A/N: I've decided that my readers respond well to being threatened. So here goes… IF YOU SONS-A-MONKEYS DON'T REVIEW I'LL-I'LL-I'LL… be sad… That didn't work out very well did it?

"Sometimes being nosy and being a good friend isn't the same thing." – Danielle Juarez

Chapter Thirty Five

Fiancé

Every day since he'd been welcomed into the Potter/Weasley clan had become a waiting game for the next drama. Scorpius had long since realized that just because a day began normal didn't necessarily mean it would end in the same state. More often than not someone's personal drama would explode and encompass the entire family. And when something seemed one way, more than likely it was the complete opposite. Usually Scorpius was on the outside looking in but not an active member of the drama. But this time Albus dragged him into the thick of it.

Really he should have known when he woke up that his day would end up a mess. He'd woken up on time, pulled Lily to his chest to kiss her awake. They'd had a leisurely breakfast with Al and parted ways when they got to the Ministry. He and Al headed to the Auror Department and Lily flitted off to her job with Aunt Hermione. Even the Marconi case was pretty run of the mill. He'd sent Al to take care of it because of all the Aurors that worked under him Albus was one of the best. He could trust Albus to take care of it with no complications. When it took longer than Scorpius thought it should have he'd sent Hugo to see what was going on before heading out to meet Lily for lunch. When he got back Marconi was in an interrogation room with Hugo. He figured Albus was around somewhere. He didn't realize his best mate was MIA until an hour later when Hugo asked if Al had shown up.

Scorpius had been about to begin a formal search as per procedure when an Auror doesn't return to the office after an altercation with a dark wizard when Albus came into his office as if nothing was amiss and he hadn't been MIA for several hours. He'd absolutely refused to talk about why he'd been gone, only saying that he'd needed some personal time. Scorpius let it go, mostly because he'd been relieved that his mate was all right. But things had gotten weird after that.

For the next few months Albus had been spending less and less time with his mates. When the Aurors went out for a drink after work Albus always ducked out. Scorpius knew for a fact that Anora wasn't back in the picture. The Harpies were on the international leg of their season, so unless Albus was following the team around… Scorpius doubted it was that though. Albus and Anora hadn't been serious since they graduated and that was four years ago. There had to be something else going on. And it wasn't just that Albus was ignoring his mates, but that he was almost never at home. It was nice for him and Lily because it meant that they could shag where ever they wanted, but after three months of increasingly odd, seemingly antisocial behavior Scorpius was starting to worry.

He considering taking his suspicions to Harry, who he was certain had noticed something odd about his son when Albus walked into his office with a bundle of petite strawberry blond in his arms. Scorpius had been relieved for a second that his mate wasn't in trouble until Albus started talking.

"… long story short, this is Calla Lilly Cambray and she's my fiancé."

"Hi," she waved, holding onto Albus' arm for dear life. He couldn't blame her. A Muggle in the Ministry. It was bound to be a lot to take in.

Scorpius waved back absentmindedly, unable to remember how his mouth worked. He ran an exhausted hand down his face. There was always something.

"So, since we're getting married I figured it was time to tell the family."

"The family, Al!" Scorpius yelled, surging to his feet. "You're going to tell the whole bloody family that you're marrying a girl none of us have ever met before? Really think, Albus. How is that going to go? Your parents will be heartbroken just like Hermione and Ron were when they found out about Hugo and Ruby, not to mention how Lily and James will feel. Grand Molly and Grandpa Arthur will upset- Bloody hell everyone will be upset!"

"Everyone or just you?" the Muggle whispered.

Albus wrapped his arm around Calla's waist. She curled into his side, her left hand splayed on his chest. Scorpius noticed the ring on her finger. It was a small diamond ring in the design of a sweet little flower set in white gold. It was simple and sweet, just like the bundle in Albus' arms. There was nothing remarkably beautiful about her in Scorpius' opinion. She wasn't the pretty girl like Persephone or the classic beauty like Anora. She was short, a little too thin with a generous chest. But this was Al. He never picked the same sort of girl that Scorpius did. Who was he to judge though? Scorpius had fallen in love his second year and had yet to fall out.

"What do you want me to say, mate?" Albus asked.

Scorpius sighed and sat down. "Why didn't you tell me?" He rubbed his eyes. "We've been best mates since our first year. You don't fall in love all of the sudden. I can understand keeping it a secret at first. It doesn't look good an Auror dating a Muggle but… you could have told me."

Calla laid her cheek against Albus' shoulder.

"It's only been three months, Scorpius. We don't even know what the future holds for us-"

"Clearly it holds a wedding."

"You want the truth, Scorpius?" Albus asked.

"Yes."

