"So…" Rose said casually. Noticing the tension in the room. "How is he? Is Orion alright?"
"Your son, Rose, is perfectly fine. Accidental magic. It'll pass." she turned away from Orion and looked Rose straight in the eye. "On the other hand, I have suffered an immense shock, and you should expect a fee from our psychiatric ward, seeing as you're the cause of it." she gave Rose a pointed look. Rose shrugged, unsure of what to say. "What the hell Rose?"
"I veel veit ou'side." Mrs. Bakalov said, waddling out of the room. Rose got closer to Orion who looked utterly confused.
"Explain yourself." Victoire said, glaring at Rose and successfully looking very condescending. Rose approached Orion and gave him a hug. Peering into his storm grey eyes while Victoire stood impatiently behind her.
"Shit! Rose! Why didn't you tell me you were having Orion brought here," he said running into the room, he didn't even look up towards Rose "Now guess who's bound to find out…" Albus looked up and straight into the eyes of an angry Victoire. "Oh…" he nodded slowly, as though he hadn't just entered the room screaming, "Hey Vic, how are you doing…" he continued to nod slowly, "I uh, heard that Teddy got a promotion."
"Yes, Albus. You were there when he told everyone." Victoire replied coolly, raising her eyebrows in a doubtful way. "I suppose you had no idea that Rose was in town?"
"No, no. No idea!" he ran up to Rose and gave her a hug, "Where have you been? Welcome back!" he said cautiously. Rose awkwardly hugged him back. His back turned to Victoire, his eyes worriedly scanned Rose's reaction. Victoire impatiently tapped her foot as Albus mouthed "Brace Yourself".
"Well," Rose said awkwardly, trying to portray a casual conversation "you should all be ashamed of yourselves. Swearing in front of a young child?" Rose gave Orion a hug. His clothes were no longer blue, but his skin was the shade of .
Everyone stayed silent. Rose glanced at both of her cousins. Both were successful healers. In their scrubs they looked decades older than she remembered. It took Rose a moment to acknowledge that they were, all, decade older than they had been when Rose and Albus were starting Hogwarts.
She couldn't stop picturing her cousins and family as they had been back when she was a child. And yet, they'd all been adults when she'd left. The room was painfully quiet, even Orion just stared at everyone, unsure of how to react.
"You could start by explaining." Victoire said, pointedly gazing at Rose. "I want the whole thing front to back."
"Well," Albus said, striding towards the door "I'm not needed here."
"No, I know you were involved. You're not going anywhere."
"I have a consult."
"Get an intern to reschedule it."
"The person is dying."
"Liar."
"For all you know-"
"I'm the one who works in trauma." Victoire glared at a cowering Albus. "Not you."
"All right, I'm not the one under fire." he turned his body towards Rose. "Aren't you going to ask what she's been doing all these years?"
"I suppose. Rose. Maybe we should leave this room. My break begins in a few minutes, we can eat in the cafeteria and you can tell me what everything that's been happening."
"So he is Scorpius' son?"
"Of course." Rose twirled her fork around. She glanced towards Albus and Orion, who were in some sort of intense battle. "Who else's?"
"Have you told him?"
"Who?"
"Scorpius. You know, told him that he has a son?"
"Er, no." Rose's face flushed pink under Victoire's gaze.
"Look, Rosie, I love you." she paused as Rose looked up and into her eyes. "But you have to tell him."
"All I need from you is to not tell anyone."
"Your parent's don't know? Any of the other cousins?"
"No one. Not a single soul other than you, Al, and Hugo." Victoire nodded slightly as she listened to Rose. "I want him to know everyone, but he's never met that many people in his entire life. I'll introduce him slowly." Victoire's own children had just come home from Hogwarts, they were home for the following three weeks and she was eager to get home to them. They had spent the last few days enjoying their time at home, playing with their younger cousins and second cousins.
"You haven't seen Sam and Eleanor and... " Victoire glanced at Rose, a pained look on her face, "You want me to keep this from Teddy? From my kids?"
"Er, well…yes." Rose said. She cringed under Victoire's gaze.
That night, as Rose put Orion to bed she couldn't help but think about Scorpius. It seemed that know that she had returned to England, all she could talk and think about was her husband. It unnerved her. To calm her nerves, Rose made herself a large mug of tea and grabbed a blanket before sitting down near the fireplace in the front room.
Since moving, Rose hadn't had time to read and she'd been so focused on unpacking, preparing and dealing with family drama that the nights she had usually left for herself were filled up with a bustle of activity.
So Rose tried to read. All she could think about was Scorpius, and her family and their reactions and how the rest of the family would react. Mad at herself, Rose let out an angry sigh and slammed the book close. She had barely made it past the second chapter.
"Hugo? Would you mind looking after Orion. He's sleeping, I just need to take some time to clear my head. I'll go for a walk or something?"
"Sure. I'll be over in a few minutes."
"Wow, only a few pages into that massive book? What has happened to my sister?"
"I can't think, I can't read, I can't do anything!" Rose was putting away her mug in the kitchen and it broke as she slammed it into the sink. Her hand was bleeding and their were tears streaking her face. "I'm, I'm… sorry."
