Rose's Turn, Epilogue.
"Here she is, boys! Here she is, world! Here's Rose!" -Momma Rose, Gypsy, number: Rose's Turn
"A woman is like an artichoke; you have to do a bit of work before you get to her heart." -Inspector Jacques Clouseau, Pink Panther, 2006
"I definitely have strong feelings for you. I just haven't decided if they're positive or negative yet." -Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, 2010
"We have it in our power to start the world over." -Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
Ha! Using my fantastic Slytherin cunning, I, the one and only Rose Weasley, have managed to snatch James' narrative right from under his nose!
Eh. The intro needs work. Perhaps I'm not a catalystic, angsty teen like James, but bear with me, won't you?
Speaking of James, his life seems to be at least marginally better. His parents are trying harder, and he doesn't bottle things up anymore. Q. E. D. there have been precisely three (or four?) instances in which voices are raised in the Potter residence. Dad said jokingly, "Well, mate, at least this is a phase you can understand," which led to an extensively amusing evening in which the Granger-Weasleys (and Teddy, who had visited and simultaneously forgiven me for dishonesty) imagined/reminisced Uncle Harry throwing teenager tantrums.
"Rose, I don't see Scorpius yet!" James said, attempting to peer over everyone's shoulders. Poor, growth-spurt-deprived boy whose build is fashioned after Aunt Ginny. This distraction, I might note, is what allowed me to replace him.
"There's twenty minutes till the train, James," I sighed, rolling my eyes. And he wonders why Muggle pedotricians (or something like that) say the girls develop before boys! "One might think you've had enough of him for three weeks. Surely you have the patience of ten more minutes."
He stuck out his tongue, and I abandoned my disapproving and haughty countenance to laugh. I really did love James sometimes (in an entirely familial way, because anything else would be gross.) And his free, joyful mood swings were far preferable from those stiff, forced conversations. I only hoped that this wouldn't disappear the moment we stepped on the train, that he wouldn't readopt the supposedly "popular" culture that had forsaken him before, out of fear or loneliness. I hoped that he would remember how much lonelier he used to be.
Apparently, sometimes XYs never fully mature. Dad, also too impatient to wait any longer, surprised me by placing his arm on my shoulder. I glanced up, but he evaded any awkward confessions, instead saying mock-sternly, "Do you remember what I told you in the beginning of the year?"
"Come on! He's not a pureblood at all!" I countered automatically, before the blood rushed to my cheeks and cursed my quick tongue. Had I just defended Scorpius as a suitable marriage contender? Darn this stupid Ron-Weasley flush. Dad verbally conceded defeat, but with a certainly insufferable smirk. I playfully socked him in the shoulder, causing him to yelp, "Ah! You've got the right hook of your mother!"
I smiled a bit more, glad that it was only Dad and the distracted James present. Merlin, if Hugo was here he would never let me live this do-
"Hey Rose, this guy had better get my permission before he does anything to you," announced Hugo, wagging his finger and looking absolutely ecstatic. Arrgh, was my sophisticated refrain as I hid my face in my hands. To top off a perfect morning, James' thirst was quenched.
"Hi James, hi Rose, sorry I'm late!... Er, do you have a zit or something?"
I lifted my head and glared at the four boys. Why wouldn't anyone save me? Mum, Aunt Ginny, anyone! Luckily, the whole bunch arrived; little Lily, Mum, James' parents, and Albus suddenly appeared beside us. There was a fair bit of tension between us and the latter- it was he who had told our parents, having overheard Scorpius and James discussing the meeting place in the common room and had stealthily followed us to the Astronomy Tower. Of the four of us, he had been the only level-headed one, and the only to realize the only thing to be done- he spilled the beans. Apparently relations between he and James were near nonexistent; Scorpius didn't quite know what to think, and I was the only one who felt that she should support Scorpius but lacked the bravery to do it.
"Hi," Scorpius said. "Are you by any chance Albus Severus Potter?"
"Yeah," Al said warily. "Who's asking?"
"Scorpius Ma- Greengrass." I noticed Dad's hand fall from my shoulder, in surprise, I expect, and then appreciated for the first time that it was once there. Somehow, both of them, James and Dad, had finally been able to accept that I was the same person as always. For the first time, my Slytherinhood hadn't even been touched upon- though I nearly mentioned it when defending Scorpius. Equality- what we had all subconsciously been fighting for. Scorpius for his mother against his father, James for himself against his siblings, and I for my present against past.
"Ah," Al said shortly. "Heard a bit about me, then?"
"Yeah, a bit... or more," Scorpius said, "As you certainly snore like a bear in the dormitories."
Scorpius certainly knew how to handle people, I marvelled. No wonder James thought him a threat to his popularity, no wonder it was almost impossible to not warm up to him. In a sentence, the tension had been vanquished.
