Disclaimer:Because I am not J.K. Rowling, I do not own Harry Potter.

I haven't written a HP fic in AGES, which is odd, because you'd think the final film would have been an endless source of inspiration, but I kinda entered a Harry Potter Withdrawal where I stopped thinking about it for a while.

This idea came to me whilst reading several fics based around the new generation, and it got me thinking: In the HP universe, there seems to be a recurring theme of children/siblings being overshadowed by their parents/siblings, and it seems unlikely that the protagonists kids get off any easier. It's going to be a pretty odd upbringing to have famous parents, after all. Hence, this'll be a pretty angsty fic at times, but I'll try not to make it TOO doom and gloom. Not particularly a pairing fic (since most people in it are COUSINS.) I decided to do Rose Weasley first, I'll get around to everyone else later. Feel free to let me know which person you'd prefer me to do next. :)

Enjoy!

Her parents said named her Rose because they knew that she would grow into something beautiful, into somebody who was amazing. Rose always wanted to ask them how they could possibly know something like that, just by looking at her.

Maybe they only knew it because they were her parents.

If you're not a Gryffindor, we'll disown you. But no pressure.

Of course. The daughter of a Weasley couldn't possibly be anything else, right? All Weasleys were courageous and would die for their friends, wasn't her father testament to that? Her uncle, her aunt, her whole family? Even mum was a Gryffindor, and she stood along with Dad and Uncle Harry as a Wizarding legend. Harry Potter. Ron Weasley. Hermione Granger.

It wasn't fair.

Roses were the flowers of love, everybody knew that. Rose wondered if her parents had bore that in mind when naming her as well, as some kind of living testament to their relationship, but she doubted if her father was particularly interested in the etymology of her name, and her mother generally took a practical approach to these things.

And already, before she'd even started school, her parents were already, albeit unintentionally, telling her who she should be. Who to befriend. Where to go. It made her simmer with resentment. She loved her parents, she did, but there were times when she hated being Rose Weasley.

Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank god you inherited your mother's brains.

Dad probably thought he was being funny, but Rose didn't. She was a bright girl, but she had no interest in being exactly like her mother had been, studying religiously for every single test, doing homework weeks before it was due, going into a catatonic panic every single time she failed to answer a question. She wanted to learn, certainly, because she was curious about the new world that was about to open up to her, but she didn't want to be "The Smart Girl" and have done with it. As for Scorpius Malfoy, she didn't even knowhim. Certainly not enough to consider him a nemesis.

Rose watched silently as the platform vanished from sight, and then followed along after the Potter children to an empty compartment, lost in thought. She sat down, Albus and James' bickering becoming background noise to her. She was used to it- she had grown up with them, after all.

Everyone wanted a new generation of heroes. James, Albus, Lily. Herself and Hugo. Lorcan and Lysander. Victoire, Dominique and Louis. Lucy and Molly. Roxanne and Fred.

Rose stared out at the countryside as it blurred by, taking comfort in the rhythmic puffing of the train. It was almost as if it was breathing, like she was riding in the belly of a friendly dragon. The air was buzzing with conversation, but she could feel the excitement in the air from all the other first years, tangible as fresh paint.

"You know, Al, green would suit you." James was saying, with a little smirk in Albus' direction. "Really would bring out the color of your eyes."

He said the last part in a mocking, sing-song voice, as he knew that it embarrassed Al when strangers gushed about his inheritance of the famous Potter eyes, but Rose could hear the jealousy behind the teasing. Despite being Harry Potter's firstborn son, James wants everythingabout him to be special and he hates it when he thinks he's not the center of attention. Especially when he feels like he's being upstaged by his little brother.

"Shut up!" Albus whined, wanting to be able to curse his brother so his lips sealed shut. Or maybe vanish into the ground. Either one of them would do, really. He wasn't brave like James was, and Rose knew he hated himself for that.

Rose Weasley was a clever girl. And she knew that if she followed along with her father's jokey warning, then the rest of her school career might as well be written down now just to save time. Everyone would expect the daughter of Hermione Granger to be the smartest girl in the year, the best mind to enter Gryffindor since her mother had before her. The other houses may feel the same way, but Ravenclaws were all clever, so she wouldn't stand out as being just "the smart girl". Hufflepuff may be a nice change of place- less competitive, somehow. You can't very well have a contest to see who is the most loyal, after all. As for Slytherin, Rose found that, despite the stigma that was still attached to the House to this day, she found herself being intrigued by it as well as anxious. Who ever heard of a Weasley being in Slytherin?

So when Rose sat upon the stool and had the Hat lowered onto her head, she knew exactly what she wanted.

Another Weasley, hm?

That's right.

You seem angry about that.

I am. I'm sick of being defined by who my parents are. I don't want to be defined by the past. I want the future.

Well, you certainly aren't wanting for ambition, Rose Weasley. And there's a great deal of intelligence...a strong sense of who you are.

You can see inside my head.

Rose told the Hat. And a great Wizard once said, it's the choices we make that define who are. You know where I don't want to be.

Indeed. Well, then...

And the Hat's stitched mouth opened, and cried out;

"RAVENCLAW!"

I had something angstier planned for this, originally, but I think it works out nicely here.

If you have time, please review.