Boxing Day usually went the same way every year. Scorpius would spend the day with his parents at the Manor, and they would do the relaxing his mother wished she could do on Christmas Day. Her family was small, but Scorpius' Aunt Daphne and her five children could be a lot to handle for Christmas dinner.

Scorpius almost liked Boxing Day better than Christmas. He would lounge around the Manor in his track pants and a vest, sipping tea and spending time with his parents as they ate all of their favorite comfort foods while playing chess, exploding snaps, and even doing the occasional jigsaw puzzle. Draco had developed a knack for when he was under house arrest, and it was the only thing from that time that didn't put a sour taste in his mouth. He now had quite the collection.

This Boxing Day was slightly different. After he'd followed Archie out of the Potter's home, Scorpius eventually tracked him down at Sam's. Archie was already a few drinks in by the time Scorpius showed up, and he'd taken Archie back to his flat. The few days leading up to Christmas had found Archie in a state that Scorpius had never seen him in before. When he and Molly had broken up, he'd shoved everything down as far as it would go, never fully acknowledging the fact that he'd been heartbroken. Falling apart wasn't something Archie had ever done, but he had now.

He hadn't left Scorpius' sofa for much of anything. On Christmas morning, Scorpius had left for the Manor, knowing Archie was supposed to be spending time with his mother. He'd gone back to the flat that evening just to check on him, and he found Archie still on the couch, a half empty bottle of firewhiskey on the floor next to him. Scorpius had made the decision to drag Archie back to the Manor with him, and he was now safely stowed away in one of the guest rooms.

His parents had been understanding, even when Scorpius hadn't explained much. They'd so far been able to enjoy the first part of the day together as Archie slumbered solidly, if not peacefully. Scorpius had been finding it increasingly difficult not to worry about his friend the last few days, but he knew that Archie could take care of himself, even if he was currently doing a poor job of it. The most difficult part was that Scorpius had no idea what his friend needed. Archie had yet to say much of anything other than to ask to be left alone, which was always promptly ignored.

Archie wasn't the only thing distracting Scorpius. He was still having a difficult time wrapping his mind around the conversation he'd had with Rose at the Potter's. It had been so completely unexpected. He never would have guessed that all their years of tension could be traced back to the fact that Al had chosen to spend that first weekend at school with his new friend rather than his cousin. It had even been Al's idea for the two of them to explore the castle that day, and he could have easily invited his cousin along. It wasn't Scorpius's fault that Al had made the decision he did.

All of that aside, he was uncertain how to proceed. Rose was Daisy, which also meant Daisy was Rose. He knew he felt a special connection with Daisy, so did that mean he somehow had that same connection with Rose? Was he supposed to do anything about it? Or tell her the truth? When they were at odds with each other, he didn't see the necessity in being honest with her, but would that change?

It had also started to creep into his mind that he should write to her, which he hadn't wanted to do since her last letter had arrived a few weeks prior to Christmas. But what the hell was he supposed to say?

"Something on your mind?"

Scorpius blinked a few times to clear his head, casting a sideways glance at his father as they worked on one of Draco's favorite puzzles. He was all rather straight laced when it came to business and any entrance into society, but seeing Draco Malfoy still in his slippers and dressing gown after one o'clock on a weekday was a sight Scorpius treasured. He and his mother were the only ones who ever saw that.

Scorpius looked at his father in question at the inquiry.

"What makes you ask?"

Draco gave a slight shrug as he placed a piece. "You've been shuffling through the same pile of pieces aimlessly for the past ten minutes. You're normally fairly good at these."

Scorpius looked down to see that he had, in fact, been sorting through the same pile of roughly ten pieces.

"Care to divulge?"

Scorpius smirked at his father's question.

"You know you can just say 'what the hell is going on,' and I won't think any less of you, right?"

Scorpius watched in pleasure as his father failed to contain a smirk.

"I'll do you one better," Draco drawled before lazily looking up at his son. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Scorpius couldn't contain the laugh that burst forth as his father fully smiled.

"I needed that," Scorpius said, containing his mirth as he tried to return his attention to their task.

"So?" Draco persisted. "Care to tell me? I'm not normally this willing to listen to whatever drama you've gotten yourself into."

Scorpius shot him an annoyed look. "Who said anything about drama?"

