Hey guys! I know, its been FOREVER, but now my time is solely and completely devoted to writing about Rose. YAY! I'd like to thank all of you who kept at me when my inspiration was failing. You truly kept me writing.

I'm still not fully satisfied with this chapter... probably because it wasn't supposed to happen. This was SUPPOSED to be the girls' sleepover... But then James Potter had to come in and mess everything up, damn him. So here we are with another sort of filler chap. And once again, I don't think we're going to see Scorpius for a while. At least two chapters... Grr...

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Some girl in my English class said my style reminded her of J.K. That does not mean I AM her, though.

After checking in with Ayana, Tate and Fabian, I headed back to my dorm room. The morning's events had exhausted me, obviously, and all I wanted to do was sleep until I had to go to Cecilia's sleepover extravaganza. Most likely, I wouldn't be able to sleep there, anyways.

I turned a corner, noting absentmindedly in my head that I had exactly three more turns and a long walk down a winding hallway before I would arrive at the Ravenclaw nesting ground, when thick, strong arms wrapped around me from behind and hauled me off my feet. I realized instantly that struggling was futile. This person, obviously male, was much bigger and stronger. Perhaps if I unexpectedly went limp...

"Rose!" The voice shocked me out of my thoughts.

"James?" I groaned, body slumping as the adrenaline rushed out of me. "Why are you assaulting me in the hallways?"

He twisted me so I was being carried in a more traditional princess fashion in the cradle of his arms. "We're having a family day in the Gryffindor Common Room. I came to pick you up."

"If you're going to try to brainwash me, it won't work." I yawned. "Really, can't this wait until next weekend? I'm kinda booked." Booked for a nap. If I didn't sleep soon, bad things were going to happen. And I wasn't exactly picky with targets of my displeasure.

"No. Family bonding time happens now. We are a unit, and you have been virtually ignoring us." He gazed down at me sternly, and I caught a flash of deep-seated worry in his hazel eyes. Maybe he was actually genuinely concerned for me and not just being psychotically prejudiced. "Just because you're not in Gryffindor doesn't mean you can get away from us, you know."

"I wouldn't dream of it," I muttered, crossing my arms. It looked like I was going to have to put up with an afternoon of dealing with my over the top family before going and managing my conniving new friends. Joy. "Put me down. I promise I won't make a run for it." Wouldn't be worth it. I'd just be caught and hauled back. Or I'd get away and my family would bombard me in the hall ways somewhere, in front of everyone. The word 'discretion' wasn't in the Weasley vocabulary.

Cautiously, James set me down and I stretched before striding off mildly after him. We didn't speak; he was tense beside me, and no doubt uncomfortable because of my recent actions. I didn't bother trying to ease him. I was more than happy to let James sulk. We'd never been all that close in the first place. Life was easier when he wasn't talking to me.

My cousin came to a sudden halt and I blinked as I took in my surroundings. We were higher up than the Ravenclaw or Slytherin Common Rooms, in a random corridor in front of a portrait of a lady in a gaudy pink dress. "Ah," I sighed, as she stared back at me, "The Fat Lady."

"Excuse me!" She drew herself up indignantly. "How dare you call me fa-"

"Hogwash," James cut her off. "Let us in now please."

"The nerve!" she huffed, but the portrait swung open to reveal the portrait hole. James climbed in first, leaving me to try to throw myself in. A most awkward dilemma, I assure you. When I'd finally toppled in, I took in the room. Red and gold jumped out from every available surface, with a glowing fireplace as the central focus of the room. I rubbed my temples as the waves of loud sound assaulted my ears. This was going to be a long afternoon.

"Rose!" Albus separated himself from his circle of friends to greet me. "I'm really glad to see you. Are we good?"

"We're good." I patted his head, but my mind was elsewhere, scoping out the room.

"Good. That's... that's good." He smiled shyly. "And sorry about all this. I knew you'd hate it, but the older guys insisted."

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I became conscious of the stares of some of the other Gryffindors. "Dragon pox on them," I cursed, but without any heart in it. I was too distracted to do anything but go through the motions. "Really, though. It looks like they're all busy."

Al scuffed his foot against the floor and looked down. "They want to go out and play Quidditch."

I buried my face in my hands. "They don't expect me to play, do they?" When Al bit his lip and looked away again, I had my answer. I rolled my eyes. "Don't they understand that I'm competition now? Not only could I learn their moves, but there is no way I'm playing if they could learn mine. Ayana would be pissed."

