Dance Lessons - Scorose

Turquoise Hair and Wedding Madness

Rose found her way to the address that Charlie had sent her. The road was full of identical terraced houses all neatly looked after despite being rather old. She found him leaning on a railing outside.

"Rose, how you doing? Exams alright?" he asked and he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, they were okay I think. I'll just have to wait and see. You?"

"Less said about them the better I think." he said before quickly changing the subject. "So! This is it. Welcome to my humble abode." He opened the door and led her down a small flight of stairs into the basement of what once must have been a large family home for wealthy Victorians. He unlocked his front door and they walked into a surprisingly big-ish flat, all open plan. Off to the left was the small kitchen and over to the right there was a bedroom and tiny bathroom.

"So, the servants' quarters, eh? Very Upstairs Downstairs." Rose remarked as she walked over to the windows and peered up at the street above, not even eye level with the pavement. "How did you manage to get this place?"

"Well, I had money my Granddad had left me and placed a deposit. Technically, I lied and said I was eighteen. Obviously I'm not, yet, but what's a few months difference? Right, let's get to it." Charlie replied. He walked over to the wall and opened the tins of paints.

* * *

After a few hours of painting, they stopped to have a tea break. They sat on the floor, sipping tea out of paper cups from the coffee shop on the corner.

"Charles! You never told me how it went with Rebecca!" Rose cried suddenly.

"Oh, right. Well, um, let's just say that her big tough boyfriend didn't take kindly to me."

Rose laughed. She couldn't help herself. Imagining this great muscly guy against a Shakespeare and poetry-loving, Earl Grey drinking, museum frequenter was just too funny a situation.

"Ooh, shoot!" Rose said, looking at her watch. "I have to go, sorry."

"What? But we haven't finished painting yet!" Charlie protested. Rose stood up and explained that she had to go to help with wedding plans. She ran up the stairs and down the road where she walked down an alleyway to find her Dad.

"Right, Rosie, you ready? Be prepared for wedding hell." Ron said. He held onto his daughter's hand and apparated onto their front doorstep. Rose groaned from the experience and tentatively opened the door to hear Fleur and Victoire arguing about something.

"Victoire, eet will look awful!" Fleur protested. Rose made her way to the kitchen where mother and daughter were fighting.

"What do you mean? If Teddy wants his hair blue then who cares?"

"But zere will pictures! 'is 'air looks silly."

"Looks aren't everything mum! You of all people should know that. You married Dad even though he has a scar across his face." Victoire retorted.

"Zat was different. Teddy can change 'is 'air in the bleenk of an eye."

"If you don't like it, you don't have to come to the wedding." Victoire turned to Rose, "Come on Rose, we need to meet with my blue haired fiancé."

She pulled Rose to the side and apparated out of the kitchen and straight into the Potters living room, in Godric's Hollow. They were greeted by a rather shocked Ginny and Teddy who had quietly chatting over a cup of tea.

"If my mother talks to you about your hair, just ignore her, okay?" Victoire said as she sat down next to Teddy.

"Rose, are you alright dear?" Ginny asked, concerned.

"Oh, fine. I just apparated twice in ten minutes. I'll be okay, I just need some air." Rose replied.

"Don't be too long! We need to get to the bakers to choose the cake!" Victoire called after her as she left the room. Ginny walked out after her. They went into the kitchen where Harry and Albus were sat at the table. At their arrival, Harry quickly put something into his pocket.

"What was that?" Ginny asked, staring at her husband.

"Nothing."

"Harry James Potter, what have you got in your pocket?" she asked. Harry sighed and pulled some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder out of his pocket.

"I thought we agreed no Weasley products until they were in their sixth year?" Ginny asked, eyebrows raised.

"Come on, Ginny, it's not like they don't see this stuff at school!" Harry protested.

"I don't care! I don't want it in my house - I grew up surrounded by this stuff, remember? Hermione got punched in the eye by a telescope once for Merlin's sake! Put it away." she ordered.

"Show you later." Harry whispered to his son, giving him a small wink.

"I heard that." Ginny said. Harry gave her a cheeky smile which she, somewhat reluctantly, reciprocated.

Victoire poked her head around the door and said "Come on, Rose, we need to get cake tasting!" She grabbed her cousin's hand and pulled her back into the living room where they held onto Teddy, all apparating out of the house.

*           *          *

The next week was filled with colour matching, food tasting, music choosing, decoration selecting hell. Rose was being pulled here there and everywhere. So much so that she not only didn't get to see Scorpius but even her parents almost at all.

It was the day before the wedding and all the important guests for the big day were staying at The Burrow in order to be woken up at the crack of dawn to get ready. This meant that the house had never been more full of people. There were almost four to a room. Harry, Ginny, Lily, Albus, James, Hermione, Ron, Rose, Hugo, Molly, Arthur, Victoire, Fleur, Gabrielle, Teddy, Bill and George, to name but a few.

Rose went to bed late that night, exhausted and only becoming more tired when she thought about how early she would have to be awake the next morning. She was sharing her Uncle Charlie's old room with Lily, Hugo, James and Albus who were all fast asleep and beginning to snore. She looked out of the window into the garden where she could see decorations hanging off of the big marquee blowing gently in the breeze and flying up in front of a starry backdrop.

Tomorrow was the wedding.