The next day, Belle and I were packing for Hogwarts when we heard some sort of explosion downstairs. Curious to know what it was, I leaped over the staircase and into the living room. On the floor in front of the fireplace, were James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter.
"ROSIE!" they called, giving me a bear hug.
"James! Al! Lily! It's so great to see you!"
"It's always great to see you, cousin!" Al said.
"Aw, thanks! Now get off of me; this hug is starting to hurt."
They listened and stepped off of me; both James and Al gave me puzzled looks as they got a better look at me.
"What happened to your hair?" James asked after about four minutes of an awkward silence.
"I dyed it to symbolize Gryffindor."
They both smiled. "Nice," Al said, giving me a high five.
"Can't believe Aunt 'Mione let you do it!"
"She didn't, but I did it anyway. Dad talked her into it, so it was a yes in the end, but I still got in trouble, of course."
James smirked. "How much?"
"No Hogsmeade money and I can't go to Romania."
Al raised his eyebrows. "That's it?"
I nodded. "She'll come around though."
"Okay, seriously, who dyed your hair? Because you did not do this yourself," James wondered.
"I did," Belle answered, coming down the stairs.
A smile appeared on James's face as he saw Belle. He probably didn't even recognize her. Over the summer, she had been practicing her hair techniques on herself, and occasionally on me. She had chopped all of her wavy brown locks off and gave herself an edgy pixie cut, and dyed her bangs purple. She looked like a totally different person.
Okay, let me tell you something about Belle that I may have forgotten to mention earlier. Belle comes from a pureblood family. Her parents are super strict and they used to be Death Eaters. They're very much into the Dark Arts and they live in some sort of private castle on the edge of Scotland in the middle of nowhere.
When she got her Hogwarts letter, she knew that her parents would never allow her to attend, so she sort of messed with it and made it seem like some of boarding school where you learn how to use the Dark Arts. So they let her go, but little did she know, they kept a close eye on her. When they saw that it wasn't what the letter had promised, they took her back and locked her up in her room with no meals or anything.
Luckily that day I sent her an owl, so she wrote on the back of it asking for help, explaining her entire situation. So she packed up her room and we rescued her with Granddad's flying car. As soon as they found that she had escaped, her parents disowned her. Mum was furious that Al, James, and I flew that car, of course, but when she heard the entire story, she took pity on us, and allowed Belle to stay with us.
"Did you guys just go nuts with hair dye or something?" James laughed. "Did you dye the cat's hair, too?"
Belle laughed and her face flushed. Oh, did I mention that she's in love with James? She has been ever since first year, but she won't admit it.
"I want to be a hairdresser when I grow up. You know, open up a shop in Diagon Alley, like a wizard's hair salon!"
"A wizard's hair salon? Of all the jobs in the Wizarding World, you go for a wizard's hair salon?" Al asked in a surprised tone.
She rolled her eyes. "I've always wanted to have my own business. I love doing hair, so why not open up a shop in Diagon Alley? People can come in and get great service and an amazing new look. It's a win/win!"
Al rolled his eyes. "You're such a girl."
Belle groaned and crossed her arms against her chest.
"Well, I think it's a good idea," James said.
Her eyes sparkled and she smiled wide. "Really?"
"Well, yeah. You certainly have the talent for it," James flushed.
Belle's cheeks went scarlet. "Thanks, James."
He smiled again, trying to hide his pink cheeks. Note to self: Talk James into asking Belle out.
"Breakfast is ready!" Mum called.
We all ran to the table and took our seats. Belle and James grabbed the seat next to me at the same time, causing their hands to meet.
"Sorry," they both said at the same time, both of their faces flushed.
Belle sat down next to me and James sat to the right of her. Al was to my right and next to him was Lily. Dad sat across from us while Mum ate in the kitchen. It still felt like we were missing someone…
"Hey, where's Hugo?" Al asked.
"Oh, I think he's upstairs. Might be still sleeping."
"Rose, go and wake your brother! The train leaves in an hour!"
I rolled my eyes and slammed my fork against my plate. Running up the stairs, I called, "HUGO!"
No answer. I barged into his room and surprise, surprise, he was sound asleep.
"HUGO!" I yelled.
