A/N: This is a pretty emotional chapter, which I always have some trouble with so I hope it turned out alright. And all of you Rose haters out there … Stop it. Haha.

My family once kept a huge secret from me because they were worried it would affect my finals, which were coming up. I found out another way and it's always kind of stuck with me. Don't keep secrets from your family. Period.

And here we go …

Rose was not sure how long she stood there. Minutes. Hours. But at one point she did vaguely hear her mobile phone ringing in her pocket, and vibrating several other times. Eventually, she came to, able to focus and see the world again but unsure of how she was supposed to feel. Sad? Angry? Lied to? Betrayed? Maybe a little of all of them.

Her cheeks felt hot as she sniffled, the rain still off and on but she was plenty soaked by this point. She wiped her eyes anyway, wanting to get rid of the tears. How was she going to tell Scorpius about this?

And then she remembered something. He was keeping a secret from her, she knew he was. It couldn't be …

With another sniffle, Rose took her phone out of her pocket. There were two text messages, a missed call and a voicemail. She looked at the messages first. One was from Scorpius asking how the interview went and the other was from her mother. Just reading the name Mummy Dearest made her cringe. She opened it.

Rosie, please call me back. I'm worried about you. Tell me where you are and I'll come meet you .

Rose's throat grew raw, a horrible lump caught in it as she clicked over to her voicemail, bringing her phone up to her ear and listening.

"Hi, honey, I just got back to the office. Teddy told me you came by and seemed really upset. I take it that means the interview didn't go well. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you came by, but I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. Call me or come by, it doesn't matter. I love you."

There was a click and the voicemail ended. Rose stood there, her hand tensing around the phone as she realized the message must have been left only minutes after she saw her mother kissing her fiancé's father. And, in that moment, anger was definitely the emotion that took over.

Rose screamed as she turned and kicked the stone wall, thrashing against it repeatedly before tossing her phone, which landed right in a puddle. She immediately regretted that move.

"Shit!" she cried, running over and retrieving it, but it was too late. The phone had passed on. "Dammit!"

Rose fell to her knees beside the puddle, crying as she thought of that moment almost a year ago when her parents sat her and her brother down, telling them about their trial separation. She had tried so hard to stay optimistic, even when everyone told her she wasn't being realistic. Even when her dad started dating Colette it was fine because her mother hadn't moved on. She knew her dad would come running back the moment her mom said the word. But now … with this ?

What Rose had just witnessed did not look new, and it did not look casual. They were acting like a bloody couple.

Staring at the dead phone in her hand, Rose stood up, eyes still burning from her tears as she slipped it into her pocket. Cradling her arms around herself, she began to walk, unsure of where she was going but knowing it would definitely not be the Ministry. The anger had fizzled and sadness had taken over. She told her mother everything. Was it so wrong to expect the same in return?

Hermione sat in her office, unable to work as she kept staring at her phone on her desk. It wasn't ringing. She picked it up and dialed Rose again. This time it went straight to voicemail.

"Still haven't got a hold of her?"

Hermione looked up to see Draco standing in her doorway. "No," she said with a frown. "Her phone seems to be off now. Should I call Scorpius? See if she's gone there?"

"If you want," he said. "But you know your daughter is a big girl, right? She'll come back if she needs you."

"I know," said Hermione. "But no matter how much of a big girl she is, she's still my baby and I'm worried about her. I ought to call bloody Parvati and give her a piece of my mind!"

"Definitely don't do that," said Draco. "If your fear is right then your little flower has been humiliated enough."

Hermione nodded, leaning back in her chair and tapping her fingers on the desk. "I'm calling Scorpius," she finally decided, picking up her phone again and dialing his number. He answered after two rings.

" Hello ?"

"Scorpius, it's Hermione. Is Rose with you?"

" No ," he said. " Haven't heard from her since this morning. Text her a couple times but she hasn't gotten back to me ." He paused. " Why ?"

"No reason. She just came by here after her interview when I was out and I haven't been able to get a hold of her since."

Another pause. " She was upset, wasn't she? That's why you're calling ."

Hermione sighed. "Yes, that's what Teddy said. Just … let me know if you get ahold of her before I do."

" Yeah, sure. I told her not to apply for that bloody job. I hate those people ."

"We all do," said Hermione. "Bye, Scorpius."

" Bye ."

Hermione hung up and put down her phone, pursing her lips as she tried to think of what else she could do to locate her daughter.

"Well, looky here. Just the two people I wanted to see."

Hermione looked up, only now noticing that Draco had moved so he was sitting across from her, and Blaise was currently the one in her doorway. He slammed the door behind him.

"I'm not really in the mood for whatever it is you're preaching today, Zabini," said Hermione, staring down at her phone again.

