Every Rose has its thorn – Chapter 2
Dear Rose,
Please respond to at least one letter? You've been at school for two months now and we haven't heard a word directly from you.
Your brother says you cut your hair? What style? Lily said it goes to about your shoulders? That sounds nice.
How are classes going? Professor Longbottom wrote home, as you probably know, and told us you've been skipping classes again. Rose, please, this year is important. If you don't attend classes your chances of passing the O.W.L. exams are extremely slim. You need these exams Rose Weasley!
Your father and Uncle Harry are coming into your school sometime this week to speak to the N.E.W.T. Defence Against the Dark Arts, students. He'll speak to you.
Please, please, stop skipping class? I know Mr. Goyle has been writing to Ivy and asking her to stop skipping class, just as I know Mr. Malfoy and Mrs. Malfoy have been writing to, Scorpius and asking him to stop. Not only are you letting yourself down but every detention you get you are letting your house down.
Think about that.
Are you coming home for Christmas? If you answered, or even read, the last letters, you'll know your Grandparents are coming to the Burrow for Christmas too.
Please behave? Please hand at least one piece of homework a week in? Per subject? Please stop hexing and jinxing people for the fun of it?
Please?
Love,
Mum and Dad.
I snorted and scrunched the letter my mother sent me several days ago up in my fist. No matter how many times she put my Dad's name on the bottom, I knew her handwriting.
"What do they want this time?" Ivy muttered, flicking a page in her magazine. We were sat at the back of History of Magic, neither of us bothering to take our books out of our bags. I don't even think I had my History of Magic book at school, let alone have it in class with me.
"Same as usual, behave, attend all classes, blah, blah, blah." I sighed and got an idea when I saw the group of Gryffindors sat on the other side of the class. I nudged Ivy beside me and kicked the back of Scorpius Malfoy's chair in front of me.
"Bet you a sickle I can get this parchment at Blondie's hair." I hissed, dipping my letter in Ivy's ink pot, I nodded at Dominique who was sat beside Roxanne and was combing her hair with her fingers absentmindedly.
"You're on." Ivy grinned; Scorpius smirked too and passed the message along to the other Slytherins to move their heads out of the way. Professor Binns didn't notice that half of the class had moved in their chairs, each and every Slytherin was looking at me with a smirk on their face, waiting for Dominique to explode when the parchment hit her, staining her hair and her clothes.
"Wait," Logan Avery grabbed my arm when I lifted it up. He got his wand out and whispered a spell. "The ink won't come out for at least a few days now." He laughed, making me and the other Slytherins laugh.
"Try not to hit Roxy." Scorpius warned me when I was ready to throw it. I rolled my eyes and carefully flicked my wrist, sending the ink-covered parchment towards my cousin. Every Slytherin watched with held breath as it flew through the air. The Gryffindors realized we were watching something and they all looked up to see the ball flying towards them, except Dominique who was sat in a daydream.
"Aargh!" She screamed when the ball hit her on her head, she turned just in time for it to hit the spot directly above her ear. We all saw the ink splatter all around her blonde hair, it ran down it staining a huge chunk of it, it stained her skin too and ran down her face, down her neck and down through her school shirt. "What on earth? Ink?" She screamed, jumping up and running her hand through her hair.
The Slytherins and I roared with laughter as the Gryffindors sat in silence. "That right there!" I yelled as everybody around me laughed. "That is the reason I am the best damn chaser in this entire school!" I saw Albus and Roxanne turn to glare at me as Dominique grabbed her bag and ran from the classroom.
"I think you'll find Miss. Weasley that right there is the reason why I'll be writing to your parents again, and you'll serve a week's worth of detentions for that little stunt." The Slytherins stopped laughing when Professor McGonagall's voice made everybody jump. The Gryffindors now looked smug but I rolled my eyes and still laughed lightly.
"So worth it." I laughed when she slammed the door behind her, Ivy laughed with the Slytherins laughing, just not as loudly as she was.
Professor Binns didn't even look up from his papers.
All through the lesson I received glares from Roxanne and Albus, as well as the other Gryffindors, but I just sent them back at the two of them and ignored their friends.
After the lesson ended, Ivy and I trailed after the other Slytherins in our year, not remotely interested in their conversations. We weren't really paying attention to them, so it came as a surprise when Logan Avery and Luke Montague stopped right in front of us.
