They'd finished dinner and we're getting ready to start in on the pudding, when Louis leaned across the table to talk to Rose in an undertone.

"Hey, has Lily talked to you?" he asked, his demeanor a little anxious. Rose slowly shook her head.

"We haven't really had a chance tonight. Why?"

Rose followed Louis's eyes as he glanced at Lily, who was helping Dani serve everyone pudding.

"You should talk to Lily," he said, sitting back in his chair so Dani could place a bowl in front of him. Rose looked at Louis in confusion as Lily appeared at her side.

"Pudding, Rose?" she said as she placed some in front of her cousin. Rose looked at her with a small but confused smile as Lily nervously grinned before continuing to move down the table. Rose quickly turned back to Louis, leaning slightly forward.

"What did she do? She looks like she's terrified of me."

Louis shook his head, shoveling some pudding into his mouth. "You'll have to ask her."

Rose huffed and sat back in her chair, too lost in the possibilities of what was going on with Lily to focus on much else happening around her.

The others took their time enjoying each other's company, and a little while later, Rose found herself dividing up the leftovers for various people to take home when Lily joined her in the kitchen, having volunteered for dish duty.

"I don't think I've ever seen you willingly do dishes before," Rose teased her cousin. Lily let out a chuckle, but kept her focus on the task at hand. Wanting Lily to be the one to get whatever it was that was bothering her off her chest, Rose moved on to dividing up the puddings. She'd just about finished when Lily spoke up.

"I actually volunteered because I wanted to talk to you."

Lily's back was to Rose as she faced the sink, but based on her stiff posture, Rose could tell she was nervous. Moving to stand next to her, Rose tried not to imagine the worst. She wasn't even sure what the worst was.

"Alright," said Rose, leaning her hip against the counter so she faced her cousin. "What did you want to talk about?"

Lily let out a nervous breath. "Actually, Hugo and Louis said I need to talk to you. I suppose I agree. This is technically against the code."

"Code?" Rose questioned, not entirely sure what Lily was referring too. The younger witch kept her eyes focused on the soapy water as Rose tried to decipher what she was talking about.

"You know, the unsaid things that you simply don't do when it comes to family and friends."

"Okay," Rose said uncertainly. "So what unspoken rule did you break, exactly?"

Lily let out a sigh, her face scrunched up in her struggle to get out whatever was bothering her.

"I was asked out on a date."

Rose's eyes widened in a bit of surprise. That hadn't been the response she'd been expecting. Especially since Lily hadn't really dated since her last breakup over a year ago.

"That's great, Lily," said Rose, truly excited for her cousin, if a bit confused. "But what's this have to do with the code, or whatever?"

Lily grimaced, and Rose knew this was the complicated part. "I said no."

"Lily," said Rose, growing impatient and more confused by the minute. "Just spit it out."

"It was Carter."

Lily said it so abruptly, Rose wasn't even sure she'd heard her right.

"Carter?" she asked. "Carter Thomas? My ex boyfriend?"

Lily nodded, only glancing at Rose before turning her attention back to the pie plate she'd been washing since their conversation started.

"Oh."

That was all Rose could manage to say. How was she supposed to respond to this? She and Carter had broken up ages ago, but it still felt odd that he would go after her cousin.

"Sorry about that," she finally said. "That must have been uncomfortable."

Lily sighed, concentrating on her task long enough to finish cleaning the dish in her hand before moving onto the next.

"That's not the point, Rose."

Lily actually looked at her now, apologetic yet hopeful, and Rose understood.

"You wanted to say yes."

Rose didn't even need to phrase it as a question. It was written all over Lily's face. She gave a sound of frustration before turning back to the dishes.

"I didn't even see it coming, but he and Hugo got put on a case together and I met up with them and Louis at a bar to celebrate when they closed it and we got to talking and it just…"

She paused and Rose watched her, knowing Lily needed to get this out. "It felt so right, Rose," she said in a pleading tone. "Nothing has ever felt that right in a long time."

Lily began to furiously scrub at one of the plates. "We ended up seeing each other more after that, between trying to get Hugo out of the office and spending time with Louis. Nothing's really happened yet, but he did ask me out and I told him no but he asked if I'd think about it and I said I had to talk to you first which he understood. He actually said he wouldn't feel quite right about it if you didn't know. Like we were doing it behind your back."

The distress in Lily's voice was obvious, but even more obvious to Rose, was how much she already cared for Carter as she mustered her strength and looked at Rose.

