Between the color and texture of her hair, her attitude, her temper, her intelligence, Rose Weasley had barely made it minutes at Hogwarts before being compared to one of her parents. Initially, the comparison was made between her and her father, but she's more commonly compared to her mother now.
It's not that she resented it, she just didn't...see it. Sure, she had a tendency to fly off the handle-she blamed Scorpius for that, though, not her patriarchal lineage- and tons of people took their studies seriously, whether or not their mother was the Brightest Witch of Her Age.
However, when she caught a glimpse of herself, stacks of parchment ranging from Carter's research, partially revised papers, and notes for the Healing Entry exam surrounding her on the Library table, her hair an absolute mess, her eyes wild and sleep-deprived, she was brought back to living at home and sneaking downstairs to grab a glass of water in the middle of the night to see her mother in the exact position, the same look in her eyes, reading over paperwork.
Of course, when her mother would catch her, she would smile at her in a way that made Rose feel warm to her toes, and she would beckon her over and Rose would crawl on her lap, looking at her mother's papers as she smoothed down her hair until she fell back asleep.
If someone were to approach Rose right now, she was pretty sure she'd commit a violent murder.
"You know." Rose felt hands hit the back of her chair, and she instinctively looked up to glare at whoever was standing behind her."I just heard a group of first years whispering about an unusually small troll in the library. I came here to check it out but alas, it's just you."
Rolling her eyes, Rose looked back at her work, too distracted to be offended," Go away, Malfoy."
"Ah, but if I leave, I might miss out on the opportunity to draw something on your face after you pass out from exhaustion." Scorpius sat across from her, smiling mischievously.
She glared at him."Not in the mood, Malfoy."
"Not in the mood for witty banter with the hottest guy you know?" She ignored him, and he started to slide some of her papers from her.
"Hey! Watch it!" She finally looked up to see him reading her papers, his eyebrows raised.
"You are aware that you don't have to take this healer test for another," he looked at his watch," Two years, right?"
She snatched it from him in a huff."You are aware that I am this close to hexing your bollocks off, right?"
"Have you ever noticed that your threats almost always have something to do with my penis?" He smirked, glancing over her research.
"I have reason to believe it would solve a lot of problems."
He only smirked again, moving the paper back in front of him. "Albus and Lily have been looking for you."
She frowned, tilting her head. "They are? They didn't come in here…" She said, confused. Albus and Lily were more or less convinced Rose was going to study herself into a stupor-which was ridiculous, she had only ended up in the Hospital Wing from dehydration in first year. Whenever they declared her 'missing', the library was always their first looking place. It was far too infuriating for Rose to feel touched by it.
"Probably because I told them I saw you heading up to your dorm to sleep." He shrugged casually. Rose's frown deepened.
"Why would you…" She trailed off, now fully looking at him.
"Because I knew they'd annoy you and while I can handle one of your hexes, I'm not so sure dear old Lily can." He said, smiling sweetly at her. Something in her stomach turned, and she wasn't sure when she started being able to feel gratitude towards Scorpius Malfoy. Or, for that matter, when he started doing things that deserved gratitude.
She stared at him for a second, before smiling slightly."Right. Thank you, I guess."
"You're welcome, I guess." He mocked."Just...you need to sleep eventually, alright? You really are starting to look a bit trollish, and I can't keep off the Weasley Potter clan off your back forever."
"I'll try." She said, going back to her papers.
With that, Scorpius left. It wasn't until he completely vacated the library that she noticed the treacle tart left on a little napkin on the table.
Xx
"I am so sorry I'm late." Rose rushed into Carter's office, trying to tame her hair into a bun as she walked."I was studying, and I lost track of time, then I realized I lost track of your research, and I couldn't find it. I still can't find it-and I-"
Professor Carter put two hands on her shoulders, smiling down at her."Relax, Miss Weasley. Has anyone ever told you you stress too much?"
"You're not the first."
"I won't be the last. Please, sit." She sat down, groaning internally.
"Don't worry about the research, that was just a copy." He looked at her, smirking."You didn't think I gave you my only copy, did you?"
"Course not." She lied, sitting down and putting her bag down beside her."You're not worried about your work being out there for anyone to see, though?"
He shrugged, waving his hand."I can charm it to erase itself. Do you mind chopping this stuff up?" He pushed a tray of ingredients at her and with that, she was put to work.
The rest of the session stayed silent, with her quietly chopping and him quietly reading, but she couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on her the entire time.
Xx
"I think," Professor Carter's voice broke an hour of silence, "It's time to call it a night."
Rose looked up at the clock, shocked."When did it get to be nine?"
"About an hour after it got to be eight if I had to guess."
"Har har." Rose started to pack up," Have you ever considered quitting your job and becoming a comedian?"
