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As Scorpius watched Lily, Rose and Mr. Potter saying their goodbyes, it made Scorpius reflect on how differently his family interacted.

Scorpius did not come from a demonstrative family. He heard them referenced to as cold, unfeeling, icy and other terms one would associate with glaciers or praying mantises. He never felt that was an accurate assessment of his family, but knew decorum would keep him from ever saying how much it irked him. His family always had a veneer of reserved civility in public, that was true, but they felt things very deeply.

If you spent an evening with them, Scorpius found it almost entirely enjoyable, minus the rare bigoted statements he would have to ignore from his grandparents. They could easily communicate with each other with no more than a glance, or a word, and a whole slew of unsaids, would be said. Was that not a sign of closeness, warmness, and familial bliss? Of course, not everyone can appreciate subtlety.

The Weasleys were not like that. Subtle was not something he could ever call them. Rose was like a battleaxe put in with the silverware: She said every thought in that frizzy head of hers, and her family was similar. If they were mad, they would be red faced and complaining loudly. If they disagreed with you, you would know immediately by their hue and the cry that would immediately erupt. They also greeted each other with giant hugs and lots of gregarious, overloud welcomes. They were as toned down as their hair, really. Scorpius could navigate them easily enough.

The Potters were a bit harder to figure out. Never had he met a more unpredictable and moody family. Reticent one moment, brash and loud the next. It was dizzying. Yet they were still, on the whole, more demonstrative than his family ever was.

"We have no idea if he escaped with any plans in mind, or if he just wanted to be free. At this point, just stay vigilant, and let me or another Auror know the moment you feel anything is up," Mr Potter said, pushing some of Lily's hair behind her ear. She had not regained any color in her cheeks since the announcement of Shaw having escaped prison.

"I don't want to be alone," said Lily, looking suddenly much younger to Scorpius.

"I don't think any of us should be, tonight," said Rose, putting a hand on Lily's tiny shoulder.

"Could we stay at your place, Dad?" asked Lily.

"Of course you can," Harry replied with the first smile Scorpius had seen him dawn this entire visit.

"Scorpius too?"

"Scorpius too," he said with a nod.

"You really don't need to--" Scorpius began.

"Nonsense, Scorpius. You could be just as much of a target as us. Shaw was after purebloods, and you're about as pureblood as they get," said Rose.

"At least stay with us until we've set up some better wards around your home," Harry said with a smile that did little to reassure Scorpius.

The day had been nothing but one event after another. Scorpius wanted to go home, scratch his cat on the head, and call it a day. Maybe Rose could stay with him, and he would not mind, but any company beyond her was an exhausting thought. He needed time to recoup. He needed time to plan his next move, and this gave him precious little. He had been to the Potter home before, and he knew there would barely be time to breath.

Scorpius let out a sound of protestation, but it was quite ignored.

"I really can't come. I have lots to do and-"

Rose weaseled her hand into his and gave it a squeeze, all the while giving him an imploring look. Her bright blue eyes bore into his.

Within thirty minutes he had packed some clothes, fed his cat, and found himself at the Potter's house.

The house looked exactly the same as it had the last time he had visited. The garden was just barely kept from running wild, and it had a cheery air about it that always brought a smile to his face.  He knocked on the door, but no one answered. For safety he did a quick 'Homenem Revelio.' A faint blue outline of a person revealed itself. Scorpius knocked again but no one came. Could it be Shaw or one of his followers hiding and waiting for one of the Potters? Should he wait until someone else arrived? What if they Flooed into a trap?

There was nothing left to do but deal with the unknown person himself.

Scorpius quietly unlocked the door and entered.

Down the hall, in the kitchen he could hear something that sounded like pure human suffering. A horrid scream curdled the air.

Staving himself for the worst, Scorpius kicked in the door and ran into the room with his wand raised. He looked about for blood or a body, but instead found something far more disturbing.

James Potter was dancing in his underpants, a pair of wireless headphones atop his head. He was attempting to sing, and let out another wild cry to the winds. Scorpius would have much rather discovered human gore than this.

He performed a quick tripping jinx on James who quickly caught himself before falling.

"What the hell?" he growled ripping off his headphones and turning around. "Oh, hey Scorpius."

He put his headphones back on and continued dancing, his impressive abs doing something odd and rippling like a belly-dancer's.

Scorpius kept his eyes trained on the ceiling. He had seen his fair share of James's chiseled features over the years. He did not make it a habit to look at James' muscles, but anyone who ever left their home was privy to them in an abundance of Wizarding tabloids. James Potter was almost as famous as his father, at this point. He had become a Quidditch star, just as he had foretold since the moment he could speak. A great many people, including Scorpius' assistant, were quite entranced by James Potter. They would probably pay for a chance to watch this; but would not need to, as James was a blatant exhibitionist.

"Is Rose here, yet?" Scorpius inquired.

James kept dancing and raised a hand to his ear, indicating he could not hear.

Scorpius marched over and removed the headphones, turned them off, and banished them. James did not seem much bothered.

"Where's Rose?" Scorpius asked.

"Your girlfriend's not here yet. Afraid you're stuck with me and my sweet moves for now. Care for a dance, darling?"

Scorpius backed away and crossed his arms.

"Oh lighten up," said James, grabbing a carton of orange juice from the cold pantry and drinking from it. "Dad's off doing ministry crap, Mum's getting food for everyone, and no one else you care about is here yet."

"What are you doing here, anyways?"

"In town for the wedding. Sort of on the outs with Natasha, so staying here."

"Natasha?"

"Gone out for about a month now. Model. Stupid. Crazy bitch. Mad at me."

That list seemed to describe every girlfriend of James Potter. James went to the living room and started doing some form of sit up that involved punching the air. Not wanting to see any more of James, Scorpius went out to the yard.

The belongings he dropped in his haste laid undisturbed. Thinking on it, Scorpius realized what an idiotic move it had been to jolt into the house like he had. Him saving the day? What a ridiculous notion. Scorpius was a rather reticent fellow, who preferred the company of an architectural gem to people, most of the time. He was not a man of action, nor was he particularly friendly. He made few friends, and kept even less. He always thought of heroes as being the sort of people found in the Potter and Weasley family: reckless, but bravely so. Their gregarious and caring nature made them prone to putting themselves in danger's way, and always triumphing over evil.

Scorpius supposed his family was a very good example of villainy. They were meticulous and thought out their actions more than other people. They were aloof, and not prone to making human connections easily, let alone sticking out their neck for another in danger. He never would be known for his warmth, and never would be known for his bravery. He was a right coward in most situations, he felt.

