"Ronald Weasley, you sit on that couch right now and talk to me," Hermione said strongly after she returned home a few minutes after her husband had left Hogwarts. "What you did in there tonight was appalling."

"No, Hermione, it wasn't," her husband spat as he turned to face his irate wife. "It was all well deserved. What did I tell her right before she got on the train that first day? Huh? I'll tell you what I told her. I told her not to get too close to him. And what does she do? Why, my little stubborn daughter, who is too much like you for her own good sometimes, gets herself sorted into Slytherin of all Houses and then befriends the same little git I told her to keep away from! And now she's dating him? It's too much, Hermione. Even you have to admit that."

Hermione could not believe her ears. Ron had been getting better with Rose being in Slytherin (though it took him six years) and she thought he would finally be able to put this nonsense behind him. She assumed it wouldn't fully go away until Rose had left Hogwarts and gone off into the "real world" but, with his behavior tonight, she realized it was all nothing but a ruse. He would never accept that Rose was a Slytherin (though not of her choosing) and he was now worse off because she was dating his childhood nemesis's son. Hermione's mind put an emphasis on the child part.

"No, Ronald, I do not," she responded hotly as she put her hands on her hips. "If Scorpius can make Rose happy then we should leave well enough alone. I mean, honestly, it's Rose …"

"Yes, Hermione, it's Rose. Our little Slytherin daughter," Ron interjected. He paced back and forth for a moment before turning his eyes back on his wife. "I'm done with her until she sees the error of her ways. And if you want to side with her, fine. But I'm not sitting around here with a Slytherin sympathizer. I'll find somewhere else to stay."

Hermione was frozen in shock for a few seconds before shaking her head, her tears freely falling down her cheeks. "No, Ron," she whispered. "You stay here. I'll find somewhere else. I mean, obviously you think I'm in the wrong here so you shouldn't have to be displaced because you're a giant honking git whose head is so far up his arse it's a wonder he can see daylight! I am disgusted with you," she concluded before stomping off to their bedroom and quickly packing a suitcase. "I'll contact you when I've cooled off!" she screamed before popping out of the house.

--

"Ginny, please," Harry said as he rubbed his eyes, again, in frustration. "I have no idea what's going on with Lily. It's not that I don't care; I do. It's just … she wouldn't talk to me about these things and if she's not talking to you, I don't think she's talking to …"

Harry's voice was drowned out at a frustrated scream echoed through the parlor. "Uh oh. Hermione's here. Wonder what Ron did this time …"

"Why do you always assume Ron's done something wrong?" Ginny asked, obviously in the mood to fight.

"Because he usually has," Harry replied easily as he strode out of the kitchen and into the parlor to find Hermione and a suitcase. "What's wrong?"

"My git of a husband," she replied strongly. "I think I've done rather well with putting up with his attitude towards Rose. But after tonight and what he's done … well I've just about had it with him completely."

"You're going to divorce him?" Ginny asked as she walked into the parlor as well. "You can't do that, Hermione. Think about the ramifications in the press …"

"Oh sod the press, Ginny!" Harry shouted. "Obviously there's something serious going on …"

"Ron's gone ahead and given some kid permission to court and marry Rose without anyone's consent claiming that it would be good for her. He's … We got called to Hogwarts tonight by Draco because Rose punched this guy out. Then there was a huge row between Ron and Rose and he told her he doesn't want her coming home until she's … well, let's say Ron knows about Rose's love interest and he won't let her come home until she's done with him. He told me right before I left that he was done with her and if I wanted to side with her on the issue that he would leave," Hermione choked out with a sob. "I left before he could."

Harry took Hermione into his arms and let her cry it out. Ginny, thoroughly perplexed, wisely kept her mouth shut. All of a sudden her row with Harry didn't seem so important. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No," Hermione told her sister-in-law. "Thank you though. I suppose I'll be heading to the Leaky or something. You can reach me there by owl."

"You can stay here, Hermione," Ginny answered. "We've got more than enough room."

"Thanks, Gin, but I'd rather not. Ron'll be here tomorrow, no doubt, and I don't want to put any more undue stress on you two." She kissed them both on the cheek before grabbing her suitcase and once more popping out.

Ginny, after staring at the spot her sister-in-law had recently disappeared from, turned and wrapped her arms around Harry. "I'm sorry. I love you."

Harry sighed and returned the embrace. He placed a kiss on the top of his wife's head before repeating her sentiments in a whisper. Knowing Ron and Hermione, and knowing their relationships with their children, Harry silently wondered if they would be able to make it through this fight.

--

"Rose," Draco called as the young woman was about to exit his classroom.

"Yes, Professor?" she asked softly.

Draco wanted to get up and shake her out of the painful numbness he could tell she was in. He had been in the House his father had wanted and, for a long time, done what his father told him to do. But Rose Weasley was different. From day one at Hogwarts, Rose had gone against everything her father had known. And Merlin knows Ron Weasley does not do well with change.

"Chin up. It'll all work out. I'm living proof," he said with an attempted smile.

She nodded slowly and silently before leaving Draco to his own thoughts.

