A/N: My sincerest apologies for how long it's taken me to update! I haven't had as much time to write lately and I wanted to make sure I got this one right and it went the direction I wanted it to. Just to recap, Scorpius went rogue then proposed to Rose and no one else knows they're engaged. You're pretty much caught up now.

The morning after Scorpius proposed, Rose had what she would later refer to as a mild panic attack.

After Al and Erin had gone to bed, Scorpius had quietly followed Rose into her room. Earlier in the evening, he'd volunteered to Floo the Ministry and let Betty know that Al wouldn't be back that night and possibly not staying in the dorms the rest of the week. What they hadn't told Al or Erin, was that Scorpius told Betty to expect the same from him as well.

Rose wasn't entirely sure why they were keeping all the new developments in their relationship a secret from her cousin and her flatmate, but she did know that she didn't want to draw attention to them. Especially with everything else going on.

She'd woken with a start the next morning when she registered the sound of someone else breathing, flipping over to see Scorpius lying on his stomach and sleeping soundly. He was shirtless and - she realized belatedly - had one arm draped over her waist.

Rose's breathing grew quick as memories of the day before began to surface, and she looked down at the ring on her left hand.

Holy mother of Merlin. What had she done?

Acting quickly and as silently as possible, she crawled out of bed, noted that she was only dressed in his T-shirt, and hurried into the bathroom. She'd never been more thankful that Erin had let her have the room that had direct access to the loo.

It wasn't until she was under the hot spray of the shower that she finally started to calm down. Her breathing, at least. Her mind was another matter.

What were they thinking? What was he thinking? They were far too young to be getting married anytime soon. Besides, Scorpius had been through a lot recently. How well thought out could his actions be?

Why on earth had she thought it was a good idea to say yes?

Rose felt the cool metal of her ring against her scalp as she washed her hair. This was insane. Absolutely insane.

Her thoughts were struggling to be coherent as she dried off and put on her bathrobe before brushing her teeth. She felt conflicting feelings of panic and excitement and anxiety and joy. Yes, part of her was thrilled that Scorpius loved her and wanted to marry her, but much more of her thought he was completely out of his mind for asking.

Rose wrung her hair out with the towel one last time before hanging it on the hook by the shower that had become hers. Slowly, she opened the door that led to her room and was relieved to find a still sleeping Scorpius.

She needed time to think and time to stop panicking. She needed to think about this logically.

He was starting to stir by the time she was fully dressed, and Rose hesitated. She could run off before he woke up and put everything off until she had her head on a little straighter, or she could realize that was the cowardly thing to do and stay a few more minutes and actually talk to him.

And then a wave of guilt crashed over her at what she was about to do. The last thing Scorpius needed was for her to walk out on him in any way. It would be selfish of her to just leave.

Besides, she still had half an hour before she had to be at work. She had time.

She didn't have long to prepare herself, however, because Scorpius took a deep breath and stretched a second later, his head coming up and his eyes squinting as he glanced around. Rose saw the moment he realized where he was, and then his attention fell to the empty spot beside him. He pushed himself up and searched the room with wide eyes that showed relief as soon as they landed on her standing by the door.

"Hey," he said, his posture relaxing a bit as he sat up fully and smiled at her. Rose couldn't find it in herself not to smile back. His hair was sticking up on one side and he had lines on his face. And she didn't think she would ever get tired of seeing him like this.

"Good morning," she said, moving back towards the bed and sitting on the side, facing him. Scorpius immediately reached out and held her left hand in his. His smile grew brighter as he brushed his thumb over her ring.

"Going to work?" he asked, his voice a bit rough from sleep. Rose nodded, worrying for the first time that morning how he would handle his current situation.

"What about you?" she asked, her brow furrowed in concern. Scorpius shrugged and looked a bit more somber, but there was still a light to his eyes.

"I have a meeting with the trainers at ten and I'll know what my future looks like after that. I'm not getting kicked out, I don't think, but I'll probably be benched for a bit. I could've seriously messed things up if I'd managed to find Theo and tip him off to everything that's going on. He probably already is, though, if Vaisy talked to his sister."

He didn't seem too bothered by his potential suspension. More resigned than anything. It was a pretty healthy way to deal with it, actually, Rose considered. There was nothing he could do to change what he'd done. He could only move forward and do better and make up for his mistakes in any way he could.

"Think you'll just go hang out at the Manor?" she asked, surprised when he quickly shook his head.

"I don't feel like seeing my dad any time soon, to be honest," he said, anger clouding his eyes as he looked away from her.

