18 months later


For the fourth time in the past ten minutes, Scorpius rolled his eyes impatiently. He couldn't help checking his watch once again as he leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed as he did his best to keep from fidgeting in agitation. At the rate things were going, they would be even later than they'd already planned on. Things had been progressing so well in the lab today that they'd foreseen their lateness and owled ahead. But this was getting ridiculous.

"I just think if we tweak the amount of lavender one more time we'll have it," she mumbled, her eyes squinted in concentration as she weighed the dried lavender on her well used scale. A smile couldn't be kept from his lips as a loose strand of her curly red hair fell free from its restraint and across her face. She didn't even appear to notice.

"Rose, Tommy will be turning two by the time we get there at this point," said Scorpius with as much patience as he could muster.

"No he won't be," said Rose with an eye roll of her own, her focus still on her task as she quickly worked to add the last few ingredients to her freshly brewed potion. "I want to get this done before we leave town, and I'm just about finished up."

"You know they blame me for keeping you here whenever we're late, right?" Scorpius pointed out. "And it's rarely my fault."

Rose added the measured ingredient and efficiently stirred the cauldron clockwise two more times before setting it to simmer. She looked over her work with a pleased expression before smiling at him and taking off her stained robes.

"They only blame you because the worst incident was your fault," she said teasingly. Scorpius did his best not to let his embarrassment at the memory show as she approached him, hanging her robes by the door before resting her hands on his crossed arms, easily unfolding and stepping into them. "But I think Hugo has almost forgiven us for ruining his proposal, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Scorpius sighed in defeat, taking in her pleased expression as she wound her arms around his waist.

"You could have taken more of the blame for that, you know," he couldn't help pointing out. "I might have been the one who insisted on staying till we got it right, but you were the one who practically attacked me once I figured it out."

He smirked to see her blush at the memory. They were normally very good at keeping things professional when they were working in the labs, but she'd spent so many months trying to figure out the proper length of time to let her new and improved pain relief potion simmer, that Rose had been rather jubilant and expressive in her thanks when Scorpius had stayed late with her one night and they finally got it right. Both had been so caught up in the excitement of the moment that they'd forgotten they had plans with Jane and were supposed to be keeping her distracted so Hugo could get her flat set up for his proposal. By the time they'd remembered, Jane had already walked in to find dinner in the oven and Hugo and Lily in the middle of setting up candles and flowers all over her flat.

Rose and Scorpius had both felt rather guilty, but Jane had still said yes. It was actually rather funny that Hugo, one of the most responsible and plan oriented members of the family, had ended up with such a botched proposal story, even if it hadn't been his fault. Jane had loved it and actually said that it made the whole thing even more of a surprise.

"Well then," said Rose, pulling herself out of Scorpius' arms and grabbing his hand, "we should get going so you don't get in trouble again."

She shot him a cheeky grin and pulled him out the door behind her.

"You shouldn't be treating this so lightly," Scorpius said in a warning tone. "Hugo's threatened to do the same to me when I propose."

Rose looked at him with wide eyes as they continued walking through the halls of the hospital. Scorpius refrained from looking at her, knowing full well what he'd said and enjoying her typical reaction. He'd been dropping comments like this more and more often the past few months, and she'd gone from simply ignoring them as a joke to realizing that he might actually be serious.

In all their conversations about the future, when they'd talk about buying a house and getting married and having a family, they never really said when that future would happen. Just that they both wanted it. But there was something about his references to proposing that made it all the more real and possible. More so than Rose probably realized.

"Come on," he said with a tug on her hand after a few moments of her staring at him in silence. "We're late already."

They made it to theFfloo and found themselves in Ben and Dom's flat a moment later. The place was already crawling with guests, but people were still mingling and eating. An uncut cake sat on the kitchen table and a pile of presents continued to grow in a corner of the room, so they hadn't missed any of the festivities. Scorpius let out a sigh of relief as they took in their surroundings.

"See?" Rose said with a grin. "Nothing to worry about."

They were quickly approached by Lily a moment later, her face a mixture of excitement and uncertainty.

"James brought Ellen Thomas with him," she said as soon as she reached them, causing Scorpius to roll his eyes. Ellen Thomas had been the sole source of drama in the family over the past six months. And it was getting ridiculous.