Heroes were supposed to be dashing with high ideals and were every bit the modern knight in shining armor. Scorpius was none of those things. When he thought about Rose, and how she loved the painting with the red haired lady and her dark haired knight, he knew he did not fit that role. For some reason, Albus seemed to think he could; but as much as Scorpius hoped to win Rose, at this juncture it would be more wise to set his sight lower.

For now, he just wanted to get Rose away from Brandon Bradley; he could then spend the following years pining over her. He could be content with her not loving him, as long as she forever remained single. Of course, she was so lovely he found this idea laughable. She would be snatched up by another hero-type, tall, dark, and handsome, with a charming, toothy smile that he wanted to hex until all the teeth were missing.

Scorpius didn't really smile with his teeth often. He was more of the 'quietly amused' sort.

He went into the house to find Rose in the livingroom with James and Lily. Unwilling to intrude, Scorpius watched from the hallway.

"Word on the street is anything can make you mad nowadays. Is it true you cursed Brad into a wall?" asked James.

Rose flushed.

"He deserved it."

"Of course he did. He has always been a complete dickhole," said James. "But, you have always liked your men uptight and prickish. I mean, you're best friends with Scorpius, who is about the most uptight person in the Western hemisphere."

"It's better to be wound tight than be an exhibitionist like you."

"I'm not judging him for being more tightly wound than Uncle Percy. Hey, if everyone were as liberal as me--"

"We'd all have Chlamydia?" Lily finished.

James wrinkled his nose.

"I have never had chlamydia, thank you very much! And Scorpius, stop skulking about in our hallway, you weirdo!"

Scorpius flushed a bit and stepped into the room.

"Speaking of weirdos, why don't you put on a shirt?" said Lily, slapping his bare stomach with a loud 'thwack!'

"You know, if I weren't in such amazing shape, that just might have hurt."

"Ah, the joy of hearing my children when I arrive home. How I've missed it."

Ginny Potter had arrived, and was holding some large parcels. She gave Scorpius a wink before dropping the bags on the floor.

"Mum!" Lily said, running over and giving her a hug. Ginny returned it firmly.

"So, no dark thoughts tonight. We're in one of the safest places in England right now. It would take more than a day for Shaw to organize anything, anyways. I want everyone to enjoy themselves while here, alright?" Ginny looked around the room as if she dared anyone to contradict her. Then she grinned.

"I got us some takeout for later!"

"Mum, why is it whenever we visit, you never cook a homemade meal?" James complained taking the bags into the kitchen, and riffling through their contents.

"Why should I cook?" Ginny snapped, looking irritated.

"Gran does!" he called from the kitchen.

"Well go stay at her place then. I fed you for seventeen years. Not every female enjoys cooking for their offspring forever."

"Still, it'd be nice to have some a home-cooked meal when you're at your childhood home."

"You know, you've not done anything this afternoon but sit around shirtless, drinking from our cartons! Why didn't you cook for us? Or is it that you think that's a 'woman's duty'?"

James rolled his eyes. "I did not ask so I could be lectured to about sexism."

They continued arguing from separate rooms. Scorpius knew it would continue like this for some time. This was usually the way of it at the Potter home. He had never known a family more prone to yelling across the house at each other. Neither looked particularly mad. They just liked arguing loudly.

"By all means, let's enjoy our time here," Rose said with a wry smile. "They'll continue like that forever. Let's put our stuff upstairs."

"You can stay in Albus's room, Rose. Scorpius will be staying with me," Lily said with a big smile, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind her before he could protest.

Rose did not move from her place immediately, but soon followed them up the stairs, a dour look on her face.

Lily pulled him close to the door and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Her hand started to trail up his back in a way that made him feel a weakness begin to form somewhere around his patellae.

"Lily!" snapped Rose. "I don't think you two should room together."

Lily quickly pushed Scorpius aside so she could properly place her hands akimbo.

"And why is that, Rose? Because I'm not engaged like you? Don't be such a prude."

"I'm not being a prude, you nit. I'm assuming your parents and brother don't know about you two, right? Do you really want James putting in his lecherous oar around the dinner table tonight? You and I can room together. Scorpius can take Al's room."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but either way, I want a bit of alone time with him in my bedroom. You can read a book or something in Al's room. See you at dinner," said Lily, all the while pushing Scorpius through the doorway and swinging her hips much more than necessary.

Scorpius watched Rose's face as he was backed into the room. She arched an eyebrow at the pair of them, her arms crossed.

Lily quickly shut the door behind them.

"Lily--"

"Shh!"

She put some perturbing spells about and a muffliato as well, then indicated he should sit on the bed. He obliged, but kept himself wary of her. Lily began pacing the floor.

"Ok-- So I had you invited here because I wanted to really up the ante with Rose's jealousy. If anything she's feeling left out a lot, which makes her think about your relationship and how it could evolve."

"I thought you invited me because there's a mad man out ghere who targets purebloods."

"Well of course, that. God, Scorpius, lighten up.  Mum said we should enjoy ourselves!" Lily tended to idolize her parents, and this was no exception. "I'd rather concentrate on something I can do to facilitate that enjoyment, thanks."

Scorpius said nothing.  Lily's room was very feminine, with delicate furniture, too many candles, and an abundance of stuffed animals in the corner. He much preferred it to her flat.

"So, what do you think we should do next, Scorpius?" Lily asked.

Until now he had been a bystander, almost, letting the Potter siblings boss him about and inform him of his next move. It was almost comforting knowing that none of these reckless actions came from himself. He was not bold like them. If he were, Rose would not be engaged now.

"You know Rose as well as anyone. What do you think would work to get her knickers in a twist?"

He did not like that expression used on Rose.

"I don't know," he said, thinking back to their interactions that day. "She seemed to dislike it when you were all over me- but that is not enough to make her suddenly be disloyal to Bradley. Rose is steadfast. She's one of the most loyal people I know, and would never up and leave him without a large reason. She is just too kind to do that."

Lily looked at him blankly.

"Can't get you to talk about anything, but Rose- oh boy, I can't get you to shut up about how wonderful she is," she said with laugh.

Scorpius failed to see the humor in this.

"We just can't continue this one pronged plan with Rose," Scorpius continued. "Think of their relationship like a building. I have a theory that the foundation is weak. With a weak foundation you'll start to see cracks in the walls. With a certain amount of pressure, those walls will fail to be structurally sound and-"

"I was thinking the same thing. So you think we need to get some dirt on Brad, and maybe find the weaknesses in their relationship and put the pressure on that," Lily said, not letting him finish his analogy.

"Yes," answered Scorpius. "You know, I can talk, but around you Potters, who can get a word in edgewise?"

"One of our more endearing qualities," Lily smirked. She went to her bag and pulled out a scroll as long as her arm. "Well, here's a list of the problems in their relationship. I wrote it up before I got here."

"You wrote down an actual list?"

