A/N- Ok, this story may seem a bit strange, but I just had to write a fic where the dad didn't go ballistic and act all upset. Instead, the grandparents get to go ballistic and act all upset. Fun.
And Fred is back. I'm of the opinion that you just can't kill the comic relief, plus he's awesome, so he never died. Sorry.
Also, I'm not a fan of swearing, though even I would probably use some dirty language in this situation. However, Rose doesn't. You can guess what she wants to say, though.
Oh, and as this is a story about teen pregnancy, obviously some inappropriate things are implied. But it isn't really talked about, so I think the overall story is completely clean. Enjoy!
And to all those on who read 'No Longer', thanks! I'll update on Monday.
Lucky
Rose stared. She had never, ever, in her wildest dreams, expected this to happen. She couldn't even begin to imagine what she was going to do. And she didn't even have the options most people had, whether they like them or not, because she was part of the biggest and closest family in the wizarding world, and certain things were inconceivable to her.
Unfortunately…something had been conceived. Someone, actually. And she was kinda freaking out about it.
Rose knew that eventually she'd have to tell her boyfriend. It was kind of important news, for both of them. And they hadn't even had the chance to talk about things like this yet.
She'd feel better if they had, because then at least she'd know his reaction. Or be able to narrow it down a little.
Oh sh-er…darn! Reactions! What am I going to tell Hugo? What am I going to tell Mom and Dad? Or Lily, or James, or Al, or Teddy? Oh sh-darn!
Rose just kept staring. Never in her life had she panicked so much. She was 17, and was halfway through her last year at Hogwarts. She was dating Scorpius Malfoy, and her dad was…well…displeased, but dealt with it. Hugo was her younger brother; Lily, James, and Al were her closest cousins, but she had a lot of them. Teddy was her Uncle's godson, so she supposed he was her god-cousin.
Teddy was also her best friend, for all that he was eight years older, and they could pull pranks like there was no tomorrow. After all, he was the son of a Marauder, and she was the niece of the Weasley twins, who were always helping the two out with ideas and means and such. It was just a bit inevitable.
Of course, she was also a Weasley, so she supposed this was inevitable too, what with the, erm, fertility rate of her particular family.
Oh yeah, and she was holding a positive pregnancy test.
See the dilemma?
Oh, man, how am I going to tell Scorpius? This is just…AH! If I can't even tell the kid's father about them, how on earth am I supposed to be able to take care of them? moan I am so not mature enough for this.
She was partly brought back to sanity by the moan, and partly by the immediate and undesired desire to throw her lunch into the toilet. She had no choice but to oblige.
Straightening and rinsing out her mouth, Rose made the decision that she would keep her hair in a ponytail or a bun or something until this morning sickness stuff stopped. Or, she compromised, until she had Scorpius there to hold it back.
The girl gathered her Gryffindor courage, despite the fact that she was in Hufflepuff, home of the kind and loyal, not the dumb and weak, as everyone thought, and pocketed the test. She vanished the wrapping, not wanting anyone to find out by a box in the garbage, took a deep breath, and walked to the Room of Requirement, where she knew Scorpius would be. If she needed him, he would come. And she needed him.
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"What!? Rosie, what is it? You scared the wits out of me, you know," the blonde Ravenclaw said as he rushed in ten minutes after she did.
Rose smiled. "What wits? Just 'cause you're a Ravenclaw doesn't mean you have any."
Scorpius glared. "And just 'cause you're a Hufflepuff doesn't mean you're nice. 'Loyal', sure, well that's a given, but 'kind'?"
She swatted him on the arm, but was unhappily reminded of the seriousness of the situation when her hand hit the pocket holding the pregnancy test.
"Um…Scorp?" she whispered, "Can you sit down for a moment?"
He did, on the couch that suddenly appeared beneath him. "You're not…breaking up with me, are you?" he asked.
She laughed in a strange tone before saying in an even stranger voice, "No, no, of course not, but, well, you see…. Um…oh wow we should have had a conversation similar to this long ago…well…. Scorp, what do you want from your future?"
He blinked. "Well, I want to stay with you, I want a job that can support us, a house big enough for us and maybe a few kids, if we decide to have them. I want my parents and your parents to stop hexing each other whenever they can, or the wedding would be extremely awkward, and-" his eyes widened as he realized what he'd said. "Um…well…you asked?" he finished nervously. "What do you want from a future?"
