I'm five years old, it's getting cold, I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you, I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides, look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home
"Mummy," I squeal, as she struggles to zip my autumn coat up. She sighs exasperatedly tugging on the zipper once more. "I'm cold, please hurry!"
She nods her head understandably and smiles an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Rosie but it just won't move. I'm trying my hardest, just be patient with it." Of course being five I didn't have much patience with my coat, or anything for that matter. I just wanted to choose a pumpkin for Halloween and get on with my day.
"We could just use magic to zip it up. We can blame it on Daddy and Hugo if any muggles see." I whisper. She throws back her head in laughter, and flicks her wand in the sleeve of her own coat.
I couldn't help but smile as I turned and ran, leaving her in the middle of the pumpkin patch. "Rosie! Wait for me!"
"You'll never catch me!" I squeal, skillfully avoid the various families waiting for the tractor ride and keep on running until I get tired.
"Haha Rosie, I caught you!" I look up at the setting sun in the golden sky and smiled.
"I love you Mummy!" I declare hugging her legs. She picks me up, carrying me back towards the car.
As we drive away, my eyelids drooping I hear her say "As I love you Rosie."
I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
But I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today
"Why can't I go Daddy?" I ask, laying my head against my pillow. "I really want to go."
"When you're eleven Rose, only four more years." He laughed. We had dropped Molly and Lucy off at King's Cross this morning and ever since I've been begging Daddy to take me.
"Please Daddy! Take me soon." I pleaded.
"It's just a school Rosie, a boring old school." He sighed, already knowing that I wouldn't care. "And Lucy, Molly, Teddy and Victoire will be in class, they won't have time to talk with you." He sighed again. "But I talked to Neville and he said that it would be no problem if your mother brought you for the day."
And that was how I saw Hogwarts for the first time. The leaves were changing colours on the trees that Mummy and I ate lunch under. Uncle Neville showed us around and we even got to go into the Gryffindor common room. Then we met Aunt Minnie, she's headmistress of the Hogwarts. She let us visit Teddy in one of his classes.
I remember asking Mummy why everyone knew us. She asked me if I remember when she told me about the bad man that was trying to hurt Uncle Harry. I nodded and she said that Uncle Harry, Daddy and her helped get rid of the bad man.
She took me to the library and read to me for the remainder of the day, and then we went up to the Gryffindor common room where Minnie said it was okay for us to spend the night.
I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop 'til I've forgotten all their names
"I hate them!" I cried as I slammed the door behind me. "I hate them and I'm never going back to school!" I cried.
Mum pulled me into a hug, letting me soak the front of her shirt with my tears. "They are all worthless and stupid. They are so mean to me!" I cried, letting my head fall into my hands.
"Oh, Rosie," She whispered, rubbing circles on my back. "What did they do?"
"All term they said that the only reason Scorp liked me was because I was Al's cousin and that the only reason I was smart was because I was Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger's daughter." The tears were trailing down my face faster and faster.
"Rosie, it's not true. Don't you dare believe any of it." She whispered, grabbing the keys off of the counter.
"Yes it is. It's all true." I cried into her shoulder.
"Rose, think logically for a minute please. If Scorp only likes you for being Albus' cousin then why doesn't he have a crush on Al? And we both know your father wasn't smart when he was in Hogwarts." I smile up at her.
"Rosie," Mum chuckled, moving me towards the door. "Come on, let's go for a drive, just you and I. No Daddy, No Hugo."
I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day with you today
"Really though, Rosie" Mum said, waving her arms in the air. "Their just jealous and I know moms say that all the time, but you are, without a doubt the most intelligent thirteen year old I've ever met. You should listen to me; I am after all Hermione Weasley."
I laughed out loud, finally. My mother was the only one in the world who could take my sadness away with the snap of her fingers. She was my best friend.
She promised me that I didn't have to ride the Hogwarts Express back to school if I didn't want to and that Scorpius could come to the Burrow with us for Christmas.
"I love you, mummy." I whispered through my laughs.
I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother, inside and out, he's better than I am
I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
And I had the best days with you
"Come on Rosie! You can do it! Don't let him get it in!" Dad yells from the ground. I'm Keeper this time around. Though family games of Quidditch aren't really the same as the ones at Hogwarts, Dad's still being really competitive. I know we aren't going to win this game though. Both James and Al are on the other team, add Teddy, Victoire and Dom and you know we're doomed.
