A/N: Well, this is officially the longest chapter I've ever written. I considered splitting it. At least then this story would end on an even 40, but I'm as eager to get to the ending as you are. So, here you go. 11,000+ words of drama!

And I believe I promised song recs …

Just in general for this story I think you should listen to The Long Fall by Jars of Clay.

For this chapter, during the last scene with Blaise and Alex listen to Embers of Love by Mich Gerber (sung by Imogen Heap), and at the end listen to Take me Home by Perfume Genius.

Scorpius sat outside of his mother's door, continuously calling to her every few minutes with a weak knock at the door. She still hadn't answered, really he didn't even know if she was in there anymore. She could have Apparated hours ago.

Rose sat next to him, her clammy hand in his while she rested her head on his shoulder, loyally telling him that the next time he knocked his mother would answer. But she never did.

"Scorpius."

Scorpius looked up to see Hermione standing there, for some reason holding a piece of bread.

"You've been at this long enough. You need to go and eat something."

He shook his head. "No, you don't understand. I … I can't get married without my mother there. She has to be there."

"I know," said Hermione with a nod. "And she will come out when she's ready."

He shook his head again.

"If you'd like I can wait here while you're gone. Go get you if she comes out."

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow. "I don't think that's a good idea. It doesn't really seem like you're her favorite person."

"You're marrying my daughter tomorrow, Scorpius. She's going to have to learn to live with me, and there's no time like the present. Now go."

"You really should eat, Scorpius," said Rose, tugging on his arm. "Just something quick, and then we can come back right after."

Scorpius looked at her. Then he stared up at Hermione. He sighed. "Alright," he said. "But I don't want to be gone long."

Rose nodded. She stood first, pulling Scorpius up after. "We'll be quick," she said to Hermione, taking his hand and pulling him away.

As soon as they were gone, Hermione leaned against the wall facing Astoria's door. She lifted the piece of bread in her hand, tore a bit off and took a bite. It really was good. Looking from side to side, Hermione made sure no one was coming. Scorpius might change his mind and come back, and Draco thought she had gone to the washroom. It would only be a matter of minutes before he realized she was taking too long.

Once she confirmed the coast was clear, Hermione went up to the door. She took her wand out, waved it at the handle and checked for spells. A Locking Charm and Silencing Charm. So Astoria never even heard Scorpius' knocks. While he might have been above just breaking into his mother's room, she was not.

With another wave of her wand, both charms were removed. Then she waved it again to undo the normal lock, grabbed the handle and let herself in, making sure to shut and lock the door behind her.

Astoria was sitting on the bed when she arrived, several packed suitcases by her feet. She looked up as Hermione entered, immediately jumping to her feet.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked in a demanding voice.

"Just came to compliment you on the bread," answered Hermione, tearing off another piece and eating it. "Though I do think I left it in the oven for too long. You didn't really leave me with any instructions so I had to guess."

"Well, if you took over then I'm sure it's just perfect." Astoria crossed her arms and sneered. "What do you want? To come and gloat? You've already won."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I wasn't even aware that we were in a competition."

"Of course we are!"

"Why?" asked Hermione with a shrug.

"Because you're with my ex-husband!"

Hermione sighed. She put her bread down on a table near the door and stepped forward. "Astoria, you and I are not in a competition. I am not here right now, standing in front of you as your competition for your family, or Draco's girlfriend, or even your future in-law. I am here to speak with you as one mother to another."

Astoria took a step back as Hermione took another step forward.

"I know you love Scorpius. You love him as unconditionally as I love my children and you won't be missing his wedding."

"Do not tell me what I will and will not -"

"You have been wronged. I know you have, but do not punish Scorpius for his father's mistakes."

Astoria's eyes moved to Hermione's hand. "You're not wearing the ring."

"No, I took it off."

"Why?"

Hermione looked down at her bare hand and sighed. "Because it was inconsiderate of me to wear it. Honestly, I didn't even think of you when he gave it to me and that was wrong. But, like I said, I'm not here to speak about Draco. I don't know what you think of Scorpius' and my relationship, but he is marrying my daughter. I have made an effort to get to know him and, yes, we get along. He's a sweet kid and I would be lying if I said I hadn't grown to love him. But I am not his mother, nor am I trying to be. If I suddenly publicly announced that I wasn't going to the wedding he might be upset but I doubt he would have been outside of my room crying for the past two hours. But he has been with you, which you would know if you hadn't put that spell up."

"That's why I put that spell up," Astoria said sternly. "You don't know what it's been like for me. Living in Draco's shadow for twenty years, my son, the person I love most in this world, looking up to him, adoring him more than he ever adored me. And then you , showing up and being so bloody perfect."

"I'm not perfect," said Hermione. "I lied to my children for months about this relationship and now Rose barely speaks to me."

Astoria scoffed. "You think that's terrible? After Draco and I got divorced Scorpius chose to live with him, even though I have a room for him at my house. When he came home for Christmas he chose to go there. When he came home for Easter he was supposed to come stay with me but at the last minute he changed his mind." She paused. "That's how Deacon and I started, if you were wondering. He came by looking for him. Just more proof that I am a terrible mother."

"I don't think that makes you terrible," said Hermione. "A little stupid, maybe, but not terrible."

Astoria crossed her arms, her eyes sad as she stared down at the carpet.

Hermione sighed. "Astoria, what are you doing? Making that scene, running in here and packing your bags. You know you're not going anywhere."

"I considered it," she replied.

"But even if you did you know you'd come back. I'm sorry Draco didn't treat you right when you were married, I really am. But, you do realize that he wouldn't have stayed with you for twenty years if there wasn't at least some love there. Blaise divorced his wife the moment he had an heir, but Draco didn't. He stayed married and he stayed faithful."

A tear dripped down Astoria's cheek.

"I don't understand why you are so convinced your life is over. You have plenty of time to meet someone new. Someone who appreciates what he has."

Astoria scoffed. "I haven't met anyone since the divorce."

"That doesn't mean you won't," said Hermione. "And you told me once that you had been training to become a Healer before marriage. Ever considered starting that again?"

"No," Astoria answered honestly.

"Well, maybe you should. At least think about it. You're only forty-three, nowhere near dead yet," said Hermione. "Now, won't you come downstairs? Have some dinner?"

Astoria shook her head. "I'm not hungry. But could you send Scorpius up? I need to talk to him."

"Of course." Hermione moved towards the door. "But you are staying?"

"Yes, I'm staying," she answered. "You were right, I was never leaving. But I can't go down there."

"Why not?" asked Hermione.

"Because I don't want to see him ," Astoria said with disdain. "While my lashing out at you may have been misguided, anything I said to Draco was not. For years he made me feel like nothing, and seeing that ring on your finger brought those feelings right back. I can't see him right now."

