A.N. I'm probably mad to try this, but the following story has three voices - Ron and Hermione are joined by Rose. Hence a CP rather than a usual chapter. Hopefully it reads without confusion. To help you, Hermione calls Rose 'Rose', whereas Ron usually calls her 'Rosie' or 'Ro'. Enjoy!

"Mum? Dad? What's going on?"

"Sweetheart, come in! Sit down! How was the shop today? Your father said the Alley was packed by lunchtime."

"Yes, we were kept fairly busy… Is something the matter? Your note sounded serious."

"Mum and I just want to have a quick chat with you, Rosie. Have you eaten? There's some lasagne in the fridge –"

"No thanks, Dad; I had a late lunch with Scorpius. A chat about what, exactly? Are you two… okay?"

"Okay…? Oh Rose, we're fine! This isn't about us – well, it is to an extent – but it's not about our relationship. We're very happy!"

"Hermione!"

"Oh Ron, honestly, I haven't said anything scandalous!"

"Alright, alright! Now, er… Rosie, how's the shop?"

"… Busy, like I said… Dad, are you sure you're alright? You're not ill are you?"

"Not at all, fit as a fiddle! Come on, sit down here and I'll – I'll get you some tea."

"Thanks."

"Here we are. Careful though. S'hot."

"So."

"So."

"So…"

"Darling, we just think it's time to have a conversation about the past, about your father's and my years at Hogwarts."

"Oh. I take it you're not referring to pranks this time? Or breaking curfew?"

"Not this time, darling."

"You want to talk about war, don't you?"

"Er, yes. Well, sort of. I know you've probably heard bits and pieces, Rosie, but –"

"I know about Voldemort. Dad. I know how the light won. We talk about it sometimes, all of the cousins. Fred and Teddy especially. We're all proud of you."

"Thanks, Ro. Er, but you see, in any war, you know… there'll be two sides – well, I suppose there could be more than two sides, but –"

"What Dad means is that we've spoken to you about the heroes who fought with your Uncle Harry for the Light, but we haven't really ever discussed those whom we were fighting against."

"The Death Eaters."

"Yes."

"So this is about the Malfoys."

"Not just –"

"Yes. Come on, Hermione love, it is."

"Alright, it is. But we're not bringing it up to sabotage your relationship. We just want you to know the history between both families, so that you're not caught off guard in the future."

"What do you know already, Rosie? About the Malfoys?"

"Only what Scorpius has told me. I considered looking up his grandfather's criminal record once, but it felt like an underhanded thing to do, so I changed by mind. I know that his grandparents still believe in pureblood superiority, but Scorpius says that he's only heard them say so after a few drinks. He says that his Mum isn't like that at all and his Dad isn't… any more. He's still traditional, though… What am I missing? I can tell by your faces that there's more to it."

"It's a long and complicated story, darling, going back generations. Most particularly, Scorpius' grandfather and your grandad have never really seen eye to eye."

"Lucius Malfoy has tried to have Grandad fired about a hundred times. And when that didn't work, he tried to kill your aunt Ginny with a diary and then tried to kill Harry when he saved her."

"Ronald!"

"He tried to kill Aunt Ginny?"

"Well, we don't know if he realised the full extent of what would happen, but he definitely put her in danger."

"He bloody well knew what he was doing!"

"Ron. I thought we said we'd be civil about all of this?"

"We also said we'd tell the truth – that was the truth!"

"What – what age was Aunt Ginny?"

"Eleven. It was during her first year."

"And he used a diary?"

"Filled with the worst Dark Magic you could imagine. It drained her soul in order to bring Voldemort back to life. If it hadn't been for Harry…"

"What an awful thing to do. How can a person think so little of the lives of others?"

"The Malfoys have been blood purists for centuries, Rose. It's not an excuse, because we always have a choice, no matter how we are raised, but… It goes a long way towards explaining why he hated your Grandad. He saw – probably still sees – all Weasleys as blood traitors. Draco inherited his father's view of the world and had no time for Weasleys or Muggleborns."

"Unless you count the fact that he had plenty of time to get us detentions with Filch and get us banned from the Quidditch team. He had plenty of time to bad-mouth our families and spread lies about us to the Prophet. He had plenty of time let bloody Death Eaters into the castle to kill Dumbledore!"

"Scorpius' dad… did all that?"

"And then some! He got Hagrid fired too, remember Hermione?"

"It wasn't all one-sided, Ron. Don't forget that Harry nearly killed Draco in sixth year, with that spell of Professor Snape's."

"And you punched him! Remember, for –"

"Yes, that's enough! Let's just say… none of us handled the animosity well. Being in different houses exacerbated it."

"Mum… You punched Scorpius' dad? You punched my boyfriend's dad?"

"Right in the face! Blimey, you should've seen it Rosie! Best moment of third year… I could show you the memory, actually –"

"Ronald. Weasley. Don't. You. Dare."

"What did you punch him for, Mum?"

"I – well – I –"

"Malfoy was mocking Hagrid. Your mum was defending Hagrid. Simple as.

"Really, I shouldn't have lost my temper –"

"After three years of listening to the rubbish he was always spouting, one of us should have done it sooner. Still though, bloody brilliant…"

"Hmm. We're not explaining things very well at all, are we, Rose?"

"It's alright… Did you fight them during the war? The Malfoys, I mean?"

"Well –"

"Er –"

"You did, didn't you? Oh Godric!"

"Hold on, hold on! Not quite. At one point, whilst in hiding, we were caught and taken to Malfoy Manor –"

"– but Draco didn't give Harry up –"

"He gave you up pretty quickly, Ron."

"He was under pressure from his family, who were under pressure from other Death Eaters and Voldemort. You could see it in their eyes, they were scared witless, all except –"

"Except who, Dad?"

"Scorpius' great aunt Bellatrix."

"She… did this."

"Oh no, Mum. No."

"Rose, I'm alright now. I survived, we got out of there – Rose darling, don't pull your hair like that. We're not trying to upset you, we just want to be honest with you."

"Bellatrix was off her rocker, Rosie. Unhinged. Draco and his parents weren't like that. Rosie, look at me for a minute. This is important. Ro please? In the final battle, even when it seemed like Voldemort might really win, the Malfoys were more interested in protecting each other than fighting us. They were not responsible for any deaths in Hogwarts that day. Their priority was family and we can understand that, can't we?"

"But – But – I brought Scorpius here to stay! And I wrote about him in so many letters, I must have driven you crazy, making you remember everything that happened… I'm so sorry! Mum, I'm so sorry! Dad –!"

"No, Rosie. We might've all been too bloody thick to realise it before, but you did the right thing. You did the right thing! When you befriended Scorpius in first year, you judged him on his own merit, not because of any family feud or prejudice. We fought the war so that everyone could be treated equally and free to choose the person they love – Pureblood, Half-blood, Muggle-born, Muggle even! – no matter what their blood status is. You've challenged me to see the good in Scorpius and I have to say, I – I think he's a good man. I don't know if I'd ever have given another Malfoy a chance if it weren't for you. You're helping to create the future we all hoped for, Rosie, we're proud of you. So bloody proud."

"Oh Dad!"

"Oh Ron… that was beautiful!"