He blinked, momentarily sidetracked. "You're on first name basis with the elder Lau?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Yeah. I'm actually on first name basis with quite a few people. Believe it or not Al, but I can actually make friends."

He flushed and avoided my eyes. "Sorry, Rose."

Sighing, I patted his head again. His feelings were so easily crushed. How had I forgotten that this quickly? It was careless of me. And, of all things, I was not careless. "No, I'm sorry Al. I'm just a little grumpy right now. Low on sleep, you know."

He perked up. "Hey, do you want to see my dorm?"

"Is that even allowed?" It wasn't in Ravenclaw. I'd seen a girl go up with her boyfriend earlier that week, and everyone had immediately assumed she was a 'slut' and 'giving it up already'. It was ridiculous.

"Yeah!" Al grabbed my hand and led me towards a spiral stair hidden in the wall on the right. "Happens all the time. As long as its not at night, its cool."

I followed Al, memorizing my surroundings. It might be good to remember this someday in the future, although I didn't know why I would need to know about the Gryffindor boy's dorms. Still, it was good to be prepared, as Tate had said.

Any mention of Tate, even in my own mind, automatically brought heat surging to my ears. I took a deep breath and tried to think about something totally the opposite.

My mind strayed to Scorpius Malfoy. Automatically, my lip curled in disgust. How strange that he caused such an extreme reaction in me. I couldn't say that anyone had ever gotten under my skin quite like he had. I'd have to really get back at him. I considered the possibilities. I could put a ground up Puking Pastile in his dinner. I could switch one of his quills with an automatic cheating type, and get him caught. I could jinx his broom so he couldn't fly straight. I could-

"This is it!" Al flung the door to his dorm open and ushered me inside. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of the room. It had that distinctive 'a-sweaty-boy-has-slept-here' smell, the one the boys don't even realize exists. As far as I could see, it was just a rectangular room decked out in House colors and covered in a fine layer of filth. But Al beamed proudly, as if he'd just unveiled the Elixir of Life.

"Wow," I looked around again, trying to act somewhat admiring, "Your room is bigger than mine." It was a lie, but Al didn't need to know that. "Do you like your room mates?"

"Yeah!" Al smiled sweetly at me. "I would tell you all about them, but I'm guessing you don't really want to hear it."

I felt a twang of guilt in my stomach. Shoving it down, I tried to seem warm as I said, "You can tell me, if it'd make you happy."

"Nah." He politely ushered me out of the room and bounded back down the stairs. "It's cool. You'll meet them soon enough, anyways. What with classes and all."

I kept my eyes on the stairs as I descended. "I guess so." As we entered the Common Room again, I glanced around cautiously. "If I tried to escape right now, do you think they would notice?"

Scratching the top of his head, Al grimaced. "Yeah. Especially since it looks like everyone is gearing up to go."

Sure enough, there was a cluster of red-heads in front of the portrait hole, dressed in loose sweats and wide grins. James stood out in their midst, his darker hair a stark contrast. Roxanne turned to wave us over and I trudged reluctantly over after a bounding Al.

Lucy slung her left arm over my shoulder. "You ready to face all of us on the Quidditch field, Rose?"

"We are gonna beat your ass so hard that you'll cry like a baby!" Fred crowed while putting his right arm over my shoulders as well. I felt like I was being pressed down from the simple weight of their joined arms.

I shrugged out of their grasp, rolling my shoulders. "I'm not flying, guys."

Victoire pouted her plump lips. "But then I'll have to play."

"The whole point of doing this was so that you could finally fly with your family." James looked honestly dejected, but I shoved aside the pang of guilt I felt.

"I'm the enemy now, guys. I fly for Ravenclaw. So there's no way I'm going to fly with you." I crossed my arms. "Honestly. You can't have really thought that I would."

Roxanne mimicked me, crossing her arms as well. "I thought family came before everything! Before friends, before boys, before House! Are you going against those words?"

Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I resisted sighing. "Look, I'll fly with you guys this summer, maybe. But not now. Okay?"

"No," James had moved to his natural habitat; anger. "No. If you won't fly with us now, then you can just leave." He gestured violently to the portrait hole. "I tried to organize this so that we as a family could have fun, but if you are going to poo-poo it just because of some stupid House team, then you can just leave."

Relief washed through me, but it was tainted with an unfamiliar guilt. "Sounds good to me," I murmured, ducking around the crowd of my kin to get out of this loud, obnoxious Common Room. Sleep awaited me, and I couldn't say no.

