Living on a prayer.
"Wow." Rose exclaimed as they set foot into the Great Hall.
The Hall had been transformed, a low stage now at the front of the Hall. Props and instruments were at the righthand side of the stage, with the teachers table now positioned directly in front of the stage forming the first row of the crowd.
"That should put anybody off." Ron muttered, nodding towards the teachers table.
"Its not an encouraging front row." Harry agreed.
The energy in the room was verging on chaotic, as students swarmed liked angry locusts, desperate to get a good view of the stage. The tables quickly filling up, the three of them snaked in and out of packs of students, wanting to quickly get to the Gryffindor table.
"Hey Rose, Ron!" George heckled. "Over here!"
Grinning her gratitude, Rose hastily proceeded to divert around a large group of Slytherins. Seeing a clear space by Fred, they all promptly sat down, a large sigh of relief escaping them all.
"Good grief, what an absolute palaver." Rose said in surprise. "Is the karaoke really that good to cause this much chaos?"
"We have never understood why the students of Hogwarts seem wildly excited over something as dismal as karaoke" Fred replied distantly. "I'm afraid to say that it's up there with the Frog Choir."
"I really think you're going to hate it." George laughed "They don't even sing, they all mime."
"They mime?" Rose replied appalled. "Why would you mime singing yet play the instruments?"
"They mime that too." Edward answered amused.
Rose looked at him in dismay, hoping in a way that Edward was pulling her leg. Looking at George and Fred for confirmation, she shook her head slowly. This was going to be a long night. Out of nowhere Lee started to laugh overeagerly, making them all turn around and stare at him with a questioning glance.
"When on earth did you appear?" Fred announced boisterously.
"A couple of minutes ago, thanks for noticing." Lee replied sarcastically. "Anyway talking of miming, did you know that Hogwarts used to preform live music?."
"No?" Rose responded in surprise.
"Yeah." Lee agreed, leaning over the table, in an attempt to make the conversation more intimate. "Hogwarts even went and did singing competitions with other schools. There are loads of trophies in the trophy room showcasing it all. But the saddest thing of all is that the school used to have a school radio which was really popular. They have the radio kit in an old classroom next to the library."
"Wow." Rose sighed. "What happened for it to stop?"
"No one really knows, apart from the fact that Beauxbaton School is involved somehow." Lee replied. "It all happened about fifteen years ago, some cheating scandal happened and the singing stopped overnight. There is a reason why the Frog Choir is so regimented, it's all about keeping control."
"But there is nothing stopping the music coming back right?" Rose whispered excitedly.
"What are you thinking Rose?" Ron asked amused.
"Imagine a school radio Ron!" Rose replied, excitement clear in her voice. "Like for example actually good music being played."
"It would be pretty cool." Fred exclaimed from next to her. "but you have one problem, it hasn't been done in over fifteen years."
"And the person you would have to ask wouldn't agree to it." Lee answered knowingly.
"Who!?" Everyone inquired intrigued.
"Snape." Lee replied bluntly.
"Snape!?" Rose answered in disbelief. "Seriously?"
"He was the manager of the radio when he was at school and so therefore the most experienced."Lee sighed.
"Have you asked him Lee?" Rose asked intrigued.
"You are joking right? That's a death wish. No one is crazy enough to ask him." Lee shuddered.
"I think you're looking at the one person in this room who is crazy enough to do just that." George grinned, locking eyes with Rose. "Your going to ask him, aren't you Rose?"
"Yeah I am." Rose agreed, grinning at everyone in return, Lee looking awe struck.
No one had noticed the Friday night dinner arrive, the large steaks placed artistically down the centre of the table. The bowls of thick cut chips were pilled higher than the average students and individual side salads were set in front of each student.
"Is this a hint for me to actually eat some greens?" Ron muttered to Harry and Rose.
"You shouldn't need any hints." Rose reminded him. "The salad actually tastes really nice, the dressing is lush."
"Garlic butter Oliver?" Fred said seriously, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Why thank you Fred." Edward replied sarcastically. "You know how much I like it."
"If your not going to have it, are you okay if I take it?" Rose asked a little confused.
"Be my guest." Edward smirked, passing the condiment over. "Fred was just being funny."
"I just thought the steak needed a little oomph." Fred replied innocently.
"And you know that I like my meat bare and rare." Edward responded wittily.
"Yes Dear." Fred agreed.
Rose looked at the two of them still confused. Shaking her head at the odd conversation, she helped herself to the large pile of chips, placing some on Harry and Ron's plate too.
"God this food is one hundred times better than what the Dursley's used to give me." Harry sighed in satisfaction.