"Again? I thought he said he wasn't interested in her?" Rose said in confusion.

"I don't think he is," said Lily, "but you should have seen Lou's face when they showed up together. To his nephew's birthday party no less! I get what James is trying to do, but that just doesn't seem fair."

Scorpius had to chuckle at how seriously Lily was taking this turn of events. Ellen had expressed an interest in Louis around the holidays, and he'd put her off for a few weeks, seeing as Ellen was Carter's younger sister and he didn't want to make things strained between him and his friend. But once it was obvious Carter seemed fine with it, they ended up going to the benefit for the Davies foundation together, a rather different affair than previous years thanks to Roger Davies getting into some financial trouble.

It had all seemed to go rather well, but then nothing else had come of it. When asked, Louis had been rather noncommittal about the whole thing, and James, being the rather meddlesome person he was, started inviting Ellen along whenever various get togethers and outings occurred. She'd been to other birthday parties and she'd spent more time at Sam's, but this appeared to be one instance of meddling too many as far as Lily was concerned.

Things between Ellen and Louis had continued to remain stagnant throughout all of this, though you could typically catch them having at least one conversation each time they saw each other. Rose had pointed out to Scorpius that Louis was always very aware of Ellen's presence, and that his gaze would consistently drift towards whatever space she occupied. And tonight was no exception.

"I think he might break something," Rose said with a repressed chuckle as they watched Louis tightly grip his glass of butterbeer, a scowl etched across his face as he watched James talk animatedly to Ellen on the other side of the room.

"You should talk to Louis," Lily said with authority, looking at Scorpius expectantly.

"Why me?" he asked, desiring very much to not get caught up in any drama.

"Because you two get along well."

"Can't Carter or Hugo do this?" he asked.

"They've tried."

"Lily, maybe we should just let this play out," Rose suggested. "James was stupid to stir the pot, and we'd be stupid to put ourselves in the middle. Louis will either do something about it, or he'll choose not to make a scene at his nephew's birthday party. There's really nothing we can do to make it better right now."

Lily let out a huff of annoyance as she was approached by her boyfriend, who chuckled and planted a kiss on her temple.

"Trying to talk you lot into meddling in my sister's love life too?" he asked with a smirk.

"Would you expect anything else?" said Scorpius, chuckling along with Carter at Lily's expense.

When he stopped and thought about it, Scorpius found it hard to believe that he not only got along with Carter Thomas, but would even call him a friend. He found a lot of things about his life hard to believe, but he had no desire to change any of it.

After he'd gotten his research off the ground thanks to his grant, it had thrived. There were seasons where it stalled, but he knew the progress might be slow and the process time consuming. Both the shop in Diagon Alley and the one in Hogsmeade were doing well, and so was Thistle and Thorn. While Rose and Jane still owned it, Johnny now managed the place. More employees had been hired, and they sold all of the products Rose had either developed or improved over the past year and a half. That's what had done the trick to distinguish her shop from his father's and allowed both of the shops to bring in business.

As pleased as they were with those businesses going well, Rose and Scorpius were both happier in the labs, working side by side on the occasions they were able to, and simultaneously challenging and encouraging each other. It was a life he'd never imagined, but could no longer picture not having. And he knew Rose felt the same.

"Scop!" came the sound of a young voice through the commotion of the party, quickly followed by the pattering of small feet. Scorpius smiled and just had enough time to turn towards the direction his goddaughter was coming from before she collided with his legs, a delighted giggle escaping her as she held on tight.

"Now who could that possibly be?" he said in mock incredulity. She giggled once again, tilting her head back so her headband almost slipped out of her black curls as she looked up at him with an open mouthed smile. A squeal escaped her a moment later when he ducked down and grabbed her around the waist, flipping her upside down and tickling her belly while he held her against his chest.

"Me, Scop! Me!" she managed to get out through her laughter. Scorpius chuckled, looking down at her and letting a shocked expression cross his features.

"Holly Potter!" he said in mock surprise before flipping her the right way round and propping her on his hip. "Did you Apparate here yourself?"

"No!" she said, shaking her head and giggling.

"Fly on a broom?"

