Songs mentioned:

Epilogue – Justin Hurwitz (from La La Land)
Riptide – Vance Joy
Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Mia and Sebastian's Theme - Justin Hurwitz (from La La Land)
Black Betty – Caravan Palace
Between The Bars – Elliot Smith

Long-Term Side Effects

Or

Epilogue

(Riptide - October 13th, 2024 – 6:23pm – Rose and Scorpius' flat – Camden, London)

The iPod on the speakers was playing an old Vance Joy record in the background as Rose unpacked another box; this one contained a brand-new, all-white set of dishes—a housewarming gift sent from Brussels by Astoria. She heard Scorpius re-enter the flat and turned just in time to watch him set down another heavy box in the middle of the living room with a grunt.

"Honestly, love; you should just levitate those—we're three floors up."

"Yes, Rose, because our new muggle neighbors will react just fine to see me walking up the stairs pointing a wooden stick to a box floating in midair," Scorpius smirked. "Besides, this is the last one."

"Thank Merlin," Rose said. "Who knew we had so much stuff?"

"Who knew we had so many books?" Scorpius amended. "We're going to have to sort through some of those later—I think most of them are duplicates."

"We can't throw them out," Rose said, her eyes wide. "Mum'll have our heads if she ever finds out."

"She won't," Scorpius assured her, taking throw pillows out of one of the boxes in the living room and tossing them onto the couch. "I'm sure we can donate them or something."

"Alright," Rose granted. "We can look through those later. Did you remember to tip the movers?"

"Yes, love," he replied, walking over to the kitchen to help her unpack their new things. "Merlin, did Mum buy the entire store? I'm pretty sure she's got us just about every kitchen utensil known to man."

"She's just trying to be thorough," Rose said, closing the cabinet she'd put the dishes into.

"It was thorough enough that she and Dad buy us the flat in the first place," Scorpius said with a frown. "It's not that I'm not grateful—but I have half a mind to pay them back once we can afford it."

"They wouldn't hear of it," Rose said. "I already suggested it."

Scorpius let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, honestly—what the bloody hell is this even for?"

Rose turned to see what he was holding up. "It's a corkscrew," she explained, stifling a laugh. "To get the corks out of wine bottles."

"I'm almost certain there's a charm for that," Scorpius answered, turning the corkscrew over in his hand to examine it before putting it in what they had agreed would be the silverware drawer. "And thank Salazar, because I don't think I could operate that thing properly without stabbing myself in the hand."

Rose laughed at that. "Oh, the mail came while you were downstairs."

"The mail? How long was I gone?"

"Long enough for an owl to come and go, apparently. You're getting slow with age."

"You try lugging boxes up three flights of stairs for hours on end without magic," Scorpius scowled. "It's just our luck that we move in on the one day the elevator's getting maintenance done."

Rose approached him and looped her arms around his waist, planting a kiss between his shoulder blades. He was warm and only slightly sweaty, but still smelled deliciously of cologne and aftershave. "You're cranky when you're tired."

"Not to mention hungry. Did you get the number for that Indian place we saw on the way down here?"

Rose nodded. "I'll call them up in a bit."

The two stood in silence for a few moments before Rose spoke again. "I can't believe this place is ours."

"Me neither," Scorpius replied, and she could hear the beginnings of a smile in his voice. "You have to admit, it's a pretty thoughtful gift."

"Mhm," she agreed.

"You said we got mail?" Scorpius asked, now turning to face her.

The witch nodded, taking an envelope from the back pocket of her jeans. "From Gaia and Declan. And Sicily finally sent over those tickets for her debut match."

The wizard opened the envelope; the first thing to come out was a Polaroid muggle photograph of Gaia and Declan in sunglasses, looking very tan and smiling broadly. He grinned and took out the letter, his eyes quickly scanning Gaia's loopy, messy handwriting.

Darlings,

Just a short note to check in. Landed in São Paulo yesterday—we managed to get tickets to the last day of Lollapalooza and we decided to stay here for the rest of the week. We're off to grab dinner just now. You would love it here, the people are incredibly interesting, the food is amazing and the weather is downright enviable—35°C and clear skies in the middle of October, honestly—and the hostel we've been staying in is absolutely charming. This letter might take a few days to reach you, but either way—we'll be back in England for the first two weeks of November, to catch Sicily's first match, and then we'll be off to Mexico to spend Christmas with Declan's parents in Acapulco. We miss you terribly!

See you soon,
Gaia & Declan

(Home - December 25th, 2024 – 3:28pm – Granger-Malfoy Household – Manchester)

"Rose, could you get the door?" Draco called out from the kitchen. "That's probably Ginny and Harry."

