A/N: Here is the next chapter! It's just a little bit of a filler chapter. There are some important progressions with certain characters, but overall I just needed a transition chapter from the wedding night to the honeymoon!

WARNING: Some sexual content, language, and just a smidge of alcohol use.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

…..

The moment he was sure that his wife was asleep Scorpius very carefully peeled back the blankets that were draped over them. He knew this would happen, had been prepared for it, and he knew that Rose would be absolutely mortified if she woke up to find it herself in the morning so he would get rid of it.

The blood she'd shed during their first time together stained his blue sheets with a deep dark red. It didn't bother him, but he knew it would bother her. He pulled his wand from the table beside him and gave it a few sharp flicks. Everything was clean of all blood and other liquids that were also staining the sheets.

He honestly hadn't expected to have sex tonight. He'd meant what he'd said about waiting until Rose was ready. Apparently she had been. He ran through the evening again in his mind's eye and felt himself becoming hard. Again. Merlin, wasn't three times enough? Of course, he knew from previous experience he could easily go more than three times but normally he needed just a bit more recovery time than ten minutes and a bit more incentive than just his own thoughts.

Should he wake her up again? No, he would let her sleep. She must need it. He'd already caused her to orgasm three times that night; once with his mouth, twice with the hardness currently tenting the sheets around his hips.

He nestled back into his bed ignoring his pulsing desire. They were married now and she obviously enjoyed having sex with him so he was hopeful that perhaps in the morning he could experience her again. Then maybe in the shower. On the desk. He could take her from behind with her on her hands and knees. There was a whole world of sexual pleasures he would introduce her to.

With so much to look forward to, Scorpius let himself drift off into a night of peaceful dreams.

...

The first thing Rose noticed when she opened her eyes was how good she felt. Her muscles ached but pleasantly. She was lying on her back and when she turned her head she saw Scorpius sleeping soundly, his mouth agape, lying on his stomach with his hand resting on her arm.

Feeling embarrassed about the way she'd jumped him last night and the fact that she was currently naked beneath the blankets, she carefully slid out of bed and started looking for her clothes.

The bags that held an assortment of clothes from her wardrobe were sitting beside the fireplace. She made her way over and began to paw through them. Knickers, shorts, one of Al's old t-shirts. Once she was decent she glanced around the room with an absurd urge to go home.

But this was her home now. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold. This didn't feel like home to her. Would it ever? Perhaps if she did something familiar. Scorpius's desk was in the far corner of the room and Rose let her feet take her there automatically. She sat down, pulled a scroll of parchment from a drawer, and ran her hands over the smooth surface.

A quill sat already in an ink bottle just waiting for her. Feeling almost giddy, she reached for it and began to write.

As promised, my avid readers, I managed to be in attendance at the wedding everyone is talking about….

…..

Rose was almost finished with her article. Scorpius had been rolling around on the bed for several minutes and she was sure he was about to wake up. "Rose?" ah, there it was.

"It's about time," she said softly as she set the quill back in the inkwell and turned to face him. "How did you sleep?"

"Best night of sleep I've had in a long time," he told her honestly. He got out of bed and stretched without caring one bit that he was entirely naked. Rose blushed and turned back to the parchment in front of her.

"I'm glad to hear that," she mumbled as she reached for the quill again.

Scorpius's hand covered hers before she could reach it. He bent his head down and started kissing her neck, his lips trailing all the way up to her ear. "Whatever you're writing, can't it wait just a bit longer? I'm a newly married man, love. I think it goes without saying that I would like it very much if you would come back to bed with me."

Rose almost objected. She was wrapped up in her writing and it had to be turned in to Luna or Leila that day. But she couldn't tell him that, could she? Not unless she wanted him to find out about her secret alias. Not to mention the way his mouth was caressing her skin and the way in which he'd spoken to her had her tingling in renewed excitement.

"Who knew I would be such an addict to sex?" she mused aloud.

Scorpius smirked against her shoulder as he tugged the collar of the t-shirt down. "I had a feeling you might be," he admitted. Rose stood up and raised her arms for Scorpius to peel the shirt off of her. She was too turned on to be offended by his assumption. "You're so beautiful, baby," he murmured as he leaned over and gazed at her now exposed upper body from over her shoulder.

His hands moved to cup her breasts and Rose leaned back into him. He slid one arm down to lock around her waist, holding her up as she melted into his touch. Her eyes, which were previously watching his hands move over her, went now to the wall in front of her. She stared in shock as she realized they were right in front of Scorpius's mirror.

