The Bug Collector | marauders

A Ballad to Autumn and Winter

October 31st 1972

Outside the castle walls autumn leaves were swirling around the ground, inside them students were chatting amongst one another and eating their breakfast.

"You know wizards don't really dress up for Halloween, Rose. Wouldn't that be a bit redundant?" Regulus asked.

"All I'm saying is it could be fun to study for our history of magic project in costume since it IS Halloween."

"What would we even be? If you somehow got me to agree to such a thing?"

Rose poked at her breakfast in thought for a moment, smushing some chocolate shavings she had added to her oats.

"I know! We could be the wizards from our chocolate frog cards, you know the ones we got on the train here! Mine was an Ancient Greek wizard, and yours was the lad with the hedgehog sons, we could make you look like a hedgehog."

Regulus tutted "Not a chance, but we could use that Greek wizard for our project, and if YOU want to wear a olive branch in your hair while we present it maybe Binns will give us a little extra for it."

"If I'm the wizard you have to be the basilisk."

"Oh Godric, fine." He whined and Rose smiled triumphantly taking a sip from her cup and a bite from her breakfast.

_______

Once Rose was use to the routine time started to go by a bit faster.

She'd get ready for the day, have breakfast with Regulus, go to class, study, and spend loads of time talking with her dorm mates. They had learned a good bit about each other in the last month.

Stephone was from a strict pureblood family but didn't share their views, she tried to stay cautious at school even so. Trying to keep herself and the others in the group out of trouble. Her and Rose had gotten into a few arguments over the course of the past few weeks but Ode seemed to quite like Stephone's presence so Rose put her slight issues with the girl's overprotective nature aside.

Their other roommate, Elia was quiet and attentive, she spent most of her time reading and studying and as far as the rest of them knew she did seem to at least somewhat agree with her own pureblood family's views. This made Rose extra weary of her and caused Stephone to ignore Rose all together when the girl was present.

Christmas break had come quick as well, before she knew it Rose was hugging her friends goodbye and sending a final sharp glare over to Sirius Black as he and his goons tried to talk to Lily on the platform.

Rose and Sirius had a rather negative correspondence at the moment, since she pranked Lily, Rose had been met with many uncomfortable pranks deployed by none other than Sirius, the most embarrassing of which he seemed to save for when Regulus was around. She had begun to get him back after an instance in which her skin was turned a sage green which made her look sick for a week and ended with her taking a trip to the nurse, Madam Pomfrey.

Christmas back home was not what Rose expected, instead of feeling relieved to be back she missed her dorm and the sounds of Black Lake lulling her to sleep, she barely slept the whole time she was home and she would have greatly preferred the company of any ghosts at Hogwarts to the company of her older sister Petunia, Rose decided if she could, she would spend the next Christmas at Hogwarts.

When they returned to school in the New Year Rose was overcome with happiness once she saw her mates unpacking and preparing for the next term, they all talked about family and the holiday and what everyone had gotten for Christmas, Stephone's family had taken a trip and also sent her back to Hogwarts with a polaroid camera and a seemingly never ending case of film. The girls loved it, soon the dorm was filled with photos of Stephone and Ode together or Rose first thing in the morning looking half alive but with a smile on her face.
Rose and Ode often asked to borrow it, occasionally giving her things in exchange for the use. Rose herself had a photo of Regulus very obviously hiding behind his hands tucked away in one of her books and had plenty of pictures of different plants she had gotten permission to photograph from professor Sprout strewn about her nightstand.

One photo of her's in particular had an interesting story behind it, it was a straightforward photo, Sirius with his head on a table in the library, soundly sleeping, in the corner you can see the fluff of one of Remus' sweaters and on the sleeping lads face the words

"SLYTHERIN RULES"

were marked with permanent marker, a harmless practical joke that would have ended their had Rose not decided to take a photo of it, and later in the day lose said photo.

A few days later it turned up again, there had been an envelope delivered to the Slytherin common room with her name on it, upon opening it her stomach did a flip, the unpleasant kind. Written on the white bottom of the polaroid in a small but pretty script was a note.

Keep up with your incriminating evidence you conniving git
S.B.

The photo remained in Rose's possession but could not go on the wall, Stephone would not have anything, as Sirius had put it, incriminating on their walls. She wanted Rose to put an end to the pranks all together but that didn't happen.

Second term started a whole new set of classes, for Rose that was Transfiguration(that was taught by the cat professor who Rose had grown quite fond of despite her sternness), Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Astronomy, she still ate breakfast with Regulus(but would occasionally be interrupted by Sirius attempting to be somewhat brotherly with him) but more often than not ate her other meals with Lily or Ode and occasionally all by herself(a personal choice).

Once during dinner with Lily the girl pointed out that Peter, the fourth marauder with blonde hair and a mousy demeanor had been staring at her, Rose turned around and, yes, he was, and when her eyes met his his face turned a bright shade of red and he quickly looked away. Rose turned back to Lily and sighed, continuing their talk about quidditch.

Rose and Lily often enjoyed completely different things about Hogwarts, but one thing the sisters did agree on was that the flying course Rose had taken earlier that year was fun, but when quidditch tryouts rolled around it was obvious that they both enjoyed watching the game far more than they would enjoy playing it.

And as for Peter's little crush, other than a few playful taunts from Lily, over time it had largely been forgotten. By Rose at least.