Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or the quote in here. (Psh, if I did I'd be rich and give a lot of it to cancer research. The rest to saving Borders bookstore..)
"Mum?" Rose asked peering around the door.
"Yeah?" Hermione said, looking up from her book, 'Little Know Facts of the Goblin Rebellions.'
"Well, I was wondering...could I dye my hair?"
"Why? It's such a pretty color now."
"I want a different color, and Victiore's color is so pretty..."
"No, Rosie, I don't think so." Hermione stated firmly.
"Why not?"
"Well, you hair looks nice enough as it is. Plus, hair dye can ruin your hair."
"But we could change it magically."
"No."
"Could I do something? You never let me wear make-up!"
"You don't need it."
"But-" Rose whined.
"No. "
"Why?'
"Because I don't think you should wear it until your at least seventeen, and only on special occasions." Hermione explained.
"Mum! Everyone in my year wears make-up! I'm fifteen! I should be allowed to wear it."
"No, Rose."
"But Mum! That's not fair! I should be able to wear it, I need it!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Mum, don't act like you haven't noticed. I'm the ugliest cousin. " Rose said, matter-of-factly.
"I'm not acting. What do you mean?" Her mother replied, turning her head to the side.
"C'mon! Victiore, Dominique, Lily, Roxanne, Lucy, Molly; they're all beautiful! I'm not."
"You are beautiful."
"Mum, please. You have to see it! Look at the photo album. I'm not nearly as beautiful as them!"
"Yes, you are. Tell me, what makes you not as beautiful?"
"My body! My face! My hair! My eyes! Everything!" Rose said gesturing around like a maniac.
"I see nothing wrong with anything you mentioned."
"I'm fat."
"Rose. You? Fat!" Hermione laughed. " Don't tell me you think you're fat! I wish I was your size at fifteen! You're perfectly healthy!"
"My eyes are an ugly color. My lips are too thin! My hair is too frizzy! I'm ugly." Rose exclaimed.
"Why do you think that?"
"Have you seen...Aunt Fleur, for example! She's gorgeous!"
"So are you."
"I don't look like her. That's what gorgeous looks like."
"Really? So Lily's not pretty?" Hermione said sarcastically.
"Lily's pretty. She's what beautiful looks like. I don't look like her. I don't look like Dominique, Victiore, Roxie, Molly, Lucy, Grammy, Aunt Ginny...or...anyone!"
"Or course not. You're not them."
"I wish I was." Rose huffed.
"You wish you didn't know your grandparents, like Lily? You wish you lost your son in a war, like Grammy? You wish you've seen too many people die, like Ginny?"
"Okay, so I don't want to be them, but I want to look like them!"
"You want to look exactly like someone else, and not look different? Not be yourself. Not be unique?"
"No, it's just...I want to be a pretty as them!"
"Okay, wish granted." Hermione's patience was wearing out.
"Mum!" Rose whined.
"Rose, what do you want me to say? You need to stop comparing yourself to other people, and look at yourself for who you are. You are beautiful. Not only that, but you're kind, you're caring, your smart, you're brave, you can do anything you put your mind to, you're a leader, you're strong, independent...why would you not want to be that? You look the way you're supposed to look. Who cares what other people look like? Everything has beauty. That means you do too. And I can tell you now, the only one who doesn't see how beautiful you are is yourself!"
"Mum..."
"Do you know why your dad and I named you Rose?"
"Why?"
"We think roses are the most beautiful flower on Earth."
"But I'm not the most beautiful person on Earth."
"Someday you'll find someone who disagrees. Anyways, back to your name. When we had you, we were pretty young, you could say we were facing adversity. So, while we were trying to name you, it got a little chaotic. Let's just say that Harry had to break us up... Any how, we decided to take a break, and get some ice cream at a Muggle shop. This little girl was talking about some movie she saw. She said she liked the part where the one guy said 'The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.' From then on, we knew we'd name you Rose. Because you'd be the most beautiful of them all."
"Mum, that's the corniest thing I've heard my whole life."
"It's true though. And when you stop comparing yourself to others you'll see what I mean."
"That's all your going to say?'
"Yes. Now, let's get some lunch. I promised Hugo we'd go out to eat for his birthday."
(2 Years Later)
"Rose?"
"Mm?" She asked, lifting her head a bit from her date's shoulder.
"I swear, you're the most beautiful girl in the world. Both inside and out."
"Scorpius, you're so corny!" Rose giggled, kissing his cheek lightly, then returning to dancing.
"I speak the truth. But..."
"What?"
"Why do you wear that crap?" The dancing stopped at that point.
"What? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Rose asked, gesturing at her clothes.
"No, not your clothes." Scorpius chuckled. "That make-up. You look so much better without it."
"Am I wearing that much?"
"No, you're not. It's just...it covers up your freckles. And it makes you look different...more...I don't know? Like everyone else." He said shrugging.
"So?"
"You're not like everyone else. I love your freckles, your differences from everyone else, they're specifically Rose."
"Really?" She asked. Scorpius just nodded. "Maybe next time I won't wear any make-up."
"Please don't."
"Why do you care so much?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. But you do look better without make-up." Scorpius said with a halfhearted shrug.
"I love you."
"I am rather lovable."
"Shut up, and tell me you love me!" Scorpius smiled and pulled her in closer.
"I love you."
*Author's Note* Alright, so flames are welcome! I wrote this because I noticed too many girls and boys now a-days have low self-esteem. In fact, for a while it was something I struggled with. My main problem was that I compared myself to others like Rose, so I wrote this as a kind of Public Service Announcement, but in a more fun way.
But really, if you have low self esteem, you should stop comparing yourself to others. You will never be them, and were never meant to be. Then, you should look at the good things about yourself, not the bad. What are your strengths? I can guarantee you no one else (who matters) is looking at your weaknesses, they respect you for your good traits. So what's good about you? Both, inside and out? Do you have nice skin? Pretty eyes? Nice hair? Are you nice? Smart? Athletic? What are your skills? And remember, you have people that love you. I know at hard times this doesn't seem true, but it is. No matter what your situation is, I know someone loves you. God loves you (I know some people don't believe in God, but keep reading), people around you love you, and I love you. In a completely non-romantic way, because most of my readers are girls, and I'm straight... But I do love you, even though I don't know you. Why? Because you have to have good in you somewhere, and because everyone deserves to be loved. So, smile, keep your head up, and be proud of who you are.
Anyways, I'm done with my overly-corny speech. I know that it might not mean anything to you guys, but that's okay. I had to say that. I'd feel bad if I didn't. So, thank you for reading! Flames are welcome, I oddly always wanted one. Thanks in advance to all my favorite-ers, alert-ers, and reviewers! :)
