Albie Potter (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} albie_potter) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} 20somethings,@ 2021-12-19 18:41:00 |
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| Entry tags: | c: albus potter, c: lyra malfoy, d: 2027 12, ~ complete, Ω: rp |
RP: We need to talk
Who: Albie, Lyra
What: A shared past has come to light
When: 19 December 2027
Where: Malfoy Manor
Warnings: None
Completion status: Complete
“Lyra, can we talk?” Albie thought he might throw up with nerves, his complexion a little grey. Although Juliet was confident that everything would be okay, he didn’t have her faith. Lyra was weeks away from bringing the not-so-little pea into the world and the last thing Albie wanted to do was give her unnecessary stress.
But he couldn’t just sit on the question of Orion’s parentage. It would gnaw away at him and he needed to know the truth. Maybe, he hoped, Lyra would be happy to finally answer that question too.
“I ran into Juliet Nott at the shop. She suggested that we should talk.” He frowned. “And that you’d understand that or something?”
“Sure,” Lyra said, her feet up on one end of the sofa, a pillow shoved under her head. She knew she looked rather terrible currently, but she’d had a long couple days of work and her feet were killing her. She’d somehow forgotten how badly her ankles had swollen with Ori, and being on her feet all day was getting harder and harder the closer to giving birth she got.
She pushed herself more upright now, hands smoothing her hair back. She’d long since given up on her crush on Albie - or at least told herself she had - and he was always with Scor anyway so it was a bit fruitless to try to preen for him. She’d always be preening if that was the case. Anyway, there was no masking the large belly now, and she knew for a fact that was highly unattractive for most. She blinked at his mention of Jules, a sliver of unease going through her. They never talked about it, but everyone who had grown up around her knew about Jules’ talent.
“Ummmm maybe. Jules… tends to be right when she says people need to talk.”
Albie seated himself in an armchair, as much at home in Malfoy Manor as he was in any of his own family’s homes. “Yeah, I kind of got that impression. She seemed really sure of herself.” Which was more and more eerie as he thought about it.
He frowned, a crease deepening across his forehead like a mocking version of his dad’s scar. “So…” Merlin, where did he begin? He just had to say it. There was no softening this bombshell. Even if Juliet was wrong, the very suggestion that he and Lyra had slept together was going to change things between them for a while.
Albie braced himself. “She thinks that I’m Ori’s dad.”
“As she should be,” Lyra said, more to herself than to him. It was good that Jules was becoming more confident in her gift.
Her head tilted at him, a familiar tick. Scor said it made her look birdlike. She still didn’t know how she felt about it after all this time, but she hadn’t made an effort to change this habit.
She gave him another slow blink while she processed his words, and then ran them through her head again. “Well, damn,” she said, lower lip catching in her teeth. Surely she would have remembered sleeping with Albie. Right? RIGHT?! She’d only had a crush on him for many years, even though she knew it was hopeless.
“When did I sleep with you?” she said, but it was also mostly rhetorical, just blurting out of her mouth out of surprise. She wasn’t questioning the fact itself - she was truly trying to figure out when. She’d been in rebellion mode before she’d gotten knocked up, partying a lot when she could - so it had to have been at a party they were at.
“I suppose we need to get a test then,” she said after another moment, her taking Jules’ at her word. She really needed to just what Jules knew or had seen or however it worked.
“A Christmas party?” Albie shrugged, wishing that he remembered anything from that night other than the hangover and the marks on his body from what he had only assumed could be a passionate encounter. He’d been in his own rebellious era at the time, six months out of Hogwarts and still trying to figure out who he was as an adult. It was only three years ago, but he’d been such a child.
“You’ve heard me and Scor mention the Mystery Blonde?” He gestured a little pathetically at Lyra. “I think that might be you.” The only reason he even knew the woman he’d hooked up with was blonde were some stray hairs on his jeans the next day.