"No!" Holly insisted once again.

"Ride a hippogriff?"

This time she just laughed before pointing towards her parents.

"Oh. That makes sense," Scorpius said with a grin as Al and Abigail approached them.

"You two were almost late again weren't you?" Abigail said with a smirk and a pointed look towards Scorpius.

"It wasn't my fault this time," he insisted, turning to look at Rose, who rolled her eyes but grinned as she was noticed by Holly, who reached for her.

"Presents haven't even been opened and people are still eating," said Rose as she took her goddaughter. "I think we made it in plenty of time."

She was saved from defending herself any longer by Holly grabbing her face and her attention.

"Tommy, Ro," she insisted, and Rose smiled.

"I think we're going to go find the birthday boy," said Rose before she turned to make her way through the crowd of friends and family members.

Scorpius knew he probably looked like a love sick fool every time he watched Rose with Holly, but it was hard not to fall in love with her even more and imagine the type of future they could have together. His hand went instinctively to the small box in his trouser pocket as he watched Rose approach Ben, who was holding a rather distraught looking Tommy. The one-year-old perked up as soon as he caught sight of Rose and Holly, and Scorpius felt a rush of emotion all over again.

"Earth to Scorpius," Al said with a chuckle. Scorpius pulled himself out of his daze to realize he was now standing with only Al and Abigail. He took a step closer to them as they watched him in amusement.

"I'm going to do it tomorrow," he said in an undertone, unable to keep a smile off his face as he watched excitement grow in Al and Abigail's eyes. "She thinks we're just visiting Archie and Molly, but we're actually taking a portkey to Monte Carlo in the morning, and we'll spend a few days there before heading to Marseille for our visit."

"You're serious?" said Abigail, doing her best to control her excitement and not draw attention to their conversation.

"Don't you think she'll catch on? Something that extravagant?" asked Al.

"You should have seen her face when I mentioned the idea of proposing in passing tonight," said Scorpius. "I don't think she'll have any clue. We've been talking about taking a trip like this anyway."

"Think she'll say yes?"

Al earned a smack on the arm from his wife and a glower from his friend for his question.

"I'm nervous enough as it is," said Scorpius.

"Oh, you'll be fine," Al said dismissively. "She loves you. No way she says no."

"No to what?"

Scorpius did his best not to panic at James' sudden appearance and question. He'd dragged Ellen Thomas over with him, who looked slightly uncomfortable and out of place.

"Scorpius wants to paint his flat," Al said after an awkward moment of silence.

"Really?" said James. "You finally asking Rose to move in so you want to spruce the place up a bit?"

"Something along those lines," Scorpius said quickly.

"Nevermind that," Abigail said impatiently, fixing her brother-in-law with a harsh stare. "Care to explain what the hell you think you're doing?"

James put on a mask of innocence as Ellen looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Whatever are you talking about?" James asked, swiping a class of butterbeer off a passing tray and chugging it.

"You're messing with Lou and you know it."

James looked at Abigail in annoyance.

"Who says I'm not quite taken with Ellen?" he asked, slinging his arm around her shoulders in an attempt to make his case.

"James, I don't think-,"

"This is a horrible idea," Abigail snapped, cutting off whatever Ellen had been about to say.

"Hey, he's being a prat about this," James insisted. "He needs a good eye opening."

"And making a move on the girl he fancies is the best way to do it?"

"Look, I should just-,"

"No, wait," Scorpius said, cutting off Ellen once again as she gestured towards the fire and her potential escape. As soon as James had put his arm around Ellen, Scorpius' eyes had sought out Louis. He was standing over by the kitchen and a few feet behind Ellen and James, watching the whole thing unfold from a distance. Hugo and Jane were with him and were either oblivious to his distraction or trying to talk him down, but it didn't appear to be working. The moment Scorpius had told Ellen to wait, Louis tossed back the rest of his butterbeer before roughly setting his glass down on the table and heading straight towards them.

Ellen and James turned around when they noticed where Scorpius was looking, and Louis stopped in front of them, glancing between the two before settling on James.

"A word? Please?"

Louis didn't wait for a response, marching past his cousin and towards the front door. James grinned mischievously before giving Ellen a sloppy kiss on the cheek and following after his cousin.

