DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rose, Scorpius, feather boas, insane families or awkward future talks.
Conclusion to Getting it Right.
Six years later, I'm still best friends with Bea, still cousins with Al and still in love with Scorpius Malfoy. Oh, and still trying to get it right. My conclusion … oh, I don't bloody know. :Scorpius/Rose sequel to GIR postDH NextGen:
Chapter 3: The Third One.
(My third year out of Hogwarts, 2026).
(A ten-tonne walrus with commitment issues)
(Yeah. That is a new one).
"I HATE my job!" Bea yelled, storming into our flat and slamming the door for good measure. I barely flinched anymore. She'd done this far too many times.
"What's Moni done now?" I asked, rolling my eyes and not even looking up from my text book.
Bea gave an exasperated groan, collapsing onto the sofa next to me. "She flipped out because I was five minutes late getting back from my break," she moaned. My best friend looked so miserable that I sighed, gesturing with my arms and letting her snuggle into my side. She did so gratefully, hugging me round the middle as I balanced my book on the arm of the sofa. "Everyone else is always, without fail, at least ten minutes late and does she care about them? No! It's always me!"
"Scorpius reckons you should just slap her and get it over with." I said, shrugging.
"Yeah, well, punching her didn't work," Bea snorted. "And since when did listening to Scorpius result in anything good?"
"Oi!" I said. "That's my darling-other-half you're insulting!"
Bea laughed again. "Yeah, and you're calling him your 'darling-other-half'. What're you fighting about this time?"
I blanched at that. "What makes you think we're fighting?" I asked, avoiding her gaze. Kind of difficult when she's still cuddling you.
Bea rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on," she said. "It's always obvious when you've been fighting, you pretend to be all overly-in-love. It's rather sickening and fairly obvious."
I sighed. "Oh, bugger it," I said, chucking my book onto the coffee table and snuggling into Bea. "Yeah, we had a bit of a screaming match last night, when you and Al were out having dinner at Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny's."
"What about?"
"Oh, apparently the idiot is going away for work. There's been an incident in Russia I think where several Muggles were attacked by a wizard and they want Scorpius to be a part of the team that handles the trial."
"But that's brilliant!" Bea said, frowning. "Why Russia, though? Don't they have their own Muggle-relations department? Ooh, it's going to be cold once he gets there! And I thought England was bad in November!"
"Oh, apparently Russia's in the middle of re-building their Ministry and don't have employees to spare or something, I don't bloody know! Point is that yeah, it would normally be brilliant, except for the fact that he's going to be gone for 4 weeks and he didn't even tell me!"
"Why, when's he leaving?"
"Tomorrow!"
"What?" Bea sat up then, looking simply offended. "Tomorrow?! Now I'm pissed off that he didn't tell me!"
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well, it gets worse – he told Al!"
"Al?!" Bea actually let out a growl. "Oh, he's going to have it coming when he gets home …"
"Oh, don't you start fighting with Al," I told her, throwing an arm back around her. "It's not his fault, Scorpius is the one to get pissed off at."
Bea was silent for a moment or two while I just seethed under my breath. I wouldn't even be angry if he'd just bloody told me. But the idiot apparently 'could not bring himself to tell me' that he was going away for a month because he was going to 'miss me so much'. Bastard. Now he was leaving tomorrow and expected me just to be ok with it! Even worse, I found out because I accidentally discovered his ticket for the international Portkey while trying to find a spare t-shirt in his room. I don't even know when he was planning on letting me know; perhaps while he was swirling magically somewhere over Europe? I could imagine, "Hey, Scorpius, you in for dinner tonight?" "Nah, I'm going to be working late." "That's fine, how late?" "Oh, about four weeks."
Naturally, I was rather pissed off.
"Rosie," Bea said after a moment of stewing in silence. "I know you're upset at Scorpius for not telling you … I am, too. But why're you actually so mad at him?"
I sighed, since I knew exactly why. "Because, Bea," I said, warily. "I'm going to flipping miss him."
Bea grinned. "Oh, Rosie, it's only for four weeks–" she began, but luckily she couldn't work herself up into a complete spaz, because that was when Al came home. Or, well, when he came home to our flat, since the four of us often hung out at either one flat or the other. If no one was at his and Scorpius's, we were likely to all be over here.
Unfortunately for him, however, Bea was still pissed off.
"Hey, guys–! Woe, what's this? A snuggle party?" Al asked, eyeing our hug on the sofa. But in the next second, Bea had leapt up, yelling "You!" and promptly slapped Al across the face.
"OUCH!" Al yelled, clutching at his now bright red cheek. "Bea! What the flipping HELL was that for?!"
"Why didn't you TELL me Scorpius was leaving for a month?!" Bea burst out. "He's not just your best mate, he's mine, too! Didn't you even think of telling me or bloody hell, even Rosie?! Now they're rowing again because of you!"
It seemed Bea had finished yelling, because now she calmly breathed in and out, eyes closed. Once she'd taken several breaths, she glanced up at Al and said, "Right. Hello, Al. Have a nice day at work?"
"You done screaming at me, then?" Al asked, still perplexed.
"For now," Bea said, touching Al's tender cheek. "That looks sore, hang on–" She prodded him with her wand, muttering a cooling charm and Al gave a relieved look. "Honestly, Al, the way you let women throw you around …"
"Yeah, can't seem to shake them off …" Al said, looking bemused as he shook his head at Bea. Then he noticed my no doubt pitiful position, slumped over the end of the sofa. "Hey, Rosie," he said, sitting down next to me. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But he didn't want to be fussed over and he knew that he'd get a verbal bashing by you if he said anything, so he sort of just … didn't."
"What did he expect, to just suddenly disappear for a month and for me to be none the wiser?" I said, rather roughly.
Al snorted. "He was hoping that because you love him, you'd understand," was all he said, before standing and tugging on Bea's hand, pulling her to the front door. "C'mon, I think she needs some time alone."
I gave my cousin a grateful look as they stepped outside into the corridor and shut the door. I could hear them muttering together outside, but I didn't bother get up. I was actually feeling a bit bad now, to be honest. I mean, I think I may have over-reacted a little. I still stand by the fact that he should've told me, but when I looked at the grand scheme of things, four weeks was kind of nothing compared to what some other couples go through.
Oh, hell. He was leaving tomorrow for bloody Russia and the last thing I ever said to him was, "Get the hell away from me, you BASTARD!" before promptly throwing a plate at him!
Suddenly, the muttering outside became audible as the front door opened again. I heard Al's low voice say, "Yeah, I'd watch out, though …" before the door shut again.
An awkward cough made me look up.
Oh, bloody typical. It's Scorpius.
He approached hesitantly, as if I was about to leap up and attack him or something (and I'll admit I've kind of considered that). He had a hand in his hair nervously as he began, "Ros–?"
I didn't let him finish. Within three seconds, I was up off that sofa, had jumped over the coffee table and had flung myself into his arms. So I suppose yeah, in a way, I did attack him.
Scorpius hugged me in surprise, arms moving to wind around my waist as I buried my face into his blond hair. "I'm sorry!" I said, desperately. "I don't actually hate you, or think you're a ten-tonne walrus with commitment issues!"
"Yeah, that's one insult I didn't really get …" Scorpius said back, grinning now. I couldn't actually see his face, but I knew his voice well enough by now to know that's what he was doing.
I pulled away slightly, just so that I could look him in the eyes. "I love you," I said, trying to make it absolutely clear that I meant it. "I don't think I really say it often enough."
"You don't need to," Scorpius told me. "And I probably should've mentioned it before, but I really am sorry I didn't tell you I was going until now. That one was definitely my fault and I don't blame you for getting angry at me for that."
