Go Gently, Sweet Sanity
1. Sequins and Horrible Quidditch Matches
Rose Weasley was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry. She had been known to lash out at random people, no matter who they were or what house they were in. It was lucky that she was usually such a calm person. It was unfortunate, then, that today she was in a foul mood.
"Hey Weasley!" yelled some stupid, stupid Hufflepuff boy as she shoved her way through the crowd surrounding the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. "How'd ya manage to lose to Slytherin? You Gryffindors must be livid!"
"Shut up!" she screeched as she pushed him hard in the chest. "It was a fluke! We should have won!"
The match had been ridiculous. Gryffindor had outflown those filthy snakes at every turn, holding the score at one hundred and eighty to forty. Until that Malfoy had pranced around and caught the bleeding snitch. He'd probably cheated too. James so had it in his hand first.
The final score had been one hundred and ninety to one hundred and eighty. Ridiculous. Absolutely sodding ridiculous. She felt like slapping the nearest green supporter upside their head. She hoped it would hurt and her dark blue eyes tore around looking for the nearest one in the enormous crowd that was making its way up to the castle. Damn it. There were too many to single one innocent bystander out.
"Rose!" she heard someone call from many meters behind her. "Hey! Rose!"
She didn't turn around in case it was some annoying, dirty, cheating Slytherin. How could they have won that match? It should never have happened.
"Rosie! Wait!" it was a different voice that time.
She let out an angry sigh and spun around. A couple of meters below her, puffing and panting as they struggled up the hill towards the medieval castle, were her two best friends. Paige Armstrong and Felicity Dawes. Paige was still wearing her Quidditch robes as well. When the game had ended and the Gryffindors had belatedly walked back into the change rooms to have an after-match chat, as the captain, Freddie Weasley liked to call it, Rose had taken off. If she had only scored two more goals. Just two. And the match would have been theirs. Damn it!
"Crap, Rose," huffed Felicity. "It nearly killed me trying to catch up to you."
"Yeah," Paige assented, nodding in fervent agreement. "Seriously, just how horrible was that game?" The dark haired girl was frowning and shaking her head. "And when Malfoy caught that freakin' snitch ... ugh, I felt like pulling my hair out."
"You don't have to tell me," said Rose vindictively. "I was there."
Felicity smiled at her. She didn't look too upset, actually. "You played well, guys. Roughin' it up with all those Slytherin boys. Gee, maybe I should try out next season... I could be a Chaser like you, Rose."
"I hoped I roughed them up, dirty cheaters," exclaimed Rose indignantly.
"Now, Rosie, it could have been anyone that let Hagrid's skrewts onto the pitch," she saw her red haired friend's sceptical grimace and added, "Okay, so it probably was the Slytherins. Sure, they were a little distracting but they didn't really affect the game from so far below us."
"I missed the third shot! The big one exploded its butt and it threw me off! I couldn't even concentrate."
Felicity held up her hands in a peacemaking gesture. "Listen, I wouldn't be able to concentrate either. What with that absolutely delicious Beater on the Slytherin side. I mean, damn, that boy is fine."
Rose snorted. "You mean Goyle? Isn't he a little young for you, Flick?" she asked jokingly, using her friend's well worn nickname.
"Not Goyle. Ew. I don't want tinea, thank you very much. I was talking about Hawke."
Paige and Rose automatically stiffened. Hawke Zabini. Or otherwise known as Merlin's Gift to Women. With those tight Quidditch muscles, a mop of thick, dark hair and serious eyes, well let's just say he was really easy to look at. No more words needed saying. It only took one name to bring silence to the mouth of every female in the castle. And possibly a handful of the male populace as well.
They tramped along the much used path up to the castle. The sun hung high in the air like a golden orb of flame, shedding a brilliant light on an otherwise frosty Sunday morning. Hogwarts stood stark against the frame that was an English sky, a mass of cloud-reaching turrets and brick foundations. Rose watched it as it grew taller and larger as they moved closer and closer. This was her home. She couldn't picture herself in any other place, except perhaps Grandma and Grandpa's.
