Harry Potter and the Legend of the Twelve

By

Lewis M. Brooks, III

Chapter 6 – Rose's Problem

As the students began to leave the Great Hall, Harry got up and headed straight for Hermione who was talking to Professor McGonagall. Before Harry could open his mouth, Hermione spoke.

"Harry, we need to talk," said Hermione. "Professor McGonagall has said she won't be in her office for at least a few hours. Why don't you have Ginny put Lily to bed, Ron is going to get Hugo and then we can all meet up in Minerva's office. I have a few things to take care of first."

Harry just stared at her a moment. "You do realize, 'we need to talk', is as much an understatement as 'we didn't really like Blast-Ended Skrewts'," said Harry with just a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Hermione smiled. "I'll see you in a bit," and she turned and headed away.

Harry let Ginny know what Hermione had suggested, and she left with Lily to put her to bed, while Harry headed for the Headmistress' Office.

Harry wasn't sure what was going on. In a matter of minutes, he had been announced as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Ginny had been announced as the new Flying Instructor and Quidditch Coach. That was expected, but it still felt strange to be coming back after all these years. Of course, his two best friends being announced as Auror on Station and Headmistress of the school was not expected. It was an awful lot to digest.

Harry wondered if they had done it for the same reason he and Ginny had, to make sure Albus was all right. He wasn't sure how he felt about Ron and Hermione giving up their careers if that was the reason. He had to admit, the idea of them all being together again at Hogwarts was really nice. No, it was more than that. It was like they had all come home.

In the Gryffindor common room, James, Jason, and Danny stood in a corner discussing the events of the evening as they waited for Albus and Rose to arrive.

Jason Wood was the son of the famous Quidditch player and former Captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team Oliver Wood. Jason's father was now the coach of Puddlemere United, now that his playing days were over.

Danny Finnigan was the son of Seamus Finnigan, one of James' father's roommates from when he was at Hogwarts.

James had gone on many dates during the previous school year. Most of them consisted of walks around the lakes during which he would talk about how he was going to be Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team one day, while his date hung on his every word and smiled.

Jason had gone on a few dates too, but he was nowhere near the charmer James was. Danny got far too nervous around girls to ever ask one out on a date. Danny's problem was that he had already met a girl he liked during the summer. Talking to her was a different story.

"So, what do you make of this?" asked Jason, as he leaned his tall frame against the wall, and ran his fingers through is short, light brown hair.

"Beats me," said James with a shrug. "I don't know what to say or think. My parents, aunt and uncle just showed up as bloody teachers. I'm speechless."

Danny kept looking at the portrait hole.

James smirked. "Don't worry, Rose will be here soon," said James, as he and Jason laughed.

"Lay off," snapped Danny irritably. "I just wanted to make sure she was all right, she looked upset and didn't say hardly anything after her parents came into the Great Hall. Don't give me that look, James." Danny gave his friend a punch in the arm.

James laughed. "Seriously man, ask her to go for a walk by the lake some afternoon if you fancy her," said James. "She's my cousin, trust me, she won't bite, but she does have a bit of a temper. You did notice that Rose made any excuse she could to be in the same room as you this summer."

"She did?" asked Danny in a shocked tone. He really hadn't noticed.

"Well, if you spent a little less time being nervous, you might have noticed," laughed Jason a little louder than he needed to. Danny gave him a reproachful look for being so loud. Jason just rolled his blue eyes. "Start by talking to her, maybe tell some jokes, you're the funniest person I know…though I'm not sure I've ever actually seen you speak to a girl, so that could be a problem." Jason laughed.

Danny looked up at his much taller friend, narrowing his pale green eyes for a moment. Talking to girls wasn't really one of his strong suits. Danny sighed. "I guess you're right, Jason."

Just then, the Prefects led by seventh year Fred Weasley and the first years came through the portrait hole. The Prefects explained to all the first years where the dormitories were and the rules, and then the students were dismissed. Albus, Carly, and Rose walked over to where James, Jason, and Danny were standing.

"Hey, Fred," called James, as Fred headed for the dormitory. Fred smiled and waved, then headed up the stairs.

"James, Fred said I'm in your dorm," said Albus. "There are six first year Gryffindor boys, so one of us has to go in with you second years since there are only three of you in the dorm."

"I know, Al, I saw your stuff up there," said James. "I never got properly introduced to your friend at the feast. I'm afraid we drove her out of our compartment on the train. Sorry about that."

"This is Carly Jones, from California, we met on the train," said Albus. "Carly, this is my brother James."

"Pleased to meet you, Carly," said James with a smile. "I've heard California is a very beautiful place, it suits you." James extended his hand to her with a big smile on his face.

Albus' immediate thought was to reach for his wand and hex James, though why he really couldn't say. This was not unusual, James had just met Carly, and he had turned on the famous 'James Potter charm' faster than a Golden Snitch can fly. He had seen him do it many times, but it had never bothered him before. It definitely bothered him now.

"Thank you," said Carly, as she shook James hand. "It's very nice to meet you all. Don't worry about the train, if I hadn't changed compartments, I wouldn't have met Al." Carly smiled.

The significance of the last statement was not lost on James. "These are my friends," said James. "This is Danny Finnigan, and this is Jason Wood." Carly in turn shook both boys' hands.

"So, we're all going to try out for the house Quidditch team," said James. "Are any of you planning to try out? There should be plenty of room on the team. Fred and Victoire are the only two members of last year's team who didn't graduate."

"Rose and I are going to give it a try," said Albus. Rose just nodded. Albus turned to Carly. "Carly, do you play?"

"No," said Carly shaking her head. "I don't fly, but I do love the game."

"Well, tryouts are Thursday afternoon," said James. "Al, we ought to get to bed, I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning what's going on with Mum and Dad being here." James, Danny, and Jason moved towards the stairs to the dorm.

