Day 1: pinot grigio

Albus held the key in his hand tightly.

Was he nervous?

Yes.

But above all, he was excited. It had been years since they all had an actual adventure. But for the next week, it'd be just the three of them. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius.

Albus had been planning this trip to Italy for months. They were supposed to go months ago, but of course complications with work put a halt on the getaway. Being an adult was shit.

Not that Albus didn't like his job. In fact, he was very happy as a Magizoologist, he loved to study the way magical creatures live and try and help the endangered species. However, sometimes he was tired of smelling erumpent shit at 3am.

So that's what brought him here, standing in front of the coral red apartment on the Vernazza seaside. He'd be expecting his friends to arrive within the next hour, giving him just a bit of time to open the Pinot Grigio he quickly grabbed from the mercato beside the hidden alleyway entrance to the magical village of Ficorecchio.

As he stepped inside the apartment, it seemed to grow in size, reminding him of a less dark and musty version of Grimmauld Place. In fact, this apartment was far more bright. The slightly yellowed stucco walls were lit with the sunset emerging from the windows. The kitchen, small and in need of updating, but still filled with Charm. Not far from the kitchen sat an oak table with matching benches on both sides. In the far corner, under the rugged wooden stairs was a small lounge and bookcase. Above it all, was a loft with four doors that Albus assumed led to the bathroom and bedrooms.

He couldn't wait to relax here.

Get away from work, from london, from his big obnoxious family.

Just Albus, Rose, and Scorpius.

{* *}

Albus was sipping on his vino and trying to read an old dusty italian book. He was very thankful for the interruption being he didn't understand a single word he saw. As he approached the dark wooden door, he heard a hushed argument between a man and a woman. When he opened the door, he was greeted by false smiles. One from his dear cousin Rose… and her asshat husband Gary Creevy.

Fucking Gary.

"Albus! It's so good to see you." She said as she flung her arms around. "I hope you don't mind, he kept insisting. He annoyed me into bringing him." She whispered in his ear, loathing thick in her voice.

"Heard that, darling." Gary said with a tight smile. Rose let go of Albus and resisted rolling her eyes "I sorry I feel that husband and wife should do things together. I didn't realize I was such a burden." He dropped a bag on the ground to shake hands with Albus. "Hey mate."

Albus could already tell that he would be the buzzkill of this trip. He'd always want to play things safe, be responsible, take zero risks. Not that there was anything wrong with responsibility, Rose had been the most responsible of him and Scorp, but this man was bloody overkill. The man was a perfect filer at the ministry. He'd bore anyone with his anecdotes about his workplace. Also, extremely possessive of Rose, never lets her go anywhere without him. Just like this vacation. What she saw in him, he had no clue.

Fucking Gary the buzzkill.

With a deep breath, he let the two inside. "I've got some Pinot Grigio sitting on the counter, I could get you two a glass before you unpack."

Gary shook his head and his hand stuck out and mimicked its movement. "No thank you, I don't like to drink so early in the day. Our room up here?" He pointed towards the stairs.

Albus nodded his head. "Yeah, you and Rose can stay in the room on the far left, it's the biggest." He took the cork off of the bottle as Gary began up the stairs.

"I'll take a glass" Rose piped in, walking towards Albus. "I'm always up for wine." She said, leaning over the counter. "I could really use one right now." She said under her breath and Gary paused on the stairs.

"Honey, it's a bit early, yeah?"

"Gary, it's 6pm, I think it's alright." She said without a glance his way.

He gave an audible sigh and started again towards the room. Rose gave an apologetic smile and Albus passed her the glass.

Albus returned the smile with hesitance. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he actually began to speak. "You know he'll have a hard time with Gary here."

Rose looked up and thought for a moment. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, he wouldn't listen."

"You could've stood your ground a bit more, Rose." Albus said sheepishly. He didn't want to overstep into dangerous waters.

"Al, there's not much I can do about it now. Trust me, I don't want him here either." She replied, the bite in her tone, obvious. She sighed and dug the palm of her hands into her eyes. "Can we discuss something else? Something less… irritating? Bloody hell, we're on vacation!" She said, the smile returning to her face.

