"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~ Albus Dumbledore
"I could have come myself, you know," he said, once they'd Apparated to a quiet field behind a retail park in Cornwall. The Waitrose trolley in the drainage ditch told Scorpius they'd come to right place.
Draco tapped the Complete Map of Apparition Points for the UK and Ireland with his wand, causing it to collapse into a perfectly-folded rectangle. He handed it back to Scorpius with a raised brow. "You're that comfortable around Muggles, are you?"
He sounded exactly like Grandfather and Scorpius was tempted to tell him that along with a hundred other things running through his mind. Instead, he held out his hand for the map and raised his brow in return as he drawled, "I guess so."
With a scoff, Draco gave him the map and made his way towards the supermarket. Scorpius followed behind.
It was strange to him that they were here at all but he reckoned they really couldn't send their house-elf Tudy like they would to Melvin's Muggle Market in Diagon Alley. And it was, after all, for Ursa, and his dad had been wrapped around her little pinky finger since before she was born.
A stooped white-haired woman exiting the shop gave them both strange looks as they passed; Draco scowled at her in return.
"What was that for?" he muttered to Scorpius, glancing down at the three-piece suit he wore as if expecting to find a stain.
"Maybe she liked your tie."
His dad made an unhappy noise, whether at the cheek or to hide his surprise at the automatic doors, Scorpius couldn't say.
Scorpius had been to a few Muggle shops, more out of curiosity than necessity, and he honestly couldn't pinpoint the difference between this one and the others except he thought the fact that it was less crowded and more aesthetically pleasing might make this short excursion with his father somewhat bearable.
"Christ, are all Muggles blind? All these lights, it's like staring into the sun." Draco muttered, his face twisted as he sneered and squinted at the same time. "How do you even find anything here?"
"The aisles have signs listing what they contain. We just need to look for office supplies or the like." Scorpius pointed towards the back. "They're probably in those aisles."
"Well, let's get to it then. Your mum will have a fit if we're late."
They worked their way to the back of the store, Draco careful not to bump into anyone and even going so far as to brush off his coat jacket when it brushed against an open freezer door. Near the pharmacy, they found a brightly-colored aisle filled with magazines, books, pens, and of course, crayons. Ursa was mad for Muggle crayons. She went through a pack a week and wouldn't accept any Wizarding substitutes. When asked, she had told her parents the Wizarding version, "didn't smell right," something their dad still found suspicious no matter how many times Scorpius explained that they were non-toxic.
He grabbed a few coloring books with princesses on them, an eight-pack box of crayons and the 120-count box as well. As Melvin's Muggle Market only ever sold the former, Scorpius figured his sister would be thrilled with the latter. They might even last her longer than a week.
Opening his mouth, he turned to tell his dad they could leave when Scorpius realized he was alone in the aisle. Taking turns wondering if he had left without him and dismissing the idea as impossible, Scorpius peered down every aisle until he came across his father standing in the cosmetics and toiletries section. To his amazement, Draco was opening boxes of hair product, pulling out the bottles inside and unfolding the instructions that came with them, giving them a cursory look before grabbing another box and doing the same.
A chubby girl about the same age as Scorpius came up to Draco with a bright smile plastered on her face. Judging from the green apron she wore, she was an employee.
"May I help you, sir?"
His dad didn't even spare her a glance, turning over a box to read the back. "No, you may not."
The girl blinked at this and looked around the aisle as if searching for help. Scorpius wanted to disappear into the floor when her gaze landed on him. Though it wouldn't have helped much, not for the first time he wished he had inherited his mother's black hair rather than the light blond that identified him as a his father's son.
"Do you know this man?"
Scorpius gave a reluctant nod and Draco looked between the both of them before asking, "Did you get the crayons?"
"I did."
"Then let's go," he said, as if it had been Scorpius holding them up by pulling apart the merchandise.
