Chapter Fourteen-Lucius and Narcissa, Part 2; Ron, Take 3; Teddy

"Er…r-right now, grandmother?" Scorpius stuttered.

"Well why not?" Narcissa said pleasantly. "I'm sure she'll have better things to do for the rest of the night than speak to her boyfriend's grandparents—no matter how delightful she might find us."

"Mother," Draco put in swiftly, coming to Scorpius' aid, "Perhaps you shouldn't be quite so…delightful. You wouldn't want to scare Rose off."

Narcissa pursed her lips before giving a sigh of defeat, "If you insist." She returned her attention back to her grandson, now. "Well, Scorpius? Aren't you going to introduce us to your charming girlfriend?"

"Wouldn't you rather keep talking to Aunt Andromeda?" Scorpius asked or, rather, pleaded in a last ditch attempt at stalling the inevitable meeting of his girlfriend and his family. "She seemed really happy to see you when we got here; I'm sure she'd love to sit and chat for a while longer."

"My dear older sister's uncharacteristically overwhelming joy is due to the fact that her only grandson just got married," Narcissa informed Scorpius loftily. "And from the way you're acting right now, I have a feeling I'll be lucky to even get invited to your wedding to Rose."

"Wedding?" Scorpius repeated. "We aren't even out of school yet, grandmother."

"Oh stop stalling, Scorpius," Astoria suddenly spoke up. "You promised me you would introduce me to Rose. It'd be better for you if you just got it over with now so you can enjoy the rest of your evening."

Narcissa smiled expectantly at her grandson, while her husband stood mutely beside her, his face giving away no hint of any emotion. "Well, lead on."

With a defeated sigh, Scorpius finally stood up. Scanning the crowd, which contained far more redheads than he was used to, he finally found Rose. She had moved, along with the rest of the wedding party, to the large tent that had been set up just a few yards down the beach. He could just make her out through the mass of people, standing at the still-empty bar with her cousin, Lily Potter. Scorpius frowned slightly at this, but knew that deterring his mother and grandmother from meeting his girlfriend this far along was incredibly hopeless. Oh well, perhaps his grandfather would continue what appeared to be a vow of silence and completely ignore the presence of Harry Potter's daughter.

There was no time left to worry about it, however, because, at that precise moment, Scorpius reached Rose and Lily, his parents and grandparents trailing closely behind him.

"Hey Rosie," Scorpius greeted his girlfriend casually, as she and Lily appeared to be so engrossed in whatever they were discussing that they hadn't noticed his approach.

Rose gave a slight start, before spinning on her heel so that she was facing him. Her expression shifted from moody to pure joy when she caught sight of Scorpius standing there. She opened her mouth to greet him, but then her gaze shifted from his face to just beyond him, and no sound came out. He could tell exactly when her eyes fell on his family standing there.

"Rose," Scorpius continued, quickly capturing her hand in his own and giving it a small squeeze, "I'd like you to meet my parents." He turned to his Draco and Astoria, "Mum, dad, this is Rose. Rose, my parents."

"Pleased to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," Rose said politely, extending her free hand.

"It's lovely to meet you, Rose, dear," Astoria said, smiling widely at her son's girlfriend and, ignoring the offered hand, she threw her arms around Rose and gave her a hug to rival one of Molly Weasley's. "But please, call me Astoria—none of this 'Mrs. Malfoy' nonsense."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose," Draco opted to merely shake the girl's hand once Astoria had released her. "We've heard lovely things about you from Scorpius."

"Yes, well, that was nice," Scorpius said hurriedly, making to walk away. "We should be going, now, though."

"Not so fast, young man," Narcissa said sharply. Then, smiling cheerfully once more, she turned to Rose. "It's absolutely wonderful to meet you, Rose. I am Scorpius' grandmother, Narcissa. However, I am not nearly as modern as his darling mother is, so you may call me Mrs. Malfoy. And this is my husband, Lucius."

"I'm so glad you were able to make it to the wedding, Mrs. Malfoy," Rose said sincerely, giving first Narcissa then Lucius a firm handshake. "I know my cousin Victoire was in an absolute panic about your belated invitation."

"Oh, not to worry, dear," Narcissa replied with a wave of her hand, "It's in the past; I've already forgotten all about it. And, since I'm sure the bride will be very much in demand tonight, make sure you tell her that we thought the ceremony was positively lovely."

