Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Happy Birthday Dri! This one is for you; I didn't intend for it to be so sappy, but there you go. My muse ran away with me a bit too much. Hope you enjoy it!

Scorpius knocked on the door of his childhood home, tucking both his hands in his pockets lest he wrangle them and reveal his anxiety. He had absolutely no reason to panic so much; he told himself sternly. What he had done was the right thing; even Albus thought so. As he heard light footsteps on the other side of the door, his tension increased; this was going to go over very badly, he just knew that. Looking back one last time, Scorpius steadied himself as he heard the door's light creak as it opened.

"Scorpius!" the woman who opened the door greeted cheerfully, dragging him by the hand inside. Scorpius turned back in time to see a smile and hear a pop; he felt like he was alone in the world already. Turning back to his mother, Scorpius let her lead him into the kitchen; it was where both his parents would be at this time of the morning.

His father, as it was his practice, was looking through the paper intently, though Scorpius knew he had far too much attention to not have noticed him. Depositing him in the chair opposite to Draco, Astoria returned to whatever she was making on the stove. The only recognition Draco gave him was the slight lowering of his paper and a half raised eyebrow before he went back to digesting the parchment.

"Draco! I know you missed Scorpius so now stop acting like he's an unwanted guest," Astoria's stern chiding earned a sigh from him and the lowering of his paper. Taking his time to neatly fold it and place it beside him, Draco looked up at his one and only son with question in his eyes; Scorpius gulped.

"And don't try to intimidate him," Astoria added as an afterthought as she sprinkled pepper onto the mixture. Scorpius couldn't help but grin; her mother knew her father too well.

"Well, I can't help it if he has lost his Malfoy genes so much that he's intimidated by everyone, can I?" Draco still wasn't looking at Scorpius, making him sigh in exasperation.

"It's been six months since I moved out Dad; get over it," Scorpius thought he heard a snort but was too wise to call his father out on it; Malfoys never snorted was the stern answer he'd get anyway.

Thanking his mother as she placed a bowl of soup before him, Scorpius took a sip, savoring the taste of his mother's cooking; she wasn't the best cook in the world, but her food was the best for him. Literally shoving another china bowl under Draco's nose, Astoria took her seat at the head of the table. Completely ignoring him, she turned to Scorpius, "You're father's been intolerable ever since then. Heaven save me from strangling him."

"I'm still here, you know?" Draco's voice would have sounded stern if not for the softening in it; he never could speak harshly with his mother, Scorpius had observed.

"I do; I was just looking for an opportunity to push it in that you're troubling me; be happy that I didn't bitch about it to Daphne. She'll have your head," Scorpius did chuckle this time; if there was one person in the world his father feared, it was his Aunt. She could be as fiery as she could be caring; a contradiction he found both astonishing and endearing.

"Yeah, yeah; threaten me all you want," Draco muttered in to his soup, making a show of drinking it.

"So, Scorpius, is something the matter? I don't think you visit enough but this early in the morning? Don't you have your shift?" Astoria asked, concern peeking in her voice as the thoughts raced through her head.

Shaking his head with a smile, Scorpius said, "There is one thing that has been bugging me for almost a week, Mother. I wanted to get it cleared; my shift doesn't start until noon."

"What about?" Draco has stopped pretending by now and placed his hands on the table; Astoria took no time in slapping it off.

"I wonder who taught you table manners," Astoria shook her head resignedly before turning back to Scorpius, "Does this have something to do with your job, Scorpius?"

"Yes, no, I mean…kind of. Um, I've heard a lot of things but, I wanted to know from the two of you…Why does Pansy Parkinson glower at me whenever she passes me in the halls?" Scorpius looked up as suddenly, the kitchen was filled with noise.

His father, who had been about to take another sip of his soup spluttered, making it spill onto his mother's pristine tablecloth, but she didn't seem to notice. Astoria was trying very hard not to laugh and was at the point of losing. The two shared a meaningful glance once and a smirk appeared on Draco's face as he calmed down enough to answer.

