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Push & Pull
Chapter 7
Full English
Rose tossed and turned all night. At about 3am, she sat up in bed and strongly considered flooing over to Alice's place to tell her the news. She forced herself to lay back down, drifting in and out until 7am. She knew she couldn't wake her roommate up for company, so she wrote up letters to her staff inviting them out to dinner that night, and a special one to call Alice over for breakfast. She sat for a long time before she decided to invite Scorpius out too. He was technically her boss during the takeover, and she was sure he would know about the nomination. She made the letter decidedly casual, mentioning that she'd be announcing the news at the dinner and he was welcome to join them. Once they were dropped off in the box for her landlord's owl to take, she got started cooking. Roxanne awoke long before her usual hours, tempted from her room by the promise of food. Before she even sat down, Rose piled a plate with eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, and tomatoes and set it at her counter seat.
"Where the hell is my tea?" Roxanne pounded her fists on the counter, and Rose spun to give her a long stare, strongly considering tossing the spatula at her.
"Kidding!" Roxanne giggled, standing up and making her way to the teapot, "I'll make enough for the both of us."
"That's what I like to hear," Rose grinned, plating two more breakfasts. She brought them to the counter, sitting down patiently for the tea.
"Are we waiting on someone?" Roxanne asked. She leaned against the counter, listening for the water to heat up.
"No, these are both for me," Rose pulled the plates in front of her, grinning wickedly.
A crack sounded outside of the apartment and Alice entered, ruining Rose's joke.
"You should have told me to make enough for three!" Roxanne teased, waving a greeting to Alice.
"You always make enough tea for twelve, I think we're fine," Rose rolled her eyes. She didn't need to let Alice know that her food was ready. Her friend gravitated to the counter all on her own, taking a seat and digging in.
"Slow down! You have to tell us about your date!" Rose flapped her arms frantically, and Alice groaned.
"I was really hoping to push that off a little longer," she admitted.
"Well you can," Rose was bouncing in her chair, "Because I've been nominated for a Slughorn award!"
"No way Rose, congratulations!" Alice screamed, leaning from her stool precariously and wrapping her in a big hug. They laughed together for a moment, appreciating all they'd been through.
"See Roxanne, that's the proper response to news like this," Rose teased, turning to her roommate. Roxanne stuck her tongue out. She then poured the tea with lots of sugar.
"That's what dinner is about then?" Alice questioned. She turned immediately to her food, not waiting for an answer.
"Yes! I can't wait to tell everyone, they'll be so excited," Rose accepted her tea from Roxanne with a large grin that couldn't be wiped off her face for anything in the world, "Now that that's out of the way, you have to tell me about your date!"
"Wait, there was a date?" Roxanne handed Alice her tea.
Alice took a sip and flinched at the heat, "With Albus. It was nice. I had fun." her reassuring tone did nothing for Rose's curiosity.
"Come on, I need details! Start from the beginning," Rose finally got started on her food, "Where did he take you?"
"We went to this cute little hole-in-the-wall italian place. It was really good," she finished her bacon, grabbing a slice of toast to dip in her eggs, "he was really awkward, and it was adorable." Alice grinned to herself. She went back to work on her food.
"He's never had a girlfriend before, right?" Alice asked between bites.
Rose surfaced from her breakfast, finishing with a pat on her tummy, "No, he was with that one girl for like a year. I don't remember seeing much of her though. She was his only one I think. Oh! Remember when he turned down Carmela Zabini in sixth year?" Rose laughed.
"How could I forget? She hexed him in the great hall!" Roxanne exclaimed, waving a sausage in exclamation.
"Then she told everyone that it was because he was gay. Because god forbid a man isn't ready to die for the girl," Rose's nose crinkled at the memory. The three laughed for a moment, wrapped up in Hogwarts memories.
"He's not, is he?" Alice finally asked.
"He's not what?" Rose questioned, confused.
"Gay? Albus? Of course not!" Roxanne scoffed, bringing her plate and Rose's to the sink.
"Why not?" Alice wondered aloud, "Have you hooked up with him?"
"God no," Roxanne spun quickly, stomping that one out before it started, "I just know the guy. Most manly man I know, that one."
"Well, being manly doesn't mean you're not gay," Rose laughed, "You're straight and you're not exactly the most feminine woman out there."
The three pondered for a moment in the awkward silence.
"Not that it matters much if he is," Rose finally said, "But what would that mean for Alice's date?"
"Oh, we're not going out again," Alice replied. As soon as she set her fork down, Roxanne swept her plate away from her, "He was really sweet, but he's still Albus from Hogwarts to me."
"Well that solves that!" Roxanne wiped her hands together as if she were done with the whole thing, "Let's go buy dresses for that thing on thursday!"
…
Rose didn't always like shopping. In fact, there was once a time that she hated anything other than pants. It was Roxanne, actually, that got her into the whole thing. Roxanne prided herself on being able to drop her tomboy everyday look and put on a gown for the formal functions that any Weasley or Potter had to attend. Rose had always admired the way she was like one of the muggle fairy tales her mother had always told her of: she could wish away her life for a night and be a stunning young girl in a ballgown, stealing the hearts of anyone around her. It was a fundraiser in sixth year that Rose finally asked if she could join Roxanne and her mother shopping, and her life was forever changed.
Today, Rose found herself in a new muggle designer shop in London. She couldn't pronounce the name, but it wasn't even witch-friendly. They had to exchange currency at Gringotts before they even stepped in. But as Rose took in the glory of this beautiful venue, she had no regrets for the extra few steps.
