A/N: This is a re-upload of the first chapter of my original story, Hold On Tight. The reason? Well, I inserted page breaks in my word processor, but unfortunately, they didn't transfer onto the final version when I published it, making it look all squished together. So I am re-uploading. Sorry for the inconvenience! Please (re)read and review! -Tea

Well, here I am. I, Rose Weasley, am at King's Cross Station waiting to go aboard the Hogwarts Express for my first day at school. But this isn't just any school, it's Hogwarts. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As I pushed the trolley carrying my trunk, books, and owl towards Platform 9 ¾, I felt my stomach start to churn. I was excited, but also nervous. What would happen when we got there? What house would I be sorted into? James always said that we had to battle some sort of troll to see what strategy we would use so that they could determine which house we belonged in. I was starting to feel scared and anxious. I gulped as we approached the muggle train station and stopped right in front of platforms nine and ten.

"You remember what to do, right Rosie?" my mother asked.

I nodded and felt my heart speed up a bit. I closed my eyes and pushed the trolley into the wall. I waited for the impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes, only to see the scarlet Hogwarts Express and the Platform ¾ sign. I smiled as my parents came through the barrier behind me and joined the crowd of witches and wizards.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" called Aunt Ginny, almost desperate for a breath.

"Relax, Gin. We just ran a little late. Where's Harry and the rest of the kids?" my dad asked.

"A little? The train leaves in three minutes! James and Al are already aboard and Harry's over there waiting with Lily. Get a move on!" she told us as we ran over to Uncle Harry and Cousin Lily.

"Rosie! It's been so since I've seen you!" Uncle Harry said as he gave me a big hug.

"Goodbye Uncle Harry! Bye Aunt Ginny! Bye Hugo! Bye Mum and Dad!" I yelled as I gave each of them a quick hug.

"Don't forget to send Uncle Neville our love! Oh, and no pranks, Rose Weasley! Do you hear me? None! Not even on April Ghoul's Day!" shouted Mum.

I rolled my eyes. "It' s Fool's!" I shouted.

I hopped aboard the Hogwarts Express and scanned the train for James and Al. I had gone almost to the very back of the train when I heard, "ROSIE!" and got tackled by none other than James Potter.

"Get off of me! This is assault!"

"Well it's fun!" James laughed.

I pushed him off and he showed me to the compartment. James sat down next to Al and I took a seat on the pew across from them. I looked out the window to see Mum and Dad with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry waving uncontrollably and Mum had tears running down her cheeks. I smiled and felt the train start to move. I smiled wider thinking, This is it. Ilooked back to James and Al. James had opened a chocolate frog and it was bouncing off of the walls, literally! It jumped on the window and slipped off, right into my hand.

"That is cool!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it's the cards you want," James explained as he held up the box.

He ripped off the back of the box and his smile faded. "Dang it! I got Dad again!"

"Whoa, let me see!" Al said.

James handed him the card. "You can keep it. I have about eleven of him."

Al smiled even wider as he examined the card. He tilted it to the left, and poof, Uncle Harry was gone.

"He's gone!" Al exclaimed in shock.

"Well you can't expect him to sit around there all day! Dad's an auror! He has business to attend to!" James reminded him.

We all laughed just as the Scamander twins came into view.

"Sup Lorcan, Lysander," said James coolly.

"Hey," they said at the same time.

"Can we sit here?" Lorcan asked.

"Everywhere else is full," Lysander finished.

"Yeah, go ahead," I told them.

Lorcan sat next to me and Lysander took the seat next to James.

The chocolate frog had come back into view and jumped and landed somewhere else. Or, well, on someone else. A pale blond boy was shrieking at the frog, shouting, "Get it off me! Get it off me!"

"Relax, it's just a frog. It's not even real," I pointed out.

He only scowled in response and shoved it off of him as he proceeded in the other direction.

James rolled his eyes. "Malfoy is such a coward."

Al, Lorcan, and Lysander sniggered just a bit and I was confused.

"What? Who's Malfoy?" I asked.

James closed the compartment door. "That was Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco Malfoy. Dad and him were enemies back at Hogwarts. Our families have a blood feud going on. You don't want to be seen associating with him, Rosie," he explained.

"Do you know why they were enemies? I mean, what is it with this blood feud?"

"His dad is an ex-death eater. And his grandparents and great aunts and uncles, almost everyone in his entire family were followers of You-Know-Who!"

"James, Voldemort is gone. Your father defeated him, after all. You can say his name."

