Shafts of pale light began to stream through the dark red curtains between Rose's and Cornelia's beds, bringing on a slightly chilly Saturday morning. Rose was just beginning to drift out of her deep sleep, as the light reached her eyes. Her long lashes flickered but she was not ready to wake up.
"Mhmmmhmm." She murmured in her sleep. Her messy red hair was plastered to her face and looking generally disheveled. Suddenly she felt a soft dip in the bed beside her and then loud purring right in her ear, followed by a cold little nose. Her eyes flicked open to see two big blue eyes staring at her expectantly. She smiled and cupped the kitten in her hands, sitting up. Then a laugh from the bed next to her.
"Oh my, Rose. You look…lovely this morning." Laughed the girl that Rose officially befriended the day before. She herself was still in her pajamas with a robe and slippers, as if she'd been out already. Rose tried to pat down her hair and brush it away from her face with one hand. Smiling but still somewhat embarrassed.
"What can I say? I'm a hard sleeper." She murmured lowly.
"Oh, I don't care. I look a bit rough in the morning's myself." She said then continued, "I went down to the kitchens and got him a bite to eat this morning. The elves were really friendly and I ran into a Hufflepuff boy who thought Leolin was really great." She smiled brightly and tucked some wavy hair behind her ear. She already had a red headband on her head.
Rose continued to pet and scratch the kitten, which seemed to not be able to get enough attention.
"So, do you want to hang out today?" asked Rose, before she realized that she had homework to do. She bit her lip and reluctantly told herself to do it tomorrow. She'd already asked, after all.
"Yeah, that'd be great!" said Cornelia, hopping of her bed and going to her trunk. "What should we do?"
"I dunno, Maybe get breakfast and then…I guess we could hang out in the common room. Or take Leolin out to the grounds."
"Sounds like a plan." Replied Cornelia, muffled, as her head was buried in her trunk, in search of the right ensemble.
Rose, on the other hand, would just tie her hair back and throw on a shirt and jeans, with her favorite red trainors.
In the Great Hall just about every student was starting off their day with breakfast and meeting up with their group of friends. Unlike in years past, most of the different houses had no problems mingling about with each other. However, the Slytherins still enjoyed the company of other Slytherins most of all, and it showed.
Rose and Cornelia sat beside each other at the Gryffindor table, with little Leolin nestled between them. Rose was eating porridge and red apple slices as Cornelia was talking about her family…
"…so I'm considered a half-blood, because my grandfather Dirk was muggle-born. When the war started he went into hiding with some goblins but they eventually found him and he was murdered…" she trailed off a bit and petted Leolin. "I didn't know him but my dad, he's Dirk Jr., he doesn't really talk about it and if the war does get brought up, well, we just try not to…hey, I bet you've got plenty of war stories, what with you being a Weasley and all."
Just as Rose went to her open her mouth another voice broke over her. "TONS of war stories actually." Said Albus, approaching the girls from the direction of the Ravenclaws. He wrapped an arm around Rose and then sat across from the girls. He saw the kitten peak over the end of the table at him and a wide mischievous grin spread across his face.
"Hey! You've got yourself a little hunter, aye Rose. 'Bout time." He teased, reaching across the table to scratch his chin.
"Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat, she had kittens and Mr. Filch didn't want them. I don't know what came over me but I think we're becoming fast friends." Said Rose, looking at Cornelia. They grinned at each other.
"Speaking of fast friends…I don't believe we've been introduced?" said Albus, shamelessly flashing a smile at Cornelia. A very apparent blush lit her cheeks.
"Oh! This is Cornelia Cresswell. Cornelia, this is my cousin Albus Potter." Said Rose, offhandedly as if it were no big deal. She returned her attentions to her breakfast.
Hearing the name 'Potter' Cornelia flushed and was lost for words.
