SCORPIUS
Scorpius Malfoy - 24
Rose Weasley - 24
James Potter - 25
Jennifer Potter - 25
Harry Potter II - 2 months
June 2030
"Mum? Do you have a few minutes to talk?" Scorpius stood at the door to the library in his childhood home where his mother was curled up in an armchair reading.
Hermione looked up and smiled at her son. "I always have time for you honey. Come sit down." She set her book on the table and looked expectantly at Scorpius. "What's on your mind? I'm all ears."
"Dad gave me a promotion today."
"Sweetie that's wonderful!" she said excitedly.
"I turned it down."
"Oh. Okay. Why?"
Scorpius took a deep breath. "I don't want to work at Malfoy International anymore. I want to be an artist. I'm going to go to muggle art school."
Hermione stared at him for a moment. "Finally! Oh thank Merlin; I was starting to worry you were going to torture yourself there forever."
"Wh, what? You're not upset?"
"Upset?! Why would I be upset? You're finally doing what you want to do with your life!"
"You mean you knew?" Scorpius asked incredulously.
"I'm your mother. Of course I knew," she scoffed.
"Well, who's going to take over Malfoy International if I don't? Aries left too. It's our family's legacy; We can't lose it."
Hermione snorted. "I'm pretty sure Athena's on track to run your father out of a job in the next five years. No offense honey, but there's no way Athena was going to let you get the top job over her."
Scorpius laughed. "Good point. She is a bit ruthless."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "A bit? Anyway, what did Rose say about you pursuing art?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I'm not sure; I haven't told her yet. She's not speaking to me right now."
"Why? What happened?"
"I'm not sure," he said with a sigh. "I took her out to dinner last night and gave her a gift for her birthday. I guess she didn't like it because she threw it at me, swore at me in hindi and left. I haven't heard from her since last night."
"What did you give her?" Hermione asked skeptically.
"A key to my house. I asked her to move in with me and she got angry. I'm not sure why. I even put it in a nice box with a bow on it."
"Wow," Draco said from the door, causing them both to look up in surprise. "For you to be my son, you're pretty stupid."
"Draco!" Hermione said. "Don't call my son stupid!"
"What? Herms you were thinking it too," Draco replied, lifting Hermione from her seat and settling into it.
"Hey! I was sitting there."
"I know," he said, pulling her into his lap.
"Um two things," Scorpius said. "One: can you at least wait until I leave to be all gross? And two: why exactly am I stupid?"
"One," Draco replied mockingly. "No, I can't wait. Your mum's been overseas working with MACUSA all week and I missed her. And two: you're stupid because Rose thought you were proposing."
"Why would she think that--ohhh!" He smacked himself on the forehead. "That actually makes a lot of sense."
"Why haven't you proposed?" Hermione asked. "Do you not want to marry her? You guys have been dating for a long time."
"I mean yeah I want to marry her. I just thought it was understood..." he trailed off. "Wow. I really am stupid. I have to go find my girlfriend."
"Scorpius wait!" Hermione called after her son. She stood up and walked over to him, giving him a hug. She pulled her engagement ring off and handed it to him.
"I can't take this mum."
Hermione smiled at him and then looked over at Draco. "Your father and I already agreed on this. We want you to have it. Your father gave it to me after we were married, to start a new tradition in the family. If Rosie doesn't like it, that's okay but we love her and are glad you want to marry such a wonderful girl."
"Even if she is a Weasley," Draco chimed in, earning him a glare from Hermione.
"Wow. Uh, thanks mum and dad." Scorpius hugged both of his parents. "I sure hope she says yes."
Hermione smiled. "She will. But are you sure you're ready for this? I don't want you to ask her just because she expects you to."
"I am. I just needed a nudge in the right direction. I've known I would spend the rest of my life with her since we were kids."
"Alright then son," Draco said with a smile. "Go get your girl."
********************
"Rosie please open the door!"
The door swung open to reveal Jennifer with her arms folded across her chest. "She doesn't want to see you Scorpius."
"Jenn? What are you doing here? Don't you have a newborn to care for?"
"That's so sexist," she replied, her voice dripping with disdain. "His father can take care of him."
Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. "You know that's not what I meant. If it were any other man sure. But his father is James...how long can James be trusted with an infant?"
