The weekend they went to Hogsmeade was quite lovely. It was end of June, the sun was shining and a light summer breeze blew through Rose's auburn curls. She couldn't wait to see Astoria again. Pregnant women just made her feel so warm inside, so happy. They had this special glow surrounding them. Pregnant women were very beautiful. At least that's what Rose thought about the whole topic. Lily always said pregnant women looked like a balloon and she felt sorry for them because they had a sore back and huge feet and awful mood changes. Rose could only roll her eyes about her cousin's pure misunderstanding of pregnancy-magic.

"Rose, Scorpius, hello my dears." Astoria got up and hugged both; at least as much it was actually possible for her, being nine months pregnant. "Take a seat, please. Would you two like to drink something? I am sure Draco will get something for you. Will you, my love?"

"Of course." Draco smiled lovingly at his wife and kissed her forehead. "What can I get you kids?"

"Dad, we are not kids..."

"Certainly not. What can I get for you teenagers?" He grinned at his son. "Better this way?"

"Dad, you are embarrassing... But I would like to have lemonade, please."

"Oh yeah, me too!" Rose beamed at him and sat down next to Astoria. "It is so nice seeing you! I was so so exited!"

"Oh yes." Astoria chuckled. "Scorpius told me you are non-stop talking about how desperately you want to see little baby-girl Cassiopeia."

"I cannot wait until she's finally here! Scorp said we can visit you after the birth."

"Yes, it is all set with the headmaster. You two will get an owl as soon as I get into the hospital. But this is not why I wanted to talk to you. Ah, Draco, there you are." Astoria smiled at her husband and waited until he was sitting next to their son. "I wanted to talk to you two about something else. Rose, my dear, you know I adore you very much. You know you are partly the reason we are having a second child. You are Scorpius' best friend, you are as close as someone can possibly be. You really have changed him to the better, opened him up."

Rose didn't quite know why Astoria said all those things. She was a bit afraid of what would come next. In movies those speeches was usually given if your boyfriend was about to break up with you. But Astoria couldn't break up with her. Or could she? Of course she could. She could tell her that she didn't want Rose to have too much contact with her family because she changed everything and messed their life up, turned it upside-down.

"And because you are such an amazing person, especially for your age, Draco and I wanted to ask you if you would like to be Cassiopeia's godmother."

"I... her... what?" She looked at her, puzzled. Her gaze changed between Draco and Astoria; she didn't say a word. Draco smiled at her and lightly squeezed Rose' hand.

"You will be off age quite soon and we are aware of the fact that you probably will not be staying in England. And I assume you are a bit scared because you think you cannot be there for Cassiopeia properly. Am I right?"

Rose nodded carefully. How could she be someone's godmother if she wasn't physically there? No, that would not be a good decision.

"Well, we think our baby needs someone adventurous in her life. Someone who will teach her that women can be powerful and strong and childish and weird and that it is great to embrace everything you are and love. No matter how strange it might be for others. Astoria and I, we really think our daughter could not have a better sister-like godmother. And we also think, even if you are miles and miles away, as Cassiopeia's godmother you will always keep in touch with Scorpius. All of us will profit from that contact, from your friendship."

"Merlin, now I am tearing up." Rose wiped away a single tear rolling down her cheek. She didn't even know why she was so touched by all of this. Normally, she didn't start crying so quickly. Especially not because Draco Malfoy was talking to her. "I am really sorry I'm crying. Fuck, this never happened before! But I'd love to be her godmother, of course! It'd be an honour!"

"Great! Then it is set." Astoria smiled at her and hugged Rose, tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "You will see Cassiopeia is going to love you. And she will enjoy the time spent with you and her big brother together all the more."

"I so need to tell my parents!"

Astoria laughed and shook her head. "No need. They already know. We asked them first because we were not quite sure whether or not you would actually like our idea. But your mother was quite positive about it. She even gave us a self-knitted sweater with a huge 'C' on it."

"Oh, a Weasley-sweater! My grandma used to knit these. Mum picked up the habit after Granny Molly died."

"I know them." Draco frowned. "I think the twins sometimes wore them after Christmas. They were really ugly. But sometimes I was a bit jealous because their mum always put so much effort in it and it simply showed how much she loved her children."

Astoria wasn't sure who looked more uncomfortable about her husband's sudden declaration of jealousy towards the Weasleys. Rose looked really unsure about what to feel, whereas Scorpius' expression was a mix of embarrassment and awe. It was very rare for Draco to speak of his childhood, his time in Hogwarts or his relationship towards the Potters and Weasleys. Astoria appreciated it very much. She knew all about it but their son didn't. And sometimes it was quite important for a child to know his parents are only human and not some kind of semi-god you look up to as a little kid.

On their way home, Rose was still full of excitement about her new 'job' as Cassiopeia's godmother. She had so many plans, so many things she would love to show her once she was born and old enough. She wanted to show her all the great animals and beasts, Muggle and magical. The petite redhead babbled all the way up to the castle, all the way to the lake under the willow about how she was going to show Cassiopeia the beauty of nature and the true meaning of family and friendship. Yes, she had quite high ambitions for her relationship with the baby. Scorpius listened to her, smiling. It was so cute, she was so in love with the little baby although it wasn't even born yet. He loved watching her when she was so passionate about something. Her eyes sparkled like a Patronus, bright and full of hope, comfort. He always noticed the tiny golden spot in her eye, beaming like the sun itself. It was amazing; she was amazing. Scorpius couldn't think of any reasons why she didn't have a huge crowed of boys wooing her. Maybe because most of the boys were a bit afraid of James Potter; he was quite protective of his cousins and his little sister. Not only his female cousins. He also was very protective of Hugo and Louis as well. Especially Louis, because he knew how mean people could be if you were different from the others, if you were special. Being the son of Bill and Fleur Weasley definitely made him special. And James also knew boys could be assholes, no matter whether they dated girls or boys or both.

