Author's Notes: Thank you, my dear dear reviewers. You make my day every day. The scenes with Draco Malfoy were two amongst the very first scenes that I wrote for this story. They haunted me. Hope you'll like this chapter, there's a bit of everything and I really like it. Hope you'll like Ginny here, dear readers of mine.

Chapter Nine

Scorpius grunted when Albus' voice reached his ears at that ungodly hour. Well, ungodly maybe wasn't the right term, since it was just a bit earlier than eleven in the morning, but still… He was clutching Lily's body to his own and didn't really feel like getting up any moment soon. Not to mention that Albus had promised not to come waking him up that day. It was Sunday, for crying out loud!

"Scorpius," he called him again, shaking his shoulder.

"What the hell, Al," he grunted, opening an eye and trying to glare at him. He didn't succeed.

"Get up," murmured Albus, "we need to talk."

Scorpius opened both eyes and looked at Lily in his arms. She was pressing her hand on his chest and smiling contently in her sleep. Her ringlets were still in place and her pyjamas were soft against his skin. She was warm and he felt comfortable, and the last thing he wanted was to leave her there and go talk to her brother.

"Come back in a few hours," he replied, closing his eyes again, "or in a few days."

He was just in time to hear the whispered, "Aguamenti," before a spray of water landed on his face and on Lily's as well.

She woke up with a start and tilted her head back, coughing. "Hey!" she protested.

"Now, you see what you did?" snapped Scorpius, turning towards Lily. "Are you alright?"

She brushed away the water from her face. "Yeah, not so happy to be woken up like this," she pointed out, glaring at Albus.

Albus straightened up and folded his arms across his chest. He was already dressed and looked ready to tackle the day. Urgh, good for him. He should go and tackle it without Scorpius.

"Pomona Sprout is dead," he told him flatly. "We need to go to St Mungo's."

Scorpius looked at him. "It's Sunday," he protested weakly, "we'll go tomorrow." Well, yes, he was an Auror, there really were no Sundays for him, but honestly, it was not as if a dead body was going anywhere, was it?

"Pomona Sprout is dead?" asked Lily, eyes wide as she stared at her brother.

Scorpius wrapped an arm back around her and pulled her to him. "See what you did?" he snapped again at Albus. "Those are no news to give first thing in the morning."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Get up," he told him, "we need to go to St Mungo's."

"I need to sleep a bit more," replied Scorpius sourly. After the trip to Papua New Guinea, he actually needed to sleep for a couple of days to recover.

Albus pointed his wand to him again. "If you don't get up now, Auror Malfoy," he told him sternly, "I'll call your boss, who is having brunch downstairs at this very moment, and he'll levitate your sorry arse out of my sister's bed right now."

Scorpius glared at him with all the force he could muster. That was such a low blow, he could hardly believe that the person in front of him had not been a Slytherin back at Hogwarts.

Lily's arm tightened around his chest, as she closed her eyes and seemed to decide to ignore her brother. Well, of course, that person downstairs was not her boss, he was merely her daddy and she was his little princess; but to Scorpius he was not only his boss, but also the father of the girl he was dating. And if his Auror duties called, he had to answer.

"Lily…"

"No, no, no," she protested, clutching her arms around him, "you said we were going to be together all day."

He bit his bottom lip. "It won't take us long," he murmured, "right, Al?"

"An hour, tops," he replied with a smile.

"See?" he told her. "You don't even have to get up, I'll come right back to bed the moment we finish there."

She pouted, but he kissed her frown away and she slowly let him go. "Or… we could have a bit of brunch together," she said tentatively, "before you go…"

"That sounds even better," he murmured against her lips.

"Well, then, get up you two lovebirds and I'll tell Taffy to put more bacon and more eggs on the fire," he told them cheerfully.

Scorpius pushed the covers away as he kissed Lily once more. "Get out, Al," he grunted to his Auror partner, "I need to change."

Albus shrugged a shoulder as if to say that he had already seen everything, and it was true – damn changing rooms at the Ministry and damn Scamanders – but walked out of the room and closed the door at his back.

He walked towards his clothes, tidily folded on a chair. Was Albus wearing his Auror uniform? He hadn't even noticed. Where was Scorpius' spare uniform anyway? He opened Lily's wardrobe and sure enough it was neatly hung in a corner, freshly laundered by Taffy or Kreacher and smelling almost too nicely not to receive some teasing about it from Albus later on.

He shed his pyjama bottoms and took out the uniform. When he turned, Lily was sitting on her bed, her legs up to her chest under the covers, her brown eyes on him.

She smiled at him and he smiled back as he started to wear the uniform. "What do you want to do when I come back?" he asked softly.

She shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe we could go to Diagon Alley?" she asked softly. "Or we could go to the beach… Uncle Bill always says that I don't visit them enough. Or maybe we could go to see your parents? Last night I feel like I was quite impolite when we barged into their drawing room."

