This be chapter two of my two chapter story! Read and enjoy, fellow fanfic-ers.
Obviously, I don't own Harry Potter. I wish I did though, because I'd have some fat stacks of cash.
October 17, 2049.
"WHUFF!" Scorpius grunted as all of the air left his body.
His three-year-old daughter, Cassiopeia, had just jumped on him in an effort to wake him up.
"It's morning, papa!" she cheered.
Next to them on the bed, Rose continued to sleep like a log. Clearly, Cassiopeia's penchant for early rising wasn't inherited from her mother.
"All right, Stars. Let's go have breakfast." agreed Scorpius, carrying his daughter out of the room.
Ooof. Having a little one at 43 is not for the faint of heart. Moaned Scorpius to himself as his back protested the weight he was carrying.
As they reached the kitchen, Cassiopeia jumped down from Scorpius' arms and immediately scrambled into her chair at the breakfast table.
"What would you like for breakfast, Stars?" asked Scorpius as he set a pot of coffee to boil.
"Apples! Toast!" the girl chirped with a grin, her gray eyes twinkling in the way that had prompted Scorpius to give her the nickname 'Stars'.
Cassiopeia Molly Malfoy was an absolute first for the Malfoy family. Not only was she the first daughter ever born to the infamous clan, but she was the first female to bear all of the classic Malfoy traits.
Skin so pale it was like milk. Hair so blonde it bordered on snowy white. Gray eyes.
Even at three, she already possessed a sort of ethereal beauty that not even the Veela-descendants in Rose's family could match. Scorpius was not looking forward to her teenage years, and the amorous wizards who would surely come with them.
"Apples and toast again? You eat that every day! Wouldn't you like some oatmeal?"
"Apples! Toast!"
"Bacon and eggs?"
"Apples! Toast!"
"Muggle 'Froot Loops'?" Herman loved the horrible sugary things. Nobody else in the house did.
"Apples! Toast!" chirped Cassiopeia with a hint of finality.
"Apples and toast it is, my dear!" replied Scorpius with a flourish, before he began to core and slice an apple for his daughter. When that was done, he used his wand to toast a slice of bread for her.
After pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting next to his daughter to read The Prophet, the rest of Scorpius' family began to filter in.
Herman was the first to arrive, clad in nothing but his boxer's shorts and one of his older brother's old quidditch shirts. He greeted his sister and father, before tucking into a large bowl of Froot Loops.
Finally, many minutes later, Rose straggled in, her hair wild about her head in a flaming red and gray halo, and her eyes bleary. Scorpius immediately rose to greet his zombie wife with a peck on the cheek (her morning breath was pretty brutal...) and a cup of coffee.
"Thanks, dear." she said before taking a large swig of it.
It always amused Scorpius that he could literally see his wife begin to turn human again after her first cup of coffee. Scorpius had long ago decided that coffee was the second-greatest muggle invention ever.
Just behind the vasectomy.
After breakfast found Rose and Scorpius in their room, preparing for the day.
"Scorpius!" Rose called from the bathroom.
"Yeah, Rosie?" asked Scorpius from his place in front of his wardrobe.
"I invited my parents and my brother over for dinner tonight. I'm going to need you to pick up the stuff on this list from the grocer's." called Rose as a magically-levitated note floated to Scorpius. "I haven't seen Hugo since he proposed to Orchid and I thought it would be nice to have them over. I'll pick the kids up after work, so you don't have to."
"Sounds good." mused Scorpius as he stuffed the note into his jacket pocket.
Scorpius his wife goodbye, and after gathering Herman, flooed out of the house.
After dropping Cassiopeia off at the Ministry's daycare center, which was a service provided to all Ministry employees, Rose walked into a disaster in her own office.
Evidently, nearly a dozen Hogwarts students had snuck out of the school in the dead of night, somehow made it to muggle London, and caused some kind of disturbance in a convenience store.
"Bloody hell, why didn't I hear about this last night!" moaned Rose, rubbing her temples.
"The Aurors managed to contain the site, so we decided your intervention could wait until morning." replied her assistant.
This was terrible. The inside of the store had been transformed into a swamp, a magical fireworks display had gone off by the petrol pumps, and a poor employee had been hit with a confundus AND an immobilizing charm. Several motorists who had been refueling their automobiles were now in Auror care, until they could be oblivated and sent on their way.
"All right, follow standard clean-up procedure number three." said Rose. "Send the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, a team of oblivators, and the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Team. They'll be able to sort this out."