"Nah, it'll startle everyone else. Some are still afraid to say it."

I rolled my eyes. James was always cautious about what people thought.

"Anyway, besides that, his family is really prejudiced. Wouldn't befriend someone unless they were pureblood. They hate muggles. His dad would call your mum nasty things like 'mudblood' because she was born from them. And he would call your dad a 'blood traitor' for being in love with her."

"That's terrible! I swear, this year I am going prank that Malfoy kid—,"

"Sorry, no can do. I promised your mum I'd keep an eye on you and make sure you stay out of trouble. That includes pranks," James told me with a smirk.

I scowled. "How much did she pay you?"

"Three galleons! I'm good 'til Christmas time!"

"As if you need any more! Your family's vault at Gringotts has a hundred times that!"

"It's way more than that. But relax, Rosie. I'll lend you some of it when you're old enough."

"When I'm old enough? I'm barely even a year younger than you!"

"That's still a baby to me," his devilish grin growing wider.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!" I yelled furiously.

"Alright, Rose! Calm down! I was only joking!"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. I looked out the window, the dense green trees in the forests of England becoming blurry. I sighed as thunder and lightning hit the gloomy grey sky.

"Looks like a storm's coming," James said.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," I rolled my eyes.

"Come on Rosie, don't be mad at me."

"Yeah, Rosie, don't be mad at James," Lorcan told me.

"He didn't mean to piss you off," Lysander finished.

"I'm not mad," I said, ignoring the twins. "You just go too far, sometimes."

"Fine. I'm sorry, Rosie. Can we please just live peacefully?"

I nodded my head.

"Yay!" the twins yelled at the same time.

I smiled and turned to look at the melancholy sky once again. I hated September weather. It was stormy and cold, yet it can be warm and humid at the same time. I never understood the season of autumn. Its bipolar weather pattern always confused me. I sighed again as the thunder roared from outside of the window.

….

"Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!" a familiar voice called.

"I'll catch up with you guys later! See you in Gryffindor, Rosie! And Al, say hi to Scorpius Malfoy at the Slytherin table for me!" James teased.

"Stop it, James!" Al yelled, sounding annoyed.

"He's only kidding. Come on; let's catch up so we can say hi to Hagrid!" I told him as we ran to the front of the line.

"Hiya Hagrid!" we both yelled as we got to the front.

"Well hello there Rosie! Albus! Blimey! Yeh two are so big now! I still remember when yeh were no bigger than a Pekingese! A Pekingese!" Hagrid laughed heartily. "Are yeh ready fer yer firs' year at Hogwarts?"

"Of course!" I said. "It's Hogwarts! What could be better?"

"That's the spirit! Come on, now! To the boats, you lot! No more'n four to a boat!"

We smiled and boarded the boats. Albus got in a boat and I followed. All of the other boats were full and it didn't look like there were any students left, so I guess we lucked out.

"Do you mind if I join you guys? All of the other boats are full," a girl asked.

"Of course not. It's totally fine," I told her.

She smiled and got in. "I'm Annabel Marshall, but please, just call me Belle," she introduced.

Bell was pale white and her porcelain skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. She had pretty blue eyes that shined like tiny orbs inside of her eye sockets. Her wavy brown hair went down to her waist and was currently styled into a braid.

I smiled. "Alright, Belle. I'm Rose Weasley. And that's Albus Potter over there."

Albus gave her a smile and we turned back to the castle. It was beautiful. I couldn't even try to imagine what the inside looked like…

"Welcome firs' years to Hogwarts, the fines' school fer magic out there! Yer new Herbology professor will lead yeh to the Great Hall where yeh'll be sorted into yer Houses. Now, yeh'll have ter wait here while I get Professor Longbottom."

"Uncle Neville!" Al and said at the same time.

"You guys know him?" Belle asked.

I nodded. "Our parents were like best friends with him back at Hogwarts."

A few minutes later, Uncle Neville came out. Hagrid waved to us and said goodbye then left to his hut which was just outside of the forest.

"Hi Uncle Neville!" I greeted.

"Hello Rosie! Hello Albus! Now, I would like to welcome each and every one of you to Hogwarts! The feast will begin shortly, but first off, you all must be sorted into your Houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While here at Hogwarts, your House will be like your family. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced many outstanding witches and wizards. While at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, and any rule-breaking will lose your House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. Do you all understand?"

Most of us nodded.

"Good! The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily and when I return, you'll follow me into the Great Hall. Now wait here."