The girl that was looking back at her didn't even look like her. No, the girl in the mirror had the look of a seductress, her red lips were swollen, her eyes were dark with lust, she was arching her back to press her chest firmly into the masculine hands that held her. The man behind her was much more familiar. Scorpius's blonde head was bent as he nipped at her jaw and she tilted her head back to make it easier for him. Even as she watched his hand that was on her waist glided down into the waist band of her shorts and his fingers began to stroke her through her panties.

"Uh," she hadn't meant to let that moan slip out, but when one of his lithe digits entered her, she honestly couldn't help it.

"Come on," he coaxed, "let's go back to bed."

Feeling too short of breath to speak, she nodded and let him scoop her up before running back toward the bed.

….

"Well, do you think she did it?" asked James as he sat with Fred, Louis, and Albus in the sitting room. Leila was at work so James had invited cousins and brother over.

"Did what?" asked Al as he continued to flip through the Quidditch magazine James had sitting out on the coffee table.

"Malfoy," supplied Fred with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, we're talking about Rose?" Louis asked.

"Yes. She was really worried about her wedding night, wasn't she?" James looked to Al and Fred for confirmation as Louis hadn't been privy to that conversation.

"I'm sure she got over it. The way Malfoy was looking at her last night he probably did his damn best to convince her," Fred scowled as he said this. It was true that he was beginning to like Scorpius but he didn't like any guy looking at Rose with that hungry expression.

"Do you think she'll tell us if she did?" Al grimaced as if he would really rather not know.

"I don't think so. It's not like we tell her when we get laid."

"Yeah, but I reckon it's different for girls. Especially ones who were previously virgins. Rose doesn't have other friends to gossip with. If she wants to talk about sex with Malfoy, you can bet it will be with one of us."

Everyone looked around with trepidation; each hoping that he wasn't the one she would come to when she needed to discuss her sex life. "I'll tell Leila to get her arse over to that manor and become Rose's best friend immediately."

"In less than one week it'll be me," Fred said sadly.

"Heather's not so bad," said Al consolingly.

"Nah, it could have been worse. Roxanne won't shut up about her wedding. What is it about marriage that gets girls so emotional? I actually found her crying about flowers the other day. Flowers! You know why she was crying? Because she couldn't decide which ones she wanted in her bouquet."

"Girls are barmy," offered James with a shrug.

"Yes, but Roxanne has been particularly barmy lately. Sometimes I wonder if she really wants to marry Calvin at all! I know they've been dating for a long time, but she's been getting really angry with him lately over stupid little things. I think she's purposefully picking fights."

"Why would she do that? She has to marry him," said James.

"I don't know!" Fred cried in exasperation. He clearly was fed up with the way his sister was acting. "I swear to Merlin I caught her eating chocolate frogs dipped in cheese the other day," everyone grimaced at this.

"Mood swings, weird food cravings," James ticked these items off on his fingers. "I think we've all been around enough pregnant relatives to know what those signs point to, mate."

"No!" Fred growled as he jumped to his feet. "Roxy wouldn't….she can't be…she's a witch! There's no excuse for a witch to accidentally get pregnant! There are potions and spells to prevent this…"

"Easy there, cousin," said Louis as he put a hand on Fred's shoulder. "Potions are temperamental. If she forgot to take it one time, or even if she was an hour late taking it, she could have easily gotten pregnant."

"She would have told me. If she was pregnant she would have come to me and told me and we would have worked out a way to tell mum and dad without them killing her. She's my sister."

"I don't think she would have told you," offered Al unhelpfully. "I mean, you're her brother. Who's very protective of her. Maybe she was worried that you would kill Calvin?"

"That's…that's just…well, yeah, okay, I might have considered it, but I wouldn't have seriously done it! Alright then, if you really think she might be pregnant, who would she have told if not me?"

"Rose," the other three boys said all at once. Then they laughed. "She would have told Rose," said Al who was still chuckling. "Because Rose doesn't gossip, she doesn't even talk to other girls, and she's close enough to Roxy that she would feel comfortable telling her secrets."

"Sometimes you think just a bit too much like a bird," said James with a shake of his head at his little brother.

"Look who's talking. Leila told me about what you interpreted from Rose's bridesmaid dresses," Al teased.

James turned just the faintest shade of red. "Yes, well at least I don't still take bubble baths!"

"Hey!"

"Oi!" Fred interrupted, "Can we please get back to the topic at hand? My sister might be pregnant! I can't very well go up and just ask her if she's up the duff, so how do I figure this out?"

"Ask Rose. She's one of your best friends and if anyone knows it will be her."

"Good plan! Let's go," Fred confidently strode to the fireplace.

"Are we really going back to Malfoy Manor?" grumbled James.

