An hour in my room alone didn't give me an epiphany or any other bright ideas on how to tell Dad that I'd done exactly what he'd told me not to on the day of my first journey on the Hogwart's Express.
"So that's little Scorpius," Dad said. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."
"Ron, for heaven's sake, don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!" Mum admonished sternly.
"You're right, sorry. Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood."
I could remember it clearly even now. So I hadn't quite married Scorpius, but the message was the same really, wasn't it? I really hoped Grandpa wouldn't mind me being with Scorpius. I had hope. Even Grandpa had been able to admit that Scorpius seemed to have broken with the Malfoy tradition when he was housed in Ravenclaw, suggesting that perhaps he wasn't as bad as we all thought.
"Rosie! Can you come downstairs?" Mum asked, shouting up the stairs and breaking my train of thought.
Sighing, I shrugged out of my denim jacket and left it on my bed. I could already hear the shushed whispers of my family trying to plot how exactly to surprise Hugo as I made my way downstairs.
"I told you," Dad hissed. "We should just all hide."
"And as I said before, Ronald, there's no point in hiding. Hugo already knows that everyone's here," Mum answered, seeming slightly terse. "Oh, good, there you are, Rose. Could you please convince your father that I'm right?"
"Mum's right," I told Dad, glancing over at Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny who were struggling to keep a straight face. I was told that my parents had always disagreed, and it as easy to see how. While Uncle Harry used to find it tiring, it appeared to be a source of humor in his middle-age years.
"What do you suggest then?"
"I'll sort it," I volunteered, already wanting to escape the Addams family reunion.
"Thanks, Rosie darling," Mum murmured. "Places everyone."
Turning on my heel, I headed back up the stairs and stopped outside Hugo's room. The door itself was once more plastered with Chudley Cannon's posters and stickers, and a sign that made it clear - if it wasn't already - that I was standing outside of Hugo's room.
Knocking, I announced my presence.
Muffled from within came, "Yeah?"
"It's me...can I come in?"
"I suppose," Hugo answered. He was just setting down his latest Cannon's magazine as I shut the door behind me. "What do you want?"
"Feel up to facing everyone?"
"Why?" he asked, seeming to get suspicious.
"I know you hate surprises, so don't freak out, but Mum and Dad have organized something for you. And," I said, interrupting him as he began to protest. "You can't complain, because it's not a surprise since I told you."
"Fine," he replied, already seeming to dread making the short journey downstairs.
"Cheer up. You might get the new Cannon's comic," I reminded him.
"You know more than you're letting on...don't you?"
Grinning, I mimed zipping and locking my lips shut and left his room, leaving him to follow me. As we made our way downstairs it was silent.
None of our family were in the house, but as soon as we opened the back door, we heard them all shout, "Happy birthday, Hugo!"
"Thanks but I think you've got your dates confused..." Hugo mumbled, looking slightly annoyed.
"Come and sit down," fussed Grandma, indicating the seat beside her. Mum and Dad gave him hugs as he passed and Uncle Harry clapped him on the back with an encouraging grin.
Hugo seemed to cheer up as he opened his presents, finding the Chudley Cannon's comic book I'd bought him, as well as a new broomstick from my parents. I guess it could also have been to do with the fact that since we were celebrating his birthday, (not that he'd had it yet) we all had to be nice to him.
Of course, having a new broom, Hugo had to try it out straight away and James and Al were quick to set up a tournament. However, while I would have loved the chance to play, I had to turn down the offer. I had to tell Dad about Scorpius.
Just as I turned down James' request to play, Dad jumped up and offered to take my place. It was boring to watch, in all honesty, and I ended up gossiping with Victoire.
"How are things?" she asked, using a tone of voice that made it obvious she was asking about Scorpius and me.
"Good," I answered with a smile.
"I heard about the, er, broom cupboard incident. Don't worry about it. Teddy and I almost got caught once - not by Professor McGonagall, of course, but our Head Boy was just as strict."
"And why didn't I hear about this sooner?" I asked with raised eyebrows, trying to keep from laughing.
Tori shrugged and laughed before turning suddenly serious.
"I'm dying to tell someone," she whispered. "But you've got to keep this a secret for now, Rose."
I nodded, beginning to get excited. Perhaps Victoire and Teddy were having a baby, I thought.
"Teddy got offered that job over in New Zealand and were moving out there next month!"
Shocked, I only managed to mumble, "That's great."
"Isn't it?" Tori enthused, oblivious to my lack of reaction. "I've always thought that New Zealand would be a great place to live!"
I nodded and excused myself as Uncle George stood in place of Dad who sat down, gripping and rubbing his old knee injury.
Seeing my chance, I leapt up and rushed towards him. "Let me help you, Dad," I said, taking his broomstick from him and leading him across the lawn towards the house.
"Thanks, Rosie," he grunted, limping along.
Setting him down in his favorite chair, I sat on the arm of the one opposite.
"You're missing the party, Rosie. I don't need you here with me, why not go back out?"
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Dad."