Nothing.
"HUGO!"
Again, nothing.
I sighed. "BACON!"
The red haired boy sprang up out of his bed and ran the down stairs at the speed of light. I laughed and continued down the staircase, taking my seat next to Belle and James.
"Hugo, have you packed yet?"
"No."
Mum snatched the bacon out of his hand. "No more bacon until you run upstairs and pack."
Groaning, he went back upstairs to his room and went to pack.
"Rose, Belle, did you two finish packing?"
"Ye-es!" we sang at the same time.
Mum smiled. "James, Albus, Lily, what about you?"
"Packed before we came, Aunt 'Mione," James told her, stuffing a pancake into his mouth.
"Good. Where are your parents?"
"Should be coming any minute. They went to some stuff out of the attic," Al said.
"Probably our broomsticks," James added.
Not even a minute later, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny burst out of our fireplace carrying two broomsticks and three trunks.
"Ron, help them load the car," Mum ordered.
Dad got up and walked upstairs. He came back down about four minutes later carrying three trunks. He was followed by a hungry looking Hugo, who rushed to his seat to finish his bacon.
"What time is it, Mum?" I asked.
"It's ten-thirty! Hurry up and eat! We're going to be late!"
I shoved the last pancake into my mouth and ran outside followed by Belle, James, Al, Lily, and Hugo. Dad was in the driver's seat with Mum next to him in the passenger's with Hugo on her lap. Aunt Ginny was next to her with Lily on hers while Uncle Harry stayed with us in the back seat. Dad charmed the car to have enough room for all of us whenever we were planning any Potter-Weasley family trips.
"'Mione, can we please—,"
"No, Ron! It's too risky!"
"But we have the invisibility booster! You're the one who fixed it, after all!"
"Ron, no! We have children here! It's too risky!"
"Please, I'll be careful this time!"
Mu sighed. "Oh, alright. But just this once!"
"Get ready, kids!"
"Um, Dad?" I began, but I stopped talking when I realized that we were becoming invisible. I felt us leap off of the ground and then I realized, WE WERE FLYING.
All of us screamed because we couldn't see anything and it felt like we were falling out of the sky.
"Relax, guys! Uncle Ron knows what he's doing!" James told us.
"Why are we invisible? I don't like this! At all!" Belle screamed.
"It's only so the Muggles don't see us. If they did, we'd be in bigger trouble," he explained.
"Exactly. We don't want this to end up like last time, do we, Ronald?" Mum scolded.
"It was the invisibility booster's fault! It jammed on us, didn't it, Harry?"
"Yes! We didn't mean to be seen; it just broke all of a sudden!" Uncle Harry answered almost immediately.
"Well, you should have been more careful! And you had no business taking that car, Ronald! You got what you deserved by driving yourselves into the Whomping Willow."
"We had no choice! The barrier just shut us out completely! We had to get to Hogwarts somehow!"
"Well that plan didn't go very well, now did it?"
"That's not the point, 'Mione!"
"RON! STOP THE CAR!"
I looked up and we all screamed. We were about to crash into the London clock tower! Dad swerved the car immediately, causing us to squish together. Dad quickly got us back on the ground and pulled into a parking space. He turned off the invisibility booster and we were visible again.
"Belle? Are you alright?" I asked, looking to her direction.
There she was, hugging James tightly with her eyes snapped shut and head against his chest, and James holding her the same way. They both opened their eyes immediately and let go of each other. Both of their cheeks went bright red when they saw everyone staring at them.
"Sorry," they both muttered at the same time, their faces flushing.
We all got out of the car and grabbed our trunks. James and I grabbed our owls' cages and loaded them onto our carts. Belle grabbed her cat, Ruby, and lead her gently into her cage as she placed her on the top of her trolley. When everyone was finished, we wheeled them into the train station.
"Ten minutes!" Mum warned.
We ran all the way over to platforms nine and ten and ran into the wall one by one. When we finally reached Platform 9 ¾, the Hogwarts Express was about to leave.
I hugged Mum, Dad, Uncle Harry, and Ginny, saying my goodbyes and promising that I'll stay out of trouble (NOT!)
"No pranks!" Mum reminded. "Write to us!"
