Sorry this is so late being posted! I'll try to get the next chapter up much quicker :)

The Hogwarts Express bumped and grinded it's way along the track as freezing rain pitter-pattered on the large windows. I was sitting in my usual compartment, but I was unusally silent. Everyone else was so cheerful and I usually would've been too. All of my cousins had sat in the same expanded compartment since I started Hogwarts, I guess you could say it was a Weasley tradition. Fitting everyone in the same compartment was not an easy feat though, let me tell you. There was myself, Albus, Molly, Anne, Fred, Louis, Lily, Hugo and Lucy. Normally compartments were only supposed to hold 4 or 5 people comfortably and there were 9 Weasleys, at one point there was as many as 11 of us. I couldn't imagine how empty Hogwarts would be without us Weasley's to liven things up a bit. Maybe uncle Charlie would finally settle down and pop out some new ones before we all graduated, it was rumoured that he'd finally gotten himself a somewhat serious girlfriend so maybe new weasleys were not so far off. Not to mention the fact that Teddy and Victoire were long overdue for marriage, and then there was me, pregnant already. Maybe there really was some hope for the Hogwart's enrollment rates.

I allowed my mind to drift aimlessly during the long train ride, surprisingly, no one seemed to notice or for that matter care about my lack of involvement in the animated conversation. But as the rolling hills became smaller I began to grow more and more anxious. I was an awful liar, and even though I didn't look pregnant yet, I was a little more rounded in the middle than my usual slender figure would've allowed, and I'd already had to enlarge some of my clothing to conceal my little bump. My Mother was smart as a whip, she could smell a lie from a million miles away, I wouldn't be surprised if she guessed my secret before I had a chance to even try to hide it. My Dad could be thick, but he was much more intuitive than people gave him credit for. I glanced around the compartment at all of the familiar faces, but I still felt like something was missing, Malfoy specifically. I felt an odd loss without him by my side, over the past two weeks he'd taken to accompanying me in some way or another wherever I went. These next few days without him were going to be tough. Scorpius' presence calmed my anxiety and worry enough to make it managable. Scorpius made me feel like everything was going to be OK, even when it wasn't.

The train slowed to a final halt at the station and I got up with the rest of my cousins and squeezed my way out of our compartment. I fell into step beside Lily. We really looked like we could be sisters with our prominent Weasley features. Lily was the only one of the Potters that had inherited the famous Weasley red hair and although mine was a bit of a darker red with hints of gold and brown we still looked quite alike.

I ran towards my parents, forgetting my troubles momentarily. After months of not seeing my family, it was hard not to be overwhelmed with love and happiness when I finally saw them again.

I practically launched myself at my Mother while Hugo held back a bit in his awkward 'I'm too cool for public affection' sort of way.

My Mum hugged me back tightly, "Oh honey, we've missed you" She said, kissing my head and smoothing my hair.

Hugo skillfully avoided Mum's hug, but I could tell he was happy to see her.

My Dad ruffled my hair, completely undoing whatever good Mum's hair-smoothing had done.

"Welcome back, pumpkin." He said gruffly.

I grinned, looking around at the warmth of the family surrounding me, and not just my immediate one, my extended family as well. Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry were smiling lovingly at their reunited family, watching as James threw Lily over his shoulder and threatened to dump her into the fountain while Albus ruffled his messy hair and gave his Dad a one-armed hug. Aunt Audrey and Uncle Percy were standing proudly with their daughters, no doubt discussing Prefect duties or grades, but happy nonetheless. Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur were having a family photo taken, I was happy to see that Teddy Lupin was included, his arm wrapped tightly around Victoire, and his other draping over Louis. Dominique stood slightly off to the side, but that was just Dominique, she was probably eager to get back to her Band's next practice or gig and had likely been dragged here by Aunt Fleur, not of her own free will. Uncle George and Aunt Angelina were holding hands while carrying on separate conversations. Uncle George was speaking animatedly with Anne, probably about the something funny that had happened at the Joke Shop, since she was doubled over with laughter. Aunt Angelina was inspecting the quaffle Fred had nicked from one of his quidditch games. Grandma and Grandpa were puttering around, stopping at each cluster of Weasley's to say their hello's and give out some more hugs.

Everyone looked so happy and at ease, I couldn't help but smile widely. Maybe this holiday wouldn't be so bad after all.

I loved the smell of our house. Every house had a unique smell, and ours was particularly delightful. It smelled like books and baking and it had the slight flowery scent my Mum always carried with her. As much as Hogwarts was my home, so was this comfy cottage in the country and I enjoyed being back in the home I grew up in. Our house was much like the burrow, the house my Dad had grown up in, only a little less cluttered. I ran up to my room, not waiting for the rest of my family to trek up the long driveway into the house.

I had the attic room, so it was always a struggle to climb up the steep stairs. Although I was able to apparate, my Mum had ruled that apparating wasn't to be used for silly purposes, at least not in our house. Apparently getting from the first floor to the third was a silly use of apparition. Mum was big on not abusing our powers as wizards. She headed many committees, but the most well-known was S.P.E.W (Society For the Promotion of Elfish Welfare). She had a high-ranking job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so I had no clue how she had the time to do anything else, let alone attempt to undo every single injustice in our world.

I flopped down on my double bed, covered with quilts and pillows and anything else my Grandmothers could possibly make. I had a nice bookshelf lined with my favourite books, both muggle and magical. The freezing rain glistened off of my window and I let my eyes flutter closed as a sigh of contentment left my lips. I was happy to be home, despite my predicament. Home was surprisingly comforting. As much as I was worried, I knew that my family would stand by me no matter what I did, even when it was something as stupid as this. I felt guilty more than anything, as much as I knew they would stand by me, I also knew they'd be very disappointed in me, angry even. Dad would likely run off for a few days, as he did whenever something particularly overwhelming or upsetting happened and Mum would likely cry and then get very mad. But it would all blow over, and everything would hopefully be OK.

