Stay Another Day (OPEN)

[rose harriet granger-weasley]

December 24, 2027

Christmas wasn't what it had been for Rose when she was a child, and it wasn't just because she was an adult. It hadn't been the same for a long time, between her parents' marital difficulties and then the death of her mother. Teaching such young children almost brought back that spark of joy for the holiday season and countless presents, but there wasn't much that she really wanted for Christmas at her age. The exception would have been the opportunity to bring her mother back to life, but she knew that that was out of the reach of what even the most advanced forms of magic could accomplish.

Rose was looking forward to spending time with her family and friends, but the festivities weren't what they had once been, either. Christmas crackers exploded, which was something that she couldn't stand to be around anymore, and she had already made a plan in her head about what she was going to do when the crackers came out.

Just then arriving at her aunt and uncle's house, though, she had time before she would have to put that plan in action. She wasn't the first person to show up to the party, either, and she highly doubted that she would be the last.

OOC: OPEN!

[Vivian River Jordan]

24 December 2027

Viv had fumed and pouted and all but wolfed out at the unfortunate realization that last year’s Christmas party would hit at the full moon. She’d been stuck in a small room, curled into a ball and hoping she hadn’t gotten a defective batch of potion, and the worst part was – she couldn’t even be sure anyone was carrying on her legacy while she was gone. Spiking the punch bowl, enchanting the mice to wear cute little bow ties, performing Christmas carols after a touch of Polyjuice so nobody had to imagine how their Headmistress would’ve tackled The Twelve Days of Wizard Christmas. All the Christmas classics, really. So this year, Viv wasn’t planning to behave at all. And she’d come much earlier than most of the usual gang so she could scope out the territory and get ready.

She could already see her dad getting a little tipsy by the fire with his BFF for life (even if he’d never adopted Vivian’s name for the duo) and she assumed Mum was somewhere in the kitchen being nosy and showing off her amazing cooking magic. Perfect. Viv slipped out a tangled mess of mistletoe from her pocket, and her wand went between her teeth while she used both hands to extract a little one from its friends. “What was the spell again…” she muttered awkwardly around her wand while she thought hard about how to take advantage of this window of opportunity. Now that she was presented with it, however, Viv’s mind was dizzy with all the potential options. Blow a raspberry whenever a couple tried to kiss under it? Sing a cheery little song to encourage the warm and fuzzy feelings that were sure to come? Catch on fire?

No, not that one. Viv was just in the middle of rejecting that last option for being a little too wild for a Christmas party when her eyes caught on a potential snag in the plan. Quick as a flash, the mistletoe returned to her pocket and her wand followed quickly after. “Rosieeee!” she squealed as she adopted the most innocent expression she was capable of making and pushed through the light crowd to hug her unsuspecting target. Who looked much more somber than a holiday party should call for -- but hey, Viv had experience with that already.

rose harriet granger-weasley

[rose harriet granger-weasley]

December 24, 2027

"Rosieeee!"

Hearing her name or any variation thereof said at a higher pitch than normal was hardly unusual for any event where her family members or friends were involved. Any event that involved the Weasley family or anyone associated with or related to them in some manner was bound to be busy and loud. Rose had grown up with it and didn't really give it much thought because it was something that she had experienced for her entire life—literally—but she knew that it could be jarring for anyone who wasn't familiar with her loved ones.

This time, the greeting had come from Vivian Jordan, also known as "Viv". Although they weren't related to each other by blood, their families had been close enough that they had known each other their entire lives. Viv was just over a year older than Rose was, but they had been separated an additional year in school because of when their birthdays fell. Viv's birthday was in July, making her one of the younger students in her year, while Rose's was in September.

Despite that unfortunate timing, they had always had a good relationship with one another, and Rose was even more excited to see Viv than usual because she hadn't been at the same Christmas party the previous year. The full moon had gotten in the way of Viv's attendance, but the two of them had time to make up for it.

Rose immediately hugged Vivian back, squeezing her tightly. "Viiiiv!" she exclaimed in return, with her mood immediately lifted.

Vivian River Jordan

[Vivian River Jordan]

Spotting her law-abiding and rigidly responsible roommate was a bit of a snag in the plan to spice up mistletoe kisses at the holiday party, but hey – Viv had always loved a challenge. And her overexuberant squealing was completely legit, not just a sneaky attempt to pretend that she hadn’t been contemplating setting something on fire 0.2 seconds ago. Because yes, Viv and Rosie were two very (very) different people, but in a complementary way that brought out the best in each other. Viv had always thought of all the Weasleys as her family, because there really hadn’t been any degrees of separation between the Jordans and Weasleys since their dads had been at school, and that applied to all the ‘cousins.’ Both the ones that liked to get into trouble (your typical James or Lily) and the ones that knew how to get them out of trouble (Rosie. Really just Rosie.)

