Family dinner

A week later, Scorpius was once again taken out of his cell, chained and handcuffed.

"What is it this time? Are we going somewhere else for a beating?" Scorpius asked as the guards started pushing him towards the exit doors.

"Don't tempt me, Death Eater. As far as I am concerned, you are the worst scum on the planet. Taking advantage of young women, torturing them." The guard sneered as he gave him an extra forceful push. "But I don't want to lose my job just for you. You'll get worse where you are going."

Scorpius was led out of the prison. The bright sunlight burned his eyes as he breathed fresh air for the first time in weeks. The guards didn't stop to let his eyes adjust, just pushed him along towards the entrance.

Scorpius started to be a little nervous now. If they were leaving the prison, he doubted it was a good sign. But the guards seemed annoyed at taking him out, and he thought they'd be thrilled if he was going somewhere miserable.

"Where are we going? What is happening?"

"You shut your mouth, traitor. You'll find out soon enough."

Harry waited for him outside. The guard didn't look pleased to see him.

"Here is your man. Don't lose his chains now, he's a flight risk, remember. Don't know why you insist on taking him anywhere."

"Let me worry about that. He is my responsibility for today. There is somewhere we need to be," Harry replied coldly.

"Have him back at 10, or he is a run-away." The guard left, after one last tug on the chains that made Scorpius stumble.

"What's happening?" Scorpius asked again, slightly more worried. "I thought my trial wasn't for two more weeks?"

"It's not. But you have been granted a one-day leave. Under my supervision. Come. We need to get going." Harry looked a lot more friendly now that the guard had left.

"Leave? But where are we going?"

"You'll see," Harry said with a small smile.

"Will Rose be there?"

"Yes."

"Very well then. Lead on." Scorpius walked as well as he could, with chained legs.

They Disapparated and appeared on a hill. An awfully familiar one. On the other side, he could just make out the outline of the Burrow.

"Oh no!" Scorpius exclaimed as he recognised it. "What are we doing here?"

"Family dinner," Harry said. "We are summoned. It is both risky and impolite to refuse."

"Family? Then what am I doing here?"

"Most of them already consider you family. Don't worry, they all know you are coming. In fact, you are the guest of honour."

"They all know I am coming?" Scorpius asked incredulously. "Even the Minister?"

"Fine. Everyone except Hermione knows you are coming."

"Great. She will not be happy to see me. Though maybe the chains will please her."

"We made sure to arrive before her. This way, you are already there, and seated when she comes. She then has the choice of sitting with us or leaving. We will see whether her desire to see her daughter is stronger than her resentment of you."

"Resentment? I'd call it hate," Scorpius sighed. "I hate being the reason for all this family drama. You have always been this tight-knit loving family. I've split it in two."

"Don't worry. We will get over it. Now, if you want, I could bring you back to the prison. They would all be very disappointed, especially Rose, but it is your choice."

Scorpius took a deep breath. "Very well. Lead on. Why do I feel more nervous about this than when I did my O.W.Ls? I have done and seen worse than this. It is just dinner. Silver lining in everything." Scorpius had to stop himself from babbling on further. Just dinner. With the most famous family in the Wizarding world, and people he wanted as potential in-laws. And at least one of them wanted him imprisoned for life. Just dinner.

"That's the spirit. Now let us go find Rose," Harry said.

They didn't have to go far. They had only just crossed the hilltop when they saw a figure running towards them.

Rose ran right up the hill and jumped onto Scorpius jubilantly. He, unable to keep his balance very well, or catch his fall with the chains on, ended up on the ground. But he was smiling and laughing anyway.

After a lengthy embrace, and possibly a hidden kiss, Rose helped him to his feet. "Come on, everyone is so excited to see you."

"At least someone is. I can't say I expected to meet your family properly for the first time in chains."

"Don't worry about that now. They are waiting."

They walked down the hill and entered the Burrow. Albus and James both ran up and hugged him.

"It is so good to see you both. I hear you have been busy. Thank you for not giving up on me." Scorpius looked to Ginny, who had just entered the room. "Thank you, Mrs. Potter, for what you did for Rose and me. I believe we owe you our lives."

"Call me Ginny, please. Mrs. Potter sounds so formal. Anyone who has saved the lives of my children deserves to call me Ginny," she smiled. "As for saving lives, I believe we are still in your debt on that account. Dinner's almost ready. Let's get you all seated."

They all walked into the kitchen, where a surprising number of chairs were able to fit in the small room. It looked a lot bigger than it should be, considering the size of the house.

Molly was busying herself in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the food. She turned around when they entered.

"Scorpius! It is so nice to meet you properly. I am sorry for the misunderstanding last time."

"It is nice to meet you too, Mrs. Weasley. As for last time, it was quite understandable. I know how it must have looked. I don't blame either of you for that. I am sorry I jumped out of your window though. Thank you for inviting me, it was very kind of you."

"Oh, that is nice of you to say, and I am glad you were able to come. But it is Rose you should thank. It is all her idea."

