Chapter Text
Knotweed is a perennial and invasive weed.
The day she opened her shop, the heavens opened and poured down rain. It came hard and quickly, knocking shingles off her roof and revealing several leaks throughout the entire building. The rain came down in sheets that made it impossible to see in any direction. Rose would've been surprised to see anyone out and about on a day like this. And it sucked.
Water seemed to be everywhere, and the raging storm kept any customers away. In fact, it was just after lunch when she got her first and only customer: Daphne. Not that she would've been able to accommodate anyone at that point. She could get a small boat and float through her shop.
Daphne immediately pulled her wand out to dry her clothes, only to realize the inside of the store was just as wet as the outside and instead began helping Rose fix the cracks in the roof. After the initial storm passed and only the heavy downpour remained, Penny abandoned the two witches in favor of jumping around in the mud and puddles out back. And Daphne thought that would be the perfect time to mention the neighbor across the street.
It wasn't her ideal Grand Opening, far from it, and with only Daphne there Rose was being bombarded with questions about what had happened with her and Neville over the previous weekend. Rose, soaked to the bones with rain water, waved her wand at one of the smaller leaks. Water droplets flung from the precious wood and fell onto her once clean counters.
"How exactly do you know anything happened at all?" she asked, practically yelling over the pounding of rain outside.
"Because every time I mention him, your ears turn an unbecoming shade of red." the witch snickered.
A box of mint and aloe lotion floated by Rose sadly. Grand Opening? Hardly. It was literally flooding in her shop, her supplies strewn every which way, her plants were limp and drenched and the contractor she hired to fix the roof was going to be getting a very nasty letter from her.
A snarky reply about her red ears was on the tip of her tongue when the door opened again and the howling wind drowned the room in noise. How Penny could be out playing in this, Rose had no idea. The child was pure chaos so maybe the storm recognized her as one of its kind. She turned to the door and whipped her wand in the same direction. A sopping wet figure in black robes, spelled to rebel water, walked in and struggled to shut the door. The moment the door was bolted shut again, the figure turned and lowered his hood.
"Neville Longbottom!" Daphne exclaimed happily, despite the fact that the two of them were absolutely drenched. "How lovely to see you! How's that shop treating you?"
Jealousy flared to life as Neville stomped through the ankle deep water and gave Daphne a one armed hug and greeted her just as happily as she had him. "Doing well! Still can't believe the great price you got for me on it. I closed for today… crazy rain. How's your business going?"
Damn it all to hell, Rose thought. They knew each other?!
"It's going well, thanks for asking. So you've met my good friend Rose Russo already haven't you?" The emphasis on her name wasn't lost on Rose, and the glare she sent Daphne couldn't be helped.
"You two know each other?" Rose asked in the most normal voice she could conjure.
"I'm his real estate manager darling, I'm sure I've mentioned it before."
Neville turned to Rose at the moment, eyebrow raised in question, and the moment his back was to Daphne the witch gave Rose a signature evil smile. The day Rose told Daphne about running into Neville, her friend acted surprised. Kiss a Fire Crab, Daph. The witch had known all along who her neighbor was!
Neville however, did nothing but cross his arms and give her a lopsided grin that brought forth memories of the weekend they spent together in bed, a weekend she was desperately trying to forget about. "You need some help Rosie?"
She stood there, soaked to her bones, hair dripping down her back, as her store literally fell apart on its Grand Opening day. Help? She needed a lot more than that. "I think I'll be okay." she lied instead. She needed him to leave. His hair was wet and he needed to shave, and no man should look that good. Or was it simply because she knew what he was capable of when the clothes were off?
"Oh pish! I think this situation could use a man's touch, don't you Rosie?" Daphne said, brandishing her wand and continuing the previous chore of getting the holes in the roof plugged up.
Rose rounded her eyes on her friend and tried to communicate with silent words that she was being the biggest thorn in her side and could she please shut IT. Neville only laughed, and dug his own wand out from the depths of his rain boots. "Let's see what I can do to help." he said kindly.
She bit her lip and tried to focus on the task at hand, but Neville's presence made her feel like a step out of sync. Why did he have to be so nice all the time? He was nice to everyone, his customers, his neighbors, his friends. He was nice even when he was grumpy and didn't want to be nice. He was even nice to her and she couldn't bloody well stand it any longer. Her brain shut down over the weekend, allowing her to take the time to be with him. And she was with him. On the couch, on her bed, by her desk, in her reading chair, in the shower.
She had to turn the picture of Phil the other way, because it was a Muggle picture and he couldn't leave himself. When the guilt threatened to overtake her, he would say the nicest things to her, he would say the right thing, and suddenly she was all over him. How one man could understand her so well…
She spent Friday and Saturday night in his arms, drowned in desire, withering in his pleasure. On Sunday, when she woke up in his arms feeling satisfied and warm and wanted, her brain clicked back on when she realized she was actively lying to him.