"Scorp? Did you even listen?"

"Hm? Oh, I am sorry, Rosie. I was kind of thinking about lots and lots of things. What were you saying?"

The pair of them had sat down underneath the willow, leaning against the stem of the huge tree. Rose had taken of her shoes, feeling the high grass beneath her feet and between her toes while she was lying in Scorpius' lap, stroking his hand slightly.

"I said that it was kinda weird of your Dad to sort of reveal that he had the feeling as if his mother didn't really love him."

"Well, my grandmother was cold when he was a child and a teenager. But she did love him and he knew it. It was not such a publicly shown love as it was with your grandma and her kids but Dad knows she loved and still loves him. Mum told me. My dad was never good with feelings."

"You are not good with them, either. You never talk about your feelings. But it's fine, because I see them. I see them in your eyes. And I see them in your smile. We two don't need words to talk about our feelings."

"You are very sentimental today, my love."

"I know. But it's alright from time to time. Does your dad ever talk about the War? Did he tell you anything about it before you went to Hogwarts?"

Scorp shrugged and sighted. "He did tell a few things. Mum told me most about it. About the facts of the War, the beliefs of each side. Dad told me that his family was grey. Not white, not black, but grey. I was eleven. You don't tell an eleven-year-old about such horrible things like a war. He told me to make friends and be myself, to enjoy school and to beat the clever Weasley girl I was so annoyed with." He smiled slightly and ran his fingers through the redhead's curls. "You remember the outbreak I had at the beginning of year five, when we talked about the War?"

"Sure I do. It's where it all started with the two of us. Where I first noticed you properly."

"The summer before, Dad told me all about his role in the War. How he got the Vanishing Cabinets repaired, how he hid them. He told me about Lord Voldemort, about who panicked he was, about the fear of losing his family. He knew if he would not obey, Lord Voldemort would most likely kill him and his parents. He told me how anxious he was, how scared. He had the assignment to kill Dumbledore, but he never wanted to. With his brain, yes. But with his heart? Never. He adored this man, adored how wise he was, how great he was with people. He knew the heart of his students, he could see behind the mask, Dad always told me. He was very grateful." Scorpius smiled and stroked her cheek. "I had all this new information. It was a bit too much to handle for me and when stupid Miss Cheng talked so badly about my father... I just... I do not now. I completely broke down."

"That's alright. You had to, at some point in time. Everyone does break down sometimes."

"You never do. You are strong."

"Because my family has my back. If someone insults me, a crowd of Weasleys and Potters is there to protect me. But sometimes even I want to scream because everything is just too much. We are so young. But when I think about what my parents have been through when they were my age... At sixteen, Mum has already been a cat from a failed Polyjuice Potion, was turned into stone by a Basilisk, faced a murderer, helped a supposed criminal to flee, broke into the Ministry of Magic and fought in a fight where a close friend died. My Dad has been knocked off a giant horse in a giant wizard chess game, his sister has been kidnapped, his wand accidentally erased the memory of his teacher, he had a huge fight with his best friend, his dad got hurt very badly and nearly died, he too fought in said fight, his brother got injured and nearly turned into a werewolf. All before they turned 17."

"Did they tell you all about this when you were young?"

Rose shook her head and cuddled into his lap, kissing the palm of his hand. "No. When we were young, they told us stories about the War. But like a fairytale. Suitable for kids. They told us stories about the brave hero who fought for the right and had to defeat monsters and the devil. They told us about whom the stories were the night before each of us headed to Hogwarts. We were prepared. But they told us all the cruel things when we were older. 13, 14 years old. Still, seeing your dad breaking down in tears when he tells you about how your mother got tortured... No 13 year old can handle it. I was so down, I was so angry and afraid. I had nightmares every night and slept in James' bed for ages after Mum showed me things that had happened to the three of them through the Pensive."

"Can you see Thestrals because of what you saw in your parents' memories?"

"No." Rose sat up and bit her lower lip. She took a deep breath before she continued talking very quietly. "I can see them because I saw my Grandma Molly die. We were with her the last minutes. Playing in the room she was sleeping in. I told you who is able to see them. No-one knew how bad it was with her. She kept it a secret so that she didn't have to bother anyone with her illness. I was 14 when she died. She coughed very loudly and we were a bit concerned so we stopped our game and went to look after her. She hugged us all very tightly and after hugging James, she just closed her eyes and never ever opened them again. It wasn't a dramatic dead. Nothing you might expect from Potters and Weasleys. But it was awful for all of us."

Scorpius nodded and hugged her. "She died in a room full of people she loved, full of people who loved her. She died in peace. It is something you can only wish for someone who fought so brave in the two most scaring wars. Oh no... please do not start crying again..." The blond drew his friend closer and stroked her back. "I hate seeing you cry. But if you have to, I am here for you to comfort you, okay?"

Rose nodded slightly and pressed her face onto the curve of his neck. "Sorry I'm making your shirt all wet..."

"It is alright. No problem at all."

"Why can you see them?"

"I saw some people die in Azkaban... went there for visits with my dad, to see my grandfather. I saw him die and a few others, too. It was gross. The screams and the pleas... but Thestrals really are beautiful."

"They are. Their beauty is just hidden. Only visible for those who suffered."

"Like true love and friendship?" Scorpius kissed her forehead and wiped away some tears.

"Just like true love and friendship."