"Well, that's too bloody bad," he said, marching over and stopping by her desk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out several pieces of paper dropping them down so both Draco and Hermione could see. They were photos. Of Alex. And Owen Sharrow. Some were innocent, just of the two of them having dinner, which could very well have been a business dinner. But then they were sitting closer, holding hands and, eventually, on a doorstep snogging pretty heavily.

"Where did you get these?" asked Hermione.

"That doesn't matt -"

"Dammit, Blaise! Why the fuck are you still having her followed?" shouted Draco.

"I forgot to call off my guy."

Draco huffed. "Like hell you did."

Blaise's face tensed. "Oh, what of it? I had a hunch and it turns out I was right. My gut is always right."

"And what does your gut tell you now?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It tells me to find this bloody prick and kick his fucking -"

" No , Blaise. You won't be doing that," Draco said sternly. "This man is a very important client of ours who went to the trouble of asking his very important father for permission to take Alex out. He's a decent bloke. Let him be."

Eyes bulging, Blaise said, "You knew ," in an accusatory voice.

"Of course I did."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"I left that up to her," said Draco with a shrug.

"But … why is she dating him?"

"Ask her ."

"But I don't understand why -"

Hermione had to laugh a little. " Really , Zabini? You can't think of one reason why she wouldn't take her relationship with you seriously? I actually find it funny that you're upset at all. Is it some sort of possessive thing?"

"No, it isn't some sort of possessive thing !" spat Blaise, glaring daggers at her.

Hermione shrugged. "Then what? You always fool around on women you actually like?"

Blaise's eyes widened. His daggers quickly turned to Draco. "You fucking told her?"

"No, I didn't," said Draco.

It took Blaise a moment but, when he got it, his dark skin lightened significantly. "Fuck. She knows?"

"I didn't say that," said Draco. " Talk to her ."

"Oh, I'll bloody fucking talk to her," said Blaise, gathering up the photos and stuffing them into his pockets. "I'll talk to her and that fucking little bastard -"

"You will not talk to him, Blaise," Draco said sternly.

Blaise growled in frustration before stomping towards the door. " FUCK !" he shouted loudly before giving the wall a punch, opening the door and storming out.

"My future campaign manager, ladies and gentleman," said Hermione, mock-presenting him to an invisible crowd. She looked at her phone again. Nothing.

"Hermione, I'm sure she's fine," said Draco, standing up and walking over to her. "I have to go back to my office, but dinner at your place tonight, right?"

She nodded.

Draco glanced towards the door, making sure it was clear before leaning down and giving her a kiss. "I'll see you later. I love you."

Hermione smiled. "I love you, too."

Draco left then, barely out of her office for five seconds before Cormac appeared in her doorway, eyes narrowed. "So that's how the two of you say goodbye now? For real?"

Hermione's smile instantly faded. "Yes, Cormac. For real ."

He grunted and cast his eyes towards the floor. "The Minister needs us."

She sighed and nodded, taking one last look at her phone before standing up and following Cormac towards the lift.

"Hi, Molly. It's Scorpius … SCOR-PI-US. You know, your cousin's fiancé … Yes, that one . Listen, you haven't seen Rose, have you?"

Scorpius' heart clenched as he listened to her say no in far more words than necessary.

"Alright, but if you hear from her can you please tell her to call me … Thanks."

He hung up before she could be given the chance to ask more questions. It was already half past eight and Rose still wasn't home, her phone going straight to voicemail. He was debating going out looking for her but he didn't even know where to begin. The library was closed. So was the bookshop she worked at. He believed there was a coffee shop near it that she liked. Maybe he could go -

Just then, the door to the flat opened. Scorpius whipped his head towards it, immediate relief rushing through his veins as Rose stepped through, a little damp but seemingly unharmed.

"Thank fucking Merlin!" he said, running and taking her into her arms. "Where have you been?" he asked, very aware that she wasn't hugging him back.

"I don't know," she answered. "Everywhere."

"Why? Was the interview that terrible?" he asked, pulling away and looking at her red, blotchy face.

"Oh," she said, sounding almost surprised by the question. "I guess. I mean … Yes. Yes, it was bad. They offered me a different position in gossip. One guess as to who they wanted me to write about." Rose's eyes became sad as she suddenly realized that the gossip about her mother really wasn't gossip at all.

"But why didn't you call me? Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

Rose took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Dropped it in a puddle," she said, walking into the washroom and hanging up her wet coat, followed by her jumper, for the first time feeling how cold her skin really was. She then decided to take off everything, walking back out to the main room naked and grabbing some sweats and dry knickers from the dresser.

"Baby, I understand you're upset, but you knew what the risk was going into that interview," he said. "Did you really have to wander out in the rain for hours like that? You're going to get sick."

"No I won't," she said, going into the kitchen and taking a potion that would boost her immune system. "Anyways, I'm not upset over that anymore. I was, but I'm over it."

