A/N: Hi guys! This is a new story I started working on a few days ago. I'm thinking it'll have five chapters. This is my first go at Scorpius/Rose, but I also threw in some Dramione for the hell of it. I hope you enjoy it!

MACUSA - Magical Congress of the United States of America, the american equivalent of the Ministry of Magic, as revealed in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.
Sidenote: It is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that Hermione was elected Minister of Magic in the year 2019. I've decided not to incorporate this into the story (because I sort of really hated that book, but that's neither here nor there), but rather keep her in the DMLE.

Fandom: Harry Potter
Era: Next Generation
Timeline: Christmas 2023
Pairing: Rose Weasley / Scorpius Malfoy

Songs:
Santa, Baby – Michael Bublé
Blue Christmas – Michael Bublé
Repeat – Young The Giant
Doing Good – Milky Chance
Tunnel Vision – Justin Timberlake
The Scientist – Corinne Bailey Rae

Mistletoe & Holly

Or

Santa, Baby

(December 24th – 9:07am – Granger-Malfoy Household – Manchester)

"Rose? Merlin's beard, are you still sleeping?"

Hermione's voice rang out in her bedroom, but the younger witch's response merely came out as a groan.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'I'm trying'."

"Well, stop trying," said her mother.

"What is it?" Rose said, barely opening an eye to glance at her mother.

"I need you lot to help me finish decorating before everyone gets here."

Rose heard her footsteps cross the room in the direction of the window. A moment later, she pulled the drapes and light flooded the room.

"Mum! It burns!"

"Stop being so dramatic."

"I'm not," said Rose, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "It really does burn."

"Well, that's because you've been wallowing in here like a hermit and haven't seen the sun in the last five days."

Rose looked up at her. Hermione Granger (she'd never taken Ron's name) didn't look her age. She'd turned forty-four in September, but barely looked a day over thirty-five. She was wrinkle free, with her characteristic brown curls (that Rose had inherited in an auburn shade—thanks Weasley genes) and her knowing golden eyes, identical to her daughter's, that looked at Rose with a mixture of disapproval and sympathy. "Honestly, love, he's not worth any of this."

Rose sighed—rather pathetically, if you asked her—and Hermione sat down at the foot of the bed. "I know, Mum."

I'll give you the short version of Rose's romantic failure story:

In her fifth year, she had begun seeing a bloke named Aiden Corner, a Ravenclaw a year above her. He was prefect and later Head Boy, tall, dark hair, dreamy, honey-colored eyes, the whole sh-bang. And just before the summer holidays, he'd been offered a job at the MACUSA, in the Body for Protection of Magical Species. He'd left for New York at the end of the summer and they had continued their relationship long-distance for the past three and a half months, until just a week ago.

Rose had been packing her trunk for the Christmas holidays when he decided to inform her via owl that he felt it was best if they didn't continue their relationship, because it had become a burden for him and—get this—he felt their fourteen months age gap was too much, that she was still very immature and was holding him back.

That motherfucker.

"That boy will regret this later on," her mother was saying. "He'll come crawling back like a maggot, you'll see."

Rose managed a smile. Hermione had never liked Aiden. No matter how many times he corrected her, she insisted on calling him Cormac, for some reason Rose never understood, but it amused her Uncle Harry to no end.

"Now, get up," said her mother. "The mistletoe isn't hanging itself."

"Are we really putting that up?" Rose said, disgusted.

"It's tradition, Rose."

"It's a poisonous plant that isn't even remotely pretty, Mum. I much prefer holly."

Hermione smirked. "Well, Ms. Cynicism, the holly isn't going to hang itself either. Come downstairs, Draco's made breakfast for all of us."

Rose groaned.

"Rose Ginevra…" Hermione said warningly.

"It's not that, Mum," she said, getting up and fetching her dressing gown. "You know I like Draco, I really do. It's his offspring I've got a problem with."

"Just behave," said Hermione, heading for the door. "And maybe we'll all make it through this holiday in one piece."

"I will if he does," Rose shrugged.

Rose's parents had gone through a very high-profile divorce when she was twelve. The whole thing had been a massive scandal that plastered every newspaper and magazine in Wizarding England, what with her dad being caught red-handed with an old flame of his: Lavender Brown, who had married Seamus Finnegan after the war and whose daughter, Briony, had gone to Hogwarts with Harry and Ginny's eldest son, James. That incident drew a rift between Ron and the rest of the family, and threw them all back into the public eye.

Draco Malfoy and his ex-wife Astoria (whom Rose had never actually met but he and his son called the harpy) went through a divorce very similar to Ron and Hermione's, but in his case it was the witch that was caught eating from someone else's dinner plate, if you catch my meaning.

Much to everyone's surprise, Hermione had begun dating her childhood nemesis and long-time coworker at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement two years prior. Rose had been doubtful at first, but eventually warmed up to him and so did Hugo, and they all got on wonderfully with the wizard now, particularly since Draco had moved in with them this past summer—with the aforementioned offspring in tow.

Scorpius.

That little ferret.

Draco Malfoy's only son was, at least physically, the spitting image of his father. Platinum blonde hair, steel grey eyes, flawless skin and a toned physique he owed to almost five years of playing Seeker for his house team. He was in Rose's year at Hogwarts, and not only that—he was Head Boy. Oh, yes. Not only were their parents dating, not only did they have to live together when they were away from Hogwarts, not only did they play the same position on opposing Quidditch teams, they also had to work together nearly constantly. He'd been sorted into Slytherin along with Albus, and the two had become fast friends. But despite the fact that Albus and Rose were quite close, the younger Malfoy and she had never managed to properly get along for more than five minutes at a time.

She thought he was an absolute tosser, a no-good troublemaker who got on her nerves.

He thought she was a stuck-up prig, a walking wet blanket who lived and breathed to make his life hell.

And now they were all spending the Christmas holidays under one roof. Goodie.

After a quick stop in the loo to brush her teeth, Rose followed the smell of breakfast downstairs and into the kitchen, where Hermione was serving coffee into several mugs on the counter. Draco, clad in an honest-to-God apron, was tending to a pan of eggs and some flatcakes on the stove, and Hugo and the Ferret were sitting at the table, in the middle of a discussion about last nights' England – Germany football match (an interest that both father and son had taken up since Draco had begun seeing Hermione), this morning's paper between them.