I couldn't think of an answer that would appropriately say how bad I felt about screaming at him, so instead I kissed him hard. However, while I was expecting a little enthusiasm in return, all Scorpius did was yelp loudly into my mouth.
"What?!" I asked, pulling away and taking a step back from him.
"Ouch–!" Scorpius put a hand to his head and for the first time I noticed the angry red mark near his hairline with a bruise just starting to form around it. The mark I had just run my hand over.
"Oh my god, did I do that?" I asked.
"Er, yeah," Scorpius said, reluctantly. "I must admit, Rosie, you have very good aim …"
Rose: 8, Scorpius: 6.
(Merlin, I feel so bad about the fact that I hit him with a plate that HE ends up with the point!).
(Feather boas, singing and copping off with random strangers)
(Apparently a life without Scorpius is a dangerous one).
"I miss Scorpius!" I whined, slumped down on our sofa.
It had to be about ten thirty at night and Scorpius still wasn't back from Russia. The past month had been long and boring. I had a brief flash to what my life would be like without Scorpius in it and while I had thought at first that it would be nice and peaceful, it turned out that it was just completely dull. Bea stayed with Al half the time, so many nights I would come home to an empty flat and with nothing to do but drink tea and read my text books. I mean, honestly.
Scorpius had specifically told me he'd be back before two this afternoon. Well, actually I think his exact words had been, "I'll be back way before two, Rosie! Love you!" as he rushed out the door, so I wasn't entirely sure how reliable that information was. Still, you don't promise someone you'll be back by a certain time when you know you're not going to be back by then!
So since, of course, all problems can be solved with alcohol, Bea had come home from work around five, only to find me lying in the middle of the sofa with my legs stretched out on the coffee table straight in front of me, sporting a half-empty bottle of Firewhisky, completely and undoubtedly plastered.
She had shaken her head at me and tried to get me to stop drinking. However, just as Bea had managed to get the bottle off me, Libby had shown up, wanting to borrow some soap for a shower (her latest flatmate having eaten all of hers). Long story short, we ended up having some sort of binge fest together, Libby and Bea on either side of me, legs stretched out as well so I'm sure we looked like … well, three sad girls, drinking.
"I miss my cat." Libby said, thoughtfully.
"I didn't know you had a cat." I pointed out, rolling my head to the side to glance at her.
"Well, she wasn't mine," Libby said, sighing. "She was a lovely little stray who would turn up under my window and I'd feed her. But she hasn't been around recently. I miss her …"
"I forgot how much I like you, Libby," Bea giggled from my other side. "You should hang out with us more often!"
"I saw you guys last weekend at Toby and Jo's birthday party, Bea."
Bea frowned for a moment. "Oh, that's right … pass the Firewhiskey?"
I peered at the bottle for a moment, before turning it upside down. Only one solitary drop came out. "I think we drank it all, Bea." I said.
"Aw." Bea muttered.
"That's fine!" Libby said. "We don't need alcohol to be happy!"
"Well, I feel sad now, so evidentially we do." I pointed out.
"Well, you can't be as drunk as you think you are, if you're still using words like 'evidentially'." Libby said.
Hmm. She's right. And I'm still thinking clearly. That can't be good! For the past few days, thinking of Scorpius normally led to me just feeling depressed, but now I was starting to feel slightly angry whenever I thought of him; I mean, I don't need Scorpius with me to have a good time! I'm Rose Bloody Weasley, for Merlin's sake! My life is insane enough without him in it; I could have fun by myself!
"Right, girls!" I said, slapping Libby's and Bea's shoulders before hurling myself upright. I stumbled slightly as I spun to face them, but ignored that fact. "Time to stop moping! We're going out tonight!"
"Seriously?" Bea asked as I grabbed her hand and hauled her up.
"Hells yeah!" I said, turning and helping up Libby. "It's Saturday, I don't have work tomorrow and I don't need Scorpius to have a good time!"
"We so aren't gonna go and get even more drunk, just to prove a point!" Libby cheered. "Not at all!"
"Get your dresses on, girls! We're hitting the clubs!"
Leaving for London's nightlife was a bit of a blur, I'll admit, but I could recall absolutely everything from Libby borrowing a purple dress off Bea, to myself accidentally tripping over Libby's little cat friend on the side of the road outside our block of flats. I don't know what club we ended up in, but it was roaring when we turned up and somehow, I found myself knocking back some sort of shot.
Aaaand that was when it all went black.
Next thing I knew, I was lying on our sofa with a pounding headache and a dead weight in my arms.
I tried rolling over and groaned as my stiff muscles protested. I was squashed between the back of the sofa and someone I guessed was Bea, since there was a lot of blond hair in my face. As I managed to sit up, I realised that my own hair was a crow's nest around my face and my dress had a large rip up the side. How the hell had that happened?
"Ah, I see the wonderful Rosie has awoken!" came the all too cheerful voice of my cousin. Pushing my hair out of the way and squinting at the bright light, I saw Al practically skipping from the kitchen, carrying two cups of something I severally hoped was tea.
"Nargh …" I muttered, accepting the tea gratefully as Al sat on the coffee table opposite me and Bea, who was still out cold. "Stop screaming. What the hell happened?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Al snorted. "Doesn't surprise me, the amount of alcohol you must've had."
"Where's Libby?"
Al shrugged. "I dunno. Didn't even know she was with you guys until you mentioned it. Saw someone I thought could've been her snogging some bloke in an alley outside the club, but other than that …"
Bloody brilliant. My night of proving a point and I couldn't even remember.
I shook my head in confusion, but soon stopped since that just threatened to split my brain in half. "Oh my god … I feel like you're smashing a mallet into my head. Seriously, what the hell happened last night? I can remember vaguely up until we got to the club … then absolutely nothing.
"So that's a no to remembering the karaoke bar …?"
"The hell?" I asked, confused. "We went to a karaoke bar?"
"Oh, yeah," Al was clearly trying to contain his laughter as he glanced down at Bea, fondly. "I'm leaving on a jet plane had never sounded so good before."
"Holy crap, Bea actually sang?" I asked, eyes going wide.
Al snorted. "Both of you did, Rosie!"
"Oh my god …" I moaned, leaning my head against the back of the sofa and closing my eyes. "You've got to be kidding me …"
"Trust me, it was the best thing I'd seen all year."
"Hang on," I reluctantly glanced up, sure that my entire face was red. "How the heck did you come into this? It was supposed to be a girl's night!"
"Oh, all right," Al said, still smiling. "A bloke I work with saw the two of you at the first club you went to and got a bit concerned at the fact that you were completely off your faces, so he phoned me down there. Remember that mobile phone I got for my birthday last year?"
"The one Granddad accidentally dropped down the toilet?"
"Yeah, I'm surprised it still works," Al rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I get this random call about eleven thirty at night, so I head on down and sure enough, there you were. You didn't even seem to care how I turned up, just dragged me around with you. You seemed adamant on finding Libby, though, because she was long gone before I got there. So we ended up going from club to club trying to find her."
"Where did the feather boa come from?" I asked, pointing out the fluffy pink thing I'd just spotted, poking out from underneath Bea's legs. Al laughed again at that.
"A drag queen gave it to Bea," Al said. "After the performance at the karaoke bar."
I blinked. "You're joking, right?"
Al shook his head. "You have no idea how much I wish I'd brought a camera. After the singing, I managed to rope you guys into coming home, but not before you wanted to go for a run in the reserve."
