Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (QLFC) Season 9

Title: Through the Years

Team: Wimbourne Wasps

Position: Chaser 2

Reserve: no

EXTENSION

Prompt & Optional Prompts: Dracula by Bram Stoker - Write about someone having a change of heart, for better or worse.

(plot point) a wedding

(object) locket

(relationship) father&daughter

Word count: 2988

2014

"Ron! I need your help in the attic. It's a mess up here," Hermione shouted from above. The attic floorboards squeaked in protest as she rummaged around. Their house wasn't old by any means, but the floorboards weren't used to all of this attention.

Ron finished his pumpkin scone in the kitchen, before dusting his hands on his pants hastily. With his mouth half-full, he shouted back, "Why are you in the attic?"

"I need to find something," Hermione said loudly, her voice becoming fainter as she walked further away from the door.

"Mom!" eight year old Rose Weasley shouted, "Can I come up there too?"

"No!" Ron and Hermione yelled in unison.

Ron climbed up towards the door hatch in the ceiling, folding the ladder carefully so that Rose wouldn't follow.

"What are you doing up here?" Ron said, pulling Hermione to him by the waist to give her a kiss.

Hermione smiled at him, poking him in the chest, "Remember that locket that Mum gave me when we got married?"

"Yeah, what happened to it?" Ron said, stepping towards the open boxes.

"It must have gotten tossed in one of these boxes," Hermione sighed, rubbing her temple. "I wish I wore it more often."

Ron rubbed her back in comfort, "You always said it was too fancy."

"It wasn't that fancy, but I was never one for jewelry. Today calls for a bit of fancy though, don't you think?" Hermione said, smiling a little. "I can't believe Neville's getting married."

"Things certainly have changed," Ron said, extending the ladder downwards. "I'll help you look for it later tonight okay? We're running late."

2017

"There," Hermione said, pinning Rose's front curls to her head, "Go get your father, let's open your presents."

It was the day before Rose's eleventh birthday, and they were celebrating early. Hermione and Ron were taking Hugo to Australia to visit Hermione's parents after dropping Rose off for Hogwarts, and there was still a lot of packing to do. Rose was born on August 31, 2006, the day her father ran home from the supermarket, and rushed Hermione (who was napping on the couch peacefully) to the hospital. Within minutes of their verbal altercation (and Hermione swearing that she would strangle him) her contractions started, which prompted Hermione to narrow her eyes at Ron. There was no way that any of that could have been planned, but it was magic. Ron just knew.

"Mum," Rose whined, looking in the mirror. "I look like a little girl."

"You are a little girl," Hermione said, kissing her forehead.

"And you look beautiful," Ron said, squeezing her to his side. "You'll have all the boys lining up at Hogwarts."

Rose blushed, smiling slightly, "Thanks, Dad."

"I wonder what Malfoy's been up to," Ron said, glancing at Hermione, "Do you think he has a kid at Hogwarts?"

"Oh come off it Ron," Hermione said, slapping him in the shoulder. "Whether he does or not, we have nothing to worry about."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ron said, shrugging innocently, before whispering to Rose, "You know, your Mum throws a mean punch. It's easy to learn."

Rose giggled. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron, the corners of her mouth turning upwards.

2020

"Did you hear? Scorpius's got a little crush on Rose," Ginny said to Ron, as she sipped her tea. Harry and Hermione were on Ministry business, and Ginny had stopped by to drop off some apple pie at their house.

Ron's face reddened slightly. He had nothing against Scorpius, and was quite neutral towards Draco, but he couldn't help but think about Malfoy's son putting the moves on his daughter. He shivered at the thought.

"Oh relax," Ginny said, teasing him. "It's not like they're getting married."

Ron forced a laugh. The thought of it made him dizzy. Him and Hermione? Related to the Malfoys?

"I happen to know that Scorpius is wonderful," Ginny continued. "He's come over a few times now."

"Oh right," Ron said, "He's quite close to Albus, no?"

"Like best friends," Ginny said, smiling. "Reminds me a bit of you and Harry."

Ron's hand flew to his heart dramatically, eyes widening, "How dare you."

Ginny laughed.

"I hear he is quite smart too," Ron said. "Rose is always going on about how she's barely beating him."

"It's your fault you pitted them against each other the first time they met," Ginny teased. "Scorpius's been on Rose's radar since day 1."

Ron groaned.

"You know I'm right."

2023

It all started when he brushed her hand accidentally in Potions, causing her to drop the tray of vials full of Newt eyes she was holding. Their competition was getting out of hand, leading to constant bickering and teasing from Scorpius's end. Generally they were well balanced: where one of them exceled, the other fell just short, in all of their subjects. But not in Potions. They were matched in every way.

Rose volunteered to replenish them later that evening, but didn't think that Scorpius would offer to help. He was probably just eager for another chance to make her life harder.

"I wouldn't have dropped it if you didn't knock the jar out of my hand," Rose said, annoyed. There was a twinge of playfulness in her voice that Scorpius caught nearly immediately.