Hermione nodded. She opened the door. "I don't care what you say, I'm still sending Scorpius with food." She smiled, catching a faint glimpse of one in return before stepping out and shutting the door behind her.

Hermione had barely taken three steps down the corridor before Draco was arriving at the top of the stairs, marching towards her with purpose.

"What are you doing up here?" he demanded.

"Relax, Draco. I just wanted to see if I could talk some sense into her."

He cocked an eyebrow. "And?"

"If anyone asks, she came out asking for Scorpius of her own freewill," she said, walking right past him and heading for the stairs.

Draco turned and hurried to catch up to her.

"I'm only going to say this one more time, Draco, and I hope, for once, you will listen to me," said Hermione as they descended the stairs. "You need to talk to your ex-wife."

"About what?"

"Like I said before. Whatever she needs. Maybe not tonight. But soon."

Hermione stayed a couple of feet ahead of Draco as they walked. Scorpius spotted her immediately when she entered their party's dining room. She went to him, telling him how Astoria wanted to see him and sending him off with a plate of food.

Rose watched her mother closely as she retook her seat at the table. "She came out?" she asked. "Just like that."

"Yes," said Hermione with a smile. "I doubt she ever really planned on leaving."

Rose looked at her curiously.

"It doesn't look like you've eaten very much, Rosie. You need to fill up. This is your last meal before the big day because, believe me, your stomach won't be up for much until the 'I dos' are over and done with."

Still keeping her eyes on Hermione, Rose lifted her fork and ate a small bite of mashed potatoes. Hermione just smiled back at her. She picked at her own food but really wasn't very hungry, even for the Christmas pudding when it was served.

After dinner, Hermione tried to help clean, but Molly was quick to push her out of the kitchen, only staying behind herself to make sure her grandchildren who didn't help with the cooking did a decent job.

Draco had gone off following an urgent text from Scorpius so she ended up wandering to the room near the front entrance with the fireplace. Aside from a young couple sharing an armchair it was pretty much empty.

She made herself comfortable on the sofa, finding a notepad with the châteaux's name on it and a quill inside of the coffee table drawer. Mindlessly, she began writing, realizing not long into it that she was writing down all of the bridges she had wanted to visit. When she was younger she had mapped it all out. How much time she would spend in each location, the distances between each bridge so she could plan the most time efficient trip and, of course, everything she would need to pack.

It was surprising how much information she actually remembered. Her plan had been to take this trip after graduation. But then the war had happened, she had gone back for her final year of school and been offered a job at the Ministry immediately. She had moved in with Ron right after leaving school, within a year he proposed, within three they were married and then they began the struggle of trying to have children. It took four years but they did it. They had Rose and Hugo, she kept rising higher in the Ministry and, before she knew it, her chance was gone. The trip never happened, she was a forty-five year old divorcee and less than a year away from the election that would more than likely make her Minister for Magic. Time was running out.

"There you are."

Hermione looked up to see Draco sit down on the coffee table in front of her.

"What are you writing?" he asked, trying to take a peek.

Hermione moved it so he couldn't see. "Nothing," she said. "Just trying to remember something. I thought writing it would help."

"And did it?"

She waved her hand from side to side. "How's Scorpius?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Fine." Draco paused. "Well … no. He's still upset. But Astoria's coming. That's all that matters right now."

Hermione nodded. She stared off at the fire, watching the flames dance.

"Hermione."

She blinked and looked back at Draco.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded again.

He pursed his brow. "Are you angry with me?"

She shook her head.

Draco's face tensed, but he didn't ask anything more. Hermione stared back at the fire.

"Sorry," she said. "It's just been a long day."

"Yes, it has," said Draco. "Do you want to go for another walk outside? The gardens here are supposedly the most beautiful when lit up at night. We can make it quick, then head to bed early." He reached out and rubbed her knee. "Have some actual alone time."

Hermione smiled as he leaned in and kissed her neck. "Draco Malfoy, are you trying to seduce me?"

"Absolutely," he said, going for her lips.

She giggled. "Well, alright. I guess we better make that walk quick."

Hermione and Draco stood. She ripped the pages she had written on off of the notepad, folded them and put them in her pocket. Draco watched her curiously, but did not try and ask again what it was she had been writing.

Realizing they were without coats, the two of them headed up to their room first. When they arrived on their floor, both stopped, staring down the corridor and watching as Blaise knocked on one of the doors.

"Alex, let me in, will you? I said I was sorry, won't you at least let me explain?"

"There's nothing to explain!" Alexandra shouted from the other side. "Go away , Blaise!"

"Zabini!" Draco called down the corridor.

Blaise whipped his head and looked at him.

"How long have you been up here?"

"Don't worry I haven't been bothering your precious employee for hours ," he said dramatically. "I waited until I saw that man-loving prick leave. He took for-fucking-ever."

Alexandra's door burst open and she poked her head out. "Yes, because he stood outside of this door for-fucking-ever trying to talk to me. Just like you ," she said with disdain before slamming the door again. "Make him leave, Draco! He keeps removing my bloody Silencing Charms!"

Draco grunted and looked at Hermione. "Grab our coats while I take care of this."

Hermione nodded while Draco walked towards Blaise. She went to their door, used her key and opened it. The room was pitch black as she stepped inside and she realized she didn't have a clue where the light switch was. She had just taken out her wand and was about to flick it when she suddenly heard a voice.

"About time you got here."

Hermione flicked her wand quickly and the lights turned on, both blinding and illuminating a woman sitting in the center of their bed in sexy black lingerie. The woman's eyes blinked a few times before they focused on Hermione. They both stared at each other, recognizing the face they were looking at though they hadn't seen it in years.

"Granger?" the woman asked, looking bewildered.

Hermione let out a deep growl. "Parkinson."

"Where's Dra -"

Hermione found herself screaming as she lunged at Pansy Parkinson, someone she hadn't seen since she was eighteen yet somehow felt a boiling hatred towards.

Hearing her screams, Draco and Blaise stopped arguing for a moment, a look of panic crossing their faces before they both went running. Alexandra burst out of her room and followed them.

When they got to her, Hermione had Pansy by the hair and was trying to yank her off of the bed.

"AH! Stop it you crazy bitch!" screamed Pansy, trying to claw Hermione off of her.

Draco ran forward, grabbing Hermione and pulling her back. Unfortunately, her grip was so tight that she started pulling Pansy with her, so Blaise stepped forward and zapped her hand so she was forced to let go.

Taking many deep, heated breaths, Hermione managed to get one arm away from Draco, pointed at Pansy and shouted, " What is she doing here?"

