A/N: This chapter's a little shorter than the ones I've posted before, but it felt complete to me.

First of all, I'd like to say thanks for all the reviews! You're all awesome:) Also, I got a couple of Ron-haters, and I didn't mean to paint him in that sort of light. Personally, I adore Ron, and I think his behavior fits with his character (a little pigheaded, but with good intentions and a big heart). I love that he's a Gryffindor all the way and that he'd go to wild lengths to protect those who matter to him. I also wanted to portray that he's grown up since Hogwarts, which I think I have done in this chapter.

Lastly, I did get a request to continue this story further, as in past the family conflict. I had some vague ideas that haven't formed into a real story yet, but I wanted to get more opinions on this. What do you think? Should this be a longer story? If I do that, then I will definitely expand on each character and maybe even introduce a little drama/adventure into it. Let me know in the reviews!

~Maya

Time Bomb

Chapter 6

"Ron was being a git, don't you think?" said Ginny as she shut the door behind her brother and his family after they left.

Grinning, Harry simply said, "Yeah. Of course he was."

"I don't get it," she sighed, resuming her position on the sofa, lying in her husband's arms. "He's great when you need him for anything other than romance…" She thought back to her days at Hogwarts when Ron would fight constantly with her over her boyfriends.

"Come on, Ginny, you know him," Harry said, consolingly stroking her hair. "He's just beyond over-protective. I can't say that I wouldn't have reacted like that if Lily had been dating Malfoy's kid."

Ginny sat up and glared at Harry disapprovingly. "Harry, that's ridiculous. You know you can't make assumptions based on stupid things like an old school enmity. You know that's what happened between Snape and Sirius—and look how that turned out!" The shocked, hurt look on Harry's face made her wish she could snatch her words out of the air and suck them back into her brain.

"Ginny…that's-that's not what I meant," he said softly.

"I know," she said, grabbing and squeezing his hand in apology. "I know you didn't. I just—I dunno why I said that. I just don't think we should judge Scorpius Malfoy based on what his father did once. Clearly, he's trying to mend his faults."

"How d'you figure that?"

"Well, he's working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, isn't he? They put wrongdoers in prison, Harry. That looks like an apology to the world to me," said Ginny.

Thoughtfully, Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But see, it's not just about that. It's about the Malfoy family altogether. I'm sure that regardless of the social changes and whatever Draco Malfoy is doing now, they must still have pureblood supremacist ideals, Ginny."

"You can't know that," she said hurriedly.

"Yes, I know you can't," he replied patiently. "But it's something we have to at least admit, isn't it? I just want to make sure Rose is safe."

At this, Ginny fell silent. Though she firmly believed that prejudice was one of the hugest hindrances to society's progression, she also wanted to protect her family. If that meant using a prejudice to be cautious, she would have to accept that.

"Fine," she sighed. "I guess you're right about that."

With an amused smile, Harry leaned down and pecked her on the lips. "But you know that Ron's not using any of this logic, right?"

Ginny laughed. "Yeah. I know my brother, Harry. He just wants to hate Scorpius Malfoy 'cause he's dating his little girl. The 'being-a-Malfoy' thing is just an excuse."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, nodding. "And that's what I meant. I'd probably fly off the handle if Lily came home with a boyfriend, too."

Squeezing Harry around the waist, Ginny kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear, "That's what makes you a wonderful father. I never have to worry that someone will hurt our kids and get away with it."

Harry let out a deep sigh. "Let's just hope Ron tones it down a bit."

Pulling away, Ginny grimaced. This might have been too much to hope for.

Dear Rose,

My parents exploded. Totally the reaction we were expecting. I hope your experience was better than mine. They're still willing to come to Christmas, but I don't know whether I should be glad about this or scared out of my wits.

I miss you a lot. I didn't realize how much time we'd been spending together until we couldn't spend any together at all. I really, really wish I could see you.

Today I walked through the rose garden behind the Manor, and I was trying to find the perfect one. Then, I realized she was far away.

I'll be honest—the conversation at the platform made me really nervous. We're going to get through this, right? No matter what? I can't bear the thought of losing you because of our families.

Write back soon, please.

Yours,

Scorpius

Dear Scorpius,

Trust me. Your experience was better than mine. They've been yelling for two days. I try to listen in sometimes, but usually it's not even about the actual issue—my dad just gets carried away and stops making sense. Christmas dinner is definitely happening, though, but I have to warn you—my family is HUGE. And they're going to absolutely bombard you.

