A Single Rose

Chapter Nine

It takes longer than it should for the two of us to pack my things, but maybe that was subconsciously done on purpose in order to spend more time with one another. Once we're done, the two of us are hauling two backpacks, two suitcases, a really large duffle, and a tote bag. I have way too many things, but you can never be too prepared. Especially when everyone thinks you're going to a new house, rather than off to a magical boarding school. You're kind of forced into taking everything you own, especially with the time crunch where I don't have time to sort anything. I also am holding my gigantic fuzzy christmas blanket and my pillow.

When Charlie and Ms Lewis see us, they both look incredibly shocked to (barely) see two girls who are hauling (and covered by) a load of stuff. After piling all my stuff onto the floor, Lili and I embrace again. After a while, it's time to say goodbye. Ms Lewis pulls me aside to tell me that Charlie is carrying the money from my father and that I should invest in a trunk. She helps me and Charlie move my stuff out to the front gates, where Charlie sticks out his hand and a purple double decker bus appears. I'm told it's called the Knight Bus and can only be seen by wizards and squibs. The two help me load my belongings on, I hug Ms Lewis for a while and then I step back onto the bus to join Charlie. The Knight Bus was truly a horrible experience. I mean, I'm glad I did it, but never again.

We finally arrive back in the lobby of the Leaky Cauldron and come across Fred and George who look at us in shock.

"Rose? Charlie?" George asks in disbelief.

"What's all this?" Fred chimes in.

"Uh well..."

"Is this all yours?" George asks me.

"Well..."

"Oh George you can't talk. You try packing up your entire life's belongings and see just how much you have," Charlie says, interrupting me and then sending me a wink when George's cheeks go pink. I giggle. "Oh and Rose, you have the twins to help you carry your belongings up to your room. I'm sure that they could use the practice of moving things without the use of magic..." He says, strolling away. "See you at supper."

"Okay, thank you so much Charlie."

"Anytime." I turn to the twins.

"So, um, can you guys please help me with my stuff?" I ask. "Sorry that there's so much. I never really realized how many belongings I really own."

"That's alright!" George says happily.

"Yeah," Fred chimes in. "We're happy to help."

"Aw thank you. Here, could you hold one of the suitcases and-" Finally we get things sorted, and Fred is somehow hauling both suitcases and backpack up the stairs, while George is carrying the other backpack and the duffle bag, and I'm carrying my tote bag, pillow, and blanket. We finally make it upstairs and into room 8, where there's a huge four poster bed in the corner of the room. A desk sits facing the opposite wall, with a door beside it. On the wall near the bed in the corner sits a dresser with a full length mirror beside it. There's a big blue and white patterned rug in the middle of the room where we end up dumping all my luggage. I chuck the pillow and blanket onto the bed.

"Well," Fred starts after setting everything down. "I'm assuming you'll want to unpack a bit, maybe you should invest in a trunk, might be helpful. I'll leave you to it then. Bye Rose."

"Thanks for the help, Fred," I reply, smiling gratefully. Then I turn to George. "Thank you to you too. Really, I appreciate it."

"Of course," he responds, grinning. "So uh... how did it go? With Charlie and at the uh... you know."

"It was good. I'm even more confused than before honestly. Apparently Ms Lewis is a squib and knew my father. I don't really know how to feel about that. He left her with some money for when I was older. She was surprised that I didn't get my letter sooner. She knew this whole time..."