2026

Rose Weasley stood before her locker with the key in her hand, somewhat reluctant to open up the metal door. Putting the key gingerly in the hole, she turned it and gently swung the door forward, as if to savour every degree it opened.

Today was Rose's last day at Cindy's Cinnamon Rolls. For two years, this place had been home, the smell of coffee and cinnamon would welcome her early in the morning, and the soft hum of the kneading machine (affectionately known as Frank) always made her feel comfortable and safe. And now, she was going to gather up her things and leave.

With a sigh, Rose began rooting through the bottom of her locker. She extracted a stray sweater and shook it loose of any dirt before placing it on the bench. Opening up her rucksack, she swept all the contents of the locker in. Rose spotted a card sticking out of the debris. She smiled in recognition.

She took it in her hands and dusted it off. On the cover was a dancing cinnamon roll, with words forming over its head, "Welcome to Cindy's!"

She opened the card and tears formed in her eyes as she read.

Dear Rose Weasley,

Welcome aboard! We're excited to work with you. Work hard always, never hesitate to ask for help, keep the focus on fun, and of course, keep thinking about ways to make our customers happy :)

All the very best!

Arnold Shine,

Assistant Regional Manager,

Cindy's Cinnamon Rolls Ltd, Great Britain

Rose wiped her tears with the backs of her hands and threw a sideways glance to the locker room door. It was her last day and Arnold hadn't even wished her. She was assistant manager – shoe-in for manager – at their branch and he hadn't even messaged to say goodbye.

"He's probably busy," Rose whispered to herself, trying to keep from crying again. Looking back at the dancing cinnamon roll, Rose was reminded of how she ended up at Cindy's, about two years ago.

-x-

2024

Albus had gotten accepted at the Curse Breakers' program. Scorpius was going to the prestigious Warnot School for Arithmancy and Statistical Wizardry. Alice was getting certified to be a flying teacher. Dominique was going to take a gap year to travel the world.

It felt like Rose was the only one without a plan. All around her, everyone knew exactly who they were and who they wanted to be, while she was just relieved that school was over and that she hadn't flunked in any of her exams.

(She'd even done pretty well, by her own standards. Which was clearly not enough, considering the look on Hermione's face when Rose's results came in.)

But one day, Rose decided that while she didn't have a plan, she had to do something. She thought about taking a gap year like Dom, but didn't like the idea of asking her parents for the money for it. She thought about college – like Malfoy was doing – but she wasn't sure what she'd study. She'd done pretty well in her Charms and Transfig papers, and decent at DADA, but other than that, she didn't have enough direction to justify the high tuition fees. And besides, it wasn't like she'd get in anywhere good with her other scores. Then, there was the possibility of a professional course like Al's. But there too, Rose wasn't sure what she'd do.

What was she good at anyway?

She hated that question. It had kept her up so many nights, sending tears down her face and into her pillow.

What am I good at? What am I good for?

Existential crisis aside, she had to do something. So, using her beat-up e-Owl, she did some research and found a couple of distance education courses from the Ministry, for Applied Charms and Advanced Spellcraft. She filled out the forms, payed the necessary fees (she had some money from her summer jobs and from birthday cash), and was officially enrolled as a student. But the courses weren't full time, so she needed some way to be away from home for the rest of the time.

There were only so many disapproving glances from her mother she could take.

So the next answer was simple: Rose Weasley needed to get a job.

Creating a profile on Job Accio, she searched through the many open jobs.

Hair dressers, nail artists, baristas, assistants, cashiers – all with dull, single line descriptions.

And then one caught her eye:

Cindy's Cinnamon Rolls – shifts between working cash register and in kitchen. Basic baking knowledge preferred. Culture of growth within the organisation.

Read about the inspiring story of Cindy's here.

No other job posting had a link to the story of the organisation, so Rose was intrigued. When the second tab opened, Rose read:

Welcome, dear aspirant! We're excited that you're considering a career at Cindy's! There's many reasons that our company is a unique place to work, but we'd like to start at the very beginning, which is our beginning!

Cindy Jemford is an individual with no magical abilities. As a young twenty year old with a flair for cooking and baking, she joined a Muggle bakery in downtown London and for about five years, she honed her skills there. A dream began to take shape in her mind: Cindy wanted to start a business of her own. In a run-down former Dark Objects shop, she began her bakery, with one signature dish: cinnamon rolls.

Her shop was a sleeper hit. The new and improved Knockturn alley had several hungry shop owners and office goers, but very few options when it came to a quick breakfast or coffee. Soon, witches and wizards from all over Magical London would queue up at her door for her famous rolls.

Two years later, Cindy began expanding her operations. Here's where she ran into a challenge. As an individual without magical abilities, scaling up was a challenge. After hiring a magical sous chef, she discovered a fresh difficulty: magic spells tend to have a large amount of entropy, especially in mass manufacturing situations. This made it difficult to control the outcome of large scale cooking and baking spells.

What Cindy needed was a way to make a great recipe again and again, with similar results. So that everyone would get what they came for: the warm, deliciousness they had come to associate with Cindy's.

Muggle technology came to the rescue. After scaling up and testing Muggle machines for dough making, kneading and rolling, Cindy had her solution. She set up her second branch and the rest is history!

Today, Cindy's has expanded to thirty five branches around the world. Our work ethic remains the same as it had been in a tiny corner of Knockturn alley. We believe that everyone deserves a chance to do something remarkable. We believe in ingenuity and hard work. And of course, we believe in the power of good food.

And that's where you could come in!

Are you a foodie looking to work somewhere where you could grow personally and professionally?