"Well," his father said. "The fact that Archie Davies is passed out in one of our guest rooms and the interesting story I heard from Teddy about the Potter's Christmas party might have clued me in."

Damn Teddy. He and his family stopped by on Christmas Eve. Scorpius should of known his cousin was snitching when he'd been distracted by Amelia.

With a resigned sigh, Scorpius sunk back in his seat, momentarily giving up on their puzzle. His father easily placed a piece before folding his hands on the table and looking at Scorpius through his reading glasses.

"He's just having a rough time."

"I can see that," his father drawled.

"I'm just not sure what I can do for him."

Draco gave a slow, contemplative nod.

"This have to do with the Weasley girl?"

"Molly," said Scorpius, ignoring the slight annoyance in his father's voice. He didn't hold the disdain or hatred for the Weasleys that he used to, but they'd never been very friendly with each other.

"He never really talked about it when she left," Scorpius continued, "and he sort of bumped into her unexpectedly a few weeks ago, plus seeing her at the party the other night."

Draco gave a contemplative nod before he stood and moved towards the tea cart.

"Take it from someone who's been there," he said as he poured them each a cup of tea. "No one can be helped unless they decide they want to be."

He returned and handed Scorpius his cup before lounging back in his chair to sip his hot beverage.

"Are you telling me to let it be?" asked Scorpius.

Draco furrowed his brow in thought as he set down his cup.

"No, but don't force the issue until he's ready. He'll be thankful you were there for him when the time comes."

Scorpius nodded, contemplating his father's words.

"You're not referring to some ex girlfriend when you said you were speaking from experience, right?"

Draco let out a dry chuckle. "No, but there's a bit of your mother in there."

He paused to take another sip of his tea before leaning over the puzzle and focusing his gaze on it as he spoke to his son.

"I was… rather hesitant to develop any type of relationship with her. I knew I loved her fairly early on, which only caused me to push her further away and even break things off before they'd fully started. I'm thankful everyday for her patience. Not everyone would wait for a prideful miscreant to see sense, and even fewer would consent to marry them after being called a stupid bitch a few minutes prior."

Scorpius stared wide eyed at his father. He knew his parents had hit some rough patches at the beginning of their relationship, but that was the extent of his knowledge; these undiscussed rough patches that he assumed had to do with his father's rough history.

"She forgave you?" Scorpius asked, for which he received a pointed look. "Right, I suppose she did. I guess I'm more wondering how."

Draco shrugged. "You'd have to ask her. I'm still not entirely sure. I said what I could to push her away, but it didn't work. Seeing her crying and yelling at me and calling me an idiot and insisting that she didn't care about my past and that she did, in fact, love me… everything else didn't seem to matter as much anymore. Pushing her away became the last thing I wanted to do, and I'm lucky she held on as tightly as she did."

It was difficult at times for Scorpius to think of his father from before. He had always been rather stoic, occasionally letting his outer shell slip away when he found something truly humorous or moving, or on the rare occasion he was angry. But he could hardly imagine Draco Malfoy behaving in any way other than calm and collected. Scorpius had always assumed that his father had simply gotten down on one knee with the family ring in his hand and asked his wife to marry him. But for it to go from hateful words to declarations of love in a matter of moments was something he couldn't picture.

But what really stuck out to Scorpius, was the forgiveness and acceptance that his mother showed. Not just of his father's actions, but of him as a whole. She could have stormed away at those words, completely written him off, but she didn't.

"Would you have been so forgiving?" he found himself asking, unable to stop himself from comparing aspects of his father's tale with his own life.

"Probably not," he said honestly. "I hope I would have been eventually, but I most likely would've stormed off in a rage and waited till she groveled. That would have been a horrible way to start a marriage."

"Aside from the whole marriage part," Scorpius said, leaning forward and setting his tea on the table before clasping his hands in front of him. "Do you think that two people can ever have too bad of a falling out that they could never make things work in the future? Is anything ever truly unsalvageable?"

His father seemed slightly taken aback by this question. "Depends on the people in question, I suppose. For example, my father and I were never going to have a whole relationship, not after everything that happened. But part of that was his own selfish pride in refusing to own his mistakes. I did what I could to turn my life around, but he didn't have the same ambition. If two people want to make it work enough and are able to truly forgive, I don't see why not."

