Chapter Text
2024
Being the first child to graduate from Muggle uni should not have caused such a hubbub. After all, Rose and Aunt Hermione were building higher education in the wizarding world from the ground up. Scorpius felt embarrassed because even if he was now an Oxford graduate and that meant something in the Muggle world, his degree was in philosophy. What was he supposed to do with that? “Consulting” tended to be the consensus amongst his classmates, but what did that even mean?
Thankfully, as an only child, his dads were ever supportive. He never had awkward visits where they asked incessantly about his future, no arguments about his lack of direction. Perhaps that had more to do with Dad being a Seer or Daddy being a man of leisure or whatever term he’d taken to using to describe his dabbling in endless interests these days. Either way, he was grateful that he had somewhere to land while he figured out his next steps. The only downside would be enduring the dads’ PDA. It seemed that over the past three years, all restraint for the sake of their child had been forgotten, and Scorpius would be stuck in the middle of two old men disgustingly in love with each other.
After a week of parties, drinking, and too many photo shoots with family, Scorpius finally got a chance to celebrate intimately with the two people who mattered most to him: his dads. Daddy was cooking Scorpius’s favourite steak with truffled fries, and Dad had filled their freezer with Florean Fortescue's entire inventory for Scorpius to have his pick for dessert. At twenty-one, he was essentially celebrating his graduation with a repeat of his eleventh birthday, minus the tumult of the Weasley clan. Scorpius wouldn’t have it any other way.
With his shrunken trunk in his pocket, he Apparated from his empty shared flat in Oxford to his childhood bedroom. The sight of his beige walls and brown comforter always made him grin. They were his teenage rebellion against the dads and their ridiculous Hogwarts rivalry. No reds, no greens—just the colour you got when you mixed them. The massive sloth atop his bed was his favourite, the perfect foil for the lions and serpents foisted upon him throughout his youth.
As he stepped out, the smell of sizzling steak drifted from the kitchen along with the sounds of Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling coming from one of the many top-of-the-line speakers installed throughout the house. As much as Dad kept up with new artists, he would forever be a 90s kid with a crush on Justin Timberlake. Scorpius didn’t blame him.
“Dads, I’m coming down. Please stand at least a foot away from each other and keep your hands where I can see them,” he shouted before he walked down the stairs.
“Scorp, we’re not teenagers. We’re grown men, calm down,” Dad called from the kitchen. Dad could not be trusted. Sure enough, when Scorp walked into the kitchen, Dad had his arms around Daddy as Daddy tossed a salad. A vegetable salad, not a Dad salad, thank science.
“I see we’re in a JT mood today.”
Dad’s eyes lit up. “Oh no, it’s a new thing on Spotify. An Artificial Intelligence DeeJay that plays songs based on my genres, likes, and “vibes.””
“Yeah, I know DJ X. What’s the vibe, then?”
“Celebrating our brilliant son vibe,” Daddy cut in, corny as ever.
Dad and Scorpius snorted, then he and Daddy shared one of those looks that parents give each other when they’re having a silent conversation. They didn’t know Scorp knew that this specific look meant Oh Merlin, he’s just like you. I love you both so much. and You soppy sod, I love you both so much, too. He’d caught them each saying it, and it was the sort of thing one couldn’t unhear.
“Yes, yes, well let me brilliantly set the table since I will likely be doing that for the foreseeable future,” Scorpius said as he reached for the salad and cutlery on the kitchen counter.
Quick as lightning, Dad snatched the plates and Daddy snatched the salad. “We are celebrating you, so you just go sit at the table, and we’ll have everything out in a minute.”
Scorpius sighed and sat. The song changed to Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten, and Scorpius groaned. He did not want to think about the empty page before him right now.
The dads Levitated plates of food and bowls of sides to the table.
“What’s wrong, Scorp?” Daddy asked earnestly, and Scorp couldn’t sass him when he looked like that.
“The song’s hitting a little close to home and is a little too upbeat for the feelings it elicits.” The dads gave each other that look again, except this time Daddy was the one Scorpius was likened to.
“I know the feeling. It’s difficult to see uncertainty as an opportunity instead of failure or a dark abyss ready to swallow you up,” Daddy said as he served the salad.
“He speaks from experience,” Dad said, his hand finding Daddy’s.
