The stone building loomed in front of them, making Rose feel extremely insignificant. Her nails were digging into her palm, her teeth gritted with nerves. It was 9:55 in the morning. Rose's stomach turned uncomfortably, making her grateful she had refused Scorpius' attempts to feed her. He was standing next to her; his stomach full of two portions of toast and eggs. His palms were sweating and his hair was brushed down flat, an attempt to look organized and put together.

A deep breath and then Rose marched confidently forwards, Scorpius right behind her. They ascended the steps and opened the door, both equally aware of the importance of each second. The warmth welcoming them was starkly contrasted by the stern face of the woman at the desk. She didn't look up even as they approached, remaining focused on the work at hand. Rose glanced at Scorpius, surprised that he was smiling despite being ignored. She said nothing, waiting for the woman to look up. After a moment it became obvious that the woman had no intention of stopping her task.

"Excuse me, my name is Rose Weasley and this is Scorpius Malfoy. We had a meeting with Ms Lowerton." Rose forced herself to speak slowly instead of rushing like she felt the urge to.

Before the woman even looked up, however, another woman came out of the room behind the desk.

"Mr Malfoy, Ms Weasley, this way please." She led them into a room with three chairs and a coffee table, gesturing for them to take a seat. She sat down, taking a moment to settle herself before speaking again.

"I have had a chance to look over your personal information, and I would like to start with a few basic questions to confirm that everything is as I read."

Rose and Scorpius nodded apprehensively; Rose could feel herself shaking.

"Ms Weasley, you are currently a doctor at St Mungos, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And how do you intend on balancing work and a child?"

Rose took a deep breath, "I wrote to my supervisor yesterday, explaining the situation. He was shocked but understood and deemed that since I had not claimed maternity leave at the time of my pregnancy, he would grant that now," She paused, glancing at Scorpius for support, "After I return to work, I have two options. The first is to request a transfer to the children's ward, where I will be able to keep an eye on Perseus. I can also keep my position in the emergency department and simply cut back the hours I work. Once Perseus is three years old, we will be able to put him in the Zabini day care."

Rose was surprised that she remembered that last detail.

"I think I'll start a daycare."

"You're kidding me mate. A day care?" Scorpius laughed.

"Yeah. I spent all last summer helping out at Christine's parents' camp. The kids were really fun. Hard work, but fun." Nathan Zabini smiled fondly.

"Now this I have got to see!" The blond raised his eyebrows, smirking.

"Don't be so harsh, Score. I saw you last summer Nate, walking down the street with ten of them. They looked like they adored you." Rose smiled, remembering the way the pudgy hands had clung to him, the faces beaming upwards as he told a story.

"At least your girlfriend believes in me. Watch out, I might steal her away." Nate put his arm around her waist, pulling her away from Scorpius and laughing as he kissed her cheek.

"I think you just have a way with midgets," Scorpius scoffed, looking down at Rose.

"Oi! I'm not that short!" Rose stalked away ahead of them both, down the London street towards the bar where they were headed to celebrate graduation. The night air was chilly but the lights from the buildings glowed cheerily. She didn't go too far, so she could still hear Scorpius' when he spoke.

"Alright mate, if you do start this thing, I promise I'll send my kid." The supportive comment was accompanied with a shove, but Rose knew he was serious. Nate was amazing with kids.

"Mr Malfoy, how do you plan to support your son?" Ms Lowerton's attention had shifted to Scorpius and Rose was pleased to see him grin and relax under her scrutiny.

"I have recently become and auror. Due to my previous work experience they have permitted me to start at the second level, which requires slightly less time than the first level. This will allow me to spend more time with Rose and Perseus and the pay will definitely help. I know that one of our worries when we decided to give up Perseus was that I did not have a job to help support the family. But over the past six months I worked very hard to do this."

"I see." Ms Lowerton's mouth remained in a straight line, Rose's brow furrowed slightly with worry, her panicked thoughts cut short by the next question.

"Ms Weasley, what were the other reasons that you decided to give up your child?"

