A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts. Prompts are below :)
Word Count: 1995
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Those rights go to JK Rowling.
Unbeta'd. So sorry.
Enjoy!
Rose Granger-Weasley sat on her school trunk and stared out at the horizon. It was her first evening back home on Easter holidays, and she already wanted to stay up in her room forever.
As she stared at the purpling sky—a deep, dark color that was at once calming and unsettling—she thought about how disastrously her first year at Hogwarts had been so far. She'd thought that everything would be easy at school—when she'd told Albus that everyone would want to be their friend, she hadn't thought about how many people would want to be their friend in title alone. She didn't know how to find the good people in her life.
Not to mention the pressure she was feeling.
She'd always looked up to her mother—how could she not? Hermione Granger was the Minister of Magic. She was highly intelligent, and a venerated war veteran. But carrying that legacy at school was harder than Rose thought it would be. She'd always loved learning, but her professors and classmates seemed to hold her to an impossible standard.
She wanted to be like her mother. She dreamed of working in the Ministry, of making a real difference in the world. Unfortunately, at the rate things were going, that didn't seem likely.
There was a knock on her bedroom door, and she turned around to see Hugo, her younger brother, poking his head around the door. "Hullo, Rose. Mum and Dad want you to come down for dinner—Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny are here!"
He shot his sister the trademark Weasley grin and then disappeared, leaving Rose to herself once more. She ran her hand through her wild hair and took a deep breath, then descended the stairs. She almost immediately saw her father and Uncle Harry conversing in low voices. She hung back for a second, caught between her desire not to eavesdrop and her fear of interrupting.
"—worried about Al," Harry was murmuring. "It's been a rough year for him."
Ron nodded in understanding. "Well, it can't be easy, you know. Everyone's already got their opinions about him and his family."
Harry bit his lip. "I know. I just… I don't know how to help him, Ron. I just want to see him happy."
Rose's father put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know, mate. Maybe I could talk to him—I know what it's like to be compared to the rest of your family."
Harry's green eyes brightened. "Would you?"
Ron nodded. "Of course! And in return… could you speak with Rose?"
Upon hearing her name, Rose crouched down and tried to blend in with the shadows.
"Rose?" Harry asked, surprised. "What's wrong with Rose?"
Ron sighed. "I dunno, mate. I don't think… Hermione and I don't think school was what she expected. She was so excited to go, but she's barely told us a word about it. Maybe you have some insight for her."
Harry hummed softly. "I dunno, mate. I'm not the world's best dad."
Ron rolled his blue eyes. "Don't give me that, Harry. There are no distinct lines when it comes to parenting. You think that not having all the answers means you're a bad parent? Don't be ridiculous."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "That was a pretty speech, Ron. Did you come up with it yourself?"
Ron snorted. "Of course not. Hermione did. Now come on, the food's getting cold."
The two left the entrance hall, and after a few minutes Rose deemed it safe enough to enter the kitchen without suspicion. She hated that they were speaking about her in secret—she hated when people talked about her behind her back, even if they had her best interests at heart.
Throughout dinner, she picked at her food, barely saying a word to anyone. She knew it was wrong, but she was particularly frosty towards her father. In her mind, he had no right to gossip about her to her uncle.
Halfway through dinner, it happened.
"Hey, Rose," Harry said suddenly. "Would you like to hang out tonight? I was talking with your dad, and he thought it might be fn if the two of us spent some time together."
"And I thought I could hang with you, Albus," Ron piped up. "It's been ages since the two of us talked."
Rose and Albus were both quiet for a minute. Finally, Rose answered. "Sure. What will we be doing, Uncle Harry?"
"I thought we could camp outside, in the forest," Harry suggested. "You mentioned wanting to do that, once. I think it could be fun."
Rose's brown eyes flickered up to him in surprise. She hadn't realized he remembered such a small detail—a throwaway comment she'd made months ago. "I'd like that."
The Auror grinned broadly. "Brilliant. Albus, what will you be doing with Ron?"
The black-haired boy shrugged, glaring down at his plate. "I dunno."
Harry frowned. "Albus."
"Whatever Uncle Ron wants."
Ron cleared his throat. "That's great, mate. We can watch a Muggle film or something. Unwind for a bit."
Harry sighed. "Finished, Rose?"
She wasn't, but she'd lost her appetite. Seeing the drastic change in Albus had added to her bad mood—and knowing that she had contributed to that made her feel worse. "Yes."
An hour later, the two of them had set up camp. The air was cool and crisp, and Harry looked around at the trees, grinning. "It feels so amazing out here! Don't you think, Rose?"
She shrugged and pushed her finger through the dirt. "Yes."
Harry frowned. "Rose," he said gently, "what's the matter? You haven't been yourself since you came home."
She bristled and refused to look at him. "It's nothing."
"Oh?" Harry raised a brow. "It doesn't look like nothing. What's bothering you."
"You wouldn't understand," she muttered.
"Why not?"
"Because you're Harry Potter, and no one cares if you do something wrong!"
She hadn't meant for it to come out, but it had been bubbling up for days now. It was hard to admit that, deep down, she was terrified of becoming the next Albus. She wanted to be like her parents, yes, but she didn't want to be too like them. It was a hard thing to balance, and she couldn't make much sense of it herself.
Harry was quiet for a long moment, his glasses glinting in the light of the campfire he'd excitedly made. "Have a biscuit, Rose."
She blinked, startled. "What?"
Harry offered her the red tin he had smuggled out of the house. "Go on, take one."
With a trembling hand, she did. Harry nodded. "Good. Listen. Lots of people care when I do wrong things, Rose. I'm no stranger to pressure. Now, what's eating you?"
