Previously…
"Well, now that's out of the way, we can start working for those important things we have in a few weeks, you know, our NEWTs?"
"Don't remind me" Scorpius groaned.
Soon enough, the Easter Holidays had arrived. Scorpius waved goodbye to Rose from the platform at Hogsmeade Station. Unlike Rose, he wasn't returning to King's Cross – his dad was meeting him in Hogsmeade. When the scarlet train had finally disappeared from his view, Scorpius walked back into the village and into the Three Broomsticks.
"Hi Dad" he grinned, sitting across the table from Draco.
"You're here already?" he asked checking his watch. "Oh, I guess I've been here longer than I expected." Draco folded up his newspaper and stood up. "So, home bound" he said, offering Scorpius his arm.
"It's holiday time so I can apparate myself, Dad" Scorpius smirked, before turning on the spot. He opened his eyes and he was standing in the Manor kitchen, Draco appearing with a pop a second later.
"I'm still not used to you being 17" he grumbled.
"Well, I've been 17 for quite a while" Scorpius shrugged as both men sat at the kitchen table.
"So, you have how many weeks until your NEWTs?" Draco asked.
"5 weeks. No, 4 weeks" Scorpius corrected himself.
"And your graduation is therefore in 6 weeks" Draco said, more to himself than to Scorpius. "So, what is your timetable for the holidays?"
"Every day this week I'm doing 6 hours revision, except for Maundy Thursday when I have a meeting with the Transport organiser, the rest of Easter weekend where I'm assuming we're seeing the family. Easter Monday I'm going to the Burrow to have a Weasley Easter to follow up the Weasley Christmas" he grinned, remembering ice skating on the frozen lake with 5-year-old Rose, "then for the rest of that week I'm doing about 4 hours revision a day, plus seeing Rose or Leo for planning sessions for graduation or the summer holidays" Scorpius said, ticking off everything on his list.
"Talking of summer holidays, after hearing your plan, your mother spilled the beans to your grandparents, and I believe they instructed her to give you a present" he said. "Your Mum's out on a business trip for the majority of this week, and she thought it was best you opened their gift before we visit them on Easter Day, so she left it on your bed" Draco grinned. Scorpius beamed, before standing and trying not to run straight up the stairs. His mother's parents never gave normal presents.
Scorpius opened his door, and at first didn't see the small envelope on his pillow. Odd. Usually they gave him quite strangely shaped objects, usually of no relevance. He glanced at the sideways-L-shaped pot plant on the windowsill. Nonetheless, he sat down on his bed and opened the envelope. A small business card fell out.
"Dawlish and Sons Silvercraft" he read, even more confused. This side of the card had the address of a muggle silvercraft shop on it, plus several series of numbers, which he recognised as telephone numbers. He turned the card over. Underneath a long number was a short message from his grandmother. "Collect ASAP so you can plan accordingly. Love Grandma and Grandpa" he read. He quickly went back downstairs and into the kitchen, where Draco now had a coffee in front of him.
"Where's Romsey?" he asked, holding up the card. "Grandma's gift has to be collected."
"Down the south" Draco replied. "I remember going to the Abbey there a few years ago. I can apparate you there once we're both in some more muggle clothes" he said, indicating to Scorpius' school uniform and his own cloak.
Half an hour later, the two men stood on a small pathway just outside Romsey Abbey. "It's on the high street" Draco said, leading the way. When he finally saw the shop, he walked straight in. "I'm here to collect an order?" he said to the young man at the till. Scorpius studied the man – he couldn't be much older than himself.
"Order code?" he asked. Scorpius handed the man the card. The man, who Scorpius could see from a name badge was called "Alex", typed the long code into a computer, paused with a confused look on his face, then said "S Malfoy?"
"Yes, that's me" Scorpius said.
"I'll go get your order from the back room straight away, Mr Malfoy" he said, before leaving the two Malfoy men alone.
"Did you see the look when he saw your name?" Draco grinned.
"He didn't even attempt Scorpius, just went with 'S'" Scorpius smiled. He raised his eyebrow when the man came out with a small blue box. Scorpius took the box and put it in his jacket pocket. They thanked Alex, who stared glumly back at them, then left.
