Curiosity Is Not a Sin

the wrinkles of the road: chapter 1

Rose made a face. "Shut up." Just as she was about to look away from them, Scorpius glanced up. When he saw her eyes on him, he grinned at her. She smiled back and blew him a kiss, and his grin turned into a smirk as he looked back at James.

"You know, I thought he'd get over being pleased with himself for going out with you eventually," Albus remarked offhandedly. She glanced over at him; he was looking out the window again. Molly had finally tired of Fred's antics and had her wand out, and Fred was dodging her snowballs with only limited success. "It's been more than three years, though, and I'm starting to think it's not going to happen."

"Well, I'm pretty great." Rose put her feet up next to him. "Can you blame him?"

Albus rolled his eyes. "Yes. Yes, I can. Unlike my best friend, I can see how obnoxious you are."

"Oh, he does, don't worry." Rose glanced back out the window. Fred had snow in his hair, but he appeared to have rallied with a cheering charm; Molly was now struggling to stop laughing long enough to lift it. "He just forgives me for it."

"How've things been between you and Scorpius?" Albus asked. "I've barely talked to him, either. I'm turning into a hermit."

Rose suspected that this might have at least as much to do with his girl issues as his training, but she'd long since learned not to press Albus too much on the topic. He'd talk when he was ready to.

"Good. Or, I think it is, anyway. It's hard to be sure with him sometimes."

Albus sighed. "He's just a little worried about you starting to do fieldwork. He knows how often BCDC members are in and out of St. Mungo's, and it's hard for him to think about his boss interrupting his day to tell him that you've been carted in there."

Rose had been trying very hard not to think about that; it was a conversation that both she and Scorpius had been pointedly avoiding, though she knew that as a Healer trainee it was definitely starting to weigh on him. There wasn't really much she could do about it, though, other than try to keep herself out of St. Mungo's in the first place.

"I know." She winked at Albus. "But I make it worth his while."

Albus recoiled. "Ew." He changed the subject, and inwardly, she heaved a sigh of relief that she'd managed to deflect the conversation for a little longer.

Rose was good at avoiding things she didn't want to deal with. According to Albus, it would catch up with her eventually, but she doubted that: it was her experience that when you avoided problems for long enough, they just went away.

Al had barely vacated his spot when Victoire took his place. "Hey, Rosie," she said. "Long time no see."

"It's been a full 24 hours and everything."

Her cousin grinned. "Look, I wanted to touch base on something. They'll be deciding on fieldwork assignments soon - no, I still can't give you a day, stop asking - and I wanted to ask whether you were interested in being put with me."

Rose sat bolt upright and studied Victoire's face. She didn't think that the other woman was joking. "Wait, what? Yes, of course, I -"

Victoire held up her hand. "No, I want you to think about it - tell me on Monday. I'm not switching partners for you, so it'd be with us both, and - I mean, we know each other really well, and it's not always the easiest dynamic to fit into."

"So it'd be you and Dedworth?"

The corner of her cousin's mouth twitched. "You need to start just using his first name, but yes."