Well I don't know if I'm ready
To be the man I have to be
I'll take a breath, I'll take her by my side
We stand in awe, we've created life
- With Arms Wide Open, Creed
.
So she opens her mouth (and signs his death warrant).
He would give anything not to know right now. He would rather she hadn't of told him and just sprung it on him at the last minute because it would be a lot more preferable to this build up, to knowing that he's going to die and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it. Then again, maybe it's his own fault really. He shouldn't have fall in love with her in the first place because there was always going to be this precarious balance that at any moment would tip one way or the other and his neck would be exposed to the guillotine. The chances of his head not being stuck on a pike in the front garden are like slim to none.
He doesn't find it overdramatic to say that the moment she had told him he'd wished, very briefly, that he had been gay. Life would have been so much easier if he'd fallen in love with Albus because he wouldn't have had to put up with the traumatic worry of doing something even slightly wrong. Sure his father would have probably disowned him but he wouldn't have to put up with this. Yes, at that particular moment he very much wished to be gay although now that he thought about it he was never going to admit it, ever.
"It'll be fine," she tells him squeezing his hand briefly.
Her face is practically glowing and she is smiling so brightly and he loves her so how can he deny her anything or worry her with anything but at this moment he knows that his life is shortly going to be over. He doesn't know why she doesn't realise this. She knows her family or rather, she knows her father, far too well to think that he's going to be able to leave the house in one piece after this news. He would prefer to stay as far away from Ron Weasley as possible at the moment. In fact, he's almost of the brink of suggesting that they move to timbucktwo for a couple of years and not tell anybody where they are.
He thinks there is something to be said about those muggle devices she told him about, television was it? He would give anything to be in another place right now rather than walking down the street towards Ron and Hermione Granger's house. He can feel himself sweating more and more the closer they get and, fuck, it's pouring off him. He wants to beg her to let him run away, far away where no one will ever find him because it's not just Ron Weasley he has to worry about. Hugo Weasley is just as fiercely protective of Rose as Ron is and he has no doubt that the young Weasley will be just as vehement in his reaction as his father.
"Rosie, you know this isn't fair," he tells her when they're within a hundred feet of the front door. "I am completely outnumbered."
"Scorp, stop being such a wimp," she tells him affectionately. "Everything is going to be fine, just you wait and see."
Just you wait and see my mangled body lying on your parents' front lawn he thinks to himself steeling himself so he doesn't say it out loud. He doesn't want to ruin the moment for her even if he is quaking in his snake skin boots at the moment and fear is something no Malfoy likes to admit to but right now he doesn't care.
"Hey why the long face?" a voice greets them as they reach the gate and Scorpius looks up to see his best friend Albus Potter standing at the foot of the garden his hand on gate, ready to let them in. As soon as they're in the garden he lets go of Rose's hand and wraps Al in a (not) very manly hug.
"Yeah I'd be scared if I were you, mate," Al tells him with a laugh as he finally let's go.
"What are you doing here?" he asks Al slightly confused because Rose said she hadn't told anyone else.
"Well, of course I got you back up," Rose declares with a roll of her eyes as though he must be dumb to think that she wouldn't take care of everything. "Do you feel better now?"
He gulps.
"Maybe a little," he tells her with a smile desperate to hide the fact that he is delighted to have Al at his back but at the same time not really reassured at all since Ron Weasley is one of the Ministry's top Aurors and Hugo Weasley had learnt some extreme hexes from his cousins James and Fred. Well, it could have been worse. The rest of the extensive Weasley/Potter family could have been here ready to pounce on him at a moment's notice.
Before he realises they are at the front door and Rose pressing down the handle to let them into the house. He can feel Al behind him as he claps him on the shoulder and he reluctantly follows Rose into the hallway.
"Mum, dad, Hugo," Rose calls through the house as she takes off her jacket and hangs it up on one of the pegs by the door. Scorpius follows suit hanging up his long dark jacket and unwrapping his scarf from around his neck.
"In the kitchen, darling," Hermione Granger-Weasley calls down the hallway and Rose immediately heads on down. Scorp exchanges a worried glance with Al who just shrugs looking sympathetic before they both head down to the kitchen.
Hermione is standing by the kitchen sink drying her hands on a dish towel and she beams when Scorpius and Al enter the room. Scorp immediately gives her a kiss on the cheek, like a respectable young man who loves her daughter and Al give his aunt a brief cuddle, telling her that his parents were asking for her.
Scorpius looks round at where Ron and Hugo are sitting at the table playing exploding snap and he doesn't care how many times he has met Ron Weasley before, he's fucking terrifying at the moment. He just about manages to greet them both acceptably before he looks round for Rose who is helping herself to a biscuit from a plate on the table. There is a moment where Al speaks to his Uncle and cousin allowing the suspense in Scorpius' head to continue for a moment and he's getting more and more worked up with every passing minute.
He glances between Ron and Hugo, scanning them surreptitiously, wondering if he would be able to tell where their wands were. He was very doubtful an Auror, and a war hero, would ever leave his wand lying around even if he was at home. Unluckily, the two Weasley concealed their wands very well and Scorp could feel his life slowly slipping away as Al began to wind up his conversation with his Uncle and cousin, a conversation that had somehow managed to work its way from his parents to Lily's wedding to Quidditch. How they had managed that he had no idea but it seemed everything related to Quidditch with this family.
"So we have something to tell you," says Rose slipping into a seat opposite her father with a beaming smile on her face and Al is subtly shifting to stand next to him. Scorpius watches as Ron's eyes narrow, immediately suspicious, his eyes darting between his daughter and him. He feels kind of sick and he certainly hopes he doesn't vomit in front of them. Why did they have to do this here, with them in the room, on hand to kill him in the next second?
"What is it Rosie?" asks Hermione coming over to the table as well to stand by her husband.
"I suppose I don't have a hope that you're dumping him," Ron grunts.
He's now currently wondering when that jibe is going to stop. After all they've been together since they were seventeen and he hasn't gone anywhere yet and Rose has shown no inclination to get rid of him so surely her father could just shut up. Of course, he would never say this to anyone ever, well, maybe to Al but never to Rose and certainly never to Ron or Hugo for that matter.
"Dad, stop that," Rose tells Ron firmly and Scorpius has to work hard to stop himself smiling.
"Sorry," he grumbles back and Hermione taps him on the shoulder in a gentle admonishment. "What is it, princess?"
Rose takes a deep breath and he starts to plead with someone, anyone to save, to spare him the agony and the pain that is about to come his way because for the love of Merlin surely he didn't deserve any of it. All he ever did was fall in love with her and surely there was nothing wrong with that. He clenches and unclenches his fists in rapid succession and feels Al pat him briefly on the back. At least someone was on his side.
"Scorpius and I are going to have a baby," she announces brightly, "I'm pregnant."
Congratulations explode out of Hermione's mouth as she moves to envelope her daughter in a hug momentarily blocking Scorpius' view of Ron. Then the thunderous expression is all he can see and he can't even spare a glance to see Hugo's reaction. He feels Al stiffen beside him and he clutches his wand in his pocket just waiting for the worst to happen as Ron's face turns red and then purple in his anger and neither Rose nor Hermione have noticed yet.
"MALFOY," bellows Ronald Weasley which break the mother and daughter apart.
You see, telling Ron Weasley that he knocked up his daughter was never going to turn out well, even if he is married to her.