Three years later...

Rose lifted her head in time to see Zed, her colleague and close friend, weaving towards her desk, his robes an unusual shade of orange. Or at least it would have been unusual if it was anybody else. Zed was a very flamboyant man. She quickly put down her quill, knowing from past experience he would be staying a while.

With a strangely feline smile on his face, he deposited a carrier bag on her desk.

"You went into Muggle London?" she asked, genuinely shocked. As far as she knew, it would be the first time he had.

"Not exactly. I sent one of the new interns –" she opened her mouth to tell him, for the hundredth time, that they weren't his slaves but he simply raised one jewelled hand, cutting her off.

"But that's not the point. You've been through a tough time so I bought you ice cream."

A small sigh escaped her lips. She was beginning to regret showing him her collection of romantic comedies. Since then, he had been obsessed with the idea of a fairytale romance and she didn't have the heart to tell him that life didn't always work that way.

"I broke up with Dan remember?" he shrugged, as if it were inconsequential, "which means I don't actually need break up food."

"You're not even a little upset?"

Was she? They had only dated for a month, if that, and though he was a nice guy, she couldn't bring herself to feel anything more than friendship.

"No. I'm not. He deserves someone who cares about him? If anything, I'm annoyed. Now, I'll be the only singleton tonight."

"Ah yes. Tonight. Why can't you just go by yourself?"

"Scorpius is introducing us to his latest girlfriend and Al's been whipped for years. It would just be awkward."

Not to mention I used to sleep with one of them.

"I'll go with you."

Even though they had been friends since the two of them joined the Department of International Relations, Rose was still shocked by Zed's bluntness. What he thought and what he said were exactly the same, even it wasn't always appropriate. Which was why Rose hadn't told him what she had gotten up to with her best friend while the two of them was at Hogwarts; the chances of him blurting something out were extremely high.

Bringing Zed along tonight wasn't a terrible idea though. He was a good guy after all. And even if he wasn't exactly a date, it would be better than being the only one to turn up alone. Besides, who knew how long it would be before she got to see Al and Scorpius? It was hard enough to find an evening when they were all free without cancelling on a whim. Her cousin would be heading back to Hogwarts to teach transfiguration soon and training to be a healer meant Scorpius rarely had the time to breathe anymore.

"We're meeting outside the Leaky Cauldron at 6."

Zed was late. It had taken him far too long to settle on his teal robes and now Rose was going to kill him. He knew this was a big deal, some kind of test. Being introduced to Al and Scorpius was the equivalent to Rose asking you to move in. The amount, she talked about them, almost subconsciously, it was clear how much they meant to her.

Red in the face from rushing, he pushed his way inside only to stop moments later, jaw lax with shock.

He was seeing a new Rose. Head thrown back in laughter, she looked more relaxed than he had ever seen her. Until now, Zed had never noticed the constant tension in her shoulders, the wary glance she cast around a room. He couldn't help but wonder why; what had made her so untrusting? So scared of showing vulnerability, of letting her guard down? It was in that moment that Zed realised how little he really knew about his so called friend. She had been so skilful at avoiding questions about her personal life he hadn't even realised it had happened. A strange feeling of hurt blossomed in his chest, competing with a curiosity he couldn't control. He wanted to know.

"Zed! Over here!" she began, waving him over. She began to introduce him to the assembled group, starting with her cousin, Al Potter, who seemed strangely reserved for the son of a celebrity. Or maybe that's why, he mused as he took in the quiet man and the young witch whose hand he held. Next was a raven haired girl, with a brooding pout called Meg. Her arm was clenched rather possessively around a man with the famous good looks of the Malfoy family. Scorpius Malfoy. Another favourite in the papers, most recently for his work at St Mungo's. There were still people who didn't understand that the past was exactly that. Not that Scorpius had given them any reason to doubt his integrity. As far as Zed knew, he was a good man and had no skeletons in his closet, so to speak. Though if the rumours were true, there were quite a few in his bedroom...

Forcibly dragging his gaze from the handsome blonde and trying to stop the blush from spreading across his cheeks, Zed took his seat next to Rose. He had known Malfoy was handsome but Merlin! He was pretty sure he would be a visitor in his dreams for the next few nights.

A/N:

So here is the second part of Inheritance. Or at least, the start of it. You know me, I like to ease you into things before all the drama starts.

There it is then: three years later and my favourite Gryffindors are growing up! I just hope they handle things better this time...

Read and review – you know you want to ;)