A/N: Written for Hogwarts assignment 5: Men's History task 3 - Write about a father and son bonding.

Word count: 2,131

1.

When Albus thought back on it years later, he would think that it was cheesy, the way he first realised that there was something different about him. But at the time, he was only six, and his experience felt entirely and wholly unique.

It happened at their local park. Albus had been there more times than he could count. His parents brought him and his siblings at least once a week, on the weekends, but often they wound up there throughout the week as well. He knew every inch of the playground. He also knew every kid that showed up, which meant it was easy to spot the newcomer the second he arrived with his dad.

Albus wasn't yet good at estimating how old other kids were, aside from the categories of "big kids" who were James' age or older, "little kids" who were Lily's age or younger, and then just "kids" who were Albus' own age. This particular boy was hard to pinpoint even on that scale. He was taller than Albus, but he wasn't dismissive of Albus like James and the other big kids.

His bright blond hair made him easy to spot even while hidden away in the small playhouse that sat at the edge of the playground. The playhouse was Albus' favourite spot on the playground, and at first, he didn't know what to do about the strange boy holding it hostage. As soon as he worked up his courage, though, they became quick friends in that way only young children could.

He learned that the boy's name was Jacob and that he and his dad had just moved to a new house down the street. That was all Albus needed to feel like him and Jacob had known each other their whole lives.

When a man called out for Jacob an hour later, Albus' eyes pricked with tears. He'd made plenty of friends on the playground, even good friends, but none of them had felt like Jacob.

In Jacob's absence, Albus was too sad to keep playing and wandered over to Harry instead. His dad was sitting on a bench, with Lily on the ground in front of him playing with a stuffed dragon.

His dad noticed his sadness right away, holding out his arms. "What's the problem, buddy?"

Albus blinked away the tears. "I liked Jacob."

Harry, having kept an eye on him the entire time, didn't even ask who Jacob was. "Oh, he'll be back, Al. I spoke to his dad. You'll see Jacob on the playground again. Don't worry."

That didn't do anything to quell the crushing feeling in his chest. It was too much to handle at five.

"I'm glad you made a friend," Harry said. He pulled Albus' close, patting his back in a soothing motion.

It was nice being comforted, but Albus couldn't shake the feeling that there was more there. He'd never liked a boy the way he did Jacob. Sometimes he was sad when his friends left, but he always found new ones to play with. This time, everyone felt inadequate. He only wanted Jacob back.

But he didn't know how to explain that to Harry. Not at six and not for a long, long time afterward.

2.

Albus was eight when James decided to taunt him by insisting he would never get married.

"It's true," James said. He loomed over Albus where he was perched in the large tree that shaded most of their back garden. "Why would a girl like you?"

"James!"

Both boys froze. They hadn't heard their dad coming out the backdoor. Albus should have been thankful for the rescue, but instead, he was embarrassed that his dad had heard what James said too. His cheeks burned.

"I'm only telling the truth," James insisted, but there was a note of panic in his voice.

Harry shook his head. "No, you're not. Get down from there right now."

There was a split second where Albus was sure James would argue, but his dad's stony expression was enough for James to slip to the ground with a thump. Albus cringed as he fell. He'd always been too scared to climb that tree, let alone jump out of it, but accidental magic always seemed to protect James from having a hard fall.

"Go inside." Harry pointed at the backdoor. "I'll speak to you in a minute after I talk to your brother."

James gave a dramatic sigh but sulked off to the house anyway. Albus stared at the ground, willing the moment to be over.

"I'm fine," he muttered. He didn't want Harry to turn it into a bigger deal than it was. That only made him feel worse about the whole thing.

Harry laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're fine because James is wrong. If you want to get married in the future, you'll have no problem finding someone, Al."

Someone. Albus didn't miss the gender neutral word despite James saying 'girl' earlier. He looked up at his dad with wide eyes, searching for a sign that it had a deeper meaning. But his dad was only smiling at him like he always did. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

For a second, Albus thought he might take the plunge and say something. Since that first boy at the park, he'd developed a crush on a boy at his primary school. While it was all still confusing, he had more of an idea what the feelings meant. Maybe he could ask his dad about marrying boys and see what he said.

But before he could work up the courage, Harry was straightening up and turning towards the house.

"I'll talk to your brother. He shouldn't bother you again. If he does, come and find me, okay?"

Albus nodded, his brief glimmer of bravery gone as Harry disappeared through the backdoor.

3.

For the rest of Albus' life, his short-lived crush on Delphini would haunt him as one of his more humiliating moments. He'd spent so long worrying about his crushes on boys that his crushes on girls had, in some ways, been a comfort. He wasn't filled with the same anxiety that led him to frantically try to cover all traces of his feelings.

As long as he focused on the girls he liked, he could push aside his feelings for boys and not bother confronting them. On some level, he knew that it would never work long-term, but in his most vulnerable moments, it was something he clinged to.