I really miss you, too. Your letter made me blush like a twelve-year-old. You, Scorpius Malfoy, are a cheeseball. But I still love you. I really can't wait until Christmas. Even if it all goes down in flames, at least we'll get to see each other.

I promise we'll get through whatever happens, Scorpius. You'll never lose me, and I hope I'll never lose you, either.

Love,

Rose

Dear Rose,

Thanks. That made me feel a lot better. You've got a really positive way of looking at everything. I hope I can learn to do that, too.

Today, Mum and Dad came to the agreement that they'll "trust my judgment" and meet you without bias. Obviously, my dad's not going to do that. Mum probably will, but Dad's going to try to find everything wrong with you that he can. I just realized that that will probably make you nervous as hell—but don't worry. Just be yourself, and he'll never be able to find a single flaw.

I wanted to ask if it's okay for my grandmother to come to Christmas dinner as well? She's being really good about the whole thing, and she really wants to meet you. If not, just let me know, and it won't be a problem.

Scorpius.

Rose was rummaging through the drawers of her enormous desk for a quill and some ink when her bedroom door opened. In came her father, looking haggard and stressed, but smiling nonetheless.

Uncertainly, she said, "Hi?" It sounded like a question.

"Hey, Rosie." Nickname. That was a good sign.

"What's up?" she said, gesturing for him to sit on her bed. He did so, and spent several moments opening and closing his mouth wordlessly.

Finally, he began, "Your mum's been talking to me."

"And…?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm just going to tell you that I will not trust the boy. I don't care what anyone says. I know what I'm talking about," he said brusquely.

With a scoff, Rose turned back to her drawers, fighting back tears. She had been so hoping that her father had come to reconcile with her and tell her that he would accept Scorpius for who he was rather than how he'd been named.

"But," he added, talking to Rose's back, "I will meet him. We raised you to be smart, Rose, and I hope you're being smart. I'm not gonna insult your intelligence and just assume you don't know what you're doing at all."

Hopefully, disbelievingly, she turned around to face him. "Really? You're saying you trust me."

Sighing almost reluctantly, Ron smiled. "Yeah, Rosie. I trust you. I do. I just don't trust the Malfoy boy. But I'll give him a-a chance."

It seemed as though his words had taken a lot of effort, so Rose smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you, Dad," she said.

Nodding with an air of finality, Ron stood up and made to leave. Before he stepped out the door, he asked, "Is that a letter from him, there?"

"Yeah," Rose replied hesitantly. "He's-he's asking if his grandma can come, too."

It took a long moment before Ron finally said, with a strong pain in his voice, "Yeah. Tell him fine." And then he left.

Back downstairs, Ron collapsed on the grayish-blue sofa and dropped his head into his hands. Looking at him sympathetically, Hermione approached him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Tough?" she asked.

Ron merely grunted.

"Yeah," she murmured, understanding completely. It had been harder than anything for her to accept that her daughter was smitten with the son of a man who had tormented her so very viciously, but for Rose's sake she did so.

"Why Malfoy?" Ron managed to moan from between his fingers. "Why'd it have to be him?"

"I don't know, Ron," said Hermione hopelessly. "But if Rose likes him so much, then maybe he's all right. He seemed fine on the platform, didn't he?"

"I-I dunno," Ron admitted. "I was too busy glaring at Malfoy. I didn't even pay attention to the kid."

"He was better than Holly," Hermione griped. "What Hugo sees in that girl…"

Holly's parents had sent an owl back to the Weasley home, replying to Hermione's letter requesting them to pick up their daughter and saying that they were quite busy on holiday and simply couldn't return to Britain at the moment. For the time being, Holly was staying with them. This, needless to say, had made Hermione extremely upset.

"Holly's not that bad," said Ron, looking at his wife in surprise. "I actually kind of like her."

"Ronald, she's horrible," Hermione whispered. "I know what girls like that do, and she's going to break Hugo's heart.

"I doubt it," said Ron with a shrug. "But if she does, then she'll have the whole Weasley family to deal with, won't she?"

Hermione smiled slightly at this; one thing she loved about Ron was that he didn't hold a double standard with his children—whatever Hugo could do, so could Rose.

"We don't know anything about Scorpius Malfoy," said Hermione, her smile fading away as this realization dawned on her.

"He was a loser at school," said Hugo from the doorway.

The couple on the couch looked up suddenly, startled.

"Oh, hi, Hugo," said Hermione warmly. "D'you want something to eat?"