"What the hell, Logan?" Ivy demanded when we straightened up. I looked forwards and saw Albus and Roxanne stood in front of several of their Gryffindor friends, staring right at me. I raised an eyebrow and stepped through my friends to stand before them. I saw every other Slytherin look at the Gryffindors with smirks and eager expressions, except Scorpius who was stood staring at the floor; he only ever took sides when his friends fought with his girlfriend's friends when he had to.
I had a feeling this was going to be one of those times.
"That stunt you just did," Albus sneered at me, "it's not cool. Dominique is mortified and -"
"Legilimins, now are you?" I cut him off with a simple comment, I heard the boys, mainly Logan, laugh quietly. Logan despised Albus. "I didn't think so."
I smirked when Albus blushed a little bit and then looked at Roxanne.
"What? Not got anything to say, Foxy?" I mocked; she hated it when people called her 'Foxy Roxy.'
"Rose." I heard Scorpius sigh from behind me. I turned my head slightly and took a deep breath.
"Dom is really upset, Rose. It really wasn't cool. You know how she is -" Out of all my cousins I would admit the one I was remotely closest too was Roxanne, and that was only because when they first got together, Scorpius practically threatened to murder every single one of us so we would give her a chance. It was because Scorpius was Vinnie's best friend, and Vinnie was now the closest thing I had to a brother, that I agreed and usually kept my remarks and comments about Roxanne to myself when she was around us.
"Well no I don't know how she is, Roxanne." I spat at her.
"Come on guys; let's go see how Dom is." I rolled my eyes and smirked again when Albus's girlfriend, Amy Wilson a very pretty but stuck up muggle-born, caught everybody's attention. "There isn't any use trying to gain some sort of an apology from them." She sneered, throwing a disgusted glance at my group of friends.
"Excuse me? Them?" Janey Parkinson laughed humourlessly. I turned my head to see the other Slytherin girls stood glaring at Amy now. "You know what, Wilson? I am getting pretty damn sick of your stuck up attitude. You need to watch yourself." She nodded at Amy who just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Careful, Wilson." Emily Nott mocked. "You know what happens when snakes bite don't you?" She giggled at her. The Gryffindors looked at the three girls like they were little children who had found something remotely boring completely hilarious.
"Oh shut up, you lot are embarrassing yourselves." I stopped Bella Zabini from saying something else but turned my back on them, not interested in the small glares Janey would be sending me. She was the only one who would glare at me; the other two would just keep straight faces.
"Come on Ivy, I'm hungry and these idiots are boring me." I sighed and stepped forwards, walking deliberately between Roxanne and Albus so my shoulders slammed both of theirs. I noticed that Ivy slammed her shoulder into Roxanne's slightly harder than I did.
"So why are we in here, re-growing and re-styling your hair, when it is unnaturally warm and sunny outside?" Ivy sighed as she sat on the toilet tank in one of the girl's bathrooms. We were both stood in one cubicle; she was holding a mirror up while I charmed my hair to grow to near my waist and hang straight, rather than my natural curls. I also cut it so my normally full sized fringe changed into a more stylish side-fringe.
"Because Ron is coming with Harry today to give a talk to the sixth and seventh years." I muttered, running my fingers through my hair, which was longer than it had ever been before.
"Again, why are we in here?" Ivy shrugged.
"The brats wrote home and told Hermione I cut my hair." She knew who I was talking about, she always did. We always called Lily and Hugo 'the brats' because that's what they were. The two youngest in the family constantly whined and moaned when at home and at school so that Lily's brothers and our cousins fought their battles for them.
"Oh, Ssh! It's brat number two!" Ivy hissed, nodding to the door to the cubicle door behind me. I could hear two voices, two girl's voices that I easily identified.
Lily Potter and Lucy Weasley, Molly's younger sister.
"Have you heard the latest about Wilted Rose?" Lucy was saying to Lily. Silently, I opened the cubicle door, thankful that the row of toilets Ivy and I chose weren't near the sinks with the mirrors. I walked quietly to the end of the cubicle row and stood listening to them.
"No, what's she done now?" Lily asked.
"Apparently, and this is from Amy Wilson, her and that Vincent guy had sex in the guys showers in the changing rooms at the Quidditch pitch." Lucy told her dramatically.
That bit didn't bother me, rumours like that flew round school all the time.