The voice that came out of her was almost demonic, and Draco had to laugh a little. "I don't know," he answered. "Parkinson, what are you doing here?"

"The concierge told me this was your room," said Pansy.

"It is my room," said Draco.

Pansy looked at him curiously. "Then why the hell is Granger in here attacking me?"

"What do you, live under a rock?" asked Alexandra, walking to the other side of Hermione in an attempt to keep her distance from Blaise.

Pansy mock-laughed. "No, I've been living in Japan for the last bloody year." She paused, looking closely at the way Draco was holding Hermione. "Why? Did I miss something?"

"Clearly," said Draco, loosening his grip on Hermione. "Take a breath, love. She's not hurting anyone."

"Only blinding us," added Blaise, taking off his coat and tossing it at Pansy.

Pansy's eyes widened as she put the coat around her shoulders. " Love ?"

"What are you even doing here ?" asked Hermione, motioning to everything around them. "I've memorized that guest list backwards and forwards and you aren't on it."

"I came to spend Christmas with my son," said Pansy, standing up and buttoning the coat she was now wearing. She was lucky she was short and it was able to cover everything. "And I figured while I was here that Draco and I could pick things up where we left off." She winked at him.

Hermione looked at him with accusatory eyes. "It was last year," he said. "Just a fling. It ended when she started seeing some new wizard who whisked her off to Japan. Which, I assume, didn't work out."

"Most boring year of my life," Pansy said dramatically. "Can you believe he wanted to take me hiking for Christmas? I mean, who does he think I am? And no matter how much I asked he would never let me invite Deacon to visit. Wanted to just pretend I was never married before. I'm not a bloody teenager -"

"Wait," said Hermione, holding up a hand to stop her. "Hold on. You're …" She looked at Blaise. "Wifey number one?"

Blaise cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't know?"

"Wifey number one?" Pansy repeated. She rolled her eyes. " Please . The marriage barely counted. We had to be drunk off our arses just to shag. I thank the Gods every bloody day that I got pregnant so fast."

"Amen," said Blaise, holding out his hand. Pansy slapped it.

"And you don't care that Draco had a ' fling ' with your ex-wife last year?" asked Hermione, not quite understanding the odd relationship in front of her.

Blaise scoffed. "Hardly. Part of the reason the marriage was so bloody weird was because she was my best mate's girlfriend all throughout school."

"But enough about us ," said Pansy. "I want to know more about this ." She motioned to Draco and Hermione. Then her head turned ever-so-slowly towards Alexandra. "And who are you?"

"That one's mine," said Blaise before she could answer.

Alexandra furrowed her brow. " Excuse me ?"

"Oh, right." Blaise leaned in towards Pansy. "She's one of those 'feminist' types. Gets offended when I say something possessive."

He and Pansy both laughed.

"In spite of your misogynistic language, Blaise, you and I are not dating. It's over. I believe I've made that very clear."

"She's mad at me," he whispered to Pansy.

His ex-wife smirked. "Yes, I can see that. You must've been a real arse."

"Yes, he was," said Alexandra. She headed for the door.

"Oh, come on, Alex!" Blaise followed her out.

Pansy stayed for a moment, but once she saw Hermione was still staring daggers at her she began to follow her ex-husband. "I will want details in this later, Draco," she said as she shut the door behind her.

Hermione moved her flaming eyes to Draco, who smirked in return.

"What?" she spat.

His smirk became a full-on grin. "You were jealous."

"No I wasn't! Someone was in my room and I attacked! It was a natural instinct!"

"Yes, but you , dearest, attacked with your hands. Any rational witch would have taken out her wand and immobilized the intruder. But you … you pulled her hair." He began laughing.

"It's not funny!" she said sternly. "There was a half-naked woman on your bed, Draco!"

" Our bed," he corrected. "And so what? It's not like I would have done anything with her. And need I remind you that you let Theo kiss you not too long ago?"

Hermione stiffened. She looked at Draco, stood up straight and said, "That won't be necessary."

She walked towards the closet, where she had previously hung their coats. Draco followed after her, smiling over his victory.

Astoria opened her door a crack, peeking out into the corridor. It was empty, all of the Weasleys most likely running around chaotically somewhere on the ground floor. She hated to admit it but she was a little hungry, only having the bread Hermione left in her room to pick at, since she had tossed the plate of food Scorpius had brought for her immediately after he left.

What she wanted was biscuits. Lots of biscuits. More than that bloody fat Muggle man who went down chimneys could even consume.

When Scorpius had come up to see her it had not gone well. He was angry, and while he forgave her for making a scene like that, understanding how seeing his father so happy was making her so miserable, he could not so easily forgive her threat to leave. And then he had left, wanting to find Rose and talk to her before midnight hit, since she wouldn't let him see her on their wedding day until she was walking down the aisle.

With a deep breath, Astoria stepped into the corridor and shut the door behind her. Once she was standing out there she became very aware of how quiet it was. And lonely. She wrapped her arms around herself. For some reason the world always felt colder when she was alone. Maybe Jaclyn was around to have biscuits with.

Astoria located her friend's door and knocked, but no one answered. As to be expected. Jaclyn was happy and in love with Theo again. They were most likely off somewhere, rekindling their romance. She wondered if they would marry again. It would be kind of strange if they did.

Giving up on company, Astoria continued down the corridor. She hadn't gotten very far when someone stepped off of the staircase. It was Draco's secretary, carefully rocking her sleeping baby while her husband watched dotingly with an arm around her shoulders.

Astoria stopped walking and just stood there for a moment, watching them. The girl smiled and said hi as she passed, appearing so incredibly happy. And the look her husband gave her …

Astoria knew in that moment that this was what she wanted. This was what she had always wanted. Someone to look at her like that, with so much love and adoration. But no one ever had. She had spent twenty years with a man who never once looked at her like that. She had always figured him incapable, but now he was giving that look to someone else, and it sucked.

It was then that she knew it wasn't just that she couldn't be alone, but she didn't want to be alone.

Astoria knew Daphne had arrived earlier that day but she didn't have any idea which room was hers. Scorpius was off somewhere with his bride. And Draco … she would rather be alone than with him.

Really, there was only one other person she could think of, and the moment her feet starting moving in the direction of his room she wondered if she was going to regret this.

After descending the stairs, Astoria stared at the doors, not quite remembering what room she had seen Scorpius come running out of that morning. She was pretty sure it was three in.

Astoria stared at the door in question for a long minute before lifting a fist and knocking. At first she didn't hear anything, then there was a rustling inside, followed by a pause at the door, probably him looking through the peephole, and then it opened. Ron Weasley stood on the other side.

"Hi," he said, sounding more than a little confused.

