Rose flopped on her new bed, exhausted. Ginger curls flew around her. Her eyes fluttered shut, ready to remember the day before. Long eyelashes brushed the countless freckles that sprayed across her nose and cheeks. Normally, she would have started unpacking immediately and began organizing her space. However, she had never been more mentally tired in her life.
The eleven years old girl had been dreaming about this day since she could talk, but had never anticipated the fear of the unknown that had taken her prisoner today, and would likely do the same tomorrow, as she blundered around looking for classes.
But now, she was on her bed, already outfitted in lovely red and gold satin sheets. She was right where she wanted to be; at Hogwarts and sorted into Gryffindor – the greatest house of the lot, in her opinion. At the sorting ceremony Albus had squeezed her hand until it was bright red and his own clammy hands were slipping. She had given him one last look of encouragement before his name was called.
A horrible feeling grew in her stomach at the thought of him being in Slytherin…not for her but for Albus, who would take it harder than any of his family. Surprisingly enough, the hat had barely touched a messy hair on his head before it bellowed 'RAVENCLAW!' as loud as it could.
She had finally let her breath go and gave Albus a large grin as he made his way to his table, where he was greeted warmly. It was no Gryffindor, but it was definitely not Slytherin, and that's what mattered. Shortly after, Rose was called forth and the hat alighted upon her head. She had hardly felt it, as her thick hair was a proper cushion.
The hat had the nerve to debate with her about where she ought to be! He was adamant about a placement in Ravenclaw but she was a might cleverer than the rest. Rose pleaded for Gryffindor, and apparently the hat saw something in her that thought the request was a reasonable one…'GRYFFINDOR!'
As she lay back on her bed remembering, a smile crossed her face as she imagined the hat sorting her. She would have loved being in the same house as Albus but her heart was telling her Gryffindor was where she belonged. Now she was with Victoire, Molly, Lucy, Fred, and James. Suddenly, her bright brown eyes flickered open and she looked up to see a scarlet canopy above her with the Gryffindor crest embroidered into it.
She smiled and sat up, seeing that tiny lions were carved into the bed frame and posts here and there. Eventually the other girls began to come up to the dormitories from the common room. Rose, the socially awkward autodidact that she was, had not even thought to mingle down stairs and make any friends first off.
The girls all looked average. She recognized her cousins, who really didn't make a fuss over seeing her since they had seen each other often over the summer break. They merely waved and patted her on the back for getting sorted properly. In the bed next to hers, a husky first year girl with long brown hair was unpacking her things. Rose smiled at her and groped for her own luggage to start unpacking.
"My name's Rose…" she spluttered, unexpectedly. Her cheeks went a bit red and she looked down at her things. The girl smiled nervously, obviously just as timid as Rose was, and returned to putting personal trappings away. Rose mentally flogged herself for being so awkward as to make the girl feel uncomfortable.
'No more friend-making for tonight.' She thought to herself. Finally, she came to her mother's, and now her copy of "Beedle the Bard." It was worn, even more so than when Hermione had received it. It was Rose's most prized possession. She held it in her hands lovingly and then tucked it safely into the drawer of her nightstand. The older girls were tented up in their beds, telling scandalous stories from summer break, while the newer girls retired to their beds, many of them worried about classes the next day. Rose was uneasy as well, but confident that after tomorrow everything would fall right into place…
Rose woke up an hour early, stirred awake by a jittery feeling in her stomach. She looked over to the little clock on her stand and groaned into her pillow. She sat up slowly, running fingers through her hair and stretching. The other girls were still sleeping and the sound of soft breathing filled the room, with an occasional snort every now and then. She closed her eyes and waited but that warm sleepy feeling refused to return to her.
"I'm just too ruffled to go back to sleep…" she whispered to herself. "I wonder if it's too early to go down to breakfast?"
She parted the curtains ever so slightly and a tiny sliver of golden light broke through. 'Oh, the suns up, it can't possibly be too early to have breakfast!' she mused, excitedly.
As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed and dressed in her robes. She tied her red mane into a messy bun and grabbed up her rucksack. She couldn't wait to get her schedule and find out when she had her classes or if she had any with her family. She shuffled down the stairway, only to realize she wasn't the only one up so early.
Several other Gryffindors were already sitting in the common room, none of them already in robes, though. She felt a bit silly for a moment but then found her way to the portal. The other students watched her as if she was mad but she simply shut the door behind her and was gone.
"I'm not mental I'm just…hungry!" she murmured to herself, trying not to feel so out of place, already.
The corridors were long and the stairs liked to change so she walked as quickly as she could without winding herself. It seemed like she had beaten a labyrinth to get there, but she had finally arrived at the magnificent Great Hall once more. She smiled and walked energetically to the place she had occupied the night before.
There were a handful of older students at Slytherin's table, several merry Hufflepuffs were in conversation at their table, and a surprising number of Ravenclaws, who were pouring over their schedules, were already there – minus Albus, of course. There were only three other students at Rose's table. She looked around but didn't recognize anyone.