Jennifer fought to keep the smile off of her face. "You make a valid point. However, my friend needed me. So I'm here." She opened the door a little wider to allow him to enter the flat.
"And besides, I brought little Harry with me," she mumbled under her breath as he walked past her.
Scorpius snickered. "Where is she?"
"'She' is right here," Rose said from her seat on the sofa..
"Rosie can we please talk?" Scorpius asked.
"I'll be in your room with baby Harry, Rose!" Jennifer said as she left the two of them alone.
"Rosie-"
"Me first," she said, cutting him off. "I love you Scorpius. I have loved you for a long time. And I've watched one after another of our friends get married and I haven't complained because to be quite honest, I've been happy to focus on my career. But let's be honest. I'm getting old."
"You're hardly old Rosie," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "You're twenty-four."
"I know that," she snapped. "But I don't want to have kids right away after getting married so if you think about it like that, I am old."
"I don't follow," Scorpius said with a dumb look on his face.
She threw her hands in the air and groaned. "You never do, Scorpius!"
"What do you want Rosie?! Tell me what you want!"
She got up and crossed the room to him. "I just want us to be happy! I want you to quit your miserable job and follow your dreams. I want you to be the artist that I know you can be. I want to be the best healer St. Mungo's has ever seen. I want us to grow old together and have a fulfilled life."
Scorpius stared at her for a moment before taking her face in his hands and kissing her firmly. She melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He pulled back and she frowned at him. "Don't think this means I forgive you."
He laughed. "I want that too. But you don't want to live with me?"
"Of course I want to live with you! What made you think I didn't?"
"Uhh maybe the fact that you threw my house key at me and stormed out of the restaurant last night?"
Rose blushed. "Yeah about that. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I should have discussed with you why I was angry but I wasn't really seeing reason."
"Why exactly are you angry with me?" he pressed.
"Well, I thought you were proposing...not that you have to or anything but you can't blame me for thinking a velvet box with a bow on it was going to contain an engagement ring. I definitely overreacted though and I'm sorry."
"Why didn't you just come see me today?"
"Pride," she said quietly. "But I regret not coming to see you. I missed you all day. Can you forgive me?"
He kissed her again. "You know I can't stay mad at you Rosie."
She clasped her hands together. "Good. Come sit with me and tell me all about your day."
They sat down on the couch and he told her about the promotion he had turned down and his intention to attend muggle art school.
"Oh I'm so glad!" she gushed. "You're such a talented artist and I know you hate working at Malfoy International. So how do you plan to get into school?"
"I had lunch with Athena and she said she'd take care of everything and I should be able to start in the fall."
"That's incredible honey, it really is."
"Are you sure? I'm going to be pretty poor for the next couple of years. Are you sure you can handle being with a poor man?" He said teasingly.
She scoffed. "You know money doesn't matter to me. And besides, I make enough money for the both of us and I'm due for a pay upgrade next month."
Scorpius reached into his pocket and pulled out his mother's engagement ring trying not to laugh as Rose gasped. "Well, if you're okay with that, I thought maybe you'd like to marry me?"
"Scorpius Malfoy! If this is some kind of joke?!"
"Why would I joke about wanting you to marry me?"
"Are you just doing this because it's what you think I want?" She asked, furrowing her brow.
Scorpius groaned. "I don't do things if I'm not sure about them. You saw how long it took me to decide to quit my job. Do you want to marry me or not Rosie?"
"Of course you idiot!" she replied, pouncing on him and peppering kisses all over his face. When she stopped, he slid the ring onto her finger.
"I guess congratulations are in order?" Jennifer said from the doorway holding her infant son.
Rose and Scorpius looked up at with her with matching smiles and nodded.
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Taylor is going to be so jealous," she said with a laugh.
Scorpius furrowed his brow. "Why?"
"Because you asked Rose like a normal person and not in the middle of sex like Marco asked her."
Scorpius' jaw dropped. "He didn't! Who am I kidding; It's Marco, of course he did."
Rose and Jennifer burst out laughing as the doorbell rang. Rose got up to answer the door. "Oh hey James!"
James came in behind Rose and kissed Jennifer. "Hey guys. What's up?"
"Rose and Scorpius are engaged," Jennifer said, handing James their son.
"Oh wow congratulations you two! Maybe we should go so you two can celebrate properly," he said with a smirk.
Rose blushed but Scorpius nodded emphatically. "Yes please leave."