"What? What happened?" asked Rose. Scorpius sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes.

"He kept it from me," he said. "He knew about Theo's past and I've got no clue how much he knows about his current business, but he knew enough to be suspicious and insisted I stay kept in the dark. I just don't really feel like having that conversation yet."

Rose sighed and nodded in understanding, falling silent as Scorpius focused his gaze on their joined hands. He ran his thumb across the ring he'd given her once again, and Rose's whole body tensed involuntarily.

Scorpius' hand froze and his eyes came up to meet Rose's, his previous anger now replaced with concern as he asked if she was all right.

"Fine," said Rose, a little too high and a little too shaky. She tried to pull her hand away, but Scorpius held on tighter, pulling her a bit closer and taking her other hand as well. He wasn't forcing her to stay, but it was all too easy for Rose to comply as she moved so her knees were now pressing against his hip, their thighs flush.

"What's wrong?" he insisted, and Rose took a deep breath that had her cheeks puffing out before releasing it heavily.

"I don't know," she admitted, unable to quite meet his eyes. "I just keep thinking…Scorpius, are you sure we're doing the right thing?"

He seemed a bit startled by her question, but almost immediately assumed a reassuring presence rather than a hurt or worried one.

"Rose, I know, without a doubt, that you are what I want," he said, his light blue eyes catching hers and soft in their expression. "Forever. And even if you want to wait a few years before there's an actual wedding, that's still going to be true."

She relaxed a bit, though a voice in her head that sounded an awful lot like her mother kept coming through with skepticism and admittedly rational questions.

"But we don't know what either of us will be doing a year from now or two years from now," she pointed out. "What if I get a job somewhere else? And aren't you supposed to do a few months of training abroad at some point like Teddy did? And if I'm still working where I am now, there's no way I could afford a wedding. And it's not like you get much compensation during training. Where would we-?"

He cut her off by gripping her hands a little tighter, his eyes searching hers and a bit of worry appearing in them. "We can figure all that out," he said. "If we wait, we'll have time to save and prepare, if that's what you want to do."

Rose let out a heavy sigh once again and nodded, offering him an attempt at a smile.

"Is that all that's bothering you?" he asked. "Or is there another reason you're panicking a bit?"

She searched his concerned gaze for a moment before leaning forward and resting her forehead on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths, finally feeling a bit more calm as Scorpius kissed the top of her head.

"I love you and I trust you," she said in barely more than a whisper. "I really do. But I'm still a bit scared."

"Of what?"

"Of it all falling apart," said Rose, realizing how true that was as she said it. "It's just...it's not always the best idea to make such big life decisions during seasons of chaos or change or grief, and that's where you are right now. I trust that you love me and you want this, but I'm having a hard time not wondering if all this is just a reaction to the uncertainty surrounding you right now. Like you need something that is certain, and proposing to me brings you that."

He remained silent, his cheek now resting against the top of her head. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, steady and warm.

"You're right," he finally said, causing Rose to stiffen as fear shot through her. "I do want something that's certain, but it wasn't like I decided to settle for the first thing I came across that gave me that. Rose, if I can be certain of you, nothing else matters. I can spend days and weeks and even months without a job or not talking to my family or anything else as long as I'm certain of you."

She sat back to meet his eyes again as he continued. "And I think everything that's happened the past few days has just made me more sure of what I want, and in case I haven't said it enough, that's you."

Finally, Rose smiled, a sense of warmth and security and comfort filling her. It was obvious that he meant every word he said, and she had no reason and no desire not to believe he'd stick by them.

She knew it was impossible to be certain of the future and there would always be a bit of fear, but then you wouldn't need faith if everything was certain.

"Okay," she said. "I believe you and I trust you and I want this too."

He smiled back at her before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"I can't promise I won't panic every now and then," she said. Scorpius chuckled and kissed her again.

"I know," he said, kissing her cheek. "Just talk to me about it when you do, and we'll figure it out."

She'd left for work a few moments later, reminding Scorpius to put up a silencing spell before he planned to Apparate out. Keeping their sleeping arrangement quiet was probably still a wise choice. And there was admittedly something thrilling about sneaking around.

The week carried on with Rose and Scorpius both a bit blissed out on each other. The realities of the world permeated their joy every now and then, but nothing was able to fully undermine their happiness. Scorpius had been suspended, but he was still allowed and expected to attend lectures and do assignments even though he'd been barred from participating in any active cases as well as the training room. The timeline was indefinite, but Sharkey and Ferguson had said that it would most likely be a week-to-week call. He'd probably be allowed back in the training room sooner than he was granted any type of access to current cases. Scorpius was just grateful he wouldn't fall completely behind, and he could at least get work outs in on his own.