And they would too. One of Rose's greatest triumphs so far was finding and hiring actual muggles to the MWET. Mostly lawyers and former members of law enforcement and local government, who knew exactly how to deal with these sorts of problems. The team had never been more effective.
The assistant nodded and sent out the orders, before returning to Rose, who was drinking another cup of coffee as she read over the offiical reports.
"Bloody hell, how could this get any worse?" asked Rose.
"About half of the Hogwarts students involved are related to you." offered the assistant.
Rose just groaned and sank back in her chair.
After dropping Herman off at his tutor for the day, Scorpius immediately apparated to Malfoy Magical Enterprises.
Almost immediately after he settled into his chair, his secretary bustled in to announce that "The representatives from Gringott's are here. Shall I send them in?"
Scorpius groaned. "That's just what I need this morning. Louis Weasley and a bunch of Goblins. All right, send them in."
Scorpius had expected this. Last week, he'd instructed his department of treasure hunters (one of many branches of Malfoy Magical Enterprise) to covertly observe a Gringott's team that had been staking out a potential dig.
Once it was clear that the Gringott's team planned to go in, Scorpius had sent in his own smaller, elite squad of curse-breakers to clear the site, which they had done in record time, thanks to a combination of magical skill and muggle technology.
The haul had been extremely rich indeed. Everyone at the Enterprises would be getting a double bonus this Christmas!
The best part? No local or international laws had prohibited Scorpius' actions.
Obviously, the Goblins had not been happy. And now they were here to complain.
Still, Scorpius kept his business accounts and his family's personal finances carefully tucked away in Switzerland, and he encouraged his employees to do the same. He feared no repercussions from Gringott's.
Still, Louis was Rose's cousin. Scorpius would have to be polite when he told Louis to pound sand.
Hopefully, things wouldn't be too awkward at the next Weasley family reunion.
Scorpius emerged onto the streets of Muggle London into a very well-rehearsed routine for him.
He would now walk one block north and three to the west to meet Albus Potter at a small kebab shop he and Albus frequented for lunch. The place was discreet, clean, and best of all, cheap.
In a rather odd occurrence, Scorpius beat Albus to the shop. Scorpius waved to the owner and sat down in his usual booth to wait for his friend.
10 minutes later, a red-faced Albus Potter showed up, huffing and puffing from his hurry.
Albus Potter the Auror had been a svelte, very athletic man. Unfortuately, Albus Potter the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was a man who no longer followed the Ministry fitness program for Aurors. But he did still indulge regularly his tastes for all foods greasy and all deserts treacle.
He was now a bit pudgy. Just like his wife.
"Ah, you've finally made it, Al!" joked Scorpius as Al plopped into the booth across from him.
"Well, for those of us who actually have to work for a living, extended lunch breaks are difficult to come by!" replied Al with a smirk.
"I work! I'll have you know that just this morning I had to deal with your cousin Louis and his goblins over the dig in Mali."
"Oi, I can only imagine how that went..." grunted Al.
The two men placed their orders, before returning to the conversation.
"So, what's new with the Malfoys?" asked Al as he chomped into his double doner kebab with extra sauce.
"Lucius and Helena are expecting their first." replied Scorpius proudly. "I'm going to be a grandfather soon!"
Albus' eyes widened as he swallowed. "Congratulations! I see he didn't follow his old man's example and waited a while. Do you think they'll fire out the sprogs like you and Rose did?" asked Al cheekily.
Between Scorpius siring four children and Al being the one who introduced Scorpius to the miracle that was the muggle vasectomy, Albus had more or less unlimited ammunition for teasing Scorpius.
"Charming, Al." replied Scorpius with a roll of the eyes. "And how are things with your family?"
"Great! Augusta is just about to graduate from Hogwarts. She's going to train as an Auror, just like her old man. And George is still off in South America, studying his plants and herbology."
George was Albus' son, who had graduated from Hogwarts several years prior and immediately had begun traveling the world in search of new exotic plants to bring home. Augusta was Albus' daughter, and just as deadly with a wand as her namesake had been, and would certainly make a fine Auror.
"Is Alice still running the Leaky?"
"Of course." Al grinned. I don't think she'd be at home anywhere else, really." Alice Potter (nee Longbottom) was Albus' wife, the first and only daughter of Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott.
The two ate in silence for a moment before Albus spoke again.
"I heard that Hugo and Orchid are visiting tonight."
