Hey all,
I know I know, nothing new here - your same old busy life-in-the-way-of-fic girl has resurfaced and wants to apologise for the delay!
But ALSO wants to thank you amazing people for sticking with me! And the even MORE AMAZING people who left me a little almost-love note (I love them that much):
SilverShiko~ Thanks for popping back up with a review! I get you so completely, I'm forever searching through my doc for certain words because I forget what's happened exactly! So sorry about that, the only way that gets fixed relies on me being a lot more regular and unfortunately that's not entirely possible at the moment :( But thank you for sticking with me regardless! Haha, on that thread - I don't know if I've addressed the home-magic thing specifically without checking, but to be honest I was going along the lines of the Ministry having changed a fair amount since canon and that they would probably have softened up some rules around magic at home (probably due to a lengthy advisory paper written by Hermione) orrr the rules still exist but it's one of those things that everyone knows doesn't get enforced as long as it's within reason. But yeah- go with that. Hope you like the Scorpianne in this one, let me know what you think! :)
BlueEyelashes~ Glad you liked the weekend! And just to reassure you - I'm working very hard on the 'doing away with Logan' plan! We get a little bit closer in this chap too- enjoy it and let me know what you think! xx
Jily71102~ Thanks for the review, it was so lovely to hear your comments! Welcome to your irregular helping of Scorpianne - this chap has a fair bit! Glad you liked the Malfoy interactions, it was great to write! And as for the baby... well read on and tell me where you think that'll go... I'm not going to give any hints about that!
Mint. life~ Hello again you, thanks so much for the review, I'm blushing a bit. I've got a task, go read this then come back and tell me what you think R.E: baby Malfoy when you're done! (Don't hate me)
Guest~ Sorry for the delay but here's that update! Thank you so much for sticking with me- and for reading it all again, I love that. Keep letting me know what you're thinking!
lcanlovegood~ My feelings exactly, don't worry I want Logan gone too... And yeah, sorry about the Rose thing, I intend to try to clear that up as we go on, but I'm a bit of a slow one (incase you hadn't noticed!) As for that potential (see, no give aways!) brother-sister dynamic... we'll just have to see ;)
Guest2~ IM SO SORRY IM SO SLOW. PLEASE ENJOY THIS CHAPTER AND FORGIVE ME!
Guest3 (?) ~ (Guests are confusing, how many people are you?) Please see the above line, again I'm so sorry! But thank you so much for reviewing- don't worry you didnt sound rude at all! I need a bit of a bug sometimes and it was so lovely to hear how much you like my writing! Thank you! Hope you like this one!
pt2~ Thanks for the additional little nudge, was much needed (I know it's still ages ago, but it did help the chap along at the time!) And as for the Yule Ball, I didn't include it because I thought it was a triwizard tournament only thing? Even though it would have been super cute regardless, I felt it might have taken away from the NYE and Halloween partays a little, so probably won't be going in there, I got too carried away with Malfoy Manor!
Anyway, hope you all enjoy this chap and the few hints it brings with it of exciting bits to come!
Lots of virtual kisses,
Cookie xx
Chapter 40- A Little Lunch Date, Unexpected Stay and Breakdown Control
"Fred get out of the shower! You're going to make me late!"
"Oh calm down, it's only Vic. She won't care if you're late"
"She's working, Fred. She doesn't get that long for her breaks!"
"Don't shower then!" he called back, over the noise of the water.
"I'm not leaving without showering Freddie"
"Looks like you're not leaving for a while then"
"Ugh. MUM!"
Fred laughed, "Mum's out."
"DAD!"
"At work!"
"For Merlin's sake Fred, just get out of there!"
"What's the magic word?"
"NOW!"
"Wrong answer" she heard the shower stop and her brother's deep voice more clearly.
"Just come out Fred"
"Not till you ask nicely" he said, neither of them having to shout now.
Roxanne just took out her wand and unlocked the door from the outside. She walked in and over started to unbutton her pyjamas.
"What the hell Roxy!"
"Oh calm down, I knew you'd be in a towel. Though, I'm getting in this shower now so if I were you I'd leave the room"
"Not until you ask nicely" he folded his arms across his bare chest. His towel was tightly wrapped around his waist as she had known (hoped) it would be.
"Fred, you will have to live with the trauma of seeing your little sister naked if you don't get out of here now. Mum will probably object to paying for therapy too. I'd get a move on if I were you"
Roxanne went back to her buttons, fiddling with them rather than actually undoing them and smiled to herself when her brother stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him as he went. No way would she have actually stripped if he'd stood his ground. Good thing Freddie was easier to scare than he looked. ~
Roxanne was precisely three and a half minutes late. Vic looked up at her with a smile when she slid into the chair opposite.
