Chapter Six
The Thorny Rose
"Did you see it?" Emmett exclaimed loudly as he bounded into the common room one evening.
"See what exactly?" Alice asked frustratedly looking up from a Potions essay that Bella had been helping her with. Bella knew that her friend was looking for just about anything to distract her from it.
"Flying lessons!" Edward said almost as excited as Emmett, "There's a notice up on the bulletin board, there's going to flying lessons for all first years this week."
"Flying lessons...?" Bella asked feeling increasingly dumb.
"Yeah flying, like on broomsticks," Alice explained with disinterest, "I hate it."
"Why?" Jasper drawled lazily. Up until that point he'd been completely silent. Bella had hardly noticed he'd been there. Truthfully, it had taken her a little while to get used to Jasper, he was so quiet and seemed to not care much for anything, but as she got to know
him she realised he was simply easy going and was quite relaxing to be around.
"I hate heights," Alice said in answer to Jasper's question.
"It's probably because you're so short!" Emmett guffawed.
Alice scowled and crossed her arms over her chest angrily.
"You've never even been on a broom!" she pointed out, "let's see how you like it."
"I can't wait," Emmett said plopping himself into an armchair, "it's sounds brilliant."
"It is brilliant!" Edward assured him, "the class isn't till Friday though, and it's with the Slytherins."
"Why do they always pair us with the Slytherins?" Alice whined but Bella's thoughts were a million miles away, zooming about on broomstick high above the ground. She gulped and shook the thought from her head, there wasn't any point getting scared before she even tried flying. However, the image of plummeting to the ground kept her awake that night.
"Bella, is that Circe?" Alice asked looking up from her toast.
Sure enough the snowy owl was soaring down to the Gryffindor table. Circe landed gracefully before Bella and extended one of her legs, to which a brightly coloured package was attached.
Bella was quite certain who it was from. She untied it quickly and Circe took off. Bella had woken that morning only to realise what day it was. September 13th, her birthday, she had completely forgotten. However clearly, her parents had not.
Scrawled across the wrapping paper in her mother's loopy hand writing was:
Happy Birthday BellaBean!
Hope you're having lots of fun!
We miss you loads!
Mum and Dad.
Underneath this was a long row of little 'X's' for kisses. Bella groaned when she realised Alice was reading the little message her shoulder.
"It's your birthday?" she squealed accusingly, "why didn't you tell me!"
Edward, Emmett and Jasper all looked up in surprise.
"Yeah Bella, why didn't you tell us?" Emmett asked.
"I forgot myself until this morning," Bella explained guiltily, "I didn't mean to keep it from you all, but I actually don't really like my birthdays to be..."
"You forgot your birthday!" Alice and Emmett exclaimed simultaneously with identical looks of shock on their faces.
Bella shrugged self-consciously a hint of red tinting her cheeks.
"Well, see what you got then," Edward said to her softly, nodding towards her present. Bella smiled gratefully at him, she recognised his attempt to divert their friends' attention. Her present ended up being a book, a classic novel. Suprisingly all of her friends, except Emmett, were extremely interested in it because it was a muggle book.
"Don't you ever not tell me something like this again!" Alice warned Bella later as they hurried to class, "I may have forgiven you this time but I won't again! I'll just have to get you something really great for Christmas!"
Bella grimaced just thinking about what that could possibly entail.
The day of the Flying Lessons dawned crisp and clear and chilly. The first year Gryffindors trundled out onto the Quidditch pitch after breakfast shivering slightly under their cloaks. When they got there the field was empty save for two rows of old broomsticks lying across the grass. There was instantly a bit of a scuffle for the newest looking brooms and then everyone just stood waiting. A few moments later the Slytherins arrived and chose brooms from the opposite row.
A Slythering boy with very straight blonde hair and icy blue eyes was proclaiming loudly his great prowess in flying and how sorry he was for those who had probably never even seen a broomstick before.
"I mean, I'd be worried sick," he said feigning sympathy, "you could fall off your broom and break your neck if you've got no experience, imagine that, dying before you've even been here a month." At this he grinned nastily at Emmett and Bella who felt herself pale. All of a sudden she wished she hadn't eaten breakfast.
"Shut up Hunt," Edward said loudly, after glancing at Bella.
