Out of the Shadows

by Lily II

Rose Weasley has been living in the shadow of her family for years. But when she goes to Hogwarts, she has the opportunity to choose her own path. Will Rose manage to go against tradition, disapproval, and expectations to finally become a person in her own right?

1. Chapter 1

"I'm definitely going to be in Gryffindor, no question."

"What, you mean you think that you could get Sorted into anything else?"

"Hmmm, Hufflepuff might not actually be too bad, but…"

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, but no pressure."

"Ron!"

Lily and Hugo laugh at the look on Dad's face when Mum tells him off for teasing them, but I say nothing. I don't think he's serious, but you never know. I cast a glance at Albus, who is looking just as serious as I feel. What if we aren't Sorted into Gryffindor? Almost everyone in the Weasley family has been Gryffindor for centuries. It's practically a tradition. In fact, just being a Weasley has probably guaranteed me a spot among the scarlet-and-gold students.

I frown, scuffing my shoes on the platform. People are always assuming things based on who my parents are. "Oh, you're Hermione Granger's daughter, you must be so clever!" "Oh, you're a Weasley? You must be really brave." "It must be fun, having your parents." Yeah, right. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but sometimes, I wish people would look further than my last name. I want them to get to know me because of me, not because of my relatives.

"So that's little Scorpius," Dad says under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

Oh great, here we go again. Yes, I am clever, but can we not make such a big deal about it? And I wish he would stop calling me Rosie. It was nice when I was five, but now that I'm starting Hogwarts, he could maybe use my real name, Rose.

"Ron, for heaven's sake," Mum says, with her honestly-you're-so-irritating-but-I-love-you-anyway voice. She uses it with Dad a lot. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

Dad apologizes, but I hear him mutter, "Don't get too friendly with him, Rosie." Seriously, what is it with him not being able to use my name? "Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood."

Aside from the minor factor that most of our family branches are pure-blood, maybe he has a point. Not that I'm thinking of getting married yet, I'm only eleven. I follow his line of sight to see who it is that my father is telling his eleven-year-old not to get married to. Through the shifting clouds of steam, I see a boy, about my height, blond. At that moment, he turns and looks directly at me with the same undisguised curiosity, I'm sure, that I have on my face. He turns away again, but not before I have time to notice a small smirk flit across his face.

I'm drawn back into the present by Uncle Harry warning us to get on the train. I lift my trunk on, and give Mum, Dad, and Hugo a hug. I might not appreciate all the attention that comes with my family, but I love them just the same.

James jumps on board and darts off down the corridor, completely ignoring me. Seeing as he's done so ever since he started Hogwarts two years ago, I'm not really surprised. Why would a third-year want anything to do with a first-year, after all? Never mind. I don't need to hang onto my cousins. I can make my own way. Although if I ever wanted to, I have plenty of cousins to choose from. Victoire is in seventh year, Dominique in fifth, Fred and Roxanne in fourth, James in third, and Louis in second. Molly won't be at Hogwarts until next year, Hugo and Lily the year after, and Lucy in three years, but it still feels like a lot. Yes, I have a big family.

The whistle blows, and the doors begin to close. Al quickly gets in, and we lean out of the carriage window to wave. All around us, people are looking in our direction.

"Why are they all staring?" Albus asks, looking around.

I barely suppress the urge to roll my eyes. You'd think, being the son of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, he'd have realized by now that everyone knows about us, but he somehow still hasn't twigged, despite everything he's heard about the Second Wizarding War. Sometimes I worry about my cousin.

"Don't let it worry you," Dad says. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Al and I laugh. Dad's being silly again, but there is an element of truth in his words. I gulp slightly, wondering how much attention I'm going to get at Hogwarts because of who I am. Or, more accurately, because of who my parents are.

The train begins to move, and I lean out to wave to Hugo and Lily. Uncle Harry walks along with us, waving until we exit the station.

I bring my head back inside the train. Al taps me on the shoulder.

"I'll see you later, Rose, alright? I said I'd meet Lorcan and Lysander."

I nod. Al's been best friends with the Scamander twins ever since the three of them met as babies. I should have expected this, but I still feel a little funny as I watch Albus walk off down the corridor.

I pick up the end of my trunk and begin to haul it down the train, looking for somewhere to sit. Finally, I find an empty compartment. I was beginning to think that I would have to go in one of the half-full ones, and endure stares and questions for the rest of the journey as soon as I tell the other students my name. I have just settled down with a book when the compartment door slides open.

"Is anyone sitting there? I can't find anywhere else."

I look up. It's the blond boy I saw in the station.

"Feel free," I say, and turn back to my book. I'm reading The Lord of the Rings for the fifth time. My copy is really old, since it used to be my mother's when she was little, but I love it anyway.

The boy comes into the compartment and heaves his trunk into the overhead luggage rack. He sits down across from me, and looks out the window. Then he turns back to me.

"I'm Scorpius."

"I know," I say, still reading. "My dad told me to stay away from you. I'm Rose."

"I know," he says. "My dad told me to stay away from you."