"Sorry I'm late. Fr-" she began flushed from rushing from the main entrance to where the cousins had arranged to meet.
"Let me guess, shower issues?" Victoire said with a empathetic smile.
Roxanne laughed, "How'd you know?"
"It's always shower issues. Remember the Burrow at Christmas before you snagged the loft? Anyway, aside from having a typically annoying older brother, how are you?"
"I'm good. Great in fact. What about you? How're the rotations?"
"Good. Great in fact." Vic teased, "I'm on maternity now"
"Wow, that's so cool. Favourite ward so far?"
"Before this definitely spell damage, but now I don't know. Magical pregnancies are so interesting! And there's nothing more satisfying than passing a new mother her baby to hold for the first time." Vic beamed and Roxanne couldn't help but smile with her, she couldn't wait to find her true calling like Vic had found hers.
"You think you'll stay on here then?"
"Probably, I've got another month here then I can decide whether to stay or go back to another department. Of course, provided I pass my final exams"
"You'll definitely pass, Ted says he's never seen anyone study harder than you do"
"Yeah well, Ted never had to study all that much so I doubt he's ever seen anyone other than me study anyway" she chuckled, shaking her head a little. "Speaking of studying, how are the OWLs going?"
"Ugh. They're getting tougher, but I'm coping because anything I get stuck with I just ask Scor or Al or the twins so that's convenient. It's mostly the amount of work that's difficult, rather than the concepts."
"That's good though, the main thing is that you understand what you're learning. The rest is just making sure you leave yourself enough time to go over everything. But of course you'll do that. I'd bet my dessert you've already started revising" Vic smiled and Roxanne blushed a little, she had in fact. This holiday so far had been all work when she wasn't with friends or family – she hadn't really had any chilled out alone time so far.
"And another tip, don't let that new boyfriend of yours distract you too much. Your-"
"Education should come first, yes Aunt 'Mione" she finished sassily. Vic just grinned, almost knowingly.
"Mock me all you want, but you'll need to be reminded every so often. It is tough at times, Teddy got so sulky at me some days when I couldn't hang out with him because I was studying. It would have been so easy and preferable to just do exactly that, but I had work to do, and it was hard to remember that sometimes."
"Yeah I guess, it's already been a bit difficult with Logan getting sulky"
"How so?"
"Well he's not a huge fan of Scorpius, or the twins really I guess, but mostly Scor, so he doesn't like when I have one on ones with him. He won't ask but I think he'd much rather if I didn't hang out with him at all"
Vic's face took on a worried expression, and her brows creased. "That's not a brilliant trait you know Roxy. One of my pre-teddy boyfriends was like that, and it didn't end well."
"How bad is 'not well'?" she asked, curious.
"With him putting Ted in the hospital and me having to hex him"
"He put Ted in the hospital? Since when has he ever lost a fight?"
"Oh, it was him and three of his friends. Ted put them all in hospital too. Madame Pomfrey had an absolute meltdown." She chuckled, "Of course it didn't help that then I hexed my ex when he got out because it wasn't fair that I hadn't been there too" Vic smiled, and Roxanne chuckled.
She hadn't been at school when Vic and Ted had but she had heard most of the stories, drama had followed them all the way through and everyone could see they were meant to be together apart from them. It had taken until Ted's first mission, a year after Vic had graduated for them to get together properly. She'd been worried sick the whole time and pretty much launched herself at him the moment he'd come back. Ted said he'd never gotten such admiration from his co-workers as he had the day the part Veela had wrapped her legs around his waist and made out with him in front of everyone- her uncles included.
"How did they end up in a fight though? Like what kicked it off?" Roxanne asked curiously.
"Ted had never been all that clear on it, and after me hexing him, Andrew wasn't really in the mood to talk to me so I don't really know. But I think when boys and feelings are involved, it's just one of those things that sort of happens"
"Well thankfully, Scor isn't Teddy so I should be alright"
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, almost sounding like she was about to get defensive.
"Well Teddy was in love with you for years by that point Vic, I imagine that makes a fight a hell of a lot more likely"
"Hm, true. Though from what you've said before Scor does sound like he could be very protective, and that could be enough"
Roxanne groaned and put her head on the table in front of her a little dramatically, "Merlin, I hope not"
Vic chuckled in the cute airy way she always did, "You'll be fine Roxy. I'm sure no one will fight anyone"
"If they do I'll just do what you did, but probably hex everyone involved instead"
"Maybe you should tell them all that now as a deterrent" Vic suggested, making Roxanne smile.