Rose playfully slapped his arm as they all laughed and broke out the champagne to celebrate.
********************
4 Years Later
Scorpius Malfoy - 28
Rose Weasley Malfoy - 28
Lauren Malfoy - 4
Jackson Malfoy - 6 months
May 2034
"Lauren, sweetheart, please be still. We're already late." Rose was strapping her two year old daughter into her carseat while Athena who was pregnant yet again, put Rose and Scorpius' six month old son, Jackson in on the other side.
"Mummy how long will it take us to get there? And will daddy be there?" Emlyn asked Athena.
"About an hour," Athena replied as she struggled with the clasp. "And no Emmy, daddy had to work. He'll be at dinner later though."
"Here, I'll get it," Rose said coming around to help her.
"You suck Athena," Taylor snickered from the driver's seat.
"Oh do shut up Taylor," Athena said as she climbed into the magically enlarged Range Rover that held all of their children.
"Mummy you said a bad word!" Edmon said in shock.
"Bad for you honey; Mummy can say it," Athena replied.
The drive to London was short, although it felt long due to Emlyn and Edmon asking if they were close every five minutes.
"I see Gramma!" Emlyn squealed as Taylor pulled into a parking spot.
"Gramma?" Lauren said in her small voice as she pressed her chubby fingers to the window. "Gramma where?"
Hermione opened the backdoor and lifted Lauren from her carrier. Lauren squealed in delight and buried her face in Hermione's neck.
"Hello!" Hermione greeted them all cheerfully. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
Rose sighed. "It was a battle getting this lot into the car," she said giving her mother in law a quick hug. "Are we quite late?"
Hermione checked her watch. "Not yet but we'd better hurry. The others are inside already."
They rushed into the auditorium and found their crew. Despite Scorpius' insistence that only his wife, their kids and his parents attend his graduation from art school, Athena had found out that he was allotted unlimited tickets. So three generations of Malfoys, Potters and Weasleys as well as the Zabinis and the Notts were crammed into a section near the front of the auditorium on that warm May afternoon.
The ceremony was long and Lauren fell asleep in Draco's arms while Hermione held baby Jackson. Padma complained that the Malfoys were hogging her grandchildren earning her a fierce glare from her daughter.
"Mum you have them almost everyday while I'm at work can you please chill? Scorpius is about to be called."
When Scorpius was finally called on stage to receive his diploma, their section erupted into cheers so loud that the people around them stared. Harry had to grab his grandsons to prevent them from falling over the rail in excitement as they cheered for their uncle.
Mrs. Weasley, aided by Hermione's mother, cooked a spectacular feast back at the Malfoy home to celebrate before Rose and Scorpius headed off for a mini vacation. Hermione and Draco were going to keep the kids for half the week and Padma and Ron the other half of the week.
When it was time for them to leave, Scorpius had a difficult time saying goodbye to Lauren and Jackson. His program had allowed him to study from home so most of the time he was the one with the kids all day while Rose worked at St. Mungo's. She worked a lot of long hours as the deputy head healer in her department.
Once they finally left, Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I would never get you out of there," she said with a laugh.
Scorpius scowled mockingly. "This is our first time being away from them for so long. Aren't you even the slightest bit worried?"
She kicked her feet up on the dashboard as Scorpius drove them away from his parent's home that was still bustling with sound as the party carried on without them. "Nope. Not at all. We left them in the most capable hands; With the people who raised us."
She smiled over at her husband and took his free hand. "I'm just happy to get some time with you to celebrate this amazing accomplishment. You've worked so hard and we're all so proud."
Scorpius blushed. "Thanks Rosie. I couldn't have done it without your support."
Rose laughed. "Of course you couldn't have."
They dropped their car off at their house and went into the backyard to apparate. Rose had shrunken their bags and put them into her small handbag.
"You're still not going to tell me where we're going?" Scorpius asked, taking her hand.
She smiled and shook her head. "Nope." She turned on the spot and they disapparated with a pop.
When Scorpius opened his eyes, he blinked in the darkness, trying to figure out where they were.
"You might as well stop trying," Rose said with a laugh from somewhere next to him in the dark. She dropped his hand and walked away from him.
All of a sudden the room they were in was flooded with light as Rose flipped a switch. Scorpius looked around. "This is a Malfoy Hotel," he said, with a frown.
"Kind of," Rose replied.
