Somebody That I Use to Know

Chapter 2

Summary:

Rose didn't appreciate his demeanor. She didn't appreciate the way he was looking down at her either. All this time imagining what it'd be like to have him look at her again, this was never how she pictured it; he looked at her like a stranger.

London, England - Present

There wasn't anything wrong with London. Rose used to love living in the city. But now, instead of excitement and wonder, she stood in the center of her floo full of anxiety. It took ten minutes of stepping in and out of the fireplace and spilling enough floo powder to have made the trip three times for her to finally take a deep breath and throw the handful of powder at the ground.

"Number 7 Finsbury Park."

Within a blink, Rose was looking into the brightly lit London flat she had once called home.

"Oi, who the-" Albus was waving dust out of his face when he finally recognized the person across him, "Rosie?"

She looked down to see she was covered in ash from head to toe.

"Did you light an actual fire here Albus? Do you know how dangerous that is? I could have been incinerated!"

"It is you!" He exclaimed before pulling his wand out and gently swirling it around the soot covered ground, sending the mess back into the confines of the fireplace.

"Ya know, if you came round more you'd know I lifted the apparition charm years ago."

He pulled off his Ministry robe and held out his hand, offering to take Rose's as well. She handed it to him with a grateful smile. Albus rolled the robes up and gave them a shake before sitting them - now clean - on the back of the couch.

"So are you dying or do you need money? No, no, you need a character witness, someone's got you on the run is it?"

He was clearly having a grand time. Rose, however, knew this was just the first course of taking the piss she'd have to endure before this excruciating process was over.

"I get it. I'm a terrible disappointment of a cousin."

She tapped her wand on the top of her head and her hair not only went from ashen back to auburn, but also pulled itself back into a tight bun.

"Lighten up." Albus nudged her shoulder before taking a seat on the couch.

Instead of sitting, Rose simply flattened the bottom of her blouse and looked around the flat again. There were various potted plants filling the space as well as ivy growing along the brick interior. It was easy to forget you were in a busy city looking around the flat; a far cry from the dimly lit and sparsely furnished apartment she was accustomed to.

"Well whatever it is, you'll want to spit it out soon. We've a stag do later, Scorpius will be here any minute."

Rose tensed at the sound of his name as if surprised to hear it. She slowly exhaled out of her nose in an attempt to relax and looked down at the floor before responding.

"Brilliant. That's actually why I came." She looked back up, determined to present herself as unaffected, "I was going to ask you where to find him."

"Now you're taking the piss." Albus leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Has he done something? Did his dad-"

"It's nothing like that Albus." Rose answered, leaving the word 'obviously' in her tone.

"Well forgive me, but you haven't been in the same room as the man in what - four years? I mean bloody hell, youd've missed James' wedding if Scorp insisted on going."