"Rose!" Someone called after me, but I didn't wait to find out who it was. I stumbled as quickly as I could through the halls. How could they have been so extremely delusional? It couldn't have been a ploy... no, they had far too much pride in their blatant and unwanted honesty for that. They'd just... I had no idea. I couldn't understand it and I didn't want to. I pressed a hand to my chest as I nearly tripped down a flight of stairs. It was time for me to finally be free to be myself. I couldn't deal with this family nonsense at the moment.

I couldn't. I wouldn't.

Luckily, no one else assaulted me in the stretch to my Common Room. I was able to stumble into the dorm and round it blissfully empty. Without further ado, I flung myself onto my bed and passed out, setting my mental alarm for six.

Fate had other ideas in mind, however. At a quarter to five, my dorm mates ambled in, smelling of flowery perfume and chattering obscenely loudly. No amount of pillows piled over my head could drown out the noise.

The girls' squealing soon established itself as full out gossip. Carolina Reine, the clearly established leader of the group, seemed to delight in her attempts to use information to climb the social ladder. "I heard that he's been sneaking in to see her," she whispered conspiratorially.

Pamela Gordon let out an overly shocked gasp. "Really? I don't believe it! Everyone always said they were affectionate, but-"

"Last year, one of the prefects caught them doing it in a broom closet after hours, I heard!" Dina Lau chimed in and I couldn't help thinking she was nothing like her sister.

It was quite simple to figure out who they were discussing. What prominently public couple was currently suffering separation due to the boy's graduation? I made a note to ask Teddy which secret passage he used to visit Victoire the next time I saw him.

"I swear, their whole family has all the luck. All pretty and popular and talented... and have you seen James Potter's arms?"

There was a rush of embarrassed tittering. "I know, right?" Maria Hall mumbled. "Have you seen the shirtless pictures going around? I have one in my bag. Just looking at it makes me giggle."

"Shirtless pictures?" squeaked Tessa Edith. "I want to see!"

They couldn't have noticed that I was lying enshrouded in my bed, because they soon began to discuss me, in not so subtle voices.

Reine took on a bit of a petulant tone. I could imagine her twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger with a pout, and was almost tempted to look out to confirm my suspicions. "I think she's just trying to get with one of the Slytherin boys. You have to admit, Zabini and Malfoy are quite yummy."

Eeuch. This girl had a disturbing mind. To even think of either of them that way.

"I don't get why everyone's so interested in her. She's not even that pretty. Or nice." Lau was whining, and I had a feeling that this was by now a common topic among them. "I mean, she was talking with Tate Lamero the other day, totally feeling him up, and he's the most popular third year besides James Potter!"

There was a smack, as if one of them had stomped their foot. "She doesn't even have boobs or anything," Hall snuffled, to grunts of assent.

If I didn't move soon, I'd have to sit through a long session of bashing directed towards myself. I sat up abruptly and shoved my covers off, ignoring the screeches of surprise my appearance had caused. Without acknowledging any of them, I shoved a few necessities into a small bag. I would be arriving at the Slytherin dorms early, but it was better than staying here and listening to this mindless blabber.

Reine recovered form the surprise of my appearance first. "Oh my god, Rose! There you are! We were wondering where you'd got to! We're having a little get together with some second year boys tonight. We might even play spin the bottle! Want to come with?"

"I'll pass," I declined blandly, slinging my sack over my shoulder. It was a waste of my time to deal with them. There would be no worthwhile witty repartee. They had all the sense and intelligence of sausages.

Patrick, Jayson and Tobal were huddled in the Common Room, muttering over a piece of parchment. They sat apart from other students, and their hunched shoulders screamed of secrecy. I deliberately slowed my pace as I passed them, and was not disappointed. Jayson summoned me over with a jerk of his middle and index fingers. I kept my stance casual as I reached their side.

Jayson glanced cautiously around, before leaning in to murmur, "Has your family approached you yet?"

Letting my eyes dart about in a slightly suspicious manner, I leaned closer. "They tried to get me to play Quidditch with them. I think they're trying to analyze my skill." A half lie, a half truth, but they didn't need to know that. They also didn't need to know that I was examining the paper in front of them that Patrick was still scribbling on. "I rejected their offer. I think they're a bit upset. They may not come to me for a few days."

Tobal bumped my shoulder and I nearly stumbled. "Nice work, little fox."

I considered objecting to the random nickname before realizing it wasn't worth the effort. "Just utilizing the connections I have. Whatever I can do to help."

