The rest of the week flew by with Draco unable to get Rose to speak with him. He knew he shouldn't be, but he was quite frustrated with the girl's ability to dodge him outside of class. She was a clever girl – so like her mother in that regard – but he couldn't help but envision her self-destruction if she didn't speak to someone about it.

From what his son had said, Rose moved back into the Slytherin girls' dormitory and was avoiding him as well. They got on fine in their classes but, other than that, she had been quite artful in dodging his son as well.

He was glad it was the weekend, as he'd made plans to visit with Granger. He knew that he needed someone to vent to and he knew she was the perfect candidate. She always took whatever he spat at her with a grain of salt and, if she were in a temper as well, throw back scathing retorts.

He flooed directly to the Ministry, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that she would still be at work. He figured she would have to be since she told him not to meet her at her home.

He moved through the atrium, smirking at the fountain granger had commissioned, and to the lifts where he promptly told the worker that he needed to go to Level Four – Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He tried not to scowl when the pimply teenager smirked at him.

It only took a few minutes but it seemed like forever to him. He hadn't seen Granger in quite some time and he found himself missing her. They tried to get together ever couple of weeks but since taking the job at Hogwarts, he had been too busy to schedule a time to see her. He hoped they would be able to catch up a bit before their inevitable shouting session.

"C'mon, Granger," he called when he walked into her office. "Pack it up and we'll go back to your place and I'll cook some dinner."

Hermione's head shot up from the parchment she was reading to take in the blonde man in her doorway. He looked like he was wanting to talk to her for a reason and she assumed it was – as many things were these days – about her daughter. "Oh! Erm – no, uh, Malfoy. We can, er, go out for dinner. I wouldn't mind. No need for you to cook …"

"Nonsense, Granger. Gather all the rubbish you're inevitably going to bring home and let's get on with it. I'm starved and I don't think our conversation today is something either of us wants to be fodder for that rag your sister-in-law works for …" He noticed Hermione wince when he referenced Ginny. "Something wrong, Granger?"

"Huh? Oh, no …" she responded slowly. "Maybe we should put this off if it needs to be done in private. I know Astoria's home with the baby and you don't want to disturb them so we can always meet some other time … or we can stay here and I'll have my assistant run down to the café and get us some dinner …"

"Why can't we just go back to your place? I bought some really good pasta for a lasagna. I know how you love my lasagna, Granger. C'mon … let's …"

"I don't live there right now," she blurted out.

Draco froze in his tracks. What did she mean she didn't live there? "You having some remodeling done?" he asked.

"Not as such," she responded primly.

He turned and closed the door before casting a silencing charm. "Out with it," he said seriously. "You haven't acted this way in a while – since you were pregnant with Rose. I didn't even know about her until she was, what, three? We went years without talking and, let me tell you, Granger, I don't want that to happen again. So, c'mon, out with it. Are you pregnant again?"

"No!" she shouted. She sounded almost appalled at the thought. "No. Nothing like that. Though if I were it would be a miracle," she muttered, not knowing he could hear her.

That one little sentence gave him pause. She wouldn't go home; she said she wasn't staying there right now. She was withdrawn. She looked tired and frazzled. He took a deep breath and sat in the chair across from her. He noticed her eyes had moved back down to her parchment. When he saw a drop of water fall from under the veil of her hair, he reached across the desk and placed his hand on hers. "Talk to me, Granger."

"I'm a failure," she whispered, her head still bowed.

"A failure? At what?" he asked disbelievingly. "I've never known you to fail at anything."

"I failed at my marriage, Draco," she responded. "He – he's so angry about everything and there's nothing I can do to make it right. First she's got brownish hair instead of red – only Victoire and Dominique don't have the Weasley red and that's because Fleur's veela genes prevented it – and then she was a Slytherin and now she's gone and started dating a Slytherin … and he blames me because I've always told her to be independent and not do what everyone expected of her. I told her she should only live up to her own expectations and look where it got me … in a broken marriage with next to no hope of fixing it."