"He needs to find a girlfriend so he can butt out of everyone else's lives," Al said, watching his brother leave the flat in disbelief.

"I told him this was a bad idea," said Ellen, guilt coating her words as her eyes stayed fixed on the closed door that James and Louis had disappeared behind.

"It might turn out alright," Al tried to reassure her, but their attention was pulled away from waiting for whatever fall out they were heading towards by the announcement that it was time for the birthday boy to blow out his candles.

They gathered around the kitchen table where Tommy was sat in a highchair, his parents on either side while Rose stood behind him and restrained Holly from getting to the cake herself.

As they sang a chorus of happy birthday, Scorpius let his eyes wander around the room. Ben's sister Lizzie was taking pictures while their young brother Marcus made faces at his nephew. Dani and Fred stood next to Dom, their three month old son in his mother's arms. Al and Abigail were on the other side of Ben, Al's arms wrapped around his wife's waist so his hands rested on her slowly growing belly. Jane and Hugo and Lily and Carter were standing with Ellen, who kept throwing glances towards the front door while her older brother put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Lucy and Wes, whom Scorpius had been able to form a better friendship with once again since he'd started dating Rose, stood next to him. Victoire and Teddy had even made the trip with their two kids in tow. Amelia was standing by the table next to her aunt, while Rodney was being held by his grandmother.

There were too many people for Scorpius to take in, but they all had one thing in common; family. Whether they were born in or had been welcomed with open arms, the people in this room were family. He was now a part of that, and he was about to do what he could to make it as official as possible.

As Tommy's parents encouraged him to blow out his candles and everyone laughed and cheered as he shoved his fist into the chocolate cake, Scorpius' couldn't take his eyes away from Rose, who was holding a clapping Holly. He'd done his best to never take her for granted and to spend every day thankful that they'd both finally seen sense and fallen in love with each other. And now he was ready to spend the rest of his life with her. Nothing had ever made him more excited in his life.

As Dom sliced the cake they'd made separate for the guests, and Ben did his best to help Tommy actually get some of his cake into his mouth, Wesley asked Scorpius about the trip he and Rose were leaving for the next day. Scorpius was distracted from their conversation when James and Louis reentered the party, the former going to stand by Ben and Tommy while the latter made a beeline for Ellen. She'd been nervously watching as he walked toward her, and Scorpius couldn't help but let a slight smile form on his lips when Louis spoke quietly to her and grabbed her hand before pulling her through the room and out of the flat, his mother and sister hollering after him for ditching on his nephew's birthday.

"Looks like I was right," said a wonderfully familiar voice from behind Scorpius'. He turned to face Rose, who was smirking at him in triumph.

"Would you even admit it if you were wrong?" he asked cheekily. Rose rolled her eyes, but he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side.

"Rose, I have a box of stuff I want to send with you this week," Lucy said, drawing Scorpius' attention back to her and Wesley.

"Great, we'll get it from you before we leave tomorrow," Rose assured her.

"Why do you need to send Molly more stuff if they're just packing up to move in a few months?" asked Scorpius.

"Some of it's food," Lucy explained. "There's some stuff she can't get in France."

"And Aunt Audrey always has random things she likes to send them," Rose explained. "Probably a mum thing."

"I'll just be happy when they're finally back here for good," said Lucy with an excited smile.

They continued to talk about the exciting prospect of having Archie and Molly back in London in the coming months. Archie had ended up keeping himself loosely tied to his father's foundation as a board member, and now that his father had fallen from grace due to financial scandal, Archie had been relied upon to fix things. At first, Scorpius had been afraid that Archie wouldn't be able to handle it and it would only cause issues, but he'd thrived with his new authority. He was a natural leader and the men who had formerly followed his father now looked to him.

Most of his help had been given remotely, with a few trips thrown in here and there, but he and Molly both felt like the right move was to come back to England. Molly had finished her apprenticeship and was spending time writing, which she could do from anywhere, and no matter how underhandedly his dad had handled his business, Archie still saw the good that could come of the Davies Foundation. And he'd already taken great strides to turn things around now that his father was completely out of the picture.