Albus laughed and let felt a wave of calm that he hadn't felt since the asshat husband walked in. "You're right, you are." He said with finality. "Alright, then.. How's the apothecary?"

"It's alright. Business is slow as you'd expect." Rose said. "Still looking for help."

Rose had started The Witches Brew: Tinctures and Herbal Remedies a year after she graduated. After working under an internship at her mother's work, she grew tired of the daily grind at the ministry. When she finally began her business, it was recommended that she fit either Weasley or Granger into the title, but she refused to mooch off her parents fame. Thus, The Witches Brew was born. What Rose didn't grow from her cottage, she received from Malfoy Industries.

Her and Gary had just started talking again since they were in Hogwarts. They married 6 months later.

"Garry's not helping?" Albus questioned, the buzzkill had the time to at least help a little bit. Rose glared at him. "Sorry, sorry. I'm sure someone will come along soon enough." He gave her a reassuring smile."

"Yeah, hopefully." She said, twiddling the thin braid hanging in front of her ear. "I am really glad you set this up. I needed a break from work. This'll be fun. The crew back together- plus one… Gary." Her smile faded but quickly formed into a small false one. "You know what they say, The more the merrier!"

Albus raised a glass and Rose followed suit.

Yep. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius

…

And fuckwit asshat buzzkill Garry.

{* *}

"Can we just eat already?" Albus had just interrupted Gary. He just couldn't hear him drone on about how Marty from the coffee kart had mixed up his drink with Bernadette from the floor above him. He'd heard this story more than ten times already.

Rose moved the bottle of vino away from her husband. He got chatty when he was drunk.

"No, we're waiting for him." Rose checked her watch. "He said he'd be here at 7."

"Yeah, and it's 8:30." Albus eyed the food on the countertop.

Rose poured herself another glass. "Albus, we can wait." She said in a tone that reminded him very much of his aunt Hermione

Gary took the bottle back from Rose and filled his glass to the brim. Oh merlin, she'd be dragging him up the stairs tonight huh? "Y'know I've gots to agreee wif Alb here, I'm starving Hunn…"

Rose continued to stare deeply into the table as she chugged the rest of her wine. "For once I agree with this bloke." Albus said, raising his drink to clink with Gary "Cheers mate!"

The sound of a throat clearing turned the three's attention to the doorway.

Tall and disgruntled, stood Scorpius Malfoy. His pale hazel eyes staring at the new bond between his best friend and enemy number one. "Ello." He muttered stiffly.

Rose stood up quickly, the expression on her face changing into a flushed grin. "You made it." As she said this, Gary lowered his glass and rested his arm on Rose's chair as if to claim the area she stood in.

"You're late." Albus said, enunciating the t, his scraggly brows furrowed.

Scorpius set his bag down on the floor. "And you're drunk." Albus rose from his seat and pulled Scorpius into a bear hug. "Sorry I'm late. Dad had a few more potions he needed help with brewing. I just couldn't get away." Albus pulled away and began to leviate the dishes and dinner over to the table. Scorpius gave a curt nod over to Gary, who gave the man nothing in return.

Rose moved away from her husband and wrapped her arms around Scorpius. "Scorpius, ever the workaholic." When she pulled away, She guided him over to the table. "I'm sure you're hungry. Knowing your father, he's probably had you working since 3. Did you get here alright?"

Scorpius chuckled "Rose the overbearing mother."

She rolled her eyes as she moved back to her seat. "Oh shut it." She sipped from her wine.

"Soon though.." Gary piped in.

CLANG

Albus had dropped an empty (thankfully) plate, Rose was coughing up wine, and Scorpius was frozen in his chair. "You're pregnant?!" Albus asked.

"NO!" Rose steadied her breath, her hand on her chest. "No, no no. I am not pregnant. I've been drinking all night."

"Which you should probably cut back on, because-" Gary began, his eyes threatening Scorpius

Rose put her hand on her husband's arm. "Love, let's talk about th-"

"-We're trying!"