So she squeezed her roomie tight and buried her face in her curls until they separated a moment later. Viv had gone straight from the studio to the Potters (after a strategic visit to the wardrobe department, of course) so they hadn’t gone together to the party. That was probably for the best, because mischief was at the top of her agenda and she’d needed the time to scout out the terrain before Rose got there. But it was good that she’d come, at least. A niggling worry at the back of Viv’s mind was that Rose wouldn’t be in the right mood for a party – it’d been happening an awful lot lately.

“Now you’ve finally got here, the fun can start,” Viv declared as she looped her arm through Rose’s and pulled her into the throng of people without further ado. She shot off a cheeky salute towards a mop of red hair in the distance and then swiftly turned back towards Rose. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed the average age of this party keeps going up, ey?” Not that Viv was quite brave enough to say that within earshot of her mum – there was such a thing as being Gryffindor daring, but a wise Ravenclaw knew how to avoid trouble. Rose was a safe audience, though. Even as the responsible adult of the duo (it’s time to pay bills or don’t set off that dungbomb) Rose still had a mischievous streak in her too. Or they wouldn’t be such good friends, of course.

rose harriet granger-weasley

[rose harriet granger-weasley]

December 24, 2027

The excitement of having Vivian as her roommate still hadn't worn off after a few months. They both had jobs that kept them busy, so every night wasn't a slumber party, though their younger selves definitely would have imagined that it would be that way.

After they'd finished hugging each other, Vivian whisked her off to socialize with everyone else. She additionally made a remark about how the average age at the Potters' annual Christmas parties kept going up. Though she knew that it was a crack at how everyone was getting older and fewer of their generation were in attendance than they had been when they were younger, Rose also suspected that the same idea wasn't far from the minds of some of the older adults in attendance. The pressure to settle down and have children so that they could have grandchildren would grow with each passing year; Rose was sure about that.

"So," Rose mused with a laugh as she looked around at who was there already, "how long will it be until someone starts the 'marriage and babies' talk?"

Vivian River Jordan
OOC: If you're stalking this, yeah, we retconned mid-thread. 😂

[Vivian River Jordan]

The last Potter holiday party Viv had attended was New Year’s, and she cheerfully noticed the difference in atmosphere between that and this. HP had been in a bad mood, and she’d seen similar stirrings of a temper tantrum in several other members of the Potter family. Things had been turbulent, everyone knew that, but it depressed Viv to see one of her favorite families going through a moment of crisis. Now, at least – well, the vibe was different. Cheery, everyone in good spirits, just the way it ought to be. Viv snagged a snack off one of the floating trays and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth as she dragged Rosie into the chaos of the party.

She almost choked as Rosie wondered when the ‘marriage and babies’ talk would start, and Viv swallowed hard before she answered. “Bloody hell Rosie, don’t say the M-word or it’ll attract them,” she warned, eyes roving as she searched for nosy parents or well-intentioned grandmas. There were none in sight, so she relaxed and let her eyes drift back to the mistletoe. Definitely a song, she decided as she immediately began to list every song she’d ever heard in a bid to decide which would be the funniest to enchant here. “Anyway, who said anything about marriage? I plan on being an old spinster with you. Drizzle can get married and give us puffskein grandbabies.”

Speaking of her beloved puffskein, Viv cocked her head a bit as she noticed that Drizzle was nowhere to be found. Probably found her way into a pie, to be honest, although she might’ve gone looking for adoring admirers too. Viv noticed James off in the corner, but mentally discarded that option. Drizzle had developed a grudge for the boy during their school days and it had never truly gone away. No, the pie was definitely the more realistic option here.

rose harriet granger-weasley

[rose harriet granger-weasley]

December 24, 2027

Vivian chastised her for bringing up the "M-word"—"marriage"—out loud, lest anyone of the older generations in attendance at the party got any ideas because of it. It was clear to Rose that Viv meant business, so she sealed her lips tightly together, wishing she could have removed the word from their conversation. "Marriage" definitely wasn't as bad as some of the other, more offensive M-words out there, but Viv's point stood. Getting rushed off to a matchmaker was in neither of their plans, and it was better to keep from tempting fate.

Luckily for the both of them, though, it seemed that no one else had overheard their discussion to jump on that word. Viv was reassured enough that she was the one who said the M-word next, in fact, mentioning that her Puffskein could marry and give them grandchildren. Rose laughed lightly at the idea, but it wasn't a terrible one. That would make Viv's parents and her father great-grandparents by default, which would placate them for a while, at least.

All of a sudden, Vivian's behavior changed slightly, and it took Rose another moment to realize that the reason for that was because Viv didn't have Drizzle with her. If the Puffskein were actually lost, Rose knew, Viv would have been panicking, but she wasn't. That meant that Rose could breathe a small sigh of relief, too. She glanced around the room, however, just to check that Drizzle wasn't in any obvious danger.

