A Dream Come True

Draco looked down at the sleeping form of his son.

Pale, concussed, unconscious, hurt.

His son who almost died.

Draco didn’t know what he did wrong.

Of course, he had spent his teenage years as a douchebag. He knew that, and tried to make up for it as much as he could, even though people tended to only see the bad he had done and ignore all the good he was doing now.

Donations to hospitals and schools, votes for the Lupin Law and the Blood Law and the Elf Laws, putting his Potions skills to good use and inventing new stuff on his free times, being good and honest on his job at the ministry, proposing the idea of an orphanage for wizarding orphans, and ways to detect muggle-born children better, so that they could be more adapted to the wizarding world from a young age.

And his son laid motionless in front of him, barely stabilized; even though hours had passed since the incident. Because some of his “peers” thought that him being a Malfoy, gave them the right to beat him up to a bloody pulp, and take out all of their misplaced anger and hatred on him under the false name of “revenge”.

Draco never hated his name as much as he did in that moment.

Not when it forced him to wear fancy, uncomfortable suits and join long, boring galas and balls. Not when it caused people to look at him with a variety of emotions, before even talking to him. Not when it cost him a possible friendship with Harry Potter. Not when everyone saw him as a bad boy, even though he was literally a teacher’s pet who just wanted some occasional drama.

Not even when it won him the Dark Mark, and cost him his family.

None of those times could compete with seeing his son half-dead on a hospital bed, and learning that it was the result of bullying. His son had been bullied. Because of his last name, because he was a Malfoy, and nothing else. His son had been bullied, even though he was a nerdy, cheerful golden retriever of a kid. Even though he was kind and nice and hard-working and such a sweetheart. Even though he hadn’t done anything to anyone.

Draco wondered if that’s how Hermione Granger had felt. And Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter. He wondered if their parents felt the same as he did right now. If he had caused this much trouble and hurt and harm for them. If this was his true karma. If he could ever repay that debt to them. He didn’t think so. It felt like there was always a new thing, a new person, a new bloodline, or a new species his ancestors had hurt; that was his job to mend bonds with.

He thought that being a Malfoy was more a curse than anything.

A curse to fix the mistakes of the past who-knows-how-many generations. A curse, one of the worst kinds. Like the blood-curse that took Astoria from them. Because it couldn’t be cured. A curse that he couldn’t heal no matter what he did or how much he tried. Ever.

***

They landed with a loud thud and a little shriek from Rose, which Al tried to shush immediately despite knowing from the past 27 tries that it was a futile attempt. She was going to get them caught if she kept screaming at the smallest movements.

They got down from the Thestral carefully and took a couple steps away on wobbly legs; faces white, stomachs turned upside down. Gosh, Al thought, this was the worst journey I’ve been on. Ever. Rose hummed unhappily, her face green and scrunched up.

“Don’t puke!” Al ordered in a sharp whisper. “I’ll puke if you puke!”

“I’m trying.” She said, and sat down on the ground, tipping her head back and breathing through her nose. She, thankfully, didn’t puke.

They heard flaps and felt the wind breezing past them as the Thestral flapped his wings and begin flying away. They looked at the dark night sky, in the direction where they thought the invisible winged horse was going towards, and waved after him sillily.

Now they only needed to sneak into the hospital. It was easier said than done. But it was also easier than they thought it would be. In no time they were looking up Scorpius’ room number after distracting the nurse in charge, and climbing the stairs to get to the third floor.

Rose was being extra careful with opening the door, trying to be silent. Which was why Al immediately stopped her and took the job upon himself. His cousin might’ve had his father’s brawl and his mother’s brains, but she was no good at being sneaky. If you think a door is rusty and going to creek; than you open it fast so that the sound is quick and low, instead of high and drawn-out. It lessens the rates of you getting caught.

Al acted fast and pushed open the door quickly, smiling relieved and sad when he saw Scorpius unconscious on the bed. And freezing up when he caught sight of the second blonde in the room. And the two brunettes. Shit.

“Hi Professor.” He chirped, knowing that they were already fucked. “How’s it going?”

“Mr. Potter! What do you think you are doing here?!” Minnie shouted.

“How did you even get here?!” Was Poppy’s concern.