In what seemed like an eternity later, Uncle Neville returned. He made a "come in" gesture and we followed him into the Great Hall. The ceiling looked exactly like the night sky. The stars were silver and glowing and the sky was a deep blue that reminded me of my denim jeans. There were about a million floating candles that brought light to the gigantic room. Decorative banners hung in mid-air over the four tables.

"Hey, Al! Don't forget to say 'hey' to Scorp for me!" James teased.

Al scowled, but I saw in his emerald green eyes that he was both nervous and worried about the Sorting.

"Knock it off, James!" I told him.

James rolled his eyes and turned back around.

"Who was that?" Belle asked.

"Albus's brother James and my annoying older cousin. It's only by year though."

"Oh…" she said dreamily as she stared off into space.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little nervous, that's all."

"I am too," I told her truthfully.

We came to a stop and Uncle Neville came back with a stool and a dirty old hat.

"What? What is this?" I asked. "James said we had to battle some sort of ogre!"

"Actually it was a troll," Al pointed out.

"Whatever! It's the same thing!"

"Now, when I call your name, I'm going to place the Sorting Hat on your head to determine which House you will go in," Uncle Neville told us.

"The Sorting Hat? I am going to kill James!" I announced.

"He was only trying to be funny!" Belle protested.

I rolled my eyes as Uncle Neville called the first the girl up to the stool.

She was sorted into Hufflepuff, and so was the next girl. The next guy, however, was in Gryffindor, followed by a couple of Slytherins, and another Hufflepuff. There were quite a few Gryffindors followed by a few Ravenclaws and then a Slytherin. They made their way down to the M's and I could almost smell Belle's fear. She was shaking nervously and her skin turned pale white.

"Are you all right? You look ill!" I told her.

"Just n-n-nervous…"

"It's going to be all right, trust me."

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

The blond boy I had seen earlier emerged from the crowd and as he walked past me, shot a grimace in my direction. I rolled my eyes. I was going to get him regardless of what James had said on the train.

The Sorting Hat grumbled a few words under its breath before shouting, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Well that was predictable," Al whispered in my ear.

I chuckled as Uncle Neville called, "Marshall, Annabel."

Her eyes widened as she turned to me. I pushed her forward and she began to walk towards him. When she finally reached the stool, he placed the dirty hat on her head. I saw her cheeks turn the brightest shade of scarlet as the Sorting Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

She smiled and ran over to the Gryffindor table, introducing herself to James. I smiled, hoping that I would be able to sit next to Belle, Albus, and James.

A Slytherin, a Hufflepuff, two Ravenclaws, and two Gryffindors later, they moved on to P.

"Potter, Albus."

I saw Albus turn bright red as he sat down on the stool. It took the Sorting Hat particularly long to sort him, but in the end, it was, "GRYFFINDOR!"

He was smiling quite wide as he took a seat next to his brother. James mumbled something to Al, and he got the annoyed look that he usually got when his brother teased about him getting into Slytherin.

Soon, they moved on to S, and the first person they called was, "Scamander, Lorcan."

Lorcan's pale face went redder than my hair as he walked up to the stool. I wished him good luck as he walked by. A smile came to his face as the Sorting Hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

His brother, Lysander, got the same verdict and they gave each other high fives as they sat down.

I gulped, knowing that it was almost my turn. My stomach churned as they got past T, U, and finally, V.

"Weasley, Rose."

Oh bloody hell, here we go.

I walked up to the stool, not knowing what to expect from the Sorting Hat. I shut my eyes tight and gulped as I waited for it to speak.

"Hmm…another Weasley…you're a sneaky one, there's no doubt about it, you'd do well in Slytherin, oh yes, but you're also kind, just like a Hufflepuff, and you've got a great mind your hands, just like your mother. Not to mention the witty and clever side of you, just like most Ravenclaws. I sense lots of courage, you're a brave one, you are, like a true Gryffindor. You're the entire package, Miss Weasley…but, now, where to put you?"

It grumbled something else that I couldn't hear, and I gulped before hearing the words, "GRYFFINDOR!"

I opened my eyes and smiled wide as I ran to the table and took a seat between Belle and James.

"Rosie! You made it!" James cried, giving me a hug.

"I can't believe it! I'm officially a Gryffindor!"

….

6 years later…

….

"Can I dye my hair green?" I asked as I rushed down the stairs.

"Absolutely not!" my mum said for the fortieth time.

"But why not? Belle dyed her bangs purple!"

