Fic: All Grown Up, Chapter 9 (Harry Potter, Scorpius Malfoy / James Potter)
Title: All Grown Up, Chapter 9
Author: Finnishsphinx
Pairing: James Potter / Scorpius Malfoy
Rating: PG (for this chapter)
Summary: James is coming home after spending four years abroad. His little brother has grown up, but so has his brother’s best friend.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be mine, etc.
Warnings: None
Notes: My first HP story. I’ve read the books in my own language (and a lot of the phrases and some names had been translated), and now writing in English, so I’m trying to check them while writing. If I mess up with them, go ahead and tell me, I appreciate it.
More Notes: For the sake of this fic, I stretched the age gap between James and Albus to five years.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
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“It was lovely to see you again.” Scorpius smiled politely and guided James away from the extremely plump elderly man and his young companion. As soon as they were out of their earshot, James sighed in relief.
“I thought he would never stop talking.”
“I thought it was interesting.” Scorpius said absentmindedly, taking note of the seatnumbers. “I was in his premiere last summer.”
“He had a premiere?”
“You have no idea who he was, do you?”
“Nope.”
“Albert Witchflop. He did the critically acclaimed musical “Three Witches: Why Shakespeare got it wrong.”
“How do you know him?”
“His wife is a friend of my mother’s. Or actually ex-wife, that thing he had with him is his latest girlfriend.”
“I thought that was his daughter…”
“No, he has no children.”
“She even called him daddy!”
“I’ve never understood how some people consider that sexually stimulating.”
“Don’t do that.” James grimaced. “Never say daddy and sexually stimulating in the same conversation. That’s just too… creepy.”
“I can promise I will never call you daddy.” Scorpius assured and pointed at the next row of seats. “Our seats are over there.”
“Is that the kind of crowd you spend time with?”
“I told you my father was quite protective. He wanted me to built a good network in the suitable circles, that would be beneficial later on. He considered arts to be a safe area. They are socially acceptable, but less fiddle than politicians. I am also quite familiar with his business partners, but my interest in that area is quite limited.”
“I thought you said Malfoys don’t do anything less than perfectly.” James teased. “You actually settled for quite limited?”
“I can have a conversation with anyone and come out sounding like an expert, it is my own standard that I don’t reach.”
“Then it’s probably too high.”
“No.” Scorpius lifted his eyebrow, giving him a sharp look. “As long as they are my own, and not someone else’s. I do not like to discuss topics I don’t master perfectly.” He took the seat closer to the aisle and gestured James to sit next to him. “Didn’t you wonder how I got tickets for a sold-out performance in ten minutes?”
“I didn’t really think about it.”
“Malfoy name has it’s drawbacks, but also several privileges.” Scorpius smiled innocently. “And even more privileges if you have enough charm to go with it.”
“I’d call you an egomaniac, but you’re probably right.” James got comfortable on his seat. “So what are we watching?”
“Right now the curtain. It shouldn’t start for a few minutes. It is the talk of the wizarding word.”
“What’s it called?”
“The Rise and Fall of Rita Skeeter.”
“I heard about what happened to her, but I didn’t know they made play based on that.”
“Maybe I should have said: The talk of those parts of the Wizarding world that follow theatrical events. I remembered they have the last performance today so I firecalled a friend of mine in the theater’s board of directors.” He opened the small hand program and handed it over to James. “Considering your family’s history with the lady in question, I’m sure you will find it entertaining.”
“Did they include the thing with the cursed steamroller?”
“According to the critics, it’s one of the show’s highlights.”
“Not that I have any ill feelings for dead women, but-”
“But you consider what happened to her to be an act of poetic justice?”
“Well… yeah. How many years did she spent chasing after people and harassing them? It was just a matter of time before someone finally snapped and started chasing her with a cursed steamroller. If it was someone I cared about I probably wouldn’t find it very funny, but…”
“But it was same the woman, whose funeral service was filled to capacity, because people wanted to make sure she was gone and if necessary drive a stake through her heart. So just sit back and enjoy the carnage.”
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“Sara will come to take your orders, sir.”
The maître d' nodded and left James to their remote table. Almost immediately his attention was drawn to the other side of the restaurant, where a loud group was arguing so eagerly the whole establishment could hear. The redhead, who was trying to calm down the situation, noticed James and gave him a wave. After one more attempt to end the argument, he left the four burly men to settle their own fights and walked across the room to meet James.
“I’m starting to think I should let them kill each other.” Charlie slumped down on the opposite side of the small table. “We got here half an hour ago, and that has been going on ever since.”
“Who are they?”
“The ones on the left side are from our accounting firm, the other two are from the Dragon Sanctuary. They’re having the annual budget negotiation.”
“Is it always like that?”
“Yeah, but this year they roped me in to play the host.” Charlie groaned and waved at the passing waitress. “Firewhisky, and make it a double.” He sent a bitter glare at the dueling foursome. “Better make it triple.”