Without a word to the clerk, Draco grabbed the boxes he had opened and brought them to the check-out aisle. Once they were spread out, Scorpius could see that they were Muggle hair-charming kits - one in 'blowout burgundy' and the other in 'light red.'
"Are you dyeing your hair?" Scorpius said slowly, the question ludicrous even to his ears despite the evidence before him.
"I wanted to blend in at the wedding today," he answered with a smirk, dropping two fifty pound notes in front of the pimply-faced cashier.
Draco grabbed the bags, giving Scorpius a bag containing a coloring book and the small box of crayons, and taking the rest.
"Sir, your change!" the cashier called.
"It's a tip."
"It's sixty pounds," the teenager said feebly. Scorpius just shrugged and hurried out the door behind his dad.
Once outside, they headed past the dumpsters back towards the empty field. As soon as they'd passed the forgotten trolley, Draco turned to him and asked, "Do you know how to get to Shell Cottage?"
Scorpius nodded.
"Then I'll meet you there. Let your mother know I had to stop back home."
Scorpius stood rooted to the spot, wondering for one wild moment if his dad was going to arrive at the Weasley-Lupin wedding with bright red hair as some sort of statement.
"Is that all right with you?" Draco asked, giving Scorpius a curious look.
Knowing that if his dad had wanted him to know what he was up to, he would have simply told him, Scorpius nodded. He would find out eventually, one way or another.
"Good. There's no one around so you go first."
Reminding himself that he'd have to mention this odd behavior to his mum as soon as he saw her, Scorpius did a half-turn and Disapparated with a sharp crack.
It had been a lovely wedding.
In his sharp dove gray suit, with white and yellow flowers pinned to his lapel and his hair the same color blue as the bridesmaids' dresses, Teddy had looked every bit the dashing bridegroom. And Victoire, wearing flowing white lace and her hair down in loose curls adorned with flowers and crystals, had looked like an angel. If she were the sort, Rose would have cried during the ceremony. Instead she left that to her mum and Lily.
Sipping her water, Rose leaned back in her chair to watch the guests mingle. Most were dressed in the current style of Muggle-inspired fashions, short dresses and two-piece suits, but she still saw a few older wizards wearing full-length robes. She spotted her parents easily, her dad twirling her mum as they did an energetic rendition of the foxtrot. Hermione looked like another person entirely as she laughed freely and loudly, her short dark curls bobbing with each step and the charmeuse fabric of her dress rippling around her like waves. Ron pulled her in close, her back against his chest, and Hermione beamed up at him over her shoulder. It was such an intimate, loving moment that Rose had to turn her entire body around to put some distance between them.
Dominique walked past her, back straight and a look of haughty indifference on her face as if she were doing a turn on a catwalk. She was wearing the same ocean blue dress as Lily, Elodie Davies, and Medina Magsi however, Rose suspected that her cousin had done some strategic alterations on hers. Without pausing, Dominique grabbed her small clutch from the main table as she walked past, slipping out of the marquee right behind her father's back. For one hopeful moment it seemed as if the twins had noticed her escape as well but it was not to be. Molly delighted in taking the piss out of Dominique and likely wouldn't have let this chance slip by her if she had noticed.
As they drew near, Rose realized with some amusement that the twins were wearing the same strapless lime green dress. Neither much cared for such traditionally formal events such as weddings so she suspected that one had just offered to purchase dresses for both of them. When they were younger this would have rendered them indistinguishable from each other but now it was hard to imagine anyone confusing the two. Lucy, with her short hair tipped in a hot pink that matched her tights looked as different as could be from Molly, who was still tanned from Quidditch, her dark hair pinned up with white flowers and wearing a white sweater and pearls.
Roxanne ran between them dragging a bewildered-looking Oliver Longbottom behind her, one of the Scamander twins hot on their trail. The boys weren't dressed similarly but Rose still couldn't tell them apart to save her life. Angelina called after her youngest, telling her not to run, but Roxanne was long gone by then.