"You were upset," he reminded her, buttoning up his uniform. "And they love you, no need to go and say that you're sorry for something that you didn't do…"

"I did," she replied softly. "And I like to spend some time with them…"

He shook his head and chuckled. "You are the only person I know who likes to spend time with my parents," he let her know. "Aren't you going to change?"

She nodded thoughtfully and pushed away the covers as well, shivering a little as she stepped on the cold floor of her bedroom. "You like to spend time with your parents too," she pointed out, pulling her top over her head and starting to look for her bra. "You said you missed her, remember?"

Scorpius took a deep breath. He should have found another excuse when he had stopped going to Grimmauld Place, honestly that one was too silly. "Yes," he replied, diverting his eyes from her swaying bosom. He was already starting to feel a familiar heat pooling in his loins, it wouldn't have been good to walk downstairs with a hard on.

"Oh!" she said as she sat in front of her vanity. "I forgot to undo the spell for the hair last night."

He turned to look at her and saw that she was swaying her head this and that way, her ringlets bouncing around her face. "Do I look silly?" she asked with a smile, pointing at her hair first and then at her jumper and jeans, as if to ask if that hairstyle had anything to do with those clothes. It didn't, but to Scorpius she looked beautiful wearing anything and with every hairdo.

He walked to her and lowered his head to kiss her hair. "You look beautiful as always," he told her. "Let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. She kissed him softly, before hugging him and then finally starting to go downstairs.

oooOOOooo

Ginny swallowed a piece of crispy bacon and washed it down with a big gulp of tea. She loved Sundays. She loved the fact that Lily was not working on Sundays. And this particularly Sunday, she loved the fact that Albus had just come into the house asking for Scorpius because Professor Sprout had died earlier that night.

Okay, maybe she didn't really like the fact that Professor Sprout had died. That was quite terrible news, but still she could make the most out of it and spend some time with Lily while Scorpius was away.

She glanced at her daughter and her boyfriend chattering in hushed tones over their plates filled with their Full English Breakfast, and wished ardently that Scorpius hadn't already asked Lily what she knew he wanted to ask her. And she hoped he hadn't told Lily about her reaction to those news. In hindsight, after what Hermione and Harry – and the night before even Ron, who Hermione kept repeating that he had the emotional range of a teaspoon – had told her, she had come to the conclusion that the way she had treated Scorpius was not something she was particularly proud of.

"Muuuuum."

Ginny blinked and turned to look at Albus, his green eyes staring intently at her, his mouth covered in baked beans sauce. "What?"

"Pass the orange juice, please," he told her, "I asked like three times."

Ginny took a deep breath as she passed the jar of orange juice. "I was distracted," she told him sourly. "When are you and Scorpius leaving?"

At the mention of his name, Scorpius glanced at her from the other side of the table, but looked away before Ginny could meet his eyes. She knew that he was waiting for her to… to do something. Maybe to call him in her living room when nobody was there and tell him that she was sorry, that she had been rushed, that he could go on and ask Lily to marry him.

Well, she wasn't ready for that. Yes, she knew that she couldn't envision anybody but Scorpius next to her daughter for the rest of their lives, that he was the right person. The one person that knew Lily, knew what she had gone through and loved her and respected her and…

Ginny sighed. Yes, Scorpius was perfect, but his timing was off. Ginny was not ready… she just wanted… just wanted a few more years…

"As soon as we finish this," replied Albus.

Ginny nodded, before turning to look at Lily. Her plate lay almost untouched in front of her, too focused as she was to talk to Scorpius and giggle out loud. She hadn't giggled and looked so happy for the whole week that Scorpius had been away from Grimmauld Place. Yes, he was definitely the right person for her daughter. Maybe Ginny didn't need years, maybe she just needed a few more months with Lily and then she could have given them her blessing…

"Lily, dear, eat something," she told her gently, "you must be famished."

She looked at her mother and smiled. "Oh well, we had quite a bit to eat last night at the party, Mum," she reassured her, "Auntie Angelina made the best finger food ever."

Ginny's lips pressed together in a thin line. Rose and James had already come around to tell her about the night before, she knew perfectly well that they had gone to the Manor and came back only when the food had been almost over. Had she managed to eat enough? "Taffy cooked for you, Lily dear," she murmured. She didn't like to guilt her daughter into doing things, but she had to admit that it worked pretty well every time, and this time it was no different.

Lily smiled at her mother and finally started to eat with gusto. "It's delicious," she said truthfully.

Ginny felt a smile tugging at her lips. "I'm glad to hear that, Lily," she said, "is there something in particular you'd like to do today?"

Lily swallowed and looked at her, guilt painting her features. "Scorpius and I are going someplace," she told her, "we don't know where, maybe the Manor…"

The fork that Ginny had in his hand was placed slowly on the plate. "You went to the Manor last night, Lily," she pointed out, "wouldn't you want to spend some time home instead of wandering for someone else's house?"

