A/N:

Disclaimer: Characters originally mentioned in the Harry Potter series and/or Pottermore belong to J.K. Rowling. Title comes from song of the same name. See A/N in Chp 3 for full reference info (spoiler).

Written for the HP Wireless Festive Minifest 2020 on Tumblr.

This story takes place in the NextGen trio's fifth year. It is post-epilogue/epilogue-compliant, but I am NOT following Cursed Child canon. My interpretations of these characters, especially Rose, are quite different from general fandom headcanons. I do hope you enjoy them. Happy holidays!

Thank you to my friend, A, for beta-reading this fic. It would never have been finished without you.

This story is COMPLETE! Posting will occur every 2-3 days. Fic will be 4-5 chapters, with an epilogue.

December 2021, Hogwarts

The soft melody hung momentarily in the still air of the practice room before silence suppressed it.

"Cool," declared Finn Kavanagh. "Think we can stop there for today?"

Rose Weasley was actually thinking no, not yet, one more time, but before she could answer, her partner stood from the piano and began to gather his things. She settled instead for saying, "Alright. When shall we meet next week? We have the final choir rehearsal this Sunday afternoon and then the concert for the Showcase next Friday."

"Aw, does it have to be next week?" Finn whinged. "Roddy's scheduled more practices all next week 'fore the game. Can't it wait 'till after?"

Rose would really prefer not to have to wait nearly a week-and-a-half before rehearsing for their Showcase performance, but she knew better than to argue with Quidditch-obsessed boys. Finn played Keeper for the Hufflepuff team. She'd asked him to partner with her because he was a member of the Frog Choir and could play piano for the duet she'd wanted to sing for this year's Winter Showcase.

But Rose hadn't counted on the end of term being so filled with back-to-back engagements. She should have. The two of them weren't quite ready to perform just yet, and it would only make her more anxious to have to wait until the weekend before the performance to finalize the piece. She had several assignments due as well that final week before the holidays began. With O.W.L.s in less than six months, Rose needed all the time she could gain to study, and she briefly regretted adding one more task to her never-ending to-do list.

But no. She must sing for the Showcase this year. It was immortalized on the List of Goals she'd pinned to her bedpost. She'd told everyone she knew that she'd be performing. She couldn't back out now.

Rose's mind travelled these well-trodden paths as the two fifth-years made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner. She was ambushed by two ginger girls as she broke away from Finn to head to the Ravenclaw table.

"Hiya, Rosie!"

"Oooh, we saw you come in with Finn Kavanagh! Do you like him?"

Rose rolled her eyes even as the insinuation made her blush. "Hi, Lily. Hi, Lucy," she greeted mildly. "No, I do not have a crush on him. We're in the same year and part of the choir. He's my partner for the Showcase."

"Oh, that's right! You're signed up for the Winter Showcase this year! Are you excited?"

"When do you perform? You're so brave, Rosie. I'd be so scared to sing in front of the whole school…"

Rose sighed exasperatedly as she took a seat. This sort of tag-teaming was par for the course with these two. Lily Potter and Lucy Weasley were always together outside of classes. Lily, a third-year, was a member of the yearbook committee. It was her job to help with recording and photographing both the Summer and Winter Showcases. She'd been chatting about the sub-committee and all of her exciting ideas all summer long. Lucy, a fourth-year, wrote for the school newspaper. She was generally much quieter about her extracurricular activities. They were both Gryffindors and relentless in their pursuit of documenting campus events.

"In two weeks, just about," Rose answered. "And, technically, I have sung in front of the whole school before in choir performances."

"Well, that's not quite the same, is it?" Lucy countered. "Now, it'll just be your voice by itself with everyone watching…"

Yes, well, Rose was trying not to think about that. The girls' enthusiasm was usually amusing, but Rose found their interest only added to her anxiety. She mumbled, "It's a duet," and reached for the roast potatoes. Lucy and Lily prattled on between themselves and eventually left for the Gryffindor table, leaving Rose to enjoy her dinner in relative peace and quiet.

This was one of many reasons Rose loved being a Ravenclaw. Mealtimes were much more subdued. It was quite common and not at all strange for Ravenclaw students to multitask between eating and studying. The only time meals became especially lively was when there was a hot debate on academic topics. Others might think it unbearably nerdy, but Rose quite enjoyed listening to and learning from the older students; she even occasionally participated.

About thirty minutes later, Headmistress McGonagall called for silence, and Professor Babbling stood to introduce tonight's act.