"Oh, dear lord …" I muttered. The reserve not far down the road from our flats was a lovely place, but was so full of pot-holes it was a wonder that everyone who walked through it didn't have –
"OUCH! SHIT!" I practically screamed as I had tried to stand up and found that there was a hastily wrapped bandage around my right ankle, which was throbbing painfully.
"Yeah, the run is where the sprained ankle came from," Al pointed out as he rushed forward to help me sit back down again. I collapsed at Bea's feet. "But I'm sure Healer Rosie can fix it."
My screams were apparently loud enough to rouse Bea, as she let out a groan and mumbled, "What the hell?"
Ok, all in all, not the best night I've ever had. Hell, I wished I could remember it!
Just then, the front door opened with a bang and someone with tussled hair and a purple dress came stomping through. One look was enough to tell me that Libby Fletcher had finally made her way home. Oh, and that she was extremely pissed off.
"Hi," she said, throwing her shoes to the side, angrily. "I am never getting drunk with you two again!"
"Rough night?" Al asked, trying to contain his laughter.
"I remember nothing from last night," Libby said. "Except for arguing with Bea about the pros and cons of having a dolphin for a mother and then I wake up this morning in someone else's bed! Oh, and not just anyone's bed!" she growled.
Despite my head still pounding, I'll admit that I was curious. "You're kidding, right?" Al asked as he turned around on the coffee table and Bea sat up.
Libby just continued to look furious. "You have no idea how much I wish I was." she answered.
"I'm not sure whether to be disgusted to curious." Bea said, honestly.
"Ah, screw it, who'd you sleep with?" I asked.
Libby threw an accusing finger at Al, who looked defensive at first, but then Libby shouted,
"Your brother! The wonderful James Bloody Potter!"
I gagged. Curiosity completely gone.
Rose: 8, Scorpius: 7.
(If he can remember what he's doing in Russia, he's doing better than me).
(If we were spies)
(Bea would crack under torture within five seconds).
The day Scorpius finally decided to grace us with his presence, I nearly murdered him.
"Honestly, he says four weeks!" I grumbled, throwing my bag onto the sofa next to Bea. "Four weeks is nothing Rosie, I'll be back before you know it! Please. Give me a bloody break."
"Er, Rosie," Bea said. "It's been four weeks and one day."
I considered. "Well, who the hell are you? Time keeper?"
Bea snorted. "I won't even try to comprehend how your mind works," she said. Er, yeah, probably a good idea that. "Anyway, how's LL? Have you heard from her recently?"
I shrugged. I heard from LL rather sporadically since she had taken off around the world. Starting in her randomly chosen country, Brazil, she'd been travelling ever since dropping out of Hogwarts entirely shortly after Christmas last year. I got the occasional letter from her, but most of the time, it seemed that she was off living her dream life, completely forgetting about her loving family back in England.
"Last I heard, she was somewhere in America," I said, collapsing next to Bea. "But that was back in November, right after Scorpius left. Apparently, she met a lovely American family who took her in for Thanksgiving. She said she was going to head to New York City in time for New Year's Eve, but soon starting rambling about all the things she'd bought during the Black Friday sales, so didn't get much out of her letter after that."
"So she's definitely not coming back to England for Christmas, then?" Bea said, softly.
I shook my head. It was a sign of our friendship that Bea didn't try and crack a joke to make me feel better. She knew that I had been looking forward to seeing my little cousin again and that I had been crestfallen when she'd sent a letter saying that she'd be staying overseas. I knew Hugo missed his best friend as much as I did, if not more, so we were currently putting together a Christmas package for Lily. Where the hell we'd send it, I didn't have a clue, but I'm sure it was the thought that counted.
Suddenly there came a huge thump and a loud, "SHIT!" from outside. Exchanging looks, Bea and I jumped off the sofa, ran to the door and threw it open.
And speaking of people stuck overseas, woe behold! Scorpius Malfoy has decided to come back to England!
The cause of the crash was apparent almost immediately, since he carried about three different suitcases with him. They were sprawled about the hallway and he was currently hoping up and down on one foot in the middle of them, his swearing probably being heard across the street.
Normally when people come back from overseas, they look different. Like, they have a tan, or got dreadlocks from a dodgy salesmen because they wanted to 'adapt to the local culture' or are wearing a t-shirt that said something like 'I heart [insert name of holiday here]'. However, Scorpius didn't look any different. His hair was still messy and blond and considering the place he went to was Russia during November and December, a tan was about as likely as it was to stop raining in England.
His eyes lit up when he saw us. "Rosie! Bea!" he cried. "Sorry, I was going to come say hi, but that bloody suitcase dropped on my foot and–"
Thinks he can take an extra day in Russia and everything will be fine?! Bea and I will show him.
"–Scorpius, we missed you like mad!" Bea was suddenly saying, throwing her arms around him. "Well," she added, giving me a look. "I did. Rosie did too, though she won't admit it. You know how she gets."
"Of course," Scorpius said, pulling away and gingerly putting his foot back on the floor. Then he tentatively turned to me. "Erm … hi?"
But I wasn't paying any attention to him; well, sort of. "Bea!" I whined. "You're meant to be on my side!"
"Hey! I missed him!" Bea said, in reference to the hug she had given him. Not even ten minutes ago, Bea had totally and hundred per cent agreed to stick on my side and completely ignore every word Scorpius said to us upon his arrival.
Yeah, look how long that lasted.
"Weak! That's what you are, Bea! Weak." I huffed.
I tried to ignore Scorpius, I really did. But I couldn't exactly pretend that the fact that I'd missed him like crazy didn't exist. I didn't want to admit it. In fact, I kind of wanted to punch his face in. But here he was, just standing there, looking all gorgeous and Scorpius-ish and … ah, hell.
"So, um …" Scorpius looked sheepish. "How're you?"
"Oh, no," I poked a finger into his chest as hard as I could. "Don't you 'how're you?' me! Don't you even 'Rosie' me! First, you don't even tell me you're leaving until like, five minutes before you're due to leave the country–"
"Hey! You forgave me for that!"
"–then, you turn up after when you said you would!" I ploughed on like I hadn't even heard him. "You're a bloody useless boyfriend, I hope you realise that!"
"Ok! Fine! Good Merlin …" Scorpius raised his hands in defeat. "I get it. I suck. I deserve a punch to the head," Then, for some reason, he grinned. "God, I missed you."
I very nearly snapped and snogged him on the spot. Thankfully, I managed to remember all the times in the past where I've done nothing but hated him and I managed to say, "Good! 'Cause you have no idea what you've missed! If you think I'm coming anywhere near you, then the Portkey must have scrambled your head! C'mon, Bea, he's a strong lad, he can carry his bags himself!"
I strode back into our flat, dragging Bea by the elbow and slamming the door in Scorpius's face for good measure. Bea was complaining, but shut up the moment I rounded on her. "Y'know, you would make a horrible secret agent." I told her.
"Hey!" Bea protested. "Don't kill our made-up dream of becoming world-class spies, together saving the world from death and destruction!"
"Yeah, well, I am killing it because I've just found out that if we were indeed spies, you would crack under torture within five seconds!" I said.
Rose: 9, Scorpius: 7.
(Bea may be the worst spy ever, but I did not crack! We all know he was practically begging for a snog).
(Sorry, Ally)
(This is what love is).
"This … is the shift that will never end …" I moaned, collapsing onto the worn sofa in the trainee staffroom. I almost sat on Ally's legs as a result, but she didn't seem to mind that much, just instinctively moved them at the last minute.
"You've only got four more hours," she said, without even looking up from her text book. "I have six hours and twenty nine minutes."
I rolled my head to the side so I could smile at her. Shy and logical, I don't think I'd ever seen her do something stupid, not like myself who does stupid things on many occasions. But every now and then, Ally would crack a joke I would not see coming and I would end up splitting my side laughing for days.
