𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗿, james potter

˗ˋ 04

CHAPTER FOUR
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH THEY WAKE

. . .

For once, in the three weeks that Rosie had been living in the room above the Three Broomsticks, she was waking up to a room that wasn't particularly cold. 

Which may seem like a strange thing to some - but her Aunt Rosmerta was in the midst of a process with the Ministry of Magic about what to do about that (whether to hire a Muggle specialist or if there was a magical way to do it) and it seemed to be quite a lengthy process. Hopefully it would be done by the end of November, or else Rosie would start having to make physical fires in her room to heat it.

But this morning, she woke surrounded by warmth. And for the life of her she couldn't figure out why she wasn't shocked back into pulling the covers tight over her, or reaching the hand-knitted woollen blanket that she kept over her as she fell asleep but it always ended up bunched up by the footboard or on the floor. 

Until beside her, the bed creaked and Rosie shot upwards into a sitting position. Her eyes landed on a pair of circular wire spectacles, a head of fluffy, incredibly messy brown hair and a pile of clothes thrown of the corner of her room.

It wasn't like she had drunk that much really (there had certainly been nights she had drunk more) and so she didn't have that ever-so horrible hangover brain but more of a slight twinge of ache, but in her still sleepy situation, there were only flashes of the previous night coming back to her.

Meeting outside the back of the inn, pushed up against the dark wall, area lit up by the glowing lamps of the building across from them. Sneaking him through the backdoor, fingers pressing into her waist, stumbling up the stairs in a midst of kissing. A fiery passion, a fluster of touching and smiling and forgetting. 

Digging her hands into the mattress, she managed to leave the bed without much of a disturbance. Clearly, she wasn't planning on leaving James, but she needed to shower and actually put some clothes on. 

Extracting a jumper from the pile of clothes, Rosie slipped it over her form, examining the oval marks on her hips. Quietly, she slipped out of the room to shower, smiling at Rosmerta as she passed through the kitchen.

"Good morning, dear." Aunt Rosmerta smiled. "Berry bliss tea?" The blonde woman was stiring a large pot of purplish-red liquid, petals scattered over the surface.

She didn't seem to know, and if she did then Raisa was hiding it well. The bathroom was right there beside the kitchen, and both times whilst passing, her aunt did not say a thing, simply sipping on her berry tea and spreading jam across a slice of bread. 

Rosie pushed open her room, clutching the flower-patterned towel across her chest and humming to herself. She would wake James when it came to it, or at least when Rosmerta left for the inn. 

"Your family looks remarkably alike." A voice made her jump out of her skin, and it became obvious that James wasn't exactly asleep. Instead, he was sat up in her bed, jeans pulled over his boxers, button-up shirt hanging loosely around his torso and the duvet still draped over his legs. In his hands was a picture frame, and when James twisted it towards her it was an image of herself, her mother and Aunt Rosmerta at the last family gathering. 

"You're telling me." Rosie raised her eyebrows as she opened her wardrobe, not instantly getting a reply as she pulled underwaer and a t-shirt on. Silently, she sat down beside him, pulling the frame out of his hands and laying it face down on the covers. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty shitty - my headache, I mean." James quickly corrected himself. "But other than that.. I feel good."

"Good, huh?" Rosie teased, nudging his side with her finger. "Here - have this." She reached in the drawer of the bedside table, producing a small bottle of swirling powder-blue potion. "You wouldn't happen to want some berry tea?"

"Not my thing." James nodded, taking the vial and pulling the cork out of it, downing it and adjusting his glasses. "What was it?"

"You didn't think to ask that before?" Rosie shook her head softly, a tinkling laughter echoing through the room. "It's the best hangover cure in the whole of Britain. I have a friend up in London who is great at potions, so of course I have a supply."

"Of course, I expect nothing less." James nodded, pushing himself up from the bed. "I should probably go back to the castle.. I did say I would be back last night so my friends might be worried."

"For what reasons, exactly." The girl questioned, watching as James pulled on his clothes from the night before. He paused, looking back at her, confused. "The reason why you were here? You and that girl broke up?" 

"Oh.. shit right, yeah." James's eyes were wide behind the frames. "Rosie Rosmerta, you might have done your job far too well." She shook her head at the implications of just how well she helped him forget.

"Well I'll take it as a compliment." Rosie sat back in her bed, a smirk playing on her lips. "And you might want to wait until my aunt leaves, she's out in the kitchen."

"Good idea." The Potter boy nodded, buttoning up his shirt. "And if I remember right, your aunt is an awful gossip." 

"That she is." Rosie glanced at the time with a sigh. "I'll go check if she's gone, then I might be able to offer you some breakfast before you go." Without waiting for a reply, she slid through the door once again and pulled it closed behind her, jumping for the second time when she found her aunt standing at the end of the corridor, mid-walk.

"Rosie - perfect." Rosmerta was holding two cups of the purple tea, holding both hands out as she stopped by her neice. "You don't have to start working until this afternoon, but I'm going down now - and I've had an idea to make your time here a little more fun."

"I'm excited to hear it." Rosie nodded, watching as the woman pressed the two cups into her hands. "Why-"

"Tell James he can take the front door. We don't get any customers this time of morning - and for the love of Merlin, Rosie, offer him some toast at least." 

And with that, Rosmerta winked and walked away, leaving her neice stood dumbfounded. She didn't know what she expected - of course she would know. 

But damn that woman was good at hiding things.

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