"Yep! Malfoy Manor!" Fred declared loudly as he stepped into the grate with a handful of Floo Powder.

…..

"I'm hungry and I need a shower," Rose grumbled as she and Scorpius were still tangled up in his bed well into the afternoon.

"Rin brought up some fruit and muffins while you were sleeping," Scorpius informed her with a flick of his hand toward a tray of food that sat on an end table by the fireplace.

Rose went to get up but Scorpius pulled her back down. "I'll get it, you stay right there. You're not leaving that bed, Mrs. Malfoy," he teased as he strode, stark naked, across the room to get the tray and bring it back to the bed.

As they lay together munching on an assortment of strawberries, grapes, melon, and blueberry muffins Rose felt oddly happy. She really could get used to living like this. To living with Scorpius in Malfoy Manor.

With a contented sigh she flopped back onto the bed, making sure the sheet was covering her naked body. "Are you still shy around me?" he teased as his fingers tugged on the edge of the sheet.

"Just a little," she admitted as she batted his hand away. Scorpius growled, pushed the tray of food aside, and began to ravish his wife with kisses. Startled, Rose squirmed, and kicked the tray to the floor with a loud clatter.

Scorpius didn't even seem to notice as he pinched her nipple through the satin sheet and Rose cried out, certain parts of her body were feeling oddly sensitive after so much attention.

And that was when four of her male cousins busted into the room with their wands drawn.

…..

Because Fred, James, Albus, and Louis were Rose's cousins they could Floo in and out of the Manor at will. Also, because they were there to see Rose, the Floo network deposited them into the room that Scorpius had designed just for her that was down the hall from his bedroom.

"Where are we?" asked James as he scratched his head and glanced around. Piano, other assorted instruments, book shelves, and a muggle telly? What the devil was going on here?

"Must be some room in Malfoy Manor. Come on, let's go find Rose," Fred impatiently tugged on James's arm and the four boys crossed the room and exited into the hallway.

As they were walking along, trying to figure out which way to go, a noise caught their attention. Faint muttering, a loud clashing of metal, and then a scream they all recognized as belonging to Rose.

Nobody had to speak for them to know they were all thinking the same thing; Scorpius was hurting her. Had all of his previous actions been a ploy? Was Rose refusing him sex so he was abusing her?

With wands drawn, not one of them hesitated before charging gallantly into the bedroom. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER, MALOY!" screamed James as he saw what was going on.

Scorpius was pulling at the sheet covering Rose as she tried to keep it firmly in place over her body. "James!" Rose cried as her face flushed red from embarrassment. Scorpius obliged to James's warning and slid off of the bed slowly, being sure to keep his raging erection out of their view by subtly pulling on a pair of boxers that were beside the bed and his bed was also up high enough that his hips downward was not viewable to the boys standing across the room.

"I told you," James snarled, "I told you that if he hurt you we'd kill him!"

Fred, Louis, and Albus were all nodding in affirmation at this statement. "He's…he's not-" Rose stuttered.

"Like hell!" Louis growled. "You don't have to defend him, Rosie, we're here! We heard a crash and you screamed. Now move aside so we don't accidentally hit you with our curses when we tear him limb from fucking limb!"

"No!" Rose scooted so she was blocking their aim at her husband. Still flushed red, she mumbled quietly, "I swear to Merlin, he wasn't hurting me. The crash you heard must've been the tray," she motioned to the floor.

All four boys glanced down to see a metal tray upside down, with food spread around it as if it had just toppled over. "We were eating," she looked down at the sheets, unable to hold eye contact with any of them. "Scorpius teased me about still being shy around him because I was trying to keep myself covered. When he…when he, erm, kissed me, I accidentally kicked the tray off of the bed."

"And the scream?" demanded Fred.

"I'd rather not tell you about that one, but I promise he wasn't hurting me," she said fiercely.

"And we would really rather not know," James assured her. "Well, if you're sure he wasn't hurting you, then we'll wait in the hallway to let you, uh, get dressed. We need to speak with you for a just a moment and then you can get back to…to whatever it was…you were doing."

"You can wait in here," she objected as she stood up, securing the sheet around her body like a toga. "I need to shower. And Scorpius," she turned to him with appraising eyes and he hoped fervently that she was going to ask him to join her. "Get dressed," she commanded in a tone that dared him to argue before turning and flouncing into the lavatory.

Scorpius ran a hand through his messy blonde hair before making his way to his dresser. Thankfully his erection was gone by now and he was at perfect ease in his boxers as he dragged a pair of jeans up his legs and buttoned them up. "Seriously?" he asked with a sigh. "You really thought I was, what? Forcing myself on her?"

"What would you have thought if you heard what we did?" challenged Louis.

