Chapter One: Advice and Answers

Standing outside of the pretty, little, snow-covered cottage where her aunt and uncle lived, Rose Weasley debated her plan for at least the hundredth time, wondering if it was cowardly to turn back now and pretend she had never sent that owl to her aunt at all. She had only asked to come by for a cuppa and chat about the last semester at Hogwarts, so it wasn’t as if her aunt actually knew what Rose wanted to talk about yet. She could just go home pretending that something else had come up, her lunch, perhaps.

Losing her lunch felt like a very real possibility considering how nervous she was. After all, being brave was Hugo’s thing, not hers. He was the blasted Gryffindor in the family; they were all Gryffindors, really. All her aunts, uncles, and cousins, every last one of them was a Gryffindor. It seemed that the Weasley red hair and reckless bravery went hand and hand. Rose had gotten the hair of course, frizzy and untamed like her mother’s, but in place of bravery, she had received brains and a maddening sense of superiority. She liked to pretend that she hadn’t any need for bravery, as she was too smart to get into trouble in the first place. Obviously though, she could get herself in a mess or she wouldn’t be here seeking her aunt’s advice in the first place.

A cold breeze rushed by and Rose shivered, drawing her coat closer to her body in an effort to shake off the winter chill. Her fingers were shaking, but more from nerves than the December wind and flurries of snow. “Right then, Rose, you’re a bleeding Ravenclaw. You want answers and you can’t find a damn book that has them. Got no choice in this, really,” she muttered to herself, glaring resentfully at the front door as she tried to swallow her pride and grow a spine.

Just then, a shadow moved behind the distorted glass, and Rose caught a glimpse of her aunt, waving towards her before moving to open the door. “So much for running off,” she muttered to herself. Rose began trudging towards the house, smart enough to recognize that her dawdling had taken far too long and she had no choice now but to go inside and try not to spill her guts to her favorite aunt.

The front door swung open to reveal a pretty woman standing in the doorway with a broad grin on her face. “You going to walk any faster, Rose, or are you already frozen?” she called, her warm laughter bubbling up from inside her.

Rose grinned in spite of herself, reminded of exactly why Aunt Ginny was her favorite. Aunt Fleur was undoubtedly much prettier, but the blonde woman simply couldn’t compete with the redhead’s confident assurance of herself. If ever there was a woman Rose looked up to, it was Ginevra Potter. She was a beautiful woman with a quick wit and warm personality. Moreover, she was the only woman Rose could think of who had made the trademark Weasley hair something to be envied. Her aunt’s thick auburn mane still reached more than halfway down her back, catching the weak sunlight and setting her hair aglow. Ginevra had refused to cut her hair shorter despite the advice of women her age, including Rose’s own mother. She preferred to keep it long and tempting, she had once said with a sly wink. Despite being almost forty, Ginevra still appeared to be in her mid-thirties due to a combination of her youthful features and mischievous personality.

However, what Rose loved most about her aunt was that she wasn’t known simply as ‘the wife of Harry Potter’. Rather, she had made a name for herself. During the Second War, it was Ginny Weasley—only a sixteen-year-old girl at the time—who had helped to lead a resistance within the school of Hogwarts. Her spirited nature had been unable to sit by on the sidelines, much as Harry had certainly wanted her to. Instead, she had mobilized her classmates into doing everything in their power to make life hell for the Death Eaters who so foolishly thought they controlled the school. Rose’s aunt had been relentless in her efforts until a foiled kidnapping attempt forced her to go into hiding. However, she had later returned to fight alongside her friends and family in the Battle of Hogwarts. After the war, the Wizarding World finally returned to normal and Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were soon married, but not even settling down was enough to slow down Ginevra Potter.

Rose’s aunt had thrown herself into the world of professional Quidditch, playing for the Holyhead Harpies for nearly ten years before finally retiring from the sport in order to plan her next great adventure, one she assured her niece would be even more thrilling than playing professional Quidditch. She still hadn’t found that adventure, but Rose had no doubts that when she did, her aunt would rise to the occasion and accomplish something magnificent. It still stunned her at times, but Rose knew beyond a doubt that her aunt was a legend.

“Oy, Rosie, it’s bloody freezing out there! Come inside already before I lock you out myself to keep out the chill!” her aunt laughed, her eyes twinkling merrily as she held the door open.

Rose grinned and hurried up the front walk, rushing inside to be greeted with a warm hug and brilliant laugh from the older woman. “Merlin, you’re positively soaking!” Ginevra laughed, helping her niece out of her damp coat. “Did you take the Knight Bus or fly here, because frankly, I can’t tell!”

