyone finally moved to the living room when Scorp turned and asked to see Alby's room.

"Yeah, sure!" he said, taking the other's hand and leading him up the stairs. He caught his mother's eye as they ascended and nodded - the entire family had had a talk, a few years ago, when James had first started dating. The rule was no locked doors, and thus no doing anything that would require the door to be locked. But closed, thankfully, was all right.

It was a relatively small room, but it was his own; he shut the door behind them and turned with his back to it, letting Scorp have a look around. His bed was made (but messily so, the covers only thrown back over the mattress and not tucked in) and the floor was relatively clean, except for his pyjamas and a pair of socks peeking out of the closet where they'd missed the hamper. He had a few bookshelves, though they were only half-full of books, the rest of the space taken up with magazines, his small wizard's chess board, and half a bag of chocolates that Mum had given him when they'd arrived home for the holidays.

"It's... er, not that exciting," he began, but he was pretty sure Scorpius wouldn't really care. He'd much rather spend the time looking at Scorp than the walls of his room, anyway.

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Delphina giggled as Scorpius and Alby rose from the table, holding each others' hands, giving her brother a playful wink as he passed. The living room was rather hushed, Scorpius's father looked a bit distant as he spoke with George, not noticing that his son and his boyfriend trekking their way up the stairs. Scorpius's mother turned in his direction and offered him a smile, and that was it before he was out of sight of the adults.

Alby's room was, in one word, cozy, like the rest of the house. It was a small room, but the messily made bed, the pictures of his mother's old Quidditch team, and all the magazines on the bookshelf made the room very Alby-like, and Scorpius liked that.

"It's nice, actually," Scorpius said, finishing his look around. It was completely different from his room at home in China, and different still from the room he slept in while at the Manor, which was decorated to his grandmother and grandfather's tastes, and therefore always made him feel somewhat less like family and more like a guest when he stayed there.

"It's comfy," he said, thinking that Alby was rather cute with his back against the door, and that maybe he ought to press him up against it a bit more. He did want to roll around in Alby's bed a little, it must smell like him, but Scorpius pushed down that feeling of impatience and decided that kissing Alby now might be a good place to start.

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Alby grinned, glad that Scorp liked his room. Then he grinned even more as the other took a few steps towards him, leaned in, and kissed him. Though it had only been days since their last kiss, it somehow felt like much more; Alby slid his arms around the other's waist and kissed back, eagerly, thinking this certainly made the whole evening more than worth it.

"I have a Christmas present for you, you know," he murmued into the small space between his lips and Scorp's when they finally broke. "If you want it now." It should still be under his bed - no one in his family had discovered that hiding place just yet, which was just as well, since the present wasn't the only thing Alby had hidden back there.

Then again, he was content to just kiss Scorp for a while longer; his fingers buried themselves in the other's shirt as Alby made it clear he didn't want Scorp to go anywhere just yet, leaning in for another slow kiss. He didn't really care that their families were both downstairs - up here it was quiet and they were as alone as they could be in the house, and that was all Alby cared about right now.


[OOC: Ahaha I still don't know what to have him give Scorp. ::facepalm:: I'm kind of thinking a book and some really nifty gold-plated bookmarks or something. >>; Hopefully that's not lame.]

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To Scorpius, it felt like weeks ago since the last time he and Alby had shared a real, intimate kiss. It was nice to be alone and not have to sneak around or worry about being watched in the common room or stumbled upon in the dormitory. Certainly there was the matter that their parents were downstairs, but for the moment, the doors were closed and it was quiet, and Scorpius could pretend that the world was just him and Alby, and htey wouldn't have to care for a thing.

Scorpius had one hand resting at Alby's waist, the other on the back of his neck as they kissed ardently. He smiled and cupped Alby's cheek when they broke, trying to put out of his mind the fact that eventually, he might have to go back to the Manor, and it would be two weeks until he'd see Alby again.