Scorpius' heart dropped to his feet.

Rose had been left speechless.

Albus, confused.

And fucking Gary,

Gary with a smug look on his dull face.

Albus muttered a quick repario on the plate and brought it to the table.

"You're a little young, yeah?" Albus said, breaking the silence. "I mean, what about your shop? You're having a hard time keeping it up as is, what'll you do when you have a screaming baby to care for?"

Rose opened her mouth to speak but Gary beat her to it. "Well, worse comes to worse, Rose sells the apothecary. I can provide for them both."

Rose looked at her husband, shock written all over her face. Albus thought she might have one of her Rose blow ups, that was her baby.

Not some Gary spawn.

Albus however, was surprised to see Rose smile at her husband. He couldn't tell if it was genuine or not, but it wasn't a happy smile. A sad smile indeed.

"I mean I'm a little older than mum when she had me. I am 24, I feel it's a reasonable age. And I've always wanted kids, so if that means selling The Witches Brew…" She seemed to be trying to justify this more to herself than the others. "So be it."

"Well, congr-" Scorpius cleared his throat. "Congratulations." He finished, mustering up any kind of joy he could feel for his friend.

Rose smiled at Scorpius, swallowing the tears threatening to fall. "Thanks." She said quietly. "It's just a conversation at the moment, but yeah… thanks." She finished, and Gary grabbed her hand.

They ate in silence. Scorpius avoiding Rose's lingering gaze. Noticing her husband's suspicion rising, she took initiative and broke the silence.

"Have you talked to Lily lately? She was finally recruited onto the Harpies team!" She took a sip of her wine. "All she could talk about was how excited she was to take James off his…"

She stopped. Shit. Probably not the best thing to break the silence with.

Albus sobered at hearing his older brother's name. He couldn't even remember the last time they had spoken to each other. He'd always find an excuse to leave when James came round to the burrow and James always seemed to have training during the Christmas parties that Albus would go to. They had an unspoken agreement of not seeing or speaking to each other.

This of course put a strain on Albus' relationship with his family. It was rare for Albus to come to family dinner nights on Saturdays. When he did go, he could feel the disappointment radiating from his parents and sister.

Rose kept quiet and stared into her glass.

Silence once again.

"S'been a while since I took a break from work." Scorpius said after long minutes of tension. He grabbed his glass and raised it. "I'm glad to be with my friends again. To Albus, for arranging this trip."

The three friends raised their glass, Gary noticeably ignoring the toast.

{* *}

Eventually, everyone headed upstairs to partake in their nightly routines.

Albus began to settle for the night until he pulled off the knitted socks that his mum had made for him three Christmases ago. When finally in bed, he pulled out a dusty scrapbook that once belonged to his father. Looking at the pictures, he felt a sense of longing. He had a restless night of wondering how his family was doing and if they missed him at all. He knew at least James didn't. He really hated being the black sheep of the Potters.

Scorpius took off his rounded club glasses, placed them on his bedside table, and pinched the arch of his nose. His bed, covered in Malfoy Industries order documents, his shrinking typewriter sat enlarged on his lap, he stared at the ceiling. He hated this job. He just wanted to be a potioneer, but of course his cunning father sucked him into this shitty business. Tapping at the window took him out of his break. An eagle owl waited, not with the sweets that his grandmother would send to his father back in his Hogwarts days, but instead more order forms from his father. He put his glasses back on and cracked his knuckles. With a deep breath, he resumed typing.

Gary lied in bed, staring at the Wood family crest on the ring around his thumb. He needed this baby, it would keep their marriage afloat. He needed a reason to tie her down so she wouldn't go running off to the man responsible for the clanking typewriter keys in the next room over. They needed this baby.

Rose opened the beaded bag her mother had given to her. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she saw she was in the clear. Reaching her arm into the charmed bag, she pulled out a pale blue potion. She quietly unscrewed the lid and held the glass pipette over her tongue. After three drops fell, she put the birth control potion back into the bag. A baby was the last thing she needed right now.

Each of them drifted asleep, unaware of how much this week in Italy would impact their lives.