Delphi ruined that. Suddenly, he was horrified that he'd been able to like someone who was so rotten inside. It was that crush that opened him up to people's judgement in a way that none of his previous crushes on boys ever had.

Months after the events in Godric's Hollow, the dark clouds were lessening enough that his family was starting to make small jokes about what had happened. Albus fluctuated on whether they were welcome or not. He wasn't prepared the first time his dad hinted at his crush.

"I do hope you'll have better taste in girls in the future, Al."

It was said playfully over his shoulder while he scrambled eggs on the stove, but Albus suddenly felt sick. He didn't want breakfast anymore. James laughed at the comment, but it wasn't directed at Albus. He wasn't even looking at him. Ginny shook her head, but even she was grinning.

"I hope so too," Albus said in a shaky voice, trying not to reveal how uneasy he felt.

For the first time, he thought that maybe confessing that he liked boys wouldn't be so bad. It would almost be a reassurance: Maybe he wouldn't end up with a girl at all. They didn't have to worry about his taste in them.

But that didn't really mean anything, and a second after the thought came, Harry slid a plate of scrambled eggs in front of Albus and his nausea ramped up even further.

He didn't trust himself to open his mouth at all.

4.

Albus hated being in charge of drying dishes, but there was no way to get out of it during school holidays. Every three days, he wound up standing next to either his dad or his mum after dinner, and he wasn't even allowed to use magic.

He had a habit of zoning out during the process, ignoring anything his parents said, which was why Harry had to nudge him to get his attention.

"What?" Albus asked, startled.

Harry chuckled. "I said that James is having a friend over next week. If you wanted, you could invite Scorpius over too."

Albus' eyes widened. In all the years he and Scorpius had been friends, they'd never visited each other's houses. Albus had always assumed it would be too awkward. His dad was weird about Scorpius being his friend. The last thing he'd wanted was to force them to interact more than was absolutely necessary.

"Why?" he asked.

Harry was too busy scrubbing at the bottom of a pan to look at him, which Albus was grateful for.

"He's your best friend," Harry said with a shrug. "I know it's hard being away from your friends all summer."

Albus was embarrassed to admit how touched he was by the gesture. If Godric's Hollow hadn't happened, Albus doubted Harry ever would have gone so far as to suggest Scorpius coming over. Sure, if Albus had been the one to suggest it, he'd have begrudgingly allowed it, but he wouldn't have been the first person to say it.

For the first time, he wondered if having Scorpius at his house and letting him interact with his family would be that bad.

He even wondered if he could tell his dad the full truth without making their relationship worse. Could he tell Harry that he'd started noticing things about Scorpius over the past few months that made his heart race and his palms sweaty? He hadn't even worked up the courage to tell Scorpius yet, but part of him wanted to take the risk to tell his dad. Maybe it was a desire to perform some sort of test. Harry had warmed up a bit to Scorpius being his friend, but how would he feel if he knew how badly Albus wanted to kiss him?

Harry handed him the pan, and Albus set to work drying it off, too lost in his own thoughts to actually admit anything at all.

5.

Albus thought coming out would be easier once he and Scorpius were dating. Finding out that Scorpius returned his feelings had been a huge confidence boost, one that he was still riding months later. Sometimes, he would still feel stunned when Scorpius kissed him. It all felt too good to be true.

When they were together, Albus felt like he could weather any storm. He could come out to his parents and not worry about what their reaction would be. Everything would be fine because he had Scorpius.

He kept believing that until he returned home for the school holiday and actually faced his parents without Scorpius at his side. Suddenly, all of his old feelings returned.

The father-son day was his dad's idea. In many ways, he was still trying to make up for how weird things had become between him and Albus in the lead up to the events in Godric's Hollow, and spending quality time with just the two of them was a priority. Albus didn't mind it.

In fact, he'd welcomed it when Harry had first suggested the idea in a letter while Albus was still at Hogwarts. It had sounded like the perfect time to come out to his dad, but as he and Harry walked along the corridors of the art museum, stopping every so often to discuss a painting that caught their eye, Albus couldn't do it.

A million and one excuses ran through his head: There were other people around. It was quiet enough that they'd be easily overheard. But, most of all, he was scared. Without Scorpius around, he could only think of the potential harm that would come if his dad had a negative reaction.

So he kept his mouth shut, not revealing a single thing.

+1.

Albus would never understand what was different on that particular day. He was taking a walk with his dad around his childhood neighbourhood. It was peaceful, but he'd spent many peaceful moments with his dad and hadn't been brave enough to speak.

The only conclusion he could come to was that it was just time. He was ready to say, "I'm bisexual."

Harry's answering smile made tears prick at Albus' eyes. The next thing he knew, he was in Harry's arms, holding on tight.