A/N: Very sorry for the looooong update. I intended for this chapter to be longer, but decided to split it into two chapters instead. Not sure when I will get around to finishing the next chapter, which is why I decided to split it in half. I felt awful for making you all wait even longer. As always, please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

…

Dominique Weasley was sitting at her kitchen table in her tiny one-bedroom flat when she heard the quiet knock on the door. It had been a long day. Quite frankly, it had been a long summer. Now all she wanted to do was relax in her sleep clothes, drink tea, and read the newspaper that most normal people read in the morning instead of the late evening.

Sluggishly she moved to answer it. When she pulled open the door and peered out into the hallway nobody was there. At her feet, however, was a large bouquet of wildflowers. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she bent to pick them up. Her arms were overflowing with the blossoms and they smelled wonderful.

She retreated back into her flat and began to search through the stems to find a card to see who they were from.

…

Rose was standing facing Scorpius in the hospital room. The Healers said she could leave today but they wanted her to have one more treatment. The hospital gown she wore was tied in the back and the only other clothing items she wore were a pair of pink socks and purple knickers.

"It's alright," said Scorpius soothingly as he held both of her hands in his. "It shouldn't hurt. Right?" he looked up at his father to whom his question was addressed.

Draco Malfoy stood just behind Rose as he deftly untied her gown, exposing her naked back to him. "No, it shouldn't hurt," said Draco with a frown as he inspected her scars. "Although it might feel a bit uncomfortable."

He withdrew his wand from inside of his robes and began to trace her scars with the tip while chanting. Under any other circumstances Rose would have been embarrassed to be so exposed to anyone, let alone Draco Malfoy, but Scorpius kept eye contact with her and was rubbing soothing circles on the backs of her hands with his thumbs.

Rose cringed as she felt a cold tingling sensation in her back and gasped when the cold feeling turned abruptly hot. Scorpius's grip tightened on her hands and he was quick to reassure her, "It's alright, baby, you're almost done."

She nodded but didn't feel very comforted until Draco's voice faded into silence and she felt the tip of his wand leave her skin. With a sigh of relief she sagged forward and Scorpius enveloped her into his arms as he reached around her to re-tie her gown. "That spell can exhaust you," Draco said belatedly as he let himself drop down into a chair.

"Mmm," she consented, "I'm sleepy."

"Take a nap," her husband murmured as he kissed her hair. "When you awake we'll leave."

Rose let him scoop her up and stretch her body out on the bed. With gentle movements he pulled the blanket over her. "I love you," she told him just before her eyelids fluttered shut.

….

"Can you believe," said James, not for the first time, "that after all of the shite they put us through they went and retracted the marriage law?"

Leila smiled and patted his cheek. "I know, dear."

He scrunched up his nose and swatted her hand away. "Don't patronize me."

She giggled. "Sorry, love."

"And here we were worried that they were going to try to force us to have a baby!" he snorted at the ridiculousness of such a suggestion.

Leila shrugged unconcernedly. "It wouldn't have affected us anyway."

James frowned at her. "Of course it would have! You read the blasted thing just like I did. Any couple who was paired and married because of the marriage law would have to-"

"ah, ah, ah," Leila tutted, "You're forgetting another key factor in that failed amendment." As she spoke she got up off of the sofa they were both cuddled on and moved behind him. Her small hands began rubbing his shoulders.

James let his head loll back and relaxed into her touch. "Mmm, that feels good," he kicked off his muddy Quidditch boots and sighed. "So enlighten me, darling, why would the law not have applied to us?"

James had a few ideas of what she might say. That perhaps they could get out of it because his father was Harry Potter. Or that they would use contraceptives despite them being illegal. Maybe she would just refuse to have sex with him. Ha. Yeah, right. James smirked smugly at the idea of Leila telling him 'no' about sex. That wouldn't happen.

"One of the other qualifications in that stupid proposed amendment was that it didn't apply to couples who already had children."

