Just a quick note about this story- this is my first ever fanfic, so please be kind. That being said constructive criticism is 100% appreciated. There are a few lines in this first chapter lifted from the books. I don't want to do this lots, but this story is going to largely stay close to the original canon so there might be the odd bit here and there. The character of Rose is based on the main character of the Hogwarts Mystery Game. However, I'm only on the 4th year of that so I don't know how future events or how the game ends, this is based on how I could see it ending. I own nothing, I'm not an author, this is just something I wanted to do for fun. Enjoy!
A sense of jittery anticipation had filled the warm tent, the general murmuring broken by occasional spurts of excited laughter. Mr and Mrs Weasley strolled up the aisle, smiling and waving at relatives; Mrs Weasley was wearing a brand new set of amethyst-coloured robes with a matching hat.
A moment later Bill and Charlie stood up at the front of the marquee, both wearing dress robes, with large, white roses in their buttonholes; Fred wolf-whistled and there was an outbreak of giggling from the Veela cousins. Then the crowd fell silent as music swelled, from what seemed to be the golden balloons.
"Ooooh!" said Hermione, swivelling round in her seat to look at the entrance. A witch emerged from the back of the marquee, who was most definitely not Fleur, and looked uncertainly around the space. Her eyes found where Bill and Charlie where stood and she gave a quick smile before ducking and taking her seat.
"Who was that?" Hermione asked, turning back round in her seat to face Ron and the disguised Harry.
"No idea, maybe one of Bill and Charlie's old school friends. She looked familiar" replied Ron, looking thoughtful. Harry merely shrugged before the trio turned their attention back to the front. Charlie looked as if he might like to go after her but Bill had placed a steadying hand on his shoulder just as the rest of the guests gave a collected sigh as Monsieur Delacour and Fleur came walking up the aisle.
After the ceremony, the marquee was transformed so that a golden dance floor now stood at the centre and all the chairs were gathered around white cloth covered tables. The band had begun to play. Bill and Fleur took to the dance floor first, to great applause; after a while Mr Weasley led Madame Delacour on to the floor, followed by Mrs Weasley and Fleur's father.
Charlie was sat at a table with Hagrid, answering his questions on dragons and how Norberta was fairing. He took a swig of firewhiskey and looked towards the makeshift bar where he once more spotted the late wedding guest. Now the nerves of the ceremony were gone, he finally got to take in her appearance. Her honey blonde hair, which she'd always worn long at school, was now in waves just above her shoulders. She wore a flattering midnight blue dress that just swept the floor. As she moved the fabric of the dress moved with her; causing constellations of twinkling stars to appear across the dress, disappearing when the movement stopped.
He'd always known she was attractive, however his time at school had been spent focused mainly on his quidditch and care of magical creatures to take it any further. But the young woman he saw before him, laughing with Fleur at something Bill had said, made his breath catch in his throat...as well as his firewhiskey. Hagrid's heavy hand, made more forceful by the large tankard of mead the huge man had already consumed, came down hard on his back knocking him clean off his chair. This commotion caused many a head to turn in amusement, but caught the attention of the woman at the bar who waved at Hagrid and made her way over to their table.
"Blimey, Rose Davis! I haven't seen yeh since yer Hogwarts days!" Hagrid motioned for her to join their table as Charlie, still sputtering, picked himself up off the floor.
"It's great to see you Hagrid! I'm sorry, I should've kept in contact- well, with everyone really. I've been so busy with Jacob, we took up curse breaking officially after our... experiences with the cursed vaults" she replied, glancing at Charlie's red ears.
"Nasty business those vaults, not tha' Hogwarts 'as been better in recent times, with all the trouble young 'Arry got into. If yer'll excuse me." Hagrid swayed as he got up from the table to go and talk with Madame Maxime.
The two occupants left at the table glanced awkwardly at each other; each taking a sip of their drink. Charlie drained his glass before placing it on the table and turning to look at his old friend.
"So, curse breaking then huh?" he asked awkwardly.
"Yeah, right after we finished school Gringotts head-hunted me. Jacob had just started working for them as well. I guess they were impressed with our previous experience" she replied casually.
"No surprises there, but I am surprised I haven't bumped into you before now" he said, before quickly clarifying "with you and Bill both working for the goblins of course."
Rose thought for a moment. "I only really see Bill if we're both back in London, conferring with the British branch. Jacob and I are based in South America, examining cursed Mayan temples and lifting them from Aztec treasure." She went quiet for a moment before regaining her composure. "But tell me about the reserve! I was so happy when Bill told me you had gotten to do your dream job!"