“Well, funny story, uhm… You see, we…”

“We wanted to see Scorpius.” Rose came to his rescue. “No one has been admitted to the St. Mungos since Axel crashed into Flint’s broom and they fell 18 feet, three years ago at that quidditch game. But then Madam Pomfrey said that Scorpius needed to be admitted and- and-” She gave a pause and looked down. When she looked back up, her eyes were teary and red, and her lips were wobbling. “And you didn’t allow us to come with. But we were so worried about him, we had to come. I’m so sorry Professor, but we had to come.” She let one of the tears fall silently.

Al knew his cousin was not good at breaking the rules or defying the authority, unless something drastic was going on, or the blackmail was good enough. But what she was good at, was thinking under pressure. Lying to people’s faces. Acting her way out of any situation. Not getting caught. And Al knew her well enough to see through her perfect mask, and figure out her game.

After all, the best liars told the truth, and the best actors never acted.

And Rose was good at doing just that.

Being honest enough to gaslight herself into thinking that she was telling the truth while she was actually lying, and remembering just the right moments of her life to spring out the tears or the giggles at different times; so that she could fool anyone.

She was sad for Scorpius, worried sick and scared shitless for him. That wasn’t a lie. But using the words right and giving the right reactions could save your life at times, or save you from year-long detentions and groundings at their case. And Rose was doing that currently, saving their asses by putting her worry, fear, acting skills, and silver tongue to good use.

And it was working. Minnie’s lips were pressed in a tight line, her face hard but her eyes full of emotion, full of sad. Just like their parents, she was thinking, unknown to them, just like Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

“These are Al Potter and Rose Weasley, Mr. Malfoy. They are the ones who found Scorpius in the mentioned situation and brought him to the Hospital Wing.”

“Pleased to meet you, sir. My name is Rose, Rose Weasley.” Rose took a couple steps into the room and extended a hand to the man; and Draco shook it, after recovering from his shock a bit. “This is my cousin, Al Potter. We are friends of your son. So, when we saw him in a situation –as Professor McGonagall put it– we were quick to interfere.”

“Situation?”

“I was under the impression Professor McGonagall had told you about what had happened? Informed you thoroughly, no?”

“Yes.” Draco cleared his throat. “Well, kind of. Sorry, you were there?”

“In a way. We were the two who walked in on what was about to happen, and we were the two who stopped the culprits to the best of our abilities.”

“What she means is, we were the ones who kicked their asses for daring to touch a single hair on Scorpius’ head. We would do it again in a heartbeat, happily, no questions asked, by the way. Which is why it wasn’t really a question to come here to be there for him when he wakes up.” Al said, putting it much, much more bluntly. He couldn’t help it, listening to Rose talk like a bourgeois was wringing the life out of him. “And… You don’t know what happened completely?”

“No, not really.” Draco said. “After all, Professor McGonagall didn’t have enough time to interrogate any person involved, and find out what happened for real before hurrying to the hospital, so all I know is that Scorpius got concussed from an impact to the head, during a bullying situation. And that he wasn’t of the guilty lot.”

“Not at all, sir.”

“Call me Draco Ms. Weasley, please.”

“Then call me Rose, Draco.”

“Of course. How about you two sit down and explain what has happened thoroughly. You can imagine my interest in the subject.” The man smiled kindly at them, and Rose smiled back; but Al chose another route and sighed loudly, closing his eyes and praying for patience.

“Can we drop the formal tone? Please? What are we, royalty? I don’t remember being addressed as a prince or a duke recently, or addressing anyone in this room with anything other than Professor or Madam.”

Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose.

They sat down, and Rose began the explanation.

“It was after the Herbology lesson. Usually, me and Al are the first ones out the door, because it’s the last class of Wednesdays, which are already pretty busy. But today, or, rather yesterday I guess, Al had a late assignment to give to Professor Longbottom, and he kept us back for a bit, to scold him. And I waited for Al.

“Fifteen minutes later, we were finally on our way to the castle, but a movement near the entrance caught our attention. It was Bailey Chase from Ravenclaw, and Mark Grayson and Derek Jones from Gryffindor; ganging up on Scorpius.

“Grayson was grabbing Scorpius’ collar and pushing him against the wall, they were taunting him. Things had gotten physical before we entered the scene. Then Grayson raised his fist to punch Scorpius, but Al stopped him in time by calling out.”