"Well, that's Annabel, not you! And she is a hairdresser, after all!"

"Which is exactly why I'm asking! She needs someone to practice on! Fine, just my bangs! The rest will stay red!"

"No! People will think you're bizarre!"

"Who cares what people think? Come on, Mum! I'm sixteen for crying out loud! Let me have a little fun!"

"Rose Weasley, you will not be dying your hair under my roof anytime soon! Go upstairs and get your stuff ready! Your sixth year starts tomorrow!"

"I know! That's why I want to dye my bangs green! So that I'll have them for tomorrow! Please!"

"I said 'no,'" she told me, her gaze meeting mine.

I sighed in annoyance as Dad came down the stairs.

"Hey, Dad—,"

"Don't even think about it," he stated immediately.

"But you don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Well, honey, if your Mum says no, then I say the same. That's all there is to it."

I groaned. "But you don't even know what it is!"

"Well, what is it?"

"Rose wants to dye her hair green," Mum said before I could even open my mouth.

His jaw fell open. "Green?"

"Just my bangs! The rest of my hair stays ginger! Please, Dad!"

"No, Rosie. I will not have my daughter walk around with green hair. People will think you're ridiculous!"

"Who cares? Teddy has teal hair and people don't look at him funny…well, most of the time anyway."

"He's a metamorphagus, he can't help it."

"But my point is, people don't look at him funny all of the time, so why does it make a difference with me?"

Dad sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but then took a sip of his coffee.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So can I dye my hair then?"

"Let me think...no," he answered immediately.

"Dad! Please! I just made a point! Why not? Belle dyed her bangs purple!"

"Purple, eh? Well, it's better than green. And isn't that because she's a hair-doer or something?"

"Hairdresser. And that's why I'm asking! She needs someone to practice on! And green is a fantastic color, thank you very much!"

"It's also a Slytherin color."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Fine. Can I dye my bangs gold and leave the rest of my hair red to symbolize Gryffindor then?"

"Alright, deal."

I smiled wide, but then Mum interfered. "Ron!"

"What? She is sixteen, and if she wants to show pride for her House, then I don't see a reason why she shouldn't!"

"Ron! That isn't the point! She's too young to dye her hair! And I don't my daughter to be used as some science experiment for her best friend!"

"Hermione, let her dye her hair! Her friend did, after all, and if she needs someone to practice on, so be it! She's very talented as it is! And sixteen isn't so young, Hermione. She's only a year away from becoming an adult."

"I'm just gonna go up to my room, so if anyone needs me, I'll be up there. Okay bye!" I said as I ran quickly up the stairs.

"You better not be dying your hair! Do you hear me Rose Weasley?"

I ran inside of my room and shut the door behind me. I cast a spell that made sure it locked and couldn't be opened. I was dying my hair today, and there was no stopping it.

"What'd she say?" Belle asked.

"No, of course. But my Dad agreed if I my bangs only golden blonde to symbolize Gryffindor," I told her.

"That's even better! Blimey, I almost forgot how much I loved your dad!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, well you better hurry up and dye it because my mum is downstairs talking him out of it."

"Alright, it won't take that long anyway. Golden blonde, you said, right?"

"Yeah. I'm going to the new definition of 'House Pride!'"

We both laughed and entered the bathroom attached to my bedroom. I hopped into the shower, shampooing and conditioning quickly, keeping the amount of time he had in mind. I rinsed my hair out and turned off the shower in a hurry. I wrung my hair out, leaving a surplus pool of water outside of my shower and shook my head violently like a dog that had just been bathed.

"Oh Merlin, I'm going to regret this in the morning!" I said with a grin as I put a fresh, clean t-shirt on over my head.

"Rose, please! It's a sign of rebellion, which is something you need more than anything. Not to mention, rebellion, get it?"

I rolled my eyes, chuckling just a bit as she applied the bleach. "You certainly are the odd one in the bunch."

"Oh, like you're not weird."

"Not as weird as you."

"I'm not the one with blonde bangs and ginger hair."

"You're right. You're the one purple bangs and poop hair."

She rolled her eyes, but laughed at her backfired joke.

"You're lucky I'm you best friend."

"I know."

She smiled. "Okay. Now we wait," she told me with a sigh of relief.

"How long?"

"Fifteen minutes. Usually if you go any longer, it'll cause severe damage and cause your skin to break out."

"Okay, well I don't want that happening."

"Don't worry, Rose. It won't."

