Chapter Seventeen

Molly and I stayed up well into the night, talking about anything and nothing that came to mind (which with someone like Molly, literally meant anything). She told me how she and Castor had been on and again and off again since they graduated; about how her father had gotten a promotion at St Mungo's; about her mother's new dream catcher fascination; about her NEWTs and her inability to keep a job. I told her about my NEWTs; about the Quidditch team and Dave; about my plans to go into the potions industry when I graduate; about everyone thinking Will and I were more than friends.

We left out noticeable topics of course. She didn't mention James. We both avoided talking about her sister (not because Molly wouldn't side with me but because we both new there were things about the story I wasn't ready to tell her yet). I didn't bring up Andrius and Faye or Pollux and Louis. Or Hugo. They weren't my secrets to spill. I couldn't bring myself to talk about Scorpius.

It was well into the small hours of the day when Molly finally dragged herself from her seat with a yawn. When we reached the hall, instead of opening the front door for her to leave I walked up the stairs and she took it for what it was meant to be – an invitation to stay the night like she always used to. We chatted about meaningless things for another hour, tucked up in the warmth of my double bed and whispering despite the sound charms on all the walls.

When I awoke the next morning to a furious tapping on my window, she was still buried under the covers, her bright orange hair splayed around her, straighter and lighter than mine. It was so easy for her to slip back into my life. Seeing her asleep like that was like some surreal memory from happier days and it pulled a little at the walls I have surrounded myself by. And I didn't really care.

Pushing the covers back and trying not to jostle her (although she would sleep through a hurricane), I get out of bed and reach for the window to let in an unfamiliar owl. The impatient creature pecks my fingers and shoves its leg in my direction, begging me to take the attached letter. Removing said letter, I give the owl a treat and pull on a jumper and slippers.

Dear Rose Weasley,

I write to apologise for my behavior in the Owlery prior to our departure from Hogwarts yesterday morning. My reaction was unjustified and frankly rude and I hope you can forgive me. I shall not go into detail about the cause eliciting such a reaction from me but I can say that the reasons were personal and, as I later became aware, unfounded. Once again, my apologies and I wish you a pleasant holiday,

Your friend,

Scorpius Malfoy.

Minutes pass as I stare at the offending piece of paper. I cannot figure out what shocks me the most: that it is so formal and stiff, that he is apologising or that he signed it 'your friend'. The paper is heavy and expensive looking but the back is rough, as if the person writing it had been pushing too hard with his quill. It is formal and impersonal. Almost as if it were a final draft of something they just couldn't get right.

And why was he even apologising? Yes, he had been slightly out of character and completely confusing but nothing that couldn't wait until after the holidays to be addressed. Besides, he doesn't owe me anything; we aren't even friends, despite how he signed the letter. Which brings me on to the most bizarre aspect of the whole thing: why on earth did he sign it like that? Especially when the tone of the rest of the letter is so forced and official. Does he see me as a friend? Did he think 'your sincerely' was too formal? Couldn't he have skipped the whole thing out and put 'from Scorpius Malfoy'? He could put 'your friend' but still felt the need to put his surname? And mine for that matter? It just doesn't make sense.

"You look confused?" comes a muffled voice from my bed. "Who's it from?" she asks, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"My potions partner," I shrug, scrupling the paper up and aiming for the bin on the other side of the room. I miss and Molly laughs. "Let's go get breakfast," I suggest, changing the subject.

~X~

The next couple of days pass with relative ease. I spend most of my time with Molly, we go to Diagon Alley, take walks in the woods, just generally hang around my house, catching up. My parents keep shooting me what they think are discrete looks, smiling to themselves that I am talking to Molly again. Sometimes I find that I can't help but smile too. I missed her more than words could say.

On Wednesday morning I am woken up once again by the tapping of another unfamiliar owl. This was is different to the first and I recognize the dainty scrawl on the front as Faye's. Climbing back into bed, I open the seal and begin to read.

Dear Rose,

I promised I would write after my visit to the Malfoys at Willowbank Hall so here I am. Firstly, they have the most beautiful house, nothing at all like I was anticipating. It's open and warm and lets in the light… Why didn't you tell me? It would have made me a whole lot less nervous knowing they had a welcoming house! Anyway, that's beside the point.