"So your grandmother got you a small box?" Draco said.
"Apparently" Scorpius said peeking inside. He grinned. Sometimes, he really did love his grandmother.
Easter Monday rolled around rather quickly after that. The meeting with Lydia Wyatt was a breeze for Scorpius, as Leo sat there and did all the talking for him. He had all the tickets and relevant bits of paper, and their passports, in an envelope in his desk drawer. On Easter Sunday, Scorpius thanked his grandparents for their lovely gift. The day was relatively peaceful, with everyone making quiet conversation, mainly about Scorpius' NEWTs and future plans.
How he missed the quiet.
Scorpius forgot quite how much of a nightmare the Weasley gatherings were. As he popped through the fire, he was flattened to the ground by two orange blurs. He groaned as he heard his wrist snap beneath them.
"JAMES POTTER!"
"FREDERIC WEASLEY!"
Scorpius sighed with relief as the two boys rolled off of him at the uncannily identical shrieks of Ginny, Molly and Angelina.
"You alright, Scorp?" James grinned. His grin faltered as he realised Scorpius' left hand hung limp at his side. "Oh shit" he muttered, backing away slightly.
"Language James!" Rose scolded, walking over to Scorpius, who was trying to sit up. She frowned at Scorpius' wrist. Then she turned around and slapped James across the arm. "YOU BROKE HIS WRIST 3 WEEKS BEFORE HIS NEWTS YOU INCOMPETENT IMBOSIL!" she shrieked, slapping James with all the force she had. James flung his arms up as protection, but Rose simply kicked him in the stomach.
"Rosie! Stop it! OWW!" James cried, shrinking away from his almost rabbit cousin.
"Rose, calm down, it'll be fine" Scorpius groaned from the fireplace before Rose could open her mouth to continue shouting.
"Scorp, that's not fine! They've just broken your wrist right before the exams!"
"I'll be fine, Dad will be able to fix it when I get home, hopefully" he frowned slightly as he hauled himself upright.
"You better be alright, or I'll snap their wrists" Rose glowered at James and Fred, who made a quick exit. She led Scorpius into the kitchen, where she gently put a support around his wrist. Quidditch injuries did have their advantages, as the Burrow first aid kit had every type of support and bandage in existence.
"So, how's your week been?" she said, sitting down at the kitchen table with him.
"Busy. Lots of revision" he sighed. "You?"
"Lots of revision and planning with Lily" Rose grinned. "We've sorted everything now for graduation, so it's all ready for when we go back"
"Brilliant!" Scorpius grinned. "So, what's the itinery for today?"
"Sleep" Rose smiled. Scorpius laughed, but then saw that she wasn't joking.
"I'm here to sleep?" he raised an eyebrow.
"I've had a week sharing a room with all the girls, I haven't slept a wink" Rose sighed. "I just thought maybe a nap would do us both good"
"And your parents are ok with us having a nap?"
"Mum said to just disappear for a while, so I thought we could maybe just go up to my room and I could just sleep for a bit" she smirked. "We don't have to, but there's not much else to do here at the moment"
"I'm up for a sleep, the revision's tired me out" Scorpius said. Rose then led him up to her room. "Last time I was in here, it was to get you back to sleep too" he grinned.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You woke up screaming at 2am or something ridiculous like that so Lily extracted me to get you to sleep" he grinned. "When I left in the morning, I think I heard a comment about my arse, but I'll pretend that didn't happen" he winked at Rose as he lay down gently on her bed, pulling her down on top of him.
"Hmm, which cousin said that?" Rose asked, yawning already. Scorpius wound his normal hand in her hair, giving her a gently massage. She sighed.
"All of them I think" he laughed softly as she closed her eyes. "It was a passing comment about how I have a fabulous arse or something"
"Your fabulous arse is mine now, so they can back off" rose muttered sleepily.
"Just go to sleep, hun" Scorpius yawned himself and shut his eyes.
They woke up a couple of hours later to see Lily sat across the room from them, a small pile of paper balls at her feet. She didn't see they'd woken up, and threw another ball at them.
