White Roses

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Rose stares at her wand and owl. Somehow it all seems surreal. Her mother turns to her and gives her a small smile as her father turns to talk to Uncle Harry. "How do you feel?" Her mother asks kindly with a smile stretching the lines on the side of her mouth. Her brother Hugo tugs at their mum's hand before leaving to talk to his cousins. "Are you scared?"

Nodding, Rose tucks a red strand of hair behind her ear. "You're bright Rose, you'll do fine, you know I was scared when I was your age, I remember all the people rushing around and then seeing how big the school is!"

"But what if I'm not in Gryffindor!" Rose's hands clench before she relaxes them. She looks down at her feet in embarrassment of her outburst. "Dad will never talk to me again." Her mum crouches down and lifts her head up so they can meet eyes. Rose always disliked the fact that she didn't have her mother's eyes. It wasn't that she didn't like her dad's blue, but her mum has the most beautiful eyes in her opinion.

"I will always love you and so will your dad. No matter what Rose, we will love you and I won't be disappointed regardless of what house you'll be put in."

"Even Slytherin?"

"Even Slytherin. You should know by your Dad and your Uncle Harry's stories that Slytherin is filled with greatness. Don't listen to your Dad's prejudice about some of the people, he's a little bit old fashioned." With that, Hermione kisses her daughter's forehead before standing up tall. "Now, you be good because I will be disappointed if you don't reflect the good manners I taught you, and don't be afraid to be intelligent."

"I don't want to stand out."

Hermione rolls her eyes at the old argument but still she smiles. "Say hello to Professor Longbottom for me."

"Yes, Mum."

"Now, have you got everything?" A kid bumps into her in their rush to get onto the train. Rose's eyes dart to the clock, she has a minute or two left.

"Yes."

"Give me one last hug ok?" Rose throws her arms around her mother's waist and buries her head in her stomach as tears bite her eyes. "We'll write ok? And you look after your owl, he's a good owl. Remember that we love you and...be yourself sweetheart, if anyone cares then they're not worth being friends with." With one last squeeze and a quick hug by her father, Rose grabs her things and climbs onto the train.

She watches as different students climbs on after her arranging in different ages and by some of their clothes, different houses. Every now and again she caught eyes with one of her cousin's.

She watched as most of them all climbed into the same two compartments together. She would have joined them, but in the holidays she'd noticed that none of them had invited her to sit with them for her first trip, unlike Albus who'd been invited as soon as his letter had arrived.

She hurries past and instead pulls at her luggage and watches the train begin to move. She gives one last wave to her parents through a window. Her mum saw her, but her dad was too busy talking to Uncle George.

Sad, she walks down the quickly emptying hallway, shyly looking for a spare carriage to sit and read in. She scratches nervously at her neck and feels her stomach twist. There's no spare ones, she realises as she finally comes to the end. The last one has a timid looking girl sitting with her things at her feet, looking out the window.

With a shaking hand, she opens the door and steps in. "Do...you, err, mind?" Rose asks with her forehead twisted and crumpled as she tries to unsuccessfully to hide her nervous emotions.

The girl jumps and adjusts her pale blonde plait. Rose looks at the plait, its clumsily done and looks at though the girl did it herself without looking at a mirror. Her clothes are a little too big for her and show tears and well worn holes here and there, as well as faded spots. "No it's fine," The girl mutters.

Rose pulls her stuff in and sees that the girl has a kitten sitting upon her lap, it's multicoloured with gold eyes and sleeps in a curled up position, purring, as the girl strokes its back and scratches behinds its flicking ears.

Rose's owl is dark, also with gold eyes, but he sleeps in his cage and every now and again gives a soft, strange sound.

"I'm Rose," she says sitting down in front of the girl and fixing her clothes. "Do you know what house you'll be in?" The girl looks at her confused.

"House?"

Biting her lip, Rose tries to figure out the most tactful way of asking. "Did your parents go to a school like...Hogwarts?"

"I live with foster parents."

"Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's ok," the girl interrupts with a soft smile. "My name's Amelia by the way."

"That's a pretty name," Rose replies, "I wanted to be called Amelia when I was little because of this princess in a book who had red hair like me. I thought it was better then 'Rose'." The girl smiles in return. "So you don't know about the houses?" Amelia shakes her head. "Well, the houses are like this. There's Gryffindor which is the brave house - my entire family's Ialways/I been in there, and then there's Ravenclaw which is the smart one. Mum was almost in Ravenclaw, and then there's Hufflepuff, they're loyal friends to the end, and then there's Slytherin, who's ambitious and...ah, cunning." Rose finishes quickly as the girl looks at her with a sad expression.

"Oh...I don't think I belong in any of those houses," Amelia whispers softly.

"It's ok, you don't decide and there's no difficult test or anything. There's a Hat and it decides by reading your thoughts...it's magic...I guess."

"What happens if you don't fit in anywhere, do they make you go home?" Rose looks over the girl, her eyes are opened wide, but kind of haunted like how Uncle Harry sometimes looks when you leave him alone, Aunty Ginny has to sometimes take him home.

"No, then you'll come with me and we'll make out own house."

"Our own house?"

"Yeah, we'll call it...Amose!"

"That sounds like saying 'A nose'!"

"Exactly!" Rose exclaims, "it's on the nose!" They giggle before someone knocks on the door.

"Food from the trolley?" Rose stands up and pulls out the coins her dad had given her after saying that this was the real beginning of his and Uncle Harry's friendship. "Dear?" The woman asks looking at Amelia. She blushes and hides her head, it's obvious to both of them by only looking at what she's wearing, that Amelia can't afford anything.

"What do you want?" Rose asks. "I think Bertie Bots Every Flavour Beans and some chocolate frogs? Oh and one of the twizzlers!" She hands over the money before turning to Amelia and sitting on the same seat with her to lay out the candy between them. "Now Bertie Bots really does mean Ievery flavour/I and you have to be careful with the frogs because they're charmed to jump out."

Amelia's mouth falls open. "R-really?" Rose nods enthusiastically. She opens a packet and shows her as the frog suddenly jumps out and squirms around the room before becoming still as the charm wears off. Picking it up, she dusts it off and shows her again. "See, it's just chocolate."

"I didn't think magic...would be this cool." Rose grins at her and bites the head off the frog with a wink.

"Just wait until we go to Hogwarts, it's going to be amazing!" Amelia ducks her head but smiles softly before Rose pushes a Chocolate Frog to her, "you can collect the cards too, here, this is Hecate, she's pretty awesome."

"Thank you."

"It's no problem, honestly. Did you read the books they got us to buy?" She shakes her head and Rose smiles at her before digging through her own bags. "This is my mum's copy of Hogwarts: a History, she has two. This one was second hand so she wrote all these notes in it and...I read it and it's pretty cool, it has secrets in it and stuff." She scratches at her neck nervously, "and um, Mum is sort of like you. When she came to Hogwarts she didn't know much about magic, her parents weren't magical but that didn't stop her being the greatest witch in her year."

"Do you think I could be a...great witch?"

"Yep."

"Even if I don't know...much?"

"To be honest, mum says that people who grow up in the Wizard's world think they know everything and get lazy, and when someone like you or mum comes along and they're curious and want to learn, they end up on top because they push themselves to go that extra mile...or whatever the saying is."

"I like you, you make me feel better."

"Good because I like you."

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Rose and Amelia stand together with wide, frightened eyes and watch as different people were called by their last names and placed on the stool. "I'm scared," Amelia whispers to her, "What if I get sent home or the hat doesn't like me?" Rose turns and looks at her.

"You won't, I promise nothing bad will happen," Rose grabs her hand and squeezes, "I won't let them, and if the hat doesn't like you then obviously he's stupid. But you heard the song, he's made from all the four founders, and they were lovely people from what I've read about them."