Mrs Malfoy is not terrifying. You and Andrius had me so worked up on the train but she was nothing like I was picturing her. Andrius had told them on Monday so she already knew when I got there but she was so welcoming and kind. She even hugged me when I left. I can't imagine her cross but I suppose that is what would make her terrifying – you wouldn't expect it from such a warm person. Anyway, she was lovely and even gave me some baby books to look at.

Mr Malfoy was very quiet, he barely said a word but he wasn't too terrifying either. I think he could tell I was shy and just left me in peace. Or maybe he's shy too. All Andrius' brothers were there and I met two of your cousins! You were right, Castor was very friendly but his girlfriend, your cousin Molly, was especially nice. She chatted to me all evening (or the part where they were there at least, the two of them were late to dinner). Scorpius seemed a bit odd and didn't really say much either; he broke a wine glass though, which was pretty funny. He and Andrius still aren't quite on speaking terms yet though, which is a bit of a shame – he seems nice enough.

But now for the best bit! I don't know if you know this yet (you probably do, you seem to know everything) but I'm going to tell you anyway. Your cousin Louis was there as well because he's friends with Pollux, or so everyone thought, but then Castor made a comment about them being more than friends or something and everything went silent. At first I didn't really get what was going on and apparently neither did Andrius as he asked and your cousin just said something like 'I'm in love with your brother' and honestly Rose, I couldn't decided whether it was hilarious or a family conversation I really didn't want to bare witness to. I had to nudge Andrius to get him to shut his mouth he was so shocked. But then Mr Malfoy said something about Pollux always being too into that really feminine band, The Crystal – somethings, I can't remember and then everyone started teasing him and Pollux looked so horrified I couldn't help laughing and it was honestly, the funniest thing I have ever seen!

But anyway, I'll tell you more about it when we get back to Hogwarts. To be honest, it was pretty awkward until Castor and Molly showed up, no one really knew what to say, but after that it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. Hope you have a good holiday! See you soon,

Faye.

Before I can even recover enough from laughing at Faye's letter, there is a knock on the front door and I vaguely hear Molly saying hello to my mum before my bedroom door is thrown open.

"Louis' gay!" she practically yells. "Or bi or whatever," she adds as an afterthought. "He's dating Pollux!" she shouts again. "I was at the Malfoys for dinner yesterday and Cas just blurted it out and they were so shocked and I thought Mr Malfoy would go ballistic but he just started teasing Pollux and Louis said he loved him and-" she pauses, seeing the expression on my face. "You knew!" she gasps indignantly.

"I guessed," I smirk.

"Are you kidding me? And you didn't think I would be interested in that particular bit of dirt on my cousin?" she ticks her finger at me, flinging herself down on the bed. "It was so funny, they started taking the mick out of him because he liked The Crystal Balls as a kid – even his parents and… you look like you know all of this to," she narrows her eyes at me. I just shrug, waving the letter in my hand. She glares at it suspiciously. "Who?" is all she asks.

"Faye," I enlighten.

"Faye? Faye Rivers? The girl who Andrius knocked up?" Molly frowns. "You knew about that too!" she suddenly gasped, waving an accusatory arm at me. "How?"

"I've known for months, I found her crying in a bathroom ages ago and then again in the Owlery," I explain. "I didn't know it was Andrius' for a while though."

"Seriously, do you know everything," she asks wide-eyed.

"I wish," I mutter more to myself than to her. "Faye seems to think you are some kind of life saver."

"Yeah well when Cas and I got there, literally no one was talking. We had to break the tension somehow and she looked like she was trying to sink into the ground with discomfort," Molly huffs. "She seems way to young and petite to be pregnant though, I remember when my mum's friend was pregnant – she was huge. Took up an entire sofa all to herself! How far along is she?"

"Six months, roughly. Was Andrius being good to her thought, he was a bit… distant at first?"

"Yeah, they got talking soon after Cas and I got there… Aren't they dating?" she frowns.

"Nope. I don't know how they even met but when Andrius found out he acted like he wanted nothing to do with it. I gave him a little talking to-" Molly chuckles, "-and he seems to have gotten his act together. They seem to be fairly good friends now which is good."

"They were talking about baby names when they thought no one was listening," Molly tells me. "She asked if he wanted to go with something traditional from his family but he told her anything but," she laughs.

"It's weird to think that they're actually going to have a baby in three months," I muse.

