Chapter 13

Lemongrass grows like tall grass, with sharp blades and a fragrant citrus smell.

While Rose spent all morning readying her shop for a second, hopefully successful, grand opening, she kept an eye out for the man who had become her lover. The man who was slowly healing the little cracks in her soul she hadn't realized were there. And wasn't that the kicker? She thought she had been doing alright after Phil had died, she thought she had kept it together for her daughter.

But the more time she spent with Neville, the more she realized how disconnected she had been since the moment she became Rose instead of Pansy. Almost like she had split herself into two. All this time since she slipped out of Diagon Alley that bitterly cold winter night and became Primrose Parker, she had thought she had forgiven herself for the things she had done in her past. Those first few years on her own she spent so much time learning to love herself that she thought she had also fixed the broken pieces of her soul.

But now, she realized, no matter how old you are, how many years go by, there was always room to grow. Neville, who looked at her like she was light, who kissed her like he never wanted to kiss anyone else, who was doing his absolute best to win over Penny - he was also making Rose see that there was a chasm inside her that had once been Pansy Parkinson, and while that girl had been a bitter bully, there had been good things about her that Rose had crushed into nothing. She just had to figure out how to bring the two parts of her self together. Eventually.

Thankfully, her second grand opening day was looking to be successful, far more than her first had been. Instead of a downpour of rain, the sun streamed through her skylight and her windows and lit the room up brilliantly, illuminating her neat rows of lotions, perfumes, shampoos, creams, and potions. The mere sight caused a swell of pride to roar up inside of her, followed by intense satisfaction.

She had done this. With the exception of a little elbow grease from Daphne, this shop was because of her doing, because of her hard work. And with that thought in her head, she propped her front door open with her beloved bucket of lemongrass, the blades longer than they had been the day she bought it, and just as fragrant.

She stepped out into the sunshine and smiled, flipping her OPENED sign to the front. Reaching into her pocket, she enlarged the sign Penny had painted for her, before staking it into the ground by the door. It read 'GRAND OPENING! ALL DAY - EVERYTHING BUY ONE, GET ONE!'.

She glanced over to Neville's shop, clearly seeing him through the big open window, his shirt a shade of blue that matched his eyes and tucked into his tight jeans. She watched as he sipped from his mug of coffee before stepping out of view, only to reappear a second later at his door. He propped that door open with the same giant clay pot he usually did and when his head turned in her direction and met her eyes, he leaned against the door frame and gave her a look that curled her toes in her shoes and made her heart hurt.

"Mornin'," he called out across the street as if he were just her neighbor being polite, not like he'd been in her bed the day before, making her scream.

"Good morning," she returned with a grin. Penny was running around in the house, leaving a trail of destruction as usual. Which mean she could flirt shamelessly with the man across the street, at least for a minute or two. She was still supposed to be 'mad' at him.

He seemed to catch the glint in her eye and played along. "Finally getting that place opened for business, Russo?"

The early morning shoppers walking along the cobblestones gave curious looks in her direction, their eyes glancing at her sign.

Rose felt the sides of her lips twitching up. "Damn straight."

"It's about time!" he called out.

They laughed and Rose stepped aside as a couple curiously wandered into her shop. Her first customers.

It was busier than she predicted, but not so much that she could brag. She made Penny and Fiona go hand out flyers after lunchtime and about an hour after that Daphne stopped by with all the girls from her office, a group of ten women who raided her shelves and supplies as Rose explained what it all did and what was good for what. They left with bags full of lotions and perfumes and Rose's till was fuller for it. Daphne stayed behind to help out and Rose knew her time was up.

"Spill it." Daph said a bit later. "Something's going on and I want to know right now."

"Of course something is going on, it's my grand opening!" Rose teased as she walked by and into her supply closet.

"Don't play dumb, it doesn't work on me." Daphne pointed her finger sharply in her direction, the nail painted bright pink to match her lipstick. "There's something more going on between you and Neville than him upsetting Penny."

Rose just shrugged as she suppressed the urge to smile at the mention of Neville, and carried a box out to the front. Her work day was going perfect so far, but she hadn't seen or heard from Neville since she first opened her door that morning. But when Penny came back with Fiona she carried an armful of what appeared to be new paint supplies wrapped up with a giant red bow and another note.

