"So, how come you're not even a tiny bit excited on your birthday?"
"Mum, it's only a birthday, isn't it? I had some of them before and will have some of them in the future. "
"Yes, but from now on you are off age. Not a minor anymore. Allowed to practice magic out of school, to apparate... you're a grown up now."
Rose sighed and hopped on the kitchen counter next to her birthday cake. She hadn't seen it yet, since it was under a magic spell which made it look like a cloth. Hermione had been in the middle of preparing the cake when her daughter had come into the kitchen, complaining about getting older every day.
"I know I am. So why should I be excited about it? Being a grown-up only means responsibilities. It means everyone expects you to have made a choice, to have a plan for the future, to have an aim in life, to do well in school and university and later on the job. It means you have to behave and everything."
"Does James behave like an adult? Do Fred, Dominique, Victoire, Ted and Roxy? Or George, your Dad, Harry, Luna. Do they behave like you just described it? Are they your versions of adults?"
"Certainly not."
"So what makes you think being an adult is about being stiff and strict? About behaving yourself?" Hermione smiled at her daughter gently and tucked a loose curl behind Rose's ear. "What is this really about, hm?"
"I don't know! And it annoys me that I don't know why I am not excited! I was so excited for all the others to come off age."
"Maybe you'll get in the mood during the day. Because we will prepare for the barbecue and everyone is coming! And you get to see Cassiopeia. Astoria said she'll bring her along instead of hiring a babysitter. She said it's her godmother's coming-off-age-party and it will be awesome, so Cassiopeia should get used to attend your parties in order to be prepared."
"Sounds great, Mum. Whole bunch of Weasleys and Potters and Malfoys, all living happily together."
"And what's your point, Rosie? Are you afraid someone might act up?"
"No. I am sure they'll all behave. Why shouldn't they? I mean, they all know each other. And I know that Scorp is so excited to see Ted. They are family and Ted is really fond of him."
"Is that the problem? Are you afraid Scorpius will spend more time with Ted than with you?"
"Not really. He wouldn't ditch me on my birthday."
"Then I don't really get why you are so upset about your birthday..."
"Just forget it. I don't get it either. I go riding, okay? Be back soon." Rose kissed her mother good-bye and left the kitchen. She really didn't know why she was in such a bad mood! It had nothing to do with Scorpius or her family or responsibilities. She was her mother's daughter, so everyone expected her to do great. But she was also her father's daughter, so no-one would be surprised if she kept being quirky and adventurous. But what if she couldn't live up to being fun and quirky? Then Astoria would have made a huge mistake and Cassiopeia wouldn't get the godmother she deserved. There were so many things to worry about. At least her friends were none of those. She could count on them. Well, most of them were her family. Wasn't that sad? Most of her friends were her family. At least her best friend wasn't. Just... sort of. Why were all her friends family? And all her family friends? She really needed something on her own. Doing the internship at Hogwarts would be sticking with the family. Doing the internship at Romania was sticking with the family. She wanted to be out of it. She wanted to achieve something on her own, without her family involved. Without anyone involved. Just recently had Astoria offered her to talk to someone about an internship. But Rose really wanted to get one on her own. Because she was herself, not because of her family name or through the help of others. It took her a while to realize but now that she knew, she was kind of relived. Once Rose was back from her ride, she rushed up the stairs to her room and started writing applications. By the time the first family members arrived, Rose had written seven applications to seven different places where she knew none of her relatives was involved with. It has been tough, because no-one in Hogwarts had taught her how to write an application for a Muggle institution. How was she supposed to mention her education without mentioning her education? She managed to find a boarding school in the Highlands and hack into their system to make her a student. Or at least to make her appear like one. Being off age definitely had its advantages. And a mum with a book of spells as well. A knock on the door suddenly brought her back into reality. She had been drifting off, day-dreaming about how awesome it would be to work at Sealife. Well, there weren't any special animals, no kappas, no mermaids. Fish, yes, for sure. Mini-sharks, maybe. But were they awesome? Were they magical, special, dangerous? Not really. But she liked Sealife. It was a nice way to see fish. Boring fish. But at least colourful fish.
"Come on in, please", Rose called out after quickly shutting down her laptop. She was quite sad it didn't work at Hogwarts. Those funny gifs were really great! Like the magical photos but with text! She loved them!
"Hey birthday girl!" Hugo smiled brightly at her and hugged her sister. "Fancy meeting you here! Why aren't you downstairs? The Potters will be there any minute!"
"The Potters? Well, I know. And the Weasleys will come, too. And the Scamanders. And the Malfoys. And all the huge family names."
"Rose, stop it. It's gonna be fun! Why are you so damn cranky?"
"I don't know!" She threw her hands up in frustration and started pacing the room. "I don't know what's wrong right now! It's my birthday and I am freaked out!"
