Trying Times | Jess & Rosie

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After a summer during which, Rosie contemplated all of her options, she was finally taking a job. An intern for the prophet. She wasn’t sure if she would stay in this job forever, a part of her still wanted to write sports for a muggle paper, but here she was. She had to start somewhere. She had been working at the Daily Prophet for about a month now, she had started in mid september and was eager to get into the swing of things. She felt so behind considering that all of the people with whom she had graduated were almost done with their internships and were going to become full employees soon. She would still be an intern for a while. She had to do her time.

Rosie sat at one of the intern desks, grammar checking a piece written by a senior staff writer about the upcoming Halloween event at Hogwarts. It sounded exciting and she was thinking about stopping by and checking it out, but she wasn’t sure how much she’d like to go back. She didn’t really know too many people there anymore, everyone she was close to, except Georgie, was graduated already. She had no reason to go, but the article was making it sound really cool, she was impressed that they were able to pull it off.

@jessavette

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Jess was so excited to finally be a reporter. She'd decided to go into investigative journalism, which was definitely as interesting as it sounded! At the moment she had a mentor to teach her all the finer points of this particular branch of journalism. She liked it. Having to go outside and follow people, figure out what they were doing. There was a thrill to it that she hadn't anticipated but was really enjoying. Of course, since she was new to this, she wasn't doing anything dangerous, but it was still fun. She felt a bit like a spy, which was a bit laughable, but Jess was definitely enjoying her new job. 

The only hard thing was that she was often out much later than she meant to be. Today she and her mentor just finished tailing someone who was acting suspiciously and involved in the ministry. They hadn't found anything out yet, but it still felt like a successful day. She went to her small cubicle in the daily prophet, taking a few minutes to jot down what she and her mentor saw and heard today before getting ready to leave. On her way out, she realized that she wasn't the only one here. She made her way over to the other girl. "Hi, I'm Jess. Are you ... new here?" It sure looked like the other girl was doing intern work, which was the only reason Jess asked that. Hopefully it wasn't some seasoned journalist that would be offended by her not recognizing them. "It's getting kind of late ... do you want to get out of here? You and I could stop for some food somewhere if you want?" Now that she was getting a look at her, the other girl definitely looked younger than she was. Hmmm, strange Jess hadn't noticed her when all the new interns started at the beginning of the summer. 

rose harriet granger-weasley

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Rosie had just about figured that everyone else had left, but since she already felt so behind everyone else, she had decided to stay a little later and try to get ahead that way she could possibly have more time to try and actually write something, even if it was just for speculation and not something to actually be published. She couldn’t keep pushing her Hogswarts Press pieces in her portfolio, she needed new news, she needed to keep up to date and find interesting angles on new pieces. She needed things she could pitch. When another girl came up to her, one she vaguely recognized, and asked if she was new, Rosie nodded, “Yeah I just started a little over a week ago.” she admitted. She didn’t want to admit that she was an intern. Not that she was afraid of having to work her way up, but she just felt behind her class.

The woman asked if Rosie wanted to get out of here and go get food with her, and Rosie glanced down at her work, and then nodded, “Sure. i’d like that.” she admitted. She wanted to start making friends at work, she wanted to get to know her co-workers and have more people she could talk to on a regular basis, one day, they’d be working together, hurrying to put out the paper, rather than her just sitting in the cubical, copyediting all day. “I’m Rosie, by the way.” she introduced herself as she stood up and wrapped her scarf around her neck.

@jessavette

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Jess smiled when the girl said that she started just a bit over a week ago. "Well, welcome!" She answered cheerfully. Jess loved meeting new people and she knew how awkward it was to go to a new place with all new people. Maybe this girl was feeling shy because of that? Or maybe she was just a shy person, like Jess was when she was on her own. "I'm glad to meet someone else here. I get too stuck in my own corner," she added, chuckling softly. Really, Jess knew quite a few people here, but she was trying to make the other girl feel more comfortable. 

