Rose Weasley was a typical girl. She loved gossiping, makeup, everything feminine.
In short, Rose Weasley was everything her mother wasn't. The only thing that the two had in common was their shared intelligence. But even there, Rose wasn't as devoted to learning as her mother was.
As much as her parents loved the idea of her being best friends with her cousin Al, she had never been able to understand him, and she suspected he felt the same about her.
Ever since they were toddlers, they had been pushed to form a close friendship. To keep their parents happy, the two had decided early on that they would pretend to be best friends, secure in the knowledge that as soon as they got onto the Hogwarts Express, they would be free to go their separate ways.
Indeed, she and Victoire had already planned her first train ride to Hogwarts. She would leave Al to do her own thing, and she'd join Victoire and her girlfriends. Vic had even told her that one of her friends had a younger sister who was going to be in Rose's year, and Rose couldn't wait to make a proper friend.
It took a lot of self-control not to let her excitement show every time she visited Shell Cottage. She could only imagine the disappointed looks on her parents' faces when they realised that she and Al weren't going to be two-thirds of a new Golden Trio, and she'd rather that happened when she didn't have to face them.
But soon enough, September first finally arrived. She could hardly stop bouncing enthusiastically as she entered the Hogwarts Express for the first time, wandering around trying to find Vic.
In her single-minded aim to find her cousin and her friends, she didn't pay much attention to where she was going until she bumped into another girl, causing both of them to tumble to the ground.
"I'm sorry!" she yelped, looking at the girl in front of her. She was about her age, with sandy hair and blue eyes.
"That's okay," the girl replied, giving Rose a friendly smile as she got up. "I'm Mara Finnegan," she continued, extending a hand to help Rose pull herself up. "What's your name?"
"Rose Weasley," Rose said. "I'm looking for my cousin. You haven't seen a gorgeous strawberry blonde girl around here be any chance, have you?"
"No, I'm afraid not. Have you seen a dark haired girl with brown eyes around here? I've gone and lost Sam – that's my elder sister."
Before Rose could reply, the compartment ahead of them opened and Vic poked her head out of it. "Rose! There you are! I was wondering what took you so long."
"I got lost Vic, and I crashed into –"
"Mara!" Vic interrupted her. "That's a coincidence, isn't it? Rose, this is the girl I was telling you about. Mara, Sam's inside. Come in you two. We've got loads to talk about," she finished with a mischievous smile.
Rose and Mara threw each other confused looks before following Victoire into the compartment.
"Is she always like this?" Mara whispered to Rose. "So…eager?"
"Yeah," Rose laughed, "but you get used to it."
"I don't doubt that. You haven't met my sister yea. She's…"
It was just the start of the train ride, and it was already shaping up to be better than what she had expected; and she had expected a lot. Rose couldn't wait to see what the rest of her time at Hogwarts would be like.
For:
The if You Dare Challenge, Prompt 144. Let's Get Going
Character Diversity Bootcamp, Prompt 4. Suitcase
HP Potions Competition, Gregory's Unctuous Unction
Philosopher's Stone Competition, The Journey From Platform Nine And Three-Quarters
Colours Competition, Orange (positive)
Greenhouse Competition, Rose (rose)
Hogwarts Classes Competition, Divination