Chapter 50

Tuesday

It had been three days since Scorpius' mother had found him, three days since he told Albus he was going to see his father, three days since he had seen or spoken to Rose. His mother was staying with the Potters for the time being; Ginny, not taking any excuses, had insisted on it. Things between Scorpius and Hugo were still strained. They hadn't yet really talked about the argument. However, Hugo had said he was happy for him once he heard Scorpius' mother was back in his life. Mostly, they had tried to avoid each other, which was one of the reasons why Scorpius was up at the crack of dawn working on Albus' house. Additionally, working at this hour not only allowed Scorpius to use more magic, as it was highly unlikely that any Muggles would come by at that time in the morning, but it also allowed him to be alone with his thoughts.

His father was at the front of his mind as he put up the wall panelling of what would be the lounge room. He didn't know what he was going to say or do when he saw his father again, and it made him nervous. The last thing he wanted to do was makes things worst, though he couldn't really imagine it getting much worse than it already was. His mother seemed to be doing better. He could see that she was still a bit lost at times but she was happier. She was also looking for a job, and Scorpius made sure to at least owl her every day. They had had dinner together for the last two nights and they had made plans to have a sort of brunch today. He wasn't going to tell her that he was planning on going to see her husband tonight, and a part of him felt guilty but he needed to do it and he feared that she would try and talk him out of it. Scorpius wondered if his father had changed much. According to his mother, he felt really bad as well as guilty about what happened, but she always saw the best in him when other people couldn't. There was a time when Scorpius used to make excuses for his father and try to see what his mother saw. However, he hadn't done that in a long time.

7:30am, Albus and Alison's Apartment

Albus stirred in his sleep, woken by what he thought was the slam of the front door. He reached across for Alison only to find cold sheets. Upon his discovery, Albus sat up confused as to where his girlfriend might be. She would usually wake him if he overslept or she had to leave before him. Worried, he looked around the room to see if she left a note for him, but had no such luck. He had this unsettling feeling in his stomach that something was going on.

St Mungo's Hospital

Alison felt bad about leaving without letting Albus know but she just didn't know how to tell him. Telling Rose was hard enough; it made it seem all too real. The day before her father had been assigned and moved into a permanent room as it was far too difficult for him to be at home. The healers were treating him the best they could. Potions, spells, even some experimental treatments and Muggle treatments had been used and looked into, but they had yet to see an improvement. The real issue was that they could not identify what was causing his sickness, and until they could there was little they could do.

Alison sat at her father's bedside with mixed emotions, unsure of what to do as she watched him sleep. She had never felt so helpless and powerless before; there was truly nothing that she could do. So deep in her thoughts, Alison didn't notice her father wake up.

Raymond Spencer opened his eyes slowly and watched his daughter as she shifted through her thoughts. He knew that his time with her was limited. He felt weak and he didn't want her to see him get any worse. However, he knew his daughter and she would never stop coming to see him or give up on him no matter what the healers said to her. Raymond took this time, as she was lost in her thoughts, to really look at her. His daughter was truly stunning and he couldn't be prouder of who she had become. He and his wife, her mother, had done well. Their daughter had become so beautiful, both inside and out.

"Good morning," he said, causing Alison's gaze to search out his. Once she saw his smiling face looking back at her, she smiled too.

"Good morning, Daddy," she replied as she reached out and squeezed his hand that lay beside him. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, I did."

"Good."

"Sweetie, what are you doing here?" her father asked. Alison could hear the concern in his feeble voice. "Shouldn't you be at work or having breakfast with your boyfriend?" Alison had never hated the word boyfriend so much. What she and Albus had was more than that, yet she couldn't use a stronger, more meaningful word.

"I just wanted to see how you were settling in?" Alison replied, ignoring her thoughts.

"Well, there isn't much settling in to do," Raymond said with a smile as he glanced around the plain simplistic room. They shared a chuckle, but Raymond stopped before he gave away how much pain it actually caused him to do so. "Go on sweetie," he said, nodding towards the door. "I will be alright and I promise I will still be here when you visit next time."