"Granger …"

"He tried to walk out on me … but I wouldn't give him the chance. I left him first. Something else I can be blamed for, I'm sure. I didn't fight to keep him with me; I left before he could. Does that make me a coward?" she asked softly.

"No," Draco responded as he gripped her hand tighter. "It makes you strong." He paused for a moment, staring into her glistening brown eyes before continuing, "He was like this when she was first Sorted too, wasn't he? Maybe not this bad, but …"

--

"Where did Scorpius get Sorted?" she asked quietly over a cup of coffee on September 3, 2017.

"Slytherin," Draco responded after he took a sip of his own coffee. "He said he was nervous about it and the Hat actually considered him for all of the other Houses before he was placed. He was in a right state, concerned that he had been considered for Hufflepuff," he added with a laugh. "And Rose? A prim Gryffindor like her mother?"

"Slytherin," she said softly.

"Yes, Scorpius is in Slytherin. But I asked where your daughter was placed."

"And I told you, Draco," she responded in the same quiet voice. "Rose was Sorted into Slytherin with Al. She wrote that the Hat didn't even have to really think about it. The way she described it made me think of the way the Hat put you in Slytherin so quickly. But then she said that it was talking rapidly, as if confused. It knew she was a Weasley but because of her independence and ability to be sly and cunning that she definitely belonged in Slytherin. Ron's not even talking to me. He said it was all my fault …"

"How is it your fault?" Draco asked. He continued before she could answer. "How could it be anyone's fault? She was put in Slytherin. So what? Didn't you say Potter's boy was put in there as well? It can't be all that bad …"

"He said I made her too strong-minded. He's seen firsthand how she can manipulate almost any of the men in our family to do whatever she wants … it's … he's saying it's all my fault that she's the first Weasley ever to be in Slytherin! I'm so afraid he's going to cut Rose out …"

"He's not that stupid, Granger," Draco said consolingly. "He's just in shock."

"You wouldn't be saying that if Scorpius was put in Gryffindor," she shot back petulantly.

"No," he laughed. "I don't suppose I would. But, hey, he's not in Gryffindor. Maybe he and Albus – dumb name, by the way – will be mates. And even your little Rose. They could be a new Trio full of mischief and terror."

"First, Albus is a fine name. Don't forget he has your godfather's name as his second name. Second, I don't doubt that Al and Rose will be troublemakers. But do you think your little Scorpius will be willing to join in on the fun?" she asked primly.

"I've no doubt that my son and your family members will be able to put aside the sins of their fathers and be a formidable trio. They're better than us, Granger. I can already see it. They'll not make the same mistakes we did." He paused a moment. "And your husband will come around. Like I said … he's just in shock."

"You're a good man, Draco Malfoy," she told him softly and his heart swelled a little.

--

"I just feel like I'm going to lose either my husband or my daughter over this and neither is acceptable," she told him seriously. "I don't want this to be the straw that breaks the camel's back." She ignored his confused look. "I just don't know what to say to either of them. Anything I tell Rose will be empty promises – and you know how I hate those – and anything I tell Ron will make him think even less of me. I'm stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place."

"I'm going to ignore the muggle references you've just made – as no one but a muggle or Potter would be able to figure them out – and tell you this: your daughter has done nothing wrong and your husband will have to face that fact sooner or later. I'm not betting on sooner, but I hope for your sake and for Rose's that your idiot husband pulls his head from his arse and wakes up." He paused and then sighed. "Your daughter, incidentally, is my main reason for asking to meet with you today."

"Aww, so you didn't miss me?" she asked playfully in an attempt to not hear what he had to say about Rose.

"I always miss you, Granger. That's besides the point – oh, don't blush. Anyway," he continued on, "she's avoiding everyone. She goes to class and quidditch but is spending all of her time holed up in her former dormitory. She hasn't spoken to Scorpius all week and he asked me to talk with her. She's quite slippery, you know. I haven't been able to corner her at all. It's like she knows I'm going to try to talk to her and she …"

"She's not done being mad at Ron and she knows that you and your son can calm her down. Al wrote a similar letter to Harry stating she won't talk to him either. He said she hasn't been at meals most of the week."