"I love your thinking, Ally."
"Why, thank you," Ally looked up and smiled back. "I'm actually glad to be stuck at work. I'd just be sitting at home, avoiding my flat mate otherwise."
"She's really that annoying?"
Ally rolled her eyes. "She never does her washing and never cleans anything! It's like she grew up raised by mole people! That and she brings home a different bloke every weekend and expects him to make breakfast for her in the morning! She's always surprised to find that he's escaped out of the window during the night."
"They actually jump out the window?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, trust me," Ally said. "One time, I helped a poor bloke get the latch open."
"But don't you live on the fifth floor?"
"Yes," Ally said, looking confused as to why I would bring it up. When I just tried not to laugh, she continued, "So basically, I think I'll just opt to stay on and work another shift."
"You can't stay here forever, eventually they'll be forced to send you home." I told her.
"A girl can try," Ally insisted. "Not that the people are much better here, save for the odd few people. You and Gerald for one."
"Yes, where is our wonderful friend?" I asked, glancing around the staff room. As far as the shift schedule was concerned, he was meant to be working, but I hadn't seen him all day. "I miss his antics."
Ally rolled her eyes. "He somehow managed to get the day off, swapping his shift with someone else."
"Why?"
"Oh," Ally looked frustrated, like something written in her text book was contradicting itself. "I believe he said it was his girlfriend's birthday or something and they were going out somewhere special, I don't know. I don't care."
"Ok …" I muttered. I decided against pointing out the obvious, which was that Ally clearly did care. Ally probably didn't even realise herself, something I had a bit of experience in, so I decided to let her figure it out on her own. "Well, in that case, I cordially invite you to come back to mine after our shifts if you really want to avoid your flatmate."
"Oh, you don't have to do that." Ally said, immediately.
"It's fine!" I told her. "Bea'll be at work until late and I can banish Scorpius to his own flat for a change. We can chuck on a Muggle film to watch and eat heaps of chocolate, yeah?"
Ally smiled. "That sounds lovely. But I thought Scorpius just got back from Russia last week, won't he be upset at not getting to see you?"
"Ah, the boy can handle it," I waved a hand, dismissively. "It'll do him some good, actually. It's not like we ever have plans, so he can't even mind."
Ally and I did have our night of watching a film on the P.V. and eating junk food and I was indeed forced to send Scorpius away, which he wasn't too happy about. But while Ally happily munched on chocolate and watched pirates running around, waving swords, the fact that Scorpius and I never had plans actually struck a chord in my mind.
When was the last time we'd ever actually gone out and done something? I lost track of the film completely as I strained my mind, trying to think of the last time we'd even gone on a date. I came up blank and of course, that's when my irrational Rosie-brain started freaking out.
"Ally," I said, ignoring the pirate ship currently being attacked by a sea monster and turning to the girl next to me. "Is it weird that Scorpius and I never go out and do anything romantic?"
Ally wrinkled her nose. "You're asking me?" she said. "I've never had a boyfriend before!"
"Well, ok, but listen! We fight so much that half our relationship is spent making up, which to be perfectly honest, hardly ever leaves our bedroom, much less the flat. And the last time we tried going out somewhere, we got into a huge argument in the middle of a crowded restaurant and caused this huge scene! In the end, we got thrown out! Does that sound normal to you?"
"Well …" Ally thought hard for a moment. "I do remember my friend Benny from Hogwarts. We grew up living next door together, so that's why we were friends. Apparently, he fancied me and told everyone I was his girlfriend, but to be honest, I didn't care much. He always wanted to go and do something together and he would get a bit angry when all I wanted to do was read. So I understand your concern."
I sighed. "I guess we're both abnormal," I muttered, watching one of the pirates get eaten by the monster on the P.V. screen. "But really, you lied to me," I said then, smirking at Ally. "You have had a boyfriend before!"
Ally blushed bright red. "We were in sixth-year and I didn't know he fancied me! I don't think it counts."
"Right. And the fact that he called you his girlfriend meant nothing?"
"It was very one-sided," Ally answered, refusing to look at me and I laughed out loud. "Besides, I'm a bit of a book-freak. I hardly notice boys."
"Not even Gerald?"
Ally gave me a confused look. "I don't know what you mean," she said. "Of course I notice Gerald if we are together, it would be impossible not to, not to mention rude …"
I snorted. "Ok, let me rephrase: have you ever noticed the fact that Gerald is really hot and that you fancy him?"
I almost thought Ally was going to explode. She bypassed red completely and went bordering on purple. "What?!" she cried as the pirates in the background mourned the loss of their eaten pirate. "I don't … I don't fancy Gerald! He's my friend!"
"But he likes you! Oh, come on, you must have noticed!" I told her, rolling my eyes. She continued to look at me blankly. "… seriously? No? He's totally in love with you! Every time you walk through the door, his entire face changes!"
"Well, I …" Ally fiddled with a stray thread on her t-shirt before violently ripping it off, like she could easily do the same to how she felt. "Oh god, Rosie. That's love?"
"Sorry." I said. Really, I was. I felt the exact same sitting on that stage five years ago.
"What do I do?"
"Erm … you're asking me?" I found myself throwing Ally's own words back at her. "I've never had a normal relationship before!"
Rose: 9, Scorpius: 8.
(I'm not exactly functioning normally at this moment).
(Awkwardly talking about the future and stuff)
(Yeah. That's the one conversation I was hoping to avoid).
"… Scorpius?"
"Yeah?" Scorpius turned his head, slumped down so much on the sofa that his legs practically dangled off the other end of the coffee table. His arm was slung around me and my legs were dangling next to his. I was so comfortable that I never wanted to move.
And that's what frightened me a little.
"D'you think we've become one of those boring couples who never goes out and does stuff?" I asked.
Scorpius gave me a weird look. "What in Merlin's name makes you think that?"
"Ahem. Well," I gestured to our lounging bodies. "We haven't exactly moved all day, have we? And think about it, when was the last time we actually went out on a proper date?"
"Er … oh my god …" Scorpius appeared to look shocked at the fact that he had to actually think about it. "Wait, wasn't it that restaurant we got kicked out of?"
"Exactly! That was for our anniversary last year!" I pointed out. "We don't do anything! Normally it takes relationships fifty years of marriage to get to this point, but we're already there! It's freaking me out–!"
"Rose!" Scorpius sat up straight, moving his arm around me to grab me by the shoulders. "Look, I love you and everything, but you're making me nervous. Are you saying that you want to be one of those power-adventure couples who goes sky-diving and bungee-jumping every day off?"
"I'm saying that it's normal to at least leave the flat!" I cried. "We're not normal at all!"
Scorpius snorted with laughter, leaning back into the sofa. "That's never worried you before."
"Maybe it should." I muttered. Scorpius just rolled his eyes and tugged on my sleeve, making me lie down with him. I threw my head down onto his chest with an exasperated sigh and he slung his arm around me again, the other resting behind his head.
"Rosie, I love you," Scorpius said and despite everything, I had to hide my grin against his t-shirt. "I don't think I say it enough, sometimes. I love you and I seriously don't think that's going to change any time soon, no matter what we do. We could go bungee-jumping a million times, or stay in and watch every film ever created while gorging ourselves on cheesy snacks, I wouldn't care. Besides," He rolled his eyes. "There'll be a whole other list of problems by the time we've been married for fifty years, so I say we just worry about the now."
I think my stomach imploded. Staring at his face, I said, "… by the time we're married?"
