Thanks for the reviews you guys! Here's the next chapter, dedicated to all that read it! You may recognise Darren Flint as he appears in one of my other fics :) X

Where is Scorpius?

The bleak early morning sun filtered through the windows on the landing of Ecantador. Rose stirred sleepily, something prodding the back of her head uncomfortably. She sat up and realised she must have cried herself asleep against her bedroom door and instantly remembered the previous night. She stood up in a shot. Well, she had planned to, but baby had other ideas and it took her about a minute to struggle from the floor. She inwardly cursed Scorpius for not letting her in, so she and their baby could have a lie down.

She finally got to her feet and banged on the door loudly.

"Scorpius Malfoy let me in this instant!!" She screamed through the door.

Nothing.

"Scorpius he's gone you can talk to me!" Rose said more gently.

Nothing.

"God dammit Scorpius open the door!" She screamed, getting angrier by the second.

Nothing.

Rose raised her wand, which was in her back pocket, and yelled 'Alohamora' at the door. Nothing happened and so she tried some more unlocking charms her mother had taught her, as well as some swear words her father had taught her. She turned away, holding her stomach. Suddenly, an idea hit her – maybe Scorpius hadn't locked the door by magic.

She drew her leg up, her knee gently touching her swelled stomach and kicked out sharply in the direction of the door. It gave way immediately at this violent movement and she fell into the room, tripping over a stray cable and nearly falling over.

"Ha I bet you – Scorpius? Where are you?" She said, looking around the empty room. The bed, neatly made, had not been slept in that night. Panic filled her and she twirled around the small bedroom – Where was Scorpius?

*

Rose stood in silence for a moment. 'Maybe he's gone out' She thought hopefully. 'Or maybe he's gone out and he's never coming back' A less optimistic part of her piped up. She felt angry at herself, he couldn't have gone far; he wouldn't have gone far.

She sat down on their un-slept-in bed and rubbed her belly thoughtfully. She suddenly stood up, nearly falling over – even after nine months she forgot she was carrying a permanently heavy load sometimes. What if he had gone, perfectly innocently, to see his friend Darren, who taught potions in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

She practically flew out of the house, locking in with a flick of her wrist. She quickly 'Accio-d' her broom, (a recent Firebolt edition which had been a wedding present from her uncle Harry) mounted it and took off, toward the castle that loomed over the little village. She arrived at the school gates and tapped her wand on them, knowing somebody would get the alert and come to her aid. Soon, she could see someone crossing the grounds, but she could not distinguish whether it was man, woman or student until the figure got closer, she recognised the familiar father-figure that was Hagrid. The matted hair that stuck up all around his face was tinged with grey, as was his beard. When he got closer enough to speak he shouted over to her.

"Rose Weasley, is tha' you?! Blimey you look more and more like yer old mum ev'ry time I see yeh!" He cried, his beetle-black eyes shining in the light from the nearly-afternoon sun. Rose couldn't help but smile - Hagrid was like family to her, even though he often forgot to acknowledge her as a Malfoy now.

"Hey Hagrid, you look well too" She smiled, her worry about Scorpius put temporarily to the back of her mind. Hagrid approached the gates and unlocked them with a complicated swirl of his pink umbrella. The minute she stepped through the gates she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"How are yeh Rosie?" He asked, still excited at seeing her. It had been far too long, Rose thought.

"I'm fine thanks Hagrid, and you?" She asked smiling up at him and squinting in the sunlight. They began to walk towards the castle together, Rose beginning to feel like a student again, chatting excitedly to Hagrid, her favourite teacher.

"Oh I'm great" He beamed down at her, not noticing that she was having to jog to keep up with his huge strides. "What abou' yer family? How're Hermione, an' Ron? Harry? Ginny?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Everyone's fine, Hagrid" She said warmly, he always asked after her parents and uncle and aunt.

"What abou' young Scorpius? And the baby?" He asked, as they drew closer to the huge double doors of the castle that had been her home for seven years.

"Scorpius is fine, the baby is due in two and a half weeks, and I've had terrible cravings for chicken-and-ham pie!" Rose said animatedly. Hagrid barked a booming laugh that seemed to shake the ground they walked on.

"Where is yer young man then Posie?" Hagrid asked, seeming to only just realise he wasn't part of their small reunion. Rose faltered slightly and hoped he didn't notice.

"Actually, that's why I'm here" Rose said, as they climbed the steps toward the foyer. They stopped, and Rose realised he probably had a class soon and he would need to get back down to his hut. She had no idea what time it was, but guessed it was about lunchtime, and Hagrid would only have about fifteen minutes left of lunch.

