where do you bloom?

Things just seemed to get worse as time went on. Half going too fast and too slow all at the same time. A student was taken from her dorm without actual concern from the staff– a baffling incident if you asked him. His friends, those that found themselves sticking to their parents’ beliefs, had looked far too happy about it. And it was uncomfortable. Unbearable. It was something he hadn’t been able to swallow and for the first time it seemed that he didn’t really know them as much as he thought he did. So he found himself prolonging his rounds or just staying out as late as possible, in hopes of keeping away from the Slytherin common room. And perhaps staying out was giving him too much time to overthink how things were going - or maybe just enough time. 

Scorpius was pulled out of his thoughts, jumping at the sudden outburst. “for merlin’s sake.” He breathed out, stepping forward a bit to peak around the corner to find someone much less scary than expected. “Rose? What are you— are you okay?” Relieved that was her while simultaneously stressed about why she seemed to be  alone in a dark corridor – must be a Weasley and co sort of thing – when it was dangerous out. He carefully rounded the corner, casting a cautious glance behind him and then behind Rose to make sure there were no professors around.

He let out a sigh once he’d turned back to Rose, gaze softening as he slowly gathered that she’d been crying and obviously craving chocolate frogs. “–Also how would I get you in trouble when you’re the one breaking the rules?” He asked with a scoff as he bent to scoop up the rest of the wrappers before taking the ones she had in her hands.

there was a part of her that couldn’t help but be relieved. rose hated to be caught in the wrong at all, but, at least, it was only scorpius who had found her. based on her luck, it could’ve very well been kimiko or manon some other awful person who seemed to have it out for her. it could’ve been any of her family members. it could’ve been- albus.

oh god, what if it had been albus? 

even though it was only a distant possibility, the thought of her cousin and scorpius’ dorm mate seeing her now chilled her to the very bone. it was his sister that was missing. it was his girlfriend in the hospital wing. as head boy, albus had practically made it his duty to shoulder the brunt of the burdens against the MAs. and, as head girl, well, rose was just-

well, rose was making more of a mess than three nifflers in a gringotts vault. even as other people were suffering, she was making it all about herself. 

“you didn’t have to catch me,” she answered petulantly to scorpius, knowing how illogical she sounded and refusing to compromise anyways, “i wouldn’t have gotten in trouble at all if no one knew.” 

refusing to look him in the eye, she ducked down and tried to both pick up the mess she had left behind and take what scorpius had already picked up out of his hands. as a stray foil wrapper crumpled in her fist, she shook her head,  “don’t- scorpius, please. i’m fine. you don’t have to help. i was just-” she floundered for a bit, before settling on a lie, “i dropped all my things, you see, and i had to pick things up. i was just making it back to gryffindor.” 

‘you’re really easy to talk to, wren.’ it was all he could do not to laugh in her face. was that all it took to get in rose weasley’s good books—a pretty face and a a bit of false humility? no wonder these idiots were losing the war. but he gave rose a soft smile instead, “ah, i don’t mind, rosie. you’re not so bad yourself—-it’s nice to have someone other than o who i can have a real conversation with.” maybe he was laying it on too thick—then again, it’s not like rose would notice, so wrapped up in making poor, sad, lonely wren volant her latest pet project.

“runes, runes, okay—but you know, i think my marks have gotten loads better since you started tutoring me,” true, but inconsequential; it’s not as though he was continuing on with this charade for the sake of his marks, “so if you need a day off from helping me pass NEWTs, i think we can fit that in, considering.”

rose bit her lip. wren was doing his best, she was sure, but she could read in-between the lines, plain as day. his words were almost too kind, too sweet-- he didn’t really mean what he was saying. It was all just him trying to make her feel better (& she felt guilty that he had even felt like it was necessary to do it.)

“thanks, wren,” she said stiltedly, the corner of her lips turning upwards in what she had hoped was a reassuring smile, “but you don’t have to say all of that. i know what i’m like. the best i ever get is mostly insufferable.”

it was a joke, but it landed a bit flat. rose chased it off with a peal of light laughter, “i mean, as much as we could all use the day off from runes-” merlin knew she did. these days, it felt like she got less sleep than ever. ”schoolwork stops for no one. if we don’t do what we set out for today, then it’ll just be something we have to do tomorrow. you don’t want that, do you?”

MOLLY WEASLEY II: Do you think you’re strong enough for the war?

“i think-” rose bit her lower lip, “i think it would be foolish to pretend like i am. because that’s the thing-- war has a tendency to be shockingly worse than you could ever imagine. if you ever think you’re strong enough, that’s just asking to be tested. i’m strong enough to get through today and hope that i’m going to see tomorrow. that’s all.”

JADE TALKALOT: Which side of the war do you think is the most powerful? 

“ours. no matter how it seems. we’ve beat back these forces before. we’ll do it again. on our terms.”

VIVIENNE ‘VIV’ CHANG: Do you have a competitive side, and if so, in what kind of situation does it come out most?

i think rose came into the sorting prepared to make a case for gryffindor

she sat down and fully went “okay so i’ve done the math and i belong in gryffindor”

hat: “okay” rose: “you’re not going to argue’?” hat: “you’ll do well in gryffindor.” rose: “not ravenclaw? everyone’s been saying i’m going to go to ravenclaw” hat: do you want to be in ravenclaw? rose: ”not really” hat: “you’ll do better in gryffindor anyways”

headstrong and determined, rose was always going to be a gryffindor. 

while her bravery might not have be the traditional foolhardiness that is oft associated with gryff, i think rose is– incredibly brave. in moments of incredible fear and duress (of which, for rose, there are plenty), rose can be relied upon to stand her ground. and, to me, that’s what bravery is. 