The colour pretty much drained from his face. He tensed underneath me, but when he opened his mouth, I honestly thought he'd address the implications of what he'd just said. However, he suddenly bolted upright, practically throwing me off him as he stretched dramatically.
"Weeeeeell," he said, hastily standing up. "I think it's time for bed! Gosh, it's late, isn't it? I guess I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Oh, no you don't!" I cried, grabbing him by the back of his t-shirt as he tried to make a dash for the front door. I heaved and dumped him back onto the sofa next to me. "You're not running away from me! Did you mean what you just said? You think we'll someday be married for fifty years?"
"I … Rosie … it's just an expression …" Scorpius said, weakly.
"Scorpius …"
"Oh – this is bloody ridiculous!" Scorpius huffed, folding his arms protectively across his chest. "Do we have to have this conversation now?"
"We've never had it before." I pointed out. Sure enough, there had been several moments over the five years of our relationship where the idea of a future came up, but that particular conversation had been hastily avoided every time. I'll admit, not always by Scorpius; I was terrified of the subject as well. But as much as I wanted to back-peddle and pretend I didn't care, a part of me was determined. I'd always tried to avoid considering the fact that we might have different plans for the future and I didn't want to think what might happen if we found out. It was why we'd never discussed it before. But if our constant bickering and crazy lives was ever going to be worth it, I needed to know.
"So … you actually want to do it?" Scorpius said, not looking at me. "You want to talk about the future …"
"And, y'know … stuff …"
"The future and stuff," Scorpius reiterated. "You know that this could potentially ruin everything?"
"Why d'you think I've never insisted on it until now?"
Scorpius just shook his head, looking like he'd much rather stick his head under a pillow and never come out. Until I poked him, of course, and he looked up. "Look, Rosie … yes. I want a future with you," he said bluntly and I felt my eyes widen. "I can imagine us getting married, staying together forever and having children. It's a little crazy and a lot insane, but I've seen what being married to a Weasley is like and I want that. The loving family and the nutty holidays where everyone gathers in one house and unleash organised chaos. I never had that with my mum and dad."
"You want to marry into a family of nutters?" I said in bewilderment.
"I … yeah," Scorpius shrugged, like it was no big deal. "You're it for me, Rose."
For several seconds, we just stared at each other. I was trying to figure him out, realise if he was actually being serious. Scorpius seemed to just want to shrivel up and die, judging by the look on his face, but I quickly changed that by leaning forward on my knees and kissing him fiercely.
I took him by surprise and by the time he figured out that he could kiss me back, I was pulling away, still kneeling with my hands around his neck.
"Er … what was that for?" he asked, looking dazed.
"I love you, too and I want to marry you," I said, leaning my forehead against his and grinning. Sensing his terrified silence, I added, "… not now, you idiot! But some day … as much as I hate you sometimes, you're it for me, too. Marriage and kids … I want that."
In answer, Scorpius just kissed me back. This continued for several moments in which I felt like I was flying. Despite our less than average relationship and the fact that my neck was still very red, we'd done something normal for once and hadn't screwed it up! I loved Scorpius for reasons unknown, but that love was actually enough and I was ecstatic. Uncaring that we were in the very public lounge, I shoved my hands under Scorpius's t-shirt, wanting to feel the skin that I might very well be married to someday.
"Ro – Rosie," he muttered in between kisses. "Don't you think we should … um … ah, move somewhere less conspicuous?"
"Nah," I pulled away for a moment and grabbed my wand off the coffee table. Flicking it, I locked the front door, which I had a feeling would confuse Al and Bea a lot; we stopped locking it about two weeks after we moved in. Then, I shoved Scorpius's shoulder and flung him down onto his back, chucking my wand back onto the coffee table and climbing onto his lap. "I'm comfy here. You?"
"Uh … I'm … what?"
"Comfy," I repeated. Smirking, I reached down and yanked off my own shirt, throwing it somewhere across the room. Scorpius's eyes widened at the sight. "Right here. Are you?"
"Oh, I'm completely comfortable." Scorpius practically growled, before leaning up and yanking behind my head, kissing me.
Rose: 10, Scorpius: 8.
(He bared his soul first. I so won).
(I'll make his relationship work)
(Even if it means the end of mine).
I ducked into the crowded Café Julio, shaking water out of my hair and glad to be out of the torrential downpour. On my way home from work, I got caught in the sudden rain and my first instinct had been to hide until it was over. The café was jam-packed and trying to find my older cousin proved difficult. James was a waiter here, but out of all the harried employees, my tall, messy-haired James was nowhere to be seen.
"Rosie!" someone called behind me and I turned to see Libby waving at me by the window. She was obviously on a break, wearing her uniform, but her apron was slung over the back of her chair. I had thought she was alone, but by the time I battled my way through all the people, it was to see that she was accompanied by Trevor.
"Trev!" I cried, throwing my arms around him. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
"And whose fault is that?" Trevor laughed, hugging me back. "Brill to see you, too, Rosie."
"I'm so sorry, I would've dropped by more, but I've had insane shifts at work, like twelve to fourteen hours at once!" I said, collapsing onto the arm of his chair, since there was no room anywhere else. "When I haven't been working, I've been sleeping!"
"Aw, don't worry," Trevor said. "We're all working our arses off. Eh, Lib?"
Libby rolled her eyes. "I've had to change my hours. He's driving me insane! I don't think I can handle it anymore."
"What're you on about?" I asked.
"Who d'you think?!" Libby cried. "Your cousin!"
"Ah. So James is still trying to get into your pants then?"
"He won't leave her alone, apparently," Trevor told me. "I only came in here for a coffee and I ended up being bombarded with the Crazy Life of Liberty Fletcher."
"He's always hitting on me!" Libby complained. "It's like with Creepy Howard! At least this time he was born in the same century."
"Well, there's your plus!" Trevor said cheerfully, but the look Libby gave him was clearly an un-amused one.
"Look, I know I'm hot and everything, but please! It's not like I'm misleading him! In fact, the last thing I said to him was, 'Back the hell off, or I'll punch you in the mouth'! That's not giving mixed messages, is it?"
"Er, I think you bypassed 'mixed messages' when you slept with him, Libby." I pointed out.
Libby just gave an exasperated groan. The idea of one of my good friends sleeping with my older cousin was faintly gross in my opinion and so it seemed to Libby as well. That morning she had stormed in with her ripped dress and carrying her shoes, she had forbidden us to even mention the one-night stand, let alone tease her for it. Since we apparently loved her so much, we agreed. But even I knew that James was just like his brother when it came to girls: thick as a troll. Al luckily had a girlfriend, but James and his idiot twin, Fred, had established a long time ago that they were going to be terminal bachelors together, 'living the high-life and scoring chicks' as they put it. James just doesn't do love and relationships.
James disgusted Libby as a general rule, but unfortunately she had been horribly and severely drunk and therefore, the idea of sleeping with him suddenly became the best she'd ever had. The next morning had been another story entirely.
"I could try having a word with him," I told her. "But you know James …"
Libby just gave a garbled moan and buried her face in her hands. I snorted and turned to Trevor, who's brown hair was wet from the rain outside. He shook his head like a dog, throwing water everywhere and he reminded me so much of a little kid, that I could almost imagine that we were back at Hogwarts, sitting in the joint common room, waiting for Al, Bea, Jo and all of our old Hogwarts friends to join us.
"Hogwarts was so long ago, wasn't it?" I said.
"Tell me about it," Trevor answered. "Haven't seen Toby in months, like you. Been so busy with work and family … mind, I never expected to keep any of you guys as friends. Not that I don't love you," Trevor quickly added and I grinned. "But honestly, at Hogwarts they kept telling us, 'Oh, you'll keep in touch for a while after you leave, but sooner or later, everyone loses contact'."