Lily furrowed her brow. "How do you know I was at the Manor last night?" she asked confused.

Ginny raised her chin and folded her arms across her chest. "I know because I'm your mother," she reminded her.

Lily stared at her for some long seconds. "Did you spy on me?" she asked quietly.

Ginny bit her bottom lip. "No," she replied dryly, "I just… I asked James and Rose about you. They were supposed to look after you."

"I don't need anybody to look after me, Mum," she replied, her hands balling into fists on the table. "I… I can take care of myself."

"Lily, I'm sure your mother is just trying to show you how much she loves you," murmured Scorpius. "She was worried for the party, you know, I think my mother was slightly worried as well, so many people, so many Gryffindors…"

Ginny looked at him through her auburn eyelashes. She knew what he was doing, he was trying to butter Ginny up for when she'd have to confront him… well, he could keep that up because his words had worked their magic with her daughter and Lily was smiling already.

For a moment Ginny hated Scorpius and the fact that he could always make Lily smile when all Ginny could do was arguing with her. She wanted that relationship that they had while she was still at Hogwarts, she wanted Lily to look at her like she looked at Scorpius.

"Right," said Albus suddenly, standing up. "Shall we go, Scorpius?"

"I wish I could come with you," said Lily softly as she kissed Scorpius goodbye.

"We're going to see a dead body, Lils," pointed out Albus.

Harry finally lowered the Daily Prophet to the table. "And that's not something to take lightly," he said sternly, "even when you are Aurors, it's something that luckily one never gets used to."

"And it's worst when it's someone that you used to know," murmured Ginny.

Harry nodded gravely. "Off you go now," he told to the young Aurors. "Don't bicker too much."

"I'll see you later," murmured Scorpius to Lily as she quickly kissed him once more and he finally stood up. "Mr Potter, Mrs Potter."

"Be careful," said Ginny, looking from him to her son.

"We're always careful," replied Albus with a light roll of his eyes.

"See you later, guys," said Harry, staring at them as they disappeared into the hall. He drew out his wand and warmed up his cup of tea before bringing it to his lips and sipping from it. "Lily, what are your plans for today?" he asked her again, evidently he had been too interested in the news to pay attention to their conversation a few moments before.

"Scorpius and I have planned to spend the day together," she replied, poking her eggs with her fork. "I think I'll wait for him to return."

"Or," said Ginny tentatively, "we could go and see Grandma Molly and Granddad Arthur and then Scorpius can meet us there, if he wants to…"

Lily didn't look at her. "But at the Burrow we can never spend some time alone between Grandma wanting to smother me with kisses and Granddad showing all his Muggle appliances to Scorpius over and over again…"

"Well, then we could go and do a bit of shopping, just the two of us, and then—"

"Mum, I want to spend some time with Scorpius," Lily cut in, "why is it so difficult for you to understand that?" She stood up and walked away, trying probably to stomp her naked feet, but managing only to slap them on the floor.

Harry exhaled a weary sigh and opened his mouth.

"Don't," said Ginny, her voice shaky. "I know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just want her to spend time with me before Scorpius takes her away from me."

Harry closed his mouth and looked intently at her. "Take her away from you?" he asked softly. "Does that mean that you are going to talk to him?"

Ginny looked at him. "I feel like I will have to, if I want to keep having a relationship with my daughter." She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Would you give him your blessing?" she asked him. "To take your daughter away from us, after all the years she was taken already."

"It's not the same thing." He shook his head, darkening.

"I know," sniffled Ginny. "It feels like the same thing though."

"I think we should tell him that… that he can marry her," murmured Harry. "I've already given them my blessing. Here in my heart." He patted his chest and smiled at her.

Ginny shook her head again. "You don't understand, Harry, the bond between a mother and a daughter… you just don't understand…" she whispered, before standing and walking away, leaving Harry there alone.

oooOOOooo

"What do you mean we have to wait at least five hours?" snarled Scorpius to the very small and very frightened Healer. "I don't have five hours to waste on a Sunday!"

Albus chuckled at his side, placing a hand on his arm and looking at the Healer almost apologetically. "He has a date with his girlfriend," he told him, "he is a bit on edge."

The Healer repositioned his glasses on his nose and swallowed. "I'm sorry, but that's the procedure," he said, "Mrs Sprout died this morning at eight, and first she has to go through the normal medical procedures which include the examination of the body which was requested by the Ministry itself, the drafting of all the documents, the preservation of the body with spells, the—"

"Okay, okay, okay," grunted Scorpius darkly. "Then we'll come back later today or better tomorrow."

"I don't think so, Sir," replied the man, "if they finish earlier they are going to prepare the body for the funeral and nobody is admitted except relatives and friends and since she didn't have any relatives—"

"We are friends," Albus cut him off.

"Are you?" asked the Healer thickly.

Scorpius nodded, even though he had probably never seen her at all.

