A/n: A piece I uploaded ages ago before promptly forgetting my account information. I have since gotten back into my account, so I decided to finally publish the thing. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING AFFILIATED WITH HARRY POTTER IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.
10 Things in Rose Weasley's Bag
10. A Simple Wedding Ring
Wizarding engagement rings are beautiful. Stones that represent the relationship and the people in it crowd onto delicate bands, usually of goblin gold or silver. Rose knows that when you glance at her hands, her engagement ring is the first thing to catch the eye.
However, wedding rings are mere bands, plain, without any decoration. Sometimes, there will be an inscription declaring love, but it is always on the inside. Wedding bands are promises, not declarations, and they are somber, simple, and lasting, as her vows should have been.
I will love you until death parts us.
I will trust you with my life.
I will care for you and yours until the day I die.
And on…
It's all true still, but it's faded with time. Not very much time certainly, but enough that she can tell something has always been wrong. It's just like her rings, she thinks, taking them off to wash her dishes. Her wedding band is simple and honestly the more important. But her engagement ring kept her riveted, hiding the promises she wanted to keep. She tosses them into her bag after a moment of deliberation. When the dishes are done, she reaches for the wedding ring; stops herself. Breathes out a deep breath and moves on.
9. A Yellow and Pink Pacifier
That's one thing she'll never regret about this whole marriage ordeal: having the baby. Janey is what brought them together, and she's what kept them here this long.
Rose remembers the moment she knew about Jane, even though she wasn't Jane yet, just an unnamed, unknown mass of tissue and fluids that was already loved. Rose already loved her, even though she knew the baby would probably ruin her life as she knew it.
Rose remembers telling Mathew about Jane, telling her parents and his together, in hopes that they'd kill each other, instead of them. It almost worked, until her mum saw reason. Then, the tables had turned and they were in for some serious trouble, until- Thank MERLIN- her father had to be his typical idiot self and yell, "Rose, you're grounded for the next year!" It was a long time of course, and at first the silence was because of that. But then, someone snorted, and everyone realized how ridiculous it was to ground a mother-to-be, even if she was only seventeen.
Janey always eats around nine, just before going down for her nap, and Rose tucks the dummy in her pocket for later, only to find it when searching for spare change in the afternoon. Rolling her eyes at her own absentmindedness, she chucks it in her purse with the rest of the junk she owns.
8. A Snack of Cracker and Grapes
She doesn't really know what Luke likes, but all toddlers seem to be fond of finger food, and the grapes are charmed non-chokable, so it should be safe, yeah? She hopes so, to the bottom of her soul, and nervously packs the little tin up with Jane's sippy cup. It's terrifically plain that Scor has much more of an idea what he's doing than she does, even though he's a single dad. It's a bit frustrating, to tell the truth. He'd always bested her in school, and apparently, things haven't changed.
7. A Good Mucky Book
She figures she should probably burn the thing, but returns it to the library instead. Not only is she glad it's finally off Lily's radar, but she's glad it's out of her bedside table. She knows how it got there- a woman can only get so desperate- but doesn't know why it stayed. She supposes it's because she owes the book a little. It made her realize that she needed a whole lot bloody more than she had, and that the book itself didn't count. It's what inspired her actions as of late, the ones she's proud of, even though they also make her feel a little sick.
6. A Pair of White Sunglasses
She buys them as she's leaving the library. They're on a little stand across the road from the shop, and they captivate her. She tries them on, balancing Janey on her hip as she peers into the mirror she conjured. Her pale skin, framed by dark red hair, and now the large, white sunglasses, stare back at her. She buys them, even though she usually tries to avoid such impulsive things. Later, she realizes why they caught her attention: weeks ago, she'd seen an ad in a magazine. The ad was for perfume or underwear or something else ridiculous and consisted of a picture of a blonde man and a redhead. She had taken it as a sign. In the picture, the woman wore white sunglasses and the man stared at her as if he'd never let her go.
