Scorpius Malfoy was a lawyer, and a damn good one at that. His job could be challenging, and at times, overwhelming; but he loved it. He never minded having to wake up at the crack of dawn to be at the firm on time (that was what coffee was for, right?). He never minded the workload or the hours, and he didn't even care that his secretary had stopped blowing him since she'd gotten engaged. No, all Scorpius cared about was that he was helping to better people's lives.

Well, mostly. The pay checks weren't so bad either.

It was a Friday evening when Scorpius' life would be thrown upside down. The blond was finishing up in his office at the Wright & Ashby Legal Firm—filing the day's last papers, checking his emails one last time, dismissing his secretary, Julia—utterly oblivious, of course, to the fact that within the next few hours everything would change for good.

When all of his important lawyerly duties had been completed, Scorpius made his way out to his car, saying goodbye to his colleagues as he went.

'Later, Malfoy!' called Bannerman as she gathered a pile of papers together to file.

'See you on Monday,' chirped Sharpe from his desk, face hidden behind the computer.

'Don't party too hard!' Alcorn jested as he sipped coffee from a Styrofoam cup.

The traffic on the way home was lighter than usual, strangely enough. Fridays were usually the heaviest days in terms of road congestion. As he drove, Scorpius tried to decide what he would do that weekend. He didn't have too much work to do before Monday. Since his fling with Julia had ended, Scorpius had had more time to focus on his work … Although, sometimes it was difficult to concentrate, especially when she was in his office.

Perhaps he could see her this weekend… No, no, that wouldn't do. She wouldn't be happy with Scorpius if her fiancé found out that he was contacting Julia outside of work.

Well, maybe he could visit his parents; he hadn't seen them in a long time. No, he couldn't do that, either. Scorpius' father had exiled him after he had taken an interest in the Muggle world, and so he had found no other choice but to move out of the Manor, much to his mother's distress, and into a Muggle home in a Muggle neighbourhood. Although his mother occasionally wrote, Scorpius had barely heard from his father since he moved away some three years ago.

What else was there to do, Scorpius wondered. He had been invited to an outing at a nightclub with some of his colleagues, but he had declined, telling them that he had a date. Scorpius didn't particularly care for Muggle nightclubs—they were sweaty and smelly and loud. Why bother? Besides, Scorpius could get a date if he wanted to. He decided that he might contact one of his female suitors for coffee or dinner, and perhaps even an … adult sleepover. Yes, that would do.

It didn't take long for Scorpius to pull into the driveway of his small, but comfortable, home on Pomegranate Way. He made his way into the house, keys jingling as he locked the car, and closed the front door. He made his way into the bedroom as he did every day after work, and pulled off his tie. He unbuttoned his shirt and laid it neatly at the foot of his bed. He took off his shoes, put them away, and dropped his socks into the laundry hamper beside his wardrobe.

After changing into some tracksuit bottoms, Scorpius fixed himself a drink at the bar and sat down on the couch, clicking on the television. As he watched the screen and sipped from his glass, there was a knock at the door. Scorpius huffed impatiently—he'd just gotten comfortable!—but rose from his spot to answer it.

When he opened the front door, the Freeman's teenaged daughter from across the street smiled up at him. 'Hello, Mister Malfoy,' she said, discreetly eyeing his shirtless torso.

'Oh, Kimberly,' he replied, softening. 'Hello. What can I do for you?'

The young girl gazed up at him, doe eyed, smiling sweetly. In her hands, she held an envelope. 'This letter was in front of our door when I came home today. It's for you.' She stretched her arm slightly, offering Scorpius the envelope.

He took it from her, looking down at the address. He supposed it was from his mother. His name was written on the front in elegant script; although, it was different to Mrs Malfoy's handwriting. 'Thank you,' Scorpius said to the girl. 'You say this was in front of your door?'

'Yes,' Kimberly nodded. 'Curious, isn't it? I wonder why the postman didn't just put it in the letterbox with the rest of the mail.'

'Curious,' Scorpius repeated, bobbing his head once. 'Thank you for bringing it to me.'

'Of course,' said Kimberly, offering a flirtatious smile. 'Well, I'd better get going. Goodbye, Mister Malfoy!'

