Part 7 is here.
22: Father
It came to a head that June shortly before they left for the holidays. As Rose and Scorpius walked to the room of requirement together, they passed Aphelocoma. The younger girl gave Rose a look of surprise, which made Rose grind her teeth. Why shouldn't I be friends with Scorpius?, she thought resentfully.
Even when they'd settled into their chairs, she was still fuming.
Scorpius pulled a letter from his robes. "This came this morning," he told her. "My father would-"
"Your father would what?" She snapped. "Would like the 'mudblood' to leave you alone?"
"...would like to invite you to join us for dinner at some point during the holidays. What did you just say?"
She didn't reply. Her skin was flushed and she suddenly felt as if any movement would result in falling.
"What did you just accuse my father of?" He repeated, his tone dangerously soft.
She rallied her fury; it was the only strength she had at that moment. "Your father hates me, doesn't he? Me and my family? He thinks I'm not good enough for you, doesn't he? And your sister, too! Because my grandparents are muggles!"
Scorpius stared at her, stunned. The anger drained out of Rose, leaving only shame. She suddenly felt that she'd made a terrible mistake.
"You want to know what my father thinks of you?" Scorpius asked. His voice was quiet but intense, his eyes worse. She felt them burning into her, and couldn't look away.
Between then, a pensieve melted into place, as if it had always been there. Not taking his eyes from hers, Scorpius placed his wand to his forehead, and used it to draw a shimmering stream of memory into the basin.
"Look," he said, and it wasn't a request.
23: Pensieve
She saw Scorpius and his father. Draco was seated at a desk, while Scorpius stood in front of it.
He looks so young, Rose thought, realising that Scorpius was only twelve here.
"Father -" Scorpius began. Draco waved a hand and cut him off.
"Scorpius, I won't say that I wasn't surprised. That was a very awkward position to be put into with no warning."
Scorpius thought for a moment then said, "I understand, father. I apologise."
Scorpius sounded like an adult, in his apology. Rose knew that at his age both she and Hugo would have uttered either a sulky 'sorry!' or an overly affectionate one, eager to have the disagreement over with. They wouldn't have stood there and considered the situation.
Draco nodded. The two regarded one another as equals, and Rose noticed a small smile lighting up Draco's eyes.
"Why did you keep it from me, my boy?"
"Father, I -" Scorpius seemed lost for words. "I didn't think you'd approve."
Draco nodded again, this time, his eyes distant and lost in thought.
"I understand, my son." He said. "You and I both know that I had my problems with both of her parents. I made a great many mistakes then, ones that I know you will not repeat."
Scorpius shook his head, solemnly.
"I do not believe that I am able to fix the past, Scorpius, or to make amends. All I can do is ensure that you and your sister do not repeat it. And I must apologise for the situation I have put you in, for the effect my past has had on your present."
This time Scorpius nodded. Rose was fascinated by the way the father and son interacted. The elder Malfoy seemed to make a great effort to treat his son as an equal, and Rose did not doubt that Scorpius had been right – Draco did love him. Although physical interaction between the two was so cold as to be nonexistent, they understood one another.
Thinking back to Scorpius' desire to care for Aphelocoma, Rose realised why it had meant so much to him. He'd wanted the responsibility so that he could show his parents that he was growing into an equal, that he was being raised into a good man. He wanted to make them proud of him.
She regretted how much of Scorpius she'd missed by forgoing his invitations to observe him with his family. So much of him was clear in this context, more than she could ever have suspected, and she wished she'd seen more of it.
"I should make this absolutely clear;" Draco continued. "I do not disapprove of your friendship with Miss Weasley."
Scorpius smiled then, in a small but noticeable way. Draco smiled back.