He nodded. “We do.” Lyra seemed to be taking this more easily than he had. Just what was up with Juliet Nott that she commanded such respect and authority? That was a puzzle for another day. Orion’s paternity was the most important mystery today. “I’ll organise it all,” he promised. “You’ve got enough on your plate with the little pea. I’ll sort out a Healer and everything.”
“Probably. I did get raging pissed at several of those, and it seems to be a habit to be blackout drunk at time of conception,” she said, gesturing at her belly with what she hoped came across as self deprecation and not something she criticized herself for relatively often.
She snorted. “Well. I mean, totally possible. I am very blonde,” she said wryly. “I do wish I could remember it. I am sure you know, but I had a mad crush on you, so I guess I shouldn’t even be surprised.” She was just surprised she didn’t remember a bit of it.
“I appreciate that. I admit getting out and about is getting harder and harder. I have no doubt I’m going to lose my job any day. Not that I can keep working for a while after bump has come into the light.” Relying on her savings and her family money and, reluctantly, on Miguel. It chafed her pride at times. “And I apologize in advance that I had no clue. Truly. THough at least you do already have a relationship with Orion, if it is true.”
Albie smiled wryly at her self-deprecating comments. No one else he knew pulled off pregnant as well as she did. A bit of colour rose to his cheeks as she mentioned her crush on him. “I suspected,” he said awkwardly, “but I was never a hundred per cent sure.” Over the years he’d been nursing his own hopeless crush on her brother, so it had never seemed appropriate to think too much about the possibility that Lyra presented.
That and his dad had married his best friend’s younger sister. Albie had not been planning for that particular history to repeat itself.
His eyes bugged in surprise. “You’re apologising? I feel like I should be the one apologising.” Albie had no doubt that whatever had happened between them had been as consensual as possible between two people who were completely wasted, but if he’d been the one to get her pregnant then he was the one who’d stopped her from being able to pursue whatever she wanted after graduation.
“Whether it’s true or not, you know I’ll always be here to help you, Ori and the bump, right?”
“Well, I have tried to be subtle all my life,” she said airily, not dwelling on it since it might make things (more) awkward, and anyway she’d always figured he and her brother would get together, and the one person in this world aside from her kids she would sacrifice for, it was Scorpius.
She laughed. It was a pretty sound, and she shook her head at the mess that was them. “Well we’ve both apologized, and we’ll just get on with it now, I guess. No use fretting over what we can’t change.” There would always be what ifs, but she tried not to dwell on them. It wasn’t like she’d ever been a dynamo at specific things anyway.
“I know, and thank you, Albie. You know I'll need the help as things go, and if you are Ori’s dad, I want you to be as much a part of his life as you want to. But I’m not going to, like, make demands or anything. Only time I’ll bitch is if you hurt his wee feelings.” She loved her kids. They might not have been planned, and one hadn’t even breathed air yet, but she loved them, more than she ever would have expected the first time she’d figured out she was pregnant.
“I don’t think subtle is really in the Malfoy nature,” Albie joked. More than anything, he was relieved that Lyra wasn’t angry or throwing things at him, which he felt would definitely be in her right to do.
She was right. There was nothing they could do to change anything. He was still going to have trouble getting over the fact that he’d missed so much of his son’s life as Ori’s dad if the test confirmed Juliet’s theory. Being Uncle Albie wasn’t quite the same.
“I won’t either,” he assured her. “You’re his mum, the only parent he knows right now.” Albie was in no way ready to discuss things like Ori staying overnight with him or other parental responsibilities. They’d have to figure it all out as they went along. He did laugh, though, as Lyra suggested that he might hurt Orion’s feelings. “Have you met him? I think we need to be more worried about him hurting my wee feelings.” Albie raised his eyebrows. “Earlier he was telling me that I need to wash my hair.”
That was surprisingly true. They sure tried, though.
They would ease into things. She already trusted Albie, anyway, so it wasn’t like she’d be terrified to leave them in the room together or anything, like she might with some random stranger. They’d manage to figure it out, and she should probably talk to her brother too.