"But we don't," said James idly.

"Well, er, you see, that's the thing…we will have in about seven months."

There was a short pause as Leila cringed in apprehension, still massaging her husband's shoulders, and James didn't register what she said. When her words sunk into his mind his head snapped up, his eyes comically wide, and he jumped to his feet. "Are you…Lei….are we…" he made a hand motion and gestured to her and to himself.

"Yes, James, I'm pregnant."

That was when James Potter fainted and after a surprised squeak Leila rushed around the sofa to his unconscious form.

….

Rose gingerly leaned against the wooden back of the chair she was seated in. She'd been home for two days and while her back didn't hurt, it was still very sensitive. Her in-laws were out, some fancy dinner party in France, so it was just Scorpius and herself for dinner.

Rose was wearing one of her favorite halter-top dresses with a light shawl across her upper back and draped over her shoulders to hide her scars. Scorpius wasn't an idiot. He knew what she was doing. It bothered him that she was so upset about her physical appearance.

The scars she bore as a result of the curse were, in actuality, a turn on for him. It wasn't the angry red marks themselves that got him going, instead it was the reason they were there. Rose's bravery, loyalty, and love for him were the real reasons why her previously smooth skin was now scarred. But no matter how many times he told her this, she didn't seem to believe that he found them beautiful.

"How's your chicken?" she asked uneasily, having noticed the way he was studying her face closely.

"Delicious. Did you make it?"

"Yes, I did," she self-consciously tucked a few unruly red locks behind her ear and raised her chalice of pumpkin juice to her lips. "Are you still angry with me for going after your uncle without you?"

Scorpius set down his fork delicately. "No. I never was angry about that. I was worried about you and I wish you would have told me your plan before you went through with it. But I wasn't mad at you, Rose. Why would you think that I was?"

"It's just…you've been sort of distant. I don't know what I did…"

"You didn't do anything. I'm sorry if I've been distant, but it's not because I'm upset with you."

"Is it because of…of how I look now?" as she asked this question she averted her eyes down to her dinner plate as she pushed her peas around with her fork.

"Absolutely not! Damn it, Rose, if you keep thinking that then I will be angry with you. I told you before and I'll say it again: there is nothing ugly about you. Not a single thing."

"Then why have you been looking at me so…seriously all evening?"

"Because as much as your scars don't bother me, they do bother you and I've been trying to figure out how to make you proud of them instead of ashamed," his previously waspish tone was replaced by tenderness.

"Proud? How could I be proud of them? I've…I've never considered myself a vain person before, Scor, but now all I can think about is how to dress so I don't show off my back or how to position myself during sex so you can't see them. Even if you can convince me that they're not appalling to you, I'm still thinking about them!"

"Rose," Scorpius rubbed his eyes before standing and offering her his hand. Together the two of them left the dining room and went up to her room. The room with the piano and the bookshelves and the muggle devices that still baffled Scorpius.

"What are we doing up here?" she inquired.

"I wanted to show you something." Moving swiftly he tugged his shirt over his head and dropped it at his feet. "Look," he motioned to his shoulder where he had a scar. "I got that from falling off of my broom when I was nine. I have another one on my leg where I was bit by a kneazle-"

"Scorpius, mine are different and you know it."

"Yes, your scars are different," he stepped toward her and tugged the shawl off of her shoulders. "They're beautiful. Tell me, Rose, your mum has scars, doesn't she?"

Rose bristled. "Of course. She was in the war after all."

"But there's one in particular that she's always trying to hide, isn't there?" he pressed.

"Mudblood," she whispered. "On her arm."

"What is it you said to me about it once?"

"I told her…I told her it was a mark of honor. That she should be proud of it," she mumbled. "But it's not the same. She was-"

"Being tortured. Protecting your dad and your uncle Harry. Well, love, you were protecting me. You heard the Healers. The spell used on you was one that was popular during the war. Just like the heroes from the war, you threw yourself in front of me and saved my life."

