Friday, September 1, 2017
"Psst."
Scorpius stared into the unfamiliar darkness. The room wasn't silent – it was filled with the quiet creaks and whispers, snores and mutters of a gaggle of excited boys who couldn't possibly sleep yet, and the deeper rumblings and grumblings of an old building settling slowly down to sleep.
"Psst. Al."
The whispers and mutters died away, and even the snores grew fewer and less frequent. The darkness swam before Scorpius' eyes, fluid and ever-changing, morphing from one half-imagined nightmare to another. Scorpius was used to sleeping in a tower room, windows thrown open to admit the night, stars twinkling merrily outside. Here, on the ground floor, he could feel the great bulk of the castle looming over him in the pregnant stillness. There were no windows in this dorm, and he missed the stars terribly. They had always seemed like his friends – he was named after one, after all, just like his father.
"Al!"
"Mmmphm." The boy in the next bed shifted slightly.
"Hey! Albus!"
"Wha? Scorp? What is it? Lumos." Al blinked blearily at Scorpius as he fumbled for his glasses, holding his wand carefully below the level of his bed. He was so real, all rumpled and mussed, and Scorpius nearly wept in relief.
"I..." Suddenly Scorpius realized how ridiculous he would sound. Of course this was different than living in the manor – he'd known it would be. It was just that it was so...so...
Al must have seen something in his face, for he muttered a quiet charm to shove their beds together – and, really, why hadn't they thought to do this earlier? – and pulled Scorpius into his arms.
"Hey," he said softly as he ruffled Scorpius' hair. "It's OK. I'm here."
Scorpius sniffled and wiped his nose on the edge of his sleeve. "Thanks, Al. Sorry I woke you."
Al smiled. "Hey. No big deal. I know you – you've probably not slept a wink."
Scorpius smiled sheepishly at him, but didn't answer.
Al grinned. "Ha. Knew it. What's bothering you?"
Scorpius sighed. "It's... well... there's so many people – I can't see them, but I can hear them – and there's all this weight hanging over us, and it's too dark, and..."
"And?"
"...and there's no stars!" he burst out. His cheeks flamed in embarrassment. Al shoved him affectionately.
"Well, not much I can do about most of those, I'm afraid, but... I might be able to manage stars."
"Really?" Scorpius stared at him. Surely Al wasn't going to cut a hole in the wall? He was Harry Potter's son, but...
Of course, he needn't have worried. Al just scrunched his nose in thought, and then nodded. He took a deep breath, focused his attention as only he and his dad could, and then flicked his wand in an elegant swirl. And then –
Scorpius looked up and his mouth dropped open. The ceiling was covered in stars. His stars – the ones he saw out his window each night. They twinkled down merrily.
Scorpius reached out, and his fingers found Al's, wrapped around them. "Thank you," he breathed, never taking his eyes off his stars. "Thank you so much."
"Anytime, Scorp," Al said, laughter threading through his words. He squeezed Scorpius' fingers, then relaxed his grip, but didn't pull away. "Think you can sleep, now?"
Scorpius used his free hand to cover a yawn. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Goodnight."
His only answer was a quiet snore.
----
Neither of them noticed Teddy Lupin, who stood outside their "room" and regarded them bemusedly as they drifted off to sleep, hands still clasped.
Teddy sighed, wondering what to do about this latest development. It wasn't like he hadn't been expecting it – Ginny and Astoria had warned him what might be coming – but still. He rubbed his forehead as he drifted back to his room, pondering. He didn't want to get the boys in trouble, but... Then he brightened. Of course. It gave him the perfect excuse. He turned away from his bed, where he'd been absentmindedly heading, and tossed floo powder into the cheerful flames crackling in his hearth.
Soon, Harry and Draco joined him in the Hufflepuff Common room. They were both rumpled and a bit bleary-eyed, and both less-than-pleased to be summoned from bed. He held up a hand to forestall their protests.
"Just... come with me. You'll understand soon enough, and it's easier than trying to explain it."
They frowned, but followed him through the silent dormitory.
---
"Wow," Draco breathed, staring up at the twinkling stars scattered on the ceiling. "That's incredible. It's the view from Scorpius' window at the Manor. I had no idea he knew that kind of magic."
Harry coughed lightly beside him. "He doesn't."
Draco turned indignantly toward him, and Harry hurried on. "What I mean is, Al's the one who did that." He waved absently at the stunning starscape glittering above them. "I recognize the spell."
Draco scowled. "I don't. So, Potter, where did you learn it?"
Harry coughed again. "I... invented it, actually."
Draco's scowl turned skeptical, and Harry flushed. "Believe it or not, Malfoy, I actually can do magic. I don't usually invent my own spells, but Al asked, and I couldn't really refuse. His class had gone on a visit to a planetarium, and he was fascinated. Asked me to help him recreate the night sky in his bedroom. It took us quite a while, but, in the end, we managed it."
He frowned slightly, turning his attention to his sleeping son. "I don't know when he'd have adapted it to the sky over Malfoy Manor, though – it takes some pretty complex equations to change the part of the sky the spell projects."
Draco sighed. "Yes, well, our sons seem rather closer than either of us probably expected." He pointed to their clasped hands. "To be honest, Potter, I suppose I'm grateful to your son. I know what it's like, trying to adjust that first night, when you're used to being alone."
Harry grinned at him. "What, so you're not going to insist that their beds be separate?"
Draco looked again in surprise, having not noticed that detail the first time. Then he grinned slyly, nudging Harry's shoulder. "Well, Potter, to be honest, I'd have expected you to be more worried that they've pushed our beds together, too."
Harry's gaze flicked incredulously to the other side of their sons' "room," and his eyes widened comically as his cheeks reddened.
Teddy cleared his throat, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Well. If neither of you is going to object, I'll leave the two of them to work this out for themselves." He ushered them out of the room, cancelling the silencing spell he'd wrapped them in as he softly closed the door behind him.
Harry and Draco stared awkwardly at one another for a moment before nodding at Teddy and heading back to their rooms, walking on opposite sides of the corridor. Teddy snorted to himself as he watched them go, noting that, though they walked carefully as far apart as they could, their strides matched perfectly.