"Well, yeah- you can't treat the disease unless you know all the symptoms!" replied Lily, as if her actions were in any way normal.

Scorpius gave it a quick scan.

"Conflicting astrological signs? Really?" Scorpius said, arching an eyebrow.

"What? That is a very bad thing for a relationship. It's been my problem in at least three. I keep choosing Scorpios. Blech. What sign are you?"

"Scorpio."

Some people would look embarrassed by this faux pas. Lily was not one of them.

"I should have known that. The good news is that you're compatible with Rose's sign! I'll have to draw up an astrological chart about it."

"You could just borrow my mother's. She is as loony as you, and actually believes in astrology too."

"Astrology is real!" Lily said, giving him a punch in the arm.

"Believe what you will," Scorpius said with a shake of his head. He read over the list and found he agreed on most points, and let the others slide simply on the principle that it added to Bradley's failings. Lily watched as he read. She occasionally scrunched her freckled nose into an unflattering mass of wrinkles before adding items and scratching out others, not caring that she had to elbow him in the side to write on the paper he was holding.

"It's a good list. I appreciate your helping."

"We need to get to the root of the matter, though," said Lily.  "Why was Rose initially attracted to him? I mean, yeah he's very handsome and nice, but he's so shallow and boring. We need to find out what it is that made her so loyal to him, and poison it."

"Brutal way to put it."

"Scorpius, if you want us to get Rose to leave Brad, we need to be brutal. Sure, this jealousy crap is fun, but in the end we need to truly terminate their relationship."

"Why is it that you care at all?" asked Scorpius. He had not stopped to wonder why Lily was willing to be so helpful.

"She'll be happiest with you, I just know it," said Lily, giving his hand a squeeze. "You two, people have speculated about for years, but you never did get together. Until Al told me, I had concluded you were either celibate or gay."

"I am neither of those things."

"Well, you could have fooled me," Lily said with good humored smile.

"I have had girlfriends. You've met them."

"Beards, the lot of them, I thought."

"Beards? I don't know what that means."

There came a knock at the door.

"Look it up," Lily said before taking her hand and roughly smearing her hand across his mouth.

"Ow! Stop that!" he spluttered with as much dignity as he could. She moved to roughly making his hair stand on end before unbuttoning part of his shirt. She stood back and nodded her approval.

Another knock came at the door.

"Lily, Scorpius, we're having dinner," came Rose's voice.

Lily mussed her own hair and did her best to wrinkle her clothes while biting her lips, before she opened the door.

"Oh hey, Rose," she answered, nonchalantly standing back for Rose to see Scorpius re-buttoning his shirt.

Rose did little to hide her discomfort.

"Right. Dinner. Straighten yourselves out before coming down, you randy idiots," Rose muttered before walking down the hallway.

"Too easy," Lily said with pride.

"You need to stop doing these sorts of things. What will Rose think of me? I don't act like that," said Scorpius.

"She'll think 'I can't believe he doesn't want to do that to me,'" Lily laughed.

"I don't care. Stop it," Scorpius said firmly. He was already growing tired of these games.

Dinner proved to be an awkward affair. Scorpius ended up seated between Lily and James, while Rose was directly across from him and refusing to make any sort of eye contact.

Ginny and James seemed to do the majority of the speaking, with Lily adding the odd comment here and there.

"I just don't understand why you're still dating that poor girl if you dislike her so much, James," said Ginny, opening one of her fortune cookies. "It says 'she who is expecting her eldest son to grow up, expects in vain.'"

James opened his own and let out a laugh.

"Wow, mine says 'you will be harped on in passive aggressive ways by your mum tonight. Beware.'"

"I'm not being passive aggressive, James, I'm all out saying, you need to stop leading girls on just because you can," Ginny promptly replied, clearing her dishes from the table and heading to the kitchen.

"That's because James is afraid of being alone," said Lily to no one in particular.

"So says the girl who's going to die alone cause no guy will ever date her," said James.

"I'd rather be single forever, then be such a man-slut like you, James."

"Rather be a man-slut than a spinster virgin, Lily!"

"I have had plenty of sex."

"With whom?" James said in an accusatory fashion. James had always been very critical of Lily's suitors. He chased them away with a combination of brutal interrogations and explicit descriptions of bodily harm he would inflict should they touch his sister.

"You really want to know James?" Lily was red-faced and defiant.

Rose shook her head at Lily. She glanced at Scorpius and he abruptly realized why Rose was looking so dubious. He was seated between James and Lily- the girl who he was pretending to have plenty of sex with, and her brother, the very muscular overprotective sort who could punch him into another era. Scorpius had not thought about this aspect of pretending to date Lily.

"Are you two still fighting? If you're going to duel, do it outside," said Ginny coming back from the kitchen. "But before you duel, do me a favor and clear your dishes."

The two of them clenched their jaws so that they looked almost identical, then quickly did as they were told. Neither of them wanted to risk the wrath of their mum.

"Scorpius," Lily stage-whispered at James.

He made a gobsmacked face.

"What?" James let out with comical incredulity.

He turned his gaze towards Scorpius, who froze in place. He had never garnered all that much attention from James, and did not want to start now. He braced himself for violence, when James let out a bark of a laugh.

"Ha, yeah right, Lily! You can make up better lies than that," James chuckled. "Were you even trying? Jesus! "

"Gordon Wood!" Lily spat back.

"Wait a moment, Gordon Wood? From my team, Gordy?" James said with renewed interest.

"The very same," Lily said slowly, a satisfied look gracing her features, knowing she had struck a nerve.

"When?"

"We dated for a bit over a year ago. Didn't you ever wonder why he was over last Christmas?"

"What! I thought I was just helping a lonely bastard out over Christmas inviting him over."

"Nope. We did it. In your bed."

"Oh god... I think I'm going to be sick! That's just so messed up, Lily. What the hell?"

"Twice."

"Next practice I'm going to take his beater's bat and break his bloody kneecaps with it. I can't believe Wood came near you! My own teammate!"

Scorpius heard the door opening and saw Harry Potter enter. He was looking every bit as harried and tired as he had earlier in the day.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Lily is banging half my Quidditch team, Dad!"

"You were calling me a virgin spinster not two minutes ago, James!" Lily yelled at him.

"Right. Well, I'm going to eat now. You can do this outside, yeah?"

"Fine!" they both yelled before carrying on their fight outside. Scorpius had long ago noticed how the Potters dealt with their quarreling children. They liked to let them have it out and only interfere when things truly got out of hand. Scorpius's idea of an out of hand quarrel differed quite a bit from theirs, but he supposed their methods worked. Beyond all of the Potter children being irrevocably weird, blunt and emotionally unstable, they had turned out all right. Through the window he could make out flashes of light and the occasional sound of yelling.  The first time he had seen Potters dueling each other it had alarmed him, but after years of witnessing their spats, it more caused curiosity than alarm.

