The Slytherin Thorn

Chapter 56 - Friends

"Are you okay?" Rose looked up. Charlie was watching her, slowly Rose lowered her hands from her ears, not realising she'd put them there. She nodded.

"Fine."

"You looked like you were having some kind of argument with yourself."

Rose cast her gaze to the floor, trying to think up an answer but before she could do so she heard a shout from her companion. She looked up, watching as Charlie jogged down the hallway to greet a boy and a girl. Both were dressed in the school unfrom but like Charlie they'd adjusted it. Both of their jumpers and blazer's were missing, the boy wore a black coat and the girl a grey zip up hoodie, she was also slighlty shorter than the boy.

"Hey Rose!" Charlie called over her shoulder once she'd finished greeting the two newcomers, beckoning for the red head to join them. Slowly, shyly Rose walked towards the 3 muggles, giving the boy and girl a small smile which they returned with curious looks. "This is Rory and Elia, or El. Guys, this is the newbie, Rose, I have to show her around."

Rose glared at the girl for calling her a newbie, although she was one she didn't appreaciete being called one. Charlie didn't noticed though. The boy, Rory, did though, he laughed clapping her on the back. Rose jumped it sent shivers down her spine. "She daint mean it."

Rose changed the subject. "What are you doing out here?" She asked glancing around the hallway. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Rory laughed again but it was the girl, Elia, who answered. "We've been sent to get some graph paper from reception."

Rose turned to look back over her shoulder, from her esitmation reception was from where she'd just come but the other two had been heading in the opposite direction. Her confusion must have shown on her face as she turned to look at the three again. 

Rory chuckled and leaned towards her, bringing a hand to his mouth he whispered. "It's called skiving." Rory winked at her and moved back to stand by Elia, swinging his arm over her shoulder. The girl didn't even flinch, she merely excepted it and continued talking to Charlie. Rose eyed them warily. 

****

"What's 3x2 again?" Rose asked Charlie looking up from her homework, her cheeks tinging red. She knew she should know this stuff. She may have been top of all her classes at Hogwarts but she was bottom her. She'd been put in the lowest sets for all her subjects and given a load of extra work. 

"6." Charlie laughed looking up from her own homework where she lay sprawled across Rose's bed. "Are you sure you went to school? For someone who claims to be very smart you don't know much."

"I told you," Rose said looking up at her from the floor, also laughing. She couldn't help but do so when around Charlie, the girl was a happy kind of person, bit like Inide, she helped absorb Rose into the muggle world, forgetting about her actual troubles for a moment and focusing on the muggles one. She was most intrested in their fight against climate change, she loved science, she found it fascinating, even if she hadn't grasped all of it yet. "My old school didn't speacialize in this kind of stuff-"

"I know, I know!" Charlie exclaimed, holding up her hands in mock surrender. "You studied stuff like Astronamy and Animal care and Herbology. What even is that? It sounds like a desease."

"It's the study of plants. A bit like Biology."

Charlie brushed it aside. "Anyway, did you ask your aunt for a phone?"

"I did, she said she'd think about it."

"Try again." Charlie laughed sitting up and siwnging her legs over the side off the bed. "I can't believe you don't have one."