Draco nodded in agreement. "She's eating though. She doesn't look sick or anything. I know Scor's had the house elves taking her meals in her room."

"You've raised a good son, Draco. He would be proud of you …" she trailed off.

"I know," Draco sighed. "I just … I wish he could have been here to see the man my son is becoming. I wish he could have known Tor and-and Lyra … she's getting so big," he added with a far-away smile on his face. "She's going to look just like her mother."

"With the Malfoy hair and eyes?"

Draco shook his head. "I think she's going to be the first dark-haired Malfoy ever. She's just so beautiful, Hermione," he whispered. "I don't know what I did to get so lucky … but I did. I have the most amazing wife … a son that I couldn't be prouder of … and the most beautiful little girl in the world. I mean, where did I go right?"

Hermione stood and walked around her desk. She pulled him from his seat and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You didn't kill and old man on a warm night in 1997," she responded. "You lived when you could have given up. You let Harry save you in the Room of Requirement. You tried not to give Ron and Harry away when we were in the Manor …"

"I didn't save you that night …"

"I wasn't expecting to be saved, Draco," she said with a sad smile. "I expected her to kill me because I didn't give her any information. And if you had tried to save me she probably would have killed you. You saved lives during the Battle of Hogwarts by keeping the kids out of the mess. I … you've redeemed yourself in the eyes of the community, Draco. You changed for the better. Do you think Astoria would have settled for anything less?"

She was breathing heavily at the end of her impromptu speech and Draco couldn't help but once again think that Weasley was a fool for not treasuring her. "No," he responded softly. "But I just figured I got really lucky …"

"It helped that a friend of yours couldn't help but sing your praises when they met for tea and scones," Hermione said impishly.

--

"So, you and Draco Malfoy, huh?" Hermione asked teasingly as she applied some strawberry jam to her scone. "Interesting. I thought you said he was a pretentious prat predisposed to prolonged periods of petulant pestering."

"I did not!" Astoria responded as she sipped her tea.

"Yes, you did," Hermione insisted. "Because I laughed and then applauded your alliteration. So, what changed?"

"Nothing."

"I think something did …"

"No. We're … friends. That's all."

"Oh," Hermione said slowly. "So then you wouldn't mind if he and I got together for something more than our chats?" she asked.

"You're with Ron Weasley," Astoria said immediately.

"Not this week," the brunette snorted.

"But … you … you can't want to be with Dra- uhm, Malfoy. It's …"

"Why not?" Hermione asked nonchalantly. "I mean, he's a good man – a very good man. He's clever and nice. Some could say he's actually sweet. He's also become quite dedicated and loyal. I heard he turned down his old girlfriend – Pansy Parkinson – because she wanted a no strings attached relationship and he's more interested in settling down. He told me last week that he likes the feeling of knowing one day someone will love him for who he is and not what he was."

Astoria sat quietly for a moment before looking up earnestly into Hermione's eyes. "Please don't date him," she said quickly. "I mean, I know he might not say yes, no offense, but please don't offer him the chance."

"Why not?" Hermione asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Because I am dating him," Astoria responded softly. Her eyes were looking to her half-eaten scone. "We've been dating for a while. I … we just … he kissed me the night Daphne was taken. We had been, erm, not-dating, as he called it, for a while and it's … we were really dating though. And we still are. I just … do you really think he's changed for the better? And for good?"

"I do," Hermione responded honestly. "And I think you'll help that along even more."

Astoria simply smiled before sipping at her tea again.

--

"You never told me that!" Draco cried out with a grin. "You threatened her that you would ask me out?"

"Knowing full well that you would never say yes," Hermione responded with a firm nod and a smile of her own.

That gave Draco pause. "You don't think I would have said yes?"

"Of course not," she waved him off, the smile still on her face. "You were with her."