"She'll be glad to hear it," Rose said.

"Yes, yes," Scorpius quickly put in, beginning to drag Rose away from his family, "But we really do have to get going now. Lots to…er, do…"

"It was so nice to meet all of you!" Rose called over her shoulder, as she and Scorpius disappeared into the crowd, Lily trailing along silently behind them.

"That son of yours," Narcissa said with a shake of her head, "Always so impatient and worried that we're going to make a fool of him in front of his little friends. And I hardly had a chance to speak with Rose…"

Astoria opened her mouth to retort, but could not, because it was at that precise moment that Lucius chose to finally speak for the first time since arriving at Shell Cottage.

"I thought she seemed lovely," Lucius commented in an offhand manner.

As one, his wife, son, and daughter-in-law all turned to look at him.

"Lovely?" Draco repeated. "You thought Rose Weasley was lovely? Are you feeling quite alright, father?"

"Of course I am," Lucius replied, still sounding as if this was a normal type of conversation he had every day. "She had impeccable manners and a nice, firm handshake. And I hear that she and Scorpius are always at the top of the year with their grades. Clearly they are a good match."

And without another word, Lucius went to join the line that had begun to form at the bar.

"B-But…" Draco practically sputtered to the now-empty place his father had been standing in. "Father approves of the Malfoy heir dating a Weasley? Mother, there must be something wrong with him."

"Now dear," Narcissa said gently, in a voice one would use when speaking with a small child. "I thought you liked Rose? I don't really see what the problem is with your father feeling the same way. In fact, it just makes things so much easier. Imagine if, at their wedding, the grandfather of the groom positively hated the bride. No, things are much better this way. Now, I do believe I need to go remind your father that he never asked me what I wanted to drink. I imagine we'll all be sitting together, so I'll see the two of you later."

And with a smile and a small wave, Narcissa went to join her husband, leaving Draco to stare after her in shock. He turned to his wife indignantly.

"Their wedding?" He demanded. "They aren't even out of school yet! They can't get married!"

"Calm down, dear," Astoria advised. "Or else people are going to start wondering who the mad person is by the bar. And about Scorpius and Rose—you have to admit that they do make a rather striking couple. I think she would make a wonderful daughter-in-law. Now, let's go find our seats, shall we? I do hope they'll be serving dinner soon; I'm positively famished."

"But they're too young to get married!" Draco protested weakly, before giving a sigh of defeat, and attempting to follow his wife through the crowd.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the tent, Rose and Scorpius had finally stopped walking. Rose immediately threw her arms around Scorpius' neck.

"I've missed you so much, Scor!" Rose said into his shoulder. "I swear it's been the longest two weeks of my life since I last saw you."

"I missed you too, Rosie," Scorpius replied, pulling himself slightly out of Rose's grip and beginning to lower his face towards hers when Lily interrupted them.

"I'd refrain from such public displays of affection at the current moment, if I was you," Lily advised the pair. "I do believe Uncle Ron is headed this way."

Rose and Scorpius immediately jumped apart, with a good foot separating them. Scanning the crowd, Rose immediately picked out her father. As Lily had warned, he was indeed walking towards them. Rationally, Rose knew she shouldn't really have anything to fear from her father. He had approved of Scorpius as a friend for Al for years. And while his initial reaction to the announcement that she was dating Scorpius hadn't been the greatest, she really had thought that he'd come around to the idea. Rose, however, began to severely doubt this with one simple glimpse of her father's face. She couldn't help but be slightly terrified by the fact that she couldn't read his facial expression at all. That and he appeared far too intimidating for her liking just now.

Within a matter of moments, Ron was before them.

"Hi dad," Rose said swiftly. "Lovely ceremony, wasn't it?"

Ron merely looked expectantly at his only daughter.

"Oh, er, um…yes," Rose stumbled over her words. She held out her hand to Scorpius, who immediately grasped it firmly in his own. The warmth of his larger hand gave her some comfort and she continued, "Dad, you remember Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Of course I do," Ron replied evenly. And, again, Rose couldn't quite read his expression or tone. Was he finally over his aversion to his only daughter dating a Malfoy? Or was it more likely that he was about to hex her boyfriend into oblivion? Rose really couldn't tell, and it was driving her mad. "How have things been since Christmas? I trust you did well on your exams?"