I rolled my eyes and boarded the train after Belle, James, Al, Lily, and Hugo. We found an empty compartment and slipped inside.
"Go with your friends, Hugo. You're not welcome in here," I told him.
He groaned and rolled his eyes, but obeyed and left the compartment.
"Why'd you kick Hugo out? He's so cute!" Belle said.
I rolled my eyes. "That thing is cute? You have no taste. But I have to tell you something."
I tried to shut the compartment door, but someone stopped me. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the Potty and Weasel family shoved inside one compartment?" a familiar voice teased.
"Get lost, Malfoy!" I warned and shot a glare in his direction.
He rolled his eyes. "Nice hair, Weasley."
I stood up and nailed him right in the face with a punch. "Nice face, Malfoy."
I sat back down, only to be stopped by Malfoy again. "Shove off!"
"Oh, I would love to Weasley, but we need you in the Prefects' compartment. The meeting starts in a few minutes. And we'll be needing you too, Potter," he scowled, referring to James.
I rolled my eyes. "Come on, James. I'll just catch up with you guys later."
"I hate you, Rose! You're leaving me alone with Al!"
Al, looking rather offended, yelled in defence, "Hey! I'm not that bad!"
"Oh, please! You're even more annoying that American girl who sang the days of the week!"
"Oh, you mean Rebecca Black? It's Friday, Friday! Gotta get down on Friday! Everybody's looking forward to the weekend, weekend! Friday, Friday! Gettin—"
"ROSE!"
Laughing at Al's attempt of Rebecca Black, I said, "I wish I could help, but I've got to go."
"I apologize in advance for my brother's madness," James told her with his smile full of sorrow.
"You guys take forever," Malfoy groaned.
"Shut up, Malfoy. We're coming," I told him.
As James and I caught up to Malfoy and got inside of the Prefects compartment, we were greeted by Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. They squeezed us tightly in a hug, telling us how much that they missed us over the summer.
"ROSIE! JAMES! It's been so long since we've seen you!" one of them shouted.
"Yeah, we've missed you over summer! How's Belle?" the other asked.
"And what about Al? And Hugo?"
"Relax, man, they're fine," James said coolly as he ruffled his hand through Lorcan's hair (or at least, I thought it was Lorcan), leaving it untidy and causing him to self-consciously fix it.
"Mr. Scamander, Miss Weasley, if you would please take your seats so that we may get started," McGonagall stated as she stepped in the compartment and closed the door behind her.
I sat next to James and Lorcan (or maybe Lysander) and McGonagall began to lecture us on our duties as Prefects. She explained how we have to follow the rules at all times. As the lecture moved on and on, I began to grow tired. This was my second year of being a Prefect, and McGonagall had the same speech every year.
"Now, this year we will be doing things a little different. You'll each have a partner to patrol with, and to make sure that there will be no nonsense going on, your partners will be picked at random," she told us.
We all groaned, not at all looking forward to patrolling with a partner, especially if it were being picked at random.
"Mr. Potter and Miss Davies, you two will be patrolling with each other since you're the Head Boy and Girl," McGonagall explained.
This year, the Head Girl was a Ravenclaw, no surprise there. Her name was Melanie Davies. She was popular, in the sense of everyone knew her name, almost every guy wanted her as their girlfriend, and almost every girl envied her. From her head to her toes, she was perfect. Bad hair days never existed in the world of Melanie Davies. Acne? Please. Her skin was flawless. Skinny as a stick with curves in all of the right places, if you know what I mean. Every girl wants to be her. I mean, what's not to love about Melanie Davies?
Maybe her big head and egotistical personality. She may be smart and pretty, but her attitude just ruins it. If you're not in Ravenclaw and you're not popular, don't even bother going near her. She'll just rip your head off and make you feel even worse about yourself. I would know. I used to want to be her. I used to kiss the ground she walked on. But I was immature then. I've realized what she is…but I'm not allowed to say it.
Anyways, back to reality.
"For the rest of you, I've written each of your names down on a piece of parchment and placed them in this bag. If you get yourself or someone from your own house, I'm afraid you'll have to choose again."