"I haven't, no."
"Good. You'd be terrible." She said bluntly. He laughed out loud, lifting his bag onto his shoulders.
"Come on, I'll walk you to your dorm." The two walked out, Rose looking at the ground.
"So, why dragon pox?" She asked, glancing up at him. He looked back at her, confused, a smile playing on his lips.
"Well, they come from dragons, as the name suggests-"
"No! No, I know that." She said, laughing."I just meant…."
"Why did I pick that as a research topic?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. She nodded. "It affects thousands of children every year, and the cure still leaves some people with nasty side effects, and a preventative would be more accessible to everyone."
"No, yeah, right, I knew that. But why are you so interested in it?"
He laughed slightly."What? Thousands of children a year can't be enough?"
"In my experience, it's not usually about the thousands. It's usually about one in those thousands." She said honestly.
"Merlin, Miss Weasley, you don't let up, do you?" At her unrelenting stare, he sighed slightly."You got me. My younger sister, she..had a pretty bad case of Dragonpox. It spread to her lungs and she's never fully recovered. She won't, either." He said earnestly, a tone in his voice Rose hadn't heard before.
"Ah. So there's a deep story behind the pretty face." She remarked, not thinking much. When her brain caught up to her words, she widened her eyes, blushing furiously."I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean."
She was cut off by a laugh."Relax, Rose. I just don't know how you get any research done, if you're so busy staring at my pretty face."
"I-i didn't mean that I didn't, it just might be a popular notion among...some...of your students."
"Some?" The corners of his lips quirked up, and she caught herself staring.
"Most, whatever." She mumbled.
"And would you consider yourself-" He was cut off by a loud squeal and Rose turned around to see Jo running at her, grinning.
"Posie! There you are. I have the most fantastic news." She said, beaming. Professor Carter coughed slightly and she looked up, seemingly just noticing him."Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?"
"No, no. I trust you two can walk back on your own. I'll see you two tomorrow. Miss Prosser." He nodded towards her. "Posie." He winked, stalking off.
"I hate to see him go, but I love to watch him leave," Jo said, smirking. Rose laughed, bumping her shoulder against her."Anyway. My news."
"Your news."
"You know the article I submitted to The Daily Prophet?" Jo had been an aspiring journalist as long as Rose had known her (she said being a nosy big mouth had its own career path) and her dream was to be a top writer at the Daily Prophet. She prioritized authenticity above everything else, but she could find a way to make potion stirring sound interesting.
"The one about The Weird Sisters doing a reunion tour?" She asked, vaguely recollecting it. She had been studying them for the past couple of months and had written an article suggesting that the Sisters had been putting secret signs out onto the Wizarding World about reuniting. Rose thought she had been mental at first but was thoroughly convinced after reading what she had written.
"Yes! You remember. So, I submitted and it got rejected!" She said. Despite her words, she was grinning.
Rose stopped, confused."And we are...happy about this?"
"Yes! I didn't get anything back the last three times I submitted articles, but this time, it actually got somewhere! I mean, they didn't take it, but they gave me feedback! I can work on it." She grinned. Rose hugged her, laughing.
"Well, I am very proud of you then. Though I think they're idiots for not taking it." She said, grinning at her. Jo agreed, and the two walked back to their dorm together, chatting.
"I can only hope that when I get to intern, I'll be working for someone half as cute as Professor Carter."
"Right, then you'd totally be able to pay attention."
"Hm, you're probably right." She sighed."I think you're his favorite student, anyway."
Rose stopped, spluttering slightly, feeling guilty for a reason she couldn't explain."What is that supposed to mean?"
Jo eyed her," Just that he picked you to be his research assistant." She shrugged. Rose scoffed.
"Well, I happen to be really smart."
"Right, well, you also happen to flirt with him."
"I do not!" Rose gasped, her face heating up."We joke around, it's just his personality."
"Relax, you weirdo. I'm only kidding. Anyway, about my article…" She continued to talk about the suggestions the editors gave her, and Rose tried to listen. She couldn't stop thinking about Jo's comment, or the weirdness of the research sessions and Professor Carter opening up to her and teasing her. She felt like she had a secret, but it would sound ridiculous if she tried to tell anyone. Nothing was going on, and he was right, she did worry too much.
She stuffed down her uneasiness and tried to tune back into Jo, though of course, she also kept thinking about a singular treacle tart staring at her over a mountain of papers in the library.
Xx
Sorry, this chapters a bit shorter than the others but I have the next chapter written out and I didn't want to have too much going on in this chapter.
Also! This chapter is dedicated to PilarofDoom who is my most loyal review-er. I don't know if I'd be continuing with this story without all their feedback :-)
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