A/N: This is the sort of story I always thought I would write when I was 12 and never did. Oh well. It's done. And I still can't help but fangirl when I read my own work. Sigh. Please tell me what you thought!

Title: when in gretna green

Summary: Rose is acting very, very strange: she's cheerful. Roxanne is determined to find out why, though she has the sneaking suspicion it had something to do with her dear cousin's holidays.

Word count! 1,093

Genres: Family, Romance, Humour

Characters: Roxanne W., Rose W., Scorpius M.

Warning: Very mild suggestive themes

When her cousin turned up on Monday morning, 8 AM, after the February holidays, in the lecture hall with a cup of steaming coffee, her curly hair looking like a rat had decided to hibernate there permanently and enormous bags but still with a huge cheerful smile plastered on her face, Roxanne knew something was wrong. Well, maybe not wrong, because that smile of pure cheer, hardly meant something was wrong, but rather something was unusual.

This was because: a) Rose did not like having classes at 8AM, b) Rose detested coffee, c) her curly red hair was always impeccably brushed back into a tight bun or braid and d) she very rarely was cheerful and preferred to be continuously grumpy. So, yes, this whole situation was pretty unusual.

"Why, hello Rose," she tried as her cousin threw down her bags and coffee onto the table and pushed her hair back. The lecture of History, a subject they had both chosen to study after graduating from Hogwarts was only due to begin in a couple of minutes.

"Hello, Roxanne darling!" Rose intoned, cheerfully.

"Why are you so happy this morning?" Roxanne asked as she peered down into her cousin's cup. Mustard. Mustard coffee? What was this weird concoction? Maybe that was what was making Rose all weird.

"Aren't I allowed to be cheerful?" said Rose lightly; she looked as if she was about to burst out laughing.

"Not when your name is Rose Weasley and you generally come in looking like a zombie on these mornings," Roxanne retorted.

"Well, either I've changed my name, or I've changed my personality," Rose suggested with a small smile. "Have you got any spare parchment, per chance?"

Roxanne stared at her cousin. Rose, forgetting her parchment? It was practically unheard of. Something was definitely up. She begrudgingly handed her the paper.

"Well, how were your holidays?" she offered. "We missed you at the Burrow." It was tradition for the entire family to always get together during the holidays. Some of the younger ones were still at Hogwarts and desperately happy to see their older cousin. Rose's absence had definitely been felt and she had left very little information about what she was going to do. However, Albus, her favourite cousin, had apparently known quite a bit, and promptly refused to speak whenever someone mentioned Rose' whereabouts. Very, very suspicious...

"Oh, it was fun," Rose replied, but quickly dismissed it, they way someone would if they had a secret.

"Where did you go?"

"Scotland," she said, non-committally.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. There was definitely more to this. "Weren't you going on holiday with Anna and Helen?"

"Oh, yes. We did a lot of things together."

Aha. Trapped. "That's funny, because they both assured me that they weren't with you."

Rose blushed, magenta. It always amused Roxanne immensely how prone to blushing her cousin was, and how lovely the colour her cheeks turned was. Hugo and Fred loved to tease her endlessly about it. Frankly, naming your child Rose was probably going to lake her prone to blushing, after all.

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed," Rose tried to shrug it off and turned her attention to the professor who had just walked in.

"You hadn't noticed they weren't there with you," Roxanne deadpanned.

Rose nodded, not looking at her. Her bouncy red curls flew everywhere with that movement.

"You're being very secretive aren't you? Who were you actually with?"

More blushing. "No one."

The professor tapped his wand against his table twice and cleared his throat, saving Rose from another of Roxanne's prying questions. Roxanne shot a glare at her cousin, which she promptly ignored. Roxanne would get to the end of this. The professor started to take attendance. As usual, the wait to Weasley was interminable, at least that was what is seemed to Roxanne, but Rose was twiddling nervously on her seat. Her short replies and body language were currently communicating a lot to Roxanne.

"Weasley, Rose," he called out.

"Present!" her cousin replied, looking slightly relieved for some reason but still dreadfully cheerful.

"Oh, congratulations, by the way," he told her and Rose blushed once again, a huge smile on her face. Congratulations? Congratulations? Why? What? How? What had Rose done? The small word from the professor told her a lot more than her entire conversation with Rose.

"Thank you!"

The professor nodded. "Weasley, Roxanne."

"Present!" she called out too, before turning immediately to her cousin.

"Congratulations?" she hissed at her cousin, "What's all this about?"

"Oh, you know," Rose dismissed before taking the piece of parchment Roxanne had lent her and took out a quill. However, her cousin was left-handed and she immediately saw the glint of metal on her hand.

Roxanne grabbed the hand. There were two rings on it. A beautiful engagement ring with a stunning ruby and a shimmering emerald right next to it, and a wedding band, entwining silver and golden threads, underneath it. Understanding downed on her immediately.

"Oh, you sneaky little minx!" Roxanne said in amazement.

"We eloped!" Rose exclaimed, the cheerful smile on her face spreading so wide it seemed like her face was going to crack into two pieces.

This explained absolutely everything. Rose being so happy, her coffee, her hair, and was that a hickey? She preferred not to know. How sneaky her cousin had been! Pretending to go with Anna and Helen, when she was actually getting married! However, she was not very good at it if even their professor had figured it out. Also, Roxanne had immediately known something had happened the second she walked into the room.

"Have you lost you're damn mind! Grandma is going to blow a fuse!" Roxanne exclaimed as she admired the ring a little more.

"Please, did you know Grandpa and her eloped too!"

Roxanne looked at her in amazement. "Do your parents know?"

"Nope! You're the first person we've told!"

"But the professor?"

"Likes to take his holidays in Gretna Green too, apparently."

Roxanne couldn't believe it. "I can't believe you went to Gretna Green. I swear!"

Rose laughed.

"Your father is going to go crazy when he learns of this." This was probably the understatement of the year. Ron Weasley had barely accepted the fact that his precious daughter and the son of his nemesis: Scorpius Malfoy were dating for now 5 years, and had been secretly hoping they would break up. But now they were married…

"Exactly why we eloped!"

"I suppose Malfoy Sr. isn't aware yet?"

"Nope!"

"Merlin, you're absolutely unbelievable."

Rose just giggled.

FOR HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

House: Ravenclaw

Assignment #9: Care of Magical Creatures: Task #1: Write about someone trying to be sneaky.

All aboard: 4) Cheerful

Gobstones: Pink – communication – 7) Magenta – 12) Coffee – 18) Ruby

Founder days: Rowena says 9) "Have you lost your damn mind?"

Writing club:

Character appreciation: 6) Curly hair

Show time: 12) Married couple

Scamander's case: 17) confused

Film festival: 11) ring

EnTitled: 14) relationship revealed

Autumn seasonal:

Chemistry: 6) Cheerful

UN: 70) coffee

Get organised week: 15) Have you got any spare parchment"

Colour: 14) Mustard