"It does look like they never fed you Harry. " George replied. "You are stick thin!"
"I did get food." Harry grinned. "Just it was always the unflattering bits."
"When you say unflattering bits.." Ron asked. "What exactly do you mean?"
"Lets just say, one time when Aunt Petunia said we had toad in the hole for dinner I was pleasantly surprised when I actually wasn't presented with a toad." Harry replied seriously.
There were chuckles from the others as Harry helped himself to another steak.
Full and feeling lethargic, the dinner bowls had thankfully now stopped refilling themselves and had slowly started to dwindle down to the bare amount.
"Ah! Hooch, twelve o'clock." George muttered to Edward, his eyes looking over Rose's head at someone behind.
Subtly Nodding, Edward quickly smiled at Rose before looking in the same direction as George. The teacher made her way round to Edward's side of the table, her cat like eyes seeking him out. As soon as she approached, she bent down without hesitation, whispering quietly in his ear. The conversation clearly meant to be kept private. Not wanting to look rude and intrusive, Rose quickly sort Smutz out, scooping the leftover fat from her plate and putting it in his bowl.
"You really do spoil that dog Rose." Fred joked as he glanced to see what she was doing.
"Really?" Rose asked amused. "But it hasn't just been me who has been feeding him scraps of meat though has it Fred?"
"Maybe?" Fred answered with an eyebrow waggle. "Or maybe it was George?"
"No it was defiantly you." Rose replied knowingly. "You have bigger ears than George."
"I do not!" Fred laughed.
"Do too." Ron replied.
"They do look pretty big Fred." George agreed.
"You lot are winding me up." Fred brushed off, pulling the lobes of his ears.
Rose laughed, nudging his side sympathetically.
"I think you have beautiful ears really Fred." She replied sweetly.
"Damn straight I do." Fred agreed with a smirk.
Rose chuckled again, looking from Fred to George. Noticing Hooch leave the table as she did so, the tension returned as everyone looked towards Edward.
"Well? What did Hooch want?" Lee inquired eagerly. "Is it about the team?"
"Yes." Edward agreed. "She was just letting me know that Gryffindor has met its highest interest in applicants in Quidditch this year."
"Well that's good news!" George said eagerly. "We might have a chance at the House Cup this year with that number of applicants."
"Oh please!" Lee scoffed at George. "All the applicants are screaming fan girls for Oliver! They aren't interested in Quidditch, they just want an excuse to be near him."
Looking around the table and noticing for the first time that evening that she was the only girl in close proximity to Edward, Rose felt a twinge of anger. Who was Lee to presume such a thing?
"When was it ever speculated that it was just girls that had applied?" Rose blurted, annoyed.
"I didn't necessarily mean every girl Rose." Lee replied apologetically. "I know that you for example can tolerate being in Oliver's presence. There are however some girls that loose themselves being around him in the most embarrassing of ways."
Lee sighed, looking at Rose with a desperate look. She glanced him over with a disapproving shake to her head.
"Flattery will get you nowhere Lee." She quipped. "You are still implying that girls will only ever apply for anything when it directly involves a boy. That's not right and frankly its wrong to presume such things. Surely most people who are going for the tryouts like to play Quidditch? Otherwise they are going to embarrass themselves quite quickly."
Lee looked trapped, looking at the twins for help, his forehead looking slightly sticky.
"Yeah, we aren't going to help you out." Fred whispered gleefully. "We agree with her entirely."
"I didn't want to offend you Rose." Lee said slowly, clearly embarrassed.
"You didn't." She hissed, looking at him with an amused stare. "But you can't tarnish every girl with the same brush."
As she looked away from Lee, her eyes met with Edwards. His eyes showing his gratitude, he carefully mouthed the words ''thank you.'' Subtly nodding her acknowledgment, Rose promptly moved the conversation on with Ron and Harry, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself.
The candles gradually started to dim, creating a dramatic ambient atmosphere to the Hall. The stage now the only thing lit, it shone like a beacon drawing your eyes to the empty stage.
The conversations instantly stopped, as if the room knew the protocol of what was about to happen. Promptly Professor Flitwick stood from the teachers table, climbing the small set of steps to the left hand side of the stage. Once he had walked to the centre of the stage he retrieved his wand, holding it to his throat;
"Sonorus" He muttered.
Putting his wand back into his robe, Flitwick jumped up and down a couple of times eagerly.
"Now that I have done the amplifying spell everyone should now hear me loud and clear." Flitwick announced eagerly. "Now who is ready for some karaoke?"
There was a polite couple of claps from mostly the Ravenclaw table.