"I would have thought, 'damn, they're having some kinky sex in there, I'd better stay the fuck out.'" Scorpius replied as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"Yeah, well, before today I would have never put the terms 'Rose' and 'kinky sex' together in the same sentence," commented Louis.

"It smells like sex in here," James complained as he made a face.

"Hmm, I wonder why?" Scorpius mused sarcastically. "Perhaps because you barged into my bedroom the day after my wedding."

"Somebody's cranky," Al grumbled.

"It's because we just cock-blocked him," said Louis.

"No," Scorpius corrected, "it's because you just embarrassed my wife and accused me of abusing her."

"Well now we know," said James.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Rose emerged into the room. Her red hair was still very damp and she wore a comfortable looking pink cotton robe that Rin had supplied the lavatory with. "Now that I'm properly embarrassed," said Rose with a hint of anger. "What was so bloody important that you had to come barging in my bedroom the day after my wedding to ask me?"

"We're really sorry, Rose-"

"If we had known what was-"

"We never imagined that you were-"

"If it makes you feel any better, I think that I'm scarred for life-"

They were all yammering on at once and Rose held up a hand to shut them up. They obliged immediately, used to this signal, and knowing if they ignored it she would start hexing them. "It's okay, you're all forgiven, but I really am curious as to why you're here."

"It's Roxy," said Fred with pleading eyes. "I'm really worried about her. I think, erm, that she might be pregnant."

"So why did you come here?" Rose snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them.

"Because you're her best girlfriend. We figured that if anyone would know the truth it would be you." Louis explained.

Rose seriously thought over their question. Fred was concerned, that much was obvious. She knew that they weren't seeking an answer because of selfish reasons, that they all really wanted to be there for Roxy if she was dealing with something so important on her own. But would Roxanne be mad at her for revealing her secret?

Scorpius made the decision for her. "Yes, your sister's pregnant," he said to Fred.

"What?" yelped Fred, sounding thoroughly shocked at having his suspicions confirmed. "But…but…" he rounded on Rose, "You told this git and not us?"

Rose looked just as surprised as the boys did. "I didn't tell him!"

"I could tell by the look on your face when they asked you," said Scorpius. "I could tell that you were debating on telling them the truth or not so I thought I'd make it just a bit easier on you. Now you've kept your promise to Roxanne but also stayed loyal to your best mates," he nodded his head towards the boys.

"How did you know all of that?" she asked in astonishment.

Scorpius tapped his temple lightly. "I pay attention."

"I'm going to be an uncle…" said Fred as he dropped down into an armchair by the fireplace. Then, with a look of delight on his face, he repeated himself. "I'm going to be an uncle! Come on, boys! To the Leaky Cauldron! Firewhisky shots on me!"

With a whoop all four boys scrambled to get handfuls of Floo powder from the tin on the mantelpiece. "Don't let her know that you know!" Rose screamed at them. "And be sure that if she does find out, you didn't hear it from me!"

"Yeah, yeah, Rosie, don't get your wand in a knot," James said with a smile. He moved to hug her, paused as he thought better of it, wrinkled his nose, and took a step back.

"For fuck's sake, I took a shower!" she scolded with a blush flooding her face again.

"Sorry," said James with an apologetic smile just as he disappeared in a swirl of green flames.

"Well," said Scorpius now that they were finally alone again. "That sure as hell killed the mood."

Rose giggled and turned to kiss his jaw. "Last night and today were wonderful, Scorpius. And you will be glad to know that I now feel a lot more comfortable around you."

That was when she remembered the article she had to turn in to The Quibbler. "I'm very happy to hear that," began Scorpius who was oblivious to the fact that her mind was suddenly elsewhere. "I was beginning to worry it would never happen."

"Shit!" she cried as she looked at the clock. "I bet they'll be leaving the office by three o'clock and it's already two in the afternoon!"

Rose hurried to pull more clothes out of her bags, which she had yet to unpack, and raced back into the lavatory leaving Scorpius gazing after her in confusion. Who? What office? And why did she sound like she had a deadline to meet?

"Where are you going?" he asked when she came back into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of shoes.

"To The Quibbler, I have an article I need to drop off for them to print."

"Oh, that's right! Merlin, I know you're a freelance writer, but what's the rush to get your piece in by three o'clock? It's not like you need the cash now," he gestured to the grand bedroom around them.

"First of all, if you think that I'm going to be content to live off of your fortune, you've got another thing coming," she poked him in the chest. "Secondly, I'm not, strictly speaking, a freelance writer."

"What do you mean? You told me that you wrote for The Quibbler, The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, and other publications…"

"Yes, and that's all true, but I have a weekly place in The Quibbler."

