2: Fun and Games
As Roslyn left her Great Aunt Walburga's old bedroom, she took a deep, heaving breath. She was nervous to meet Sirius, her cousin. She had heard all about him growing up, continuously being instructed to not act like him. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. What would he be like? All she had ever known of him was that he was a murderer, a disgrace of her families blood, and a traitor who sold his friends to the Dark Lord. Though, every time she heard this, it made less sense. Through the letters she had sent him, she could tell that he was a kind man who would never stoop so low to betray his friends. She knew he was like her, more accepting and true than those they shared their blood with.
Roslyn stared at the large, black, wooden door before her. She straightened her back, preparing to knock on the door. After several deep breaths, she pulled her hand back, placing 3 light knocks on the door. As she placed the third knock on the door, it swung open. Immediately, the man behind the door pulled her into a tight hug. She was taken aback, though she returned the gesture. After several minutes, she pulled away, sticking out her hand for him to shake it. He eagerly shook her hand before smiling.
"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Roslyn. I've heard more than enough about your brother, but you remained a mystery to me. I've only heard a few things, mostly from Remus, and he only said that you were in the top of your class, alongside Hermione and my own daughter. I'm still shocked by that." Sirius doted happily. Roslyn eyed him curiously.
"You, Sirius Black, have a child? Who is she? With who?" Roslyn asked excitedly. She had another cousin whom she had no idea about. Sirius chuckled lightly and patted her back.
"She's in the other room, actually. My Rhiannon Lyra. Her mother, Marls McKinnon, one of my best friends, was the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan. She was responsible for her first name and I was responsible for her middle name. Marlene died only a few weeks after Rhi was born. Then James and Lily... it was awful." He noted, visibly upset. Roslyn gasped, clearly unaware of her best friend's real parents.
"What?! You mean that my best friend is YOUR daughter? How did I never know this?!" She yelled excitedly. "Of course she's in this family! Her middle name's a constellation too." Sirius nodded and then smiled.
"What's your middle name?" He asked her, and Roslyn looked at him before smiling.
"Orion. I think it's a bit masculine for a female middle name, but there's not much I can do about it." She chuckled to herself.
"Orion?" He questioned politely. Roslyn's eyebrow quirked and she nodded.
"Yes, that's my middle name. Quite fitting, since I love the stars. My boyfr-... ex boyfriend, he and I would sneak out of the Hufflepuff Common Room, using the map I nicked from the twins, and we would go to the Astronomy tower. Now, I can't look at them without feeling... lonely. Anyway, I would say it's clear he loved them too, because he got me this Orion pendant just a few weeks before he died." She said softly. She was immensely proud of herself. She had talked about Cedric without crying. Something about Sirius made her sadness feel understood. She would make sure to talk to him more often. "I guess that our family has an affinity for naming it's children after the stars. Me with Orion, you with Sirius, your brother with Regulus and Arcturus, and countless more. So interesting." She noted, followed by Sirius laughing.
"I'm Orion too." He said, pointing to his place on the tapestry on the wall. She hadn't thought anything of it before, but upon looking, she saw hundreds of years of Blacks on the wall. Her mother, her aunts, her grandmother Druella and grandfather Cygnus, and her cousins. She walked up to the wall and placed her hand on her mother's face, She lightly ran her hand over the tapestry before her hand landed on her own face. She gasped and pulled her hand back. Roslyn looked at Sirius, confused.
"I- why am I on here? I thought that after Great Aunt Walburga died that nobody would carry it on." She spat, surprised. "My gut is slightly wrenching that I'm on the same wall as Auntie Bellatrix and Uncle Rodolphus." She joked quietly, causing Sirius to laugh.