“I told him to get his filthy hands off of Scorpius.” Al joined the conversation, fury visible in the lines of his face. “Then Jones asked me to repeat what I said, but I didn’t bother answering him.”

“So, I took it upon myself, insulting him.”

“I answered his question after that, saying “I said let him go”. Grayson grabbed Scorpius’ chin and gave a sick smirk at his whine. He then said, “What if I don’t?”. And I suggested that he did.” Pushing the words out calmly was hard, but Al managed to keep his fury to himself mostly.

“He then told Chase and Jones to, and I quote “Handle us.”. I dueled with Chase and Al dueled with Jones. We both waited for them to make the first move, we didn’t attack first. And we didn’t hurt them unnecessarily.” Rose said. “After we had petrified and stunned the two, Grayson lost his temper. He got mad, and pushed Scorpius, sending a disarming charm at Al. Scorpius fell and hit his head, I ran to his side as Al and Grayson began dueling.”

“I disarmed him easily enough,” Al started. “Caught his wand and snapped it in half. I was just so mad. Then I punched him. When he was on the ground, I threatened him to never hurt Scorpius again. I said, and I quote, “If you touch him again, it’ll be the last time you do so.”.”

“Then we brought Scorpius to the Hospital Wing, and the rest you know.”

Minerva pursed her lips. “That threat, the punch and the wand snapping could cause you some trouble Al, in front of the school board, but nothing too drastic I believe. If you are being honest right now.”

“Yes Professor.” Rose said.

“We aren’t lying Minnie.” Al answered.

“So, here is what’s going to happen; I will go back to the school to get the other three’s side of the story too. Then we will wait until Scorpius wakes up and see if he remembers what happened, and listen the situation from him as well. Then, I’m going to inform every involved person’s parents, and call for a school board meeting. And then the punishments will be determined. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” With that, Minerva left the room.

“Do you plan on suing them Mr. Malfoy?” Al asked.

“Maybe. It’ll be mostly up to Scorpius, he’s mostly an adult now after all, he should be making these decisions for himself. But I would absolutely appreciate it if you could try to convince him of otherwise, if he decides on not taking any legal action.”

Al and Rose shared a look, and then smirked.

“Absolutely sir.”

“It’d be our pleasure, Draco.”

***

Al and Draco sat in an uncomfortable silence in the suffocating room. Rose was out to get some air, Minerva was still at the school, and Poppy had gone to ask the nurses where they could get some water and food.

“So…” Draco started, trying to end the awkward silence. “You’re this “Al” my son has been writing me about.” It didn’t sound like a question though it probably was meant to be.

“Yes, sir.” Al answered anyways.

“You can call me Draco too.” He sat down onto the chair at his son’s other side. “So, Al, tell me about yourself. Scorpius usually wrote to me about your injuries and how much you got on his nerves, nothing too important.” He had a small smile on his face, it was obvious he was only teasing; but real curiosity in his eyes.

Well, Al was more than happy to comply.

“My full name is Albus Regulus Potter, s- Draco. But I go by Al. And occasionally Albie when my siblings or cousins wants to get on my nerves. I have three siblings; Teddy, Jamie and Lily; and a bunch of cousins. I’m very good at Potions and Herbology and enjoy them very much.”

“How about books? Do you read?”

“Yeah.”

“Got a favorite?”

“I don’t actually, I have a bunch of favorites. Don’t tell anyone though, I have a reputation to maintain.”

“What kind of reputation?” Laughter was evident in Draco’s voice.

“The reputation of a troublemaker, of course. Isn’t it obvious?”

“Kind of. And you can be a smart troublemaker, there is nothing wrong with being nerdy.” He was openly smirking by now.

Al gasped. “You take that back! You take that back right now! I am no nerd.”

“Your a bunch of favorite books would beg to differ, Al.”

Al was gaping at Draco’s attitude. “You’re nothing like how I imagined you’d be like.” He mumbled, mostly to himself; but the blonde still heard him. He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And how did you imagine me?”

“More serious, more uptight, grumpier. More of an adult, in shorter words.”

“Excuse me?! I am not childish!”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night old man.” Al smirked.

“And I am not old!”