"I admit, I don't exactly read that magazine from cover to cover. Which pieces do you write?" he asked curiously, showing a very real interest in her work.

Rose bit her lip as she wondered how best to answer him. Could she keep a secret this big from her husband? Didn't he deserve better than that? She knew that if their roles were reversed, Scorpius wouldn't keep anything from her. Hell, he'd admitted that his grandparents wanted him to use her.

"I'm Modest Monica."

Scorpius blinked at her stupidly. What had she just said? But it couldn't be. "Surely, you must be joking," he said shortly.

"No, I'm being honest. I started the column in my fourth year at Hogwarts. I thought it would be a funny way to keep the wizarding world informed and entertained. Since then it just became this huge hit and I really enjoy writing it."

Timidly she brought up the piece she'd been working on that morning for his inspection. Scorpius read through it with raised eyebrows. It was humorous but not too invasive. She never actually insulted anyone and she was right, everyone he knew loved to read anything written by the mysterious Modest Monica. And he was married to her.

With a mixture of surprise and pride, Scorpius returned the parchment to her. "I love it."

"Really?" she asked with a big smile.

"Absolutely! This is hilarious. My wife is Modest Monica. Merlin's beard! I just realized! I was wondering how the heck she knew that I still have a pair of Hungarian Horntail slippers that I wear on occasion!"

Rose chuckled. "It was too cute to not announce to the public. Especially because they roar when you walk."

Scorpius scowled playfully, "I should never have told you about them."

Rose, still laughing, wrapped her arms around his middle. "It was funny and you know it."

"Yes, well, how about from now on you keep the highlights of your writing to your family?"

She beamed up at him and said simply, "You are my family now."

…

Scorpius accompanied Rose to the office of The Quibbler where they handed in her latest piece to Leila. She invited the two of them on a double date with her and James and they set a tentative date for a few weeks into the future.

Then they had a good, yet late, lunch at The Leaky Cauldron where her cousins were still drinking themselves silly in celebration. "Honestly, it's the middle of the afternoon and none of them can hold their liquor," she reprimanded quietly to Scorpius as the two of them took a table in the back.

She was thankful that her cousins didn't even notice the two of them were there. When the meal was finished Rose took Scorpius back to the flat she had previously shared with Albus. "I want to get a few more of my things," she'd explained.

"Of course."

It felt odd that this wasn't her flat anymore, even though she'd only lived there for two months. Her bedroom was still almost full intact. After all, she had no need for any furniture at her new home. "We'll just take it all," Scorpius flicked his wand and every item in her room vanished, presumably appearing at Malfoy manor.

"Thanks," she said as she reached to hold his hand in her own.

Scorpius didn't think he'd ever been happier. This is what he'd wanted from the start. Rose was herself around him. She was finally showing him all sides of her personality and he couldn't get enough of it.

Her sense of humor had a wide range and her jokes could easily be witty, clever, crude, cheesy, intelligent, or dry. The intelligence he knew she had was multiplied significantly as she relaxed around him enough to occasionally rattle off a random fact she'd memorized.

Sweet Circe he didn't realize how naturally flirty she was because she had never really turned it on much around him. Now, however, her batting eyelashes, subtle innuendos, and soft caresses were driving him crazy.

Everywhere they went people recognized them and asked how they were doing, if the wedding went well, if they were happy together, and Rose handled every single person who approached them with a grace that came from years of practice handling strangers and the press.

Again he was proud and thankful of his choice for choosing her. Really nobody could have suited him better. As a Malfoy he was often in the papers and the public were always wanting to be up in his business. Because Rose was a Weasley she was very used to this and knew how to react.

He had taken girls on dates before where all they cared about was some paparazzi taking pictures of them together at an expensive restaurant. Not Rose. She was different, just as he knew she would be.

Finally back at home, he politely pulled her cloak from her shoulders and hung it on the coat rack by the door. "I have a surprise for you," he told her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh?" she inquired.

"Well, more accurately, it's a surprise from your parents. For our honeymoon, they're sending us to France."

"France? I love France! For how long?" she was so excited that she was practically jumping up and down as she tugged on his sleeve.

"Just for a couple of weeks. We leave the day after tomorrow."

"What about Fred's wedding?" she asked as she paled. She couldn't miss such an important event.

"Heather demanded on getting married in Paris. We will already conveniently be there," he said as he ran his hands up and down her arms.

"This is so amazing! I can't wait!" Without any hesitation or embarrassment, Rose went onto the tips of her toes to plant a lingering kiss on Scorpius's lips and he knew then that he could do this. He could make her fall in love with him.