Using the prompt 'every cloud has a silver lining'

Chapter Four

A week later and the time for Rose and Hugo to leave Hogwarts had finally arrived. The funeral was only a day away and every Weasley and Potter child in the castle was getting ready to leave.

It had been a terrible week. Barely any of them had attended their classes, all choosing to return to what the other students were now referring to as "The Weasley Tree". If they weren't eating or sleeping, they would be sitting under or in the tree.

Even Molly would choose to join them occasionally, but Rose knew it wasn't to be with family. She was only ever there when Scorpius was with them, but Rose didn't have the energy to argue with her, or cause a fight. As crazy as it sounded, Rose enjoyed having her cousin there too. It meant that they really were all going through the same thing – she wasn't really alone.

It was a miserable time in the Gryffindor common room as Rose reluctantly dragged her trunk down the stairs and over to the unlit fireplace. James was already there, leaning against his own trunk. When he saw Rose, he straightened slightly and watched her with sympathy.

Rose didn't meet his eye.

"You're all ready?" he asked quietly.

Rose shook her head. "Not really, but I have to be, don't I? I can't not go to my own parent's funeral."

James patted her comfortingly on the back. "We're all here for you and Hugo," he told her. "You're everyone's main priority for as long as you need to be."

"Have you seen my brother?" Rose asked.

"Al's with him," James told her. There was a moment's hesitation and Rose waited for him to continue. "He had a bit of a hard time this morning, but he's all good now... well, as good as he can be."

Rose stared at her cousin in horror. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" she cried. "I have to be there for him; you know how he is. He hasn't taken this news well at all. You should have told me! I've got to go and see him."

She pushed her trunk to the side and hurried back up the staircase, this time heading towards the boys' dormitories. She was just about to open Hugo's dormitory door, when she remembered he had been sleeping in James' bed instead. She went up another three levels.

The door was slightly ajar when she reached it and upon peeking around the corner, she found her brother and her cousin sitting on what she assumed to be James' bed. Albus had his arm around Hugo's shoulder, as her brother sat there, staring pale-faced at nothing.

Rose let herself in and joined them on the bed.

"It's time to go soon, Hu," she said soothingly. "Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny are waiting for us in Gimp's office."

Hugo nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I know it's hard, but we have to do this," Rose continued. "For Mum and Dad. As hard as it would be for them if this was your funeral, they'd still go. We have to do the same for them, as much as we don't want to have to say goodbye."

Over the week, Rose had been trying to imagine what it would be like going home without her parents. She had been trying to prepare herself for the emptiness she knew she would feel without them around. But she knew that no matter how much she could try and convince herself it would be okay, it wouldn't be. Whether she was going to Grimmauld Place or her own home, it would still feel empty. They were still gone, no matter where she was, and her heart understood that.

They were never coming back.

Hugo nodded again and Albus picked up his half-packed trunk. He waved his wand around the room and all Hugo's belongings flew into the trunk, which then closed with a click.

"Lily's having trouble too," Albus said. "I can't go and get her – you'll have to."

Rose nodded and got to her feet. "I'll meet you all down there in five minutes," she said, leaving the room and making her way back to the girls' dormitories. She found her cousin almost tearing her hair out with anguish.

"I don't know what to take with me, Rose," she sobbed. She looked up at Rose with puffy eyes. "I can't go."

"Yes you can, Lil," Rose assured her. "We all can do it... we all have to do it."

Lily let out another strangled sob. "I... I just miss them already," she said.

"Me too," Rose told her. "Come on, we all have to do this. You have to stay strong for Hugo, Lily. He needs people to be strong."

Lily nodded with quivering lips. "Okay."

Together, they made their way towards to common room, where the three boys were waiting. Being the adoring brother that he was, James engulfed Lily in a tight hug and didn't let her go all the way to the Headmaster's office.

Halfway along, Jasmine approached them – her school skirt pulled higher than was necessary.

"I'd just like to say," she began, "that although I won't be able to attend the funeral... I got a letter from Mum and Dad yesterday and they are going to be there. They... they wanted me to let you know."

Rose nodded. "Okay, thank you," she said. "My parents would appreciate it."

Jasmine nodded, opened her mouth as if she was going to say something else and then closed it again. She gave a short wave and disappeared.

"Don't even think about it, Al," James warned. "She'd chew you up and spit you out like a piece of gum. You deserve better than that."

"Doesn't stop her from looking good," Albus commented with half a smile.

"She's not all that bad, I guess," Rose said. "She's actually quite nice when she wants to be."

"If she wants to be," Lily corrected.

