Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, ideas, places, events, quotes, etc. are from the brilliant mind of JK Rowling. I own nothing.

A/N: I think the reason I have put off updating this story for so long is because I didn't want it to end, but it's finally here. The final chapter of The Dragon Club. I am writing a sequel that will focus on Zander and Olivia (don't worry, there will be a lot of Rose/Scorpius thrown in!) I already have the first two chapters of the sequel written and published. The title is simply The Dragon Club 2 (original, I know).

Without further ado, here is the final chapter of this story:

Scorpius noted dully that they were on the Hogwarts Express. Rose looked like she was terrified, but Scorpius gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Excuse me," said a short girl with brown bushy hair to a couple of students in the hall as she pushed her way between them, "Have you seen a toad? A boy called Neville has lost one."

The tension amongst Scorpius and Rose was instantly broken and Rose dissolved into fits of giggles at seeing her eleven year old mother. "I didn't know," said Rose with a chuckle, "that her hair used to look like that!"

Rose was so happy that she hadn't been dumped into the middle of a memory involving Voldemort that she skipped happily after her mother, watching the first encounter of her parents. Rose literally slapped her forehead at the idiotic eleven year olds. Was her mother really that arrogant? Was her father really that clueless? Was her Uncle Harry really that reserved?

Scorpius, not really caring much about the conversation, watched Rose's reactions to everything and became confused when she frowned at the scene before her. "What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"I thought they were friends all through school, but it's quite obvious that my parents can't stand each other the first time they met."

"I guess we just have to watch and see how things work out," Scorpius brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly.

When the scene formed again, Draco Malfoy was the first person Rose saw. He looked shockingly like his son at that age, only his eyes were greyer and his smirk was colder. He insulted Ron and offered his hand to Harry. "What a tosser," said Scorpius lazily, as he had known the way his father had been.

"He was quite arrogant, wasn't he?" Rose offered politely, trying to use the least offensive term she could in order to not offend Scorpius' father.

"Arrogant?" Scorpius snorted, "He was a stuck-up toe rag. If I had known him back then, I would have sent a hex or two his way just to watch the prat suffer."

Rose barely managed to hold back a laugh as they watched their parents get Sorted into their respective houses. The look of relief on her father's face, the look of surprise on her mother's, the look of terror on Harry's, and the smug smirk on Draco's.

Rose was surprised when the next scene came up. Hermione was walking just behind Ron and Harry, and very clearly heard Ron make a mean remark about Hermione not having any friends. Rose gasped. "What a git!"

"Keep up with her!" at her shock, Rose had stopped walking and Scorpius had to prompt her to quickly follow Hermione toward the lavatory. Unknown to the tiny eleven year old girl, Rose sat with her on the cold tiled floor as she sobbed.

The following events shocked both Scorpius and Rose into silence. First, a mountain troll entered causing Hermione to scream. Second, Harry and Ron came rushing in. Third, despite the fact that they were completely incompetent, they somehow managed to take down the fully grown mountain troll.

"Looks like they're friends now," more out of habit than anything, Scorpius whispered to Rose out of the side of his mouth in the presence of Professor McGonagall as if she would hear him and deduct house points from Slytherin.

"Hmph," Rose made a noise of disapproval, "A fine way to make a friend, that is! Take down a mountain troll out of guilt, lie to a professor, and mumble a hurried thank you before running off!"

The next few memories went by quickly. A glimpse of a chess game here, studying in the library there, a glance of a Quidditch game. Then Rose and Scorpius found themselves at the start of their parents' second year at Hogwarts. They were staring at a wall that was dripping with red paint. Bright red letters on the wall read, "THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE."

The short bit of the memory they saw included Filch accusing Harry of killing Mrs. Norris. But these memories weren't about Harry Potter. They were about Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and why they had such problems with each other.

Sure enough, the next scene included Ron and Hermione. "Are we really going to do this?" asked Ron as he scrunched up his nose at a potion that was brewing.

"Why are we in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?" Rose muttered.

"Obviously because your parents are brewing some sort of illegal potion," Scorpius pointed to the cauldron that was in the bathroom stall in which Hermione and Ron were standing.

"Of course we are, Ronald. We can't let Malfoy get away with this, if it is him. You heard what happened to Collin Creevey!"