Everyone groaned as McGonagall passed the bag to Grace McLaggen, a fellow Gryffindor in my year. She got paired up with Lysander. Next was Lorcan, who got paired up with Dianne MacMillan, who's in Hufflepuff. Skye Finch-Fletchley, also a Hufflepuff, was with Thomas Nott of Slytherin.
Finally, it was my turn, but that's when I realized that there was only person left: Scorpius Malfoy.
"Miss Weasley, you'll be patrolling with Mr. Malfoy. Now that things are sett—,"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute! I'm not patrolling with that sack of mucus!" I blurted out.
"Miss W—," McGonagall started, but Malfoy interrupted.
"Weasley, I'm not too excited about patrolling with you either, especially since you're such an arrogant know-it-all, but it's Headmistress's orders."
My jaw dropped. "I'm not the arrogant know-it-all! Look in the mirror! You're always strutting about the castle like you're some sort of royalty!"
He smirked and began to laugh a little. He tried to say something, but McGonagall stopped him.
Thinning her already puny lips, she scolded, "That's enough from the both of you! You better learn to act civilly to each other because these will be your permanent patrolling partners. You will get your patrolling schedules along with you regular class schedules when we get back to the castle. You all may return to your compartments."
Permanent. The word burned in the back of my mind. It kept repeating itself over and over again, like some form of torture. I shut my eyes tight, trying to stop it, but my head was now aching. I opened my eyes slowly, and the room was spinning. I felt myself getting dizzier by the second. I shut my eyes again, and without even thinking, I yelped, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
I opened my eyes to realize that everyone was staring at me. Not one had left the compartment. I gulped and my heart began to race. I hated this attention. With everyone staring at me, it made me feel like such a freak.
"W-Why are you all staring at me?" I asked.
I heard my voice echo in my head, and it began to get louder and louder, the noise pounding against my eardrum. I shut my eyes again, trying to make it stop, but it was no use. I screamed, not knowing what else that I could do. I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder, which made me jump, and my eyes open in surprise.
"Are you alright, Miss Weasley?" McGonagall asked.
I nodded my head, not wanting to say anything.
"A mental drama queen too. Yikes," Malfoy said.
I furiously drew back my fist, but McGonagall caught it with her palm.
"Go back to your compartments, all of you," she stated.
I sighed and started to walk towards where I was sitting before. I honestly felt like crying. Everyone probably thought that I was some sort of psycho.
"Rosie, wait up!" James called.
I stopped walking and waited for him to catch up to me. When he did, he asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Isn't that what I'm supposed to say?"
"I'm not asking for what you're supposed to say. I'm asking if you're alright."
"Like I said, I'm fine."
James sighed as we got back into the compartment.
"How'd it go?" Belle asked.
"Alright," James answered.
"Yeah, at least you get someone who isn't a blonde maggot," I told him.
Al and Belle exchanged quizzical looks.
"McGonagall is making us have patrolling partners. She got paired up with Malfoy."
Both of their jaws dropped.
"Malfoy?" Al repeated. "Is McGonagall trying to torture you?"
"We picked randomly. But somehow she still ended up with him," James explained.
"So, who did you get?" Belle asked James, looking a tad anxious.
"Melanie Davies. She's Head Girl."
Her face fell. "Oh…"
"So, Rose, what did you want to tell us before you left?" Al asked.
"Oh, right," I said, coming back to Earth. I closed the compartment door and locked it so that no one would interrupt again. "Okay. Uncle George gave me some firecrackers for my birthday and I haven't used them yet. I've been hiding them from Mum because I knew that she would confiscate them and then scold Uncle George for giving them to me. But I've been saving them for the right moment."
"Cool! How much did he give you?" Al asked excitedly.
"Oh, I don't know. A couple dozen?" I guessed.
"Whoa!" the three of them exclaimed.
"I'll let you each have some, but you can only use them with my approval."
"What happens if we don't get your approval?" Al asked curiously.
"I take the rest of them and you're never allowed to borrow or have anything from me ever again."
"Damn it!" he shouted as he sunk into his seat.
I smirked as sat back and closed my eyes. This was going to be a great year, even if I did have to patrol with Malfoy. At least I could still set off fireworks to light up the night sky or perhaps blow up his dorm.
….