She snorted. “Merlin, they really have no filter, you know? I got told I was very soft and jiggly the other day. Does miracles for the self esteem.” But she was laughing as she said it. “I think we’ll muddle through. But thanks for coming to me, Albie. I’m kind of glad to know it might have been you. It’ll take some getting used to, but I think we’ll manage.”
But he couldn’t just sit on the question of Orion’s parentage. It would gnaw away at him and he needed to know the truth. Maybe, he hoped, Lyra would be happy to finally answer that question too.
“I ran into Juliet Nott at the shop. She suggested that we should talk.” He frowned. “And that you’d understand that or something?”
“Sure,” Lyra said, her feet up on one end of the sofa, a pillow shoved under her head. She knew she looked rather terrible currently, but she’d had a long couple days of work and her feet were killing her. She’d somehow forgotten how badly her ankles had swollen with Ori, and being on her feet all day was getting harder and harder the closer to giving birth she got.
She pushed herself more upright now, hands smoothing her hair back. She’d long since given up on her crush on Albie - or at least told herself she had - and he was always with Scor anyway so it was a bit fruitless to try to preen for him. She’d always be preening if that was the case. Anyway, there was no masking the large belly now, and she knew for a fact that was highly unattractive for most. She blinked at his mention of Jules, a sliver of unease going through her. They never talked about it, but everyone who had grown up around her knew about Jules’ talent.
“Ummmm maybe. Jules… tends to be right when she says people need to talk.”
Albie seated himself in an armchair, as much at home in Malfoy Manor as he was in any of his own family’s homes. “Yeah, I kind of got that impression. She seemed really sure of herself.” Which was more and more eerie as he thought about it.
He frowned, a crease deepening across his forehead like a mocking version of his dad’s scar. “So…” Merlin, where did he begin? He just had to say it. There was no softening this bombshell. Even if Juliet was wrong, the very suggestion that he and Lyra had slept together was going to change things between them for a while.
Albie braced himself. “She thinks that I’m Ori’s dad.”
“As she should be,” Lyra said, more to herself than to him. It was good that Jules was becoming more confident in her gift.
Her head tilted at him, a familiar tick. Scor said it made her look birdlike. She still didn’t know how she felt about it after all this time, but she hadn’t made an effort to change this habit.
She gave him another slow blink while she processed his words, and then ran them through her head again. “Well, damn,” she said, lower lip catching in her teeth. Surely she would have remembered sleeping with Albie. Right? RIGHT?! She’d only had a crush on him for many years, even though she knew it was hopeless.
“When did I sleep with you?” she said, but it was also mostly rhetorical, just blurting out of her mouth out of surprise. She wasn’t questioning the fact itself - she was truly trying to figure out when. She’d been in rebellion mode before she’d gotten knocked up, partying a lot when she could - so it had to have been at a party they were at.
“I suppose we need to get a test then,” she said after another moment, her taking Jules’ at her word. She really needed to just what Jules knew or had seen or however it worked.
“A Christmas party?” Albie shrugged, wishing that he remembered anything from that night other than the hangover and the marks on his body from what he had only assumed could be a passionate encounter. He’d been in his own rebellious era at the time, six months out of Hogwarts and still trying to figure out who he was as an adult. It was only three years ago, but he’d been such a child.
“You’ve heard me and Scor mention the Mystery Blonde?” He gestured a little pathetically at Lyra. “I think that might be you.” The only reason he even knew the woman he’d hooked up with was blonde were some stray hairs on his jeans the next day.
He nodded. “We do.” Lyra seemed to be taking this more easily than he had. Just what was up with Juliet Nott that she commanded such respect and authority? That was a puzzle for another day. Orion’s paternity was the most important mystery today. “I’ll organise it all,” he promised. “You’ve got enough on your plate with the little pea. I’ll sort out a Healer and everything.”
