„And you do not mind going horseback riding with me?"
"Of course not." Rose smiled at Astoria. How could she say no to the mother of her newly won best friend? No, that would be really impolite. And Rose was so so keen on riding the beautiful horse Astoria had offered her. It was a lovely Pintabian mare, with so much power and strength! Rose was really fascinated and impressed by her.
Also, the landscape was amazing! The Tuscany was beautiful. Full of pretty flowers and endless meadows, full of a light Summer-ish smell. There were fruit-trees, bushes, hills… Rose love Italy. She loved the house they stayed in, because she didn't expect it to look like this. She thought it might be very pompous, not fitting in to the landscape. But it did! The white rural farm house with the pool in the backyard and the small hill, where she and Scorpius usually picnicked or sat to watch the sun going down. It was all so lovely and warm.
"But you need to tell me the mare's name again, please. I totally forgot it."
"Her name is Hala. I own her ever since she was a born, because I owned her mother."
"So you broke her in yourself?"
"I did, yes", Astoria smiled, "you are really impressed, am I right?"
"She is so beautiful, I love her! And I am glad you asked me to go riding with you, thank you very much."
"Nevermind, Darling. Scorpius told me you have a horse yourself and because he does not like riding I thought I just ask you. And it also gives me a good opportunity to get to know you a little better. At least you are my son's best friend, so I need to know a few things about you."
"A few things? Like what? You already know my parents. You haven't met my brother yet."
"You have a brother?"
"Oh yes, I do", Rose nodded, "Hugo. He is younger than me and sort of a shy person. Not as outgoing as I am but he is still a lot of fun. But he has the problem that, once he starts talking, he doesn't stop talking. And then he talks a lot of stupid stuff. But I love him."
"Oh yes, growing up with a brother or a sister is really lovely", Astoria smiled at her, "I have an older brother and an older sister myself."
"So how come Scorp is an only child?" Before Astoria could answer, Rose realized, what exactly she had asked. How could she? Sometimes she really talked without thinking about it.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Malfoy. I'm not supposed to ask you such personal questions, I'm sorry."
"Oh Darling, I do not mind. You have your heart on your tongue and I think, this is a very brave characteristic. And I told you, you can call me Astoria." The brunette smiled at Rose softly, "you really should always speak your mind, do not feel intimidated by anyone. To answer your question: I do not know. Draco and me, we wanted to have more than one child. He grew up without any sisters or brothers, so he wanted two children. Not more, no. Two was perfectly fine. After I gave birth to Scorpius, I felt down. Do you know what the baby blues is?"
"Yes, I do. You had it?"
"I did indeed. That is why there are hardly any pictures of me and Scorpius during his first five or six months. Every time I was with him, I was scared he would start crying and I would not be able to calm him down. I was looking at this wonderful baby and all I saw was someone strange, someone I did not know, someone I did not love. But I did not want anyone else to be with him, except for his father. It was a struggle, it really was. A year after he was born, I was finally able to fully appreciate my son, thanks to a therapy. Draco was such a help during this time. And after that Draco and I never talked about a second child."
Rose didn't know what to say. She didn't expect such an honest answer, she didn't expect this answer. It was sort of dramatic, wasn't it?
"I am very glad you told me", Rose smiled at her, "and for an only child, Scorpius is very well behaved. Some of them are such show-offs! If you'd ask Scorp, he would give you Dimitri as a very good example for a spoiled only child."
"Oh, he told me about him!" Astoria chuckled. "It was very amusing listening to Scorpius bickering about the – and I quote – bloke who could not stop looking at himself in everything which was reflecting, even puddles!"
"He really said that?" Rose laughed a little. "Oh, Dimi can be bloody narcissistic from time to time, that's true. Never mind. Scorpius doesn't need to meet him again, so it's fine. I just think, Scorp thinks, I'm in love with Dimi. But I'm not. I admire him, yes. But that's not enough for being in love. And I am only 16! I can wait to fall in love. If it happens, it happens. I just don't want it to be like it was for my parents. I mean, they were – and still are- best friends when they fell in love with each other, and they didn't know about the other one's feelings, so there were a lot of awkward moments and a lot of pain. And I don't want it to be like it was for Harry and Ginny. Falling in love with your best mate's sister? Not good. My best friend's brother would be my cousin. So… even worse!" Rose started to laugh, when she looked at the puzzled face of Astoria. "Most of my friends are my family. Scorpius really is one of the only non-related friends I have. Well, I am not related to the Scamander Twins, but I still count them as family, because Luna is family. So falling in love with my best friend's brother isn't an option either. As I don't believe in love at first sight, I can't have a beginning like Fleur and Bill. So… who else is there? Oh, I know! Victoire and Ted. They were friends, but not best friends. So it was easier for them to fall in love and accept that they loved each other. I think, I want a love like that. It's so easy! I don't want to fall in love like Harry's parents. She hated him, he wooed her but she didn't fall in love with him until he changed and grew up. Maybe I want a beginning like Tonks. Remus Lupin and she just started to love each other. But they were both so problematic, Mum told me. Well, she wasn't. He was. He thought, he would be too old and too poor and too much of a werewolf for her. I like the idea of their beginning."
When Rose stopped talking, she looked rather irritated.
"I'm sorry, Astoria. You know, when I start talking, I usually end up talking about my family. Scorpius is used to it by now. I didn't want to bore you, I'm sorry…"
"You don't have to be, Darling. I like to hear those sorts of stories. So, how many ways of falling in love do we have there? First of all, love out of hate. Love for the best friend, love for someone close but yet not as close as a best friend, which would be the Potters ' and your cousin Victoire's way. And somehow the one of Tonks. Then we have love at first sight. Four ways? There have to be more! Maybe my story adds a fifth way. I am two years younger than Draco, so I knew him from school, but he never really noticed me and I was never drawn towards him. Well, the thing is, my older sister, Daphne, she was in Slytherin. I… I have been in Ravenclaw." She smiled to herself by the look on Rose' face. "Yes, I was a Ravenclaw and I am very proud of it. But anyway. The first time I talked to Draco was in the Ministry. We both worked there and when I started my first day, I felt really lost. I ran into him, while I was ordered to get something for my boss. I was on the wrong floor and did not know where to go. Of course I was glad to spot a familiar face. So I walked up to him and asked him, where I would need to go. He was a real gentleman, escorted me back to my floor and got what I had to get. From then on we went out dating and it just worked. It was not love at first sight and it also was not falling in love with someone close. I guess it was the way, most people fall in love. By meeting someone and dating him to see, if there is more."
"That's a sweet love story", Rose smiled, "I want one like that. Yes, I do. I've made my decision."
"I think, you need a love story of your own", Astoria told her, "Because every little girl wants her own fairytale to come true. So every little girl should have her own fairytale rather than adapting the ones she already knows."
Yes, Rose really liked Astoria Malfoy. She was open-minded, she was beautiful, strong and she was Scorpius' family. Of course she liked her. She liked the rides, the stories Astoria told her about her work, about Scorpius, about herself. And on top of that, Rose got to spend so much time with Scorpius! She taught him how to enjoy himself, how to have fun. It truly was the best holiday she had ever had.