“Sure thing. Old man.”

Draco looked taken aback for a moment only before his gaping mouth was replaced with a smile and he was chuckling. “You’re as sassy and quick-witted as Scorpius says. Not quite good at your insults as your father though, he was much more creative.”

Al gave an amused huff. “So, uhm… What did the healers say?” The mood turned somber.

“They walked me through his injuries. He was in bad shape when he first came in, but now he’s stable and getting better. He’ll probably wake up in the next 48 hours and will recover in less than two weeks.”

“What are the less optimistic scenarios?”

“You don’t need to know them.”

“Coma? Memory loss? Paralysis? Death?”

“…Yes.”

“He’s strong.” Al mumbled, staring at his friend. “The strongest person I know. He’ll pull through.”

“Yes. He will. Or else… Some people will remember to be grateful to me for what I’m trying to make the Malfoy name into these days, because I’ll remind them just how things used to be like in the past.”

Al looked up in shock at the cold tone, and was met with icy grey eyes filled with rage. But he didn’t cover from it, or flinch back. As soon as his initial shock was over, a smile started pulling at his lips. In the end, all that came out of him was, “Please do.”

***

Despite their efforts, Al and Rose were unfortunately not there when Scorpius woke up a day and a half later. It really wasn’t allowed to let students out of the school grounds for anything other than a planned trip to Hogsmeade or the alike. So, they had to be sent back. Scorpius was welcomed back to the land of the living by his father, the doctors, the nurses, and their lawyers.

Minerva and Poppy were both back at the school as well, as they had no more business at the St. Mungos after making sure Scorpius was being provided with health care, and explaining Mr. Malfoy why his son was at the hospital.

His recalling was a bit clumsy, because of the blow he had gotten to the head; but overall, it matched with Al and Rose’s. The Malfoys’ lawyers; Ms. Wilson and Mr. Lennon, gave their advices to Draco about such a situation, and then left while he decided what his next course of action would be.

“Do you want to sue them?” Draco asked, a whole day after Scorpius woke up. Al and Rose weren’t allowed to visit, but they had sent letters. And Draco had told his son how they had run away from school to come visit him. At that, Scorpius had gone beet red, with a beautiful smile on his face. Draco never knew he could be that thankful to someone, for a thing that small.

“I- I don’t know. I don’t want to prove them right.”

“Making sure their actions have their consequences, wouldn’t count as proving them right. Sabotaging their lives would do that. And that, I will not do. That is not what I’m asking. I’m asking, do you want to sue them? Do you want them to get the justice they deserve? Pay for hurting you?”

Scorpius looked down, his voice quiet and ashamed when he answered. “Yes.”

Draco lifted his chin gently, looking his son in the eye, and answering with determination, willing him to believe. “You have nothing to be sorry for, or embarrassed about. Nothing. They are the ones who hurt you, for no reason. They are the ones who are guilty and will receive punishment. You are allowed to be angry at them, and want payback for what was done to you. That, does not make you a bad person. Wanting closure, is your right.”

“You just have to go about it the right way.” Scorpius mumbled.

“Yes. Which is the way we’re going. Legal action. Agreed?”

Scorpius waited for a moment, considering his father’s words, and his own wishes and fears about the subject. In the end, the answer was simpler than he thought. “Yes.”

***

Al and Rose actually tackled him to the ground when he returned to Hogwarts, mindful of his injury still, somehow. Scorpius went beet-red when Al hugged him tight and told him how much he scared them. Rose was a bit more merciful, squeezing him tight but letting go quickly to not embarrass him, unlike her cousin who held on for a whole of five minutes.

His apology to them, came shortly after. And was immediately smacked away by his two friends.

“What are you sorry about? You were the one getting bullied! If anything, we should be sorry. To you.” Al said, and made the blonde’s jaw fall open. “I mean, what kind of friends we were, that we didn’t realize our friend was being bullied until coming across it in action?”

“No!” Scorpius said fiercely. “You are not bad friends!” He couldn’t even fathom the idea. “You are good. The best. Better than I could ever dream of.” And wasn’t that the truth? Dreams of having friends, I mean. Real friends. Loyal friends. Nice friends. Having Al and Rose in his life felt like a dream come true.

