Rose recovered faster than Scorpius. While his thoughts were still a jumble of what did Lupin say, how are we going to deal with this, she said, "It won't be messy if Teddy doesn't go round telling everyone Scorpius and I are living together."

"You're living together?" Potter sounded genuinely surprised.

"Didn't Teddy tell you that?" Rose asked.

Potter gazed at her levelly. "We all know what he told me." He raised his gaze to the spot behind her right shoulder where Scorpius stood unseen. "All three of us. Come inside. We have to talk."

Lupin's flat was small and decorated in shades of beige and brown. The only splashes of colour were the green lager bottles on a table and the turquoise hair of the wizard sleeping on the sofa. Scorpius chanted a counter spell to the Disillusionment Charm and removed his cloak and the bandana around his throat. He hung the cloaks on pegs beside the door for quick access. "Did he pass out drunk?"

"Teddy will remember it that way," Potter said.

Scorpius looked at Rose. He raised an eyebrow. Your uncle used a Memory Charm? She smiled a little, as if to say If he did, he can't be too angry with us.

Potter said, "Let's have that talk."

They sat at the bistro table that divided the lounge and kitchenette. The silence was beyond tense. No wonder Aurors used it as a tool to force confessions. Scorpius lined up the bottles in a row between their side of the table and Potter's, avoiding eye contact. The last thing he wanted was to share mental images of Rose in an untied dressing gown.

Rose cracked first. "If we're just going to listen to Teddy snore, why are we here, Uncle Harry?"

Playing the family card. Nicely done.

"You shouldn't be here," Potter replied. "None of us should. I should be home with my wife, and you two should confine your dress up games to the privacy of your bedroom." He held up his hands. "I apologise. That was uncalled for. Teddy divulged more than he should have, and I promise his . . . revelations . . . will go no further."

Scorpius said, "If you'd like to forget, I have a Memory Charm for that."

"One you planned to use on Teddy?" Potter shook his head. "Against a wary target, that's not so easy to do." He gave a regretful smile. "Unless you're someone he trusts."

Like his godfather. "Thank you," Scorpius said. "I won't make the same mistakes again."

Potter raked his hand through his hair. "At least you acknowledge that you made them. It's a start." He got up and went to the kitchenette, opening a cabinet. He brought back three Butterbeers. "I poured out all the lager, and we need to keep clear heads." He handed them each a bottle, before opening his own and taking a long drink. Potter turned his chair around and sat with his forearms resting on the back. He pointed his bottle toward Scorpius. "Tell me your mistakes."

Acknowledging them wasn't enough? Scorpius said, "I lost my temper. I didn't hold my tongue."

Rose said, "I didn't open the door and jinx Teddy when I had the chance."

"Which jinx would you have used?" Scorpius asked.

"Impediment or Jelly-Legs."

Potter stared them down like a professor waiting to bring the class discussion back on topic. He told Scorpius, "The biggest mistake of the night was how you handled Barry Boot."

Incriminate myself? No thank you. "It was a group enquiry," Scorpius said. "Rose's parents, her uncle, cousins, Lupin-"

"I'm talking about the kidnapping, and no, I'm not secretly recording this conversation. You have my word."

And Super Wizard's word was his bond. Scorpius glanced at Rose. She nodded. He said, "I didn't think of it as kidnapping until Lupin started throwing accusations around."

Potter asked, "What did you think you were doing?"

"I wanted him to feel powerless like his victims. I wanted him to fear me."

Silence. And then, "Next time do that without infringing on personal liberty by carrying someone off by force without their consent."

Potter wasn't telling him off or speaking down to him. He was giving sound advice. It shouldn't have been so hard to say, "Yes, sir." Rose put a hand over the fist Scorpius had clenched on his thigh. He managed to say the words respectfully and added,"Not that I plan to do it again."

"I'm glad to hear it, but there's a saying: Failing to plan is planning to fail. Before you put on that suit again, plan how to handle different scenarios, different adversaries. Practice your offensive and defensive spells." He turned to Rose, "That goes for you, too, since you're determined to put yourself in harm's way."

"Are you saying Lupin would have harmed her?"

Stern eyes returned to Scorpius. "Even a Disarming Charm can blast a witch or wizard across the room."

"I wasn't in danger," Rose said. "If Teddy had been protected by Shield Charms, I would've knocked him out the Muggle way-a punch to the jaw to snap his head to the side, causing impact to the brain, compressed blood vessels, and unconsciousness."

"Aurors are taught to brace themselves to absorb the impact of physical punches," Potter said. "You wouldn't have knocked Teddy out."

Rose lifted her chin. "He wouldn't have braced anything. The punch would've taken him by surprise."

"Aurors are taught constant vigilance."

"Vigilance against family?"

Potter's mouth opened and closed.

Rose, gracious in victory, said, "I'm sorry we worried you, Uncle Harry."

Scorpius took advantage of the lull in hostilities to ask, "What exactly did Lupin remember about Comic Con?" His attempt at a casual tone had the opposite effect than intended.