"I asked her to marry me because I love her and I wanted to be able to tell her the truth. We both decided that we would be engaged for as long as possible before we actually get married. That way we can really see if it'll work."

"So you're going to pull a James and Kira except you haven't known each other that long?"

"That's the plan."

"Al-" Scorpius began rubbing his temples.

"I was in a bind, Scorpius. What was supposed to do? Wait until I was intent on asking her to spend the rest of her life with me and then risk losing her because I didn't tell her I was wizard while I was courting her? It wasn't a risk I was willing to take."

"And now you're risking any possibly future by moving too fast. Did you learn nothing from Daisy?"

"Don't throw that shit in my face, Scorpius! Daisy was in love with someone else, Calla loves me. She doesn't know anything about… this world."

Scorpius understood the significance. He turned to Calla. "Would you mind giving us a moment, Miss Cambray?"

Albus kissed Calla's cheek and said, "Just wait outside, if anyone bothers you call for me."

She nodded, nervously and left Scorpius office.

"She doesn't know about your father, aunt and uncle?"

"No. I plan to tell her as soon as I introduce her to my family. It's not like I could explain that my father is the reason that we won a war against an evil wizard without first explaining that I'm a wizard. Get your head out of your ass."

Scorpius rubbed his forehead. "Just like with Daisy you're going too fast and pushing too hard," Scorpius snapped. "This could get really messy really fast."

"But it could also be exactly what I've been looking for," Albus insisted. "You got lucky, Scorpius. You meet the girl of your dreams when you were twelve. The rest of us mere mortals are just trying to do the best we can. I honestly can't imagine going farther in my relationship with Calla keeping something so important from her. Proposing is the only way that I can tell her the whole truth, holding nothing back, and not lose my job over it."

Scorpius leaned back and looked over his mate. Albus hadn't looked so hopeful since the beginning of his relationship with Anora. He must really believe that Calla was it for him. Scorpius sighed for the five millionth time that day. "How are you going to tell the family?"

"I was hoping you could tell Lily before we got home tonight. I really want Calla to get comfortable in the Wizarding world and I figured the best way to do that is if she moved in with me. We already have all her stuff at Grimmauld but that can change if you don't want us living there."

"Let me guess," Scorpius said, harshly. "If I say I don't want your fiancé living with us you'll move out, correct?"

Albus pursed his lips and nodded.

"Lily and I are meeting for a drink after work at the Leaky Cauldron. I'll tell her then. I'm sure she'll be thrilled." She'd been complaining about the amount of testosterone in the house for a while. "About the girl living with us not the fact that you kept something like this from us. No one is happy about that," Scorpius said waving his hand towards the door.

"That has a name," Albus snarled.

"I meant the situation not the girl."

Albus stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned away. "I'll see you at home."

Scorpius watched his best mate through the open door of his office. Albus cupped Calla's face, leaned down a long way to give her a kiss. She threw her arms around his neck and got on her tippy toes to kiss him back. When he pulled away there was a smile on his lips that Scorpius had never seen before. Not even with Anora. He would have tread carefully if he wanted to keep his mate… but he wouldn't be an Auror if he didn't accumulate as much information about this Muggle as possible. Paranoia was the name of the game. He started researching via an ingenious (and new for the Ministry) Muggle devise called the inter-web.

(It was perfect for looking up information on Muggles and Squibs living in the Muggle world that were doing things that might endanger the Wizarding world. Keeping tabs on Muggles was easy because they just put it all on the inter-web.)

Four hours later he was in the Leaky Cauldron with a glass of fire whiskey in his hand and the bottle next to it. Technically he was waiting for Lily but literally he was trying not to think about what he'd discovered. Honestly the only way Al could have fallen for a girl in a more impossible situation was if Voldemort had a daughter. He sipped his drink and banged his head against the wall behind him. What he really needed to do was talk to Al, but first he had to warn Lily about their new roommate. It sucked because he'd have to leave out something huge because Al really should hear it first… unless he already knew. In which case Scorpius hadn't a clue how his mate intended to deal with it.

He had the file he'd composed tucked into his satchel. He wasn't sure he should show it to Albus. He wasn't sure how he should tell Albus. He'd have to admit to looking into Calla's background and that might- oh who was he kidding!- it would definitely piss Albus off. He'd seen how protective Albus was of that little Muggle, how quickly he jumped to her defense. He would never appreciate the lengths Scorpius had gone to protect him. He'd just get mad and ignore everything Scorpius had discovered. Maybe he should tell Lily. She might be able to help him figure out how to broach the subject with her brother.