"I don't want to upset you or do anything that would make you uncomfortable, but I really fancy him, Rosie."

Rose studied Lily for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. Some things made more sense now. Lily had acted strangely when they'd gone to Sam's with Hugo and Jane. Hugo had even dropped hints that Lily had something to tell Rose. How long had this been going on?

"When did he ask?" Rose questioned.

"Last week," Lily answered, seeming relieved that Rose wasn't yelling at her. "I knew it was probably coming and I've been thinking about saying something to you for awhile. I was just scared I'd mess up our relationship if I spoke too soon and it all turned out to be nothing."

Rose nodded. "I can understand that."

They stood in silence for a moment as Rose tried to formulate a response while Lily went back to scrubbing the dishes.

"Are you asking my permission, then?" Rose asked. Lily nodded, not even looking at Rose as she anxiously awaited her decision.

"Well," Rose said with a sigh. "I appreciate you asking, but you don't need it. I haven't been with Carter in a long time and he's really a good man. You could do much worse."

Lily turned to Rose, relief and joy lighting up her face. "Really?"

Rose chuckled. "Really."

Lily squealed as she practically tackled Rose in a hug, her sudsy hands dampening the back of Rose's jumper. She didn't care though. Making Lily this happy was worth it.

"Thank you, Rosie."

Gripping Lily just as tightly as she was gripping her, Rose smiled and let out a laugh. "You're welcome. Thank you for checking with me."

"Oh, Merlin," Lily said releasing her. "There's no way I could have gone through with it if I hadn't. Thank you for understanding."

Rose just smiled at her now beaming cousin. Lily made to turn back to the dishes, but she hesitated and seemed to be struggling with something.

"You want to go tell him?" Rose asked, catching on to Lily's dilemma. Her assumption proved correct when Lily nodded vigorously and looked at Rose apologetically.

"Go on," Rose said with an exaggerated sigh. "I'll finish up here."

Lily squealed and hugged her again, throwing off her apron and dashing from the kitchen. Rose heard a couple hurried farewells, and then the sound of the front door closing behind Lily. She wasn't surprised when Hugo appeared in the kitchen doorway a moment later.

"You alright?" he asked his sister. Rose nodded, a resigned smile on her face.

"Yeah, I think so. He treats her well?"

Hugo nodded, moving forward to nudge Rose out of the way so he could take over the dishes. "So far," he said. "It was a little surprising, but they actually get on really well. It was sort of obvious after the first few times we all hung out."

Rose nodded, trying to picture it in her mind. When they'd been dating, Carter never paid Lily any special attention. In fact, Rose couldn't really remember them interacting much at all. But that was a good thing, she thought. This was unexpected and new and she could be happy for Lily without wondering if her cousin had harbored secret feelings for her boyfriend all those years ago.

"I hope you can be happy for her," Hugo continued. "I know it might feel odd at first, but with everything she had to go through with Rick, Lily deserves some happiness. She deserves happiness no matter what. Besides, you've got Abel now."

Rose found herself nodding in agreement before the words fully registered.

"I don't, actually," she corrected her brother, who looked at her questioningly. "We broke up."

"I'm sorry," Hugo said, genuinely sounding so. "When?"

"Today, actually. Right before I came."

Hugo grimaced and looked like he was about to apologize again, but Rose waved her hand in dismissal.

"It's fine. It needed to happen. I'd been putting it off for too long."

Her brother gave her a small yet sympathetic smile before grabbing another stack of plates to put in the sink. "Well, you might not have Abel, but you've got someone, Rose. Maybe you just haven't found him yet."

Rose gave her brother a grateful smile, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek. She knew Hugo was probably right. But it stung a little to think that just a week ago, she thought it was possible she had found that person, until he'd failed to show up.

They were interrupted when Al made his way into the kitchen.

"Hugh, mind if we have a minute?" he asked, incline his head towards Rose. Hugo left the kitchen without asking any questions and Al approached the sink.

"How are you?"

She was a little surprised by the question, since it seemed like he had more on his mind than smalltalk, but she humored him as she began to wash the few remaining dishes.

"I'm alright. What's up?"

"I meant how did things go with your friend."

Ah. Yes. That. She'd almost forgotten Al knew. She quickly relayed what happened, leaving out that Scorpius had shown up. She didn't feel like being on the receiving end of Al's judgmental looks right now. Rose ended her tale with her recent breakup with Abel.

