Author's Note: So this is ridiculously late and for that I apologize. I am not particularly happy with this chapter—the title, the ending, etc.—and had hoped time would give me some perspective (or at least some ideas on how to make it better). Alas, it did not. But I felt awful for not just finishing the silly thing, so here we are! A ginormous thank you to everyone who stuck with this—you guys are amazing and I hope this isn't too disappointing. Cheers.
Disclaimer: Characters mentioned are used without permission and are trademarks of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios, while Drive Me Crazy is property of 20th Century Fox. I do not own them and am simply borrowing for my purposes. Please don't sue!

How to Deal
by Bether

Epilogue: So It Goes

It was well past curfew by the time Rose returned to the Gryffindor common room. It wasn't that she'd been avoiding it (and her family by proxy) but rather that she'd been somewhat distracted after leaving the Ball. Plus, she'd needed to apologize to Miles for inadvertently ditching him and that took a bit of time, too.

Still, there was a part of her that was dreading having to explain herself to her army of relatives. (Ugh and with her luck James was probably there, as well. Because all the cousins that were actually enrolled at Hogwarts weren't enough, right?)

Only they weren't really enough, it seemed, because Albus was the sole family member awaiting her return. "How'd you do that?" she asked in an awed voice.

He smirked, making him look far more like James than ought to be possible given how different they were in appearance and manner. "It's a gift."

Out of gratitude, Rose suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "I owe you now, don't I?"

"Definitely." Albus shook his head. "You should have heard the fits pitched. Lucky for you, I didn't mind helping out my favorite cousin."

She smiled warmly. "Thanks, Al. You're the best." Rose figured that was end of it and began moving toward the girl's dorm.

Albus had other ideas, though, and pulled her into a tight hug. "I've missed you, Rosie," he whispered into her hair. It was so quiet that she thought maybe he hadn't meant her to hear.

But she had, so when he finally released her, Rose felt sufficiently confused. "Come on, Al… I'm not that late."

After a moment of uncomfortable surprise (so he hadn't meant her to hear), he obliged her with an explanation: "You've been so miserable these last couple of months. It seemed like every smile was forced and when your anger wore out, you just looked… sad all the time." He shrugged one of his shoulders awkwardly. "I've been worried—we all have."

"Oh." Rose blinked. "I didn't mean to—"

Albus waved her off. "I know." He nudged her shoulder with his. "But it's really good to see you happy." He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end thanks to all the dried Sleekeazy Hair Potion he'd used to flatten it for the ball. "Not as good as it was to see Dreema turn down James's offer to spend the night in Hogsmead with him but definitely a close second."

Jaw dropping, Rose shook her head. "She didn't! I bet he was completely gobsmacked." It was obvious by the smirk he'd worn all night that he'd thought the act of coming to Hogwarts to escort his on-again, off-again girlfriend meant he was totally in. "I wish I could've seen that." Then she remembered what she'd been doing instead of playing witness. "Well, not really…"

"No details!" Albus immediately covered his ears and shook his head.

Rose poked him and they both laughed. Then they went their separate ways, warm beds calling out to them both.

Rose could honestly say she hadn't been hiding her relationship with Scorpius from her parents—seriously! It was just that the end of term was only a few days after the ball and she thought it'd be easier to explain everything in person. (Well, easier in the sense that she could avoid the confrontation for a bit this way and have Scorpius with her when she broke the news giving them another target for any potential ire. Yeah, she was kind of evil like that.)

Of course, there was a whole Weasley/Potter section on Platform 9¾ but, as she was no longer a Weasley, Hermione stood apart from them. Rose spotted her mum on the opposite end of the platform with Draco Malfoy of all people. She poked Scorpius and pointed them out. "What do you reckon? Better to tell them together?"

Her boyfriend—boyfriend, crazy!—shrugged. "Sure." Rose suspected he was just glad they weren't telling her dad (and the rest of her extended family by proxy) yet.

The pair walked over, effectively interrupting Hermione and Mr. Malfoy's conversation with their arrival. "Oh, Rose! I'm just so proud," Hermione gushed, pulling her daughter into a tight hug.

Mr. Malfoy, meanwhile, patted his son on the shoulder and said something to him in a low tone that Rose couldn't hear—especially not with her mum all teary and babbling at her.

When Hermione finally let go, Rose cleared her throat. "So, mum, listen…" She looked at Scorpius but he appeared somewhat out of it. She poked him. "Hello—?"

Scorpius shook his head. "You're dating?"

Rose expected Mr. Malfoy to answer but it was her mum who spoke up. "Yes, we are." She sounded a bit nervous but Rose hardly heard it over the shock and awe and what the fuck? flying around her brain. Hermione took Draco's hand and smiled hopefully. "Since February."

There were no words, Rose decided, that could make up an adequate reply. So she just threw out their news because, hey, what the hell, right? "We're dating, too. Me and Scorpius, I mean." She flushed a little, flustered. (Because now she had the idea that she and her mum could date the same man and that that man could be Mr. Malfoy floating around her head and it was seriously freaking her out!)

Hermione appeared nothing short of shocked but Mr. Malfoy just raised a brow. "Is that so?"

Scorpius took that as his cue, rubbing the back of his head. "Um, yeah."

An awkward silence fell over the foursome as everyone digested the news. Then something occurred to Rose. "So where will you be staying tonight?" she asked her mum and Mr. Malfoy.

"I… I'm not sure." Hermione blinked. "Probably my hotel, since I've got to be up and out at dawn."

Rose turned to Scorpius. "We can go to your house then."

Again, Hermione appeared shocked. "Now wait just a minute—"

Already Rose was dragging Scorpius away. "Sorry, we've got to run!" After all, they couldn't avoid the whole telling-her-dad thing forever. This way, at least, they had a place to escape to afterward—specifically one where they could be alone.

"You do realize they'll probably stay at the Manor now," Scorpius pointed out when she explained her logic to him later.

Rose shrugged, smiling. "If they do, there's always the old playhouse at the Burrow…" Since she punctuated with a kiss on his lips, he did not see fit to object.