Scorpius looked around for Rose and saw her following her uncle into the kitchen. Potter was quietly serving himself from the to-go cartons while Ginny animatedly discussed their children. Potter seemed content to listen.

Rose was drinking some water when she forcefully set her glass down and set her mouth in a firm line.

"How did Shaw escape prison?"

"Look, Rose, it's been a long day. Perhaps you can save your questions for--" Ginny began but Potter held up a hand.

"It's fine. Frankly, we're not sure how he escaped. Shaw was present and accounted for, there was a guard switch and when the new guard arrived on the floor, Shaw was gone. His cell door was locked. It was like he vanished into the walls. There was no sign of a break in, and none of the guards seem to have been involved. No keys are missing, and the locks were not tampered with by any spells we could detect. You can't apparate and none of the boats were missing, and none of the guards saw any boats enter the area. And Shaw wasn't an animagus. We've exhausted every possibility that he did this on his own. He must have had help, but we need to investigate this further."

Rose nodded her head, but Scorpius could see her trying to figure out an answer.

"But why now?" Scorpius heard himself ask.

"I really don't know. Perhaps he just wanted his freedom. Even with the reforms, Azkaban is a miserable prison anyone would try to escape. I wish I had answers for you, but I just don't. You both know I like keeping you informed on these kinds of matters, and that will continue."

"Thanks, Uncle Harry," said Rose. "I'm tired. Goodnight."

With that Rose left the room. Scorpius thought about following her, but was interrupted by a soot covered James entering through the mud room, his hair smoking.

"That's the third time she's beat you in a row," Potter laughed.

"Is it? Is there something about celebrity lifestyle that's making you soft?" said Ginny with a grin. James rolled his eyes and muttered some reply of needing sleep before stomping up the stairs.

Lily entered the house looking very proud of herself. She had a lock of hair burned off in an unbecoming angle, but other than that looked completely intact.

"Well done, Lily. Was that the Ceraunis charm you used?" Potter asked his daughter, looking more enthusiastic than Scorpius had seen him in quite some time.

"Adtonitus, actually," she beamed.

The Potters were clearly insane, but Scorpius liked being present for their strangeness. It was a welcome distraction from his own worries.

Exhausted from the day, everyone turned in early that evening. Though his thoughts were troubled with visions of Shaw and Rose, Scorpius fell asleep easily.

It was later in the night when Scorpius awoke to the sound of a door creaking open. The clock read one in the morning. He cast a quick silencing charm about him so he could see who it was. He cracked open the door to find Rose sneaking out of Lily's bedroom, her hair in a braid. He could only imagine Lily had braided her hair, as Rose had never been able to make her hair look that tame on her own. Scorpius grabbed a sweater and followed her.

Rose padded down the stairs and out the back door to sit on a swing hanging from the tree in the yard. She was wearing a pair of Lily's shorts that were too short for her long legs, and a cast-off jersey of James' that had seen better days. She listlessly turned in place, digging her manicured toes into the grass. She suddenly whipped her foot into the ground spinning the rope about her into a tight coil, then let the swing spin in place at a dizzying pace, her braid almost tangling with the rope. She put her forehead against one of the ropes and let out a shuddering sigh, her shoulders rising up to her ears.

Scorpius didn't want to startle her, but desperately wanted to talk to her. He cast a nonverbal display of shining fireflies to dance their way over to her. At first she took no notice of them, but after a moment she opened her eyes to dozens of enchanted fireflies glowing about her hair. She gave a small smile and looked about until she saw Scorpius.

"You were always better than me at non-verbals."

"Doesn't take much since you're awful at them."

"I'd prove you wrong right now, but I left my wand upstairs."

"You should keep it with you," said Scorpius, sitting on the grass in front of her feet. With Shaw about, he wanted her armed at all times.

"You're right. I just needed to get outside for a bit. It's been a long day," she said with a shiver.

Scorpius nodded, taking off his sweater and handing it to her. She gratefully took it and pulled it over her head, then let out another deep sigh and pulled one leg up and under herself. She was frowning deeply as the fireflies continued to play around her.

"Do you ever think about the night of the attack?"

Scorpius didn't have to ask which night she meant. He stared at the ground and nodded. He rubbed her legs a bit to warm them.

"I'm so afraid that it will happen again. My wedding would be the perfect place to do it, too. Tons of purebloods all gathered together, and my dad and uncle, the two men who put him away and their whole families present. I couldn't be responsible for that, Scorpius. I think I need to call off the wedding, at least until Shaw has been captured."

Scorpius felt a selfish thrill within him. He loathed himself for feeling it. She was stalling her wedding to save people's lives, and he was happy about it.

"I think that is the smart thing to do." It was. He was not lying.

"Yeah... I think so too. I just... I was really, really looking forward to it," Rose said with sudden tears in her eyes. She furiously scrubbed at her eyes. "It was all so perfect and now after all that planning it's going to cost so much money to get rid of everything. It was hard enough getting Brad's bloody family all here. I hate Shaw so much. And this isn't even something big- I'm being a total baby about it, I know- but I just wanted..."

She was nonsensically babbling and crying. Scorpius conjured a handkerchief, and she started laughing through her blubbering noises.

"Remember the first time you gave me a handkerchief?"

"I do," he replied solemnly.

"I thought you were so odd. I mean, who carries around handkerchiefs?" Rose said with an ugly sniff.

Even red eyed and with a scary amount of mucus burgeoning from her, Scorpius wanted to lean in and kiss her. Maybe he could, and pass it off as a friendly gesture. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She slid off the swing and sat in front of him on the ground, their hands still intertwined. She quietly played with his fingers, seemingly inspecting them, but each touch of her fingers sent flutters to his stomach. This was the moment.

"Rose, I--"

Suddenly there was a loud popping sound that could be nothing but someone Apparating.

Scorpius stood and lifted his wand into the darkness. Rose stood just as instantaneously. He pushed her behind himself.  This was the stuff of Scorpius's worst nightmares. Just him against an opponent, with his Rose being put in danger.

"Rose, whatever happens, you get back to the house. Leave me if you need to."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but thankfully held her silence.

"Run!" Scorpius whispered. She did as he bade and ran for the house. He stayed in place and turned towards where the apparition had occurred. Before he could let out a syllable, ropes snaked out of the darkness and overcame him. That and a quick stupefy were all it took to bring him down.

He could only lay on the ground, helpless, as the unknown opponent approached him. He could hear his assailant's approach, but couldn't will his eyes to move. The spell kept his gaze firmly to the stars as the footsteps drew closer.

"Looks like I've caught me a Malfoy."

