The next day was woken up by my mom who said if I didn't get up now I'll sleep the day away. I sleepily protested, but what was the point I sure wasn't going to win. Still in my pyjamas, I went downstairs to the kitchen to get breakfast. I was starving, but still half-asleep. I sat in the chair I usually sit in which was across from Hugo. My dad at the top of the table was flipping absent-mindedly through the Daily Prophet.
I began to fill my plate with bacon and eggs that thankfully weren't all eaten by Hugo and dad.
"Anything interesting in the paper?" asked mom.
"Just some Rita Skeeter stuff." answered dad.
Mom pulled a face of pure disgust, "Ron, you shouldn't be wasting your time on whatever that woman has written. It's all made up scandal."
"Relax 'Mione, it's nothing about us."
"You still shouldn't be reading it, Ron."
"It's actually pretty funny. It's about the Yaxley family actually being related to unicorns."
Mom rolled her eyes.
"Well, the Yaxley family are horse-faced," Hugo said with his mouth stuffed.
"Hugo!" mom said angrily. "Don't say thing like that."
"Yeah Hugo," I said. "Unicorns aren't horses they're only related to them, pick up a book for merlin's sake."
"Listen to your sister, Hugo, pick up a book." dad said. "But they really are horse faced."
"Ronald!" said mom. "Don't encourage him."
"What to read?"
"You know what I mean."
"I'm going to Harry's house today, he wants to show me something." said dad abandoning the previous conversation. "You guys coming?" he asked gesturing to Hugo and me.
"Sur,e dad," Hugo replied happily. "I'll get my gob-stones set." Hugo quickly shovelled the remains of his food into his mouth and ran up to his room.
"What about you, Rosie?" asked dad.
"I don't know." I said uncertainly.
"I hope you and Al haven't fallen out?" said mom sitting down at the table.
"No," I said, but I wasn't sure. We hadn't spoken since I had visited him in the Hospital Wing, but that was more on my count than his. On more than one occasion I had ducked out of sight behind Jane and Abby to hide from him and his Slytherin gang. Jane and Abby found it all quite funny.
But it wasn't just Albus I was avoiding, actually, it was mostly Malfoy. I really x100 hate him. Thank Merlin I haven't had another one of our encounters since being forced to go to the Hospital Wing with him. The most I have seen from Malfoy is one sneer when I accidentally caught his eye in one the classes we share with Slytherin which I returned.
"Well, Al does seem a bit different." dad. said
"You don't know that, Ron. You haven't even spoken to him." mom said sounding a bit uncertain.
"Is he, Rose?" said dad in a low tone as if he was trying to avoid mom hearing.
"He's…" I tried to think of something positive. "More confident, I suppose," I said weakly but it was true, he was confident along with many other things, but never mind them. I wasn't about to call Albus a snarling git in front of my parents. He was my best friend before Hogwarts I wasn't about to betray him.
My parents looked like they were second guessing me.
"That's good." my mom said finally, smiling.
"Get dressed, Rosie." my dad said. "We'll leave by floo in about ten minutes, I told Harry I'd be over there before midday."
I didn't protest because I suddenly thought maybe Albus would be different without the Slytherins, his old self. Anyway, I didn't have to hang out with Albus, there were James and Lily, who knows maybe more of the family would be over there.
I climbed up the stair, almost getting knocked over by Hugo and his massive gob-stones set. He for some reason felt the need to run down the stairs. I got dressed and tried to fix the mess that is my hair. It was sticking out in all directions like it always did. I was surprised that it didn't get caught in anything yet, it usually did that. I didn't bother with brushing it (too much pain), I tied it up in a messy ponytail, the usual hairstyle.
I came downstairs to see my dad waiting for me with Hugo. Mom had to stay behind she had some ministry business to wrap up before Christmas.
"Rosie, you floo first." dad said holding a small pot with floo powder in it.
I stood in the fireplace and took a hunk of flu powder in my hand.
"Potter manor." I said throwing the flu powder down.
In a burst of magnificent light, I was transported to the Potter's fireplace in a coughing fit, I had done the stupid thing of breathing during it. I could taste the fireplace soot and ash in my mouth. I ended up on top of the Potter's rug. I wasn't exactly the most graceful floo-er. I always managed to somehow stumble over my own two feet.
"Rosie!" screamed Lily excitedly. She was sitting on the couch opposite the fireplace clearly waiting for us.
"Lily!" I screamed back as I got up dusting the soot from my clothes.
I ran over to hug her. I love Lily she so cute and smaller than me which for some reason is really hard to find (everyone is taller than me).
Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny came into the room alerted by screaming. Hugo appeared moments later.
"Hugo!" screamed Lily, but she didn't try to hug him. Lily and Hugo are bffs but I think that's mainly because Lily is the only one in our family who understands and goes by Hugo's 'don't hug me' hugging policy.
Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny greeted Hugo and I with hugs as dad came through the fireplace.
"Uncle Ron!" yelled out Lily giving him a hug.
"Come on, Lily." said Hugo impatiently. "I want to see your new chocolate frog cards!"
