Unexpected Similarities Private R. Delarose

It truly was one terrible cold day. The weather report had called the intense storm ‘She soon to be named’. The petty Gryffindors even called it the storm of the year.

Just like their symbolic animal they only flourished in tropical temperatures. Therefor her fellow Gryffindor students had found nothing better to do then stoke the temperatures in their shared common room. After the days potions class everyone wanted to warm themselves up apparently. The common room was nothing short of boiling hot. And all she wanted to do was escape. Those fog-heads were all lounging around, laughing and playing their annoying games. Rosalind just didn’t have the energy to interact with them today.

She didn’t exactly identify herself as a lion. You could say she was a bit off an oddity in the dormitory. But she could play her part. This to make her father proud and follow up on his legacy. A striving and growing empire was what he expected from her. No failure was tolerated.

After her swift escape from her common room, Rosalind decided to look around the grand castle. Strolling past a window Rosalind could see the grand oaks of the forbidden forest straining against the force of the wind. Their leaves trembling and barely holding onto their branches. The grounds were ransacked with branches and foliage. It was a truly impressive view. Rosalind stroked the window wishing she could go outside. Rosalind softly smiled when she saw a forgotten or misplaced scarf fly by the window. Green and silver. One would think those crafty Slytherins could hold on to their belongings. But apparently not. Rosalind stroked the window on last time and continued her journey.

Eventually she thought about settling down in the library. Nothing could do wonders for her mind like a well written book. The first thing Rosalind noticed when she entered the library was the smell of old tomes. ‘Home sweet home.’ She let out a sigh of happiness and went further on her path. When Rosalind passed by the librarian’s desk, she was given a friendly smile and a welcoming gesture.

The maze of corridors didn’t surprise her anymore. Taking lefts and rights at a fairly high-speed, Rosalind checked her surroundings before swiftly wringing herself between two bookcases. Taking a deep breath and pushing herself further on. Rose focused on the lights she could see, barely out of her reach. Just as she got herself almost free, she felt her hair get caught. Grumbling Rose tried to blindly free her hair from its silver ribbon. Reaching behind her she just felt the edge of it. Jerking hard on it made her ribbon tear. The momentum of breaking free made her loose her balance and she stumbled forward. Clearing her throat and rubbing her head, Rose tried to regain her bearings. Looking back Rosalind could see the ribbon still swinging between the bookcases. This was the only way the gap would be visible. She shrugged and started to place her belongings on her desk. This little piece of heaven truly made her life easier. Rose chuckled as she looked around.

This private study room must have been here since the founding of Hogwarts. Her little desk was situated in the middle of the snug room. The walls were lined with bookcases and other magical junk. Overall her sanctuary was a perfect place to study and relax. The candles gave it a soothing atmosphere. And Rosalind had placed some knickknacks around the room to truly make it her place. Rosalind remembered the first time she literally stumbled into the room. It was covered in dust and cobwebs. And it looked like there hadn’t been a single soul in here for years. But it still gave her that peaceful feeling when she entered. She felt like it was meant for her.

Rosalind walked over to her desk and gave it a loving pat. The memories of this place truly made Hogwarts feel like home. After her trip to memory lane, Rose decided to make herself comfortable. Her hair felt like it was literally a lion’s mane. She chuckled and shook her head. Her hair is the one thing that always associates her with her house. Wild silver hair that while most of the time manageable, gets a bit wild after a full day of classes. ‘Fantastic.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘It’s always the same.’ Then she started to pat her pockets for a spare ribbon. She knew it would probably be to no avail, but you’d never know. As she expected her search came up empty. Rose groaned and started to remove her tie. She walked away from her desk and threw her tie behind her. It landed neatly in the middle of her desk.

Looking around the room, Rosalind was trying to decide what she wanted to read next. She walked to the bookcases farthest from the entrance and ran her fingers gently along the spines. She started to quietly mumble the titles of the closest tomes. Then she shook her head. ‘No, I’m not in the mood for these today.’ Then an idea struck her. ‘Magical creatures. That should be fun to read about.’