"After all," he continued. "The Malfoys have retained their money and blood, but what have we lost? The wizarding world does not trust us. We have much reduced power, politically. Our respect is greatly lowered. My boy, if it suits you to build bridges with the Weasleys or Potters, rest assured that this will not have a negative effect on your family. Quite the opposite. Times have changed, and they now have the things we lack. They are now the pinnacle of our society. Only a very stupid man would stay wedded to his past ideas when the context has changed so drastically, and whatever else I may be Scorpius, I do pride myself on not being more stupid than I can help."
Scorpius rolled his eyes then, his smile growing wider. "Father, you are a Slytherin to the end."
Draco grinned back. "Another thing I pride myself on, Scorpius. Now go play with your sister, I have work to do."
24: Beyond
Rose stared at Scorpius, feeling her pulse thudding in her throat.
For years now, she'd been convinced that his father didn't approve of their friendship, that he'd called her horrible names, that he'd looked down on her. It shook her to the core to learn that these thoughts were all in her head.
Her eyes met his, and he nodded, his face stony. Then he broke their gaze and started pacing.
"You didn't even give him a chance!" Scorpius raged. He couldn't seem to bear to look at her now. "You and your father – you were so damn sure that he was still the same person he was as a teenager! You didn't think he could grow, or change, or make a sensible decision! You focused on your own prejudice, and refused to see what was right in front of you!"
"Skip - "
"Don't call me that!"
Rose drew back as if she'd been slapped.
"And my sister! What has my sister ever done to you? She doesn't like you, but it's not because of your parents! It's because-"
And he paused for a breath, his fury leaving him, replaced by something older and more weary.
"...It's because she thinks you're no good for me. Because we talked about how you avoid me sometimes. How you don't want me to meet your family, and refuse to meet me. Because she thinks you can never forget that we're Malfoys, and I always told her that that wasn't true, but I guess-"
His voice cracked, and he paused, furious at himself for showing any kind of weakness.
"I guess she was right."
Rose gaped at him.
She didn't know how to make it right. He was right; she'd taken all those stories from twenty-five years ago, and turned his father into a demon. She would have hated it if someone had done that to her father, however well deserved. She knew from Scorpius' memory that Draco had been willing to build bridges between their families, though he wasn't brave enough to take the first step; but she'd continued to cast him in the role of the villain, and hadn't given him a chance. She'd listened to stories, and jumped to conclusions, and hadn't taken the time to simply listen to her friend, and treat him like a friend.
Good guys - something she'd always prided herself on being - weren't supposed to do things like that.
Scorpius started pacing again, working himself into anger, to keep himself away from tears.
"I bet you were congratulating yourself," Scorpius spat. "On being so kind to a Malfoy!" He put on a mocking, high-pitched voice. "Oh, poor Scorpius, his father's so evil! I must save him from the evil Malfoys! He's okay, he's not like a real Malfoy, he's acceptable!"
He glared at her.
"My father has never had a bad word to say about you, Rose. Never. Are you going to hold his past mistakes against him – against us – forever? Is that what you see, every time you look at me, the grandson of a Deatheater, the son of someone beyond redemption?"
"People change, Rose. My father isn't the same person he was a quarter of a century ago, and I'm not him, and he isn't my grandfather."
For the first time in her life, Rose was lost for words. Her world had shrunk to those two ice-blue eyes, now brimming over with an anger which, she knew, was there to disguise the hurt.
After a few seconds, which seemed to stretch on forever, he broke their gaze again, and stormed out.
It was all hitting her at once. She knew that his friendship with her was the only really close friendship he had. She looked back over all the conversations they'd had, as she knew he must be doing. All those times she'd said "our families won't approve", and she'd meant his father, and he must have thought she meant hers. How long had he spent thinking her parents didn't like him, that she'd been avoiding their meeting for that reason?
He'd never have told her how much that had hurt. And how much worse, now, to know that she'd thought so little of his father, of his family? His family, who meant everything to him, like hers did to her.
Rose let herself fall backwards, onto a sofa which had appeared. She needed to process this. She needed to think.