The party continued and presents were opened while people continued to mingle and Tommy continued to fuss. He was normally a good tempered kid for being only a year old, but Scorpius figured he'd be upset too if he had to be up past his bedtime and surrounded by people.

The crowd had started to thin out by the time the very sleepy birthday boy was put to bed, and Rose and Scorpius found themselves as some of the last guests along with James, Lucy and Wesley, Lily and Carter, and Jane and Hugo. All of the couples with little ones had already left, which had become normal, though Scorpius wasn't sure he'd be used to all of the changes that had taken place over the last couple of years for a while.

"Did you see Roxy's latest article?" Lily asked as they sat around the living room, sounding a bit scandalized.

"Not all of us read Witch Weekly," James responded with an eye roll.

"Not to mention the states version," Hugo commented.

"She totally exposed Sheila Chang for taking bribes," said Lily.

"The campaign manager for Hector Smith?" Rose said in surprise. Lily nodded enthusiastically, encouraged that someone else seemed to care about this bit of gossip.

"It's going to ruin any chance he has of being elected," Lily insisted. Scorpius chuckled quietly to himself. Lily had recently immersed herself in the world of politics, and it had been simultaneously entertaining and infuriating.

"Can we not talk about politics right now?" Dom asked as she made her way back into the room after putting her son to bed. "It's not usually my cup of tea, and especially not when I'm this exhausted."

She collapsed onto the couch Scorpius and Rose occupied and rested her head on her cousin's shoulder. Rose gave her a comforting pat on the knee.

"Time to pull out the firewhiskey?" James asked, rising from his chair and heading to the kitchen.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to being responsible for another human being," Dom said through a yawn, rubbing her hand over her tired eyes.

"What are we, dragon dung?" Marcus asked indignantly, earning a shove from his sister as everyone laughed.

"It's all worth it though, yeah?" Lucy asked with a small smile, and Dom returned it immediately, her eyes moving towards her husband as he entered the room with glasses in his hands and James right behind him.

"Absolutely."

They chatted and drank and laughed for longer than Scorpius had anticipated, but he should have been expecting it. Once you got a handful of Potters and Weasleys together, it took a lot to drag them apart.

"We should get going," Jane said roughly an hour later, standing and dragging Hugo up with her. "We're meeting with the caterer in the morning."

"Need help taste testing?" James volunteered eagerly.

"Actually, yes," Jane said with a chuckle. "Rose was going to come, but they're leaving for France in the morning."

"What time is your portkey?" Hugo asked as Jane worked out details with James.

"We'll be there by ten," said Scorpius. "Don't get back till next week."

"We should go, actually," said Rose, moving to stand. "I left a potion simmering and it should be good until the morning, but I want to check it."

Scorpius stood with her and they bid their goodbyes before heading out. No one else knew of his plans to propose. He'd only told Al and Abigail because he wanted advice on rings. And Archie and Molly knew, since they were expecting them a few days later than Rose thought and had to keep up the ruse. The only thing that now stood between Scorpius and getting down on one knee was a good night's sleep, which he wasn't sure he was going to get.

He did his best to stay focused on what was going on around him as they Flooed to Mungo's and Rose checked on her potion, but his thoughts kept wandering as he kept nervously fingering the box in his pocket.

His plan was set, and he was ready to sweep her off to Monte Carlo and have a romantic getaway before asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. But something about it didn't feel right.

Not that he was second guessing proposing. He knew he was doing that no matter what. But it didn't seem like them. Everything that had happened to get them where they were, none of it was this planned out. They'd always taken so many things day by day, maybe even acting a little rash at times. Not that there was anything wrong with having a plan, but things rarely went according to plans as far as Scorpius could tell.

All of these thoughts were rushing through his head as Rose suggested they take advantage of the warm summer night and walk back to his flat after finishing up in the lab. He agreed automatically as she slid her hand into his and they made their way down the warm streets of Muggle London and towards Diagon Alley. Rose talked his ear off about the project she was currently working on while his thoughts continued to wander. She didn't catch on to his less than present attitude until they'd just about reached his building.

"Where's your head at, Malfoy?" she asked with a tug on his hand, looking curious but not overly concerned. Scorpius sighed and took in their surroundings, his mind flashing to a moment eighteen months ago when he and Rose stood almost in this exact spot and she told him she loved him for the first time. It had been one of the best moments of his life, and he was ready for another one of those.

