Cousins
A/N: Not Rowlings. I was lonely late at night so I wrote this to keep me company. I'm not really even sure what this is…Enjoy!
It's 2 am and Rose is lonely.
"Roxanne," she whispers as loudly as she dares but her cousin slumbers on. She sits up in bed and ponders her options. She's confined to Gryffindor's tower, unless she's willing to get caught sneaking out—she's Rose, so she isn't. She slips out of bed quickly and pads in her socked feet to the door, shutting it quietly behind her.
It takes her less than a minute to cross the common room and ascend the staircase to the boys' dormitories. She probably shouldn't be doing this—her Ravenclaw side tells her—but it's 2 am and she's lonely and she wants to be with someone.
She shudders as the door to the third year boys' room creaks. She slides into the room and shuffles to James' bed. (It's obviously a path she knows well.)
"Rose?" he asks, shaking his head as if that could get rid of his sleepiness, as she climbs onto the foot of his bed. "Rose, this is the third time this week."
She doesn't respond, instead simply diving under the cover next to him.
"I'm sorry, James," she sniffles. If there's anything James doesn't like, it's a sad Rose, so he adjusts himself in the bed next to her and decides that protesting isn't worth it.
"It's just weird. Because I'm used to home, where Hugo and Mum and Dad are right there. Or even the Burrow, where there are even more people. Or Shell Cottage…or anywhere but here. Not that I don't like it—I love it! But it's not home yet. And I miss Al. I can't just go talk to him in the middle of the night since he's all the way in the dungeons and Roxanne's a heavy sleeper and…" she trails off.
"It's okay, Rosie. I don't mind. Really. It's what other cousins are for, right?"
"Thanks, James," she sighs contentedly and snuggles further into the covers.
For a minute, James watches his little cousin. He remembers what it was like to be at Hogwarts for the first time and how many times he ended up in Teddy or Victoire's rooms. Finally, he sighs and closes his eyes, ready for another cold night with Rose hogging the covers. But that's what cousins are for, right?