Written for Quidditch League, Round 7
Team: Wigtown Wanderers
Position: Chaser 2
Prompt: Write about someone who depends heavily on friends and/or family - must include Next-Gen main character
Additional prompts: (object) newspaper, (genre) family, (word) setback
Word count: 1,840
the world's a little brighter
Opening a bakery had been Roxanne Johnson-Weasley's dream for as long as she could remember. As a child, she enjoyed helping Grandma Weasley make assorted cakes and cupcakes for the latest family birthday, and pies for Sunday night desserts. From there, she branched out on her own, tackling tarts, biscuits, and scones. There was something so peaceful about baking - it was the kind of activity that she could lose herself in for hours.
There weren't many opportunities to bake at Hogwarts, though Roxanne did manage to sneak down to the kitchens to hone her craft a few times each term. The majority of her baking took place during school holidays, however, and she preferred it that way. Grandma Weasley gave her free reign of the kitchen and allowed her access to recipes that had been in the family for generations.
Roxanne's parents encouraged her hobby, but her grandmother was her biggest supporter.
"You have a gift, dear," the older witch often said. "It's nice to see you nurture it."
After graduating from Hogwarts, Roxanne felt a little lost. She didn't want to follow her mother into professional Quidditch, nor did she want to work at her father's joke shop. During her Careers Advice meeting with Professor McGonagall, she had stubbornly reiterated that she wanted to be a baker despite her Head of House's concerns. She took a few pamphlets on working for the Ministry to appease the other woman, then threw them away the first chance she found. She wanted to open her own bakery and that was what she was going to do.
That announcement, proudly declared one Sunday evening in the middle of a Weasley family dinner, did not go over as well as she had hoped. While her brother and cousins were mostly excited for her, the adults at the table seemed less than enthusiastic.
"That will take a lot of hard work, young lady," Uncle Percy said. "You must be self-motivated, good with money, and very, very passionate about baking."
"I am—" Roxanne began.
"Why don't you go and work for the Ministry, like your grandfather?" her grandmother asked. "You could bring in a stable income and perhaps sell your baked goods on the side."
"But—" Roxanne could feel her temper simmering below the surface. She knew that her career choice was unconventional and even risky, but she didn't want to do anything else. Even if Uncle Percy and Grandma Weasley didn't like the idea, couldn't they at least respect that it was her decision?
"Yes, that's quite logical," Uncle Percy said, nodding at his mother.
Roxanne looked to her parents for backup, silently begging them to jump to her defence.
"I think that Roxanne will make a wonderful bakery owner, and I'm not just saying that so she'll give me free treats!" Her dad winked at her.
"We support Roxanne's wish to open a bakery," her mum added, her tone leaving no room for disagreement. "It might not be easy, but I have no doubt that she can do anything if she puts her mind to it."
"Of course she can!" Grandma threw her hands in the air. "No one was saying that she couldn't do it, we merely wondered if it might be more practical to start out slow."
Roxanne sighed. "I don't want to 'start out slow,' Grandma, I just want—"
"Of course, dear, but—"
Roxanne had had enough. She understood that her grandmother was probably worried about her, but her responses were - however well-meaning she intended them to be - condescending.
"No," she said defiantly, jutting out her chin. Grandma Weasley fell silent, staring at her in shock. The rest of the table quieted, too, heads swiveling back and forth as though watching a game of Quidditch. "I'm sorry, Grandma, but this isn't your choice—it's mine. And I am sticking with it."
The stillness that followed seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Finally, it was broken by James, who loudly asked Roxanne's dad if he had gotten a new shipment of Twister Tubes in.
After that fateful Sunday night, Roxanne threw herself into bakery preparations like never before. She researched the best locations, asked her parents for a loan, and even brainstormed what she would sell. As her plans grew more detailed and her resolve strengthened, her friends and family reached out to help. They offered to sample her creations and spread the word about her grand opening, which she had set for the 15th of June.
The big day had finally arrived, and Roxanne woke up with butterflies in her stomach. She felt reasonably confident that she had thought everything through, but a small voice inside her head - that sounded an awful lot like Grandma Weasley - kept telling her that she wasn't going to be successful. She reminded herself that she had prepared for this for weeks - as long as there were no major setbacks, everything would be fine.
Her premises were located right next to her dad's shop in Diagon Alley. The space had once been part of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but her dad cleared it out for her to use instead.
"We'll practically be working together!" he had said.