Astoria straightened as she stood before him. Putting on her most confident face, she asked, "Could I come in?"

Ron blinked. He gave a small shrug and stepped aside, though he did not understand why she was here. While they had been friendly the last few times they spoke they were hardly friends. He would have to be really drunk to ever put up with her constant criticism of everyone and every -

And suddenly the world became a blur as Astoria threw herself at him, her arms flinging around his neck and her lips on his. Ron stood there motionless for a moment, his eyes wide and arms hanging awkwardly by his sides. But then he realized how good it felt. His eyes closed slowly, his hands wrapping around her waist as she continued to kiss him, putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing him back towards the bed.

Ron sat down on the edge, Astoria still in his arms, her hands on his neck and running up into his hair. She climbed onto his lap, leaning against his chest until he fell back on the bed. And then they were moving more, their mouths hungry as his hands trailed down to her thighs and gripped the bare skin under her dress. Her hands moved down his chest, one continuing downward until it was between them, unbuttoning the button on his trousers. And then Ron heard his zipper come undone.

His eyes snapped open as he suddenly realized exactly what he was doing.

"Wait, hold on," he said, moving his mouth away from hers.

Astoria pulled her head back, staring down at him while her chest still heaved against his. He took one look at her cleavage, blushed and looked away. "What?" she asked, pursing her brow. "You don't want to?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that I do," he said, looking between them. She didn't need to follow his eyes. She could already feel what he was referring to. "But, you know, my head and my body aren't always in sync and this is one of those moments."

Astoria continued to stare down at him.

"Your son is marrying my daughter tomorrow," he said.

She remained silent.

"Your ex is dating my ex."

Her face tensed.

"Do you even like me? I never really got the feeling that you did."

She shrugged a little.

"I mean, are you attracted to me?"

Astoria gulped. "Oh, gods." She rolled off of him, putting her face in her hands. She cracked her fingers just a little bit so she could see him. "No," she admitted. "It's nothing personal, gingers have just never really done it for me."

"It's fine," he said, reaching down and zipping his trousers back up.

"I don't know what I'm doing in here," she said, finally lowering her hands and taking a deep breath. "I was just going to get some biscuits and I was going to ask if you wanted to come, but then I was in here and I pounced you like a bloody Gryffindor lion or something."

"You want biscuits?" Ron asked.

Astoria nodded. Tears had already been forming in her eyes and they slowly began to fall. "I'm really hungry."

"I thought I saw Scorpius bring you food?"

"Yes, which your ex-wife so clearly prepared for him."

Ron shrugged. "She helped. Control issues, you know."

"I tossed it," Astoria admitted.

"Oh." Ron glanced around his room, trying to remember if he had anything laying around. He didn't. When he looked back at Astoria, her light tears had become much heavier. "I can't help but notice that you seem distressed."

Astoria whimpered and shook her head. "No, I'm not."

Ron stared at her curiously for a moment. Not sure of what else to do, he reached out for her and rolled her into his arms. She cried harder.

"Please, stop trying to comfort me. This is humiliating enough."

"Why?" he asked. "I don't mind. You're not the only one whose ex is running around this place all bloody happy and … disgusting."

Astoria chuckled slightly. "They are disgusting."

" So disgusting! I mean, do they have to hold hands every two seconds? And every time they give each other that dopey look I want to vomit."

"I think I have vomited once or twice."

"Yeah, me too, but then I had to swallow it back down because I'm in public and all."

Astoria scrunched her nose in disgust but she still laughed.

"At least you've been divorced for a year and a half," said Ron. "Hermione and I haven't even hit a month yet."

Astoria sighed. "Maybe, but time hasn't made it hurt any less." She closed her eyes and held him a little tighter. "Why didn't he love me?"

"'Cause he's a git," answered Ron.

"He never once looked at me the way he looks at her."

"Git."

"Twenty years of my life wasted on a … a …"

"Git," finished Ron.

She smiled softly. "Yes. A git."

"I can use more colorful language if you'd like."

"I'm sure you couldn't come up with any that I haven't already called him myself."

The two of them just laid there for a while, letting out all of their frustrations that they had been holding in. Their pathetic attempt of trying to keep their days here civil. Ron admitted that he feared he would be the one to snap. It was all much easier before Draco and Hermione were outed. Now his family was being so bloody supportive of her that he wanted to smack his head repeatedly against a wall. He understood after all of the years he and Hermione had been together that his family was her family but … well, blood. They didn't have to be rude to Draco and Hermione or anything but they could at least give him a slight cold shoulder or something.

And Astoria … after she had found out about them she considered vengeance, but she was already on such thin ice with Scorpius that she had decided against it. She thought she'd be fine coming here since she already knew they were together, but seeing them day in and day out was so much worse than she had expected. And it hurt. It really, really hurt.

Once all the venting was out and they were able to just laugh about it all, Ron proposed the idea of going to find some biscuits.

"I'm sure there's some lying around somewhere," he said. "We can check the kitchen and the tree room."

Astoria was about to say no, feeling she had taken up enough of his time, but then her stomach growled.

"I'll take that as a yes then." Ron sat up from the bed, pulling her with him. "Just let me find my shoes."

Ron walked around the room, his eyes on the floor. He wasn't a very good unpacker, and everything was just scattered everywhere. Eventually, he found a pair of boots that really didn't go with what he had on, but he put them on anyway, Astoria raising a judgmental eyebrow.

"What? It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone," he said, heading for the door.

Just before he was about to open it, Astoria stopped him. She stretched up and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly for a moment.

"In case I don't get to say it later, thank you," she said. "I'm sure you had a better night planned than sitting in here and listening to me cry over my ex-husband."

"Not really," said Ron. "I wasn't planning on doing much of anything."

She smiled and slowly let him go.

Ron smiled back and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before opening the door. He barely took one step out of it before someone was headed right towards him. They moved so fast that all he saw was a blur, not stopping until they were in front of him and swinging their fist hard against his left cheek.

Astoria screamed out, steadying a wobbling Ron before staring venomously at whoever attacked. She quickly went white, her eyes meeting those of Deacon, who looked drunk off his arse and just about ready to blow.

Hermione and Draco arrived back inside from their walk, their cheeks rosy and their hair slightly damp. The moment they got inside it began to rain again. They had gotten lucky.

The two of them wrapped their arms around each other as they walked towards the West Wing in an attempt to keep warm.

"I think another night soaking in that bath is definitely necessary," said Draco, squeezing her a little tighter.

"You think so?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Absolutely. Who knows when we'll be able to get away again so we need to squeeze in as much holiday naked time as possible."

Draco noticed the way Hermione tensed in his arms. He looked down at her, but her face gave nothing away.