"You're always good with advice." she teased before continuing, "Okay enough about boy drama that hasn't even happened yet – I want to know more wedding plans please"
Vic's face lit up, "Okay, so I was thinking – "
She was interrupted by a series of short blue flashes on her badge. Roxanne's brows furrowed, not knowing the code.
Vic sighed heavily, "I'm sorry Roxy, one of my cases needs attention, I've got to go. "
"No worries Vic, I'll get this" she told her as Victoire leaned over to give her cousin two kisses on the cheeks.
"Merci Roxy, I'll see you soon okay?"
"Good luck!" Roxanne called as she moved to the counter to pay for their drinks and food.
Just ahead of her in the queue were two more Healers in training, easy to spot by the uniform they shared with Vic, and Roxanne couldn't help but listen in on their conversation as they waited.
"Don't you have the same cases as Weasley? Why haven't you had a summons if she's just run right out?" One girl asked her male colleague.
"Yeah, same cases. But none of them are due for another month at least so it's probably just a rearranged check-up for one of them. I did the last check-up so this one's on her. They'd only summon us both if something got real interesting"
"Merlin, I feel like I've been waiting all month for something to get interesting, bloody potions and plant poisoning is doing my absolute head in" the girl replied with a small laugh.
"I actually liked it down there! It's so much better than-" the male trainee stopped short as his badge began to flash, a higher frequency than Vic's flashes had been at.
"Ooo, someone must be due early then. Any idea who?" the girl asked quickly as the male handed her a jumper that was slung over his arm and a wallet that had been in his hands.
"Yeah, Mrs Malfoy probably which means I really have to go. Sorry babe, owe you one" he told her quickly, kissing her on the cheek before running off towards the lifts. ~
"Roxanne? What are you doing here?" Scorpius looked up at her, his eyes shining with worry. He'd been in the hospital for all of 15 minutes and already managed to work himself into a state.
"I was having lunch with Vic and she got called away and then someone else did and he mentioned your mum and I wasn't sure but had to come and see if it was her"
"What happened?" She panted, having run up three floors from the canteen rather than wait for the lift queue to move, "I thought she wasn't due until after Easter"
"She wasn't. Something happened. I'm not sure... I don't know what's going on. But they're going to have to get them out soon"
"Them?"
"I forgot to say, was meaning to send you a letter today actually. Mum had a scan a few days ago. She's having twins. Well she's supposed to anyway-" he choked.
"No, Scor. She is. She'll be fine, they all will"
"But what if. What if she's not Rox-"
"What if nothing, Scor" Roxanne sat next to him and took his hands in hers. She squeezed them and he squeezed back.
"Your mum and the twins will be fine. My big cousin's in there after all..."
She grinned, nudging him for a response.
"And Weasleys don't fail." He said with a tiny smile. It was something she said to him every so often on the Quidditch pitch if they were having a particularly tough game and the opposition was starting to worry them.
"Nope. And Malfoys never give up. Stubborn bunch they are" She said confidently, including what had come to be his reply to her.
The pair sat in silence for a few minutes. Their hands still entwined.
"Is there anything you want me to get you? I can bring snacks? I can even go back to yours and get clothes or other things if you want?"
"Clothes?" He looked down at himself. He was dressed quite smartly actually. In well fitted trousers and an even better fitted soft blue shirt, they'd been out on a fancy family lunch when his mum had started to feel an abnormal pain in her stomach. The fabric of the shirt strained a little against his biceps as he anxiously ran his fingers through his hair.
Why did he need clothes?
Did maternity wards have other dress codes?
He looked at Roxanne. She was in a pair of tight blue jeans and a patterned top which revealed a sliver of her midriff. He pulled his eyes from her and looked down at their hands instead. The distraction she presented was pleasant. But only lasted a few seconds because all he could think of right now was his mum. And whether or not he'd get to be a big brother.
"Yeah. Just in case you're here for a bit. Having kids takes a while, Scor"
"How long is a while?"
She shrugged, "It depends. My mum was here for almost four days with Freddie. But only a couple nights with me"
"It takes days for babies to be born?" for the first time in his life Scorpius felt like an idiot, and so very unprepared. Not a feeling he was accustomed to, or one he enjoyed.
"No. Labour isn't just the actual birthing part. It's a long process. I mean there's the time it takes to dilate and-" his face scrunched up. "and that's probably more than you wanted to know. Okay put it this way... There's more to it than actually giving birth. There's a bit before and a bit after. The bits vary in time. And your mum is having two babies earlier than expected. It might take some time"
He nodded. "Believe it or not, I was going to do some research on this kind of stuff. But it all happened so unexpectedly... "
"Its fine. Premature babies aren't as uncommon as you think anyway. Let's not worry unless we need to, okay?"