Scorpius could only nod. He didn't think the future he'd wanted with Daisy was possible with Rose, but still, had he well and truly forgiven her? He'd accepted her apology, but there was a difference. Could he just move on and forget what she'd said? Act like it hadn't happened and form some sort of peaceful coexistence if not a friendship? It scared him a bit to realize he didn't think he'd need to try that hard. Even before she'd apologized, he'd had a difficult time focusing on staying angry with her. He supposed it was because deep down, he knew that she hadn't meant it. She told him herself that she only said those things because she knew it would hurt him. How often had he said things to her solely because he knew how she would react? People weren't perfect. Rose wasn't and he wasn't. He could forgive her for being human. He already had.

"But who's responsible for making the effort?" Scorpius couldn't help but ask. "Should I be expected to reach out when I was the one hurt, even if I've forgiven them?"

"Scorpius, you can't keep score your whole life," Draco said with a sigh, dumping a few puzzle pieces onto the table between them. "You'll make your life miserable if you only act based on what you think you owe someone or what you think they owe you."

Scorpius actually felt a little chastised by this, most likely because he knew his father was perfectly right. All he and Rose had ever done was keep score. Could he let all that go? Actually be the one to make an effort? Because he was slowly realizing that he wanted to, no matter what that might mean.

"Are you asking because of whatever Archie's going through with Miss Weasley?"

Scorpius almost shook his head at his father's question, but realized that would mean he'd have to explain why he was asking, and he was also aware that this subject had a lot to do with Archie as well.

"I just know he still loves her," Scorpius said. "That's painfully obvious. I just don't want to say anything that could give him false hope if he wants to try and work things out with her. He actually said something similar to what you did. When they ended things, he fought like hell to push her away, saying everything he knew he needed to to get her to leave. It worked for him."

Draco nodded as Scorpius's mother entered the room with a few tins of biscuits, wrapped in her own dressing gown. She placed the sweets between them before dropping a kiss on her husband's head and moving to perch herself on his knee. Scorpius watched as the older Malfoy smiled in a way that he only reserved for his wife.

"If he really wants to fight and she seems willing," Draco said, his eyes going back to his son. "The worst that could happen is that he makes a fool of himself for love, which isn't the worst thing in the world."

Astoria looked at her husband incredulously as he dug into one of the tins of biscuits before her glance shifted to her son.

"What did you say to get him to talk like that?"

Scorpius chuckled. "He lets his romantic side show whenever you come into the conversation."

She gave an amused smile and looked down at her slightly pink husband.

"I'm not cold and heartless, you know," he grumbled.

"Perfectly well, thank you," she said, dropping another kiss to his head. Draco managed to return his attention to his son, his arm subtly tightening around his wife's waist.

"Are you sure that's the only reason you asked all these questions? I've never known you to be this invested in your friend's love lives."

Scorpius willed his face to remain impassive. He wasn't sure why he'd begun asking questions in the first place, but he found he was now able to at least start making decisions in regard to Rose. His conversation with his father had opened his eyes to the fact that he'd not only forgiven Rose, but he found it very difficult to consider continuing to lie to her. Which only left him with a few options. He merely shrugged in response to his father's question. "Just for future reference. I'd rather learn from your mistakes than my own."

Draco smirked as his attention returned to the puzzle in front of him. "I'd prefer that as well."

Dear Daisy

I'm sorry I've been absent lately. I appreciated your last letter, and I don't blame you for not reaching out again after failing to hear from me. I'd like to say I've just been busy, which is true, but I've been dealing with some other personal issues lately that have kept me from reaching out. It's not completely sorted, but I hope it's on its way to being so.

Hope you had a nice Christmas and enjoyed your time with your family. And all those other parties and things you had to go to. Mine was a quiet affair, other than one uncomfortable encounter. I think that's typical for most holidays. It's not really a memorable one unless someone makes a scene.

That's all very exciting about your burn paste and your meeting. I hope it goes well and I'm looking forward to seeing your products hit all the shelves in Britain.

I'd say I'm sorry about your failed relationship, but you don't seem too put out by it, so I'm happy you've managed to figure out what you want.

I want to thank you for being forgiving about my absence a few weeks ago. It truly speaks to who you are as a person that you were willing to forgive me somewhat blindly. I'm afraid I didn't provide you with a very good excuse for what happened. I don't think I would have found the courage to write this letter if you hadn't taken that step first, especially because this next part will be hard to write.

