Well, here it is, the final chapter. Aw, I feel so sad ending it. This could be better, I know.

Big, big, big thank you to everyone who's reviewed, and thanks to everyone who's read...even if you didn't review...And I'll steal JKR's little dedication to everyone who's stuck with this from the begining.

Chapter 22

"You're here early." Scorpius said to Rose, as he entered the Potter's kitchen. It was his second day at Al's - and his first morning, so he had deliberatly waited until he was sure the kitchen would be empty before he entered it. Instead, he found Ginny, Lily and Rose inside.

"No, you're up late." Rose corrected. "It's almost half-eleven."

"Not that late." Scorpius shrugged.

"What do you want for breakfast, Scorpius?" Ginny asked him, and Scorpius shrugged awkwardly.

"I'll just make myself -"

"I'll do it." Ginny told him. "I'm making Lily more toast anyway."

"Toast is fine, then." Scorpius shrugged.

"If you were up earlier, you could've had eggs." Rose told him slyly.

"I'll make more if he wants." Ginny said, her wand raised over the bread.

"Toast is fine." Scorpius repeated, and then when a plate was set in front of him, he added, "Thanks, Mrs. Potter."

"Ginny." Ginny told him with a wince. "Mrs. Potter makes me sound so old."

"Hugo, Al and James are outside." Lily told Scorpius as she started on her own toast.

Scorpius just nodded and carried on eating.

"And our dads are out there with them." Lily continued, with a sly little smile.

Draco Malfoy had shown up on their doorstep the previous morning, with his son, and an uncomfortable expression.

"Write every night. Your - uh - mother - will worry otherwise." He'd told Scorpius before he'd rang the bell. "And if there's any problems, at all, you send an owl and I'll come get you." It was only then that Scorpius realised his father wasn't just nervous that his son was staying at the Potter's, but that he was staying out at all. It had made him roll his eyes - he was, after all, just a few months short of being seventeen - but smile as well.

"Uh...Hi." Harry had said, opening the door. "Um...Albus! Scorpius is here..." Neither man met the other's eyes.

"I'll pick him up next Saturday." Draco had muttered. "What time?"

"Ah...about one?" Harry had suggested, just as akwardly.

"Fine. Great. Oh, he's allergic to carrots." Draco added.

"Right." Harry muttered. "I'll...uh...tell Ginny."

"Good. Um, If he needs to come home -"

"I'll send a partronus." Harry assured him.

"Right. Great. Ah..."

"Dad, I'll be fine." Scorpius said finally. "Go. Go away." Draco smiled slighty, and squeezed his son's shoulder.

"Any problems -"

"I know­."

"Be good."

"I will."

"Come on, Scorpius." Albus said, rolling his eyes at their parents. "I'll show you my room..."

Draco watched them both run inside and up the stairs, then flicked a glance back at Harry, annoyed to see amusment in his eyes.

"He'll be fine, Malfoy." Harry told him. "You can ask anyone - we don't hurt the kids' friends. And I promise, I wont let Hermione experiment on him."

"You're still not funny, Potter." Draco muttered.

"Ginny tells me that all the time." Harry admitted. "But he'll be fine."

"I know." Draco shrugged. "Um...bye then."

"Safe trip."

"Um-hmm." Draco muttered. "Bye Scorpius!" He added loudly, and recieved an answer from somewhere inside the house, before turning and making his way down the path and disapparating.

It hadn't been as awkward as Scorpius had expected it to be, actually, as he got on with Lily and James, and Al's mother was nice enough to him. He hadn't actually spoken to Al's dad properly, but had caught him looking at him once or twice at dinner last night, with a curious expression. He couldn't help but think he was being compared to his own father, and that annoyed him slightly.

But other than that, it looked like the stay was going to be fine.

----

"What?" Scorpius cried, horrified.

"We do it nearly every week when we're home." Albus shrugged.

"I can't go to a family party. Are you kidding? Al, staying here is one thing. But going to your grandparents' house, and meeting the entire family? Are you kidding?"

"Oh, come on, they won't hurt you." Lily told him, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure Rosie'll protect you." Scorpius glared at her for a second or two, then stopped when James shot him a look. It was annoying, sometimes, how protective Lily's brothers were of her.

"I don't think I should go."

"Look, grandma's invited you along." James told him firmly. "It'll only make things worse if you don't go, won't it?

"Yeah, come on Scorpius." Albus wheedled.

"Fine. Fine. But if one of your relavitives goes crazy and kills me, my grandfather will never leave you alone."

"God, Scorpius, you're such a drama queen." Lily muttered.

----

He didn't feel like a drama queen when he entered the Burrow a day later. He felt like a louse. They were all looking at him.

Rose was holding his hand, in what he assumed was an attempt to support him and protect him from her family, but was actually generating more looks and whispers.

"Hi, granddad!" Rose cried brightly, and before Scorpius could say a word she'd dragged him over to her grandfather.

Oh-no-oh-no-oh-no-oh-no...

"Hi, Rose..." Arther Weasley spoke warmly, but his eyes were flat as they looked at Scorpius.

"You remember I told you about Scorpius." Rose continued, and guestured at him.

"Yes." Her granddad replied, his voice dropping a few degrees.

When Rose elbowed him in the side, Scorpius glanced at her and winced. "Ah...Hello, Mr. Weasley. Nice to meet you."

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably at the look of surprise on Arthur's face - presumably he hadn't expected politness.

"You too, uh, Scorpius." Arthur replied finally.

"Scorpius is very interested in muggles, granddad." Rose told him. "He's really good a muggle studies, you know. But I was wondering if you could explain how a telephone works? He doesn't understand it, and you know I doin't have the patience to explain stuff..."