"Good morning, everyone," she said.

Draco turned to her. "Oh good, you're up. I put some bacon on for you, would you like some?"

Rose smiled and nodded, taking a seat at the table next to Hugo.

Scorpius' attention was drawn from his discussion with Hugo and he turned to his father. "Oi, why aren't you offering me any bacon?"

Draco cocked an eyebrow at his son. "Because you're allergic, smartarse. And as much as I think Rose would enjoy it, I'm pretty certain that it's frowned upon to murder your only son by feeding him food he's allergic to."

"Damn it," Rose pretended to frown. "It's alright, Draco, I can share mine with him. We don't have to tell anyone."

Draco laughed, setting the flatcakes, eggs, toast and a steaming plate of bacon down in the center of the table before taking a seat next to Scorpius.

"No, it's alright, Rosie. You can have your bacon," Scorpius said. "We all know we need to finish fattening you up if you're going to be ready for dinner tomorrow night."

"Charming, Scorp, really," she said, helping herself to breakfast. "Pray tell, how is it that you managed to date Francesca if you're allergic to pork?"

"Okay, bringing up my history with Zabini is just low, Weasley," he said, but he smiled nonetheless, buttering his toast.

"Oh, but Porkchops is such a lovely girl," Rose smirked. "Shame her nose is shaped the way it is, though. But love is blind, or so they say."

"I was young and foolish," Scorpius defended. "Much like you, when you thought dating the most boring, vapid, airheaded bloke Hogwarts had to offer was a good idea."

"I may not have the best memory, Malfoy, but I'm pretty sure I'd never stoop so low as to date you."

The blond snorted rather inelegantly. "You should be so lucky. But no, really, I have half a mind to write Corner and ask him how he managed to trick the Sorting Hat into placing him in Ravenclaw."

Rose almost laughed at that, Aiden not being her favorite person at the moment, but managed to keep a straight face. She turned to Draco, holding up a forkful of bacon. "Are you sure you don't want me to feed him any of this? I can make it look like an accident."

"Be my guest," said Draco with a smirk.

"Dad!"

Hermione snorted, setting down a cup of coffee in front of Rose before taking her seat. "Don't encourage them, Draco," she said to the elder wizard, who looked amused by the two teenagers.

"No no, by all means, carry on," cut in Hugo, his blue eyes dancing with mirth. "It'll be fun to see if they'll actually have an honest go at each other one of these days and we get to watch an inspiring duel to the death or something."

His mother narrowed her eyes at him. "Hugo Alexander…"

"What?" he answered, his mouth full of food.

"If you all are quite done with your bickering," she went on. "I need you two," she pointed at Scorpius and Rose, "to help me decorate once you finish your breakfast, everyone is coming around at two. And you," she glanced at Hugo, "are going down to the bakery to pick up the cakes for dessert."

Hugo gaped at her. "In that?" he asked, gesturing to the snowfall outside. "Why can't I stay and decorate with this lot?"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, not a hint of mercy in her tone. "I wasn't aware that you were allowed to do magic at sixteen. I need Scorpius and Rose to stay because it'll take a lot less time with three wands."

Hugo groaned.

"Besides," she went on, the smallest inkling of a smile creeping on her face. "Draco will take you in the car. You have to stop by the liquor store for drinks as well."

Hugo looked over to Draco, his mouth gaping. "You let me think she was sending me out in the snow!"

Draco laughed. "If you promise not to crash it, I'll let you drive."

"Say goodbye to your car, then," Rose deadpanned and they all laughed except a scowling Hugo.

(Blue Christmas – December 24th – 2:34pm – Granger-Malfoy Household – Manchester)

Rose just finished slipping into her dress, checking her reflection when a knock sounded on the door to her room.

"Come in!" she called.

The door opened, admitting Scorpius, dressed in a navy jumper and jeans. "Oh, it's you," said Rose.

"Hermione sent me to get you," he explained. "Harry and Ginny are here with Al, James and Lily. So are Arthur and Molly."

"Oh, right," she said. "Er—zip me up, will you?"

Scorpius hesitated for a moment before walking over to the witch and pulling up the zipper that closed her dress over the creamy skin of her back. He looked at her through their reflection. "Not bad, Weasley. You clean up alright."

She smirked. "Not bad, yourself. I almost didn't recognize you without a scowl on your face."

He scowled and she laughed. "There it is."

"Come on," he said, heading for the door. "Everyone's waiting."

She followed him downstairs, greeting her aunt and uncle as well as her grandfather before finding her cousins in the kitchen with Hugo and Molly, who was helping Draco with the cooking.

"Rosie!" called James. She rushed up and hugged her eldest cousin, who then shook Scorpius' hand while Rose greeted her grandmother, Albus and Lily, and Hugo fetched butterbeers for all of them. "How are Head duties treating you both?"

"Well, it's certainly easier since you've left Hogwarts," said the blond.

"Is it?" asked James, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. It seemed all the Potter males carried the curse of near-sightedness.

"There's no one to dock points from now," Rose explained, and the others laughed before Molly promptly kicked them out of the kitchen. They all relocated to the sitting room and the conversation quickly turned to Quidditch.

"There's no way Puddlemere isn't getting to the finals this year," Albus was saying.

"I don't know, Al," Hugo said. "The Harpies have certainly stepped up their game since Aunt Ginny started coaching them."

"It was about time, too," said Lily, the only one of the Potter children to have inherited the combination of Ginny's red hair and Harry's bright green eyes. "They've been terrible since Mum left the team."

"Not like you were old enough to remember," quipped James, taking a swig from the butterbeer in his hand. His sister turned her angry green eyes on him.

"Yes, I was!" she shot back. Ginny had been Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies until Lily turned six, but before that the three Potters were a staple at her games, cheering their mother on from the stands with Harry. Just then, the phone started ringing and Hermione rushed to pick up. After a moment, she called out to Hugo, who excused himself from the conversation before walking over.

"Don't any of you feel bad, rooting against your own mother's team?" asked Scorpius.

The three Potters shot him identical bemused looks.

"No."

"Not remotely."

"Why would we?"

