Family Of Sorts (A Wattpad Featured Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter One

   "Your ten o'clock has rescheduled to eleven," Pansy informed Draco as they strode along the long hallway of Malfoy Manor, her heals clacking on the marble as he sipped his coffee and skimmed the FT headlines. "But the car is still ready outside as I figured we could use an extra hour in the office anyway." She scrolled through her iPhone, briefing notes tucked under the arm of her Zadig et Voltaire blazer, sweeping a lock of black hair behind her ear absently as she gave that little frown that made Draco know something 'Casual' was about to get mentioned.

"Oh," she said, not disappointing. "And there's another au pair here for an interview."

Draco sighed and stopped walking. He loved Pansy like a sister, but sometimes his near telepathic PA didn't know when to stop meddling in his personal life. Just because his professional one would fall apart without her, didn't mean he needed the same thing at home. That's what his mother was for.

"All the girls I've seen have been impossible," Draco said bluntly. "Intimidated by staying alone in the house with no one else around for miles, not coping with Scorpius and his...issues, one of them even made a pass at me Pans. I'm not looking for a wife."

His voice caught a little but he swallowed it down with another mouthful of coffee. After three and a half years, he'd got pretty good at hiding his emotions. Instead, he appreciated Pansy's look of disgust at that particular choice of nanny.

"True," she said practically. "But this isn't about you, it's about Scorp. He needs something constant in his life, and I think this one might actually surprise you."

I'm constant, Draco thought irritably, but even he knew that wasn't really true. He tried his best, but he'd found it hard to bond with his son in the wake of his grief. And Scorpius could be a little...different. He struggled with children his own age, suffered from anxieties, and Draco didn't know how to help that. As usual, Pansy was probably right. He needed someone dedicated, but Draco was starting to suspect he needed something a little more psychological, rather than some twenty-one year old gap year student who reckoned she was good with kids because she happened to once be one.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, she's fluent in French, plays the harp and happens to be single."

"Haven't got a clue about any of that," Pansy said with a shrug and a glint in her eye that immediately made Draco nervous. "But I can tell you she is in fact a he."

Now that, Draco definitely hadn't been expecting. "A male au pair?" he asked uncomfortably.

"Don't be so old fashioned," Pansy admonished. "He has excellent recommendations, CRB clearance, and a degree in behavioural sciences." She arched an eyebrow, knowing full well that would impress Draco. "He's here now, don't you want to at least meet him?"

Draco sighed and admitted defeat. He might as well see the man before dismissing him outright. "Lead the way," he said.

They wound their way via the kitchen where Draco dropped off his coffee mug and newspaper, then Pansy took him back upstairs to Scorpius' playroom.

A peel of laughter rang out as they approached the door, and made Draco's heart skip a beat. "You left him alone with Scorpius?" he accused, but Pansy looked just as panicked.

"No," she hissed back, hurrying to the door. "He was by himself, I swear-"

They pushed into the room, then simultaneously pulled up short.

A man in his early twenties with a tousle of black hair, wire rimmed glasses and dark stubble greeted them. He was lying on the floor, chuckling in delight as little Scorpius Malfoy dove on him, roaring in a way the three year old clearly thought was absolutely terrifying. "I'm the guard dragon and this is my castle!" he crowed, jumping on the man who didn't seem to mind his shirt getting rumpled or even pulled from his jeans by the toddler's assault. "I'm going to eat the princess and you can't stop me!"

The man though retaliated with a fierce tickle to the tummy and Scorpius tumbled back to the carpet, shrieking in joy. "But she's my princess!" the man argued back as the little boy giggled and squirmed. "I'm going to rescue her and marry her and we're going to live happily ever after!"

Scorpius wriggled out of the man's grasp and balled up his fists, suddenly unhappy. "What if she doesn't love you though?" he demanded. "You don't even know her."

The man raised his eyebrows, his mouth curling into a half smile. "Very good point," he admitted, holding his hands up. "I guess I'll have to take her on a date first. But only if you promise not to eat her for dinner."

He held out his hand for Scorpius to shake, and he responded by wrapping his two little hands around the man's fingers, pumping them once to seal the deal.

Pansy cleared her throat, and by that point Draco had almost forgotten she was there, he was so entranced at seeing his son the happiest he'd been in months.

"Daddy!" he squealed, scrambling to his feet and sprinting over to where Draco had crouched to the ground, scooping him up in his arms. "Daddy, this is Harry, I found him in my playroom and he said he'd play dragons with me and I like his glasses because they're skinny so is he going to stay and can I have some juice and can Harry have some juice too?"

Draco laughed and ruffled his son's hair, as soft and white blond as his own. Even the grey eyes were his, a perfect little copy. It was his kind heart and happy smile that reminded Draco of Astoria, her goodness still shining through in the gift she'd left behind when she had had to leave her boys too soon. He squeezed him in a tight hug, then released him to stand and address the stranger.

"Draco Malfoy," he said, extending his hand to where the man had wandered over to join the other three.

"Harry Potter," he said, straightening out his shirt and returning the handshake. "And you must be Pansy Parkinson, we spoke on the phone?"

Pansy nodded as she also took his hand and Scorpius swung off Harry's leg. "He seems very taken with you," she commented, having the good grace not to give Draco a too obvious 'I told you so' eyebrow. "When can you start?"

"Oh, hang on," said Harry a little taken a back. "We haven't done the interview yet?"

Draco shrugged. "True," he said, looking down at Scorpius who was giving his full adoration to Harry from his position sat on his trainer. "But Scorp seems convinced, and I'm sure Pansy gave you a thorough background check?"

Harry gave them a bashful smile. "No disrespect," he said. "But if I'm going to be joining your family, you're not the only one who needs to do an interview. I need to decide if I'll be happy here, before I disrupt Scorpius' life by changing my mind after a few weeks or months if it doesn't work out."

The negotiator in Draco was impressed by this. So was the father. And there was just something about this man that made him feel comfortable, which he realised was a terrible reason to make a business decision. So they would keep it formal, Harry could have his interview.

But Draco was pretty certain he was already hired.