"On it!" Rose called back, deeming the tinsel she was adjusting on the banister of the stairs satisfactory. She walked over to the front door, her heels clicking loudly on the hardwood floor as she went, and opened it to find Harry, Ginny and Lily on the other side. "Hi!"

The newcomers greeted her, wishing her a Happy Christmas as she took her cloaks. "Draco's in the kitchen, Mum's upstairs getting ready and Scorp and Hugo went out to get drinks. Where's Al?"

"He said he'd meet us here," Lily answered her as her parents walked off in the direction of the kitchen. "I think he's bringing a date," she added in an undertone.

"What?" Rose asked.

Lily nodded. "Mum thinks he's been seeing her for a couple months but this is the first time he's actually hinted at us meeting the witch. But you didn't hear it from me."

"Merlin's beard," Rose gaped.

Lily glanced around the living room. "I thought Uncle Ron was coming by today."

"He stopped in for breakfast but he was having dinner over at Gran's," Rose explained. "But focus, Lil. Al is bringing a date?! Al. The Al. Albus Potter. Your brother. Near-sighted, self-proclaimed bachelor, Albus-I'm not about to restrict myself to just one witch-sodding Potter is bringing an actual date?"

"Apparently so," Lily shrugged. "Must be pretty serious, too, if he's bringing her 'round for Christmas dinner."

Rose barely had the chance to recover when Hermione's voice called out from the stairs. "Lily!"

"Hi, Aunt Hermione!" Lily rushed over to help the witch down the stairs; seven months into her pregnancy, Hermione's stomach was a large, round extension of herself, but the witch's physique was otherwise unchanged and as such she refused anyone's help and waved Lily off, pulling the young witch into a hug once she had cleared the bottom step. "How's my favorite Quidditch Captain?"

"I'm great," Lily replied, and the doorbell rang once more. Rose rushed over to get it, finding Albus on the other side—holding hands with none other than Sicily.

"Godric's grave!" Rose exclaimed.

"Well, this certainly makes things a little easier," Sicily murmured to Al.

"You?" Rose gaped at her friend. "You—You're his date? In seven years at Hogwarts I never saw you say yes to any of the hoards of idiots who were drooling at your feet. And you say yes to this?" she pointed at her cousin.

Albus blinked. "Blimey, Rosie, you sure know how to make a bloke feel good about himself."

"You shut it," she barked at him. "You're dating my best mate!"

"Well, to put it bluntly—yes," Albus sighed.

Rose punched his arm.

"Ow!"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"What do you think I was planning on doing today?"

"Rose," Sicily intervened, "Do you think we could come in? We're sort of freezing our bums off out here."

Rose let them in, shooting them both a scowl as she shut the door behind them. "I'm still angry at the both of you—I'm only letting you in because the pregnancy hormones have made Mum a bit murderous and she'll probably Crucio me on the spot if I let you freeze to death on the front porch."

Sicily smiled as she shed her cloak. "Missed you too, Rosie."

Almost two hours later, the lot of them sat down to dinner; Draco next to Hermione, then Rose, Scorpius, Ginny, Harry, Albus, Sicily, Lily and Hugo. As they all began to heap food onto their plates, it was Scorpius who finally asked what the rest were all dying to hear.

"Alright, so spill. How'd you two end up together?"

Albus and Sicily looked sheepishly at each other for a moment; Sicily finished chewing and began to answer. "Well, we talked a bit at the wedding—but we didn't really start talking properly until a couple months ago."

Albus had gotten a job as a Quidditch correspondent at the Daily Prophet just before the start of the Quidditch season. "When I started at the Prophet, they wanted to do an interview piece on the Harpies' newest Chaser, but they weren't sure how to approach her—"

"—Albus mentioned we knew each other from Hogwarts and they put him up to it," Sicily finished for him. "At first we met up a couple times for lunch—just to get the interview done, and eventually he owled me and asked me out."

"How're you taking it, Aunt Gin?" asked Hugo. "Your son dating one of your Chasers?"

"Well, they could've at least told me," Ginny pursed her lips. "But it could be worse—Sicily could've chosen to date James."

The others laughed. "How is James?" asked Hermione.

"He's alright," Harry answered. "Finally getting used to the time difference and the weather—but looks like he's enjoying California, all in all."

"Scorp and I got to have lunch with him a few weeks ago when we went out to see a spot over in Napa that was in the running for the Cup," Rose chimed in. "He took us to this great vineyard for a wine tasting and everything."