The girl agreed to go get food with her and Jess' smile widened. Good! She was going to make a friend out of this girl if she could swing it and Jess was excited to give it a try. "Nice to meet you Rosie," Jess replied. "Where do you want to go for dinner? I'm good with anywhere." She liked to give other people the chance to choose, because the places they chose gave her a little more knowledge about them. Where someone chose to eat said a lot about them.

rose harriet granger-weasley

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The woman welcomed here here and said that she was glad to meet someone new. Rosie nodded in agreement, it was nice to meet new people. She had met the other interns, and had met the people who worked in editing, which was the department that she was interning for at the moment, but she hadn’t met anyone else outside of her little office area either. “Nice to meet you also.” Rosie said sweetly as they walked out of the building.

It was a nice night, the crisp air felt good as they stepped into the alley. “Oh, I don’t mind. Something light would be best though. I’m not really in the mood for something too heavy.” she explained. “There’s a nice little cafe area with sandwiches and such down the road.” she suggested. As they made their way to where they wanted to eat, Rosie decided to try to get to know Jess more, “So what do you do for the paper?” she asked.

@jessavette

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Jess liked this girl. Rosie was sweet and cute and to Jess it seemed like the two of them would probably get along with one another, if the beginning of this conversation was anything to go by. The younger girl seemed a bit shy, but that was fine. So did Jess to most people. It took a bit of effort for her to come out of her shell, unless she saw that the other person was struggling more than her. That definitely explained what was happening right now.

Rosie said she preferred something light and Jess looked over at her, hoping that wasn’t all she was going to say. She had to have more than just “something light”, didn’t she? Jess didn’t want to make this sort of a decision tonight. She was about to ask another question about what kind of food qualified as light when Rosie mentioned a café. Jess grinned, “That sounds fabulous! I always like trying new cafes and such.” She was excited to see what kind of a place Rosie would recommend.

As they walked, Rosie asked about Jess. She laughed and shrugged, “I’m kind of in a trial stage. I’m not an intern anymore, but I’m trying to figure out which department I want to write for, or even which type my writing would fit best.” She looked around, trying to spot the café before they arrived, but she honestly didn’t think she could see it yet. Darn. “Do you know what department you want to work in?” she asked, not really mentioning that Rosie was an intern, but kind of alluding to it. It was kind of obvious, after all.

rose harriet granger-weasley

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Jess agreed to go to the cafe that Rosie suggested and she was glad that her decision was acceptable. Rosie sometimes hated making decisions that affected other people, she had never felt confident in herself or in any of her decisions enough to want to say them publicly, yet here she was, suggesting places for dinner for someone that wasn’t Brandon, who she hoped, would love her even if she suggested a bad place. Jess didn’t have to like her regardless of what she suggested for dinner, but she still wanted to try and impress her new co-worker, especially since the more they got to talking, the more comfortable Rosie was feeling. Her trip over the summer had been life changing, and she was trying hard not to resort back into her old habits. “Great! It’s right around here.” Rosie pointed around the corner a bit. Hopefully, she remembered correctly.

Jess then answered Rosie’s question, explaining that she wasn’t an intern any more but she didn’t know what she wanted to do at the paper. Rosie wondered how that must feel. It probably was confusing and she felt sorry that the girl was having to figure all of that out. “Well what are you leaning towards right now? What made you want to go into journalism?” Rosie asked, hoping that maybe she could help Jess at least to remember what she loved about this career in the first place, maybe that would help to spark what she wanted to write about. “I want to write sports.” Rosie said quickly. “I love sports, if I had any athletic ability, I’d play. But I’m pretty sure I’d break multiple bones if I tried, so instead I write about them. Muggle and magical.” she admitted. Though, she was fairly sure that no one in the magical world wanted to read about muggle sports. She was sure she’d get stuck writing about Quidditch every week, and possibly some of the bigger muggle sporting events, when they came up.

