Rose and Albus arrived to find the funeral hadn't started yet. A few people turned at the sound of their arrival, and a few looked honestly shocked that Rose was there.
Rose wasn't going to let anyone think that she shouldn't be there. She walked up to a girl named Georgina who had attended Hogwarts with Rose and Scorpius. She had actually been Scorpius's girlfriend before her. She was the last person Rose wanted to talk to, but what other option did she have? "Georgina. It's nice of you to come."
"Oh, Rose, I'm sure this must be terrible for you." Georgina said, pulling Rose into a hug.
"Yeah, it's...it's been a hard week. Thanks for your concern." Rose wanted to get the hell away from this girl. She had forgotten how much her nasal voice annoyed her. "Have you seen Astoria? I'm sure she's suffering just as much as I am."
"She's right over there. She hasn't cried once, I don't think. At least not in public. Not like you." Georgina told her, pointing across the room.
Rose faked a smile at her, said goodbye, and walked away. Albus was making conversation with a couple of his school friends. She had a target in mind, so she didn't stop for his friends. She was headed for Astoria.
Astoria was speaking to various other high class witches, and didn't notice Rose walk up behind her. Rose tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around to face her.
"What? Oh. Rose. How...unexpected to see you here." Astoria looked at her, not hiding her disdain for Rose. Her eyes darted down to Rose's left hand, catching the diamond that still sat there.
"It's my fiancé's funeral, Astoria. I would think that I should be here." The other women had backed away from Astoria. There was no doubt that Rose had been a previous subject of gossip.
"Really? Because I don't actually think you belong here, Rose." Astoria said to her in a cold voice.
"Can I ask you why? I would really like to know." Rose said calmly. It would be better if she kept her temper in check rather than unleash it from the start.
"Rose. You don't see a murderer come to the victim's funeral, do you?" Astoria responded sharply. Her words felt like a slap to Rose. "In my mind, this is the same situation. You killed my son. Maybe not intentionally, but you did. And that is why you shouldn't be here."
"I killed him? How the hell did I kill him? Trust me, I blame myself for it too, but I did not physically kill him. That reckless truck driver killed him!" Rose's voice was growing more shrill with every word she spoke. Albus looked over and began to fight his way through the crowd that had begun to gather.
"And why was he in that reckless truck driver's path? Why was he in muggle London at all? Because of you. You are the reason behind all of it. You are the reason why I'm not a mother anymore." Astoria said, starting to choke up a little. Only Rose could see that he eyes were still dry.
"You haven't been a mother in a year and a half! You chose this. You chose to separate yourself from him. And do your friends know why? Do they know it's because you gave him a choice and he chose me? I loved him. I don't know how I can convince you of that, but I loved him. I loved him more than anything. And he loved me too. I should be marrying him in two weeks, not burying him tomorrow. And don't you dare think that you can tell me that I killed him. I've been blaming myself for this entire week, and I don't need you to tell me that it was my fault that he died. It is. I know that. But you have no right to tell me that I'm the reason that you're not a mother anymore. You did that to yourself." Rose replied back.
Draco Malfoy came to his wife's side then. "Rose. I think you need to leave now. Scorpius wouldn't want this."
"Actually, Scorpius would be proud of me for not letting his poor excuse for a mother tell me things that aren't true. And I'm not leaving. Why don't you two leave, actually? I have the right to be here, and I'm telling the truth when I say I loved him." Rose responded.
"We loved our son." Astoria protested.
"Let me change what I said. I loved him unconditionally. You, however, did not. I'll be able to remember that forever. I don't regret falling in love with him. Therefore, I'm staying. You can go to hell for all I care." Rose said. She grabbed Albus's arm and pulled him away to sit on one of the benches surrounding the coffin before she started crying in front of them.
"They deserved it. I thought you were going to tear Astoria's face off." Albus said as he settled himself in next to her.
"I wish I had. Then I wouldn't feel bad about what I'm keeping from them." Rose said, earning an pained look from Albus.
"What are you keeping from them? Please don't let it be what I'm thinking it is." Albus begged.
She hesitated a moment before answering. "I don't know how to say it. I was going to tell him, but...the day I was going to tell him was the day that..." She trailed off.
"The day that he died." Albus finished.
"Yeah. Um...basically...I'm pregnant." Rose said.
Albus ran a hand nervously through his hair. "So he didn't know?"
"He knew that I thought I was. He didn't know that I confirmed it, though. He was excited. He hoped I was. He kept talking about what a great mum I would be. And how happy he was to be a dad." Rose whispered, her tears falling from behind her lashes.
"You'll be a great mom. And he would've loved being a dad. I'm so sorry, Rosie." Albus said, pulling her into a hug.
They sat like that for a few minutes. Rose eventually pulled herself away, pulling something out of her pocket. "When I found out...I went to a muggle doctor to get a sonogram. Just to be completely sure. They gave me pictures of the sonogram. I brought one...to put in his coffin with him. At least if he didn't know before, he can buried with a picture of the baby." She handed the picture to Albus.
"He would have liked that." Albus said. He handed the picture back to her after looking at it. The service was beginning so they settled themselves in to listen.
After the service, they announced that the coffin would be left open for ten minutes for anyone looking to say their final goodbyes. Rose waited patiently at the end of the line. She watched his parents walk by the coffin. Astoria reached out and touched his hand before walking away, Draco holding onto her waist. The rest of the people went quickly, and then it was Rose's turn.
She looked down on him. He looked like an angel, almost like he could be sleeping. She couldn't look for too long. It was too hard. She reached over and tugged a rose petal off of one of the plants and laid it on his chest, right over his heart. Over the petal, she laid the picture of the child that Scorpius would never meet. She touched his hand, beginning to cry silently as she held on to him for the last time.
She let go after a little bit of time, and walked away. There were tears falling down her face so quickly, she could barely see. Albus grabbed her hand as they walked out of the building. Rose cast one quick glance over her shoulder as she watched them close the coffin over her one true love, closing him off from her for the rest of time.