"It's charmed so the new additions appear as they come along. And that is one of the very few benefits of being burned off the tapestry, like 'Dromeda and myself. We don't have to be immortalized alongside these maniacs." He added, continuing with their joking demeanor. "By the looks of it, if Mommy Dearest was still with us, your spot on the tapestry would be at risk, Miss Hufflepuff." Sirius noted. Roslyn hadn't quite realized, but he was right. Great Aunt Walburga would be... less than happy with the path Rose had chosen for herself. "But look on the bright side, you get to have the coolest role model ever! Also, I should say, that I am quite sorry about Cedric. From everything I heard, he sounded like one of the amazing people who are so few and far between these days. A truly kind boy who I hear was head over heels for my young cousin." Sirius added, elbowing her arm gently. "I know how you feel, Rose. Never be afraid to come to me if you need to talk, alright?" He asked of her, his eyes softening. He pulled her into a tight hug, embracing her in silence. Much to her surprise, less than a handful of tears escaped her cheeks. Roslyn stepped back and looked at Sirius.
"Thank you, Sirius. It would be an honor to join you and Auntie 'Dromeda in the 'Black Family Disappointments' club." She giggled, wiping the tears off of her cheek. Sirius let out a loud laugh that halted him for a short while. She smiled and gave him a last short hug before heading to the door. "I'll see you at dinner, my dear namesake." She giggled, heading out the door.
Roslyn found her way down to the formal drawing room, sitting in between Tonks and Ginny. Fred, George, Rhiannon, and Sirius were chatting about pranks that the Marauders pulled during their years at Hogwarts. Roslyn could see that Fred and George were making mental notes, preparing to execute these pranks themselves. Ron, Hermione, and Harry spoke with Lupin about something indecipherable. All the remaining attendees kept to themselves, listening to passing conversations. Rose sat back, looking at Professor Moody, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. She knew this wasn't the same man who was responsible for her lover's death, but seeing him still made her uneasy.
Dinner was quite ordinary. Each of the adults held hushed conversations about "Private Business". What could they be talking about that was so important? Roslyn eyed Rhiannon across the table with a fake angry look. Rhi and Fred held hands while they talked quietly to each other. Roslyn looked at George, who was seated next to her, and she smiled at him before giggling.
"Honestly, George, I'm still on Cloud Nine from the Quidditch game earlier. Nothing beats the high of knocking Fred's ego down a notch or two, same with Harry's pride." She said, chuckling to herself. She had know Harry for 5 years now, as they were in the same year, and she had very rarely beat him in a Quidditch match. The only time she could remember was in 3rd year, when he was knocked off his broom from within the clouds. She was racing across the pitch, preparing to score another Hufflepuff goal when she saw him, plummeting from the heights. Cedric had caught the snitch, though, if Cedric was anything, he was fair. He begged for a rematch, but the game was won fairly, so the judges denied it. As soon as he could, Ced came to visit Harry in the hospital wing, only to find her sitting beside his bed with Ron, Hermione, and a pack of other Gryffindors. It was after that night she had realized that her "crush" on Cedric Diggory was so much more than that.
George's response pulled her out of her thoughts. He tapped on her shoulder lightly. "Roslyn? Did you hear what I was saying?" He asked politely. She turned her head to face him and shook her head.
"Sorry, George, I drifted off while waiting for you to respond." She joked, nudging him playfully with her elbow. George scoffed and nudged her in return.
"Well, all I was saying was that me, you, and Gin made a great team. And I agree, it was great to see Fred and Harry lose at something for once. Ickle Ronniekins doesn't care as much about Quidditch as we do, not yet anyways." He chuckled lightly. "Though, I don't think Fred is taking his loss so hard, considering the outfit Rhiannon was wearing during the match." He blurted, laughing in such a way that caused Roslyn to laugh with him.
