Chapter Five-Harry
Rose remained in the kitchen, knowing that that would be her Uncle Harry's first stop, if not in search of his family then definitely looking for some food after a long day at work. Rose was proven correct when, mere moments after her Aunt Ginny had rather forcefully coerced her into agreeing to share her news with her uncle, said uncle entered the room.
"Hey Ginny," Harry said, before stopping abruptly and doing a bit of a double-take, "And Rose."
"C'mon Harry," Ginny teased her husband, throwing a glance over her shoulder as her arms were currently immersed in soapy water up to her elbows. "You're supposed to be the Head Auror—nothing is supposed to surprise you."
"Then I should be expecting adoption papers awaiting my signature on my desk upstairs?" Harry asked, crossing the room to kiss his wife on the cheek and hugging her from behind.
"No such luck," Rose replied. "Aunt Ginny's already ruled out making me a Potter."
"You're still behind on the times, Mr. Potter," Ginny informed her husband, whose arms were still wrapped around her.
"Well, Mrs. Potter—" Harry began before Rose interrupted.
"I think I'll leave you two…alone," Rose said quickly, taking a few hurried steps towards the kitchen door. "I'll just go find my brother and get out of your hair."
"Not so fast!" Ginny said, causing the younger girl to stop in her tracks and turn around rather dejectedly. Then, "Huh…who knew there was something that could make you brave the chance facing your father again so soon?"
"What did Ron do now?" Harry asked. "He was fine when he left a few hours ago."
"Rose has something she'd like to tell you," Ginny replied, nudging her husband slightly with her elbow. "Why don't you two go have a chat?"
"C'mon, Rosie, we'll go up to my office," Harry said, finally releasing his hold on his wife and gesturing for his niece to follow him.
Several moments later, Harry was settled in the large, comfy-looking chair behind the desk in his office on the second floor. Rose sat on an equally-comfortable-looking chair before the desk that Harry had conjured.
"So…" Harry began slowly, "What's new?"
"Well…" Rose began just as slowly, "It's not really new. Although, I suppose it is news, and I guess that means it's new news, but…at the same time it's old news…in a way."
"Uh-huh," Harry said succinctly with a slight nod. "You know, I'm really not feeling like we're catching up on anything here."
Rose couldn't help but give her uncle a small smile.
"Uncle Harry," Rose said, beginning again, "How do you feel about the Malfoy family?"
Harry merely looked at Rose thoughtfully for a moment, contemplating how to respond to his niece's unexpected question.
"If you had asked me that twenty-five years ago," Harry finally told her, "I probably would have said that they're without a doubt some of the cruelest people I know, and the whole lot of them deserves to be locked up in Azkaban for life."
"But you don't anymore?" Rose asked, perking up slightly.
"Not…entirely," Harry said slowly, before he gave a deep sigh. "This is going to take some explaining. You see, from the very first day I met Draco Malfoy, I knew I didn't like him. He was a bully, plain and simple, and he reminded me a bit too much of my cousin, Dudley. As time passed it was clear that if Draco and I weren't going to be 'friends' then we were definitely going to be enemies. Over our years at Hogwarts nothing about our…relationship changed, but in the summer before sixth year, Draco took the Dark Mark and officially joined the Death Eaters."
Rose nodded; she already knew all of this.
"The entire Malfoy family had been supporters of dark magic for centuries," Harry continued, "And it was no secret that his father had been one of Voldemort's original supporters, even if he had been cleared of all charges. The second war took a toll on their family, though, and they were disillusioned to Voldemort and all of his ideas for a pure wizarding world. So much so that Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, lied to Voldemort and told him that I was dead just so that she could find her son again, during the Battle for Hogwarts. The Malfoys effectively denounced Voldemort and for that they stayed out of Azkaban. Their views changed. In fact, I've had a firsthand chance to witness their change of opinion through Scorpius Malfoy, when he's come to visit Albus. He's nothing like his father was when we were in school together. But…" Harry paused here momentarily, "why do you want to know any of this?"
"Well, funny you should mention Scorpius," Rose said, slightly uneasy no matter how many times today alone she had recounted this particular fact about her life; just imagining each person's potential reaction made her nervous. And really, she had her father to blame for it, now that she thought about it. But that really wasn't important right now with her uncle sitting before her expectantly. "You see, he's kind of my boyfriend."
"Kind of?" Harry repeated, his face emotionless.
"Well, see, we've been dating for more than a year already, but we didn't tell anybody," Rose said. "Until today, that is."
"I see," Harry replied. "And I take it your dad didn't take well to the news?"
"Nope," Rose said, popping the 'p' as she spoke. "That's why I tried to convince Aunt Ginny to have the two of you adopt me. But she just didn't warm up to the idea, even though I'm positive she would love having a daughter, and really, aren't I just the perfect daughter? Well, mostly perfect, I guess, what with the whole keeping my boyfriend a secret from my parents for more than a year. And honestly, you can't really blame me, especially after how my dad reacted and—"
"Rose," Harry interrupted calmly. "Has anyone ever told you that you tend to ramble when you're nervous?"
"It might have been mention before," Rose admitted. Then she took a deep, calming breath and redirected her attention back towards her uncle. "So…Uncle Harry, what do you think about me dating Scorpius?"
"You know," Harry began, his gaze far-off, "I had the most mortifying experience of my entire life when I was in my fifth year."
"But mum and dad didn't get together until the Battle for Hogwarts," Rose said, brow furrowed, confused for more than one reason.
Harry laughed. "That was only the second most mortifying thing I've ever witnessed. No, I'm talking about the time I found out my mum positively loathed my dad."
Rose frowned slightly. "Do I want to know how you ended up here if your mum didn't even like your dad?"
"They were only fifteen, then," Harry told her with a small smile. "Well, sixteen, really, but they were still young. In my experience, teenagers tend to do stupid things, but they usually change…grow up. James is the epitome of his grandfather; I suppose Gin and I named him well. My dad and his friends were quite fond of rule-breaking and, well, he was rather arrogant as well, which is why my mum couldn't stand him. By the time they were in seventh year, though, he'd 'deflated his head a bit,' or so I've been told, and my mum's feelings for him changed."
"So…Scorpius?" Rose prompted him once more.
"I like Scorpius," Harry said with a shrug. Then he smiled, "And anyway, it's your life, not mine."
"You really wouldn't mind?" Rose asked dubiously, doubting her uncle.
"I believe that people can change," Harry replied firmly. "I wouldn't be here today if my parents hadn't changed. And none of us would be here if Narcissa Malfoy hadn't changed. Besides, Scorpius isn't his parents. He is his own person and should be judged solely on that, not on his entire family tree."
"Why can't you be my dad, Uncle Harry?" Rose asked wistfully.
"Because then you and Albus would both be living under my roof and you would be together all of the time getting into whatever kind of mischief you two get into, no matter how well you hide it. And, quite frankly, I'd rather the walls remained standing to support that roof."
Rose rolled her eyes. "It's not as if we're James and Fred. Besides, I find my studies very important."
"Very well then," Harry replied, "I can't be your dad because then you'd be seeing your boyfriend far too often for my taste, whenever he came over to 'visit Al.'"
"But I thought you approved of Scorpius, Uncle Harry," Rose said, feigning hurt.
"Go find your brother, Rose," Harry instructed the girl with a grin. "I'm sure your parents are wondering where you've gotten to."
"Fine," Rose said with a sigh, standing up. "But just remember: If I mysteriously vanish without a trace, it's your Deputy Head's fault."