Rosalind took a step back from the bookcases so she could have an overview. Before her stood all various kinds of books, different in their thickness and era. Then she saw it. There just beside one of the thickest tomes of all sat something glistering. It was located almost at the top the bookcase, so it was quite hard to notice. She smiled at having found something interesting. Rosalind was not one to let height take over her decisions, so she started to take of her shoes. Securing her grip Rosalind started to heist herself up. Before every step she made sure to secure her footing. But climbing a bookcase isn’t that easy. She also didn’t want to destroy anything. So she carefully set her foot on the edge of it. Just enough to hold unto. She was now just out of reach of the glittering object. Rose started to stand on her tip of her toes. Trying to make herself as tall as she could. The tip of her fingers could just touch the edge of the object. 'Oh, come on.' She grumbled

After a while of searching through some dusty old tomes for something to grab his attention Erik gave up on his search. Pfff... This is such a boring day and it doesn't look like it'll get better anytime soon. He loudly closed the book and put it back on the shelf. Erik decided to just wander a bit around. He had rather been outside, if the weather had allowed it. Just to sit at that willow at the edge of the Great Lake. It was his favorite spot by far. Either doing that or be up to some mischief. He hadn't really had the chance to do anything of the sorts as of yet, but you never knew what opportunities could arise when you weren't exactly looking. When he realised that he had been wandering around aimlessly for a couple of minutes now Erik found himself in a small passage between two bookshelves. When he looked around, he saw something out of the ordinary. A teared silver ribbon was stuck on the bookshelf on his left. Gently he picked up both pieces of the ribbon and put it in his pocket.

The young Slytherin saw some light flickering and decided to follow the small path. There was a door open that lead to what seemed like a private study room. Erik couldn't for the life of him remember if he ever had been in this part of the library as it didn't feel too familiar. Then again, he wouldn't really know as he didn't come here all too often. Slowly and silently the Tharaldson boy made his way to the light source. When he stood in the doorframe, he saw a room with sturdy, oaken bookshelves and books filling up the space on the shelves and they even started weighing down. A desk was in the middle of the room and a red and golden tie was in the middle of the desk. So, a Gryffindork found this little sanctum of peace and quiet as well, huh? Just my luck.

Suddenly something shiny caught his eye and then he saw her. Well, well, well. There's the Gryffindork and she seems to be occupied. A smile formed on his lips as he saw a Gryffindor girl barefooted climbing one of the bookshelves trying to reach something shiny. From his angle it looked like she was climbing Mount Everest itself. The girl was short and had silver colored manes. Yes, manes were all he could call it as her hair was wild and all over the place. Erik didn't seem to know her by the looks of it. He didn't quite seem to know what the shiny object was, but it seemed to be of importance. At least for the girl. If it was of importance to her then it sure was important to him. Erik wanted to get a better look. So, he decided to sneak inside as silently as possible and sat at the Gryffindor's desk with his feet up and his arm resting on the chair's backrest. As he sat there he had a better view on the shiny object. It seemed to be a silver necklace with a glass pendant. He couldn't make out anything else though. So, Erik sat there patiently waiting for the girl and especially the necklace. There he sat, his impatient growing by the minute. The girl seemed to be struggling though, as her arms seemed to be just reaching short. He cleared his throat. Can I help you?, the Slytherin boy said, barely able to hide the chuckle in his voice as he enjoyed watching the Gryffindor struggle.

Rosalind mumbled on. “How is this possible, I mean one inch, just one.” The last one was said with a big huff clearly displaying how annoyed the little lioness was. There was no other option left. Rose carefully looked down at her bare feet. ‘Mmm, They need to be repainted. I might ask one of the other lions. They like that kind of ‘bonding’.’ Her carefully painted nails had little pieces of paint chipped off. Rose shook her head slightly and continued on her adventure.

Again she tried to heist herself up. Blindly she placed her foot just a tad higher. She could
feel the bindings and papers of a book underneath it. That widened her eyes. She could feel her foot wobbling on top of it. Rose tried to regain her bearings, but she couldn’t get a better grip. ‘Then this just would need to do’, she thought. She stood just on her tiptoes, again and again, trying to grasp the shiny object. Rosalind let out a sigh when she felt the edges of it and pulled it from its hiding place. She carefully handled it and inspected it.

It was a beautiful silver necklace with a glittering glass pendant. It looked almost magical. ‘So shiny’, she wondered where it came from. Could it have been from the time period of the founders? “Mmm, interesting. I will look into that.”, she mumbled. Upon further inspection she could see the four house logos encircling a small silver lined stone. Almost like a Muggle magnet. Except here you could see the incantation. Rose tried to read the fine lettering, but it was too dirty. Little dust particles were obscuring her view. ‘Best remove that when I’m safe and sound again.’, She thought.

Then caught in an unguarded moment she heard. “Can I help you?”

Being caught off guard Rosalind stumbled. Her foot almost slipping of the book. She
was so caught up in holding onto the bookcase she didn’t notice she let go of her trinket. It spun around while it fell and then bounced off the floor and rolled further on.