"What do yeh mean?" Hagrid asked, confusing crossing his aging face. Rose decided she couldn't tell him the truth.

"Well, I was just wondering whether he had come up to see Darren, oops, I mean 'Professor Flint'" She giggled. Hagrid smiled again.

"I 'aven't seen him Rosie, but that doesn't count for much since I been outside all day" Hagrid smiled. Rose grinned back at him.

"Okay well, thanks Hagrid, I'll go and check just in case, I'll get mum to patronus you when the baby's on the way" She said, Hagrid beamed and winked.

"Right yeh are, Rose" He smiled and turned away, starting to walk down the steps back toward his hut.

He stopped at the bottom and waved a dustbin-lid sized hand at her before turning away and beginning the walk down the hill. Rose stood on the threshold, watching his retreating back sadly for a moment, before taking a deep, calming breath and pushing the door open with a creak.

*

Rose walked as swiftly as she could to the Hogwarts staff room. She said brief greetings to students and teachers she knew, including Professor Longbottom, her old Herbology teacher and family friend. She rounded the corner of where she knew the staff room was, and sighed with relief, at last she had found it. She smoothed her pale gold robes and knocked on the door, feeling more and more like a schoolgirl again, to her embarrassment.

The door flew open inwards and a professor she did not recognise stood there.

"Hello, can I help you?" She said politely but curiously.

"Yes… my name is Rose Malfoy, I'm looking for someone..." She trailed off, feeling herself blush, she sounded ridiculous.

"Oh okay, who are you looking for, student or professor?" The professor asked kindly.

"Professor Flint, Darren Flint, he teaches potions I believe" Rose said feeling a bit more confident.

"Oh, he hardly ever comes up here at lunch. He's probably down in the dungeons" The woman mused. Rose nodded.

"Okay thank you very much" She said, before turning and walking back the way she came, toward the entrance hall. She heard the door click shut as she rounded the corner and walked back down the steps. She stepped quickly across the hallway and down the dark familiar passageway that led toward the dungeons.

She took a left, towards the Slytherin common room and then when the passage forked she took a right. Soon, she was stood outside the vast potions room. She smoothed her hair down and performed a quick glamour charm on her face. She felt the light dusting of makeup appear and she transfigured a nearby rat into a mirror. She knocked on the door, mildly happy with what she saw, and quickly transfigured the mirror back into a rat as she heard heavy footsteps crossing the flagstones of the potions room. The door swung open and she felt as if a weight had been lifted as she saw her and her husband's schoolmate.

"Rose Malfoy what a surprise!" Darren said, a smile lighting up his handsome young face. Rose couldn't' help but smile back with enthusiasm. He swooped down slightly and drew her into a hug, kissing her cheek delicately and holding her at arms length to look at her.

"Cheeky cat" Rose murmured, smiling. He beamed back at her and released her.

"To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" He asked, leading her to a chair and helping her into it. He took the opposite stool and gazed at her, his eyes dropping to her swelled stomach.

"Actually, I was wondering if you've seen my dear husband" She asked through slightly gritted teeth. He raised an eyebrow but the impish grin was back on his face in an instant.

"Lost him already have you?" He asked, grinning. Rose gave a forced laugh and her hands immediately dropped to her stomach, a wince escaping her lips. Darren stood up quickly.

"What is it Rosie? Are you hurt?" He asked quickly. Rose shook her head and forced a smile, letting her arms drift onto the table in between them. She drummed her fingernails on the table.

"No, its okay it's because I haven't eaten today" She explained. Darren nodded, not looking entirely convinced, but he thankfully didn't ask questions. That's what she liked about Darren.

"Anyway, you have no idea where he could be?" She pressed anxiously. Darren shook his head, looking concerned.

"Seriously Rosie, what's wrong? Scorpius wouldn't just disappear without good reason to" He said shrewdly. Rose's already forced smile turned into a grimace and then disappeared altogether.

"Oh Darren, he found out about me and Dante" She said, her head falling into her hands. Darren grimaced and then looked understanding. Rose looked up at him through watery eyes and he reached across the table to grab her cold hand and take it in his warm one.

"What happened?" Darren asked kindly, rubbing soothing circles in her palm. "Tell me everything" He said. Rose sighed before deciding she could trust Scorpius' best man over anyone else at the moment. She ran into the story, leaving out details about crying - Scorpius was proud. Darren rubbed her hand all the way through, when she started crying again he walked around the table and hugged her for a long moment. He released her after a minute and kneeled in front of her, forcing her to look at him through her sniffles and watery eyes.

