Year 1: Studious Success

Chapter 8: April 2018

Not everyone went home for the Easter holidays. Albus elected to stay at school, claiming that he couldn't be away from Hayley for that long, which Rose didn't understand because Hayley was going home for the holidays. Of Rose's dormmates, Penny and Stephanie were both staying at school for the two weeks.

The Hogwarts Express was a lot less busy than Rose had seen it before. About half of the students had stayed behind, and Rose was pretty sure that if she'd wanted, she could have claimed three compartments for herself. Not that she needed three compartments or even one compartment to herself. She sat with Kendall and Nicole and they had a great time chatting about classes, reminiscing about Stephanie's birthday, and making plans for Kendall's upcoming birthday party.

When the train arrived at King's Cross station, her father and brother were waiting for her eagerly. Her mother was stuck at work and hadn't been able to make it in time, but Ron assured her that she would be at home when they arrived. Hugo was ecstatic to have his big sister back for two whole weeks and Rose just hoped that he didn't make it too hard for her to keep up with all her homework and studying. There was a lot more to do this holiday than over the Christmas holidays with exams right around the corner.

Hermione made Rose's favorite for dinner: shepard's pie. And for dessert, courtesy of Hermione having been raised by a couple of dentists, fruit. When their mother wasn't looking, Ron snuck Rose and Hugo a chocolate frog each.

"Wait and have them in your rooms," he told them. "A special treat for Rose's homecoming."

On Saturday, Hermione took Rose and Hugo to the Burrow to visit with Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley while Ron went to work. Saturdays were always a busy day at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Percy and Audrey were there too with Lucy (Molly had stayed at school for the holidays as usual). Rose enjoyed getting to spend some time with Lucy, even if Hugo was being a big pain the whole time trying to be included.

Sunday the family spent the day together and went on a shopping trip to Diagon Alley where Rose stocked up on potions supplies as well as ink and parchment for school. Afterwards, they enjoyed a nice dinner out at the Leaky Cauldron before flooing back home.

Though Rose was old enough to stay home alone now that she was at Hogwarts, her parents still didn't feel that she was old enough to stay home with Hugo. Rose and Hugo had been scheduled to go and spend the day with Aunt Angelina and their cousins Fred and Roxanne, but Angelina floo-called that morning during breakfast to say that Roxie had come down with something and that it would be best to stay away until she recovered, leaving Rose and Hugo with nowhere to spend the day.

"I can call Mum," Ron offered as Hermione immediately flew into a frenzy. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind taking them."

"No, no, no," Hermione cried. "She has that appointment, remember?"

"What appointment?" Ron frowned.

Hermione made a face, and Rose got the distinct impression that it was something she didn't want to say out loud due to Rose and Hugo's presence.

"Oh, right," Ron nodded then with a knowing look. "Well then, erm... maybe Audrey could take them? She's got Lucy, right?"

Hermione shook her head. "Audrey leaves Lucy alone. I don't want Rose and Hugo alone with just Lucy to watch them."

"Well then I'll just take them," Ron decided.

"You have to go to work," Hermione reminded him.

Ron shrugged. "So they come to work with me," he said. "George won't mind."

Hermione sighed, but there was nothing else to be done. She wouldn't let Rose watch Hugo on her own, and there was nobody else to call.

Personally, Rose thought she was plenty mature. She could handle keeping an eye on her younger brother. But Hermione had it in her head that Rose should be at least thirteen before she was allowed to babysit, regardless of her maturity level. Rose thought about suggesting that only Hugo go with Ron and that she be allowed to stay behind on her own, but knew that this idea would be shot down as well. Her father would need her to entertain Hugo at the shop so that he didn't get underfoot. Rose sighed. It was quite the paradox.

Ron was working at the Diagon Alley location today, and they flooed directly to the shop instead of going by way of the Leaky Cauldron. George was already there, running around in a frenzy. Ron immediately hurried over to find out what was going on and help, so Rose led Hugo into the back room and suggested they play a game of exploding snap, knowing that now was a time that Ron needed Hugo occupied.

It took about an hour, but eventually Ron and George got everyinthg sorted out. Apparently a shipment had been sent to the Hogsmeade location by mistake, but the witch that worked the counter in Hogsmeade hadn't realized they were meant for the Diagon Alley location and had sent them back to the supplier. But once that was taken care of, Ron came out back to check on Rose and Hugo.

"How's it going in here?" he asked.

"Can we come out and play yet?" Hugo asked impatiently. Exploding snap had becoming boring for him after the first two hands.

Ron laughed. "Sure Hugo," he agreed. "But just for a little while. If it gets too busy, I'll need you to come back in here."

Enthusiastically, Hugo leaped up from his seat on the floor and ran out the door, headed straight for the second floor of the shop where there was a section of the store set aside to test out different products before purchasing them. Hugo loved playing with the trick wands and watching the little decoy detonators run around the store.

