Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
"I totally stuffed Mattie and felt so good. I can't wait to play against Cormack. I'm gonna feed the quaffle right back in his face," Hugo said, walking up to the door. He opened it and paused in the doorway.
"Hugo, go in." Rose nudged by him and paused next to him.
"Why are there all of dad's clothes out here?" Hugo asked softly, tentatively walking forward.
"Hello, glad you're home," Grandma Granger said, bustling into the kitchen. She dumped a pile of clothes on the couch.
"What're you doing?" Rose asked. She looked around and saw things she remembered - sweatshirts, tee-shirts, button-downs, robes, jackets, pants, events.
"Cleaning out closets with your mother."
"By getting rid of all of dad's stuff?" Rose looked at her grandmum.
"Look, Rose, I know this is difficult…"
"No. No!" Rose started picking up piles of clothes and putting them under her arm. "You can't do this!"
"Rose…"
"No! These aren't yours. You can't move them! Don't touch me!" She pulled way and walked down the hallway and into her parents room. Her mum sat on the bed, staring at a pair of boxers. She looked up and smiled, her eyes red and puffy.
"Those have to go to Dom…"
"Why?" Rose's mum startled at the sharp sound of her voice. "They aren't his."
"Rose…" Her mum stood up, carefully folding the Cannons boxers. She put them on the bed and walked forward. "I know this is difficult…"
"No. It's not. It's not Dom's stuff. It's dad's. It belongs here."
"Rose, please…"
"Please what?"
"This has to be done."
"No. No it doesn't."
"This is difficult enough without you condemning me…"
"I should have listened to Hugo!" Rose dropped the clothes and stormed down the hall. She went to slam her door behind her, but her mum caught the door. She groaned and flopped down on the bed, staring at the stars on her ceiling.
"What do you mean you should have listened to Hugo?" Her mum's tone was soft yet firm like butter that'd been left out.
"It's all her fault! If she hadn't come, then this wouldn't be happening!"
"Who are you…?"
"What do you mean who am I talking about? You know who I'm talking about! Who can I be talking about? Damn it! I would think you'd have more common sense than that!"
"Rose...this has nothing to do with your grandmother."
"Oh! Grandmother, now, is it? She's of some connection to me? She's your mother, I hate to break it to you. She has nothing to do with me!"
"She is my mother, I am your mother, therefore you are her granddaughter."
"You're not my mother!"
Silence. Rose felt all the anger flood out of her and all the regret pour in. Her anger quickly resolidified and her stubbornness took over, her jaw tightening and her mouth setting.
"Ok," her mum said, her voice trembling. "Ok." She stood up and left, quietly closing the door behind her. The door shut with a click.
Rose rolled over, wrapping her arms around her pillow, and cried.
3
"Molly, you're using too much mascara," Lily said, chomping on gum.
"No I'm not."
"Yeah, you are. You look like a hooker."
"No I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"Lily, I think I know more about make-up than you do. I am the make-up girl in Gryffindor and I do Lorcan and Lysander's make-up when the time calls for it. So don't think for a second you know more than I do."
"Maybe you should use a different color."
"Lily, I think you should use black instead of that puce you use."
"House colors." Lily shrugged.
"It's absolutely disgusting. And it does not work with your hair."
"My hair's black! There's nothing wrong with it."
"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but it's better to go with a black or, at the very least, a very very very dark brown."
"I don't believe it."
"Shut up, both of you," Rose snapped, coming down the stairs with her hands full of product. "I don't give a shit what you use on your face."
"Yeah, because you don't use any."
"Lily, what did I say?" Rose dropped the boxes. "Now unload them onto the floor."
"Why do I have to do it? Why can't Molly."
"Lily!" Rose closed her eyes and clenched her fists, forcing herself to breathe. "Molly is sweeping and I am making sure the books are even."
"Why can't I sweep?"
"Figure it out. I don't care. Just make sure they both get done, damn it."
"Damn, woman, what's shoved up your ass?" Molly asked, grabbing the broom.
"Molly, just sweep."
"How come you don't yell at her?" Lily demanded, her hands full of colorful packages.
"Lily!"
"Ugh." Lily rolled her eyes and got back to work.
3
"This…this is the broom?" Rose asked, cocking her head and squatting down. "It could use some work." She reached down and touched the worn handle.
"Yeah…Ginny got it for me for a really really really good price," Greg said, rubbing his short hair. "I really hate this hair cut."
Rose glanced up at him. "It looks good."
"I like it longer, though."
"Then why is it so short?"
"I hate sweating in a helmet with long hair. I'm going to be playing quidditch non-stop for…ugh…all summer? Man, I have no time to draft the centaur reformation bill I promised Mattie…"
"You're doing stuff for Mattie?" An uncomfortable feeling tugged at the back of Rose's stomach.
"Well…yeah…I mean, she's totally swamped with extra work and I said I'd look into it for her."
"You do know she's a bit of a slut, right?"
"What? Are you kidding me? That girl was more covered up than you were."