"A wine tasting?" Lily snorted. "James Sirius Potter took you to a wine tasting? And neither of you thought to check for Polyjuice?"

Harry laughed. "He's classed up then—knowing James, I would've guessed that he took you bar-hopping on the Sunset Strip and insisted you do tequila slammers."

"Well, he tried that first, but Rose threatened to hex him into the next time zone," Scorpius explained, and they all laughed again.

A couple hours later, after all the guests had left, Rose was helping Hermione clean up in the kitchen, drying the dishes as Hermione finished washing them. Draco was on the phone with his mother while Scorpius and Hugo played chess in front of the fire.

"You and Scorpius are staying tonight, right?" the elder witch asked.

"Of course," Rose said. As an afterthought: "We can each sleep in our old rooms, if it bothers you that we sleep together."

Hermione waved her off. "Please, I'm sure you've found ample opportunity to shag in the house in the past eight months."

"Mum!"

"What?" Hermione said, ignoring Rose's deep blush. "Darling, I may be your mother but I'm not thick—am I right about you two doing it in the house, or am I right?"

Rose blushed about nine different shades of scarlet. "… Yes, you're right."

"I know," Hermione smiled rather smugly. "Besides—I've been meaning to tell you—I've redecorated."

Rose's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Oh?"

Hermione looked a little embarrassed. "Well, I'm turning your old room into a nursery for the baby—it's not done yet though. But I turned Scorpius' old room into a guest room for the two of you. I hope you're not upset or anything—it's just that once you two moved all your stuff out, the rooms looked really empty and it made me sad," she confessed, suddenly overcome with tears.

Rose reached over and gave her mother a hug. "It's alright, Mum. Really."

(Mia and Sebastian's Theme - February 18th, 2025 – 3:14am – Maternity Ward, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries – London)

Rose rushed frantically over to the mediwitch station where she found a slender witch looking to be in her late twenties, Scorpius in close pursuit.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. "We're here for Hermione Malfoy."

"Are you family?" the mediwitch asked, eyeing her and Scorpius carefully.

Rose nodded. "I'm Rose Weasley and this is Scorpius Malfoy," she said. "We're her kids."

"Well, she's still in the delivery room with your father," the witch explained. "There's a waiting room down the hall—you can Floo any relatives from there. Once she's out, we'll send someone for you."

"Right, thanks," Rose said, leading Scorpius down the hall to the empty waiting room, where they both collapsed into chairs. The two of them were wearing coats over their pajamas; Draco had woken them at half-past two with frantic phone call, announcing that Hermione had gone into labor and telling them to send an owl to Hugo at Hogwarts and get down to St. Mungo's as soon as they could.

"What does one do when someone's in labor?" asked Rose.

"Alert the family, I expect," Scorpius supplied. "And wait."

"Right," she said. After a moment, she noticed Scorpius jiggling his leg. "Nervous?"

"Anxious, mostly," he confessed. "We'll finally get to meet him or her."

A small smile graced Rose's features. "Yeah. I'm excited, to be honest."

"I should probably get an owl to Spiegelman and let him know we won't be coming in to work today. And get a letter out to my grandmother as well," Scorpius told her. "I'm going to ask the mediwitch if they even have owls here. You should call Aunt Ginny and let her know Mum's in labor."

Rose nodded, fishing her phone out of the pocket of her coat. "I'll see if she can stop by the flat and get some clothes for us, too. We can't very well spend the day in our pajamas."

Scorpius nodded, heading off to find a mediwitch as Rose dialed Ginny's number. By the time he returned from alerting their boss and Narcissa, Harry and Ginny were already in the waiting room, having sent Al to Rose and Scorpius' flat to get them clothes. When the wizard arrived, the two excused themselves momentarily to change, returning to the waiting room a little before four in the morning.

The clock ticked 4:39am by the time Draco burst into the waiting room, his pale face flushed and looking happier than any of them had ever seen him. The five of them had gotten to their feet when he entered the room, and he looked around at all of them with obvious elation in his grey eyes.

"It's a girl!" he declared. "A healthy, gorgeous baby girl."

Scorpius and Rose shared a one arm hug while Harry, Ginny and Al congratulated Draco and inquired about Hermione. "She's fine—she did wonderfully, really, they're both perfectly healthy."

The wizard then turned to the both of them. "Would you like to meet your sister?"