I look up. He sends me a challenging look. I put the book aside and hold out my hand.

"Nice to meet you. I won't mention your family if you don't mention mine."

He frowns. "Why?"

"Because I'm sick of people judging me by my last name."

He nods. "I see. Nice to meet you too." He shakes my hand.

I pick up my book and have just begun reading again when the compartment door opens. It's Louis, Uncle Bill's youngest son.

"Hi, Rose. You alright?"

"Hi. Yes, I'm fine."

"Well, if you need anything, come find me," he says. He casts a curious glance at Scorpius, and exits the compartment.

Louis is the nicest one of my cousins, I think. Not that the others are mean or anything, but he's the only one in Hufflepuff. It shows.

I finally find my place, just before the door opens again. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

I sigh and put the book aside. At this rate, I'm not going to finish the chapter before Christmas.

I pull out my purse and buy some Chocolate Frogs, Sugar Quills, Cauldron Cakes, Every Flavour Beans, and my all-time favourite, Peppermint Pockets. They're a hard shell of peppermint candy, filled with creamy white nougat and peppermint cream at the centre. And they taste heavenly.

Scorpius brushes past me as I sit back down, and I nearly lose my balance.

"Watch it," I say, frowning at him. "I may not discriminate against people for their last names, but I do discriminate against people who make me drop my Chocolate Frogs."

He chuckles. "Sorry."

We pass the rest of the journey in silence, broken only by the rustle of turning pages. I'm reading, and he is writing in a notebook. I would say it looks like a diary or journal of some sort, but I don't ask.

The sky slowly darkens as we travel further north. The lamps in the carriages go on. Eventually, the train starts to slow down. A voice echoes through the corridors.

"We will shortly be arriving at Hogsmeade station. Please leave your trunks on the train. They will be taken up to the school separately."

I close my book, put it away, and move over to the window. I can't see much, but I catch a glimpse of several houses and winding lanes with mountains behind them.

The train comes to a stop. I go out into the corridor and make my way out onto the platform, trying not to get squished by all the students around me.

"Firs' years, over here! Firs' years, this way!"

I thankfully make my way through the crowd to where I can see Hagrid beckoning. He's nearly ninety and has retired from teaching and gamekeeping, but he still holds the position of Keeper of the Keys, and as such is the first-years' escort across the lake. I grin up at him as I manage to reach his side.

"Hello, Hagrid."

"'ello, there, Rose. How's your family? Mum and Dad doin' alright?"

"They all send their love.."

"Is everyone here?" Hagrid asks, looking out over the crowd of students. "Right then, foller me."

He leads us down a path through a forest, with thick undergrowth on either side. I shudder as I peer into the trees. I would not want to get lost in there.

"You'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid calls.

We round a bend in the path, and find ourselves facing a lake. I raise my gaze to the other side, and gasp as the sight of the castle meets my eye. Hogwarts rises majestically above us, towers and turrets lit from within. I shudder again slightly, this time with excitement. I almost can't believe that I'm finally here.

Hagrid leads us down to the waters edge, where little wooden boats are lined up. "No more'n four to a boat," he calls.

I climb into the closest one, and am quickly followed by two girls who look identical, and a stocky black-haired boy. On our journey across the lake, we introduce ourselves. The girls are called Rachael and Ella Thomas, and the boy is Henry Macmillan.

We approach the cliff on which the school is built.

"Mind your heads," Hagrid calls from the foremost boat.

We duck, and the boats enter a tunnel. It goes on for quite a while, and I am sure that we're going under the castle itself. At last, we reach a small beach, and clamber out of our boats. We follow Hagrid up a winding tunnel that comes out to the left of the front entrance.

Hagrid climbs the steps and knocks on the door. I wiggle my way through the group to the front, eager to get my first glimpse of what will be my home for the next seven years.

The large doors are opened by a tall man with brown hair, who I recognize. I have to bite my tongue so as not to greet him in front of the others. Neville Longbottom and his wife, Hannah, are frequent visitors at our house during the holidays, but at school he's my teacher.

Neville—Professor Longbottom, I remind myself sternly—leads us through the Entrance Hall, which is huge. Mum and Dad really weren't exaggerating when they told me you could fit Uncle Percy's entire house inside. We follow Professor Longbottom into a room off the side, where he gives us the standard beginning-of-the-year talk about the houses and all that. I've heard about it from my parents, so I let my attention wander.

I notice Scorpius standing over by the wall, looking just as bored as I feel. He looks back at me, and raises an eyebrow. I nearly giggle at the look on his face, but stop in time.

Professor Longbottom exits the room, returning a short while later. He takes us across the Entrance Hall, past the marble staircase that leads to the upper floors, and through a pair of doors that lead into the Great Hall.

I don't know where to look first: at the enchanted ceiling, at the four house tables lined with chattering students, at the High Table where all the teachers sit... Hogwarts is even better than I imagined it to be.