"Monday and Wednesday nights on the Astronomy Tower? This is ridiculous! I'm not patrolling on Couples Tower with Malfoy!" I exclaimed in complete and utter annoyance.
"At least you don't have to clean owl shit in the Owlery every night for a week," Al pointed out.
"Well that's what you get for calling Chase Wood a git," I told him.
"Yeah, but McGonagall shouldn't have given me detention for it! It's his fault for being so selfish and arroga—,"
"He's not! He's nice and funny and smar—," Belle began to protest.
"I don't see what's so great about him. He's good at Quidditch, but all he does is brag about how great he is. His ego is surprisingly bigger than his head," James said while grinding his teeth in annoyance.
My jaw hit the floor as I looked over to Belle, and her mouth was open, too.
"He is not, James! Maybe if you actually get to know him better—,"
"Get to know him? Yeah, right!" James slammed his fists against the table, causing the goblets and plates to bounce and cling against one another, and Belle and I jumped in our seats in shock. "He's the most arrogant bloke I've ever met! I can't stand that guy!"
"You're not alone, bro," Al put a hand on his shoulder, but James just ignored this.
Belle rolled her eyes at his ignorance and crossed her arms. "I think he's cute."
"Well maybe if you weren't so shallow you wouldn't get so caught up in his looks!"
Belle's jaw dropped and so did mine. Did James seriously just call her shallow?
"Well maybe if you weren't so jealous, you wouldn't be acting like such an arse!"
James scowled furiously and stormed out of the Great Hall, murmuring something about how ignorant she was being.
Talk about a drama queen, I thought.
"Tell me about it," Belle replied, her eyebrows furrowed and her head resting on her arm.
Oops. Must've said that out loud.
I quickly finished my food, eager to return to the dorm and abandon the awkward silence that the argument between Belle and James had left behind. After I was no longer hungry, I decided to head back to the dormitory.
"I'll see you guys back in the common room," I told Belle and Al as I fled the room.
Al waved in response as he shoved a chicken leg into his mouth and Belle said nothing; apparently she was still suffering from the aftershock of the disagreement. I don't blame her. If I liked someone that much, it would have hurt me too.
I walked up to the portrait hole and whispered the password, then climbed inside. The common room looked exactly the way I had remembered it. It was full of royal red and glistening gold décor, from its burgundy carpets to its golden wall hangings. I smiled as I climbed up the stairs and opened the door labeled, "SIXTH YEARS." Next to the beds were our trunks and belongings, and Belle's cat, Ruby, was resting silently upon her bed, which was to the right of mine. I sat at the foot of it and took off my shoes. I rubbed my aching feet and fell back onto the red comforter in the dorm. Staring at the ceiling, I began to yawn. Though it seemed quite short, this day had really tired me out.
I opened up my trunk and pulled on my pajamas. I took off my makeup, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. I pulled my hair into a messy bun and then sighed. Looking at myself in the mirror, I frowned. There were bags under my eyes and I looked completely worn out. Sighing, I returned to the dorm. I heard some girls chattering from downstairs, so I knew that they would be coming up to bed in a bit. Great. Right when I thought I would have some alone time.
I sighed again and lied down on my bed. I closed my eyes and began to fall asleep when I heard the door open. I opened my eyes to see who it was, and turned towards the archway. There was Belle, sniffling and wiping her eyes, which looked a bit puffy.
"Oh, hi Rose," she said, trying to sound cheerful.
"Hey, Belle. Everything alright?"
She nodded. "Everything's fine."
"You know, if you're still upset about the whole James thing, I could go and kick his arse for you right now."
She shook her head and sniffled again. "I'm fine."
"Okay. Let's just get some sleep."
"Sounds like a good idea," she replied with a smile and her blue eyes glistened in the light from the chandelier that was hanging above her.
Falling asleep wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. It was one in the morning now and I couldn't get anything off of my mind. I hadn't even been to my first lesson yet, and I was already overwhelmed. Not only was I going to be knee deep in homework, but I also had to patrol three days a week. With Malfoy, my worst enemy.
I tossed and turned in my bed, but it was no use. I wasn't getting any sleep tonight, that was obvious. Sitting up, now wide awake, I sighed and decided to sit by the warm fire in the common room.