They nodded and Draco led the group to Hermione's room, knocking lightly on the door before entering. Hermione was on a hospital bed in the middle of the room, looking flushed and exhausted but overjoyed as she looked at the tiny pink bundle in her arms. "Hi," she said in a hushed tone. Scorpius and Rose approached the bed carefully, looking at the face peaking out of the blankets. She was a tiny thing, really, with flushed pink cheeks and the slightest dusting of freckles spattering the bridge of her fine nose. What little hair she had was so light it was almost white, but when she opened her eyes a moment later, they proved to be the same striking shade of amber as Hermione's and Rose's.

"Wow," said Albus.

"She's…" Scorpius breathed.

"She's perfect," Rose finished for him, her voice barely a whisper.

"She is," Draco walked over to the other side of the bed, sitting down with care and wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Everyone," Hermione said. "I'd like you all to meet Miranda Grace Malfoy."

"We wanted to keep up the Black family tradition of astronomical names," Draco explained. "Miranda is one of the moons of Uranus."

"And the moon is named after a character from Shakespeare," Hermione went on. "As am I. Miranda is the magician's young daughter in The Tempest."

"It fits her perfectly," Ginny said with a smile.

"And where did 'Grace' come from?" Harry asked.

Draco shrugged. "We just liked the sound of it, to be honest."

The others laughed and Hermione turned to Rose. "Would you like to hold her?"

The younger witch nodded. Hermione carefully placed Miranda in her arms, and the tiny baby girl squirmed a little in her blankets until she relaxed.

"Hi, Miranda," Rose breathed, smiling and looking up to Scorpius when Miranda locked her amber gaze on her. "I'm Rose. I'm your big sister."

"Hello, baby girl," Scorpius whispered, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm Scorpius. It's great to finally meet you."

(Black Betty - August 20th, 2027 – 7:02pm – Quidditch World Cup Final – French Countryside near Dijon)

"Ladies and gentleman! Welcome, welcome to the final of the four-hundred and twenty-ninth Quidditch World Cup!"

Up in the Top Box, Rose turned to Scorpius, trying to spot the commentator who was sitting just a row or two below them; they were sharing the box with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Albus, Lily, James and the latter's wife, Erica, Hermione, and Draco, who was holding up a three-and-a-half-year-old Miranda on his lap, all of them clad head-to-toe in red and white to support the English National team. To Scorpius' left sat Declan and Gaia beside him, a gold wedding band adorning their left hands as of just recently, and Sicily's parents.

"Wait—the commentator! Where have I heard him before?"

"Hogwarts!" Scorpius answered. "Frankie Jones impressed the Head of Magical Games and Sports with his experience. He only got the job last week, the bloke who was supposed to do it caught spattergroit—he's quarantined in St. Mungo's."

"—And now, I give you, the English National Team's mascots!"

The crowd ooh-ed and ahh-ed as a herd of magnificent bronze hippogriffs flew over the stadium with riders atop them, circling once before landing gracefully on the English side of the pitch.

"And the Argentinean National Team's mascots!"

From the other side of the pitch, a team of small, winged horses flew in, leading a chariot with a beautiful woman, dressed in robes of sky blue, amid cheers from the Argentineans. "She's supposed to be Justice!" Rose explained to the family. "And the horses are winged falabellas!"

"—And now, ladies and gentleman, allow me the pleasure of introducing: the English National Quidditch Team!"

All of them—even Hermione—cheered manically as Frankie's familiar voice began to announce the team and they zoomed out in robes of white and red: "I give you—Fairchild, Clarke, Van der Laar, Putnam, Bawden, Ritchmond, aaaaand Williams!"

The English supporters screamed and hooted, the noise almost deafening in the stadium. Beside Rose, Albus was jumping up and down, cheering for his girlfriend as she landed in the field. "Yeah, Sicily!"

Miranda's platinum curls in pigtails were bouncing as she jumped up with similar excitement, pointing out the players on their brooms to her father. "Daddy—look!"

"And now, I give you, the Argentinian National Quidditch Team!" Frankie called out the players in sky blue and white stripes. "Garcia, Mendoza, Alvarez, Torres, Medina, Quiroga aaaand Bravo!"

"And, from right here in the heart of France, our referee, member of the International Association of Quidditch, Isabelle Mercier!"

A slender witch with sharp features stepped out onto the pitch wearing robes of pure gold to match the stadium, her broom in hand, carrying a large box under the other arm. A silver whistle was dangling on a chain from her neck. Rose watched as Mercier mounted her broom, put the whistle to her lips and blew it as she kicked open the box, releasing the balls and signaling the start of the game.