They walked past a small room on their way to the West Wing, both of them stopping just after it, looking at each other curiously before taking a few steps back.

"Right, and when my arse of an ex-husband outed your gay boyfriend in public like that, how did it make you feel?" asked Pansy, leaning forward in a chair while still wearing nothing but Blaise's coat. Alexandra and Blaise were on a sofa across from her, the former with her legs crossed and leaning away from him.

"Why are we talking about this with her again?" demanded Alexandra, looking anything but amused.

"She's good at this sort of thing," answered Blaise. "She'll help us get to the root of our problem."

"The root of our problem is that you're a selfish, fucking arse!" she shouted.

"Yes, that is definitely a contributing factor," said Pansy with a nod.

"Seriously, what is this?" asked Alexandra. "I thought you didn't like your ex-wife but, for some reason, she's counseling us?"

"I never said I didn't like her. I said I never loved her," corrected Blaise.

"But you're always talking shit about her." Alexandra looked at Pansy. "No offense, but he does."

"I know it," she said. "The sentiment is mutual. But Blaise and I … we're like brother and sister."

Alexandra's faced scrunched up in disgust.

"Exactly!" said Blaise. "Try being forced into a marriage with someone that has always been like a fucking sister to you. It's bloody shit!"

"But we're not here to talk about me," said Pansy. "We're here to talk about -"

"What are you doing?"

They all looked over to see Draco and Hermione standing in the entryway and watching them curiously. It was Draco who spoke.

"Just adding to my humiliation," answered Alexandra. "As if having the man I came here with snog another man right in front of me wasn't enough for one trip."

"I wasn't trying to humiliate you, I was trying to warn you," said Blaise.

"And you chose a crappy way of doing it."

"You really did," said Pansy. "I wish you would've told me your bloody plan this morning, that way I could've talked you out of it."

Blaise shrugged. "Theo thought it was a good idea."

"Because Theo's a bloody idiot, just like you." Pansy smiled.

"Alex, let's go," said Draco, motioning with his head. "We'll make sure you get back to your room without these shits following you."

" Hey !" Blaise and Pansy said together.

Alexandra stood up and hurried over to Draco and Hermione. Blaise and Pansy were slower about getting up.

"Well, I thought we made a lot of progress," said Pansy as they walked out of the room.

"Where are your bloody clothes, Parkinson?" Draco asked.

"In your room somewhere," she answered. "Which is why I'm going to follow you up there now."

The five of them had barely started walking towards the West Wing again when they heard a weird popping sound echoing down the corridor, followed by a woman's scream.

"Deacon, what the hell are you doing?"

Blaise and Pansy immediately looked at each other, quickening their steps towards the sound of the noise.

"That was Astoria," said Draco, hurrying after them, Hermione and Alexandra at his heels.

When they got there, Astoria was standing in front of someone who was hunched over, holding her arms out and blocking Deacon from striking, which he was more than ready to do.

Suddenly, the hunched person stood up straight, Hermione's eyebrows pursing when she saw it was Ron.

"What the hell'd you do that for?" Ron demanded.

"What were you doing in there with him for so long?" Deacon shouted at Astoria.

Astoria didn't answer.

"Deacon, what the hell are you doing?" Blaise grabbed his son's arm and held it down so he wouldn't be able to strike again.

"Ron, are you okay?" asked Hermione, noticing the growing mark on his jaw.

"Yeah, fine," he said. "Just not sure why I'm getting punched by a bloody teenager in the first place."

Astoria looked panicked. "My son's friends are just really protective of -"

"You stay away from her, you fucking -"

"Deacon!" shouted Blaise, having to hold his son back.

"What's going on?" asked Pansy, looking curiously between her son and Astoria.

"Mum?"

Astoria, who already wasn't looking so good, suddenly turned dead-white. They all looked to see Scorpius and Rose headed towards them.

"What's everyone doing?" Scorpius asked.

Deacon, who very clearly wasn't thinking straight, took this moment to shout, "She just came out of his fucking room! After an hour!"

The awkwardness in that moment was so thick it could have been cut through with a knife.

"What?" spat Rose, her eyes widening as she stared at her father.

"Oh, no!" shouted Scorpius. "No, no, no, no, no ! We let that one slide -" He pointed at Draco and Hermione. "- but now we draw the line! This -" He pointed at Ron and Astoria now. "- is not happening! Our parents can't swap !"

"My gods, Dad ! We had a whole bloody conversation about how weird my mom dating my fiancé's dad is. What do you think you're doing?"

"Rosie, this is not what it looks like," said Ron. "We were just talking."

"For an hour?" spat Deacon.

Scorpius looked at him curiously.

"Yes!" shouted Ron. "She was upset about earlier so we talked! Like a bloody exes club or something! I don't know! But that's it. Gingers don't even do it for her!"

Astoria clenched her eyes and shook her head. "They really don't."

"I can vouch for that," said Draco. "Scorpius, why don't you go take your bride upstairs for the next -" He took out his pocket watch and checked the time. "- thirty minutes and enjoy your time before you have to be separated."

Scorpius nodded but he didn't budge. He was too busy looking at Deacon, who had calmed slightly but was still being held back by his father. He could smell the alcohol on his breath even though he was a good five feet away from him.

"We were just going to find some biscuits," said Ron, taking Astoria's arm. "Platonically. Rosie, go enjoy your night."

Ron and Astoria had barely taken a step before Deacon was going crazy again, thrashing around and trying to get to Ron. "Fuck you! You're not going anywhere with her!" he shouted.

"Deacon, what are you doing?" asked Scorpius.

"I love her!"

Pansy's jaw dropped. " What ?"

"Don't you remember, Stori?" Deacon said with tears in his eyes, pushing his father's hand away as he tried to cover his mouth and pull him away. "How good it used to be?"

"Oh my gods." Astoria covered her face from the embarrassment.

"Ummm … what?" asked Scorpius, his skin becoming ashen as his hand began squeezing the life out of Rose's.

"The kid is clearly drunk," said Draco. "And those Zabini genes undoubtedly make him a little crazy."

"You slept with my teenage son!" Pansy shouted. When Astoria didn't answer she screamed and charged for her.

Blaise released Deacon to hold her back.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you and rip your fucking hair out!"

Now free, Deacon went for Ron again. Draco ran forward and pushed Deacon back against the closest wall, using it to hold him in place. "Dammit, Zabini! Get your family under control!"

"Working on it!" said Blaise, tossing Pansy over his shoulder and holding her there while she continued to kick and scream. Then he went over and grabbed Deacon's arm, forcefully pulling him down the corridor. Alexandra went along with him, taking off the cardigan she was wearing and using it to cover Pansy's revealed backside.

Unfortunately, the Zabinis' exit did not release any of the awkwardness in that corridor. Their damage had already been done.