"Even if things don't work out with Leo," she was saying, continuing to scrub the dishes as Al dried them beside her, stoically listening to her every word. "I shouldn't be with Abel. Anyway, there's still some hope, I think."

Al nodded, his face impassive as he stacked the plates.

"Do you think I should keep writing to him?" she asked, slightly unnerved by his silence.

"I think you should apologize to Scorpius."

Rose nearly dropped the glass she was washing.

"What? How do you-?"

Al was now looking at her, his face a mask of disappointment, and Rose swallowed her question and the excuse that was sure to follow it.

"I saw him yesterday," said Al. "You shouldn't have brought his family into it. No matter what he said to provoke you."

"I know," Rose said, her voice coming out more pitiful than she was comfortable with. "I knew I shouldn't have the minute I said it."

"You saw how that affected him when we were in school," continued Al as if she hadn't spoken. "And I know you hate it when people judge you based on your family, and you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I know, Al. Okay?" said Rose, with much more conviction than last time. He watched her expectantly. "I was horrible to him, but he wasn't exactly pleasant either."

Al just watched her as she continued to scrub the cutlery, an impatient and unimpressed look on his face.

"I was irrationally upset with him. I was disappointed that Leo hadn't shown up and I took it out on him. But I shouldn't have because that wasn't his fault. Him provoking me is no excuse for how I behaved. I'm sorry, alright?"

This seemed to appease him, and he went back to drying. "That's great and all, but you should be apologizing to him, not me."

"How exactly am I supposed to do that?" Rose asked. "I doubt he'll even want to listen. And it's not like I see him on an everyday basis."

Al just smiled at her excuses. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

She grumbled at him, draining the sink of the sudsy water.

"I don't think you realize how fantastic a person Scorpius actually is," said Al, looking at her intently. "And that really is a shame. He's been a great friend to me. You could do worse."

Rose wasn't entirely sure what Al meant by that, but it did fill her with a bit of guilt. She'd been so insistent that Scorpius was all around horrible just because of the unfortunate nature of their relationship, that she hadn't given the fact that he was good friends with Al much thought. Sure it had crossed her mind and she'd commented on how it didn't make any sense to her, but that was because she only saw her own interactions with Scorpius. Al made him his daughter's godfather for Merlin's sake. That had to count for something. And there was that nagging feeling, once again, that maybe she'd been wrong this whole time.

"So you get deliveries on Tuesdays and do inventories on Wednesdays?" Scorpius asked as he strolled through the back room of the Hogsmeade U-Brew.

"That's right. And if anything's off, we reconcile what we don't have time for on Wednesdays, on Thursdays," said Maggie Abrams. The store manager was giving Scorpius a tour of the shop. He couldn't believe he actually hadn't been out there since they opened, but he'd also wanted to wait and see how things were running after a month or so in.

"We toss the harmless scraps in a bin out back," Maggie continued as they strolled through the shelves. "But the potent and hazardous stuff has to be kept in this airtight container."

She indicated a tub as they reached the back of the shop. A lot of this was familiar to Scorpius. He'd worked in labs enough to know proper protocols. However, there was a difference in how things needed to be organized.

"And those get picked up…?"

"Every Friday," the spunky manager said as she turned to head back down the rows of stock. She was a good foot shorter than Scorpius, and her dirty blonde hair was cut to her chin and held back by a headband. All of the employees wore gray slacks and navy collared shirts with the company logo on them. Along with Maggie, there was also an assistant manager named Tim, who towered over Scorpius and wore glasses. They had one other full-time employee, and two part-time workers, who were both Hogwarts students.

"How've you found the amount of staff?" Scorpius asked as she led him towards the brewing section where three cauldrons were lined up. One seemed to be brewing Pepper-Up, and another a Shrinking Solution. The third was clear and odorless.

"It's alright," Maggie said with a shrug. "I worried at first about hiring students since they'll be gone for the summer, but then we probably won't be as busy with Hogwarts out."

A thought struck Scorpius. "Could those students transfer to the Diagon Alley branch for the summer?"

She brightened at the idea. "I suppose so. They'll like that. Then you have more help with the extra summer business."

He watched as she checked the batches of potions that were brewing, pausing to give the Pepper-Up potion two clockwise turns.

"Is that Veritaserum?" Scorpius asked with a nod towards the clear liquid.