"Rosie Posey, what am I going to do with you eh?" Darren asked chucking her under the chin. "Don't worry; Scorpius will come back once he's gotten over his bastard pride" He said winking. Rose laughed and sniffed. She stood up and hugged him.

"T-thank you Darren, you're the best" She said trying not to cry on the back of his school robes. He squeezed her and released her. She began walking away from him, toward the door, and stopped dead, clutching her stomach.

"Rose what is it?" Darren asked anxiously. She turned to face him, doubled over in pain. She straightened up slowly and looked at him. He noticed her eyes were slightly unfocused and he took a tentative step toward her. It was a good job he was within touching distance of her, for her sapphire eyes rolled back into her head and her legs collapsed beneath her. She was about to hit the floor when Darren caught her, supporting her back under his arm.

He leaned towards her and lay his head on her chest, over her heart. There was a definite heartbeat, but her breath was coming in shallow gasps, her eyes closed. He began to panic, and he laid her on the floor carefully. He grabbed his wand from the table gently took Rose by the lifeless hand, and apparated.

*

Meanwhile…

*

Astoria walked to the door, her stilettos clicking on the marble-tiled floor in the hall of the vast manor. She patted down her ash-brown hair and opened the door, letting the watery sunshine pour into the huge house.

"Oh, it's you, hello" She said giving the person at the door a small smile.

"I need to see your son. Quickly." The voice answered bluntly in a deep octave. Astoria nodded and stepped aside to let him pass, before he bowled her off her feet. Her son had been acting strange, not saying anything about his lovely wife, when he usually did not stop talking about her. Maybe, she guessed, his friend would cheer him up.

"He's in his study, sulking about something, I'm sure you know the way by now-" She trailed off as the young man walked past her, muttering a thanks and waving a hand as he padded down the corridor. He found the study with no problem, since the house had once been like a third home to him, after his own home and Hogwarts of course. He rapped smartly on the door and pushed the door open roughly. It hit the back wall with a loud bashing noise and the golden-haired young man at the desk in the corner, who previously had his head in his hands, looked up, annoyed.

"Hey- oh it's you" He spat before standing up so fast he knocked his chair over. He took three long strides towards the man stood in the doorway and towered over him.

"Get. Out. How dare you come here you complete sack of sh-" He growled through gritted teeth.

"Oh save it, Scorpius I'm not here to check up on you" Dante spat back. Scorpius scowled, trying very hard to restrain himself from ripping Zabini limb from limb. The muscles in his pale exposed forearms rippled as he clenched his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms.

"Why are you here then Zabini? And why aren't you in Mungos?" Scorpius asked, his voice constricted due to the fact that his jaw was clamped shut.

"They healed me in about a second" Dante said in a bored tone. "And I'm here because-…dammit we don't have time to stand and chat!" He snarled urgently, clenching his own hands into fists.

"What are you on abo-" Scorpius asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Grab your coat, Rose has been taken to hospital" Dante said, pain crossing his face. Scorpius felt numb, he felt as if his heart had dropped out of his body and through the floor.

"Wha-why-whats wrong?" He spluttered, his eyes wide and worried, despite the fact his worst enemy was telling him, and he was angry with them both, Rose marginally less though.

"There's no time!" Dante screamed, his voice cracking. "Now come on!" He added, grabbing Scorpius by the upper arm and hurtling him out of the study. Scorpius didn't care, he ran along the hallways, towards the door and outside, Dante close behind. He felt as if his mind was frozen, what was wrong with Rosie? Was she hurt? Was there a problem with the baby? He had to know, and they approached the gates, ignoring the calls from his mother, stood at the top of the garden, nearest the Manor. Scorpius tapped his wand impatiently on the big iron gate and wrenched it open. He pulled Dante through and forced him through apparition. They landed on the London pavement outside St. Mungos. Dante ran forward, Scorpius following blindly, and they grabbed the attention of the manikin in the window. She winked and let them in; they rushed together to the front desk.

"Rose…Weasley..." Dante panted to the bewildered girl behind the desk. Scorpius glared at him.

"Rose Malfoy, actually" Scorpius said, annoyed. Dante flinched. The woman flicked through a file on her desk swiftly.

"Ahh yes." She said "Rose Malfoy, second floor, maternity ward." She said pointing to the sign beside her desk which showed all the different floors. Scorpius and Dante shot a shocked glance at each other.

"MATERNITY WARD?"

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