together.

four.

Harry had been thinking so much about his son. There was an obvious disconnect as there had always been between them; they never connected like he did with his son James and daughter Lily. His mind was much different then theirs and operated like no other, so it was hard to read him and figure out what he needed. Being in Hogwarts with him for half a month seemed like it would be good for them, but Albus wasn't even giving him the time of day; he was clinging to Scorpius like they were magnetized together. So, in attempts to connect, he asked Albus for a singular day, just the two of them together. After much convincing, Albus just had to agree, so their first destination was the quidditch pitch, because Harry wanted to 'see if he still had it in him.' Albus lended him his old broom from his third year and brought out the practice set of quidditch balls. 

"Really Dad, quidditch? You should know I'll best you," Albus tried to be lighthearted; he wanted to try his best to let his dad in a little bit. If Harry was going to try so hard for it, Albus figured he better give at least a little bit of a shot. 

"Well, let's put those words to the test now, Al," Harry said, releasing the snitch into the air. It was gone in a whim, but Albus had an eye on it. Although, he's been too worried about his dad calling him Al to hop onto the broom and get off. Harry had already mounted before Albus snapped out of his trance, but he was quick to catch up.

"Don't call me Al, Dad," Albus shouted as he passed his father, eyes not leaving the golden spec ahead of him. Harry took a double-take; that was always his nickname for his son, and he thought it was their thing, just the one, small thing they had together. He didn't say anything back to him, just sped ahead of his son, attempting to reach the snitch right in front of them, but Albus swung around and grabbed it right from out of him, headed towards the ground and planted nicely on his feet. Harry gasped, landing down next to him a second later. 

"I'm impressed, but why no more 'Al'?" He asked, handing him the broom back.

"Just getting old, it's childish, Albus is good," Albus answered, setting the brooms off to the side. Albus actually popped a smile onto his face when he spotted Scorpius across the pitch, and Scorpius happily smiled back.

"Hey, Potter's! Sorry to intrude on your bonding time, Ginny asked I come and check in on you lot!" Scorpius said, his cheery tone way too convincing. Honestly, Ginny hadn't sent him. He just wanted to see Albus and make sure he was doing okay. He had expressed his worries the previous night, so Scorpius promised a visit. 

"Then why didn't she come and visit herself?" Harry snapped back, earning a serious punch from Albus. Scorpius stepped back a little from Albus, fear shaking him. Albus stepped back with him, shooting only nasty looks at his father. 

"Because she's busy, Mr. Potter," Scorpius didn't snap back, being the better person. Albus always admired that Scorpius could keep his cool in the most stressful situations. Scorpius had just been brought up that way, so it was just second nature. 

"Why you, huh? Why didn't they send my own son or daughter, why not hm?" Harry stepped towards them again, Albus resisting the urge to grab Scorpius' hand for support. Scorpius stepped out in from of Albus, sensing the nerves coursing through him.

"Dad, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you being like this?" Albus shouted back, not having the control his partner does. 

"He has to go!" Harry shouted, finger waging at Scorpius. Albus stepped out in front of him, as though to physically block him from his father's silly ways. Scorpius stepped up to his side as though showing he was brave enough to fight along side Albus. 

"You're being unreasonable, Dad, he hasn't done anything! He is just here to check on us, that's all. Maybe if you didn't overreact to him being here, he could have just come and said hello, and then gone. But, you had to make a big deal out of him checking on us! This is why I don't want to spend alone time with you dad because it always goes wrong, and you can't tell me that isn't true!" Albus retorted, which caused Harry to shudder.