"Yet, we still see each other and talk all the time."
"Exactly," Trevor grinned back at me. "And even though you're a bunch of crazy lunatics, I'm one too and I wouldn't have it any other way."
"With Libby despairing like this, I keep expecting her to crack out the secret stash of chocolate again, like sixth-year."
"Oi," Libby said, lifting her head. "I'm right here!"
"Ah, the good ol' days …" Trevor laughed.
"Yeah, back when James had nothing to do with our friend here and we all hated the Slytherin's," I said. "How is Harley, anyway? Not trying to pull a sick one again? She hasn't come into work all week."
To my surprise, Trevor just shrugged. "Dunno. Broke up. Haven't seen her in three weeks."
My eyes widened, but apparently this wasn't new to Libby, as she just snorted from her seat across from us. "Not again?" she said.
"Oi!" Trevor cut in. "It's not my fault! She dumped me!"
"And how many times have I heard that before?"
"I'm sorry, I've clearly missed something!" I cried before they could continue. "I thought you'd sorted this out! You broke up? Multiple times? Exactly how many?"
"Uh … about three times this year, give or take?"
I couldn't believe this. "But you're perfect for each other! I mean, I want to strangle the girl most of the time, but you love her, don't you? She's your Olivia! Why did you break up?"
"Same reason she always dumps me," Trevor rolled his eyes. "'She just needs some space'."
"It's flipping bullshit." Libby said.
"Hell yes, it's bullshit!" I said. "What about you? Do you need space?"
"That's the thing! No!" Trevor huffed into his chair, folding his arms. "Like you said, I love her! I mean, we've been going out since seventh-year! Granted we split up for a bit just after we left school, since she was living with her parents for a while and we didn't know if we'd be able to stay together, but then she got into the Healer programme and she moved into the same building, so I thought everything would be golden!"
"So what's wrong?"
Trevor sighed. "It's like … every time she starts getting too comfortable … too used to the idea of us being together, it's like she has to pull away in order for her to fall back in love with me. She'll break it off, claiming that she just can't handle it anymore and without fail, she comes crawling back in a few months, saying she misses me and that she can't live without me!"
"I told him that he should tell that girl where she can shove her pride." Libby shrugged.
"The thing is," Trevor said, clearly trying not to laugh at Libby's comment. "I'm still in love with her and whenever she comes back I take her back, because, well, I miss her too!" He leaned his head on his elbow. "It really is quite annoying."
"That's … quite a conundrum …" I pointed out. He gave me a look as if to say, no flipping duh, Rosie. "Have you ever tried talking to her about it?"
"Yeah. It was about as productive as talking to a brick wall."
"I said she probably needed time to figure out how to stop being such a cow." Libby added.
"A cow? I reckon she's being a conniving bitch!"
"Ah, there's the Rosie I love," Trevor said, throwing his arm around me from where I was still sat on the arm of his chair. "I knew you'd take my side!"
I shot him a look, but leaned into him anyway. The poor bloke had had his heart torn out and stomped on again and again and still, he kept going back, even though he knew he was only going to get hurt again. As much as I wanted to slap him and make him realise that he couldn't keep going on like this, I sort of admired the constant love he held for Lucy Harley. She may be a conniving bitch, but she was his conniving bitch and she wouldn't be Harley otherwise.
"I'll talk to Scorpius," I told Trevor. "He's her best friend. Hopefully, he'll talk some sense into her."
"You'd do that?" Libby said in alarm.
"Yes – wait, why are you both looking at me like that?" I asked, pulling away and glancing at the two of them in concern. They both shared the look of someone standing and waiting for a bomb to go off.
"Um, Rosie, you may have forgotten, but whenever the topic of Lucy Harley comes up between you and Scorpius, there's a giant blow out and the two of you don't talk for several days." Libby said, gently as if she was trying to soften the blow.
I laughed. "Oh, come on! We … we don't do that!" I thought. "Er … right?"
I looked to Trevor, but he shook his head. "Sorry. You do."
Damn. It was something I'd never even noticed before. "Look, even if we always do end up fighting over it, I'll still talk to him. Your emotions are getting thrown about and crushed here. It's time Harley manned up and actually faced what she feels for you. She needs to figure out whether she's going to stick at it for the long-haul, or break it off completely."
Trevor gulped. "Actually, on second thoughts, maybe just forget it? At least this way, I know she'll come back eventually!"
"Yeah, but you're miserable in the meantime," Libby pointed out. "Face it, Trev, you're no fun when Harley's not in your life."
Trevor still didn't look convinced as Libby had to go back to work and I had to continue walking home once the rain had stopped. But I was determined. I loved Trevor heaps and I was going to make his relationship work, even if it meant the end of mine.
… er, that sounded far more dramatic that I meant it to be. Forget I said anything.
Rose: 11, Scorpius: 8.
(I've been a counsellor and a bloody good one at that. That and Harley is Scorpius's friend, not mine).
(You must be absolutely serious if you want to be a part of this family)
(Or perhaps just a little bit insane).
"Right! Bets, people, place your bets!" Hugo was calling out and strolling between us. "C'mon, we don't have all day! Rosie! What's yours?"
"Ten Galleons on there being a screaming match." I said at once.
Hugo snorted. "That's a given. You've got to do better than that."
I huffed. I'd never been good at this game.
I was in mental preparing-mode. Al, James, Hugo and I had decided to gather together before the showdown that was about to happen; the event that would shake the very fabric of history, the moment that would destroy everything!
Granddad Arthur's birthday.
Yeah, ok, that might sound harmless to anyone else. But this was a Weasley event. You've never experienced true horror until you've been stuck in the same room as the entire Weasley family and it's various counterparts. Grandma Molly's birthday is normally worse; however, we managed to thankfully get through that one in one piece and I actually managed to make some money off that! Any Weasley event, Grandma Molly insists that everyone has to come and that any counterpart was welcome. We often used these moments to scare away crazy-stalker-ex's and, of course, to make money.
It was common for the cousins to place various bets on the different aspects of the event. The odds of Grandma Molly bursting into tears; the odds that Uncle George will show someone something disgusting; the odds that cousin Molly will bring home another boyfriend who is half her age; the odds that my mum will threaten to physically maim my father; I could honestly go on and on.
Apparently, a screaming match had become so mainstream, I couldn't use it as my standard bet anymore!
"Oh, I dunno, Hugo …" I said, casting about for ideas. I remembered the last boyfriend Molly brought home; he had been some Goth bloke who insisted that his screamer band was 'totally off in Japan, you know it, right?'. "Hang on, I've got one! I bet that one of the cousins will bring home an unsuspecting partner and that Grandma Molly will make them cry!"
"Ah …" Hugo looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Er, you sure?"
"What're you on about? Course I'm sure!" I said, eyeing him with suspicion. "Hang on … no … Hugo, you're not bringing someone, are you?"
"Well, I was until you said that!" he cried and James and Al burst into laughter.
"Oh, no, I didn't mean it!" I tried to insist, but I couldn't hide my snigger. "I'm, er, sure she'll have the time of her life! It's not that girlfriend of yours, is it? Caroline something?"
"Caroline Winters," Hugo rolled his eyes. "And yes, it's her."
"I bet someone asks her if she's on some form of birth control within ten minutes of our arrival." James said at once.
"You're so on!" Al agreed, shaking his brother's hand.
"Guys!" Hugo cried. "I'm trying to go for normal here?"
"Little brother, you're bringing her to Granddad's birthday," I pointed out for him. "Have you met our family?"