"Ah come on Hogwarts! I've heard more eagerness from homework assignments! I said.. WHO IS READY FOR SOME KARAOKE?"
The room enthusiastically screamed and clapped with Fred and George howling like wolves at the top of their lungs.
"Much better!" Flitwick grinned. "Welcome everybody to our first Friday night sing-a-thon. For our first years who have never been to this before I will explain briefly the premise to tonight's entertainment. We have four singers, each one representing their house and competing for house points. All they have to do is impress all five of our wonderful judges, with the winner getting a bonus one hundred house points! Get comfy everybody, as the performances will be begun momentarily."
Rose twisted her body so that her legs were now hugging the bench, the view of the stage now clearer. With a chuckle from behind her, Rose got a poke on her shoulder as Fred copied the move, putting his head on Rose's shoulder.
"You're not actually looking forward to this are you Rose?" He asked amused.
"I thought I might as well be comfy if this is our tormented entertainment for the evening." Rose replied, leaning back into his chest. "I might as well use you as a pillow too since you are here."
"Good plan." Fred agreed, leaning his chin onto her head.
From the corner of her eye, Rose noticed Edward glance at the two of them, his gaze oddly startled. Worried what his glance might mean, she quickly distracted herself with a question she had been meaning to ask.
"Who is the judging panel?" Rose queried.
"Snape, Sprout, Dumbledore, Flitwick and Granny"
"Seriously?" Rose replied gobsmacked with an exhaled laugh, craning her neck towards the teachers table.
"I'm telling you.." Fred answered knowingly. "This shit is so bad, that it becomes quite good."
There was suddenly a loud echoing noise of electric guitars that echoed around the hall, making everyone instantly fall back into silence. Eyes all now on the stage, a single figure stood illuminated by light, their arms outreached towards the crowd.
"Without further ado, May I present to you our first act from Gryffindor." Flitwick's voice bellowed above the guitars. "Normally you know her as Alicia Spinnet, but tonight she is Madonna!"
A soon as he had finished speaking, the guitars also stopped and Alicia walked forward in a Madonna styled leather Jacket. Missing her cue to began in time with Madonna, Alicia didn't seem to mind, instead jumping energetically around the stage. As the song continued Alicia's energy didn't falter, she didn't stop moving for a second.
"She has great…enthusiasm." Rose whispered to Fred.
"No kidding, I'm surprised she can still breath." Fred muttered.
Coughing back a laugh, Rose elbowed Fred in the ribs.
"Please don't make me laugh, I don't want to look rude." Rose scolded.
"We are all thinking it, let's be honest!" He chuckled. "The worst part is that she isn't actually that bad."
Rose inwardly cringed at the thought, feeling like this was some sort of barbaric punishment and not something people openly volunteered to do. Head still comfortably knelt again Fred, she thought she could spare a quick glance towards Edward, surprised to see him already looking towards her. He indicated with his eyes towards the stage before rolling his eyes in despair making Rose unconsciously grin in return. The song finished with Alicia taking a long elegant bow before taking her leave of the stage. Like Fred had so wisely forecast, sadly the talents quickly went down hill from there. Barnaby Lee from Slytherin was next, attempting to mime rap "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-lot. Her ribs aching from silent laughter, Rose tried to mask her amusement as the seventh year confidently strutted around the stage grinding his arse in the air towards the crowd. Her conservative amusement was unneeded, especially as Fred roared with laughter when Barnaby thrusted towards McGonagall.
Penelope Clearwater was next representing Ravenclaw with her impersonation of Bonnie Tyler. Face caked in makeup, it was a wonder that Penelope could move the muscles in her face to actually mouth along. Head held high, she confidently pranced around the stage taking her roll as Bonnie Tyler very seriously. By the end of the song everyone was half asleep, the performance though passionate lacked anything else. Penelope clearly proud of her performance bowed proudly, smiling with a look of triumph on her face.
The audience stayed quiet momentarily, still withdrawn from the performance. It was only when Percy stood up from the crowd cheering enthusiastically, that everyone else politely clapped along too.
"And finally for our last contestant this evening, may I welcome onstage Mr Cedric Diggory as Jon Bon Jovi!"
The boy Rose presumed to be Cedric, confidently walked onto the stage. He had a handsome boyish face, his smile sweet and friendly. Waving smoothly to the crowd, there were loud cheers and whoops from quite a few girls from around the room. Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Rose couldn't ignore the look Lee had just shot at Edward. It was becoming increasingly clear that Lee got jealous of girls giving any other men attention. With a frizzy wig and unfashionable leather waistcoat showing off his undefined torso, Cedric in his current form was ironically, hardly looking his best either.