“Probably. I did get raging pissed at several of those, and it seems to be a habit to be blackout drunk at time of conception,” she said, gesturing at her belly with what she hoped came across as self deprecation and not something she criticized herself for relatively often.
She snorted. “Well. I mean, totally possible. I am very blonde,” she said wryly. “I do wish I could remember it. I am sure you know, but I had a mad crush on you, so I guess I shouldn’t even be surprised.” She was just surprised she didn’t remember a bit of it.
“I appreciate that. I admit getting out and about is getting harder and harder. I have no doubt I’m going to lose my job any day. Not that I can keep working for a while after bump has come into the light.” Relying on her savings and her family money and, reluctantly, on Miguel. It chafed her pride at times. “And I apologize in advance that I had no clue. Truly. THough at least you do already have a relationship with Orion, if it is true.”
Albie smiled wryly at her self-deprecating comments. No one else he knew pulled off pregnant as well as she did. A bit of colour rose to his cheeks as she mentioned her crush on him. “I suspected,” he said awkwardly, “but I was never a hundred per cent sure.” Over the years he’d been nursing his own hopeless crush on her brother, so it had never seemed appropriate to think too much about the possibility that Lyra presented.
That and his dad had married his best friend’s younger sister. Albie had not been planning for that particular history to repeat itself.
His eyes bugged in surprise. “You’re apologising? I feel like I should be the one apologising.” Albie had no doubt that whatever had happened between them had been as consensual as possible between two people who were completely wasted, but if he’d been the one to get her pregnant then he was the one who’d stopped her from being able to pursue whatever she wanted after graduation.
“Whether it’s true or not, you know I’ll always be here to help you, Ori and the bump, right?”
“Well, I have tried to be subtle all my life,” she said airily, not dwelling on it since it might make things (more) awkward, and anyway she’d always figured he and her brother would get together, and the one person in this world aside from her kids she would sacrifice for, it was Scorpius.
She laughed. It was a pretty sound, and she shook her head at the mess that was them. “Well we’ve both apologized, and we’ll just get on with it now, I guess. No use fretting over what we can’t change.” There would always be what ifs, but she tried not to dwell on them. It wasn’t like she’d ever been a dynamo at specific things anyway.
“I know, and thank you, Albie. You know I'll need the help as things go, and if you are Ori’s dad, I want you to be as much a part of his life as you want to. But I’m not going to, like, make demands or anything. Only time I’ll bitch is if you hurt his wee feelings.” She loved her kids. They might not have been planned, and one hadn’t even breathed air yet, but she loved them, more than she ever would have expected the first time she’d figured out she was pregnant.
“I don’t think subtle is really in the Malfoy nature,” Albie joked. More than anything, he was relieved that Lyra wasn’t angry or throwing things at him, which he felt would definitely be in her right to do.
She was right. There was nothing they could do to change anything. He was still going to have trouble getting over the fact that he’d missed so much of his son’s life as Ori’s dad if the test confirmed Juliet’s theory. Being Uncle Albie wasn’t quite the same.
“I won’t either,” he assured her. “You’re his mum, the only parent he knows right now.” Albie was in no way ready to discuss things like Ori staying overnight with him or other parental responsibilities. They’d have to figure it all out as they went along. He did laugh, though, as Lyra suggested that he might hurt Orion’s feelings. “Have you met him? I think we need to be more worried about him hurting my wee feelings.” Albie raised his eyebrows. “Earlier he was telling me that I need to wash my hair.”
That was surprisingly true. They sure tried, though.
They would ease into things. She already trusted Albie, anyway, so it wasn’t like she’d be terrified to leave them in the room together or anything, like she might with some random stranger. They’d manage to figure it out, and she should probably talk to her brother too.
She snorted. “Merlin, they really have no filter, you know? I got told I was very soft and jiggly the other day. Does miracles for the self esteem.” But she was laughing as she said it. “I think we’ll muddle through. But thanks for coming to me, Albie. I’m kind of glad to know it might have been you. It’ll take some getting used to, but I think we’ll manage.”