A/N: Hi all! It's been a long (and fairly excruciating) year, but I'm finally back with another chapter of this story. Hopefully with the end of the year I'll be uploading more chapters of this story, but I seem to be hitting brick walls quite often with this story, which is unfortunate because I enjoy writing it. However, I'm working on some new ideas at the moment so fingers crossed I'll be able to upload some of them by the end of the year, too! Thank you to those who continue to support this story—your favourites, follows and reviews are all appreciated!

I hope you are all doing well. Without further ado, enjoy this next chapter!

Celestia stood at the other end of the corridor, dressed in a pair of pink and orange heart-themed pyjamas and clutching a soft brown teddy bear. The little girl's hair cascaded down her back in messy waves like a golden waterfall. Before Scorpius could say anything, she had galloped over and wrapped her little arms around his thigh. He bent down and put his arm around her.

'Hello,' he smiled. Now that he was closer to Celestia, he could see that her eyes and her nose were slightly red.

'Mummy said we couldn't see you anymore,' she said, holding the plush toy against her chest and leaning back against Scorpius' arm.

What did that mean? Scorpius looked up at Rose, suddenly uncertain that Rose was glad to see him.

'No,' Rose interjected, 'that's not at all what it sounds like. I only meant that you lived so far away, and I wasn't expecting you to come and visit us so soon.'

Scorpius tried to brush off the pang of Rose's words, knowing that she probably didn't mean to hurt his feelings. In fairness, she had good reason to believe that Scorpius would not be coming to see her and Celestia. He turned back to the little girl. 'Well, I'm here now,' he told her.

'Yay!' she exclaimed, making her parents smile.

From the other end of the corridor, Scorpius heard a muffled but familiar voice call out to Rose. 'What on Earth is happening out there?'

Hermione peeked her head into the hallway, faltering when her eyes fell on the blond. She stepped out of the kitchen and approached the front door, brow furrowed as she tried to place him. She hadn't changed at all, Scorpius mused. Her hair was pulled off her face into a messy low knot, an occasional strand of silver showing itself in the light. 'Is that… Scorpius Malfoy?'

The blond rose to his feet quickly, keeping one hand resting gently on the back of Celestia's head and stretching the other out in front of him. 'It's nice to see you again, Mrs Weasley,' he said pleasantly, masking his nerves.

Hermione shook his hand, but there was hesitance in the way she did so. It was as if she was unsure about him. Although, of course, she probably was. Once again, a fair judgement—he had gotten her daughter pregnant and then left town, though that hadn't been entirely his fault. But, still.

'Scorpius has moved back home,' Rose stated, trying to end the uncomfortable pause.

'Oh,' Hermione said. 'To the Manor, I presume?'

'Yes, until I find my own accommodation.'

Hermione nodded briefly and her eyes flicked over to Rose before she asked, rather uncertainly, 'Would… would you like to come in?'

As one can imagine, Scorpius did not want to come inside at all. What he wanted to do was take Rose by the hand, lead her outside and kiss her so passionately that she saw through time. He wanted to take Rose and Celestia home with him—to their own house—tuck the little girl into bed together, and then spend the rest of the night making each other cum, for lack of a more eloquent term. He did not want to have fake-polite conversations with everyone, who no doubt hated his guts, and he certainly did not want to deal with the wrath of Mr Weasley.

But damn it, for Rose and Celestia, he would.

'That would be lovely,' Scorpius said, hurriedly adding, 'Only if I'm not interrupting anything, of course.'

'Not at all,' Hermione said as she turned and led them back into the house.

Just like the Weasleys themselves, their home was almost exactly the same as Scorpius remembered it, except for a new set of beige leather couches and some new curtains. And much to his relief, Ron wasn't sitting on the leather couch glaring at him when he stepped into the room. The kitchen and living room were meticulously clean, though both a little cluttered. The oven was on, and whatever was inside of it smelled delicious.

'I'm just doing some baking,' Hermione explained, as if reading Scorpius' thoughts.

'We were out of cookies,' Rose said, 'and Grandma makes the yummiest cookies, doesn't she Celestia?'

The little girl nodded enthusiastically in response, before making her way over to the living room rug where she sat down and played with her teddy bear.

'Would you like some tea, Scorpius?' Hermione asked.

