Christmas Holidays 2021

"Rose, how's that packing going?"

Hermione heard no reply from her daughters bedroom so swung open the door to see what Rose was doing. She quickly took in the chaos surrounding her – a half packed trunk was lying on the bed and strewn around it and all over the floor was the remainder of Rose's belongings. Rose herself was seated at her window seat, staring vacantly out into to the crisp blue sky and the snowy fields.

"Rose, I sent you up here to finish packing two hours ago!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

Rose jumped from her seating position and whipped round angrily to face her mother. Hermione was shocked to see a tearstained face staring back at her.

"Rosie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing mum," Rose said, quickly wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeve "Go away."

Hermione took another step into the room and said "It doesn't look like nothing."

"Mum I'm fine, I'll finish my packing now."

Rose jumped off the window seat and quickly grabbed the first thing in reach and threw it into her suitcase.

"Rose," Hermione said warningly

Rose ignored her and carried on throwing things into her suitcase – unfolded clothes getting tangled with old bits of parchment and spell books.

"Rose, stop it right now!" Hermione said loudly.

"You said you wanted me to pack!" Rose half shouted back.

"No, I said I wanted you to tell me what's made you so upset, I'm not having you leave tomorrow knowing that you were crying over something but not knowing what it is."

Rose froze in what she was doing, looked blankly at her mother for a few seconds then dropped the scales she was holding. She collapsed back onto the window seat behind her and curled her knees up to her chin, more tears leaking out her eyes.

"Oh Rosie," Hermione sighed, quickly picking her way across the floor to kneel in front of her daughter "please tell me."

Rose sniffed loudly a few times, tears still leaking out her eyes, then opened her mouth to speak.

"I don't want to go back to Hogwarts," She whispered.

Hermione felt her jaw go slack – Rose had always loved school, she was brilliant in lessons, was on the house quidditch team and adored having a lot of her cousins with her.

"But … why?" Hermione asked in a hushed voice.

"B-b-because I get teased … about the way I look by some people and it's horrid and I don't want to have to hear it anymore!" Rose chocked out.

"What! Who teases you? What do they say?" Hermione asked hurriedly.

Rose sniffed a few more times before speaking again.

"Just some people, a lot of the Slytherins girls and one of the Ravenclaw girls. They say I couldn't be anyone else's daughter and that I look like I've got a burning bush attached to my head. They call me freckles and still do rabbit teeth impressions of me even though we got my teeth shrunk … And I get why they do it because I do look horrid! I'm like some sort of walking freak!"

Hermione sat in shocked silence whilst her daughter cried, taking in her appearance. Rose's fiery hair was now well past her shoulders and had subsequently got slightly less bushy and more just curly, her skin was pale with freckles dotted all over her nose and along her cheek bones, her front teeth were now straight and regular sized after Hermione had finally conceded to magically fixing them in the summer just gone, feeling like a hypocrite if she refused. Hermione could see nothing remotely ugly or freak like in her daughter – she only saw a beautiful girl who was just starting to turn into a young woman.

Hermione sat with her arms around her daughter until her crying had subsided.

"Rose, I thought you knew the way you look doesn't really matter – it's the person you are that does." Hermione said

"I know! I know, you always say that but it doesn't stop people from teasing me and it doesn't stop them from having a point."

"But they don't have a point Rose!" Hermione said, shaking her daughter's shoulders. "You're a beautiful girl, stunning and if they're teasing you about your looks it's only because they're insecure about there own and want to make themselves feel better!"

"But they're all really pretty," Rose whispered

"I'm sure they might be but that doesn't stop them feeling bad about the way they look and it doesn't make you any less beautiful. You don't have to look a certain way to be called beautiful Rosie - then everyone would look the same. I promise that one day you'll be pleased you don't look the same as the other girls because it means someone will notice just how beautiful you, especially when you stand out from the crowd!"

Hermione took a deep breath from her outburst whilst Rose considered what she had said.

"Rose, do any of the people that really matter to you tease you about the way you look?" Hermione asked

Rose shook her head.

"Then does anybody else's opinion matter that much?"

Rose shook her head again.

"That's right, especially as I think you're the most beautiful girl ever and I matter the most – right?" Hermione said, grinning

"I think you're a bit bias mum," Rose said, a smile creeping onto her face.

"That's my job in life Rosie, to embarrass you and to be bias towards you – now shall I help you with this chaos you call packing?"

Rose nodded and grinned, giving her mother a quick squeeze before jumping off of the bed.