"Well... I like her," Rose said, surprising even herself. "I just don't like the way she behaves sometimes."

They made it to the headmaster's office with Professor Longbottom waiting out the front for them. He gave each of them a sympathetic look and then whispered the password. The spiral staircase appeared and all six of them stepped onto it.

Harry and Ginny were waiting inside; relief spreading across their faces when they saw the five children. Molly, Lucy and Louis were already there.

"We were about to send Neville to go and get you!" Ginny cried, throwing her arms around her crying daughter's neck. "We were worried."

"We wouldn't miss this," Rose replied quietly. "Never."

Ginny ran her fingers through her hair. "I know, dear," she said.

In her week away from classes, Rose had spent some time thinking of ways her parents would appreciate a funeral. It was going to be held at the Burrow, because according to Harry, many people had expressed interest in attending it and they needed room to hold them all.

Rose had been writing to her aunt and uncle almost every day with ideas. She hoped they had been listening, because she wanted the funeral to be perfect. Her parents didn't deserve any less.

"I've opened the Floo Network up for Grimmauld Place," Professor Gimp explained. "That is where you will all be going – your respective families are already there, waiting for you."

All the children nodded, telling him they understood.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

They all nodded again.

"James, you first," Harry instructed. "Then Molly, Rose, Al, Lucy, Lily, Hugo and Louis."

James took a handful of Floo Powder Gimp offered him and stepped into the fireplace. After stating where he wanted to go, the flames turned green and James was gone.

It was Molly's turn next and then Rose's. Rose braced herself as she stepped into the fireplace. She had almost as many memories of her parents at Grimmauld Place as she did in her own home. She remembered family gatherings; her dad telling stories, sitting in her mum's lap until she fell asleep. She remembered Christmas lunches, birthdays...

How was she ever meant to forget about them? It was like they didn't want her to.

"Gr-Grimmauld P-Place," she stammered through fresh tears. She knew she should have spoken clearly, but it was too late. She was being sucked through the air and before she knew it, she landed on a cold, stone floor.

As she shot out of the fireplace, she lost her balance and crashed into a highly stacked pile of cardboard boxes. They all fell on top of her.

"Stupid things!" she cried, kicking them away in frustration. She got to her feet, nursing a sore wrist. Great, she thought sourly. Where am I now?

A light turned on and footsteps could be heard coming down a set of stairs.

"Rose?"

It was her aunt, Audrey.

"How did I end up at your house?" she asked.

"You didn't, you're still at Grimmauld Place," Audrey told her. "Just... in the basement."

"They have a basement here?" Rose wondered out loud.

"They do, and lucky you made such a noise arriving, otherwise we wouldn't have known. Now, come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Rose followed Audrey up the stairs and into the kitchen, where everyone else was. She now realised she was not only covered in soot from the fireplace, but also dust and cobwebs from being in the basement.

Fleur, who had just finished cleaning Hugo, waved her wand over her and it all disappeared.

"What happened, Rosie?" James asked. "You never screw that up."

"I-I wasn't thinking properly," Rose said.

"It doesn't matter," Fleur said. "She eez 'ere now."

Harry was the last one to arrive, falling gracefully out of the fireplace. Ginny was fussing over Lily, who had at least managed to arrive at the right place, but had crashed into the table in the process.

"You and Hugo have your own rooms," Harry said to Rose gently. "We didn't think you'd want to share with anyone else, but if you'd like the company, Lily and Al would be more than happy to accommodate."

Rose shook her head. As much as she loved her cousins, she needed her own space. With the funeral less than a day away, she didn't feel like talking to anyone. She wanted to prepare; she wanted to be ready for what was to come.

There was going to be hugs, kisses and apologies at her loss (she had had it at Hogwarts – it was going to be worse at the funeral). No, she needed her space to get her head around everything. At least for one night.

"Alright," Harry said. "Professor Gimp was sending your trunks here via house-elf. They should have arrived by now. I'll show you the room and then we'll have something to eat."

The last thing Rose felt like doing was eating, but she merely nodded and followed her uncle up the many flights of stairs until he opened the door to an old and dusty room. It probably hadn't been touched until a few days ago. It now contained a bed and a wardrobe. Her owl, Quinn, was perched on the bed post and her trunk sat in the corner.

"Lunch will be ready shortly," Harry told her. "Someone will come to get you."

Rose nodded again and sat down on the bed. It squeaked under her weight. "Thank you," she said.

Harry stood with his hand on the door handle. He watched her as if he wanted to say something else, but seemed to decide against it. With one last look of sympathy, he shut it and Rose was left to the peacefulness that was her room.

