Pandora's Little Pithos of Preteens

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

Note: These characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. This was done for my Pandora's Little Box of Terrors challenge found in the HPFC. You can find the challenge here (just take out the spaces!): http :/ forum. fanfiction. net/ topic/ 44309/ 27638002/ 1/ Read, review, and enjoy! And check out and join the forum challenge!

- ^-^3

Terror: Despair

The Wilting Rose

Rose was not as smart as she looked, nor was she as brilliant as her blood should've bred her to be.

Being a Weasley didn't mean too much. The main definition was that you belonged to a huge family, one of heroes, at that. But Rose was the daughter of two of the Big Four –Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Those Big Four were easily the most famous of the heroes of the Second Wizarding War. Rose was the elder child and only daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley. She was pretty with cherry-red hair, big brown eyes and a few Weasley freckles. Everyone thought she was blessed with her mother's brains.

Rose was not her mother, though. In fact, she was what most people dreaded:

She was like another Ron.

At first, she'd been ashamed. Her dad was never much of anything special in their family; she'd heard all the stories from her uncles and Aunt Ginny. But then Rosie had dared to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She got Keeper, just like her dad. And she was good. Really good.

Everything was…coming up roses for Rose.

School wasn't all that bad for her, no. She got good grades, though she did have to work for them. When her O.W.L.s arrived at the end of her fifth year, Rose felt she did reasonably well.

Then the letter arrived before sixth year. She was a mix of "Acceptable" and "Exceeds Expectations," the ratio leaning more towards "Acceptable." When her mother read that… There was no mistaking the disappointment in Hermione's matching umber eyes.

Rosie was no genius and now her secret was out.

To make matters worse, Rose tried even harder at school and at Quidditch. The classes got tougher, but so did she. She greatly envied her best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. He was all brains unlike her. And Al? He studied and winged it and he did excellent –not as great as Scor, but still really well.

Worse yet, Rose ended up caught up in the typical teenage drama: She fell for Scorpius. She fell hard and fast and felt like she couldn't breathe most of the time around him. But he didn't feel that way about her.

With academics and love impossibly out of her reach, Rose was ready and willing to give up. She could throw herself into her Quidditch and do fine, but that wasn't enough. She didn't want to be "good;" she wanted to be "spectacular."

But she knew there was no hope for that. She would forever be plain and simple Rose. It was nothing but an endless, downward spiral from there. And no broom was going to save her.

- ^-^3

WELL! Quite a different take on Rosie-Posie, huh? :D But I liked it. Her being more like Ron… No one really considers that, it seems. I mean, I know Ron mentions her having 'Mione's brains in the epilogue, but Rose had yet to be severely tested. *raises eyebrows* What do you think? Merlin, I think I could like writing this kind of Rose… I might even have another idea for her and Despair… :3

Please review! Thanks so much for reading! Those of you who have favorited and alerted –c'mon! Lemme know what you liked about it! :D

-mew! XD

Thank you for Betaing, Morghen! :3 I could always top things off with Craig Owens' hand in marriage… *passes him along and runs away!* XD