Scorpius woke up with a piercing pain in the middle of his forehead. Grunting, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and slapped his hand on his bedside table blindly looking for his wand to Accio any hangover potion he was hopeful was somewhere in his bedroom. When no bottle flew to his outstretched hand he groaned and painfully rolled out of bed, his feet hitting the floor softly as he shuffled to the bathroom.

"Don't drink all of it if it's the last one," a muffled voice said from the couch in the living room. "I want some too."

Scorpius grunted in response and after rummaging through the cabinet, pulled out two small vials, uncorking one and tossing it back quickly. The effects were immediate and with a yawn and a stretch, he padded to the living room and placed a vial in James's hand who was sprawled out on the couch, his ankles hanging over one arm. "I told you we could have expanded the couch," Scorpius shook his head as he headed to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

"Neither of us were in good enough shape to do that," James muttered before drinking the contents of the vial quickly. "Blimey, that's better." He yawned loudly, "What's for breakfast?"

Scorpius chuckled and opened the refrigerator door, "There's eggs in here if you want, but I don't have much time before I head into the Ministry. Lost time and all that."

"You gonna nick one of those croissants from that Muggle place down the street?" James asked, excited.

"Reckon it'll help soak up some of the alcohol," Scorpius poured the boiling water into two mugs. "Tea's ready."

"Thanks for letting me crash," James took a mug. "Didn't want to see if Fred took that bird home or not," he shrugged. "She's a loud one."

Scorpius grimaced, "I know her, you know."

James eyed Scorpius, "Fred said you two were shouting in the street once."

"Not shouting," Scorpius rolled his eyes as they heard Albus's bedroom door open and he poured another cuppa. "She's always on me for a story."

"She fancy you?" James batted his eyelashes, "Is that why she's always on you for a story?"

Scorpius ignored him and instead said to Albus, "Morning. Sorry we woke you last night."

"Bloody drunks," Albus shook his head. "I know you hadn't had a drink in a while, but mate," Albus watched his friend. "You alright? Should you be drinking so much already?"

"Let the lad have some fun," James shoved his brother lightly. "He needed to blow off some steam, didn't ya, Scorp?"

"I did indeed," Scorpius muttered into his mug. "And you wouldn't have me lose a drinking competition to your brother, would you, Al?" He raised a blonde eyebrow to his friend.

Albus rolled his bright green eyes, "I heard mention of croissants?"

"Let me get changed for work and we can head down there," Scorpius chuckled. "I'll only be a mo."

Scorpius left his half-drunken tea on the kitchen table and walked to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth, staring at himself in the mirror; the potion had done its work and he didn't look worse for wear. He had finished that second pint of lager with Rose, awkwardly, although he tried to stick to safe topics, mainly her family, although that too had proven tricky as she still seemed irritated he was around so much. He declined the offer of a third beer and walked halfway to his flat alone, his mind in a fog, when he decided to walk to the Leaky Cauldron where he hoped at least someone he knew would be. James and Fred, a few pints in themselves, were right pleased to see him, and soon he was drinking away memories of sleeping with Rose (long since buried until earlier that evening). He hadn't meant to drink so much with James and Fred, but they were loud and fun and he needed a night to laugh and drink.

Scorpius tugged on his trousers, a button-up, and a plain navy tie, and walked out of his bedroom. "Ready for croissants?"

Scorpius and the two Potters walked to the small French cafe; James tried to ask Scorpius again about Thomasin. Albus tried his best to sound pleasant when he said flatly, "She's a very dedicated reporter."

James laughed, "Always harassing our little Scorpie, sounds like."

Before he could stop himself Scorpius said, "She came by St. Mungo's but Rose kicked her out." He felt Albus's bright green eyes bore into the side of his face before he could try to do damage control, "It was before visiting hours, and I'm not allowed to talk to the press -"

"She that interested in an illegal ring of dragon trading?" James snorted, "Why can't she just go and ask dad? Like a normal reporter?"

"Because we were in the same year," Scorpius shrugged, ignoring Albus's stare.

"Was our little Rosie mean to her?" James asked gleefully as he jumped slightly. "Oh, I bet she was vicious to Thomasin, friend or not."

"She was rather intimidating," Scorpius couldn't help the small twitch of his lips.