"Because her father was inside."
"That sounds really unfair of you, Rose."
"Look, I'm just giving you warning. You can do what you want. She will try to get in your pants if you meet with her regularly. And she thinks you're rather desirable. But don't tell her I told you." Rose sat down on the floor of Greg's living room and pulled out a broomstick care kit out of her bag. Out came the wax and she applied it liberally to the handle. "Are Fred and James coming?"
"They should be here in about an hour. They had to clean up the shop."
Rose nodded and sighed.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, starting to fiddle with the twigs at the end of the broom.
"Um…" She glanced up at Greg, who was looking at her. She flushed and turned back to the broom. Faintly, she wondered why she went red whenever she realized he was looking at her. Faintly, she wondered why she thought he was looking at her instead of in her general direction more often than she used to.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."
"No…that's not it… I just…last night I had an argument with my mother."
"That can't be that unusual," Greg said. "I mean, I hear about Lily and Ginny's arguments all the time. They're legendary."
"Yeah…but…me and my mum haven't really fought like…that…" Rose wiped her hands covered in wax on her jeans, not even caring if they stained.
"What do you mean?"
"I've never…I've never really tried to hurt her before…" Rose leaned back against his couch.
"Didn't go over well, I take it."
"She just, like, took it. And walked away. I wasn't…I thought she'd yell back or ground me or whack me with a hex or something."
"What'd you say to her?"
"I told her she wasn't my mother."
She heard Greg move. Tentatively, she looked at him. He was staring.
"My…my grandmother moved in with us. I thought…I thought she would just, like cook and clean and whatever. But when I got home, they…she…was throwing out all of my dad's stuff. All his clothes, she was going through his cabinets and his shelves and everything. She shouldn't be doing that! It's…it's all we have left of him, you know? And she just…she convinced my mum to get rid of it without a second thought…" Rose drew her knees to her chest and rested her cheek on her knees. "They're getting rid of him, Greg. And they don't care. They. Don't. Care. It's going…it's going to be like he was never there. Like he never existed." She felt the tears prick the corners of her eyes, her nose begin to become congested. "I don't want that. I don't. I'd give anything…anything to have him back…" She started crying, the tears ruthless and unrelenting.
"What else happened?" Greg whispered, moving slowly to sit next to her with his back to the couch and legs crisscrossed in front of him.
"I…I tried to put his clothes back…where they belong…" She wiped her nose on her sleeve. "My mum…my mum said the clothes were going to Dom. Dom! I hate Dom. I hate him. He's…ugh. I just…what has he done to deserve that? Nothing. He's lazy and stupid and…and…they don't belong with him.
"And you were angry at your mum for it."
"It's my grandmum's fault…she's the one that convinced my mum to…I never should have agreed…I should have…I should have protected him…I didn't even know she existed before my grandpa died. I liked him. I knew him for…what? A few days? And then he fucking died. And…and I was there when Grandpa Weasley died…and then…then Chris is in goddamn Azkaban…" She offered a wry laugh. "Every man important to me goes away." She wiped her tears, but they didn't stop. "If you're not careful, you're going to be next."
Greg didn't laugh like she hoped he would.
"Rose…um…it's…it's difficult when you have to let someone go." He shifted so his body faced her. "And…and I know when…my mum died…one of the hardest parts was getting rid of her things. I felt like…I was betraying her or something. I don't even know. Whenever I look at something of hers…I can see her again, if only for a second, and I can hear her voice and smell her perfume and feel her arms around me. I felt like…I felt like if I got rid of that, then those…those feelings, those memories…all of it…would go, too." Rose looked away, feeling the vulnerability radiating off of him. "But it doesn't. Rose, please…look at me…I have to…I have to say this." He reached out and touched the back of her hand. "No matter what you get rid of or what your mum decides to get rid of…it doesn't matter…those things…they aren't going to be there all the time. Someday you're going to move out and your mum might sell the house and you'll be at Hogwarts…and he's still going to be there. You'll see something and it'll remind you of him…or you'll just think of him…and…and…I don't know." He rubbed his hair.
"I just don't want to forget." She bit her lip, feeling foolish.
"You won't. You can't."
"Really?"
Greg nodded.
"I feel like he's slipping away…"
"He already has."
Rose sniffled.
"Everything will be all right."
"I can't…I can't imagine my life without him…"
"You don't have to imagine it, Rose. It's happening."
"A-and I can't believe it."
"Me neither." Greg diverted his gaze and stared at the floor. "You know, my mum didn't even know I'm a wizard."
"Hey! Greg! I brought…" James stopped in the doorway to the living room. "Um…is this…a bad time?"
"Just give me a few minutes," Greg muttered and cleared his throat.
"Ooook." James ducked out and manhandled Fred back into the kitchen.
Greg laughed and rubbed his eyes.
"I don't know why you always make me emotional, Rose, but I'm not sure I like it."
"I could say the same about you," Rose said. "Do you have any tissues?"
