DISCLAIMER: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I claim to own Harry Potter. All ideas are my own. New to this so please be nice! Updating daily :)
The last day of summer was, as expected in the Burrow, chaotic.
I woke to Hugo screaming my name, which, and I never thought I'd say this, made me wish I hadn't destroyed my old alarm clock. He was trying to tell me that my OWL results were here, and ended up not just informing me, but the entire house. I, along with Albus and Roxanne, went downstairs to get them, only to find the kitchen in an even more chaotic state than I had expected.
James and Fred thought it would be funny to dye Louis's platinum gold Veela hair, dark blue, which caused Louis to then dump his cereal over James's freshly washed hair (James is oddly protective and particular over his hair), and then caused James to accidentally punch Fred in the face as James tried to launch himself at Louis.
I entered the kitchen to find James, Fred, and Louis bound to their chairs with a silencing spell placed on them, while Hugo, Lily and Roxanne were trying not to piss themselves from laughing in the corner.
Grandma Molly, on the other hand, didn't find it funny, and shouted at them as if they had burned the Burrow down.
Anyway, Albus, Roxanne and I managed to open our OWL results without being punched in the face or drenched in cereal and, as expected, all did very well.
Albus and Roxanne both got 8 OWLS, while I got 10: 9 Outstandings and 1 Exceeds Expectations. My Exceeds Expectations was in History of Magic, probably because I fell asleep towards the end of the exam. The subject in itself is boring enough without Professor Binns teaching it, and, if I'm honest, I was up until 2am that night flying around the castle trying to take my mind off of a certain blonde-haired ferret of whom I'd heard shagging my dorm mate earlier that evening. Arsehole.
Both Mum and Dad were very proud of me, I think Mum was secretly pleased that I had only matched her OWL score, and not beaten it. Dad on the other hand doesn't really care what results I get, "as long as you're happy Rosie", he says, which I think is an excellent attitude to have. As long as I'm happy, he is happy, and I am, truly, happy. Well I will be once I find out that I have in fact beaten Malfoy. And I'm sure I have.
—
Shortly after opening our results, we had to pack our trunks and head off to Platform 9 and 3/4. Never a quiet affair, with Dominique forgetting her kneazle, Albus threatening to hex James, Lucy and Hugo warring over Wizard Chess, we managed to arrive 30 minutes early. How we managed it, I will never know, but we made it all the same.
The platform staff must dread the first day back at Hogwarts; the entire Weasley-Potter clan show up, every Uncle, every Aunt, all the cousins, the grandparents. Victoire and Teddy couldn't make it due to "work", which really means that Vic is having a hard time with her pregnancy, and Molly couldn't make it either, but that's because she genuinely does have work, not that I could really care, as we never see her anyway.
The smell of the steam-train pulling in reminds me that we are going home, but it is hard to collect your thoughts over the babble of noise which drowns out straight thinking. A variety of colours swarm the platform, the deep navy of Ravenclaw jumpers are a stark contrast to the subdued bright yellow of Hufflepuff. All sorts of animal noises, hooting owls, meowing cats, barking dogs fill the station platform and as crazy as it all sounds, it fills me with a sense of excitement. The excitement of returning, to somewhere that you deeply love, your home, is like no other.
My Opa also said to me, before he died, that home isn't always a place, and that one day, when you fall in love, it will be a person. I hope that happens for me, I'm not a hopeless romantic, but I'd like to experience falling in love, and have someone return the sentiment.
I want the same love that I see consumes my parents, or Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry, or Grandma Molly and Granddad Arthur. My parents are so in love that it makes me sick sometimes, they're always kissing and cuddling. It's disgusting really. But then again it is also lovely. I am old enough to appreciate that they are in love and their love language is physical affection, but I just wonder if that will ever happen to me.
I find myself becoming estranged from my family. Running down the platform, I trip on the corner of a trolley. Idiot. Why do people just abandon their trollies on a busy platform, it's not like people have places to be! Thick auburn curls fall in my face, and as I hurriedly push them away, trying to pull myself together, I am met with a smirk from the person I want nothing more than to avoid.
"Throwing yourself at me are we Red? Even I thought you had more class than that", a cool voice drawls, with a tone to his voice which sounds as if he is about to laugh in my face.
I forgot to mention that Malfoy calls me Red, it infuriates me like no other. It sounds like some endearing pet name, that a mother may call her child, but I know he just calls me it to take the piss out of my auburn-red hair.
"You wish Malfoy, even if you were the last man on the planet I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing", I retort angrily, feeling myself grow hot.
Unfortunately for me, I have inherited the ghastly Weasley gene of not being able to get embarrassed without burning as red as a tomato.
"That's not what you were doing say 30 seconds ago Red. Maybe I can find a place for you with one of my slags", he smirks back. Twat. As if I'd ever.
"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY"
A shrill voice breaks the tension that has grown between us. Even though I don't recognise the woman's voice, I am comforted by her tone, it is clear that Malfoy is about to receive a bollocking.
"How dare you speak about women like that! I did not raise my son to talk about women in such a derogatory manner. Have you learned nothing? Would you speak to me that way?"
"No Maman, as you are my mother". He replies politely, the snarkiness to his tone suddenly absent.
"Mother, sister, wife or not, we are human beings at the end of the day. You do not speak to women as if they are objects. Do I make myself clear?"