Description
As Scorpius watched Lily, Rose and Mr. Potter saying their goodbyes, it made Scorpius reflect on how differently his family interacted.

Scorpius did not come from a demonstrative family. He heard them referenced to as cold, unfeeling, icy and other terms one would associate with glaciers or praying mantises. He never felt that was an accurate assessment of his family, but knew decorum would keep him from ever saying how much it irked him. His family always had a veneer of reserved civility in public, that was true, but they felt things very deeply.

If you spent an evening with them, Scorpius found it almost entirely enjoyable, minus the rare bigoted statements he would have to ignore from his grandparents. They could easily communicate with each other with no more than a glance, or a word, and a whole slew of unsaids, would be said. Was that not a sign of closeness, warmness, and familial bliss? Of course, not everyone can appreciate subtlety.

The Weasleys were not like that. Subtle was not something he could ever call them. Rose was like a battleaxe put in with the silverware: She said every thought in that frizzy head of hers, and her family was similar. If they were mad, they would be red faced and complaining loudly. If they disagreed with you, you would know immediately by their hue and the cry that would immediately erupt. They also greeted each other with giant hugs and lots of gregarious, overloud welcomes. They were as toned down as their hair, really. Scorpius could navigate them easily enough.

The Potters were a bit harder to figure out. Never had he met a more unpredictable and moody family. Reticent one moment, brash and loud the next. It was dizzying. Yet they were still, on the whole, more demonstrative than his family ever was.

"We have no idea if he escaped with any plans in mind, or if he just wanted to be free. At this point, just stay vigilant, and let me or another Auror know the moment you feel anything is up," Mr Potter said, pushing some of Lily's hair behind her ear. She had not regained any color in her cheeks since the announcement of Shaw having escaped prison.

"I don't want to be alone," said Lily, looking suddenly much younger to Scorpius.

"I don't think any of us should be, tonight," said Rose, putting a hand on Lily's tiny shoulder.

"Could we stay at your place, Dad?" asked Lily.

"Of course you can," Harry replied with the first smile Scorpius had seen him dawn this entire visit.

"Scorpius too?"

"Scorpius too," he said with a nod.

"You really don't need to--" Scorpius began.

"Nonsense, Scorpius. You could be just as much of a target as us. Shaw was after purebloods, and you're about as pureblood as they get," said Rose.

"At least stay with us until we've set up some better wards around your home," Harry said with a smile that did little to reassure Scorpius.

The day had been nothing but one event after another. Scorpius wanted to go home, scratch his cat on the head, and call it a day. Maybe Rose could stay with him, and he would not mind, but any company beyond her was an exhausting thought. He needed time to recoup. He needed time to plan his next move, and this gave him precious little. He had been to the Potter home before, and he knew there would barely be time to breath.

Scorpius let out a sound of protestation, but it was quite ignored.

"I really can't come. I have lots to do and-"

Rose weaseled her hand into his and gave it a squeeze, all the while giving him an imploring look. Her bright blue eyes bore into his.

Within thirty minutes he had packed some clothes, fed his cat, and found himself at the Potter's house.

The house looked exactly the same as it had the last time he had visited. The garden was just barely kept from running wild, and it had a cheery air about it that always brought a smile to his face.  He knocked on the door, but no one answered. For safety he did a quick 'Homenem Revelio.' A faint blue outline of a person revealed itself. Scorpius knocked again but no one came. Could it be Shaw or one of his followers hiding and waiting for one of the Potters? Should he wait until someone else arrived? What if they Flooed into a trap?

There was nothing left to do but deal with the unknown person himself.

Scorpius quietly unlocked the door and entered.

Down the hall, in the kitchen he could hear something that sounded like pure human suffering. A horrid scream curdled the air.

Staving himself for the worst, Scorpius kicked in the door and ran into the room with his wand raised. He looked about for blood or a body, but instead found something far more disturbing.

James Potter was dancing in his underpants, a pair of wireless headphones atop his head. He was attempting to sing, and let out another wild cry to the winds. Scorpius would have much rather discovered human gore than this.

He performed a quick tripping jinx on James who quickly caught himself before falling.

"What the hell?" he growled ripping off his headphones and turning around. "Oh, hey Scorpius."

He put his headphones back on and continued dancing, his impressive abs doing something odd and rippling like a belly-dancer's.

Scorpius kept his eyes trained on the ceiling. He had seen his fair share of James's chiseled features over the years. He did not make it a habit to look at James' muscles, but anyone who ever left their home was privy to them in an abundance of Wizarding tabloids. James Potter was almost as famous as his father, at this point. He had become a Quidditch star, just as he had foretold since the moment he could speak. A great many people, including Scorpius' assistant, were quite entranced by James Potter. They would probably pay for a chance to watch this; but would not need to, as James was a blatant exhibitionist.

"Is Rose here, yet?" Scorpius inquired.

James kept dancing and raised a hand to his ear, indicating he could not hear.

Scorpius marched over and removed the headphones, turned them off, and banished them. James did not seem much bothered.

"Where's Rose?" Scorpius asked.

"Your girlfriend's not here yet. Afraid you're stuck with me and my sweet moves for now. Care for a dance, darling?"

Scorpius backed away and crossed his arms.

"Oh lighten up," said James, grabbing a carton of orange juice from the cold pantry and drinking from it. "Dad's off doing ministry crap, Mum's getting food for everyone, and no one else you care about is here yet."

"What are you doing here, anyways?"

"In town for the wedding. Sort of on the outs with Natasha, so staying here."

"Natasha?"

"Gone out for about a month now. Model. Stupid. Crazy bitch. Mad at me."

That list seemed to describe every girlfriend of James Potter. James went to the living room and started doing some form of sit up that involved punching the air. Not wanting to see any more of James, Scorpius went out to the yard.

The belongings he dropped in his haste laid undisturbed. Thinking on it, Scorpius realized what an idiotic move it had been to jolt into the house like he had. Him saving the day? What a ridiculous notion. Scorpius was a rather reticent fellow, who preferred the company of an architectural gem to people, most of the time. He was not a man of action, nor was he particularly friendly. He made few friends, and kept even less. He always thought of heroes as being the sort of people found in the Potter and Weasley family: reckless, but bravely so. Their gregarious and caring nature made them prone to putting themselves in danger's way, and always triumphing over evil.

Scorpius supposed his family was a very good example of villainy. They were meticulous and thought out their actions more than other people. They were aloof, and not prone to making human connections easily, let alone sticking out their neck for another in danger. He never would be known for his warmth, and never would be known for his bravery. He was a right coward in most situations, he felt.