"Aaaaand they're off!" Frankie screamed. "Argentine immediately takes possession—It's Captain Andreina Garcia—pass to Alvarez—back to Garcia—now Hector Mendoza—he dodges a Bludger from Captain Jack Bawden and England intercepts, now it's Sicily Van der Laar with the Quaffle—passes to Clarke—he passes Garcia, swerves to avoid a Bludger from Victoria Torres—Evan Clarke nears the hoops—Bludger from Aaron Putman of England forces the Argentinean defense to scatter—Clarke shoots—Keeper Martina Quiroga dives—SCORE FOR ENGLAND!"

The shot was met with cheers from the English supporters as the game went on.

"—Ten-nil with England leading—Argentine back in possession—Geraldine Alvarez with the Quaffle—passes to Garcia—nice defense from Beater Gabriel Medina—Mendoza with the Quaffle—passes to Alvarez—Back to Garcia—she dodges Clarke, almost collides with Van der Laar—Olivia Fairchild of England with the Quaffle now—OUCH!—Fairchild takes a Bludger from Torres—Mendoza with the Quaffle again—he nears the English hoops—IT'S A SAVE! English Keeper Lacie Ritchmond intercepts the shot, no trouble—she passes to Fairchild—"

A groan from the Argentinean supporters just as Evan Clarke tossed the Quaffle over to Sicily. "Sicily Van der Laar in possession, the youngest player on the English Team, just twenty years old—she dodges Garcia—rockets past Alvarez—this girl is unstoppable—passes to Clarke—Clarke to Fairchild—back to Van der Laar—Van der Laar nearing Quiroga's hoops—Mendoza tries to block her but he's taken out by a Bludger from Bawden—Van der Laar shoots—SCORE!"

The noise coming from the box where Rose was sitting with her family and Sicily's parents was deafening. The witch barely had time to recover from her shot before she was off again, in pursuit of one of the Argentinean Chasers. A couple minutes later, the game stopped for a few seconds as a foul was called out.

"Penalty awarded to England after Mercier calls a foul for blagging—Argentinean Beater Gabriel Medina grabs onto Olivia Fairchild's broom in an attempt to stop her from scoring—Fairchild flies up to take the penalty shot—IT'S IN! The score is now thirty-nil with England still holding the lead."

As the game wore on, the spectators in the stadium grew more and more agitated; the Chasers and Beaters seemed to be mercilessly at each other's throats, while the Seekers dodged in an out of the action, trying to spot the Snitch.

"—Meanwhile Seekers Rex Williams and Angel Bravo are circling—the score is tied at eighty points—Garcia with the Quaffle—passes to Alvarez—Mendoza—Garcia—dodges Clarke—pass to Mendoza—he rolls over in midair to avoid Fairchild—takes a Bludger to the arm from Putnam and Van der Laar swoops in to recover the Quaffle—she passes to Clarke—pass to Fairchild, she ducks under Alvarez—passes back to Clarke—Clarke to Van der Laar—back to Fairchild—Fairchild nears the Argentinean hoops—Argentinean Keeper Martina Quiroga takes a Bludger from Jack Bawden and Fairchild scores! Ninety-eighty with England taking the lead once more—HANG ON A MINUTE! —Williams and Bravo are on the move!"

Rose and the others got to their feet; Draco carrying Miranda as the toddler pointed out the Seekers, barely two blurs weaving through the other players at warp speed. Scorpius looked through his Omnioculars and spotted Rex Williams, an almost feral look on his face as he dived after the larger and heavier Angel Bravo. As the two neared the ground, Bravo seemed unable to break—he pummeled into the ground with a dull thud that could clearly be heard across the pitch; Williams managed to pull up his broom in time, speeding forward to catch the Snitch in his gloved hand.

"—HE'S GOT IT! MERLIN'S BEARD, WILLIAMS HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!"

The English supporters went absolutely wild; a team of mediwizards were attempting to pass through the hippogriffs below to get to the injured Argentinean Seeker, who was stirring feebly on the grass. The rest of the English team was flying full speed towards Rex Williams, nearly knocking him off his broom as the seven of them landed in a graceless heap. The scoreboard shifted to read ARGENTINE: 80 – ENGLAND: 240.

"ENGLAND WINS!"

The English team took a lap of victory as God Save the Queen began to blast through the stadium. The Cup was brought up into the top box as Frankie's voice continued to narrate what was going on.

"Ministry officials bring the World Cup into the top box and hand it off to Minister of Magic, Hermione Granger just as the English National Quidditch Team enters the box—Minister Granger presents Captain Jack Bawden with the Cup and the crowd goes wild!"

