Chapter 35
Scorpius felt like he had just hopped onto an emotional rollercoaster. He could not believe how close he was to letting go and just kissing her right then. He was in some ways relieved that they had been interrupted, but in other ways he had to admit he wasn't. Scorpius knew that having these feelings of be anything more than friends was very inappropriate at this time. She was in a serious relationship and he had only just got back. They had so much more to learn about each other; they had so much to talk about. Scorpius had no idea whether she had read his letters or how much she knew about his travels. He, himself, only knew what he was told by Albus and Hugo. He had too much swirling around inside his head; Scorpius knew he had to settle his mind. Without his trusty guitar, he reached for the next best thing. Inside of his pocket he pulled out his wand and a miniature Rubik Cube. With his wand, he enlarged the cube to its normal size, muttering Engorgio. He stowed his wand back in his pocket and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, Scorpius began twisting and turning the colours in rows, trying to solve his puzzle.
Rose quickly entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her before leaning back against it with her eyes closed as she took deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a smirking Dominique Weasley.
"So, I take it things were going well in my absence." All Rose could do was nod in reply. "Then I guess you have much thinking to do," Dom offered as she just continued to stare into the mirror. Rose could see the look again.
"Dom, you know you can tell me anything," Rose said, taking a step further into the bathroom and standing next to her cousin. "If you have any issues or worries, you can talk to me. I will always listen, with no judgements-"
"Scorp told you, didn't he?" she spoke in a flat tone as though she wasn't really surprised, but Rose was glad to see she wasn't angry.
"Yes, but I think that's not all that's going on," Rose answered. "Oh, and congratulations by the way, but I really think you're overacting-" she added with a smile.
"Rose, I'm pregnant," Dominique blurted out, with a solemn expression.
"Oh…well, double congrats," Rose responded immediately.
"Rose, you don't get it!" Dom raised her voice and turned to look her cousin straight in the eye. "I am pregnant out of wedlock; Mum and Dad are going to have a fit. If they already didn't approve of Jacob, wait until they find out about this."
"Oh please, this happens all the time. They are not going to hate you or Jacob."
"Hello this is my mother we are talking about, the former Ms Delacour; there is no way she will be pleased that her daughter was knocked up before she got married."
"She may be a little upset or slightly disappointed but she won't hate you or disown you," Rose argued back. Dom just sighed and looked away. "How far along are you?"
"About 2 months," Dom mumbled.
"Does Jacob know?" Dom shook her head in answer, not daring to look Rose in the eye. "Oh Dom," Rose said as she reached out for her, pulling her into a hug. "Before you tell anyone else, you need to tell him."
"I have tried, I just don't know how," Dom muttered over Rose's shoulder. "What if he gets scared and thinks we're not ready for this and calls off the engagement. Not to mention, his parents are very traditional too."
"Dominique Weasley," Rose said sternly and she pulled back to look her cousin directly in the eye. "You are a strong and amazing woman and no matter what your parents or his parents think you will always be that woman. The woman Bill and Fleur Weasley raised you to be, the woman that I know and the woman Jacob loves." Rose's serious expression softened. "You tell him and I guarantee that he will be overjoyed and will not even for a second think about how his or your parents might judge both of you. He loves you, he wants to marry you, he wants you to be the mother of his children; otherwise, he would not have proposed or hung around this long."
"Okay," Dom agreed softly, wiping a tear that sprang loose during Rose's speech. "Rose, since when were you the sensitive one," Dom joked.
"I don't know. I guess Alison has finally made me see the light after all of these years," Rose replied, sharing a laugh with her cousin. "Dom?"
"Hmm?"
"There is one thing I didn't ask," Rose said, as Dominique waited for her to continue. "Are you happy about the baby?" Dominique expression blanked at Rose's question, but eventually she nodded slowly.
"At first, I think I wasn't because of the timing and what not," Dom elaborated. "Then, I realised I was just scared, especially after seeing Victoire go through it…But I really am happy. I just don't want to disappoint anybody, especially the kid." Rose nodded in understanding and smiled brightly at her cousin.
"I promise I will be there for you if you ever need anything or if you just need to just talk or someone to change the occasional diaper, okay?" Rose pledged, with a chuckle. Dom nodded, and gave her a teary smile.
"Thanks Rose, but I have already promised the diapers to Scorp," Dom said while amazingly keeping a straight face. Rose laughed, before Dom followed.
"Does he know that?" Rose asked in between her cackles.