"You've always wanted to know how we married, haven't you Hyperion?" Draco asked, chuckling as if he was recalling a private joke.

"Dad, my name's Scorpius. Dreadful as it is, Hyperion's worse," Scorpius almost pleaded; why his father insisted on calling him by his middle name, he'd never figured out.

"Well, it was the name I chose for you; your Mum chose Scorpius…" He was interrupted here by Astoria's indignant protest.

"I did nothing of the sort! You asked me to name a constellation and I just happened to see a scorpion running behind you and…"

"A scorpion? Behind me? Why didn't you say so?" Draco asked with an almost comically panicked expression; Scorpius was far too entertained to even object that they were veering off topic.

"Because…we were seated on the beach and so technically, we were intruding on it's property," Astoria replied with a shrug, continuing, "Anyway, it was you who picked that name; I merely was answering an innocent question. Whereas you…where did you pick Hyperion?"

"One of my ancestors was named Hyperion and he was quite famous, thank you very much," Draco replied in an affronted tone.

"Apparently he was so famous that we don't even know if his existence, clearly…" Astoria was about to continue on with the Malfoy traditions when Scorpius gathered his sense enough to avoid a word war between his parents.

"Mum, please, let's get back to Pansy Parkinson, shall we?" Astoria sat back, but not before sending her husband a thoroughly unimpressed expression which only widened his amused smile.

"So where do I start?" Draco put on a pondering expression as Astoria cut in, "I'm not letting you tell him the story by yourself. Merlin knows what you'll invent."

"All right, all right. So the thing was, your mother and I used to date after the war…"

"He means to say that he chased after me until I became weary enough to agree to go on a date with him…"

"I did not chase after you…"

"I think the entirety of Diagon Alley would witness in my favor, Draco."

"Dad! Mum! Please, could you tell me exactly what Miss. Parkinson has to do with your wedding?" Scorpius asked, a bit exasperated with his parents' squabbling; honestly, sometime he thought him and Ro… better not think about her now, he decided; that would come later in his plan.

"Oh, she has everything to do with it; you see I was about to get married to her…" Draco began narrating, with Astoria's timely inputs in between that led to a few distractions and a few hair pulling moments for Scorpius. What he gathered from it was…

"Aren't you coming, Astoria?" Daphne asked as she brushed a strand of her golden blond hair into place. She observed her reflection in the mirror and satisfied, stood up from the bench she had been seated on. Astoria, who had been leaning on the wall, nodded her head in a no.

"Why? Pansy did invite you specifically to the wedding, didn't she?" Daphne asked, a little confused. Seeing the sudden spark of anger in Astoria's eyes, Daphne wondered if she had been right in bringing up the topic.

"Yes, she does want me there, badly. To show me how easy it was for her to snatch...never mind; I don't care," Astoria shrugged it off and was about to walk out of the room when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Looking back, Astoria knew there was no easy way out of this; Daphne could be pretty stubborn when she wanted to and Astoria had never been able to resist her sister's imploring eye anyway. Avoiding looking into them, Astoria looked at the mirror, seeing in it clearly, the image she wanted to; of herself, glowing and happy and of Draco beside her, adoring and affectionate. The image began floating and only when a hand wiped it away did she realize that the moisture was her own tears.

"You do care, Tori, I know. I shouldn't be saying this, but family comes first, no matter that she used to be my best friend; you do know that it is you he loves, right?" Daphne asked, holding her chin and making her look at her eyes.

"But…it doesn't matter. He couldn't have…why do I bother? He's going to marry her…" Astoria replied unconnectedly, leaning into Daphne's embrace. Daphne let a few minutes pass before she pulled her sister away.

"It's never too late, Astoria; never too late. It's your decision to make but I think Draco won't be very disappointed if his wedding was crashed by his ex-girlfriend," Daphne gave her a wink before she walked out of the room, the soft clicking of her heels echoing in her mind.

"You were actually going to marry Miss Parkinson?" Scorpius interrupted incredulously; he couldn't, simply couldn't fathom such a thing as his father marrying, or even thinking about someone other than his mother. He had never assumed his father had only ever dated his Mum, he had heard too many stories; but a marriage? He was dumbfounded.