"Oh," said Scorpius, watching her closely as she walked out of the kitchen and took a seat on their bed, petting Perdita, who had made herself comfortable in the center of it. "Then why -"

"Scorpius, we need to talk about something. Something serious."

"Oh," he said again. "And what's that?"

Rose sighed, her body still feeling chilled even though she had gotten rid of all of that wet clothing. She looked into his eyes and gulped. "I know you've been keeping something from me. I can see it in you. But what I don't know is what it is. I want you to tell me. Right now."

"Wha … what?"

"You heard me," she said. "You haven't been yourself lately. Why?"

"Me? You are not being yourself right now!"

"I'm not?" she asked, her face calm as she gazed at him with bright-blue eyes.

"No, you're not," Scorpius said sternly. "Where have you been ?"

"You haven't answered my question."

"I'm not keeping anything from you, Rose!" he snapped, his heart instantly clenching with guilt but his mouth unable to speak the truth. "Why would you even think -"

"Is that your final answer?" she interrupted.

"What is this, a bloody game? Yes , that's my final answer!"

Rose continued to stare at him, her eyes unblinking. But then a tear dripped down her cheek, her brows furrowing as she sneered and said, "You're lying."

"No I'm -"

"Yes you are! You're a fucking liar, Scorpius!"

Rose stepped off of the bed, storming over to the closet and digging through it until she found a pair of boots, pulling them on over her sweats.

"Rose, I'm not lying!" he shouted, unsure of why he wasn't confessing. He kept telling himself to do it, but he didn't understand where all of this was coming from. What did she know?

"More lies!" she screamed, throwing her arms up in the air out of frustration. She stared fiercely into his eyes and shook her head. "Come find me when you're ready to tell me the truth."

And, with that, Rose Disapparated, reappearing a second later in their washroom and sitting on the side of the bathtub, listening closely at the door. She hated that it had come to this. Spying on Scorpius felt like a betrayal. But she had to know if she was right. She really hoped she wasn't, already planning the apology in her head for if she truly was the one at fault.

"FUCK!" Scorpius shouted in the other room. "Rose!" he called, but she did not respond.

Then he took out his mobile, dialing someone. She waited, horrible knots twisting in her stomach as she closed her eyes and listened.

"Dad." He sniffled. "Yeah, she came home. She was here but we - we just got in a huge fight and I don't even know why. I didn't … Yeah, yeah, tell her Rose is fine. She was just walking and dropped her phone in a puddle … YES, Dad, but please listen to me … I don't know where she's been but she came back bloody pissed at me and she left. Now I don't know where she went. Can I come talk to you?"

Rose opened her eyes, and held her face in her hands. Those definitely didn't sound like questions Draco Malfoy would ask.

"Okay, where are you?" A pause. "Her house?"

Rose went white, her hands shaking as she fought hard to keep it together.

"Okay, just let me leave a note for Rose. I'm on my way."

Scorpius hung up the phone. She heard shuffling in their desk, and then the familiar sound of a quill scratching against a piece of parchment.

Once Rose heard the ' pop ' of someone Disapparating, she left the washroom, finding the letter he had written.

Rose,

I've gone to your mum's house. I'm leaving my phone here so please call her when you get back and we'll talk about whatever happened to you today, okay? I love you. Please come home soon.

Scorpius

Rose put her hand on the letter, reading that first line over and over again. He knew .

Several tears dripped down Rose's cheeks as she clutched the parchment, crumpling it before tossing it across the room. Everyone was lying to her. And for what reason? A stupid affair that wasn't even important? She'd had enough of this.

Rose Disapparated again, this time reappearing in her old bedroom at her mother's house. She exited quietly and shut the door behind her, standing in the dark hallway and listening as several voices talked over each other in the living room.

"Scorpius, calm down," said Hermione, always the voice of reason.

"I can't!" he cried. "Rose is going to leave me!"

"No she's not. Why would you think that?" she asked.

"Because she left!" He sniffled. "She came home really upset but she said she didn't care about what had happened at the interview anymore. But she had clearly been crying and then she just sits down and demands I tell her what I've been keeping from her! I don't know what she's bloody talking about!"

Hermione and Draco glanced sideways at each other. Hermione gulped.

"And what did you say?" asked Draco.

"Don't worry, Dad ! I didn't give your bloody secret -"

"That's not what I meant," he said. "Frankly, I think Rose is an adult and there's no reason she shouldn't know about us. So what if she's stressed over the wedding? If she wants to know -"

"But I don't even know if that's what she was talking about!" said Scorpius.

Rose stepped out of the hallway and stopped in the entryway to the living room with her arms crossed. "It was," she said.

Everyone stood frozen, their heads turning slowly until they were all looking at her, standing there and glaring at every last one of them.