"Goodnight, Carly," smiled Albus.

Carly smiled back, "Goodnight, Al." Albus headed for the stairs where his brother and friends were waiting.

Carly turned toward Rose. "Are you coming?" asked Carly.

"I'll be up in a few minutes," said Rose, and she walked over to the couch and sat down.

Danny saw Rose head for the couch. He was sure she was upset. "You guys head up, I'll be up in a bit," said Danny to James and Jason. The common room was now nearly deserted except for a few older students talking in the corner.

The others headed upstairs, and Danny, summoning all his Gryffindor courage, walked to the couch. He really wasn't sure what he was going to say.

"Rose…um…are you all right?" asked Danny feebly, as he nervously ran his fingers through his dirty blond hair. Could he have sounded any lamer?

"I'm fine, Danny," said Rose, as she looked blankly into the fire.

Danny saw a tear slide down her cheek. He sat down next to her. "What's wrong, Rose?" asked Danny. "Tell me…maybe I can help."

"You'll think it's stupid," said Rose absently. "It probably is stupid."

"No, I won't. You never think a friend's problems are stupid," said Danny.

"Since when are we friends?" asked Rose, trying not to betray the hope she felt at that statement. She really wanted to be Danny's friend. She momentarily forgot why she was upset, but only for a moment.

"I had fun this summer when we were all hanging out together at James' house," Danny admitted with a smile. "I was hoping we would all be able to hang out together this year."

"I would really like that," said Rose with a smile.

"Now that we have established that we are friends, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" he repeated with a smile.

Rose took a deep breath. "Do you remember your History of Magic class last year?" asked Rose softly.

"Some of it," said Danny with a shrug. "Professor Bins, as you will soon learn, is really, really, boring, even for a ghost."

"I've already read the first year book," said Rose.

"The whole book?" asked Danny in surprise. "Wow."

"Do you remember the chapter on my mother?" asked Rose.

"Sort of…I mean everyone knows the story about what your parents and James' Dad did," said Danny. "It's not exactly a secret."

"'Hermione Jean Granger's exemplary record of academic achievement challenged even the records of the greatest witches and wizards to ever attend Hogwarts, most impressively her record twelve Outstanding N.E.W.T.s. Her achievements stand as a benchmark against which all wizards and witches will be judged in the future.' I've memorized the passage," said Rose dejectedly.

Rose turned to look Danny in the eyes. "How am I supposed to live up to that?" asked Rose with a sigh. "It was going to be hard enough being the daughter of the great Hermione Jean Granger when she wasn't here. Now she's Headmistress. My Mum didn't have that hanging over her when she was compiling her 'exemplary record of academic achievement'." Rose put her face in her hands and began to cry.

Danny wasn't sure what to do. He had no experience consoling anyone, let alone a crying girl, but he hated seeing her upset. Danny thought thinking would be a mistake, and the irony of that was not lost on him.

Danny pulled Rose into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder. She put her arms around his neck and held tight while she cried. Danny suddenly realized he had no idea what to do now.

"Rose, I have no idea what to say," sighed Danny. "There is something my grandmother used to tell me. I never really understood it, but after what you told me, I think maybe I do now. She would always say, 'be true to yourself, be your own person, you don't need to live up to anyone's expectations but your own.' I think she would tell you, live up to the expectations of Rose Weasley, not Hermione Jean Granger."

After several moments, Rose stopped crying and pulled back, looking into Danny's eyes. She smiled. "Thank you Danny. That means a lot," said Rose.

"You mean I got it right?" asked Danny with a feigned look of shock on his face. "I never understood what she was talking about." Both burst out laughing.

"That's better, I think laughing suits you much better than crying," said Danny with a warm smile.

Rose smiled back, kissed him lightly on the cheek and got up. "Goodnight, Danny," said Rose, and headed for her dormitory.

Danny put his hand to his cheek where she kissed him. "I think laughing suits you much better than crying," muttered Danny under his breath. "Where the heck did that come from?"

In the second year boys' dormitory, Albus had just finished unpacking his things and getting ready for bed. He couldn't stop thinking about what Carly said about his smiling. It was so strange, they had just met, and yet he felt like he had known her his whole life.

James was sitting on his bed looking at a Quidditch magazine, Danny had gone to shower, and Jason had gone to another dorm to return a book an older student had lent him for the summer.

"So, Al, how did you like the boat ride?" asked James. "Last year it was pouring, I was sure we would sink."

"I actually didn't come over on the boats," said Albus, as he climbed into bed.

"Why not, Al?" asked James, surprised. "First years always come over on the boats."

Albus hesitated a minute. "Will you promise not to say anything if I tell you?" he asked. "I don't think Carly wants everyone to know."

"I might tell Danny and Jason, I tell them everything, but no one else," said James.

"All right," said Albus with a nod. "Carly couldn't come over in the boats. Her mother died in a boating accident last year. I got Hagrid to send us up in a carriage."

"That's awful," said James. "Carly seems really nice."

"She is," said Albus, with a little more enthusiasm than he meant to.

James grinned. "Maybe I should ask her out on a date, show her around and make her feel more at home."

Albus suddenly stopped breathing, as he searched for a response. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," said Albus as nonchalantly as he could. "She's been through so much. I don't think you should…overwhelm her by asking her out. Just because you were dating, doesn't mean all first years do." Albus thought that was true but wasn't sure. It was all he could come up with at the moment.

James laughed. "Easy little brother," said James. "I'm just winding you up. I saw the way you looked at her. Don't worry, I wouldn't steal your girl."

"She's not my girl," argued Albus defiantly.

"You just keep telling yourself that," said James with a smirk. The conversation ended a moment later when James was hit in the face with a pillow.