[Draco Malfoy]

There was a soft crunch of snow beneath his feet as Draco made his way to the quaint village at the end of the well-worn path from the castle. With an exhale that drifted out in a visible plume of air, the man looked up at the flakes still drifting from the gray sky. Crossing his arms, he lowered his chin to his scarf, the warm wool of it pleasant as the frosty wind bit against his skin. The scent of burning hearths was carried in the smoke from multiple chimney stacks and just the thought of settling down in front of a roaring fire with something hot to drink brought a rush of comfort. It was Draco's plan, after all, to do just that.

He stopped outside of the Three Broomsticks and rubbed his gloved hands together, turning his head toward the bustling village square. He was planning on meeting his son here for dinner. It being a Saturday, the boy had spent most of the day in Hogsmeade and they decided to just meet up here. Draco was looking forward to catching up. In spite of being together in the castle, their paths didn't cross all too often and their schedules kept them pretty busy during the week. The older Malfoy was still trying to imagine new ways of changing that and thought he might make grabbing dinner with the boy a regular thing, though he did tend to head home to Astoria every other weekend.

As he continued to wait, Draco glanced to the Slytherin emblem engraved on the end of his scarf, absently tracing it as he remembered the many Saturdays he had spent in Hogsmeade with Crabbe and Goyle. The mischief they had gotten up to...he nearly shook his head as a few specific memories popped up. They were accompanied with a subtle ache though as his thoughts turned to the loss of his friend. Old Vincent Crabbe. That poor, endearing simpleton.

Scorpius Malfoy

[Scorpius Malfoy]

As if it wasn't terrible enough that his dad had decided to be a teacher, he now had somehow managed to convince Scorp into going for dinner together. It just felt like a good idea when his father had suggested it, mostly because the young boy was very fond of his father. The problem was that when he considered there was more to the world and it wasn't exactly a private event, he felt a lot less comfortable with it. His dad was a teacher after all! If there ever was a moment to dramatically perish, it had to be this one, right?

Still, after a day in Hogsmeade where he'd mostly just hung out with Albus and tried to set a new record of stuffing the most disgusting candy they could find at Honeydukes into his face by simplicity of a bet. He'd won, after slight debate on the matter, by the mere fact he'd eaten the required amount. Nobody had said anything about the amount of time the candy had to remain lodged in his stomach. It hadn't done so particularly long, after all. Scorpius was very sure the last one lasted in there less than a minute. It had been fun though.

Now, he said his goodbyes to Albus and made his way over to the three broomsticks for dinner with good old dad. He just hoped that Rose wasn't around to see it. Or him coming back from the village with his dad. He was fairly certain that would destroy him. He trodded towards his dad, looking around a bit furtively as he walked up to his dad. As long as Rose wasn't around. "Hey dad." He said softly. "Can we go inside?" He said, shifting on his feet a bit nervously and impatiently. He knew he could relax just as soon as they got a seat somewhere in a corner where he was out of view. Yes, that would do perfectly.

Draco Malfoy

[Draco Malfoy]

At the sound of footsteps, Draco was pulled from his thoughts and he smoothed a hand over his scarf as he glanced up. Upon seeing that it was Scorpius, he offered a warm smile that reached his eyes, a smile he offered to only a select few --- namely, his son, his wife, and his mother. "Hey," he nodded. "Sure, let's get out of this cold."

He caught the nervous twitching of the boy's feet and tilted his head curiously, brows creasing in question. What was with him? Draco opened the door and stepped inside, glancing about the room with a pleasant sigh. The warmth felt good. His eye shifted to a table near the crackling fire, which just so happened to be near the center of the room. He moved towards it as he glanced back at his son. "You alright there, Scorp? You look..." He raised an appraising brow. "On edge."

He paused as he reached the table, removing his scarf and gloves as he eyed the younger Malfoy patiently. Something definitely seemed to be bothering the boy. Draco couldn't imagine what it could be. Friend trouble? Girl trouble? Problem teacher? For someone his age, it could be any number of things. He was prepared to help put his mind at ease though, if he could. 

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius had to hold back a very pained groan as his father actually seemed to want to be the center of attention. He headed for one of the most central tables and Scorpius very reluctantly trailed after him. Very reluctantly. He grimaced for a moment as he shrugged. "Can't we take a corner seat? I've been out all day and the last thing I need is to be that close to the heat. I'm kind of used to the cold now." He said, even if it was a bit of a dumb excuse. He himself spotted a table that suited him a lot better. In a corner, mostly tucked out of sight but still cozy enough not to give the idea he had obvious plans not to be seen.