"I bet Astoria is over the moon," Molly giggles. "She'd already guessed Pollux swung for the other team so no grandchildren from him in the near future and Cas can barely look after himself. I guess Scorpius will have to be the main provider then." I tense at his name but if Molly notices, she does say anything. "You want to go play Quidditch?" she changes the subject abruptly.

"I haven't even had breakfast yet," I protest, swatting her with a pillow.

"Well get up then, lazy ass," she grins, yanking my duvet off the bed.

"I can't believe you just did that," I gape at her.

"Well believe it sister because we've got Quaffles to throw!"

~X~

"Well they did it," I sigh, sliding into the seat across from Dominique in a secluded café just off Diagon Alley.

"They sure did," she smirks.

"How long have they actually been together then?" I ask, my curiosity taking the better of me.

"They only officially got together on Tuesday," she laughs. "But they kissed after we all had dinner together."

"Seriously? But I heard Louis practically declared his love for Pollux on Tuesday night?" I frown. "Seems a little brash for a Slytherin, don't you think?"

"Louis may be a Slytherin Rose, but he first and foremost a Weasley. We're not very good at hiding our emotions… Well, most of us aren't," she adds on, staring into her coffee. "Besides, they've been in love with each other for years, Louis was just too stupid to realize."

"So how did it happen? Did your little quip as they were leaving have the desired effect?" I tease.

"No, apparently Pollux got accosted by his brother when they got back, something about writing to some girl and Scorpius was going Hungarian Horntail on him so he blurted out that Scorpius didn't have to worry because he was gay and then the ball dropped in my brother's sluggish mind and he just marched up to Pollux and kissed him. Or that's what I got from Louis' ramblings anyway," she shrugs.

"Wait Louis kissed him?"

"Yep," she snorts, charming her coffee into bubbles absentmindedly.

"So how come they only became a couple on Tuesday?" I frown.

"Slytherins," she shrugs, as if that explains everything. "We're meeting them for dinner again tomorrow by the way so I hope you don't have any plans," she announces.

"I was plan-less but thanks for the consideration," I deadpan. She sticks her tongue out at me but then something catches her attention over my shoulder and her face falls.

"Come on, let's get out of here, my coffee's cold anyway," she mutters, grabbing her cloak and shrugging it on hurriedly.

"My drink hasn't even arrived," I protest.

"Well that's your fault for being late, we've got things to do," she rushes, grabbing my robe and trying to force me into it.

"Okay, okay," I sigh, pulling the thing on properly. "What's the rush?"

"Nothing, I just want to show you my book display in Flourish and Blots," she says and it's so seamless I would almost have believed her if it wasn't for the fact her eyes kept darting around the room. As we leave, I glance over my shoulder, curious as to what made my cousin so anxious to get out. I don't have to search hard as there is a vaguely familiar face staring at us as Dominique drags me out onto the street. I'm pretty sure he goes to Hogwarts.

~X~

As Dominique promised, the next day finds me in another cozy pub with her, Louis and Pollux once again. Despite the fact that the boys are holding hands under the table, nothing really changes. They're the same as they were when I last saw them and conversation flows as usual… Although this time, getting the boys attention could be a little harder than it was before.

But really, I should have seen it sooner, they can barely take their eyes off each other and now that a notice it, I realises they've always been doing it. They hang off every word the other says and seem to know exactly what they're thinking. But that's the way it's always been. Every times I've seen them together. Only now Louis will sneak a kiss when he thinks no one's looking. Which is a little daft considering Dominique and I are sitting less than a meter across from them.

"So I'm not sure if either of you know," Pollux starts half way through our meal, tension blooming in his face.

"If you're about to tell us you're dating my cousin, I will throw my drink at you," I interrupt. Pollux just rolls his eyes whilst Louis sniggers, shuffling closer to him.

"No," he draws out. "My little brother Andrius, do you remember him?" he asks and Dominique and I nod. "Well he's managed to get this girl pregnant," Pollux sighs.

"What!" Dominique gasps, flicking sauce across the table with her fork.

"She's pretty heavily pregnant too, six months, and he only told my parents a few days into the holiday," Pollux scowls.

"Are you serious? But he's so young," she rushes. Pollux grimaces in agreement.

"You don't seem so surprised," Louis narrows his eyes at me slightly, a calculating look on his face.

"I already knew," I say truthfully. Louis and Pollux share a look whilst Dominique splutters beside me.

