Every student at Hogwarts was relieved to have the weekend finally off. Though first years didn't have much homework, even Rose wanted a break.
Well, sort of.
What she really wanted to do throughout the whole darn week was take a trip to the library. She was aching to read a book.
That Saturday morning, Rose changed out of her pajamas and into a red shirt and faded jeans with many patches. She woke up early, though her roommates decided to sleep in.
Rose shook Hazel. "Hey, Hazel!" she whisper-shouted, so she wouldn't wake the other girls.
"Hmmm?" she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm going to the library. Want to come?"
"But..." Hazel stifled a yawn before finishing her sentence. She sat up all the way and blinked. "Rosie, it's a Saturday."
"Exactly! We're free, so we can do whatever we want. Including going to the library."
"Do you really want to go to the library?" Hazel started making her bed. Rose didn't stop her. She hated it when house elves did all the work.
"Yes. I do."
"Do you have good books there?" Hazel asked.
Rose shrugged. "I dunno. Let's find out."
.oOo.
Rose and Hazel were downstairs in the Great Hall eating cinnamon pastries and toast for breakfast. Hardly anyone was up yet, so it seemed kind of empty.
"So tell me all about the wizarding world," Hazel said after biting into a piece of buttered toast.
"Well, what would you like to find out about first?"
"What's your way of life like? Back home, I mean."
"At home?" Rose paused. "My dad and my uncle run a joke shop. My mom works at the Ministry of Magic."
"Oh!" Hazel exclaimed. "There's a whole ministry for wizards and witches?"
"Yes, but it also overviews goblins, house-elves, centaurs, and other creatures."
"This is a lot to take in," Hazel sighed. "Someone should write 'Wizarding World for Dummies.'"
"You're not a dummy, Hazel!" Rose said with empathy, patting her arm. "Don't beat yourself up."
Hazel laughed hysterically. Her eyes even started tearing up. "Oh, no! That's not what I meant. There are these guidebooks for people who don't know something. Like, there's 'Basketball for Dummies,' 'Programming for Dummies,' etc."
"I don't get it," Rose said bluntly.
"It's a muggle thing," Hazel shrugged. "So what does your mom do?"
"She's helping to bring down discrimination between muggleborns and purebloods. She's a muggleborn, too, just like you."
"So what about you?"
"My dad's a pureblood, so I'm a half-blood."
"Nice," Hazel's voice sounded hollow. "It must be such an advantage, knowing so much about this world already."
"Nah, doesn't work that way. My mom was the smartest witch in their year, and she was muggleborn. We're all going to be in the same boat sooner or later." Rose gave a tiny burp. "Whoops! 'Scuse me. Want to go now?"
"Sure."
They made their way towards the library on the third floor. Rose was in a hurry to get there before the staircases changed.
"Do you guys have any handbooks for Muggles, so I can get the wizard lingo?"
"If we don't, someone should definitely write one," Rose seriously. "Let's go ask the librarian."
Rose walked up to Madam Pince, the senior librarian of Hogwarts. "Do you have any guides to the wizarding world? My friend is muggleborn, and she wants to catch up on some stuff."
"Yes," she said stiffly. "Right this way." She led the way to a shelf on the left side of library, in the back near the Restricted Section.
"If there're books so bad they're in the Restricted Section, why do they have it in the library at all?" Hazel asked.
"It's for the older grades. Sometimes if a teacher wants them to look up something in the Restricted Section, they give them a note with their signature on it," Rose explained.
"Here you are," Pince took a book of the shelf. She blew the dust off, making Rose and Hazel cough.
"I guess we're the only people who have ever asked for a handbook to the wizarding world," Hazel said somewhat sheepishly.
"I suppose you are," Pince gave a rare, tiny smile. She walked back to the open section of the library to scold some giggling fifth year girls.
The two girls sat at a table and opened the page of contents.
"Whoa!" Hazel exclaimed. "This is really going to help me out."
They flipped open to the first chapter, which explained the brief history of the wizarding world.
"What are you reading?" asked a girl from the table next to them.
"Handbook to the wizarding world," said Hazel. "I'm muggleborn, and I kind of need to catch up on some stuff."
The girl smiled. "That's actually a really good idea! Very smart. I should recommend that to some of my friends."
"Are you a first year, too?" Rose asked.
"Yeah. Ravenclaw," the girl said proudly. "I'm Mallory, by the way. What're your names?"
"I'm Hazel, and this is Rose," Hazel said. "So what's it like, being in Ravenclaw?"
"Well, supposedly, we're the smartest house, so I feel quite superior," Mallory said jokingly. "How about you? Which house do you belong to?"
"Both of us are from Gryffindor," Rose said.
"I can tell," Mallory eyed Rose. "You're a Weasley, aren't you?"
"I am," Rose nodded.
"My mother doesn't like Weasleys," sighed Mallory. "Especially the one named Donald."
"You mean Ronald," Rose said, slightly narrowing her eyes.
"That's what I said. Ronald." Mallory said snappishly.
"Who just so happens to be my father," said Rose.
"Oh, sorry," Mallory said lightly. "It's okay. It isn't your fault. My dad is a bit of a nutter too."
"My dad isn't a nutter," Rose was astounded at how ludicrous this girl was.
"Girls, stop fighting, you're both beautiful," Hazel said. "There's no point in arguing over something so stupid."
Ignoring Hazel, Mallory said, "Well, he's enough of a nutter if his genes prevent you from entering Ravenclaw."
Rose realized when Mallory said she felt superior compared to other houses, she hadn't been joking. "So who's your dad?" Rose said heatedly.