“Just… ugh… give me a minute.”, she told him while sparing him a glance. Then she did a double take and her eyes widened. ‘Merlin, it was that snake boy she heard the girls talk about.’ Then she turned back to the bookcase and let her head bump into it. ‘Just my luck’, she thought.

Rosalind was aligned with the bookcase. She was so close to it, her nose was pressed
against one of its tomes. Then she let out a small sneeze. Almost like a kitten
meowed. 

When she regained her bearings, she tried to get down as fast as she could. You never
know with boys, he could try to look up her skirt!

The lioness seemed to be struggling more and more and when he spoke, she almost seemed to be plummeting down the bookshelf before she found her baring again. As she spoke she turned her face around to throw a surprised look his way. This caused Erik to hold his breath in astonishment. Only one word slipped out of his mouth. Wow... The world around him seemed to fade away into nothing. There was only this bare footed Gryffindor goddess climbing a bookcase. As he examined the girl she seemed to have silver-colored hair that seemed to be made of pure silver. How he imagined letting his fingers run through her hair. How soft it had to be. It was wild, but somehow it seemed like an abstract work of art. Her eyes were dark grey with, dared he say it, a speck of redish when the light caught her eye. They seemed to seduce him. Without her even trying. He could stare at them for hours just drowning in them. Her frame was petite and how he imagined his hands on her waist as he slowly danced with her. Through some dumb luck her scent seemed to waft inside his nose and it was immediately his most favorite smell. It was cherry blossoms. By Merlin's beard the scent lingered in his nostrils and he didn't mind it at all. If you had asked him then and there he would've told you that she was the most beautiful person he had laid eyes on. Her eyes seemed to widen. It had been fleeting, but it was there and that made him smile from ear to ear with a simpleton's expression that adored his face.

Before he knew it her bare feet touched the ground again, and Erik followed her lead. As fast as he could, he stood next to the Gryffindor's desk in a casual way with his one hand, leaning against the desk, his legs crossed and the other hand resting on his hip. H-... Hi, there! I'm E..., in that moment his hand that was leaning on the desk, slipped from underneath him as his hand had been resting on the tie of the Gryffindor girl that had now fallen on the ground. As he tried to play it off cool he let that hand scratch the back of his neck in an awkward way. I'm Erik and who are you? As he had spoken he had closed the distance between them and reached his hand out in a handshake.

After being caught so high up in the air, Rose tried to get down as fast as possible. She manoeuvred her way down as safely as can be. Rose felt a little embarrassed that the snake boy had witnessed her cat like sneeze. A cat that, dare she say it, was used to putting itself into trouble and tight spaces. That thought made her grin. ‘Sneaky Silver.’ She had always liked that nickname her mother had regularly bestowed her with. Especially after a well-played plan succeeded.  

Rose had not forgotten her spectator, sneakily she glanced at him.  The boy looked completely bewitched with her. She knew because he was giving her the ‘Stare’. The one were they couldn’t look away and  were observing every single piece of her. ‘Another one lost to the veela charm. Again.’ That always made Rose feel weird. She kind of fell like an animal in one of those Muggle zoo’s. Always being watched.

Snake boy looked like a true simpleton. All he needed was a little drool right on his chin. That
entertaining thought made her feel somewhat herself again. ‘Boys will be boys.’ She thought with a small giggle.

Rose didn’t bother taking the last steps safely. She had fallen from higher places. With a little hop Rose landed safely and elegant back on the ground. Her wild lioness hair had become a bit loose after her adventure and some stands sprung before her eyes. With a quick swat, Rose brushed those annoying little strands away.

Finally safe on the ground, she took her time to observe the boy. ‘One thing is true, the boy sure has some unique eyes…’, she wondered if everything those girls said was true. Rose wondered if he could keep up with her level of mischievousness. Not everyone could handle it.

As if struck by lightning, he stood up and moved over to her desk. He casually leaned his hand unto it. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, his hand slipped from underneath him. That made her chuckle. ‘The poor sod, he was completely gone.’ She slightly cupped her hands before her mouth to hide her amused expression. He shouldn’t feel completely embarrassed by her. After awkwardly scratching his neck, he tried to introduce himself again.

“I’m Erik and who are you?” Then as an act of kindness he reached out his hand and moved
closer to her.

Rose politely took his hand and gave him a slight curtsy. This was how she was taught to answer
such a question. But then… It could look weird for people who didn’t had such high upbringing.

“Well Erik, I’m offering you a riddle to spice things up. I am as soft as a petal and the embodiment of passion, my most recognised colour is red. And even though my beauty is becoming, I can hurt you just the same. So, dear Erik… Who am I?” She gave him one of her most charming smiles. She quite liked this game. Mystery and all. "Well, until you figure that out, you can call me Silver.” Then, as the little vixen she is, she gave him a little wink. She knew how to play this game and hoped he could follow her lead.