Rose and Scorpius managed to keep their engagement to themselves throughout the week, though it wasn't always easy. Some days, Rose was so thrilled and overwhelmed with excitement that she wanted more than anything to share it with Erin or Al or her mother or Dominique, but she was determined to hold her tongue until things settled down a bit. Plus, it was sort of nice having it all to themselves.

She knew they were in danger of giving themselves away, too. It was hard to keep from being a bit over the top when it came to affection and dreamy looks. She'd probably be a bit annoyed if it was anyone but herself acting in such a way.

Although, part of these new developments came from the progression of their physical relationship as well, and people were more likely to assume that than they were to jump to the conclusion that Scorpius had proposed.

Things weren't always warm fuzzy feelings and sublime and tender evenings, though. Especially since Scorpius had been ignoring every attempt his father made to reach out to him. He was at least responding to his mother, and Rose could tell he was growing increasingly more guilty about not going to see her. She hadn't been doing well the last time they'd seen her.

It was Rose who finally talked him into going to see his parents, and it wasn't until she agreed to go with him that he actually made the effort.

They made plans to go have lunch at the Manor the day after the birthday party for the twins. Scorpius was still very reluctant to go, seeing as it would ruin the happy bubble they'd built around themselves over the past week. Rose felt the same, to an extent, but the part of her that wanted to make sure Scorpius didn't run from his problems was relieved they were going. The last thing she wanted was for their relationship to become a crutch or simply a means of escape.

With all her relief, however, Rose couldn't help feeling nervous. She'd been to Malfoy Manor before, and she'd even been there as Scorpius' girlfriend, but she'd never sat down for a meal with his parents as his fiancée, let alone as a secret one.

After leaving a note for Erin and Al - who either weren't at the flat or had yet to emerge from her room all morning - Rose and Scorpius Flooed to Malfoy Manor and were greeted by a very tired looking but grateful Astoria. She pulled her son into a hug the moment he'd stepped out of the grate and Rose appeared behind him.

"I'm so sorry, darling," she heard Astoria whisper to her son. "I'm so sorry you're having to deal with all this."

"Mum, I'm fine," he assured her, continuing to hold her tight. "Are you all right? I'm sorry I haven't been around."

Astoria shook her head as she pulled back to look up at Scorpius. "I'm fine, all right? I don't want you worrying about me on top of everything else."

Scorpius gave a reluctant nod before his mother turned to Rose, pulling her into an equally tight embrace.

"Thank you for looking after him," she whispered, though by the way Rose caught Scorpius rolling his eyes, it wasn't quiet enough.

"Always," said Rose, flashing her fiancé a smile over his mother's shoulder before pulling back. She was so busy trying not to laugh at his annoyed yet amused expression that she didn't notice Astoria grabbing her hands.

"How's-?"

But whatever question Mrs. Malfoy was about to ask was cut short, the older witch now looking at a confused Rose in stunned silence. Slowly, Astoria's gaze lowered and her grip on Rose's left hand shifted. She purposefully rested her thumb right on top of the ring Scorpius had placed there less than a week ago, and Rose felt her stomach drop to her toes.

"Mum, what's-?"

"Scorpius," Draco said hesitantly, cutting off his son's question as he entered the room. Scorpius turned his attention to his father, but Rose couldn't pull her eyes away from Astoria, who'd met her gaze again and was staring at her with a dropped jaw.

There was no use trying to rip her hands away, no matter how much Rose felt anxious to do so. All she could do as Scorpius and his father became lost in their own staring contest was wait for the inevitable fallout that was about to happen.

How angry were they going to be?

No sooner had this question entered Rose's mind than the fear was completely dashed. An ecstatic smile bloomed across Astoria's face, and she let out a cry of delight before pulling Rose back into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh, how wonderful!" she gushed, her husband and son now looking at the two women in confusion. Rose only had enough time to send Scorpius a wide eyed look before his mother was pulling back to hold Rose's hand in her own again. "It looks even lovelier on you than it did on me."

Rose's eyes somehow managed to widen even more. "You...you can see it?"

"Of course," said Astoria, smiling at Rose. "It can be seen by anyone it's been given to."

"Oh," said Rose, turning her attention back to Scorpius. His eyes were wide as well as he glanced between where his mother was holding Rose's hand and his fiancée's surprised face.

"Shit," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty sure you failed to mention that."