I sighed as she wrapped a shower cap over my entire head and thirteen and a half minutes later, Belle sent me back into the shower. She set the temperature, because she claimed if it was too hot or too cold, it would damage my hair.

I removed the shower cap, stepped in the shower, and rinsed the hydrogen peroxide out of my hair. I turned off the shower and covered myself in a towel.

"Are you ready?" Belle asked impatiently.

"Yes!" I called. "Oh, hang on, I dropped the shower cap!"

I bent down to grab the shower cap when I heard, "Gross, Rose! You said you were ready and I open the door to see your arse right in my face!"

"I told you to hang on!" I laughed.

I slipped the t-shirt back on over me and she applied some special conditioner. I rinsed it off in the sink after two minutes and then looked up into the mirror. My bangs were not blonde. They were my normal ginger hair color! I thought Belle said that she would be able to do this right away!

"Why isn't it blonde?" I asked, completely horrified at my unchanged reflection in the mirror.

With an amused look on her face, she told me, "That's where the magic comes in."

She took out her wand and gave my wet hair a tap. I looked in the mirror, and poof. There it was. My bleach blonde bangs, waiting to be covered in golden hair dye.

"Presto! With the help of magic, your bangs are now the color of Malfoy's hair!"

"Oh my god! They are! You're amazing! Now dye them gold before I mistake myself for him and punch myself in the gut," I alleged.

She rolled her eyes and took out a bottle of hair dye. It was labeled, "Dandelion."

"Dandelion? I said gold, not a stupid yellow weed!"

"This was the closest to gold they had! And it's going to look the same, I promise!"

"It better!"

She sighed and squirted the dye out of the bottle. She applied to the bleached areas and then combed it all out. Making sure it was perfect, she examined her work on me once again.

"Now, we wait another fifteen minutes. It's all going to be perfect, Rosie, I promise."

Just then, we heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Rose, let us in please! We want to tell you something!" I heard my mum yell.

"Oh, no! They can't see me! They can't see you!" I squealed in fear.

"Uh, I'll get it. Better me than you," she said, rushing to the door.

I heard it open and I knew that they were about to say something, but Belle had beaten them to it.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley! So nice to see you! Always such a pleasure! Rose is a little busy right now, but she'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible! Alright, well, thanks for stopping by!"

"Wait, Annabel, what are you doing here? When did you get here?" Mum asked.

"Just this morning. Rose doesn't really want to talk to you guys right now. She made me swear not to let you in."

"Can't we just tell her something really quick?" they begged.

"I really don't think that's such a great idea—,"

But they had already opened the door and Belle couldn't say no to them. They were my parents, not hers. And you can't say no to my parents, even if you are their child or adopted child.

I heard them start to make their way into the bathroom and I looked at the time. It had only been ten minutes. Shit. Desperate for a better move, I ran into the shower to avoid them seeing me with my hair almost dyed. I turned it on, making sure the water was perfectly "luke-warm" as Belle called it, and rinsed my hair of the dye.

"Rose?" I heard Mum call.

"I'm in the shower, and I'm not talking to you at the moment."

"Sweetie, please. I just want to remind you that your father and I love you, no matter what sort of trouble you cause."

"Yeah, I've heard it all before. Go away, now."

"Honey, what I'm trying to say is, I'm allowing you to dye your hair. I'm not very happy with the decision, but if it makes you happy, then go for it. And I know you have good taste, so I'm trusting that it won't look as bizarre as I thought it would."

I turned the shower off and wrapped the towel around my wet body. I stepped out of the shower to face my mother.

"So…you're not mad?"

Her jaw dropped when she caught a glimpse of my hair. "ROSE WEASLEY!"

My face fell and my eyes widened. Well, it was worth a try.

"YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR TWO WEEKS! HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY ME! I TOLD YOU NO, AND YOU WENT AND DID IT ANYWAY! I AM TAKING AWAY YOUR MONEY FOR HOGSMEADE, YOUNG LADY!"

I rolled my eyes. She said yes in the end, so what was the difference?

"—AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GO WITH YOUR COUSINS ON THE VACATION TO ROMANIA TO VISIT YOUR UNCLE CHARLIE! IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes, mother."

"Alright then," she said as she and Dad left my room.

"Wow. I'm really sorry about that. You can borrow some of my Hogsmeade money if you'd like," Belle offered.

"Nah, she'll miss me while I'm away and feel guilty for yelling and let me go on the vacation and she'll probably send me some Sickles too," I told her.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I wish I had your family."

"Trust me. You don't."