Rose looked over to where her aunts and uncles were gathered in a circle, chatting with Andromeda Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Mrs. Tonks and the former Minister for Magic were dressed in robes, same as her grandparents. Every so often, Harry would look back to the table where Freddy, James, and Louis were sitting, all trying to get drunk on wine.
Curious, Rose twisted in her chair and found that the Malfoys were still at the wedding, the three adults seated at a table in the back. Like her sister, Narcissa wore traditional robes, hers a pale lilac shantung that featured an expensive looking opal-and-amethyst brooch at the throat. Her son, however, was dressed in a very Muggle-looking three-piece suit, and his wife wore a knee-length navy blue sheath.
Scorpius was nowhere to be seen but the youngest Malfoy, Ursa, was easy to spot in her white lace dress with an ocean blue sash. She was in a small clump with Susie Longbottom and the Krum boys, Jules and Tristan. Rose's Grandma Molly drew near the small group carrying three worn toy brooms, Gabrielle behind her with carrying toys that Victoire and her siblings had long since abandoned. While her gran passed out the brooms to the older children, Gabrielle crouched down in front of her youngest son and showed Tristan how to write his name in lights with a toy wand.
But before Ursa could join the others as they flew around the dunes of Shell Cottage, her parents stepped in. Kneeling beside her, Draco gently pulled the toy broom from her hands, handing it over to Asteria who smiled politely at Molly as she returned it. Rose watched her gran's face as Scorpius' mum explained. She knew better, she wasn't James or her dad, but she still felt defensive for reasons she couldn't explain.
Her gran, however, didn't feel the same. The moment passed without incident, the Malfoys returning to their place at the table as Ursa and Tristan picked through the box full of toys with interest.
"Still don't know what Teddy was thinking with that one," her dad stated as he dropped into the chair next to her.
Ever the peace-making Hufflepuff, Teddy had invited the Malfoys to his wedding and asked that Ursa be in their party as a flower girl. Ever the logical Ravenclaw, Victoire had thought this was a good idea provided Lucius did not attend. "They're his family."
"We're his family."
"And they've been in his life since he was a boy and Aunt Andromeda wanted them here as well." Rose rather suspected Andromeda had her own reasons for doing so, possibly owing to the recent rift between her and her sister.
Ron snorted at that but before he could say anything more, she asked, "Where's mum?"
"Congratulating Neville on his new job last I saw her," he said, pausing to take a long drink from his glass of water. "And likely suggesting some changes to the curriculum."
"The headmaster doesn't decide that, does he?"
"Not without the Board of Governors' approval but Neville could probably get them to agree to adding Underwater Basket-weaving to the required lessons if he wanted." Ron swiped a bottle of ale from a passing free-elf.
"I'm glad Neville got the job," said after a moment. "I think he'll be brilliant at it."
Ron nodded at that. "I think he's feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. He didn't expect Sprout to step down for a few more years still."
Rose had assumed as much. While Neville was great professor and even managed to have a good reputation in her house, she had felt there had been something going on behind the scenes. If Sprout had announced her decision during the school year there would likely be rumors about how she at death's door or how she'd been forced out due to this reason or that. Deciding to wait to see if her dad would offer up more information, she took a long drink of her iced butterbeer.
"Still don't see how you were passed over for Prefect."
"Dad-" she said suddenly, wiping at her mouth.
"It doesn't make any sense. You were Prefect last year, Captain of your House Team, got excellent marks, and you won the House Cup for the first time in nearly thirty years. If that doesn't deserve recognition then what does?"
It was an odd moment, so much so that she wondered if he weren't trying to overcompensate for his more less-than-positive feelings about her House all these years. "Thank you," she said in measured tones. "But I didn't do all that on my own. It took my entire house -"
"But it was your plan." He looked over at her, his blue eyes meeting her own. "That's what I've heard."
It was the truth but she was rather curious as to whom he heard it from. "Mine and Al's."
