Chapter Five
When Rose finally came down from her room she found her mother waiting for her at the kitchen table. It was a little after noon and she'd bathed and dressed. Rose wore a new pair of blue dragon's hide bracers that she'd received from Uncle Charlie with the almost matching dragon's hide jacket from Uncle George and an old gray stretchy tank top and jeans. Hermione looked liked she'd had less sleep that her daughter but she'd dressed well. She was wearing something she might wear to work, a black pants suit and a dusky pink long sleeved jumper with a wide v-neck that allowed for the collar of the deep scarlet linen shirt she wore underneath to present itself attractively. Rose thought that scarlet always looked good on anyone with brown eyes but Hermione's brown eyes were tired as they stared off into space. Her coffee was held up near her mouth but it seemed to have been forgotten even in her hands.
"Mum?" Rose's quiet query effected Hermione as if she'd just been blasted; Hermione jumped and spilled her coffee over the table. Hermione gave the little splatters of coffee on her scarlet cuffs a decidedly dirty look.
"Rosie," Hermione looked up, her tone very off from anything Rose recognized, "Please, come sit with me. You must be hungry after being out -- sleeping in so late, really, Rosie. I know yesterday was your birthday but you got a little carried away, I think."
Rose busied herself with the menial tasks of preparing a breakfast and lunch combination for herself. She made herself something to eat without using magic, giving herself time to ponder this latest development. She had toast with marmalade, a sandwich, an apple, and a glass of pumpkin juice. Her mum had probably checked in on her last night to find her gone, she'd have to think of a good explanation. She decided to stick close to the truth as she could: She'd been out with a boy, they'd gone on a date to celebrate her birthday but nothing bad had happened. He was a nice boy, Mum didn't know him, and she'd bring him by for supper soon. The last was mostly a lie. She was almost sure she and Scorpius would remain a secret to both of their respective sets of parents until after they'd eloped, but she could always stall and put her mother off with that for a while. She'd admit that she should have told her mum sooner, that she'd been wrong not to leave a note, and that she hadn't meant to worry her mother and she would never do it again.
"Draco Malfoy paid us a visit last night," Hermione began, as Rose took her seat with a thud. Rose did not have a plan for this development said nothing.
"I was surprised to see him; he and your father may not hate each other as they did but we have never been friends with him. We were even more surprised when he asked us if his son was here," Hermione paused. Rose stayed silent. Her mother continued, "We were shocked when we discovered that you, too, were missing. It is safe to say that Mr. Malfoy's response was something along the lines of disgust. He left, but not without saying that the two of you were probably together and that he would send word when Scorpius came home. After we got that message from Draco I immediately went to check on you, to find you fast asleep in your bed where you should have been all night."
"Mum," Rose said quickly, "Don't be angry with Scorpius."
"I'm not angry. Your father is and it was all I could do to make him go to work this morning as he was supposed to, bad enough I had to take the day off. But that was my choice, you don't worry about that. I do want to know -- everything."
"We met first year, you already know how we became friends," Rose spoke too quickly and rushed, "I liked him for a long time. It wasn't until he asked me to the Ball that I discovered he had feelings for me as well. We started seeing each other. I'm quite certain he is the man I'll marry someday, but not right now. Last night he came to take me on a date, we'd decided we wouldn't be able to see each other over the break but..." She took a deep breath and tried to go slowly, "We missed each other. It was my birthday. He's a nice person, mother, nothing bad happened. We danced together and we talked and he gave me a present." Well, it was closer to the truth than she had intended.
Hermione sighed, "I would like to trust your judgment and leave the two of you be, but I can't let you two get the idea that leaving in the middle of the night without a word and flying off to who knows where by yourselves is an example of good, trustworthy judgment." Rose had her arms crossed and she gripped her arm braces tightly. In the back of her mind a voice told her she was getting off to a good start, she'd imagined her parents would immediately forbid her to ever see Scorpius ever again.
"I've sent your brother to the Burrow for the day," Hermione warned her daughter "As soon as your father comes home the thee of us are going to Diagon Alley to meet the Malfoy's for coffee. I have a feeling we'll all be needing the stimulus after last night. And in case you were wondering, you're grounded."