Vivian River Jordan

[Vivian River Jordan]

Viv glanced around the room furtively but no one was paying them any attention so she relaxed and let herself grin again. A nearby Weasley shifted away nervously at the look on Viv’s face – which made sense, because it usually meant she’d let off a Fanged Frisbee somewhere – and Viv winked at him as she dragged Rosie behind her and deeper into the crowd. Her producers liked to tell her off for causing chaos on set, but Vivian had made a deal with herself to never grow up. And hey, she was rather stubborn about keeping promises. If being an adult meant having serious conversations about kitchen appliances and comparing health problems, then she was quite happy staying young at heart. She didn't spot Drizzle anywhere, but her attention was quickly pulled elsewhere.

“Oooh look, they’ve got crackers,” Viv said with interest as she spotted several bright Christmas crackers on a nearby table. They seemed quite innocent (even if anybody who’d spent some time in the wizarding world knew better) but nobody had started pulling them yet so Viv didn’t immediately rush over to grab one. She liked starting trends, but it seemed more fun to let everyone get a little more festive first. And tipsy, that always helped. Still, she stopped by the table and glanced over at her roommate. Rosie had always been the better-behaved child, but she’d been more quiet than usual lately and Viv wasn’t sure how long to respect the mourning period before she started to bother Rose about it.

So she prodded and asked brightly, “Sooooo what’s the acceptable pranking threshold today? Tell me I get to steal the gnome at least.” It seemed better to start with sanctioned mischief first, even if Viv still had her eye on the mistletoe as the ultimate prize. But these things were always more fun with a partner, anyway -- and people expected a certain level of chaos at the Potter Christmas parties. Vivian didn’t think she’d manage to catch James’s attention while he was with his girlfriend, but she thought it might be possible to coax Rosie into some fun.

rose harriet granger-weasley

[rose harriet granger-weasley]

December 24, 2027

Since Vivian didn't seem to be too concerned about Drizzle's absence, Rose wasn't, either. Instead of focusing on the missing Puffskein, Viv's attention had been drawn to the Christmas crackers that had been set up already on a table. Rose knew that there would be plenty of crackers, though she wasn't as enthusiastic about them as her roommate. It would have been far better if someone had managed to invent crackers that didn't explode upon being pulled. Even the Muggle kind would have been preferable, Rose thought, considering how much more explosive the Wizard Crackers were.

If her mother hadn't been killed as she had, Rose knew, her attitude towards a lot of the things that her friends and family held dear—fireworks, pranks, Wizard Crackers—might have been different. She didn't want to be the one to spoil anyone else's fun, and she still wanted to be able to wear a funny hat along with the rest of them. Trying to work through all of that without sounding like a total killjoy was tough, though.

Rose realized that she must have gone silent too long for Viv's liking, seeing as she was quickly asked what the "acceptable pranking threshold" was for the day and if that included stealing the gnome being used to top the Christmas tree. Realistically, anything that was acceptable to Viv was probably closer to being anything that wouldn't result in her breaking the law, with anything else as fair game.

"You're an adult," Rose teased Viv. She didn't technically need anyone's permission to pull a prank or two, though it would be better for her sake if she took care to avoid anything too offensive to the older adults in their presence. That said, Rose's tone changed with a small request. "If it's going to be loud or involve fire or anything, just let me know first, please?" she asked of Viv, her voice hushed. She didn't want anything to end up ruined if it was going to serve as a trigger for her. With a little bit of warning, she could prepare herself and remove herself from the situation if needed.

Vivian River Jordan

[Vivian River Jordan]

It was a nice change of pace to attend a party without checking the full moon calendar or her stock of Wolfsbane. Viv was still rather pouty at the thought that she’d had to miss last Christmas and New Year’s because she’d been too moon-sick to attend, and so she was absolutely determined to cause double the amount of mischief to make up for it. She’d already managed to set up a prank that would pay off later – whenever Uncle George thought to check his pocket at least – so Viv was quite content to walk arm-in-arm with her roomie to get a good look at the party and the little pockets of conversation and fun that had started to form around the room.

Rosie pointed out that she was an adult, and therefore didn’t really need permission for anything, but Viv shook her head resolutely. “Rubbish. I don’t intend to ever become an adult, it sounds dreadful.” That was one of the little kernels of truth that she held onto, and Viv contemplated it as she easily sidestepped a gaggle of cackling teenagers so she could pull Rosie closer to the Christmas tree. Her eyes were on the gnome, but at Rosie’s timid request…Merlin, it completely pulled her attention away. Viv stopped in her tracks, turned so she could put her hands on Rosie’s shoulders, and looked her straight in the eyes. “We’re going to have a smashing night, okay? With no explosions or fire, promise.” She crossed her heart to emphasize the promise, and casually glanced over Rosies shoulder.