I know this won't make sense to you, but I won't be writing for awhile. In fact, I'm not sure when you'll hear from me again, or if you even will. I said earlier that I've been dealing with some personal issues, and those currently require my attention. I didn't want to leave you without any explanation, and I realize this still isn't much of one, but I didn't want to leave you hung out to dry either.

I want you to know that you've meant a lot to me, and I'll miss our conversations, but I hope you can trust me when I say that this is for the best.

Hope all is well, and I hope you have a Happy New Year.

Leo

When the letter had arrived, Rose had practically squealed in delight, thankful that she had returned to her own flat after staying with her parents for a few days. She had stopped hoping to expect to hear from Leo, and it was the perfect pick me up after the roller coaster that was her holiday.

However, as soon as she'd finished reading, she couldn't help feeling an unsettling amount of extreme disappointment. She was truly happy he'd decided to write to her, but it was a bit of a let down for all of her words that had been very upfront about the possibilities she saw in their relationship to go practically unnoticed. And then even more of a letdown to read his parting words.

Rose shouldn't expect to hear from Leo again. Had she said or done something to make him change his mind? She couldn't think of anything. He'd seemed so excited to meet her. What had caused such a complete turn around?

Maybe he'd figured out who she was and wanted nothing to do with her?

No. That didn't seem likely. Not that she was proud enough to think anyone would be lucky to know with her, but that she didn't think there was anything she'd done that would have given herself away. Besides, what were the odds that they actually knew each other in real life?

She flopped down onto her couch, trying not to let herself cry out of frustration and disappointment. There was one last party to go to tonight, and New Year's Eve at The Leaky Cauldron was going to be quite the rambunctious occasion, so hopefully it would lift her spirits. It was a tradition that had been started the first holiday after the war had ended, and it was one of the few things that had stuck all these years later.

Rose and her cousins had loved being able to stay out late at the pub growing up, and there was such a sense of nostalgia too it that they still found immense joy in the event. The party had grown to include more than just the surviving members of the DA, and most people invited a few other friends or loved ones. Rose was surprised to find herself not completely dreading the anticipated presence of Scorpius Malfoy.

It had felt oddly freeing, apologizing to Scorpius and having an actual honest conversation with him. She hadn't expected that. Part of her was certain he'd rebuff any efforts she made to make amends. It had shown her just how wrong she'd been about him when he'd actually accepted her apology and offer of a truce. But what did that mean going forward? How was she supposed to act around him? They weren't exactly friends, but did he expect her to talk to him?

Rose doubted anyone would blame her if she chose to steer clear of Scorpius Malfoy, but there had been something in his eyes before she'd apologized and even after that intrigued her. There was more to him than her narrow minded self had allowed her to see, and she believed she'd caught a glimpse of it as they'd played chess and had one of their first decent conversations. At least the first one that hadn't ended in a teasing or scathing comment.

Her mind was pulled from her musings by the sound of a knock on her door, relieved to see a rather uncertain Jane Ryan on her doorstep when she opened it.

"About bloody time. What's with the disappearing act?"

Jane gave an apologetic smile as she made her way into Rose's flat, taking off her gloves and hat. She had come over to Rose's family home for Christmas lunch, and had stayed to indulge Rose in her tradition of watching a Muggle Christmas film, but Rose had fallen asleep and Jane had left before she woke up. Hugo had said she'd left after the film had ended, saying something about maybe visiting her father and that she'd pop by Rose's soon. It had been almost a week; much longer than Rose had anticipated.

"Did you really go see your dad?" Rose asked. Jane shook her head as she made herself comfortable on the sofa, shrugging out of her coat.

"Then why did you leave?" asked Rose. Her friend's behavior was odd; quiet and absent for the past few days. Jane was now fidgeting slightly and trying to act indifferent.

"Didn't want to put you out any further. You had a dinner to get to."

"You were welcome to come to that," Rose argued. Jane gave a shrug.

"Didn't feel up to it."

Even though she insisted at various times that she didn't want to be a burden, Jane always came around and saw sense. She was a sucker for a nice home cooked meal and had attended Christmas dinner at the Burrow the year before. There was always the chance that Jane truly hadn't felt up to it, but something seemed off.

"Jane, did something happen?" Rose asked, and she knew immediately something had by the way Jane avoided her eye contact as she sat down beside her.