"Okay, I'll come see you on my lunch break," Alison told him as she stood up from the chair.

"That soon? Geez, give me some space, woman," he joked. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he replied with a smile. Alison bent down and kissed his forehead. Straightening up again, she flashed him a teary smile before she quickly turned and rushed out of the room.

9:30am

Because of the early mornings and all the work he had been doing, Scorpius had nearly finished the main structural work of the house, and it was finally starting to look like a proper house. As he arrived at the Potter's to pick up his mother, his thoughts were still jumbled between his father, Rose and the paint colours that he wanted to go over with Albus. Scorpius knocked on the door and waited in a daze. He had no doubt now that what he felt for Rose was strong and different to what he had felt for anyone before, but it disturbed him knowing that he still couldn't express his feelings for her like he wanted to. It was like he had gone back to what he was before, but at the same time he knew that he had changed. He thought he wasn't afraid of feelings now and he could express them better. Scorpius just couldn't understand what it was about Rose that made him like this.

Suddenly, the door opened, ripping him out of his thoughts as he focused on his mother, who stood in the doorway. Astoria quickly reached out and pulled him into a hug. She had been doing this since the weekend, greeting him with a hug, and Scorpius still occasionally found himself taken aback when she did, not used to the motherly treatment from her on a daily basis. However, he was trying to get used to it, for her sake.

"Morning, Mother," Scorpius said with a smile as he left her embrace.

"Good morning, Son," Astoria beamed up at him.

"So, where are we going for brunch?" he asked as he closed the door and started down the small steps. "You said you know a good place?"

"Yes, Ginny told me about it," Astoria followed him. As Scorpius had his hands in his pockets, he simply stuck out his elbow. Astoria smiled and looped her arm through his. 'Her son,' she thought, 'such a gentleman.' They continued to walk down the road, just enjoying the breeze and each other's company.

"She said it was a small lovely place, with the best food, in a small Muggle town," Astoria continued.

"Really? A Muggle town?" Scorpius said, a little surprised that she would want to go to that place.

"Oh, please don't act so surprised Scorpius," she said in an almost scolding manner. "It wasn't me who had big Muggle issues. It was your father, and I just simply went along with it." She sounded a bit ashamed at the end of her sentence. Scorpius looked down at her; he could see some sadness flood her eyes, which had been sparkling with joy a moment ago.

"Well, it's your choice," Scorpius spoke into the quiet, trying to keep her somewhat distracted. "I will be happy to go wherever you want to, Mother," he looked down at her with a smile. She returned it gratefully, resting her head against his shoulder for a moment. "So, you don't have Muggle issues, as you so put it," Scorpius smirked as they were nearing the end of the road. "But the real question is, can you handle transportation like a Muggle?" Upon her look of confusion, Scorpius gestured to a beat-up, old Ute parked on the side of the road. It was mostly blue but there was the splash of red rust spotted all over it. Astoria had seen other contraptions similar on the roads before but never one quite like the one she saw in front of her.

"What is it?"

"It's a 1976 Ford F100 with a stepside," Scorpius replied. Astoria noticed the spark in his eyes, and it brought a smile to her face, seeing the enjoyment and passion for the contraptions he had. She noticed what looked like some sort of equipment and tools in the back open part of the vehicle, but put that aside as Scorpius led her over to it.

"Is it safe?" she asked.

"Yes, Mother," Scorpius replied in the same manner he had as a teenager when she had nagged and cautioned him. "It is a little old and run down, but I am working on restoring and selling it," he added as he opened the opened the passenger side door for her. "But for now I thought I might as well use it." He walked around to the other side and got in. "So where abouts is this place?"

After she gave him the address, they were off. Apparently it wasn't far from where Scorpius was working, so he knew how to get there easily. Sitting beside him, Astoria sat in rapture as she watched her son steer and control the vehicle. Her little boy was definitely not a little boy anymore; he was a charming, caring, strong and handsome man. The more time that she spent with him, the more she had these moments of realisation. What would follow was the sad and terrible feeling of knowing she had little to do with it. She couldn't be more proud of him, but she couldn't help but wish she had actually been there more to see it.

