Teddy's birthday
Draco could have never expected a better future. Everything was going swimmingly. Draco and Fred’s son grew up to be a handsome, polite young man, but he did take after Fred in the trouble making department. He’s already figured out how to control the accidental magic, which has not been making it easy on his healer father. Draco has had to keep a large amount of medical supplies in the house because of it. It didn’t help that Scorpius was best friends with Fred II, George’s son. They were so close in age that they decided to take after their dads and pull pranks whenever possible. At family, or friends and family, gatherings, the boys would rope other kids in on the pranks, like Teddy Lupin or Lily Luna. It was alright though. Life was wonderful, even when Blaise asked Draco to watch his son for a week.
Blaise Zabini never seemed to be one for children, but a one night stand gone wrong resulted in him having a child and no contact with the mother. Little Albus was adorable though, and he bonded with Scorpius quickly. They seemed closer than Scorpius and Fred. It was quite cute though, seeing the boys snuggled up on the couch after falling asleep to some muggle film. Plus, Albus got along with Fred quite well. The three boys always seemed to be up to something especially when they got Teddy involved.
Now, Teddy is the reason for the large gathering this sunny afternoon. It was his ninth birthday, so close to going to Hogwarts. Due to the large number of children and adults attending the party, James and Regulus offered to host the party, the burrow and the Lupin’s were a bit too small to accommodate everyone. And everyone was quite a bit. The kids were just fine running around outside, Albus had introduced them to what they called ‘muggle futball’ and everyone seemed to enjoy. Scorpius and Teddy took the initiative to be team leaders, Teddy mainly because it is his birthday and Scorpius because he’s athletically inclined.
Teddy grinned, “I want Victoire on my team.” He said first. Teddy fancied her, it was quite obvious, Remus and Bill were actually joking about that even though Bill did not seem ready for his little girl to have a boyfriend.
Scorpius shrugged, “Al is on my team.” He said simply.
“I wasn’t your first pick? I’m hurt, betrayed by my own cousin!” Fred said dramatically. Roxie punched him in response.
Teddy hummed, “Rose, come join my team.” Even if Teddy fancied Victoire, he and Rose were incredibly close. She skipped a grade in their muggle school and always had classes with her.
Scorpius made eye contact with Fred, smirking, “Lily, come join my team.” Que the offended gasp from Fred causing Lily to giggle. Lily was adorable, she and James resembled their father in almost all ways except slightly fairer skin and bright blue eyes their mother had. “Teddy can’t take all the girls. Especially the one who is going to be my only real competition when we play quidditch.” Scorpius reasoned.
Fred just huffed, looking to Teddy who thought about his next move. “James, you can join my team.”
James frowned, “But I want to be with Lily.” He complained. James was never seen without Lily. They’re extremely close.
Teddy shrugged, “Alright then, Freddy, come over here.”
“Why am I no one’s first pick?” Fred complained as he walked over to Teddy’s team.
“James, come on.”
“I’ll take Roxie next.”
“Dominique come join the winners.” Scorpius hummed.
And that was all the kids old enough to play. Neville’s oldest, his son from his previous relationship, Lorcan, refused to come, staying at his mum’s house. However, Neville did remarry, marrying Luna. They had a little boy together, but he’s only four, the same age as Bill and Ron’s youngest. Lysander, Louis and Hugo. They were just too little to be playing with the older kids. Hell, Bill was nervous about his six-year old daughter playing, but Harry pointing out the three seven-year olds playing seemed to have chilled Bill out. Bill just worries over his kids, Victoire’s a strong girl, a little rebellious. She seems to be following Teddy’s lead somewhat, well Lily does too. Teddy adores Sirius, so much so that Teddy started dressing like Sirius: he has the boots, the band shirts, the black pants, his birthday present is Teddy’s first leather jacket that’s just a few sizes too big. Remus and Sirius did that so if Teddy grows the way Remus did, very sudden growth spurts, it will fit at least for a bit during Hogwarts.
Of course, Teddy’s punk aesthetic has sparked Victoire to ask Bill to go to some muggle shop, Hot Topic. Bill has no clue what that is, but he is a bit uneasy knowing his daughter wants to follow Teddy into that scene. Bill was in that scene until he became a dad; he knows concerts, drugs, and skimpy clothes are there. He doesn’t want Victoire getting hurt, or growing up too quickly. Besides, Bill thought it was a bit silly that Harry encouraged Lily to follow Teddy’s style; Harry bought Lily all kinds of clothes like what Teddy wears. Harry even bought some for Victoire. It just worried him somewhat; Fleur thought he was being dramatic. Maybe he is overreacting, but he doesn’t want his baby to grow up so fast. At least Dominique is still in her mermaids and unicorns and the color pink stage. Either way, his kids are happy, or appear to be that way at least.