Suddenly, she was jostled as a head of white blonde hair pushed her out of the way.
"Watch yourself, Weasley," said the tall boy, his shale eyes flashing like silver. "You're in my way."
"You watch yourself, Malfoy," Rose snarled after him, letting the hate seep into every syllable like a viscous poison. "The albinos are coming to collect you soon."
"Keep hoping for that, Weasley."
"I don't need to hope, you cheating scumbag! I know it!"
He laughed, and she hated the fact that it sounded good. "Scumbag? Gee, original. I'd hate to see you angry or something."
She watched with burning blue eyes as he and his posse pushed through the crowd and up the steps to the castle. Just before Scorpius Malfoy disappeared into the depths of the castle he turned and waved.
"Oh, and Weasley," he called over the noise of the pulsing people. "Nice loss today!"
"Screw you!" she yelled at his back, earning several dirty looks from her surrounding peers.
* * *
"Hey, Hunter," called Rose from across the table. The dark haired boy looked up. "Did you tell Freddie that I had to pee? I don't want him to think I ran out on him after the match."
Hunter Grayson laughed, his blue-purple eyes flashing in amusement. "Nah. Al told him you were out clubbing Slytherins. Fred just shrugged and said that someone had to."
"Nearly," she muttered under her breath. "Where's Albus and Louis?" she asked, noting her two cousin's lack of presence.
"Louis noticed a pretty brunette in the Hufflepuff stand; I left him to it," answered Albus Potter, sliding into the empty seat beside Rose.
Hunter laughed. "I thought he'd 'met' all the Hufflepuff girls."
Albus grinned shyly. "Yeah. I think they knew each other pretty well."
Paige shook her head. "I suggest we all become nuns. It would be a solution to everything."
Flick laughed. "For you. I personally think that life as an unobligated young witch is perfectly thrilling."
Hunter chuckled. "I'm sure I could make it oh so much more thrilling," he said, imitating her inflections.
"You're sure?" she asked sarcastically. "I was discussing the male population, actually."
Hunter clutched his chest. "Oh! Ouch!" he cried, feigning pain and hurt. "Darling Felicity, have you no heart?!"
Paige snorted. "Not for you, Grayson. Most certainly not for you."
He frowned, his dark brows furrowing. "And what's that supposed to mean?" he huffed indignantly.
Albus leaned forward. "It means she goes for blondes. We're out of it, mate," he said, referring to their equally dark hair.
Rose grinned. "It does not mean she goes for blondes, Al. Merlin, you boys are thick. It just means she doesn't go for Hunter."
Hunter nodded solemnly. "It's true. I'm a category within myself."
They all laughed. Hunter's ego was well known throughout Hogwarts. There was usually a competition between himself and Louis on who could... well let's just say that they were continuously adding 'notches'. But no matter how hard they tried, neither could ever dream of besting Zabini in that department. Not even put together. And that was saying something.
Lunch was a quiet affair. The Gryffindors were singularly throbbing with fury at their outrageous defeat and most were shooting daggers at the green-clad celebrators at the opposite end of the Great Hall. Even the magically suspended candles that were hung in the air seemed brighter on that side.
"Stuh 'em," said Hunter through a mouthful of chicken. "Ey din derve te win anway..."
Rose nodded. "I still can't help being angry, though. I mean, they put skrewts on the pitch. Skrewts!"
"Hey, Rose," said Albus. "Did you do your Herbology essay?"
Rose shrugged. "Half of it. Why?"
"'Cause Aunt Hermione told me to tell you to make sure you finish it. I'm just passing it on."
Rose scowled. "I'm going to be having a serious talk with Neville... er, Professor Longbottom. He has got to stop telling mum about my homework schedule!"
"Or lack of..." muttered Paige, grinning.
"Ugh. Who cares?" continued Rose, pretending to ignore the chuckles of her friends. "It's not like she can follow me to school and make me do my work. Pfft."