Scorpius was thankful when they reached the cafe and Albus didn't get a chance to ask Scorpius any follow-up questions about Rose or Thomasin. As they were leaving the cafe, James called out to Scorpius, "See you tonight for another round?" Scorpius didn't respond but waved to the Potters and headed towards the Ministry to speak with Auror Potter and the Minister of Magic.

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Rose stared at the cup of tea in front of her, her painted nails tapping on the chipped rim of the mug as she listened to her father say something to her Uncle George. She offered to take her dad to breakfast, but he was dragging his feet, finishing up things in the shop before they opened for the day, and had instead offered Rose a cold cup of tea out of a chipped mug while she waited for him to finish up, promising her a huge brunch instead. "You don't have to go in until later today, right?"

Rose hadn't meant to apologize so specifically to Scorpius the night before, but once the words started falling out of her mouth they were hard to stop. She bit her lip, not worried about her lipstick being ruined. She hoped that he didn't think she was apologizing for actually sleeping with him, that was - she let out a long sigh and took a sip of the cold tea - she apologized for being a coward and sneaking away in the morning without talking about what they had done.

Had amazing sex, that's what we did.

She stood up abruptly and gathered some of her box braids, tossing them over her shoulder. "Dad," she called out. "Do you have any potions or products you want me to look at?" Anything to get Scorpius off her mind.

"We don't have a lot right now that we need looking at," George popped out of the doorway. "Scorpius took a look at some things a while back," he titled his head when he saw Rose's mouth downturn and her dark blue eyes blaze. "But I'm sure we can have you look over some of the potions, his work's not always perfect."

Rose bit back a groan. Everywhere she bloody turned there was Scorpius. In her hospital, at her dad's place of business, at her mother's place of work, hanging out with every single member of her family. She would never be rid of Scorpius.

She didn't want to be rid of Scorpius.

What Dawson had said was true; it was so hard to see your friends and family on those beds in hospital. Seeing Scorpius, unconscious and so close to death, was one of the hardest things she'd seen. They almost lost him so many times - something she hadn't even told her Uncle Harry or her mother. She knew, at the moment Scorpius woke up, that she had to apologize to him for her terrible behavior the past few years. She needed to move forward with Scorpius. She had done that poorly too, making him feel incredibly uncomfortable as they drank their pints, and now, here she was, trying not to be jealous that Scorpius spent so much time with her family. Her family.

"If Malfoy's already looked at them, I'm sure they're perfect," Rose attempted a smile. "He was better at Potions."

"Just barely," Ron grinned and put his arm around her shoulders. "Forgot how competitive the pair of you were. Neck and neck in all your courses, weren't you?"

Rose managed a nod before asking, "Ready to eat? I'm starved."

"Absolutely famished," Ron patted his flat stomach. "I'll be back later, Georgie. Brunch with Rosie, then popping over to the Ministry to see Harry. You'll be alright with -"

George waved them out of the back room of the shop, "Get out, get out, I'm very busy and important, I have lots of inventing to do today. Get out."

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Despite being well into his 40s and having more than enough money to feed his entire extended family as often as he wanted, Ronald Weasley still ate every meal as though someone was waiting nearby to snatch his food away, as if this meal would be his last. Hermione tried her best to get him to slow down, especially when in company of others, but Ron's upbringing and his bottomless abyss of a stomach always won out.

It would be rather disgusting if it wasn't so endearing to Rose.

And it kept her mind off Scorpius.

She watched her father shovel another bite of pie into his mouth as she sipped her tea. "You won't tell your mother, will you, Rosie?" Ron glanced up at his daughter. "She hates it when I eat too many sweets in the morning."

"My lips are sealed," she grinned at her father and pushed her braids behind her shoulder. "How's mum doing? What with everything that may or may not be going on?"

Ron's fork froze and his eyes peered up at his daughter, "Don't know what you're on about."

Rose let out a deep laugh that made Ron smile despite himself. He loved Rose's deep throated laugh. "I was Scorpius's Healer, dad. I know you're going in to see mum and Uncle Harry for a consult."

"How do you know that?" Ron's mouth hung open. "That's classified -"

Rose's face broke into a wide grin and Ron ran a tired hand over his face; Hermione had the same look of triumph when she pulled one over on someone. "Bloody 'ell," he muttered.