George studied the girl that had been broken for so long. It warmed his heart that he put a smile on her once forlorn face. He began to reminisce on his past, or maybe even current, relationship with Pansy Parkinson. They were in the same type of relationship as Roslyn and Cedric, but the two felt so different. With Rose and Ced, it was so pure. They weren't focused on comforting each other physically, like himself and Pansy. Rose and Cedric comforted each other mentally and emotionally. George caught himself being almost jealous, he wasn't sure what of. Was it that they cared so deeply for each other, not allowing obstacles to interfere? Was it that they could be intimate without being physically intimate? Or was it that the fact that they had something he didn't think he would never experience? He was worried he would be stuck in a loveless relationship for the rest of his life. He knew he shouldn't be thinking this way because, at the end of the day, Cedric was killed maliciously and George was still alive. But this didn't discredit the way he felt. That he would never experience the kind of love Cedric had received from Roslyn, the girl who appeared so full of life, but he knew she had lost the biggest piece of herself not so long ago.
George was pulled out of his thoughts when Roslyn nudged him. "George, who's the one drifting off now, huh? Come on, gather your things. We're heading back to the Burrow." She said cheerfully, excited to return to the happiest place she had known. George nodded and rose from his chair, walking with her to the fireplace.
Once they had all arrived home, Roslyn shuffled up to Ginny's bedroom where she, Hermione, and Rhiannon would be staying, alongside Ginny of course. Everyone got changed into their pajamas, Roslyn wearing a silk pajama set. Fred had come to the girls room and proposed that they play Truth or Dare, to which they all agreed to do. The girls sauntered downstairs, joining the circle of the boys. Roslyn was sat between Ron and Hermione, and she could feel the tension building between the two. Rhiannon was sitting next to Fred and George, while the others filled the gaps.
To begin the game, Rhiannon spoke out amongst the chatter. "Ron, truth or dare?" She said with a smirk.
"Truth, of course." Ron scoffed, so sure of himself, causing Rhiannon to chuckle.
"Okay, Ron, out of everyone in this room, who would you most like to snog?" She blurted. Everyone in the room apart from Hermione knew the answer. The question caused Ron's face to turn beet red, and he looked at Rhiannon, almost upset.
"H-Hermione I guess. Only because everyone else is already in a relationship or is like a sister to me." He said, remaining red, though now, it was Hermione's turn to flush red.
Hermione gained a new sense of confidence, her anger projecting onto Ron. "Ugh, Ronald! Am I not like a sister to you?! After 5 years!" She scoffed angrily, though her cheeks displayed an emotion different from anger. Ron looked up at his brother.
"Okay, George. Truth or dare?" Ron asked him.
George responded immediately. "Dare." Ron chuckled, nodding to his brother.
"Let me draw anything I want on your face in permanent marker, and you have to keep it on for the rest of the game." He demanded excitedly. George nodded, of course. Ron rose from his seat to find a marker and when he returned, he began drawing on his brother's face. He only wrote "I like big wands" on his brother's forehead. The entire group laughed at the sight before them. George sat up and smiled. George had asked Harry who he fancied, to which he replied with the obvious, Cho Chang. Afterwards, Harry asked Ginny and Ginny asked Fred. Once Fred was finished swapping clothes with Rhiannon, he sat down, eyeing Roslyn.
"Roslyn, truth or dare?" Fred asked her from across the circle. She smiled, trying not to giggle at his new outfit.
"I'm not one to turn down a dare." She said gently, causing Fred to smirk.
"Well, alright then. I'll have to think of something worth your while..." He said, his girlfriend looking up at him deviously, leaning into whisper something. The two shared whispers before Fred shot his head back up to look at her, laughing. "I've got it! Kiss George. Not some childhood peck, a real make out." He said surely. Roslyn's jaw dropped. She was expecting them to dye her hair or bewitch her nose, but never this.
Roslyn looked up at George for reassurance, to which he responded with a nod. She walked across the circle, reaching for his hand to pull him up. Once he stood, he walked up to her, closing the gap between the two. After a moment of reflection, Roslyn cupped his face, bringing his lips to hers gently. George had one hand on her waist and the other on the right side of her face. Once a minute had gone by, she removed her hands from his face, wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. When she did this, his arms remained around her waist, though they pulled her closer to him. As Roslyn started coming to her senses, she recognized the echoing cheers coming from the group around her. She quickly pulled away, finding George searching for her lips to kiss her again. Roslyn blushed instantaneously, finding that she stood in the center of a group containing her friends, all while she was wrapped in George Weasley's arms. She couldn't deny that she felt something after the kiss, but little did she know, George felt the same.