Astoria stood there, slightly hidden behind Ron's shoulder and looking ashamedly towards the floor.

"Mum …" Scorpius gulped. "Please tell me you didn't."

"I …" She didn't know how to respond to that. "Might have."

Scorpius' teeth clenched.

"But it was a long time ago, Scorpius! It was a mistake and I ended it!"

"And that's supposed to make it better !" he shouted. "You slept with my friend, one of my oldest friends! He's my fucking best man!"

"Language," said Draco. "Now, to be fair, he's only your best man because you were in a fight with your cousin."

" So ?" spat Scorpius. "He is still one of my best mates!" He paused and looked at Draco. "And you knew about this?"

Draco shrugged. "It's really not a big deal."

"Not a big … are you fucking kidding me?"

"Language," said Astoria.

"Don't tell me what to do!" shouted Scorpius, waving his arms around frantically. "How could you do this? You said earlier you don't want to be part of my wedding. Well, fine! I don't want you here!"

Tears formed in Astoria's eyes as she continued to stare down at the floor.

"Scorpius, no!" shouted Draco. "You take that back."

"No, I -"

"You are not banning her from your wedding. She is your mother and you will treat her with respect."

"Oh, like she respected me?" Scorpius screamed. "She slept with my -"

"Yes, and that has nothing to do with you. They are both adults. I slept with your fiancée's mother. Where's my ban?" he asked with a shrug.

"That's different," said Scorpius. "She hasn't been my friend since I was in bloody diapers!"

"You're not banning her," Draco said sternly.

Scorpius' face turned bright-red. "Don't tell me what to -"

"That's it! Come on!" Draco motioned to Astoria, who hesitated before stepping forward. "Malfoy family meeting." He grabbed Scorpius' arm. "This is your room, Weasel?" he asked, motioning to the open door.

Ron nodded.

"We need to borrow it momentarily. Don't worry, this won't take long." Draco dragged Astoria and Scorpius inside and shut the door behind them.

Hermione, Ron and Rose were left standing alone in the corridor. Three more gone, and the awkwardness was still just as strong.

Ron's eyes began darting around. "So, umm … Why exactly is Pansy Parkinson here?"

"I don't understand," Deacon cried to his parents as they sat in a small café that the château kept open all night. "I thought she and I had something."

"Aw, honey." Pansy, reached across the table and put her hand on his. " No . Definitely not."

"But -"

"What did you think was going to happen? That you were going to fall in love, get married and become Scorpius' stepfather?"

Deacon went white. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"Clearly," said Pansy, reaching up and stroking his hair. She then turned her eyes to Blaise. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about this."

"I thought it was taken care of," said Blaise. "Deacon, we talked about this. You remember, I said if you love her then you will let her go or some shit like that."

"I tried ," said Deacon. "Girls my age don't know what they're doing."

"Well, yeah , at her age she better know what she's doing," Pansy muttered under her breath.

"Sounds to me like you're confusing that whole sex and love thing again. I warned you about that."

"Like father like son," said Pansy.

Blaise pursed his brow. "What does that mean?"

Pansy motioned to the counter where Alexandra was ordering them all tea. "Take a guess. You have amazing sex with her, right? That's what this is all about."

"No," said Blaise. "I mean, yes, we have amazing sex but that's not what this is about."

"Then you love her?" asked Deacon, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Blaise said quickly. "We've only been steadily dating for two months."

" Seriously ? All this over a bloody two month relationship?" spat Pansy. "If you're going to such great lengths to keep her around then you must love her."

"No I fucking don't!" said Blaise. "Besides, even if I did, she wants the whole bloody husband and kids and white picket fence thing."

"Then give it to her or get lost," Pansy said sternly.

Alexandra picked up the tray of tea and slowly carried over to Blaise's table. She watched him as she walked, talking with his family. While he and his ex-wife were definitely untraditional parents, she didn't think they were bad. There was definitely love there.

"Here you are," she said, putting the tray down.

"There's only three cups here," said Pansy.

"Yes, I'm not having one," said Alexandra. "It's late and I really should get to bed. I hope you all have a good evening."

She smiled and walked towards the exit. Blaise stood and followed her. "Alex, wait."

She stopped and turned to face him.

"Could I come see you later?" he asked. "We both know you're not going to sleep."

Alexandra sighed and said, "I don't think that's a very good idea, Blaise. I should be alone tonight and you should be with your son." She turned to leave again.

"Alex …"

She looked back at him, gazing into his eyes. Never in all of their time together had she ever seen such sincerity in them.

"Did I fuck this up?"

She gulped. "There was never anything to 'fuck up', Blaise."

Alexandra turned again and finally left, her heart feeling heavy as she stepped away from him.

Blaise watched her until she was gone, then took a deep breath before returning to his family. Deacon turned quickly, trying to pretend he hadn't been watching them, but Pansy didn't care. He sat down between them.

"You did," said Pansy.

Blaise blinked. "What?"

"Fuck it up. She wouldn't have been here with us if there was nothing to fuck up." She smirked.

"Really?" he asked with hope in his eyes.

"Aw, Dad likes a girl !" said Deacon with a laugh. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Neither did I," said Blaise, picking up his tea and frowning down at it. He really did like her, but he had to wonder if Pansy was right. If he couldn't give her what she wanted then maybe what he needed to do was get lost. Only, he really didn't want to.

Hermione, Ron and Rose sat on the floor against the wall just beside the door to Ron's room, waiting for it to open again.

"So you swear nothing happened in there?" Rose asked for the tenth time.

"Yes, Rosie, I swear," Ron answered for the tenth time. "There was that brief moment, which I already confessed to, and that was it. Nothing happened, nothing is going to happen, that is it. No more asking."

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"You okay, honey?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, fine," said Rose. "Other than the obvious. My fiancé, who I'm marrying in less than twelve hours, just found out his best man slept with his mother, only hours after said mother threatened not to come." She sighed. "I just … hope he's okay."

Right then, the door opened. They all looked up and saw Scorpius step out. Only Scorpius.

"They need another minute," he said, shutting the door behind him. He used his sleeve to wipe the obvious tears off of his cheeks.

"Are you alright?" asked Rose, standing up and hurrying over to him.

"Yeah," he said, letting her hug him and burying his face in her hair. "I just looked at the clock. Only five minutes till midnight."

"I don't care," said Rose, hugging him tighter. "It's just a stupid superstition."

"You were pretty adamant about it earlier," he said, pulling back.

Rose looked into his eyes and gulped. "But I don't want to leave you."

Scorpius smiled. "Just walk me to Parker's room, will you?"

She nodded and took his hand. The two of them started walking. "I thought you were staying with Hugo and Al tonight."