Growing up, Draco had only been taught one trait: obedience. He did what he was told when he was told to do it. It was very much the same when he got to Hogwarts, though the number of people whom he deemed worthy to give him such orders shrank to Lucius, Narcissa and Severus. And, when Sixth Year came, he made an attempt to follow the Dark Lord. Luckily (or unluckily) for him, he was never fully able to carry out any of the missions set forth to him.

His father, after the horrible incidents that night, had started treating him much in the way Ron Weasley was treating his only daughter right now. His only hope was that Ron, like Lucius, was able to slowly redeem himself in the eyes of his daughter. Draco wasn't sure he would be able to forgive Ron if he were in Rose's position.

He whispered a silent prayer for Granger (he would still never call her Weasley as he never considered the redhead good enough for Hogwarts' brightest student) and hoped she would be able to sort the git out. If she couldn't no one could.

He took a deep breath and silently decided that he needed to hold his daughter in his arms. He didn't care how late it was or that Astoria would have a right fit about him coming home just for that but he couldn't help it. He had never imagined seeing Ron Weasley's daughter so hurt that she would do just about anything to not think of it – including ask for a detention. He would never have guessed he would be doing everything exactly the opposite of how Weasley was raising his children. Well, he thought, probably just Rose. Word has it Hugo is perfect in that ginger-headed idiot's eyes.

He took a pinch of floo powder and called out his home address before stepping into the grate. It was after ten o'clock and he knew his wife would be getting ready for bed (if she wasn't in bed already).

He silently made his way up to the first floor and opened the door to his bedroom. The door adjacent was cracked slightly and the light was on. He could hear running water so he took it to mean that Tor was showering.

He looked to the right of the bed and saw Lyra's bassinet. He walked over slowly and pulled his not-surprisingly wide-awake infant out and cradled her to his chest. "Hey, love," he whispered as he rocked her back and forth. "You should be sleeping. Your Mum would love to be able to have a rest."

Lyra gave a wide yawn and Draco smiled. "Don't let your Mum catch you listening to me, baby girl. She's quite stubborn about things like that," he said in a soft voice with a smile. "She was always so stubborn …"

--.--

"Astoria, please, just listen to me!" Draco called out. "It wasn't what it looked like!"

"Wasn't what it looked like?!" the dark-haired young woman shouted out angrily as she spun to meet the eyes of her fellow volunteer. "If it wasn't what it looked like then please, Mr. Malfoy, do tell me what it was."

Draco winced at the use of his last name and hastily responded, "I was trying to make sure it wasn't something that needed to be turned in. I thought it looked like something I had seen once …"

"In your own house …" she spat angrily.

"Possibly," he continued. "I wanted to make sure that it wasn't. I mean, with them building the new play park here," he said as he motioned around the lush grass and the beginnings of toys for children, "I didn't want any kids getting hurt. That thing can blend right in and no one would know the difference." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Sometimes I can come in handy and this was one of them. That thing could have gone off at any time – who knows what the sick bastard put as the trigger words? – and loads of people could have been hurt. Hell, Astoria," Draco said as he raked a hand through his blonde hair, "you could have been hurt and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that had happened."

He had been trying for months to get her to go out with him. Nothing worked. He had tried being smooth. He had tried being charming. She simply had no interest in him, it seemed. So about three weeks ago he had stopped trying to get her to go out with him. He wouldn't place himself deliberately in her work group, he would not make suggestive comments, and he wouldn't do anything to make her uncomfortable.

He had however, changed without knowing it. He had become considerate, helping others if he had a free moment (or dropping what he was doing if it was something time-sensitive) and having a generally appealing attitude. He was only slightly sarcastic (and not in the biting way he had been before) and never maliciously mocked anyone.

Granger, having gone to the site to volunteer during her vacation from the Ministry, had commented on it with a smile. He figured if Granger had noticed he must have changed. And he found he felt better for it.

"It's not going to work, Malfoy," Astoria responded harshly. "You're not going to get me to agree to go out with you because of what you did today."

"I wasn't trying to," Draco responded with a shrug. "In fact, if you think back, I haven't asked you out in nearly a month. Don't you figure I would have kept on it if I intended to press the issue? You're not interested in me; I get it. Whether you like to think so or not, Miss Greengrass, I have grown up and can see when I should cede the battle. You win," he continued with a genuine smile. "I won't ask you out again." He gave her another smile and a small nod before heading off to another group of workers trying to fix a swing set, whatever that was.

Astoria watched him go for a moment before shouting out, "Friday."

He paused, wondering if she was talking to him, and turned back to face her. "What?" he asked, loud enough to be heard from the distance between them.

"I'll go out with you Friday night. But it's not a date or anything. Just a drink between friends down the pub. A muggle pub in Fulham. It's called the Imperial Arms. Be there at eight. If you're not, I'm leaving at eight-oh-five," she told him before turning and walking back to a group of women working on the flower garden.

Draco smiled to himself as he turned back and headed towards the men. He would certainly have to find out where this Fulham place was and be there by seven thirty. He wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. True, he had given up on her romantically but he could use a friend. He seemed to have been running short on those in recent times.