Rose beamed at them. Molly looked at Harry. "Are those chains really necessary?"

"Not at all." Harry replied. "Don't worry, I will remove them before we start eating. For now, they work as a visual, until we are all here."

"But why do they insist on chains? Do they still think you would run away?" Rose asked.

"They do it to punish me, I think. Most of them are not huge fans of Death Eaters that kept young women chained in their rooms. I suppose I shouldn't blame them for that…"

"Don't you dare say it like that!" Rose said sternly. "You are not a Death Eater. I don't let others call you that, and I won't hear it from you either."

"They believe I am. And it is what I am charged with. I mainly try not to give them any reason to get mad at me. But I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind," Scorpius said, though a small smile showed on his face when he saw Rose's indignation on his behalf. Knowing that she at least believed him had been the one thing that kept him going through his weeks of imprisonment.

"Well, let's get seated. You sit up here, Scorpius, next to Rose's chair. I suppose there is no need to keep you two apart," Molly said with a small smile.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius said as he moved to the chair she indicated.

They all got seated. They tried to talk about other things, but they were all a bit tense, waiting for Ron and Hermione to arrive. At last, they heard the door open. It became dead quiet.

"Mum! We're here!" they heard Ron shout.

"In the kitchen, Ron!" Molly shouted back.

James deliberately started talking. Albus joined in, and Rose made sure her voice was heard over the others. Scorpius kept his handcuffs up on the table. Ron and Hermione entered.

"Dad!" Rose ran up to Ron and gave him a hug.

"Rose! How great to see you! I was hoping you would come."

"I wouldn't want to miss one of Grandma's feasts," Rose said with a smile "Besides, there is someone you need to meet."

Ron looked up at Scorpius and smiled. Hermione, however, hadn't said a word. Nor had her eyes ever left Scorpius. He rose and extended his hand as far as his chains allowed.

"Hello Mr. Weasley. It is nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too, Madam Minister. I'd shake your hand, but..." He pointed to his chain.

Hermione kept standing in the doorway. No one said anything.

"Now come on in and sit down. The food is getting cold," Molly said.

Another pause.

"Mum. Please, sit down," Rose said, almost pleading.

Hermione stood there for about a minute longer. Then she turned around and left. Ron hesitated.

"I think Hermione may need me more than you guys do at the moment," he said.

"That may be. But she could use some time alone as well, to consider her options. Come. Sit down," Harry said.

Ron hesitated, but eventually sat down on Rose's other side. Harry was right. His daughter needed support just as much as his wife and he agreed with Rose and Albus regarding Scorpius innocence. She needed to know that. He dreaded what Hermione would say when he came home, but he didn't want to anger his daughter either, when this was only the second time he had seen her in weeks. He shook hands with Scorpius as he sat down.

"It is a pleasure to meet you finally, Scorpius. I don't think I have properly thanked you for saving my family. Both my daughter and my wife are safe thanks to you, though the latter may not admit that at the moment."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me. Though I am sorry for all the drama I have caused."

"Oh, she'll get over it," Molly said. "Now, let us eat."

"Good. I am so hungry I could eat a hippogriff," Ron stated.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Ginny asked sarcastically.

They all laughed. And just like that, the tension was broken. Harry quickly removed Scorpius' handcuffs and chains, and they all started eating. This occupied him for the next 15 minutes at the least. He had never tasted anything as amazing as this.

"This all tastes fantastic Mrs. Weasley. I have heard stories about your food, but this is better than what anyone could describe," Scorpius said while taking a second helping of potatoes.

"So glad you like it. Oh, make sure you eat as much as you want. I'm sure you don't get enough to eat where you are now."

"Oh, I've had worse. But it is a bit repetitive. It is a good way to know what day of the week it is though."

"Let us talk about other things today," Rose said. "Happier things."

"As you wish. Though I can't think of many happy things to say at the moment," Scorpius admitted.

"The point of this dinner is for all of us to get to know you better. So, tell us about yourself," Arthur suggested.

"What is there to say? You know all about my family of course. I'm not sure that would qualify as a happy subject." Scorpius struggled to find anything to say.

"I want to talk about you, not your family. Rose speaks very highly of you,"

"She exaggerates, I'm sure," Scorpius said, looking down on his feet.

"Don't be so modest, Scorpius. You have an excellent brain, and a good heart," Rose said.

Scorpius blushed. He had never been good at this kind of thing.

"You won't get him to say high praise about himself. That is why I am here to do it for him," Albus grinned.

And with that he went into great detail about how they had become friends at Hogwarts, and all the fun things they had done. He exaggerated of course, and they all knew it. But it got the conversation going, and soon they all talked freely and happily. Scorpius had rarely had such an experience. He and his father lived alone and rarely had anyone over. Not even when his mother was alive had they gathered many people at once. The only time he ate together with many people was at Hogwarts and that was not like this.

"But how can this room be so big? From the outside, this room doesn't look large enough for all of us," Scorpius asked at last.

