Rosie was relieved to wake up early on the first day of holiday break.
While the majority of the girls in her dorm woke up later than usual, Rosie was one of the few who got up early in order to get ahead with packing up to go home for Christmas. As much as she enjoyed being at Hogwarts, she had been ready to go home for a while and spend time with her parents, especially with how long the weeks had been with classes and Dumbledore's Army going on, along with getting gifts for her mum and dad from Hogsmeade during her last trip there. If anything, she was just happy to not think about whatever Professor Umbridge was up to next or having to worry about homework or even Greer up her arse about something. She didn't have to be concerned about anything Hogwarts-related at all while she was away, and that was all that mattered.
Once she had her trunk all packed and ready to go, Rosie headed down the stairs and into the common room, finding a few students hanging out by the fire as she walked by, exiting through the portrait and making her way down the staircase all the way to the ground floor. She had a smile on her face when she entered the Great Hall, though it slowly began to fade when she saw everyone talking in small groups and hushed tones as she walked by and took an available seat next to Neville just a little ways down the table.
"Hi, Rosie," he greeted her once she sat down next to him.
"Hi, Neville," she replied. "What's going on?" She kept her voice down when asking the question.
Neville raised his eyebrows. "You didn't hear?"
"Hear what?"
"Mr. Weasley was attacked at the Ministry last night."
Rosie's eyes went wide. "Holy cricket, what happened?"
He shrugged in response. "Harry just woke up freaking out, saying that he saw their dad badly injured. Aurors went to get him once Harry told Dumbledore about it.. The Weasleys left for St. Mungo's just now."
"Merlin's beard." Her heart sank the more she thought about Mr. Weasley. Who the hell would attack him at the Ministry? Why was he even there so late at night, anyway? "Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah, I think so. From what everyone's been saying, it sounds like he's lucky to be alive."
Rosie didn't respond as she tried to stomach down some eggs and toast. Not only did she feel sorry for the Weasley family, but for Harry as well, knowing that he had to see it happen, however he was able to do that. It only caused her to be more worried as to what was going on in the Wizarding world, specifically, with You-Know-Who's return.
For the rest of breakfast, Rosie tried not to think about Mr. Weasley or Harry anymore. She and Neville talked about their Christmas plans, which weren't as cheerful as she expected them to be, and she almost felt bad for telling him about her plans with her parents. Nevertheless, Neville put on a happy face when she told him, even though Rosie could tell that it only hurt him more that his holiday traditions were usually sad. There was some relief for the two of them once they finished eating what was on their plates, despite leaving things a bit awkward between them as they made their way out of the castle and down to the train station. Before Rosie could board the train with Neville, she spotted Gavin from a distance, who waved her over once his eyes locked with hers.
"I'll be right there, Neville. Save me a seat?" She raised her eyebrows his way.
Neville glanced over and realized why when he saw Gavin standing there. "Yeah, sure," he said, nodding and hopping onto the train.
Rosie took a deep breath and headed towards Gavin, her pace quicker than usual, almost as if she didn't want anyone else from Dumbledore's Army to catch her speaking with him. The last thing the group needed was drama, something that every member was trying to avoid, especially Rosie herself.
"Hi," Gavin said to her once she was standing right in front of him.
"Hi," Rosie replied, rocking back and forth on her heels.
"Going home for the holidays, I assume?"
"Yeah, you?"
"Yeah. Just waiting for Greer and Adam. Care to join us?"
She opened her mouth, reluctant to respond. "Um, I was going to sit with Neville. He gets kind of down during this time of the year and I figured he can use the company."
"Oh." Gavin paused for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows. "Since when do you hang out with Longbottom?"
Rosie let out a chuckle. "I mean, we're in the same House, so we see each other all the time."
"I know that," he retorted. "It's just...you've been hanging out with a lot of Gryffindors lately."
She scoffed in response. "Honestly, I don't see why you or Greer even care."
