Neither Roxanne nor Lily won their pre-wedding bet. When first Christmas and then their one year anniversary came to pass, the gambling witches were sorely disappointed when Rose's abdomen remained as flat as ever. Rose and Scorpius remained hopeless in remembering to use the contraceptive charm each time they fell into each other's arms. However, Scorpius, being the enterprising healing researcher that he was, adapted a muggle method for birth control to suit their needs. He could inject Rose with a shot that would prevent conception for six months at a time.
Rose started her tenure as Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts two weeks after the wedding. She loved almost everything about teaching; from the looks of pride on her younger student's faces when they first managed to transfigure a rodent into a goblet to the deep understanding and passion her NEWT level students exhibited for the subject. She didn't even mind marking papers- some of the early responses were downright humorous in how terribly wrong they were. She could do without supervising detentions, but it was one of the job responsibilities that she could not shirk. Cheering on her lions in Quidditch on a regular basis made up for the occasion detentions.
Scorpius was still busy researching new and innovative cures for magical diseases. Each morning, Rose and Scorpius would wake in their Hogsmeade cottage and enjoy a quiet morning together before he'd floo to St. Mungo's. With the exclusion of detention nights, he and Rose would return home at about the same time. Scorpius frequently took the opportunity to bounce new treatment ideas off Rose. Although she wasn't well versed in the specifics of healing, sometimes she could help him see a problem from a different angle.
Scorpius's contraceptive shot became wildly popular with their peers after Rose suggested he make it available to others. It had been a bit of a hurdle legally for the shot to be available to underage witches who wanted reliable birth control. Eventually, and with a little help from Minister Granger-Weasley, any witch who wanted the shot could visit a healer. Underage witches were required to listen to a brief lecture on the importance of good sexual health before the shot could be administered, but in Rose's opinion it was a minor obstacle to ensure that no students had to cut their educations short due to an unplanned pregnancy. Apparently many of her students agreed as baskets full of Honeyduke's chocolate and thank you cards addressed to Professor Malfoy poured into her office following the shots release.
It had taken Rose nearly a semester to get used to her new name. She had considered hyphenating like her mother had done, but chose to use Malfoy solely. She joked that she was trying to spare her father a heart attack from reading Weasley-Malfoy, but the truth was that she enjoyed being Rose Malfoy.
True to her new Malfoy surname, Rose had taken up her father-in-law's meddlesome game. Without much coaxing, Rose convinced Elena to come for a visit in January. Scorpius surreptitiously invited James for the same weekend. As it turned out, there was no need for the Malfoys to interfere. Elena and James had been regularly corresponding since the wedding and James was planning a trip to Boston later that spring. Scorpius promised James that he could stay at his Beacon Hill townhouse but threatened that he better scrougify any "messes" he made. Rose casually dropped hints that Elena should give James a massage when he visited. When Elena and James returned home after the weekend in Hogsmeade, Rose and Scorpius applauded themselves on advancing the relationship.
At the end of February, Rose received a floo call in the middle of the night to get to St. Mungo's immediately. In a sleepy panic, Rose wrapped a sheet around her naked body and stumbled into the fireplace. She crash landed in the entry way to the wizarding hospital to find her entire extended family. Her mother took pity on her and transfigured the sheet into a slip dress until Scorpius could arrive with some real clothing. The large group then waited for hours until Lysander announced the birth of Arthur Newton Scamander.
Pair by pair, the Weasley family rotated into Roxanne's room to offer congratulations and coo over the infant. Roxanne asked Rose if she would be baby's godmother and she happily accepted. Fred would serve as godfather. Fred was honored but asked why they hadn't asked Lorcan. Lysander rolled his eyes and responded that while he loved his twin, he wouldn't trust him to care for a potted plant let alone a human. The other Scamander simply inhabited another plane of existence.
Rose's first year as a professor came to an end in June and she and Scorpius retired to the Malfoy estate in France. After only a week of idleness, Rose became exceedingly bored at the palatial house when Scorpius flooed to St Mungo's during the day. Rose decided to once again put her animagus abilities to good use and volunteered to help Uncle Harry in the Auror department. Every morning, Rose flooed to the Ministry. Because she was not an Auror, she could not go on missions but her previous security clearance with the Department of Mysteries allowed her access to all of the files. Rose was on hand to receive the Auror's after missions and administer tears if necessary. She also taught brief seminars on facial transformation and concealment.
Meb Adero had shined in his internship with the Auror department the previous summer and Rose was happy to see that he was at the top of his recruitment class. For reasons that were only known to Rose and Harry, Adero excused himself from the room whenever Rose would transform into her phoenix. The trauma he had endured with his own failed transformation would continue to haunt him for a long time. However, his advanced knowledge of human transformation made him the star pupil in Rose's seminars.
The summer flew by and the new school term would be starting shortly. Harry made Rose promise that she'd teach future classes of recruits and she happily agreed. Rose truly did love teaching and was happy she had found her calling.
Scorpius and Rose spent their first anniversary in Paris. Katrina was thrilled to book them a table at her flagship restaurant and passed on a message through her maître d that she was sad to miss their visit but was busy getting the Diagon Alley branch off the ground. Ron, true to his word and the demands of his stomach, became a silent partner in the new restaurant and the grand opening was planned for August 28 to attract the last minute Hogwarts shopping crowd.
Rose and Scorpius dined on rich food but asked for their chocolate mousse to go. They apparated back to their chateau and enjoyed the dessert on the terrace overlooking the garden as the sun set.