"I didn't put Diggory down for doing this!" George shouted to Fred over the cheering crowd.
"Diggory? Yeah I'm a bit surprised myself. Mind you the lack of clothes might be helping.. he knows the ladies love a bit of man flesh." Fred winked.
"I thought you said that karaoke Friday was social suicide?" Rose asked amused by the crowds reaction to Cedric. "Is Cedric popular?"
"He is." Fred confirmed. " For you usual student, this would be a horrific thing to do. But Cedric- He is the Hufflepuff equivalent to Mr Wood over here, a Hufflepuff God."
"You do realise you have just called Edward a God right?" Rose laughed, looking from Fred to Edward.
"Its alright, he can't hear me over this enthusiastic crowd." Fred joked.
The look that Edward was now wearing on his face seemed to contradict Fred's reply. Looking straight at Cedric with a look of great amusement, Edward was most defiantly wearing a smirk.
The music started and the room went silent as Cedric started strumming his feet to the beat of the bass guitar. Getting the crowd to clap along with the beat, he moved around the stage encouraging everyone to make as much noise as possible. Taking on the rockstar persona perfectly Cedric head banged along to the music, realistically pretending to play the guitar. Once the chorus began, the Hufflepuff table was singing along, waving their arms in the air swaying to the music. Jon Bon Jovi's voice drowned with the sound of students shouting the lyrics out loud. Incredibly the Hufflepuff's good mood caught quickly throughout the room with the majority of the school now singing and shouting along. Fred enthusiastically began to sing, making Rose jump out of her skin. Once she recovered from the initial shock she grinned at George who had also started to sing. Shrugging in acceptance, Rose joined in with the boys, shouting at the top of her lungs, laughing and swaying to the tune of the music. George had now started to do some Dad dancing towards Ron, purposely trying to provoke a reaction with Ron getter redder and redder.
"Bugger off!" Ron kept grumbling, eventually throwing a chip across the table at him.
"Ah come on Ron! Stop being such a miserable sod!" George chuckled.
"Why don't you pick on Oliver? He isn't participating either!" Ron shouted.
"Oliver doesn't count!" George retaliated. "He is far too superior to join in."
Edward rolled his eyes at the comment, an unsubtle smirk on his face.
"Why would I join in George, when its way more amusing to watch you all instead? Besides I'm a God don't you know?"
"Ahh Boo!" Rose heckled, before laughing at Edward's surprised reaction.
"Wow! I'm being booed now?" Edward laughed back.
Rose cheekily winked at him before continuing to dance with Fred. Shortly after the song ended and the room erupted into cheering and clapping, it was the clear winner by miles. Flitwick got back up onto the stage clapping along with everyone else. Clearing his throat he spoke to the crowd;
"Thank you Mr Diggory for your enthusiasm! Whilst the judges go over their votes, I think a spot of dessert is needed for you all and all our volunteer contestants."
"They volunteered?" Ron said with utter disgust in his voice. "What on earth possessed them to do that?"
"Its the only form of entertainment around here Ron, and people do desperate things for attention sometimes." Edward replied, clearly finding Ron's remark funny.
"I won't put your name down then Edward?" Rose asked cheekily.
"Absolutely not." He replied curtly, bringing Rose to grin widely at his reply.
"I can't believe they all sung Muggle songs." Harry stated a little surprised.
"What do you mean Harry?" Fred turned to Harry confused whilst nudging Rose to sit up at the table properly.
"Well I've heard of all of those songs before." Harry replied. "So I presumed that they were by Muggle Artists."
"Ah I understand." George nodded in understanding. "Witches and Wiazards release their music into the Muggle music system as its gives them a much wider audience and fanbase. It might surprise you to know that all the acts tonight were in fact all witches and wizards Harry."
"But we do listen to Muggle music too." Edward continued. "Its one of the few boundaries between the 'two worlds' that collide"
"Thats so weird" Harry muttered."I always thought that the Wizarding community lived apart from Muggles."
"Some do." Rose agreed. "They think that it is safer that way, though it's a slightly old fashioned thought personally."
"So you would want to blend in with the rest of society?" Edward asked intrigued.
"I see no reason to not live amongst Muggles. They are human beings at the end of the day." Rose responded carefully.
Edward nodded in agreement, looking at her with awed surprise.
"I couldn't agree more." He replied.
Smiling shyly in return, Rose distracted herself from Edwards gaze by helping herself to the recent arrival of trifle.
"Nice moves Alicia!"