Scorpius snorted. "What do you mean kind of? I designed this room. Although dad said he wasn't going to use this design."
"I know," Rose said with a smile.
"Rosie stop being so cryptic and tell me what's going on," Scorpius said sternly, though the corners of his lips were twitching upward into a smile.
"Okay, okay!" Rose laughed and pulled him over to the window that was covered with a curtain.
She flung the curtain open and giggled at Scorpius' incredulous expression as he looked out.
"Are we in Venice?"
"Yep!"
He turned away from the view to gaze down at his wife. "But there isn't a Malfoy Hotel in Venice!"
"I know. This is the first Malfoy Bed and Breakfast. Athena and I have been working on it all year to surprise you. It's smaller and more intimate than the Malfoy Hotels so it accommodates your design aesthetic better. Your father was quite pleased when we presented him with the idea."
"Wait. So you're saying I designed this hotel?" he croaked.
"Yep! Every room is unique and based on the designs you submitted when you worked at Malfoy International. Not all of them are exact but each one is inspired by you. We named all of the suites after all of the kids in the family," she rambled on.
"We figured they would appreciate that when they got older. For example, this is the Lauren suite. Athena obviously handled all of the details and such but I was very much involved--"
Rose's sentence was cutoff as Scorpius wrapped her in his arms and kissed her firmly. "You amazing witch. I cannot believe you did this for me! How on Earth did you keep this a secret from me?"
She beamed up at him. "It was fairly easy. You aren't exactly very observant."
Scorpius stuck his bottom lip out in protest. "I resent that."
"Don't," she replied, kissing his nose. "It's endearing. But anyway, aside from that, your dad was involved and according to Athena he is the KING of surprises."
Scorpius snorted. "He definitely is; Just ask my mum. He drives her crazy with his elaborate surprises for her. Have you heard what he's planning for their thirtieth anniversary?"
She nodded. "I have no idea how he's going to pull that off."
"Don't worry," he laughed. "Like you said, dad's the king of surprises. It'll go off without a hitch and mum will have no clue. But enough about that. Thank you for this Rosie. This is the best gift I've ever received."
Rose smiled softly. "You deserve this and so much more."
He kissed her again and laughed. "Well this makes my gift for you so lackluster."
Rose frowned and stared at him with confusion. "You got me a gift? Why? You're the one who graduated."
Scorpius stepped away from her and pulled a small pouch out of his pocket. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. You supported me these last four years, financially and emotionally. You encouraged me when I thought I couldn't go on."
He enlarged the pouch and pulled her down to sit next to him on the edge of the bed. He set the pouch aside and took her hands. "You've been an incredible wife and mother throughout this. A partner in every sense of the word. And always my inspiration."
He let go of her hands and opened the pouch pulling out a large canvas. He turned it around for her to see and she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
"Scorpius! What is this?" she asked with tears filling her eyes.
"This was my final project. The one that solidified my position as valedictorian of my class. It will be displayed in the art museum at my school for the next two years. It's called Mundo" He smiled sheepishly at her. "Do you like it?"
"Like it?" she whispered. "I love it!"
It was a painting of a picture he had taken back in early spring. The portrait was of her in profile, standing in their backyard holding Lauren's hand and nursing Jackson. The grass was high and billowed in the breeze underneath the grey, stormy sky. The wind whipped her hair around her face as she stared off into the distance. She turned and looked toward the viewer with a slight smile and the portrait froze.
She frowned slightly. "But it's a magical portrait. You can't display this," she said looking up at him.
Scorpius smiled. "I charmed it to where it moves for magical folk, but muggles only see the bit at the end. I painted it without magic so I could do that."
"Honey it's incredible. You're so talented." She gave him a big hug and a kiss.
"Is that all I get as a reward?" he said with a laugh, pulling her into his lap.
"I'd hate to damage such a beautiful work of art," she replied seductively. "Maybe you should put it away."
"Yes ma'am!" Scorpius replied, gently tossing her onto the bed so he could put the painting away.
Rose laughed heartily as he made his way back over to her. "I love you Scorpius Malfoy," she said as he hovered over her.
"And I love you too Rosie Malfoy."
A/N So sorry this one took so long! First week back at school was nuts. And I had a hard time writing Scorpius and Rose because I ship them so hard and wanted to do it justice lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, please vote, comment and follow!