"I dunno, Rose," said Paige. "What if she sends you a howler? My mum did last term."
"And you do really need to do your work," said Albus, the little nerd. "I mean, we do have N.E. this year."
Rose glared at him. As if she didn't know. Her brilliant witch of a mother sent her a letter every week detailing a study schedule and new quills and ink. It was getting beyond ridiculous. As if she didn't know that Rose was not a studious child.
Well, she used to be. Rose Weasley was the top of every class, the most intelligent girl in the school. Well on her way to becoming Head Girl– after all, she was Hermione Granger's daughter. It was almost a legacy of sorts. Until sixth year and that cursed party. The one thing that could shatter her perfect reputation turned out to be an innocent bottle and a half of firewhiskey.
The thing is; Rose wasn't dumb. She read the textbooks (and all other manner of books), passed the tests and usually got reasonable marks, she just didn't try. In all honesty, she was an excellent student. She just pretended otherwise. Homework and study had no place in her life these days.
Lunch passed quickly, Rose and her friends leaving the Great Hall soon after Louis's arrival and heading down to the Lake. The group lounged by the water's edge, beneath the cool shade of the old, decaying tree that overhung the glittering surface. Rose felt comfortable; she was quiet and thoughtful, still trying not to thinking about the Quidditch match to Slytherin earlier that day. Paige giggled loudly, breaking through her thoughts. She was leaning over Albus, whispering something that was apparently very amusing in Felicity's ear. Al was red in the face; she guessed that the joke was about him.
Hunter laughed and pointed as one of the Giant Squid's slimy tentacles suddenly burst from the murky black water. A group of first years screamed and ran away. Hunter laughed harder, his blue-violet eyes bright with amusement. Louis – the blonde wonder- leaned casually against the knee of some Hufflepuff girl, his current squeeze. She smiled down at him, twirling her hair and batting her mascara-caked eyelashes. Pathetic. It was so funny, even Rose was laughing to herself. She nudged Hunter who saw her gaze and grinned.
"What's the bet that by Monday, it's a blue-eyed Ravenclaw blonde?" he whispered.
She grinned. "Almost certain."
An hour passed and the lazing teens made no effort to move.
Rose stirred. "It's Christmas in two weeks," she said. "Is anyone staying?"
"I am," said Flick. Hunter nodded in agreement.
"I might," said Louis. "Depends if Victoire decides to come back from Paris early. 'Cause damn, I don't think I could spend all Christmas with her incessant whining and bossing."
Albus yawned. "Pfft. Stuff you guys; I'm not missing Grandma's Christmas dinner for all the gold in the world!"
Rose stared unseeing at the ghostly water. Its icy black surface was eerie and enchanting. She wondered if she'd be able to stay at school. She couldn't bear to go to another Weasley Christmas dinner and have practically everyone she knew ask about her 'behaviour' and 'attitude' and 'what she planned to do with her life'. So fun.
She thought dimly about her life away from Hogwarts. Home, at Denver Place, was usually quiet, to say the least. Her mother, usually so caught up in a painfully tall pile of reports from work, only opened her mouth to say something witty, or to tell her Rose and her brother Hugo to be quiet. Hermione Weasley hadn't shared a decent conversation with her daughter since last year. They just avoided it. Ron preferred to keep away from what was obviously a tense subject; he had no idea what was going on.
Rose stood up. It was almost time for dinner and besides, it was getting cold. The wind was harsher, more pressing; a constant reminder to hide from the elements. She wanted to go to her room before dinner. She didn't say anything, simply turning to leave and walk back up to the castle. Hunter and Paige followed her, the others remaining to talk about the disastrous game.
Hunter elbowed her as they ascended the marble staircase.
"What?" she asked, just a tad on the snappish side.
He shrugged, his purple-blue eyes twinkling in amusement. "Nothing..."
On her other side, Paige was whistling a barely recognisable tune. She was doing fairly well, for someone who couldn't whistle until a week ago.