"Vincent Goyle? Poison Ivy's twin?" Lily gasped; I glanced at Ivy to see her smile slightly, though it didn't reach her eyes at all.
"Yup. Amy was telling everybody about it. She said that Rose isn't anything other than a common little whore who drops her knickers for half a bottle of fire whiskey and does anything to anybody who is willing to do her homework. Amy reckons that she'll end up selling herself for a sickle a service on the corners of Knockturn Alley by the time she's in seventh year." I was physically shaking after Lucy said all of this.
Amy Wilson said all of that?
I glanced over at Ivy who looked livid. Not giving myself time to change my mind, not that I would, I stepped around the corner from the cubicles and stood so the pair of them could see me in their mirrors. They were both stood looking into two side by side mirrors, checking their hair and makeup.
"Rose!" Lily gasped when she saw me. I didn't say anything to the two of them; I just stormed past them with Ivy following me.
"Amy Wilson is in the grounds, near the greenhouses with your other cousins and some of their cronies." Ivy told me when we both stormed through the corridors, pushing students out of our way. We ignored their shouts and carried on walking.
When we left the castle and were on the grounds, I stopped and quickly looked around. I could see a group of people stood a little away from the Greenhouses, it was after last lesson and before dinner so everybody was on a break, and no doubt my father and Uncle Harry would be talking to Professor Longbottom in his office. I could make out Amy, stood with Albus.
Sat under a tree, coincidentally close to the Greenhouses, sat the other Slytherin fifth years and a few of our older friends. I tapped Ivy on the arm and nodded in their direction slightly.
"Your idiot cousins will jump in when you beat Amy's face in." Ivy grinned as we made our way over to our friends.
"Of course, they do stick together after all." I mocked. "Hey." I caught everybody's attention when I walked up to them.
"Amy Wilson has been chatting shit about me and Vinnie. I need you lot as back up for when I go and knock her teeth down her throat." I told everybody, at once the guys stood up. Janey and the other girls remained sitting down.
"What's the matter, Rose? Scared of Wilson?" Janey laughed.
"No. I want them to keep her idiot friends back while I beat her. Stay here if you want, Janey." I shrugged and turned away from her. Ivy and I led the others towards the Gryffindors.
"So, what exactly has the little bitch been saying?" Vinnie asked me in a tone he'd have used when discussing the weather with a stranger.
"The bitch said that you two shagged in the showers in the changing room. Lucy Weasley and Lily Potter were talking about it." Ivy told him with a disgusted scoff.
"Lily Potter?" Vinnie repeated, nobody replied though because we'd caught up with the Gryffindors.
"Hey!" I snapped at them, making them all look around at us. I noticed each of my relatives at school were here, except Lucy and Lily but they were probably on their way from the bathroom now. Amy had clearly made an effort on her appearance. "First time meeting the parent?" I smirked at Amy who didn't do or say anything to me.
"Pity." I shrugged and stepped forwards, before any of the Gryffindors said or did anything; I brought my fist back and slammed it into her jaw as hard as I could, sending her to the floor. I pounced on her, raining my fists down on her face and chest as fast as I could.
Straight away, Albus and James both tried to get me off of her, but Vinnie and Logan shoved them both away.
"This is a fair fight!" Logan snarled in Albus's face, shoving him away harder than Vinnie was to James.
"What was it you said, Wilson?" I yelled, making sure everybody could hear me as I punched, slapped and scratched at Amy's face. "Before my seventh year I'll be on the corners of Knockturn Alley selling myself for a sickle a service?" I slapped her one last time before I stood up, reaching down to drag her back up by her long blonde, dirt covered, hair.
"You cheeky little bitch!" I spat, literally spat in her face, and punched her on the nose; I kept hold of her hair so she didn't fall though. I was aware that a lot of other students had gathered around and were chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" loudly, I was also aware that all of my friends were holding at least one person back or stopping somebody from jumping on me, except Ivy who was stood watching for when one of Amy's friends to get loose and attack me.
I raised my arm higher, so Amy stood a little taller, before I slammed my foot down on the side of her knee, making her fall to the ground. She cried out in pain when she fell, I still had a fist full of her hair.
"Move out of the way! Move!" I heard Professor Longbottom shout, I didn't care though. She deserved this.
While she was on the floor, I kicked her a few times, once in her stomach, once on her back, once on her leg and once in her face.
"ROSE WEASLEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I didn't look up at my father's voice, though it did surprise me a little.