To her humiliation, she felt her eyes well up with tears. She blinked rapidly, but it didn't help. "They all expect me to be as smart as Mum, and as funny and good at Quidditch as Dad," she explained hurriedly, desperately. "And I want to be like them, but—"
"You want to just be Rose," Harry finished.
"Yes! It's so hard to figure out what I like when everyone already knows what I should like. I want to please them."
Harry ran a hand through his untamed black hair. "I know how that feels. It's… so overwhelming, those expectations. It sucks. But Rose, you can't hold so much stock in what others think of you. What matters is how you think of yourself—and how the people you care about see you."
Rose wipes discreetly at her eyes. "I'm not like you, Uncle Harry. I want them to like me."
Harry pulled her into a hug. "I know. In life, there's only one thing we can do. Survive. But the great thing is that we get to choose how to do it. And who gets to influence our choices."
Rose held on tightly to him. She always felt safe with Harry—not just because of all the things he'd done, but because he never seemed to wear thin. He always had hope, even when he felt lost. He always tried. He was the strongest person she knew.
Rose thought about his words for a while. She thought back to all the thinly veiled insults of the past year, all the people crowding around her waiting to see how she reacted to different situations. It would be harder, she knew, to keep her popularity if she ignored all those opinions. Was that what she wanted?
She swallowed. "I think maybe you're the only person who really knows me and still likes me."
"Now, that's not true, Rose," Harry said sternly.
"My friends hang out with me because I act like they want me to. If I wasn't like Mum or Dad anymore, they wouldn't like me."
Harry sighed. "I know I can't change your mind right now. Maybe I won't. But just know that the way you feel, who you are… that's nobody's business but yours. And I know I'm the last person who should be giving advice about that, considering the way I acted sometimes in school, but I've learned my lesson now."
Rose didn't respond. She just pressed her cheek against her uncle's chest, her lavender skirt bunches up in her hands.
"Mum and Dad were good enough for them. It's safer to be like them. I want to make a difference, like they have."
The admission was shamefaced and quiet. It was a secret she had been withholding from even herself, and she wasn't sure why it had come out now. She couldn't take it back, though.
"That's your dream, isn't it? Making a difference?" Harry's voice was soft. "It's a beautiful dream, Rose. But change doesn't come from copying others. It comes from hard work and hope."
Harry held her for a long time. Eventually, the eleven-year-old girl felt her eyes growing heavy and yawned. Harry chuckled. "Time for bed."
As she was settling down in a sleeping bag on the forest floor, she heard Harry murmur, "Things may look sordid now, but I know things will be all right in the end."
Rose could almost believe him.
When they arrived back at the Weasley-Granger household, they saw Albus reading a book in the sitting room and Ron snoring on the couch.
Harry snorted and walked over to wake his friend. "Ron, get up."
Ron tugged sleepily at his red hair. "It's nap time. Leave me… leave me alone."
Harry rolled his eyes, but let the other man sleep.
Rose watched Albus for a minute. He didn't look as upset as he had the previous night, but he appeared as though any little thing could set him off. He'd been like that a lot lately.
But then again, Rose realized, she'd been like that, too.
She gave her father the cold shoulder when he tried to look out for her, just because she thought she had to take care of her problems herself; she altered her attitude to match what her housemates wanted; she even iced out her own family because Gryffindors and Slytherins don't mix.
Maybe Harry was right. Maybe she should just focus on herself.
The problem was, she wasn't sure who that was anymore.
Her gaze found her father, still asleep. She remembered what she overheard him say last night, about knowing what it was like to be compared to the rest of his family. Maybe he hadn't always known what to do. And he hadn't always been the celebrated war hero.
There was time, she realized suddenly, to find herself.
"Uncle Harry?" she said suddenly.
Harry turned from where he was standing by the door. "Rose?"
She smiled softly. "You're a great uncle. Thank you for last night."
Harry looked surprised—and a bit embarrassed. "I'm nothing special. Just doing my job."
He might think that, Rose thought, but she knew the truth. Determination renewed—and a new hope blossoming within her—she headed up to her room. She had a lot to consider, but she was ready.
A/N:
Writing Club:
Disney Challenge: Characters 2. Shang — alt. Write about someone following in their father's (or mother's) footsteps.
Book Club: Grace — (age) 12 or younger, (relationship) sister, (dialogue) "That's your dream, isn't it?"
Showtime: 1. Picture Show — (plot point) a kid dreaming of the future
Amber's Attic: Dialogue 2. "I think maybe you're the only person who really knows who I am and still likes me."
Liza's Lyrics: 4. Five - Keep on Movin' — "But I know things will be all right in the end."
Angel's Arcade: 4. Morrigan — (setting) forest, (color) dark purple, (word) sordid
Lo's Lowdown: 15. (color) red
Bex's Basement: 4. "Have a biscuit."
Film Festival: 28. "Would you like to hang out tonight?"
Auction: Rose Weasley
Seasonal Challenges:
Days of the Year: 15th April — Write about something that sucks
Spring: Dialogue 3. "It feels so amazing out here!"
Colors: 1. Lavender
Birthstones: 9. Cat's Eye Agate — (dialogue) "It's naptime. Leave me alone."
Earth: 4. (word) dirt
Amanda's Challenge: Characters 2. Carl Grimes — alt. Write about a child looking up to someone
Hufflepuff Challenge: Traits 7. Modest
Fortnightly Challenge:
Space Mom: 8. Write about someone feeling pressure to change
Capcom Lives: 4. Claire Redfield — (era) Next-Gen, (dialogue) "There's only one thing we can do. Survive.", (trait) strong
Magic Kingdom: 4. Crystal Arts — (color) purple
Gym: Level 1: Burpees — Write about someone in the occupation Auror
Scavenger Hunt: 70. Write a Next-Gen fic
365 Words: 99. Advice
Insane House Challenge: 946. (era) Next-Gen