We reach the front of the hall, and shuffle into a line of sorts. Professor Longbottom walks up to a stool, on which sits a frayed hat, the Sorting Hat, which I've heard so much about. The hall falls silent. Then a rip near the Hat's brim opens and it begins to sing:

Centuries of knowledge are

Embedded in these walls.

Memories of years of students

Live inside our halls.

Now the heritage of our school

Is passed on down to you.

I urge you, like the founders four,

Be cunning, brave, wise, and true.

Come sit up here and try me on;

I'll look inside your mind

And sort you into houses,

According to what I find.

If you are brave and daring

When facing any foe,

Courageous and chivalrous,

Then in Gryffindor you'll go.

If you are kind and trustworthy,

Friendly, too, and just,

Or if you suit no other house

Then join Hufflepuff you must.

If you forge a path with your cunning around

Whatever stands in your way,

Or wish to stick out from the crowd,

Then Slytherin is where you'll stay.

And lastly, if you're smart or clever,

Breeze through all your tests,

Studious and intellectual,

Then Ravenclaw is best.

But though the houses all differ,

And you study separately,

Remember, all to stick together.

United you must be.

For if you judge people by their house

As has happened in the past,

Then discord will destroy the school

The founders built to last.

Though every year I must divide,

I ask you to unite.

Now come get Sorted, put me on,

And choose what you feel is right.

The hall bursts into applause as the Hat finishes. Professor Longbottom steps forward, holding a scroll. He looks around at us.

"When I call your name, please come sit on the stool and put the hat on." He unrolls the scroll. "Abercrombie, Emilia!"

A tall girl with long brown hair walks forward and puts on the Hat. She scarcely has time to sit down before it bellows, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Emilia takes the Hat off and hurries across to the Gryffindor table, looking very pleased. I glance over to where I can see all seven of my Gryffindor cousins cheering the new arrival. I bite my lip, wondering if I'll be sitting there by the end of the evening, just like everyone else.

"Bradley, Simon!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Bulstrode, Elizabeth!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Carmichael, Maddy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

I let my attention wander as Professor Longbottom moves on down the list. I'm starting to get hungry. I can't wait for the Sorting to be over and the feast to start.

"Macmillan, Henry!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

I look up again as Scorpius walks up to the platform and takes a seat. I can't help wondering where he'll be Sorted. All Malfoys have been in Slytherin for centuries, but when we were on the train, he did say that he didn't like it when people judged him by his last name. At least, he agreed with me when I said that.

Everyone is watching the boy at the front. I hold my breath as the rip on the hat opens.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Scorpius gets up and walks over to join the Slytherin table. I watch him sit down, wondering why it took the Hat so long to Sort him if he was just going to be in Slytherin anyway. Then my attention is drawn back to Professor Longbottom.

"Nott, Veronica!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Potter, Albus!"

I watch as my cousin takes his place. The Hat only rests on his head for a few seconds.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I smile as he bounds over to join the rest of the Weasleys. I know that he, unlike me, was desperate to follow in the footsteps of his parents.

"Richardson, Kathleen!"
"SLYTHERIN!"

"Scamander, Lorcan!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Scamander, Lysander!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Summers, David!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Thomas, Ella!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Thomas, Rachael!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Vaisey, Adam!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Weasley, Rose!"

Finally. That's another downside of being a Weasley—you're always at the end of every line.

I step up to the platform, put on the Hat, and sit down, feeling everyone looking at me. Then I hear the hat's voice in my ear. Mum and Dad warned me about it, but it still makes me jump.

"Well, well, another Weasley. There just seems to be no end to your family."

"Yes, there are a lot of us," I mutter for what feels like the millionth time since I was old enough to say it.

The Hat chuckles. "Oh, is that a slight feeling of irritation that I sense? You don't seem too happy to be a Weasley, my dear."

"I love my family, honestly, but sometimes I wish we weren't quite so famous. Now can you just get on with it? I'm going in Gryffindor, right?"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, if I were you. Your parents were Gryffindors, oh yes, but you're not them."

I smile. Finally, someone—or something—that realizes that I'm a person in my own right.

"No, I don't really see you in Gryffindor," the Hat muses. "You're much too set against tradition, and don't want to follow your family. And Ravenclaw wouldn't really work for you either…"

"Thank goodness. I'm tired of everyone comparing me to my mother."

"No, there's only one House I can put you in if you truly wish to be different…are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure that I don't want to just be another Weasley, if that's what you're asking. I want to be myself, without all the popularity and expectations that come with being my parents' child. I want to choose my own life."

"Very well." The Hat bellows to the hall, nearly deafening me.

"SLYTHERIN!"

I take off the Hat and slowly walk over to the Slytherin table. Everyone seems shocked. I notice the look on Al's face as I walk in, I'm sure it seems to him, the wrong direction. The hall breaks into whispers, which are silenced again as Professor Longbottom calls out the next name.

I sit down at the Slytherin table. One of the other first-years slides over to make room for me. I'm sure that no one quite knows what to think. A Weasley, in Slytherin? But as I turn to watch the Sorting, I almost smile to myself. I think, inside, I was expecting this all along.