Rose Dursley: The Girl Who Lived

30. Missing a Friend

It took Snape three weeks to perfect the potion for Rob. It was much harder than he expected to get the exact result he wanted. But eventually, he succeeded.

Rob was in the Great Hall eating lunch, when a nervous looking young Slytherin came up to him.

"Err, excuse me," he said, quietly. "Are you Rob Dursley?"

"Yeah, that's me," said Rob.

"Professor Snape sent me to give you a message," he said.

Rob turned to look expectantly at the nervous first year. "Okay, and the message was...?"

"Oh, sorry, yeah. He said the potion was ready, and that you would know what that means?" he said.

"It's ready!" said Rob. "Should I go there now?"

"I don't know, Professor Snape didn't tell me that," he said, looking upset. "I'm sorry."

Rob calmed down when he realised the young boy looked scared. "Oh, no. It's fine, it's not your fault," said Rob. "I'll just go and see him now."

The young first year scurried off, back to the Slytherin table. Once he was gone, Rob quickly finished eating his lunch.

When Rob went down to the dungeons, he found Snape in the potions classroom. As Rob entered, Snape looked up from the parchment he was reading.

"Ahh, Dursley. Come sit down," he said.

"You sent for me, Sir?" said Rob.

"Yes. The potion you want is ready," said Snape. "It took longer to perfect it, but it should be effective."

"Thank you, Sir," said Rob.

"Hmmm, yes," said Snape. "It won't give you masculine features, if that is what you were hoping for. But it should prevent you, errr, growing more, umm, feminine."

Snape shifted awkwardly in his chair. He was not used to talking to children about their bodies. Thoughts of puberty and growing breasts were making him very uncomfortable.

Rob was also feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, but also Snape's reaction to him. Snape had an intense way of looking at people that always made Rob uncomfortable. To talk to him about personal issues while he was staring like that felt weird.

"Okay, so I guess I'll just take the potion then," said Rob.

"Err, yes," said Snape.

He stood up and walked over to a shelf of potions. Then he took one off and handed it to Rob.

"Take a spoonful, once a day," said Snape. "And come see me before you run out so I can make some more."

"Okay. Thank you, Sir," said Rob, as he took the bottle from Snape.

"Yes, well, now you've got it, you can get back to whatever you were doing," said Snape.

Then Snape turned back to the parchment he had been reading, and hoped that Rob would take the hint. It worked, and Rob realised that Snape didn't want to talk anymore.

Rob left the dungeons and decided to take his potion back to the dormitory. He took the familiar route through the Gryffindor common room and up the staircase to the boy's dormitory.

It had taken Rob a while to get used to sleeping in the boys dormitory. But after being back at Hogwarts for a month it was starting to feel natural to share a room with the boys. Though he would still go to the bathroom to change his clothes in private.

The others had also needed some time to adjust to having Rob share with them. Neville had seemed confused at first, and Seamus was a little uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangements. But eventually they all started to accept him being there.

Within a few weeks the boys were all back to their usual behaviour. Rob started to see a different side to them. The boys all behaved differently when they were alone, compared to how they acted around the girls. It was another thing for him to get used to.

The only part that Rob was finding difficult was he found he was missing being around Hermione. He was so used to being near her, that it felt weird to be apart. They were still good friends, but Rob was starting to feel a distance opening up between them.

After coming back from the Christmas break, things had been stressful for Rob. Having to deal with the hate he had received had made Rob too upset and low to think about any other feelings he might have. But with Snape's potion, it was like a small weight had been lifted off him.

Rob started to think again about Hermione, and the feelings that he had for her. The attraction he had started to feel had got buried in his low mood. But now he wasn't feeling so low, those other thoughts resurfaced. He decided that he needed to go and talk with her.

Hermione was not in the common room when Rob came down, but Ron was there playing a game of wizard chess with Neville.

"Hey, have you seen Hermione?" Rob asked.

Ron glanced up from the chess board for a moment. "Library," he said.

Rob grinned. "Yeah, that sounds about right," he said.

Rob headed down to the library. He wandered through until he spotted Hermione sitting at one of the tables at the back. Rob went over and sat down next to her.

"Hey, Hermione. Are you busy?" asked Rob.

Hermione put down the book she was reading and smiled at him. "Not really. I was just reading a book about muggle history," she said. "It is interesting getting the wizarding perspective on things."

Rob shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," he said.

"So did you want something?" Hermione asked.

"No, I just wanted to see you and hang out," said Rob.

Hermione smiled, then closed her book and pushed it away from her. "Okay, that sounds good," she said. "So how are things with you? We haven't really hung out since before Christmas."

"Yeah, things have been hard," said Rob. "I have been trying to just focus on doing my school work."

"What has been hard? Is it the coming out you mean?" said Hermione.

"Yeah, well, it's more the way that people have been treating me," said Rob.

"You mean Malfoy? He's a mean little weasel, just ignore him," said Hermione.

"I am trying, but it's not just him," said Rob. "Some of the Slytherins are being horrible, but it's not just them. A lot of other people are really distant with me. Like they don't want to have to deal with me."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said Hermione. "Hopefully things will be different when they are more used to you. It just takes time for people to come to terms with changes."

"Maybe, but that doesn't make it any easier for me," said Rob.

"Be happy in yourself and it won't matter what anyone else thinks. Don't let them make you feel wrong," said Hermione.

"Yeah, thanks, Hermione. I'll try," said Rob.

Hermione reached out and took hold of Rob's hand. "Just remember, me and Ron love you. And whatever happens, you will always have your friends," she said.

Rob blushed at the contact. "Thank you," he said. "And I, err, love you too."

Hermione gave Rob a big smile. "Anyway, come on. It's nearly time for DADA, let's go," she said.

Hermione put the book she had been reading back on the shelf. Then her and Rob left the library and walked towards their next lesson.