"Well, it doesn't matter in these circumstances, since you are here for investigations," he told them dryly. "You can wait in the cafeteria or here in the corridor, we'll let you know when you can see the body and the report." And with that, he was gone before Scorpius or Albus could even try to bargain an early visit to the corpse.

Scorpius let out a frustrated grunt and turned away to punch the wall, before crying out in pain and shaking his hand. "Damn it!" he snapped. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! There are seven freaking days in a freaking week, why did she have to die on a Sunday?" He raised his fist and shook it. "Why Sprout? Why?"

Albus sat on a chair and leaned back. "They are going to close you in the Janus Thickey Ward if you don't calm down," he told him placidly.

Scorpius glared at him. "They can sod off, for all I care." He looked around him, massaging his fist. "I need to find a fireplace to let Lily know that I won't be able to spend the whole day with her." He glanced at Albus askew and added in a murmur, "Your mother will be happy."

Albus furrowed his brow. "Why would she?"

Scorpius shook his head and grunted, "I need a fireplace."

Then something hit Albus and he stared at Scorpius intently as he said, "Hey wait a second. You spent the whole week ignoring Lily, and now, suddenly, you are back doing all the lovey dovey stuff you usually do with her. I honestly thought that you were about to dump her, you know. What the hell happened?"

"Oh yes, of course," snapped Scorpius, "you too think that there should be something wrong between Lily and me! James too, and he told Rose and she told Dominique and Roxanne, and Lily overheard them saying that if she didn't have sex with me I would have dumped her!"

Albus' mouth hung wide open for a moment. "Beg your pardon?" he asked, flushing slightly. "I didn't think those things."

Scorpius shook his head. "They are three Banshees," he growled, "they keep howling about everything and don't know how to mind their own businesses. And you and your brother are just as bad."

"Well," said Albus firmly, "it's not my fault if I honestly thought that you were going to leave Lily. You were cold… colder than usual, you were distant, wouldn't come to see her, I mean it's just normal that—"

"I want to marry her!" snapped Scorpius, cutting him off. "Okay? Happy now? I want to marry her, I went to your parents to ask for their blessing early this week and your mother slapped me and kicked me out of her house, okay? That's why I didn't really feel too comfortable about coming to see her with your parents there. That's why I didn't come for dinner for the whole week!" He took a sharp breath and looked away from Albus, shaking his head.

Albus just stared in front of him, unable to even look at Scorpius at that moment. He wanted to marry her. He wanted to marry Lily. Scorpius wanted to marry Lily.

Oh well, it was not a difficult concept to grasp, really. Lily had talked about marrying Scorpius ever since she had returned home six years before. And she wanted to have a dozen of children with him and dig a pond at the Manor.

Still, though, Albus couldn't believe that the moment in which Scorpius finally asked her to marry him had arrived… "I… I didn't know…"

"I know," grunted Scorpius, pacing nervously in front of him.

"My mother really slapped you?" he asked in disbelief.

Scorpius nodded and bit his bottom lip. "I might have said something when she didn't let me ask Lily to marry me…"

Albus cocked an eyebrow questioningly. "Something like?"

He took a deep breath. "I might have said that she is smothering Lily and that her daughter would like to marry me just to break free from her, or something…"

Albus' lips parted in surprise. "Oh," was all he could say. Then they were quiet for a long moment, until the dark-haired Auror felt the urge to ask him something that he had been thinking for years now, "I'm your best man, right? I mean when you marry Lily, I'm going to be your best man. Right?"

Scorpius sighed loudly before starting to walk away and disappearing down the corridor as he muttered, "I need a fireplace."

oooOOOooo

Lily groaned in disappointment when Scorpius' head disappeared from the chimney. She wanted to slam her fists on the floor and cry in frustration. Everything seemed to be against her and Scorpius spending time together. Everything. She wondered if there was something wrong, like the Moon in Aquarius or Venus in Pisces or whatever, but she really did feel like they had all the stars and constellations against them.

She felt her mother move on the couch near her head and she knew, somehow, that she was smiling satisfied.

Lily wanted to cry.

"Lily," said her father gently, "Scorpius and Al are good Aurors. They know what it means to be working on a case, especially when there's a murder or even two like in this one."

"And there's no need to be sad," said her mother sweetly, "we can do things just the two of us, Lily. We can go to Diagon Alley maybe?"

Lily shook her head. "No," she let her know tersely.

"Visit Uncle Bill?" her mother asked instead.

She stood up from the floor and shook her head vehemently. "No," she repeated, "I want to wait for Scorpius."

"Fancy a match of Wizard's Chess with your old father, Lily?" asked her father gently. "I know you'll beat me, but I'm ready to take the burn."

She shook her head again and looked at them seriously. "I'm going to lie down a little, maybe read a bit," she told them. "Tell me if Scorpius comes early."

She could see her mother biting her bottom lip before walking away, but Lily was too frustrated and irritated to pay attention to her. She just wanted to be alone, she wanted to break free for a moment. She climbed up the stairs to her room and walked briskly inside, she Summoned her shoes and a jacket, and then opened her window.