“You know I took the bus, Aunt Gin, honestly,” Rose chuckled, thinking of the massive banging sound that accompanied the bus’ every stop.

“Then why, may I ask, do you look as though you’ve been standing in the snow all day? Hmm?”

“Erm, I was just thinking,” she replied evasively.

Aunt Ginny rolled her eyes. “Of course you were,” she chuckled, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘just like her mother’ under her breath as she led the way to the kitchen. Rose grinned to herself and followed after her aunt’s retreating back, glancing about the empty house as she did so.

“Where is everyone?” Rose asked curiously.

“Oh, Harry took the boys Christmas shopping. They’re getting me jewelry, I think,” she bragged good-naturedly, her lips curved upwards as she waved her wand to start the kettle that sat on the stove.

Rose smiled back, a bit jealous of her favorite aunt, though she couldn’t fault her happiness. She had heard a dozen times from her father how poor the Weasley family had been growing up. Rose was certainly glad that wasn’t the case now. Contrary to popular belief, Aurors were paid very well and Rose had never had want of anything in her life—another reason she admired her aunt so much. The woman was positively resilient.

“That sounds lovely,” Rose enthused, brightening as she recognized a chance to bait the older woman. “I imagine a gift like that is for a tad more than it just being Christmas?” she teased.

Her aunt threw her a positively wicked look at that, reaching across the counter to set out two teacups. “You’re terrible, Rosie!” she chuckled. “Do you show the same interest in your parents’ relationship?”

“Of course not!” Rose said, screwing up her face at the thought. “Besides, I was only teasing.”

“Mmhmm.”

“So…” Rose prodded, clearly awaiting her aunt’s response. The two women held each other’s gaze in a silent exchange, neither giving an inch, though Ginny’s lips were twitching and Rose guessed that her aunt was only trying to berate her out of some sense of duty to Rose’s mother. “The jewelry?” she asked again, leveling her aunt with a pointed stare.

Giving in, Ginny finally broke the silence with a breathy sigh. “Well, it could be because Harry is simply wonderful, but it is much more likely because James is in more trouble than he can even begin to imagine and he’s trying to butter me up.”

Rose’s eyebrows flew into her hairline as she gasped in surprise. “What did he do?” she squealed.

“He transfigured his brother into a Bludger last week to brush up on his Quidditch skills,” her aunt replied matter-of-factly.

“No!”

“Oh yes,” her aunt nodded grimly. “He will assure you, of course, that he had first asked Albus to aim a few Bludgers at him so he could practice dodging while seeking, but that when his darling brother refused and called him a selfish pillock, his wand acted of its own accord and taught Albus a lesson in selfless brotherhood.”

“Is Albus okay?” Rose asked concernedly.

“Oh, he’s more than fine, superb, really after he heard me shouting James half-to-death.” Ginny chuckled at that, pouring the now finished tea. “Sugar?”

“Please.” Rose wetted her lips, her attention suddenly focused on any other occupants of the house rather than the light conversation. “Erm, has Lily gone off with them?” Rose asked. She sincerely hoped they were the only two in the house, not that she didn’t love her cousin—they were quite close in fact—but the subject of their discussion was one she didn’t wish to have overheard.

“Ah, no, Lily is in her room, brooding and being undisturbed by her insensitive family members for a few minutes of blessed quiet in this awful house,” her aunt said sagely, making Rose giggle somewhat.

“She is rather dramatic isn’t she?”

“Oh, yes, and she is just such a ray of sunshine to us all.” Her aunt winked at her, setting down the two teacups and taking her seat across the small kitchen table from Rose, her fingers lacing themselves around her warm cup of tea as she did so.

Rose took a cursory sip of the tea, finding it as delicious as her Grandmother Weasley’s recipe, which was only to be expected. “It’s delicious.”

“All your grandmum’s recipes are.”

Rose smiled, taking another sip and staring down at the tabletop. “So…” she exhaled.

Her aunt only smiled at her. “So…?”

Rose sighed, wondering where to begin. She was saved from thinking too much, though, as her aunt took the reigns of the conversation. “What were you thinking about so hard you forgot it was snowing?” she asked lightly.

Rose flushed. How was it possible that her aunt was able to aim straight for the heart of the problem without even knowing what it was? “Erm…well…”

Her aunt took a sip of tea, watching her with a critical eye, one brow slightly raised. “Something to do with Hogwarts?” she asked.