How was he going to feel when he realized that she was Pansy Parkinson? A witch that had tortured him 15 years ago? The Death Eater's daughter that tried to out Harry Potter? Honestly! How the hell did she get into this situation? She hadn't planned on lying to anyone, and she definitely didn't plan on sleeping with her neighbor either. Especially when the neighbor was Neville. She blamed herself. Penny had gone to on her yearly trip and she was feeling lonely.
When Daphne mentioned Neville earlier, her ears had turned red as a rose. Because she was embarrassed with herself. She was a liar. And Neville was going to hate her when he found out the truth. And how would Penny feel? She was becoming quick friends with her gardening neighbor. How the hell was this all supposed to play out?
"Damn it all to hell." she said under her breath.
"It's okay Rosie. We'll get it cleaned up again." Neville said, assuming she was speaking of the disarrayed state of her shop. "I'll help."
Of course he would.
"Thanks, Neville." she said instead of what she really wanted to say.
"Yes Rosie. We'll help!" Daphne laughed, and when Neville wasn't looking Pansy blasted some water at her, though it didn't deter her in the slightest.
The roof wasn't really fixed, just patched together with magic and a prayer. And when they decided the roof wasn't going to leak anymore, at least for a day or two, they banished the water and dried out the store. She salvaged as much as she could, but a lot of her supply had to be thrown away. And that was just too depressing to think about, so she threw out the bad items and dealt with the rest. The whole process took another hour and the rain poured the entire time. When they were finished, she gestured to the back door. "Come to my house and get dry."
Daphne walked through first, leaving her alone with Neville. Before she could dash through the door after her friend, he tugged her wrist pulling her back. He slid his hand into her hair and pulled out a single leaf of knotweed from the tangles. His fingers on her wrist were burning, and she sucked in breath attempting to calm herself down. She had to get away and figure this out before she got in too deep.
Except… he was leaning in to kiss her and he looked so damn happy. The moment before his lips touched hers she turned her head away. "I - I need to grab Penny."
His hand let her go and she rushed through the doorway out into the garden, deeply regretting the moment she offered him a slice of cake and invited him into her home. The rain was impossibly heavier, but she could clearly see Penny running around in her bright purple and pink raincoat, her matching umbrella raised to the sky like a saber. She did a couple of cartwheels, the mud splashing in every direction.
"My child…." she said, unable to help the smile or the swell of emotion that usually came with Penny's chaos. Daphne and Neville stood with her and they all watched as Penny stopped dead in the middle of the garden, muddy and wet, her umbrella pointed directly above her.
She shouted, "I CALL LIGHTNING!" before running around again, cackling madly.
Rose slapped her hands over her face, groaning. "She's going to get herself killed at Hogwart's!"
Even as Neville and Daphne laughed at her, Penny did it again. Stopping in the middle of the garden, Rose looked up just in time to see the purple umbrella thrust into the sky popping open suddenly just as Penny cried out, "LIGHTNING!"
A crack of thunder boomed loudly over them, as lightning split the sky and struck downwards hitting the edge of the specialty quill shop next door. Their hair all stood on end and Rose felt her heart stop. A second passed… two seconds… and then Penny's knees crumpled beneath her.
"Penny!" Rose darted forward but Neville was already there, catching Penny before she sank into the mud. He picked her up, cradling her as he rushed into the house. "What the hell was that?!"
Neville sat Penny on the couch, her hair was sticking out in all directions and her umbrella was burnt on the top. Rose sank to her knees in front of her child, looking into Penny's rounded purple eyes.
"Penny?!" she shouted again.
She stirred, seeming to shake it out. "That… was the coolest thing that has ever happened to me!"
Rose turned and sat against the couch, putting her hand over her face to breathe a sigh of relief. Her child literally summoned lightning to herself, and thought it was cool. No, the coolest thing that ever happened.
"My kick-ass little Druidess." Neville said and when Penny held her hand up for a high five, the man returned the gesture with zeal.
"Don't encourage her!" Rose said. "You scared me half to death! You are lucky that lightning struck the building and not you!"
"Lucky?! I wield the power of the elements! I WILL BE UNSTOPPABLE!" Penny jumped up, flinging mud and water all over the place and stomped her way upstairs to do only God knew what. Overhead, she listened as Penny ran around her room before a garbled, "LIGHTNING!" sounded through the house right before there was a giant crack of thunder close by.
Daphne handed her a hot cup of tea that smelled heavily of chamomile. "You don't think she's actually…."
"No way … it was just coincidence…. Right?" Neville said looking out the giant window on the side of the house. The storm was beginning to rage again, lightning flashing this way and that against black rolling clouds.
Rose shook her head struck by a sudden thought. "You know that little theory you told me about when Penny was born?"
Daphne sat on the couch, using her wand to clean up the mud and water, with a thoughtful face. Then she turned to Neville, who was doing the same, and said, "Your friend, the Granger girl wrote a paper. But it was discouraged because older generations thought she was biased."
Neville finished drying himself off and pointed his wand at Rose. She tensed, flashing back to 7th year. Afraid of being outcast by other Slytherin's, and knowing her Father would disapprove of any unruly behavior, she followed the Carrow's around like a puppy and let them whisper in her ear. She let them control her and didn't think twice about it. Except once.