Rose looked at Draco first. "I appreciate your confidence in me, Mr. Malfoy. It's just a shame that you're the person in this room I care about the least."

Hermione looked ashamedly towards the floor. She took a breath and stepped forward. "Rose, I -"

"Do not come near me right now, Mother," snapped Rose, holding a hand out to stop her.

Hermione tensed as she looked back up at her daughter, gulping to relieve her dry throat. "Please, just let me explain -"

"Explain what?" said Rose with a casual shrug. "How you're doing Merlin knows what with my fiancé's father? My fiancé's FATHER ! I came crying to you because I thought Scorpius was keeping something from me, and it turns out you are the bloody secret! I mean, are you kidding me right now? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Hermione sighed. She looked over her shoulder. "Draco, Scorpius, could you please give us a mome -"

" No !" snapped Rose. "No, I want them to stay! So you can all tell me how bloody long you've been LYING to me!"

Scorpius stepped forward. "Rosie, baby, I swear I didn't -"

" Don't , Scorpius!" shouted Rose, her face contorting. "I gave you a chance to tell me the truth and you didn't take it! You told me you weren't keeping something from me! What the hell do you call this?" She motioned animatedly to her mother and Draco.

"Neglecting to mention," he said in a pathetic attempt to lighten the mood.

But Rose wasn't having it. She turned bright-red, her eyes bloodshot and her cheeks stained with tears as she screamed, "Lying by omission is still a lie!"

"But … I … How …" Scorpius gulped, trying hard to hold back his tears. "Who told you?"

"No one told me anything!" she spat. "I was upset after that joke of an interview and went looking for my mother. And, what do you know, I found her! Bloody snogging your father! I mean, what the hell?" Rose turned towards Hermione with flaming eyes. "Out of all of the men, ALL of the men in the world this is the one you choose? Why?"

Hermione sighed and shrugged. "I can't really explain -"

"Try!"

Hermione stared at Rose, trying hard to stay composed even though she had never seen that look in her daughter's eyes before. Hurt, anger, betrayal, and it was pointed right at her. More than with Scorpius or Draco, Rose was angry with her.

"It was an accident," she said. It was the best answer she could come up with. "It was never supposed to be anything serious."

Rose's eyes bulged. "This is serious ?" she asked. Then she looked at Draco. "But you're … you're a playboy!"

"Only briefly," said Draco. "But your mother is the only woman I've dated in a year."

Her eyes bulged even more. "This has been going on a year ?"

"No," said Hermione, shaking her head frantically. "Rosie, of course not. He's just saying that the playboy thing was short-lived. All of the other stories have just been fabricated by the tabloids."

"Well, not yours, apparently," she mocked. "Turns out all of these reporters that have been hounding me about my mother's new relationship have been spot on !" She grimaced and shook her head. "Honestly, getting in a bloody serious relationship with him . What about Dad? I mean, you're still technically married."

Suddenly, the entire room became eerily quiet. All movement stopped, breaths became shallow, and Rose was not blind to the change. Her heart stopped as she suddenly felt faint.

"What?" she asked, her throat growing raw. "What is it?"

Hermione sighed and took a cautious step forward. "Rose, honey, your father and I, we're … we're divorced."

Rose took a step back. "What?" she repeated, needing a moment to process what she had just heard before more tears started falling. " When ?" she demanded.

"Just over two weeks ago," said Hermione, feeling sad and hopeless as her daughter began to break down in front of her.

Rose's legs became weak as she stumbled into the wall beside her. Scorpius tried to run forward but she somehow managed to hold out her hand, letting him know not to come any closer.

"Two weeks …" she said quietly as she tried to grasp what her mother had just told her. And then she remembered something. "You saw Hugo less than two weeks ago." She was looking at Hermione. "Did you tell him about this?"

Hermione gulped. "Yes," she answered ashamedly.

"You told him , but you didn't think to tell me . Why ?"

"Rose, honey, I'm sorry," said Hermione, "but you've just been so stressed planning your wedding that I didn't want to -"

"Is that really your excuse?" said Rose, still holding onto the wall for support as she cried.

She knew she hadn't been the easiest person to be around these last few weeks, but she didn't think she had been that bad. Certainly not enough to be punished like this, with all of these lies.

"When something happens in a family you tell them right away ! You've been divorced from my dad for two weeks! You've been dating my fiancé's father for Merlin knows how long! And for some reason my fiancé, my brother and most likely my bloody dad know all of this, are able to handle all of this through stressful times, but I'm not! I'm not a fucking child anymore, Mother! I can handle that my parents aren't together anymore! I don't like it but I can handle it! What I can't handle is you, the person I have always confided in lying to me!"

Rose stared at her mother with cold yet flaming eyes, flushed cheeks and heated, unsteady breaths. Her hands were clenched as she felt an anger she had never felt before. Tears stung her eyes so she brought her arm up and wiped them, hating that she was crying like a child when she was trying to prove the contrary. But she had just taken a pretty strong shot to the heart.