She was on the third floor, but there was a branch reaching her window. It was a bit thin and didn't seem too stable but she was not too heavy and—she giggled and shook her head, looking at the street in front of her to see if there were any Muggles.

Luckily everybody seemed to laze about at home that Sunday. She grabbed her broomstick and flew out of the window, until her feet were well planted on the ground. She discarded the broomstick in a corner and walked out of the garden and towards the little park in front of their house where people usually Apparated when they came to visit.

She hid from prying eyes in a sheltered corner and focused on her destination. The magic of Apparition tugged her from behind her navel and soon she was gone.

oooOOOooo

"A few more minutes and then you'll be able to come in," said the Healer as he walked out of the morgue.

"That's what you said half an hour ago," pointed out Scorpius dryly.

"He meant to say, thank you Healer," said Albus, placing a hand on Scorpius' shoulder.

The Healer glared at Scorpius and walked away.

"I meant right that," he replied sourly. "And I want you to know that if you keep defending this Healer you are not going to be my best man."

"Yes, I am, who else would you choose?"

"James."

"Ouch, that's a low blow," muttered Albus.

"Then shut up."

oooOOOooo

"Here Sparky, here. Good boy! Who's a good boy? You are! Yes! Speak Sparky. Good boy."

Draco stopped in his tracks as he heard the voice coming from the kennel. He didn't know that Scorpius and Lily were at the Manor. Well, not that Scorpius usually told him when that happened, in fact he was always the last one to know, if it weren't for his wife or for Lily herself coming to say hi to him.

He pushed the door ajar and peered inside. He knew that if Scorpius saw him standing there and staring at the two of them he would have found any excuse to take Lily away, and he certainly didn't want that.

First of all, if sooner or later she was to become lady Malfoy, Draco had the duty to get to know her. To spend time with her. To bond with her a little bit at least. Secondly, if she was making the Crup happy, who was he to interrupt that. Sparky needed to eat and he was surely going to be famished after he had played with the girl.

Draco's eyes wandered for the kennel. Lily was kneeling in the middle. Most of the Crups were surrounding her, but Sparky was the one who seemed the most excited to see her, his front paws were pushing on her knees, his tongue was hanging from his mouth and his eyes were shining with happiness. Yes, his owner was there and he couldn't be happier.

But Scorpius was nowhere to be found. Could it be that she would ditch him to come and look at the Crups? He usually never left her alone in the Manor, not even for a few minutes. Yes, and then the boy lamented her mother, but he was just the same as she was.

Draco pushed the door open and walked inside. "Hello Lily," he said evenly, trying not to scare her.

She turned to look at him and smiled. "Hello Mister Malfoy," she replied, tucking some locks of red hair behind her ear.

Draco made his way to the couch and sat between Regina and Noble, who were supervising their puppies from the plush cushions. "I didn't know you and Scorpius were here."

She pushed her hands on the floor and turned her body to face him. Sparky's hind legs took little lateral steps as if to follow her. "Scorpius is not here," she told him, "he's at work."

Draco furrowed his brow. "And you came here all alone?" he asked her. "Does your mother know?"

She seemed to darken slightly. "No," she replied. "Nobody knows."

"Well, I do now," Draco told her gently.

She nodded. "Please, don't turn me in," she asked him softly, before lowering her eyes on Sparky again and scratching him behind his ears. "He still remembers me," she told him with a smile, "he ran to me when I walked in."

Draco scratched Noble behind his ears and the Crup yawned. "Oh, he does more than remember you," he assured her, "he misses you, Lily. See how small he is? He doesn't eat a lot, always sad that you are not here."

Lily bit her bottom lip. "I miss him too," she confessed, scooping him up in her arms and scratching his belly. The Crup licked her face happily and Lily giggled, causing Draco to smile at the scene.

"Well, if Scorpius doesn't let you come here to pet him, I don't understand why you don't want to take him home with you," Draco told her truthfully, "I gave him to you, after all."

Lily placed the puppy back on the floor and looked seriously at Draco. "I couldn't possibly take him away from his mother," she told him, "he would suffer terribly, wouldn't he?"

Draco cocked his head. So, that was the reason why owner and Crup could not live happily ever after. She was afraid that the pup would suffer for the separation from his mother. Of course, he should have known…

"I think the first night you wouldn't be able to sleep properly for how much he would yelp for his mother," he agreed, "and I wouldn't either with Regina crying for her son." He took a deep breath and added, "But by the second day I'm sure that he will be already absolutely fine about living with you at Grimmauld Place."

"But wouldn't he miss his mother after the first night anymore?"

"Only a little bit," he admitted, "but he will be with you. He wants to be with you more than he wants to be with his mother, you know."

Lily looked at the Crup, eyes wide. "But that's terrible!"