Rose's eyebrows furrowed suspiciously. Something was up. "What are you two planning?"
Their eyes widened. "Nothing..." they said in unison, hands clasping.
"Tell me!" they were still traipsing up, slowly making their way to Gryffindor Tower. She rounded on Hunter. He was probably easier to convince than Paige. He was such a pushover; a simple egotrip would have him spilling his darkest secrets.
"Why are you being so sneaky?" she demanded, setting herself a step above him so that he could not push past her. "What's going on?"
Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but Paige interrupted him before he could blurt out the truth. How inconsiderate of her. "I'll tell you later, Rosie. Just wait."
Rose eyed them suspiciously.
Hunter shot her the Innocent Look. Paige mimicked it.
Rose sighed. "Fine."
Paige beamed. "Don't worry, Ro," she assured her. "I'll totally make sure you look hot."
"Hot?" Rose asked cautiously. "Why would I need to look hot?"
Hunter laughed. "As if you need an excuse, babe."
"Oh, let's not go there, Hunter," she snarked. "I do recall an incident involving you... and one of my dress robes."
He grinned. "Good times. Still got the frilly purple one, with the slit down the side?"
Rose shook her head. "It always astounds me of the intimate detail you have of my wardrobe, considering you've never been in my room."
He tapped his straight nose. "Never say never, sweet cheeks."
She rolled her eyes and tossed a lock of bright red hair over her shoulder whilst Paige said the password to the Gryffindor commonroom.
Paige and Rose waved goodbye to Hunter and padded up to the Girls Seventh Dorm. Rose immediately claimed the shower, preferring to wash away the horrible Quidditch match with her honey-cinnamon scented shampoo. She sighed to the steamy shower, hoping that Paige was not causing too much of a mess.
"Seriously, Armstrong, what sort of party are we hitting tonight?" asked Rose, stepping out of the shower and staring in disbelief at the mountain of clothes her friend had dumped on her bed.
"A good one."
Rose rolled her eyes at Paige's answer.
"Where are the girls?" the tall flame-haired witch asked, her blue eyes curious.
"Oh, well Flick is probably on her way up now," rambled Paige, contenting herself in full preparation mode. "And Tash and Sam are already at the party, helping set up."
Rose sighed, shifting a few dresses to sit on the bed. "Do I really have to go? You know how I hate parties..."
Paige stiffened. Her grey-green eyes met the blue orbs of her sad friend and she instantly knelt at her feet. "Rosie, it wasn't the party that did that to you."
Rose snorted viciously. "No. It was the general party environment."
Paige shook her head and grabbed her friend's hand. "I'll keep you away from him and the firewhiskey. I promise. I'll employ Hunter to entertain you as well. It's a party, Rosie, not a death sentence."
The furrow in her delicate brows deepened. "I don't trust myself."
Paige smiled. "That's good. But at least you trust your friends who won't let a single thing happen. Besides, Albus is going so it won't be much fun at all."
Rose snorted and stood up, thinking of her social-reject cousin. Still chuckling, she went back into the bathroom to scrub her teeth and do her hair. Paige smiled sadly after her friend. She knew that Rose Weasley was a mess. In fact, everyone knew. Everyone knew but her.
When Rose re-entered the room, it was clean, save for two dresses thrown over her bed and an extra person.
"Hey, Flick."
Felicity smiled. "My darling Rosie, Paige insisted that you wear this black dress," she said, standing up and pointing to the ebony tea dress on Rose's bed. "But I disagree and say that you should most definitely wear this sparkly little red number. Your still tan from summer and you should play it your advantage."
Rose rolled her eyes. It was her favourite bad habit. "I like the red."
Flick stuck her tongue out at Paige who turned her nose up. "The red is cute. The black is hot. It's merely choice."
"And she chose the red," smirked Flick. "Which also denotes style..."