"Mother," she said with the drama and purposeful irritation of a pre-teen.

"Child? Did you go to see Neville? I thought we were still mad at him?" Rose asked, trying to read what this note said.

"I am still mad at him!" Penny insisted but her voice betrayed her, Rose knew all her moods. She realized then Penny was exploiting Neville. And it made her laugh because Penny only ever did that with her dad. It was the one Slytherin trait she possessed, that sneakiness she would unleash on Phil to get what she wanted. But she'd only ever done it with Phil.

Penny scrunched her face dramatically, putting the package on the counter. "We stopped for ice cream and Ms. Fortescue said it had already been paid for! And then she gave me this and laughed, said it was from her favorite neighbor. She's a bit batty, have you noticed?"

"Supplies huh?" Rose peaked at the array of paints and brushes wrapped up so prettily and ignored the comment on Ms. Fortescue, who wasn't at all batty but rather eccentric. "I have to admit, kid, he's trying really hard."

"Who gave you that gift, Penny?" Daphne asked from the register.

"Mr. Longbottom. He's sent others as well. Trying to apologize." Penny rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out.

"Ahh. Is that so?" Daphne shot a look towards Rose. "Is that sooo?"

"Penny, what would it take to get you to forgive him?" Rose asked, stepping causally closer to Daphne trying to draw Penny's eye in that direction. Because the very subject of their conversation had just walked into the shop carrying a giant bucket full of Verbena and Lemongrass. His eyebrows shot up at her words and he paused quietly, setting the bucket down by the door.

Penny turned to look at Fiona, the girl leaning her head in as they whispered quickly back and forth. The hushed whispered tone was serious as the two girls pressed their foreheads together.

Rose took the moment to glance at Neville, her mouth forming the word 'Hey'. She got caught up in the blue of his eyes and the smitten smile on his face and completely missed the movement of Daphne's elbow. She got Rose right in the side.

"I knew it." Daph whispered at her just as Penny and Fiona both nodded and turned toward them.

"A kitten." they said together.

"A what?" Rose laughed. Then made herself straighten her face. "A what?"

"A kitten!" they said again. Penny continued, "We can take it to Hogwart's with us and it'll be ours."

Daphne crossed her arms. "What if you two end up in different houses?"

"Aunt Daphne you can't be serious?" - "Like that would happen."

The pair spoke in unison again, and Rose laughed. "So the only way you will forgive Neville is if you get a kitten?"

"And he has to apologize for hurting your feelings!"

"A kitten and an apology," she said softly. "A good one." She looked over Penny's head and met Neville's wink as he slipped out of the door as quietly as he had come in.

"I'll let him know then…"

"But you know I've kind of already forgiven him. I miss going to his garden and hanging out." Penny admitted.

Rose leaned forward and pressed her daughter tight against her side. "Next time you see him, let him apologize and tell him you forgive him. I'm sure you guys can still be friends."

"Okay - I will." Penny grabbed the wrapped package from the counter and then gently nudged Fiona.

"Oh - Mrs. Russo? Can Penny spend the night at my house please? My mum says it's fine." Fiona clasped her hands together, begging in the sweetest voice she could muster.

"You two are both menaces and I'd be glad to have you out of my hair for the night." Rose said after pretending to consider it for a moment. "Now get out of here, I'm working."

They hugged her and ran off, both of them disappearing through the back door together laughing like maniacs. "Those two…" Rose sighed happily.

Daphne waited exactly one second after the back door shut firmly before she whirled around and pointed her finger right into Rose's face. "You. Talk. Now."

Laughing softly, Rose said, "What would you like to know Daph?"

"Everything."

A couple walked in, browsed and said hello to Rose, bought a bottle of perfume and left. "What else has he gotten Penny?"

Rose sighed happily. "The roses are beautiful, the pancake breakfast was delicious, but the chocolate he sent were from Divina's."

"Be still my beating heart. They have these chocolate covered cherries that are orgasmic." Daph said, fanning her face.

"I'll have to take your word on it, considering I can barely afford a napkin from that place. Penny and I ate the whole box. For dinner."

"I would have too." Daphne laughed. "Chocolate from Divina's... that proves just how interested he is in you. Spill!"

"I have a question first." Rose said, walking over towards the front door. She knelt down and brought a stem of the vividly bright purple verbena to her nose and breathed the scent that was more herby than floral. It paired perfectly with the tart smelling lemongrass.