Lee shouted the words so loudly that Rose nearly dropped the dessert spoon into the large trifle bowl. Embarrassed that Edward had witnessed the near miss, she subtly hushed him as they shared a private giggle. Distracted somewhat, Rose hadn't noticed that the blushing Alicia had now walked over along with Angelina and Katie and were now standing directly behind her.
"Would you mind shuffling down towards Harry Potter, so we can join our friends?" Alicia announced to Rose in a polite but authoritative tone.
Removing her gaze from Edward, Rose turned to address Alicia.
"They are part of the group Alicia" Fred frowned.
"Its okay Fred." Rose replied, touching his arm calmly. "I totally get it. You want to talk to your friends about your performance and I have spent the whole evening with them. Well done by the way, what you did took courage."
"Thank-" Alicia began, but Rose had already gone.
Trying to not look back towards the others, Rose could feel their eyes on her, her spine tingling as she knew instinctively Edward was still looking her way. Breathing in steadily and trying her hardest to ignore the sensation, Rose pursued in maintaining a conversation with Harry and Ron.
"How did you find it overall Ron?" Rose asked sympathetically.
"Bloody awful" Ron sighed. "I don't think I can take another Friday.
"I mean you could miss the whole ordeal, but it would also mean that you miss out on dinner." Rose joked.
"I've already considered nicking sandwiches at lunchtime and then eating them for dinner." Ron replied seriously..
"Oh gosh. Not double sandwiches." Rose joked. "What did you think of karaoke Friday Harry?"
"Have you guys seen 'Stars In Their Eyes'?" Harry inquired.
"No" Rose and Ron replied simultaneously.
"Yes!" Edward replied with a chuckle.
Edward was now sitting opposite the three of them, like he had always been there.
"Edward what are you doing?" Rose muttered, automatically leaning towards him without realising.
"Do you seriously think I want to hear how Alicia artistically created that elephant stomp she called a dance routine?" Edward replied innocently.
Rose snorted, covering her mouth quickly looking mortified.
"That's cruel." Rose scolded.
"Sometimes the truth hurts." Edward replied cheekily.
Shaking her head, though her smirk was still present, Edward pulled his eyes away from her to reply to Harry once again.
"Anyway I know exactly what you're thinking Harry, the premise is very similar to 'Stars in their eyes'"
"Well what is it? Ron asked intrigued.
"Its a Muggle tv show that is literally the same concept as what we have just seen." Harry answered. "My cousin Dudley likes to watch it every Saturday."
"What on earth is a tv show?" Ron frowned.
"A tv show is a performance Muggles can watch on a tv." Harry explained simply.
"And he actually chooses to watch it?" Ron asked abashed.
"There aren't really a lot of tv shows to choose from." Harry explained.
"But you don't actually have to watch the tv shows right?" Ron asked perplexed. "What on earth is a tv anyhow?"
Ignoring Ron's question, Rose's focus was back on Edward.
"And you've seen this 'tv show' too?" Rose asked Edward surprised.
"I've seen it in passing." Edward agreed. "Harry isn't the first person who has come from a Muggle family and seen the similarities."
Rose's eyebrow raised at his comment, but she could tell he was yet again telling the truth. Looking at Harry who was still eating his dessert she couldn't resist asking him the question that she didn't know the answer to;
"So what is a tv?"
After a further ten minutes of chitchat and debate, Flitwick again climbed onto the stage and tapped his throat to amplify his voice.
"Whilst you finish up your desserts, I thought I would announce todays results:
In fourth place we have Slytherin with 80 points. Thank you Mr Lee for your thrustworthy performance."
There was a polite applause with a small amount of booing murmured from the Slytherin table.
"In third place we have Miss Spinnet gaining Gryffindor 85 points."
There was another polite applause with a Angelina loudly saying "You cannot be serious?!"
"And then there were two!" Flitwick announced dramatically. "In second place, with 90 points making Miss Clearwater popular with her peers we have Ravenclaw"
The Ravenclaw's clapped, but looked disappointed, with Penelope looking slightly downtrodden that she hadn't in fact won. The Hufflepuff's on the other hand were ecstatic, not only were they clapping their hands, but they were stomping their feet as they knew they had won this weeks competition.
"And that means…" As Flitwick tried to shout over the Hufflepuff noise. "Today's champion is Mr Diggory with not 95 points, but a whole 195 House points!
For all you eager participants including first years, please come and find me for the form to apply! Happy weekend everybody!"
And with that he sat back at the teachers table.
"At least they are generous with house points!" Rose said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but it's a bit of shame that all of Alicia's points counteract the amount I lost from Snape earlier." Harry replied shamefully.
