AN: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, there would be at least one slash pairing in the books.
AN: This is ANOTHER entry for The Cross-Gen Competition by TamariChan, because it just INSISTS on being written. Really, I can't stop it, it MUST come out.
"So…How did you two meet?" Astoria asked as she looked at her son and his new fiancé from across the table.
"Well…" Scorpius began and he looked over to Cho with a smile. "It's the strangest of places to meet actually…"
"It was just over four years ago," Cho continued with a smile at Scorpius's parents. "At a graveyard of all places…"
Four years ago"You miss her very badly," she stated from behind Scorpius as he knelt down at Rose's grave and he nodded without turning around.
"And who do you keep visiting here?" he asked without turning around. He instinctively knew who it was without turning and the woman gave a bitter sigh.
"My husband. My daughter. Old friends and a boy I loved long ago," she said, before giving a mirthless laugh. "I seem to be a death charm. Almost everyone I love is dead and I just linger on."
Scorpius said nothing. What could he say, to someone who had known so much grief? Sorry didn't seem adequate.
"Who was she?" the woman asked and Scorpius gave a bitter, mirthless laugh.
"The daughter of my father's enemy. My best friend. My fiancée," he said as he felt a sharp stab of grief. "Who are you anyway? Some vulture from the Daily Prophet trying to dig for a story on the infamous Scorpius Malfoy?"
"I've had my life picked over by those vultures far too much!" the woman snapped and she stormed off with a flurry of anger and tears.
Present"That doesn't sound like the most auspicious way to start," Draco commented dryly. Astoria however looked concerned.
"You met at a graveyard? At the grave of that lovely girl Rose Weasley?" she asked in a concerned voice. "It's not exactly the…most conventional of places to meet someone you love. Are you su-"
"We're no exactly a normal couple Mr Malfoy," Cho pointed out.
"And I'm sure that this is real," Scorpius finished. "Rose is my past. Cho is my future. Please mum, this means a lot to me."
"Well then, perhaps you could tell us how you two met after that," Draco asked curiously, although a bemused expression was on his face.
"I saw her the very next day," Scorpius replied as he cast his mind back to that fateful day.
Four years ago"I'm sorry," he said before she could say anything. "I was…wrong to be like that. It's just th-"
"It's just that it hurts so much," the woman finished for him, her dark brown eyes reflecting her pain and anguish as she traced her fingers along the stone. "I understand. The Prophet insinuated you were her killer. They did the same for me."
A puzzled frown crossed Scorpius's face as he tried to think of a woman who would fit the bill, before receiving a sudden flash of clarity.
"You're Cho Chang, aren't you?" he asked and the woman gave a bitter snort.
"I haven't been Cho Chang for many years," she said with a frown. "Only the Prophet seems to forget that because my muggle husbands name wasn't as well recognised as my name when I was a professional broomstick racer."
"Yeah, well the Daily Prophet wouldn't recognise facts if they bit them on the a-"
"Language my dear Scorpius, language!" Cho chided him. "There are children present."
"Where?" he asked and she tapped the gravestone, a large, elaborate piece in front of her.
"My daughter. She was only seven years old when she was murdered," Cho pointed out sadly. "So please, keep your language clean."
"I will," Scorpius promised solemnly. "But I don't think you're a Death Charm or curse or anything like that. Just really unlucky."
"And what gives you that impression Mister Malfoy?" she asked sharply and Scorpius frowned.
"Well…" he started, before pausing to think. "Your parents are still alive for one thing. And your daughter didn't die because of you, she died when she was murdered by those stupid blood-purity b-" he suddenly caught himself and suddenly switched words. "-idiots because she was there! What could you have possibly done?"
"I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!" she screamed angrily, tears running down her cheeks. "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!"
