Author's Note: Well, this is officially the last chapter of this story. I was all set to abandon the story completely until I reread the entire thing a few days ago. So, instead of dragging things on I'm just going to finish things up. It'll be short, mostly because my heart is no longer in it, but I hope all the people who are still reading appreciate it anyway! :)

Chapter 12: At Last

I stood outside of the door to Scorpius's home, my heart pounding wildly in my chest as I waited for him to let me in. what I was about to do would change my life, and by the end of the night someone's heart would be broken. He pulled the door open-finally!-and I hungrily took in his appearance. Same silvery blond hair and gorgeous gray eyes, but he'd grown a beard in the two weeks since I'd seen him last. It had taken a lot of time, and a lot of thinking to come to my decision. No words were spoken as I stepped past him and into the house. I went straight to the sitting room.

"Do put on a pot of tea, Scorpius. It's common courtesy when you have guests, you know," I pointed out to him, knowing full well that he'd just snap his fingers and make a house elf handle things. Instead he brushed by me and sat in a chair near the fireplace. I sat as well, waiting patiently for my tea. Five minutes of awkward silence passed—slowly. "Well? My throat is as dry as the Sahara Desert. Where in hell is my bloody tea?" Still, nothing.

"Did you only come here for tea? Because I'm getting this vibe…kind of like you came here to tell me something, and I'm not giving you tea until I hear what you've got to say for yourself," he said, giving me his typical smirk. Arsehole. I made the motion of zipping my lips. "Well? I'm curious as a cat. Where in hell is my bloody answer?" I glared.

"If you refuse to show me the slightest bit of hospitality, then I refuse to say what I've decided," I replied, but my confidence was wavering. I wanted so much to just burst out and tell him what I'd come to say! He snapped his fingers twice, and a house elf appeared with tea service. "Thank you!" I helped myself to a cup of tea, my hands shaking slightly as I measured out my preferred amounts of sugar and milk.

"Now…you've your tea. May I please have my answer so that I can get on with my life?" he asked, as if I was some sort of annoyance and not the girl of his dreams. I took a sip of my tea, trying to calm myself.

"Well…I have come to a decision, but before I tell you about it I am going to explain the logic I applied. After all, I'm a Ravenclaw, and I don't make decisions lightly…you see, if I were to choose you I am sure my life would be wonderful. You'd love me and care for me, and you're no longer under the thumb of your horrid father. On the other hand, I can't be sure I'd be able to ever get over the fear that you'd abandon me one day," I told him, looking Scorpius dead in the eye as I said it. "Then there's Frank. We've been together for quite some time, and I love him. I love him so much that I promised him I'd become his wife in two weeks' time. And so, I wonder how I could ever break off something so serious and wonderful, just for the love of my childhood.

"If I let you go, I'll always wonder…if I let Frank go, I'll always have to face the fact that I hurt him. So who to choose, eh? My heart says you, but my mind says Frank…and I'm so, so sorry Scorpius, but I'm going to marry Frank and become a Finnegan. I mean, seriously? A Weasley and a Malfoy? Fire and ice, right? We'd never work." I watched Scorpius's face closely for some sign of surprise or anger—anything—but it remained blank.

"Very well then. You've made your choice, and now you are free to leave and go be with your fiancé. I'm sure the two of you will be very happy together," he said, his voice devoid of any telltale emotions. He snapped his fingers again, and a house elf appeared. "Show Ms. Weasley to the door, please. I'll be in my rooms." As I stood shakily, he rose as well, and swiftly left the sitting room.

"This way, missy," the elf said, leading me to the door. I'd been promptly dismissed, which was the exact opposite of what I'd expected Scorpius to do. I'd wanted him to beg and plead with me so I could change my mind, but he had simply accepted my choice. It was time for me to leave, to start my life with Frankie and never let Scorpius Malfoy darken my thoughts again…but did I really want to?

Their wedding announcement was in the papers, of course. I stumbled upon it one Saturday several weeks after Rose's visit to my home. In a way, I had hoped Rose wouldn't do it and then another part of me had hoped that she would. Perhaps we were better off separate. Three months later, I was enjoying a glass of port after dinner, when my doorbell rang. I rarely had unexpected company, so there were alarms going off in my head as I walked towards the front door. My elves were at Malfoy Manor readying it for a ball I was throwing for a distant cousin's seventeenth birthday, and so I was forced to fend for myself for a few days.

"Who is it?" I asked gruffly, but there was silence on the other side of the door. I thought about using a spell to check my guest's identity, but thought better of it…perhaps it was a Muggle trying to sell me something again? That was why the Manor was Unplottable. I pulled the door open and found Rose Weasley-Finnegan standing before me. Her mascara was running down her cheeks and she was sobbing silently. I raised an eyebrow at her, set to shut the door in her face.

"Please. Let me come in," she pleaded, her expression desperate. I let her in, taking pity on her. I went into the loo and got her some toilet paper to clean her face. I always kept a handkerchief in my pocket, of course, but there was no way I was sullying a fifty galleon silk napkin on disgusting Muggle chemicals. I handed them to her and sat across from her on the sofa. "Frank and I have been granted an annulment by the Ministry! We applied for it, and it finally came through! You see, I realized that you are the one I love, and I really hope you'll give me a second chance because I really need you in my life."

"Oh? It's not just because he's dumped you for that Veela tramp that's just become a pop sensation with all the wizarding teens? That's what I've been reading in the gossip column of the Daily Prophet," I sneered at her, rather annoyed that she'd try to come running to me only because her arse of a husband had left her high and dry.

"No, it's not at all. We applied for the annulment long before that, I swear! He's only left me recently, and I didn't come to you before because I wanted to wait until the annulment was official before I tried to work things out with you!" she said, wiping at her face with one hand while grasping my hand desperately with the other. "I've loved you all this time, and I've been waiting for this moment since the day I married Frank. Please, say you'll have me. Please, Scorpius." I could see the honesty in her face, but I wanted to hurt her as much as she'd hurt me.

"What makes you think I want to take you back? I've moved on, Rose, and it's time for you to do the same thing," I told her coolly. She buried her face in her hands. "You made the wrong choice three months ago. Now you have to live with the consequences of your decision. You were so worried about me leaving you, and then you wound up getting left by some guy that was supposed to be the love of your life. I'm pretty sure I should be saying something along the lines of 'Serves you right' or 'I told you so'…but I won't since I love you just as much as you love me, and I've never stopped." I leaned in and kissed her right on the mouth.

She moved in a week later, and we married six months after that. Who would have thought that a Weasley and a Malfoy would ever find love? Two years after we married, we gave birth to twins: Fred Narcissus Weasley Malfoy and Lucia Rose Weasley Malfoy. Happily ever after? Not quite, but at least we'd finally found love.