"No, but I am sure he'll be more than willing to jump right in there and tackle them head on," Dom answered between cackles of her own. Once they calmed down they simply beamed at each other before embracing in a firm but comfortable hug.
"I know you will be a wonderful mother, Dominique Weasley," Rose said over Dominique's shoulder.
"Thank you, but first I'm going to be an Aunty," Dom replied with a smile, as they released one another. "I am glad that I told you, Rose, but can this stay between us, at least until Jacob arrives tomorrow?" Dom asked.
"Of course," Rose reassured her cousin. "I won't even tell Scorp about his diaper duties," she added, making Dom laughed.
"Thank you," said Dom, as she left the bathroom.
When Rose had changed she debated on if she should put the dress back on. 'Of all the t-shirts I have ever owned, Mum had to find this one', she thought. "At least the jeans fit," she said as she stood on her toes to see how her bottom looked in the tight fitting jeans. Like many women, Rose was definitely happy to know she hadn't gained too much weight since she had last worn her old jeans. "Okay, let's just go with it," she muttered to herself as she began taking out the pins holding her hair in place. She ran her fingers through her hair, shaking it out before she wiped off all of her make up. Looking in the mirror, she looked like when she went to their concert at fifteen. "Just great, I am going from looking breathtaking in an elegant dress to looking like a 15 year old groupie," Rose muttered sarcastically, as she gazed at her reflection. She didn't know why she was feeling self conscious knowing who was outside in the waiting room. 'Who cares what I look like? It doesn't matter what he thinks anyway. I am not trying to impress him, besides I have Ben. Oh Merlin, Ben. I completely forgot about him. Shit!' she thought, as she quickly and carefully put the dress in the bag. 'What kind of person forgets the existence of their boyfriend?'
Scorpius was in his own world, trying to solve the Rubik Cube; he didn't even notice Dominique or Rose return. But a loud bark of laughter made him look up.
"Ha, I haven't seen you wear that since like…years ago," Hugo managed through his laughter, with James and Fred joining in. Rose was wearing some black skinny jeans, slightly torn on the thighs, with a bright pink t-shirt. As she moved to hit her brother, Scorpius only caught a glimpse of what was on the front of the t-shirt. Eventually, she saw him looking and made her way back over to him. He could now see clearly what had made Hugo laugh at his sister. It was a Wombat with sunglasses and the words 'The Wombats' written below. Scorpius remembered the band; they were pretty good, but he mostly remembers picking on Rose when she cried because they were breaking up in the summer before 4th year. Scorpius pushed away his guilt to smirk at Rose. She was smiling shyly and blushing slightly as she sat down next to him again.
"Don't you even think about laughing," she said.
"Wasn't gonna," he replied still smirking as she refused to look at him. "So what's the verdict?" Scorpius asked after a moment of silence, returning his focus to his cube.
"The verdict?" she asked watching him twist and turn the cube, a little confused not only by his question.
"Oh, come on, you can't tell me that you didn't talk to Dom at all while you were both in there," he said as he stopped and looked up at her, smirking away. "Or did you spend too much time tossing up whether there was any way around wearing that shirt?" he said with a chuckle. Rose just simply pushed him playfully, giggling as she burrowed her head in her hands.
"Is it really that bad?" she mumbled from behind her hands.
"Nah, it isn't really. It's kind of cute," he said. Rose looked over at him to find him concentrating on the cube in his hands. She couldn't help but smile. He was different and she liked it. "So, what did she say?" he asked, breaking her from her little daydream, not looking up.
"She told me something."
"Really?" he said looking back up at her again. "What?"
"Oh, you're going to love it," she said with a cheeky smile, as she pictured him doing nappies.
"I will?"
"Yep"
"Okay, so what is it?"
"I can't tell you."
"What? Why?"
"Because it's a surprise," she replied as if it was obvious but Scorpius didn't miss her cheeky smile.
"Right and I'm going to love it?"
"Yep"
"So, why do I getting the feeling I'm not?"
"I have no idea," she replied, acting all innocent, causing Scorpius to laugh.
"So, how is the cooking and baking thing going?" he asked changing the subject, but he continued to work on his cube.
"Good," she answered feeling the awkwardness and the tension seeping in. She didn't want that to happen so she quickly pushed those thoughts away. "Did Al tell you about my shop/café?"
"Yeah, said I had to go, apparently your stuff is to die for," he replied smiling back at her.
"Well, I didn't think Al had actually come in yet," Rose said trying to deflect the compliment, which confused Scorpius. "He has been busy but I guess he knows from past experience-"
"Rose," he interrupted her rambling.