"He's not prefect either. Which is just daft, if you ask me."
"He didn't expect to be. Neither of us did. We were prefects last year and Sprout's whole thing was trying to get as many new people in the role as possible." And it had its merits, even Rose could admit that. "Besides, I think it will be good for me. Maybe it will give me time to focus on something else. Maybe Quidditch, I'd love to see Slytherin win the cup two years in a row."
She'd been hoping that would provide the opening needed for her father to spill the beans about what was going on at school. They all had their suspicions, her uncle Bill had several visits from the Ministry, her Aunt Angelina was working long hours for the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and now came Sprout's sudden retirement. It all added up, she just needed some proof.
Her dad, however, didn't seem to hear anything after her first sentence, a scowl on his face. She followed her gaze to see her mum in a what looked to be an intense discussion with the new Minister for Magic, Ernie Macmillan.
"Pardon me, Rosie," her dad said, not giving her a second look as he went to join his wife. Seeing his approach, Daphne Greengrass-Macmillan whispered something to her husband, likely reminding him they were in public and about to make a scene.
It was all a bit sad, really. Her parents used to be rather close with the Macmillans. From everything she'd heard, Ernie had been friendly with both at Hogwarts and had helped her mum with her first clerkship. She still remembered having dinner at Eynhallow Abbey and playing with Iona and Mairi while her mum and Ernie worked on cases.
But, perhaps, it was just as she was suspected – that most relationships had a built-in expiration date. These days, people didn't expect romantic relationships to last forever and if you can accept that, then why should friendships be any different? People grew apart, changed, and maybe it only soured what was left to try to force things to last beyond that point.
Though she reckoned that sometimes you didn't always have the option to leave it all in the past. Ernie and her mum still had to work together, just now on opposing sides of the aisle. For whatever reason, Andromeda still wanted a relationship with her sister even after everything that had happened. There were some ties that could not be broken so readily.
And it certainly didn't help that the entire British Wizarding World was so bloody cramped and incestuous. You could either make your peace with your past or pack it all in and move to the continent.
Rose looked over to where her cousins were sitting, Al and Hugo had now joined the small group and they were all locked in some quiet discussion. If she had to guess it was probably about their attempts at becoming Animagi. James and Hugo were especially keen on the idea while Freddy and Al had dismissed it as pointless. Freddy didn't care about anything that wouldn't get him into Gringotts. And unless it would earn him house points, she doubted Al was willing to spend the hours needed to become an Animagus. Especially when, as he had so wisely put it, "your inner animal might be utter rubbish."
Trusting that Freddy and Al would keep Hugo away from the liquor, she stepped out of the marquee and into the bright August sun. It was a hot day and the smell of saltwater and sight of the crystal blue sea was too much for her to ignore. She slipped off her heels and left them on edge of the grass, hoping her Aunt Fleur didn't mind too much. Rose traveled down the sloping dunes, working her way towards the water until she felt wet sand beneath her toes. Propriety be damned, she would have slipped off her yellow dress and gone skinny dipping if she could. She still considered it but contented herself with wading into the water up to her knees, the hemline of her skirt high enough that she didn't have to worry as the waves crashed around her.
Rose lost herself in the feel of the warm sun on her bare shoulders and the cool water flowing around her legs. She thought of everything and nothing.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a tall figure watching her from the beach. She kept moving but inclined her head slightly so she could catch a glimpse of the man and with surprised shout found herself chest-deep in the water as the shoal gave way beneath her.
"Are you all right?" called a familiar voice as Rose dragged herself out of the water. It would be him.
Her face burned, her dress was now stuck to her, and if he were like any other boy his age Scorpius Malfoy had no doubt noticed the effect the cold water had on parts of her anatomy.
She flicked her long red hair back and gave him a wry grin. Confidence was key, even if you didn't feel it you had to make others believe you felt it. "Sandbar got away from me."
