Little Evans (James Potter)

Chapter 9

I literally don't know how I managed to do this, but her classes don't start until the next chapter. Sorry guys but that chapter will be coming soon. 

I woke up to gentle touches on my shoulder and somebody whispering my name. I rubbed my eyes with a grunt and lifted my head. I was met with the sight of an also barely awake Rose. "Finally, one of you guys woke up" she whisper shouted.

"What time is it," I asked groggily. I could tell Rose blushed despite the dark room. "6:00 am" she murmured under her breath. "I groan and flopped back onto my pillow.  "We don't have class until 9:30 and breakfast doesn't start until 8:45, so please tell me why I am awake right now" I replied. She scratched her head and shrugged.

Rose turned her head and honestly seemed very close to crying. That seemed to wake me up really quickly as I sat up on my bed and patted the spot next to me. She slowly sat down, and I gave her a look, asking her to talk with my eyes. She shook her head once more. I sighed, "I presume it's why you woke me up so you could at least tell me what it is exactly". Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she finally began to talk.

"I am not used to waking up late, I have been waking up at 5:30 at the latest every morning for the past 3 years". My eyes widen. "Why the heck have you been doing that!" I spluttered. Rose only sighed once more and continued talking. "When I was young my dad was put in Azkaban for using an unforgivable curse, it ruined everything for my mother, she had been a stay-at-home mother and she had barely any work experience". "She had to marry fast in order to survive and to keep, so she found a man who had recently lost his wife and had 5 boys to take care of and after two months they got married.

"I was excited at first, I went from having nobody but my mum to having a father and 5 brothers as well. Only it seemed like the feeling wasn't mutual". A tear slipped down Rose's cheek as she hiccupped. I was about to suggest she take a break, but she gave me a sad thumbs up and continued to talk.

"They hated me, so much. My stepdad and them would make me and my mother wake up at 5 in the morning, cook, clean and do practically everything for them but we had to stay, after all, we had nowhere else to go", Rose spoke in such a defeated voice that it made my heart break. I nodded for her to continue. "When we didn't do something or did it wrong, they would hit me. Never my mum which I was grateful for, but it was only a half victory, every time they hit me, I could see a part of my mum's heart break."

Tears ran down my cheeks. How could someone ever hurt somebody this amazing and kind? Rose was sobbing but she blubbered on, "The worst part was when they made me cook when my mum was away for one thing or another, they made me do it". Rose really seemed to be struggling to get her next sentence out, so I pulled her into a hug, and she began to sob on my shoulder. After a bit, she pulled away and composed herself. She opened her mouth and said something that made my heart stop.

"Only I was too short to reach everything some I had a few accidents". Then she showed me her hands. They were littered with scars of burns and cuts. There didn't seem to be a part of her hands that was not covered in scars. The saddest part was that some of them seemed to be fresh. Rose seemed to notice the exact blemishes I am looking at and said, "I never really learned how to work the stove properly". I felt something in me snap, and I jumped out of bed and asked the winning question, "Do you want to do something about it".

Rose nodded but only looked sadder. "I wish I could but if they found out that it was me that filed a formal report it would guarantee severe consequences for both me and my mum" Rose explained but I gave her a slightly smug look. "Only it wouldn't be you reporting it and it wouldn't be formal at all". All Rose gave me was a confused look, so I continued to talk. "There is a Hospital Wing here, if we show up looking scared and ask the nurse to heal scars like that, she will have to ask questions and I will handle it from there". Rose seems to work through the plan in her head but agrees.