"I don't think he was much of a loss, anyway, always following Harry around with that camera. It seems to me like Malfoy did us more of a favor than anything," Ron quickly shut his mouth when he saw the glare Hermione shot his way.

"Well, nothing has changed there," said Rose.

"I just meant," Ron quickly backtracked, "that this plan seems dangerous and foolhardy, don't you think? Polyjuice Potion and sneaking into the Slytherin common room. A lot of things could go wrong, Hermione."

"The hardest part will be stealing ingredients from Professor Snape's private stores, but after that everything else is positively simple," she said lightly.

Before either of them could say anything else, a voice said, "It's me," Hermione gasped, dropped the ladle into the potion she was stirring and then looked through the keyhole of the stall.

"Harry!" she said. The memory was fading. When Rose and Scorpius landed in the next memory, the Golden Trio were standing in the same bathroom, holding tall glasses of what was unmistakably Polyjuice Potion.

"Hang on," Harry was the first to speak, "We'd better not all drink them in here…. Once we turn into Crabbe and Goyle we won't fit. And Millicent Bulstrode's no pixie."

"Good thinking," Ron nodded as he unlocked the door. "We'll take separate stalls."

"So that's what this is about!" said Rose, "they thought your father was the heir of Slytherin?"

"Brilliant," said Scorpius reverently, "Absolute genius to disguise themselves as my dad's best mates. It must have been your mother's idea." Rose flushed with pride.

When Ron (now Crabbe) and Harry (now Goyle) emerged from the stalls, Hermione refused to come out. Quickly, Rose and Scorpius followed after Ron and Harry. "They're going the totally wrong direction," Scorpius said with a groan, "they'll never find our common room at the rate they're going."

To his surprise, the two twelve year-old Gryffindors eventually found the Slytherin dungeons. "Wait here," said Draco to the two people who he thought were Crabbe and Goyle, "I'll go and get it – my father's just sent it to me."

"I wonder what Lucius sent him?" Rose asked aloud.

"Nothing good," growled Scorpius with certainty.

"That'll give you a laugh," said Draco, handing Ron (disguised as Crabbe) a newspaper clipping. Rose and Scorpius read it over his shoulder, realizing that it was about an inquiry on Arthur Weasley for enchanting a flying car.

Harry and Ron forced laughs just before Draco said, "Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them."

Scorpius threw his father a disgusted look, but said nothing. The memory continued. Draco was clearly suspicious of his friends, as they weren't acting like they normally did. "What's up with you, Crabbe?"

"Stomachache," replied Ron.

"Well, go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick for me," said Draco. Rose's mouth dropped open. This was not the Mr. Malfoy she knew. Scorpius, however, looked entirely unsurprised. He barely blinked at what his father was saying, "…A decent headmaster would never've let slime like that Creevey in."

Rose involuntarily took a step back. Had most wizards held these same beliefs twenty years ago? Did people really have those beliefs now? "….Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend," Draco was still ranting, "He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped-up Granger Mudblood…"

Scorpius snarled and started forward as if he wanted to attack his own father, but Rose held out her arm and said quietly, "He was twelve years old, love, he was just parroting your grandfather's beliefs."

"That's not an excuse," Scorpius said curtly.

Draco, they were unsurprised to discover, was still talking when they tuned back into the conversation, "…But I know one thing – last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time…. I hope it's Granger."

This time Rose did nothing as Scorpius flung himself at his father as he let out a scream of rage, she was in too much shock. But it didn't matter anyway, because the twelve year old Draco Malfoy was nothing more than a mere memory, and before Scorpius even reached him, the scene swirled and dissolved.

It must have been the following year, because everyone looked older. Harry and Ron were significantly taller, and Hermione's face looked less like a child and more like a teenager. They witnessed Draco baiting Buckbeak the Hippogriff, and the consequent trouble caused for Hagrid and Buckbeak.

It was with pride and shock that Rose watched her mother smack Draco Malfoy across the face saying, "Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul – you evil - "

"Hermione!" Ron looked even more shocked than Rose was, but you could tell that obvious pride blazed in his eyes as well. Hermione reared back to take another swing at Malfoy, but Ron grabbed hold of her hand.

"Get off, Ron!" Hermione screamed. Then, thinking better of it, she pulled out her wand. Draco immediately backed off and disappeared into the passageway toward the dungeons.

