"Where are we?"
"Greece," Scorpius answered Hugo. He still had a hold of Rose's hand as he looked around his bedroom at his family's beachside villa. "It's where I like to come when I want peace and quiet."
His room was decked out in quidditch posters on the walls, a color theme of light blues and sea foam greens splashed against the walls and bedding. He'd brought Rose here two summers ago. It was walking along the beach that he got the nerve to tell her he loved her for the first time, and how he rolled his eyes when she responded with, I know. She of course told him she felt the same way, but not after he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around in circles for her playfully glib answer.
"You're the worst sort of girlfriend, you know that!" he shouted as he spun her around.
Rose laughed wickedly. "I'm the best sort of girlfriend!"
Scorpius chuckled as he put her down, spinning her around to face him. "I tell you I love you, and your response is 'I know.' Who does that?"
Grinning, Rose stood up on her tiptoes and gave her beau a kiss. "I thought it would be funny. And it was."
He shook his head. "What am I going to do with you, Rose Weasley?"
"Keep me. You're stuck with me, Malfoy."
"There are worst people to be stuck with."
"I'm the best person to be stuck with," Rose countered, her arms wrapped around his neck as she hugged her chest to his. "No one loves you like I do."
Rose pulled her shoes off with her free hand and tossed them over towards the closet door. "I'm so over this day," she muttered.
He kissed her temple. "Why don't you go take a bath or something? I'll go get Hugo settled in the room across the hall."
"Alright," Rose said. "I'm going to have to borrow some clothes."
"You know where they are," he said. "I'll have Lulu go and fetch your things. And Hugo's too."
Rose nodded. She looked over at Hugo, who looked completely blank in his expression. "Hey," she said with a snap of her fingers. "You ok?"
Hugo shrugged. "I don't really know. Or no? I mean, no. I'm not ok. I just…"
"It's fine," Rose reassured him. She walked over and pulled him into a fierce hug. "You are the best person I know," she whispered in his ear.
Hugo hugged her back, his eyes squeezed as tight as her hug. He let her go, his eyes glassy as he opened them, blinking purposefully as to keep any tears brewing at bay. "You said the room across the hall?" he asked Scorpius.
Scorpius nodded. "Absolutely. Let me show you."
The room across the hall was similar in colors, but clearly a guest room as it was thoughtfully decorated instead of bearing the mark of a frequent visitor. Scorpius showed Hugo the en suite bathroom, and opened the balcony doors to a great view of the glow of the village lights. He suggested that Hugo do the same as his sister - take a shower, bath, or whatever he preferred - knowing that his girlfriend and her brother were similar in that usually either would get them to relax a bit.
Hugo pulled at his necktie and sat down on the end of the bed. "What are the chances that we can just hide here forever?" he half joked.
Scorpius chuckled. "You're always welcome here," he said. "I love your sister. You by nature are just a bonus part of that deal. Besides. Who else would talk to me about quidditch? You know Rose can't."
"Ha," Hugo scoffed. "I think you're a glutton for punishment with that one. She's bloody mental."
"She absolutely is at times," Scorpius agreed. "But she loves you."
"Which also might be more trouble than it's worth."
Scorpius shook his head. "Nah. You're definitely worth it. Don't let your dad make you think otherwise, you know?"
Hugo nodded, looking down as he pulled off his shoes. "I know. He'll cool off eventually. He always does. Doesn't make the whole thing hurt less, but it'll sort itself out."
Furrowing his brow, Scorpius stared at Hugo as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Hugo…you're allowed to be mad at your dad. You know that, right?"
Sighing, Hugo pulled the loose tie from his neck and looked up at Hugo. "It doesn't make a difference whether or not I'm mad, mate. He's the only dad I have."
"I know…I just don't want you to think you have to immediately forgive, you know? You're allowed to be mad and to process your feelings. What he did was unspeakable."
"I can't help that I'm gay, and he can't help how he feels," Hugo replied plainly. "It is what it is."
"No…Hugo. No," Scorpius gently contradicted. "Parents…they're supposed to love you unconditionally."
"Love, yes," Hugo agreed. "I know my dad loves me. I just don't think he likes who I am."