@jessavette

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Rosie seemed to open up a little bit when Jess agreed to the café and Jess smiled. Good. It looked like maybe the girl would start to come out of her shell, which was honestly exactly what Jess wanted. She wanted Rosie to feel comfortable around her and wanted to make a new friend with her. Jess loved making friends. She loved being with people, even people that she didn’t know so well. After all, the best relationship in her life right now came about because a stranger helped her pick up her things when the bag split and everything fell out on the street. Her smile widened as Fin entered her mind. Ha. Like he wasn’t almost always on her thoughts anyway.

Jess shrugged a little at Rosie’s question. “I think I’m leaning toward investigative journalism. It sounds really interesting, and I like the idea of having a little bit of adventure.” There it was, the side of her that Quidditch brought out, the side that wanted to have a bit of excitement. Speaking of, she laughed a little as she continued, “Or maybe working in the sports column and writing about Quidditch. I have a friend in that department who might be able to get me a chance there too.” She laughed at her own indecisiveness. It was so totally Jess. Her eyes widened when Rosie mentioned that she wanted to write about sports. “You do?! Then if I did go into sports, we could be coworkers!” she gushed enthusiastically. Jess did like the idea of being able to write with Rosie and get to know the other girl more. “What made you get into sports so much?” Jess asked curiously.

rose harriet granger-weasley

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“Ooh, investigative journalism sounds really fun, I feel like that’s where the action is.” Rosie agreed. She felt like it would be too crazy for her to want to do, Rosie didn’t like being where the action was unless it was sports action, but that was different. No one tended to die or get seriously injured during sports games or Quidditch matches. She couldn’t handle needing to report on deaths and big, important, events. She didn’t want to be the one telling the world about disasters. She then added that she might like to go into Sports and Rosie smiled, “That would be cool - if we were coworkers.” Rosie agreed, honestly, she already thought that she and Jess would get along great and likely work together well as well. Jess asked why Rosie wanted to get into sports and Rosie explained, “Well my mom used to play Quidditch. And my dad, he’s a muggle, and he’s really into muggle sports, so I grew up learning about both. I’d almost rather write muggle sports, to be honest.” she said. She had thought about just working for a muggle paper, but decided to start at the Prophet anyway. They walked a ways more and then Rosie held the door open for her new friend as they entered the cafe.

@jessavette

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Jess couldn’t help but smile when Rosie commented on investigative journalism. She nodded repeatedly, “Yeah, I know! I’m … not really sure if it’ll be the best for me, because I can kind of be a klutz sometimes, but maybe that would help me blend in a little?” It sounded ridiculous when she said it out loud, but Jess wasn’t always a klutz and she did think that being an investigator would be fun. Well, this was why she wanted to go through a trial period and give it a chance.

Then again, working with Rosie sounded fun too. “It would!” Jess laughed, “Even though we don’t know one another too well yet, I have a feeling we could be pretty good friends.” Which was strange, but sometimes Jess had that kind of feeling about people. Sometimes it was easy to tell that you’d get along better with someone than you do with others. Rosie was definitely Jess’ kind of person, fun to talk to, but not crazy out there. She listened carefully as Rosie explained her connection to sports, “Oooh, you’d definitely be a better sports writer than me,” Jess guessed with a little laugh. Then her eyebrows narrowed curiously. “Yeah? Why would you prefer muggle sports? Do you like watching those more?” Jess was honestly curious, asking Rosie as they walked into the café. A waitress smiled at them, leading them to a booth and Jess sat across from her new friend, asking for a water to start with.

rose harriet granger-weasley

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Jess explained that she was a klutz sometimes and wasn’t sure if the job would be the best for her, and Rosie wasn’t sure that she ever identified more with another person. It was almost eerie how similar she and Jess were, and Rosie felt like she just kept learning about new similarities. “I am the exact same way. I’m a mess I swear.” Rosie agreed with a nod and a laugh. “But, the fact that you’re interested in the job shows me that you’d be good at it. You have to have a passion for whatever you do. And a willingness to do it. You’re willing to try at least, and I really do think that says a lot.” Would Rosie be willing to try? If she was told that she had to and didn’t have a choice, sure, she’d do it. But she would never volunteer for it.