"What, you going to make me Cullen?" the other boy mocked, when Edward didn't say anything he laughed.
"You can talk Cullen but you know I'd beat you in any contest," Hunt boasted, "especially since I see you're hanging around with muggle born riff raff like-"
Before Hunt could even finish his sentence Edward, Emmett and Jasper all whipped out their wands and pointed them at him. Unfortunately that's when their teacher decided to make an appearance.
"Oh Merlin!" The man exclaimed rushing forward, "Wands away, this minute! I don't understand why they insist on constantly putting Slytherins and Gryffindors together!"
Gasps rang out from the assembled students.
"It's Oliver Wood!" Edward whispered in shock.
He wasn't the only one. Several boys, and a few girls, were gaping in amazement at their new teacher.
"Who's Oliver Wood?" Bella asked Alice under her breath.
"Huh? Oh, Oliver Wood played Keeper for England for ages, he's a referee now," Alice said inspecting her finger nails.
Bella nodded though she wasn't quite sure what Alice was talking about.
The man in question was very tall and slim without being skinny. He had lightly greying hair but keen eyes and a sharpness to his body movements that made him seem much younger than he probably was. All in all, Bella decided, he definitely looked like a retired sportsman.
"Right, well, hello first years," Oliver Wood began, "you can call me Mr. Wood, I don't think I can be quite considered a professor of anything. I'm actually only going to be teaching you all this once, after that I'll just be refereeing the Hogwarts Quidditch matches. I went here myself, you know, and I'd be willing to help anyone of you who's interested in Quidditch."
This short introduction was actually met by a smattering of applause from Wood's fans. He looked quite chuffed.
"Right!" He said suddenly businesslike, "I want you all to stand next to a broom, put your hand over it and say 'Up!'"
This command was followed by much noise as people began shouting "Up!" over and over again to disobedient brooms. Some people, like Edward and Jasper, had no trouble getting their brooms to fly up into their hands immediately. Bella was not so lucky. Her broom didn't even twitch when she commanded it, atleast Alice's flopped over when she shouted at it, Bella's didn't move at all. Emmett had a bit of trouble at first but his broom soon floated into his open palm, albeit a bit slowly.
"Alright, alright," Wood said once everyone had a broom in their hand, "Now I want you to mount your broom, make sure you grip the handle tight, I don't need any accidents."
At this he paused to walk around inspecting the students hold on the broomsticks. Bella felt her palms get sweaty and slide on the wood handle of the broom. Nerves were beginning to claim and her stomach was fluttering intensely.
"Okay, everyone is looking good so far," Mr. Wood encouraged, "right, I want you to push off gently from the ground, hover for a bit, then tilt your broom down and land. Shall we try it on three?"
A few minutes later Alice was being led away by Mr. Wood, just hovering two feet above the ground had caused her to simultaneously faint and become extremely nauseous. She had to be taken to the hospital wing for a 'stomach settling potion'.
"Er...Class dismissed everyone!" Wood called out behind him as he carried Alice away.
Hours later, Bella went to walk with Alice back to their common room.
"You do realise you missed half a day's lessons?" Bella said disapprovingly.
"Er, yeah," Alice said without shame, "I meant to do that, did you think I would pass up a chance to miss double potions!"
"Not going to class isn't going to help you," Bella pointed out in a jokingly stern voice.
"Yes Professor," Alice said sarcastic, "I-"
"Shut up!" a voice rang out angrily from around the corner. Alice and Bella exchanged glances and hurried quietly along to see what was going on. Bella quickly assessed the situation. Victoria Dashwood, Lauren Mallory and Heidi Velnore were blocking the corridor, their faces smug and smirking, and standing infront of them, absolutely fuming, was none other than Rosalie Hale.
"Get out of my way," she demanded, her voice a low and furious whisper.
"Tsk, tsk Rosalie," Heidi said gleefully, tossing her shiny dark curls, "where are your manners?"
"Yes Rosalie," Victoria agreed mockingly, "not so high and mighty now are you? I notice you haven't gotten any mail from home...Mummy and Daddy must be very disappointed in you."
Lauren laughed stupidly, glancing at the other girls for approval.