"What about you Rose?" Ron asked. "Do you want to go and join Hugo? We've got some brand new products in that you could test out."

"Nah," Rose shook her head. She'd brought her homework with her, and the back room would be the perfect out of the way place to get started on some of it.

"Oh come on," Ron pleaded. "You can't just sit in this dark room all day. There aren't even any windows!"

"I don't need windows," Rose assured her father. "I'm fine."

Ron shook his head, but ultimately left Rose alone.

She got through her herbology essay and had just started her reading for transfiguration when her Uncle George barged into the room.

"What are you doing back here?" he demanded.

Rose paled. "Dad said I could be here - "

"I mean, what are you doing back here when all the fun is out there," George clarified.

Rose relaxed. She didn't know why she'd panicked. Her Uncle George was as laid back as they came. He'd never get upset over something as basic as doing her homework in the back room.

"Oh, well I have a lot of homework," Rose said.

"Who are you, your mother?" George frowned. "Don't tell me you're trying to be like Percy."

Rose crossed her arms. "What would be wrong if I was?" she asked. Though her Uncle Percy wasn't exactly her biggest idol, he was a good guy, a hard worker, and a great father. And there was nothing wrong with her mother either. If George was referring to their mutual interest in receiving good grades when in school, Rose didn't see any reason why that should be a bad thing.

"Nothing, nothing," George insisted defensively. "But you've got to have some fun every now and then."

"I have fun," Rose said stiffly. Just because pranks weren't her idea of fun didn't mean she didn't know the meaning of the word. She'd helped to throw Stephanie a pretty fun party last month and she certainly wasn't the square Molly was. Her dormmates liked her and she got along with the majority of her classmates.

"Well at least take a few free samples before you leave," George pleaded. "A couple of puking pastilles, or maybe some nosebleed nougat. Skiving off classes once in a while is practically a Weasley right of passage."

Rose thought about pointing out that Percy had never once skived off a class, but thought better of it. That argument probably wouldn't go over well with George. "You're really advising me to not go to class?" Rose asked instead. "Aren't you supposed to be a responsible adult now?"

"Responsible?" George guffawed. "I don't know the meaning of the word."

Rose rolled her eyes, and to her relief, George left her alone then to do her transfiguration reading.

About midway through the day, Ron took her and Hugo to a spot called Sarazine's Sandwiches, and then when they returned to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Rose had to watch Hugo again because things got busier. With Hogwarts on Easter holidays, there were significantly more teenagers free to shop and Ron and George were taking full advantage with a promotion on some of their newer products, including a new addition to their Skiving Snackboxes line called Sneezing Sweets. They made you sneeze so much that teachers would excuse you from class just to get rid of the distraction.

At the end of the day, Ron tried to convince Rose to take a couple of samples, like George had suggested, but she refused.

"Come on, you could give them out to your friends," Ron offered, trying to hand her a box of canary creams. But Rose was decided. She had no interest in being that girl: the one that didn't care about school or consequences and just wanted to joke around and have fun. She knew that her Uncle George was like that, and though she respected him as her Uncle and a businessman now, she didn't think she would have if she'd known him as a student.

"Sorry Dad, but I'm not interested," she said.

Ron looked disappointed, but didn't press her.

RrRrRrRrRrR

The rest of Rose's holiday passed in a blur. She visited with a different family member each day of the week. Tuesday she and Hugo went over to spent the day with Lily and James (Albus of course being back at Hogwarts still). Wednesday they spent the day at the Burrow with Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley. Thursday they spent the day with their Aunt Fleur and their oldest cousins, though Victoire, Dominique, and Louis stayed up in their rooms most of the time. On Friday, Uncle Charlie arrived for the weekend and came over to spend the day with them.

The following week followed a similar pattern. Roxanne was better, it turned out it had only been a small cold, so they spend a few days with her, Fred, and their Aunt Angelina. They spent another day at their Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry's house and another day at the Burrow as well. By the time Rose was ready to return to school, she'd had her fill of family for a while and was actually looking forward to being around her friends, especially Albus, again.

She met up with Kendall and Nicole on the train and the three gabbed about their holidays. Nicole's family had gone on a vacation to Spain, so she spent a great deal describing everything she'd seen and done. When they arrived back at Hogwarts, Rose was exhausted, not just from the day, but the whole two weeks, and couldn't wait to lie down in her bed back in the dorm.

As Rose unpacked her things after dinner, she reached into her trunk and her fingers brushed a package that she didn't remember putting in there. With a frown, Rose moved her clothes aside and pulled the package into her lap. There was a note attached to it, so she opened that first.

Rose,

I know you didn't want to take any products from the store, but I thought you might change your mind one day. You spend so much time studying and doing your homework that I worry you'll miss out on all the fun that's to be had at Hogwarts. Even your mother had some fun now and then. One time she snuck me a canary cream for no other reason than she wanted to prank me (don't tell her I told you that - she hates when I tell people about that).