"Okay."
"So, is there anything you want me to get? Is there anything your mum would want?"
He shook his head. "No. It's fine. I've called Nat. She'll know what mum would have wanted to bring. She'll be here soon. You can go, get back to whatever plans you had"
She shrugged. "Didn't have any other plans"
He looked at their hands again and pulled his out of her grip.
"Really? Haven't you got a boyfriend to meet with? Don't you guys check in everyday now?"
He folded his own hands together on his lap.
"Nope. He's away skiing. But I have got this stressed out friend who's getting snappy with me because he's worried about his family. Think I should go see him?"
Scor remained silent for a while then sighed when Roxanne made no move to speak or leave, "You know, maybe you should" he began softly, "He's probably sorry for snapping and would really appreciate your company. In fact, I'm sure you've already comforted him more than you know"
"Yeah I thought as much" she smiled and took his hand again, sliding her delicate palm between the two of his. He let her now, not really caring about how it might look to anyone else. He did need her and she bloody well knew it. He closed his eyes as she ran her thumb soothingly over the back the hand she was holding and when she leaned her head on his shoulder, he didn't even think before leaning his head onto the top of hers too. ~
"Scorpius!"
"Nat?!"
Scor sat upright. He'd drifted off on Rox's head. He stood quickly and took a few steps before the woman he'd just called Nat threw herself into his arms.
Roxanne stood awkwardly behind Scor, not sure if she should introduce herself. She sat back down and buried her hands in her bag to busy herself.
On the third rummage around what was actually quite an uninteresting, mostly empty bag, Scor placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Rox, I'd like you to meet someone."
"Oh okay"
Roxanne zipped up the bag and put it on her seat as she stood. Scorpius guided her over to the woman who was handing a bag over to the receptionist.
The woman turned and Roxanne almost groaned internally. Why did every person associated with this family have to be so beautiful?
"Roxanne, this is Natalia, she's been my mum's PA for years. She's pretty much one of the family"
"Lovely to meet you" Rox said, shaking the older witch's hand.
"Natalia, this is Roxanne"
"It's lovely to finally meet you, Roxanne. Scor's told me so much about you."
She looked to Scorpius with a teasing twinkle in her eyes. "You really didn't exaggerate when you said she was beautiful, did you?"
Roxanne blushed, and looked at Scorpius out of the corner of her eye as he looked away. She mumbled an embarrassed thank you to Natalia who smiled back charmingly.
Scorpius cleared his throat uncomfortably, "What did they say, Nat?"
"Well, they're not letting me in either. One at a time in cases like this apparently. She's going to bring that bag to your father. They've given your mum something to sedate her for a bit while they try to assess what's going on."
"They don't know what's going on? Why not?"
"It's hard with two babies. Plus your mum's history, they don't know exactly what was causing the pain. They might not need to be born yet. Going in and getting them out too early might be worse for everyone. It seems to be a bit of a waiting game I'm afraid, honey. But when they know more they'll let you know."
"So what am I supposed to do for now?"
"There's nothing to be done. You could wait here, or come back to the office with me?"
"You're leaving?"
"Yes. Your mum still planned to work for the next couple of weeks. She has meetings with clients tomorrow, that need prepping for and I'm sure she'd rather me do them than cancel."
Scorpius nodded in agreement. His mum always had been a workaholic, Nat knew that as well as he did.
"So?"
"I'm staying here, Nat"
"I figured. I'm glad you're not alone" she smiled warmly at Roxanne. "If you need me, call the office I'll be here straight away. Okay?"
He nodded.
"Come here" she held her arms open for him one last time and he stepped into them, bending so his head nestled into her neck. She was whispering to him and Roxanne felt she was intruding on something by watching. She returned to the chairs they'd been sitting on.
A minute or so later, Scorpius walked back from seeing Nat to the lifts. He sat down next to Roxanne close enough that their legs were touching. Before Logan, this level of closeness wouldn't have been unusual for them. Since he'd started to get jealous, Roxanne had been distancing herself out of respect -as successfully as she could at least.
Next to her, his leg jumped up and down as he fidgeted. He was making himself worse. She could sense the nerves and worry in him. It was practically seeping out. She placed her hand on his thigh, and applied enough pressure to still him, his foot flattened and she eased off.
"Working yourself up isn't helping anyone."
"Nothing I do right now will help anyone. And that's more than annoying right now"
"You could help me"
He scoffed, disbelieving, "How?"
"That essay I got set for DADA. I still haven't asked Al about it. You could help me with it"
"You want to write an essay in the middle of a maternity ward?"
"No, not write. But you could explain it to me. I'm not sure of the whole concept"
"Something you're not sure of?" he teased half-heartedly.