"Well, considering there's been talks about some secret organization led by Potter, I think we have a right to be concerned about our friend."
"What, are you two afraid I'm hanging with the wrong crowd?"
"That's not what I meant."
"It sure sounded like it."
Rolling his eyes, Gavin huffed a sigh before continuing. "Listen, Professor Umbridge is determined to find out what Potter is up to, and she'll surely punish him and everyone else involved with whatever he's been doing behind her back. We're just trying to look out for you."
"Well, maybe I don't need you guys to look out for me," Rosie snapped, her expression turning cold. "Did Greer put you up to this?"
"What?"
"Did she want you to get information out of me or something?"
"No, she didn't."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"Because you and I both know that Greer doesn't need anyone's help to get what she wants."
Suddenly, Rosie's eyes averted to behind Gavin, where she found Adam and Greer with their hands locked together, walking and talking along the sidewalk. It was enough to see that Gavin was right. Greer didn't need help to get whatever or whoever she wanted, and it brought about an irritation inside Rosie.
And instead of responding to Gavin, she simply spun around and stormed off, not hearing any of her Slytherin friends call after her.
*******
The Christmas cheer Rosie was desperate to feel didn't come over her once she got home.
She hardly did anything festive-related since she had been back in England, usually staying cooped up in her bedroom as she occasionally watched more snow fall and cover the streets and yards even more with a fresh coat, so beautiful that she hated to see it not stay that way for very long with how often people walked by. Though she would rather continue looking down at the people carrying on with their lives instead of baking cookies with her mum and act like everything was okay. Rosie couldn't pretend anymore. She couldn't lie to those she cared about just to please them. Frankly, she was growing tired of it.
However, on Christmas Eve, when Rosie was sitting at the small dinner table with her parents, she put a fake smile on her face, not wanting to ruin their holiday spirit. She could at least pretend for a little bit longer, just until after the holidays were over.
"Rosie?"
The girl snapped out of her thoughts and quickly turned her head to face her mum. "Yeah?"
"I asked you how the school year was going."
"Oh. It's going okay." She nodded her head, swirling the fork around her plate.
"Even with that new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?" her dad spoke up.
"Yeah, she's quite the teacher," Rosie stated, though her annoyance was obviously expressed through the tone of her voice.
David Clarke scoffed in response. "Believe me, everyone at the Ministry is aware. And I already know why Fudge hired her to begin with."
"Darling, let's not bring this up during dinner." Georgia Clarke raised her eyebrows almost in a desperate way, lifting her wine glass. "Especially not in front of our daughter."
"It's fine, Mum," Rosie assured her. "Professor Umbridge has made her viewpoints on certain things very clear to the students."
"Ha, of course she has," her dad said, chuckling as he shook his head. "Wouldn't expect anything less from that woman. She and Fudge are trying to corrupt the students and make them think that You-Know-Who isn't back. That was their plan all along."
"David--"
"And now this rumor going around the Ministry about Dumbledore forming a secret organization inside the school is just about to send everyone over the edge. But if it does end up being true, then--"
"I need some air." Rosie shot up from her seat all of a sudden, already starting to feel stuffy with every second she was still in the kitchen. She hurried out before she could be stopped, grabbing her coat and exiting the house.
The cold air hit Rosie harder than she expected, to which it began to hurt her face as she started walking down the sidewalk, though she was glad to feel like she could breathe again. She wished she had gotten a hat before she left, as the snowflakes were falling down fast and melting on her hair. Maybe gloves were a good idea, too, not wanting to keep her hands in her pockets the entire time. She really didn't think all of this through. But to be fair, she just had to get out of the house after hearing her dad talk about what was being said at the Ministry regarding what Fudge and Professor Umbridge had planned for Hogwarts. On top of that, knowing that Dumbledore's Army was being talked about as well only stressed her out more, and she was beginning to have a hard time keeping the secret to herself with how bad things were getting around the school. It was at a time like this that Rosie wished she could talk to her friends about it. But of course, it wasn't an option. How could she trust any of them?