Roxanne was happy to have a location so close to her father's workplace, but she was starting to regret it now that she was actually in the space. He kept popping over to see how things were going, and each time, he tried to give her advice on how to run her business.
"Have you thought about passing out some samples?" he asked on his seventh such visit. "People love freebies, and it'll get your product out there!"
Roxanne folded her arms. "No, Dad, I hadn't, but thank you for the tip."
She looked around. The shop was completely empty aside from a few of her friends who worked nearby. She wasn't sure that they even counted as customers when they were only there at her request
"Have you noticed how quiet it is around here?" her dad asked, most unhelpfully.
"I'm sure it'll pick up soon," she lied. "I put a big ad in The Prophet, plus Victoire said that she and Teddy would stop by later."
Her dad raised an eyebrow. "A big ad? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Roxanne frowned. "Why?"
"Er, hang on." He left her standing there, confused, while he fetched a copy of the newspaper, presumably from his shop. When he returned, he opened it and showed it to her. "Is this the 'big ad' you were talking about, Rox?"
Roxanne leaned over and gasped. The ad was barely a quarter of a page.
"I...I don't understand," she said at last. "I specifically asked for a full page!"
"I'm surprised you hadn't seen it yet," her father chuckled. "I thought you were double-checking everything."
"I was," she said defensively. "I just assumed it would turn out alright!" She took a deep breath and reminded herself that it was just a small setback. "You know what? It doesn't matter. There are other ways to get the word out—"
"Like providing free samples?" her dad supplied.
Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Sure, Dad. Like free samples." She stalked over to the glass display cases and selected a few cookies to break into pieces. Once she had done that, she wrapped each morsel in a napkin with a wave of her wand. "There. I guess I'll have to find someone to hand these out, though. I don't want to leave the shop unattended, just in case."
"I'm sure your Uncle Ron would be happy to take a break and help," her father said.
Roxanne put the samples into a basket and handed it to him. "These are just a simple chocolate chip cookie—that should be easy for Uncle Ron to remember. Make sure you tell him not to eat them all, though," she added with a small smile.
As she watched her dad walk out the door, she couldn't help but feel a little sad. Her bakery was a flop, her ad was a flop, and the little voice in her head that sounded like Grandma Weasley was growing more and more smug.
She took a seat on the stool behind the counter while she chatted with Wendy Haywood, a friend who worked at Gringotts and had swung by on her lunch break. Wendy was training to be a Curse Breaker, and she regaled Roxanne with stories about her experiences. Roxanne, engrossed in her friend's fascinating tales, didn't realise how much time had passed until Wendy apologetically mentioned that she had to get back to work.
Roxanne blinked and looked at the clock on the wall. Her dad had left over half an hour ago, yet neither he nor Uncle Ron had returned with her basket. Surely it didn't take that long to pass out a few samples? She bit her lip, regretting how testy she had been. Maybe she deserved to fail at this bakery thing. Maybe Grandma Weasley was right?
After a moment, she realised that she didn't recognise the woman standing in front of the pie display case. She must have come in while Wendy was there.
Roxanne looked around the shop again, wondering if she had missed anyone else. This time, she spotted another customer that she didn't know. He was examining a red velvet cupcake with a hungry look in his eyes.
The front door opened, and Roxanne's head whipped towards it. Her mouth fell open as a group of five or six people entered, followed by another two a minute later. Finally, business was picking up, just as she had assured her dad it would.
Her father entered the bakery himself a few minutes later, after Roxanne had managed to sell three pies and half a dozen cupcakes.
"Dad!" She waved him over and grinned at him. "Look at this, look at all of these people! You were right, the free samples were a great idea."
"Well, there's more advice where that came from, if you want it. I think you can expect more customers shortly, too."
Roxanne gaped at him. "More customers?"
He shrugged. "Your mum asked the Harpies to make an appearance, and your grandmother offered to bring a few of your cousins. I also told my customers that they would get a discount if they showed me proof of purchase from your bakery."
Roxanne threw her arms around her father. "Thanks, Dad. I couldn't have done this without you."
By the end of her first day of business, Roxanne had sold almost all of her inventory, and felt the satisfaction of seeing a line of customers stretch out the door. But as happy as she was, she knew that it wasn't her success alone. This day wouldn't have worked out nearly as well as it had without the help of her family. She knew that they would always have her back, no matter what. Whatever setbacks might lie ahead, she would be able to manage with their help, she was certain. Nothing could stop her now.