"It is an Extension charm," Molly explained. "Once my children grew up and started having their own children, I knew that if I ever wanted to gather us all in one place, I needed more room. It was Hermione who gave me the idea actually, when she explained how she fixed her small, beaded bag when they were searching for Horcruxes. You also see it in many magical cars, like the ones the Ministry uses. This room always extends just as far as we need it to be, depending on how many family members that arrive. If someone from the family comes unexpectedly, more chairs pop up automatically. If some of us have friends over, we take chairs from the living room. But if we are more than just family, we usually eat out in the garden."

"Such a great idea. I'm honoured to be allowed in the kitchen and not the garden. I suppose when you have a big family, you need to do things like that. And not everyone can afford a huge house, just because they need room for all the family. I-I didn't mean--" He realised what he just said.

"I quite understand what you mean, and you are right. Besides, this house is special to us, and a lot more interesting than just a boring manor," Molly assured him.

"That is certainly true," Scorpius agreed. "This house really is one of a kind."

"Well, you are welcome here anytime you want. As far as I am concerned, you are family," Molly said, smiling at Scorpius. He blushed again, looking down on his plate. He wasn't used to all this kindness from so many people at once.

"I am sorry to break up this happy gathering, but Scorpius and I need to go now," Harry said.

"Already?" Rose said, holding tightly to Scorpius.

"It has been nearly 6 hours, Rose. Sadly, the curfew is at 10 in the prison."

"Lights out at 11" Scorpius said as he rose. "I cannot thank all of you enough. The fact that you are all here, inviting me into your family without hesitation, believing in me… It means more than I can ever say. Thank you. This has been one of the best days of my life. For the first time in a long while, I have been able to relax and forget all our troubles. I just… Thank you."

"I think we are the ones who should say thank you," Arthur protested. "Many of the people around this table owe their lives to you. As for the trial, I wouldn't worry overly much. Haven't you read your letters?"

"Letters? I haven't gotten any letters," Scorpius said, confused.

"Really? I wonder why the prison would keep them from you. You should ask for them tomorrow. Anyway, there have been over 200 appeals sent to the Ministry saying that the charges against you are unfair, and that you should be released immediately."

Scorpius jumped back in shock. "You- you mean people actually believe in me?"

"Of course. Most people seem to think you are quite the hero."

Scorpius' mouth fell open. He couldn't believe it.

"Sorry, we really got to go," Harry said again.

"I'll go with you," Rose decided. "As far as I can anyway." She ran over and hugged Molly. "Thank you for allowing this to happen Grandma."

"Of course, dear. It was great seeing you again. Don't be a stranger, please."

Albus and James also got up and hugged farewell. Scorpius thanked them all once again before walking over the hill with Rose in hand, and Harry walking behind them.

"I'm sorry, but we need to put these on before we Apparate back," Harry said, as he held up the chains and handcuffs.

Rose's smile faltered slightly.

"Of course. I understand," Scorpius said. One last hug and kiss from Rose, then he put his hands out.

"Can you wait until I leave, please. I hate seeing you in chains like that," Rose said, looking away.

"Probably as much as I hated having you in chains," Scorpius said, hugging her again.

"Then you must leave now Rose. We are already running a bit late," Harry said,

"Thank you for helping me let this night happen Uncle Harry." She gave him a hug, and Scorpius yet another last hug.

"It was my pleasure. It is good to see you so happy again," Harry said.

And with that, Rose was gone. Harry started reattaching the chains.

"Well. We need to get going. If anyone asks, you absolutely wore this all the time," Harry reminded him.

"How would I then be able to eat?" Scorpius asked.

"You could say Rose fed you with a spoon?" Harry laughed. "No. We unchained one hand so you could eat. But not the feet. The guards really don't like you, do they?"

"Of course, we didn't take the foot chain off. That would be very irresponsible of you. And the guards are not a huge fan of Death Eaters that take advantage of young women. They rarely let a chance to tell me that slip away from them."

Scorpius took Harry's hand in his. "Thank you. Thank you for believing in me and organising this night for me."

"Just remember this in two weeks," Harry said.

"Why?"

"Because I will most likely be the interrogator at your trial. And I won't be as friendly," Harry reminded him as he put the handcuffs back on.

"Well, better you than the Minister. She wouldn't listen to reason no matter what we said."

"That's exactly what I think as well. But I have to look at both sides, Scorpius. I must be objective."

"I understand Albus will witness for me. Won't that be a problem?"

"Albus is not an accused. So, it will be fine. But just in advance: I am sorry. I hope we don't send you to Azkaban, and it would take a lot for me to vote in favour of sending you there. But I am not the only vote."

"Understood. But for now, I just want to enjoy the memories of this day. And I would hate to have it tarnished by getting a lecture, or worse, for being late. So, can we get going?"

Harry nodded, and with a light touch on Scorpius' arm, they Apparated away from the Burrow. Scorpius hoped that it would not be the last time he saw it.