Jack Bawden held up the Cup just as in one swift move, Albus took a small black box from the pocket of his jeans and got down on one knee in front of Sicily, who looked about ready to burst into tears from all the excitement. Everyone in the Top Box gasped as they realized what was going on.

"Merlin's wand—Albus Potter has just proposed to Sicily Van der Laar here in the top box! And—she's said yes!"

(April 23rd, 2030 – 3:09pm – Diagon Alley - London)

Rose took her younger sister's hand as the two stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. The place was rather full; Rose thought she could make out a few people she knew from her Hogwarts days, but didn't stop to say hello. Hannah Longbottom was tending the bar, and Rose waved to her as she passed, leading Miranda towards the door that lead out back.

"Alright," she said, picking the five-year-old girl up and handing Miranda her wand. "Do you remember which bricks to tap?"

"Yes, Rosie," Miranda said with an eye-roll eerily reminiscent of Draco, tapping the bricks and opening the gateway to Diagon Alley. Rose set her down, once again taking her hand as the two stepped through to the cobbled street.

"Do you want to get some ice cream?" Rose asked, and Miranda nodded. The two entered Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, emerging minutes later with identical chocolate-chip ice cream cones as Miranda waved goodbye to old Florean Fortescue himself.

"Careful, munchkin," Rose warned her sister as she took a particularly large bite of her cone. "If you get any of that on your jumper, Mum'll have our heads."

Miranda laughed, the gap from her missing two front teeth evident as she did so. "You worry too much, Rosie."

Rose pursed her lips. "Hey, want to go see the brooms?"

"Yes!" Miranda jumped in glee, her platinum curls bouncing as she skipped along at Rose's side in the direction of Quality Quidditch Supplies. "Oh, that's it!" she practically shouted. "It's the new Nimbus 3000!"

Rose led her up to the window amongst the throng of children crowding to see the broom in the display. It had ebony wood and polished, dark twigs at the tail end, with silver fastenings.

"It's so pretty," Miranda gasped, her amber eyes wide. Looking up at her sister: "What broom did you have when you played Quidditch?"

"I had a Nimbus 2100 at Hogwarts," Rose recalled fondly. "Aunt Ginny got it for me when I made the House Team in third year."

"And what broom did Scorpius have?"

"He had a Nimbus 2100 as well. But he made the team a year before I did."

"Do you think I'll make the team when I go to Hogwarts?" asked Miranda.

"Of course, silly," Rose said, ruffling the little witch's curls. "You've been on a broom since before you could walk properly. You're a Malfoy; I bet you'll be the youngest player since Uncle Harry."

Miranda smiled at that. "Can we go to Flourish and Blotts?"

Rose smirked. "You may be a Malfoy, kid, but you're definitely your mother's daughter."

The two walked up the street; or rather, Miranda skipped up the street with Rose in tow, holding onto her elder sister's hand while Rose berated her to slow down. Miranda had been quite a precocious child: she had ridden a toy broom for the first time when she was barely a year old, walked at thirteen months, talked in full sentences by the time she was two and had been reading and writing since the tender age of three. The influence of both her parents, as well as her elder siblings had resulted in two equally-matched passions for the five-year-old girl: reading and Quidditch. She let go of Rose's hand and rushed for the children's section the second they were in the book store, quickly finding one that caught her interest and collapsing onto a nearby cushion to peruse it.

"Rose Weasley?"

She turned at the mention of her name, finding herself face to face with a familiar face; green eyes, dark hair, an olive complexion and a nose that was very different from the one she remembered.

"Francesca Zabini? Is that you?"

"Yes," the witch smiled. They hadn't seen each other since Draco and Hermione's wedding, nearly six years prior. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise," Rose smiled. "I thought you were living in Italy."

"Well, yes," Francesca granted. "I got a job with Gringotts in Milan—then I worked in Budapest for a bit, but I've been transferred back to London—I've only been back for a month or so. What have you been up to?"

"Well, I'm still at the Ministry," Rose began. "I've been in International Magical Cooperation since graduation—I moved into the International Magical Office of Law the year before last."

"And your brother and your friends?"

"Hugo's living in Dublin—he's just opened up a racing broom company with Jude Nott. Gaia and Declan eloped in India a few years back—they're living in New York now. And Sicily married my cousin Albus the year before last, they're living over in Cardiff," Rose said. "Congratulations, by the way."

Francesca followed Rose's gaze to the engagement ring on her finger. "Oh, yes. I met my fiancé back in Italy—his name is Stefano. We're getting married next spring."

"That's great," Rose said sincerely. She felt a tug on the hem of her shirt and looked down to find Miranda, book in hand.

"I want this one," the younger witch said, before noticing Francesca. "Oh, hi."