"Nothing," Jane insisted. "I just didn't feel like it."

"Jane-"

"Leave it alone, Rose."

"But you know you can tell me. Was it your parents? Did something-"

"Just drop it!"

Rose's eyes widened in surprise. This wasn't normal Jane behavior. If something was bothering her, Rose was normally bound to get an earful.

"Did I do something?" Rose asked uncertainly. "I'm sorry if I did anything to make you uncomfortable. Did my family? Have we-?"

She didn't get to finish whatever she was going to ask, for Jane had thrown herself forward and buried her face in her hands, completely bent over her lap and letting out a groan. Rose looked at her in confusion as Jane mumbled out some unintelligible words.

"What?" asked Rose. Jane sat up with a groan, or maybe a sigh. It was some combination of both. She met Rose's eyes for the first time since she had walked through the door. They were anxious and uncertain and maybe even a bit terrified.

"Please don't be angry," she pleaded with Rose. "I'm not even sure I should be telling you this because it's not even…"

She trailed off uncertainly. Rose's mind was now running a mile a minute. What could Jane have done that would make her this worried for Rose's reaction?

"It's not Andrew, is it?" she asked. "You haven't gone back to him, have you?"

"No!" Jane said, looking appalled by the suggestion before fading into her nerves again.

"No, it's not him."

"Him? So it's a him?" asked Rose, brow raised in surprise. Jane hadn't made much of an attempt to date since she'd ended things with Andrew. There hadn't even been a mention of a boy.

Jane collapsed back onto the couch, her hands going to her face as she let out another sigh.

"Is he married or something?" Rose asked, assuming whatever the problem was had to be a big one due to Jane's distress. This, however, was the wrong thing to ask.

"Bloody hell, Rose, I'm not a slag."

"Sorry," Rose said defensively. "You're acting like whatever it is is the end of the world."

Jane sat silent for a moment, her hands dropping to her lap. "I suppose it's not all that bad, but I'm not even sure it's actually something."

"Will you tell me what it is so I can help you figure it out?"

Jane took a deep breath, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she braced herself.

"I can't possibly say it."

Rose gave an impatient sigh and stood from the couch.

"Tea? Something stronger?"

She turned to walk into the kitchen.

"I might fancy Hugo."

Silence surrounded them as Rose stopped in her tracks. She turned quickly and faced a thoroughly embarrassed looking Jane, who began to explain before Rose could ask a single question.

"There was a moment at the Christmas party and it just set something off in my head. And then we got to talking after you fell asleep on Christmas and he's kind and he's funny and honest and Merlin I never realized how handsome he was until he was sitting there in his track pants and stuffing his face with pumpkin pasties and laughing and…bloody hell that doesn't even make sense."

She trailed off, looking helplessly at Rose, who sighed and moved back to join her friend on the couch, her eyes wide in shock.

"Alright… Umm… Okay."

Jane watched Rose nervously.

"I told you it might be nothing; just a passing fancy, you know? But you're so fucking persistent and I can't lie to you cause you'll see right through me and maybe it's better you know so you can talk me out of it."

Rose chuckled at her friend's ramblings. "Alright. If we have to talk about this, we will. What exactly happened at the Christmas party?"

Jane gave a relieved sigh. "We were talking about my plans for Christmas and how I wasn't sure if I'd be coming to your parent's house and he was all 'you're not a burden. I certainly wouldn't mind if you came,' and I don't know. It stuck out to me."

"That simple?" Rose asked. Jane gave a nod of disbelief.

"That's all it took to get my mind whirring."

"Alright," Rose said, wanting to get through the conversation before she actually had to fully digest the information. "I'm guessing something happened yesterday that made you leave?"

Jane's face scrunched up in thought, her gaze going down to where her hands were clasped tightly on her lap.

"We just got to talking and I was asking why he wasn't the Hugo I knew in school and I sort of challenged him on it. Did you noticed he'd changed when you woke up?"

Rose had noticed. When she'd fallen asleep, Hugo was wearing nice slacks and a collared button up shirt. He was much more casual in a vest and track pants when she woke.

"That was your doing?"

Jane nodded. "He came back down with sweets and sat with me on the couch. We basically ignored the rest of the film and he talked about how he was never really himself in school and he's never really himself now. He showed me what he said was the real Hugo, and we just talked and laughed about a million different things. And then…"

Jane trailed off, blushing brightly.