"Don't be like that! I get it enough in the dorm, you know I'm not a genius. There are plenty of things I'm not sure of"
"Closest thing to a genius I'll ever meet"
"You're not exactly dumb are you, Mr all Os in his OWLs. "
"Yeah well...I took those at the right time."
She rolled her eyes and huffed, "So are you going to explain Maxwell's theory of counter attack to me or not?"
"Well I guess I'd better be some use, to someone. I warn you, Maxwell was a rambler, if you study the original text-"
"You read the original text?" she interrupted.
He raised a brow, and she laughed. "Of course you did. Continue"
"Basically he goes off on a hell of a lot of tangents, so if I end up doing that too, let me know"
"Oh don't worry, I'll let you go off on all the nerdy tangents you like"
He smiled a little and settled more into the chair. Its wipe-able material making noise under his movement.
Roxanne settled next to him, shifting closer. She nudged his arm, clearly uncomfortable. And Scor obligingly put his arm around her shoulders so she could lean in him more easily.
He had to admit. Whispering defensive theory to her as she snuggled up ever so slightly next to him, as weird as it was, did calm him down a bit. ~
She must have lied. There was no other explanation for how she'd just recited the entire theory, tangents and all, back to him just now. Scorpius was sure she'd fallen asleep on him. He was sure he'd heard her breathing deepen and slow. But he'd kept talking, partly because it was relaxing but partly because he wasn't ready to go back to worrying and feeling useless. Not quite yet.
So he'd kept talking until he'd pretty much recited Maxwell's entire report. Then when he nudged Roxanne in the side and asked her if she understood it and she had replied yes, Scor had smirked cockily. He had thought she'd squirm under trying to explain the complex idea back to him having only heard half of it. But, in the way Roxanne often did, she surprised him. Because not only did she repeat the theory and it's explanations but she also recalled facts he'd gleaned from the text that weren't in the school teachings.
Facts he'd thought he was telling a sleeping person.
"You were sleeping though..."
"Don't be ridiculous. I was just resting my eyes"
"Liar."
"How else would I have known all that? Exactly what you just told me?"
"Maybe my voice ended up in your dream"
"Or maybe I was awake and listening"
"Okay, fine. What did I say about Maxwell's time in Azkaban"
"That he was imprisoned for 3 months and 4 days until it was found that he did in fact have a twin who had killed that man" she smirked at him, having perfectly recited the story back.
Only, Scor hadn't bothered to include how long he was imprisoned for in his unanswered explanations to her. But he had read it in the original text. The one she'd tried to mock him for reading. One she'd clearly read herself.
He smirked back, he had her. But then, did he really?
She'd pretended to not know anything about Maxwell's theory to give him something to do. Hell, she probably finished all her work within the first two days of the holiday. But still, she'd lied and pretended not to have so that he could be distracted for a while. So he wouldn't worry about his mum and unborn siblings. And it had worked for a time.
The smirk fell from his lips, and a small thankful smile replaced it.
She smiled back and shrugged.
"Hey, I'm here for you. Now tell me about the last book you read and try not to bore me to pieces with it" she retook her place under his arm, clearly placing her head with the intention of sleeping on his shoulder. She reached up to his hand which was facing down on the back of the chair past her and pulled it so that his arm was curled around her properly. He tucked his arm over hers and held her to him and let her drift back to sleep to the synopsis of one of the books she'd bought him for his last birthday. It was a Muggle play, written by a guy who had actually been a Squib, some bloke called Shakespeare. ~
"Fred, when did Roxy say she was coming over?" George shouted from the top of the ladder where he was rooting through product designs.
He and Fred were spending the day in the back rooms of the shops, one of George's places to draw up designs and experiment. Roxanne had said she was visiting Victoire for late lunch at St Mungo's that afternoon and would then come over and spend some time with them in the "creation crater". So nicknamed because of the amount of times things blew up in it.
"She said no later than 4" Fred answered, remembering the conversation they'd had the night before.
"What's the time now?"
"Half past"
"It's not like her to be late is it?"
"Nah, it's usually me who's late. She must have a reason. Maybe she met Dom and they went out?" he suggested. It seemed like the sort of thing that might happen.
"She's out with Dom tomorrow isn't she?"
"Is she? That girl has too many plans I tell you" he shook his head, still in awe of how much his sister managed to do with her time. "Whatever happened to just chilling at home and doing nothing?"
"No idea son, but women tend to have a thing for lunch dates. With men, with each other, I'm not sure I understand it myself. "
"Lunch is like the worst time for a date. You wanna be in the air, out in the sun, not in a silly little cafe waiting ages for a toasted sandwich you could make at home for free"
"My thoughts exactly. Now do me a favour and hand me that box"
"The empty one?"
