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When Harry arrived at the ministry that morning, the last thing he expected to see was his son and the mini-Malfoy Albus had grown so attached to. Yet, there they were.
“Albus, Scorp… what are you doing here?” he asked, calmly. His voice was slow and collected, but the boys in front of him, as well as every onlooker at the ministry, could tell he was anything but.
Albus had a look of mischief across his face. His palms, for some reason, were blue. Scorpius left a trail of purple in his footsteps. They had both paused mid-run when Harry spoke, leaving them lunging like trainers in an exercise video.
“Oh, hi dad. Fancy meeting you here.”
Harry sighed. He technically had no proof that they had done anything wrong… yet. They were both old enough to roam the city together, and there weren’t any rules against them being at the Ministry. With a huff, he brought the boys to his office and sent for Malfoy.
Meanwhile, the three wizards sat at his desk while Harry interrogated them.
“What happened to you?”
“Paint is quite the invention. Props to muggles, if I do say so myself.”
“Yes… but what were you doing with it?”
“Oh, you know, just having some fun.”
“Fun? Care to elaborate?”
They both chimed in with wide-stretched grins. “Nope!”
An exasperated Harry walked around the room, searching for signs of mischief. It had been nearly 10 minutes before a blond-haired man entered the room.
“Sorry I was late, Potter,” Draco said to his auror partner as he walked in, his focus on fixing his sleeve cuff. “I was busy cleaning up. Some idiot splattered green paint all over my-” he paused as he looked up, “...office. Scorp, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, correct?
Scorpius suppressed his snickers, but gave no response.
“Lovely. They also left me a little something.” He held the paper in front of his face and began dramatically reading. “Dear Mr. Malfoy, I know that it’s true. The next part of this note is in the room I made blue!” He barely finished speaking when the two young boys burst into laughter.
After finally catching his breath, Albus looked Draco dead in the eye and said, “Mr. Malfoy, I believe you’ve been sent on a scavenger hunt. Oh, and flip the paper over.” With that, the best friends darted out of the room. Draco read the scribbled mess on the back. “Don’t worry, Dad. Ginny and Luna Lovegood helped us charm every paper so only you or Mr. Potter could read them.”
Harry and Draco found themselves in Hermione’s office, just a step behind their painting sons.
At the (blue) Minister’s desk, Hermione pointed them towards an envelope. Harry read aloud, “Mr. Potter, we see the way he looks at you. We’re both sure you can see it, too. And now, just like a Weasley’s head, your next place is coloured red.”
Harry thought out loud. “Weasley… could that be a clue? The boys can’t apparate yet so it couldn’t be the burrow…” Harry looked questioningly at Draco.
Hermione sighed. “Have you checked in with Ron yet?” She wouldn’t give away the plan, but Albus never said she couldn’t nudge them on the right path.
“Thanks, ‘Mione! You’re the best,” Harry said before he and Draco apparated away. Hermione let out her breath and a stifle of laughter along with it.
Ron was far worse at hiding his laughter as he sat in a room that was completely painted red from floor to ceiling. “Your children promised to clean this up when it’s all done, but until then, I believe your next letter is in that poor plant’s soil. And Malfoy, your son certainly takes after you. I’ve never seen so much ‘extra’ packed into one person.”
Draco rolled his eyes and picked up the paper, reading it. “You’ve both been pining since year two. Dad, stop looking at your shoe.” Harry blushed and looked up. “Everyone knows your feelings aren’t mellow, so go back home to the room that is yellow.” Draco scoffed. “Potter, I know there’s no yellow room at the manor, so it seems we’re off to Grimmauld place.
Ron clapped a beet red Harry on the back. “Better get on with this. Your face matches the room,” he grinned, and with a crack, Harry and Draco left to go home.
This time, it was Draco’s turn to laugh. “Potter! Why is your kitchen yellow?”
Harry shrugged. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted and grabbed the note from a cabinet. “We don’t know why you haven’t yet. Even Scorp and I placed a bet. Now, in Summer, it’s the perfect weather, to go out on a date together!”
Harry looked at his blond companion. “Do… you want to?” he asked, a twinkle of hope behind his eye. Draco could not have said “yes” faster.