"She'd have our heads if we were rooting for the Harpies solely because she's the coach," Albus explained. "Right, Mum?"

Ginny looked over from where she stood talking with the other adults, having caught her son's words. "Damn straight," she said.

"This family is so weird," Scorpius said.

"You're telling me," said Hugo, dropping back into the armchair he had previously occupied, a scowl on his freckled face.

"Rose!" called Hermione's voice. The witch left her drink on the coffee table, excusing herself before walking over to her mother.

"Yes?"

"Your father is on the phone for you in the study," said Hermione.

Rose's face hardened. "Mum…"

"Rose," Hermione said. "He hasn't seen you in almost three years. He just wants to talk to you, and Hugo already said no."

"Shocker," Rose deadpanned. "Well, I don't want to talk to him either."

"It's Christmas, love. Just give him a chance. He might surprise you."

Rose sighed. "Fine."

She walked down the hall to the study, picking up the phone a moment later. "Hello?"

"Hi, Rose," came the voice of Ron Weasley.

"Hi."

"Did you get my presents?"

"I suppose so," she said, keeping her tone even. "We won't open anything until tomorrow though."

"Of course… Listen, we haven't talked in a few months and I wanted to congratulate you."

"Oh?"

"On getting Head Girl and Quidditch Captain," Ron elaborated. "It's great, sweetheart. I'm proud of you."

"Well, not that your pride means anything to me at this point, but thanks."

"Rose…"

"What?"

"I'd like to see you and your brother. You should come by while you're still on holiday."

"Yeah, and spend the weekend with your heinous wife?" she spat. "Thanks, but I'll pass."

"I don't want things to be like this between us."

"Well, that's just too damn bad, isn't it?" she snapped.

"Rose Weasley," Ron warned. "I'm still your father."

"Regretfully so," she shot back. "Don't know why you still bother with that title, seeing as you skipped out on fulfilling all fatherly duties the second the ink was dry on your divorce papers from Mum. I expect you were just following Lavender's footsteps, with how she skipped out unceremoniously, too. How is the she-wolf doing, by the way? Never mind, don't answer that. I've just decided I don't care, just like you decided once upon a time that you don't care about us, particularly Mum."

"Rose," Ron sighed over the phone. "I will always care for your mother, despite the fact that I mucked things up with her."

"Well, oddly enough, she doesn't need you to care for her. Draco's got that way more than covered, on top of filling in for your fatherly duties rather spectacularly," she said. Bringing up Draco to her father might've been considered a low blow, with their history, but Rose didn't particularly care. "We don't need you."

"Rose—"

"I have to go. Happy Christmas."

And without waiting for an answer, she hung up the phone. Bracing herself on the desk, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. A moment later, she walked back to the living room.

"No surprises there," she muttered to her mother, passing by her and heading upstairs towards her room. She shut the door behind her and walked over to the window, still trying to still her breathing. A minute later, someone knocked on the door.

"Not now, Mum," she called back.

The door opened and Draco walked in. "I figured it was safe, considering I'm not your mother."

The corner of her mouth twitched, but she frowned. "What do you want?" she sighed.

"That bad, was it?" he countered, shutting the door before putting his hands in his pockets.

"Worse, probably," she admitted. "I brought you up at one point."

"Did you?" Draco looked surprised. "Bet Weasley loved that."

She smirked. "How come you two never got along?"

"Besides me being the king of all pricks when we were kids?" Draco asked, and Rose chuckled.

He approached the window, giving his freshly-trimmed beard a scratch, looking out at the snow. "I'm sure you've noticed by now that Ron Weasley and I are polar opposites. Even if we'd ever managed to reach an understanding of sorts, I don't think he and I would ever really see eye to eye. I guess your father never really understood that I had changed, that I no longer believed all the pureblood brainwashing I was brought up on and that I was trying to be a better person. He never outright forgave me for the mistakes I made in my youth, like Harry did, and later on, your mother."

Rose nodded in understanding. "Did she send you up to check on me?"

"I offered," said the wizard. "I actually wanted to talk to you."

The younger witch frowned. "What about?"

"You know I love your mother, Rose," the wizard began. "I honestly wasn't expecting to fall for her as I did, not after all these years and particularly not considering how we were when we were younger."

Rose couldn't help but smile as well as the wizard continued. "And I've grown to love you and your brother as well, as I'm sure she has with Scorpius. I know the two of you don't particularly see eye to eye, but I must admit I enjoy watching you bicker. You remind me of how Hermione and I were when we were about your age, just after the War, when we first had to work together and still hadn't figured out how to get along. Hermione is the only person who's always been able to match me wit for wit, to shoot back scathing comments when I riled her up. She really is something."

"She is," Rose agreed.

Draco sighed and paused, looking as though he was trying to figure out the best way to say what was on his mind. Rose's golden eyes watched him closely.

"You want to ask her to marry you," she said finally.

Draco looked at her. "I want to ask your permission first," he amended.

Rose blinked. "My permission?"

The wizard nodded.

Rose mulled it over for a moment before speaking. "She wasn't the same after Ron left. Hugo doesn't properly remember, but I do. She used to crawl into bed with me just to get some sleep, and she cried most nights. I almost didn't go back to Hogwarts that year; I was so worried for her. But she insisted that my education was more important, you know what she's like," she smiled and so did Draco. "Eventually it calmed down a bit, but I could still tell she was sad."

She paused again before continuing. "She didn't tell us you were seeing each other at first, you know. But I could tell she had met someone. Her tone in her letters was different, and when we came home for the summer I caught her singing in the shower again. I had my doubts at first, but you make her really happy, Draco. And you've been good to us, to Hugo and to me."

Draco nodded. "So you're saying yes?"

"I think I can speak for both of us, though you might want to mention it to Hugo, too. But yes, I think it's a good idea."

"Really?"

"Yes," Rose laughed, pulling him in for a hug. "I think I can get by sharing one roof with your offspring—I mean, the past six months have been a good trial run, and we haven't blown up Hogwarts… Yet. But that's if he promises to behave. Otherwise, I make a mean bacon sandwich, pun intended."

The wizard chuckled. "Come on," he said. "Everyone's asking where you got to."

