the one where Rose is building character
Shell Cottage had never looked more picturesque. August sea air rustled the various strings of fairy lights hung over trees, the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs and the whole serenity of the calm before the storm. It was an annual family gathering for the Weasley-Potter clan, the special occasion being Victoire Weasley's (the older and most gorgeous cousin) 18th birthday. It was chilly for August and the sun had long ago set, guests, both friends and family, were huddled in the garden in dresses and dress robes and I could spot Teddy Lupin from a mile away. With his bright blue hair standing out amongst the sea of red, blonde and black haired family. And just with one glance at him and Victoire, it reminded me of how alone I was.
Unsurprisingly, I had hidden down the bottom of the garden with a bottle of butter beer and a urge to run home.
If life had taught me anything, it had taught me that I was not doing this whole 'being a girl thing' right. Either that, or I wasn't trying hard enough. Looking around, all my cousins looked amazing. Victoire with her long gown and swishy hair; Dominique with her tomboy looks still pulled off a dress and heels; Lily with her vibrant hair and love for anything sparkly; Roxanne in her small 8 year old 'princess' dress and then... Me, Rose Claire Weasley.
It had taken my Aunt Ginny and Lily three hours to find me so they could attempt to make me look like something that somehow resembled a girl. One threat of a bat bogey hex and a binding charm, I'd been attacked with muggle make up and a huge hair brush. The mane of red, bushy girls had been smoothed down and I'd been forced into a glittery, silver dress and a pair of flats. Sure, I looked better than usual but it still didn't stop me from feeling out of place.
I'd lost track of my best friend and cousin, Albus, a long time ago. Well, if I'm being honest, I'd done it on purpose.
You see, about four years ago, Al and I had boarded the Hogwarts Express all wide eyed and completely excited to have our dreams shit on by none other than Scorpius bloody Malfoy. The spanner in my master plan of how to graduate Hogwarts with O grades. Firstly, he'd actually been more than decent to my cousin, completely killing the stereotype my Dad had put into my head. He joked about seeing our parents on chocolate frog cards and was nice to Al. But to me, it seemed I ground his nerves into tiny, unsalvageable lines. Secondly, the bastard throw yet another plot twist into my life by being sorted into Gryffindor with Al, while I'd been sorted into Ravenclaw with my mother's brain outweighing anything else. And thirdly, we hadn't had a nice thing to say to each other for four years. I thought he was arrogant, pompous and completely unbearable. He thought I was a 'know-it-all' and completely irrational. It was a hate-hate relationship. The only thing keeping us from throttling each other was Al and my best friend, Sophie, fellow Ravenclaw and study partner.
So, anyway, back to the point, I was avoiding him because (for some reason) he'd wangled an invitation for Malfoy to join the party and I wasn't in the mood to fight.
You can imagine my displeasure when Malfoy, in slacks and a dress shirt, appeared next to me, I wasn't exactly best pleased. Although, the sight of Al made me feel a little better.
"I have to say, Rosie, I'm impressed. I didn't think they'd be able to run a hairbrush through your hair without losing the entire thing."
"You think you're funny, but you're not and it's tragic," I teased, feeling the cold finally. "You should stick to being the mysterious, arrogant one. Leave the humour to someone else, Al."
"So witty."
Correction: it was my cousin (my favourite cousin) Albus Severus who was trying to be witty and failing. Al couldn't be witty. He was too nice. I ignored his comment, instead ignoring Malfoy's presence and saying how Al looking put together once and didn't look like he'd gotten dressed in the dark.
"That was one time!"
Silence settled on the two (correction: three) of us and we all seemed to be staring into the star filled sky.
Update: Scorpius Malfoy was staring at me weird and I didn't like it. He did it often. Like I was some strange puzzle he couldn't understand. Honestly, you'd think I'd sprouted a shark fin and a tail. So, being who I was, I called him out on it. No surprise really.
"Keep looking like that and I'll poke your eyes out, Malfoy."
Charming. But it caught his attention He'd stopped staring at me but now Al was looking at me as if I'd just confessed murder. Honestly, you can't win with him.
Malfoy smirked that annoying, gut-wrenching smirk. "I wasn't looking at you, per se, more your wonky eye."
Literally, he could not sound more bored if he tried.