"In future, you pathetic, lying, two faced whore, if you want to talk trash about me," I spat again, kicking her one last time. "At least have the balls to do it to my face!"
As soon as I said that, my father and Professor Longbottom managed to push their way through the huge throng of students that had gathered around us. Professor Longbottom went straight to Amy on the floor, but my Dad came to me and grabbed my arm.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He shouted in my face. "Are you crazy?"
I went to answer him, but another voice stopped me.
"WEASLEY!" I hadn't thought that maybe Professor McGonagall was with my father and Uncle in Professor Longbottom's office. I looked behind Dad to see her push her way through the students with Uncle Harry behind her, both of them looking at Amy with wide eyes.
"That is it! I want you in my office in five minutes!" She screamed at me before she whipped her wand out of her sleeve. For a second I thought she was going to curse me, but then she flicked it and a stretcher appeared and Uncle Harry and Professor Longbottom gently lifted Amy on to it, before it floated away with Albus, Roxanne, Dominique and some other Gryffindor students rushing after it with Professor Longbottom and McGonogall.
"For the record," I looked at the students around me, ignoring the glares from the Gryffindors, my cousins, brother and father, "Vinnie and I didn't shag in the showers."
I didn't have a chance to say or do anything, because my father turned beetroot red and dragged me away from everybody by the sleeve of my robes.
I slammed the lid of my trunk shut with a sigh.
Four hours ago, I had brutally attacked Amy Wilson in front of what Ivy later told me, the entire school, my father, Uncle and headmistress. After my father dragged me into the office, I stood and let her scream in my face for twenty minutes, then Professor Longbottom shouted at me and then Professor Urquhart, the Potions master and my head of house, yelled at me for a half hour.
For an hour straight, I sat between my parents as they both yelled and shouted at me once the teachers had finished, right up until they're throats were sore.
After that I sat and listened as the Professors discussed expulsion, my parents nearly had a fit when they heard that word.
It took my parents three hours to convince Professor McGonogall that I didn't deserve to be permanently expelled. My head of house suggested a simple suspension.
So here I was, packing my things up for my two week suspension from school. Professor Urquhart was waiting for me in the common room with my parents while I packed my trunk. Ivy and the other girls were all sat in the dormitory, watching me pack.
"Two weeks? I've never been without you for two weeks since we started school!" Ivy pointed out.
"I know, but it could be worse. If Minnie had her way, I'd be long gone." I reminded Ivy as I dragged my trunk from the bed.
"See you later." I muttered to Janey, Emily and Bella. The three of them didn't say anything; they just sat on their beds with blank expressions.
I had a feeling that once I shut the door, the three of them would start laughing and celebrating that for the first time since we came to school, I'd be gone.
Ivy followed me down the stairs and into the common room, where nearly every single Slytherin was stood or sat watching me descend the stairs. My parents were stood near the entrance with Professor Urquhart; he was stood straight and kept checking his watch while my parents were looking round the common room slowly.
"Rose, come on." Mum called when she saw me. I rolled my eyes and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
"I'll write to you." I nodded to Ivy when I turned to face her. She nodded once before she wrapped her arms around me.
"I'll make sure nobody talks trash about you." She whispered as she hugged me tight. I didn't say anything, I just hugged her back.
"Rose!" Dad barked, I scowled and pulled away from Ivy and snatched my trunk back up from the floor.
I looked round the room at my housemates, most of the younger students smiled at me, the older ones still looked slightly impressed and the boys in my year were sat at a table together, all of them smirking at me, except Scorpius who was sat with a straight face.
"See ya in a few weeks, Red!" Danny Warrington smirked and called out from his spot between Scorpius and Logan.
"Don't worry about the Gryffindor's, Rose." Logan muttered so only the table and I heard him when I walked past. "If any of them say anything, we'll shut them up." I didn't say anything; I just stopped in front of him and bent down to give him a kiss.
The two of us weren't really a couple any more, but neither of us were seeing anybody and he knew this would annoy my parents, which is why I was doing it.
"Rose!" Dad barked, making several people snicker.
I smirked and straightened up, giving Logan a very obvious wink and then began to walk past them, but Scorpius grabbed my hand gently and stood up.
"Um, she'll be angry with me for saying this," He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "but, Roxy, your brother and your cousins are waiting in the entrance hall to speak to you. Just be prepared." Scorpius looked down at me; I only really noticed then that he was at least two foot taller than me.