(December 24th – 6:37pm – Granger-Malfoy Household – Manchester)

A few hours later, they were all having dinner in the dining room, and Rose had somehow found herself seated between James and Scorpius. She was in the middle of passing James the mashed potatoes when Lily said her name.

"Hm?"

"Are you going to the MacMillan's New Year's party?"

"Merlin, no," she laughed. "Those things are always horrid."

"Precisely," said James with a grin. "I just might make an appearance myself."

"You should," said Hugo. "Lily, Al, Scorp and I are going."

"Aren't your friends going to be there?" Lily asked Rose.

"Gaia is spending New Year's in New York with her parents," answered the older witch. "And Sicily is in Amsterdam visiting her dad's family."

"You should come, Rosie," Albus said. "It'll be fun."

"Please, Al," Scorpius cut in for the first time, taking a sip of butterbeer. "If you actually want her to go, you can't say it's fun. The incorruptible Rose Weasley wouldn't be caught dead having fun."

Rose's eyes narrowed. "I'll have you know, ferret face—"

"What are you lot going on about?" asked Draco from down the table.

James was first to respond. "We're all trying to get Rose to go to Connor and Finley's New Year's Party."

"Aren't those Ernie Macmillan's twins?" asked Ginny.

Hugo nodded. "They're in Rose's year."

"They're Hufflepuff's like Ernie," added Harry. "But from what I've heard from Neville, they make Fred and George antics at Hogwarts look tame."

"Merlin," chuckled Hermione. "Where did you say the party was?"

"The Leaky Cauldron," said Lily. "They've rented out the whole thing for the event, bar included."

"But Rosie here won't go," said Scorpius, smirking at the witch in question. "She doesn't know how to properly have fun, I think."

"Of course I do," snapped Rose, "I just don't think—"

"You should go," Draco cut in, and they all turned to look at him. Rose's jaw dropped. So did Scorpius'. Evidently, neither of them had expected Draco to encourage the idea.

"What?" they both said in unison.

"I think it's a good idea," Hermione piped in. "The two of you could use some time to have fun and learn to get along."

"Mum, I really don't think—"

"Really, Hermione—"

"Stop it," said the witch, "You're both going, you're getting along and that's final." And her tone was such that both teenagers shut up and, scowling, returned their attention to their plates as the others carried on in conversation.

(Repeat – December 31st – 8:39pm – Granger-Malfoy Household – Manchester)

Rose had a headache.

She checked her reflection once more in her mirror, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles in her dark green dress and dark stockings, held up on her thighs by a charm. She had debated wearing her hair up, but decided against it, as pulling up her abundant curls would most likely aggravate her headache, and instead let it hang down her back freely, held back from her face with a gold headband. With a sigh, she slipped into a pair of heeled shoes and left her room.

Despite having raved about how much fun they would all have at the MacMillans' party, the three Potter cousins had had to cancel, as they were all sick and bedridden after playing in the snow all day with their youngest cousins, ten-year-old Fred and eight-year-old Roxanne, at George and Angelina's the day before. That meant Rose would have to go to the party with Hugo and his holy ferretness, all on her own.

She ran into Hugo on the landing halfway down the stairs—or rather, he almost ran her over in his hurry to get upstairs. Despite the fact that Rose was almost two years older, Hugo had inherited his father's stature and, since being visited by the Puberty Fairy, towered a good five inches over her.

"Oi!"

"Oh, sorry, sis. I forgot my cloak and I'm running late."

She frowned. "Where are you going?"

"Change of plans," the wizard explained. "Jude got us tickets to the Weird Sister's show tonight. Looks like you and Scorpius are on your own."

Rose groaned. "Please, Hugo. You can't leave me alone with him. I'll do anything."

"Fat chance," Hugo scoffed. "It's their farewell performance and it's New Year's Eve."

"I'm your only sister!"

"You'll be fine. He's not that bad, honestly."

She shot one final dirty look at her brother before making her way to the kitchen, opening the drawer where Hermione usually kept potions and muggle medicines, but found nothing that could relieve the pounding between her temples. She frowned.

"Mum?" she called out.

"Up here!" rang Hermione's voice.

Rose followed the sound and eventually found Hermione, along with Draco, standing on either side of the door that lead to the room Scorpius occupied permanently since the previous summer.

"Do you have any pain potion?" asked the younger witch. "I have a headache and I checked downstairs but there isn't any left."

"I think I might have some left in my bathroom," said Hermione. "I'll go have a look; it'll just be a minute."

She walked away in the direction of the master bedroom and Rose turned to Draco, now noting the look of concern on the man's pointed face. "What's going on?"

"The mail came while we were waiting for you to finish getting ready," the wizard said. When Rose looked even more confused, he elaborated. "Astoria sent him a letter. It's the first we've heard of her in a year, maybe more. I don't even know what it said, and I was just about to ask, but he locked himself in and won't speak to anyone."

Rose frowned. She knew that Scorpius wasn't particularly close with his mother. Hermione had told her that in the settlement when Draco had divorced the witch, Astoria had received next to nothing on the grounds of her adultery violating the contract of their arranged marriage. Draco had fought her for custody of Scorpius, winning the legal battle after Scorpius himself, then just eleven years old, stated in court that he'd much rather live with his father. Rose vaguely recalled a news headline announcing that the witch had afterwards left the country for Belgium and was living with the man she'd cheated on Draco with, a wealthy pureblood wizard who owned a chain of luxury hotels across Europe. She couldn't say she'd given the matter much thought, but from the looks of things, Scorpius' relationship with his mother was just as estranged as her own with Ron. And for the first time, Rose felt something akin to empathy for her long-time rival.

"Would you let me try?" she told Draco, and the wizard actually looked surprised. She shrugged. "Out of all of us, I think I can relate best to his situation. It can't hurt, can it?"

"I suppose not," said the wizard.

Just then, Hermione returned, handing Rose a vial of potion. Muttering thanks, she downed its contents, humming in appreciation as her headache subsided almost immediately. She drew her wand from the pocket concealed in her dress, wordlessly unlocking Scorpius' door.

"Give me five minutes," she told Draco before opening the door.

Scorpius was sitting on the bed, his back to the door, and didn't turn when he heard the opening and closing of the door.

"Dad, I told you I don't want to talk."