"Real life begins." Hugo smiled at his big sister and sat down on Rose's flowery bed. "And that can be scary sometimes. You know, before I went to Hogwarts, I felt like you feel now. All cranky and I didn't know why. I was mad at everyone and I didn't want to be with all my cousins because I knew I would be compared to all of you. And I knew I could hardly live up to what you guys had already achieved. It turned out pretty awesome at the end. So whatever you're freaked out about, whatever you don't want... just let it come, okay? Don't try to plan everything, sis. We both know you are a lot like dad. But you clearly can plan ahead like mum, too. Don't do it, Rose. Don't let your mind interfere with your heart, Rosie."
"Why are you so smart?" Rose smiled at him and tackled Hugo onto the bed, hugged him tightly. "Se, I've already applied for lots of internships at Muggle institutions with animals. Zoos and Sealife and some sort of petting zoo."
"And what do you want to do?"
"I wanna work with awesome and dangerous animals!"
"Yeah, 'cause those rabbits and sheep are so so so dangerous!"
"Hey!" Rose giggled and poked her little brother. "They also have donkeys and goats! And you know that sheep freak me out! Their eyes are so scary and weird and I know they plan a murder in their tiny little brains. I prefer dragons. They are more predictable than sheep."
"Sure they are." He rolled his eyes and sat up." Come one, big sister, we have a birthday to celebrate, a party to look forward to and a cake to eat. It looks delicious and if I am down there before you, I'm gonna eat all of it and leave none for you." Hugo grinned and sprinted down the stairs, quickly followed by his sister.
"No, you won't eat my cake! It's my cake! 'Cause I'm the birthday girl!"
"Are you? I don't see that! You don't have a badge!"
"You're right." Rose suddenly stopped. "I don't have a badge. Hugo, I need one. Now!"
"Relax, Rosie. Don't go crazy. I know that Scorpius will give you one. He and Al and James bought it the other day and it is amazing. You'll love it."
"So I'll get my badge?"
"You sure will. And I'll get the cake." Hugo stuck out his tongue and made his way into the kitchen.
"You little... Don't touch my cake! It's mine!"
"Don't worry, honey, I won't let him", Hermione called from the kitchen, grinning. She knew her kids were close to each other, but she was still very proud that her son took it upon him to calm his sister down. On the other hand, Hugo has always been the sensitive one, whereas Rose managed to be oblivious to the obvious.
"Good. It's all mine. My precious!" Rose laughed and hugged her mum. "And my precious cake looks amazing!" The red-head looked proudly at her three-story-rainbow-coloured-with-unicorns-on-top- cake. "Thank you so much, Mum! This is amazing! I wanna eat it! Right now! What does it taste like?"
"The bottom one is strawberry, the middle one is lemon, the top one is chocolate. Sounds good?"
"Sounds like I really wanna have a piece of strawberry right now."
"I am sorry, darling; you need to wait until..."
Before Hermione could finish her sentence, a loud 'plop' was heard and Rose nearly screamed in excitement.
"Scorpius! Hello!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "You're early! I'm glad you came!"
"I wouldn't miss my best girl's birthday party for anything in the world!" He cuddled her and kissed her forehead. "Mum and Dad and Cassi will be here soon. I just wanted to see you so desperately."
"As I can see, Romeo has found his Juliette."
"James! There you are!" Rose spun around and grinned at her cousin. "Where did you leave the rest of the gang?"
"Coming in a sec. I didn't wanna interrupt you lovebirds but I really need to wish you a happy birthday, Rosie!" James hugged and cuddled Rose.
One by one, the others arrived, wishing her a happy birthday, giving her presents and birthday cards. Rose was proudly showing off her glittering birthday badge and was finally enjoying her own party. And the best part didn't even start yet. She was also having a sleep-over with all her cousins and, of course, with Scorpius. Rose was really happy about having all her favourite people in the same place at the same time. And additionally, sharing a bed with Scorpius was always great! He was the best to sleep with. In the same bed, that was, next to him, not in any other way. He cuddled, he hugged her, hold her tight and made her feel safe. Rose knew that it might seem different than it actually was, as if she would be in love, as if she would seek for body contact, for Scorpius to feel and touch her. But this wasn't the case. Rose wanted to be with him, yes, but only as a friend. By now she was really getting sick of all of her cousins' comments about how perfect they were for each other. She was tired of listening to them, tired of defending her feelings, tired of explaining that boys and girls could, in fact, be friends and nothing more. Just friends. Just platonic friends. Little did she know that Scorpius was not feeling the same. He managed to hide his feelings, to suppress the urge to kiss Rose. Her lips were beautiful. How could he have missed her lips? He had always been so fascinated by her eyes that he had forgotten her lips. They were so full of laughter, so rosy and he was sure they were as soft as clouds and as sweet as maple syrup. He wanted to taste them. So badly. Just to try it out. If it felt nice, if it felt true and sincere. But he didn't. The whole night while all of them were talking, he didn't. He shot James and Al some glances and they understood. Scorpius was in love with his best friend and she was not supposed to know it. At least not on her birthday. But maybe, maybe it was just an illusion. A fantasy he had created around the first girl who had appreciated for who he was, for himself. Maybe it was all just an illusion.