You turned me into somebody loved
-The Weepies
She meant it, she did need one. It was constantly on her agenda, but never achieved really. One thing turns into another and then poof, there goes what was supposed to be your week off. That's why she moved to Cornwall, she could pretend home was a get away. She sat at that café with her cousin and his best friend, laughing and smiling at their antics. It was a little like old times.
She thought back to when she first came to Hogwarts. She was a gawky, bushy headed eleven year old, who naturally knew everything. She wasn't as nervous as Albus when it came to sorting. She just had to be a Gryffindor. When she walked up to the seat and was sorted it wouldn't be the last time she was correct. She breathed a silent sigh of relief when Al was matched with her. They were the only two of their generation in that year; she knew that she wouldn't make it without him. Vicky was almost ready to graduate, and Charlie's girls were right after her. Percy's girls were friendly, but also older and probably wouldn't want to hang around a first year. She didn't feel like being a trouble maker straight away, so hanging out with Fred and Gideon wasn't going to be an option. Al had always been her partner in the family. Rose hadn't wanted that to change once she got to school.
She remembered the Scorpius from all those years ago. He was cool as a cucumber until his turn for the hat came. When it yelled Gryffindor, she thought he was going to be ill. The dread on his face as she and Al cheered with the rest of their house was something she would never forget. It faded with time. He had been worried about his father's reaction, which turned out to be surprise without the stain of disappointment. Would Mr. Malfoy react the same way when he found out they were seeing each other? She let the troubling thought sweep through her mind before returning to her cheery company.
"So Rosie, where are we going then? I hear China is wonderful." Scorpius leered at her. O this was going to be their personal joke then?
"I think I would enjoy a trip to the Riviera, run into some nice French girls on a beach before I get tied down." Al wagged his eyebrows.
"Albus, I'm going to tell on you." Rose veiled her amusement behind a threatening glare
"O, you wouldn't dare!" Al returned the jest. Rosie laughed. She couldn't remember the last time they ate lunch together like this. Did he and Scorpius have lunch at work every day? It had never occurred to her that seeing a Malfoy would bring her closer to her relatives on a daily basis. The food came, and they ate, throwing a joke back and forth, talking about the case. It was far from over, Rosie estimated. She had helped those four boys, but now had to focus on the legislation that caused their crimes. Not wanting to get into a political argument, she steered the conversation away from the centaurs all together. The last thing she needed was a point of contention at work disrupting her personal life.
"Did your cousin tell your family the big news yet, Scorpius?" Al looked at Rose, he knew what she was talking about but wasn't sure if Andromeda had told Narcissa yet. After Lucius's suicide, the sisters made an effort to reconcile. It took a little time, but now things were almost as they were before Andromeda's wedding. The family was getting too small to be separated by the past.
"Who, Teddy? About what?"
"You have to promise not to mention it to anyone else in your family, I'm sure Andromeda wants to tell them."
"Well are you going to tell me or not?" Scorpius looked at her, one corner of his mouth turned up.
"Vicky is expecting." Scorpius didn't conceal his surprise.
"That's wonderful! How far along is she?"
"She's right at two months, even started showing a little, you didn't notice?"
"I was a little distracted that night, and I don't know about that sort of thing." Scorpius's tone was dismissive as usual, but Rose felt his gaze land on her significantly. She watched him snap out of it.
"Al, I think that France is a brilliant idea, maybe Biarritz instead of the Riviera, we could do that muggle thing with the waves your fathers like so much, sharking?"
"Surfing" Rose responded. Rose thought back on all the time the family spent at the beach. Ron got in the habit of going when he and Hermione went to Australia after the War. It didn't even matter if it was miserable, he and Uncle Harry would trudge down to the beach into the freezing water. Warming charms kept them in there for hours.
"Right, well let's go this weekend, all of us. It'll be our last chance before the weather starts turning over." Rose smiled warmly at the prospect of her toes in the sand; maybe she could even get some color this year, it had yet to happen in spite of her many efforts to tan. They parted ways at the café, Rose to her office, Al and Scorpius to theirs.
Rose sat at her desk, doing a mental inventory of her bathing suit drawer. She certainly had plenty of them; her family went to the beach so often. She was sure Uncle Harry would be pleased to hear they were leaving Britain, away from the suffocating celebrity that started as a child and only grew as he did. Aunt Fleur would no doubt be pleased to speak French freely to someone besides Vicky, and, when she was angry, Bill. She wrote the letter with her intentions, made two dozen copies and sent them on their way. Walking into Hermione's office, she plopped down on one of the leather seats intended for clients.
"Hope you've got your beach body still, mum."
"Where are we going?"
"Biarritz, Al and I decided over lunch. I'm sure Dad has been chomping at the bit find waves somewhere that are better than here."
"Well, he has been a bit of a grouch lately, especially after your little episode." Hermione looked up from her parchment pointedly. "We don't have any plans this weekend."