"Of course, sir," Scorpius replied hastily. "Only Rose did better."

"I see," Ron said slowly. He made no move to continue speaking and the four of them stood there in an awkward silence for a brief moment before Rose spoke up again.

"Where's mum?" She questioned her dad. "I'm sure Scorpius would love to say hello to her as well, wouldn't you Scorp?"

"Yes! I'd love to!" Scorpius said immediately.

"She's with Ginny and the other aunts," Ron replied. And finally his expression changed, as Rose could tell that he was beyond relieved to have gotten away from those particular female members of his family.

"Well why don't we go find them?" Rose asked Scorpius brightly, and from just the expression on her face, he could tell that she would have used just about any excuse to get away from her dad at that moment. "See you later dad, Lily."

And without so much as waiting for Scorpius to say his goodbyes, Rose was pulling him as far away from her father as they could get.

Ron and Lily stood there silently for a moment, each engrossed in their own thoughts, before Ron broke the silence.

"They do seem rather good for each other, don't they?" Ron asked thoughtfully. "Clearly they're both terrified of me. What more could I ask for?"

"They're perfect for each other, Uncle Ron!" Lily replied enthusiastically. "And one day I'll bet they have a wedding just like this."

Ron barely spared his niece a glance before announcing, "I'm going to go find the bar," and quickly walking away.

"Adults these days," Lily muttered under her breath, before making her way over to where she was supposed to be sitting for dinner. She was surprised to find Scorpius and Rose already seated at the table.

"I thought you were going to go look for Aunt Hermione," Lily said, taking the seat next to Rose.

"Are you insane?" Rose demanded. "She's with all of the aunts. I'm not going over there with Scorpius."

"You may have a point…" Lily replied. "I remember their reaction when they found out that Vic and Teddy were dating…"

Scorpius merely sat there cluelessly.

"I have mentioned that my family is all sorts of insane, right?" Rose asked him.

Scorpius shrugged. "It just makes me like them more and more."

"Isn't he perfect?" Rose pretty much demanded of Lily.

"Er, of course," Lily replied. "I'm just so jealous that you're dating my brother's best friend."

Rose glared at her. "You do know that we know that you lot tried to set us up, correct?"

"Some of my finest work," Lily replied. "Although you two just had to ruin it by not telling us that you'd already been dating for months, but I digress. Your point was…?"

"You should be jealous," Rose stated. "Now where's the food? I thought Victoire had a strict schedule for everything; dinner was supposed to be served five minutes ago. You know, I don't think I've eaten all day; it's been so hectic."

"She also didn't get much sleep last night," Lily whispered to Scorpius behind Rose's back. "So please excuse her odd behavior."

Rose's retort was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of their dinner companions. Hugo took the empty seat next to Lily while Albus sat next to Scorpius, with Alice sitting beside her boyfriend. James, Fred, and Roxanne took the remaining empty seats.

"Lovely to see you, mate," Al told Scorpius. "I'm so glad you found me—your best friend in the entire universe—before the ceremony to say hi. I mean, I don't know about you, but I guess I've missed you in the past few weeks since school ended."

"I get the idea, Al," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes at his friend. "Clearly I should have found you immediately upon my arrival here instead of waiting for a moment when I knew we would have plenty of time to talk."

"Also," James chimed in once Scorpius had finished, "You sound like a teenage girl."

Throughout the rest of the meal, the group enjoyed mostly pleasant conversation with each other. Things got a bit iffy when the conversation topic (inevitably) changed to Quidditch, but Rose was able to re-grow Fred's hair before his mother (or, more importantly, Victoire) ever noticed that it had been cursed off in the first place. Overall, it was a rather nice meal and, for the first time all day, Rose was finally able to relax.

Pushing her empty dessert plate away, Rose leaned back in her chair, a small smile on her face as she watched Scorpius and Hugo having a good-natured discussion about dragon taming, something the youngest Weasley had always expressed an interest in (much to his mother's dismay). Scorpius fit in well with her family, of that Rose was certain. Thinking back on it all now, and especially considering how a majority of her family members had reacted to the news, Rose couldn't help but think herself silly for putting off telling everyone that she and Scorpius were dating for so long. Everything had turned out quite well, as far as she was concerned—even if her dad was acting just a tad more intimidating around Scorpius than was absolutely necessary.