"I love your mum so much more now," said Scorpius quietly.

Rose gave him a weak smile and the following years went by quickly. Time after time they witnessed Draco doing horrible things to Rose's family. Time after time they heard nasty comments, mostly about her Uncle Harry, fall from Draco's lips.

There were the constant remarks about how her father's family was poor, and how her mother didn't even deserve to live because she was a Mudblood. Rose felt sick to her stomach. She had liked Mr. Malfoy so much, but now, after watching these memories, anger burned in the pit of her belly and she understood her father's animosity.

Finally, they reached sixth year. Neither Rose nor Scorpius wanted to go any further into these memories, but both knew they didn't have a choice. The enmity between their families would never be resolved if they couldn't overcome this obstacle.

"We're in your home," said Rose, surprised that they were not at the Hogwarts castle.

"Draco," the voice that spoke sent shivers up Rose's spine and she had to fight the urge to run from the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. Very slowly, she turned to see Lord Voldemort standing beside the fireplace, addressing the young man who had just entered the room. If the 16 year old Draco had stood beside Scorpius, it would have been almost impossible to tell them apart; except for the eyes. The eyes made all of the difference. Where Draco's were cold, calculating, perhaps even frightened, Scorpius' were warm, kind, and to Rose they looked like home.

"Yes, my Lord?" said Draco reverently.

Scorpius ground his teeth together at the way his father spoke to this dark wizard, as if he deserved praise and worship. "It is time that I send a faithful servant to do a very great task for me."

"Surely, my Lord, you don't mean me?" Draco sounded hopeful.

Ignoring his question, Lord Voldemort continued what he had been saying, "This task is a great honor. Many of my Death Eaters would do anything to be in your position. Are you willing, Draco Malfoy, to join my ranks, take my Mark, and carry out this task?"

"Of – of course," said Draco at once. He sounded as if all of his wildest dreams had come true. Without hesitation, he rolled back the sleeve of his robes and Voldemort brandished his wand. He touched the tip to Draco's forearm, and Draco screamed. He dropped to his knees, his face twisted up in pain, but Voldemort held his arm and finished the Dark Mark.

"Your task," he said in an even, cruel voice, "is to kill Albus Dumbledore. You are a student. A sixteen year old boy. You are at an advantage that I am not. You can slip right in under his nose. It is my belief that with surprise on your side, this will be a relatively easy task. Don't you agree, Draco?"

"Absolutely," Draco agreed at once, even though he was shakily getting to his feet and his face was more pale than usual. "You are right, as always, my Lord."

"Then I'm sure you will not object to a bit of collateral?"

"Collateral?"

"If you should fail, Draco, rest assured that I will kill you and your family. Is this understood?" His tone was now harsh, almost a hiss, and the red orbs of his eyes seemed to glow brighter.

"I understand, my Lord," Draco still did not seem afraid. Didn't he understand what he was doing?

"The fool!" screamed Scorpius, "Why don't you do it yourself, you coward?" he yelled at Voldemort, "You think you're so special, you evil, nose-less git? I'd like to see you face Albus Dumbledore in a duel to the death! You wouldn't stand a chance, you-you-!" words failed him as he couldn't think of anything bad enough to call Voldemort.

Rose gently laid a hand on his arm and as she gave him a hopeful smile, the scene dissolved. The memories followed Draco closely through his sixth year, and as he didn't have much contact with anyone, let alone the Golden Trio, Rose saw very little of her parents.

Instead, she watched Draco try and fail to kill Albus Dumbledore. Again and again, his attempts becoming more desperate and feeble. It became apparent to the two teenagers that Draco did not want to succeed. They were with him when he went home for Christmas break and was tortured by Voldemort, along with his mother, for taking too long to complete such an easy task.

Finally, they reached the Astronomy Tower. Dumbledore looked at Snape with unwavering trust, and said softly, "….please." Rose turned her face into Scorpius' chest when Snape said the fateful curse. Draco and his comrades fled, and Rose's family was in the thick of a fight in the castle. She leapt over her Uncle Bill, who looked torn to shreds, ran through her father who had a snarl on his face as he dodged a jet of red light, turned her head when she heard her mother screaming curses at every Death Eater in her sight.

When the memory changed, Rose was in tears, "It was horrible," she moaned, "worse than the fight in your mansion," she gasped.