Meanwhile, I withdrew from the conversation to find Mum tapping me on the shoulder. "Dear," she said cheerfully, "You've been at Harry and Ginny's place all break. How've you been?"
"Oh, I've been well," I said, unsure of what she wanted. "So, do you guys think you've ruined me completely? Going to do better by Hugo?"
"No!" she exclaimed, and I felt a bit guilty for provoking this response. "It's marvelous that you're in Slytherin- well, a tad unexpected, but if it's who you are, then we still love you."
"Alright, I know," I agreed, deciding to stop fishing for compliments and get down to the actual business. "Um... I'm sorry that my stupid plan almost killed James and that I lied to you."
Mum shook her head. "Oh, dear, don't be upset. Just- just make sure you know everything before you do this kind of thing in the future, 'kay?" I stared up at her, amazed, having expected a 'don't-you-ever-do-that-again' tirade. "Oh, I have a lot of experience in overestimation. Nice work on the potion, though. From the sample that James brought back, you concocted it perfectly. I could only whip up something of that complexity in second year, and you'd had but a fourth of my magical experience. Yes, in my day a lack of study led to five and a half weeks in the Hospital Wing." She smiled at some random adventurous memory, then snapped back to attention. "So- oh, the Hogwarts Express is coming in a few minutes, you ought to rejoin the family."
"Yeah. Thanks, Mum." It was only after boarding that I noticed that she had included Scorpius in "the family."
"That was nice of her," I remarked aloud, albeit quietly.
"What?"
"Oh, never mind." I'd forgotten that in the silence of the only half-full Hogwarts Express any utterance would be clearly heard in the compartment. "It was nothing."
"Galleon for your thoughts?"
"Inflation's really a pain, huh," I responded evasively, and then had to stifle a snicker when Scorpius didn't get it. I did hope that they would return to whatever they had been talking about, though- the chances of James getting Teddy to live permanently with him, I expect. Or vice versa.
"Well, anyway," James spoke, as I had hoped, "I'm the attention hog here, so let's ignore the annoyingly secretive Slytherin and get back to moi." He said it in jest, not seriously, and that was a substantial enough development to rouse me from my slumber. "Joking aside, I don't really know what to do. I get that I've got to get myself out of that crap, but I just invested the last two and a half years into it, which is pretty important. All of my friends are there..."
"Well, then, perhaps you're sitting in the wrong seat," Scorpius said, which apparently made sense to James, who half-smiled, despite it's lack of parallelism to anything. At least I wasn't going completely insane, as Albus' confused expression mirrored mine. Scorpius and James continued without notice.
"But still, it's not like I can start over- It's not like I can just go up to people saying, hey, what's your name, can I be your best friend? I made my choice!" His voice took on a sarcastic tone, though the pleading note broke through anyway, "Oh, clever one, to whom can I take refuge?"
"Well," Scorpius scrunched his face, like it was a difficult question. He suggests acne to me (my face is still unblemished, thank Merlin!) but ignores a cracked voice?
I rolled my eyes, at both them and the corniness of what I was about to express. "How about a riddle, then, if you can comprehend? No names, but I'll give you this hint: You've always been our favorite..."
Fin.
A/N: I wish it wasn't over, but... yeah. It is. Sorry I switched up the protagonists on you, but it was the easiest way to get you a quick chapter (as I already wrote a one-shot this weekend and therefore my quota has been filled) because I am a girl (as you may have inferred by the "lass" in Loonynamelass) and therefore it's just more natural. Or maybe that's bs, but... yeah, I have missed it. For some reason, all of my stories are male-centric! The Draco Diaries, that Tom Marvolo Riddle one-shot I just uploaded... even the on hiatus Tell Me a Story is told by Edward! Grr!
Oh, thank goodness, nevermind! I've got an idea for a pretty long Hedwig tale, so that'll be a relief. Except, of course, that she's not a human. Eh...
Katie: My best yet? Thank you, thank you! Was this one swell as well?
Shadrac: I tried to inject a bit more emotion by revamping (as I believe the term is) the conversation... Ooh, sounds like a tango move.
AJ: Hehe, yeah, sorry about taking out any action. But, as I told you before: I'm not going to include a big fight scene between Draco and Harry or anything like that. Didn't mean to deceive you, but that's the way it is. Anywhos, Harry can't kill! He can torture, but never the dreaded Expelliarmus! His soul is worth far more! Also... Don't keep them short! Length is good! Quantity of quality is good! Reviews are heavenly!
My task's done in delivering you this story, but I would still appreciate knowing what you think. So, uh, down there's a little no-longer-green button down that's feelin' lonely...