"It's a pleasure." Said Albus, in a tone he always used but one in which he didn't realize the effect it had on the opposite sex. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently in friendship, in place of a proper handshake. Albus was a bright, accepting, and handsome boy, not shy in the least. This was the reason he was already quite popular and well-liked by everyone, even a great many of the Slytherins. He'd already received a few letters from some of his more brave admirers, most of them cute Hufflepuffs.
Cornelia found herself falling in rank with the girls who found him to be charming and sweet. She was flushed and blushing and that was simply at the touch of his hand. Cornelia was a slightly chubby girl with pale skin and wavy hair and had never been kissed by a boy or even liked by one, that she knew of. Albus was being too nice to her and he'd only just met her. She remained very quiet.
"So, what are we going to do today?" said Albus nonchalantly, biting into a crisp green apple.
"We? Don't you want to go hang out with your new mates? Lorcan and Lysander and the others?" asked Rose a bit incredulous. Cornelia's thoughts were the same.
"Are you being serious? We're best mates, Rose. The fact that I was sorted into Ravenclaw doesn't change that. Remember what you said to me on the train when I thought I was going to get sorted into Slytherin? Nothing changes." He said, his trademark smile gone, in favor of a most serious look, eyes dark and honest.
Rose smiled and Albus' face lit up as he smiled back at her, lightening the mood.
"So…" said Cornelia, going back to the question, "What are we gonna do?"
Everyone was quiet, looking at each other for ideas. Finally, Rose broke.
"Ugh! There's nothing to do besides homework, since we can't go to Hogsmeade yet." She huffed. Leolin jumped on the table.
"Let's take Leo out by the lake and just enjoy the sunshine." Said Albus, wrapping his scarf around his neck. The sun was out but it was a little chilly with wind. "Hope you all brought your mittens." He grinned.
Rose tucked Leolin into her robes and they all left the Great Hall.
Albus was lying back on the grass under a tree by the lake, ripping up grass and letting it float on the breeze. Rose was sitting up with her school bag propped in her lap, flipping through a book. Cornelia was lying on her stomach playing with Leo. Their bodies created a triangle in the shade of the tree. The lake's surface was placid and dark. No one spoke for a long while.
"So, you two are girls…I've gotten several letters from girls and I don't know what to do. I mean, I don't really know them that well so it's impossible to say if I fancy them back but I don't want to hurt their feelings. Can I get some advice?" he said this without looking at them, perhaps being a bit embarrassed by it. This was something he would normally ask Rose when they were alone but Cornelia was becoming part of their group so he might as well act normal.
The girls just looked at him and then at each other. Cornelia was blushing again. Rose raised an eyebrow. She wasn't surprised by Albus' question. Her Aunt Ginny was a very strong woman and had instilled certain principles in her cousins, including respect for women. Albus was a hopeless romantic but still a young boy with little experience with girls.
"Well, I suppose…." Rose started but then she began to think about Frank. She thought he was incredibly cute and charming and he seemed to be interested in her but she might have mistaken being flirty for being friendly.
Cornelia added, "I suppose I would ignore it unless they pursue you further, in which case, just be honest with them. Don't tell them what they want to hear because that would just hurt them more, you know?" She looked away and avoided Albus' eyes when he looked at her.
Rose came out of her thoughts. "Yes, that's a good answer. I mean Al, you're sweet and kind and have messy curly hair that just drives the girls wild. Get used to it." She winked and smiled at her cousin. He just laughed and shook his head.
Rose looked at Cornelia and gave her a knowing smile. Cornelia looked a little taken a back and when Albus looked at them she paniced.
"Well, Rose would know all about that. Some cute Slytherin called Franklyn fancies her!" she blurted out, trying to hide her floundering and shift focus from her. Rose looked indignant.
"Ho oh oh!" cooed Al at Rose, smirking from ear to ear. "Prim Rose has got herself a man already! And a Slytherin no less! That bloke from breakfast I figure?" he teased. "I'm sure Uncle Ron will be most pleased." He continued, adding the sarcasm. Obviously her father would not be happy about it. Her mother would probably be indifferent.