"It'll only get worse, I'm sure," he said. He knew something that she did not. Something his father had randomly mentioned years before. Something that he knew still haunted his father, and Rose was about to find out exactly what that was.

Without warning, Rose felt the entire atmosphere change. Bellatrix Lestrange, in the height of her power, was standing in the middle of the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. Draco was there, along with Lucius, Narcissa, a few men Rose did not recognize, and with a shudder she recognized her parents and uncle.

"Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback," said Narcissa Malfoy with finality.

"Wait," objected her sister, "All except…except for the Mudblood." A gasp escaped Rose's lips and she covered her mouth with both of her hands. Scorpius couldn't look at her.

"No!" the scream of Ron Weasley sounded desperate and terrified, "You can have me, keep me!" he begged.

In response, Bellatrix slapped him across the face with such force that the crack echoed around the cavernous room. "If she dies under questioning," hissed Bellatrix, her face right in Ron's, "I'll take you next. Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Greyback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing more to them – yet."

Bellatrix dragged Hermione by her hair into the center of the room as Greyback forced Harry and Ron, kicking and fighting, into a dark passageway. Rose stayed with her mother, watching the past unfold between her fingers, as her hands were splayed over her face. Scorpius could hear her breathing hitch, and knew that she might not be able to handle what was about to happen.

"You don't have to watch this part," he told her, turning toward her and opening up his arms. She hesitated, but then shook her head.

"Yes, I do."

Without even asking a question or giving a warning, Bellatrix rounded on Hermione and hit her with an exceptionally powerful Crucio. Rose knew it was the same strength of the curse that had driven Uncle Neville's parents into insanity. The same woman was torturing her mother, and there was nothing Rose could do about it.

From somewhere in the depths of the mansion she could hear her father's anguished cry, "HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" a sob escaped Rose, and several more followed.

"Where did you get this sword?" Bellatrix hissed in a deadly whisper.

"I don't know!" Hermione cried, "I don't know, please! Please!"

Bellatrix slashed her wand through the air and gashes appeared on Hermione's body out of nowhere, oozing blood at an alarming rate. The scream that came from her was worse than anything Rose could have imagined.

Again, her father's desperate screams could be heard distantly, "HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"

Several more times, Bellatrix asked questions of Hermione, "How did you get into my vault?" "What else did you take?" "Where did you get this sword?" and each time Hermione wouldn't answer, and Bellatrix would torture her.

Rose was trembling, and as her mother became weaker and weaker, so did she. She didn't even realize her knees had given out until she felt Scorpius heave her up and cradle her in his arms. "My mum…" her voice cracked.

"You are lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, TELL THE TRUTH!"

More screaming, Rose wasn't watching. She couldn't take anymore of this, how could her mother bare it? How had her mother been able to bare watching Dolohov torture her just a few nights previously? Had it been this hard for Hermione?

"Look!" Scorpius said quickly, and Rose spun around. Draco Malfoy, who had previously been watching with the scene with a blank expression on his face, was acting. His emotions were clear on his face now; he felt torn. Terrified, but determined. He was pulling his wand back, but nobody else in the room noticed. Before a single spell left his wand, Harry and Ron burst into the room fighting. A scuffle occurred and Rose's family escaped.

The Battle of Hogwarts. That's what it would come to be known as in the future. In the textbooks that Rose was taught at school, this was the last chapter. The finale of The Second Wizard War. And she was living it.

The castle shook slightly as something powerful hit it, but Rose wasn't paying attention to that. She was watching as her parents, Harry, Ginny, and a woman she didn't recognize came out of the Room of Requirement. "I'm going to find Remus!" said the woman. Remus. Then that woman must be Tonks; Teddy's mother.

"NO!" Rose screamed, but of course no one heard her except Scorpius. "No, don't! You'll be killed!"

"She can't hear you," Scorpius' voice sounded so hollow. Hopeless. She turned toward him and knew they were both thinking the same thing, how many more memories would they have to suffer through? Could they handle anymore?

With determination, Rose turned and followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione into the Room of Requirement. "They're looking for the diadem," said Rose unnecessarily.

Rose followed her mother and father as they separated from Harry, spreading out to find the horcrux. They heard scuffling, and voices. "Harry?" Ron called out, "Who are you talking to?" Hermione came around the corner, and Rose gasped. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had Harry trapped. The diadem was just out of Harry's reach.