A sales associate assisted them to pick out several gowns for the occasion. "An academic award ceremony," they had dubbed it. Roxanne looked beautiful in the first long, black gown she tried on. It had a cutout that her dark skin poked through beautifully, the slight shimmer in the material only complimenting her natural glow. She really should have been a model.
After several dresses, Alice picked an off the shoulder chiffon dress in dark blue that complemented her thin frame beautifully.
Rose felt frumpy in everything she tried on. Her curves seemed to sit in all the wrong places, and she just ended up feeling fat after the 10th dress.
"Let me in!" Roxanne demanded, pushing through the curtain without waiting for a response. Rose was in nothing but her undies, which had little broomsticks all over them.
"Cute," Roxanne snorted, handing Rose a pile of sparkle on a hanger, "Try this one on."
Rose threw the hangar on a chair and stepped into the gown, pulling it up, "It's not gonna fit," she told Roxanne knowingly.
"Shut up and suck it in," Roxanne demanded, pulling the zipper up. With only a little bit of effort, the dress was on, and it fit like a glove. Looking into the mirror, Rose didn't recognize her own body. The top was coated in gold glitter which cascaded down to a black bottom. It hugged her tight in places that it shouldn't, but they were smoothed over by the beautiful material of the dress.
"You're a bloody genius," Rose admitted, spinning around. And her ass looked perfect. Score!
"What the hell is that," Roxanne licked her finger, running it roughly against Rose's chest.
"Woah, gross Roxanne!" Rose shoved her hands away, making squeamish noises.
"Rose Weasley, do you have a hickey?" Roxanne's voice started to raise. Rose let go of her arms in favor for covering Roxanne's mouth with a loud shush. Her eyes widened behind Rose's hands, and Rose felt a little dizzy. She pulled her hands away slowly,, warning Roxanne with a look.
"Rose, you tell me right now if you're getting laid, or so help me,"
"Fine! Yes. I'm sleeping with someone," Rose sat down in the gown, suddenly feeling very restricted. Was that the material or her stomach? She couldn't tell.
"Sleeping with?! What does that even mean?" Roxanne crossed her arms.
"You bloody well know what that means Roxanne, you do it all the time."
"Yeah, but I do that all the time. Who even are you?" She laughed, teasing.
"It's Scorpius, we can't exactly have a relationship now can we?"
Roxanne leaned against the wall, "Holy shit Rose, what are you doing?"
Rose grinned back at her, "Having a hell of a time."
"Well I'd hope so. Your dad would kill you for sleeping with a Malfoy."
Rose stood quickly, taking a step forward and poking her in the chest, "Roxanne, my dad will never know that I so much as looked at Malfoy, do you understand?"
Roxanne put her hands up in a show of mercy, "Rose, your dad would kill me for being the one to tell him. Now can we show Alice the dress and try not to let the world know about this fiasco before your dad senses that his daughter is shagging out of wedlock?"
It was with a groan of defeat that Rose followed Roxanne to the main room, showing off the dress to the associates and Alice. All were very proud, and the girls checked out under budget. Apparently. Rose didn't use muggle money often, she honestly had no idea.
…
The dresses were put away, Rose was redone up, and she had on a form-fitting dress before she flooed to Alice's to collect the girl. Alice's flat was stark white, a small space with a dining room table in the entryway and a large bookshelf in the corner.
"Almost ready?" Rose called into the space, taking a seat at the table.
"Yeah, just a minute!" Alice called back.
With the lack of decoration, Rose's attention was pulled to the bookshelf.
Alice had eclectic tastes it seemed. There was everything from old textbooks to fantasy novels. One runic text in particular caught her eye, and Rose stood, making her way to the shelf.
Alice never took ancient runes, Rose noted to herself, running a finger down the spine. Understandably, it was flanked by an introductory book to runes. Rose opened to a random page. It seemed to be outlining details of runic rituals. Rose had never gotten into that kind of magic, as it was reserved for historians observing old magic. She'd been obsessed with new magic in school, but as her studies continued past Hogwarts, she found value in old practices. Rose wondered briefly how Alice came across a ritual book.
She heard footsteps from down the hall, and fumbled quickly to put the book where she had found it. She shouldn't be going through her friend's things, regardless of how fascinating they might be. She took a large step away from the shelf and fiddled with her hands idly as if she'd been standing there waiting.
"Alright, off we go," Alice walked past Rose, opening the small container she used for floo powder.
The two stepped into a busy Three Broomsticks, brushing themselves off.
"Oh shit, it's Hogsmeade weekend at Hogwarts," Rose ducked around the edge of the room, looking for her team. She felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see the ginger mop of A very familiar Weasley.
"Hey sis!" Hugo grinned.
Author's Note: I apologize, this is the shortest chapter since my first one. I hope that this throws a tinytiny bit of the friend dynamic in there, and I can't WAIT for family interactions next chapter. That's part of the reason I love nextgen so much, is all the cousins. These next few chapters might feel a bit slow as I build to the first major conflict, so I'm trying to spice them up as much as possible. Having my friend over Sunday for some wine and second opinions, so I hope that helps! Can't wait for the awards ceremony! As always I LOVE your reviews! I read all of them and truly take the feedback to heart, so the constructive but not rude is perfect. The short encouragements are adored as well. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU FOR READING!