"Eric Bow. He's a muggle. You've probably never heard of him. My mother, however, is someone who has attended Hogwarts. She's Marietta Edgecombe."
"The sneak?" snorted Rose. "Didn't she betray Dumbledore's Army?"
"For a good cause!" Mallory's nostrils flared and her face turned red.
"Dolores Umbridge is a toad!" Rose laughed bitterly. "She's a ministry moron who ended up being on Voldemort's side, and she persecuted muggleborns and half-bloods, like me and you!"
"It's you and I," Mallory said haughtily.
"Actually, if we're being grammatically correct, it's you and me," Hazel pointed out. "But like that matters. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions."
"That's what you Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs don't get!" exclaimed Mallory. "It's not about opinion! It's about the facts!" She slammed a book on their table.
Suddenly, Madam Pince came up behind Mallory and roughly snatched up a fistful of hair. "No yelling in the library!" she shrieked. "Out!"
"Hypocrite," muttered Hazel.
"We're going to borrow this book," Rose said hastily. "I think we'll go now."
"Good," Pince said, sniffling.
"Please let go of my hair!" Mallory winced, hissing the words out through her gritted teeth.
Pince let go of her hair reluctantly and searched for some other students to scold.
.oOo.
"You made another enemy?" Xavier and Ignatius asked in unison.
Al cradled his head in his hands. "Why, Rosie?"
"Sorry I've got a bad temper!" she snapped. "I can't help it!"
"I bet you could," Xavier said stubbornly.
Rose glared at him, not because she hated him, but because he was right and the five of them knew it.
"Maybe I can," she said crabbily. "But she was being snooty on purpose!"
"Maybe she thought you were too," Ignatius said.
"No, Mallory was definitely trying to annoy us," Hazel said seriously. "She's a strong representative of Ravenclaw. Hey, do Ravenclaws hate Gryffindors as much as Slytherins do?"
"Not really," Al said, "but there are duds in every house."
Ignatius and Rose burst out laughing.
"That wasn't even that funny," Xavier said bluntly.
"That's 'cause you're the dud in our house!" Rose barely choked out. Her face turned as red as her hair.
"Thanks," he said sulkily. "It's nice to know you lot love and support me."
"Don't worry," Ignatius patted his arm, still laughing slightly. "We do."
"You know, I think she's just letting it get to her head that she's 'smarter than everyone else.'" Hazel said, seemingly ignoring the laughter.
"Maybe she isn't," Al suggested.
"Did I mention she's the sneak's daughter?" Rose turned to Albus.
His eyes widened. "You mean that purple-pimpled frizzy orange-haired girl your mum talked about?"
"Marietta Edgecomb? Yeah," Rose said.
"Okay, I hate her now, too," Al said decisively.
"That was quick," Xavier rolled his eyes. "I honestly just think you need to learn how to calm down, Rose. You've got anger issues."
Rose rolled her eyes too. "Tell me something I don't know."
A gale of maniacal laughter cut across the courtyard like a knife.
"Yikes!" yelled Ignatius. "What WAS that?"
Rose craned her neck to look. She snorted. "Geranium Zambini."
"She sounds like a dying cow," Hazel remarked amusedly. "I wonder what's so funny."
Al looked over across the courtyard. "Oh, someone jinxed Alice!" he realized. He ran over.
Rose ran over too. Merlin's beard, she hated that little-
Alice's face was covered with oozing pimples. Tears streamed down her face.
James was beyond angry. He lunged at one of the Slytherin boys, probably the one who had cast the spell. "You stupid, moronic asshat!"
Roxanne rushed over from her group of giggling girls and soothed Alice.
"Shhh, it's gonna be okay, Ally. We'll take you to the hospital wing," Roxanne said. She helped her get up and they made their way to the hospital wing.
Fred and James were busy wrestling the boy, while the Slytherins tried pulling them off of him. Geranium shrieked, "That's my brother, you prick!" and she punched the side of James's head.
"Ow!" he yelled. But he didn't go after her, probably because beating up girls was pretty bad.
"What do you think you're doing?" Professor Pugnan came striding over towards them. James, Fred, and Geranium's older brother got up and straightened their shirts out.
"Alexar jinxed Alice, sir, so we-" James was cut off.
"Decided to try choking him to death?" he cocked an eyebrow. "Now, why don't we sort this out later? Potter and Zambini, go to the hospital wing please."
When Pugnan's face was turned away, Rose saw James do a rude finger gesture towards Alexar.
"No middle fingers please," Pugnan said.
James scowled. "He's got eyes on the back of his head," he muttered. He and Alexar walked away.
"Now then," Pugnan said to everyone who had witnessed the whole affair, "please go back to whatever you were doing that ISN'T against school code."
Rose and James walked back to their friends. On their way there, she overheard Geranium talking to Scorpius.
"Did you get a look at that Longbottom's face? I really do love my brother." she hooted. "Wasn't that hilarious, Malfoy?"
"Agree to disagree?" he said nervously.
Rose couldn't believe her ears. That was a Malfoy? If Malfoys were polite, the world was made of muffins. Then again, a world made of muffins wouldn't be so bad.
AN: Hi y'all, this is RowanAnvil. All the characters are either created by JK Rowling (who I have since stopped idolizing due to her transphobia) or were heavily inspired by her works- Geranium, Xavier, Ignatius, Hazel, Alice L and Frank L, and Alexar are all OCs.
Unfortunately I will not be updating this story; it was written when I was 13 (evident from my subpar writing) and now I am a whole ass adult in college. I'm posting it because it was just sitting in my computer for the longest time.
I will try to get back into narrative writing, maybe with another story. Can't make any promises though.