"You know, I was going to wait till tomorrow," he said, stopping abruptly and turning to face her when they reached his building. "But I don't think I can."

Surprise and confusion crossed Rose's face as a warm summer breeze swept in, causing her red curls to sweep around her face. Scorpius smiled, dropping her hand and reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ears. He placed a reassuring kiss on her lips, breathing in deeply as he pulled away and bracing himself for what he was about to do.

"Do you remember all those months ago? When we stood at this exact spot and you told me you loved me?"

Rose nodded, her lips curling into a smile as curiosity remained in her eyes.

"We said a lot of things that day," he continued. "You more than me. But we agreed to take this one step at a time, yeah?"

"I remember," she said uncertainly. "Scor, what's going on?"

"We've taken a lot of steps, yeah?" he went on. "And some have been smaller than others, but they're all important. And that first one happened right here."

"Well, technically the first step could have been that first letter you sent or even our game of chess when I apologized-,"

"Rose, I'm trying to say something," Scorpius interrupted, chuckling at her. "Merlin, do you always have to be right?"

She grinned cheekily up at him. "Just about the things that matter."

Scorpius was sure his smile was about to split his face in two as he reached out and grasped her hands in his. There was still a part of him that was nervous, but only because he was completely trusting her to not crush his heart. He had no doubts about his feelings or what he wanted. He just hoped and prayed that she wanted the same things.

"Then let me ask you this," he began, still grinning from ear to ear. "Do you think we'll make it?"

She looked at him in confusion. "Make it?"

"Forever," he clarified. "You and me. Do you think we'll make it?"

She paused, watching him closely. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn't trying to come up with an answer, but trying to figure out where he was going with this. He knew the answer, and he knew she did too.

"Yes," she said eventually. "I know we will."

"Even if I act like a prat and drive you mad at times?" he questioned. Rose let out a light laugh and rolled her eyes.

"Even then."

"Brilliant," he said, beaming at her. "Because I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and it helps a lot that you want the same."

"You sound like you're proposing, love," she said with an amused chuckle, and Scorpius laughed along with her before he responded.

"I am."

Rose's face froze in shock, her eyes searching his as if she wasn't sure whether or not he was joking. Taking a deep breath, Scorpius dropped her hands and reached into his pocket, pulling out the box that contained the ring his mother had given him the week before. But his eyes never left Rose, whose hands flew to her mouth in shock as he dropped down to one knee in front of her. He could already see tears starting to form in her eyes as he opened the box and fought to overcome his own emotions and get out his next words that contained the most important question he was ever going to ask.

He paused and stared at her a moment, taking it all in, and remembering everything that had gotten them to where they were now.

"Rose-,"

"Yes."

"Will you-,"

"Yes!"

"-let me finish?"

"Right, sorry."

Scorpius chuckled as Rose grinned eagerly down at him.

"Rose, I love you," he began again. "And I can't believe you love me too."

She let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, wiping at her eyes.

"Will you marry-?"

"Yes!"

Scorpius barely had time to steady himself before Rose threw herself at him, her arms tightening around his neck as she repeated her answer over and over again.

As he held her tightly, listening to her declarations of love and repeating them back to her, so many thoughts raced through Scorpius' mind. He thought about the fact that he'd been silly to worry she might not say yes. He thought about the fact that she hadn't even looked at the ring yet. He thought about where they would live and raise a family and even what type of cake they'd have at their wedding.

But most of all, he thought about how lucky he was. And how grateful he'd always be for taking a chance and anonymously writing a letter to a girl almost two years ago. Because falling for that girl was the best thing that ever happened to him. And as messy and complicated as it had been to get to where they were now, he wouldn't change any of it for the world.


A/N: Can I apologize enough for how long it's taken me to write this? Hope it was worth the wait! If there was something you wanted to see and didn't get to, let me know! Maybe we get some more side chapters. I only ever posted the one of Molly and Archie and there's more where that came from.

But this ends this story. I want to thank those who have stuck with it and offered insight and support! I loved telling this story and sharing it with you. Keep a look out for another story I've been working on heading your way!

Much love