Draco shook his head. "That's life, Lily," he told her, "every pup sooner or later has to leave their parents' house. They have to go with someone who loves them. They can't live with their parents forever, you know." He smiled at her. "That doesn't mean that they don't love their mother and father, though. There's just a time for everything, and it's time for him to live with you."

Lily pressed her lips together, hopefully considering Draco's words attentively. She patted her legs again and Sparky jumped on them to lick her face. She laughed once more. "No, Sparky! Down! Sit, Sparky!" The Crup sat back on the floor and looked at her with eyes wide and filled with expectation. "Does he really want to be with me?" she asked softly.

"More than anything," replied Draco.

Lily placed her hand in front of his muzzle and let him lick her fingers.

"Shall I prepare the documents for you to bring him home with you?" he asked her softly.

She scratched him behind his ears a bit more and raised her eyes to look at Draco. "I think so," she grinned, "I mean, if he wants to come home with me, I can't forbid him, can I?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't think it would be nice," he agreed.

"And can he come to see his mother?" she asked a bit anxiously.

"Any time he wants," Draco assured her, standing up. "I'll get the papers for you to sign."

She nodded. "Here Sparky," she called him, patting her legs again, "here. We're going home now. Are you happy?"

The Crup barked twice.

"Good boy," she said, scooping him up again. "Good boy."

oooOOOooo

Scorpius was having difficulties keeping his brunch down.

He considered himself a manly man, strong and with a lot of willpower; but it was rather difficult for him not to wince in front of a corpse.

"We are not Healers," he muttered to Albus, "why are we here to look at the corpse instead of reading the report?"

Albus didn't even reply. "Here," he said instead, handing him the papers, "read here."

Scorpius skimmed through the report to the place where Albus was pointing. "Cause of death: Poisoning," he read flatly. Just like Toots. "It's not like we didn't know that already."

"Not there," said Albus, looking over his shoulder, "here."

He followed his index finger again to the place that read: Specific Marks and cocked an eyebrow as he read out loud. "A birthmark in the shape of an egg on her back, a mole on the inside of her thigh, a tattoo in the shape of a rose on the nape of her neck…" He looked at Albus and wrinkled his nose. "A tattoo? Well, Professor Sprout was a bit of a rebel, wasn't she?" He glanced at her still form, her complexion was pale and greyish, the conservation spells that had been cast upon her prevented her body to turn purple and bloat like some of the corpses Albus and Scorpius had the misfortune to see through the years.

"I hardly think she was one to have a meaningless tattoo," pointed out Albus.

"Meaningless? It's a rose, she was a Herbologist, it's not meaningless," replied Scorpius sourly. "Didn't they take a picture?"

Albus shook his head. "Okay," he said stiffly, walking towards the table where the body rested, "you raise her, I'll look at the tattoo."

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow. Surely he wasn't serious. "You raise her," he replied, "and I'll look."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he told him. He took out his wand and pointed it at the woman. Of course, he meant raise her with magic. Merlin! What was wrong with him? Scorpius was already too dizzy for being so close to a dead person, he couldn't certainly think straight.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Albus said, flicking his wand.

Professor Sprout's body hovered a few feet from the table and Scorpius went to stand under her. "There's too much hair…" he complained as he tried to locate the tattoo.

"Well, move it away," Albus told him.

Scorpius bit his bottom lip and frowned. He was about to touch a dead person. Okay, he could do that. No need to faint like he felt that he was probably going to do. He stretched his hand and moved away her frizzy hair from the nape of her neck.

He swallowed hard to push back down the eggs and the bacon that were making their way to his throat, and focused and… there it was. A small rose, a small black rose with many thorns and a long stem. It was slightly discoloured, as if it had been there an awful lot of time, but it was a tattoo all right.

"Can I put her down?" asked Albus.

Scorpius let her hair fall back in place and moved away. "Yes, yes," he said quickly, turning away as the massive body was lowered once again on the table.

"So, did you see it?" asked Albus as he put his wand away.

Scorpius nodded. "Yes, have we finished here? I need some fresh air," he told him thickly.

Albus nodded back. "I guess so," he replied, "we can go back home."

And as they walked out of the morgue the first thing Scorpius did was to find a loo and splash some ice cold water all over his face. Then he tried to make as little noise as possible as he threw up the content of his stomach.

oooOOOooo

When there was a barking at the front door and someone turning the key of the main entrance, Ginny and Harry looked at each other with confusion.

Only four people, apart from themselves, had a key to Grimmauld Place. But Lily was upstairs, Albus was at St Mungo's and James was at his flat. Ron usually used the Floo. They all did.

And none of them had a dog…

"What…" Harry grasped his wand, but his question died on his tongue as he stared at Lily walking inside, her broom in her hand and a pup trotting around her ankles and barking happily.

"Lily," breathed Ginny, standing up at once. "I thought… I thought you were upstairs. I thought you were reading or sleeping…"

She shook her head and smiled at her mother. "I went to the Manor," she told her simply. "Mum, Dad, this is Sparky. Speak, Sparky! Good boy!"

