Rosette slid down the banister, nearly crashing into the front door. The cover slid off a portrait, who screamed at her, "FILTH! RUBBISH! UNWORTHY TO-"
"Oh, shut up," Rosette laughed, tossing the cover at the picture of her godfather's portrait. She was a naturally good-spirited girl, but today, nothing could put a damper on her good mood.
She bounded into Sirius's room, singing, "I'M WIDE AWAKE, I'M WIDE AWAKE!" at the top of her lungs.
Sirius threw a pillow at her.
Rosette jumped onto the bed, jumping as hard as she could. "Wake up! Wake up! We have to go to Hogwarts in three hours!"
Sirius mumbled something along the lines of, "I was late when I first went," and then, "and I can't go anyway, go ask Moony." He lifted his head when Rosette didn't move. "Do I have to go as a dog?" he asked blearily. "Really? This early in the morning?"
Rosette pulled the covers off of him and pushed him towards the end of the bed. "Come on!"
Sirius groaned, tumbled off the bed, and shapeshifted into a dog. He glared at her as if to say, "Happy now?"
Rosette laughed. "Come on Padfoot, let's go get Moony!" She bounced away, mentally picking through the dresses she could wear. "Would the green dress go with my eyes?" she pondered, twirling one of her curls with her finger.
Sirius morphed into a human. "You look just like your mother," he laughed. "And act like her too. Let's hope you don't fall in love with a Slytherin."
Rosette stopped. "What if I am a Slytherin?" she said uncertainly. "I mean, it's not a bad thing, but I want to be in Gryffindor, like you and Moony."
Sirius stopped and looked at her in disbelief. "Not a bad thing?"
"I mean, they're just normal witches and wizards," Rosette countered, pushing hair off her forehead revealing a small lightning-shaped scar. It was white, faded, but there. "They just have ambition, right? And cunning? That makes them good leaders."
Sirius shook his head. "How do you see the bright side in everything?" he asked, sounding like a teenager again.
"Because she's an optimist," Lupin chuckled, emerging from the kitchen. He was dressed. "Since you're going to be in animagus shape, you don't really need to get ready, do you, Sirius?"
Sirius shrugged. "Packed, Rosie?"
Rosette nodded. "I spent most of the last night checking what I've packed and added little things I forgot. I checked my supplies list eleven times!"
"And you counted," Sirius marveled.
Lupin grinned. "I remember doing the same thing, though. Ready?"
"Let me get my stuff!" Rosette yelled, heading upstairs.
"We're here!" Rosette squealed, jumping out of the car and running into King's Cross Station. All the Muggles looked at her like she was crazy, but she was too excited to care.
Lupin laughed behind her, pulling her stuff. Rosette's owl, a pretty black thing named Ashfire, hooted happily.
Sirius the dog trotted alongside her as she approached the center of Platforms 9 and 10. She grabbed her cart and waited for Sirius (as a dog) to pass through the barrier first.
Rosette ran through the barrier, her red curls flying wildly. She giggled as she got to the other side, reaching through the bars to touch Ashfire's beak. "Hey, girl," she cooed at the owl.
Lupin came through last, and he looked mildly dizzy.
Sirius, meanwhile, was sniffing all the people in a five-foot radius. It seemed his dog instincts had taken over, and Lupin and trying to drag him back, while Rosette was just laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.
Her green eyes glittered with excitement as she grasped the trolley again. "Good-bye Moony, good-bye Padfoot! I'll write to you three times a day!" And with that, she ran on board the train.
Lupin and Sirius stared after her, both laughing, mainly because they knew she was joking.
Rosette boarded the train after putting her luggage in the luggage compartment. Ashfire was not happy about that, but Rosette didn't care.
Rosette bounced down the train, and nearly bounced into a blond-haired boy.
"Hey, watch it!" he snarled, crossing his arms. On either side of him stood another boy.
Rosette just smiled at him. Again, no one could ruin her good mood. She was going to Hogwarts! "Don't be in the way!" she bounced down the aisle again.
She saw a compartment with one girl in there. She had bushy brown hair and seemed kind of lonely. Rosette pushed open the compartment door open with a bang, and the girl jumped, dropping the book she was holding.
"Hi, what's your name? I'm Rosette, but you can call me Rose. What House do you think you'll be in? I hope it's Gryffindor-"
Rosette stopped. "What's your name?"
The girl was looking at her oddly, leaning down to pick up the book she had dropped. "I'm Hermione Granger."
"I'm Rosette Potter. Call me Rose," Rosette said cheerfully. "Why aren't you smiling and grinning and bouncing off the walls like you just ate a box of Chocolate Frogs?"