Heroes were supposed to be dashing with high ideals and were every bit the modern knight in shining armor. Scorpius was none of those things. When he thought about Rose, and how she loved the painting with the red haired lady and her dark haired knight, he knew he did not fit that role. For some reason, Albus seemed to think he could; but as much as Scorpius hoped to win Rose, at this juncture it would be more wise to set his sight lower.

For now, he just wanted to get Rose away from Brandon Bradley; he could then spend the following years pining over her. He could be content with her not loving him, as long as she forever remained single. Of course, she was so lovely he found this idea laughable. She would be snatched up by another hero-type, tall, dark, and handsome, with a charming, toothy smile that he wanted to hex until all the teeth were missing.

Scorpius didn't really smile with his teeth often. He was more of the 'quietly amused' sort.

He went into the house to find Rose in the livingroom with James and Lily. Unwilling to intrude, Scorpius watched from the hallway.

"Word on the street is anything can make you mad nowadays. Is it true you cursed Brad into a wall?" asked James.

Rose flushed.

"He deserved it."

"Of course he did. He has always been a complete dickhole," said James. "But, you have always liked your men uptight and prickish. I mean, you're best friends with Scorpius, who is about the most uptight person in the Western hemisphere."

"It's better to be wound tight than be an exhibitionist like you."

"I'm not judging him for being more tightly wound than Uncle Percy. Hey, if everyone were as liberal as me--"

"We'd all have Chlamydia?" Lily finished.

James wrinkled his nose.

"I have never had chlamydia, thank you very much! And Scorpius, stop skulking about in our hallway, you weirdo!"

Scorpius flushed a bit and stepped into the room.

"Speaking of weirdos, why don't you put on a shirt?" said Lily, slapping his bare stomach with a loud 'thwack!'

"You know, if I weren't in such amazing shape, that just might have hurt."

"Ah, the joy of hearing my children when I arrive home. How I've missed it."

Ginny Potter had arrived, and was holding some large parcels. She gave Scorpius a wink before dropping the bags on the floor.

"Mum!" Lily said, running over and giving her a hug. Ginny returned it firmly.

"So, no dark thoughts tonight. We're in one of the safest places in England right now. It would take more than a day for Shaw to organize anything, anyways. I want everyone to enjoy themselves while here, alright?" Ginny looked around the room as if she dared anyone to contradict her. Then she grinned.

"I got us some takeout for later!"

"Mum, why is it whenever we visit, you never cook a homemade meal?" James complained taking the bags into the kitchen, and riffling through their contents.

"Why should I cook?" Ginny snapped, looking irritated.

"Gran does!" he called from the kitchen.

"Well go stay at her place then. I fed you for seventeen years. Not every female enjoys cooking for their offspring forever."

"Still, it'd be nice to have some a home-cooked meal when you're at your childhood home."

"You know, you've not done anything this afternoon but sit around shirtless, drinking from our cartons! Why didn't you cook for us? Or is it that you think that's a 'woman's duty'?"

James rolled his eyes. "I did not ask so I could be lectured to about sexism."

They continued arguing from separate rooms. Scorpius knew it would continue like this for some time. This was usually the way of it at the Potter home. He had never known a family more prone to yelling across the house at each other. Neither looked particularly mad. They just liked arguing loudly.

"By all means, let's enjoy our time here," Rose said with a wry smile. "They'll continue like that forever. Let's put our stuff upstairs."

"You can stay in Albus's room, Rose. Scorpius will be staying with me," Lily said with a big smile, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind her before he could protest.

Rose did not move from her place immediately, but soon followed them up the stairs, a dour look on her face.

Lily pulled him close to the door and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Her hand started to trail up his back in a way that made him feel a weakness begin to form somewhere around his patellae.

"Lily!" snapped Rose. "I don't think you two should room together."

Lily quickly pushed Scorpius aside so she could properly place her hands akimbo.

"And why is that, Rose? Because I'm not engaged like you? Don't be such a prude."

"I'm not being a prude, you nit. I'm assuming your parents and brother don't know about you two, right? Do you really want James putting in his lecherous oar around the dinner table tonight? You and I can room together. Scorpius can take Al's room."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but either way, I want a bit of alone time with him in my bedroom. You can read a book or something in Al's room. See you at dinner," said Lily, all the while pushing Scorpius through the doorway and swinging her hips much more than necessary.

Scorpius watched Rose's face as he was backed into the room. She arched an eyebrow at the pair of them, her arms crossed.

Lily quickly shut the door behind them.

"Lily--"

"Shh!"

She put some perturbing spells about and a muffliato as well, then indicated he should sit on the bed. He obliged, but kept himself wary of her. Lily began pacing the floor.

"Ok-- So I had you invited here because I wanted to really up the ante with Rose's jealousy. If anything she's feeling left out a lot, which makes her think about your relationship and how it could evolve."

"I thought you invited me because there's a mad man out ghere who targets purebloods."

"Well of course, that. God, Scorpius, lighten up.  Mum said we should enjoy ourselves!" Lily tended to idolize her parents, and this was no exception. "I'd rather concentrate on something I can do to facilitate that enjoyment, thanks."

Scorpius said nothing.  Lily's room was very feminine, with delicate furniture, too many candles, and an abundance of stuffed animals in the corner. He much preferred it to her flat.

"So, what do you think we should do next, Scorpius?" Lily asked.

Until now he had been a bystander, almost, letting the Potter siblings boss him about and inform him of his next move. It was almost comforting knowing that none of these reckless actions came from himself. He was not bold like them. If he were, Rose would not be engaged now.

"You know Rose as well as anyone. What do you think would work to get her knickers in a twist?"

He did not like that expression used on Rose.

"I don't know," he said, thinking back to their interactions that day. "She seemed to dislike it when you were all over me- but that is not enough to make her suddenly be disloyal to Bradley. Rose is steadfast. She's one of the most loyal people I know, and would never up and leave him without a large reason. She is just too kind to do that."

Lily looked at him blankly.

"Can't get you to talk about anything, but Rose- oh boy, I can't get you to shut up about how wonderful she is," she said with laugh.

Scorpius failed to see the humor in this.

"We just can't continue this one pronged plan with Rose," Scorpius continued. "Think of their relationship like a building. I have a theory that the foundation is weak. With a weak foundation you'll start to see cracks in the walls. With a certain amount of pressure, those walls will fail to be structurally sound and-"

"I was thinking the same thing. So you think we need to get some dirt on Brad, and maybe find the weaknesses in their relationship and put the pressure on that," Lily said, not letting him finish his analogy.

"Yes," answered Scorpius. "You know, I can talk, but around you Potters, who can get a word in edgewise?"

"One of our more endearing qualities," Lily smirked. She went to her bag and pulled out a scroll as long as her arm. "Well, here's a list of the problems in their relationship. I wrote it up before I got here."

"You wrote down an actual list?"