"Yeah, yeah; I know it sounds impossible but I was annoyed enough with your mother to do that. She…pushed me to the limit, you could say," Draco admitted with a grumble and Scorpius turned to his mother, expecting a retort but got none.

"It wasn't your fault, Draco," Astoria placed a hand on Draco's as she said, "I was the idiotic one; I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I mean, I broke up with you and then I expected you to hang on the sidelines waiting for me? That was too self-centered; I was an idiot."

"No you weren't; you were right to be suspicious, anyone would have been. I did not have the cleanest of records and…" Draco sighed and silence reigned in the room for a few minutes before Scorpius, unable to break the silence, broke it.

"So, what happened? Did Mum crash the wedding?" Both of them nodded and Draco continued…

Astoria watched out of the corner of her eyes for any familiar faces as she walked stealthily from curtain to curtain. She had no need to hide; that is, if one could discount her blood red swollen eyes and her inappropriately casual black dress. She had been invited to the wedding, yet she did not feel like she could walk in and have a good time; one simply did not do that when they were here to stop the wedding, if possible.

The first person who noticed her was Theo; he stopped dead in his tracks as he recognized her and was about to call out to someone when she hurriedly closed his mouth with her hand. After a few seconds, she moved away from him and still, Theo couldn't find words to speak but Astoria did not have time for that.

"Where's Draco?" the question seemed to put him in panic but he recovered quick enough to show her the groom's room before he disappeared off; probably to inform Daphne.

As impatient as she had been to meet him, Astoria couldn't gather up the courage to walk in. After a few minutes' contemplation and a few weird stares directed at the girl in black who was standing in front of the groom's room, Astoria knocked lightly, hoping he wouldn't hear the sound.

"Come in!" his voice sounded dull even though the door but Astoria dismissed it off as her imagination. Her hand shook lightly as she turned the door knob and eased the door open. Draco was standing in front of the mirror, a disgusted expression reflecting his mood perfectly. Astoria averted her eyes from his form, opting to look at the grand décor of the room.

"Ast…what are you doing here?" his tone was slightly cynical and Astoria couldn't blame him. Taking a deep breath, Astoria clamed herself enough to face him, but before she could say anything, Draco raised his palm to stop her, "Whatever it is you have to say, Astoria, nothing is changing."

"But…you can't marry her!" Astoria spluttered through her shock and was rewarded with a moment's silence which was all she had been hoping for, "Look, Draco, I know I'm too late; I don't want to change anything I just…I'm sorry; I don't want to stop you but…I love you…I should be going," Astoria walked out of the room, hurrying to join the crowd that was gathering.

"What? Mum, you told Dad you loved him when he was about to get married? That's stupid, even for you!" Scorpius exclaimed; shocked more than he had expected. His Mum was properly blushing now though a smile lingered on her lips as if she was unable to believe her own actions as well.

"What does that 'even for you' mean, young man?" Draco asked in mock consternation before he grinned disarmingly, "Wait till I get to the best part." Giving Scorpius a mysterious look, he continued…

"Astoria! Over here!" Astoria stopped dead as she heard the voice; Millicent Bulstrode. Once of her sister's closest friends; she was pretty decent and Astoria couldn't ignore her. Turning around, Astoria plastered a smile on her face, hoping she wouldn't notice the freaky eyes.

"Come on, Pansy's been asking for you ever since Daphne arrived without you. Why didn't you come with her?" Millicent chattered away as she led her to a room across the place.

"I'm coming here directly from work," lie, "I had an emergency to attend to," lie, "I didn't catch much sleep yesterday and thought I could skip the wedding," lie, "But I couldn't let Pansy down so I apparated right here." Having uttered a steady stream of lies, Astoria panted lightly, marveling at her adeptness at it.