"Rosie, I'm sorry," said Hermione, her own eyes glossy as she stared at her daughter. "Please don't cry."

Rose shook her head. Not wanting to look at her mother, she took a quick glance at Draco, but one look into those stone-colored eyes and she had to look away. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking and she didn't like that. Scorpius admired him so much and she had always wanted him to like her, but now … Now all she wanted was for him to leave, to stop playing with her mother's heart and never come back.

Keeping her eyes on the floor, Rose moved her gaze until she found Scorpius' feet, glancing up and seeing the fear in his eyes. "How long have you known?" she asked him.

Scorpius stared at his father, who motioned for him to pay attention to her, refusing to answer anything for him. Scorpius looked back at Rose, his voice dry as he said, "I found out shortly after the divorce happened."

Rose took a deep breath and looked down again. She closed her eyes. "So is there anything else you've been keeping from me?"

She had meant it more for dramatic effect, but then the room became eerily quiet again. Her eyes snapped open. Mouth agape, she looked up until she caught Scorpius' eye.

"Oh, gods. There is," she said, unsure if her heart could take much more of this. She gulped. "What is it?" she asked, hoping for the best but fearing for the worst.

"I …" Scorpius looked at his father again.

"Scorpius, answer the girl," said Draco sharply to his son.

Scorpius looked at Rose again, his face tense. He swallowed and said, "I got accepted into the dragonologist program in Romania."

Rose blinked. "The one my uncle Charlie runs?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I …" He gulped. "I got my acceptance letter just after graduation."

She blinked again. "In June?"

He nodded again.

"But those spots are really exclusive. If you don't accept within a couple of weeks …" And then it hit her. "Oh," she said, her face going white. "You turned them down."

He nodded for a third time.

"But … why would you do that? Being a dragonologist is your dream job." She feared that she already knew the answer.

"Because we'd just gotten engaged, Rose. I couldn't've asked you to up and move to Romania with me."

"Why not?" she asked. "Because we're so happy here now? Both of us in dead-end jobs we hate."

"But I was afraid you wouldn't -"

"Wouldn't what? Come with you?"

That quiet again. And then Scorpius averted his eyes.

Rose's heart may have been beating slower throughout all of this but, in that moment, it stopped completely. "You asked me to marry you, Scorpius, and I said yes," she said in a strained voice. "Don't you think that means I'm happy to go wherever it is you need me to go? You should have told me and we should have made a decision together! Because that is what marriage is FUCKING about! Talking things over, making sacrifices for the one you love! I would have gone to Romania in a heartbeat if you'd asked me!" she screamed, veins popping out of her forehead as the powerful anger she felt earlier grew even stronger. Why did everyone she loved have such little faith in her? "I can't do this," she said, stepping back and shaking her head.

Scorpius stepped forward, tears falling down his cheeks as he reached out for her. "What can't you do?" he asked.

"I can't marry you," she said. "Not when there's such little trust between us."

"What?" he said, his shoulders bobbing as his tears grew stronger. "Rose … baby, no. I'm sorry, alright? I won't lie to you again. I promise. I …"

Rose shook her head. "No. I've heard this all before. A year ago you promised me that the lies were over."

"But … that was differe -"

"A lie is a lie!" she shouted.

"Rosie, honey, please think about what you're saying," said Hermione. "You have every right to be mad at me and, yes, you have plenty of right to be mad at him too, but to call off the wedding? Please don't do something you'll regret in a moment of passion?"

Rose shook her head again. "I don't know," she said, her voice calm but tears still falling. "I can't be here anymore. I need to go. I need to think." She glanced up at stared at Scorpius, gulping as he looked back at her with such pained eyes. "You can go home. I'll find somewhere else to stay tonight."

And with those final words she Disapparated, hearing Scorpius scream her name as she reappeared outside, crouching down beside the house she grew up in and finally letting herself break down. Her arse hit the wet cement and she wrapped her arms around her legs, crying hysterically into her knees as she realized she had nowhere to go. No one to talk to.

She couldn't go to her dad's. He had lied to her, too. They had all lied to her. Two weeks her parents had been divorced, neither of them dropping the slightest hint that something might have changed. Lily and Hugo were at school. There was Albus, but he still lived with her Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, and she didn't want to see them either. If her parents were divorced then there was not a doubt in her mind that her aunt and uncle both knew. And Victoire and Teddy had Dory. Dominique was most likely with them. And James … Actually, James was a possibility, but there was a fifty-fifty chance that Edie was there, and she really did not want to see her right now. Still, she was running out of options and James was the best of the bunch.