“It was not your fault Scorpius.” Rose said gently, but firmly. “It was those low-life asshats’ fault. Plus, we knew what we were doing before we interfered. And we still did it. It was our choice, and our choice only.”

“You’re not mad at me?” He asked quietly, hating how pathetic he sounded.

Al held his chin gently and made eye contact, his eyes full of fire, his voice leaving no room for doubt. “No.”

Scorpius, childishly, felt his eyes prickle; but he refused let the tears fall. Not until his face was pressing against his two friends’ shoulders, and his body was wrapped up in their arms.

***

Minerva McGonagall sat at her chair, center of the room. Neville Longbottom and Melinda Cox were to her right, and Filius Flitwick and Carmen Drake were to her left. The rest of the professors sat behind them, silently talking about their ideas of the situation and what could happen.

Scorpius, Al and Rose; along with Draco, Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron; were sitting at one side of the room. And Mark Grayson, Bailey Chase and Derek Jones and their parents; sat at the other one. Their respective lawyers were seated behind them, so the room was pretty cramped.

The trio of jerks kept glaring daggers at Scorpius, who tried to ignore them mostly.

Though Al and Rose didn’t. And they had no problem calling people out in public.

Al got up from his seat, gave a kind little “Excuse me.” to Minerva and the other professors, and then began scraping his chair across the floor; sitting on it after positioning it to block Scorpius from the death glares he was getting. He then turned towards them with purpose, and gave the dirties look he could manage.

“What are you looking at?” Grayson had the audacity to ask.

“What were you looking at.” Al shot back.

“She’s the one deciding your fates.” Rose hissed, pointing at Minerva. “Maybe you should be staring at her and waiting for her to start talking; instead of glaring at us.”

“Quiet down.” Minerva ordered before there could be an answer. “Alright. Let’s skip the pleasantries and get to the situation at hand. I think everyone knows why we’re here right now, but I’ll be recalling still. If you wish to object, wait for my explanation to be over, and ask to speak.” She cleared her throat with a small cough and started explaining the situation. She kept it short and simple. “Mr. Grayson, Mr. Jones and Ms. Chase were physically harassing Mr. Malfoy when-”

“That’s not what has happened!” Chase yelled out, eyes red and puffy. So much for being a smart witch then. She was a good actor, Rose would give it to her, but no one could fool Minerva McGonagall. And no one should be stupid enough to test Minnie’s patience like that, in Rose’s very humble opinion. But apparently, Bailey Chase was.

Minerva pursed her lips and turned her icy glare onto the blonde girl. “I remember asking you to keep quiet until I finished my explanation Ms. Chase. And I remember warning you three to not act out and stay out in the meeting that will define a big portion of your future. Do I remember wrong? Or are you just incapable of self-control?”

Chase paled when her hysterics didn’t work the way she wanted them to, and ducked down next to her mother; who had, unfortunately, fallen for her antics. “You cannot speak to my daughter this way McGonagall! Know your place.” The woman hissed.

Minerva’s eyes darkened. “My place?” She spatted. “I am doing just that Mrs. Chase, I am knowing my place as the Headmistress of this school, and I am protecting my students. Don’t think that I do not have proof of what your daughter and her friends have done to Scorpius Malfoy. Don’t think I am above expelling them for their actions. And don’t mistake me for Albus Dumbledore! I know just how awful bullying can affect a person, and I will not allow it to happen under my watch! I am ready to take any precaution necessary for that.”

Mrs. Chase looked taken aback by that response, and sat back down. Her husband and the other four parents were equally shocked. Though only one of the couples actually looked guilty and ashamed.

“As I was saying,” Minerva returned to her speech. “Mr. Malfoy was being physically harassed by Mr. Jones, Ms. Chase, and Mr. Grayson. Then Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley entered the scene, dueled with them, and took Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing. Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley were not the ones who started the dueling commotion; in all three of the duels, the first spell came from their opponents.

“Mr. Malfoy had bruises on his collarbones, from where Mr. Grayson had pushed him against the castle wall. And he had a serious concussion from where Mr. Grayson had pushed him and caused him to hit his head. Now, Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts’ expert healer, will explain Mr. Malfoy’s injuries and the risks they contained for Mr. Malfoy more thoroughly.”

