Never Be The Same {SCOROSE}

Chapter 22 - Rose

Three
Months
Later

It was the beginning of October. I had not seen Scorpius since the night I left him in the tower, I was well into my second trimester, and I was really doing rather well. Everything was going perfectly normal with the pregnancy, and my mum was ready and willing to provide whatever help and support I needed.

Dad and Hugo were another story. My father had at first glance seemed at least marginally alright with the situation, but when I moved back in it became quickly evident that he certainly resented my decisions to a certain level. He never directly said anything, but I could see it on his face the second Mum said something about ‘the baby,’ or motherhood, or anything in that area.

Hugo… Hugo was angry. Not just quietly upset like Dad. Real, harsh anger. He had hardly said a word to me since I told him. He hated me, and it hurt like hell. 

“There’s something you should know,” I said quietly.

My brother shifted restlessly in the doorway of my room. “What?”

“You might want to sit down.”

“I’ll stand.”

“I’m pregnant.”

He stared. “You’re fucking kidding me.”

I shook my head. 

“You… you and Malfoy… you’re… fuck, Rose. You can’t be serious.”

“Would I joke about something like this?”

Hugo ran a hand through his hair, a clearly upset expression. “Fuck, Rose. You’re such an idiot… How the hell could you be so stupid?”

Tears stung my eyes. “You think I chose this?”

“You slept with him, didn’t you? He’s a Malfoy, Rose. Our enemy, and a fucking player on top of that. And you let him inside of you. That was a stupid ass mistake.”

Before I could say another word, he had stormed away, and he made it immensely clear in the next few days that he wanted nothing to do with his idiotic, single, pregnant sister.

I sunk onto my bed with a sigh. I’d been able, in the month or so since Hugo had left for Hogwarts, to mentally recover from the strain that his presence had placed on me, but the knowledge of his feelings remained and at times still hurt me deeply. While I had by now grown used to my father’s brooding, I knew that my brother’s disdain would continue to be painful. 

There was a soft tap at my door. “May I come in, Rosie?”

It was my mum. “Yeah, sure.”

She shut the door behind her and came over to sit down beside me on the bed. “How are you doing?”

I shrugged. “Fine. I feel like I’m starting to get used to the extra weight.”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? To know you carry a life inside you.”

“Yes.”

“And sometimes, I know, quite scary.”

I nodded my head. Mum knew how it was - she been through this process two and a half times. I’d never known about the older sister I might have had until a month or so ago. Mum told me all of it. Her name was to be Molly, after Grandma. She would have been born in November of 2002. They lost her in August.

“Mum?” 

“Yes?”

“Do you think of Molly often?”

“Very.”

“It was the end of your second trimester, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

I fell silent. I had done my best not to think about the very frightening truth that not all pregnancies went as planned. According to my doctor, I had nothing to worry about, but still at times I grew anxious.

“Rose, have you thought much about… afterwards?”

When I glanced over at Mum’s face, she seemed… bothered. She had spoken in a cautious tone. What was this about?

“You mean, after the baby’s born?” She nodded. “Well… I’m going to take care of it. What’s there to think about?”

My mother bit her lip. “Are you sure you want to?”

“Want to what?”

“Take care of it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well I can’t exactly leave the child to fend for itself.”

“Of course not. But I just mean- you told me in the greenhouse that day that you wanted to do something with your life. When you have a child… they become your life. Motherhood, when your children are young, is a full time job. If you want to pursue a career… I don’t know if you’ll be able to manage it all.”

I tilted my head at her. “What exactly are you saying?”

“There’s an adoption agency St. Mungo’s can put us in contact with-”

“What? You want me to give away my baby!?” I stared at my mother, distraught. 

“I just want you to consider your options, Rosie-”

“No! Absolutely not. I’d die before I’d hand off my child to a stranger!”

“It wouldn’t have to be a stranger. You could meet people-”

“It’s not going to happen, Mum!”

She stood up, sighing. “It’s your decision. Just… think about it, alright?”

I huffed noncommittally. This was the most ridiculous thing anyone had said to me in my entire life. Give up the baby? Preposterous! Dad had probably put her up to it - he didn’t want a Malfoy in his household. A Malfoy…

I wondered in the depths of my heart why I was really so against the idea of adoption. Was it because I really desired to raise a child? Or was it because this child was not only mine, but Scorpius’? Was I holding on to the last fragment of the love I’d left behind?

At this point I had the thought that the father ought to have some say in what became of his child. But I knew that any contact I made with Scorpius would only hurt him, and I had already done quite enough in that regard. Still, perhaps there was a way to do this without too much pain.

I went over to the desk in the far corner, took out a pen and some notepaper, and began to write…