Charlie noticed the way her demeanor had changed talking about her job, but decided not to pry and instead easy conversation flowed, with discussions on the whereabouts of old school friends and all the trouble they'd gotten into. An upbeat Weird Sisters song sounded through the marquee, causing Rose to jump to her feet, dragging Charlie by his hand to the dance floor. They laughed as they both pulled increasingly ridiculous dance moves that the twins saw and immediately began to copy. The upbeat rhythm faded away to a slower song, causing Rose to roll her eyes at the cliche. She smiled at Charlie however as she placed her arms round his neck. He gently placed his hands on her waist and they swayed slowly in time, both struck by how comfortable it felt. She rested her head on his broad shoulder and let out a sigh.
"What is it?" Charlie asked, pulling back slightly to better look at his partner.
"It's nothing," Rose replied, looking away.
"Come on, you can tell me." the pair stopped swaying, Charlie gently pulling her back to sit at their table. He took the seat next to her and watched her expectantly.
Rose stared back before shrugging "This all just feels so normal, it's nice." She gestured around at the marquee. "I don't remember the last time I got to just feel normal." Charlie didn't really understand so waited for Rose to elaborate. "I wanted to solve the cursed vaults because I wanted my big brother back, and no one else was doing anything to find him. I didn't do it because I wanted to be a hero or for the glory. I finally found my brother and thought I'd get to live a normal life."
At this moment a young man with curly red hair walked past carrying three butterbeers, who couldn't seem to help but blurt out: "You want to have a chat with Ron's friend Harry; bet you'd have loads in common," before shaking his head with a small grin and walking away. Rose just stared after him before turning to Charlie looking puzzled.
"That's just cousin Barney; he's a bit odd. What were you saying?" Charlie prompted, not wanting to draw too much more attention to Harry.
Rose shook herself out of her stupor before continuing. "Oh right, well then school had finished and Gringotts came calling. How could I say no? I was good at it, and it was a chance for Jacob and I to spend time together."
Charlie noticed how she shifted when she brought up Jacob. "That's not all, is it?" Rose was struck by Charlie's perceptiveness, but then it made sense as reading expressions and body language had always been part of what had made him so gifted at care of magical creatures. "No, it's not just that. Jacob's met someone, and he's lovely, we get on really well. But they want to settle down together."
"And you're only out there because of Jacob," Charlie finished for her. Rose nodded. "So what do you want to do instead?" he prompted.
"This is it, I just don't know" she said, sighing and slumping down in her seat.
Charlie thought for a moment, hating to see his friend looking so dejected. "Well why don't you come visit me in Romania? That way I can show you the reserve, and who knows, maybe you'll want to work with the dragons too. It's dangerous work" he added, looking pointedly at all the burns and scars on his arms, "but that's never stopped you before." He finished with a wink.
Rose chuckled. "That could be cool, I've always wanted to see-" Rose was interrupted by a large, silver lynx gracefully landing in the middle of the dance floor. Then the Patronus' mouth opened wide and it spoke in a loud, deep, slow voice.
"The ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."
Silence fell before panic ensued as masked figures apparated into the tent. Many of the guests were able to apparate away before the death eaters set up an anti-apparition charm. A warm body pressed against Charlie's back as he drew his wand, staring down the uninvited guests in anticipation. He turned his head slightly to see Rose, who also had her wand drawn. Their eyes met for a moment, a silent question passing between them. Rose only managed a quick nod before all hell broke loose.
Rose was firing off spell after spell, quicker than you could say expelliarmus- Charlie remembered it was Bill who had first taught her how to duel. He wished he had Bill's talent for dueling right about now, Charlie had always had much more of a hands-on approach. He soon got to demonstrate this when a death eater strayed too close and he chose to punch him on the nose and kick him away rather than any fancy wand work. There was a sickening crunch as the death eater clutched his nose and stomach, before turning on the spot.
"Nice punch!" Rose complimented, turning her head away from the battle to look at him. This proved to be a mistake as a flash of purple made her scream in agony. She clutched onto Charlie in an attempt to keep herself upright, however this only served to pull him off balance. They both went tumbling down, just as a flash of green sailed past Charlie's head, just missing its mark.
Rose turned to him, her mouth agape at their narrow escape, before a pained expression crossed her features and she gripped her side. She let out a hiss as she turned to curse her assailant.
"Enough!" a voice sounded. All firing stopped and their wands were ripped from their hands. All heads turned to the front of the Marquee where a masked figure swept his eyes over them all.
"Where is Harry Potter?"