Coeus, Greek God of Intelligence

-

It came on my eleventh birthday just as it comes to all Hogwarts-bound children. I was so excited when I finally got my acceptance letter. I had spent so many years at a Muggle school and now I could go to the same school as Rose.

Papa took it from me. He told me that I could never go to Hogwarts. I'd be too easily recognised. He didn't want me to get hurt, but I wanted to be happy. I didn't want the Muggle life. I was accepted as a student to Hogwarts, just as I always would have been, and I would have made a damn good wizard.

But Papa's word was final. He and Dad fought about this a lot, and in this case, he wasn't going to change his mind. Not for anything.

-

They woke up in pain. There was just something wrong with sleeping on the floor. The results were never good. Harry stretched out his overly cramped limbs, trying to get sensation back into his right arm, which was pinned under something. His eyes struggled to open, though he could feel his glasses still against his head. That was also one of the worst things about sleeping elsewhere. You generally lose your glasses or sleep with them on, bending them out of shape or causing some severe pain to your head.

When his eyelids finally unstuck themselves, Harry found himself staring at the familiar platinum blonde that was Draco Malfoy's hair. The Slytherin was moving, too, having been what had woken Harry.

"Morning," Harry grunted, his throat dry.

Draco just turned around, wrapping himself around Harry's body. Neither cared that Harry's clothes were still stained with Draco's ex's blood.

"We have class soon," Harry objected. "Potions, remember?"

"I wanna sleep more," Draco grumbled, burying his head in Harry's chest. "Slept like shit last night...bloody floor..."

There was laughter from the huge bed off in the distance. "Morning you guys. I think that's the best I've ever slept before."

The two groaned before Harry sat up. "Thanks for that, Scorpius."

He finally realised the effect of another's blood on his clothes. "I need a shower..."

-

It surely surprised them that Severus didn't show up for class at all. Even Ron was on time that morning, and yet Severus was missing. Draco was the first to fret over the fact, whereas the Gryffindors left for their common room. Harry was included as he gave Draco a very inconspicuous wave as he left. Draco went in the other direction, heading for Severus' quarters. On his way, he noticed that Nott was missing also. He meticulously turned the corners he had memorised very early on in his first year, having been to Severus' quarters several times.

He tried not to think about the previous night. There were so many people he was concerned about. Firstly, Blaise was gone. They had been lovers, and now, he was dead. It took forever to sink in, and after an hour of chess with Potter, he had broken down, forcing the other to hold him tightly as he tried to hold the tears back.

Secondly, there was Severus. Draco was well aware of Severus' past with the Death Eaters, and was certain that he was still a member. He was unsure if the rumours of him being a spy for the Order were true or not and that bothered him. The last thing he really wanted was for Severus to be a Death Eater. The man was too great of a man to be wasted like that. Thinking on it that way, though, he realised that it was highly unlikely that he would have been. Knowing himself, he never would have trusted Scorpius with a suspected Death Eater without knowing the whole story.

The third issue was the Nott family. Theodore Nott had been missing in the line waiting for Severus to show up. His father had been killed by the Death Eaters in the crossfire of curses during the raid.

Lastly, Scorpius had said something that really confused him. He had called Potter his 'papa'. Twice. That bothered him; had his stomach in knots. The name had just slipped from his mouth in his sleepy haze, but surely they shouldn't have. He felt his cheeks burn at the thought. Harry Potter was just not a compatible mate. Plain and simple.

But damn Merlin, that boy could kiss. Draco burned every time Potter touched him and melted whenever their lips connected. It probably shouldn't have ever been admitted (be it in Draco's mind or spoken), but it couldn't really be hidden from.

However, hiding from it was just what Draco did as he knocked on Severus' door. When he got no answer, he used the password he was personally told by Severus. He entered, but almost stopped walking. There was something different about the room. Looking over the room, he spotted a set of robes that didn't belong. An eyebrow rose at the oddity before Draco continued through to Severus' own bedroom. He paused, seeing a sight he had never imagined possible.

Severus was still in bed, sleeping, but Remus Lupin was attached to his side, resting his head on Severus' naked shoulder and naked chest.