Potter's gaze sharpened. After a long moment, he said, "Teddy remembered Victoire pointing out your costume. She was impressed, and he was jealous, until he realised that the bloke swanning around as the Green Knight-his words, not mine-didn't fancy LaVeela." He smiled a little. "He didn't remember your conversation word for word. His memory's good, but not that good." Not like yours was implied. Scorpius had almost started to relax when Potter added, "Teddy remembered seeing you talk to Dennis Creevey." He glanced at the wizard sleeping open-mouthed on the sofa. Fatherly amusement laced his voice. "I think he was more jealous over you being singled out by Dennis than Victoire."

I had to tell you that your costume is absolutely brilliant.

"You never told me that you met Uncle Dennis," Rose said.

"Uncle?"

"Honorary," Potter said. "Dennis is married to Gabrielle Delacour."

Dennis Creevey was Rose's honorary uncle. "Why didn't I meet him at the Burrow like the Scamanders?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Aunt Gabby had a crush on Uncle Harry a million years ago, and she's still afraid Aunt Ginny will hex her over it. I don't see her and Uncle Dennis much, but they send the loveliest Christmas cards." Her lips curved impishly. "Are you impressed?"

"Very." If Creevey sent hand drawn cards, he was also jealous.

Potter said, "Teddy remembered Dennis being very impressed by your costume and sent his Patronus to ask me to contact Dennis and find out if the Green Knight told him his name."

"I didn't."

"I know," Potter said wryly. "I talked with Dennis after that Comic Con at the Iron Shackle."

Scorpius slanted a questioning glance at Rose. She said, "It's an Auror pub. No one pesters them for autographs."

The Head of Aurors would rate a private booth. No worries about eavesdroppers. "He told you about meeting me," Scorpius said.

"I'd never seen him so excited. He reminded me of his brother Colin," Potter said. "He hadn't asked your name, but he was certain that you were young, wealthy . . . and an ardent admirer of my niece Rose."

Scorpius's face felt odd. Prickly. Almost sunburned.

Potter said, "Something else you never told her?"

The burning sensation intensified.

"Tepesco," Rose said.

A magical breeze cooled Scorpius's skin and ruffled his hair. Her thoughtfulness swept away his embarrassment. He said, "Creevey allowed me to choose a middle name for the Enchantress. I was tongue-tied, overwhelmed by the honour, so he suggested Lily." The memory didn't make him cringe anymore. "I said, 'Rose is better'."

She gave him a melting look, even as she said, "The same thing you told Teddy."

"At the time, I wasn't concerned that anything I said might be used against me." But Potter had made the connection. "How long have you known?" Scorpius asked him. "Since you saw me with Rose on the King's Cross platform? Why didn't you tell Rose's parents?"

"It wasn't my confidence to share." Potter took a drink of his Butterbeer. "And speaking as a father, the last person I'd want sleeping under the same roof as my daughter is an 'ardent admirer'."

Hmmm. He had a point. Time to change the subject. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss before we leave?"

Potter set his bottle down as if to signal the switch from Concerned Uncle to Auror. "Do you have any information about the Stop Snitching flyers in Knockturn Alley?"

"It didn't come up in dinner conversation," Scorpius said. "Rose did discover a promising lead."

She said, "Nathaniel Nott is the trainee Records Keeper for the Knights of Walpurgis."

"Excellent," Potter said. "What's your plan?"

Scorpius turned toward Rose. Her composure brilliantly concealed that they hadn't discussed the matter further. "I'll have lunch with Nathaniel at the Walpurgis Club. Get him to offer to show me around and then access his files. I'll use a Confundus Charm or a Sleeping Spell." He widened his eyes a fraction. Feel free to jump in at any time.

Rose said, "You'll need time to go through his files without the Head Records Keeper noticing. Polyjuice Potion will do if you can work quickly."

He nodded. "We'll have to buy it." Scorpius didn't mind picking fluxweed at the full moon, but he wasn't having the odour of stewed lacewing flies in the flat for twenty one days. "I have a source." He would ask Zod.

Potter cleared his throat. "You have me."

.

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A/N: I can't remember ever having a chapter long chat before, but each side had explaining to do. I've been on vacation with a laptop that doesn't have Word, so I wrote this in the FF doc manager. Another first. If anyone's interested, I'm in Oregon because the Pacific Northwest is a part of the country I've never lived in, and I'm a fan of the show Grimm that's set in Portland. I fangirled out and tracked down places used in the show, including the houses "belonging" to the main characters, and some of the waterfalls I've seen were used in the movie Twilight. Tomorrow we're driving up to Mt. Hood, and as beautiful as the mountain scenery is, I can't wait to see the Timberline Lodge used for the Overlook Hotel in Steven King's The Shining. And yes, I will be saying, "Here's Johnny!" (If anyone hasn't seen The Shining, it's a classic and you don't know what you're missing) :).

Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: alix33, Arcoiris, Beauty Eclipsed, drcjsnider, fynnsmom, glassycry, Needle In A Haystack, nobodysperfect2133, nsavant, Rose of the West, scribbleeexx, sunburnesd, The Chirpy Bitch, trinityblue76, and VandyFNP!