The Eyes of the Wolf

Within two days, Scorpius had managed to get himself a cover for the holidays. Dante Zabini owed him quite a bit of homework, which meant that Scorpius was now "officially" spending Christmas at the Zabini house. Rose was slightly worried about what Mr Malfoy would say when he found out the truth, but Scorpius insisted that there was no other way.

'I'll tell him after Christmas and suffer the consequences then. He'll probably just cut my allowance for a couple of months.'

'But what if he contacts Mr Zabini while you're at our house?'

'He won't. The Zabinis live so far away, and besides, father'll be at the Bahamas until New Year.'

'Funny that Dante would need help with his homework, though,' Rose said. 'I thought he was kind of clever.'

'Oh, he doesn't. He's just lazy and very much into the ladies...' Scorpius winked in a way that made Rose superbly uncomfortable.

Not that it was bad, of course, but despite the zillions of romance novels and poems Rose had read in her life, she wasn’t sure she knew how to handle the stuff in real life. She wouldn't have minded having a try, but to her disappointment, she didn't meet Scorpius very often before the holidays, as he studied feverishly for the upcoming exams. Rose had never met anyone with such ambition before, and she suspected it had something to do with his frequent and bitter comments about how he had no intention of being a spoiled, rich kid for the rest of his life.

The morning after their last day of school dawned dull and grey. Most of the snow had melted in one night, and the ground was muddy and slippery. Rose and Scorpius shared a carriage to Hogsmeade with Titania and Dante Zabini, as Scorpius thought it would make their plan look more credible to anyone who knew his family. Dante disappeared straight away in the Hogwarts Express, and Rose and Scorpius found themselves sitting opposite James and Albus, who had their arms crossed and highly doubtful looks on their faces. Rose tried to start a conversation about a recent article in The Daily Prophet about Muggle mechanics making their way into the wizarding world, but Scorpius was locked in a silent staring match with James.

Hours crept by, and at some point Albus disappeared, apparently unable to stand the tension in the compartment. Titania vacated his spot almost immediately, but even she couldn't break the invisible barrier. Still, she was welcome company for Rose, who was growing increasingly nervous about meeting her family.

Several exhaustive hours later, the train slowed down and came to a halt at King's Cross station. People started swarming everywhere, but somehow they all managed to stay together and hop down on the misty platform. James steered them towards an emptier spot on the side, and Rose started scanning the surroundings for her family. Titania saw her mother right away and disappeared into the crowd with a quick goodbye. James looked slightly disappointed, but soon a big smile broke out on his face.

'Grandpa!'

Rose saw Grandpa Arthur making his way towards them, and she craned her neck to see if he had anyone with him. He didn't.

'James!' Grandpa hugged James and rumpled his hair. 'How'd your journey go, good? You've grown quite a bit. And Albus!'

Albus looked embarrassed at being subjected to a hug and a hair-rumpling as well.

'And little Rosie, come here!' Grandpa enveloped Rose in a warm hug. 'You look more like your mother every day, bless you. Oh, and this must be young Scorpius.' He pulled back, smiling like he always smiled when he saw a new peculiar Muggle invention.

'Pleasure, sir.'

'No need for formalities here!' Grandpa shook Scorpius's hand vigorously. 'Just call me Arthur. Welcome!'

'Thank you, si-, Arthur.'

'Now, let's go, the Anglia's waiting outside.' Grandpa took Apollo's cage and led them out. It was much warmer here than at Hogwarts, and Rose opened her jacket.

'So, what do you think of Grandpa?' she whispered to Scorpius.

'He's nice,' Scorpius said, but he seemed tense and wary.

The turquoise Ford Anglia had been cheerfully parked on the street under a "no parking" sign.

'In you go,' Grandpa said and pushed the owl cages in their owners' laps. 'Sorry, the baggage compartment's no good; I tried to install a wash basin there and it got a bit flooded.'

Rose grinned at Scorpius, who looked perplexed. Soon the car swung up into the sky, and the expression on Scorpius's face turned into shock.

'This thing flies?'

'Yeah, Grandpa had a flying car already when Mum and Dad were kids,' Rose replied and looked out of the window. Meadows and hills raced past, and whenever they passed a pond or a river, James and Albus put their hands out of the window so that the water mirrored two lone hands hovering in the air.

'Don't let Grandma Molly see you do that,' Grandpa warned and steered the car downwards. 'Almost there. James, Albus, you won't mind running home from Uncle Ron's, do you? I think we ought to land where our guest is staying.'

'Nope, won't mind,' James said. 'Although, I think I'll be flying.'

The car bumped down with a bang and stopped right by the porch. Rose was shaking so hard that she dropped her bag twice in trying to get out of the car. Scorpius exited the vehicle quietly, his eyes measuring the cottage and its environs. James and Albus paid no attention to him and mounted their brooms without further ado.

'See you!' James cried, and the brooms sped out of sight.

'Well, here we are.' Grandpa made a sweeping gesture with his hand. 'Weasley Cottage.'

'It's n-nice,' Scorpius said. Rose could see that it was not what he had expected. The sun had already set, but there were a number of lanterns on the ground, casting hazy orbs of light onto the house. Scorpius's eyes flicked from the vine-covered porch to the thatched roof, from the two Quidditch hoops to the quilts and bedspreads hanging on a clothesline bridging from the corner of the house to a nearby tree.

'Rosie!' The door opened, and Mum and Dad came to the porch, followed by Hugo, who was peeking shyly at the stranger behind them. Rose couldn't see Dad's face in the twilight, and she couldn't make out from his outline whether he was smiling or frowning. But he hadn't run to hug her like he usually did... Rose's lips were suddenly trembling so hard that she couldn't speak or breathe properly. She would not lose him over this.

And she ran. She didn't care if Scorpius thought she was loony, she just wanted to know that she still had her Dad. She flung her arms around his waist, which was all she could reach, and burst out crying.

Dad pulled her close and swayed her lightly. He smelled like leather, pie, and a little bit of Mum.

'It's fine, Rosie,' he said into her hair. He cupped Rose's face in his hands and looked into her eyes. 'Now, show me that Malfoy boy so that I can give him a good beating.'

'Dad!'

'Kidding, kidding!' Dad drew himself up, his blue eyes searching the party for Scorpius. Rose detached herself quickly and nodded at Scorpius, who looked ready to throw up.

'Dad, this is Scorpius. Scorpius, this is my Dad.'

'Ron Weasley, how do you do?' Dad stepped down from the porch and shook Scorpius's hand. Scorpius smiled twitchingly and kept nodding frantically, while Grandpa Weasley slapped him jovially on the back.

'There has to be something very special in this lad when Rosie's so wild about him!'

'Grandpa!' Rose felt her cheeks redden, but before she could say more, Mum was on her side.

'Don't I get a hug, sweetie?'

'Of course!' Rose buried her face on Mum's shoulder, which smelled like ink, parchment, and a little bit of Dad. Mum felt softer than before, and when Rose pulled away, she noticed that Mum had gained some weight. Tears were flowing down her face, and all of a sudden, she was sobbing.

'I missed you so much, sweetie...my Rosie...my sweet girl...' She hugged Rose again almost compulsively.

'Are you all right, Mum?' Rose asked, flummoxed, and sought out her Dad's eyes for help. He stepped over quickly and put his hand on Mum's shoulder.

'Hermione's fine, she's just a bit emotional these days,' he whispered and looked at Grandpa, whose eyes were twinkling. And then, Dad said it.

'Rosie, you're going to have a new sister or brother.'