"Hey, Lils, how long have you been throwing stuff at us for?" Rose grumbled, picking small paper spheres out of her messy hair.
"About 20 minutes" she shrugged. "Dinner's going to be ready in 5, I was sent up to tell you it'd be half an hour, but waking you up took longer than intended" she smirked.
"I hate you" rose growled as she sat up, flicking the infinite bits of paper out of her curls.
"Yeah yeah, you love me really. You're just lucky it was me who volunteered instead of Hugo" she smirked. Rose groaned as she sat up. Scorpius then sat up after her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Well, you've woken us up, so why don't you leave us to get to dinner without a chaperone" Rose said, standing up. She offered Scorpius a hand and helped him up, trying to avoid damaging his wrist any more. The pair then went down to dinner, where Scorpius was bombarded with questions about his future, his studies, everything. Scorpius couldn't help but compare the two family meals he'd attended recently. Whilst his family were quiet and made small conversation, the Wealseys were loud and cheerful, and all contributed to the same loud conversation.
After dinner, Rose and Scorpius sat down with Lily and discussed the plans for graduation.
"So we've got everything set now, we just need to do speeches" Scorpius said, ticking off a list in his head.
"I've already written mine" Rose smirked. "Don't tell me, you've let Leo write it for you" she winked at him.
"Not quite, Leo's helping me write it, but not completely writing it for me" he laughed. "Your speech goes first, so if you can have a link to mine, that'd be nice"
"Already thought of that" Rose grinned. "So now what's left?"
"NEWTS"
"Eww" Rose pulled a face
"I know, right?" Scorpius laughed.
"Rose! It's time for Scorp to leave!" Ron yelled up the stairs.
"It's 5 already?" Rose sighed, casting a tempus charm to see her Dad was correct. "We'll be down in a minute!" she yelled in reply to Ron.
"I'll see you on Thursday" Scorpius kissed her on the cheek before standing. He winced as he hit his arm on the door frame. "Dad'll have fixed this by then" he pointed to his wrist as they walked down the stairs.
"Write your speech" Rose ordered as they walked up to the fireplace. Scorpius smiled as he pulled her in for a one-armed hug.
"You think I stand any chance of making it through Thursday without writing it?" he whispered into her ear.
"Scorpius Malfoy, you write that speech" Rose said, pointing a finger against his chest. She quickly kissed him, then pushed him gently into the fireplace. "I'll see you at yours on Thursday morning"
"Don't make it an early morning, you know I like to sleep in" he groaned.
"I'll see you at 5am then!" Rose grinned. Scorpius shook his head before disappearing into the flames.
"You've broken another bone?" Draco scowled as Scorpius swore loudly when he fell through the fire into the lounge.
"Technically Fred and James broke it, but yeah" Scorpius stood up. "Can you fix it, or do I have to go to Mungo's on a bank holiday?"
"Mungo's" Draco scowled. "I don't know how to fix bones. Minor injuries, sure. Broken bones, nope."
Scorpius groaned. "I'll probably be there for a while then" he said. "I'm gunna make a quick call first, then I'll go" he said.
"LEO!" Scorpius screamed through the fire.
"What?" he heard from in the distance.
"Get to the fire now!"
"Why?" he glowered as he appeared by the fireplace, rubbing wet hair with a towel. "I was in the shower"
"Get dressed. I have to go to Mungo's and I want to use the time to write my speech, but I'm crap at speeches, so I need you to save my arse and help me. Plus I'm gunna be at Mungo's for a while and I get bored easily" he shrugged.
"What've you done?"
"James and Fred broke my wrist"
"Idiots"
"Rose beat up James already and no doubt they'll be getting an earful from their mums now I'm gone" he smirked. "are you coming with me or do I have to write this on my own?"
"You'll mess it up" Leo gave him a pointed look. "Get into comfy clothes, bring a cushion and writing stuff. I'll see you round yours in 5"
"Thanks pal!" Scorpius grinned before backing out the fireplace in his room. He found some jeans and a hoodie, and then put a cushion and writing equipment into a rucksack (shrunk to fit, of course). He was attempting to tie the laces to his trainers as Leo flooed into the room.