Rose sighed happily, and relaxed a bit. "Oh, Scorp, thank goodness. This was going to get really awkward if you'd said anything else, and my dad would probably make sure this couldn't ever happen to you again."
"What could never happen to me again?"
She took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I'm-" here she lost her voice for a moment, coughed, and tried again. "I'm…pregnant."
Scorpius was stunned. About as much as she had been when she found out, but maybe a bit less panicked, because he had someone with him to pull himself out of his shock and ask, "Scorp, are you ok?" Someone who would have more difficulty with this than he would. Someone he loved.
"Oh, Rose, are you sure?" he whispered breathlessly.
She sniffled, one tear rolling down her pale face, followed quickly by another. "Yes," she managed before burying her face in her hands.
Scorpius pulled her into his lap, letting her cry into his shoulder. When she calmed down and pulled away, he looked at her in wonder. "Oh, Rose, this is…this is…. Oh, Merlin, I love you."
She brushed the tears out of her eyes and gave him a confused look.
"Rosie, this is wonderful. A…a…a baby? Oh, Rosie!" He pulled her into a nearly bone crushing hug, stroking her hair.
She laughed, "You're really, honestly, ok with this?"
"Well, it was a little sooner than I'd planned, but…Rose, I've always wanted children. Being an only child will do that to you." He glanced at her stomach, then up at her face, then back to her middle, silently asking if she minded. She gave a small smile and a nod.
He looked back at her again, just to show her his eyes. They were full of joy, awe, happy tears, and a look Rose's dad would never have expected to see in a Malfoy.
"I love you too," she murmured. His hands gently caressed her face, then trailed down to her stomach, where they rested.
The two just sat there for a while, him happy to be with his love, as close to his child as he'd get until it was born, her happy to be with her own love, his shaking hands warming her skin just above where their baby grew. Slowly, her hand crept down to join his, and she slid down on the couch, which widened enough for Scorpius to lay next to her. They lay there together for a long, long time.
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The next morning, when Scorpius woke up, he just rested for a while, to let Rose sleep while he thought. He hadn't been quite as thoughtlessly happy as he'd seemed. Happy, certainly, but this…this was going to need some thinking over.
Where were they going to live? How were they going to graduate? He'd have to get a job immediately once they did, or Rose would, while the other stayed home to watch the baby. What would they name it? How would they take care of it? Should they get married now, or after it was born? And…. Oh Merlin, what are we going to tell our parents?!
Rose started stirring, so he gently stroked her hair and whispered urgently, "Rose, what are we going to tell our parents?"
Rose shot up like her pillow was a spring, and said, "Oh, no! Oh, word I don't really want to say out loud! Oh, insert cuss word here!" she looked at him, "What are we going to do?"
He stared back earnestly, and answered, "We're going to go talk to Headmaster Longbottom as soon as class starts. Then we're going to get permission to Floo to your house, and we're going to tell your parents. Then-"
"Your parents first," Rose whispered, "My dad will probably not leave us in any condition for talking, so we should tell anyone else beforehand."
Scorpius searched her eyes, not knowing what kind of insincerity he was looking for, but not finding it, and said, "Alright. We'll talk to my parents first, then yours."
"We should probably just say it kind of direct. We can sit them down and I can show them the test."
He watched her tenderly, thinking that maybe this wasn't the best moment to suddenly be struck by the desire to hold her and reassure himself that this was real. He leaned down the inch and a half between them, and kissed her gently. She looked up at him, then pulled him back for a harder kiss, one that told him how scared she had been, how glad she was that he was happy, and how terrified she still was. This kiss told him how much she needed him, and how worried she had been that he wouldn't be there. Most of all, it told him how happy she was that he had been.
"Sounds good to me," Scorpius murmured, "And when school ends, um…before the baby is due?" He tried to do some math in his head, but gave up and let Rose nod. There was only one possible due date, after all. "We can buy a house, I think I have enough saved from summer jobs for a small one, and I can get a new job, to support the three of us, or you can, if you'd rather work, and I can take care of the baby, and…" He paused, "Rose, you know I love you, right?"
She grinned, "No, actually, I've never heard that song."