Lily finished hugging dad and ran after Hugo to her room.
Dad and Uncle Harry were in conversation about something and were walking out of the room.
"Albus is up in his room." Aunt Ginny told me. "James is…"
Aunt Ginny thought for a second.
"Harry, where's James?" Aunt Ginny called after Uncle Harry.
"I…haven't seen him since dinner last night." Uncle Harry called back.
"Rose, when you go upstairs will you see if James is in his room?" asked Aunt Ginny. "Merlin, I hope he not gone off somewhere. Tell me if he has."
I nodded and went climb up a winding staircase, the Potter house was bigger than ours. I've always liked it, especially the way it was decorated. The Gryffindor colours of red and gold can be seen all around the house. It always had a great feeling of warmth and cosiness to it, as if anyone was welcome inside.
I approached the first door on the left at the top of the staircase which was James' room. There was no mistaking it, as in big capital letters on the oak door the name 'JAMES SIRUS POTTER II' were carved into it. I remembered when James carved it into his door, he stole Uncle Harry wand and somehow used it carve his name into the door. His parents were really mad but under the anger, I could tell Uncle Harry was impressed.
I smiled at the memory and knocked the door.
There was a grunt on the other side of the door that sounded faintly like go away or a curse.
"James, are you in there?" I asked. "It's Rose."
When he heard my name his said brightly. "Rosie, come in."
I opened the door to revealed James' room. As usual, it looked like a bomb hit it and was now a landfill. I could smell the smell of funny potions lingering in the air. James was lying on his bed over the covers hanging over the end of it still in his pyjamas.
I made my way over to him trying to avoid stepping on merlin knows what. I yelped as I accidently tripped over an old caldron it contents spilling on the floor with a hissing sound.
"It's fine," said James clearly not caring. I had half expected it to explode. "Leave it, with time it will eventually disappear."
I crinkled my nose at his theory and sat next to him on his bed.
James' room was one of those places I could never stand to be in for more than five minutes. So I planned to make my visit to his room short.
It had posters of quidditch stars and wizarding rock bands poorly taped to the wall, in the gaps between them you could see red and gold wallpaper, along with random Gryffindor quidditch stuff stuck to the wall.
"Aunt Ginny was wondering where you were," I said. "She told me to check on you."
"Mom probably thought Albus killed me."
"James!" I snapped.
James ignored me and jumped up from his bed.
"I was planning to Fred's house," James said. "You can come if you want?"
"Thanks, but no thanks. It sounds dangerous and boring." I said not fancying watching James and Fred do experiments or worse play quidditch.
James shrugged. "Suit yourself. Warning I'm going to get dress now so if you don't to witness the glory, I suggest you leave."
"I'm definitely leaving, no way am I damaging my eyes with the 'glory'," I said making my way back through the contents of the floor to the door.
"See you, Rosie." said James as I went out the door.
"See you, James." I said shutting the door.
I made my way to Albus' room. There was nowhere else to go and if Aunt Ginny or Uncle Harry or my dad saw me wandering around the house on my own they would know something was up.
I knocked on his door which unlike James' was free of carvings. Albus opened it with suspicion written on his face but this turned into surprise when he saw me.
"Hey, Rose." Albus greeted. "It's been ages. I thought you were avoiding me."
I laughed weakly and followed him into his room. It was the opposite of James' in every way. It was well organised and neat. I looked around Albus' room it had changed since the last time I saw it during the summer holidays. The red and gold wallpaper was covered up with green and silver Slytherin items. The plush lion toy that was usually on Albus' bed was gone as well as his red bed covers, they were replaced with green bed covers.
I joined him and sat down at the small table under his window where we had spent countless hours playing Wizard's Chess, Exploding Snap and other games.
"Do you want to play Wizard's Chess?" He asked.
I couldn't pass up an offer to play Wizard's Chess. "Sure, why not?" I smiled as he put a board on the table.
A few minutes into the games with me in lead Albus asked me,
"Are you still my friend?"
I bit taken back by the question. I pause and answered.
"Yes, Albus. Why do you ask?"
"It stupid really, Scorp said you might not be. He swears that he saw ducking behind your friends when you saw us coming."
I paled a bit, that little Slytherin rat! I swallow my urge to go on a rant about Malfoy and said,
"Well, Malfoy's obviously telling lies. He a little-" I stopped myself knowing this was not the place for that.
Albus raised an eyebrow.
"I wish you'd be nicer to him. How would you like it if I said things about your friends?"
Then for the first time, I realise that Malfoy was a friend to Albus in the same way that Abby and Jane were friends (as hard as it was to imagine) to me. Now that was a shocker, a real eye opener. But I still hated his guts.
"Sorry," I said to Albus feeling a bit guilty. "I really, really don't like him." I said this trying to soften the blow of 'we are moral enemies, period'.
"I don't like your friends." said Albus examining a chess piece.
I wanted to snap at him. What's wrong with my friends? Look at his! It's the Death eater's sons mafia! But I kept by mouth shut and pretended not to hear him.
