Rose Weasley had spent her entire life as a subject of comparisons. The most common comparison was her appearance against the rest of the Weasley clan. She had inevitably wound up inheriting the trademark fiery red hair, blue eyes, long limbs and freckles of a Weasley. She could also thank her Dad for the sunburn and iconic blush that her life would be much easier without.
The second comparison was to her Mother. Hermione Weasley was still undoubtedly the brightest witch of her age, but in Rose's opinion her Mother was the brightest witch of any age. There was nothing Hugo and herself could do to successfully slip anything past her. The rest of the world didn't agree, they seemed to believe Rose was a genius who was rapidly catching up with her Mother. Rose's parents seemed to love that idea. Rose didn't. Especially when Hugo was sorted into Ravenclaw while she was in Gryffindor. How could the world have ignored such an obvious sign?
Yes, she got straight O's in every end of year exam so far, but by no means had that been an easy feat. She had worked her socks off for 4 years straight to live up to the legacy of her Mother. It has cost her many nights of sleep and would cost her nearly every Hogsmeade weekend throughout this year, to achieve the same grades in her NEWT exams next year. If it wasn't for Alice and her cousins, Rose would hardly see the sun each spring.
However, the most recent comparison is her least favourite. The comparison of Scorpius Malfoy and herself to her cousin Al's grandparents. James Potter and Lily Evans were legendary figure in Hogwarts and the wider wizarding world. Al's grandparents had a famous story of love and hate that everybody seemed to know. The tale seemed to be especially well known by Rita Skeeter, who had taken it upon herself to reveal this latest comparison to the whole bloody country.
And it was Al's fault that the whole student body found out over breakfast this morning in the great hall. He just had to read the Daily Prophet out so bloody loudly.
SHOCK ROMANCE REVEALED: HAS THE WEASLEY-MALFOY FEUD FINALLY COME TO AN END?
"The rumour mill at Hogwarts has been churning out some rather interesting stories over the last few weeks. The stack of evidence is too high to dismiss as false tales or mere coincidence. Dear readers, you must try not to judge these poor sixteen-year olds blinded by love, but it seems that a certain Miss Rose Weasley, daughter of two thirds of the golden trio has her sights set on Mr Scorpius Malfoy, son of former Death eater Draco Malfoy and pureblood beauty Astoria Greengrass. Sources have informed me that this famous rivalry has fizzled out and is starting to take a more...passionate twist. Impossible you might say but let us remember the tragic love story of Rose's uncle Harry Potter's parents. James and Lily's tale is almost as famous as the son it resulted in. A fiery red-headed witch, prefect # who held a longstanding rivalry with bad boy Quidditch captain James Potter. Their hate turned into one of the wizarding world's greatest love stories in centuries.
Could this be a repeat? Rose Weasley certainly is Gryffindor's princess. Achieving straight O's in her exams and playing keeper for Gryffindors Quidditch team since her fourth year makes her quite a talented witch. Not to mention the signature Weasley red hair.
Scorpius Malfoy is in every way James Potter's Slytherin counter-part. A rich, good-looking pureblood with a bad boy streak. Also achieving straight O's last summer. I can't speak for you readers, but I'm seeing the similarities and I haven't yet sunk my teeth into the many student accounts of the explosive arguments that have regularly taken place in the halls of Hogwarts.
I wish these two love-struck teenagers all the best. My only concern is for the families. How will Harry Potter react to his niece's reported entanglement with the offspring of his old-nemesis. More concerning to me, is the reaction of Mrs Hermione and Mr Ronald Granger-Weasley to their perfect daughter being led-astray by the son of a family they valiantly fought against. Lastly, how will the Malfoys take the news of their son's choice of romantic affections? The Malfoys have a decades long tricky history with the Weasley family, not forgetting the taint this could bring to their proud history of blood purity. How will these inspirational teens cope?
I will reveal more as soon as possible.
-Rita Skeeter
Al, Hugo and Alice were busy howling with laughter, failing to realise that silence had descended upon the great hall. James, Fred and Roxanne were spluttering with rage at the audacity of the article. Lily with wide eyes, her gaze shifting from Rose to the Slytherin table, where Al had abandoned Malfoy to read Rose the article he had opened the Daily Prophet to 5 minutes ago.
Oh Merlin, Malfoy.
Rose sat frozen in place, feeling the eyes of the entire student body on her and Malfoy, hearing the whispers and bets that were breaking out as students clamoured for the truth.
"Rose, are you okay?" Lily asked cautiously, as if she was a deer that could bolt at any moment.
"I'm fine Lily, why wouldn't I be?" Rose forced herself to say loudly with a smile, "everyone knows that Skeeter's articles are a load of rubbish. She's always writing ridiculous stories about our family. Remember when she compared Al to Voldemort just because he was sorted into Slytherin?"
"Merlin, don't remind me" Al groaned as he stood, "I'd better get back to Scorp, it's his turn to get laughed at now" he chuckled, heading back to his own table.
Rose ate in relative silence for the rest of breakfast, contributing to the conversation only when necessary. A smile, a nod and "yes" every minute or so seemed to fool those around her. Physically, she was on autopilot while her mind ran in circles. Thankfully, the other students' conversations had mainly moved on, only a few students were still glancing her way as they spoke.
As soon has her plate was empty she turned to Alice, "I forgot my potions textbook, I'm going to run up to get it. Meet you in the dungeons?"
"Sure" Alice nodded "don't take too long."
Once Rose had let the sizable wooden doors swing shut behind her, she took the long route down to the dungeons. Her bag swung out slightly each time she turned a corner, causing her potions textbook to slam into her thigh. She was a liar. Not just to herself, but to Lily and Alice as well. She was not okay. Rose Nymphadora Weasley was having a crisis and she did not need anyone to witness it.
Contrary to public opinion, she didn't hate Malfoy. Until a few months ago she had mildly disliked him for the inconvenience of their interactions. The boy had always seemed to know exactly how to get on her last nerve. But recently, she had become indifferent and then more concerningly nostalgic for their childish clashes. At first, she had blamed her Dad for getting her into this mess. Seriously, who turned eleven-year olds against each other because of past feuds? But then she had realised it was her fault for taking it seriously when her Mum had clearly told her he was joking, and her Mum was never wrong. After that she had blamed her genes for her stubbornness. Without their rivalry it would have been easier to admit to herself, let alone out loud.
Next, she had shifted the blame onto Al, for forcing them into the same social circle, but again she realised it wasn't his fault. It was inevitable that Scorpius would be partnered with her in a lesson at some point. They would have met even without Al, plus she could never hold a grudge against her favourite cousin for long.
The blame had shifted so many times throughout the last few months, but she was finally able to admit it. Coincidently, she admitted it to herself last night. Needless to say, waking up the next morning to the headline of Rita's article was a bit of a shock.
Rose knew she shouldn't have pissed off Helen Skeeter, but she had. Now she was paying the price. Really, she should have seen that nobody went near Rita Skeeter's niece for a reason.
Thanks to them, she no longer had a shot of friendship with Scorpius, let alone anything else. They had just gotten onto a first name basis and started to talk without Albus being present and about things other than Albus. All the progress had been thrown away in a matter of minutes. He wouldn't want to talk to her now. Who would want to be seen with the girl that the papers spread rumours about you with? He was going receive a Howler from home for that article, hell, they both were.
Rose walked into the dungeon and sank down into her seat, head in her hands.
What in Merlin's name was she supposed to do now?