He nodded, offering her a hand as she made her way out of the water. Rather than fight it – which would be the move of an insecure person – she accepted it with a gracious, "Thank you," and felt rather smart for doing so.
"Do you have your wand? I left mine in my purse." She was also still underage, as was Scorpius, but there were enough adults around that she felt they could get away with magic outside of school.
"Yes, of course." He performed a quick Tergeo on her then on himself as his shoes, socks, and trousers were now soaked through.
And then they fell silent. It was a long time ago and they'd only been children then but Rose remembered once feeling as though she could talk to Scorpius about anything. He had been like Al in that way although for her there had always been something excitement about talking with Scorpius, something that made him seem so different everyone else. Probably because she hadn't known him all her life.
By all rights she should have just thanked him again and returned to the marquee but she didn't. "Your sister's so big now. I can hardly believe it. She'll probably be heading to Day School soon, yeah?"
As she had last seen Ursa four years ago at Scorpius' Bar Mitzvah, she could very easily believe that she had continued growing like children do but it felt like the safe sort of thing to say. It gave the conversation many possibilities, they could talk about the last time he'd seen her, his family, her family, whether the pre-Hogwarts Day School was superior to addressing the needs of British Wizarding families in the 21st century. Anything, really.
Instead he answered with a weak, "Yeah," and Rose was ready to give it up as a bad job.
Then he added, "The wedding was nice."
"It was. My Aunt has been obsessing over it for weeks so it's a relief that it all worked out."
She couldn't say where the impulse came from or why she even believed it was a bold line of thought to pursue but she glanced over at him as she said, "I saw the Alice Longbottom a few weeks back – Neville's mum. The change is remarkable."
Not that she would know. She had never met the Alice Longbottom before that day as she had spent the past forty years in Thickey Ward at St. Mungo's. But everyone – even her dad – had agreed the change was indeed remarkable. From what she understood, both Neville's parents had been locked in their own minds after being tortured by Death Eaters, but after her treatment, Alice now spoke in short, simple sentences and had even taken to helping out in the family garden.
"I guess," he said and Rose began to wonder if she had misjudged this entirely. Perhaps his snubbing of her and Al had been intentional and he would have been happy to continue it if she hadn't landed herself in the middle of the Celtic Sea.
"Shame about the election," he said once she turned away.
"Yeah," she agreed, falling prey to the same monosyllabic disease that had plagued him earlier. "Well, your first time at anything's bound to be shit."
He laughed and Rose found herself reminded of all the girls at Hogwarts who fancied him.
"Better the 'Compromise Coalition' than the 'Blue and White' winning, I'd say." That was what her mother had been saying for the past three months and Rose found herself nearly believing it. Even though she couldn't yet vote, it had been exciting to be a part of the British Wizarding World's first modern, democratic election. Everything had seemed possible at that moment and it wasn't hard to believe that the Unity Party would prevail, her mum would be Minister for Magic, and some lasting change would happen rather than half-measures and empty promises.
"I guess."
"Not keen on having your Uncle as the Minister?" she needled. "Or were you rooting for ol' Pilliwickle and the gang to 'restore dignity and honor' to Britain?"
Something flashed across his face – anger and hurt – before disappearing in a world-weary sigh. "Pilliwickle, and the entire Blue and White Party for that matter, are nothing but regressive, reactionary, goose-stepping -" Rose blinked at this term - "bigots who wanted to drag us back to the 19th century. No, I was not rooting for them to win."
"Well, glad to hear it!" she said, and he flushed pink at her indulgent tone. "My parents wouldn't like it if I were out here fraternizing with the enemy."
"Yeah," he said, sounding tired for reasons Rose couldn't even guess at.
She was bored of having two conversations, one that she couldn't even being to understand, and one that limped along. Deciding it best to cut this one short and leave the possibility of continuing it another time, she smiled and thanked him again for his help. Before making her back up towards the party she cast one more glance at him over her shoulder. "See you at Hogwarts."