Rose swallowed; this was what had terrified her. "There were…several reasons. Firstly, as Scorpius mentioned, he was unemployed and I thought that once Perseus was born, our relationship would be strained. Secondly, I didn't feel that I was ready to be a mother. I thought that I would panic too much, or maybe be impatient. Even now, I know I wouldn't be the perfect mother, but no one really is perfect and I think that with Scorpius we would really be good parents for Perseus." Rose finished speaking, but her stomach felt empty. Her hands were shaking.

"Mr Malfoy, what do you consider the reasons for Perseus being put up for adoption?" She made no real gesture towards Rose, only a slight nod to indicate she had heard her.

"At the time I thought Rose was completely ready, and I was caught up in the excitement. I don't know if I would have been able to support her though. I don't think I realized how much work was required, and I wouldn't listen to Rose's pragmatism."

"Very well." Ms Lowerton looked at them both slowly, as though debating if she should ask another question. Obviously deciding against it, she rose from her chair, "Please take a seat in the entrance. We will call on you later for the next step."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is the next step?" Rose felt a small ounce of confidence returning.

"You shall see." The confidence crashed. Rose forced a smile as they made their way to the waiting room.

"Sit down over there and she'll call on you later." The woman at the front desk spoke in a monotone voice, as they walked back through the door, her eyes never moving from the pages in front of her.

Rose and Scorpius glanced towards the back of the room where a row of chairs was placed against the wall. Awkwardly they began backing away towards them, not feeling fully comfortable turning their back on the strange woman. They took their seats, close enough to comfort each other with their presence. A clock ticked away; it was 10:30.

There were magazines of the tables next to them, but besides a momentary glance both of them stayed focused ahead. Scorpius cast a small smile at Rose: a much needed reassurance. She nodded back before glancing ahead again. Scorpius glanced at the women sitting at the desk, wondering vaguely what work she was doing.

The clock ticked on. 10:40.

Rose noted the pale yellow walls and the toys in the corner. Maybe adopted children were brought here for check ups. Had Perseus sat in this room before being admitted to the orphanage? She knew Scorpius had always planned on getting him a toy broomstick, but maybe some muggle toys would be good too.

10:51

There were no plugs in the room. Rose wondered vaguely if this room had been specifically baby proofed.

10:59

Scorpius glanced at the circular tables. Even the corners of the front desk were curved. He quickly noted that a good idea would be to soften some of the edges on Rose's tables so Perseus didn't bump into them too often.

11:12

The clock ticked. Rose remained still. Gazing ahead at the women. Was she looking at Perseus' file now?

11:23

Soundlessly the women fell from her chair to the floor. Rose didn't even think before responding. The woman was on the ground behind the desk, still conscious but barely moving. She looked pale and tired. Scorpius had risen at the same time as Rose, and watched as she knelt down quickly and moved the woman into a sitting position against the side of the desk.

"Diabetes." Rose muttered to him, "I still carry around that juice in case I get hungry, could you?" Rose didn't even need to finish speaking before Scorpius had gone towards her bag.

He returned with the juice pack and watched as Rose encouraged the woman to drink. He removed his jacket and knelt beside her, gently settling it around the woman's shoulders. Rose smiled, an encouragement for both him and the woman.

Once the woman had regained some strength, Rose began speaking, quietly asking her some questions about her life, her eating habits, if she wanted one of them to go get her a sandwich. The woman assured them she had food in her bag, and Scorpius brought it to her. By noon Scorpius was helping her back to her seat and Rose was handing her a piece of fruit.

A few moments later and they were sitting again, their careful inspection of the room continuing.

12:04

The door they had walked through earlier opened, revealing a smiling Ms Lowerton.

"You have successfully passed the test. The paperwork that must be signed is through here."

AN - I know it's been a while. But here it is. I hope you guys liked it! Please let me know how you feel about it.
It was actually 2 reviews int he past month or so that prompted me to update, so reviews really do help!

I'm gonna be honest... this wasn't my favourite chapter. I meant he idea I liked, but I'm not sure about the writing of it. Let me know what you think though :)

- FTLOS