Except for the husky girl that was sitting a few seats down and across from her. She hadn't even noticed that she was missing from her bed when she had woken up. Rose bit her lip, unsure of what to do, feeling quite lonely, suddenly. She looked down to the girl she had tried to make friends with, afraid of crashing and burning again. Alright, she would move down and visit, but not all at once…
Rose scooted down a bit, and then a bit more. Then just a bit more until she was across the table from the girl. Casually, Rose selected her breakfast and munched away. After a few moments of eating quietly, pondering her next move, a slip of paper landed gently beside her arm onto the table. She looked up, somewhat alarmed. She had no idea where it had come from. Taking it up she realized it was her list of classes. She grinned widely and scanned over everything.
She had Charms first and Defense Against the Dark Arts last. 'Perfect…!' she thought, smiling from ear to ear. She looked up to see that the girl was looking at her curiously. Rose made to open her mouth when a huge clamor of voices interrupted her. Several gaggles of students from all the houses were beginning to enter the hall and the din grew deafening after a few minutes of this.
Eventually, every seat in the hall was filled and the smell of food and loud voices wafted through the air. Rose forgot all about her social endeavors when many hundreds of owls began to fill the air space above them. Squeals of delight pitched through the air as owls laden down with extremely heavy loads dropped off their cargo to the students.
All kinds of goodies and letters and forgotten parcels were delivered. Rose got a letter from her mum, a sweater from Grandma Weasley, and a picture of her dad and Hugo waving at her. After the excitement died down, a hushing wind swept through the room until all eyes were focused on the Headmaster, whom had risen and waited to speak.
McGonagall was the same as ever, with perhaps a few more distinguished gray hairs running through her up-do these days. She smiled quaintly and clasped her hands together…
"Welcome students, new and returning! I am so happy to see old faces and looking forward to getting to know those of you whom have just joined us. All of you have received your schedules and are expected to arrive promptly. Prefects and Head Boys and Girls will be happy to help you if you should lose your way!" she beamed at the assembly, still very subdued.
She finished her speech and sat down, continuing a conversation she'd been having with Professor Flitwick. Rose looked back to where the girl had been sitting but there was a different person there now. She looked around but couldn't see her in any of the faces. A hand clamped down on her shoulder swiftly, causing her jump violently and whirl around.
"Al! You scared me!" she said, hand to her chest. He was grinning at her, a grin he'd gotten from Uncle Harry.
"So, what classes have you got?" said Albus, sitting on the bench next to her and biting into a yellow apple.
"Same as you of course, but different times." she said, matter-of-factly. Al rolled his eyes at her corrections. He was just as smart as Rose, he just didn't show it so obnoxiously.
"Alright, Primrose..." he said, knowing she hated it when he teased her. He always called her 'Primrose' when she was being fussy, his way of subtly letting her know she was being prudish, without embarrassing her. "When have you got classes?"
She read off her list ending with, "…and I've got Dark Arts last." She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. She hated it when he started with the 'prim' nonsense but was also glad that he cared enough to put her in her place. Al was the only one she let do that.
"Excellent, we'll be fighting the forces of evil and brewing potions together." He took a sip of his orange juice and was quiet for a moment. "So, who's that bloke that keeps sneaking peeks your way?" He tried to be casual as a he brought it up.
"What are you talking about?" she was genuinely at a loss.
"That Slytherin over there with the brown hair. His tie's a bit off. Roguish." He teased.
She finally looked behind her and met with the eyes of a handsome first year. He held her gaze for a moment and then went back to talking to…Malfoy. She looked between them and then back to her cousin.
"I hadn't even noticed." She really hadn't noticed but couldn't help but feel flattered. She tried to play it off but Al merely beamed wider. The Scamander twins walked by, slapping his back. They'd become fast friends already.
"Alright then, I'm off. I'll leave you two to it." He smirked and Rose gave him a playful smack as he left with Lorcan and Lysander, second years. Breakfast was winding down and a bell sounded from somewhere above them. Waves of students rose and hurried out of the hall.
As Rose was packing up her things, she felt a rush of wind beside her. The handsome Slytherin boy had sat on the bench and was looking up at her.
"We don't have much time but I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Franklyn Nott." He extended his hand. Rose took it, with some hesitation. "I'm being sincere, um, what's your name…?" he paused, unsure what to call her.
"Rose!…R-rose, I'm Rose." She stammered, getting red in the face. She felt like such a fool just now.
"Well, Rose, you seem like someone I want to get to know. Can I send you an owl later?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Of course, yes!" she tried to quell her excitement but the boy simply smiled. He thought it was cute.
"Later, then." He got up and joined the rest of the stragglers going out the door. Rose was stunned, but realized she was running out of time and shook of the shock. As quickly as she could, she finished gathering her things and made her way to her first Charms lesson, with the biggest smile on her face.