"That's being a bit overdramatic. I didn't save your life."

"Yes, you did. Didn't they tell you? The Healer told me that if the spell had hit it's target; my chest, that it would have hit vital organs and I would have died. The marks on you would have killed me."

Rose gaped at him, "I didn't know…"

"Now you do. But that's not all," his hands went around her neck and he untied the halter top, letting it fall forward away from her breasts which were now bare. Scorpius unconsciously licked his lips as her perky rosy nipples came into view but he pried his eyes away from her chest to glance at the mirror behind her which held her reflection. "Your dad has scars, too. I've seen them. On his arms and throat. How did he get those?"

"Honestly? I don't know. All he's said about it was that it happened in the Department of Mysteries and something about brains? Personally I think it was zombies-"

He chuckled and kissed her throat. "Your uncle Harry has a rather famous lightning bolt shaped one."

"Yes."

"And your uncle Bill was ravaged by a werewolf. What does your aunt Fleur say about his face now?"

Rose smirked as she recalled her aunt's throaty French accent. "That she is beautiful enough for both of them."

"What else?"

"That the marks Greyback left on uncle Bill just show how brave he is."

"You did no less than they did, Rose. You stepped in front of a wizard firing a deadly spell at me. You did it without any way to defend yourself. You did it selflessly. When we grow old and have children and grandchildren and they ask you what happened to your back, you can tell them, with pride, that you got those scars saving my life."

He ran his hands up and down her body as she gazed at him in wonder. She truly hadn't thought of it that way. After only a short pause she threw herself at him and they began snogging heatedly. Before long he was panting with need as he grasped at her arse, pulling her hard against him. She shimmied out of her dress and it pooled around her feet, leaving her in nothing but her knickers.

"Godric you're so beautiful," he told her with a tremble in his words that had her smirking.

"Not so bad yourself. How about I help you out of those trousers – GAH!"

Right at that moment the fireplace lit up and Leila Potter came spinning into the grate. Rose flung her arms up to cover her naked breasts as Scorpius turned to see who had interrupted them.

"Rose!" Leila said with relief, not even noticing or caring that she was practically naked. "What's the spell to wake up someone who's fainted?"

Rose was scrambling to put her dress back on as Scorpius was the one who answered Leila's question. "Um, you mean Ennervate?"

"That's the one! Thanks, Malfoy, knew I could count on the two of you!"

"Wait!" said Rose as she tied her halter top around her neck, "Who fainted?"

"Who else? My prat of a husband."

"Wait, James is unconscious? Where is he? What's wrong? Leila, what happened?" Rose panicked.

"I don't even know. I mean, one minute everything is fine, the next minute he's unconscious! Bloody tosser."

"Well what was he doing?"

"He was sitting on the couch, I was giving him a massage, I told him I was pregnant, and he-"

"You're PREGNANT?" Rose screamed.

"Well, yes, of course, I mean, it's obvious, isn't it? I was surprised he hadn't noticed yet, but anyway-"

"Ha! He passed out when you told him?" Scorpius chuckled and Rose elbowed him in the ribs.

"Go on home, Leila, wake him up, and approach him with caution," Rose advised. Leila nodded and left the same way she'd come. "Give me your wand," Rose extended her hand to Scorpius.

Trusting her completely, he didn't hesitate before extracting the thin piece of wood and placing it in her outstretched hand. Rose tossed it to the other side of the room. "Alright, now take those damn trousers off!"

"Uh, Rose-"

"That git! How could he possibly do this to me?" as she ranted with obvious rage she took it upon herself to tug his belt open. "We talked about this! We had a deal! Oh, I'm going over there later to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Woah, hold on there, love," he took her wrists in one of his hands and asked, "What's going on here? What are you even talking about?"

"James! James, Al, Fred, me, we had a pact! A deal! We promised each other that we would all have kids at the same time so they could go to Hogwarts together and be as close as we were!" she whined.