There were two Showcases every year at Hogwarts. The Winter Showcase occurred during the final two or three weeks of term in December and featured holiday- and seasonal-inspired performances. The Summer Showcase in June was a catch-all event primarily meant for displaying student learning and classroom accomplishment—parents often attended, ushering their children home for the holidays afterward. Both Showcases were avenues for displaying student talent and ingenuity; acts ranged from musical shows to comedic skits to art projects. One December, there had even been an ice-dance and figure-skating competition on the Great Lake. Rose looked forward to the Showcases every year. She could still remember her delight and awe at seeing older students perform wintery charms in her first year at Hogwarts.

Any further chattering quietened, and after Professor Babbling's introduction, five boys, all of Asian heritage, stood from all four house tables. Rose recognized a couple of them from the Frog Choir. They were dressed handsomely in dark grey Muggle suits with wizarding cloaks winged on top. One of the boys crossed the front of the Hall and took a seat at the piano set off-centre from the Headmistress' podium. He began to play a strident, almost forlorn melody. The boy at the rightmost end of the Hall began to sing softly in Korean, and a translation appeared in yellow lettering above the Heads table. The boys continued, each taking turns, until they combined in harmony for the chorus. Rose was as swept away by the chorus as the music conveyed.

The ballad was nostalgic and melancholic at the same time; it spoke of a love lost but never regained and of wisdom earned in retrospect from heartbreak. As the bridge neared, the performers gathered together at the front of the Hall and called back and forth to one another in a mix of Korean and Chinese harmonies through the climax. An additional performer rose from the Gryffindor table, then, and harmonised his violin to the piano. The song ended with a lone voice and gentle notes, the audience remaining spell-bound in the aftermath; their quietude reflected the moved spirit in Rose's heart. After a moment, the crowd broke into roaring applause, even some standing ovations. The boys finally broke out in smiles, high-fived one another, and gathered together to take a final bow.

Rose clapped along, impressed, overwhelmed, and intimidated all at once. It had been an incredible performance, definitely iconic enough for the unofficial record books. She only hoped she and Finn would measure up during their own performance, but there looked to be a meager chance of that happening, considering there was no good time for them to meet the following week. Rose sighed and pushed that worry for another day.

The Saturday of the Slytherin vs Hufflepuff Quidditch match began with blustery wind gusts, reminding them all of the turn of the season from autumn to winter. Rose slept in a little before heading down to the Great Hall to find a swarm of students decked out in all manner of winter gear: coats, scarfs, hats, gloves, and boots. The drone of conversations was louder than usual as students loitered around. She had hoped to avoid the crowd, but she'd forgotten that wintertime Quidditch games began at a later start time in order to take advantage of the warmer weather of midday.

Rose did not plan to attend. It wasn't that she didn't like Quidditch. She enjoyed flying as much as anyone and occasionally played in her family's summertime scrimmage matches. It was just that, as a Ravenclaw, she simply had no stake in the game (it was still too early in the year to worry about the Quidditch Cup) and would rather stay warm inside the castle, catching up on her work and resting, than spend the entire day turning into an icicle high up in the stands.

She squeezed her way through to the Ravenclaw table to find that her usual spot had been overtaken by boys: her brother Hugo, who had stolen her seat; and Albus Potter, her cousin, who had brought along his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. This was not an uncommon occurrence on match days. Ravenclaw's table was in between Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's in the Great Hall, so the boys often converged here to get away from the rowdiness at their own house tables. None of them noticed her approach. Albus was muttering nonstop to Scorpius, who seemed to be concentrating more intently on his breakfast than on his friend's chatter. Hugo's attention, too, was entirely absorbed by his food.

"Hugo!" Rose scolded as she budged her brother over.

He groused dramatically, "Rosie! You've got the rest of the table!" Rose did not point out that the spot he'd filched was situated at her house table, where she sat for every meal. After turning thirteen, her brother had definitely hit his "teenage years" and begun to discover the "higher" creative expression of melodrama. It was a shame because Hugo was the most pleasant of all the Weasley children in their generation.

"Morning, boys," she greeted the two Slytherins next. Scorpius nodded absentmindedly, but Albus ignored her altogether. Rose rolled her eyes and considered her breakfast options. The conversation did not improve.

All the boys of Rose's acquaintance were, unfortunately, obsessed with Quidditch. She and her mother despaired of it. It was impossible to get them to listen to anything she said, let alone receive coherent responses, before a match. Scorpius was an excellent flyer and played Seeker for Slytherin, four years running now. Albus knew absolutely everything about the game: its history, its teams, its major players and their statistics. He'd tried out for the Slytherin team the past two years, but although he was a decent flyer, he couldn't play very well at all, no matter the position. It had been a major sore point for Albus and had caused some tension in his friendship with Scorpius for the past year-and-a-half, but the boys had worked things out this year and were closer than ever. They left not long after Rose sat down, Albus deigning to give her a perfunctory wave above his head to her called out "Good luck!".