"Excuse me? That black dress is –"
"Ladies, please," interrupted Rose, grinning. "I'm wearing the red because of all the pretty sequins. It has nothing to do with cute, hot, style, choice, colour or anything. I just like the sequins."
Felicity muttered something, but Rose ignored her and took the red dress into the bathroom. "Remind me again," she called as she fluttered over her appearance. "Just why are we having a party when we lost?"
Paige giggled. "Well, the Slytherins are obviously throwing their all-invited victory bash in the Room of Requirement, but what they don't know is that we bullied the Ravenclaws into throwing a bigger party in their common room. Slytherins hate being left by themselves for long, so they'll show up and be forced to celebrate a gracious loss by Gryffindor."
"I don't see why they won't turn it into their own little party," grumbled Flick as she accidently skewed her eyeliner. Dabbing at the uneven line, she said, "They are Slytherins after all."
"Elizabeth Selles did a spell that doesn't allow them to cheer for themselves inside the room. Pretty clever."
"Really?" asked Rose with interest from the bathroom mirror, where she was smoothing her lips with gloss. "What spell? It sounds complicated."
Rose admired the Head Girl's spellwork. She wondered if the charm would last all night.
"I don't care," sneered Flick. "You ready in there? I need to pee..."
Rose giggled and stepped out, her black flats clapping on the tile. Felicity whistled. "Whoa, girl, keep away from my boyfriend!"
Paige chuckled. "What boyfriend? We are all, sadly, single."
"Give me a few hours," called Felicity as she shut the door.
"I like your top," complimented Rose.
Paige smiled. "Yeah. Couldn't be stuffed to wear a dress. Top and skirt for me."
"It looks pretty," assured Rose, truly admiring the deep purple blouse. It hung from her friend's shoulders, giving sight to her slender neck. "You should wear your hair up."
"Think so? Alright." Paige swept her dark brown dead-straight locks into a casual twist at the nape of her neck. Flick emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing a fluorescent jumpsuit... thing. Rose stared for a moment before shrugging; Felicity had the attitude to pull it off.
"Bus!" Rose called across the pulsing Ravenclaw commonroom. "Hey, hey Bus!"
The black haired boy standing in the corner shook his head sadly. "I really wish you would stop calling me that, Rose."
She grinned at her favourite cousin. "Albus, then. Because it's so much cooler."
Hunter elbowed him. "She's got a point, man. But I gotta say, some of those Slytherin kids' names. Well they're just plain stupid. Seriously – who calls their kid Scorpius. Or... or Imperia. Wait and... Hawke?"
Rose laughed. Paige looked up and frowned. Oh that's right, the girl was in love with him.
They chatted for a good ten minutes, waiting for the party to get underway. The Hufflepuffs showed up and more drinks were passed around. The music began to pound and bodies began to move. Lights flashed and there might have been some tuneless chanting at one point.
But the highlight was when the Slytherins poured in through the door, with scowls on their faces and clenched fists. The only two people in the green and silver robes that looked decently pleased to be there were Malfoy and Zabini.
The first thing Scorpius Malfoy saw when he stepped into the blue and bronze covered common room was Rose Weasley vindictively rolling her blue eyes at him and taking a delicate sip of her pumpkin juice.
He sighed.
"Let's not have a repeat, shall we mate?" laughed his dark skinned friend, Hawke. Zabini was peering around the room, eyeing its female inhabitants, and judging which ones he could get naked the quickest. He was nothing if not thorough.
Scorpius shook his head and accepted the drink that was passed to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the pretty Weasley make her way to the other end of the large room, the furthest from him. He sighed again.
AN: Sorry about the false alarm, to those who have me on alert. I forgot that I had an extra two thousand words from the next chapter at the end of the document and when I realised I was like, "oh CRAP!! Delete, DELETE!!"
Haha. Whoops.
Seriously. I am on a roll. I updated Adore You last night... a couple of one shots during the week... violent deliverance. The next chapter of This is for real is nearly done and I'm half way through Screaming my silence, so look forward to that..
Please review! xx