He couldn't stop his vocal reaction. The slightest of squeaks left his throat without his permission. He slapped a hand over his mouth as Severus' eyes snapped open to glare at him, reaching for his wand on the bedside table. The actions awoke the werewolf, who had the same reaction, though he was disorientated at first.

"Mister Malfoy?" Remus asked, blinking against the artificial light in the room. He lowered his head back down to Severus' chest before he realised what was going on. His face burned and he tried to turn his head out of view.

"What are you doing here?" Severus demanded, shifting slightly as if to accommodate his lover.

"You're sleeping with him?"

Severus let Remus slip away from him, turning away to grab at the clothes by the bed. "It's no different from your relationship with Potter," he responded.

Remus froze, his hand clamped around his pants before he straightened up. "Harry never mentioned this..."

"I'm not sleeping with him...we're just...I don't know...but I'm..." Draco lost his words. "I suppose it depends on how you define sleeping with...that doesn't matter...he's a werewolf..."

"What are you doing here?" Severus repeated, reaching for his own clothes. He felt a glare settle on his body as Draco's eyes lingered on the Dark Mark on Severus' arm.

"You missed class." It was half spoken, as if he was thinking on other things.

Severus quickly cast a spell to check the time before he sighed heavily. For the first time since he had started teaching at Hogwarts, he had missed a class.

"Shit," Remus hissed from beside him. "I have first years in fifteen minutes."

He was ignored. "Are you a spy, Severus?" Draco asked, turning around as Severus sat up. He heard the pause in the rustling.

"Why would you ask something like that?" Severus questioned, slipping into a pair of pants now that Draco was facing away from them. Remus did the same.

"I trust you so much with Scorpius, according to him, and I would never trust a Death Eater with my kid."

"You know I was a Death Eater long before you were born?"

"Of course I know that."

Severus' eyes watched as Draco's hand ran up his own left forearm. "You were never marked, were you?"

"I was down to do it a month ago. Scorpius changed that." More clothes were thrown on. "Father hasn't spoken to me since..."

"He hasn't mentioned you to the Dark Lord, either," Severus mused. There was a pause, as if he was considering his next words with Remus without actually speaking. "Yes, I am a spy for the Order."

Draco's knees nearly buckled. The man he trusted implacably was a traitor to everything he ever knew. If he wanted to, Severus could condemn the Malfoy family. He knew all there was to know about the Inner Circle and the Death Eaters.

"I have been for years now."

"Were you there last night?"

"Yes."

The breath escaping his throat got caught and he choked. "Was-was my father?"

"He Apparated away before the Order could attack."

"Did he kill Blaise?"

Revulsion lined Severus' words. He was clearly disgusted by what had happened to the boy. "No. He never touched him. His job was to punish the mother. He would tell her things about the Dark Lord and his love life. Your father told her over and over again that it was her fault that it happened to Blaise."

Draco shuddered visibly. His own father had done that...he was nearly ill. He turned quickly, trying to stop the tears from welling up. "You were there...! You could have stopped it. You're strong enough to do that..."

"I was under specific orders, Draco," Severus sighed, meeting Draco's gaze. "I have to maintain my image as a Death Eater..."

"Did you torture him? Kill him?"

The eye contact broke and Severus shrugged off Remus' hand as he offered his support. "I hexed him. If I hadn't, they would have gotten suspicious."

It took all of Draco's willpower not to hit his idol. "How could you just do that? He's only just older than me...he was your student..."

"I'm well aware of that, Draco." The potion master's voice had gotten weaker. He wasn't coping well at all. "I'll forever be ashamed of what I'm forced to do as a Death Eater, but in the end, we'll win."

"And how many more of my friends will you have to kill in the meantime? How many innocent teens will get sacrificed?"

"That's enough," Remus interrupted, watching the argument. "Severus had a hard enough time sleeping last night. He has been sacrificing his humanity since before you could walk. He has done some despicable things under the orders of both Voldemort (Draco's shudder was ignored) and Dumbledore. We can only hope it'll work out alright..."

"His defeat won't bring Blaise back," Draco objected. He turned his entire attention to Severus. "You need to get out of this. It's not right. We don't need a spy..."