Unsure of what to say about Hugo's words, void of any emotion, Scorpius left Hugo to his thoughts and quietly walked out of the room. He paced for a bit up and down the hall, a distressed Weasley on opposite sides of the wall. He glanced down at his wrist watch. It was nearly half past nine, though it felt much later. He continued to pace, hands in his pockets. His heart broke for Hugo. He wasn't the biggest fan of Ron Weasley, especially given everything he heard from Rose during the divorce. He was always respectful of the man, given that Scorpius was in love with his daughter, but he didn't agree with most of the older man's choices. Scorpius often found Ron Weasley to be quite the enigma, never quite knowing where to start unraveling the complexity of his personality or his choices.
He knew that Ron would always be part of his life though. Even if Rose was seething mad at the man, he was as Hugo pointed out, the only father the two of them had. In this moment, he was terribly glad his parents figured out how to be civil with each other after they divorced, and how both of them loved him unconditionally.
"I'm sorry, Lulu - did you just say the children were here?"
The little elf nodded quickly as she clutched the end of the white apron she wore over her dress. "Yes sir! And Master Scorpius' guests seem terribly upset as well. Lulu must go fetch their things and bring them back at once per Master Scorpius' orders."
Before Draco and Hermione could say anything else, Lulu disappeared.
Hermione downed the last of her wine and then chased it with Draco's half drank glass of scotch. "Something must have happened at the wedding. Damn it! I knew I should have gone and stayed nearby."
Draco grabbed his empty glass from her hand. "First of all - I can't believe you drank my drink. Second of all - I'm most certain you're attendance at what was probably the tackiest wedding in all of Europe was not necessary." He stood up from his chair and nodded his head towards the hallway where the staircase lead to the second floor. "Come on - let's go find them."
Hermione stood up, lips pursed, silently fuming as she followed Draco. She couldn't imagine what could have possibly happened to make them both so upset. She did, however, have a startling epiphany halfway up the stairs. Hermione quickly grabbed Draco's forearm, squeezing it tight.
"What?" he asked.
"The children," Hermione said. "We are both here. They're going to think…"
"Naturally, being your children, I'm sure all they do is think."
"Shut it," she quipped. "I mean, they're going to think that you…me…"
Draco looked at Hermione, head tilted to the side. "Not following, Granger."
"You aren't this thick!" she hissed. "They're going to think we were…you know…doing things."
"Scrabble and booze. How salacious," Draco mocked. "You worry too much. We will just tell them the truth. I wanted a holiday weekend. You needed to get out of London. They know we are friends. We can even show them you have a separate room." He carefully pried her fingers from his forearm, his hand now holding her wrist. "Come on, let's see what happened."
She nodded. "Right. Let's go."
He dropped her wrist and resumed climbing the stairs, Hermione close behind him.
The two of them silently rounded one corner, than another on the second floor until they found Scorpius pacing back and forth, looking down at his shoes as he walked. As they two of them approached, Scorpius looked up, caught off guard by the sound of footsteps.
"Dad!" he exclaimed. "What are you - Hermione? Wait? How did you know we were here?"
"Decided to get away for the weekend," Draco replied. "Brought Granger with me so she could avoid the press left behind to follow her given the events of the weekend."
Scorpius looked over at Hermione. "Hey Ms. Granger."
"You know you can call me Hermione."
"I'll get there eventually," Scorpius half teased.
"What are you doing here?" Draco asked. "Lulu said you brought Rose and Hugo."
Scorpius went into the events of the evening, not really comfortable with relaying all the information while also knowing that he was probably the only one that could do it rationally. If Rose had to rehash it, she was likely to make something explode with her magic given how distraught she was. And Hugo, well, Hugo made it clear he wanted to be alone. But with each of them having a parent here, he realized that was definitely not likely to happen.
Hermione swallowed her anger as she listened to Scorpius. "Which room is Hugo in?"
"I imagine this one," Draco said, pointing to the correct room.
Scorpius nodded. "Yes. Rose is in my room. I uh…I'm sorry. I figured no one was here."
"Why are you apologizing?" Hermione asked. "I'm very…I'm just…thank you, Scorpius." She walked over and kissed his cheek in a motherly way. "You are a good man. My daughter is incredibly lucky to be with someone like you."
"Thanks," he replied, his pale cheeks tinting pink. "I really appreciate you saying that.
She looked over at Draco. "I'm going to go check on Hugo. Would you happen to have the necessary ingredients to make hot cocoa by chance?"
"For you?"