"Yep," Maggie said, adjusting the heat on said potion. "We don't sell it unless you have a permit, so it's not a big seller here. This is the first time we've had to do another batch."

They moved into the office that was connected to both the back room and the store. Maggie plopped down into a chair that had wheels on it and effortlessly rolled so she was facing her desk with her back to him. A quick shuffling around of papers and she spun around, holding out a folder to Scorpius.

"Here's our numbers, separated out by weeks. There are various charts indicating patterns and variables and growth and loss predictions. So far, we're doing well. Obviously our best days are the Hogsmeade ones for students."

Scorpius nodded as he flipped open the folder, briefly glancing through the charts. "This is perfect, thank you."

She gave a nod, watching him expectantly. "Anything else we can do for you, Mr. Malfoy?"

He closed the folder, rapping it with his knuckles as he gave her a small smile. "I think that's all for now, Miss Abrams. Thanks for your time."

"No problem, sir. Owl if you have anymore questions."

He made his way into the streets of Hogsmeade, deciding to stop in for lunch at The Three Broomsticks. Getting out of London for the day had been a good call. Even though there was snow on the ground, the sun was out and lightly warming his cheeks. His mind had been filled with thoughts all week of Rose Weasley. He'd have moments when he'd start to think of Daisy, and then his mind would come to a screeching halt when he remembered. There had been a handful of times when he actually considered going down to Thistle and Thorn and either explaining everything, or giving Rose Weasley a piece of his mind. Of course, it never took him that long to realise what a horrible idea both of those options were. He'd steered clear of most people all week, choosing instead to pour himself into work.

Being one o'clock on a Friday, the pub wasn't very crowded, and Scorpius slid into a booth that had windows facing the snowy street. He was halfway through his meal when he spotted a familiar face entering the pub. Professor Longbottom made his way up to the bar and ordered his meal before scanning the room for a table. When his eyes landed on Scorpius, a pleased smile broke out on his face and he made his way towards him.

"Mr. Malfoy! This is a surprise."

"A pleasant one, I hope," Scorpius said with a smile. The professor chuckled and Scorpius gestured for him to sit down. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I only have the first few periods on Fridays," Neville said as he slid into the booth. "And Hannah's had me on a strict diet, so this is the only chance I have to eat what I'd like."

Scorpius chuckled as a plate of fish and chips was placed in front of the Herbology professor. "So," Neville said, digging into his meal. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Just visiting the new store. Checking in on how things are going."

Neville gave a nod, taking a drink of his butterbeer before responding. "That's a nice shop you've got there. I didn't realize things had been going that well for your company."

"Well," Scorpius began after taking a few more bites of his shepherds pie. "When I came on and took over more of the research department, it gave my father the opportunity to do more on the business side. We've done really well for ourselves over the last few years. We've even got another shop opening in London in February and I'm overseeing development, so I was just trying to gain some insight today."

An impressed look crossed Neville's face. "I always knew you were going to do well. I'm sure your father's proud."

Scorpius felt a small smile twitch at his lips. "Yeah, he is."

"You know," Neville said, popping a chip in his mouth. "I'm impressed with how Draco's managed to turn things around for himself. Malfoy definitely has a different ring to it now."

Scorpius felt his blood grow cold. Not because of what Neville said. He'd heard similar things from other people who'd known his father in his younger years. Part of him appreciated it when they said positive things about his family, even if it meant acknowledging the past. But now, all it did was make him think of the cold look and the harsh words of Rose Weasley.

He gave a sigh, swirling his butterbeer around in the bottom of his glass. "Yeah, well, not everyone thinks so."

Neville gave him a curious look. "Well, I'm sure there are some people who hold onto their prejudices, but you can't let that get to you."

Scorpius gave a snort, devoid of amusement. "Easier said than done," he said, taking a swig of his drink. Neville just watched him, studying his now somber attitude.

"Anything you want to get off your chest?"

Scorpius shrugged, staring into the bottom of his glass. "Just something Weasley said the other day."

Neville gave a mirthful chuckle and a shake of his head. "You two were always having a go at each other in school. I'm assuming you're talking about Rose?"

Scorpius nodded slowly, pursing his lips as he looked out the window, seeing an old wizard stepping outside of a storefront to light up a pipe. "Yep. The one and only."

They were quiet for a moment, Scorpius' meal forgotten as Neville polished his off.