"Rosebud?"
Rosie stopped at the sound of the playful nickname, along with the familiar voice that said it. Whipping her head around, she locked eyes with Adam, who was jogging towards her. "Adam," was all she could get out of her mouth when he stopped in front of her.
"Hey," he replied, panting. "What are you doing out here?"
"I was just getting some air," she answered, her voice cracking.
"Are you okay?" he asked with concern, furrowing his eyebrows.
"I'm fine," she lied, clearing her throat. "I-I better head back before my parents start to worry."
"Rosie, wait." Adam reached out and lightly grabbed her arm before she could get away from him. "Let's walk together."
"Adam--"
"I think a walk sounds nice for both of us, yeah?"
Rosie almost wanted to protest or find another way to get out of it, but seeing the soft look in Adam's eyes made her think otherwise. "Okay."
He grinned in response. "Here, you must be freezing." Without hesitation, he took off his hat and placed it on Rosie's head, then doing the same with his gloves and letting her hands slide into them.
"Thanks," she said, smiling as she adjusted the hat and gloves.
"So, wanna tell me what's going on?"
Rosie sighed, folding her arms to keep warm. "Well, I figured getting out of the house for a bit would do me some good. Plus, my dad was going on about things at the Ministry and Hogwarts and I didn't want to hear any of it. I'd rather not think about how troubling the Wizarding world has gotten these last six months."
"As if we need to be reminded." Adam let out a chuckle.
"Exactly. Anyway, why are you out here?"
Adam shrugged his shoulders. "I just needed some time away from my family. It's been tense lately, given what's been going on with...you know..."
"Right." Rosie was quiet for a moment before continuing on. "Everything's just been stressful and all it does is make me irritated."
"Is that why you stormed away from Gavin at the station a few days ago?"
"Maybe," she confessed, despite not wanting to talk about that matter. "It's complicated, Adam."
"You can talk about it with me, you know."
"Merlin, you're sounding like Greer."
"Except I'm not her."
Rosie stopped in her tracks, taking another look at Adam, a more serious one this time. "Adam--"
"Listen, I'm worried about you, Rosie. We all are. Especially with the whole...Death Eater business you talked about with Greer a few months ago."
There was another moment of silence as Rosie pondered on that specific conversation, realizing that Adam didn't know that what they talked about was merely a misunderstanding, which she thought he had a right to know that it was simply just that. Maybe he'd stop worrying about her so much.
"Oh, that," she said. "Adam, it's not what you think."
"What do you mean?"
Rosie paused in order to find the right words to explain it. "I only asked about it because...well, I was trying to get information."
"For what?"
"I don't know. I thought it'd be useful to have it in case something came up."
"You mean, if you were to join the Order of the Phoenix?"
Rosie froze. "How do you know about that?"
"They're not that much of a secret anymore," he stated.
"Well, I really didn't think about joining them," she admitted. "But maybe I could. You know, do my part if there really is a war coming."
Adam stared at her for a minute before slowly nodding his head. "I think it's a good idea."
Rosie shot him a puzzled look. "You do?"
"Yeah. I mean, maybe not now, of course, but you'd be a great fit."
"Kind of weird for you to say that, considering your family." Rosie's smile faded as soon as the sentence escaped her lips, and she felt terrible for even saying it. "Oh, Adam. I didn't mean--"
"It's fine, Rosie." He stuck his hands inside his pockets. "I'm just relieved that you don't want to be like them."
Nodding her head, Rosie felt somewhat better that he wasn't mad at her for the whole thing. Before she could say anything else about the subject or start up another conversation about something else, the sight of something green and white was spotted above them, to which they looked up and saw that it was mistletoe hanging from the ceiling of a local shop they were standing in front of.
"Well, uh, this is kind of awkward," Rosie commented, chuckling nervously.
"It doesn't have to be," Adam responded.