"Good thing I'm not your dad, then," Rose smirked. The wizard turned his head towards her, surprised etched into his features.

"I wasn't expecting you," he said after a moment.

"My mum said the same thing when I was born," she joked, and he almost smiled before his face fell once more. "Mind if I sit with you?"

He shook his head and Rose walked over to the bed, sitting beside him, just far enough that they weren't touching but close enough to feel the warmth from his leg on her thigh. For a few moments, neither spoke.

"What happened?"

He sighed, gesturing to the piece of parchment laying on the nightstand. From where she sat, Rose could make out the sharp curves and angles of Astoria Greengrass' handwriting. "The last time I saw her was before fourth year. She hasn't written in almost a year and a half. No birthday wishes, no congratulations on making prefect, or Head Boy, or Quidditch Captain, nothing. That," he once again pointed at the offending letter, "is only to invite me to her impending nuptials to that arsewipe she left us for. She expects me to just show up and be happy for her, like nothing ever happened and she's always been the best mother to grace the earth."

Rose nodded in understanding. Another moment of silence passed before she spoke. "I haven't seen my father since the summer after fourth year," she said.

Scorpius looked at her. "No?"

She shook her head. "He called on Christmas Eve. Wants us to pop in for a visit and spend time with him and Lav-Lav," she spat the nickname like it tasted of vinegar. "The nerve of him, honestly…"

Scorpius said nothing, so she continued.

"I expect you know, but he lives in Dublin now. He and Lavender got married at the end of that summer I last saw him. I came home early and refused to go to the wedding, and so did Hugo. He's gone to visit only once, at Christmas last year, but came back a few days before he was supposed to and hasn't wanted to see or speak to Ron since. I still don't understand it, you know? It completely escapes me how a man who had everything, a brilliant career and a family, was able to just throw it all away and run off with some bint who was also married. I hate him for it," she admitted softly. "I hate what he did to Mum, and I hate that we were—"

"Never enough," Scorpius finished for her and she nodded, feeling a lump form in her throat. "I never understood it either. I mean, she wasn't the motherly type," he explained and Rose watched him closely as he spoke with anger in his grey eyes. "I don't have a single happy memory from my childhood that involves her. She never paid much attention to me, other than to correct any behavior that she found unbecoming or annoying, on the off chance that she was even around. Since I can remember, it's always been my dad who was there for me. Hell, your own mum has been more of a mother to me in just two years than Astoria ever was."

"I feel the same way about your dad," Rose admitted.

"He wants to marry her."

"I know."

"Do you?" Scorpius looked mildly surprised again.

Rose nodded. "He asked my permission to ask her a week ago."

"Do you think she'll say yes?"

"Oh, definitely."

Scorpius grinned. "I think it's brilliant. They're good for each other, no?"

"Yeah," she smiled. After a moment: "Look at that. After all these years, we finally agree on something."

"If anyone had told me a few years back that our parents would possibly be getting married and we'd actually be on board with it, I'd have suggested a proper mental health care facility for them."

Rose actually laughed at that. "Likewise."

Scorpius looked at her, as if noticing her dress, shoes and makeup for the first time. "You look nice."

"Thank you. Wish I could say the same for you, though," she smirked at his outfit of pajama pants and an old Quidditch jersey.

"I don't feel much like going anywhere," he shrugged.

"Oh, no you don't," said Rose, getting up and walking to his closet, pulling out a dress shirt and pants for him. "Here, get dressed. Hugo's off to some concert with his dipshit of a best mate, I'm already dressed and I did my hair. And since you were the one who so intelligently got us into this mess, the least you can do is take me to this bloody party you were so excited about going to."

Scorpius sighed. "I don't know…"

Rose sighed and walked back towards him. "Look. Your mother's a bitch, and my father is a dickhead. But it's New Year's Eve and I've got a feeling Connor and Finley bought every bottle of liquor in London. So let's just forget about our mediocre parents and get sloshed, yeah?"

After mulling it over for a moment, Scorpius smirked in a way eerily similar to his father. "Get out so I can change."

Rose grinned. "You have two minutes," she said, walking to the door.

Two minutes and fourty-seven seconds later, Scorpius opened the door to his room and found Rose waiting outside.

"You clean up alright," she said.

He shrugged and offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

She hesitated before looping her arm through his. "Let's go."

They went downstairs, heading for the door before Hermione's voice called out. They found her and Draco in the living room, also dressed up.

"Where are you kids off to?" asked the older witch, putting on her earrings.

"Well, Hermione," said Scorpius. "Rose here convinced me that it might be fun to go to the Leaky Cauldron tonight."

"Did she?" asked Draco, looking pleasantly surprised, and Rose shot him a smile.

"Where are you two going?" asked Scorpius, eyeing his father's suit and Hermione's attire.

"Ministry party," explained the witch, getting up from the couch. "We were just about to Floo over. Have you two got money?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Wands?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Alright then," said Hermione. "Have fun and be safe."

"Don't wait up!" called Rose as the two headed for the door, grabbing cloaks along the way. A moment later, the adults heard the front door shut and the crack of Disapparition.

"Draco," mused Hermione as the wizard fetched their own cloaks. "You don't think…"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Hermione gave him a look.

"The two of them?"

The witch nodded.

Draco paused for a moment. "Maybe," he said finally. "I doubt it, though."

"Yes, you're right," Hermione said, shaking her head. "They can't stand each other."

Neither could we, thought Draco, but he said nothing, instead handing Hermione the jar full of Floo powder from the mantelpiece.

(Doing Good – December 31st – 10:05pm – The Leaky Cauldron – London)

Rose and Scorpius' arrival at the Leaky Cauldron went largely unnoticed, as the bar was packed and bursting at the seams with their classmates, Hogwarts alumni and the rest of Connor and Finley MacMillan's guests, the place almost shaking with the volume of the music playing. After a hostess took their cloaks and Rose's purse, Rose caught a glance of a Ravenclaw sixth year girl who was filling in as DJ for the night, before the pair ran into the hosts, and both twins looked equally surprised to see her at Scorpius' side.

"Look at that, Con," said the twin recognizable as Finley by his eyes, which were blue in contrast to his brother's, which were green. "If it isn't our lovely Head Girl."