Part 9 is here.
22: Father
It came to a head that June shortly before they left for the holidays. As Rose and Scorpius walked to the room of requirement together, they passed Aphelocoma. The younger girl gave Rose a look of surprise, which made Rose grind her teeth. Why shouldn't I be friends with Scorpius?, she thought resentfully.
Even when they'd settled into their chairs, she was still fuming.
Scorpius pulled a letter from his robes. "This came this morning," he told her. "My father would-"
"Your father would what?" She snapped. "Would like the 'mudblood' to leave you alone?"
"...would like to invite you to join us for dinner at some point during the holidays. What did you just say?"
She didn't reply. Her skin was flushed and she suddenly felt as if any movement would result in falling.
"What did you just accuse my father of?" He repeated, his tone dangerously soft.
She rallied her fury; it was the only strength she had at that moment. "Your father hates me, doesn't he? Me and my family? He thinks I'm not good enough for you, doesn't he? And your sister, too! Because my grandparents are muggles!"
Scorpius stared at her, stunned. The anger drained out of Rose, leaving only shame. She suddenly felt that she'd made a terrible mistake.
"You want to know what my father thinks of you?" Scorpius asked. His voice was quiet but intense, his eyes worse. She felt them burning into her, and couldn't look away.
Between then, a pensieve melted into place, as if it had always been there. Not taking his eyes from hers, Scorpius placed his wand to his forehead, and used it to draw a shimmering stream of memory into the basin.
"Look," he said, and it wasn't a request.
23: Pensieve
She saw Scorpius and his father. Draco was seated at a desk, while Scorpius stood in front of it.
He looks so young, Rose thought, realising that Scorpius was only twelve here.
"Father -" Scorpius began. Draco waved a hand and cut him off.
"Scorpius, I won't say that I wasn't surprised. That was a very awkward position to be put into with no warning."
Scorpius thought for a moment then said, "I understand, father. I apologise."
Scorpius sounded like an adult, in his apology. Rose knew that at his age both she and Hugo would have uttered either a sulky 'sorry!' or an overly affectionate one, eager to have the disagreement over with. They wouldn't have stood there and considered the situation.
Draco nodded. The two regarded one another as equals, and Rose noticed a small smile lighting up Draco's eyes.
"Why did you keep it from me, my boy?"
"Father, I -" Scorpius seemed lost for words. "I didn't think you'd approve."
Draco nodded again, this time, his eyes distant and lost in thought.
"I understand, my son." He said. "You and I both know that I had my problems with both of her parents. I made a great many mistakes then, ones that I know you will not repeat."
Scorpius shook his head, solemnly.
"I do not believe that I am able to fix the past, Scorpius, or to make amends. All I can do is ensure that you and your sister do not repeat it. And I must apologise for the situation I have put you in, for the effect my past has had on your present."
This time Scorpius nodded. Rose was fascinated by the way the father and son interacted. The elder Malfoy seemed to make a great effort to treat his son as an equal, and Rose did not doubt that Scorpius had been right – Draco did love him. Although physical interaction between the two was so cold as to be nonexistent, they understood one another.
Thinking back to Scorpius' desire to care for Aphelocoma, Rose realised why it had meant so much to him. He'd wanted the responsibility so that he could show his parents that he was growing into an equal, that he was being raised into a good man. He wanted to make them proud of him.
She regretted how much of Scorpius she'd missed by forgoing his invitations to observe him with his family. So much of him was clear in this context, more than she could ever have suspected, and she wished she'd seen more of it.
"I should make this absolutely clear;" Draco continued. "I do not disapprove of your friendship with Miss Weasley."
Scorpius smiled then, in a small but noticeable way. Draco smiled back.