I expect to turn around and see a powerful, domineering woman, strong-willed and angry, but instead I see a frail, gentle woman with a kind face.
Her voice completely deceives her appearance and her manner. Rich brown hair tied back in a bun, pearl earrings hanging with a matching pearl necklace, she is dressed completely immaculately. I can't help but notice her engagement ring on her left finger. A deep emerald set in a platinum band, surrounded by 12 glinting diamonds catching the sunlight which peeks through the platform windows. Her eyes are a bright blue, but not the piercing blue of Malfoy which appear to see right through you, but a kind blue. Her eyes emulate her person, kind and caring. Yet there is something misplaced, something wrong, I can tell she is weak and frail; she carries herself in the same way my Opa did before he died.
Although she has just berated Malfoy, you can tell she has done so because she truly cares about him. Before people die, they tend to try and teach life lessons to other people, as if they are trying to pass on their legacy, as if they know their time is up. And in this moment, I can tell that her time is limited.
I'd heard the rumours for a while, that Astoria Malfoy was ill. Malfoy would suddenly disappear from class for a while, not returning for a week or two, and when he would, he looked as fragile as glass. As if all you had to do was touch him and he'd shatter into a thousand tiny pieces. A crumpled piece of paper that was slowly wearing away.
He'd be back to his snarky habits after a while, but in those rare moments, in the days after his return, you could see that there is a tiny part of Malfoy that is just as human as the rest of us.
"Hello dear. I do apologise for my son's behaviour", Mrs Malfoy says, glaring down at Scorpius as she speaks. She holds out her hand which I shake gently, "Astoria Malfoy, it is a pleasure to meet you".
Pleasure? We'll see about that once she finds out I am the arch enemy of her son.
"Rose Weasley, and likewise Mrs Malfoy". I reply, unable to keep the nerves out of my voice.
Her eyes widen slightly, and a knowing smile takes over her previous calm one.
"Please call me Astoria my dear. It is wonderful to finally put a face to the name", she says, clearly amused.
I raise an eyebrow over at Malfoy who, for the first time since I have known him, appears to be blushing. He refuses to meet my eye, burning a hole into the floor, probably wishing that the ground would swallow him up.
"I apologise once again Miss Weasley", she says, interrupting my train of thought, "I believed I had taught Scorpius better manners than the ones he just displayed".
"Please call me Rose, Mrs Malfoy, and thank you, but please don't let his words trouble you. If Scorpius hadn't addressed me in such a manner, I wouldn't believe he was talking to me in the first place".
This gets a laugh. Relief floods my body, there is something about being around Malfoy which makes me snarky and bitchy, as if I am a mirror which reflects his behaviour. It makes me forget who I am around, which is normally no bother, but isn't extremely helpful when around his mother.
"Yes, I've heard that you two aren't exactly the best of friends".
"That's one way of putting it", I hear Scorpius mumble under his breath, still looking down at his feet.
Our conversation is interrupted by my dad calling my name, I am only just able to hear shouts of "ROSIE! ROSIE! YOU'RE GOING TO MISS THE TRAIN!, above the swarm of noise.
"I best be going then. It was really lovely to meet you Mrs Malfoy. Take care". I shake her hand and give her what I hope is a kind smile. An awful feeling swells up inside of me that this is the last time I will ever see her. It is the same feeling I got before my Opa died, the mutual acknowledgment that death is on its way, and even though you make future plans to meet, you know that day will never come.
Astoria seems to recognise this too, she gives me a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. There is a glint to her eyes which I can't seem to work out - is she sad? Remorseful? Happy? I can't read the message she is attempting to give me, can't solve the puzzle before my eyes.
"A pleasure to meet you Rose. Please let me know if my Scorpius gives you anymore trouble. I hope to see you again."
I ignore Malfoy as I turn away, making my way to my family. I didn't miss the fact that Mr Malfoy wasn't there, but now I think about it, it's nothing out of the ordinary, as I have never seen him drop Malfoy off at the platform.
—
A plethora of emotions wash over me as I climb up the train steps. When my dad said I was going to miss the train, I know he didn't really mean it, he actually meant that I would miss all the goodbyes.
With a family of my size, hellos and goodbyes take about 20 minutes. Only once you are certain you have hugged everyone are you safe to step onto the Hogwarts Express. Giving my dad an extra hug for good measure, I am finally on the train. Sat in our usual compartment, all the cousins squeeze in so we can wave as the train finally pulls out of the station, the familiar chug-chug like music to my ears. I glance at the platform once more, and see Astoria Malfoy stood by herself, a sad smile on her face.
I always feel sad when I see old people sat eating alone, and people who are ill are no exception. How must she feel, standing there, waving her son off, knowing that this is potentially the last time she will ever do so?
Sinking into the leather chair, I pull out my copy of Hogwarts: A History. It is my own copy, as Mum doesn't trust me enough to have hers. I honestly believe that my Mum will have that book until her dying days, it wouldn't surprise me if she is buried with it.
As the train speeds up and the compartment settles down, I close my eyes for a minute and absorb the atmosphere around me. And in this moment, I am, truly, happy, to be going home.
3rd chapter complete - treated you to 2 chapter updates today ;). Chapter 4 will be up tomorrow, like I said I have everything planned but sometimes I just write where my brain takes me. Sorry if the chapters differ in length too - I'm currently trying to find a good length for them! Please review :)