Roslyn stared at the large, black, wooden door before her. She straightened her back, preparing to knock on the door. After several deep breaths, she pulled her hand back, placing 3 light knocks on the door. As she placed the third knock on the door, it swung open. Immediately, the man behind the door pulled her into a tight hug. She was taken aback, though she returned the gesture. After several minutes, she pulled away, sticking out her hand for him to shake it. He eagerly shook her hand before smiling.
"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Roslyn. I've heard more than enough about your brother, but you remained a mystery to me. I've only heard a few things, mostly from Remus, and he only said that you were in the top of your class, alongside Hermione and my own daughter. I'm still shocked by that." Sirius doted happily. Roslyn eyed him curiously.
"You, Sirius Black, have a child? Who is she? With who?" Roslyn asked excitedly. She had another cousin whom she had no idea about. Sirius chuckled lightly and patted her back.
"She's in the other room, actually. My Rhiannon Lyra. Her mother, Marls McKinnon, one of my best friends, was the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan. She was responsible for her first name and I was responsible for her middle name. Marlene died only a few weeks after Rhi was born. Then James and Lily... it was awful." He noted, visibly upset. Roslyn gasped, clearly unaware of her best friend's real parents.
"What?! You mean that my best friend is YOUR daughter? How did I never know this?!" She yelled excitedly. "Of course she's in this family! Her middle name's a constellation too." Sirius nodded and then smiled.
"What's your middle name?" He asked her, and Roslyn looked at him before smiling.
"Orion. I think it's a bit masculine for a female middle name, but there's not much I can do about it." She chuckled to herself.
"Orion?" He questioned politely. Roslyn's eyebrow quirked and she nodded.
"Yes, that's my middle name. Quite fitting, since I love the stars. My boyfr-... ex boyfriend, he and I would sneak out of the Hufflepuff Common Room, using the map I nicked from the twins, and we would go to the Astronomy tower. Now, I can't look at them without feeling... lonely. Anyway, I would say it's clear he loved them too, because he got me this Orion pendant just a few weeks before he died." She said softly. She was immensely proud of herself. She had talked about Cedric without crying. Something about Sirius made her sadness feel understood. She would make sure to talk to him more often. "I guess that our family has an affinity for naming it's children after the stars. Me with Orion, you with Sirius, your brother with Regulus and Arcturus, and countless more. So interesting." She noted, followed by Sirius laughing.
"I'm Orion too." He said, pointing to his place on the tapestry on the wall. She hadn't thought anything of it before, but upon looking, she saw hundreds of years of Blacks on the wall. Her mother, her aunts, her grandmother Druella and grandfather Cygnus, and her cousins. She walked up to the wall and placed her hand on her mother's face, She lightly ran her hand over the tapestry before her hand landed on her own face. She gasped and pulled her hand back. Roslyn looked at Sirius, confused.
"I- why am I on here? I thought that after Great Aunt Walburga died that nobody would carry it on." She spat, surprised. "My gut is slightly wrenching that I'm on the same wall as Auntie Bellatrix and Uncle Rodolphus." She joked quietly, causing Sirius to laugh.
"It's charmed so the new additions appear as they come along. And that is one of the very few benefits of being burned off the tapestry, like 'Dromeda and myself. We don't have to be immortalized alongside these maniacs." He added, continuing with their joking demeanor. "By the looks of it, if Mommy Dearest was still with us, your spot on the tapestry would be at risk, Miss Hufflepuff." Sirius noted. Roslyn hadn't quite realized, but he was right. Great Aunt Walburga would be... less than happy with the path Rose had chosen for herself. "But look on the bright side, you get to have the coolest role model ever! Also, I should say, that I am quite sorry about Cedric. From everything I heard, he sounded like one of the amazing people who are so few and far between these days. A truly kind boy who I hear was head over heels for my young cousin." Sirius added, elbowing her arm gently. "I know how you feel, Rose. Never be afraid to come to me if you need to talk, alright?" He asked of her, his eyes softening. He pulled her into a tight hug, embracing her in silence. Much to her surprise, less than a handful of tears escaped her cheeks. Roslyn stepped back and looked at Sirius.