As James comes flying over towards me I try to catch the quaffle but miss. Ten minutes later, the game is over, and my team has, of course, lost again. I zoom towards Dad and throw my broom to the ground.
"Rosie. It's fine, you'll win next time for sure!" Dad says.
"No I won't Dad!" I say storming of towards the house. Throwing myself onto my bed, I try not to let the tears escape. A knock sounds at my open door and I look up to find Hugo standing there, a grin on his face.
"What's up with you?" I ask.
"Oh…you know…just the usual." He says leaning against the door jamb. I give him a blank look; I have no idea what he's talking about.
"Fred just arrived. James and Al are already planning in my room. We need your help of course." Now I'm the one grinning madly as we run off to conspire with our cousins. The horrible Qudditch game almost completely forgotten.
And later that night when the blue goo gets dumped into Dom and Vicky's blonde hair, it makes me feel so much better. Because when we realize that Victoire's hair now matches her boyfriend's it's hard not to know that this is the latest embarrassment. And we're all trying not to fall into hysterics until she does.
There is a video I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
And Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world
"How old is this?" I asked popping the DVD into the muggle disk player.
"Old." Mum laughs, looking at the screen. "A little while before Hugh was born, I think."
The screen flickered and then on came a video of Mum and me in the kitchen at our old house. There was a paint-set set up on the table. I had clearly been doing a pretty good job of getting the paint everywhere and anywhere that wasn't the paper. Mum was sitting beside me at the table, she was pregnant and carefully vanishing the splattered paint from the table with her wand. "Say hi to Daddy!" She said to me, pointing to the camera.
"Hi Daddy." I said.
"What is that?" I heard Dad's voice as behind the camera. Mum must have wacked him because a few seconds later he says "I-uh-I meant what a beautiful picture Rosie! What are you painting?"
"A princess." I smiled to myself, continuing to watch. I loved princesses when I was little. As soon as Hugo was born I had moved on to loving Quidditch.
"And what's that brown-uh…splotch-there?" Dad asked.
"Daddy!" My three-year old self giggled.
"Well, what is it Rosie?"
"It's a pirate ship. It's bringing the baby. You know! That baby!" I said pointing at Mum's pregnant stomach.
"Well, it's very pretty Rosie." Mum says ruffling my hair. Myself in miniature looks up at her with horror.
"Not as pretty as you Mummy!"
And now I know why the all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
For staying back and watching me shine
And I didn't know if you knew, so I'm takin' this chance to say
That I had the best day with you today
"I wonder who she'll look like." I say, lying in bed, my mother sitting beside me.
"Well it's your child Rosie, she'll look like you and Scorp."
"She can have Scorpius' blonde hair. He has nice hair. And maybe she'll get my eyes." I say out loud, absentmindedly stroking my pregnant belly.
"She'll look like whatever she wants to look like Rosie. You can't make her look like anything." Mum says.
"Yeah but I love your eyes. I mean Daddy has these really nice blue eyes; but yours, yours are amazing."
"They're yours too you know. And maybe you'll pass them on to that beautiful baby girl or maybe she'll get Scorp's eyes. His are a nice too." Mum says, stroking my hair.
"I guess so." I sit in silence for a little while before looking up at my mother. "I know you Mum. Everyone thinks they know you. But I don't think they do. They know Hermione Granger, war hero. Or Hermione Weasley, Ron's wife. But I know you as Mum. I know you as this whole person who helped me grow. You never pushed or tried to make me into something I wasn't. You just…let me make mistakes, let me achieve my own things. And, I know that I tell you this a lot, but I really do love you. And I hope that I'm as good a mother as you are."
She smiles and kisses my forehead. "I know Rosie; I love you too. And you know what else?"
"What?" I ask looking up at her.
"You won't be as good a mother as me. You'll be even better." I laugh at Mum's sudden cheesiness.
"I serious Rosie. You and Scorp will be great parents."
"But we aren't even married yet. We're having a kid and we can't even get married first." I say sadly.
"But you do love each other. You and Scorpius love each other. And your little girl, she won't know the difference. She'll just know that she has two parents who love and support her very much." I fall asleep like that, my mother stroking my hair and whispering sweet things.
The next time I see her, the baby is coming and I'm in no mood to really talk. But she's still there every step of the way, supporting me. And later that day when Scorp and I are trying to decide what to name the baby, Mum suggests Scarlett and it just seems to fit. And that was perfect because it gave Mum a part in one of the best days of my life. We named our daughter Scarlett; but only because she didn't get red hair.