"Rose! Come on!" Dad yelled from behind me. I didn't say anything to him; I just nodded in response to Scorpius, took my hand back and turned once more.
Why was Malfoy warning me about my family? Surely, if he and Roxanne were loved up, surely he wouldn't want to risk upsetting her? If we were friends, then I'd understand why he told me to brace myself for them...but we're not friends. Are we?
Over the past five years, we have only ever spent time together when Ivy and Vinnie wanted to spend time together, or at Quidditch practice or meetings. We have never had a one on one conversation, outside of class anyway. Sometimes we would walk to a class together, we both studied Divination and were the only Slytherin's to do so, but he sat with Roxanne and the Gryffindors while I sat by myself, but occassionally we did our homework for that class together, but that's it.
Why was he risking upsetting his girlfriend, to warn me?
"Right, Mr. and Mrs. Weasely, I'll send two weeks' worth of class work and homework for Rose out by tomorrow afternoon. If you have any problems, feel free to owl me. Rose, I'll see you in a fortnight." Professor Urquhart nodded to me and my parents as we reached his classroom. Both my parents said their goodbyes and apologies to my head of house once more, but I still kept silent.
It took a total of ten seconds after the classroom door closed for my parents to start on me.
"I have no idea what was running through your mind!" Mum snapped.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?" Dad demanded. "That girl is your cousin's girlfriend! -"
"That girl is a sneaky two faced gossip who can't handle her fights!" I snapped, interrupting him. "You have no idea what she, and my dear cousins, were saying about me!" I rolled my eyes as we climbed the stairs to the entrance hall. Scorpius was right, every one of my Gryffindor cousins, and a few of their friends, were stood in the entrance hall waiting for us.
"What the hell is your problem?" Albus demanded as soon as he saw me. "Amy has a concussion and you ripped some of her hair -"
"I'll let you know when I care, Potter." I stopped him too and glared at every single one of them. "Wilson had it coming. You should be thankful Longbottom was there." I sneered in his face, ignoring Mum's gasp.
"Who are you?" Molly came up to stand beside Albus, looking at me with utter disgust on her face. "We knew you changed over the past five years -"
"I'm me; I don't pretend to be anything or anybody else. I am what I am because of what I've had to do." I shrugged and looked at each of my cousins, before landing on Lucy and Lily who looked a little nervous.
"You know, you two are lucky." I smirked at the two of them. "I was so close from attacking you." I heard Dad sigh but I ignored him, I ignored Mum taking my hand gently too. I just looked at the two girls in front of me. Two of my younger cousins, Lucy being a year younger than me and Lily being two years younger than me, I remembered when we were younger the three of us would play together.
Now, instead of the love I once felt for them, now I just felt annoyance, betrayal and hatred.
Before anybody could say anything, my parents practically dragged me from the school.
I was on my way downstairs to get something to eat after coming home and locking myself in my room for nearly five hours, when I heard my parents talking.
From the sounds of it, Mum was crying and Dad was comforting her.
"I don't know what goes through her head. Cutting class, talking back to teachers, not handing her homework in, not showing any form of respect to staff or fellow pupils - alcohol? What happened to our little girl, Ronald?" Mum sobbed.
"Does she feel inferior to the family? It's a lot to live up to I know but -" Mum suggested desperately. I rolled my eyes and scoffed silently when she suggested this.
"For the millionth time, Hermione! She doesn't compete with them, she doesn't feel inferior! Rose has never felt inferior to anybody! She hasn't had too! She gets better grades than them all, she seems to have her own group of friends and she's a damn better Quidditch player than most of her cousins!" Dad shouted back. "This is just a phase she's going through." He added in a softer tone.
"I hope so, Ron, I really do. I don't know how much more of this I can put up with." I heard Mum sigh. I knew she'd be sat at the kitchen table with her head in her hands and Dad would be stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders gently. "Ron...she put a girl in hospital...she willingly attacked a girl...what happened to our little baby girl who wouldn't hurt a fly?"
"I don't know, Hermione. I don't know." I heard Dad sigh.
Not wanting to take any more, I turned on the step and silently went back upstairs into my room, where I locked the door and climbed into bed.
What happened? A snide voice yelled inside my head. What happened is that the precious Weasley family showed their true colours.
"Their precious Gryffindor colours." I spat out loud.
