‘Amelia, I said I’m fine! You don’t have to get worried every time I wince, alright?’ Scorpius rolled his eyes at her as they left the last period of potions together.

 A week had passed since the meeting with their parents and the news of Scorpius and James’ fight and near expulsion had spread like wild fire. A few people made rather loud comments when Scorpius and Amelia walked down the corridor. Scorpius had given up on telling them to mind their own business after Amelia had glared at him when he was about to start a fight with a sixth year.

‘Well, you obviously wince because you’re in pain. I’m sorry for even trying to care about you, Scorp,’ Amelia sighed, wrapping her arm around his waist. Her hand pressed on his side and he managed to stifle a groan but she did hear it and took his hand instead, ‘actually, I’m not sorry. I’ll care either way.’

‘I wish you’d stop,’ Scorpius admitted. He let her entwine their fingers together as they walked out of the doors of Hogwarts.

‘I wish you’d stop being so uptight about me caring about you,’ Amelia retorted, and squeezed his hand when it looked like he was going to talk back, ‘let’s go to the lake, alright?’

‘It’s so cold though,’ complained Scorpius, looking around to see that no one else was outside, ‘we should go back in, don’t you think?’

‘But it’s so nice and quiet out here... just to be away from the others. You know what we should do?’ she glanced at him fleetingly and looked in front of them. The lake was stretching out and they stopped just at the foot of it. She looked into the water to see their reflection and smiled.

‘What do you think we should do?’ Scorpius muttered, looking at her reflection in the calming water. He watched as Amelia played with the tips of her long, beautiful hair.

‘Let’s go to Hogsmeade. Just for a drink,’ she suggested, and turned to look at the side of his face, ‘what time is it?’

‘Just after four.’

‘Then that’s exactly what we should do!’ Amelia nodded enthusiastically and pulled him by the hand, ‘we can just walk up there and get a drink. No one has to know we were even gone!’

‘I don’t feel like it...’ Scorpius mumbled, looking back at the castle as Amelia pulled him regardless.

‘Oh, come on, Scorpius. One drink. On me.’ Amelia smiled, hooking her arm through his and leaning against him as they walked.

‘I’ll buy the drinks,’ he sighed. They left the Hogwarts gates easily since they were unlocked and started to walk down the windy road to Hogwarts. Scorpius frowned as they walked, ‘have you talked to Dominique lately? You still didn't tell me why you think she winked at me...’

‘Scorpius, do we have to-’ Amelia started, her eyes rolling before he had even finished his sentence.

‘Yes, we absolutely have to talk about it,’ he said with a little more force than he meant. Amelia quietened, glancing at him, and he sighed, ‘does she have... feelings for me or something?’

‘I guess you could say that...’ Amelia shrugged, ‘I talked to her about it and she said that she wanted to see you during the winter and that she thought we wouldn’t work out which is why she... I can’t believe her!’

‘Well, can you blame her? We did have a tough run, you know,’ Scorpius said, slinging an arm over her shoulder, ‘you should talk to her and just clear things up.’

‘It’s not a big deal,’ Amelia muttered, glancing around as they entered Hogsmeade. There were a couple of adults walking by and shopping but not many students that she could see in the street, ‘hurry up, Scorpius.’

‘Why are you in such a hurry?’ Scorpius asked, frowning as she pulled him towards the bar.

‘Okay, listen to me,’ Amelia stopped him in front of the door to the bar. She stood so that they were face to face and then she sighed, her hands clutching the front of his shirt, ‘Scorpius, you won’t like what’s about to happen but, please, just give it a chance?’

‘What are you talking about, Amelia?’ he asked, frowning. He took her face in his hands and they looked at each other. Amelia’s eyes showed a bit of worry and a lot of pleading as he just frowned at her.

‘Just give it a chance, is all I ask. I love you and I want you to be happy... even though you don’t see it right now, it can make you very happy. Just trust me,’ Amelia whispered, standing on her toes to kiss him.

Scorpius kissed her back but pulled away, still frowning at her. Amelia gave him a small smile and opened the door to the bar, walking in. After a bit of hesitation, he followed her in and let the bar doors swing shut behind him. The first thing he noticed that it was eerily empty except for a woman sitting in the corner and a man at the bar, wiping away glasses and watching as he walked in.