As the music (which Rose had only vaguely registered in the back of her mind) shifted to a livelier tune as Teddy and Victoire's first dance came to an end, Rose's gaze shifted to the dance floor, which was swiftly becoming more crowded. All of a sudden though, her view was hindered by Scorpius, whom Rose hadn't noticed getting up from his seat beside her. He now stood before her with one hand outstretched.

"May I have this dance, Miss Weasley?" Scorpius requested, trying hard to keep his expression serious and failing miserably as a wide grin broke out across his face.

"Why yes, Mr. Malfoy, you may," Rose replied with a grin of her own, slipping her hand into his. In the blink of an eye, Scorpius had pulled Rose to her feet and was leading her toward the dance floor. He twirled her around once before pulling her close.

"Your dad is glaring at me," Scorpius whispered in her ear.

"It's what he does," Rose replied with a shrug, not even bothering to scan the crowd for him. "I'm sure one day he'll admit that he likes you again."

"I'm sure," Scorpius responded, sounding anything but. "Perhaps at the party we have to celebrate our thirtieth wedding anniversary…or perhaps our fiftieth."

"Oh you know he likes you," Rose said teasingly, "You wouldn't still be alive, otherwise. And what have I said about assuming that we're going to get married one day when you've never even bother asking me my opinion on the matter?"

"You know you love me," Scorpius said, before effectively cutting off any reply she may have had by pressing his lips to hers.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the dance floor, Teddy was essentially saying the same thing to Victoire.

"I'm glad we decided against eloping," He continued on after what was most likely his hundredth declaration of love for her that day.

"And now we can leave the wrath of the aunts to one of the younger cousins," Victoire said with a giggle. "Not that any of them could ever get away with it under Gran's watch."

"We made a good decision," Teddy replied firmly, with a slight shudder at the thought of Molly Weasley's reaction to one of her grandchildren attempting to get married without her present. He looked over her shoulder at the crowd of people also dancing. "And I suppose weddings are rather nice…"

"Of course they are," Victoire told him, "They bring people together."

"Yes. Yes they do," Teddy agreed, suddenly frowning as he caught sight of something on the other side of the dance floor. "Um…Vic…speaking of bringing people together, why is Rosie dancing with Scorpius Malfoy?" He inquired of his new bride, before his eyes suddenly widened in disbelief. "Scratch that. Why is Rosie engaging in a public display of affection with Scorpius Malfoy? And does she realize that Uncle Ron is within 100 feet of her?"

"Rosie and Scorpius are dating," Victoire informed him. "Didn't you know? I thought the whole family must know by now. That's how I had the idea to invite the Malfoys to the wedding. I wouldn't have even remembered that you were related to them, otherwise."

"Rosie and Scorpius?" Teddy repeated, and then gave a snort of laughter. "I bet Uncle Ron positively loves that."

"Aunt Hermione will keep him in line," Victoire said with a shrug. "Now, are we going to spend the rest of our wedding day discussing the personal lives of all of the cousins? Or are you going to start paying me just a bit more attention?"

Teddy was more than happy to oblige her request.

Back at their table, however, the younger Weasley and Potter cousins were having a very similar discussion.

"What are we doing to do with our lives now that Uncle Ron knows about Rosie and Scorp?" Fred demanded. "How ever will I entertain myself now?"

"You could get a job," Roxanne suggested to her older brother. "But I suppose that I do agree with you. Uncle Ron might not be one hundred percent used to the idea of them dating right now—which is bound to provide us with some entertainment—but he'll get used to it eventually, I suppose."

"Should we assume that we need to start scouting out potential girlfriends for Uncle Charlie, then?" Hugo questioned. "We have been talking about it for years after all."

"Nah," James decided with a shrug, though he looked thoughtful. "He's a lost cause; it'd be better if we gave up now before ever even attempting it. But…there might be something else we could do…"

"Yes?" Albus, ever the impatient one, prompted.

James merely grinned. "His last name might be Malfoy, but Scorpius is also a Black. Just wait until him and Rosie get married. I can't wait to see what they decide to name their kid…Uncle Ron might never recover."

a/n-I hope you enjoyed the story! There will be a one-shot sequel to this entitled Constellations, to be posted sometime around Christmas, most likely.