Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
As always, thanks to my beta Anna for editing this chapter.
When Rose reveals a secret, the Weasleys/Potters react - and not well.
It was breakfast time at Hogwarts, and like everyday, there were owls coming in and out of the Great Hall while people ate their breakfast. Albus was eating alone since Rose and Scorpius were nowhere in sight. He had a pretty good idea about where they were, but he didn't want to say anything.
"Hi, Al," Hugo said as he sat down next to him at the Gryffindor table. "Where's Rose?" he asked.
"Er, dunno. Outside, maybe practicing for the game next week," Albus replied, taking a bite of bacon. Hugo nodded. Rose was intense about Quidditch, something that no one really understood since her mum was not, to put it lightly, the game's biggest fan.
"Look!" Hugo shouted pointing to a tawny owl flying towards them. "Gran's owl. I bet she has some things for us." The owl landed clumsily, almost knocking over Al's pumpkin juice. Albus wasn't really fond of Gran's owl. Hugo excitedly reached to retrieve the letter from Betsy's leg and the package that came with it. It was indeed, a letter to everyone from Gran. On the exterior of the letter were the words Open until everyone is there. Gran liked them to read their letters together for some reason.
"Shall I get Molly and Louis?" Hugo asked, standing up.
Al nodded. "I'll get everyone else." Hugo hurried to the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, while Albus went to retrieve the rest of his cousins.
"Hi, Luce, Rox. Letter from Gran," Al said as he saw them sitting with their first-year friends.
Their faces brightened. "Great!" They stood up and followed Albus, who had now spotted Fred and James coming into the Great Hall and decided to intercept them. "Hi, you two. Letter from Gran."
With three cousins down, they went to look for Dominique who was sitting with Alice.
"Domi, we've got a letter and a package," Al said as he waved Gran's letter and the package.
"We did? Excellent. Gran was supposed to send me some treacle tart," she said, grinning and standing up.
Seeing Hugo who had Molly and Louis, they all ran to each other. They all greeted each other as James counted heads. "Where's Rose?" he asked, noting the only cousin that wasn't there. They all turned to Albus.
"I have no idea," he replied shrugging. "But I bet she's outside practicing." No way was he going to tell them about Rose and Scorpius. Rose would get verymad, and besides, his two best friends dating wasn't an idea he wanted to get used to.
"Well, let's go find her," Molly suggested. They agreed and ran outside.
"Alright. What was the name of famous teenage group known for conducting secret meetings at Hogwarts to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Rose asked, looking at a notecard in her hands.
"Easy. Dumbledore's Army," Scorpius replied.
"Excellent." Rose grinned.
"That was too easy," Scorpius said looking smug.
"Oh, you want something harder?" Rose asked crossing her arms looking sourly at Scorpius.
"I'm up for a challenge."
"German mystic and alchemist, 1486-1535."
Scorpius looked at Rose looking dumbfounded. "Er, Merlin?"
"Scorpius!" Rose laughed. "Honestly! We've learned this ages ago. Agrippa!"
"Right," Scorpius replied. "You're the only one that doesn't fall asleep in History of Magic."
"I still can't believe you passed History of Magic O.W.L.," Rose murmured looking through her notes.
"Rose?" Scorpius asked.
"Yeah?" she replied looking up at him.
"You're so smart."
"You are too. You've been getting O's in Potions. I got an E on that last Potions test. You got an O. You're bloody brilliant in Potions," Rose grumbled.
Scorpius shrugged. "Mum's work, I've told you millions of times. She's bloody brilliant in Potions. Dad's too, I guess."
Rose snuggled up to Scorpius. "Mum's alright in Potions. Aunt Ginny's loads better though. And Gran is wonderful too."
Scorpius laughed and put an arm around her. "You're family is all brilliant though. Even your Uncle George."
"He had to though. Look at the joke shops," Rose pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess. Your family's cool. But a little…" Scorpius trailed off.
"A little what?" Rose asked sitting up and crossing her arms.
"Er, I don't know. Different, I guess."
"Scorpiu-uus!"
"What?"
"Well, we are different. But I guess it's normal. Like the other day, when Victoire's letter to Domi came the other and then everyone was shouting and screaming? Well, that's normal to us."
"Yeah, Rose. Very normal. I've known your family for six years now, but you still surprise me."
"Very funn - What's wrong?" Rose asked, noting Scorpius' surprised face.
Scorpius pointed towards Rose's family, running towards them.
"There she is!" Louis shouted as he pointed to two people sitting under a tree, one with red hair. Everyone began to run towards it.
"Are you sure?" Domi panted as they ran.
"We can't miss her red hair," Roxy said. "But she's with someone, isn't she?"
Al grimaced. This was it. They were going to find out.
It was clear now. They were almost there.
"Isn't that Scorpius Malfoy?" Lucy asked with a puzzled look on her face. Al nodded weakly.
"Why are they sitting together? Oh bugger, why are they so close together?" Hugo asked, making a disgusted look on his face.