If yes, fill in your application here. Good luck!

Rose was intrigued. The story of Cindy left her awestruck and – tinkerer at heart and a true granddaughter of Arthur Weasley – she was curious about the Muggle machines. After looking at the pay, Rose quickly filled out the form, double-checked it and turned it in. She pulled up a scrap scroll and wrote down

- Applied Charms + Advanced Spellcraft

- Job (hopefully at Cindy's)

- Living?

Her e-Owl had all the answers again. She found a small youth hostel, where some students from Warnot and Flamel's stayed, in the middle of Wizarding London. She saw dorm rooms with six person occupancy that worked out the cheapest. Now, all she had to do was wait for Cindy's to get back to her.

She didn't have to wait long. About an hour after Rose had submitted her application, she received an e-Owl.

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest! We would like to have an interview with you via e-Owl or Floo at your earliest convenience.

Here are the available slots:

2:30 – 3:00pm TODAY

5:00 – 5:30pm TODAY

10:00 – 10:30am TOMORROW

2:30 – 3:00pm TOMORROW

5:00 – 5:30pm TOMORROW

Thanks and regards,

Arnold Shine,

Assistant Regional Manager,

Cindy's Cinnamon Rolls Ltd, Great Britain

The stars of Rose's watch told her she had about an hour for the next available interview slot, so she replied accepting that one.

Rose then took her e-Owl and walked out to the pond near her house, where it would be quiet for the interview. While she walked, she thought of potential questions Arnold could ask her and prepared her answers. At 2:00pm sharp, her e-Owl rang.

"Hello, my name is Arnold Shine, I'm calling about a phone interview?"

"Hi, I'm –"

"Sorry, I have to cut you off – it's Job Accio policy that I don't learn your name until after the hiring formalities. So for the remainder of this call, I shall refer to you as Applicant 212 – I know, it's quite strange and somewhat dehumanizing, but it's policy," Arnold said in one single breath, before continuing, "Anyway, well hello, Applicant 212! How are you?"

Rose blinked dumbly at the surface of the pond for a second before she remembered her vocal chords and how to use them.

"Hello, Arnold!"

"I was very pleased with your application – you said you are familiar with baking?"

"Um yeah, I bake pies with my grandmother. And now I can make them on my own too." Rose cursed herself almost immediately for oversharing.

"Wonderful, wonderful. Do you have any experience with yeasted doughs? That's what cinnamon rolls are made with," Arnold said.

"Yeah, I have made bread before."

"Very good, very good. And why did you apply to Cindy's?"

Rose had to think for a second. The answer hit her so hard, she blurted it out, "I don't question myself too much when I'm baking."

Arnold appeared to need a moment to think as well.

"That's an interesting answer, Applicant 212. Would you say baking is your happy place?"

Rose thought about the times when felt most in tune with herself. It was when she was making a pie with Nana Weasley, or when she was experimenting with a new spell, or when she was tinkering with an old broom.

"Yes, Arnold, it's one of my happy places," she replied, feeling emotional all of a sudden. All her interests seemed so useless.

"That's absolutely wonderful."

"I also love Muggle machines and, well, machines in general," she said, ploughing through her insecurities.

"Oh really! You'll love the kitchen then." Rose couldn't see Arnold, but she got the feeling he was smiling. Somehow, that made her feel better.

"I see here that you have served customers before. Would you say that's a strength of yours?" he asked.

"Um. I don't always get people," she said. Rose had helped customers at WWW's for a few summers, but she still got the feeling that sometimes, other people were fluent in a language she was unfamiliar with.

"But I am good at remembering what to say, and my maths is decent," she said, rushing to make up for her downside.

"Hmm, okay. Well, everything takes practice, doesn't it? I'll tell you what, Applicant 212, I like you. I think you'll be a good fit for us – I liked your application and I enjoy the fact that you're interested in baking and machines. I'll tell you my story at Cindy's. I started out much like you – applying to an entry level position. But I worked my way up and today, I'm the Assistant Regional Manager of the Great Britain area. We value our people's inputs here, and we recognise good ideas – so be committed to your work and your customers, think of ways to improve your store and you'll grow within the company. Does that sound interesting?"

Rose did like the idea of one day becoming the Assistant Regional Manager of the Great Britain Area.

"Yes?" she replied.

"And, do you study or anything?" he asked. Rose swallowed.

"Yes, but they're distance education courses."

"Alright, so that means you have a flexible schedule but you'll have exams et cetera, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, just give me a good heads-up so we can work out the shifts and everything, alright?"

"Um, Arnold?"

"Yeah, Applicant 212?"

"Does this mean I got the job?"

Rose heard a laugh on the other end. But it didn't sound mocking at all – it was warm and friendly.

"Yes, Applicant 212, you got the job."

Suddenly, everything seemed possible. Rose could now afford the youth hostel near Warnot, she could now do her distance course – and, maybe, she wouldn't feel like such a failure anymore.

"Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you so much, I can't tell you how much this means to me and – oh! I cut you off, I'm so sorry –"

"No worries, 212. Let's complete the rest of the process over text. Does that sound alright?" This sounded like Ron's "dad" voice.

"Yes, that sounds okay."

"Alright, Applicant 212. I look forward to meeting you soon!"

And then the two of them exchanged goodbyes before hanging up. Rose clenched her fists and jumped up and down like a loon, her squeals of joy echoing around the pond.

Rose Weasley had a job now!

A/N: As the summary says, this story is very close to my heart :) I relate a lot to Rose in this particular fic, and I hope you will enjoy it!

Love,

Blue Hedwig