"Well, if you weren't so clumsy we wouldn't be here now would we?" he retorted back, with the same tone in his voice.

"Why are you here then?" she said, her voice softening a bit.

His face reddened slightly, contrasting against his pale skin. "If you had to do this yourself you'd be here for a week." he said quickly.

"So you don't think I'm capable of doing this by myself?" Rose challenged.

"I just think I can do it better than you," he said, flexing his jaw.

"Game on."

"No cheating," Scorpius said, grabbing as many vials as he could. "You have to fully top the vials for it to count."

"Of course, I'm not a child," Rose said, scooping the eyes from the jar to the vials.

There was one more vial left, which they both reached for at the same time.

"I had my hand on it first," Rose said, yanking it towards her.

"How could you straight up lie like that," Scorpius said, pulling the vial, and her arm towards him in the process.

She was very close to him now, her hand with the vial behind him. The rest of her body was stopped by his.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "Let go of my hand, you wanker."

"Nah," he said, holding her hand tightly. "Did anyone tell you your eyes are ugly? They remind me of that cursed Ford Anglia."

"Why thank you," Rose replied. "But at least my eyes aren't boring. Grey is the lamest colour you know."

"Oh I'm sure it is," Scorpius said, pulling closer.

"Stop changing the subject," Rose said defiantly. "Just let me win,"

"Never," he said. Grabbing her waist with his other hand, he leaned to press his lips on hers.

This tension that they had between them increased immediately, although there was a completely different energy surrounding them now.

Rose dropped the vial to the floor, grabbing his robes with both her hands. He couldn't be close enough.

They pulled apart momentarily, Rose catching her breath. Her eyes were wide, face flushed, beautiful as ever. Scorpius filled the silence.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

2026

"Rose, where are you going?" Ron said. "You just got home!"

"Sorry Dad, I gotta run," Rose said, grabbing her wand from the table. "I'll be back soon!"

Ron sat at the kitchen table, rubbing the back of his neck. He made dinner just for the two of them for her return. Rose had just gotten back from a work trip in the U.S. and it was just the two of them for the night. Where could she possibly have to go at this time during the day?

Ron sighed, covering the dishes, before walking towards his bedroom. Gazing up at the ceiling, he thought about how fast Rose was growing up. It would only be a matter of time before she moved out, got married, and had a family of her own. He remembered the little girl asking if she could go up to the attic, and that same girl whining about the pins in her hair. She was all grown up now, and the days of being home all the time were long gone.

When it came to boys though, Ron was lucky that Rose was nothing like his niece Lily Luna. It was boys, boys, boys, all the time, and it drove Ginny up the wall. Ron had only met one of Rose's two boyfriends during her time at Hogwarts, and he didn't like him much at all. There was nothing really wrong with the bloke, Ron was just overprotective. Hermione knew it too, which was why Ron was the last one to find out about it (that was not a fun conversation). Hermione teased Ron through the years, because she knew that no one would be good enough for Rose in his eyes, no matter who it was.

"You know, I made dinner for her the other day and she just ran off in a flash," Ron said a couple days later, waving his wand. The dishes lifted off the counter, filing neatly into the dishwasher.

"Oh, you know how it is," Hermione said absentmindedly, "She probably missed Scorpius."

Ron turned abruptly, the last plate crashing into the ground behind him, "Scorpius?"

Hermione blushed as she tried to change the subject. "Scorpius? Did I say Scorpius? I meant Albus."

"Is Rose seeing Scorpius? Is that where she's been disappearing off to?" Ron said, concerned.

"She's a capable young woman who can make her own choices. She can see however she wants to," Hermione reassured.

"Was there a reason why she didn't want to tell me?"

"You know how you get, she just didn't want you to treat her like a child."

"I can be worried can't I? She's my only daughter."

"You have nothing to worry about, Ron. He's good to her."

"Well, that's how it always starts," Ron said, looking over to Hermione. She shook her head at him.

"She has to get out there and learn and experience things for herself. It's her life, there's only so much we can do."

"He's still a Malfoy, Hermione. Why'd it have to be a Malfoy? There are things that I can't forget, no matter what."

"Ron, I know. I promise you, I know. I don't think there's anyone out here who knows how you feel more than I do, but are we really going to do this?"

Ron shrugged. He knew what Hermione was talking about, but he just couldn't shake it.

"When we were growing up, that's how things were. There were things that people simply couldn't look past. But we're supposed to be better than that. Who are we to tell Scorpius who he is and isn't? Who are we to hold these things against him?" Hermione said, leaning her head on Ron's shoulder.

Ron turned to face her, kissing her forehead. "I feel like we're losing her."

"She's going to go, Ron. Let's not push her further away."

2029

"Mum! Scorpius is going to be here any minute," Rose yelled from upstairs.

"Hugo! Can you set up the tableware quickly please?" Hermione said hastily.

"He's been here before, we don't need to be fancy," Ron said, picking up the scattered items on the dining table.

