Author's Note: I spell it Asteria because that's how JKR spells it on the Weasley Family Tree.
Hermione didn't like him. She felt awful for it, but there it was. He was the type of wizard who knew exactly how good-looking he was, laughed at his own jokes, and thought himself far more clever than he was. The more she thought about it, the more he reminded her of Cormac McLaggen and while that was a slight improvement over Draco, Hermione had wanted better for her daughter.
And she hated that she was the only one who saw this.
Hugo and Al both thought Scorpius was a great bloke; Lily and Lucy could only gush about how sweet he was. Rose was completely besotted with him. They were young. They had never lived through a war, never feared for their lives and the lives of those they loved. They hadn't learned to look beyond the veneer, to scratch that well-polished surface for what was underneath.
What she couldn't understand was Harry and Ron's reaction.
Just a month ago, the world had made sense. Harry had been flummoxed by Scorpius' application to the Auror program, Ron had laughed at the idea of him becoming an Auror, and she had been the voice of reason. It had been easy to do when she believed Scorpius was just a friend, before he was the young wizard that Rose had been dating for months, the one she had wanted her parents to meet so they could "really get to know him". A week after that, after Scorpius had been admitted into the program and after Rose had told them about her relationship. Ron had been aghast and Hermione had been calm and clear-eyed. She was just as upset as he was that their daughter had been lying to them for months and every bit as concerned, but it was easy to rise above that when Ron voiced every fear she held close to her heart.
Somewhere between then and now, things had changed, Ron's feelings had changed. He was the one who was calm and clear-eyed, while Hermione remained firm in her opinion that this relationship was a mistake.
Really, how could it be otherwise?
They were too young for a serious relationship; both only eighteen and fresh out of Hogwarts. When her daughter first told her about Scorpius, Hermione had gently suggested that perhaps Rose should spend more time focusing on her career and not think about settling down. Rose, proving just how young she was, had thought it was only about her age and asked her if she wasn't being a "tad hypocritical".
At eighteen, Hermione had been far older than her daughter; she had fought in battles, risked her life, been hunted and tortured. She had seen the worst of others and the best. At eighteen, there was no doubt in her mind that the boy she loved was kind and brave, that she could trust him, depend on him. In those weeks following their escape from Malfoy Manor, Ron had been a constant presence at her bedside. She hadn't feared the dark nor the nightmares because she had known he was right beside her. Was Scorpius capable of that? Had his parents ever told him what happened that night? Did he know that in the same drawing room where they entertained visitors, his girlfriend's mother was tortured while his father and grandparents stood idly by?
A spark of anger flared inside her.
She tried so hard not to judge him based on the actions of his family. When Rose had first told them - and before Ron had experienced his sudden change of heart - he had worried that this relationship was a political move for the Malfoys, just like Scorpius' decision to enter the Aurors. Hermione had dismissed both ideas as silly and she still thought so. Yet, she wondered how serious Scorpius was about either.
He was rich, wealthier than Hermione and Ron could ever dream of being. Scorpius had never known what it was like to go without, to wait, to not have the best of everything. What if he thought his money meant he should have the last word? He and Rose would never be an equal footing when it came to their finances and Scorpius would never have to deal with a wife who made more money than him the way Ron had. Scorpius might expect that Rose wouldn't work at all, that she'd be like his mother, staying at home to raise their children and host elegant dinner parties.
And unlike Ron, he would never have to work two jobs so he could afford a nice cottage in Chudley, an engagement ring, and to help his wife pay for her clerkship at one of the best wizarding law firms in the world. Life as an Auror was often difficult or boring and frequently both. If Scorpius tired of it, he could walk away, without worrying about how he would pay his bills. His money meant he would never have to learn how to deal with the tedium such work could bring. What if he thought marriage should be the same way?