Arsehole.
My entire life I'd been tormented about my life eye. Granted it was a little bit wonky but there was no need to point it out. I came from a huge family and all my cousins took the piss. It wasn't like my wonky eye was a severe deformity nor did it derive from the rest of my face, it was just a slightly different shape and a pain in the arse for photographs. From the moment we met, Malfoy had pointed out my weakness right off the bat and I was now, actually, contemplating all the ways I could kill him using only fairy lights. Not much to utilise but I'd think of something. Who needs a wand?
"Every time you mention it, I can't stop looking at it," Al cackled and I added him to my hit list. That made two. Now all I needed was James Potter to hop on board and there'd be a massacre on our hands.
"Al, you're in no place to criticise anyone with a name like yours." That was Malfoy and he had a point. I grinned. I'd literally been stood with them for two minutes and we'd already all insulted each other.
"I don't think it's time to disclose any more insults, thank you very much," Al snapped, forever on the defence about his sentimental name. "Vicky's about to blow her candles out."
Al gestured to the hovering cake coming out of the entrance of Uncle Bill's house, it was huge with white frosting and dancing icing statues that had been charmed. The three of us joined the crowd and I found myself squeezed between a besotted Teddy and little Freddie. Vicky was smiling so wide I thought her face would split and in that moment everyone was so happy. Hugo, my little brother, had his muggle camera poised in the air; Mum and Dad were snuggled against each other, Grandad and Grandma Weasley looked on the verge of tears and my cousins were waiting patiently for cake.
"Make a wish, Vic!" Uncle George yelled, happily. "And make it a good one!"
And when Vicky finally blew out her candles, Uncle George set off his infamous fireworks and I felt like the only person who'd jumped. Bursts of reds and greens and bright yellow filled the sky and everyone cheered. Even Malfoy, who had the emotional range of a teaspoon, looked genuinely happy.
Then he had to notice me looking at him, of course.
"Weasley, I know I'm attractive, there's no need to look like you're about to drool over me."
O grade arsehole, Mr Scorpius Malfoy, ladies and gentlemen.
"You know, I wonder how you even get girls to look in your direction," I scoffed. "You're about as charming as a blast-ended skrewt."
Malfoy rolled his eyes and I resisted beating him with my shoe.
Second update of the night: it wasn't until now, four years after meeting him, that I had noticed that Malfoy's eyes were actually blue. Not grey. Didn't know what to do with this information.
"Photo time!" Hugo suddenly called out and I cringed, both internally and externally. My brother came bounding over, ginger hair in his eyes and with a glint in his eyes that reminded me of my Dad, shoving Malfoy and I together. "Photo of the unhappy couple!"
The bright flash caught me by surprised and my eyes squinted. And when Hugo had started to laugh, I knew in an instant that it was an awful photo. Malfoy hadn't even flinched. And when I'd finally wrestled the camera away from Hugo, I felt ill. Malfoy looked picture perfect, beaming and completely natural. I, on the other hand, looked like I'd been forced to eat dragon dung. My face was screwed up and I had one blurred arm where I'd gone to shield my eyes from the light.
Splendid. This is why I'm not sociable in the slightest.
"You look like you've swallowed a bludger."
"Costs nothing to be nice, Malfoy."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Someone was knocking on the door.
"Rosie! Al and that Malfoy kid are at the door!"
Okay, correction: Al and Malfoy were at the door. As confirmed by my only ally in my feud with Malfoy: my Dad. He had never warmed up to him.
When I didn't answer, he yelled up the stairs again, "Come on, Rosie. They're your friends! I'm not your house elf!"
Update: there was no way in hell I was going down stairs.
But alas, a higher power was definitely not siding with me that day and I could hear two pairs of footsteps stomping up the staircase. Bloody hell. My Dad had it out for me.
"You know which room is hers, Al."
MERLIN'S BEARD. See, he definitely has it in for me. Now Scorpius Malfoy was going to see me in an old Quidditch shirt and shorts with a rat's nest and a severe case of resting bitch face.
I really was contemplating jumping out of the window. I'd have a soft sort of landing into the grass of our garden. Anything was going to be better than the awkward conversation that was gonna go down. Seriously, it wasn't even nine in the morning and I was already contemplating suicide. This is not good.
