Scorpius was sat in an armchair reading the Prophet when the party reassembled in the afternoon. He folded the paper on his lap as he watched them walk in. Rose sat opposite him, with the girl, Iris, on her lap. He couldn't help but wonder whose the familiar features were that he could see in the girl. Her hair was a lighter version of the Weasley red, and her facial features were more defined than the Weasley trait. He was brought out of his train of thoughts as the doctor sat down.

"So, Scorpius, what is the last point you remember?" Hr Smith asked.

"The first meal of 7th year, right after we'd been made head girl and boy" he motioned to Rose, who smiled rather painfully.

"Rose, would you like to continue the story for Scorpius from there?"

He observed the woman opposite him. She looked so incredibly tense. He couldn't tell how he could tell, but he almost felt that she was in pain.

"Well, during the night of that first day, we had a disaster" she said slowly, as if she was trying to find the right way to explain. "You remember that my brother used to plan pranks on me all the time? Well, he slipped me a potion in my drink at dinner and during the night it de-aged me to a 5 year old. You ended up taking care of 5 year old me for half of 7th year, and during that time we both fell in love with each other."

She smiled at that. A proper smile. Scorpius wished he could share the memory, but it was just out of reach.

"We've been together since, and after you proposed at graduation, we got married the next month. We then started our training year at Hogwarts, teaching our favourite subjects. 8 months later, Iris came along" Rose smiled as she fiddled with the little girls hair. The girl smiled at Scorpius and something snapped in his brain.

"I couldn't come to her birth because I was at a conference in London" he blurted out. Rose's jaw dropped. "All the owls were stopped from entering the conference, but when my dad's patronus burst in and started frantically screaming about it I left straight away. By the time I got there, she was here and the first thing I saw was her smile" he grinned to himself. That day had been one of the best of his life. But he couldn't remember any of the others.

"Anything else?" Rose pried. He could see the desperation in her eyes.

"I want to remember, but there's nothing. They're still missing" he said sadly as he watched the glow in her eyes fade.

"I'll continue the story" McGonagall offered.

"Iris was a beautiful baby, and as soon as the school found out the two of you brought her in and introduced her to everyone. Because you were both so committed to your jobs, and Iris was adored by all, I allowed her to live at Hogwarts with you in term time so you could still continue the jobs you loved as well as bring up your child. Since then, she's grown up to become the lovely girl in front of you" McGonagall looked with the love of a grandparent at Iris, "and you have flourished as teachers."

"It was all going perfectly until last week" Rose continued with a heavy sigh. "You said that you kept seeing a shadow during the day - in lessons, at meals, even during a Quidditch match. But no one else could see it, Scorp" Rose was starting to get upset. "Then during your lesson last week, you got hit with the curse. Some of the pupils said they thought they saw a person appear at the back, fire, then vanish, but we've searched everywhere and we can't find anyone. It's exactly like before, Scorp, except they're coming after you" she had tears streaming down her face now.

"Mummy, are you okay?" Iris asked carefully, looking at Scorpius as if asking for help. Scorpius was already on his feet. He couldn't help it. Even though he couldn't remember anything about his relationship with Rose, he could feel her pain and see her fear.

"It'll be alright" he said quietly, cautiously wrapping his arms around her. Rose leant into them and sighed, fitting perfectly into his hold. "We'll figure this out." He wasn't sure how, but he wanted to remember why it felt so right holding her, and why she was so upset by this shadow-man.

"Daddy, is mummy okay?" Iris asked quietly.

Scorpius looked down at the small girl and studied her face again. Her hair was a perfect mix between the Malfoy blonde and Weasley red. He face was as defined as his own, but littered with freckles. And her eyes. He hadn't properly looked before. Hazel, with a hint of silver. The perfect mix of himself and Rose.

"Mummy's going to be okay, hun" he said, trying the words on his tongue. It didn't feel foreign, answering to Daddy and referring to Rose as Mummy, but it was really muddling his brain. Iris nodded, then wrapped her small arms around his knees. "Can we go home now?" she asked.

"Can we go home now?" Scorpius asked, raising an eyebrow at the Healer.

"Yes. It seems that you have no other effects of this curse. If anythig starts to seem out of the ordinary, mr Malfoy, you must see a Healer."

"Lets go home, hun" Scorpius smiled at Iris for what felt like the first time. This beautiful girl in front of him was his, and he couldn't quite believe it. He helped Rose to her feet, keeping an arm around her, slipped his hand into Iris', and after nodding at McGonagall, apparated to her office.