Dismissal came in the form of a stiff nod and another strong pat on the back. With another quick glance at the paper, I affirmed that I had all the information I needed. They were planning a sabotage of James before the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match. A simple Puking Pastile ground up in his food. By the time anyone found out, it'd be too late. Great. Another thing I had to think about. Even if it wasn't that complex or original of an idea, it was still troublesome to have to deal with. I moved away from them at a slow, shuffling speed, not in any particular hurry.

I took my time heading to the Slytherin Common Room. Being obnoxiously early was not my style but napping now seemed to be out of question. I was dead bored when I found my way into Moaning Murtle's bathroom.

"Hullo?" I called out. I'd yet to see any of the Hogwarts ghosts except from afar. Peeves and I had gotten into a stare down on the first day of school and he'd left me alone since. He'd seem to sense that I was not to be messed with.

"Merlin, Weasley." One of the rusty stall doors swung open and Ayana emerged. "Don't you of all people know to steer clear of this joint? They think its cursed because of that." She jerked her head towards a sink and I ran my fingers along the faucet with a morbid curiosity.

The metal sliver was barely discernible, probably from many students doing as I was, running their finger tips of the carving, but it was there. A small silver snake marked the sink as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. "Has anyone gone down since the Battle of Hogwarts?" In which my mum and da had gone down to get some basilisk fangs to destroy Voldemort's horocruxes. My family's history seemed to be everywhere.

"'Course not. Its kinda off-limits, like the Room of Requirement or the Shrieking Shack. Your family leaves a rather large shadow, you know, and no one likes to remember the War." Unlike most times, her gaze seemed unfocused as she crossed to the sink beside mine and doused her hands in the icy water.

Leaning back agains the hidden entrance, I observed her. She wasn't as put together as normal; her hair was hanging loose from its strict ponytail and her uniform shirt was unbuttoned at the top. "Why are you here if its cursed, then?"

Her lips lifted into a twisted half smile with a snort. "You know who my mum is, right? You've heard the stories." Ayana snorted again, derisive. "Cho Chang, the beautiful girl who dated Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter. The girl that was so broken that she sobbed most of her sixth year away." Her eyes swirled to hold mine, and once again I could see the fire eating at her. "I've spend my whole life trying to fight the expectations that I'll be like my mum." She smiled, but it wasn't nice. "But I suppose you know the feeling even better than I do. Your parents are pretty notorious, after all." Turning back to the mirror, she seemed to soften, the tension going out of her a bit. "I come here because even I need to take a break from fighting sometimes."

"Oh." It was something private she'd brought up and I instantly wanted to back away. Me knowing people, that was fine. But people knowing me? I wanted to avoid that at all costs. I cleared my throat, but it was too loud in the solemn place. "Should I leave you then?"

"Nah." Ayana's previous drive and passion had momentarily disappeared. "I don't mind you so much, Weasley. You're all right. For a first year, that is."

"Thanks," I muttered, tugging my hair at the backhanded compliment. Twirling the ends of my hair under the light, I examined the coloration. "Do you think my hair is red?" I asked in a neutral tone of voice. Offering myself up, just as she had. A peace offering.

This time, her smile was warm. "No. Not not at all."

I'd stayed with Ayana until five minutes to six before departing for the Slytherin Common Room. Even though I'd wanted to, I kept my mouth quiet about Jayson, Patrick and Tobal's plans. That could come later. Instead, we talked about nonsense topics: teachers, classes, homework, stores. For once, it was nice to not have to think before I spoke.

When I left, I was still a bit shaken from the frankness of our discussions, but I pulled myself together. I needed to be put together if I was going to deal with Purity and her mechanisms.

Slytherins stared when I passed them in the dungeon halls nearing their domain, but there had been enough talk about me to stop any of them from outright confronting me. The entrance to the Slytherin Common Room was obvious; the snakes had to glorify anything of theirs. I rapped three times on the stone slab and stepped back, clasping my hands behind me.

An older girl answered, took one look at me, and disappeared. Before I had time to be truly curious, Cecilia appeared in her place.

"Rose. Darling." She was not in uniform. Instead, a ruffled black dress cloaked her frame. Her hair was pinned back from her face with two embellished bobby pins, but otherwise it hung loose. Her eyes glowed against the neutrality of her garments. "Right on time. Do come in."

Steeling myself, I went where no Weasley had been invited to go before. Into the snake den.

I know, I know, its short... but I have the whole next chapter written already! You love me, you know you do.

Please, please, PLEASE review! The next chap will probably be up Friday next week... or sooner if I get a LOT of reviews.

Thank you for reading!

Love you all!