Fizzing Whizbees

Rose returned to the Room of Requirement, curled up on a large, soft sofa, and once again pretended to be very busy as she picked up a thick book and began reading it intently.

Ten minutes later, she gave up.

Her friends had gone off together to spend the day in Hogsmeade, while she could only hide away in the Room of Requirement all alone, as though that would make her forget the younger students whispering and staring curiously at her in the corridors.

They must have been saying she was surely the only third-year left behind.

"No, that's not true-there's Snape too!" Rose suddenly found Snape very friendly and approachable, simply because the two of them were in the same predicament at the moment.

The door to the Room of Requirement suddenly opened, and steady footsteps approached Rose.

"Is that you, Remus?" Rose asked. There was still a week until the full moon, and Remus often began putting on a brave face well beforehand. Even Hogsmeade couldn't lift his spirits.

"Sorry to disappoint you—it's Sirius Black!" Sirius's voice rang out above her. Rose looked up and saw him standing behind the sofa, looking down at her with a smile.

"You're back?" Rose craned her neck to look behind him. "Aren't James and the others with you? Did you have a row?"

"Of course not. Hogsmeade was too boring." Sirius sat down on the sofa beside her, stretched out his long legs, and leaned back.

Rose gave his knee a gentle kick and teased, "The young master of the Black family should sit properly."

Sirius was unmoved. "But Sirius of Gryffindor can sit however he likes!" he said casually.

Rose smiled and shook her head. She paid him no more attention, lowering her head to resume studying the hefty book in her lap.

Sirius suddenly sat up straight, pulled a beautifully wrapped box of sweets from his robe pocket, and gently set it on the open pages in her lap.

"James bought a heap of stuff at Honeydukes, and the owner insisted on giving him a box of sweets for free." Sirius closed his eyes to rest, his voice echoing through the Room of Requirement. "They're yours. I really don't like sweets."

Rose took one out and popped it into her mouth. The rich aroma of chocolate mingled with the delicate sweetness of the orange marmalade filling, bursting across her tongue. She fell in love with the sweets at once.

"What are they called?" Rose asked sweetly.

Sirius's expression faltered. Several names popped into his head, only for him to reject them. He really hadn't noticed what they were called.

"Chocolate orange balls," he made up.

"Oh." Rose smacked her lips, savoring the taste. "That's a pretty straightforward name."

Rose ate three in a row, then reluctantly tucked the box into her pocket. Several times while reading, she wanted another, but she held herself back—she didn't want to gain weight during puberty.

Clearly, Sirius misunderstood her actions. Watching Rose gaze longingly at the remaining sweets, unable to bring herself to eat them and only reaching to touch her pocket every so often, he felt his heart grow soft, aching and swelling. He suddenly announced loudly, "I'll get James to buy lots more sweets every time he goes to Hogsmeade, so the owner will give us more for free! Oh—we can go even when it isn't a Hogsmeade weekend!"

Rose had been absorbed in the satisfaction of having conquered her appetite, and his sudden outburst startled her. For the sake of her figure, she hesitantly refused. "Er, thank you, but there's no need. A taste is enough for me."

"It's fine!" Sirius looked at her affectionately and said firmly, "James has loads of money, and he's especially happy to buy useless things. I mean, he especially likes eating sweet things!"

"All right, then," Rose relented. "But not too many-" I'm afraid of gaining weight.

Sirius had always known that Rose wasn't particularly well-off, but the longing and restraint she showed now broke his heart. As the most loyal of Gryffindors, he decided that from now on, he would buy Rose more sweets than she could ever finish.

As the Hogsmeade outing drew to an end, Rose needed to leave the Room of Requirement early and return to the girls' dormitory to welcome her roommates back.

Leaning against her bed and reading, she heard the portrait-hole door open and close again and again, and the common room gradually grew lively.

Footsteps sounded, and the girls' dormitory door opened. Lily, bringing a chill in with her, ran straight to Rose's bedside.

"We're back!" She hugged Rose as warmly as if they were reuniting after a long separation. Fragrant red strands of hair brushed Rose's face, smelling of lilies.

"Quick, tell me everywhere you went!" Rose said with a smile.

"Oh-" Lily carefully studied her expression. Only when she saw that Rose really didn't seem to mind in the slightest did she happily tell her about their outing.

"Marlene and I went to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop first. Oh! You know, I've always wanted a pretty new quill!" She sat on the edge of the bed and went on brightly, "Then we went to the Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta is a lady who's still got her charms! She gave us each a Butterbeer, and she had all sorts of other drinks there too!"

"We can drink them when we're grown up!" Rose teased. "Who knew Miss Evans was a little drunkard!"

"I'm just a bit curious." Lily looked a little embarrassed. "But they really did look good-Marlene, you're back! Quick, get out the sweets we bought for Rose-"

Marlene came in through the dormitory door, looking over her shoulder as she walked.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"Nothing-" Marlene said hesitantly. She soon put everything else out of her mind and ran over, plopping down beside Lily. She pulled a very familiar-looking box out of her bag. "We had to work really hard to get this box—they were all sold out. They're a brand-new product from Honeydukes!"

"A new product?" Rose picked one up and put it in her mouth. The familiar taste reminded her of the chocolate orange balls still resting safely in her pocket.

"What's the new product called?" Rose asked.

"Fizzing Whizbees," Lily said. "A wonderful name, just like the way they taste!"

"Everyone's crazy about them. We got there late, and there were only two boxes left. Black snatched the other one," Marlene grumbled unhappily. "Potter even laughed at him for fighting girls over sweets, but then he bought a whole heap himself."

Well, well. Sirius Black had lied to her, but she didn't feel angry.

Rose's mouth was full of the sweet taste of chocolate, and she felt utterly happy. She had so many good friends thinking of her, and the sweetness spread all the way to her heart.