Hermione watched as Scorpius looked to his father, gauging his reaction after making an off-handed remark about something the Supreme Mugwump had said about house-elves in a recent interview. If Draco had anything to say about it, he didn't get to share as Asteria deftly changed the conversation to the brawl at the last Harpies match. That in itself was telling, as far as Hermione was concerned. She wondered what Scorpius thought about his father's beliefs, if he shared them. Rose had assured her that he didn't but there was more to pureblood prejudice than donning a mask and saying the word "Mudblood". Tolerating Muggles was all well and good in the abstract but how would Scorpius react when he met her parents? Would he work hard to get to know them, the way Ron had, studying up on Muggle culture? Would he have a telephone placed in his flat just so Rose could call them whenever she wanted? Would he learn about football so he could talk to her grandfather? Ron had even asked Dean to take him to a few matches, so he could better understand the sport. Her father had been so impressed by that - even after Ron had asked him if he thought Machester United had a shot in the upcoming Super Bowl - that he invited to a match.
She couldn't imagine Scorpius working that hard for anything.
Draco had always known this would happen. He had hoped otherwise but he knew his son; Scorpius was far too romantic and hard-headed for his own good. Dispiriting as it was, Draco had known that the first time Scorpius got his dick wet he would decide he was "in love".
That it was a Weasley only added salt to the wound.
Asteria's parents were overjoyed, grateful that their grandson had made better choices than their daughter. His own parents were pleased with the match, even though his father couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't the Potter girl since she was far more famous than her cousin. Even Asteria had come around when just last week she was fretting over "her baby" being ready to move in with his girlfriend. Draco was the only one who was unhappy with the match.
He couldn't understand what his son saw in the girl. She was swotty but not very clever, she certainly wasn't good-looking, and from the way she was dabbing her napkin at her blouse, she seemed to have inherited her father's table manners.
Scorpius could do so much better.
When his son had told him and Asteria about his relationship, things slid into place. His desire to move out immediately after finishing Hogwarts, his choice in career, suddenly made sense. While he hadn't been scouted, Scorpius had been a fine Quidditch player, good enough to turn professional. If he hadn't wanted to do that, he could have joined Draco, working at his broom-making company. The hours and pay were certainly better than that of an Auror. Instead, Scorpius had evidently decided the only way to impress his girlfriend and her family was by following in the wake of her father and godfather.
Draco wondered if she felt it her due for being the daughter of such lauded war heroes. If seeing their faces on Chocolate Frog cards had lead her to believe the entire world would bend to her whims. He doubted she had realized how things would change once their relationship was known.
She wouldn't suffer the way Asteria had when they began dating, Draco thought with a slight sneer. She wouldn't lose a promising internship at the Department of Mysteries because she was now a Malfoy and no former Death Eater, nor their immediate family was eligible for employment in the Ministry. He wondered if she even realized the hoops Scorpius had to jump through for his application to even be seen by Potter, if she knew the kind of treatment he had to deal with as a cadet, that some people were more than happy to blame him for his father's mistakes. He wondered if she were ready for the same scrutiny, to be slandered in the press and have her own family and friends turn on her. She would never experience what Asteria had and more's the pity. A rude awakening like that was exactly what one of the pampered princesses of the wizarding world deserved.
Perhaps she wouldn't have to worry about losing out on a career, perhaps she intended to stop working once she had a ring on her finger. While the Weasley girl certainly didn't fit the traditional image of a gold-digger, she didn't seem to have any personal ambition. Working as a clerk in her uncle's joke shop wasn't a serious career by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe she thought of Scorpius as her ticket to a life of luxury and ease. Draco wondered if she would have been content with take-away and listening to Quidditch matches on the wireless the way Asteria had when he couldn't afford to take her anywhere nice because all of the Malfoy bank accounts were frozen while under investigation.
As someone who had been adored simply for existing, who had never known the indignity of being refused service at a shop, he wondered how the Weasley girl would deal with having a boyfriend who had only ever known the opposite. What would it feel like when some of those people who despised her boyfriend on principle were her own family? Would she say anything while they mocked him or would she sit quietly by?
Could she imagine standing by Scorpius if he were on trial with the threat of life in Azkaban hanging over his head? Somehow, he couldn't picture her suffering all kinds of abuse for someone under house-arrest; someone she couldn't even visit, couldn't even contact except through the occasional carefully-screened letter. Draco couldn't see her waiting, constant as Penelope, especially when the reward wasn't a conquering hero but someone forgotten and scorned by the rest of the world.
He doubted she was capable of that kind of devotion