Wiping her eyes, Rose stood, Apparating to just outside of James' flat. She took a deep breath before knocking, listening as footsteps headed her way from the living room. Someone checked the peephole and the door swung open.

"Rose," said a voice far too high to be that of her cousin's. Her eyes focused and she saw Edie standing there. "Rose, what's wrong?"

Rose stood there, staring at her for a moment, just a blur through her wet eyes. She gulped. "Is James here?" she asked.

Edie shook her head. "He had a late mission he had to go on for work. He won't be back until late."

Rose nodded once. "Thank you."

She began to walk away but Edie grabbed her arm. "Rose, wait! Are you alright?" She looked down at Rose's sweatshirt. "You're soaking wet. Please, just come inside."

Rose had no fight left inside of her as Edie dragged her through the door, guiding her to the sofa and helping her sit down before running into the kitchen and quickly making tea.

Rose just sat there, her eyes staring blankly in front of her for a long while before they focused and she realized she was staring at her wedding dress. Edie had been right. It finally looked wearable.

"Here," said Edie, suddenly shoving a mug filled with hot tea into her hands.

"Thanks," Rose said quietly, her voice unable to work properly after all of the screaming and crying.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" asked Edie, sitting down next to her.

Rose shook her head.

"Does it have to do with Scorpius?"

She nodded.

"Do you need me to kick his arse?"

She shook her head again.

"Well, then what -"

"Did you know he was accepted into the dragonologist program?" Rose asked suddenly, turning her head and staring at Edie.

Edie was taken aback. Her jaw slacken, she just said, "Uh," for a very long time.

"Is that a yes then?" Rose cocked an eyebrow.

Edie cleared her throat and looked away. "Yeah, I did," she admitted.

Rose laughed without humor. "Great. So he told you but he couldn't tell me, the fucking girl he's marrying until he's backed into a corner. How is that right?"

"Umm … it's not," said Edie. "But, you know, he was scared of -"

"Of what ?" Rose demanded. "What, Edie? What exactly did he think I was going to do?"

Edie shrugged. "I don't know. That you'd tell him to go but that you weren't going with him."

"If I was going to do that then I wouldn't have bloody said yes when he asked me to marry him! I thought from the moment I accepted the ring that that meant we were supposed to make these kinds of decisions together, but he just keeps lying to me!" Rose paused and whimpered, more tears falling down her cheeks, her swollen eyes feeling exhausted. "Edie … why won't he let me in?"

"He has," said Edie.

Rose shook her head. "No, he hasn't. Not entirely."

"But more than anyone else."

"Not more than you," said Rose. "For some reason he can tell you things he can't tell me."

"Well … yeah, maybe," said Edie. "But it's different. We've been friends for -"

"Forever," finished Rose. "Yeah, I know. But that doesn't make me feel any better."

Edie sighed. "I don't know what you want me to do. Not be his friend anymore?"

"No," Rose said quickly. "Of course not. It's not about that, it's …" She took a deep breath. "I don't know what it's about. I just … I want to be the one he comes to with these sorts of things, you know?" She began to cry again. It was never ending. "Why does everyone I love think I can't handle things? That I don't deserve to be told the truth? I'm not a little girl anymore, I can handle it! I …"

Rose broke down again, leaning forward on her knees and full-on sobbing into her hands. Edie took the mug of tea away and put it down, hesitantly putting a hand on Rose's back and rubbing it soothingly.

"My parents are divorced," Rose found herself saying after several minutes. "Did you know that, too?"

Edie gulped and shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"They got divorced two weeks ago and no one told me. They didn't tell me and I had to find out in … the most god awful way."

"Sounds like you've had a rough night," said Edie. "You know what might make it better?"

Rose shook her head.

Edie smiled. "Hot chocolate. Since you don't seem to want to drink my tea," she said, pointing to the mug. "You just look really cold and I'd really like you to be warm."

Rose cracked and smiled. "Alright."

"I'd make it myself but Scorpius is always raving about your hot chocolate," said Edie. "Would you mind?"

"Sure," said Rose.

They were both just about to stand when Edie's phone began to ring in her pocket. "Must be James," she said, taking it out and looking. She cocked her head. "Huh. That's funny. I don't recognize the number."

Rose looked. Her heart skipped a beat. "It's my mother's," she said, her voice sore and harsh.

"Oh." Edie looked at her. "Should I answer?"

Rose thought. "Yeah," she said. "But I don't want to talk to her. Or Scorpius if he's still there. Just … let them know I'm here."

Edie nodded, answering the call just before it was about to end. "Hello?" she said, watching as Rose stood and walked towards the kitchen.

" Edie, hi, it's Hermione ," said the voice on the other line.

"Hi, Mrs. We - umm … Hermione." Edie bit her lip. Whoops.

" You or James haven't heard from Rose, have you ?"

"Yeah, actually she's here at James' with me," said Edie.