"No. Coffee for me if you have it. But Hugo doesn't like coffee, and it's what I usually make him when he's upset."
Draco nodded. "I'm sure I can manage something. I'll have it brought up."
Hermione gave him a grateful smile. She walked over to Hugo's door and gave it a slight knock, waiting to hear his voice before entering.
Scorpius walked back into his room, collecting Rose's clothes from the floor. He draped her dress over the back of his suede, wing backed reading chair in the corner, along with her undergarments. He began to disrobe himself, placing his own dress clothes in a nice, neatly folded pile on the chair as well until he was left just in his boxers. Entering the bathroom, he could smell vanilla scented soap coming from the bath alcove. Rounding the corner, he found Rose submerged in bubbles, her hair still done up from the wedding as she leaned her neck back against the bath pillow along the lip of the large garden tub.
"Found some soap?"
"From the last time we were here," Rose replied, eyes still shut. "Not that I mind smelling like you of course, but I much prefer smelling like me."
"I much prefer you smelling like you as well," Scorpius agreed. "Fancy sharing the bath?"
She cracked an eye open. "That sounds delightful."
He discarded his boxers and climbed in behind her as she gracefully slid forward. Rose leaned back against his chest, sighing as his arms wrapped around her as he bent down to kiss the crook of her neck. "This could be the best part about not being in school anymore, you know."
Scorpius moved to kiss her neck. "I agree. This is also going to be the best part of sharing a flat together."
"Mmmhmm," she hummed in agreement. "Thank you so much for bringing us here. For taking care of Hugo."
His teeth lightly nipped at her earlobe, his lip slightly scratching against her diamond stud earring. "I love Hugo like a brother," he said. "And I love how you love him even more," Scorpius confessed. "He's lucky to have a big sister like you."
Rose tilted her neck to the side, grabbing of his hands. She clasped her hand he had splayed across her chest, just under her breasts. "I'm lucky to have you," she said. "You have no idea how much I love you."
"As much as I love you, I imagine."
She hummed again. "Scorp?"
"Rose?"
She tilted her head up and pecked her lips on his jaw. "Thank you."
Hermione's heart broke as she saw her tall, lanky son curled up into a ball on the bed like a small child. Her hand over her heart, she steeled her emotions and walked carefully over to the opposite side of where her son lay, and sat down on the edge. She leaned over and reached a hand to Hugo's back, rubbing it slightly.
"I'm fine Rosie. Really," Hugo mumbled.
"It's not Rosie."
Hugo whipped himself around, his eyes red and wide as he looked at his mother. "But…why are you here?"
"Mr. Malfoy let me come and hide here this weekend," she said softly, brushing his thick auburn locks away from his forehead. "Thought I would avoid the paparazzi waiting to catch photos of the sad ex wife."
Chuckling, Hugo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Are you here alone?"
She shook her head. "Mr. Malfoy came with. He thought I could use a friend."
Hugo nodded, staying silent as he hugged the pillow he shared with the side of his face.
She moved to lay down next to him, a hand stroking his face. "Mummy loves you," she whispered.
"I know," he whispered back. "I love you too."
And with those words, Hugo curled into his mother, sobbing into her chest as she hugged him tight.
Draco worked in the kitchen, with five mugs on a tray. He had a pot of coffee brewing and a pot on the stove cooking hot cocoa. He had a tin of assorted biscuits on the counter as well, figuring everyone could do with a snack before they called it a night. He knew Ron Weasley was a temperamental fool, but he didn't think was that stupid. Draco also couldn't figure out what it was that big of a surprise. When Hermione confided in him Hugo's conversation from Christmas, he looked at Hermione and laughed.
"And?"
"And what?" Hermione asked. "He's gay. Why are you laughing?"
"I'm waiting for the part where I'm supposed to be surprised. You said I was going to be surprised."
Hermione stared at Draco as the two of them ate lunch in The Leaky Cauldron. "You mean…you aren't?"
"Of course not. Were you?"
She shook her head. "No. I mean, I've assumed for awhile. But why aren't you surprised?"
Draco shrugged. "I'm an incredibly perceptive person, Granger. I read people very well. That and I've been with him at a fair few quidditch matches with Scorpius. Let's just say he has the same look on his face when the male quidditch team members fly by that my son has when he sees your daughter."
The sound of apparition lead him to believe Lulu was back with the children's belongings. What he didn't expect to see was Harry Potter walking into his kitchen behind the elf.