"How bad is it?" Rose's voice was low. "Will it all be alright?"

"Rose," Ron shook his head and swiped at the last, small morsel of pie on his plate with his fork. "You know I can't tell you that."

Rose leaned back with a huff, "Sometimes I wish I had become an Auror." Ron watched her closely, his clear blue eyes locked on her face; he knew she didn't mean for him to respond. He knew she would have made an incredible Auror and done well under Harry's tutelage; he didn't worry about her getting injured as she was likely better at dueling than even he or Hermione, but he also knew Rose felt that she had to pick a career outside of her family.

He may have once had the emotional range of a teaspoon, but Ron understood his daughter better than anyone because she reminded him so much of himself. And of Hermione, of course, but he still didn't always understand Hermione.

"But I like Healing too much," Rose sighed, glancing up at her father. "I just want to help, you know. With whatever this madman -"

"Shh," Ron hushed her, his eyes darting around.

"Da," Rose rolled her eyes goodnaturedly. "We're in Muggle London."

"Constant vigilance," Ron parroted to Rose and her lips twitched at the familiar phrase. She knew Harry said it at work, she knew her Uncle George said it as a joke to his siblings, and she knew her Aunt Ginny even said it about Quidditch, but she didn't know where the phrase began, something she had asked her mother once, but Hermione refused to tell her. Thinking back, Hermione had seemed rather sad when Rose had asked…

"Do you think it's going to become something?" Rose asked again, her voice very low.

"Don't know," Ron shrugged. "This isn't the first time, ah," he caught himself and glanced around the restaurant looking for their waiter. "We should get going."

Rose knew she shouldn't press her father, but it wasn't fair that he let something like that slip. "Not the first -"

"Your mum and Uncle Harry are always several steps ahead, and the fanatics are never organized or smart enough," Ron's blue eyes locked on his daughter's face. "Don't you dare tell anyone I let slip," he shook his head. "I promise it's nothing to worry about."

He was lying, Rose could tell; her father was a terrible liar. "You're worried about this one," Rose said to him. "This one's different."

"Rose," he warned. "Lay off it, come on."

"I mean, of course this one's different," she was talking to herself now, and Ron ran a hand over his face. Rose didn't talk aloud to herself as much as Hermione did, but he knew she would keep going until someone stopped her. "I mean, Scorpius nearly died, I mean," Rose glanced up at her father. "He didn't -"

Ron's mouth dropped slightly, "You," he shook his head. "She," he frowned. He pulled out his wallet and handed it to Rose, "Can you help with the Muggle money? Then I think it's time we go to the Ministry, yea?"

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Scorpius stretched his arms above his head and turned his wrists to loosen the cramps that were starting to settle in from writing. He rolled his bad shoulder and tried to keep in the pained noise that threatened to escape his throat.

"Storm coming?" Walter asked from the desk next to him.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "I told you my shoulder can't -"

"It can," Walter chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "You're just too smug to admit it."

"I'm not nearly old enough -"

"And your shoulder isn't that bad," Walter pitched his voice slightly to mimic his partner. "Heard that one before."

Scorpius shook his head, biting his lip to keep from smiling. "Shut it and look over this report, will ya?" He tossed the file on to Walter's desk and stood up, "I'm getting a cuppa. Want one?"

"Thanks," Walter mumbled as his eyes already began to scan the file.

Scorpius tilted forward on his toes to stretch his calves - why was his entire body so bloody sore? - before he walked out of the room towards the main hall of the DLME and very nearly ran into Rose and her father. "Oh," he stopped and greeted them both, trying to keep his face neutral. "Good morning, Mr. Weasley, Rose."

"Hiya, Scorpius," Ron grinned and put his hand out. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Scorpius returned the infectious smile. "All thanks to Rose here," he nodded at Rose, his eyes never actually landing on her face.

"Just doing my job," Rose shrugged, willing Scorpius to look at her.

Scorpius looked to Ron again, "Do you want me to get Auror Potter for you? Or?"

"Oh, that's okay," Ron's smile was still plastered on his face as he glanced at his daughter. "Harry knows we're coming, well," he bounced on the balls of his feet much like a child. "He knows I'm coming," he scratched the back of his neck. "Rosie, you better wait here, actually. Scorpius, do you mind?"