I was two months and three weeks into my pregnancy. I'd been to see Madame Pomfrey briefly, but only at the persistent suggestions of Professor McGonagall. I hadn't let Scorpius accompany me to the brief check-up, he had ancient runes and I told him I didn't need his marks slipping because of me. I wasn't entirely certain why I felt the need to do it on my own, but I also thought it would be a little too much for me if I had Scorp there too. Selfish, but correct. I'd been reluctant to go see Madame Pomfrey at all, she was not too good at keeping secrets and I could tell by the way she brought up my family a little too often that she thought they ought to know. The whole thing really was a bit of a scandal, a Malfoy and a Weasley - definitely a Reeta Skeeter worthy story.

A smokey gray owl tapped at my window impatiently, startling me out of my dream-like state, I rolled off of my bed with a groan and opened the window, allowing the owl to make itself at home on my flowered windowseat. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, I'd never quite understood why everyone loved owls so much. They kind of freaked me out to be honest, the way they could turn their heads practically all the way around was simply unnatural. I delicately removed the letter from its extended leg, and made some halfhearted shooing motions. The owl refused to budge, obviously the owner had ordered for him to stay put until the letter was read and responded to. I rolled my eyes.

I opened the letter and immediately recognized Scorpius' messy scrawl.

Rosie,

Don't be tooshocked if I show up in your room or something sometime in the next few days. I don't want to wait 'till Christmas to see you, I miss you and I'm worried about you. Also, we need to talk family things.

- Scorpius M

Great so now Scorpius was planning on randomly showing up at my house, as if I didn't have enough on my plate already.

"Rose!" Hugo called from the bottom of the stairs, "Come get your trunk!"

"I'm busy!" I half screeched, still holding the letter in my hand and searching my desk for a quill to write back.

Hugo bounded into my room without a warning and I whirled around, clutching the letter behind my back. I wasn't exactly sure why I felt the need to hide it, it was just a letter between friends, nothing more, nothing less.

He snatched the letter from my hands before I could do anything. I scowled at him and tried to get it back, but he held it above his head, out of my reach. If he wasn't so freakishly tall for a 15 year old this wouldn't have been a problem.

Hugo could be a bit of a prick sometimes, and as much as I loved him, he was a little too much like my Father was at his age, at least from what I'd heard from my Mum.

I saw his eyes land on Scorpius' elaborate signature at the bottom of the page before I could snatch it back, and an evil glint entered his brown eyes.

"Hugo" I warned through gritted teeth, snatching the letter away from him.

"Rosie's got a boyfriend!" He taunted in a sing-songy voice, that would've made me laugh, if it wasn't for the fact that he was definitely about to cause an issue.

"No I don't." I huffed, blushing a light shade of pink.

"Since when do you and Scorpiussss send eachother love letters?"

I raised my chin slightly, "we are not sending eachother love letters, we are friends, and as friends we are allowed to correspond accordingly."

Hugo swooned and swayed around my room with much bravado, "O Scorpius, Scorpius, wherefore art thou Scorpius?" He mimicked in a girlish voice.

"Hugo, GET OUT OF MY ROOM RIGHT NOW!" I screamed, losing my patience with his antics.

He looked surprised at my outburst and just stood there dumbly for a second, contemplating whether or not he should be taking me seriously. I decided I'd help him out with the decision. I whipped out my wand out and pointed it at him menacingly, "Get out or I will hex you."

"Rose Weasley, what exactly do you think you're doing?".

I dropped my wand immediately, looking sheepishly at my Mother who was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

Hugo took the chance to scamper out of the room and Mum came to sit on my bed. Her brown hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck and I could see some wrinkles forming around her chocolate brown eyes.

"Sorry?" I said shrugging my shoulders and fidgeting awkwardly, "I wasn't actually going to hex him, just thought it would give him some initiative".

My mum sighed, closing her eyes for a second and massaging her temples with her carefully manicured fingers.

"Rose, your brother is two years younger than you, please just for once act your age. No wand for today or tomorrow." She held out her hand, maintaining the stern tone to her voice.

I decided it was best not to argue with her, so I handed it over without my usual protests, all 11 & 1/2 inches of Ash & Unicorn hair.

She stayed seated, fiddling with my wand. "Rose, Honey, you would tell us if you did have a boyfriend ... right? We only want what's best for you, and you are plenty old enough to have a relationship, despite whatever qualms your Dad may have with it." She smiled at me, extending an olive branch, and I blushed again, damn my skin.

"I don't have a boyfriend." I muttered, looking more at the floor than at her.

"Right." She said smiling again and getting up from my bed, "I think I'll go make dinner now, try to get along with Hugo."

"Alright, Mum." I mumbled turning back towards my desk as she walked out of my room.

I hastily wrote a reply:

Scorp,

Please don't show up randomly at my house. I'm stressed out enough without having to hide you, or lie any more to my parents than I am already. Things are OK here ... so far, so don't worry. I'm doing everything Madame Pomfrey told me too, so I'm fine, the baby's fine and there's no need for you to check up on me.

~ Rose

p.s I miss you too.

I folded up the letter carefully and attached it to the annoying owl, shooing it out my window. I sat curled up on my window seat, my head rested on the sill as I watched it's dark grey wings flap away into the darkening sky.

PLEASE review and let me know what you think! :) :) 3 It will probably be a chapter or two until they break the news to the family. I just really want to focus on Rose & Scorp for a chapter or two more :)