"I think we've managed to pull together a rather classy get-together then, if we got Rose to turn out, eh, Fin?" replied Connor, talking loudly over the din of the music and partygoers. "You're looking rather ravishing tonight," he said to Rose.

The twins then took turns kissing Rose's hand, and she actually giggled. "If I didn't know better I'd say the two of you were trying to chat me up."

"Us?" the twins said in unison. "Never!"

Scorpius cleared his throat loudly enough to catch the attention of the other three, a scowl on his pale face. "Are we going to stand here all night or did you two actually buy any liquor?"

"Blimey Malfoy, eager to commence the festivities?" said Connor with a grin.

"What do you take us for, amateurs?" asked Finley. "The bar is packed with just about anything you want. We've got butterbeer, Odgen's Finest and a bunch of muggle liquor too: rum, vodka, gin and tequila. Help yourselves, it's all on us."

"Oh," Connor called after them. "And if either of you get lucky tonight, the rooms upstairs are on us, too," he said with a wink. "Happy New Year!"

Rolling their eyes and bidding the twins goodbye, Rose let Scorpius lead her to the bar, where he called over one of the bartenders the twins had hired.

"I'll have a shot of rum and… Butterbeer for you?" he asked the witch.

Rose looked offended. "I'll have rum as well," she told the bartender.

The bartender nodded and walked away, returning with their orders a moment later. Scorpius watched, his eyebrows high on his forehead, as Rose took her shot and tossed it back without hesitation, the liquor burning a trail down her throat as she swallowed. The witch slammed the glass back on the table before giving her head a quick shake, her auburn curls bouncing with the movement.

Upon noticing how Scorpius was watching her, she laughed and pointed to his untouched shot. "Are you going to drink that or do you need some help?"

Scorpius smirked and, not wanting to fall behind, mirrored her actions, tossing back his drink and slamming the glass down on the bar beside Rose's empty one.

"I never took you for a hard drinker," he commented, his voice loud so they could hear each other above the music and the chatter of the party.

"Well, Scorp," she shot back, waving the bartender over, "there are a lot of things you don't know about me."

After each had had another two shots, Scorpius asked the bartender to leave the bottle. "Like what?"

Rose blinked. "What?"

"Your mum said we should learn to get along," Scorpius said. "I think that entails getting to know each other a little better, don't you think?"

She nodded in agreement. "So far all I know about you is that you ride a Nimbus 2100 identical to mine and you've got a shit relationship with your mother."

"My point exactly. So, enlighten me. What don't I know about the great Rose Weasley?"

Rose pondered his question for a moment, already beginning to feel the buzz of the alcohol in her system. "I'm allergic to dogs," she said finally.

"I'm allergic to bacon."

Rose laughed. "I already knew that, smartarse."

"Bugger."

"Try something else."

"Er… I'm fluent in German."

"Are you?" asked Rose, looking genuinely surprised. The wizard nodded.

"I spent a month in Berlin a few summers ago and got a tutor to teach me."

"That's brilliant! I played football when I was younger."

It was Scorpius' turn to look surprised. "Really?"

Rose nodded. "I was rather good, too, but I quit when I left for Hogwarts and decided to stick to just Quidditch."

"I wanted to play Chaser when I first tried out for the team," Scorpius confessed. "But it turns out I inherited Dad's Seeker genes."

They continued in a similar fashion until the bottle of rum was more than half empty and the bar practically spun around them.

"I'm not a virgin," was Rose's next confession.

Scorpius looked properly surprised at that one. "Really?"

Rose shook her head. "I'm not as much of a prude as you think I am, Malfoy. Particularly not when I've had rum," she added.

Scorpius smirked. "Gave it up to Corner, then?"

She looked properly disgusted, but nodded nonetheless before taking another shot. "Summer before last. That rat bastard."

"Can't say I ever liked the bloke myself," shrugged the wizard, also taking a drink.

"What about you?" asked Rose.

"Hm?"

"You obviously aren't a virgin," she stated matter-of-factly, her words slurring only slightly.

"No, I'm not," he smirked.

"So, who'd you lose it to?"

The wizard hesitated to answer, even in his drunken state. "I'm not sure I want you knowing this."

"Please," Rose scoffed. "It's not as if you shagged Porkchops—"

But even in the dimly lit bar, Rose was able to make out the guilty look on his face. "No!" she gasped. "You did not!"

"It appears that the summer before last was apparently perfect for bad decisions," he said.

"I cannot believe you lost your virginity to Francesca Zabini!"

"Trust me, I can't believe it either," he deadpanned. "I've been considering doing a Memory Charm to block the memory of it from my mind."

Rose laughed and he served them each another shot. Then he noticed Rose swaying to the music, a bass-heavy song somewhere between pop and R&B blaring through the bar.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

"What?" asked the witch, who hadn't heard him properly over the music.

"I asked," he nearly shouted. "If you would like to dance."

The witch's eyebrows rose slightly, but she nodded, grinning. Taking the last shots Scorpius had poured out, he took her hand and led her out to the crowded dance floor.

(Tunnel Vision – December 31st – 11:53pm – The Leaky Cauldron, Bar – London)

At first, they had started out barely touching, but eventually the beat and liquor encouraged them and he pulled her closer, his hands on her hips as they moved in time to the music. Rose had wrapped her arms around his neck at the same time as he slid a leg between her thighs, their foreheads almost touching as they grinded against each other to the heavy pounding of the song.

Truth be told, if someone had told her this morning that she'd be dancing like this with Scorpius Malfoy, she'd have laughed herself silly.

But now, her eyes closed, one of her hands found its way into his silky hair, and she noticed how his grip on her hips tightened and she relished the sensation. His lips were just an inch from hers, so close she could smell the rum on his breath tickling her lip. The song changed to a slower, sexier tune, and the heat on the packed dance floor was almost suffocating, but the bass was just as heavy, and Scorpius' grip never slackened as he guided her hips to move against him, completely unaware of how much he was arousing her.

Then the music stopped and the DJ began leading the crowd in counting down the seconds to midnight.

Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six…

Her eyes opened and after a moment, so did his and she saw then that they were dark with lust and staring into her in such a way that she thought she might catch fire from the intensity of his gaze alone.