Rose's mouth opened and closed like a fish, unsure what to say.
"First of all," she began, regaining her wits, "you aren't going to say a word. Secondly, we've only exchanged letters. He's not my man!" she seethed, narrowing her eyes at both of them. Cornelia shrunk back and mouthed 'Sorry.'
"That's rich!" said Albus grinning even more. Rose huffed and returned to her Potions book. Albus and Cornelia shared playful looks.
They were still simpering at Rose when a group of students started walking towards them from the direction of the castle. There were six of them, all in Slytherin robes. Rose and Al just looked at each other but Cornelia began to get a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Hello, Rose." Said one of the three boys in the group. Rose recognized him as Franklyn Nott, the boy who had her own stomach in knots at the moment.
"H-Hello, Frank." She said, shielding her eyes from the sun to see him. "Who are your friends?" Normally she wouldn't be so charitable around their kind but she was trying a little harder to be nice since they were Frank's friends.
"Oh this is Scorpius and Alan and that's Elea, Simone, and…" the last girl cut him off.
"And I'm Persephone Carrow." Her tone was not at all friendly and she seemed loathed to be in the trio's presence. She was tall and thin with long golden hair. Her complexion was light and clear. She was quite attractive and her skirt was a bit shorter than what was appropriate.
"Erm, nice to meet you." Said Albus, with a bit of an annoyed intonation, but not so much as to be rude.
"I didn't mean to crash the party but I was glad I found you." Frank said, giving her a wicked smile. Rose grew red and smiled gracelessly.
"I just wanted to know if you'd like to get together tomorrow?" he asked, giving her a pitifully hopeful look.
"Well I've got homework to do…" she began.
"We'll do it together." He said, quickly, and he gave her a small wink.
"Alright." she said quietly and happily.
Suddenly, the girl known as Persephone screamed. Leolin was walking toward her and meowing. Before anyone could do anything she had kicked the kitten with such force he left the ground and landed with a thud. There were gasps and hushed 'What the…'s.
Then everyone had their eyes on Persephone, who was backed away with a wand pointed at her throat. Cornelia had moved with such fervor no one had seen her get up or point her weapon. Rose had Leolin in her hands and was staring at Cornelia in disbelief. The sweet, quiet girl she had befriended was red with anger and ready to hurt someone.
"I'm sorry I'm allergic to cats." She said hurriedly with her hands up. When no one moved her faced turned into something very nasty.
"Hey, call your dog off, Weasley!" she shouted in seething anger, the wand still pointed firmly at her throat.
"Leolin's alright Cornelia. Everything's okay." Rose said softly, cradling the cat in her arms. The wand didn't move. Albus moved toward her and gently put his hand on her wrist, lowering her hand. Persephone jumped back and clung onto Scorpius' shoulder.
"Typical hotheaded Gryffindors. It's just a stupid cat…" she mumbled under her breath so only her friends could hear.
"I'm so sorry Rose!" said Frank, gently holding her hands around the kitten.
"It's okay! Just a silly accident. He's going to be fine." She forced out a smile even though she was secretly livid with the girl. "I'll see you tomorrow in the library." She just wanted the whole thing to be over.
Frank gave her an apologetic look and then turned to his friends, who were making to leave. Scorpius looked back at the three with an equally repentant look while Persephone continued to be glued to his side. Finally, they were gone.
Rose breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to Al and Cornelia. Albus and Rose then turned to her with questioning and slightly disturbed eyes.
"What? Nobody hurts my friends." She said, shrugging her shoulders. Albus started to laugh hysterically.
"She was terrified!" he yelled, grabbing his stomach. "You had her going Cor!" he said through laughs, while also giving her a little nickname. Rose began to laugh, too, getting over the shock. She handed Leolin to Cornelia.
"Maybe you'll return the favor one day…" Cornelia said, touching his nose to hers.