She raised her eyebrows. "You're not implying that we...you know--"
"What? Oh." He laughed at this. "No, no...I mean, yes, it's tradition that we kiss, but we could...I don't know, share a secret instead?"
Now it was Rosie's turn to laugh, her face getting hot. "You're joking."
"I'm not. Come on, you trust me, right , Rosebud?"
She grinned and bit her lip at the question. Of course, out of all her friends, she trusted Adam the most. But could she actually tell him what was weighing on her mind?
"You go first, then," she finally said.
"Okay, let's see..." Adam took a moment to think about it, then spoke up. "I actually enjoy the Fish flavor from Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans."
"Merlin's beard, that's not a secret!"
"It is a secret."
"Not a very good one."
"Alright, fine, I'll give you another one." He leaned against the brick wall, pausing as he let his smile fall a little. "I want to break up with Greer."
And there it was, the last thing Rosie expected Adam to confess. "What?"
"I've thought about it for a while now," he explained, sighing. "She's not the same girl she was when we first started going out." He was quiet for another moment as the smile was no longer on his face. "Or maybe I was too caught up in everything between us to see that we were always just two very different people that'd never work out in the end."
Rosie couldn't help but feel sorry for Adam, even though hearing him confess this to her was probably a relief for him with how long he had put up with the bickering and making up, along with Rosie and Gavin watching the cycle repeat itself time after time. It was exhausting to witness over and over when nothing ever changed, especially on Greer's end.
"Does Gavin know?" she inquired.
Adam shook his head. "No. I'm still figuring out how to tell him. You're the only one that knows."
"You think he'll be mad?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. Greer, however...I don't know how she'll react."
"But it's for the best."
Adam nodded. "It is. I just hope she sees it that way, too." He glanced down at his feet, shuffling them along the sidewalk. "Rosie?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad that you don't want to be a Death Eater. Because I don't want to be one, either."
Her heart dropped again. Maybe she should've known due to how he was so against her joining them when he thought she had that idea at the time. How nice and outgoing he was compared to Greer and Gavin, how different he was than the rest of the Slytherin House. Adam becoming a Death Eater just didn't seem possible, and it turned out that he didn't want that to happen, anyway, which gave Rosie some comfort and assurance that she could truly trust Adam with her secrets.
"There's a secret organization at Hogwarts led by Harry," she blurted.
Adam looked up and shot her a puzzled look. "What?"
"Professor Umbridge's lessons weren't really teaching us anything, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione started an organization to help other students learn how to defend themselves."
"And how long has this been going on?"
"A few weeks."
"Bloody hell, Rosie--"
"Please don't say anything. They all know I'm friends with you guys so they didn't want me telling you to begin with. And with Greer and Gavin a part of that stupid Inquisitorial Squad--"
"I won't tell them or anyone else."
"You won't?"
"Of course not. You have my word, Rosebud. Just as long as you don't tell Greer or Gavin about...you know..."
"No, definitely not." Rosie took a deep breath, nodding her head. "Well, I think we've shared enough secrets, yeah?"
"I agree." Adam lightly chuckled as he pushed himself off the wall. "And we better head back to our own families before they all start to worry about us."
"Right. I'll see you at school."
"See you, then. Merry Christmas, Rosebud."
"Merry Christmas, Adam."
The two exchanged warm smiles one last time before turning around and heading in opposite directions. Rosie didn't realize she still had Adam's hat and gloves until she got home and hung up her coat back on the hanger. But before placing them inside the pockets for safe keeping, she took a glance at both items and thought of Adam some more, and for once, she felt at peace with everything. Even if it wouldn't last long, at least all was right in her life during the holiday season, just like it should be.
And when she crawled into bed for the night, Rosie still had Adam on her mind, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking of her, too.
A/N: OOOH, well, things are getting interesting.
So I'm hoping to update this story every Sunday, and maybe if I get ahead in pre-writing then it'll be more often during the week, so we'll see about that.
Anyway, what do we think?
Comment, vote, more to come soon!
-A