"I'm sure James will have other children, in a few more years and his younger offspring can go to Hogwarts with our kids-"

"Scorpius, please? I can't…I can't imagine a poor little eleven year old Potter going off to Hogwarts all alone…"

With a shake of his head, Scorpius couldn't think of any argument against this. He loved his wife. He wanted to have children with her. Who cared if it was a bit earlier than they had originally planned? "Alright, you win, love. You want a baby?" Rose nodded eagerly. "Then let's go try to make one." He scooped her up bridal style and carried her down the hall to their bedroom, kicking the door shut behind them.

….

"I didn't think you would come."

"I almost didn't."

"Thank you. I really do appreciate it."

"I think that I needed this just as much as you," Dominique sat timidly in the chair across the table from Nathan Zabini. They met at a muggle café, not wanting the prying eyes of wizarding society on them. "I'm sorry about your father."

"I'm not," growled Nathan, "He got what he deserved."

"Life in Azkaban isn't the worst sentence, all things considered…"

"No, it's not. I'm glad they didn't give him the Dementor's Kiss. I want him to live the rest of his life knowing who he is and what he did that got him there. But let's not talk about that right now. I hope you don't mind but while I was waiting for you I took the liberty of ordering a coffee for you."

Dominique glanced down at the cup in front of her and smiled before inquiring, "Two creams and one sugar? You remember how I took my coffee the one time that we went out…"

"Yes," was his simple reply as he sipped at his own beverage.

"Well, Nathan, why did you want me to meet with you here today? Your card that came with the flowers said you wanted to apologize, but I feel like there's something more you want to say. Also, thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful."

"You're welcome. And you're right. I wanted to do more than just apologize, Dominique. I wanted to try to make it up to you. You're the first girl…the first person who I've ever met who has made me want to be a better person. After everything that has happened and all I went through I just…I just want to be happy. I want to live my life to the fullest and keep it filled with people who mean something to me. My sister and Albus are having me over for dinner tomorrow night and my mum and I have discussed issues that we should have talked about years ago. I haven't had a drop of alcohol in months. I've stopped talking to Goyle, Selwyn, and Nott. And now I've found myself without many friends."

"What about Scorpius? I mean, he's your cousin-"

"Yes, but he can barely stand to look at me. Even though he knows that I wasn't doing it myself, I know that every time he looks at me all he can see is me cursing Rose. I don't blame him, really. I think it's best if I don't see him any time soon."

Dominique considered him for a long time. Nathan Zabini had a complexion a shade darker than his twin sister but his eyes were the same brown color. His dark hair was lanky and it looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days. He looked…broken.

"Do you think that we could be friends?" he asked. Her eyes locked on his as the inflection of his question sounded so vulnerable and open. She saw the apprehension in his wide brown orbs and smiled.

"Yes, Nathan, I think I'd like that."

….

Scorpius lay on his back sweaty, panting, his hair askew, with Rose cuddled onto his chest, in a similar state. "Wow," he said on a sharp exhale. They had just finished their third round of rather passionate lovemaking. "Think we did it?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Rose chuckled. "If not, we still have a few months."

"Merlin help me if we do this every day for months," he groaned as Rose sat up so that she was straddling him and began stroking his cock back to attention.

….

"Oi! Little brother!" James Potter was pounding on Al and Norah's bedroom door. He had used the floo to get himself directly into their flat and came to the quick conclusion that they had secluded themselves into the bedroom. "Your honeymoon is over! Come out of there, I have some exciting news!"

"Go away, James!" came Al's muffled shout.

"Not until you come out of there to talk to me. Preferably clothed, but I'm not picky. Not like I haven't seen you starkers before. And tell Norah that I said hullo!"

"Hullo, James," came Norah's shy voice. "Can you come back later?"

"I'll be in the sitting room!" he ignored her request. "You have five minutes to finish up in there before I bust down the door!"

