Angelina Johnson.
Angelina Johnson.
Angelina Johnson.
The name alone brings me rage, but the name alone brings me the most fear I've felt since I was a baby. Hating someone is a terrible feeling that's tearing me up inside, but I know I hate her. All the reasons she's given me to hate her. I can't help it. When her and George first got together, it was strange to have someone new around, but we'd all do anything for George, and we did our best to accept her. Their relationship was fresh and new, so I'm disappointed to say that it didn't end after she Stupefied me. She harmed me. She casted a spell on me for something that happened years ago, something I've already regretted in my life. I think she was just trying to find a reason to make me look foul, for some reason I can't tell. I have all the reasons in the world to make her look bad, but I'm a decent human being who wouldn't dare do a thing that she did, and I'm only speaking about the first bad incident. After that, she had George swooning for her like a puppy looking for a forever family. George seemed to completely forget what happened, and it broke my heart to see one of my best friends choose such a horrid girl over me. It was painful. After the incident, I wasn't afraid of her, I was angry and confused. I only felt fear when she threatened my life, when she nearly casted Septum Sempra. She was going to hurt me, and in a very bad way, if it hadn't been for Fred. I was looking out for the twins, and she threatened me. She held her wand to my neck so hard it left a lasting mark, that, might I say, is really hard to hide from other people. I'm afraid of what she has the potential to do, and I hate it. I hate her. I hate her for taking George to the cabins so he can't even see his little sister and his good friend off for their last years at Hogwarts. I hate her. I'm scared of her. I despise her. I fear her. I don't know what I can do about the situation, but I hate everything about it.
Angelina Johnson.
Angelina Johnson.
Angelina fucking Johnson.
She stared down at the words she wrote, stared at them for what felt like forever. She picked up the parchment by the corner, careful not to smear the fresh ink, and walked over to her window, opening it and holding the letter outside, along with her wand.
Her tradition at Hogwarts was to write out her feelings, and burn them directly after, so her and nobody else could read or feel those specific words and feelings ever again. It may have made her sound mad, but it genuinely cleared her thoughts, and she was already beginning to feel better.
"Incendio." She muttered, and watched as the small burst of fire lit her parchment, the flame consuming her writing. She released the paper before the flame reached her fingers, and watched as it diminished into ashes in the wind.
She sat at the window, breathing in the slightly smokey yet fresh air, and let herself think about her clouded head for just a moment, before letting out a long sigh and closing the window, leaving her worries behind.
She stood in the center of her room, and looked around at the clutter she's gathered over the years. Cleaning is much easier when a wand is available to do the work for you, but nothing calms the mind more than easy manual labor.
Molly and Arthur would be returning tomorrow, so Aurora took it upon herself to tidy up the place for the two, as a welcome home gift.
—
"Rory, you have a wand, remember?" Says Hermione from the couch, where she reads through one of her many books. Aurora was currently sweeping the floor of the den, gathering up the dust and dirt the Weasley's messily gathered, her included.
"Manual labor makes me feel good sometimes." She mutters, sticking her tongue out slightly in concentration as she lifts the rug with one foot, balancing on the other while she swept. Her ankles were more unstable than the average 20 year old, so she was quite wobbly while doing so, but she didn't mind.
"If you insist...?" Questioned Hermione from the couch, taking the last sip of Aurora's coffee. She watched as Aurora swept every inch of the lower level, sweat beads forming on her forehead.
"Great, now I'll wait until after breakfast and I'll wash up the dishes." She said, putting the broom back where she found it. Hermione put her book down on the coffee table, crossing her legs and looking up at Aurora with a concerned face.
"Rory, what's the matter with you? Does this have to do with Fred?" She asks, the second part as a whisper, making Aurora's eyes widen.
"No, no, bloody hell, me and Fred are...fine." She stammered, contemplating whether or not she could tell Hermione about the new couple in the house. Fred had said he was fine with them knowing, but it was so soon, and she didn't know yet.
"Just fine?" She asked, a smirk coming to her face. Aurora's mouth fell open slightly, and a smile crept onto her face as she sat on the couch next to the girl.
"I fancy him, quite a bit, actually." Aurora admits, making Hermione laugh quietly.
"I can tell that much myself, thank you." She snorted, making Aurora's cheeks flush red at the memory of her walking in.
"If that's not the problem, what is?" She followed up, the laughter dying down.