"Yeah, actually," he replied, moving over to the refrigerator. By Hermione's rules, they refrained from using magic too much, so they were able to use certain Muggle appliances. "Holly was asking for some of that pie from last night."

Trying to hide her grimace, Hermione mumbled, "Yeah, it's in the back of the fridge."

As Hugo rummaged through the food, Ron prompted, "So? He was a loser? Why does Rose want to date a loser?"

"I did," Hermione teased, nudging her husband in the ribs. He scowled at her.

"I dunno about that," said Hugo, "but I know that pretty much everyone hated him. We never really knew him, but I guess because we're Weasleys and Scorpius is from a Death Eater family, everyone just assumed we hated him, too? Or something like that…"

"Everyone hated him?" Hermione repeated, now somewhat concerned. If everyone at Hogwarts disliked this boy, was Rose's judgment horribly off?

"Yeah," Hugo answered, pulling out the box of pie and shutting the refrigerator door. "People used to jinx him all over the place. I don't really know much about it. He's not in my year."

Before they could question him further, Holly called from upstairs, "Hugo? I'm hungry!" and he hurried away.

Glowering at the spot where Hugo had been standing, Hermione said softly, "It sounds like a case of reverse bloody purity discrimination to me."

"Maybe," said Ron shortly. "But I don't like that stuff about people hating him. Why would they hate him if there wasn't something there to hate?"

"Hugo said they didn't know him very well…" she said hesitantly. Did her husband have a point? Should this worry her?

"Best be on our guard," said Ron firmly, standing up and going to stand in the stairwell.

"What are you—"

"HEY, HUGO!" he yelled.

"WHAT?"

"BRING ME SOME PIE!"

Scorpius's eyes flew open. It was Christmas morning. The morning of Christmas. The morning of Christmas dinner. Christmas dinner at the Weasleys'. The Weasleys'. It was also time for a mini-heart attack.

A soft knock on his door jolted Scorpius out of his reverie.

"Yeah, come in," he called.

To his slight surprise, his father walked into the room, smiling nervously.

"Happy Christmas," he said, sitting on the edge of Scorpius's bed.

"Mmm, yeah. Merry Christmas," Scorpius replied, rubbing his eyes and smiling back groggily.

"How are you this morning, Scorpius?" Draco was still wearing his nervous expression.

"Er…I just got up," his son replied. "Dad, are you okay?"

"'Dad,'" Draco repeated quietly, almost to himself. "You called me 'Dad.' You've never done that."

"Oh, yeah," said Scorpius. He hadn't even noticed the change. "That's right. I always called you 'Father.'"

"Yes. Yes, you did. What's different?" Draco's tone was almost demanding.

Propping himself up on his elbows, Scorpius said, "I dunno. It just feels, like, right, I guess. Why? Why does it matter?"

"It's the Weasley girl isn't it? Your girlfriend? She's changing you," Draco said. "You're becoming so different. What's going on?"

"Whoa, whoa, Dad, calm down," said Scorpius, grinning slightly. It was, frankly, quite hilarious to see his father so worked up over something this silly. "Are you just panicking about the dinner tonight?"

"What? No," he scoffed, much too quickly. "Panicked? About the dinner? I'd totally forgotten about it. Didn't even know what you were talking about for a second." His voice seemed to have jumped an octave.

"Dad…"

Finally, Draco sighed heavily and shot Scorpius a pleading look. "Come on, you can't blame me for being nervous! It's dinner. In the home. Of the people I hated. And hated me. For seven years. And their family. Their huge, huge family."

Scorpius rolled his eyes; his father was acting like a teenage girl. "Dad, come on. It won't be that bad. Just-just be nice."

For a moment, it looked like Draco was going to complain more, but instead he hastily said, "Sorry. The last thing you need is to give me advice about this. You're probably just as nervous. I'll go."

Keeping his laughter buried deep within him, Scorpius responded, "Sure, Dad. See you in a bit."

As Draco approached the door, he asked tentatively, "What is it with the 'Dad' thing?"

Although it was clear that he wasn't expecting an answer, Scorpius said quietly, "She makes me feel comfortable with myself—enough to be comfortable with you."

Extremely touched, Draco couldn't even bring himself to nod at his son. Grunting awkwardly, he left, shutting the door behind him and feeling incredibly jealous that his son, at sixteen, had found someone who could make him feel a way Draco hadn't ever felt.

A/N: Please tell me how you feel about this chapter! I love reviews and you guys are all so great. If you have story ideas for a longer story, please don't hesitate to leave them or PM me. I'd really appreciate it.

~Maya