19 Years (HP - Drarry)

Chapter 6: Metamorphmagus

He stopped and let them take it all in, reveling in the open wonder and joy on their faces. Yes. This was why he'd agreed to take this position, when McGonagall – Minerva, he corrected himself absently – and Neville had suggested it.

He clapped his hands again to regain their attention. "Now. I've only to go over a few House rules, and then I have some things I have to prepare for tomorrow, so I'll leave you to get settled in and get to know one another. Don't forget to rest, though! You've a big day tomorrow! Oh, and if you have any questions, or need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Your older housemates have all been where you are now, and will doubtless be able to sort out most things, but my room is just down the hall, and my door's always open. It's not been terribly long since I stood where you are."

He grinned at the disbelief in their faces. "Yes, believe it or not, I'm not all that much older than you. And, if I can't sort out your difficulties, we'll go straight to Headmaster Longbottom. He's always willing to listen to students, and he's very capable. If he can't sort it, he'll find someone who can."

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Al listened impatiently to Uncle Teddy's speech, bouncing lightly on his toes, trying not to let his attention wander. He was itching to explore, to pull out the journals and curiosities Luna had brought him from her latest adventure, to delve into the depths of the library and dig up the forgotten treasures he knew lurked there, to go down to the greenhouses and badger Uncle Nev to show him the experimental plants he was breeding. It was only the gentle pressure of Scorpius's hand in his that kept him in place while Uncle Teddy talked. Al knew all this already! He was ready to go, to explore, to learn!

Scorpius squeezed his hand, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Patience, Al. Merlin, you'd think you were five years old, not eleven."

Al stilled instantly, biting his lip. Scorpius was his only friend here, the only one he'd ever really connected with. He didn't dare offend him. What if he decided he'd rather be friends with one of the other kids? What if –

Scorpius' breath wafted over his ear as he leaned close. "Al. Relax. You didn't really think I was upset at you, did you? I just didn't want to get in trouble before classes even begin. I have a family reputation to live down, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Al smiled sheepishly. Then he remembered. "Did you see the way our dads were looking at each other over dinner?"

Scorpius snorted. "If by 'looking' you mean 'alternately glaring and ogling,' then, yeah."

"I wonder how long it will be before they break and either hex or snog one another?" Al mused.

Scorpius stared at him, forgetting even the pretense of listening to Uncle Teddy. "Al. This is my dad we're talking about, remember? Ice Prince of Slytherin? He won't break."

Al sighed. "Right. Well, my dad's a bit more... unpredictable, I guess."

Scorpius grinned at him. "Yes, well, that's why we're gonna need our moms to help. Anyway, let's talk about our dads' issues later – right now we've got a room to check out!"

Al looked up to find Uncle Teddy was, indeed, done with his speech. He felt guilty for a second for not listening, but reasoned that he really did know all that stuff, and if there was anything important he'd missed, Uncle Teddy could just fill him in later. Anyway, it was Scorpius' fault for distracting him.

Uncle Teddy raised an eyebrow, a knowing gleam in his eye as he looked back over his shoulder at them, but he didn't say anything, just nodded and slipped out. Al took that as tacit acceptance.

Scorpius tugged impatiently at his arm. "Come on, Al! Let's go find our room!"

They stopped in the doorway to the lower-year boys' dorm, wide-eyed. The large open room was lined with beds. Scorpius gulped. He was used to spending a lot of time alone – he didn't know if he could get used to sleeping so... exposed like this. Never mind that each bed had curtains around it – it was just so open.

Al squeezed his hand. "Look, Scorp!" He pointed to a sign tacked on the inside of the door. "Says here we can reconfigure the room into smaller "rooms" with groups of two or four beds, if we aren't comfortable like this."

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief. Thank Merlin they weren't going to expect him to trust everyone that quickly. He mentally flicked through the other first-year boys, trying to recall any who'd seemed interesting enough to want to share a 'room' with. He'd been so focused on Al, he hadn't paid that close attention, but... he didn't think he'd imagined that a few of them had tensed at his name. He really hoped they weren't going to try hexing him in his bed...

Al was already tugging him toward the back of the room. "Come on! If we grab those two bunks at the back, you can sleep by the wall, and I can be between you and everybody else. That way, we can be sure nobody's gonna hex you in your sleep."

Scorpius grinned at him. "Brilliant!" But soon he groaned, frustrated. "That won't work, Al. You can't divide it down the middle like that. We'll have to either both sleep by the wall or find two more people to share with.

"Actually," came a quiet voice from behind them, "that's what I came to talk to you about."

"Hi, Dad," Scorpius said, puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

Draco smiled at him, including Al after a brief hesitation. "Teddy forgot to tell you, but he included two extra beds in case your father," he nodded at Al, "or I ever needed to be in here. I can't see why we'd need to, to be honest, but Neville suggested it, apparently, and I don't see the point in arguing, when it solves the problem rather neatly. Your arrangement makes good tactical sense, Al, and you can still set things up that way. Just 'reserve' the other two beds for your father and I."

Scorpius glanced meaningfully at Al. He thought he'd seen his father's ears redden slightly, but it was hard to tell, since he was backlit slightly, standing in the door as he was.

Draco nodded abruptly. "Right. Well, I'm sure you've got plenty of things to unpack, so I'll leave you to it."

The second the Common Room door had swung shut behind him, Scorpius turned to Al excitedly. "Did his ears seem pink to you?"

Al shrugged. "I couldn't tell. Don't worry – we'll have plenty of chances to observe them – we have classes with both tomorrow, remember? Now, come on. Let's unpack. We can use the other beds to spread our projects out on, since I doubt our dads will actually use them."