Scorrose

five - edit

Later that evening, as she sat curled up by the fire in the Gryffindor commons, Rose couldn't shake away the horrible feeling that conversation had left her with. The word approachable floated through her mind, hanging at the forefront of her thoughts.

Was she really as terrible of a person as they thought she was?

She glanced up as a boy she recognized from class passed by, and as they made eye contact she tried for a smile; blinking in mild surprise, he gave her a small tight-lipped smile in return before hastily continuing on his way.

Rose sank even further into her seat, feeling absolutely dreadful.

Perhaps she really was as unapproachable as Albus claimed.

She sighed and rubbed her temples, wondering how her life had taken this turn. Since her first year at Hogwarts, she'd been so careful about who she befriended— her parents had met during their first year, and the pair of them, along with Uncle Harry, had been Hogwart's golden trio. They were legends— rumors about the antics they'd been up to during their school years echoed through the halls even to this day. Students and professors alike spoke highly of how they'd led a student-run rebellion, how they had found and destroyed the dark wizard Voldemort's horcruxes, and how bravely they'd defeated the Dark Lord.

Rose, however, was already in her fifth year, and had experienced none of these adventures, nor that level of tight-knit friendships.

Scorpius' accusations had been true, and she knew she couldn't continue denying this to herself. She had never wanted anything to do with a Malfoy. She'd heard nasty rumors about Draco Malfoy and his parents her whole life. She had seen Scorpius' father a few times before (even now, her own dad liked to point him out of the crowd and mutter unkind words) and when she met Scorpius, he had seemed like a complete replica of him, from that infamous white-blond hair to the cool gray of his eyes.

She had seen his father in him, and though she had never admitted it, she was afraid— afraid that this Draco Malfoy replica would be capable of doing all things Draco himself had done in the past.

She had been afraid for Albus' sake as well, but she couldn't bring herself to intervene. So instead, to be on the safe side, she stepped out of her cousin's life and ventured out on her own.

Now, as she thought about how much she had let fear control her beliefs and actions, she no longer felt independent or brave.

What a true Gryffindor I am, she thought miserably.

She thought back to when she had started to warm up to Scorpius and start talking to her cousin again. It had not been long, just around the end of last term. It was also the first time Scorpius had plucked up the courage to ask her on a date.

Although she rejected him, she was open to being his friend. By that point, he had proved himself a hero, so she knew there was nothing to be afraid of.

She mulled all these things over for a long while, lost in her own head, when somebody nearing the staircase caught her eye— that third-year girl who had spoken to her in the Great Hall to ask about the ball.

"Hey!" Rose called, startling the girl so much her book fell out of her hand. She paused to pick it up and looked over at Rose in confusion, pointing to herself uncertainly. Rose nodded in affirmation. "Come here."

The girl did so reluctantly, hesitating before plopping onto the couch opposite Rose. "Yes?"

"What's your name?"

"Erm... Siobhan. Siobhan Murphy."

"Siobhan," Rose repeated.

Siobhan fidgeted, and Rose realized her stare may have been a notch too intense. She softened her gaze and smiled warmly.

Approachable, she thought. I need to be more approachable.

"You have a lovely name."

"Thank you?"

"Listen, you're a third-year, right?" She nodded. "You said you weren't quite yet eligible to attend the Yule Ball on your own?"

Siobhan blinked, watching Rose questioningly. "Yes...?"

"How badly do you want to go?"

"Really bad," Siobhan said, bouncing at the end of her seat.

Rose chewed on her lip, thinking about it. It might be weird to ask this random girl to attend the ball with her, but she seemed desperate enough, and who else could she ask? Most of the people she knew were paired up. And the boys had been right – she didn't have a whole lot of close friends at her disposal.

"Would you want to go with me?"

Siobhan's eyes widened, and she fumbled around with her books, looking down at her lap uncomfortably. "I— uh— that's a nice offer. Really. But, um... when I said you were pretty, I didn't mean... I— I like boys. I'm not—"

Realizing where she was going with this, Rose laughed, and it felt so genuine and abrupt that she surprised even herself. "No, that's not what I meant," she assured. "Just hear me out." Siobhan eyed her warily, and Rose couldn't blame her. She hadn't exactly been a ray of sunshine during their last encounter. "Please?"

Rose sighed in relief when she obliged, cracking her knuckles distractedly as she wondered where to start. "Look, recently I've been told that I'm... unapproachable." She paused, as if the girl would jump to her defense to argue against this. She just nodded, waiting patiently for Rose to get to her point. "Er, well I suppose it might be somewhat true. My point it, all of my friends have found partners, and nobody's yet asked me—"

"I thought someone asked you and you refused?"

Rose fought the urge to scowl at the interruption. "Yes," she said slowly. "That's true."

"If you're so worried about finding a date, why would you refuse them?"

She did scowl this time. "It doesn't matter now, he's already found a different date," Rose said, trying to keep the annoyance in her tone to a minimum. "And anyway, I wasn't worried about it. Not until recently. I didn't think it would be such a big deal, finding a partner, but now, I..."

She wasn't sure what she wanted, exactly. To prove Albus and Scorpius wrong? To show them that she could maintain a good friendship, that she could be approachable if she tried?

"I've realized nobody else will want to go with me, and I'd rather not go alone," she said, unsure of whether or not she really meant it.

"So, you want me to go with you?" Siobhan asked incredulously. "We hardly know each other."

"Well." Rose shrugged. "I thought maybe we'd be doing each other a favor. It might be fun. But... if you have other offers, feel free to decline."

Siobhan shook her head quickly. "I don't." She pondered it for a moment. "I suppose I'd never otherwise have the opportunity to attend a Yule Ball." She thought about it for a minute longer, and Rose was beginning to shake her leg up and down with impatience. Finally, she broke into a grin. "Okay," she said. "I'll go with you— as a friend."

Rose clasped her hands together, grinning back. "You won't regret it," she promised, as Siobhan returned to the staircase.

She relaxed into her chair, feeling a little bit lighter.