Gryffindor Princess

Flowers, Frogs, and Fancying

In Transfiguration, they were attempting to conjure flowers. NEWT level Transfiguration was definitely harder than previous years, but Rose was keeping up with ease. She waved her wand and a bouquet of red roses appeared out of the tip of her wand. Ironic.

"Good job, Rosie," beamed her uncle, Percy Weasley, the new transfiguration professor. "10 points to Gryffindor for excellent magic."

"Thank you," Rose beamed as she set the bouquet across the table. Though Rose had success while conjuring her flowers, no one else was having much luck.

Aurelia groaned, the table in front of her laden with anything but flowers. Buttons, pins, even a frog sat feebly on the desk.

"How do you make this look so easy?"

"It's not that hard," said Rose briskly. "You have to wave your wand like this, not like that."

Aurelia waved her wand lazily and a wilted daisy shot out.

"Thanks Rose," Aurelia smirked. "You're not too bad after all."

"I'm not bad!" Rose said indignantly.

"Kidding," Aurelia grinned and held her hands up in surrender. "Don't kill me with flowers, please."

Rose rolled her eyes jokingly and conjured another bouquet, this time lilies.

"Great," Aurelia muttered as another frog launched itself out of her wand and smacked Aaron McLaggen in the face.

❖

That evening, after all her classes and dinner, Rose sat in the Gryffindor common room doing her homework, while various other Gryffindors talked or did their own homework. She watched as Aaron McLaggen pinned up a notice on the cork board where Hogsmeade trips were announced, Quidditch times were posted, and other various announcements were hung up.

"Quidditch try outs are on Saturday at 3," Aaron announced pompously, addressing the gathered Gryffindors.

Rose frowned and went back to finishing her homework.

"You're trying out for Quidditch, aren't you?" Rose's cousin Louis asked nervously. "I mean, we need a keeper. And if we even let Laura think that she can be keeper, we'll never get rid of her. And also--"

"Don't worry Louis," Rose assured him. "Of course I'm trying out. Trust me, Gryffindor needs a good keeper." She joked, winking.

"Thank goodness," Louis said and ducked behind the couch as Laura Penn, a sixth year Gryffindor, walked by.

Louis was the son of Bill and Fleur Weasley. Therefore, he was part veela and practically half the girls at Hogwarts were in love with him. Laura happened to be one of them, and actually was probably the most obsessed girl in the school. Unfortunately for her, Louis thought she was just about the most annoying thing in the world.

"Louis?" Laura's obnoxious voice drifted through the common room. "Where are you...?"

"Kill me," muttered Louis, pulling a pillow over his head and scooting lower behind the couch to stay out of sight.

"I saw him heading to the library," Rose said helpfully, smiling convincingly at Laura as she did her homework.

"Oh," Laura said, looking surprised. "Well thank you, Rose."

As soon as Laura had left the common room, Louis popped out from behind the couch and high fived her.

"Thank you," he said, relieved. "I don't think I could stand another minute with her talking about my 'fluffy blond hair' and my 'dreamy eyes.' I was ready to throw up!"

Rose laughed and patted her younger cousin on his shoulder.

"What a terrible fate," she mocked, clutching her heart. "All the girls just love you."

"Oh Rose..." Louis laughed, shoving her. "What would I do without you laughing at my pain."

"That's what I'm here for," she winked and they both collapsed into a fit of giggles.

❖

"Perfect!" Rose exclaimed, reading over her transfiguration essay. She rolled the parchment up and stuffed it in her bookbag next to her charms, potions, and arithmancy ones.

Along with undoubtedly inheriting her mother's brains, she had also inherited her father's love and talent for Quidditch.

Rose leapt up from where she had done her homework and started up the stairs to her dormitory. She froze when she heard a few boys from her year talking.

"...and everyone's been talking about how much he fancies her. But I told him that it wasn't true because I'd just seen him snogging Marie or whoever she is..."

Rose shrugged and continued up the stairs. She didn't care to know who was snogging Marie but fancied a different girl, but for some reason the words stuck with her.

She quickly dressed in her pajamas and got into bed. She shut of the light next to her bed, set her wand on her bedside table, and fell asleep.