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Misconception #2 Rose has friends.
Truth: Rose's only real friends are her family. Okay, this misconception might not be as much of a hidden thing anymore with Skeeter's latest article (Yeah, she's still alive and kicking), but I know Ted's doing his absolute best to combat any claims that Rose is a bit of a loner outside the family.
Ted stood up yesterday at our bimonthly meeting and said, "Okay, I just Rita Skeeter's latest article in my hand. Luckily, we've persuaded her to not release it, but it's not just her we need to worry about." He tossed the article on the center table as we all reached over to read it.
"What does it say?" asked Fred, as he was the furthest away.
"Rose Weasley: The Spinster of the Family? A Shocking Exposé by Rita Skeeter," read Lily. "'According to former classmates of Miss Weasley at Hogwarts, Rose has never had very many friends. One girl claims that, 'Yeah, Rose was kind of a loser and she was sort of odd, a little loopy. If it wasn't for her famous parents and her family, she would have definitely not been at the bottom of the social pyramid.' There are also claims that Miss Weasley might have cheated or bribed her way into Healer Academy. Multiple students from Gryffindor claimed that they never saw her studying and that it was her parents' influence that ensured she placed top in every class…' I don't really want to read this garbage anymore…"
The room erupted.
"That bitch. Where is she?" asked Hugo, with a gleam in his eye. Out of all of the Weasley/Potter clan, he was one of the more frightening ones, though I'd never admit it to the kid's face.
"Rosie, are you okay?" asked Lily and Victoire.
Fred and James were screaming about what they would do to Skeeter and Albus was sitting next to Rose whispering things into her ear.
Ted asked her if she was okay and she responded with a small smile and a nod.
"Really guys, I'm fine. It's Skeeter. Plus, I know I haven't really been the most socially active person. It's sort of a miracle that I've gotten away without anyone commenting it for this long," said Rose with a laugh.
I shook my head. That was the thing about her- she probably honestly didn't care.
"Anyways, Skeeter has implied that she's not the only one with an article like this and I thought the upcoming 25th Anniversary Victory Ball could be a good way to combat this. Rose, let's find you a date. We'll tackle the attacks on your academics later."
"Does finding my date really need to be something discussed by the entire family?" asked Rose.
"Yes. We need to find you someone that we can trust," replied Hugo.
"I can find my own date…" Rose trailed off when she saw the stares that her family was giving her, "Alright… fine. Never mind then. Who do you propose?"
James looked around, "What about Scorpius?"
"Don't joke around James," said Hugo
I jumped out of my seat. "What?"
"That's actually not a bad idea," said Ted.
"What?" I asked again.
"We can just say you two are friends. I think just the fact that Rose has a date will be enough for the vultures for now," said Ted.
"What?" I said, a third time.
"I think it's a good idea," said Lily.
"What?" I still didn't understand what was happening.
Hugo stared at me, "I don't think it's a terrible idea. He already knows everything anyways and it would just be this one time. What do you think?" he asked as he turned to Rose.
"I guess I don't mind as long as it's okay with Scorpius," she turned to me, "Did you have someone you were planning on taking to the ball?"
"Er, I wasn't actually planning on attending at all."
"Then would you mind going with me? I promise I'll pay back the favor."
My brain racked the expenses of the ball. A ticket- 150 galleons, (actually, two tickets- 300 galleons. Even if I'm a poor man, I'm still a man and a man pays for his date), decent dress robes- another 100+ galleons…
"Er…." I started.
"Brilliant then! It's settled. Don't worry about the tickets- we get in for free and as our honored guest, you'll get in too," said Ted. Okay, that was one expense taken care of. I guess it'd be double shifts at Flourish and Bott's to pay for my dress robes.
Sigh, sometimes I wondered if the free room was worth all this trouble.
I spelled up my latest Gringott's balance: 45 galleons. That was my life savings. Forty-five galleons.
"Oh, and I guess we pay you extra on the side, as this is a bit of trouble," mentioned Ted offhandedly.
Yep, it's definitely worth the trouble.
I nodded my head in compliance and spend the rest of the meeting feeling flushed every time I turned my head towards Rose. It was probably the thought of spending so much money was making my head feel feverish….