'Just a glass of water, if it's not too much trouble,' Scorpius said. Saying this only made him feel more intrusive, but perhaps some water would help settle his nerves.

'I'll get it,' Rose said softly, opening the cabinet and reaching for a glass. He murmured a thank you as she handed him his water.

'So, Scorpius,' Hermione said. The blond knew what was coming. 'What brings you home?' She sounded as if she had been waiting to ask the question since she shook his hand in the corridor.

Now, obviously Scorpius couldn't tell Mrs Weasley the truth. He knew this, and yet the thought of lying about it again made him feel sick. He glanced at Rose, who also seemed to be waiting for an explanation. 'I needed a change,' he said lamely.

Hermione looked at him strangely. Of course neither of them would buy that, Scorpius thought, but what else could he have said? At that moment, much to both his relief and worry, he heard Ron's gruff voice behind him.

'Who's this then, Rosie?' he asked as he walked into the living room.

Rose and Scorpius both whipped around to see Ron. He stood by one of the couches, his hand resting against the top of it. When he saw Scorpius, his expression turned stony.

'Sorpus is here!' Celestia said brightly, looking up from her play.

'So I see,' he replied coldly.

Scorpius began to walk towards Ron, stretching out his hand as he did so. 'Mr Weasley—'

'Don't,' he warned, making Scorpius stop in his tracks and withdraw his hand.

'Dad,' Rose pleaded, coming up beside the blond.

'What in Merlin's name is he doing here?' Ron asked, the vein in his forehead popping out. 'Three years, it's taken him! Three bloody years!'

'Ronald!' Hermione scolded, taking her granddaughter's hand and coaxing her out of the room. 'Celestia, come on. Why don't we have a tea party outside?'

Celestia seemed to be confused by what was happening, but jumped up and skipped happily aside her grandmother at the opportunity to have a tea party.

'Why now, then?' Ron spat. 'Why do you suddenly care?'

Scorpius felt heat growing up his cheeks. 'Suddenly care?' he repeated, as if the answer was obvious. 'I only found out a few weeks ago.'

Ron's face was now almost as red as his hair. 'Bollocks! Sodding bollocks!' he shouted. 'You just didn't want to take care of her, did you?'

'Excuse me—'

'You bloody pissed off as soon as Rose told you! Didn't want to have to stay home with a baby every night, eh? Going out partying was more important than seeing your own daughter grow up?' Spittle was now flying out of his mouth as he spoke. 'Rose gave up almost everything to raise Celestia! The only thing you achieved by running off with your tail between your legs is that she had to make more sacrifices to compensate!'

Scorpius tried to squash down the anger that was bubbling inside of him, and speak calmly. 'I'm telling you,' he said through clenched teeth, 'I didn't know.'

'You're a lying, cowardly git! You… you… spineless… pile of dragon dung—'

'That's enough!' Rose cried, wedging herself between the two men. Scorpius took a step back, looking at her sheepishly. 'Dad, I didn't tell Scorpius about Celestia.'

Ron's gaze flicked over to his daughter, and his face dropped. His passionate speech had him panting slightly. 'What?'

'I didn't tell him,' she repeated. 'It isn't his fault, alright? He didn't know about Celestia.'

'Then how did he… why is he here now?'

Rose pursed her lips and looked down at her hands. 'Celestia and I went to visit him a few weeks ago in Muggle London. I had thought about it for a long time and decided that she should meet him. And, I suppose, that he should meet her.'

'So… you didn't go to Scotland?' Ron asked, seemingly in disbelief that his precious daughter would lie to him.

'No, Dad.'

'No wonder you were so insistent that your mother and I didn't come,' he said, more to himself than to Rose.

'I'm going to take Scorpius for a walk,' Rose said after a moment. 'I want to talk to him alone. Alright?'

Though he didn't seem thrilled at the idea, Ron nodded and went to join his wife and granddaughter in the backyard, still looking dumbfounded at the news he had just heard. Rose grabbed a cardigan off one of the dining table chairs, slipped on a pair of shoes and lead Scorpius out the front door. The walk began in silence, with Scorpius taking short, slow steps in order to walk alongside the redhead.

After a moment, Rose broke the silence. 'Well?'

'What?' Scorpius asked.

'Are you going to tell me the real reason you've moved home?'