Scorpius held a hand up to the teenager to say goodbye and closed the front door, staring down at the envelope. It was sealed with a small spatter of red wax. He took the envelope into the living room and sat down. After taking a sip from his drink, he opened it.

Dear Scorpius, it read.

I hope you'll forgive me for writing to you after such a long time. If I may be bold, I certainly haven't forgotten about you in the three years that we have been apart.

I will be in town from the 13th of April for seven days, and I was hoping that we could meet somewhere to catch up. Surely there is somewhere near you that we could go—perhaps a coffee shop? I've heard from Grandpa that those are quite popular amongst the Muggles. Is that true? Grandpa has great knowledge about the Muggle world, but I would love to hear more about it from someone who lives it.

I understand that you might be busy, but I would very much like to see you. If you are free, please let me know which date best suits you and we can arrange a time and place to meet. Thank you.

Kind regards,
Rose Weasley

Scorpius' stomach twisted. He put the letter aside and immediately began writing to his old friend from Hogwarts, Philip Zabini. The date with a pretty girl who fancied him could wait.

'What do you think she means?' Scorpius asked, looking down at the letter in his hands.

Zabini, who was craning his neck around, watching Muggles as they milled about the café, turned his attention to Scorpius. He stared at him, seemingly dumbfounded by his question. 'Well, let's see,' he said sarcastically. 'She said that she's going to be in town, and that she wants to see you… You're right. What could that possibly mean?'

'Shut up, mate,' Scorpius said. 'I just mean like, why would she want to meet up with me after all this time? We didn't exactly end on good terms. I'm sure you'll remember the large book she threw at me. I haven't heard a word from her in three years.'

Zabini shrugged. 'Maybe she wants closure,' he suggested.

'After three years?' Scorpius asked sceptically. 'Do you think she misses me?'

Zabini's reply was interrupted as a waitress approached the table, a plate of cake in her hand. 'Pumpkin spice cheesecake?' Scorpius gestured towards Zabini, and the waitress laid the plate in front of him. Scorpius watched his friend as he picked up the fork and shovelled the cheesecake into his mouth like it was the most heavenly thing he had ever tasted.

'Well?' Scorpius pressed.

'This is really good,' Zabini mumbled through a mouthful of cake.

'Hello? Rose? Do you think she misses me?'

Zabini swallowed the mouthful. 'I don't know, I guess so. Why else would she be asking to see you?'

Scorpius placed his hand in front of his mouth, using his fingers to discreetly block his smile from Zabini's view—not that he was paying attention anyway. 'So … so do you think she wants to, like … start dating again? God—I mean, Merlin… What would I say to her? We haven't spoken since I left home. I mean, not that that's her fault. But still, I—are you even listening to me?' Scorpius tapped his friend on the shoulder, drawing his attention.

'Can I finish this, please?' he snipped.

'Can you not eat and listen at the same time? What's wrong with you?'

Zabini rolled his eyes. 'Fine,' he said. 'You were always so impatient.'

'Do you think I should write back to Rose tonight?' Scorpius asked.

'Why not?'

'And you think I should say yes, right?'

Zabini put the fork down on the empty dessert plate with an audible 'clink'. 'If you want to see her again.'

'Of course I want to see her again,' Scorpius said.

'Well, how am I to know that? Do you think I'm a mind reader?'

'Well you always did enjoy Divination at Hogwarts,' Scorpius pointed out.

'Divination and mindreading are two different things, Malfoy,' Zabini smirked. 'That shows how much you know.'

'Hey, watch it,' the blond warned, 'or I'll tell your father you were here.'

Suddenly, Zabini's expression changed into panic, despite knowing that this was Scorpius' humour. 'Don't even joke about that,' he hissed. 'Do you have any idea what my father would do to me if he found out I was here?' Zabini shuddered at the thought.

'I know,' Scorpius said quietly. 'I appreciate you coming here despite that. I just didn't know what to think about this letter, and I thought you'd be the best person to ask.'

Zabini sighed softly.

'Thank you for your help,' Scorpius said. He shook his head. 'Man, I miss the old days.'

'Me too, mate. Me too.'