Daddy chuckled. “There was so much I thought I had to do, so much I thought I had to prove.” He shook his head then met Scorpius’ gaze. His face was all calm certainty as he said, “I know you didn’t ask, but I wouldn’t be your dad if I didn’t tell you what I’d learned. This is it: only you should set your goals and expectations for your life. You can’t live for other people, or money, or a job. The most important thing is to picture the kind of person you want to be and follow the path that leads you to that person.”
“Let your heart show you the path. Your heart will know even if everything around you makes no sense,” Dad added, lacing his fingers with Daddy’s. His eyes remained on their linked hands until silent tears spilled from his eyes.
“Dad—” Scorpius stood.
“Draco, darling, what’s wrong?” Daddy fell to his knees next to Dad, their hands still linked.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Dad sobbed then took a deep breath and exhaled. He looked up at Scorpius and wiped his eyes. “You got me thinking about that Fall when your Dad found me. I’d been having these intense visions about him for months, and—” He paused to compose himself. “I Saw this moment, our hands, like this.” He held up their linked hands, fat tears streaming down his face. “I knew I had to be in the Muggle world, but there was your Dad, and he was just—” he gestured with his free hand at Dad. “And after the war, I didn’t think I deserved happiness, much less that I deserved him. I just wanted to be a good person, and the visions— They didn’t seem real. Especially this one, and now. Harry—”
Daddy pulled Dad to him, and Dad cried softly in his arms. Scorpius couldn’t hear what he said, but he heard Daddy’s soft, comforting voice. He should give them this moment, but he couldn’t look away.
Scorpius often forgot that his dads survived a war. That they’d been on opposite sides. The two were so happy, so in love, and so focused on the present that it was rare for their everyday life to allow the past to break through. It had been ages since either of the dads mentioned the war. The last time was when Uncle Charlie visited, and Daddy got hammered with the Weasleys and came back bawling about Uncle Fred. Scorpius had been a teenager then.
He was an adult now, and it was easier to see echoes of what he felt reflected in the faces of his dads. They’d once been where he was, but not exactly. Daddy was an orphan, and Dad had been distancing himself from his parents in his early twenties. It suddenly dawned on Scorpius that he was the first Malfoy in generations born in peacetime. That his dads fought for their happiness by defeating not only Voldemort but also their doubts and insecurities. The same doubts and insecurities that Scorpius had today.
A soulful tune started playing, and all three Malfoy Potters froze. Daddy stared at Scorpius, eyes wide and full of mischief. Dad’s gaze turned from Daddy to Scorpius, horror dawning on his features.
“Gods above, please—” Dad began before Pharrell’s smooth voice filled the room.
Daddy’s less smooth voice sang over Pharrell’s, “It might seem crazy what I’m ‘bout to say —”
“Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break —” Scorp continued, grinning.
“I hate you both so much,” Dad sulked.
“Hush, Draco. You know you love it,” Dad said as he rose to his feet and hip-bumped Dad’s chair.
“Shut up, shut up, the chorus is coming!” Scorpius said gleefully.
Then he and Daddy both sang,
“Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like a full day on your broom
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like a Hippogriff in the news
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do.”
Dad shook his head, but he was singing his version of the song by the last chorus. He smiled his big goofy smile that always made Daddy’s eyes get all starry. Daddy had asked Scorpius to think of the person he wanted to be, but he didn’t have to. They were right in front of him.
The future started feeling a little more like an unwritten page and less like an abyss. Wonder and excitement sneaked up on Scorpius, and he realized it was because of everything his dads had done for him. Not just the war but the childhood memories that still lived in the attic and the perfectly preserved room from his youth he could always come back to. All the little things they’d never had but made sure were his.
After more than twenty years, Scorpius felt like he’d barely scratched the surface of everything he had to learn from these men. He wouldn’t live at home forever—he wouldn’t even have these two in his life forever. It was imperative for him to treasure this period in his life so he’d be able to see the path to his future self from the light shining from his dads. It felt right, and Scorpius felt an overwhelming need to thank his dads and tell them what was on his mind.
“Hey, Dad—” he began and hoped what he said next conveyed a modicum of what he felt. “I like your version of the song much better.”
At this table with his two favourite people, Scorpius didn’t need to say more. Their faces softened in understanding.
“Hey, Scorp—” Dad began then looked at Daddy with watery eyes.
“We love you too,” Daddy finished.