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

"My dad talks about his dad," Rose whispers, "but Mum never lets him finish, saying that he's changed since. I don't know what but I think they used to hate each other back at school or something."

"Slytherin!"

"Is that the evil house?" Amelia whispers, remembering bits and pieces of what Rose had said to her on the train.

"No, Slytherin is just for the ambitious and cunning remember? Don't worry the Hat will choose the right house for-"

"Morgan, Amelia."

"Good luck." Amelia shuts her eyes tightly and takes a breath. Rose gives a last squeeze before she watches her head to stool. She sits down and feels the hat placed on her head before it slips down onto her nose.

IOh, I see. Yes. Many things you've seen by your eyes...I see...clever, loyal, brave in times of need...yes...I see./I

Amelia's hands clench tightly on her dark robes, she feels a finger slice through a small hold to her embarrassment but still she clutches tighter. "I just want to be with Rose," she whispers. She feels The Hat move on her head and a nervous shiver runs down her body. The Hat continues to whisper to her as she's left alone in the dark. A tear of fright slips down her cheek, none of the others seemed to be this long. Maybe it's just her, time seems to feel different to her.

II think,/I "Gryffindor!"

A house stands up and a roaring applause comes from them, just as they did for every other student sorted into their house. She feels the hat taken off by the short wizard, whose name escapes her. She quickly wipes the back of her hand on her cheek of any tears, before stumbling towards the table and sitting down at the very end. Someone pats her back, and she jolts nervously before realising the friendliness of it. Muttering a thanks, she turns and watches the last few students get sorted.

"Weasley, Rose."

Rose scrunches her hands tightly into a ball before relaxing them again. Taking a deep breath, she walks to stool trying to remember her mum telling her that it doesn't matter what house she gets into. The hat's placed on and her eyes give a last look to Amelia. It only takes a brush of the hat upon her red tangled curls before it shouts, "Gryffindor!" She feels the hat pulled off before she, grinning, almost runs to the seat next to her new friend and sits down, her hand grabbing Amelia's and squeezing as they both giggle.

"I told you that you'd get sorted well," she says softly.

"I'm not brave though," Amelia replies.

"I think you're more then you realise." Rose grins at her.

A woman stands up at the front table, her black hair is streaked with silver and tied back in a tight bun. On her nose is square glass that she looks over, giving both Rose and Amelia the feeling that she's carefully examining everyone. The woman certainly held respect without even needing to reach for it. "May the feast begin," she says with a small smile. Seemingly out of no where, plates of food appear on the tables to the fright of Amelia.

"Are you ok?" Rose asks concerned.

"Yeah, I mean I should be. After the ceiling, and the castle its self and moving portraits you'd think I'd expected this, but I didn't!" Amelia exclaims with a sloppy grin before reaching for the roast potatoes covered in salt and rosemary, "I guess you'll have to teach me stuff so I'm less scared."

Rose grins and takes a bite of the honey soy drumstick. When Rose looks back up, she's sees Amelia's plate piled high as if she'd never eat again. "Slow down Amelia!" She laughs, "we've still got dessert!"

Amelia, mid bite, looks at Rose with wide eyes. Swallowing she finally says, "there's dessert? I...have never had it before."

"You've never had dessert?" Rose asks softly. Amelia shakes her head and bites at the hot potato, "That's odd. Well, you'll enjoy it so just leave some room." Eagerly, they chatted with a few other first years sorted into the same house, as dessert finally arrived to the excitement of Amelia.

"I'm going to get fat!" She shouts as she bites happily into a custard tart. "This is delicious."

"You should try my grandmother's food, she knows how to cook the most delicious things, like every christmas we have this grand feast with all this food, kind of like here but it's different because it's the entire family."

Amelia looks sadly at her, "that sounds nice," she whispers, "I once had a foster family that had a feast for christmas but then I got moved around."

"Moved around?"

"Weird stuff kept happening and they thought I was possessed or something. Turns out it's just magic," she smiles tightly but Rose sees the pain.

"Hey think about it, now you spend all year here with me! It's going to be awesome."