"Really? Well, fire away," he said, relaxing back in his chair.
"Well...you know how you keep asking about my boyfriend..."
Dad nodded gently, his eyes closed as he began to drift off.
"Well...it's just that I'm dating Scorpius."
"Oh, that's nice," Dad replied, clearly not listening properly.
"Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy that is."
His eyes snapped open and his face seemed to go through every color of the rainbow before fading to a sickly white. Quite frankly, I was shocked. I'd been expecting outright anger. I'd thought that the moment Scorpius' name left my lips, the fireworks would start and that he'd be yelling in my face. I got neither. Instead, Dad just sat there and stared at me. After five minutes I was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Dad?" I asked nervously, shooting glances at him before looking away again, unable to hold his gaze.
Finally, he shifted his weight on the chair and stood up. He stared at me again for a few minutes, then left without saying a word.
Stunned and confused, I flopped into his vacated chair and watched his retreating figure head up the stairs. A few minutes later he was back and on his arm he carried Pollux, our family owl. Before my very eyes he began writing out a letter, occasionally shooting me looks. Every time his eyes looked hard, burning with intensity I'd never seen before.
I thought he was writing to Scorpius, telling him to stay away from me.
Once Pollux was gone, he sat back down, in a chair as far away from me as possible and stared out the window, clearly awaiting the owl's return.
I felt trapped in my seat. I didn't want to move in case he turned his eyes on me again but at the same time, being in the room in silence was swiftly becoming unbearable. It became clear that I wouldn't be leaving until Dad left, and Dad wouldn't be leaving until Pollux came back.
After what felt like four hours, the owl fluttered through the window and landed on the back of Dad's chair, carrying a letter in his beak with a scroll attached to one leg. One look at the ruffled scroll of parchment told me that Dad had sent Pollux to Hagrid.
Clearing his throat, he untied the parchment and took the letter from Pollux, stroking his feathers to appease the tired owl. He read in silence, completely oblivious to my presence.
Finally, he set down the three sheets of parchment he'd been sent and looked up at me, seeming strangely calm.
"Dad?" I asked uncertainly, sure that he was in his calm before the storm phase and was about to explode. I honestly believed he was going to disown me and send me packing. Nervous energy raised me to my feet.
"Professor McGonagall, Neville and Hagrid all seem to be very complimentary of Malfoy."
"You wrote to our teachers?"
He nodded, unfazed by how appalling I thought that was.
"Well?" I asked. "What do you think about Scorpius after reading 'character references'?"
"He certainly seems less like a Malfoy than all the others. I'm not saying I think he's the most charming, intelligent person on the planet, but I'm willing to overlook his name. But if he does anything to hurt you, Rose, you are never to see him again," Dad replied, being over-protective as usual.
Rolling my eyes, I told him matter of factly that Scorpius wouldn't do anything to hurt me and crossed the room to hug him.
"I just said if," Dad pointed out, holding up his hands.
"So you're not angry with me?" I asked a little unsurely, still certain that he was holding back some rage which would later catch me.
"No, I'm not angry with you-"
"-Not even a little bit disappointed?"
"No, I'm not disappointed in you. You can't help who you fall in love with, Rose. I know that better than anyone. I never thought I would fall in love with your mother. Heck, I didn't even like her when I first met her - I thought she was a bossy know-it-all. She may still be a bossy know-it-all sometimes, but she's also the bravest, most determined, loyal and compassionate woman I've ever met." Smiling, he took my wrists. "If you love Scorpius, then I'm sure he has some good qualities."
"Thanks for understanding, Dad. I honestly didn't want to fall in love with a Malfoy. I hated him for four years, and then last year, I guess things started to change. I still don't really know why, but I'm glad they did. I'm happy with him," I shrugged.
Dad smiled back at me, pulled me into a warm hug and released me, telling me to get back to the party.
I nodded and left the living room, but instead of returning to the garden, I sprinted up the stairs and wrote Scorpius a quick, elated letter to tell him that my Dad didn't want to murder him.
When I did get back to the party, I found the quidditch game had ended and Hugo had opened all his other presents, getting a box of Uncle George's new fireworks to test out for him, as well as some other Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, some new clothes and robes from Grandpa and Grandma, quidditch tickets from Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, some sweets from Tori and Teddy, a book from Uncle Percy and a pile of other stuff I couldn't even see because the pile of presents was too big.
Mum was just serving the cake when Dad called for me, his voice carrying from inside the house.
Frowning, I left everyone at the table and entered the house, heading for the living room where I'd last seen Dad. I was surprised to find myself face to face, however, with Scorpius not my father.
"Did you invite Scorpius here without our permission, Rose?" Dad demanded, looking between us.
"No..."
"Then what the devil is he doing in my house?" Dad said irritably.
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A/N: So what did you think of Ron's reaction? And what do you think will happen next? Why is Scorpius at Rose's house and what will Ron do? Let me know what you think!
I'm thinking about starting a hunger games story what do you guys think? I'm thinking about from the POV of prim and katniss' mother when katniss is at the hunger games.