"If I wasn't?"

"Draco …" she sighed, her smile slipping. "We're not talking about what-ifs and what-could-have-beens. I won't go through this with you. We're friends and this conversation could ruin that completely. And, to be honest, I'm not willing to risk it."

"Please, Hermione … I know you were in love with Weasley but, please, just humor me. If things were different …"

"No," she responded. "We're not talking about this because things aren't different. And I wouldn't have asked," she told him. "We're good friends and since your change, I haven't thought of you as anything but."

The lie burned in her throat and she wished, not for the first time, that things had been different.

--

Scorpius was, once again, sitting alone in the Heads common room. He was hoping that she would come back. It was Saturday and he knew she hadn't taken many of her muggle clothes with her when she moved back into Slytherin. He had a book open in his lap, abandoned, and had let the fire die so it was 

slightly chilly. He assumed his mate would be coming in soon to discuss Rose, as had become the habit since she had walked out of their lives.

He heard the portrait swing open and, without looking, called out, "Have you seen her?"

There was a long pause before a quiet, "Have I seen who?" was asked from just inside.

"Rose," Scorpius cried out as he bolted from his seat and moved towards her quickly. He watched the portrait swing closed and then wrapped her in his arms. "Thank Merlin," he whispered into her hair. "You're okay. You're back. Thank Merlin."

It was all nonsensical and erratic but she knew what he meant. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and pressed her tear-streaked face into his chest. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I've been such a fool …"

"No. It was me. I shouldn't have said what I said …"

"I shouldn't have reacted the way I did …"

"I missed you so much …"

"I missed you too …"

"It was like being right next to you with a glass wall between us. Please don't ever leave me again, Rose. Please. I love you so much …"

"Oh, Scor, I love you too," she whispered before pulling his head to meet her lips in a kiss that they had both been desperate for since earlier in the week.

"Wow. I didn't know that this reunion would cause you both to turn into crying Hufflepuffs," Albus said from the portrait.

"Shut it, mate," Scorpius said, arms still wrapped around Rose and quite unwilling to let her go.

Albus smirked before walking over to the couch – not really caring that his cousin and mate wanted time to get reacquainted- and flopped down. "What made you want to be social again, Rosebud?"

"I got a letter from Uncle Harry," she said slowly. "And it really helped. I mean, Mum's moved out of the house because of what Dad's doing and he said that they were acting like children. Then he went on to talk about how he pushed everyone away during the War and it wasn't good for anyone. He just … he wrote a lot of things that made me stop and think … and I knew that I couldn't push everyone away." She paused for a moment before continuing on, "I know I'm not okay – not yet. But I also know I can't do it alone. I mean, Dad's really hurt me. He's hurt me more than I can put into words," she added with a sniffle as Scorpius led her to the couch and sat beside Al with her on his other side, her head still resting against his chest. "And I'm going to be in a nasty mood but I'd like very much if you two didn't give up on me. I don't think I can do this alone," she finished in a whimper before the tears started falling again.

"You won't have to do it alone, baby. I promise. We'll get through this together. Right, Al?"

Albus nodded distractedly. "Right." He was too busy to pay attention to anything but the broken look on his cousin's face. His uncle had put that there and it was high time the redheaded git was put in his place. True that they weren't going home for the holiday – there was going to be a Yule Ball or some rubbish like that – but there were plenty of quidditch matches. And he knew Uncle Ron wouldn't miss his perfect little Hugo for anything. So, yes, he would get his uncle back during the weekend of the Slytherin-Gryffindor match. He would do this without the other two as to keep Rose and Scor far from the trouble. But he couldn't let his uncle keep hurting his cousin like he was. Rose was too strong to be acting this way and he knew, without a doubt, that Ronald Weasley had to pay for breaking one of the strongest women he knew. There was no other alternative. He would have to enlist a little help from some of his other acquaintances, however, and possibly a family member or two.

But, one way or another, Ron Weasley would come to terms with what he's done. Albus would personally see to it.