"I did sleep with him." Daphne said, hopping up onto the counter and pulling out her cellphone, reminding Rose of the day she had moved to Diagon Alley.

"Damn it, Daph."

"You can't be jealous. It was a long time ago." her find said, her fingers dancing across the buttons. "I leave the office for a few hours and everything falls apart…"

"I'm not," Rose said, ignoring Daphne's mumbling. "Honestly. I'm just curious as to why you acted so surprised when I told you who my neighbor was, when you knew who it was I was speaking of all along."

"I thought he would be a good rebound for you, after Phil."

Rose didn't have to ask why. There was something very kind and gentle about Neville Longbottom, something that prompted trust. Rose found herself getting easily lost in the memory of that first night together quite often and without warning. During dinner with Penny or brewing late a night. It was hard not to think of the absolute way he had about him that left no room for insecurity. She never once questioned his intentions and found comfort in the fact that he knew exactly what she had gone through when she lost Phil. But she didn't think Neville was a rebound.

"I wanted to meddle, Tory isn't as fun anymore with her domestic bliss, adoring husband, children to dote on." She snapped her phone case shut and looked up, met Rose's curious eyes.

They had known each other for so long, had been true friends for all that time. Rose hadn't been Rose, she had been Pansy and still Daphne stuck by her side. She knew all of Daphne's quirks, all her pet peeves, probably all of her secrets. She knew her signature looks and the ones not so often shown.

And Rose knew by the softening, smudgy look in Daphne's eyes that she was about to be honest when she didn't want to be. "You were so hurt after Phil died, and I can't imagine what you feel, but a night of good sex? That might help a little. And Neville - He's not looking for anything serious, he'll give you a fun night or two and then it'll be friendly from there. That sounds like exactly what you need. And bonus! He's obviously interested."

"So you're telling me to get a fuckbuddy?"

"I'm saying get your brains melted by Mr. Longbottom."

"And he'll lose interest after that?"

"He always does." Daph said, her voice back to the hard, certain quality she usually spoke with.

"Hmm..." Rose straightened, leaving the verbena on the ground by the door, and walked to her friend, clasping their hands together. "Daphne? We've been sleeping together since you took Penny to Paris."

"WHAT?!" Daphne fell off the counter, and this time it was out of total shock, not because she was playing dramatic.

oOoOo

It was just a few hours later when she locked up the front door with a feeling of immense satisfaction. Her day was a success and she felt so damn proud of herself she couldn't help but do a little jig, swinging her arms out and giving herself a Woo-hoo!

She made money, met knew people, nearly sold out all of her perfumes, and she managed to catch Daphne so far off guard she had fallen off the counter and onto her rump.

Absolute. Success.

She even managed to have a nice chat with Ginny Weasley and her horde of children, finding it easier and easier to talk to the witch the more effort they put into getting along. She liked Ginny's fiery spirit and she liked knowing she had another friend in the wizarding world.

She flipped her sign to CLOSED and double checked the locked door before she headed out the back with an armful of empty boxes she sat by the trash can there. Wiping her hands she turned to make sure the gate was locked when she heard a slight shuffle above her. She looked up curiously and watched as Neville peered down at her from the roof of her shop.

"Hey," he said when she grinned. "Are you finished for the day?"

"Maybe. What are you doing on my roof?"

"Checking for holes," he laughed. "Want to join me?"

She pulled at the ladder instead of answering and carefully climbed her way up. As Neville helped her step out onto the roof, she saw he had laid out a picnic, complete with a comfy blanket and lit candles. He clasped tightly on her hand and pulled her down next to him. "Congratulations on your first day."

"Thank you," she accepted the wine glass he held out and caught sight of his shirt pocket.

"Oh oh oh -" Rose laughed at the adorable picture he presented. "That is too cute."

"Like my choice?" he asked, lifting the sleeping kitten up gently from his pocket and holding it out for Rose to take. "It's a boy."

He was mostly a bluish grey fur that stuck out in all directions. "What are you doing getting her a kitten as cute as this?"

"I know when I'm being exploited. But there's something about you Russo's that make me want to spoil you rotten." he said, he leaned in and rested his elbow on his bent knee.