"Just act normal," Rose whispered to Scorpius.
"Normal?" Scorpius whispered.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, normal, you prat. Let me do the talking, alright? If you talk, Hugo's probably going to hex the pants off of you. Louis probably will too. Hell, maybe even James and Fred."
Scorpius nodded numbly. "Your family scares me sometimes."
Rose nodded as well. "They scare me too."
By now, the rest of the cousins were getting closer to them, and Rose and Scorpius could see them better. Lucy and Roxy looked excited, like always. Molly appeared to be in deep thought. Hugo's ears were red, and he looked like he wanted to hit something. Fred and James were looking confused. Albus looked like he wanted to cry. Dominique and Lily were grinning, for some reason. Louis looked like he wanted to throw up.
"Hi!" Lucy shouted as she approached them. "What're you doing?" she asked, picking up the notecards from the grass and shuffling through them.
"Er, studying, Luce," Rose replied, giving a glance to Scorpius. "What're you doing here?" she asked the rest of the family who had by now joined them.
"We got a letter from Gran," Roxy replied excitedly. "We were looking for you to open the package that came with it."
Rose smiled feebly. "Well, I'm he-,"
"What are you doing here?" Hugo interrupted, looking angrily at Scorpius.
"Hugo!" Rose exclaimed, looking mad. "We're just studying!"
Hugo laughed. "Yeah, and you hug when you study."
Rose stood up and looked him right in the eye. "I'm not going to hex you because Mum would be furious. But," she said, looking at Scorpius who had now gotten up, "We might as well tell you. Scorpius and I are dating."
There was a moment of silence, which Rose took to survey her surroundings. Scorpius' face was white, clearly afraid he and her family were going to start dueling. Lucy and Roxy looked surprised, but were smiling. Fred and James looked like a Bludger hit them. Albus looked uncomfortable. Dominique and Lily were grinning madly. They already knew, Rose thought. Hugo's face was getting redder by the second. And Louis still looked like he wanted to throw up.
All of a sudden, everyone started to talk at the same time.
"What d'you mean, dating?"
"You're dating Scorpius? Oh how romantic!"
"Oi, you all owe me money!"
"DATING?"
"Oh, Rose! How wonderful!"
"I don't owe you money, you prat!"
"Of course you do, Moll! Remember the bet?"
"What bet?" shouted Rose above all the noise. They all turned to look at her, then at Scorpius, and finally at James, who had been the one to say that. His face went red. "Er, nothing, Rose. Just a silly little game," he said, backing away. "I better go. It's going to be Herbo-,"
"Oh no you don't!" she exclaimed, rushing forward and grasping him from his robes. "What bet, come on now, tell me!"
"Er, nothing, just a small bet on your love life, that's all," Fred said, grimacing as James punched him in the shoulder. "Don't worry, I didn't bet for you. I bet against you. Damn, I should've paid attention to you, Lily."
"You bet on my love life?" Rose asked, her face growing red.
"I did," Hugo said, finally a little less red in the face. "But not for you, sorry Rose. I don't like my sister dating."
"What do you mean, you don't want me dating? I can do whatever I want, you prat!"
Suddenly, everyone started shouting. Fred was reluctantly giving James two Galleons, while Hugo was shouting at Rose. Albus was sighing and giving Lily two Galleons. Lucy and Roxanne were jumping around, while Dominique started to shout at Hugo. Louis was grinning as Fred now gave him two Galleons.
Hugo looked at Rose who was now glaring at him. He sighed. He might as well give in. Weasleys, especially Rose, had a horrible temper. "Scorpius, Rose, sorry. I – I guess you can date. You have my permission."
"Your permission?" Rose shouted. "I don't need your permission!"
He sighed again. "Fine. You can date him. But," he said, waving his wand at Scorpius, "if you try anything funny, I'll hunt you down! I swear! And if you hurt her, I'll hex you into oblivion!"
Scorpius' face gained a little more color. "That, er, won't be necessary, Hugo."
Hugo nodded. "Good."
"Oi! Hugo! You owe us money!" someone shouted from where they rest of the cousins were counting money."
He gave one more nod to Scorpius, grinned at Rose, and hurried out, retrieving money from his pocket.
Rose sighed, sinking into the grass. Scorpius silently followed her.
"I told you your family's different," Scorpius said, after a long silence after watching the family argue about who owed whom money.
"Different? They're crazy!"
"But you love them. They're your family," he said, leaning closer to Rose.
"Yeah, I guess," she replied. "But I want to hex them badly right now," she said.
"How about playing a prank on them instead?" Scorpius suggested.
Rose's blue eyes lit up. "Perfect! Uncle George gave me this big set of products for my birthday," she said, standing up. "I've been meaning to save them for something useful. It's perfect! Thanks," she said, as Scorpius stood up.
"For what?" he asked, looking confused.
"For being perfect," she replied, leaning close and kissing him softly on the lips.
I love the Next Generation. They're so crazy. As always, please remember to review! Thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter.