"Well, Pansy will be glad to hear that; here we are," Millicent opened the door into a room that seemed more like the backstage of a theatre than a bride's dressing room. Cosmetics of every kind were scattered about in the room; some of which Astoria couldn't even recognize. Taking care to side step all the glass bottles and trying not to puke at the scent of the perfumes, Astoria entered the room. As she found a clear spot in the room and took a seat, the door adjacent to it opened and Pansy appeared out of it, every inch the pampered whiny bride.

Astoria had always thought Pansy a bit attention seeking but in the next few minutes, she found out just how self centered she could get. Finally, when there was still a half hour for the wedding to start, everyone was ready. Astoria staunchly refused to change her attire no matter how many people asked her to; finally Daphne told the others to back off, giving her sister a part pleading look that Astoria averted purposefully. How could she say that her effort had failed miserably?

The rest of the bridesmaids walking out to eat, Astoria who had refused the food claiming a head ache was left alone with Pansy. A few minutes' silence later, her snotty voice spoke up, "Thought you could take him away from me, didn't you? I pity you Astoria; I know you loved him but the truth is…Draco doesn't do love. It's always ambition and money that do that trick but unfortunately, your elder sister had more chance than you at catching him, being the heiress to the fortune and all. See how I snatched him from under your nose? And the funniest thing is that I don't even care about him; but I can get him, because it's what I want. Funny how life gives some people everything and some nothing isn't it? All you can hope to do now is watch from afar as I stand where you always wanted to and live the life you thought was yours. Ha!" With another superior look, Pansy turned back to removing a non-existent stain from her gown.

Astoria considered downing the nearby glass of water on it just to see her reaction but stopped herself; she wasn't going to be petty; what difference did she have from Pansy then? And what would it achieve anyway? The one she had banked on had given up on her; no, she had made him give up on her. There was no-one to blame but herself. Was she going to sit in the seat as she watched her life pass onto someone else's hands? Someone so undeserving? Yes, there was no choice available. Anger and helplessness warring within her, Astoria walked out of the room, unable to bear the satisfied look in Pansy's eyes.

Hiding behind a curtain again, Astoria closed her mouth with her hand as the tears raked through her body. Her fault, all her fault…

"Shh…Astoria," starting at the familiar voice, Astoria looked up and saw that Blaise was now standing beside her behind the curtains. Righting her expression into a smile in a second, Astoria tilted her head in question, not trusting her voice to be steady.

"Don't worry; good things always happen to good people; to people who believe and trust in love," with that indecipherable advice, he walked out the curtains leaving behind a confused Astoria. Why did he come here? To tell her something that made no sense? Shaking her head, Astoria leaned on the wall of the place, trying to prepare herself for the painful ordeal of watching the marriage.

"Uncle Blaise? Is there anyone in there who doesn't have a part?" Scorpius wondered with surprise; he had never suspected that his extended family could be so dramatic.

"We can rise out of our uncaring shells for a friend," Draco replied with a reminiscent smile; but Astoria merely slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"You knew pretty well that he could have told me the plan then; you're all cruel," Draco chuckled as Astoria pouted.

"Well, you made me suffer so long; what was a few minutes?" Giving Astoria a smile, Draco turned to a curious Scorpius.

"The plan?" he asked and Draco nodded, elaborating, "Well, you see, there was this one woman that I loved very much who wouldn't accept the fact that a reformed Death Eater could actually feel something. Afraid of being hurt, she pushed the guy away and broke up with him and then came crying to the chapel when she heard that the guy was going to marry someone else. The guy, poor thing, couldn't convince himself once he saw the girl's face; it cemented his already slipping resolve. So…"

A few spells later, Astoria was reasonably sure her face was presentable. Tapping her dress, she made it a deep green; that was the best she could do. She simply didn't have the energy for brighter colors. Taking a deep breath, Astoria walked along the wall until she reached the entrance and joined with the crowd only then entering. Just then, Narcissa, who had been welcoming the guests noted her and walked to her. Narcissa held her in her embrace for a minute tightly, as if she understood her turmoil. Drawing back, Narcissa smiled at her and led her tone of the front rows, going so far as to seat Astoria beside her.