"We were talking about my parents and how my mum wanted me to be her and rise up in the ranks of the Ministry, but I'm unfortunately more like my dad. And then I made a stupid comment about hoping I don't run off with a young paralegal like he did. Hugo was nice enough to point out that they're not all bad since he himself used to be one, and I said 'good thing you're not anymore, or I'd be in serious danger of becoming my father.'"

Jane said it all in a rush, her face as red as it had ever been. There was nothing Rose could physically do other than stare wide eyed and slack jawed at her friend.

The first thing she thought, was that Hugo hadn't even opened up to her about his shift in personality. The fact that he'd been so open about it with Jane when he'd always been insistent that he had just grown up was surprising and unprecedented. Another thing, was that Jane had actually talked to him about her family. She hardly ever did that with Rose, and not nearly as easily as she seemed to have been able to with Hugo.

"I just left after that. Gathered my things and said I'd go see my dad after all," Jane eventually said. "He didn't say another word after I made it rather obvious that I've taken a bit of a shine to him. God, he probably thinks I'm mental or some slag who just throws herself at men cause they just happen to be there."

"I'm sure he doesn't," Rose insisted. "He actually seemed worried about you. Have you heard from him?"

"No," said Jane, sounding as if the very idea was ludicrous. "I made a fool of myself. And he's given no indication that he might fancy me back. Not that I'm sure I even fancy him to begin with. See, I knew I shouldn't have said something. I'm even more confused than I was before."

Jane groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"You probably hate me," she moaned, glancing at Rose through parted fingers.

"Of course not. It's a little unexpected and might take some getting used to…"

"I shouldn't have said anything."

"Will you calm down?" asked Rose, growing agitated herself. "You want me to talk you out of it, yeah?"

Jane nodded vigorously.

"Okay…" Rose began. "Well, it's probably just a small… infatuation? It might not even be anything?"

Jane nodded once again.

"And if it is something, it doesn't make sense, does it?"

Another nod, but there wasn't much conviction in it. Rose was feeling uncertain as well.

"I'm sorry, but why doesn't it make sense?"

It wasn't something Rose had ever considered, but now she thought about it, Hugo and Jane together didn't sound like the most outrageous thing. She'd already shown through her story about their conversation that she could get him to relax and open up; something Hugo needed. And Jane needed someone to be vulnerable with and calm her. It actually made a lot of sense.

"Because he's your brother and he's younger than me and we actually don't know each other all that well and…"

Jane looked at Rose helplessly.

"None of those are good reasons, are they?"

Rose just shook her head and Jane dropped her hands to her sides.

"Why don't we go and do some shopping and then go to the party tonight and see what happens? If you need any type of buffer, I'll be there."

Jane seemed to relax at this, but by the time they'd done their shopping and were ready for the party, she was a bundle of nerves.

"I don't know why you're so nervous," Rose said as they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. "It's just Hugo."

"But I made an idiotic comment that was revealing of some dormant feelings I didn't even know I had. He's smart. He would have picked up on it. And I'd rather not have to sit through him awkwardly rejecting me when I don't even know what I want in the first place."

That did sound like a situation Rose wouldn't have liked to find herself in. Unable to think of any comforting words, they continued down the last block in silence, reveling in the warmth as they entered the pub. There was music playing and the place was already crowded with people, and a makeshift dance floor had been set up off to one side.

"Rosie!"

She'd barely had a chance to take her coat off before Lily had thrown her arms around her in an exuberant hug. Rose laughed as she hugged her back, hoping the drink in Lily's hand wouldn't spill all over her jumper.

"Have you had too much already?" she asked as her cousin released her. Lily shook her head, but downed whatever fruity drink was in her hand.

"I'm just happy you're here."

Lily continued to grin as Carter Thomas walked up behind her. It had been awhile since Rose had seen him; maybe even since last New Year's Eve. He was just as tall, dark, and handsome as she remembered; his dark hair cropped close to his head. He greeted Rose with a nervous smile.

"Good to see you, Carter," she said with a chuckle, and he relaxed.

"You too, Rose."

Lily smiled up at him, her entire countenance brimming with happiness, and Rose realized that even if the situation were to ever make her feel uncomfortable, one look at Lily right now and she never would have been able to tell her no.

