Scorpius guiltily pocketed the money Mrs. Weasley gave him for his school supplies as they entered Diagon Alley. He tried to tell her he didn't want or need it, but it was mute point. He had earned some money over the summer by doing odd jobs for the wizarding families in Rose's neighborhood, but it wasn't anywhere near enough what he needed for school. And though he kept hoping, he had no guarantee his parents would miraculously take him back in again.

"Come on," he said, taking Rose's hand, and they started down the street together.

"Don't you want to get your books first?" she asked as they passed Florish and Blott's.

"No," he said, continuing to lead her down the street. "We're stopping at Gringott's."

"But," she said slowly, "you can't get into your account."

"I know." He couldn't explain, not just yet. If he did, she'd more than likely run in the opposite direction.

"Scorpius, I don't-"

"I know. Just trust me."

At last they made it to the white marble building. And there, standing on the steps and scanning the crowd, was Scorpius' parents.

Rose pulled back just like he knew she would.

"It's all right," he told her.

"All right?" she said. "They're not going to want to meet me! You should have warned me! Are they even expecting to meet me with you?"

"You wanted to meet them," he said, "and this was the only thing I could think of. Come on." He gave her arm a gentle tug, and she stepped forward with him.

At last his parents noticed him, and they looked as taken aback as Rose had been. But they didn't turn away. Scorpius knew they were too proper for that. They stood on the spot and waited for Scorpius to come up to them.

"Mum, dad," he said before they had a chance to speak. "This is Rose." He turned to her. She looked small and shy standing on the step behind him. He put his arm around her waist, and she stepped up next to him. "We're dating," he continued. "You don't have to like it. I just ask that you accept it as reality."

His parent's stood in silence, looking from him to Rose. Scorpius didn't know if Rose could see it, but he could tell they were caught off guard and didn't know what to say.

"It's nice to meet you," said Rose, filling the silence.

It seemed to snap his mother out of her trance. She touched her husband on the arm, and he looked at her. Their eyes met, and then Draco Malfoy's gaze fell and he took a deep breath.

"Son," he said, turning to Scorpius. "Your mother and I have been discussing it, and we would like to welcome you back home."

Scorpius nearly gasped. He could not believe what he was hearing. A smile nearly broke out on his face. But Rose gave his hand a congratulatory squeeze, and he remembered that things weren't entirely settled. "And Rose?" he asked.

His father pursed his lips, started to speak, and then looked down at his folded hands.

Scorpius' mother put a hand on her husband's arm. "You are allowed to date," she said to her son. "If the relationship has continued through to next summer, then we will talk further."

Scorpius wasn't entirely happy with that response, but he would take it. He could discuss the situation more with his parents later. For now, he had gained a small victory. He turned and smiled at Rose.

"Come," said his mother. "We're going to reopen your account." His parents turned to head up the stairs.

"And Rose can some too," Scorpius said after them.

His parents stopped and turned halfway on the stairs. His mother still had her hand on his father's arm. "Rose . . . can come too," she said. Then his parents turned and continued up at the stairs.

"You sure about this?" Rose whispered.

"Nope," he said, squeezing her hand, but he was smiling.

Once they had left Gringotts, Scorpius secretly passed Rose the bag of gold Mrs. Weasley had given him. He thought it was probably best if his parents didn't know about it.

As the four them walked down the street, Scorpius' parents barely said one word to Rose. They walked in such a way that kept Scorpius to one side of them so as to interact with Rose as little as possible. Scorpius kept his arm around her so she didn't feel neglected.

Eventually Rose got up the courage to ask his parents questions, such as what they did for work. His parents answered out of propriety but their responses were as short as possible. Scorpius gave her side a squeeze or kissed her cheek at every question to keep her encouraged.

The real test came when they ran into the Weasleys at the Apothecary. Both sets of parents came to a sudden halt, surprised at the reunion. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy both placed their hands on their son's shoulder, and Scorpius didn't know if it was a protective reflex or not.

Hugo looked uncertainly at his father whose gaze was fixed on Draco Malfoy. Apparently deciding this was not a situation he wanted to be brought into, he stepped to the side to stand next to his sister. Mr. Weasley's hand fell, and he turned in confusion to look as son.

Something about this incident caused Scorpius' father to look at him. Upon realizing Scorpius was still attached to Rose, Mr. Malfoy let go of his son and took a step back. Suddenly it was just Rose and Scorpius standing between two families. It was clear from the tense gazes between both sides that they were an unwanted bridge between the two.

It was the mothers who started the truce.

Hermione nodded politely at Scorpius' mother. "Astoria."

Mrs. Malfoy swallowed. "H-Hermione." Scorpius wondered if his mother had ever called Mrs. Weasley by her first name.

Mrs. Weasley nudged her husband, who looked indignant but then nodded curtly at Scorpius' father who nodded back, though without looking at him.

"Do you have everything you need, Rosie?" ask Mrs. Weasley into the silence.

"Not yet," said Rose. "I still need a few things."

Mrs. Wealsey waved her daughter forward. Scorpius followed Rose to the counter. As she selected and weighed out potion ingredients, Scorpius could hear the conversation continuing the behind him.

"Thank you for taking our daughter around," said Mrs. Weasley, and there was all the form of sincerity in it, as though she really meant it.

"It-it was . . . our pleasure," said Scorpius' mother with some difficultly. One thing Scorpius could always count on from his parents was their need to hold up the proper end. Usually, this was done sarcastically in situations they weren't happy about. But this particular situation was one they had never encountered before.

Scorpius turned in time to see his mother kick the back of his father's shoe. "Th-thank you," he said, "for . . . housing our son."

Mr. Weasley struggled with his response. "No . . . problem . . . at . . . all." Scorpius knew enough now of Mr. Weasley's motifs from Rose that he understood her father's frustrations was not directly focused on himself.

"We might just kill our parents," said Scorpius to Rose, amused by the situation.

"Oh, I hope not," she said, turning to watch the conversation. "Do you think it will be easier once we get to Hogwarts?"

"For us, sure," he told her. "For them . . ." He really didn't know.

"Scorpius," said Rose slowly, "If this works out . . . and we, well, get married . . . what's our wedding going to be like?"

Scorpius felt a wide grin spread across his face as he imagined the spectacle that would ensue. He laughed heartily, then turned to Rose and kissed her.

"I love you," he said once they'd parted.

"I love you too," she said.

He couldn't imagine anyone else he wanted to be with, family drama and all.

The prequel to this story is called, "Anything You Can Do" and explores how Scorpius and Rose began their relationship. You can find it on my profile.