"And I should have been there to save Rose!" Scorpius hissed angrily, but not at her. "Do you think that I don't understand that? But I learned that no matter how hard you try, you can't save everyone. You just try to save those that you can," Scorpius finished sadly. "Harry Potter told me that after I tried to kill myself. And I think he's right, because if anyone has the right to call themselves a Death Charm, it's him."
"You're right," Cho admitted ruefully as she looked away. "I'm sorry."
Present"I am sorry about your daughter," Astoria told Cho with a sad smile. "I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy."
"And I pray you never do," Cho replied sadly with a shake of her head. "Your son is a wonderful person."
"So what happened next?" Draco asked curiously. "There's more to this story than what you've told us."
"There is," Scorpius agreed. "Well the next few days were spent in silence as the two of us danced around one another neither of us sure what to say, until finally Cho spoke."
Four years ago"I'm sorry," she said from behind Scorpius as he knelt at Rose's grave. "I shouldn't have screamed at you."
"I shouldn't have been so quick to touch such a raw nerve," Scorpius replied with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry."
"There's a tea shop nearby, one I always visit after coming here," Cho continued. "I always need something to help me continue through the day."
"Ah the ever successful cup of tea," Scorpius joked and Cho chuckled. "Why not?"
"Why not indeed? I swear I must have drunk enough tea to drown the giant squid," she chuckled with amusement. "I always wondered when it was supposed to start helping."
"Perhaps we should try coffee instead?" he suggested as the two of them walked out of the graveyard together.
Present"Coffee wasn't any better, but your son managed to get me thoroughly addicted," Cho said with an amused smile. "It became a little ritual of ours to go for coffee afterwards and we talked about the ones we lost and the ones we lived for."
"Talking is good for the soul. I don't remember exactly when it was that it became about seeing one another more than it did our loved ones, but I do remember when we were finally forced to be honest with one another about our feelings," Scorpius added as he slipped back into another important memory.
Two years ago"Well this is goodbye until I get back from Germany I suppose," Scorpius said as he stood up from their table.
"I guess this is," Cho replied looking away sadly. "It's a shame you have to go off to deal with Malfoy Industries German contacts."
"Yeah, but I'll be back in a couple of weeks," he said and suddenly Cho stood up a little straighter and looked him in the eye.
"Scorpius, there's something I need to tell you before you go…" she started and Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "It's something I've been intending to tell you for a while and I don't know how to say it-"
"Cho-"
"I really shouldn't be having these feelings, I swore that I'd never love again after I lost my husband and I never expected to find love with someone younger than me-"
"Wh-" suddenly Scorpius was cut off mid-word as Cho suddenly kissed him hard and with not a moments hesitation, he returned her kiss with equal fervour. It took them both a good twenty minutes to leave.
Present"TWO YEARS!" Astoria practically screeched. "And you're only telling us NOW!"
"Isn't this a little…rushed Scorpius?" Draco asked with uncertainty and Scorpius looked his dad in the eye.
"Dad, I know what I'm doing. I wouldn't do this if I wasn't sure," he said firmly.
"But why can't you wait a few years?" Astoria asked and both Scorpius and Cho gave a bitter laugh.
"I'm dying Mrs Malfoy. In a few years, an old curse, a souvenir of the Battle of Hogwart's, will work its way to my heart and it will kill me," Cho explained with a grim look on her face.
"We didn't even know it was there until a few days ago. That's why we want to get married," Scorpius finished. "Don't even try to persuade me otherwise, Cho's already tried."
"Why do you want to set yourself up for yet more heartbreak?" Astoria asked in dismay.
"Because I would rather have a few years of happiness with the one I love, than not take my chance and regret it for the rest of my life. I did that with Rose, I won't repeat that mistake again."
"Well I may not understand you illogical choice," Draco began, "but for what it's worth, you have my blessing."
"And mine," Astoria added with a doubtful twinge. "I just hope you don't regret this."
"I won't," Scorpius said with a smile and he leaned over and kissed his fiancé. "Thank you mum and dad."