The pup barked twice and then went to smell Ginny's feet first and then Harry's.

"Oh," said Ginny, looking at the pup, "isn't that… isn't that one of Mr Malfoy's Crups? Lily, you didn't… didn't steal him, right?"

She shook her head again. "No, Mum," she replied, "Mr Malfoy gave him to me as a present."

She crouched on the floor and the Crup went to her, brushing his nuzzle against her knee. "I'm his owner," she let them know, "and he was suffering away from me. He wants to be with me more than he wants to be at the kennel with his mother, but don't worry he still loves his mother." She looked at Ginny and smiled widely.

"Does he?" asked Ginny softly, sitting back on the couch.

Lily nodded. "Mum, Dad, I think Sparky and I will move out soon," she murmured.

Harry furrowed his brow and looked at Ginny, but his wife's eyes were fixed on their daughter.

"You… you think that," murmured Ginny, "why… has Scorpius told you something?"

Lily looked at Ginny. "No," she replied simply, "Sparky and I will find a place where to stay, just the two of us." She smiled at her mother and added, "But that doesn't mean that I love you any less than I do, Mum."

"But Lily…"

"I need to, Mum," she replied firmly but gently, "I am a woman now, I need to live alone for a while before I move in with Scorpius and we get married."

Ginny glanced at Harry, her usually pale complexion was almost green. "Married?"

"Well, sooner or later it will happen, right?" she told her. "I mean, you married Dad, and you are happy. I want to be as happy as you are." She looked at Harry and smiled. "Right, Dad?"

Harry could feel Ginny's and Lily's eyes on himself. But for as much as he loved his wife, he had to do the right thing. "Right, Lily," he replied gently. "We will miss you, though, you know."

"Oh, me too," she told him truthfully, "immensely, Dad. But it's the right thing to do. Mister Malfoy said that Sparky is going to cry and howl tonight because he misses his mother, but then it'll get better."

"Well," sentenced Ginny sourly, "isn't Mister Malfoy a know-it-all."

Lily stood from the floor and went to her mother, she sat near her on the couch and hugged her tightly. "I'll miss you, Mum," she told her, "but I'll come and have dinner every night, just like Al and James do."

Ginny's lips spread into a miserable smile as she looked at her daughter and sighed. She opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment Albus and Scorpius stumbled out of the fireplace, looking positively green.

"Scorpius!" exclaimed Lily, running to him. Sparky followed her and started to bark at Scorpius who probably was now standing too close to the his owner.

"Hi," said Scorpius, hugging her as she hugged him back. Then his grey eyes moved to the Crup and he furrowed his brow. "Sparky?"

"Wow," exclaimed Albus, "a Crup, extra cool. I've always wanted one." He crouched down and the pup went to smell his hand.

"That's Sparky," Lily introduced him to her brother. "Mister Malfoy gave him to me as a present."

Scorpius looked at her and then at Harry and Ginny. "But… did my father bring him here?"

She shook her head. "I went to the Manor to pet him," she told him, "and your father told me to bring him home with me."

"You went to the Manor?" he asked in disbelief. "Alone?"

Lily nodded seriously. "I Apparated there," she said, "nothing to worry about, I can take care of myself. And your parents offered me a good cup of tea."

Scorpius seemed at a loss of words.

"Sparky and I are moving out of Grimmauld Place soon," added Lily.

"What?" asked Albus. "Moving where? Moving in with Scorpius?"

Scorpius glared at him, but Lily shook her head. "No, we will find a place and will live just the two of us," she told them. "For a little while at least."

"Isn't that marvellous?" said Ginny rather coolly. She stood up and walked to Lily, kissing her forehead and smiling at her before turning towards all the other people. "Excuse me for a second, will you? I need to run out a moment."

"Ginny…"

But she was gone out of the drawing room and – from the noises of the door banging – out of the house as well.

oooOOOooo

Ginny knew Malfoy Manor well enough now to be able to locate and march to Draco's study without the help of the house-elves.

They were squealing and running behind her anyway, but she was doing her best to ignore them and just stomp her feet on the stony floor of the corridor.

She stopped in front of the door that she recognised as Draco Malfoy's study and knocked quickly before deciding that he didn't deserve her to be polite. No! He deserved to be screamed at, and that was exactly what she was going to do. She pushed the door open and stormed in there.

Draco's eyes rose on her, he seemed vaguely startled.

"How dare you to give my daughter a Crup!" she snarled at him.

Draco furrowed his brow, before raising his hands near his face. "I assumed you were an animal-loving family," he told her calmly.

Ginny gritted her teeth. "You know what I'm talking about," she snapped, "she came home talking about puppies being away from their mothers, saying that it was alright for children to leave their parents at some point!" She glared at him and added, "She said that it was probably time for her to move out of Grimmauld Place!"

