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Chapter 9

The morning mail came, and with it came a letter from her mother. Rose quickly opened it, always glad to hear from her mum. Scorpius occupied his usual seat beside her and glanced over as she read the letter. The smile she wore quickly faded as she finished it. "What do you think?" she asked her best friend.

Scorpius picked up the note and reread it. "Well," he said, setting down the letter, "it seems to me that she's offering you the chance to meet your dad's family."

"Do you think she wants me to?" Rose wondered.

The blond shrugged. "I think when she wrote that it's up to you that means it's up to you," he replied. "Minnie's not going to force you to see them. You know she wouldn't do that. But do you think it is something you'd want to do?"

She recalled their conversation on the train, and her proclamation that she wasn't a Weasley. "I don't want to, but if she wanted me to I would," Rose said. "I'm not scared or anything. I just...I don't know them. They're not family. Mum never took me to see them, but I don't remember them ever making an effort to see us either. I don't know. I'd rather talk to Mum before making any decisions."

"I think that's smart," Scorpius agreed. "Maybe you'll feel better if you talk to her."

Rose nodded, staring down at the half eaten breakfast on her plate. "Um, do you think it would bother your dad if I saw them?" she asked, feeling silly for even having such a thought.

Scorpius chuckled softly. "He never gets mad at you," he replied. "You put mashed potatoes in my hair at Christmas dinner, and he blamed me for riling you up. I know he was kidding, but I also know that you can do no wrong with him. I really doubt he'd be mad if you did this. Ya know, if you wanted me to, I'd go with you."

Rose grinned as she bumped her shoulder against his. "And here I thought you'd try to discourage me from going," she teased.

Scorpius shrugged and took the toast from her plate. "If you want to do it, I'm not going to talk you out of it," he replied. "Do you think it's something you want to do?"

Sighing, she looked to the Gryffindor table where Al sat with his - their cousins. "No, it isn't," she decided.

000000000

Thanks, but no thanks.

Hermione smirked when she read her daughter's reply. If there was one trait Rose had inherited from her father, it was brevity. Curled up on the sofa, she waited for Draco to join her. Minutes later, he finished washing the dishes and sat down beside her. He took the letter from her hand and furrowed his brows. "What's this mean?" he wondered.

"It means I think you were right about Rose's feelings regarding family," she replied, pulling his arm around her shoulders.

Glancing down, he noticed she frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You look...I don't know, guilty."

Shrugging, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I am," she said. "I kept her from them, and maybe because of that, she has no interest in knowing them. I don't want my feelings and opinions on the matter to be hers because she thinks she has to be on my side. It's my fault she feels the need to choose sides."

Draco scowled. "It's Weasley's fault she has to choose sides," he muttered. "He put her in this position, not you. I just...I don't understand how anyone could abandon their child. Astoria signed the custody papers today. She doesn't want him. I knew that. I've known it for years. I just don't understand it."

Arms slipped around his waist. "It's not fair to these kids that this has happened to them," she commiserated. "At least they know one parent loves them. I don't know if that's worth anything, but it's all I have."

"Do you think it's enough?" Draco wondered.

Sighing, Hermione glanced up at him. "Most of the time, yes," she replied. "And then there are the times they're soon to be teenagers who hate their parents. I don't think there's anything we can do about that. They'll have each other at least."

There was a hopeful smile on his lips. "Does that mean you might consider marrying me one day?" he wondered.

"Oh, I've considered it," she told him. "And I know it's what the kids want, and you want it. It is something I want, but I don't want to rush into it. Ron and I rushed into it, and we both know how that turned out. I think I've just been single for so long that I don't remember how to be married. I want us to take our time."

He held her close. "We're not going to be like you and Ron," he promised. "I know you're going to tell me that there's no way I can know that, but I know how much I love you. I know how much I want to be with you. We're going to last because that's what we want. If we want to be together, we'll do what we have to do to make it work."

"What if you decide you don't want me anymore?" she wondered. "What happens then? Ron, once upon a time, said sweet things like that too. I don't know that I can handle being walked out on again. I did love him. Even after he left, I loved him. It took a long time for me to get over my feelings for him. It's also taken me nine years to be comfortable in a relationship again. I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life, but I don't want to get hurt either."

"Sometimes there's no avoiding that," he reasoned. "But we love and trust one another, and you have to believe that we'll be okay."

Hermione nodded, knowing he was right. "If something were to happen, could I still see Scor?" she asked.

Laughing, he assured her she would. "Knowing our kids, Rose will want me to have custody of her, and Scor will choose you. Maybe we should just skip marriage and swap kids now, get it out of the way."

"Maybe. This was fun while it lasted though," she joked. Draco nodded in agreement.