"It's fine. I'll clean up." he gave her a sad look "You're not hurt or anything?" Rose shook her head. "Then go. Leave. Take the night for all I care. I'll go sleep in your spare bedroom." Rose shook her head solemnly before running up the stairs to grab a jacket.
A few minutes later, Rose crept into Orion's room to kiss him on the cheek. Her brother watched from the door as Orion continued to sleep peacefully.
"I'll take good care of him. Besides, he's not a hassle while he's sleeping. You have nothing to worry about." he promised her.
"I know." she turned to look her brother in the eye "I trust you."
"Don't get lost. A lot of things have changed since you left." Rose kissed him on the cheek and grabbed her keys as she exited the door. As she left, she heard Hugo yell; "Enjoy yourself!"
Rose had walked from her home to the park a few streets away, but after finding no solace from her thoughts, found an apparition spot and apparated.
First she landed in a dark alley behind a tea shop in her home town. It was late and as she passed the shops lining the town's main street, many of the shopkeepers were closing up for the night. A few couples were taking walks down the brightly lit street, but it was otherwise empty.
After wandering around, Rose realized she'd wandered off the main street and was walking around her childhood neighbourhood. The houses here were larger and more spaced apart. Each one unique. Behind the homes was a long field at the end of which she knew would be the farm where she used to play with the other children in the neighbourhood. She had once hoped to bring Orion there.
Within minutes, Rose stood in front of her parents home. She stood at a distance, gazing at the brightly lit windows from down the street. She watched as her mother, hair greying read a book at the counter. Her father, his own hair receding, came up and kissed her on the cheek before opening the fridge. She wished she could hear what they were arguing about. Any comfort from her parents.
Rose knew that if she approached the home, the protective enchantments would go off, waning her arrival, so Rose turned around, and a few blocks away, making sure she was alone, apparated out to the one place she knew enchantments wouldn't pick her up.
Here, there was a slight drizzle, and Rose hastily walked up and down the street, deciding whether or not to approach the home. It was well maintained, but obviously empty. Rose wondered whether it had been sold. The lights were off and the house remained cold amongst the adorably lit cottages. However, there was no post flowing from the mailbox and the plants were well mended despite the snow.
Rose walked back and forth down the street a few times, but the rain intensified and soon she was soaked. Finally making a decision, she walked up to the doorstep. The door was a dark blue, and it's knocker was shaped like a platinum winged key.
Rose checked under the doormat for where the key had always been hidden, but there was nothing there. She peered through the window, inside was the same furniture that had been there when she'd left. Rose hastily checked under the doormat again, but there was no key there and now it was raining, Rose was drenched before she took out her wand, making sure there were no muggles watching she cast a silent alohamora charm.
Rose tried the door, but it still wouldn't open. She cursed herself for having been so smart. She stood there, drenched, as the rain poured onto her and she contemplated her decision to visit the home. The rain continued to pour, now coming down in sheets, and Rose considered apparating home.
"I can always try it." she said to herself before pulling out her keys. One of the keys, which looked like a keychain suddenly grew wings. The key suddenly morphed into one that would fit the lock on the door, and Rose, ecstatic that it had worked, quickly opened it to find solace inside. She peeled off her coat and boots. Stripped her socks and sweater only to be left in a wet shirt and pants. She left everything hanging on hooks in the foyer before making her way around the house.
As she entered the home she saw that nothing had changed. The same furniture remained, the pictures on the shelf were the same, all clean, like they had been when she'd left. The kitchen was across from the living room, it was warm with beige colours like the couches in the living room. The island had wooden bar stools that she'd fought Scorpius over letting her buy. Past the pantry, mostly empty of food, she saw the laundry room. It had two doors, one that led out into the garden and another that led to the basement. Rose peeled off her clothes and grabbed the stuff she'd left in the foyer before putting it into the magical dryer.
Coming back through the kitchen, Rose went up the stairs in the living room, she walked past the blue nursery. Inside, completely untouched was a crib and baby clothes, neatly lined up in the closet. The rocking chair hadn't been rocked, the blanket was left untouched. And even though she was only in her underwear, Rose entered the room and sat in the chair and cried. A few mere moments later, she stopped. There wasn't any reason for her to cry. She hadn't lost her child, and everything that was now causing problems in her life, had been her own decision.
Getting up she hastily made her way to the master bedroom, passing a spare bedroom and washroom along the way. As she opened the door Rose saw that the room was not quite as clean as the others in the home. The photographs were gone, and the room hadn't been dusted in a while. The closet was half empty, with only a few of his shirts left inside, yet all the clothes she had left were still there. Her shoes, though dusty, were completely untouched, even her jewelry, which was hidden inside a drawer, had been left the same way she had dropped it in the night before leaving.
Rose grabbed a pair of pyjama pants, which she was glad to know still fit her. She looked back to Scorpius' clothes. The shirt she had always loved the most on him was there. It was a warm plaid and she pulled it on and took a good long whiff. The smell of him, although faint, made her smile a sad smile. She considered going back downstairs to check on her clothes in the dryer, however she realized how late it was and she was just so tired. She curled up and fell asleep on the bed.