“Sort of…”

“Someone at Hogwarts then.”

“Yes.” Rose briefly closed her eyes before looking back up to meet her aunt’s gaze, feeling obliged to explain herself. “It’s just, well, I can’t tell my mother about it because my mum tells my dad everything, and my dad would surely blow up if he was to find out and I would really rather avoid that whole mess,” she finished, coming up for air and staring at her Aunt Ginny with an imploring look.

The older woman smiled at her niece, her eyes twinkling in understanding. “Yes, well, I can certainly understand that. Don’t forget I was the youngest and only girl with six brothers. I learned to tread quite carefully or risk having a household full of angry men on my hands.”

Rose nodded at that as though she understood all too well, even though she only had one brother and a younger one at that. Ginevra observed the younger girl fondly, seeing that they had shared much of the same feelings growing up. Ron Weasley had always been Ginny’s most overprotective brother and Ginny could only imagine what it must be like having him for a father. She made a face at the thought, shaking her head slightly and turning her attention away from that particularly strange thinking.

“Right then, what’s on your mind, Rose?”

“A boy.”

“Ah, yes, your dad certainly would have blown up if he’d known you were thinking of a boy,” her Aunt Ginny laughed, taking a sip of her tea. “Is he handsome?”

Rose blushed in spite of herself, her cheeks as red as her curly Weasley hair. “Yes.”

“Mmhmm. And is he charming?”

Rose scowled at that. “No, unfortunately he’s an absolutely insufferable git most of the time, but we are friends.”

Her aunt bit her lip at that, struggling not to laugh aloud. “I see,” she grinned. “You know, your mum once thought your dad was rather thick-headed too. Everyone knew they were mad about each other except for him, it seemed.”

“No, he knows I like him, either that or he’s so arrogant that he assumes I do, which means he knows anyway…” Rose trailed off, looking irritated with herself. She stared off across the kitchen for a few minutes, finally opening her mouth to voice what her aunt was sure must have been bothering her all along. “Aunt Ginny? D-Did you ever love anyone your parents didn’t approve of?”

Her aunt frowned slightly at Rose’s question, her warm brown eyes becoming distant.

“Never mind,” Rose laughed humorlessly, “you’ve only ever loved Uncle Harry, I’m just being stupid.”

Her aunt looked distinctly uncomfortable, something Rose had never seen in the older woman but she brushed it off as nothing in particular. “I have… dated other men before Harry,” her aunt said slowly, almost defensively, it seemed.

Rose laughed slightly. “Yeah, but that was nothing. You only had a couple boyfriends before him and they weren’t anyone your parents wouldn’t approve of. Besides, weren’t you still crazy for Harry the whole time? That hardly counts as a forbidden love interest.”

“No, Michael and Dean were perfectly fine young men. Ron may not have liked my dating them, but that’s just Ron,” Ginny mused.

“So, no such luck on advice from personal experience, then?” Rose asked with a light chuckle.

“Guess not,” her aunt murmured; her lips twitched, but her eyes were still distant.

“It’s just… this boy… I’ve been getting to know him a lot better…” Rose continued on, oblivious to her aunt’s unusual silence. “He is a git, but no more than any other boy and… well, I really like him… I think he likes me, I’m not sure… but it’s just Dad would kill me if we were ever to... you know.”

Her aunt nodded, though she said nothing else, lost in thought, it seemed.

“Sorry, I just… I hate liking someone I shouldn’t. I don’t know what to do.”

Her aunt spoke then, unexpectedly, her eyes still distant. “Once,” she murmured, still staring off into space.

“What?” Rose asked, not understanding what her aunt was referring to.

“Once. I once loved a man I shouldn’t, who my family disapproved of, just once.”

Rose sucked in a breath, staring at her aunt in shock. “Who?”

“Never mind that, but I do know,” she looked up, her eyes locked upon her niece’s, “what you’re going through, the doubts… I know.”

Rose’s mind was whirling, running at a hundred miles an hour as she ran through a mental list of the men her aunt had dated before Harry. Even Ginny had said her family didn’t disapprove of Michael or Dean and that could only mean… Her hand flew to her mouth in horror, staring at her aunt with disbelieving eyes. “Oh, Aunt Ginny, you didn’t cheat on Harry, did you?”

Author notes: The thing to remember about this story is that there are six main characters and a plethora of love-triangles. A plethora. Thanks so much to Miss Opal, DGgirl, and Divya for the fantastic Beta! Reviews appreciated!