Severus reached into the top drawer of his bedside table and pulled out a headache potion with an automatic response. It was downed in a moment before Severus motioned for Draco to leave. "We have nothing else to talk about."

"What?"

"You heard me. Horrible things happened last night and none of them can be changed, regardless to what we want. Blaise Zabini is dead and there is nothing we can do about it. I'll be a spy up until the Dark Lord is overthrown. I mightn't be able to stop much, but the information I can pass on to the Order is enough to keep them on their toes," Severus explained. "Besides, we need this info, and I would never wish it upon anyone else." He threw a hand through his hair as he tried to make himself look a little more presentable, but it was thoroughly messed courtesy of the night he had had.

"I have to get to class," Remus sighed, walking around to the door. Before he passed Severus, the taller man grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. They shared a quick kiss before he let him go.

Draco raised his eyebrow again. "Come to think of it, I thought you were practically engaged to my cousin."

"Ask your son about that one." There was a light grin to Remus' face as he left.

-

Harry came to the realisation much later than Draco did. Actually, he had been in class with McGonagall when it happened. When they finally managed to return Hedwig to her natural form, the snowy owl was not pleased.

"Sorry girl," Harry apologised, stroking her feathers as tenderly as he could, only to have his fingers nipped at.

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked, watching as McGonagall stalked away with a dark glare. She wasn't amused by Harry's simple mistake.

"I just lost my concentration, that's all. It's a little expected after what happened last night."

It was a good enough excuse. The last thing he really needed was for the others to hear about Malfoy and Scorpius. The thought got stuck in his head, though. Scorpius had really referred to him as his papa...

"Anyone else notice that this is our third class today that Nott's missed?" Ron asked, a small smirk on his face. "He's probably being briefed over how sick his father really is."

"That's completely inappropriate, Ron," Hermione snapped in a whisper. "You got the day off when your father was attacked. His father was killed."

Ron rolled his eyes dramatically. "There's a big difference between my dad and his dad. Mine is a good guy...his deserves to die."

"That's disgusting, Ron," Harry replied thoroughly annoyed with the other boy's attitude. "Nobody deserves to die, regardless of what they do."

A red eyebrow raised at Harry's claim. "You-Know-Who doesn't deserve death after what he's done to so many people?"

"I'd prefer a slow death for him. Torture would be appropriate."

"I can't believe they did that to Zabini," Hermione breathed, shocked over the details she had been given. To have done that to a faithful future member of your cause was beyond wrong. It surpassed anything Voldemort had done before.

"It was all because his snake didn't like Zabini's mother trying to add Voldemort to her long list,' Harry grumbled, pretending focus as McGonagall passed them again.

Hermione performed the task with ease, causing the professor to continue on her way. She faked helping Ron until they were in the clear.

"What's up with that?" Ron asked, settling his wand down for what had to be the eleventh time so far in the period. "I mean, is he doing strange things with that snake or something?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Harry admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "You don't have to work on rockets to understand that guy's seriously screwed up in the head."

Hermione nodded her head while Ron looked utterly confused. "Rockets? You mean like Fred and George? You need the slightest of IQs to get them going..."

"Never mind...Muggle terms, Ron," Hermione smiled.

There was a loud pop behind them, signalling Neville's inevitable mistake.

Everyone turned, almost curious to see what Neville had managed to create this time, but Harry paused. As usual, he found those grey eyes staring back at him, attracted to the movement. He knew he had started to blush; he could feel his face burning as Scorpius' words assaulted him. For the second time in twenty-four hours, Malfoy seemed to catch on to his thoughts. His own pale face was tinged pink, obviously thinking over Scorpius' words. That just made Harry's face darken more when he realised just how gorgeous the blonde teen was when he blushed.

Reality came crashing back around him when he felt Hermione push him subtly.

"Work. We really don't want to get into another fight."

Harry nodded his head, returning his attention to Hedwig. He nearly grinned as she took a few steps backward from his desk, not too sure she wanted him to use her again.

"Sorry," he repeated to his most faithful. That caught something in his brain. "What if the snake's an Animagus?"

"There aren't very many registered snake Animagus, Harry," Hermione told him, recalling going through the records earlier. She had been given all the data she could have wanted from Tonks. "Then again, they don't have to be registered to be one."