The first and last time she ever used an Unforgivable, and the evidence of it was on Neville's face. The horrible feeling of causing someone else the worst kind of pain, the way she had to force herself to do it, otherwise Alecto would've punished her… The little silvery scar by his left eye, put there by her old wand. The emotions of that night came flooding back, until it felt as if it just happened. She closed her eyes and prepared for whatever punishment Neville would deal out to her. A punishment she deserved. When he knelt by her and began drying her clothes, she blinked away the past and looked back to Daphne afraid of what her face had shown.
Neville said, "I think you might mean the paper on Muggle Borns? The one about how Muggle blood might enhance magical power?"
"That's the one." Daphne said.
"Penny isn't a Muggle Born though?" Neville asked.
"No. Her father was a Muggle though. And… she was… Conceived and Born during a Thunderstorm." Rose mumbled. "But no I'm sure it is just a coincidence."
Neville collapsed into the couch. "Just being around her energy is exhausting, how do you do it all the time?"
"I was genetically chosen." Rose deadpanned. She was still sitting on the floor, back against the couch. Neville was on the couch right next to her. She looked over her shoulder at him when she felt his fingers brush the back of her neck under her damp hair.
They got lost in each other for a long moment, both of them reliving their time together. The hard slide of their bodies, the complete adoration he smothered her in, exploring their own intimacy without interruption or fear or distraction. But damn it, she couldn't and shouldn't be doing this with him. If she didn't -
"Well this has been fun, but I'm late for dinner with the Malfoy's." Daphne said, causing Rose to jump. She had completely forgotten her friend was even there.
"Malfoy's? Oh… don't… well - er - have a good time." Rose stuttered out, jumping to her feet. "Do try not to gossip so much, won't you?"
Daphne laughed slowly. "Sure darling, sure. Neville, nice to see you again. And ignore Rooooose, she has a tendency to be so dramatic."
He waved goodbye, but his eyes were glued to Rose. "Sure." he mumbled to the door as it shut.
She couldn't put enough distance between them, even running to the other side of the kitchen she could still feel his eyes on her. And she wanted to die. Who cared if that was as dramatic as Daphne said.
The earth could come up and swallow her and that would just fine with her. She and Neville had a sexathon over the weekend. It had been intense, achingly deep, soul altering sex that you couldn't just walk away from afterwards. Like her favorite song on repeat, he filled up all the little pieces of her until she laughed and cried, and he had breathed her name when he came. But it was the wrong damn name, and now she was so thoroughly fucked.
Literally and figuratively.
She felt like she led him on. She was lying to him whenever someone called her Rose, even if it was her legal name now. She felt like… her old self. Even if she hadn't meant it, it was something the girl Pansy Parkinson would do. And it made Rose sick to her stomach.
He didn't deserve it, and she couldn't bare to tell him the truth now. He would hate her.
"Rose." he said from behind her, and she clutched the edge of the counter for support. Her mind flashed to all the things she needed to do, all the supplies she needed to replace, her brewing order to get it all done in the best time… anything to distract her from him and his touch.
His hands came to her hips and held tight there. "Rose." he said again.
"Neville please…"
"What's the secret?" he said slowly.
She gasped, sucking air in so hard and quickly she started choking. Lack of air turned her face bright red.
"Rose!" he patted her back, confusion and worry all over his face. "Damn it, tell me what's going on!"
"I'm all right. I'm sorry." she took deep breaths but the edge of panic was there. He was too close, her secret too big. Tears were forming in her eyes when he let go suddenly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a bumpy galleon.
She took the moment to turn towards the sink, away from him, and orient herself. Penny thumped and bumped above them and a song started playing loudly. The rain pounded outside. The noise was enough to focus on, and when Penny started singing at the top of her lungs, Rose blinked away the panic and the tears and turned to face Neville.
"I have to go, Gin's in labor." he said, looking down at her.
She could only nod.
"Tell me, please. Tell me what's going on." he insisted, not moving a step.
She swallowed and met his eyes. "I can't Neville." She thought the tears were gone, but they came roaring back, spilling from her eyes. "I can't! You'll hate me, I can't - I can't ever apologize enough for what I've done to you… it'll never be enough."
"What… what did you do? What are you talking about?" his voice rose a bit and he looked lost as he tried to figure out what she could mean.
And she wanted him to know the truth even as she knew she couldn't tell him. She lifted her finger to the scar on his eye and gently rubbed the dip there. "Oh Neville, don't you know who I am?"
He held her eyes a long time, confusion apparent across his face. He didn't know. He didn't understand. He clutched the coin in his hand tighter and looked down, breaking eye contact.
"I have to go…" he said stepping back.
She turned away and felt herself sob when she heard the front door open and close again. The entire floor smelled like rain, and she let herself get lost in the seductive scent and the melody coming down the stairs from Penny's room.
"Mama are you okay?"
She looked down to her daughter, surprised she didn't hear her coming. No. She wasn't okay. "Yes baby. I'm fine. Are you okay?"
Penny nodded jovially. "I'm fine, but for some reason I'm starving!"