A green fire blazed in the grate. Scorpius looked up but sank back when he noticed the form was that of a man. He slunk back even farther when he recognized that man. The last thing he needed was more drama and James literally reeked of drama. But realistically the only way that Scorpius could hide from James would be to Apparate before he was spotted. It wasn't meant to be though. James rushed to his side, snatched the glass from his hand and guzzled it. Scorpius sighed and waited. James was sure to tell him any moment now.

"Kira and I have to get married in the next thirty days," he said.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Ruddy hell, you too. It's been four years what's the rush?" he took a sip straight from the bottle.

"What'd you mean, 'you too'?" James asked. "Never mind, Kira and I need to get married and I need a best man. As I'm marrying my best mate and can't find my brother, what d'you say about being my best man?"

"Why now? Why do you have to get married now?" He took another deep pull of firewhiskey.

"Kira's pregnant."

His mouth full of alcohol sprayed out over the table.

"I couldn't have timed that better if I tried," James chuckled.

Scorpius looked over at James with his mouth hanging open. "So she's not pregnant?"

"Oh, she definitely is. She was sick this morning and the morning before and the morning before that. So we went to St. Mungo's they said they had to run some tests and would owl us with the results. Well, we got the owl this morning saying, 'Good morning, how are you? Kira Fitzsimmons is pregnant. Have a nice day!' You can imagine we were rather surprised."

"How did this happen?" Scorpius groaned.

"It seems that when having unprotected sex because you're both drunk it doesn't matter how many times she says, 'Don't worry, it doesn't count, we're standing up,' you can still get your fiancé pregnant." James snatched the bottle from Scorpius' hand and filled his cup to the brim. "I figure it won't be all that hard to get married in thirty days. We've been engaged for four years. Kira thinks that Mum and Grand Molly are bound to have the wedding completely planned. We've just got to invite everyone, I need new dress robes and Kira needs a dress, but other than that—actually you have yet to agree to be my best man. What d'you say, mate?"

"Ask Al."

"I can't find Al."

"The family's having dinner at your parents house tomorrow, Al will be there, ask him then. Trust me he'll want to be your best man." Hell, he would be Scorpius' best man when he finally asked Lily to be his wife, properly. And with all the drama going on now it would be a while before he did. He wasn't going to wait forever to actually get married when he asked her or rush the ceremony. He just wanted a normal wedding, damn it.

"Do you not want to be my best man?" James sounded insulted.

"It's not that. I'm just having a bloody awful day. Look, if you really want me as your best man I'll do it."

"No need to sound so excited about it, mate," James grumbled.

"Well if you could find Al would you be asking me to be your best man?"

James didn't answer.

"I thought so."

"Why are you in such a ruddy awful mood?" he snapped.

"You know how Al's been acting weird lately?" Scorpius asked. James thought a moment and nodded. "I found out why today. He's been dating a Muggle woman these last few months. I met her today. Al introduced her as his fiancé."

James gaped at him. "What do you mean met her today? What do you mean he's been dating her a few months? What do you mean fiancé?" his voice got louder with each question.

Scorpius sipped from the bottle. "Your little brother is engaged to a Muggle woman none of us have met. He kept her a secret and plans to tell the family about her tomorrow night at dinner."

"What the fuck, man! I'm his brother he should have told me."

"I'm his best mate and he didn't tell me."

"Well he told you first," James pouted.

"Only because she's moving in with us and he wanted me to tell Lily before she got home tonight."

"Tell Lily what?"

Scorpius looked up. Lily was standing in front of his table. He took a moment to just look at her. Her hair was falling out of the bun she'd pinned it in that morning, the top few buttons of her blouse had come undone and he could see the lacy edge of her bra. He had the sudden urge to release her hair completely and rip her shirt open. It was moments like this that he thanked Merlin for Lily. She made all this drama seem completely worth it. Who needs a normal wedding when you're lucky enough to marry her? He held out his hand to her, she took it and he pulled her onto his lap. James popped up.

"And I'm out! You gonna get all touchy feely with my sister we're done-for now anyway. Be sure to tell her about me and Kira. I don't want it to be a surprise for anyone. We'll be telling the family properly tomorrow at dinner." James pulled his wand from his robes and Apparated away.

"What about him and Kira?"

Scorpius ran his fingers up and down Lily's leg and kissed her behind her ear. "Kira's pregnant," he said between kisses.

"What?" she pushed him away.

"James and Kira are getting married, more than likely in the next thirty days because she's pregnant. I'm honestly not all that surprise. They've been shagging each other shitless for years. It was bound to happen."

"I suppose you're right… it's just freaky. I'm going to be an aunt to probably the most misbehaved child in the history of the world."

"Something to look forward to."

Lily bit her lip. Scorpius could tell she wanted to say something to him but couldn't. "I never got my hello kiss," she said instead. He wouldn't push her, she would tell me when she was ready. In the mean time he gave her, her hello kiss.