"the flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."
in which Peony Parkinson falls for Fred Weasley amidst a sea of adversities and finds herself grow stronger in the process
note: this is a slow-paced story taking place fro...
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chapter nine
Despite Peony's sudden turn for the best, the universe seemed ill-intent on turning itself upside down.
As an advertiser for the Daily Prophet, Peony had made sure to receive a copy every week now, much to her father's distress.
It seemed that Rita Skeeter, the infamous gossip journalist, was still riding the Parkinson family drama wave. For the first month of working with the Daily Prophet, a short section on page two was dedicated to Peony's history, along with quotes from other pureblooded families.
So many of the quotes were written in distaste of her mother or naming her father an upstanding man who had done no wrong. Peony had taken to skipping the page completely after finding a quote stating her a bastard born, shame to the purebloods.
She could tell she wasn't the only person uncomfortable with this new development. Every time the Daily Prophet would arrive Lamia would shot a scathing look before harumphing and walking out of the room. Her dad would stare at it as if hoping it would combust in Peony's hands. Pansy had never been more silent in her life, voice cutting off completely when the newspaper was even in the same room.
It finally came to a head when Peony overheard Lamia and her father arguing.
("I don't like this Vance." Lamia had hissed at her husband. Peony had woken early, she had two new orders that she wanted to get started on. But the excitement quickly dwindled as she leaned behind the stairs, listening.
Vance must have rolled his eyes because Lamia huffed, "Lamia, you know how this gossip business goes. It will blow over soon and Rita Skeeter will move on to the next story."
"And what of the others, the families she is taking quotes from, the people reading this. Those are our friends," Lamia squeaked, "Merlin, what an embarrassment."
"Lamia." Vance's voice was so sharp in contrast to the fearful tone of his wife that Peony jumped, clamping a hand over her mouth in hopes that they wouldn't hear her. "Everything will be fine. Now please, tell the house elves to prepare breakfast, the girls will be down soon."
Peony sagged against the wall, just a few more seconds, and then she could walk down like she hadn't heard a thing.
Then a voice softly cleared from behind her. Peony jumped, hand still over her mouth, and stared wide-eyed at Pansy. Pansy quickly put a finger over her own mouth, signaling for her to stay silent.
Together, they leaned closer to the wall, listening to their dad's voice taking a softer tone.
"I promise you, by next week there will be a new headline that completely erases us from the eyes of the gossip column. And we will never have to worry about this again."
But Lamia wasn't done, voice still in an angry hiss. "And what of Peony? Will the world just forget that we house a bastard-born? Will the world forget that you were assaulted?" Pansy and Peony leaned closer as Lamia's voice dropped to a horrified whisper. "Will the world forget that I 'took pity on a broken man who had been taken advantage of,'"