"No!" Malfoy was saying, "The Dark Lord wants him alive!"

"Merlin, Circe, and Morgana," Rose gasped, clutching her throat, "After all of that, after nearly saving my mum's life, he's going to hand Uncle Harry over to Voldemort? Just like that?"

Hermione leapt into view, shooting curses at their unprotected backs, and a scuffle ensued. Rose watched as Crabbe stupidly set cursed fire all over the room. "They're all going to die," Scorpius whispered, "Bloody hell, they're all dead!"

"No, look!" Rose pointed up toward the ceiling where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were rising from the flames on broomsticks. Draco Malfoy was climbing a pile of debris, with Goyle on his heels. Crabbe, however, was out of sight now, engulfed entirely by flames, and Rose was thankful that cursed fire burned so quickly and so hot that she didn't even have to hear him scream or see his body melt before her eyes, because he was simply gone.

"They're saving them….bloody hell, Rose, your family is saving my dad…and Zander's dad, too."

Rose was wiping away tears that were rolling down her cheeks, "I can't believe I came so close to never existing. I can't believe I came so close to never knowing you or Zander. Remind me later to thank my parents for what they've done."

"Yeah, and remind me to give my dad a good kick for his part in this as well."

The rest of the memories were a complete blur. There were moments of running through the war, reflexively Rose was dodging spells, jumping over bodies, spinning out of the way of giants swinging monstrous clubs. Her red hair flying madly as she whipped her head around looking for her parents. But she only ever caught slight glimpses of them.

Madness. That was the only word she could think of to describe this. Absolute madness. People dying before her very eyes. Friends, family members, people who she had no idea who they were, piles of bodies in the halls. Then, suddenly, Harry and Voldemort faced each other and Rose witnessed the fall of the Darkest Wizard of all time.

When it was over, the Malfoy family alone were the only ones who had arrived to fight on Voldemort's side and yet ended up looking a bit lost while standing with the heroes of the night. "They don't belong here, with these people," Scorpius bit out in disgust, "They probably helped kill several of the dead bodies around them, and yet-"

"They couldn't have," whispered Rose.

"What?" Scorpius rounded on her, shocked. Had she not seen what terrible people his family had been? What the hell would make her think, even for a moment, that they might possibly be innocent in all of this?

"They never had wands, Scorpius. You heard your father in the Room of Requirement, he was using his mother's wand, and Voldemort had taken the wand that belonged to Lucius. Even now, look closely, there's not a single wand among them. Not even your father has one anymore."

"Oh. I hadn't noticed that."

"Your grandparents were, if anything, fighting on Harry's side the whole time. The only significant role they played in this war was when your grandmother lied to Voldemort about Harry being dead."

"But my father-"

"Was trying to stay alive, and also probably trying to restore some of his family's honor. Don't hold it against him, Scorp. Don't let the demons that haunt your father haunt you as well. You're better than that."

Just as Rose grasped hold of Scorpius' hand, they were flung out of the memories and landed back in her sitting room. Rose felt as if she'd aged twenty years after that journey into the pensieve. Her parents, her family, had suffered more than she had ever known. The encounter she had had with Dolohov had been a daily occurrence for her parents.

Everyone was watching Rose and Scorpius as they stood dazed in the middle of the room. Rose stepped very purposefully toward her mother and then very lightly reached up and ran a finger along the scar that adorned her mother's throat. Before that day, all Hermione had ever said about it was, "I got it during the war."

But Rose had seen it happen. She'd seen the blood that had spilled from her mother's throat when Bellatrix Lestrange sliced it open. "I'm sorry, Mother," Rose whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Scorpius had likewise very purposefully approached his father, but when he reached Draco Malfoy, it wasn't for any sort of friendly greeting. Scorpius pulled his arm back and let his fist fly directly into Draco's face. Draco took the hit without attempting to defend himself.

"I understand," said Scorpius, "why the Weasley's hate you both so much," he looked very carefully at his mother and father, "I can even say that to a large extent I share their view of you. However, you are my family, and despite whatever mistakes you've made in the past, you have always done your best by me, with a recent exception," his eyes narrowed on his mother. "I will not hold your past deeds against you."