"After all," he continued. "The Malfoys have retained their money and blood, but what have we lost? The wizarding world does not trust us. We have much reduced power, politically. Our respect is greatly lowered. My boy, if it suits you to build bridges with the Weasleys or Potters, rest assured that this will not have a negative effect on your family. Quite the opposite. Times have changed, and they now have the things we lack. They are now the pinnacle of our society. Only a very stupid man would stay wedded to his past ideas when the context has changed so drastically, and whatever else I may be Scorpius, I do pride myself on not being more stupid than I can help."
Scorpius rolled his eyes then, his smile growing wider. "Father, you are a Slytherin to the end."
Draco grinned back. "Another thing I pride myself on, Scorpius. Now go play with your sister, I have work to do."
24: Beyond
Rose stared at Scorpius, feeling her pulse thudding in her throat.
For years now, she'd been convinced that his father didn't approve of their friendship, that he'd called her horrible names, that he'd looked down on her. It shook her to the core to learn that these thoughts were all in her head.
Her eyes met his, and he nodded, his face stony. Then he broke their gaze and started pacing.
"You didn't even give him a chance!" Scorpius raged. He couldn't seem to bear to look at her now. "You and your father – you were so damn sure that he was still the same person he was as a teenager! You didn't think he could grow, or change, or make a sensible decision! You focused on your own prejudice, and refused to see what was right in front of you!"
"Skip - "
"Don't call me that!"
Rose drew back as if she'd been slapped.
"And my sister! What has my sister ever done to you? She doesn't like you, but it's not because of your parents! It's because-"
And he paused for a breath, his fury leaving him, replaced by something older and more weary.
"...It's because she thinks you're no good for me. Because we talked about how you avoid me sometimes. How you don't want me to meet your family, and refuse to meet me. Because she thinks you can never forget that we're Malfoys, and I always told her that that wasn't true, but I guess-"
His voice cracked, and he paused, furious at himself for showing any kind of weakness.
"I guess she was right."
Rose gaped at him.
She didn't know how to make it right. He was right; she'd taken all those stories from twenty-five years ago, and turned his father into a demon. She would have hated it if someone had done that to her father, however well deserved. She knew from Scorpius' memory that Draco had been willing to build bridges between their families, though he wasn't brave enough to take the first step; but she'd continued to cast him in the role of the villain, and hadn't given him a chance. She'd listened to stories, and jumped to conclusions, and hadn't taken the time to simply listen to her friend, and treat him like a friend.
Good guys - something she'd always prided herself on being - weren't supposed to do things like that.
Scorpius started pacing again, working himself into anger, to keep himself away from tears.
"I bet you were congratulating yourself," Scorpius spat. "On being so kind to a Malfoy!" He put on a mocking, high-pitched voice. "Oh, poor Scorpius, his father's so evil! I must save him from the evil Malfoys! He's okay, he's not like a real Malfoy, he's acceptable!"
He glared at her.
"My father has never had a bad word to say about you, Rose. Never. Are you going to hold his past mistakes against him – against us – forever? Is that what you see, every time you look at me, the grandson of a Deatheater, the son of someone beyond redemption?"
"People change, Rose. My father isn't the same person he was a quarter of a century ago, and I'm not him, and he isn't my grandfather."
For the first time in her life, Rose was lost for words. Her world had shrunk to those two ice-blue eyes, now brimming over with an anger which, she knew, was there to disguise the hurt.
After a few seconds, which seemed to stretch on forever, he broke their gaze again, and stormed out.
It was all hitting her at once. She knew that his friendship with her was the only really close friendship he had. She looked back over all the conversations they'd had, as she knew he must be doing. All those times she'd said "our families won't approve", and she'd meant his father, and he must have thought she meant hers. How long had he spent thinking her parents didn't like him, that she'd been avoiding their meeting for that reason?
He'd never have told her how much that had hurt. And how much worse, now, to know that she'd thought so little of his father, of his family? His family, who meant everything to him, like hers did to her.
Rose let herself fall backwards, onto a sofa which had appeared. She needed to process this. She needed to think.
Part 9 is here.
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