He lifted his head in almost bemused alarm as his dad said he looked on edge. He ran a hand through his chair, chuckling a bit awkwardly. "Went to look at the shrieking shack with Al. I guess it put me on edge a bit." He said a bit lamely. It sounded like a decent enough excuse, right? He started heading towards the booth he much prefered to sit at so he could at least eat comfortably. That ought to help, right? He loved his dad but eating dinner with a teacher? So awkward. It wasn't like he was popular to begin with anyway, and it certainly wouldn't help his reputation to be seen having a casual meal with his father, the teacher. The dred! The horror!

Draco Malfoy

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco was disappointed for a moment when Scorpius decided on the corner table. The heat felt nice. He glanced back at the fire before following his son. The bizarre answer he'd given was an obvious excuse, but Draco decided to respect it. Growing up his own father hadn't offered much choice in...well, anything, and he was resolved not to raise Scorp the same way.

It was curious though. The way he was acting.

Draco sat in the booth tucked so far back there was a draft coming in through the window and with hardly a view at all of the center room. Maybe the boy wanted privacy? To really enjoy the one-on-one time with him.

"Ah, the shrieking shack."He shook his head, smirk spreading. "Potter really pulled one over on me and my friends out there." What with that invisibility cloak of his. Giving them a right scare.

He tilted his head and pondered the friendship between Scorpius and Potter's boy. It was ironic, given how he'd wanted the same thing at first. Things had come full circle, it seemed. It was nice to see. "I haven't officially met young Albus. I'll have to try and do that sometime."

Scorpius Malfoy

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Naturally some one on one time with his dad was great and if he hadn't been a teacher young Scorpius would have been quite delighted to hang out with his dad on a Hogsmeade weekend. But it also meant he would have seen a lot less of his dad, like it had been the case these last few years.

His dad instantly seemed to go into dad mode before they were even properly seated, talking bout the old days when Albus' dad had pranked him like it was just yesterday. So cringy! Not that Scorpius minded all that much now that they were less in view of the public. Too bad about the draft though. He could have done without, if that had been a similarly obscure seating.

Scorpius pulled a face a moment as his dad mentioned meeting Al officially. There was no way that would end well. "Yeah, I'll invite him over during summer or something." Scorpius said. "You can't go officially meeting him at Hogwarts as anything other than a teacher! Al might be my best friend but I am fully convinced I'll never hear the end of that teasing. Please promise you'll keep the dad stuff at home? I love you dad, but as a teen boy the last thing I need to worry about is you going around trying to make friends with my friends, or worse yet, my crush!" Going a bit red in the face he tugged at his tie for a moment. "If I get one, that is." He wasn't about to confess that he totally had a crush on Rose after all! He didn't want to think of the million ways his dad could unintentionally embaress him with that knowledge!

Draco Malfoy

[Draco Malfoy]

"The summer?" Draco muttered curiously, wondering a moment why in the world he should have to wait so long when the boy was right there in the castle with him. But then Scorpius proceeded to explain, though the logic wasn't the easiest to follow. After all, he had hardly been able to contain the urge to share all the friends he'd made with his father at Scorpius' age. The man could never have been embarrassing. But then Lucius hadn't been much of a father, so Draco supposed that just came with the territory. Draco did enjoy playfully teasing his son, but it seemed Scorpius wanted him to separate work from home. He could manage that. Sort of. Maybe a little.

But then the boy mentioned a crush and Draco watched with a raised brow as his face grew red with the revelation. Poor thing tried to catch his slip-up but it was too late. Draco cast him a knowing smirk. "Crush, huh? Pretty normal for your age. I take it you don't care to share their identity?"

A waiver arrived and Draco ordered himself a mug of warm, mulled wine before motioning a hand towards his son. As he waited for the boy to order a drink,he glanced down at the menu and thought over the options, feeling like some stew might be good.

[Scorpius Malfoy]

"Yes, summer. You know, when the sun actually peeks through the clouds every once in a while." Scorpius said with a bit of a grin. He was very fond of his dad, even if the man got on his nerves endlessly at times. "When you can only embaress me in front of Al rather than the entire school." He added rather cheekily. "If Al is even willing to visit, that is. I don't think he likes you all that much and considering who his dad is... I can't blame him." Scorpius was aware of the enmity that their fathers had shared during their school days. It was a bit hard to miss.

But the utter terror that came with knowing that his dad would be keeping an eye open to find out who his crush was (as if he'd not want to know) was a nightmare of it's own. He'd need to be a lot more sneaky now. At least it was easier to excuse hanging out with Rose considering how close she and Albus were. "I don't." He said with a wriggle of his nose. "And it's appreciated that you're not going to start trying to find out either." He said rather pointedly, as if to make clear to his father snooping was not welcome without actually saying it out loud. This was going to get the point across right?

Draco Malfoy