"Brilliant! Who else can you vouch for? I sent owls to the whole family."
"The whole family? Really?" Hermione put her pen down this time and sat back. "What brought this on, Rosie?"
"I just figured it's been ages since everyone went somewhere together, and Fleur always gets homesick this time of year" Rose knew her mother read more into it, but clung to the hope that she would leave it be for once.
"This doesn't have anything to do with your dalliance with a certain Mr. Malfoy?"
"No. I mean he will probably come, but as Al's friend." Rose felt a little uncertain with the qualifier.
"I thought as much," Her mother replied curtly.
"Mum, I was eating lunch with the two of them today and realized that I haven't been hanging around as much since I moved south. Grandmum was guilting me on Monday and lunch today with Al was so fun. I've been too caught up with work to realize I'm missing out on all the events in the family. I was 8 hours shy of completely forgetting Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry's anniversary for Merlin's sake."
"Well, if you seeing Scorpius caused you to realize something that has been bothering us for months, then I must say bravo, sweetheart."
Scorpius changed into more relaxed clothing for dinner at the manor. He knew he was in for fussing by his mother, he at least wanted to be comfortable. He hesitated slightly before apparating to meet his parents. Astoria was clearly waiting for him. Before he had a chance to catch his breath, she was on him like scales on a mermaid. She checked his face, his hairline, behind his ears, his collar, and his hands for any sign of damage.
"O darling, I told you to be careful! I was worried sick when Patrick called me last night and said you had gone missing. "
"It's an occupational hazard mother, and as it turns out I've been in much worse situations. They only had me for about two hours. "
"Who's they, son?" Scorpius heard his father come in. He had two dirty martinis in his hand, passing one off to his son.
"The centaurs, Dad, I told you I was going over there two days ago." He watched his Dad search his brain for something recognizable.
"O that's right, something about bleeding Scotland."
"Really, Draco, did you not notice me pacing all of last night? You were in the drawing room with me when Patrick flooed. He's getting senile in his old age, duckie."
"Now now Astoria, I just knew our boy could take care of himself. And if you seem to recall, we were only two years apart at Hogwarts, so how old am I?" Draco gave a satisfied smirk and winked at Scorpius. Astoria rolled her eyes and walked over to the bar to get herself a drink.
"Do you have plans for the weekend? I overheard the house elves talking about a buck they saw on the estate. They guess it was about 15 points."
"I would love to, but I made plans with Al and his family, they invited me to Biarritz." Draco's eyes lit up at that, Astoria stopped sipping her drink in interest.
"Would a certain Miss Weasley be there as well?" Draco asked.
"Yes, she will be." Scorpius shifted his weight between his two feet.
"O wonderful, when do we get to meet her formally?"
"Don't get ideas you two. We only have had tea." Scorpius lied rather convincingly. Sometimes genes override the house one is sorted into.
"No, of course not," Astoria raised an eyebrow and led the two of them to the dining room.
Astoria was sitting at her dressing table, slowly brushing her long, brown hair before bed. She thought back to Draco and Scorpius's conversation about Rose. How different Draco was from the man she married. Obviously she wasn't complaining, she was deeply in love with the person who sat across from her at dinner tonight. Their marriage had been arranged and the beginning of their relationship was rather…tempestuous. It was quite an adjustment, becoming a Malfoy. After the war they had been subject to a lot of negative attention, rightly so she assumed. She married a man crippled with guilt and struggling to lift himself out of the rubble his father had left him with. At first she regretted marrying him. He basically ignored her unless he came to her room at night to 'work towards an heir' or whatever the hell he referred to it as in those days.
She remembered the day he became her husband. They were sitting at breakfast, Draco got up, fixed her tea exactly the way she liked it, set it in front of her and sat to her left. He opened up the paper and started reading as though nothing had happened while she stared at him in shock. When she went back upstairs to dress, a potted plant was waiting on her dressing table. It was a gardenia charmed to flourish in spite of the English weather. They were her favorite, although she never remembered mentioning the fact. That night, it was Astoria who visited Draco. Scorpius was born nine months later, but by then they had put an end to separate rooms.
A.N. Awww, that last scene reminds me of My Fair Lady when Henry Higgins laments having grown accustomed to Eliza's face and that now he can't be happy without her. I think it reflects an older, more subtle romance. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the short diversion, we'll get back to the nitty gritty eventually, but I need to hash some stuff out, plus there's no way in hell I'm skipping a chapter in France. BTW WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME I MY ENTIRE STORY LINE WAS CONFUSED. I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT CENTAURS FOR NINE CHAPTERS AND CALLING THEM SATYRS! Anyway, the problem is fixed now, hopefully we can continue the story in peace without me being super ridiculous. Thank you so much, ice and Imossm, in the spirit of next chapter: j'adore! For all my other wonderful readers thank you so much for your time and attention! Keep reviewing, it helps me hash things out better!