"Yeah?"
"Take the compliment," he said, making her blush. "Admit it. You are amazing in a kitchen and now you are sharing it with the rest of the world."
"The rest of the world?"
"Yeah, I am sure people from all over travel here and, who knows, they might stop by," he answered. Rose nodded.
"Thanks," she said.
"You're welcome," he answered simply, smiling, as he went back to twisting and turning his cube.
"So, what's next for you?" Rose asked, suddenly curious if she was getting all worked up about nothing, fearing that he wouldn't even be staying in the country. "Are you planning on staying?"
"Yes."
"Really? No more soul searching? No more travelling the world, just plain old boring England?" she mocked, but when Scorpius looked at her, he was more than pleased and shocked to see the happiness and relief in her eyes.
"There is nowhere else I'd rather be," he answered with an honest smile. "Besides, how can England be even remotely boring when The Weasley's call it home?" he added, and they both laughed at the thought.
"I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of you then," Rose mumbled timidly.
"I hope so," Scorpius nodded. He chanced a glance over at the redhead. She was looking at her fiddling fingers, beaming. She looked up and their gazed locked. He felt butterflies as he enjoyed seeing the light blush that rose in her cheeks while her eyes seemed to twinkle as he returned her smile.
"Rose, I am so sorry," the spell was broken once again as Ben rushed into the room, eyeing rose immediately, and heading straight for her.
"Ben," she said as she stood up, the shock noticeable in her voice. She had done it again, she had completely forgotten about her charming boyfriend. Once within reach, Ben pulled Rose into a comfortable hug. Rose immediately moulded into the familiar embrace and wrapped her arms around him. Scorpius looked down, going back to his trying to solve his Rubik Cube, not really wanting to watch.
"It took longer than I expected and I am sorry, I should have been here at least an hour ago," Ben said expressing his regret as he pulled back to look her in the eyes, keeping his arms around her.
"It's fine. Nothing has happened yet," Rose assured him, before quickly giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. Upon hearing the sound of moulded lips, Scorpius just wanted to get out of there, to just run. "We haven't heard much at all actually," Rose said, looking back down at Scorpius. Seeing how quickly his demeanour had changed, made her feel even more nervous and confused. He now looked tense and rigid, as he fiddled with his cube, refusing to look up. The smile that was stretched upon his face previously was gone without a trace, replaced by his closed, cold expression that she had not seen since Hogwarts. Ben obviously hadn't noticed the gaze of concern she directed at Scorpius, while he was concerned with what she was wearing.
"Rose, what are you wearing?" He asked, chuckling to himself. "The Wombats?" he questioned as he read the shirt.
"Yeah, they're a Muggle band I used to like," Rose answered almost proudly. "Have you heard any of their songs?" Scorpius looked up to see him take off his jacket, not really paying attention to what Rose was saying.
"No, I can't say I have," Ben said as put his jacket around her shoulders, pulling it together at the front, trying to hide the t-shirt as much as possible. Scorpius frowned and shook his head.
"You know, 'Jump Into The Fog' …'1996'," Rose listed, while Ben just looked at her like she had grown an extra head. "'…'Techno Fan'…"
"'Our Perfect Disease'," Scorpius put in without really knowing he was speaking aloud. Rose snapped her head around to look down at the blonde man in shock; she had no idea that he knew of The Wombats. It became ever so clear in that moment that she hardly knew him at all. The old him, the new him and the bits that stayed the same. Rose could see now as he looked up at her, at the sudden silence, what she once thought she knew about him only just scraped the surface of who Scorpius Malfoy is.
Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Some of you called it, Dom is pregnant :) This partly because we can't decide on a gender and because...well... you'll see ;) I just want to assure you that I haven't forgotten Al and Ali, we are just having to deal with Rose and Scorp for a bit :) but I am pretty sure most of you are okay with that. I hope you are enjoying their new dynamics. I would just like to again thank you for your reviews, I love hearing what you think. Last time, I also forgot to thank you for my birthday wishes. So here I am say THANK YOU! :) I really appreciated it :)
We are coming up to Christmas and I hope everyone is merry and loving the Christmas song as much as I am :) not to mention the countdown Christmas calenders are possibly the coolest invention ever! I would just like to say updates might be fewer until the New Year, plus I am one of those stupid people who decided to have a third/summer semester of Uni and will be studying all through the break. I will continue to write and I will update when I can :)
Please review, follow and fav :)