Four and a half minutes later Albus emerged into the sitting room clad in nothing but a pair of jeans. His belt was undone and his hair was a mess. "Nice going, James, Norah is too embarrassed to come out of the bedroom."

"Well that's just silly. It's not like I didn't expect to find the two of you in the throes of passion. But what I have to say is important."

"It had better bloody be important!"

"Calm down there, Uncle Al, your ears are starting to turn red-"

"What was that?" Albus froze. "Did you just call me…Uncle Al?"

"That I did! Surprise and congratulations!"

As soon as he recovered enough to speak, Albus managed to gasp, "Lily's pregnant? I'm going to kill Longbottom!"

"What? No! Not Lily, you idiot! Me! I'm pregnant! Er, no, that's not right. Leila's pregnant and it's mine!"

"Congratulations, James!" Norah came into the room beaming and ran up to hug her brother-in-law. "That's so wonderful!"

"Isn't it? I mean, I was scared at first. And shocked. Very shocked. But now I'm just excited. Haven't told Mum and Dad yet, though, I wanted Albus to be the first to know. Aside from Rose since Leila already told Rose." He paused. "You smell like Albus. It's kind of freaking me out." He gently pushed her away.

Norah blushed crimson but Al just rolled his eyes. "Go tell the family and get back to your wife. Your pregnant wife."

"Oh! Right. I should probably get back to her. Didn't even tell her where I was going, just ran off. Well, get back to your bedroom, from how unhappy Albus was with me I'm guessing you two didn't get to finish after I interrupted. See you two later!"

…

"It's so good to see you both," said Ginny Potter as she stretched up to kiss her son's jaw and hug her daughter-in-law. "Did you come over for dinner? I made plenty."

"Enough for three more?" asked James with a grin. Harry quirked a curious eyebrow at James, as if unsure what he was talking about. Lily did a double-take at her brother from her seat at the dining room table.

Ginny, however, asked, "Who else is coming?"

"All three of us are already here," James very pointedly reached a hand over and placed it delicately on Leila's stomach. Ginny dropped the large plate of broccoli she was holding and it shattered on the floor. Nobody even cared as Harry, Ginny, and Lily swarmed the young couple for hugs and congratulations.

"Oh this is so exciting!" Ginny was dabbing at her wet eyes with the edge of her apron. "I'll go floo Luna and ask her and Rolf to join us for dinner. You haven't told them yet, have you?"

"No, we haven't told many people yet. Rose and Albus are the only two we've talked to before coming over here," Leila replied happily.

Within ten minutes Luna and Rolf arrived. "Thank you for inviting us over, Gin," said Rolf with a smile as he shook hands with James.

Luna cocked her head to the side as she stared at her daughter before saying, "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

"See?" Leila exclaimed as she slapped James's arm, "I told you it was obvious!"

…..

"What? Nooo," whined Fred as James told him the news. Leila was trying to take a nap on the sofa as she was very tired. Sleep, however, was eluding her because of her loud husband and best friend. "I'm nowhere near ready to get married, let alone have children!"

"Mate, you've already been married…and divorced."

"I wasn't ready for any of that either!"

"Aw, cheer up, your kid can still grow up with Rose's. And Al's. Mine will be the one that goes off to Hogwarts all alone," said James wistfully.

"Budge up there, Lei, I'm trying to sit down," said Fred as he pushed Leila's feet off of the sofa cushion he wanted to sit on.

"Oi! I'm pregnant, you prat!" she promptly kicked Fred in the thigh after he sat down.

"Ouch! Crazy witch! You're barely pregnant. I'll start letting you keep your feet on the couch when you have a stomach so large you start to waddle."

"I will never waddle," she objected with an angry glint in her eye.

"All pregnant women waddle, love," argued Fred as he propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"Well I won't! James! Tell him I'm not going to waddle!"

James held up his hands in surrender. "You never know. It's possible that you could waddle. In which case it will be the most adorable waddle on the planet."

