Open No rose without thorns

[Tilly Drage]

In her early years at the school, Tilly had steered clear of the Rosebush and the memorial rock when she visited the lakefront, especially when she learned why they were there. Thinking about death at such a young age unsettled her to the core. Now that she was older, she’d become curious again.

During a long break between classes, she walked down to the lake, savoring the fresh air on her skin and the gentle rhythm of the waves meeting the shore. She sat down in front of the bush, admiring the sharp contrast between its blooming petals and prickly thorns. Tilly read the plaque and wondered what type of person Rose Landers had been. How disappointing, to die in your first year of school. She wondered what Rose had died from, but of course, her memorial didn’t provide any details. It was morbid enough, really.

 

[Harper Alston]

Though the weather was getting colder, Harper still spent all of her free time outdoors. It was nicer out here in the sun, away from the castle, which could be gloomy. But more importantly, she needed to get as much practice in before her football (soccer) club held tryouts at the beginning of break. Despite all her individual practice, Harper knew she would be at a disadvantage compared to the kids who could play during the off-season. But that didn't stop her from hoping if she just worked hard enough, she could overcome that issue.

There wasn't enough time for a full practice session, but Harper figured she could get some dribbling in before her next class. She had barely done a lap around the school grounds when she spotted someone familiar sitting by the lake. "Hey Tilly!" she called cheerfully, making her way to the other girl. It had been a while since they'd hung out. Harper stopped the ball with her foot and plopped down on the ground next to the Hufflepuff. Her smile faded when she realized what Tilly was looking at. "Do you know how she died?" she asked in a hushed voice. She'd always found it eerie that there were not one, but two, memorials to deceased students at the school.

 

[Tilly Drage]

Almost as if in a trance, Tilly reached for the roses, tempted to prick her finger with one of the thorns to see what would happen. A long nap like Sleeping Beauty’s sounded lovely after this year. She pulled her hand away when someone shouted her name.

Tilly looked up to see Harper. She had always liked the Gryffindor, although they hadn’t really interacted outside of classes in a while. “Hey,” she said, taking note of the football at the girl’s feet. “Merlin, I really don’t know… Bad luck to go in your first year.” In her early years at the school, Tilly had heard that Rose Landers had been murdered, but you could never trust the student rumour mill. It wouldn't do to keep the mill turning, either.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy had a break between her classes. Normally, she would use this time to study, but she didn't feel like it at all. She had already committed to not having perfect grades this year, and Ivy doubted her father would be any less disappointed in her even if she got all O's this semester. She hated disappointing him, but at the same time, she was frustrated with how he treated her. It was a difficult situation, and Ivy had decided to take a walk to clear her head. This was also to get away from Sawyer and Flynn, both of which Ivy was avoiding a bit at the moment. Her aimless wandering brought her to the Rosebush, a place on the grounds she hardly ever visited. Ivy spotted Tilly Drage, a girl in her year Ivy had barely ever talked to. She knew the girl was pretty popular, mostly from being on the Quidditch team. That was something Ivy didn't really care about personally, but she understood why others did. She considered going over to talk to her, but then she saw that Harper Alston had the same idea. Ivy frowned. She had a complicated relationship with her roommate. But by now she was a bit too close by to simply pretend she hadn't seen them. "Someone died?" She asked, unable to help reacting to the bit of their conversation she overheard. "I didn't know." She said, moving closer to frown at the plaque. "A rosebush seems like a strange tribute." She muttered, feeling vaguely creeped out by all this.

 

[Harper Alston]

Bad luck. "That's definitely one way of putting it," Harper said, looking at the roses. Death was still a somewhat abstract concept for her as she had never lost someone particularly close to her, and she knew she was lucky in that regard. It was difficult to imagine dying at age 11. "Strange to think she would've been, what—" she did the math in her head, "—in her forties? Fifties? If she'd lived."

Harper stiffened when she heard Ivy's voice. She generally tried to avoid the other girl, a practice made difficult by the fact that they had to live together. Harper wasn't sure why Ivy had decided to approach them, but she wasn't about to pick a fight, especially not in front of a memorial. "Well, her name was Rose," she said evenly, trying her best not to sound sarcastic. It was surprising that Ivy had never heard of Rose or come across the memorial before now. Had she spent the past four years shut away in the castle, just studying?

 

[Tilly Drage]

Tilly was just about to reply to Harper when Ivy approached them. Before Tilly could respond, Harper said the same thing she had been thinking. “Yeah, Rose Landers.” She pointed at the distinctive boulder farther along the Lakefront. “That’s for another kid that died. Not sure why it’s a rock, though.” Without the memorial in front of her, she couldn’t remember the name, either. She definitely would have remembered if his name was Rock.

The Hufflepuff wondered why and how both of them had passed away. The very least the school could do was leave them a warning. “I bet if we looked in the library,” Tilly mused, “we could find out how they really died. If we wanted to.” She wondered if the two Gryffindors would be up for a little detective work. Even if it was an uncomfortable thing to investigate.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy saw the way Harper looked as she noticed her but pretended not to notice. She didn't like her roommate any more than she liked Ivy, but she could be civil. Ivy frowned a bit at the explanation. "So it's because of her name?" She asked, wondering if the girl had even liked roses. She knew it was a silly thing to wonder, but she immediately thought about her own name. What would they do if she died at Hogwarts, plant a bunch of ivy in her name? It was a morbid thought and Ivy tried to push it away. Tilly pointed to a rock and said it was for another kid that died. Ivy shivered. "I doubt that had to do with his name." She muttered. She kind of regretted approaching the two, the conversation making her feel a bit uncomfortable. Ivy paused when Tilly suggested going to the library to look it up. "Or we could ask a professor." She suggested, shrugging a bit. It seemed a faster way to find out, even though Ivy wasn't sure she wanted to know.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper nodded at Ivy's question. She wondered if it was the school that had chosen the form of Rose's memorial. Despite the connection to the name, a rosebush was so obvious it almost seemed impersonal. She glanced at the boulder. "I wonder why they chose the lake for the memorials." Wouldn't it make more sense to put the rosebush in the gardens? Having two memorials in close proximity almost made the space feel like a graveyard.

She tilted her head, considering Tilly's suggestion as she absentmindedly fiddled with the ball next to her. Harper was admittedly curious about how the two students had died, but she wasn't sure she was curious enough to spend a few hours doing research in the library with Ivy. Things would be so much easier if the internet was a thing here. "Are there even any professors who were around back then?" From what she remembered, Hogwarts had been founded in the 2010s. Any professors who had been teaching then were probably retired now. Or dead.