"Ron, put those candles over there." Hermione beckoned to the door. Ron nodded.

"He's here Dad, can you open the door please?"

Plastering a smile on his face, he welcomed Scorpius in for dinner. Hermione had made Scorpius's favourite, which was also coincidentally Ron's favourite: butternut squash ravioli. Scorpius got along quite well with Hugo, and was always making Hermione laugh. Ron would pretend to be annoyed.

After dinner, Hugo and Rose helped Hermione with clean-up, while Ron disappeared into his study. He was there for about a minute before he heard a small knock on his door.

"Come in," Ron said, looking upwards. Scorpius was standing there, his hands in his pockets.

"Hello sir," he said politely, "Am I interrupting?"

Ron pretended to sort the papers on his desk, scanning the words on them absentmindedly. Scorpius stood patiently, awaiting an answer.

"No," he said at last. "Anything I can help you with?"

Scorpius's face lit up, his hair bouncing slightly. "I was hoping I could talk to you about something, sir."

"Sit," Ron gestured. The chair across from him was stacked with books. Scorpius placed them on the floor with ease, before sitting down.

"Things at work are going really well," Scorpius said, cracking his knuckles. "I recently got offered a new contract. It's more permanent, and it pays well. I'm going to take it."

"Congratulations," Ron said, his lips forming a small smile. "Rose mentioned that you were hoping for an opportunity like this."

"Yes sir," Scorpius beamed, "I'm planning on moving to a place of my own. I haven't told Rose yet, but I want that place to be hers and mine."

Ron looked at Scorpius, unsure of where he was going with this.

"I plan on asking her to marry me."

The clock ticked in the background, filling the silence. Ron's chair squeaked as his weight shifted. Scorpius cracked his knuckles again.

"I love her more than I have ever loved anyone or anything. And I never could have imagined that I'd feel like this, but she makes me feel like this. Like I'm capable of anything I set my heart to. It would mean the world to me to have your blessing," Scorpius continued.

"No," Ron said flatly. He didn't have anything else to say.

Scorpius's face faltered, his knuckles turning white from clenching the armrests. Standing abruptly, he made his way to the door. "My apologies for wasting your time."

2032

"Dad, can you help me go through the boxes in the attic? I can't seem to find that picture of Rose and I." Hugo said.

"Which one again?" Ron said, cracking his neck.

"The one where we both had Ton-Tongue Toffee for the first time at Uncle George's and Mum freaked because it wouldn't go away for days."

"Oh, right," Ron sighed, "I'll have a look."

The attic was a mess. Boxes were emptied and turned over, it was like a hurricane ran through the place. No doubt this was Hugo's doing.

His eye caught a chest, which was labelled DO NOT TOUCH in Rose's messy scrawl. Ron smiled. Popping it open, he found photographs of him and Hermione from their wedding, and photographs of Rose and Hugo as toddlers. There were also hairclips, rings, and messy drawings. Ron placed everything back into the chest after finding the photo that Hugo needed, accidentally clicking the bottom of the chest, revealing another layer. Inside lay a locket.

It was the locket that Hermione was looking for. Ron squeezed it in his hand, closing the chest, before sniffling softly. Seeing all those photos was overwhelming. All this time he had been so childish, pushing his daughter away because he couldn't bear the thought of her growing up. But here she was now, grown up anyway. And it was her wedding day, the day that she needed him the most. He had spent so much time acting like he wasn't interested or that he didn't care, time he could have spent happily with his daughter instead. It was time he wouldn't get back.

Not anymore.

Hermione could tell something was different with Ron when he came down from the attic. He had grabbed her and kissed her deeply before getting into the car, even remembering to put the box of wedding favours in the car without her reminding him. On the way there, he almost seemed excited, stopping by the side of the road to grab her a wildflower for her hair. Hermione couldn't help but smile.

People were filing into their seats when they got there, the murmuring of their conversations fading into the background. Rose would make her way down any minute now.

"Dad?"

Ron turned around. It was just the two of them, behind the door that would open into the crowd. Rose was walking towards him. She was breathtaking.

"Hi Rosie," Ron said, his eyes starting to water, "You look beautiful."

Rose smiled. "You sounded like you meant it."

"I did," Ron nodded, choking out a laugh, before reaching into his pocket. "I got you something."

"Is that Mum's locket?" Rose gasped. "Where did you find that? She's been looking for it for ages."

"In your treasure chest," Ron said. "I think you've had your eyes on it for awhile."

"Well, I've always wanted to get married with it, like Mum did," Rose said sheepishly. "I had to hide it from her though, because she quite liked it."

"She would love it on you," Ron smiled.

Rose beamed, wrapping her arms around her father in a hug. "I missed you Daddy."

"I'm sorry Rosie," Ron whispered. "I'm sorry I let you down."

They shared a moment, thinking of all the things yet to come.

"Are you ready?" he said, fastening the locket around her neck. She nodded.

Music started playing as the doors opened.