"Rose," he groaned.
She smiled, "Of course I do. And you know that I love you too, don't you?"
He kissed her again. "Yeah. Um…Rose, could you get off my lap for a moment?" She did, and he knelt before her. "Rose Weasley, that being said, I hope you will do me the honor and pleasure of marrying me."
She shook her head in amusement. "What?" he cried, "I'm down here on bended knee! The least you can do is not laugh!"
"I'm sorry. It's just that, well, that was a tad unexpected. But yes, of course, I'd love nothing more than marrying you," she stopped for a moment, thoughtful, "Not even a potato chip root beer float." (A/N- actually, potato chips dipped in root beer are really good)
"A…what?"
"Come on, let's stop for breakfast on the way to the Headmaster's office," she said, pulling him to his feet. They had both pulled enough pranks and got in enough trouble to know where that was.
"So…what are we going to tell Professor Longbottom?" Scorpius asked.
"Well, I was thinking that we don't have to tell him just yet, I mean we will eventually, but for now we can just say that there's an emergency and we need to go home."
He chuckled, "Good thinking. It'd even be true."
They rode up the staircase, holding hands for reassurance. Also, they found that it was comforting to comfort the other.
Only moments after they knocked, the door swung open to reveal Neville sitting at the big desk with a quill in his hand and looking like he hadn't slept all night. He glanced up. "Rose, Malfoy, what brings you here so late?" He was around for enough of Rose's childhood that he could call her by her first name with no trouble, but even being civil with a Malfoy was still hard to imagine.
Rose smiled, "Actually, sir, it's early, so you may want to get ready for all your early morning headmaster duties and then go to sleep."
"Ah!" Neville exclaimed, "Sleep! What a strange concept."
Rose thought maybe Neville was channeling Dumbledore, who'd been the headmaster back when Neville and her parents were students. Way back. "Sir, we need to Floo home for a while. There's been an emergency, but we should be back later today."
Neville expression changed from joking to concerned in a flash. "An emergency? Is everyone all right?" Apparently he'd been rather close to Rose's family.
"Yes, yes, everyone should be fine," Scorpius intercepted, "But we need to be with our families now. I think we'll be able to tell you later, but don't worry."
Neville looked Scorpius up and down, as if assessing whether he was Voldemort or not. Upon coming to the conclusion that he wasn't, the professor gestured toward the fireplace and returned to scribbling franticly with the quill.
Scorpius looked at Rose, asking her silently if she was ready. She nodded, and they stepped into the flames.
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When they arrived, soot covered and nauseas, in Scorpius' house, he carefully brushed most of said soot off his fiancé. She, in turn, brushed whatever possible off him.
"Ready?" she asked nervously.
"As ever," he replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace, squeezing his hand as they wandered to the parlor, where Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were sure to be.
They were. Mrs. Malfoy was reading a book and finishing a piece of toast, while Mr. Malfoy was holding the Daily Prophet up in front of him and drinking coffee. He put it down, revealing that same blonde hair and pale skin Rose's parents remembered, only without the boyish smirk, when Scorpius cleared his throat and said, "Mom? Dad? We've got something to tell you."
"Scorpius!" his mom cried, putting down her book to rush over and hug him. She smiled at Rose, even though she had no clue why she was there.
"Ah. Hello, my boy. What are you doing here?" Draco growled, but not as if he was mad. It was just the only tone of voice he had. Well, that and sarcastic.
"Hi Mum and Dad. Can you sit down and we'll tell you our news?"
The parents glanced at each other and sat down abruptly in the two armchairs across from the couch, which the future parents sat down on.
"Um…well," Scorpius started.
"Oh!" his mother cried, seeing the ring Scorpius had bought ages ago on Rose's finger, "You're engaged!"
Rose broke out in a smile and nodded. Mrs. Malfoy squealed and rushed over to examine it. "Dear…what's this?" she asked, when she saw part of the little white stick sticking out a Rose's pocket.
Rose turned pale and her head whipped around to meet Scorpius' eyes. "Well mother, that's actually what we came to talk to you about. You might want to sit back down."
The older woman looked at her husband apprehensively, then sat back down, letting the pair have her full attention.
"You see, um, well-" Scorpius started.
Rose interrupted, "Here," She handed the test to her future mother in law, who stared at it in horror.