--.--

"Draco!" Astoria gasped as she entered their bedroom wrapped in a towel. "What are you doing home again?"

"I had to see Lyra," he whispered as his eyes traveled down to his daughter once again.

"What's wrong, love?" she asked as she sat beside him on the bed. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine … it's … Rose Weasley – Hermione's daughter – punched out some git in my class today, for a very good reason, mind, and asked that I call her parents in tonight. Well, she and her dad, the idiot, got into a spectacular row and she ended up telling him about her and Scor. He then proceeded to tell her not to go home until she sorts herself out. I mean, what kind of man could do that to his daughter?" His eyes drifted down to a now-dozing Lyra in his arms. "I just had to see her … had to hold her."

"Oh, baby," Astoria whispered. "It's going to work out in the end."

"You always were so optimistic," he said quietly with a soft smile before leaning and in gently pressing his lips to hers.

--

Rose slowly made her way back to the Head Dormitory. She whispered the password dully and entered the common room. She didn't expect to find her boyfriend waiting up for her.

"Hey. How did it go?" Scorpius asked. And then the unthinkable happened: Rose burst out in heart-wrenching sobs. He quickly shot from the couch and wrapped his arms around her as she clung to him for dear life. She was holding him as if she would lose him (or herself) if she didn't. "Rose?" he asked in a panic. "Rose, please talk to me. Tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me."

"H-he h-h-hates m-me," she stuttered out between sobs. "H-he told me n-not to come h-home again!"

"Who did? Your dad?" he asked as he moved her over to the couch and pulled her down into his lap.

She nodded against his chest and he silently cursed Ron Weasley. He knew he wouldn't get anything of value out of Rose until she calmed down (the girl could barely talk!) so he had to wait it out.

Scorpius wasn't lying when he said she was scaring him. Rose never cried, ever. She was always strong and silent, never wanting to act too emotional. He assumed it was a rough edge brought on by having such a large family. And with her father's blatant displeasure with her House and choice of friends, he assumed that she kept her "Slytherin Shield" up all the time. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her cry – possibly when she learned of her grandmother's death two years ago.

He rubbed her back and whispered soothing words until her crying subsided and she was left with little sniffles. "Now explain to me what happened …"

Rose launched quietly into the story and Scorpius found that he was happy to have her in his lap because, had she not been, he would have been marching to his father's office and flooing to pay Mr. Weasley a visit. He hated her father for having such an effect on her. He was the one she strove to make happy and it seemed nothing was good enough. Hell, he was trying to marry her off to someone who would make her completely miserable!

"I told him I was seeing you," she continued in a tiny voice. "Shouted it at him, really, and he went off the handle. He told me I couldn't come home until we broke off."

If Scorpius had been an honorable Gryffindor or a meek Hufflepuff he probably would have told her that he would back off until they were out of Hogwarts and could try to make it on their own. But he wasn't a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff. He was a Slytherin and a selfish one at that. He was in love with the girl on his lap and would do anything at all to make her happy – except let her go. Though he knew she wouldn't want that either. He simply tilted her chin up and pressed his lips to hers. "We'll sort it all out," he told her confidently. "If worse comes to worse, I'll stay here with you. Or we can ask if you can come home with me. You won't be alone for the holidays. It's you and me, Rose, I promise. I won't let him ruin anything. Know that I love you and …"

"You love me?" she asked as her drooping eyes snapped open and locked on his.

"I do," he whispered. "And that's why I won't give you up no matter what your father says."

"Of course you won't give me up. And even if you did," she told him, "I wouldn't give you up. I love you too much for that. You're stuck with me until you tire of me," she added cheekily.

"Maybe I should just buy the ring next Hogsmeade visit," he joked. "Because I don't see me tiring of you any time soon."

She smiled and shoved him playfully.

"Thank you," she said after a few silent moments. "I'm glad you were here when I got in. You were the only person I wanted to see."

"You sure know how to make a bloke feel real good, Weasley," Albus commented from across the room.

He had sat silently and allowed his best mate to comfort Rose the best he could. He knew that she hadn't noticed him and Scorpius had forgotten all about him in his rush to comfort his girlfriend. Not that Al minded. It was just another opportunity to observe them together.

While he kept an impassive countenance, Al was silently seething on the inside. He was angrier with his Uncle Ron now then he ever had been before. And Albus Potter was not known for his inaction. Something would have to be done to make Ron wise to what his actions had caused.

"Sorry, Al, didn't see you there," Rose said with a slight blush.

"No worries, Rosie," Al smiled as he walked to her and placed a kiss on her head. "We'll talk tomorrow. Right now you two should get some sleep. Double Defense and Charms in the morning." He gave Scorpius a nod and pressed another kiss to Rose's head before leaving them alone.

They stood and made their way towards their bedroom (or his which had become theirs) hand in hand. As Scorpius was shutting the door he playfully said, "I think you need to be punished for shouting out our relationship without me there."

As the door closed, the only thing that could be hear was a giggle and then half a moan as Scorpius had finally remembered to cast a silencing charm.