"Do I get to open it now?" Scorpius asked, finishing his words with a small kiss to Alby's lips. He leaned in closer as Alby's fingers dug into his shirt, completely content to stay by the door and kiss his boyfriend, because doing anything else meant separating for a while, and Scorpius didn't want that. "Or can I wait?"

He had a present for Alby too, but it was a bit bulky and he hadn't felt like carrying it at the beginning of the night, so Delphina had shrunk it for him, small enough to fit into his pocket. The down side was obviously that if he wanted to give it to Alby good and proper, he'd have to get his sister, and that was the last thing he wanted at the moment.

Scorpius made a small noise of pleasure as Alby leaned in for another kiss, this one more slow though no less hungry than the one before. Aroused, Scorpius shifted his weight and used his knee to spread Alby's legs a bit, settling his waist against his boyfriend's. "I have a present for you too," Scorpius whispered, though for the moment he was thinking that all presents could go to hell and he'd just rather have Alby for the rest of the holidays.

Hahaha, I think Scorpius would love to have a new book to bury his nose into. XD ~<3 It's not lame at all. D:

I have no idea what Scorpius is going to give Alby, 'cause I'm the worst person at present-giving in the entire world. >_> Have any thoughts of what Alby might want? XD I was thinking of Scorp could either give Alby a new chess set or something a bit more cute like a winter scarf or something. D: I dunno, I'm totally lame. XD]

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Alby tried not to groan, wondering if there was a way to keep from wanting so much more than to kiss Scorp when their families were just downstairs. The leg between his was almost where he wanted it to be, and yet it would probably be a very bad idea for it to be there. He tried to concentrate on the way Scorp tasted instead, drawing the kiss out as long as he could.

"You can open it now if you want," he murmured, thinking that it would be a shame to break away from Scorp, but he didn't mind as long as there would be more kisses before the night was out. They still had a little while before their parents decided it was late enough, he figured - especially if the wine was still flowing as liberally as it had been towards the end of dinner. He was vaguely curious as to what their parents were talking about downstairs, but not so much so that he'd give up this time with Scorp to find out.

"I'd consider it the best present ever if you could spend the night along with it," he chuckled quietly, running one hand up and down Scorp's side a bit. "Think your mum and dad would go for it?

[OOC: Yay, good! Though Scorp may not get it if Alby decides to be naughty. ::facepalms and tries to reign him in::

Aww, a scarf would be really cute~ Alby would wear it ALL THE TIME. XD <3]

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Scorpius drew a shuddering breath, trying not to press harder against Alby, not sure whether he might lose control of himself if Alby spread his legs further. Standing in his room was like being surrounded in Alby's scent, and Scorpius wanted nothing more than to bury himself beneath Alby's covers and explore his boyfriend all night long.

Scorpius parted reluctantly with Alby after another long kiss, a bit dazed from the powerful passions that were running their course through his body. "I'd rather open another present," Scorpius replied quietly, keeping one hand firmly at Alby's waist and not wandering elsewhere.

Staying the night at the Potter's was the best idea that Scorpius had ever heard, and if he had the choice he'd spend every night of his Christmas holiday in Alby's room. "I don't know," Scorpius replied with a small, worried cross of his eyebrows. While his mother was supportive of his relationship with Alby, there was the question of how supportive she was, and whether it would extend to letting him stay the night when he certainly hadn't been planning on it. "But it doesn't hurt to ask," Scorpius said, smiling and bending down to nip at the skin around Alby's jawline. "How about your mum and dad?"

Scorpius brought his hand up and ran down Alby's side, stopping just short of the waist his of trousers when he brought it over his stomach. He bit his lip, reminding himself of what was appropriate and what wasn't, dangerously close to throwing decorum out the window entirely and sliding both his hands up Alby's jumper and his shirt. He didn't want to think of how his night might end with him in bed, wanking alone, if their parents wouldn't let him stay the night.