"Scorpius," his father warned in a low voice, "What. Have. You. Done?"
Rose watched him nervously, not liking the way this was going. Mrs. Malfoy, however, ran over to hug the girl, the stick going flying. "It's alright dear. We'll get through this. It'll be ok," She murmured to Rose's shoulder. In turn, Rose watched her fiancé, fear clearly visible.
"Have you told your family yet?" Mrs. Malfoy sniffled as she pulled away.
"Not yet," Scorpius began.
"My dad is going to kill us," Rose said glumly.
"So we figured it'd be best if someone knew the dangers of Rose being killed," he took over, "It can't be good for the baby, you know." Rose nudged him.
Draco was still glaring at his son, and his wife was still crying.
Rose just murmured, "Um, well, we should go face the music, so we'll see you later. If you have any questions we can answer, I guess owl would be best, but Professor Longbottom-" Draco smirked. "-is usually very understanding. He'd probably allow you to visit us by Floo once in a while."
Silence.
"Well, we're leaving now, see you later, Mom and Dad."
"Er…that went well," Scorpius said after they left the room.
Rose just glared at him.
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They Flooed to Rose's house next, and luckily (Or unluckily, if you're a procrastinator) both of her parents were there.
"Um…hey, Mom and Dad," Rose said, trying to be nonchalant, and failing…just a bit.
"Rosie!" Ron cried, "How are you?"
Rose and Scorpius exchanged glances, but before either of them could answer, Hermione rushed in to wrap them in a hug. Both of them. Mrs. Weasley doesn't hold kids responsible for their parents' actions. Or vice-versa, coincidently.
"Rose!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
Scorpius tried to hide a smile, just thinking how different their parents were.
Rose glanced at him nervously, then turned to her family. "Um…you might want to sit down."
Now it was Hermione's turn to glance at her husband nervously, and she led them into the living room. Both couples sat down across from each other in squishy chairs, Scorpius sinking down much farther in his than he'd anticipated. Ron smirked at him.
"Well, Mom and Dad," Rose began, "I'm-"
"Engaged!" Scorpius exclaimed, and gave Rose a look as if to say 'let's tell them the news they'll like first'.
"What? Rosie!" Hermione said happily, and, just like Mrs. Malfoy, rushed over to examine the ring. She even hugged Scorpius.
Ron…didn't hug Scorpius. He sat there and glared at the boy with a kind of look that said, 'oh, you horrible piece of something I can't even imagine, that's how horrible it is, you'd better be good to my daughter, or you'll learn of something else too horrible to imagine'. Scorpius kind of cringed, thinking, He's not going to like this.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you two! Thanks for coming to tell us!" Hermione squealed.
Rose glanced at her fiancé, as if to say 'Now would be best'.
He nodded, and took a deep breath. "Actually, that's not all."
Ron exploded, "What!? What else can you possibly have done? Please tell me you're not married!"
Rose tried to laugh, "No, not yet, Dad. But you see, I'm kind of…" She reached in her pocket to show them the test…and pulled out a piece of very old lint.
"You're what, dear?" Hermione asked.
Rose tried to convey in a look that she'd lost the test, but Scorpius just said, "Rose? Do you want to show them?"
"Show us!?" Ron burst out, "I don't want to see anything you two might do together!"
Hermione just shook her head and Rose and Scorpius looked at Ron in confusion.
Rose sighed, her face becoming much more panicked than before, "Well…um…I can't find the test, so…we'll have to just tell you."
"A test?" Hermione squealed, "You got the top score on a test, didn't you?"
"Um…no, not quite." Rose paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "It was a pregnancy test."
Silence. You could have heard a snitch's wings in that room.
"Malfoy!" Ron roared.
"Dad!" Rose exclaimed, shocked.
"Rose, how could you?" Hermione asked in disappointment.
Scorpius didn't say anything. He was too terrified of his incredibly tall famous keeper of a future father in law. A future father in law who was pretty darn mad at his future son in law. (A/N- is anyone else reminded of a court, with all the 'laws'?)
"What have you done to my daughter!?" Ron probably could have rivaled Norbert (the full grown one) with that yell.
Scorpius flinched and Rose stood up, yelling back, "He did nothing wrong! We are engaged! So be quiet! Or do I have to remind you that I was conceived before you and Mom got married?"
