Chapter 29: Meeting the Malfoys

(Scorpius' pov)

December 29th was the day that Rose was coming round to meet my parents, and of course, I was excited, yet nervous for it. I hadn't seen Rose in almost two weeks after all, but I was worried about how my father would take to her. Although, after getting meeting Rose's parents over with, I wasn't too concerned.

I picked Rose up at her house at about four in the afternoon. After saying a quick hello to Ron and Hermione, Rose and I apparated home. Rose's eyes grew wide when she caught sight of Malfoy Manor. "You... you live here!" She stammered.

I nodded. "Yes. This house has been in my family for hundreds of years."

"House?" Rose exclaimed. "Scorp, this thing is a mansion! It's nearly as big as Hogwarts!"

I laughed. "Really, Rosie, it's not that big!" With that, I took Rose by the hand and opened the front door. I led her past the staircase and down a long hallway until we reached the living room, where we found my mother knitting a red and gold scarf, which was clearly meant for me. With me being a Gryffindor, Mum being a Ravenclaw, and Dad being a Slytherin, our family had quite the variety.

Mum glanced up as we came in and got to her feet. "You must be Rose." She said with a smile. "I'm Astoria Malfoy, Scorpius' mother. Scorpius has told me so much about you, and it's an honor to finally have you in my home."

Rose smiled back. "Thank you, Astoria. It's an honor to be here. Your home is gorgeous."

"Thank you, I think so too." Mum replied before turning to me. " We'll be having roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for dinner tonight. It will be ready in about an hour. Your father is in the office nearest our bedroom, if you looking him. And Rose, if you're wanting anything, please don't hesitate to let me know."

"Thanks Mum." I said. "May I take you on a tour, Rose?"

Rose smiled again. "I'd like that." She said, and so we left the living room.

I took Rose to my father's office first, thinking I'd get introducing Rose to him first. I led Rose up the stairs, pointing things out along the way. When we arrived at Dad's office, the door was closed, so I knocked before entering. "Come in." Dad called. I opened the door and led Rose inside. Dad was sitting in one of his arm chairs, reading the Daily Prophet with a frown upon his face.

"Dad, this is Rose Weasley, my girlfriend."

Dad looked up for a second and said, "Good afternoon," before returning to his reading.

I hesitated, waiting for more of a response than just the two words he gave us, but none came. "Mum says dinner will be ready at five."

"That's fine." Dad replied, not even bothering to look up from his newspaper this time.

Rose and I looked at each other and left the room, softly shutting the door behind us. "Is he always this… unfriendly?" Rose asked once we were out of hearing range.

"Don't worry, Rose, it'll just take a while for him to get to know you." I told her. Rose nodded, but she didn't seem convinced.

After the tour – which took about ten minutes or so – I took Rose up to my room. Rose gasped as she looked around. "You're room is amazing!" she exclaimed.

I smiled at her. "Thanks, I like it too." I led her up to my loft, where my bed was, and we sat and talked for about forty-five minutes, as we had a lot of catching up to do since we saw each other last.

"So, how was your Christmas?" Rose asked curiously.

I shrugged. "It was fine. Grandfather and Grandmother Malfoy's came here on Christmas Eve as usual, and surprisingly, my father and grandfather didn't argue once. It was pretty pleasant actually. Christmas Day we went to Granddad and Grandma Greengrass's and spent the day with them, my Aunt Daphne and two cousins. What did you do?"

"Well, Christmas Eve we went to Granddad and Granny Granger's house, and had a muggle Christmas as we usually do. It was just the six of us, since I have no aunts, uncles, or cousins on Mum's side. Then Christmas Day, we went to The Burrow, and I told the rest of my family that I'm dating you."

"How did they take that?"

"Alright, I suppose. They were a little surprised, but they're fine with it. Granddad Weasley was in shock, though. He just couldn't believe I was dating you, but I think he's over it now."

We talked for a few more minutes before heading down to dinner. Now here was when things would get interesting.

The table was set when Rose and I entered the kitchen, and during dinner I made Rose seem as welcome as possible by attempting to involve her in the conversations and offering her more food and drink. Dad, however, surprised me by completely ignoring her. He continuously brought up events that he had read in the Daily Prophet to my mother, and whenever Rose started to say something, Dad would rudely interrupt. Suddenly, Dad crossed the line when he brought up something about house elves.

"You know what else I've heard, Astoria?" Dad was saying. "I read in the Prophet today that they thinking about making a law that house elves have to be paid. Can you believe it?"

"Well, Draco, I suppose it's only fair." Mum replied. "And besides, I'm sure their minimal wage would be much less than wizards'."

Dad shook his head. "Astoria, you don't understand. House elves have been serving the Malfoys for hundreds of years, and now suddenly we might have to pay them? Seriously, what idiot came up with that idea."