"Well, yeah- you can't treat the disease unless you know all the symptoms!" replied Lily, as if her actions were in any way normal.

Scorpius gave it a quick scan.

"Conflicting astrological signs? Really?" Scorpius said, arching an eyebrow.

"What? That is a very bad thing for a relationship. It's been my problem in at least three. I keep choosing Scorpios. Blech. What sign are you?"

"Scorpio."

Some people would look embarrassed by this faux pas. Lily was not one of them.

"I should have known that. The good news is that you're compatible with Rose's sign! I'll have to draw up an astrological chart about it."

"You could just borrow my mother's. She is as loony as you, and actually believes in astrology too."

"Astrology is real!" Lily said, giving him a punch in the arm.

"Believe what you will," Scorpius said with a shake of his head. He read over the list and found he agreed on most points, and let the others slide simply on the principle that it added to Bradley's failings. Lily watched as he read. She occasionally scrunched her freckled nose into an unflattering mass of wrinkles before adding items and scratching out others, not caring that she had to elbow him in the side to write on the paper he was holding.

"It's a good list. I appreciate your helping."

"We need to get to the root of the matter, though," said Lily.  "Why was Rose initially attracted to him? I mean, yeah he's very handsome and nice, but he's so shallow and boring. We need to find out what it is that made her so loyal to him, and poison it."

"Brutal way to put it."

"Scorpius, if you want us to get Rose to leave Brad, we need to be brutal. Sure, this jealousy crap is fun, but in the end we need to truly terminate their relationship."

"Why is it that you care at all?" asked Scorpius. He had not stopped to wonder why Lily was willing to be so helpful.

"She'll be happiest with you, I just know it," said Lily, giving his hand a squeeze. "You two, people have speculated about for years, but you never did get together. Until Al told me, I had concluded you were either celibate or gay."

"I am neither of those things."

"Well, you could have fooled me," Lily said with good humored smile.

"I have had girlfriends. You've met them."

"Beards, the lot of them, I thought."

"Beards? I don't know what that means."

There came a knock at the door.

"Look it up," Lily said before taking her hand and roughly smearing her hand across his mouth.

"Ow! Stop that!" he spluttered with as much dignity as he could. She moved to roughly making his hair stand on end before unbuttoning part of his shirt. She stood back and nodded her approval.

Another knock came at the door.

"Lily, Scorpius, we're having dinner," came Rose's voice.

Lily mussed her own hair and did her best to wrinkle her clothes while biting her lips, before she opened the door.

"Oh hey, Rose," she answered, nonchalantly standing back for Rose to see Scorpius re-buttoning his shirt.

Rose did little to hide her discomfort.

"Right. Dinner. Straighten yourselves out before coming down, you randy idiots," Rose muttered before walking down the hallway.

"Too easy," Lily said with pride.

"You need to stop doing these sorts of things. What will Rose think of me? I don't act like that," said Scorpius.

"She'll think 'I can't believe he doesn't want to do that to me,'" Lily laughed.

"I don't care. Stop it," Scorpius said firmly. He was already growing tired of these games.

Dinner proved to be an awkward affair. Scorpius ended up seated between Lily and James, while Rose was directly across from him and refusing to make any sort of eye contact.

Ginny and James seemed to do the majority of the speaking, with Lily adding the odd comment here and there.

"I just don't understand why you're still dating that poor girl if you dislike her so much, James," said Ginny, opening one of her fortune cookies. "It says 'she who is expecting her eldest son to grow up, expects in vain.'"

James opened his own and let out a laugh.

"Wow, mine says 'you will be harped on in passive aggressive ways by your mum tonight. Beware.'"

"I'm not being passive aggressive, James, I'm all out saying, you need to stop leading girls on just because you can," Ginny promptly replied, clearing her dishes from the table and heading to the kitchen.

"That's because James is afraid of being alone," said Lily to no one in particular.

"So says the girl who's going to die alone cause no guy will ever date her," said James.

"I'd rather be single forever, then be such a man-slut like you, James."

"Rather be a man-slut than a spinster virgin, Lily!"

"I have had plenty of sex."

"With whom?" James said in an accusatory fashion. James had always been very critical of Lily's suitors. He chased them away with a combination of brutal interrogations and explicit descriptions of bodily harm he would inflict should they touch his sister.

"You really want to know James?" Lily was red-faced and defiant.

Rose shook her head at Lily. She glanced at Scorpius and he abruptly realized why Rose was looking so dubious. He was seated between James and Lily- the girl who he was pretending to have plenty of sex with, and her brother, the very muscular overprotective sort who could punch him into another era. Scorpius had not thought about this aspect of pretending to date Lily.

"Are you two still fighting? If you're going to duel, do it outside," said Ginny coming back from the kitchen. "But before you duel, do me a favor and clear your dishes."

The two of them clenched their jaws so that they looked almost identical, then quickly did as they were told. Neither of them wanted to risk the wrath of their mum.

"Scorpius," Lily stage-whispered at James.

He made a gobsmacked face.

"What?" James let out with comical incredulity.

He turned his gaze towards Scorpius, who froze in place. He had never garnered all that much attention from James, and did not want to start now. He braced himself for violence, when James let out a bark of a laugh.

"Ha, yeah right, Lily! You can make up better lies than that," James chuckled. "Were you even trying? Jesus! "

"Gordon Wood!" Lily spat back.

"Wait a moment, Gordon Wood? From my team, Gordy?" James said with renewed interest.

"The very same," Lily said slowly, a satisfied look gracing her features, knowing she had struck a nerve.

"When?"

"We dated for a bit over a year ago. Didn't you ever wonder why he was over last Christmas?"

"What! I thought I was just helping a lonely bastard out over Christmas inviting him over."

"Nope. We did it. In your bed."

"Oh god... I think I'm going to be sick! That's just so messed up, Lily. What the hell?"

"Twice."

"Next practice I'm going to take his beater's bat and break his bloody kneecaps with it. I can't believe Wood came near you! My own teammate!"

Scorpius heard the door opening and saw Harry Potter enter. He was looking every bit as harried and tired as he had earlier in the day.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Lily is banging half my Quidditch team, Dad!"

"You were calling me a virgin spinster not two minutes ago, James!" Lily yelled at him.

"Right. Well, I'm going to eat now. You can do this outside, yeah?"

"Fine!" they both yelled before carrying on their fight outside. Scorpius had long ago noticed how the Potters dealt with their quarreling children. They liked to let them have it out and only interfere when things truly got out of hand. Scorpius's idea of an out of hand quarrel differed quite a bit from theirs, but he supposed their methods worked. Beyond all of the Potter children being irrevocably weird, blunt and emotionally unstable, they had turned out all right. Through the window he could make out flashes of light and the occasional sound of yelling.  The first time he had seen Potters dueling each other it had alarmed him, but after years of witnessing their spats, it more caused curiosity than alarm.