"I hear you're working with my brother?" Rose asked without thinking, and was rewarded by a sharp intake of breath from Jane.

"Yeah, he's brilliant," Carter said. "Did a bang up job on the case we worked."

A death grip on Rose's arm clued her into the fact that her brother had approached them, if seeing him with her own eyes hadn't done that already.

"He's exaggerating," Hugo said with a roll of his eyes, coming to stand next to Rose and pulling her into a one armed hug. "Total team effort."

"I never said I wasn't brilliant as well."

They all laughed, Jane a little nervously, although Rose was sure she was the only one who noticed.

"You two gotten drinks yet?" Hugo asked, glancing between Rose and Jane, who remained silent.

"We've barely been here," Rose told her brother.

"Want me to grab you something?" he offered, and Rose was about to respond in the affirmative when Jane hastily spoke up.

"I've got it. Wine, Rose?"

And she squeezed her way through the crowd and towards the bar before anyone could say a word.

"Is she alright?" Hugo asked with a furrowed brow, watching Jane as she walked away.

"She's fine," Rose assured Hugo, watching him closely. He gave a slight nod, his eyes still trained towards the bar.

"Is Molly coming?" Lily asked, pulling Rose's attention back to her.

"She's not here yet?"

"Not that I've seen. Was she alright after what happened at Christmas?"

Dinner at the Burrow on Christmas evening had been an interesting affair. Hugo was acting odd, which made more sense in hindsight; Dom was overly pleasant after what happened at the party; and Molly kept rather quiet. The most uncomfortable moment was when Percy had mentioned Archie's presence at the party in a very innocent way around the dinner table. Rose could only assume that he'd been out of the room when the incident at the Potter's had happened, and that he was still clueless as to the exact nature of his daughter's breakup.

It had caused an awkward lull at dinner, and Molly had made some excuse once the meal was over and left before dessert.

"I haven't even seen her," Rose said. "She keeps saying she's busy helping Lucy with wedding stuff, which may very well be true."

Their worry was somewhat abated when Molly showed up with Lucy and Wesley a few minutes later, Molly immediately going to Rose's side.

"I need you to do something for me," she whispered to Rose, pulling her away from their small group and towards a booth in the corner of the room.

"Okay, what's up?"

Molly faced Rose, her face betraying her nerves.

"I need to talk to Archie, and you're the only person I trust to keep people from interrupting us."

Rose's eyes widened in shock and uncertainty.

"Are you sure?"

Molly gave her cousin an annoyed look. "You're the one who told me I should."

"Right, sorry," said Rose. "But you are sure?"

Molly nodded. "I can't stop thinking about it and we never really had closure and I think it'll help to just clear the air. We have to learn how to at least be comfortable around each other. He and Wes were dormmates so he'll be at the wedding, plus there's the benefit before then and I just can't keep being on edge like this. If I don't do it now, I never will."

That was understandable. In fact, Rose had always wondered how Molly had been able to survive without the closure.

"Alright," she agreed. "But I'm already playing buffer for one other person tonight, so can I call in backup?"

"Actually, I was thinking we should involve Scorpius."

Rose looked at her cousin with wide eyes.

"Because of his relationship with Archie," Molly clarified. "I'm not trying to set you up or anything. I just think he'll be the most understanding and able to divert attention. And Al would tell Abigail and she'll try and butt in."

There went any decision she might have made to avoid Scorpius Malfoy. But, knowing Molly was making complete sense, Rose nodded in agreement.

"Do you want to do this now?"

"I'm not sure if they're even here yet. I'll find you when I'm ready. I just wanted you to be prepared."

Molly left to go mingle with the crowd, most likely to keep an eye out for Archie, and Rose made her way back towards her previous companions. Jane had returned with her drink and was standing awkwardly next to Hugo, who was now talking to Louis and didn't seem to notice the girl's uncomfortable demeanor. Jane scowled at Rose, who approached with an apologetic grimace.

"Sorry," Rose mumbled, taking her glass of wine and sipping from it. "Molly needed a favor."

"Well don't run off on me again. I almost had to talk to him."

Rose rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, taking a much larger drink of her wine. It was barely nine o'clock. She was in for one long night.

A/N: You're all amazing. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and it makes you excited for the next one :) If you're confused by the letter, it'll get cleared up a little more next chapter.

Much love to you all!

Happy Reading :)