"I am," he said. "I just need to talk to Parker first."

As soon as they were gone, Ron stood.

"Where are you going?" asked Hermione.

"I figured if they're going to be a few more minutes then I might as well see if I can find some biscuits."

Hermione nodded. "Can I come?" she asked.

Ron hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. He held out a hand and helped Hermione stand, the two of them walking off together to find some biscuits.

Draco leaned against the wall in Ron's room, Astoria sitting very properly on the bed with her head hung low. It had been several minutes since Scorpius had left but neither of them had spoken.

Scorpius was still upset. Of course he was, and he was going to be for a while. But Astoria was his mother, and he loved her. Nothing was ever going to change that. But, what he really wanted was for his parents to be able to be in a room together without all of the animosity. To just get along. Not to mention to stop sleeping with people just to piss the other off. He knew that was how the whole Deacon thing had started. He wasn't an idiot.

So Scorpius left, giving the two of them some time to hash out their problems.

Unable to take the silence any longer, Draco took a deep breath and said, "Look, I'm sorry I gave Hermione the ring here. It was inconsiderate of me not to think about how you would feel."

Astoria crinkled her forward. "Is that all you're sorry about?"

Draco took another breath. "Astoria … I don't know what you want from me. Do you want me to apologize for the last twenty years? Because I won't. We didn't have a bad life."

Astoria scoffed. "Not a bad life? In twenty years you never loved me."

"Yes I did!" he snapped. "Just not in the way you wanted."

"Well, why not?" she screamed, her face becoming flushed. "I did everything for you, Draco! I devoted my life to trying to make you happy! And you left me! Why? Why couldn't you just give me this one thing?"

Draco sighed. "I don't know. I tried, Astoria. I promise I did." He gulped. "You deserved better."

Astoria became frozen, wondering if she had heard him correctly. "What?" she asked quietly.

"You deserved better," he repeated, his throat becoming strained. "You were a good wife and a good mother, and I loved you for that. So does Scorpius. I know you think he favors me because he chose to stay with me during his holiday breaks, but it was just because he wanted to talk about Rose."

Astoria blinked. "What?"

"At Christmas he told me how he had really messed up with this girl and wanted advice on how to fix it. Then at Easter he told me that this same girl was the one but he was afraid of losing her after graduation, so I told him if he really found a love like that then he needed to hold onto it no matter what. The next thing I know he's bloody engaged."

She blinked again. "That was why he didn't want to stay with me?"

"He just wanted some fatherly advice," said Draco. He slowly walked over and sat next to her on the bed. They were both silent. "There were moments when I thought I could love you the way you wanted, but, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get past how we began."

"But I loved you," she said, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Yeah, I know. More proof that you deserved better." Draco sighed. "I can't even imagine how you feel right now, seeing me with Hermione -"

"Giving her that ring," Astoria added with a sniffle.

"Yeah," he said. "Clearly I didn't think it through." He reached over and took her hand, holding it tightly. "Astoria … please, I beg of you, don't hold onto me any longer. You deserve better," he said again. "You have a great heart and you will find someone."

A few more tears fell from Astoria's eyes. Draco released her hand and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Why couldn't it be me?" she cried.

"I'm sorry," was all Draco could say, since there was no right answer here. It just couldn't have been her, and he wished he understood it himself.

Astoria cried it out for a few minutes, hating herself for loving the feeling of being in his arms again. But, eventually, she pulled away, using the mirror in the room to clean herself up before telling Draco she was ready to go.

The two of them stepped towards the door, Draco opening it and letting her walk out first. When they stepped into the corridor, they glanced sideways to see Ron and Hermione sitting against the wall. She had a gingerbread man and he had a gingerbread woman in hand.

"What did you say, Ginjerry? You want ginger snaps for dinner?" said Ron in a high-pitched voice, waving his biscuit around at Hermione's.

"Oh yes, Gingerfer," Hermione responded in a deep voice. "I need more ginger to keep my gumdrop buttons from falling off."

"But that's … canni-ginger-ism!"

"Ron, that doesn't work," snapped Hermione in her regular voice. "It needs to flow, like instead of having an injury you'd have a ginjury."

"Bloody thirty years we've been doing this and you still criticize me and Gingerfer," said Ron, shaking his biscuit at her.

"Well, if you did it right," said Hermione in her Ginjerry voice.

Draco cleared his throat. They both looked up at him, Hermione blushing.

"What's this?" asked Draco, cocking an eyebrow. Astoria was beside him, trying to hold in her laughter.

"Oh, this?" asked Hermione, holding up Ginjerry.

Draco nodded.

"It's just something we've done since we were younger." She bit his head off.

"NO! Ginjerry !" screamed Gingerfer.

Hermione and Ron both stood, he picking up a box from beside him.

"Is everything alright?" asked Hermione.

Draco and Astoria looked at each other. They both nodded. "It's late though," said Draco. "We should all get to bed." He started walking off. "Have a goodnight, Gingerfer. Don't gin-ger out here for too long."

They all looked at him blankly.

"Gin-ger, like linger," said Draco. "In Weasel's defense, nothing bloody rhymes with ginger."

" Thank you !" said Ron, looking triumphantly at Hermione before biting off Gingerfer's left leg.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Goodnight, Ronald." She smiled at Astoria before following Draco towards the stairs, looking back just in time to see Ron present Astoria with the box of biscuits. For the first time ever, she saw a genuine smile form on the woman's face.

Hermione ate the rest of her biscuit as they walked up the stairs. When Draco and Hermione got to their room, they stripped off their coats and scarves before he went over and took her in his arms.

"Alone at last," he said, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"What did you two talk about?" asked Hermione.

Draco shrugged. "Not much. I apologized. I guess I should have done that a long time ago."

"Probably. Do you want to talk about it?"

Just as Draco was about to nod, Hermione's phone went off in her pocket. She took it out and looked. "It's Rose. She wants me to come to her room." She looked at Draco. "I should go. Are you going to be alright?" she asked, rubbing his arms.

"Yes, of course." He kissed her. "You go be with your daughter. We can pick this up when you get back."

Hermione nodded. She kissed him again before heading for the door and walking out.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Draco hurried to answer it, wondering if Hermione had forgotten her keys. But it wasn't her.

"You look disappointed," said Pansy as she leaned against the doorframe. "I need my clothes."

Draco stepped aside and she walked in, trying to remember where she left her clothes before finding them on top of a chair.

"Turn around, will you?"

Draco obeyed.

Pansy began to put her clothes back on. "So where's Granger?" she asked.

"With her daughter."

"You and her … that's bloody weird, you know?"

"No, I don't," Draco said sternly.