With a small giggle that sounded what he could only imagine, to be similar to the sound angels would make, she had hopped down from her pedestal bookcase and had gotten the few remaining rebellious strands of hair to fall in line with the rest of her bright silver hair. Once that was done, she seemed to be in her element again. She seemed even slightly amused at him. Even though he had desperately hoped she hadn't just witnessed his fail.

When her eyes were now locked on him again. Erik's heart actually skipped a beat even though she looked at him similar to how a lion would be looking at a gazelle. A real snack. The only thing that was missing was the Gryffindor goddess to stalk around him. A single thought seemed to be dominating the Slytherin's mind though. Your eyes are having a field day looking at me aren't they? It took every ounce of self control that was lingering in his body to restrain himself from blurting his thought out loud. As she took his hand as he had introduced himself, she seemed to know the proper etiquette. Something that had been severely lacking with the mere... How would he address them? Commoners he had been forced to interact with. Merely because of the fact that there just weren't that many like him left anymore. Pure of blood and lineage. A slight chuckle escaped him as he took her hand towards his lips and pressed his lips softly, much like a fleeting kiss of a lover, to the back of her hand whilst keeping eye contact.

That's when she caught him off guard. Instead of answering his question with her name she gave him a riddle. How... Intriguing., he thought to himself. What are you trying to do here? Trying to see what I have in store? Is that it? Well, don't I have the surprise of a lifetime for you then. I'll play your little game. This goddess had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting. Silver, huh? What an interesting name. Your riddle is fascinating. I would either guess you're an emotion or a being. Am I on the right track?, he asked with an amused chuckle. He couldn't really think straight. There was something about this girl. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something off. Something unnatural. Something... More. And he liked it.

Rosalind quietly observed how he reacted towards her. He seemed so fascinated by her smallest actions. But somehow he managed to be different than the others. The ones so mesmerised by her,  they couldn’t even form the smallest sentences. ‘They were so attention seeking. Always trying to win her over. ’ The only thing they did was making her uncomfortable. Following her like lost puppy’s, yipping at her heels and constantly falling over themselves.

After his small slip up, he seemed a little more put together. Standing proud and tall again
like nothing happened.

He even responded to her greeting like any other High pureblood should. He had taken her hand in his and pressed a light kiss to the back of her hand. This all while remaining such intense eye contact. His venomous green eyes almost seemed to shine like an Avada Kedavra spell. And those spells shone brightly and unexpectedly.

He almost seemed to peer inside her soul, trying to get to her deepest locked up secrets. Rose felt like she needed to shake her head slightly to keep him out of her head.

The feeling he gave off was one of a born and raised high standard pureblood. That made her smile a little. ‘So this boy knows his way around the mighty standards then. Intriguing.’ Her grin widened by that. A pureblood that knows and follows the proper etiquette. These days that was like finding a needle in a haystack. Rosalind began to wonder, could he be an ally? But first she needed to find out more.

Rose looked at their hands. Hers so small and delicate in his, and his bigger and stronger. They seemed to fit together so perfectly. Almost destined to be.

His answer to her riddle was not as she hoped it to be. He even seemed a bit startled by it. “Not exactly, Your quite in the wrong direction.” Then she cheekily smiled at him. “One more hint then, I am a part of nature.”

Then she took a step back, observing the room again. What was she doing before she was interrupted?
‘Oh, her trinket! But where is it?’ Rose tried to discreetly look around the boy, trying to see where it could be.  

Somehow from all the things he had done, he had made her smile. His heart seemed to make jumps of joy as it caused his smile to broaden. Now stretching from ear to ear. Erik had not the faintest clue why she made him feel the way she did. Under normal circumstances, he probably would have called her a Gryffindork or anything else. It was weird, however, he didn't care at this moment. He was content the way things were going. If you'd asked him how he felt? Oh, boy. He would've told you that he was on top of the world. Nothing or no-one could possibly mess up what he was feeling. It was incredible. Well, to be precise. No-one but him. That he proved when she notified him that his answer to the riddle was far from correct.

The once proud Slytherin was completely gone now. Nothing, but a faint glimpse of the boy he once was remained. The small girl's words seemed to come out of her mouth in slow motion. Her words echoed in his head. "Not exactly." Over and over again. How is this possible? How could I be so wrong? Erik dared not look the magnificent beauty in the eyes. What wouldn't she be thinking about him now? He was absolutely mortified.