“Uncle Charlie…”
“What?” The comprehension hit him and he grinned understandingly. “You’re waiting for company and you want me to get going, right?”
“I already had company, but he had to use the men’s room.”
“So I can assume the rumors are true?”
“Yeah.”
“You and the little prince of darkness… I guess opposites really do attract.”
“He’s not-”
“I was kidding. He grew up to be a real looker.” Charlie smirked.
James laughed. “You just focus on your dragons, and leave my date out of it…”
“Nothing wrong with dragons, they’re fascinating.” Charlie joined his laughter. “Beautiful and unpredictable and dangerous if you get on their bad side… actually, that sounds just like your date.”
“Yeah, it does.” James agreed with a happy grin. His spotted the familiar silvery hair approaching and then stopping in the middle of the restaurant. He tilted his neck up to see better. “What the hell…”
Charlie turned on his seat to see what he was looking at. Scorpius was standing face to face with a tall dark-haired man, both frozen on spot.
The expression on the blonds face was one James hadn’t ever seen before. It wasn’t the Malfoy sneer, which Scorpius had mastered but hardly ever used, or the cold indifference he used when he had no interest to deal with the person in question. The expression on his face was pure hatred. It was cold, menacing and barely contained. First time in his life James actually understood the phrase "If looks could kill". He was certain the look Scorpius had fixed on the man could almost kill if Scorpius wanted it to.
The dark man seemed to feel it too. His own expression was quickly morphing from caution to open fear. Finally he got his limbs to work and made a quick escape.
Scorpius schooled his face back to normal, pulling on the cool and calm veneer, and walked to the table giving Charlie a friendly smile.
“Do you mind if I make an educated guess?” He nodded at the direction of Charlie’s table. “Those are your colleagues?”
“Not exactly colleagues, but close enough. How did you know?”
“When I walked past them I heard one of them mention dragons, Romania and an annoying redhead, who tried to cut off their drink supply. Do you need a sanctuary?”
“Yeah, but I think I`ll have to go back.” Charlie took the drink the waitress had placed in front of him and emptied it at once. “Good thing Weasleys breed well, because I might spent the rest of my days in Azkaban after I strangle those four.”
“Look who’s talking about breeding.” James laughed. “Pretty much everyone else in the family has done that duty, except you.”
“For obvious reasons.” Charlie reminded and got up to leave. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck.” Scorpius said and took the newly free seat.
“Break a leg.” James added.
“Don’t put ideas like that in my head…” Charlie laughed. He headed back to his own table, where his companions were still arguing.
Scorpius gave the redhead an appreciative glance.
“He’s still quite delectable for an older man.”
“Are you trying to make me jealous?”
“No, that was merely a statement of fact. I have no problem appreciating beauty and that rear-end is certainly worth a glance.” He gave James a crooked smirk. “But I have no desire to do anything else besides watching.”
“Good, because my mom would kill me if I ended up in some love-triangle with my uncle.” James joked and picked up his menu.
“Yes, except it would more of a love-quartet.” Scorpius grinned mischievously. “Although the social circles of the Wizarding world can sometimes be very small, father and son shagging the same man would be a whole new record.”
James spat out his mouthful of ice water and started coughing uncontrollably.
“Haven’t you ever wondered why my father is the Dragon Sanctuary’s biggest private sponsor?” Scorpius smiled innocently.
“No, but… He wouldn’t!”
“You mean my father or your uncle Charlie?”
“Both of them! They wouldn’t!”
“Keep your voice down, please. You are attracting attention and not in the positive way.”
“You seriously mean my uncle is getting donations for the sanctuary by… by…”
“By offering personal services in return? No, I didn’t mean that.”
James relaxed and took another sip of water to clear his throat.
“I think it is just their own little arrangement.”
Another coughing fit followed.
“Would you stop that? They are both grown men and whatever they do behind closed doors is their business.”
“Wh-wh-what about your mother?”
“She has never seemed to mind when Charlie drops by.” Scorpius scanned the menu, then flipped the page to check the desserts. “I remember when he came over, some time before I started in Hogwarts. I remember my mother was planning a shopping trip to get all the things for my first semester, and then a long distance owl came. I didn’t know who it was from, but I remember both of them seemed very happy about it. Then few weeks later your uncle Charlie showed up, of course I didn’t know at that point who he was.”
“Please, stop…” James whimpered. “I’m gonna be scarred for life.”
“Because your relatives are having consensual sex? If I wasn’t scarred for life when I saw your uncle and my father coming from the same bedroom in the morning, both half-dressed and still acting like overeager teenagers, hearing about it is hardly going to scar you.”
“You saw them…?”
“That was quite a few yours later. When I was a kid I didn’t know why he came to our house and often spent a weekend. Of course when I got older some things started to make sense. That was why I felt safe to tell him and my mother about my own leanings. Father was upset, but… I think it had more to do with the fact that I’m free to do what I do out in the open. He would never divorce my mother and therefore whatever he does, it has to happen in private. Your uncle keeps going back and forth between England and Romania because of his work, so he comes over to the Manor when he’s here.”
