I have the horrible habit of writing a bunch of stuff in the middle of story and then feeling lost when I try to connect it all, sorry! I'm working on it! Things from here are just going to get smuttier, sexier, hotter... hopefully you like it. :D
Chapter 5
Lavender is a flowering herb that can be used for oils or soaps.
Penny's birthday was lovely. Rose woke her up early with french toast and fresh fruit and they ate until they were too full for another bite. They planted Lavender by the door for luck and rubbed the leaves between their fingers to soak in the scent of the pretty purple flower. Then they painted and made a mess until Daphne and Astoria and a young Scorpius showed up with a trove of expertly wrapped birthday presents and chests of new clothes and shoes. It was perfectly lovely, and Rose only had one moment of sadness when she thought of Phil and how it had been two of Penny's birthdays since he had died.
Later, while Astoria took Scorpius and Penny to organize Penny's new wardrobe and pack for their trip, Daphne and Rose sat at in the bar stools by the island, eating cake by the forkful, as Daphne attempted to assure Rose that Penny would be just fine. Because every year the Aunts took Penny for a weekend to Paris and every year Rose had a minor panic attack. This year, she sublimated with strawberry cake covered in thick chocolate frosting.
"That's your third slice." her friend teased, even as she dug into another slice of cake of her own.
"If anyone asks, it's my second." Rose listened to the giggles coming from up the stairs, happy that the last week was over and her and Penny had mostly transitioned into living in Diagon Alley.
"She'll be just fine, you realize."
"I know."
"We go every year."
"I know."
"And she has a great time… every year."
Rose took another big bite of cake.
"You'll have a long weekend to yourself."
"Yep."
"Time you need to get your shop opened."
"Mmhmm."
"Time to take for yourself…"
"What is your point, Daph?"
"Neville Longbottom is at your front door."
"What?!" she swiveled on her seat, forkful of cake halfway to her mouth, and stared dumbly at her empty front door, which had been propped open to let the warm summer air in.
Daphne giggled behind her fork. "You like him!"
"I don't." Rose insisted, turning back to her mean friend and thinking about the other night. "He obviously has a lady friend, and it is none of my business. I have way too much on my plate to worry about a little…" she dropped her voice. "Crush."
"Just tell me again what exactly happened."
"Well…" Rose looked at the stairs, listening for squeals and giggles. The truth was that Penny had taken a liking to Neville and his garden, finding herself there in the afternoons, rain or shine, sketching and talking to Neville about herbology and asking about Hogwart's. And whenever Rose was around, the man would lavish her with attention, with flirty looks and sexy words that had her breath hitching and her palms turning sweaty as she tried her very best not to blush.
But it was hard when he was so damn sexy. And he was nice to her kid…
So the other night she had gathered her courage and marched out to invite him to dinner, consequences of her true name be damned, only for her to find him pressing an insanely beautiful redhead against the side wall of his shop, his fingers between her legs and their lips locked in a kiss straight out of a romance novel. Rose had stood staring for a long time, unable to process how someone could possibly kiss for that long without passing out. And then another feeling settled in her stomach, one she hadn't felt since before Phil had died.
Desire.
It flared bright and hot right in the bottom of her belly until she had to jog around the block a few times to get mind off it. By the time she got back home there was no sign of her neighbor or the gorgeous redhead, but her mind took over and supplied her with many ideas on exactly what they could be doing.
"Go on… tell me!" Daphne insisted.
"Well…"
Loud squeals of delight filled the house as Scorpius yelled for his mother to cease her tickling right that moment.
"Astoria looks better." Rose changed the subject immediately, pushing thoughts of her neighbor back in her mind.
Daphne rolled her eyes as she wiped her mouth with a colorful linen cloth. "Yes yes, my beautiful once very sick baby sister was saved by the Hero Harry Potter from her Infertility Curse that was slowly killing her after Scorpius was born and now she's pregnant with twins. Old news. Tell me about -"
"So glad you think so much of me sister." Astoria said, descending the stairs with one hand on the railing and the other cupping her overly swollen belly. "Penny is all packed!"
Rose jumped up, forgetting about the remainder of her cake and ignoring Daphne's put out look. Her daughter came stomping down, taking the steps by two. Her hair was tightly braided to the back of her head and she wore one of the new outfits her Aunts had gotten her.
"Paris here I come!" she said twirling, allowing the long white skirt to swirl around her ankles.
"Do you have everything? Toothbrush, socks, sketch pad?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go!"
"Wait." Rose leaned down, grabbing Penny by her collar. "I love you. Behave for your Aunts. Be nice to your cousin. Be safe. Have fun."
"I will, I love you too, I will, I will, I will, I willllll!"
"Ugh this just gets harder every year!" Rose said, kissing both Penny's cheeks before turning to her nephew.
Scorpius had his white blonde hair perfectly combed back and his smart yet casual dress robes pressed nicely. "My nephew, I love you. Behave for your Mother, be nice to your cousin, be safe, have fun!" and then to mess with him, she ran her hands through his hair and mussed it up.
"Noo, stop Aunt Rose!"
She turned to Daphne. "If Penny gives you any lip, feel free to just leave her by the orphanage."
"Mama!"
Astoria laughed. "Come on darlings, the Portkey will be leaving soon. Goodbye Rosie."
"Bye Mama."
"We'll talk when I get back, Rosie."
"Bye Aunt Rose!"
Rose followed the group out through the garden and out of the small gate between the shop and the next building. The gate had been an awful brown until Rose painted it all white, and Penny went at it with zeal. Now there were tiny flowers and flowing ivy all over the wooden boards. She shut the painted gate door closed behind her and waved off the group as they made their way noisily down the street.