also, she owns … too much gryff themed clothing… … way too much

tell me ron and hermione didn’t dress her up in red and gold as a baby, hoping... that it would subtly influence her

s/o to the crEw: albus, molly, lucy, louisdouble shoutout to adopted crew: albus + lucyalso double shoutout to louis for being a gryff, unlike the rest of those cowards... and s/o to molly just in case she’s reading this and decides she wants to hex rose or something

the only family rose has ever known is the weasleys and, to be honest, if you ask her– that’s all she’s ever really needed. 

rose is adopted, something she’s always known, and it’s never really bothered her. 

as a child, ron and hermione often spoke of them choosing her, because they knew she’d be perfect for them. 

however, while it did make her feel like she belonged, it also had some negative effects. 

to this day, rose still struggles with the pressure to be the perfect daughter they imagined her to be. 

also, because rose can carry on about “being chosen” a little bit too much— when hugo was younger, he actually felt bad that he wasn’t adopted and wasn’t chosen. which is just– awful. 

yes, she’s curious about her biological family, but, from what her parents have told her— she doesn’t have any surviving relatives anyways. there’s nothing to see there. (right?)

i think, on occasion, rose does tend to ‘forget’ or even ignore the fact that she is adopted. 

rose: i’m a weasley. its in my blood to * insert any random ass trait *.scorpius or any person with any sense: ur fucking adopted. 

growing up with a… ton of cousins is something rose wouldn’t change for the world. she really does love every single one of them (even molly <3) and would do most anything for them.

but also— did it make it harder for her to make friends with people who were not family? yeah. does she still struggle with knowing her place within the family? absolutely. it’s hard to reconcile… being one of so many. what does she bring to the table that albus or louis can’t? that’s something she thinks about a lot. 

in the end, rose’s favorite people in the world are ron, hermione and hugo and she’s so grateful and blessed to have been allowed to be in their family. she definitely idol worships her parents and thinks that they can do no wrong. 

rose is always absolutely swimming in chocolate frogs and i have contextual evidence for this fact x + x + x (catch me… only knowing one candy and using it liberally)

it started out as a rainy day stockpile, because chocolate is always good to have and the cards that come with them are fun, but now, it’s a little bit of a compulsion. she buys some every time she stops by honeydukes out of habit.

she justifies it because they’re not just for her– she shares them with just about anyone who asks and some people who don’t.

passing them to crying first years? likely. giving a box to her cousins as a last-minute gift? absolutely. 

i think she likes them bc there’s just a reliability there you can’t get with other magical candies. with a chocolate frog, you know what to expect. with every flavoured beans, you could get a earwax flavored one, expecting lime. or worse yet, just get strawberry. 

in general, i think rose would absolutely have a sweet tooth to her and her dentist grandparent’s dismay. i see her liking milk chocolate the best, which is common but like… my favorite is white chocolate and u do have demons like cress who like dark chocolate, so there’s that.

“muggles are disgusting and backwards, but they did invent beyblades.” kit pham, probably

it’s not as though z particularly enjoys being unpleasant. there’s a part of him that aches to be kinder, that misses the lighthearted camaraderie of childhood. of the time before he joined the death eaters, and sold his soul for the price of matching his siblings. stupidity. he sighs, and rolls his eyes “i get it - you think i’m just as good as anyone else in that class. i’m not.” he pulls out his notebook, waves it once. opens it, and turns it towards her. “half of it’s not even for class. runes is just about one of the only one of these lessons that means anything - and defense, but not the watered-down crap they teach us. so it’s the only one i care for.”

and when they’re so closely linked to dark magic… well, z can’t pretend that’s not his real interest.

then he laughs. “just fine isn’t good, weasley.” he retorts, snapping his notes shut again, rolling his shoulders. he wonders if she’s at all afraid of him. if the rumours he’s convinced follow his shadow around the hall have reached her ears. either they have and she’s got more bravery and stupidity combined than he credited her for, or they haven’t, and he’s just paranoid. “you can’t ask anyone else. you wouldn’t be here if you could.” he smiles. “three galleons? i don’t need your money. i need an essay. history of magic. i fuckin’ hate that subject. deal?”

she slowed. at his taunt, rose felt a flush come across her cheeks.  if she had been known to be a bookworm and a bit of a teacher’s pet, then so what! if she minded her grades, then so be it! she wasn’t about to be talked down to because of it. 

she had half a mind to just walk away. he was wrong. there were plenty of other people she could ask about runes and have a perfectly sufficient understanding of what she had missed. and, if not, she could find a book in the library or something. 

but merlin---- how she wanted those notes. 

but not because, as z had advertised them, they were something extraordinary. not because she cared about what they contained (though admittedly she was curious to see if z was bluffing or not). but because, they, more than anything, would be a win. and, on a day like this, when nothing seemed to be going her way, she wanted a win- so badly. 

“i didn’t ask for what the class didn’t teach, you toad,” she narrowed her eyes, “and more importantly, how do i know i’m getting a fair trade? how do i know your notes aren’t complete garbage? it’s not like you’ve got proof of your runes proficiency. you didn’t even give me a good look at your notes.”

“you’re going to stoop to blackmailing the head girl over runes homework? is that not utterly and disappointingly dishonest? do you not feel shame?” she was getting carried away now. she tossed her bookbag over one shoulder in a huff, “and, more importantly, that’s a terrible deal. we could both get in trouble for that. i’ll help you on your essay. and the next one, if you want.”

she crossed her arms,  “but i want your notes for the rest of the year.“

hugo, probably: oh um... rose... what are those posters of u up there for.  rose: to encourage interhouse unity!  hugo: ...................................... so that they would... all come together to make fun of u?  rose: ????