Poppy got up from her seat, gathering her notes and getting ready to start her speech. “Alright. So, to understand just how dangerous Mr. Malfoy’s situation had been when he first came to the Hospital Wing with that concussion, I need to first explain-”

Scorpius tuned the rest out, looking down and squirming in his place. He didn’t want to remember it. All the blood, and the pain, and the nausea. He wanted to drift away. He clenched his eyes shut, and began counting backwards from one hundred.

One hundred.

Ninety-nine.

Ninety-eight.

Ninety-seven.

Ninety-six.

.

.

.

At seventy-five, a hand fell onto his own. Scorpius opened his eyes and turned to his right, meeting the emerald-green orbs he’d got lost in so many times. Al gave a small smile at him, and squeezed his hand. Scorpius couldn’t help but grip back, feeling safe with the firmness of the hold.

He couldn’t drift away after that, he stayed present. But he couldn’t hear what Poppy was saying anyways, all his focus on the raven sitting by him. Al’s hand was in his, anchoring him to the reality, and protecting him from the bad memories.

***

Expelled. He was expelled. Mark Grayson was expelled from Hogwarts. And Bailey Chase and Derek Jones were being forced to change schools. And on top of that, the Malfoys were suing them for all of the damages done to Scorpius.

The proof Minerva had talked about, turned out to be Al and Rose’s memories, being examined in a pensieve. Minerva told Mark, Bailey and Derek that if any of them had any objections to the scenario being written down by the memories of Al Potter and Rose Weasley, they were free to offer their memories of the event and fix the mistake.

At that, Mr. Grayson shot up. “You cannot take relevant people’s memories and examine them for a situation as simple as this one is.”

“I can, for legal action.” She was cut off.

“Not for a school board meeting, you can’t.”

“We can if we’re suing you for attempted murder charges.” Draco said coldly. “Professor McGonagall was only benefiting from the evidence we have uncovered to present to the court.”

Mr. Grayson paled a generous amount at that. “Attempted murder charges?”

Draco quirked an eyebrow. “Have you not listened to Madam Pomfrey when she explained my son’s injuries, Mr. Grayson? Scorpius could’ve died from that concussion. Or lost his memories, or got left paralyzed. I’ve spoken to my lawyers, and they confirmed me when I asked if I could sue you. So, I am.”

Scorpius almost let out a giggle at the complete shock and fear in his offenders’ eyes at that moment, filled with joy. For how many nights he cried in his bed, clutching his injured body, and chanting unfair-unfair-why-do-they-do-this-this-is-so-unfair to himself.

And it was finally not unfair anymore. They were paying for their actions.

And he was finally free of them.

***

“Hey Scorp.”

Scorpius looked up with a smile. “Hey Al, how are you?”

“Doing fine.” He said, though Scorpius could read him like an open book. He could see Al was nervous as hell despite the lie. “I had a question actually.”

“Shoot.”

“So, you know how Poppy gives you days off when it’s the Hogsmeade weekend, so you can enjoy it like everyone else?”

“Yes?”

“If she’s doing it this weekend too, would you be interested in spending some time together? I know you usually like to stay in the castle during Hogsmeade weekends, either spending time in the library or refusing the time-off; but I thought-”

“I would love to spend time with you and Rose Al.” Scorpius cut off, smiling. Though Al had stopped doing so.

“Oh, no, not like that. Rose won’t be there; she’ll hang out with Hugo apparently. I was asking if you’d like to spend some time together. With me. Alone. As in… a date.”

It took Scorpius a whole three seconds to register the question and answer.

He couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot for the rest of the day.

***

Scorpius Malfoy’s lips tasted like cinnamon, mint, and something else that Al couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was spicy sweet. And it was his favorite taste from now on, he decided. He didn’t plan on pulling away to breathe, and getting a single break from it. He wouldn’t. Not when Scorpius was making those delicious sounds and pulling at his hair just the right way.

And it wasn’t like the blonde was complaining either. Really, he was perfectly happy where he was; in a dark corner, pushed up against a wall, behind the Three Broomsticks, being snogged senseless by Al Potter. He couldn’t help the giggle escaping him as Al refused to pull back from him, even to catch his breath, and kept kissing any and every inch of his face that he could get to.

A dream come true indeed.