"I wouldn't worry too much Harry." Edward said matter of factly. "Fred and George are constantly loosing us house points, and no-one holds it against them."
"See!" Rose replied enthusiastically. "No-one blames you Harry."
Nodding in understanding, Harry sighed heavily as he cast his eyes on Snape who was still on the teachers table.
The room slowly started to vacate, as students started to make their way back to the common room. Giving Ron a poke on the arm to get his attention, Ron grunted to let her know he was listening.
"Shall we go upstairs and start on some homework?" Rose asked gently.
"It's late on a Friday, do we have to?" He whined.
"No, I suppose we could have the night off." She replied amused. "But I want to have mine finished by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
"Deal." Ron said eagerly. "Shall we take Smutz out for a last walk and head up?"
Looking at Harry to see if he agreed, Rose bent down to get Smutz, but he wasn't there.
"Smutz?" She announced worried.
Looking around quickly, she notice that he had moved to behind Edward's legs.
"Smutz!" Rose sighed, "Come on, it's time to take you out."
His tail started to slowly wag, a tell tale sign that he had heard her. Lifting his head towards Edward, Smutz looked at him waiting for Edward to respond.
A slight sigh escaped Rose's lips.
"Smutz. Here. Now." Rose hissed harshly, clicking her fingers and pointing to beside her.
He didn't move, his body still curled up beneath Edward. Smutz briefly looked at Rose before again looking at Edward.
"You can go with her, I give you permission." Edward grinned
It was as if Smutz understood.
"Honestly Smutz, you would think that you would remember who your owner is." Rose sighed.
"He is normally really loyal too." Ron agreed.
"Thanks Ron." Rose replied bitterly
"Please don't fret." Edward responded guilty.
"Oh I'm just being silly." Rose sighed. "I know I am. Its just..Smutz has never not listened to me before."
She bit her lip, looking down at the Schnauzer. He was sitting there loyally next to her, obedient as he usually was, but his eyes were looking towards Edward.
"Come on Rose, its getting late." Ron muttered.
"Sure" Rose whispered quietly. "See you later Edward."
Not knowing if he had even heard her, she walking off with Smutz at her heel. As she opened the heavy oak door that led to the Entrance Hall, Rose couldn't help but notice how refreshing the Hallway way.
"Rose?" Ron asked unsure.
"Ron, I'm fine." Rose replied calmly, turning to look at them both. " I just needed a moment."
"Your allowed a moment." Ron replied with a smile.
Leaning her head on his shoulder in thanks, the three of them walked towards the entrance to the castle, opening the final door. The grass was lit with the shadows of the candlelit rooms on the lower floor of the castle, flooding the grounds in a magical warm light. Sitting on the castle steps the three of them watched as Smutz patrolled the grounds like a sniffer dog, randomly changing his direction of smell. Thinking over the events of the afternoon, Rose's thoughts slowly changed to guilt when she realised that she hadn't brought up Hermione yet with Harry. Her guilt tightened as she thought back over tonight's meal.
"Did you manage to speak to Neville about Hermione?" Rose whispered to Harry.
"Yes." Harry replied with a sigh. "He isn't too sure what the matter is either, she seems a little distant and just stays in the library or the dormitory."
"I noticed she wasn't at dinner either." Rose replied.
"Each to their own." Ron muttered awkwardly.
"Ron, you don't always have to hold a grudge with everyone you know." Rose sighed. "Yes, she gave you the wrong impression on the train, but she seems reasonable enough. She is hardly a Malfoy."
"No, she isn't a Malfoy" Ron agreed quietly. "I just don't like how bossy she is, especially when she doesn't know me."
"I get it." Rose replied with an amused smile. "But I think she is struggling to fit in and that's her coping mechanism. Will you try and see past it?"
Ron yawned obnoxiously, clearly not wanting to take part in the optimism.
"I will think about it okay? But if she is being objectionable, I will retaliate." Ron sighed heavily.
"I would be worried if you didn't." Rose agreed.
"And she is very good at getting Gryffindor house points." Harry continued positively.
"There you go." Rose agreed. "She has her uses!"
Ron rolled his eyes, looking at the two of them with disinterest.
"I will think about it." He repeated. "Now can we head upstairs?"
The corridors were eerily quiet as they tiptoed through the passageways and hallways back to Gryffindor Tower. Not realising how late it actually was, they were relieved when the view of The Fat Lady came into sight.
"Where have you been?!" The Fat Lady barked.
"We were taking the dog out… why?" Rose asked confused.
"You are the only students not accounted for." The Fat Lady replied. "And you should have been back an hour ago. Curfew has always been nine o'clock."