" She is ?" she heard Scorpius' voice say in the distance. " Please, Edie, let me talk -"

"I don't think that's a good idea right now."

" Then I'm coming by ."

"No, Scorpius that's definitely not a good idea," Edie said sternly. She stood and walked into the bedroom. "She seems pretty upset. You should give her some time."

" But I need to see her ," Scorpius said pleadingly, his voice much closer now as he obviously took charge of the phone. " I need to talk to her and -"

"Scorpius, no ," Edie whispered harshly. "She has said she doesn't want to speak to you right now and you need to respect that. She'll come to you when she's ready."

" But -"

"She's here, she's safe, and she'll contact you when she's ready. Goodnight."

Edie hung up the phone. She sent James a quick message, letting him know that Rose was there and why before heading back out to the front room and joining Rose in the kitchen.

Rose was already stirring something in a pot on the stove. She was silent as Edie approached. Then, without looking up, she quietly said, "Thank you."

"No problem," said Edie with a smile. "Sisterhood and all that jazz. For someone so smart Scorpius can be really dumb sometimes. Being older I tried to raise him right, but there really was no hope."

Rose smiled again, but her eyes still looked so sad.

Edie frowned. "He really is trying, you know. But you're his first real relationship and he hasn't … quite grasped how this whole thing works yet. He's not like you and me. He didn't grow up with parents who were loving and honest. He's kinda just winging it."

James arrived home just in time to enjoy some hot chocolate. He and Edie stayed up with Rose for a while but, eventually, she told them she was ready to go to sleep. James grabbed her a blanket and pillow and made her a bed on the sofa.

For hours after she was left alone Rose just laid there, her eyes adjusting to the dark and staring blankly at the silhouette of her wedding dress. This was the first night in months that she had slept without Scorpius. The only time they had slept apart at all since fully committing to each other last January was when they were flat hunting and staying with their respective parents.

Rose sighed as she thought about her mother again, laughing and kissing Draco Malfoy, looking at him in a way she had not looked at her father in years. She cried silently, not understanding how two people who had once been so in love could have gone so wrong. Were all relationships doomed like that? Even hers?

Scorpius sat at his desk on Friday, unable to concentrate as he thought of Rose. He had been without her for two nights now and had quickly learned that he could not sleep unless she was there in his arms. So, on top of being sad and depressed, he was also exhausted, and little work was getting done.

Suddenly, Scorpius felt a presence approach his desk, he looked up slowly, his mouth falling open when he saw Rose standing there.

"Hi," she said. "Can we go for a walk?"

Scorpius looked over at Bill, who was watching them closely while he searched through a filing cabinet. He nodded.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, standing. "Let's go."

Rose led the way out, always making sure to stay a step ahead of him.

When they got outside, she veered left, not stopping until they were through the Leaky Cauldron and in Muggle London.

"Sorry, I didn't want to talk in there," she said, finally letting him catch up to her.

"Yeah, I know," said Scorpius. "It seems like the closer we get to the wedding the more aggressive these reporters are becoming." He suddenly went white. "I mean, if there's a …"

Rose kept her eyes down, watching her feet as they walked. She eventually stopped by a short stone wall, sitting on it and folding her hands in her lap. Scorpius leaned against it beside her.

"Scorpius, have I given you a reason not to trust me?"

"No, of course not," he said.

"Then why do you think you have to hide things from me?" she asked, turning her head and looking at him.

He stared into her wet eyes and sighed. "I don't. I just … When I decided I wanted to be a dragonologist I didn't ever think about if I had someone else in my life. I always expected I would do it alone, and that was fine. Few dragonologists marry because it's intense work. It's time consuming, you have to travel all the time, you're never home, and then when I got my acceptance letter I suddenly realized that it wasn't just me anymore. It was me and you and I didn't want to put you through that. Yeah, I was afraid you wouldn't go, but I was more afraid that if you did go I'd lose you because I'd never be there."

"You wouldn't have," said Rose. "As long as you were living your dream I'd be fine."

Scorpius looked away ashamedly. "I'm sorry."

Rose took a deep breath. "I've contacted my Uncle Charlie. As your fiancée he let me officially put you back on the list. It could be years but the next spot that opens in the program is yours. I've already looked into it and there are courses journalists and photographers can take to prepare themselves for dangerous jobs, like following dragonologists around. I've already signed up. I start in January."

Scorpius blinked. "What?"

"I figure with this training I'll be able to get a few journalism jobs that no one else wants. And, if nothing else, I'll just start a bloody blog or something."

"A what?"

"It's a Muggle thing," she answered. "Like a journal they post online, and since the wizarding world is slowly getting integrated with Muggle technology I figure it'll be easy to get it circulated. Or I'll just pass my writing off as fiction to Muggles, I don't know. I'm kinda just figuring that part out as I go."