"Of course they don't...maybe she really is his lover..."

"Why keep her as a snake then? That's far too..."

She stopped at Harry's raised eyebrow. "Nothing's too farfetched for that monster," Harry reminded her.

Harry lifted his wand and cast the spell on Hedwig. He was pleasantly surprised to see her turn into a letter opener before he returned her to her usual form. "Good girl," he cooed, stroking her again. She nipped at him more lovingly, letting him know that she hadn't been in any pain.

The classes were becoming more and more important to Harry. The letter opener was as close to a weapon as they were going to get, but each time, he was taught something that he could use in the final battle. McGonagall was teaching him how to make weapons from anything around him. Flitwick taught him how to use his surroundings against the enemy-he could now enchant a medium sized object to fly towards anything at a deadly pace. If he were to add those skills to these new weapons he was creating, he could cause some damage to anyone against him. Snape hadn't really gotten around to teaching him anything of any use. There was the occasional healing potion, but that was it.

There was little hustle behind him as Neville tried to stop his letter opener from jumping out of the room, but it was ignored thanks to Hermione's constant nudges. She was keeping him in line as much as she possibly could since no one else was really interested in the idea.

Malfoy didn't help things either. And Scorpius was just as bad.

He must have gotten a far off look or something, because Hermione's elbow found his ribs again, rather harshly, he might add.

"Sorry..." he muttered stupidly. "But I got it before...did you see it?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you get to slack off. It also doesn't mean that you get to start daydreaming about Malfoy, either."

"I-I wasn't daydreaming about him or anyone else...I wasn't daydreaming at all...!"

"Sure."

"And even if I was, it wouldn't have been about him..."

"Where were you last night?" Hermione interrupted, smirking almost like a Slytherin.

Harry's eyes mockingly narrowed before he poked her in her forehead. "You're not a Gryffindor, you know that?"

"So what happened between the two of you?"

"This is where I curse myself for having a girl as one of my closest friends," Harry grumbled, casting the spell successfully on Hedwig before changing her back again. "You all like to gossip too much."

"Ron told me that you two have kissed."

Harry couldn't stop his smile, no matter how much he tried. "Yeah, a few times."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"We're not really anything, actually," Harry tried to explain. "It's more like...we're physically attracted to each other, and that's it. I mean, it was you who said that he was a long way off from being a decent human being, right? His personality is horrible, and he probably thinks the same way for me. We're just kinda...physically together, I suppose."

"So you've slept with him?"

"We've fallen asleep together, nothing more. It's nothing scandalous...just a lot of kissing..."

He ran a hand through his hair, thinking of how he sounded. The great Harry Potter getting himself involved with Draco Malfoy, son of convicted Death Eater without any emotional basis was overly scandalous when you thought of it. The look Hermione was giving him told him that she was having the same thoughts.

"Okay, so maybe it's a little scandalous, but damn he's good at kissing."

That had her laughing. "Good luck with that. Maybe you might replace Scorpius' papa, hmm?"

"Speaking of which, what were you two talking about when you took him into the Room of Requirement?"

She grinned. "What's it to you? Scorpius and I were having a nice little chat. I'm sure I'm eligible for something as simple as that since I'm his godmother."

"Mister Potter, Miss Granger." The two snapped their heads up to see Minerva bearing over them. "Is the task too hard for you two?"

"No, Professor," Harry instantly objected, grabbing up his wand again. He was shocked to see that Hedwig had disappeared on him.

"Your owl flew out of the room minutes ago, Potter," Minerva told him. "Even your loyal pet has given up on you. Ten points from Gryffindor each for slacking off. I expected better, Miss Granger."

"Yes Professor," Hermione sighed, transfiguring Crookshanks easily. The imitation tiger had been snoozing on the desk and was rudely awakened by the spell, appearing to be not so happy with Hermione when she returned him back to normal.

He could hear snickering to his left and turned to see Malfoy eyeing him. Harry sent him the bird with a smirk of his own as Draco replied with mock pain. The joke was over when a Slytherin threw a piece of balled up parchment at Draco's head. They all hissed out their insults to him under their breaths.