"Thank you, Sirius. It would be an honor to join you and Auntie 'Dromeda in the 'Black Family Disappointments' club." She giggled, wiping the tears off of her cheek. Sirius let out a loud laugh that halted him for a short while. She smiled and gave him a last short hug before heading to the door. "I'll see you at dinner, my dear namesake." She giggled, heading out the door.
Roslyn found her way down to the formal drawing room, sitting in between Tonks and Ginny. Fred, George, Rhiannon, and Sirius were chatting about pranks that the Marauders pulled during their years at Hogwarts. Roslyn could see that Fred and George were making mental notes, preparing to execute these pranks themselves. Ron, Hermione, and Harry spoke with Lupin about something indecipherable. All the remaining attendees kept to themselves, listening to passing conversations. Rose sat back, looking at Professor Moody, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. She knew this wasn't the same man who was responsible for her lover's death, but seeing him still made her uneasy.
Dinner was quite ordinary. Each of the adults held hushed conversations about "Private Business". What could they be talking about that was so important? Roslyn eyed Rhiannon across the table with a fake angry look. Rhi and Fred held hands while they talked quietly to each other. Roslyn looked at George, who was seated next to her, and she smiled at him before giggling.
"Honestly, George, I'm still on Cloud Nine from the Quidditch game earlier. Nothing beats the high of knocking Fred's ego down a notch or two, same with Harry's pride." She said, chuckling to herself. She had know Harry for 5 years now, as they were in the same year, and she had very rarely beat him in a Quidditch match. The only time she could remember was in 3rd year, when he was knocked off his broom from within the clouds. She was racing across the pitch, preparing to score another Hufflepuff goal when she saw him, plummeting from the heights. Cedric had caught the snitch, though, if Cedric was anything, he was fair. He begged for a rematch, but the game was won fairly, so the judges denied it. As soon as he could, Ced came to visit Harry in the hospital wing, only to find her sitting beside his bed with Ron, Hermione, and a pack of other Gryffindors. It was after that night she had realized that her "crush" on Cedric Diggory was so much more than that.
George's response pulled her out of her thoughts. He tapped on her shoulder lightly. "Roslyn? Did you hear what I was saying?" He asked politely. She turned her head to face him and shook her head.
"Sorry, George, I drifted off while waiting for you to respond." She joked, nudging him playfully with her elbow. George scoffed and nudged her in return.
"Well, all I was saying was that me, you, and Gin made a great team. And I agree, it was great to see Fred and Harry lose at something for once. Ickle Ronniekins doesn't care as much about Quidditch as we do, not yet anyways." He chuckled lightly. "Though, I don't think Fred is taking his loss so hard, considering the outfit Rhiannon was wearing during the match." He blurted, laughing in such a way that caused Roslyn to laugh with him.
George studied the girl that had been broken for so long. It warmed his heart that he put a smile on her once forlorn face. He began to reminisce on his past, or maybe even current, relationship with Pansy Parkinson. They were in the same type of relationship as Roslyn and Cedric, but the two felt so different. With Rose and Ced, it was so pure. They weren't focused on comforting each other physically, like himself and Pansy. Rose and Cedric comforted each other mentally and emotionally. George caught himself being almost jealous, he wasn't sure what of. Was it that they cared so deeply for each other, not allowing obstacles to interfere? Was it that they could be intimate without being physically intimate? Or was it that the fact that they had something he didn't think he would never experience? He was worried he would be stuck in a loveless relationship for the rest of his life. He knew he shouldn't be thinking this way because, at the end of the day, Cedric was killed maliciously and George was still alive. But this didn't discredit the way he felt. That he would never experience the kind of love Cedric had received from Roslyn, the girl who appeared so full of life, but he knew she had lost the biggest piece of herself not so long ago.