"Hello," said the elder witch, obviously surprised.

"I'm Miranda Malfoy," and she held out a tiny hand for Francesca to shake; the elder witch's green eyes were round as saucers. "Who are you?"

"I'm Francesca Zabini," the witch replied, shaking the tiny blonde's hand. "I went to Hogwarts with Rose."

"Oh, okay," Miranda replied. "It's very nice to meet you."

Rose watched the exchange with an amused smirk at the shocked look on Francesca's face and the curious gaze on Miranda's. "Alright, munchkin—how about you pick another one while I finish talking to Francesca and I'll be up to pay for them in a minute?"

"Okay," Miranda replied with a broad, toothless grin as she returned to the shelves. "Bye!"

Rose turned to Francesca, who waved absentmindedly the five-year-old as she walked away to look through the books. "Sorry about that—Miranda can be a bit precocious."

"It's alright—how old is she?"

"She turned five in February," Rose answered, shooting her sister a fond smile.

Francesca's eyes were still wide. "I had no idea you and Scorpius…"

Rose's eyebrows shot upwards in realization and she shook her head. "Oh, Merlin! No—Miranda isn't ours, Godric. She's our sister, actually."

Something that oddly resembled relief flooded Francesca's face. "Oh, of course! She's Draco and Hermione's baby, isn't she?"

"Yeah. Mum and Dad are moving some furniture today and Scorpius had to work, so I've got her for the afternoon."

Francesca nodded in understanding. "She sure does look like you, though. I mean, the hair and her features have Malfoy written all over them, but she's got your eyes and freckles."

Rose smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

"You and Scorpius are still together then?"

"Yeah," Rose said, her smile widening. "We've got a place over in Camden—he's at the Ministry as well, but he moved over to Magical Law-Enforcement last year."

"No wedding plans?" Francesca asked with a knowing grin.

"Not yet," Rose smiled, and caught sight of Miranda waving her over to the register. "Listen, I've got to go—it's great to see you, though—we should meet up for lunch and catch up properly, yeah?"

"That would be great," Francesca smiled. "I'll owl you, yeah? Give my best to Scorpius."

"Alright," Rose smiled, waving at the witch as she walked away in the direction of her younger sister.

(December 18th, 2030 – 5:13pm - Rose and Scorpius' flat – Camden, London)

"Scorp? I'm home!"

Rose shed her gloves, scarf and hat, discarding it, along with her keys and wand, on the kitchen counter as she entered the flat. The warmth of the roaring fire was a blessed relief after the chill outside, and she heard Scorpius call out from their room as she was shedding her coat.

"I'm in here!"

She found her boyfriend of just over six years sitting on the floor in the middle of their bedroom, wearing flannel pajama bottoms and an old Puddlemere United jersey, surrounded by a mountain of gifts and wrapping paper. He was currently in the middle of wrapping the training broom they had gotten Miranda for Christmas, turning it over and inspecting it with an unsatisfied look on his pointed face.

"Do you have any idea how to wrap up a training broom so that it doesn't actually look like a training broom?" the wizard asked.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to be resting."

Scorpius waved her off. "I'm fine—one little cold isn't going to kill me."

"You've been taking the Pepper-Up Potion?"

"Yes, Rose. Every six hours like you said—my ears only just stopped smoking about twenty minutes ago. Help me up, will you?"

Rose caught his hand and heaved him to his feet. "How was work?" he asked.

"Oh, it was fine—Hubermann's getting on my nerves though, honestly," Rose said, sitting down on their bed.

"You should seriously consider Pearson's offer," Scorpius said, sitting beside her. "Hubermann's a prick and he takes you for granted."

"I know that," Rose sighed. "It's just… I don't want to be a part of the Minister's support staff while my mother is still the Minister, you know?"

Scorpius nodded. "And what about moving in to DMLE? I heard Kaminsky is retiring after the holidays."

At this, Rose perked up. "She is?"

"Yep."

"I guess that would be alright—I mean, with Dad moving into the Senior Undersecretary post, there's no family to speak of in DMLE—other than you of course."

Scorpius leaned over, giving her a light kiss. "Hmm. Plus it'll be fun to be back in the same department—we can shag in the supply closets like we used to."

"That happened one time!"

"And I never forget it."

"Behave," Rose warned, getting up to walk out of the room. "Or I'll turn your coffee into decaf when you're not looking."

"You wouldn't dare!" he smirked, following her to the kitchen.

Rose laughed. "Listen, I don't feel like cooking—how does Mr. Chow's sound?"