Jess agreed with Rosie’s little outburst in saying that it would be cool if they got to be coworkers, she added then that while the two didn’t know each other well yet, she could see the two of them being very good friends. “I think so too.” Rosie added with a smile, happy that she wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Jess commented then that Rosie would be a better sports writer than she would, Rosie didn’t refute or agree, it depended on their writing really. Once they were inside, they were lead to a booth and given menus to look over. Rosie ordered water too. “I think I have greater interest in muggle sports because there are more of them, there’s more of a variety in that sense. But, nothing is more exciting than Quidditch.” Rosie shrugged. “Do you like Quidditch? Why are you interested in sports?” she asked.

@jessavette

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Jess started to laugh when Rosie explained that she was the same, a klutz as well. "You're just saying that to make me feel better," Jess interjected, watching Rosie to see how the girl responded to her playful accusation. She didn't really think Rosie was a liar, but from her experience whenever she called herself a klutz people felt the need to say they were too, to try and make her feel better. Jess didn't feel bad about it; it was simply the way she was. She nodded as Rosie said that she thought Jess would do well because she wanted to. "Thanks Rosie," Jess answered, pondering her words a little more. "I hope you're right."

At least the other girl wanted to be friends. It was a good sign, and something that Jess was looking forward to. She loved having friends and getting to know new people. Honestly, that was one of her favorite things to do at all. Once they were seated, Rosie started explaining why she was more interested in writing for muggle sports and Jess nodded thoughtfully before chuckling. "You're definitely right there. I like football as much as the next person, but nothing can beat Quidditch." She shrugged, "I'm an avid Quidditch fan. I don't have a particular team I root for, I just love watching the game and playing it." 

The waiter came, asking if they were ready and Jess ordered a simple club sandwich, nodding to the waiter and waiting for her new friend to place her order. Then she turned to her. "So, let's get to know one another a little better. What house were you in Hogwarts? Are you dating anyone? What are some of your hobbies?" She knew the questions might be a lot, but she'd found since starting to work at the Daily Prophet that sometimes lots of questions was a good thing. It let the person answering choose what they wanted to say first instead of pressuring them.

rose harriet granger-weasley

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Jess tried to brush off Rosie’s accusation that she was a clumsy as Jess said that she was, but Rosie shook her head. “No really, I always seem to end up in the weirdest situations. And i’m rubbish at defensive magic.” Rosie admitted with a giggle, but then started to feel a bit weird. The last time that she had told someone that she was bad at defensive magic, they attacked her in the astronomy tower for their own amusement. It wasn’t really a situation that Rosie wanted to see happen again, and Brandon had told her not to say that sort of thing anymore after the first incident, but she just felt it come out of her mouth now. She was getting better at defensive magic at least, but she still wasn’t entirely capable. It was the only subject she had failed in school, and it wasn’t entirely for a lack of trying.

Jess agreed that nothing beat Quidditch and Rosie found herself smiling easily as she listened to her new friend speak on something that genuinely seemed to interest the both of them. It was so nice to have found someone so like herself, especially at work. “You play also?” she asked eagerly. “That’s so cool! Did you play at Hogwarts?” she asked to follow up. Rosie ordered a bowl of their house soup and the girls chatted while they waited for their dinner. Jess began asking questions to get to know her and Rosie was happy to answer them. “I was in Hufflepuff.” She said, though she wasn’t sure that it was much of a surprise. “I am actually dating someone. He went to Durmstrang.” She knew that she could say that Brandon had been a Hufflepuff too, but it seemed too complicated to explain at the minute. “His name is Brandon, he’s a musical and utterly adorable.” Rosie said through rosy cheeks that often appeared when she brought up her boyfriend. As for hobbies, Rosie shrugged. “I don’t do too much, I just like to write.” she insisted. “What about you? All the same questions.” she decided.