"Have fun! I love you!" she called, thinking about years past. Every year for Penny's birthday Daphne and Astoria would take her for a weekend away to give Rose and Phil some time alone. Then it became tradition. Seeing as the Greengrass sisters were the only people from her old life she still talked to, Rose started calling them Aunt until Penny copied her. When Scorpius was born, Astoria returned the favor. It might've been an odd dynamic, but it was family. It was better than what the girl Pansy Parkinson had growing up.
She leaned against her gate and let her mind get lost thinking about the oddities of life. So much had changed for her and her daughter, the death of her husband, the move, her occupation change, the anticipation of Hogwart's… and yet some things remained the same. Penny's braid disappeared around a corner and the noise level dropped considerably for the little street Rose lived on. The sun baked the tops of her shoulders and she could smell the fragrant peonies she had planted.
"Hey." Some things were the same... and others...
She lifted her head to his voice, her mind immediately assaulting her with images of him and the redhead engaged in a sexual act that made her bite into her lip just thinking about. It ignited the flame in her belly.
"Hey Neville." she said to him. He walked towards her, wearing grass stained jeans and a tight fitting button up shirt in blue. The sleeves were rolled up just like they usually were.
"Where is she off to?" he asked, lifting a small pot up for her to see. A small, red cactus sat in the middle of the rich, dark soil.
"A long weekend with her Aunt's and cousin. Did you get her a present?" she took the small pot in her hands, sucking in a small breath when their fingers brushed slightly. He didn't notice.
"As long as she promises to take care of it. It's rare. But properly taken care of, it'll grow and bloom a flower every night. The petals will be different colors. I thought it a proper gift for a miniature gardening artist." he smiled, shrugging his hands into his jean pockets.
He stood casually with decent posture, and he stood with an appropriate amount of space between them. But still she felt as if he were too close, the fire in her belly making her think of the way he he handled the redheaded woman. The way he crowded her against the wall. The long year and a half it had been since she had been physical with her husband stretched behind her…
"That's a perfect present. She will be back on Monday, I'll give it to her then." she held the pot gingerly in her hands, looking down at the round and plump cactus. She needed to think of something else to say, he was looking at her expectantly and she couldn't think. The seconds stretched into a minute and she felt her throat growing thick. Finally she blurted out, "How was your… date the other night?"
His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Maggie? It was fine. How did you know about that?" he asked, giving her odd look.
"I saw you two… walk back. Sorry, nosy neighbor. I was out to check my peonies. Sorry."
"No problem." he leaned in slowly, as if trying to make her more uncomfortable. He had pretty blue eyes and his lip quirked up on one side, drawing her eye. She could lean up and kiss him. Maybe he would kiss her like he kissed the redhead...
She shook herself and stepped back. "Would you like a piece of birthday cake? I have a ton of birthday cake."
His half grin turned into a full smile and her stomach did a full flip at the sight. "What kind?"
"Strawberry with chocolate frosting. Of course."
"Of course, I would love a piece of that." he said slowly, focusing his eyes on her.
The gesture had her entire body tightening, knowing she would have to turn around to go through the gate to get to the cake she offered. She forced herself to slowly turn and unlatch the gate, feeling his eyes linger on her backside. She tried to ignore the way her body responded, trying to convince her heart to stop thumping so quickly beneath her tank top. He had a girlfriend. A redhead. A gorgeous redhead girlfriend that wasn't her.
He followed her along the stone path through her tiny garden and to the house where the front door was still propped open, his eyes taking everything in.
"This is the ground floor, and it was clean the day we moved in." she laughed nervously, trying to fill the silence. Scattered all around were paint supplies, easels, empty jars, baskets of brushes and used paint colors. Potted plants and completed canvases leaned against walls and windows. Stacks of towels seemed to pile around in random corners. A low, long book shelf to the right where several chairs and a couch were arranged to look out the windows created a cozy nook.
"I like it." he said honestly.
She smiled and led him to the back wall, where her half eaten 'second' slice waited for her next to the rest of the cake. "Okay, how large of a slice do you want?" she asked, picking up the cutting knife and grabbing a small plate.
"As much as you're willing to part with." he slid easily into the bar stool she occupied earlier and she set the cake in front of him, offering a fork. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
They polished off their slices of the delicious cake, Rose doing her best not to let her eyes linger on his lips too much as he took big bites, before she cleaned up the island as best she could. Unlike before, whenever they found themselves talking, they didn't fall into comfortable conversation. She couldn't get her mouth to form words when she could only think about kissing him. Finally he stood, wiping his hands on his dirty jeans, and she felt the words blurt out before she could stop them. "So are you and Maggie seeing each other?" Once upon a time, she had tact. This was not that time.
He gave her that same odd look. "Maggie? Definitely not. She's just a friend." he said the words slowly, licking his lips afterwards as he leaned in towards her.
She gulped, her brain scrambling as she thought if that was the way he kissed a 'friend', how would he kiss someone he actually liked? And then he was very close to her and he smelled like dirt and green, growing things.
"Feel better, Rose?"
She jumped. "What do you mean?"
"You have a bit of frosting on your lip." he said, grabbing her wrist when she lifted her hand to wipe at her mouth.
The moment of physical contact sent her into a buzzing bundle of nerves that only got more shaky the more he leaned in, though his hand was steady as he held her wrist. His mouth parted and he gently sucked her upper right lip into his mouth, taking the small bit of frosting for himself.