Before I could even try to run a brush through my hair or cover my bare legs, the two of them swung open my door and were suddenly basking in my not so pretty morning glory. Malfoy looked pretty put out but Al looked like this was a normal occurrence. Not only was I not looking my best, but my tiny box room was really untidy. And I was hyper aware that Malfoy had never seen this aspect of my life. The room was pale yellow and could barely fit a double bed in; my trunk was pressed up against my wardrobe in a state of disarray overflowing with textbooks and clothes and other things I thought I needed. There were so many photos pinned to my wall. And, aside from my appearance, I was hoping he wouldn't come too close.
My morning breath could peel paint of the walls.
"We were coming to see if you fancied a walk into town, but I see that you're really not prepared for that." Al clearly woke up feeling sassy this morning. "You look terrible."
"What else did you expect? I didn't even come downstairs, I clearly didn't want to see either of you."
"Is that any way to talk to the love of your life and your cousin?" Seriously, I was not in the mood for Malfoy and him thinking he's hilarious. Malfoy being here was terrible. The only thing not terrible was the idea of going back to sleep.
"Malfoy, I am one sassy comment away from kicking you in the face."
I'll say it again, mornings are terrible and I was not in the mood for this. Hence why I flopped back down onto my bed and hoped they both would magically disappear and let me go back to sleep.
"Don't be like that, Rosie."
Update: They did not obey my wishes and both perched themselves on the end of my daisy printed duvet. Clearly the three of us had not developed a telepathic link. Not that I wanted one with Malfoy. In other words: I didn't want them anywhere near me.
"Piss off." That was me, Rose Weasley; wordsmith, brainiac and complete nightmare.
"Come on, Weasley, get up." My patience was running thin and they knew it. "I'll buy you breakfast."
Screw you, Malfoy. He drove a hard bargain. If there was anything that could sway my view, it was food. Particularly the promise of breakfast and the notion of him paying. However, I still ignored him.
"Rosieeeeeeeeeeeee, pleaaaaase." My patience had finally been shaved into an unsalvageable line. Al had started to prod me in the side with his bony fingers. "You're meant to love me, I'm your cousin and you're supposed to want to spend time with me."
"If you don't piss off, I'll kill you." Again, that was me. Anything remotely unkind (read: threatening) was usually said by me. "In fact, I won't kill you. I'll feed you to a blast ended skrewt."
"Weasley, get up and get dressed." Malfoy was using his serious voice now and I actually cracked open an eye to look at him. He looked 1000x better than I did (not that it took much right now) in muggle clothes; a pair of tight jeans and a black t-shirt. He always looked effortlessly good with his messy blonde hair and I hated it. Oh woe is me. "I'm actually offering to pay for your food, the least you could do is accept. It's only breakfast. No string attached. Plus, Al wants to look around that muggle joke shop. This is a win-win situation for all of us."
After a good half an hour of deliberating, I actually managed to get out of bed. This was after the two pricks had ground the remaining strands of my patience into nothing but irritation and tiredness. I took a quick shower, actually brushed my hair and dressed in my usual jeans and a flannel shirt. When I emerged from the bathroom, I found Malfoy engrossed in a muggle novel (yes, you read right) and Al was staring aimlessly at the photos on the wall.
"This is absolutely ridiculous," Malfoy said when he noticed me, gesturing to the book in his hand, sparing me a look before reading it again.
Sure, it wasn't the best but I liked cheesy romance as much as the next person. "Why would you want to read this?"
"I'll tell you what else if absolutely ridiculous?" I busied myself with tying my shoe lace and locating my coin purse and wand. "You two coming to my house to drag me out of bed. This isn't Hogwarts, I'm not usually up at this time."
"You know you love us." Albus Severus, ever the optimist.
"Trust me, Weasley, this isn't my idea of a good time," Malfoy had finally put my book back onto my bedside table, rolling his eyes at me."Contrary to popular belief, it isn't my dream to spend time with you and your bitchy personality and lack of regard for other people's feelings. Yet here we are."
Again, ladies and gentlemen, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, the arsewipe. It's a good job his jibes didn't bother me anymore or my self-esteem would have taken a beating.