"Yeah, ok, she's going to be terrified," Hugo sat down next to me in a huff, on my sofa. "But she keeps going on about how she wants to meet everyone. I keep advising her against it, but she just won't give it up!"
"She'll learn," I said, throwing an arm around my brother. "After this, she'll never want to meet them again. She'll probably never want to see you again! No offence …"
Hugo just shot me a look. I really did have to feel sorry for my little brother. He was probably one of the more shoved back Weasley cousins. Not that we didn't love him any less, it was just that he led a significantly less dramatic life than some of us that I could name. While he generally just acted like a goofy kid, he never did like the drama and the spotlight. This was going to be hell for him.
"Are Scorpius and Bea coming?" James asked Al and I.
We exchanged looks. "I think they've somehow figured out a system where each takes turns to suffer going to an event," Al said. "One makes up some excuse and the other covers their alibi. After that first time, I don't think they've ever gone to the same event again. This time, Bea claims she's working, so it's Scorpius's turn."
"Yeah, I've even confronted him about it and he didn't even answer," I rolled my eyes. "Either way, he's coming."
"Either way, I'm here," Scorpius said from the door of my flat. The four of us looked up to see him holding a helmet under his arm and a grimace on his face. "C'mon, let's get this over with."
"So what's the helmet again?" I asked Scorpius, ducking underneath Uncle Percy's arm.
"Last time at Christmas, I got pelted with nuts by that kid!" He pointed out Teddy's two year old son, Max, who was giggling and already ripping open one of Granddad's presents. "I'm not taking any chances this time."
"Aw, c'mon, that's just Maxie," I said, laughing. "He doesn't mean any harm."
"Yeah, you could say the same about your Grandma," Scorpius pointed out. "She doesn't mean harm, but that woman scares me to death!"
He had a point, so I let him keep wearing the helmet. The entire Burrow was absolutely jam-packed with my cousins and their wives/husbands/significant others; my aunties, uncles and their wives/husbands/significant others; and then my grandparents and significant adopted family. It was absolute mayhem.
Uncle Bill and Auntie Fleur usually live near the coast, but they came especially for Granddad's birthday. Uncle Bill was currently trying to talk to Uncle Charlie; however, I say tried, since 18-year-old Roxanne was hanging off her uncle's sleeve like she was five, insisting that she was hungry. Uncle Charlie was telling a dragon story with enthusiasm, waving his arms in the air.
Teddy and Victoire were being their ever nauseous selves, Victoire cooing over her son and Teddy cooing over her. I loved them both dearly, but man, there was a time and a place. Dominique, who we usually just call Domi, was telling anyone who would listen about her new catering business and how she was earning millions (probably a slight exaggeration). Lucy was sitting in the middle of the sofa next to her new husband, both of them trying to read the same book while James quickly ran off to aid Fred in playing catch with a water balloon over their heads. I love Lucy; she never changes and her husband, Michael, was practically a male version of her.
My parents were already here, bickering away in the corner while Uncle Harry tried to placate them without fail. Auntie Ginny was screaming from the kitchen where most of the women of the family (and Louis, who for some reason loved baking) were trying to make the food edible for Granddad's birthday. Apparently, there was some flour-related emergency happening.
Granddad himself was tottering around, trying to greet everyone and pretending that he could actually hear everyone, since he was pretty much completely deaf now. Hugo and his girlfriend, Caroline, were standing off to one side, having tried to hide almost as soon as we got here. Caroline was a pretty girl with golden curls and she held Hugo's hand so tight, it looked like she was going to rip it off pretty soon. I could tell she was particularly avoiding our mother. Hermione Weasley may not look like much, but god help you if you got on her bad side.
To top off the chaos, Grandma Molly was busy screaming bloody murder.
"Dominique, darling, please go help your mother in the kitchen!" she was yelling. "FRED WEASLEY! You give me that balloon right now and don't throw it at me!" Fred visibly wilted; Grandma had clearly been through this enough times to make her orders specific. Unfortunately, at his distraction, he missed the balloon James had thrown back to him and it exploded over Lucy and Michael's heads. They started screaming and yelling, which of course meant Grandma had to get in on the action; she really can move for a woman in in her late seventies.
There really are a shit-load of people in this house.
"So what was your bet for this event?" Scorpius asked me as we bravely ventured further into the battle-zone … er, I mean the lounge.
"That Grandma Molly will make Caroline cry," I said, shrugging. "She looks like she's about to piss her pants, so I'm guessing it's only a matter of time."
"Man, one of these days I really should get in on the betting pool …" Scorpius muttered, glancing around. "I reckon I could make some serious money."
I gave him a hard look. "Only official members of the Weasley family are allowed, according to James."
"What, and I'm not official?"
I laughed. "Give it a couple more years and we'll see."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So long as I don't have to talk to your–"
"Rosie!" Dad cried, finally battling his way over to me and practically shoving Scorpius out of the way so he could hug me. Despite how sorry I felt for my poor boyfriend, I really did love my dad, so I squeezed him tight. "How're you, my girl?"
"Brilliant, Dad," I managed to get out. "What're you and Mum rowing about today?"
Dad gave me a look as Mum came and wrapped her arms around me, too. "We aren't rowing, Rosie," she insisted. "We're having a heated debate."
"She wanted to take all the credit for your Granddad's birthday present," Dad pointed out and I grinned. "Might have been her idea, but I wrapped the damn thing!"
I tried not to laugh as Mum shot him an exasperated look that we all knew well. Mum then turned to the neglected Scorpius, who was slowing trying to slink away through the crowd; unfortunately for him, he was too slow. "Scorpius, dear, how are you?"
"Oh," Scorpius reluctantly turned around and gave a grin which I knew meant that he was actually scared out of his mind. "Um, fine, Mrs Weasley. Thanks. And you?"
"Oh, lovely," Mum said. "I also see that you got that trial report in early! I like people who are punctual. Keep it up and I might just have to promote you!"
"Ah," Scorpius gave a hasty smile. "I mean, thanks! Yeah, I hate getting in stuff late …"
I snorted and quickly tried to turn it into a hacking cough when the three turned to stare at me. Scorpius had been staying up all night the past week to get it in early because, and I quote, 'Your mother terrifies the bloody hell out of me!'
My dad wasn't being nearly as sweet during this exchange. He stood next to my mother, huffing every now and then with his arms folded. Dad had made it perfectly clear that he did not like Scorpius from day one and don't even get me started on what he was like when we started going out. The only reason he put up with him, I knew, was because he knew how much I loved him, despite the fact that he could be a 'complete wanker' sometimes (as my dad put it).
But, well, that's my dad and his unreasonable-ness was one of the things I loved about him.
"So you're still working in Hermione's department then, yeah?" he said, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius.
"Er, yes," Scorpius eyed him warily, instinctively trying to duck behind me. "Muggle Relations … it's great!"
"Hmm. You said that last time," Dad pointed out and I wanted to whack my forehead. "Although, if you ask me, I'm still waiting for the relapse–"
"Dad!" I cut in, before he could keep going on and cause yet another argument. "Look! Auntie Fleur's got savouries!"
I swear, my dad actually went, "Ooh! Fleur! Save me one!" and leapt over someone's discarded broomstick to reach them. My dad might be one of the best Aurors in the department, but his stomach will always be his downfall.
Scorpius let out a breath I hadn't even realised he'd been holding. "That man terrifies me." he said, bluntly.
"When you've been married to him for over 20 years, you get used to it," my mum said, fondly. "Now! I want to know all about my favourite daughter! What have you been up to?"
"Oh, trust me, Mum, you don't want to know about me," I said, gesturing to Hugo. "It's my little brother's turn to cause drama!"