‘What drink do you want?’ Scorpius asked, laying a hand on Amelia’s waist.

‘How about we skip the drinks and talk to your mother instead?’ she asked, turning to him with a pleading look on her face again. Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows, mouthing the words ‘my mother’ until Amelia nodded her head at the woman in the corner.

The woman in the corner stood up and at first glance Scorpius didn't notice her, not until now. Of course it was Astoria Greengrass in her tight jeans, her white tank top, fitted jacket and designer bag. She had a fancy looking drink in front of her, obviously too posh for some firewhiskey thought Scorpius. Astoria lifted a hand in way of greeting but Scorpius was already shaking his head.

‘No, I’m not...’ Scorpius trailed off, under his breath.

‘Come on. Give her a chance and you’ll see how nice of a person she is. Scorpius, please?’ Amelia asked, imploring to him with her wide eyes. She set a hand on his arm, ‘please, Scorp?’

‘I said NO,’ Scorpius said firmly, grabbing her arm and moving it forcefully away from him. He didn't say it loud but he said it with enough force to make Amelia flinch a little.

‘If not for her or yourself, at least do it for me?’ Amelia asked, not daring to touch his arm again. Scorpius stopped, looking at his mother who was just staring at him with a touch of worry on her face.

‘Only for you,’ he mumbled without looking at her and then walked over to his mother in the corner. Astoria raised her eyebrows as he walked over but Amelia was sure that she saw a little bit of joy on her face. Amelia followed Scorpius and sat down in front of Astoria.

‘I still can’t believe the child I had would be this handsome,’ Astoria smiled at Scorpius who only glared at her. Amelia slowly moved her hand under the table to take his but found his thigh instead. Scorpius raised his eyebrow at Amelia’s suggestive moves, looking a little like Astoria, and Amelia blushed bright red.

‘Don’t worry. I like it,’ Scorpius assured her, winking. Astoria watched the two of them with a small smile dancing on her lips, she thought they looked perfect together. Scorpius actually looked happy around Amelia.

‘I didn't mean to...’ Amelia muttered but then shook her head, keeping her hands to herself, ‘Miss Greengrass-’

‘Call me Astoria,’ Astoria smiled.

‘Okay, Astoria, I was just-’ Amelia was cut off by Scorpius, who had sneaked over and held her hand.

‘Why did you leave my father and me?’ Scorpius asked, suddenly, staring right at her from across the table.

Astoria opened her mouth to answer or stall or just say anything but she felt it dry up. She took a sip of her drink, looking down into the glass for a while. Amelia rubbed Scorpius’ arm and moved a little closer to him so that she could hook her arm around his. He didn't turn to her at all, just stared on at his mother opposite him.

‘I can’t justify my actions,’ Astoria said after a long pause. She trailed one smooth nail across the brim of her glass and spoke, ‘I shouldn’t have left. I know that and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn't know just how much I was giving up when I left you and now I look at you, all grown up, with a girlfriend and it kills me that I wasn’t a part of your future and-’

‘Save the bull for yourself,’ Scorpius said, rudely but Amelia didn't have the heart to stop him. He shook his head, ‘I don’t care if you wish you were there. I care that you weren’t there when I needed you. I want the whole story, right now. Why did you leave me with my father?’

Astoria looked into the eyes that looked exactly like her ex-husbands, the exact rage that she saw seventeen years ago leaving Draco was now mirrored in her sons eyes. She hated it which is why she let everything tumble from her lips out into the open while Scorpius stared, listened, barely felt Amelia next to him.

‘When Draco and I got married, we were madly in what we wrongly assumed was love. It was mostly, uh, physical love but at that time, after the war, we didn't care. We enjoyed being with each other which is why we got married. We lived together and I got pregnant so quickly... I remember it, actually. I remember using the pregnancy test and flipping it to find out that it was positive... I remember wondering how the hell could this happen... I remember your father freaking out at me, wanting me to check again and again. To keep the peace in his mind, I took the test again and it said I was definitely pregnant. Then... everything went downhill.’