@jessavette

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Rosie insisted that she was clumsy and had a tendency to place herself in weird situations, adding that she wasn't good at defensive magic. Jess grimaced slightly at that knowledge. "That's hard," she answered. "I'm not particularly amazing at it, but I can generally defend myself quite well." Jess could hold her own, in other words. She wasn't sure how she'd do if it came down to a battle like it had for the last generation when they fought against Lord Voldemort, but Jess also wasn't planning on involving herself in a major war. Besides, if something like that happened, Finley would be with her, wouldn't he? She hadn't really ever seen her boyfriend fight, but she had a feeling that he was quite adept at it. 

Jess grinned at her new friend's question and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I did! I used to play in Hogwarts, Hufflepuff team." Jess smiled as she reminisced about her old team. She'd loved every minute of being on the Quidditch team. Honestly, it opened in her a place for excitement, which might be why she was so interested in investigative journalism. Jess wanted thrills, to do something that would keep her excitement. Hopefully she would be good at it. She listened as Rosie started to answer all of her questions, saying she was in Hufflepuff and dating a guy from Durmstrang. Jess' eyes widened, "Oh, did you meet him last year during the Tournament?" That was really the most logical assumption, but Jess wanted to hear the story from Rosie, she didn't want to just fill in the blanks. She grinned. "Oh, he sounds like it. A musician named Brandon from Durmstrang. Does he have any of his songs out yet?" Maybe Jess would look him up, if she could. Jess rolled her eyes, "All you like to do is write? What do you do when you're with Brandon? Do you like to cook or anything?" Yes, Jess might be a little annoying, but she really did want to learn more about Rosie. Vague answers wouldn't help with that.

She nodded when her questions came right back to her. "Yeah, I was in Hufflepuff as well and I'm dating someone too. His name is Finley, he was a year older than me in school, and in Gryffindor." Her smile softened as she thought of the man who suddenly meant more to her than anything else in her life. "I like to go on hikes and go dancing," Jess giggled a little, "even though I'm not the most graceful person. Mostly, I'll do anything if Fin is with me." That was the main thing. She and Fin were even planning on going to a muggle haunted house, which she was excited and nervous about at the same time. Jess would do anything with Fin.

rose harriet granger-weasley

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Rosie felt a bit of relief wash over her when the girl insisted that she wasn’t the best at defensive magic either. At least she wasn’t alone. Even if Jess was just saying so to make Rosie feel better, it was working. She didn’t feel in danger with her, she was fairly certain that Jess wouldn’t use the newfound knowledge against her, but it was nice to hear that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t do well in defense against the dark arts.

Jess then explained that yes, she had played Quidditch in school and was on the Hufflepuff team. It made sense, now that she knew Jess a little bit more, that they would have been in the same house, Rosie thought. They seemed more alike that she ever would have guessed that they would be. It was rather cool. “How long ago did you graduate?” she asked. Jess couldn’t be that much older than her, but Rosie couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t have known or recognized her. “Well, he was actually a Hufflepuff with me for a while, he moved to Durmstrang for his 6th year and then when he came back for the tournament he asked me out.” She explained. It was a cute little story. They had been friends for a while. She thought of him as one of her best friends. And then he asked her out and wrote a song for her. If only she was a romance writer. “He’s waiting for studio time to record his music, but right now he plays at Club Indigo in London.” she explained. She’d be the first to buy his music when it finally came out. She had no doubt that he’d make it big if he wanted to.

“Really I’m a fairly boring person. I write, I pretend that I can play some sports sometimes. I don’t really cook, i don’t trust myself with a stove.” she said with a laugh. “I like to travel,” she remembered. “I spent all summer driving around America.” she explained. It was a cool story, she wasn’t sure why she didn’t tell it more often. Jess then began to answer the questions for herself, saying that she was dating someone who had been a year older than her in school and was in Gryffindor. A person that Rosie didn’t know, unsurprisingly. “How did the two of you meet and start dating? Have you dated since school?” she asked. Jess then said that she liked to hike and to dance, even though she wasn’t the most graceful person. “That sounds fun. I should try more things like that. I really just feel like I’d fall and break my leg or something.” she insisted. "maybe the 4 of us could do something together." she suggested, especially if she and Jess became friends. She was almost sure anyone they dated would get along too.

@jessavette