Confused, she turned to see Hugo and Caroline talking to Uncle Percy. Hugo looked bored out of his mind, but I'm pretty sure Caroline was just pretending for her own sake, if not Hugo's. Mum's eyes went wide.
"That's not the infamous Caroline we've been hearing about, is it?" Mum asked in amazement.
"Oh, you bet it is!" I said, happily. "I fully give you permission to unleash Grandma on her!"
Mum glanced at me with a frown. "You and your cousins aren't betting again, are you?" she asked, suspiciously.
"N-no," I coughed hastily as Scorpius smirked at me. "We gave that up years ago …"
It wasn't until near the end of the dinner when I started to lose hope about winning. Everything seemed perfect up until then! Even Hugo was petrified of his own family and kept blushing every five seconds when someone would do something embarrassing. I think he was half-expecting Caroline to leap out the window in an attempt to escape. She'd been questioned by nearly every family member on every topic imaginable: her exam results at Hogwarts, her ex-boyfriends dating back to the past five years, why she'd decided to buy a tea shop a year ago instead of getting a respectful job at the Ministry, how many babies she wanted and yes, what kind of birth control she was on (though thankfully, since it had been more than ten minutes, James didn't win that bet). But so far, she'd managed to hold up, even under Mum's interrogation and my mum puts Muggle killers behind bars in Azkaban for a living.
"Damn it," I grumbled into my pudding. "I'm going to owe Hugo and he's going to mock me the rest of the year!"
"There are still the hot chocolates to go, Rosie," Al pointed out next to me. "You've got a chance."
"Easy for you to say, you've already won!"
"Yeah, well," Al grinned at me, bits of carrot still stuck between his teeth. "Put Max in the same room as a wand and there was bound to be some sort of medical catastrophe."
I rolled my eyes. Caroline was currently down the other end of the huge, magically expanded dining table, next to Hugo and Auntie Audrey, opposite Grandma Molly. Our family matriarch was pretty much the last person to interrogate her and Grandma Molly was well known for her stands against potential Weasley's. Caroline was right to look rather nervous. I couldn't hear what they were saying, thanks to all the noise, but at one point, a question almost made her choke on her ice cream.
"Y'know what, Rosie?" Scorpius said from my other side, watching my brother's girlfriend cough. "I might not be able to get in on the official pool, but I'll personally bet you five Galleons that Caroline leaves this house without shedding one tear."
I glanced over. Caroline had to crack any moment now. "Y'know what?" I turned to Scorpius with a grin before shaking his hand. "You're on!"
"I miss my sister," Al said, wistfully. "She was always brilliant at guessing exactly what was going to happen …"
I understood Al's sadness. Lily had still been travelling ever since she'd left Hogwarts and jetted off to Brazil. I've already received several key-rings from her, the latest being a tiny Statue of Liberty from New York. Auntie Ginny had tried to convince her wandering daughter to come back home for Granddad's birthday, but the mistake she made was sending it herself; if it's from her mother, Lily ignores it completely, but all Auntie Ginny had to do was get Grandma's name on the bloody thing and Lily would have been home within three seconds.
Suddenly, there was another commotion at the other end of the table. Caroline shrieked, standing up as an entire bowl of ice cream got dumped onto her lap by Max as he ran through legs under the table. As Teddy ducked down to call out to his son, Grandma Molly just giggled to herself.
"Grandma, would you please stop laughing?" Hugo said, exasperatedly.
"Oh, dearie, I'm just having a bit of a giggle," she said, eyeing Caroline with keen interest. "You have to keep up in this family, darling!" she added to Caroline. "Otherwise, who knows what else you'll get covered in."
Caroline stared in bewilderment at Grandma Molly. "You don't like me." she said, bluntly.
"Oh, no, darling! What makes you think that?" Grandma Molly said at once, though she averted her eyes. Typical Grandma, still polite as ever, even to those she can't stand. She'll be offering to make her tea and give her a tour of the house soon.
"Because I saw you ask your great-grandson to come and throw his ice cream all over me!" Caroline said, hardly caring about said ice cream staining her skirt. Teddy had managed to grab hold of his son and was how holding him behind the table, watching with keen interest. "You whispered to him, just now!"
"Did I?" Grandma Molly just smiled. "I'm sorry, dear, my eyes aren't as good as they once were. So don't tell me, you'll be leaving then?"
"Damn it, she did it!" Fred muttered as Molly punched the air. "Grandma made her stand against Caroline! Can't believe I lost that …"
Hugo knew that he couldn't interfere with this. With every potential partner, Grandma Molly had made it her personal duty to make sure that they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. No one was ever going to be good enough for her babies, but it wasn't for the lack of trying to find that someone. I could remember her stand against Scorpius all too well and I'm pretty sure Scorpius was busy reliving the vivid nightmare alongside me. Without getting into details, it involved a baseball bat and a lot of hot sauce. Somehow, he had passed.
Caroline looked like she could hardly believe her eyes, that this seemingly harmless old woman could be so vindictive in the name of protecting her family. She had flopped into her seat in shock, Hugo burying his face in his hands next to her. Just when I thought Caroline was about to bawl and that the tension in the room was going to make everyone's heads blow up, she suddenly stood to her feet once more.
"No!" she cried, her voice clearly with a hint of fear still it in, yet she ploughed on. "I will not leave! You listen, you – er, Mrs Weasley–" Caroline hastily added. She's still our grandma after all. "–er, well I'm staying right here, all right? Because I love your grandson–"
"–you what?" Hugo's face suddenly snapped up, all the colour draining.
"–and nothing you say is going to change that! You can try and drive me out of your house all you like, but the truth is that I'm just going to keep coming back! You lot are absolutely insane!" She yelled that down the entire and completely silent table. "But I am an only child and this has been the best birthday party I've ever been to! So there!" she yelled back at Grandma Molly, whose eyebrows had risen so high, they had disappeared underneath her white hair.
For a while, absolutely nothing happened. Then, Grandma Molly smiled and Caroline visibly relaxed with relief. "Well done, Caroline Winters," she said, gently. "We might just make a Weasley out of you."
Hugo simply stood from his chair, before yanking on his girlfriend's head and kissing her fiercely in front of everyone. He didn't even seem to care that James sent out a rather loud wolf-whistle and that my mother was blushing with embarrassment. In fact, when he finally pulled away, it was tell Caroline,
"I love you, too."
"Oh, you've got to be bloody kidding me!" I yelled in frustration. "No crying at all? Give me a break here!"
Conclusion to my third year out of Hogwarts:
-If you want to make it as a Weasley, you'd better be in it for the long-haul, because this is one hell of a family.
-Don't have sex with James. Just … no.
-Having awkward talks about the future seriously live up to their name; they are awkward.
-But I think they're also kind of worth it.
Rose: 11, Scorpius: 9.
(No matter which way I try and spin it, I really did lose that one).
A/N: I apologise if there are any obvious typing errors in this, I'm afraid I'm rather sick at the moment and I don't have the strength to read the entire thing again. I promise to fix any at a later date.
So, the third year out of Hogwarts! Not really much to explain about this one. Just that yes, Caroline Winters is the girl Hugo managed to get a dance with at the Christmas Ball back in GIR. He had a different girlfriend in the epilogue, but now Caroline is back for the long-haul. :)
Also, thank you for being understanding about the length! I swear, it won't all be this long and I'm glad that the length of these chapters and interesting, rather than boring.
Thank you for your support so far! Remember, reviews are seriously appreciated, since they tell me what I'm doing well and what I need to work on. I want to make CGIR the best it can be!
Thanks again, until next time -
- Moon. :D