"I'm not a fucking duck! I'm not going to fucking waddle!" In an angry huff Leila got up and stormed down the hallway to take her much desired nap in her bedroom.

James called after her, "Watch your language, darling! They say that children can hear you even when they're in the womb!"

Leila's response was slamming the bedroom door shut.

…..

"Hey, Hu, thought I would find you here," Rose said brightly as she stood on the doorstep of Heather's flat in Hogsmeade. "Heather around?"

"No, she's at work. Uncle George has been really awesome about the whole divorce thing with her and Fred. He said that since she was single again he'd give her more hours for more money."

"That was nice of him," Rose commented as she stepped timidly into the flat. "I'm here to see you anyway."

"I figured," Hugo smirked at her. "How are you, Rose? Your back healing alright?"

"It's as healed as it's going to be, but I'm not here to talk about that. Did you hear that Leila's pregnant?"

"Yes, I heard. Let me guess. Now you and Scorpius are trying?"

Rose nodded eagerly and smiled. "It's not just because of James having a baby though. I really want to be a mum, Hugo. I've been thinking about it ever since I realized I was in love with Scorpius. This just gave me the courage I needed to tell him that I was ready to start a family."

"Rose, perhaps you need to think about this some more. I mean, James is almost two years older than you. He and Leila have really known each other a lot longer than you and Scorpius. You're barely out of Hogwarts. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Nope!" she replied happily. "I actually have no fucking idea if I'm ready for this or not, but I'm not going to live my life like that anymore. I'm not going to be afraid of what I want. I'm not going to wait for what I want. I know I'm young and that Scorpius and I had a – erm –bit of a rocky start, but I'm not changing my mind about this."

Hugo exhaled sharply. "If everyone starts having children I'm going to develop a complex and be terrified of having sex again. I'm not ready to be a father."

Rose grimaced. "Honestly, Hugo, I haven't even come to terms with the fact that you're sexually active yet. Don't start putting mental images into my mind of you becoming a dad." She paused before adding, "have I told you lately that you're the best brother in the whole world and I love you?"

"As a matter of fact you have, but I still enjoy hearing it. I never used to hear you say that you love me."

"I know. I'm sorry for going through that funk-"

"I know it was because of those bitches you shared a dorm with. It's really okay, Rose. Even when you didn't say it I always knew it. For what it's worth, I'm really glad that you're with Scorpius. You're really good for each other."

"Thanks. I think so, too. How are things with Heather?"

"Amazing. She's great, Rose, and I really want the two of you to get to know each other better. I think you'd like her."

"I want to get to know her better. As a matter of fact, I'll leave you and go pay a visit to the Hogsmeade branch of our uncle's infamous shop," Rose leaned forward and Hugo bent down so she could kiss him on the forehead and she left.

….

"Hi," said Heather tentatively as she turned to find Rose Weasley staring at her expectantly. Heather was busy shelving the latest shipment of hair growing potions that came in from Diagon Alley.

"Er – hullo," Rose bit her bottom lip and folded her hands together in front of her. "It's nice to see you again, you know, with clothes on this time."

Heather gave her an unsure smile. "Listen, Rose, I'm sure you're not exactly my biggest fan after I had an affair with your brother while I was married to your cousin. Not to mention I'm several years older than Hugo and you probably think I'm some sort of-"

Rose clapped a hand over Heather's mouth. "Before you start rambling, let me just say that I don't hate you. I'm not even mad at you. I'm mad at Hugo for keeping you a secret and I'm mad at Fred for not telling me how he really felt about you and his actual girlfriend. But the truth is I just want to get to know you better. The thing is…I think my brother is in love with you. Hugo is one of the best people I know and if you make him happy, there must be a reason. If you'd like, I want to have lunch with you today. I don't have many girlfriends and I've been told by my lovely husband that I need to get out more. So what do you say?"

"I say…my lunch break is at one o'clock. See you then?"

"Absolutely!"

…