As I made my way down the staircase, I saw a bushy head full of hair that I could recognize anywhere sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace.
"James?" I whispered loudly. "What are you doing up? Wait a minute, you're supposed to be patrolling tonight!"
"I just got back."
"Oh, well that makes sense," I sat down next to him. "How was it?"
"It was okay," he told me uneasily.
I frowned nervously and my eyebrows furrowed together. "Is everything alright?"
He flashed a smile in my direction. "Yeah, everything's totally fine."
But I could see right through him. There was something wrong. I could always tell this with James. I had no trouble reading him because he was such an open book.
"James, if there's anything wrong, anything at all, you know that you can tell me, right?"
He sighed deeply. "It's just…It's Melanie. I can't get her out of my head."
My jaw dropped. "Me—Mel—Melanie?" I stammered.
This couldn't be happening. I've always know that James was a git, but really? His arse is falling for Melanie? He could do so much better. Hell, he has Belle. (Hey, that rhymed. That actually rhymed. I would make such an amazing poet. Rose Weasley, the notable poet extraordinaire, and possible descendant of William Shakespeare.) But, um, anyways, he's always had Belle. She never let him down.
So I did what any sane girl would have done. I slapped him.
"Ouch! Rose, what is your problem?"
"You're into Melanie Davies! That's my problem! She's nothing but a two-face- two-timing-butterfaced-whore!" I exclaimed furiously.
"She is not! You're just jealous of her! And so is Belle!"
"Belle? Are you seriously going to bring her into this? I think you've caused her enough pain at the moment!" I spat.
James's expression darkened. I had gone too far.
"James, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
"Then why would you say it?"
"I—I don't know. It's just that she's my best friend. And you really, really hurt her."
"Well I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm not bloody perfect!"
"I never said you were, James! It's just Belle. She's been here all this time. She never let you down. Never. Not once. I just want you to realise that."
"I do, alright? I just don't see her as anything more than a friend."
"Oh, well isn't that a filthy lie?"
"You know what, Rose?" he started, but stopped as soon we began to hear noises.
They sounded like footsteps coming from upstairs, but I didn't see anyone come down right away. I decided that it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me. After all, it was almost 2 AM, and I wasn't used to being up this late, even when I was at home and it was summer.
But then I heard someone yawn and more footsteps. I was beginning to get a bit creeped out and I felt like one of those people in Muggle horror movies. This is normally where some person in a hockey mask comes out and slaughters everyone while they're sleeping. Gulping, I shut my eyes and waited for death to take me.
Wait! I thought. If I'm dying, like right now, I just want Chase Wood to know that I love him!
James rolled his eyes. "You're a disgrace."
Oops. Accidentally said that out loud.
Another yawn. "Rosie? James? What are you guys doing down here?" a familiar voice asked.
Startled, James and I turned around to see a tired looking Belle standing by the staircase with her purple hair tousled in front of her face. "Belle? What are you doing up? You're never awake before noon!" I pointed out.
"I heard noise. Sounded like someone was yelling. I was incredibly lazy, but it sounded like James so I thought maybe you two were down here."
"That sounds like you," James smiled.
"Don't talk to me, you sniveling git!" she yelled.
James sighed, and he began to look furious. "You're so—,"
"Pretty!" I blurted out with a loss for words. "Did anyone tell you that you like amazing when you first wake up? Because it's true! Bed head suits you well, Belle!"
I'm telling you, I could be a bloody poet.
"What are you doing?" James whispered.
"Saving your arse," I whispered back. "Just go along with it."
"Oh yeah, your hair looks great when it's all pushed back like that. Really attractive," he added, looking rather weirded out, but trying to sound convincing.
"Really?" she asked, and her eyes began to sparkle.
"Yeah. You're looking gorgeous, Belle. It's a great look for you. Now go back to sleep. You'll be needing your beauty rest for class tomorrow," I told her.
She yawned. "You're right. And I am still rather exhausted. I think I'll go and catch up on my sleep. 'Night guys!" she announced as she traveled leisurely back up the stairs.
"She loves getting compliments," I explained to a baffled James.
"Right," he said, still a bit creeped out.