Of Fickle Fortune (A Scorpius and Rose Fanfiction)

Year 5: Part 4

Rose sat in the far corner of the Gryffindor common room looking everywhere but at the gigantic stack of Charms notes that sat on her lap. Nearest to the fireplace, Polly and Tracy were practicing cheering charms on each other, both in heightened stages of giggles. Rose couldn't tell if the charm was working or not; they both were usually giggly on any given day. Her attention was diverted from them by a number of objects whizzing passed her seat to a brow-furrowed-in-deep-concentration David Thomas. Sprawled on the floor at her feet, out for the count, was her friend Anna, resting her head on her arms and emitting soft snoring sounds. The common room, at this late hour, was only filled with the fifth and seventh years who had not yet given up on O.W.L and NEWT revision.

Rose looked up at the big clock on the wall and noted that it was almost midnight but despite the mental exhaustion she felt, she wasn't physically tired. She chalked it down to pure nerves; not five nights ago, did she dream she overslept and was late for her exam, old Professor Flitwick began chasing her around the Great Hall with her broomstick while onlookers pointed and laughed. She woke up in a plethora of anxiety and her hair sticking to her forehead by perspiration. She wrote immediately to her mother and her mother responded with a box filled with her own summarised school notes still in pristine condition – the box was so heavy that it had to be delivered by six owls landing with a heavy, loud thud the next morning that caused a few Huffelpuffs on the next table to spill their coffee and jump in surprise – and an extremely long letter containing every ounce of sympathy and encouragement her parents could enclose. The next day she had received a small bottle of calming tonic from Grandma Molly with another note of reassurance and a warning not to drink more than 3 sips a day.

Rose knew what she needed right now and it wasn't calming tonic or extra revision, it was a large bowl of Fortescue's Rocking Rainbow ice-cream. So, with a quick look around to ensure that everyone around her was immersed in their own work enough to not notice her sneak out the common room, she pushed the portrait-door open and walked carefully down to the one place she knew she would get what she wanted. She made a mental note to bring back a large bowl of ice-cream for Anna.

Rose might have been the daughter of one of the most intelligent witches of her generation, but she can truthfully acknowledge that her father had taught her just as much. One of those fine lessons were how to sneak out after hours and take the quickest route to the hidden kitchens when she fancied a late-night snack. She trudged down six flights of stairs, keeping a wary eye and ear out for Filch who, despite being as close to death as a person could possibly be, insisted on remaining as caretaker and dolling out punishments until his last breath. As though her life force was somehow connected to Filches, Mrs. Norris remained just as alive. Anna had unsuccessfully attempted to stuff her into a box and send her to the Amazon jungle – Anna was in the hospital wing for a few days after with a case of severe scratch marks and some disfigurement. Ever since then, the damned cat made a point of following Anna and finding her at the most inappropriate moments; like using the bathroom.

Rose turned left at the bottom of the staircase just before the Entrance Hall and entered through a door with stone steps leading to a brightly-lit corridor with pleasant food art hanging from the walls. She stopped at a painting of large fruit ball and rubbed her finger along the green pear. It wriggled, let out a gleeful giggle before transforming into a door handle. Rose pulled open the door and went through it quickly. She turned around to the largest kitchen she had ever seen. Even though she'd seen it about a million times before, it still took her a few minutes to get used to the magnitude of glistening brass pots and scorching furnaces.

'Miss Rose!' came a squeaky voice from below and Rose looked down into the smiling face of Sparky the House Elf. Around her, a few more elves bowed, all wearing incredibly white uniforms of either shirts and trousers or cute, frilly dresses all with the Hogwarts crest ironed on the chest. Elves and elvish rights had come a long way since the Dark Days.