“Er…after we rescue Drizzle, that is.” Her hands tightened slightly on Rose’s shoulder as she finally caught sight of her mischievous puffskein dangling from the chandelier. Since puffskeins didn’t have any magic of their own – besides the magic of looking adorable – Viv really was at a loss to explain how Drizzle had gotten herself up there in the first place, but her beloved pet’s eyes were locked on the fondue fountain and that spelled trouble. Vivian didn’t fancy the thought of pulling her wand out in the middle of the crowded room, because people were sure to notice, so she turned to Rose expectantly. “Oooh, shall we do this the Muggle way?” she asked eagerly. She didn’t know exactly how that might work, but not using magic sounded like a neat little challenge. Maybe a ladder? She'd never used a ladder before.

rose harriet granger-weasley

[rose harriet granger-weasley]

December 24, 2027

Vivian denied being an adult, with which Rose wasn't going to argue. Given her job with Witch TV, she couldn't really deny being an adult anymore, even if she didn't always feel like one. Despite not being an adult, Viv did her best to reassure her that their night was going to be a good one—with no explosions or fire, in fact.

"Er… after we rescue Drizzle, that is."

The Puffskein hadn't just gotten himself into some trouble. No, somehow he'd made it out onto the chandelier, from which he was dangling as though it were a tree branch. However he'd wound up there, he definitely didn't belong there, and Rose gritted her teeth in concern. She wasn't sure what the maximum grip strength of a Puffskein was, but she doubted that Drizzle could hang on for very long without assistance.

Instead of attempting to levitate Drizzle from the chandelier, though that very well could have taken the whole chandelier with it, Viv had a different idea, suggesting, "Oooh, shall we do this the Muggle way?"

The good news was that Rose had slightly more experience with doing things as Muggles did because of her mother's background. The bad news was that she wasn't sure if doing things the Muggle way, in that instance, would work particularly well. Rose really didn't want to tear her Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's house apart on Christmas Eve, but she also didn't want any harm to come to Drizzle.

"Getting him or catching him?" Rose asked Viv quickly, ready to act with the urgency that the situation required. If they could fashion some sort of net to catch Drizzle's fall, that could work, she thought, or it was possible that her aunt and uncle had a ladder somewhere to go up and get him themselves.

Vivian River Jordan

[Vivian River Jordan]

They’d really perfected the dynamic between them. Viv was a constant whirlwind of ideas, little things that popped into her mind and that nearly always promised a good time. For everyone except Albus, usually. He tended to be the butt of the joke more often than not, although that was his own fault for being so pouty all the time. And then Rosie was always there to moderate the idea and tone it down so they wouldn’t be breaking any laws or causing irreversible damage. It hadn’t been enough in school to keep Viv and the others out of detention, but it’d saved her a lot of trouble in the real world.

Anyway, Viv’s mind was already running with the possibilities of trying to rescue Drizzle the Muggle way. It would’ve been complicated to use a wand, but even if that had been the simple solution…well, Viv’s imagination had already gotten away from her. Muggle Studies had always been one of her favorite subjects at Hogwarts, after all, and it was fascinating to think that there were non-magical solutions for almost anything. “I bet we could fetch Drizzle ourselves,” Viv decided cheerily. If push came to shove and her puffskein fell, it would probably come down to instinct and Viv’s wand would be out faster than a niffler in a bank vault. “Let’s see what they’ve got here!”

And with that, Viv threw open a random door and stepped into the dark corridor. She doubted it would take long to find a supply closet or the garage and see what kind of tools HP had available. He had been raised by Muggles, after all, so he might’ve held onto something out of habit. Viv walked around rather confidently without needing to light her wand. How many times had she and Rosie and the others run wild around the Potter house? They’d be in and out in a jiffy.

rose harriet granger-weasley

[rose harriet granger-weasley]

December 24, 2027

Vivian's concern for Drizzle seemed to be less than her own, which helped Rose relax a little. Her insistence that they could handle it without magic was questionable, but Rose knew that she was going to be Viv's accomplice whether she wanted to be or not. As Viv took off in search of whatever they could use, Rose followed closely behind her.

Fortunately, she knew her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry's house well, as did Viv, so neither of them were running around without a clue, even in the dark. Figuring out what items were being stored where at that present time was another story. Rose didn't really like the idea of rummaging around her aunt and uncle's house for something that they could use instead of magic to rescue Drizzle, and she wanted to curse the specificity needed to summon objects.

"If you were a ladder, where would you be?" Rose asked aloud. To her, a ladder seemed like their best option, with a broomstick or other similarly elongated implement as their next best option after that. If they couldn't reach Drizzle physically, then they could get him onto something sturdy enough for him to climb down, at least. Vivian tended to be more creative, though, and there was no telling what she would think up.

Vivian River Jordan