"Yeah. I'll fill the box then carry it down."
He hesitated, "Dad, why are we not using out wands for this?"
"You're free to. But there's some stuff I haven't tested properly up here yet so it's your risk"
"Fair enough." Fred shrugged and passed his father the empty box by hand.
"Hey boss, your daughter just called. She said she's still at the hospital. Apparently her friend's mum just went into labour or something so she's staying with them to keep the company" One of the storefront employees said, popping his head round the door to the crater.
"Which friend?" George asked back.
"She didn't say. Want me to call back?"
"No its okay, I need you on the floor today. I'll go check in a while"
"Sure thing boss" the young man nodded and left the room.
"Do you know which friend's parents are having kids?" George queried with Fred.
He thought for a second, then answered, "Well I thought she mentioned Malfoy's mum being pregnant. But she wasn't due for another month I thought so that can't be right"
"Maybe it is. The baby could be premature, maybe that's why she's sticking around. With Scorpion was it?"
"Scorpius." He corrected without thinking, "Yeah I suppose so, they're quite close. I could apparate over, see what's going on?" he offered.
"Nah, don't worry, about it. Merlin knows she'll have enough people looking out for her at that place. If she's not here by closing we'll both go over"
"Okay"
"Good. Now pass me that muggle screwdriver over there" ~
"Hey Mum" Roxanne began as her mother answered on the other end.
"Roxy, tell your father it's late and if you don't come home soon I'm not going to cook" she started immediately.
"Oh. Mum, I'm not with dad and Fred. I'm still at St Mungo's, don't worry I'm fine. I'm with Scorpius. His mum, something happened, with her and the babies, I'm not sure really. But they'll only allow his dad in at the moment and I don't want to leave him alone. He's really worried mum, and scared. I was just ringing because well, can I stay here this evening?"
"You want to spend the night at St Mungo's?"
"Yeah... He doesn't have anyone else right now mum. And Vic's still on shift"
Angelina was silent on the other end of the phone.
"Well, the men of the house haven't come home either. I expect they're camping out in the crater. So, I suppose I can do with the house to myself for the night. But I don't want any arguments tomorrow. I'm going to come and pick you up and you're coming out with me before you meet Dom, okay? I've barely seen you this week"
"Okay mum, thank you!"
"Is there anything you need now?"
"No thanks"
"Alright... And Roxanne?"
"Yes mum?"
"I'm proud of you by the way, not many people would camp out at a hospital to stay with their friend while their mother was in labour"
"You would, mum"
"Yeah, well I'm pretty amazing myself"
"Yeah you are. Thanks mum"
"See you tomorrow honey, love you"
"Love you too, bye"~
Scor stroked her hair softly. Tucking a curl behind her ear. Roxanne had insisted she wouldn't leave him. Not alone, as his dad was still with his mum and Nat was still working.
It was funny, even now that she'd properly fallen asleep and wasn't able to verbally distract him, she was still managing to calm him.
They'd been moved from the seating area in the hallway to the family maternity waiting room. Here, they had long sofa bed type furniture. One of which was free, the other four were occupied by children and their grandmother. She'd told them the kids we're being defiant because their parents were away and had refused to share a sofa bed. The old lady had looked tired and worried which automatically made Roxanne tell her not to wake the kids, they'd share.
It had been fortunate for Scorpius, he was sure her closeness was all that was keeping him together right now. There were all these scenarios running through his head.
What if his mother died?
And the twins lived?
He didn't know how he'd face a world without his mum, or if his dad would be able to do the same.
Who would care for the babies?
Would Nat stick around?
Would his dad blame them for losing his wife?
A million questions for only one possible outcome.
Say his mum did survive, but without the babies?
How would that affect her?
Her relationship with his dad?
Would they divorce?
Would his mum ever get over something like that?
What if his mum survived, but with only one baby?
How would she cope? Knowing there should be another?
Would she even be able to look at the surviving child?
Would the child be haunted by that, knowing they were supposed to be one half of two but never would be?
Would they even tell the child?
Would they find out later in life and resent their parents and older brother for never telling them?
Say none survived?
It would be him and his dad. Scor would lose both his parents he was sure of that. His dad would probably retreat into work and he'd not see him much after that.
How would either of them cope-
"Scor?" Roxanne whispered to him. Shifting so she was sitting up next to him.
"Yeah" he managed back, grateful for the darkness that was the only thing stopping her from knowing that he'd been crying. He hadn't even known at first, his thoughts had clearly gotten to him, because now he could feel the tears down his cheeks.
"Are you alright?" She asked softly.