Pansy laughed. "If you say so. I hear with the quick exit of Alex's date that there's an empty chair at the wedding. Put my name on the guest list, will you? You know it's never a party without me there." She walked into his view, finally fully clothed again. "Well, I'm off to kick Blaise out of his bed for the night. Deacon's with us, so if Scorpius needs to talk to him make sure to point him in the right direction." She smiled. "Night, Draco. Have a fun night with Granger."

Pansy winked and exited. Once alone, Draco headed out to the balcony, taking a seat out there, just out reach of the rain. Merlin, he wanted a drink right now. More than anything he wanted Hermione here with him, just to hold. His confession to Astoria really had him on edge. It wasn't fair that he had found love before her when she was the one who had always wanted it. He just needed to hear that it was all right for him to be so happy. But, no matter how many times he stared back at the door, it never opened.

Hermione arrived at Rose's room on the fourth floor and knocked. It was only a matter of seconds before the door burst open. Rose leapt into her mother's arms, crying as she held her tightly.

"Rosie, what's wrong?" asked Hermione, guiding her daughter back into the room and shutting the door behind them.

"I don't know," said Rose as her mother had her take a seat on the bed. "Nothing." She paused. " Everything . I mean, it just seems like everything is going wrong. Scorpius and his mother, the snow, and now it's looking like we might be out a best man."

"Someone else can fill in," said Hermione.

"That's not the point," said Rose. "It's just that I keep thinking about what you told me, about you regretting that you started your life so fast."

Hermione looked at her curiously. "Well, I know I didn't say it like that."

"But you did say it. You had plans, you wanted to travel and do things but instead you got a job, got married and had a family."

"Rose, no," said Hermione, shaking her head. "You misunderstood me. I don't regret marrying your father and having you and your brother, I just wish we'd taken some time to go out and do things when we were younger and it was easier. Before we started our careers and everything, not our family."

"But -"

"Do you think I regret marrying your father?"

Rose shrugged slightly.

"Well, I don't," said Hermione. "Not even a little."

"But you used to be so in love and now you're not," said Rose with a sniffle.

"Yes, but …" Hermione took a deep breath. "These things happen. Sometimes relationships end, but that doesn't make them any less important." She reached out and began stroking Rose's hair. "Rosie, what's going on? Are you having second thoughts about marrying Scorpius?"

"I don't know," said Rose, wiping her eyes. "I just … don't want to get divorced. I don't want to look back at this in thirty years and regret anything."

"Rose, look at me," said Hermione, grabbing her daughter's cheeks. "Yes, I have some regrets about not doing all that I should have when I was younger, but none of those regrets have anything to do with your father. I loved him and I wanted to marry him. I was sure of it. Now, look into your heart and tell me right now, do you want to marry Scorpius tomorrow? If you say no then we will go out there right now and call it off but only if you mean it. So tell me; do you? Don't think, just let your heart answer."

Rose blinked. "Yes," she said.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I want to marry him."

"Alright then." Hermione released her cheeks.

"We're so young."

"You are," said Hermione. "But you're a smart girl and I trust your judgment. You've always been good at knowing what you want."

"Scorpius was talking about buying a house after we're married. I don't want to do that," said Rose.

"Then don't."

"And I don't want kids for at least ten years."

Hermione smiled. "Alright. I suppose I can wait to be a grandmother."

"Should I text this to him so he knows?" she asked, grabbing her phone.

"If you want but I'm pretty sure he's going to want to marry you regardless."

"Yeah." Rose put her phone back down. "It's just so … ironic."

"What is?" asked Hermione.

"That Scorpius and I are getting married, when it was bloody divorce that brought us together."

Hermione pursed her brow.

"That's how our friendship began. We had to share the head dormitories and, in the beginning, we ignored each other because we never really liked each other." She paused. "But then one day I came back to the dorm earlier than usual. I normally stayed at the library pretty late but I just kind of felt like being in my room, you know? So I went there and I found Scorpius in the common room crying. After some badgering I got him to talk about his parents' divorce and how upset he was over it. And then, somehow, it escalated."

Rose blushed as she avoided her mother's eyes, obviously meaning that once they were finished talking their more mature relationship began.

"It was what brought us together. And you and Dad separating … it was what brought us back together after the whole Edie thing. From the moment you told me and Hugo about it I knew you were going to get divorced. I just never wanted to admit it." She stopped and took a breath. "Scorpius was there for me when I went back to school, even when I didn't want him to be. It was kind of surreal when it happened. He came home early and found me crying, and I ended up telling him what had happened. He understood what I was going through because he had been there, so I let him back in." She looked up at her mother with wet eyes. "You love his father."

Hermione sighed. "Yes. But I love you more."

Rose nodded. "I know, and I know if I said the word you would end it with him." She took a deep breath. "But I would never do that. You don't think I get it, but I do. I know what it's like to connect with someone you never expected, to forgive them for things you would never tolerate from other people because they've been where you are. They get it. He gets it, and sometimes that's all you need to get past everything wrong with your relationship and just have it, because that's what you want. I want to be with Scorpius, and you want to be with his father, so … we'll figure it out. Get past it because you only get a handful of people in your life you'll love no matter what. Like you and me."

Hermione nodded, her eyes misty as she smiled at her daughter.

"I don't plan on having any regrets in my life, and I don't want you to have them either," said Rose. "Before you settle down with -" She gulped. "- with Mr. Malfoy, please just do something for yourself. I don't care what it is, just do it."

Hermione nodded again.

"I'm sorry I've been such a brat to you. You've always been there for me and the way I've been treating you isn't fair."

"It's fine," said Hermione.

"No, Mom, it's not. Scold me! I know you want to."

Hermione laughed and pulled her daughter into a hug. "Not on your wedding day," she said, kissing Rose's cheek. "Speaking of which, you need your beauty sleep. Get in there." She pointed Rose towards the other end of the bed.

When Hermione tried to stand, Rose pulled her back down. "Will you stay?" she asked, the look of the little girl she once was in her eyes.

Hermione smiled. "Of course."

She kicked off her shoes while Rose pulled the covers back, climbing in and holding them for her mother. With a flick of Hermione's wand, the lights were out. Rose wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and rested her head on her stomach, just like when she was younger. Hermione smiled down at Rose and stroked her hair. There was really nowhere else she'd rather be the night before her daughter's wedding, and she was happy she wasn't so angry at her anymore. She hadn't let Draco know, but Rose not talking to her for so long really took a toll on her. She was a mother above all else, and as much as she hated to admit it, she would have left him if Rose had asked. But she never did.

Feeling her daughter's breathing become steady, Hermione looked out the window and wondered how on earth she was ever going to keep that promise to do something for herself when she already had someone relying so strongly on her.