Scorpius blinked again. "So the wedding … you still want to marry me?"

"Of course I do," said Rose. "I was mad, Scorpius. I'm still mad. But I'm not going to call off our wedding because you didn't tell me you got a job."

Scorpius exhaled in relief, only then realizing that he had been holding his breath, possibly for days. He took her face in his hands and kissed her, and while she did not respond with very much enthusiasm, she still kissed back.

"But, Scorpius," she said as soon as he pulled away, gazing into his eyes, "you cannot lie to me again. About anything. If this is going to work then we need to trust each other."

Scorpius nodded. "I won't, I promise."

"I just don't understand why you don't trust me," she said sadly.

"I do," he said. "More than anyone. I don't know, I guess I'm just waiting for the day you realize you can do better than the guy who once treated you like shit."

Rose chuckled softly. "Yeah, well, I can definitely do better than that guy." She smiled. "But that's not you anymore."

Scorpius smiled back. He couldn't help it, he kissed her again. "I love you," he said.

"I love you, too. You've more than proven yourself to me, Scorpius. And I don't want us to get married having these doubts about each other."

"Me neither," he said. "You're all I need, Rose. From now until forever."

"You're so corny," she said with a small laugh.

He laughed too, unable to look away from her as he realized this really was it. He had her back and he was going to make damn sure that he never lost her again. "So what are we going to do about our parents?" he asked hesitantly.

Rose's smile faded. "I don't really want to think about that right now."

Scorpius nodded.

"How long have they been together?"

"Since June, more or less," he answered.

Rose tensed as she remembered her parents had briefly tried again in June, but it hadn't worked. "And you've only known for two weeks?"

"Yeah."

She nodded.

"Rose, I … I know you don't want to hear this, but they seem really happy. When I found out I was going to ask my dad to call it off, but then I saw them together and I … I've never seen my father look at someone like that before." Scorpius gulped. "He even told me they go to the Farmers Market together on Sundays. Can you imagine? My father at a bloody Farmers Market."

"No," she said. "Doesn't really seem like his thing."

Scorpius frowned. "Are you going to talk to your mum?"

She shook her head. "No. Not yet."

"I really think you should -"

"I'm not ready yet, Scorpius," she said firmly. "My parents are divorced and neither of them told me about it. My mom's already moved on with your dad. It's … it's too much."

Scorpius sighed and nodded. He took Rose's hand. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you."

"I'm mad you kept this from me, but it wasn't your responsibility to tell me in the first place. It was hers, and she decided against it."

"But she asked me if I thought we should -"

"She shouldn't have asked you anything. She should have told me in … in June! My dad may have dated a tart but at least he was honest about it. None of this … sneaking around. Which is what they've been doing if they've kept this quiet since June ."

"So … you're just not going to talk to her?" asked Scorpius.

Rose sighed and said, "I don't know."

Hermione sat at her desk, her head propped up by one hand as she twirled a quill's tip around on a piece of parchment. Merlin had she ever screwed things up. She had wanted to be the one to tell Rose about her and Draco, to make the blow a little easier, but her daughter had found out in the worst way possible, by seeing them kiss each other like that. She wasn't sure of the exact moment Rose had seen them, but she only remembered kissing Draco when they were hiding from the rain on their way back to the Ministry. It had been a stupid move, even out in the Muggle world. But there was no way to go back and change that now.

There was a knock on Hermione's door and she looked up, not feeling any relief seeing Draco standing there. Only more guilt.

Draco stepped into her office and shut the door. "Just got a call from Scorpius. He and Rose talked. The wedding's back on."

"Good," she said, sitting up straight. Then she looked at her phone, which was out on her desk. No missed calls. No messages.

Draco followed her gaze. "She doesn't have a phone, remember?"

"That doesn't matter. She's capable of using anyone's. When she and Hugo were younger I made sure they memorized my number for emergencies."

Draco nodded, walking over and leaning against the desk beside her. "Hey." He reached over and nudged her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "She's mad now. We knew she would be and the way she found out is not good, but she will get over it."

Hermione nodded. She knew it was true to an extent, but she and Rose had always had a great relationship, and this was the first time she had ever kept something from her. And it was something big. Even when Rose got over it and forgave her, her greatest fear was that things would never be the same between them. It was always going to be bad, she knew that, but it didn't have to go down like this.

Without her being fully aware of it, Draco lifted Hermione out of her chair, took her seat and brought her back down on his lap. He grabbed her chin again, gazing into her sad eyes and sighing before leaning in and kissing her.

It was not long before their usual charms were up and Hermione was moving slowly on top of him, panting into his mouth as he held her so close, so tight, whispering words of devotion as he caressed her in the most comforting way possible. It was ironic how being with Draco was the one thing that could make her forget how massively she had screwed up, even though it was short-lived.