"We're sorry?" Rose responded. "But we have a letter which explains-"
"Don't apologise" Ron interrupted. "She is a portrait!"
"Do you want to be locked outside the common room all night young man?" The Fat Lady hissed.
"Err no?" Ron replied.
"What my cousin has unfortunately phrased is that we actually have permission to be out later than most." Rose quickly responded, showing her the letter. "But we are still sorry for inconveniencing you."
"You are excused." The fat lady sniffed.
"Thank you." Rose replied calmly. "Now let's go inside. Bird Brain."
"Excuse me?" The fat lady remarked, clearly offended.
"The new password?" Rose replied, chewing her cheek to stop herself smiling.
"Oh yes… yes come on in." The Fat Lady flustered, opening the portrait hole.
"A bird has more bloody brains " Ron muttered.
The commotion that came from inside the common room was immense. Loud music filled the room, with Lee under the windowsill clearly in charge of the setup. To the left of the fireplace were an array of snacks and sweets, with another table filled with different drinks. Most students seemed to be still up, as they congregated in groups, chatting and dancing. Helping herself to a butter beer and cupcake, Rose snaked in and out of people, looking with intention for Hermione.
"Looking for Oliver?" Angelina smirked.
Rose slowly turned, her expression amused.
"Hi Angelina." Rose sighed. "I'm actually looking for Hermione, have you seen her?"
"Hermione who?" She replied rudely.
"Doesn't matter." Rose smiled bitterly. "You have answered my question."
Angelina's eyes narrowed as she tried to read Rose. As she did so, Rose's spine tingled as the familiar sensation rippled up her back.
"Anyway, I'm going to continue my search for Hermione." Rose quipped. "But Edward is over there if you wanted him."
Looking over to where Rose was pointing, Rose wasn't surprised to see Edward staring back at them.
"How did you-?"
"Rose the other first years are over in that corner." Harry shouted behind her.
Rose smirked, her eyebrow raised in amusement.
"Night Angelina." Rose replied.
Looking over to Edward with a beam, Rose quickly diverted her attention back to Harry.
"Well done Harry!" Rose replied with a smile. "Lets see if they know anything."
Dean and Seamus were in the middle of building a cup pyramid, whilst Neville, Parvati and Lavender watched from the squishy sofa. As they placed the final cup, Dean grabbed some old parchment from the table, screwing it up into a ball and throwing it at the tower. Noticing their arrival Seamus grinned at them, before throwing his own ball at the cups.
"We attempted to start Snape's shitty homework." Seamus announced with disgust.
"And how did that play out?" Harry asked.
Seamus snorted, the frustration still on his face. Holding up the paper ball in his hand he replied;
"Like this!"
Before throwing the screwed up homework at the tower again.
"Ah that well?" Rose laughed.
"Have you attempted it yet? Seamus asked.
"No." Rose replied. "We thought we would ruin our Saturday and do it tomorrow.
"Good luck" Dean replied. "I don't look forward to retrying."
Rose grinned, before turning to the others on the sofa.
"Hey, I know Harry has already asked you Neville, but can I ask either of you about Hermione?"
"What about her? We haven't seen her since Potions." Lavender promptly replied.
"So she hasn't eaten anything since Breakfast?" Rose responded mortified.
"I presume so?" Lavender shrugged slowly.
Rose looked around at everyone enjoying themselves, the guilty feeling returning. She couldn't sit here swigging her butter beer whilst there was someone she knew upset and alone.
"Right that settles things then." Rose said bitterly out loud. "I'm going to grab her some snacks and bloody well track her down."
"Do you want help?" Lavender asked unenthusiastically.
Rose looked at Lavender, a cold glint to her eye, disappointed that the two girls hadn't attempted to check up Hermione even once.
"I think I will be fine thank you."
Grabbing a plate, Rose helped herself to two of each flavoured sandwich, some crisps, two cupcakes, grapes and handful of chocolate frogs. Rose had just started to pour some pumpkin juice into a cup when Percy caught her attention. Smiling as she passed, he inquired whether she was okay, looking down at the amount of food she had in her hand.
"I'm just going to check on Hermione." Rose responded. "Where has all this food come from anyway?"
"Fred and George." Percy replied sourly. "They do this at any occasion they can."
"I'm surprised people are this hungry after dinner." Rose said thoughtfully
"Oh it's not for now." Percy replied. "Its for in a couple of hours time, like an extended midnight snack."
"You sound disapproving." Rose said amused. "Why don't you go to bed if you're not in the party mood tonight."
"I can't do that Rose!" Percy responded appalled. "I'm the Gryffindor Prefect. It is my duty to make sure that no riffraff occurs!"