"Oh, no matter," said Astoria, continuing to hold Rose's hand as she turned to face her son. "You were going to tell us anyway."

"Tell us what, exactly?" asked Draco, taking a hesitant step towards his wife yet looking between Rose and Scorpius. His son let out a heavy sigh, glancing at Rose in question. At this point, there was nothing she could do except nod in acquiescence.

"Rose and I are engaged," he said, the resignation in his voice making way for a smile as he continued to look at Rose. Nothing could take away the joy he felt at knowing those words were true. Even the rather unexpected and premature way his parents were learning the truth.

Draco was at his wife's side and looking down at the ring he could now see with wide eyes. Rose watched him closely, noting the way his Adam's Apple bobbed when he swallowed, clearly stunned and at a loss for words. While it wasn't surprising to Rose that Scorpius' mother was very in favor of their engagement, it seemed far less likely that his father would be. Unless he was keen on not doing anything else to upset or push away his son.

Before Rose could find out either way, they were interrupted by a familiar stag bursting into the room.

"Malfoy. You're needed at the Ministry. Come to my office. Immediately."

They all stared in silence as the patronus disappeared. Draco cleared his throat and shook his head, obviously still a bit in shock due to recent events.

"Right, well…" he said uncertainly, glancing between Rose and his son. "I'm sorry, but as you heard, I'm needed elsewhere."

Draco gave his concerned looking wife a kiss on the cheek before heading to the Floo, grabbing a handful of powder and tossing it into the grate. He paused before stepping in, looking between Rose and Scorpius once again. His son had moved to stand next to Rose, his arm around her waist.

"We'll talk about this later," he said to Scorpius, offering him a strained smile before stepping into the green flames.

A pit immediately formed in Rose's stomach as she looked up at Scorpius. Not just because Draco's reluctance to show approval at the news of his son's engagement was likely to cause an even greater rift between them, but because her uncle's request likely had to do with Scorpius' godfather. The whole thing was just another reminder that he was being kept in the dark. Again.

"Well," said Astoria, her tone a bit nervous as she smiled and took her son's arm. "We can still have lunch. I'm so thrilled for you two. I want to hear everything."

It would be a bit much to say Scorpius was livid after leaving his parents' home, but it wasn't too far off the mark.

He and Rose truly had enjoyed a lovely lunch with his mother, who - despite their insistence that they weren't quite ready to plan a wedding yet - was full of questions and excitement. In fact, she'd looked healthier than Scorpius had seen her in months, and all at the prospect of her only son getting married. He was grateful his own happiness could bring her some as well. It was even enough to make him momentarily forget his frustration with his father.

"He's not happy," Scorpius said as he followed Rose into her kitchen. "I don't know if it's because he thinks we're too young or some shit about you being a Weasley, but he's not happy."

Rose let out a heavy sigh as she placed the leftovers his mother had sent with them in the ice box. "Maybe he was just surprised," she said. "It was a bit sudden, and it's not like we prepared them for anything like this."

"Still," said Scorpius, taking a seat at the table and crossing his arms with an admittedly petulant attitude. "He could've at least congratulated us."

"He will," Rose promised him, moving to the stove to put the kettle on. "And so will my parents when we tell them."

She busied herself with putting away clean dishes that had been drying by the sink. Scorpius couldn't help noting that she sounded like she was trying to convince herself of her parents' positive reaction as well as him. He leaned forward onto the table, resting on his elbows and rubbing tiredly at his eyes as he let out a deep breath.

"I suppose we'll have to tell them soon," said Scorpius. "I don't see my parents keeping it quiet."

Rose didn't respond as he continued to sit there, his head now resting in his hands. He knew his parents would be pleased, which he was mostly right about. But he would be lying if he said the thought that her parents - and her dad in particular - disapproving hadn't crossed his mind multiple times over the past week. At this point, he was pretty much expecting to be on the receiving end of a furrowed brow and even a telling off from Ron Weasley.

He'd probably get an earful about how he hadn't asked for Ron's blessing.

Scorpius looked up at the sound of a mug of tea being placed on the table. Rose was now sitting across from him, her own mug of tea in her hands and a worried look on her face. Scorpius pulled the mug she'd placed in front of him closer, lightly blowing across the steaming liquid as he waited for her to say whatever was on her mind.

"You don't think he'll say anything to Uncle Harry, do you?"