“And your mom’s okay with it?”
“I told you they had an arranged marriage. They are good friends. If they hadn’t been married so young, things might have been different, but this is how it is.”
“What about Charlie?” James asked, his mouth still hanging wide open. “How does he fit in?”
“How graphic do you want me to get?”
“I mean he’s…” He tried to think of a safe way to say it. “Doing it willingly?”
“Very willingly-”
“I don’t wanna hear that.”
“Well, now you know what your mother must have felt like when you had that lovely little discussion.”
“Were you spying on us?”
“Maybe just little bit to make sure it was going well. And I only heard the part about bending you over and tying you up with your own shoelaces.”
“This must be a karmic punishment. Speak like that in front of your mom, and you’ll get to hear about you uncle and your boyfriend’s dad.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Sorry, too soon for that.”
“I would say so.”
“What do you want me to call you?”
“Your lover.” Scorpius looked up from his menu. “Would you stop coughing for a while? You sound like you are about to die due to consumption.”
“But we haven’t even… I can’t call you my lover yet.”
“I may be a tease, but I do not plan to make you wait forever.”
“You’re not?”
“Of course not. I was thinking…”
“Yeah?”
“I think I`ll have the salmon.”
“Not the food.”
“That celebration for the Cannons, after the press conference.”
“And after your daddy reads me the riot act.”
“If you survive it like the big tough Quidditch star you are, we can enjoy the celebrations. Some good food, some good wine… and then when the party is over and people are gone we can have our own celebration. And don’t look so worried. My father isn’t against you because of your gender or the difference in our ages, he is merely concerned, because of your family ties. Your father isn’t exactly his favorite person.”
“If we do it at the… What about your parents?”
“I have a small wing of the manor all for myself, so we have more than enough privacy. Besides, the day after the party my parents will be heading to France for their annual show of unity, to show that their marriage is still going strong.”
“Even thought…?”
“They are man and wife, just not the way people think.” Scorpius`s expression turned serious. “I told you about your uncle and my parents, and I expect you to stay quiet about it. For both them and me.”
“Yeah, of course. I just… I can’t figure out how uncle Charlie would go along with something like that for years.”
“Maybe it’s convenient.” Scorpius suggested. “Or maybe he has some other reasons to keep coming back. Whatever the reason is… You better remember why I told you about it. If it came out there would be a lot of gossip, and of course it would be unpleasant, but my family could handle it. There has been enough gossip about us over the years to make sure it hardly even registers anymore. But this one could harm your uncle’s career here in England.”
“Could it?”
“Indirectly. He has been the spokesperson for the Reserve, and for several people he is the figurehead of the operation. He needs to be trustworthy or sponsors will take their money somewhere else.”
“I see where you’re going with this.”
“That’s why I told you. I trust you not to cause harm to me despite whatever feelings you have for my family, but even more than that I trust you not to slip anything that would harm your own uncle.”
“You got that right.” James nodded. The information about Charlie’s personal affairs still made him a bit queasy, but the mentioning of trust made his insides warm up. Since Scorpius appeared to be in a sharing mood, he decided to take the bull by the horns, and ask the big question. “Can I ask you something?”
Scorpius nodded, but he looked as if he was mostly lost in his thoughts.
“Who was that man you giving the evil eye?”
The expression on Malfoys face didn’t change, but James could see a slight difference. The comfortably calm look was replaced by a forced one.
“Nobody.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it-”
“No, I mean he is a nobody. A nobody, with a brain of a demented rat.”
“Are you going to elaborate…?”
“You really have been out of touch with everything that has happened in England. He used to work in the ministry, a little beancounter from a good family. He was supposed to be on the fast route to politics.”
“What happened?”
“JFOP got their hands on him and brainwashed him to believe he was a product of a corrupt system and all that. All those groups preach the same agenda, just with different names.”
“What’s JFOP?”
“Justice for our Past. Little group descending from certain victims of the war. They have been campaigning to get some of the post-war trials re-opened. Basically a group of kids, who have nothing to do, but make trouble. They weren’t even born until after the war, and yet they act as if they are some kind of wronged martyrs.”
“Why do they even bother? Past is past.”
“They think they know better.” Scorpius gritted out. “They are targeting those, who were not trialed after the war.”
“What exactly did that bloke do for them?”
“He leaked confidential ministry documents about post-war investigations. Including my fathers files.” Scorpius poured himself a glass of ice water, and took a long sip. “Someone in the ministry started wondering, when he realized the same person had signed out several documents, but hadn’t returned any of them. His family stepped in and saved his neck. He lost his job, but got away with just fines.” His eyes followed the distant figure that was walking out of the restaurant. “They’ve kept him out of sight for almost a year.” He slid his finger against the moist surface of his glass.
“Now you’re wondering why he showed up here.” James guessed. “Maybe he was hungry. Or he had a date.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” Scorpius stated, pushing the troubled look off his face. “But enough about him. Have you decided what you want for dinner?”
Interlude