He steeled himself to answer but a choked sob escaped him. It was the slightest sound but in the quiet of the room they shared with four sleeping children and their sleeping grandma, she noticed.
Of course she did.
"Oh, Scorpius, don't"
She sat up and quickly shifted over to him. Hugging him fiercely. But the moment she held him, he broke. ~
It physically hurt her. Seeing him like this made her heart ache. Scorpius wasn't really a massive sharer, and while he was better with talking to her about his feelings than he was with anyone else, crying was on a whole new level for him. And not just the single, maybe double tear type of crying – Scorpius was full on in pieces. She couldn't even imagine what he was going through, how worried he must feel and how being so close yet so in the dark was affecting him.
She didn't think there was anything that she could say in terms of that that would calm him so she just told him what she knew. What she felt would always be true.
"I'm here" was all she said, whispered over and over into his ear he calmed down slowly. She felt the tension leave his muscles and him relax into her. She summoned him some tissues and stroked his hair until he looked up, red eyed and embarrassed.
"It's okay" she told him, meaning it. "Just try and get some sleep. I'm not going anywhere"
He nodded, and thanked her quietly before lying down with his head on her lap. ~
"Roxanne, I've barely seen you this past week- you said you'd come out with me before you have to meet Dom" Angelina said, folding her arms across her chest. Roxanne sighed. Her mum hadn't seen Scorpius last night, and there was no way for Roxanne to explain just how bad of a state he was in without telling her and embarrassing him. She knew he'd be able to hear them speaking from the room he was sat in now. In hindsight, Roxanne should have said she'd meet her mum in the café.
"Mum, please I need to-"
"Go out with your mother and then tell Dom I said hi" Scorpius finished confidently from behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave them a slight squeeze before charmingly holding his hand out to her mum.
"Pleasure to see you again Mrs Weasley, thank you so much for allowing Roxanne to stay with me last night. Her support means more to me than I can say" he gave her a genuine smile which she returned.
"I'm glad she asked to stay, Scorpius. And please, do let me know if there's anything myself or my family can do to help while you're here. And if you want dinner away from here, you're welcome to join us this evening."
Roxanne's head rose at that- she hadn't thought of that one actually. She turned to him, "Scor, that's a great idea. Come for dinner tonight"
"Rox I-"
"It will only be for a couple of hours and then you can come straight back, but you really do need to have proper food. Please?" she asked, looking at him intently. He had his face on, he seemed together and confident until now but the thought of leaving here seemed to reveal some chinks in his armour.
He closed his eyes and nodded. She smiled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
"Good. I'll come back and pick you up later. Call if you need me before then, okay?"
She looked at him like she meant it, he knew she did.
"Okay, bye Roxanne. Thank you"
For absolutely everything. ~
"So, what's your favourite subject then?"
Roxanne scoffed and Fred snorted, Scor looked up, confused.
"Dad, he's been around to play Quidditch with us and pissed off Uncle Ron, you don't have to ask the kid what his favourite subject is to try and make small talk" Fred told his father, to the surprise of pretty much the entire room.
Scor nodded a small appreciative nod and Roxanne looked at him confusedly. He just shrugged at her, and turned to Scorpius instead.
"What we really want to know, is all the embarrassing things my little sister has done at Hogwarts…"
Scorpius smiled broadly at that and turned to Roxanne with a glint in his eye. Fred watched her narrow her eyes at him and glare a glare that even he would be wary of. His sister was so much of the women who had helped raise her, and any man in her life would find that out the hard way. Scorpius' smile diminished a little and it seemed he already had.
He cleared his throat, "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything, your sister saved me embarrassment at home and she's already got a lunch date organised with –"
He trailed off, the reality of why he was there hitting him again.
"Pass me the butter please dear" Angelina covered, he quickly obliged. Making a point to imitate his mother's usual complaints about putting too much butter on his corn. He'd never found it a challenge to evoke his mother's annoyance, and they then started a playful argument about all the times she was supposedly hypocritical with what she told her children off for.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched his little sister, who now had one hand on top of her friend's and was whispering something to him. He wasn't looking at her, and his face didn't show much, but his shoulders softened as she said whatever she was saying to him and in all other ways he seemed to relax in response to her.
"So how 'bout it, Rox?"
"How 'bout what?" she asked him back, having not been paying attention to the conversation Fred had initiated with their mum to stop an awkward silence ensuing.
"Mum said if we can go the entire holiday without arguing and the rest of the term with perfect grades and no pranks, she'll look into that house"
"The house?"
Fred nodded enthusiastically, glad his sister still remembered and was as excited as he'd hoped.
Scorpius looked confused, "What house is this?" he asked, whatever Roxy had said, had perked him back up.