Draco leaned back against his chair. Despite trying to look serious, a small smile stretched his lips. "I just talked to her about Crups," he said quietly.

Ginny flared her nostrils. "I know perfectly well what you talked to her about," she told him hotly, "you are trying to get back at me because of your son!"

"I'm afraid I'm not trying to do anything at all," he replied placidly, "except maybe making a Crup happy."

Ginny snorted. "Making a Crup happy," she snapped, "is that how you call it? I call it to put a child against her mother!"

"She's not a child…"

"Stop saying that!" she cried, stomping her foot on the floor. If one more person told her that Lily was not a child she was going to hex them. She really was, her Bogey-Bat Hex had made her famous amongst her fellow housemates and the D.A. members back at Hogwarts, she would use it on Malfoy, she was sure he had definitely done something to deserved it in his life. She glared at him. "You don't know anything about Lily…"

"Everybody knows everything about her," he replied, "it was on all the newspapers."

"You don't know what she wants!" she snarled. "She… she needs me! I'm her mother… she needs me!"

"And did I tell her that she didn't need you?"

"You told her that it was fine to leave me!"

"No, I told her that sooner or later she would have had to leave your nest, mother hen."

"Ha!" snapped Ginny, pointing a finger accusatorily. "So you admit you were talking about her and not the Crup!"

Draco darkened as he flared his nostrils at her now. "I was talking about the Crup," he grunted, "but she is intelligent enough to understand that Crups aren't the only creatures that need to sever their link with their smothering mothers at some point."

"Smothering! How dare you?" she screeched outraged. Honestly, was Draco Malfoy giving her parenting advice? He was the one who had rented a prostitute for his son when he turned seventeen. And I am extremely grateful for that, she reminded herself.

He stood up from his chair and placed his pale hands on his desk. "If you weren't smothering her, Potter," he told her, "she wouldn't feel the urge to sneak out of your house to come and play with the Crups. If you weren't smothering her, my son would be able to ask her to marry him. If you weren't smothering her, she wouldn't—"

"Shut up!" she snapped. Ginny could feel tears swelling up in her eyes and that would not do. She wasn't going to cry in front of Draco Malfoy. She would have hexed him before she'd let him see her tears. "I'm just trying to protect her." She was horrified to hear how shaky her voice was.

"And you did a great job up to now," he told her quietly. "Now it's up to someone else to do that."

She glanced at him askew. "You mean your son," she muttered.

"No," he replied unexpectedly, "I mean Lily herself." He took a deep breath and added, "Apparently she almost killed Nott in that brothel, didn't she? I wouldn't want to be Scorpius when they have their first row…"

Ginny took a couple of unsteady steps towards the closest chair and collapsed heavily on it. She stared at the desk and at the piles of parchments on it. Lily was able to take care of herself, wasn't she? Ginny knew that, she had known it for a while… she just didn't want to see it. And why could Draco Malfoy see it instead? Merlin, if even Draco Malfoy agreed with Harry, Ron and Hermione, either the whole world had gone crazy or… or there was something wrong with her. But she and Lily were always fighting so probably it wasn't the world… probably there was something off about the way she had behaved up to now with her daughter. Merlin! She wanted things to be right again. She wanted Lily to be happy. She was happy only when Lily was happy. But to make her happy, she had to… she had to… She brought her hands to her face and hunched her back. "Malfoy, do me a favour," she muttered through her fingers, "shut up, you are freaking me out."

He snorted. "Just because I'm a wonderful father?"

"Your son barely talks to you," she pointed out sourly, before sighing and adding in a gentler tone, "I'll talk to him."

"And you'll tell him what, pray tell?" he asked coldly.

She glared at him. "That it's your fault if I'm agreeing to him asking my daughter's hand in marriage." She shook her head and added, "I know that Lily can take perfectly good care of herself, but I'd rather see her married to Scorpius than all alone in a flat in Diagon Alley."

Draco smiled – he properly smiled – at her and picked up a piece of parchment from the desk. He circled the table and came to stand next to her. "Here," he told her, "this will make you feel better."

Ginny took it in her hands and looked at it, her eyebrows knitting together on her forehead. "What is this?" she asked. "One thousand Galleons?" she screeched.

"A standard contract to buy a Crup," he replied matter-of-factly, handing her a quill. "Here, you can sign under Owner."

She scolded him, "I thought it was a present!"

"Lily's is," he replied, "this one if for you. For when your daughter leaves the nest and you don't have anybody else to turn your attentions to."

She snorted. It looked like he had that contract prepared all along, as if he had been waiting for her visit. "Well, we are almost family, aren't we?" She placed the contract back on the desk and stood up. "I've always wanted a Crup, now that I think about it…" She turned away and walked towards the door, she opened it and stepped into the corridor. Now, what did Lily say about the whereabouts of that kennel again…

"Oi! Potter!" She heard Malfoy's steps hurry behind her. "Don't you dare! Those are very expensive animals!"