Scorpius nodded. "Rose invited them, along with her parents. She thought it would be a nice quiet way to celebrate Hugo's engagement.
Hugo, now past 40 himself, had been married once before. He'd met and wedded a muggle woman named Caitlin while in his mid-20s.
Nobody in the family had liked her, as she'd generally been unpleasant, aloof, and demanding of everyone, especially Hugo.
About a year after they'd wed, Caitlin had found out that Hugo was a wizard. Her leaving him and then divorce followed soon after, to nobody's real disappointment, except for Hugo's.
Rose had oblivated Caitlin personally.
It had been nearly 15 years before Hugo found someone he could be serious about again. That someone turned out to be Orchid Finnegan, who was the daughter of Seamus and Lavender Finnegan.
Lavender and Orchid both suffered from Lycanthropy. They were (registered) werewolves. Orchid could only understand Hugo's feelings too well, after her own first marriage had failed following her husband's discovery that she was a werewolf.
"How do you like her?" asked Albus.
"I really don't know. I've only met her once, for about 30 seconds in Diagon Alley. Hopefully, she isn't like Hugo's last wife."
Both of them grimaced.
"She's lovely. And Hugo's a great Auror. I'm sure he'll be able to deal with any of her...issues...should they arise." said Albus.
The two finished their meals and bade their farewells, before beginning their journeys back to work.
Rose groaned at her desk.
This debacle in London had generated loads of paperwork! She'd have to work through lunch.
Again!
As Rose growled, so did her stomach.
A few moments later, to Rose's great shock, a Styrofoam box popped out of the floo in her office, with a note attached to it.
Heard about London. Figured you'd be too busy to get lunch.
Love, Scorpius.
Rose opened the container to find a kebab sitting on a pile of chips and grinned.
She really did love that man.
After making sure he'd gathered everything on Rose's list, Scorpius made his way to the clerk of the magical grocer's in Diagon Alley.
"Will that be all, then?" wheezed the rather morbidly obese old man who ran the store.
Scorpius read the name stitched onto the old man's apron. Goyle.
Scorpius thought there was something familiar about him but said nothing. "Yes, that's everything."
"The total is 5 galleons and 8 knuts."
Scorpius paid, and left.
After gathering Cassiopeia from the Ministry's childcare center, Rose immediately floo'd to Cho Davies' house.
Cho was an older Asian woman, a widow who lived alone in a small wizarding community near London. She'd been personally recommended by Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny as a pre-Hogwarts tutor for the children, and it had been a good choice. Cho was wonderful with the kids, and they all loved her.
Her Ravenclaw brilliance also made her an excellent teacher.
Rose knocked on the door and it was quickly answered by Mrs. Davies.
"Mrs. Cho!" cheered Cassiopeia, reaching out to hug the older woman.
"It's Mrs. Davies, Cassie." corrected Rose.
"Oh, it's okay, Rosie. How was your day, Cassie?" asked Cho.
"I got in trouble for throwing a toy at Arnie MacMillian."
"Oh dear..."
"Mum!" Herman had finished putting his shoes on and ran up to greet his mother and sister.
"Hello, Herman! Did you learn anything good today?" asked Rose as she ruffled her son's hair.
"Mrs. Davies taught me how to levitate the sofa!"
"Well, as long as you don't do that at our house." replied Rose with a wink at Cho. "Are you ready to leave?'
"Yep! Bye Mrs. Davies!" said Herman with a wave to his tutor.
"Bye-bye Mrs. Cho!" sang Cassiopeia as she waved furiously before being pulled into the floo.
As Scorpius sliced the cuts of meat and attempted to keep his daughter under control, Rose chopped vegetables and gushed about Orchid Finnegan.
"She's such a sweet lady, not like that horrible toad Caitlin! I'm sure she and Hugo will be really happy. I know you'll love her too."
"I'm sure I will." grinned Scorpius as he gently guided Cassiopeia away from the cutting utensils. "What do your parents think of her."
Rose grimaced a little. "Well, dad loves her, but I'm not sure about mum. It's almost as though she's treating Orchid the same way dad treated you at first..."
"Badly?" asked Scorpius with a wink, before he had to dodge a slice of carrot.
"He wasn't that bad!" snapped Rose.
"I know, I know." chuckled Scorpius.
An hour later, the table was set and the company was due to arrive any minute.
A quick knock on the door signaled the first guests, and Scorpius went to answer.
"Hi. Mr. And Mrs. Weasley!" greeted Scorpius, giving Hermione a hug and shaking Ron's hand.
