Author's note: Enjoy!

Dedication: To Aya, enjooooy!

Hogwarts: Assignment 1, Ancient Runes Task #1 Write about a desire to learn something

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

Warnings: NA

You Can Always Make Music

Draco made an effort not to spend the bulk of his time locked away in the office or buried in books and work—Astoria had made him promise he wouldn't and he understood how and why it was important. Today, it was the music that drew him to the manor's main floor. He made his way down the stairs and across the house carefully, hoping that the cracking wood under his feet wouldn't give away his presence and stop the music.

The song was as enchanting as every time he heard it; on one hand there were strong, low, repetitive notes keeping his attention and anchoring the song and his heart, but there were also quick and fluty octaves juxtaposed to this evennness. He recognised it easily, but was still somewhat surprised by the pianist manning the instrument and launching the music into the house when he peeked into the living room. Of course, logically he shouldn't have been too surprised. Scorpius was the only other person in the house and, sure enough, the dark-haired boy was sitting on the piano bench, feet just barely touching the ground.

A book of yellowed sheet music was open before him and when Scorpius followed the notes to the bottom of the right page, he began the sequence before him anew. He could be quite like a dog with a bone or a Niffler with a Galleon, Draco often thought—working and working and working at something until he was satisfied with the execution and results. Astoria had been the same way; she could drive her sister mad by practising the same four bars of a song. Draco had loved hearing the redundancy and knowing that she was in the house, in his life, doing what she loved.

Draco leaned in the doorway and watched and listened to his son's playing until one of Scorpius' hands slipped and broke the melody. Scorpius clucked his tongue, annoyed at himself.

"Don't worry about it, you did exceptionally well," Draco spoke up.

He hadn't meant to startle Scorpius but of course he did. Scorpius pivoted on the bench to swing his legs towards Draco. He scratched the back of his head.

"I thought you were working," Scorpius said.

"I was, but I heard you playing," Draco said. "I didn't know that you'd gotten interested in playing."

"I… yeah, I suppose I did," Scorpius said, tugging at the sleeves of the sweater he was wearing—a deep blue garment he'd most likely stolen from Al Potter, by the looks of the initials on the front. "I mean… I want to properly learn piano, like, actually understand how it works. Mum used to just sit me down on her lap and let me put my hands on top of hers—and I spent a lot of time watching her too, so I could kind of pull it together..."

"Your mother used to hold you against her chest in a sling and play you your lullabies downstairs," Draco said. "She got very, very good at bringing you all the way back up to your nursery and slipping you into the crib without waking you up."

"Did she?" Scorpius asked, a smile tugging at the left side of his lips. He turned back towards the piano and looked at the yellowed pages. "I wasn't sure where to start, but she bookmarked this piece and I remembered what it sounded like because she played it lots."

"The Maiden's Prayer," Draco nodded. "By Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska. Mum had a soft spot for it; musical theorists and critics were absolutely brutal when they wrote about it. They called it simple, inept, overly sentimental…"

"Really?" Scorpius said. "Oh. I liked it."

"I like it too," Draco said. "So did Mum. She said that it was easier to destroy than to make, and that anybody who created anything in this world deserved to be upheld."

"That sounds like her," Scorpius said. He chewed his lip. "I just… I really missed her today but we can't have her back so I was trying to think of what we could and… well, you can always make music. She said that too."

"She did," Draco said. He crossed his arms and leaned his head against the doorframe. "And she'd be happy to see you making something too. I think it's a good idea, Scorpio. If you want to learn, we probably have books that could teach you better, so you wouldn't have to guess and go by memory so much."

"Yeah?" Scorpio asked. "I didn't know where to look, other than in the piano bench."

"That's where Mum kept her favourites, we have other books packed away downstairs."

"Okay," Scorpio said, easing his weight forward, itching to get up. "Can we..? I mean, if you're not busy."

"Yes," Draco said, nodding. "Yes, let's go find you some piano books."

Stacked with: MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts

Individual Challenge(s): Slytherin MC; Seeds; Tissue Warning; Times to Come; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Family); Themes & Things B (Loss); Themes & Things D (Sweater/Jumper); Themes & Things F (Mourning); Advice From the Mug; Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

Word Count: 806

Shipping Wars

Ship (Team): Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy

List (Prompt): Winter Big List (Music)