Narcissa had always had a fondness for Astoria which she had basked in but now, Astoria felt like she was seated on hot coals. What would now happen of her plan to sit in a corner so that no-one would notice her? But Narcissa hardly gave her time to think and kept talking about this and that and a few minutes later, Astoria could gather enough will to actually give an intelligent reply.

All her hard earned resolve melted the minute Draco walked in; she had to remind herself to breathe repeatedly and her heart began getting restless, as if it was preparing itself for a marathon. As he stood at the altar, every inch the elegant gentleman, Astoria thought he stared at her and wondered why; suddenly, a smile broke on his face. Only then did she realise that he was smiling at his mother. Of course, Astoria thought with bitterness, what use did he have for an ex-girlfriend now?

The organ started playing and Astoria clasped her hands together tightly, holding them in her lap as she stared steadily at it; she wouldn't, couldn't, look. Maybe she should have; she would then have noticed the unwavering stare and the amused smirk that accompanied it.

One by one the bridesmaids descended and the last to come, Daphne, sent Astoria a worried look before she took her place. The music changed at the same time Astoria whimpered, masking the sound. Unable to take it any longer, Astoria stood up discretely and walked out through one of the side doors onto the lawn where the feast was being prepared.

Leaning on the wall of the chapel, Astoria sobbed; so immersed was she in her misery that she missed the racket coming from inside the chapel and the accompanying confusion but most importantly, the sole set of footsteps. When she finally did look up, she met with a pair of eyes at once angry and affectionate and all she could do was burrow into his embrace as he hugged her tight. She stayed like that for a few minutes, holding onto the lapel of his coat, trying and failing to calm herself. He stroked her hair as he muttered in her ear; she caught nothing. She looked up into his grey orbs and was surprised to see the amusement laced in his eyes. Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Astoria pushed him away, taking a few steps back.

"Something wrong?" Draco's voice was the same low timbre she had fallen in love with; but of course, she had no right to think about love, or him.

"You…you shouldn't be here. They'll…Pansy will be looking for you. You don't have to feel guilty; it was all my fault. I'd better be going now; wish you a happy married life, Draco," Astoria's voice had begun with hesitation but had gained momentum as she spoke and she turned away to leave when she finished. A hand at her wrist halted her.

"I'm afraid Pansy is going to murder me…" Draco's voice was infuriatingly calm, igniting Astoria's temper.

Taking a step back from him, she shook the grip he had on her hand. Astoria replied rather sharply, "You should have thought of that before you married her, Draco." Holding her arms close to her, she gave him a censuring look.

"…for disrupting her dream wedding," Draco finished as if she hadn't spoken. For a minute, Astoria looked at him as if he had spoken in Hebrew.

"What have you done now?" she asked finally, her exasperated sigh masking the relief and elation.

"Ah, well you know my weakness for damsels in distresses," Draco replied with an amused smile, waving his hands in a wide gesture.

Astoria chuckled as she moved to hug him, but he held her at arms length. He eased out the crease that had formed between her eyebrows and with an almost sheepish expression, said, "I have something to ask."

Astoria watched with mounting confusion; why was Draco being so restless? The sudden shuffling of feet and stuttering was making her nervous, "Will you marry me?"

Relief coursing through her, Astoria laughed liltingly; adopting a calculating expression, she said, "What are my options?"

"Well, you can either agree and we can walk hand in hand inside or you can refuse and I'll carry you inside," Draco replied with a smirk, gathering her close.

"You mean…we're getting married now?" Astoria asked, slightly taken aback.

"Um…maybe? I mean, everyone we'd think of inviting is already here, the arrangements are made and the only thing missing was the bride, so I thought…" Draco looked right flustered now, but Astoria had only one thing in mind.

"But…but…"

"It's all right; it's too rushed, I unders…"

"I'm not wearing white!"

"That's how you got married? Why did no-one tell me?" Scorpius asked, a bit astounded. He would have expected such a story to be quite talked about; at least one of his Aunts or Uncles would have mentioned it.

"It's all your father's fault. He didn't want you to know; something silly about setting a bad example," Astoria shook her head, a rueful smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

"It wasn't a silly excuse," Draco mumbled incomprehensibly.