"Rose could you come down here please." I heard my mother call from the bottom of the stairs. I groaned and rolled my eyes before dropping my magazine and stamping out the room. It's been three days since I heard my parent's conversation in the kitchen, and I hadn't spoke to either of them.
At first I stayed in my room with the door locked, but on the first morning, I got back from my shower to find my Dad had taken the lock from my door. That was fine; I wedged towels under the door so it couldn't open from the outside.
After I got back from my shower the second morning, my door had disappeared.
Slightly afraid of what they'd do next, I stopped ignoring them, but I didn't answer their questions. When they asked me something, I snapped back a sarcastic retort; I yelled at them, I was rude until they gave up.
"What do you want?" I snapped from the top of the stairs when my mother's head came into view at the bottom.
"Your father and I just want to speak to you so please be civil." She pleaded. I rolled my eyes again but started down the stairs anyways. Once at the bottom I trudged along the hall and into the kitchen where my parents where now sat next to each other at the table. Their hands were clasped together tightly on the table top. They looked so stiff and serious. I went and sat opposite them with my legs propped up on the chair to my left.
"Rose sit around properly." My dad scolded me but I took no notice. Instead I watched as my mum reached out to pour the tea. Her hand shook and she kept glancing up at me like she thought I was going to suddenly jump up and attack them.
I raised my eyebrows; my dad noticed and quickly took the teapot from my mother and finished pouring the tea by himself.
"I'm going to be completely honest with you here Rosie -" My dad started but I interrupted.
"Don't call me that!" I growled. He looked like he was about to protest but stopped himself.
"As I was saying, I'm going to be completely honest. We are at our wits end; we have no idea what to do with you! Whatever we do you whether it is praise or punishment you throw it straight back in our faces. We really put our necks on the line convincing Professor McGonagall not to expel you, but maybe we should have just let her." He finished.
I didn't say anything just concentrated on a mark on the table in front of me. I had made the mark two years ago when I threw down my cutlery in anger one dinner time. My mother coughed and I raised my head, they were both staring at me expectantly like they thought I would have something to say.
"Did you hear what I said Rose?" My dad asked like I was stupid. For the last two minutes I had felt my temper slowly rising but I had luckily kept it in check. My stupid father talking to me like I was a toddler really pushed me over the edge.
"Of course I heard what you said, It's hard not to because you never fucking shut up! It's all 'we don't know what to do with you' this and 'we can't be arsed with you anymore' that! Maybe you should of let Old Minnie expel me and then at least you wouldn't need to worry about me anymore!" I yelled, getting louder with each word, and jumping up and leaning forwards to really get in their faces. I could physically see my dad getting angrier as I spoke each word.
"Yeah, Rose. That's what we should have done! Let you get expelled at fifteen and throw your future away! You're right," Dad yelled back, his ears turning as red as our hair. "We wouldn't have worried then, would we?"
I didn't say anything; I just glared at him as he glared at me.
"Rose, sit down. We need to talk about this. It's been three days and you haven't said anything about what happened -" Mum tried to be the calm one and she actually put her hand on my shoulder gently and pushed me back down in my chair.
"What happened? I had a fight, Mum. I heard people talking about what she was saying, so I confronted her. I hit her, and I hit her again and again until Dad and Longbottom pulled me off her. I got suspended." I snapped at her, turning my glare to her instead of my Dad.
"I meant, what happened in your head for you to attack her like that? Fights are common amongst teenagers, Lord knows your father had more than his fair share of fights, but Rose; you put her in the hospital wing. You gave her a concussion." Mum pressed, looking me right in the eye.
As she looked at me, as her eyes searched through mine, I just shrugged.
"She spread a bunch of lies about me." I rolled my eyes when Mum groaned and put her head in her hands and took a few deep breaths.
"Teenage girls tell lies about other teenage girls, Rose, it's called life!" She snapped, looking at the table. Not at me.
"Teenagers have fights, Mum. It's called life!" I snapped back. I didn't give them a chance to say anything else, I stormed from the table and left the room before either of them could stop me. When I reached my room I grabbed the first thing I could find, a pile of books on my desk, and launched them at the wall to make up for not having a door to slam.
I laid face down on my bed and screamed. I was so frustrated, my parents could only see me as the problem they had no idea it was themselves that made me this way. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling breathing slowly and trying to get my temper back in check. It would be easier if Ivy was here right now. She was always the one to calm me down and comfort me. Even Vinnie would be good to have here right now; anyone other than the two people that gave me life.
