A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters

Warning: brief mentions of child abuse in this chapter.

Rose blinked her eyes, trying to keep them open. She'd been tucked into her new bed, read a story, and was supposed to be falling asleep. Things weren't right though. Mummy's smile hadn't reached her brown eyes. Rose could tell she was hiding something.

"You awake?" Scorpius' voice asked. Rose slid out of her bed and walked over to him.

"Yes," she yawned. "What are you still doing up?"

"Dad and your mum are still awake. I can hear them talking in the kitchen," Scorpius answered. "I guess they forgot to put a up a silencing charm?"

"They probably think we're asleep," Rose answered. "What are they talking about?"

"Your dad," Scorpius answered. Rose shuddered. Now that everything was no longer a secret, the thought of him scared her. The fear in Mummy's eyes had been more than enough to make Rose realize that their little game was wrong. A tiny part of her wished she would have told someone sooner, but it hadn't been anything more than a game to her. How was she supposed to know it had been something bad?

"What about him?" she asked.

"Daddy's saying he's got a lawyer, one of those law people that argue for them," Scorpius answered.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I mean, it's all adult talk and I don't understand most of it."

"He's not going to take me away, is he?" Rose asked, her voice trembling. She glanced back over at her bed. She wanted to crawl back into it and pull the blankets over her head the same way she did when she had a nightmare.

"Don't worry, Rose. I'll protect you," Scorpius stated, hugging her tightly.

"I thought you didn't like me," she teased, giving him a slight smile.

"I thought you and your mum were trying to replace my mum. I was wrong about that, so maybe I was wrong to not like you," Scorpius answered. "Don't worry, Daddy's going to take care of everything. That's what he does."

"Good," Rose yawned loudly. Scorpius laughed.

"Thought you said you weren't sleepy."

"I lied."

"We should both go back to bed before they come to check on us."

"Yeah, um, Scorpius, could you stay here, with me? I mean, I'm kind of scared," Rose admitted. Scorpius nodded, climbing into the bed next to her. She hugged him tightly as he held her as a child would hold a stuffed animal.

"You're safe with me, Rose," he promised as she yawned again, falling asleep snuggled against him. Soon Scorpius followed suit, her soft breathing sending him to sleep as well.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

"Scorpius?" Draco asked, poking his head into Rose's room. Scorpius' bed had been empty. Ignoring the initial sense of fear, Draco had started looking for his son, figuring this was the most likely place he'd be.

"Dad?"

Scorpius blinked his eyes open and realized he was still sleeping in Rose's bed.

"There you are, everything alright?"

"Rose couldn't sleep," he answered, untangling himself from her. She was snoring slightly.

"How much did the two of you overhear last night?" Draco asked.

"Not much, I didn't understand much of it, just that Rose's daddy got a lawyer and you and Hermione were scared," Scorpius answered. "I didn't tell her that last part. She's scared of her daddy now," he added.

"We're all going to have a meeting this morning, explain everything to you kids. Things are going to be a bit different for a while, but we're going to be alright," Draco promised, knowing he needed to show strength for the kids. There was no sense in scaring them, not if everything worked out how he hoped.

"Great! No lessons?"

"You'll still have your lessons in the afternoon," Draco replied to Scorpius' dismay. Rose stirred, blinking her eyes and looking at Draco and Scorpius.

"Morning," she muttered, sliding from the bed as Hermione joined the group.

"Are they both awake?"

"Yes," Rose and Scorpius answered. Hermione looked at Draco. He nodded.

"Kids, come along, we need to talk to you about something important," Draco stated, leading everyone downstairs to the dining room. Rose and Scorpius slid into their seats.

"As both of you know, Rose's father has gotten a lawyer. We're certain he's going to try to get custody of Rose."

"What does that mean? That he's going to try and take her away?"

"Yes. He's also going to deny that he's done anything wrong to her."

"He's a liar," Rose muttered. Hermione nodded, hugging Rose gently.

"We know, but you need to tell the truth, Rose. There's going to be a trial. We were hoping that wouldn't happen, that he'd let you go without a fight, especially since we know what he's done."

"I'll tell the truth," Rose answered.

"They'll also ask you questions as well, Scorpius, since you're the one Rose confessed to. They can not use occlumancy on either of you, nor can they take your memories to be viewed in a pensive because of your ages," Draco continued.

"Does that mean Daddy's going to win because he lied?" Rose asked. Draco shook his head.

"We won't let him take you, I promise. Your mother and I have the best people money can buy. The law is on our side, Rose. We're just letting you know what's going to happen and what we can expect. I know his lawyer's going to ask both of you some hard questions. All we need you to do is tell the truth, alright?"

Rose and Scorpius nodded. Rose because she knew that everything she said would be the truth about what he'd done to her, and Scorpius because he trusted Draco and if Draco said that was all he needed to do, then that's what he would do.