"But what you did to was wrong, don't you think?" Scorpius asked after a few minutes' silence.

Astoria kept her gaze steadily on the stove; Scorpius knew his mother agreed with him to some extent. It was Draco who answered, "She deserved it; she plotted to separate us…"

"It wasn't her fault entirely. She couldn't have succeeded if I had stayed strong," Scorpius was shocked to see that his mother's voice was quivering; he had never known his mother to be so emotional about something. Sure, she was the more open and expressive of his parents but Scorpius had no memory of ever seeing her near tears.

Draco stood up and walked to where she was standing, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her, "You had your reason, Tori."

Astoria collected herself in a few minutes and with a choked laugh, bid Draco to attend to Scorpius saying, "You complain all the while that he doesn't visit as often and when he does you ignore him."

Draco raised an eyebrow at Scorpius' smirk as he sat before him once again. Chuckling, Scorpius observed, "So, technically speaking, you eloped."

"We married," Draco interjected affrontedly, making the other two roll their eyes.

"I still claim we eloped; is it Malfoy tradition or something, do you think?" Astoria replied, directing the second part of the conversation to Scorpius, "Even Narcissa and Lucius had a bit of trouble with their marriage. Your grandmother used to tell me it was the rebellious genes in the Malfoy blood; the Weasley part of it."

Scorpius spluttered, almost spitting the mouthful of soup he had just had. Collecting himself, he asked, "W...Weasley?"

"It's nothing, really, Scorpius," Draco replied curtly, but Astoria merely laughed off his hesitation.

"Draco, stop downplaying it; it was about a century ago, Scorpius. Quite a scandal was caused when a Weasley girl eloped with a Malfoy heir. That's what started the generation wide bloodbath and enmity. I think that was where it started; the Malfoy's eloping jinx," Astoria replied with a grin, sipping her drink calmly, ignoring the glower Draco subjected her to.

"Oh, I see. Mum, Dad, what I actually wanted to talk to you about was that…"

Seeing his mother jump up, Scorpius stopped talking, "It's a girl, isn't it? Didn't I tell you, Draco?"

"What? When?" Scorpius' eyes rounded in shock; he turned to his father who was looking at him with a questioning look.

"So is it true, Scorpius? You have a girlfriend?" Draco asked calmly, unsettling Scorpius even more.

"Ah, more along the lines of…my wife," Scorpius muttered under his breath, acutely interested in the empty bowl.

"What?" Astoria's chair tumbled as she upset it. Even Draco's uncaring mask disappeared for a minute. He quickly placed a hand on Astoria's and after a few minutes of strained silence, she righted her chair and reclaimed her seat.

"This was why you wanted to know how we married, wasn't it?" Draco asked in a knowing voice and Scorpius nodded.

"I'd heard a few words here and there and I read about the previous Malfoys from the library books," Scorpius admitted. Looking at his Mum, he gave her a pleading expression, "Mum, I'm sorry; I know I've disappointed you but I had my reasons. We only wanted to avoid the commotion it would case. I…I couldn't risk losing her. Mum, please…"

Astoria's curiosity was piqued despite her attempts to remain displeased. Turning to face Scorpius, she said, "I'm only disappointed that you robbed me of the opportunity to tease Draco about you and your girlfriend," Scorpius and even Draco chuckled at her pout; she looked so like a child robbed of her candy.

"Are we going to meet her or do you have anything else to say?" Draco asked, directing his question towards Scorpius. Unable to meet his inquiring look, Scorpius averted his glance to his mother, saying, "I love her, Mum and…no matter what I'm not leaving her."

The statement made even Astoria surprised. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she spoke in a concerned voice, "Why, Scorpius, are you afraid of us?"

"What's her name?" was all the reaction Draco gave.

"Rose…Rose Weasley."

Astoria's laugh echoed with Draco's indignation through the house; Scorpius sighed. Heaven help him now.

A/n: Um…how bad was it? If you hadn't guessed already, this song was based off 'Speak Now' by Taylor Swift.

Review!