You don't have to use any of this if you don't want to, but every Hogwarts student should have a few basic supplies in their trunk. Who knows? One day you might have the urge to skive off potions and you wouldn't have anything to do it with.

Don't tell you mother I gave you any of this. She'd murder me in my sleep if she knew I was promoting playing pranks at school.

Love, your father

Rose rolled her eyes, and as she opened up the package, her suspicions were confirmed. A skiving snackboxes variety box was the first thing she noticed, followed by some other prank sweets, a few decoy detonators, and even a blaze box, which Rose immediately knew she would never use. She'd never use any of it really. She shoved it all back into her trunk quickly before any of her dormmates walked in and saw it. Just because her father helped to run Weasley's Wizard Wheezes didn't mean she wanted the same legacy. She wanted people to remember her as a serious student.

"Hey Rose, what was all that?" Penny asked, appearing at Rose's shoulder.

Rose jumped. "Penny, where did you come from?" she asked, frightened.

"I've been here the whole time," Penny frowned. "I was here when you came in."

Rose frowned. Usually she was more perceptive than that.

"Oh," she muttered awkwardly. "Well you should have said something."

Penny shook her head and returned to her own bed, thoughts of Rose and her package of prank supplies already dissipated. Rose shut her trunk and fastened it securely, determined to keep the items well hidden. She'd wait for a good opportunity and dispose of them as soon as possible.

RrRrRrRrRrR

Over the next few days, Rose tried to think of a way to get rid of all the joke products, but couldn't think of anything. She couldn't just throw them in the garbage - someone might find them and ask her about them, or worse keep them for themselves. Rose didn't want to promote anyone else playing pranks either. She needed a way to get rid of the stuff without anyone finding them. And then it came to her. In a stroke of inspiration, inspired by her mother, Rose thought of the Hogwarts house elves. She knew where they worked of course, and knew that they would do anything she asked of them, no questions asked. So after lessons that Thursday, Rose snuck down to the basement level and found the painting of the bowl of fruit that marked the entrance to the kitchens. She tickled the pear and the door opened for her, revealing a room even larger than the Great Hall filled with house elves slaving away as they prepared dinner for the entire castle.

"Hello Miss!" one house elf greeted her, hurrying over. "How is we being able to help you today?"

"I'm actually looking to speak with the house elf that cleans Gryffindor Tower," I said.

The house elf before me nodded. "That is Guppy, Miss. I will get her for you."

The house elf disappeared into the sea of elves and less than a minute later returned with another house elf in tow.

"Miss would like to speak with Guppy?" the new house elf asked, nervously.

"Yes," Rose nodded. "You're the house elf that cleans Gryffindor Tower?"

Guppy nodded, her eyes wide with fear. "Has Guppy done something wrong?" she asked. "Does Miss not like how Guppy cleans her room?"

"No, of course not! This is nothing like that!" Rose exclaimed. "You're doing a great job. I just had a favor to ask."

"Miss would like to ask Guppy for a favor?" Guppy asked in surprise.

Rose nodded. "There's a package in my trunk - Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products. Are you familiar with those?"

Guppy nodded, eyes still wide, but more in confusion and puzzlement than fear now. "Guppy is familiar," she confirmed.

"Well I was hoping you might help me to make them... disappear," Rose said.

"Miss wants Guppy to steal from her?" Guppy asked, panicking.

"It wouldn't be stealing!" Rose insisted. "I'm asking you to take the stuff."

"Guppy shouldn't," the house elf said uncomfortably.

"Don't think of it as stealing," Rose said. "Think of it as taking out the garbage. Only I don't want to put the garbage out where anyone could see it."

"It is just another chore?" Guppy asked, seeming a little bit comforted by that idea.

Rose nodded. "Just another chore," she agreed.

Guppy smiled. "Alright Miss, Guppy can do that."

"Great," Rose beamed. She gave Guppy the details on which dorm and bed she was in and where in her trunk to look. She didn't worry about the fact that her trunk was locked. Guppy would surely be able to get into it with her elf magic. "Thanks a lot, Guppy."

"Guppy is happy to help," the house elf replied. "Is there anything else that Miss needs? Some pastries perhaps?"

"Thanks, but I'm alright," Rose shook her head. Dinner was coming soon and she didn't want to ruin her appetite.

She said goodbye to Guppy and backed out of the room. It was a bit of a challenge. Guppy wouldn't leave until she'd left, and Rose felt weird just turning her back on the elf. But eventually she found herself back in the corridor with her problem basically solved.

She would have to talk to her father about appropriate gifts when she next saw him. She couldn't be doing this every time she returned to school. But for now, she simply returned to the library to find Albus and then walked with him back down to the Great Hall to enjoy a nice worry-free dinner.