Louis/Roxanne

Prompt: Melody

Melody

July 21, 2023

The rain had no mercy on poor Louis Weasley as he hurried down the cobbled street of Diagon Alley, his cloak brought up to cover his head. His shoes splashed about on the stones and drenched the leg of his trousers, much to his annoyance. It was a dismal Friday afternoon, and he had just finished at the office, doing some paperwork for Harry, and decided to pay Fred a visit. He knew that his cousin would be working at the shop, and perhaps he wouldn't mind taking a trip down to the Cauldron for a few drinks before Louis headed home.

He quickly reached his destination and thrust open the door. The warmth of the joke shop beckoned to him invitingly, and he stepped into the brightly lit shop and took of his soaking travelling cloak. The tiny bell dinged as the door clicked back into place.

"Fred?" he called, placing his cloak and briefcase on the counter. The place appeared to be empty. That was strange; Louis was positive that Fred worked on Fridays. "Freddie? You here, buddy?"

There was no reply. Frowning a little, he slicked his wet hair back and tapped his pale fingers against the countertop. Suddenly, he heard a soft melody coming from the upstairs flat. Curiosity overcame him and he ventured up the steps and into the main living space of his aunt and uncle. The pretty tune was a little louder up here, seeping out from underneath the gap between the door to Roxanne's bedroom and the wooden floorboard. Louis tentatively rapped his knuckles on the door sharply and heard his cousin suck in a breath. The melody stopped immediately.

"What do you want, Fred?" Roxanne's voice was gruff and short, and Louis chuckled a little as he pushed her door open.

"It's me, Roxie," he grinned at her. Roxanne fixed him with a frustrated glare. She was lying on her bed, flat on her stomach with a quill stuck behind her ear, struggling to hold back the curly black locks that hung around her face.

"What are you doing here, Lou?" she snapped, and quickly flipped open the large textbook that had sat untouched before her. "I'm busy."

Louis snorted. "Sure you are," he drawled sarcastically. "I can see that book has been put to excellent use."

Roxanne ignored him and kicked her legs up and down, a clear sign for him to leave. "Why are you still here?" she asked in a monotone.

"Looking for Fred. He around?"

"Dunno," she shrugged. "I don't follow my brother's every move."

Louis sighed. Sometimes, dealing with Roxanne was hard. She was fifteen, and possibly the moodiest girl he had ever come across – apart from Lucy. He remembered when she used to be such a sweet little thing, always smiling and skipping along behind Fred. Puberty had transformed her into this guarded young woman, and Louis didn't know how to handle her.

So, he tried a casual approach. "Was that you singing, before?" he asked as he leant against the doorframe.

Roxanne glowered at him. "No!" she replied forcefully. "You need to get your ears checked, Lou. There was no singing in this house."

"Right," Louis smirked and slowly entered her bedroom, stifling a chuckle at the posters of Joshua Thomas plastered about her bedroom. The girl had a terrible crush on the Puddlemere United Chaser. Louis, being said Chaser's best mate, had organised a signed photograph for Roxanne for her fifteenth birthday last month, and she had practically slept with it every night (according to Fred, anyway).

"Seriously though," he continued. "It was really pretty, that little melody. Did you come up with it yourself?"

Blushing furiously, Roxanne looked away and refused to meet his gaze.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Roxie," he said with a smile. "I think it's brilliant. You're really good. How come you've never told anyone you can sing?"

Again, the girl was silent; Louis could see tears shining in her dark eyes.

"Is it because you think people will laugh at you?" Louis knew that Roxanne was very popular at Hogwarts. Her fierce, tomboy persona and her brilliant Quidditch skills made her the best friend of most of the boys at school. He supposed that singing was something that completed contradicted her image.

"You shouldn't hide your talents from your friends," he told her. "They won't care. I reckon they'll think it's pretty cool."

Finally, Roxanne turned to face Louis, a single, solitary tear trickling down her cheek. "It's not just them I'm worried about," she muttered softly.

Realisation dawned on Louis. "Your parents?" She nodded and sighed, twirling a dark ringlet around her finger. Louis felt a surge of pity for the young girl. He knew a thing or two about pressure. For years, he had to live with his father being disappointed in him because of his grades. In Roxanne's case, she didn't want to disappoint George and Angelina by ruining her perfect, Quidditch playing daughter image.

"At home, I have to be the perfect daughter, who does well at school, but because my stupid brother flunked out. At school, I have to be this tough, boyish, Quidditch superstar, just because of who my mother was. But I don't want to be either of those people!" she wailed, balling her hands into fists and sitting up with her legs crossed. "There's this creative part of me that just wants to burst out, but I have to keep it hidden. Could you imagine what the boys at school would say if they knew I was an artist? Or that I loved to sing?"

Her eyes widened and Louis gave her a small smile and patted her hand softly.

"I know exactly how you feel," he told her. "But trust me, I don't think anyone would care. You shouldn't have to pretend to be someone else just to please people. I don't know about your friends, but I definitely know that your parent's will love you no matter what."

"Yeah? But it isn't what they want me to do. Everyone expects me to end up playing professional Quidditch when I grow up. I just want to draw."

Louis sighed. If she wasn't going to listen to him, then there wasn't any point in staying. He got up to leave, when he noticed something sticking out from underneath the heavy Charms textbook Roxanne was 'studying' with. He pulled it out, ignoring her protests, and took a minute to admire it. It was a very realistic sketch of a man on a broomstick – a Quaffle stuck under his arm and his eyes fixed straight ahead. With a smirk, Louis turned to Roxanne.

"Is this Josh?" he asked with a sly grin.

Roxanne blushed darkly. "Yes."

He handed it back to her. "It's really good. But, you do know that's he's dating Daisy right? And that he's five years older than you?"

Roxanne beamed at the compliment and tucked the sketch underneath her pillow.

"So? He'll come to his senses eventually, and realise that age doesn't matter and that he's madly in love with me."

Louis rolled his eyes and headed for the door.

"And, Lou?" he turned back to see her looking sincere. "Thanks."

"Anytime, kiddo. Remind me, if I ever find the courage to propose to Charlotte – and she actually says 'yes' – I want you to sing at my wedding."

Without waiting for her to reply, he went downstairs, leaving Roxanne confused yet happy at his offer.

A/N: This was pretty long considering my other drabbles. Lately I have come to love Roxanne. This challenge is great, because it allows you to explore the different personalities of each of the characters, and how they would interact with each other. Poor Roxie is torn between her school image and who she really wants to be, which is hard for some people. She's at that horrible time in her life (seriously, being fifteen absolutely sucked). And this is one of those moments where we witness Louis being that great brother figure that he is.

Ages: Louis (15), Louis (19)

Reviews would be great - you know how I love them :) xx