"Fred and I have spent ages begging mum and dad to move. Once, years ago we even spent a few weeks over summer house hunting ourselves."
"They let two kids look at houses?"
"Ted was in on it, he's got a knack for middle aged single father face" he supplied, before letting his sister continue.
"Yeah, so we did all this house hunting. And we found this big muggle place that was absolutely perfect, garden big enough for a pitch, big old empty Victorian style pool, beautiful staircases… But-"
"But absolutely wrecked." Angelina said disapprovingly.
"Yeah, it's really old, no one even really owns it now. The lady who last lived there had no will or relatives so no one cares about doing it up to sell, plus it has a small pixie problem so anyone that starts to look at it ends up running away screaming haunted"
"Don't forget that the garden has gnomes too" Angelina said again.
"It's a perfect family project!" Fred told her, looking to his dad for support.
"Hey, you know I'm with you kids. Blame your mother"
She huffed at him and Scorpius laughed.
"Don't tell me you think it's a good idea? How disappointing, I thought you were more sensible than that Scorpius" she teased him, smiling to make sure he knew it too.
"I think, sometimes the sensible thing to do isn't always the best thing to do." he answered half-seriously. "Besides, pixies and gnomes are easily fixed and I reckon if any family could handle a project like that, it'd be you all"
Angelina smiled softly at him, "I think you've got a good head on your shoulders there" she said more seriously.
"Only because I've got a friend like Rox to help keep it screwed on"
Fred watched Roxanne roll her eyes at the charm he was piling on to their mum. He rolled his even harder because it seemed to be working. He looked up at his dad for a reaction and he just seemed to be unusually deep in thought, quiet and observant. ~
By the time dinner was over, and he'd helped clear up, Scorpius could feel the anxiety surrounding his mum and unborn siblings unwillingly creep back up on him. It felt like bile in his throat and a band around his heart, causing it to beat painfully in his chest. He walked back into the living room from the bathroom where he'd been to try and catch his breath without worrying Rox. She was sat cross legged on the floor opposite her brother and looked around at him with the softest smile as he entered.
"We've got dragons and ogres if you want to play?" she offered shaking the rectangular box that contained a well-known, very interactive Wizarding board game.
He shook his head slightly, shrugging apologetically, "I should probably get back"
"You sure? You can stay for the night if you like" she told him. And he held back a smirk as her dad behind her looked pointedly at her mum who gave him a glare that Roxanne had clearly inherited.
"No it's okay. I'll feel better being there." He turned to her parents, "Thank for the wonderful meal Mrs Weasley and thank you both so much for the hospitality and welcoming me into your home"
Angelina smiled softly, "Please, none of the Mrs Weasley rubbish, I'm Angelina, or Angie. And you're very welcome. It was lovely to have you over, you're welcome back any time"
"Of course, and if there's anything we can do to help, let us know." George told him in an equally caring tone, nodding what Scorpius seemed to think was approval at him.
"Later Malfoy, take care of yourself okay?"
"Sure thing, Weasley" he smiled at Fred who he knew had been looking out for him all night.
Roxanne stood and led him from the room, away from the three sets of eyes that seemed to be watching their every interaction. Roxanne must have felt it too because once they were out of sight she slipped her hand into his and seemed to shift closer.
"Sorry if they've been a bit intense" she mumbled as they stopped by the second Floo the house had in the foyer; Scor was glad she'd gotten up to take him to this one rather than him having to step over her relatives to get to the living room one.
"No no, they've all been so lovely. Thank you"
"No need to thank me, Scor. I'm always here for you, you know that"
"I know" he smiled slightly, he always hoped so, but it was nice to have it confirmed from time to time.
"Good. Then you also know that I'm coming to see you tomorrow, right? And I expect you to keep me up to date on everything, and to let me know if you need me. Whenever that may be"
"Yes Ma'am"
"Don't mock me Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. I'm very serious"
"I know you are Roxanne Katherine Weasley, you're also very demanding"
"You need someone to boss you about a bit I think"
"You keep telling yourself that" he told her teasingly.
"Oh I will, all while I keep telling you what to do"
"I wouldn't want it any other way" he smiled at her and held his arms out for a hug goodbye.
She stepped into them automatically and he couldn't help but feel like they belonged that way. ~
A/N:
Hope you enjoyed that truckload of Scorpianne mush because I sure did.
Let me know what you thought of it all/what you think is going to happen! I love hearing what you think is coming!
It's that exammy time of year again- sorry, I don't know why I thought further education was a good idea either- but I'll do my bestest to get another one out soooon!
Keep the sweet reminders and reviews coming,
All my love,
Cookie xx