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Draco and Astoria Malfoy had intimidated Rose when they had approached the Weasley's table. It wasn't anything they'd done, exactly, just the way they'd looked to her. Aristocratic wizards with dark pasts, wearing tailored wizard's robes. The only word that Rose could think of to describe Astoria Malfoy was bejeweled. Astoria was from East Anglia, she knew from Scorpius. She was a blend of Swedish, Dutch, and Norwegian ethnicities. Her face was a strong one, with prominent cheekbones, arched brows, and a wide mouth. She wore an under robe of silver silk with a high collar while her over-robe was crafted of midnight blue velvet. There were hints of purple and flashes of silver highlights. The leaf brocade sash belt had silver cording that wrapped around the back and ran through a leaf clasp at the center front. Both robes had wrapped petal shaped sleeves. Mrs. Malfoy glittered a little as she walked, looking elegant, regal, and mature. Her husband on the other hand, looked somewhat darker. Draco looked like Scorpius, with a slightly receded hairline. He looked older and more dignified than his son, which was to be expected of the man. His lightweight black linen cloak fluttered around his robes. His clothes were the new-old fashion of wizard's robe, a tunic and tabard style form. The tabard was open on both sides, which required a tunic to be worn underneath. In Mr. Malfoy's case, the tunic beneath was black with a high, stiff collar underneath the knee-length silk satin tabard. Silver trim climbed up both sides of the tabard and encompassed the v-neck collar. He would have looked dashing, had he not been a bit pale and thin. Obviously, he hadn't gotten enough sleep, either.
"The first thing I want to make clear," Hermione Weasley announced tightly, "is that Rose is expressly forbidden from ever spending time at, near, or in Malfoy Manor."
Ron glowered, "That's right."
"Oh, dear," Draco drawled, "That does prevent us from inviting your girlfriend's family to any of our soiree's, doesn't it Scorpius?" Scorpius carefully made no remark or expression that could be held against him later, by anyone. Rose wanted to be irritated by her mother, but wondered with a ball of nervous dread in her stomach what about the Manor had Hermione acting so at odds with her normal character.
"Well," Hermione relented an inch, "If Ron or I was with her then it would be acceptable."
"Afraid Lucius is going to Apparate back from Hell, Granger?" Draco asked, appearing offended.
"Hardly," Hermione's tone was scathing, but her cheeks had gone bit pale at the mention of Lucius. Ron, on the other hand, had gone quite a bit darker in the face. Both remembered how Hermione had been tortured by Lucius Malfoy in their anscestoral home during the Second Wizarding War. Scorpius and Rose, oblivious, could only look at each other in bewilderment.
"We own more than one home since Draco became a man of innovation," Astoria sidestepped mentioning events that occurred during the second wizarding world as thoroughly as she did mentioninng that Draco now owned and operated a business, "certainly we would be delighted to entertain any one of your family in another, more amenable setting." Among the elite aristocrats of the wizarding world working for the Ministry, as any wizard would be encouraged to do by his pureblood family, was a far more respectable occupation than acquiring a trade. As an adult Draco had broken the mold.
"Ah," Hermione laced her fingers together on the cafe's table. She thought about mentioning that Ron had also become "a man of innovation" when he'd joined his brother at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes just to see how Astoria would handle that little tidbit.
"No!" Ron restrained himself from completely exploding, barely.
"Ronald," Hermione took a deep breath. She was often irritated with Ron lately. In this case, Hermione was the one who had been tortured. Why was she the one who felt more willing to compromise and forgive? Why did she have to manage her husband on top of working through her own tangled emotions? This was important to Rose and if the two of them didn't support their daughter while at the same time trying to protect her as best they could, then they wouldn't be acting like very good parents. Hermione was determined to do what was best for Rose.
"We would be more than happy to allow Rose to visit with your family as long as those visits are supervised by at least one parent," Hermione decided, "Also, we do not wish for her to be exposed to any less than savory elements."
"As a family we have consciously moved to disassociate ourselves from the elements of wizarding society that you are referring to, Mrs. Weasley," Astoria said firmly. Rose noticed Draco start when Astoria had called her mother Mrs. Weasley. Rose felt a tenuous, one-sided comraderie with him after that. She wondered if he'd known her mother as the person she had been before she'd married, despite being schoolyard enemies during their Hogwart's years. She intended to ask him about that if she ever got the chance.
"It's true," Draco said, although trying to reassure Granger and the Weasle wasn't his cup of tea. "Things are different. The old schoolyard grudges of the past should be set aside."