Five… Four… Three… Two… One! Happy New Year!

A voice in her head told her it was mad, surely, but Rose paid the little voice no attention when he caught her lips in a searing kiss. Ignoring the crowd around them, she responded immediately and enthusiastically, hiking up one of her legs to his hip and moaning when he held it there. His hand slipped under the skirt of her dress to grab onto her upper thigh as they continued to move against each other and he explored her mouth with his tongue, his other hand buried deep in the soft curls of her hair. Rose could feel his growing erection rubbing against her center, and after a few seconds, they broke apart, but she refused to remove her arms from around his shoulders.

"Let's go upstairs," she whispered in his ear.

He didn't need to be told twice. Grinning wickedly, he let her lead the way out of the dance floor and towards the stairs to the upper floors of the inn. On the way, they encountered a number of couples in various stages of seduction and drunkenness on the stairs and lining the hall of the first floor. She took the stairs to the second floor in front of him, and Scorpius took the opportunity to look at the way her dress molded itself to her swaying hips, the skirt stopping just short of mid-thigh before her long, toned legs, clad in dark stockings, stopped at a pair of black heels.

Rose seemed to feel his gaze on her, as she shot him a grin over her shoulder. Tossing her hair back, she took out her wand and wordlessly cast a spell that caused a gust of wind to hit them in the empty hallway, her skirt flying up just enough to give him a peek of the lace that topped off her stockings and a hint of dark lace knickers. His eyes widened.

"I never thought I'd see you in such debauchery, Rosie," he smirked.

She looked over his shoulder at him again. "I told you I'm not as much of a prude as you think I am."

Grabbing her by the wrist, he pulled her back towards him and slammed her against the wall, kissing her hungrily and once again hiking one of her legs up onto his hip, running his hand over those bloody stockings before slipping his arm between them and teasing her through the thin lace of her knickers. Rose's eyes fluttered shut and she moaned into his mouth. Taking this as his cue to continue, Scorpius moved her knickers out of the way before slipping two fingers between her slick lower lips, finding the swollen, sensitive point at the top at the same time as his mouth moved to kiss and suckle at her neck.

"More," she moaned.

Tentatively, he slipped a finger inside her. Marveling at how her walls felt around his fingers, he felt himself grow impossibly harder at the thought of how she would feel around his shaft.

"Merlin," he breathed against her neck, slipping another finger inside her and grinning when she moaned in appreciation, her hand stroking him through his trousers. "You're so wet."

"Room," she choked out, her breath ragged. "Now."

(The Scientist – January 1st – 12:07am – The Leaky Cauldron, Third Floor – London)

They found an empty room on the third floor above the bar. Rose opened the door with her wand, locking it with a charm before Scorpius slammed her against the back of the door and kissed her fiercely, his fingers unzipping the dress at her back.

"You look amazing in green," he said and she chuckled, also making quick work of the buttons of his shirt.

"Don't get too used to it," she said, just as the dress fell to her feet. Kissing him again, she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and a moment later, he tossed it across the room and she giggled. Scorpius picked her up then, working off her bra as he carried her to the bed. He tossed her onto it, taking a moment to admire her as she kicked off her shoes.

Her dark red curls were strewn across the bedspread like a cloud, her cheeks flushed and her lips tinted and swollen from all their kissing. She wasn't the least bit shy under his gaze—the rum was probably to blame there. He could now get a good look at her perfect breasts and the black lace knickers and the blasted stockings that made her legs look amazing. Keeping his gaze on her, he gripped her hips and brought them nearly to the edge of the bed. He kissed her neck, then her collarbones, making a stop to suck on each dusty pink nipple until she moaned, before pulling down her knickers with his teeth with agonizing patience. Once they were off, he lost all sense of patience and opened her legs as far as they would go, kissing and biting a trail up her inside of her thigh before giving her aching, wet pussy a good, long lick, savoring her sweet taste.

"Oh, god," Rose moaned, her eyes shut and her hands gripping onto the bedspread for dear life as Scorpius began to suck on her clit and sent her into overdrive. "Oh god…"

The blonde chuckled. "I didn't know you were so big on muggle religion," he snarked, and Rose's head shot up to give him a dirty look. He smirked before resuming his attentions, slipping two fingers into her opening without warning, causing her to throw her head back and let out a throaty moan.

He continued licking, sucking and kissing her, his fingers pumping in and out of her with reckless abandon until he felt her channel convulse around his fingers, her thighs tighten around his head and he heard her moan his name more deliciously than he ever thought possible.

Rose felt her hands go completely numb and struggled to regain control of her breathing, but found instead that she wanted him more now than she did only minutes ago. With great effort, she propped herself up on her elbows to look at him.

"Come here," she said, still panting from her release.

He undid his trousers and dropped them, along with his boxers, allowing her to get a look at his long, hard length before crawling on top of her. Without wasting a minute, she grabbed his face and kissed him deeply, tasting herself on his tongue before rolling them over so she was on top of him.

Scorpius looked surprised to find her straddling his stomach, and she grinned, kissing him again as he positioned himself at her entrance.

"Wait," he said. "Contraceptive charm."

"I've been on the potion since I was fifteen," she told him in between kisses. "We're fine."

He hesitated for a moment, but she shifted her hips to take in his entire length at once, and they both groaned at the feeling. Buried in her to the hilt, he continued kissing her for another moment before pulling back.

"You alright?" he asked.

Rose smirked and began to rock against him, causing him to moan. "Not a virgin, remember?"

One hand on her hip and one in her hair, he kissed her again, tasting the rum still on her tongue as he began to pump in and out of her.

"Merlin," he groaned. "You feel—amazing."

Rose dug her fingernails into his chest, their movements becoming more frantic as they went, and after a few minutes he felt her tighten around him to the point where it was almost painful.

"Don't stop," she begged, her hair moving around wildly with their movements like an auburn halo of madness. He was positively entranced by her, the look of pleasure on her face, her eyes pinched shut, and how she bit into her swollen lower lip as she rode him.

"Look at me," he panted, and she obliged, golden eyes locking on grey. "Look at me when you come."