As he had suspected earlier. The girl could indeed read his mind because she gave him a hint as to get him back on track. When he hastily tried to look her in the eyes Erik could've sworn he saw pitty as she looked back at him. Was he imagining it? No, he couldn't possibly. Or could he? Hastily the werewolf shook his head as if to get rid of these self doubting thoughts. A few deep breaths seemed to calm him down and he clung onto a small piece of pride that remained deep inside of him.

When he opened his eyes, he looked her straight in the eye as he mulled over her hint somewhere. He folded his hands in front of him as he let his index fingers rest on his lips. A plant, a plant... There are a lot of red plants. He thought about all the possibilities out loud. Well, you have poppies, maskflowers, dahlias, salvias and so much more... Aha! Suddenly it had him. Erik remembered her earlier remark. "I can hurt you just the same." Of course! How could he not have found it earlier?! It took all of the blonde boy's self restraint to restrain himself from not physically facepalming as he revealed the answer. A rose. Your name is Rose? Is that correct? He didn't wait for her to answer. Well, anyhow Rose. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Tell me though. What are you doing here of all places?

Rosalind quietly observed her secret lair, desperately trying to locate her lost trinket. ‘Merlin, I just discovered it. How did I lose it already?’. It was a sad fact actually. She absentmindedly tucked a stray piece of hair back into its holdings. Her eyes quickly scanned the boy. He seemed quite occupied. Almost locked away in his mind.

Rosalind’s mind flashed back to home. A scene unfolding before her again and again. One she should never have stumbled upon or have witnessed. Mind curses upon curses on some frail human being. Until he answered her father correctly, gave him beneficial information. Details and deals he could exploit. Atrocious was a too kind description for it. After his men discovered her in the doorway, she had been brusquely disposed at his feet. At his mercy. But… apparently she had been blessed that day. Only a harsh lecture had awaited her. She was ordered to never enter his working quarters again without permission. Rose promptly blinked the scene away. Nothing good came from dwelling of remembering that scene.

With tentative steps, the veela wandered around the room. Passing around her desk and rounding back up by the bookcase where she had lost it. Her little trinket. A little beauty inside this dusty but lovely room. She already felt obsessively protective of it. She could almost feel it calling to her. Could that be her mother’s side rearing up? That woman had always had a soft spot for pretty things. Like a bird seeking for glistering fragments.

After a moment Rosalind lifted her eyes back up to the boy. He genuinely looked shocked, internally debating his next movements. She thought he was probably still looking for a clever answer to her riddle. She smirked at that, let him try. After a few deep breaths the boy seemed to put himself back together. Almost as if he was truly trying his hardest to get the answer right, to get to know her. She was almost impressed by that. No one really cared about her mind or her mischievous ways. Only her beauty was an asset to them. The damn veela charm. Always repressing her personality under her appearance.

Then those deep green eyes locked onto hers. His thought process had been right. So at least the boy had managed to get that piece of information from her. She could almost imagine the lightbulb above his head lighting up. ‘Ah, those muggle inventions.’

“Well, anyhow Rose.” She quite liked with how much care he took with pronouncing her name. After all it had taken him enough effort to conquer it. She lifted her brow at his remark. Acquaintances, so quick already. “What are you doing here of all places?” Now she pondered. 'Did the boy deserve a solid answer?' He had after all solved her riddle. So she might entertain him a bit more. She walked back over to her desk and leaned onto it. Bringing herself a bit closer to his side of the desk. “Well, first of all. Congratulations for completing my riddle.” For this she gave him a mischievous smirk. “You can still call me Silver you know. See it as a nickname you earned. And well... Lets just say my fellow housemates aren’t exactly my fair shade of a nice crowd. They are…” The Veela wondered how to say this appropriate. “Meddlesome little devils, heat stokers and fogheads.” Rose nodded her head at that description. They deserved it. And more. “I’m looking for a more inquisitive, loyal and mischievous crew.” Then she almost whispered. “One that doesn’t betray each other.” She slightly curled her upper lip in disgust. Gryffindor, the house of backstabbing. ‘Oh, how many fights had she not witnessed in her common room. The hotheads.’ Many for immature things. Some for betrayal. But all those were swept under the rug. Never to be seen again. The other houses should never expect such weakness from the ‘strong and honourable’ house of Gryffindor. “Well, now that I answered your question. It would only seem fair, if you did the same.” She gave him a wink. Then with startling speed her demeanour changed, gone was the semi-sweet teen. The only thing that was left was the cold, hard and unyielding Delarose heir. She leaned even further on the desk and squared her shoulders. “How did you find this room?” She tried to focus her veela charm on him.