Scorpius shook his head. "My dad prides himself on not being a gossip. He'd only say anything if he thought it was necessary, and I don't see how-"

The sound of the Floo bursting to life caused them both to start in surprise. Rose was on her feet a moment later as the sound of multiple people pouring out of the fireplace reached them. They shared a confused look before Rose headed out of the kitchen, Scorpius following behind her as an argument broke out between what sounded an awful lot like Rose's parents.

Scorpius stopped in surprise when the door opened to reveal not just Ron and Hermione Weasley, but also Harry Potter and his own father as well.

"-to remain calm, Ron," the Minister was saying to her husband, a reassuring hand on his arm as the former Auror locked eyes with Scorpius.

"What's going on?" asked Rose, addressing her Uncle, who'd approached her as her father began to stare unblinkingly at Scorpius. Ron looked like he was fighting very hard to hold himself back, and an intense dread filled Scorpius as he realized he was about to face the reality he'd been dreading.

"I think it's best if we all take a seat," said Harry calmly, throwing a pointed look towards his best friend. Ron gave a barely perceptible nod before allowing his wife to guide him to the couch where she sat next to him, Harry on his other side. Draco took the armchair by the fire as Scorpius summoned a chair from the kitchen, placing it next to the remaining armchair where Rose sat. He instinctively reached out and took her hand in his, noting that she was practically sitting on her other one. He tried not to let it bother him that she was obviously fearful of her parents somehow catching a glimpse of the ring on her finger.

In many ways, he couldn't blame her. Sitting across from the three people who took down the greatest dark wizard of all time was a bit formidable on any day. But when they were all watching you expectantly with varying degrees of concern and severity, it was enough to make anyone uneasy. Especially when there was something you were hiding.

The thing that Scorpius couldn't understand, however, was the fact that it wasn't just Rose's parents and his dad there, but her uncle as well. It would maybe make sense if he'd just tagged along to get Ron to see reason and help calm him down, but Harry seemed to be the one taking charge. And if they were all there because his father had let news of their engagement slip, that didn't make sense to Scorpius at all.

"Right," said Harry, straightening his glasses and taking a deep breath before forging ahead. "It would be brilliant if we could all try to keep level heads, yeah?" he said with a glance between Ron and Draco, who also seemed to be barely keeping himself in check. His anger was directed at Rose's father rather than Scorpius, however, which he was grateful for.

"And," Harry continued, turning his attention to Rose and Scorpius, "let's try to be honest with each other."

After a moment of hesitation and a glance at both her parents, Rose nodded. But Harry directed his next words to Scorpius.

"According to your father," he said, green eyes watching him closely, "you've asked Rose to marry you."

It wasn't a question, but Scorpius knew he had to answer. "Yes, sir."

There was a noticeable intake of breath from both her parents, but Harry continued as if nothing had occurred.

"And she's accepted?"

This time, Scorpius looked at Rose, who squeezed his hand and gave him a subtle smile. "Yes, I have."

He couldn't help the smile that bloomed across his face as she turned to look at her wide-eyed parents with resolve. "Mum, Dad," she said, pulling her hand out from under her leg and holding it up for her parents to see. "Scorpius and I are engaged."

The silence was stifling as this news sunk in - the seconds feeling like hours. It was hard to tell if Rose's mum was joyful or devastated. It honestly seemed like a mixture of both as tears welled in her eyes and she stared at the ring on her daughter's finger. Her father, on the other hand, now looked pale rather than red with anger, his face now betraying feelings of shock and even fear.

They both seemed genuinely caught off guard, but hadn't they known already?

"Told you," Draco chimed in, sounding satisfied even if his expression was almost as fearful as Ron's.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron nearly snarled, his face regaining its color as he glared at his former enemy. "This isn't the time to be an arse."

"Ron-"

"He's right," said Harry, cutting off Hermione's admonishment and throwing Draco a stern yet pleading look. "No need to make this more difficult than it already is."

"What's difficult?" asked Rose, growing frustrated.

"This whole bloody thing," her father grumbled, running his hands through already disheveled hair.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," Rose said to her parents, "but I'm going to marry him. You might have concerns or objections, but it's my decision."

Scorpius had to try very hard not to beam with pride. He knew standing up to her parents like that wasn't easy. But it was her uncle who responded.

"Actually, Rosie, that's the thing," Harry said apologetically. "You can't."

Rose looked at her uncle in confusion. Scorpius felt a tightness growing in his chest. "Can't what?"

Harry grimaced, no doubt knowing the reaction his next words were about to provoke. "You can't marry Scorpius Malfoy."

A/N: Back again! Sorry for the cliffhanger but also not. And my apologies for no Al and Erin this time around. We will get to them next. Hopefully very soon!