Scorpius looked around for Rose and saw her following her uncle into the kitchen. Potter was quietly serving himself from the to-go cartons while Ginny animatedly discussed their children. Potter seemed content to listen.

Rose was drinking some water when she forcefully set her glass down and set her mouth in a firm line.

"How did Shaw escape prison?"

"Look, Rose, it's been a long day. Perhaps you can save your questions for--" Ginny began but Potter held up a hand.

"It's fine. Frankly, we're not sure how he escaped. Shaw was present and accounted for, there was a guard switch and when the new guard arrived on the floor, Shaw was gone. His cell door was locked. It was like he vanished into the walls. There was no sign of a break in, and none of the guards seem to have been involved. No keys are missing, and the locks were not tampered with by any spells we could detect. You can't apparate and none of the boats were missing, and none of the guards saw any boats enter the area. And Shaw wasn't an animagus. We've exhausted every possibility that he did this on his own. He must have had help, but we need to investigate this further."

Rose nodded her head, but Scorpius could see her trying to figure out an answer.

"But why now?" Scorpius heard himself ask.

"I really don't know. Perhaps he just wanted his freedom. Even with the reforms, Azkaban is a miserable prison anyone would try to escape. I wish I had answers for you, but I just don't. You both know I like keeping you informed on these kinds of matters, and that will continue."

"Thanks, Uncle Harry," said Rose. "I'm tired. Goodnight."

With that Rose left the room. Scorpius thought about following her, but was interrupted by a soot covered James entering through the mud room, his hair smoking.

"That's the third time she's beat you in a row," Potter laughed.

"Is it? Is there something about celebrity lifestyle that's making you soft?" said Ginny with a grin. James rolled his eyes and muttered some reply of needing sleep before stomping up the stairs.

Lily entered the house looking very proud of herself. She had a lock of hair burned off in an unbecoming angle, but other than that looked completely intact.

"Well done, Lily. Was that the Ceraunis charm you used?" Potter asked his daughter, looking more enthusiastic than Scorpius had seen him in quite some time.

"Adtonitus, actually," she beamed.

The Potters were clearly insane, but Scorpius liked being present for their strangeness. It was a welcome distraction from his own worries.

Exhausted from the day, everyone turned in early that evening. Though his thoughts were troubled with visions of Shaw and Rose, Scorpius fell asleep easily.

It was later in the night when Scorpius awoke to the sound of a door creaking open. The clock read one in the morning. He cast a quick silencing charm about him so he could see who it was. He cracked open the door to find Rose sneaking out of Lily's bedroom, her hair in a braid. He could only imagine Lily had braided her hair, as Rose had never been able to make her hair look that tame on her own. Scorpius grabbed a sweater and followed her.

Rose padded down the stairs and out the back door to sit on a swing hanging from the tree in the yard. She was wearing a pair of Lily's shorts that were too short for her long legs, and a cast-off jersey of James' that had seen better days. She listlessly turned in place, digging her manicured toes into the grass. She suddenly whipped her foot into the ground spinning the rope about her into a tight coil, then let the swing spin in place at a dizzying pace, her braid almost tangling with the rope. She put her forehead against one of the ropes and let out a shuddering sigh, her shoulders rising up to her ears.

Scorpius didn't want to startle her, but desperately wanted to talk to her. He cast a nonverbal display of shining fireflies to dance their way over to her. At first she took no notice of them, but after a moment she opened her eyes to dozens of enchanted fireflies glowing about her hair. She gave a small smile and looked about until she saw Scorpius.

"You were always better than me at non-verbals."

"Doesn't take much since you're awful at them."

"I'd prove you wrong right now, but I left my wand upstairs."

"You should keep it with you," said Scorpius, sitting on the grass in front of her feet. With Shaw about, he wanted her armed at all times.

"You're right. I just needed to get outside for a bit. It's been a long day," she said with a shiver.

Scorpius nodded, taking off his sweater and handing it to her. She gratefully took it and pulled it over her head, then let out another deep sigh and pulled one leg up and under herself. She was frowning deeply as the fireflies continued to play around her.

"Do you ever think about the night of the attack?"

Scorpius didn't have to ask which night she meant. He stared at the ground and nodded. He rubbed her legs a bit to warm them.

"I'm so afraid that it will happen again. My wedding would be the perfect place to do it, too. Tons of purebloods all gathered together, and my dad and uncle, the two men who put him away and their whole families present. I couldn't be responsible for that, Scorpius. I think I need to call off the wedding, at least until Shaw has been captured."

Scorpius felt a selfish thrill within him. He loathed himself for feeling it. She was stalling her wedding to save people's lives, and he was happy about it.

"I think that is the smart thing to do." It was. He was not lying.

"Yeah... I think so too. I just... I was really, really looking forward to it," Rose said with sudden tears in her eyes. She furiously scrubbed at her eyes. "It was all so perfect and now after all that planning it's going to cost so much money to get rid of everything. It was hard enough getting Brad's bloody family all here. I hate Shaw so much. And this isn't even something big- I'm being a total baby about it, I know- but I just wanted..."

She was nonsensically babbling and crying. Scorpius conjured a handkerchief, and she started laughing through her blubbering noises.

"Remember the first time you gave me a handkerchief?"

"I do," he replied solemnly.

"I thought you were so odd. I mean, who carries around handkerchiefs?" Rose said with an ugly sniff.

Even red eyed and with a scary amount of mucus burgeoning from her, Scorpius wanted to lean in and kiss her. Maybe he could, and pass it off as a friendly gesture. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She slid off the swing and sat in front of him on the ground, their hands still intertwined. She quietly played with his fingers, seemingly inspecting them, but each touch of her fingers sent flutters to his stomach. This was the moment.

"Rose, I--"

Suddenly there was a loud popping sound that could be nothing but someone Apparating.

Scorpius stood and lifted his wand into the darkness. Rose stood just as instantaneously. He pushed her behind himself.  This was the stuff of Scorpius's worst nightmares. Just him against an opponent, with his Rose being put in danger.

"Rose, whatever happens, you get back to the house. Leave me if you need to."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but thankfully held her silence.

"Run!" Scorpius whispered. She did as he bade and ran for the house. He stayed in place and turned towards where the apparition had occurred. Before he could let out a syllable, ropes snaked out of the darkness and overcame him. That and a quick stupefy were all it took to bring him down.

He could only lay on the ground, helpless, as the unknown opponent approached him. He could hear his assailant's approach, but couldn't will his eyes to move. The spell kept his gaze firmly to the stars as the footsteps drew closer.

"Looks like I've caught me a Malfoy."