They were enjoying their last week of vacation by the beach. At first they were going to stay home but Scorpius and Harry still had too much energy to stay inside. So Draco thought it would be a good idea to go to the beach. Also the temperature and sun outside were helping a lot and they needed to enjoy it as much as they could before going back to work and school.
Albus and Scorpius were twins but not identical, Scorpius was the copy of Draco but had 100% Harry’s personality and Albus has unruly dark hair but with Draco’s gray eyes and were more like Draco personality wise (read : calm and a tendency to be dramatic) but had Harry’s stubbornness.
They are 6 and, thanks to Hermione, go to a pre-school where children with magical ability could learn about both the magical and non-magical. IT was good for them to socialize before going to Hogward and not have the House system getting in the way of making friends.
Scorpius has been excited to start school and tireless through the whole summer. Harry’s excitement was matching and they have been insufferable (and adorable). Albus on the other hand was more reserved but no less excited. He had asked Draco to teach him to read so he would be prepared, they ended up teaching them both the basics and Scorpius was satisfied with it but Albus had spent the rest of the time reading with Draco to be able to read more and more difficult things. Harry had rolled his eyes fondly saying that Albus was going to be like Draco and Hermione and read all the time.
“And see where it got us, husband to the Boy-Who-Lived and Hermione is basically owning the Ministry” Draco smirked.
***
So here they were at the beach, Harry and Scorp jumping in the waves while Draco was sitting on a long chair Albus cuddled between his legs, practicing reading together with a random magazine they had so he could try and read ‘more adult’ text and vocabulary.
Harry and Scorpius would come back to them from time to time to ask for a quest and Draco indulges them.
“Can you find me starfish ?”
“Bring me the most beautiful shell you find”
“Find a crab and tell me what it looked like, don’t touch it ! I don’t want him to pinch you”
Everytime Scoprius would nod and run back to the sea Harry right behind him. Albus would also giggle at them. When Draco saw that Scorp didn’t have as much energy as before we decided on a more calm quest.
“King Draco and Prince Albus need to be protected, how about you build a sandcastle ?”
The eyes of Scorp sparkled, he grabbed Harry’s hand and ran to find the perfect spot for them to build the castle. Albus had dozed off a bit tired of all the reading.
Draco observed from afar the progress on the castle and honestly he didn’t think he had ever seen a sandcastle as big before. They had created a whole kingdom. He knew that Harry had somehow used a bit of magic to help it stand. And they keep going, bigger and higher. Draco chuckled and decided to close his eyes for a bit, enjoying the moment.
What they didn’t plan was the high tide. As Draco was relaxing he suddenly heard a loud “NO!”. Startled, he forgot that Albus was also resting on his lap and almost pushed him off but instead settled him on the chair next to him and looked around to see what was going on.
Harry was holding Scorpius in his arms and at his feet, the sandcastle had been destroyed by the waves. He was clearly crying his heart out while Harry tried to comfort him and rocking him and going back to where the rest of the Potter-Malfoy family were.
Draco’s heart broke for his son. As soon as Scorpius saw him, he almost jumped from Harry’s arms to his, holding onto him as if his life depended on it. Albus was barely awake and was just confused at what was going on.
They waited for Scorp to calm down before comforting him knowing that he wouldn’t hear them before. Albus was back to sleeping.
“Why were you so sad about the castle ?” Draco asked gently.
“I-I didn’t .. I didn’t get to -to show it to y-you papa.” Scorpius was still sobbing a bit but was mostly calm.
“Oh.. Mon ange, don’t worry I saw it from here.” (My angel)
“But.. But, with dada, w-we made home” Scorpius was pouting now.
“I’m sure it was absolutely amazing, maybe I could ask your dada to see his memory so I can see it really close like you did, would you like that darling ?”
“Yes, pl-please.” He went back to hugging Draco full force, his head hidden.
“It’s gonna be alright darling, I think that you and dada made such a great sandcastle and home that the sea was jealous and wanted to get it for itself. You were just too good.” Draco kissed his son’s head gently.
Scorpius looked at Draco furious with the most adorable pout.
“But it was mine ! How can the sea do that ? Papa, I hate the sea ! It’s mean !”
Draco was trying his best not to laugh while Harry wasn’t even trying, he was now sitting at the end of Draco’s long chair.
“You hate the sea ? So you don’t want to come back ?” Draco was amused.
“No !”
“So you don’t want to get revenge on the sea for stealing our beautiful castle ?” Harry teased.
Scorpius seemed conflicted and was looking at his dad’s alternatively, trying to get answers.
“Dada, will you help me for the revenge ?” He had his best puppy eyes while pleading and Harry couldn’t resist and hugged him fiercely.
“Of course I’ll help you. You’ll see, next time we will win.”
After all the emotion, Scoprius was tired and Albus was still sleeping so they decided that it was time to go back home.
The next day, Scorpius woke Harry up at dawn saying it was urgent and that they needed to plan their revenge against the sea and fast !
***
Spoiler : The next time they went to the sea, Harry made a special structure on stilts so the water goes below their castle. When the first wave passed below it, Scorpius squealed with excitement while mocking the sea because they had won this time.