As Draco watched the kids run around the yard with this little black and white ball, he sipped his mimosa. “I think Scorp and Fred will end up in different houses at school.” He commented, “I have a feeling my little beater will be competing with yours.” The boys played little league quidditch together, Lily was also on their team. Scorpius and Fred were beaters and Lily a seeker.
Angelina laughed, “Scorpius could go in either Gryffindor or Slytherin. I have a feeling Fred and Lily are going to be Gryffindor.”
Draco chuckled, “I could see Harry’s boy in Slytherin if he doesn’t beg the hat to put him with Lily.” He pointed out.
George chuckled at that, “You know he will. But I have a feeling Victoire will be the first Weasley not in Gryffindor. She’s always asking questions, but she’s just curious in a different way than Hermione is.”
“Hermione could have thrived in Slytherin.” Draco pointed out, “though I do agree. The other night, she was asking me about House-elf magic. I have no clue how she even knows about them.”
Fred just shrugged, “As long as the trio carries our legacy, I have no complaints.”
Sirius had just sat at their table and watched Fred, “You and your brother followed the marauders legacy.” He corrected, “And we followed the Prewett twins.” He joked.
George shook his head, “Still can’t believe you four made the map.”
Sirius shrugged, “it was mostly Remus who made it. James helped with the secrecy charms, I did some of the drawings.” He commented.
Fred shrugged, “Is Teddy getting the map when he goes?”
“I think it may end up being Lily’s map next. You’d be surprised, that girl is sneaky. I think she’s secretly the ringleader of the boy’s pranks.”
Draco shrugged, “I wouldn’t be surprised, she’s always dragging James with her to hang out with them.”
George shrugged, “I think my Fred fancies her,” he commented.
Angelina laughed, “He’s always begging Roxie to invite her to sleep over. But Roxie gets all protective over her, I think both our kids fancy her.”
Draco shrugged, “Scorpius likes to pick fights with her sometimes, but I think they enjoy bickering. I mean, he showed her how to control her accidental magic. Harry said nothing in their flat is safe.”
“Because nothing is safe,” Harry joked as he took the seat to Draco’s left. Fred was to the right of Draco. “She was upset that she had to go to school and was going to her mums because I’ve been working a lot more and she managed to break all of the plates and stepped on the broken glass. I ended up staying home with her, and she was magically better.”
“So she’s a daddy's girl?” Angelina smiled a bit. “She just wants her dad around more. Fred’s always trying to get me to take him when I get my hair done, and Roxie likes to go with Goerge to work.”
Harry nodded, “I know she does, I feel a bit bad. The twins have been at Luna and Neville’s or my parents' place a lot more the past few months…”
“Maybe it’s time to step back, Harry. I mean, I get it, I’ve been far too busy at work as well, but you have a whole inheritance to fall back on.” Draco commented.
“You need to step back some too, love. I mean, George and I had to rearrange our schedules a bit. I need to close the shop too.” Fred reminded.
“Give me two weeks, darling. My promotion starts next week, I’ll have a more set schedule then.” Draco patted his partner’s knee.
Just as Harry was about to speak up, Teddy came running over, “Dad, can everyone spend the night?” He asked, giving these big ol puppy dog eyes. His usually blue hair started turning a little scarlet. He’s definitely trying to appeal to Sirius’ favorite color.
Sirius raised an eyebrow, “Ask Uncle James. It’s his house.” He pointed out. He watched Teddy run off again. “Your kids will be asking in a few minutes.”
Draco shrugged, “I don’t mind, I mean just about everyone except the Potter’s and Albus are Scorp’s cousins.”
Harry shrugged, “Lily and James already have co-ed sleepovers.”
That’s how almost all the kids spent the night at Regulus and James’ home that evening. Sirius and Remus stayed to help. The youngest three boys were spending the night with Neville and Luna. James and Regulus never minded hosting the kids' sleepovers. The girls slept in one room and the boys in another, well they were supposed to. They all usually ended up falling asleep in the basement during a movie. But hey, they’re kids, no big deal. Even after all the parents left and gifts were opened, the kids were downstairs. James insisted on having a bunch of stuff for the grandkids and nieces and nephews to do. There was a small home theater, instruments, board games, a pool table, and a karaoke machine. James went a little over the top, but the kids loved it, especially the musically inclined. Teddy was playing on his new bass guitar, Remus taught him on his guitar. Scorpius was messing with the drums, Fred got him lessons when Scorpius insisted. Lily was messing with James’ old electric guitar, her grandad taught her whenever she was over. She was actually showing Fred how to play while Victoire watched Teddy.
“Oh my god, I just had the best idea!” Teddy said with a smile. “We should start a band! I play bass, Lily and Fred do electric guitar, Scorpius on drums!”