Astoria took a sip of her drink and Amelia was shocked to see that a single tear splashed onto the table. Scorpius just narrowed his eyes at his mother.

‘We were living together, we were legally married, but we were so far apart from each other during the whole pregnancy. We fought uncontrollably,’ Astoria admitted and they saw her rub the top of her arm as though there was some sort of bruise there. Scorpius’ eyes widened, wondering if that meant that Draco had physically harmed her. Astoria let her hand drop and wipe away tears, ‘I-I wanted to leave, I needed to leave! I know that I would have harmed myself or you whilst I stayed with him, I just knew it and... he wouldn’t touch me after he found out that I was pregnant. He talked about her a lot...’

‘My mother,’ Amelia wondered out loud and Astoria just nodded.

‘It drove me crazy. He would talk about her without mentioning her name all the time; when we were eating, about to go to sleep, having friends over, having tea. Any time he had the chance, he would talk about her. At first I didn't know who he was talking about since he only called her ‘this girl I knew’ and then I found out. We had given up sleeping in the same bed and I told him to sleep on the sofa. One night I got up to get a drink of water and heard him mumbling in his sleep. I listened in and... he was talking about Hermione Granger in his sleep. It killed me. I was seven or right months pregnant when I left him...’

‘Where did you go?’ Scorpius asked, leaving Amelia’s arm and rubbing his face with the palm of his hand.

‘To my sisters,’ Astoria replied.

‘Why did you give me to him? Why didn't you keep me?’ asked Scorpius, shaking his head furiously, ‘my life would have been so different!’

‘The idea of supporting a baby when I couldn't support myself was daunting. I just couldn't do it! I would have went to France and lived there which would have meant that you wouldn’t be going to Hogwarts. You would not have met any of your friends... or Amelia,’ Astoria reminded him, ‘yes, your life would have been different. It would have been worse.’

‘I would have had a mother,’ Scorpius muttered.

‘I love you so much, Scorpius, and if I could go back-’ Astoria proclaimed but she was cut off as Scorpius stood up angrily and slashed his hand across the drink in her hand, making it crash onto the ground. He leaned forwards with a menacing look as Amelia covered her mouth with her hand.

‘You’ve only seen me once... ONCE. You have no right to come back into my life! Especially not when I’m finally happy with someone and not when I’m going to leave to start my own life!’ Scorpius yelled at her, slamming his fist onto the table and making the two girls jump, ‘IT’S TOO LATE TO GO BACK!’

‘Scorpius, d-don’t...’ Amelia whispered from behind her hand. She desperately wanted to stop him but seeing him this angry scared her beyond anything.

‘I hate you, do you understand that?! Don’t you dare talk to me OR AMELIA!’ Scorpius bellowed into her face, ‘get out of my life!’

Amelia finally lifted a hand and barely touched his shoulder when Scorpius turned around instantly and kept his face close to hers, the anger burning anew in his eyes.

‘Only I know how much I love you, Amelia, but why don’t you let me do what I want to do? I’m perfectly capable of knowing when things are right or wrong for me,’ Scorpius glared at her, ‘don’t get in the middle of my business again.’

‘I was trying to help,’ Amelia squeaked, cowering from his gaze. She hoped his eyes would soften a little but he only looked angrier than before. He raised a hand, closing his eyes as though fed up of people talking to him. Amelia bit her lip.

‘Just... stop, if you know what’s good for you,’ Scorpius muttered, ‘I don’t want to talk to you or my whore of a mother or drunk of a father or those friends that say they’re there for me. Just... stay away from me.’

Scorpius glared at Astoria, who had her jaw hanging open, and he left the bar without another word. Amelia collapsed into the chair, holding her head in her hands, knowing she had made the worst possible mistake she could ever make.

‘I’m sorry this didn't work out. Give him a couple of days and I assure you, he will come back to you,’ Astoria said after a long pause where she tried to control herself. She sighed, grabbing her purse, ‘he loves you too much to let you walk away.’

And with those words, Astoria Greengrass left the pub with eyes ready to explode with tears the second she got home.