George was pulled out of his thoughts when Roslyn nudged him. "George, who's the one drifting off now, huh? Come on, gather your things. We're heading back to the Burrow." She said cheerfully, excited to return to the happiest place she had known. George nodded and rose from his chair, walking with her to the fireplace.
Once they had all arrived home, Roslyn shuffled up to Ginny's bedroom where she, Hermione, and Rhiannon would be staying, alongside Ginny of course. Everyone got changed into their pajamas, Roslyn wearing a silk pajama set. Fred had come to the girls room and proposed that they play Truth or Dare, to which they all agreed to do. The girls sauntered downstairs, joining the circle of the boys. Roslyn was sat between Ron and Hermione, and she could feel the tension building between the two. Rhiannon was sitting next to Fred and George, while the others filled the gaps.
To begin the game, Rhiannon spoke out amongst the chatter. "Ron, truth or dare?" She said with a smirk.
"Truth, of course." Ron scoffed, so sure of himself, causing Rhiannon to chuckle.
"Okay, Ron, out of everyone in this room, who would you most like to snog?" She blurted. Everyone in the room apart from Hermione knew the answer. The question caused Ron's face to turn beet red, and he looked at Rhiannon, almost upset.
"H-Hermione I guess. Only because everyone else is already in a relationship or is like a sister to me." He said, remaining red, though now, it was Hermione's turn to flush red.
Hermione gained a new sense of confidence, her anger projecting onto Ron. "Ugh, Ronald! Am I not like a sister to you?! After 5 years!" She scoffed angrily, though her cheeks displayed an emotion different from anger. Ron looked up at his brother.
"Okay, George. Truth or dare?" Ron asked him.
George responded immediately. "Dare." Ron chuckled, nodding to his brother.
"Let me draw anything I want on your face in permanent marker, and you have to keep it on for the rest of the game." He demanded excitedly. George nodded, of course. Ron rose from his seat to find a marker and when he returned, he began drawing on his brother's face. He only wrote "I like big wands" on his brother's forehead. The entire group laughed at the sight before them. George sat up and smiled. George had asked Harry who he fancied, to which he replied with the obvious, Cho Chang. Afterwards, Harry asked Ginny and Ginny asked Fred. Once Fred was finished swapping clothes with Rhiannon, he sat down, eyeing Roslyn.
"Roslyn, truth or dare?" Fred asked her from across the circle. She smiled, trying not to giggle at his new outfit.
"I'm not one to turn down a dare." She said gently, causing Fred to smirk.
"Well, alright then. I'll have to think of something worth your while..." He said, his girlfriend looking up at him deviously, leaning into whisper something. The two shared whispers before Fred shot his head back up to look at her, laughing. "I've got it! Kiss George. Not some childhood peck, a real make out." He said surely. Roslyn's jaw dropped. She was expecting them to dye her hair or bewitch her nose, but never this.
Roslyn looked up at George for reassurance, to which he responded with a nod. She walked across the circle, reaching for his hand to pull him up. Once he stood, he walked up to her, closing the gap between the two. After a moment of reflection, Roslyn cupped his face, bringing his lips to hers gently. George had one hand on her waist and the other on the right side of her face. Once a minute had gone by, she removed her hands from his face, wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. When she did this, his arms remained around her waist, though they pulled her closer to him. As Roslyn started coming to her senses, she recognized the echoing cheers coming from the group around her. She quickly pulled away, finding George searching for her lips to kiss her again. Roslyn blushed instantaneously, finding that she stood in the center of a group containing her friends, all while she was wrapped in George Weasley's arms. She couldn't deny that she felt something after the kiss, but little did she know, George felt the same.