"Why are you?" Hermione pointed out, opening her book. Rosette noted Hermione was already in her Hogwarts robes.
"Because we're going to Hogwarts! What house do you think you'll be in? I've been told I'm very Hufflepuff-y, but I'm also reckless, according to Moony, so I think I'll be in Gryffindor."
Hermione followed this with a weird look on her face, then grinned. "I'm obviously a Ravenclaw, but I'm not really sure, you know? You don't know until the hat's on your head."
"I wish it was a fancy, magical, glittery top hat that was bright pink and blue, you know? But from what I've heard, it's a raggedy old brown hat."
"Really?" Hermione said interestedly. "Potter... I think I've read that last name before." Her eyes widened with a gasp. "Didn't your parents get killed by You-Know-Who?" She covered her mouth, then gave a rueful laugh. "Sorry, I just happen to blurt out random information at times."
"It's okay," Rosette said, her smile only dipping slightly. "It was a long time ago." Her smile returned in full force. "But I'm hoping to make tons of friends so I don't have to worry anymore! And I've got Padfoot and Moony, and they're not too bad."
"Padfoot and Moony?" Hermione said, confused. "Nicknames, or...?"
"Oh my gosh, imagine being named Moony," Rosette laughed. "No, he's Remus Lupin and Padfoot is I can't tell you." She kept beaming.
The compartment door slid open again. It was a red-haired boy. "Er, could I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
"Yup!" Rosette nodded.
"I'm Ron Weasley," he added, sitting down across from Rosette, next to Hermione. "Hi."
"I'm Rosette Potter. Ooh, you have a rat! What's his name? He's very fat, isn't he? Do you feed him a lot, or does he scavenge."
"You're... Potter... Do you have a scar?" Ron asked uncertainly. "The rat's name is Scabbers."
Rosette laughed, and tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing the scar. "Satisfied? Do you know any of the teachers there?"
Hermione interjected. "Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster, right? He's very famous."
"And Snape," Ron said with disgust. "My brothers - Fred and George - say he's the worst. He's a Slytherin, and the head of the Slytherin house, so he's very biased towards the Gryffindors."
Hermione argued, "he can't be that bad..."
As they argued, Rosette beamed at them, her matchmaking mind going into overdrive. They were perfect together, she could already see it. But she wasn't going to push it... at least not for several years.
She looked at the window and waited for it to show the Hogwarts grounds.
Rosette pulled her luggage and owl out of the train. She heard a distant bellow of: "Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years!"
She naturally went over there.
A bunch of boats was at the bank of the lake. Rosette got in one and waved madly at Hermione and Ron. "Come on!" she mouthed.
Hermione, rolling her eyes at the red-haired girl's antics, boarded the boat with grace. Moments later, Ron tripped into the boat.
Rosette paddled madly, tucking her hair behind her ear when needed. "We need to get there first!"
Hermione rolled her eyes - again - but paddled as fast as she could without splashing herself. "No, we don't."
"If we want to make a good impression, we do," Ron said, pushing the paddle hard.
Pretty soon they were the second to the bank. Rosette noted with dismay that the blond-haired boy who was rude to her earlier had beaten them.
"Congratulations," she told them.
"Excuse me?" the blond boy said with a lazy look on his face.
"You got to the bank first," Rosette persisted, ignoring Ron's groan behind her. "I thought I would say that you did a good job."
"Well quit thinking, I don't bloody care," the boy drawled.
Rosette didn't want to scowl today - that was her goal. But the boy was making it rather difficult. "What's your name?"
"Draco Malfoy," he said. He didn't seem to want to talk more, so Rosette turned towards Hermione and Ron.
"Well, he's a party pooper," Rosette said, crossing her arms.
"A what?" Ron asked, looking confused.
"A party pooper," Rosette said slowly. "It basically means someone who tries to make your good mood go down the drain. Our house was enchanted to blend in with a muggle neighborhood, so I know a few muggle terms. I'm guessing you do, too, Hermione?"
She nodded. "My parents are both muggles - dentists."
A woman emerged from the hall, adjusting her spectacles. "Come in, first years," she said. "You will be Sorted shortly."
After everyone had gone in, Rosette looked around. She noted the ghosts going through the walls without much thought. "Hi!" she said, waving at one.
He turned around. "And you are?"
"Rosette Marian Potter at your service," Rosette said formally, bowing. "You must be Nearly Headless Nick."
He nodded, and his head came off - or, rather, nearly came off. He got some applause for that, and when he pushed his head back up, he looked rather pleased with himself.
Rosette noted Draco's sour expression. She decided her job this year was to make him smile. In happiness, not at one of his cruel jokes. Everyone sad or angry needed a hug and a friend. And a cup of hot cocoa.
Everyone.