"'Ello, Scorpius!" greeted Ron as he and Hermione went into the house.
Now looking very much like his father, Ron's hair was more gray than red, and his face had long ago lost the fight against gravity. But, his eyes were still a clear crystal blue.
"Now where is that Rosie?" asked Hermione as she looked around the Malfoy's home and inhaled the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen.
While Hermione was clearly aged, with her famous tangle of bushy hair now mostly gray, she didn't look nearly as old as Ron. Only laugh lines and crinkles around the eyes marred her visage.
"She should be down any second."
"Granpa Ron!" shrieked Cassiopeia as she charged in on an intercept vector to her grandfather.
"Stars!" Ron had adopted Scorpius' name for the girl. "How is my favorite granddaughter?" he asked as he hefted her up into his arms, before groaning with the effort.
"Ronald! You're going to throw your back out again! I don't want to make another trip to St. Mungo's!" scolded Hermione.
"Yes dear." sighed Ron before sticking his tongue out at the back of his wife's head and winking at Scorpius, who fought back his grin.
"Gran-Gran!" Herman entered the room and went straight to his namesake, enveloping his grandmother in a hug.
"Merlin's beard, Herman! You get bigger every time I see you!" said Hermione as she returned the hug. "How is your tutoring going?"
"Great! I can levitate things now! And Mrs. Davies says I'm great at potions."
"That's great, Herman! I know you'll be the brightest wizard of your age!"
"Well, now that Hermione has asked the boring questions, it's time for...chocolate frogs!" laughed Ron as he produced two small sacks of the famous snacks and passed them to the kids. "There might be a few surprises from the Wheezes in there too!"
"Ronald! Don't give them the chocolate before supper!" chided Hermione.
"Mum! Dad!" Rose entered the room and immediately went to hug and kiss her parents. "I'm so glad you could make it!"
"Well, being mostly retired gives us a lot of free time, you know." grinned Ron. "Nothing to do but faff about in the shed at the Burrow and annoy your mother."
"And he does too." agreed Hermione.
Ron and Hermione had purchased and moved to the Burrow after the passing of Ron's parents, and it remained the nerve center of all things Weasley.
A second knock interrupted the greetings, and when Rose opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of a tall, curly-haired man and a diminutive woman with light brown hair.
"Hugo!" Rose immediately hugged her brother. "And Orchid! It's so good to see the both of you! It's been ages..."
"It has, sis." agreed Hugo, as he helped Orchid out of her coat.
"Hi Rosie!" replied Orchid. "Thanks for having us over."
Orchid Finnegan was a small, curvy woman with light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a very pretty face. Her short stature was even more evident when she stood next to her looming fiancée.
Even though he possessed his father's tall build, Hugo clearly took more after his mother, with curly brown hair and a very similar face to Hermione's. He had inherited Ron's somewhat long nose and blue eyes, though.
Once everything was settled down, the families went to the dining room for supper.
In between scolding the children for being too noisy or too messy at the table, Scorpius immediately saw what Rose had meant about the tension between Orchid and Hermione. Their conversation seemed strained a bit, and it mostly seemed to be the fault of Hermione. Orchid was trying, but couldn't seem to get any real conversation going.
"So, have you two lovebirds decided when the wedding is going to be?" asked Ron as he took another bite of his sirloin roast.
"Hugo and I were thinking fall, but mum keeps insisting that we have the wedding in the summer." replied Orchid.
"Oh yes...your mum. Heh-heh. I remember when she was a housemate at Hogwarts. Old times..." muttered Hermione as her eyes shot from Orchid to Ron and back, her visage clearly darkening a bit at the mention of Lavender.
Hugo sighed quietly, and attempted to change the topic over to the Chudley Cannons' most recent failure.
This continued largely until the meal was over and Orchid and Rose went to prepare desert and Hugo and Scorpius went out to the garage to look at the piles of stuff Scorpius had recently brought over from Malfoy Manor, items his parents either thought he should have or simply didn't want.
Ron grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her off to another room.
"What's wrong, Hermione? You seem a little...tense." asked Ron.
"I am not tense, Ronald."
"Alright then. Why don't you like Orchid?"
Hermione sighed. "I like Orchid...it's just..."
"She's the daughter of your teenage nemesis?" grinned Ron.
"Lavender Brown was not my nemesis, Ronald. I just didn't like that she was snogging you!"
"Suuuure. The way you're acting is nothing like how I was when Rose brought Scorpius home." Ron winked as he said it.