10:00am, Le Coin Rose

Rose saw him before he saw her, and it gave her time to control the butterflies that rose within her. He was with his mother, and they entered her place with smiles on their faces. However, once his gaze drifted past his mother, and landed on her, his smile and happy expression faded. Rose deflated slightly as she noticed this, but Astoria, who hadn't noticed the change, approached the counter with a smile.

"Hello Rose, I didn't know you worked here," she said with a genuine smile. Tearing her focus away from Scorpius, she instead smiled back at his mother.

"Actually, Mrs Malfoy, I own this place. It's my baby, some might say," Rose said, finding herself blushing slightly and feeling nervous, as she felt Scorpius' stare.

"Please, call me Astoria, dear," the older woman replied. "Well, I am shouting Scorpius brunch, so is there anything that you can recommend?"

"Ah…" she looked up at Scorpius and could see that he was uncomfortable, choosing to look anywhere but at her. She felt a burst of anger, as she felt that he was making everything worse. In her eyes she had done nothing wrong. So with a much more confident voice she continued. "For you, Astoria, I recommend…perhaps…the Croque Madame, or if you feel like something sweeter and special, our Cherry Clafouti is delicious," Rose smiled sweetly at Astoria before turning her gaze back to Scorpius, who still refused to look at her. "As for Scorpius," she began in a very different tone. Her previously sweet, kind voice now sounded slightly bitter and was dripping with frustration and anger. "I'd assume he'd like our all day breakfast. After all, he always has liked a bit of everything."

Rose watched as Scorpius' gaze snapped straight to hers upon hearing the double meaning behind her words. Deep down she knew he didn't deserve this treatment but Rose found herself blinded by her frustration, confusion and anger at their situation. Scorpius saw her smirk challengingly at him, with a better smirk than he could probably produce, as if daring him to say or do anything. It was actually what Rose wanted. She hadn't seen him after what happened on Saturday and she just wanted a reaction, anything. 'What did happen?' she thought. She had been wondering that ever since Saturday. On one hand it felt like there was a promising moment of change that filled her with hope, but on the other hand she also felt like she had been let down again in some way. Rose knew that was a very selfish way to think because she knew she had let him down too. She didn't enjoy feeling that way, but the feeling was there in the pit of her stomach.

Astoria could now see and feel the tension between the two, just like she thought everyone else in the café could as well. She watched her son and the young woman in front of her glare at each other, and waited for her son to say or do something. She could see the battle going on inside his head. Then all of a sudden, she saw the ends of his mouth tip up slightly into a covert smile. Rose was shocked as well but soon she also had humour dancing in her eyes. This didn't escape Scorpius, and upon recognising her change in demeanour, he sent a playful smirk her way.

"Yes, that sounds great, thanks." Rose simply nodded and wrote down the order, a smile tugging at her lips. Astoria was still confused when Rose looked back at her expectantly.

"Ah…the Clafouti sounds lovely, dear," Astoria said. Rose nodded and again scribbled down the order.

"Would you like anything to drink today?" Rose asked.

"I'd love a…ah…latte?" Astoria asked, unsure.

"Yes of course," Rose said with a smile before turning her gaze, almost eagerly, back to Scorpius.

"I've heard your hot chocolates are special, one of a kind. I'd love to find out for myself," he smiled at her and she couldn't stop the blush rising in her cheeks.

"Ah, sure…okay well…pick a table and I will bring them out to you when they are ready," Rose said nervously as she rushed off towards where he assumed the kitchen was. Scorpius couldn't help but let out a small chuckle; that was not how he expected his first meeting with Rose since the whirlwind that was Saturday would be.

Hello everyone, this is chapter 50. I hope you like it and it leaves you feeling intrigued and in ways a little confused ;) but I still hope you enjoy in nonetheless. Please if you have and questions, ideas or tips leave me a review. I am so excited to have over 200 followers and 300 reviews thank you for your patience and support thus far :) I hope to update again soon :)