Hugo, too, loved Quidditch and never failed to tag along with her father and Uncle Harry. He had aspirations to play for Hufflepuff and changed his mind every year about what position he'd like best (he claimed he was multi-talented). He'd finally felt good enough to try out this year, but the house had chosen to keep all its players, and there had been no open positions. Rose tightened his scarf and tugged his hat lower and more securely on his head. He groaned at her fussing and left for the pitch with a group spearheaded by their other cousins, Fred Weasley and James Potter.

Rose was left alone for most of the day. After finishing breakfast, she headed back up to Ravenclaw Tower to gather her books and notes and then came back downstairs to the cozy quiet of the library. She chose a table at a window supplying a view of the game and set to work finishing her final assignments for the following week. If she cleared her schedule as much as she could, she would be available to practice with Finn at whatever time his schedule allowed next week. The performance was in four days, and they still hadn't completely synced together the instrumentals and the vocals. Finn came from a musical family, so he wasn't worried, but Rose had never performed a solo at Hogwarts, and it made her anxious to leave the preparation so late.

The Quidditch match went on past lunchtime—Rose could tell from her vantage point. The sun shone brightly now, and the breeze had eased up. It was great weather for playing. For a moment, Rose rued not attending, afterall. Perhaps she could catch the final segment. She imagined storing her study materials in her dorm and trudging all the way downstairs, across the grounds, and up to the Ravenclaw stands. Then again, she was quite comfortable in the library and had a great seat. She kept working.

When she finally made it back to her dorm around four o' clock in the afternoon, the match was over. Rose entered the Ravenclaw common room to find it bubbling with conversation, filled to its usual capacity once again. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team debriefed the match while huddled around one of the window seats. As Rose crossed the room, she overheard snippets: So, does this mean we're in second place or third? We beat the Puffs, but...; I couldn't see properly, but Mina Snowdon from Hufflepuff said it looked pretty bad; Been taken to the hospital wing, I heard, no tellin' when he'll get out. Rose blinked, slightly concerned. Had there been an injury? Which team had won?

It wasn't until she got up to the fifth-year girls' dormitory, where Elise Turpin was lounging on her bed, that she heard the news. Slytherin had won, but that was after Hufflepuff's reserve Keeper had to step in. What? Reserve Keeper? Elise confirmed that the Puffs' first Keeper had knocked his head into the side of the goal ring while simultaneously trying to stop the Quaffle and dodge a Bludger that had come too close. Finn!

Rose threw her things on the bed and rushed out of the Tower down to the Hospital Wing. The Hufflepuff Captain and some other Puffs stood in a circle in front of the doors. There were a few more people in the Hospital Wing itself, along with Professor Sprout, Headmistress McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey, who was wrapping a bandage around a student's head. As Rose walked closer, she recognized Finn's spiky ash-brown hair. He was unconscious.

"What happened?" she asked the room at large, horrified. The professors turned to her, as did a couple of Finn's friends. Madam Pomfrey remained focused on her task. Headmistress McGonagall answered her. "He's been injured, Ms. Weasley. A knock to head when he flew into the goal ring trying to dodge a Bludger. He'll be alright." She looked at Finn in concern and sympathy.

Distressed, Rose explained haltingly, "But—he's my—we're supposed to perform together for the Winter Showcase in a few days."

Madam Pomfrey cut in. "He'll have to stay here for a few days for observation. I'd rather he recover here in peace and quiet, with minimal activity."

Poor Finn, but what about the Showcase? Rose said goodbye to her professors and slumped out of the Hospital Wing. She stood for a moment in the hall outside, staring this way and that as she tried to figure out what to do next. What if Finn wasn't well enough by Wednesday evening? Or rather, earlier than that, as they hadn't yet finished the song before the match. She'd have no partner! Who would sing with her? What if she couldn't find someone else on time? Would she have to drop out? Could she do it by herself, instead? She remembered the reasons why she'd chosen Finn to partner with her in the first place and then she recalled the others on her list of potential partners, their pros and cons. The list was still on her bedside table in her dorm. She'd start looking for alternatives there; she had most of a weekend left over. There must be someone who could help.

A/N:

The performance Rose sees in the Great Hall is based off the song "Miracles in December" by EXO, a Korean pop group. The arrangement used here is a mash-up of both the Chinese and Korean versions. They are both beautiful, soothing, and a little achy. Highly recommend! I personally imagined the first verse in Korean, the second in Chinese, and a true mash-up of both languages from the bridge through to the end of the song.