She couldn't help the way her body responded, automatically leaning in towards him as if pulled by a string. "I hope you weren't expecting sympathy from me."

He pulled the kitten back into his hands without breaking eye contact, held it up and in a higher pitched voice said, "Please forgive the nice man that brought me home from the shop. He's so sorry and so-o-o-o handsome."

Laughing, she pushed at his shoulder. "St-op. Ha ha."

"Please nice lady, please." Neville continued, using his fingers to move the paws of the sleepy kitten. "Pl-eeease."

"Neville," she leaned up and captured his lips with her own. "Neville."

He tucked the kitten between them protectively, while his other hand came up to her cheek, his thumb brushing gently just under her cheek. It was, perhaps, the most tender moment they had ever shared.

And while she couldn't pinpoint why that was, she could tell Neville felt the same. He said, "Where'd Penny run off to? I have the ultimate apology to make after all."

"Actually," Rose bit her lip. "Penny is spending the night at Fiona's so she isn't here."

"Oh?" Neville smirked. "Just you, me, and the kitty?"

She shot him a dark look at his suggestive tone and slipped off her tennis shoes. "Luckily she's already forgiven you." He held her wine glass for her as she pushed her shoes away and stretched her feet. "Ahhh... I had a really good day," she admitted to him with a big smile.

"It looked pretty steady for you. You still have a few more weeks before school starts, busy season." Neville said, taking one of her feet in his hand and digging his fingers into her heel. She barely suppressed the moan she wanted to make.

"It was steady - oooh - I just feel so," she paused. "Satisfied."

"I know the feeling," he smiled again as he pressed into her feet. "Running your own store, it's a handful and some days you'll want to pull your hair out through your eyes."

"Hair out through your eyes?" she asked.

"Yes - trust me. You'll know exactly what I'm talking about." They laughed. "But it's worth it."

"So what did you pack?" she nodded towards the small basket.

"Essentials." he unpacked it in front of her. "Fancy cheese, less fancy crackers, and really really fancy chocolate. I'll keep rubbing your feet if you want to feed me."

The sudden image she had of him sucking chocolate from her fingers made her toes curl, which he noticed immediately. "Mmm deal."

She fed them both cheese and crackers as he massaged the aches from her feet and they talked and flirted like they usually did, the two of them settling into an easy rhythm. Then she switched to the bits of chocolate he had.

"Neville are you loaded or something? How do you keep getting these chocolates from Divina's?"

"Oh I know the owner." he said, picking out a chocolate covered cherry and popping it into her mouth. The chocolate was dark, the cherry tart. It melted in her mouth and made her pause. She put a hand over her mouth and moaned. He smiled and fed her another.

"You know everyone," she said after she spent far too long savoring the chocolate.

"Trina's really fun, bit obsessed with chocolate though. She reminds me of Daphne, I think you'd like her."

"Did you - " she started, and then stuffed a whole cracker in her mouth to keep herself from talking when she realized what she was about to ask.

"What?"

"No-ting..." she said with a mouthful of cracker.

"Did I...? What? Sleep with her?"

She chewed on the cracker that was far too dry without the cheese and looked away. "It's not my business."

"Does it bother you?" he asked, tugging on her ankle.

"No." she sat up. "I'm just old, Neville."

Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't that. "Come again?"

"I feel old. I'm a widow, with a daughter about to go to Hogwart's. I don't want a fling, if that's what this is."

"Uhm. So we're having the talk."

"No - god no I'm sorry. Forget it."

"Rosie." he pulled her ankle towards him, his hand sliding up her leg until he could grab onto her arm, pulling her under him with a sleek move.

"Neville - wait -" he pinned her down with his hips and brought his fingers to her face, running them along her cheekbones and down the curve of her nose. She wrapped her legs around his hips and dug her fingers into his hair.

"I hate the talk," he mumbled against her lips. "There's much more interesting things we could be doing besides having that talk."

"I know, forget I said any-" he kissed her, holding her head in place as he made the both of them breathless. "-thing..."

"Sooo, get through your head now. I don't play games and I don't cheat."

"I didn't think you did!" she said, out of breath.

"So what do you want?" he asked, pushing the hair from her face.