"You may have broken your wrist, but you are a wizard" he tutted, flicking his wand at Scorpius' trainers, which tied themselves into a perfect knot.
"I should've thought of that" Scorpius pulled a face. "But then again, charms is Rose's speciality"
"Let's get to Mungo's, then you can fill me in on what happened at the Weasley's and also start writing this speech" Leo sighed.
Four hours later, Leo and Scorpius apparated back to Malfoy Manor.
"Well, now your wrist is fixed, and your speech is finished, we can sleep" Leo yawned.
"Despite bringing a cushion like you said, my back is still really stiff" Scorpius moaned, cracking his back by twisting around.
"My duties as best friend in existence have been fulfilled tonight" Leo said, walking towards the fireplace. "I'll see you tomorrow"
"See you tomorrow for Phase…I've forgotten what phase we're on now" he trailed off, thinking hard.
"Final phase" Leo said helpfully. "Or at least, it better be the final phase, as I'm pretty sure we're done now" he grinned, before vanishing into the fire.
- Thursday –
"So, run me through the plans" Leo asked Rose from across the table in Harry's. The three had agreed that food was a good idea, so had gone into Muggle London for some lunch, and the fish and chip shop was the first place they found.
"On graduation day, the 7th years will have the morning off to pack. Then they will have lunch in the Great Hall, their last meal at Hogwarts" Rose said.
"In the afternoon, we have muggle-style party games set out on the Quidditch pitch" Lily said, "which we will set up in the morning. After games, there will be a friendly Quidditch match for anyone who wants to take part. Scorp will keep score and Rose will referee. After that, 7th years go up to their dorms to get ready for the ceremony"
"At 4:30, parents will start arriving. They will be escorted to the Quidditch pitch, where they will be seated in the stands. Students will start appearing at 5pm, in school uniform, and take their seats on the pitch, which the teachers will put out after the games. At 5:30, McGonagall will open the evening with a speech, followed by speeches by the Heads of Houses, in the order Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw then Slytherin. Awards will be presented to each house after the speech from their Head of House. After all of the awards have been presented, I will do my speech, followed by Scorpius" Rose said.
"Then, I shall start the fireworks and students can find their parents. Then they can leave whenever they want" Scorpius finished.
"So now we do NEWTS" Leo said.
"And OWLs" Lily added.
NEWTs and OWLs went by in a flash, with not just Rose and Scorpius losing sleep throughout. It seemed that the entirety of both the 5th and 7th years were opting to study instead of sleep. The kitchen had no end of late night visitors after coffee and chocolate cake.
When the exams finished, Scorpius and Rose launched into Graduation mode. They finished all of their preparations, sending invitations to all the parents, sending reminders to all the students, and giving their order to the house elves of the kitchens.
"One last night" Rose mumbled, huddled up against Scorpius on the sofa in their common room.
"Then we're officially professors" he said, stroking her hair.
"Are you sure your speech is perfect? You won't let me see it and Leo won't spill" Rose looked up at him.
"It's perfect, stop worrying" he grinned. "You've just got a few more hours and then you'll hear it"
"We should go to bed" she yawned.
"We've got a busy day tomorrow" Scorpius agreed. He stood up and stretched, before bending down and scooping Rose up in his arms.
"Put me down" she giggled.
"I'm taking you to bed. And admit it, you like me carrying you as you're too lazy to move yourself" Scorpius grinned.
"Just shut up and take me to bed" Rose grumbled.
AN: I present you with a new update! I know, how organised am I?! Not very is the answer…school's out, but I've somehow got essays and research tasks, on top of work and singing…so writing has been on the back-burner for a while. But I finally found the time to finish this instalment! Half of this chapter's been sat on my laptop forever waiting to be completed. I can't guarantee another instalment soon, but I shall try – I want to finish this one so bad! Everyone should try something new – reviewing! I've had some lovely people in the past give fantastic reviews, and I've had some even awesomer people send me messages praising this story! I love the support that reviews and feedback provides, and I'd love some more, especially for the longest chapter yet! Enjoy your summers, and enjoy reading! –Rxx
PS. a) Awesomer is totally a word, b)sorry for the essay AN and c)Please review!