"You really do know how to make a girl feel loved," I clasped a hand on my heart, pretending to swoon, before smacking my coin purse off his blonde head. "Bloody toad you are. How the hell are girls even attracted to you? Your personality sucks."
"Rose, don't start-"
"So does yours, Weasley, maybe that's why we're so compatible."
"Actually, I think you'll find the only thing compatible about you and I is the fact my foot is itching to kick you in the throat."
"Rosie!"
Update: Al was fighting a losing battle. I think he got it from Uncle Harry- always the peace keeper- after all those years he had to put up with my Mum and Dad.
"We might have something in common, you never know."
"And I'm interested in finding out."
"Right! Behave the pair of you!" Al suddenly said loudly. "We're going for breakfast now. So quit your fighting or I'll tell Uncle Ron you two were snogging in the bathroom."
I glared but followed him out of my pigsty of a bedroom. Malfoy shut my door which I was grateful for. You never know where Hugo and his weird friends are. I'd once caught one of his friends raking through my underwear drawer and threatened to hex him into next century.
In the little town we lived in, there wasn't much to do but it was pretty. With big trees and rickety houses and long country lanes. But once we'd bid my Mum and Dad goodbye and made our way to a small hole-in-the-wall cafe that did amazing full English breakfasts, I felt a little bit more awake than usual. There was a bit of a wait so Al (weirdly) decided to trust Malfoy and I to be civil while he rushed to the muggle joke shop round the corner.
"I feel like you're stalking me, Malfoy."
"Yes, Weasley, I'm totally stalking you." Finally, he was growing tired of my shit. The two of us were in a booth in the corner. "Don't think this is my idea of a good time. I'd rather Al and I just played Quidditch at his house."
"Now you've infiltrated my house, I'm going to have to move," I sighed, bitterly. "For Merlin's sake."
"Don't be overdramatic, Weasley, it doesn't suit you." I gawped at him. I was renowned for being overdramatic. Blame my family. They're lunatics. "Stop staring at me with your wonky eye."
Since I'm repeating myself a lot, especially today, I'll say it again; my 'wonky' eye is not that bad. Honestly, it's hardly noticeable. I really don't know why it was such an important factor in my life or anybody else's life for that matter.
"The next person to mention my eye is going to end up in St. Mungo's," I grumbled, covering my eye with my hand. "If I didn't have an overly sized ego, I'd probably cry over it."
"Do you just say the first thing that comes into your head?" Malfoy clearly thought this would offend me. "You need to learn how to have a filter."
"What's the point in having a filter? At least I'm honest. I'd rather be honest and have people not like me, than say something I don't mean and have people to love me for it."
Life Lessons 101 by Rose C. Weasley, coming to a Flourish and Blotts near you.
"Honesty is not always the best policy. It hurts people."
"That's because you can't keep your hands to yourself. New girlfriend every month or so with no attachment. You need a therapist." It had been a word vomit moment. Not that what I was saying wasn't true, but I still hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh. "Wait, that was rude. Doesn't mean it's not the truth. But I'm sorry."
"I think you're refreshing, Weasley."
"Are you complimenting me?"
"More of a backhanded compliment, really, " Malfoy shrugged. "You're not afraid to call anyone out on their bullshit, are you?"
"You can always rely on me for that," I said, happily. "Seriously though, advice from one arsehole to another, you need to sort your shit out. Find some nice, reasonably slutty girl and enjoy life."
And that is when Al decided to join us. He had already ordered at the till and was carrying a huge carrier bag of things. I tried to ignore the fact I'd just given Malfoy advice. Not very good advice, but advice nonetheless. We all ate our breakfasts, talking about fifth year and how we thought it would pan out and eventually, Malfoy actually did pay for all three of us. And at the end of the day, they'd both walked me home and said they'd see me tomorrow (September 1st) on the train.
Update: when I'd returned to my bedroom later that night, it was still in as much mess as it was this morning. And being the unpredictable person I was, I managed to get myself packed and sorted. I think my character was finally developing.
I'd actually packed and closed my trunk and had stood it upright near my door. Billy, my tawny owl, was packed and fed and contently cooing on my desk. My homework was compelted, my robes ironed and immaculate, and even my bed was made properly. Talk about a changed person.
Bring on fifth year. Although I wasn't sure what it would bring with it.