"Brilliant," Scorpius answered.

"Alright then." She retrieved her coat, putting it on as Scorpius began to move the presents from their room to the Christmas tree in the living room. He ended up tying a large golden bow onto the handle of Miranda's training broom just before setting it under the tree.

"Minimalistic," Rose commented, tying on her scarf. "Upfront. Honest. I like it."

He snorted indignantly. "You know Miranda and I finally had the talk yesterday when I picked her up from football on the way to Mum and Dad's."

"Oh?"

"Yep. Imagine my face when she asked me how it was that she was your sister and my sister, but you and I weren't siblings and it was okay for us to be a couple."

Rose chuckled as she put on her gloves. "That child is too smart for her own good. What did you tell her?"

"The truth," Scorpius shrugged, walking over to her. "She managed to grasp it pretty well and all—then she asked why we're not married like Mum and Dad."

"Merlin," Rose shook her head, quickly giving him a kiss. "Talk about pressure—Er—I will be back in about fifteen minutes, alright?"

He nodded, watching as she grabbed the keys and left through the front door.

(Between The Bars - December 18th, 2030 – 6:09pm - Rose and Scorpius' flat – Camden, London)

Rose reentered the flat some twenty minutes later, carrying a large paper bag with Mr. Chow's logo stamped on it, and a bag that seemed to contain a six pack of beer. She set the bags down on the counter, Scorpius watching her from one of the barstools as she took the take-away containers out.

"Alright, I couldn't really decide what to get, so I got a bit of everything, really: the House Special rice, spicy fried Szechuan Chicken, deep fried Won Tons, sweet and sour chicken—I got the Cantonese since you don't like the regular one—Honey barbecue pork, spring rolls, shrimp chop suey, mushroom chop suey and apple fritters for dessert."

"Blimey, Rose, is an army coming over to eat?"

She snorted inelegantly. "Please. Living with me for six years has opened up your appetite considerably, if nothing else. If we're lucky, we'll have the containers left when we're done."

Scorpius smirked and watched as she distracted herself with putting the beers in the fridge, leaving two of them on the counter. "I know you prefer butterbeer, but I didn't want to Apparate to the Leaky Cauldron and let the food get cold, so I got these at Mr. Chow's—I think Heineken will go quite nicely with the pork, actually and—"

She stopped abruptly mid-sentence when she turned. Scorpius was leaning back onto the backrest of the barstool, arms crossed over his chest and smirking. In front of him, on the counter between the beer and the mushroom chop suey, was a small, black velvet box.

Rose blinked. "What is that?"

"A complete history of magical tax law," Scorpius snarked.

Rose scowled at him.

"What do you think?" he grinned. Rose approached the counter hesitantly, still looking at the little black box. "It won't bite. Open it."

Rose picked up the box with trembling fingers, opening it to find a stunning ring. It was white gold with a single, large diamond in the center, and smaller diamonds embedded into the band. "Holy fucking shit on a stick," she breathed.

"That's my great-grandmother's ring," Scorpius explained. "Druella Black—She left it to my Grandmother when she died."

"Scorpius…"

Golden eyes filled with tears met grey, and he stood up, stepping around the counter to take her free left hand in his own. He sighed.

"I've had that ring stashed in the back of my underwear drawer for a year and a half," he said to her. "I've been working up the guts all this time—trying to find the right moment to ask, putting it off because it didn't feel right just yet. It wasn't until Miranda asked me why we're not married that I realized how silly I was being and how ludicrous it is that I hadn't even plucked up the courage to ask—I love you, Rose. I have been certifiably, madly, irrevocably in love with you for the better half of my life. I don't want to wait anymore. Will you marry me?"

For the first few seconds Rose could only nod, happy tears spilling down her cheeks as she allowed Scorpius to place the ring on her finger. "Godric, yes! A thousand times, yes!"

He smiled then, pulling her into his arms and spinning her around as he had in the Great Hall all those years ago when they'd both been accepted into the Ministry. "No getting rid of me now, Weasley," he whispered between kisses.

Rose laughed. "Weasley? Don't you mean Malfoy?"

The grin he wore widened so much it looked almost comical. "I can get used to that."

A/N: Hi guys! I can't believe this story is finished already. It's gone by so fast, but it's been wonderful to write. Thank you all for your support and your lovely reviews. I hope you enjoyed it!

I posted a new dramione one-shot yesterday on my profile, titled Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. A bit of a departure from my usual humor and romance, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I recommend you check it out, as I'm already planning a sequel. Until next time!

Reviews are massive amounts of Chinese take-away.

xo, V.