5. A Family Photo
It's not of "her" family, per se, not her and Mathew and Jane, but to her, that was never her family as much as the Weasley-Potter brood. The photo was taken in her sixth year on New Year's Eve, just before everything changed. Mathew had come home with her, Jas had come home with Hugo, and Albus had brought Scorpius around every day, to "get him away from his sodding folks." Mathew had volunteered to take the picture and is the only one not in it. As she watches now, she feels extreme guilt, because even then, Scor's eyes cannot stop themselves from sliding over to her, and she is staring back a little, even though she's grinning at the camera. She tucks it away, a memory that has shaped her more than almost any other.
4. A Magically Expanding Crib
She knew she'd need it, she thinks, as she rushes around his newly-cleaned flat. This is a surprise for him, and she can't bollocks it up. It's going to be special, and with a tired Janey hanging on her, nothing's ever going to get done. She pulls out the crib, taps it with her wand, chucks some toys in and settles Jane in with a blanket. Within minutes, she is sleeping. Rose sighs at the exact same moment her daughter does, and she goes back to her task with a smile. She can only hope that she's still that innocent and that one day her daughter will be as certain about her life as Rose is now. She checks the clock- 10, damn him for working so late- and flies back into motion.
3. A Sheer Lace Babydoll Nightie
She's not sure what inspired this part of his birthday plans in her, but she's sort of glad she thought of it. No doubt it was Lily's influence. Plus, she's still only nineteen, and her body's pretty damn good for a mum, if she says so her self. She puts the thing on, and then, feeling slightly ridiculous, puts her clothes back on over it. She smoothes things out to make sure you can't tell, then walks back to the kitchen to start dessert.
2. A Family Recipe
She knows he ate dinner at the office, because that's what he does. So, she's making dessert. Almost against her instincts, she's making a Grandma Molly recipe. She almost feels that it's a betrayal of the family that has always despised the Malfoys, but Molly herself was never so open about her dislike, if there was any, and Scor is different than the others. Plus, her stronger instincts tell her that Victoire is right, Molly's cooking is more than enough to hold onto a man, and that is what she wants to do.
She also knows that little Luke Malfoy is probably asleep under his desk, as his poor, tired, single father toils away. So, when Scor comes in, Luke is in his arms, sleepy and yawning, she points to Luke, mouthing that Jane's crib is set up in his room. Luke doesn't even notices that she's there. Scorpius raises his eyebrows, but tucks his son in obediently.
1. A Piece of Paper
Much, much later, when he's eaten the dessert and seen the negligee, after she's launched herself at him, sprawling him across the bed and slept with him for the first time- finally, finally- and he still hasn't asked any questions, she gives him the answer.
"Scor," she murmurs into his neck, "I haven't given you your present yet." He chuckles from under her, a warmer version of the Malfoy one everybody else knows.
"What has all this been?" he asks. "All this… everything. I wish…" '…this could last,' remains unsaid, but she already knows that's what he wishes; she did too.
"I know," she says. She sits up, straddling his hips, and pulls a piece of paper from where she'd hidden it earlier, in his left pillow, the one he doesn't use. "Happy Birthday." He takes it from her, reads it; blinks. Then, he sits up, so he's facing her and when she wraps her legs around him, he's faced with the impossible realization that he never has to leave this embrace.
"Rose…" He can barely speak, so just cups her face in his hands, and Rose used-to-be-Wood's divorce certificate falls to the ground next to his bed.
"Don't," she says. "This is the only thing I could give you, and I know it's the only thing you've ever wanted anyway."
"What?" he asks, because saying she's his sole life-long wish seems ridiculously vain, even for her. But she bends her lips to kiss his neck and when the words 'a family' imprint on his skin, he realizes just what she's doing.
"Thank you," he says. "Just... thank you."
A/n: Hope you enjoyed this piece. Please read and review, if you have the time!