As soon as we landed with a pop in the front room of The Burrow I ripped my hand from my mother's grasp. Its day ten of the suspension and my parents are not letting me out of their sight. For the past week I had been with my parents to work, sitting in their offices as they worked, sitting in a room by myself as my father interrogated criminals, sitting in Mum's office with her assistant checking on me as she was in case meetings.
Apparently I wasn't to be trusted home alone.
Every two weeks, the women in my family all get together for a catch up, usually at the Burrow, so that means I have been dragged along to a lunch my mum is having with all my aunts, Grandmother and Victoire. My dad refused to take me to work; he said he couldn't risk me embarrassing him, obviously me walking into a meeting he had with the other Aurors and demanding he took me to get some lunch, worked. He refused to take me into the Auror office again.
"Ahh good Hermione you're here." I heard my Aunt Ginny. "Oh and you've bought Rose..." she finished sounding surprised.
"Sorry Gin I could risk leaving her at home with Ron at work." My mum told them all hurriedly. My mother was actually apologising for me being there with them!
"No its fine, you are welcome to join us Rose." She replied sitting down on the sofa.
"Can't I just stay home?" I turned to my mother and tried my best to look innocent. Acting up and trying to embarrass her doesn't work. I learned that by demanding she take me to the bathroom while she was talking to her juniors, instead of caving like Dad did, she just ignored me and turned back to her workers.
"No." Mum shook her head and sighed.
"Why? I'm not going to burn the place down." I shrugged and told her in the calmest voice I could muster.
"Because we can't trust you!" Mum snapped and then took a few deep breaths. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop me from screaming in her face.
I couldn't deal with having six angry Weasley women; even the ones who married into the family had bad tempers, scream at me.
"Whatever." I murmured not bothering to look at anyone before walking out the room and into the kitchen.
I sat at the kitchen table with my head on the cool wood for about an hour.
It's a Saturday, and quite a nice day too. If I was still at Hogwarts with Ivy and the others, we'd have either snuck out to Hogsmeade or stayed out in the grounds all day, tormenting the younger students, annoying the older students, and generally having a good time.
The whole time I was trying to block out the sound of the women in my family going on endlessly about a new book they've read or an item of clothing they had to return. I was just about to walk out the back and take a broom out the shed when I heard the start of a conversation that caught my attention.
"So Hermione, how are you doing?" My Aunt Angelina asked like mum had a fatal disease or something.
"It's tough; Ron and I have no idea what to do with her anymore. If there was a reason for everything then it would be something, but there isn't. She's got friends; she's the highest in her year - when she actually bothers. Did I tell you that the two weeks of work the school sent, she completed in a day and a half? It's all correct and top marks too." My mother spoke loudly to the group. Silence fell for a couple of seconds.
"Have you ever thought about sending her to a different school?" I heard my Aunt Fleur ask.
"Are you suggesting I send her to Beaxbatons or something?"
"Yes! Think about it, a new place, new teachers, and new influences." Fleur listed. "It might be exactly what she needs to get her back on track."
"That is a great idea Fleur; I cannot believe we hadn't thought of that. I will tell Ron tonight." My mum chirped excitedly. I took that as my cue to step in.
I pushed the already ajar door open more and took a look around the room, my Grandmother was sat in her armchair, aunts Ginny, Fleur, Audrey and Angelina on the sofa with Victoire and my mother on the smaller sofa opposite. Each of them had a cup of tea in their hands and looked up when they saw the door open.
"Rose -" Mum began her eyes wide and her face already wary.
"There is no way you are sending me to some posh French school in an attempt to get me to behave!" I barked at her from the doorway.
"You will do whatever we say young lady! If that is what your father and I decide on then it will happen." She fought back trying hard to be undermined in front of everyone.
"No its not! Sending me to France won't make a difference, do you know why? It's because Hogwarts is not the problem, I'm the happiest when I'm there with my friends. It's you Mother, you and the rest of this family that have turned me into this." I shook my head and ignored my aunts and grandmother's gasps and shocked looks. "My friends and Hogwarts didn't make me like this, you did. Being a Slytherin didn't turn me into a disappointment, you did." I ended on a whisper and sent my mother, aunts and cousin the coldest glare I could manage.
I couldn't and wouldn't send a glare at Gran.