"I'm flattered that you take the time to notice whether or not I get any mail Victoria," Rosalie said smoothly, "honestly if that doesn't prove you have no life then the fact that you're standing here blocking the corridor does. Now, for the last time, get...out...of...my way."
"Oooo!" Victoria cooed in a baby voice, "did I strike a nerve? It must be so sad to realise your own parents don't love you!"
Bella saw Rosalie's wand plunge into her pocket and Alice must have also because she suddenly strode quickly into view. Bella followed quickly behind her.
"What's the hold up?" Alice asked innocently.
"Oh if it isn't the little midgit and her muggle born tag along," Victoria said nastily.
"Oh if it isn't the great twit and her band of two idiots," Alice said sweetly.
Heidi and Lauren looked insulted but Victoria smiled.
"Did you ever realise girls," Victoria said to her friends, "that the name Alice is spelt like, 'a lice'."
Alice allowed a moment for Heidi and Lauren to laugh before she said:
"Did it take you all week to think of that Dashwood?" Alice said in a sympathetic tone, "I'm rather disappointed. Then again, what can one expect from someone as thick as you are."
Victoria narrowed her eyes angrily.
"Just let us through Victoria," Bella spoke up finally, "This is just stupid."
"Oh, so you do have a voice?" Victoria said dismissively, she turned back to Rosalie, "I see what kind of...people, there are in your house. Watch yourself Hale, you don't want to get mixed up in that sort."
"Don't you dare tell me what I will and will not do!" Rosalie bristled, she drew her wand from her pocket and pointed it squarely at Victoria whose eyes widened in fear, "Now move! or you'll wish you had."
Sparks flew off the end of Rosalie's wand as she advanced menacingly.
"Come on girls," Victoria said eyeing Rosalie's wand, "let's go."
When the three Slytherins had disappeared from veiw, Alice turned to Rosalie in time to she her stowing her wand carefully in the pocket of her robes.
"Were you really going to curse her?" she asked sounding impressed.
"Of course," Rosalie replied in her usual stiff tone, but a hint of a smile touched her lips, "I never say anything I don't mean Brandon."
"Oh really?" Alice said thoughtfully, "I do it all the time, and it's Alice, by the way."
Rosalie regarded Bella and Alice carefully before a swift smile crossed her face.
"I'm Rose," she said and then looked right at Bella, "You're Isabella right?"
"Just Bella," Bella clarified.
"Right," Rosalie said nodding, she looked momentarily awkward, "I want to thank you both...For just now...I know you were trying to help me."
"No thanks needed," Alice said.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you chased them off all on your own," Bella laughed.
"Yeah well, they're all as thick as two short planks," Rosalie said, "and just as brave. To be honest, I'm not sure what spell I would've used on her. If it came to it I would've done something but I was mainly banking on the fact that she's a total coward."
"It sounds as though you know her pretty well," Bella remarked.
"Oh, I suppose," Rosalie shrugged, "she's my third cousin."
Bella was shocked.
"What?" She said, "she's your cousin?"
"Yes and Heidi is also and so is Lauren," Rosalie said matter of factly, "I think I'm also distantly related to you Alice."
"Yeah probably," Alice nodded then took in Bella's surprise and laughed.
"Bella,"she explained, "almost all pureblood families are connected through marriage, my great aunt probaby married her great uncle or something."
"Yes, something like that," Rosalie said.
"But if they're all related to you, why were they being so horrid?" Bella asked.
Rosalie's expression darkened.
"My family isn't close," she said simply, "Most of them...well, most of them I don't really consider family at all."
Bella felt a pang of sadness for the girl before her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked hesitantly.
"It's a long story," Rosalie said with a sad smile.
"We'll listen," Alice assured her.
Rosalie looked thoughtful.
"Later," She said eventually,"but first, let's get to lunch, it's almost over."
As the girls walked together to the Great Hall something shifted between them and somehow it was understood that Rosalie had become a part of their group, irrevocably.
*Ducks and hides under my bed* I know this has taken forever to update! please don't hate me!
I hope some of you are still reading this, hopefully you've not given up on this tale yet. Next chapter will probably skip ahead to the future, and then prepare for romance, teenage angst and signs of danger emerging.
Love ya if you're still reading! please review!