Scorpius had to think that yes, it probably was wrong at the time they did it, as they weren't engaged then, but he certainly wasn't going to say that out loud.
Ron obviously didn't want to hear that. He paled and said, "That was different! We were in love! And neither of us is a Malfoy!" he spit out the word like basilisk venom. The problem with spitting out basilisk venom is that it usually doesn't help. You're usually dead before the spit lands. And, of course, Ron could spit Scorpius' last name as much as he wanted, and Rose would still be pregnant with the boy's child.
"Ron! I think they made a mistake too, but seriously, the problem here is that Rose is pregnant, not who the father is!" Hermione sort of diminished the effect of the speech by whacking her husband in the back of the head.
"Dad, can you calm down? None of us are at fault here-"
"Oh, someone's at fault all right."
"-and we're going to work this out in a calm and reasonable manner," Rose said.
"Calm and reasonable!?" Ron yelled, "We are way past calm and reasonable! A Malfoy just went and got my daughter pregnant, and now he's abandoning her, and-"
"What!?" Scorpius burst out, speaking for the first time since the announcement. "I am most certainly not abandoning her! Did you not hear? We're getting married, and keeping the baby, which I do not regret, coincidently, and getting jobs and starting a future together! Exactly as we would have had this happened a few years from now!"
Silence. Ron slowly sat back down, and Hermione quietly cried and tried to comfort her daughter at the same time. Ron's face, tiny cell, by tiny cell, turned back to a more normal color, and you could once again tell that his entire head did indeed have varying shades.
"Get out."
"Ron!"
"I am not disowning you, you are certainly still a part of this family, but I can't look at you two right now. Get out."
Rose obeyed, pulling Scorpius to his feet and leading him to the fireplace, where they Flooed back to Headmaster Longbottom's office in silence.
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Months passed, and Rose started to show. Albus, Lily, James, and Hugo took the news better than Rose's father had, but still badly. Teddy took it much better and was one of Rose's strongest supports. The school had to be told, and both of them were in the midst of jeers from students and disappointed looks from teachers.
One day, late in Rose's seventh month, a Hufflepuff maybe a year behind her stopped her in the halls.
"They're all idiots, you know," she said quietly, "Someday, they'll all want a baby, and they'll be jealous that you have one."
"Maybe," Rose sighed, "but they still won't regret any of this."
"Well, it probably doesn't matter much," the girl said with a sigh and a sad look at Rose's abdomen. "But I think you're lucky."
"Lucky?" Rose burst out, "Lucky? Everyone is ridiculing me! My dad can't look at me anymore, my cousins are acting weird, and I have to haul around all this weight! Plus the normal symptoms, like, oh, unpleasant vomiting, sore feet, sore back, always hungry and tired and cranky! I am most certainly not lucky!"
The smaller girl didn't flinch. "I'll never be able to have a baby, you know. A disease, plus some bludgers-" she was the keeper for her house, "-made sure of that. And I'll probably never get married, either. Shyness so severe it's almost a disability runs in my family. Do you know how long I've wanted to talk to you? Or defend you? But I never could, any more than I could talk to anyone I haven't known for years. But you…you have a loving family, even if they aren't acting like it right now. You have a fiancé who loves you, and thinks you're even more perfect when you're 'hauling around all that weight', as you put it. You have a baby on the way, and a whole future laid out in front of you."
She looked at Rose seriously, with that longing look still in her eyes. "You are indeed lucky."
Then she walked away.
Rose stood there for a moment, shocked. People didn't usually just walk up to someone in the hallway and spill their thoughts and fears. Not even at Hogwarts.
But Rose slowly let her hands creep up to rest on her enlarged stomach, feeling a smile creep across her lips as she did so. Yes, she was lucky.
A/N- Ok, I'm sorry if it seemed to anyone like I thought teen pregnancy was a good idea. I don't, really, it is a mistake. But still, if you have kids, remember that you're lucky. Because you are.
I'd love reviews, if anyone wants to give me feedback. Was Ron too out of character? Was Draco? Would Hermione have really reacted that way? How about Rose, with all her hormones? Would she have bit the Hufflepuff's head off, or thanked her?
Anyway, thanks for reading!