She was the one member of the family who I actually liked.
"How dare you?" Aunt Angelina scolded me before anybody could say anything. "How dare you blame your mother for everything you've done?"
"It wasn't your mother who pushed you into attacking that poor girl -" Aunt Audrey began, but I just laughed in her face, shutting her up.
"You're right." I nodded and laughed. "It was your precious daughter who pushed me into doing that. And yours." I nodded to Aunt Ginny.
Before anybody could say anything, I walked towards the fireplace and floo'd home.
There I went straight to my room and waited.
I waited for my parents to get back, to come up and yell at me. To tell me how disappointed they were in me.
I heard my mother floo home and then a couple of hours later, I heard my father walk through the door.
I waited for them to come up the stairs, but they didn't.
I waited for them to call me down to talk, but they didn't.
After a few hours, my mother called up the stairs,
"Rose," I waited eagerly and slightly nervously for her to tell me to come down so we could talk, but she just carried on.
"Dinner's ready."
I sat in silence as my parents discussed me return to school with McGonagall and Urquhart.
Four days ago I'd stopped my mother from sending me to France.
Four days ago my mother stopped trying to even talk to me properly.
She still spoke to me, but mainly to ask how I was feeling, if I was hungry, if I had any last minute clothes she needed to clean before I returned to school. She didn't ask me anything regarding the fight and just made it seem like it was half-term and I wasn't the only student out of school.
I didn't speak to her either. When she asked me questions, I gave simple yes or no answers.
Within an hour, my parents had finished with Professor McGonagall and were ready to leave.
"Rose, its dinner now. Go onto the dining hall to join your housemates." Urquhart told me when my parents stood from their chairs, bringing me to reality.
My father gave me a quick hug, whereas my mother hesitated before she tried to hug me.
Because she hesitated I turned and walked out of the office before she could touch me.
I quickly walked down the corridors, not wanting to give my parents a chance to catch up with me.
As I rounded the corner that would lead me into the entrance hall, I stopped when I heard voices.
"Sorry man, but we are going to crush you in our match next month!" That's James' voice.
Gryffindor was playing Slytherin next month.
Which Slytherin was he speaking too?
"I doubt it Potter. You haven't beaten us in years, we're not going to start letting you now." I heard Scorpius laugh.
Scorpius Malfoy.
I hadn't thought of him since I left school two weeks ago. The night he warned me my family was waiting for me. The night he warned me even though his girlfriend didn't want him too.
I carefully and slowly rounded the corner, thankful for my dark robes to blend into the shadows.
I could see Scorpius stood with Roxanne holding his hand, my cousins, excluding Molly, stood with them. A few other Gryffindors were stood with them too, with one or two Ravenclaw's or Hufflepuff's there as well.
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing as an idea popped into my mind once I saw Amy stood with Albus's arm wrapped around her, directly opposite Scorpius and Roxanne, whose backs were to me.
I flipped my hood up and kept my head down as I ran out of the shadows and towards the group of students. I could still see and I grinned when nobody noticed me until it was too late.
"Scorpius!" I yelled, whipping my head up so my hood fell down as I jumped on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. Even though he must have been surprised to see, hear and feel me, he dropped Roxanne's hand to secure me on his back.
"I'm back!" I grinned, when he turned his head to look at me, I briefly noticed that our faces were closer than they had ever been before. "Missed me?" I laughed, jumping down and straightening my robes. I could see each of my cousins glaring at me out of the corner of my eye.
Roxanne gripped Scorpius's hand tight too, making me smirk.
"Tons," Scorpius teased me, reaching out to ruffle my hair.
"Where is everybody? I'm back from that hell hole and I want to have fun!" I sang, grinning when Hugo opened his mouth to say something but he thought better when I met his eye.
"Ivy and Vinnie are eating dinner; I was just speaking to Roxy before I joined them." Scorpius laughed. "What sort of fun?" He added curiously.
I grinned again, and spoke loudly so everybody in the entrance hall, which was just the group of people I was stood in front of, could hear,
"Let's sneak out tonight once its lights out and go flying! Like we used to!" I smirked when Roxanne looked at Scorpius sharply.
"You really are back, aren't you?" Scorpius chuckled. I nodded and reached forwards to take the hand Roxanne wasn't holding, and pulled him towards me.
I looked right at Amy and Albus as I said, "Oh, I'm definitely back."
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