"Uh," Scorpius started, clearly not wanting to spend alone time with Rose at the moment.

"I don't need a babysitter," Rose muttered crossly to her father.

Ron opened his mouth to argue, his ears turning slightly pink and before he could stop himself, Scorpius said, "I'm going to get myself and Walter a cuppa, Rose. You want one too?"

Rose turned her dark blue eyes to Scorpius and closed her mouth, nodding her head. "Sure," she agreed and followed Scorpius after throwing her father a dirty look.

"I'll meet you back here in a few, Rosie," Ron called out after her.

Rose and Scorpius walked in silence for a moment until Rose, blurted out, "I didn't mean to -"

"How's your -" Scorpius said at the same time and let out an awkward laugh, brushing his hair away from his face as he turned his head slightly to look at her. "Go ahead."

Rose bit her lip. "I didn't mean to bother you at work, after," she trailed off.

Scorpius clenched his fist on his other side so she couldn't see. "What did I say about mentioning all that, Petal?"

Rose's eyes blazed, "What did I say about using that name outside of a pub?"

Scorpius let out a loud laugh, "Nothing, actually." He continued to laugh as they turned the corner to the DLME's small kitchen.

"Well," Rose said gruffly. "I'd prefer you didn't."

"Oh, Petal," Scorpius shot her a smirk, his spirits lifting slightly. "You know I have to now, don't you?"

She groaned but accepted the paper cup of boiling water he handed her and turned to fish an assam tea bag out of the basket. "This is abhorrent," she muttered to herself.

"We're not great at keeping it stocked or organized," Scorpius admitted, pulling two earl grey bags out easily. "What are you looking for?"

"Assam," Rose sighed. "Guess I can settle for earl grey too."

"Bit strong that," Scorpius was surprised, figuring she would have already had a cup or two already today.

"Drank it a lot in Sweden," she shrugged and leaned against the table to face him. "And coffee. Got rather used to how strong it was. Even if this is my fourth cup of the day."

Scorpius let out a whistle, "Blimey, fourth already? You need to slow down, Petal." He chanced a look at her and grinned when she closed her eyes and lifted her head to the ceiling in annoyance. He took that opportunity to glance at what she was wearing: short burgundy boots, dark jeans, a thin mustard sweater, and a long, thin gold necklace. He couldn't make out what the pendant was on the necklace when she was moving her head again.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"Physically?" He asked before he could stop himself, feeling badly as her face fell slightly. "Not bad. Bit stiff. Don't think writing all these reports helps with that, though."

"Is it," her voice was low and she leaned slightly towards him. "Is it bad? I mean my dad is here to talk about it and -"

"Rose," Scorpius warned. "I'm not at liberty to -"

"I want to help," Rose interrupted him.

Scorpius scoffed slightly, "This isn't something you can just help with, Petal. We're trained Aurors. There are no volunteers."

"But I'm good at -"

"Rose," Scorpius's voice was stern and Rose snapped her mouth shut. "Don't let Auror Potter and the Minister rethink letting you hear this classified information. You're not an Auror. This is Auror business only." He watched her dark blue eyes blaze, saw the fire within her that threatened to explode, so he cut in quickly, "If it comes to that, you know you'll be the first they call on." Instead of exploding, Rose nodded stiffly at him, her deep red lips pressed together tightly. "Now come on, let's see if your dad and Auror Potter are back."

They walked the short distance back to the DLME offices in silence.

"Ah, Rosie, wonderful," Ron said to his daughter. "Are you ready to go see your mum?"

Rose glanced at Scorpius and she knew he was right: this wasn't her fight. She wasn't an Auror. If they needed non-Aurors to fight they could call on her, but this wasn't her business yet. All she could do was heal them when they returned from the fight.

"Actually, I should get back to hospital," she smiled at her dad and standing on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mum and Uncle Harry will tell me if they need me," she whispered into his ear. "But I'm not an Auror."

She turned to Scorpius when she released Ron, "Try not to get hexed this week, Malfoy, all right? Bye Uncle Harry." Rose waved at the three men and walked away.

Ron raised his eyebrows at Harry briefly before turning to Malfoy, "How did you -"

Scorpius cleared his throat, "Should we go see the Minister?" He let Harry and Ron walk in front of him so he could run a tired hand over his face; why was Rose bloody everywhere he turned now?