Scorpius took a deep breath, looking down at the footpath ahead of him. And then he told Rose exactly what had happened from the time she and Celestia left his home that night until he arrived at her house only twenty minutes earlier. After hearing the story, Rose stopped in her tracks, making Scorpius falter when he realised she was no longer beside him. He turned around to look at her and was met with a look of disbelief, her jaw hanging ajar.

'Merlin, Scorpius,' she said softly. 'That's absolutely dreadful. Are you alright?'

Scorpius smiled weakly. 'Yes,' he said. 'I'm sure I'll survive. There's just a lot that's happened over the past few days, but everything will be back to normal soon enough.'

'Do you think your father will come around?'

They continued walking.

'I hope so. I mean, he has to eventually,' Scorpius said hopefully, perhaps trying to convince himself of this. 'I just feel so much guilt, Rose. I barely spoke to my parents in three years, and the moment I showed up on the doorstep my mother acted like I had never left. She hugged me, brought me inside, gave me tea and insisted I stay with them.'

'Your mother has always been lovely,' Rose smiled, remembering how Astoria would fuss over any guests who visited the Manor.

'So has yours.'

'Oh, Scorp,' Rose said sympathetically. 'She'll warm up, I'm sure. So will my father, and your father. It's just a shock to them, that's all. After three years, you showed up with no notice. Not even I expected you to come.'

'You really didn't think that I would come and visit?' Scorpius asked, failing to mask his hurt.

'No, I just… well…' Rose hesitated, 'not for a while, at least. It's such a long journey, and you had your job and your life in Muggle London. I just thought you'd be too busy, that's all.'

Scorpius said nothing.

'But you're here now,' the redhead added quickly. 'For a long time, I hope?'

'For the foreseeable future,' Scorpius agreed.

'Celestia was certainly excited to see you.' Rose smiled fondly.

Scorpius couldn't help but follow suit, thinking about how the little girl had run up to him and wrapped her arms around him immediately. 'I'm sorry that I left you to raise her by yourself, Rosie.'

'It's alright, you didn't know,' Rose said. 'Besides, I had my whole family to help raise Celestia, I never had to do it by myself.'

'I just… I just hope that not having a father around didn't negatively affect her.'

'She's always had plenty of good men in her life,' Rose assured Scorpius. 'Although, I've had to speak to Uncle George once or twice,' she added, laughing. 'He says that since she's the first of her generation in the family, she's automatically an heir to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. He's convinced she's going to grow into some sort of Prank Master.'

Scorpius breathed a laugh, and they were silent for a moment.

'Were you wanting to stay for dinner tonight?' Rose asked as they neared Rose's house.

'God, no! I-I mean, Merlin… thank you, but no. Your father was angrier than mine was. I can't imagine that it would be comfortable for anyone involved. Besides, I promised my mother that I'd be home for dinner.'

'Then perhaps I can arrange for someone to look after Celestia for a few hours and you could come by, and we'll all talk,' Rose suggested.

Scorpius agreed reluctantly.

'Thank you, Scorp,' Rose smiled sweetly up at him. 'I'm glad you're home.'

When they opened the front door, it was quiet. Hermione was sitting on the living room floor by the coffee table with Celestia, who was scribbling on a page of a colouring book. Atop the stove sat a baking tray with cookies on it.

'We're back, Mum,' Rose said. 'Where's Dad?'

'He's gone outside for a bit,' Hermione said. 'It's probably best not to disturb him right now.'

Realising there was no way to make an exit without seeming uncomfortable with the situation—which, of course, he was—Scorpius spoke up. 'I suppose I'd better head home and help my mother with dinner. Thank you for having me, Mrs Weasley. It was a pleasure to see you again.'

Hermione gave a brief nod in acknowledgement.

'Celestia,' Rose said, and the little girl looked up from her colouring. 'Come and say goodbye to Scorpius, he's going home.'

'Why?' she asked, getting up from her seat on the carpet.

'I'll be back to visit you again soon, okay? I promise.' Scorpius bent down as she approached him, and he wrapped his arm around her in a half-hug.

'Okay,' Celestia said. She clutched onto her mother's hand as they walked to the front door.

'I'll see you soon,' Scorpius said, opening the door for himself.

'I'll ask someone to look after her on Saturday, alright? That will give you some time to spend with your family. You can come around at noon… Do your parents know, Scorp?'