"Of course you do." Rose agreed sincerely, biting her cheek to not give away her amusement. "Well.. good luck in your duties tonight, I might see you later."
Elegantly moving in-between groups of students, Rose managed to open the door leading to the dormitories and then the first year dormitory door, Smutz staying very close to her ankles. The room was eerily quiet, with Rose half convinced that there was no-one there. Walking up to the drawn bed curtains to Hermione's bed, Rose gently spoke up, feeling the awkwardness in the quietness of the room.
"Erm Hermione, is it okay if I come and sit with you?"
"Please leave me alone." She announced from behind the curtain.
"If that's what you want, of course I will respect your wishes." Rose replied calmly. "I understand that you haven't had anything to eat since breakfast and you don't need me to lecture you on how bad that is. I have some food here for you, I'm just going to put it on your bedside table."
Moving the end of Hermione's bed curtain so that she literally had enough room to angle the plate and then the goblet onto the bedside table.
"Come on boy." Rose whispered, before turning to make her leave.
"Wait!?" The little voice muttered.
Rose paused mid step worried she had imaged it.
"Yes?" Rose replied.
"Did you really get these just for me?"
"I did." Rose agreed. "There is a miniature party going on downstairs which has snacks and it suddenly occurred to me that you hadn't eaten."
"Thank you." Hermione paused. "I'm struggling to fit in at the moment."
"Your doing just fine." Rose replied kindly. "Its still the first week and everyone is still settling in. Do you still want to be by yourself?"
Shaking her head, Rose walked back to the other end of the room, sitting at the bottom of Hermione's bed.
"Why do you think you're not fitting in?" Rose asked, looking straight at Hermione.
"Because I don't have any friends."
"I thought Neville was your friend?" Rose asked confused.
"I guess…" She said quietly.
"Do you want to be my friend?" Rose asked.
"I don't think your cousin is keen on me." Hermione replied.
"I'm not asking about Ron's opinion." Rose said honestly. "I'm asking whether you want to be my friend."
Hermione looked at Rose, her eyes red and puffy from her crying.
"I don't know." Hermione stuttered. "If I'm being truthful, I've never had a real friend before, I've always found it easier to be by myself."
"But doing so is making you upset." Rose replied, even more confused.
Getting up she picked up the glass and plate and walked back handing the items to Hermione. Smutz lazily lying on the rug next to them.
"How about we take baby steps." Rose suggested.
"Baby steps?" Hermione frowned. "How?"
"Well we could start with being friendly towards one other? Waving at each other in the corridor doesn't necessarily mean we are friends. If you feel more comfortable in the future, we can adjust our relationship when you are ready."
"Thank you." Hermione sniffed in agreement.
"Not a problem." Rose smiled. "I'm just going to go and clean my teeth. You really should eat something, you'll feel better I promise."
Rose could tell that Hermione didn't want to talk, but needed the company. She considered the possibility of doing some homework, but quickly decided that a book would suffice instead. She was just about grab her pyjamas to go back into the bathroom, when a knock was heard on the dormitory door. Looking at Hermione and then back to the door, Rose confirmed that she would go and check who it was. Opening it she was pleasantly pleased to see it was Lavender and Parvati, hoping that they had come to check on Hermione. The disappointed feeling returned as Rose soon realised that this wasn't the case.
"Hey Rose, we were just checking whether you were coming back to the common room?" Parvati eagerly announced in a staged whisper.
"There is a competition of boy verses girl, and we wanted you to come and join in." Lavender continued excitedly.
"There will be loads of boys!" Giggled Parvati.
"What an invite!" Rose replied with heavy sarcasm that they unfortunately didn't pick up. "I'm actually going to have an early night and hang out with Hermione for a little while. Will you say goodnight to Ron and Harry for me?"
"Seriously?!" Parvati blurted, her nose wrinkling in disagreement. "But why?!"
"Because I've had a very busy day and I guess I'm not in the mood." Rose shrugged. "Have a good time with the 'boys'."
Shutting the door slowly in their baffled faces, Rose walked back to the bathroom smiling as she thought of how silly the two girls just sounded. When she had returned to the dormitory, Rose purposely left her bed curtains open so that Hermione was still visible and she knew that Rose was there if she was needed. No conversation was further spoken between the two girls, with Rose content on reading her book, her dog at her feet, and Hermione happy for the company. After an hour Hermione had fallen into a gentle sleep, slow peaceful snores filling the quiet air. Getting up and closing both Hermione and her own curtains for privacy, Rose sat down on her bed, hoping she had made Hermione feel slightly better.