I looked over at Rose, who had suddenly tensed and was looking down at her now empty plate. I knew she would be uncomfortable with this conversation, because Hermione was the leader of this new "Salaries for House Elves" idea, and was trying to turn it into a law. Finally, Rose had the opportunity to speak. "This dinner was delicious. Thank you Astoria."

Mum smiled. "It's no problem, Rose. Is there anything else you would like?"

"No, thank you," Rose replied, "but may I use your toilet?"

"Of course you may. Just go straight out that door, and down the left-hand hallway. It's the second door on your left. I'm sure Scorpius showed you where it is?"

Rose nodded, said a polite "thank you" and disappeared from the room.

"What is your problem, Dad?" I hissed after Rose left the room.

"Excuse me?" Dad asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

"You've been rude to Rose all night, barely letting her say a sentence. And you knew Rose's mum is leading that "Salaries for House Elves" Idea, didn't you? Why would you even bring that up?"

"Scorpius, I didn't ask for Rose to come here, so why should I feel the need to include her in my conversation?"

"No, Draco!" Mum snapped. "Scorpius is right, now that I think about it; you have been rude towards the poor girl."

"Please, Dad." I begged. "At least, talk to her."

Dad sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry."

I was about to say something more, but just then, Rose reentered the dining room.

"So, Rose, what do you want to do after Hogwarts?" Dad asked while we were waiting for our dessert.

Rose looked at him in surprise. "Well, I think I want to be either a writer or a healer. I haven't decided yet." She said nervously.

Mum smiled. "Both are fine careers." She said.

Just then, the door swung open, and two of our house elves, Cinna and Mo, came in, holding a large platter of apple crumble with ice cream. "Thank you." Rose said cheerfully. The house elves blinked at her in surprise before bowing their heads and dashing out of the room.

Mum and Dad continued to ask Rose more questions, and she slowly began to relax. After dinner, Rose and I went back up to my room, where she grabbed my present from her satchel and I got hers from my closet. I had the perfect gift for her, and I just hoped that she would like it.

(Rose's pov)

Visiting Malfoy Manor was a frightening experience. At first, Scorpius's father, Draco, didn't even acknowledge the fact that I was there, and he even indirectly called my mother an idiot. During dessert though, we warmed up to each other a little when Draco started asking me questions. After dessert, Scorpius and I retreated to his room to open Christmas presents.

"Who goes first?" Scorpius asked.

"You can." I suggested, handing him his present.

Scorpius unwrapped his gift, and his eyes lit up immediately. It was the Broom Care Kit Scorpius and I saw in a shop during the last Hogsmeade trip that Scorpius had stared at longingly. It included cleaning spray, clothes, and other cleaning supplies and book titled Spells to Improve the Performance of Your Broom Without Breaking the Rules. "Thanks Rose. How'd you know I wanted this?" Scorpius asked teasingly.

"I don't know, I guessed." I said in a sarcastic tone, causing us both to laugh.

When I opened my present, a black velvet box was revealed. Inside was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. It was silver with two overlapping hearts in the center. One heart was Blue Topaz, my birthstone, while the other was Yellow Topaz, Scorpius's birthstone. "It's a promise ring." Scorpius exclaimed before I could say anything.

"Isn't… isn't that a promise to get engaged?" I asked, confused.

Scorpius hesitated. "Well, sometimes it is. But really, it's simply just a promise to do anything. In this case, I'm promising to never give up on our love, no matter what happens, and to never leave you again, unless you want me gone. Do you like it?"

"Scorpius," I gasped, tears of joy forming in my eyes. "It's gorgeous. Of course, I love it!"

"I'm glad." Scorpius said, and kissed me on the lips.

I slide the ring onto my left pointer finger, as it would have aroused furious questions had I put it on my left ring finger. I think Dad would murder Scorpius if I did that. I stayed until ten that night before getting ready to go home. Just as I was about to leave, Draco and Astoria asked to speak to me alone.

"I'm sorry for my behavior early tonight." Draco began. "I was rude, and a terrible host and I hope you'll forgive me."

"I forgive you." I replied, and Draco nodded his approval.

"You're a wonderful girl, Rose." Astoria said. "I hope you'll come around again."

I smiled. "I will. Thank you for having me."

Suddenly Draco sighed. "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Astoria, and honestly, I don't think Scorpius could have done better."

"Thank you." I said again. After giving Astoria a quick hug and shaking Draco's hand, I meet Scorpius near the front door, and together we apparated back home.

As I lay in bed that night, I couldn't help but think that this Christmas was by far the best yet.

Author's note: Just to let you know, this story is starting to wind down a bit. Maybe four or five more chapters at the most. Right now, this story has 167 reviews, which beat my previous personal record of 44 a LONG time ago, but I'd really like to get to 200 reviews. If you make that happen, I will offer another PRIZE to my 200th reviewer. It doesn't necessarily need to be a chapter dedication. It can be whatever you want, within reason of course. :) So please, without further ado, review!