"Scorpius, you're not a kid anymore," Professor Longbottom began, his tone serious and grabbing Scorpius' attention. "So you probably don't want the advice of your old school professor, but I will say this. I know Rose. And I know her parents. I know they raised her well. I've never known her to be prejudiced. I also remember very clearly the type of relationship she had with you, so I'm willing to wager she said what she did in a bit of a strop. Am I close?"

Scorpius actually found himself holding back a smirk at the knowing look he received from his professor. "Perhaps. But it was different this time."

Neville shrugged, finishing off his butterbeer. "Well, Rose definitely got her father's temper and her mother's stubbornness. Quite a force to be reckoned with."

Scorpius did smirk at that, picturing Rose's fiery red hair and her blazing brown eyes as she clenched her jaw at him in defiance.

"Don't take it to heart, Scorpius. Whatever it was she said. There are plenty of people who are proud of you."

Neville gave him an encouraging smile. It was a small comfort, but it was a comfort all the same.

After bidding goodbye to his professor with a promise to actually meet up for drinks sometime soon, Scorpius returned to his office and spent the last few hours of the work day going over applications for interns and assistants who had applied to be on his research team. He headed home that evening with a slight headache that was made somewhat better by the excitement he felt at the progress he was making towards beginning his research. The following morning, he was woken by a tap on his window. Groggily getting out of bed, he let in the post owl and retrieved the letter that contained an all too familiar scrawl.

Rose had written to him. It had been a week since he'd learned the truth and sent her his letter of apology. He hadn't really been expecting to hear back from her and he wasn't sure he even wanted to. The letter he had written didn't serve to provide any type of explanation. He'd expected her to be angry with him. Scorpius thought that maybe he'd hear from her eventually, but she'd responded only a week later, just like always.

Moving into the kitchen, he set the letter on his counter while he made a pot of tea, and sat down on the couch to read it once he had a mug of breakfast blend in his hand. He was nervous. He had no clue what the contents of the letter could possibly contain. Taking a deep breath, he broke the seal, and read.

Dear Leo,

I love my family. There's something about this time of year that just makes even the mediocre things seem more exquisite. I had a meal with most of my cousins, and I can't remember the last time that many of us were all together. Even one of them who lives abroad was able to make it, which was exceptionally special since we haven't seen her in a few years. Our family is growing as well; people getting married and having babies. It's an exciting time.

Don't get my wrong, my cousins can be infuriating at times. Especially when they're right. But I'm not sure what I'd do without them.

I plan on spending Christmas with my parents and my brother. I'm sure there will be various family gatherings scattered about during that time as well. My cousin's wedding is soon so I assume I'll keep busy helping her however she needs. Burn Paste Supreme is now packaged and ready for retail. I sold two cases this week! I have a meeting to talk to Mungo's about having a standing order as well, which is hard to believe. I've sent samples to various other medical campuses and services, so it might get picked up somewhere else too. It's been a whirlwind of a week.

I suppose this letter might have come as a bit of a shock to you. I wasn't even sure if I was going to stick to our regular routine and write you this weekend, but I couldn't help myself. Talking to you is somehow ingrained in me now, and no matter what kept you from seeing me last weekend, I don't want to just throw this all away, whatever this happens to be.

I know you said you didn't want to cross any lines since I had a boyfriend, and I wondered if that might have been the reason you didn't show up. Maybe it caused you to second guess everything and you thought better of coming. If that's the reason, I don't want you to worry. We'd been on rocky ground for awhile, and now we're not even together anymore. We both knew it was the right call, but it's never easy to let someone down or to fail. But it's worth seeing that chapter close if it means the future is brighter now. Maybe you're a part of that and maybe you're not, but I'm not ready to give up the option yet.

Look at me, being all forward. I guess it's my turn to bare my feelings. You've been doing it enough for both of us lately, but it's high time I was honest with myself, and honest with you. You once said that I'd become incredibly important to you, and that you couldn't wait to tell me that in person. I hope that's still true. You've become incredibly important to me as well.

Daisy

Scorpius sighed, leaning his head on the back of the couch and closing his eyes. His chest ached and his mind tried to process just how complicated everything had become. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

A/N: You're all amazing. Thanks for the wonderful reviews! One person asked for an Archie/Molly encounter, but you'll have to wait just a little longer for that, as well as some more Rose/Scorpius interaction. Keep those smashing reviews coming! See you again next Wednesday :)

Happy Reading!

P.S. Hope you enjoyed the nice little cameo of our favorite Herbology Professor :)