Chapter 8

Lunch turned out to be a disaster. Drake was angry and disappointed that Scorpius and Albus went running to Hermione. He walked out almost as soon as they told him. Albus counted himself lucky that they were in a public place or he would have been sporting a black eye for sure.

Scorpius packed up for the next couple of days and left the apartment. He was going to stay with his parents while Drake cooled down.

Draco and Astoria Malfoy were waiting for their first-born child. Unlike the other Malfoy's, Astoria wanted more than one child. Sage was their second kid and she had refused to go to Hogwarts. Instead, she went to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic that was an all-girls school and was more artsy than any other wizarding schools.

Abigail and Alex were both in Hogwarts doing their 5th and 7th year respectively. Abigail was a Slytherin through and through. She had brownish-blond hair and her eyes were the lightest blue like her mother's. Alex was the Quidditch king of Hufflepuff and looked like his grandmother. He had platinum blond hair and gray eyes. Very few people knew that Alex and Lily Potter were good friends especially after Drake had left the school.

"Mom! Dad!" Scorpius said as he entered the grand hall. He went over and gave his mom a peck on her cheek and his father got up to clap his son's back and give him a half-hug.

"Drink?" Draco asked his son.

Scorpius sat down and slumped into his seat. "I'm good."

Draco handed his wife a martini and poured a whiskey for himself. "Situation at home still bad," he asked.

"Not sure. Did not stick around to find out," Scorpius said. Scorpius's parents obviously knew about Drake being part of the family and he had filled them on the details of who was blackmailing Drake. But Snape's involvement was something that Scorpius felt that they were not quite ready for.

Draco admired Snape and loved him for saving his soul but he did feel that Snape betrayed him on a deeper level. He could have prevented him from going to the dark side but did not do so to fulfill a greater purpose just like Dumbledore did to Harry.

"Dinner is served," A maid announced.

"What are we having?" Scorpius loved the food served at his parent's house. It was usually creamy, buttery and high calorie items that Scorpius would have to run off in the morning but for now his mouth started to water at the thought of the feast that awaited him.

The meal consisted of 4 courses. Opening with an Italian salad and Bruschetta, followed by wonderful meat lasagna and garlic bread and finally, ended with Tiramisu for dessert.

Scorpius was almost tempted to unbutton his pants and dig in some more but the "Malfoy" in him prevented him from losing sight of his manners.

"How was it, darling?" Astoria asked. She was a regal woman who showered her children with praises and affection. She had learnt early on that the Malfoy family was not affectionate towards anybody especially their own family. They were distant and stuckup. But Astoria put a stop to all that early on in her marriage.

It was due to his wife that Draco was a changed man. She was supportive and always spoke highly of him. She forgave him past and helped him pay his debt to society. She showed him love and affection that he was deprived of as a child. Draco returned her love by being a responsible husband and father. He was an epitome of a perfect husband and his troubled past was not even an issue between them.

"It was so good," Scorpius said. "Mom, please teach Rose to cook. She tries but she's awful at it."

"And lose the one thing that keeps bringing my son back home? I think not," Astoria said.

Scorpius laughed. "Well, if you like Rose then we can move in here. That way I get the best of both worlds."

"That's not going to happen. I'm enjoying my days with your mom and no kids pestering us," Draco said.

"Although, I won't mind grand kids. I'm young enough to take care of them and smart enough to send them back when they get cranky," Astoria said.

"That will be a while. I'm still not sure Rose and I are in that place yet and we still have that dinner to get through in three days ," Scorpius stated.

"If I know Ron- and I do know him a little. His bark is worse than his bite," Draco said. "I'm happy that you're not dating Lily cause her mother can do a Bat Bogey Hex that will sting for weeks."

"You're poor father was on the receiving end of that curse. Not that he did not deserve it but still, I remember his poor little face was sore for weeks," Astoria said.

"That would have been a sight," Scorpius said with a gleam in his eyes. "I wish I could have been there."

The mood quickly changed from relaxed to tense. Astoria and Draco had to endure the wrath of their so-called friends and almost everyone in the society. The temptation to move to another country and start anew was Astoria's idea but Draco refused to leave his home. Everything he knew was in England and he felt that once enough time had passed, people would forget what he had done. He often thought how wrong he was in thinking that more so after his children grew up and had to defend what their father and family had done.

"I'm glad you weren't born in those times. Those were dark days. I pray none of my children have to go through what we all had to," Astoria said seriously. "You never knew who was on whose side. We all did what we had to do to survive." Her eyes glazed over as she started thinking of the past.

"Ahem," Draco cleared his throat. "Let's think about something else, shall we?"

The rest of the evening was pleasant enough. When it was close to midnight, Scorpius and his parents resigned to their respective bedchambers.

Scorpius's chamber was located at the Far East end of the house. It overlooked the quiet countryside where his siblings and himself would spend hours riding their horses.

Scorpius quickly took a shower and changed into his nightclothes. He sent an owl to Rose and lay down on his bed. The tension of the day caught up with him and he fell into a deep slumber.

Scorpius always tried to be at work early so that he could work uninterrupted for a few hours before meetings and conference calls got in his way.

There was a fireplace in his room so he flooed from there to the office. Surprisngly, Rose was waiting for him. She was sitting behind his desk with her bare feet on his table and a laptop balancing on her lap.

"Hey you!" Scorpius said walking over to his girlfriend.

Rose placed her laptop on the desk and got up to give Scorpius a kiss. "This is how ever morning should start," Rose said.

"It will once you agree to move in with me," Scorpius said.

"It's a couple of more months and when we're in school, we can move in together. I promise," Rose said. "I actually came by to see how the whole Drake situation was."

"Not to see me? I'm hurt," Scorpius said feigning a disappointed face.

Rose smiled and pulled Scorpius to the sofa. Once seated, Rose promptly removed her shoes and put them in Scorpius's lap for a massage.

"It wasn't too bad but he was angry. Albus and I could tell he was controlling his temper since we were in a public place. I'm hoping he will cool down after a few days and see we did the right thing." Scorpius was staring into space, his face sad but his hands still massaging absentmindedly Rose's feet.

Rose waited a few minutes and then pulled her feet back and gathered herself into a kneeling position. She placed one hand on Scorpius's shoulder and the other she placed on his cheek. With that hand, she gently moved his face to face hers.

"You did what you thought was best," Rose said gently.

"I hope your mom can help. I would hate this to be all over the news," Scorpius spoke with concern.

"My mom can take care of everything but I would worry more of how Uncle Harry will handle it."

"Your mom said she won't tell anyone for now."

"Let's hope so." Rose said less convinced than Scorpius. "Let's talk about something else. What time should I be at your place on Friday?"

Scorpius looked at Rose questioningly. "Saturday? Why do you need to pick me up? My parents and I will meet you at your parents house."

"I think we should go together. You know present a united front. My parents will expect us at 6:00pm sharp." Rose said firmly.

"Ok," Scorpius said. "Be at my place at say, 5:45pm."

Drake was angry with Albus and Scorpius but now after more than 24 hours had passed; he felt that they had no choice. They were just trying to help him out. He wasn't completely angry with them when he met them for lunch the previous day. He was angry with himself for breaking up with Lily. After reading all her owls, full of apologies and sincere expressions of love, he knew he made a mistake.

Drake had just sent an owl explaining everything in an owl that would burn itself soon after she read it so that no one else would know what he written. He was impatiently waiting for a reply and stared out at the window waiting for his owl to return.

Just after noon, he glanced for the umpteenth time and saw the owl with a paper in its claws.

Sorry it took me so long to update. I hope to get the next chapter out this weekend.

Thanks for your reviews.