"Malfoy."
"Potter. Why are you in my house?"
Harry shrugged. "Saw your elf. Thought I'd come check on my nephew. Why are you here?"
"Because…it's my house."
"Right," Harry said with an awkward laugh. "Sorry. I uh, Lulu said that Hermione was here, and I wasn't expecting, you know, to see you too."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Stop stammering like you've interrupted something. We are just friends."
"Which I appreciate," Harry replied with sincerity. "Has she seen Hugo?"
"She's with him now," Draco replied, nodding towards the second floor. "Question for you though. Is your idiot brother-in-law still breathing?"
Harry furrowed his brow. "Yes."
"Why?" Draco asked. "How did you not kill him on the spot for what he did to Hugo."
He sighed. "Well to be honest, I thought Molly was going to. He's not worth risking Azkaban, as I told Hugo and Rose."
"That's debatable," Draco muttered, hands braced on the kitchen island. "Hugo is a great kid. I don't understand what in the actual fuck that idiot was thinking."
"He wasn't," Harry replied. "That's what Ron does. He reacts first, thinks later, and it always ends in regrets."
"He's not a teenage idiot anymore."
"You're right. He's a grown idiot."
Draco sighed. "Well be warned - Granger is seething with rage right now. It would probably be best if you saw her later."
Harry nodded in agreement. "I definitely don't want to be in the path of that. I just wanted to make sure my godchildren were ok. Seems they are in good hands." He went to walk out of the kitchen, then paused. "Oh by the way - Hugo said he has an internship with you this summer."
"Yes. He's a bright kid. Figure if he has an interest, he may as well figure it out now."
"He's very excited about it," Harry said. "Thanks for giving him the opportunity."
Draco chuckled. "Why are you thanking me?"
"Because my ass of a brother-in-law won't," Harry replied. "You're a good man, Draco. More people should acknowledge it." He glanced down at his wrist watch. "Ah. I definitely need to be getting back. Al managed to light some frilly decorative thing on fire in his hotel room last night, so I'm now spending the night in the boys room because, well, my wife said I had to and it's best if I just do what I'm told."
Laughing, Draco snagged a few napkins out of a drawer and placed them on his tray. "Is that the secret to marriage?"
"It's the secret to mine," Harry replied with a smirk. "Have a good night, Draco."
"You too, Harry."
Scorpius held open a blue satin kimono printed with pink and white flowers for Rose, helping her into it as she wore her pink pajama pants and a black vest underneath. Her hair was up undone from the wedding now, damp from the bath and tied up in a messy bun. He had on a thin white t-shirt with a pair of loose pajama bottoms thanks to Lulu retrieving their luggage.
"Let's go back to Japan someday," Rose said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "That was such a great school exchange trip."
"We can go wherever we want," Scorpius replied, playfully plucking her nose. "Whenever we want."
She grinned. "You spoil me."
"You make it easy." He pressed a light kiss to her lips. "My dad is downstairs, by the way."
Rose's head twitched. "What? Your dad is here?"
He nodded. "With your mom."
"What!"
"Yes."
"What!" she repeated. "Why!"
Scorpius shrugged. "Dad thought she might need a place of refuge this weekend."
"Mmhmm," Rose hummed thoughtfully. "He was probably right. That was awfully kind of your dad. Remind me to make sure to thank him."
He laughed, grabbing her arms and pulling her arms from his waist. His hands found hers as he gave them a squeeze. "I'm sure no thanks is needed. The two of them get along quite well when they aren't arguing with each other."
"My parents used to argue," Rose said. "Your dad and my mom don't argue. They debate and have intelligent conversations. They're both brilliant."
"As are we," Scorpius mused. "Except I was first in our class this year."
"Oh will you quit reminding me!" Rose whined. "By one measly point. I'm still vexed by it."
He laughed, pulling her towards the door. "Come on. Let's go say hello. Your mum told Dad to make some hot cocoa, which means he most likely did it."
Rose smiled. "That does sound good. Do you think he has marshmallows too?"
"If he doesn't, Lulu will find us some."
"Ok…well, if that's the case, we better get down there and see before Mum comes down. If she knows I asked an elf to find me marshmallows I'll never live it down."
"I promise I'll take full responsibility for it if she finds out."
Grinning, she squeezed his hand. "Alright. Let's go."
