Ron sat on the roof of the Burrow trying to cool off after Rose's announcement that she was no returning to Hogwarts next year. While Ron was glad to see Rose standing up for herself, Ron was angry at himself for not doing enough to have prevented her from leaving. That fact that the three teenagers felt responsible for taking action broke his heart since he didn't want that burden to be placed on any child, including his own daughter.
"When you're done moaning, perhaps you shall talk to your daughter," said Hermione sticking her head out the window.
"She probably doesn't want to talk to me, 'Mione," argued Ron. "As always, I buggered everything up."
Before Hermione responded, she heard someone clearing their throat. There was Rose standing outside the doorway with her arms folded and head cocked to the side. Hermione motioned for Rose and walked out of the room, with Ruby in her arms, to give them space.
"Hey, Dad," said Rose.
"Hey, Rosie," said Ron, caught offguard.
"Can I join?" asked Rose.
"I thought you hated heights," said Ron.
"I don't like flying, that's different," said Rose as she climbed onto the roof.
"Beautiful night," said Rose rather awkwardly.
"Innit though," mumbled Ron.
"Look, Dad," said Rose realizing small talk would not diffuse the tension. "I'm sorry if I made you upset..."
"Don't, Rose," said Ron. "I'm sorry for being an absolute git in there. I just was so angry at myself because I never wanted you to go through what I went through under the Voldemort Reign. I felt like a failure."
"Failure?" exclaimed Rose. "You're not a failure! You're Ron Weasley, a member of the Golden Trio, a hero in the Wizarding World!"
"That's very kind of you, sweetheart," said Ron. "But none of that matters to me as much as what you think of me..."
"What I think of you?" said Rose. "Dad, you are my hero!"
At hearing those words, Ron's heart melted. It was the same warm feeling he felt when he first laid eyes on Rose seventeen years ago in the delivery room. Although Ron loved all of his kids, Rose will always have a special place in his heart as his first child. Hearing those words from his daughter made Ron's face light up with joy.
"I want to do this because of you and Mum," continued Rose. "So please, don't worry about me, and for goodness sake don't be mad at yourself!"
"Rosie," said Ron putting his arm around his daughter. "I will always worry about you, because you're my daughter."
"So, does this mean I can go with Albus and Scorpius?" she asked.
"You have my blessing," said Ron squeezing her. "But promise me you'll finish your education once all of this is done."
"I promise," assured Rose.
"Even if you're thirty years old?" asked Ron.
"What if I'm married by then?" teased Rose.
"Who said anything about you getting married?" asked Ron raising an eyebrow. Rose laughed as she looked up at at the navy blue sky decorated with bright orange and white clusters of stars. In the distance, Rose could hear a faint horn from a barge floating on the River Otter mixed in with a few crickets. There was even a soft cool breeze blowing through her curls.
"Beautiful night, innit Rosie?" said Ron.
"Yeah" said Rose putting her head on her father's shoulder.
All through the night, Scorpius replayed his father's death in his head over and over again. It was not the first time Scorpius had a restless night, but it wasn't easier having these dreams. Quietly, Scorpius grabbed his robe and walked out of the room trying not to wake Hugo, Albus, or James.
"Oi! Mate!" whispered Al from his mattress.
"Why are you up?" asked Scorpius.
"Because it's morning," replied Al smartly.
The two boys walked down the stairs and heard faint voices coming from the living room. As they walked in, there was Ron drinking a cup of tea, Hermione feeding Ruby, Arthur reading the Daily Prophet, and Molly knitting something.
"Morning, boys!" said Arthur. "You're up early! I assumed you'd have a lie-in today."
"Did you get any sleep, Scorpius?" asked Hermione giving Ruby to Ron so she could have a sip of her tea.
"A bit," said Scorpius, although not willing to discuss his nightmares.
"Why don't you boys go out to the garden," said Ron as he rubbed Ruby's back to soothe her. "Rose is out there with a book."
"Grab some mugs and help yourselves to some tea," said Molly.
"Thanks Gran," said Al.
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," said Scorpius giving a slight little bow that made Molly blush. Once they left for the garden with their tea, Hermione gave Ron an icy stare.
"What did I do now?" asked Ron.
"Ron, we need to make sure he's okay," argued Hermione. "We promised Draco..."
"He needs time, Hermione," said Ron. "Once he's ready, We'll be all ears."
The boys walked out to the Burrow's garden where they found Rose sitting on the stone bench surrounded by lilacs and baby's breathe flowers. Rose was still wearing her lavender pyjama set and a cream colored knitted cardigan knitted by Molly. A cup of tea was on the ground beneath her with a charm to prevent the gnomes from taking the mug or drinking the tea.
"What are you reading, nerd?" asked Scorpius sitting down next to her. Keeping her hand on the page, Rose closed the book to show the title: Fundamental Laws of Magic by Adalbert Waffling.
"Ah, light reading, eh?" said Albus sarcastically.
"If we're going to create a spell, we need to know how they're created," said Rose. "
Scorpius took a sip of his tea as Rose and Albus chatted on about their upcoming journey. Although Rose and Albus understood the severity of their mission, there was something more personal about this mission to Scorpius. The new few months were going to be challenging, but as long as Scorpius had Rose and Albus plus their families he knew everything would be fine.
Just then, Scorpius took the book out of Rose's hand and tossed it aside.
"Scorpius! What was that for?" asked Rose annoyed that now she lost her page.
"Because this is the book we should read," said Scorpius as he revealed Slytherin's journal from his robe.
"Fine," said Rose snatching the journal from Scorpius. "Where do we start?"
"Right...here!" said Scorpius thumbing through the stained and yellow parchment.