-

The glare he received wasn't as bad as he thought it would have been as he passed Nott on the way to Albus' office. The other teen barely registered Harry as he continued walking, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head hung low.

Harry had been called up to Albus' office just as he finished class for the day. He was meant to be at Quidditch practise, but Ron had been very understanding (after he ranted to Harry about Dumbledore getting in the way of everything that could actually make Harry's teen years worth living).

He suspected it had everything to do with the night before, even though he had asked the adults about the incident and had suggested that Harry got to bed. The old coot probably wanted to skewer Harry's brain more about his battling skills.

Harry hadn't lied when he had admitted to Scorpius that he was wary about the old wizard. There was something about him that he didn't like. It could be the secrets, it could be the way he's so willing to throw a seventeen-year-old into the middle of a battleground against a much more experienced wizard. Either way, he certainly knew how to screw Harry over.

Speaking the password, Harry was granted access to the office he was unfortunately so acquainted with.

Sitting in the middle of the room was Albus, behind his desk, appearing to be doing absolutely no work, as per usual. From what Harry had seen of the man, there wasn't very much one had to do when being the headmaster of Hogwarts. Sure, organising an army was high up on the priority list, but anything actually regarding the school always seemed to be missing from Albus' agenda.

"Harry," Albus greeted. "Lemon drop?"

"No thanks," Harry declined, as usual.

"I heard last night was...interesting."

"Disturbing is a better adjective."

He played with his silver beard for a moment before offering Harry a seat. The teen took it, knowing that anything said in this office was never good.

"On to business, I suppose. I know how everything happened last night, so I'm not going to ask you about it. It sounds too horrible to ask someone so inexperienced in the matter to relive it. No, today I'm after information on Scorpius Malfoy."

Harry felt the colour drain from his face. He was worried the old man would start on Scorpius, and felt a sting in the bottom of his belly. The last thing he wanted was to sell Scorpius and his abilities to this fool.

"He's an important part of the war now..."

"Malfoy and I have agreed that Scorpius is never allowed to see the battlefield," Harry interrupted solidly. "He's much too young and too inexperienced. He can barely cast a Stupefy spell, let alone anything of any substance. His talents lie purely in potion making."

"I'm well aware of that. We've had a chat before and he told me that he was never a student of Hogwarts and that his 'papa' refused to allow him lessons in defending himself." He looked at Harry from over his glasses. "However, I can't help but feel he can be a real asset..."

"No." Harry stood. "Scorpius isn't a toy you can play with. He's gone through too much. We're not putting him through this as well."

"Harry, Scorpius was controlled by his father too much. Don't you think you and Mister Malfoy are doing the same? He said he missed out on being happy because his papa was too insistent on having him safe."

"You're not exactly a father, are you?" Harry nearly snapped. "You can't possibly know what it's like to want your child's safety."

He didn't even recognise what he was saying until Albus smirked at him. "Is that so, Harry? Last I checked, you were without children, yourself."

He flushed at his mistake, trying to figure out what it was that made him react like that and say those things. Of course he didn't have and children, so how the hell would he know who these things felt? When he looked back at Albus, he was attacked by those all-knowing, twinkling blue eyes.

"I should probably go. You know my opinion on this," Harry muttered, turning towards the door.

-

"Why did you call him your papa last night?" Draco asked Scorpius, handing him a mug of hot chocolate. The boy had a sweet tooth and it was ever present in the colder weather.

Scorpius froze for a moment. He had thought this one in his head over and over again as he tried to find a logical (and a plausible) reason for calling Harry his papa twice. It was moments like these that he thanked that his dad was the Slytherin Ice Prince.

"Papa used to come back after missions and curl up in bed with me. It just felt like that was happening all over again, I suppose."

"Your papa went out on missions like that?" Draco asked, sitting on the couch beside Scorpius.

"Yeah. He was one hell of a fighter for the Order. He was brilliant. I guess that's one of the things you love about him." His grin was wide as he spoke lovingly about his papa. "So last night, I wasn't insinuating in any way that Harry Potter is my papa. It just slipped out because I was so exhausted."

"Slipped twice."