Arthur started off rather uncertainly, but within minutes Scorpius seemed to have relaxed him, asking all the right questions and looking awed at all the right places. He had taken Muggle Studies only to annoy his family, but had become facinated by the subject almost instantly.

Neither seemed to notice Rose slip away.

"Good plan." Lily told her, as Rose joined her and their cousin Molly.

"I thought so."

"As soon as everyone realises he's won granddad round, it'll all be fine." Molly agreed.

"It's a good job Scorpius likes muggles, isn't it?" Lily added. "The rest of us are bored stupid with granddad's explainations."

"Yup." Rose nodded, and smiled.

----

"It really is amazing, how the muggles cope without magic." Scorpius told Rose, a few days later. "And your granddad knows so much about them. Did you know, he'd rebuilt an entire moterbike once?"

"Yes."

"And did you know -"

"Scorpius, believe me, I know it all." Rose interrupted, then sighed. "I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow."

"We'll meet up in Diagon Alley later in the summer." Scorpius assured her.

"I know. Weird, isn't it, that this time last year I pretty much hated you? And now, I'm going to miss you when you leave."

"What a difference a year makes." Scorpius nodded. "Don't forget to write and let me know what you and Al got in your O.W.Ls."

"I know. I can't believe they'll be here in just a few days..." Rose shivvered and looked out of the window.

In actual fact, she was wrong.

----

It was almost twelve; Rose and Hugo had arrived to say goodbye, and were sat with James, Al, Lily and Scorpius in the living room, chatting idly.

"Hey - look..." Lily said suddenly, pointing out of the window. In seconds, Rose was on her feet.

"Three owls. Three. You don't think...it can't be...oh no..."

"Mum! Dad!" Albus yelled, as he, Scorpius and Rose ran to the window and opened it. The three owls soared inside and landed, side by side, on the back of the sofa.

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione, having entered the room slightly panicked, assessed the situation instantly. Harry apporached the owls, took their letters, and stood back for them to fly away.

"One each." Harry said, and passed them out. "I think it must be..."

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." Rose whispered, as the three of them tore into their envolopes.

The silence in the room was heavy, as they unfolded and read their letters.

"Yes!" Albus cried finally. "Look - look -" He held out the paper to his parents, who read the grades and smiled.

"How'd you do?" James asked, and snatched the parchment without waiting for a reply. "Four "outstandings"...two "Exceeds Expectations", three "Acceptables" and a "Poor" in history of magic. Not bad, little brother."

"One more "O" than you, I believe." Al said smugly.

"Ah, yeah, but one more "A" too." James pointed out. "I got four "Es". Same history grade, though..."

"What about you Rose?" Hermione asked gently, as Rose stared at her parchment.

"I don't believe it...A - An "E" in history...and Outstanding in everything else!"

Rose squealed loudly as Ron lifted her up and spun her around.

"I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it!" He yelled. "Genius, my little genius, I always said it -"

"Ron - put her down, she'll be sick -" Hermione chided, although she was laughing. Ron finally set Rose down, and Hermione instantly seized her in a hug. It was several minutes before anyone noticed the blond boy, leaning against the window sill, watching them with amusment and what may have been longing.

"How'd you do, Scorpius?" James asked. Scorpius flushed breifly, and, his grades having flown out of his head, looked back at his own letter. "Uh...four "Outstandings"...four "Es"...an "A" and a "P"..."

"Well done." Hermione smiled. For a moment, she considered hugging him, as his own mother wasn't around to do so, but decided it would only add to his awkwardness.

Scorpius, however, was wondering how his dad would react to knowing his old enemies had heard his son's grades before he had.

And then Rose hugged him, and he didn't care. And Ron Weasley clapped him on the shoulder and said something about Scorpius being smarter than Draco, which the boy took as a compliment, and Scorpius didn't care if his parents got mad or upset.

"Scorpius?" Ginny said suddenly. "We'll be having a party later on today, probably late afternoon, to celebrate the results. Would you like to stick around for that?"

"Oh." Scorpius couldn't help but smile at the invite. "Well...I don't know if my parents...I mean, they'll want to know my results and..."

"Your parents can come too." Harry said, albeit with the tone of someone forced to drink something unpleasent.

"Are - are you sure?"

"Yes." It was Ron that answered, after a breif glance at his daughter. "It's fine."

"Well...they'll be here soon..." Scorpius said finally. "I guess I'll ask."

And so when Draco and his wife arrived at the Potter's house, Scorpius told them his results and then, in the midst of the pride and excitment, added, "And Al's family has invited us three to their party later on. To celebrate our results."

"A party?" Draco repeated, his smile fading somewhat.

"Yeah. It's a whole family deal, and I think it'd be fun...come on dad, just for a few hours, OK?"

"I...well..." Draco looked at his wife, then back at his son. "I guess...we could..."

"Great." Ginny said, stepping into the hallway without pretending she hadn't been listening. "Why don't you take Scorpius' things home, and come back at around four thirty, five o' clock?"

"Four-thirty, five o' clock. Sounds lovely." Scorpius' mother said warmly.

"Or anytime, really." Ginny shrugged. "My brother George is leaving the store early, but he probably won't be here till around six."

"I'll just go get my things." Scorpius said quickly, and bolted up the stairs to where Al, Rose and the others waited, and huge smile on his face. It was a small step, he knew, but it was a step all the same.

And, for the first time, he truely believed that he and Rose could end the old family rivalry, and that everthing might just work out after alll.

"Well?" Rose demanded, and when he nodded she threw herself into his arms.

"It's all going to work out, Scorpius." She whispered. "I guess it didn't matter about blood, about who I am, or who you are."

"It was just meant to be." He murmured back.