"It's nothing, really, I just sent a letter to Neville this morning about becoming a professor at Hogwarts, and I'm nervous as to what I'll get back." She said, only partially lying. Her future was indeed stressful to figure out, but Hermione didn't need the drama of what was truly putting her in maid mode. She wrote the letter, she burned it, she was fine.
"Aurora, that's brilliant! You'd be perfect as a professor, of Astronomy, I presume?" She asks, and Aurora nods, making Hermione smile at her. She leans forward in her crosslegged position, pulling the girl in for a hug.
"I've always adored what's above, everything about it. I could go on for hours about constellations, galaxies, black holes, the ever expanding universe, all of it. I think that job would make me truly happy." She rambles, and Hermione just looks at her with a smile. Hermione, being the brightest witch of her age, knew the facts well, but she never studied as in depth into the topic as Aurora had.
"I think you'll do great." She whispered, crinkling her nose and pulling her into another hug.
"Means a lot, Mione." Aurora replied, getting back off the couch and heading to the back door.
"Where are you headed now?" Asks Hermione from the den, wondering why she jumped up so quickly.
"I have time to do some gardening before breakfast!" She shouts as she's closing the door behind her.
Aurora walked over to the shed, filled with miscellaneous garden tools, yard work tools, and quidditch props. She was never good in herbology, and she quite hated anything having to do with outside work, but it was a time filler.
She grabbed some gloves and a trowel and headed over to Molly's bed of flowers she grows. Molly always asked her children what their favorite flowers were, and she planted ten of each flower.
Bill's favorite was the banket flower, so it started with ten of those. Charlie enjoyed poppies, so there were some of those as well. Percy didn't want to choose a flower, but Molly's a very convincing woman, and got him to admit to liking carnations. George was a sucker for hibiscus flowers, and his twin liked dahlia's. Ron was upfront and admitted to loving bellflowers. Ginny, their only blood related daughter, favored tulips.
Arthur and Molly both enjoyed buttercup flowers, so there were twenty of those planted. After their children, Molly took it upon herself to take in her children's friends and loved ones as well. Harry got a patch of hollyhock's, Hermione loved foxgloves, Aurora fancied the peony, and Fleur got herself some sacred lotus flowers planted.
Overall, there were 130 flowers in Molly's garden, and it was a beautiful array of colors. It was also hell on earth to go about without a little use of magic to assist her. Aurora sucked in a breath and got on her hands and knees, picking out any weeds that have grown in since the last time Molly tended to them.
She spent hours making sure no weeds were seen, the plants were watered, and any wilted flower was replaced. Standing up, she wiped her brow with her wrist and looked up at the sun, seeing that it was now directly over her, and the rays were probably going to leave a nasty sunburn.
Any negative thoughts she previously had were far from clouding her mind, and she could only focus on the work she accomplished, and how it made her feel good that she would make Arthur and Molly proud.
Her back ached from bending over so long, and she was physically exhausted, but it was worth it. She was feeling good, she was feeling happy. Her mind drifted to Fred as she walked back to the shed to put the tools back.
He asked Aurora to be his girlfriend, and she said yes.
If she was told a year ago that this was the case, she would've thought it was mad. She fancied Fred for some time, there's so much to adore about the boy.
The way his red hair fell against his forehead. How his eyes crinkle when he smiles. The sound of his laugh brightens even in the darkest of times. His fun, loving, childlike demeanor. Everything.
She smiled to herself as she walked in the back door, and is met with everyone in the kitchen, just chatting over some snacks. Their heads turned as Aurora walked in, and Ginny instantly crinkled her nose at the sight of her.
"Bloody hell, Rory, you smell like shit." She snorted, laughing slightly.
"And look like it, too." Chuckled Ron, earning both of them a smack on the back of the head as she walked by.
"Oh, shut it, you two." She yelled as she walked to the bathroom to freshen up, desperately needing to wash away the dirt from her labor.
She let the hot water run over her, rinsing away the dirty surface. She took in a deep breath, the steamy air filling her lungs, and let it out, feeling relieved.
Normal people wouldn't think of cleaning and garden work as a form of self care, but Aurora believed it to be, and she used it just as such. George and Angelina were still away, and she wasn't stressing their return. Everything is fine, in her mind, and that was good.
Though, she dearly missed Fred, which isn't something she previously had to worry about. New relationship, new concerns.