After a few more strokes, he felt her convulsing walls around his length and she began to tremble uncontrollably, but held his gaze, moaning his name as she rode out her orgasm. He held on for only a second longer before feeling his own release spilling into her with an almost feral groan at the back of his throat. After a few more seconds, Rose collapsed on top of him, both of them sweaty, flushed and panting in the afterglow, and he brushed her hair away from her face.

"I can't believe—we just did—that," she almost laughed.

"Me neither," he admitted, a grin creeping on his face. "Give me a minute to catch my breath and we'll go again."

She looked up at him. "Again?"

"It would appear, Weasley," he said, "that you're not as much of a prude as I thought you were."

She laughed as he rolled over on top of her.

(January 1st – 5:38am – Leaky Cauldron, Room 31 – London)

The barely there sunlight of the dawn coming in through the window was what woke her, along with the pounding headache. Rose opened her eyes just a bit, trying to get her bearings, when she realized that this was not her room.

She sat up abruptly, recognizing the room and the view of Diagon Alley, freshly coated in last night's snowfall outside. Looking around, she saw the naked back of the wizard lying next to her, and she gasped when she recognized the messy, platinum blond hair. She clutched the sheet to her chest, running a hand through her messy curls.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck!

"Malfoy!" she said, shaking the wizards shoulder. "Malfoy, wake up!"

The wizard stirred, but didn't open his eyes. "Merlin, woman, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean what's wrong?" she said shrilly. "Look at yourself."

Scorpius' eyes snapped open, as if he had just realized he was lying naked in bed and Rose Weasley was beside him. He sat up, thankfully keeping the lower half of his body covered, rubbing his temple and looking thoroughly disoriented.

"What happened?" he asked, squinting in the light.

"I'll tell you what happened. We got sloshed and had sex is what happened." Rose covered her face with both hands, the events of the night before slowly returning to her memory with shocking clarity. "I'm never drinking rum again."

"Mother of Merlin," said Scorpius, also remembering everything.

"I can't believe we did this."

"Me neither."

Rose took a deep breath. "What time is it?"

"Almost a quarter to six."

"Merlin, Mum is going to kill me."

"It'll be fine," said the wizard, gingerly rubbing his eyes.

Rose took another deep breath. "Okay, here's the plan. When they ask, we say we were too drunk to Apparate and it was snowing too much to go out and call the Knight Bus, so we took up rooms for the night. No mention of er—our other activities."

"Do I look like I have a death wish?"

She scowled at him. "This never happened, Malfoy."

The wizard looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Alright, alright. It never happened. We went out, got drunk and slept in separate rooms. Come on. If we hurry we might be able to make it back before they wake up."

And, taking care to avoid the other's gaze, they both dressed quickly before leaving the room, going down to the fortunately empty bar to find their cloaks before Apparating home.

(January 1st – 10:03am – Granger-Malfoy Household – Manchester)

Rose woke up a few hours later in the safety of her own bed, groaning as she once again remembered the night before. The good part was that she had had nice, hot, reckless sex that she had to admit was needed, in her case. The terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad part was that she had had sex with Scorpius sodding Malfoy! Merlin's pants, their parents were going to get married, most likely. The whole thing was a nightmare.

It'll be fine, she reminded herself, taking deep calming breaths. We'll just pretend nothing happened until enough time has passed that it all blows over. No one has to know.

Gingerly, she got up from the bed, grabbing her dressing gown and walking out. She found a much-appreciated pain potion on the bathroom sink, most likely left by Hermione, and drank it, hopping into the shower to rid herself of the smell of both the rum and Malfoy that she felt had seeped into her skin.

A few minutes and a fresh outfit later, she walked out of the bathroom feeling infinitely better, and heard her mother's voice calling her from downstairs.

She found her mother, Draco standing in the living room, Hugo and Scorpius sitting on the couch in front of them.

Bugger.

"You look like you've seen better days," Draco remarked with a chuckle.

Rose scowled. "Happy New Year to you, too," she said, taking the mercifully vacant seat next to Hugo on the couch, carefully avoiding Scorpius' eye.

"When did you two get in?" asked Hermione.

"We came back a bit after three and you weren't home," Draco added.

Rose tried very hard to both stay calm and not look at Scorpius.

"Six-ish," she answered.

"We were too drunk to Apparate home so we got rooms at the Leaky Cauldron," Scorpius explained, being careful to emphasize that it was rooms and not room. Rose nodded.

Hermione frowned. "You could've called the Knight Bus."

"Well, it was snowing," said Rose.

"And we didn't want to leave the pub to call the Knight Bus out on the street," added Scorpius.

"We thought it'd be best to just get rooms and sleep it off until we could Apparate."

"Yep."

Draco and Hermione looked doubtful for a moment, but Scorpius spoke again before they could say anything else.

"Weren't you going to tell us something?

"Oh, of course!" said Hermione. "Well, er…"

Draco ran a hand through his hair. "We wanted to tell you…"

Hermione took a deep breath before speaking. "Now, I realize this might not exactly be news to you lot, from what Draco has told me," her face broke into an uncontrollable grin. "But I wanted to tell you three first, either way."

She held up her left hand, allowing them a look at the platinum and diamond engagement ring on her finger. The three teenagers smiled.

"Oi, you finally did it!" said Rose.

"Congratulations," said Scorpius.

"You're finally getting married, then?" asked Hugo.

"Yes," said Draco, wrapping his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "I finally got up the nerve to ask her last night at midnight, and she said yes."

"Well, I could've told you that," Scorpius smirked, and they all laughed.

"There's something else," Hermione said.

"Oh Merlin, are you pregnant too?"

"No, Hugo," the witch frowned. "I'm not pregnant… We'd like Scorpius and Rose to be our best man and maid of honor, respectively."

The two beamed.

"I'd love to, Mum," said Rose, getting up to hug her mother.

"I was almost scared you were going to ask Hugo," said Scorpius, also embracing his father.

"With how he dented my car leaving the bakery last week?" asked Draco. "Fat chance."

"You did what?" said Hermione, glaring at her son.

Hugo sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. "Er… I think I left the kettle on…" he muttered vaguely before running for the kitchen. "Congratulations!" he called back.

Hermione scowled. "The Weasley genes are entirely too strong in that one," she said.

The other three laughed.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it!

Reviews are freshly brewed coffee.

xo, V.