"You knew!" she gasps. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? And because it's not my place to tell," I shrug.

"So how do you know then?" Dominique frowns, glancing at Pollux and Louis before returning her gaze to me, her eyes narrowed exactly like her brother's.

"She told me," I explain in the briefest way possible. Dominique just gives me a look and I continue, leaving out any and all details about Scorpius Malfoy and glossing over the chat I had with Andrius. "So yeah, I've known for a while," I finish. Dominique still looks suspicious but there is something else in her expression that I can't quite read and she looks away before I can think about it any further. If I was pushed to define it, I would say it looked something akin to dread.

"You knew I was going to be a uncle months ago and you didn't think to tell me?" Pollux asks and the expression on his faces is so close to a pout I almost laugh.

"Faye told me, I didn't even know it was a Malfoy until much later. I'm sorry it took Andrius so long to tell you but it wasn't my place to do so," I reply. "Now quit looking like I kicked your puppy and go back to gazing longingly at my cousin," I tease.

"Please don't," Dominique mutters at her food.

~X~

The last weekend of the holiday find the entire Weasley family once again at the Burrow. Luckily, the weather this year means most of us are outside and not fighting for space in the cramped interior. Grabbing a couple of drinks, I head over to where Hugo is sulking under a tree at the back of the yard.

"Hey," I smile as I sit beside him. He jerks his head in response and I hand him one of the drinks. We sit in silence, watching the mass of bodies that is our family, both lost in our own thoughts. The evening light casts shadows around the debris of the day, the fire-whiskey is flowing freely now and people are drifting off into smaller groups, huddled together against the cooling night air.

"You haven't told mum and dad have you?" Hugo asks eventually and I don't need to ask to know what he is talking about.

"Of course not… But you know they're completely supportive of Louis don't you? The fact that Louis' dad has werewolf tendencies aside, they really don't mind that he and Pollux are together, mum was chatting to him about it earlier and asking him if Pollux was coming to the next Weasley gathering. I think Louis' a bit hesitant to drag Pollux here though and I can't say I blame him," I chuckle. "Our family can be pretty intense at the best of times."

"I don't know what to do Rose," Hugo confesses so quietly I can barely hear him. "I can't get him out of my head. This wasn't supposed to happen, I just want him to be my friend."

"Then tell him that, if he really cares about you Hugo, he'll respect that and won't want to lose your friendship. But Hugo, you have to promise me that you won't shy away from something more just because you're afraid of what people might think. If being with Logan Moon is what makes you happy – then don't let anything stop you. You have to promise me that," I insist.

Hugo doesn't say anything for a while, staring away from our family and out over the fields attached to the back of the Burrow. "I promise," he whispers eventually.

"Okay," I sigh, "I'll leave you to your thoughts then." Getting up, I ruffle his hair before glancing the crowd for Dominique. Not seeing her anywhere, I ask Louis and he says he saw her go inside a while ago and hasn't seen her since.

Pushing open the back door, I call out for her but get no response. "Dominique!" I call again, heading up the stairs to where all the grandchildren tend to end up sleeping on nights like this when the adults have had too much to drink to get home safely. Finally, I hear the sound of a shower running the floor above me and head up to check if it is in fact Dominique and ask why on earth she is having a shower at this time.

The door to the bathroom is unlocked and when the occupant doesn't reply I hastily unlock it with my wand and shove the door open. Dominique is sitting, still in her robes, under the steady steam of water coming from the old showerhead. Her arms are wrapped around her knees and her eyes are squeezed shut. Her head tilted back against the tiled wall.

"Dominique," I gasp, rushing to her and shaking her shoulders, not caring about water now falling on us both. "Dominique, dammit, what's wrong," I beg as she shakes pliantly under my fingers. "Dominique!" I shout and her eyes fly open and I can tell she's been crying, the red rims so unfamiliar in her normally put-together face. "Shit, what's the matter?" I plead.

"I fucked up Rose," she gasps. "I fucked up."

Author's Note

Hello! This got even more intense at the end than I anticipated, sorry about that. Any guesses on what Dominique has done? Also are there any of the Weasley cousins that haven't really been in this story that you would like to see and I will see if I can put a little scene with them in? As always, thanks for reading, reviews are very much appreicated and please come and see me on my blog if you want to ask questions (of course, I can't give away any plot points of spoliers so those question will have to wait)!

IrishMyth