She had stayed at Grimmauld Place many times – it was like a second home to her. There were many times she, along with James and Albus, had camped out in the living room, pretending to be anything they wanted to be.

It was the place she had had many Christmas lunches, many celebrations with her family. She wondered if anyone else felt the emptiness of not having her parents around. Despite all the trouble she had caused them – all the times she had said she didn't need them – now that they weren't there, she needed them more than ever.

She needed her mum's comforting arms and soothing words, telling her it would all be okay. She needed her dad's light-hearted humour, always seeing the brighter side to things. She needed them to be there for her; she needed to tell them how much she loved them and how much she missed them.

She hadn't told them that in many years; not properly.

There was a light tap at the door that distracted her from her thoughts. She thought it was someone coming to tell her lunch was ready, but it was Hugo who opened it.

"Lock the door," she said to him.

Hugo obeyed and came to sit with her on her bed. Both of them were silent for a very long time, each lost in thought. It was Hugo who spoke first.

"I'm not looking forward to tomorrow," he said.

"No one is," Rose replied. "It's going to be awful. Everyone's going to be crying and I don't want people to cry, because then I will cry... and I don't want to." She had done enough crying over the past week, she didn't want to cry anymore. Despite the funeral being the perfect time to let go, she wanted to stay strong; she wanted to be strong for her parents. She needed them to know she could look after Hugo for them – that she would be there for him.

"I don't want to cry either," Hugo said. "I don't know how to cry... I just miss them."

"Me too," Rose said. "Normally, we wouldn't even see them now, but it still feels wrong. They're gone, we'll never see them again. It sucks."

"Yeah, the others are trying to understand, but they don't. Their mums and dads are still alive. They have no idea what it's like."

"Even Uncle Harry doesn't get it. He never knew his parents; he doesn't remember them like we remember ours."

"They loved us, right, Rosie?" Hugo asked.

Rose wrapped her arms around her brother, drawing him to her. "Of course they did," she assured him. "We were the two most perfect children... who wouldn't love us?" Her attempt at humour fell flat as more tears welled in her eyes. "...they loved us, Hu, I know they did."

There was a rattling at the door as someone tried to open it. Neither Rose nor Hugo got up to unlock it.

"Rose, are you in there?" It was Ginny. She sounded concerned.

"Hugo and I both are," Rose said. "We're okay... we just want to be left alone."

"Could... could I talk to you?" Ginny asked.

"In a little while?"

"Now?"

Rose didn't reply, which Ginny seemed to take as a yes. The door opened with a click and Ginny walked into the room, stowing her wand under her clothes.

Ginny summoned a chair and sat opposite them, concern etching her features. "Lunch is ready," she said.

"We're not hungry," Rose replied, finally letting go of Hugo. "We would just like to be alone." She said it as nicely as she could. She knew Ginny and Harry were only trying to help, but they just didn't seem to understand they needed time together to wrap their heads around it.

"I know how hard tomorrow is going to be for the two of you," Ginny continued, ignoring Rose's request to be left alone. "I know that saying goodbye to your mum and dad will probably be the hardest thing either of you will ever have to do. But I just want you to know, we'll be here for you... every step of the way. You may feel alone, but you're not. You never will be."

"But we want to be alone," Rose said. "Just for now, until tomorrow."

Ginny didn't seem to want to accept her answer. "Rose... I..."

"We're okay," Rose promised her. "We just need to be together without anyone else around. Please?"

Ginny hesitated for a very long time, but eventually relented. "Okay, but on one condition; you both come downstairs for dinner tonight?"

Rose nodded. "Okay, we will."

She looked at both of them, a smile forming on her lips. "Losing them was a shock to all of us, but in every bad situation – even this one – there are always positive things."

What was possibly good about her parents dying?

Ginny seemed to read her expression. "We still have you," she said. "We still have two wonderful and strong-willed kids in our lives. Both of you have so many of your parents' qualities; it's as if they're living within you. They always will." She studied them for a moment longer. "Wherever they are now, I just know that they will be happy both of you are safe. They won't care about anything else."

Rose swallowed the lump in her throat. She wasn't going to start crying again, she wasn't!

Ginny gave them an encouraging smile, getting to her feet. "They loved you both so much," she said. "As do I and Harry and everyone else. When you're ready to join us, please come down. We'd love to have you with us." With that, she left, closing the door behind her.

Alright, here's a new chapter :) Yay! I'd like to thank DobbyLovesSocks for having a quick look over it for me (Pam is slightly busy at the moment). I hope you enjoy. This is probably my favourite chapter so far.

Your reviews are greatly appreciated so far! Please keep them coming :)