Aunt Rose

9.

"I promise I won't get rowdy and break my arm again. Thank you for your help!" Rose called as she stood, leaving the wing with Lily and Marlene.

They met Alice in the hallway, who had come from the party.

"Rose! Oh Merlin! I heard what happened and came as quick as I could!" Said the usually calm and dreamy girl. This time, she was livid.

Alice gave Rose a side hug. "You best believe I gave Sirius a piece of my mind! But now he's in detention with Filtch, cleaning the floor in the trophy room," the four girls laughed.

"Thank you, Al. I guess he's had it handed to him today. I just want to go back to the common room and celebrate our win," Rose responded, laughing as they made their way to where the Gryffindors were celebrating.

The party was loud and fun, the music blasting while everyone danced.

They all celebrated the win, clapping Rose on the back. Gryffindor was one step closer to winning the cup.

By the end of the party, Sirius had just come back. He was tired and down, not his usual confident self.

And before he could apologize to Rose, he saw the end of her lavender hair as she was whisked up the stairs by her friends.

He was the last one in the common room, he stood in the centre of the mess and thought for a moment.

Why was he so worried and grief stricken? It was an accident. He didn't mean to hurt her.

But seeing Rose hurt by his hand struck his heart in a way that was gut-wrenching.

***

The next day, after charms class, Lily was struggling to get her friends to the library.

Alice went quietly and Rose went with a little complaining, she was tired and wanted to go back to bed before their potions class.

Marlene, on the other hand, was being dragged there. "Why do I care what kinds of leaves are in a blood-replenishing potion? Dessert is being served right now!" She begged.

"Marlene, I'm sorry, but there are more important things in life than your bed and dessert," Lily said, shaking her head as they entered the library.

But as they were going for a seat, they saw the four Gryffindor boys, Peter, Remus, Sirius, and James at a table, laughing about something.

"You know what... maybe we can do this after potions," Lily said, turning on her heel, taking the other girls with her.

She wasn't keen on being in the same place as James. Silently, Rose was thankful as she didn't feel the need to be near Sirius.

***

Rose and Lily had a certain keenness for potions. Both girls were good at the class and found it enjoyable.

Marlene had a breakdown three times a class and always ended up with something resembled the aftermath of a dungbomb.

They had the class with Slytherins, which meant Severus was with them. He was marvellous at potions too but sitting in front of James and Sirius meant things mysteriously went wrong with his potions.

At the end of the class, they had been assigned an essay 3 feet long on draught of living death.

Before they could leave, Professor Slughorn came up to the twins. "Ah, the two Evans! You two have always been remarkable students! Say, you have heard of the Slugclub, right? Available to fourth year and above students?" He asked.

Both Rose and Lily nodded. Any students that the professor thought would be successful or grow up to have connections he would invite to the club. Gwenog Jones was one of the members, she graduated the year prior and had become a part of the Holyhead Harpies quidditch team.

"Well I'd like to invite both of you remarkable young girls to join us for supper tomorrow night, how about it?" He asked the two excitedly.

"Of course, professor. We'd be delighted to join you for supper," Lily said for the both of them, smiling kindly at the professor. Rose wasn't too keen on going. She knew Nott would be there.

"Excellent! And you two, Black? Potter?" He asked the boys who were sitting behind the girls.

"No thanks, professor! We're okay!" They called, escaping class.

***

Marlene refused to enter the library, claiming that she had been cursed to faint at the sight of books.

Because of this, Rose and Lily had to finish their potions essay by themselves, explaining the potion and its ingredients.

By the time they had finished it was late and Lily was on rotation for the halls.

Rose was packing up when a familiar face sat down across from her. Startled, she looked up.

"Remus! Sorry, you startled me! What can I do for you?" Rose asked the quiet boy, smiling up at him. A pink tint came to his cheeks.

"I don't mean to be a bother but... I was wondering if you could help me with this potions essay? I'm rubbish at potions," he said sheepishly.

"Of course! Don't worry!" She said, taking a look at the boys parchment.

"Your start is good! I would say just add the ingredients for some filler and extra marks. And then explain what it does and the general idea of how to make it. I like to put the antidote and ways to counteract for extra points as well," Rose began, working with the boy in his essay.

At the end of two hours, Remus had his essay to length and it was looking good.

"Thanks, Rose. I'm honestly really terrible at potions. I know my O.W.Ls are not going to go well there," Lupin said, exasperated.

"You'll be fine! If I'm honest, I'm rubbish at Astrology. Can't get it right for the life of me. Love looking at the stars but don't know which they are!" Rose comforted, laughing.

The pair packed up their things and left the library.

"Hey... I know Slughorn is gonna give us another essay next week on amortentia, do you mind?" Remus asked shyly.

"Not at all!" Rose responded happily, walking back to the common room with him.