"Draco," Rose said, addressing him directly, "I can't say that I feel exactly the same about you now as I did before seeing those memories. I'd always known that you played a dark part in the war, but I never knew about the hatred you had towards my family all through your school years. I hate what you did. But I don't hate you. If I can forgive Astoria for trying to kill me, then I am sure that I will be able, eventually, to forgive you for trying to kill my family."

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Rose held up a hand to silence him and then turned toward her father, "Daddy," she began, "I know now why you hate them. I can't say that I blame you, to be honest. But it doesn't change anything. I love Scorpius. Even after all I've seen, I would be willing to fight Voldemort himself for Scorpius, and I'm certainly not afraid to fight you for him. Please, please, Daddy, don't make me fight you for him. I love you, I will always love you, but I love him, too. I love him as much as you love Mum. You don't need to love him, you don't need to love his family. You just need to love me and trust my decisions."

Hermione was smiling with tears in her eyes, Ron stared at Rose for a long time, his mouth occasionally opening then closing again. Until finally, he said with defeat, "I love you, Rosie, nothing will ever change that. I trust your decisions. No need to be this serious about things now, though. You're only sixteen."

"Ronald," said Hermione, "Darling, I love you, but don't fool yourself. Look at them. Think about how we were at their age. I'm afraid, my love, that they are going to last. Someday, it's very likely that you will be related to Draco, so you'd best get used to the idea now."

Ron turned several shades of green and purple while everyone else in the room laughed. Rose threw her arms around her father and kissed his cheek, "Thank you, Dad."

"You're welcome," he replied gruffly, "Anything for you, Rosie."

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other over the pensieve, memories they knew they'd never forget. People they'd known only for moments inside of someone else's memories that they would always remember. But just as their parents had healed from the tragic events, so would they. Together.

Scorpius didn't know if he would ever forgive his mother for what she'd done, but he knew that Rose would certainly keep trying to reconcile things between them. His father he could deal with. "Scorpius," Ron interrupted his thoughts, "You have my permission to date my daughter. I'm…well, I'm glad to have such a fine young wizard be with my Rose."

"Thank you, Sir," said Scorpius as he enveloped Rose into his arms, "I'll love her forever."

EPILOGUE

Rose Weasley said goodbye to her parents as she watched Scorpius drag her trunk onto the Hogwarts Express. "I'm glad you came with me to Malfoy Manor for New Years Eve," said Rose as she kissed her mother's cheek.

"It was time I faced some demons of my own," said Hermione with a weak smile, as she had had a difficult time being in the mansion again.

"You'll write to me more this term, won't you, Dad?" Rose asked as she hugged her father.

"Of course, Rosie. Now that I know so much more of what's going on with your life. No more lies, right?"

"Right. I will tell you everything."

"Also, I'd feel a lot better if you would stop drinking at those….those parties."

Rose threw her head back and laughed at her father's serious expression and the shade of red he had turned as he spoke. He wasn't used to reprimanding either of his children as they had always been exceptionally well behaved.

"Ready to go?" Albus was behind her, along with Grace, the two of them smiling happily, with their hair all mused as if they'd just emerged from a broom closet. Of course, knowing them, that was probably exactly what had happened.

"Yes, just saying goodbye to my parents," replied Rose.

"Damn, Weasley," said Zander as he came up out of nowhere, wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her off of her feet.

Rose squealed in surprise and yelled, "PUT ME DOWN, GOYLE!"

"Oi!" Came a voice from the crowd, "hands off my girlfriend, Goyle! You have your own woman to manhandle now!"

"Right I do," said Zander with such joy that Rose was surprised. She never thought she'd see the day where Zander Goyle was this happy in a relationship. He dropped Rose unceremoniously to her feet and then scooped up Olivia.

"Have a great term, love," Hermione said as she adjusted the button of Rose's cloak. "Write to us every day! Don't forget to study, though. Just because you have a boyfriend doesn't mean you can start slacking with your school work! I want to see straight O's on all of your end of year exams! Next year you'll have N.E.W.T.s to worry about, so stay ahead of the game now!"

"Goodbye, Mum," Rose cut her off with a giggle, "I'll write often, and I'll see you in June! Love you both!" Rose waved goodbye to them one last time, then took hold of Scorpius' hand as they headed for the train, and neither of them looked back.