Lily gasped, “Oh my god! We should! Can I be lead singer too?”
Dominque paused, “I want in!”
“Me too.” Victoire said simply.
Rose and Roxie weren’t paying attention to this conversation. They had roped Albus and James into playing some muggle board game called the Game of Life. Roxie decided to marry a woman because boys are gross, so Albus retaliated by marrying a man.
Scorpius spoke up, “Vickie and Dom can be like backup singers and dancers for us.” He suggested.
Victoire grinned, “Perfect! I’ve done dance for years anyway.” She said as she flipped her hair. She was a carbon copy of their mother and Louis looked like their father, with some sort of veela lure he inherited. Dominque was a perfect blend of her parents though.
Teddy grinned, “We should call ourselves the marauders! Like what dad says his friend group was called.”
They did in fact start a band. It wasn’t very good at first, but it didn’t take too long to master. They had a lot of potential as a group. Of course, the kids high on life wouldn’t last too much longer. Lily thought life was going great. Her dad was home more often, she was in a totally awesome band, she had cool friends. Plus her dad said he was looking at buying a house where Lily could decorate her room however she wanted! It was great, at least for her. James was also excited for the new home, but he was more focused on reading. He was actually very interested in Mr.Draco’s job. It seems James was really fond of him, and when Draco was asked about being a healer, he mentioned potions. James wanted to excel in potions. But what about Teddy? Well, Teddy became even more excited for Hogwarts. He’d pester Sirius about it every day just about. Remus had to promise Teddy a little field trip when he returned to work after his little vacation was done. That at least calmed him down some.
However, Scorpius was facing a different scenario. He was having a great time in life, yes, but things were about to go downhill. He was actually over at his Uncle George’s house with Albus and Fred. The boys were talking about school, just about all the Weasley kids were in muggle school before Hogwarts. And the Science Fair is coming up; Grandpa Aurthur was more excited than them, but it would be alright, right. Scorpius suddenly got this heavy feeling.
“I don’t feel well.” He said with a frown.
Fred paused, “Do you need my mum to come up here and check on you?”
Albus felt his forehead, “You’re not hot.”
Scorpius shook his head, “I think I’m fine… Maybe I just need to use the bathroom.” He stood and walked out of Fred’s room into the hallway then the bathroom.
He wasn’t sick. His intuition was just telling him something bad was happening. Something absolutely terrible.
Fred had just gotten off the phone with Draco, telling him he’d be home soon, he was just picking up takeout. He had already closed up the shop and walked out the door. Fred paused as someone grabbed him and dragged him into an alleyway. He couldn’t call for help with a hand over his mouth, but he did hear a few very homophobic slurs directed at him before he blacked out. Hours had passed before aurors even noticed a lifeless, unrecognizable body in diagon alley. No one recognized this John Doe at St. Mungos until some of the blood was cleaned up. This was seven hours after Draco’s call with Fred.
The call Draco received after is one he never wanted to hear. His partner, the love of his life, gone. Just like that. It broke his heart. And when Draco went to George’s, George didn’t even believe him till he apparated to St. Mungos… and when Scorpius found out… well a switch flipped.
Even after it had been about a year, Draco and Scorpius couldn’t live in that home anymore. Draco packed everything of Fred’s, that Scorpius or any other Weasley didn’t take, into boxes. He stored it all, and the pair moved into a new house. A bigger one. Scorpius made Draco let him have the basement room. Draco tried following James’ example and made the basement a large game room with instruments, a large flatscreen, new gaming devices; a pool table. Draco tried helping Scorpius feel better. They tried therapy, but Scorpius was angry. Only Albus and Fred kept the hurricane that is Scorpius Malfoy calm, and when the band started rehearsals. Their drummer was a violent drummer, smashing on the drums with his sticks. If the instruments weren’t magically reinforced, they would have broken. Draco didn’t know what to do… should he go back to where he changed everything at the age of fifteen? No… he would lose his son and the family he created… he couldn’t. So Draco asked for help. He asked Harry.
Well, the Potter’s actually moved into Draco’s new home. Draco let Lily and James have their dream rooms, Lily even got an en suite bathroom, because she’s the only girl. Draco was trying, but Harry could help. Harry was always there for him. Besides, Harry needed to find somewhere bigger to live anyway. His kids were growing quickly and needed more privacy. Besides, Lily got to have her girls over more often. Soon it ended up working out that Teddy got his own room, Fred ended up getting closer with Lily and sleeping over in her room while Scorpius and Albus shared a room. Having friends over constantly helped Scorpius to an extent, but soon that would not be enough. Especially not since Hogwarts was so close. Only two years or so in this new home and arrangement and Scorpius was already about to move on. Scorpius needed to move on, especially since he kept picking fights with Lily.
Of course, this is only the beginning.