"Okay, okay. Maybe that's part of it. I certainly wouldn't have picked Lavender Brown's daughter for my only son...but I know there's nothing really bad about her. Unlike you, who spent the first 10 years of Rose and Scorpius' relationship trying to find evidence that Scorpius was a blood status fanatic" said Hermione.
"But, I grew out of it, and now you can do the same!" teased Ron. "But, really. There's got to be another reason you're so touchy around Orchid. And I know it's not because she's a werewolf."
"Well...okay Ronald. It's really no secret that Rose is your favorite, right? I know you love both of the kids, but Rose has always been 'your Rosie'."
"Well, yeah..."
"And Hugo has always been mine, you know? And it was really really gutting to see him hurt so badly by Caitlin the first time around. I don't want that to happen again. Between that, and Orchid being Lavender's daughter, I just feel so out of sorts around her, and..." Hermione was cut off by a hug from her husband.
"It's alright 'Mione. It's okay to be a little wary, but I think you need to step back and look at how happy Hugo is around Orchid. He was never that happy with Caitlin, even when things were going well for them. I think they'll be really happy. And at their age, they need to find someone to settle down with." said Ron soothingly.
"You're right. You're right. I know you're right. Ugh. I know things are bad when you're the one providing sensible advice about relationships." Ron snorted a little at that. "When did you find an ounce of sense anyway?"
"When Rose and Scorpius forced me to re-learn everything I thought I knew about that stuff." said Ron.
It was Hermione's turn to snort. "You just like Scorpius because he's given you so many grandchildren to spoil."
Ron grinned sheepishly before he was dragged back to the dining room for dessert.
Hours later, after everyone had gone and the children had been put to bed, Rose and Scorpius found themselves in their bedroom, getting ready for bed themselves.
"Oi, what a day." sighed Rose as she returned from their bathroom. "I am so ready for a good night's sleep."
Scorpius made an agreeing noise. "It was nice to see your family tonight. I think Hugo and Orchid will be really happy together."
"I hope so. They both deserve some happiness." said Rose as she bent over to remove her trousers.
As she did it, Scorpius couldn't help but stare at his wife's arse. Sure, four children and many years had affected her figure somewhat, and her red hair was now streaked with gray, but Scorpius still thought she was the most beautiful woman on earth. His heartbeat picked up it's pace as he too undressed for bed.
Rose too had been glancing sidelong at her husband as he removed his shirt. A couple of decades spent sitting at a desk had rather softened his formerly lean physique, and there was no denying that Scorpius' hair was starting to get quite thin, but Rose still found herself blushing a little bit as she watched him. She turned back to putting her pyjamas on, but was interrupted by two arms going around her mid-section and pulling her back.
She found herself nestled against her husband.
"Rose" he breathed somewhat huskily, before leaning down to place a kiss along her neck.
Rose turned slightly to capture Scorpius' lips in a fairly searing kiss.
Half an hour later, the couple found themselves spooned tightly together in their large bed, both of them smiling and sweating from their previous exertions.
"Mmm...that was wonderful. The perfect way to end a stressful day." sighed Rose as Scorpius kissed her shoulder gently.
"Mmhmm." agreed Scorpius as he gave her a slight squeeze.
A few comfortable moments passed before Scorpius snorted quietly, obviously fighting back a giggle.
"What are you laughing at over there?" asked Rose.
"Today Al asked me if he thought Lucius and Helena were going to have as many kids as you and I did. And then I just thought about how much I owed Al for suggesting the 'vas-ect-omy' to me. It might be the only way to counteract Weasley fertility."
Rose couldn't fight back her own giggles, and soon the two were chuckling uncontrollably.
"I love you Rose. Good night." said Scorpius quietly before settling down to sleep.
"I love you too, Scorpius." said Rose as she snuggled into her husband's embrace, enjoying the warmth it provided in their drafty old house.
Ten seconds later, both parents were snoring, fast asleep on the bed, comfortably ensconced in each other's arms.
The clock on the wall read 12:01.
El fin!
So, that's my two-shot. Kind of a slice-of-life.
I love Ron and Hermione as the 'goofy old man' and 'scolding old lady' married couple. They're loosely based on my own (now deceased) grandparents.
I hope you enjoyed my story. If you did, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! Hell, leave one even if you didn't like it. Thanks for reading! And, while you're here, why not click on my name and check out my other Potter stories? Maybe you'll find one you like!