The reminder nearly had him wincing. "Really exhausted."

They were in the Room of Requirement, using it as often as they possibly could. It was great, allowing them whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, and Potter was never threatened for being in the area, like he usually was if they were in Scorpius' room.

Draco smiled at his son. "Tell me more about your papa..."

"I've told you all I can tell you..!"

"Then tell me again."

"You're a helpless romantic, you know that?"

They both jolted up as they heard the door open.

Draco's reaction was instinctual; his wand was drawn in a matter of seconds and pointed towards whoever it was.

Theodore Nott paused, his hand on the doorhandle as he looked at the two of them.

"Malfoy?" he gasped, his eyes dodging between the two, taking in the similarities. "What the hell is going on?"

Before Draco could do anything with his wand, Scorpius was between them. "Dad, I grew up with him in my life...he's not a bad guy..."

"Scorpius, didn't you hear Potter telling us what happened last night...his father tortured Blaise..."

"Shut up!" Nott demanded, his own wand pointed at Draco before he focused it on Scorpius. The very threat had Draco lowering his wand in defeat.

"Don't do anything to him." Draco threw his wand towards Nott. "He's defenceless. He doesn't even have a wand."

"What is he?"

Scorpius smiled as he turned around to face Theo. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy. I'm fifteen years old, son to Draco Malfoy and some man I can't identify for my own future's sake. My dad and my papa have me in ten years. In twenty years, we lose the war."

"What are you talking about?" Nott hissed, his wand pointed straight at Scorpius' head.

The more he looked at the kid, the more he wanted to believe him. There was something going on in his stomach that had him believing that whatever this person was, he was important. He felt his stomach drop when he saw those eyes staring back at him.

"Why are you here?" Scorpius asked. "Why did you come to see my dad so soon after your own father was killed by the Death Eaters?" The wand faltered. "This happened in my time. You came to my dad the day after your father was killed."

Nott dropped his wand to the floor and a tear followed. Draco moved.

He caught the other teen in his arms as Nott cried silently, shaking and sobbing over the loss of his last family member.

-

Harry froze when he opened the door. There, in Malfoy's arms, was Nott. His mouth went dry. Those arms weren't meant to be around the taller boy. No. They were never meant to be around anyone other than himself and Scorpius. His stomach swirled. His head got fuzzy. Sensations akin to what it was like to see Cho and Cedric fought with his logic.

He was jealous and he hated it.

"Get off him," he demanded, his wand aimed at Nott's back. "Get off him and away from him right now."

"Potter," Draco hissed angrily, refusing to let go of Nott. "He's in need."

"You're a Slytherin; you don't do that sympathy stuff. He can go find another shoulder to cry on."

Nott straightened up with a glare to Harry as he turned.

Scorpius got in the way again. "Harry, this is meant to happen," he argued, grabbing Harry by the elbow. He led his papa to the other side of the room.

"This is endangering you and your dad," Harry replied, watching over his shoulder. "He shouldn't know about you. He could turn you over in a second...we should erase his memories and be done with him."

"It's okay." Scorpius had a tender look on his face and it froze Harry's insides completely.

"O-oh." He couldn't catch the stutter.

"Theodore plays a big part in my life and I hate seeing him this way. Dad always managed to make him feel better, or at least, that's what Papa told me. Dad and Theo were very important to each other."

Harry didn't even notice the smirk Scorpius had on his face. "You-you're alright with him knowing about you then?"

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "He may as well...he's just about ready to change sides. He was never a Death Eater..."

"He tried to kill your dad not too long ago if you don't remember."

Laughter came from Scorpius. "When you see who Uncle Sev marries, you won't find this relationship too odd."

Relationship.

The green-eyed monster within Harry was millimetres away from bursting through to the surface.

"Besides, you and my dad need all the help you can get, right? You are in the middle of a war, after all."

Harry placed his hands on his hips. "How the hell can Malfoy be that forgiving?" he asked, nearly angrily. It really burnt him to see Malfoy that damn close to another.

"Are you really gonna get in the way of it?" Scorpius questioned slyly.

He watched as Harry's face flushed darkly before he went up and separated the two of them, demanding Malfoy tutored him as was their agreement.