"I'll be a little sad to return to Hogsmeade," Scorpius admitted.
"Hmmm," Rose agreed through a mouthful of chocolate goodness. She swallowed and continued, "I love it here, but there's no way I could commute to Hogwarts every day from France".
Scorpius shrugged, "Very true. But I love it that it's just us here. In Hogsmeade, we constantly have people popping in on us. Here, we have to plan to have company. For the most part, I get you all to myself. Next summer I want to have more naked weekends with you," he smirked alluding to the long weekend that neither had donned a speck of clothing. They'd made love in the garden, shagged in the shower, and passed out in orgasmic bliss on the table after Scorpius had feasted on Rose's arousal. It had been an excellent weekend.
"What if it's not just us next summer?" Rose asked.
Scorpius arched an eyebrow at her. "You want to unblock the floo so people can pop in like they do in Hogsmeade? Come on, Rose," he whined.
"No, I didn't mean that," Rose paused for a moment gathering her thoughts. "What if there was someone else here with us?" Scorpius cocked his head to the side in confusion. Rose continued, "I'm up for my next shot next week. What if I didn't take the shot?"
Scorpius's sharp mind quickly latched onto what Rose was saying. "You want to try to get pregnant?" he whispered in disbelief.
"Only if you want to," Rose replied gently. "We're in this together. If you aren't ready.."
Scorpius cut her off with a searing kiss. When he pulled away both were panting to regain their breath. "I want nothing more than to have a child with you, Rose".
"OK," Rose said as calmly as she could. "I won't take the shot now. I'll go back on in November if we don't conceive by then. I want to have a child in the summer so it won't impact the school term. If it doesn't happen this year, we can try again next year".
Scorpius laid his hand gently on Rose's abdomen and rubbed small circles that caused shivers to shoot through her body.
"There's no baby in there now, Scorp," Rose reminded him unnecessarily.
"I know," he admitted, "but there will be soon. I believed for so long that this would never happen for me. For us. But it's possible. I love you".
"I love you too, Scorpius," Rose pledged and leaned in for a kiss. The simple peck soon turned into a heated snog and Scorpius was only too happy to divest them of their clothing. When Rose caught him gazing longingly at her uncovered abdomen she said, "I won't be able to get pregnant for a few more weeks at least. The last shot is still in my system".
"I know love," he said and then grinned at her wolfishly, "but practice makes perfect and I will take any opportunity I can to practice putting a baby inside you".
Rose's laughs quickly turned to moans as Scorpius lavished her body under the stars on the chateau's stone terrace.
Draco Malfoy raced through the halls of St. Mungo's. He was hot and sweaty for the humid July air and looked entirely unkempt but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He skidded to a stop in front of a large glass window and searched.
"Evening ferret," a voice sounded drawing him out of his reverie.
Draco's head shot up to find a pair smiling at him. "Weasel, Granger," he nodded at them in recognition and returned to his perusal of the window.
"Over there," Hermione said. "First row, third one from the left".
Draco eyes followed her instructions and when they landed on their destination he felt his heart stop for a moment. There, lying in a bassinet was a beautiful baby with a tuft of strawberry blonde hair poking out from underneath a white cap. Draco took inventory of the baby's delicate features; a chubby rounded face, a somewhat pointed nose, and the corner of the lips pulled up in the classic Malfoy smirk.
"What do you think, Grandpa?" asked Ron.
Draco rolled his eyes at his former nemesis and sarcastically replied, "Takes one to know one".
"I thought they would have stuck with your family tradition and gone with some sort of star name," Ron shrugged.
Draco caught Hermione rolling her eyes at her clueless husband. "Are you sure you passed your Astronomy OWL?" Draco asked. "That's the stinger in the Scorpius constellation".
"Really?" Ron pondered, "Shaula Malfoy".
The little girl in the bassinet on the other side of the glass wiggled as though responding to her name.
"How's Rose doing?" Draco asked while not being able to take his eyes off his precious granddaughter.
"She's well," Hermione replied. "Exhausted of course, but everything went smoothly. She and Scorpius are learning to nap whenever Shaula does. They should be able to go home tomorrow morning".
"I was shocked to hear they had a girl," Draco said, "she's the first in the Malfoy line in a few centuries".
"If anyone was going to defy the odds, it was going to be Rose and Scorpius," Hermione stated with a note of pride. "Did they tell you her middle name?"
"No," Draco said and reluctantly pulled his eyes away from his granddaughter so that they could drift to the name tag on the bassinet. His breath caught and a tear formed in his eye and he whispered, "Shaula Astoria Malfoy". Draco felt Ron Weasley's hand settle on his shoulder and accepted the gesture as a sign of support. "She wanted a little girl," Draco recalled.
"And now she has a beautiful granddaughter as a namesake," Hermione said gently. The trio of grandparents continued to gaze at the child for a few hours until the St. Mungo's staff took Shaula away to Rose and Scorpius.
The unlikely group walked together through the corridors of St Mungo's to find Rose's room. They spotted Rose and Scorpius on the small hospital cot with Shaula lying comfortably in her father's arms. The scene was idyllic and felt like the most natural thing in the world. The new parents smiled at their visitors and beckoned them inside.
"Still don't believe our lives are ruled by fate, Granger," Draco needled to brunette witch to his side.
"Whatever you say ferret," Hermione responded with a grin.
-AN It's over! Thank you to everyone who read An Unspoken Truth. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing.
I'm contemplating adding a few short outtakes, but for now Rose and Scorpius's story is done.