She let out a breath and thought about it. What did she really want from him? Suddenly, she thought of Phil. Of the way he had flirted with her all throughout her friend's graduation party until she caved and when she finally agreed to go out with him, he'd kissed her in front of everyone. Hadn't Neville sort of kind of done the same? Her cheeks had burned red with with the way he had flirted with her the first few weeks after she'd moved to Diagon Alley. His flirting... and the way he had looked at her ass every time she turned around. And then, when she least expected it, he'd kissed chocolate frosting off her lip.

She had to admit, they were pretty good together. The sex was amazing and he didn't seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. She couldn't find it in herself to think Daphne was right, that he'd lose interest. Not when he seemed to genuinely care about Penny. "Just be good to my kid."

"Do you think I wouldn't be?" he tugged on her ear.

"You did make her cry."

"And if any other boy makes her cry I'm going to murder them."

"That's what I want to hear."

He kissed her again and she indulged herself by running her hands through his hair, tugging at the strands.

"Ouch." he pouted.

"Neville, what do you want?" she asked, running a finger over his swollen lips. She had the impression she'd caught him off guard again with her question.

"Uhm." he said, shaking his head. "No one's ever asked me that before, not since..."

"Hannah." she finished for him. "What did you tell her?"

He groaned and rolled them over, pulling her on top of him and resting his head under his arm. "This is just another way of having the relationship talk."

"Right... more interesting things." she pushed her hair to the side and leaned in for a kiss. "You know I've never done it on a roof before."

His eyes lit up at her confession and he grabbed onto her hips suggestively. "You know my house has a sitting area on the roof. We could put some comfy furniture up there and get extra, extra comfy."

She looked over to his shop, eyeing the steep incline of the roof. "Uh?"

"No, that's the shop."

"And I thought you, you know, lived there. The room in the back with the bed?"

"I do love that snark. I have a house you know. It's a family home. Far too big for just me."

"A family home? Or a bachelor pad?"

Laughing, he said, "My gran used to live there!"

"And now? Leather chairs? Dry bar? Animal print silk sheets?" she laughed with him.

"No. Definitely not. It has tons of bedrooms, a big bathroom with a big tub," he pulled her closer. "A potions room."

She put a hand on his chest and pushed away slightly. "You sound like Daph now, trying to sell me a house?"

"I'm just talking about my house!"

"You want me to move in?"

"Yeah, why not?"

She shook her head. "You can't even have the relationship talk with me."

"If we have the talk, would you move in with me?" he asked sweetly, then he reached up and tugged on her hair.

"I-" she sat up and looked around. "Aww."

She spotted the kitten as it meowed and stumbled adorably across the blanket, cautiously coming towards them. She picked it up gently and cuddled it to her chest. "Why, why oh why, did you get Penny a real kitten? I was expecting some stuffed animal."

"I'm sorry, did you or did you not see her when she stomped on my toe? I couldn't half ass an apology, my toes can't take anymore."

She eyed his smirk. "You enjoyed it. You did."

"Yeah." he admitted. "She was kind of magnificent. Why didn't you and Phil have more kids?"

She placed the kitten on his chest, where it curled up and tucked his nose into his paws. Then she rolled off Neville and sat beside him instead, crossing her legs. "He didn't want anymore."

"That's what Hannah promised me." he said so quietly she almost didn't hear him, and he looked away.

They were silent for awhile, Neville's fingers gently petting the kitten while Rose sat beside him and the sun slowly set over Diagon Alley. And she finally understood why Ginny Weasley was so angry with Hannah Abbott even though the girl had been dead for all these years. She wanted to reach back through time and slap the girl, make her keep her promises to Neville. She called forth the image she had of Hannah, tried to imagine little children running around with her freckles and his blue eyes. How happy they would've made Neville. Rose wanted him to be happy.

She sucked in a breath. She wanted to make him happy. The picture of freckled children turned dark headed, with blue or purple eyes and a big sister to dote on them. With that realization ringing in her head, she laid down again, lifting his arm to wrap around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Well, there we go. The talk. It's done. We had it."

He looked at her, eyebrows raised. "We did?"

"Yes." she looked up at him. "I know what you want."

"Oh?" he pressed her closer along his side. "And you're going to give me what I want?"

"Yes," they laid there, arms entwined, as the stars popped out one by one. The kitten curled up on Neville's chest yawned and stretched and Rose couldn't help but smile. "Of course, you have to get Penny's forgiveness first."