Scorpius shook his head. 'No.'

'You need to tell them. Would you like me to come over, and we can tell them together?'

He shook his head again. 'I think that's something I should do by myself. I'll see you on Saturday, then. Goodbye, Rose,' he said. 'Bye, Celestia.'

The little girl waved goodbye as her father walked away.

X

Back at Malfoy Manor, Scorpius could sense that tensions were still high. Upon opening the front door, there was a deafening silence. After making sure that his father was not around, Scorpius made his way to the kitchen where he could hear Astoria chatting to someone. When she saw him step under the archway and into the kitchen, she smiled, appearing somewhat relieved. 'Oh good, you're back,' she said. 'Irma, this is my son Scorpius. Scorpius, this is Irma.'

Scorpius smiled pleasantly and nodded in acknowledgement. Irma mirrored him, and returned to using magic to stir the pot of gravy on the stove.

'What are we having? It smells delicious,' the blond commented.

'Roast chicken and vegetables, and pear cake for dessert,' Astoria said. 'Irma makes a wonderful pear cake.'

'That sounds amazing. Is there anything you'd like help with?'

'No darling, there's nothing left to do. It will be ready soon. Come, sit down. Would you like something to drink?'

'No thank you,' Scorpius said. 'Is Dad home?'

Astoria smiled weakly. 'He's been upstairs in his office since you left. It's best not to disturb him until dinner is ready.'

Scorpius laughed to himself. For the ridiculous bitterness between Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley, there were so many similarities between them.

'Is he alright?'

'Yes dear, he'll be fine. I spoke to him when you left. I think he was just surprised to have seen you… he didn't expect you home, that's all.'

That was what Scorpius kept hearing—that no one expected him to visit his own family. That no one expected him to be a decent human being. Although, he supposed that he hadn't been, really. It was true that his father had practically exiled him, and he didn't really have any reason to keep contact with Rose—not that he was aware of, anyway. But Astoria had done nothing to warrant silence from her son for three years. Guilt twisted Scorpius' stomach into a knot. He wanted to say something to his mother, but Irma was still in the kitchen, and so he decided that he would speak to her later tonight.

X

'Mum?'

Astoria hummed, looking up from her book to see Scorpius standing before her.

'Can I talk to you?'

'Of course,' the brunette closed her book and placed it beside her, gesturing for Scorpius to take a seat on the couch opposite her.

As he sat down, Scorpius took a deep breath. Dinner, though delicious, had been wrought with tension. Scorpius and Astoria made small talk for most of the meal, and at one point became engrossed in each other's work stories—but Draco had not spoken any words other than 'Pass the gravy'. As soon as the meal was over, he had gotten up from the table and retreated once more to his office, where he stayed for the rest of the night.

'I wanted to apologise again for not keeping contact—let me finish,' he said quickly as Astoria opened her mouth to speak. 'I really am sorry, Mum. I'm sorry to Dad as well, but at least my lack of contact with him is more justifiable. All you've ever done is support me.'

'You're here now,' Astoria smiled—that same weak smile she had given when Scorpius asked where his father was.

'I know, but I still feel guilty,' Scorpius responded. 'Were you… were you ever angry with me?'

'I will admit that there were times when I felt angry or hurt, especially when I sent you a letter and didn't hear back, or when I didn't hear from you during the holidays. But the moment I saw you standing at the door, Scorpius, it all went away.'

Scorpius furrowed his brow. 'Just like that?'

'You may not understand that now my love, but when you have children of your own, you'll understand perfectly.'

The blond suddenly stopped, focusing his gaze on his mother, who had spotted and was fingering a stain on her skirt. He wondered if, in that moment, he should tell her about Celestia. He wondered how she would react. Would she be thrilled? Shocked? Angry? Perhaps all of the above. But Scorpius quickly dismissed the idea on the grounds that, not only had Astoria probably had enough to deal with today, but then he would have to tell Draco individually, and that likely wouldn't be a fun conversation.

'I might go to bed,' he said instead.

'Alright darling. Well, you know where your room is. There are more blankets and pillows in the closet if you need them.'

'Thanks Mum. Will you tell Dad I said goodnight?'

Astoria nodded.

'And Mum?'

'Yes?'

'I love you.'